#and like sure we all hate brian a little at first

[tedious-waffle]

I truly genuinely wonder how some people would react to watching the original US Queer As Folk. Cause like. No offense but jesus yall have nottttt seen queer tv if bucktommy has got you in this much of a tizzy.

Talk about age gaps/differences in experience lmao. Also i think the non-monogamy but lasting (and yes messy) commitment of justin and brian would make some peoples heads explode.

[ladykailitha]

Icarus Part 25

Damn. I actually hate seeing that number up there. Because that means it's done. Eight months, twenty-five chapters, 52895 words, and one hell of a ride.

I'll start posting the sequel on Tuesday, and will post Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays until it's done. I hope to get it done before October's end. But that's not looking likely at the moment.

But once it's done, I will post the epilogue. This was actually written first and was a way for me to flesh out the band members. Then I just wanted to dive right in to writing the full story. A link to the original idea here.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24

~

The rest of the American tour while it had its ups and downs was pretty much was uneventful. When Steve got back to Cali, he got some actual therapy from someone Gareth’s therapist, Dr. Sam Owens recommended to him. To not only deal with the abandonment issues left by his parents and Nancy but to help deal with the sudden onslaught of fame.

It was going well.

It was the therapist that had strongly recommended going on the vacation with his two best friends. That really helped put his life in perspective.

They were out celebrating Gareth’s one year of being sober and everyone had been invited. Jeff, Brian, and Eddie, of course. Even Vickie made it out. Dustin, Will, Mike, Max, Lucas, Ellie, Hopper, Robin, all the members of The Fallen, sans persona. Gareth had really become friends with all of them, yes even Steve. Gareth and Shane became really close. It was nice to see.

“Cheers!” Jeff said holding up their glasses of sparkling apple cider that they had all brought to share.

“Cheers!” the rest of them cried, clinking their glasses together.

They had rented out a nice surf and turf restaurant for the occasion and everyone was catching up. The owner was a friend of Jonathan’s, Argyle Rivera. He had gotten his start with a pizza food truck and it just exploded.

“So what did you and Mike decide to do?” Steve asked when there was a lull in the conversation. “I know you two weren’t sure the last time I was in Hawkins.”

Mike and Will shared a bashful look before Mike said, “I wrote a children’s book and Will illustrated it. We sent it out to a couple of different publishers so we’re just waiting to hear back.”

“That’s amazing!” Dustin cried. “You guys are going to be awesome.”

“Yeah,” Will said brightly. “I finally convinced Jonathan into going in to photography at the local community collage and he’s doing really well.”

“Nancy is going to school, too,” Mike said quietly, knowing how most of the group felt about his sister.

Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Yeah? What is the once great Nancy Wheeler going to be studying?”

Mike perked up a little that someone had taken a interest in what he said. “She’s actually going into journalism. Especially to be a war corespondent. After everything rightfully fell apart after the incident with The Fallen and Corroded Coffin, she took a hard look at her life and decided she hated the person she had become. So she’s been in therapy and has gotten into her dream school of Emerson.”

“That’s good,” Steve said quietly. Robin gave his a hand gentle squeeze and he returned it with a grateful smile.

“What are doing next, Ellie?” Brian asked. “Designing more epic costumes for the rich and famous? I saw that dress you designed for Lupita Nyong’o for the premier of her new movie. That was a gorgeous shade of purple.”

Ellie’s face dimpled in the force of her wide, happy smile. “Something like that. I’m just glad the dress turned out so well. I’ll be heading back to New York, to stay this time. I got a job at a fashion house that I’m really excited for.”

“What about you and Dusty?” Lucas asked, tilting his head. “I thought things were going great.”

Both Dustin and Ellie share a blushing smile.

“We’re still together,” Dustin replied. “I’ll be in Boston and she’ll be in New York. We’ll going to try and make it work.”

Max nodded. “Long distance can suck, but if the other person is worth it you can make it work.” She nudged Lucas’s shoulder and he grinned back.

“So you didn’t get traded to Lakers like you wanted?” Gareth asked Lucas.

He shook his head. “Maybe next year. But in the mean time, Max has a couple interviews at Tony Hawk’s video game company as a mo-cap performer for the female characters in his games.”

Everyone oohed and ahhed and congratulated her.

“I don’t have the job yet,” she muttered, but happily soaked up the attention anyway.

Dustin turned to Steve and Robin. “When are you two going to do something with your lives?”

Eddie winced and Steve and Robin didn’t even have to glance at each other to be suddenly on the same wavelength of doom.

If this was an anime you would have have seen the dark waves behind their heads.

“We make good money doing what we do,” Robin said darkly. “Yeah, it’s a bit jack of all trades, but it’s fun. We’re never stuck doing the same thing. We get travel all over the world. We get to meet famous people and all the perks of fame with the drawbacks of having our privacy invaded on the regular.”

“Jack of all trades, but master of none,” Dustin said to be pedantic. “Don’t you guys want to do something specific, like a teacher or a doctor?”

Robin snorted. “No.”

Chrissy hand covered hers, and Robin gave her a squeeze back. She was fine, just annoyed.

“Yeah,” Steve said. “And I don’t why being a jack of all trades is bad thing. Focusing on one thing is great for the people who can do it, but I love the different jobs. Roadie one tour, PA another, then EMT the next. It’s great.”

Dustin frowned, stabbing his plate with his fork.

“My therapist says people are like plants,” Gareth said, “some people are trees and they grow up slowly. Some are bamboo and in the right environment shoot up super fast. But some people are like periwinkle and grow out sideways. Robin and Steve are like that. It’s still growth, just not the growth you want them to have.”

“I guess,” he huffed. He looked up at Steve. “Are you happy doing what you do?”

Steve and Eddie shared a glance. “Yes, for all its faults, I am very happy.”

He nodded and they went back to celebrating Gareth’s year of sobriety. But under the cover of the loud celebration and raucous laughter, Vickie and Simon chatted quietly to themselves.

~

Steve and Eddie lay on the bed in Eddie’s mansion curled up together after sex.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie asked Steve when he had curled up under his chin and held on tight.

“We were out celebrating,” he murmured, “and I couldn’t even tell them we were in a relationship.”

“Most of the people there already knew, babe,” Eddie murmured. But when Steve didn’t say anything it clicked. “You wanted to tell the kids. Especially after the bomb Mike dropped about Nancy moving on.”

Steve nodded.

Eddie scooted down the bed to look Steve in the eye. “Whatever you do or don’t tell them is entirely up to you I don’t care either way.”

“You don’t care that we’ll never get to go on dates or be seen holding hands or kissing?” Steve asked seriously.

Eddie shook his head. “Do you want to know why?”

“I guess,” Steve said with a half shrug.

“Because when I first got into the music business,” Eddie murmured, “I slept with anyone who would give a passing fancy.”

Steve looked up at him in confusion. “But I thought you already had a crush on me then?”

“I did,” Eddie confirmed. “But here’s the thing, sweetheart, do you know who’s partners get torn apart the most in celebrity relationships?”

Steve shook his head.

“Those with non-famous partners,” Eddie said. “If your partner is anything other than a C or B list celebrity when you’re an A-list, you get called out for ‘slumming it’ and their partners get called all sorts of nasty names, but especially ‘gold digger’. Which is the last thing I wanted for you.”

“Is that why you were okay with being with after you found out I was secretly famous?”

Eddie rose up and tackled Steve into the pillows. “You listen close, Steve Harrington. That was absolutely not why. I didn’t even show up with the flowers intending on confessing anything other than knowing your secret. It was like I suddenly saw all the facets of the diamond I’d been admiring for years and realizing any reason I had to not put myself forward were stupid.”

Steve blinked up at him in awe. “Oh.”

“Yeah, baby, ‘oh’,” Eddie huffed. “Continuing to protect you from the shame and humiliation of the slings and arrows of the media is my mission in life, okay? And if you ever decide to come out, either as bisexual as Steve or as Steve as Abbadon, I will be there for you. One hundred percent.”

Steve’s eyes welled up and he nodded. “Okay.” His lips quivered. “I love you so much. I just want you to be happy.”

Eddie kissed him fiercely. “I know you do and you make me very happy. The Fallen, Abbadon, being closeted? All that? That’s just a part of you that I love.” He bounced onto the bed. “In fact...”

He grabbed his phone and started going through it. “Eureka!” He turned the phone around to a paint of a night, shielding a maiden from the sun and a large crowd of people. This is us, babe. I am the knight and you are my maiden. I won’t get tired, or upset that you need protecting.”

Steve blushed. He sat up and pulled up his knees to his chest. “When we first started coming up with names for us, we didn’t originally all have the same letter.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Wait, really?”

Steve shook his head. “Spence was just Death. Shane was always Astraeus. Simon was struggling with finding a name that fit.”

“And did you have your name picked out?” Eddie asked gently, knowing where this was going.

He pursed his lips and nodded. “I didn’t think we’d make it this far. I really thought we would have crashed and burned by now.” He closed his eyes and hung his head. “Part of the myth with Icarus and the wax wings that people forget was that he was flying all over the place. That if he flied straight and true like his father suggested, he would have survived. But he flew too close to the seas as well as the sun.”

Steve sighed and then looked over at Eddie. “And that’s what I thought I was doing with the band. Flying too low with the fact that we were preps wanting to break into the metal scene and then flying too high with the personas and masks. I was going to not only wreck my life but the lives of people I cared about.”

He let out a low shuddering breath. “That maybe I should have listened to my father. To go to college, to get a degree in business, to fly straight.”

“So what changed your mind?” Eddie asked. “Other than Shane wanting everyone to have all the same letter as a middle finger to everyone trying to guess your identities, I guess.”

Steve let out a watery chuckle. “Shane reminded me of the beginning of Icarus’s story. That he had grown up in the labyrinth, never seeing the sky. How could his father had not seen that of course Icarus was going to play the second they were out? That, yes they were fleeing for their lives, but this was the first time his son had seen the sun, felt the breeze on his face and touched the waves on the sea.”

“But if Daedalus had played with Icarus instead of yelling at him, his father would have been able to keep him from getting too close to the things that would have harmed him,” Steve finished. “That he would have been there to catch his son when he began to fall.”

“So what was the lesson?” Eddie prompted.

“I wasn’t Icarus,” Steve said. “I was always free, I might have fallen from grace according to my parents, but that like God in the Christian story, they were cruel and cast me out because what they wanted for me wasn’t what I wanted.”

Eddie smiled. “So you became Abbadon instead. The one that fell but God still relied on to destroy the wicked. The opposite of Steve Harrington. The boy that rose up like a phoenix from the ashes to be better than his parents dreamed.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. Icarus was the first to fall mythos wise, but Abbadon was the one people fear coming back.”

Eddie pulled him close. “Well, you’re my angel, now. Fallen or not, I’m not giving you up for anything.”

Steve kissed him softly. “I’m putting a lot of trust you, Munson. Don’t fuck this up.”

Eddie laughed and kissed him fiercely. Then he proceeded to show Steve all the ways loved him.

Steve knew he might always have doubts and fears, but now he had the support system he always needed.

It was more than past time to fly and in Eddie’s arms there was no limit to how high he could go now.

And he wouldn’t want it any other way.

~

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence

3- @goodolefashionedloverboi @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child @blondie1006

4- @yikes-a-bee @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten

5- @genderless-spoon @y4r3luv @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt

6- @disrespectedgoatman @eyehartart @dawners @thespaceantwhowrites @tinyplanet95

7- @iamthehybrid @croatoan-like-its-hot @papergrenade @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars

8- @ravenfrog @w1ll0wtr33 @child-of-cthulhu @kultiras @dreamercec

9- @machete-inventory-manager @useless-nb-bisexual @stripey82 @dotdot-wierdlife @kal-ology

10- @sadisticaltarts @urkadop @chameleonhair @clockworkballerina @garden-of-gay

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 21 thoughts:

Well that was sure a turn around from last arc's "I'm going to rally the students so I don't get captured."

I know my daughter has made some . . . mistakes, but I'm not a fan of her turning herself into the openly corrupted and also bad at their job parahuman cops.

