#he may be pretty but he is still cringefail | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sordidmusings · 1 year ago

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Tender Love and Care - Hair Care (Buggy x amab!Reader

Art by ijessbest on Twitter (refusing new name still) I believe they also have a tumblr by the same name!

A/N: Sorry I took so long to post this and thank you for your patience! I had thought I put it up earlier but noticed that wasn't true while doing some organizing. The differences are pretty subtle but I hope they are meaningful for your immersion and help you feel seen! If there's something I can do better (I am cis fem so I'm sure there's much my experience has me missing about yours) please let me know! I'd like to help y'all get your escapism too 🤍

From the original a/n - "Ah yes, another 'taking care of Buggy's head' fic to take up space on the internet. Just gotta indulge in giving this man some tlc. Did I write four thousand words of simping for the cringefail pirate clown's hair? Yes. And I'd do it again >:p"

Word Count: ~4k

Warnings: masculine leaning amab!reader (no pronouns or gendered titles), Lots of Feelings, yearning, possibly angst?, probably hurt/comfort?, waxing very poetic, Buggy being a prickly bitch who doesn't know how to receive affection, Buggy also being a delusional bitch who immediately latches on to that affection

afab!Version

~ ~ ~ ••• ✦✦✦ ••• ~ ~ ~

“Touch the makeup and I’ll bite your fingers off!”

“I’m quaking.”

“...I’ll spit in your face.” His eyes narrowed while you blanched. “I’ve got damn good aim too so you better watch those big ol’ eyes.” Almost a compliment? Progress.

“To save us both from catastrophe, I’ll let you keep your grease-face,” you promised. After a few more seconds of giving you the stink eye (really, you should be taking notes because his form is exemplary), Buggy finally settled back into your hold. His stubble scratched lightly at your palms and you allowed your thumbs a scant few passes from his cheek bones to the back of his jaw. That was easy enough to play off as mindless movements while you examined him for the coming wash. Hopefully. You were at least putting in the effort to keep the affection in your chest from blooming into a wide smile on your face, lest he begin spitting like a wet cat again.

After placing him down on your clothes chest, you began gathering together the things you’d need to clean him up. You had already prepared a large basin of steaming water before you had grabbed Buggy from Zoro for your night shift with him. If he had truly protested against you then you’d just have extra water to spoil yourself with for your nightly routine. What a loss. While you flitted around grabbing a cup, a pile of towels, and care products, Buggy took to commenting about whatever his eyes fell on around your room. Your half-assed replies did nothing to discourage his gentle roast of your safe space. He only shut up when you picked him back up and brought him over to the basin.

You were taken by surprise when you took off his bandana. You had guessed that his hair was thick from the pieces that framed his face, but you hadn’t expected long locks to be wrapped up in there. They slipped and fell down like silk despite being in clear need of a wash, and you started to become a bit excited to see how they would come to shine under your care.

“What’s wrong with you? Never seen hair before?” There was a bit more bite to him all of a sudden and it hit you that he may be self-conscious from your staring.

“Never seen yours before, duh,” you teased. “You should wear your hair out as a power move against all the scrangly ass men in these waters.”

Buggy took a blank-faced moment to process your words. Probably weighing your sincerity against the backlog of insults he’s heard in his life. Unfortunately, one joking compliment never stood a chance.

“Whatever, just do your job.” His bitter tone made you keep your mouth shut and drop the topic. For now.

Seeing how he had a lot more hair than anticipated, you got up again to grab yet another towel so that you could use it as a cushion. Finally settled, you grabbed Buggy in one hand, the cup in the other, and got to work. You had laid a small board across the basin so you could rest Buggy on it instead of having to hold him up the whole time. You may have gotten strong in this life, but you were not masochistic enough to try holding him up throughout this process. You made sure to be extra gentle when you put him to rest on the back of his head, mindful that the hard plank wasn’t the most comfortable.

Wetting his hairline was taking longer than you thought. The soft noises from the pouring water hitting his scalp and trickling through his hair into the basin below felt loud in the stillness of the room. Everything had a languid air like you could breathe freely without thought or time to measure the passing of each exhale. Wanting to check in, you looked down from your task and into Buggy’s face. Despite all his past showboating, Buggy was having difficulty keeping his gaze anywhere near your face. You decided to take pity on him in his discomfort but not too much. “So how’d you get your damn good aim?”

Silence.

You’re beginning to think that him looking at you like you’re stupid is his comfort zone.

“You know, that ‘damn good aim’ that makes my ‘big ol’ eyes’ easy targets?” you supplied. At first, you thought he would roll his eyes and make more digs at you, but he finally caught you off guard.

“It’s a trade secret,” he said with a growing smile and a glint in his eyes. His face grew even more pleased when you smiled mischievously back at him.

“Clown trade?”

He hummed out an affirmative. You saturated the last of his hair at the front and sides and now needed to dunk the rest in the basin. The sheer amount of long blue locks that this pretty, pretty man had may cause it to overflow, but you supposed that’s just a workplace hazard when becoming a glamor clown’s hairdresser. You paused in lowering him to look around quite dramatically (squinty eyes, pursed lips, and all) before leaning slightly closer to stage whisper, “You can tell me; I ain’t no snitch.”

You barely caught the laugh that he choked short in order to keep up his serious facade. He let his eyes wander the room to double check your surveying and pretended to be in thought. He let out a heaving sigh and said, “Okay, okay, but you have to lean in close. Can’t have this getting out.”

Ever obliging, you turned your head and leaned until you felt his warm breath on your skin and the roundness of his nose tickling to top of your ear. You were thankful he couldn’t see the little shiver down your spine or the goosebumps spreading down your neck. He was thankful you couldn’t see him close his eyes to savor the scent of your aftershave. All was still for a few breaths too long.

“The secret?” you prompted, thinking he was waiting for your urging or that he was just trying to make you squirm. You didn’t see his eyes flutter open while he forced thoughts other than your closeness back into that head of his. Okay, he really needed to do something to reel himself back in and get some control of the situation. Easier said than done when he’s only a head.

You felt as much as you heard him take a deliberate inhale… only for a loud raspberry to be blown right next to your ear.

Nearly dropping him in shock, you quickly pulled your head back and held him at arm’s length like a misbehaved puppy. Through his canting cackles, Buggy met your wide eyes with a proud grin. It didn’t even need the help of his makeup to split his face. Damn, you could stare at that forever. He had just the prettiest eyes you think you’d ever seen. The way they shifted color under the low lights and sparkled with his smile had you feeling entranced. It had the same commanding presence and addicting warmth as flames with their own swirling colors and sparking embers. You thought your poetic idioms for him would always center around the sea, especially for his blue-green eyes, but here we are.

The corner of his smile started to twitch downward under your stare until wild and cheerful laughter burst from your lips. They were the kind to shake your shoulders and scrunch your cheeks up into your eyes and he’s now certain that he has fucked right up. Buggy felt alarms blaring in his mind as he took in your joy and was certain he would make an absolute fool of himself in any and all ways possible to keep getting hits of it. Between your settling chuckles, you managed to say, “Don’t worry, I’ll bring that wisdom with me to my grave.”

Readjusting your grip, you moved forward and dunked the back of Buggy’s head fully into the water. He sighed out at the sensation, but he fully melted when one of your hands went to support the back of his skull and the other flowed through his tresses to make sure all of them were wet. You let yourself take your time, both to make sure you were thorough and to indulge yourself in the comfort of the moment. A tenderness spread through you when you saw that this was also indulging Buggy. His breath was slow and steady, and his eyes were resting closed to better focus on the sensations coming to him. You truly were a people pleaser at heart and seeing someone so bedraggled and affection-starved accept your care made your heart and head feel fuzzy.

You slowly leaned him more upright and used your other hand to wipe out some of the excess water. Buggy felt you shuffling around, and his eyes opened to see what you were up to. After you moved him to rest on the flat bottom of his neck on top of the softest towel that he’s felt in ages, he realized that you went through the trouble to try to make even that wooden board comfortable for his sake. He was starting to feel even more uncertain and out of his element.

Careful fingers carded through and spread out his hair behind him while an equally careful gaze watched over their work. After lathering your hands with a shampoo bar scented by vanilla and spices, you set to work giving him the scalp massage of a lifetime.

While focusing on doing the best job possible and maybe also the beautiful color of his hair was keeping you from thinking about anything else, Buggy had no such luxury. He had nothing to direct his nervous energy at - didn’t even have fingers to fidget with! - so he closed his eyes and tried to keep his face neutral. Everyone enjoys a good scalp massage or at least some kind of pampering so it wouldn’t have been weird for him to visibly enjoy it, but something watery and vulnerable was pressing at his throat under your tender care. His mind and body (well… head) were at odds. While his train of thought spun every which way only to be tethered back to the word ‘why’, his muscles melted until they were soft and pleasantly limp. Has his brow ever been so smooth? His jaw so loose? His lips so softly set? Oh God, you must have noticed the stubborn stiffness in his neck because your fingers abandoned his hair to firmly rub from the base of his skull to where he met the towel and that was truly his undoing.

With a rumbly hum, Buggy finally gave in to temptation and tied his mind to your movements. He let himself imagine affection there - imagine that this was special and just for him. You’ve never tended to anyone else like this. You offered because you simply had to know what his hair felt like. You just wanted to touch him. You wanted it much more than you ever wanted to touch anyone else. If he opened his eyes and looked up at yours, he would see them pouring with love, just like your hands were, and you would look sweetly down at him with your gorgeous eyes and handsome smile and say lovely things and you’d love him-

You’d love him.

Fuck.

You noticed Buggy suddenly flinch under your hands and you tensed up.

“Are you okay? Did I snag your hair?” You hadn’t felt anything tug but you supposed you could’ve missed it.

Buggy cleared his throat before stiffly responding, “No. Keep going.”

Something thick in his tone caught your attention and you looked to see his expression was tense instead of the blissed out one you had admired not too long ago. That won’t do. You went back to the tried and true pressure points on the scalp that you knew from experience eased anyone up. Checking his face again, you noticed it was more relaxed but still too guarded for your tastes. Deciding he must be getting antsy, you switched to working the shampoo down his hair after getting a touch more product on your hands. The time it took to get it properly sudsed and rinsed was calm, despite the fact that there was some undercurrent to the air that felt charged. Maybe it was just from seeing the talkative and bratty clown be so subdued. As you began spreading conditioner through his hair, you decided that it was time to engage him again.

