#but he does the same to me with whatever anime he’s obsessed with so don’t feel to bad for him.

[forgetful-nerd]

It’s a bit fcked up that 2012! Mikey has consistently been the one to take on his mind controlled brothers. “Pizza Face” and “Parasitica” we’re basically two whole episodes where Mikey had to fight off his family alone while avoiding being mind controlled himself. I mean, it makes sense a bit. He’s likely the hardest to catch since he’s the most agile of his brothers and he has the most raw talent but still it’s a bit fcked.

He probably felt so much relief when Leo managed to avoid being bitten and turned into a vampire when they fought Dracula. Because he was finally not alone while trying to fight off the rest of his family. Though he was still the one that ultimately saved them from mind control in that episode as well. After all he plunged a steak right through Dracula’s heart. Which means he’s basically saved his whole family from mind control three separate times.

And don’t even get me started one rat king episode where Master Splinter attacked Mikey first. Which must have been so confusing and out of the blue for him.

[unsolvedjarin]

just you wait sunshine.

pairing: (sebastian vettel x driver! reader)

summary: sebastian’s retirement has led him to reminisce his past life and mistakes, including you. little does he know, the universe is about to give him a second chance via a small bookstore in switzerland.

note: this went on WAYYY longer than i wanted it to be and it didn’t really go the direction i wanted either, but we move

content warning: angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, more sebastian centric than reader centric tbh (sorry i just love him so much)

word count: 3.7k

Retirement had been good to Sebastian.

He’d finally been able to spend time in his farm house, plant some trees, grow a garden, and along with all that, still have time to drive cars whenever an event needed him to. It was like his entire life schedule magically cleared up in front of him.

He missed racing of course, he won’t pretend that he didn’t. After all, he spent 15 years in the sport, it was his pride and joy for quite a long time. But that time of his life is over, he’s accepted that. He wanted to enjoy the other things in life instead, be able to see and experience things that the busy life of being a driver didn’t let him experience.

Sitting on a chair in his porch watching the sun set, he reflects on what he could have done differently. Who he could have treated differently. And when only one name enters his mind, the same one that’s haunted him for the past 5 years, he sighs reluctantly and heads back inside to prepare his dinner.

—

2012

“What do you wanna do when you grow up?”

The question takes you by surprise as you take another swig of your beer. The moon shone brightly on the porch of whatever airbnb your team had set you up at, and the stars were sparkling like they had never before.

“What kind of question is that, Sebby?” you giggle. “Isn’t this what we’re gonna do for eternity? Racing?”

Sebastian shrugs, looking up at the sky on his foldable chair that you had brought on the trip. “Yeah but after that, you know? I’ve always thought about what my life will be like after retirement.”

“Okay old man, because you’re sooo close to retiring,” you tease. He gives you a playful light shove for that, smiling as he does. The air feels freer and lighter than it ever has before.

“But seriously,” Sebastian chuckled. “Have you ever thought about it?”

You ponder for a second before replying, “No, not really. I mean my career’s just starting, I haven’t really thought about the end. But when I do retire, I think I’d like to be a writer.”

“Like those egotistical types to make a biographical book about themselves?” Sebastian asks, earning a laugh from you. The sound made him feel things that he’d only ever felt before with you.

“God no,” you laugh out. “I don’t wanna be like those old blokes who get obsessed with themselves after they retire. I just wanna write fictional books, maybe under a pen name. Just a simple life; me, my theoretical dog, and my theoretical book.”

Sebastian nods with an understanding look in his eye. He wants that life too. A simple one, away from the public. Even now at his young age, the paparazzis and press were getting annoying quickly.

“I want to live in a house far away from the city,” he says. “Maybe the suburbs— no that’s too near…a farm! I’ll live in a farmhouse.”

You smile at the thought of Sebastian Vettel, two time Formula 1 world champion, just lounging about in a farm tending to his animals and crops.

“Wouldn’t it get boring? Or lonely? Milking your cows alone?”

He answers you with no delay, “Well I’d want you to be with me of course.”

You thanked whatever higher power was listening at that time that he couldn’t see how your blush formed over the darkness of the night. Regaining your sense of self, you reply, “What makes you think I’d want to go with you?”

“Wouldn’t you?” he asks genuinely. “You could write your books inside while I…I don’t know what type of farm I’ll make, exactly. But I’ll be tending to that and you can write your books with your theoretical dog.”

“It’ll be our theoretical dog, then.”

Sebastian replied with a soft smile, “Ours, then.”

—

He had settled on bees. Having a bee farmhouse. It wasn’t easy work, it was definitely more complicated than milking a cow like you had said, but it made him happy, and it made him content.

Well, as content as he could be.

You had your first kiss that night, Sebastian recalled. He remembers because even though you didn’t think it, he could see the red blush dusted lightly on your cheeks, a sign he made the right choice leaning in and making his move.

Preparing his dinner for one in his cozy yet lonely farm house, he realizes he could have had this all with you. If he had just been more kind and if you had forgiven him, you could have had all of this together. A life that both of you had always wanted.

—

2018

“Sebastian, I’m not asking you to retire or something, I’m just asking you to take a break, please,” you beg. He remembers your exasperated voice as clear as day.

“I can’t take a break, Y/N, you don't understand. If I don’t get at least podium in this race, that's it, my career is basically over.”

Scoffing, you replied, “Your career isn’t over just like that, you’ve still got another year with Ferrari for christ’s sake.”

“You wouldn’t get it,” he mumbled, opting to turn away from you and put on his racing gear instead.

He’d been distant the whole season, the tension between the two of you increasing and increasing that finally it just snapped this race weekend. He’d been icing you out, acting like you didn’t exist because he was ‘practicing for the races ahead.’

At first you understood, you were a driver too. You recognized the difficulty of always losing race after race, how after a while it took a toll on your mental wellbeing. So you gave him space.

Then, when that didn’t work, you tried reaching out, helping him. It was the worst mistake of your life. Every time you tried to talk to him, to ask him what was wrong so you could help, he kept pushing you further and further away, acting like you were getting in the way of his work, sometimes even getting angry.

That went on for the whole season, until finally today, on qualifying morning, you snapped and demanded he talk to you.

“What the hell do you mean ‘I wouldn’t get it’? I have the exact same job as you,” you accused. You’d been patient for months and his vagueness was starting to get on your nerves.

Whipping his head around angrily to face you he replied, “You don’t have to reach the same standard as I do. I have to constantly prove I’m the best, and you constantly prove to be a midfielder.”

Oh.

Oh.

That was a low blow, even Sebastian knew that. Your relationship had been teetering on the edge for the past year, but this was a make or break moment, and he knew exactly which one of the two it was going to be.

“So it’s like that,” you decided with a tone of finality. Sebastian wanted to ask for your forgiveness right then and there, to apologize, to make up for the last few months of being an asshole, to beg you not to throw away your years together just like that.

But he knew he was in the wrong, and he was too stubborn and egotistical to apologize.

Sensing the silence from him, you nod with teary eyes you tried so desperately to stop from flowing freely. Sebastian wanted nothing more to wipe them away, to hold you in his arms, but he never could do it.

“This is how you want it to end?” You asked him. It was a genuine question. You were giving him one last choice, one last chance to make up for how he’d been treating you the past year.

He stayed silent.

“Enjoy your fucking career, Vettel.”

—

He won that race. It was his first win of the season, but he felt like he had lost the championship itself as he stood on that podium, eyes looking for you in the crowd like he usually did, finding you absolutely nowhere.

After your argument he tried to talk to you in the paddocks but you constantly avoided him, the act not being hard when he wasn’t allowed inside your team’s hospitality building nor paddock. That fight was the last sensible conversation with each other you ever had.

You retired the year after that. You moved out quietly from your shared home, and he heard you stayed with Jenson for quite a while. He couldn’t blame you, Jenson had always been kind to you— Sebastian had no place to be jealous.

Hearing the beeping of his oven, Sebastian snaps out of his trip down memory lane to grab his dinner. It was a tray of lasagna, one he was sure he would be eating again tomorrow lunch because of the size of it.

He thinks about how he wouldn’t have to place the excess in a container for tomorrow if he just had someone to share it with. If he could share it with you.

Going through his grocery list at 10 in the morning, Sebastian notices a new store out of the corner of his eye. He’s been to this street countless times to do his grocery down the road— they had a brand of milk that no other nearby grocery had— but he had never seen that store before.

It was a bookshop. A small one compared to the large shops that surrounded it, but it stood out enough to be noticed yet cozy enough to feel inviting. It was a cold morning in Switzerland, and the heater inside just invited him further in until he found himself standing at the doorway, taking in the smell of books and the absolutely gorgeous decor.

He will admit, he hasn’t seen a bookshop like this in quite a while. The second he stepped foot inside he felt the love radiate through it, as if he knew the owner personally and how they had a passion for their store.

All Sebastian could think about, however, was how much you would love this. How you would adore running your fingers through the spine of a second hand book, or how you would pick a fresh new one for him to read and he would do the same for you, just like you both did back then.

He won’t pretend that he never looked for your book when you retired. He knew you weren’t joking about publishing one, he just didn’t know what pen name you chose so he never could find it.

“Looking for something specific?” A voice makes him turn his head around to see the woman behind the register looking at him inquisitively. He realizes that he was just standing in an aisle not really reading or picking up a book.

Sebastian shakes his head, “Not really, just browsing. I was thinking about how a friend of mine would have liked to see this store, it’s right up their alley.”

“Why don’t you invite them then?” A different voice speaks.

…It can’t be.

That voice.

That voice.

No, he was hallucinating, dreaming maybe. Yes, this was a dream. That would be the only explanation why from behind him he heard a voice he missed so dreadfully, one he tried imagining talk to him again some nights, one he watched old videos for, one he—

“Sebastian?”

