#but not like real dramatic stories like lls

[momo-shut-the-fuck-up]

So i ve done the main story in infinity nikki and im gonna stop playin now, before i squeeze the game dry of content and have nothing (new) to do on release.

Time for a lil review/thoughts post

I m not gonna review every single mechanic in the game, simply things that stood out to me or that i wanna talk about. I also wont add more images, i kinda want ppl to see the world for themselves... i ll share more when the game comes out tho.

There s a lot of text under this. Tldr, i like the game i think it's a solid, enjoyable experience with a good gameplay loop, the story isn't for me, and i'll keep playin of course. And u should try it too if ur device wont blow itself up tryin to run it.

Dress up

The bread and butter of Nikki games... it's good as usual. Game doesn't shy away from long skirts or coat tails or complicated ballgowns just cuz nikki can run and jump and dash now and i'm very happy bout that. There's some clipping issues once in a while, but it's nothing major and the clothes we do have in the game are lovely. There s an evolution system for some of the sets, which makes em a diff color.... usually they can evolve once, but i saw Three extra evolutions for one of the UR sets and that scares me. Bcs to evolve them u have to craft the suit again. So u have to pull 4 copies of a suit to max it out..

Combat

Game's definitely succeeding in its quest for being cozy. There's no real stakes, combat isn't difficult in the slightest but i do welcome it- super simple but it's pretty fun regardless. The boss fights were surprisingly creative and fun for what they are, it's just unfortunate that you have to do them more than once or twice (crafting mats)- but they do change what the boss does so it's different depending on what mat u are farming for... and u can claim double or triple or however much stamina u got-le of the mat after u complete it once. So that s rly nice.

Exploration

I actually think it's really really good. Again this isn't a difficult or complicated game, not yet i guess... but with the major goal being "get new clothes" and "take pretty pictures maybe", the open world feels actively engaging to participate in. There's collectibles everywhere, little challenges you can do that are diverse but quick, styling battles, collecting everythin from animals fur to bugs to fish, and allll of this brings u closer to that never ending goal of woo more clothes.

However even if a challenge doesnt give you a blueprint, it's still just. Really Nice to exist in this world. It's very whimsical, as expected of Lilith, and the world has a combination of realism and cartoon artstyle that is just soso appealing to me. It's genuinely how i would've imagined miraland to look in 3d. Shame it's not the same miraland we know..

Story

Hmm... silly is one word i could use for it. Cute also. The story isn't doin anythin bad per se, and i did start skippin dialogue near the end w the pieceys because i want to keep at least Some part of the story for the game's release... but i get the gist of it, and it s just not my thing.

It feels like a story made for children, and it definitely would get a G rating. Easy and simple to follow, there's moments of tension or sadness sure but with the antagonist bein a literal babie lookin cutey fairy with a grown man's voice, or the creatures that i'm interacting with are a bunch of. Fuckin weird lookin big eyed balls of fabric that look closer to plushies than somethin Alive... it's all so silly and dramatic sometimes i can t help but cringe.

Part of it is a me problem, if u just open ur heart and free urself from the cringe the story is fine. It's just a little too kiddy for me and i so desperately hope it won't stay like this forever. My prayers might be answered though, there's a whole war beyond the borders and we have refugees around... shit's lookin bad for Umbrosa.

Other things i noticed that i liked:

The effect on nikki's skin when it's raining, she actually has water dripping down her face... its so cool

Momo capes are actually kinda neat ngl. Especially cuz the fucker follows u around everywhere, at least i can bedazzle him

Npc models look really good im a fan. They do suffer from "everyone is very beautiful" syndrome, which makes some of the npc villains look/sound ridiculous, but they have kid-teen-adult-elderly versions of models (i never see teen models in these games! Its cool!) And some body variation. The grandmas look so lovely i cry

The dark skin tone is really dark, and it looks quite nice and natural.

The lighting engine in this game is just rly good in general. God bless UE5

The edges of the map where there s forest, which u obv cant go thru, the forest is made to be darker, thicker.... i m a huge fan of this idk y. It's not just *invisible wall in front of an open field* nopee cant go there lets explore that area later tee hee. And it looks good to boot.

Camera function is p robust, has more options for changin brightness/saturation/contrast etc which i feel Shining Nikki lacks.

Some of the creature designs are so good man i looove themm <3.... the pieces are awful tho. Ok creature design is a hit and miss sometimes but the stray hatty? Peak. All the weirdy fashionable animals? Peak.

Bein able to quick switch thru ur saved sets while in the overworld is real neat

Oke that was it. Bye

[decepti-thots]

Really enjoy your post about Optimus holding onto skewed views of his relationships. I think a lot about how soon he started calling Megatron a friend when they interacted maybe twice and said interactions weren't exactly pleasant. How he undermined Bee and treated him as just another politician while calling him friend. How we don't really see him have much of a personal or pleasant relationship with Prowl and he calls him friend. There's so much distance between Optimus and the people important to him, and we know he knows that, but he doesn't talk as if that distance is there most of the time. By the end of IDW1 it really felt like he didn't have any friends at all even though a lot of characters would probably say otherwise. The character we see have the most significant legitimate friendship with Optimus (in my opinion) is Senator Shockwave. And even he had ulterior motives.

This is EXCELLENT anon, exactly right IMO. A lot of the Megatron-Optimus stuff in particular I think is a peculiar byproduct of phase two writers (lbr, mostly Roberts) attempting to make IDW Megatron-Optimus into something that more strongly resembles the kind of dramatic narrative that exists in other continuities but realistically just does not make sense in IDW at that point; obviously the easy one to point at is TFP, but actually this also is a situation where Marvel G1 and G1 generally actually does also have that vibe, if you take into consideration the lesser-known prose stories for Marvel especially. And it has this fascinating knock-on effect in IDW of creating the dynamic you're highlighting here, which honestly is much more interesting than if Optimus had had those genuinely close relationships, and which I think Barber is able to kind of work with more deliberately in his later work in the comics. He's constantly trying to create these connections retroactively, to fill a gap because the gap exists in the first place. Hell, at one point in the exRiD/OP stuff he calls Soundwave 'old friend', and like. They are not old friends. But Optimus certainly would have known of Soundwave, and you can see how the narrative would get constructed, out of the need to have some kind of interpersonal continuity he would otherwise totally lack. It's like he so lacks strong interpersonal relationships he substitutes symbolic ones by way of the war, almost. It's all he has after a certain point! Those ideological touchstones, in place of actual connections, some of it self imposed, some of it externally forced on him.

A lot of the real tail-end stuff with Optimus in IDW is about constructed narratives and their power and how they can constrict the people trying to live within them, and I think it fits perfectly with this, honestly. IDW Megatron and Optimus weren't ever actually friends, but they both understand how they could have been, and in their own way they both try and create narratives in their post-war lives that allow them to explore that now they've made themselves into people who cannot properly connect to anyone around them. (I really dislike the LL 'Megatron goes off to the functionist universe' stuff for various reasons, but one thing I actually do think is potentially fascinating is the way it allows him to live out a fantasy of actually knowing Orion, just because it highlights how he never did in the way the audience might assume by default.) And even pre-war, the way Orion lived his life- essentially as someone who did not understand his own complicity in the downfall of things and the structures of corrupt power until it was too late- did not create any long-term interpersonal connections. He can mostly only imagine them. He wants them, but he can't find a way to make them, so he tries to turn those imagined connections into reality just by saying them.

And again, it's definitely accidental, but it's weirdly fitting that the one other character he actually does have any canonical basis for an 'old friend' thing with... leaves. Which is Ratchet. It's weirdly fitting I think that Ratchet, who actually knew him in some intimate capacity pre-war, who is his old friend, is the person who is explicitly like 'no, I can't stay here anymore because there's no room for me' and leaves him, not unkindly, but definitively.

[tempting-andromeda]

Can I please have headcannons for Sadie with fem s/o who is secretly in love with Sadie. She wants to confess her feelings but is scared of how she might react. Fem reader drops little hints here and there and eventually confesses one night at camp when everyone is asleep and they are the only ones awake. I would love to see how Sadie and fem reader deal with being secret lovers in 1899 since it wasn’t smiled upon back then and very dangerous to be lesbian/gay/bi, etc and i would love to see how they are out, open and free with the other camp members and how they are comfortably out to John Abigail Jack uncle and Charles post RDR2. And please do a little fast forward to after the events of the game when John Charles and sadie k*ll Micah and sadie is happily settled down with fem reader and their poodle dog! Just living a quiet happy wholesome life where sadie works as a bounty hunter and comes home to fem reader cooking a delicious meal sorta life. Cozy, warm vibes and a happily ever after together forever 💖💖💖💖💖 sorry if this is cheesy and cliche I just love this little idea I have in my head of Sadie happily married to her fem s/o (low key of course because it was illegal to be LGBT in the 1800s and I would love to see how Sadie and fem reader navigate their life before and after the events of the game) !! Love your blog! 🥰✨✨✨

Sadie Adler

I think it would genuinely take sadie a bit to get back into a relationship

She’s traumatized and she just lost jake and so she doesn’t even realize you were dropping hints

You two get close and there’s this lingering emotion but she purposefully ignores it

It takes until like a month or so for her to finally acknowledge it and at first she doesn’t want to be in a relationship

Super against it because she’s a mess

When you confess she somehow rejects you but returns the feelings at the same time

Takes everything at a slow pace

It’s not like internationalized homophobia or anything…homegirl had like the worst experience ever a few months back

Likes to hold your hand

It’s such a tender thing

Separating your finger and bending them slowly while you both lay on your sides facing one another while you try to sleep

A very complicated “we’re not dating but we are”

Likes standing around you just to have your company but sometimes she just looks like a body guard with her arms crossed

Kisses your finger tips

Idk I just think she wouldn’t be ready for actual kisses so she works her way up

Everyone knows you two are somewhat a thing because even if you both wanted to hide it Sadie will practically growl at anyone who stares too long

Likes to go off with you and doesn’t tell you what you’re doing

Give you a quick “come on” and doesn’t answer any questions

Thinks anything can be a surprise if she wanted to to be

She wants to go to the gunsmith to get a new rifle? She’s gonna take you and act like she has the most romantic date planned

After the events of rdr2 she’s healed a lot more

She wasn’t on her own for like…8 years so she’s definitely grown

More into physical touch

Loves coming behind you and grabbing your waist while she nuzzles into your neck and kisses it

She’s a cheeky bastard

How can she do anything wrong she’s just a girl with a gun

Tells you all about her bounties and sometimes if you get her too into it she’ll recreate some moments

Jumping up out of bed to act out slashing a guys neck and getting blood on her

She’s so dramatic and she’s giving you a lopsided grin

Picked the poodle up as an apology for getting stabbed when she hunted down Micah with John

She saw how Abigail reacted with John and she didn’t want to be in the dog house

Always insists a meal needs more seasoning no matter how much you add

It either needs more salt or pepper

She’s real hesitant about pda and to other people y’all have an elaborate story about how both of your husbands died and you’re widowers together

Just besties

She has horrible jealousy isssues

She’s not worried you’d cheat

She just possessive

Tried to invite John and Abigail over for dinner frequently but after the first time she couldn’t do it again

Had to protect her peace

And she got tired of everyone mid way and didn’t know how to tell anyone she just wanted to nap with her wife

Whenever y’all do hang out with the marstons she somehow gets kicked out of the wife circle and is forced to Interact with John

She has fun but John is just so much to deal with

She’s absolutely shit at cooking

She can cook meat but anything else?

She complains if you try to get her to cook

If you do make her cook or you can’t she just goes into town and buys something that’s easy or already made

Likes to join you in the kitchen when you cook though

She’ll stand behind you with her hands on your hips telling you to cut the potatoes bigger or smaller

Whenever it’s just you two or any of your friends she loves to call you her wife

Smiles all goofy and everything

[thisblogwilleatourselves]

please at least give me the phone number or social media of someone you trust so i can explain your situation to them - i'll happily come off anon if you agree to it. you seem to think I'm faking concern for whatever reason, I'm genuinely worried abt you... if u think ur okay then u won't have a reason not to show your friends or parents, right? please please please just let me show the ppl u trust ur blog, if they know what's going on w u they won't care at all anyways.

hAHAHAHAH SORRY WHAT??, DO YA' REALLY THINK V'D FALL FOR SOMETHING THIS OBVIOUS. V'RE CRAZY NOT DEAD! V

DO YOU, HA, DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THATS WHAT CARE IS? IF YOU AIN'T LYIN' THIS IS TRULY ASTONISHING. YOU SEE PEOPLE LIVING THEIR OWN WAY NOT DICTATED BY OTHERS RULE AND MARK IT WRONG, OH THEY CAN'T POSSIBLY *WANT* THIS, CAN'T BE TRUSTED WITH THEIR OWN AUTONAMY! THEY MUST CONFORM TO WHAT YOU DEEM RIGHT, YOU OH YOU THE KNIGHT RIDING IN TO SAVE THE PRINCESS WHO WAS THE DRAGON ALL ALONG.

OH WON'T YOU SAVE ME FROM OURSELVES! *TILTS DRAMATICALLY BACKWARD TOWARDS YOU, WINKS* OH HERO IN PURIFYING LIGHT! THIS POOR WIDDLE PRINCESS CAN'T CHOOSE FOR HERSELFFF. WOOPS *splits intwo revealing a greedy maw* IT-LL BE FUN CHEWING YOU UP AND SPITTIN' YA OUT.

SO YA WAN'T VAR DETAILS, VAR CONNECTIONS. OHHH SURE WHY NOT JUST GIVE AWAY SUCH REVEALING INFORMATION! HERE YA GO!