“This bar is my favorite; nothing makes my hair softer,” you said. Already, his hair was relaxing to glide even more smoothly between your fingers. You weren’t ready to give the feeling up, so you spent the entire time that the conditioner was setting to run your fingers through his hair.

Buggy couldn’t do anything at the moment to judge your claim, but the smell alone made him understand why it was your favorite. It matched that of the shampoo bar, but the richer ingredients in the conditioner highlighted the comforting tones of the vanilla and the sensuality of warm spices and wood. He relished in it on every inhale, hoping to unravel and memorize its every undertone. Was that a touch of amber in there? A little pink peppercorn? Maybe some incense and oud at the base? Buggy suddenly felt ridiculous. He was never one to give much thought to fancy perfumes, yet here he was trying to dissect your scent like a sommelier tasting a new wine.

You made quick work of rinsing his hair this final time and gently pushing and squeezing any excess water out. You set Buggy back on a towel, this time one that was spread on the floor. It was the one that you had just been sitting on. Buggy was embarrassed that he noticed and enjoyed the fact that he could still feel your body heat on it.

“How many of those things do you have?” Buggy scoffed as you pulled yet another towel over to dry his hair. You flicked his forehead in warning against further sass.

“You can never have too many. It’s something that you use daily and they come in handy during emergencies,” you explained.

“Oh yeah like what?”

“Well, I was thinking of situations like having to soak up a spill or blood, but the state of your hair definitely qualifies.”

The outburst was immediate.

“I KNEW YOU WERE MAKING FUN OF ME YOU DAMN LIAR! HOW DA-”

Good thing you were prepared for this and stuffed some of yet another towel into his screaming mouth. He bit down on it harshly and glared at you with all his might. Snarls and grumbles still made their way through the cloth, letting you know just how displeased he was. You were a little shocked to find that despite being gagged and despite just being a head that his glare still actually intimidated you. The time spent with the crew treating him like a harmless little pest had helped you forget that, when push came to shove, he could back up his talk with violence.

The brief glimpse of fear in your eyes gave him a twinge of satisfaction but mostly felt a lot more hollow than he’d expected. Wasn’t this what he wanted?

When you reached back out to continue drying his hair, you were more tentative than he had ever seen you and his mood dropped even further. Even with your caution, the way that you moved the towel over his hair and gently squeezed more water out of it was filled with care. The whole thing felt very foreign to him. Buggy usually rubbed his towel through his hair chaotically like the more forceful he was the sooner he could get done with the bothersome task. You were working over him like any undue force would be an insult. Like he was something precious. That watery feeling started pressing on him again.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” you started quietly. “I just meant to poke fun, not make you actually feel insulted.” After a few more soft pats with the towel, you slowly removed his makeshift gag. He took a moment to wiggle around his jaw and get the dry feeling out of his mouth.

“Yeah, well good job, dumbass,” he bit. You winced at the hurt in his tone. “Just finish up.”

You took a moment to recenter yourself while you grabbed your comb and brush. This was not how you wanted this to go. One wrong comment had sent this whole interaction spiraling and it made you sad. Sensitivity like that was usually built up from years of feeling the same hurts over and over again, and you didn’t ever want to be someone to aggravate an already festering wound, especially not on someone who you genuinely enjoyed. Not on someone who you were increasingly craving affection from. This needed to be fixed. Steeling yourself for the resistance you were about to meet, you began combing the ends of his hair and spoke, “The blue color is pretty.”

He ignored you. As expected.

“It was one of the first things I noticed about you.” He still wouldn’t even glance up at you. “Also how it brings out the color of your eyes.”

He snorted dismissively in a way that very clearly told you he wasn’t believing a word you said. Also expected. You’re just going to have to soldier on until this eventually worked… maybe worked… hopefully worked?

Just as in the rest of the process, you were slow and thorough when combing his hair. You murmured compliments to him about how soft it is; how thick and how beautiful. By the time that you had switched to using your brush, he was showing signs of being worn down by your flattery. His face was more relaxed and he let himself look around instead of trying to burn a hole through the floor. All you could focus on, though, was how downcast and tired his eyes looked.

“Alright, I’m all finished up,” you told him. “I’m going to put you in the hammock for a minute while I get ready for bed.”

After placing him in the middle of your bedding, you disappeared behind a dressing screen. The routine of bathing yourself with a washcloth and bowl of soapy water eased you. Since you had taken so much time tending to Buggy, the last bowl of fresh water had become lukewarm. Despite this, the final wipe down had you feeling refreshed and ready to jump into bed. It was no soak in the tub, but still left you feeling much better after a long day of helping work around the ship.

You had set about your routine briskly so that you didn’t leave Buggy waiting too long. Little did you know, he didn’t mind the time of having nothing to do besides enjoy the soft blankets you curled up in every night. He was trying to soak it in before you inevitably put him back down on the floor. If the night had taught him anything, you’d at least put him on one of those fluffy towels instead of throwing him back in the bag like the others did.

You came over to him on the hammock and he admired how you looked, now clean and fresh. His eyes poured over your shirtless chest and the thin sleep pants moving around the shape of your legs. When you picked him back up, your face and body language were as placid as he had ever seen them and he was surprised at how content that made him feel. He readied himself to be moved away, left cold and forgotten, but he was astonished when you plopped yourself in your bedding instead with him still in your hands. The shock must have shown on his face because you chuckled at him and gave him a bright smile. Even with the bumpy road that the night had been, your smile made him soft and content. He was realizing with more and more resignation that your smile and laugh would let you get away with anything when it came to him.

“So no floor? Trying to bribe me with favors?” His voice was mostly back to that sarcastic lilt you’ve come to adore.

Content that he was feeling better, you answered, “Nah, just using you so I can have a teddy bear. Haven’t had a good one in ages.”

Making good on that promise, you made sure that he was securely nestled into your neck and shoulder. You used both of your arms to cradle him there and both hands to continue your worship of his hair. It was just barely damp and the coolness felt nice on your hands, especially in contrast to the cozy heat emanating from his head. His long eyelashes tickled at your neck every time he blinked, just like the light scruff on his jaw teased at the skin on your chest. His big nose felt cozy rested on your clavicle, and you had to resist the urge to reach down and trail your fingers on it. A giddy and victorious feeling flushed through you when you felt him close his eyes a final time and sink into your embrace.

Buggy should have known that he was doomed from the start. He was having a hell of a time trying not to moan at your fingers scratching and massaging his scalp, both during the hair care and now, when he was held in your arms. The feeling of being rested on your bare chest sent his heart racing. He couldn’t stop his little movements to nestle into you and get just that much more of your warmth and touch. If he thought that he loved the smell of you before, he was absolutely intoxicated now that he knew what it was like when it floated over the two of you while wrapped in body-warmed sheets.

He wanted to ask you why you were doing all of this, but he didn’t want to know the answer. Not right now. Right now he was going to let himself go back into that place in his head where you lo- cared about him. A place where each night he would crawl into bed with you and, no matter how the day went, you would be there to empty his mind of anything but the two of you. You’d greet him with a kiss or a laugh or an embrace and you would shine with so much joy because he’s next to you again. He’d know what your love felt like, how it felt to be under your hands, how your skin felt under his lips. All these daydreams swirling in his head started to make him sick with want, and he needed to know at least one of them. He couldn’t handle all of them staying forever in his mind.

The tiniest increase of pressure from his lips brought your attention to where they rested below your collarbone. The almost kiss was so heartbreakingly shaky and hesitant that you felt your eyes burn with the threat of tears. To reassure him, you dragged your cheek across his temple before turning to leave a deliberate kiss there. Buggy relished the contact, the satisfied sigh you let out afterward, and the gentle weight of your cheek as you snuggled back into him. Your reward came in the form of a grinning cheek pushing into you.

All his humor and posturing certainly caught your attention in the best way and even his explosive temper was something you couldn’t say turned you away. This gentleness, though, this uncertain and wounded place, had you bursting with affection and you were hoping to keep experiencing it. You’d meet it each time with steady affection until it turned into something he embodied with the same surety that he had in his beloved spotlight.

Both of you slipped more sweetly into dreams, curled up together as you were, and with more peace and ease than the years before had allowed. Neither of you would let the years to come be absent of this sweet treasure, either.

#buggy x reader #buggy x you #buggy x y/n #opla buggy x reader #buggy the clown #opla buggy #one piece #amab reader #male reader #opla #one piece live action #x reader

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chaos0pikachu · 4 months ago

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Man, I hope the emoji guy in the posters of the sitcom Bible is gonna play in IS Jes, because I think Bible is gonna be a cringe fail nerd who tries to be cool: one poster has him a pilot* costume, the other him in glasses with a handheld game console looking excited... with his zipper undone, and I need them to play another cringefail couple, 4 Minutes can NOT be the end of them together.

* As someone who works in an airport and so encounters pilots frequently, they are pretty ordinary and kinda boring. Cabin CREWS on the other hand... I never encountered a flight attendant I didn't wanna kiss, tbh

I've heard - but this isn't confirmed just like something I read on twitter so huge grain of salt - that BOC hadn't officially cast anyone for that sitcom role so the guy was just a stand-in.

I COULD speculate that the guy is/was Jes b/c this was - I think? - before he was officially announced as part of BOC/cast in 4Mins.

But don't quote me on that I'd have to check the dates lol

Idk if I'll watch b/c honestly comedy isn't my thing but I do love that BOC continues to try a wide variety of series, so I love the idea of a sitcom/comedy show for the studio (especially with their new actresses KT is so crush worthy man have y'all seen her kickboxing videos? whew) plus it'll be cool to see Bible further stretch his acting muscles. Comedy will be totally new for him which makes me really excited for him as an actor.

I would love to see Jes and Bible work together again, I know they were asked about it in an interview if they could do another series together what they'd like to do:

In the same interview they elaborate; Bible said he think Jes would play a great villainous char so he'd want to see that, while Jes said something with race cars b/c Bible loves F1.

Idk if Jes is ~officially~ apart of BOC on his Insta he does have BOC listed as his work contact so there's that. But I know he's still working with One31.

Personally I like the idea of the BOC actors doing both but I also dislike studio systems along with this idea that BL series are "lesser than" lakorns (this attitude is prevalent in western fandom too stop it please).

