#hell yeaaaaah 4

[intertexts]

TRIVIA TIIIIIME. THIS IS ONE OF THE LONGEST ONES YET !!!! IM SO FUCKING HYPE FOR U TO BE HERE THIS IS A BIG MILESTONE

EPISODE 13 TRIVIA:

- FIRST OFFICIAL PIECE OF MARK WINTERS ART !!!!!! HELL YEAAAAAH THIS ONE IS SO FUCKING COOL. this man haunts me

- bizly is talking about how he was fucking SWEATING all week before they recorded this ep bc he thought for sure william and vyncent were gonna just get in there and mirder the lich immediately. grizzly starts to say something like "no i wont-" and bizly cuts him off like "im not worried about YOU. youre my shining star, my golden boy"

- charlie, in response to this: "well. you should feel better because i cant even win against a WALL"

- grizzly: "i was really hoping youd take the bait and depower the villains. i was hoping to give you a cool idea with that"

- "the lich shouldnt even be alive, hes undead, hes breaking the laws of-"

charlie, interrupting "OKAYYY HEY NOW LETS NOT SAY THINGS LIKE THAT" << GETTING. INSULTED ON WILLIAMS BEHALF. AHA

- Dakotas memory about his dad pranking him in the car is an ACTUAL THING THAT GRIZZLYS DAD USED TO DO !?!?!?!!

- "william took 4 degrees of failure from punching a wall so hard your bone popped out" "yeah kind of like how i took 4 degrees of failure from sniffing a bag of doritos. kind of like how i took 4 degrees of failure from dakota comically picking me up and throwing me into a dumpster. all my trips to the spirit world are so pathetic"

- bizly: "okay let me say. you were going to go to the spirit world at the end of this regardless, i just saw an opportunity there and took it. originally i was gonna have you see a wisp while you were alive and follow it through a door or something" << AAURGRHRGHRGGH. i loooove talking abt williams powers

- HELLOOOOO THE FUCKING ANIMATIC. GOD. MAKES ME FUCKING CRAZY

- they all want to do a body swap episode. fully freaky friday moment where they cant switch back until they learn something about each other. i also want them to do this i think it would be funny

- bizly: "i love dakota dakota is one of my favorite characters in media."

(bizly: "because i relate to him"

charlie: "well THATS worrying.")

- "dakota doesnt necessarily *ignore* the why when thing happen hes just really... slow. it takes him a long time to reflect on things. it either takes him a really long time to process things and come to a conclusion OR he will just pull sage wisdom out of thin air because hes so simple minded. he'll just think for a really long time before he comes to these ideals that ive written for him as a player. itll come around, it'll just take him a long time to get there. as a player i know what kind of hero i want dakota to end up as at the end of it all" << i cant even add anything to this. grizzlyplays i am shaking you like a sack of rocks

- another mention about how dakota and chip riptide would be best friends i love this recurring bit

- "what did you guys think about seeing wavelength in the prison"

"uhh. hes mean :("

"it was awesome seeing him again, he scares me"

"it made me feel guilty that we havent found ashe yet"

- grizzly: "if he gets out of prison im gonna kill him" << HEAD IN HANDS

- "william wisp experiences incompetence consistently"

- hey remember in the episode how when william rolled to see if he was okay breathing inside the prison cell and bizly said something along the lines of "youre only hyperventilating because you *think* you should be, youre actually fine" << think about this in context with what you know now :) and hold onto it for the beginning of 14

- theyre talking about what happened between william and mark over the 10 month timeskip: william contacted him at some point, not really about anything in particular, just to ask him if he knew anything about ashe that could help thsm find him/updating him on their progress finding ashe. then when they started playing again william stopped contacting him (for meta reasons, charlie just forgot that was an option BUT) bizly took note of that anyway and thats why mark was so hostile right off the bat. he just like. stopped hearing things from william and didnt know what was going on anymore. so when they showed up here and had no update on ashe whatsoever it just made him think they werent actually doing anything to find him

- grizzly: "man you would thing being in prison and losing his son would give this man some perspective and adjust his personality but he just became more of an asshole"

bizly: "no, the problem is youre not thinking about it from his perspective!! youre only thinking about it from dakotas point of view where hes a villain and hes doing bad things so hes bad. hes just a guy who thought he was doing what he had to do to keep his son safe"

charlie: "okay but he like locked his son up forever"

bizly: "yeah i never said he was a good person! and then some teenagers came along and made him rebel and now he wants to be a super hero and the first thing that happens is he gets possessed" << THANK YOUUUU BIZLY. THANK YOU BIZLY. JUSTICE FOR MY HORRIBLE MAN

- they keep referring to overlord as "alligator guy" because they forgot his name. charlie even at one point goes "yeah and he was a crocodile or whatever, dont you know those are power level 9" << this will never stop being funny to me

- "HEY WILLIAM what do you think about dying again"

- charlie is Very concerned about the no blood thing. his theory rn is that the archway he saw was like "crossing over" for ghosts. like fully passing on and not being ghosts anymore. seeing himself/his memories in the prison cells was very poetic, he kind of feels trapped by himself right now. hes the most curious about the 5 empty chairs and what that could possibly mean

- theyre trying to figure out who the group of 5 could possibly be. williams old group didnt have 5 people, prime defenders doesnt have 5 people even with ashe so they have no ideas right now and are excited to find out more :)

- "williams pretty fucked up right now to be honest!!! we just spent an episode and a half arguing about how we're allowed to kill the lich because its undead and not human. and then he learns hes fucking deteriorating. uh oh! now hes probabky thinking 'am i even a person?' i dont even know if he knows what to think about the spirit world right now i think hes just kind of panicked"

- "if only the ghost of party city were here, hed know what to say about this"

- "how is vyncent feeling right now?" "hes still kind of pissed. his one goal of killing the lich after all these years was just ripped away from him. hes accepted it for now but if that lich escapes. man hes gonna go nuts"

SUCH an insanely good episode dude hoooooly shit. head in hands. everybody say thank u bizlychannel!!!!! man. this was SO good man it really does feel like.... not a turning point, necessarily, but very important. honestly, really glad that by now they've had time to really like, sit with their characters & the world & let it all steep for a while? this season already really feels like such a tonal shift & kind of a step up frm season 1 so far!! (NOT that season 1 also wasn't really fucking good. but a lot of what we've got in s2 so far feels a lot more settled and cohesive) im here for it!!! LOVED the animatic that shit was crazy. if thats a precedent they're setting now im gonna go wild.

I ALSO THOUGHT THEY WERE GONNA MURDER THE LICH. i was like ohhhh great this is how we get the vigilante on the run arc its gonna be so bad theyre never gonna see tide again. phew!!!! i mean, i, too, still think the lich should be dead. but. also yeah WHAT DO YOU MEAAAN THATS A REAL THING HIS DAD DID. FUCKING CRAZY.

what else.. having so many thoughts about william's Situation . as always. man. it's so fucked up. i have no clue where any of it's going dude... the only thought i have is that i don't think. we have any real context for the five thrones thing yet. i don't think that's related to anything we already know except. mayyybe mal. i think that's some spirit world-specific bullshit! we'll see though. we'll see.

YEAH <333 DAKOTA IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS IN MEDIA TOO <33333 auaurrghghhggghhh. ohh hes so everything 2 me. also i love seeing characters who don't Get Everything Immediately. like yeah! you got time to parse through it all in yr brain man. hell yeah rotate it in ur mind for weeks before coming to a conclusion!! no one has their entire belief system hammered out in advance!!

+ also feeling fucking unhinged over mark winters. as always.

[shortcakezzzz]

to answer option one, it is currently 4 am and im not tired at all idk why

@michael-wheela @weirdo09 are you guys concerned :3

[totallynotthecrystalskull]

(Kinda Late) Nintendo Direct thoughts (2/8/23)

Teensy bit late on this one due to being at work all day, but I wanted to capture my thoughts on the latest nintendo direct (since we hadn’t had one in months and who knows when the next one is). Go over the highlights, the cool, the meh, and everything that I thought was interesting. Not gonna cover absolutely EVERYTHING, just the things that caught my attention (sorry Samba de Amigo and Fashion Dreamer, I’m sure you’re fun games and all, I just have other things I wanna talk about)Pikmin 4: Looks neat, that’s kinda all I’ve got on it. Visually it’s beautiful for a Switch game, but it’s not a franchise I’ve really cared about, so I’m pretty indifferent on it. Pretty happy for the Pikmin fans though, I know you guys have REAAAALLY been waiting on this one, so good to see it’s finally getting shown off. The dog thing Oatchi feels a little... weird though. Kinda like Pikmin’s version of Poochy or some other example of added dog-like companion getting added to a series, they always feel a little funky when added in my opinion. I dunno though, maybe it fits right in with the rest of Pikmin, I’m not exactly super knowledgeable on the series anyways. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 DLC: That’s neat for Xenoblade fans. I only ever played X on the Wii U, so I don’t have much of a connection to the series, but hope fans of the game are hyped (also, was that Shulk and an older Rex? That was kind of a surprise to see). Who knows though, maybe I’ll try the series out again sometime in the future (probs not though, they seem too big for me) Dead Cells DLC: Ok, with every update this game seems to get, the more tempted I am to get into the game. Actually, why haven’t I gotten it yet?! It looks fun as hell, and it’s got a ton of fun crossovers with Shovel Knight, Katana Zero, Castlevania, and so so so many more games. I Really gotta give it a go at this point. Ghost Trick port: oh HELL yeah, I’ve been wanting to play this one for ages now! The Ace Attorney Trilogy has been a fun way for me to get into those original DS games, and I’m hoping this Ghost Trick port will accomplish the same thing! Bayonetta Origins: It looks ok. That’s about all I’ve got for it. It’s style is pretty different from the other Bayo games which I really like, but this one’s just not really speaking to me as much. Splatoon 3 DLC: Ok, first we’re gonna get Inkopolis as a DLC... Hub? Ok, that’s a bit odd in my opinion. Like, it’ll be nice to revisit Inkopolis after ALL these years, but at the same time it’s like... it’s just a hub... DLC just for an different hub area? Feels kinda... underwhelming I guess? I dunno, just feels like a weird thing to add. As for the Side Order DLC, now THAT ONE’S catching my eyes! More Pearl and Marina, and Splat 2′s hub being completely white and covered in Coral is so mysterious, I love this!! Fire Emblem Engage DLC: I don’t care who you add, I’m not playing this FE Game! Omega Strikers: Honestly, I’ll probs forget about this game in a bit, but I do like the character designs. I dunno, looks fun enough, a neat take on Air Hockey. Might pick it up as a Multiplayer game when I have friends over (ya know, if that ever happens). Etrian Odyssey Collection: Oooooooo, ok, I’m down for this. Only ever played a bit of EOU2: The Fafnir Knight, but the mechanics of it’s dungeon crawling and custom map making was a lot of fun!! Might pick this collection up! Advance Wars 1+2 ReBoot Camp: Hell yeah! I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since it was announced!! It’s also a series I haven’t played before, but it looks so charming and fun, happy it finally has a release date! NSO GameBoy Advanced: Didn’t care much about the GB additions, but the GBA being added?! YEAAAAAH!!! I mean I wish it wasn’t a part of the Expansion pass, but also, YEAAAAAAH!!! I love the sprite work on so many GBA games, and plenty of them I’ve wanted to play myself, so I’m really happy they’re being added (especially both Superstar Saga and The Minish Cap, I fucking love the sprite work in those games so god damn much, AAAAAHHHHH!!!) Metroid Prime Remake: Hell yeah (again)! I’ve always wanted to try the Prime games, so this should be a fun way to get into the series! And available today too?!?! Mario Kart DLC: I’m liking the look of this new course, and getting Birdo in any Mario game is always awesome!! Hoping they’ll add more characters now too since we know that’s not off the table anymore. I’d love Fawful or Starlow to appear in a MK game, but let’s be realistic, that’s not happening Extras: Magalor mode in Kirby seems alright I guess, looks a little forgettable though. That Detective Danganronpa game looks weird. New Fantasy life is neat, first game was enjoyable enough, but I’ll probs pass on this new one. Neat that there’s gonna be a new Professor Layton game. The DecaPolice game looks like it could be fun, but at this point I’m hesitant on any game where you play as cops (though at the same time, it looks to be more Detective than Police, and it’s probs based more on the Japanese police rather than western police. Still hesitant though) And last, but ABSOLUTELY not least

