#but goes by cindy for short

[alphaclxwn]

art dump!!

[thollandsgirl2013]

𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦

Parings → Peter Parker x Reader

Warnings → insecurities, fluff, angst

Summary → Seven minutes in heaven, what could happen?

(gif not mine)

Parties had never been your scene. The loud music, the dim lighting, and the sea of unfamiliar faces always made you feel out of place. But when Betty insisted, practically dragging you along with MJ, you found yourself reluctantly agreeing. Betty and MJ were your best friends, and as much as you didn't enjoy parties, you hated the idea of being left out more.

The moment you stepped into the crowded living room, you stuck close to MJ, your safety net. You shared a knowing look, silently agreeing to stick together for the night. But that plan quickly fell apart when Betty spotted Ned across the room. With a playful wink, she ditched you two in favor of her boyfriend, leaving you and MJ to fend for yourselves.

That’s when the trouble began.

You didn’t know how, but before you knew it, you were dragged into a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven. The circle of players quickly formed: you, MJ, Betty, Ned, Flash, Cindy, Abe, Tiny, Jason, and Peter. The moment you saw Peter, your heart skipped a beat. You had a crush on him for as long as you could remember, but he had liked Liz back in sophomore year. Now that Liz was gone, you didn’t know if he was interested in anyone else. You hoped, silently and fervently, that the bottle would point to him.

It was your turn. You took a deep breath, trying to steady your nerves, and spun the bottle. It whirled around, the tension in the room thick as everyone watched. The bottle slowed, and your heart pounded in your chest as it pointed directly at Peter.

Your excitement was short-lived, though. Peter’s face was expressionless, almost cold, as he got up. He didn’t seem excited at all. In fact, he looked like he’d rather be anywhere but here. A lump formed in your throat, but you forced yourself to keep calm. Maybe he was just as nervous as you were.

The two of you were ushered into a small, cramped closet. Flash and Jason slammed the door shut with a loud laugh, locking you both in. The dim light from the overhead bulb cast shadows on the walls, making the small space feel even smaller. Peter stood as far away from you as possible, his hands shoved into his pockets.

You tried to swallow your disappointment, but your insecurities were already creeping in, whispering that he didn't want to be here with you. You cleared your throat, trying to break the awkward silence. “Um, hey.”

“Hi,” he replied, his voice flat.

You shifted uncomfortably, your nerves getting the better of you. “W-we don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to kiss me if you don’t want to. I’m sure you’d rather be in here with someone else. We can just stay where we are.” Your voice trailed off, growing quieter with each word.

Peter’s expression softened slightly, and he finally met your gaze. “It’s nothing to do with you. I’m sorry I seemed rude. I’m just really stressed out lately, and parties aren’t really my thing. I only came because of Ned.”

A small smile tugged at your lips. “Me too. Betty practically dragged me here.”

He chuckled softly, the sound easing some of the tension between you. “Seems like we have something in common.”

For some reason, his words gave you a burst of courage. Maybe it was the small space or the fact that you were alone with him, but you suddenly felt braver. “Hey, Peter, I… um, I wanted to tell you something for a while.” You swallowed hard, nerves bubbling up again. “I-I really like you. And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same. You don’t really know me, so I get it.”

Peter blinked, clearly stunned by your confession. His expression was unreadable, and your heart sank a little. But then, to your surprise, he spoke. “Yeah, I don’t really know you… but maybe I’d like to. Maybe we could go on a date sometime? Get to know each other? And if it goes well… who knows.... maybe we could start dating.”

Peter had never dated anyone or even gone on a date, so he was hopeful. You like him, so maybe it will be good.

“Yes! I-I mean, yeah, sure,” you replied, trying to sound casual despite the excitement bubbling inside you.

A shy smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Hey, we still have two minutes. Do you want to… maybe… kiss?”

You felt your cheeks heat up, but you nodded. “Yeah.” Your voice was just a whisper.

The kiss was soft, tentative, and a little awkward, but it was sweet in its own way. It was both of your first kisses. Neither of you were experienced, but you both tried, and by the time you leaned in again for a second kiss, it felt a little more natural, a little more right.

Suddenly, the door was yanked open, and Flash’s voice rang out. “Yo, Parker’s kissing Y/n!” He sounded half-amazed, half-amused. Ned cheered loudly, and you pulled away from Peter, your face burning with embarrassment. Peter glared at Flash, clearly annoyed.

MJ gave you a thumbs up from across the room, her smirk evident even in the dim light.

“Shut up, Flash. Leave us alone,” Peter snapped, grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the closet. Without another word, he led you upstairs, away from the chaos of the party.

Peter guided you to a quiet room at the far end of the hall, away from the noise and the teasing. He closed the door behind you and turned to face you, a soft smile on his lips. “Sorry about Flash. He’s an idiot.”

You giggled, still a little flustered from the kiss. “It’s okay. I’m just glad we got out of there.”

He hesitated for a moment, then took a step closer to you, his eyes meeting yours. "So, about that date… h-how about tomorrow? Maybe we can go to the movies or grab some coffee?" His voice was hopeful, a bit nervous.

You smiled, your own nerves finally settling. “I’d like that.”

Peter’s smile grew, and for the first time that night, he seemed genuinely happy. “Me too.”

As the two of you stood there, you felt something shift. The awkwardness of the game downstairs was replaced with something new—something exciting. You leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin against your lips.

Peter caught your gaze, and for a moment, it felt like the world outside that small room didn't exist. He leaned down slowly, capturing your lips in another kiss, this one more sure, more confident. It was sweet and gentle.

When you finally pulled back, both of you were smiling, a little breathless but incredibly happy. "We should probably get back downstairs before they start making stuff up," you said, though you made no move to leave.

"Yeah," Peter replied, his voice soft, "let's go."

As you left the party that night, walking side by side with Peter, you couldn’t help but feel like maybe, just maybe, this could be the start of something wonderful.

‎∗ ࣪ ˖༺ 𓆩☆𓆪 ༻˖ ࣪ ∗

[sholmeser]

the crime scene photo for gregorys death is just so chilling to me because its such a stark contrast to everything else we get in aa1. we witness cindy and mia’s deaths in full color, almost like we’re watching a movie. jack hammer’s death doesn’t quite look real; the expression on his face is quite unnerving, but the impact of it goes away when you notice his costume and how the unrealistic piercing wound in his chest just makes him look hollow inside. it’s leaning more towards what you visualize when you think of a murder scene, but falls short because of the stylization applied.

and i think this was deliberate because when you get to turnabout goodbyes and you see this photo. man. it hits. the way gregory’s eyes are hidden from view. the way he’s slumped over. the way we can’t quite see the wound but blood soaks his entire chest. how the illustration is framed, him in the corner, almost like an afterthought. the way he’s presented as such a normal person, looking just like any other businessman you could run into on the street. it rips ace attorney away from its largely-unbelievable themes—spirit mediums, three-day-long trials, witnesses whose last names are puns—and sends it hurtling back into our world. it’s just so striking and sticks with you for so long after you finish turnabout goodbyes

[lilac-rose-writes]

"I can't do this anymore"

(or- nugget, penny & lily parallels because i couldn't help myself)

nugget & penny both reach a breaking point, and it's only then that they rebel against the principals. nugget was intended to be an experiment; billy was an accidental substitute. penny wasn't meant to be an experiment; she still acted as a useful tool. both nugget & penny know more than they should about what the principals are up to. billy confided in nugget about what he knew, penny's been exposed to it firsthand. the principals control them via drugs and remotes, and both of them are despondent because of it.

and then there's lily. lily refuses to take the pills, refuses to give in to the principals, and she ends up in the reverse situation. her brother's gone, she's bullied relentlessly, and she's losing the will to live more by the day. when cindy pushes lily to her breaking point, lily does the opposite of rebelling. lily gives up.

penny tries to die and fails, so decides to help with the rescue instead despite the threat it puts on her life. the female principal kills her for it. the moment penny fights back, she's given what she wanted- in a death she couldn't achieve alone.

nugget can no longer remember what billy said to him, but he wants to help nonetheless. he gives up the note even though it's one of the only memories of billy he still has left. nugget can read. how many times do you think he's gone through it, deciphering the handwriting and committing each word to memory?

lily can't read. lily's trying to find billy. lily's the reason there's a statue watching everyone in the playground. lily's putting herself in danger. nugget's scared of the principal, scared of speaking against him, scared of putting both lily and himself in danger when he's almost entirely convinced that billy's already dead. nugget makes a memorial. no-one but billy had seen inside of his cave before. in giving kid the note, he gets what he wanted too- billy back in his life.

lily gives up. lily doesn't fight. in that loop, lily dies. in a way, that's what she wanted too.

there's also a difference in how they give in. nugget trips over his words, tearful and scared. nobody's allowed to talk about billy, not without the devices in their pockets blowing up. he's overcome with grief and trying to reminisce about a friend he's been forced to forget hurts more than he can put into words. nugget's is a confession. nugget's is a cry for help.

penny cries out. penny's in anguish, penny's brain and will and body are all rebelling against each other. people aren't meant to be robots. penny knows she wasn't meant to survive. she's desperate, she's shouting because no-one will listen. penny's is a warning that she won't stay. penny's is rebellion, because she can't find it in herself to obey anymore even as a plastic smile stays plastered on her face.

lily's apathetic. every word is monosyllabic until she reaches the end of her sentence. "mean" is juveline, "mean" is simplistic. lily's a child. she focuses on cindy's bullying so she doesn't have to think about everything else she's lost, everything else on her mind. lily's miserable. lily's detached. lily speaks softly. lily goes without a fight.

…, !!!, . nugget gives detail, struggling to express just how affected he's been by billy's disappearance. penny's words are short and capitalised, as loud as ted's agonised screams when he's pushed into the hole. lily offers two short sentences: a surrender.

[hyperfix-wip]

Webbed Together

Pairing: Hobie Brown x Fem!Reader/ Spider-Punk x Fem!Reader

Word count: 3k

Author's Note: I HAVE FINALLY GOT THIS CHAPTER DONE!!! 😭 I'd like to thank @pinksugarscrub for being so patient with me and for beta reading for me! Credit goes to @the-kr8tor for their original characters Ramona and Billie.

Tags: Parent Trap!AU, Dad!Hobie AU, Twin!AU, Billie and Ramona!AU, Older!Hobie, Mom!Reader, Older!Reader

Chapter 4: Stand Up

<<< Chapter 3 Chapter 5>>>

Rubber soles slap against dirt as Annie sprints towards the infirmary. Fiery short locks whip against the momentum the faster she runs, thick frames bouncing against the bridge of her nose and sweat building up on her forehead.

The moment Annie heard that Billie went to the infirmary after her private clarinet lesson, she ran straight out their shared cabin and across the campgrounds to the infirmary, dodging any unsuspecting campers and counselors along the way. Her heart pounds against her ribcage as her feet propel her faster, her mind riddled with worry for her friend.