Either way I'd love to see them in a new series together, they're both strong actors and acting against Jes made Bible better.

My dream series from BOC would be a fantasy series, since they're the only Thai studio I could see investing money in such a project - Idol Factory came close with The Sign and I adore The Sign but it was half fantasy still great tho!

That or an assassins show cause I can already tell The Heart Killers is more squeecore/romcom than true blue assassins/hired killers and I have no interest in that.

Also for folks who may have missed it/need a reminder here's the announcement about said sitcom:

sidenote as someone who travels a lot for work that tidbit about pilots/flight crew is AMAZING thank you for that

#4 minutes the series #jesbible #bible sumettikul #jes jespipat #be on cloud #asks

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anjelicawrites · 1 year ago

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Beloved Cringefail Throuple 💡anon. Tumblr has eaten your ask about Billy starting an adult education course, with the support of Michael and reader. This is the not so short answer to that!!!

(Warning: swearing, Billy's lack of self confidence, a tiny bit of kissing)

SFW but 18+ only, please!

You never meant to snoop through Billy's stuff, you're not that kind of person! You're rummaging around Billy's messy apartment looking for the foundation you left here for the emergencies. Where did it go, though?

None of you is extremely neat, Billy tries, bless his heart, and you know it has to do with his life previous moving to Oxford; he hasn't told you, or Michael, anything, but from what you can infer from his short comments, he had been in a very dark place, and it reverberated in every aspect of his life. Now he's trying to do better, with varying results; maybe he had stashed it somewhere and forgot to tell you?

Delicately, you start moving the piles of papers and notebooks on the too small kitchen tables, hoping to find the small bottle here. You're trying to move things around without disrupting the various piles, that a small pamphlet falls on the ground. Again, you don't mean to pry, you just want to put it in its rightful place, but your eyes fall on the cover and you can't help but read it: it's from the adult education place that collaborates with the local job center. What catches your attention are the sticky page marks emerging from the middle of it. You're curious, so much that you almost open it, but you stop yourself and put it under the pile of take out fliers and run to your dormitory: if you're fast enough, you'll be able to put some make up on and go to class.

You manage to pop back at Billy's after he's finished with his shift at the pub for the day.

He doesn't expect your arrival but welcomes you with open arms and a kiss on the top of your head.

"Weren't you supposed to study at the library with Michael?"

His skin is still pink from the shower and his hair are sticking everywhere, making him look younger than his actual age.

"You know that he has a work project to finish with other three people, right? They changed the time they were supposed to meet."

"Oh, bollocks." Billy's fingers grab the bridge of his noise. "He's going to be a pain in the arse, isn't he?"

"He already is. One of my classes was canceled out of the blue and I managed to finish my scheduled study for today, so I told myself: why not popping by my awesome boyfriend's apartment and keep looking for my concealer."

"You're wearing it."

Now it's your turn to grab the bridge of your nose.

"The one I have left here. I couldn't find it this morning and had to rush to my room to put some make up on."

"Oh, that. I put it in the last drawer of the kitchen."

You stare into his blue eyes for whole five seconds, too stunned to answer.

"I left it in the bathroom a couple of week ago, I'm pretty sure of it!"

"I was trying to organize the space for when Lana comes. It was still sealed and wasn't sure if you still needed it or not. Besides, you always have your make up bag with you."

You're pretty smart, having landed a placement at Oxford on a scholarship, yet you don't know how to respond to that.

"Why not the bathroom?"

"The fourth drawer is for the things I don't use but don't want to chuck out, yet."

Billy's logic is airtight, yet it makes no sense to you.

"May I move it to the bathroom? I can do without having to run to my dorm and half ass my make up, if I forget my little bag at home."

"It looks all right."

"Trust me, it's not."

Billy doesn't understand your drive to always wear your 'outside face', as you call it, he prefers when you don't and he can see your beautiful, beautiful features.

"I rummaged about a bit, fishing for it." You continue. "I tried to put everything in its place."

"Oh, I didn't even notice." He answers.

Should you tell him? You're curious, at the same time, you don't want to come off as a snoop. Billy trusts you, and Michael, with his space, you don't want to betray that.

"Love?" He looks worried. "Did something happen?"

You know he battles with anxiety, you don't want to add to that.

"No baby." You go to him, your arms curling around his torso. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course." You can hear his heart speed up under your ear.

"While I was looking for my foundation, I moved some of the papers and notebooks on the kitchen table." You take a big breath. "And this small pamphlet fell on the floor and it was about adult education. It looked like it had been read and studied deeply."

You can feel Billy's arm tighten around your body, a big sigh fills his chest before he answers.

"It's mine. I was playing with this idea, but it's stupid." He sounds defeated

"No! Why? Billy?" Your hands cup his beautiful face, eyes searching for his and he's not meeting your stare. "Would you like to tell me?"

This thing between you three is so young, it was supposed to be just booty calls, it grew into this nameless bond so fragile and delicate you're afraid to destroy it with a wrong word.

"I was thinking about starting a course, it's about business and the management of your own firm. But it's stupid. I barely finished high school, and I didn't have to work to survive back then. I'll never make it." He says, dejected.

"It's not stupid! The pub owner will not manage it forever! Are you thinking about taking over?"

Again, Billy evades your stare before answering.

"I was, but that's a terrible idea. I never managed to reach a single goal in my life. I'm not going to start now."

"Says who? Maybe you've given yourself the wrong goals to reach, have you thought about that?" You can feel your voice rising and try to control yourself. "It's a smart idea to plan about your future and you're great at the pub, I can see it and I bet your boss does as well!"

"He's been hinting about sharing more workload with me, because he trusts me, me!" he says, self loathing in his words.

"Why wouldn't he?"

There's so much you don't know about Billy, things he's yet to tell you and Michael, but you can infer there's a lot to unpack.

"Because no one ever did. I only fuck up."

"If you were fucking up the work at the pub, your boss wouldn't have started thinking about giving you more responsibility."

"I've never ever managed to do the right thing in my life. I don't think I will be able to do it now."

He looks dejected and desperate, head hanging low, voice broken.

"Billy, Billy, baby." You let him hide his face against the side of your neck. "I don't know what happened to you in London, or why you think so lowly of yourself. But you've made a fresh start for yourself here. You have a job and you're doing so great at that, you're taking care of yourself and of me and Michael." He tries to interject but you stop him. "We're both smart, but we're both awful at life outside the books, I managed to land myself at the A&E that one time, during finals! Who's been reminding me to eat and drink while I study? You and you only."

"What if I fuck up?"

"What if you don't?"

Billy's eyes are brimming with unshead tears, you feel like you've pushed him too hard.

"Do you want me to go?" You ask with a small voice.

"No, stay." His eyes meet yours for a moment. "Let's watch something on the telly, OK? I need to sit on all of this."

"Yeah. Sorry if I was too intense."

"It's fine." He sniffles, one hand drying the tears on his long eyelashes. "I'll think about it, OK?"

"Yeah baby." You hug him tight, hoping he will truly consider going back to school.

A couple of week pass without Billy breaching the subject, you letting him take his time, feeling that you have already pushed him enough just by talking to him about it.

You three are enjoying the first days of Spring, before another gruesome session of finals, drinking beers at the pub (not the one where Billy works) and you are itching to ask him if he’s made up his mind, he had looked so stressed about the whole idea, that you don’t dare say a word and ruin this fine day, though.

When Michael leaves to get another round of beers and crisps, Billy leans forward, his hands on yours.

“I’ve been thinking about it.” He doesn’t look as stressed as he had been two weeks ago. “I haven’t decided anything yet.”

“Thinking about what?” You were so focused on Billy, and he had his back to the beer garden entrance, that neither of you noticed that Michael was back already. “What have two been scheming? You’ve been weird lately!”

Michael’s piercing blue eyes sweep from your face to Billy’s, and then back to yous, trying to gauge which one of you can be the weak link he can exploit, until he focuses on Billy, who is already shifting in his seat.

“Nothing. I was thinking about nothing.”

You facepalm: between the weak answer and the way his cheeks have turned a violent shade of pink, Billy might as well tell Michael who, like a shark that’s sensed blood in the water, sits next to him, eyes boring into his, beers forgotten.

“That doesn’t seem like nothing, Billy.” Michael’s accent comes out thicker than usual. “So, do I have to make you talk?”

You usually enjoy the shift of power between your two lovers, mostly because the sex between them is steamy and you get to participate; in this case you’re afraid Michael will cross an irreparable line and ruin everything.

Billy swallows thickly, you can see his Adam’s apple move; before you can think about intervening, Billy speaks.

“I was thinking about enrolling in an adult course in business to take over the pub in the future, but it’s probably a terrible idea. I have a full time job and no time, plus I always fuck up.”

Michael stares at him, weighting his words before exploding, in typical Michael fashion.

“Bollocks!”

He grabs your paper napkin and your lip pencil from your make up bag on the table and starts scribbling furiously, deaf to your complaining.

“See?” He shows you two the densely written napkin, not that you two could truly read his atrocious handwriting. “It’s doable if you put your mind to it. Do you want to work hard for this?”

You wouldn’t have worded it so harshly but, in the end, it all hangs on Billy’s will to try this avenue.

“This is not what my family does, what they expect.” He confesses, eyes not meeting yours or Michael’s. “This is not something Lana would do and she’s always taken the right path.”

“The hell with your sister!” Michael’s voice pitches up and you have to shush him, the whole beer garden isn’t interested. “The hell with her, stop shushing me! And the hell with your family as well! Have you ever tried to do something for yourself, instead of for them?”

“It’s easy for you to talk.” Billy’s voice is defensive now. “You’re a genius.”

“It’s not easy, I just don’t care about what people think or want from me. Following what your family wants for you didn’t help you all your life, why not try something you want.”

Your hand finds Billy’s trembling one. You know Michael means well but he has no filters and that doesn’t help.

“Because I will fail.”

Before Michael can add anything harsh, you interject.

“You don’t know that, baby and if all the avenues you tried in the past failed, it doesn’t mean this one will. And this is something you will do for yourself, not for your sister or your parents.”

“And we can teach you a trick or two for study.” Michael adds.

Billy’s fingers grab yours tightly and he looks shaken, his blue eyes big and scared.

Being in the bomb car had been the pinnacle of the fear he could experience in his entire life, choosing a path for himself shouldn’t feel so frightening, yet it is: the job at the pub is safe, becoming the next owner isn’t, the dark possibilities stack in his mind, weighting out the good outcomes.