(Parahuman cops as in "cops who police parahumans" not "cops who are parahumans")

Like look, I get it. A precog told her to cut ties. I can't say it's wrong to follow that advice. But she could do that in a lot of ways that don't involve the PRT.

The second not from Dinah just being "I'm sorry" is brutal.

But before she can turn herself in she has to absolutely fucking crush the PRT/Protectorate for outing her civilian identity.

I love how fucking simple taking out the entire PRT headquarters was for Skitter and her girlfriends!

Who needs anyone else? Bitch brings muscle, Tattletale brings information, Skitter brings battlefield control. Lesbian polycule power activate!

Was it an overboard response? Maybe. Was it badass how she just took out so many heroes and PRT troops with ease? Yes.

Poor Dovetail has one of the most embarrassing introductions ever. First time we see her and Skitter is wiping the floor with her and thinking about her "crummy power".

God I hate Tagg so much that he makes me miss Piggot. Like she was absolutely terrible, but he's worse! And making me miss Piggot makes me hate Tagg even more!

Kindly old cemetery groundskeeper who doesn't pay much attention to the news! Never a bad trope.

They gave Butcher 15 to Cherish???!? Like sure they give all the reasoning for it but like ... it just seems like a really high risk situation. If she ever gets out it's going to suck. A lot.

THE SCENE AT RACHEL'S PLACE OH MY GOD!

SHE IS BUILDING A COMMUNITY! I LOVE HER SO MUCH!

Rachel just over here finding everyone like her and giving them a place. Legit crying. Look at that fucking growth!

(Also shout-out to my wife for having basically done the same thing. It's how I met her. It's how I met one of my girlfriends. And so many other important people. So ya. I fucking love this.)

Also you ever like a girl so much you try to give her an entire planet? Cause Taylor sure has.

"Rachel I don't want you to be sad when I'm gone so you can basically have this whole other planet we found."

GGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Imp let Regent take control of her . . . welp. Like, I'm not really surprised by this. And in a different situation I wouldn't even really find it that weird. I'd do it with the right person. But combination of age and the situation they are in and Regent being Regent annnnnd ya. Welp.

I did love how much of the interactions between Skitter and Regent/Imp really was just her struggling with parenting two teenage supervillains.

IT'S NOT SO EASY, IS IT CHILD?!? MAYBE YOU'LL CUT ME SOME SLACK AND LISTEN TO MY ADVICE IN THE FUTURE!

(She won't)

I fucking LOVE that she made the bible themed hero kneel. Absolutely fucking amazing.

Oh shiiit, Skitter just flat dropped that guy multiple stories. Is she going to far?

. . . wellll, these guys do literally worship the Endbringers so I guess a little aggression is ok.

Damn, Valefor sure has some fucked up powers, I wonder what they're gonna do abou-

. . .

. . .

. . . . . .

. . . wellll, these guys do literally worship the Endbringers so I guess a little aggression is ok.

. . .

Yep.

. . .

. . . I think I preferred when she just used a knife.

So anyway

Not a fan of Taylor having more alone time with Brian (not because I have any issue with the idea, but because I think she needs to be focusing on her girlfriends), but I am a fan of her using bugs to clean her dress and fix her hair afterwords while Brian just kinda sits there and has to contemplate what he has gotten himself into. Queen shit.

Flechette was SO mad that Parian wasn't "cute" anymore, I couldn't stop laughing. Sure, she said "You had to take the playfulness away? The joy?" but we all know what she meant. Of course, it's won't take very long for the new costume to get Flechette's attention. (I have to mention that this is basically exactly what I said when reading the scene, and the interlude a few chapters later just proved me right.)

Flechette is just so hopelessly gay

Miss Militia is actually getting very mild respect from me right now. Like, she's still working for the cops but she is actually agreeing to silently push against some things. Now, she says she doesn't have more power then that but she is a very well known hero and if she would publicly speak out about certain things there is a decent chance she could do more. That would of course be putting her position at risk though. Which is why she only gets very mild respect right now.

OH MY GOD I DIDN'T JUST GET TO SEE TATTLETALE'S MURDER WALL, I GOT TO SEE HER ENTIRE MURDER ROOM!

Fucking multiple bulletin boards with threads connecting them. Everything color coded. Reference numbers to files with more details. Multiple TV screens, computer with constant information dump. God. It's like a literal representation of the inside of my mind while I read Worm. SO MANY THINGS TO FIGURE OUT!

I love a lot of characters, but Tattletale always stays near the top. She gets me.

And from the fucking joy of getting to see that setup I come crashing the fuck down.

Like, I have completely figured out at this point that Skitter is turning herself in. I know what is coming. She's had her moment with everyone else and Tattletale is the last one.

And then. Then just . .

No goodbyes.

😭😭😭😭😭

HOW DARE THIS BOOK MAKE ME FEEL MY OWN FEELINGS!! I'M TOO GAY FOR THIS!

I do find it hysterical that the PRT officers working the front lobby don't all recognize Skitter on sight. Fucking gas station employees will manage to keep track of people with pictures on the "bad check" board, you'd think the PRT could manage to have their officers keep track of the face of one of the most well know villains in the country, if not the world, who also controls their city. PRT is forever bad at their job.

That one guy did notice her eventually though, so I guess he gets to be employee of the month.

The Number Man interlude thoughts:

The inside of this mans mind is one of the sexiest things I have ever seen and the constant reminder of the horrible things he is helping Cauldron do to all their prisoners was very helpful because it was the only thing keeping me from deciding that The Number Man is a perfect soul that can do no wrong.

I have no illusions here. I am weak. This man is a monster and I should not have any trouble remembering that.

But fuck shit fuck oh god fuck I don't even need him to touch me. I just need him to TALK to me. I just need him to get high with me and let me pick apart how his mind works!

He understood numbers, and through them, he understood everything.

That line. Absolute killer. Fucking take me.

. . . anyway yes it's a very interesting interlude!

Loved seeing more of the inner workings of Cauldron

I very much want to see the final level of their basement that only the Doctor goes into because I said that I thought Cauldron had a dead (for values of dead that are non-definable) higher dimensional being in their basement back during arc 15 and now I know for sure that there is something down there. I wanna know if I was right!

Oh my god he was friends with Jack

"Friends"

Look I make everything gay ok? It's not my choice! Sure it means I get to enjoy every tiny bit of Wolfspider and Chatterbug cause I see all of it. But it also means I see the ships I don't want to think about!

I men what was I supposed to think when Jack said “We can live this. Together. Every waking second…”?

Gay

Parian interlude thoughts:

And speaking of gay!

Fucking Flechette just full blown "Fuck all of this I want you to tell me what to do for the rest of my life!"

Full U-Haul lesbian.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

This is Parian's new costume having an effect.

Just so gay. I love it.

Also Bitch just so fucking ready to break Skitter out. So fucking gay.

And the incredible loyalty, which is gonna hurt if she ends up feeling betrayed by Skitter.

Still gay though.

Tattletale, basically without powers, just completely giving Accord the "fuck off, we're in charge" was amazing. All she had to do was promise to consider his binders and he was all in. This poor man just wants somebody to read his ideas! He's like a aspiring screenwriter just begging people to read his script.

[opennwindows]

HIII!!! Can you do masky as a father figure to emo/scene kid teens headcanons <33

A/N: OMG as i’m posting this i kinda realized i read the ask slightly wrong and wrote it as Dad!Masky with a emo/scene child and got carried away *sobs* but if this doesn’t hit the particular spot u need it to, i’ll totally rewrite it just for you!! just lmk and i’ll type away ( ◠‿◠ ) but i brought out my boy Suburban Dad Tim for this one.

Dad!Masky/Tim with a Emo/Scene kid hcs!

- tim’s a bit confused, but he’s got the spirit!!

- when he was in his teens he was around a bunch of trad-goth and punk friend groups, so he totally understands the importance of the alt community. i mean, dude was neck deep in mental trauma so he def wasn’t hanging out with the cheerleaders lol

“so i know this isn’t bring me the chemical romance or whatever, but this t-shirt is mine from highschool and i want you to have it. they’re called the cure-“

“dad i know who the cure is.”

“ohhh well aren’t you so dark and brooding.”

- will 110% pay for your hair dye and is always amazed with whatever styles you come up with.

- he can be quite sassy with his opinions though lol

“look, i’m just saying last time you did the blue roots with black hair it didn’t look like gerard way. it looked like gerard do not enter.”

“dad??????? what the hell”

- he’ll go to concerts with you pretending he’s just there to protect from a distance, but you both know he’s “secretly” vibing to the music. a true emo dad at heart.

- definitely will take vids to spam brian with.

- cannot understand scene genres like crunkcore to save his life though.

“why the fuck are they screaming over techno beats?????? put back on that pierce the veil band i like.”

- might have a mental breakdown when you ask him to take you to go get your first piercing though.

“YOU WANT A NEEDLE???? SHOVED THROUGH YOUR TONGUE???? slow down buddy, why don’t we start with a uhhh nostril or something.”

- he just wants to make sure that you can properly take care of it……. and he hates the thought of his little rockstar having to sit though any pain regardless of how small it is. will absolutely make fun of you if you cry after it though.

“haha you cried like a baby.”

“i got my septum pierced, it was a natural reaction”

“*already has brian on speaker phone* yeah dude they sobbed like a fucking LOSERRRR”

- you better pray no one dares to bully you at school, because masky and hoodie will be planning on scaring the compulsive normativity out of their boring teenage brains.

“dad why is brian by jacob’s car with a baseball bat?”

“don’t worry about it, he’s just gonna talk to him.”

“i’m literally watching him swing at the passenger side window-“

“it’s just a little chat, do you wanna go see a movie?”

- genuinely is invested in listening to all the emo band lore

“you can’t put the mcr poster next to your the used poster, why would you disrespect your wall like that?”

“i’m going to kidnap ryan ross and lock him in a studio myself if he doesn’t release some new music soon, i’m tired of hearing you cry about it every night.”

- tim knows how important it is to be fully accepted and loved for who you are growing up and he will fully embrace every part of it. he just really, truly loves you.

[yumeinati]

Seeing what my sister knows about the Mechanisms - Spoilers: Not enough

I love my sister, I do. She lets me rant to her about the Mechanisms 24/7. But the real question is whether or not she pays attention to what I say. I decided to quiz her and see how much she retains from our conversations <3

DTTM Spoilers/Talk

Starting off with everyone's favorite Captain First Mate!

Name: Jonny d'Ville | Mechanism: Blood | Role: Master at Arms

"He's cool I guess"

Not really surprised by her response to him, nor am I shocked she got his Mechanism wrong since when I first asked her to do this, she was like "I only know three of them. Jonny d'Ville, Nastya Rasputina, and Jonny Sims" and I had to remind her that two of those were the same person. Speaking of Nastya Rasputina!

Name: Nastya Rasputina | Mechanism: Lungs | Role: Pilot

"My favorite" Proceeded to give a thumbs up.

As I taught her, Nastya is best girl and deserves the whole world. I am rather shocked she got her Mechanism wrong as I once word vomited to her about mercury poisoning when I was plotting for a Nastya-centric fic, but its okay. Next up is Ashes!

Name: Ashes O'Reilly | Mechanism: Eyes | Role: Quartermaster

"They're cool, I like them"

Used the wrong pronouns but immediately realized and corrected herself before I had to so that's a win that she paid attention there. (We stan an ally <3) I talk about Ashes so much so I'm surprised that she got their Mechanism wrong but its okay, I still love her. Now to an Archivist who actually knows how to do her job (this is S1 Jon Sims slander, I am not sorry, he did not know what he was doing)

Name: Ivy Alexandria | Mechanism: Brain | Role: ????

"I don't really know...Ivy I guess is cool."

I don't talk about Ivy as much as I should, which I really should change because Ivy is amazing. When asked about why she was '????' she just went "I don't know...she has those vibes." which is 100% understandable. Time for the drumbot himself!

Name: Drumbot Brian | Mechanism: All but Heart | Role: Engineer

"Cool."