Annie’s feet then skids across the dirt, small gravel and dust flying everywhere, before she runs into the infirmary. Weaving around the bewildered elderly nurse through the doorway, she instantly spots a mane of dark curls in the corner of her eye, where before her is a familiar figure gently bobbing her head with an mp3 player in her hand with a boy lying in the infirmary bed.

“Billie!”

Annie storms into the room and grabs the girl from her chair, oblivious to the startled boy in the bed while standing on her tiptoes and shaking the tall girl by the shoulders.

“Billie, what the heck happened?!” Annie yells, her hands clamped onto skinny shoulders while she jostles the girl back and forth. “Cindy told me you went over here after playing volleyball with Benny and his friends! Did he hit you in the head or something? Do you have a concussion or–”

Annie continues to jabber on with her interrogation while shaking the poor girl, not noticing the lack of piercings on her ears nor the lack of punk flair in her clothes.

“But not only are you fine, but you’re just chilling here listening to music with a boy!” Annie huffs with her cheeks puffed out and her brows furrowed. “When the heck did that happen?! Who is he, and when were you planning on telling me?! What the heck is going–”

“Uh, Annie?”

Annie instantly freezes at the familiar British accent behind her. Her hands still clutching onto the girl’s shoulders, she slowly looks over her shoulder to see Billie standing under the doorway, staring at her with a confused tilt to the head. “What are you doing?...”

Annie’s eyes nearly break through her glasses when she sees her friend before turning her attention back to the disoriented Ramona, who quietly groans while her head lolls around from the sudden outburst from the shorter redhead.

A long silence lingers in the room as Annie looks back and forth between the two girls, the wave of disbelief washing over her face until–

“...WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!”

—

Annie’s face is frozen in a perplexed frown as she stares at the sight in front of her, ignoring the wary and injured Arnold as she sits on the edge of his bed.

Two Billies– or Billie and Ramona, as Billie reminds Annie. One in her familiar punk band-tee and with her cat-like smile, and the other smiling sheepishly at her in a white, cherry-decorated sweater. The sight of Annie’s perplexed stare elicits a snicker from Billie before she tries to speak.

“Oh c’mon, Annie–”

“Shut up.”

Billie presses her lips together and holds her hands up in surrender, but she struggles to stifle her snickers as Annie shoots a sharp glare at her. The latter then turns to Ramona, who flinches from the intense scrutiny of the redhead. Despite having more than half a foot on her, Ramona is instantly intimidated by the short redhead.

“...so you two don’t know each other?”

Ramona quickly shakes her head no.

“And you barely met each other when your friend–” Annie points her thumb over to the flitty Arnold– “got hit in the head by a volleyball?”

A quick shake yes.

“And all of this is just a coincidence for you guys?”

Another quick nod.

Annie stares at the shrinking Ramona, as if studying a new specimen in a science experiment, before she sighs in resignation. “Okay, I guess.”

“ ‘m sorry– what? Jus’ like ‘at?” 

Billie drops her smirk and squawks in indignation as her eyes narrow at her friend, her British accent briefly growing stronger. “You weren’t like ‘is when I told you!”

Annie instantly glares at Billie, her face scrunching up into a demon-like scowl as she stands up from poor Arnold’s bed. “Because she’s not laughing her ass off about it, unlike how you told me! I mean, wouldn’t you be freaking out about seeing somebody else with your face? Actually– why aren’t you freaking out more?!”

Arnold meekly backs away as much as he could against the headboard from the quick temper of the redhead, and Ramona looks between the two friends with worry, but Billie just barks up a carefree laugh before pulling Annie into a bear hug.

“Oh c’mon now, Annie! No need to throw a fit ‘bout ‘is,” Billie grins as she rocks Annie side-to-side, with the redhead scrambling but failing to get out of her embrace like an annoyed tabby cat. “Sure, ’s a little weird seeing someone looking like me if I was in those cheesy clothing ads–”

“Hey–”

“But we can’t just lose our marbles over it like a bunch of ninnies,” Billie continues with a goodhearted wave of a hand to Ramona. “ ‘sides, ‘s a small world! My dad always says to expect the unexpected and take things in stride–”

Annie finally yanks herself away from Billie’s grasp with a gasp, her glasses askew and her hair in a ruffled mess, before her face scrunches up into an annoyed glare. “I don’t think this is what your dad had in mind when he said that–”

“Either way, we’ on it like a car bonnet,” Billie reassures Annie with a cheeky grin. “We already went through the whole freakout session: pinching each other, yanking our hairs, waiting for the whole world to end, the whole nine yards–”

“With two of the three done one-sidedly–”

Billie playfully pouts at Ramona’s retort, who gives a deadpan in return. 

A quiet cough interrupts the three-way conversation, and all three turn to the forgotten boy in the room with a mix of exasperation (Annie), confusion (Ramona), and amusement (Billie). Arnold flushes sheepishly at their full attention as he pulls the covers over his body.

“C-can one of you g-guys get me– get me an icepack?...”

Ramona’s eyes soften as she crosses the room for the mini refrigerator to grab one, meanwhile Annie looks over at him with a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that,” Annie adjusts herself on the edge of the bed to face Arnold. “You feeling okay, though? I heard from a lot of kids that Benny has a strong arm.”

Arnold shrugs just as Ramona approaches him with a Ziplock full of ice, which he gratefully takes from her before putting it on his forehead. “I think so. The nurse told me I don’t have a concussion, but the swelling will stay for a few days–”

“That guy was kinda being a jerk, though,” Ramona huffs out, her face scrunched up into a slight frown. “He didn’t even say sorry to Arnold or anything, just laughed about it.” Ramona then turns to Billie with her brows furrowed even more. “Can’t you talk to Benny or something? You’re his friend, aren’t you–”

“Now hang on, he ain’t my mate,” Billie holds her hands up in surrender, her cheeky grin dropping to a more solemn frown. “I was only there with him because I was on free time, ‘n I didn’t have anything else to do. Barely met the bloke today, but he was bein’ an arse the whole time we were playing. Thought everyone else was gonna tell him off, but they were actin’ like his lackeys or somethin’.”

Billie then crosses her arms and scrunches up her nose in annoyance. “By the time poor Arnie over here–”

“Arnie?”

“Yes, you, Arnie– anyway, by the time Arnie got hit in the head, I was already sick of being around those prats, so I just legged it with you guys.”

As Billie finishes, Ramona crosses her arms against her chest with a frustrated huff, her forehead wrinkling up while her face curls up into a deeper frown. “Still, someone has to tell him off. He can’t just do that and then laugh the whole thing off.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of an asshole move,” Annie adds on. “And the rest of the kids with him are no better, laughing it off with him instead of checking up on Arnie– it’s okay to call you Arnie, right?”

“I–”

“Anyway,” Annie cuts off the confused Arnold, “Benny shouldn’t get away with that. Did you guys talk to a counselor about this at least?”

“I tried earlier,” Ramona grumbles, her face pinching up into a frustrated frown, “but for some reason the counselors won’t listen. Like as soon as I say Benny’s name, they either brush me off or look like they just saw a monster and just run off…”

“Maybe he’s some rich trust fund kid, like in those old cheesy teen movies my Uncle James watches,” Billie mutters under her breath with a crinkle to her nose, now sitting down on a chair beside the infirmary bed while absently fidgeting with a small B-shaped charm on her chain bracelet. “His parents pro’lly donated a lot of money or sumthin’ to the camp, so the counselors look the other way when he causes trouble.” When her input is only met with silence, she glances up to the rest of the group staring at her with confusion and disbelief.

“... ‘m just sayin’, that could be it.”

Ramona only sighs before she turns back to the rest of the group. “Well either way, the counselors are no help, and Benny doesn’t seem like he’s sorry about it–”

“Maybe we should just drop it,” Arnold mumbles out as he pulls the makeshift ice pack from his forehead with a defeated face. “What if we make things worse–”

“Yeah, no, not an option, Artie,” Billie interrupts before she pushes herself up from her seat and rests her hands on his shoulders. “If you let anyone like Benny hurt ya and get away with it, then he gon’ keep doin’ it to ya. He gon’ t’ink it’s okay to take a piss at ya, slag off at ya–”

“I don’t like how either of those sound–”

“He gon’ keep bullying ya if ya don’ stand up fo’ yaself,” Billie shuts Arnold down with a stern frown. “Tha’s not sumthin’ ya should put up wit’ the whole time ya here. And not only he gon’ do it to ya, but he gon’ do it to other kids too at some point. And before he gon’ reach that point, we gotta nip that in the bud ‘n make sure that don’ happen.”

Arnold hesitantly stares up at Billie before turning to Ramona, who only shrugs in response. “I mean, Billie does have a point. It’ll just get worse if you don’t say anything…”

She then sits on the other side of the bed and gently bumps her shoulder against his, the corners of her lips quirking up into a small smile. “But you got us to help you. You don’t have to deal with Benny alone.”

Arnold glances between the two girls in front of him with uncertainty before darting his eyes down to his hands clutching onto the ice-filled ziplock bag. “Can one of you guys take a step back please? It’s still a little weird for me to see the two of you together…”

Billie’s eyes narrow as her face reverts to an annoyed deadpan, but she lets go of Arnold’s shoulders and steps back with her hands up. “Just know that you’re avoidin’ the subject, mate–”

“Billie–”

“ ‘m just sayin’, Mon-mon–”

“I’m sorry– Mon-mon?”

“Okay, you two,” Annie cuts in with a huff, “we’re losing track of what the actual issue is. We all want Benny to not act like an asshole and apologize to Arnie, but apparently he has some Regina George power over people here. How are we gonna deal with that?”

Everyone in the room grows silent for a moment, the sounds of children talking outside echoing into the infirmary room until–

“We could all go up to him and give him a piece of our minds–”

“I don’t think jumping him would do Arnie any good, Billie–”

“We’re not gon’ jump him!” Billie denies with an offended scowl as she narrows her eyes at Annie. “We’re jus’ gon’ make it known tha’ Arnie was miffed off and ain’t gon’ take any more of his crap–”

“Wait, I just said I don’t want to make things worse–”

“Letting him get away with it will make it worse, Arnold–”

“But–”

“C’mon, Arnie,” Billie groans as she flops down across the bed, making sure not to land on Arnold’s legs, “ya can’t just let Benny do tha’ ta ya ‘n then laugh at ya face. Ya gotta do sumthin’ to stop it from happenin’ again. Personally, I’d–”

A loud knock suddenly echoes in the room, and all four of the kids look over to the doorway, where an elderly woman with a white lab coat hobbles inside with her cane tapping along the tile flooring.

