#feel like lisa is definitely a big part of all of this

[being-of-rain]

Now that the whole series has been released, I binge relistened to all of Once and Future. And wrote down all my thoughts, of course.

Definitely the series' main problem is something that affects a lot of Big Finish; it wants to have a story arc, but clearly the writers barely planned with each other or put any effort into that aspect. There's no flow or natural build-up to the finale, unlike what the premise and first episode might lead you to expect. Without much of a compelling arc, the only thing the series has to mark it as a special occasion is its many cameos and crossovers ...but in order to have more of those than the average Big Finish series, they had to pack so many in that most episodes struggle to handle it (in one way or another).

As a series, it unfortunately adds up to less than the sum of its parts.

With all that said, it's a series that I enjoyed a lot more during my relisten, since I could adjust my expectations. I forgot my desire for a grand or satisfying larger story, and just took each standalone episode on its own merits. There's a varying level of quality, but overall its not as disappointing as I remembered.

I decided to rank the episodes from my least to most favourite, and write a paragraph on each one.

8. Time Lord Immemorial I was told this was added to the series at the last minute, and I believe it; it features the imminent destruction of every universe thanks to the use of the degeneration gun, and this little fact is not mentioned at any point before or afterwards. The plot is about a dull and generic all-powerful Time Lord fairytale with an incredibly convenient rhyme to tell everyone what to do. Not that anyone actually does much of anything in this episode. It's mostly descriptions of some impressive visuals and the trading of some half-hearted banter. The only thing of any substance at all in the story is the slightly interesting (though not as interesting as it could've been) relationship between the Lumiat and the Doctor, which is okay if you like that, and unfortunate if you wanted Liv and the Unbound Doctor to have any focus at all.

7. Two's Company This episode is the poster child of being assigned a long and truly random laundry list of characters by the producers. All elements of the episode feel like they're thrown together haphazardly, from the total disregard of the previous episodes' plot hook onwards. But the friendship of Jackie and Lady Christina, two of the least likely characters to be teamed up with the sixth Doctor, is perhaps the highlight of the episode (even though Jackie is written rather stereotypically). On the other hand, Harry Sullivan doesn't really add anything, and the bizarre introduction of The Two borders on the insulting. Back when The Eleven was first introduced, the audio took pains to note that his mental illness was not the cause of his villainy. Later authors seemed to have missed this memo, and none fly in the face of it as much as Two's Company. On top of it all, I think Lisa McMullin is just an author I do not vibe with. She's the only one who wrote two episodes of this series, and they're my two least favourite.

6. The Union I'm not a big fan of finales written by Matt Fitton, which is bad news for me because he's been Big Finish's Go-To Finale Guy for over a decade now. He always makes the plot a bit too busy and never quite lands the emotional moments for me. Once and Future's climactic episode gets a lot of fanservicey moments (some that I can enjoy and some that feel like an obligation), but the story arc that the series had been stumbling and crawling towards concludes with the Doctor winning a nonsensical moral argument about how he's fine with being and meeting himself, something that isn't demonstrated in this anniversary special and is contradicted in most others. The villain/s are a bizarre choice and rather unthreatening- but at least River and Susan are fun to listen to.

5. A Genius For War It's slightly baffling that in the middle of a series that flaunts its random character line-ups is a fairly standard Time War episode, with characters you'd expect to see in it (except for the Seventh Doctor I guess, but he doesn't feel that out of place in a Davros story like this.) I refrained from calling it a "bog-standard" Time War episode, because it does actually put some effort into being relevant to this series specifically, and is a fun little action movie to while away an hour (and celebrate the Doctor's longest-running alien foes in all their mediocre glory). Still, the fact that this ep is just before halfway through my ranking means that I enjoy this series more often than not.

4. Past Lives This is a charming episode, largely due to its fun cast of characters. It takes its time with its story, being literally halfway done by the time all the characters have been brought into the plot together, but I'm not saying it's badly paced. I'm certainly fine with it just giving us the Doctor and the Monk for the first 15 minutes. But the moment of this episode that always sticks in my head the most is the Doctor and Sarah reacting to all the pictures of the Doctors in Osgood's house, having a little bit of an existential crisis about it. It's amazing how taking even just a small break from the action for some genuine emotion can add to a story. See number 1 on this list for more. Oh I do wish it did more with the King Arthur/Once and Future theme though, especially seeing as it was what gave the series its name.

3. The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50 Michelle Gomez and David Tennant are so good together. I don't have an awful lot more to say about this one, it's just solid entertainment. It's got great characterisation and a lot of funny lines. The episode really understood the Master when it said "Only one Time Lord would ever do something so mind-bogglingly, time-consumingly ridiculous."

2. Coda—The Final Act The final episode is second only to Two's Company in how random and long its list of returning characters is, but it handles them with much more grace and a satisfying story. I mean I do wish that Vienna Salvatori had a bigger role, but that's just because I'm a fan of her series, she works fine narratively (and there was a Jexie reference to appease me). Really my biggest complaint about this one is that it doesn't quite commit to the Doctor vs Doctor premise as much as I wish it would, with it all being a contrived trick, but it doesn't do that badly, it's fine. Wait, maybe my biggest complaint is the title: why give it two? Why not just call it Coda? Anyway, Bernice was a great choice for this episode, she's always been great at speaking her mind to the Doctor. And it was easy for me to forget this this is Jo Martin's first audio because she sounded so at home. Great stuff.

1. The Artist at the End of Time This might not be the episode I go back to listen to the most, but I think it is the best made, with the most time to breathe and the most coherent themes. (And it also happens to be the episode with the least amount of returning characters heaped upon it. What a coincidence.) The degeneration giving the Doctor something of an existential crisis, compounded by the end of the universe and the presence of the Curator, gives the series some much needed time to reflect on a key aspect of the franchise for its anniversary; the Doctor themself. It certainly works a lot better than whatever The Union tried to do in its last 15 minutes. Aside from all that, Five and Jenny and the Curator are just a rather sweet team to listen to, with an interesting problem to investigate and a lot of witty dialogue.

[mouwrites]

Hey guys!! Dipping my toes back into writing!! (See my pinned post for new fandoms!)

I wanted to try something light, and my sibling got me into Scott Pilgrim, so… here we are…

Scott Pilgrim - Holding Hands

Characters: Scott Pilgrim, Wallace Wells, Lucas Lee, Gideon Graves, Lisa Miller

Scott

He always asks before holding hands

At first it’s verbal, but after a while he just starts holding out his hand with wide puppy-dog eyes

He absolutely RADIATES when you comply

He gets this massive grin and keeps glancing at you with hearts in his eyes

To him it’s a way of showing you’re together, plus it’s physical affection, which he loves

He likes to hold hands in public more than in private

He’ll swing your arms merrily while you walk along the sidewalk, maybe even humming a little tune

You will have to ask him to let go of your hand; he gets so lost in his joy that he doesn’t think to let go (even if you try to pull away)

“Uh, Scott? My hand?”

“Hm? Oh, you want it back. Right. Haha.”

At least his hands are always soft (from gamer sweat) and warm

Wallace

Holding hands isn’t a big deal for him

It’s not really a show of affection for him, just something random he does when he feels like it

He’ll just grab yours casually, not caring who sees

He won’t even pause his sentence/task/whatever he’s doing, he just grabs it and carries on

He thinks it’s adorable if you get all flustered

He WILL tease you about it too

“What’s wrong? Aw, are you embarrassed?”

“Shut up…”

“Love you too.”

His hands are sooo soft, with nicely trimmed nails, and they smell like expensive lotion

Which he might share if you ask really nicely…

Lucas

He LOVES holding hands

He acts nonchalant about it in public, but he’s beaming on the inside

He thinks it’s cute :)

He also uses it as a way to show you’re his (both in a “back off” way and a “look at my smoking hot s/o” way)

“Um, hello? They’re literally holding my hand. Back off, pal.”

In private he shows how he feels a little more, with a little smile playing on his lips as he squeezes your hand

Just chilling on the couch while holding hands is one of his favorite things in the world

(Also when in private) he compliments your hands

His hands are a just a little rough, and he keeps his nails trimmed really short

Gideon

Holding hands is mainly a territorial thing for him

He’ll only grab your hand when he knows people are watching

He might also use it to “prove his affection”

In reality he doesn’t really like it at all

And you can definitely guess as much: he’ll sigh when he takes your hand, and the way he holds it… it’s like he’s afraid you’ve got diseases

“Did you wash your hands?”

“Yes..? Why are you whispering? …oh.”

He’ll begrudgingly place a kiss on it anyway

Hand holding is just not your guys’ thing

But his hands are very soft and clean, and he always has a killer manicure

Somehow his cuticles still suck though…

Lisa

She also really likes holding hands

She thinks it’s cute, plus she likes to show you off

So she mainly does it when in public

Her hands always smell like fruity lotion, which she uses often to make them silky smooth :)

She insists you also use the lotion, especially if/when your hands are calloused

When your hand is in hers, it’s just another part of her hand

She’ll continue to use it like you’re not holding her hand

But if you try to pull away, she gets confused

“You don’t want to hold hands anymore??” :(

“Huh? I thought you wanted it back so you could grab the thing…”

“I can grab it while still holding hands!!”

Thank you so much for reading!! I’m still trying to figure out if I want to finish the requests in my inbox… idk, I’m just not very motivated rn :( I’m so sorry guys

(divider by saradika)

[sissylittlefeather]

Role Play Part 4: Hello Soldier

A/N: I'm sorry this took me so long!! I don't know what I was thinking trying to write two series at once with one shots and Elvis movie characters too! Blame it on the ADHD. ICYMI, this is the series between 1971 Elvis and a fem!reader who like to experiment in the bedroom with different role plays.

Need to catch up? Here's my Masterlist.

Warnings: 18+ Minors DNI, kissing, cussing, fingering, oral sex (m & f receiving), p in v penetrative sex, unprotected sex, creampie, and infidelity (Elvis is definitely married)

Word count: ~2.3k

Leaving you the last time was harder than Elvis expected. He's very glad to have the photos that he took of you, but it's not enough. Still, he doesn't want to give you the wrong idea, so he doesn't meet up with you. It's also not easy to find time alone with Priscilla there with him. Periodically, she leaves for a short spell and he's able to look at your photos. A couple of times he actually breaks down and calls you just to hear your voice.

