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97keanu · 1 year

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"ᵒʰ ᵐᵒᵗʰᵉʳ ⁱ ᶜᵃⁿ ᶠᵉᵉˡ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵒⁱˡ

ᶠᵃˡˡⁱⁿᵍ ᵒᵛᵉʳ ᵐʸ ʰᵉᵃᵈ

ˢᵉᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵉᵃ ʷᵃⁿᵗˢ ᵗᵒ ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ᵐᵉ

ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵉᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᵏⁿⁱᶠᵉ ʷᵃⁿᵗˢ ᵗᵒ ˢˡⁱᵗ ᵐᵉ

ᵈᵒ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵏ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵃⁿ ʰᵉˡᵖ ᵐᵉ﹖

ⁱ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ⁱᵗˢ ᵒᵛᵉʳ

ˢᵗⁱˡˡ ⁱ ᶜˡⁱⁿᵍ

ⁱ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʷʰᵉʳᵉ ᵉˡˢᵉ ⁱ ᶜᵃⁿ ᵍᵒ..."

Sandbox Love Never Dies

Dave Lizewski x Demonic!Reader (Jennifer's Body AU)

Premise: In this chapter, reader becomes the god she was always destined to be. She does something she shouldn't, and ends up on Dave's doorstep, the only place she has ever known to go to for help. Dave is completely horrified from the night events, but still cares for reader. Some cannon from JB divergence, maybe this way we can find a happy ending. Either way, the horror is starting to settle in with this chapter, please mind the tags and authors note!

Words: 4.5k

Read chapter one here // be added to the tag list for this fic here

Tags/CW: reader death(and rebirth), side character death implied but spared the gorey details, blood, gore, angst, drama, shared trauma, hurt/comfort, nurse Dave, bath scene, Dave helps reader bathe, Dave and reader end up in some pretty good fluff at the end.

Author's Note: this chapter was really interesting to write as the horror part of this au starts to become more prevelant, but if you are squimish to any of the above CW's the please be mindful when reading. As mentioned, there is a character death in this chapter, but I opted to skip an in depth scene of what happens, but if you've seen JB you should get what's going on. If any of that is confusing, let me know! This chapter is under the cut <3 P.S. this song really fits this chapter, so give it a listen ʚ♥︎ɞ

The sky looms, limitless, an endless expanse of stars over this world. A cruel world where girls too young are tied, roped, adjusted as such to the top of a natural stone used as a sacrificial table. The sky has a million eyes and they're all on you tonight, Snowflake Queen, as your heavy breathing remains still human just yet. The omnipresent dark that covers the earth nightly is just as restrained as you are, helpless to stop what will soon happen.

You can almost feel the same pit of darkness as the sky open up in your stomach, blood running out as stupid men play stupid games with ritualistic consequences. All you can do is scream, the sound falling on deaf ears of the woods that envelope the scene.

You find yourself as cold and limitless as the sky as your human body is ruined. The assailants laugh, crack jokes, and sing songs as their blood pumps to the idea of fame and fortune being theirs. As you go still, they figure the job is over, throwing away any evidence into Devil's Kettle, the rushing, hungry mouth of the waterfall that eats all it's given, never to return. They don't even bother to give you a second look as they leave. You can feel the chill of death take you, your breath leaving, leaving, leaving. Never to return as yours.

Then, you feel something else.

You feel something move inside your broken body, breathing life into your lungs that had just barely stopped its function. You can feel it, black, slimey, crawling down your throat and slipping into that pit of your stomach, but not filling it. No, it sits there like a creature, a parasite, that only adds to the emptiness, that begs as much hunger as the rushing waterfall, it growls with animalistic hunger, the sound rushing out of your mouth as you try to scream.

You aren't even sure what happened next, your eyes focused on all the little pinpricks of light in the sky that disappear if you look directly at them for too long. What you do remember is the crunching of bone as you escape your restraints, then the sound of it going back into place, your wounds closing, your body changing, a darkness filling your veins.

You're different, maybe even better, than before.

The next thing you come to realize is how your body finds itself breaking into a run, stumbling through the tree line and seeing the still smoldering Melody Lane Tavern. The fire seems vague and so far away to you now, like another life. The corpse of the building is still illuminated in red and blue, so you decide to walk away from there. As you do, on your path you see someone.

The shape in the dark is walking with hunched shoulders, holding itself, and shivering. You watch, curious. As you approach, the familiar face begins to connect in your fuzzy brain.

"Marty?" Your voice croaks out, still so tired from what's happened.

Marty turns to you, he's completely out of it, but upon seeing a familiar face looks weakly hopefully.

"You're alive…" You say to him, he can barely speak after what's happened tonight. As you look at him, and see the thin dribbles of blood fall from his head, that pit inside you opens up farther than before. You feel a low growl wanting to escape your lips. Something about that blood is making you so hungry it's taking over your already clouded mind.

"Does anyone know you're here, Marty?" You say, almost as a puppet, the hunger speaking for you. Marty can only shake his head, and you can almost feel the world go back for what happens next.

The only thing you remember later is flashes, you can't think about it too much, the humanity in you is still on the surface since the transformation. No, you don't want to talk about what you did to Marty.

You do, however, know that the only thing you feel after is euphoric. You are coated with the blood of this endless nightmare, stumbling about the dark, wet blacktop roads. You barely register the headlights aimed for you, and you know that even if you were struck by a car, you're invincible right now. You drank the blood, and now you're a god.

✧

Dave can't stop shaking. He feels like his stomach might cave in, and he can hardly believe any of tonight happened. He can still see you, dazed, glassy eyed and being pulled into those fuckers van. His muscles tighten just thinking about it, and he feels like he throw a punch for one of the first times in his life.

He's so worried about you, he has no idea what to even do, but he knows something is wrong. As he and Katie were caught in the hectic aftermath of the fire, the police just starting to show up, he felt something that made him double over in the grass. It was as if his stomach had been slit, he could feel it so vividly, practically sense your pain as much as you felt it. All he could do was writhe in the grass, begging Katie to help him, and not let anyone want to try to keep him here longer. No, he didn't need medical attention, he just needed to get home. He needed somewhere he could be safe, somewhere he could maybe try to think of saving you.

Katie, despite how little she's known Dave, actually came through, and helped Dave get to his feet. Despite the pain, they made it to Dave's car without anyone trying to stop them. Katie was happy to help Dave, but she was terrified for Erika, who hasn't been spotted yet. Because of this, while she has positioned Dave in the driver's seat, she tells him she has to stay, look for Erika. Dave understands, and they share a look.

Dave knows all too well how she's feeling right now. That's exactly how he feels about you. He gives her a nod, as if to say 'go to her', and after Katie leaves, Dave takes his own advice.

He starts the car and begins to drive, his head feeling still filled with the smoke from the fire, smoggy and clouded from the night's trauma. He feels so strange, physically. He had felt the immense pain, but now all he feels is numb. His whole body is cold, and that scares him more than the pain. You have to be alive to feel pain, this numbness…"god…please don't let it mean that…".

Dave lets himself drive in almost dazed state, the small town is quiet at this time of night, and no one has been seen on the road since he got away from Melody Lane's chaos. In fact, it's so eerily desolate. The cold, wet night glistening off the road. Dave takes his eyes off the road for a moment, to turn on the heat in the car, the shivering cold and numbness reaching a breaking point inside him, it's so strong.

When he looks back at the road, he practically screams, the terror rising and catching in his throat, he hits the brakes as hard as possible. His headlights flood a figure with a brightness that blocks out half their shape. But what he catches before the person runs, impossibly fast, makes his spit run thin. That puffy white jacket, those piercing eyes, all that blood….

Dave can barely shake himself free of what he's seen, but now he's sitting here, all alone, that numbing feeling drifting away. It's all he can do, so he finishes his drive home.

When he returns home, he can barely move his body, the pain of tonight already setting in as the adrenaline cools and thickens inside him. Dave is just so tired. He weakly goes inside, his dad is likely well asleep, maybe a bottle in. Despite feeling like tonight's events should be 'wake your parent up out of a drunken stupor' worthy, Dave trudges up the stairs to his attic room. As he opens the door, the intense numbing feeling brushes past him once again, and he braces himself.

Inside, you sit on his floor, bloody and clothes torn, completely dazed.

Dave cannot describe how it feels to see you, he is shocked, but the relief of having you here, with him, not with those horrible men, washes over him so intensely that his knees almost give out.

"Oh my god…" Dave doesn't even feel like he's saying it, but the words fall from his mouth. He rushes to your side, falling next to you, and gripping your arms through your jacket. "You're alive…I thought…"

You're still so dazed, but your eyes slowly drag over to Dave. Your mouth is crusted with blood that's not yours, god, if Dave knew from whom it came from he would never forgive you. Besides that, you can hardly understand what compelled you, in this new form, to come here. Old habits die hard, you suppose. You also have a feeling that absolutely terrifies you when Dave comes so close.

As much as you felt something similar when you saw Marty, this is different. You feel as if the hunger inside you isn't an overwhelming coldness, no it's not the need to fill that numb spot within you. It's different. A blazing fire. It builds, your stomach set ablaze and filled with a want and a yearning that is so strong. You eye Dave with a hunger that goes well beyond the need to eat, no, this isn't sustenance, it's a want for him, all of him.

You can just imagine, pulling him up from the floor, dragging him to his bed, and your weight and power on top of him. You can just imagine his innocent eyes as you can't decide whether to fuck him or sink your teeth into him. Just the thought of sliding his cock into you while you do both, tasting him, his neck in your mouth, the submission as he allows you to take him, all of him…

Dave has to reach up and gently grab your chin, focusing your attention on him. You didn't even realize a low growl had started forming, deep within your chest as you thought about consuming Dave. You also notice he had been talking while you imagined this, and feel a mixture of disgust and lust.

"What happened…?" Is all he can say at this point, you seem completely broken, and he can sense that your energy is different even if he doesn't acknowledge that he does. You don't respond, for a long moment, your thoughts a haze of trying to ignore the budding hunger inside of you, and remembering how to be, well, human. Even if you couldn't articulate it now, you knew you were not like Dave anymore, not at all. You aren't really sure what you are, or everything it entails, but you know for sure if you don't keep your hunger in check…you don't even want to think about what could happen, the guilt from your still fresh humanity filling your veins with a chill.

"Dave…can you…can you please just help me up…" You start, your voice is dry and tired. Dave doesn't even question, he simply stands and holds out his hands, those large hands you've dreamed about touching you. You realize how cold your hands are to his nice, warm, human hands. He swiftly pulls you up, and you wobble, his hands there to steady you at the waist.

You're so close when you look up at him. He wasn't always this tall, you remember when you were kids, and you used to tease him about how he was shorter than you. You're almost certain that it was around the time he gained an inch, that one defining inch, above you, that's about when you started to fall in love with him. It wasn't so much that his being taller did something to you to change your feelings on him, no, it was more of the fact that after that, you guys slowly became more than just schoolyard mates. Even if you would never admit those feelings that fluttered at the worst times. Right now, is one of them. If you could blush, you would be right now, Dave's big blue eyes look at you with concern and worry. Of course, Nurse Dave as always, here to patch up your bloody knees just like when you were kids.

Right now, it's a bit more than a scrap on the knee. Dave doesn't know if he should even be keeping you here, if all that blood is yours, well, he should take you to the hospital, right? You seem so pale, so fragile as he slowly takes over the situation, no longer time for questioning any of this.

"Here, let's go to the bathroom…" He says softly, guiding you to his en suite. It's small, dimly lit by a yellowing bulb, and messy in a way that teenage boys always seem to make. He gently picks you up, and for a moment, you're surprised at how strong Dave is. You don't remember when he got to be so strong. He sets you on the sink counter, which has ample room for you, and begins by taking your puffy, once white, jacket off.