How does she not have more to say about him? He's been the focus of my rants since I got home from Uni on Sunday and all she has to say is 'cool'. Engineer is at least the closest she could get to Pilot, but I'm still a bit disappointed she didn't get all the answers right. On to her...absolute favorite, TS.

Name: Toy Soldier | Mechanism: All but Voice | Role: Archivist

"The Toy Soldier is the best character and there's no doubt about that."

Her answer came so quickly after I asked her how she felt about TS, I honestly can't say I'm surprised though. She thinks it's a silly little creature. Now to the man that I'm like 100% sure she has a love/hate relationship with, Tim.

Name: Gunpowder Tim | Mechanism: Heart | Role: First Mate

"Cool."

Once again, really confused about how she doesn't have more to say about him. He's literally carrying a huge gun so like, a tad confused on my she didn't think he was Master at Arms, but its alright. Funnily enough, she got the next two completely right, starting with Marius.

Name: Marius von Raum | Mechanism: Arm | Role: Doctor

"His arm is cool."

Applause for her getting everything correct. I force her to listen to The Wassailant in the car. There is no surprise she got his stuff right because I talk about Kofi, and by default Marius, so often. And finally, last but not least, Raphaella <3

Name: Raphaella la Cognizi | Mechanism: Wings | Role: Science Officer

"Just take off the wings and she'd be cooler. Just saying."

The disappointment when she said that was at its peak. I cannot believe that she would say that about the Raphaella la Cognizi and I will be making sure she changes her ways.

I'm not too surprised with Nastya and TS being her favorites, seeing as I talked about them most when I first got into Mechs, but the Raph slander was absolutely uncalled for </3

I also asked her some lore questions.

Q: What is the ship’s name? | A: Aurora

Q: Who is dating the starship, The Aurora? | A: Jonny

Q: Which Mechanism Mechanized themself? | A: Nastya

Q: Who was the first Mechanism? | A: Jonny

Q: Who were the last two Mechanisms to join the crew? | A: Marius and Ivy

Q: Who was the first Mechanism to die/leave the crew? | A: Tim

Q: Who was the last Mechanism to die, timeline-wise? | A: Jonny

Q: Which Mechanism died by death by Octokittens? | A: Brian

Q: Which Mechanism has a morality switch? | A: Brian

Q: Who had a ‘best friend’ named Bertie? | A: Jonny

Q: Which one is an arsonist? | A: Raphaella

Q: Which one blew up the moon? | A: Tim

Q: Which one is a cannibal? | A: Marius

All in all, somewhat disappointed in my ability to get this cemented into her brain </3 Glad she at least was able to match names to faces so I'm at least showing her enough photos of them, but I will definitely start talking to her about Mechs lore more because she needs to know and understand it all.

I will still say that a success is convincing her and my mom to do matching Life360 photos with the most iconic sibling duo and their mother <3

[scoonsalicious]

Sigh. This is like watching a whole car crash that's about to happen. You know it's about to get so messy but you can't look away. First off, I'm glad the J names is catching up with everyone hahaha i didn't think I'd actually start a trend with that one. Second, I always read everyone's comments and ask after the parts, and I think I can safely say that I feel like I'm alone in thinking that there's so much more to what happened than meets the eye. I mean, everyone, including Pocket has all the right to be angry at Bennet because what he did was assholeish behaviour. But I really do feel like I'm the only one who's holding out full judgment against him because again, there's missing pieces here. I honestly think Joana has a bigger play in this than Brian did it. Like yes, he still had a choice in having sex with her, and yes the articles was a happy accident, but the things before that, I just know there's something she did to Boston, and while I have my theories, I can't have a clear idea as to what it was exactly yet. So, I'll just have to wait for Chapter 27 (it's seems so far away but god, time flies. I mean we're at Chapter 20 already). And I hate to add the technically about the cheating since it doesn't really matter, but i will reiterate that it wasn't the deed that was truly hurtful to Pocket, it was the constant lying.

Now let me get to the confrontation. While reading it, I'm glad Pocket stood her ground and set a boundary that there's nothing he could do to fix this because it absolutely is looking like that right now. And I did side-eye him a little with the crying and reasons he was spewing because accident? Really? I was getting slightly annoyed to when he didn't come clean right away either. And then he just kept promising things again and again and it's honestly just a cycle at this point. Because yeah, in order for his promise to have any validity, he has to fulfill them first, and so far? He's fulfilled none. He was getting pretty desperate in that closet. But I also can't blame him. I do think this is good for him though, because this is how he will truly see how much hurt he put Pocket through. But then I took a pause and realized how distraught he was, and yeah he's losing the love of his life, but I also have a feeling there's so much more as to why he can't say exactly what happened. I mean, not that Pocket has given him any chance but, I just can't shake the feeling that something else is at play here. And I can't wait to see the truth come out.

Now, onto Pocket's actions after that. Sigh. I don't agree with it at all. But I can't blame her either. Still, I just know that if something were to happen between her and Steveioli, she's going to regret it and she's going feel disgusted with herself because essentially, she's stooped down so low. I would've been fine if it was any other man but Steve? i mean, I don't hate him as much as you guys lol but I'm looking at the fact that he's your ex's best friend. And yeah, I'm all for petty revenge, but since I can't bring myself to fully be angry at Benson, I'm not all for doing the deed with Steve. Because for one, it's proving to Billy that his fears were right. Yeah, it going to hit him were it hurts, but who are we sure that he finally will understand the pain he's put Pocket through? What if this is just going to reinforce his insecurity because they've essentially been proven right. And I just know Jerald is going to milk this whole thing, I can already see her being the instigator and being like "See what I said. I told you I was right." And while Byron should grow some balls and not believe a word she saying, he's angry and hurt and insecure and fragile, he's bound to get manipulated again.

two, this is going to hurt Pocket more than she thinks. Like, the aftermath of this isn't going to be pretty, and I'm honestly just worried about Pocket because I really do feel like her actions in this is going to haunt her and is going to be much more harmful to her than she knows. I really don't want it to, but I have a feeling that if she goes down this route, something is going to bite her back in the ass and god, I'm so worried because she's been through enough. Basically, I'm just saying, this is going to do more harm to her than any good. Like sure, she's going to have the short moment of triumph and feel good with that revenge. But after?

Overall, I'm honestly can't celebrate anything that's been happening because I have a really bad feeling about everything hahaha like I'm just reading everything and sighing out loud. Like i just know this is going to blow up, so i can't even take in the small victories, if there are any. I'm glad Pocket is having fun and letting loose on her birthday though, and that she's feeling all the love from everyone because she does have great friends and she is very loved. She deserves to know that and more. But again, I have a feeling that it's going to be short-lived.

Again, amazing as always! I can't wait to see were you're taking us. I'm just here to enjoy the ride. Lots of Love!

— Jnon 🤍

My beloved Jnon, I'm sorry for responding to you so late today! Yesterday? IDK. The J-names a are vibe, and we're all feeling it, so thank you, you magnificent trend-setter. I appreciate you holding out judgement against Barnacle until all facts have been presented. Jif Peanut Butter's influence on his is definitely strong, and we'll see just how she manipulates him later on. Pocket is in for a pretty major downward spiral going forward and, at the risk of entering spoiler territory, not all of it is going to have to do with Bucky. His emotions when she called him out on his tryst with Joffery Baratheon were legitimate, but he's got to learn his lesson that words aren't going to fix things; his actions will (and I do feel bad-- he was trying so hard between when they first broke up and the Russia mission to avoid Jade, he really was, and he was doing so good, too; an genuine effort was being made!). And, Bestie, if you think Pocket sleeping with Steveoli would be "stooping down so low," whew boy! Just you wait! We gotta hit rock bottom, baby. Things will definitely bite her in the ass, and do much more harm than good for awhile. We're getting into some dark times ahead! Truly not a lot to celebrate rn; except for maybe Chapter 22, which is a flashback chapter, and some of my favorite writing, lol.

[marblehornetscrew]

okay this question was definitely a given

what is UP between Alex and Jay?? I hate to question what happens behind closed doors but oh my god its PAINFUL to watch this

Another question, how do you fellas actually, y'know sustain yourselves? Do one of you have a have a good paying job or are we still being criminals?

I'm not quite sure, but I think there's something romantic going on. Alex just doesn't like to admit it, Jay told me he grew up in a pretty homophobic household that would slap him for saying a guy was pretty. I shot a short video after one of their fights, not the one today. They tend to get really physical in fights.

One second, I heard moaning, then Jay begging something then the two were screaming and fighting in their room. I think Alex might have crossed a line or Jay did, 50/50 chance, and the other got pissed and they started to fight, they fucked each other up pretty badly. In the nice way and bad way, it was clear Jay was super overstimulated which is why I guessed Alex fucked up first, I think Jay might have been begging him to stop, so yeah. Romantic but not very healthy. And for the money question, Tim has a construction job. I work at Waffle House. Jay is a photographer, and Alex likes to write stories and offer them to the local library for a little bit of money, kids like his stuff, which I find sweet. All together we just scrape by, I don't think when our landlord umps the rent it's for a good reason, we've all agreed he probably is on meth. - Brian :(

[exvangelicalrage]

It's Not Technically Gaslighting

Recently, in my travels, I came across this church sign: 

Back in my younger years, I would've seen this, nodded sagely, and said, "Yes. Putting jesus first, others second, and myself last is sure to bring joy. What a clever and profound statement." 

Not anymore. Now when I see a sign like this, at best, I roll my eyes. At worst, I go off on a tirade and end up turning around my car to take a picture of the sign so I can rant about it later online lol. 

So yeah, here we are.

This message communicates a belief that is so, so essential to modern christianity—which is that you should always put others first. Always. And it is especially emphasized for women, whose entire role in life is supposed to be that of service. 

Give, give, give, and never, ever take, they say. You don't want to be a burden, you want to be a blessing. jesus gave everything to save you, so you too should give everything in service to his "great plan." And they use jesus's words to emphasize the point as well: 

"Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all." mark something or other. "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of christ." galatians. "Now that I, your lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet." john. "...whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." matthew.

It goes on and on and on. And it's not just the gospels and paul (I fucking hate paul) who harp on it, but practically the entire old testament as well.

But there's a basic logical fallacy inherent in this idea of being the lowest of the low, of being the last of the last, which is this: if everyone is successfully "the last," then doesn't that technically make everyone first? And if everyone is trying to be a slave or a servant or at the bottom of the pile, who exactly is at the top? Maybe the people who want to be at the top? Aren’t the people who don't give a shit about being at the bottom going to slide into leadership roles? The people who are least qualified to be role models? The people who are the worst candidates for leadership? 

This creates societal pockets rife with abuse. This system is the perfect opportunity for predators to hunt. And there are so many prey. Everyone who is actually a humble person, who is actually trying to live a good life, everyone who wants to embody the servitude of christ—guess what? Simply because they are trying to be good and live life right, they are going to have to put up with a lot of shit from predators who want power and control. And those predators who benefit from their servitude? They’re going to milk it for all its worth.

That's how you end up with brian houstons and bill gothards.

When I was 17, I was part of the youth group band at my church. It was a mini-mega-church, as I like to call it. We had on average 800+ attendees every weekend, and the church functioned with a sort of corporate hierarchy, with a head pastor and sub pastors, and had the fancy lights and loud music and charismatic sermons you'd expect at a mega church. 

Sunday night was youth group, which operated like a full-fledged church service. Kids would come into the sanctuary and us, the band, would play popular christian music. We had a pianist (me), a drummer (my little brother), guitarists, a bassist, and singers. Sometimes we even had brass or woodwinds. They even had a light designer who would do impromptu light shows. And a haze machine. 

It was basically a weekly live music concert for teens that lasted anywhere from twenty to forty minutes. Then the youth pastor would get up and preach a youth-directed sermon. Usually the message was something along the lines of, "be christian in school!" "don't mouth off to your parents!" "don't masturbate!" 