“Your boss is old, he will sell.” Michael says, his voice pragmatic. “The new owner might keep you, or not and you have good ideas for the pub.”

“It’s a lot of work and money to manage.” Is it a little of hope you’re hearing in his voice?

“Aren’t you already helping out more than everyone else?”

“I am.”

“Then you know already what works and what doesn’t. He can’t sell you something that doesn’t exist.”

You can see how torn he is, even after Michael’s pragmatic words.

“And you don’t have to take over the pub.” You try to be as gentle as possible. “You can enroll and learn something new, which isn’t a bad thing and then decide it’s not for you. We’re talking hypothesis here. Baby steps.”

Billy sighs heavily and cautiously lets himself hope: maybe if he takes this slowly, with a careful stride, instead of letting himself be swept by a future that doesn’t exist yet, he can win this and be someone he is proud of be and, perhaps, his family will be as well.

You’re brimming with pride and anxiety, moving your weight from the ball of your feet to the back repeatedly, Michael is observing the people entering and exiting the adult education building with indifference, but you know he’s anxious as well, just better at hiding it.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to go in with you?” You ask Billy for the millionth time.

Billy looks anxious himself, his long fingers clenching in his pockets, the backpack he bought for the start of the course slung on his shoulder.

“No. And I need to go, now.” His words are more cutting than what he intends them to be.

“Not so fast.” Michael’s hand curls on his arm, stopping him.

“You need a good luck kiss!” You add.

You three are standing under a pocket of trees, away from the main entrance, where no one would notice you tree share a quick kiss that makes Billy’s knees wobble.

“Text us when you’re done.” You’re trying to keep yourself under control, but it’s hard, your stomach is clenching.

“I can’t wait to give you your ‘well done shag’” Michael growls in his ear and, if Billy wasn’t so anxious, he might have gotten an instant hard on.

You two stare at his back as he walks towards the entrance, he’s wearing a new pair of jeans and a nicely pressed shirt, as a sign of good will.

“What do you think it’s going to happen?” You ask Michael, needing him to ground yourself.

“He’s going to need our help, because his brain will try to fuck with him, but he will manage in the end. As for the pub, he will manage. He’s far better than what he gives himself credit for.”

“One day we’ll meet his parents. Promise me you’ll help me not explode in their faces.”

“I can’t promise that.” He answers, opening one of his beloved candy bars. “But that day will be a very interesting one, of that I am sure.”

Cringefail throuple taglist: @fan-goddess

#cringefail throuple #billy washington x reader x michael gavey #billy washington x y/n x michael gavey #michael gavey x reader #michael gavey x y/n #billy washington x reader #billy washington x y/n #michael gavey #billy washington

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downtofragglerock · 1 year ago

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Let's talk about Spiriah

Yeah, I'm pumping out another one of these

So Spiriah am I right?

Despite being a tertiary makuta, we actually know quite a bit about him

Namely his defining trait: he's a complete fuckup

Spiriah is a character defined by failure, to the point where is name became an in universe slang term for cringefail loser

While Bitil feels like a weak link in the brotherhood, Spiriah is the weak link

This can even be seen in a meta sense as well, since Spiriah's combo model is really weak and lazy, not to Gaardus levels, but close

When it comes to rahi making, all bs01 has to say is that he "lacked the skill to do so", he most certainly tried in the beginning, probably came up with hundreds of rahi ideas, but nearly all of them probably melted or broke down immediately after creation, leaving a small handful of actually successful creations that were still probably pretty weak and flimsy

But there was a canon rahi that I took interest of for its potential connection to Spiriah

Namely in "How has this rahi not outright confirmed to have been made by him?"

So Spiriah's big defining fuckup took place on Zakaz, home of the Skakdi, who at the time were a peaceful people. Spiriah had been put in charge of Zakaz after all the makuta got their own territories. Spiriah, presumably fancying himself a ruler, saw potential in making the Skakdi his own personal army. Possibly for his own motivations, possibly because the brotherhood told him too, Spiriah began experimenting on the Skakdi, resulting in them developing new abilities. Unfortunately, there was an itty-bitty little side effect of basically driving all the Skakdi crazy and violence hungry and they engaged an eternal war with themselves, rendering Zakaz a wasteland

Because of his colossal fuckup (and also to probably cover up the rest of the unethical experiments the brotherhood was doing at the time) Spiriah was exiled, with a presumed execution order on him, should he ever show his face again

The question though, is how? How did a makuta who was utter crap at the science aspect of the brotherhood even accomplish this?

I believe I may have the answer

The Spine Slug is a parasitic rahi that was known to inhabit Zakaz, where they established a "relationship" with the Skakdi.

bs01 has this to say about their abilities: "Although Spine Slugs are parasitical, they are harmless to their Skakdi victims. Spine Slugs latch onto the spines of a Skakdi, and seem to be nourished by the Skakdi's battle rage. Some believe that the slugs actually feed that rage, causing the Skakdi to continue fighting and providing more nourishment"

Harmless, you sure about that?

I think I may have found the smoking gun, and the most "successful" rahi Spiriah ever made

#bionicle #srsly tho how was it never outright confirmed that the guy known for permanently fucking up the skakdi #made the rahi the parasitically latches onto skakdi #and is theorized to actively be altering their brain chemistry to feed itself

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fwuitbewwies · 5 months ago

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score commentary time!

teams:

Purple: scott won scripted smh /j okay now for real i'm so happy a team like this which doesn't have any stereotypical super strong players managed to get 1st and win, and that long-time minecrafters won the ender cup. Also especially Pearl for getting another win so soon!

pink: we all know purple is cracked lol, but it's still the whoke team's achievement to get to dodgebolt with three players who haven't played that many mccs or tend to struggle. i think it may be tina's 1st db?

yellow: my pov!!! they pulled it back so much in the end with an amazing gr and managed to snatch 3rd after being in the lower half for most of the event!!! they did great

cyan: i really liked this team and they were doing so well for most of the event! it's such a shame they struggled with gr :(

orange: same as wirh cyan, i really thought they'd go to db! they seemed to be doing well

lime: i think 7th place is really good for this team! they're far from the most stacked team and they managed to get ahead of 3 teams which initially seem stronger to me (though blue might have thrown for fun, you never know with tommy and tubbo)

green: incredible that the point record is on an 8th place team. lmfao

indivs:

fruit: NEW POINT RECORD LETS GO FRUIT MY GOAT. it felt like it would never truly be beaten but since that first flawless skybattle it looked like it might happened and happen it did. Rip techno's mcc4 record, you will always be remembered o7

purpled: also surpasses the previous point record, breaks 4k, and goes on to be the 2nd highest ever indiv score, incredible

fbm: eyyyy he managed to snatch that 3rd from hannah in the end, that said hannah 4th is also amazing!!!

PHIL 5th!!!! NICE

WAIT H 6TH, BEK 7TH, CAP 8TH AND CPK 9TH??? i hadn't been paying attention to the indiv scores that much besides the record thing it's great that all of these people got top 10 let's go!

JIMMY 11TH AYOOO

PEAEL 15TH!!!!!!! AMAZING

joel got 17th? i saw in the beginning he was cringefailing around the low 30s smh how dare he do well

aimsey 19th!!!! and on not that high scoring of a team great!

grian 22nd!!! that's pretty good too!

scar 28th!!!!!! nice

#mcc #mcc liveblog #mcc ec #ender cup #mcc ender cup

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divorcingjimmatthews · 2 years ago

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reader x jade (reader x kenny if you squint) bullet point short story take it or leave it here goes

may contain spoilers up to S2E3 ⚠️

you've actually got history with jade

and by history i mean that he showed up stoned to your once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity job interview

still, seeing a familiar face after your first night in that nightmare outweighed any past grudges

"Jade Herrera?"

he needed a double take to realise you didn't just know him from tv

when he remembered the incident, it felt like an unread email had found him in the apocalypse

he had meant to reschedule the interview

he had meant to send an apology letter

did any of that matter now?

"Wait. Can't... why can't Mr. Herrera do it? I... I know him."

donna didn't think jade was in condition to be anyone's proxy, but kenny was also in the house, and she had twenty other people to sort before nightfall

so why not

maybe because jade said no

so kenny took you. he was so nice. everyone here was so nice. it didn't feel real

you and kenny spent the night in his living room. you were trying to process. started asking questions. what is this place? what are those things?

kenny's answers were always the same. we don't know.

you gave up and sighed. maybe it would make sense in the morning

enter idiot

jade "fixing" the janky bathroom door with a kick jumpscared the hell out of you

"What the hell is wrong with you, man? Jesus!"

kenny stood up to check the damage to the hinges, then shook his head at jade and came back to make sure you were okay

the next morning, you woke up to see jade kneeling by the door, fixing it and putting some oil on the hinges

"Looking good."

jade's puzzled look forced you to clarify

"I mean the door."

now that you were looking at the man with a clear enough head, it wasnt difficult to see that he was pretty much freefalling

but he was still fixing the door

the small sweet things he did never got past you. once you saw the kind of guy he was, it wasn't something that you could unsee

eventually he came to see you and apologised. it was genuine

you told him none of it mattered now, but he insisted. he asked if he could do something to make it up to you

you said no, and told him to forget about it. but later that night, you found yourself making your way to his room

"Hold me."