"What are you…?" You start, still out of it.

"You just…" Dave seems embarrassed for a moment as he continues to undress you, but his eyebrows pull together, determined for your own safety. "I need to see what happened, you're bleeding so much…"

Dave's hands begin to shake as he notices underneath your jacket there is a large hole in your shirt. He has to steady himself, he has no idea how bad the wound is, and as he keeps looking at the shirt he notices more and more holes, the blood making it so hard to see what exactly is going on.

"Did…oh my god…did you get stabbed?" Dave has to take his glasses off for a moment just to make sure he's seeing this all correctly. There's no way you could even be standing, let alone at his door if these truly are stab wounds. He reaches out gingerly, his fingers barely tracing a hole that goes directly over your heart, and pulls his hand back in fear of that hole leading to a wound in your body. You don't respond to his question, way too tired and focused on fighting your own hunger to be talking much right now.

"Okay, we need this off…" Dave says quickly, any embarrassment for seeing you in your bra overtaken by how scared he is about what he will see on your body. He gently, but effectively takes your shirt off, a lacy white bra underneath, soaked in blood. Dave looks you over, the blood is slick on your body, starting to turn darker shades of red and brown now as it begins to dry, but what he realizes is that as his fingers explore your body all he feels is softness. His fingers even trace to that spot, right over your heart, moving away blood that slicks his fingers, and all he finds is smooth, soft skin underneath. No wounds.

"This…this isn't your blood?" He almost scoffs the words out, in disbelief. By the looks of you when you came in he thought…well, he doesn't really even know what he thought, but he was sure you were in much worse shape. You catch his eyes when he asks, and shake your head wearily. Dave lets out a sigh of relief that expels so much stress he can barely breathe in again when he's done.

"Holy shit…God…you had me so worried there…" He could almost scream, but instead he does something neither of you expected. His strong arms grab you, pulling you close, almost off the counter, and into his chest. He puts his head right against your tangled, blood soaked hair, and he is glad you can't see him right now. Dave sees a glance of himself in the mirror, the tears forming and slowly dripping down his cheeks. He just can't believe you're here, you're okay, and that he can keep you safe now.

"I'm so lucky…" He whispers, not necessarily to you, or himself.

Lucky. You could almost laugh if you weren't losing more and more energy as you feel yourself sinking into Dave's arms. Nothing about tonight had been lucky. In fact, you almost wonder if this is some sort of sick joke being played on you, and if you could just close your eyes, fall asleep, when you woke it would all be over.

When Dave finally pulls away, to get a better look at you once more, you let out a small noise of discontent from losing his warm embrace.

"We should probably get you cleaned up." he says, looking you over, assessing what's needed. "Do you think you can do it yourself…?"

Before he's even finished asking the question you're shaking your head. Dave can't help a blush rise to his cheeks as he thinks about how he will have to undress you completely to really help you get clean. He then nervously moves his hand to push his glasses back up, before noticing them sitting on the counter next to, and laughs uncomfortably.

"Well, we'll have to get these c-clothes," he starts sputtering out a bit, he isn't usually so nervous around you, you're, well his best friend in the whole world. And if it wasn't for the gender difference this wouldn't be such a big deal. Dave lets out a shaky breath, then continues, more determined to complete the task at hand so that you can feel better. "Yes, as long as you're okay with it, I'll have to undress you to help you bathe."

He settles on that, hoping he's not being weird and that the end justifies the mean here. You look up at him, and muster the energy to speak, to calm his nerves.

"I need your help Dave, I don't care if you see me naked…" You say weakly, and it's true. If it wasn't for the fact that you were feeling as if your energy was fading faster and faster, you may have very well been worried about Dave seeing you naked. But right now? No, you couldn't care even if you tried after the night had. You think Dave senses that and feels the same way. He's just as tired as you, by the look in his eyes.

Dave doesn't say much more, besides an occasional instruction for helping to get your clothes off. He helps you wiggle out of tight skinny jeans, the task made harder by the blood soaked spots that want to stick to your skin. After that, it's only your bra and panties left. Dave can't help but notice how much of your body is being exposed to him for the first time. It's just how he imagined it, if not even better, and he has to remind himself that this wasn't how this should have gone, and now is not the time for a wandering mind. You tell him you have your underwear covered as far as taking it off, and ask if he can start the bath.

He nods, says 'of course!' As if he had made some mistake when his hand reached up for the waistband of your matching panties. He turns to the bathtub before he embarrasses himself more, and you slowly, muscles tired and sore, hop off the counter and begin taking off your bra. When you're finally fully undressed, you ask Dave if he can close his eyes as you hop in the tub.

"Oh, sure, here." He holds out his arm for you to steady yourself as you get in. You utilize this, and as you sink into the half full tub you feel a sense of ease hit you. Dave has it at the perfect temperature, the heat of the bath making you miss his warm arms once more. You let Dave know when he can open his eyes, even though you're sure he can see a full view of your ample chest, it somehow feels better that half of you is protected by the bubbles Dave also added to the bath.

Dave can feel how deeply red his cheeks are as he watches your breasts rise and fall in the water, and when the water begins to turn a rusty color, Dave straightens his mind out. He kneels down next to the tub, his knees on the bathmat. You slide closer as he grabs a washcloth and begins dipping it in the warm water. Neither of you speak as he begins with your face, the softness of the cloth and the warmth of the water easing your tensions while taking off blood and make up. Dave has actually helped you take your makeup off for the night before so he starts with this, feeling most confident in his abilities.

Eventually he finishes your face, and you open your eyes to see him deciding where to start next. He starts on your neck, it's the next thing down that has blood crusted on it, so might as well, right? He cleans gently, making sure that he's not hurting you, going slowly. When you're certain your neck is done, and he's just avoiding going lower, you look up at him, meeting his eyes with a new boldness that has emerged from your transformation. You take his hand gently and lead it to your breast, keeping your eyes locked as you allow him to feel your soft, plump skin there. His eyes look so nervous, something about how much he wants to touch in this way being so clear on his face, yet he rejects it, as to be gentlemanly, or a good friend perhaps, turns you on way more than any of the other boys who have had access to your breasts.

He takes his time here, despite his nerves. Circling your breasts with the washcloth until your supple skin is all that's showing. He keeps his eyes mainly on yours, something about the connection between you two right now is more than just a horny teenager seeing his first pair of boobs. No, it's deeper than that. It's about the trust between you two, and how Dave is staying focused on your needs first and foremost. That isn't to say that how he is touching you now isn't making your already weak legs feel weaker, a quivering in your chest and between your legs building as Dave moves on to the other side, making sure to give the same attention there. You can feel yourself twitch as he brushes over your nipples, which are so hard and tight despite the warm water. They just barely float above the bubbles, and Dave makes sure you're all clean before moving on.

You thought the spell would be broken when he moves on to cleaning your back, but somehow, his hands moving in such a pleasurable massage, makes you want him even more. You completely relax as he cleans, you're sure that it's clean by now, but Dave continues to massage just to make you feel better. When he pauses, you feel his breath against your ear, his voice soft, full of something you've never heard from him before.

"Does that feel good?" He checks in, and you nod, giving a small, relaxed 'mhm…' along with it. You can't see it, but you're sure Dave is smiling, pleased to please you. He always has been that way. He can't help it when it comes to you.

He reaches for the shower head, glad that the bath is a two in one, and starts the water there. He checks the temperature again, making sure it won't be shocking, and he wets your hair. He still can't believe how much blood was on you, and you're unharmed. He begins to gently wash your hair, wondering where it came from. Perhaps he'll ask you in the morning when all this might make more sense. But right now, he works a lather into your hair, his hands like magic, moving so thoughtfully through your locks. You find yourself wishing that this had come on any other night. Why is it that you get to know the pleasure of Dave's hands on your body after all that's happened and not on both of your own terms. You are too tired and enjoying what Dave is doing to care right now. That's for another you to ponder sometime.

Dave finishes up your hair, and gives the wash cloth over to you, instructing you to finish up anything he couldn't reach. He informs you that he is going to get some new clothes for you, and to your surprise, his cool lips touch your forehead before he leaves. You gaze up at his form as he's already out the bathroom door, strutting quickly away to find some new clothes without leaving you too long. You finish washing while he's gone, and stand up wearily out of the tub, grabbing a nearby towel to dry off.

You're all wrapped up in a white towel of his, the tub filled with dirty water, slowly taking it, fand the night that caused it, down the drain. Dave comes back in, surprised you're out, but glad you didn't slip while doing so.

"I got you an old band shirt of mine, and a pair of my shorts." You smile, taking the shirt and shorts.

"I love this shirt…" You say, slowly pulling over your head, the towel still shielding you.

"I know…" Dave says softly as your head pops out of the shirt, your wet hair leaving droplets on the shoulders. You smile and Dave glances away as you slip his shorts on, fitting you nicely enough for the night. You discard the towel and follow Dave towards his bed.

"Here…" He says, pulling back the covers so you can get in. You do, gladly. Dave slips in behind you, and he immediately puts his arms around your waist, too nervous of you escaping him again. You notice the hunger from earlier is duller, calmed for now. Somehow, Dave's attention to you has helped, and you find as Dave snuggles against your shoulder, your breath slowing. The terrors of tonight are ringing around your ears still, but it's no match for how tired your body is. You drift into a deep sleep, wrapped by Dave Lizewski's arms, something you never thought would happen this way.

Some thing's really must be fate.

#dave lizewski x popular!reader #dave lizewski fanfic #dave lizewski x reader #dave lizewski #aaron taylor johnson x reader #aaron taylor johnson #my writing #kick ass x jennifers body crossover #kick ass fanfic #jennifers body au

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cannibalovers · 7 months

Text

Do i post too much depeche mode related stuff? Maybe but i think they fit the show so well, especially hannibal

Hannibal song of the day: song no. 10

A bit about the song:

"It’s No Good" (released in 1997) is a song by Depeche Mode and was written by Martin Gore. The song fits genres like synth pop, alternative rock and electro-pop, involving a smooth, dark sound with minimal sound-effect clutter and lots of reverb. It has a deep, recognisable melody and bass accompanied by various ambience sounds or synth sounds. The meaning of the song is quite vain and dark, presenting the protagonist who can’t accept their crush not liking them - They’re convinced that they are made for each other, divinely intertwined. They were most likely rejected and hit the first stage, the stage of denial.

i love this song along with the whole ultra album sm, i was so shocked to find out not many ppl like it????????? like what

but okay anyhow, another song that reminds me of how Hannibal views Will omgggg no waaayyyyyy

I will forever stand by the fact that Hannibal is a hopeless romantic (but i think all of us know that like... the whole human tree boquet, all the flowers being carefully picked? Hanni killing the judge for Will? giving himself up to the police so will always knows where he is? um? do i need to say more) - that why I even have this song in my playlist, as the protagonist seems like a hopeless and very persistent romantic themselves (and any depeche mode song tbh)

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Verse 1 "I'm gonna take my time I have all the time in the world To make you mine It is written in the stars above The God's decree You'll be right here by my side Right next to me You can run but you cannot hide"

The protagonist feels like the person they're crushing on has to and will love them back - They feel like they have all the time in the world, they aren't planning on stopping liking them or trying to charm them, and are willing to be patient and wait for the day that their interest does like them back. Quite tenacious. The protagonist seems to be quite spiritual and a hopeless romantic, believing the two are meant to be together as it's written by the universe in the stars and pre-planned by God himself. The last line can be quite dark and desperate, considering that the protagonist says this is unavoidable and their crush should accept it. Overall the protagonist seems to be quite obsessed (totally not another reason as to why i chose the song...).