“Now, now, kiddies, you shouldn’t be crowding the poor boy like this,” the elderly nurse tuts at the girls as she slowly approaches Arnold, making all three of them get off the bed while the nurse gently presses her fingertips against the bump on Arnold’s head. “He may be fine in the head, but he still needs to rest and not get too excited while the swelling goes down. You girls should run off to your activities in the meantime.”

Billie’s face and shoulders drop at the nurse’s words. “But–”

A hand gently grasps on Billie’s shoulder, and she looks over to a sympathetic Ramona before she looks over to the nurse with an apologetic smile. “We’re sorry, ma’am. We’ll be on our way.”

Ramona then glances over to Arnold, concern and reluctance lingering in her eyes. “Get better soon, okay Arnold? Just meet up with us if you get cleared later.”

She then gently pushes a disgruntled Billie, who still tries to go back to talk to Arnold in vain, to the door while Annie hesitantly follows behind with a sheepish wave to him. “We’ll come back with some snacks or something, Arnie!” Annie calls out before she closes the door behind them.

—

“What the bloody hell, you two?!” Billie huffs out as she stomps out of the infirmary and onto the campgrounds, with a weary Ramona and a distracted Annie– who zips up her fanny pack and opens a granola bar– following her. “Why’d ya pull me outta there?! We’re not done talkin’ ‘bout this wit’ ‘im–”

“Calm down, Billie,” Ramona cuts her off with a sigh, scuffing her converses against the gravel. “Arnold’s still hurt, and if the nurse didn’t come in, we would’ve overwhelmed him too much. Besides, even if we did get Arnold to agree, we don’t know what could happen if we all went up to Benny and confronted him about it. That’ll just be too much stress for Arnold to deal with.”

“Yeah, but–”

Annie suddenly pops up by Billie’s side and shoves the granola bar into her mouth, effectively silencing the vexed punk girl as she drops her shoulders and reluctantly eats it with a grumble.

“And even if we did confront him, it just sounds like he and his goons will just brush us off,” Annie sighs with her arms crossing against her chest. “We’d probably have to figure out a way to get him to listen…”

Billie huffs out through her nose in annoyance as she begins to walk off and gobble up the granola bar, having the two girls follow her until they are side by side. “I’d personally like ta throw a ball at his head, see how he likes it.”

“Violence isn’t the answer, Bills–”

“Neither is sittin’ back and letting him do whatev’a he wants–”

As both girls continue to bicker, Ramona glances over to the side and spots a crowd of kids gathering at one of the benches near the boys’ cabins, her feet slowing down into a stop as she stares at the area with curiosity. Along the outskirts of the crowds Ramona’s eyes drift down to some of the kids’ hands– wallets, handfuls of bills, tied-up filled socks– and she slowly separates from Billie and Annie as she approaches the buzzing flock in front of her. The closer she gets to the cabin area, the clearer she hears the murmurings and familiar grating laughter from before. Once she finally joins the stragglers outside the crowd, she can easily see over the numerous kids clamoring to the center, where she spots Benny cackling and throwing a hand of five cards down the bench and shoveling a pile of bills and coins to himself to the groaning dismay of the people sitting on the table with him.

Ramona tilts her head to the side in confusion before turning to a short boy hopping next to her as he tries to peek over a taller kid’s shoulders.

“Uh, hey,” Ramona gently taps on the shorter kid’s shoulder, briefly stealing his attention away from the card game. “What’s going on here?”

The disgruntled boy strains his neck up to stare at her wide-eyed, briefly distracted by the tall girl in front of him, before shaking his head and struggling to peek over again. “There’s this older kid who’s playing a poker game tournament, and he said that whoever beats him in a game of poker can get whatever they want from him.”

A few kids start to make their way out of the crowd with disappointment painted on their faces while the mass of kids start to clamor closer to replace any empty spots in the middle. “So far none of the boys won against him yet,” the kid continues, “but the older kid Benny said anyone who thinks they can beat him can join in–”

“Oh, really?”

Ramona jolts up in surprise and turns her head to the side, only to see Billie draping her arm over her shoulder. A wickedly mischievous glint shines in the punk girl’s eyes while a Cheshire Cat-like grin curls up on her lips, sending a dreadful chill down Ramona’s spine.

“Anyone can play?”

----

British Phrase of the Chapter:

On it like a car bonnet - can be used by someone who thinks they are in control of a situation

Legged it - made a run for it

Take a piss - be sarcastic to or mock

Slag off - verbally make fun of someone

Miffed - confused or annoyed

References:

https://www.stgeorges.co.uk/23-typical-british-expressions-you-must-learn-to-understand-the-brits/

https://www.oxfordinternationalenglish.com/dictionary-of-british-slang/

https://tandem.net/blog/british-slang-words

[twstfanblog]

im literally so invested pls talk more about Cindy

OGCindy was a naive but well-meaning girl. The life of high nobility would not have been easy since she would come across as very rude. Yuu places as the antagonist to her since they were pretty good foils. Not even the villain, Yuu was just the current flower of high society, and she would unknowingly made OGCindy feel awful about her lack of manners. In the ORIGINAL TALE, Yuu doesn't die. It's a happy ending for everyone involved. The romance is hinted but never confirmed and ends on OGCindy going to a tea party with the trio and Yuu.

FLCindy is sadly a cookie cutter entitled manhwa protag who read the book and basically oversimplified it to 'hot boys' and 'mean girl'. There's also the fact that since she fully believes this new world is just the book, there's no deeper complexity to anyone in it. She knows the basic info about everyone, but actual traits and nuances are completely lost on her.

The love story between FLCindy and the trio was completely toxic. While OGCindy pointed out the flaws in their logic and that allowed them to grow as people, FLCindy just fed into it because she liked them being mean to Yuu since she was the 'villainess'.

She was genuinely confused why people were upset at Yuu's death. She was the mean girl? She kept pointing out how the 'main character' wasn't doing the right thing. She's evil, that's how these books work! In the short time before the timeline is reset, FLCindy's life goes downhill pretty fast. Before the reset, Malleus was actually going to kill her since he starts to wholly blame her for Yuu's death.

Now in the reset, FLCindy is basically using her prior timeline knowledge to speed run a cushier life. Meaning she lies about how horrible her step family is to get her father to divorce her stepmother and cast her and her daughters out of their house. He later remarries a woman who's all too willing to spoil and dote on FLCindy, making her even WORSE this time around.

She's been reborn basically, but she's instead treating it like she's playing a dating sim where her choices won't actually affect anything. Which...she will find to be very, very false.

[dorkynerd23]

Why Green Eggs & Ham (GEAH) Is The Best Dr. Seuss Adaptation.🍳💚 (Analysis)

Hello Everyone!! Hope you're all doing good and well and everything's going well for you all. ♥️ Wanted to come here and discuss about a show, an incredible show that even after it's release and end, it's still a well-made and amazing show that still great all these years later, and the show I'm talking about and referring to is Netflix's Green Eggs & Ham, I'm gonna discuss about how it's the best Dr. seuss adaptation to date.

Now, before we discuss and talk about Green, Eggs & Ham, we need to talk about and mention the past Dr. Seuss adaptations and dive deep into them real quick. Now when it comes to adaptations to Dr. Seuss's work, most of the time it's either hit or miss, mediocre or just flat out terrible and awful. One thing I've gotta mention is that Dr. Seuss beforehand wasn't very open to adaptations to his work, with the reason being that he was worried and afraid that his characters would be used in context for things he didn't 100% and necessary didn't agree with. But that eventually changed when he came to the cartoon adaptations that we all know today and overtime would loosen up his views and allow more adaptations of his work. And the first adaptation of his work was an animated short called "Horton Hatches The Egg" (based on Seuss's book of the same name and this book came way before Horton Hears A Who, btw) which was released back in 1942 and going forward, Dr. Seuss would later begin working very closely with the adaptations to make sure they stay true to the book, to the source material and in 1966, Seuss would authorized eminent cartoon artist, Chuck Jones himself (who was a close friend of Seuss as they also served in World War II together) to make a cartoon adaptation short based on "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" which would become the Christmas classic we all know and love to this day, Chuck would also go on to eventually direct + produce adaptations of both "Horton Hears A Who" (1970) and "The Cat In The Hat." (1971)

Dr. Seuss sadly passed away and died at the age of 87 from cancer on September 24th 1991 and from that point until her own death in 2018, his widow, Audrey Seuss would have full licensing of her husband's work and eventually gave in to the temptations of hollywood adaptations of Seuss's work which would be the movie adaptations. Let's start with "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" which was released back in 2000, so to basically recap this film although I loved it as a kid and still kinda do, I see it as a guilty pleasure (now as an adult) and rewatched the movie not that long ago and I don't believe it's aged very well honestly.

There are some good things to this film such as Jim Carey as The Grinch himself, which is perfect casting and the makeup effects on him are incredible, you truly by him as The Grinch, there are some funny moments, I'll still watch it here and there around the holiday's and the set design is pretty good. But when you take off the nostalgiatic googles you can see the problems with the film, now..as I said, this film does have a good set design, but it's hidden underneath all of this murky colorless filter to the point it looks so dull to look at honestly, like there's not much life. Along with that, the movie is just incredibly meanspirited, almost everyone in Whoville is terrible (besides Cindy) and unlikeable, soulless and just care about materialism which I get is the point of the film, but it just goes against the message of the book, The Grinch shouldn't have to explain and spell out the message for the who's, HE'S the one who's supposed to learn the lesson not the other way around, but the movie just gets it totally backwards.

Now, although this film hasn't aged the best and there are so many issues with the film, there are some good elements to it, it's definitely not the worst Dr. Seuss adaptation and I'll still watch it sometimes around Christmas, but it just hasn't aged the best, but again..It's not the worst Dr. Seuss adaptation, no that goes to the next one we're about to discuss.

Alright, so in 2003 another live action Dr. Seuss adaptation was released, that being "The Cat In The Hat" starring Mike Myers. And I'll keep this short and simple as I wanna get this one out of the way, I also rewatched this film not long ago too and it still sucks years later, there is really nothing good about this film honestly. From the set design, to the acting, (especially from Myers himself) the makeup, especially the makeup and CGI. The jokes are also abysmal and this film doesn't capture anything from the source material and almost feels like a slap in the face and say what you want about The Grinch, at least SOME effort and decent stuff was added in that film, even not done the best exactly. But with this film, it's just awful and bad..you know a movie is terrible when Audrey herself said that her husband would've despised the film and prohibited any further live-action adaptations of Seuss's work because of how bad the film was. This film itself is honestly why Dr. Seuss was so hesitant and nervous to allow adaptations of his work and I still believe there is the worst Dr. Seuss adaptation to date, luckily the next few adaptations of Seuss's work (mainly when it came to the film adaptations) would be done in computer animation instead of live action.