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: This section’s probably going to get pretty long since I am a huge Zelda fan, but first, let me just say, HOLY SHIT WAS THAT MATTHEW MERCER IN ZELDA!?!?!! FUUUCK YEAAAAH!!! Ok, all of my hype aside though, I am actually a little mixed on him being in it. Not cause there’s anything wrong with Matt’s performance (dude always kills it in his roles!), but because now when I’m playing the game, I’ll just hearing him as Matthew Mercer instead of whoever he’s playing (though, that’s not bad either. Hearing Mercer playing any role is always a very enjoyable experience, dude’s got a magic voice and I love every bit of it). And better yet, was he playing mother-fuckin’ GANONDORF?!?! I mean, he’s not immediately who I would’ve imagined for Ganondorf’s voice, but god damn am I always down for some more wonderful Matthew Mercer villain dialogue, especially for my favorite Villain!! But that said though... there’s also the possibility that the trailer mislead us and he’s NOT going to be Ganondorf, but instead playing the role of a new hidden villain instead (another Zant, Ghirahim, Astor, ect., an evil minion type character). I thought it was a little odd that there weren’t any shots of Ganondorf actually speaking, and Mercer’s voice feels a little mismatched for the (currently) dried up and mummified corpse of the Gerudo King, so that makes me wonder if we’re actually hearing dialogue from an unrevealed new villain (though alternatively it could just be dialogue from a... *ahem*,Rehydrated Ganondorf, but we don’t know if that’s going to actually happen or not). I’m not entirely sold on this theory myself (as I could very easily just be looking too far into some small details), but it is a theory I did want to bring up. The Dialogue and framing certainly point to him possibly being the King of all Evil, but those little things... it just feels... a little suspicious is all. As for everything else in the trailer though, OH MY GOD AM I HYPED!!! More Zonai stuff, plenty more enemy varieties, it looks like we’re getting both some sky islands AND underground stuff, there looks to be a ton of interesting changes to hyrule itself, and I CAN’T TELL IF THAT WAS A REDEAD OR A STALFOS BUT OH MY GOD AM I HAPPY THEY’RE BACK!! Looks like we’re getting some new Shiekah stuff, lots of new Zonai stuff, and Link’s new arm looks so interesting!! God am I hyped for this SO GOD DAMN MUCH!!! May can’t come soon enough!!

[fiendishfyre]

tag game: shuffle your library, list 10 songs, and tag 10 people Thank you @the-francakes for the tag!!! c: My library is a fooking mess, my bad. I like lots of music. Sooooorry. 1) Winters // Oceans of Slumber 2) Dororo // Asian Kung-Fu Generation 3) What Comes Next // Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, watch it now!) 4) A Place in My Head // Linkin Park 5) Where Did You Sleep Last Night // Nirvana 6) I Will Survive // Gloria Gaynor 7) A Better Version // Jessie Shelton (36 Questions) 8) Mamma Mia! // ABBA (Hell yeaaaaah) 9) Pad The Road Wi Me // Malinky 10) Monsters // All Time Low (Feat. Blackbear) If ya been already tagged, ignore! @stopme @siriusly-sapphic @laeveteinn @maidenwychelm @siriuslystarbucks @anemicc-royalty @deadgayfurrywizardsinthe70s @chelonie @crying-lightningx @wanderingdonut

[seansilv25]

DEATH BATTLE LIVES!!!

That's right, Boomstick! With $737,442 raised (almost 10 times the initial goal!) Death Battle gets to keep going on strong! And in commemoration of the Kickstarter wrapping up, I might as well give my thoughts on all the matchups confirmed through the stretch goals!

Bardock vs Omni-Man (Dragon Ball vs Invincible):

Feels a bit wrong seeing Omni-Man again after only two years, not gonna lie. But at least this time around, he'll actually have some kind of challenge to face in an old-school Saiyan. (Watch them somehow still squeeze in that damn universe shockwave feat)

Bowser vs Eggman (Super Mario vs Sonic the Hedgehog):

The fact that they squeezed in a reference to Eggman's announcement and Bowser's Hotel Mario meme face was perfection. And the animation preview looks absolutely sick. Let's just hope that Bowser got whatever he had on the Moon in Odyssey off there, because we all know what's coming to it...

Kratos vs Asura (God of War vs Asura's Wrath):

The eternal bridesmaid finally gets its chance to shine! And honestly, I don't exactly get the hype around it all to much. I mean it can be cool, yeah, but second place in both Championship polls? How? Not only that, but remember when Kratos' most wanted opponent was Dante instead of Asura? Pepperidge Farms remembers.

Mahito vs Shigaraki (Jujutsu Kaisen vs My Hero Academia):

I haven't watched MHA since season 4 and have never seen JJK so I have nothing to say.

Aang vs Traveler (Avatar: The Last Airbender vs Genshin Impact):

I'm not to hyped on this one either. I don't watch Avatar, and while I like a good few characters in Genshin, the Traveler is one I'm neutral on (Not to mention how I dipped out of the story mid-way through Sumeru). I guess it could be cool, but to me, this one is a bit more filler-like in my eyes.

Ash vs Yugi (Pokémon vs Yu-Gi-Oh!):

Aside from the episode 200 factor, this one is really interesting due to the many ways they could handle it. Since it likely won't be Ash and Yugi themselves throwing hands, it all comes down to what "monsters" are brought onto the battlefield. Obviously, we'll have Pikachu and Dark Magician, but we could also get Ash-Greninja, or Exodia the Forbidden One! Hell, maybe even "weaker" ones like Rowlet or Pot of Greed, which allows Yugi to draw three additional cards from his deck and place them in his hand!

Simon the Digger vs Kyle Rayner (Gurren Lagaan vs DC):

Welcome one of the most infamously back-and-forth toxic debates, in my eyes. While not on the same caliber as Bill vs Discord or Joker vs Giorno, I've seen the tides of debate shift on this so many times. And I... don't really care all that much. The White Lanterns are an area of DC I'm not that familiar with, and I tried watching Gurren Lagaan a few years back but lost interest after the time skip. Not only that, but I feel like the main reason people got interested in this matchup is because of Will of the Drill, and people, lemme break it to you; It's probably not gonna get used in the actual episode. Not saying it absolutely won't, but the chances are slim.

Ruby vs Maka (RWBY vs Soul Eater):

While I've only seen the first 4 volumes of RWBY and know nothing about Soul Eater outside of Venom vs Crona, I guess this one could be interesting. Though I can almost guarantee you that there will be some kind of scythe-lock moment in the fight. It's practically inevitable.

Hulk vs Godzilla (Marvel vs Toho):

I feel like I'm one of the few people who are actually into this matchup. Most people I've seen talk about it online are usually either neutral or flat-out dislike it. Or even weirder, only like it if its MCU Hulk vs Monsterverse Godzilla (And I have no idea why) but I'm really down for this. Here's to hoping Hulk grabs big G by the tail and gives him the Puny God treatment.

Gru vs Megamind (Illumination vs Dreamworks):

WOOOOOOO!! YEAAAAAH, BAYBEEEEEE! That's what I've been waiting for! That's what it's all about! WOOOOOOOO!

But seriously, I'm really happy this episode is finally happening. While it's not my most wanted episode (Infinity Ultron vs Heaven Ascension DIO), my second-most wanted episode (Borg vs Cybermen), and so on and so-forth, this one can still be a grand old time. It'll also likely be an easy wash for Megamind so long as he, y'know... S H O O T S G R U W I T H T H E D E H Y D R A T I O N G U N ! !

And with that, that only leaves us with one episode slot to cover... kinda: the fan-voted rematch slot. Since this one has yet to be decided, I'll tackle this one by saying which episode I'd vote for. And that would be...

Shadow vs Mewtwo (Like a good amount of people seem to be going with)

Hey, I can't help it if that episode sucked and deserved better for such a fitting matchup. It's at least a tad more interesting of a revisit than Master Chief vs Doom Slayer. Not to mention how Shadow's new Doom powers could shake things up from the first time around.

But nevertheless, the future of Death Battle is looking bright, and I look forward to analyzing a bunch of characters weapons, armor, and skills once more.

[flightfoot]

I missed this in my season 4 ask but I was wondering your opinion on the Trade Ya! episode.

First off is why can’t you exchange currency for any of the items. Surely monetary compensation for a rare item would be an acceptable trade.

Second how was the trade for Fluttershy even legal? Hell how is an exotic animal stand even legal? Is there an Equestria customs to go through?

Rainbow Dash really traded her friend without permission and put Fluttershy, who is socially awkward, in a bad situation for a book. And she only brought a rusty horseshoe to trade? Rainbow Dash episodes really do be hit or miss.

Yeaaaaah Trade Ya was a very controversial episode when it released for the exact reasons you've outlined. Especially the "trading Fluttershy's services" bit. Rainbow Dash episodes are very much hit or miss. She tends to get ahead of herself and in cases like this, doesn't notice until later that she's hurt someone in the pursuit of her goal.

Overall the episode was okay I guess, but I didn't find it all that interesting, honestly.

[colourme-feral]

I posted 552 times in 2022

That's 552 more posts than 2021!

193 posts created (35%)

359 posts reblogged (65%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@respectthepetty

@smittenskitten

@moonlightchicken

@aprilblossomgirl

@kinnporschesource

I tagged 551 of my posts in 2022

#kinnporsche - 240 posts

#kinnporsche the series - 240 posts

#kinnporsche the filming locations - 61 posts

#vice versa - 59 posts

#vice versa the series - 58 posts

#a tale of thousand stars - 49 posts

#atots - 49 posts

#vice versa the locations - 45 posts

#the eclipse - 39 posts

#the eclipse the series - 36 posts

Longest Tag: 123 characters

#am i enjoying the fact that mangkorn currently doesn't have the upper hand? yeaaaaah maybeeeeee a bit too much 🤷🤷‍♀️🤷‍♂️

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

A little about the scene where Tankhun is burning joss paper for Pete:

This is not a funeral.

They are burning joss paper (also known as hell money) for Pete in the afterlife, whom we realise is still alive shortly after. I don’t know that much about the practice, but from what I do know, this is a form of ancestor worship, but it can also be done for family members or people you know who are dead. You only really do it if you care for the deceased.

The burning of the joss paper is meant to provide for the deceased in their afterlife, as well as to appease King Yama, who is the ruler of Hell. The items burnt are supposed to be replicas of what the living have.

The human effigies on the very right of the table are a replacement for living offerings, which were things like animals, but also humans. Over time, living offerings changed and they became replaced by things, such as grass and terracotta.

(An example of this is Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s unearthed tomb and the terracotta warriors, although evidence of living offerings were actually also found in the tomb. Sorry, I was a little obsessed with this for a while.)

See the full post

154 notes - Posted July 4, 2022

#4

Wild thought: Does Korn allow two of his sons to do whatever they want because from his experience with his own brother, Karn, two members of the same family being in the business will cause problems, like the ones he's currently facing?

This would explain why he likely bought the win in Kinn's singing competition, back when Kinn was presumably still just the spare and Tankhun was still the heir to the mafia empire.

It then makes sense why he isn't pushing present day Tankhun or Kim to be in the business, since there's Kinn, who is his current heir. Korn chooses to let his oldest son be eccentric and youngest be a musician.

By allowing two of his sons to do things that have nothing to do with his empire, Korn is able to throw his support behind Kinn and when Kinn takes over, there won't be anyone supporting his brothers to take over instead, since neither has developed any ties or power in that world.

This completely solidifies Kinn's power and position as heir and also rids Kinn of the future potential power play that might arise amongst the brothers otherwise.

You could also argue that this move will also help the three brothers maintain their relationship, since they won't be fighting, like Korn and Karn are currently doing, but that's for another post.

157 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

#3

Kinnporsche locations IRL

Kinnporsche: The boat which Porsche wakes up on after being kidnapped by Kinn and where Kinn tells him to be his bodyguard, but Porsche says he’d rather die.

IRL: Banyan Tree Bangkok’s dinner cruise boat

See the full post

162 notes - Posted June 17, 2022

#2

Doing a casual SCOY rewatch and I noticed some filming locations that it shares with other Thai BLs (SCOY ep 1-5 so far)

SCOY and Bad Buddy

SCOY and Ghost Host Ghost House

See the full post

184 notes - Posted November 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Visually speaking, there’s so much call back here: They are on the boat that Kinn asked Porsche to be his bodyguard and in the background, is Wat Arun, where Kinn and Porsche first kissed on the pier and then ended their first date.

Of course, there’s also the fact that Tankhun is excited to be going out with his brother and his brother’s friends, which is completely different from the Tankhun in episode 2, who chose to stay away from people and not leave his home.

In the background is the bridge that Kinn and Big were being pursued, in the first episode, which lead him to Hum Bar (Yok’s Bar) and of course, to Porsche.