My little brother also played in the adult band, because he was the best drummer in the county, despite only being 15. My family would arrive at church at 7 AM on Sunday mornings, sit through a rehearsal and three church services, and then go home for an hour or two, before returning by 3 PM for youth group rehearsal. We would rehearse until 5 PM, and then had to be performing the "welcome music" (just the musicians, not the singers) at 5:30. Then we played until 6:30, got a "break" for the sermon (during which we were required to sit in the audience), and then played again until 7:30 or 8 PM. At that point, we were responsible for tearing down our equipment, loading out, and shutting down the sanctuary.

They didn't provide food for us. Or drinks. If we wanted something, we had to buy it from the church kitchens. My mom was so upset by this, she started making a meal every sunday for all the kids who were in the band (there were usually 7 of us). 

There weren't volunteers to help us set up and take down our equipment. We didn't get money for maintaining our instruments or for gas, for driving back and forth from the church. We weren't allowed to take breaks.

I remember once during my senior year, I was exhausted. I hadn't gone home that day; I'd been at the church since 7 AM, and it was my fourth performance that week, between high school band/jazz band/church stuff. I just wanted to be alone for a few minutes. So during the sermon, I told my friends I was going to sit in the lawn outside the church and pray. 

I had been outside for less than five minutes when an adult volunteer came out and told me I wasn't allowed to be out there. I explained I was exhausted. That I was in the band. That I'd been there since 7 AM. That I just needed a few minutes to breathe. 

She told me it was against the rules, and that as a member of the band, it was my responsibility to sit in the audience and set a good example for the other teens. She made me go back inside.

I didn't know how to be angry back then, but I was just a little bit rebellious. I told her I had to grab my stuff from backstage. I found a dark corner and hid. One of my friends' dads, another adult volunteer, found me, gave me a little smile, and left me alone.

We were the first people to show up, and the last people to leave. We did manual labor. Emotional labor. We were on display as examples of "good christian youth." We were expected to be perfect, without blame.

We were servants.

There to obey. To do the bidding of the church. Not to obey god, but to obey the leaders who decided what god's bidding was. After all, we were only teens. How could we possibly claim to understand god's will?

And those humans, who claimed to know the will of god, exploited children for their own gain. They exploited us.

I know how to be angry now. But I can't deny there is a complex amalgamation of feelings whenever I think about this time of my life. Some anger, yes—rage, even. Sorrow too. And confusion, cognitive dissonance.

Because while yes, they exploited me, I also can’t deny that I liked being there. I liked playing the piano and performing. I liked spending time with my friends. I liked feeling like I was doing good work, like I was serving god, like I was needed and important.

But, it turned out, I wasn't important. I was a cog in an exploitative machine. 

As soon as I graduated, they brought in a younger pianist who was much more skilled than I. Most of my friends, I never heard from again. I never again heard from the youth pastor who I served so willingly. Nor the music pastor. Nor my sunday school teacher. Nor the adult volunteers whom I worked alongside every week. Even my friendships with the teens I played alongside lasted less than a year after I left.

They made me feel important, necessary, and needed. So that I would keep serving. So that I would continue to provide unpaid labor ranging from performing to cleaning to setting a good example for kids my own age. 

They exploited me.

That ever-present message of service and submission—it's not exactly gaslighting. They weren't trying to sow confusion, necessarily. They weren’t outright lying. But they were trying to get me to believe without question. To serve without question. To obey without question.

And it worked. For a time, at least.

As much as it hurt me, I'm lucky they abandoned me. If they hadn't, I might still be there. Sacrificing my health and well-being and happiness in the service of lies.

Here, I fixed the sign:

[plexiglassonion]

I love the fact we finally have a trailer for Midas Man and I'm happy with what they did with the casting and what the actors are doing for the most part. But part of me can't help but feel a little concerned about John's portrayl.

Obviously we haven't seen everything this John has in store because, well, film's not out yet, so I'm really only going off what we've been shown so far. But what we do have makes me feel a little worried that the John we get in this film will be sanitised. Like, the way he introduced himself isn't out of character for John, it's quite in line with his sense of humour and it feels very Get Back-esq. But I feel like it lacks bite? Now I'm not arguing all John portrayls need to show him being cruel or sarcastic at every second, but there's definitely an edge to him- like you aren't certain if his jokes are lighthearted or mocking you. He's the assertive type, and in every other biopic we see this shown in one way or another.

This John really seems quite. Tame? He seems a little like a goofball and, I'm not gonna lie it is quite adorable. the actor in that little hat in the trailer is to die for. But I hope these small parts of characterisation don't come at the expense of his complexity and messiness. I mean, we're not even gonna get the Barcelona trip which means John doesn't almost kill Bob Wooler at Paul's birthday, so there's that sort of... brushed past. Like, if you're gonna mention something in Brian's film that's related to Brian, you would mention that. Especially since Bob Wooler will be a fucking character in the film????? (It would be interesting if they do have John beat him up still without bringing Brian into it but that way it's just missing a huge chunk of it).

It seems to me like the actors main point of research for the role was indeed Get Back, where you hardly ever see John being very assertive (because John was tired/in midst of addiction/ in his Authentic and Open era), as well as a lot of the press stuff you get form the Beatle camp themselves where it's like "yeah John was really very sweet in private".

I do hope that my first impressions are really really wrong. John is a really fascinating character when on screen and makes for such great viewing. We only got one line from him in the trailer- a trailer which unsurprisingly showed more of Brian than anyone else obviously- so perhaps they just cut out any unsavoury John-ness as to not put anyone off.

Also this is not meant to be of any hate to the actor because he seems like he really will be great in the role, he does capture the soft parts of John rwallu well. If we do get a polished-up John (which I sure hope we don't) it will really be on the studios involved and scriptwriters.

[s10127470]

A response to myst1calx

So a few weeks ago, a made a post titled The MCU Synergy Problem.

In that post, I discussed how a lot of Marvel's projects during the 2010s and 2020s have been somewhat dragged down by being constantly forced to be adjacent to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

If you want to check it out for yourself, here's the link to it below.

As of right now, the post has gotten six likes and a reblog.

However, the reblog I got was essentially a written response.

And somewhat hostile one.

And weirdly enough, it was from one of the six people who liked the post.

So I'm not sure on whether or not they actually liked it or they hated it.

From the way the reblog was written, it seemed like they didn't really like it.

And in addition to that, they're also a sense of confusion as well.

So today, I decided to make a response to the person that did the reblog: myst1calx.

I'm going to respond to all the points they brought up in their reblog while trying to be as civil as possible.

Though there may be a point in this where I do seem pretty angry.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's get started.

"ok but the shows in the 2010s didnt suffer from mcu synergy because they activley fought against it"

This one is a both right and wrong.

Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man (2017) are really the only shows that didn't suffer from MCU synergy.

Spidey hadn't been introduced into the MCU yet when Ultimate came out and when he was, it was during Ultimate's final season.

When Spidey wouldn't even get his own movie in the MCU until after Ultimate ended.

And Spider-Man '17 surprisingly didn't really have a whole lot of MCU influence despite lasting for most of Spidey's MCU trilogy.

It took more influence from Brian Michael Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and Dan Slott's run on Amazing Spider-Man.

Avengers Assemble, despite being created just to ride off the success of the first Avengers film, didn't really have a whole lot of MCU synergy at.....for the first two seasons.

But I'll touch on that a little later.

Guardians of the Galaxy.

Dude, out of all the Marvel shows of the 2010s, this one was undoubtedly the most blatant with the MCU synergy.

I mean, just look this promotional poster.

Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. also has blatant case of MCU synergy, but in a more subtle and honestly, sinister way.

The show was about the titular Agents of S.M.A.S.H. learning how to be a family and fighting off bad guys with a variety of high-tech gadgets.

Not exactly something you would think of from a show about the Hulk of all characters.

But let's turn our attention to the villains of this show.

Out of all the villains, this show only really features 7 of the Hulk's foes.

The Leader, The Abomination, The Absorbing Man, Titania, Wendigo, Xemnu and Maestro.

Yeah! No Wrecking Crew, U-Foes, Zzzax, Madman, Bi-Beast, Gargoyle, Flux, Grey Gargoyle, Umar, Nightmare, Man-Beast, Ravage, or John Ryker.

Now compare this to the other villains included in the show.

Besides the Hulk associated villains, the other villains in show include the likes of Annihilus, Blastaar, Ego the Living Planet, Laufey, The Mole Man, Doctor Doom, Galactus and his heralds, Impossible Man, Loki, Malekith the Accursed, Dormammu, Sauron, Ronan the Accuser, The High Evolutionary, The Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, Pluto, and The Supreme Intelligence.

Upon reading this, you probably that most the villains listed here are predominately connected to the Fantastic Four, not really Hulk himself.

This, along with the aforementioned focus on family and use of technology, has led many people to theorize that Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. was originally meant to be a new Fantastic Four cartoon, but was changed to be a Hulk cartoon at some point development.

The potential reason for this was that this show did come out right at the beginning of Marvel's "The Fantastic Four and X-Men don't matter anymore" phase because of the whole movie rights bullshit.

And while there hasn't been any official confirmation about this theory from any who has worked on the show, the connections are still quite apparent.

As for why they decided to make Hulk the star of the show instead if they couldn't use the Fantastic Four, I guess besides the fact he's among the most prominent allies of the Four, it was because he was the only other option that people could see working with this premise.

The other ones that could possibly fit this would be The Avengers and maybe Spider-Man, but they already had their own shows going on around that time.

So all in all, the MCU synergy did affect most of the 2010s shows.

Some were definitely more apparent than others, but still.

"if you wanna make the claim that its all mcu synergy, you can see it starting in 2017, not 13"

Now this one is weird because a good chunk of the MCU synergized elements that occured in the comics happened before 2017.

-The current, obviously MCU-inspired Loki was introduced in 2011

-Hawkeye with the tired dad energy was introduced in 2012

-The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver happened in 2015

-Literally everything with the Guardians of the Galaxy in 2015

I think maybe they were trying to say that the MCU synergy became more apparent starting in 2017, which.....yeah, they are kinda right about that.

But I reason I say this is a weird statement is because what myst1calx says later in their reblog.

Which I'll get to.

"also advertising doesnt always mean mcu syndication slop dude"

Dude, I never said anything about the advertisement for the MCU being the same as MCU synergy slock.

Advertising for the MCU is perfectly fine. I mean, Marvel would want their project to do well, right?

But the problem is using a piece of Marvel media that isn't connected to the MCU and having it resemble the MCU.

It just doesn't allow it the product to stand on it's own.

"like dont bring avengers assemble and aos and usm into this"

Why shouldn't?

Avengers Assemble does play a part in the MCU synergy problem.

I didn't even mention Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at all in my post.

And for Ultimate Spider-Man.....

I only brought up the comic for a point I was making about a weird similarity I noticed between most modern non-MCU projects and most recent Spider-Man media.

And if we're talking about the cartoon, I literally just said it didn't suffer from any MCU synergy at all.

"this is entierly a thing that started with the 2017 uni and it comics. just correcting because i'm tire dof the whole “ mcu syndication rhetoric” when talking about aa it's so fucking annoying"

The MCU synergy has been around before 2017, they think were just saying that it became before prominent and explicit than before.

But the whole "MCU syndication rhetoric" when about AA.....

While yes, Avengers Assemble may not have the most blatant case of MCU synergy out of the non-MCU TV shows of the 2010s (Guardians of the Galaxy say "hi" again.), it's hard not to mention it as it does play a big part in that show.

From the content within the show, to literally why the show was made in the first place.

"look at the comics or anything from like. idk 2017 onwards."

This one I do agree (sort of).

I don't what the comics have to do with AA (they're completely different continuities), but I do know that the MCU synergy has gotten worse with the comics since 2017.

I mean for God's sake, the latest case of this was just last year with Ms. Marvel being retconned into a mutant.

"like you COULD make a claim abt this but honestly i see it more as you guys just not liking new shit"

But I like some of the new Marvel shit.....

the Insomniac Spider-Man games, the Spider-Verse films, Midnight Suns, those Marvel animes, and that upcoming Marvel Rivals game.

Hell, I actually like Avengers Assemble as well.