Your conversations always last longer than he intends and he usually ends up hanging up quickly when he hears the front door open. It surprises you that he calls, especially after he was so adamant about not being in love with you. But the fact remains that you're in love with him and you know it. It's hard to turn away any amount of attention or time that he gives you. You probably should end it, for your own good, but you just can't. Finally, in the beginning of April, about 6 weeks after the last time you were together, he calls on a Friday afternoon and the excitement in his voice is obvious.

"Hey, baby. Are you busy this weekend?"

"For the whole weekend? No, I didn't have much planned."

"Good. You're coming to Graceland. Cilla went to California for the weekend and took Lisa Marie with her. We have the house to ourselves." The fact that he wants to spend a whole weekend with you is not lost on you. Your heart flip flops at the thought.

"Okay. When should I come over?"

"As soon as you can. And don't forget it's your turn to pick the role play."

"I have an idea." You say playfully.

"I can't wait, honey. I'll see you soon." He hangs up and you get up and pack a bag with a few outfits and toiletries. The last thing you grab is an old nurse outfit you wore for Halloween one year. Before you pack it, you try it on just to make sure it still fits. You look at yourself in the mirror and smile. He's gonna love this one.

******

Elvis is pacing the floor in the living room, every once in a while walking to the piano and sitting down. But he never settles enough to play anything. When you finally pull up, he's smoking a cigarillo and looking out the window. Normally, the house is full of activity, but he's made sure that all of his guys knew to be somewhere else this weekend. The thought of spending two whole days and nights with you is intoxicating. He tries to convince himself that the sex is just that good, but he worries that there's more to it than that. Still, he misses you so much that he can't waste the opportunity to see you.

You walk up to the front door cautiously and knock. The big house is a little intimidating and you don't love that it's where he lives with his wife, but you understand that this is where he feels safe from the prying eyes of the public. And to be honest, at this point you'd go pretty much anywhere just to be with him.

He takes a deep breath to calm himself and then opens the door. He can't let you know how excited he is; it might give the wrong impression.

"Hey, honey. Come on in." He takes your bag from you and then ushers you into the house. Closing the door, he drops your bag on the floor and wraps himself around you affectionately and kisses your hair.

"Did you miss me?" You ask, half-kidding.

"You know I did, baby." He breathes you in and a sense of calm settles in his chest. Why does being around you impact him like this?

******

After a late dinner, you sit at the dining room table talking. It never ceases to amaze you that there always seems to be something to talk about with him.

You finally come to a lull in the conversation and he looks at you and smiles. He's pulled your chair over close to him so he can put his hand on your knee as you talk. He leans over to your ear and whispers.

"I think it might be almost bedtime. What do ya think?"

"Mmmm. Y'know, you're not looking so good." He backs away and gives you a confused look.

"What?"

"I think you need a checkup. I'll call a nurse to come check on you." You wink at him seductively and he catches on.

"Oh! Oh, yeah, I better get upstairs." He feigns illness and you both make your way upstairs. As you walk up in front of him, he smacks your ass.

"Hey! You're supposed to be sick."

"Well, I can't help it when you look like that." At the landing, he grabs you and pulls you into a deep kiss. You push him off you and usher him into the bedroom. When you get in there, you instantly flash back to the first night you were together at the wedding reception. You can't believe you're here again. He comes up behind you and wraps his arms around you, setting his chin on your shoulder.

"Are you thinkin' about the gun lesson?"

"Maybe. Or about the handcuffs." He smiles and kisses your cheek.

"I still have 'em."

"Mmm, you're getting me all distracted. You better go get in that bed and let me call the nurse." He reluctantly pulls away from you and makes his way to the bed. You pull your outfit out of your bag and go in the bathroom to change.

When you open the door and walk towards him, his mouth drops open. Then he sits up quickly.

"Wait! That's an army nurse outfit. Hang on a second." He jumps out of the bed, goes in the closet, and shuts the door. You stand there dumbfounded, not knowing what to expect.

After several minutes he opens the door and it's your turn to drop your jaw. He's fully decked out in his army uniform, complete with hat. The only thing he's not wearing is the boots.

"I can't believe you still have that."

"I can't believe I can still wear it." He puts his arms out and spins around. You feel something in your stomach flip flop. He looks incredible. You consider ditching the role play and just fucking him senseless, but you don't.

"Come get in this bed, soldier. I need to check you out."

"Yes ma'am." He sits on the bed with his back up against the pillows and takes his hat off. You're pretty sure this role play won't last long with him looking as good as he does, but you walk up next to the bed and pick up his wrist.

"I need to check your pulse."

"Oh, I'm sorry ma'am. It's hard to find on that side. You'll have to use the other wrist." He holds up his other arm for you, but doesn't move it towards you, so you have to lean across his body. When you do, he uses his other hand to grab a handful of your ass.

"Sir!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Proceed." You finish pretending to check his pulse and take the fake stethoscope that came with your outfit from around your neck. As you put it in your ears, you make the mistake of looking down at his body. He has a massive and very obvious erection. You clench your thighs together, but it's hard to ignore the wetness there or the way your mouth waters. You're not going to make it much longer.

When you bend over to listen to his heart. He looks down at your cleavage and grunts. He's so ready to have you naked and on top of him. Why did he have to have the grand idea to put on the army uniform? While you listen, he moves his hand to his cock and touches himself just a little bit.

"Sir, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry nurse, it's just, I'm having the most intense feeling down here and I'm not sure what to do about it."

"Would you like me to take a look?"

"Please, nurse." He smiles coyly and you roll your eyes playfully. You move down his body to his erection and touch it gently, slowly rubbing your hand up and down.

"Does this feel better?"

"A little, but I can hardly feel it through my pants." He licks his lips and tries to smile innocently. You begin to undo his pants and free his cock so that you can take the whole thing in your hands. "Mmm, that's a lot better."

You begin to stroke him, moving his foreskin back and forth. He whimpers and his hips buck up into your hand.

"I have another idea to try and help. Do you mind if I try it?"

"Baby, you can do anything you want to me." You lean over and put your mouth around him and he groans loudly. As you move on him, bouncing up and down slowly, he reaches out and touches you between the legs. When he realizes you're not wearing panties, he runs a finger up your slit and gathers the wetness. "God, you're so wet, honey."

"Mhmmm." You hum as you take him into your throat. At the same time, he pushes one finger into you and begins to pump it in and out. After a few more seconds of this, he pulls his finger out and you whimper a little. He smacks your ass softly.

"Baby, come here." You pull off of him a little, holding him in your hand, and he grabs your ass and guides your hips onto the bed. He scoots down so that he's laying down fully and situates your hips above his face. Then, he pulls your pussy down to his mouth and starts licking your clit. You moan and shudder as the pleasure washes over you and then go back to sucking his cock. You bounce on him quickly as he licks fast circles over and around you. He grunts and you moan as you both approach a climax together, but he pulls back.

"Honey, stop. Focus on what I'm doing. I want you to cum first." You make a disappointed sound, but obey and stop sucking him. He goes back to licking your clit with a new fervor and you lay your forehead on his hip. The sensation of his tongue moving over and around your sensitive bud is almost overwhelming. You feel the blood rush to your core and in just a few more seconds your orgasm slams into you like a freight train, pushing electric ecstasy out to your fingertips.

"Oh, fuck, Elvis, yes!" You cry out as he licks you through your body high. Once you come back down, you climb off of him and both of you sit up and tear at each other's clothing frantically. You can't get naked quick enough and the pieces of his uniform are discarded in a heap next to the bed. He pulls the nurse costume off of you so intensely that he actually tears it in at least one place.

When you finally are naked, he crawls on top of you and drives into you passionately, filling you in one shot and then pumping in and out fervidly. You wrap your legs around his waist and hold onto his shoulders, trying not to dig your nails into his back while he pounds you. There is a desperation and intensity in the way he fucks into you that makes you feel wild. You cry out with each thrust and he lets out a guttural grunt. The sounds are primal and animalistic and they match the pace of his hips slamming against yours. Your skin is hot and wet and you feel like you're on fire in the places where you meet. He kisses your neck and your cheek and your mouth and you bite his bottom lip. He responds by nipping at your neck and the two of you are caught up in each other and the moment so much that you forget anything else exists. There's only you and him and the shared pleasure of your connection. After what feels like an eternity but also not quite long enough, he ruts into you one last time and groans loudly.

"Fuckkkkk yesssss, y/n, yessss." He shudders and pumps weakly a couple more times and then collapses on top of you. You both lay there covered in sweat and trying to catch your breath.

"Goddamn, y/n. You're incredible." He's so lost in you right now that he wants nothing more than to spend the rest of his life having this kind of sex.

"You're not so bad yourself, soldier." You respond playfully, but there's a depth to what you're feeling that scares you a little. He pulls out and rolls off of you onto his side. You roll over to face him and push his sweaty hair back off of his forehead. He runs his fingertips down the side of your face and then swipes his thumb over your lips gently. His affection for you is undeniable at this point and he starts to worry that he might actually be falling in love with you. That was not the plan. This was supposed to be a fling that would last a month or two and be nothing but sex. He decides he'll tell you to go home in the morning. He'll give himself one more night to hold you and then it's over.

It has to be.

******

Until Part 5

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @aliypop @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @tacozebra051 @your-nanas-house @deniseinmn @joshuntildawn13 @lookingforrainbows @60svintage @littlehoneyposts @epthedream69 @louisejoy86 @rjmartin11 @from-memphis-with-love @msamarican

[mysteryanimator]

Do you think in season 2 Olrox will be more active in helping the revolution or will he just be killed off in a fight and that’s that. Because Castlevanja rarely shows vampires getting happy endings and I doubt Richter or even Alucard would let him live. What are your thoughts?

OK SO IVE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS A LOT HAHAHA (again all thoughts are my own, it’s also 3am rn!)

I think Olrox WILL have an active part in fighting with the revolution, especially since his partner beforehand fought with the revolutionaries in Amercia to gain freedom for people like him. What Ezerbet is doing is practically colonisation and turning a whole civilisation (humans) into slaves. I doubt Olrox is gonna let that slide. Also with the fact Ezerbet is already treating Olrox lesser than by calling him a dragon (his form is actually technically a serpent, calling him a dragon whitewashes his other form, which is on par for Ezerbet’s character, every other character is the character’s general ignorance), then forcing him to bow. Olrox is going to stop taking shit from her, but right now he’s… I don’t know how to feel put it, but afraid? I feel like it’s not the right term but he recognises he’s a “not powerful enough”. He can’t fully commit to helping Richter and Co out.