It was you. He would recognize your voice anywhere. He turns around, and the world seems to slow down as if it suddenly focused on just the both of you. The background blurs and everything is hazy and distorted but you were there. Standing in front of him, actually real. Older than he remembers but not in a negative way, just more mature. More peaceful. More you.

Staring at you in the middle of a bookshop in Switzerland after 5 years, Sebastian couldn’t speak. He didn’t know what to say. What would be right? Would there be words he could tell you that would make you ever forgive him?

“I-” “You-”

You both start at the same time, making you laugh at each other. It was the first time he’s seen you smile since 2016. He used to say he would burn cities to see you smile, and he’s glad he knows now that that feeling hasn’t changed.

“You first,” he says. He wants to hear what you’ll say so he can choose his words better.

“I, uh,” you laugh awkwardly. It was still a beautiful sound to Sebastian. “I was actually slightly expecting to see you here.”

Oh. Well he didn’t expect that. You…you were expecting to see him? Like purposely thinking about him? The thought boggled Sebastian.

Noticing his visible silence, you speak up again. “I co-own this bookstore,” you smile. “I knew you lived around the area so I expected I’d bump into you eventually. It’s not the main thing that I do, but my Swiss friend you just talked to behind the counter wanted to make a bookstore but was low on funds so I decided to help a friend out, you know?”

Oh he knows. You were always so kind when it came to your friends. He remembers, he used to be one of them.

“That’s really nice of you,” Sebastian says. He slaps himself internally for the dumb reply he gives. “You uh, you look great.” Way to fucking go Sebastian. What a great conversation saver.

“Not in a weird way, of course. I mean I would never try to make you feel uncomfortable by saying that. Did you feel uncomfortable? Was it weird? It probably was. I mean I haven’t seen you in so long and that’s the first thing I say it’s so stupid and I could have said something of significance but—”

You stop Sebastian before he rambles on any longer. Holding his fidgeting hand, you chuckle at the sight of the nervous German in front of you. “Relax, Seb. I’m not mad. I’ve moved on.”

Oh.

“You have?” He asks, not thinking before he speaks because he knows he hasn’t. How could he move on from the best thing that ever happened to him and the biggest mistake he ever made?

The question takes you aback, pulling your hand away from his. For a second Sebastian thinks he’s messed up all over again, but you simply reply, “I meant from racing. But I know what you think I mean.”

“Can we catch up? I’ve missed you.” Sebastian hears himself say it before he even realizes the implications of his words.

“Oh.” you say with a pause. It makes Sebastian’s heart sink. Maybe you really have moved on, but in a way that you didn’t want him in your life anymore. He gets that. It looks like you’ve built a nice life for yourself outside of racing. Even if he never gets to be in it. He’s proud of you for being able to move on. “How about we sit down for some coffee first? I know a place near here.”

Oh thank god. Sebastian wasn’t ready to be deprived of you again so quickly.

Walking to the cafe, the air was thick with the tension between the two of you. While your accidental meeting in the library had gone well, the spark of the moment had faded and the reality of the situation had settled in. This was someone Sebastian had deeply wronged, someone he still deeply loved, and there were too many words unsaid there about both.

Sitting down at the window seats— he remembers how you loved sitting there so you could watch the people outside— you flag down a waiter to take both your orders.

“I’ll take a macchiato and— Seb do you still take your coffee black?”

Nodding, he looks out the window with a light blush on his cheeks. The fact that you remembered his— albeit simple— order made him happy and he had to catch himself otherwise he would be smiling like a teenage boy again. It was truly the little things.

“So,” he speaks up, straightening up and looking at you.

“So,” you mimic. “I go first or you go first?”

“My life has been pretty televised before I retired, there’s nothing really surprising in it. You go first.”

You spend the next 30 minutes filling him in on your life, how you avoided the media for the past few years, how you live in a cozy home with your dog, how you still exchange presents with some of the older grid during Christmas (Sebastian admits he got jealous here).

But the most important part was when he heard how you finally wrote that book you always talked about.

“Really? You finally published it?” Sebastian asks. He could see how the smile on your face was genuine, unlike the many times he saw you put on a fake one for the press or the media. It made him happy.

“Yeah, I finally found time after I retired to start it. Surprisingly it’s actually much harder and less peaceful than I thought it’d be.”

“At least it’s not a biographical book,” Seb jokes. The throwback makes you giggle, but it also makes you both acknowledge the elephant in the room. There were still so many things left unsaid, you both didn’t know where to start.

“Y/N back when I said those things, you know the ones, I didn’t mean them.”

Giving him a sad smile you reply, “I know, Seb. But it doesn’t take them back. Besides, that silly argument was just the straw that broke the camel's back, we were on the edge of our relationship for so long, you knew that too.”

“I know, but that was my fault it was on the edge too. I kept pushing you away because of Ferrari and how disappointed I was in my career. I didn’t realize at the time how much it was hurting you until I finally lost you. I know it makes no sense to say it this late when all is said and done, but I am sorry.”

Sebastian’s words stunned you to silence. You knew he never meant pushing you away, despite your last fight he was never intentionally that unkind, it was just racing that pushed him to be like that back then. But hearing the words coming from him hit differently, the way he said the two words you’ve been yearning for for years. I’m Sorry.

It couldn’t make you forget, but it could make you forgive.

“I know you are, Sebby,” you say. The old nickname brings a nostalgic smile on his face. “I’ve forgiven you years ago, just after I retired. I figured I should let go of my ghosts and that’s what I did. Though I won’t lie, your ghost did put up quite a fight giving me tears at night,” you joked. Sebastian could sense the hint of sadness in it.

He wishes he could make it all go away, to fix it just like he used to be able to. But he knows it’s not that easy. Not when the years have separated you both. It’ll be hard getting your trust back to let him into your heart even just as a friend, but goddamn if he wasn’t going to try and fix it.

“Will you ever show me the book?”

The question catches you slightly off guard. “I doubt it. It’s not up your alley anway, historical fiction.”

“Anything you write is up my alley. Maybe you can come over sometime and show it to me,” he says, not realizing the underlying meaning to it.

“Careful, Sebastian,” you say. “Forgiving is easy when you’re given time, but forgetting is harder. Let’s take baby steps.”

Baby steps. He could live with that. To Sebastian it doesn’t matter if it takes days or years to get you back in his life, he’ll let you take your time. You deserve it. And if you choose in the end to walk out of his life again, well, then he deserves it.

You hug each other goodbye when you leave, the hug lasting longer than it should have. He knows he promised baby steps, but when you buried your head into the crook of his neck and tightened your grip around him softly, he couldn’t resist pulling you closer to him and holding you there for a few seconds. He misses this, the closeness of it.

He sends you his address if ever you were in the area again, and you notice how the profile picture he has for you on your number was still the one of you when you were both rookies. It made you happy.

Sebastian didn’t expect anything more to happen, he spent that night contemplating what good deed he must’ve done to bring you back into his life again. Whatever it was, he was grateful he had done it.

The next afternoon as he was reheating the Lasagna— that he ultimately forgot yesterday— in the oven for lunch, he heard his doorbell ring. Opening his door he spots a package on the floor, one that was wrapped with a cute bee themed wrapping paper. It made him chuckle. He expected that whoever or whatever was at the door was you, but this was the next best thing.

Sitting down on his porch chair, he opens the package delicately as if it were fragile. He can feel the outline already, it was a book. Moreover, it was your book. Sebastian couldn’t believe it.

There was a note attached that read, ‘Forgot to tell you yesterday. I missed you too.’

The few words were almost enough to bring him to tears, but he continued and opened the book to scan its contents. The typing Published 2020 stands out, making him realize how long he’s missed out on this.

But what truly catches his attention is the dedication. Smack right in the middle, the words to be seen by everyone, read; For my Sunshine, the amount of words left unsaid will never match the amount of love I still have for you in my heart.

He may not be able to fix his mistake just like that, but Sebastian would wait however long it took for you to love him again, as a friend or as another. As long as his sunshine was in his life again.

[love-at-first-sight-23]

Hazbin Hotel Headcanons 🔥😈🏨💞

All your favorite male Hazbin Hotel Characters in a list of x Reader headcanons!

WARNING: Not safe for work content below. Mind the tags!