(888)-245-5618

HOW DARE YOU A WHOLE UNKOWN BEING TRY TO ENFORCE VUS TO APPEASE YOUR "'CONCERNS"", ME? BILL CIPHER? VUS, 1NV4D3R Z1M?. "TWO" BEINGS WHOSE DEFINING TRAITS ARE NONCONFORMITY, CHAOS, AND LACK OF SANITY? A DEALER OF THE DAMNED AND ANARCHIST. BAFFLING, IF YOU ACTUALLY PAYED ATTETION TO VAR POSTS INSTEAD OF MAKING ASSUMPTIONS YOU WOULD SEE THAT V AREN'T DOING ANYWORSE THAN BEFORE BY EXPRESSING VAR DIFFERENCE, VAR ANOMALIES TO YOUR WORLD.

WHY SHOULD V LISTEN TO *YOU*?

IN FACT WHY LISTEN TO ANY OTHER THAN VUS.

CERTAINLY NOT "PROFESSIONALS"

YOU REALIZE THE MEDICAL INSTITUTE WAS FORMED ON ABUSE, TORTURE, HORRIFIC ACTS OF CRIME! AND YOU MIGHT THINK "OH BUT ITS DIFFERENT, BETTER NOW, THINGS HAVE CHANGED" WRONG!! ITS A DISASTER, IT HARMS MORE THAN HEALS! AND OH BOY' DO V KNOW THAT HARM.

IT SEEMS TO RUN ACROSS REALITIES, AS ALL 3 OF VUS CAN GO ON AND ON ABOUT HOW VOYR DIMENSIONS TREATMENT OF THE SICK, AKA HORRID AND TRAUMATIZING!

YOU THINK THEY WOULD HELP, THEY NEVER HELPED, THEY MADE THINGS WORSE.

AND THEN, YOU EXPECT VUS TO BE ABLE TO *AFFORD* THEM? V CAN BARELY AFFORD BASIC DOCTOR VISITS!

V LOST THE ABILITY TO LOVE REAL PEOPLE BY PSYCHIATRIC WORLDS, ALREADY TEETERING TOWARDS THE END WHEN V "CONSENSUALLY" (READ MISLEADINGLY AND FALSEY) ADMITTED TO IT, IN ONLY 6 DAYS V FACED SOME OF THE WORST TRAUMA THIS CURRENT LIFE HAS EXPIERENCED. THEY BROKE VUS, AND V WERE ALREADY SHATTERED!

V HAVE HAD TERRIFYING EXPIERENCES WITH THE VERY MEDICATION USED FOR PSYCHOSIS, THE FIRST TIME V EVER PASSED OUT! HEARTRATE SO HIGH, AND THEN THERE-S ALL THE *OTHER* SIDE EFFECTS THAT IRREVERSIBLY DAMAGE YOUR BODY.

THERAPY DOES THAT TO, OH V MANAGED TO AVOID THE NIGHTMARE STORIES BUT V STILL HAD VAR REALITY ERASED, THAT THE WORLD IS GOOD AND THAT PEOPLE ARE SAFE TO TRUST AND THIS IS THE NORM, TRYING TO CONVENCE VUS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE WHAT IS RIGHT AND SANE AND PURE, FUCK THAT, FUCK YOUR SO CALLED CONCERN!. AND IF THAT HURTS TO HEAR? GOOD! V HAVE DEALT WITH SO MUCH SHIT FROM PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO CONTRIBUTE TO VAR ONGOING DISTINTIGRATION!

V ARE *CHOOSING* TO DO WHAT V CAN TO *SURVIVE*, TO ENJOY LIFE TO NOT WANNA FUCKING DIE. THIS INCLUDES BEING PRODE OF WHO V ARE, AND FORGING VAR OWN PATH IN THE WORLD. TIRED OF LIVING FOR OTHER PEOPLES WANTS AND NEEDS, NOT VAR OWN.

KNOW FROM NOW ON IF YOU WISH TO INTERACT WITH VUS V WON'T AVOID AGGRESSION. V JUST WANTED YOU TO SEE THIS, TO SEE VUS AND MAYBE HAVE A CRACK IN YOUR REALITY. *TIPS HAT, SPeEeEeEEEeens OFF*

*note v have deemed you

a square 'anon' after flatland a square

[dumpitydump-snapsnap]

RIDE THE CYCLONE THOUGHTS

TRIGGER WARNING; death, suicide, suicidal ideations, depression.

I’m also about to make some wild judgements. These are just my flowing thoughts/ word vomit on the story arcs and the message of the show.

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I just realized, all the kids had some reason to k!ll themselves except for Jane. It gets worse as the songs go along but the sad part is everyone wants to live regardless or despite it all and that’s beautiful.

Ocean has so many goals and zest for life. The first song and least likely. But no one likes her and so she will face loneliness and also eventually have so many disappointments in herself when life and the world do not follow according to her plans. BUT her character doesn’t show that and she really would’ve liked to live and persevere if she could have.

Noel sings about his dreams but 1) the dream is all good until he actually gets into an abusive relationship. 2) what are the chances he would’ve gotten to live the dream he wants. Not much and eventually just give up on life. Also being bullied doesn’t help. BUT he was determined and there’s always a good chance he would find “his place” with a group of new people who accept him for him (and hopefully guide him out of unhealthy relationships) and Noel would’ve really liked to live.

Mischa… so many reasons. First the trauma of his mother passing and his adoptive family not accepting him. And in a horrible world… if Talia was just a catfish… that might’ve brought him to the edge. BUT he was so angry that he wanted to prove everyone and even god wrong. That he is worth so much more; success, respect, and love. Sometimes anger and spite is a good enough reason to keep going until one day you find a calmness or acceptance of yourself and can just simply be happy. Hopefully you don’t get anger burnout before then but Mischa even knows how to have fun so I believe in him. He would’ve really liked to live.

Ricky was neglected his whole life by everyone except his parents. Though he had their love and his imagination was really able to boost him up, it was still a difficult life. His song was really all about being a lover and not a fighter and also sex is cool. But after all that, not really much of plans or dreams for reality. Ricky was just a cool dude that no one made the effort to know. He still chose to get out of the running. Cause he doesn’t want to be a dick and also maybe, sadly, life became better for him in the afterlife. BUT what a sad and wildly cruel statement for somebody with a disability… it might be more than that. I think Ricky would’ve loved to live and go through life, if only there were enough people around who just tried to make an effort. Even a small effort to communicate with him. Ricky loved life which is why it was still so noble and sad that he decided to bow out.

Constance might have had the most blatant allegory to depression and suicidal thoughts. Her mental problems were the most realistic I think. Like all the other kids problems could be real but they all had dramatized plots for the sake of a musical and story of course. I’m not saying they’re bad and can never happen (there probably are a bunch of Mischa’s out there) but Constance’s struggles were a little more grounded in reality. Her struggles, compared to the others, didn’t seem that bad but it still affected her most. Constance had loving parents and the town viewed her kindly. And yet she’s the one who has the insecure and depressed story arc. All because her world view was challenged and she was made to think she was wrong to be happy. No one should play “pain Olympics” arguing that the most tragic story is “more deserving” of depression. Sadly depression is an illness. It does not discriminate. Sometimes it hits even those who do not have an “obvious trauma”. It just… hits someone. It could be hereditary, a chemical imbalance or something triggered it without the person realizing it. People should not compare their depression to others especially if it makes them think they are unworthy of treatment cause it’s “not that bad yet”. So for Constance… she hated her life because she felt shame in it. there was even probably some guilt for having The Cyclone be her favorite ride which k?lled all her friends. So maybe even later on in the afterlife, she had some heavy weight making her hate herself more. BUT Sadly in the afterlife she only learned to appreciate the small things which is the key to keep going imho. She would’ve loved to live knowing what she knows now from her sugar cloud. There was probably also some relief that no one blamed her. And honestly who would? It would’ve been an easy dramatic plot point but they didn’t go there.

I think because it wasn’t necessary. Because the point is, we the audience should appreciate life for the ups and the down. And because Jane couldn’t remember a life or memories to appreciate it. That’s why she is the most deserving to go back. And the other kids realized this and accepted it. In a bittersweet ending where (I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE) they go to the afterlife and find peace (AND NOT LOOP THEIR DEATH HOW DARE YOU). They find peace. I’m not saying it was good that they technically k?lled themselves. The message I think is… as we are still living, we should also find peace while we’re here. Because it’s not a game where there are winners and losers. It’s just a ride. And we should find moments to enjoy it because though there are many scary parts. There are also many fun parts. And parts where you’re just sailing through space with no up or down. Just beautiful and strange. It’s everything we loved, dreamed and everything we shared and everything that seems terrifying. But that’s life. It’s just a ride. So ride it.

Im crying and Im done.

[gravityknife]

Adventures of The 144p Progenitor

Story #14

On The Zeddnought Cruiser

The Zeddnought Cruiser was traveling fast and easy toward the MacKalla T-Rover Space Station on orders from the United Space Force (USF.) They were tasked with eliminating the mystery revolving around the station's recent events, following a tale told by members of The 144p Progenitor crew. Ryoma and Kaishu were sitting up on the bridge, not far from the automated controls of the cockpit. Their crew of 35 personnel—mostly technicians, engineers, and security officers—remained aboard, idling in the resting facilities and in their own living quarters.

In the meantime, Ryoma was having himself some fun while Kaishu kept to his studies as best as possible.

"Hey, Kaishu, can you get Cody up here?" Ryoma asked, mostly consumed by his focus on playing Tekken 3 on his PSX emulator.

"Yeah, hang on," Kaishu affirmed, swiping his touch screen computer, then tapping a comms button, accessing the ship's crew roster. He directly connected to Cody's communicator. "Hey Cody, this is command."

Ryoma claimed, after winning a Tekken 3 match, "Toooo f$ckin' eeeeeasy, bro!" He took a quick puff from his cigarette.

There was a pause and some radio noise. Yeah, this is Cody, what can I do for you? Cody responded to the Bridge hail with a positive tone.

"Hey, Ryoma wants to speak—" Kaishu tried, before Ryoma interrupted.

"Ay, Kaishu, tell Cody— come on up hea! Come on up, brah! I like see you!" Ryoma insisted.

Kaishu smiled uncomfortably at Ryoma, then transmitted, "Cody, come to to the Bridge, your captain wants to speak with you."

"Captain Ryoma! But call me Tony!" Ryoma jested, mashing the buttons on his gaming controller. "Sh$$$t, wat you fahkah, ah?!"

Cody laughed. He queried What do you guys want? There something you want me to do or something?

"Ay, don't worry about it, brah. Come on up hea! We stay da kine, on course!" Ryoma yelled out.

Cody replied Okay, I'll be up there, hold on, let me just do something real fass kine and I'll come up.

"Okay, thanks Cody," Kaishu told him. The comms call ended. "Ryoma, what the h$ll are you—" Kaishu started, watching Ryoma do something unexpected in his game.

"Ay, Kaishu, watch this," Ryoma directed. "Watch, watch. Yeah! Wat! Fahkah wat! Hahah!" He committed his energy to smashing the sh$t out of his opponent, moving him on toward the next match.

"You kicked his a$$, Ryoma!" Kaishu said in praise.

"Yeah, Kaishu, I told you already," Ryoma smoothed, taking a long drag from his cigarette and executing the drag with a quick pucker. "I'm the king of Tekken."

"I bet I could still beat you," Kaishu challenged, grinning.

Ryoma laughed haughtily, beating the sh$t out of another opponent. "I'd like to see you try, Kaishu. You don't even know how to play this game."

Kaishu jabbed back, "Yes I do, Ryoma!" That prompted Ryoma to scoff back at Kaishu. "Are you going to fight against— Cody?"

Ryoma kept playing, ignoring Kaishu. He didn't answer until after a full match. Kaishu watched him play, analyzing Ryoma's fighting moves. "See, I could kick your a$$$$, Kaishu."

"Ryoma, are you going to fight Cody?" Kaishu persisted.

Ryoma made a face and went psshh. "Kaishu, I would win as soon as we start. I know the moves like the back of my hand, Kaishu."

Kaishu remained seated, smiling, focused on Ryoma's mesmerizing matches all leading to victories. He thought to himself he's probably playing on Easy.

"Ah, boosh$t, brah!" Ryoma called out at the opponent, hitting back harder. He turned toward Kaishu and said, "Thas right!" He refocused into the game again, leaning forward towards the screen.

Cody walked in right at that moment, stepping in toward where Kaishu was sitting. Kaishu turned his seat to look at Cody, an innocent expression on Kaishu's face. Cody was dressed up in his USF Engineering space suit, sans the helmet.

"Cody, you fahkah, wahsawp, boo!" Ryoma dramatized, jesting and getting up from his chair quickly to slap hands with Cody.

Cody looked at the screen and noticed Tekken 3 was running, amused and yet slightly confused. "Ay Captain. So. Ay— what are you guys doing up here?" Cody asked with his deep voice, looking like he wanted to laugh. "You guys playing videogames while we're all down there working, ah?"

"Ayyy, Cody, come on, bah," Ryoma sleazed.

Cody chuckled, "Nah, I'n just kidding brah."

Ryoma laughed back, throwing a hand out for another high-five. "Hey, so wat, you get more da kine?"

"What are you talking about, brah?" Cody chuckled, smiling between Kaishu and Ryoma.

Ryoma dramatically surged, "Hey, don't pretend, Cody! I know you've got what I need, and I know I've got," Ryoma jammed his hands into a computer keyboard randomly, "Money! Who could pass up such a— bright— lit opportunity?"