This feels like Hannibal so so much - no matter how many times Will seemed disinterested (Will stop fucking lying) or even tried to literally kill him, this bitch ain't giving up. He's really taking his time, never giving up on the idea of Will and him becoming closer, he doesn't want to give up. Will is the only person that seems to understand him, a person Hannibal sees himself in and he can also understand Will; He doesn't want that to go to waste. He made his goal to make Will his and he will achieve it; If he wants something, he will find a way to get it. It's pretty easy for him to do so, considering his vast knowledge of human psychology. He can understand people without them even saying a word about their emotions and he can influence others easily, it's an quite advantage to him(Will doesn't find him interesting? ok bet, he'll make him VERRRRYY interested:3).

And also to my surprise, Hannibal seems to be quite spiritual, even comparing himself to God or "playing God": "Killing must feel good to god too, he does it all the time. And are we not created in his image?". He enjoys the power and control it brings him, retaking what God took awy from him. He decides who lives and who dies at his hands. He is in control of his life and any person that appears in his life, it's like he writes the course of his and others lives - That's what happened with Will; Hannibal, the "God" that he is, has decided that they are soulmates and are meant to be in each other's lives forever - be it a delusion or correct, they are always coming back to each other, mainly due to Hannibal's actions. As I said, he will find a way.

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Chorus

"Don't say you want me Don't say you need me Don't say you love me It's understood"

The protagonist is assuming that their interest likes them - possibly telling them not to say it out loud in fear that it's not true. They prefer to assume and think that their crush likes them back as that's what feels real and secure to the protagonist, clearly not taking rejection well as they're trying to avoid the situation of a rejection completely. also, perhaps it's more romantic this way. Maybe they are sure of the fact that their interest likes them back, but the protagonist doesn't want it confirmed because they feel like they fully understand their interest telepathically, which they find more romantic. Could also tie to another Depeche Mode song, "Enjoy the Silence" - one of the interpretations for this song from a romantic perspective being that the protagonist wants to indulge in silent moments with his lover, not wanting to worry about words and just enjoy their lover's presence - for this song, the protagonist might also find words harmful and prefer silences.

For Hannibal, I feel like it's more the second one. One thing about hannigram, they can read and understand each other without speaking about it, well most of the time. Direct words don't seem to really do it for them, it doesn't feel as intimate as whatever gay shit they got goin on apparently. like really these bitches suck at communicating, they really don't wanna hear it or say it cuz rejection or they will get a boner and explode and cry and be vulnerable, the worst thing on this planet (i hear that "do u wanna be my big sweaty guardian alpha boyfriend WHAAAAAT WHO SAID THATWHOSAIDTHAT" sound as i type this)

"Don't say you're happy Out there without me I know you can't be 'Cause it's no good"

The protagonist really won't take the rejection and even though they assumes or wants to believe that their interest likes him back, since it isn't confirmed, they're afraid that it isn't true and are in denial, still trying to remind themselves that the two are made for each other and that their interest can't be happy without them, simply because it's no good(mainly for the protagonist).

cough cough Hannibal when will breaks up with him and gives himself up to the FBI cough cough

But no fr, this lyrics represents Hannibal's reaction so well. He can't accept that Will believes he can be happy without him, because he knows he won't be. He saw how he can be, he saw the adrenaline rushing through Will's veins turn into satisfaction, a genuine, though involuntary reaction - Hell, Will even confirmed it. He knows that Will felt understood by him and that's Hannibal's driving force, unlike the protagonist, for whom this is most likely just about his delusions and hopefulness(unless the protagonist interests is a sweaty anxious dog lover empath idk that he connects with at a spiritual level idk). Through the show it just becomes clearer and clearer that Will cannot be his genuine self with anyone else other than Hannibal. Will knows that, tries to ignore it, Hannibal knows it and isn't giving up, Bedelia knows it and is fed up with their shit. EVERYONE knows it (and everyone knows how destructive it is).

The two together are absolute menaces to society, but Will being away from Hannibal also makes everything worse. The longer Will doesn't accept that Hannibal understands him and accepts him, and he feels the same way about Hannibal, the longer he runs away, the worse it gets. He isn't happy, although he pretends to be. He built a carefully crafted, perfect family where he's a good father, caring for a widowed mother, living in the woods peacefully with their lovely hoard of dogs and are incredibly happy. But is Will happy? He thought he would be. He knew it isn't socially acceptable nor good to embrace that dark side, he has seen the effects of people who accept it. It isn't good, he shouldn't do it, he shouldn't succumb to his dark nature. Perhaps getting a stereotypically ideal family will help him feel normal and ignore it. Yeah, that will make him feel good and satisfy his need to care and nurture and feel like a white knight saving the day. It will definitely make him happy. Fake it till you make it. But is it really worth it when you have to put on a mask in front of your wife, someone you choose to marry and devote your life to, who fully trusts you and expects the same from you? How mocking it feels, when she's this open and sincere whilst you're lying to her every second about who you are. In the end she doesn't care for you, she cares for the person suit you carefully tailored out for her. But this is who you're supposed to be right? You designed this, it's genuine, no? It's just a heavily mediated version of who you are. Well, clearly not, since you see the ex that ruined ur life (tried to make u accept who u are) and immediately fold and leave ur wife lol

(man i need to be careful about my tenses and perspectives what is that, but not rewriting cuz idk how else to write it)

In the end, it's not good for Will, it's not good for Hannibal, no good for the rest of the people who gotta play fucking matchmakers and third wheel them as they flirt, this repression does nobody any good.

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Verse 2

I'll be fine I'll be waiting patiently Till you see the signs And come running to my open arms When will you realise? Do we have to wait till our worlds collide? Open up your eyes You can't turn back the tide

The protagonist is waiting, although getting impatient. They keep having hope that finally their interest will like them back, see that they are made for each other. They aren't giving up and seem to be so obsessed that they will continue to choose their interest over anyone else and be patient with them. They're hoping that their crush just needs some enlightenment and will suddenly love the narrator back after "opening their eyes". The worlds colliding are support to represent their minds and the tide, the inevitable and strong feelings the protagonist feels - it's like the protagonist already felt the tide, the emotions, powerful and sudden, hitting him, and is now waiting for their interest to be hit by the same tide.

Well, Hannibal does wait patiently. In the comfort of the psych ward Alana takes care off for him, having all the privileges, all the comforts he needs. He has enough patience to last the 3 years without breaking any rules. But ultimately, after Will said goodbye, he has left Will the option to come back and "run into his open arms". Hannibal giving himself up to the FBI was to make sure that Will can come back to him, if he changes his mind. He kept his arms open, expecting Will to come back. He knew he just has to let Will decide if he wants to do so for himself.

Will knew it was dangerous, he wanted to keep away from his as far as possible, be blind. He was well aware that Hannibal would be like a tide, powerful and merciless, he would swallow him whole once he gave in, which is why it took him so long. Like literally Jack had to come and fucking intervene and force Will back into the goddamn field like. fgfjoigfdigjjew

The only way that they would ever be back together was if their worlds, their minds, collided, and they did. Before, Will's and Hannibal's worlds were about to collide before Will hesitated and Hannibal didn't appreciate it. Jack and everyone encouraging Will, pushing him into the trap, made Will's and Hannibal's worlds collide. There was no coming back to who Will wanted to be after reconnecting with Hannibal - their worlds have merged and the damage done is way too severe now as his eyes opened, and he finally accepted his demise, letting the tide swallow him whole (just like that tide when they fell off the cliff💯).

in conclusion hannibal is pathetic and whipped, the dick is just too good

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additional notes:

i missed this

if this is hard to read due to me trying to sound formal and professional but succumbing to humour WAY too much and not balancing it well enough then pardon me

------------------------------

my playlist post

thank u, hope u enjoyed<3

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writingintheshadowsforever · 2 years

Text

Imagine getting caught under the mistletoe with Ayo and Aneka

"Maybe we should just tell her how we feel" Aneka suggested. Her and Ayo were watching you play with the baby rhinos a few feet away.

"No we have to ease her into this Aneka, or we could scare her off" Ayo said shaking her head.

"Okay then just exactly how are we suppose to do that without telling her the truth. She's completely missing all the signals we're sending her" Aneka complained. A whiny tone in her voice. Two weeks had gone by since you let Ayo in past all your walls, and things couldn't be better. You were attached to both of their hips at all times these days. If you weren't with Ayo then you were somewhere with Aneka, heck you even postponed your trip back home to spend more time with the two of them.

When Shuri questioned you on the vacation extension you simply told her that. Your training with Okoye was doing wonders for helping you improve your control over your evolved powers. But that couldn't have been farther from the truth. While the General was helping you improve your combat skills, and the lessons she taught you went well with remastering your powers. It wasn't the real reason you wanted to stay, and even though she saw right through your lie. She let you believe you had fooled her. In reality you couldn't fool anybody considering you hadn't spent a single minute of your time training with Okoye since then.

Every time you were caught in the training room it was with either Aneka or Ayo at your side. Or more like on top of you training with them mainly involved both of them just sparring with you until they pinned your body under theirs. Ayo would give you a victorious smile, and tickle your sides when you refused to tap out. Aneka was the complete opposite, and you couldn't be more grateful at the fact. That your skin complexion hid any blushing on your face, because whenever she got you pinned. Instead of letting you a tap out Aneka would lean down till her face was only inches from yours with a smirk on her face. She was teasing you with her beautiful brown eyes boring into yours. You would swallow hard eventually looking away with a nervous chuckle. Aneka would giggle then proceed to peck on you on the cheek, and finally letting you up afterwards.

The first time she did that she beamed witnessing the way your legs turned to jelly. When you tried to stand up but your legs started to wobble, so you settled for sitting on the mat for a few more minutes.

"Do you really think she's missing our signals. I mean we're making our feelings pretty obvious aren't we?" Ayo asked her lover.

"I don't know about you but I'm definitely am" Aneka answered.

"Aneka" Ayo said in a warning voice.

"Calm down I haven't made an actual move on her or anything yet. I'm just not subtle about wanting her is all." Aneka told her with a shrug.

Ayo let out a sigh of exasperation not sure if she could believe her lover or not. Patience wasn't her strong suit and out of the two of them. Aneka was the more eager one to bring you into the relationship with them. It was funny because in the beginning she actually tried to hide her attraction for you, but Ayo was able to read her like a book. It didn't take long for her to coax the truth out of Aneka, and she was jumping for joy when Ayo revealed that you had her captivated as well. Now that both of them had established a pretty good friendship with you, and were ninety percent sure that. You felt the same way about them as they did you.

The biggest obstacle was presenting you with the idea of a poly relationship. They didn't know where you stood on the subject, and figured the main reason. You were so hesitant to take things any farther with either of them. Whenever the opportunity presented itself was because you knew for sure they were together. The flirting probably confused you more than anything. Which is why both of them brought you out here to the Border Tribe grounds today. You had been begging to see the rhinos for the past couple of days, and this was one trip Okoye wanted to sit out for obvious reasons.

Your eyes widened in surprise when you opened the door to find both of them standing on the other side. Dressed up in casual clothes for the day out Aneka had a picnic bag on one of her arms.

"Um guys a little help" You called out to them your voice dissolving into a stream of giggles.

Both of their heads snapped up into your direction out of curiosity more than worry. They knew you more than safe around the animals. The Tribe Leader took the time to introduce to all of them, and get them acquainted with you to make sure. There were no sudden accidents, so you weren't being attacked. At least not in a violent way. A group of baby rhinos had piled up on top of you forcing you to lay on your back. Some of them were nuzzling their noses into your stomach, while the two focused on licking your face showing you as much affection as they could.