Lucifer 🪽

• Our sweet baby angel loves taking you on rides via his wings, of course he makes sure to hold you tight the whole time so you don’t fall

• Sometimes he lets you wear his top hat ❤️

• When he wants attention, he might shapeshift into different animals for you (ex. a kitten, dog, duck)

• A big love language for Lucifer is gift-giving: namely, rubber ducks and flowers

• Oh, yeah, he’s a bottom. It’s not hard to picture those eyes looking up at you pleadingly with tears in them, begging you to take care of him…

Adam 🎸

• Crazy first-man boyfriend. Plays his guitar for you. (Might even let you play it)

• Doesn’t settle for other men eyeing you- will chase them away with a big angry scowl or extreme aggressive humor

• Eats. A LOT. Won’t make food for you though, will appreciate it if you cook for him

• Adam’s love language is mainly flirting, serves you up all the suggestive shit you could ever want

• Rough whenever you’re having sex, will never take no for an answer when he’s particularly horny

Vox 🎤

• Charming, charismatic, flirtatious AF

• Although Vox doesn’t have true lips, kissing him is rather warm and comforting

• Has tried to hypnotize you into falling in love with him on multiple occasions, it didn’t work but you did ask him out by yourself eventually

• Main love language is physical touch and touching your cheek, holding your hand, and hands roaming up your body

• Display sex is an obsession of Vox’s; will display you on TV, in front of windows, or generally anywhere in public whenever he gets the chance

Sir Pentious 🐍

• This snake demon is a bit shy at first, and will need a bit of warming up to get to know you

• Ah, yes, attention and cuddling is a must for Sir Pentious who adores it when you so much as look at him

• Shows you his inventions and things he makes, a few he builds especially with you in mind 🔧

• Words of affirmation and gift-giving should fit the picture

• Have you forgotten? Our serpent boy has two d*cks. TWO. Yes please

Alastor 📻

• Gettin’ spicy out here 🔥 The deer gives and takes whatever he wants, no more, no less

• He definitely knows what he wants from the start- He’s quick to win you over and take you for himself

• The Radio Demon may be creepy, but those creepy powers come in handy when protecting you and keeping you safe from anyone who comes close to you 🌹

• I personally believe acts of service is Alastor’s love language. Solely lending you a helping hand and leaving small details around to let you know his affections for you

• Uses his tentacles during sex, to hold you down as well as explore that beautiful pussy of yours

Husk/Husker 🐈‍⬛

• He seems nonchalant towards you. But this isn’t true. Husk’s feelings come in small packages, coming out slowly while you spend time with him by the bar at night

• You’ll start to notice small changes in his behavior as he grows more comfortable with you, including small smiles, gestures, and free drinks 🍺

• Hugs you with his wings. They’re very soft

• Husk has gentle and subtle love languages, acts of service mainly, just to see that smile on your face

• He purrs while fucking or kissing you. Prove me wrong

Angel Dust 🕷️

• Believe me when I say this man loves you to death, which he does

• Constantly telling you how beautiful/handsome you look

• Might need a bit of comforting during those hard days, will give you the same in return

• Flirting, flirting, more flirting, and physical touch in the mix. Once the relationship becomes more intimate, different from the ones Angel is used to, most other love languages will be present

• Ooh boy, Angel will feel you up any chance he gets and make you feel so good you can’t spell your name. He’s a pro, after all

• Bonus: Angel Dust (a.k.a Anthony) enjoys sharing his New York cuisine with you! He’ll cook for you on special occasions, wearing a “💋 the Cook” apron in the meantime

Thanks for reading! Feel free to like, share, and follow! Do not copy my posts!

[currentfandomkick]

Started as one thing and veered in another direction, enjoy!

Masterlist here

Last time was a fluke. A mistake… right?

Danny glanced around him, and looked in the mirror.

He looked the same. He didnt know how he even did it the first time. He had blacked out.

He still inspected himself. No gills or scales.

No glow-in-the-dark white on his skin in vertical lines flanked by black. Besides the usual body hair.

No green freckles. He… he can admit to missing those.

He kept checking daily. For any signs that, that form(?) was creeping back into his day to day.

That stupid ectopus he’s convinced is on ecto-dejecto or ghost steriods kept coming back.

It was to the point Boxy was concerned and ‘guarding his sleep’ (in exchange for origami boxes/cubes. He even made some for Lunch Box).

Danny decided to conk out during one of Lancer’s lessons after another attack the nogjt before.

He’s pretty sure Tapas/Taco is being restrained by his parents in an ecto-proofed tank.

Ancients he hopes so.

Lancer called him back after class, with that stupid ‘i know you are better than this and that accident does not excuse such poor behavior young man’ attitude most of the staff had toward him.

The actual lunch ladies were chill, and therefore his favorite. And Lunch Lady since she took to packing him an extra lunch that Boxy drops off. Something about fighting your food to eat it daily being ‘unacceptable!’

Whatever.

“Mr. Fenton, I understand that you are facing more challenges than your peers, but do try to stay awake in my class.”

“Got it. Blame Tapas.”

“You can’t blame mexican food for all your issues.”

“I don’t—Tapas is the ectopus that’s been obsessed with me and Phantom since the stupid thing showed up. It keeps escaping the Thermos, and i honestly have no clue how to keep him contained long enough to throw it at ecto animal control or ghost jail.”

“… Mr. Fenton, have you considered staying with relatives away from Amity until this issue is resolved?”

“I literally can’t.” His core sank at the idea. “Ecto contaminated and dependent. Medically speaking, until portable ecto is something that can be handled over long distances, I can’t leave for more than a hundred days, give or take, before dying.” No matter how much he wanted to at times.

Mr. Lancer frowned at him. “If possible, would mixed in-person and online schooling be something you’d be amenable to? I can speak with your parents and arrange alternative student success plan, but its clear the situation won’t improve unless better accommodations are put in place.”

Danny opened and shut his mouth. “If I can get them here, sure.”

“Excellent. I would like to continue your classes with myself in person to better monitor your progress, or we can do tutoring after school or during my usual block for Saturday detentions.”

Danny nodded in a daze.

Then something crashed in through the window.

“Adventures of Tom Sawyer!”

Danny threw himself against a wall, trying to get Taco off him, only to get pulled through a wall, and further.

Hey tried scrambling for something to grab, but he phased through everything and he couldn’t go ghost in front of everyone seeing him get kidnapped by an extra annoying octopus.

The fact it was being filmed made it Worse.

Fuck.

Masterlist here

If you want to join the tag list, comment on the master list or reblog saying you want to join

Tags: @theizzyof3malec3 @brattysleepyreader @sebas-nights @elidaweirdotaku0520 @bianca-hooks123

[twilightprince101]

Let's be careful before labeling Wally or Home as "The Villain" of Welcome Home

Or anyone for that matter imo

Listen, I can completely understand why people would go to that conclusion. "So Below" and the eerie vibe that Wally gives off in his obsession don't exactly give either a flattering light (I know there are also the art pieces on Clown's personal blog, but I'm not counting anything that hasn't been officially released yet)

But whenever someone labels a character who is acting weird as "the villain," it puts a bad taste in my mouth. At the end of the day, characters in fiction are real people with motivations, so labeling one as "evil" or "the villain" can sometimes erase that complexity. And after the most recent update, we know that Wally has A Lot of very, very complicated feelings about the situation.

Before I get into that though, I wanna point out something that Clown himself has said describes the brand of horror that "Welcome Home" gives off to themselves personally. Click here for the link to the post.

Before I get into that though, I wanna point out something that Clown himself has said describes the brand of horror that "Welcome Home" gives off to themselves personally. Click here for the link to the post.

"My home doesn't feel like home anymore."

That line sticks to me pretty hard. There's a pervasive feeling of unfamiliarity, unreality, that exists in the core of the story itself.

I think we see, firsthand, Wally experiencing this in the latest updates. In all of the hidden Bug/Answer secret videos, we see a familiar pattern. We get some sort of scene of two other characters talking, a scene in whatever universe they call home, until at the very end one of the characters addresses Wally (who was apparently there the whole time) and the video glitches out.

A key part that not a lot of people seem to realize though is that these videos are from Wally's perspective. See the above picture with Wally's hands. In every scene, Wally is present and was supposedly taking part in an activity (in the above one, helping Poppy with knitting), before the video started playing.

Whenever I saw these videos I had that same feeling that something felt. Different. The interactions felt like scenes you would see in the animated/cartoony aesthetic we'd see from the various art pieces, it doesn't feel like it's "on set/TV" to me. They're moreso just intimate glimpses into their lives. But they're shot in the real world, and that feels. Wrong.

This is very likely the same feeling that Wally's having in that moment. "My home doesn't FEEL like home." It's like he's disassociating, having a brief episode of that unreality feeling. Those bouts of strangeness don't go away until, like clockwork, someone says his name and the video ends, snapping him out of it.

Do other people in the neighborhood also feel the same way? Maybe, but we don't know. What we do know is that Wally, whether or not he tries to explain this to others, feels isolated by this sensation. "My neighbors are only neighborly until they know I'm different in a way they can see."

The only other person he likely shares this feeling with? I'd take a guess that it's Home. Nearly every time Home has been featured, Wally has been there, close. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the only physical puppets/props we’ve seen of the cast are Wally and Home.

According to this post by @eldritchravens, Home is the only other person who talks directly to Us, the viewers. That's probably why they're so close, because they're the only ones who can truly confide in each other about this.

"So does that mean Home is manipulating Wally?"

Again, I really don't think that's the case. I don't wanna call people villains quite yet. Besides, we see (or well, hear) Home and Barnaby have a conversation together, and from how Barnaby reacts it's fairly casual.

This shared feeling is likely why Wally is so obsessed with us, including the Restoration Employee. They seem to be sharing a similar sensation to Wally's bouts of unreality, in the fact that it seems they're the ONLY one who doesn't remember Welcome Home being a thing. They seem to be one of the few things that Wally (and maybe even Home) consider to be "Real." Hence their obsession with "seeing" us.

"Isn't this Wally or Home manipulating the Employee though?"

Maybe, I don't know. We don't really know much of what's going on right now, we're only getting glimpses. For all we know this could be a side-effect of Wally/Home trying to reach out. For the time being though, I want to keep my own expectations in check. I'm choosing not to label Wally, Home, The Restoration Team or anyone as a "villain" until something definitive comes up.

It is very, very likely that Wally is going to be doing something more dangerous later down the line (or maybe even is doing so now). But if he's doing anything, I get the feeling it's more out of desperation. He wants something to quell this feeling inside of him, this pervasive sense of unreality, and to connect with something he feels is "real." And, for better or for worse, that thing is us.

This whole thing isn't to bash on people for speculation or theorycrafting, I personally think speculation is very healthy! But it's still important to remember what the core of this story is going to be. We're only seeing the very start of the story right now, and we don't know what'll happen down the line. It's useful to keep that core idea at the center of our speculation so we can have reasonable expectations going forward.