"What?"

you were trembling, almost shaking

"You wanted to know what you could do for me. Hold me. I... I don't want to be alone with those things."

somehow he knew how to not make it awkward. maybe because he probably needed that way more than you did

you had your first proper breakdown sitting on the floor of jade's room, snuggled up by his side. you finally felt safe enough to let the terror of what you'd seen in that place wash over you

his arms were around you and he was softly stroking your back. you cried and cried, and he breathed slowly, his eyes red and watery too

he had been through so much. toby was fucking dead. and then there was this place. this stupid place

you were all but strangers but you had to cling to something

jade admired you. it took guts to actually ask for help and accept it

didn't he know it

it didn't take long for you to realise that he needed your help more than you needed his

you had jade herrera for two weeks and a half and if anything happened to him youd kill each and every one of those monsters with your bare hands

he's YOUR cringefail sorta boyfriend guy and you just want him to be alright

you actually really admire his smarts but if he starts going on about how smarter he is than everyone else around him he gets hit with a gentle but firm "babe. babe, shut up"

when you hear him play the violin you gotta hand it to him though. floored. a perfect man

he hasn't told you about his visions but you can get a feeling that something's deeply wrong. you're kind of terrified that something will happen to him

hes kind of terrified that hes setting the bar too high with expectations that he won't always be able to meet

its not like you still need him like on those few first nights, he tells himself. so he calls the thing off

fine. idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot

kenny is like shaking his head in the distance at him

everyone kind of is. small town. no secrets

you're just more worried than ever for him. you both kind of keep an eye on each other, but you can see his sanity slipping away.

who could stay sane in this hell?

there has to be a way out of this fucking place

you'll find it. for you and for jade

#jade herrera x reader #jade (from) x reader #jade herrera (from)#epix from #from (epix)

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thegeminisage · 9 months ago

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oh, it's also finally time for the official ds9 character ranking as of the end of s1. i'm not doing minor characters yet (jake, nog, garak, keiko) since they haven't had any major stuff going on and idk if they ever will. rankings in the future may be different.

odo - whatever autistic swag he has going on has charmed and bewitched me. i'm so easy i love little guys that don't get humanity. he seems like the natural choice after spock and data i should have known this would happen. every single thing i learn about him makes me more insane. also, he's so dour and gruff that he is just BEGGING to be given an arc where he gets a child or a love interest or whoever who gets to be the only one able to lighten him up at all. and i know about him getting with kira so i am just sitting here like. PLEASE let that be good. please.

kira - ALL OF HER SCENES ARE SO GOOD. i liked her from the beginning but they have done NOTHING but feed me ever since the pilot. her conflict, or rather, lack of conflict, now that the war is over, is so fucking good. who even is she now that she's not the underdog? how do you just move on once the war is over? she's such a good actress too, she smiles when she's angry and she can cry on cue. you can feel the weight of her history every single time she's on screen, she's fantastic

sisko - the only reason he didn't tie with kira is because we haven't seen as much sisko-centric stuff yet. i thought his intro in the pilot was INSANELY good, it blew my mind, and i couldn't wait to see where he went from there...but then he didn't go anywhere else. that said, i do love that he always backs up his people, especially kira and odo since they're not federation. also i LOVE what a good dad he is and his extremely wholesome jokes about that time he and dax fucked twins or whatever.

bashir - i love to laugh at this guy. he is SO good comedically and i don't know why i didn't expect him to be the comedy character but he is. i know he has some deeper stuff later and i CANNOT WAAAAIT to see what else he is gonna have going on with garak, i'm very excited for his future. i feel like once bashir finally gets a serious storyline it's gonna hit me like a fucking truck because of how silly he is the rest of the time...my favorite cringefail loser <3

o'brien - he would have tied with bashir except again he had less stuff to do. i like him so much better in ds9 than tng and he is SOOO longsuffering but i'm still waiting to see why everyone says he suffers more than jesus on the cross. also, i fucking love his little girl. she's so cute i die. i'm never sorry to see this guy on my screen.

dax - love and light to women and people who are only currently women and genderfluid worms everywhere, so far i feel pretty uncompelled by the dax stuff. i mean, i don't dislike her or anything, but she can't hold a candle to some of the characters higher on this list. her hair is So Big that it's weird to look at but i could forgive this if she was less...buttoned up? she's always very :X except when she talks about how cool it is to be a hot woman everyone likes flirting with, which, like, GOOD for her, but i'd like to know who she is beyond that. her personality seems so fluid she doesn't have one - even sisko paints a more vivid picture of curzon dax than we get of jadzia, which is mostly a lot of blah. i absolutely believe they'll make her more interesting later they just haven't caught me yet

quark - i mean. this was inevitable. i DO like him better than i thought i would and whatever he has going on with odo is extremely fucking funny, but on his own he's not as funny as bashir and he's not got as much depth as the rest of the cast, plus there's the whole ferengi issue of them not being written well in general. he's actually such a huge improvement on all other ferengi ever though that i deeply considered giving him the #6 spot, but dax, while uncompelling, DID at least get a backstory episode that was good instead of that episode quark got that made him hold the idiot ball. so.

#personal #star trek blogging #ds9 lb

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hyperfixation-symposium · 2 years ago

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QSMP messy lore summary - Day 65

As a reminder I write these for a friend and drop them on here with little to no editing. May contain mistakes, personal opinons, or be out of order. Enter at your own risk and all that.

The start of the day was pretty calm! Foolish logged on to learn that Bad had set up the scavenger hunt for the pritzas he had wanted (he says pritza. I don't know what else to tell you. It's a pizza) and waited for Leo to be up to start. The two had a lot of fun doing it even if it was pretty easy and overall it was just adorable. 10/10 Foolish Leo moments.

Tazercraft duo logs on to see that Quackity took Richarlyson and while there was notes left for Cellbit and Forever there wasn't for them. They often feel like the forgotten dads of the Brazilians even tho they love Richarlyson and it's :(((

Lore can't wait forever tho, and Forever logs on (lmao) to hear about it too. He interprets such as Quackity kidnapping Richarlyson and plans on working to get him back. He sees Cellbit is in the federation base under the wall thanks to the map and goes to stalk him once he's out.

Cellbit wakes up in the same Federation hospital that Max did after getting attacked by the code, noting that the federation saved his life. As they leave, he insists he wants to join the federation and Cucurucho indulges this. He asks Cellbit to gather information on some of the new members that Cucurucho did on day 1. Cellbit agrees, not knowing that Forever is spying on them. Also the federation is building something in the wall apparently!

Cellbit gathers everyone in the Favela to apologize for being in a silly funky mood yesterday, sorry but he's fine he swears! He just thinks they shouldn't leave the island and maybe they should help the federation! No one, not even the French, are buying his shit. He tries to subtly ask some of the French the questions Cucurucho gave him and Etoiles is just NOT having it lmao. He presses Cellbit who lies and says he has a book with information on everyone on the island. Etoiles also has like 10 jobs apparently. (detective, soccer player, half of the French daft punk, adventurer, akdbsknd god he's funny)

Forever and Cellbit have a conversation that is badly translated AGAIN but Cellbit doubles down on taking Richarlyson from Forever and says the Order means nothing to him and the federation is right.

I have to leave around here so things are fuzzy but! Cellbit talks to Roier who has been through a bad betrayal on the island and agrees to stay by Cellbit's side no matter what. My ship keeps winning. Cellbit ends his stream by letting notes from his document scroll through on stream, revealing that THIS IS A PLAN!! It's not going how he originally planned it, but the commercial and the lying (which did hurt a bit? I think?) gave him a good excuse to 'betray' the others. The Richarlyson court case gives him a chance to publically reveal anything he learns in front of the whole server, and if they hurt him, he gets to be a martyr for the Order. He believes that revealing it to stream this way stops the Federation from learning about it (he believes that maybe the Federation can watch streams) and it seems to have worked! The update accounts, who canonically are part of the QSMP census bureau, have made no comment on his plan :)

Forever meets up with Baghera and Bad individually. Baghera doesn't trust Cellbit and stands by Forever's side 100% (my FAVORITE siblings on this server I stg) and Bad seems conflicted, still wanting to believe this is a plan, but stands by Forever 100% as well. When Richarlyson's "kidnapping' is brought up, Bad explains he saw them last night and kept an eye on where they went so could possibly get them close.

Bad and Forever do manage to find Richarlyson, who explains he's not kidnapped and wants to be here. However, Quackity is cringefail as usual and didn't even make a good safehouse for Richarlyson. Forever tries to convince him to at least stay with the Tazercraft duo and Richarlyson talks to Pac and Mike offstream. It's thought that he's staying with them :)

Finally, Bad and Dapper show off their sick new base that they're making from a huge old dungeon that they found. I'm convinced this man doesn't sleep. (Unironically Dapper seemed worried bc Bad was up basically until Dapper woke up after leaving the night before. These two...)

Forever has teased on Twitter that he found something big and will be talking about it today!

#qsmp #q!bad #q!Cellbit #q!Forever #q!Etoiles #q!Foolish #I dunno who all should be tagged hopefully this works #my ass is sleepy snnzzz mimimimi #🔍

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autobot-ratchet · 6 months ago

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MTMTE 53-55

MTMTE 53

very cute how many people are calling Tailgate “slugger” now

SKIDS AND SWERVE ARE SO SWEET... I'm just soaking up as much time with Skids as I can, either this issue or the next one is the one where he dies and I know it's gonna hurt all over again

it's also sweet that Drift suggested everyone record a final message. It's funny in a very bittersweet way how he's actually pretty emotionally intelligent, he just never applies any of that to himself

aww, Nautica's improptu amica ritual... she loves them and wants them to know, to make it official........

“Yeah. Later, eyebrows.” bites my knUCKLE SO HARD IT BLEEDS

god the tension in the scene where Chromedome and Rewind separately but simultaneously find out exactly where Dominus went is killing me lmAO good on Drift for calling Rewind anyway. Good on Rewind for giving Rodimus a good punch too, it's been a long time coming

god. Rewind having to make the choice between losing Dominus for good or losing Chromedome... so fuckign good. It was so good to see all the “Rewind is a bad husband who cares more about Dominus than Chromedome” talk just fuckin hard stop after this issue came out lmAO Issue 44 spelled it out with words but people straight up didn't read those so this one made it crystal motherfucking clear and I am still so grateful

fdsjkghfjk goooOOODDDD, THE FUCKIN PARALLELS TO ISSUE 15... The use of one of Drift's swords, Rewind making a life or death choice, Chromedome losing the same fucking arm, the panel of Chromedome curled up on the ground in the exact same way but Rewind is with him this time, fuckgfhjsdks this arc fuckign rules it's so gOOD

love this conversation between Cyclonus and Whirl too, love that Whirl just comes right the fuck out and says it, “Hey are you dating that guy you like yet? Did you talk about the trauma? Like, actually talk??? Bitch???????? Tell me about your gayass feelings, I am going to force you to say it out loud” he's RIGHT and he should SAY IT!!!!!!!!

“I suppose I'm afraid.” “Good! Me too! You think anyone here isn't scared?” TELL HIIIIMMMMMM

“You're a good captain, Rodimus. The better captain...” CORRECT. ALSO GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE AND FIGHT

“Thanks for traveling with me” *salutes* anythign for you........