I know I didn't mention it in my post, I actually do like this show a lot.

I know it's not as good as the show that came before it, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but I still acknowledge it merits and enjoy it as its own thing.

But most of the other non-MCU projects I'm just not that wild about.

Since let's be real, they're kinda just.....

"like being fr, have you ever watched or played any of these games or do you see that at face value"

Yes, I have watched and played both Avengers and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.

And both of these are just not that good.

While they're definitely not the worst games ever, they're just nothing really home to write home about.

For Avengers, this game was pure wasted potential.

I mean, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics had access to an IP that at the time of acquiring it, had over 50 years worth of history!

That IP had hundreds of comics with numerous storylines worth adapting, an enormous roster of characters, a multitude of other iterations to easily take some influence from, and most of all, a movie franchise that helped make it into the powerhouse it is today.

But with all that, they found some way to screw it up!

The plot is nothing home to rave about. It's just you're standard "getting the band back together" plot.

The graphics are....passable. Just your standard very realistic-looking game.

The gameplay is repetitive as all hell and fails at making any of the characters feel distinct from one another.

The bonus content is a total joke. I mean putting aside the obvious micro-transactions, most of the purchasable costumes absolutely suck. They're either just half-assed attempts at recreating outfits from whatever source material they came from, or just recolors of each other.

And most of all, the game has some of the most pitiful representation of the Marvel Universe ever put to screen.

I mean, can you name any notable locations from the comics that was featured in the game?

The only one was Wakanda, but even that could've been done a little better.

There was no Asgard or any of the other Nine Realms, no Latveria, no Kamar-Taj, no Dark Dimension, no Atlantis, no Savage Land.

Hell, we don't even get to go to New York! Despite the fact that like 90% of the Marvel characters are based there.

All we got were primarily generic-looking bases, deserts and forests (occasionally with some snow).

And in my post, I mentioned that there was a list of playable characters planned to be in the game.

In addition to Spider-Man and Hawkeye, this list included the likes of Ant-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Captain Mar-Vell, Daisy Johnson, Doctor Strange, The Falcon, Kate Bishop, Mockingbird, Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk, The Vision, The Wasp, War Machine, and the Winter Soldier.

But only five characters from that list made it into that game, plus the Jane Foster Thor, which let's be real, that was only done just to coincidence with the release of Thor: Love and Thunder.

You can't tell me that the roster we got by the time the game finished updating was better than the one that was initially planned.

And I reason I say this game was pure wasted potential was because.....look at who the Avengers have had as members over the decades!

People don't seem to know this a lot or ever really acknowledge it, but the Avengers are like a melting pot, as they've had members from basically every corner of the Marvel Universe!

Heroes from the mystical side like the aforementioned Doctor Strange, Hercules, Black Knight and White Tiger.

Heroes from the cosmic side like the aforementioned Captain Marvels, Monica Rambeau, Moondragon and Nova.

Several street-level heroes like the aforementioned Spider-Man, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and Shang-Chi.

A couple of mutants have been members like Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch and even members of the X-Men, namely Wolverine, Beast and Storm.

Hell. Literally every member of the Fantastic Four has been a member of the Avengers at one point!

Like, does anyone else see the potential I'm bringing up?!

There could've easily been several DLCs that got to explore much greater Marvel Universe.

But alas, we never got that....

As for Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite....

Jesus....

Apart from the admittedly decent gameplay, there's just nothing else good about this game.

The graphics totally suck. They threw away the gorgeous cel-shaded, comic book-inspired look from 3: Fate of Two Worlds for this bland, kinda ugly pseudo-realistic look for the sake of just like damn-near everything else in that game: MCU synergy.

Not to mention they look pretty cheap, especially in the cutscenes.

The reason being that this game had a pretty low budget.....and it really shows.

The music was mid, since, once again, they changed many of the characters themes in order to make it more MCU-inspired.

And while I do respect that this game is the first one in the series to have a story-mode, it's unfortunate that the story-mode sucks.

The plot was just so lame and was obviously riding the hype for the then-upcoming Avengers: Infinity War.

And I already brought up the absolute disgrace of a roster and the behind-the-scenes drama of this game in my poster.

All in all, these games may not be the worst games of all time, but they're just not worth anyone's time or money.

If you like these games, more power to ya.

"because i see more misconceptions about characters in deisgn and charaterizations in the 2010s morethan anything"

I'm not sure about this one.

Most of the stuff I said about the designs and characterizations in the comics is largely truly.

But maybe one of them was possibly exaggerated and not nearly as prevalent as most people make it out to be.

"and the thing is is that marvel will just keep doing this bullshit because you guys keep buying into it"

I just pointed it out that most of the stuff on the designs and characterizations is largely true.

It almost feels like they're trying to downplay just how prevalent the MCU synergy is in the comics.

Which is weird since they just admitted early with how prevalent the MCU synergy is in the comics!

And also.....

Fuck off with that bullshit.

Don't blame this on the fans.

They're (mostly) not the ones clamoring for this MCU synergy!

Marvel is doing this on their own term and are obviously doing this to appeal to more contemporary fans who got introduced to Marvel through the MCU.

And as I mentioned in my post, I'm convinced that the people at Marvel believe these guys have never heard of the word: adaptation.

Not only that, but they also seem to believe that these fans will get confused that the comics don't line-up with the movies 1-to-1.

And trust me, this isn't the first time something like this has happened with Marvel.

"this doesnt work for most of the shows pre 2016 in the 2010s marvel area because they didnt suffer from it until marvel started forcing it on them for maximum profits #which then ended up biting them in the ass when avengers assemble fans dropped the show after relazing that s5 became shitty mcu syndication"

Now this part is true.

The MCU synergy started to become much more prominent roughly around 2016/2017.

I already went into how this negatively affected stuff like Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, but let's head back to the main focus of this part, Avengers Assemble.

Although AA was created to obviously ride the wave of success caused by the first Avengers film, it surprisingly had very little MCU synergy....for, as I mentioned earlier, the first two seasons.

The only examples I can think of from the first two seasons was when they recreated the Chitauri in the Impossible Man, and a few references that got turned on their head like when Hulk tries to punch Thor, but he blocks it with Mjolnir.

But when season 3 came around....that's when everything changed.

During that season, it was pretty apparent they were really striving to be more like the MCU than in prior seasons.

The season featured Ultron as the main antagonist be he was in the latest Avengers movie at time, Age of Ultron.

Despite the fact that when the season premiered, Age of Ultron for almost a year at that point....

The Avengers got new outfits, pulled directly from the movies.

Hulk and Black Widow had something going on between them....like in the movies.

Klaw, who first appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man (which is connected to AA), receives a major redesign, looking like how he did in the movies, whereas before, he looked like how did in the comics.

The last four episodes were based off Civil War (I wonder why?).

They move their headquarters to a compound....once again, like in the movies.

And they predominately featured the Inhumans as recurring characters, since this was back when Marvel were trying to push them as the next big characters in order to replace the X-Men and promote their then-upcoming movie.

Which ended up getting cancelled and got replaced by a shitty TV show....which was cancelled after just one season.

In Season 4, this synergy was thankfully less present.

There was aforementioned Falcon redesign.

And Doctor Strange got one as well, to look more like how he did in the movies.

But then came along Season 5....

Dear God....

Not only was the MCU synergy just as prevalent as it was in Season 3 (maybe even more so, especially with the fact that it was heavily focused on Black Panther), but it even took place in a completely different continuity.

Yep! Season 5 was completely removed from the previous 4 seasons!

And to make matters worse, it was set in the same universe as Spider-Man 2017.....and Guardians of the Galaxy!

Which itself was connected to the first 4 seasons of AA.

HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK?!

"this didnt START from the 2010s. it started midway throu"

Once again, the MCU synergy has been around since the early 2010s.

It was only at the midway point of that decade where started to become more prevalent than before.

And outside of the comics, the earliest case I think of for this was with EMH, which had Iron Man acting exactly like how he did in the movies.

Hell, even Hulk looked pretty similar to how he did in his solo film everybody forgot about.

"and creeped its way in because you guys LET IT HAPPEN"

Once again, fuck off with that bullshit.

"half of the things mentioned arent even mcu syndicationy they just suffer from current realisitc game trends that we are the norm"

I can definitely tell they're talking about Square Enix's Avengers.

But in all honesty, but game didn't really have a whole lot of MCU synergy.

It was still there, specifically with how the characters look.

I mean, everyone has said it before, but the Avengers looked like the stunt doubles for the MCU actors.

But it wasn't as prevalent as some of the other Marvel media to feature it.

Doesn't really make it much better though.

The game is honestly sort of a Schrodinger's video game, where doesn't take much from the comics or any other iterations of the Avengers, but doesn't take much from the MCU either.

"like what is your point here? “oh not every marvel property is the same is the comics” dude nobody buys comic shit because they arent as easy to get into the manga you guys perpetuate this shit and then wonder why cb fandoms are always filled with normies"

And here we are....

Now this is the last part of the reblog, and the one that really annoys me the most.

My point of that post was to show how not only was the constant MCU synergy incredibly tiring, but also been doing a lot of harm to their recent projects that aren't connected to the MCU.

Like, Avengers Assemble could've gone down as one of the greatest Marvel cartoons ever made!

But it got bogged down by the MCU synergy of the later seasons.

So much so that the final season wasn't even connected to the previous ones!

And now, it's usually just seen as the "we have the MCU at home" show.

And I do I even need to bring up Infinite into this?

And not only that, but it's also been bringing out the worst in Marvel.

I mean, just look at my post and read up on how much they made Capcom suffer during the production of Infinite.

But the synergy has not only harmed potentially good projects and lead to promising upcoming projects to be thrown to the Shadow Realm, but even good projects in unintentional ways.

The Guardians of the Galaxy video game was really good and the people who played it all agreed that this was what Avengers should've been!

But despite the positive reception, the game ended up flopping hard.

And while this was largely thanks to the failure of Avengers (since Guardians was also produced by Square Enix), I feel like the growing annoying towards MCU synergy may've played a part in this as well.

Since remember: out of all the characters of Marvel, the Guardians have been the ones undoubtedly changed by the MCU the most.

It's like....not even a contest.

And not only is this synergy doing harm to their non-MCU projects, but also gonna start (and it's possibly already has been) doing harm to the Marvel brand itself.

This is largely because of how homogenized they've made everything, which is not gonna be helping them because of rapidly declining interest in the MCU (aka Marvel Fatigue).

I mean, last year was just not a good year for them.

Besides Guardians of the Galaxy 3, two other films that released that year (Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels).

Both those films were met critically with what could be described as a resounding "meh".

But the real damage came in their box office.

Quantumania was a box-office disappointment, grossing $476.1 million worldwide against a gross production budget of $326.6 million, being one of the few MCU films not to break even in its theatrical run.

And The Marvels.....

Oh man, The Marvels....

That film was a box-office bomb! Grossing $206 million worldwide against a gross production budget of $274.8 million. And it now holds the record for being the lowest-grossing film in the franchise's history!

That had to be hurting Marve!

And it seems so as just recently, Marvel Studios announced they would be limiting the amount of MCU projects they release a year.

And while Marvel largely targeted towards the MCU itself, I feel like could also potentially start harming non-MCU projects.

Since let's be real, one of the many issues people have had with the recent MCU is how formulaic and generic it's become.

From the trademark forced and frankly mediocre humor, to having damn-near every threat be potentially world-ending.

I'm pretty sure the same could be applied to what people usually expect from a modern non-MCU project.

It's gonna have a semi-realistic art-style.

It's gonna feature the big characters (Avengers, Guardians and Spider-Man) featured in the MCU and barely anyone else (Fantastic Four, X-Men, street-level heroes).

They're all gonna be wearing their MCU outfits.

Every character is gonna be a quippy asshole (expect the ones who are suppose to be quippy assholes like Hawkeye and Spider-Man).

And it's gonna have a world-ending threat, with either Loki or Thanos as the main villain.

(Maybe Ultron if you're lucky)

And if this keep going, I'm sure Kang the Conquerer will essentially become the next villain to always be the main villain.