So, after the disaster and failure of The Cat In The Hat, we ended up getting some more film adaptations of Seuss's work which would all be animated and those being "Horton Hears A Who", (2008) The Lorax" (2012) and "The Grinch" (2018) and we've got another adaptation in the works based on Cat In The Hat that'll be released in 2026 by Warner Bros. But for now, let's quickly discuss the other film adaptations and I won't dive super deep into them, I'll just quickly go over as I don't exactly have a whole lot to say about them, honestly. Alright, so "Horton Hears A Who" was the next adaptation and was released back in 2008 and it's the debatably the best Dr. Seuss movie but that's not really saying a lot, and I'll definitely say that it's definitely decent but there's not much to it, there is some charm to it but overall it's just a fine film. It's not bad or god awful, but not all that great either, the film kinda feels all over the place with its story and humor especially but mostly as a whole as it seems to be struggling to turn a short story into a full length film which that's a criticism you can say for the other Seuss movies as well. Sure the animation is nice and often pretty to look at and there are some jokes that land, but this film is just alright and is watchable. I'll definitely say that this film AT LEAST does understand the message of the book and the animation has I said is great and pretty and actually does lend itself well to the Dr. Seuss world, but overall this film is okay, it's definitely better than Cat In The Hat and it's not insulting garbage but there are better films to watch, but I'd say give this a watch if you're curious and haven't seen it.

Let's move on and discuss both The Lorax and The Grinch which were both made by Illumination, instead of giving these two their own sections I'm gonna to just to discuss them in their own paragraph here, so hopefully that's fine, lol! Alright, so when it comes to The Lorax...overtime, it seems to be kinda decisive especially over the years with some either hating, loving it, or just not caring about it. I'm more in the hating and not caring for it category, now in terms of adaptations, this isn't the worst one over what we've discussed so far, but it's still a bad and not very good film. First off, this film clearly has cooperate studio meddling written all over it, and I'm not just talking about the product placement in the film's marketing, (which btw, is counterproductive and goes against the film's message!) but I'm also referring to the big hollywood actors casting and pop songs, and just trying just so hard to hip and not understanding the source material in the slightest, this film kinda feels like it was made so make money and just never to be talked about again, and also feels dated as well too. That's not the only issues with the film, there's also other problems as well from the casting like I've mentioned, and I know star casting has become a huge problem and talkative subject over the years but the casting for this film feels off, I mean you've got Zac Efron playing a 12yr and Taylor Swift, and no offense to these two, but they were very miscasted and you can tell they only got these two to appeal and become they're famous, and not only that, there's also how they wrote The Onceler and just 100% redoing his character and just making him into this emo guitar player, Ect. This film is another Dr. Seuss movie that doesn't understand the message of the book, the book didn't try to oversimplify the environmental message by simply, "Yeahhh, man and humanity sucks, ahhh!!" It just was never that simple, it's NEVER that simple even in real life, and the book did a great job starting a conversation rather than simply pointing a finger at someone. I'll definitely say that the animation is gorgeous and it's colorful and seems to capture some spirit of the world of Dr. Seuss but it just feels wasted on such a weak story, weak characters, a genetic cooperate villain that's there for the film's message and nothing more rather than a fleshed out character, and overall a forgettable experience. Again, although this film is a mixture of bad and mediocre, it's still not as bad as Cat In The Hat.

And now we finally have The Grinch from 2018, which was greenlit by Audrey before her passing. And I'll say that I do remember watching this film in theaters with my mom and thought it was decent for what it was, but after rewatching the film for this analysis, I'll say that while the film has some flaws, it's definitely decent for what it is, the film does leave out some of the best parts of the original book and ended up changing the message of the story in general, it's not like the message they were trying to teach was bad or anything, the intension is there and this film still is fun and very colorful and I can see some heart and decent soul put into it , it's definitely a decent and alright film, and I can understand why some loved and enjoy it and think it's a fine film and think it's a lovely sendoff to the Dr. Seuss movie adaptations. (For now, at least)

ALRIGHT!! Now we finally move on to the adaptation that this whole post is all about, let's finally discuss the latest Dr. Seuss adaptation that's been released out to date, that being Netflix's 'Green, Eggs & Ham' that was released back on November 8th 2019. Now, I'll honestly say that I remember going into this show I didn't exactly have many expectations as knowing how past adaptations have been in when came to Dr. Seuss and his work, I didn't know what to expect and thought this show was be really bad or mediocre at the least, but I remember hearing positive things about the show and seeing images and clips of the show got me rather interested and curious, so I remember going onto Netflix and checking out the show and after watching all 13 episodes of the first season I was pleasantly surprised by how damn good and well made this show is/was, like everything about this show is incredible from it's talented voice cast, from it's animation, (the show looks great especially since tv shows that are based on movies don't have the same budget as the films) from the characters, the story and just everything. You can clearly see all the hard work, love and dedication that went into this show and could tell that the ones working on the show truly cared about Dr. Seuss and his work and wanted to make a show not just for kids but something for almost everyone can enjoy. Everything thing in this world when it comes to the show just looks, breaths and 100% feels like Dr. Seuss, I also love and appreciate the references to other Dr. Seuss books and while the other Seuss tv shows and even the films themselves (except for Cat In The Hat) they were also able to capture nail the look of Dr. Seuss but something about Geah feels different, it truly nails the spirit and world of Dr. Seuss and it's just a beautiful looking show on every level, the animators really poured their love and soul into animating this show.

And it only gets better from here, there's also other amazing things about the show especially when it comes to the writing, characters and the story itself. And with this show, instead of 100% focusing solely on the story of the book, this show instead decided to change the story up and intertwine the original story into this new one. So, in this show, Guy-Am-I (played by Michael Douglas) is an inventor and who's very down on his luck mostly due to his inventions and dreams always blowing up right in his face, after one of his inventions fails his chance to going to Meepville, Guy decides to quit inventing and throw away the towel. Eventually, Guy runs into Sam-I-Am (played by Adam Devine) who's this chipper, loveable ball of sunshine who stole a creature known as The Chickeraffe ("Mr. Jenkins") that intends to return it to its natural habitat and have it reunite with its mother. But after getting their suitcases mixed up and when a mysterious agent duo known as "BAD GUYS" show up and attempt to take the Chickeraffe, this results in both Guy and Sam teaming up together in order to get to Meepville to save Mr. Jenkins and get him home. Now, while this story especially with its main characters, we've seen this type of storyline a million times before as it takes two characters with different personalities and putting them together as they learn to get along and know more about one another, being another typical buddy road trip formula. But it actually works very damn well with this show, throughout the first season, we see that Sam is able to have a huge impact on Guy and his life, in the beginning, Guy starts off as a closed off, grumpy frustrated individual who's very down on his luck and doesn't like anyone. Meanwhile Sam on the other hand, is very upbeat, loves life and is sweet and kind to almost everyone he meets and likes everybody. Again, while we've seen this type of thing many times before, this show does this type especially many other tropes that are shown in this show pretty well, and throughout the first season we actually see the characters grow, we see Guy starting to be more open and confident and even becomes more happier and even starts doing more with his life and trying new things such as inventing, friendship, family, love, ect.

And I think what also makes this formula work is the believable friendship and dynamic between Guy and Sam, it's incredibly well written and you truly do believe in their friendship and their dynamic and interactions is great!! The two clearly have an impact on another one another but Guy especially and while the first season was mainly focus on Guy and his journey, the next season gives a lot of focus on Sam when it comes to him wanting to find and reunite with his mom, but we'll get slightly more on that a little later! But Sam is also another great and well developed character and he's an example of an annoying character done right which can be a very tricky task, he's a character who's annoying but not annoying to the audience. Sam has such a likeable and loveable presence and charm, with some of that coming from Adam's wonderful performance, but I was never at all annoyed with Sam one bit and loved the depth they gave in S1 EP10 and showed his connections with Green, Eggs & Ham which felt powerful and heartwarming. And the Green, Eggs and Ham aren't there just to just be mentioned here and there, and to teach the message when it comes to Guy trying them, but also represents and shows just how important and strong Guy and Sam's friendship truly is. ❤️

There's also other memorable and great characters in this show, we've got characters from the book such as the fox, the mouse, and then you have the goat, in this show they're all changed and are good in their own right. First you have the fox, named Michael, who's this an eccentric guy who's basically obsessed with green eggs and has a huge crush on a green chicken named Sandra, and it's just incredibly hilarious as hell and pathetic in a way but just funny, then you have the mouse who's basically a parody based on "Jean Valjean" from Les Misérables and the running gag with him is that whenever he talks, basically nobody especially Guy and Sam can't understand him and only hear squeaks, he also has this huge song that dives into his backstory and it's supposed to be sad but you can't help but kinda laugh at it. And then you have the goat himself, who's basically this unhinged, nonsense badass bounty hunter sent by Mr. Snerz and will pretty much stop at nothing until he gets and captures the chickenraffe. He speaks with a strong spanish accent and he's kinda like an antagonist but he's extremely memorable and fun, he also this pretty fun and great fight scene with Mr. Jenkins in S1 EP9 up on a snowy mountain and not only does the animation sand out during this scene but it's indefinitely entertainment, it's interesting that a Dr. Seuss adaptation of all things would have things along with other great things in this show.

Let's also talk about the other characters they added in this show, that being "The Bad Guys" and "Michellee and E.B." and the main villain of S1, "Mr. Snerz." These characters weren't in the original book and are entirely new characters but similar to the other characters, they're good in their own right. We've got the agents themselves, McWinkle (played by Jeffrey Wright) and Gluntz, (played by Jillian Bell) we've got Mcwinkle who's the serious guy who's on his last mission and wants to get the job done as soon as possible, while his partner, Gluntz is basically the optimistic rookie and basically the opposite from Mcwinkle. And again, while this show does use tropes that been done to death that get tiring, that's kinda the point and this show does new things and does these tropes well that it doesn't exactly bother me all that much, honestly. Mcwinkle is a good and interesting character, although he might seem cold-hearted and serious he does care about his job and also despite his gruff persona, he does care for animals and others and just wants to keep everyone safe and both he and Gluntz aren't bad people, they're just doing their jobs and are just flawed almost like all the characters. Meanwhile with Gluntz, she's just the absolute and I love the hell out of her, although she can act serious and tough, but she just so fun-loving and chaotic and she's the best girl. Really do love Gluntz though, she's plucky, sweet, and just hilarious and some of her moments of the show are my favorite!

Now we have Mr. Snerz, (played by Eddie Izzard) who's the main villain of the first season and he's basically this famous rich businessman who wants to have the chickenraffe and mount it to his wall, and he doesn't want him dead and want his head on the wall, no he just literally wants him tied to the wall so he can keep the chickenraffe there for the rest of its life so it can never escape, and Snerz did that with all the other creatures he owns. Now, I didn't have many opinions about Mr. Snerz in the beginning and thought he was fine but also thought he was gonna be this typical one dimensional bad guy who wants to steal creatures for money and all that jazz, the same type of villain we've seen before. But, he's not exactly like that, he can be just as funny as the other characters at times and has a interesting solid motive for doing what he's doing and it's shown through his backstory.