See the full post

249 notes - Posted July 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[lovedsammy]

stranger things s04e05 liveblog

I’m getting tired and need to sleep after this but holy HELL IM STILL SHAKING FRMO EP 4

Poor Argyle getting dragged into this. 

FUCKING BRENNER IS ALIVE DAMN IT

FUCK YOU 

GET AWAY FROM HER

I’m so angry at Owens. I know she agreed to this but she never would’ve if she knew HE was there. If HE was alive. My poor girl. 

Max is doing a little better now, I’m so glad. I love that “Running Up That Hill” is her theme. I love that song so much and hearing it played so much really is my favorite thing.

OH. 

NOPE.

FUCK. YOU. BRENNER.

I knew she was going to get her head shaved again. And I wanted it to b HER choice if she had to go through with it. But they forced it on her. FUCK.

Her reaction to her hair being gone... this is disgusting. I’m crying. 

Hair’s not a big deal, yeah, but for her it was something she chose for herself. She loved her hair. How dare you take that from her. 

I hope she kills every last person here tbh 

what the fuck? is this a simulation or a dream or something?

How did Owens get acquainted with this fucker anyway? Why didn’t he say Brenner was alive?

Yeaaaaah there’s evident Byler right now, but idk if it’s one-sided. It seems like it. 

Hopper ;A;

Aaand into the Creel house we go!

This orderly in El’s memory... did he kill the children? This is so suspicious. 

We’re getting Suzie’s help? Okay, awesome!

Lucas and Max are precious. ;A;

I knew it! I knew El didn’t do it!

omg Brenner is such an ass just being fine with her going into arrest

lol damn Murray

OH BOOM

IM SO GLAD EL GOT A FUCKING HIT IN ON BRENNER! YES!!!

YES BABY GIRL YOUR POWERS ARE BACK

or not

you know what

El, use this bastard and then tell him off. PLEASE.

[bebethsas]

yeaaaaah

this was the video that reminded me with CHRYSTAL-CLEAR QUALITY exactly why we collectively don’t like Jason, and why he’s flanderized into an absolute irredeamable a-hole of a cardboard cut-out in fanfics.

see, I only dove head-first back into this fandom a few weeks ago. It’d been almost a year since I watched season 4, and apparently not enough details stuck in my head, because I forgot *everything* in this video except for the town meeting.

lol, which meant for ~1-2 weeks, I was wandering around assuming that Jason was acting out of pure grief for his girlfriend, and acting unhinged (again, only memory: town meeting) was his way of exorcising that grief, and the (Hellcheer) fandom’s going a bit too hard on him, and ‘hey maybe y’all should cut him some slack in your fanfics, I know his existence interferes with the ship, but there’s other ways to write him!!’ *cue kumbaya playing*

...yeah, uh, NOPE!!

Because then I hazily remembered him encountering Nancy at The War Zone, remembered that he threatened ALL the members of Hellfire club, including Nancy’s 15-year-old brother, (who btw, hasn’t even been in the STATE, let alone the town, while all this is happening in Hawkins, and in the eyes of the law is COMPLETELY innocent of the Crimes happening, so Jason doesn’t even have a murder accusation/ ��justice’ as an excuse to attack him) and went ‘yeah no, there’s grieving a loved one, and then there’s outright hate and intent to murder.’

(also, it’s so obvious that he and the team are stocking up with weapons like they’re a raiding/ hunting party--that last scene with the guy showing off the hunting knife before sliding it into its sheaf will haunt me--and NOT like they’re planning on fighting The Forces of Evil (Satan). Like, where are your crosses? your holy water? your huge-ass containers of salt for barriers? where is your goddamn sage sachet for you to burn, in order to cleanse the area of evil???

noooo. it’s PAINFULLY obvious that he + his friends really wanted to go ‘off- leash’ and see what The Freak is really made of. Literally. As in, turn him into a human-sized version of the frog dissection in biology. They weren’t going to stop with a bullet clean between the eyes, hell naw. What’s the “fUn” (mocking, derogatory) in that? They’re gonna enjoy it, make him pay for every little jab he’s given them at school, and pummel him until you can’t tell which bit was which.) (retch) (no really I feel like I need to take a goddamn SHOWER after writing all that.)

[ritchieblackless]

I was tagged by my Greek Goddess @thespiritofvexation ♥️🧡🥁 Thank you very much I was missing tag games!

1. Why did you choose your url?

Here comes again... I was saving some Dleep Purple pics and I found some pics from Ian Gillan's wedding in 1984 and among these pics there was Ritchie dressed in pastel colours and I thought "Oh, Ritchie BlackLESS" and that's it.

2. Any side blogs? if you have them, name them and why you have them.

Well, @incorrect-deepurple is one (omg is dead I'm so sorry you all) I created it back in the day because I thought It could be fun and it was. And @bluefires-oforc is the other one. I have that one because I love Rutger Hauer so much but he didn't fit in my "theme".

3. How long have you been on tumblr?

Since 2016 but not with this blog. When I started Tumblr I had a blog called M4r7in4 but I don't know why Tumblr deleted it (because that url name was utterly horrible that's why hahdhdhsj). Then in 2018 I started with Ritchieblackless.

4. Do you have a queue tag?

Nope, because I don't know why I would have one for... For me they are kinda useless.. at least for me 'cause I don't use them.

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

Because I was so obsessed with Deep Purple and this blog was meant to be another Deep Purple ruler based mostly in Gillmore BUT THEN SOME THINGS HAPPENED and here I am running a Blog dedicated to Cozy Powell.

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

The Icon usually chooses me... is like: "I'm a very gorgeous, heaven sent-pic use me use me use me use me" and here I am changing my icon each time you blink.

7. Why did you choose your header?

Personal reasons... >;) cozyissohot

9. How many mutuals do you have?

A few and I love them with my entire heart ❤

10. How many followers do you have?

350 I believe... We are a small community here.

11. How many people do you follow?

200+ I think

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

Of course.... who the hell doesn't make a shitpost? It's like brushing your teeth.

13. How often do you use tumblr each day?

I use Tumblr enough until I reach that moment when I close the app I open it again...

14. Did you ever have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

Of course.... Mostly are my fault because I tend to be a little pushy without realizing it... I mean I like to say things with pun intended... I'm terrible I know I'm trying to change I swear. I have a very bad temper I'm sorry you all I'm so sorry

15. How do you feel about "you need to reblog this" posts?

Well, I usually look at those post with a "ew" face. I mean not pun intended (I swear) but most of them are political or LGTB+ or Jewish, Feminist or Black Lives Matter posts and is not like I'm not with them, I support them of course but I don't need to reblog those post everyday at every hour to hold my posture. I mean the worst part is that if you don't reblog those posts you're cruel or you're careless (Well I can't care less about feminism really) or mean and they judge you before knowing you or even your opinions and I'm not exaggerating, that is what happens.

16. Do you like tag games?

YEAH They are so much fun.

17. Do you like ask games?

YEAAAAAH When you get them is very distracting and interactive.

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

Err... I don't really know what this means but I think that my mutuals are famous in their own way <3.

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

Mmmh, I don't think so, no... But I love my mutuals in a platonic way because they all are so sexy and nice.

20. Tags

@akihikotakahashi @northwestofinsanity @madd-maxx @0mmadawn @melloclastic @yesterdaysanswers @quadraphonictypewriter @vibesfromepicforest @whossmashedguitar @guitarnoir @lovely-menza

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Side Effects ch.4 (baon)

Summary:  Jeff wasn't in California for the attack, but it doesn't mean he's unaffected.

Tags:  Spicyhoney, Domestic Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Flirting, Mentions of Collars

CH1 | CH2 | CH3

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

~~*~~

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

...Lawyer, Spy

Jeff(Andy), Antwan, Red, Sans

~~*~~

Jeff could hear the shower running and that more even than any jangling alarm was a sign it was time to get up. Antwan was a stickler in the mornings, he had a routine to go through and he did it like missing out on a proper moisturizing would ruin the day.

Not that Jeff was judging or anything; he couldn’t exactly argue that he didn’t appreciate the efforts. His own daily regiment tended not to have quite so many steps but even so, Jeff’s mental twin, Andy, was wishing that they could skip it all and stay in bed for the day, have a fierce game of ‘Word With Friends’ with Stretch be his most challenging task ahead.

He wasn’t complaining about the workload, hell, no, especially not with so much on the line. Ever since the whole California disaster came down, the entire Embassy had been working feverishly. Public Relations in particular took a hard hit with Humans yet again questioning the safety of having Monster’s living among them.

Jeff didn’t have a problem working hard. He’d spent a long time going to school full time and working alongside it, there’d been plenty of long days in his past. No other job had ever made him want to try so hard as this one. No days of dropping French fries in hot grease or shelving books could compare to knowing he was helping the people walking the streets of New New Home. Monsters who knew his name, who took the time to stop and chat with him or helped him out the time he got a flat tire. All of them depending on the Embassy to ensure they were able to live in this world.

He couldn’t pretend it all wasn’t a little daunting. Before taking Edge’s job offer, his biggest concern was finding an antique book in time for some birthday or a special anniversary. But now he had the neighborhood kids to think about, the ones Stretch was always teaching experiments or playing games with. The stress was getting laid on thick and the past few nights his sleep had been interrupted by nightmares.

Jeff sighed and rolled over, one hand absently settling over his abdomen where the scars were still pink and fresh. The dreams didn’t even have the kindness to be accurate and instead gave him exaggerated memories of pain and blood, of nightmarish men with grinning faces and knives for fingers with the sign for ‘Golden City’ hanging overhead like a bloated moon.

He’d woken in the darkness of the bedroom, tasting sweat and tears. As tired as Antwan was, he seemed to have a spider-sense for those bad dream nights. He’d wake up and turn on the light, the dim yellow glow illuminating the room and showing Jeff that he wasn’t on a dirty sidewalk with cigarette butts getting squashed into his clothes. Nothing around them but furniture and shelves, surrounded by orderly life. Next step was to pull Jeff into his arms and soothing his fears away, murmuring over and over that he loved him, that he was safe, that everything was okay, until he was able to sleep again.

It gave him a hell of a case of the guilts to keep Antwan up, but he still did it, settling into his arms, hoarding every single ‘I love you’ into his mental scrapbook. But the whole nightmare thing was stupid, and frustrating. Really, he hadn’t had this many problems when the whole stabbing actually happened. Why it was bothering him now, Jeff didn’t know, but if it had to be crawling out of the dark corners of his psyche to bother him, at least he could be grateful that Antwan was with him.

The shower was still running. Jeff reached over to grab one of Antwan’s pillows, burying his face against satin. It smelled like him, his cologne and shampoo that came in expensive-looking unmarked bottles. But not sex, not even a whiff of it, because they hadn’t done anything of the sort since the last time the sheets were washed. Mind and body were too tired, they both fell into bed, slept (or woke up to stupid nightmares), woke up, headed in to work. Wash, rinse, repeat.

But.

Jeff didn’t think he’d ever shared a bed with someone who was content just to sleep. Sex was usually a given, expected and doled out. Without it, the best he would have gotten in any of his past relationships was a weak offer to pay for an Uber.

It was…nice. To be able to lay in Antwan’s bed and not worry that the first thing out of his mouth would be ‘are you still here?’, but could be ‘I love you’ or ‘morning, baby,’ or even a quick question about going out to dinner before they came home.

Huh. Home.

Jeff wondered what Antwan would think if he knew Jeff was calling it that in his head. He didn’t think he’d mind. He hoped he wouldn’t.

That made him think guilty of Blue’s house. He only ever stopped in lately to change his clothes, stubbornly refusing to bring more than an overnight bag to Antwan’s. It felt cruel, they’d only been roommate for a couple of months and already Jeff was yearning to leave. With everything that happened, that painfully close call, all Jeff wanted was to pull Antwan closer and he kinda thought Antwan felt the same way. Plus, there was so much he had to handle right now, the Legal department was flooded with work and he wasn’t sure if Antwan even made it to see Edge yet.

Of anyone, Edge would understand but it probably didn’t make Antwan any happier about it.

The bathroom door opening interrupted his wallowing, Antwan wandered in from the shower with the towel his hips dangerously low. Made for a hell of a nice view, especially when instead of beelining to the closet, he detoured to the bed, sitting on the edge and leaning in for a kiss. “Morning, baby.”

“My breath is awful,” Jeff protested weakly.

“Don’t care.” But Antwan let Jeff keep it to a closed-mouth peck. When they drew apart, Antwan’s grin widened slyly. “I could give you a kiss someplace that won’t mind morning breath.”