As for me? This doesn't feel like a story with villains. I don't think he'll pull a Monika from DDLC and start gaining a kill count, but if something does happen to the rest of the cast, my money is that it'll happen completely by accident, and he'll regret it. Hard.

[guppybibi]

hii !! can you do akito (shinonome) with a gf who’s OBSESSED with another group? i just thought of this and found it funny

he’s always like “why don’t we go to your place” and reader is like oh no it’s ok haha!! because it’s kind of embarrassing but there’s so much merch it’s impossible to take down

and one day he convinces you to let him stay over and boom. posters everywhere. cds everywhere. binders full of photocards. a whole shelf of albums just sitting there. don’t forget the dvds and polaroids! bonus points if you forgot to turn off your cd player when you answered the door so it’s blasting said group’s music as well 💀

( ++ doesn’t have to be any group in particular but i’m heavy in my enhypen phase right now, so maybe them? that’d make it even more nerdy but 😭 )

𖦹 pairing: Akito Shinonome x fem!reader

𖦹 content: Confused Akito, fluff, kpop stuff, idk..

𖦹 notes: aaaa i love this idea, tysm! for the group i chose enhypen as well but also stray kids because you can never stan too many groups ��� ᗜ ᵔ (i had the biggest stray kids phase lollzz, plus idk much abt enhypen:c sorrie) also wrote half of this at school wowie

⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*⋆*･ﾟ⋆*･ﾟ

-Just..so confused?? He doesn't get the thing about collecting photo cards and the terms fans use so you have to explain it to him.

-Once he gets it though he's just mildly concerned, for your sanity and wallet. He does commend your dedication and loyalty to these groups though (silently hopes you do the same with him.) 

-Occasionally asks you if VBS had merch would you buy some, his reaction would vary on your answer. -

-If you say no he’ll just say ‘uh huh’ and walk away. (pancakes are the solution, TRUST.) + he's just playing around, he isn't mad. 

-If you say yes he’ll just smirk smugly and try to talk everyone into making merch. (he fails)

He’s so confused right now, he just doesn't get what's the big deal about it. The ginger knew you absolutely loved these so called K-POP groups and he didn't mind at all, not a tiny bit. To be fair, he was somewhat an idol as well. A street musician to be exact but that was close enough. 

And today was another added episode to the collection of you not letting him go to your home, what exactly were you hiding from him? He stood before you, in all his glory, a skeptical look on his face. “C'mon doll..is yer room messy or somethin’? I’m sure it can't be that bad, trust me–I’ve seen worse.” He said in an attempt to reassure you, intently watching how your lips pressed into a thin line and your eyes darted across the park you two were at. “L..-look! A bunch of people are doing cool skating tricks!” You exclaim, pointing to a bunch of randos doing flips or whatever. Distracting him was worth the shot, no guarantees it’ll work though. 

He almost facepalms himself when he hears your shitty attempt at diverting his attention elsewhere. “Doll I’m not the smartest but I'm not that dumb..” It was honestly offensive that you thought that would work..You couldn't keep hiding forever, you two wouldn't progress if you didn't allow him to do something so simple as coming into your home. And as he said, he's somewhat of an ‘idol’ as well so he probably wouldn't find it too weird. Yeah, think positive! He won't think you're some kind of koreaboo or anything!

“Right..I guess you could come over to my place. But on one condition..” She starts. “Don't find it weird..?” He chuckles in response, shaking his head. “No promises.” 

And that's how he ended up in this rather strange position, sitting on your cozy bed as the posters on your walls stared down at him. “Wow..this is um..a lot.” His mouth formed a crooked smile, glancing at the shelf filled with albums. Where you got the money for all of this was a mystery to him. “So..who are they?” He asks, flopping back onto your bed, full of a bunch of stuffed animals. Your eyes start to sparkle, this was your time to shine, well rather to rant about your unhealthy obsession with these KPOP groups but let's not talk about that right now. 

After your rather lengthy explanation about every basic thing he needs to know, the expression on his gruff face seems unreadable. Was he angry or somehow jealous about it? Or was he simply just not interested in it? That might've been the case, but not right now at least. “Mmh..alright.” He sounded way too casual about it for comfort if you’re being honest. But if he was held captive and needed to be honest, extra–I know, he found this..mildly concerning addiction of yours quite endearing. It’s not like it would cause problems along the way, unless you spent all of your money on merchandise and went broke but he has enough trust in you not to do that..don’t break that by buying some lightstick that costs more than your kidney. 

[tuerescringe]

D.A.M.N Crew Headcanons:

(inspired by me and my friends)

- Lasko does this bit where he fully freaks out for like 2 seconds max and then acts completely normal and like nothing happened. He especially does this in very quiet and serene moments.

- Damien has one specific class that he despises and will, no matter what, always mention how much he hates it at least once a day.

- Huxley has a specific time frame where he will laugh at everything and anything and in these moments of hysteria he will send whatever he finds funny to the gc. Nothing he sends is funny the morning after.

- If someone mentions drawing an original character, Gavin will always respond with “Draw them naked.”

- When watching a movie together, Damien and Freelancer GRIP each other by the arm whenever something exciting happens. That or when they find a character attractive.

- Freelancer and Huxley both LOVE to make jokes about very mundane things. Shit like responding with “Me in the morning.” whenever someone says something along the lines of “I got up.” or “I feel awake.”

- Damien giggles whenever he thinks of doing something particularly evil.

- Almost everyone in the crew participates in the group wide bit of leaning in for a kiss whenever they say the same thing as each other at the same time, or when they find out they have a mutual interest/hobby. The only one who doesn’t participate is Lasko. If anyone leans in towards him he starts screaming.

- Everyone in the crew sends Damien pictures of angry cats with the caption “you.”

- Freelancer regularly describes things as “sloppy”, everyone else hates it.

- Everyone in the crew shares vocal stims

- Sometimes Huxley will randomly announce “GUYS GROUP HOWL.” Everyone will in fact howl.

- Damien is constantly harassed by the crew about his lack of whimsy.

- Gavin has a very consistent bit where he responds to pictures of caverns, jagged holes, ect. with “my pussy tbh.”

- Freelancer is referred to as “my friend who is 25” because they faked their age on the internet as a child. They were 11.

- Freelancer made a discord server for the crew and gave everyone the “kitten” role. Everyone hates it.

- Damien plays Valorant and it makes him so incredibly toxic. It is the only game that does that.

- Lasko’s stomach cannot handle SHIT. He will be running to the bathroom no matter what he eats.

- Freelancer had a very strict “no kissing at the academy until after 8 in the morning” rule.

- The crew loves taking pictures of Lasko’s forehead.

- “One must imagine Sisyphus ___” is an ongoing joke in the crew.

- LASKO IS SO SO SWEATY.

- Lasko also purposely touched people with his cold, sweaty, clammy hands. Everyone always screams.

- There is one professor in the academy that everyone in the crew either has a crush on or is fascinated by.

- Huxley’s mothers keep sending him little ceramic frogs. No they will not be stopping.

- Sometimes Freelancer jokingly goes “y’know what. I don’t even love you anymore.” In which Gavin responds with “thats not even truuUUEEEEEEEE” in an absolutely devastated tone.

- Everyone in the crew is obsessed with the name “Scuntle Bingoid” and names every object or animal some sort of variation of it.

[phantomvegetable]

♡ Hello there ♡

Coming in to politely ask if you'd be happy doing a request for Legion (of the Frank variant please). 100% fine with creative liberties, but I'd adore a story following along the lines of the reader being an old flame before he ended up in the fog, and he is delighting in being a general nuisance for old times sakes. Why be nice and romantic when you can be a pain ♡

ALSO! All the best to you, your writing is really cool from what I've read, and I'm hyped you opened up requests ♡♡♡

h-HI *VIBRATING UNCONTROLLABLY* KSKSKSKDJ

YES ABSOLUTELY <33333 i love the dynamic, hehehehehheehhe

THANK YOU SO MUCH btw ;;A;; it makes my day / makes me want to write more when I hear things like this !! I really appreciate it <3

Legion (Frank) x Reader

ghosts of the future notes: soulmate au, legion members are 18+ at time of disappearance and during reader’s interactions w/ them before the fog tw’s: frank is an ass, strong language, canon typical violence & maybe some torture ?

What would it take to find out what happened to Frank Morrison?

That would be your question for the next two years after his disappearance along with his friends (if you could even call them that—they mostly just followed him around like deranged cult members… but, then again, they were your friends, too). The fucker left you with far too many questions, an unforgiving anger, and the tragic mark of a soulmate.

Yes, Frank was your soulmate—it was proven by the unsuspecting fingerprints wrapped around your wrist in an attempt to grab you during one of your more violent moments of roughhousing. It left Frank speechless, for once; meanwhile, you went berserk. Julie was his girlfriend, not you—you were just some bonus lackey with far too much time on your lonely hands and a concerning obsession with crime.

You avoided him and the Legion for days; only coming into contact with Frank when he approached you one night, alone and seemingly troubled.

“We’re finally doing it,” Frank muttered with his hands in his pockets, masked face turned away from you. “Making a name for ourselves. It’s happening tonight.”

“Good for you,” You barked out bitterly, arms crossed as you stood uneasily in your living room. “I won’t bail you out if you guys get caught.”

“Come with us,” Frank offered after a beat of silence, finally facing you with an outstretched hand. Just looking at it made you shudder—made you want to run and hide. He seemed to sense your discomfort and pocketed his hands instead, straightening himself out before you.

“I—“ You shifted, glancing away warily. “I can’t.” Frank seems to pick up on the double meaning, huffing in irritation.