And then you finally have Michellee and her one and only daughter, E.B. Now, I'm gonna dive deep into these two the best way that I can especially with Michellee as I feel she's been hated for wayyy too long (especially by some certain shippers and fans in the Geah fanbase) and deserves so much better and I'll show that she's not as bad as some try to claim she is. Now, Michellee is very overprotective and cautious who wants her daughter to be safe and okay, while E.B. is a rebellious kid/teen who wants to explore and have fun and do things that kids around her age do. And again like before, while we've seen this done before, just like the show itself and both Sam and Guy themselves, Michellee and E.B. are great and developed characters and their relationship is very well done, they're also on their way to Meepville only for Michellee to enter a literal bean contest and they end up meeting with our main duo multiple times throughout the first season and we get a nice bond between the four main characters. Both Sam and E.B. form a sibling type dynamic/friendship meanwhile both Guy and Michellee form a relationship of their own, now..I'll definitely say that one of the flaws with this show was the ongoing misunderstanding when it came to Michellee and Guy which became frustrating and repetitive, and it doesn't help that most of Michellee's moments kinda resolve around this and I really do think it could've been handled better.

But the way I've seen some of these fans especially when it comes to GuyXSam shippers, say that Michellee is a awful and terrible person is just frustrating as hell and ridiculous. It reminds me when it came to The Owl House, some tried to claim that Camilla was a terrible mom, which is downright not true and it shows people don't get it. While yes, Michellee was overprotective and her being too clingy only caused her to push her daughter away and feel alone, but the point of the show and the story itself is to NOT judge something or someone before giving it a try, without giving it a chance and these characters DO ACTUALLY GROW AND DEVELOP!! Over the course of the show we do see Michellee slowly learning to get out of her shell and try new things, and allowing her daughter to have fun, we learn that Michellee used to be a painter years ago but when her husband unfortunately died (when E.B was very small) she gave up her dream and moved on and this is possibly why she started to become more protective of her daughter, as she didn't wanna lose her either. Michellee clearly loves and cares about her daughter with all her heart, she's not perfect and she's very flawed (just like all the other characters in the show) and we do see her starting to be more open and by the end of the season, and even through some moments of Season 2, we see she's developed and has grown. Michellee isn't a bad parent, NOT in the slightest, she's a caring and loving parent that only wants to keep her daughter safe but she doesn't realize that doing so only pushed her daughter away and made her feel alone, and I really do by the mother/daughter relationship between her and E.B. and find it believable, like all the other characters, they are very flawed and the point of the show is for them to change, grow and give new things a try! (^-^)

Meanwhile with Guy and Michellee, although the two didn't get along and hit it off at the start due to Michellee being unimpressed with Guy's inventions due to them literally exploding, as the show went on and the more times the two met up one another one they start seeing that they actually have some things in common. Both are quiet, keep themselves, along with being reserved, and despite the annoying and cliche misunderstandings and writing choices when it came to how their dynamic was done in during some points from the first season, the relationship between both Guy and Michellee is honestly rather sweet. It's nothing too deep or groundbreaking, but they definitely are cute, adorable and just wholesome together and you do genuinely believe that the two do love and care about one another, both Michellee and Guy go through the same character arc's only with slight different circumstances, with both characters starting off not trusting the world or anyone around them and wanting to be left alone but both eventually learn the importance of not being afraid to try new things! 🙂🩷

Now, I'll quickly mention the second season real quick and while this season definitely isn't as good and amazing as the first one was, it's still a decent nice watch and there are some elements of the second season that I did enjoy. Firstly the animation is still incredible and well done and there is still clearly effort and love poured into the show even if this season wasn't as good as Season 1. And I did love some of the new characters they added such as Looka and Pam (Sam's Mother) and thought they were interesting and fun enough characters and I did love what they did with Pam. Although, she does follow into a trope we've seen before, what they did with her was still well down and you can clearly tell that she does love and care about Sam and similar to all the other characters, she's flawed just as them and isn't perfect, but she's not a bad parent or a bad person either, and while with Looka, although I don't have a whole lot to say about him exactly, I still really liked him and found his relationship and romance with E.B. very cute and adorable and I really do love their dynamic with one another and ship them, but as for the other characters I do think they could've been handled a little bit better but they're still fine enough characters on their own and I do think the route they went with the story also could've been handled better and could've been a little darker especially as the story they went with for S2, was based and took inspiration from another Dr. Seuss book called, "The Butter Battle Book" which was an anti war book that was written during the Cold war and I think they really could've done something different and make it more darker, but what they went with was fine and okay for what it was, but I think it could've been handled better and now certain characters act and are underutilize was also an issue with the second season, but for what S2 was its definitely a decent effort and they could've done something so much worse, the soul and heart of this soul is still there even if it lacks in some places, it's still a good season and I like it for what it is despite its flaws and issues, I still enjoy it. 💙

Overall, Green Eggs & Ham is an incredible and wonderful show that's very underrated and should be discussed and talked about more, this is a show that truly understood the message of the book and the source material itself. This show took inspiration from a short book and expanded upon the message and fits perfectly to not just the Green, Eggs & Ham but also to the characters as well too as we see them try new things and develop over the course of the show and I think the lesson of the book can apply to all of us as well too honestly. Live life to the absolute fullest as it's filled with many opportunities and about discovering new things but in order to that, you'll have to get out there and do what you love and just give new things a try and don't giving up and keep trying, even when life is tough, difficult or feels rather pointless, keep pushing forward and trying things! You can tell everyone who worked on Geah, truly care about Dr. Seuss and this book and wanted to do the show justice and they 100% succeeded. Even after the show's conclusion, this show is still amazing, delightful and just absolutely wonderful, it's filled with so much love, passion, it's well crafted and it's just a masterpiece honestly and it's most definitely the best Dr. Seuss adaptation!

If none of you haven't seen this show before or even heard of it, I'd highly recommend this show as it's a great and fun watch and it's 100% worth your time. This show is for everyone and even if you aren't that familiar with Dr. Seuss, you'll still very much love and enjoy this show. Please everyone, give this show a try and check it out, it's worth it. 🫶🩷

[achoshistor]

ffxv

i just finished ffxv like last night (more like early this morning...) but lowkey i was too depressed to go through the dlc. this was really sad.

SPOILERS (MAIN story didnt open it back up to ch 15 yet)

i think if you are a #loyal fan then you read that last post where i meant to play this game originally. lowkey i liked this better than the remake even though everyone else hates on it. i think after going through the game's history the ending did feel a little rushed so i didnt feel the exact same sadness i did with ccr but i nearly shed a tear at that ending. IMO this game really had a lot of potential, like i don't understand the complaints about the open world. like u hear botw is great an all but it has the exact same "issues" tbh—i have it in quotes bc ofc the open world is going to be a little bit more empty—if you go outside everything will be empty too?? and i mean like at least just about every structure in this game has a side quest tied to it, while botw/totk leave SOOO many mysteries and have such a strange connection between the lore; this one just has too much for you to think about it in detail. like compared to ff7r there feels like more in ffxv too, ive got like 50hr in xv compared to my barely 30 in remake. though afaik rebirth is open world (sale was only $48 too expensive for license only will review when it goes 50% off ish) and the original by technicalities is as well and really this game kind of feels like a precursor to ff7r. like theres an anime, a movie, and a novel too but SO much cancelled content (which apparently was cancelled bc the director left on "good"(BAD) terms with sqenix and the team and budget were moved over to some other game) like i watched one of the old trailers right after finishing the game and lowkey now I'M pissed off on Tabata's behalf like the only reason this went to essentially shit is due to tabata's corporate opps... did they not pay attention to shinra at all?? i heard xvi and rebirth did NAWT sell well (obvs in part cause they were ps exclusive) and that i say is tabatas curse.... like ?/?. off topic but i saw that evil cs major again. i think we made eye contact. MY fault for going outside (it was an omen). back to topic at hand im looking at tabatas works (includes ff7cc) and honestly afaik these have a totally different feel from the other guy's (nomura idk) work like i think i dont have anymore to say on this topic but i have more to say

ffxv feels soooo American like maybe its just cuz of cindy (speaking of im kind of surprised they didnt just rate the game M) & i remember back in 2016/17 when the game came out it was so hyped up and for good reason cuz its open world but with a car. i feel like the game is car centric (just like american society!!) and like even when its not you get to see these huge big cities like altissia (felt like i was playing infinity nikki there lol) or insomnia or even lestallum but the game again really just gets cut short at Nibelheim (Nifelheim??) and the relationship with the bros gets explored really deeply. the thing with that though is the relationship with luna does not.... like prompto and noct have better chemistry than noct/luna (tbf luna was the one that set them up). i feel like though you need to see the companion media to experience the full game, like when i got to insomnia i lowkey dgaf until i watched brotherhood (im inspired by prompto) bc you see all of the bros with noct and it kind of just sets in how bad its really gotten for Lucis (speaking of, the map is unfinished?? there seems to be a region next to insomnia + insomnia is on the base map looking regular so i wonder if there was gonna be more... same with altissia bc you can get to altissia and the main continent directly but not nifelhiem) bc lowkey the game doesn't really set it in for you. not that big of a deal though especially since 7 has the same issue.

anyways my mind is lowkey like two marbles clacking around rn and i know i wanted to say something but im forgetting what so that will be in a later post (when i finish dlc). thanks (sorry) for coming to my ted talk

[jetsteelyourheart]

My top 5 Crackships

Inspired by my top 5 8 characters thing going around, I want you all to vote on your favorite of my Top 5 Questionable Rare pairs

I will be providing excuses reasoning excuses below the poll, so if you feel like roasting me properly seeing my justifications, do that - or don't!

And remember, they're fictional characters, so it costs nothing to be normal about this and have fun

*Not all of these are controversial, but those that are? watch out!

Excuses:

Zuki:

If you follow me then you know I'm an OG Zutara fan, but on the rare occasions I'm feeling Cannon Compliant, Zuki is my go too ship. This has all to do with the comics, where basically Zuko's only confidant is Suki and you get wild panels of them looking at each other like this:

I was devistated when Korra came out and it seemed like Sokka and Suki didn't last, but if the above is why, then I'll take it.