Well, if he's still going to be used in the MCU....

On to the next point.

“oh not every marvel property is the same is the comics”

Okay.

This has been a topic of debate when it comes to comic book adaptations for years.

Whether or not all comic book adaptations should strive to be like, 100% faithful to the source material.

To me, I think the answer to this is, in the words of the Pirate Captain,....

If this is for a series like Watchmen, 300 and Invincible, I feel like you should definitely make the adaptation as faithful as possible.

But even then, there would be definitely be some changes to the source material, since they would have story elements that were either weak or just plain bad.

Basically, maybe people's ideas on adaptations is to utilize what works, and either strengthen or get rid of what doesn't.

But when doing an adaptation for the big dogs like DC and Marvel.....this is where things get really tricky.

Because DC and Marvel have ongoing continuities with no end in sight, doing a largely faithful adaptation of any of their characters' stories would be an absolute nightmare since that characters will often have literal DECADES of history, plus hundreds to thousands of comics to read in order to understand said history.

If you've noticed, a lot of adaptations of DC and Marvel aren't exactly 1-to-1 adaptations of the stories from the comics.

But the reason why they're held in such high regard is because in spite of that, they manage to stay faithful to the spirit, tone and characterizations of the comics.

And even then, they will still adapt storylines and elements from the comics, but just little more streamlined.

Essentially, the best way I can describe how adaptations of DC and Marvel work is that they use the comics as a basis (along with other iterations) and essentially strive for something that's familiar while still being different.

For example, let's look at some of the Batman cartoons.

Although having some similarities, the three shows I'm about to bring up are still largely different from each other.

Batman: The Animated Series focused on the adventures of an already experienced Batman (having been at this gig for years and already knowing his villains) and his relationships with those around him.

The Batman, while somewhat similar to its predecessor, is focused on a younger and slightly-less experienced Batman learning to become a better hero.

And Batman: The Brave and Bold, is completely different from the prior two shows as it's focused on Batman's adventures interacting with the much greater DC Universe, specifically the lesser-known side.

But despite that, from watching these shows, you can still tell that they all used the comics (along with other iterations) as a basis and just built upon that in unique ways.

Contrast that with many of the non-MCU projects/products of the 2010s, which were obviously using the movies as a basis....and nothing really else.

And not only is this limiting to what these projects could do, but it's also kind of disingenuous.

Remember, the Marvel characters existed DECADES before the MCU even came around.

But to see Marvel not really even bothering to utilize said source material (in addition to constantly trying to alter it for the sake of brand synergy) is kind of a dick move.

And as I stated before, they're obviously doing to this to appeal to a certain demographic.

All companies have done this before.

And that certain demographic are the people who got into Marvel via the MCU.

And that leads us to the tail end of this part.

I get it.

It's REALLY hard to get into comics, specifically of the big two: DC and Marvel, especially the latter.

This is largely because of how long their characters have been around.

And if that wasn't intimidating enough, these characters will often have multiple runs (sometimes running at once) and that can last to hundreds, even thousands of issues!

Though not all comics books are like that.

Namely the limited series ones.

Hell, even franchises that have had multiple comic runs like Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Sonic the Hedgehog surprisingly don't have this issue.

In spite of having multiple comics runs, the reason they don't suffer is because each one (no matter how long they've ran for) usually takes place in a completely different continuity from the other.

And also, using the term "normies" is so lame and kind of insulting.

I mean, I thought that term died back in like 2016.

A better term for these people would be "contemporary fans".

But anyway, contemporary fans shouldn't be blamed for people not buying comics much anymore.

If anything, the blame should be more placed towards the companies themselves for not really having anything that could help ease them into the world of these characters and, as I mentioned before, constantly changing the continuity of the comics in order to make it easier for those fans to get into (which ironically I think actually makes it harder).

Like, remember back in the 2000s and the early 2010s, when Marvel used to have to storybooks, novels and encyclopedias that went into detail on the backgrounds of the Marvel characters.

I'm pretty sure that helped a lot of contemporary fans of that era get a good understanding of the Marvel characters.

And I'm sure it can work for the contemporary fans of today as well.

Well that's all I have to say.

This isn't meant be a call-out post, I just wanted to response to the points myst1calx brought up in their reblog.

And while writing for this, I kinda feel like I should've gone more in-depth on some of my points in the original post.

And even then, I do feel like they are confused on some points I made in the post.

But anyway, myst1calx, if you are reading this, I do hope we can reach a better understanding on this whole topic.

And if I sounded somewhat angry at some points, I do apologize for that.

But other than that, I'm gonna go eat something to eat.

Peace.

[scary-lasagna]

Hello! Could I get Brian/Hoodie comforting his partner after being misgendered who struggles with their body image and such because they often get misgendered. Like, they feel that no matter what they do, they'll never be seen as the gender that they identify with? (It's been hard recently, and need some fluff from my favorite boy)

Brian

"Hey...Hey, are you alright?"

You lay curled up in a little depression ball in your bed, the squeaking giving away your hiccups of tears and quiet screams.

Brian gingerly approached the bed, and the smell of the forest that lingered on his clothes blew toward you from the ceiling fan pumping away.

The bed depressed as Brian took his seat, leaning over the covers to place a hand on your arm.

You didn't reply, and simply tensed, another silent cry expelling into your pillow.

Brian sighed and kicked off his boots, then scooted over the covers toward you. He reached over your trembling body, and placed a soothing palm against your hot forehead.

"How are you?" His voice held a certain airy smoothness to it, like nothing was wrong at all. “Hm?” He continued to press gently, needing a starting point in order to help you the way he knows how.

His cool hand felt relieving against your puffy face, and you sucked in a shaky breath, but couldn’t dare to muster the strength to speak.

Brian took a sigh himself, and crawled in under the covers behind you. His firm arms scooped you toward him, giving a good squeeze before relaxing around your torso.

“I’m not quite sure what’s bothering you right now, and I won’t ask if you’re not willing to tell, but I have a feeling that I know what it’s about.”

You didn’t reply, but you did shimmy enough under the covers to where you could turn over and bury your face deep into that forest-scented yankee candle smelling jacket of his.

“I know who you are. You know who you are. And everyone else can shove it.” He pets your hair back, and gives you a kiss on the forehead.

Brain continues taking as you meekly look up at him, feeling safest in your vulnerable state, “You’re always going to be your own worst critic. And one day you’ll go beyond the need of validation from others. You’ll be free of their blindness to see who you really are, and frankly, you won’t care what they call you, because you’ll know exactly who you are.”

A classic Brain smirk plasters his face. A signature “It’s going to be alright” face.

He pauses and thinks. “It’s kinda like if someone came up to your and said ‘Your skin in purple!’, but you’re confused, because your skin isn’t purple, so you write them off as crazy and continue shopping for lettuce at Krogers.”

You speak up for the first time, your voice cracks from the crying but still carry the air with a joke, “Why are people harassing others in the lettuce isle?”

“I just think lettuce makes a lot of people angry these days, it’s something in the pesticides.”

You manage a weak laugh, hating for easily he can crack a good joke in the darkest of times.

“How about you stay in bed for a little bit more, I’ll grab you some water, and we can go shopping tomorrow for whatever gives the most euphoria. And Hell, if that means Hot Topic pronoun pins, then so be it.”

[madsworld15]

Chapter 4 Section 2 of Heal Me, Hold Me, Make Me, Know Me.

QAF Brian/Justin. Asexual Spectrum Representation. Series Retelling AU.

