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makeste · 1 year ago

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BnHA Chapter 410: Kacchan Fights a Baby

Previously on BnHA: Kacchan was born and then he grew up and murdered the Demon Lord.

Today on BnHA: Kacchan fights a baby. Tomura and Deku finally remember that they were supposed to have been fighting too this entire time, and get on with that once again. Tomura is all, “[literally just reaches out and grabs Deku’s face because Deku’s main character powers suddenly abandoned him in a fit of confusion].” Deku is all, “[chops off Tomura’s fingers which is somehow not even in the top twenty of violent things that have happened in this series in just the last five chapters].” Tomura is all “joke’s on you I still got your quirk :D” and fuck me he actually stole Danger Sense, what the fuck.

logically I knew AFO still had to be alive somehow because he’s too big of a villain to go out that easily without a proper sendoff. but deep in my heart, I’m still secretly disappointed

it just isn’t fair, lol. this guy has died more times than Rasputin and he’s still out here scheming his schemey schemes. when oh when will it end

sir you did not just say you had yet ANOTHER unused trump card up your sleeve??

(ETA: the translation isn’t fully clear here, but I think the trump card he’s referring to is the whole “I’ll just go back inside him and join the part of me that was already in there and we’ll take over Tomura’s body again together” plan that he was trying to pull off. I think. if not though, that’s certainly something worth speculating about.)

well as always the psychology in this series is unironically fascinating! he just wants acknowledgement at the end of the day, huh. just wants some love and attention. too bad he was born in a rat-infested hellscape and learned all the wrong lessons and turned into a crazed omnipotent murderlad

also he really did turn back into a baby sdfsdlkjfl oh no. I need to see Katsuki’s reaction to this immediately

oh my lord

(●__●)

lmao this is so incredibly fucked up

ngl though, this is karma at its finest. he tortured and killed so many people trying to earn everyone’s fear and awe and reverence, only to literally blip out of existence at the end with absolutely nothing to show for it

everyone please enjoy this series of panels of a deeply vexed Bakugou Katsuki picking a fight with this slowly melting evil baby

“you think I care that you’re a baby now. you think I won’t fight a fuckin’ baby. let’s do this you little punk”

also I’m sorry but it’s absolutely ridiculous that the gigantic chest wound Tomura inflicted on him got sewed up so neatly lol. AFO’s not the only one who stubbornly refuses to die no matter what

...

just once, it would be nice if Horikoshi didn’t immediately shred my plot nitpicks to pieces mere seconds after I write them

LMAO

BABY AFO DON’T CARE. BABY AFO WILL THROW HANDS WITH ANYONE ＼(｀0´)／

KACCHAN MY BELOVED FAVE OF ALL TIME, ARE YOU REALLY ABOUT TO LOSE TO A LITERAL FUCKING INFANT

WHAT HAPPENED TO “PERFECT VICTORY” LMAO. MOVING THE GOALPOSTS EVEN AS HIS CONSCIOUSNESS FADES. “EH, CLOSE ENOUGH”

-- OH FOR THE LOVE OF --

me: wow it sure is uncharacteristic of Katsuki to just pass out before he properly wraps up this battle

Horikoshi: oh yeah good point, sure would be a shame if someone... IMMEDIATELY ADDRESSED THAT CONCERN ON THE VERY NEXT PAGE

me: ఠ_ఠ

ldskjflaksdjfkds

fdsfsdkf. “SORRY ABOUT THAT, FOR A MOMENT THERE I ALMOST FORGOT TO BEND THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE TO MY WILL”

holy fucking shit. his body was all “um, just a quick reminder that you’re HORRIBLY WOUNDED and have lost like ten gallons of blood and all of your cells are about to call an emergency meeting to shut this thing down before you get us all killed.” and he was all “WHAT WAS THAT?!” and his body was all “oh my GOD, FUCK, OKAY just forget we said anything”

and meanwhile Baby AFO is just lying there all “(◉⌓◉)”

this six-month-old child is truly and sincerely still trying to kill Kacchan while screeching death threats in high-pitched baby talk

this actually would have killed him too, if he’d succeeded in passing out. all that just to be punk’d by a damn baby

you are actually shitting me right now

at this point I’m genuinely not sure which of them has the more powerful angry toddler energy

oh no ffuffkdsfk

meeeeelting. meeeeeeltiiiiiing!!! oh what a world what a world

jesus Horikoshi I am genuinely speechless

... welp

WAIT NO WAY, REALLY?!?!

?!?!?! WAS IT ACTUALLY THAT SIMPLE THIS WHOLE TIME

-- lkjf

three times. three times in the same fucking chapter. I give up. apparently I’ll literally believe anything this man says. does it feel good, Horikoshi. preying on your readers’ hopeful naivete

yeefuckinghaw lmao

GOOD JOB KACCHAN YOU DEFEATED THE EVIL BABY

awwwww

I actually had a theory about this! well more of a wishlist item, really. I can’t remember if I’ve actually posted about it yet or not. but it’s like. you know how Deku and Kacchan are always being really dramatic about holding hands? wanting to hold hands; not wanting to hold hands; being afraid to hold hands; holding hands via proxy, etc. etc.?

and you know how both Endeavor and All Might have each done their own version of the victory pose that Kacchan is referring to here? with each one using a different hand?

so you see, I was thinking that it might be nice. might be a little poetic and all that. if at the end of the fight, Deku and Kacchan did, in fact, hold hands. and then did the victory pose together. and it became like their iconic hero moment. them standing there together. having accomplished their goal and defeated TomurAFO through teamwork. realizing their shared childhood dream. and sharing that moment of triumph with each other and with the world, ushering in a new era of heroes

anyway yeah. I was thinking that might be a pretty good ending. but it looks like Kacchan maybe really is about to pass out here now, lol, so maybe not? anyways time to finally scroll down

-- okay I literally said awww again out loud

what a fucking nerd. I have never felt more fondness for a character in my life

every damn person watching this on the news better have leaped to their feet and started applauding, goddammit. those motherfuckers better be CHANTING HIS FUCKING NAME. all those nagging reporters better be bombarding his phone with calls. those fuckers who deleted his footage from the Shouto interview better be shamelessly leaving him dozens of voicemails acting like none of that ever happened and presumptuously asking when he can free some time in his schedule to visit their studio again. all the heroes who haven’t hugged him yet better be lining the fuck up. that one guy from the post-kidnapping press conference in chapter 86 better be writing a fifty page letter of apology!!

oh hey it’s a random pre-battle flashback mysteriously taking place in Troy “a few days before the battle” even though I thought they only moved into that place the night before the fight

I love how Katsuki immediately narrows his eyes (I assume. we can’t see for sure but that’s the vibe I get) at Jeanist and has to resist the urge to call the police on him for that pun

so Hadou’s wondering what Jeanist is talking about because they already evacuated the civilians, so what else are they trying to protect. and Edgeshot is all, “well obviously we’ve gotta protect everyone’s future,” which is a nice... rearshadowing?? for him saving Katsuki’s life later on lol

and now Mirko is all “get to the fucking point already.” which, same

so Jeanist says that Tomura is an even bigger problem than AFO, because at least AFO doesn’t want to murder everyone on the entire planet. and he concludes with “he’ll probably try to touch the ground and use his quirk.” which is a conclusion that I have to say wasn’t really worth two pages of flashback buildup for, considering that we all figured that out years ago

I’m guessing this is all just some sort of awkward transition back to Deku’s fight now lol

and now we’re getting two pages of exposition on how long it would theoretically take Tomura’s Decay to spread throughout the city, and then the entire country, yikes

damn. talk about stakes

and now finally back to Deku!!

shoutout to everyone who correctly predicted that Deku was once again talking out of his ass when it came to being out of Gearshifts. we all knew. unlimited supply

wow Tomura way to throw AFO under the bus

the way I recall it, AFO wasn’t the one who failed to kill him back then lol. but go ahead and talk your shit king

DEKU WHAT ARE YOU DOING

holy shit?!?!

like my first thought was “well last time he did this he just tried to steal OFA rather than Decay him, so he’ll probably try that again and it’ll be fine.” only to remember that the AFO inside Tomura is currently permanently(?) out to lunch, and Tomura himself doesn’t give two figs about stealing OFA. so, uhhhh >_>

(ETA: nevermind.)

but then this happened

Deku what the actual fuck

OH MY GOD??!?!

HOLY SHIT

okay. okay, fuck. lemme gather up my thoughts, and then we’ll wrap this up

they’ll never admit it, but you know the other OFA Vestiges secretly resented Shino a tiny bit for being the only one of them to not be gruesomely murdered. bet they all feel guilty for thinking that now

Shino and Banjou also seemed to have this cute little pseudo-rivalry thing going on, so I really feel bad for Banjou now. :/ he looks so horrified in that bottom right panel

gotta admit, I did not see this coming in the slightest. OFA has been this immutable “I do what I want!” quirk for so long that I never thought Tomura or AFO would actually succeed in stealing it, even partially. that shook me to my core

BUT, it’s also really exciting to me because it’s going to make this battle much more interesting if Deku can’t use his get out of jail free card. shit just got way more real and I’m here for it

lastly, so! let me tell you guys my prediction. I still can’t see Tomura being the final villain lol. I just can’t. it feels too anticlimactic. if I’m wrong, I’m wrong, and I’ve certainly botched MANY predictions in the past, but I have not yet learned my lesson from any of it and I will not apologize lol

so here’s what I think. Deku and Tomura battle it out for the next chapter or two, and Tomura snatches up more of Deku’s quirks one by one. we see all of the Vestiges disappearing and the mood gets more and more desperate. eventually we’re down to just Kudou and Yoichi. Deku is panicking, but for some reason Kudou seems even MORE panicked