“Look, Toots. Just because we’re marked or whatever doesn’t mean we haf’ta act like strangers or nothin—“

“I don’t care!” You had snapped, baring your teeth like a caged animal. “Maybe it doesn’t mean that much to you, Frank, but it does to me.” He doesn’t respond. You curl in on yourself even tighter and turn your back to him. “So just—just go.”

You didn’t mean for him to take it literally. He left you alone after that, going so far as to vanish seemingly from existence after the uncovering of a janitor’s dead body just a few days later.

But you wouldn’t let him get away that easily.

The stubborn fire that kept you alive this long coaxed into you following Frank’s trail, leading you down the same path that ended up with blood on your hands. The fog came shortly after. And when it did, you were still the one hunting. Hunting answers, hunting a hunch, hunting feelings that wouldn’t go away.

The trials were easy. You simply had to slash, stab, and destroy through them until the fog returned you to the same decrepit building that quickly became home; and, the place that you continued your search.

“Still obsessing over lover boy, hmm?” A sickly sweet voice purrs from behind, stirring you from your pondering. You barely flinch.

“What do you want, Danny?” You sigh, removing your mask to rub at your face in exhaustion.

“What, I can’t visit my favorite psycho?” He chirps playfully, fiddling with the decaying photo of you and the Legion from where he sits in the dark. You swipe it from his grubby little hands with a look that could kill. “Easy, tiger,” The masked murderer lifts his hands in mock defense. “I was just looking.”

“Yeah, well, could you not?” You groan, hunching over various notes splayed out messily on a desk. “I’m trying to concentrate.” You feel his stare on your back, the sensation louder than the silence that follows.

“You know, I could just show you where he and his puppets hang out.” The way you turn around and stare at Danny is almost comedic.

“What?” You seethe out after a moment, bones popping from how tight you ball your hands into fists. “You mean you knew where he was this whole time and said nothing?” Danny shrugs.

“You never asked.”

The urge to strangle someone was never stronger than in that moment, and you told Danny as much. He just smiles coyly from behind the mask.

When you arrive at Mount Ormond, the numbing cold is a welcomed sensation as freezing winds nip at your skin. Anything to distract you from the nerves that ate at your insides like maggots feasting on a corpse.

The instructions Danny gave you were simple enough, and even though the drawing of the cabin where the Legion supposedly camped out in was utter shit, you found yourself on the doorstep of a to-be reunion with your old mates. It felt way too formal to knock; so you fell into the familiar habit of entering unannounced, climbing through a second-story window that was left unlocked after discovering that the front door wouldn’t budge. Typical.

Tiptoeing through an unwelcoming room consisting of one worn-out couch and a busted TV, the telltale mark of a Legion mask—Susie’s, from the looks of it—resting on a torn cushion has your heart lifting as your fingers stretch to brush against it. They really were here. You swallow thickly.

“Susie?” You find yourself calling out, stepping into the empty corridor. You look left, then right. Nothing. You try a room down the hall, finding no sign of life there either. “Joey? It’s me!”

“They’re not here,” A strikingly haunting voice that makes your breath stutter says coolly from behind, causing the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up straight and chills to prickle all along your arms. Turning to face your ghost, your gaze strikes like iron against Frank’s green one hidden from behind a smiling mask that looks like it’s taken a decent beating over the years. His arms are crossed, and he leans nonchalantly against the wall in an unbothered display. But you knew Frank, and he was pissed. And, quite honestly, so were you.

You find your fists tightening as you stand across from him just like that night, becoming more and more angry. Even more annoyingly, Frank senses this and sighs, unwinding his posture to mimic that of someone trying to calm a wild beast. “Toots—“

That did it.

With a snarl, you spring forward; your fist connecting with Frank’s stupid smiling mask and cracking it nearly in half. He grunts out in shock as he tried to dodge your right hook, hands instinctively catching your wrists just like they did that fateful day and pulling you with him as Frank is sent careening to the floor.

And, just like that, the two of you are whisked into a trial.

You’re still on top of Frank when you spawn outside, wrestling him into the snow.

“What is wrong with you?!” Frank hisses, teeth bared visibly from where you broke his mask.

“What’s wrong with me?!” You laugh cruelly, using your hips to pin him down. “What’s wrong with you?! You fucking disappeared, Frank!” He exerts an impressive amount of strength in order to throw off balance, flipping you over.

“And why would that fucking matter to you?” He retorts. “You’re the one who shut us out!”

“Well excuse me for needing a minute!” You bristle, struggling against his hold. “I had just found out that my soulmate is an asshole who also happens to be insane!”

That strikes something in Frank. He growls audibly as he pulls you up, immediately shoving your face into the snow and making a hasty retreat. You gasp as you stagger to your feet, spitting out melted chunks of ice. You whip around to search for your culprit, eyes narrowing at the sight of Frank running towards the town.

“Coward!” You call after him, giving chase.

You pass multiple survivors that are surely watching on in a stupor as you catch up to Frank, tackling him to the ground again. The two of you grapple until he has you pinned again, this time holding a knife to your throat. Your fury flares.

“Enough!” He commands. “If you want to prove something so badly, why don’t you show me what you can do?” Frank emphasizes his point by pulling his knife away and hurling it at the first unlucky bystander that attempts to flee, sending him to his hands and knees. As the man—Dwight, you bothered to remember—cries out in agony, you glare up at Frank’s slowly-forming smirk, knowing he’s caught your interest.

“Fine,” You relent, and Frank releases you. You stomp to where Dwight grovels, brandishing your own weapon and striking him down without a moment’s hesitation. Jutting your chin over your shoulder at Frank—who fails to hide his smugness—you remove the knife embedded in Dwight’s shoulder and toss it at the brute’s feet, pulling your own accoutrement free. Without waiting, you move on to your next victim, leaving Frank behind to watch you ruthlessly chase them down. He grins, joining you in the hunt.

The two of you manage to bring down five of the eight survivors, wreaking havoc to generators along the way. It becomes a sick sort of game between the two of you to see who can kill the most, and just how diabolically you executed the final blow. Unexpectedly, it does a lot to bring your anger to a simmer; your tensed muscles finally relaxing from their coils as you hack, hack, hacked away.

Another survivor falls to the ground beneath you, dead.

“That’s six,” You announce, Frank just a few feet ahead of you. He laughs—a sound that tickles your brain.

“Keeping count, are we?” He teases. There’s a playful lilt to his voice that you haven’t heard in years—a welcomed gesture.

“Someone has to,” You quip back, and Frank laughs again. You smile.

You step over the carcass and vault the window that was so narrowly missed by the unfortunate woman Frank has trapped underfoot, coming to stand by his side as she squirms and fights to no avail.

“You’re sick!” She gasps, moaning in pain as Frank increases pressure, surely breaking a rib or two.

“That’s no way to talk to the lady,” He jeers, eyes flickering at you. You snort.

“Both of you! You t-two are—ack—psychos!”

You half-expect another witty remark from Frank, half-expect him to snuff her out.

What you don’t expect are his next words.

“Then we must be perfect for each other,” He mumbles, making your ears perk. “We’re soulmates, you know?” Your heart backflips.

“Frank,” You begin to warn him, but he continues.

“Fuckin’ soulmates, you hear?” He suddenly grabs your hand and you go rigid, the contact making your stomach turn. The two of you had been wearing gloves for the entirety of the match, so no marks would be visible—but the touch was enough to make your skin tingle underneath the material. The woman’s brows tighten.

“K-Killers can’t have soulmates,” She wheezes. “You don’t have souls.” Frank’s hand tightens around your own.

“Well it’s a good thing you ain’t God, ain’t it?” He utters snidely before driving his heel down as hard as he can, ending her life. Seven. You let go of Frank’s hand and step back, Frank letting you.

“What the hell, Frank?” You whisper in a shaky breath, clouds of white dispelling the sentiment.

“…I’m sorry,” He tells you finally, turning to face you in shame. His eyes speak of the remorse he feels. “I completely disregarded your feelings when we found out we were marked, and I’m sorry.” Your chest swells in a flurry of emotions.

“But… but you disappeared,” You remind him, unconsciously drawing in on yourself. Frank, ever so cautiously, takes a step towards you.

“It wasn’t my fault,” He speaks calmly, eyes boring into your own. “I was taken by the fog, same as any washed up bastard that ends up here.”

“But—but Julie?” Frank sighs.

“Jules and I… it’s complicated,” He grimaces. “She freaked when she found out I was marked and it wasn’t wit’ her. She doesn’t know it’s you.” Your mouth feels dry.

“But…”

“If I didn’t know any better,” Frank’s voice is low and a husk away, and you didn’t realize just how close he’d gotten. “I’d say you’re fighting for reasons to stay angry at me. Why did you come all the way out here?” Is his disarming question—that, paired with the way his hand brushes cheek when he moves a strand of hair behind your ear—that has you sharply inhaling.

“I—“ You stammer, searching his face. “I was so angry at you,” You begin. “I was so shocked to find out I even had a soulmate, and then you treated it like it wasn’t a big deal—“ Your breath shudders. “I was so mad at you, Frank. To top it off, you up and disappear after telling me you were finally ‘making a name for yourself,’ and a dead body is discovered a few days later? What was I supposed to think, Frank?”

“You could have just let me go,” He mutters, hand lingering on your cheek. You drop your head in resignation, sighing.

“I know,” You grumble. Frank lifts your chin up between his forefinger and thumb as he raises his mask at the same time, finally revealing that same scruffy face you’d grown accustomed to. An oddly soft expression graces his scarred features, and you find yourself unable to speak over the lump in your throat.

“Do you still want to accept me as your soulmate, even with all of…this?” Frank gestures to the empty space where the survivor’s body once was, it having been swallowed up by the entity minutes ago. The chuckle that escapes you surprises even yourself.