Thanks always to @winderlylandchime @maryp50 and @lostcol for supporting me! Enjoy!

~~~~~

Brian watched Justin leave with his bag in hand. He wanted to tell the young man that he cared about him, that they were still good. He needed to tell Justin that he was simply in a terrible headspace because he’d been forced to spend the day with his mother attending her extremely homophobic church. Brian knew all of these things should’ve been explained and that Justin would understand if he did, but his ego wouldn’t let him.

Instead, he was left in his loft alone but desperately wishing he wasn’t. For the first time in his life he hated that he wasn’t sharing his personal space with someone else. He wanted Justin to come back so much it hurt. He needed Justin almost as much as he needed air.

Woah. That’s a dangerous thought.

Brian rubbed his hand across his mouth and decided he would much rather be anywhere else right now, but he didn’t know where he could go at 3am. Most of his haunts were starting to close up shop. He needed a drink, but he also kind of wanted a bowl of warm, carb-filled pasta.

Without another thought he headed to his Jeep so he could drive over to Deb’s. He was sure that was where Justin might’ve gone too, but he wasn’t going to push things with the young blonde. No, right now he needed his mom — the only true mom he’d ever known.

She opened her door with a stern look on her face after his second rap. Without a word she let him in. Upon closing the door behind him she reached up and smacked the back of his head. Brian didn’t even complain because he knew he deserved it. The smack also let him know that she knew everything that had happened, which meant he wouldn’t have to explain himself.

Brian trudged into the kitchen where Vic sat at the table. He had a mug of tea in front of him while he picked at a slice of cake.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Vic looked up at Brian, “What’s your excuse, Kinney.”

Brian shrugged and sat down. “Take your pick.”

“Saint Joan or fucking with the one person who believes in your goodness beyond reason. Yeah I’d say either one is going to piss you off and make you look like a shithead.” Vic raised his mug to the younger man. “But we both know it’s all a self-deprecating front to keep yourself safe.”

Debbie walked into the room and gave a scoff. She crossed to the fridge and pulled out a Tupperware.

“Chicken Baked Ziti?” Debbie offered the Tupperware toward Brian who silently nodded.

She dished some into a bowl and threw it in the microwave. Brian knew from the silence that she was going to let him have it once she was ready. It was something he wasn’t looking forward to and he hoped she’d let him eat some pasta first.

A few minutes later, Debbie sat down next to him and slid the bowl of warm cheesy pasta in front of him. Brian immediately dug in and without having to ask, Debbie also placed a beer in front of him.

“I know seeing your mother is its own special brand of torture, but to take it out on Justin…” Debbie started once he was halfway done with his food.

“Stay out of it.” Brian turned to glare at her.

“Now you listen here you little shit.” Debbie wagged her finger at him. “You came to my home which gives me every right to protect that boy! I care about him. All you care about…”

Brian pushed the bowl away and reached for the beer. He knew she knew him better than anyone, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Getting my dick sucked. Yes, Emmett and Justin made it very clear. Can we please talk about ANYTHING else?!”

“You seem to have forgotten that you came to my house. And I don’t want to see Justin hurt.” Debbie practically yelled at him.

Brian found his mood teetering closer to annoyance than sympathy or regret for his actions.

“Well, that’s life. Better he learn it now.” Brian shrugged, putting his wall up hoping it would stop Debbie or Vic but it didn’t.

“I know you don’t actually feel that way.” Vic muttered under his breath. Barely drawing attention to himself. Brian looked toward him with a glare.

Part of him had hoped coming here would mean comfort carbs and an understanding presence. While the other part, the part he was most at war with, hoped Debbie would read him the riot act and allow him the ability to show how awful he actually felt about his actions.

“You think you’ve got everybody fooled, don’t you? Well not me, honey. I’ve known you too long and regrettably too well.” Debbie took on a softer, more motherly tone. “And no matter how hard you try to deny it, I can tell you care as much about him as he cares about you.”

Brian bit his lip and looked over to make eye contact with the woman. He fiddled with the label on the bottle before him.

“Only you ain’t got the big hairy cajones to say it.” Debbie fixed him with a knowing stare.

“Oh well maybe I can borrow yours.” Brian gave her his best sarcastic eye roll and drank from the bottle.

“Yeah well hey, whatever it takes.” She smirked and paused before continuing. “Do admit that you love him. And I know that you do. Despite all your efforts to never let another heart touch yours. That’s assuming you have one.”

Brian leaned over and hung his head. Everything she was saying was correct and he knew it. But that didn’t make hearing it any easier.

“That little persistent kid has somehow gotten in under the wire. And that’s what’s happened, huh.” Debbie reached out and smoothed her hand over Brian’s hair. It was a level of intimacy he only allowed from a select number of people.

“Admit the truth.” Brian looked at Debbie, unsure if she was really that perceptive and was going to say what he’d been trying to avoid thinking about since Justin moved in. “You love him, don’t you?”

Instead of answering, Brian leaned his head onto his hands and let out the breath he’d been holding for the last few seconds. Debbie had proved once again that she saw deeper under his walls than he would like, but appreciated it nonetheless.

“I thought so. Then tell him. Tell him what you could never tell Michael.” And with the mention of her son, Debbie motioned her eyes up to indicate Justin was upstairs.

Brian took one more swig from the bottle, sucked in his lips, and then stood up. Vic gave him a wicked grin of mischief and encouragement. It was the most unserious thing about the whole situation and was what spurred Brian on in the end. He walked out of the kitchen and skipped up the stairs.

Upon reaching the landing, Brian paused. He knew Justin was mad at him and he wouldn’t be surprised if the young man didn’t want to see him. But, he was there already, he might as well try. He knocked on Michael’s door and his heart ached at the voice that responded.

“Debbie, I know you’re worried but I’m fine.”

Brian leaned his head against the door and sighed. He quietly responded.

“I’m not Debbie, but I’d say you don’t sound fine.”

Brian’s heart clenched at the soft sniffles he could hear from the other side.

“Brian?” Justin’s voice was tinged with sadness and hope all at once. “Haven’t you done enough?”

Brian deserved that, but it didn’t make him hate it any less.

“Can I please come in so we can talk. I know I said some things I shouldn’t have.”

Brian stepped back to avoid falling forward when Justin opened the door suddenly.

“Careful, that sounds perilously close to an apology.” Justin bit his lip and gave a half smile while looking up through his lashes.

“Yeah, well I’m not totally opposed to apologies when I’m wrong.” Brian gave a shy smile. “I asked you to move in because of your attack, but that’s not why I want you to stay.”

Justin stepped away from the door letting Brian in. The brunette watched as the blonde worked through Brian’s statement in his head. It was clear that the younger man wanted to forgive him but was also wary of being made a fool by doing so.

“Okay so you want me to stay, but something has to change.” Justin turned to look Brian in the eye, “I won’t go back to feeling invisible.”

Brian couldn’t find his voice so he simply nodded until he could.

“This doesn’t mean we are suddenly married. Because I don’t do that shit.” Brian reached out to put a hand on Justin’s shoulder. “It means that I like your company and I want to be with you. I’ve gotten used to having you around that I don’t particularly mind it anymore.”

“Wow. You are really selling me on your commitment.” Justin smirked and gave a small cheeky giggle.

“Watch yourself.” Brian volleyed back.

Justin stepped closer to Brian and more into his touch. “So what does this mean for us?”

“It means I promise I won’t ever bring a trick back to the loft again.”

“Okay.” Justin nodded, his eyes serious.

“Also, if I’m out late just know that I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing. And when I come home…” Brian paused, the words catching in his throat. “I’ll also be doing exactly what I want to be doing. Coming home to you.”

Justin nodded, and then he leaned in for a kiss. Once he pulled away he gave his response.

“I want some things too. You can have sex with anyone you want as long as it’s not more than once, and no names or numbers exchanged.”

Brian nodded easily, “Deal.”

“And I want you to promise that no matter what you are doing you always come home by 2.”

Brian’s gaze bore into Justin’s “By 4.”

“Three.”

Brian turned away from Justin slightly and then came back to him in resignation. “Fine, by 3.”

Justin pulled him in for another searing kiss before saying more.

“And one more thing.” Brian looked at Justin with sincerity while his brain argued that all these rules were more than he could muster.

“You don’t kiss anyone on the mouth. Except me.” Justin quirked his eyebrow as if challenging Brian’s ability to agree to all these stipulations.

Brian gave a small shake of his head, smirked, and then grabbed Justin’s face in both his hands and planted a deep kiss on his lips. Brian put all his nonstated love and emotions into that kiss. He wanted to be sure Justin understood he would follow these rules and any others if it meant keeping Justin.

After they pulled apart, Brian found himself grabbing Justin’s hand and leading him toward the bed.

“Can I stay here with you tonight?” Brian asked in a small voice.

“I’m not that kind of girl.” Justin responded, his tongue in his cheek.

Brian tucked his lips in as he smiled at Justin. He knew that in this moment he could be vulnerable and Justin wouldn’t judge him for it. So, he squeezed the hand that held Justin’s before he responded.

“I just don’t want to be alone tonight.”

Justin reached up to cup Brian’s cheek with his free hand. “Then come sleep with me.”

Then they exchanged a kiss, chaste but still filled with emotion. Brian leaned his forehead on Justin’s and closed his eyes. With a sigh he let go and pulled off his shirt and stepped out of his shoes and jeans.

The two got into Michael’s old twin sized bed, practically lying on top of each other, but somehow making it work. At this point, Brian’s nakedness didn’t make Justin uncomfortable. However, Brian was conscientious enough to make sure his thigh was all that made contact with Justin.

“I had to sit next to my mother today as her priest spouted off about loving your fellow man. And her interpretation of that was to tell me how sexual deviants were going to hell. She didn’t say homosexuals, but it was heavily implied.” Brian finally whispered to the dark room as the silence between them got to be too much.

“Your mom sounds a treat.” Justin muttered, his hand finding Brian’s and grabbing hold.

“That’s Saint Joan.” Brian sighed as he placed a soft kiss to the top of the young man’s head.

“I’m sorry.” Justin replied. His voice was filled with kindness and it made Brian appreciate the blonde that much more.

“That’s life. You can’t choose your parents.” Brian shrugged.

Nothing else was said between them as Brian and Justin both slipped into dreamland.

[480pfootage]

If you don't mind me asking, what's so appealing to you about Kate The Chaser and Nurse Ann?

Well there's not really a concrete factor that appeals to me from the both of them.. they're both really interesting characters on their own right and it'll be hard to just pinpoint it into something that they have in common so I hope you don't mind a little.. rant

I recall knowing both these characters from way back when the fandom was in its prime. I wasn't very interested in them as a kid due to the lack of content they had.. Kate was really just there to act as the "girl in the group" for the proxies and Ann didn't have anything canon to her except that she was against Judge Angel and whatever else was in her reference sheet... Kate was the one that got to me first when I came back into the fandom. I had some spare money and bought Slender: The Arrival and Kate's story was so.... awesome

Even in the context of my own canon Kate is one of the only proxies that regrets what she has done/what she's doing other than Tim (the writings on the walls b4 the radio tower shows her admitting her guilt). Brian's apathetic and Toby likes the hunt. Yet she's still forced to keep doing it which we can see with her sort of rabid act in her levels in STA. What I find really interesting about her is her relationship with the other characters in her story, especially with CR (as much as I hate him). She's tricked into believing that the radio tower was safe when all CR wanted was to lead her to her death. The guilt she must've felt after fleeing from CR once she heard of his Alex Kralie-like plan and leaving him to get mauled by Charlie. The guilt she feels when she gets moments of clarity and realizes that she's making Lauren go through the same thing. And when it's all over and she's left a burnt shell of herself.. stumbling and doing whatever she's asked to do without the need of force.. Her and the side of her that growls and bites are one of the same.. awesome

Now Ann.. She appeals to me in the way that her tits bounce and she's dead joking I think I really got into Ann after seeing a drawing of her done by @/fatheroplants ... I understood that she was dead and she kills only to make sure her body stays working and all that but actually seeing it drawn... Stitches falling apart.. her insides showing.. wowwww... Of course I had to make up some parts for her since she doesn't really have anything i could go off on.. but to me she's a ww2 nurse that made a deal with slender to keep on living during so she could keep healing to the best of her abilities. I feel like Ann is a much needed character in the pasta universe due to her being kind. Not like those who think they're doing the right thing with their killings, but someone who is genuinely kind.

okay rant over I'm sorry for not going into too much with ann but this post is long enough! TLDR they're awesome characters and girl pastas need more attention and analysis done on them!

[dragon-snoots-a-boopin]

So, I have finally gotten around to seeing Transformers One and now I want to talk about what I did and didn't like about it. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, you have been warned.

What I Liked:

I really liked all of the bot designs. The sort of classic square nature mixed with some roundness here and there really does work in my opinion. I especially liked seeing some designs like Soundwave's alt mode being based on their alt mode from this Bumblebee movie toy and I believe it was the same for Ironhide towards the end of the movie too. Shockwave's alt mode looked to be based on their alt mode from Fall Of Cybertron/Rise Of The Dark Spark, at least I think it was. Those generic trooper guys looked kind of like the Vehicons from Transformers Prime, which I am sure was not intentional but, just something I thought of when I saw them.

The score by Brian Tyler was really great too and a great choice of composer in my opinion. Not sure if it was intentional but, I could hear some ques to the music of Transformers Prime in there too and I liked that. But, overall, a really great score.

The animation was all really good and really clean to me.

I thought that the voice acting was very good. Going into the movie, I had heard and read people saying that Hemsworth just sounded like himself and I have to disagree as he did a distinct voice for Orion and for Prime and neither sounded the same and neither sounded like his normal voice. Same goes for the other voice cast as well.

What I Didn't Like/Could Have Been Better:

The plot was incredibly predictable and it was easy to see from pretty early on that something was off about Sentinel Prime, even if I didn't know the specifics but, it was not a shock to me when learning of his betrayal.