Kudou/Gearshift eventually gets stolen too, and it looks like this might finally be it for Deku (I have no idea how he’d stop Tomura from Decaying the ground once Blackwhip gets stolen, btw, but maybe Katsuki or someone else interferes in desperation towards the end). but just when it looks like Tomura is finally going to take the last piece of OFA, Deku’s vibes suddenly do a 180, stopping Tomura in his tracks

cut to the OFA Moon Gorgeous Meditation Realm, where Deku and Yoichi are staring at the door -- yes, that door -- in shock. because it’s finally been opened (now that the other Vestiges are no longer there to keep it at bay). and just like that, enter AFO, for the THIRD FUCKING TIME :D :D

tl;dr, HERE’S HOW HORCRUX!DEKU CAN STILL HAPPEN!!! wait where are you all going. wait come back

anyway so wow that was a really bizarre chapter that I truly thoroughly enjoyed, which should probably be a bit concerning. on to the next two week break! (for anyone who’s not aware, Shounen Jump will be on break next week, so yeah.) I’m on chapter 391 now. so close but still so far. the end of the year has gone by too damn fast tbh

#bnha 410 #bakugou katsuki #all for one #midoriya izuku #shigaraki tomura #one for all #bnha meta #bnha theory #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

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fictionismyreality3 · 1 year ago

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Hi! I love your writing and i was wondering if you could write something where it’s Bradley and the reader’s wedding and for the sendoff they do something like this causeI thought its was so cute. If you can’t that’s totally fine but thanks anyway! 🫶

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyRCdL3uZL8/?igsh=Zmx5NWd6aW1rOXRn

A Day to Remember

Tags: Rooster x reader

Notes: hi babes!! Thank you much for the request, sorry it took so long, school is kicking my ass 😅

Warnings: weddings, romance and everything that comes with it

"No. There's no way I'm gonna have oragami F-16s thrown at my head on my wedding day." You laughed incredulously.

When Bradley had proposed, you thought your life couldn't get any better. You had a dream job, a dream man, and friends that had been exactly what you needed, even though they were unexpected. Telling the squad went exactly how you expected, everyone was more excited than they had been when Roo and Maverick survived the Dagger mission. But no one had been more thrilled than Phoenix. When Pheonix asked to help plan the wedding, you were hesitant at first.

You had first-hand experience with her lack of party-planning skills. Somehow, even though she was incredibly organized during her work, the woman had an utterly disastrous record with parties.

And your wedding was going to be a pretty big party.

But how could you say no to Phoenix? She had been there for you through everything. From showing up at your door with pints of ice cream when your favourite character died in the show you were watching to going full Godzilla on the new recruits that tried to hit on you. It was nearly impossible to say no to her when she pulled her puppy dog eyes out and started reciting every favour you owed her.

So you agreed.

"C'mon, please? It will be cute, I promise." She pleaded as you continued to put your toppings on your pizza.

It was Wednesday, which Phoenix had decided was the designated wedding planning day. She would show up with a bottle of whatever you guys wanted to drink and you would make the pizza, frozen to accommodate for the cooking skills neither of you possessed.

"Look, I already let you get away with the abundance of mason jars, I'm not getting divebombed by a bunch of the planes that we fly." You grinned.

Rolling her eyes, Phoenix conceded, and that was how a lot of the planning was settled. Phoenix would bring up hundreds of crazy ideas, and you would filter through her overly enthusiastic party planning to find the good ones. You and Bob would rein her in whenever she got carried away, especially when she brought up the idea of having a literal rooster at the wedding.

"I think it's hilarious," Rooster said as you two got ready for the day. He came up behind you, turning you around to face him as he lifted you up onto the bathroom counter. Your hands automatically came to rest on his shoulders, fitting perfectly just like the two of you had when you met.

"You have one already and you can't seem to get enough, honey." He continued grinning.

You swatted at his chest, giggling as he began to pepper kisses along your neck, following a path that only he knew down to your collarbone. You tilted your head back to give him access to your soft skin that only he would ever earn, and your words came out in a breathy sigh.

"I think you just-" Your train of thought halted as he sucked on a particularly sensitive spot of your neck. "You just like the idea of a little Roo running around, you brute."

The rest of that morning consisted of him trying to make said 'little Roo' happen, not that you were complaining.

The wedding was 3 months away and you were choosing your dress. Payback had insisted you go to the boutique that his grandmother used to run, saying that you could even get a dress for free. You tried to urge against it, but after his granda met you she wouldn't hear a 'no'.

"Oh, it's so nice that my Rueben made some friends. Let me tell you about the time he.."

So you agreed.

Everything was ready and Phoenix was running around like a madwoman trying to orchestrate the chaos of venues, cakes and flowers into one magnificent symphony. It was 3 days out from the wedding and you had gone with your bridesmaids to the hotel Pheonix had rented to have some much-needed girl time. Rooster and the rest of the guys had done the same, probably off partying somewhere under Mav's watchful eyes.

As you sat getting your nails done, the colour a baby blue that Rooster had picked out, you continued to poke at Phoenix for the details of the wedding. She had demanded to keep you out of the loop when it came to the majority of the venue decoration she had selected. Even Rooster wouldn't spill when you called him that night.

"I don't wanna face her wrath, honey. You know-" He began.

"Hey! No talking to the groom. It's bad luck!" Phoenix said as she plucked the phone from your hand.

When your wedding day finally came, you were a ball of nerves. As you got blindfolded and brought up to bridal sweet to get ready, you could only imagine what combinations of decor she had concocted. In your mind, you replayed the time she tried to throw a Christmas party for the squad that resulted in one too many poppers, a fireplace, and a whole lot of firetrucks.

"Ready, kid?" Maverick's voice broke you out of your thoughts.

Taking one last look in the mirror at yourself, the dress you had picked out making you look like a princess, you nodded and took his arm. As the two of you finally stopped in front of the doors that stood between you and your future, your heart swelled with anticipation. The sound of Bruno Mars 'Just the Way You Are' being played on the piano filled your ears, and Mav straightened where he stood, looking down at you with a proud smile.

"That's our cue, kid. You got this." He whispered to you as the doors opened.

All at once every ounce of fear or worry you had been holding on to dissipated.

Phoenix had outdone herself.

White Calla Lilies hung from the ceiling, surrounded by fairy lights and other perfectly placed bobbles. Every table was decorated with a centrepiece of forget-me-nots and daisies. The teary smiles of your family and friends stared at you in happiness. Even the mason jar candles sat in just the right amounts.

Your eyes locked on Bradley, whose tears were already flowing, and you walked down the aisle without hesitation.

Mav handed you off to Bradley, muttering a few protective words before going to take his seat as the priest began to speak.

"Hey, you." You whispered to Bradley.

"Hey, hun." He choked out through tears.

Both of you stood at the altar, grinning ear to ear at each other. Your vows to each other made sure there wasn't a dry eye left in the room.

"You may now kiss the-" The priest began to say.

He didn't even get a chance to finish before Rooster already had his hands on either side of your face and was slamming his lips to yours. He was kissing you so hard your hands shot out to hold the lapels of his suit jacket so your swooning didn't cause you to fall over.

The crowd erupted in cheers, and you could hear the distinct sound of Hangman and the other guys hooting and hollering as Bradley poured every single ounce of love he had for you into the kiss.

You had your first dance to 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', and before you knew it you and Rooster were being whisked away by Phoenix for your send-off.

The same send-off that she had refused to tell you about.

"Just don't get mad!" She said quickly.

"Nat? What do you mean? What did you do?" You looked to Rooster for help but he was wearing the same conspiratorial grin as Phoenix.

Before you could say anything else, she was already pushing both of you outside. It took a second for your eyes and ears to adjust to the sight and sound of your cheering loved ones who were lining the steps of the venue. It took even longer to process what you saw in each of their hands.

Instead of baskets of rice, everyone there was holding what looked like a piece of paper. You were about to ask Bradley what was going on, but then something hit you in the side of your head. Startled, you went to turn to see what hit you, only to be greeted with the sight of a mischievous Phoenix holding two origami planes.

Two F-16s to be exact.

Before you could react, you and Rooster were getting pelted by a rain of paper F-16s. You burst out laughing as he grabbed your hand, pulling you to the limo so quickly you barely got a chance to wave goodbye to everyone.

You let out a sigh of contentment as you slipped into the limo, looking back at the perfect venue and perfect friends who had planned it all.

Okay, maybe you'd let Phoenix plan every party you had.

#oneshot #bradley rooster x reader #rooster x you #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley rooster x y/n #rooster fanfic #rooster top gun #rooster x reader #rooster #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw

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kindalikerackham · 2 months ago

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alright. I suppose it's time. ty to @melancholic-megafauna for chatting this out with me so I could detangle some thoughts

Let's talk about Zack Addy

So. Here's the thing about Zack. Here's what I think makes his Apprentice arc so emotionally evocative, for better and worse: it's the Gormogon's handwaved logic. Walk with me here.

Like any good mystery series, Bones is a show that is obsessed with the facts of a case. From the very beginning, solving nearly any case takes three components: 1) You need the forensic evidence gathered by the squints, building the physical facts of the scenario 2) You need the social context gathered by Booth (and later Brennan and Sweets) building the social reasoning. This almost always ends in: 3) A confession that pulls the reasoning together, wrapping it up in a nice little bow for Caroline.

The finale of season 3 is different. Zack's confession does not resolve the reasoning. Booth's explanation glides over the specifics of Zack Addy (Instead, he's a "weak personality"). Although Gormogon's reasoning is supposedly airtight to a kid who prides himself on reasoning, we don't get to know what insecurity was exploited. He's just vulnerable. Unspecifically emotionally vulnerable.

This gap, the perpetrator's/Zack's emotional logic, is one that would usually get tidied up by the end of the episode. But it's just painted over.

By leaving it open, amorphous, Bones defies not only it's own formula, but also its characteristic exhaustive search for the whole truth of a scenario.

We do not get to know what the Gormogon said to Zack. We don't get to know!! We don't get to know what flattery got him to miss a step. We don't get to know what grand picture Zack's helping. We don't get to know what contradictions of Zack Addy that Gormogon observed and exploited, save the Spock contradiction (the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one, except when they don't).

