#because we cannot leave my Green Guy in the darkness

[respectthepetty]

MAME Finally Got My Ass!

I don't know how another show is even going to come close to winning the lighting category in my annual Colors Awards because this blurry ass shot in the final of The Boy Next Work alone cemented that the lighting department earned its paycheck.

I have watched both the Thai and Japanese version of Love in the Air, Love Sea, which I was very quiet about, and I'm making my way through Don't Say No, yet none of them have had me cheering for the wildest fucking behavior the way this show and its color-coded crew of crazies did.

So it is with great pleasure that I now proudly state this show has helped me see the MAME light, and it's all due to the lighting. Cue 🎶The Blinding Light of Love🎶

The episode started with Cir having a nightmare of his bright sunshine boyfriend drenched in darkness as he told Cir he didn't love him.

And he woke up in the darkness since Phu has closed him off from his light.

The light only exists over Phu's door, so that's where Cir will remain.

Yet even Phu is crying in the darkness now that he knows Cir has lied to him this entire time.

He still has light, but he surrounded by the dark truth that Phu has been stalking him for five years.

So although the blue is there and a glimpse of green has appeared, Yellow Yal Phu's color is muddied. It's dark. It has been dirtied.

And just when I thought Phu's anger would finally surface in his red cardigan, Cir pulls a Missy Elliot and flips it and reverses it.

Because this dark Blue Boy starts to reveal all the ways he has sheltered Phu from the literal and figurative storms in his life, like secretly giving Phu a dark blue umbrella to protect him from the rain, and the fact that he kept the yellow sticky note Phu thanked him with.

Cir is no saint, but Phu is slowly starting to realize that his world has only been as bright as it has because Cir has been his guardian this entire time.

And Cir also knows how to pick flowers because the yellow ribbon and yellow flowers are specifically for his sunshine Yellow Yal since tulips represent unconditional love, new beginnings, and hope.

Then, we see Cir the darkest he has been since Phu entered his world as he tearfully explains his reasoning, and normally, I would not forgive a man for saying he will still text and bring gifts even when they are not wanted, but, once again, the lighting department did its damn job.

Because the moment Cir admits that if he had died the day he fought the thieves away from Phu's car, his only regret would have been not getting the chance to really know Phu, the lighting brightened!

So just like Phu, I too would have ran to Cir's apartment, but the lighting department gets me again because the entire apartment is dark and devoid of life since Cir no longer has Phu to brighten his life.

Which means Phu's entire world is upside down. Even when he didn't know Cir was there, Cir was shielding him from a distance, but now, Cir is gone, and nothing is right!

So I was not surprised that Cir returns to that devil known as his mother owner and the woman who pretends to be an angel when it's convenient.

But thankfully Rome, who I'm so sad we didn't get more of, and his exaggerated story push Phu to run after his man with the help of Wim's loyal ass, so my color-coded boys are reunited!

But Director James made sure we know that this devil still stands between them.

Moment of truth — I love her phrasing that the dad abandoned Cir and her. I feel the pain she allowed to fester and mutate into abuse. For two seconds, I saw her as a human who went to the extremes to protect herself, and although I can't forgive her, I do understand her.

THEN OZONE SHOWS UP TO SACRIFICE HIMSELF AND I'M UNWELL ABOUT IT! Because I knew the only way Yellow Yal Phu and dark Blue Boy Cir could live in the green peace was if this Green Guy gave up his color. He gives up his life for his bother to live. He will step into the darkness, so his brother can step into the light and have his green happiness.

SECOND SEASON FOR OZONE WHEN?!

But his sacrifice was not in vain because Phu and Cir immediately step out into the light, sit on a bench in the green park, and confess that they love each other.

And we finally get them blending their colors in a beautifully lit sex scene that bathes them in the warm light with hints of the dark blue which is an amazing depiction of their evolution in comparison to their first sex scene which was darkly lit.

They are in the light, together!

And Wim's willingness to go to the ends of the earth for his crazy ass friend finally pay off because not only does he get a boyfriend who can use his mind-reading abilities to secure him money, but he also really loves him even though it's difficult for him to say because he wears pink around him, and I know pink equals 💕love💕.

So a MAME show won me over because the lighting, the color coding, and this damn blue-colored string phone did their job every single episode and made this show a visual delight to watch every single week.

This Yellow Yal and his dark Blue Boy now get to live in the light surrounded by their green, and I'm thrilled about it!

So just like the pink petals that carry their love into another universe, I wouldn't mind seeing every version of their color-coded love story that MAME wants to offer.

Because, at last I, Petty, love a MAME show.

[threeacttragedy]

Entry 13: The One Where the Ashes Blew Towards Us with the Salt Wind from the Sea

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”

Ah, yes, that ominous opening line from Daphne du Maurier’s novel, “Rebecca.” Have you ever read it? It’s an old book – from 1938, in fact! – but it’s truly a remarkable story, especially for its time. It’s not often you find yourself rooting for the murderer.

Lately, I have found myself becoming more and more frustrated with the fandom. And, no, my annoyance is not from the Sincerely Ignorant teetering on and off the boat every time someone takes a dump on the deck of the USS Lukola – I’m pretty fucking used to that shit – and, honestly, many of our dear Sincerely Ignorant seem to be gaining their sea legs. It’s the Conscientiously Stupid that have struck a chord with me – a disturbing, dissonant chord that leaves me questioning the average level of human intelligence.

My issue with the Conscientiously Stupid is that they push narratives that, when taken collectively, make no goddamn sense. Thanks to The-One-That-Lurks-in-a-Play-Misty-For-Me-Heaping-Pile-of-Discordant-Garbage, I have had the [dis]pleasure of learning about Nicola- and Luke-Adjacent theories. Did you know that the small scrap of green blanket Nicola was sitting on in her August 11 “Drink Your Milk” picture proved that the picture was meant for Jake? You know the guy that, at that point in Fandom History, most people had no clue even existed? I mean, that makes a lot more sense than linking the “Drink Your Milk” shirt Nicola was showcasing to the one Luke was seen wearing on June 22. Now, I’m not saying the shirt belonged to Luke, but if we’re comparing apples to apples, which one of these theories seems more plausible to you?

At this point, you have probably started to realize I enjoy weaving in and out of storytelling mode, mixing fact with theory and speculation. Today, I decided to take a classic novel – surely you didn’t think I made that reference to “Rebecca” for nothing – and loosely intertwine it with some Conscientiously Stupid adjacent theories. This is all in good fun and, like usual, mostly for my own dark humor.

I should probably begin by introducing our book characters. Honestly, you can probably guess which of our shipmates I have assigned to each role fairly quickly.

First, we have our Unnamed Narrator. Seriously, her first name is never revealed.

Second, we have Mrs. Danvers, the obsessive, borderline psychotic housekeeper.

Third, we have Maxim de Winter, our Narrator’s husband.

Fourth, we have Jack Favell, the dodgy and unlikeable cousin.

Lastly, we have our titular character, that darling creature Rebecca.

Now, let’s see who is on the playbill.

ANTONIA AS MRS. DANVERS

It pained me just a little to give the role of Mrs. Danvers to Antonia, primarily because Mrs. Danvers is such a complex character and I’ve always found Antonia to be rather simple. And, no, I’m not insinuating Antonia is simple-minded; I am saying it was never difficult to see through her bullshit (i.e., the phrase, “patterns are patterning,” didn’t come out of thin air). It helped that Mrs. Danvers is one of the main antagonists in the book and almost certainly the GOAT at trolling the heroine of “Rebecca.” I mean, the second Mrs. de Winter didn’t stand a chance with Danny lurking in the background.

The general narrative in Lukola Lore is that Antonia is an online troll. I’ve never been sure as to who her primary target was – Nicola or the Lukola fandom. I tend to believe it originated as Nicola and the Lukola fandom was simply collateral damage. I also cannot say for fact that Antonia was trolling anyone, but I can confirm that the general belief within the fandom that Antonia was trolling is well-documented on social media. For today’s story, we are going to assume the narrative that Antonia was trolling both Nicola and the Lukola fandom. We are also going to assume the USS Lutonia (because I have no fucking clue what the Luke-Antonia ship is called!) was real. Don’t get your feathers fluffed over this. This belief does exist – and it’s why Antonia has been able to fuck with the Lukolas as long as she has – but I promise I have every intention of peppering the side of this ship with holes.

Okay, let’s tow the USS Lutonia out to sea. Don’t forget your Dramamine!

We are living under the umbrella that Luke and Antonia were dating during the World Tour. Poor Antonia was forced into hiding by – who the fuck knows but let’s keep rolling with this narrative – and she wasn’t allowed to be openly seen with Luke or post anything on her social media with Luke. And, Luke mirrored this behavior and made an effort to keep Antonia out of the spotlight (in fact, at the New York City premiere, the average viewer wouldn’t have known Antonia was anything more than Luke’s “friend of a friend”). Antonia, annoyed with this lack of engagement (and, almost certainly fed up with, at a minimum, fans shipping Luke with Nicola), started the pattern of posting pictures of herself and tagging her location as places the fandom knew Luke had recently been. Luke, for his part, made no effort to acknowledge his relationship with Antonia. Instead, he continued his flirtatious relationship with Nicola. After the London premiere, the Lukolas put a target smack dab in the middle of Antonia’s back and blamed her for setting up Papsmear for her own benefit. Luke still made no effort to acknowledge his relationship with Antonia or protect her from the abundance of online hate she received. In fact, he posted his “I will not let [Cressida] ruin our night” story to Instagram instead (see my “Entry 1 – The One About That Weird Ass Cressida Post” if you’re confused by this comment). During post-Papsmear events, Luke did not list her as a plus one and he didn’t like any pictures of Antonia that were not on her grid. In fact, the only evidence directly linking Luke to Antonia were leaked and/or since-deleted pictures and videos not released by Luke. Throughout the summer, Antonia continued her efforts to place herself in proximity to Luke via tagged or easily recognizable locations. Oddly, many of Antonia’s posts seemed to occur shortly after Nicola posted or before/after DeuxMoi posted pap pictures, which gave birth to the “Antonia is trolling” subplot. Still, Luke made no effort to acknowledge his relationship with Antonia. On July 30, Luke was papped with Antonia and his friend group in Sorrento (see my “Entry 11 – The One About the Heart of the Ocean” if you want my opinion about that excursion). This was the last time Luke and Antonia were publicly photographed together. Once Luke returned to London on August 2, Antonia continued her campaign of insinuating she was in the same location as Luke, with the most recent being the Italian restaurant in Rome (which the restauranteur debunked, in my opinion). Again, Luke and Antonia have not been photographed together since July 30. To date, Luke has made no effort to acknowledge his relationship with Antonia, and the only visible interaction by Luke are his likes on Antonia’s semi-monthly Instagram grid posts, which seem obligatory at this point. For the month of November, there was no interaction between Luke and Antonia because Antonia did not post to her grid (gasp!).

Now, for all the Lutonia’s out there, explain to me why this kind of relationship is acceptable to you. Seriously, explain it to me.

Convince me that Luke didn’t shutter Antonia from the moment the USS Lukola schematics were presented to the engineers.

Convince me that Antonia is the kind of woman who would happily accept Luke’s blatant dismissal of her existence while he globe-trotted around the world with a woman he was being openly shipped with by fans, the press, and Bridgerton mates.

Convince me that Luke’s behavior towards Antonia doesn’t make him the worst boyfriend on the planet.

Convince me that Antonia’s online behavior towards Nicola and the Lukola fandom during and after the World Tour doesn’t make her a troll.

Convince me that Luke and Antonia are the definition of “true love.” Actually, before you do that, convince me that Luke and Antonia are currently dating.

Or, maybe you’ve realized that any effort to try to convince me would be a waste of your time because you, too, are starting to find this entire narrative unacceptable. It equates Antonia to someone who doesn’t mind being boxed into a corner and forced to claw her way out, and it likens Luke to an overbearing womanizer who doesn’t give two flips about how online hate may be affecting his partner. I mean, we may as well dump these two into an entirely different book called “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

I didn’t assign the role of Mrs. Danvers to Antonia because I thought Antonia was a feeble coward without her own voice. And, no, I didn’t give her the role because Mrs. Danvers is an obsessive psychopath. I gave Antonia the role of Mrs. Danvers because the fandom handed her the power to influence this narrative on a silver platter, just like the Narrator in “Rebecca” allowed herself to be manipulated by Mrs. Danvers. Moving forward, when you see Antonia with a lit match, all you need to do is lean over and blow it out. Poof! And, she’s gone. Seriously, if you see our version of Mrs. Danvers with anything that might light a fire, take it away from her!

