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the-glorious-evolution-fanart · 2 days ago

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Question, is it me, or does Universe(2015-2016) Viktor's lore feel kinda of...rushed, in a sense? Like, they didn't read through the lore he had to decide what stays what remains and decided to just, toss it out altogether and toss together all the ideas they had in draft to turn into a cohesive enough story because they didn't know what to do with him when the OG story was tossed in the can in favour of a blank canvas. Just so they could get another champ slotted into the current version of Zaun as soon as possible while fitting into the archetype of of Tech-Priest inspired Cyborg Scientist. Like it feels like they never went through his old lore to figure out what worked, what could be very easily translated into current Zaun, and what elements to drop like the elements strictly related to the Institute of War. To be honest, he's not the only one, I find that some champs' lore was rewritten for the better, like Poppy, while others feel like their rewrites were rushed out as soon as possible in time for the next Season for the new players. If they gave the champs a rewrite at all. Because, I've been reading through both and just, I don't see why they had to change it completely. He could've been so easily kept intact to what he was while sticking around in Zaun as we know it today. He still could've been with the College of Techmaturgy and honestly, I felt that would've added another layer to current day Zaun compared to what we have today by showing that even if they're not on as prestigious a standing as Piltover, Zaun is still a place just as advanced, to the point where it was the place that gave us, pretty one of the most intelligent champs in the game lore wise. If they really wanted a enemies/frenemies dynamic with Jayce they could've just made him, a transfer student of sorts to Piltover Academy while still keeping Viktor with the College. His situation with Blitzcrank could've gone nearly pretty much completely unchanged altogether. He could've remained the same personality wise regardless, I feel that would've helped keep him cohesive across the board. Especially since as of current, it feels like since 2016 if he by some miracle does appear in Riot's content, it's like someone's continuously flicking the light switch between being the typical Evil to Morally Grey Mad Scientist TM to being a Robotic Saint so fast that it's kind of a pain to properly pin down his characterization. That is if he isn't left in the Neglected Champs Bin altogether until the next time Riot remember he exists. To the point that the moment you think you have Universe Viktor's character pinned down, all the sudden they realize a new thing he's in that contradicts what they gave you before they released the thing and now you're left confused again. Sometimes, even within the same timespan as seen with LoR because the Viktor in the comics for Vi and Jayce, doesn't completely feel like the Viktor you even play as. It feels like he's written by completely different people working off a prompt a majority of the time. When, there wasn't a issue with his personality to begin with, and he still would've been compelling, if not more compelling today in a world where mental health and the issues involving the problematic side of Academia is actually more in the forefront today than it was in 2010. It wasn't that he had a problem back then, it's likely more than not that he was just, ahead of his time, and written in a time period where neither topic weren't as talked about because it didn't have a chance to make a wave on the internet yet. Plus it would've made things A LOT better down the line writing him because then he wouldn't have been on such an odd standing that the writers keep flip flopping all over the place writing him.

His goal could've remained the same completely, just with a mild rewrite to write out the Institution and just simply made him a man who wanted to preserve HIS work by doing that work on HIMSELF due to the trauma from Stanwick, before pioneering it to enough of an extent to where he could safely help others. And that a major chunk on why a lot of people have some animosity towards him is because he's just, difficult and kind of intimidating to read for a lot of people, in combination with the rep he gets from the more fanatical Acolytes and the Piltovan side, and that the more antagonistic misassumptions of him spread and got flanderized overtime. When in reality compared to the rumours he's actually just, a decent guy, it's just that he's just going through shit and has a hard time with people a majority of the time. Only that, others have a hard time even approaching him to see that. There was just, so much potential, and so many a solution already that didn't include rewriting the entire character. But I think a major reason to everything is that they took a change that should've been implemented over the long term to begin with and tried to rush it out as soon as possible for the sake of rewriting and expanding on the world building to give us something new and more expansive. Especially once the game became popular and picked up enough steam to go from what was an indie MOBA into a game that all the sudden ended up with some really big shoes to fill. When, I feel in hind sight, they should've taken their time to readapt everyone in such a way that they could've preserved and refined the pre-existing champs overtime, keeping what to the old fans was still familiar and keeping to their original character in one way or another, while still gradually shifting Runeterra into the open world it is today.

I don't know, just, looking at a lot of the oldies, Viktor included, I feel like they're all victim to what is in hindsight, a giant rush job. Especially considering he's one of the champs that got the shortest end of the stick out of a lot of this. I mean, the most love he's got is from Arcane, but Arcane Viktor is the Viktor specific to Arcane's world, and Arcane's version of Runeterra. He is his own separate character isolated to his own story and should honestly for the most part be treated as such, even as far as I'm concerned and that's the rendition that is personally to me, one of my favourite renditions of Viktor. Strictly talking in game Viktor. Riot did him pretty dirty.

Yeah you're right that the 2016. Universe lore reads like the people tasked with "updating" the og 2011. lore didn't truly understand it, nor did they understand the meaning of elements they introduced in the new version.

Like you mentioned, Zaun was left with having nothing in terms of academic institutions, and as consequence the world feels much smaller because the class conflict, from both cities having their own versions, got squeezed into a reductive cliché with Piltover-Zaun where one side has everything and the other one is just a garbage dump. It doesn't help that the current garbage dump (Zaun) was representing east Berlin, eastern and south-eastern Europe, where I live. It reinforces the silent idea in popculture that people from here do not achieve any academic heights. It reinforces the stereotype that Ekko must choose his family and stay in Zaun, thus not having any access to higher education because all of it is in rich Piltover.

But Riot wanted to forcefully thread this class-conflict into every champion from this region, and this was the easiest way to do it - nuke anything Zaun had and leave them with just envy and hunger for what Piltover took from them.

Another problematic element in 2016. Universe lore that has no place being in Viktor's motivations or behaviour, is that "removing free will for their benefit" moment. In 2011. release lore, Viktor (alongside other students) created Blitzcrank, a sentient being with literal artificial free will, and Viktor fought tooth and nail to try and keep credit for his creation. So for starters, it would be antithetical for him to hate free will (he has one himself). Removing free will is not a morally questionable thing to do, it's straight up evil from the perspective of a person you're trying to save, because you're killing what they even are. But clearly the people doing the lore update deemed this appropriate position to plop Viktor into in order to give him something Jayce could oppose, why, I have no idea. Maybe they didn't understand just how downright morally deplorable this is and how it makes Viktor a terrible person, or maybe they indeed wanted him to fully read as a terrible person who begs for sympathy through the unfortunate events that happened in his life. But what unfortunate events? In the 2016. Universe lore, he got expelled exactly due to his own actions, his attempts at removing free will. I'd say that was deserved.

People love the short story with Naph and point to it as proof that Viktor is a good guy, and in principle I agree that a story of this type is fitting. It's the details that make it unsalvageable yet again - he gives a child mind-altering drugs (children have parents or guardians for a reason) and that nullifies any good advice or kindness he showed to the kid. There's also the frankly inexplicably stupid use of... literally rusted tools to do surgery on his own flesh. ??? He would die of infection. Come on.

Arcane Viktor on the other hand has the opposite problem - he's forced into augmenting (whichever form it takes) due to his physical condition, and this is a completely different character motivation. He also (it looks like) doesn't rely on science and technology at all anymore, turning into a traditional mage with metal as simply a conduit/material he uses.

Like you said, the topic of mental health in Academia is now more in the light than it was in 2011, but unfortunately it looks like large corporations still don't deem it "interesting" or "profitable" enough so they replace it with something more often seen. But it's an important topic regardless, and I still like the release lore for a reason.

When Rito was updating lores from 2014. to 2016, it really did look like a rushed job, you may be right.