This gaping wound of "what got him to this place" serves its primary goal exceedingly well: the team (as well as the audience) is left reeling, struggling to review what they know about him, what they missed, how they could have failed him. It's the bone-deep shock of realizing you lost a family member to a cult right under your nose. In doing this, they honor each character's relationship with Zack. We feel the loss and nonsensicality of it all. In that way, it's a fitting sendoff for a primary character.

At the same time, that gap in logic takes the show's most stereotypical autistic character from a social coming of age arc to a serial killer's accomplice. In one tap dance of logic, he's gone from being a character about the show's thesis (off-putting doesn't mean evil) to a character about the insidiousness of evil. He's gone from a character growing into being a moral man to being both victim and perpetrator. And we, the audience, are no longer there with him.

This gap in the social logic leaves future plot to explore, but it's mostly just set to rest for seasons and seasons. It's a gaping wound without a suture, a part of the team ripped out and left unsewn.

All in all, it was a strong choice to make, and I think that's something to respect. You have to give it that, whether you think it's justified or not.*

*I started thinking about this bc this was the point my mom and I stopped watching Bones as it came out. Zach was a really important character to a parent who worked as a tech with autistic kids and had a probably autistic kid (me) at home. It's personal to me.

As a caveat about whether it's justified, it's pretty obvious that this arc is rushed, and there's a few different reasons I know about for it. The writers strike truncated the season, Zach's actor wanted to leave, and the Gormogon plot had an apprentice betrayal arc they were building in (one that they could twist to fit Zach). That in mind, it's impressive that they pulled this out of their hat.

#bones tv #bones on the (re) watch #zack addy

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sensitivehandsomeactionman · 2 months ago

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Rewatched 1x03 Dead in the Water (this is a really long one, so I added a "read more" break)

This episode 100% gobsmacked me in the face with Jensen's beauty all the way through. It's unreal, shocking. There's a simple mystery story, but the real mystery is how anyone can have a normal conversation with that face in the room? Thank you, Kim Manners.

Thank you also for the bleak mood of the story. Several unsolved deaths and a failing dam; the townsfolk seem puzzled and depressed in their dreary surroundings. It has the aura of a deteriorating Rust Belt town already mourning its impending doom.

Sam is impatient to follow the (nonexistent?) trail to Dad. Dean has to persuade Sam to do the monster of the week as this town is vaguely "along the way." Silly excuses for a MOTW aside, I do like that character-wise, pretty consistently throughout the series, Dean is a "trust the process" guy. When he's at a loss, he'll revert to the familiar steps of the hunt till there's another lead or inspiration hits. Very workman-like. (By season 7 it morphs into a more existential "fake it till you make it" survival strategy.)

We move on to them hitting the road in the gleaming Impala. Flirty Dean at the diner becomes flirty Dean at the sheriff's office. Andrea isn't buying what he's selling, and we get a little light comedy. Sam's "Name three children that you even know" is a nice bit of misdirection to imply Dean has no connection to kids. We and Sam are about to learn differently.

Sam's research uncovers that Lucas witnessed his Dad's death, setting up a parallel to Dean's loss of Mary. Dean's attention gravitates to Lucas, and his empathy opens a window for us into Dean's own childhood trauma. When Lucas gives Dean a drawing, I feel like Andrea's look of surprise towards Dean mirrors our own. Maybe there's more to him than that brash beauty.

There's a hint that Lucas has premonitions -- I love that they're laying the groundwork for premonitions, soon to be significant for Sam -- and can give them clues through his drawings. Dean's confession about being scared and thinking his Mom would want him to be brave is delivered with honesty, almost matter-of-fact. It's all the more poignant. I think it easily taps into how we all remember the loneliness of childhood sadness as well as the instinctive desire at that age to make our parents proud. This time instead of Andrea we get to see Sam register surprise at this reveal from Dean.

Giant Sam is able to pull nude Andrea from the haunted bath. I'm a bit distracted by the technical need to not reveal too much of her body, and I can't help but worry about actresses being put into those circumstances during filming. More memorable is Dean saving Lucas because of that emotional connection between them. I love the physicality that J2 imbue into the action, especially when they're clearly doing their own stunts.

The first two episodes seemed to be pulling Sam into a reckoning with his past, and while he's not the emotional center of this episode, he's our proxy. Sam is seeing his brother in a new light. It's the same when you're a young adult, re-examining your childhood memories and finding a new perspective on and context for things you long took for granted to be true.

The two brothers together pulling a dead child's buried bicycle from its grave is a chilling visual on loss of innocence, and a fitting metaphor for how their work is unburying their own past along their way to rediscover Dad, their family. And the message here is that the violence didn't stay dead and buried; it needed to be acknowledged and reckoned with to stop the cycle. Psychologically satisfying.

Some echoes from the previous episodes: bathtub danger, creepy ghost kids, bereft and fatally flawed parents, a grateful pretty woman giving Dean a farewell kiss, a rock song sendoff. Toy green army men are connected to Dean's childhood. It was fun to see Amy Acker, as I really enjoyed her in Angel.

I love the melancholy of this episode. The filming is intimate and assured, full of dark rooms, quiet conversations, and grief. Noir shadows highlight Dean's stunning face, which I continue to gif in attempts to hold onto that wonder a few seconds longer. I love all the groundwork this episode lays for the mytharc while being a satisfying standalone ep. Jensen's acting with Lucas, and Jared and Amy's reactions to Dean bring an unexpected, deeper dimension to Dean. The story has begun to roll on the Getting-to-Know-Dean track, and I'm always ready to hop on this ride.

#spn rewatch musing aloud #spn #ep 1.03 #sam #dean #spn meta #spn 1.03 #danistuff #long post #that moment when Dean realizes Lucas is silent because he's scared there's a visible *click* of recognition on his face. *chef's kiss*#dean being the adult (for lucas) that he needed as a child #spn rewatch

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oskea93 · 9 months ago

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✦ It Had to be You: One ✦

John "Bucky" Egan x OC Gale "Buck Cleven x OC

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and not associated with the real people mentioned from the show. This is simply based on the portrayals of the actors playing these characters. Warning for this chapter: Cursing, mentions of sex, depression, rage anger.

● If you would like to be tagged, just comment below ●

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Black had become a staple in my wardrobe.

I used to despise the dark color – opting for more cheerful tones or floral patterns. I didn’t want to walk around looking like a depressive cloud – someone in constant mourning. I didn’t even own a black dress until I got the news – my mother making the journey to the store to buy one. I couldn’t bear to leave the house – not wanting the sympathetic glances of those in town that had learned the news. I can’t even begin to tell you how many letters I had received, those that knew Gale and even from those that didn’t. Each letter praised his heroic actions – thanking him in black ink for his level of service and dedication to the United States. Even received one from President Truman and the men of Washington D.C.

I used to look at women who had received the devastating news with such sorrow and sadness. Wonder how they would survive without their men - their source of comfort and love. I was certain that it would be very difficult to do so – have to learn to fend for yourself and go on without the man you loved. I didn’t realize that I would be in the same boat years later. I was a simple housewife – barely of age when we married. Gale and I were just two kids – two kids that were madly and deeply in love with each other. I had grown up more privileged than Gale or those that we knew. I didn’t know how to clean a house properly or cook a hearty meal that would fill the bellies of my husband and future children. I’ve always had someone do those things for me – my mother more focused on raising a proper lady. If you needed to know which fork went where, I was the girl to ask, but I couldn’t tell you anything domestic. I wanted to be able to learn all those things while he was away – making sure that when he returned home for good, I would be able to care for him like a wife should.

I had met Gale at a dance the local hall was putting on – a sendoff to some of the troops that lived in the area. He had just enlisted– saying that he was a week away from going to boot camp. He was cool as a cucumber – no evidence of fear etched on his beautiful face. He spoke of wanting to fight the good fight – getting up in the air and showing Germany the trouble they were in for. He was a born fighter – a genius when it came to life. We spent most of the night as close as two people could be while sitting upright- both speaking of our life and our dreams. Not to sound cliché but I was smitten as soon as I saw him. His blonde hair was slightly disheveled – his wool trousers fitting his frame nicely. His smile could light up a room – that deep voice causing my insides to quiver with a need that only he could give me.

I longed for him during those weeks he was away – smiling as I read his letters that would come bi-weekly. I could hear his voice as I read the words on paper – the excitement of finally flying and the annoyance he felt towards his roommate. The one true constant that popped up on each letter was the mention of his co-captain. His name was John Egan – Bucky – the nickname he had been given. Gale spoke highly of the man – praising him and saying that he couldn’t wait for us to meet. Gale was soft spoken – a bit reserved – he wasn’t into sports or gambling. He liked to sit outside the house and just listen to the sounds of nature. John Egan was the opposite that Gale needed in his life. He helped Gale open up and Gale helped John stay out of trouble...

Gale finally returned to me after weeks away – our reunion being one spent giving ourselves to one another. We were both virgins but the time away from one another ignited a feeling in both of us that we couldn’t suppress. He asked me to marry him a month after his return – wanting to get married sooner rather than later seeing as the war was ramping up. John Egan stood by Gale’s side as we exchanged vowels – his blue eyes shining bright as he watched us become husband and wife. He was the life of the party at our reception – singing along with the band as those around us danced to the music. I could see why Gale adored him so, but I was still weary.

That feeling came to a head when John convinced Gale that it was time for him to head over to England and join the ranks. He wrote to him about the fun he was having and all the missions they were accomplishing. He made it sound like a thrill ride – something that didn’t involve the chance of dying at any moment. Gale and I spent our last night together – wrapped up in each other – exploring and branding kisses into skin – almost as if we were creating a permanent road map to remember one another. It was the most sensual night we’ve had – that we would ever have.

The movie reel played on repeat in my head as I could still feel his lips on mine as he kissed me goodbye. Tears in both of our eyes as the sound of the car’s engine faded into the distance.