Surely someone out there gets my joke…

LUKE AS MAXIM DE WINTER

Of course, Luke is Maxim de Winter, the outwardly charismatic, but recently widowed anti-hero who caught the affection of our Unnamed Narrator. I mean, he’s a good guy, right? Uhh, yeah, sure… Who doesn’t want to be married to a brooding chauvinist who is outwardly obsessed with the titular character? Wait a minute, that doesn’t sound like Luke at all! Oh, no, actually it does – if you believe the USS Lutonia is real!

For Luke, we are going to assume the same narrative as above – that the USS Lutonia is real, that Antonia trolled Nicola and the Lukola fandom, and that Luke refused to acknowledge his relationship with Antonia. Besides the obvious “Luke is the shittiest fucking boyfriend in the universe,” I have a few other gripes with the USS Lutonia.

Initially, I understood the concept of “keeping Antonia in the dark,” after all I try to be logical when I process information. It was always possible Luke and Nicola were rocking some great PR in the beginning of the World Tour, and that was the only thing they were rocking. In fact, that’s what I initially believed Nicola was doing – being cute but also professional in her interactions with Luke during those early press junkets. Luke, on the other hand, always seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve. Once they hit Australia, it seemed obvious to me that something had changed (go back and read my “Entry 12 – The One Where We Start Laying the Yellow Brick Road to Italy” for a briefing on this). The more I watched Luke and Nicola interact on the World Tour, the more I became convinced Antonia must have been a thing of the past (or possibly nothing) for Luke – until Antonia showed up at Papsmear. At that point, I fully expected Luke to just own up to her. Like, give up on trying to hide Antonia from public view. But, then he pulled that goddamn “Cressida” post (seriously, if you have not read my first entry to this blog, go back and read it!). When you look at the World Tour and subsequent Hot Boy Summer, and the behaviors that were – and were not – on display during that timeframe, you start to develop a completely different view of the USS Lutonia. I mean, I’m not even sure that ship ever left the planning room!

One of the most glaring cosmetic flaws with the USS Lutonia is why “nice guy” Luke would treat Antonia with such indifference if he loved her. When asked who was most like their Bridgerton character, everyone always answered Luke. That he was the kindest, most genuine person. If that’s true, then why did Luke treat his “girlfriend,” Antonia, like she didn’t exist? Again, convince me that Luke’s Public Display of Apathy towards Antonia made him a great boyfriend. Even if Luke was a private person, one would think that after someone he cared about received as much hate as Antonia did after Papsmear, he would have stepped up and taken control of the narrative. He didn’t hesitate to clear up the “cake eating” picture from his September 7 Instagram post (about Nicola), and that “Cressida” post will live rent-free in my mind forever. The only “logical” explanation I can come up with for “nice guy” Luke to shutter Antonia right from the jump is that Antonia is not, and was not, a significant person in his life. That, or he really is a shithead, and he has a team of people lying about what a great guy he is.

We also need to consider Nicola’s interactions with Antonia. First, Nicola has never followed Antonia and Antonia has never followed Nicola, at least not on her public account. But, Nicola followed – and still follows – Luke’s ex, Jade. Now, typically, I’d just be like, “Meh,” on something like this. But, after Papsmear, Nicola could have very easily played the “Diplomat Barbie” and given Antonia a follow on Instagram. But, she didn’t, which signals to me that Nicola wasn’t touching Antonia with an invisible 10-foot pole. Second, if you watch the back-and-forth between Nicola and Antonia on social media – in black and white, pen on paper – you’ll see Nicola playing the cat-and-mouse game right along with Antonia (Nicola just played it a helluva lot better). It even appears Nicola sicced her – what my father calls JVN – “assassin” on Antonia starting around July 20 or, at the very least, she condoned JVN teasing Antonia. If everything was great between Luke and Antonia – and Luke was genuinely happy with Antonia – why would Luke put up with the back-and-forth on social media between Antonia, Nicola, and JVN? Oh, that’s right, because Luke is the corrupt captain of the USS Lutonia.  Seriously, if all was well between Luke and Antonia at this point in the timeline, then you’d have to surmise that all was not well between Luke and Nicola. We will get to that in a moment. Right now, aboard the USS Lutonia, Luke is just a lousy boyfriend.

Lastly – and what has always left me scratching my head – why would Luke allow Antonia to troll his fandom? Why allow Antonia to make insinuations online that they’re together but never come to her rescue when the fandom starts flinging shit at her? In my opinion, the InStyle copycat pictures (go read my last blog entry…) were just Antonia getting her feet wet. Why continue to put up with Antonia after allegations began flying that she arranged Papsmear and the Italy pap pictures? I suppose the answer most Lutonias would give is, “Because they’re in love.” With everything I have outlined in this entry, do you honestly get the “in love” vibe from those two? Because I don’t.

Now, why did I draw parallels between Luke and the book character, Maxim? It’s not because I believe Luke to be a male chauvinist so wrapped up in his own drama that he ignores those around him. The USS Lutonia will definitely paint that impression, though! It’s because Maxim’s demeanor was superficial. What the Unnamed Narrator believed was true about her husband was not actually true. And, that’s how I view the USS Lutonia – Luke’s behavior and the narrative surrounding this ship does not match the logic.

JAKE AS JACK FAVELL

Sorry, Jake, you get to be the icky Jack Favell. Yeah, that manipulative, blackmailing creep sleeping with his own cousin! But, hey, that subplot isn’t any more disturbing than Jake being shipped with Nicola, is it?

Alright, let’s jump on board the USS Jakola but not before I preface this section with my father’s flabbergasted words: “This ship is on the bottom of the ocean. These people must have oxygen masks. They’re down there with Jules Verne. This just doesn’t make sense.” No, it really doesn’t make sense but, because I’m here to tell a story, I will begrudgingly dive into the USS Jakola narrative. And, by “dive,” I mean plunge to the bottom of the ocean because that’s where this ship rests.

Just like we did with the USS Lutonia, we are going to assume the USS Jakola is real. The Jakolas believe that Nicola has been seeing Jake since, I guess, the Renegade Nell premiere on or about March 26, 2024. Although, the last I checked Eamon Farren was also at that premiere holding an umbrella for Nicola. I am not confirming Nicola was ever dating Eamon; I am simply saying he was present at the event and holding a fucking umbrella for her. You can make up your own mind about Eamon’s role in Nicola’s life. Regardless, it must have been an instant connection between Nicola and Jake because, if the Jakola narrative is to be believed, they began secretly dating after that. The Jakolas will argue that all the songs Nicola posted to her Instagram stories were for Jake. The Claddagh ring has no traditional meaning when Nicola wears it, and Chaos Week was also for Jake (and a “fuck you” to Luke). The Lukola-coded fan fiction was a “fuck you” to the Lukola fandom (see my “Entry 10 – The One About the Audibly Loud Lukola FanFic”). And, Jake and Nicola are in love and have hard launched their relationship because (a) Jake has been seen wearing Nicola’s bucket hat, (b) they have been seen in public together, and (c) they occasionally hold hands.

I’m not going to lie – for the longest time I didn’t pay any attention to the USS Jakola because it was such an incredibly absurd concept to me. A few weeks back, I posted to my Tumblr account a music video that Jake had done in early 2023. The song is called “Mixed Emotions” by You Me at Six, and the article that came out with the video on February 7th, 2023 stated, “With Jake Dunn who played the protagonist in the video who is actually a friend of mine, we actually spoke a lot about toxic masculinity and his experiences within his sexuality and the impacts it has had on his relationship with his dad.” It honestly never occurred to me the USS Jakola actually had passengers on board until October when the Jakholes went bananas over Nicola holding Jake’s hand. In my opinion – and you do not have to agree with me – the music video speaks for itself as does Jake’s social media presence, whether it be on his own pages or on those of his friend group. I’m sure I’ll get some Jakholes in here crying that we shouldn’t speculate on Jake’s sexuality, but the reality is the only people speculating on Jake’s sexuality are the Jakolas trying to discern whether he’s heterosexual. But, why doesn’t he just come out and say it? I get this question all the time. The answer is quite simple – he doesn’t need to. Jake never buried this part of his life; it’s other people burying it for him. Do you need to blast your sexual preferences out into the universe? I didn’t think so.

For shits and giggles – because that’s what I’m here for – let’s keep going with the story that Nicola and Jake are hot and heavy with each other. I’ll play center field and say Jake is a switch hitter. Happy now? If Jakola is real, then why would Nicola lay all those Lukola-coded breadcrumbs? And, NO, I am not explaining every crumb she’s dumped online. This post is already too damn long. But, Dear Jakolas, don’t tell me those coordinated airplane pictures didn’t have you crying into your pillows. Seriously, though, why would Nicola fuck with the Lukola fandom? I’ve mentioned in previous posts that Polin and Lukola have even been blurred by Netflix & Co. at this point. What would be the point of dragging the Lukolas along only to find out it was Nicola just fucking around? That makes about as much sense as “nice guy” Luke being the shittiest boyfriend on the planet. Again, the narrative does not fit the logic – although you’re welcome to try to convince me that Jakola is real.

For starters, convince me as to why Nicola is Jake’s “type” and not Luke’s. I am not being factitious. I seriously want to know why she’s acceptable for Jake but not Luke. And, if you’re going to tell me it’s because Luke likes brunettes, you better bring me some evidence that Jake likes blonde women.

Convince me that the Claddagh ring has no traditional significance to Nicola and that Jake would be okay with Nicola wearing that Claddagh ring – the one she had made in honor of Bridgerton Season 3, the season she shared with the man that fills her Instagram grid and tags and is the other half of Lukola. If you’re stuck on the significance of this ring, go read “Entry 6 – The One Where I Explained the Claddagh Ring to My Dad.”

Convince me that Nicola and Jake are a couple. And, if you’re going to mention handholding, then convince me that Nicola is not in a relationship with Mark, JVN, Jack R., Golda, Hannah D., Dylan L., or Luke. Oh, and is it true Jake is now dating Ellie Bamber? Convince me he’s not…

Any ways, good luck, babe, trying to sway me into believing Jakola is the real deal because I have a feeling your efforts are going to make your face become as flushed as Jack Favell’s when he was caught with his hand in the till.

NICOLA AS REBECCA

Surely you didn’t think Nicola was going to be the heroine of this story! If you believe the USS Lutonia and USS Jakola are smoothly sailing across the ocean blue, then the only role Nicola could reasonably play is that of the story’s villain – Rebecca. Yes, Rebecca was a bad, bad girl. She was manipulative and intentionally cruel; a Bitch with a capital “B.” She haunted poor Maxim and controlled Mrs. Danvers and Jack like a master puppeteer. She also tortured the Unnamed Narrator from her watery grave.

Seriously, though, let’s turn the tables. Let’s pretend Lutonia and Jakola are real. Starting, say, April 29, Nicola started trolling Antonia by dropping Luke-coded material online and really started ramping up those doe-eyed looks in Luke’s direction. Remember all that cute BTS? Perfectly timed to make it look like Antonia was trolling her when in reality Nicola was trolling Antonia! Unbeknownst to Luke, Nicola commissioned that Claddagh ring and started wearing it to make it look like she was in a relationship with Luke. She even organized a side jaunt over to Galway to introduce Luke to – surprise! – her mother! But, after being rejected by Luke – because he really is in love with Antonia (the USS Lutonia is blasting its horn right about now) – Nicola – YES, Nicola! – set up Papsmear to ruin Luke. I mean, if he wasn’t going to be her boyfriend, he sure as shit wasn’t going to be anyone else’s! All summer Nicola waited for Luke, but he’d gone into hiding, scared to surface because Nicola might find him! After growing tired of waiting for Luke, Nicola got her assassin, JVN, to start trolling Antonia online, that way Nicola could put all her efforts into finding and trolling Luke. She set up Chaos Week. She trolled him on the airplane. But, she needed help (after all she had so many other events and awards shows this summer) so she enlisted her unwitting accomplice, Jake! Jake helped her set up that Lukola FanFic to remind Luke of what could have been. But, nothing was working so Nicola upped the ante and volunteered Jake to be her confused boyfriend. “Luke…Luke…” I can still hear her desperate cries being carried like ashes in the wind…

SEE!  I can do it, too – make up total bullshit to fit whatever narrative I please!!!

Yeah, yeah, maybe I went a bit too far (I warned you I had a dark sense of humor) but, honestly, I believe the only way the USS Lutonia and USS Jakola could stay afloat is if Nicola is the villain. She doesn’t even have to be a super villain. She just needs to be disingenuous enough to alienate Luke, terrorize Antonia, manipulate Jake, and mislead an entire fandom. Lucky for her, I don’t believe Nicola to be a real-life Rebecca. If you need an explanation as to why, then you didn't watch the same World Tour as me and you’re clearly on the wrong side of the fandom.

In truth, I believe the real villain to be…

YOU AS THE UNNAMED NARRATOR

Now, now, calm down. I’m not calling you out – at least not individually. I’m calling all of us out.