#thank you for the message #viktor the machine herald #viktor league of legends #not arcane #long post #lore #lore meta #old lore #old 2011 lore #2016 Universe lore #arcane mentioned

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tomyo · 1 year ago

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I know I suddenly posted a lot of backlog adventure stuff back to back haha but just a little lore building here. I felt some energy to actually try games after the rush of playing KH3. At the same time, games are hard alone bleh.

Next week though, I'm briefly staying with a friend who I might try to play through with on Sonic Riders and Nights. Last year when I visited him, I brought my Dreamcast down and we went through Jet Set Radio on it so this is the next playthrough together I guess hahaha.

I would of liked to play more Dreamcast games soon, however a lot of mine don't actually work at the moment. Shenmue and Sonic adventure need to be polished which is big oof anxiety and to a much less extent, Cooking Mama cook off. Might even trade that one in to be real. I think it'd probably be the most fun for us to one day attempt a Dream Cast Binge together. Shenmue will certainly be....a heavy meal of a game and other games like Time Stalkers and Space Channel 5 would just be fun with friends. I might even bring the 360 at some point so I can force him to do Free Riders with me too hahaha.

In general since basically buying every Harvest Moon game out there (as I write this I may or may not be getting grand bazaar and hero of leaf valley 💀) my attention jumped to my Sonic collection. Basically my biggest gap is with Wii era games surprisingly. When I was in elementary to early high school I was pretty big on the games and bought a lot of them for the sub $15 the GameCube ones cost at that time. There is a distinct pain over the fact the copy of Adventure XD I had I had to return for being to scratched given the prices now and for personal reasons, there's someone who I've wanted to be the one to give me their old copy of even though it won't ever happened hahaha. My biggest desires right now are to get my hands on Black Knight but I've also wanted a 360 copy of Unleashed, Generations, Zero Gravity, and Shadow the Hedgehog. Rush adventure and Shuffle also catch my eye but my wallet hurts enough as is. I really need to stop getting into game collecting.

Part of the reason to bring Sonic up is also because I'll probably be playing a replay of Sonic 06 with the friend who leant me his PS4. He apparently never played it but wants to and I love just... Backseat gaming rather than actually playing. Hahahah. Games can be magical but art takes up too much time in my life now. The switch has been helpful for my more on the go lifestyle these days but I often still run short on free time. Even now Ive been wasting work hours to do KH3 this past weekend.

I guess my final little ramble is back to my HM collection. God it's kinda scary how many games I had suddenly bought at once. I keep meaning to play but I know they're the kinda games I have to secretly dedicate a lot of time towards. If I do end up getting the two aforementioned with my recent impulse gets, I've pretty much achieved most major versions of the game. My biggest other missing ones probs come down to the Og Story of Seasons, A version of Back to Nature, and the FoMT remake. Another wonderful life is on there but I'm starting to question my need for that one when I hate all the bachelors which I'm required to marry. Overall though I've reached what feels like a pretty doable conclusion from all of those.

Playing them however.....is a separate case hahaha. I had briefly started a AWLSE run which I might try to pick up, I want to return to Animal Parade as well over the winter, and a Save the Homeland run should??? Be quick??? I just started a my little shop attempt which is a pretty pick up and put down game so I will likely do that daily with Animal Parade when I play that. Overall I think my biggest scare is the handheld games. They should be easier but they feel harder. I want to do A New beginning the most but the game mechanics are daunting. The DS cute Skye playthrough might end up being the better choice from those right now. Which leads me to question how long will I take to go through all those games since I haven't been playing them over the years like they were meant for.

I think if I do go through end of the year as I intend to, recovering from surgery, I will try to go through a bunch of them.

#tomyo's backlog adventure

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phoenixharp-05 · 2 years ago

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okay so ive been thinking about this all day and...i feel like wang yi would most likely not let bai mo be the one to 'save everyone' because she wasn't at the scene of the crash so her time traveling would have to go back far enough and she'd somehow have to stop the accident on a college field trip she wasnt a part of which of course wang yi would have to explain to her first (and at that point, the butterfly effect would make things sort of...wack. this is why i hate time travel lol). also, does time reversal also make anyone not using it lose their memories of that time?? would wang yi be automatically ripped out of the system in that case? so if qin xian came to his world in that scenario, wang yi would know nothing about their various meetings which is....angsty to say the least (of course, might not happen that way but a fan can fan-tasize)

also, i know bai mo is clearly speeding through and there are the readers to be accounted for (which i dont think has been brought up since the first world...) but there might be the possibility that her system's function is different from wang yi's. wang yi's goal is to become the smart but suddenly stupid villain for the happy ending of the protagonists, but bai mo *is* the protagonist in these stories so whats her system's purpose? logically the protagonists just have to respond normally. since she passed her first worlds with little trouble though, even while screwing over the mls, i think it is fair to say she has more leeway with plot changes. for a revenge/change the story to not be cliche and kinda dumb type system, she would do very well. her wanting to rush through the story kinda proves that its working fine in the points department id say. it looks like her system is one that can ignore romantic subplots because we really cant say she has been trying any flirting so far

about wang yi having to stay in role and the punishments, I went back to look and it seems that as the villain who needs to be a proper antagonist, he also needs the overall plot to work (even when he is entirely out of the story?) which conflicts with bai mo's style of screwing everything and everyone over since she wouldnt romance qin xian but wang yi needs her to for the plot to work just like how the 1st world fl and qin xian had to fall in love *and* wang yi had to bully qin xian and get his identity exposed... thus bai mo and qin xian would have to pretend to like each other for wang yi's sake or wang yi would have to pretend to be bai mo, in front of bai mo, to flirt with qin xian.....it really is the most wackass love triangle that isnt a love triangle haha (also, i dont think this qin xian knows about the punishment system, because wang yi hasnt been punished in this world. i know qin xian's theory in ch74 makes a lot of sense from the pov of bai mo who seemingly only has to "win" in the end but qin xian says something like wang yi will be "abandoned" by the system for not completing the task [supposedly of brainwashing bai mo and not dying at the correct time] which almost definitely means punishment in actuality; and supposedly the punishments are going to only get worse the more mistakes wang yi makes though honestly, qin xian's healing ability and fcked up tendencies make me think he might just ignore that anyways)

but concerning that and the "readers" it is somewhat unclear but like. can they choose when they are playing the scene? is it only when the systems are watching?? i recall wang yi was nice to the fl in the first world at the start, though maybe the og wang yi of that world just wasnt a jerk to little girls so it didnt matter. though qin xian saying the fl couldnt visit wang yi while he was injured in that world seems to show that there are certain requirements for an interaction to count. i think wang yi could get away with working with bai mo since he was supposed to bring her to his side via brainwashing anyways though. its really just our fcked up ml thats the problem haha

also, i just remembered that the current bai mo shouldnt know that qin xian likes wang yi? uhh wonder how thatll work out

although as you said if they meet bai mo again later and qin xian reads her mind, if they really dont recognize qin xian again it wont be a problem but if they do....then qin xian might know a version of "him" fell in love with wang yi which honestly if it were me would only make me less likely to actually fall in love with that person, mostly because of spite

really wonder how the story is going to continue from here considering Bai Mo's goal is obviously to get Wang Yi back. She and Qin Xian will probably clash right?

#my sadistic monkey brain wants to see qin xian watch wang yi get punished by the system though #i love this story for the characters and relationships but man does the actual system worldbuilding fuck me up #also okay i read qwtfotd and by far the best arc is the modeling competition arc which is like...ohhh man if wang yi and qin xian competed #as models? forced to do a photoshoot together? or if they were actors....#if its the entertainment industry wang yi could be a competitor but he could also be the president who harasses the star fl type.#also SCANDALS #wait what if they had a western fantasy setting? and wang yi was a dRAGON #my ace ass just wants to see dragons #and MAGIC #demon lords are also acceptable #theres a very specific type of story where one of the characters gets turned into like. a cat or something and gets adopted by the other #now that would be something....