"Ayo come on" You pleaded with a squeal at the cold touch of the rhino's nose on your bare stomach. All the nudging they were doing had caused your shirt to ride up a bit. You knew out of two Ayo would probably be the one easier to convince to come to your rescue. Aneka was more than likely in the process of taking pictures right now.

Ayo shook her a head with a small smile on her face. It was hard to believe that you were one of the most deadliest Avengers at times. A warm feeling overcame her as she glanced over to Aneka who was indeed recording the whole thing with her kimoyo beads. In her eyes the three of you were already official so why did it have to be so hard to make it real?

"Ayo please" You cried out again.

"I'm coming sthandwa" Ayo finally answered already making her way over to you.

"Oh come on ten more seconds" Aneka chuckled.

A Day Later

"Have you two still not told her how you felt?" Shuri asked a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Ayo shook her head. "We don't know how" she admitted sheepishly.

"Why not just be honest with her about your feelings" Shuri suggested as if it was that obvious.

"That's what I said" Aneka exclaimed smacking Ayo on the shoulder. "Ayo is afraid of running her off with the idea of being with both of us."

Shuri scoffed. "Oh come on surely you see the way she looks at both of you, and not to mention you two is all she can talk about."

"That is when she decides to take a sometime away from you two to spend time with someone else" Okoye chimed in. The General had a small pout on her face. Which was rare for her.

"What's wrong?" Ayo asked her attention switching from her own dilemma to her friend.

"Nothing" Okoye murmured looking away quickly. It was obvious that she was lying.

"She's upset that you and Aneka stole her favorite American from her" Shuri revealed with a chuckle. Okoye shot the Princess a death glare clearly not caring about status right now.

"Wait you and her are pretty close aren't you?" Aneka mused walking to stand behind the General.

"We use to be" Okoye muttered under her breath turning around to face the younger woman.

"Oh hush y/n still loves you alright she's just going through the early stages of the honeymoon phase with these two" Shuri said.

"Yeah and the sooner you help us figure out how to approach her with all this. The sooner we'll get through the honeymoon phase, and you'll have her to yourself again." Aneka told her pausing for a second to think then continued. "I mean eventually she'll want a break from us and you're going to be the first person she calls to hang out with."

At this point without either of them realizing it Ayo had come around to stand on Okoye's left side. "What Aneka is trying to say is if you help us. I'll take over morning training sessions for the next three months, and she will handle cleaning duty for the spears and armor."

Aneka frowned and opened her mouth to protest, but Ayo shot her a look telling her to wait. She wasn't happy but listened anyway.

Okoye pretended to mull over the deal for a while already knowing it was a win-win for her. While getting up early to lead training for the Doras were no problem for her. It would be nice to sleep in every now and then. And as far as cleaning duty for the spears and the armor it was usually a task she assigned to any Dora, but sometimes they would try to argue with her decision. Having Aneka take care of them for the next few months would save her a few headaches. Not to mention with both of them being preoccupied at times. You would be free a few times throughout the week at certain times of the day. She really did miss having you around.

"Fine I'll help" Okoye finally said after two full minutes of silence. Ayo grinned while Aneka just shook her head.

"Why do I have to take cleaning duty?"

Ayo shrugged "because I'm second in command."

Two Days Later

"I didn't know you guys celebrated Christmas here in Wakanda." You said spinning your body around to get a full view of your body in the dress. It was third one you had tried on and while you did like it. This one didn't seem to be the right fit either for the Christmas party being held at Ayo and Aneka's home. No doubt the dress would impress Aneka who would love the way it hugged all your curves just the right way, but you didn't think Ayo would be a big fan of it. You wanted to pick out something both of them would like. It was starting to seem like an impossible task.

"We do its just our traditions are a bit different from yours. We tend to be a bit more festive you know. Parades and parties with minimum gift exchanging" Shuri explained. The Princess of Wakanda was a bit casual for the event in black dress that fully covered her shoulders of average length. "You know we're going to be a late if you don't hurry up and pick something. Its not going to be anything too fancy did they not tell you that?"

"They did but still I want to look good" You whined stomping your foot. It was frustrating not knowing if it was even appropriate for you to being trying to get their attention. Since the two beautiful women were already in a committed relationship. Were you crossing a boundary here.

Shuri walked over to her bed where you had all the dresses spread out. She looked over them before coming across a beautiful red dress with gold mixed at the shoulder sleeves, and slits cut in at the thigh. It was perfect not too fancy but not super casual either. "How about this one?"

You looked over your shoulder to see which dress she was holding up, and your eyes lit up in joy. "They'll love that one it matches their armor."

"So which one are you pinning for?" Shuri asked with a teasing smile. As you came over to take the dress from her already shimmied out of the last dress.

"What?" You squeaked out nervously.

"Well obviously you're hoping to impress one of them who's the lucky girl?"

"Come on Shuri both of them are taken by each other. I don't stand a chance I just know they're going to look good, and want to match them" You lied smoothly.

Shuri let out a laugh filled with disbelief. "Yeah because you hear me calling all my friends sthandwa."

Now that got your attention considering both Aneka and Ayo were using the word on a regular basis with you still. Yet you still didn't know what it meant. "Hey Shuri what exactly does that word mean?"

Shuri tilted her head to the side with a smirk. "You're going to have to ask one of them. My lips are sealed sthandwa."

You let out a groan but was finally done putting on your dress, and it was perfect.

The Party

Aneka latched herself onto your arm the second you walked into the house. "You look beautiful, sthandwa. I love the dress," she whispered into your ear.

Heat rose up on your cheeks like it always did whenever she complimented you. "You look great too and your home is beautiful" You replied.

"I can't believe its your first time here" she said. And it was crazy considering how much time you had spent with the two of them. But then again being in their home only served as a reminder to you. That both of them were taken by each other, and the relationship was serious. All of sudden you got real self conscious about how close the two of you were together while walking.

You tugged on your arm to get her to let go which she did without a fight. Aneka shot you a worried look as you put a bit more distance between the two of you. The sudden switch in behavior caught her off guard. You had never gave her the cold shoulder before, and she was learning fast she didn't like it.

"Is everything okay y/n?" She asked nervously.

"Um yeah is Okoye here?"

Aneka nodded pointing in the direction of the outside porch. You looked over to see the General surrounded by a few members of the Dora Milaje and Shuri. "I'm going to go outside with her tell Ayo I said hi" you told her. You walked away not giving get the opportunity to protest or say anything.

Aneka watched in disappointment as you walked away pulling Okoye into a hug. Once you reached her had she just screwed things up with you?

"She probably feels like a homewrecker" Nakia suggested. After Aneka got through telling her and Ayo what had happened. A hour had went by and the party was in full swing now. You hadn't budged from Okoye and Shuri's side since. When Ayo approached you to compliment your dress. You gave her a small wave and looked away.

She hunted Aneka who she knew had gotten to you first to see what had changed.

"Why don't you two just tell her how you feel? Nakia asked in confusion.

Ayo let out a frustrated groan tired of explaining this. "We don't want to scare her off."

"Well then you better figure something out before she says bye bye."

"We have a plan but unfortunately it involves her actually talking to us, or at least being near us you know."

Both of them shot the former spy a pleading look. Nakia shook her head with a grin. "I got you where is she meeting you lovebirds?"

"The kitchen" Ayo answered.

"Give me ten minutes" Nakia told them.

At some point M'Baku had joined the crowd, and now you and him were exchanging stories. While everyone else around listened. A few minutes later Nakia joined greeting you with a hug which you returned. While you did feel bad for blowing off Ayo and Aneka out of nowhere. You felt like it was for the best in the long run. You were guilty of a lot of things but never breaking up a happy home, and you weren't ready to add to the list.

As time drug on everyone started to run low on drinks. Okoye was the first one to get up to get a refill when Nakia spoke up offering to get her one instead. "How about I get everyone something" she insisted. The crowd let out a small cheer at that, and Nakia pushed off the railing she was leaning on headed back to the inside. She turned back upon reaching the entrance to look back at you.

"Y/N will you give me a hand?"

"Sure," you answered quickly, jumping up from your spot between Okoye and Shuri. You followed her into the house not seeing any ulterior motive.

Once the two of you reached the kitchen you grabbed a tray to carry the drinks out on. While Nakia started preparing them, and two minutes later the refills were ready to go. On the way back Nakia paused in the doorway of the kitchen her eyes drifting upward. A chuckle escaped her lips making you follow her gaze to sit a mistletoe strung up over your head. "Oh Nakia you don-"

She held up her free hand to stop your protests. "Don't get me wrong y/n its not that I don't like you. Its just that kiss already belongs to someone else usisi."

Before you could ask her what she meant by that without another word. Nakia took the tray out of your arms with her hand, balancing both of them perfectly. She went back to the outside porch. A pair of strong arms wrapped around your waist from behind, and you were tugged back into someone's chest.

"You've been avoiding all day sthandwa I don't like that" Ayo whispered into your ear.

You let out a laugh bringing a hand up to rest on her arms, but the same guilty feeling flared up inside before you could get comfortable. "Ayo I don't think we should be doing this."

"Don't you like me?" she asked.

"Of course I do but there's Aneka you know I kinda like her too, and then there's the fact the two of you are together."

Just like that Aneka appeared in front of you with a grin. She rested her hands right on your lower waist below Ayo's. "Then its a good thing both of us like you too and have no problem sharing." She said with adoring eyes.

"What?" You replied nervously. Part of you was doing the backflips inside your mind. While the other part was wondering if you truly dreaming at this point. Aneka leaned forward to press her lips to your cheek, and you felt Ayo do the same to your left cheek. Their lips lingered for a few seconds before both of them pulled away at the same time. "We like you y/n and if you're okay with the idea. We want you to be with both of us." Ayo clarified.

You were silent at first, not sure how to answer them considering. You were just now coming to terms with the fact that you weren't dreaming. This was really happening. You had spent the past three weeks bonding with both of them. It only took one week for you to realize you were falling hard, and even though you wanted to pull back. It was impossible to do so Ayo and Aneka had somehow managed to capture your heart without you even realizing it. Of course, you were down with the idea. But you did still have one worry.

"I want to do this" You started watching as both of their eyes lit up with joy. "But I've never been in this type of relationship before. How does this work? What if I do something wrong?"

Aneka took a step forward closing the distance between the two of you, and caging you in between her and Ayo's bodies. Then she pressed her lips to yours in short but adoring kiss smiling when you kissed back. "Sorry I've just been waiting a really long time to do that, and as far as this goes we'll figure it out together."

Ayo brought a hand up to your chin to gently turn your head to the side. So you are facing her and shared a kiss with you as well. "Aneka's right, my love. we got this. After all, you are the first woman we've ever asked to join us. You're special to us y/n and whatever it takes to make this work. We'll do that."

Your stomach was filled with butterflies as your knees were so weak at this point. You were pretty sure if it wasn't for the two of them holding you up. Your knees would gave out on you about two minutes ago. "Alright then I'm down" You agreed pulling away when Ayo leaned forward to kiss you again with a smile. Both her and Aneka frowned at your reluctance. "Why didn't the two of you just tell me how you felt days ago? Why set all this up?"

"We thought if we were too forward it would scare you off" Ayo said.

"No she was thought it would scare you off" Aneka corrected her. "I wanted to tell you from the start."

"This isn't the type of thing you just tell someone" Ayo argued.

"She would've been fine and we could have avoided all of this" Aneka shot back. You shook your head with a grin and captured Ayo's lips in a more passionate kiss this time. She let out a gasp of surprise but her eyes closed as her lips moved in sync with yours. It took about five seconds but eventually Aneka gripped your chin prompting you to break the kiss to lock her lips onto yours. You were left breathless by the time she pulled away. You leaned your head on Ayo's shoulder while the two of them shared a kiss of their own.