We as a fandom are the Unnamed Narrators of Lukola, Jakola, and Lutonia. We built these ships, and we control whether they stay afloat.

We took the narrative out of Luke and Nicola’s hands the moment we launched the USS Lutonia. Then we had to go and build the USS Jakola – I guess, because we were bored. No matter how hard Luke and Nicola try to pull the narrative back under their control, we allow side characters to feed us their side of the story! We fill our bellies with their nonsense and then vomit it all over the deck of the USS Lukola.

Seriously, we are the villains in this story. And, collectively, we are one bloody powerful super villain, aren’t we?

We control the narrative. So, if there’s a narrative you don’t agree with – for example, one that doesn’t make sense to you – stop being Conscientiously Stupid and feeding into it.

Remember what I said earlier? If you see Mrs. Danvers with a lit match, blow that fucker out! Otherwise, you’re going to let that bitch burn down the whole goddamn house.

[sweetflanfiction]

Asymetrical Symphony - Part 16

Universe: Arcane (LOL)

Pairing: Viktor x reader

Summary: You had been on the rooftop with Jayce and the Herald and somehow you were sent to a place where things can be different with your help

Disclaimers and Warnings: If you want me to tag you on the chapters let me know! Also leave a comment with your thoughts :D Not finished, not proofread. English isn't my 1st language. All I know about LOL is from google and all I know about Arcane is taken from the show, so inacuracies will be plenty. I have a sort of idea on how to I'm gonna go with magic and runes, so bear with me. The reader will be written as GN (going by they/them) to get everyone involved, but if you see any discrepancies let me know.

A.N: I've made some cute headers for the thing!!! What do you guys think??

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 • Part 9 • Part 10 • Part 11 • Part 12 • Part 13 • Part 14 • Part 15

• ··········· • ············ •

“Are you coming in or not?” He didn’t move as he spoke, and with a deep breath, you walked into the elevator.

You didn’t care for Rictus, not that he ever did you much harm personally, but you had heard the stories. Caitlyn would tell about how he ‘interrogated’ Zaunites, and you'd begged her to say something. Stop him, stop Ambessa. At one point you'd ask her if releasing the gray wasn't enough, and that got you the silent treatment for a while. He was loyal to the general and her ways, and unless the universe had given him the ‘broom-closet’ treatment, he was probably the same asshole.

The doors closed with a cheerful ping, and you stared straight ahead at your blurred reflection in the golden metal. You started to pray to whoever was listening for this to be a quiet and quick ride, but when you saw his reflection move, turning slightly towards you, you knew the elevator was the gods’ blind spot.

“What was the color?” He asked, his tone smug about something you weren’t yet privy to. “Excuse me?” You didn’t fully look at him, just tilted your head slightly towards him. “The rune…what was the color?" You could feel his grin as the words came out.

Son of a bitch.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You turned back to stare in front of you with a deep sigh of annoyance coming out of you. “I know those distant looks into the void.” He straightened up too, grasping his hands in front of him. He wasn't trying to be menacing, but his weight alone was enough for him to be threatening no matter what he was doing. “In the beginning, it’s all very telling. The long stares into nothingness, the twitches when something gasps behind you. It’s all the same…”

There was no joking tone or sympathy in his voice, just knowledge. You supported the most blank expression you could muster as there was no sympathy in your eyes when you looked at his profile.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” You punctuated every word, and he chuckled, his metal armor moving to the mocking sound.

“Was it Green? Golden? Blue? Purple?” He looked back at you, and the shattering sound started to reappear.

Apparently whatever micro-expression you gave him was enough for him to figure out as a grin spread across his face.

“Purple? Chaos then? Interesting…”

You looked at his expression with a scowl. It was more than obvious whatever you'd tell him was going to go straight out of your mouth into Ambessa’s ear. And yet he seemed to be the most knowledgeable person about actual magic. So the scowl was mixed with an eye roll of annoyance.

“What about it?” You looked back to your reflection. 

“Those don’t show up often.” You kept your mouth shut, waiting for him to continue. "The Arcane doesn't trust us with those runes." "Us?" "Imperfect beings." His tone showing a displeasure at that description. "We cannot be trusted with chaos, because we like to jump into the dark waters without thinking of the consequences."

A moment of silence passed between you two. Somewhere in the back of your mind, another voice talked to you about imperfections and how it should be a priority of all beings to become their most perfect self. Now that you thought about it, the whole spiel made sense. He was a version of the Arcane.

“What would happen if I were to use it?” You side-eyed him; he tilted his head towards you much like you did before. "I suggest using it on someone you don't like." He looked at you smugly.

You looked at him straight in the eye, face blank, eyes on fire, a predatory grin unconsciously showing on your face. You saw the wall behind him start to shatter just like a window in the lab.

The arrogance on his features quickly disappeared. His shoulders tensed and his fists clenched. He wasn’t the only one who could read body signals. He was readying himself for something. The door pinged, and he took a step forward.

“You’d be dead before you finished speaking the rune.” he said as he passed by you.

That was enough for you to know the purple chaos rune was something even Rictus didn’t want to deal with.

• ············ •

After four or five weeks of popping into this dimension, the mystery was over: you finally found out what your mother’s commission to the lab was. It was a small machine that would be able to read out loud any document it scanned.

You brought a new couch to the lab at the beginning of the week. It was made from the same material as the armchairs on the penthouse's veranda. The shine in Viktor’s eyes could have lit up a dark room, as Jayce groaned.

“Thank you…now he’s never going home.” He had said. “He is. Mom is sending another one to his apartment.” You’d retorted.

After that, Viktor promised to make 'The Reader' his priority.

And that brought you to the lab, waiting for Viktor to finish something on the invention as you sat on the upholstery.

You understood at the moment the appeal of that cushioning, melting into it as Viktor turned his stool to you, placing the goggles on his forehead, his disheveled hair making him look like a mad scientist.

“I think we can try to make it work…Hopefully it will work,” he said, tilting his head to the side, looking at it with doubt, his hand going to the hairs on the back of his head.

“Explain to me again what it does.” You pointed your eyes gazing at the weird contraption.

You’d seen some beautiful things come from this lab in your timeline. This, though? ...was not it. Even though both men kept promising to make it look nice, the skeleton of the machine was nightmarish. 

It had four long legs that came out of a funnel-like tube. The end of the tube had a glass lens with four little prongs to secure the hex gem on it, and two small speaker cones finished up the structure. It looked like a spider playing two tiny trumpets.

“Well…” he cleared his throat and pointed to the metal structure. “We call it 'The Reader' because, well, that is what it does." "Did you name it?" You joked, and he looked at you, rolling his eyes pointedly. "Maybe..." He gave you a grin and went back to the explanation. "You put a paper with something written on this side.”

He grabbed a small piece of paper, wrote something on it, and placed it on the lower part of the thing.

“And then you turn the switch.” He flipped a little metallic switch, and the hex gem shined, a ring of arcane symbols floating around it. 

A blue cone of light came from the lens and reflected on the page; a small, brighter rune shined, and a line of brighter light from the cone traced the letters. After a few seconds, a noise that sounded like a record scratch started to come out of the speakers.

“Hello, I am Viktor.” The machine whirred, and a very mechanical Viktor voice came out of the machine.

It was far more similar to the Herald’s voice than you’d expect, and for a moment you felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You blinked slowly, trying to stop the spiral about to start.

“I can change the voice…” Viktor interrupted your silence. You looked up at his cringing expression. “I don’t think my accent helps with the clarity of the reading.”

“It’s a perfectly good accent if you ask me.” You blurted out, your mind still a little light. "And if you're going to try and somehow use it in the Undercity, perhaps a familiar accent would help."

"Has your mother told you the purpose of the machine?" He asked, turning to you in his stool, knees bumping into yours.

"It's my mother's project. A project that you are overseeing. The target audience is very easy to guess." You shrugged and leaned back into the couch.

“I don't know if I like being that obvious with my intentions.” Viktor's had a joking tone, and you snorted. 

Without another word, he turned the page over on the small table under the lens and flipped the switch again. The cone of blue light came over the text, and the small bright line started to trace the letters again.

A very stoic and misplaced Viktor voice came from the invention, this time sounding more comical than threatening since it was clear that the hex gem was trying to add sounds together unnaturally.

“This is the letter A.” It said, and you started to have difficulty controlling the laughter, the chuckles and snorts becoming hard to swallow. “It can be read as apple or nation. It can—

The runes started to move faster around the hex gem, and the sound coming from the speakers became distorted, much like a record player replaying a damaged part of a vinyl record.

“It can—hello—Letter A—read as I’m—Apple—Viktor—Nation.” It repeated a string of nonsensical words as it started to die down. You both looked at each other. Viktor with a concerned look, you with a humorous one. “I’m Vikt-or nation…Hello, Viktor, or nation”

The sound warbled out into silence. You sucked your lips, trying to stop the fit of laughter, but it was inevitable. You saw Viktor's chest shake, and a small string of laughter came out.

“It may need a few adjustments!” Viktor scratched the back of his neck. “Just a few?” “Yes. Well, last time I worked on it, no sound would come out. This is progress. Sort of…” He touched the machine with a screwdriver, and the thing went back to its incoherent speech, grabbing words from the paper and jumbling them together in an incoherent form.

You got back to laughing until Viktor detached the hex gem from its place, the machine dying without another sound.

“I don’t think you’re getting there with a few adjustments.” You looked at both the invention and the inventor with your head.

Viktor gave you an annoyed look, grabbed the metal spider machine, placed it carefully on his workstation, and started to tinker with the machine once again.

• ··········· • ············ •

@marshy-moo @victormydarling @blueesmiski @th3stup1dcat @22carolina08 @httpstes @that-one-shitty-blog @disa-pointment @sseleniaa @moons-lighttrail @aysluxe @fae-doodle @kitewa @local-mr-frog @bakusquadobsessed @cherry-cola-100 @optimistic-but-very-realistic @seeksrsnn @thecordelialetters @notsaelty @lansy-4 @ayupfrogg @sammypotato @wnbrw @lucycarlisleswife @noxturnalmoth @ren-ren23 @furblrwurblr @kapitankarate @mynicknameisgasoline @octo-octopie @birbwithhat @kneelarmhstrung @dedicated2viktor @elvishstudies

[atamascolily]

So was anyone going to tell me they put the "Prologue in Heaven" sequence at the beginning of Magia Exedra (though after the CGI remake of the Homura vs. Walpurgisnacht battle from episode 1 and the Exedra OP) or did I just have to watch the video myself? Definitely did not have that on my bingo card.

The runes say "Magia Exedra" and the central logo is a star (aka the Memspark macguffins, which I cannot say with a straight face) and the moth/astrolabe wings of Infinite Iroha. So she's definitely involved in this somehow.

The lighthouse and a new mandala, because of all the cosmic worldbuilding symbolism. And then they do the projector thing, just like the beginning of the anime, before the frame narrative kicks in.

I keep seeing lots of speculation about Namae's true identity, but the whole point of the character is that she's literally a blank slate onto which the players can project themselves as well as taking on the forms of established characters to fight the battle sequences. The whole "you can find your true identity" thing is a great premise, but as soon as it's realized, the story ends (or at least has to find something else to do), so I don't expect resolution any time soon since presumably the game is going to go on for as long as possible.

Also, because the character is so nondescript, I have a hard time caring about this particular plot point, so to be honest, I'm fine with leaving it a mystery.

This guy, on the other hand...

Can you tell me what the hell your deal is, then? Who is your god? What master do you serve? ... No? Didn't think so.

Green Kyubey has a great personality, which is important because Namae has very little to work off of, so he's got to do all the heavy lifting in this partnership. He's literally an emotional support Incubator, which I find hilarious. I've seen theorizing that the lack of rings = ability to feel emotions, and while the sample size is limited (Kyubey, Mokyuu/Little Kyubey from Magia Record, and now this one), it certainly sounds plausible.

Green Kyubey's dialogue also implies he was created specifically for his current job as guardian of the lighthouse (by whom? Well, probably Madokami and Infinite Iroha), so I don't think there's going to be a dark plot twist where he turns out to be evil, actually. I mean, that could be a lot of fun, but I don't think that's where the game devs are going with it--the whole point of Magia Record was to make a lighter and softer version of Madoka Magica and go on indefinitely, and I think Exedra is going to continue with that. I also don't think he's secretly a character we already know, but they pulled that twist in Magia Record, so who knows.

Narratively, Green Kyubey's function is to guide and instruct the player, so while I'm very curious what his deal is, I suspect that backstory is also unlikely to be addressed for a while as the game seems hell-bent on recreating every single major Madoka Magica storyline in the franchise in CGI cut scenes/visual novel remakes.