MTMTE 54

“I'm sorry, Rewind- I can't deal with that right now.” ehuehuehuehuehue I know that reference

Overlord's petty bullshit is significantly less entertaining when he's doing it at Chromedome, you keep Rewind's name out of your slutty, slutty mouth

“I thought someone I love had died.” punCHES THE ARM OF MY CHAIR REPEATEDLY

“Is it getting hot in here?” GNAWS MY ENTIRE HAND OFF

yeah nope just Skids remembering Grindcore has started the waterworks, it still hurts just as much lmAOgfhjdsk

jhdfkjsthank you Tailgate for making me laugh, hell yeah, punch that dude's head off

that panel of Roddy breathing fire is still so hot lmAO

I do love the confirmation that Megatron's change of heart was all Megatron, the “fool's energon” may have made him think he was being drugged, but it was never the case, it was all in Megatron's head and that is very much the point

Oh, Skids... Ohh, Skids........

oh you fuckin slimy bitch, I forgot that Tarn orders Deathsaurus to throw all his men at Megatron while secretly having his own guys fall back

I do find it kinda funny that after so long of wanting Megatron to stop fighting and killing people, the comic now makes us want very much for Megatron specifically to Kill These Fucking Guys So Hard Please

oughdfjk Nautica holding Skids's body...

MTMTE 55

man it's so fucked that the crew saving some organics came back to bite them in the ass, they were just trying to do good...

ooh I forgot that they used the distress signal on Deathsaurus. Well, more like they used it in general and Deathsaurus was particularly vulnerable to it

still fuckin LOVE Nickel abandoning Tarn, I gather up all the canon instances of Tarn being a cringefail loser and I roll around in them like a pig in mud

I TAKE ALL THESE PANELS OF MEGATRON KILLING THE DJD ONE BY ONE AND I SNORT THEM LIKE CRACKED COCAINE

“Everything you did was for nothing.” MOANS AGGRESSIVELY

sorry okay I'm normal now, love Rodimus going out of his way to rescue Megatron lmAO this was another thing I saw people complain about, they should've just left him, he killed the DJD so he had his big moment and now he can die for his crimes, but nah, that ain't what it's about. It's about Roddy being a good person, that's all there is to it, he could save him so he did

Megatron is going through it. I'm trying to remember the nuances of this moment because just taking it at face value, it looks like Ravage used his last words to beg Megatron to stay a Decepticon and then Megatron proceeded to immediately throw the Decepticon badge/mask away the instant he saw Terminus but I'm trying to remember if that was the case or if Ravage was saying “don't go back to being a Decepticon,” OR if he was even talking about factions at all and he meant for Megatron to never doubt himself so much again and the badges are merely symbolic

still sucks that Censere took Nightbeat's advice and started saving people instead of just cataloging them and it got him killed so fuckin fast

oh shit that's right, the fuckin Galactic Council threw a geobomb at the Necro planet ghjdfks well rip I guess, hell of a way to end this arc

god. This arc really was just a constant stream of dubs for me personally lmAO so many bad faith theories and takes were debunked, like Rewind valuing Dominus over Chromedome, the fandom's poor understanding of Tarn was fucking obliterated, I got my boys Drift and Ratchet back, it was great lmAO It was especially great because like I said waaaaaaaay way back in the preface for this whole retrospective, this fandom made me feel like a complete fucking idiot for having faith in this comic and this arc not only affirming all of my theories and feelings (except for Tarn being Roller) but explicitly debunking a lot of takes and theories I thought were bad was pure fucking magic lmAO it made me start to realize that I'm NOT an idiot, actually, my reading comprehension is good, better than all these people who are so rude and aggressive about asserting their opinions, and this is a good fucking comic that I was right to have faith in. THAT'S why the Dying of the Light is my favorite arc

#mtmte retrospective

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loosesodamarble · 8 months ago

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Hello senpai it's 🖤 anon. For oto-may

Can you answer 2, 24 and for 25- what otome games will you recommend me to play? (Seeing your pages makes me want to play them)

Welcome back 🖤 anon~! Always lovely to see you around!

Thank you for the questions. And thanks for waiting for the answers! I uh... kinda went off so I'll be putting the lengthy answers under the cut!

2) Otome I would like to play

Right off the top of my head, I'd love to dive into Collar x Malice Unlimited, Piofiore: Episodio 1926, Virche Evemore: Epic Lycoris, and Radiant Tale Fanfare!

However, seeing as those are fandisc/sequels and I still need to finish the original games, I kinda can't. Not without running into massive spoilers and being left totally confused at least.

And actually, Epic Lycoris and Fanfare have yet to release in English so even if I did already play through Virche and RT, I wouldn't be able to play them right away...

Okay okay! But for a title that isn't a fandisc, the only otome that is currently catching my eye is Cupid Parasite.

Which is weird because literally none of the love interests in that game have long, luscious hair which is my usual weakness. But the art looks good and the concept of the literal Greek Cupid working as a matchmaker for the most un-matchable men ever seems funny.

And I have a feeling that there would be more going on than just cringefail men making out with a Greek deity.

24) Favorite otome

I've mentioned Cinderella Phenomenon as a fave of mine before. So another one of my favorite otomes would be Code Realize: Guardian of Rebirth, as well as the two fandiscs Future Blessings and Wintertide Miracles.

I just... KJAHGIOAUEHTIAEHKJBELIGHEAKLJAEIUTHALEKTHA!

I really love the series! It did take me a while to really warm up to it but once I let myself get absorbed in the world and the characters, I got really attached. And with each entry into the series I played, the more I loved all of it. Cardia is such a sweet but strong-willed heroine. Several love interests stole my heart with their tragic stories. And for the ones that didn't leave me in tears, they were decent enough and good for getting a laugh out of me.

The side characters are pretty interesting too. Delly and Finis are like my baby brothers. Queen Victoria kinda talks down to Cardia and the boys at times but we can forgive her because she's kinda cool in how she's like "the kingdom and its people are my children, and a mother protects her children." Watson. Just Watson. He's a treasure.

The artwork of the game is beautiful too! UDAHGAEUHIAHR! All of them are winners in my opinion. ESPECIALLY HERLOCK! He may have needed to wait for the fandisc to get his route but it was made up for by all his cgs being LITERALLY THE BEST!

And the thing is, I love Code Realize so much that as I came close to completing the third game... All I needed was to read the epilogues of Wintertide Miracles and then I'd have the full stories and all the cgs... I was close to completing it and I paused and went "wait, I don't want the story to end yet. I want to keep falling in love with this game and the characters."

So I decided to delete my save data for all three games and buy other otomes to play so I could delay seeing the end of Code Realize's story. If I saw the ending, then the story would be concluded and I didn't want to imagine closing the book on Code Realize! AAAAAHHHHHHH!

I'm gonna replay Code Realize and actually see the epilogues of Wintertide Miracles one day. But not for a long time!

I just want the series to stay alive in my head with the ending just out of reach for as long as possible... That's how much I love it.

25) Free question: what otome games will you recommend me to play?

If you're looking to play an otome game, I'd suggest Cinderella Phenomenon.

It's free to play and available either through Steam or itch.io. The basic premise centers on a princess breaking a curse placed on her by a witch and along the way, she falls in love with a handsome young man, also under a curse. But even that base idea has a few twists to it.

Cinderella Phenomenon (or Cin Phen for short) is a straightforward, choice-based dating sim. And even light on how many choices you make. Not counting the Common Route (which is the section of an otome before you're locked for a single guy), you only make 21 choices total, three per chapter with a guy, excluding the final chapter which is either the Good or Bad Ending. Cin Phen is also nice in that you are allowed to have a guide, the Right Choice Indicator, to clue you in on when you've made a choice leading you to the Good Ending. It can be delayed for some choices and you can even turn it off if you want to play blind.

While I... disagree with a trope used in one route, all of the main characters and a good majority of the supporting cast are good, likeable people who each deserve a happy ending. No one is perfect and a couple show difficult sides of themselves at times but it makes the characters rounded and entertaining.

There are also dark themes like political corruption, emotional manipulation/abuse, and death. Though I'd still say Cin Phen is a pretty safe starting point when it comes to dating sim.

#questions from the ask box #soda asides #🖤 anon #oto-may ask game #maybe i should try writing fanfic for the otomes i play #that'll keep them alive and as ongoing stories in my brain

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monimccoythings · 1 year ago

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Eddie Brock & Symby headcanons part II

I love them so much, they are my cringefail hyperfixations and deserved way better in the series. I just think they are neat.

Sometimes when Eddie sleeps, he has nightmares. Of his past, of the verbal abuse he suffered at the hands of his father and Jameson and of that time he spent in a coma completely helpless. The symbiote tries to comfort him as best as it can, but given its naivieté and young age he has barely any grasp of humans emotions other that Eddie’s preferred anger and self hate. So it decides that the best course of action will be to wrap itself around Eddie’s body like a cocoon reassuring him of its presence through their shared bond. It may seem a simple gesture, but it really means more to Eddie than anything else.

Even if their diet consists mostly of junk food and coffee (which is probably the only thing they can afford) Eddie is constantly working out to keep fit. Given his symbiotic partner, the normal amount of weightlifting is nothing to him, so he has to ask his other to turn off their increased combined strength so he can improve his not so regular human powress.

I saw someone headcanon that once Eddie and the symbiote were fully merged a lot of body horror would be commonly happening in Eddie’s body, and boy they were absolutely right. Sometimes it’s extra white eyes all over his body, other times it’s a second mouth full of sharp teeth on his torso… These random transformations keep happening even when he is in human form, though they doesn’t seem to be bothering him at all and just accepts them as part of his daily life.

Eddie rarely smiles, given his gloomy view of life and low opinion of society. However there are two rare occasions were he allows himself to do it: one is when he feels is other wiggling playfull inside him; his lips quirk upwards in a soft smile full of tenderness; the other is when some bitch that has been annoying them is about to get it, that smile is wide, full of pointy teeth and devoid of any tenderness. It’s diabolical and menacing.

Eddie is a very determined man, and sometimes he tends to surpass his own limits, which drives dear Symby nuts. A healthy host is a happy host and an even happier symbiote, so they constatnly have to remind Eddie to sleep, eat and even shower when they are in the middle of a very intriguing case.

Despite being very vulnerable to fire and loud noises, the symbiote loves fireworks, they are entraced by the magical colorful lights illuminating the skies. They make sure to watch them from a safe distance though, no matter how pretty, fireworks are still very dangerous for symbiotes.