"Its about damn time" a familiar voice said a few feet away. All three of you looked in that direction to find Shuri leaned up against the wall with a grin on her face.

"Y/N I don't know if you realized it yet but these two have been obsessed with you since you got here. I mean they could barely focus on their duties" she teased.

"Yes and they've been hogging you" Okoye added appearing behind the Princess with her arms crossed over her chest. A disappointed look on her face.

You chuckled as both women finally released their grip on your waist. "Is that so?"

"Yes now that the three of you are official and all. It would be nice to get a day or at least an hour of your time" Okoye said.

"Hey she's spent this whole party right up under both of you" Aneka argued.

"And the two of you spent this whole party mulling over her now that its done. Maybe you two can actually entertain your guests" Shuri reminded them.

The party went on for another two hours or so winding down as the sky got dark, and soon enough night came. Everyone started to pour out to head back home at that time. Okoye, Shuri, and Nakia stuck around to help clean up the mess. It didn't take long for them to notice you and Aneka were nowhere to be found. Ayo was alone in the kitchen washing up the dishes.

"They're in the living room" she said raising an eyebrow at them. She knew the conclusion all three of them were drawing up in their head. Indeed you and Aneka were found cuddled up in each other's arms on the sofa sound asleep. Aneka was situated between your legs leaned back resting on your chest. You were pressed up against the arm of the sofa with your arms thrown over her shoulders your hands connected at her stomach.

Shuri took a few pictures letting out suppressing her laughter when Nakia nudged her. "This is perfect blackmailing material."

"I'm guess this means y/n is staying here tonight" Okoye stated.

Ayo had finally finished the dishes and came out of the kitchen to stand over the back of the sofa. She peered down at you two unable to hide the love in her eyes. "Yeah she can crash here tonight I'll be up to lead training in the morning." she reassured the General.

Okoye waved her off. "Don't worry about it you can takeover next week, but just so you know. Y/N is my favorite American and I won't take it lightly if either of you hurt her."

Ayo never thought she would see the day Okoye threatened her over someone. "You don't need to worry sister."

The three of them finally left leaving her alone with her sleeping girlfriends. While Ayo didn't want to disturb either of you because of how peaceful. The two of you looked sleeping together she knew there was no way. All of you would fit on the sofa, and the bed was much comfier anyway. It took a few nudges but Ayo was able to get you both to wake up.

Aneka stretched before making her way to the bedroom immediately mumbling. She would be waiting for you and Ayo to catch up. Ayo led you to the giant room with a hand on the small of your back. "You're okay with this right sthandwa?"

You gave her a sleepy nod but the nickname made you perk up a bit. You still didn't know what it meant, and now that you were official with them. They wouldn't have a problem telling you right. "Hey Ayo" You whispered walking into the room.

"Yeah" she answered back guiding you to the bed. The room was dark and the light snores feeling the air told her Aneka was passed out again. She didn't want to disturb her by turning on the light.

"What does sthandwa mean" You managed to ask climbing into the bed, and scooting over into the middle. Your body sunk down into the mattress as if it was cloud. You felt like you would fall through any moment, but didn't.

Ayo grinned knowing you had been trying to get it out of everyone else for the longest. She laid down next to you and turned onto her side wrapping an arm around your waist. Ayo rested her head on your chest before whispering the answer. "My love it means my love." she shook a bit as your body rumbled with laughter.

"So you and Aneka really were in love with me from day one" You chuckled.

Ayo gave you a small nod that you felt. "Hmmm that's good to know since I had a little crush on you since the Battle of Thanos."

She wanted to ask for more details but sleep had finally claimed you again. After those words and five minutes later Ayo went under as well at some point during the night. Aneka would shift over to rest her head on your shoulder while throwing an arm over Ayo.

Tag List: @kofforever @justariellove @takeyaki @droopycoquette @yelena-beloved

#mcu imagine #marvel imagine #ayo x aneka x reader #aneka x ayo #ayo x reader #aneka x reader #ayo imagine #aneka imagine #black panther imagine #shuri #okoye #nakia

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rechicken-and-waffles · 6 months

Note

Hear me out: Chaotix game in the style of the Telltale Sam and Max games. (if you've never heard of them you should definitely give them a try or look up a walkthrough; either way, they're really good. I recommend going through the remasters, though the one for The Devil's Playhouse has yet to be released this year, so until then you're free to watch the original for that)

I've been conceptualizing a Civil War AU for IDW Sonic where some of the heroes are done with Sonic's pacifistic approach towards handling Eggman and decide to take care of him themselves, which results in a full-blown overarching battle between those hunting Eggman, and those forced to protect him. I plan to have Espio on Team Scramble Eggman Beyond Recognition (and you can probably guess why), but my somewhat lack of knowledge on the Chaotix as characters has me slightly stumped, which is why I turn to you. Would Espio go so far as to fight his own family (Cream, Amy and Gemerl, specifically, still debating on if Vector and Charmy should side for keeping Eggman alive, but I'll also leave that up to you), if it meant ensuring Eggman's end?

1) Yes please. I haven't played a Sam and Max game in my life but I have heard great things about them, maybe I should check them out.

2)I feel Vector and Charmy would be in the side of keeping Eggman alive, because while they don't like Eggman, I don't think they would believe ending him is the solution, especially Vector. And yeah I can see Espio fighting them under the belief that "this is for the greater good". I think the only ones Espio would not have the heart to fight would be Charmy and Cream, for very obvious reasons hehehehe (also that they would be the most likely to talk him out of ending Eggman)

#rechi answers

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cursed-rat-of-homosexuality · 1 year

Text

A good is-Tom-Normal-About-That-Media? meter is how I deal with music related to that specific media. Unfortunately in OFMD's case it's ticking in the "Brain Rotted Pile of Clown Meat" zone, because I basically went through every song ever made by Nina Simone just to try and guess which two songs are playing in s2.

So you know what??? I'm laying out my predictions here, if any of these starts playing then I'm owed a Jenkins thumbs up or something like that. Idk. I spent four hours of my life on this, I need a hug. I threw the dice and this is what came out.

> These three are my favorites, I have a feeling about them, they smell like OFMD to me and my brainwaves bounce up a bit when I hear them (u know... like the sea.... ha...ha)

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Ed-Coded, sad, moody, it's frantic and helpless in a way that's also really desperate, and ohohoho the rhythm on this one tickles my brain a bit.

Feeling Good

A bit overplayed, basically in every fandom playlist but It! Is! There! For! A! Reason! And that reason is that it's reeeally good and very villain like. Could be Ed-Coded, I'd like to imagine that's him trying to conform into his Kraken/Blackbeard persona, could be other people too though. Use your imagination here.

Do What You Gotta Do

Are all of these Ed-Coded? You might ask. And the answer is, well.... maybe. It's not my fault Executive Producer David Jenkins based Ed's whole character on Nina Simone songs okay????? (I see what you did there you little evil man-shaped weasel. I SEE IT ALL.) But just.. here, look at me... listen to it and tell me it isn't Ed through and through.

> These ones are also very OFMD-like and I wouldn't be putting them in here after sifting through more than 100 songs just because. I also have a feeling about them, but it isn't the overwhelming sense of certain doom I get from the previous three.

Save Me

Ed coded. He loves Stede and he hates that with every fiber of his being. He's still very hurt, but cannot help being fond of the whimsical dipshit, poor guy.

I Shall Be Released

Ed coded, just give my man a break.

I Put A Spell On You

Overplayed one again, this one isn't really coded to any of them. But I feel like it would play after Stede tries to reconcile with Ed for the first time and fails miserably. Ed is still really hurt, and Stede is just realizing the extent to which he hurt him. It's after they just had a discussion, maybe it's raining, Stede is soaking wet calling "Yd! Yd! Yd please talk to me!" But Ed just keeps on walking. It's a romantic comedy staple and we need to have one of these.

Take Care Of Business

Semi-Competent!Stede being the breadwinner of the family is one of my favourite hcs. Ed is really tired of The Pirate Life™️ and I bet he'd fucking love to be a trophy wife, man spent his whole life being the scourge of the seven seas, give him a break for christs sake.

Mr.Bojangles

just... listen to it

Just Say I Love Him

Is- Is that a... no, it can't be! Dios mio, It's... a Stede coded song 😱😱 *pain sounds* *weird bone cracking going on* *little bit of a fleshy sonority to it now* *crashing sounds* *cat meowing* *bone cracking again but this one is good I think*. Ok back to it, this is really just "I should just have told him how I feel" vibes, Stede made a mess, he regrets it. Etc.

That's it then. Did I do this just to prove I was right if any of them appears in S2? Pfft of course not! Who would even do that... lol... Also please feel free to add thinky thoughts to this if y'all are willing! I'd love to hear people's interpretations of the songs.

#i really wanted to put sinnerman in there #i really did #but it played on The Thomas Crown Affair so Idk if they'd put it in OFMD #also You've Got To Learn #ofmd #ofmd s2 #our flag means death #our flag means death s2 #our flag means death season 2 #ofmd blackbonnet #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #ofmd gentlebeard #ofmd stede bonnet #ofmd ed teach

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polygonsexual · 1 year

Text

A whole pecking essay on why I love Garten of BanBan and my perspective on it

____

So I bought and played all the chapters. I did watch the gameplays and Then finished all of them, twice! And Even from the first chapter, I actually never thought the game is bad! In fact, I very much enjoyed it.

I’ll go over three, maybe?.. topics in this silly essay. I’m sleepy, it’s 4 am so I don’t know for sure but I really want to express my opinion:’D

Ps. Spoilers will be outlined with this color, sorry if I left something out, you can let me know tho!

The topics are:

——————————

1. Style

2. Gameplay

3. Character writing

——————————

So Style is the first thing people found off putting and lazy about this game , from the first chapter I actually kind of enjoyed it. Yes it’s simplistic and used some free stock models, but there was something about it..this simplicity is well organised. Starting with the Main cast(BanBan’s friends) they look very simple from afar. But if you look closer you see how many little veins and details they have, and as mutants made out of unknown substance it makes sense! It’s only an illusion of simplicity, they are terrifying biological monstrosities that were made to look like kid’s mascots, adds up , doesn’t it?

Now for the free samples, I don’t know if there’s much of them in the chapter 3 or 4, as those two are where the quality really starts to rise, but I can excuse it for the first two chapters, each chapter costs like 3 dollars , considering there’s only two devs working on the game and they also have college. I respect the prices and don’t regret spending my money, after all, it’s not that much and helps them make each chapter better then last one, considering that, they did start using less free samples with the 3 and 4 chapters, You can correct me if I’m wrong, but I can tell that I didn’t notice anything that felt out of place in those two chapters and that’s what makes a difference.

Overall surroundings are more polished now too, it’s a mix of a facility and kinder Garten, they worked with children but they had to keep it professional with the huge void under the facility. It can explain the amount of bottomless pits in the game and odd mix of professional and childish ornaments in the rooms. Also the safety hazards can be explained too! BanBan did talk about “we should have spoken up sooner” and that really makes it seem like the heads of the facility didn’t really care for safety of their workers, so much they ignored the countless containment breaches of the specimens , death of facility workers and maybe even children..

Im getting a bit sidetracked with the lore here, but with such simple yet memorable style, I think they did a great job. It doesn’t fit well with the established mascot horror quality, but it has it’s charm and I think a game about a scientific facility turned into a kindergarten wouldn’t feel the same with some complicated high budget textures.

Talking about high budget textures.. I don’t really like what the two weeks remaster of Garten of BanBan did with the game, maybe yeah it added more detail to the surroundings, but it stopped giving away this too polished and deeply fake childcare center feeling, and man, Opila bird does look much better in the original, mutants don’t even have blood and are supposed to look like cartoons, not whatever this guy did to them.