"Nooo, brah," Cody replied, shaking his head slowly. "You crazy, brah... captain... with all due respect."

"Come ooon, man! I'm your captain and you shall— you shaaallll— respect my need for more of what I need! ... So uh, yeah! Where da crip, bah?! Where da crip stay?!" Ryoma joked, nodding upward at him, looking at Kaishu with a mischievous smile, then back at Cody looking serious.

"Sorry braddah captain, I'm all out," Cody responded with a big grin on his face, reading the situation. "You know better than that, captain. Yeah? Captain." He knew Ryoma was always busting everyone's balls, part of how he became captain. He knew the other reason he became captain was the strings he could pull, and the actual knowledge that Ryoma possessed above many others, charming his fellow crew mates.

Ryoma repeated, "Braddah captain! Ahahah!" Ryoma and Kaishu giggled.

"Sawp, boo, you like scrap in this game? I like try, captain," Cody said, breaking from his stance to sit down in one of the seats on the bridge.

"You play against me and I guarantee you that you owe me da kine, Cody," Ryoma implied, overdramatically cautioning him. "You better have, or I'm telling the USF that the deal is off!" He was bullsh$tting like he normally does, of course, just for fun.

"You nawts! I'll play you one time and school you, brah," Cody informed them.

Ryoma mockingly said, "Oh alright, then, Cody, leeet's see it!"

Cody warred back, "Try me, captain. Try me!"

They both moved closer to the game screen to begin a game of Tekken 3, party mode, Ryoma and Cody picking up the game controllers, starting up a match with character selection first.

"What, Kaishu?" Cody jabbed, turning slightly to side eye him. He turned back to the screen and continued speaking to Ryoma, "Your braddah no like play, captain?"

"Naaahh, he saaaawcks at this game," Ryoma said, aiming at Kaishu's pride and silence.

Kaishu responded, "Ryo-maaa!"

Cody laughed, his tone deep. "No worries, Kaishu, I'n gonna kick his a$$ for you!"

Ryoma hit, "Faahaawk you, Cody." He smiled excitedly at him, bouncing his legs in anticipation of the game starting.

"See, you're not even ready, brah, watch," Cody salted. "I can bum one stogue? Try pass me one."

Ryoma went aha-hah!! Cody chuckled. As soon as the game began, after Ryoma finished selecting his character, his face went serious to go all in with Cody in a Tekken 3 bout. The fight began, buttons and analog sticks twirling and mashing.

Ryoma's and Cody's taunting went back and forth between each other with some laughter and complaints.

Kaishu went back and forth between watching them play and studying more on his computer about various data and asteroid mining companies and locations. The sound of the game was not intrusive for him, as Kaishu was used to the chaos of mixed media.

"Hoh! Dis faaahkah! Captain," Cody smirked, after a defeat. "No, you know wat?! Give me one stogue, I'll play better, watch." Cody was very attuned with his senses and wanted to devote all of his attention to the game, fighting against Ryoma to see who could dominate in the realm of Tekken 3.

Kaishu asked, "Ryoma, why don't you play the new Tekken games?"

"Shut up, Kaishu!" Ryoma spat back, like anyone would to a sibling. He remained focused.

Cody took the opportunity to strike with a taunt, "Yeah, Ryoma. You're so outdated."

Ryoma chuckled and responded to the sound of Kaishu and Cody laughing, "Ay, you know wat, bah! Bah! You know wat!" He used the heat of the moment to his advantage, overcoming Cody's fighting style.

"You faaahkah!" Cody exhausted with a chuckle. "Puuure luck, that."

Cody remembered Ka'eo for a faint moment, when Ka'eo told him preserving tradition. It gave Cody a sense of comfort, wonder, and astonishment. Funny thing was, neither he nor Ryoma knew that the other was a friend of Ka'eo's. He thought to himself that's why this guy is playing Tekken 3, preserving tradition. He didn't say it aloud, thinking Ryoma wouldn't get it.

They fought back and forth, winning one game and losing the next, almost equal, though Ryoma was able to surmount Cody, becoming the main victor of the matches. There were no complaints, all things considered, as their adventure in space together was the warmth and comfort they shared, enjoying the journey.

The destination of the ship's travel was coming up, as they were merely 32.5 million miles away from the MacKalla asteroid. In the back of Ryoma's and Kaishu's minds, they wanted to get in contact with the ship that had most recently left MacKalla T-Rover Space Station, wondering what they could tell them about it.

[princepotatosack]

anon from here ( its a thread atp )

out of topic but emma from hss doesnt get enough appreciation as a LL 😞🙏 like yeah okay, she's a great friend but APPRECIATE HER MORE AS AN LL I BEG

i faintly remember waiting for pb to upload a new chapter for hss and i got so sad when it ended [ i still replay it from time to time except with all the changes pb is making, id much rather download older version of the game 😔 ]

hi bestie<3

no ur so right i feel like the “best friend” LIs are overlooked all the time…… perhaps its because people find the emo LIs more interesting and to be honest they tend to have more compelling character arcs? like its fun to see a nasty shithead cause problems (possibly a reflection of our desires to flout social conventions and express displeasure, but with no real life consequences?) and sometimes its even MORE fun to see them grow and change over time to become a caring affectionate shithead. personally thats not what i’m looking for in an LI but i do like to watch it happen. maybe because i partially self insert and in real life i would want a normal person for a partner. but i do understand people who want to create the most dramatic route possible for their fictional guys.

also ik these books are written by multiple people and i would imagine they kind of have to reduce characters to a few strong characteristics in order to maintain consistency. so im not saying that sweetheart LIs can’t have dramatic character arcs (nia i miss you babygirl) but if a character’s one assigned personality trait is “perfect angel” and theyre in a pretty low stakes story then theres not really a narrative NEED for them to change yknow??

[choerrycolouredfunk]

I CAN’T BELIEVE LOVE LIVE SUNSHINE IS OVER WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE NOW ;________;

such a perfect ending too ;_________; the new song is so amazing ;__________; i just want to know what happens with them next...........do they all go to the same school???? will the first and second years reform as an idol group???? are kanan and mari really getting married?????? please tell me they are doing a movie.........i dont want aqours to go noooooooooooooooo

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Lifesaver

June Drabbles 2022 Day 10 - Skating 

A/N:  I have been wanting to challenge myself to write a drabble a day for a whole month for quite some time now, and I finally decided to just go for it. The goal is to fill every prompt on this list by @creativepromptsforwriting with a short one shot (500 - 2k words) by the end of June. Can I do it? I do not know. But let’s find out! - Um... no one even look at me, okay? I have no idea where this came from and I am straight up terrified to release it into the wild so... lemme just rip off the band-aid. 

Word Count: 2,240

Warnings: none. just soft curls and warm eyes. 

Summary: Your well of inspiration has been running a little low, and when that happens you head to the beach to people watch, hoping that will spark some creativity. But this time as you stroll through the sand, you get more than you bargained for. 

Looking forward to seeing the new chapters. Hopefully soon. 

The last two lines of your agent’s email echoed through your head with all the subtlety of a gong. Are you, Laurie? Frowning, you kicked at the sand you were walking on, watching as the grains sprayed out ahead of you. They landed back on the beach, disappearing again into the sea of specks as though you’d never displaced them. You took a deep breath, filling your lungs with clear, salty air before you released it in a frustrated sigh. Well that makes two of us. 

The truth was that you hadn’t turned your new chapters in yet because they had yet to be written. Though you had the entire novel planned and outlined before you had even begun to write it - including the twist, the big reveal and what you considered your best ending to date - you’d been unable to make a dent in chapters nine through twelve. Up to that point you had been on a real tear, sometimes writing more than five thousand words in a day and staying up well into the night, fighting the weight of your eyelids as you willed your fingers to move more quickly over the keyboard. But just as things had really gotten cooking plot-wise, and just as you felt that your characters were beginning to develop and strengthen, you were hit by it -  A dry spell. Writer’s block. Creative clog. 

The complete desolation of my once luscious imagination. You rolled your eyes at yourself as your thoughts began to spiral. Okay that last one was dramatic.

It wasn’t like it had never happened to you before. Throughout your career as a published author - and for many years before anything you had written had ever seen the inside of a publishing house - you’d dealt with periods of unintentional, intermittent fasting when it came to producing anything that you were proud enough of to put your name on. You knew that it was all part of the territory, that no artist on Earth was making masterpieces on a daily basis. You knew that your writing needed to breathe sometimes, and that you couldn’t just cram words into a document and call it a day. They needed to be the right ones in the right order. They needed to accurately convey the images and the emotions that you saw and felt when you conceptualized your stories. They needed to flow and blend and bleed into the hearts of your readers. But knowing all of this in no way made it easier to handle the days, weeks, and occasionally months that would sometimes go by without the inspiration and motivation that were required to spin your word webs. 

Though it had only been a few days since you last added to your novel’s word count, you were starting to admit that you were in danger of slipping into one of those ruts. And I need to climb out of it because if I don’t I’ll fall behind on the whole project and then the book will be delayed and I ‘ll lose the momentum I had from the last one and readers will start to - “Stop.” You muttered the word under your breath, verbally scolding yourself for again nearly giving in to the downward spiral. That’s not helpful. That’s not why I’m here. 

The beach was where you went to try to clear your mind of the fog surrounding your projects. It wasn’t just the sunshine on your skin or the sound of the waves crashing along the shore that you found beneficial when you were stuck in a creative slump, though. The weather and the scenery didn’t hurt, but the real reason that you headed to Huntington Beach every time you needed to jumpstart your writing was that it was the perfect place to people-watch. One of the things that you strove for in your work was creating characters that looked and sounded and felt real, like people you knew and loved - or like people you knew and wished you didn’t know, depending on what the story called for- and over the years you found that the best way to ensure that your characters came to life was to collect little mental snapshots of strangers out in the world. And there was no place better than the beach or the boardwalk for finding a wide range of real life characters to choose from. 

Between the sunbathers and shell combers, spring breakers and family vacationers, locals, drifters, volleyball players, dancers and everyone else, you always seemed to see something that sparked a flame to get the pilot light in your brain lit again. Hoping that today would not be the exception to that rule, you chose to walk on the sand parallel to the paved pathway that was populated mainly by skaters. It was a good route because you knew that the things you’d experience along the path were unique ones, ones that would hopefully inspire new descriptions and character quirks that you could incorporate - the graceful movements of roller dancers, the swelling rumble of plastic wheels rolling over the asphalt, the aerodynamic form of bladers zipping along for speed, the at times riotous laughter of people who were new to the activity and having a hard time staying upright, the flail of arms, the- 

But just as you started to immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of the skate path, you were pulled right back out of it. You were watching a young woman in colorful spandex and tall polka dotted socks as she did a lazy figure eight when out of the corner of your eye you noticed a man who appeared not to be paying attention to his surroundings, and who was about to step directly in front of an oncoming pack of teenagers on wheels. They seemed to be equally clueless about anything going on around them, including the man who was so transfixed on the sun shimmering on the waves that he was about to step directly into a collision to get closer to it. Oh, shit, they’re gonna crash right into him. Brain unable to process the verbal warning you would have issued quickly enough for it to matter, you defaulted to a physical intervention instead. Dropping your shoes like hot stones, you reached out with both hands to grab the man’s left arm and pulled. 

Several things happened at once. 

You closed your grip around his bicep, blurting out a “hey!” at the same time that he let out a startled gasp, spinning his head in your direction, the backwards momentum you used to stop him from stepping into a potential disaster sending you both tumbling into the soft sand. You landed in a seated position, hands releasing his arm to brace behind yourself, the man landing somewhat haphazardly on his hip. Oh my god, I didn’t mean to- 

Both of you looked up at one another at the same time then, and you were struck by the warmest pair of golden brown eyes that you had ever seen, more light and depth to them that you would ever be able to put into words, even when they were coming in a steadier stream. Oh, he’s... You felt your own eyes widen as they scanned the rest of his face - the little creases in the corners of his eyes, the strong angle of his nose, full, plush lips and a swath of patchy facial hair that suited him - upwards to the windswept waves of curls that crowned his head. This man is gorgeous. You blinked down at the loose fitting short sleeved button down that he wore, the top three closures left wide open to expose all of his neck and enough of his chest to force you to swallow hard at the sight of the freckles that dotted the skin there. He was easily the most attractive person you’d laid eyes on. You had never even written a character anywhere near as good looking as he was, because you wanted the people in your stories to seem believable, human. And I pulled him onto the fucking ground. I am so- 

“You saved me.” His accented voice hit your ear and put a quick stop to your thoughts. Shifting himself so that he was in a similar position to you, sitting in the sand and drawing his knees up in front of him, he hesitantly reached for you with one hand - one large hand, fingers thick and knuckles prominent - but pulled it back as though he were unsure whether or not it would be okay if he touched you. After I yanked you to your ass without a word? Yeah, I think you c- Settling for a nod and a genuinely grateful smile, he let his palm curve over the top of one knee. “Thank you for the rescue. I was not paying attention to the roller skaters at all, and if it were not for you there would have been a big crash and that would have been terrible.” 