“I’m coming back to you – hell or high water – I will be back.”

He kept waving until his car was out of sight – my knees buckling – my body falling into grass below. A part of my heart left that Spring Day…

I received his first official letter a couple weeks later – screaming out in joy as I read his chicken scratch penmanship. He spoke of the area they were located – how it felt flying in – the fresh air that surrounded the base. He gushed about the new friends he had made –describing them as if he had known them for years. The most important was how much he missed and loved me – repeating the same words as above – hell or high water.

No letter from Gale would be complete without a mention of John Egan. Gale wrote of how John had taken him under his wing, but also being John’s protector. He wrote of how he’s stopped him from getting into several scuffles with the British soldiers or the townspeople. His writings detailing how much they truly cared for one another – they were like brothers.

As time progressed, his writings became darker – tragic even. He detailed his first mission in graphic detail – expressing his feelings and the slight betrayal that he felt towards Egan. He watched men he had befriended either die in the air in a fiery explosion or pass as they laid on the stretcher in the makeshift hospital on the base. He never wrote of his fear that I’m sure he had – choosing to stay strong and do everything he could for his squadron. He was the main pilot – he had the lives of nine other men to think about – he wanted them to be able to return home safely even if that meant he was the sacrificial lamb...

The last letter that would arrive on time came through the mail on October 10th, 1943. It was shorter than normal, Gale explaining that he was moments away from an important mission. He must’ve written “I love you” about a dozen times before signing off – xo following his name. I had learned about a week later that his plane had went down somewhere outside of Germany. The news articles praised their efforts – telling of how they put a damper into the German’s artillery. That was all well and good, but my husband was missing – the base having no record of his whereabouts or if he was still alive.

Months passed before a battered letter was placed inside the mail slot. The enveloped looked as if it had gone through hell, but Gale’s handwriting could be seen through the grime. He had been placed in a camp for captured soldiers. Many of the men that he had met at the base were there as well. He hadn’t been injured – keeping quiet and under the radar of the German soldiers. I fell to the floor after reading that letter – my heart shattering at the thoughts of what might happen. Tears fell on the paper as I replied – simply begging him to come back to me…

“Sweetheart?” I looked up from the mattress as my mother entered the room. “It’s nearing one in the afternoon, darling.” She threw open the curtains – the bright sunlight beaming into the once darkened room. “You need to get yourself together and get dressed.”

My mother had never seen me in such a state – not even recognizing the person I had become. Long gone was the smile and laughter – replaced by tears and screams of anger. I was angry at everyone – my parents, my friends, God.

Oh, I was especially mad at God.

Countless times I would ask why Gale – why was it his turn to be taken? Was he needed for greater things? Why wasn’t I granted more time with him? Just why?

Growing up in the church, it was frowned upon to ask why for anything, more so for why God chose those that he did. You never asked why – you just learned to accept the outcome. I was long past that – I wanted an answer – I demanded a Goddamn answer.

Sighing, I slowly moved to a sitting position as she laid the black dress and heels next to me. My eyes boring holes into the clothing – hoping that with another energy they would magically combust into flames, burning me alive with them. “I’ll do your hair when you get out of the bath.”

Our eyes connected, “I’m not taking a bath.”

Mother let out an exhausted sigh as her heels clicked on the hardwood floor. I watched as she walked to the window, her upper body jerking slightly as she wiped away the tears that started to fall. She never liked anyone to see her cry.

I started to speak, stopping before the first syllable could come out. I wanted to tell her not to cry but I didn’t have that right. She loved Gale too – she had been smitten by him from the get-go. We all held out hope that he would return to us – just not in a flag draped pine box.

A soft knock on the bedroom door caught both of our attention as my dad entered the room. His once bright face was downcast as he took in my appearance. “The car will be here soon, darling.” His voice soft as he exchanged glances with my mother.

The reality that I was an hour away from burying my only love hadn’t set in yet – just fog – fog that felt like it would never lift to clear skies. I fisted the black material, stepping over the kitten heels as I trudged towards the bathroom. The figure in the mirror was a stranger – someone who’s been through more things than a human is supposed to. Dark circles and pale skin stared back at me – my hair in a tangled mess – not even a comb could get through at this point. Gaunt would be the best word to describe this version of Carolina. I hadn’t bathed in several days – to numb to even remove myself from the bed at times. I barely made it to the bathroom to relieve myself, almost just wanting to go on myself so I wouldn’t have to get up.

Looking around, I noticed everything laid out by my mother. Toothbrush, toothpaste, the expensive makeup that I had collected over the years sitting on the vanity. I was supposed to look put together – still grieving – but have the attributes of a Hollywood starlet.

A guttural scream roared through my body as the vanity contents crashed to the floor – the glass bottles of perfume shattering as the liquid splashed in the air. I could feel the glass stabbing into my bare feet, the blood mixing with the perfume on the floor. I didn’t even register that my father had burst into the room until his arm wrapped around my waist, my back hitting his tailored chest. I thrashed against his hold like a wild animal trapped in a cage.

“Carolina, please!” My mother bawled as she took in my state. “Please, darling calm down before you hurt yourself!”

Another voice was added to the chaos – a deeper voice than that of my father. He was dressed in a black suit – his tall figure looming over my parents. His hands replaced my father’s – his grip on my waist tight and firm. “Calm down, Lina.” His hot breath hitting my ear as the world started to spin around me. My body was running on fumes – the last of those turning into smoke as my brain finally had enough, shutting down before any more damage could be done.

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geekgemsspooksandtoons · 5 months ago

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I have thought of something I think is incredibly stupid. Or what I think the Predator/Yautja fandom would consider stupid and dislike heavily. But that's me overreacting and it's how I would see Prey 2 going.

Keep in mind, I am all for what Dan Trachtenberg wants to do for Prey 2. I'm excited for Badlands. Keep in mind, these are just my ideas. And it's mainly combining elements of Predator: 1718 with what I heard was going to be the original premise of Prey. That Feral and Naru were going to team up. I am also aware of the scene during the credits.

My idea or how I imagine a sequel could go for Prey is maybe it takes place a few years. But it would likely take place immediately after because of what we saw during the credits.

But the idea is that Naru has gotten older. A new Yautja comes to Earth to prove itself. And it's Greyback, the Elder from Predator 2. But unlike Feral who was more upfront and brutish during the later parts of Prey. Greyback (Or what he's known as to some people during this time, gaining the title of "The Golden Angel") is more reserved, patience, and more cunning than some of his more eager Youngblood brethen. Especially having more advanced tech than Feral. He's heard the story of what happened to Feral and Naru and claims to seek her as a trophy.

Yet something happens in the situation where Greyback and Naru both realize they must team up against a common foe. With Naru soon realizing Greyback isn't like the last creature she had faced. With Greyback at least understanding her in a way.

But in the end, after the dust settles, Naru likely dies a warrior's/hero's death and in her last moments. Seeing the creature not as an enemy, but as an ally. She gives him the flintlock pistol as a gift before she dies from her wounds. And after this, instead of viewing her as a lost trophy he should've gotten. Greyback views Naru as an equal to where instead of leaving her body. He decides to bring her body, and help her tribe bury her body (Sounds crazy, I know) in peace. And because of Greyback's involvement of aiding Naru and helping bury her. Her tribe dubs him as "The Golden Spirit". I'm no expert on Comanche beliefs, so you have every right to criticize me for suggesting that. I just wanted to keep the "Golden Angel" angle.

And years later in 1997, where Harrigan meets the Lost Tribe in Predator 2. All the Yautja have seen him killed Ghost. Before he leaves, Greyback gives Harrigan the same pistol Naru gave him. And that scene is given so much more weight because with this idea. Greyback considers Harrigan a worthy equal as much as Naru. To the point he gives him the gift she gave him.

So, that's my idea. The reason I said this sounds incredibly stupid because I think people would REALLY hate the idea of Naru dying. And this is technically just taking elements of Predator: 1718 and being like, "What if we replace Rapheal with Naru instead?" I think it might be better if Naru lives, giving Greyback the pistol as a thank you gift. I was also thinking I don't know if a Prey 3 will happen. I wanted to give Naru a fitting, heroic, yet touching sendoff where after her death. This same Yautja considers her his equal and was willing to help her tribe bury her.

This is merely just fanfiction. It's going to be really interesting if we do get a follow up and if we ever see Greyback in a film again. Because it can go in two ways.

Greyback killed Naru.

Naru gave Greyback the pistol as a gift/trophy. The same way Greyback does with Harrigan in Predator 2.

But idea sounds a bit crazy. Yet I just wanted to share it and if the sequel to Prey actually does something similar or not at all.

#predator #yautja #greyback #naru #prey 2022

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bathic · 15 days ago

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11. It's his game and nobody else's to partake in.

Word Count: 2.2k

Chapter Warning: Bodily fluids (vomit), Nearly being choked, Threats of gun violence, Restrained against will.

Certainly, this entire ordeal was deserving of a good hearty laugh. One that just ripped your belly down the center and echoed loud enough to rattle windows. Maybe in a less than real situation you would have. But being shackled to an ornate chair by the throat and wrists in the center path of a lunatic man’s sight had no effect on your funny bone.

You swallow shakily, feeling the metal around your neck catch against your skin.

“I have already told you everything. What fucking more could you want?”

Hongjoong taps the bowl of his pipe on the edge of his desk, his expression feigning thought.

"Everything? I hardly think you've scratched the surface. Plus," He pauses to aimlessly shift around a few of the papers on his desk, "beforehand wasn't even a proper discussion. Think of it more as a, hm, introduction. Just a little foundation laying so we aren't standing miles away from each other but rather a few feet."

“You’re crazy if you think I would want to stand anywhere near you— mile, foot, inches. I’d rather throw myself over that bridge your two puppets and I landed on.”

Hongjoong’s face nearly splits at the round of fitful laughter befalling from his lips. Seonghwa wasn’t amused in the slightest and Yeosang remained as unforthcoming with his thoughts.