The symbiote also loves movies, Symby is fascinated by the storytelling and the acting of the characters. Their favorite genre are romantic comedies and dramas where everything turns alright in the end, they are a very sappy go. I think Eddie would also be interested in cinema, but more than the actual product he is more invested in the process of making a movie. Eventhough he likes to act though and uncaring, the symbiote can feel when one of their favorite sappy movies has touched him.

They may have been bonded to Eddie for as long as they can remember, but the symbiote has little no none idea about human culture and etiquette, and given Eddie’s lack of social skills they don’t have much to learn. That’s why sometimes they misinterpret some festivities (e.g. In St. Valentines they tried to take someone’s actual heart to give it to Eddie, thinking it was the meaning of the holiday.And Eddie thought it was the most romantic thing ever, they really are two idiots made for each other)

Given that now they have each other to rely on and being bonded gave them a massive boost in confidence, Eddie is less willing to take shit from anybody. If anyone tries to pull the same stunts on him that Jameson pulled it won’t end good.

But the thing I firmly believe in is that since they are bonded, their mental health has improved. They may be terrible influences over each other; yet Eddie is definitely happier than he was before (even if he remains a grump) and doesn’t feel like a failure anymore and the symbiote has someone who they can connect with and pursue a mutually beneficial relationship.

#marvel #msm 2017 #eddie brock #venom #symbrock #veddie

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troutfur · 2 years ago

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as World’s Only AVoS enjoyer, i am more than welcome to offer my suggestions 👀

for me, one of the most interesting parts of avos (aside from the kin’s Murder Antics and rowanstar’s Cringefail World Tour) is the sibling dynamics between alder/twig and needle/violet. it’s interesting to see how alderheart and needletail’s influence impacts both siblings moving forward. plus twig’s relationship to alder offers a nice alternative to the series’ typical view on adoption/chosen family. even though twig loves her birth family, her HOME is in thunderclan with alderheart!!! (also, give her a different name! pretty please! twigblossom to emphasize growth/change or twigsprout to emphasize change while also emphasizing her silly/naive nature 👀)

also, as a cat with GAD, i love alderheart as a cat with GAD. i wish he had more of a character arc than just.. uh… sudden competency, but that’s what rewrites are for!!

also, re: sparkpelt: she DOES deserve to have more focus, but i have no idea what she’d be doing lolol. i like her standing in contrast to alderheart as just a straight up child prodigy. they still love each other very much but it’s even more stressful for alder, seemingly being singled out by his dad... and when spark faces troubles later on (specifically being targeted by bramblestar/impostor), this dynamic gets flipped on its head, which is very interesting to me 👀 maybe give spark the pov on the journey, then ax it later in favor of giving the thunder pov to twig? either way, alder doesn’t necessarily NEED a pov past book one…

the smartest thing to do in regards to an AVoS rewrite is to add a windclan pov in the fallout of darktail and onestar’s drama… my heart says heathertail ❤️ but there’s probably an apprentice from this generation we can give something to that might make more sense… maybe crowfeather’s featherpaw??? OH MY GOD I FORGOT THE HEATHERBREEZE BABIES. GIVE A POINT OF VIEW TO THE HEATHERBREEZE BABIES. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE 🙏

First of all, I'M REALLY SORRY I TOOK 3 WEEKS HERE OH MY GOD!

I've been putting off answering so long partially because it's a long ask, which at times make me feel like I'm about to get yelled at and partially because uh hi? This is like the first time we interact. I think you're a really cool guy! Love your thoughts a lot and I enjoy you live reading the series!

ANYWAY, ANYWAY, onto the questions!

First of all, I have two friends at least who'd be willing to fight you on being the sole AVoS enjoyer.

Secondly, I'm digging this a lot for the stuff I'm going for! I certainly think that the back and forth in the Spark and Alder dynamic is something to touch upon. Once again I admittedly didn't make it past the halfway point in AVoS mostly because I find the guy boring but you make a good point.

I also think Twig and Violet definitely have to be a big thing. I don't think I've really gotten to where I think the meat of their arc is, but just with The Kin's stuff there's a lot I could potentially work with in regards to familial separation, the yearning for belonging, and how the way Clans conduct politics screws people over.

Now that I'm thinking about it, this seems like prime material for something to be brought up towards the back end of the arc in the reconstruction period and backfill with side content while the front part is centered on those WindClan PoVs you asked...

YES! HEATHERBREEZE BABIES! I feel like it could be a really good tie-in to the previous arc to move some of the content of Crowfeather's Trial, another book I haven't read, and what that one was attempting to do re:redeeming Breezepelt.

Smokehaze and Brindlewing could make for good contrasting perspectives storytelling as well as giving an insight into how The Kin drama is being felt on WindClan. I may also either move the epicenter of the action closer to them or do like Bones and have their takeover center WindClan directly. Also, it's good to have more female characters to balance out the roster.

I'm deliberating as to whether also to lump them in with Woodsong and Appleshine. A 4-character dynamic gets a bit complex for what should be the space of the first half of the arc, but I'm fond of large litters. Part of my motivation of brainstorming this rewrite thing is to take the most full advantage I can of writing for a species in which multiple births are the norm. And we simple have not gotten enough huge litters. I won't be at peace until I get my ridiculous 7-kit litter. Kill most of them to fading syndrome almost immediately if you must but I want them dammit!

Though on the other hand even though I'm fascinated by dynamics of multiple births and such I'm also wanting to find more opportunities to explore the other forms of siblinghood I've established in the worldbuilding and siblings with age differences between them. And while in future arcs they'd end sidelined I'm just really intrigued about the potential of Wood and Apple as side-content characters with their arc focusing in their relationship to their older sisters. Kind of similar to what I'm really itching to do with Fernsong, Sorrelstripe, and Hollytuft in the OotS-AVoS timeskip, but older siblings instead of them and the role models and parental figures in their lives.

#sibling bonds rewrite

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shiteating · 2 years ago

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i finished the limbus event ages ago but forgot to post my thoughts (still gotta grind in the upcoming weeks) but what a tour de force of an event. i quite liked it. the chickens rolling 11-13 on one coin was pretty annoying so anyone reading this who hasn't started: bring your high rollers. at any rate, i like that it gave limelight to characters that haven't had much so far— it feels as if they combed through the script of the cantos released so far and listed sinners in order of not necessarily who said the least, rather who hasn't really had a chance to show off their personality as much. i do quite understand and feel it— "gives spotlight to characters who needed it" is quite cliché praise that conveys nothing, at the end of the day. but it's true.

spoilers under the cut, for like everything potentially, but especially the event of course. (also may include my grievances with the fandom so if youre not about negativity...well if you follow me here youre probably ok but just a warning out of courtesy)

I LOVED HOW IT GAVE FOCUS TO CERTAIN SINNERS!!!! especially meursault, yi sang and hong lu!! donQ was funny!! gregor was cringefail moe!! more of ryoshu is NEVER a bad thing!! (ryoshu pussy destroyer, apropos of nothing) i think even though sinclair had his introductory canto already with arguably the best sinner to story+dungeon integration and immersion so far, its nice to see him not suffering and just being some guy. i did say "they gave the characters who didn't do much more spotlight" rather than "didn't say much" because in the grand scheme of things, sinclair didn't do that much in canto 1 and 2, and 3 was an interesting facet of him but nonetheless we hunger for these sinners in any situation funny or tragic.

but also because i have a huge issue with "XYZ doesn't talk much" sort of justification for mischaracterization. this concerns mostly yi sang and meursault. now, to preface things, usually i am not the kind of person who likes to heckle people and demand they meet prerequisities before consuming a work (well it depends, for me personally i like going in production order when it comes to games and anime but this is different+if someone came up to me demanding stuff my response would be "no way" out of spite a lot of the time. though i try to respect the work by honoring its othee branches IVE GONE OFF ON A TANGENT SORRY), but yi sang and meursault in particular are about the most straightforward original book to limbus character translations there are probably. i think i mentioned it on main before, but the solution to "i don't know how this character is" is probably to look back on the source material. i suspect it is due to the short length of their respective sources, even yi sang who seems to take after his poetry as well and not just the wings, does not come up to even 50 pages all together probably. (i have not read all his poetry but i've read crow eye's view right after this event because i was further spurned to do so, i read the wings last week) the stranger is about 100 pages. it makes sense, when you have a longer source like for example crime and punishment, you have more room to do more topsy turvy aversions like mixing sonya and rodya's convictions together and switching stuff around ever so slightly... also the genderbending but that's obvious. prosthetics racism aside, they played with sinclair a bit still, but all in all it's following most of demian's beats quite closely, down to demian magically making kromer go away in an act of demian ex machina (though on screen as opposed to off in the book, though the mystique is arguably not lost because the fucker is floating like some kind of ghost or guardian spirit. not saying he is any of this but yknow). P.S. i think if they somehow work eva into limbus i might lose my mind that was such an insane part of the book

however even before this event, in the three cantos we have available, i feel that yi sang and meursault have been adequately characterized. i read the stranger in high school so my memory on it is fuzzy, and as aforementioned i read the wings last week, and they are represented quite faithfully! not to mention meursault wasn't even scarce in canto 3! i understand that they're a little dry as characters, maybe that is seemingly boring to some people but i don't think it is an excuse. there's no REAL need to read the books and that's not my point here at all, but still, i think what we have in the game even pre-event paints a quite clear picture as it is. i'm trying my best not to sound like i'm looking down on anyone, i say this all the time but before limbussy i had only been reading non-fiction books for years because i lost my spark for fiction. i'm happy it revived it. so i'm not gonna come from the angle of "read books or die" cuz that's not me. i'm saying this because i have intense anxiety but i will repeat again that while i speak strongly and perhaps even harshly, i do not think any less of most people. though maybe i cannot hide my annoyance at fandom types much even if i am trying. <-im just a guy

though i will spill the beans on myself and admit that i feel that you miss out on so much when not reading at least some of the books. sure, some of them follow quite closely, but there'a so much fun in comparing and contrasting. seeing the subversions and aversions, and what they chose to keep as is. I LOVE IT!!! i want you guys to know this joy. and i love that my reading block is going away. btw i am reading stuff in canto order. 👍

my comments on donQ in laconic because no one wants to hear it (will oblige if you ask but it is groanworthy so i will use my discretion regardless) (also clarifying again cuz i have anxiety but i do not ever think donQ being silly is bad. she is perfect. i have 0 complaints. it is more about fandom treatment):

and then there was hong lu.