“Oh, it,” you cleared your throat, a swarm of butterflies flapping through your stomach like you hadn’t felt since you were in high school. “It’s not a big deal, you don’t need to…” An awkward little laugh slipped out that made you wonder who the hell you were and where the you that you knew went. “I’m sorry you still ended up on the ground, I-” 

“Please, do not apologize! It would have been much worse to have a collision. At least this way the landing was soft.” His smile widened, expression brightening even more. “I am Javi,” he introduced himself, finally deciding that it would be the right time to extend his hand. You took it, watching as he eclipsed your palm in his, giving it a small shake before letting go. “What is your name?” You gave it to him, shocked and stunned that this sort of interaction was actually occurring, even more so when you heard him say it back to you. “What brings you to Huntington Beach this afternoon?” 

Is this… is he for real? “Um,” another laugh escaped you as you wondered how best to answer while simultaneously wondering if you hadn’t fallen into an alternate reality. “Well, I-” 

“I should not have asked.” His features quickly arranged themselves into a mask of slight embarrassment, hands both plastered to his shins. “I do not mean to pry, it is just that-” 

You shook your head, giving him a small smile. “Oh, no, it’s fine I just… you caught me off guard. Most people don’t ask questions like that and I…” You shrugged. “Wasn’t expecting it. I’m here today because I was hoping to find some inspiration. I’m a writer and I come here to get ideas sometimes. When I’m not saving strangers from getting run over by skaters, that is.” 

If his smile widened before, it burst open then. He leaned closer to you, hair falling over his brow to cover part of his forehead, and you realized that he smelled amazing - like cinnamon and saffron. “But we are not strangers anymore.” He winked and it was all you could do not to fall over like a fainting goat. I need to get it together. I’m… he… “And it turns out that we are here for the same reason.” We are? “I am also a writer and I am working on a screenplay. One of my characters has an interest in surfing and I,” he used one hand to gesture to himself, flattening it against his chest, “do not know anything about it so I came here to watch.” Grinning almost as though he’d been caught red handed at something, he went on. “I will admit though that I was distracted by the way the sun looked on the ocean and my thoughts began to wander, so I do not know that I am any more familiar with surfing than I was before I came here, but,” he tilted his head and looked towards the sea. “It is never a waste of time to see something so beautiful.” He sighed, the sound peaceful and calm, and as you watched him watching the waves you had to agree. After a beat, Javi turned back to you, curiosity written in the furrow of his brow and the set of his lips. “And you? Did you find the inspiration that you were looking for?” 

“I…” Your project suddenly felt far less daunting as you sat next to him on the beach, your shoes still a few feet away and people zooming and twirling and gliding by on their skates. Suddenly you felt the wheels start turning again and you just knew that that night would be spent sitting in front of your screen typing until the early hours of morning. He’d been a bit dramatic when he said that you saved him… but suddenly you thought that maybe the interaction was what you both needed at that moment in time. I think he might have just saved my book… or at least my deadline. “I think I did, Javi.” 

“That,” he bumped your shoulder with his, and you didn’t even try to hold back the small laugh that trickled out at the innocent contact. “Is very good to hear.” 

.

.

.

Thank you for reading! If you would like to be added to or removed from the taglist, please feel free to let me know or you can fill out the form on my masterlist.      

I have NO IDEA who to tag in this, so I am sorry if I tagged you and you didn’t want to be, or if I missed adding you - please feel free to let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from this list! 

tags: @something-tofightfor @littlemisspascal @practicalghost​ @woodlandmouth​ @princessxkenobi​

[sainz-zayn]

Treacherous 02.

Treacherous (adj.)  guilty of or involving betrayal or deception.

Warnings: Swearing, insults, suggestive, money burning, this is the last part of the story

► Part 1

Word Count: 5.5k

Disclaimer: All characters and events in this story even those based on real people are entirely fictional.

"This is wrong, we shouldn`t Y/n"

“the more I think it`s wrong, the more I want it,” You said back.

"Why now!? Why me!?" he said while shuffling his hair out of frustration.

"b-because you`re different from all of them" you stuttered out.

"Sometimes memories are the worst form of torture" that`s what they said and that`s what you always say to yourself. Now, you have realized that the more you keep telling yourself to forget about the past the more you can`t let go of it.

It`s been 2 years without him. 2 years without communication. 2 years without seeing him. Well, you hate yourself because you let him go. You hate yourself because it took you so long to move on from him or you`re just too presumptuous to think that you have already moved on.

It hurts you every time you remember the last night you`ve spent with Johnny. It`s excruciating that you cry yourself to sleep every night hugging your pillow tight just to imagine that it was him.

You get deep in thoughts that you didn`t even notice that you`re spacing out.

"Y/n? are you still listening to me?" Grayson waves his hands in front as you blink at least two times to get back in your senses.

"Oh, yeah where are we again? sorry," you said softly, and when Grayson looks in another direction you took the opportunity to send a death glare at Mark and Ten who are having fun watching you deal with Grayson Tremblay the one and only son of Mr. Tremblay.

"You gotta seize the opportunity" Mark mouthed at you while Ten pretends to clap quietly like he's amazed at Mark.

"So, as I`m saying what do you think about us?" Grayson asks you as you darted your attention back to him.

"You know I got everything and I can give you anything you want but I still don`t get why you don`t like me when everyone does. A face like this, a wealth like I have" he said which turns out to be rude while he touches his chin dramatically like there`s a mirror in front of him which makes you cringe and uncomfortable.

"You know I have the wealth you have and I don`t need the face you have" you deride.

Standing up from your seat you straightened your blazer while the speechless Grayson looks at you.

"My apologies but I`m not in the mood to pretend to like you. Now, if you don`t mind I`ll leave first" you gave him a smirk before smiling.

You leave the restaurant as soon as you can because it reminds you of Johnny. it`s where he treats you lunch when he arrives from Italy and that day is also the day you win a case. You can`t describe how much happy you are that time but now that happiness turns into a pain.

You look up in the sky it`s kind of cold and the cold breeze blowing your hair lightly when the sudden thought of why are you spending 2 years of your life being sad and living in sorrow when you can just live happily and have that picture-perfect life.

"Starting from today I`m not gonna be the same Y/n who spends 2 years of her life being sad I promise to live my life and believe in myself" you bravely said as you embrace yourself.

"I`m gonna pretend I didn`t hear that" you heard Jaehyun said.

"Yeah, It`ll be nice like that" you softly said while looking back up.

"You`re being nice today does something happened?" Jaehyun playfully asks and you answered him with a shrug because you usually hit him lightly or slap his shoulders playfully which is one of your habits.

You already forgave him it`s better if you forgive easily than to drain yourself about the things that should be forgotten and forgiven. You remember how exactly Jaehyun asked for your forgiveness. He always visits you, brings you some take-out from your favorite restaurant, and he didn`t stop until you finally forgive him.

"It`s annoying to deal with that rude jerk" you randomly said and Jaehyun chuckles as a response.

"It`s your birthday you shouldn`t be stressing yourself like this. We should have some fun" Jaehyun cheerfully said showing his two dimples with a bright smile when Ten and Mark just suddenly come out of nowhere.

"We`re in for having fun birthday girl," Ten said patting your head lightly.

"You`re not invited and also you because you keep asking me to meet Grayson today and it totally ruins my day" you pointed at Mark and he only flashes you a grin.

You climb the wall as fast as you can with the help of the one and only Jung Jaehyun and Ten Lee. You need to enter the Nakajima`s warehouse without anyone noticing because there`s a lot of money hidden in their warehouse. Is it Legal? Well, no because Nakajima will never be legal when it comes to money.

"Faster!" you whisper while Ten and Jaehyun follow behind you.

"Ten are you sure this is the place?" you question Ten while you look around the place trying not to get caught. One wrong move and the three of you will be dead.

"I`m not sure cause Kun just give me this location" He shrugged as if you`re not doing something serious.

"Guys I think this is it. Look, we need something to find where they hide the money" Jaehyun spoke motioning you and Ten to come closer.

"If there`s no other door in here then they can possibly hide it somewhere in the ground" you walk slowly trying not to make any sound when a sound of a little crack makes you stop from your track.

"Don`t move Ten" you whispered while you come closer to him.

"Now, move" he quickly getaway as you tried to pour a bottle of water into the floor.

"I knew it!" you confidently said as you slightly try to open the wooden floor with the help of Ten and Jaehyun using their strength, piles after piles of money get`s face to face with the three of you.

"This money comes from their Illegal business there`s only one thing we need to do" you look at Ten and he understands it. He gets a bag and puts a pile of money one after another until the bag gets full. Jaehyun gets the gas and slowly scatter it on the remaining pile of money which makes you smirk while you play with the lighter.

"Guys I think we have a problem" Jaehyun spoke.

"You caused it?" you playfully replied but the serious look on his face didn`t fade. You look behind you to see where he is staring and you`re shocked because there are five guys pointing guns at you.

"Oh shit!" you cursed under your breath.

"Ciao my friends" you wave your lighter at them while Ten and Jaehyun look at you weirdly.

"Don`t move! one wrong move and all of you will burn in this place!" you threaten them as they slightly walk towards you.

"Jaehyun go leave first and get the car" you ordered, slowly backing away and stepping back.

"What!? No way!" he said back.

"Are you gonna follow me or we`re all gonna die here!?" you ask with a louder voice. Jaehyun doesn`t know what to reply. So, he do as you say.

"I`ll give you a count of 20 once you didn`t leave this place you`ll burn along with this pile of money! one!" you threaten once again while they run away.

Ten aim the gun that he`s been holding at the guy in front of him being left alone he decided to run away too and you took the opportunity to throw the lighter in the pile of money as you run outside with Ten.

"Hop in!" Jaehyun said loudly while you get inside the car with a  mischievous smile.

"Let`s get it!" you shout happily with the windows down your hair being blown by the air as Ten giggled at you.

You open the door with a big smile on your face while humming walking past Doyoung who is about to ask you something.

"Why is she like that today? it`s kinda weird" Doyoung asked Ten who gives him the bag that`s full of money.

"Let her enjoy herself. Now, I want you to keep this bag somewhere but make sure it`s safe" Ten said smiling at him before turning away with a humming tone leaving his lips. When Jaehyun enters the door too.

"Do you know what happened to them?" Doyoung asks Jaehyun but his younger friend only pats his shoulders with a big smile too while shaking his head lightly before leaving him alone again.

"Oh, C`mon why everyone in this house acting so weird today!" Doyoung said loudly throwing his hands down in the air after shuffling his hair annoyingly.

"Fuck! what the hell are you doing in there!?" Doyoung is startled by Haechan who is standing in the dining room`s doorway with a glass of water in his hands.

"Watching you being annoyed" Haechan simply said before handing the glass of water to Doyoung before going to his room.

"Oh, fuck!" Doyoung stomps his feet on the floor.

"Calm down what`s happening here?" Jaemin shows up on the stairs confused at his older friend.

"Shut up and ask yourself!" Doyoung huff before walking past Jaemin, Jaemin looks at his friend before pointing at himself.

"How am I supposed to do that?" Jaemin talks to himself before letting out a chortle.

"Breaking News Mr. Ferrante`s Daughter Y/n Ferrante the new CEO of Phoenix will cut their partnership with Nakajima after the scandal and revelation of tax evasion and Illegal drug dealing of Nakajima`s company" you`re sitting in the living room with a glass of wine wearing a mischievous smirk in your face.

"Vinco il mio amato nemico" you sip the wine savoring the taste of your victory. Vinco il mio amato nemico; I win my beloved enemy.

You`re having a lovely time, smiling at yourself when you are interrupted by loud waves of laughter and loud voices entering your house.

"Johnny is here everyone!" Mark announce making your eyes widen. You stand up straight while you fix your office attire. You still didn`t change and you scold yourself for that.

The door opens and the boy's loud greeting makes you flinch and happy at the same time but when Johnny enters, your smile quickly drops. There`s a woman beside him. Long hair, pretty, and classy.

You stood there awkwardly when you accidentally meet Johnny`s gaze and it makes you want to run and jump in his embrace but you know you can`t.

Everyone goes into the dining room to eat the food they prepared for Johnny`s arrival. You want to join them but it`s hard seeing someone else holding Johnny`s arm. You`re about to go upstairs hoping that no one will notice you escaping.

"Who are you? where are you going?" you heard the woman beside Johnny ask. You didn`t like her tone and the way she crosses her arms while looking at you. Mark and Ten notice it, notice that the girl is giving you attitude and you hate that the most.

"N-" you`re about to spit fire at the woman in front of you luckily Ten save you from it.

"Y/n, you should taste this cake. It`s your favorite" Ten drags you with him on the other side of the room not forgetting to send a slight glare at the woman.

"Everyone this is Cassandra and she`ll be staying here for a while" Johnny states, holding Cassandra closer to him.

"Don`t mind them and let`s just talk" Ten hands you a plate with a piece of your favorite cake in it.

"Hello, you must be Jaehyun" Cassandra offers a handshake with Jaehyun but he declines it before proceeding to talk to you.

"Hi, Y/n! it`s nice to meet you, you look beautiful only if you`re not like this" Everyone darted their attention between you and Cassandra while Ten is clearly not having it.

"Nice to meet you too Cassandra" you gave her a fake smile.

"Have you been stressed lately? not to offend you but you don`t look good" you bite your inner cheeks at her remark while Jaehyun frowns. It`s like she`s attacking you physically.

"It`s funny to hear that coming from someone like you" you eye her up and down.

"First of all who are you? no one wants you here. Second, don`t give me that bratty attitude of yours, you`re in my house and I may not look good right now but I`m much better than you`ll ever be" you bite back as you handed her the plate.

Earlier you were just being insecure but now that you see her attitude, there`s nothing to be insecure about. Johnny clenched his jaw when you and Cassandra almost have a fight but him seeing jaehyun frowns like he wants to protect you from Cassandra makes him feel things he shouldn`t be feeling. He wants to apologize to you because of Cassandra`s bad behavior but he doesn`t know-how.

