#but mostly dissappointed

[chillisreal]

having online friends can be a headache sometimes

[ganondoodle]

I was at first in love with totk, and I still think mechanical wise, its quite impressive

And when I collected all the tears and saw the "story" I genuinely got upset in a good way (at first), because man! Did they really got the balls to go that far? Is there nothing I can do for her? Now I MUST do all the temples, see how it plays out and --oh, I've got this cutscene already. Why are all the people so dumb about Zelda, I KNOW where she is, Link say something-- Link??

After finishing all the temples and almost falling asleep, I stopped playing the game, looked up the last boss and remaining cutscenes and went "Thats it?"

Watching other people (including you) being critically about so many things, both character and mechanical wise, I've almost startled myself with a realization what the gnawing feeling I constantly had, actually was.

Totk feels like a fanfic.

And don't get me wrong, I love fanfiction, I think its great and important, I adore fanfic writers, I love finding gems, I love reading self indulgent stories, see new spins and interpretation of characters. I love the casual, the passion, the creativity!

But totk gives me the same feeling everytime I am reminded that Fifty Shades is a Twillight fanfic.

The world is there. The faces I know and grew to love are there. But everything is ever so slightly different, uncannily so. Just how some characters talk, how they act, how they were placed in the story. The Zonai appearing out of nowhere, but no, they always had been there you see, they were these super magical advanced people but they all died, the king is so tragic. And you see, the king is super cool and powerful and-- oh I dont get to interact with him outside of the tutorial. Did they try to do another King Rhoam-- but wait, that only worked because we didn't knew he was a ghost-- totk wait stop why do you take him out of the story, why couldn't he be a companion, he IS ABLE TO TALK THROUGH THE ARM LET THE OLD GOAT COMMENT ON STUFF?? If you bring up all this ancient stuff and you still got a ghost lingering, let him talk?? (I never ended up getting Mineru but I smell wasted potential as well)

Im not even mad, I am disappointed. It feels like the devs saw what all the lore hunters got attached to and talked about and then just... took the "cool". All the Zonai stuff could've easily been Sheikah tech, but got just reskinned to look more exciting instead of being its own thing.

Like... at this point I prefer what fans are doing over what Totk gave us. The characterization of Rauru (and everything Zonai), projects like you do of what totk couldve been, the little nuggets of actual highlights and details of love fans find in the game. I found much more enjoyment in these concepts than I got from a 70bucks game. And thats depressing.

I love fanfiction. I dont love it when my corporate 70 dollar, six year development, console exclusive game feels like a story that passionate fan couldve written miles better in a week (and I've already seen much cooler and interesting rewrites and ideas).

Zelda has been a huge part of my childhood and its depressing seeing it treated like that. It always was about the story, the epic, its The Legend of Zelda for crying out loud. To be courageous to enter a dungeon, to be wise and solve all the riddles. To become powerful over the journey you embarked on. Zelda to me is the campfire story you tell to others and go into the woods or the beach and imagine what monsters you would slay. Zelda is not the sandcastle you build in the sandbox and then add dinosaurs and star wars ships because you didn't had any other toys, and just stumble into and over some story to entertain yourself until lunch is ready.

I'd have an oracle of seasons over another totk any day at this point. They should've just make the mechanics of totk its own thing, but I guess they were scared it wouldn't sell if it doesn't have a Mario or Zelda skin straped over it.

Anyways, sorry for the mini rant - love your art, love your thoughts and insights, and I am looking forward to see more of it - Zelda related or not (your original characters look amazing, I adore your style sm)

Hope you have a great rest of the day!

*nods along through this entire rant*

idk how many of my rants you have read but yeah ... yeah ... and the further you think about it the further it all falls apart, the wasted potential of it all and the goddamn audacity of them to do those interviews in which they make it EVEN WORSE is just

i know the expectation for a direct sequel to botw was huge and understandbly so but i really REALLY think it would not have been that hard to make it a good follow up even taking into account that totk was originally a DLC, pretty much all of botws aspects could have been developed further, i dont know what could have happened to make totk have turned out like this .. literally it feels like something had to have gone wrong, its like someone who doesnt know zelda nor botw at all was given a few prompts and then just made some generic fantasy story while the rest worked on ultrahand for 5 years

the technical impressive things ARE technical impressive, but i dont think it was necessary nor served the game well in any way (and i LOVE building games- however totk is neither a building game nor a story game nor a zelda game nor an exploration game nor a sequel imo) but zelda, this zelda, is not made for that and i cant help but think it was mainly to encourage people to make some ridiculous mechs so it can go viral on tiktok (not trying to discredit them, it IS cool what they are doing but i .... have my doubts if zelda is the right place for that)

ill stop there bc i have ranted so much about everything i dont wanna repeat it here again; it just doesnt feel like a real game (derogatory), it feels extra bad bc i was not really into zelda when botw came out and while i did get it as soon as i could (months after release since i just started a minijob and didnt have the money) i only over time grew to love zelda this much again, devouring any theories and anything about it bc i loved it so much- i was never into it like this when a new title was announced and dont own any special editions so i bought the totk collectors bc i was just so damn excited for it after the 2019 trailer dropped (god i want that time back ... it looked so much more like it was going to be an actual sequel) even if i was already worried it wouldnt be good at that point given how much i started to sense stuff i dont like about the newer trailers

i recently sold it at our local gameshop bc it was like a thorn in my side given how expensive it was and how dissapointed i was in the game, i genuinely think that, technical impressiveness aside, totk is the onyl zelda i truly cannot stand (for alot of reasons) and im genuinely worried for the future of the franchise

i bought an Oki (Okami) figurine for what i got back and i feel much happier with that :3

(also on a note, i did finish the game two weeks after release but stopped playing it right then and hadnt touched it since, i also streamed all of what i played and its still up if you want to see my slow descend into madness fjkdhkdhjk though its been a long while since then and i by far did not talk about everything back then, just what my most immediate frustrations were while still playing)

(also the gameplay isnt as good as people make it out to be, so much is so frustrating and punishing to use i am kinda baffled it got through like that and most people call that its best aspect ..... though i guess if the rest is so much worse even mid gameplay can seem good ooooooooh how dare i)

also thank you for liking what i do!!! <3 it means alot to know it is appreciated by someone :D

[byberbunk2069]

So Mi is not having the face tattoo anymore

[fishisahappydog]

Literally.

Like The Cleanse only gets to happen because nobody but Viktor was trying to find and save Ben.

Five sent Diego and Luther to the CIA building so they wouldn't get in his way and then he just...fucks off for 7 years because he'd rather listen to Lilia's advice to mess with the timeline?

Allison goes looking for Klaus because apparently three years of sobriety and three timelines learning to control his powers means he just has to relapse immediately, now, this second. And then he gets to spend the very limited season time apart from the family. AGAIN.

And we didn't even get to see him use his ghost soldiers to drag him out of the casket despite having so many recently dead people around.

So the ending, with Five saying how the Cleanse is unstoppable and the family has to give up and blah blah blah rings really hollow because we barely saw them trying to stop it in the first place.

But it was nice seeing their younger versions again.

Klaus’ plot adds literally nothing to this season if anything I just find it frustrating? Between him dicking around doing drugs and stealing money and then Five and Lila jumping subways then growing strawberries together and banging its like wow we really found insane ways to legitimately waste a lot of time when you only have six fucking episodes.

[shysuccubusstuff]

yandere! diluc pt. 1

Content: dubcon/noncon, stalker behaviour, yandere, syringe, manhandling, kidnap, foul language.

Note: Yeah I know I have a pt. 2 left but i'm so so dry bc of exams and stress so I just wanted to post stuff I like without (trying) to think too much, as always, non-proof reader.

Credits to anitelenia for the lovely divider.

It had been a few days since you started to realize it.