Stobin:

I am going to get so much flack for this one I think. BUT. Consider: The cannon ships in the show are generally not well written. I like Hopper/Joyce, I like Max/Lucas, but Nancy/Jonathan and especially Mike/Eleven do literally nothing for me, they are so bland. I do see the irony that one of the things that makes Stobin well written is because its one sided on Steve's part because Robin is gay. But their interactions are literally the reason to watch the show if you ask me. Pushing past these excuses though, I just kinda dig the ship. In my head its an open poly situation for certain, but sexuality is so wild and fluid and weird, and Gold Star status is gatekeepy at best anyway, so like, why the fuck not. I had a great aunt who had an open marriage with a gay man, (big beard behavior) and they had kids and did everything together. Its like... Platonic soulmates + if you will. And that's what I want for Stobin. Platonic soulmates + and a big ole polycule surrounding them. Or maybe its just my incoherent bisexual ass talking

(If I could put fan-art with the polycule in it I would but I wouldn't repost someones art like that... so I'm stuck with cannon images)

Zacknei:

No one has played this game. When people think Zack, they either ship Cloud or Aerith, and honestly I ship both those as well (though ClAerTi will always be my top for them). But I love Cissnei. She has big Sydney Sage energy for me, and all of Zack's emotional beats in the second half of the game surround her (...or cloud) not Aerith (just for the record). Also if you join all the fanclubs and work hard you get invited to your own fanclub and I'm pretty sure there's evidence that Cissnei is the president which is hilarious. I just love their interactions and was DEVASTATED at the end. Analytical Girl & PuppyDogHimbo is a beautiful ship dynamic. Also Rick Gomez will always be my Zack Fair VA. I hate the new guy so much (and its not his fault!! Sorry man!)

Aquarella:

So the section is really short. But my god. Cinderella and Aqua have the most chemistry of any character in that game series bar none. I'm including Riku and Sora in this. I'm including Roxas and Axel. Ok, not really this is not the hill I want to die on. BUT. At least in Birth By Sleep, this is the emotional high-point. Aqua taking her hand like a gentleman at a ball? The way Aqua saves Cinderella from getting run over by her demonic carriage??? The way she lovingly protects Cindy's body with hers? Did you see Prince whats his face doing any of that ? NO. And then. If Aqua were a guy everyone would've seen it when this game came out (but I guess gay people weren't invented until 2015 or whatever.

look how devastated Aqua is when Cinderella goes to Charming at the end. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THEM.

Sorayla:

I really do like Raylum, but this is a poll on my hot take rare-pairs, not cannon compliance. Let me start off by saying, no, I haven't seen this season yet, it only came out twelve hours ago whats wrong with you? This pair grew on me starting in Season 4 after the time skip. I think it goes along side my preoccupation with tough smart girls and their dumbass golden retriever himbos. They have a nice trajectory, and with Callum going a lil dark and edgy on us recently, I like their banter a lot. Especially in Season 4 I was surprised by them and I crave more adventures with the two of them alone. I don't think it will ever happen, but I like it none the less. They bring a certain... Sokka & Suki vibe to the party that I'm here for.

Anyway, I tag @ebbilayart @retiredficwriter & anyone who decides to do it!

And if no one feels like setting themselves up as a target, that's good too!

[androdetective]

My hcs 👍

I've been sold on gay tulio tbh, I think any headcanons fit most of the characters so yeah 👍

Bonus hcs:

I originally thought Coagula was transfem/nby so I hc them as that and goes by he/she/they

I think Corchetis is aroace and just very supportive of her friends relationships

That one car son guy is a trans guy

Señor Vaquero is also a trans guy (Although it's kinda canon bc of that one bodoque censo short?)

Cucky is a butch lesbian

Maguito is nby aroace to me

Cindy is pan

Amapola is a lesbian

That's all I can think of, they are all queer to me 🫶

[galactic-glamour-girl-posts]

What are some Animaniacs episodes from both the original and the reboot you would recommend to newcomers (like me)?

Thank you for your question!

Well, there’s the first episodes of each series, of course (btw although it is the longer show I’d suggest starting with the original before the reboot considering the reboot is really more of a sequel series).

But if you want less obvious options, I would suggest;

For 1993:

The Warners’ 65th Anniversary Special (Episode 65)

Yakko's World/Cookies for Einstein/Win Big (Episode 2)

HMS Yakko; Slappy Goes Walnuts; Yakko's Universe (Episode 3)

Taming of the Screwy (Episode 5)

Piano Rag / When Rita Met Run (Episode 7)

King Yakko (Episode 10)

Bonus segments: I’m Cute, Potty Emergency, Bumbie’s Mom, Bubba Bo Bob Brain, Smitten with Kittens

The idea of the list is that I’m recommending episodes that I think are good introductions to Animaniacs in general, not just my favourites. These episodes/segments either cover the Warners’ origin, serve as good introductions to what I believe are the best segments of the show besides the Warners, provide a good idea of what Animaniacs’ music is like, or is a good showcase of one/all of the Warners’ personalities and what they do.

For 2020:

Gold Meddlers/Pinko and the Brain/Math-Terpiece Theater: Apples (Episode 3)

Warner She Wrote; France France Revolution; Gift Rapper (Episode 7)

WhoDonut; Mousechurian Candidate; Starbox and Cindy (Episode 8)

Here Comes Treble; That's Not the Issue; Future Brain; The Incredible Gnome in People's Mouths (Episode 9)

Phantomaniacs; Fear and Laughter in Burbank; Bride of Pinky; Things That Go Bump in the Night (Episode 11)

Rome Sweet Rome/Backwards Pinky/Wakko's Short Shorts: Now Loading (Episode 14)

Bonus segments: Suffragette City, Ralph Cam, Roadent Trip, The Cutening, A Zit!, Yakko’s Big Idea

Again, the idea is that I think these episodes/segments are a good introduction to show’s characters and characterisations, songs, tone, etc. So nothing too continuity dependent, and nothing too far into the run (even though I really like a lot of season 3).

If you’d rather have a list of my favourite episodes and segments rather than the ones I think are good introductions, I made a post about them here.

If you do check these out, I hope you like what you see!

[pvccblog]

NEW GENERATIONS

Sometimes we say things about the future that we really don't know for sure are going to happen. For example, there have been times when parents of little babies in the church have made comments about when that little baby will be in the youth group as a teenager. That's a tough thing to predict, none of us know exactly where we'll be in 15 years or so. Nicole and I have talked for the last couple years on these trips about what a blessing it is to now have some of these babies serving God with us on Mission Ventures!

Today our Sports Camp Bible lesson was taught by two of these "babies", Martina and Sarah. They did a great job sharing about Jesus calming the storm. My wife and I remember when these girls were born, and are so proud of them! That goes for so many of the other ones we've had on these trips over the last 5 years too.

It reminds us of our PVCC Vision Statement:

"Raising up new generations of both physical and spiritual descendants who are strong, bold, and fruitful in the love and mission of our Lord Jesus Christ".

We are witnessing this vision being lived out before us! Not just with those physical descendants who we have literally known since they were born, but also with spiritual descendants like Andrew who came to Christ later in his life and began attending PVCC just two and a half years ago. God is so faithful! We've been through many different phases as a church over the years, but God has continued to provide in miraculous ways. To Him be the glory!

We had three or four new ones at sports camp this morning. They had a great time. Phin shared the sports story and it was a really good one about "The Freezer Bowl", an NFL playoff game in the early 80s that the Chargers unfortunately lost. It set the stage for our Bible lesson as we talked today about Jesus being able to calm the storms in our lives.

Between sports camp and BARF, Pastor Fred set up a viewing party at the church for the US versus France Olympic soccer match. Unfortunately the US came up short but it was fun to watch together. After the match the ladies went with Fred's wife Cindy to pick up their daughter and other son who have been serving at a local Christian camp. We're excited to have them back with us!

BARF Night continues to grow each night. We were told by a man who lives in the neighborhood close to the park that he can tell from his house that we're having a lot of fun over there. Tonight was no exception! With our largest crowd of the week we played The Captain is Coming and Plunger Ball. We also heard testimonies from two young men who shared boldly - Andrew from Pine Valley and Danner from Arago. The first couple nights girls shared, and it was nice to have two guys tonight because the majority of the new people who came were teenage guys.

We all hung out after BARF Night for about 30 more minutes and people were just getting to know each other. Sarah was walking the field with a local girl trying to get to know her a little more, then a few more of us joined and we had a great conversation about Jesus and about some tough things in her family right now. Broken families seem to be the norm around here. Please pray for all the different churches in this area to be able to reach these families with the gospel! It is such a huge need!

Glendale in particular seems to be a pretty tough place. Our theme for Sports Camp this week is "Undefeated". Our theme verse is Romans 8:37:

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

Pastor Fred told us that he was glad that our theme is undefeated. He said that Glendale could be more fittingly characterized by the word "defeated". We see this everyday as we drive through town to our events. Pretty early in the day there are people hanging outside the local bar, there is a bit of a homeless population and various people that seem to have a history of all kinds of abuse. Yet the kids here are so energetic and sweet and are enjoying their time with us so much. Please pray that some of these things that have been going on for generations here would change by the power that only the gospel can bring!

The first night we were in Glendale we shopped at the local Dollar General. We actually witness a couple young people trying to steal alcohol from the store. The cashier saw them running towards the door and just body checked them with all her might! The boxes came opened and cans flew everywhere and the shop lifters ran off. It was super intense, and something we certainly don't see in California! We've developed a bit of a relationship with this cashier as we go to that store at least once each day. We have no idea of her background but would love for God to open doors for us to share with her as well. Please keep that in your prayers!

I'm heading to bed with a huge smile on my face and just feeling totally blessed. This team has been wonderful and God is working in and through them. They are awesome! Goodnight everyone and thanks so much for your support!

[cindybermanfics1978]

Possessed

Pairing: Cindy Berman x Possessed!Fem!Reader

Warnings: swearing, gore and violence, deceased children, murdering children, graphic descriptions of bodily harm, the feeling of regret, crying, sadness, no memory of killing someone, self inflicted wounds, main character death, suicide

Word Count: 2,744

Summary: you become possessed and begin a killing spree but soon come back to reality and remember nothing.

This fic is not for the faint of heart. Reader discretion is heavily advised.

You are currently standing above a shadysider, drawing your mini ax into the sky before suddenly dropping the sharp end  onto a young girl who was only fifthteen, the same age as your younger sister. You didn’t care at all, that was until you looked up and saw Cindy standing there in fear as she had tears pouring from her eyes. You suddenly feel normal again when you lower your ax to the ground, continuing to stare at her. She comes and stabs you before dragging you to the ground. 

Everything began two hours earlier..

You’ve felt weird all day and you started to wonder if you maybe developed a concussion when you hit your head from falling. But that didn’t stop you from going on about your day as you walked into the outhouse. Doing your deeds, you finish rather quickly before walking out when you and Cindy cross paths. The thoughts of you dating her clouded your mind as she managed to pull you out of your crazy thoughts.

“Hey, are you okay? I saw you fall.” 

“Yeah, I am fine. I just hurt a little bit.” 

“Do you need to lie down?”

“No, I’m good. I just need an ice pack, that's all.” 

“Okay, do you want some help?” 

“Cindy, I’m fine. I can do it myself.” 

“Oh.. okay.” 