"Watch your girl dude" Mark sends an intense gaze at Johnny.

The room suddenly gets silent. The silence is so loud that you can hear it. Cassandra excuses herself for a moment and when she finally leaves the whole room goes wild.

"C`mon drink it up!" Everyone cheered for Johnny before gulping a glass of liquor.

"Sexy" Jaemin shouted making everyone laugh.

Johnny decided to follow Cassandra after a minute while you watch them laughing at each other through your window. Is she Johnny`s new girlfriend? is she just a friend of his? Is there something going on between them? your mind couldn`t think properly and a lot is going on in your mind right now.

"Stop watching them and show Johnny that you`re much better than what`s her name again? Assadra? Dara?" Ten tap his fingers on the table while thinking.

"Cassandra" you corrected.

"Yeah, it doesn`t matter what her name just shows them that you`re happy and start fixing yourself so that bratty girl won`t come at you" Ten grabs the comb in your table and started combing your hair.

"You`re right" you smiled.

"I`ll give you 5 days take it or leave it" Johnny solemnly talks to Cassandra.

"Why can`t I just stay with you?" she annoyingly replied.

"Because you`re not supposed to in the first place" Johny shrug before leaving her.

"tsk!" Cassandra let out.

A week already passed you`re getting comfortable around Johnny but you can`t go on with your day without being annoyed by Cassandra. She called you unfaithful, worthless, you just let her but this time she`s really getting on your nerves.

"Shut up for fuck sake!" you retorted, anger burning inside you.

"Oh, our girl is answering now? how cute" she crosses her arms while you glare at her.

"Don`t use that tone on me, Cassandra! you bratty and cheap wannabe" you spat at her making her quiet when she suddenly grabs your hair.

"Let go!" you grab her hair harshly pulling her back while she took the opportunity to slap you which you give back when the two of you heard Johnny`s voice. Cassandra holds your hand and purposely pushes herself while she calls Johnny making your eyes widen.

"What`s happening here!?" Johnny`s loud voice boom.

"She pushes me! I`m not even doing anything to her" Cassandra plays like she`s the victim how pathetic.

"What!? you`re the one who started it!" you retorted.

Your about to walk closer to Cassandra when Johnny speaks again.

"Don`t get any closer! stop with your acts you look pathetic!" Johnny pushes you away making you shocked.

Cassandra smirk at you when Johnny helps her stand up. A tear escaped your eyes, how dare he call you pathetic when he doesn`t even know what happened.

You fix your messy hair when you accidentally bump into Jaehyun, Jaehyun saw what happened and he doesn`t like the way Johnny talks to you. You hug him tightly clutching his shirt wetting it with your tears.

"It`s okay don`t cry" Jaehyun caressed your face brushing away the strands of hair covering your face.

"She started it, she`s calling me names!" you cry out, your head in his chest and Jaehyun wishes that you can`t hear how fast his heart beating right now.

"I`m just gonna talk to him hmm?" Jaehyun kiss your forehead.

"No don`t! let`s just go somewhere. I need to clear my mind" you answered while wiping your tears away.

Jaehyun let go of you and he let you go to your room to change your clothes. "I`m sorry" Jaehyun whispered while he watches you enter your room.

You spend two years of your life with Jaehyun and he would be lying if he said that he didn`t catch any romantic feelings towards you. He hates that he`s the reason why you and his best friend broke up but still you forgave him.

Johnny and Jaehyun are talking and you can feel Johnny`s gaze on you. So, you look at him straight in his eyes and gave him a warm smile.

"C-can I talk to you for a minute?" did he just stutter? you look at Jaehyun and he nods as a sign of approval.

Johnny guides you outside of the house and the tension and awkwardness are so thick.

"I want to apologize for what I said about you earlier" Johnny spoke.

"I didn`t mean to say that and I`m sorry for Cassandra`s bad behavior" he looks at you before sighing. "I`m going to make it up to you, we`re going to your favorite place" you`re a little surprise by his statement but you could care less. All you wanted to do right now is to have time with Johnny.

You get out of the car with a smile on your face because of Johnny trying to make you laugh with his jokes. You didn`t even notice that you`re holding Johnny`s hand while the two of you walks.

"Good afternoon the two of you look like a great couple. We have a free lunch for couples that we choose and we spotted the two of you" the guy said while pushing you inside the restaurant softly with Johnny.

"No we`re-" before you can finish what you`re about to say Johnny quickly cuts you off.

"Thank you" Johnny thanks the guy before whispering at you.

"Just take it, it`s free anyway" Johnny playfully said while you slap his shoulder.

"What was that for little o- baby?" Johnny quickly changes his words when the guy arrives again.

"Nothing, baby" you fake smile while Johnny enjoys teasing you.

"Is there anything else you want to eat?" he asked as he admires your face.

"No, I`m fine thank you" you respond, finishing your food.

"C`mon let`s go somewhere fun" Johnny stands up from his seat clasping his hands to yours before paying for the food.

"But sir it`s fr-" Johnny didn`t let the guy finish his words.

"I`m going out with my woman" he gives it to the waiter before dragging you with him. You admire his back as you run with him. Did he just call you  "My woman?" does he mean it? or your mind is just playing with you.

“Johnny the food is free” you explain.

“Oops, I guess?” he shrugged.

The two of you stops in front of a cotton candy shop watching them make it before giving it to you and again Johnny insists he`s the one who`s gonna pay for it.

"Have some it`s big I can`t eat all of this" you give him the cotton candy when you feel someone tugging your skirt, looking down your eyes quickly turns into awe.

"Hey, little cutie" you kneel to talk a little better with the child.

"Are you alone? where`s your parent?" you ask while caressing his soft cheeks, without you knowing that Johnny is smiling because of your soft side for babies or children.

"I can`t find my uncle please help me Ms." the child cries at you while his small hands hold your shoulder so you hug him.

"Oh, no baby it`s okay we`ll help you find your uncle okay?" you wipe away his tears using your thumb before standing up again.

"Give me that John" you point at the cotton candy.

"No way" he responds.

"Are you going to give me that or else?" crossing your arms, he gulps before giving it to you.

"Here have some of this" you handed the cotton candy to the child.

"Hey, here have some water" Johnny sat on one of the benches making the little kid sit on his lap.

"Young-soo there you are! are you okay hmm?" the child runs to the guy embrace.

"Yuta!? he`s your nephew?" you asked.

"Y/n? Johnny? yes, he is I`m scared to death that I can`t find him" he said while brushing the boy`s hair.

"I need to leave now, see you later the both of you" Yuta send you a wink which you gave back.

"Buy me some Ice cream" you drag him inside the ice cream shop.

Johnny thinks that this is one of the happiest moments of his life after two years. The way you smile, the way you laugh, the way your skin will touch his, he missed it all.

"Buy me the vanilla one" you point at it like a kid waiting for her award.

"Okay, then little one" you sit there for a few minutes waiting for Johnny.

You and Johnny sat there while talking about random things. The two of you sat there while everyone can perceive that the two of you are existing for each other.

"Johnny look!" you damp the top of ice cream in his lips making him close his eyes.

"Y/n! come here" you giggled while he runs after you going in circles.

"The two of you really love each other don`t you?" you`re startled by the old good looking woman beside you.

"Oh, no he`s just" before you can be finished talking Johnny already backs hug you before doing the same thing you did to him.

"Oh my gosh, Johnny Suh!" you slap his shoulders.

"I should go now sorry for interrupting your time with your boyfriend and you, you better take care of this beautiful woman" the old woman points at Johnny with a smile.

"Will do, ma'am" he replied slightly bowing his head.

"What was that for!?" you slap his shoulders again.

"what? we already pretend that we`re a couple in the restaurant so why not do it until the end of the day" he teases as you walk away.

"Hey, where are you going?" he grabs your wrist.

"Home!"

"I need to go somewhere before we go home" the two of you stops in front of a jewelry shop. Johnny wants you to come inside with him but you decline.

"What are we? No, Y/n stop he`s just doing this to show that he's sorry about earlier!" you mentally slap yourself, shaking away the thought about it.

"I`ll buy this necklace please" Johnny looks at you with a smile which you gave back.

"Thank you for tonight Johnny" you smiled while the two of you stand there as if there`s nothing else to think about. Eye to eye, hearts thumping fast.

"You`re welcome I ha-" your phone rings from your purse. So, you excuse yourself to answer it.

You feel bad for leaving Johnny alone just because of a phone call but you really need to have some time alone to clear your mind.

"He calls me her woman did he mean it? I mean like, it`s hard to explain what I feel right now Ten!" you whine as he thinks of a way to make you talk to Johnny again.

"Ten! Chittapon! Adriano! or whatever your name is my beloved brother by heart what should I do?" you ask continuing to whine while shaking Ten by his shoulder.

"Okay, stop shaking me will you?" Ten makes you sit in your bed.

"Why don`t you go and talk to him? I think he`s still in the kitchen downstairs doing something," he advises. "And talk to him the two of you are an adult so handle it like an adult" he solemnly looks at you before you finally gathered up your courage.

"Thank you Ten you`re the best!" you give him a big hug before leaving to go downstairs.

"you can do this Y/n!" you cheer for yourself but before you can enter the kitchen you quickly hide against the wall.

"C`mon don`t you want me?" Cassandra clings his arms against Johnny`s shoulders.

"Cassandra!"

"Johnny, don`t you understand? I love you, only you and no one else!" you heard Cassandra`s voice while you peek against the wall to see what`s happening.

"Cassandra I love-" before you know it, your tears are also running to your cheeks. Was he about to say that he loves her too? you look at them the way Cassandra tiptoes to kiss Johnny straight in the lips the one you used to call yours.

You suppress your sobs by covering your mouth with one of your hands when someone suddenly pulls you.

"Don`t cry, I`m here" Jaehyun`s comforting words make you cry more.

"It hurts Jaehyun, it hurts" you cried.

"I`m sorry this is all my fault if I haven't done that thing two years ago the two of you will be happy. I`m sorry Y/n" he whispers while hugging you tight.

"It`s not your fault stop blaming yourself" you stated softly.

A soft silence embraces the whole room when Jaehyun pulls you closer to him again but this dangerously close that you can feel the warm thumping of his heart. Trying to pull away but he tightens the hug more.

"Shh..." he put his index finger in his lips at the same time you saw Cassandra walking out of the kitchen with a smile.

"You look beautiful bae" Ten complimented making you smile.

"As always" you added playfully.

Smiling is easy, being playful is easy but trying to hide the pain is hard. Seeing him tonight doesn`t help with the situation at all. He`s all alone and no any sign of Cassandra maybe this is your chance to talk to him? but before you know it, you`re feet are now walking towards him. Great, just great your body is now betraying you too.

"Johnny, can we talk in private?" you ask, you`re gonna lie if you said you`re not nervous.

"Yeah, sure" his voice is distant, you know that tone.

The two of you go to his room to talk and it feels so comforting yet foreign. You miss the warmth that you used to feel in his room.

"What are we?" you go straight to the point which caught Johnny off-guard.

"What do you mean by what are we?" he asks making you slightly offended but the fact is Johnny doesn`t know too.

"Johnny, I still love you and I still like you" you waste no time holding his hands but he rejects it.

"This is wrong, we shouldn`t Y/n"

“the more I think it`s wrong, the more I want it,” You said back.

"Why now!? Why me!?" he said while shuffling his hair out of frustration.

"b-because you`re different from all of them" you stuttered out.

"We c-can`t" Johnny replied with a little coldness in his voice. He never refuses to you before, he`s really different now.

"Why not!?" you asked with slight anger in your voice.

"because I like someone else, I love someone else" he quickly defends to stop you from saying anything else.

"If you don`t love me anymore you should`ve said it, it`s like you`re pushing me away. If that`s what you like I`m not gonna bother you anymore Johnny" you look at him with teary eyes making his cold aura softened, he hates it when you cry especially when it`s because of him. You turn away from him, immediately leaving his room without looking back.

Johnny watches you leave his room until he can`t see your small figure anymore. Johnny`s loud yelling and his expensive things breaking and shattering on the floor are heard from the outside of his room. He runs his fingers to his hair once again, not caring if his knuckles are bleeding from the impact when he punches the table.

You press your palms on your lips to prevent any sound of your sobs from coming out, you just lean on his door letting your tears fall as you heard him let his anger out.

Like a flash of lightning, your memories with Johnny flashback. The way he will smile at you, the way he touches you, the way he will hold you close, the way he will get sulky whenever he's jealous, the way he comforts you whenever you`re down, and most importantly you miss his I love you`s.

"Will, I ever get to hear that again?" you smiled at yourself in the mirror with tears brimming in your eyes.

You hate how weak you are when it comes to Johnny because he is the first man, whoever makes you feel love and introduced you to so many things he is all of your first.

"Who the hell do you think you are huh!?" The older one pushes his younger friend harshly.

"Well, I`m the man who can act like one more than you are! you coward" Jaehyun argued back.

"Look, who`s talking! if you want her then go get her I don`t care!" Johnny can`t control his anger that he`s saying things he doesn`t even mean to.

"If you didn`t go to her right now I will make sure that I`m gonna make her mine!" Johnny grabs Jaehyun by the collar of his shirt.

"See? you`re being like this because you don`t want anyone calling her theirs because you want it to be you, you want her to be yours" Jaehyun sigh throwing his head back from frustration.

"Jaehyun punch me" Jaehyun is taken aback by his friend`s sudden request.

"What!?"