I feel in season 2, something in him is going to make him switch up and be super proactive, which I have a feeling Mizrak might be one of the catalyst. HOLD ON I know I’m a major Mizrox diehard fan but hear me out. Mizrak is very very similar to Olrox’s previous lover, which lot of people noted. (Olrox I see you have a type, you’re not so slick)

“He burned with such passion. About the world, about how the people, "the people", that's how he talked, could win this thing called freedom.”

“But he fought with them, the revolutionaries. He fought with them.”

While Mizrak at first was definitely more resistant, he came around after seeing the Abott abducting Maria, who is a revolutionary. Mizrak is also just very very stubborn/passionate to a point where it ‘burns’ others. Like his attitude get to people. Example how he literally just speaks his mind to Drolta and it gets on her nerves LOL. There’s a whole bunch of parallels between his lover and Mizrak but I’m getting sidetracked now.

I feel like Mizrak and then combination of the rest of the group will push Olrox to be more active. Olrox already gave the book to Tera which is already a nudge in the right direction.

Now onto Olrox potentially dying.

I see the Richter point, and I understand that Richter will not let it slide that Olrox killed his mother, however “there is always a choice.” Richter is going to see choosing revenge is not going to solve anything. It’ll continue a cycle of violence because then someone will come for Richter, then Maria/Annette and literally anybody else will come for the person who gets at slide at Richter, and it’s never ending.

It’s one of the big themes here is that you have a choice to be stand against the grain and fight, or be apart of the cycle. It is a core thing with practically each character in the show. Edouard chooses to go with Annette to France to find a Belmont. Maria chooses to fight and rally the revolution in Macheoul. The Abbott chooses to side with vampires. The list goes on. There is always a choice.

Also, optimistically, Castlevania in the past has given people happy endings, even to other vampires, consider Morana and Striga who are probably off in a cottage somewhere, even Dracula himself. He’s alive WITH Lisa (I miss them so dearly). Along with the message of Nocturne is that people will prevail against the colonisers/people in power. This is one of the most important messages of the show thus far. I also have doubts that a Native American character who has been through colonisation, witnessed the slaughter of his people and haunted by it will die in a show about fighting against colonisation and it’s power structure.

Thank you for the ask! All these asks have been very fun because you guys enable me to spill my internal thoughts about them and realise “oh, Myst is actually deep diving about these characters”

[randomcerealbrand]

What’s your favorite TMNT ship besides Timatello?

Also another question, how would you react when your online friend turned out to be a Roblox YouTuber?

Favorite TMNT ship? Uhhhh...

I don't have any other ships I like as much as Timatello. I know some of my friends' OCs that are shipped with the turtles (in a not weird way dw) but they don't technically count.

I like Leosagi, but mostly 2003 Leosagi and certainly not 2012.

Aprinardo in TOTTMNT is alright, I like them being a couple because they actually aren't weird towards eachother and it's wholesome, but I only see them as platonic.

Leochi (Leo and Yuichi Usagi) is pretty good, I love the concept of Yuichi working at the Run Of The Mill Pizza, or a crossover between dimensions.

Shellshocked is sweet, but it could never happen, unfortunately.

Donnie and Atomic Lass is just funny as hell.

Apritello is something I don't really enjoy, especially in 2012, because of the way they wrote it. If written correctly, I can see this ship happening from a platonic standpoint.

Mikey and Renet - Again, platonic.

Raph and Mona Lisa - 2012 did it and it was rather undercooked and he never actually called her by her actual name, which was odd. Overall it's very sweet but I wish they had more time to develop it. Again, I'd love to make them a thing in my Rise fanon, but my current storyline is incomplete.

Raph and Alopex - Yeesh, the age gap that some of the artists said they had was.. Odd, to say the least. But their relationship definitely did grow to be pretty good until they parted ways. I'd be down to make Alopex best friends with Raph, but the romantic aspects don't vibe with me.

Donnie and Bigfoot - Get the fuck out.

Any of the turtles in general x April - Depends on the way the canon version wrote it. (Aprinardo is currently the only good one.)

April x Irma - Sillies :]

Leorai - This is dogshit.

Baronjitsu - I mean... Sure, I guess. I like the concept.

Splinter x Tang Shen - Canon in 2012, I liked it, it was sweet. As for ROTTMNT, I like how she was one of his co-stars in the Lou Jitsu movies.

April x Casey - Depends on the iteration. 2003 is great, 2012 can go fall off a cliff. 2018 would be cute :]

Raph x Casey - Sure.

Donnie x Casey - 2012; fix the amount of toxic behavior and hostility they have towards eachother, and I'll talk to you about it.

Vernon x April - Bayverse; He's okay, I guess he just misread her signals, but she doesn't like him back and I suppose he respects that.

Donnie and Mona - IDW Comics - Very cute, I like it :)

Donnie and Irma - We don't get to see much of them throughout the franchise, but I like their dynamic in 1987 (platonically) and I enjoyed their dynamic in 2012 as well.

Leo and Koya - I like it. Not much else to say.

Frida x Casey - YES. YES.

Casey Jr. x Nobody - AROACE CJ FOR THE WIN‼️‼️‼️

Splinter and Big Mama - I mean there is some tension there, but I don't think they'd ever get back together.

Leo and Dale - I honestly really like it, they're just two guys in the apocalypse who really like eachother :]

April and Dale - I bet Dale realizes that he likes men and immediately starts apologizing to April. She forgives him and they become besties and they gossip with Sunita and Casey about shit 😭

I saw someone ship Sunita and Dale together once and cringed so 🤷

Sunita x April - I like it, it's cute, but I feel like it's pretty platonic. I'll think about it more as time goes on, but yeah.

Sunita x Raph - I once saw a friend of mine ship these two together and honestly, I liked it! Very good art, very good opinions on it.

Those are all the ships I can remember off the top of my head. But none of these compare to Timatello.

[i-didnt-hate-it]

I didn't hate Abigal, it was a lot of fun!

I was sick the week Abigail released, so I'm just watching it now because I'm not going to see the new Planet of the Apes, I haven't seen any of them yet.

Now THIS is how you do a Dracula's daughter story.

If you know anything about the movie going into it, you know what's coming, but they make you wait for it to actually happen. Making Hitchock's bomb a cute little girl? Bloody genius.

Abigail is a fun, exciting, bloody vampire movie. It's got to be hard to make an original and unique vampire movie these days, but I think Abigail did a good job of blending a Gothic tone with a modern gorefest vibe.

The soundtrack was pretty good, not quite outstanding, but not bad. The use of music (a la Tchaikovsky) was fun and really set the mood.

The casting was great. Giancarlo Esposito was very Giancarlo Esposito-y, Kathryn Newton was funny and made me want to watch Lisa Frankenstein even more (new horror queen?). Kevin Durand was great as "the muscle." Dan Stevens looked like he had a lot of fun. William Catlett and Angus Cloud were both solid. But of course the standouts are Melissa Barerra, definitely a horror queen, and Alisha Weir in the title role. It takes skill to make an audience believe a 12 year old girl is actually a centuries old vampire, but Alisha did it.

Spoilers below.

I feel like others might disagree, but I honestly loved the pacing of the movie. With how long it took for them to show Abigail as a vampire, it really gave time to get to know the characters.

The way they set the tone really somehow made it feel like a classic Universal horror, but it also felt fresh and modern too. Little things like the creepy basement, the rats(?), the big library, the statue garden thing. It really felt like they were in a house that someone had been living in for a looooong time.

I honestly love how two people died before Abigail ever bared her fangs. It really helped sell the idea that she was just playing with them. And the black guy didn't die first! It is kind of sickly ironic that Angus Cloud's character was the first to go (RIP), but I mean, bro was an absolute idiot.

I'm still not sure who my favorite character is, I really just loved the ensemble. I will say, I figured out the Rat Pack joke before Peter, not too long before, but still before.

I love when modern monster movies reference the lore, but make it their own. Like they reference all the stuff that kills vampires but only a couple of them actually work, the rest are just part of the legends.

I wasn't expecting to actually root for Abigail toward the end, but I loved the respect the was shared between her and Joey.

Those Ready or Not guys really love making people explode like bloody water balloons. I mean, what a way to go, I guess.

[dragon-queen21]

I need to ramble about babyre aether angst

-he goes into Inazuma completely unafraid of lightning. he even loves standing outside when it's raining or thundering to just breathe in the air, the calm before the storm, if you would say.

then, Inazuma came. the first storm (of many) came after a particularly bad fight with an electro enemy he'd never seen before, and it took him approximately 0.5 seconds to just break down in the middle of the wilderness. he was overwhelmed from the fact that he's in a new nation, with only one caregiver 1/4 the size of him (Paimon) and he's soaked from the rain. he cried, throws a fit, and when Paimon eventually manages to put up a tent, aether is unwilling to sleep, still clutching a stuffed animal from Mondstadt (diluc gifted to him) and even after the rain stops, he still refuses to sleep.

anyways ...

babyre diluc. he wants to try and regress because he's so stressed and Venti recommends it to him (baby venti real) and it's kinda like a reverse role thing? venti as a cg would be like, very low energy CG- which does not match with diluc. venti will try and coax the little redhead to bed in order to nap cause Big diluc has a busy and tiring day.

but no

diluc has energy

he has the bartender zoomies

anyways

diluc is a HEAVY caregiver lean- only regressing on his birthday (if you know, you know) and when he's really bored. 7-9 during the day, and 0-1 when he's sleepy/naptime. padded probably, too.

Ooooh I love it!!! Actually you kind of read my mind with the fic I am writing.

A bit more angst for your consideration :3

Aether hc's

~Aether with phantom pains from his missing wings and the storms only make it worse, scars aching. So going to Inazuma he just gets used to being in constant pain. Which causes him to regress when everything catches up on him all at once

~And he’s gotten so used to going to his closest friend when small. Mond was the easiest to regress in being the city of freedom and so many people knew what regression is without needing explanation.