—————-

Gameplay

[Puzzles]

That’s something I heard complaints about a lot, but In my opinion, I didn’t see anything wrong with the gameplay, it’s easy yes, but that’s what makes it good, you can easily fly through the game without getting stuck on some task you just can’t figure out(Except snail hall we all suffered there at least for two tries). In fact, the tasks are actually enjoyable, specially in chapter 4! They are more fast paced and give you more to work with, but I can go as far as to say that I liked puzzles even from the second game, as Yet again, they are simple but still make you think a bit, which gives you a satisfaction of solution without getting stuck in one place for hours. The simplicity of the puzzles fits with the overall kindergarten style, in fact some of the tasks were made as entertainment for the workers, which explains why they are supposed to be more entertaining then difficult, obviously Chapter 4 has the best puzzles, specially when you have lil beak around and can take her everywhere. But looking back at the older ones, they were neat too!I liked the first puzzle in chapter 2 where you have to press buttons depending on the worker’s rate on the board, it’s extremely simple but satisfying non the less, plus I kinda failed it..twice on my second run because I was rushing.

[Drone]

The drone is a nice puzzle tool if you get the hang of it, people rush a lot when using it and usually that’s what makes it an annoying experience, (Drone is indeed good mental support, you can’t prove me wrong>:)) Maybe you could call it a useless unreasonable problem maker, but those are not more then another puzzles you have to solve, maybe you don’t like to solve so many puzzles, well that’s your opinion I don’t judge, but it’s kinda a base game mechanic that devs wanted to space out the main events and puzzles with. And I think it works quite well, with all the different tasks you have to do here and there, getting back to a mechanic that you recognise and is used to is a good thing to keep you busy but not overwhelmed. It was kind of unnecessary in chapter 2 but I think devs did a great job on the new ones, they don’t use it to open each door and manage it quite well with other more differing puzzles.

[Chase sequences/Boss fights]

I must say the chase sequences in this game are quite boring most of the time, the main issue is how extended and slow paced they feel, sprinting doesn’t really feel like sprinting and there’s not much dynamic in the chase, it’s a quick time event, but even for how simple BanBan is, those are just too simple, it would be nice if the boss fights had more to them then dodge or run away and stuff, I must say, if you know what to do in a kittyzaurus fight, it’s quite enjoyable! But the chameleon-turtle one is just meh, it’s just too long and doesn’t have much going on, main focus is only the attacks that happen very slowly, kittyzaurus fight is good because it gives you less time to prepare for the Kitty’s dash into your direction, so you actually have to constantly move and keep focus on the boss. For good side, the snail hall(chapter 2) nabNab chase in the werehouse (chapter 2) and bird riding(chapter 3) were a highlight, they had a challenge in them, an additional task that makes the running away process much more entertaining and I hope that the devs will do this more in the future!

[additional thoughts]

What I also hear people complain about is how spaced out and long the backtracking is, and sadly I have to agree here, as I said before sprinting in this game doesn’t feel like sprinting, and you become quickly frustrated by going through so many hallways over and over again, like the distance between Queen’s lobby and elevator is painfully long, it didn’t had to be so big. I hope there will be shortcuts in the next chapters so players could skip the long walks in the empty hallways:’) Also want to leave a thought here that chapters 2 and 4 final chases felt meh, but the build up on the 4th is something worthy talking about! That’s what next topic is about.

—————————

Character writing

A LOT OF SPOILERS stop reading here and go straight to conclusions if you don’t want to get spoiled

BanBan

That’s probably going to be my favourite topic, as Chapter 4 really opened my eyes on the character’s situation, relations and interactions, and again I really hope they’ll do more in the future! Let’s begin with Banban, as I see his storyline as the most interesting one. It’s said in the notes that BanBan is “the devil” who believes to be a human and completely ignores his mutant appearance, in chapter 4 we get his inside oh now his friends betrayed him, looked at him like he’s a monster and didn’t talk to him at all , leaving him when all in the facility started to crumble. First, BanBan’s DNA is mixed up with a DNA of one of the workers, which could very well explain his tired , careless and very human voice. BanBan believes he is human, he acts like one, cares for others like a human, feels betrayed because he always thought he is one. His friends looked at him like at a monster because he was created one, but he never realised that, thinking they turned their backs on him for no reason, as he still thinks he’s one of them. That could also explain why he is the only one who’s actually willing to help us find our children outside of Queen and Sheriff..maybe he’s willing to help, I can’t really tell. But if you think about it, BanBan’s situation is frocking sad and very much understood, with his sudden switches to devilish hunger and thirst for organs, he is trying to get out of the facility and help the mutants at the same time, maybe he sees them as humans too?… He surely tried to fix NabNab, as he said several times, he’s genuinely trying to help and bring back senses to them , refusing or just not knowing it’s impossible. It can explain his trauma when he killed NabNab in chapter 4, it’s his snap and finale , he tried to save them , but ended up hurting with this “devil side” , and it’s obvious he regrets every time it happens, he was very sorry when we meet him in the hospital and he even wanted to help us again , he finally felt like he can hold it and be useful, he said this himself. Be there for us in person!..but yet. It happened again. And this time with someone who he was always finding excuses and ways to help for. In chapter 2 he acts selfish and fishy, but you can see how he starts to care for NabNab, seems like his human senses come back to him more with each chapter, and it breaks my heart to just leave him in this room with dead NabNab alone with his did, I hope there’s a way to help him out, and I can tell that this is a good character writing, maybe Im not a professional. But with all of this I said just now, he does seem more attractive as a personality, doesn’t he?

It reminds me of Stinger Flynn’s dream sequence in chapter 4, surely the ending was..crazy and out of place , but what happened before it made me chuckle and wonder about the other characters too, it’s kinda cute and very natural of BanBan to say lIm not good with this stuff” when Stinger Flynn needed comfort with his.. endless sorrow. His “not again” really made me chuckle, relatable man…

Stinger Flynn

Despite being the most deep sounding and biggest in all meanings character of the game, his goals are very simple, to be a normal jellyfish and aimlessly swim in the real sea. I could understand his exhaustion with all the knowledge he somehow got, and it seems like he struggles to control the most unpleasant emotions there can be, anger and sorrow. No wonder he wants a life where those can’t exist at all! Did you know that Jellyfish is like the simplest organism there is? Peck they can live forever but they have no brains, that’s the life you would definitely want as a huge mega mind depressed jellyfish. He is aggressive often , but he seems to keep us alive for some purpose, from that many encounters he didn’t even once actually hurt us, but instead we had a glance at his beginnings with every dream sequence he gave us, maybe there’s something he tried to tell us? In his dreams we also can have a better look at other characters, know them better and see them actually interact, they are chaotic but I must say that the dream from chapter 4 is really good at giving us insight on him and BanBan, even NabNab(rest in peace lil bud) as NabNab actually shows us a kind gestire, which could be a hint at the fact that NabNab actually has potential in being “fixed”. I hope he’s alive and there’s still a chance….

Bittergiggle , sheriff Toadster and the Queen

Well well well, I can say that chapter 4 had the best character showcase in comparison to all the previous chapters. Bittergiggle is simple in his nature, yet he just clicks with those two. All three are playing their roles, they are the caricatures given life and their purpose is their life. Toadster protects his Queen and the Queen rules her kingdom of one, something they were made or believe they were made to do , but Bittergiggle wasn’t satisfied in his need, as he couldn’t make the Queen laugh, something he was made to do. When there were humans around, maybe he was satisfied but now there’s none, and without making someone laugh he didn’t feel like he’s living, he wasn’t doing what he was made to do, then what is the point? He said himself that he desperately tried to prove himself that there’s things more important then laughter( said it himself) but the existential crisis couldn’t make him keep his mouth shut for long, it’s unfair that everyone get to play their roles but he can’t, and it’s a good motivation, maybe one we won’t understand fully, but it makes him am reasonable villain of our story and when he finally gets what he wanted, oh did it hit hard. The chase sequence after the escape of “naughty ones” was not living up to the build up, but I’m surely invested in what will happen in the next chapter

And I feel very bad for lil beak, hope we’ll get to meet our kiddo some time soon…

Also some additional stuff I like, BanBan hides his horns under the party hats, maybe when they go off he automatically gets into his satanic side? I’m really curious on how Stinger Flynn managed to make him evil for that moment and how he turns back, but maybe that will always be left out of scene, still, that’s a cool ahh detail for the little amount of details that they have!

Other characters are simpler in their nature, but I must say that Snail, Banbaleena, NabNab and Sheriff are good to, I can’t really do the analysis here as this essay is huge already, sorry:’)

———————-

CONCLUSION

All in all, Garten of BanBan is not for everyone, but it surely doesn’t deserve to be called the worst mascot horror. If you take a look at the game from the inside and not from the perspective of those who keep listening to how shit the game is, you really can find it very much entertaining and interesting if you throw all this rumble away!

I don’t make you go and buy the game or praise it, it has it’s flaws and I’m a bit disappointed in Dev’s complaints about people refunding the game , people should do with their money whatever they want. But I hope the devs learned from backlash and won’t do this again:’D

———————-

The game is becoming better and better with each chapter, Devs are good at choosing on what to improve and it’s respectable, I wish them to keep doing what they’re doing and please restock the Plushies or make new ones Im 😭😭😭😭😭 for them. Thank you for the game too<:3

And thank you for reading this! Hope my rumbling gave you an interesting perspective, I’m terrible at essays and is often flying in the clouds and getting sidetracked, but I really wanted to share my thoughts and put them out in this world,,, Get well BanBan, I’ll be waiting for the next chapters and putting them all on my shelf so they’ll look pretty 💗

#garten of banban #gob #BanBan

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shyphonics · 6 months

Text

Salad Days Chapter 2: You! Yes, you! Here’s a dime; run out and call the PMRC!

(babypunk!Rodrick Heffley x Reader)

chapter one | chapter three

Bend your knees! (ooh la la!)

Move your head like this! (ooh la la!)

Pucker them lips! (ooh la la!)

Give that butt a kiss!

Kiss… my…

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

5:52 PM

Subject: HELP

dear girl from the bar,

can I run my email 2 mike by u real quick? we r pretty sure it kicks ass but want 2 make sure

thx

*~*~rOcK oN~*~*

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

6:17 PM

Subject: RE: HELP

Do you have a signature on your email? Also, is that seriously your email address?? A dot edu, no less?

Make a band email, and then we can talk.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

6:35 PM

Subject: HELLO

Esteemed Mike Morello,

Hello, we are a band. Maybe the best band to ever exist, someday. we want to play at your bar. we will do the best job EVER!! playing at your bar. Here are some places we've played, and impressed;

talent show

birthday party for a hot girl

As u can see, we are quite experienced in the music world, and we think you are ready for us. we are also a punk band. we listen to dead kennedy’s. I am wearing a dead kennedy’s t shirt right now.

if you think u r ready for the biggest crowd youve ever seen in your bar, email us back.

IF YOU DARE!!!!

-Löded Diper

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

6:41 PM

Subject: RE: HELLO

What the fuck? No. Absolutely not. "Esteemed"?? Do not send that email. You guys sound like creeps. Delete it. Start over.

Do I have to write the damn thing for you?

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

6:45PM

Subject: RE: RE: HELLO

will u??

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

6:47 PM

Subject: RE: RE: RE: HELLO

Are you fucking kidding me?

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

6:59 PM

Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: HELLO

Hey this is Ben now,

We would like to negotiate and offer 20 dollars, an (exclusive) one of a kind band t shirt and 4 beers!! :-)

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

7:01 PM

Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: HELLO

Jesus christ. Okay, do you have a myspace or anything? A demo mp3 you can send me? So I can effectively bullshit?