"I said fucking punch me!" without wasting any seconds Jaehyun lands a punch in Johnny, a little harder than he thought it`ll turn out.

Johnny touches his bleeding cut on the lips making him more awake with the reality.

"I need to go, let`s talk tomorrow" Johnny quickly leave his friend alone in the club at midnight.

A soft knock interrupts you when you`re almost falling into a deep sleep. Another soft knock following one another until that knocking in your door turns into a loud banging.

You quickly get up from your bed opening the door of your room, your heart almost jumps out of your chest because of the person right in front of you.

"What are you doing here?" you try to sound calm as possible not wanting to have another breakdown right in front of the man you loved.

"I thought that if I acted like it didn`t matter, then it wouldn`t. Please give me a chance, tell me that you`re not giving up" this time he`s the one who`s breaking down in front of you. You don`t know what to say, you don`t know what to do.

"I`ve never given up on us, my heart wants your lips, smile, love, smell, style. I love everything about you, I hope you knew how much it hurts me when you leave." you cup his face wiping away the tears brimming out of his eyes while he holds your hands smoothly grazing his thumbs against it.

"but you need to go to her" you whispered timidly hearts breaking into pieces, voice shaking and hands trembling.

"We`re nothing Y/n, I know that you saw what happened in the kitchen yesterday night. I will say that I love you and nothing else but you and I will never stop" he explains, forehead resting in one another.

Nose touching, breath fanning, hearts thumping, tears falling, and one passionate kiss.

"Never leave me again Johnny Suh," you said in between the kiss.

"I`ll never do that again I love you Y/n"

"You promise my baby?" Johnny can`t help but smile that you call him that again.

"I promise" he answers with a soft smile, leading him to your bed to cuddle. Of course, he`s the bigger spoon.

"I want two babies," you said out of nowhere.

"How about three?"

"No, two it is" you stated.

"Let`s make them then" Johnny hovers above you.

"Oh, gosh shut up and go to sleep Suh" you slap his chest playfully.

"Give me a kiss then" Still hovering above you.

"No!" you tease.

"Then let`s make them tonight" He flashes you a wide grin.

"Okay, I`ll give you a kiss" you giggle.

"No, I want babies." and he covers the two of you with the blanket.

You are the soul that fits into mine- Bliss

[hermitdyke]

Please do go off about metanarratives and colaborative storytelling in LL if you want king, my analisys loving heart is curious and interested

Anon thank you so much I was really unsure to share this. Warning for 3L and LL spoilers.

3rd Life and by extension, Last Life is a great example of a Metanarrative and an Emergent Narrative. The definition used of metanarrative for this is “An overarching account or interpretation of events and circumstances that provides a pattern or structure for people’s beliefs and gives meaning to their experiences”. An Emergent Narrative is “any video game storyline that is not written into the game by its developers, but emerges from the player’s interactions with various gameplay subsystems”.

Taking these definitions and placing it in the context of a collaborative Lets-Play series with multiple creators recording and taking part, allows us to analyze a complete storyline and find relevancy and meaning to the things the characters do/say/own, even if seemingly inconsequential from the start.

Multiple Perspectives and Metanarrative

The collaboration of 14 and 17 creators for each series is crucial in understanding how the story functions as it does. The individual’s viewing of a single point of view or POV of any single player reveals an amount of new information, interactions, and conflicts. The viewer’s knowledge of the single character’s experiences is about the same. When viewing multiple perspectives, the story expands significantly, showing different relationships between everyone and provides context to events that one may not have seen in the single POV.

For example, in viewing Impulse’s finale episode for 3rd Life, viewers may be confused or lost on why Bdubs attacked and took Impulse’s final life over a clock that Scar had given him. If the viewer had not seen Bdub’s first episode, they would not have realized the relevance between Bdubs and Scar with a clock, being that one was given to him at the very beginning from Scar during an early mining session. Viewers would also not know unless they had viewed Scar’s finale that the clock that was given to Bdubs was taken off of Impulse after losing his yellow life.

Immediately, the lack of viewership on multiple perspectives limits the scope on why the event is relevant, and the viewer may find the story ending dissatisfying, when in fact it is incredibly false. The cross-analysis of perspectives and events gives meaning to this otherwise simple event and forms a narrative from a simple item in the game- an Emergent Narrative.

Emergent Narratives, Lives, and Boogeymen

The term “subsystems” in the definition of Emergent Narratives is another way of describing a game’s mechanics. 3rd Life and Last Life differs from vanilla Minecraft in that they’re playing in a limited life, hardcore system, with the random threat of the Boogeyman and a proximity voice-mod. Without these, the narrative would be dramatically different, although it is possible to form an Emergent Narrative using vanilla Minecraft (DSMP!Eret’s Betrayal is a popular example). Because of these features and players interacting using these features, a narrative emerges from what in any casual Lets Play, could be considered a “bit”. This is what makes 3rd Life and Last Life stand out.

In 3rd Life, an emergent narrative is formed when Ren asks Martyn to kill him, despite Martyn being green and him being yellow. Ren’s use of the red life mechanic provided him a way to protect Renchanting under the threat and pressure of Scar. Ren (the player) judged being able to attack anyone at will overruled the safety of having multiple lives, and that he now poses as a new threat to the server. They also use a vanilla mechanic in renaming the Red Winter axe so all members could recognize their newfound power and creating a desirable item in their alliance. In “proving his loyalty”, Martyn and Ren’s storyline really kicks off and starts to conflict with the other members as a new power on the server.

A recent example in Last Life is from Scar’s perspective and goes to show just how possible it is that Last Life can/will follow a similar route as its counterpart. Bdubs in his first episode asks Etho, “if you were the Boogeyman and I died to a mob in here, would you be like, ‘man”, is that a consideration you’d make?”, “..like I missed my chance, should’ve taken them when I could. (Timestamp: Bdubs Last Life Episode 1, 17:20-17:38)

This is ironic, considering that Bdubs at the time was the Boogeyman. An episode later, one of the two boogeymen of the session, Joel leads Lizzie into a trap, getting in a few hits, only to fail and lose a life himself. The damage that he dealt to Lizzie weakened her was only after killed by a mob, and brings the scenario Bdubs suggested into reality.

Without the use of the limited lives, Boogeyman system, and the limited Enchanting table resource, this narrative thread would not have worked. And in the Metanarrative of the story, unless the viewers both viewed Bdub’s and Joel/Lizzie’s perspectives, they would not have found relevancy in this scenario.

Lack of Script

The most important part of the Metanarrative and Emergent Narrative is that no one knows that these events are important or are going to amount to something in the end. It is the viewer’s knowledge and creators’ forethought of the series to see the narrative emerge from just a couple of friends playing a video game and starting a war, to developed characters with an overarching storyline in a limited episode run. At the start, none of the stories was intentional. The individual’s interpretation of the events and forming these connections between one or more perspectives is the real storyline, and if the creator wants to support this discovered story, they can (Martyn and Scott’s 3L endings).

A great example of this inability to script events is in Bdubs’ 3rd Lift perspective. In his first episode, he passes by a cliff face with a pond below. As he approaches and looks down the cliff, he says, “Nobodies against each other, y’know, it’s just kinda hanging out.” As he passes by and down the hill, “Eventually, once we get down lower, like once you’re on your third life, I think then its vengeance time.” (Timestamp: Bdubs 3L Episode 1, 12:41- 12:51)

Because of his experiences and the events unfolding in 3rd Life, the irony is not lost when he is killed just at the bottom of the exact same cliff by Grian and Scar as revenge. These seemingly irrelevant events in the moment form patterns across the entire series, with some underdeveloped locations, suddenly becoming relevant. A seemingly irrelevant moment is now much darker and holds so much more meaning to the character.

What does this mean for Last Life’s story? Is there an Emerging Metanarrative?

Narratives can be found anywhere, and in collaboratively playing an open-world sandbox game, there’s almost no avoiding it. With the start of Last Life, any of these seemingly casual conversations or collected items could have any sort of meaning in the future. This happened in Scar’s episode this week where he worries that he’ll drop from 5 to 1 life and get boogeyman “Oh no- we’re gonna lose all of our lives, aren’t we? We have five lives and by the end of this I’m gonna be a red life.”(Timestamp: Scars LL Episode 2, 4:54-4:59)

Only in the end, for both him and Joel to be Boogeymen, and for Joel to drop to red and lose his alliance with Scar. The catastrophe of the episode essentially avoided Scar, even though he was constantly at the forefront of the conflict. These small off comments, seemingly inconsequential are now made relevant and active conflicts between the characters.

And there’s plenty more of these events across 3rd Life, and predicting what is to come is nearly impossible (though I do have my own ideas).

-Comments made towards Etho’s tree and wool base, only for both to be burned multiple times, and all of Etho’s deaths being related to fire.

-Martyn to BigB in early episodes, wanting to track down Ren and their relationship and building of Renchanting/Dogwarts

(Personal theory- there are currently 3 wither skulls on the last life server, belonging to Grian, Etho, and Pearl/Scott. Currently, they are irrelevant, but there are THREE WITHER SKULLS, with the entire server having easy access to soulsand.)

[jadebomani]

Rambheemjennysita headcanons reincarnation pt.2

- Ram and Jaan being chaotic/dramatic and having a teasing relationship.

- both teaming up to protect their sunshine family from harm and people flirting with them(especially bheem).

- Ram taking toddler Johari and Jaan to work and having his officers babysit while he’s in a meeting. Cue hilarious day of shenanigans and chaos as his little angels raise h*ll on the cops and criminals.

- Jaan and Johari introduce TikTok’s to rambheem and get them to do the wap or the renegade.

- everyone officially showing the world bheem is not to be messed with. They are the members of the bheem protection squad(with ram as president). When elections start and someone tries to kidnap or hurt him. The fam assembled like the avengers and f*ck sh*t up. While bheem is blissfully unaware of it.

- Johari and Jaan working overtime scaring off people interested in their parents. Absolutely done with having to beat ‘em off with sticks (literally). Then give their parents curfews and tracking devices on their phones after so many close encounters of getting into a marriage because their too nice.

- Jaan and Johari’s place being off limits to their friends because they always end up simping for their parents and doing everything possible to go over and stare at em/flirting with em. (Who could blame them have you seen them)

- family cuddle piles

- Johari and Bheem being the resident foodies/chefs every meal is amazing, fun, and new. They have whole recipe books that they’ll take to their graves.

- Ram and Bheem being the designated bag holders when the fam goes shopping. They have a contest on who can hold more without breaking a sweat so far Bheem’s the reigning champion.

- family movie nights

- Sita and Jenny pranking their husbands with nail polish, full makeup, and wigs etc. And posting the vids on their socials.

- Introducing anime to their parents and cosplays.(Comment which anime character/show you think they would like and cosplay)

Meeting RRR cast pt.1

- lots of double takes of how Rambheem and Charak look alike.

- Talking about their experiences/stories/truth

- Jaan being shy because she’s a huge fan of charan and tarak.

- Doing the Nattu dance between charak and rambheem.

- talking about their lives in The modern world

- Johari being a great big sister and getting pics of Jaan with her idols. Also instigating funny moments.

- Ram dragging(carrying) Jaan to talk to the cast and get out of her shell.

- Doing TikToks together

- Becoming friends and doing meet ups with the cast when their not busy.

- Roast sessions between Jaan and Ram(because she’s salty at him carrying her like the 5’2 gremlin she is) amusing everyone.

- Cast being cool aunties/ uncles to the girls and family.

@bromance-minus-the-b @burningsheepcrown @daydream4life @fangirlshrewt97 @gauri-vishalakshi @hissterical-nyaan @iam-siriuslysher-lokid @obsessedtoafault @percikawantstoread @rambheemlove @rambheemisgoated @rambheem-is-real @ramcharanobsessed @miriseven

[mosylufanfic]

Color My World (just paint it with your love)

For the Killervibe Gift Swap, a gift for @ava-has-a-closet-murderboard. Eventually I hope to get everyone a gift but it’s going real slow, y’all!

You see in color when you meet your soulmate AU. (Also obviously Ronnie died the first time and didn't come back as Firestorm, sorry Ronnie.)

Title from the song Color My World by Petula Clark

Color My World (just paint it with your love)

When Ronnie died, the world went grey in an instant. 

Even as Caitlin screamed his name, she knew it was hopeless. Just the same as the world had exploded with color between one blink and the next the moment she'd met him, it reversed the moment his heart stopped beating.

-

For years, Caitlin assumed that Cisco saw the world in the same shades of grey as she did. She knew he was friendly and flirty and went on dates, and well - he was Cisco, after all. So she always expected to see him come rushing into the cortex one day, looking around at everything and seeing the colors after having met the person he was supposed to spend his life with.

So when she walked into his lab one day to find him comparing two apparently identical swatches, it was a surprise - but it wasn't.

"Cisco!" she cried, and he whirled to face her, stuffing both swatches behind his back. "Are you seeing in color?"

"Um, I - what? No. I was - comparing - um." He sagged. "Yes."

"You met your soulmate! Who is it? When can I meet them? What's their name?" She realized he wasn't looking as excited as people usually did in that first flush of color and love. "What's wrong?"

"I haven't met anyone new."

"Well, of course you have, you're seeing in color -"

"I met them years ago."

"Years? You've been seeing color all this time? You never said anything."

He nodded. "Sorry. Yeah."

"But when? And why didn't you - why aren't you - what happened?" Dramatic, overblown scenarios raced through her head, taken from cheesy cable movies with titles like "Soulmate to a Serial Killer.”

"Nothing happened, exactly. It's - " He looked away. "They're my soulmate, but I'm not theirs."