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pegasister60 · 3 years ago

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A thing for @lemliv‘s MCYT Sugar Rush AU!

I wanted to make him a racer but then I remembered I couldn’t draw vehicles.

So you get this instead! Bedwars peeps (aka most of Tiredtwt) in a platformer! The name’s a placeholder but everything else I am confident in.

Aim of the game is to get to the top without dying and to clear as many stages based on Bedwars maps as you can. Heavily inspired by the og Kid Icarus in terms of gameplay with the exception of the default weapon not being a bow.

Below the cut will be more information about the game itself and how it works copied almost exactly from the discord dm where I gushed about it to a friend.

You’ve got story mode, versus mode, free climb, and secret levels.

Story mode is single-player and after the character select screen you cannot change your character. You complete levels and at the end of every level you’ll get some lore. Maybe a mini-boss fight.

Versus mode is just a race. 2 players will try to reach the end of the level without getting left behind. The screen does not split and scrolls upwards faster and faster as the race progresses. If you hit the bottom edge of the screen and vanish off it you take damage and depending on your character that might be it for you. Winner’s character does a boasting animation and the loser’s character does their death animation.

Free climb lets you select a map and then climb and climb and climb until you miss a jump and fall into the void. It does not have enemies and is good practice.

Secret levels are unlocked by beating story mode.

Normally when you play story mode if you get a game over you are given a code to take you back to the beginning of the level you failed in so you don’t have to replay the whole thing to get back. It can be input on the character select screen after holding down red and blue.

When you finish a character’s route you get given a code for a secret level for that character. It unlocks a cool mini-game.

Purpled’s is Dogchamp’s Dinner Rush. You play with Dogchamp following you as you climb through the levels. The only enemies are skeletons that drop bones instead of iron and the objective is to get as many as possible before reaching the end of the level. At the very end, Purpled will toss them to Dogchamp one by one and Dogchamp will jump to crunch them all and then do a happy bark.

It’s cute.

Now some stuff about story mode.

The enemies drop iron and gold and there’s shops you can jump into every few levels to buy stuff from. A potion that gives you extra long jumps for a bit, fireballs that shoot in the direction you’re facing when you use the item button, golden apples that let you take one free hit. You can hold more than one item but you have to use them in the order purchased and it only displays the currently usable item. The controls are pretty simple. There’s the green joystick, red jump, blue crouch, and purple button (tap to attack, hold to use item) along with the black select/start buttons. There’s two sets of controls bc versus mode. When you complete a level, depending on your character, you get either an emerald or a diamond. For Purpled if you get four emeralds you can get an extra life that looks like an enderpearl instead of a player head. When you get down to the extra life Purpled vwhoops onto the nearest free platform with tiny purple particles. This is not always convenient but it’s consistent.

When you lose a life and still have more left your hurt animation is kinda like Sonic’s. Most of your iron and gold scatters and ends up going over the edge, though anything that’s still on the ground you can pick up again.

Killing enemies is the basic jump on top of them, though some are more resilient and you have to actually strike them multiple times with your weapon. Some enemies act as springboards, usually the ones that float across on the horizontal or vertical. Others are just there so you have to actually watch your jumps so you don’t slam into them sideways.

The aim of the game? Advance and survive.

Advance obviously means onwards and upwards.

Survive means keep moving.

If you spend a significantly long time on one screen it rumbles and the dragon roar sounds. The dragon counter resets with every new screen but if you’re absolutely stuck then it’s game over. Dragon swoops up from the bottom of the screen and its wingspan takes out everything on the screen at once, enemies, player 2’s, and all.

When you 100% game over and the continue screen fades out it plays the character retreat animation (Purpled’s is getting picked up by a ufo) and gives you a leaderboard screen.

When you just die normally your character will collapse and their continue screen animation will play. Purpled’s is Dogchamp trotting over to sit next to him. When you insert a coin Dogchamp nudges Purpled and Purpled springs up to keep going.

The character select screen shows all the characters but sometimes they’re not available and their squares are grayed out. When you hover over a character their portrait gets shown along with their stats.

Wallibear has a special fireball jump he can do if you shoot one down. He starts with a fireball. His portrait shows a person in a bear hoodie but his sprite is a blue bear in a hoodie.

Purpled has the highest jump of any character and starts with an emerald. He also has objectively the most Story dialogue because if you don’t play as him he appears in almost every route and becomes the shopekeeper. In his route the shopkeeper varies. And so on.

The more hearts a character has the more damage they can take before they lose a life. All characters have three lives to start with unless you use a cheatcode.

A character’s weaknesses can be compensated for with items though how far into the game you’ll be able to afford them is another matter entirely.

Example being that with a jump boost most mediocre jumpers can match Purpled’s default. And with enough golden apples and enderpearls lined up Purpled can stop being a two-shot.

It isn’t as popular as Sugar Rush but it’s got regulars and it’s nostalgic as hell.

#if anybody draws him as a racer tho please tag me #i wanna see that #my post #i speak #my art #i write #purpled #purpled bedwars #mcyt sugar rush au #sr!purpled #purpled fanart #purpled dsmp #dsmp purpled #dsmp #dream smp

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imperiuswrecked · 3 years ago

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To me, it doesn’t make sense to make Magneto the main villain because it has been done so much before and it would connect it so much to the Fox Films. Also I think there is a GREAT laziness in writing Magneto especially in films. He generally didn’t want to kill all humans, subjugate them yes because he doesn’t trust them. Which isn’t a ‘good guy’ move in itself and he slips in and out of.

He legit murdered genocide I think when he was going to kill all humans. Like no.

I also think that the average cinema goer likes Magneto too much… or maybe that is me. It would also require them to recast the most famous faces of the franchises?

Like is anyone going to care if they recast Jean, Scott, Iceman, Rogue, Kitty, Beast even Mystique but Magneto? I don’t know. I have long been a fan of an actual Jewish actor playing Magneto but following Ian McKellan would be difficult for the casual fans to accept. I don’t think Fassbender left such an amazing impression.

Even my most average MCU fans friends (and god they love the MCU 😤 but I see past it) still talk about how much they want to see a Magneto solo film.

To me I would put the focus on their reveal and sentinels. Then again I thought they’ll go through Krakoa stuff. Like it turns out the mutants have been living on this Island etc

With the ‘simpler times’ comment I have to for the sake of my sanity have to think that it was because Pietro knew where he was. Things were clear to him, as much as it hurt he had his sister. The following trauma had not occurred. Again I don’t think this is true but I am trying to reason bad writing. He didn’t doubt his morality but was indebted and controlled. Shitty actions were out of his control.

I don’t read Avengers so I didn’t know he was shelved for so long.

I think the Trial of Magneto is trying to ride on the coattails of Wandavision because even though she’s not a mutant a lot of the internet was wanting Magneto to show up. So what is the best way to get those fans who wanted to see that? Set up a family comic book where they establish the family again because I guess the MCU fans heard they’ve changed their background and themselves didn’t like it.

I see the Trial of Magneto as something poorly thought out as they saw what the audience was interested in. The timeline kind of clashes uncomfortably with Inferno. Which makes me think it was wedged in there to ride the Wandavision train and undo the retcon on the side of the main storyline.

Thank you for reading my essay/rant

Ok so I'm going to first say you have a lot of great thoughts and great on picking up the whole forced feeling. You are right, it does feel wedged in there and it does feel forced because that's exactly what Marvel did.