“If you had time for that, you wouldn’t have taken a shower already,” Jeff said dryly, firmly instructing all places below the belt not to give in to the tease.

Antwan leaned away with a groan. “You’re right, we have depositions this morning and I need to get in. Take a rain check, sweetheart.”

“I’ll add it to the collection.”

It was meant a as a tease, but Antwan swooped down on him again and his mouth was as fierce as his words, uncaring of morning breath. “You better. Once things get settled down, I expect you to call them in. When do you have to go in?”

“Not until this afternoon,” Jeff admitted. His lower half was starting to…ahem…raise a protest about all the teasing. A dirty pun, Stretch would be so proud. “Catty told me to sleep in a little.” What she’d actually said was it looked like he was trying to smuggle luggage under his eyes, so he better get a little more sleep before coming back in before he ended up with a full set of fake Louis Vuitton.

One thing he was quickly learning was that the whole taking care of thing? It wasn’t just the skeleton Monsters who did it, plenty of others gave it their best shot. Perfect example, Janice, Edge’s assistant, brought muffins or treats down to the break room at least once a week. It hadn’t escaped Jeff’s notice that since Edge was out of commission, the style of those baked goods changed. Like maybe they were coming from a different kitchen, one attached to the Bun bakery, from a kind-hearted Bun lady who would feed up the Embassy for her boss until he returned.

And then there was Catty, brash and boisterous behind the scenes, but amazingly good at knowing the right thing to say in a press release or a speech. There was no hiding his exhaustion from her keen eyes and so he’d meekly agreed to come in later and sleep away his looming eye bags. If he was going to get any Louis Vuitton, he wanted it to be the real deal.

Still sitting on the bed, Antwan hummed thoughtfully. “This afternoon? Then can I get you to do a quick favor for me before you go in?”

That was unexpected. Curious. “Sure.”

Antwan went into the closet and when he came back out, he was regretfully wearing trousers but also carrying a small box, not much bigger than an Altoids tin. “Swing by Red’s place and drop this off. He’s out sick right now so he won’t be at the Embassy. It might have more impact coming from you, anyway. You know how to get there?”

He didn’t, but the address Antwan gave him wasn’t far. “What is it?”

Yeah, okay, that smile was kinda grim and evil. “He’ll know.”

Jeff took the box, warily. “I’d like to say now that I am opposed to getting in the middle of some kind of prank war between you and Red.”

“No pranks,” Antwan reassured him. “Fuck, no, I wouldn’t do that to you without hiring a bodyguard first. Ask him what they are.”

Yeaaaaah, that probably wasn’t gonna happen. Antwan disappeared back into the closet and Jeff rolled back over, planning on getting a little more of that sweet, sweet morning off sleep. Dealing with what was in the box could wait.

~~*~~

The address Antwan gave Jeff was for the neighborhood that everyone called Old New Home. He drove down the road curiously, tires crunching on the barely plowed pavement. From what he knew, not many Monsters still lived here. Stretch told him these houses were ones put up hastily when they’d first arrived, not much more than a roof over their heads and nothing like the nice, spacious homes everyone was living in now. Some Monsters hadn’t wanted to move, though, and Asgore didn’t force a new place on anyone. But it did mean that the streets were emptier than any others Jeff had seen. The houses weren’t falling down or anything, but most of them did give off an aura of disuse.

The house with the number plate that Antwan gave him was only a step up. Nothing was shoveled but there were footsteps through the snow, leading up to the sidewalk and porch. The driveway was empty; come to think of it, he wasn’t sure Red owned a car, and the curtains were drawn tight over a picture window.

There was no one on the street, the neighboring houses sat with empty, staring windows and untouched snow on their walkways.

Yeah, wow, no Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibes here.

Jeff parked his car on the street and got out, box in hand. There was no way Antwan sent him on a morning death trip, Jeff told himself sternly, following the tamped down path to the door. For one, if Antwan wanted to get rid of him, there had to be easier ways than death by the semi-creepy skeleton gremlin he’d smoked weed with once.

He made it to the door and knocked lightly, hesitantly. Antwan said something about Red being sick and much as he wanted to shove the box at him and hightail it out, he didn’t really want to wake him if he was sleeping it off.

What he did not expect was an entirely different short skeleton to answer the door. Jeff readjusted his perceptions from red to blue as Sans looked up at him.

“heya, andy,” he yawned. He stepped back and held open the door “c’mon in.”

If Red had answered the door, Jeff probably would have shoved the box at him and left. He was Edge’s brother and he worked for the Embassy, so he had to be a good guy, but something about Red was so damned intense. Their private chat a little while ago in his office had been…illuminating and Jeff wouldn’t mind chatting with Red again, but only on his own turf.

Sans, though, he was something else. Jeff liked Sans; they’d done some work together a while back in Stretch’s old lab. Well, okay, Sans did the science and Jeff cleaned up, but still. He seemed a little like Stretch, all puns and hoodies, but Jeff wasn’t really convinced.

He had a bead on everyone else; Edge was a stoic knight in need of some shining armor, and Stretch was the cuttingly brilliant court jester/magician. Red was wearing his secret agent gear and Blue was the caretaker, ready to hop in at any given moment with plenty of tea and opinions. Papyrus was the kid brother Jeff never had and always wanted and that left Sans as…what?

And enigma that was what, hiding secrets behind that permanent smile, and Jeff followed him into the house, asking, “Helping out Red while he’s sick?”

“somethin’ like that,” Sans said agreeably. He was wearing fuzzy pink slippers, socks sagging down his ankles. “want some coffee?”

“Um.” Jeff looked around. The house was…well. Jeff had lived in the college dorms and recently with four other guys crammed into an apartment, and none of those places had been quite this level of trashed. The sofa was sagging at an odd angle, standing despite what was probably a few broken struts. There was a fine litter of trash everywhere, the few clean places like islands with filled garbage bags in the middle. A tabby cat was on the coffee table, tail swishing as it stared at Jeff with deep, all-seeing eyes that made him want to shiver. Hell, if that was what cats were like in New New Home, no wonder Stretch didn’t like them.

Sans’s grin widened, clearly unoffended by Jeff’s lack of enthusiasm. “don’t worry, the kitchen is clean. c’mon, handy andy, caffeine is the best social lubricant they ever came up with.”

He was right about one thing, the kitchen was a lot cleaner and on the counter was a Keurig, the newest looking thing in the whole house. Sans brewed a cup for Jeff and handed it over, leaning against the counter while he started up a second.

Sans waited long enough for Jeff to doctor his coffee with sugar and cream, then asked, “so what can i do for you?”

“Um, Antwan asked me to bring Red this box.” Jeff pulled it out of his pocket and set it on the table, plain and innocuous. Sans hummed curiously and grabbed his cup of coffee, wandering over to the table.

He poked the box with an idle finger, “antwan did, huh. normally, that wouldn’t worry me too much, but he and red were squabbling not too long ago.”

“Squabbling?” That was news to him, he’d always thought Antwan and Red were at least okay friends. They had a regular outing on Wednesdays at the bar, talking about who the hell knew what, maybe only watching a game? Jeff wasn’t much into sports and a couple times, Jeff went to bed without Antwan on a Wednesday and got woken up by whiskey-sweet kisses that turned into some great sex. Hanging out with Red relaxed Antwan, usually, and Jeff had a vested interest in hoping those two weren’t on the outs. “About what?”

“oh, you know,” Sans said absently. He reached up, those bony fingers settling at his throat and for the first time Jeff noticed that over the collar of Sans’s shirt he was wearing what looked like a choker of some sort.

He’d never seen Sans wearing anything but his normal hoodie and shorts, with the only exception being Stretch and Edge’s wedding. Something that pretty on him almost seemed out of place, delicately tooled leather with an intricate buckle.

“Wow, that’s really nice! Detailed work, is it new?” Jeff reached out without thinking and Sans slid back a step so smoothly it hardly looked like he moved at all. That woke his stupid ass up; for crying out loud, Sans was wearing a collar with a heart buckle and he didn’t twig to it? A hot blush flooded his face as Jeff stammered out, “Oh, fuck, sorry! Of course, it’s personal, that was so stupid of me!”

“nah, it’s okay, andy, you didn’t know,” Sans’s easy grin didn’t fade one iota, perfectly cheerful. “it is new, still getting used to it.” Jeff nodded so hard his neck joints popped and Sans picked up the box, shaking it lightly. “any idea what it is?”

“Antwan told me to ask Red,” Jeff admitted.

“huh. why don’t we find out?”

Curiosity overwhelmed Jeff, drowning any guilt and leftover embarrassment. Hey, he wasn’t the one opening it, right?”

Sans slit open the tape holding the box closed with one bony finger, lifting the lid. His eye lights flared, a mini supernova of white, then dimmed back down, showing nothing but amusement. “heh, okay, hint taken.”

Jeff only frowned, peering at the contents. They looked like thumbtacks, cuff-links? He wasn’t sure, weird rounded bits of metal with pokey-looking ends. “What are they?”

“all the surveillance devices red hid in your place.”

Sans said it with such ease that it took a second for Jeff to actually hear the words. “Wait, what?”

Sans offered a lazy shrug. “it’s just audio and he keeps ‘em to the common areas, no bedrooms or johns. look at it this way, red has unique ways of showing he cares. he doesn’t even listen to ‘em, really, it’s more like…just in case.”

That seemed like a whale-sized understatement. But Antwan clearly wasn’t too upset about it if all he was doing was returning them to the sender.

Probably he should be pissed off about this. At Red, Antwan, even Sans, it was obvious he knew about them and no one bothered to give him a heads up. It was a huge damned invasion of privacy and if Jeff found them in an AirBnB he probably would have the police on the phone.

But instead he found himself weirdly touched, almost giggling at the mental image of Red creeping through the patio door to plant listening devices in their kitchen, sneakers creaking with every step like an old-timey cartoon.

He wondered a little giddily what the first signs of Stockholm syndrome were.

Bemused, Jeff shook the box. There were a lot of them. “So, how many are at Edge and Stretch’s place?”

“heh, i’m not even sure he knows anymore.”

“i know exactly how many, and where they all are, thanks.” That voice came from the doorway and Jeff jerked, almost spilling his coffee as he turned to see Red standing there, hands tucked into his pockets, grinning at them both with sharky teeth.

He was wearing a ratty sweatshirt and shorts, his trademark jacket missing and his bony feet bare. It made him look smaller and maybe most people would seem more vulnerable like that, stripped down to their basics. Jeff didn’t think much could make that word apply to Red. Instead, it made him think of the way a mongoose could fight a cobra.

Red wandered in and Jeff was pretty sure the surprise on Sans’s face was mirrored on his own when Red gave Sans a kiss, stealing his coffee cup in the process. He kept an arm slung around Sans, who looked positively frozen, sockets wide, his eye lights extinguished, wow, that was the face of someone who needed a processor reboot, stat.

“like the new gear, huh.” Red smirked, licking his teeth as he ran what could only be called a possessive thumb over that smooth black leather. “he finally has my name all over him.” And before Jeff could come up with anything to say to that, Red looked him over, assessing. “you’d look good in one, too. maybe i should mention it to antwan.”

Okay, holy shit, back this way the hell up. “I…uh…I’d really rather you didn’t.”

Red licked his teeth again, those crimson eye lights glittering with fiendish humor. “don’t play those games, huh?”

Well he wouldn’t say that--”Um…I think Antwan might be grouchy with you.” He reached out and pushed the little box in Red’s direction and it was not in desperate self-preservation, thank you, he was only making sure he could tell Antwan honestly that he’d given it to Red.

“no sense of humor,” Red murmured. He peered into the box, poking into it with one sharp finger. “huh, looks like he found all of ‘em. good on him.”

Yeahhhh, like he didn’t believe Red was just saying that while there were three other ones were still tucked into the ceiling fan or something. “You’re going to sneak more cameras into his…our house. Aren’t you.”

Red and Sans both had an awful shrug addiction and Jeff was slowly starting to figure out to how to read the subtitles attached to them. Red’s most recent shrug held an undercurrent of defensiveness, proved by the way he said, “i keep a close eye on shit. especially my family, kid, you get me?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.” From the way that made a flutter of warmth rise in Jeff’s chest, he’d say that his Stockholm syndrome was coming along nicely.

Red nodded. “good. remember it and you’ll do fine.” He tapped a finger against Jeff's coffee mug, the pointed tip tinging against the ceramic. "you done espresso-ing yourself now?.