“Frank,” You snicker. “I literally just killed people with you. That’s how I ended up here,” You tell him, matching his gaze evenly. He continues to search your eyes for a beat before stepping back.

“In that case…” Frank lowers his mask over his face again, retrieving his knife in one hand while holding the other out to you. “Would you care to finish what we started?”

Whatever anger you held towards Frank in that moment was now gone, seemingly melted away by those eight simple words. You accepted his hand with a small smile; one that said, okay, I’ll trust you. He begins to lead the two of you forward but stops, catching you immensely off guard when he whisks you into his arms, slides his mask up, and plants a massive, wet kiss on your cheek, surely leaving a mark that wouldn’t be so easy to hide without a covering. You let out incoherent noises as Frank slips his mask into place, laughing at your disposition while dodging your sloppy fists.

“Frank, you asshole!” Your words lack any actual bite to them, this serving to make Frank cackle even harder as he once again evades you by taking off with you hot on his heels.

[sacchxrine05]

Yuumori Characters as Disney Princesses (cus I’m bored :))

I’m gonna preface this by saying that some of these you’re just gonna have to trust me on cus I chose them just from pure vibes alone and went from there. I also haven’t re-read/watched Yuumori in a while nor have I watched any Disney movies as of late so again, just trust me bro lmao. I came up with most of these at 2am so sorry in advance.

Also, if someone has already done this, I’m sorry and I hope my choices aren’t just the same lmao.

Liam - Aurora/Sleeping Beauty

So this one is mostly just cus they both ended up sleeping for a long ass time lmao. Liam was in a coma after the fall for x months and Aurora was cursed to an eternal sleep unless her true love kissed her awake (we won’t talk about the horrors of the original fairytale, I’ve tried to blank that out of my memory tyvm). They’re also both blondes…uh huh. Aurora doesn’t have much personality that I can remember other than being an animal lover and a good singer so…that’s just all I have lmao. I also just think Liam would make a very cute Sleeping Beauty lmao.

Albert - Jasmine

I did consider giving Albert Rapunzel cus of the whole locked away in a tower thing, but outside of that and having shitty mothers (Mother Gothel wasn’t even Rapunzel’s real mother but still) there isn’t much similarity personality wise? Idk. I picked Jasmine just cus they both come from rich families yet have no patience for other rich people. Jasmine also disguised herself and went into the town/city to pretend she was a normal person and that feels kinda Albert-ish? They’re also both smart and sarcastic so Y’know.

Louis - Cinderella

This one feels kinda obvious lmao. Both were raised by awful rich people who treated them like a servant, both were orphans and both tended to the upkeep of their homes. I do think Louis has more of a backbone than Cinderella, especially towards the end of Part 1 of the manga. Also again: both are blondes lmao.

Moran - Merida

So…this one is mostly vibes but also not. I think Moran has a similar wild streak to Merida and accidentally turning a loved one into a bear because he didn’t watch his wording when asking a witch for a spell sounds like something Moran might do? Bear (hah) in mind I haven’t re-read Yuumori in a while so I may be wrong on that. Also I guess bows and arrows were the guns before guns were invented so…so there’s that lmao.

Bonde - Mulan

Feels like another obvious one? They both disguised their genders to achieve a goal (although I did interpret James to be a trans man whereas Mulan wasn’t rly? Cus she went back to presenting as female after the war so idk). They’re also both pretty outspoken and don’t care for the roles society has put them in as women and actively break that stigma (Mulan by going to war and James by often dressing as men even before he transitioned). Idk I just like this one lmao.

Fred - Snow White

Again, this is mostly vibes. I’m pretty sure Snow White is the youngest of the Disney Princesses at 14 (Don’t quote me on that cus I could be wrong), so I feel like that parallels Fred being the youngest of the Crime Gang. Snow White also has a connection to animals which can also connect to Fred’s love of cats and nature in general as he does most (all?) of the gardening. I think they’re both pretty quiet and shy and that’s all I really have lmao.

Mycroft - Megara

Okay, okay, relax, I know Megara isn’t an official Disney Princess (she SHOULD be, but whatever), but she’s the only one I could really see as being similar to Mycroft? Ya’ll are really just gonna have to trust me on this one lmao. I just think they’re both pretty independent and cynical and sarcastic and just…I really don’t know the vibes just fit, I can’t explain it.

Sherlock - Ariel

OKAY👏HEAR👏ME👏OUT. This is the only one I’m 100% confident on BSJDNKFS. They both have a niche obsession that they collect items from, Ariel with humans and Sherlock with Mysteries/Crime. They both make massive life changes for the man they love (a man which, by the way, they barely knew lmao), Ariel in becoming human and Sherlock by leaving his life, family & friends behind to live with Liam in New York. They also almost died to achieve this, Sherl from leaping off a goddamn bridge to save Liam and Ariel by her deal with Ursula. IT WORKS, I’M TELLING YOU.

That’s all I have, I was gonna do other characters but I just hit a brick wall with it lmao. (I considered John to be either Tiana or Belle, but I’ll leave that up to you 👀)

If you made it this far thank you for listening to my bullshit lmao.

[yeomies]

𝜗 𝓜e, 𝓔spresso .ᐟ 𝜚

⌗ synopsis — love at first sight is one thing but love at first glance is a whole different story for jake (idol!jake x blk! kpop idol reader — member of æspa)

warnings :: one singular curse, not proofread, the use of “you, your, you’re” instead of i / first person views, in lowercase, my first story so pleaaaase 😭

word count — 939 [funnyface]

you were a foreign idol from the states that had joined the group æspa after a good 3 years of training. you had been known as korea’s foreign beauty and an inspiration to many black kpop idols across the world that there was hope, and you can do whatever you put your mind to. like the black barbie of your time.

but your biggest fan? sim jaeyun. you two had never spoken before, but he was so enticed by you and your visuals. he had spoken publicly about you and how you were one of his idols even though you two were around the same age. this infatuation turned into a little joke between fandoms and even dating rumors which he formally apologized about. throughout the many months to come, he had asked for your number numerous times to which you replied with how you wasn’t really giving any one your number yet

but after many attempts, you had given him your number. you thought he was cute don’t get me wrong, but you just wanted the attention and rumors to stop. but they didn’t. after giving him your number he got asked a question about you

“do you like [__]? are you two dating?” “no, we’re not dating. but i do have her number!” he said with a wide smile on his face as he read more comments like he didn’t just say something that could potentially lead to yet ANOTHER. dating rumor.

in the dorms with aespa that night it was chaotic. “what the fuck.” you exclaimed while karina & giselle showed you the clip “no, [__] he’s obsessed with you.” giselle laughed loudly as winter came up to the three of you. “did you see the clip? there’s like 7 posts about it already on twitter..” you examined winter’s feed hoping what she was saying wasn’t true.. but it was. you sighed heavily as you walked over to your shared dorm. “i’m going to sleep. this’ll blow over by tomorrow… right?” the three girls shrugged as you rolled your eyes contently and shut the door. being greeted by your groups maknae, ningning. who had been watching jake’s live from the beginning

“hey ning.” you huffed, shuffling over to your bed and flopping onto it. “hey, what’s wrong?” “another dating rumor.” she sighed. “look on the bright side, he probably just wants to be friends, try and get to know him more, under, the idol image.” you looked up from your bed and thought for a second maybe she was right — maybe he just wanted to be friends! you whipped out your phone and texted the boy.

“hey jake it’s [__]! just texting to get to know you better, i know i gave you my number but we really never got to speak about our lives outside our careers:)!” you sent the message and awaited a reply. . and, of course, within minutes, he responds ! “hey! sorry, i was a little scared to text you lol!! but yeah let’s talk!!!” you smiled as you kept the conversation going for a couple hours. from the conversation, you had found out what movies he liked, what he liked to be called and his favorite part of doing what he does.

these conversations lasted for months before you two started publicly hanging out and hugging at award shows, which of course, sparked confusion between fandoms & fan bases.

one night, you had been working in the studio for your groups new comeback as you walked back to your dorm to play animal crossing with winter when you see jake already playing, so you texted him “well goodnight to you too” “lol sorry, i haven’t been able to sleep lately..” you frowned at this text “awh why is that?” you replied with a :( emoji at the end. “honestly, i’ve been up thinking about our conversations, i’m so excited to start a new one everyday and i’ve been waiting for forever to finally talk to you and now i can. so i just stay up thinking about you.”

“wanna call?” you risk-fully typed as you almost threw your phone across the room — when you heard a ding! come from your phone. you gasped an hastily looked for it on your bed “sure, [__] let’s call” you melted at this text and called him. you two were quiet for a moment until he spoke up “i’m sorry.. if i came off as a little weird when we first met. when i first saw you i was amazed by you — like you were a goddess that flew in from the states.” he paused inbetween his words before speaking up again. “you really are one of my favorite people right now and i’m glad we’re talking.” you smiled at his confession and replied “thank you, jake. you’re too sweet.” the two of you talked until the morning came and ningning complained about having to sleep in the living room because of the noise.

after that, the two of you had spoken everyday, talking every single hour until he finally confessed, he proposed to be your boyfriend. he came to your dorms and brought flowers for you with a note saying “bf & gf?” it was simple, but you loved it. you texted him immediately after seeing them saying “yes, you can be my boyfriend.” a week later, you had released a solo track called “espresso.” jake listened to it on live and realized the lyrics were aimed at him

“said you can’t sleep? baby i know, that’s that me espresso..!” he sighed and chuckled at the lyrics, this was the start of a long relationship.

[ematooney]

Either I’m gonna sound like an idiot or smth I just need to know because it’s bothering the FUCK outta me.