“What a funny thing to say.” He gets up, arm retracting from Yeosang’s hip, “Self-sacrifice, you’d do that for little ole me? We’ve barely even managed to coexist in the same room for the second time today and yet you’ve announced how much you yearn to snuff out your light just because I wish to extend a hand of camaraderie.” You stiffen as he maneuvers around the edge of the wooden desk and struts closer to your restrained form, hands tightening into fists against the armrests.

He stops right at your left arm with a soft hum, lifting a ringed hand to lightly nudge a piece of stiff hair from your face. “I’ve got to say, I’m quite flattered.”

The bile rises quicker than you could have expected, sputtering from your chapped lips in thinly stretched ropes. You might have caught the warning signs if not for the thrashing of your heartbeat in your ears, the pulse on your neck tugging the skin taut.

Seonghwa’s nose scrunches at the way your upheaval clings stubbornly to your chin, his displeasure bleeding equally into Yeosang. His stoicism falls into a less than enthused expression at the vomit.

But Hongjoong remained unfazed, the twinkle of enjoyment dancing beneath long lashes as he watches you shutter and swallow against the burn marring your esophagus.

“Well, aren’t you just full of little surprises. I wonder what else you could do if I poked and prodded at you, hm? Maybe if I,” Your startled when his hand suddenly latches onto what little space is above your jaw and the shackle around your neck.

Surprisingly his grip was loose, teasing, but the weight of his palm dug hard enough down that your larynx begun to ache alongside the fancy woodcarving at the back of your head digging into your skull. “What else do you plan on coughing up, hm? Blood, more vomit?”

The prickle of tears blurred the vision of Hongjoong into a watery menagerie of muted colors, his fawn-colored hair mixing into the leathers of his clothing and the linen of his shirt. You could faintly make out the pounding of your fists on the armrests, the thumping of your heels on the floor and the rattling of the shackles holding you hostage to your imminent demise. The rush of your heart in your ears felt like a sendoff, erratic in its haste and ushering you into an inescapable abyss in time to the symphony of drums.

“Hongjoong— that’s enough. Your aforementioned claims of discussion are falling wayside under your own hand.” Seonghwa, finding the sight of your purpling face and snot and tear trails nauseating chastised from where he took root.

Yeosang shifted a bit, the desire to be anywhere but the captain's quarters remaining a tight-lipped secret for himself only to know. His loyalty was here, despite his only purpose amongst the crew going unused. He wouldn’t make a move unless Hongjoong gave the command.

Hongjoong pursed his lips, a childish pout misplaced on a man brimming with violent tendencies. But his hand fluttered away, not without leaving a few little nicks on the underside of your jaw from the jagged corners of his heavily embellished rings. Your immediate response is to gasp, heave and cough all at once in no specific order. The man was back at his desk, reclining at on the lip of it with his leg crossed over the other at the ankles. He was unperturbed by your fit, despite all the raucous noise you were making.

“Are you going to babysit every little thing I do?” His scoff irks Seonghwa. “Moons forbid, I take a moment to shit in peace and you’ll be at the door reminding me to squat for better bowel movement.”

“Could you be mature for a single second? Captain oh Captain, where does the line fall between your childish barking and the onset of premature lunacy?” Seonghwa stepped away from Yeosang with a hardened expression, heeled boots thumping heavily against the wooden flooring as he a rounded the desk.

“Oh great, another one of your prudish monologues.”

Hongjoong tilted his head to rest on his own shoulder, peering over at the other beneath long lashes. His eyes were deceiving a playful softness, a catty swipe meant to innocently rile Seonghwa up was in fact a knife hidden in the dark. The man was no stranger to the lurking threat despite the mischievous grin. It was cute and endearing when Wooyoung or Jongho would do it (when the latter wasn’t in a state of unhinged rage) but Hongjoong was neither of those things. Danger swathed him in a weighted blanket of pike’s and razor-wire.

Yeosang cleared his throat, stepping to Seonghwa’s side. Where one stepped, the other would follow just a half-step behind. Yunho joked that Yeosang was merely Seonghwa’s shadow come to life, the younger rebuked the thought with an accusation of childish imagination. But perhaps it wasn’t so far off. “Captain, I request we be dismissed. Our presence is providing nothing more than a distraction for you.”

Seonghwa’s head flew to the side at the supplication, but Yeosang refused to meet his probing stare.

Hongjoong clucks his tongue, “Run along, I forgot how sour your beloved gets when his bedtime routine is encroached upon.”

“I’m not leaving—“

“Hwa… please.” Yeosang’s tone dipped into a quiet urgency. His hand, with its natural tremble, curled around Seonghwa’s elbow.

But the taller refused to budge.

“No. I refuse to leave until I have seen whatever nonsense this entire ordeal is to bring.” Seonghwa, even in his most stubborn moments, never raised his voice at Yeosang. Instead, he cupped a hand on the man’s jaw, rubbed the pad of his thumb lovingly against the soft skin.

Yeosang wouldn’t fight against his love’s decision, rather he nodded in acceptance that he would be going to bed alone and slinked away to the door. You watched him as he approached, flinching once he got close enough to cause a stale draft to run over the exposed skin of your arm before passing in complete silence save for the solid thumping of his boots.

The door shutting brought the slight detour right back onto you. Like a centerpiece in an art gallery or a new animal exhibit placed on display for every pair of eyes in the vicinity to zero in on— you were on the frontline for the two men still present.

“Tell us a little about yourself.” Hongjoong’s casualness felt like the bucket of cold water that Yeosang had thrown on you.

“Like… Like what?”

He shrugs, nonchalantly picking at the skin around his nailbeds. Seonghwa had moved to another chair positioned adjacent to your own at a distance that was close enough if he felt like pouncing on you at any given moment but not near enough that his personal space was invaded. You concluded very quickly that he wouldn’t appreciate that one bit.

“How about a name? Simple enough. Tell me yours, and I will… indulge you in mine.” His gaze flickered up from his hand to you, the dark twinkle within them dancing in a teasing waltz.

Seonghwa scoffs from his seat.

You swallow, the raw feeling kicking up the urge to cough. Your hesitation doesn’t go unnoticed by either man.

“Do you even have one?” Seonghwa's inquiry had an icy jab to it.

“Of course I have a fucking name. Who doesn’t?”

“Watch the way you speak—“

“Or what—“

The sudden sound of Hongjoong’s hand colliding with the wooden surface of his desk cut the thread holding the spirally conversation, collapsing you and Seonghwa into a stunted silence.

“This is my time that you are both wasting by squabbling with each other.”

A bit ironic, you thought. The man who’s been playing with you like a cat with a mouse the moment you stepped foot in his quarters has a bone to pick when others do the same. It’s his game and nobody else’s to partake in.

Seonghwa looks away from you to fix his sight onto Hongjoong with a frown. “No more wasted than whatever you were doing moments ago.”

Hongjoong’s head tilts at the rebuttal, “What I do with my time is irrelevant.”

“So I have noticed.”

There’s a knock at the door that Yeosang had left through, breaking the surmounting tension like fine glass. A head pops in, one you can’t see but its shadow casts along the wall just off to the side.

“Captain.”

The voice isn’t too familiar, but you know it has to be at least one of the other men who was down in the brig during Hongjoong’s visit.

“What?”

“Mingi wants to know if he should continue to wait outside until you are finished with… her or go find somewhere else to sleep.”

Hongjoong sighed, hand coming up to rub at his eyes. “Tell him to practice some patience. I am in the middle of a delicate situation that requires a great amount of effort to—“

“Just tell him to go sleep with Yeosang, San.” Seonghwa wanted to be spared the tirade of the other— for his own sake and for his fellow lover.

The door closed once again just as swiftly as it had opened, and you would have rather the distraction to keep the heat off of you. But that was an unrealistic hope.

“Now, where were we? Ah, right.” With a twist and click, you were staring eye to eye with the barrel of a flintlock all within a singular breath. You couldn’t even piece together when he had moved from his desk, his form the centerpiece of your vision and yet here he was, standing just a short distance away and looking past his pistol at your disheveled face. “I don’t mind doing things with a bullet or two but that would mean going without an answer and I despise the thought of the unknown. Especially within my own walls.”

The cool metal pressed roughly against one of your eyelids, causing weird shapes to burst and bubble within the obscurity of your sight.

“You’d be none the wiser to just tell him. Unless you value your life so little to lose it over something so small.” Seonghwa piped up from his seat, tone lackluster and achingly bored.

You wished the shuttering exhale of your name wasn’t so shaken by the fear of having your life splattered against the intricate wood carving of the chair-back against your head. But it did, and the erratic movement of your one eye pressed closed by the mouth of Hongjoong’s gun vibrated the barrel enough for his hand to feel it.

He repeated it, swished it from cheek to cheek and let it roll off his tongue back to front. Then he smiled, impishly sharp before withdrawing the gun and giving it a light-weighted swing around his pointer finger.

“No, I don’t think so.”

Your brows furrow in confusion. What the hell did he mean by ‘I don’t think so’, that was your fucking name! Who was he to determine if your name was assigned to you like your very own clothing tag or not.

“I’m not… I’m not following—“

“I hate it, your name. It’ll be changed to something less unappealing.”

Seonghwa seemed to rattle out of his boredom, getting to his feet and approaching the shorter man with an incredulous look. “Please tell me you aren’t insinuating what I think you are?” And when Hongjoong’s casual hum met his dire question, it was all the answer the other needed.