You mostly noticed it when you were alone, walking quietly to your house after your night shift. You had just left the flower shop, trying to walk as fast as possible, just thinking about your warm and soft bed. You were far too deep in your fantasies when you finally stumbled upon someone. Your forehead bumped against something stiff, you could say that it was even hard. Just as you were about to apologize a deep voice talked:

"I'm sorry... I really wasn't looking, are you ok?" Deep blazing eyes encountered with yours, his eyes shining as wild flames despite the cold light of the moon. His hair was swaying, making his face look even more charming, how come you had never seen someone as beautiful as him around? You were dazzed for a moment, your lips almost forming a small circle, luckily, you were fast enough to realize it, finally being able to snap out of it.

"Oh, no, it's my fault, it's kinda dark today so yeah... I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, I'm sorry..." As soon as you babbled your poor excuses, the man laughted softly, his eyes forming small crescent moons.

"Diluc, just call me by my name." You nodded, a bit stranged cause, who would simply give their name to some stranger found in the middle of the night?

"Oh, nice to meet you sir Diluc, I gotta go, see you around!" You left without losing more time, after all, your dear bed was waiting all alone for you. If only you had pay a bit more attention to whatever that man was saying before leaving...

"I'm sure we will meet much more often from now on, dear." Without saying nothing else, Diluc left, walking back to the wineyard and starting to plan how would he be able to make you let down your walls.

A few months had passed, and just as he had foresaw, both of you had suddenly became the soon-to-be couple in Mondstadt. Everytime people saw you around, his eyes started to share furtive glances, their hands making small gestures in a comedic way. Even despite Diluc acted as if he was unaware, he knew it. After all, those rumors had been planned by him. He helped you with even small stuff, always getting up and bringing you your drink, paying when he invited you to have lunch or diner, always as "friends" of course, definitely not because he was already thinking about the ring to ask you to marry him... He also waited for you after work, always bringing you small bouquetes of flowers that he had "found" around while he was doing small quests (he was actually buying them, then making the bouquet with your favourite flowers).

He had already written down all your favourite places, foods, flowers, colours, the type of clothes that you liked, your most hated food, your fears, the name of your first pet... the list could go on for hours. Cause if he didn't know all that information, could he even call himself your boyfriend?

He also had a "small" compilation of sneak pics he had taken of you, the photos were laying around his room, some were hanged in frames, others were hidden in boxes, the rest were used for his shrine in progress.

Of course, when he finally confessed his feelings, he was 100% sure you would fall in love with him, he had done everything you had told him you liked in a man! So when your face changed, your eyes suddenly losing that loving spark, his world almost crashed completely. You tried to explain it to him, it was not the first time a man who you had considered a friend had confessed to you, so you were a bit dissappointed... did that mean that you had approached her with that intention since the beginning? You didn't know what to think, so you asked him for some time, just enough for you to think deep about it. Before you knew it, his hand was already way too close to your neck, a small zap being sent all through your body and causing you to fall against his arms.

When you finally woke up, you were in his room, the fire was crackling, almost making it feel way too... cozy, almost as if you were at "home". What happened? Just as you were about to move from the bed, you noticed something. There was a chain tied to your ankle, tying you to the bed, your clothes had been changed to a soft nightgown, somehow perfectly fitting your body, what the hell had happened?

You were about to scream, when the door opened, his crimson hair swaying just like the first night you had met. He was carrying a small tray, some grapes and other fruits were on top of it. As soon as he noticed you were awake, his lips curved up, his eyes shining with pure devotion.

"Darling! I'm sorry, it seems the thing I created had a little misscalculation..." Diluc apologized, leaving the tray in his desk.

"Are you ok? Do you feel any type of pain? It would kill me to know that I have hurt you..." His hands moved towards you, although as soon as he saw you flintch his hands stopped, his face looking as hurt as if he was the one that had been chained. He suddenly got up from the bed, once again heading towards his desk and taking something from one of the drawers. He got close to you, and despite your failed attempts of squirming away from his touch, it was all in vain as soon as you felt a pulsing pain, almost as if you had been pricked with a needle. The blood that was supposed to keep you on edge was suddenly towards your lower half. What was happening?

As soon as he had used that strange needle, your whole body had went soft, almost limp. did he inject something inside of you? Before you were able to complain anything about it, your brain felt as if it had turned into mush, your brain feeling too fuzzy to think.

"What... what was that?" Diluc eyes' glistened, looking a bit too proud of his work.

"Just some potion to help ease your mind, you looked too... stressed before, but now you look just like a pretty little doll, darling. Did you like the nightgown I bought? I knew it would suit you, but I didn't think it would make you look even prettier!" His hands went through your soft hair, his hands feeling a bit too... hot, maybe it was actually your body the one that was melting?

"Diluc, you need to let me go... I... We can talk about all of this... I promise I won't say it to the knights of Favonius..." You tried to hard to form a cohesive sentence, but Diluc's face switched, his calm face turning into a grin.

"Oh sweet heart, you are almost as naive as beautiful. Do you truly think that those... pesky little knights can harm me in anyway?" Diluc's gaze darkened, his eyes drifting through your whole body. "I'm sorry for having to take this...solution, but you were getting a bit too... close, you know?" Diluc sat down at your side, his hand moving your head a little, just enough for your head to rest on his shoulder. "Just being close to you makes me feel at peace, you know?" His body shifted a little, his calloused hand taking your hair out of your face. "I finally made up my mind after seeing you two that afternoon... that damned liar keeps trying to take what's mine." His hands moved, his fingertips drifted through your chest, pinching a bit your nipples, just enough to let a moan leave your mouth.

"That drug is still active, I guess..." He pushed you just a little, your body falling to the bed without much resistance. His frame on top of you, his soft hair sending shivers down your spine. His face lowered, his soft lips leaving kisses all through your neck, letting you whimper as much as you wanted. His hands were moving around, slowly touching your clothed cunt, treating you as if you were a delicate porcelain doll. "I can even see your pretty pussy, are you that excited to be touched?" You tried to complain, of course that was not the case! That damned syringe had done something to you, of course you were only able to make some complain noises.

"Uhm... to be honest that was just a muscle relaxant, it was just in case you tried to play some little tricks on me, I'm sorry for doubting you, honey. But I swear I will never do anything like it again, I just got a bit anxious." His hands got away from your lower half, going back up and starting to caress your face, kissing your pretty lips and making them all shiny.

"We can consume our love any other day, I've prepared plenty of stuff for us to do, sweet heart." Before you were able to complain, your eyes started to close, body too tired to even ask when would you be free.

[hb-writes]

Debates with the Don

Summary: Harvey's late to Charlie's semi-final debate tournament and now he has to make it up to her.

Characters: Harvey Specter & Charlie Specter (OC)

Suits (Lines to Live By) Masterlist

Comfy-vember 2024 Masterlist

—

It was just a district semi-final. It wasn’t that serious, not like the city-wide finals, but Charlie was still been nervous, her eyes eagerly searching the crowd for her brother’s face as she reviewed her notes in her mind, not bothering to glance down to the cards in her hands. Technically, Harvey wasn’t late yet, but it was getting close enough that a bit of doubt was starting to settle in Charlie's stomach, a bit of worry.

She knew Donna had put the tournament in Harvey’s calendar, color-coded in Charlie’s usual purple hue, and she knew her brother planned to attend. Harvey had been helping her prepare all week and he had mentioned it when he dropped her off at school in the morning, but Charlie also knew how common it was for something to come up unexpectedly in her brother’s line of work.

His Friday schedules had a tendency of going from mostly manageable to never-ending with a certain regularity, so Charlie wouldn’t have been surprised if Harvey ended up stuck at the office or out with a client. Charlie wouldn’t even have been mad if that was the case. She would be dissappointed, sure, but she couldn't really blame him.

And it wasn’t as if Harvey would really miss anything new if he didn’t make it. He had helped Charlie prepare, after all, listening to her practice her opening statement over and over, providing his critiques and playing as the opposing side, quizzing her and rebutting until she knew both sides of the argument inside and out.  