The Trial of Magneto was supposed to be an X-Factor plot, it was Leah Williams next arc, here's an article link talking about her podcast: link (yes I know it's bleeding cool but I don't have time to listen to the podcast)

Leah Williams tells us that X-Factor was canceled because Leah's pitch for the Magneto/Wanda story for X-Factor, now called Trial Of Magneto, became such a popular pitch at Marvel but they thought the reader numbers for X-Factor wasn't big enough for this story, so they wanted it as a separate comic. And canceled X-Factor #10 rather than seeing it run as originally planned, with the Trial beginning in X-Factor #15. Williams says she only learned about the cancellation of X-Factor when she was writing #9, so as she had to finish the series quickly, squeezing six issues worth of story into those last two issues, calling it "cramped and rushed".

So I'm not a fan of Leah but the way Marvel treats it's writers has always been terrible so this cancellation doesn't surprise me. Could this be about W*ndaVision? It's likely, but it's more likely this has to do with Hickman bowing out. It's no secret literally everyone hated the retcon and I always knew it would be undone but I didn't think it would take 6 years but here we are.

Hickman leaving is a bigger thing, he stated in an interview ( link ) that he had planned Krakoa and X-Men to be a 3 arc story, and he wasn't allowed to move onto the 2nd arc because the clowns at Marvel liked the idea of Krakoa too much and I'm so mad because that's exactly the kinda behavior that annoys me with the fans, them thinking Krakoa is just a fun playground for the mutants to mess around with.

"Oh, plans have changed entirely," Hickman says. "When I pitched the X-Men story I wanted to do, I pitched a very big, very broad, three-act, three-event narrative, the first of which was House of X. And while this loosely worked as a three-year plan, I told Marvel upfront that I honestly had no idea how long the first part would last because there were a lot of interesting ideas that I had seeded that other creators would want to play with, and so, we left this rather open-ended. I was also pretty clear with all the writers that came into the office what the initial, three-act plan was so no one would be surprised when it was time for the line to pivot." Hickman continues, "However, I also knew that I was cooking with dynamite, and it was very possible that what I had written in House of X, and the ideas contained within, was not actually the first act of a three-act story, but something that resonated more deeply and worked more like Giant-Size X-Men, where it would represent a paradigm shift in the entire X-Men line for a prolonged period of time. So, during the pandemic, when the time came for me to start pointing things toward writing the second-act event, I asked everyone if they were ready for me to do that, and to a man, everyone wanted to stay in the first act. It was really interesting, because I appreciated that House of X resonated with them to the extent that they didn't want it to end, but the reality was that I knew I would be leaving the line early."

I'm so MAD because the thing I was predicting, that Hickman would have it come crashing down and everything would be revealed to be terrible and Mutant Death Sex Cult Island wasn't a paradise is never going to happen because the fucking CLOWNS at Marvel don't want him to move past it. I may have my personal gripes about some of Hickman's writing but we can't deny the man wrote one of the best if only the best Marvel Event with Fantastic Four/Avengers/Secret War.

As for the simpler times comment, like I have my theories that I wrote out here, and that's what I think is most likely but I do think Pietro's life has never been easy or simple once his adoptive parents died. Pietro could be drinking to a time before the Brotherhood.

I would love for a Jewish actor to play Magneto and any other characters who are Jewish. I would love for a Jewish writer to be able to write them too. However Ian's performance literally set him in the minds of the people as Magneto, not even Fassbender's bleh one note Magneto could compare. Imo the only reason people liked the younger Magneto was because he was young, handsome (? ig idk i dont simp for him) and they could ship him with young professor X (cowards. where is the old man ship???) But I feel like a new actor could definitely fill the role if they are Jewish and the writing was good.

Magneto's writing in comics... well I just wish we could have a Jewish writer for him. There's some great stuff for him but I feel like characters like him and Doom could be written better by non white/american writers.

Although by today's standards the og X-Men trilogy doesn't hold up I will defend the first two movies with my life simply because after Blade these movies opened up the idea that a good serious, non campy version where characters called Magneto and Cyclops were taken seriously. X2 in my mind was the definitive X-Men movie. Was it totally comic accurate? No, but it doesn't do what the MCU does, it doesn't treat the watcher like they need to have their hand held through all the military propaganda and "hints to the comics". Also side note; the reason no one cared about any of the other X-Men being recast is because all through most of the X-Men movies the focal story point has been Professor X vs Magneto. If they really want people to care about those characters/actors then we would need stories that focused on them. Not like how Storm barely had any character growth or plot in the og X-Men and even young Ororo got mishandled by the script. This is why I feel we should have "origin movies" for the X-Men that don't do what Wolverine Origins did and try to make a whole new cast but instead should use the stories as they are. If it was Kurt's story then we would see him join the X-Men, and have the other actors revolve around that. Same with each of the others, the X-Men work best when they are working off each other and each given enough screen/page time to shine. Unfortunately we all have our favorites, even movies and writers, so those are who are going to be pushed for fans to love.

Thank you for your long rant and sorry for my own long rant/reply.

#xmen #x men #comic talk #xmcu #magneto #erik lensherr #imp answers

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thoughtfulpaperback · 4 years ago

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Charmed 03x04 review SPOILERS!!!!!!

I really liked this episode so much that I actually had to be nitpicky to fill the dislike section. This episode brought back some of the very missed parts in season 1 that season 2 didn't fill. Mainly a feeling of domesticity combined with the looming danger. Season two was very much constant drama and angst. At the same time, Mel was given a relevant and very true to her character storyline that wasn't rushed unlike season 2.

The vibe felt like a good balance of season 1 and 2. I was entertained and intrigued by the promise of new lore-what is older than the oldest recorded magic?- and satisfied with the jokey/serious bits (like Macy's underfed and overhyped libido). Its a solid 8/10 (only because i save my 9 for the later episodes) because it is kinda rebooting itself again, in that we are getting a "new" magical text (the rock) there isn't anything to complain about lore/canon-wise and I am intrigued so I'll give it a solid 8/10 lore wise as well because the previous seasons set lore hasnt been contradicted so far.

I am super happy with what we've got so far. Moving on.

Dislikes

1. The new monster/threat seems more science fiction than fantasy/magic.

This is a nitpick. I am not unhappy about it but even when the OG Charmed and even Supernatural played with concepts traditionally reserved for sci-fi (parallel dimensions, alternate universes, and alien abductions for example) it still felt true to the genre of fantasy/supernatural/play on religon/etc. As soon as I saw the monster I screamed "It's an Alien!". And the end scene had me asking when Charmed became a sci-fi show. I am interested in where its going but it really was a noticeable shift in vibe so I have it in my dislikes.

2. Suffering as protest

I am not mad at it. I get it. And overall the message is that there is always cost to disrupting the status quo and we have to be willing to deal with that...... BUT, risking your emotional and mental health in abusive situations that you can get out of seems like too much. I believe that you can and should force yourself into spaces that people try to exclude you from and dealing with the reactions (usually negative) that come from that. But living with someone who is emotionally and mentally abusive is not okay. I would never tell a woman or man to continue living with someone who resents and retaliates against them for just being themselves in the hopes they will change somewhere down the line.

I do get it, I just think it is a fine line to walk. I dont think the show handled it poorly. I've seen worse, but it is important to be conscious of the possible ways it can be viewed or possibly trigger people.

3. So.....they not dead and its okay

They may explain it later which is why I didn't count it against the episode lore/cannon wise, but if they are using real names now does that mean they aren't legally dead now. Was that a magic reversal? Or they just magicked thier way passed the credentials and legal documents like last season? I give a pass since I felt the whole witchness protection program thing was underdeveloped anyways and they cam quickly resolve it was a throw away line later on. It's not a devastating contradiction to lore in the grand scheme of things.

Likes

1. The domesticity

Unlike last season the small ways they have shown the sisters routines helps to feel as if they are close and that they are a family and not just people forced together by duty, circumstance, and blood. They all felt closer to each other even with the lack of being physically close. And that's was done just by quick scenes showing how they know each others routines, how thier lives overlap, and how they interact with each other. Making breakfast, grabbing coffee for each other, walking together to the university. Little things like that made such a huge difference in my opinion.