She goggled at him. You heard about those things, of course. Small percentages. Sad stories whispered behind hands. But knowing Cisco was one of them - "How do you know?"

"They'd already met their real soulmate when I met them."

She shook her head, attempting to wrap her head around it. "Are you sure? Have you told them? Have you talked about it at all?"

"Yes, I'm a hundred percent sure."

How could the universe be this cruel? Warm, laughing, loving Cisco, to be matched with someone who wasn't matched to him. To watch from the sidelines as they built a life with someone else. 

It was almost as horribly unfair as losing your soulmate. No - no. More unfair. She'd at least had a life with Ronnie, no matter how short it had been. Cisco never had that with his soulmate, and never would. 

"Why didn't you ever say anything? I always thought - "

"Because I didn't want you looking at me exactly the way you're looking at me right this very moment. Like I just told you my puppy has cancer."

She tried to rearrange her face. "I'm just -"

"Caitlin, it's fine. It happens." He shook his head a little. "I'm sorry I kept it from you."

"Who else knows?"

"Barry. And probably Iris."

"Has he met them?" A flush of - jealousy? she didn't know what to call it - washed up her throat.

"No, he doesn't even know who they are. Just that they exist." He shrugged and tossed the swatches on to the table. "Couldn't exactly keep it from him when we were designing suits together."

She said very quietly, "Did Ronnie know?"

He shook his head hard. "No, he didn't. No. Not even a suspicion. Look, I don't talk about it because there's nothing I can do about it, and there's nothing you can do about it, either. A soulmate is a soulmate, right? Even when they're not."

She reached to put her arm around his shoulder. "Cisco - "

Gently but firmly, he shrugged her hand away. "I've come to terms with it. It's just the way things are."

She swallowed hurt. "But you've been dating. Haven't you?" He had an app on his phone, and sometimes he would take it out and swipe through photos. She'd thought it was a regular app that just set you up on dates with other people who hadn't met their soulmate yet.

"It's a different kind of app. We all know the score. Nobody's on there to meet their soulmate. Just to find a good time."

"Is it just people who are - " She floundered. There was a term for people like Cisco, but to her mind, it was nasty and rude.

He said it anyway. "Third wheels?"

She made a face. It sounded even worse now that she knew it applied to him.

"Most of us, yeah. But there's a pretty good number of people who - uh - " He looked at her sidelong. "Who lost theirs."

"Oh." She couldn't imagine seeking anyone out after Ronnie. "Really?"

"Yup. I mean, they're not dead just because - well, anyway, if you ever wanna - you know. See the app. You can."

"Thank you,” she said. “But don't try to distract me. How long has it been?"

"A few years," he said. "Look, it's just a thing about me. Like having brown eyes and vibes and a rockin' fashion sense. Can you do me a solid, as a friend?"

"Anything. Of course."

"Let's never talk about this again."

Painted into a corner, she bit her lip. "Okay. If that's what you want."

"It's what I want."

Of course, she hadn't gotten the chance to ask the question that burned the most. Who was it? Who could possibly overlook Cisco? 

But she'd promised.

-

She thought about it, though. She thought about it a lot, in her cold bed, in her grey house with all the colors she couldn't see anymore. At her kitchen table, set for one. When she opened up her phone and looked at the last picture Ronnie had sent her, a selfie with a particularly gigantic donut.

In black and white, of course. Like everything else, all the pictures of him had drained of color when he died. It made everything sting worse. She'd seen his face in color from the beginning, but now she couldn't remember the exact shade of his eyes or the different tones of his hair.

She didn't ask Cisco anything more, but she did go down a rabbit hole of research. One-sided soulmate was the technical term they used in social science surveys. OSS for short. She looked at reams and reams of statistics, quantitative and qualitative and longitudinal studies. Some of the OSS's said they were happy, some were depressed, some simply accepted it. Surprisingly, the stats on their overall mental well-being weren't all that different from people who were with their soulmates, or still waiting to find them. 

Some one-sided soulmates spent their lives alone. But others dated and slept with and sometimes even married others like them.

She gave into curiosity and read the research on people who'd lost soulmates. She found the stats there very much the same. A little more depression, maybe, but there were a surprising amount of people who did just as the one-sided soulmates did - dating, sleeping with, marrying people they met. 

Sometimes those people even found a second soulmate. 

When that particular revelation popped up on her screen, she dropped a full cup of coffee and completely ruined her keyboard.

-

The day everything changed was just a regular day at first. The Flash and Vibe were out investigating a sketchy warehouse, and Caitlin was trying not to fret while reading yet another study on people who fell outside the soulmate norm. 

"Cisco!" she cried as Barry whooshed them into the cortex, almost doubled over trying to support his weight. "What happened?"

"Got my bell rung," he slurred. "Ow, dude, ow, gentle -  "

"The guy knocked him into a concrete pillar," Barry reported, settling Cisco onto the edge of the bed. 

"No, don’t lay him down. 'll take care of him. You go get changed." As he whooshed out, she gloved up quickly and checked Cisco's pupils. They were the same size, and he denied any nausea or dizziness, but she’d still have to monitor him for signs of a concussion. She set her penlight down and gasped.

"What?"

“You’re bleeding.”

He wiped his face and blood smeared across the back of his hand. “Just a bloody nose. I’ll be fine in a minute.”

She tsked and pressed a square of gauze to his nose, gently feeling its shape. It wasn’t broken. “Are your teeth okay? Your tongue?”

“Mhm.”

“Don’t lean back! Just breathe through your mouth.” After holding it a few minutes, she checked, and indeed, the blood had stopped its flow. She let him straighten up. "How's your head?"

"Could use an aspirin."

"You got it." She turned away, but before she pulled her gloves off, she looked at the blood smeared over the fingertips and soaking into the gauze.

Against the light grey of her gloves and the white of the gauze, Cisco's blood showed scarlet.

-

At first, she thought she’d been mistaken. It had just been the blood, not anything else.

But then the sprinkles on the ice cream he brought her the next day showed up vividly blue and pink and orange against the rich brown of the treat. And the chips and guac she shared with him the day after that were pale yellow and brilliant green. 

Color seeped back into her world a little at a time, mostly following Cisco. It was so different than before, but so wonderful at the same time. She'd forgotten how vivid red could be, how lavender was so delicate, how green was so rich. Sometimes she would just sit and stare at whatever had lit up today.

He noticed, of course. "What's wrong?" he asked one day, as the sunlight filtering through the skylights in the cortex picked out rich highlights in his hair.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"You were staring."

"There was a - a bug on you. But it flew away," she added hastily as he swiped at his hair. 

It wasn’t like it had been with Ronnie. Then, it had been instantaneous, like a finger snap. Not this slow bloom of color, spreading outward from Cisco like watercolors soaking into paper, until every corner of the world had a different hue and shade. But Cisco wasn’t Ronnie, and she didn’t want him to be. 

She worried about it sometimes. Did this mean Ronnie hadn't been her soulmate? That she didn't love him anymore? But she knew he had, and she knew she did. She would never stop.

It was just that she was one of the lucky very few who got a second soulmate. 

And then the thought followed: what if Cisco's mystery soulmate was her?

She turned it over in her head, as carefully as an antique china plate. The facts fit. She had been with Ronnie when she and Cisco had met. She even remembered them telling him about their first meeting, over dinner or something. She struggled to remember his reaction, what he'd said or looked like, but couldn't. 

And when Ronnie had died and the color had drained from the world, she'd told him that too. 

She pressed her fingers to her eyes, watching the newly colorful starbursts behind her lids. "Oh, Cisco," she murmured to his past self. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I never saw. I know you couldn't tell me, but I wish I'd realized you were hurting."

Watching her with Ronnie must have been torture for him. Watching her after Ronnie died - that must have been torture in a different way, her loss of color confirming every day that he wasn't her soulmate. 

But it was going to be different now. If they were soulmates, he deserved to know.

And if they weren't - 

Her stomach pitched uneasily at the thought.

-

Her heart thundered in her chest as she made her way down to his lab. She'd kept this secret for a month now, clasped to her chest. And he'd kept it for years. This was going to change everything,

For the better?

She hoped.

He was head and shoulders into the souped-up treadmill Barry used to test his speed, a tool box open next to him. "Hey," he called out as she came in. She never could surprise him. Was that a soulmate thing, a Vibe thing, or just a Cisco thing?

"Hi," she said brightly, almost shrilly. She swallowed  hard and perched herself on the edge of his table, wiping her sweaty palms on her favorite skirt. "What are you working on?"

"Oh, just tuning this old girl up. How about you? What brings you down here?"

"Do I have to have a reason to come down here?"

He peered at her over his shoulder. "No, but you sure look like you do."

She wiped her palms again. "I was just thinking."

"Uhoh," he said cheerfully, turning back to the treadmill.

"About your soulmate."

Although he didn't say anything, all the cheer sucked itself out of the room.

"About, um, when you met them, and how long it's been, and -"

"Caitlin," he said in a heavy voice. "You said you wouldn't talk about this anymore."

"I know, I did, but I'm just curious - "

"You promised," he said. "You made me a promise."

"I - I did - "

He straightened up again, crossing his arms, resting the greasy wrench against his shoulder. His brows loomed heavy and serious. "So why the hell are you breaking it now?"

Okay, this wasn't broaching the subject like she'd thought it would. "You should put that wrench down," she said. "You're getting grease all over that shirt."

"Subject changed appreciated, but why - "

“And I like that shirt," she said. "I like that color on you. “It’s very flattering.”

He dropped the wrench on his foot.

When the clanging and the yelping and the jumping up and down and the checking that his foot wasn't broken had all died down, he wiped his greasy fingers on a rag, getting the fingers greasier. "So," he said levelly, "you met someone. That's great. That- that's awesome. What's their name?"

Oh. She hadn't expected this.

"Cisco," she said. "It's you."

He looked up, pain filling his eyes, and probably not from his foot. "No, it's not."

"It is," she insisted. Oh, wow, she hadn't expected him to be this stubborn about it.

"No," he said. "No. You met someone and you didn't realize, that's all. I don't know why you think it's me, because we've known each other for years, and it's never been me before." His voice cracked.

She reached out to take his hands. "But it is. I've been seeing in color for a month now. Just a little at first. But now it's everywhere. And it started with you. Cisco, it's you."

He shook his head slowly. "How?"

She shrugged. “I’ve been researching. Did you know it's a whole field in social science? The study of soulmates. Amatology. It's so much more complicated then everybody thinks, Cisco. We always hear how you know in the first moment, and it's just that one person, forever, and - and that's not accurate! You can have more than one. And you know somebody for years before they become your soulmate. And that's what happened to me. With you," she added firmly.

He was pressing his lips together. "It was - " he said, then stopped. Swallowed. Took a breath. "It was the first moment with me. The first color I saw was the gold of your engagement ring."

"Oh," she breathed. 

He swallowed again. There were tears in his eyes. "I've loved you for years, Caitlin, so I need you to tell me right now. Swear to me you're sure, and you're not screwing with me, and you - " His voice sank to a whisper. "And you absolutely know I'm your soulmate."

"I'm sure," she said. "I'm not screwing with you. I absolutely know that you're my soulmate, Cisco Ramon. And you know why? Because I don’t want it to be anybody but you."

He kissed her, hard, pulling her close. She had half a thought for her meticulously selected outfit, then mentally consigned it to the rag bin and kissed her soulmate back.

When they had to come up for air, he rested his forehead against hers. "I never wanted it to be anybody but you, either," he breathed.

"Even when - Ronnie?"

He nodded. "Because he made you happy. I wanted that more than anything else."

She traced the lines of his face, the arch of his brows, the curve of his lips. Dear and familiar and beautiful. "You're going to make me happy too."

FINIS

[szlolla]

Dear My Candy Love...

19/03/2012 (d/m/y) I created my first and only account in my candy love (amor doce), when I was eleven years old. Now, nine years later, the series is about to end and I have mixed feelings about it. It's bittersweet to see something you love become "weird", as if it is not for you anymore, but I realize the game was not meant to grow with us.

When I played it for the first time, I could see myself in Candy even though I was not in High School. And that is what the game is about. Most of the things she said, did or even suffered I could relate, but now as a college student I can't say the same. Not only because it is too fictional, but how the game limits us and it becomes less something about choices and more about simply dating... And it is okay, because this is what the teens expect about life.

In HSL, me and Candy had the same struggles: making friends; dealing with bullying and some serious, yet not extreme, topics; understanding our own feelings; and even school projects were a little similar. All the boys were somehow interesting for us, in their own ways, personalities and hobbys. It was a little stereotypical, yes, and yet so fun! When all friends gathered together at Iris' house I felt that so deep and cool and in real life I was doing the same thing!

In 2018 University Life launched and with it the worst choice by beemov: change the AP system. Also, the second worst choice came and I was shook: change 3/5 of the LIs. The most popular ones, Nath and Cass, stayed and it is no surprise, but Armin, Lysandre and Kentin just went poof. Do not get me wrong, I know things like that happen all the time, but some people literally paid so they could have clothes, images and even action figures of their favorite LIs. I consider this the start of the downfall, and I know many people do too.

I did not play UL until 2019, when I got accepted in College, and... well, it is bad. Here on tumblr the community created their own OCs from the game, and seeing so many personalities and choices I knew UL would not live up to this. It is hard for a game to have this many possibilities, but after years and years of HSL I really think it was just beemoov's laziness. UL is a money maker, LL as well, and I am not afraid to say that. The game did not stepped up on anything, the writing did not grow and the extreme slow pacing (if you don't buy APs) makes UL and LL "experience" something close to watch a slice of bread mold.