Maybe that was why she was so nervous about Harvey’s noticeable absence. He’d been along with her for what felt like every piece of the preparation, so it put her on edge knowing he wasn’t there, made her more nervous than normal.

Charlie took a steadying breath as her name was announced. She would be debating for the affirmative. Delaying for only a few seconds, Charlie stood, her feet carrying her toward the podium even though a large part of her longed to run straight off the stage. No matter how many tournaments she had been through, she still always felt a nervous churning in the pit of her stomach at the start. 

There was always a shakiness in her voice when she first spoke, and she always felt as though she couldn’t get quite enough air into her lungs, her voice always a bit weak and quiet as she reached the end of her initial sentence. The nerves always evened out within a few moments, allowing her to perform, but she was struggling more than normal tonight, stumbling over her words and forgetting as she rushed through her opening. 

Charlie swallowed the lump in her throat, glancing down at her notes as the door in the back of the auditorium opened. She glanced up at the interruption, Harvey’s proud gaze on her as he slid into a seat near the back. An encouraging nod had the weight lifting off of Charlie’s chest, the next sentence coming out stronger as she focused her gaze on the back of the auditorium, meeting her brother's eyes and pretending that it was just the two of them practicing. 

Just her and Harvey talking. 

The words came easier after that, as if her brother’s presence fortified Charlie. She gave the opening statement a strong finish and she couldn’t be rattled by her opponent's questions. It seemed that after Harvey arrived, Charlie was unstoppable.

It had been no surprise by the end of the night that Charlie’s team were judged the winners. Families surged toward the stage to congratulate their students, but Charlie went against the flow to meet Harvey near the back of the auditorium as they always did at school functions, making sure they were able to exit before the crowd and avoid unnecessary small talk with the newly-divorced PTA moms who always seemed to be looking Harvey's way.

Harvey pulled Charlie into his side as she approached, hugging her as they moved toward the doors and out onto the sidewalk. 

“You kicked ass in there, kiddo.” 

Charlie grinned, handing over the trophy they’d given her as they set off down the street.

“I screwed up the opening," she said as Harvey looked over the trophy, pride surging through him despite his sister's self-depreciating words. "Everything I said before you showed up was complete garbage.”

“Guess it’s a good thing I showed up when I did, huh?” he asked.

Harvey nudged her and she nudged him back. “Well, it would’ve been better if you actually showed up on time.” 

“I was three minutes late,” Harvey answered before he slipped the backpack from Charlie’s shoulder, carrying it for her. “There was traffic.”

“Should’ve taken the subway,” she offered. “Don't have to worry about traffic when you take the subway.”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “Keep that up and I’m telling Ray you’re trying to get rid of him.” 

“If anything, that man deserves a raise for having to deal with you all day," Charlie answered. "I’m just saying sometimes the subway is the better—”

“You’re not winning this debate, Charlotte, so don’t even start.” They paused at the corner, Harvey glancing down the street to decide their next move. He had sent Ray home for the night once he dropped Harvey at Charlie's school, leaving them to find their own way back to the apartment. “Are you hungry? We can stop somewhere around here for a nice dinner. Celebrate.” 

Charlie was dressed well-enough in her button down and skirt suit that they could actually go someplace fancy. With the outfit, she could pretend she wasn’t just some highschool kid going out for dinner with her big brother, but a young professional. Maybe even an associate at the law firm. Part of her wondered if she’d be able to get away with ordering a glass of wine without being carded…she figured Harvey might let her get away with it. Especially if she played up the whole him being late thing...

Charlie had been too nervous for lunch, so the idea of walking down the street for a nice dinner was enticing, but when Charlie thought of what she really wanted after a long week of school and preparing for the debate tournament, it wasn’t a fancy restaurant. It wasn’t pretending to be a fancy adult. It wasn't even a fancy glass of wine.  

What Charlie really wanted was the comfort of home.

She wanted her pajamas.

She wanted the couch. 

She wanted fuzzy blankets and a pizza. 

She wanted a quiet movie night with her brother.

“Or we can just get takeout,” she offered, eyebrows raised. “Watch a movie?”

“Are you sure?” Harvey asked. “We’re celebrating.” 

“I’m sure.” Charlie nodded. “The celebration is that you’re going to let me pick the food. And you can make it up for me for being late by letting me pick the movie.” 

Harvey snorted, turning from Charlie to wave down a cab. “Fine, let’s go home, but we’re not watching one of your vampire movies,” he answered. “None of that New Eclipse crap or whatever it’s called.” 

“New Moon,” Charlie groaned as a taxi slowed to a stop beside the curb. “Twilight. New Moon. Eclipse. Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2. It’s not hard to remember.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Harvey answered as he opened the cab door. “I wish I could forget I ever saw any of them.” 

“Only so you could have the wonderful experience of watching them for first time again. Don’t lie, Harvey. I know you enjoyed them. And listen, how about I make you an offer you can’t refuse?” Charlie said as she stepped up to the open door, taking the trophy back from her brother’s hands. “And next time you win an award this big, you can pick the movie. How about that?” 

“How about you get your butt in the cab?”

Charlie scoffed. “You don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship. You don't even think to call me Godfather.”

“I’m gonna call you something if you don’t get in the car,” Harvey answered. “Come on. I’m sure this nice gentleman has better things to do than being held up by you quoting the Godfather.”

Charlie shook her head, but slid into the cab, waiting until Harvey closed the door and provided their address before reaching out to place a hand on his arm. “You're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the family again. Ever.”

“Are you done, Godfather?” 

Charlie held out her hand, making deliberate eye contact with Harvey before shifting her glance to her hand.

“I’m not kissing your hand, Charlie.” 

“Fine.” Charlie shrugged and turned away from her brother, watching the city pass by. “I guess we’ll be watching New Moon again, then.” 

Harvey didn’t answer, instead phoning in an order to his sister’s favorite pizza place, a smile coming to Charlie’s lips because Harvey had known exactly what she wanted for dinner without having to even ask her—a neapolitan pizza and way too many chocolate-dipped cannolis.  

“Alright, fine,” Charlie said as her brother hung up the phone. “We can watch the Godfather instead.”

"You want to show your respects?" Harvey asked as he raised his hand between them only for Charlie to slap it away.

"Not a chance, Fredo."

—

Suits (Lines to Live By) Masterlist

Comfy-vember 2024 Masterlist

[maxwell-grant]

Me, yesterday: Yeah you know, I like M.Bison but I'm really not a fan of him coming back, he's had his time already, he undermines a lot of current characters and storylines by coming back, we really don't need him again, it was always inevitable but I don't know man maybe oh my GOD is that the RAUL JULIA HORSE? 10/10 100/10 bring him back forever

Okay but more seriously: As one of the dead last characters I wanted to come back, the trailer had me totally flip on that stance. I mean yes it helps I'm a mark for the guy, it helps SF6 is infuriatingly good at character presentation even for characters I don't care for, but I actually think they found a very neat way to reintroduce Bison to the series this time around basically by doing to him what they did with Seth: Destroying and rebuilding him as a shell of his former self, with a whole new design, and thus a new personality and angle to approach him from, and in no position to be the Final Boss from the get-go (since it's not like they have much of a story to insert him in). But where as with Seth they leaned into the tragedy of it, Bison is now a ticking time bomb, a looming disaster waiting to happen, which fits him looking like a Horseman of Death.

It was pretty blatant even back in V that Bison was always going to come back, with Phantom Bison existing and Rose's prophecy and characters hallucinating him left and right and all the Shadaloo plot points in 6 spelling it outright. His iconic status aside, his return was telegraphed since forever, so I'm glad that they did it in a way that doesn't actually bring him back all the way to his usual self. Even putting him at the start of a new DLC Year, rather than building a big endgame show out of him like they did with Akuma, also goes a long way towards undercutting the idea that he's coming back to be the Final Boss again.