2. Mel doing her thing!

I think what made season 1 Mel so great was that drive to help people. Not out of some idea of duty or responsibility, but out of truly being passionate about fighting with those who are oppressed and/or mistreated.

Mel was an activist both in the magical and non magical world. Season 2 Mel wasn't the same, it felt more like Mel was a prop and she was just going through the motions and just doing things out of a sense of duty which later on she seemed to resent.

I want to see Mel be passionate about saving and working with non magical people AND magical creatures. But if they reserve that for the non magical world, I won't be terribly disappointed as long as the writers continue to give Mel well written storylines and character archs.

3. Hacy

This was a good example or real couple issues and not just drama for the sake of drama. I think my biggest complaint of season 2 was that rather than focusing on realistic issues (not that miscommunication isn't a real issue) the writers threw in angsty and unnecessary tropes (love triangles and other love shapes) that they dragged put too long. You can have flawed couples facing issues without going to those extremes. I think this episode and even the last few episodes did really well with this.

Plus I love a soft hacy scene any day.

4. Maggie/panic attacks/and jordan

I love that not only are they not just dropping Maggie's panick attacks but they show her growth. Her calming herself by remembering what Jordan told her was amazing. She isn't dependent on others to "fix" her. She is using coping strategies effectively. I stan.

Also I do love that Jordan is still around.

Epsiode Highlights

Harry's entrance into the house

Macy's libido

"Kiddo"

Mel teaching again

Alien monster

Maggie suggesting "Men Talk Over Me"

"I love you as fully as I know how...."

Figure jumping out of a rift in the time space continuum

#charmed spoilers #charmed 2018 spoilers #hacy #harry greenwood #harry x macy #macy vaughn #charmed reboot #macy x harry #charmed cw #charmed remake #cw charmed #charmed 2018 #maggie vera #jordan chase #mel vera

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chilling-seavey · 4 years ago

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Heartbreak Hotel (d.s.) - Epilogue

A/N I hated this when I started writing it but turns out I was just hungry. I ate and now I kinda vibe with it. I love love love this universe’s future almost more than the og novel universe lowkey-

August 30, 1966

Two pairs of little hands slid the delicate china plates onto the laminate countertop, tiny sticky fingers pushing the plates safely onto the surface ever so gently. Loretta glanced down from washing the dinner dishes, meeting two mirrored pairs of bright blue eyes and lightly freckles noses and her simple glance had two identical smiles beaming up at her.

“Thank you, my loves.” she said sweetly, petting them each on the head. “You’re great helpers.”

Daniel came up behind her and set the last dishes on the counter before pressing a kiss to her cheek, “Dinner was amazing as usual. Thank you.”

“Well I can’t let my family starve, now, can I?” Loretta joked, patting his chest as he leaned in to kiss her lips, the two children wrapping themselves around his legs like he was play structure. With one four-year-old sitting on each foot, Daniel was stuck in place and he held himself up on the counter as he looked down at them.

“Oh my…it looks like I have two super cute monsters tied to my legs.” Daniel tisked, bending down to tickle each of them until they were shrieking with laughter and scrambled off the floor and rushing down the hallway. Daniel called after them playfully, “It’s bath-time, little monsters, you better get upstairs before I catch you!”

Two little pairs of feet stomped up the stairs and the simple sound of the twins traipsing through the house always made Loretta’s heart warm and she leaned over to kiss Daniel’s shoulder, her hands still wet from washing the dishes. Daniel glanced back at her, leaning back against the counter with his hands behind him on the granite, catching her staring.

“What?” he chuckled lightly.

Loretta shrugged and bit back her smile, turning back to the soapy water in the kitchen sink, “Nothin’.”

“Nothin’?” Daniel mocked her, slipping closer and grabbing the front of her pleated blue pants with his pinky to urge her towards him too.

Loretta leaned in towards him until their noses brushed; always liking to linger on that excited flutter in her heart before their lips met – a feeling that never once faltered since their very first kiss nearly eight years before. Daniel’s hand slid slowly around her waist and across her lower back before pulling her right up against him so they were chest to chest, lips grazing ever so gently.

“I love you.” Daniel breathed, eyes flicking between hers and her lips in their close proximity.

“I love you too.” Loretta smiled, finally kissing him sweetly after just enough buildup.

A sudden thud from upstairs had them separating quickly and looking to the ceiling as if they could see what had happened from a full storey apart. Daniel scratched his fingers lightly over Loretta’s back for a moment and their eyes met again.

“I should go see what they’re up to up there.” Daniel whispered.

“Mhm.” Loretta chuckled. “I’ll be up for bedtime.”

She left him with one more kiss before he was pinching her hip lovingly and heading off down the hallway towards the stairs. She watched him disappear around the corner and smiled at his playful call up to the children,

“All arms, legs, and heads must be accounted for when I get up there!”

Fourteen foot steps later, a pair of laughing shrieks filled the house and Loretta’s heart absolutely swelled with glee as she turned back to the dishes. She flicked on the radio and sang softly as she scrubbed, not even bothering to overpower the sound of her family upstairs.

In the main bathroom at the top of the straight flight of stairs, the door was left open and two sets of children’s clothes were scattered over the floor and some even having landed in the hallway. Daniel was knelt on the tile beside the filled bathtub, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, as he scrubbed shampoo through two full heads of brown hair.

“It’s a good thing I have two hands, huh? It would be very difficult to wash you both if I only had one.” Daniel said.

“Not if you only had one of us, Daddy.” his daughter stated, busy pushing a toy boat through the soapy water.

“I would never ever only want one of you, so that is not even an idea.” Daniel tisked.

“You wouldn’t want only one arm too.” his son argued lightly.

“You are very right.” Daniel agreed. “When did I get such smart children?”

The four-year-old twins just giggled, staring up at him adoringly from their warm bath. He booped each of their noses, leaving a small blob of soap suds behind on each of them, and they both sneezed at the same time, making all three of them laugh.

“Okay,” Daniel grabbed the small plastic pail from the water and filled it up with clean water, “Diana dearest, you’re first. Eye closed.”

She scrunched her eyes closed and pinched her nose so he could dump the water over her head and rinse the shampoo from her hair. She rubbed the water out of her eyes and reached for her toy boat again.

“Your turn, Presley. Eyes closed.” Daniel said, filling the pail again.

The slightly younger twin shut his eyes and held his hands over his face so his hair could be rinsed as well.

When they were both washed and rinsed, Daniel drained the tub and got them each dried off and wrapped in fluffy towels, ushering them both down the carpeted hallway and into their shared bedroom as they dripped excess water in their wake. The twins sat on the end of each of their single beds as Daniel pulled out their pyjamas from their dresser and tossed them each a pair.

“I wanna see you dressed in your jammies when I get back, okay? Impress me.” Daniel said as he backed out of the room. The twins nodded and he tapped the doorframe before heading back to the bathroom to clean up. He gathered their dirty clothes and put the bath toys away just as Loretta finished the dishes and headed upstairs to join them.

Both parents headed back into the bedroom to find both four-year-old dressed in their pyjamas with wet hair and matching grins.

“You two blow me away. You’re too smart for me.” Daniel gaped, just to humour the children and they giggled proudly.

“Let’s get your hair dried so we don’t catch a cold.” Loretta said, stepping out of the doorway to let the twins lead the way into the master bathroom this time.

Daniel took the laundry downstairs to get it started while Loretta took her turn with the children, both of them sitting up on the bathroom counter as she blow-dried their hair and helped them brush their teeth. After a sip of water each and a quick bathroom break, they were rushing back down the upstairs hallway to bed.