~Diluc or Kaeya being his go to. Venti, Jean or Lisa after that. Liyue it was easy to call for Xiao or go to find Zhongli. And the thought crosses his mind to try and call for the adeptus to come and comfort him if only for a moment. Soaked and shivering and really craving a hug because despite Paimon’s best efforts her hugs don’t make him feel secure but rather that he needs to stop ‘being a baby’ and protect her

~and most if not all of his regression gear is left behind because he’s always been able to simply travel between nations. It’s not like he has the space to carry everything so he has one comfort item and that’s it

~ He's a crying mess and it feels like how it was at the start of his journey before he met anyone and felt safe enough to trust someone with the most vulnerable parts of himself

Diluc hc's

~XD oh my gosh ‘bartender zoomies’ I love that

~Venti has a constant fight trying to get the little to sleep or at the very least settle and rest to recover a little energy

~Which I think would be very ironic because Diluc caregiving would definitely have a strict bedtime routine for his little ones

~Oh wait that’s so sad. Because the idea of regressing regularly when it’s his birthday but instead of the childish wonder at having a party and blowing out candles,he’s 8 again and mourning the days before his life fell apart. And trying to find his dad and brother before remembering, oh wait Kae doesn’t like him anymore and papa is…

~And knowing where Kaeya is, either drinking away the memories or with regressed with Albedo and wanting to go and find him but knowing he's probably the last person Kae wants to see right now

[lylaseb]

Definitely spoilers below for anyone who isn’t done watching

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My mom and I just finished rewatching snk earlier and so I’ve now watched snk, from beginning to end, a grand total of three times and my mom two times. It’s a shame I didn’t think about officially categorizing/compiling some of the episodes/moments into lists after the first time and the second time but here we are. I believe my views/preferences have definitely changed since then, albeit the changes aren’t too dramatic. Anyway I probably just have too much time in my hands lmao

My top 5 most emotional episodes/moments in no particular order:

1. Armin realizing that eren and mikasa didn’t think he was useless and then him trying to convince the soldiers around them that eren wasn’t a threat to humanity

Truly one of the most iconic, most moving parts of the whole show imo. I liked armin so, so much in season 1 and even now my heart still hurts just thinking about the him at the time. He really was the most precious, most promising, sweetest, kindest little thing you’ll ever lay your eyes on. I’m not into any kind of physical contact at all but I just wanted to hug him hold his hand and assure him that everything was going to be alright and that he was doing amazing. Objectively they really only survived because Pyxis arrived just in time, but this doesn’t and shouldn’t diminish the shine of his heart and courage. Season 1 armin will forever remain the best armin for me personally. Absolutely the bestest boy and friend you could ask for.

2. Artur braus: “Sasha…Yer all I hoped for.”

I’ve shed some tears exactly once the entire three times I’ve watched the series but I seriously almost lost it here as well. It was a very, very close call. Sasha is and will forever remain best girl for me and she deserves all of the good the world has to offer.

3. When gabi and falco were screaming their lungs out for Reiner and reiner just kept asking them to be quiet, and then as he transformed again he asked why they wouldn’t just let him die

This one is a bit different. The first time I watched this I didn’t really hurt but I definitely felt a sense of horror. Now I just find it really sad. You can say gabi and falco were trained candidates but specifically in that situation they were just two helpless kids desperately screaming for help and the “help” was ultimately just a guy who had pretty much given up on life because he’d already suffered too much and for too long. It’s insane.

4. When artur braus was talking about how he let Sasha become a soldier not knowing he’d eventually realize that perhaps the world was also just another kind of forest and then after he asked gabi if she was ok and she asked back if he really didn’t hate her kaya came running to kill gabi and Kaya starts screaming and crying after she fails to do so

I had whole-body goosebumps the first time I watched this. Artur and Lisa swallowing their pain and extending their compassion and Kaya struggling with so much anger and sadness were devastating.

5. Levi telling hange to give her heart before she went off to try to slow down the rumbling, her death, and then him telling her to watch over them, and then hange meeting Erwin and the rest

This is the one and only time I’ve ever cried watching the show. I wasn’t ugly sobbing or anything but this really was the heaviest, most painful thing. Exactly after I heard Erwin say “it took off” I lost it. I genuinely don’t think I’ll ever get over hange’s death. Or Erwin’s.

My top 5 best fights/action scenes in no particular order:

1. Sasha freaking fresh graduate braus running down the wall to save Samuel and then shooting the hook of her odm gear into Samuel’s lower calf

This simply isn’t talked about enough. PERSONALLY SASHA IS AND FOREVER WILL BE BEST GIRL.

2. Jean saving Connie and then Marco connie and Annie saving Jean in trost

I really liked the teamwork here and I wish we could’ve seen more of it. Also I’m not like a big fan of Marco or anything but I feel like with some time and experience he could’ve been a good leader too. Or a vice leader. I think it would’ve been interesting to see Jean and Marco work together as commander and vice commander or whatever was next in rank.

3. Everybody working together so that eren could seal the gate with the boulder

This was pretty emotional too.

4. Sasha no odm gear just massive guts and pure skill braus saving kaya

Enough said. Personally still one of the most iconic episodes in the whole gd show.

5. Keith shadis saving surma and rallying and then leading the other cadets, and Jean rallying and leading the soldiers

I absolutely loved that despite his “inferiority complex” or whatever you’d call it Keith is still a soldier and most importantly a leader and a mentor through and through. I loved that even as an older character he still underwent a learning process concerning his own identity and the world. And I’m so proud of Jean for having come so far. Is it Janbo or jeanboyyyyyyyoubetterstopbeforeistartscreamingcryingthrowingup? Also I really appreciate that they acknowledged Pyxis one last time before his death. He really was one of the goats.

My top 5 general moments/episodes in no particular order:

1. When Jean asked armin if abandoning your humanity was the only way to win, and if eren did become that monster would that really be a victory for humanity

This has really stuck with me. Jean best boy.

2. The new Levi squad (eren mikasa armin Sasha jean Connie historia) cleaning the cottage and kinda sorta goofing around and then Levi coming in and inspecting the table and then saying “I’m quite sure I gave you enough time.” lmao

The mood isn’t entirely light here but it’s light enough that they can joke around and get into petty arguments and I really wish we had more episodes like this.

3. Floch telling it like it is before the ceremony to honor their fallen comrades and eren I really can't say if it was the right decision or not jaeger asking armin "What is there beyond the walls?" trying to build his confidence and then finally shutting the hell up after recalling the gruesome death of his aunt faye

Yeah I said I wanted more moments with a lighter mood and this is anything but light, but I'd be lying if I said this wasn’t satisfying to watch. Floch's later ideals were messed up and even without that in the picture it was pretty mean on its own, telling armin that erwin should've lived instead when armin had no say in the decision, but his honesty and objectivity were refreshing. The satisfaction gained from this is still overshadowed by the sacrifices that had been made and by erwin's death, but at the very least this was included into the dialogue. Someone had to tell the truth. Seeing eren unable to continue with his nonsense was just the cherry on top. Again, this is majorly overshadowed by the fact that eren still had his way and the rumbling still happened, but at the very least it was included.

4. Sasha eating seafood/Niccolo's food for the first time

Sasha really undid years of brainwashing and racism by just being herself the beauty of her heart the power she holds SASHA BESTEST MOST LOVABLE GIRL.

5. The first time Sasha eats ice cream and Connie eats from the same ice cream and then sasha goes back to eating the ice cream again

I understand this might not be a big deal for some or maybe a lot of people, but for me this really shows how close they are and how comfortable they are with each other. Neither of them hesitated. It was just so natural for connie to say "Let me try that!" and then to just go for a bite, so natural for sasha I love food braus to extend her arm to offer the ice cream and then to eat it again. I know it's like a really, really, really small thing and maybe not even a thing at all, but it made me feel very warm inside. I've said it before and I'll say it again, how I wish the main trio of snk had been sasha jean and connie instead.

[putschki1969]

hello! would you say the girls are popular in japan? like if they walk down the street is someone gonna come up and be like omg hi i know you? i know they're not like uber world famous or whatever, but never really thought abt it from that perspective

Hi there!

Sorry for the really late reply, this has been sitting in my drafts for a very long time.

Hmmm, no, I have personally never considered them to be famous in the traditional sense of the word. Even back in their Kalafina days, they weren't very well-known outside of their admittedly quite big but rather contained fanbase (which always surprised me considering the almost-idol-like marketing strategies employed at certain points of their career). Whenever I mentioned them to anyone in Japan (people from all walks of life), that person had no idea who I was talking about. Sometimes not even die-hard anime fans were familiar with them beyond maybe knowing a song or two. I think it's because they never quite crossed into mainstream with their music (which of course was both a blessing and a curse).

Needless to say, they are even less well-known as solo artists.

We know the girls walk down the street, use public transportation, have appointments at salons, engage in leisure activities and eat at a variety of cafés/restaurants without being bothered. Some of those places are more exclusive than others (especially the ones Keiko frequents) but for the most part, they go to regular places with lots of random people. Usually, when they are going out we see them wear some sort of hat and a face mask, nothing too crazy or out of the ordinary, they are clearly not trying to disguise themselves but it's probably an attempt to keep a somewhat low profile.

But honestly, Japan isn't really a place where people would outright approach "famous" individuals in public unless they feel very confident. People generally mind their own business, keep their distance and just try to appear as inconspicuous as possible. With this mindset, I would assume stalking is much more common than active engagement. That's not to say that there aren't exceptions to this rule. Just a few weeks ago a Japanese YK/Kala-fan more or less orchestrated a situation in which he was able to meet Yuriko Kaida and LINO LEIA after finding out where they would be going. He handled the whole thing in a respectful/subtle manner and it worked out pretty well for him so it was fine but it's definitely not something that happens on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, I don't know enough about really big idols/actors/artists but I am sure things are a bit more complicated for them, they are probably more careful with how they act on a day-to-day basis but I doubt they would lock themselves up in their homes. After all, we have seen someone as popular as LiSA casually hang out with Keiko at a random restaurant so she seems to be comfortable being out and about in public.

[error403hrd]

Diluven Fankids: Aster, Cecilia, and Dande

If you saw the first version of this post, no you didn't and no it didn't take me a literal hour to retcon anything. Trust me bro. Underneath the cut is all the text written out! Plus some bonus info. I wasn't planning on posting these, but i spent enough time on them that I figured why not.

These are Venti and Diluc's kids: Aster is the oldest (Hydro Claymore), followed by her twin Cecilia (Electro Catalyst), then their little brother Dande (Dendro Sword). They're not exactly human, but they're also definitely not wind wisps; Venti has been adamantly not thinking about it, or the fact that their hair changed colors once they got their visions.

On top of Uncle Kaeya, Uncle Ajax (Chaeya ftw), Aunt Jean, and Aunt Lisa, they see Dvalin as a big brother and Andrius as a grandpa.

Diluven Fankids

Twins: Cecilia and Aster

Their hair is a slightly darker red than Diluc's, and their tinted hair is purple for Electro and deep blue for Hydro instead of teal for Anemo that Venti's is.

Cecilia

Electro Catalyst (Aunt Lisa taught her)

Quieter than Aster, but not shy

Wants to inherit Dawn Winery

She insults people to their face, but does so using flowery metaphors that most people take as a compliment instead.