this one's a real stinker. hong lu isn't topping much of my lists but i think he is a charming and nuanced character who is unfortunately probably the most flanderized sinner next to heathcliff and donQ (THE CROWD BOOS AT THE NOTION OF DONQ BEING FLANDERIZED). as with many people, i don't know if a day may come that i will read dream of the red chamber in whole— i may attempt it of course, but the length is undeniably daunting. i don't know much about it, only that hong lu himself is not a character in it, but more like some kind of metaphysical mishmash of different elements in the novel (even his name is derived from the title itself). it is not difficult to surmise that the odds are stacked against him. i don't think this section will be too long, but i feel that not only is the nuance in his character in limbus easily disregarded, but it is being superceded entirely by this phantom of what the fandom has thrust onto him. i am not anti-fun, nor am i "you're enjoying it wrong grrr" (this is a lie i kind of am sometimes but i am self aware of it)

but even just judging from the material in limbus alone i do not see where people got the "hong lu is a frivolous shallow whore" thing outside of idk, him being a handsome somewhat kind of sort of gender non-conforming male character and acting (strong emphasis on acting) a little ditzy and being showy. he's quite sheltered, i do not deny that he says ignorant things because of his upbringing, but the event did lay it on thick in one scene that he also enjoys messing with people a bit. but i think it will still be taken super literally regardless. he is a character with hidden depths, so far not much of it is revealed, but he shows moments of great emotional intelligence at times (like in canto 3 when he told a different sort of half truth to saude about effie being "fine"... i mean it's uh. not a lie) and the guy can definitely read the room if he so chooses to do so. the moment in the event where he got a little cagey and perhaps even introspective when faust used him as an example to explain distortion was another moment of depth uncovered: i think it will be a slow process overall. which is great. there are some characters that we will continue to learn more and more about incrementally throughout the run of the game (however long that will be, but i will be there no matter what) rather than getting a seemingly complete baseline right away. (because really, everyone has hidden depths still, it's just that sinners in the position not unlike hong lu's just have MORE hidden i suspect donQ is the same— /shot

but yeah. i had a lot to think about because of the event. but i love the direction it went with showing the sinners' individuality off and who they chose to show more of. i could not be happier with it. i feel like very few mobage are able to do this balancing act of fleshing out characters outside of story. i think fgo also does it well (CROWD STARTS THROWING ROCKS AT ME)

P.S. i do not assert that my interpretation of the characters is 100% correct and infallible EVER— everyone sees things differently. however what is objectively incorrect is stuff that just ignores canon outright and on a consistent basis. at that point idk if we are reading the same text.

#m #postmortem #kinda

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tokiro07 · 2 years ago

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Undead Unluck ch.149 thoughts

[The Boys Just Call Him “Camouflage”]

[Foreward: So it’s occurred to me that the format of my chapter reviews has pretty much been page-by-page (or sometimes even panel-by-panel) summaries with a little bit of commentary, and honestly that’s not really what I want to be doing with these, so I’m going to try to be a bit more freeform with it this week if I can and see if that’s preferable. Please let me know which style you prefer! On with the review]

This chapter is exactly what I’ve been waiting for! I knew Tozuka would make me like Sean, and I knew he’d do it by leaning into EXACTLY who I thought Sean would be! Sean’s my poor little meow meow now, my cringefail son

It’s really appropriate that Sean views himself as being typecast as a side character when he’s literally the one who’s had the least screen time in the entire series. I think that Lucy’s even had more panels than him by this point, though now that he’s had an entire chapter dedicated to him, that’s probably either just changed or is about to change. Either way, it really reframes his previously minor contribution to the story in a new light, as his inferiority complex for being irrelevant, forgotten, and unseen stretches beyond the ink on the page and into the real world, with his only full bodied appearance prior to this being in his character profile. Man, even by omission, Tozuka is great at characterization!

It’s also interesting that Sean’s tragedy is the first to not actually cause a death (aside from Lucy’s). Yeah, his dad died, but there’s no indication that Sean or Unseen had anything to do with it. The tragedy is more that he’s now barred from living the life he wants as an actor taking center stage and instead is roped into living a life of crime. Of course, this unfortunate path in life is what leads to his untimely demise, which I think may be meant to be his true tragedy: aside from Shen and Rip, he’s the only Negator we ever saw die prior to Ragnarok and the only one not to be in some way revived. He had zero agency, always being dragged by the ear into horrible situations by people who were in charge of their lives, and ultimately died in obscurity, the person who killed him and who he tried to kill not even realizing he was there until he was already bleeding on the ground. Unseen in a supporting role to the very end, and he couldn’t even do that right

Even in this loop, nothing has changed: he’s still unable to perform like he wanted, he still gets dragged into a dangerous place where he can’t seem to do anything of value, and even cosmically the guy can’t even be born when he was supposed to! Sean is the ONLY Negator so far who was “born early” like Fuuko said, at least as far as we can tell, which may or may not be because even Tozuka himself forgot that Sean’s age wasn’t right for fitting him into the story he wanted to tell. Or maybe he did that on purpose to show Sean being batted around even more, who knows

Now, I do really love the confirmation that Fuuko wasn’t actually planning to use Sean in this mission initially. Like I said a couple of weeks ago, it seemed odd that Fuuko stated she wanted two more recruits and ended up with three, so knowing that Fuuko only intended on sheltering Sean so he wouldn’t get hurt helps the logic fall into place. And of course, just like in the previous loop, it’s Sean’s narcissistic need to take center stage that ultimately lands him in hot water, as he insisted that Fuuko bring him along to make use of his Unseen just like he insisted on disobeying Rip when he tried to kill Fuuko previously. Even after worming his way into the mission, he ends up being insubordinate and tries to wave the white flag to save himself, which only pisses off Creed

It’s really appropriate that Sean ends up being a major player in the fight against Creed for a few reasons. For one, they have similar ideologies: both strongly value their team (Creed with his men, Sean with is blood brothers). Second, the context they’re fighting in puts those similar ideologies completely at odds: Creed is trying to protect his men in this moment, but Sean isn’t with his blood brothers, he’s with his captors, and doesn’t want to associate with them, but to Creed, either Sean is a no-good deserter or the Union is rag-tag group who aren’t taking this battle seriously. Third, Sean is incredibly weak by Negator standards, and Creed is definitely on the higher end: this was the same set-up as his battle against Top and Chikara, wherein the two of them had to creatively use their Rules in conjunction with each other in order to overcome Creed’s. The way he’s defeated is even the same, with Top and Sean both using their abilities to come up behind Creed and disable him

The deciding factor for Sean this time, what differentiates his final moments as a member of Under and what are now his starting moments as a member of the Union, is that someone on his time actually sees him for who he is. Rip (and by extension Billy) just saw him as coworker at best and a tool at worst; they didn’t do anything to foster loyalty or to really bring out his potential, they just ordered him around and made him feel even smaller than he already did. Fuuko, however, sees how he can contribute and what insecurities are stopping him from meeting his potential, and tells him the words he needs to hear, that he isn’t just a side character. From a purely narrative standpoint, objectively he is a side character in this series, but thematically Fuuko’s words ring true: Undead Unluck follows Fuuko and Andy, but the two of them are only able to accomplish what they do because of the contributions of others. Everyone gets their time to shine, everyone gets to contribute, everyone has the opportunity to take center stage and become beloved in their own right, even if it takes some time

Isshin seemed uninteresting when she was first introduced because she was just a big faceless lug with no lines, but thanks to Fuuko, Isshin was dragged out of her shell and showed not only what she was capable of, but who she was and how she could grow and change, something that it seems Juiz just wasn’t capable of for whatever reason (that’s something I may go into eventually, but not here). Fuuko has now done the exact same thing with Sean, taking another character I was simply not interested in and made them an instant favorite

I also just really love the symbolism of “take another look at yourself,” and “I tried to turn a blind eye to them.” Unseen’s activation is closing one’s eyes, removing one’s own ability to see so that others cannot see them: Sean wasn’t just hiding from others, he was hiding from himself and refusing to see anyone else. For all his efforts to stand out and be someone important, all he ever managed to do was isolate himself further and further, preventing him from learning the true extent of his ability

As Sean said, he can only make things he views as essential to him invisible; previously we thought it was limited to “things he owned,” but now we see that he can view people as essential as well, going so far as to refer to Fuuko as one of his blood brothers. What’s really fun is that with the ability to turn a teammate invisible, he can now rely on their eyesight to navigate, eliminating his original weakness through the evolution of his ability rather than by finding a shortcut like he did last time. Instead of obsessively trying to surpass his cohorts, he now relies on the support of his friends so that he can in turn support them!

It’s such a perfect evolution for Sean’s character, and as usual, better than I ever dared to hope for! Tozuka always finds a way to surpass my expectations while still giving me pretty much exactly what I asked for. It makes for such a satisfying experience for me in a way that I don’t think any other series has ever done. Medaka Box never even gave me what I asked for this consistently! No wonder Undead Unluck so easily became a favorite on par with Medaka Box for me...

I suppose next week will be the falling action for the Creed battle and will lead into his recruitment, which I suspect will lead to him being an ally for the upcoming recruitment of Billy. I thought it was going to be the other way around, recruiting Billy to overcome Creed, but this definitely makes more sense: Billy was the leader of Under, so he should be the final boss for the Buroja conflict, possibly even finding Disc first. I wonder how exactly the fight with Billy will go...will everyone view him as an enemy except Fuuko, inadvertently giving him a ton of powers all at once? Will Tella master Untell at the perfect moment and protect Billy from the Union? Whatever happens, it’s not going to be an easy fight for the Union, and we’re definitely going to get a lot of interesting insight into his mentality and his past

As always, I’m super excited for next week’s chapter, I just can’t wait!!!

Back to what I said at the beginning of this post, I think I did a good job avoiding simply summarizing the chapter, but man it ended up being just as wordy anyway! I definitely had a lot more fun doing it this way since I feel like I got to express my actual thoughts a lot better than usual, but what do you think? Did you prefer having a recap of the events so you could better understand what actually happened, or do you feel you understand the story itself well enough and appreciate having a deeper dive into the themes instead? Let me know!

#undead unluck #fouryearsandananime #4y1a reviews

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