Daniel returned in perfect timing to tuck them in, both him and Loretta making sure the sheets were tucked nice and tightly around each child. Loretta closed the curtains and turned on the lamp that sat on the table between the two single beds as Daniel climbed onto bed with his daughter. Diana shuffled over a little to give him room and he draped his arm over the pillows behind her head.

“What story do you want to hear tonight?” Loretta asked.

“Tell us a story, Mommy.” Presley said.

“Tell you a story? What kind of story?” Loretta sat on the side of his bed and brushed her fingers through his soft brown hair that was nearly falling in his eyes.

“How you and Daddy met.” Diana answered for her brother, but he nodded eagerly in agreement, only making his hair flop back over his forehead in the process.

Daniel and Loretta’s eyes met from across the children’s bedroom and they shared small smiles at all the memories that seemed to flick past their minds at the simple mention of their love story.

“Well, we didn’t seem to have much of a choice in the matter.” Loretta said, crossing her legs under her on the end of Presley’s bed. The children nuzzled into their sheets as they got cozy for the story. Daniel pressed a soft kiss to his daughter’s hair as she turned her head to face her mother. “When you become grownups, the universe gives you little hints to who is your perfect match and it’s up to you to find them. But the moment you meet, it is pretty hard to ignore it.”

“Uncle Christian met his soulmate and she had to go back home all the way across the world but the universe didn’t like that so they were brought back together eventually.” Daniel explained.

“And now they’re married.” Diana stated.

“Exactly.” Daniel smiled at her, running his thumb over her cheek and her light freckles. “Just like Mommy and me.”

“But how did you meet?” Presley pressed them on.

“Well, I guess it started in the summer of 1958, with strawberry milkshakes and a man named Elvis…”

#🍓#daniel seavey #soulmate au #soulmate!wdw #why dont we #wdw #daniel seavey fanfic #why dont we fanfic #au

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passionate-hedgehog · 4 years ago

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Hooked (Damien Haas x Reader)

Damien and his producer girlfriend just wanted to update their fans on a SMOSHcast after he posted a picture to his instagram account indirectly outing them as a couple. So, why are Sarah and Shayne singled out at the end?

Damien Haas x OC

5020 words

ITALICS are flashbacks

AN: I wrote this in 5 hours so if it sucks, it’s because I rushed. I tried really hard not to delve into SMOSH fanfiction but fuck me, I’m here. and I hate it. I had to pee the entire time. I have zero clue how VIDCON or any fan convention works. It is what it is. Mythical are assholes kinda in this.

AN2: Find my first Ian Hecox fic here.

AN3: I’ve rewritten it to be a Damien x Reader

m.list

“Welcome to another SMOSHcast. I am Ian Hecox from SMOSH.” The host of the podcast looked into the camera put off to the side to record video. “We have a few guests today. Right next to me is producer Sarah Whittle…”

“Isss meee!” The producer proclaimed in her cute tone. “I’m Sarah Whittle from SMOSH.”

The host continued, “And next to her is Shayne Topp, actor extraordinaire.”

“Heeeeyyyy. I’m Shayne.” The actor whispered weirdly into the mic.

As the group at the table giggled and/or rolled their eyes, Ian did the next introduction. “And then we have our video game professionalist: Damien Haas.”

“Aw, that’s sweet, man. Thank you.” Damien replied to the host and then looked into the camera. “Yes, I am Damian Haas, an actor from SMOSH. Disclaimer: we ALL play video games. Don’t let them fool you, listeners.”

“Mmmm...not quite.” The final guest commented from the left side of Damian. “Unless you count merge games on the phone. Not that you haven’t tried to hook me into them.”

“Oh, yeah.” Shayne piped in. “Y/n, you’re not a fan of video games.”

Damien and Y/n were sitting on his couch with controllers in their hands and cats by their legs. Damien was working on loading Smash Bros onto the tv while Y/n scratched behind Zelda’s ears.

“I know our thing is you watching me play, but I think you might really like this one. I promise.” Damien tapped at his buttons to work through the settings.

“When I gave you that business card back at VIDCON that said ‘I’d love to watch you play games sometime,’ I meant it. YOU play. YOU.” She pouted.

He shrugged as if it was out of his hands. “It’s already been decided.”

“Do we gotta, though? Like, I’m totally content watching you play and using my hands for more important things...like loving on the felines. So important.

”“Super important.” Damien nodded in agreement.

“Super important.” Y/n repeated, feeling as if she won.

“Too bad.” Damien looked back at the screen. “What character do you want to play as?”

Y/n groaned in despair and threw her body backward against the cushions. “Fuck me.”

Damien looked at her with raised eyebrows. “What’s up?”

The look on Y/n’s face told him not to push it.

Damien turned his head to the new producer. “You just can’t be hooked.”

Ian chuckled. “Well, I think we’ve proved that you can, as a matter of fact, be hooked.”

She looked at the host with a playful glare. “You really ready for this conversation?”

It was Y/n’s first VidCon and, honestly, still her first month at Mythical. Her job was to engage the attendees that walked past the Mythical booth in conversation. She was meant to talk about things pertaining to the people and things in the videos. She was still fresh at her production assistant role and didn’t know much about Mythical’s behind the scenes things quite yet. She’d had a few people stop by, and she was able to amp up the hype for the projects she knew were coming up. That was a thing she could do, and she did it well. She loved Mythical so far.

When a small group of people around her age started walking towards her booth while laughing and what looked to be recording, she started to feel a little shy. She was an extrovert, which helped with what she was supposed to be doing. But there hasn’t been an actual group of people to approach her. The closer they got, the more nervous she got. She ended up deciding to take the L and make herself look busy in hopes that they’d just keep walking. It worked in the end, but she felt bad about purposefully not doing her job. She promised herself she wouldn’t let herself do that again and made sure to engage with anyone she could while at her station.

When it was Mythical’s turn at the panel, she stood off to the side and took pictures of her bosses and co-workers. She filmed a little for future needs and made sure to enjoy her time overall. She also made sure to listen to what Rhett and Link talked about and store it away for later and made mental notes on things she had questions about.

It was when she was going through some of her pictures during the fan Q&A that she noticed someone was watching her. She had glanced up for a second while being in thought when they locked eyes. She squinted while trying to figure out who he was really looking at because there was no way he was looking at her. She wasn’t even a producer that the fans knew. It took a minute, but he eventually looked away, while looking like he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

The next day, she was able to explore a little bit more. One of the OG producers took over the booth, and she decided to go and see what else was out there. She ended up stumbling upon interactive video gaming booths. She wasn’t a fan of video games, but she always liked watching people play them. Those that really enjoyed video games would be the most entertaining. It always pulled her in.

She scanned the games that were being played and caught sight of the group of people from yesterday. Feelings of guilt from not doing her job hit her, and she gnawed at her lip. She knew she had to start going easier on herself, but there was still a fear that the company would one day realize she was some incompetent girl from the midwest that didn’t belong in California or the industry.

“Hey, are you okay?” A voice spoke from in front of her.

She looked up and noticed the guy from the day before looking at her with scrunched eyebrows. “Huh?”

“You looked like you were trying to give yourself snakebite piercings with your teeth, and your foot was tapping faster than Thumper. Do you need anything? Or is there someone I can get for you?” He looked around the area.

She shook her thoughts from her head. “No, thank you. I’m fine. I didn’t realize I was that lost in thought.”

“Do you...do you work for Mythical? I saw you yesterday taking pictures of the panel, and I noticed you were at the booth. So yes...you do work for Mythical. That was a dumb question, never mind.” The guy scratched his face awkwardly.

Y/n assessed the situation. Was this guy a fan of Mythical? Like one of THOSE fans that she needed to be concerned about? Or was he just trying to make conversation? Y/n was at a disadvantage. She was alone at VIDCON (and California altogether, but that's for a different day), and she wasn’t quite sure what to do.