Plays the piano (taught by Diluc) and the lyre (taught by Venti)

She has a bit of a mischevous streak

Diluc is proud of her intelligence, but wishes she didn't insult clients and business partners to their face. He encourages her when she starts insulting Ajax, though — it's not like he's figured it out, and Kaeya seems to get a kick out of it.

Venti is glad she likes playing music with him, and was the one to teach her poetry. He's glad she's putting it to use lol, even if he occasionally has to reign her in when she gets a bit too mean.

Aster

Hydro Claymore (taught by Diluc and Uncle Ajax)

Outgoing and loud

She learned the trumpet from the Traveler

She can also play the lyre, but doesn't like that it makes her fingers hurt.

Joined the Adventurer's Guild, but secretly wants to be an Outrider like Amber.

She's extremely friendly and kind, and she loves making new friends!

Diluc is proud of how hard-working and kind she is. He feels guilty that she won't join the Knights because she doesn't want to disappoint him.

Venti is proud of her kindness and loves when she talks about her newest friend. He's about ready to sign her up for the Knights' Exam himself because he wants her to be happy, but knows it's better to talk to her about it first.

Dande

His hair is a very dark red that's basically brown, and his hair is tinted green for Dendro.

Dendro Sword (like his idol, the Traveler)

Introverted and Curious

Plays the lyre like Venti

He's part of the Adventurers' Guild and absolutely loves it

He doesn't like talking to people outside his family, but is friendly and polite when it happens.

He gets into a lot of trouble because he likes to explore and uncover secrets and ancient knowledge.

Diluc loves him very much, but wishes his self-preservation wasn't constantly overwritten by his curiosity. Letting him meet the Traveler was probably a mistake.

Venti loves to tell him stories and bring him to hidden or forgotten areas of Mondstadt, but is worried that he's going to stumble upon Forbidden Knowledge someday. He's toyed with the idea of sending him to the Akademiya, but wants to bring it up with Lisa and Diluc before approaching Dande with the idea.

[tklpilled]

could i take this genshin character in a (tickle) fight

albedo: probably? unless he uses one of his alchemy tricks or smth idk

alhaitham: i could if he liked me enough

amber: yeah. shes probably smaller than me and even though she's strong i feel like she'd be easy to overpower while being tickled

itto: maybe. depends on the day

baizhu: i could but i wouldn't WANT to because i feel like i'd accidentally kill him

barbara: okay my initial thought was yes. but now that i think about it i feel like she'd be surprisingly good and pull out all the unexpected tricks and stuff

beidou: absolutely not and i'd let her wreck my shit

bennett: obviously

candace: no.

charlotte: i dont know much about her but just looking at her i'm saying yes

chongyun: i dont think that boy has won a tickle fight in his LIFE

cyno: i do think he's REALLY ticklish but tighnari's the only one who could win against him tbh

dainsleif: i think he's ticklish but only in random areas so he'd just stare at me if i tried tickling him and then destroy me

dehya: it would be a good fight. but yes

diluc: on one hand he's super ticklish but on the other hand he'd break my arm easily

eula: yes

faruzan: her old ass bones would SHATTER if i touched her idk

fischl: LMAO yeah

freminet: yes but i'd either let him win or accidentally squish him to death bc i get cuteness aggression and hes like. my son

furina: she'd be way too overconfident in herself and i would DEMOLISH her

ganyu: i could if i wanted to but i'd probably let it end in a tie

gorou: yall act like it'd be easy to beat him. NO that mf is a GENERAL of an ARMY. like i could win but that shit wouldnt be easy

hu tao: i think it'd be close but she'd win. it would be the most fun out of everyone though

jean: i definitely could but i'd be scared to try 😭

kazuha: yes. no question about it

kaeya: HELL no

ayaka: absolutely. she'd let me win too

ayato: idk im kinda scared of him

kaveh: i'd be surprised if he managed to lay a hand on me

keqing: i could if i tried hard enough

kirara: i know nothing about her except that she's canonically ticklish so yes

sara: she's either super ticklish or not ticklish at all i can't decide. so my answer changes depending on which

shinobu: i'm also scared of her but in a way that makes me want to beat her even more

layla: i don't know enough about her but first thought is yes

lisa: god no

lynette: she has not one but TWO brothers definitely not

lyney: i would only win if he let me

mika: i would rock his shit

mona: i could pay her to let me win. i'd win anyway but it would be easier

neuvillette: i'd probably punch him first but yeah

nilou: i could but a part of me wants to let her win

ningguang: yes but only if she doesn't stab me with her $16mil heels first

noelle: she could win if she wanted to but i think she'd be too nice to fight back

raiden: yes. plus i think she'd be curious abt what tickling feels like so she probably wouldnt even try to win

razor: maybe but i'm scared he'd bite me

rosaria: she would ALSO bite me

kokomi: i'd def win. just look at her

shenhe: i could in theory but i feel like she'd accidentally kill me

heizou: i would beat his ass

sucrose: like albedo but MUCH easier

childe: no. he has big brother advantage over me

thoma: honestly i have no clue. i'd just love to have a tickle fight with him regardless

tighnari: i want to say yes but he'd kick my ass if i even thought about it

traveler: i could win EASILY for both of them

venti: i could but i would have to spend like five minutes learning how to undo a corset and it would be really awkward

scaramouche: i want to say yes. i REALLY want to say yes. but realistically........

wriothesley: i wouldnt even waste my time trying

xiangling: in terms of strength and willpower i could probably win but i feel like she's super good with teasing and that would put me at a big disadvantage

xiao: kind of? i don't think he'd know what tickling is/how to do it but i also think he'd kill me before i could teach him

xingqiu: he'd be so confident in himself bc he wins against his friends all the time. hell no i'm beating his pretentious ass UP

xinyan: yes. another really fun one right up there next to hu tao

yae miko: she would end me and i'd probably thank her afterwards tbh

yanfei: see this one is tough bc i can see it going both ways

yelan: another character i don't know shit about. all i know is that she's pretty and her mains scare me so i'm gonna go with no

yoimiya: yes? but i have a feeling she'd kind of let me win bc she thinks its fun

yun jin: in some universe i'd lose. but it damn well isn't this one

zhongli: he'd make me agree to a contract with the tiniest print ever saying "no breathing" or something and then beat my ass when i break it

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Agitation 3.2 Live Reactions

(This is me, writing reactions as I read, because why the fuck not. They're not complete, mature thoughts taken after I sit back and evaluate what I've read. Consider them as such)

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bus line that ended at the old ferry put me only a fifteen or twenty minute walk away from the loft that Lisa, Alec and Bitch called home.  I could be spending a fair bit of time there before I gathered enough information or earned enough trust from them to turn them in to the authorities, so the convenience was nice.

Convenience is very nice when scheming betrayal

 Tourists were already crowding the railings or migrating to the beach,

Tourists? In My Brockton Bay? It's More Likely* Than You Think?

*More Likely meaning 'any at all' bc wtf? Who would want to visit America's largest open air insane asylum? :P

I knew the tattoo on the arm of the guy lifting boxes into the florist’s van that read ‘Erase, Extinguish, Eradicate’ meant the guy was a white supremacist because it had the letter E repeated three times.

I mean, anyone with that kind of tattoo is either a fan of a knockoff version of 40k or a white supremacist, even if the local neo-nazis didn't have a triple E name.

Any of the store owners or employees could call the likes of Miss Militia, Armsmaster or Triumph in, given a minute. 

Given how many issues the city has, I'm not sure it's that simple.

I headed off the boardwalk and into one of the alleys leading into the Docks.  Glancing over my shoulder, I saw one of the uniformed enforcers staring at me.  I wondered what he was thinking.  Good kids didn’t hang out in the Docks, and I doubted I looked the part of a guileless tourist. The abandoned factories, warehouses and garages of the Docks all blended into one another very quickly.

So the shitty part of town is right next to the big tourist zone. Seems... ill thought out. Also reminds me of that line from Buffy where Cordelia says that the bad part of Sunnydale is right next to the good part, because "we don't have a whole lot of town here" but Brockton Bay is supposed to be bigger than Sunnydale.

...

Fic Idea: Brockton Bay gets a Hellmouth.

:rofl:

(I wonder how Taylor would fare against Buffyverse vampires? Vamps can feel pain, so a bunch of biting insects would still be a distraction, but...)

“Hey,” he said, “Lisa said you’d arrived.  I thought you had school.”

Normal Protagonists: "Don't Do Drugs, And Stay In School."

Skitter: "Drop out of School. Drugs are Fantastic." (So curious what the context for that second line is. No one tell me.)

As it turned out, it was less of a ‘sparring’ session than an attempt on Brian’s part to give a less than fully committed Alec some basic lessons on hand to hand fighting.

Is Alec capable of taking anything seriously, I wonder?

He wasn’t big in the sense of a bodybuilder or someone who exercised just to pack on muscle like you saw with some of the people just out of prison.  It was a little more streamlined than that.  You could see the raised line of a vein running down his bicep, and the definition of his chest showed through his shirt.

So lithe prettyboy?

“Well fuck this then,” Alec said, “If you’re going to go easy on me and still kick my ass, I don’t see the point.” “You should learn how to fight,” Brian said. “I’ll do like I have been and bring my taser,” was Alec’s response, “one poke and they’re out cold.  Better than any punch.”

On the one hand, you can always lose your taser. On the other hand, given the kinds of people Alec is likely to go up against, if he loses his taser, he's probably doomed either way.

“Okay, now you’re going to do two things different.  Step into the jab so you’ve got your body’s momentum behind the hit, on top of your arm’s power.  Second, I want your left arm up as you’re jabbing with your right, and vice versa.  If I see the chance, I’m going to pop you one on the shoulder or ribs, so be ready to fend me off.”

I know people for whom these sorts of scenes are absolutely shipper candy.

“How is that a ball?” I asked, raising my own foot to point at the vaguely spherical part of the foot where the ankle met the ground, “this is the only part that looks ball-like.”

She's not wrong.

“Ehhh,” he hedged, “Some.  My dad was a boxer when he was in the service, and he taught me some when I was little.  I moved on to other stuff on my own – Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Krav Maga – but nothing really held my interest.  I only took a few weeks or a month of classes for each.  I know enough and keep in shape, which is enough to hold my own against anyone who isn’t a black belt in whatever, which is the important thing, I think.  Keeping up with the more serious martial artists is a full time job, and you’re still going to run into people who are better than you, so I don’t see the point in stressing too much over it.”