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Masterlist

#ateez fanfic #ateez fic #poly ateez #ateez x reader #kim hongjoong #park seonghwa #jeong yunho #kang yeosang #choi san #song mingi #jung wooyoung #choi jongho #bathic's:pit

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jacethebeltsculptor · 3 days ago

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The Outer Wilds: Final Expedition Log

Alright gang, last one before I shut up about this for awhile. This morning, I decided I didn't want to get dressed for work and finished it. I took the warp core out of the Ash Twin project, made my way to the vessel, and accidentally bumped into an Anglerfish. There goes the universe. After loading a save, I managed to make the journey successfully to the Eye of the Universe. I made my way to the South Pole where I assumed I was supposed to go, since that's where the Quantum Moon takes you, and somewhere along the way, I fired my probe into the sky for shits and giggles and it just... disappeared. After going through some trippy imagery, I found myself in a dark forest in an echo of Timber Hearth. It was a really nice touch that the band got to get back together for one final song, even if I'm not sure it was really "them" as much as echoes of them. I was happy that Solanum got to join us as well. For a game with such a sense of joy and curiosity behind it- every character dedicated to science and exploration and discovery- a campfire reunion with your fellow explorers to watch it all end feels like a fitting sendoff. It was cozy. After that, I settled in to watch the birth of a new universe, and to see that, even though everything was different, there were still people like us, seated around a campfire, exploring the stars. It was good to know that while even the stars may die, curiosity lives on. As does my probe, apparently, which I somehow managed to fire clean into a new universe. While I have finished the game and rolled the end credits, I don't think I'm quite done yet. I've still got loose thoughts on the thematic core of the game that I need to untangle, and I've got a few things to fuck around with and subsequently find out. For example, I know you can escape the supernova, in which case you get a different "end of loop" screen, so I want to see what happens if you deactivate the Ash Twin Project and then make a hard burn for absolutely nowhere. I also want to see what happens if you fly into the black hole in the Ash Twin project during the supernova, and if it's possible to mess up the High Energy Lab experiment to the point where the scout exits the white hole but the black hole closes before it ends, creating a paradox. There's also the expansion to consider, although I'll probably return for that at a later date once my feelings on the base game have settled. So, for now, it's goodbye, fellow adventurers! It's been a blast playing through this wonderfully unique and cozy game, and to those who were already fans, I hope I was able to entertain! You'll probably hear from me one more time as I square away my final thoughts, but until then, may your marshmallows be unburnt and your jetpack be fully fueled!

#outer wilds #spoilers #outer wilds spoilers #the outer wilds

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srmcd1 · 4 months ago

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*blows dust off my tumblr*

So a long time ago, a fan floated the idea that the late David Collings (known for a varied career across British television, particularly as Silver from "Sapphire and Steel") would've made an excellent Doctor Who should Tom Baker have for some reason decided to depart the series earlier than his canon 7 year run (something Baker himself admitted he probably should've done, but hey-ho, hindsight is 20-20).

Sidenote: the fan in question is kind of horrible, so I'm not going to name them, but I agreed with them on this, so I figure I may as well give them credit.

AU for Dr Who (the David Collings Years 1978 - 81) below:

AU for Dr Who: What would prompt Tom Baker to leave earlier than in real life? Perhaps the departure of executive producer Phillip Hinchcliffe, who'd been with him since he first started. In reality, Hinchcliffe was forced out after Season 14 for making Dr Who "too scary". In my reality, instead of just forcing him out immediately, the BBC decide to be a little more reasonable and tell him, "Look, we'll let you do Season 15, but after that, we think it's time for you to move on." Hinchcliffe has said in interviews he had plans for S15 that would've been similar to what later became Indiana Jones, so we'd enjoy a season of that at least. The downside is "Robots of Death" and "Talons of Weng-Chiang" wouldn't look as impressive because Hinchcliffe wouldn't have gone over budget out of spite over getting the sack, but such is life.

We would still get "Horror of Fang Rock" and "Image of the Fendhal" as those still fit the Hinchcliffe/Robert Holmes motif before transitioning into whatever other stories they choose to make that year. With both producer and script editor departing, Baker -- wanting to make his Dr Who movie "Dr Who Meets the Scratchman" with Ian Marter -- decides to leave as well after four years -- one less than Pertwee. Louise Jameson initially plans to depart as well, but she's persuaded to at least do half of Season 16 so as to help "bridge the gap" between the two Drs, much like Lis Sladen did before her.

How Tom's Doctor meets his end in this canon, I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I like the idea that he faces off with either the Daleks (giving him a serial where they aren't overshadowed by Davros) or the Master (still played by Peter Pratt -- although maybe less rotted than in "Deadly Assassin).

I imagine the casting of Collings as the new Doctor would convince Louise Jameson to stay for the entirety of Season 16. She and Collings were great friends in real life after he played Poule in "Robots of Death". She convinced him later in life to do the convention circuit. She was one of the few to tweet a remembrance of him when he passed in 2020. I totally think she would've stayed for another season for the chance to work with him after a turbulent tenure with Baker.

And so, Graham Williams takes over as he did in real life, having a much better time working with Collings than he would've with Baker. K9 is added to the cast. Leela is given a much better sendoff in the finale. I like to think Dr Collings would join forces with Mary Tamm's Romana to find the Key to Time (although part of me loves the idea of Joanna Lumely, his S&S co-star, playing the part). He fights Daleks and Movellans, goes to Paris, fights vampires and finally meets his end at the end of Season 18, regenerating into Peter Davison's Doctor, and we're right back on schedule

Just an idea, but I enjoyed thinking it up

#Doctor Who #head canon #my headcanons #alternate universe #David Collings #Tom Baker #Louise Jameson #The Fourth Doctor #The Fifth Doctor #Sapphire and Steel #Leela #joanna lumley #K9

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goqmir · 1 year ago

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2023's additions to your magic the gathering interaction suite: trinkit's top five control pieces you should be playing now!

There's been a lot of interesting and delightful removal and counterspell cards printed in 2023, and as a sendoff to the year as your resident control player i'd love to talk about the new cards that i'm playing in my interaction-heavy commander decks :) this takes the form of a countdown list because it's fun and clickbaity and consumable but every card on this list is fun new (largely spell-based) interaction i have played with in commander decks and recommend you give a try!

starting off with our honorable mention: Invasion of New Capenna! while not a card i feel i can recommend in just any deck, this plays so well in Incubate-heavy decks, which is one of my favorite new mechanics introduced this year! this card is an auto-include in Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos, which has been a favorite deck of mine this year. Two mana exile removal on either artifact or creature, which you can easily sac a white dork (or untapped incubate token!) for the casting cost. furthermore, Invasion of New Capenna (inky for short) is the only battle i have ever transformed-- it's legitimately very good as a typal equipment (especially for incubate phyrexian tokens!). if you have an orzhov tokens deck this likely flew under your radar and i'd recommend giving it a shot :)

number 5 on the list is Cyber Conversion, a new blue staple removal piece. if you're in white or black, you'd be hard pressed to add Cyber Conversion over the other available options-- but this measures up very, very well against the other blue options! it's incredibly playable, allowing for niche interactions, preventing commanders from going back to the command zone until they can kill the cyberman, getting past indestructible (difficult in mono blue!), and generally being a cute little card. @devilkittydeckbuilding is more hype on this card than i am, so feel free to send it an ask about its favorite niche Cyber Conversion interaction, it can easily be the best option in a lot of scenarios. a Witness Protection at instant speed feels very good in hand.

number 4 is my personal favorite new interaction piece, Bronzebeak Foragers! this is like if a Oblivion Ring did everything you wanted it to-- and i already adore Oblivion Ring effects :3

Bronzebeak makes its appearance in so many of my games, and it constantly pulls its weight. it's a Grasp of Fate you can block with, it's a Fiend Hunter you can junk the exile with, it's a Banisher Priest that gains you life. this might be simultaneously one of the nonlegendary cards i have cast the most in the last couple months and the one that's pulled its weight the best. it's a body, it hits nonland permanents, it hits every opponent, it can junk the item, it can gain you life! what more do you need <3

where Bronzebeak tends to overperform is in my Oloro, Ageless Ascetic control deck, where junking a card with its activated ability gains you life, which you can use to draw a card with Oloro! every part of the card feels really good, especially in dedicated control decks-- you should play this card.

3rd on our list is a delightful card I adore slotting into every nonblue deck I can fit it in-- Reprieve!

Reprieve feels good to play. returning to hand is obviously not going to save you the game every time, but it does in a very good number of them :3 and the little extra bits they added to the card to supplement it feel wonderful too-- letting you cantrip it makes it feel so much better to slot in to your interaction suite, and the fact that it bypasses "cannot be countered" (especially when it's used to send back an uncounterable game-ending Thassa's Oracle) is very niche but feels so fucking good when it comes into play.

i've been building a lot of red/white decks lately (i've been on a bit of a mardu kick :3) and i tend to play reprieve alongside Lapse of Certainty and Tibalt's Trickery (and Red Elemental Blast sometimes) as a very delightful to resolve boros counterspell suite which has been incredibly fun.

#2 is Guff Rewrites History!

they've really been pushing removal lately.

hitting each opponent at the table is really. really good. maybe a bit better than wotc is giving it credit for at the moment-- because the table tends to shake when you resolve Guff Rewrites History for the low cost of three mana.

first of all, the rules text on this card doesn't really convey right away that you are basically sacking any random token for a cascade trigger for any cmc. I don't actually play GRH (pronounced as a dog barking growl "grrrh!!!" when at a table of trans girls) outside of decks that provide me with solid sac fodder-- it's performed for me recently mostly by sacking food tokens in my Rocco, Street Chef and 1/1 humans in my Silvar & Trynn. so that's the first boon-- minimal cost cascade in a deck that's built around it.

second, you hit nonenchantment, nonland for /each player/ which is an insane trick for red to get. this might be one of the best feeling interaction spells i've ever resolved. this thing pulls its weight and then some-- sac a token to it as soon as you can.

the best interaction piece of the year is not a particularly exciting one nor a surprising one-- Stroke of Midnight.

i like Stroke. it does the thing. it's cute! cinderella's silly moment :3 what if Generous Gift couldn't hit lands (not a big deal) and in return the token it gives them is way, way, way worse (a big deal!)

this is a pretty easy addition to any deck. it's nonland permanent, it's minimal downsides, it's instant speed, three mana-- what more do you want?

here's hoping for a fox themed boros removal spell 2024 <3

#mtg #magic the gathering

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popculturebuffet · 10 days ago

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Sam and Max The Devil's Playhouse Retrospective Finale: The City That Dares Not Sleep!: Into the Sunset (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy lagomorphs and welcome to the FINALE of my look at sam and max: the devil's playhouse and the telltale games as a whole. It's a bittersweet feeling: I"m happy to have finished this retrospective, have played these wonderful games and for all of you. This is one of the more popular series i've done and i'm proud of it. It allowed me to play three great games that while not my genre, were still a lot of fun and I will definetly revisit sometime and it was a fun experiment. It got me to review games for the first time, got me copies of all three games and got me the hall

Recently renovated!