Sans looked like he was starting to slowly recover from his shock, eye lights back, but still a little dazed. Not that Jeff could blame him, Red was still stroking that collar, his fingers grazing the bone above the leather and Jeff was pretty sure he was in danger of overstaying his welcome. Whatever Red said he had when he called in sick, Jeff thought it might be the better side of staying alive to not spread it around it was actually for a booty call. A booty call that was getting dangerously close to being on speakerphone.

He hastily downed the last of his nearly cold coffee and stood, blurting out, “Um, yes! Thank you.”

“thanks for what, andy?” Red purred out, right next to the little ear hole on Sans’s skull. Sans’s eye lights dilated down to pinpricks and yeah, this was starting to feel like a bad invitation to early foreplay. His own body was perking up, fuck, he wasn’t attracted to Red or Sans, but it’d been days, he was young, and he was used to some pretty regular orgasm time. Thinking about any kind of sex was putting him at risk; the absolutely last thing he wanted was to pop an accidental boner in front of the all-seeing spy here.

“For everything,” Jeff blurted. “For, um, taking the box. I’ll see you later at…somewhere!”

He was halfway to the door when Red called out, teasingly. “see you around, handy andy. next time the coffee is on you, brewtiful.”

So damned knowing. Jeff ignored it and his flaming cheeks, hurrying out the door, nearly slamming it behind him as he ran out to his car. There were still a few hours before he had to be to work. Plenty some time for a little personal handling.

Hm, might even be a chance to try something a little risqué. Jeff never was keen on nude pictures or videos; he’d seen way too many people get screwed over with those. But those recording devices gave him an idea; audio only.

With a little effort, maybe he could come up with something for Antwan to listen to on his ride home, to help stave off the exhaustion. Probably not the outcome Antwan was expecting, but hey, Jeff had a few rain checks to call in.

Might be time to get started.

tbc

[harlot-of-oblivion]

A Rose of Unconscious Beauty (Part 6)

All work and no play make Dante a dull devil, but when he finds out about his brother's flowery friend he sees an opportunity to cure his boredom. Well, that and his curiosity about what kind of woman catches Vergil's attention. So, he decides to spontaneously visit your garden to see what all the buzz is about.

Hope you enjoy these two finally meeting! And gardening puns...just all the gardening puns. 😆❤

Here’s the link to the list of all the flowers featured in this part. 🌹🥰🌹

Chapter 1: Meeting Dante

Life has been pretty good for Dante since he got back from his little foray into hell. He may still be in quite a bit of debt, but that never stops him from living life to the fullest. For the first time in a long time he does not feel so alone in the Devil May Cry shop. There is just one problem that plagues him now as he leans back in his chair, feet propped up on the edge of his desk as a huge overdrawn yawn escapes his mouth…

He is bored.

Very, very…BORED.

The occasional odd job usually keeps him entertained, but business has been slow recently. There is only so much games of pool and swimsuit magazines before Dante is positively itching to fight something…anything. Nero has taken advantage of this dry spell and is finally getting hitched to Kyrie. Even Vergil, who he annoys into fighting sometimes just for sheer fact that it relieves his boredom for a while, has taken to disappearing from time to time.

Oh yeaaaaah. The mysterious flowery friend.

Dante ponders the potential of that whole situation giving him something to do besides sitting alone in his shop. He did not think it strange when Vergil started to go out more…in fact, he is proud that his brother is finally embracing his humanity and making this world his home. But when his cranky brother came back to the shop with pretty little blue flowers wrapped around his beloved Yamato…well, now that just piqued his curiosity. He tries to goad Vergil into telling him where he got the flowers or where he has been disappearing off to lately, but that conversation usually ends with him being stabbed a lot. Dante got his answer one day when Nero asks if he knew this florist that his old man just recommended to him. It all just suddenly clicked. The constant visits, the soft cloud nine smiles, just the overall secrecy…

Vergil…has a crush.

Just the idea of his brother being head over heels for someone has Dante shaking his head in wonder. Vergil has already left the shop, probably visiting his florist friend if Dante had to guess. It happens to be the day that Nero and Kyrie are supposed to meet their savior of flowers. He wanted to tag along to see what all the hype is about, but Nero absolutely refused to let him. Usually, that is not enough to deter Dante, but then his nephew just had to sick Kyrie on him. And how could anyone say no to her? So, here he sits…extremely bored and very curious.

I have to know if it’s true…if my dumbass brother really is lovestruck…

A sudden idea pops into Dante’s head as he takes out his cellphone and begins to text:

Dante: Hey! Gonna see your old mans flower girl today, amiright?

Nero: NO. Forget it.

Nero: Im not spying 4 u

Dante: NO ONE said ANYTHING about spying!

Dante: Just a couple of pics!

Nero: NO U CREEP

Dante: OH C’MON!!!

Dante taps on his screen vigorously as he provokes his stubborn nephew to reply, but after a few minutes of continued silence he gives up. He rolls his eyes as he groans in mild irritation and drops his phone onto the desk. His nimble fingers stroke his scruffy chin in thought, wondering if there will ever be an end to this torturous boredom…then it hits him faster than the Devil May Cry van. Nico! Dante snaps his fingers and nods his head in approval at his own ingenious idea. He snatches his phone back up and begins to text again:

Dante: Heyyyyyyy

Nico: Wat

Dante: Wanna help a friend out?

Nico: Lemme guess

Nico: U want me to spy for ya, right?

Dante: A couple of pics is NOT spying

Nico: Yeah yeah whatever

There is a long pause and Dante almost thinks his last-ditch effort is a bust. Until…

Nico: Mayyyyybe I’ll do it

Nico: Wats in it for me tho?

Dante only has to think about her prize for second before replying.

Dante: I’ll let you check out my guns

Nico: Ive already seen my fair share of muscles

Dante: Im talking about Ebony and Ivory

Nico: U GOTTA FUCKIN DEAL

Dante clenches his fist in victory. Nico tells him to hold tight while she finds a good hiding spot and the perfect angle. So, he grabs the nearest swimsuit magazine to read while he waits for Nico’s sneaky photos.

He only has to read a couple of pages of articles and check out a few curvy ladies before his phone vibrates. “Well now…let’s see what we've got,” he announces aloud as his hand instantly picks up his phone and eagerly opens up the message. Here she is! is written below two pictures of a bubbly woman with a bright smile and lively eyes. In one photo she is sitting down at a garden table, and in the other she is standing by a bed of flowers. She is wearing white summer dress and has a white flower in her hair. Dante chuckles in glee because now he understands why his brother has fallen so hard: the local florist is a total babe!

Dante is about to get back to his magazine when another text from Nico comes through:

Nico: Yoooooooooo

Nico: U didnt tell me that Vergil was gonna be here!

Dante: Im not my brother’s keeper!

Nico: Im NOT about to get stabbed if he catches me

Nico: Im out

Dante: WAIT

Dante: I’ll sweeten the deal!

Dante: If you get a pic of them together

Nico: DANTE

Dante: Then I’ll let you check out my guns

Dante: FOR A WEEK

A very long pause follows and Dante thinks that Nico is still going chicken out despite his sudden add on to her prize when her response chimes in:

Nico: U better hold up your end of the deal, Dante

Dante: Nicooooo u know I always keep my word!

Nico: Cuz if u dont, I’ll run u over with the van

Dante: No u wont

Nico: VROOM VROOM BITCH

Dante’s amused chuckle echoes throughout the shop. “So, that’s where you’re running off to,” he comments to himself. “The secret garden.” As he waits for Nico’s next photo, he starts to wonder what kind of a woman catches the eye of his broody brother. I mean…sure, you’re a cutie, but Dante knows that Vergil is not so easily swayed by looks alone. Of course, he could be reading into this too much and you’re actually just a really adorable friend…which is why he has to see both of you together. If Vergil has that soft smile on his face and if you show any sign of reciprocating his brother’s feelings…

His phone vibrates and Dante immediately opens the message. How's this for ya? reads Nico’s text along with a bunch of laughing emojis and a video clip. He arches an eyebrow as he presses play. He sees Nero, Kyrie, Vergil, and you all walking together by a bunch of flowers. He cannot make out the soft conversation of the group, but he does hear a lighthearted giggle as you do a twirl. Dante squints his eyes when he notices your hand reach for something in your dress…then his eyes widen as you throw petals into the air. The distinct growl of his brother comes through the audio and Dante nearly chokes on his own laugh. Some of the little pink flowers you threw…are sticking to Vergil’s hair!

I’m totally saving this just for the look on his face!

Dante kicks his feet off of the desk and he leans forward in his chair, never taking his eyes off the screen as Nero and Kyrie step out of frame. He tilts his head when Vergil kneels and you start to pluck the flowers from his hair. Dante has to rub his eyes to make sure he is really seeing these events correctly. Things get really interesting when you move in closer. The awkward expression on his brother’s face is pure gold. But what really has him pressing his nose to the screen is when Vergil stands up and you both just stare at each other. It is like a scene cut straight from a romantic movie. Dante has never seen his brother look so…totally in love. And you are mirroring the exact same expression.

Jackpot!

The video starts to shake and he hears Nico quietly cursing up a storm. The screen is a blur for a moment before it just totally cuts off. Dante is still for a while as he takes in everything that just happened. He honestly did not expect Vergil to be bitten by the love bug. A genuine smile curls on his lips as he thinks that maybe you are exactly what his brother needs to finally let go of the past and start living. But he cannot be the helpful little brother that he is without at least meeting you first. The genuine smile turns mischievous as Dante texts Nico about happened after the video ended and where exactly is this secret garden in the city...

(A Week Later...Reader’s POV)

The late afternoon sun beats down as you wipe the sweat from your brow. You examine the rambling roses you are currently pruning, checking to see if you missed anything before standing up and stretching your legs. Sweet basil, it’s hot, you thought, taking off your gardening hat and fanning your face as you pocket your pruning shears. You think about Vergil and how he always seems to keep cool while wearing a long blue coat in the summer.

The power of Sparda must also include internal air conditioning. You giggle at your own quip as you put the gardening hat back on your head and decide to take a break. As you walk through the multitude of flowers you search for any sign of the Son of Sparda among the flora. He has not called to inform you that he is stopping by today, but that does not necessarily mean he will not show up unannounced…annoyingly startling you before buttering you up with an offering of beautiful blooms.

Vergil has been regularly visiting you in your garden now. Sometimes both of you read and drink tea under the fruit trees, other times you have to work and just let him read in peace while frolicking about your garden. Every now and then he insists on looming close behind you, claiming that he wants to observe how you arrange bouquets and care for the flowers. There are a few times that you somehow rope him into helping since he is so inclined to learn and you must admit…seeing a tall and imposing man handle tiny flowers carefully is so endearing, making you fall even harder for the handsome devil.

You step through the backdoor and walk into your kitchen, heading straight for the fridge and swiftly open the door. When the cold air hits your face you sigh and just stand there for a moment to cool off as you reach for a bottle of water. You close the fridge and head to your office to check the status of a shipment on your computer while you guzzle down half of the bottle. The flowers for Nero and Kyrie’s wedding are well in supply, but you ordered some extra ribbon, wires, needles, and other miscellaneous supplies. It is a little stressful that you only have so much time to pull this off, but that only pushes you to do your utmost best to give them the best flowers they have ever seen. All seems to be order, you mentally note, finishing off your water bottle as you tab out of the website.

Time to get back to work! You go back out to the garden, grab the garden hose, and turn on the outdoor faucet. You adjust the nozzle on the hose to spray into a mist and set off to water some flowers. “Alright, my darlings!” you say cheerfully as you step up to the first section of flowers. “Who’s thirsty?” You happily spray their petals with glistening droplets as you hum softly. One of the many reasons why you enjoy gardening so much is just how tranquil it can be, your mind slipping into a peaceful state as all your worries just drift away and you feel like a flower basking in the warm sunlight.

Although, you do find yourself ceaselessly daydreaming about a certain white-haired gentleman while gardening lately. You cannot get the feel of his slicked back locks out of your thoughts, yearning to do more than just pluck petals from his hair. You wonder if the bergamot scent is from a cologne he is wearing or the constant cups of his favorite tea. And the expression on his face after you picked the stray petals from his hair…cheeks slightly blushing as his gleaming silver eyes stare straight into your soul. The very memory of it has you shivering in delight as you turn around to water the next section of flowers.

“Holy hollyhock!”

The sudden appearance of a man in a long red jacket standing in your garden has you jumping back in surprise. Your foot steps on the garden hose, making you lose your balance and start to tip over. Thankfully, the stranger has quick reflexes and quickly leans forward to catch your fall. “Whoa! Easy there!” he exclaims as he sets you upright, doing his best to avoid the misty spray of the hose still clutched in your hand. That is when you notice his distinct white hair swaying in front of his blue eyes. And his face…if it was not for the slight fuzz of a beard or the care-free expression, he would be the spitting image of Vergil. Which can only mean…

“You must be Dante.”