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

7:07 PM

Subject: MP3

explodeddiper.mp3

http://www.myspace.com/lodeddiper

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

7:15 PM

Subject: RE: MP3

Copy and paste this:

Hey Mike,

We're a new band in town, and would love the opportunity to play at The Strike. We've heard the history of the place, and have so much respect for its legacy in the scene, and your legacy as well. We want to help keep that legacy alive.

Are there any available upcoming opener spots? Our biggest influences are Dead Kennedys, Crime, and Black Flag. We're cool with any kind of bill, we can make anything work.

Thanks so much for your time!

-Löded Diper

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

7:18 PM

Subject: RE: RE: MP3

how did u do that so fast?? thx u from everyone!!! we are going 2 send it

do u want our address for the beers?

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

7:20 PM

Subject: RE: RE: RE: MP3

That's alright. Maybe I'll see you when you get a show. I think I kissed ass enough, that should get you something. Good luck, bigshots.

As much as you hadn't wanted to give in, you'd been there before. Clamoring for your moment in the sun, making shit up and brown nosing. That's just what you had to do to get the job done. Not to mention, they clearly couldn’t have come up with anything better on their own.

Besides, their demo wasn’t terrible.

Maybe you’d even call Mike and put in a good word. He trusts you. You're stable, at least by bar staff standards.

“Hey, Mike,”

“I am so glad you called. I just read the worst news article.” he sounds stressed. Oh, great.

“Oh?”

“Are you inside? You have to get inside.”

“What?” You figure there’s nothing to worry about, but you always try to be gentle with the guy. He’d done a lot of drugs back in the day, and he runs on constant paranoia.

“I just read that Dick Cheney,” his voice drops to a whisper, “is going to attack America if John Kerry wins,”

“Mike?”

“This is serious,”

“Mike,” you interrupt him, “what was the name of the newspaper?”

The line goes quiet.

“It’s an internet paper. The Onion.”

“Mike. The Onion is satire. It’s not real.”

“Satire, huh…”

“And that election happened last year. Kerry lost.”

Mike breathes a sigh of relief.

“Read me the page that said that,” you’re trying so hard to suppress a laugh.

“Best headlines of 2004,”

“Mike. It’s 2005.” The laugh breaks free, “It’s okay, I get it. Scary times.”

“Okay. Phew. Scary times, indeed. What can I do you for?”

You pause, trying to figure out what to say.

“There’s this new band, uh, this kid came in today. You’re gonna get an email from them in a minute here, and I think you should give them a shot. Their demo’s pretty good, and the one I met seemed like he had the spirit.”

“The spirit,” Mike sighs contentedly, “did I ever tell you how we used to take the bus from Oakland to get to the Mab? If you didn’t catch that last bus home, boy, the cops wouldn’t let you sleep in the station. They’d just…”

“...beat the shit out of you with their pig batons.” You say in unison.

“It’s a great story, Mike. But this band,” you flop back on your bed.

“Yes! Sorry.”

“I was thinking you could let them have the opener spot next Friday.”

“Your first headlining show!”

“Yeah! Thanks again for that. I want Löded Diper to open.”

“Loaded… hmm. What?”

“I know. It’s terrible,” you laugh, “But it wouldn't be the first time you took a chance on some kids with a terrible name.”

“Are you talking about you? When you were called-”

“Yes!” You interrupt, “And look at me now! You're a great guy, Mike, and you've done so much for me. So much for the scene. Could you do me this last favor? ‘Cause you're the best boss in the world? The last true punk?”

It was a thing he said from time to time, usually when you didn't omit the vodka from his vodka soda.

Mike sighs down the line.

“Kid, you always know how to get me. I'll put Diaper Fuckers on the bill.”

“Löded Diper.” You're cackling.

“Loaded what-ever!” Mike makes a gagging sound, “Just promise it won't be a shitshow.”

“I promise.”

You hang up the phone and smile. Mike really has been good to you, and you definitely wouldn't be where you are without him. That wasn't just brown nosing. He'd taken a chance on you when you were a crazy street rat, and now you technically work 3 or 4 jobs for him. He pays generously. You have no idea where the fuck all his money comes from, but you're not complaining.

You relax further into your bed, turning your head to gaze out the window. These guys better be good.

You may ask yourself, "what is that beautiful house?"

You may ask yourself, "where does that highway go to?"

And you may ask yourself, "am I right, am I wrong?"

And you may say to yourself, "my god, what have I done?"

Rodrick's head swims. One of the guys had scored some weed on a job hunt, and it's not mixing the best with his current mental state. The rest of the guys had long since fallen asleep, sprawled on piles of blankets and air mattresses. Light snoring fills the room.

He fights off thoughts of home, trying to clear his brain. Shake it like an etch-a-sketch and start over. What resurfaces is simply world's best bartender. He likes that. He'd like to buy you a mug with that printed on it someday, as a thank you. He knows writing isn't his strong suit, and you'd really saved his ass. He pictures your face, and though it looks pissed off, it makes him smile.

His eyelids grow heavy, his brain goes hazier, and he drifts into an initially peaceful sleep.

He dreams of Plainview.

"You failed?? You failed the easiest certificate course at community college? Did you do the work?"

"Fuck no, I didn't do the work! I didn't want any of this! I wanna move."

"With what money? Are you going to flip burgers for a living?"

"Maybe I will!"

"You're a failure."

"I fucking hate you!"

This diner fucking sucks. Stupid asshole boss yelling at him, stupid little nametag on his stupid little vest. Heather Hills sticking her leg out from a booth and fucking tripping him while he has a whole tray of drinks. Rich kids who don't even need to go to college- they just get to go take over "the family business"- cornering him out back and kicking his ass. Pizza face like he's fucking fourteen again from the kitchen grease. What's the point? What's the fucking point of any of this?

He's angry. He's so fucking angry all the time, and he just has to take it. He knows he should have put in more effort at school. He knows he should have planned for the future. He doesn't need to hear about it every second of every goddamn day. He doesn't want the same thing everyone at school had wanted for themselves. Is that so wrong?

But keep the peace for mom and your brothers. Scrape and save where you can.

Get beat up, get laughed at, get covered in garbage. Keep practicing with the band. Get GOOD. Really good. Get incredible. And work, and work, and cry, and drum, and write, and work some more, and maybe he'll get out of here sane.

How did I get here?

#rodrick heffley #rodrick heffley x reader #doawk rodrick #rodrick heffley fanfiction #rodrick x reader #punk au #salad days #my stuff #Spotify

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fioras-resolve · 10 months

Text

last night i watched a play, my mom's production of aaron posner's "Stupid Fucking Bird." it's a really good production, if you're in the chicago area you should go see it. but it got me thinking a bit about the nature of theatrical productions and how different it is from the state of games.

like, okay. from what i understand from my parents telling me about this, here's how it works: the original production of Stupid Fucking Bird was in 2013, shortly after the play was written. since then, like many plays, the script has been licensed to dozens of productions, who will use the same script but put their own directorial spin on it. the same play may be done as a drama, a tragedy, or a comedy, and that ability to do that is part of the beauty of theatre.

these different productions are how a play stays alive, because unlike a lot of other art forms, plays are innately ephemeral. no showing is exactly the same, and once a production is done, it's over. mama's play is still in theaters, but the only way to experience yesterday's showing is to go back in time. but that sense of presence, of in-the-now, is what gives theatre, and performance generally, its character. we in the video game space tend to chafe against the concept of ephemeral art, and view it as a matter of preservation. i'm sympathetic to this! we shouldn't be letting art history be controlled by corporations who put profit above art. but there is aesthetic value in art being limited, and of-the-moment. it doesn't have to be artificial scarcity to make a quick buck. but that's a whole separate conversation in itself, and not what i wanna talk about here.

the real thing i'm interested in is this: we in the gamedev space don't really do "new productions" of old work as freely as theatre does. we do get remakes, remasters, and rereleases, but those are always either made in-house or at the strict behest of the original publisher. alternatively, the developer doesn't get the rights, and gets a cease and desist letter for it. there just isn't a culture of adaptation in games. nobody wants to hand off their work to somebody who puts their own spin on it. this is partially copyright culture, corporations very protective of their IP. but it's just as uncommon in indie spaces, and i suspect that's because there's a very real stigma against "copying somebody's work."

now, look, plagiarism sucks, and there's always going to be a debate over what specifically counts. but i'm not actually talking about that. i'm talking about the derision that the gaming community has to wearing its inspiration on its sleeve. we see this in the memes about indie rpg's inspired by EarthBound, in the way Paladins was framed as "Shitty Overwatch," and how Overwatch itself was framed as "Shitty TF2." gamers are very defensive about their favorite games, and to some, the most cringeworthy thing you can do as a dev is try to do what it's doing.

i don't have a solution to this problem, but i can be change i want to see, so, here. this is my gameography. you have permission to adapt or remake or reinterpret any of this as you like, as long as you ask first and give me a cut if you're gonna monetize it. i don't really monetize my shit usually, so it only seems fair. i'd love to see other devs do this, to see even big-name developers willing to open their work to adaptations. but there's also reasons we don't tend to do that, and maybe this'll be a failed experiment, whatever that means. i hope i've at least given you something to think about though. peace

#game design #gamedev

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smash-64 · 2 years

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2022 Game of the Year 1. Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition Square Enix Nintendo Switch, 2022 (orig. 1999, 1996)

The rumors were circulating for a while, and I honestly didn’t believe that there would ever be a remaster of Chrono Cross. So it was a huge shock to me when it finally, truly came to fruition. I got it on day one, and even ordered the physical version from Play-Asia for the collection. The cover for the Switch version beats the socks off the original PS1 release, imho. Not that the PS1 version is bad, I just think they really outdid themselves with the new art.

Chrono Cross is a masterpiece, and the remaster is giving tons of new people the chance to play it, while keeping true to the original. Character art has been updated, with everyone getting a glow up that stays true to their original design.

3D models also got an upgrade, while still keeping all the original animations and movements. They look clean, bright, and vivid. I was thrilled to see that they kept the original PS1 feel, but made everything clearer. It’s a hard thing to do and many developers feel the need to make something that breaks too far from the original, but Chrono Cross stayed true.

One thing I was most worried about was the background art. Chrono Cross went with an impressionist style when drawing many of the backgrounds, which gave each location a timeless feel. I never cared for impressionist art before playing this game, and I have come to really like it because it is meant to be imprecise and left up to interpretation. As such, it has a sort of timelessness that isn’t tied to the inevitable aging of graphics. However, simple upscaling can give harsh lines where perhaps none existed. There are a few backgrounds in the remaster that suffer this fate, but I find them so few and far-between that it did not affect me in the slightest. Probably the only example I can find of one that stood out was how the railings of the exterior of Fort Dragonia look a little jagged in the remaster. Everything else was very satisfying.

Other backgrounds go full-on sci-fi pulp novel and it’s honestly breathtaking. I showed this one to a coworker and he actually gasped. It sounds a bit goofy, and he’s not a video game fan, but he loves old pulp novels and he thought it was perfect.

I can’t say too much about the combat that hasn’t already been said. I like the element system with its levels and single-use spells. I like the customization. I like the tiers of attack strengths. And I love the animations. It’s a great battle system, with really the only downside being that maybe it’s a bit easy, especially in New Game+.

The cast of characters is unwieldy and some suffer because of it, with very little development for them. However, you can mostly overlook adding characters to your party, should you choose to do so. There are a few tied directly to the storyline, and you’ll have to use them, so you’ll never be short on characters. Additionally, you can seek out lots of characters just for fun. My personal favorites are Starky, Razzly, Kid, and Harle.