I'm really impressed with his new design because it is the perfected version of an idea they've been kicking around ever since the drafts for SFIV, that was Bison coming back all battered and torn and fucked-up. Much like older/bearded Ryu, it's an idea they saved into alternate costumes but now are finally willing to go through with as the direction for the character moving onwards. "From riches to rags" is the idea described, and they achieved it by flipping around the kind of old-school overlord he represents. Instead of General Washizaki/Yasunori Kato, he is now Raoh/Violence Jack, the ruler of the wastelands, galloping mightily onwards. (And given Ryu is based on Kenshiro, the biggest villain of this world being Raoh feels like a decision that was waiting to happen)

They've made it so they get to have it both ways: You can have M.Bison in the game looking like his old self with the classic costume, and he's here playable doing all the good Bison stuff and a bunch of new sick shit for you to love, but in the story/lore, he couldn't be further away from being like his old self, and now there is a big mystery box on what is gonna be his deal moving forward. Bison is so well-established to the playerbase that every little thing they do differently can mean something, not just in the design but also in smaller details like his light-blue flames that potentially indicate Soul Power (and that he uses to tame himself in his victory animation), or even the fact that he has visible pupils now.

I think a large part of the pushback against Bison has to do with him being so big in V's storyline and A Shadow Falls dissappointing, and the fear that they'll do it again now that he's back, but there isn't really a storyline for him. The World Tour story is set, the DLC characters add extra stuff to it but are mostly self-contained, I don't think Bison is set to bring another boring world domination plot with him this time around. It's unclear if he even wants it. I could be very wrong here, because I don't want another Bison Doomsday Plot either, I don't want another A Shadow Falls, but my interest is piqued because of how far he seems to be from doing that.

He doesn't know who or what he is, he is a homeless wanderer in Metro City, he is having a hard time keeping his power under control, and Shadaloo is currently warring between factions that want to bring him back and factions trying to ensure he stays dead, nevermind the fact that most if not all of the characters have moved past him (and Ryu still has the power to destroy him, and if Ryu isn't that much fessed up anymore about Akuma, he's definitely not gonna be that concerned about Bison), and the first thing he did when he came back was revive a horse from the dead.

I'm not gonna say this Bison is poised to turn a new leaf, but they did say he is "searching for an identity to make him smile".

Maybe the real world domination was the horses we befriended along the way.

[sparky-is-spiders]

Actually I’m not done. I have more. Peter spent all of S4 trying to beat the Lonely away from Jon with a stick. He was not going to lose his bet with Elias over one meal, even a particularly good and available one. This is why miserable and lonely jonpeter is so good and viable btw. Jon’s loneliness is exacerbated in like twelve different directions. His friends/coworkers worried that this means he’s becoming more monstrous/joining the side of the other monsters and getting more aggressive and pulling away and/or the pressure of keeping the relationship a secret. Of Jon wanting to reach out but knowing he can’t, because the others wouldn’t understand and it might drain whatever dregs of goodwill remained. The misery that would be their actual relationship, Jon who can’t bring himself to break off this connection with one of the few people who doesn’t treat him like a monster but who probably feels guilty over it and who certainly wouldn’t feel very loved, appreciated, or seen. The fact that it probably can’t even last… god S4 Jonpeter is full of so much delicious food.

More on my miserable lonely Jon obsession but I genuinely cannot FATHOM how that man wasn’t eaten by the fucking lonely in S4. The handful of people he has left in his life are at best ambivalent that he’s alive and at worst are actively dangerous and aggressive him upon seeing him. He’s got complicated monster feelings and guilt up the wazoo. His only friend is the woman who kidnapped him and cut his throat. He’d make such a great meal for the Lonely and I have no idea why it didn’t try for him.

[d-lanx]

New WWE AU Idea: Newscaster AU

Ok, I need to put this down somewhere before it drives me insane. It's a stupidly niche AU idea but it's taking up so much brain power for me right now for some reason. It's a journalist AU where the WWE is a TV news channel. Details below the cut.

But basically I've been thinking about all the people who've been running the PLE pre & post shows & hosting PLEs this year a lot. And with the whole news-style interviews and sitting around on sets that often look like news studios, what if they were all actual reporters in a news channel? It's a bit of a weird one I know, but it's been rolling around in my head all weekend.

Btw I have no idea if USA news channels call their emplyees the same sort of titles as we have in the UK so excuse me if the job titles are a bit scuffed. But basically here's all the roles they have, why I chose those roles for them (in brackets), and what they get up to as part of this AU news channel:

Michael Cole: Senior Newsreader- (Because of his commentary work and journalism background). Out of all the people currently regularly on TV, he's been there the longest and is highly respected. Always trusted to keep a level head in times where the world feels like it's gone to hell.

Corey Graves: Business Correspondent- (Because he has a degree in marketing). Feel like he'd do a segment kinda like "The Martin Lewis Money Show" we have in the UK, where he goes through government changes to finance-related stuff, explains it and how it'll affect the average person, and then answers questions from a live studio audience and gives them advice.

Wade Barrett: Environmental Correspondent- (Because he has a degree in marine biology). I get the vibe his favourite animals are tiny and obscure things like a specific type of sea pickle on the verge of extinction or something and he defends them aggressively to get people to help save the species. Has memorised his evidence for global warming and can reel it off with ease, but is sick of having to do it so much cos people STILL DON'T BELIEVE IN IT????????

Pat McAfee: Sports Correspondent- (Do I even need to explain why? He's a mad man and I can't imagine him doing anything else, even out of a whole cast of people on a sports show like WWE). Feel like most people try to keep somewhat calm and professional on a news show, but he's just himself the whole way through, making him one of the most popular reporters on the whole channel because people want to see his OTT reactions to certain events. Feel like he'd also probably be in charge of the news station's radio show, too, what with how he has the Pat McAfee Show in real life.

Big E Langston: Political Correspondent- (He just gives me that vibe being all analytical about wrestling feuds). He's just as tired with politicians' nonsense as we all are, to the point it's hard to hide his dissappointment when they say something stupid and he has to remain unbiased. Never lets politicians get away with evasive answers when he interviews them, but smiles the whole time as he makes them wish they were never born.

CM Punk: War Correspondent- (The man is always scrapping for the love of the game, so of course he'd be in the centre of a war). He's had bombs dropped on his head more times than he can count and regularly goes for runs as a workout to make sure he's still fit enough to run for his life when he's in active warzones. Can tell you all about the complex international relations and battle strategies but secretly has a morbid interest in death & gore which is what actually got him into the job. Once got shot on live television, showed off the wound on camera and finished his broadcast before getting medical treatment. Was only mildly miffed about nearly dying, mostly excited by the whole experience.

Jackie Redmond: Justice Correspondent- (Basically her analyst role in WWE gives me the vibe of someone discussing a crime case). Can tell you all about how 17 people have been skinned alive and cannibalised in graphic detail so casually as if she's talking about the weather. At this point in her career, pretty much nothing can phase her. So if something actually manages to leave her speechless, you know it's bad.

Cathy Kelley: General Reporter- (Basically cos it's just what she's doing in WWE). Going wherever she needs to be to interview people and get to the bottom of a story. Has interviewed some really dangerous people that are twice her size all in the name of finding a good story and everyone's just like "for the love of god please think about ur own safety for once."

The Miz: Media Correspondent- (Cos of his reality TV background and generally over the top vibes). He'd be all over red carpet events and he's definitely still hoping to use his media journalism as some leverage to get into show-business himself. Celebs see him at events and pray they haven't been spotted so they don't have to talk to him, cos he can be a lot. But this little bastard has the eyes of a hawk and will hunt them down. Especially if he's persoanlly a big fan of them and their work.