“Hey, Damien! I thought you were going to play the Halo campaign?” A blonde guy came up to the two. There were a few others with him; Y/n recognized them as the group from earlier.

The guy, Damien?, looked to the group as if forgetting that they were there. “Oh. Yeah. That slipped my mind entirely. Guys, this is...uh…”

“Y/n. My name is Y/n.” She smiled her work-place smile—the polite one she saved for when she didn’t know what else to do.

“She works for Mythical. Isn’t that cool?” Damien smiled as if he really thought taking pictures of the panel at VIDCON was the biggest dream job anyone could ever have.

“I think you’re way too excited about what I do for my job.” She laughed in response.

“It’s probably because he relates to it a little. We work for SMOSH.” The blonde friend supplied.

Y/n tried really hard not to let her face control the conversation. “Forgive me, but I don’t know what that actually is. And by the looks on your faces, I feel like maybe I should….”

“Oh, it’s ok!” Damien interjected. “If you haven’t gone to a panel yet, ours is later tonight. You should come by and check it out. Our channel has a few different things.”

One of the other group members stepped in. “Yeah, there's sketch comedy, video games, things like that. You’re at the video games booths, so I’ll assume you like video games?”

That made her chuckle. “I actually don’t really like video games. I was just wandering around because I got a break from the Mythical booth.”

When she looked at the group again, she noticed they were all staring at Damien with raised eyebrows.

“Oh. Right…” He said while looking shocked. “Well... as Noah said...there’s sketch comedy?”

“Well, who doesn’t like to laugh??” Y/n shrugged. “I’ll try to make it to the panel! Thanks for introducing me to something. I have to actually make it back to my booth to help with cleaning up. But I’ll be waiting for the panel!”

On the last day of VIDCON, Y/n was exhausted. She was just thoroughly exhausted. When she went to get herself a snack from the food service area to refuel for breaking down the booth, Damien was there as well. His group wasn’t with him, which made it easier for her to approach him.

“Damien?” She called when she was a few feet behind him. He turned around and held a pleasantly surprised expression. “Hey, I ended up missing your panel, but I hoped it went really well.”

“That’s ok. It means a lot that you found me and told me that. Thank you for the consideration.” The look in his eyes was earnest. He really meant what he said. “How was your first VIDCON?”

“I wasn’t really sure what to expect, to be honest. I don’t know a lot about any of this. I’m completely new to the industry. But I’m excited to see where it takes me. I hope to see VIDCON next year. Maybe you’ll be here too?” She licked her lips, wondering if that was a little too forward.

“I hope so, too. I’d really enjoy that.” He gave a smile that melted Y/n’s insides.

“Oh! I have a thing for you!” The PA reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out a small card. “It’s the industry, and one of the rules is to exchange business cards, right? Here’s mine.”

He looked at the white cardstock in his hands, noting that something was scrawled onto the back of it. “I gotta say. You’re super prepared for someone new to this. I don’t even have one. But thank you. I gotta get back to my group so we can head back to Sacramento. It was nice to meet you, Y/n.”

Y/n watched him reach a hand out to her, and she took it to shake. “It was nice to meet you, too, Damien.”

The host sighed. “And our final guest, today, is SMOSH producer: Y/f/n Y/l/n. This is her first cast, and we’re very excited to have her on.”

“Aw, thanks, Ian. I almost forgive you.” She said with a glint in her eyes. “Yes, I am Y/n. I’m a new producer for SMOSH. I currently work under Sarah until I can get my feet more settled on the ground here.”

Shayne chimed in. “Have you noticed a difference yet? Between here and Mythical?”

The producer looked to be in thought before she replied. “Hm. The obvious difference is the job title. I was just a PA there, but I did a lot of producer side work because there were opportunities. I didn’t ever actually produce, but I still did a lot. I’m not complaining; I loved it. Obviously, or I wouldn’t have stayed as long as I did. But because I am currently working under someone, it’s mostly the same.”

The host closed his water bottle after taking a swig from it. “Are you excited to start as a producer on your own soon?”

“Uh, oh! Trick question!” Shayne called in his Aunt Carolyn voice before going back to normal. “You gotta say yes. Or you get fired.”

“Listen, bruh. I’ll take you. Don’t think I won’t.”

“Well, that’s not fair. Fighting you is like fighting three people right now. I’d have absolutely no hope!” The actor threw his hands into the air.

“OOOH nice segue, Shayne! It goes right into today’s first topic.” Ian looked into the camera. “We’ve always considered SMOSH as a...a family. We’ve had good times and some really awful bad times together. There are a few different kinds of out-of-the-workplace relationships amongst all of us.”

“Yeah, like Y/n has become my complete best friend. I mean, it started while she worked at Mythical, but it hasn’t changed since she moved over here. And right now, especially right now, we’ve grown even closer.” Sarah cut in while motioning to the new producer.

Y/n excitedly jumped in. “Yeah, I’m super thankful for Sarah just existing in the first place. I don’t have any family here in California, as you guys here at the table know. So, during everything that’s been happening, it’s been really...uplifting to have her support through it all. I couldn’t imagine the past year and a half without her.”

Sarah’s sweet smile held as she reached her hand out across the table and Y/n grabbed it to hold for a second. The men around the table let out a chorus of “aw’s.”

“Yeah, Damien, are you being replaced?” Ian asked. Jokingly.

The actor chuckled. “Listen, if Sarah wants to replace me, that’s fine. She’s got more cats. I completely understand.”

“That’s true.” Y/n looked into space. “She has quite a few more cats than you. But Freya and Zelda have become my children. I could never leave them behind. I’d have to take them with me!”

Damien looked at her for a second before he gave a simple “no.”

“I tried. Sorry, Sarah.”

The older producer giggled and shrugged. “That’s okay. I don’t know how many more cats Claudio will be okay with me having.”

“You just see Claudio coming home one day to an apartment full of six cats, and he’s super confused. ‘Sarah Whittle???? Do you even live here anymore? Sarah?’” Shayne laughed after giving a very bad mimic of Claudio’s accent.

“And then there’s just one giant cat because I’ve become one myself. ”

“But it’s like a cat from the movie ‘CATS,’ so it’s super terrifying.” Damien chuckled his way through his addition to the joke.

“Oh, my God. No. My poor husband. I couldn’t. OKAY, no more cats. I give I give! Damien, you can keep your girlfriend.” Sarah laughed.

There was a quick hush that spread across the studio. Ian raised his eyebrows and nodded. That just made his job so much easier.

“So, back to today’s topic…Some of our guests have an announcement to make.”

“It’s not really an announcement, though, Ian.” Damian began but stopped when the girl to his left gently put her hand on his arm.

“It kinda is. The photo from earlier wasn’t like...an official announcement. The caption you gave was a little vague. I also don’t know why I’m even arguing. My bad, babe.”

Damien turned toward her as best as he could with the surrounding equipment and table. “No, don’t worry about it. You’re right. This morning’s photo wasn’t an official statement.”

If there was one aspect of being in Y/n’s current life situation that she detested the most, it was the constant migraines. Without fail, she would develop a headache when she first woke up.

Damien learned to be prepared for the morning routine. In the first few months of their new lifestyle, he had grown to realize that mornings weren’t going to be the easiest. He would be the first to wake up, take his shower, and start the coffee and tea. Y/n had been a heavy coffee drinker until recently.