The soundtrack is possibly the best in video game history. From the heart-racing punch of Time’s Scar in the opening sequence (the one single thing that originally interested me in the game), to the smooth, comforting tunes of Arni Village and the sunny, relaxing bounce of Home World, Chrono Cross sets the tone of the early game very well. Your carefree existence will inevitably change as you begin the story, and each new area has a perfectly matched song to go with it. Ghost Ship. Hydra Marshes. Chronopolis. The songs alone will clue you in to what each world looks like and feels like. Finally, the credits song, sometimes called Radical Dreamers and sometimes called Unstolen Jewel, can still bring a tear to my eye even after years of listening to it on repeat. This is a perfect soundtrack. Only one game even comes close in my mind, and composer Yasunori Mitsuda also worked on that one.

Finally, this special edition of Chrono Cross comes with the Japan only game that eventually became Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers. It’s a text-based adventure game that shares a few characters with its eventual final version, as well as a few locations and songs. I think I prefer the final versions of all of the songs, but it’s great to hear them in their Super Famicom, proto-versions. It’s hard to really rate this game because it was essentially just a DLC game available exclusively on the Satellaview, an Internet-enabled Super Famicom add-on (yes, in the mid-90s), but for what it is, it is filled with charm. Kid is at her snarky, thieving best in this game and it’s definitely a must play if you enjoy Chrono Cross.

Chrono Cross was the game that won me over to JRPGs as a genre; I still remember @boner-taunt in disbelief when I told him I was playing it. Replaying it in glorious HD was the highlight of my video game experience in 2022.

#chrono cross #radical dreamers #jrpg #yasunori mitsuda #masterpiece #game of the year #2022 #countdown

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fayesdiary · 11 months

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oh you found a really good FE ask list, but since it would be a bit crazy to ask for every question let's go with...13, 24, 25, 31, and 37

Thanks Lore, made it myself😂

13) What do you like most about Fire Emblem?

Oh, that's... suprisingly hard to say because Fire Emblem's one of those series who's more than the sum of its parts.

But then again, I think I'd say the fandom. Or at least the niche circle I found here on Tumblr.

I found a lot of new friends here and really helped me open up at least in this space online wish i'd work irl too, but most of all... this series really opened my creativity in a way that no other piece of media ever did. Something about it feels... really approachable from a transformative standpoint.

Thanks to it I opened this blog, which led me to make lots of new friends (love you Lore btw <3), made some essays and thought pieces and most of all, I wrote fanfiction and art! Two things I always thought I was too talentless to make! And no matter what, Ill always be grateful to this franchise for me, despite how much the mainstream fandom sucks ass. Fuck 'em anyway, ignored them ever since before 3H release.

Speaking of this franchise inspiring creatvity, I always admired from afar the lovely folks at Feuniverse. The amount of hacks and fangames is astounding and I can't believe how many people made straight up fully fledged games from hacks! Maybe one day I will join her if I ever feel motivated enough. Maybe. I want to play more hacks at the very least, especially because FEE3 is one of my favorite fan events.

24) An FE title you wish would be remade?

Geneaology would be the obvious answer and don't get me wrong, I absolutely do want to see it remade and believe it inevitably will one day...

But if I have to be honest I want a rerelease of the Tellius games first because they're the hardest to play even through... illegitimate means if you're say, like me and only have an old laptop to emulate them with. Whether they'd be remakes or simple remasters, I don't really care as long as they play as they should.

25) Any general or specific headcanons you have?

Dragons have a lifespan of 100 times that of the humans.

It's never stated how much longer dragons live compared to humans, but given that Tiki is 1000 years old as a child and 3000 as an adult, i find the 100x multiplier fits really well and helps keep track of dragons' age more clearly, even if Fòdlan and Elyos dragons do seem to live longer than even that.

So by that logic in dragon years, Tiki is 10 in Shadow Dragon and in her thirties in Awakening, Nowi is 12 and Myrrh is 14.

Doesn't completely fit, but it sure helps visualize things more clearly.

31) Some moments of Fire Emblem you keep thinking of?

Speaking of the new things, um, the Twisted Joke, Engage ch11 and 17, most of the Engage endgame really. And Slayde bravely taking on a bunch of children in the Echoes prologue traumatizing the shit out of them and still getting his ass kicked (by Mycen, but still)

37) What's a weird theory or headcanon you have?

Rhea copes with her daily life through recreational drug use given that quest where she gives weed herbs to distressed students

#fire emblem #loregoddess #ask replies #my rambles #the day i have enough time energy and motivation to make an fe hack/fangame it's all over

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ramblinguitar · 10 months

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Happy Saturday from your Secret Santa 🎅. I am doing well. How are you doing today?

And thank you! Hopefully this message is just as lovely 🥰.

In regards to Etsy, what made you decide to start selling on there, and what do you find to be your most popular items? My degree is in art, and I like to draw and paint, so I'm thinking handpainting items to sell on there. I just have to make a supply of thing haha.

I also see you like to write! I enjoy writing some too. What kind of things do you generally like to write about? And are your writings available anywhere to read?

I have a soft spot for Nirvana too from my high-school days. I listened to them alot. I know some Soundgarden songs, but admittedly, I haven't delved too deep into their catalog. That's something I know I should do though. Do you have any song recommendations by them?

What other kinds of hobbies do you have? Or things that just interest you in general?

Sorry about the plethora of questions I just dumped on you! I like asking questions 🤣

I will be stopping by again soon, and I hope you have an amazing day! 👋

Hello! I’m so sorry this took me a bit to get to (and no it isn’t too much at all! I thoroughly enjoy it, I wanted to give it time bc of the recs, and then I got busy, and forgot).

For Etsy - I’ve never had like a ‘best seller’, or anything. If one sold more than all the others, it would probably be the Loki one. It was intended for more of a pagan audience, but I’m pretty sure it’s mostly hit the marvel demographic 🤷‍♀️

I think that’s a wonderful idea! I’m also into art (wanted to go to college for it, but didn’t). What medium do you enjoy best? If you intend to sell your works, I’d start with a mix of prints and originals/canvas. And maybe a few stickers. Start with around twenty-twenty five items. Make sure you charge fairly! It can be challenging doing that, and feel like it’s ‘too much’, but you deserve to be paid fairly for your work and time. I’m speaking from experience on that because I didn’t charge properly at first, wanted to make them accessible to everyone as much as possible, and didn’t make enough to meet the cost of materials which I almost had to close the shop over.

I do! Writing has always been a passion of mine. I’d like to publish one day, if I can manage it. I have some works up on here! You can view @skohliwrites for a few poems and one short story. I have others under the #mywriting on this blog. If they don’t show up, let me know, I’d be happy to repost something for you, if you’d like!

I generally writing in the sci-fi fantasy genres, both YA and adult. I also like historical fiction. My current favorite author would probably be Pierce Brown off the top of my head, whom wrote the Red Rising series. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend!

What genres do you like to write in, or read?

Ooo, I love giving song recs 😂 there’s a tag for it here, too! Feel free to give it a browse - #musicrecs

Here’s a few of my favorite Soundgarden songs, in no order:

And from Chris’ other band, Audioslave, because I need you to hear these vocals:

My other hobbies include playing guitar, being out in nature, reading (that might’ve been a given), crocheting, cooking, and I’m sure there’s some others lol what about you? What’re your hobbies?

Have a wonderful day 🎅! Until next time!

#srs #soundgarden #audioslave #chris cornell #music recs

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nighttimechimes · 2 years

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With the release of Prime remastered, I remembered an interesting experience I had while playing the Wii version years ago. I often think about this so i thought hey, tumblr is a place for shouting thoughts to the void, so i might as well share this little story time.

This is about the first time I got a game over screen while playing. I know everyone knows the prime game over is quite intense, and i hear people saying it scared them a lot as a child, this isn't just about that. I remember this moment because of everything that led up to that game over. So umm TW if you don't want to hear about samus dying horribly, I guess.

So, i'm playing a copy of the Wii trilogy edition i borrowed from a friend, on my kitchen tv. I had been playing for a bit that day and I knew I had to leave for class soon. I had just passed a very stressful enemy heavy section, and my HP had kind of suffered.

I arrived at a huge puzzle room, and I realized this could probably take a while, and i didnt have that kind of time, nor enough health.

I didn't want to lose my progress, so I made a Tactical Gaming Decision. I didn't know how far away the next save station would be, but I knew where the last one was. I would have to go through the enemies I had passed again, as they would have respawned, but I could just run past them, and any collateral damage would be healed at the save station. Yeah, seems doable.

So I turned around, and I started running back the way I came. It was a thin, winding one way corridor, quite claustrophobic. There were a lot of enemies, and they were all shooting at me and chipping away at my health. But I wasn't worried because, again, I would be healed soon.

And then I reached the end of the corridor, where the door to safety should be.

Only I couldn't see it.

I kept looking and checking my map, because god knows I tend to not see things that are right in front of me, and I get disoriented easily. But the map said the door should be there, except there was certainly no door. Just a wall.

I always thought that maybe there was no door because you're not supposed to go back at that point, and the game doesn't expect you to. In retrospect, it's most likely I just missed the door somehow. But I could not see it at all.

And then I realized that all of the enemies I had run past had followed me. All of them. I remember them approaching slowly, like in a horror movie. And they were shooting.

The corridor was small and it was filled to the brim with space pirates, blocking any way out, and my back was to a wall that should have been a door. My health was quite low by my standards at that point. I was not very good at combat, so even if I tried my best, there was no way I could clear a way forward through the wall of enemies. And I really, really had to leave for class now.

So I made another Tactical Gaming Decision, and decided the easiest, and fastest thing to do now was to give up.

But I was curious, at that point. I had not died yet in this game. Now I had put myself in this position, where I was surely going to get a game over, and I kinda wanted to see what it looked like.

And instead of just turning off the console, I decided to let Samus die.

So I sighed, put down the Wii remote, sat back on my tiny, uncomfortable kitchen chair, and just watched the screen as a dozen space pirates shot Samus, and slowly drained her energy tanks.

As her energy got lower, I felt kind of bad. I mean, it's only a video game, but this is just sad. She doesn't even get to fight back. If Samus could choose to, would she? She doesn't have a chance, even if she's better at fighting than me. She's completely surrounded and cornered. Would she give up? Would she just let the space pirates shoot her to death, in this tiny, asphyxiating corridor on a dying planet? Probably not. She would probably fight until she couldn't anymore.

But I, as the player, just didn't want to fight. So I watched in morbid fascination as she went down to her last energy tank, and an urgent beeping started, red flashing danger lights of "energy low" filled the screen.

For those who may not know, Prime's game over starts with Samus letting out a terrible scream, as her visor turns off. Then you see her head, visor cracked, her life support flatlines with a long beep, and her head drops to one side.

So I sit there, mouth agape, positively disturbed by that whole thing. That was horrible.

As I turned off the console and I left for class, I kept thinking about it. That was kind of a very interesting scene that happened there. That could be in a book. Or a movie. I kept thinking about what happened from samus' point of view: deciding it was too dangerous to keep going, and that it would be safer to return and heal and then try again. And then finding her way out closed, realizing there's no way she can make it... and giving up. That's terrifying.

I still think about it sometimes. Something intense or interesting that happened not because it was scripted, but because the player did something different. I wondered if other people have had similar experiences. At the time it was so fascinating to me, I really wanted to know more stories like this.

So. Yeah. If you were bored enough to read all the way here, thanks! And if you have any similar stories or experiences, from any game, please please share them! I'm still extremely curious. It doesn't have to be a horrible death scene, either.

I'm really enjoying Prime remastered. I haven't yet reached the bit where this happened all those years ago, but i'm waiting for it to finally see if i was crazy, or the door really disappeared. I have to know... even if it might kill samus again. But this time I will fight for her life.

#metroid #metroid prime #samus #story time #i just really like videogames #sorry samus ily #metroid prime remastered #ramble post

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