But as i've said twice now and thought would cushion me from doing it again... i'll miss these guys. These games have a sense of humor that's parts brilliant, insane and just dark enough that really fits for me, and with no new sam and max media on the horizon this is the last we'll probably get. There is the high possibility skunkape could do a new game or there could be another vr game, but as of now the franchise has gone back to the sea, remaining dormant to rise triumphantly once again. There's other stuff to review, but it's unknown when we'll ever see these guys again. I would hope for a reprint of the comics or an actual release for the cartoon at some point, but i'm not holding my breath.

For now this is the end, the grand finale and it's perfect. Or as close as you could get: It's emotinally wrenching, hilarious, and engaging, a final sendoff to these games with a lot of major characters coming back to say goodbye. If the franchise had to stall for decades.. this was a good note to go out on. One last ride into the sunset on the wings of a giant monster with cockroach children, bizzare pregnancies, sailor moon refrences and shocking reveals galore! Let's get in the desoto one last time.. this is the City that Dares Not Sleep!

We open with the narrator who in classic fashion tells us one of these faces, displaying the whole cast and being in frame himself, will betray sam and max!

It's been one week since Max looked at sam, cocked his head to the side and became a giant cthulu monster. I do miss the direct followups from the earlier chapters, but the time jump feels necessary and adds to the sense of despair as Maxthulu has been terroizing the city for a week straight, with creepy flaming heads of max, psychic spores apparently, encouraging everyone to

And feeding off their dreams, and getting real pissed when Freddy Kruger keeps killing them. Stay on your street freddy!

Sam is working with an all star team. Mama Bosco and the Cops are there, though Carol has left to be with Buster Blaster, with Curt happy she's happy. Good on you man. Less good is that he keeps making puns about murdering max.. just HOW many you can get out of him and the sheer lack of empathy as ya know that's sam's husband make it one of the best gags in the game.

As for why they want to murder sam that's down to another guest: Agent Superball. Sorry ACTING PRESIDENT Agent Superball... could.. could he come here and be potus? Please? I'd even take max a this point. Max would say trans rights. He'd also give llamas the right to drive but he'd say trans rights. He dosen't want to.. but he's preparing the maimtrons, their's multiples now to nuke max which would take out manhattan and all in there but unlike max he's not throwing away lives for funsies. It's this or Maxtulu spreads and the whole world goes down.

Sam refuses to accept that and Luckily mama bosco has a plan: send Sam and a team of experts into Max's body to hopefully turn him back to as normal as the little psychopath gets. Thankfully she brought in two ringers. The first is a plesant suprise as DR NORRINGTON IS ALIVE! Yes he somehow survived the fall.. as did Paperwaite , who I spelled what wrong the last few episodes, but who cares about him DR NORRINGTON LIVES. They agree to go along.

Our second guest dosen't, but he is a welcome return. MR FEATHERLY. Yes he's helping out. Why a trained actor is needed we don't know but he was missed regardless and unlike the others I didn't expect him to be gone most of the game.

Everyone else turns sam down to join the team if for understandable resons: As President superball can't risk himself like this and unlike max won't go against protocol to do so time and time again, mama bosco needs to stay to be your woman in the chair and it goes against SAG regulation for mr featherly. The cops juts don't wanna. Thankfully an old friend arrives in the nick of time, someone with all the qulaifications and more:

YUP SYBIL HAS FINALLY RETURNED. And thankfully she's returned to doing tons of jobs and doing weird shit instead of griping with a horrible boyfriend she ends up marrying anyway. IN fact as you can see the marriage.. has gone well. Lincoln apparently shaped up as their now not only entirely loving but he stayed with her through all 15 semsters of her pregnancy. Which I know is a low bar but given how much I couldn't stand lincoln in season 2, is an improvment. He's leading the maimtrons and has won back my good will in being badass and also a supportive partner for a change.

So with that our team's assembled. Now we need to get inside max

Thankfully we have just the right Chekovs Gun: CORNDOGS! Max still loves them and his spores have taken all of new yorks to feed his endless hunger. Thankfuly we're able to swipe the last box from grandpa stinky's truck and thus need to get cookin without looking. We're going ot need the recipe though which he just gives us.. another fantastic gag. Wasn't that hard. This might be the funniest chapter of an already hilarious game.

We'll need cornmeal which is easy enough, as a truck's nearbye. For most of this batch we simply need to repeat these events, which gets a bit tedious as sam walks slow, but gets easier as you get more used to it: you wave a corndog, lure max's hand to wherever then stop waving it and he'll pick something you need up aka a truck full of cornmeal and the desoto.

With both plopped in the bowl, we now need veggie oil which luckily new york keeps in some of it's fine water towers for situations just like this. It's blocked by some more old friends; Satan and Jurgen! Both of whom i'm delighted to have back. Satan is doing damage control as he's being blamed for the whole affair instead of the elder gods and I can't blame him. Even the name devil's toybox is inaccurate.

Jurgen is having more issues with satan's premadoonna behavior. On the bright side he's looking sharp, having put his old clothes back on to save on the budget.

We need to end this local interview to get to that oil. Thankfully we got corndogs so you swap one with the mic, satan gets attacked and max drops the oil where we need it.

The last ingredient is one egg. Just a regular egg. Dosen't have to be sized up for the recipie. I found this hilarious. We have to get it out of mr featherly who can give us the goods....

We just gotta get everyone to turn around.. they won't.. except superball. He's a good guy. But we distract everyone else including geting the cops shut down by bringing up viruses. Not touching that one and moving on as we now have everything we need right in front of us. It's time to get inside of max!.... he.. he would've loved that.

We get a boss 70's adventure movie style intro for everyone. It's dope and feeds into the whole 70's vibe this game goes for in it's logo, bringing it all full circle.

So now we're inside max where his stomach is a shockingly orderly kitchen where we sadly can't cook without lookin but we do have all the lovely spices from that gag. I'm not suprised Max has tile grout in his stomach. I'm more suprised there isn't a tire iron.

The good news is Max digests slow the bad is that the tubes to the rest of his body aren't working. Luckily we have coffee beans in our inventory.. for some reason. A quick jolt and we can get up to the brain.

Sadly max has a bit of a problem: There's a tumor there's a tumor, there's a tumor there's a tumor oh oh there's a tumor. A massive one made out of stygian energy and poking it gets our heroes scattered throughout max's body.. though luckily where they need to go.

First is the legs. Their ran by treadmill but sybill won't do it so we need to find something to run them. Thankfully we get a direct line to MAX'S INVENTORY! Yes we finally get to see where max keeps everything... in a warehouse somewhere in his bowels

I assume sam also has one, might explain the gut... damn now I wish my gut was explained by a pocket dimension. At any rate we find some fun nods to media I haven't seen: a board game from their edgy offensive phase.. which is still going as of 2024 and a bucket of fish from hit the road. We also find the duo's roach farm and Sam witensses the miracle of birth! And thus Max Jr is born. One of only two roaches i'm not horrified by. Good boy.

To get him we have to touch some jumper cables, turn into a roomba and ram the shelf, scooping up our little buddy son buddy. He goes into our inventory and leaving turns us back to normal. With that Sybil is touched Sam is actually capable of being a parent and hits the treadmill and now we can walk around a bit.

The walking around a bit.. dosen't do much, but we go to boscotech for reasons that will be useful later. For now we need to stop skipping arm day so to the arms which are controlled by a game of TWISTER! Hit it AL!

youtube

We get our commands from an arcade game.. just like my real life

Once I figure out what that means.

But since Max is somehow fucking with us, everything Sam says is the oppsite so to get the right commands we have to say the oppisite. It's.. a decent little puzzle and is quickly done, a vast improvment over Beyond Time and Space's over reliance on mini games Devil's Playhouse mocked last chapter.

Sadly while Sam can beat the system he can't beat a .. maimtron just kinda lodged in there releasing nuclear gas. The good news is norrington can still do it as he and his meat sack are immune to radiation. But Sam's going to need someone ELSE immune to work the controls and get things started.

Thankfully we just so happen to know a giant seemingly radiation proof cockroach and simply switching max's hunger from corndog to roach by putting the roach on his faviorite food deal, fixes it. The puzzzles here are less complex: still a dead end or two, but more streamlined. I don't feel it hurts the game as there's still enough for you to do and given how well built up this story has been, you really don't care. The puzzles don't drag, the solutions are simple and the the jokes are on point

So outside Sal is having second thoughts about stinky

But gets eaten as they break up while she ends up back with Skunkape and decides "Eh why not". So it's up to our friend whose more than happy to make amends for the whole attempted murder, working behind your back , evil scheme stuff. Also for making out with stinky in front of us... and... oh god i'm remembering it.

Larger point is he's wiling to help.. which leads to the second saddest moment in the trilogy, just inching out sam's quite "Max" last chapter.. and just behind this chapter's climax. Sal goes and saves the day... then comes back VERY sick. He got the controls working, but turns out in this universe of all things roaches being immune to radiation.. is a myth. Sal knew this.. but also knew if he didn't do it someone else would and also woudln't make it and desperate to do SOMETHING right for once... sacrificed himself. Sal dies tragically, collapsing quitely on the couch having helped save the world, all to help his friends.

And sam responds to this by.. cracknig a lot of jokes.