R-Truth: Weatherman- (Cos he's a ray of sunshine :) ) Just imagine the batshit insanity of him telling people about a storm or how nice the weather's gonna be or something (I'm thinking like a Bob Hale skit on the original Horrible Histories, that kind of madness).

Sheamus: Tech Correspondent- (Cos he's a former IT technician so he can be all brainy). Constantly treated like IT support rather than a journalist and is sick of having to switch on servers people promised were already on, and listening to people with no idea what they're talking about prattle on about the benefits of AI. But at least he gets to talk about flying cars and robot dogs all day and muck about with new tech for a living.

Triple H: Editor In Chief- (Basically the top role in journalism to match with his current role in real life). Running things is like trying to herd cats, but hey, he can put on a pretty damn good show. Trying desperately to move on from the scandals of the days when the previous editor-in-chief was in charge of things.

Obviously some of them wouldn't be able to use their ring names in those environments. Plus I'm probably forgetting some people who should be in this AU that have been involved in pre/post shows, hosting, and commentary, but my brain's a bit too frazzled to go thru all the PLEs right now.

But like... come on... look at them and just imagine for a second... do you see the vision???? Or have I finally gone a bit mad??

LIKE JUST LOOK AT THEM!!

Also it gives me even more reasons to think about punk in suits <3

Also also if he were a war correspondent and had to go out into dangerous places, they'd make him wear gear which means more of this. vvv

Also CM Punk & Big E Langston are the two people I'm blaming for putting this AU in my head just so you know. Cos look at them!!

But also since punkintyre died, I've been reliving my sheamus/punk shipping days and just imagine sheamus waiting for his husband to come back from reporting in an active warzone and being worried for his safety (especially if he's been hurt before [whump time?]). And then all the excitement and relief when he gets back and giving each other special attention cos they were both so stressed and now they're just so happy to see each other again.

Also imagine Punk being inept with technology and needing help from tech savvy husband who's so proud that punk's finally learnt how to attach a file in an email. Punk probably sends Sheamus facebook minions memes and Sheamus despairs.

And then Punk excitedley explains all about battle strategies and war history and Sheamus excitedley explains back about the complexities of designing a self driving car or some shit. They're both just being massive nerds together. Even better when their interests overlap, like the design of tanks or something. Feel like they'd be talking for hours and everyone is like "guys come on, we have a show to run" but they're too busy with their hyperfixations (autistic sheapunk anyone? [is that what the ship name is??]).

Just think of the shipping potential!!

And this whole countdown show also was major inspo cos to me it just looks so much like a news show.

And these three just give me the vibe that E (being a political correspondent) would obviously be doing a show for the elections. And since law and war are both very close to politics, he'd get punk and jackie in to keep him company and the three would do an overnight show reporting on election results as they come in, chatting shit the entire time.

Btw I still don't know what this all means for the other WWE wrestlers. Defeats the point of using commentators and hosts if I also have all the wrestlers also being journalists. So maybe they can be the people featured in the news. All having "normal" jobs like politicians and military and scientists and shit. And these guys can be reporting on their nonsense and bullying them in interviews.

I feel like I could add more people to it, like having ring announcers as general news readers, and Shawn Michaels, Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis as editors or something. And I'm probably forgetting other people who hosted PLEs or were presenters on pre/post shows, and other commentators. So there'll be plenty more that could be added.

Sorry about the info dump but I needed to put this somewhere. I'm not the only one seeing the vision on this am I????

[dvasva]

Tbh? I think the radiant emperor duology deserves more critique than it gets in its tag, so after stewing it over for a couple weeks and also discussing it with my friend, I have decided to do it myself.

So. Spoilers for She Who Became the Sun and He Who Drowned The World ahead.

First off, so nobody accuses me of hating the series, I liked the series. I'd say I'd give the first book a 4.5/5, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I like both books. I truthfully skipped the fisting scene, it triggered some dysphoria that I wasn't comfortable with personally but I don't have problem with it existing in the book, it's good where it is, no changes.

No, my critiques come mostly from the second book, hwdts. Which sucks because I absolutely loved Baoxiang in it, it's a well known fact that my ideal type is pretty, really mean, characters. ('What about Madam Zhang?!!!???!? Shes mean and pretty!!' I hear you ask. Give it a second cause i will get to my beloved madam zhang) So, my critiques are mostly organized as 'The first part I didn't like in Hwdtw that signals the thing that became my biggest issue, the bits in the middle that i did like along with the bits that I felt didn't really work well, and Act 3 which is where my issues really were exacerbated.'

By the end of book one, I had a general annoyance but acceptance that Ma Xiuying was a bit of a weak character, and not weak as in 'dang shes a woman and cant fight' or any other sexist way you may interpret that, but weak as in structurally, she didn't really have as much depth as other characters. I thought she didn't have as much time put into her character as others. And yeah you could have a million character analysis essays over Ma and her place in the story and etc, but for me, her setup for the next book as potentially having conflict with Zhu or her own morals was the most interesting part of Ma. In general I think a lot of people tend to overlook this flaw partly because Ma is a cis lesbian character and the main 'love interest' in a book that is usually marketed to people as sapphic, which yeah there is certainly a sapphic relationship in the book but I think saying it's a major part of the book is really giving the relationship a load bearing wall ot isn't strong enough to carry. The Radiant Emperor Duology is not a romance, first and foremost. To describe it as a wlw romance is gonna leave people who read ot specifically for that reason kinda dissappointed by the end of book 2.

My big critiques didn't start until book two, and a particular scene, though. Ma, at the start of book two, was generally filling the niche of 'nagging wife' to zhu, which yknow, is a fine place to start from. I was a little disappointed there was no further discussion of Ma's disapproval of the morality of Zhu's actions, and in fact the dead child was pretty much entirely forgotten by Ma in favor of being Zhu's wife. Which, yknow, sure.

The Scene I had issue with happened (Spoilers once again) after Zhu finally captures Ouyang and imprisons him at her base of operations. Ma, dressed in her empressly regalia enters his room with the intention of being the bigger person. She walks in, looks at the stripped down and humiliated general who killed her father and famously is also really a women hater, and tells him she forgives him for killing her father. And then she gets upset and cries when the prideful general who hates women gives her a dressing down and taunts her and is like 'I'm glad I killed your father'? She nearly cries because Ouyang was mean to her (notably only cause he was mean to her and didn't gracefully accept her forgiveness, not because he killed ehr father) and runs off to Zhu. And Zhu responds with 'Wow, he's just a weirdo, everyone likes you and everyone in existance immediately knows you're a good person and you change people.' Which, my friend suggested before she finished the book, was a case of Zhu placating Ma and dismissing her feelings which would be an interesting dynamic.

Really my hangups with this scene come from multiple parts.

1. Ma' few character traits including being observant and reading people really well (a thing she's praised for in book 1) and having good social intuition are completely thrown out by her thinking being alone with ouyang and forgiving him would be a good idea and then her being shocked and upset when he spat on her forgiveness. And

2. Zhu's response is never once treated by the text as her dismissing Ma and placating her, and Zhu's statement despite never being shown to be true before and that moment being the first time it's ever mentioned, ends up becoming Chekov's moral purity by the end of the book, where the plot hinges on Ma being able to magically heal a damaged character's mind enough for Zhu to win in the end. Which I will get back to. There's a lot of other stuff happening between here and the end.

So, before I get back to Ma and her role in the story, I'll address some other bits from after this scene. Both problems and things I enjoyed generally.

Madam Zhang and her parallels to Baoxiang and her being the absolute queen of dissociating really was interesting (before act 3). She was a very compelling character who I completely understood and felt positively about. She had a way more interesting relationship with gender imo than Ma did, especially in book 2. I didn't really like that she was overwhelmingly shown having sexual villence done to her, that felt weirdly like a punishment. But, I did like her a whole bunch, and I liked the look we got into her head. She was probably my second, maybe third, favorite character in the whole book until Act 3.