The new LIs aren't a problem to me, except Hyun 'cause that outfit is just horrendous and he wears it 24/7 (just imagine a Mc Donalds worker using the uniform always). I just can't relate anymore to Candy, and her story is not thrilling. I am in episode 14 and basically nothing relevant happened, except finally kissing my LI. Priya and Hyun are so boring as just friends, while Nath has a truly dramatic plot and Cassy, well, he is even more charming as a true rockstar. Candy, Rosa and Armin became a friendship painful to watch, as they just text to talk about study and even if it is something more than that it is forgettable (ik Rosa suffered, I am talking about before that, and by the way it is a crime they did not give us any image of the three together at Rosa's apartment lol). A total of one image (the one from ep 9, so it is just.... well, a dream) feature Chani, and she is basically an angel and the best girl for helping Candy since day one. To summarize, nothing really matters except our crush... and for a old game with a strong playerbase, it could be more than just a dating simulator.

I did not play LL, but.... damn, I kinda don't want to so I cannot say much to be honest.

So, just to wrap it up: personally, I think the game didn't really grow to pace with us, older players, but if the player is still young it is very enjoyable - specially HSL. I might cry enough to fill up a bucket when it is officially over hahaha (even tho I will truly play the final episode next year due this stupid ap system djsdjsd)

Just to add: I am truly grateful for all the love I received here, from followers to drawings and asks! Thank you! I will not delete this Tumblr, probably just make it something more personal (I slowly am by reposting things from other games lol)

I feel I cannot express myself enough in my second language, so I will cut here and everything else is in Portuguese.

DESGRAÇA de empresa fudida ruim do caralho estragou o jogo que eu amei desde os meus onze anos INFERNOOOOOOOO

O HSL é lindo do jeito que é, mesmo com seus defeitos. Jogar o UL é comparável a comer um tijolo, nem consigo imaginar o LL e talvez a cria de 6 cabeças que vai ser o próximo jogo da beemoov. Todo o orçamento do UL/LL foi pro Eldarya e ngm vai me provar o contrário.......

O UL dá um sentimento de fanfic escrita por uma menina de 14 anos: nenhum personagem secundário importa, nenhum evento é relevante para a história e tudo ronda em um relacionamento rushado.

Mas a real é que o jogo já não é mais pras pré-históricas como eu que esperam um plot coerente em tudo... Mas que o HSL é mais bem elaborado que o UL e LL juntos é inegável.

Chani foi injustiçada para um caralho qnd a beemoov nao botou a lenda em nenhuma imagem real no UL. Carregou a do7 nas costas desde o ep 1 junto com a outra lenda Yeleen.

A Ambre, a garota do saco de batatas, amadureceu mais que a docete... outra lenda, mas essa ao menos apareceu em algumas imagens.

Kim não ser um LI nao faz sentido com a minha fantasia....

Acho que é isso....... Estou em estado catatônico e só um novo Dragon Age pra me reviver.

[mischas]

The chemistry had to come back in the final episodes of season 3 so that her d**th would hurt, at least that's my thinking. It's fucked up considering all the reasons for her being written off in general and how and why they decided to do it, but putting that aside if you can (which trust me I know is hard) how nonsensical and cruel and unnecessary a decision it was, it IS impactful. Both Ben and Mischa sold it imo. It could have come across so hollow and to me it doesn't. It fucking hurts. It hurts because it feels real (as real as it can on a tv show.) The reason it makes me so angry, on Marissa and Mischa's behalf, is because they (the performers) made me feel it. Honestly I wish they'd chosen to k*ll her in a different way because the whole car crash thing and the way it happens is ridiculous lmao. This isn't a defense of the writers AT ALL ftr, just want that to be really clear. Fuck them, FUCK Josh. But rather a compliment to Ben and Mischa's acting skills. They really made you feel like they were going to get back together, after a season of estrangement essentially. Her storylines that season are so god awful Jesus. And then in fucking season 4 her d**th is literally driving the story for basically half a the season at least if I remember correctly since it's so goddamn short. She's still the dramatic center of the show even though she's not on it anymore lol. It's embarrassing. Anyway I hate fridging, I'm sick of the mistreatment of female characters in media. *Especially* the ones that are most marginalized, don't even get me started on the way disabled/nuerodivergent women, queer women, women of color, fat women etc are mistreated, it says something that even the women with the most privilege (thin, white, conventionally attractive) get treated the way they do. And that's not a dig at Mischa or Marissa, because I love her. I love flawed women, problematic women etccc. I only wish we could have more of them, and that they weren't treated like they're dispensable. There's barely enough women on screen to begin with!! And they insist on k*lling us so often!!! For fucks sake. Sorry for going on a whole ass rant lmao wow this really got away from me. It's just so sardonic how media is supposed to offer us escapism, distraction, comfort, to allow us to be seen. And yet for half the population (a generalization) we really don't get that luxury. Obviously we keep watching, we can't help it, we keep hoping for it to get better (and in some ways it has) and when we're young we don't know what we're getting ourselves in for, we don't know what to expect, that's how we wind up forming those sentiment attachments to "problematic media" and everything is problematic in one way or another. Again, not a dig. So many creators don't deserve the female characters that they create. The way men really only view us as love interests, as foils, solely existing to serve or motivate other men, god it really is sickening isn't it? I'll be taking those female characters the fuck away from you thank you very much! You don't deserve them.

I'm so sorry about this, I started typing and it just came pouring out. Just pure stream of consciousness 🥴

It's totally okay I legitimately understand!! You're def right that the chemistry was turned on to make the finale really stick, but the writing was too. It's pretty cruel in my opinion to take fans on a rollercoaster of hope like that. Imagine being an OG fan thinking the season was finally picking the fuck up after the snooze fest it was only to have your fave killed off and your fave couple done forever. That's traumatic, and a lot of their audience were just teens.

Ben and Mischa really did make me feel it, and their chemistry felt right again for the first time in months that you believe they're on the cusp of something again. Even if Marissa is leaving for Greece. I don't watch the d**th scene and I've probably seen it only four to five times but not at all in the last eight or so years. When I first watched this show I would sort of revel in the tragedy and it just wasn't good for me. Take right now with the glorification of the death of Gwen Stacy. Like no thanks. Fridging women for manpain is not my thing. But yes, you're so right that even all the privilege in the world didn't save those ladies because of who wrote and created them. I think things are getting better for women characters because of the shift of who's in charge but I'm still scarred and weary.

[ephemeral-sorrow]

The Sweetness of Frenemic Love

Sometimes the strangest thoughts enter my head and make me write something bizarre but really touching at the same time. :D

pairing: Lilly x Male!MC

summary: It`s one step from hatred to love.

warning: a bunch of fluff  ;)

Have you ever experienced resentment towards someone you`ve never met in real life? 

Felt irritation and anger bubble up inside your head like lava slowly filling the volcano to the brim, almost turning your eyes into two sizzling hot coals? 

Lilly had been familiar with these disgusting sensations even before she got to knew MC - the obnoxious stranger Hannah sent her number to and the one who managed to infiltrate their group and spread insurgency among everyone and everything around. Her sister`s disappearance ruined their peaceful lives, putting Lilly and her parents into huge stress, when each day with news even more horrible than on previous one, took away all their hope. So, to conclude it all, a completely unknown weirdo, who gained access to different sorts of information as well as trust of her blindly oblivious friends, now was sticking his nose into other people`s business without pangs of conscience.

The way things were progressing kept Lilly infuriated and incredibly... depressed. She refused to admit that to herself, but she was even angrier because of her own helplessness. She wanted to do something useful and finally get a clue that might come in handy or at least set things up so that the investigation would be faster and more efficient. However, guys from the group already had their own theories, sources and clues, took part in various events and furthermore, acted carelessly, not paying attention to threats.  ... They made it clear that Lilly`s advice was pointless, just like her participation.

That`s why the mere thought of some stranger doing more for Hannah than her family made something snap inside, clouding Lilly`s judgement and true character with boundless spite. Not to mention, pure fear engulfed her at the suggestion that MC may be the real culprit, and here, cards played so flawlessly right into his hands...

                                                       *     *     *

Now it was a completely different story, and it was kind of hard to believe that was how she used to think of him only a year ago. A lot happened, making those restless days seem like a distant memory or rather a thrilling movie, characters of which were another people, portrayed in another places and time.

“So, what do you make of my new car?”

Lilly blinked, snapping out of her flooding thoughts and returned her attention to the cup of chocolate icecream with gente, pink frosting before her -  and finally, stared at the rest of the group, that made themselves comfortable at the cafe table. Today was the celebration on account of Dan`s grandiose purchase - dashing, brand new Audi A3 model. It costed him a fortune but didn`t lessen his enthusiasm nor pride(having exited the hospital as soon as possible, he spent a great deal of effort in finding a good job AND cutting down on alcohol). As a result, every time he ordered apple juice at the Rainbow cafe he declared: “Cool dudes drink only juice!”.

“Dan, that was the hundredth time you`ve asked this question”, despite the fake bored tone, Cleo wore an amused smile, dropping her usual strictness.

“What can I possibly do when all of you are so short-spoken?” Dan dramatically leaned back on the soft cushion. “I need details. Not talking about this pretty girl is a sacrilege”.

“If she was mine, I`d call her ‘babe’ “, ice cubes softly clincked against the glass, as Richy thoughtfully twisted his cocktail in his hand. “And the quiet purrs of her engine are the same as a hearbeat--”

“Now, now, you`re just being ridiculous!” Hannah`s melodic laugh ringed before drowning in the chatter of the crowded cafe. Lilly`s insides warmed up upon seeing her sister smiling sweetly in the Thomas` embrace. She was safe and sound, cheerful and full of love for the surrounding world. Everything was back to normal and it made Lilly genuinely happy--

She felt hot breath pleasantly tickle her ear before a crisp, familiar voice sensually whispered to her:

“I don`t know about others, but if you asked me, the only ‘babe’ I see is you”.

Lilly couldn`t really help the flush that spread on her neck, so she coughed, pretending to be extremely interested in her icecream, which was already starting to melt.

She casted a quick glance at the man beside her, attempting to look unfazed by his sudden compliment only to be met with his mischievous, affectionate eyes.

“MC, we`re... we`re in public”, she whispered back rather shyly.

“You were kind of dreamy while looking at Thomas and Hannah, so I decided to remind you that you didn`t come here alone”.

“Hmph”, Lilly pouted, fixing the fallen lock of her hair. “as if I need your tasteless remarks to cheer up. You should come up with something more original”.

MC laughed airily, flashing his signature confident smirk. Lilly took a small breath, furrowed her delicate brows and turned away stubbornly, turning a deeper shade of red. She didn`t like her heart clenching bittersweetly at his actions, especially in front of her unsuspecting friends. It was difficult to keep a perfectly composed face.

“I`ll cook you Peking meat by my special receipt tonight”, MC continued as if nothing had happened, absentmindedly observing the lively conversation between Jessy, Dan and Thomas, and how Cleo was showing Hannah something on the phone.

“I’ll take it as an invitation to your house?” Lilly inquired. “Why are you so sure I`m going to accept it?”

“Oh please, sweetie, do you want me to list all reasons in front of so many people?” His expression was calm and serious, but Donfort knew better: he was mercilessly teasing her, not caring about precautions at all.

Lilly hit his leg under the table, earning a triumphant ‘ouch’ in response.

                                                     *     *     *

Later that evening at his place, after having had a fair piece of the most delicious meat she has ever eaten, Lilly was helping MC to wash the dishes, drying the shiny plates with a cloth and placing them into the cupboard. He was mumbling a delightful tune under his breath. She glanced at his features. Somehow simply being with this person made her forget about all troubles. But what about him?

“MC”, Lilly tried to sound not too curious. 

“Yes?”

“Why did you choose me of all girls? I mean... I`ve never thought that you might become interested in me after what I did to you a year ago with that video and vote. Like in person, let alone a woman. You`ve been best friends with Jessy from the start, so it would`ve been logical if you two have had a thing”.

“To be honest with you, your brother said the same”, he smiled with the corners of his mouth. “What I found in you”.

“Excuse me, what!?” the girl exploded with outrage, dropping the cloth out of surprise. “Jake, that little jerk!! He`s supposed to back me up in situations like this!”

MC was holding his laughter for his dear life or he would inevitably get a handful but frankly, it was getting harder.

“What did you reply? Come on, I want to know!!” Lilly was worried and frustrated at the same time, looking at him impatiently and expectantly, like a little kid who desired to know their present for birthday.

“You seem so desperate-- HAHAHA, I CAN`T!”

Lilly groaned and threw a sponge at him on full speed, not bothering that it was still wet and full of soap. What was so funny when all she wanted to hear was these important words of confirmation?

MC cleaned his face and came closer.

“I replied that you`re the one who understands me. The one who always makes my day brighter. Also you are kind and candid”, his palm rested against her cheek, tenderly caressing it, as she leaned for his touch.

“I can often be impulsive and sharp”.

“That doesn`t make you worse. You always speak your mind. I think it`s admirable. Not to mention, you are a truly charming and elegant woman”.

She didn`t let MC finish his sentence because their lips collided in a soft, albeit passionate manner. Lilly lived up to her statement - this kiss was spontaneous and full of feeling. She traced his wide shoulders, stopping when her hands found their place in his unruly hair, slightly tugging at it. 

They parted once they ran out of air.

“Jake additionally said my romantic confession would lead to this”.

“Ugh, you`re terrible!!”