Thus far, all of the stuff I've watched so far outside of the Namae-Green Kyubey interactions has been pretty derivative. Even the "Prologue in Heaven" segment above comes off as copying something that already existed rather than organic or as a homage. I mean, I'd love to be wrong, but given the game's fundamental premise is "revisiting the memories/experiences of every story we've already done", I'm not holding my breath.

I also suspect that while WnK's plot will inevitably get an event/level in Exedra, I don't think the two are connected much in terms of story outside of that. The two works serve two fundamentally different purposes, and Exedra's is to be a perpetual story machine and go on forever. I also don't think the creators would drop any hints/spoilers for WnK's plot by putting them in the backstory/premise of Exedra. But I guess we'll see.

Suffice to say, there's no shortage of material, but my primary interest is in the new stuff, so until we get to some original content, I'll probably tune out. But the image of the lighthouse in the void speaks to me on a deep emotional level and I would love to know more about it.

It's such a great image! Fingers crossed they do something interesting with it!

[thetorturedbuckydepartment]

chapter two: the arrival

pairing: Bucky barnes x plus-sized!SHIElD!reader

masterlist

summary: being a SHIELD agent, you have a knack for analysing people, particularly when it comes to attraction. you have everyone figured out, sorted away into the boxes you've created. But there's one man you can never seem to figure out, the very bane of your existence -- Bucky Barnes. On the field, he is a saint, helping you dodge bullets and taking knife wounds in your name. Around the building? Public menace number one, always poised to insult or to spar with you.

After being sent on a 6-month-long torture-cum-vacation with the very man, could all this change? Could you finally figure out what has been bubbling beneath the surface for years between the two of you, the juggernaut that you know you cannot stop?

warnings:  language, heavy mentions of sex, brief and non-specific mentions of Bucky’s past

word count: 2.9k

taglist: @cjand10 @mcira

PREVIOUS PART

A/N: so excited for you guys to read! sorry ive been MIA recently -- the first half of august will be extremely stressful for me as I have my drivers theory test on the 10th, then I find out if I get into uni on the 15th, hopefully all goes well but you never know!! so for that reason, I haven't been able to write much since posting the first chapter, so updates might be every 2 weeks or so! im so sorry </3, but as always, please let me know how you're finding the story!!!!

The wedding band offers you a strange comfort as you twist it around and around your fingers, staring out of the window of the private jet. It’s a simple golden band, with your initials and Bucky’s engraved onto the inner edge. You hate it, but are too ashamed to vocalise it. It was less than a week ago that you were sobbing on the floor about pretending to be married, and now the wedding band, his initials rubbing against your skin on the inside of it gives you solace?

Bucky notices, because of course he does. He moves to sit directly in front of you, and you turn to him. Officially, the two of you are on the clock now, and so you keep your face impassive, instead of scowling or staring angrily at him. He leans back in his seat, shoving his hands into the dark leather jacket you’re all too familiar with, slouching. He’s wearing jeans the same colour as his eyes, and a red henley that’s just peeking through the top of the jacket. Average, suburban white guy, with a bit of New York flair. 

“You’ve been avoiding me all week.” He states simply, like it’s the most abhorrent fact he’s ever had the displeasure of narrating. You nod, trying your best to not let a snarky remark sneak past your lips, currently coloured in a sheer red. 

“I don’t want to get sick of you too soon. It’s the longest we’ve ever been on any mission. You remember Bucharest, right? How we were almost at each other’s throats in two weeks, and because of us poor Sam spent a week in the medbay? I don’t want that to happen again.” He glances down at the memory, as if humiliated by the outcome of that mission. You know you are — you still check Sam’s hands to see if he’s still healing. You assume he’s done with talking to you and turn to stare back out the window, admiring the green fields and fluffy clouds.

“I understand. But that means we haven’t talked about anything. Like our cover story, how I proposed. Or how affectionate we’re going to be with each other.” 

“Well, you’re still going as James Barnes, aren’t you?” Realistically, you should’ve said The Winter Soldier. That’s what you mean, and he knows that. But you can’t bring yourself to say it, to remind him of everything he’s trying to escape from. It seemed to be an unspoken boundary between the two of you, that you’ll never throw that title in his face, especially when you’ve seen the way he retracts from society and begins to shake in his seat at those three words, regardless of who uses them. His past, before you knew him, you decide to leave untouched. You couldn’t live with yourself if you belittled him and shamed him for things that happened to him, things that he was never in control of.

You’ve read the case files. You know the atrocities. You can’t do that to him. Even if he chose to cross that line, you can’t wound him in such a way, especially not for petty revenge. You want to annoy him, yes, but you don’t want him to truly ache irrevocably because of you. For some reason, you can’t bring yourself to do that to him.

“Yes. And you’re still going as you?” You nod, gears turning in your head.

“We can say we met in Wakanda, and we were friends for 5 years. You were hopelessly in love with me the whole time, obviously. But I only started seeing you as more than a friend after… we went to a friend’s wedding together, and I didn’t have a partner so I dragged you along with me. When they exchanged their wedding vows, I realised that what you and I had was special, and that you’re ridiculously handsome. And the rest is history.” You shrug, hating that you’ll have to admit to his stupid, pretty face that he has a stupid pretty face.

“How’d you come up with that? You don’t really seem the romance type…”

You think for a moment, reabsorbing the insult that you almost fire at him. Is he implying that you’re a slut, again?

“Just because I’ve never been serious about anyone before, doesn’t mean I’m a heartless monster, James. I’ve read books, and seen TV shows. I prefer romance, to remind myself that somehow, sometimes, men can be at least decent.” Your eyes bore into his then, silently expressing your anger. “And I’d really appreciate it if half of your insults toward me aren’t slutshaming. Keep it to yourself.” You can’t help it.

His eyebrows furrow, and somehow he looks even sexier. God, you hate how your sexual attraction toward him peaks when he’s civil with you. “What? I’ve never…”

“Yes you have, don’t lie. Almost every other sentence you say to me, you mention me sleeping around. Now, I don’t give a fuck what you think, but it’s beginning to get annoying. You wanna get your marks up? Find some new material.”

“Butterscotch, no. That’s—That’s not what I mean. You’re the only person I’m ever around who’s had so much sex, but it’s not a bad thing. Definitely not a bad thing. It just genuinely seems to me that whenever I see you, you’re always planning to hook up with someone. That’s why. I’m not shaming you for having sex, do whatever the fuck you want. I’m sorry if I made it seem otherwise, or if that’s why you hate me.” You’re constantly shifting between staring out the window, and at him, but when he apologises you can’t help but give yourself whiplash, wondering if he’s joking.

A million more questions circle your mind, and your anger flares up before you can stop it. You stand up, walking over to where he sits. He watches your face, as you grip the armrests and lean down so you’re uncomfortably close to him. He gets flustered so quickly, it’s another one of your favourite weaknesses of his to exploit. “You think that’s why I hate you? I hate you, because you’re an arrogant, self-centred bitch, who’s only ever treated me like shit.” In truth, he’s only arrogant and self-centred when it comes to you. To everyone else, he’s as sweet and humble as they come, and that’s what bothers you the most. 

That he’s chosen to have some personal vendetta against you from the very first night he met you, when you tried to be kind. You greeted him, smiled at him, bought him a vinyl player and limited edition vinyls from the 40s in mint condition for his fucking birthday, and all he ever was, was cruel to you. He scowled, he turned away from you. He all but threw your thoughtful gift across the room and fled from the birthday party.

That was your breaking point, when you decided that he’s not worth it. At first, you gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was fresh out of Wakanda at the time, and you thought that maybe he was just having trouble reintegrating into society, what with the hell he’d been through. But then, you noticed the way he spoke to Nat with a wide smile on his face, how he loved to laugh with the other agents, and you noticed it was just you that he was still closed-off and horrid to. That’s when you began to be cruel, began to insult him and scowl right back, mirroring his expressions 

You’d never done it before then, but it felt so natural, so deserved. And then it had become second nature, as easy as blinking, or finding someone new to sleep with. It’s even more embarrassing to admit that you’d found yourself, for the first time, having strong and true romantic feelings for someone, and then he shut you down like that. How could you not? With a face like that, and an unwavering passion in those cobalt eyes, how could you not form some semblance of attachment? 

You briefly remember the way you’d acted around him, like a giggling schoolgirl who’s just dipped her toes into the dating world. How naive you had been, how foolish. It all just makes you grimace now, fuelling the flames of your hatred all that much more.

He searches your eyes, trying to dig beneath all the malice. As if you’d let him. He must know that to poke the bear is futile at this stage, because he decides to change the topic.

“And what about me proposing? How long have we been married? Where did we go on our honeymoon?” Your faces are so close…if he were half a decent person you wouldn’t leave any room for him to even breathe at this current second.

“Don’t tell me I’m gonna carry all the braincells on this mission, Barnes.” You retreat back to your seat, slumping over yourself, trying to ignore all of the bitter memories that have just been dragged to the forefront of your mind. 

A brief silence descends over the two of you, and you swivel your attention once again to the landscape outside, buckling your seatbelt as the flight attendant announces that you’re about to land.

“One day, I asked you over to my apartment, on our three year anniversary. December 22nd. I cooked you your favourite meal, chicken biryani with that raita that you like, and red velvet cake for dessert. It was a candlelit dinner in my tiny apartment, with a red tablecloth the same colour as your dress. After the dinner I asked you to marry me, reciting stanzas and stanzas of prose about how beautiful and amazing you are, and how in love with you I am. Then, we made love until dawn, obviously.” 

A smile graces your face at his last words, at how innocent he appears when he refers to having sex as making love. The sentiment is sweet.

His seeming innocence catches you off guard at times — he’s been amongst all the agents and Avengers for eight years now, as opposed to your 13. The agents are always throwing themselves at him, especially those not into women, at all. You’ve often assumed he hooks up with most of them, seeing as Steve’s often recounted stories of what a charmer he was back in the 40s. And when he’s nice, you doubt anyone could resist him.

So why does he seem so new and inexperienced to most things? Another mystery you can’t be asked to solve.

“God, you’re just dying to have sex with me, aren’t you?” You tease, letting your grin  mould into something a little more sadistic, indicating that the thick, putrid air of a few minutes ago has passed.

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself, the story pretty much requires it.”

You nod in mockery. “Uh huh, of course. You pervert, we’re not going to tell anyone that. The idea of premarital sex will probably give half the kids in those suburbs a heart attack.” His eyes rake up and down your figure, and you give him your most salacious grin. You usually reserve it for men across the bar, when you catch them checking you out. It’s reserved for inviting them over for casual conversation and bathroom sex.

On Bucky? It flusters him to hell and back when he’s on the receiving end of it. Just like it is right now, as he tries desperately to hide the blush that’s spreading quickly across his cheeks. He swallows, and you watch his Adam’s apple bob against his throat in an almost predatory manner.

It’s in moments like these you’ve often thought about hate sex. Specifically with Bucky, about what it would be like to pull on his hair, to boss him around like you usually enjoy to. Would he listen to you? Or would he bark orders of his own at you, gripping at every inch of you desperately? But you’re scared, because he’s the first person to ever make you want to pursue them romantically, and you’re scared all the hate will melt away with every gentle yet scorching touch, leaving you vulnerable.

You hate being vulnerable.

“We’ve only been married a month, and we went to Spain for our honeymoon. We just got back two weeks ago to finish packing.” He completes, and it seems simple enough. You notice how his voice shakes ever so slightly, still influenced by the way you look at him, and the way he refuses to make eye contact. 

“Sounds good. We’ll stick with that then.” You offer, not bothering to look at him twice as you leave the jet and step into the family sedan that Bucky’ll be driving.

You sigh as you sink into the passenger seat in a car that smells too clean, staring out the window as if bored. You wonder if either of you will be able to not kill the other in these six months.

In your mind, you either fuck or fight it out. There’s no other way you’re emerging. 

You wonder which option he’d choose, studying him as he settles in beside you, so close that you can smell his cologne. He’s taken off his leather jacket and shoved it to the backseat, exposing his arms and—his left arm is no longer metal.

He catches you staring — he’s always looking for an excuse to stare at you. “Fury handed it to me after the initial briefing. It fits over my arm like a second skin, so it looks normal. I’m supposed to be trying to get back that normal life, remember? Fury said it’ll help disillusion and distance me from The Winter Soldier in these civilian’s minds.” Somehow, it sends a pang through your heart, still, at the way he’s trying to not lose his shit and start crying at even the thought that they’ll still see him as an empty weapon, a vessel for unimaginable evil. You soften.

“Here, let me drive — you just learned what a car was, like, six months ago. Plus it’s manual. I know Steve only let you learn automatic. Come on, stop being a bitch and switch with me.” You’re goading him, holding out your hand for the keys as he blindly stares at the console, trying to process how you know that fact about him. 