I really, really liked Ouyangs dynamic and relationship with Zhu. The weird sexual tension between them, their weird kinda nonsexual but also kinda very sexual S&M relationship. It was somehow the most sensual, sexual part of a book that featured Madam Zhang having sex with multiple people, and Zhu going down on Ma, and a lot of other mentions of sex or scenes involving sex. Tbh I feel like, in a way, Ma was left to the sidelines for most of the book because Ouyang became the primary 'love' interest for a hot second there and the only reason Ma could get her spot back was Ouyang and Zbu's separation. Also, from what I've seen when people talk about this book, they always kinda try to express Zhu and Ouyang's dynamic as very nonsexual and nonromantic, as platonic mostly. And there is no inherent superiority of romantic over platonic, but I think to insist that it is only platonic, and not a strange swirl of romantic, platonic, sexual, frustration and relief, and a swirl of familiarity and vulnerability all wrapped into one, is doing the dynamic a bit of a disservice. And ther is, imo, very clearly a subtle hint of romantic intent and interest on Ouyang's part before he realizes Zhu has a body he hates.

Which is also another point I didn't like. Ouyang and Zhu's relationship end felt off. The entire bit with the pirates felt off, but especially how Ouyang found out about Zbu's body, and how Zhu reacted. I think Ouyang finding out second hand, from a combination of being suspicious and from Jiang saying it, was a poor way for that to be revealed. I think there was a better way for that to happen that woyld have felt more like a betrayl to zhu than this did. The fact that Zhu and Ouyang were so in tune and could see each other perfectly, but this one thing was a blind spot for both of them because of how unaffected by gender Zhu was compared to how overaffected by gender Ouyang was is a really interesting thing to explore, an interesting disconnect between two character's whose entire basis for their relationship is 'like recognizes like'. I think Zhu seeing it as a betrayl would have been more impactful if she had presented this informatuon to Ouyang herself and been rejected than how it went down. And, I think her not realizing Ouyang would be disgusted that he felt connected and felt a sameness to someone with a body he found grotesque and that he feared would have been more interesting for zhu, who views herself outside of womanhood and didnt really think that other people would not see her outside of womanhood, if she was the one who told ouyang herself.

Also, less importantly, think going into Ouyangs annoyance that zhu kept moving his target further away was a good move but it wasn't expanded on as much for my taste. I also really liked it when (spoiler) Xu Da dies, and that entire part despite some minir bits, was extremely good in that Zhu finally has tasted loss. She had, up until that point, been riding a wave of positivity, she was the underdog who won over and over again despite all the odds and despite her own reckless choices. So I did appreciate that everything went wrong for her at least once. that would have been, imo if other things were changed, a good place to end a book two in a three book series. Which will make sense as to why I mention it im a bit.

I also didn't like how Ma was nonexistant unless the plot was like 'ok we need to remind people that Ma exists.'

And there's of course other stuff but those are the main points of acts 1 and 2 that i wasn't fond of or that i liked.

Act 3 is a wholely different behemoth which can be encapsulated with 'I wish it was longer but also different' (courtesy of the convo my friend and I had).

My friend and I both agreed that we liked this kind of courtly drama game it was playing. My friend doesn't tend to like the structure or writing style of a lot of the chinese wuxia, danmei, or courtly drama translated books i read, so it was nice to know that the genre content isn't the issue for her there.

The biggest problems I had with the ending though was 1. I think Baoxiang and Ma had an interesting dynamic despite it being really rushed and how distasteful I found the entire concept of Ma being such a good wholesome goody good good person that she could change Baoxiang, quiet his demons and fix him in some way. That was annoying in an otherwise interesting dynamic. And 2. I think Madam Zhang's character traits and cleverness and all that were wiped away to make her inexplicably jealous of Ma in a way that I don't think fit her character and just served to fit a trope of jealous empress who hates the favored concubine.

So, here's my major proposed changes.

1. Ma gets sent to Khanbaliq extremely early on. Like, act one maybe after ouyang is captured early. This serves three purposes. A. Ma has something to do and is more present in the story. this could be a good xhance to let her actually feel frustrated or upset at Zhu in some tangible way that needs to be resolved or talked thru eventually. B. she gets more time to build a relationship with Baoxiang, whose entire defeat hinges on him having a strong connection with her. and C. Her absence in the other parts of the book feel less like she's being ignored or forgotten. It makes Zhu's lack of haste more than just a way to annoy Ouyang, and turns it into an interesting moral choice. Should she rush to Khanbaliq to save Ma or trust that Ma will be ok in favor of gaining power? Her lack of haste means Ouyang leaves, depressed, and she loses Xu Da, all while she doesn't even have the assurance that Ma is ok, she is truly at her lowest point with nobody with her. If Ma is in Khanbaliq and that's explored, then Zhu and Ouyang can also explore their dynamic without Ma feeling a bit like she is battling for Zhu's attention.

2. Madam Zhang is suspicious of Ma, or feels actually tangibly threatened by Ma. In act 3, Madam Zhang's anger towards Ma feels really out of place. She got exactly what she wants, she is empress, her emperor isn't interested in removing her from her position and her position isn't threatened by anyone. Baoxiang won't get rid of her, he won't demote her, he has shown zero sign of ever even considering it. So, why is Madam Zhang jealous of Ma? Imo, especially since she very clearly has dissociated into oblivion and has no love or affection for anyone anymore, and no real desire or motivation to secure her position further aside from maybe producing an heir to make sure shes taken care of after Baoxiang dies, there's no reason for her to be inextricably jealous of Ma. It kinda just erases all of Madam Zhang's political savvy and cunning into jealous, petty woman, and that sucks. If she was suspicious of Ma's intention, or Baoxiang genuinely expressed spmething that actively threatened her position, her hatred of Ma would make sense, but instead she hates Ma cause Ma is ugly and spends every night with Baoxiang. She hated rice buckets concubine cause that concubine used a lot of funds and competition genuinely made her position less stable. She needs better motivation for hating Ma.

3. As I mentioned earlier, Zhu needs to be the one to tell Ouyang that she does not have a dick. That's just all around better, it feels more like a betrayl to bare your secrets and be rejected, etc etc.

4. The duology should have been a trilogy, with book 3 starting when Zhu is at her lowest, ouyang is dead, ma is in khanbaliq, Xu Da is dead, a new guy is the emperor. This is where a book three should have started. in a series that has so many important characters, i feel like it needs more space. she's in a 10 gallon tank when really she needs a 30 gallon tank. Lots of it, especially towards the end of book 2, felt rushed and the extra book will absolutely push that back a bit and make it less rushed.

Anyways that's my critique of The Radiant emperor duology. Once Again, I liked the series, its one of my favorites i've read all year. I don't dislike it, and having a critique or opinion about something doesnt mean I didn't like the book or understand the book (because obviously if i understood it i would understand why its flawless). I liked it, there are things I wish were different, that's it.

[darklight-owl]

Nwos looks so good nwos looks so good NWOS. LOOKS. SO. GOOOOOOOOD.

I have yet to watch the trailer again but first impressions:

As good as the 3d models are I'm dissappointed there's not gonna be 2D cutscenes :'] that's the soul of the game guys come on.......

I THOUGHT THAT WAS CLARK IN ONE SHOT BUT IT WAS REALLY LUKE. HE'S GETTING MISTAKEN FOR HIS DAD HOW DO YOU THINK THAT MAKES HIM FEEL.

I was not expecting the evil cowboy to be a mf GHOST???? Awesome. Amazing 10/10 give me the ghost cowboy yaoi Layton has to make out with him it's not an option. The mystery sounds very cool I bet Eggmuffin is behind everything (<-girl who has nothing to go on)

This face:

Im gonna watch the trailer again now because this first viewing was mostly me going EEEEEE WHEEE HEHEHEHHE WHEEEEEE

[ganondoodle]

Hylia was referred to as "The Goddess of Wisdom" in one of your posts (the Hades-inspired artwork) so it got me wondering: does Nayru not exist in your AU? Are the three Golden Goddesses absent, or do you have something in mind for them?