I suppose I understand that. Besides, if Brian ends up against a Brute, no amount of training will matter. That's sort of how the Wormverse works, right? Batman, as he exists in DC, wouldn't work in Worm. (Granted, make Batman a Thinker or a Tinker and he's golden again, but as written, with technically no superpowers...)

Lisa’s voice just behind me startled me, “This.  Pull up your socks, boys and girl, because we’re robbing a bank.”

BANK ARC BANK ARC BANK ARC

[incorrectcoldflashblog]

Answer the Questions and Tag 5 Fanfic Authors

Thank you so much to @kitkatt0430 for tagging me <3

1. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Well, I got back into Coldflash in a big way a couple years ago, and kind of got frustrated not really seeing anything new in the tag, lol. Desperation is usually my biggest motivator to do anything. If I had unlimited new Coldflash fics coming out, I probably would never have written my own tbh.

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

Just the one. I used to do translations for a different fandom, though, so maybe two depending on if translating counts.

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

My own? Only a year and a half. Translating, maybe roughly ten years.

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

I probably write more now, but you wouldn’t know it because I’m such a slow writer!

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

Oh, I feel like my English has definitely gotten better since I started writing regularly. I always felt obligated to put a little disclaimer at the bottom, like please be nice to me, this isn’t my first language, lol. I feel a little bit more confident about it now (although I still obsessively google every sentence and word).

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I mean, thanks to Chapter 4 of What Happens in Vegas I know now way more than I ever needed to know about tornado sirens, considering we don’t have them in my country, lol. I also ended up doing extensive (and totally pointless) research about the ancient Sumerian city-state of Ur (located in the South of what is now modern-day Iraq), which is where Len/Cold was supposed to be from in my AU where he was a genie. For those who are unaware, Ur fell in about 2000 BC and had a very famous poem written about it. Here is the cheery opening of 11 stanzas of misery:

For the gods have abandoned us

like migrating birds they have gone

Ur is destroyed, bitter is its lament

The country's blood now fills its holes like hot bronze in a mould

Bodies dissolve like fat in the sun. Our temple is destroyed

Smoke lies on our city like a shroud.

blood flows as the river does

the lamenting of men and women

sadness abounds

Ur is no more

7. What’s your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

I always appreciate when people point out the parts they liked. But honestly I’m happy for people to comment at all, especially on older fics :)

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

I don’t know that anything I’ve written can be considered fringe, lol. I do have a Lisa/Iris WIP, which I assume would be more of a rarepair, but I only have one scene written for it so who knows if I’ll ever finish it. I guess the Genie AU was kind of strange.

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Longfics ;-; God, I’ve gained so much respect for people who can do that consistently for 60+ chapters, or over multiple fics in a series. My longfic isn’t even that long, comparatively, and I still feel like I will never get it done.

10. What is the easiest type?

One-shots, my beloved.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

On my laptop. I just use Word and I prefer to write in the morning, which isn’t super ideal because it only leaves me the weekend to really get into it.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

I’m too nervous to start more longfics at the moment because I feel like two is my absolute limit but I’d love to be able to write both the TATBILB-inspired fic I had in mind and the Future Fic that I sometimes play around with. I’d have to finish at least one of my longer projects first, or maybe try to get the whole thing written before posting it but I’m usually too impatient to do that!

13. What made you choose your username?

My username is captainicecube and I picked it because it’s roughly how Captain Cold was translated in the French dub. They translated it as Captain Glaçons (Captain Icecubes), which always makes me laugh whenever I think about it because it’s so stupid XD

Tagging @crestfallercanyon @joanthangroff @tiger-in-the-flightdeck @softboydepot and @moriavis

[tragicfrabricofdreaming]

Dark Hearts .4

Summary: Cori Douglas has lived a somewhat quiet life in mystic falls. Despite a few slip ups, she has managed to fly under the radar with her best friends. That is, until her junior year when two new mysterious men roll into town and shake everyone up, including her best friend Elena. What will Cori find out about these mysterious men and about herself? Mostly follows the storyline of tvd show but may take some creative liberties.

“She swore vengeance on all men with dark hearts.”

― Lisa Papademetriou, Siren's Storm

Series Masterlist

The Miss Mystic Falls pageant was not something Cori would have signed herself up for. She liked watching it and it looked like everyone involved had fun but it just wasn’t something she imagined herself doing. If it wasn’t for the pressure from her sister and Caroline, she wouldn’t have signed up this year, either, but here she was standing in a boutique in town, scrutinizing herself as she tried on dresses with the guidance of Grace who had come in town for the festivities. Grace had won the title of Miss Mystic Falls the year before and it was part of her “duties” to crown this year's winner. 

“How cool would it be if I got to crown you the winner this year?” Her sister squeals as she zips up the next dress contender, a yellow, strapless number with a sweetheart neckline. It was one of Grace’s picks. 

“I know, that would be really cool.” Cori mumbles, her hands smoothing down the skirt of the dress. She didn’t want to immediately shut down Grace’s hopes but deep down she knew that they were hopeless. 

“What do you think?” Grace is holding her hands together excitedly as she looks at her sister in the mirror. The small shop wasn’t very busy but Cori still felt very exposed standing on the small platform and seeing three different angles of herself in the mirror. 

“I…” she was trying to find the right word to describe how she felt about the dress without sounding like a total whiny baby but the only words to spill out her mouth were, “I feel like a big bird. Or a banana. Or big bird holding a banana.” 

Grace sighs, her eyes rolling back in her head as she groans, “Cori, you have hated every dress we’ve tried on we’re going to run out of options.” She crosses her arms over her chest, “I’m gonna do another lap and see if I can find something that will check all of your boxes.” 

“I’m sorry!” Cori calls after her, turning to the side to try and get a glimpse of what the dress looks like from the back, “Just…none of them feel like me.” She says more to herself. She picks her hair up to see if the dress would appeal to her more if she had an updo but it appears her hair is definitely not the problem. Cori huffs. No matter the amount of colors, fabrics, styles, or necklines they tried she would never look like Grace did when she won last year. 

“That color is doing nothing for your complexion.” Cori gasps, spinning around to face Damon who was suddenly standing behind her with a garment bag slung over his shoulder. 

“God, Damon,” she clutches her chest, glancing behind her at the mirrors as if to deduce why she hadn’t seen him walk up, “what are you doing here?” She asks, her cheeks heating up despite her better judgment. She hadn’t seen him since the decades dance when they had danced and Caroline had practically shunned her. Her going through with the pageant was her way of making amends with her. 

“Picking up my tux,” he holds up the garment bag that was slung over his shoulder, “I may not be anyone’s escort to this thing but I’ll never pass on an event with an open bar.” Cori feels her heart give a little leap at the mention of him not being anyone’s escort yet. Maybe she would finally get the courage to ask him. “I didn’t pin you as the pageant type.” He smirks. 

Cori snorts, “I’m not,” she says, “But, my sister is and she won last year so she insisted that I sign up. Plus, I’m still trying to get back into Caroline’s good side so this will help.” She sighs deeply, turning to look at herself in the mirror again, tucking her hair behind her ears. 

“I’m guessing your sister is responsible for putting you in this,” he gestures to the yellow monstrosity she was currently wearing, “as well?” 

She laughs, looking at him over her shoulder as he approaches her slowly, “Yes, she’s somewhere in here picking something else out of my worst nightmare.” He drapes his garment bag over the back of a nearby chair and, to her surprise, stands behind her on the small raised platform she is currently occupying. Cori holds her breath, her face going red as she watches him in the reflection. 

Damon watches her face through the mirror as he collects her hair and pulls it behind her shoulders, exposing her neck. His fingers brush down the length of her pale throat, to her shoulders, and down her arm until he reaches her hand. His striking blue eyes are locked on her skin and he smirks as goosebumps rise on her arms. He holds her hand in his as if he’s examining it and she can’t help but allow her eyes to follow his actions with her gaze, still unbreathing–afraid that if she changed anything about this moment it would end, “Green.” He says suddenly, lifting his eyes to the mirror once again where their eyes lock, “Dark green. Like an emerald.” He leans forward, his lips right next to her ear, “That’s what you should wear.” 

“Yeah?” The word comes out as a pathetic squeak like she had forgotten how to use her voice in that short amount of time. 

Damon nods and she isn’t sure if she imagines the brush of his lips against her shoulder or not, “Trust me, I know my skin tones.” 

“Okay,” the voice of Grace returning snaps them out of their moment, and in the blink of an eye, Damon is a great distance away, retrieving his tux from the back of the chair. “I think I found a good contender–Oh, hi.” Grace stops at the sight of Damon, the purple dress in her hands seemingly forgotten, “I didn’t realize you had a friend back here.’ A flirty smirk appeared on her lips and Cori wanted to audibly groan but she can’t do that right now. 

“Uh,” Cori clears her throat awkwardly, “right, Grace,” she gestures to Damon, “This is–” 

“Damon Salvatore.” He finishes, stepping forward to take Grace’s hand, and, much to Cori’s surprise, presses a kiss to her knuckles, “Pleasure to finally meet you. You’re quite the legend around here.” 

Grace giggles, fluttering her eyelashes, “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. It’s a small town, everyone knows everyone.” 

“Well, that’s true. But I haven’t heard anyone spoken so highly of like you are.” What the hell was going on? “Especially among Cori and her friends.” 

Her older sister tucks a hair behind her ear, feigning shyness and Cori rolls her eyes, “Are you coming to the pageant?” She asks. 

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Damon says, glancing at Cori, “My little brother is escorting Elena Gilbert.” 

“Oh, Stefan,” Grace realizes, “yes, Cori was telling me all about him and Elena. I hope Cordelia manages to find an escort as nice as him.” 

Damon raises an eyebrow, looking from Grace to Cori, “You don’t have an escort yet?” He asks. 

“No, I was–” 

“I keep telling her she has to get a move on,” Grace cuts her off like she isn’t capable of answering Damon herself, “All of the good ones are going to get scooped up.” 

I might as well not be in the room. “Isn’t that the truth?” Damon and Grace share a moment of laughter, “I’ll let you ladies get back to the dresses.” He says, taking a few steps backward like he was getting ready to leave, “I’ll see you at the pageant. Nice to meet you, Grace.” 

Grace cranes her neck to watch him leave the store, waiting for the door to close behind him before she turns to look at her sister, “Damn,” she whistles, “Why didn’t you tell me a new hottie had rolled into town?” 