Steve and you are close, best friends even. That’s why. He turns off the engine and does as he’s told, mind probably currently too occupied with awful memories to register you’re being soft with him.

As you settle into the driver’s seat, adjusting the mirrors as he stares down into his lap. “Besides, when you walk in there unarmed and without a murderous look on your face, they’ll know, James. It’s been years.” Your tone is too gentle, too gentle considering your history. But you can’t help yourself, and you let your hand gently touch his arm even though he won’t feel it. He looks up, and you see his eyes brimming with tears.

“But what if it doesn’t work? What if they see right through me?” His voice is so small, unlike any tone he’s ever taken with you.

“It will. It will work, they won’t see right through you. If they know who you are, you know they followed your trial, your rehab in Wakanda. They know you were pardoned. And they’ll know when you treat all the kids with respect, because you’re good with them. When you help the seniors cross the road, when you help the sexy neighbour with her groceries. They’ll know, because you’re good. You have a good heart, and you treat almost everyone you know with nothing but love and affection. Just because I’m not on the receiving end of it, doesn’t mean I can’t see that. Trust your gut, James. It’ll all be fine. And if I can pull off being in love with you, they’ll definitely see it too. I’ll sing your praises to everyone in town, I’ll do everything to convince them if I have to. Because that’s the only way our cover will work. This is official business, James. This isn’t you and me around the Tower, or sparring in the gym. Just trust me here, okay?” You don’t know why you’re sympathetic, you don’t know why you care. You don’t know why you’re saying all of these things like you’re falling in love with him, all you know if that he’s falling apart and you have to try and stop it.

You have to try and be there for him, gripping his hand between both of yours, trying to offer a physical reminder that he’s in the car with you, not back in that horrid lab or in the sterile courtroom as some bald, red-faced lawyer tries to write him off as the most heinous cretin to disgrace this planet. You look at him and he looks at you and the tension is almost palpable, like you could cut it with a knife. You have no idea what’s happening to you.

“Okay.” He says quietly, his thumb stroking the side of your hands. Sam beeps the horn behind you, him and Steve posing as the movers and carriers you and James have hired. 

It startles you out of the moment, reminding you of your rapid heart, beating so fervently against the jail of your ribs that you feel it in your fingertips. You turn to the road ahead, signalling to the PARKER PACKERS AND MOVERS truck towing behind you. You swallow, hopefully taking any softness for Bucky along with it.

It’s going to be a long six months.

NEXT PART

[madaboutmunson]

Perfectly P-awesome

For Stranger Things Writer’s Guild Daily Prompt

‘Daddy’

Summary: Drabble of Steddie at the dog rescue

Word Count: 700

——————————————————————-

“Eddie, this was a mistake,” Steve whispered out the corner of his mouth, as they walked between the enclosures.

“No it wasn’t, my love. You’re just upset we can’t take them all,” Eddie replied in a whispered sing-song tone. He looked smug, and he had every right to, because he knew his boyfriend, and he knew he was correct.

Steve channelled his annoyance into a grumble as he avoided eye contact with the dogs they passed by.

“Imagine what a wonderful thing we’ll be doing, giving one of these sweet things a new home,” Eddie encouraged swooping into his side and linking their arms, “A new leash of life, if you will,” Eddie wiggled his eyebrows and stifled a laugh.

Steve rolled his eyes but the smile he was wrestling to hide became too obvious. He sighed, “We don’t have the space.”

Eddie made an incorrect buzzer noise, “Wrong! We had three whole humans in that apartment, a dog is smaller than a human.”

“Ok well are you gonna walk them every day?” Steve said, putting one hand on his hip.

Eddie pouted, “But baby, you go for a jog or run every morning, if you took the dog you’d have some sort of protection, when you’re out on your own.”

Steve was about to say no and stopped in his tracks, “Ok, alright,” he said throwing his hands up, “A few conditions. You join me on morning walks and you can walk the dog. The dog cannot be so big it takes up half the sofa. It must be a mixed breed, and no puppies! You got that?”

“Yessss!” Eddie hopped and punched the air making his wallet chain jangle. With a wild look in his eyes he grabbed Steve’s arm and yanked him along behind him at top speed.

“Eddie, what the hell, calm down! Where are you dragging me?” Steve complained as they nearly pushed past several families and couples until Eddie came to a sudden halt and Steve crashed into his side.

Eddie, completely unaffected by a half speed Steve crashing into him, points at the enclosure.

“This is the one, babe,” Eddie’s smile was huge as he rocked on his heels.

Steve sighed and wondered what kind of hell beast Eddie had picked out. He took the plunge and stepped forward to look at the dog.

Steve looked at the creature behind the cage door.

This wasn’t a dog. This was some kind of gremlin muppet from outer space.

Its ears stuck out like the little green funny guy from Star Wars. Its dark fur was patchy in places but generally short and wiry apart from on top of its head where it had an accidental mohawk. Its lower jaw jutted to the side giving it half an underbite and it was about the size of a Beagle. It had an eyepatch over one eye, a missing leg and a tail with an almost right angled kink in it.

“See, Daddy follows all your rules, aaaand,” Eddie pouted his lips and clasped his hands together, “He weally weally needs a home,” he said, with his own biggest puppy dog eyes.

Steve put up a finger, “What did you just call him?”

“Daddy,” Eddie repeated and the creature from the depths of hell replied with a yip. Eddie crouched down to the door at the response, “Who’s a good boy? It’s Daddy isn’t it? Daddy’s a good boy!”

Steve didn’t particularly want this walking nightmare fuel in his home, or to shout Daddy at something in the park, but when Eddie looked up at him with such joy, he rolled his eyes and sighed, and went to look at the information sheet.

Steve realised the huge mistake he’d made by reading this. This dog was a hero, a loyal pet, and was only in here because his owner passed away and no one would take him in. Not only that, but he was an old dog. He knew right then he couldn’t leave him here. He was coming home with them

Steve felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned to meet Eddie’s compassionate expression, “So is he gonna be a Munson or a Harrington?”

[btr-rewatch]

Big Time Rush Season 1, Episode 12: “Big Time Terror”

I've been looking forward to this one since I decided to start doing this rewatch. SHOT IN THE DARK!! Let's gooooo!!!! *tosses confetti into the air*

Highlights: Ghost hunting, ginormous bowls of oatmeal, and the best song ever written in the history of ever.

It's a beautiful night at the Palm Woods, and BTR and many of the Palm Woods residents are gathered around the fire, hanging out and having a grand ol' time. The guys are singing "Stuck," which is a song I'd probably rank among my favorites.

Their fun time is interrupted suddenly by a strange sound. As everyone turns to look, they see that a small table is moving along the patio all by itself. The boys look on in confusion and fear, with Carlos and Logan immediately gravitating toward Kendall for protection, which certainly gives me feelings. I love them. I love that the reaction is instinctual and says so much about who Kendall is and how the other guys see him. The Protector. The one who will shield them from harm. Kendall is a source of safety.

After returning to their apartment, Logan, ever the logical one, explains to Carlos that it wasn't a ghost but the air conditioner causing a backdraft that shut the doors. He doesn't have an explanation for the moving table, though. Carlos insists it was a ghost.

There's a knock on the door, which startles everyone but Kendall, and he explains to his scaredy-cat friends, "there is nothing terrifying behind this door." And who's behind the door? Gustavo! He tells the guys that his mansion is flooded, and he has to stay with them tonight.

They're not particularly thrilled about a sleepover with Gustavo, but Mama Knight tells the guys that they should let him stay the night because "Doing nice things for people who aren't so nice is nice."

We go to the lobby oh-so-briefly then to see Bitters and the Palm Woods residents all running frantically from something. We don't see a ghost, but there is mysterious wind and spooky green lights.

Up in 2J, everyone is seated around the table for dinner. It's Fish Stick Friday (with tots)! After some initial skepticism, Gustavo discovers the fish sticks aren't so bad, and he asks what else the guys do on Fridays, which leads into a montage of their evening. Gustavo has a blast. The guys...do not.

But the award for Not Having a Good Time goes to Logan, who gets SAT ON by Gustavo for HALF AN HOUR.

Cannot even begin to put together a theory on how this managed to happen.

The boys are all relieved when it's finally time for bed, but they quickly realize they aren't going to get much sleep with Gustavo's snoring practically shaking the whole apartment. Carlos has an idea for how to fix the problem, though.

Carlos's expression kills me. Look at him. Jaw set and that look of firm determination in his eyes. Carlos has a roll of duct tape, and he isn't afraid to use it. He will silence the big, snoring man. I don't know if we've ever seen him look so serious and angry before??

Also, I just have to point out that First Episode Kendall absolutely would've been on board with this plan. He probably would've grabbed the tape and done it himself. Maybe even gone a little further and taped Gustavo to the couch just for extra fun.

They trudge down to the lobby to sleep there but are scared off by the Palm Woods Ghost, who shuts off the lights, breaks a vase, stacks the furniture, and slams the doors. They run back to the apartment and are greeted by the image of Gustavo scratching his butt.

THE BOYS ARE HAVING THE WORST NIGHT EVER

The following morning, everyone wastes no time in handing Gustavo his stuff and all but kicking him out the door. They're all like:

But Gustavo isn't so eager to leave. Instead, he decides to join Kendall and James for a fun afternoon by the pool.

Listen. I love Gustavo, ok? Especially in these scenes, where he's just a loveable teddy bear of a guy wanting to hang out with his buddies. He is having SO MUCH FUN with them and is SO OBLIVIOUS that they're not having fun. No awareness at all.

Meanwhile, Logan and Carlos are having their own little adventure conducting paranormal research in the lobby. Carlos is convinced they're going to catch evidence of a ghost. Logan is convinced Carlos is just an idiot.

So far in the series, any time Logan and Carlos are paired together, all they do is bicker. But it makes sense, given that Logan is the smartest of the group and Carlos is...probably last in that particular ranking. Which is NOT to say that Carlos isn't intelligent in his own way, because he certainly is, but he doesn't have the same type of intelligence as Logan. Carlos is just innocent. Child-like. And we love him for it, but it sure does put him in a good position to clash with Logan over everything, doesn't it?

After setting up the camera and taking some time to smack each other around, Carlos, Logan, (and Bitters) catch sight of a ghostly green figure going through the lobby. They all take off running.

We skip ahead to the next day, where Gustavo's reign of terror over apartment 2J continues. He's not even trying to return to his mansion. In fact, he moves a lot of his things, including his bed, into 2J.

Also, everyone is eating the most ridiculously big bowls of oatmeal I've ever seen.

Look at James's bowl. That's like oatmeal for three or four people. And I know, I know, they needed to have a big bowl in order for Gustavo to be able to push James's face into it but come on. That's the most oatmeal I've ever seen in a single bowl.

After hearing that Gustavo will likely be staying several more days, Kendall pulls James out into the hallway to tell him that they need to handle this like men. Immediate cut to them begging and pleading to Kelly for help.

Kelly is confused because she had told Gustavo the previous night that he could return to his mansion. She reveals to the guys that Gustavo didn't really have a chance to live a typical childhood and play with other kids. Which is, um, really sad and something that should've been explored more!! She tells Kendall and James to figure everything out and flees the Palm Woods. Kelly wants no part in dealing with this lol.

The "Get Gustavo out of the Palm Woods" plot takes a backseat then as BTR focuses their energy on defeating the ghost. Armed with vacuum cleaners and goggles, they engage in a Scooby-Doo-style chase around the lobby.

Finally, they catch the ghost and reveal that it's not a real ghost at all. It's the new girl, Stephanie King!

She's making a horror movie and has been using the Palm Woods residents as her cast. She asks them not to tell on her, which Kendall agrees to under one condition.

We cut to 2J, where a peacefully sleeping Gustavo is woken up by Stephanie's ghost "floating" by his bed. Armed with a fan, projector light, fog machine, and a microphone, the guys manage to send Gustavo running from the apartment in terror.

The following scene is. The scene is—it's...

IT'S SHOT IN THE DARK!!! WOOOOO!!!

"Shot in the Dark" is by far my favorite BTR song, and I loved it so so much when I first heard it in this episode. You can imagine my yearning all these years to get an official version of it. Apparently, a full-ish demo version was released on youtube like...10 years ago?? I had no clue there was ANY full version until the guys released it in November. So, all this time, the only version of it I've known has been the one from this episode. Just about fainted when I checked Spotify and saw "Shot in the Dark" on there.

And I do have ✨thoughts✨about the song, but I might put them into a separate post. It's such a good song.

We end the episode at the pool, where everyone is once again sent running in fear from another moving table. This time, it's the work of Katie, who has discovered Fun With Fishing Line. The end.