Stillt his means we can control sam. GIANT MONSTER SAM IS GO!

Being evil by moonlight Winning love by daylight Never running , he'll just bite! He's the one named Max!

Now we can control his body, we can give max a needed shock to the system, via battery park which in this universe has a giant battery as nature intended. Using this we give max a little shock treatment, get him jumpin like a real live wire and thus allowing us to open the door in his brain.

As Sam prepares the action pauses and the narrator asks us to guess one last time... who will betray sam and max.... only to get a guest. Sam opening the door behind him. Yup in a masterful twist I knew all along, but with a reveal I didn't and I needed a second to recover from laughing hard at, the Narrator wasn't just some abstract 4th wall guy but PART of max and behind the events of this season. Well some of them. The whole alternate timeline things more on sam. But he was at least the one keeping Sam away.

Turns out the narrator is Max's superego... and a sympathetic villian at that. I mean imagine if every action you wanted to do had to be screamed through a feral rabbit who just wanted to light the world on fire and eat junk instead of reading a book or petting a puppy once in a while. You too would snap and his plan is for Max to explode, having stalled Sam long enough to where it seemingly dosen't matter and the shock having been something he planned destroying Max's memory seemingly so the one toy that ISN'T under the superego's control, the astral projector, is functionally useless. He even admits that yeah this is horrible, will kill a bunc hof people.. but it's hard to truly hate him: he's part max. Of course his solution is a violence. It's also a bit of irony I didn't realize till now: that he tries to be better than the rest of him.. but his solution is as reckless, selfish and dangerous as anything max could cook up. It's something max would LOVE despite the horrifying death... and it's something the superego can't fathom.

Thankfully dr norrington as always has a plan: turns out there's one toy left max didn't eithe rreplciate in his mind palace, the cthonic destroyer. He fixed it but someone stole it... it must be that dastardly bastardly HARRY MOLEMAN!

Yeah Sam's just... bad at this. It's Skunkape and it's time for one final showdown with our arch enemy. We take control of the body back and remember the memories of a few places so we can fast travel, including Skunkape's ship which is strangely active again. And we can visit with an old power of ours, astral projection. For some horrifyign reason Superball thought an interment camp was a good idea and i'ts where most of the dogglegangers are, but we can hyjack the few left in nyc, psecifically three on the ship. What follows is a fun puzzle going back and forth through the cages to escape, simple, quick to do and didn't require much guide work.

We then go forth and encounter an old foe... Sammun Mak. Turns out Skunkape had use for his brain and presumibly picked it up off the floor of hte museum where our heroes left it.

He's kinda eh here, but I do love how we move things forward: Sam has to piss him off by bringing up th emole men beating the little snot, getting him to open the pod bay doors and revealing.. GRANDPA STINKY.. except.. it's not. It's an ape in his body. And at this point Sam may need to find anothe rline of work as it takes hilarously long for him to spot it. It's a great gag and I love how he figures it out... the ape apologizes. Grandpa Stinky would rather castrate everyone in the room with a rusty fork than apologize! Still a little light intimidation and we have Skunkape's location and a little smashy smashy as max and we're there: the final set piece of the game.

So Skunkape is having an all out climactic supervillian showdown with Flint Paper, whose punching apes as fast as Skunkape can clone them while Skunkape plans to.. er... conquer the world with the toy he dosen't remotely understand while Girl Stinky gets flint to kill grandpa stinky. I do love Skunkape's gradual breakdown over the seasons: he's a genuine clever threat in the first episode, still dangerous when he returns.... then gets degraded to flunky, beaten up, traumtized, kidnapped and now is just doing his patner's half baked scheme with no clear plan. The sheer amount of defeats have broken the poor sap and we're about to finish the job. I also love how PISSSSED he is to realize the doggleganger is sam. Sam is equally pissed and it's neat this fight got so personal that it went from a pretty impersonal world conquering to a blood fued I ddin't know sam and max were even capable of and ends fantastically: we use a projector to project the toybox, trick skunkape and trade the fake box. He's foiled and Stinky follows suit, as Sam.. just casually points out the gorilla is grandpa stinky and Flint lets him down.

We can worry about the horrific nightmare that is a mysthorpic man in the body of a gorilla later as now we have everything we need. We can save max, save the world again, and call it a ... day... why is it wet? Well that's because Sybil's water broke

She dosen't want to give birth inside of max whose rapidly collapsing his brain just minutes from exploding. A fair want but Sam can't think of anything else.. and it's what makes this chapter quitely heartbreaking. Sam's whole goal this time isn't saving the world.. he just wants his best friend, husband and reason for living back. He's not as broken as he was during his unfortuante noir breakdown, but that breakdown makes it very clear how much Sam NEEDS his little buddy. He'll, in his own words, destroy as many cities as he has to. This whole quest has been to save him, and depsite all he's done over these games: stopped a childhood star's revenge plot, saved a talk show audience from a hostage situation, defeated a pathetic man running a mafia out of a mafia free playland and casnio, saving the presdiency from a power mad tyrant to give it to another power mad tyrant, destroying the internet, saving the world from a sentient bacteria, saving christmas, saving easter island for all of a minute, defeating a eurotrash vampire, coming back from the dead in the process of the previous thing, piloting a marachi ufo time machine, saving hell , KILLING THE SODA POPPERS TO THE JOY OF ALL OF HUMANITY, thrwaring an alien invasion, traveling back in time via film reels, saving max' sbrain and then all of reality and finally helping beat a doll in a battle for the fate of all.... all of this.. all the adventures.. the jokes.. the sexual tension... all of it.. and he ultimately fails.

And he fails for not lack of trying. Evne if Sybil has to leave he refuses to... but the ultimate reason for the failure is tearjerkinga s it is deeplys weet... the creepy flame headed spore thigns return.. and the only thing they can say and think is.. SAVE SYBIL. Despite all we've done to her... Max will never abandon someone he considers friend, let alone with her child and implictly.. he won't abandon sam. in one truly sefless act he guides the party out, and the superego.. actually gets a happy ending. I mean he's about to die, but he's just so HAPPY that Max.. proved him wrong. That for one moment, Max proved himself selfless, that he did something noble and brave with nothing to gain from it but saving the people he cares about. That in his last act.. max was everything the Superego had gave up on and CAN be saved. Well.. metaphorically. Literally the superego stays behind and gestures them to a tear duct, which we escape with Max's poetry. There's a ton of great little albums he has including his weird flint paper fanfiction

So our heroes escape, Norrigton takes sybil to the hosptial.. and then.. it happens. one of the most painful moments i've ever witnessed in all of gaming. A sad, truly pogniant death, one of the best i've ever witnssed. As max prepares to go up... it's clear despite being a monster.. max is back in there... and he waves a simple goodbye to sam. And then vanishes. An explosion goes off in the sky.. and Max is dead. All sam can do is say a very quite max still in shock. It's such a fantastically animated, acted and heartfelt moment and it hits you harder because of how insane this franchise is. Even in what I thought would be a fairly morose chapter due to this ending... it's pretty wacky and buisness as usual. But the reason this hits so hard, even harder now I can actually see it and hnot hear about it is that tonal shift: that relization that max.. cannot be saved this time. That we still techincally won.. but you the player and sam the character did all they could.. .and max is still gone. The good news is he took stinky and skunkpae with him as a bomb got teleported to them, their gone, and the world is better.

IN a playable epilouge bit, Mama Bosco tries to clone the boy.. but his dna is too fucking weird. They try.. but max is gone. OUr little buddy.. is well and truly dead and we get another gutpunch as superball runs off crying.. .finally showing emotion and showing that while he considered max expendible earlier.. it clearly was NOT easy for him. It's the last we see of him.. and of everyone else as they all just solemly stare. Even Grandpa Stinky who hates everyone especailly max (and ESPECIALLY sam) can only look forlorn.

So gut punch #3 as we get a truly haunting credits scene of Sam walking, sad, depressed.. and devistated. He's lost everything, not even stopping some muggings or notcing anything. It's a shockingly accurate depection of grief for a game series whose grasp on reality is tenious at best. Just that numbness you feel, that pain, that blankness that takes time to fill if it ever does. It's a truly affecting ending and would be a hell of a way to end the games

Thankfully they don't. As much as this ending would've hit... what they went with.. fits the tone of the series more: optimstic, weird... and with the knoweldge that it's not an IF sam and max will be back.. but a when. For while the series did a pretty good job tying up all it's loose ends over this game, there was one they never adressed till now.. one they left in the barrel fo rthis exact moment.. Max comes back. Specifically his time doppleganger from the previous game. Last we saw them chronal copies of our heroes from situation: comedy took off with the time machine, with our heroes having to relive most of the game the slow way round.

And Max.. is back. And alone. Turns out that sam went thorugh a similar thing and Max had to blow him up real good. And our sam's reaction to seeing this max is just.. so damn beautfully: he hugs his little buddy, is elated and while it's not the exact copy... it's him. Max in all the eways that counts and vice versa. While Max does shrug off having to kill his sam.. given he came back here at all, he likely missed his and was willing to share and is tellingly put off when he realizes the other him is gone.. and just HOW depressed sam seems. Yet... they have each other. THeir not the exact versions.. btu their still each other's best friends. No matter what happened with each other's counterparts... they still have each other. And so our story ends not in tragedy but, at least with the ending I went with, our heroes literallyw alking off into the sunset, talking about all the crime they'll stop Max knows about somehow. It's the perfect ending to sam and max and to this trilogy: our heroes move on with .. our heroes, and head off ot do more shnanigans. The story may be over.. but sam an dmax's story goes on

Thanks for reading... it's been my utmost pleasure.. and to all you talented folks at telltale, skunkape and to steven purcell himself.. thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you all for reading

#sam and max #sam and max the devil's playhouse #the devil's playhouse #sam #max #the narrator #mama bosco #doctor norrington #yog soggoth #sybil pandemik #abe lincoln #grandpa stinky #girl stinky #general skunkape

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