Why on God’s green fuckin earth is THIS

AN ALIEN INVADER

Like?? Why do keronians invade?? Why??? Do they want to conquer the universe or some shit? Spread their territory or whatever the fuck? I mean, they’re tiny little frog dudes and they SEEM innocent (minus that one time they hid an artificial planet destroyer in the Earth that killed the dinosaurs) like they seem like alright peaceful folks and stuff, plus it also seems like they have plenty of neccessities and super advanced technology to actually live and thrive.

I mean, sure, their planet is like super small compared to ours, like same size as our moon so it makes logical sense that they invade to expand their property to control their own population not to mention gather needs like food, equipment, or technology. If that were the case couldn’t they like, I dunno, make a peace treaty with other planets? Planetary peace treaty??? (Look I’m not a history economical buff ok)

Like I’m genuinely curious about this guys. Why do the keronians invade? Is it explained in an episode? I’ve only seen season one and half of season 2, I don’t have any access to watch 3 or 4 (other than paying a subscription on crunchyroll) and I have the manga but only 1-17 and I know it’s not mentioned in there. So what the heck??

And if that’s the case, what do Keronians do when they invade? As far as I’m aware, they can be pretty brutal, but that’s about it. They can easily make time stop with that whole Planet Anesthesia thing from the Garuru arc and just be quick and easy about it, but what else do they do? Do they wage war against other aliens from other planets? Do they kill other aliens? And when they do invade a planet, what happens to the natives? Are they killed? Are they made into slaves or some shit? I NEED ANSWERS YOSHIZAKI.

Also, what’s up with Keron being obsessed with Earth? The show does say that Keron has been wanting to conquer Earth for a long time so why haven’t they done so already? They have that Planet Anesthesia thing so why did they have to send 5 of the silliest sillys to get it done?

Oh, and another thing! What the frog is the deal with the Keron Military?? Their rules are extreme! Like SUPER extreme! Like, fuck up this invasion and you’re executed buddy!!

Seriously, look at this!!

(Episode 51)

HE GOES TO FUCKING JAIL.

That can’t be normal right?? If you fail to complete an invasion you go to jail OR WORSE!

GET YOUR FUCKING MIND ERASED.

I mean, my only guess on why they would do this is that they want Earth so bad that they would go beyond the extremes!

Look, I love Sgt Frog, and I want to know more about their race and its world building. Is it explained at all other than what we already know? Why do the Keronians invade? Why do they want Earth so badly? What happens when they do successfully invade? Why are the rules in the Keron Military so extreme? The anime and the manga hardly explains any of this!! (At least to my knowledge)

Well, I have a theory on this, so hear me out.

Imagine living on a tiny planet that’s almost completely overpopulated with hardly any resources to go around and then suddenly you find this HUMONGOUS planet that’s 10 times the size of your own filled to the brim with all kinds of goodies you can get your grubby hands on. Frog paradise, right? Except there’s one tiny problem. It’s already occupied. Easy, just send a planet destroying monster to wipe em out! Problem solved. Okay, that worked but now we have another problem. Now there’s this new race that are way smarter and ethical than the previous ones, so now what?

Well, our last attempt with the whole planet destroying Kiruru was a bit extreme so why don’t we send our best platoon out there?

The best platoon:

Great job, guys.

[11queensupreme11]

So I recently introduced Arsenic Blues to my cousin who’s just starting her fanfiction journey and who was looking for Percy Jackson fics cause she’s obsessed with the books. And while I’m the only one who's ever watched/read ROR and read ALL THE PJO and spin off books, my cousin was worried she might not understand since she isn’t that big of an anime/manga person.

I mean she watched the basics like some Naruto, Fairytail, and like three eisodes of One piece (I was watching it on the couch and she was in the kitchen listening to it 😂) but I told her she didn’t have to watch the anime to understand like the background of the story since its that well written that everything is basically explained in the fic.

So she started it a week ago and now she’s obsessed. Honestly, it’s just so funny for me too see her go through the same scenes I did like a year ago and say stuff like “ugh Poseidon is pissing me off (I don’t know how he would ever become a yan) like why would he smash his daughters cookies 😔 she made them for him🥺” honestly she said that was one of her top 10 worst heartbreaks😭 which says a lot cause my cousin likes angst and hurt/comfort stories. Her favorite character rn is Hades and she doesn’t believe me when I tell her he gets worse 🤭🤭. She won’t hear of it. Girl is a hard Percades shipper and she’s willing to die on that hill.

She told me nothing this man does could make her change her mind and I’m like whatever u say fam 😅😂😭.

(P.S. This fic has made her want to watch ROR so now she’s on season 2, my cousin also told me to tell u she loves ur story sm and she’s looking for more fem!Percy fics 💕)

WAIT NOOOOOO NOT THE ANIME SAVE YOUR SISTER, DON'T LET HER WATCH THE ANIME FIRSTTTTT!!!!

TELL HER TO READ THE MANGA, IT'S BETTER I SWEAR 😭 NO CENSORED GORE, BETTER TITS, MORE POSEIDON, AND BETTER FIGHT SCENES!!!!!!!!!

[watercolorsam-arts]

Why the Minecraft Movie looks so bad

Okay, let’s see if I can make this work

Hi, I’m Watercolor, currently a student learning animation and visual effects. I’ve got some more technical explanations for why exactly the trailer looks god awful

I’m gonna do my best to explain this in simple terms, but if I don’t explain something very good, let me know and I’ll explain more. Alright, this is gonna be a long post

Starting off with the obsession with backlighting. See how it doesn’t really match the environmental lighting? That’s one of the major things that makes it look so weird to a lot of people. It could have been done to better distinguish the actors from the background, but it does that a little too well and makes them look way too out of place. The environment has a very nice constant (most likely singular) light source, which is most likely an HDRI.

An HDRI (or high dynamic range image) informs the animation software on how the scene should be lit, and is often a weird panoramic image of whatever physical area you want to replicate.

In a reverse case, adding a CG character into a real set, you could take an HDRI of the physical set, and use it to apply similar lighting. Adjustment will most likely have to be hand adjusted by the lighting team (and tbh they add a lot of extra lights in anyway. It just needs to look right) but it’s a fantastic starting point for the compositing and lighting teams.

However, the McM’s live set has way different lights set up then what is seen in the environment.

Here, for example, the live set is most likely being lit by standard 3 point lighting, which are not only the wrong color (the lighting on the environment is much more yellow) but also washes out any shadows that would help define the actors. If this movie wasn’t obsessed with backlighting, you could fix that by lighting the actors and environment from the front, but because the sun is in the back, they have to make the front of the actors unnaturally brighter to see them more properly. I have a slight idea on why the kid in red looks especially “photoshopped” in, and it’s mostly because his hoodie doesn’t have a similar reflectiveness to everyone else’s outfit, and his hair is a more neutral color, causing the highlight to be even more washed out. Also, while we’re here, the cube is a physical prop, but it was not lit up during filming, and all the light output was tossed on after. And it’s really inconsistent and honestly, lazy. For the most part they just hit it with a blue blur effect in post, it doesn’t actually cast any light.

Another major issue is the color difference between the actors and the environment. The color balancing on the actors is particularly garbage, they’re somehow desaturated while also being too saturated, I don’t know how they managed that. But the technical issue on why it looks odd, is because the physical camera cannot physically pick up the same vibrancy as the “camera” in the CG world. You might have seen an example of this when trying to take a photo with your phone, especially of a very colorful event like the sunset. It’s also why “ugly sonic” looked particularly out of place, he was 10x more saturated than anything else around him.

Having the actors on a very low effort green screen stage also completely ruins any chance of getting the proper ambient light or ambient occlusion.

Ambient occlusion is basically the bounce light from other objects in your scene, gamers might know this as a form of ray tracing (ray tracing is live changes in ambient occlusion, games without ray tracing bake in ambient occlusion to get a similar result)

When everything is CG, (again art style aside) looks pretty darn good actually!

I attempted some edits to see if anything could make it look better (left is original, right is mine), and I don’t think proper lighting or anything could actually fix what this movie has wrong with it. They should have made the whole thing animated, I don’t think any amount of bullying would fix this, the studio basically has to scrap the actors, and make new CG characters from scratch in the same style as the rest of the world.

All of this is not the fault f the animators, or any of the vfx team, they did their absolute best with what they had, this is 100% the fault of the higher ups on this project. I have no idea how this good this far into production without ANYONE saying that it was a bad idea (Either that, or a lot of people got fired, which is unfortunately a likely possibility)

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

The fire pillar from demon slayer meeting Exsotica as she heading to a lord house to entertain them but the run to a carrange probably and they both happen to meet

Meeting someone other worldly and kind would be something

Exotica | Meeting the Flame Hashira

Well first and foremost this would never happen cannon storyline

By the time you show up in this universe it's almost a year or two before Kyojuro is fated to die

But with the tidbit dropped in the Art headcannon it’d seem that Kagaya would eventually summon you to the estate

But that couldn’t be the case because you never can’t leave the Yukaku District

Daki and Gyutarou have been ordered to hold you there 

And of course, the Red light district suddenly becoming more famous for your existence would sooner send the art of you than sending you on your own

They’d risk losing you to bandits, obsessed fans, demons

It would just be too much for the Red District to lose their favorite cash cow

Not to mention if Kyojuro ever stepped foot near any of the houses

There’s no way that both sides would remain clueless

Kyojuro’s too adept for that Daki and Gyutarou would never let this fly on account of That Man’s orders 

The conditions for this meet would rely on the luck Exotica does not have, and it can’t be too far from the Yukaku District:

“HELLO THERE FAIR MAIDEN!”