Fantastic episode. This one would rank pretty high on my list of favorites. Both plots are great, and I like the way they merge at the end to wrap everything up. +46287593 bonus points for having "Shot in the Dark" in it. However, I do think there was a missed opportunity to include a heart-to-heart type scene between the boys and Gustavo. The guy had a lonely, isolated childhood and just wants a sense of connection with his dogs! He wants friends and to run around with reckless abandon playing "tag and seek" and an altered version of Marco Polo using dodgeballs! I wish the boys could have taken more time to acknowledge the whole situation and reached out in some way to Gustavo instead of scaring him away with a ghost. That would have been some nice relationship development.

[secrets-of-everwich]

09-1 Investigations on the House

[Click]

[Electronic hum underlies recording]

{Callie}

Hello, and welcome to this Secret of Everwich. This is Callie Hewitt, recording on the 23rd October 2021. Listening back to the previous episodes has shown me two things: First, I keep saying I’ll do things and then I don’t follow up on them. Second, I don’t do nearly enough description. So, to remedy this, I’m going on a field trip to… The… Other rooms in my house.

The first is a trip to the secret staircase to describe it in more detail.

[Footsteps]

[Door opening]

[Door closing]

[More footsteps]

[Door opening]

Here we go! So, it’s a small corridor right next to my bedroom, that has links to the rest of the servant’s corridor. The door to it is right next to my bedroom, so I’ll often use these stairs to go to school! If we go down the stairs…

[Footsteps]

We come to the ground floor, where there’s another door underneath the stairs.

[Door rattling]

This one is locked. This is the route to the basement… The one that Asher and Xavier went down. I still haven’t gotten around to learning how to pick locks yet, unfortunately. However, that shouldn’t matter, if I can use the other entrance to the caves. Anyway, if I leave the tape recorder here-

[Voice gets fainter]

-I can start investigating properly. Now, I can’t see anything out of the ordinary here, but I’m going to shine my phone’s torch under the door and… Wow, that’s a lot of spiders. I think those are spiders. I can’t think what else a black moving mass would be. Spiders are amazing creatures, don’t you think? Anyway, I can’t see much else in there. I guess this confirms Asher’s statement, that there were lots of spiders, because I don’t see how they could increase this much in that short amount of time.

Anyway, this wasn’t the only place I wanted to conduct an investigation.

[Voice gets louder]

[Footsteps]

We’re now going to the music room, where there should be a cupboard. Now, you may be thinking, dear listener, that ‘Oh, it’s just a cupboard! What’s so special about that?’. Let me tell you, it is a secret cupboard! None of my family knew it existed! So, I’m going to open it up. I left a crowbar in the music room, because I knew I wanted to open it up today.

[Door opens]

[Door closes]

Right. The music room. There is a very large piano in here, and an incredibly out of tune violin on top. How do I know this?

[A piano key plays]

[A violin string is plucked. It is out of tune.]

Anyway, if we move-

[Sounds of effort]

-This piano- Slightly- This way.

[Panting]

We can see there’s a secret door! Now, the doorhandle is gone, but if I just…

[More sounds of effort]

[Crash]

Here we- go! It’s- Open. Let me just- Catch my breath- And we can go in.

[A pause, panting]

Okay, I think I’m good. In we go!

[Footsteps]

Right. Well, it’s a dark room with… A lot of cloths covered in dust.

[Sounds of cloth being moved]

[Coughing]

Yep- A lot of dust. Whoa. That’s… A lot of portraits. We knew there were some of Henry, Esther, Kitty and one of Charles, but… That’s a lot. How many portraits did these guys get of themselves? Gosh. Oh not all are of the Florences. Oh wow, these were of the Greenes! Wow, Kitty was really pretty. The description of her in that obituary were correct. She appears to have very long, curly ginger hair, pale skin, freckles, and a very nice smile. And, oh- All of Charles’ portraits are just like the other one. That’s really sad, to be honest. I wonder why – and who – would take a knife and cut out Charles’ face. I have to say, there’s one thing about the Everwich Ghost that’s been rubbing me the wrong way. It keeps killing. With… Very physical, and visible wounds. Like, with knives and… Stuff. And the portraits, they haven’t been ecto-plasm-ed and burnt, they’ve just been cut with a knife. Most ghosts in media cannot hold a knife, let alone have that as their weapon of choice. Just some food for thought. Anyway, onto the next area!

[Footsteps]

[Door opens]

[Door closes]

Right, we’re off to the first floor again, outside my bedroom. Again. Because there may or may not be an attic. Now, I won’t be able to access it today, due to… Height restrictions. But, all the same, I want to see if I can spot it at least.

[Creaks of floorboards. Footsteps]

Here we are! Right. Looking up. There’s just paint on the ceil- Oh! I think I see it! There’s a square bit painted slightly differently from the rest of the roof. I am absolutely not able to reach that, and I don’t currently have access to a step ladder, but it’s interesting to know that there is an attic! Anyway, while we’re here, let’s go back to my room.

[Door opens]

[Door closes]

[Footsteps]

Back in the safety of my bedroom. Thanks for listening to this Secret of Everwich! I’ll see you next time!

[Click]

[Click]

[Radio static]

[Faint piano playing]

[Click]

[clonebrainrot]

Aftermath Season 1 episode 1 rewatch

A live reaction

The bad batch aftermath

So we begin

I completely forgot that they had a clone wars intro for this

Ah Kanan sounding like a 40 year old man

And here they come!

Ah POV shot my beloved

God they are so badass

God I am already getting emotional over fucking nothing lol

Tech no you can’t say the C-word

You gotta appreciate all these battles where they are working together it only happens like 3 times in the entire show

God captain grey sucks

lol Tech doesn’t even look up from his data pad when he is introduced by Kanan. He is literally me.

Any orders or shall we do what we do? God what a great line

Oh yay! Order 66!

And everything continued to go down hill from this point onward

smh rebels was contradicted in rebels he said her last words were run not Caleb! I can’t believe they would get this wrong. My day is ruined

Also I am literally just writing all my thoughts out as they happen I’ll have a lot more succinct post later.

Even this early I cannot get over how good the animation looks

You have orders from the chancellor? Wrecker doesn’t give a shit lol

Hunter saw Kanan and he wanted to adopt him immediately

Crosshair is an amazing shot anytime he isn’t shooting a good guy. Then he misses a lot. Although you can argue that he is subconsciously resisting the order if you want

Poor Hunter he is trying his best to

God I am so tempted to writer a the bad batch protests Kanan fic. I think Omega and Kanan would have such a fun dynamic.

God the scenery shots all look gorgeous I wish I knew how to take screenshots of Disney plus or else I would show you

I forgot how often Tech talked. I don’t know why

Remember when people said the dead Jedi here was shaak ti? Cause that made no sense. She literally has a green hand.

Also every line of dialogue between Tech and Wrecker is just hilarious

“Oh they seem the same to me” I love you tech

My exceptional mind! Another great line

Info dump more Tech I will enjoy every piece of dialogue you give me

First appearance of Omega!

Interestingly Omega notices when Hunter looks up at her. Hmm makes one think doesn’t it. Tap this one down as the first of “omega is force sensitive” (I won’t let this theory die”

There she is. She is just the best.

Also Omega has the worst haircut ever.

I love all of Omega’s weird little waves. She’s so socially awkward sometimes I love that about her.

Oh boy. Tarkin here he comes to ruin the day

lol the Kaminoasn really are like “bitch what are you talking about”

Oh my man soup clone is gonna steal the scene

I like to blow things up because I like to blow things up. You always know your ways with words tech

I can’t get over how horrible omega’s haircut looks it is so bad

Soup clone or should I say CX2!

I love that this food fight is a regular occurrence

Regular clone coming in With a metal tray!

I wish they had done more with Echo’s PTSD

I will leave you to process the shock of this revelation

Maybe this empire thing isn’t so bad after all (it was)

I just realized what happened to Lama Su? He just dipped out of the shows lol

And wrecker is shot for the first time. First of many. I think it might be four total. Wrecker takes an absolute beating throughout the show

What we did on Felucia. Well now I need a whole show about that

Tech riding the proto dark troopers is such a video game moment

I completely forgot how little Omega is in this first episode until like well over half way through

Crosshair’s knife shot may be my favorite of the entire show.

Ah the fetus room my favorite one on Kamino

I completely forgot Tarkin has met Omega.

Squad does not make a squadron. I thought squadron was just for aircraft and naval vessels? I know this is a nitpick and doesn’t really matter but it stood out

I love how Hunter always goes to Omega’s eye level. I love that about him.

Oh oh! Oh no! Kid you aren’t a soldier. Damnit I am crying now. She grew up to be a soldier! Ah I hate it I am going to bawl my eyes out for the rest of the episode

Saw you complicated man. I don’t hate you like some, but you always go about it the wrong way you drove so many people away you indirectly killed one of the brightest minds on Star Wars, but your heart was in the right place. It’s just how you fight. That’s what is important

I love how Tech knows who Saw is on sight. He knows literally everything I love that about him

Saw also does it. He gets to eye level when talking to children. I love this detail. Not talking down always talking directly.

Crosshair always the contrarian with “not that you know of”

Wait how did Tech know about the conversation with Tarkin where he talks about the five clones. He wasn’t there. There are a few instances throughout the show where characters know things they really shouldn’t

Someone is coming we need to go. That’s two strikes for force sensitive omega (again not letting this die)

God the wide shots on this show are stunning

Do you think it’s a problem that I can recognize all the trailer shots as they appear? lol

Strike 3 for Omega being force sensitive. Although this one you can excuse as just her knowing about the inhibitor chip. There is one that will be coming up that you can’t read as anything other than force sensitive IMO

Oh did I ever tell you how when I first saw Omega in the trailer I thought she was a boy lol.

I love Omega copying her brothers it’s so cute

I can’t get over how bad her hair is. I hate her original hair style. It’s just so bad lol

God even in this episode so early the music is absolutely banging.

Omega knows crosshair is coming before he actually comes. And then she’ll make this amazing shot. Omega is force sensitive. Nothing says she isn’t in the show. And so I will go to my grave believing it. Canon be damned

Also why is the Coruscant guard on Kamino? What happened to the gray colored Kamino police clones?

That’s a second shot for wrecker. Dude just keeps getting beaten the shit out of. Already planting the seeds for that inhibitor chip activating later

And there is the shot. Followed by shots that go completely off the mark. Makes one think doesn’t it…

Also Nala Se you sneaky sneaky. I hate you for fives and also love you for helping Omega in the end.

So begins Omega’s adventure. And so begins the beginning of the end for theirs

Next stop Cut Lawquane

God I am excited to go through these episodes. It’s like it’s starting all over again even If I have watched this show a collective 4 times lol.

[hiimtracher]

Chapter 6 the snake woman

Months later with, the help of the party and Adams personal caretaker Ricky, Adam was ready to leave the asylum. the party decided that him being on thier team would be a great way to make him more sane, therefore he would have to leave.

as the hours of paper work went by Adam was getting worried about leaving Ricky he was a great caretaker and a even greater friend. Adam always got attached to people who would help him in his goals but it was time to leave and he did not know what to do. He can't just visit the prison it is not allowed for guards only for prisoners. and Ricky is a ghost bound to the prison so it means that he can't just leave.

But before he knew it he was free to go and was stepping outside of the prison and leaving his best friend alone

---

days passed and Adam has now stopped thinking of ricky he was too focused on helping the party preaper and heal before and after thier adventures. but this day they had to get rid of something that would mimic others this ment that Adam would be the key part of the plan as a mimic cannot mimic another mimic. they would be going after a pelt witch. those creatures would normally get the pelts of animals to mimic them but they can also mimic from memory and get the vague resemblence of what they see. that means they are a nasty killer when it comes to farm animals so they need it gone

they set off all together to the farm side of the port town where they were begginig thier search checking each animal for unusual traits

then in the middle of the day a dark fog became appearing covering the sky letting only some little light in

and in the middle of the field the party saw what resembled a shadow figure but it was diffrent from a lost soul it had spiral like marks that glowed it three diffrent colors Red, green and blue, it did not have any arms nor hands.

it began moving and twiching in a ghostly manner as if it was cold

then hrom was able to deduct that it was a godly being maybe not quite holy but definetly a god but he could not tell what it showed. it looked angry

before the creature could get close though a person appeared a woman of sorts she yelled at the creature in some language and it seemed to back away. the woman charged at the thing but before she could get to it the being dissaperared into the fog. The woman turned to the party and began to speak

The woman did a facepalm in dissapoinment before switching up her tone

??? – can you really not ssspeak the language of godsss? Aren’t you a demigod

hrom – no i don’t think any demigod can

??? - how did you make him appear

hrom – we do not know

??? – not ssssure if you realissse who that wasss and why they are the way they are

hrom – do we know them?

??? – THAT WASSS RICKY!

Adam – what!?