(your Hylia is super pretty btw, I love that her hair is like water <3)

oh jesus that is OLD xD

no the Hades stuff was just a little one-off thing back when it was new; it means nothing for my actual zelda fanworks!

so no, Hylia does not replace Nayru; in the main stoyline of destiny (comic) the gods only briefly show up fully at the end and mostly only manifest parts of themselves bc in my story they cannot physically directly do much in those physical worlds aside from manipulate peoples dreams and in the small area of the one ancient spring (a seperate spring from the three usual ones that is dedicated to all three of the gods- demise destroying the one of his home created the gateway to hylias world btw) which is the reason they created deities like Hylia, a creature not a full god but not a mortal either, not what i would call a half-god tho; a Deity to do as the gods say, to act as a mere exentension of them in a world they cannot fully control ... bc what does a god hate more than not being able to control their creation .. :^)

if i ever get to the point of finishing destiny, depending on how i feel about it then and how well it was received, i could imagine adding an alternative ending where everyone lives and they work together to rid the gods influence from the world (the first ending is supposed to play into the rest of loz, the other one would mess up EVERYTHING but i cannot deny i have stuff for that planned as well ;__;)

basically the gods are the main looming threat, they are, essentially, the villain, their motives ... might be dissappointing but as they are gods they dont really have to make that much sense ..? i dont want to go into it too much unless it doesnt bother people to already know, i just hope it will feel right when the story gets to that point xO

i havent gotten to designing the gods fully yet as, again, they show up rather late so its gonna change anyway, this is an old concept of Nayru

here in the background are they again with a more recent design (this sketch is for a .... another dream game based on the alternative good ending for destiny where here you fight as demise against the gods in their realm.. i know its a bit convoluted all but my brain likes to brrrrrrrr when thinking about loz and games so theres lots of ideas and concepts that have no chance of ever becoming real)

also thank you!!

[brascu]

Ok, I've always treated Horrance as a headcanon, but, DAMN, hear me out.

And I'm not even talking about Sparrow Ben, ok? I'm 100% talking about Umbrella Ben and his dear brother Klaus.

Ya'll must be tired of me talking about how Benny boy got visibly upset when Klaus was talking about Dave, even getting to the point of leaving to let him gossip about the guy with Diego in peace.

Or you'll say there's nothing to it when I bring up that time Ben told Klaus that "Luther" would do anything for him, when in reality Ben was talking about himself. (Luther didn't even notice Klaus died) And how that whole thing was a way for Ben to try and keep Klaus sober for longer.

I mean, we all agree they talk to each other as a mixture of brothers AND an old couple that is so fucking tired of their bulshit, but wouldn't change a thing.

And there's that whole thing about Klaus lying about Ben's presence simply because he didn't want to share him.

But as I was watching the second season this time, I picked at some things.

The other day I read someone calling Ben's crush on Jill pointless and, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I disagree. Ben wanting to stay at their cult to hang around her is him mirroring Klaus wanting to leave to be around Dave. Think how nonsense those two are: Klaus is the one who fits being a cult leader and Ben is the one who'd say he's taking advantage of people. But Klaus hates it in there and Ben is the whole reason the cult was able to be built.

Klaus AND Ben knows that it would be better for Jill and Dave if they don't follow what they're currently doing. But Ben doesn't want Jill to leave, selfishly. And Klaus doesn't want Dave to leave, selfishlessly. Which is ridiculous, if you think about how Klaus is mostly the selfish one and Ben is the opposite.

Jill is a lot like Klaus. She's a dissappointment to her family, she uses drugs, she is very open about sex...

Dave, on the other hand, is a lot like Ben. He's serious, he's well mannered, he's thoughtful. He follows his family's ideals in a way that leads him to death... And he likes books, like the nerd he is.

OH, you say, but Jill likes reading too. Ben likes watching her read.

And that's true, yes, but we also know, from season 1, that Klaus and Ben read together. Even when we first see them in 1963, Ben calls Klaus over for him to look at a magazine. It's funny, because Klaus is paying more attention to the guy on the cover, but if you think about this reaction, you get that Ben pointing out what Klaus should grab for them to read is something they're used to. Just like he asks Ben what they should eat.

Ben took notice of Jill because Klaus was too busy with new paople and he was left to the side. Klaus fell for Dave because Ben was not there to occupy his own place.

The cult is their baby and thats one of the reasons Ben is so angry when Klaus goes after baby Dave. The other reason is jealousy, which is the same reason he keeps on interrupting Klaus.

BUT OK, If you've been following my posts for a while, you must've seen me saying these at some point.

The thing I DIDN'T notice was how much they go about dicks and sex? like, FOR WHAT REASON, MAN?

First of all, when Ben steals Klaus' body in that dinner with Reginald, Klaus says with all his words that he was violated.

Then, when he decides to lend Ben the body, he shares his ground rules. "No touchy-touchy down there." he says as Ben rolls his eyes. "I mean, I guess I wouldn't mind." He corrects. "Just don't look, because I'm shy."

The first thing Ben does when he gets inside the body is to look inside Klaus' pants.

Later, when they're talking about the experience (and I must say the way Ben asks how Klaus felt sounds almost like pillowtalk) , Klaus says if felt like sex in a way that is pretty dismissive, I agree, but he says that whatching Ben's every move as he listens. And when Ben tells him how he felt, which was not so weirdly sexual, but still a lot about touching things, Klaus listens leaning against him and without taking his eyes from him.

That dialog, for me, looks like Klaus is flirting, yes, and he's not so sure if its jokingly or not, so he's just owning. Ben, who knows shit about flirsting, is just genuinely into the conversation.

And we can see they're comfortable with sharing things with each other, which is so sweet.

BRAS, YOU'RE STILL REPEATING OTHER POSTS

I know, sorry.

On that flashback where we see Klaus calling Ben back, the FIRST THING he offers Ben is for him to watch as Klaus sticks his dick inside their dad's car for him to piss there. Which is in no way sexual, but is still a childish reason for Klaus to show his dick to Ben.

Just like telling him not to made Ben look at his penis as soon as he got the body.

Soon after the flashback, when they're discussing what to do and Viktor goes to call Sissy, Alisson calls out how Diego and Luther seem to be in a dick measuring contest. To which Klaus starts adding that, for real, he and Ben--

Which I'm assuming is that they did that more than once.

That homoerotic tension of wanting to place your dick besides your bro's just to see how they look together. I mean, who's got the bigger one.

Second season is so fucking Horrancey it makes me embarrassed.

The whole parallel of Ben punching Klaus/Dave punching Klaus and again Ben punching Klaus, but this time sparrow Ben...

Even the whole thing that Dave punches Klaus because Klaus is acting like he knows him and he freaks out in front of his family is exactly the same thing that happens to Sparrow Ben.

And maybe one of the main reasons Klaus is the first one to let go of simping over Sparrow Ben was because of what happened to Dave last season. He knows this Ben could turn into his favorite person, given the time, but he's just probably fuck things up, so why bother?

This Ben still doesn't know he loves Klaus.

Anyway.

Klaus and Ben are that weird teenager friendship that was almost but not exactly a romantic relationship but somehow ended in bad terms when one of them got a real bf.

that's what's happening that season.

[kellyvela]

Sorry to burst your bubble but those covers you posted were pics lifted from stills of the show with zero interview. Also magazines also have very poor circulation/attention (does anyone actually follow/subscribe to those magazines that aren't 60+ years old?). So technically that anon saying Sophie didn't do a magazine cover or photoshoot to promote the show was right. To give an example Kit Harington did a GQ cover/interview/photoshoot for Industry. Kit also did promo not just in the UK but US talk shows to promote Industry. The only promo was in the UK but considering the CW was a "junior partner" one would think there would've been US promo too.