D-16 becoming evil, while it was something we all saw coming, needed to happen more gradually than it did. Once they learned of Sentinel's betrayal, D-16 right off the bat wants to bury Sentinel Prime. Then, D-16 get the t-cog and it's like a switch is flipped, evil mode activated. From the beginning of the movie, D-16 should have been much more anti-authority but, no, they're all about follow protocol which, makes no sense for their character and who they become.

I don't really like this iteration of Orion Pax because there are no inklings of the characteristics of who they'll become later in the movie. Elita-1 says in a speech that Pax does all these courages things and I just don't see it. To me, all the things Pax does are without any logic and they just happen to work out based purely on dumb luck. I hate to say it, but I think that Pax should have had to work a lot harder to be worthy of The Matrix Of Leadership than just taking a shot for Sentinel Prime. I just don't think that Pax did all that much to really be deemed worthy of it and it feels like Pax needed to have it because plot.

I'm not the biggest fan of making both Pax and D-16 miners as I think their origin story of Pax being book smart and D-16 being street smart and sharing the same ideals (at first) for the future of Cybertron has a little more impact.

I really wish they had also made D-16 a gladiator, would have been cool to see some gladiator combat in the pits of Kaon but, oh well.

B-127's entire personality and character is that they never stop talk and that's it.

Elita-1's entire personality and character is that they think they're better than everyone and that's it.

The humor was very hit and miss for me, with more misses then hits.

The mid and post credit scenes were alright. The mid credit scene was just there for the funnies and the post credit scene was just Megatron vowing revenge.

Overall, for as much as I like and recommend the movie, it could have been a lot better too. Still good and enjoyable and I recommend giving it a watch.

[shinygoku]

The Beatles [The White Album] (1968)

So, after the terrific high of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the rather more wobbly TV Special with some songs made for it that was Magical Mystery Tour (and the subsequent US spin that I covered, in opposition to the Band's original intent), The Beatles were in an odd place. India, Brian Epstein's death, John's controversial new girlfriend, tensions tightening enough that Ringo left for a couple of weeks and, of course, one of the longest damn albums ever. As it's a whopping FOUR sides, I'm gonna be doing a lightning round of sorts, let's crack on. (I don't normally hafta write this, but please scroll past the big white void lol)

Yes indeed, in deliberate contrast to the maximalist Sgt Pepper, this one is beyond minimal. The original pressings also had a unique serial number stamped in, but this has gotta be the most austere covers ever. The way the name is off centre adds a little visual interest, and one can argue this too is fine art (though it's a bit sterile for my tastes) and is suited for the task of holding all the varied songs which lack a unifying theme. Naturally, this stark white-ness gives the album it's much more common name, as just naming it after the band is pretty dull and confusing lol

SIDE ONE

Back In The U.S.S.R.: A parody of both Back In The USA and California Girls, but also a dope rock song in it's own right. Paul brings high energy, quickly but clearly sung lyrics and a slightly controversial sentiment where people aren't sure if it's pro- or anti- communism but chose one side to get pissed off at. As this one was recorded before Ringo re-joined the band, it seems the other 3 all had a certain amount of percussion presence instead. It's a good start to the album but not an all-time favourite.

Dear Prudence: Written in India in an attempt to reach out to fellow Meditation-er, Prudence Farrow, who would hole herself up in her bungalow and not answer for hours on end. It's pretty sounding but I find the name Prudence hard to take seriously... sorry, lady!

Glass Onion: A sequel to I Am The Walrus and packed with references to other Beatle songs, I dig this. It doesn't hafta have secret extra layers to be interesting lol

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da: I am a certified Obladi Oblada ENJOYER and I think anyone who hates it is weak and boring, though I give the band themselves a bit of leeway here as they had to do many, many takes. But the final version is such fun~ And again I find it interesting how said Perfectionist Paul put in that bit about Desmond seemingly doing drag towards the end XD

Wild Honey Pie: Really bad. If it's a sequel to Honey Pie why does it come on before it??

The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill: The story of a lameass hunter who needs his Mum with him on hunts lol. I like how we can quite clearly hear Ringo and Yoko's voices in the choruses, adds a unique flavour.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps: FINALLY!! I can say something really enthused about a George Song for the first time since pre-Revolver! Yeah this one kicks ass, the slightly randoms strings of words still come together to make a poignant, emotive song. Though I'm not wild on the moaning at the end, and I much prefer the Acoustic version, which sounds more intimate and doesn't have Icky Clapton on it. The shamisen cover is nice too but that might be my Weeb side showing, the title does make a bit less sense that way too lol. - Anyway yeah, even this early on in the album this is easily one of the strongest numbers and is a nice showing of what George can do with his turn in the Writing Songs department.

Happiness Is A Warm Gun: A title that aged poorly whether literal or the metaphor for heroin, the song itself is another word salad that John's so fond of. The melody changes a lot so it's more interesting for the ears that way, but I'm not enchanted. Kind of like the album as a whole in that it's a mixture with not-so-hidden darkness, I s'pose.

SIDE TWO

Martha My Dear: An upbeat ditty about Paul's beloved dog. Got some of that old fashioned vibe with strings and brass sections. If ya didn't know about the big shaggy Old English Shepherd muse, I guess the lyrics sound pretty bizarre given Pauls' penchant for writing about Girls, or his displeasure with Jane Asher or Girls who may actually be John.

I'm So Tired: Unlike I'm Only Sleeping, this isn't a soothing ode to being in bed, it's more about being tormented. The lyrics get more testy and sharp with the progression and then some mumbling at the end I can't make out. Maybe a bit too good at portraying stress, I'm not into it.

Blackbird: A song in tribute to the struggles of black girls denied basic civil rights, this feels empathetic and reassuring. Even without the subtext it's a very pretty, low-key song, assisted by real vocals from an actual Blackbird, but I do recommend keeping the message in mind for this one.

Piggies: George at it again, this time with satire! Pretty clearly against Capitalism and the class system, based. We even hear a vocal from George's Mum! Even knowing it's part of the lampooning, the harpsichord and string music sounds pretty, and it helps with the juxtaposition baked in.

Rocky Raccoon: A narrative song about an odd Western scene, in which the title character (furriness status unclear) tries to get revenge on his perceived rival but fails. Easy enough to listen to but probably more notable for naming Rocket Raccoon in Marvel Comics [they had to change the name slightly lol].

Don't Pass Me By: Not just a rare Ringo song, the first one he wrote himself! This again goes for a country and western style and the narrative is similar to the Beatles For Sale type of plots. I dig the fiddle though it feels like there's a filter of sorts over Ringo's beautiful voice? That's odd. Anyway I do prefer it to What Goes On but Act Naturally clears this easy ^w^;

Why Don't We Do It In The Road?: Bad. The piano is neat but wasted. Only a smidge better than Wild Honey Pie.

I Will: A very nice song that's been seized by many, many weddings lol - very much short but sweet and I appreciate that youtube comments also apply this to a lullaby for children.

Julia: I know this is a very personal song of John's, being about his mother, and it's certainly more beautiful and heartfelt than most of this album. My main gripe is kinda petty and it's that the words get strung out a bit long. Everything else is very nice and peaceful.

SIDE THREE

Birthday: A cool rocking tune with lyrics that, while not phenomenal, blow Happy Birthday To You out of the water and into the trash where it belongs. It even gets uptempo for the bridge and changes the melody~ I hadn't heard this one until doing this write up though lol

Yer Blues: I'm not into the heavier stuff, especially knowing John's many, many issues and that this song was one of the ones where he leaned into it a bit to avoid detection. Hard Blues may have good musicianship (like this does, ooh that drumming and guitar work!) and be a decent outlet for one's woes, but I can't enjoy it.

Mother Nature's Son: This is back into a calm, gentle vibe with acoustic guitar and basic percussion. Paul keeps it simple and it's stronger for it, leaning into evocative imagery and humming.

Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey: This title is too long and that pisses me off. Booooo!! 🍅🍅🍅 It's also a very harsh sound straight after the previous song, so I'll dock extra points for that. Otherwise it's an ok rock song I guess but I ain't digging it.

Sexy Sadie: This has an interesting sound and a lot of narrative focus. I think I like the piano best. It's decent. Maybe another great song vastly overshadowed by their own catolague? lol

Helter Skelter: I really like how proto-Metal music was about a kind of spiral slide found at funfairs. Sure, helter-skelter is also a phrase for things being in disarray, but Paul's lyrics clearly talk about the act of going down one'a these things made for children lmao. There's supposedly a secret extra long version, but the take used on the album still features a long coda and Ringo moment. I hope his fingers soon recovered xx

Long, Long, Long: Another George instalment! It starts off very quiet and intimate, and then crashing drums come and go, without it jarring. Then after the song a strange rattling begins and gets jamming to go along with it, apparently it was a wine bottle vibrating on a speaker? Huh! Song overall is nice but this odd ending feels a bit like a miniaturised version of the album, again!

SIDE FOUR

Revolution 1: A cool rock intro that then becomes a pretty vague kinda-political but unfortunately fence-sitting load of waffling. I get they ain't really in the best position to start calling for Landlords to be tarred and feathered, but living in 2024 and the current hellscape leaves me with less patience for this. Also I've no idea if this is the same as the Revolution without a number, I presume it's slower but I don't wanna go listen to the other one when I already ain't digging this. Piggies clears this easy.

Honey Pie: Why wasn't this before Wild Honey Pie?? This one resembles an actual song! Albeit in a kind of chopped up, ad libbing curiosity which swings. A lot more enjoyable than many other things on this compilation, though!

Savoy Truffle: Another George song (that's good!) and another Clapton having one (oh, that's bad). Not gonna lie though, it does make me want to eat some chocolates.

Cry Baby Cry: Another narrative that doesn't make much sense, but I find myself enjoying the lovely instrumental work. Another song that was brand new to my ears, though allegedly it cameos for a few seconds in Yellow Submarine, so I'll try hearing that next time I watch it :3 - Oh, and there's a coda. My main crit being John using an odd small voice for the whole thing.

Revolution 9: Number Nine. Number Nine. Number Nine. Yeah no, if this is an introduction to Musique Concrete then I don't want any. I can never listen to this whole thing, this write-up being no exception.

Good Night: A nice, peaceful song to cap this Experience off, with Ringo's lovely vocal work on a lullaby John wrote for his son. Critics may find it saccharine but I for one welcome it with open arms. Even with the surprize whispering after the main event, it manages to stay on tone and indeed feel like a parent tucking their child in.

CONCLUSION

I considered doubling the Best / Blurst amount but ehhhh, I'll stay consistent. It might be interesting to see what songs end up in like/dislike piles, but I've already spent ages on this, so maybe after the main Album reviews as a bonus issue. Maybe ¬w¬;;

Best 3: Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Helter Skelter

Blurst 3: Wild Honey Pie, Why Don't We Do It In The Road, Revolution 9

Ough. This bitch is Eclectic. There's something for everyone, but that also means there isn't much for some listeners, like myself. I feel this has been my most negative so far but there's some gems, it's just while I generally enjoyed the lesser songs of their earlier work (variable according to how poorly the main jist ages like all the Possessive Songs in AHDN lol), the songs I don't like here feel worse as they're further removed from the music I love, and the Bugs were older and more experienced by this stage and their dumb joke songs feel more irritating. But that's me. I know a lotta people dig the sheer range of choice here, and that's cool. At least in theory.

🪲🪲🪲🪲

Remember how much I wrote and quoted in Sgt Pepper? That was fun. Fortunately I know more amazing songs are coming up, wiiiith (sounds of clicking on another tab) Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road and Let It Be. Ok, as YS only has 4 new songs, I'll group that into the movie review that I'll do later on [and am warmly anticipating!], and Abbey Road was issued first but I am not ending the Albums on Let It Be! I want them to conclude on a HIGH note!!! So yeah, join me in November to Let It C, D, E

[monochromefilms]

Marble Hornets!Yuus

Yuu:Jay

(name): insert name for character listed. not pre read/might rewrite in the future.

[cuts from black screen to camera, a hand covers lens before revealing Yuu.]

Yuu sits, facing camera in apt/dorm int. Looks a bit worried but is fine.

Yuu: I was recently working with the film club. A director from the club, (alex), was making a small film as a project. It was called Marble Hornets.

[Yuu pulls out a bag]

Yuu: the film has recently been scrapped. (Alex) was deemed hard to work with by his increasing temper.

[Yuu looks somberly down a little at the bag]

Yuu: When asked what he wanted to do with the multiple tapes that we filmed on…. He said to burn them.

[Yuu takes a tape out the bag]

Yuu: I’d hate for these to go to waste after all the effort. So I’ll share it to you.

[screen abruptly cuts to black. It’s all static.]

… … [WE APOLOGIZE FOR WE CANNOT UPLOAD FILE. RELOAD?]

[YES] no

[RELOADING FILE]

… … …

[ACTION WAS A SUCCESS.]

“Is the camera still recording?” A masculine voice speaks out. The camera seems to be covered by a hand adjusting the angle. “Yeah, it’s recording 24/7 like you said.” Another voice calls out.

The hand let’s go of the camera to see a brown short-haired boy. His grey and blue eyes are still squinting, “Are you sure?” He asks once again. “Yes, (Alex).” Another voice groans, “There is a red dot.” The voice points out.

“Fine, fine.” (Alex) stands up. (Alex) was wearing t-shirt with joggers. “So, this is the first filming of Marble Hornets. Let’s get scene one, act one, done.”

(Alex) presumably smiles at the rest of the people in the back.

“Let’s get this done!”

[NOW VIEWING NEW FILE]

“Yeah, I can see that with * but it is a tad bit .” (Brian ) speaks to the person on his left. Scene six, act 5. “** * *** *****.” The person answers back.

“Cut!” (Alex) yells from behind the camera. The two actors groan. “We need this to be perfect! We already have like 15 retakes of this already!”

He looks at (Brian) , “Can you speak a bit louder?” (Alex) then looks at the person. The person he’s speaking to face seems to be cut off. “Add more emotion!”

Yuu could be seen shaking their head in the background. (Seth) rolls his eyes at the scene.

As (Alex) finishes speaking to the two actors he seems to look around alertedly and nervously. He looks straight into the woods that surround NRC’S campus.

The camera suddenly turns as well and tries to zoom in. There is nothing.

[ VIDEO CAN NOT BE UPLOADED. WATCH LATER] [EXIT BROWSER?]

yes [NO]

[ERROR]

[EXIT BROWSER?]

yes [NO]

[ERROR]

[EXIT BROWSER?]

yes [NO]

[ERROR]

[EXIT BROWSER?]

[YES] no

[CURRENTLY EXITING TAB]

[SUCCESSFUL]