“What gave it away?” he asks, dramatically holding his hands out to the side as he nods his head in confirmation.

“You wouldn’t be a Son of Sparda if you didn’t scare your local gardener to death!”

Dante tilts head at your answer and smirks as he examines you from head to toe. “I dig the overalls,” he comments as he gestures to your attire. You look down at your green gardening overalls, the phrase "I like big buds and I cannot lie" imprinted on the front surrounded by large colorful flower buds.

“Thanks!” you laugh, turning off the garden hose. “I’m Y/N! I don’t recall Vergil saying that he was going to finally introduce me to you.”

“So, he’s told you about me? Did he mention that I am the better-looking twin?” he jests as he takes a step back and strikes a charmingly rugged pose.

“Uh, he mentioned that you are a demon hunter, a foolish buffoon, and…whoa!” Your eyebrows shoot up as you closely examine his coat. “Your jacket does look really expensive!”

Dante rolls his eyes as he relaxes from his over-the-top stance. “He just can’t let that go, huh?” He shakes his head and lightly chuckles.

“So…what brings you to my garden?” you inquire kindly, not letting his surprise visit distract you from being hospitable. Dante did not mention his brother being present here with him, so you hope that Vergil does not mind you being friendly and helping his brother out if he needs it.

“The girls keep telling me I need something to brighten up the shop,” he explains as he scratches the back of his head. “So, I figured some flowers from my brother’s friendly neighbor florist might do the trick.”

You smile sweetly. “Okay! Do you have any kind of flowers in mind?”

“Well, my mother’s favorite flowers were-”

“Burgundy roses!”

Dante quirks an eyebrow. “Did you just read my mind?”

A giggle escapes your lips as you shake your head. “Vergil told me that his mother had a modest garden herself, and that she grew those roses a lot. Don’t worry,” you affirm as your hand sets down the garden hose. A big confident smile spreads across your face as you twirl in excitement, pausing to strike your own cute pose. “I got you covered!”

He nods his head in approval. “Right on.”

You make small talk with Dante as you lead him to the rose section of your garden, asking if by “the girls” he means the other two demon hunters that work with him. He confirms your guess and grumbles about how unfair it is that you know so much the crew while he knows next to nothing about you. That is quickly remedied though as he bombards you with the oddest series of questions…most of them involving strawberries and pizza. When you tell him that you used to work at the local pizzeria and bakery in your home town he enthusiastically asks if you made the pizzas. You laugh at his boyish glee and inform him that you sometimes helped with the pizzas, but you mostly baked the pastries and desserts.

“Here we are!” You point to a bush full of the dark reddish-purple roses as you step through the various buds and blooms. “Roses of unconscious beauty!” Dante studies the rose bush as you approach it, lean in, and inhale their lovely fragrance. You breathe out in delight and start looking for the best blooms for a bouquet. “Aren’t they lovely?” You look over your shoulder and see that Dante is barely paying attention. His blue green eyes gaze distantly at the rose bush, reminding you a little of Vergil’s silver blue eyes when he recedes into his head. You wait a moment before deciding to coax him out of pensive stupor.

“Flower for your thoughts?”

Dante blinks and shakes his head. “Sorry about that. I was just…remembering something.” He walks over and stands next you, a small grin appears on his face as he peers down at you. “These would look nice on my desk. I’ll take ‘em.”

“Alright!” You reach into your pocket, taking out the pruning shears still stored in there and begin snipping some select roses, carefully removing the thorns before sticking them in another pocket until you can properly tie them together.

Dante quietly watches you for a few moments before he crosses his arms and leisurely leans back. “So…you and my brother.”

You snip a third rose as you glance over at him. “Me and your brother…?” you repeat, hoping he will expand upon the conversation he started. Dante just continues to gaze at you inquisitively. Your brow furrows in puzzlement as you wonder what he is trying to imply…until it suddenly hits you.

No way. He can’t be…

“Are you…Dad-terogating me?”

“Am I what now?”

“You know…that thing fathers do when daughters bring home their boyfriends.” Your voice drops as you do your best impersonation a stern father figure. “What are your intentions little girl?”

“Oh man,” Dante snickers. “And what if I am?” he counters with a puckish smirk.

“Well, Mr. Sparda,” you begin with a cheeky grin, turning to him while you clutch a thornless burgundy rose close to your chest. “I only have the best intentions towards your brother, Vergil. They include smiles, laughter, and a healthy dose of poetry with dash of tea…Oh!” You dip your hand into the front pocket of your overalls. “And lots of flower showers!” Your grin turns cheerful as you toss pink hydrangea petals high into the air.

Dante stares at you closely for a moment, totally unfazed by the petals scattering around him before he chuckles softly. “Well now…how can I argue with that? My party pooper of a brother needs it.”

You giggle and go back to snipping more roses. A fourth one is freed and you begin to remove the thorns from the stem. “It’s sweet of you to look out for him, you know,” you point out with a genuine smile. “You’re a good brother, Dante.”

He smiles back and is about to respond when an awful hellish screech fills the air. Your head snaps over to the direction it is coming from, but you already know what those sounds mean. Dante casually looks over as well, but he does not look as concerned as you. His face reminds you more of the neighborhood kids when the ice cream truck drives by. “Looks like our flower pickin’ is gonna have to wait,” he surmises as he struts briskly towards the commotion.

You pocket the pruning shears and the rose in your hand as you hurriedly follow behind him. The screeching is now really loud and as you step into to a clearing you see the familiar forms of demons just beyond the gates of your garden. Even though you live in a city known for its constant hellish attacks, the sight of their malformed bodies never fails to freeze your blood. The closest one, resembling a large corrupted bat, flies over the gate and hovers near one of your apple trees. It shrieks as its throat starts to glow red. Anger floods through your body when you register what it intends to do to your lovely fruit trees.

“Oh, no you DON’T!” you shout as you run by the gardening tools still laying out, grabbing the garden hoe as you pass by and rush towards the bat-like creature. It swivels around just as you draw your makeshift weapon back and swing up at it with all your strength. The hoe connects and a pained squeal rings out as the demon is knocked back a little bit away from the apple tree. You let out a shuddering breath, quickly realizing that perhaps smacking a demon with a gardening tool was not the best idea.

Multiple gunshots startle you out of your internal dread as they streak up at the bat-like demon. It shakes violently before it drops to the ground and disintegrates. You turn around and see Dante holstering two guns behind his back before giving you a round of applause. “Not bad! Very inventive use of…” his hands pause as he inspects your tool curiously.

“It’s a hoe,” you bluntly inform him.

“Really?” Dante puts his hands on his hips as he circles around you, shielding you from the oncoming demons notice. “Well then…you really know how to handle a hoe!”

You snort and check your tool for any signs of it being broken or bent. “You know what they say…a dirty hoe is a happy hoe!” you joke, flashing him the disgusting bloody residue on the tip. Dante hunches over as a hearty laugh burst from his lips. You feel a sense of accomplishment at making such a clever gardening pun, but it is short lived as a series of terrible growls and roars remind you of the current danger. “Umm,” you mutter softly, “as much as I would like to give more demons a good hoeing…”

Dante reigns in his boisterous laughter and nods. “Yeah...get yourself to safety.” He runs and skillfully jumps over the gate. Before he goes to deal with the demons, he looks over his shoulder at you. “Even though I’m not a hoe I can still get rid of these nasty weeds,” he quips with a wink.

You laugh and shake your head at his own gardening pun before retreating back to your house, sighing in relief as your backdoor comes into view. When you are a few feet away from safety, a low rumbling growl reaches your ears, making you stop in your tracks. You still have your garden hoe, so you hold it up in defense as you scan your surroundings for any immediate threat. It is quiet for a moment…then a series obscure red streaks zoom around you. Your eyes try to track whatever is circling you, but you cannot see what is stalking you like prey.

Your body is quaking now as you turn around to glance behind you. A lizard-like demon with a vicious red blade protruding from one of its scaly arms is leaping through the air straight at you. Your instincts kick in and you raise your gardening tool up in defense, even though you feel certain that it will not enough to block that sharp blade. A series of tumultuous emotions sling around your mind, but one strongly overtakes you as the image of Vergil pops into your head…regret.

I didn’t even get to tell him that-

Before you are able to close your eyes and brace yourself for the deadly impact, a sudden blur of blue spheres pop up and knock back your scaly assailant. A familiar form clad in a blue coat suddenly appears next to the demon and proceeds to hit it with a series of slashes. When he finishes his ruthless onslaught, he turns his back on the demon and dramatically sheaths his sword. Just as the hilt of the sword slams into the case, the demon convulses in pain one last time before collapsing on the ground.

The regret you felt earlier fades away as your devilish rescuer turns towards you. The usual scowl on his face is now even more severe as he scrutinizes your appearance. He may be fuming with rage, but you do not mind, nor do you care. “Vergil!” you cry, trying to thank him for saving your life, but you feel so overwhelmed that no words come out. All you can do is smile gratefully as your eyes well up with tears, so happy that you get to see the man you feel so deeply for again after all.

Read Part 6 (Ch. 2) here

Read on my Ao3

My Master List if you want more ❤

Tagging: @drusoona, @thedyingmoon, @bettybattaglia, @veenus-ow, @meowykittenn, @fandomhell97, @vergilsangel, @venomous-lawyer, @alicewinchester

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Alice Vs The Questionnaire I Just Made

Because it would be remiss for me to send it out into the world and not answer it myself, right? ;p

1. How many of the sidequests did your characters do? Did they manage to complete all of them?

Alice completed most of the sidequests, mostly because I find them interesting, they're good to advance the plot of my story, and -- in-game -- they're good sources of XP. The only ones I skipped/failed were (Edit: naturally I forgot a few on my first posting; what can I say, there’s a lot of side quests!):

Drug Trip -- The Unofficial Patch Plus only quest where you can get some XP and +1 Finance by stealing some drugs for Trip from the clinic. In-game, I completely forgot this was an option and never did it. In-story, Alice is trying to get drugs by more legitimate means for Mercurio rather than steal morphine, so I don’t think she’d be keen to get the recreational stuff for Trip.

Daydream Believer -- Only marked as an official “quest” by Unofficial Patch Plus, this is where you can sell Copper “unicorn blood,” fang-blunting gum, and a stake to kill the head vampire if you’re feeling maliciously playful. Alice was not -- in fact, she likes the Thin-Bloods and wants to help them. And that includes sympathizing with Copper about his desire to become human again, while also warning him off doing anything stupid.

Replanting A Lily -- The quest where you send Vandal someone to replace Lily in his blood-draining chair once you’ve freed her as part of Thinned Blood. In-game, I simply Demented him into some hysterical laughter to forget the whole thing (in case I needed him for emergency rations). In-story, Alice slammed him up against the wall and informed him the only reason she wasn’t about to kill him was because she needed to stay in the Voerman sisters’ good books. Vandal being Vandal, he immediately found this the sexiest thing that had ever happened to him and tried to give her free blood (like might happen with the Intimidation option), which she told him to stick where the sun don’t shine. Yeaaaaah, Alice doesn’t like Vandal.

Occultish Personality -- The quest where you get occult items for Pisha, and she gives you powerful items in return. Rather than work with Pisha, I had Alice kill her after taking care of the Simon business. This was purely a character choice, as I didn't see Alice ever working with her (she disapproves too strongly of what Pisha does to sate her Hunger -- she understands that the woman is under a pretty nasty curse, but the entire camera crew?!).

Venucide -- Okay, this is an interesting one -- this is the alternate side quest you get if you take Boris up on his offer to kill Venus during And Her Name Was Venus. I didn’t do this in-game -- I’m not doing low Humanity with Alice, and besides you earn a lot more with Venus alive and giving you club profits -- but I mention it because Alice pretends to take the offer, goes back to Venus, and works with her to fake her death before going back to Boris to get the reward, then kill him. Venus is quite tickled by the whole thing. XD

Dirty Dishes -- The quest where you help one of the three Giovanni relatives at the party to gain an advantage over the other two. I attempted this one, with the intent of having maybe Victor or Victoria do something with the info in the story (as they're the ones actually doing the social stuff -- Alice snuck in Obfuscated with them), but as it turned out, I didn't have the Persuasion necessary to get the dark secrets out of all three. I only managed to get Adam Dunsirn to admit he’s broke -- ratted him out to Mira for an experience point. Ah well. . . In-story, Victor will probably learn Adam’s secret while socializing, but not actually tell anybody.