The closest thing was the Harper Bazaar UK and that was barely a photoshoot but at least we got a small interview out of it. She also did a very very small press junket which Variety did a snipet but they didn't even do a real interview/profile. The only real interview Sophie did was the Sunday Times UK which she was sadly misquoted for and the misquote went viral globally and that's all anyone remembers.

We're all fans of Sophie but fans are allowed to be disappointed on the lack of Joan promo and point it out.

I think you missed the discussion about the lack of Joan promotion from ITV until one week before the premiere. You can check past asks if you are interested.

The covers actually have interviews inside, I posted them and linked them under the cut, and there were interviews inside other of those kinds of magazines even if Sophie wasn't in the cover, I posted and linked those too. And there are more that I didn't have time to scan to post.

Take note that those kind of magazines are focused on TV, they aren't Vogue. So don't expect them to be something that they aren't.

The pics of those covers, they aren't stills, they are from photoshoots that ITV or the CW filed as assets to precisely been distributed for promotional purpose to the press.

I'm not 60 and I promise you the actress that played Joan's sister, Kirsty J Curtis, isn't 60 either, and we both have all those magazines (she posted stories buying all of them). I'm not sure about the age of the writer and the costume designer but they have them too. The point wasn't if those magazines have a large circulation or not, the point was that they exist, for the people that are really interested, even if they are irrelevant to you, or you don't consider them proper magazines or proper promotion.

Now, it's not fair to compare HBO with ITV, and again go back to the past discussion about the ITV lack of promotion until one week before the premiere and a lot of people pointing out that ITV doesn't have a budget for HBO levels of promotion.

We all were expecting big magazine covers but we didn't get that, instead the UK audience got a lot of street billboards and train station screens. And I personally like the BBC trailer and videos more than the ITV and the CW ones. Even the Universal+ trailer for Latin American is kinda better.

If the UK Harper's Bazaar interview and pictures were disappointing to you, you are free to think that and express your opinion. I'm more dissappointed with British Vogue that promised an interview with costume designer Richard Cooke and they only gave us 1:30 minutes tiktok video, with barely new information, but I didn't mentioned that in public until now, because I decide to focus in the good things.

The press junket was small indeed and sadly we only got pictures of some of those Sophie interviews, while I wanted to see more of Frank Dillane and Kirsty J Curtis. But those two days of press promotion are precisely printed in those magazines that you didn't like to read, and I know that because I read them all, there was even one focused mostly on the actress that played Val, Laura Aikman. And Frank did a promotional interview for Stan Australia as well that was also printed in some *irrelevant* magazine.

But that's the reality, ITV is not HBO.

Now, despite the misquoting, the Sunday Times Magazine was a good interview, but I hate what they did with the headline, but it shouldn't surprise me really, after all they also wrote a condescending article about Sophie hanging out with her boyfriend's close circle last year. Fuck those editors really.

Anyways, I don't really care what misinformed people that only read click bait headlines think, most of them haters, so they can choke.

You are right, you can be disappointed about Joan's promotion, and you are not the first one in my inbox with the same complaint, but it is what it is and again ITV is not HBO and we have to accept that and carry on.

[thealmightyemprex]

Halloweenathon:Elviras Haunted Hills

So a few years ago I watched Elvira Mistress of the Dark and was utterly enchanted by it ,a well deserved cult classic that I found very endearing and heartwarming.So this year I decided to check out Elviras second feature ,which is very diffrent .....But still charmed the hell out of me

This 2001 film follows Elvira (Cassandra Petersen ) and her servent Zhou Zhou (Mary Jo Smith ) as on her way to a show in Paris finds herself in Castle Hellsubus where resides the tortured and brooding Lord Vladimir Hellsubus (Richard O'Brien )

OK so....I hvae to explain what this film is,cause it is NOT a Mistress of the Dark sequel and that might dissappoint some people......What it is ,is something definately in my wheelhouse but kind of niche.....A parody of the Roger Corman/Vincent Price Poe films (With a dash of Hammer ,though mostly Corman ).ITs basically a mix of Fall of the House of Usher and Pit and the Pendulem but Elviras there .Now I LOVE the Corman Poe films and this is a brillaint parody .The common thing said about parody is you MUST parody something you love ,and this is one of the most loving parodys I have seen since Young Frankenstein ,not the funniest,but so loving,with scenes taken directly from USher or Penfulum,the convulated plot ,the crumbling castle ,and especially the hammy acting .I think the most brillaint choice in the film has to be the casting of Richard O'Brian as the Vincent Price type character....Cause he NAILS it ,I mean O'Brian is a spooky cult icon in of himself(I mean he created Rocky Horror for crying out loud ) ,but he absoultely gets the angsty torment and maniacal villainy of a Price character while gobbling up bits of scenery and nailing the humor of the part ,all while doing his own spin,hes not imitating Price ,but he nails the type of character Price excelled at ,he gets the vibe down .The rest of the cast is pretty fun especially Mary Scheer as the villinous wife who is wonderfully over the top and Scott Atkinson who plays the conniving Doctor while doing an impression of George Sanders .Elvira is Elvira ,despite it being a period film she plays it totally modern and I think it works as if Elvira is stuck in one of the movies shes used to hosting on her show .As a comedy it worked for me,mainly cause I got what they were spoofing ,I laughed a good bit ,my three fave bits where the doctor explaining the depraved history of the family and all the ancestors are Richard O Brien while Elvira comments on their activities,O BRiens take on the Vincent Price Pit and the Pendulem monologue ,and especially the handsome heroic stabkle hand played by Gabriel Andronache  who isintentionally dubbed badly by voice acting legend Rob Paulsen

Not all the jokes land and Zhou Zhou feels like a bit of a one note and kind of mean joke .....But those are my only complaints

This is a very fun love letter to the Vincent Price movies of the 60's.If you are a fan of the Corman/Price/Poe films,this is a must watch ,if you like Elvira its a must watch ,if you like Richard O Brian its a must watch and if you are looking for a horror comedy this is a good one .ITs not for every one but its a fun time

@ariel-seagull-wings @themousefromfantasyland

@the-blue-fairie @countesspetofi

@theancientvaleofsoulmaking @filmcityworld1

@amalthea9 @barbossas-wench

@princesssarisa

[samuelroukin]

And a 2nd one cause I'm greedy, in a separate ask for ease:

First and/or Loss (whichever is more applicable) for all three, please 🙏❤️

thank you 🙏

First: Has your OC ever been the one to leave first? Why did they go, and who did they leave behind? Do they regret it?

ray: he's always leaving, and doesn't give much thought to how and if it affects anyone but himself. it never has, and he's fairly sure it ever will, so there's no point lingering physically or mentally

chuck: i don't think he's ever left first unless it was made clear that he should, and even then he's a master of outstaying his welcome. not clingy at all, but even when he's not attached it's hard for him to accept when something's over

moose: left his longest relationship pretty abrubtly, when they were pretty much on the path to getting engaged and having kids. they were both unhappy and staying in it more out of a sense of 'guess this is what our lives are' and he was the one who decided he'd rather be alone than unhappy together. he doesn't regret doing it (and she's much happier now) but he he was way younger and not very gentle about it even if she wanted out just as much

Loss: Is there anyone important to your OC who has passed away? How did they handle the loss?

n/a for ray and chuck, ray doesn't care and chuck hasn't had anyone die on him outside of work

moose: his mom died when he was pretty young, after being sick for a long time, and he was a huge momma's boy so he took it really hard. he withdrew from the rest of his family, nearly stopped speaking, all his school friends dropped him and he was almost held back a year but got Smart Kid privilege even tho at that point his grades were in the gutter. that's actually what helped him move on, cause she would've been dissappointed in him and he couldn't bear that thought. his dad passed when in moose's early 30's, very suddenly, but they were never that close so he was just numb mostly, more sad because his sister was really broken up over it