??? – yup. The guy who I have been trying to sssave from getting possesssed by that god. The god of abandonment as i call him

Adam – Oh my goddnes he is possesed that’s terrible. We have to save him!

??? – yeah no shit he became possesssed becaussse you abandoned him

Adam – maybe that’s why he came here because he saw me

??? - … that …. Perhapsss….

Adam – please help us save him

??? – mmm ok, but you can’t kill the pelt witch you came here for

hrom – what why? It is a denger to the animals and people

??? – well i sssee you actually do not want my help then

Adam – hrom shut it we won’t kill the witch if that means we can save someone

hrom – if ya say so. Alright woman tell us your name and help us save Ricky and we won’t kill the witch

??? – i like how you think you have a choice in the matter. Alright my name isss Emil the god of Creation

The party – the god of what now

Emil - :>

The party took off in the direction that Emil was going, which led them right to a cave, they all entered in afraid of what is to come

There, there was a room as if someone set up a house in the cave. And in the room was a table where there were set two plates. Then a pelt witch came into the room from what looked like a kitchen. It was holding a pot of stew which looked like gulash only it did not have meat it was more simillar to lecho. The pelt witch looked suprised just like the party.

After some time of preaperation the party set out again waving goodbyes to pluto as they left

They went into the forest and Emil began to draw symbols in chalk on the ground. Then they began saying special words and as they finished thier chant the creature appered with the fog. Without care or thought Emil came up to it and put her palm on the god saying some prayer as the creature began to let go of ricky it went fast so fast that ricky was free almost immediately. Then Emil put a pendament on his neck and said it was to keep away possesions and curses and that also ment that he was not bound to anywhere anymore

The party cheered in happiness and huged ricky and when adam went to thank the goddess he saw that she was no longer there. They returned to thier homes and from now ricky would visit whenever he could.

[thesilverlady]

What do you think of Tyrion ? For me there are 2 of them. The book one and the show one. Show one I hate. Book one I kinda enjoy because he constantly flirts with darkness. I don’t buy show Tyrion poor misunderstood meow meow. And I hate that they did the same with show Aemond. That’s why I prefer Aegon and Daemon. From the beginning you know where they stand, there are no attempts to make them sympathetic bullshit. Stop whitewashing characters in order to make characters more sympathising for audience. The reason why the Joker, Soprano Family and Roy family from Succession are so great is because they aren’t portrayed as some poor people being victims of their circumstances all their life. Aemond wanting to console Jace at Driftmark? What the fuck is that? Also giving him sexual trauma made me laugh. The show made it clear I and everyone else is meant to feel sorry for him but I just laughed at how pathetic they are. Like you have weak Viserys, pedo Daemon, rapist and drunkard Aegon and traumatised and with only one eye Aemond. So yeah, the winner of who should be the fan favourite is clear. Instead of showing the 4 of them as bad and letting people choose who their favourite is, they create 3 of them in unsympathetic light and make one of them #1 victim and the other 3 as monsters or weak men. Sorry but I hate the narrative where I am being shown down my throat who I am supposed to love and who to hate. Especially if 3 out of 4 characters are doing terrible things and only one behaves properly until starting the war. I really can’t wait for Aemond to burn Riverlands, most stans would leave his fanclub and began to see Aegon is not the worst guy out there. I just hope TGC won’t stop playing Aegon until the moment Aemond will show everyone what a legit psycho he really is. And tbh Aemond was my favourite green character in the book but the forced victimisation and the way the fandom act as if aemond is the most opressed character and "feminist" to ever walk in westros when he is the targaryen ver of Andrew tate in reality has completely ruined my enjoyment of him

I don't really have anything to add. I agree with your complains for the most part. I think lots of shows nowadays are painfully censored, the writing has to be simple and the views have to be walked by the hand because they cannot make an intellectual conclusion on their own.

Dunno if you've watched this. But Hannibal nbc was one of my favorite shows of all time. An interesting adaption that was definitely very different from the book material but didn't try to pretend to be better. It was its own thing and was extremely controversial while it was airing due to the violence, themes, and overall subjects. It also remains very much loved despite the years that have passed with an ever so dedicated fanbase.

it seems hard to recreate shows like this. Even GoT's writing was starting to suffering way before the last two seasons but ofc people were trying to be optimistic and we still had hope that one day George might publish another book...

I loved Tyrion and still do in the books. His pov happens to be a favorite of mine, but the show version of him got very bad very fast. It's as you mentioned, there doesn't seem to be a balance about the characters who are supposed to be dark but also possess good traits. It's what makes them interesting in first place.

There's a very weird love for oversimplification in recent times and it kinda sucks out the joy ngl.

As for show aemond, I've ranted so much about him I'd probably repeat myself. I'd only advise to keep expectations low. S1 they managed to make him murdering Lucerys an accident 💀 I wouldn't be surprised if they try something similiar with the burning of Riverlands (perhaps another misunderstanding like the alicent x Viserys one?) who knows. we can only wait and see

[tunafishy333]

Did someone say pattern?

This is an easy-to-intermediate pattern. If you are a beginner, you will encounter many unfamiliar techniques (such as color changes, connecting two pieces together, and working in the back loops). But I only ask you to do these techniques once or twice, and the snail is small enough to work up quickly. This pattern is to make eSCARgo, but it is also the base for the other snails (not only because he's my favorite but also because he was the least complex, lol), so you can refer to this pattern if you make to make the other guys.

Anyways, enjoy!

MATERIALS:

I used a size G6 (4mm) crochet hook and medium (weight 4) yarn. This pattern is worked in rounds, so I recommend using stitch markers. You will also need stuffing, a yarn needle, and scissors. Alternatively, you can use hot glue to attach the pieces.

For snails with hair or clothing, I made them out of felt and hot-glued them on. eSCARgo doesn't have any, but once I make the other snails, I'll update y'all on them.

ABBREVIATIONS:

This pattern is in US terms (sorry UK bros)

st - stitch sc - single crochet sc3tog - single crochet 3 together blo - back loops only inc - increase stitch dec - decrease stitch slst - slip stitch (modified for surface stitching; will elaborate in shell pattern) [] - work instructions in the brackets as many times as instructed () - the total stitch count at the end of each round

PATTERN:

BODY:

Starting with the eyes R1: in green, magic ring 3sc (3) R2: 3[inc] (6) R3: 6sc (6)

Change yarn color to body color - tan

(hopefully the pictures help; imma lefty, so sorry if it's confusing T.T)

R4-R6: 6sc (6) bind off

Repeat R1-R6 for the second eye. DO NOT BIND OFF

R7: sc3, chain 2, now insert your hook into the first stitch of eye1 sc around, into front loop of each chain 1sc, into eye2 sc3

R8: sc3, into back loop of each chain 1sc, 11sc (16)

Tuck the loose ends of the yarn tails into the eye stalks to stuff them, cut off excess

R9-R14: 16sc (16)

Pause here to stitch eSCARgo's smirk

Before we start the next round, make 1sc so that the back and the front are even. Your new round starts here.

R15: 2[2 sc, inc], 3sc, dec, 2sc, dec, 1sc (16) R16: 2sc, inc, 4sc, inc, 3sc, 2[dec], 1sc (16) R17: 3sc, inc, 4sc, inc, 3sc, 2[dec] (16)

Pause here to stuff the head

R18-R28: 16sc (16) R29: 4[2sc, dec] (12) R30: 4[1sc, dec] (8)

Bind off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Do not stuff the foot. Sew the end of the snail's foot close.

SHELL:

R1: in brown, 4sc in magic ring (4) R2: 3sc in every stitch (12) R3: 1sc, 3[3sc in the next stitch, 2sc], 3sc in the next stitch, 1sc (20) R4: 2sc, 3[3sc in the next stitch, 4sc], 3sc in the next stitch, 2 sc (28) R5: 3sc, 3[3sc in the next stitch, 6sc], 3sc in the next stitch, 3sc (36) R6: 4sc, 3[3sc in the next stitch, 8sc], 3 sc in the next stitch, 4sc (44) R7: work in the blo, sc around (44)

Pause here to slst the snail's spiral in dark brown. Pull the yarn for the slsts from the top of the piece instead of through. The reasoning is that we need to make the same spiral pattern on the other side, but once stuffed and closed, we cannot pull the yarn through the piece. We will do the alternative stitching for this side to ensure both match.

R8-R13: sc around (44)

Before we start the decreases, we have to line up the corners. Make 2sc so that you begin the next round in the center.

R14: work in the blo, 4sc, 3[sc3tog, 8sc], sc3tog, 4sc (36) R15: 3sc, 3[sc3tog, 6sc], sc3tog, 3sc (28)

Pause here to stuff the shell. To prevent your hook from catching and pulling up the stuffing, cut a small piece of felt or scrap fabric to cover the stuffing. You can leave this inside. This will also help you later when stitching the spiral.

R16: 2sc, 3[sc3tog, 4sc] sc3tog, 2sc (20) R17: 1sc, 3[sc3tog, 2sc] sc3tog, 1sc (12) R18: 4[sc3tog] (4)

Bind off, and leave a long tail to sew the hole close. Make sl sts on top to create the spiral pattern. Make sure to reflect it to mirror the spiral on the other side.

Thread a long piece of tan yarn and sew the shell and body together.

I present to you eSCARgo!

[barrykoeghan]

morning after osheaga for green day & smashing pumpkins here's my little notes!!

was super close for pumpkins on the right side had a pretty view of the wheel that was nice

people only screamed for four songs/hits which i think is hilarious considering honestly they were dead the rest of the time

the show was great but for a second to first headliner people were so fucking dead oh my god i mean yeah heat but also doesn't really explain it

also the person in charge of filming i think did not know who james and jimmy were and just did not film enough close ups of guitar solos and honestly i think that means rock is dying how do you not know to film a guitar close up when they're shredding that was a bit upsetting

i decided to be crazy and leave my super comfy spot at the front of the pumpkins barricade to adventure my way to the other stage for green day and for 3/4 of the show i did not realise, because i am short, that i was not that far off from the stage rip, there should be laws against tall people at the front i don't care about first come first serve i was close to the stage and i didn't even KNOW it that's ridiculous

so gen z people in my area were okay !! behaved !! people could breathe no one was pushing each other heard someone say 'if there's a pit i'll protect you', a group of 5 gen z girls who def looked like the spice girls were having the time of their lives and all the men around them were deliberately standing like a few steps away from them cause they were moving a lot and that's just so nice to see, it wasn't covid distancing but i didn't bump into anyone and that was super nice

said spice girls went nuts for maybe i'm the faggot america and all the girls turned to baby spice and pointed at her and yelled 'that's you!!!!' and she just went 'me!!!!' 🥺

baby spice also halfway through the show just gasped very loudly and said "oh my god he's so hot"

halfway through the show the sound fucked up :///// someone's getting fired ://////

also like we all knew this was dookie followed by american idiot and yet gen z were always fucking surprised when songs were playing ESP for american idiot WHEN the songs were being played in ALBUM order??? i cannot physically scientifically explain why this was happening but i did get good videos because i guess i just have listened to the album (?) ?? and knew when my fave songs were gonna start or when there's a beat drop just to see if they were gonna pull something off i can't say unlike them because they knew the songs but ..... i don't think they knew those songs were on the same album ??? kinda crazy to say also when they played whatsername people seemed confused as to why is the stage dark did they leave why did they leave hONEY H O N E Y !!!!!!!!!

they did like three encores and it was rlly nice hearing bobby sox live bc it's always nice to know someone has personally written a song about you just for you thnk u guys i really appreciate it

i am also a theatre gay and while i was hearing the songs as originally composed i kept hearing the broadway cast in my head my brain had a BLAST it sounded SO good someone should blend the two

i felt so goddamn old (also i fuckin ran and got the second metro home and that was SO nice)

[atlasfield]

24 - Atonement

They ran for an empty field of clouds and mist. It was impossible identify the ground or anything on the distance. Mune thanked in silence the terrain is plain.

Then, a warm ray of light rubbed Mune´s skin. He felt nice, something he apreciated again in silence after pass for cold hallways and sinister fields. He felt a deep peace. Even he had the need of open his arms and drop his own powders on himself. A lot of beautiful thoughts came and helped him to forget the bad things he lived.

However, Cheshire don´t felt right, his smile dissappeared for a while. Then he stopped and Mune noticed it.

Wait. - Asked Mune a bit worried. - This is not Limbo anymore, right?

Correct. - Responded Cheshire.

What is this place? - Cheshire gave him a big smile.

We are entering on a place is known as Coelum Empireum.

Oh, a new place for explore?

Not really blue guy. Here is were our quest end.

What?

And… We have failed.

No way! why?

We stopped the corruption, but we couldn´t save Chirin, the main origin of all this mess.

Mune was thinking on it.