Cori ignores her and sighs, “Did they have anything in emerald out there?” 

////

God, Cori, could you get any more pathetic? Just knock on the door and ask him. The worst that could happen is he says no and you go crawl into a hole in the woods. No big deal. Cori wings her hands together nervously as she stands on the porch of the Salvatore boarding house, her heart pounding in her chest. It was now or never. If she didn’t ask Damon to be her escort she would be stuck having her dad be the one to dance with her at the pageant which was just not an option. 

“Just do it.” She whispers to herself before she quickly raises her fist and knocks on the door sharply, immediately bringing her hand back down so she can chew on her thumbnail nervously. She waited for a few moments, staring to wonder if maybe he was still sleeping or had gone out somewhere. Just when she was starting to think there was no one inside the large house, the front door opened to reveal Damon wearing his signature jeans and a black t-shirt. 

At first, he looks surprised to see her and then he looks pleased, leaning against the doorframe with his usual smirk and his arms crossed over his chest, “Hello, Cordelia.” The smugness in his voice almost makes her want to back out of this plan altogether. “What brings you to my front door on this beautiful morning?” 

“Hello, Damon,” Cori chews on her bottom lip, the speech she had rehearsed suddenly fleeing from her mind, “Um…I was–” she swallows, “well, I was actually coming to see you because–” 

“Damon, what did you do with my shoes last night–” the voice behind Damon soon reveals itself to be the one thing that Cori had not predicted to be the worst outcome of this interaction, “Oh, Cori!” Grace appears behind Damon, wearing the same dress she had left their house in last night when she had told her she was going to meet some friends at The Grill. Apparently, based on the rest of her appearance, she had run into Damon while she was out, and…well, Cori didn’t really want to think about the events that followed after that. “What are you doing here?” She stands behind Damon, placing her hand on his arm like the picture of a perfect couple. 

Of course. Of-fucking-course. She had been so stupid to think that she could actually ask Damon to be her escort and that he would say yes. It was a joke. Her life, this situation, it was a complete joke. “I was…” Dammit, how could she get out of this? “I was looking for Stefan.” She lies, “We have a history presentation today and I thought we could go over it one more time, but I guess he left for school already so I’ll just–”

Damon is eyeing her curiously like he can tell that isn’t the real reason she came here. “Wait,” Grace stops Cori from turning away and making her escape, “Could you bring me to The Grill, I left my car there last night.” her sister giggles, sharing a knowing look with Damon. 

“I kind of have to get to school, Grace.” If Cori was trying to hide her annoyance, she wasn’t doing a very good job. 

“Oh, come on, Cor,” Grace whines, “It’s practically on the way, you won’t be late, I promise.” Cori looks between her sister and Damon, her heart sinking to her stomach. She felt so humiliated, so defeated, so angry…but that wasn’t anyone’s fault but her own for getting her hopes up. 

“Okay, fine,” she agrees, “Let’s go.” 

“Thank you!” Grace squeals, turning to Damon, “Shoes?” she asks. 

“Kitchen, I think.” He has a devilish glint in his eyes and Cori wants to vomit. Grace runs off to retrieve her shoes, leaving Cori and Damon in uncomfortable silence. She’s avoiding his gaze, looking down at her shoes and over her shoulder, anything to avoid looking at him. Damon’s eyes narrow, “Were you really looking for Stefan?” He asks her. 

“Yes,” Cori mutters, crossing her arms over her chest and focusing on a stain on her sneakers. 

“Then why did you pace out here for ten minutes before knocking?” Her head snaps up in surprise, staring at Damon with wide eyes. How did he know she was out here for that long? Had he been watching? Why didn’t he just open the door, then? Before she can ask any of these questions, Grace reappears, slipping her heels onto her feet. 

“Okay, I’m ready,” she smiles, stopping at the door to lean in and give Damon a kiss on the lips. A kiss that lasted way longer than it needed to. Cori turns away, “I’ll see you later?” She asks him. He simply hums in response. 

“Bye, Cori,” Damon calls to the younger Douglas as the girls retreat from his house but the only response he gets is the slight skip in her heartbeat when he says her name. 

Cori thought that she might actually have the ability to snap her steering wheel in half. The whole short drive to The Grill Grace just kept talking about her night with Damon. How he had been at The Grill when she and her friends got there and they just kept looking at each other all night. Her friends had left but she stayed to talk and drink with him until they closed the place and that's when they went back to his place. 

He’s just so mysterious and sexy. 

He is suuuuch a good kisser. And he’s LOADED. 

Cori only responds in hums and grunts, afraid of what will come out of her mouth if she opens it. That is until she slows to a stop on the street in front of where Grace had left her car. “Are you mad about this?” Grace asks her hand on the handle. 

“Why would I be mad?” Cori asks, her gaze focused out the windshield. In reality, she didn’t have a reason to be mad, this is just what happened when Grace was around. 

“Well…Damon said you might be.” It was a shock her neck didn’t break at the speed and force Cori turned to look at her sister. 

“Why did he say that?” She asks. 

Grace gives her sister a look, one that says ‘isn’t it obvious?’ “He said you had a little crush on him.” A heaviness sets in on Cori’s chest, “And I can see why he knows that, I mean, you could be a little more subtle, Cordelia.” Her gaze moves back to the windshield, angry and embarrassed tears stinging behind her eyes, “Guys don’t like it when you make it so obvious that you’re into them. It’s good to be a little mysterious.” And she just keeps talking. She won’t stop talking and every word is like she’s rubbing salt into her fresh wound, “I mean, he said he thought it was cute but he just doesn’t see you that way.” Just stop talking, please. “You’re not his type.”  I know. There’s a ringing in Cori’s ears, her sister’s voice fading in and out. The seemingly cloudless sky begins to look more overcast and the smell of rain fills the air, “Well, anyway. He’s gonna be my date for the pageant.” The beginnings of a drizzle start to hit her windshield as Grace opens her door and steps out, “Make sure you ask an escort today. Someone cute who can dance.” The door shuts behind her sister as the light drizzle quickly turns into a downpour. 

////

Cori does ask someone later that day at swim practice. A guy named Henry who she had enough friendly interactions with, was easy to look at, already owned a tux, and knew how to dance. It wouldn’t be a complete humiliation and maybe she could actually have a good time with him. 

“Isn’t Henry gay?” Caroline asks as she, Cori, and Elena are getting ready in the Lockwood mansion before the pageant. Cori was just putting the finishing touches on her makeup, her hair already done in loose curls with her bangs pinned back. 

Cori sighed, refraining from rolling her eyes, “Yes, but he’s nice and I didn’t exactly have many options.” Cori and Caroline had more or less made up. It was easier than Cori had originally thought since she had originally planned on having to defend her choice of Damon as an escort. That wouldn’t be a problem anymore. 

“It’s nice that Grace came into town,” Elena says from across the room, spritzing her hair with hairspray, “have you guys been hanging out a lot?” 

“Not really. She’s been kind of busy sleeping with Damon.’ Cori mutters before she can stop herself. Both the girls drop what they’re doing and turn to look at her with shocked faces. Cori pauses mid-lipstick application and blinks at them, “Oh…I forgot to mention that, didn’t I?” Elena and Caroline are frozen in shock and she sighs, setting down her lipstick and standing up from the vanity, “While you guys process this I’m gonna go get dressed.” She goes to grab the garment bag with her dress in it and makes sure her robe is tied firmly before she makes her way down the hall to the bathroom to change. 

She hadn’t exactly forgotten to tell Caroline and Elena, she just hadn’t felt like talking about it. She knew one of them would see through her unbothered act and she didn’t want the judgment or questions surrounding why she was so upset about the whole thing. She really had no right to be. She had no claim on Damon and she had been delusional to think otherwise. Sure, maybe she had been developing a slight crush since the distaste for him had worn off, but she had more appreciated the conversations they had. She felt like they understood each other to some extent and for him to just–

Cori sighed when she unzipped her garment bag, revealing the emerald green dress she had picked. The memory of Damon standing behind her in the store, his delicate touch on her skin, his lips against her cheek–she felt herself slipping back into the moment and shook herself out of it. It was a lapse in his judgment and a moment of weakness for her. So what if he had been dead on about green being her color, that was just luck. She slips into the emerald green, off-the-shoulder gown, smoothing her hands over the satin material. She stares at herself in the mirror, satisfied with the girl staring back at her. She was out of her comfort zone, that’s for sure, but maybe it would be good for her in the long run. 

She collects her robe and her empty garment bag, slipping out of the bathroom to head back to the main room. Before she can make it too far into the hallway, she bumps into just the person she did not want to see. 

“Damon,” she says in surprise. 

He smirks down at her. She wants to punch him, “I told you green was your color.” She looks down at her dress and hates the satisfaction he was obviously getting from the fact that she had taken his advice. 

She bites her cheek, “If you’re looking for Grace I’m sure she’s downstairs somewhere.” She makes a move to step around him but he cuts her off, almost sending her crashing into his chest. Cori sighs, looking off to the side to avoid making eye contact with him. She was not in the mood for this interaction today. 

“Are you still mad about this?” His tone is amused like he finds it laughable that she has this attitude with him. She doesn’t answer him, just stands there with her arms crossed over her chest and not looking at him, “The heart wants what it wants, Cordelia.” It’s just another joke to him. 

“I don’t care who you sleep with, even if it is with my sister.”  She finally looks at him, her eyes burning with rage and hurt. 

Damon smirks, “Then why are you acting so jealous?” 

“I’m not Jea–” Cori starts to raise her voice but stops herself, looking down at the ground as she takes a deep breath, “I’m not jealous.” She mumbles. LIAR. “It’s not the fact that you slept with her, Damon, or that you’re here as her date it–” she swallows, locking eyes with him again, “It’s the way you talked about me to her.” He frowns at her like he isn’t sure what she means so she continues, “You told her I’d freak out about you two because I ‘have a crush on you’.” 

“Well, you do, don’t you?” 

Cori groans loudly, throwing her hands up in frustration, “God, you are just so insufferable, aren’t you?” she exclaims, “I don’t have a crush on you, Damon. Believe it or not, I thought we were friends.” She laughs dryly, watching the smirk slowly fade from his face, “I thought maybe I was wrong about you and I had treated you so awful when you first got to town, and I actually felt guilty about it.” There’s a vase sitting on top of a small table in the hallway, and it starts to shake slightly. Damon glances at it but Cori doesn’t seem to notice, “All those conversations we’ve had–at the founder’s party, Halloween, the dance–I thought we understood each other. I actually thought that I had found someone who could relate to how I felt all the time.” Her voice gives out slightly and she shakes her head. Damon has a sinking feeling in his chest and looks at the shaking vase again, the water within it starting to bubble and steam. Cori still doesn’t seem to notice. 