Model Citizen/Cover Girl -- Imalia's quests -- either planting webcams to spy on her rival Tawni, or (if you piss her off/want extra XP after the previous quest), getting her a copy of a magazine with her on the cover back before Nosferatuing. Imalia is one of those characters who reacts very poorly to meeting a Malkavian, and is generally pretty conceited, so I didn't have Alice stick around to actually get the quests. By this point in the story, she's not doing favors for people who treat her like ass unless she has to.

Poster Session -- The quest where you trade various objects you can collect around the world to Gary for posters of the ladies in the game. Okay, in all actuality, I am doing this one in my game, if only because I'm collecting the objects he's asking for anyway while doing other quests and I might as well, but Alice in-story wouldn't be interested, and I'm not sure Gary would make the offer anyway, given their relationship.

2. How long do you think their stay in L.A. lasted, from Embrace to ending?

I'm working on figuring this out right now in my current playthrough! Part of the reason I fired up Bloodlines again was to actually work out a timeline for "Londerland Bloodlines," as the one given on the wiki feels absurdly short (and cuts out all the side quests). The way I've currently got it, it looks like Alice's Adventures In Los Angeles will stretch from October 21st, 2004, to the middle of November that same year (maybe about the 15th or so?), though I think I'm going to be adding in extra time in the story to help develop relationships and build in some extra breathing room for the characters. So, at a rough estimate, about two months.

3. Which ending did they go for? And if they're the rare Kindred who sided with Ming or LaCroix, did they somehow manage to escape their canonical fates (blown up/sunk to the bottom of the ocean)?

Alice is Independent all the way -- by the end of the game, she neither likes nor trusts practically anyone in the Kindred/ghoul community of L.A. (with four key exceptions, and one of those -- Beckett -- has already skedaddled by the end game) and just wants out. Hell, she would have left earlier if she'd gotten the chance -- she would have happily left L.A. the moment LaCroix sent her up against the Sabbat alone if said Sabbat hadn't kidnapped Lizzie and Victoria, and she would have just left straight after rescuing them and killing Andrei if she hadn't had a guilt attack about helping to get a Blood Hunt called on Nines and deciding she had to tell him about what Ming-Xiao told her. And the Cabbie is the one who talks her into taking down LaCroix and Ming-Xiao when she escapes the Blood Hunt, telling her that the only way to truly feel free is to make sure neither of them can come after her again. She is only too happy to leave the city when everything and everyone is done and dusted.

(Also, semi-related I had what I feel is a pretty awesome idea regarding why she gives LaCroix the key -- a post in the vtmb tag mentioned that anyone who had Auspex might be able to scan the sarcophagus and see there's no uber-vampire inside. The way Alice uses Auspex in her story, it functions partially as a real-life "Shrink Sense,” to fit with her madness. Maybe, at the end of the game, Alice finally uses Auspex on the sarcophagus to see what she can glean, and sees that a) there's no vampire and b) the Insane Children have drawn jack-in-the-boxes all over it, along with arrows to leave. Figuring LaCroix can suffer the disappointment of it being empty, she drops the key and heads off, not QUITE realizing WHY the kids told her to leave -- that is, until her Wonderland friends start BOOKING IT out the door when she gets down to the lobby, and she realizes those jack-in-the-boxes look like her own Jackbombs. . .)

4. How do they feel about the major power players in L.A. (LaCroix, Strauss, Smiling Jack, Nines, Isaac, Ming-Xiao, Gary)? Did their opinions of them change at any point thanks to a quest or just more time spent with them?

LaCroix: Hates him from the moment he Dominates her into leaving the Nocturne Theater instead of bothering to answer any of her questions. She's willing to keep her head down when she's around him (for fear of more Domination) up until Grout's mansion -- then she starts demanding she be paid like a proper employee, at least, and getting a lot snarkier in his presence. When the Blood Hunt on Nines was called (which involved him Dominating her AGAIN so she wouldn't warn Nines beforehand), she was about ready to gut him, and sincerely hoped there was something in that damn Sarcophagus so it would eat him. She doesn't particularly mind he got blown up in the end -- she was much more concerned for anyone else who was in the upper levels of the tower.

Strauss: She found him a little condescending, but helpful, when she first arrived in Downtown and sought him out. (Didn't think much of his poetry skills, though.) He gave her some good information on vampires around the city and the Camarilla in general, and she can't deny he paid well for helping take care of the plaguebearer situation. Her opinion of him plummets the moment she learns about his role in creating the Gargoyle, though. The idea that he kept that living, thinking being as his slave. . .not to mention, his low opinion of ghouls doesn't do much to endear him to her either.

Smiling Jack: Like Strauss, she spends most of the game thinking he's not exactly the best company, but he was helpful and gave her a hand in a very tough spot in her life. And he seems to be the most chill of the older vampires she's come across.

And then the sarcophagus explodes, Alice manages to put together the clues on who's behind it, realize he slaughtered all those people on the Elizabeth Dane and is indirectly responsible for a lot of the shit she's gone through. . .and basically exiles herself from Los Angeles forever by staking him and leaving him for the sunrise on her way out. (She is as shocked as anyone that she managed to pull it off -- she thought it would be a much worse fight!)

Nines: Alice is grateful to him for helping to save her life at her initial trial, and she likes his philosophy just fine. Unfortunately, their relationship was wrecked fairly early on by two factors:

1) Alice making a joke about the Last Round, which Nines took poorly -- Alice attempted to apologize, but Nines refused to hear it

2) Alice not liking Skelter and Damsel, both of whom immediately gave her shit for being LaCroix's "lapdog" and a Malkavian

So yeah, there was definitely some tension there. And the whole Blood Hunt mess happened, and frankly Alice is shocked Nines was willing to talk to her when she went looking for him on her way out of L.A. post-Sabbat. She sometimes wishes they'd had a chance to make up, but given that she doesn't think much of the Anarchs in general anymore. . .she's not losing sleep over their cool relationship.

Isaac: He's one of the main reasons she doesn't think much of the Anarchs in general. She thought it was pretty smart of him to have someone to direct vampires new to Hollywood to him to say hello -- up until he mentioned "tribute." That and his generally imperious attitude toward her at first means she considers him just another Prince under a different title. Learning what happened between him and Ash didn't help either -- she can understand not wanting to let someone you care about just die, more than she would admit, but he doesn't seem to have handled things well post-Embrace, given he didn't do jack shit about the hunters menacing him. (Hoping the threat would drive Ash back into his arms, perhaps?) Add in that he didn't even pay her for taking care of the Gargoyle (never mind Alice didn't actually kill it -- she still convinced it to leave), and -- yeah. She considers him everything wrong with the Anarch movement.

Ming-Xiao: Alice considered her fairly stuck-up when they first met, but really no worse than any of the regular Kindred she'd met -- and it was interesting to quiz her on how Kue-jin are different. Of course, learning that the Mandarin was on her payroll and she's actively trying to kill her lowered her opinion of her a bit. She actively avoids Ming-Xiao after the Fu Syndicate stuff, and nearly just puts her new enchanted katana straight through her when she shows up post-Sabbat. She certainly doesn't shed a tear when she has to destroy her at the end of game.

Gary: Alice thinks he's a bit of an overdramatic jerk, but she kind of enjoys matching wits with him. And at least he's more honest about being a jerk than most vampires, and keeps up his end of the bargain when she frees Barnabus, no problem. Whatever relationship they have is built upon snarking at each other, basically. :p

5. How did they handle the situation with Heather (or, if you're like me, whoever you replaced Heather with in their personal story)?

Obviously, in my world, Victor got hit by the car and got the ghouling treatment. Alice saw him lying all alone in that room and -- couldn't let him just die like that. She's utterly horrified to learn that she created an addict by doing so, and actively has Betram and Knox seek Victor out (using the Cathayan's laptop as payment) and send him her way so she can keep an eye on him and hide any Masquerade violations he may commit. Her original intent was to hold onto him until he stopped being a ghoul, then quietly set him loose, away from prying Kindred eyes. . .

. . .And then she fell in love.

Cue quite a lot of angsting over the fact that she doesn't want to lose him, but she feels so guilty about the Blood Bond and she doesn't know if Victor's feelings are actually real -- which only gets worse when Victoria and Emily join the group, as then she's like "I should let Victor be with one of them -- oh crap I like them too, what the hell Alice, years of not falling in love and now it's two mortals and a zombie." It took Mercurio explaining that his Blood Bond does not actually force him to like LaCroix, just be loyal to him, to convince her that keeping Victor -- and turning Victoria into her ghoul -- might not be as bad as she feared.

And then Victor had his prophetic dream about the Sabbat. He and Emily successfully fled the city (the "letting Heather go" branch of her mini-storyline), but Lizzie and Victoria got captured by the Sabbat and used as bait for a trap for Alice (the "Heather gets captured and killed" branch). Unlike in canon, though, Alice is able to successfully save them (with the help of Bonejangles, VV, and Bertram), and ghouls Victoria to help her heal before sending them away. They all reunite once she's done with the endgame. :)

6. More generally, how closely does their storyline stick to how you have to do things canonically? For example, in quests, did they find third options that weren't offered by the game? Are their stories affected by mods you use while playing the game?

I play with the Unofficial Plus Patch, so there's going to be some stuff from that included in my story, just because that's what I'm used to -- for example, Alice is doing the restored library quest featuring the Lasombra in her storyline. As for the main storyline itself, I'd say that, even with the character replacements and suchlike, it stays pretty much true to the game until about the time Alice hits Hollywood -- namely because I've replaced one-shot character Sam with Victoria, who has a much larger role in "Londerland Bloodlines." After that, it starts to veer off a bit more, in particular during "Italian Dinner," where Emily, Lizzie, and Bonejangles join the party --

But the most major break with canon is in the endgame. Namely, Alice decides to skip fighting her way up Venture Tower and instead climbs up the outside with the help of some climbing equipment she sources from Mercurio. :p Lacroix is more than a little surprised. XD (Though she still has to fight the bat-form of the Sheriff -- can't escape the whole boss fight, Alice!)

7. Do they have an alternate storyline/history of what might have happened had they been Embraced but not ended up the protagonist Fledgling?

I covered that a couple of weeks ago! You can read the "Mistakenly Thinned Blood" AU of the AU in detail here, but the short version is "Alice is Embraced more secretly by her sire Fish, manages to kill him post-Embrace, goes to Santa Monica, and ends up hanging out with the Thin-Bloods because everyone thinks she's one of them. Still saves Victor, meets Victoria, and rescues Lizzie, Emily, and Sam from the Giovannis, though -- and then gets out of town before the freaking-out populace who just learned what she actually is can catch up with her."

8. Is the Cabbie a) Caine, b) another Kindred who believes himself to be Caine for whatever reason, c) another Kindred playing the long con by pretending to be Caine, d) something else entirely?

He's Caine -- I like the headcanon, and the idea of him posing as a random taxi driver in L.A., looking upon all this chaos and wondering "why. why." amuses me. XD

9. How do you handle/explain away obvious "this only works in a video game" mechanics in their storyline (e.g., the inventory system that allows them to carry like seven guns and five melee weapons at once)?

With me, Alice is going to be carrying a lot fewer weapons at once -- she'll generally pick a few favorites to take with her on missions (she always has a knife on her, at least), and uses Obfuscate to truck them around invisibly when she's in crowded areas. She probably also gets a bag or backpack to carry useful things. She also goes through a lot more clothes until she gets some decent leather jackets and such -- her starting outfit is basically wrecked by the tutorial mission, leading to LaCroix's agents having to buy her a new dress before she can pick up her things and go to her new haven in Santa Monica. (I have decided to make it Symbolic by having her wear the modern equivalent of her London outfit from A:MR when she gets Embraced, and the outfit being destroyed representing her change from human to vampire.)

10. How do you explain why the Fledgling is so ridiculously overpowered when compared to most other vampires their age (beyond the fact that they're likely 8th generation, going by their blood pool)?

My personal explanation, which might come up in the final conversation Alice has with Caine in the cab, is that some people in this universe are born with great supernatural potential, for whatever reason, and Alice is one of them. There's just something about her that lends itself well to being a supernatural creature -- and a powerful one at that. If she'd been from a werewolf line, she would have been an amazing werewolf; if she had awakened as a mage, she would have been a super-talented mage. As she was Embraced, she gets to be a terrifyingly strong vampire. Alice personally considers this a pretty shitty "chosen one" status, but she can't deny she liked getting really good at Obfuscate really fast!

[lands-of-fantasy]

After we got the first 4 Paragons I was sure the other 3 would be Barry, Oliver and...Idk, maybe Jefferson?