You were by the river taking a rest from your travels and from the carriage that housed Warabihime. You didn’t mind spending extended hours in Daki’s disguise, in fact, you preferred it. Her clinginess was kept to a minimum and she’s in a much better mood; usually too distracted by you to badger her own staff. But you were able to excuse yourself heading into the sunlight to relieve yourself as well as get a look at the majestic scenery you could only read about in manga/only fawn over in anime. Either way, you sent a smile and greeted the demon slayer. 

You recognized him immediately—who wouldn’t, but you refrained from expressing any sorrow. Instead offering to give him food. You had plenty in abundance having done the Edo equivalent of a celebrities tour. And you happily sat with the Hashira as he munched on his provided meal.

“YUM! YUM! DELICIOUS!”

You let yourself giggle, drawing the fiery eyes of the Hashira as he tilted his head into confusion. 

“I don’t mean to sound like I’m making fun of you. I’m just curious as to why your so vocal while eating?”

The hashira finished his bite giving you his glowing smile. 

“I BELIEVE IT’S BEST TO VOICE EVERYTHING YOUR HEART! ESPECIALLY WHEN THAT CHANCE MIGHT BE TAKEN FROM YOU!”

“Wow, it sounds as though…your speaking from experience.”

He gave a hearty laugh before continuing to eat befor cleating his mouth once again. 

“ON THAT NOTE, I’D LIKE TO SAY YOU’RE ABSOULUTELY BEWITCHING! MARRY ME!” 

“Haha Rengoku-san, you’re very funny but I don’t think I can.”

“HAHA PERSISTENCE IS A VIRTUE TOO MANY LOSE HEART THAT WAY! MARRY ME!” 

He would repeat the same declaration all throughout your break before one of the young maidens called you on behalf of the oiran. When the time came you bowed to him, encouraging the hashira on his way. Before you depart he grabs your hand, and with a grim theme to his expression he gave you a promise.

“I WASN’T JESTING WHEN I PROPOSED THIS TO YOU. ONCE MY MISSION IS COMPLETE I WILL FIND YOU AND MARRY YOU. SAFE TRAVELS MY FLAME.”

Releasing you to begin his jovial trek to whatever mission he was on. Standing still in genuine stupor you were broken out by Warabihime’s calls. Returning to the carriage you urged the demon’s worried cries as well as your own. 

‘What was that and why did it feel so…true?’

[thecubspeaks]

[fun fact i’m obsessed with half-elves and have been ever since the first time i made a dnd character. how handy my two favourite characters happen to be half-elves]

Things feel different once they’ve pitched up in the Elfsong. Perhaps it’s the relief of having a bed, or maybe it’s the excuse to sit in a crowded taproom and feel invisible that makes her more willing to let Gale rest a hand on her thigh, to lean against him, and not mind so much if anyone sees.

Of course Jaheira sees.

Shadowheart catches her watching them from down the long table they’ve claimed that night, and when she sees Shadowheart see her, she smiles and raises her glass in a small toast. But it’s Jaheira, so there’s something inescapably ironic in the gesture, something that makes Shadowheart pull her hand away from the small of Gale’s back, where she had let it rest. Gale, damn him, automatically looks at her, querying and a little disappointed.

“Getting another drink,” she says, and isn’t surprised when Jaheira joins her up by the bar a moment later.

“Whatever you’re going to say—”

“I was married,” Jaheira says. “Or perhaps Karlach told you that.”

“She… didn’t.” Well, whatever Jaheira was going to say, Shadowheart wasn’t expecting that. She notices the past tense, of course. And the fact that he did not come up even once in all the days they’ve known each other. “I take it he was a hero, then, too.”

“He was. We saved the city together. That was not how we met,” she adds. “But we did meet as Harpers, and right after that, I helped save his life. A heady feeling, to be young, daring, and falling in love on top of it.”

“Gale and I aren’t exactly children,” Shadowheart says. “I assume that’s your point? That situations like ours heighten emotions, create bonds that won’t last? Trust me, I’m very aware of that.”

“It was not my point,” Jaheira says, plainly amused. “But come, let’s talk about that, since it’s plainly on your mind. You have reason enough to doubt your own heart, given everything you have been through, but I think it will guide you truer than you think. And he…”

Shadowheart resists the urge to look back at Gale. He’ll have surely guessed what they’re talking about up here, but it doesn’t have to be made so obvious to the others. He… well, is still in love with Mystra, obviously. He always will be, she thinks, as long as he loves magic, because the two can’t be separated. Oh, he’d say it’s curdled into hate now, but a Sharran— former Sharran— knows better than anyone that they are all but the same thing. They were warned against passionate hatred as strongly as passionate love, in the cloister. Both are unworthy obsessions, someone besides Lady Shar to hold in your heart.

“Just make your point, Jaheira, please.”

“Alright, alright. My point…” She trails off with a sigh. “Ah, I don’t know quite what I mean to say. That we have a thing or two in common. We were both brought up, eh… strangely, shall we say? My husband— Khalid— he was half-elf also. When we first met, he spoke often about feeling… lonely, as a child. Well, for many reasons, but also because it was difficult to make friends outside of his family. The humans and elves alike lived at a different pace. He was outside of both of them. We both grew up in places bound together by other ties than blood. I never thought of what it meant to be neither human nor elf until I saw my human friends die, and my elf friends stay the same, and myself… somewhere in between.”

Shadowheart does look back then. Gale is in animated conversation with Astarion, who regards him with an amused smile. They look the same age, more or less: similar wrinkles at their mouths and eyes. But Gale is almost forty, Astarion two hundred years past it—and would have been, easily, had he never been attacked and met Cazador. Survive this, and there is little reason Shadowheart wouldn’t live as long as Jaheira has.

“Have you forgotten how I was raised?” Shadowheart asks quietly. She almost said I am a Sharran. The words still feel automatic, the feeling behind them not yet quite gone. “That love is nothing more than a prelude to loss… I know that teaching well.”

That gives Jaheira pause. “No. I don’t think that is what I mean.” But then she sighs. “Or maybe it is. This is why I should not attempt mothering— I have no talent for it. Only noticing the two of you made me remember. That to lose friends in a fight—that I expected. That no one ever warned me, before Khalid, what it meant to live out of pace with those you love.”

Shadowheart’s pride wants to insist that of course she’s thought of it. She teases Gale sometimes—that she is older than him, but you don’t hear her complaining about her knees or her back. But she has never imagined an after. She hasn’t quite dared. It is too daunting, the prospect of building a whole new life. A whole new self. It’s less frightening if she lets herself imagine Gale there, but suppose he isn’t? Can’t be, doesn’t want to be, returns to Mystra?

Suppose he is there, and then one day he isn’t anymore.

“You’re more confident than I am that any of us will survive the next few weeks,” Shadowheart says, and Jaheira laughs, seeming just as relieved as Shadowheart herself to turn away from sincerity.

“A very good point. We’d best have another drink.”

[power-chords]

apologies if you've explained this already, but tumblr search is trash, so I have to ask... why the obsession with michael mann, how did that start?

Oh, man. It’s a long story! In the early days of the pandemic I got a call from my favorite rock musician that he had read a short essay I’d written on his solo album, and he wanted me to contribute a piece to his band’s forthcoming box set. Dream come true obviously, couldn’t say no, so I immediately buckled down on the research end, which for me involved a deeper dive into said musician’s love of film. Mann was on the list of suspects alongside more definitive entries like Coppola and Scorsese, but that turned out to be a happy accident of misreading. (Major shout out to Adam here, by the way, because without his guidance I would have been working with a much more meandering home-brewed syllabus.)

I enjoy movies like any properly adjusted American but they don’t tend to put a spell on me the way music does, or make me want to disassemble the whole contraption piece by piece like a good written story. And Mann’s work was the first time I’d ever encountered films that could have the same effect on me as music and literature. They were hypnotic and enchanting and propulsive, like my favorite records, but they also suggested this dense subterranean architecture of potential meaning, obscured from immediate view but very much there and carefully, deliberately encoded. In other words, these films were like texts imploring (really, daring) you to interpret them.

That’s Mann’s methodology in a nutshell, basically — it’s a seduction gambit, and on me it worked spectacularly! It tapped into my grotesque hedonic animal brain and sparked an intellectual curiosity as well. For me that combination has a narcotic quality that’s hard to explain, but I have an addictive personality. And the more I watched his work, the more it ensnared me like The Footage.* (“WHAT is going on? What is this film doing to me??” Etc.) You have to understand I have no prior experiential basis for this, so as far as I’m concerned it’s witchcraft. By the time I turn in my piece for the box set I have this collateral situation developing, ha ha, oh no, and here I am three years later.

Initially I had wondered if Mann had been an influence on Dulli, but it turned out to be a case of convergent evolution. Or something akin to it. I think they’re just similar in terms of what subject matter they’re attracted to, maybe in their modes of perception and how they make aesthetic/narrative sense of the world. And there is some part of me that keys into that sensibility — whichever part precedes organized expression, maybe even conscious comprehension — and finds it cathartic and liberating and all that good stuff. (I’m a Safety First adrenaline junkie these days so I try to limit my habits to art and pop culture.)

And then he and Meg Gardiner co-wrote an actual book which provoked further investigations, escalations, whatever you want to call them. It turns out that the abyss really DOES stare back into you in the form of numerous spooky historical coincidences. I’m like afraid of Heat 2 at this point because the more I go trawling around in there the more it becomes an eldritch object, LOL. I’m the closest anyone has come to living the film Jumanji, let me put it that way. But the experience has been a blast. And I feel fortunate to have found yet another creator on par with Dulli and Townshend whose work I will be able to take with me and return to over the course of my life, and seek shelter in in that way.

*EVERYBODY READ PATTERN RECOGNITION BY WILLIAM GIBSON!