No, you are not right. - Continued Mune. - We saved many on Limbo, remember Slade, Djali, Bambi, we gave hints to Orange Cat of what he should do… even they. - Mune pointed the kitties. - They was lost. Our mission was stop the corruption, and we saved others. We won much more than we lost.

Cheshire looked deeper Mune, to the end he nodded in silence.

So. - Mune broke the silence.- Let´s continue walking, Giovanni and Campanella are awaiting us.

We cannot go there. - Cheshire said for first time with a sad voice.

Are you tired?

No, here is were they must take their train.

Mune understood, then he called his friends.

Hey guys. - Mune said with a happy tone. - We did it. Now you can take your train and travel to Cross of South.

Come with us. - Said Giovanni.

I would like it, but I need do other things in home. And I haven´t a ticket… And I… I need find the moon! I totally forgot with our adventure…

Don´t worry, is ok.

We understand. - Campanella hugged Mune and later Giovanni imitated him.

All incluying Cheshire hugged each other.

I am gonna miss you, both of you. - Said Mune.

I hope… - Cheshire felt a lump in his throat and almost choked himself. Kitties laughed. Then he cleared his throat and continued talking: we will see you again, on another picture, another story, and another ending.

Is a promise? - said Giovanni.

Not only a promise, is a fact.

Mune felt sad and he hugged for last time Campanella and Giovanni, and again, a ray of light appeared on the sky. Mune looked up and then he says quietly "I´m so sorry"…

A stunning flash.

And the laughs stopped.

Everything got silenced.

Then… a wind, and the sound of birds on the distance.

Mune woke up.

Mune looked around, the light, the mist, the clouds, even Campanella and Giovanni dissappeared. Only Cheshire was with him on a green field.

Am I was sleeping? - Mune asked Cheshire.

Like a baby. - Replied Cheshire. You had a need of put your magic powders in yourself, right?

Mune, totally confused he stand up and looked around.

So is over? - Asked Mune again.

Not yet. - Cheshire responded but for first time he looked sad.

Are you sad because your relatives are gone?

No, I´m glad they leaved. But my mission, my quest… over.

Mune put his hand on Cheshire´s back.

Don´t feel bad.

I am right blue boy.

No, you need something of me, and I need a lot of things to talk, a lot of questions and you need help me on my quest…

No, only you need talk of what happened, right?

Yes.

Cheshire started to walk and he pointed a big mountain:

Can you see that peak?

Yes.

We are going on that direction. After we pass there, you will back to home.

So let´s go.

Cheshire and Mune continued walking for a long way, in silence, looking the landscape, pretty natural and real compared with the abandoned Limbo or the unspeakable horrors of Gehenna… or even the misterious glory of Coelum Empireum.

The time passed. It was the morning. No more dark clouds in the sky. Only peace.

We are almost there. - Said Cheshire, noticing Mune looked very tired. - Its not time for rest.

My hooves are not designed for that type of terrain. - Responded Mune.

Then how do you climb trees? or even better, how do you climb your temple?

Mune not mentioned anything about his secret and both continued climbing the mountain…

[pacingtonight]

A simple flyer - Chapter 2

"Class, today and for the next few weeks we will be reading and analysing,

 drumroll please." She moved her presentation to the next slide. "John Jones's

Collection of  Love poetry!" Valerie's mouth formed into a smirk and her green eyes lit

up. The way her eyes lit up reminded him of the starry night. Please bring your books

out and turn to page 133." Miles and the rest of the class brought out their English books

"The first poem we will be reading is Because I liked you better"

announced Miss Estee. "Max, can you read the first poem? Miles will read the second poem,

The Secret." said Miss Estee. Max stood up slowly. He brushed off the lint of his

blue sweater, his hazel eyes blinked a lot more than usual, and he then ruffled

his light brown hair with dyed dark purple tips. 

"Because I liked you better

Than suits a man to say

It irked you, and I promised

To throw the thought away

To put the world between us

We parted, stiff and dry;

'Good-bye,' said you 'forget me'

'I will, no dear, said I" recited Max.

Max sat down and stared intensely at the paper. Miles looked more closely at his

best friend, he saw a tinge of sadness and a bit of a tear forming. Miles didn't

know what to do so he just ignored it and decided to ask Max about it later.

"Now what do you guys think Because I liked you better is about?" inquired Miss Estee. A girl

next to Valerie with dark brown eyes and dyed red hair raised her hand. "Ok Eloise

tell us what you think." "In the poem, the speaker confessed their love to the subject of 

their feelings but the subject felt uncomfortable so they parted ways. In my opinion the

subtext tells us that the speaker was gay and in love with a man." answered Eloise. "Thank

you for your answer Eloise. Now Miles please recite the second poem."

"I loved thee, though I told thee not,

Right earlily and long,

Thou wert my joy in every spot

My theme in every song" recited Miles.

"Ok thank you Miles. Now who can tell me about the poem?"ask Miss Estee

Miles sat down quickly and he just started looking at Valerie using the small mirror on 

his watch. "I think The Secret is about love. The speaker was in love

with somebody but did not tell them by the time the poem was written. The feelings the

speaker seemed to be very intense."said a short boy with black hair. "Thank you Elliot

for your input. Both of these poems are about unrequited love in a way. We will read

poems about requited love, platonic, unrequited and etc. Now people please turn your books

to page 134 and read Appeal by Anne Bronte all the way to Ode to Aphrodite on page 165.

Please read silently. If you cannot finish it this period, please read it at home"

instructed Miss Estee.

"Hey" Miles whispered to Max."What's wrong?" He questioned. "Nothing's wrong," replied Max. 

"Something is wrong. I can see it in your eyes." At the mention of his eyes, Max 

started to snap his bracelet. "Again, it's nothing." Miles decided to leave it at that.

[furornocturna]

Yeah the ambiguous timeline leaves a lot of flexibility for creative liberties.

And the character exploration potential you could do with this is something I frankly have invested far too much hyperfixation energy and time into. Because THINK ABOUT IT.

Luigi growing up under Count Bleck’s wing since birth, being sheltered and only knowing what he’s been told by his adoptive family. Having little reason to question or believe their word as anything but genuine or the truth. This “man in green” would not have to be brainwashed/hypnotized by Nastasia to have his loyalty or to serve the Count, as because of his upbringing, why would he not want to help his family? At least, until he’s put into situations that do challenge and have him really questioning things, torn between loyalties and morality, befitting his stance as the determinator of which prophecy prevails.

Count Bleck is also fascinating to dissect on how he would operate as a parent post-loss of Timpani, but pre-start of SPM. Because on the one hand, his main focus is on fulfilling the omnicidal prophecy of the Dark Prognosticus. Raising a child is prob the last thing on his mind (never mind something he’d likely even consider doing without Timpani in the picture). But with finding Baby Luigi and the “man in green” being such an integral figure in the prophecy’s success, this can be used to his advantage to ensure his plan works. That’s certainly how it would start out, and he’d try to maintain some distance at the start as he is a dysfunctional, grieving, certified MESS, but (I might need to look it up again) I believe it was in Garson’s stories that we hear about the Ancients and how powerful their emotions are/how they feel them.

The Pure Hearts/Purity Heart is originally created from the concentrated power and manifestation of their love. And the Ancients’ wild feelings led to many a wild tales, such as Merlumina’s many affairs and misadventures with her many suitors/partners, her sister marrying King Sammer I and having 100 KIDS WITH HIM, but also how Count Bleck himself (the Tribe of Darkness being an offshoot of the Tribe of Ancients) fell so deeply for Timpani then simply could not handle the loss of her that he sought to destroy everything. He’s still a villain and a bad guy for his choice to do so, but if I felt my emotions at the constant 11, 1000% that the stories seem to imply the Ancients did, I see why it drove him so mad.

And I also bring this up because while Bleck claims to have shut off his heart after losing his love, we still see how he cares for his minions. It wouldn’t be out of the wheelhouse to then suggest he’d gradually come to genuinely care for the child he’s raising under him as well beyond for his important role in the prophecy. And not just as a boss to another minion, but a parent for his child. Perhaps he’d alter the plan as a result. Instead of his secret true plan to bring everything to oblivion and leave it in ruin… the “lie” of creating new perfect worlds from the ashes no longer stays a lie. He still wants to punish existence for his pain and loss (bro imagine the angst of this man AGONIZING over the pain of “what could have been”, of Luigi never knowing the woman that would have been his mother, how Timpani would have ADORED Luigi, the family they could have been together, etc), and while he cannot get her back, he can still avenge Timpani and create a new universe devoid of pain so that their son never has to go through the suffering his father has.

Bleck would still be a disaster parent, though. He tries his best, but there’s a lot of messiness going on that would for certain create some unhealthiness. One, he would be controlling and overprotective as shit. Initially because he can’t have “the man in green” turn against him rendering all that time invested a waste (plus it would hurt the others who are also attached), but after getting attached himself, it’s also him going to extremes to keep Luigi safe from harm and spared from the worst of the horrors, suffering and evils in the universe. Look what it did to him, to O’Chunks, Mimi and Nastasia. They’re all traumatized. And remember, Blumiere/Count Bleck’s response to losing his wife was to commit omnicide; if he lost his child after allowing himself to more truly open his heart to someone else again and it was his fault, that would break him beyond salvation all over again.

In line with this, I don’t believe he would be honest to Luigi about a lot of things for most of his life. Obviously, he can’t exactly tell a young child he’s gonna kill the multiverse for good and wants the kid to help him do it in good conscience, but back when Baby Luigi was just a tool, he still needed to start planting the seeds for loyalty to him. Count Bleck has already lied to his other minions sans Nastasia about the true plan, so he’d lie here too, only sanitizing it further for a younger child. Then he got attached, plans change, but he still doesn’t come clean to anyone not in the full loop about it as why would they need to know when it no longer matters? Except it absolutely would come back to bite him in the ass, creating a lot of strain between him and Luigi who’s now questioning everything he’s been told growing up: questioning how irredeemable the multiverse really is to deserve the violent cleanse by the Chaos Heart, if he was kept so sheltered because it was actually dangerous or because it kept him ignorant to a truth he was intentionally kept away from which kept him more “pliable”… questioning if whether his Count/father actually cares about him as a person, if he ever did, or was only ever a tool.

There’s also the other elephant in the room with “the man in red”, the hero of prophecy and the Bleck fam’s biggest op, being revealed as Luigi’s bio twin brother. Did the Count know this? Was he truly “abandoned” at all, as the Count had claimed for so long? Did his twin ever look for him? Miss him? Want him? Did the Count intentionally keep them apart? Was he ever going to learn about this detail? Before or after the Count, or the others, or even Luigi himself killed the hero for the success of the plan? Ever?

Then imagine poor Blumiere/Count either coming to realize or being accused directly of being “just like his father” before him. The father who also imparted very strict rules and expectations on his child to uphold for what the elder wanted of them, going to extreme and even cruel measures to assert that control justified as “protection” and “for your own good”. …Which he does end up doing to Luigi in respects here. That would be shattering.

Dimentio would absolutely exploit all of this to its fullest as well, manipulating both further against each other to draw Luigi to him instead (going in depth with everyone else in Team Bleck’s relationships with Luigi is gonna take a whole nother post). All of this has provided him with more fodder to hurt Bleck with and twist the knife for his up-and-coming betrayal. Taunting him with the idea that his wife is actually still alive and has been with the heroes this whole time now coming to kill him to stop the Void? Effective, sure. But turning his child against him, too? That would hurt.

But when that doesn’t go as planned, imagine he “kills” Luigi/Mr L (another discussion for another post) and leads Bleck to believe the heroes were responsible for it? Making all the Ch8 battles far more ruthless and grueling because the heroes aren’t just facing the villains to determine the the fate of all reality, but a family grieving the loss of one of their own that’s very fresh, and under the impression that THEY’RE his murderer(s). Count Bleck would on a dime fall back to that original plan to destroy everything permanently after losing someone he loved all over again.

Nearly killing the very people he’s grieving over in his madness and nihilistic self-destruction.

Then Dimentio makes him watch as he mind controls his son and weaponizes him into the apocalyptic monstrosity per his destiny in the prophecy to then kill him and all else?

Sorry this got so long, but I have sooooooooo many thoughts with this concept as you can see…

I love seeing so many people share their appreciation of Team Bleck being a family and wholly adopting Luigi as one of their own. Now I’d like you all to consider:

What if… Count Bleck found Baby Luigi while he was separated from his twin, and then he and the other raised him as part of the family into adulthood?

NOW THATS INTERESTING... we don't know the timeline at all of when count bleck lost timpani and also recruited the other minions so you could really get flexible with this one i imagine

a grown-up luigi encountering the red-clad hero of prophecy and being so startled because it's the first time he's ever seen someone who looks like him...