Barry is a go, unsurprisingly, but they decided a different part for Oliver... And Jefferson was great but that was not his bit either... I guess because this is his first crossover? I mean, Brandon!Superman is not even our usual Superman but we saw where that got him (as in, he is gone too)... And I gotta say I didn’t think that’s how they would make Ryan Choi enter the picture, so that was unexpected

Anyway, what got me was that they included J’ONN!!!!!!!!!!! J’onn is a Paragon!!!!!!! The Paragon of Honor!!!!!!! Hell YEAAAAAH

[nochiquinn]

campaign 2 episode 60: bonus action hi

dani's "oh, mighty nein" is becoming my favorite thing

did. did sam get a shirt of that creepy doctor headshot of matt's

marisha's hair!!

tonight's episode of Fjord is Gonna Fuckin Die

taliesin says "look at this team we're gonna do great" the same way I do when my overwatch team picks 4 dps and an ana

gotta go fast

yeaaaaah cad dad

bonus action: sorry

bonus action: shit

everyone thought they were having a clarota moment

sweep the leg

"rasengan ball" fucking nerd

caduceus taught beau Flash

voidfish

"kill it all, kill it all"

I KNEW IT

LIAM why are you like this

move fjord

travis stop reading my notes

laura derails the whole game for a donut

"matt went to get us donuts, it's all fine"

you suffer~

travis is a good egg

gonna be a....bug fight

my chair is hell so I have to get up and do a lap, no one die

#everythingishorse

totally-not-krispy-kreme-donuts

snapping turtles are the devil

three of them tackling the fucking box

this game is a fucking disaster

I enjoy that they kept the titanstone knuckles activation motion

yasha is aroused

muddy water

cuddlefish

"turtle party kill" blocked

all of the hitpoints stack

mister pokeylope no

"doomfist" liam no

it's the infinity stones

rage looting the bone pit

"we breaked it"

jesus CHRIST y'all

matt stop saying "entity" challenge

"let THAT come out your portal!!" they're so tired

"if only we had that when mollymauk was around??" samuel

"your kidney is exposed" travis what

"what the fuck is WRONG with us tonight" THAT IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION

"what the FUCK, matt?!" "aaaahahaha that's cool" there are two kinds of people

"DON'T PUT A CIRCLE ON MEEE"

yasha: [gay fear]

everybody fucking heAL CHALLENGE

dear npc pls inform our personal quests

"I think matt would know" "WOULD HE"

they're all so brainfried

(same)

doodymancy

arcana check for doody

(I fell asleep after this but I feel like it ends on a pretty strong note so I’mma post it as-is)

[enigmaphenomenon]

Something’s up with Jack (Another Jack analysis)

I believe Handsome Jack has Borderline Personality Disorder. 

Let’s first go through the symptoms of BPD. In order to be diagnosed with BPD one needs to have repeated patterns of 5 out of 9 symptoms of BPD. I’ll go through the symptoms Jack displays. 

Google gives a very brief list of symptoms. I’ll highlight the ones Jack is shown having. 

Behavioral: antisocial behavior, compulsive behavior, hostility, impulsivity, irritability, risk taking behaviors, self-destructive behavior, self-harm, social isolation, or lack of restraint

Mood: anger, anxiety, general discontent, guilt, loneliness, mood swings, or sadness

Psychological: depression, distorted self-image, grandiosity, or narcissism

So let’s just dive right into his symptoms. I don’t...really need to provide examples of Jack’s narcissism, do I? Because that one is obvious as all hell. 

1)  An intense fear of abandonment, even going to extreme measures to avoid real or imagined separation or rejection. 

Oh yeah. And Jack reacts quite violently to what he perceives as betrayals and/or abandonment. If you trust Jack instead of Fiona at the end of Episode 2, and refuse to trust him in Episode 3 when he asks you too...uh...

“Oh. Oh, that’s a... shame. Because I thought--- I thought we were becoming pals. Saved your life back there and you...still don’t trust me? You know I’m uh...I’ve had to deal with this my whole damn life you know? You try to do the right thing and people just... crap all over you for it. Well, congrats kiddo. You’re the latest in a long line of Jack-shitters. Super psyched about it.” 

This isn’t the first time Jack mentions that he should have seen this all coming, he mentions it again at the end of Episode 5. 

“I should have seen this coming--ever since I came to this nacho-flavored shithole of a planet. I’ve been betrayed by everybody I gave rat’s ass about. My boss. My girlfriend. Hell...my goddamn daughter.” 

Then, of course, Jack telling Rhys...

And....

Jack has extreme violent reactions to people he views as being against him, even when they aren’t. Adding to this is Jack’s hatred of all vault-hunters due to Lilith and Roland’s betrayal and also his fear of being shot in the back if he lets his enemies live. Remember he was willing to forgive the Meriff and let him live until the Meriff tries to shoot Jack as he’s walking away. This then leads to Jack airlocking scientists just for the mere possibility one of them might be working for Zarpedon. Also, when Athena or whoever else you play suggest just rushing to the vault and not fighting Jack insists they all must die, stating that if you let your enemies live, they’ll shoot you in the back. 

2)  A pattern of unstable intense relationships, such as idealizing someone one moment and then suddenly believing the person doesn't care enough or is cruel. (People with BPD tend to have relationships that are intense and short-lived. You may fall in love quickly, believing each new person is the one who will make you feel whole, only to be quickly disappointed. Your relationships either seem perfect or horrible, with nothing in between. Your lovers, friends, or family members may feel like they have emotional whiplash from your rapid swings between idealization and devaluation, anger, and hate.)

Moxxi, Rhys, Angel, and his second wife. 

Moxxi says he was clingy and that’s why she dumped Jack, Jack blew up her slaughter dome thing due to this, but this doesn’t stop him from asking her for help to fight against Zarpedon. 

Rhys? Aw man just take a look at this switch. 

“Oh, wow. I wish I could hug you right now. I’m gonna make a robot that just hugs you when I tell it to. I’m so proud. I’m so proud of my special boy! This is a perfect partnership, Rhys. You trusted me. I trusted you, and now we’re here! Man--never really had a partner I could count on before. Feels kinda dope”

No Jack, Rhys doesn’t want a giant Endoskeleton to crawl inside his body. 

“This was YOUR chance to make history, you moron! To be part of a legacy! To matter for once in your useless little life!”

Angel doesn’t need to be explained right? In the ECHO logs in Borderlands 2 Jack cycles between being amiable towards her and then lashing out at her. 

His relationship with his second wife was ruined over him refusing to shut down the control core, and in an ECHO log it’s stated she disappeared shortly after telling Jack to shut down the control core. 

3) Identity disturbance, such as a significant and persistent unstable self-image or sense of self

Jack is a meglomaniac who sees himself as the hero and as a god, but, in BL2 he brings this up: 

"I know you think I'm a monster. You think I enslaved Angel. But you didn't see what she did to her mother. I had to restrain Angel's power. You get that? I had to."

He brings this up to the vault hunter. Why? What does he care what the vault hunter thinks of him? Jack sure as hell hasn’t cared at all about “bandits” opinions of him. And he really isn’t shy about blaming other people for something, come on, this is the same man who says he shot a baby because THE BABY was being a dick. 

Jack doesn’t blame Angel for betraying him. As he said in TFTBL, she had no choice. He also doesn’t say that vault hunters killed her. He says that she killed herself.

This is Jack being hit with the realization that his daughter is dead, and that he drove her to it. He’s the monster who enslaved Angel, but he says he had to do it (I’ll go deeper into this in a different essay). He had to to restrain her power, he had to, as if he didn’t have a choice. There is guilt behind these words. 

To compare, in Tomb Raider 2013 there was extra dialogue (that for some reason was not in the final version of the game) after Lara has her first kill, she tells herself “I had to do it. I had to do it.” That’s how Lara rationalizes taking a life. If she had not killed that man, he would have killed her, so she “had to.”

I believe its the same with Jack. There is guilt there. Why would he feel the need to defend his actions to the vault hunters? To the “bandits?” He saw Angel ask the vault hunters to end her life, he saw her call them friend, her last dying breath was needing to tell her father that he’s an asshole. Jack knows. He knows what he’s done. But he’s too mentally ill to accept it, or change it. If anything, that just drove him further into insanity. 

In TFTBL Jack also mentions that he knows where Rhys is coming from and imposter syndrome is normal, and to just strangle that voice in his head that says he’s not good enough. 

4) Impulsive and risky behavior, such as gambling, reckless driving, unsafe sex, spending sprees, binge eating or drug abuse, or sabotaging success by suddenly quitting a good job or ending a positive relationship

Hahahaha ooooooh yeaaaaah. 

Spending sprees: Butt Stallion

“My day? It's been pretty good. I just bought a pony made of diamonds, because I’m rich. So, you know. That’s cool.“

Unsafe sex: 

“If I’da just thrown stock options at the Vault Hunters instead of bullets, I’d be on a beach right now doing disturbingly graphic things with the local ladies.”

Drug abuse: 

He mashed up a mushroom and snorted it...a lot...

Primo hit of electri-drugs.

His chair also has contact activated Dopamine injectors. 

Jack drinks, a lot apparently, since he thought either sex or drinking would kill him. 

It really wouldn’t surprise me if Jack participated in orgies which he probably totally did.

5)  Extreme emotional swings. Unstable emotions and moods are common with BPD. One moment, you may feel happy, and the next, despondent. Little things that other people brush off can send you into an emotional tailspin. These mood swings are intense, but they tend to pass fairly quickly (unlike the emotional swings of depression or bipolar disorder), usually lasting just a few minutes or hours.

Jack is...really unstable and I don’t think anyone will disagree.  

ECHO logs in BL2 depict Jack going from manic to a fit of rage both with Angel and Mr. Tassiter. As well as Mr. Moorin who he strangles for mentioning his wife. 

Or when he gets really excited...

6) Chronic feelings of emptiness. People with BPD often talk about feeling empty, as if there’s a hole or a void inside them. At the extreme, you may feel as if you’re “nothing” or “nobody.” This feeling is uncomfortable, so you may try to fill the hole with things like drugs, food, or sex. But nothing feels truly satisfying.

After becoming CEO he became dictator of Pandora, then decided...hey why not conquer more planets? Why not basically become a god? That toppled on top of Jack’s drug use and sex life. He bought a diamond horse and named it Butt-stallion...

He also says that when he takes Rhys’ body he’s still gonna use it to eat food and bang a bunch of people. 

(A side note, Dameon Clarke while answering questions as Handsome Jack said that there’s a lot of smiling going on but he’s actually dead inside. I just wanted to add it here as a point of interest.)

Jack also tolerated Mr. Tassiter’s insults until Tassiter told Jack that he’s a pathetic nobody under his mask. This leads to Jack strangling him and keeping his goatee as a reminder of what happens to people when they’re a dick to Jack. 

7)Explosive anger. If you have BPD, you may struggle with intense anger and a short temper. You may also have trouble controlling yourself once the fuse is lit—yelling, throwing things, or becoming completely consumed by rage. It’s important to note that this anger isn’t always directed outwards. You may spend a lot of time being angry at yourself.

I don’t feel I need to provide examples for this one. We’ve all seen Jack’s rage. He uh....really goes off and it is not easy to stop him. 

Now that we got Jack’s symptoms out of the way let’s move on to causes. 

Most mental health professionals believe that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is caused by a combination of inherited or internal biological factors and external environmental factors, such as traumatic experiences in childhood.

...

Hereditary predisposition. You may be at a higher risk if a close relative — your mother, father, brother or sister — has the same or a similar disorder.

Stressful childhood. Many people with the disorder report being sexually or physically abused or neglected during childhood. Some people have lost or were separated from a parent or close caregiver when they were young or had parents or caregivers with substance misuse or other mental health issues. Others have been exposed to hostile conflict and unstable family relationships.

Let’s start with Jack’s genetics. If you saw my last post about Jack, it was wondering if Jack’s grandmother was a bandit and/or psycho due to her buzz axe. It is very possible that Jack’s grandmother and mother also suffer with some mental illness. 

Onto the stressful childhood. Grandma’s buzz axe which was a disciplinary weapon she used on Jack, and in The Pre-Sequel, Jack is asked to describe his childhood which he says his mother abandoned him on his abusive grandmother who would smack him around. He also had a pet cat that his grandma drowned because he didn’t make his bed. He cites this as “the usual stuff” 

Jack has both genetics and environmental factors that can lead to someone having mental disorders. 

Jack’s drug use and drinking would aid in making his BPD symptoms much worse as well.

So...yeah, there’s my Jack analysis.