You knew you hurt Cindy but you wanted to sound stern and not like you needed her aid every time you got injured. You kinda felt like Ziggy. The thought hits you abruptly while walking out of the stall before heading towards a shed to process everything, seeing that night has officially set over Camp Nightwing. You’re alone while running your finger across the blade of a small ax that managed to steal your attention. For some reason you don’t think right as you grab it, holding it as you smirk.

You felt no remorse for wanting to take the life of a camper or counselor. And so, you did. You walked out of the utility shed right when you came across a young boy named Jeremy. He was cleaning his glasses when he put them on, looking straight at you. You strike him in his head watching as his lifeless body hits the ground when you continue to batter him, the life has already slipped away from Jeremy as you step away from the deceased body before moving on. 

Jeremy’s blood was splattered on your face, your clothes are now colored red when it once was a white tank top with blue jean shorts. Your white slip on shoes were covered in blood as if you were the one who got murdered. You swiftly move through the forest before heading towards another cabin, seeing many as the commotion gets louder. Slipping in, you hold your ax firmly before seeing Joan in bed with Kurt as you hide away in the other room waiting to scare her. 

Once Joan gets out of bed, dressed, she startles when she notices the front of the cabin open before you come out as it scared her to the max.  

“Oh, Y/N.” 

You don’t react as you dig your ax into her skull, killing her instantly. You continue to strike her multiple times before drawing your ax and walking out of the cabin before moving on to another camper or counselor as no emotion goes through your body.

Cindy’s point of view 

As you walk around the camp, looking for Y/N  you begin to feel some type of discomfort while moving around. You push that feeling down and continue on when you see a blood puddle until a body catches you off guard and a little sick. A scream escapes your lips as everyone including your younger sister, Ziggy watches from afar. You begin to feel scared as you grab Ziggy’s hand and run away and hide in your shared cabin— the cabin you once shared with Y/N. 

“What the hell, Cindy?!” 

“Ziggy, listen.” 

“No, I don’t need to listen. I already know what you’re gonna say. I know there is a  killer on the loose.”

“It’s not that.” 

“Then what is it then?” 

“I can’t find Y/N, and it makes me wonder if she is causing this.” 

Your younger sister crosses her arms, brows furrowed as her expression is stern. 

You sigh.

“We need to find her.” 

“Cindy, are you crazy?! We could get murdered.” 

“But what if she’s in trouble,” 

Ziggy looks down, biting her lip. She then looks back at you and agrees to come with you to search for Y/N, so you all can be safe together. Ziggy splits from your grasp as she goes another direction, running into a scared Alice while you go and search for your love– the love of your life. That was until you see a female figure so you go towards it, trying to make out who it is. Of course you didn’t think to grab a flashlight but you continue on anyway.

(Your point of view)

You are currently standing above a shadysider, drawing your mini ax into the sky before suddenly dropping the sharp end  onto a young girl who was only fifthteen, the same age as your younger sister. You didn’t care at all, that was until you looked up and saw Cindy standing there in fear as she had tears pouring from her eyes. You suddenly feel normal again when you lower your ax to the ground, continuing to stare at her. She comes and stabs you before dragging you to the ground. You drop your ax before looking up at the night sky.

You've killed a total of eleven people in the span of a few hours, but you felt like your normal self again…somewhat again as Cindy’s expression softens and so does yours. She stabs you again before you black out completely, not remembering anything that happened. From you becoming something you're not to killing Jeremy and many other's.

Everything slips away before you could respond. 

While you lay on the grass, you soon regain consciousness as you feel pressure on your shoulder and stomach area. The pain makes you grunt as you look at Cindy with blurred vision. Am I… dying? 

You thought to yourself, but soon come back when she helps you sit up. You lean yourself against a large oak tree, looking down at your wounds. 

“What the hell!” 

“I stabbed you …twice. You were killing someone– and I didn’t know how to respond.” 

“I– Cindy, I don’t recall killing anyone.” 

“You did. You killed, like, 9 or more that I know of.. What exactly happened?” 

You stay there silent for a moment, trying to find the right words to say but can’t seem to find them as you can’t retain the information with you becoming possessed. It’s not that you didn’t want to tell Cindy what got into you, you just didn’t know how to respond. The thought of telling you were possessed made you feel bad, because you knew Cindy would give you an annoyed look, the same expression she gives her sister …and Tommy. That was until they broke up. But you decided to focus on each other for the moment being. 

“I don’t know how to explain it. It’s– It’s like I got possessed or something. I couldn’t control myself from doing that, but sitting here now makes me feel small. I couldn’t imagine myself killing anyone in this camp. I love the campers, even the ones from Sunnyvale.” 

“Well, in conclusion you did. And, the witch curse isn’t real– neither is the devil.” 

“You don’t know that, Cindy.” 

Cindy manages to stop your bleeding as she helps you, you both walk to camp before you abruptly stop in your tracks, the pain getting more aggressive as you take a seat on the grass. Laying down before looking up at Cindy. 

“I think I’m dying,” 

“No, you are not. You hear me.” She says in between sobs. “You can’t die on me. You’ve made me feel like myself, and you love me for me. Y/N, you can’t choose to die. Please…” 

“C–Cindy, I’m sorry.” 

“Y/N, no..” 

You grit your teeth together before grabbing her face and bring her lips to yours, kissing her before staying there for a while until you both pull away from each other. She tries to process the thought as you do the same, but it was too late to say anything. An ambulance is seen at the entrance of camp as Cindy tries to get you to stand up but your body refuses. You do so anyway, more blood coming out this time as you both make it to the ambulance. The paramedics get out and assist you while you go in and out of consciousness, trying to stay strong but your body is weak beneath you. 

Hours later, you wake up to the sound of a heart monitor as you look around and see the light sky outside. Cindy is right next to you along with her sister, they are both asleep as you decide to let them snooze but the pain in your body causes a grunt to come from your lips, Cindy wakes to your sounds. She looks at you before standing and calling a nurse to come and check on you, before coming back and holding your hand. She strokes your face, seeing the bandage on your forehead. You muster up the courage to give her a weak smile as she smiles back at you, feeling better knowing that you are okay.

“Alright, everything looks good. But, you need some fluids in you or your body won’t work. You also need to rest.” 

“Got it,” Your croaky voice speaks out. 

What happened in the process of all this? Who possessed me?

Was I actually possessed or did I muster up the thought to blindly rage through camp and kill many people?

I don’t know. 

You come back to reality as you watch the nurse leave your hospital room, closing the door behind her loudly as Ziggy startles awake. She looks around her when you and Cindy catch her eyes before relaxing as she stands up, walking over to you and crosses her arms. She glances at your frail body before unfolding her arms as she lightly rests her hand on your leg, sitting on the hospital bed as well. 

A police officer steps into the room, holding a notepad as a pair of handcuffs hang on his belt. You didn't know why a cop was coming towards you, and it scared you.

"I'm officer Kapinski,"

"I'm Y/N L/N"

He writes it down.

Were you a suspect?

"I'm gonna get right to the point here. We have eleven bodies at Camp Nightwing, and a witness told me that she saw you murdering someone. Can you explain that?"

"What? I would never hurt a fly. Everyone knows this, even Cindy and Ziggy Berman. The last thing I remember was leaning against a large oak tree, bleeding out from being stabbed. I looked over and saw a dead body of a camper."

"No, I've been told that you were the last person to kill a young camper."

"I'm not lying. I don't remember what happened. I swear. I- I would never do that."

"Officer, she had a certain look in her eye, but it seem to have dissapeared when regained consciousness. Something seemed off, but now she's fine. And before you say anything, I am not defending her.."

"Ms. Y/L/N came in with blood splattered and doctor's couldn't determine if it was yours, or someone else's. And witnesses have stated that you were the last one to be seen around the deceased bodies."

"She did murder people, but now she's back to normal."

"Normal people don't chop up their friends,"

"I'm very aware, officer."

Sometime later the officer stepped out of the room as you watch him speak to a fellow partner. You didn't know if you killed anyone or not. Yeah, you had other's people's blood on you, but you would never hurt those dead campers and counselors. You would die for those kids in order to protect them, even if that meant you leaving Cindy behind.

He came back in, sighing and looking over at you with a serious expression.

"Look," He begins. "The city of Shadyside will not press charges. But you will have to go to court, and may have to serve sometime in community service or be declared insane, meaning you'll have to stay at a mental hospital till they believe you're ready to be released."

You sigh, glancing at both Cindy and Ziggy. "If it comes down to that, officer, then I will."

"Y/n, no. What are you thinking?" Ziggy questioned as her brows knitted together.

Cindy stayed silent, knowing that she was upset too, but didn't want to say anything.

"When do I go to court?"

"Well, we will have to arrest you and get an arrangement, then pre-trial hearing, followed by pre-trial motions. Then readiness hearings, trial. And finally, you'll be sentence to jail depending on what degree of murder you're charged with."

"Well, officer, you can arrest me now. Keep me in the hospital room till I am ready to leave, and then you can take me to jail."

"Okay."

The officer pulls out his handcuffs and places them on her pale wrist, and cuffing the other one to the handle beside you.

"Now, ma'am, you'll have an officer present outside the door, so if you leave you will be caught. We will have doctors and nurses monitor you, and when you're well enough, they will let us know."

You sat there, cuffed to the bed before your eyes move towards Cindy's pale and dirtied face. She had tears forming in her eyes, her hands began to shake. All you wanted to do was bring her into your embrace, but you knew that if you were responsible then you will need to stay away from the person you care most about.

Once when the officer leaves, you bring Ziggy into your embrace, saying your last goodbye to her as you cry into her pale and freckled shoulder. She sobs too, knowing that it'll be the last time you both see each other. Not wanting to let you go, she does anyway before stepping back as you motion Cindy over. At first, she's hesitant, but her sister gently pushes her toward your hospital bed. She gently grabbed your hand, staring into your eyes.

"Cindy, I'm so sorry, but it's best. Maybe I am a danger? Maybe I am insane? If I am, then going away will be best for the both of us, so I don't hurt you or Ziggy. Please, be happy when I'm gone-"

"Y/n, no. What are you saying?"

"I'm leaving, so please be happy. I love you so much, and hope you will keep me in your heart forever."

You bring her face down, planting your lips on her. The two of you stay there for a few seconds, pushing her back and telling her to leave. If Cindy stayed, you would have trouble moving on with your life. And that's what she did, she took Ziggy and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

You find a tray nearby, eyeing a scalpel sitting on top. The tray wasn't far from your feet as you move your leg, hooking your foot and rolling it towards you. You lean over and grab the tool, and bring it to your throat. Tears pour from your eyes while you think about Cindy, digging the scalpel into your neck, drawing blood before continuing. You slit your throat and drop the blade, gurggling on the blood forming in your mouth and choke at the same time.

A massive wave of blood flows below you, soaking your gown and bed beneath your dying body. Soon enough, your head bobbles to the side as death takes over you.