“It was so refreshing to think there was someone I could talk to who wouldn’t constantly compare me to my sister. And yeah, maybe I was going to ask you to be my escort to this stupid pageant,” Damon’s eyes widened at that admission. He had no idea she had planned to ask him that, “but not because I had a little crush on you, but because I thought we could have a good time as friends. I thought on a night that I had been dreading all year I could spend it with someone who could make me laugh and make it not so awful.” The flowers in the vase wilt and the water starts to boil, the glass turning foggy with the heat of it, “But all this time,” the angry edge to her voice softens and there is such hurt in her eyes Damon feels a tug on his heart. The water in the vase starts to cool down, Cori still hasn’t noticed it at all, “you’ve been laughing at me behind my back just like everyone else in this stupid town.” 

“Corde–” Damon reaches out to touch her arm and she slaps his hand away. The vase starts to crack as the water inside begins to freeze, the temperature shocking the glass. 

“Just…” Cori swallows thickly, “Stay the hell away from me.” She picks up her dress and moves in the direction she came, heading back to the bathroom. As soon as Damon is left alone in the hallway, the vase shatters completely, leaving behind the flowers sitting on a block of ice on the table and a very, very confused vampire. 

Cori is so in her head as she returns to the bathroom that she doesn’t think about knocking. Her head was spinning with so many emotions and she just needed a minute alone before she had to plaster on a smile and pretend like she had any desire to be named Miss Mystic Falls. She opens the bathroom door and instead of it being empty like she had hoped, Stefan is standing at the sink, breathing heavily in front of the shattered mirror. 

She gasped, first feeling very embarrassed for barging into the bathroom when it was obviously occupied, and then feeling very concerned by the fact that the mirror which had been completely intact when she was in the bathroom only minutes before was now shattered in front of Stefan. 

“Oh my god,” she whispers, her eyes on the mirror as he turns to her slowly, “Stefan, what happened?’ She asks, finally directing her eyes to him. Another wave of shock rushes over Cori followed by another feeling that she couldn’t quite place. Stefan’s face was morphing into something that she didn’t recognize. His kind eyes were turning a frightening shade of red, with dark, pulsing veins appearing underneath them. “Stefan?” Cori manages to force out as he slowly approaches the door. The last thing she notices before the world goes blurry is sharp, menacing fangs protruding from his mouth. 

[basofy]

rambling time

.

.

ive encountered many points of view that imply that the player's feelings over the garth jack scene do not matter, but i can't distract my brain from the possibility that yes, it does

one of these that haunt me severely and i made a doodle reminiscent of this is, the fact that brad does not get to know of this happening. he only checks the mags after but we don't know his impression of them, he might've not thought much about them. this is between garth, jack, and the only other person watching (the player)

the fact that there isn't any mention of the events of this scene after this. this is what initially infuriated me, i didnt know if the intention was to make it matter to us or not, it felt like not. there's no more mention of it, no changes to the characters save for, maybe, your perception of them after this. but that's the thing, and maybe, leaving some stuff up to you is the way to make it connect with you, (this takes me back to there being so much about lisa that was either unexplained or not too developed, and how this served as a way for fans to connect with her more). rather than it being the game distancing from you it's putting this scene in your hands as in 'here, i trust you with this'. it's not going to tell you to care, it's trusting that you will

i keep thinking about how one of the motivating factors for the definitive edition were lisa and buddy, for austin realized the fandom was unsatisfied with how their characters were handled, and he himself admitted to not be proud either. so he knew how much these 2 girls and their circumstances mattered to lisa fans, and a big part of the new content went into humanizing them (better done wit lisa than buddy imo but anyway) part of it also went into expanding brad's character more as well. so i'm thinking, if with this scene austin decided to create another victim, it feels like he's handling us this scene and trusting us with it

that and his words about finding something worthwhile in all the tragedy. finding something worth pointing out, worth caring about in a very uncomfortable 3 minutes scene that's got no more mention of it after it happens.

if this doesnt end up being the case, and he wrote it very carelessly, well it ends up being hilarious that the scene turned out deep on accident. but i've talked about it with friends multiple times, and some of them have commented on the way it's written, it being 'carefully crafted' and after finding the other stuff in the games (stuff that's always been there) that ties perfectly to this interaction i can't get the thought out of my mind that this thang can't be just a joke, that the player is supposed to care at least a little

[yellowhollyhock]

Tmnt Memory mash up part 2 (finally ran out of jokes for the first one)

Concept is, there is no concept we have no idea what’s real because memories are wonky, everyone is a storyteller, and Casey is gaslighting them all. (Actual concept: characters remember the same events differently because that’s how brains work, but now it’s taken to an extreme where the basis for different turtle realities comes from each set of memories.)

Rise Raph, 2012 Mikey, 2003 Donnie, 2007 Leo, 1987 Splinter, 1990s April

Leo: You guys need to focus. It’s just like I learned during my training—

Raph: Your training? Are you talking about when you became a mascot for that basketball team?

Donnie: Raphie, be nice. You know Leo takes ninjitsu very seriously.

Raph: *cackles*

Mikey: pfft yeah haha, he’s a big goofy dork who loves cartoons, trying to act all serious haha (he tried to sacrifice himself again last week why are we laughing)

Mikey: Yo dudes, I made us some pizza, shaken not stirred, canned meat supreme with jalapeños and strawberries, light on rosemary heavy on hot sauce. We’re ready for movie night!

Raph: You’re so creative with food! ❤️ You were watching that cooking show you like again, weren’t you?

April:

Leo:

Donnie:

Splinter: You are a great chef, Michelangelo. Because of my peculiar tastes I will be eating sushi.

Casey: There’s definitely algae on this pizza.

Leo: Casey shut up we’re eating

Donnie, on the last slide of a PowerPoint: And so, Leo, I think you will plainly understand, you cannot go outside.

Leo: What about Raph and Mikey?

Donnie: Did Mikey almost accidentally ally with our family’s nemesis?

Leo: No, but—

Donnie: Did Raph get poisoned at the Battle Nexus?

Leo: Well, no, but—

Donnie: Did Raph or Mikey or Splinter or April or even Casey fight an army of Foot by himself while still recovering emotionally from our first presumed defeat of said nemesis, and end up facing him again, getting thrown through a window, and falling into a coma?

Leo: But you said you were abducted by aliens! And what about all those adventures in alternate dimensions you talk about? Your safety is also important! (fuming)

Donnie: Well I’m not the one who had to go away for training. 😘

Leo: But you did take that horrible phone line job while I was away for training, and do not tell me that was less traumatic!

Donnie: … phone line job???

Leo: Yeah, the—didn’t you—Casey told me you worked in tech support?

Donnie: Casey told you—Casey said—I am the cofounder of O’Neil Technologies he told you I got a phone line job?

Splinter: You must center yourselves, my students. The mind is a powerful weapon.

April: So does he always just call you guys his students?

Donnie: Nah, I think he says ‘my son’ more often than he says my name, he’s just in training mode right now.

Leo: Yeah, it’s more in private conversations that he’ll use familial terms. He really means it with just as much affection when he says students.

Mikey: lol I have been called both son and student with varying degrees of affection and annoyance. When he says my name I run for my life

Raph:

April: Um, you okay Raph?

Raph: He mostly just calls me Red…

Everyone: Dude….

April: Hey do you guys remember that guy who got mixed up with a bad crowd, almost did something really irreversible but then met you guys and turned it around and helped us instead?

Donnie: Angel!

Splinter: Ah, yes, young Carter. I hope his studies are going well.

Mikey: Mondo Gecko my man!

Leo: Do you mean your boss Winters? I mean he was the most recent.

Raph: That was Casey.

Casey: That was me.

April:

April: Anyway I was talking with his dad the other day—

Mikey: You ever had feelings for someone, Leo? Feelings you didn’t know what to do about? Feelings that kept you up at night?

Leo: Mikey I told you, I didn’t stay away that extra time because of a girlfriend.

Mikey: Maybe even feelings that make you act stupid. Feelings like Raph has for his Mona Lisa, or Donnie for April?

Raph and Donnie, eavesdropping:

Raph: What’s going on with you and April??

Donnie: Nothing I’m aware of. Maybe she borrowed a tool without asking or something. Who’s your Mona Lisa?

Raph: Raph wishes he knew.

Mikey: The heart’s a soft muscle, dude. Squish squish.

Leo: I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.

Casey: Hey Mikey! How are things going with that time traveling girl you liked? I can’t remember her name.

Mikey: Time-traveling girl..? Wait yo dude that hasn’t happened for me yet. I think you just accidentally revealed my future!

Casey: Cool, I didn’t even know I was from the future. I wonder if I could convince Leo he might start an apocalypse if he doesn’t find, like a certain artifact or something….

Donnie, again on PowerPoint: If I were to disappear, the whole world would fall to pieces. Shredder victorious. Raph and Leo estranged forever, unable to reconcile after Master Splinter’s tragic death. Mikey and April, the lone fighters against the growing tide of darkness, barely clinging onto hope. Mikey’s lost one of his arms, and with it the spark of joy in his eyes.

Raph: Who let him have coffee

Splinter: I believe he has had a nightmare. We must guard against these dark thoughts.

Donnie, staring into the distance: That dragon-daimyo merged guy nearly won the Battle Nexus. It looked like the blue bunny poisoned Leo, but in the end he stood beside him in battle. At least Raphie won his planet race.

Raph: Who let him have poison pizza puffs

Mikey: Ay Raph that’s scarily specific?

Mikey: They always forget that I’m good at science, too. I help Dee out in the lab with ideas and stuff. I mean, I don’t understand science, but I got good instincts for it. They need to remember that.

Casey: Yeah, like when you created Ice Cream Kitty.

Mikey: Yeah! What.

Casey: Or when you cured Donnie of that stuff that made him super dumb.

Mikey: No yeah but go back to what you said about Ice Cream Kitty.

Donnie: Do you guys remember that jungle dimension we went to with the really big bugs?

Mikey: Did you just call our own city a jungle dimension?

Leo: Reminds me of my training. I miss the jungle….

Mikey, humming to himself: welcome to the jungle, it’s worse here every day, you learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play

Raph: Did you guys all portal somewhere without me?

Mikey and Donnie: You wanted to see the giant bugs?

Raph:

Raph: Well, no, but—