A few minutes later, Cindy comes back to give you a piece of her mind before seeing your bloodied corpse, dropping to her knees and letting out a distressing cry her baby sister never heard before.

"How could you do this to me, Y/N..." She sobbed, not being able to anything else but get comforted by Ziggy.

At least now you won't be accused and punished. You are free, and ready to forever sleep with the ones who you were supposed to protect.

[lilac-rose-writes]

do you guys ever think about how penny clings to her memories of innocence and childhood pre-accident to cope and finds so much comfort in simply acting her age, but she's withheld from doing so by her mother for so long that she physically cannot take it anymore, and the moment she breaks free from that, her life is cut so short that she's never able to grow and move past the childhood she lost? :)

there's a potential parallel to be called on with cindy here too. cindy also has the doll for a while, and we see that playing house is one of her favourite games. however, where penny is stripped of the chance to act like a child, cindy takes a child's game and integrates elements of adulthood into it. cindy wants to be mature, and to feel powerful. she likes to be a danger so she carries a knife, she copies the adults around her and tries to get on their level. penny just wants to feel safe. the doll could be some sort of metaphor for protecting their inner child. despite her own experiences, cindy treats her 'daughter' like a kid. penny 'plays' with the doll in a way that's undeniably innocent. but the world they live in doesn't give them time to act like kids, no matter how much they want to.

neither of them get to keep the doll, and if they hold onto it too long they get hurt- which could be representative of how acting their age is quite literally dangerous, and they have no way of holding onto that innocence without being injured or killed.

also- cindy's constant switching of boyfriends correlates with the impermanence of her other experiences. her dad stays and leaves and comes back again. her mom has boyfriend after boyfriend after boyfriend. biscuit's there and then she isn't. same goes for billy, then later for lily in kg2. she goes from school to school to school.

cindy adapts quickly, and doesn't linger on what's gone. she won't date the same person twice. however, there are elements of her life which stay steadfast because she forces them to. cindy doesn't want to be a vegan, but she doesn't give up the diet. nobody tells her to, but she bullies lily every chance she gets. she wears the same hairstyle every day. she clings to biscuit's disappearance because biscuit was hers and biscuit cared.

cindy never lets herself form a close bond with anyone, because the moment she does, they seem to disappear. it's easier to impress the boy of the day and drive away any attempted friendships than it is to deal with another loss, so that's what she does. cindy likes to pretend she has a family. the dolls can't run away. cindy likes to feel wanted, and to feel loved. even the victory of having a boyfriend listen to her is enough for her to feel a little more in control of her life. she's lonely, and refuses to let herself be anything but.

penny, however, wants friends. she tries to make them at every chance she gets, stashing bracelets in her pockets and offering a smile at every chance she gets. penny longs for a connection, to find someone who likes being around her. the other kids think it strange that she's so chirpy, so even aside from the android aspect, she's considered an outcase.

i think that the contrast between cindy being "popular" because she's mean to people and penny being a "weirdo" because she's nice is especially interesting considering that neither of their strategies actually work.

the accident caused by her mother prevents penny from having any chance at a normal childhood, and the subsequent roboticisation of her body makes her a threat to them. she wants to retain her innocence and have friends, but she can't because of outside influences.

cindy actively tries to get people to leave her be, only interested in the company of her latest boyfriend. buggs let himself get attached to her, but cindy refuses to entertain him for long. she's afraid of forming those sort of bonds, so doesn't want to.

penny's forced to shoot, cindy wields her own knife. both of them are alone.

cindy seeks stability and money in her relationship with felix, and he views her as a good investment for applesoft. both of them are mimicking their parents and putting their core beliefs into action. felix prioritises the company and familial expectations over his own desires, and cindy won't let herself form a connection until she's certain it'll last. felix seems like the epitome of stability. he's a billionaire, he likes her back, and he reciprocates her nicknames and sappiness.

penny doesn't mind who connects with her. when kid does, she's overjoyed. but even that still gets her hurt. if the female principal catches kid in the hallway, she says it's suspicious that he's been hanging out with penny, and has him sent to the principal's office. penny is forced to kill her only friend. and if the mission lasts until the end of the day, she's killed by the magnet kid fixed. there's no way for her to win.penny hurts people who get close to her. she's a minion for the person she loves most; her mother sees her as a weapon, so that's what she's made to be, regardless of her own feelings. cindy kills the janitor out of grieving rage after finding out he killed biscuit (biscuit, who meant more to her than any person could). she stabs kid when he doesn't play along, and sends him to the principal when she's mad at him. cindy doesn't care about getting others hurt, and will gladly do so if it means she's left to her own devices or gives her a way to enact vengeance on those who've forced her to be so alone.

neither of them can act their age, because doing so simply isn't safe enough. thank you for coming to my ted talk xx

[something-in-your-walls]

I'VE BEEN GOING INSANE OVER MY TIME TRAVEL RETCON THING RAHHHH SO HERES SOME STUFF I FELT A NEED TO CLARIFY: -Cindy Anderson, although the last name is different, is the same person as Cindy Sneedly. She just took Gaylord's last name when they got married. -Krupp and Gaylord consider each other "mortal enemies" but DO get along sometimes. They just have conflicting viewpoints on life that clash with the other, which normally causes arguments, so they aren't FRIENDS. But they aren't enemies either, since Gaylord DOES CARE for and try to understand Krupp a little, even if he refuses to admit it. ^- Krupp, on the other hand, doesn't understand Gaylords point of view and is too stubborn to try, so in short, he doesn't entirely give a shit about him, and would sacrifice him to wolves in a HEARTBEAT if he could. -Cindy has a communication disorder. She won't talk around the group, and the group's okay with that. Later on, Gaylord ends up knowing her so well that he can practically talk FOR HER if she really needs him to. -The one time Gaylord and Krupp actually end up getting along for once was during a sleepover at Lavatore's house, where everyone (except for Moxie and Gaylord) had a massive sugar rush (similar to the carnival scene from the movie) before everyone promptly fell asleep because of the crash. ^- Krupp goes even more feral than he already is when high on sugar, so he ends up biting Gaylord a lot before passing out and then waking up again to Gaylord still awake, keeping watch over everyone. Krupp gets bored of just sitting there, so Gaylord suggests going up to the roof. ^- Up there, they talk about random stuff. It's a little awkward because....rivalry and all, but the two of them open up a little eventually, talking abt their experiences with Moxie and Jasper, asking about their lives (like Gaylord infodumping about what exactly he can hypothetically invent, or dumb stories about living on a farm from Krupp) until the morning. By then, they end up pretending that 4-hour-long-chat didn't happen and they both never mention it again. -Gaylord is VERY USED to Krupp biting him, to the point where Krupp's sharp ass canines don't even hurt him anymore. Krupp gets spooked by this the first time it happened. (But eventually realizes like 4 weeks later that that just means he can bite him MORE and it wont hurt him.) (4 WEEKS LATER.) (Krupp's kind of a dumbass as a kid, but don't tell him that)

[neixins]

mid-year reading wrap-up

most of what i’ve read so far this year’s been…aggressively fine, which is just not that fun or interesting to talk about tbh. however, there have been some delightfully high highs and atrociously low lows that i do wanna talk about!

but first, some stats for any mathematically-minded curious imps in the audience

average rating: 3.15 (i know i'm stingy with my ratings but yikes!)

number of books read: 27 -> 11 novellas, 10 novels, 5 short stories, and 1 nonfiction

i’ve also picked up 26 different manga series and oneshots. some i’ve read start to finish, some i’ve only read a few volumes of (and i plan to continue most).

highlights

mammoths at the gates by nghi vo: it’s no secret that i adore the singing hills cycle and this installment was a poignant tale of grief and memory and change, and it was just as brilliant as the rest of the series.

from far away, vol. 1-14 by hikawa kyoko: a wonderful, gentle story about the power of love, compassion, and community, featuring well-written protagonists who are full of love for each other and the world around them.

on the fox roads by nghi vo: this novelette is free to read on reactor mag (aka tor) so i’m not gonna say anything else except that nghi vo never, ever misses. go read it now!!

seven little sons of the dragon by kui ryoko: i don’t need to tell any of u how talented of a writer and artist kui is but this collection was truly one hit after another

two rogues make a right by cat sebastian: i’ve read only two cat sebastian books so far but she’s quickly become my go-to romance author. she just Delivers romances that will make u giggle and kick your feet! this one is about a guy who whisks his best friend away to the countryside after his chronic illness gets worse and they slowly realize that they’re in love <3

a little light mischief by cat sebastian: an absolutely delightful little novella about a lady’s companion who’s been disowned by her family and the pretty ex-thief maid who’s being very distracting!!

i decided not to include any manga series i’m still reading on the list but frequent visitors to neixins dot tumblr dot edu know how much i adore yona of the dawn, even when it’s trying its hardest to murder me. but u’ve probably heard me ramble about it enough already (and if u haven’t: my tag). and since i’m doing honorable mentions, i’d be remiss not to mention dungeon meshi (read vol 1-5 so far) and natsume’s book of friends (read vol 2).

and another honorable mention goes to the empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo which i’ve reread multiple times in the past few years and it never fails to dazzle me. this time around i listened to the audiobook (narrated by cindy kay, one of my favorite narrators).

boo tomato tomato

nothing but blackened teeth by cassandra khaw: this was more of a disappointment than a book i hated so i feel bad lumping it in with the rest of these but i did buy a physical copy at full price so it gets a mention. this novella’s biggest flaw was that it kept saying that the characters were part of a toxic codependent friend group but they just felt like strangers who didn’t like each other, which made it seem like they were staying in the creepy haunted house just because the plot needed them to, rather than for the reasons they claimed. khaw’s prose is quite unique though so i’m excited to check out the salt grows heavy despite not liking this one.

the woods all black by lee mandelo: i wanted to love this so badly because the themes were so up my alley and i love slowburn horror with an explosive final act. but unfortunately, it was so so bad

love on the other side by nagabe: literally half of this collection included relationships between adults and children (which definitely weren’t platonic/familial like the blurb led me to believe….) and the vileness of those stories was enough to drown out anything good in the rest of the collection. i actually also read two other nagabe works (before this one; if i’d read this first i wouldn’t have bothered). monotone blue would’ve been fine if there hadn’t been an assault scene that got brushed off way too quickly…and the wize wize beasts of the wizarding wizdoms was a mixed bag; some of the stories were just as terrible as love on the other side but “marley & collette” was very sweet, not gonna lie…..

i’ve also had many, many dnf’s which i don’t log, but i simply must give a shoutout (derogatory) to romancing the duke by tessa dare which i had high hopes for and which instead made me read this godawful sequence of words with my own two gay eyes (during pride month no less!): "He was just so near. And so tall. And so commanding. So male. Everything female in her was rallying to the challenge." thanks i hate it……

in conclusion, my hopes for the second half of the year can be boiled down to: save me nghi vo and cat sebastian save meee