After the actor got his morning routine out of the way, he went to wake up his girlfriend. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a morning person...but that she had difficult mornings. As he walked into their shared bedroom, he noticed she was sleeping peacefully for the first time in a while. Without wanting to miss out on the opportunity to express how happy he was at seeing his partner in a relaxed state, he pulled out his phone and snapped a pic. He opened Instagram to edit the picture, adding a grayscale filter. The caption was kept short, simple, and mildly vague; they did have a SMOSHcast announcement to make later that day, after all. After making sure that the blankets covered her body, he posted the picture for all of his followers to see. He proceeded to put his phone back into his pocket and get on with the rest of the usual morning routine.

Y/n pouted. “You’re so good to me.”

Damien gave a gentle smile and tapped her bottom lip so she’d stop. “It’s because you deserve the world.”

“I remember now why I made that rule about you two showing affection in the office. Y’all are gross.” The host shivered.

“You don’t have to lie, Ian. We know you dig it,” Shayne interceded.

“Yeah, when I first started a few months ago, I really believed my job would have been in jeopardy had Damien and I been caught in anything other than a respective distance apart from each other as co-workers. But, now that I’ve been here for a minute, I can tell how much you like to see your kids happy.” Y/n winked at her boss.

The president of SMOSH nodded in agreement. “The rules were for you two, honestly. I knew that you wanted to keep things private, so I was just trying to create a safe work environment for you. I’d never, well...at least now that I’m in charge of it all… I’d never ask you guys to do anything you weren’t comfortable with. When we agreed that you’d be coming over to SMOSH, Y/n, I knew that your privacy as a person and a couple would be at the top of your concerns. It wasn’t necessarily your choice to be a part of SMOSH, and I’ll never stop apologizing for that, but I want your experience here to be worth it. You’re worth it just by existing.”

“God, Ian. You know I cry easier these days, man. Don’t do this to me. Don’t be that ho. Fuck.” The girl was wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her SMOSH merch hoodie. “It’s fine. I didn’t actually put makeup on today. It’s cool. Whatever.”

“But I mean it. You were thrown to us when we needed it the most, and I’m, and the rest of us, are extremely grateful for you.”

There was a jovial nature to the lounge that everyone was in. The SMOSH cast hung out in between sketch takes and were gathered for an impromptu meeting that Ian had called earlier that day. No one thought anything of it when Y/n walked in and made herself comfy next to Damien on the couch. Shayne was originally next to him, but he automatically got up and sat on the arm instead.

“How’s today been so far?” The Mythical PA asked as she settled in.

“Not bad. We knocked out a few sketches. We have some Pit stuff to record after this meeting.” Her boyfriend’s best friend responded.

“OH Y/n!” She heard Courtney cry from across the room. “Them boots! They’re so cute!”

“Thank you, Courtney! I found them on a resale Facebook shop. I’m not mad at them.”

Everyone in the room fell into their own conversations about this and that. Y/n took the time to look around and really take in the SMOSH members surrounding her. A year ago, she didn’t know ANYTHING about SMOSH, but she was happy for the relationships she built and the opportunities that being affiliated with the channel gave her. When SMOSH was bought by MYTHICAL, she found herself wandering over to SMOSH once or twice and did some side work. They’d borrow her occasionally, and she loved it.

Ian had walked into the room during her reverie and was attempting to draw everyone’s attention. Y/n missed the first part of what he was saying but eventually caught on.

“So, because we’re down a producer, we’ve been able to pick up a new one full-time. I think we’re all pretty excited that Y/f/n Y/l/n is officially joining our team as a SMOSH producer.” Ian kept going, but Y/n tuned him out to work through what he just said.

“Wh...what?” She asked, completely confused. “What did you just say?”

“You moved to SMOSH?” She heard Jackie ask from her right.

“Babe?” Damien looked down at her with scrunched eyebrows. “I didn’t know you were leaving Mythical.”

“I...I didn’t either.” The girl started floundering. “I...what? When did I move here? What do you mean I work here now? I don’t...What? I love Mythical...I would never leave.”

The president of SMOSH sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Well, fuck. This is not what was supposed to happen. I was given the green light from Mythical to make an official announcement. I would not have had this meeting if I, at any point, didn’t think you would know…”

“So...just like that...I work here now?” The girl was close to tears.

The room was quiet.

“Right. Right...I uh…” she got up and wiped her hands on her jeans. “I guess I have an office that I gotta cleanout on the other side of the building. If you’ll all excuse me…”

No one said anything as she left. Everyone looked at Damien, who then looked at Ian. Ian sighed heavily and walked out of the lounge.

Y/n was in the office she used to occupy putting things in boxes and trying hard not to cry. She loved working at Mythical. There hadn’t seemed to be any problems that she could see, but maybe she was so blinded by all of the good things in her life that she missed something.

“Do you want some help?” Damien stood in the doorway, wearing a sad smile.

That’s when she lost all composure. He must have caught the second she was about to start sobbing because he was right next to her chair, holding her as she kept sitting. He whispered words of love and encouragement as she cried.

“I don’t understand! I thought I was doing so well. I love it here! I got so much out of being here. What did I do?!”

Damien was crouched next to her at this point, wiping her tears. “Did you talk to them?”

“For like a minute. They said that I’d see more opportunities at SMOSH. They said that they could see me becoming something better over there. But they didn’t tell me that before they talked to Ian? I’m the one that essentially got fired! How can they just make these decisions for me?! I’m not…” She stopped.

“You’re not what, Baby?” He had his hands cupping her cheeks.

“I’m...I’m not ready...I don’t want to be a producer yet. I’m not ready to leave the nest yet. I don’t want it to change.”

Damien nodded in understanding. “That’s what’s really upsetting you, isn’t it? You don’t feel you’re ready to make this career change. Yes, and about being traded to SMOSH.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I love all of you. I love SMOSH. But I belong at Mythical. This is my home.” The woman sniffled. “It’s not time to leave.”

“Baby, you’re going to flourish at SMOSH. I know you’re terrified. Especially since this isn’t something that was discussed with you. And you’re right. It’s not fair. I’m sorry that they didn’t say anything to you.” He brushed some hair out of her face. “Love, it’s your choice if you want to work at SMOSH, but Baby, it’s time to leave Mythical.”

The next day at SMOSH, the couple found themselves at Ian’s desk. They were called in first thing, but Y/n wasn’t quite sure why. Ian was in his chair, taking a sip of his coffee while the two looked at each other.

“I think...we need to talk about somethings now that you’re both at SMOSH together. I know that you guys have been keeping everything private dealing with your relationship.” Ian took a minute to think through his thoughts.

The two nodded to show that they were listening and agreeing, so far.

“I couldn’t be happier that you two found each other. You’ve somehow managed to find your perfect other halves. It lifts the spirits here when you’d come over and visit, Y/n. You were already one of us before this week happened. I mean it.”

Y/n gave a sweet smile. “I know you do, Ian. I love you, too.

”Ian sucked in a breath. “So, I’ll have to lay some rules down in order to protect your privacy, because that’s my concern. What you do out of office hours is whatever. If you decide to come out as a couple, then I support it one hundred percent. But for now, with your wishes to remain unknown to the fans as in a relationship, there can’t be any PDA. We gotta nip that in the bud. I know this place is our home, but you never know. And when we’re on location or on a set, just please be careful. Okay? We’re a small company. We don’t have that many PR resources. Okay? Does that sound fair?”

The couple looked at each other. They seemed to be conversing with just their eyebrows and head movements. It took a minute or two before Damien spoke up.

“Yeah, about that...We do want to keep it as private as possible, but that might start to get a little hard.”

“Please don’t tell me that one of you posted something and that I’m too late.” Ian tapped the desk, anxiously.

“Oh, don’t worry, Ian.” Y/n bit her lip. “You’re not the one that’s late.”

The president couldn’t keep the deadpan expression from his face. “You kids are gonna put me in an early grave.”

“Keep it up, Hecox, and I’ll quit. I swear it. I’ll just sit at home all day with the cats whilst judging OG SMOSH videos and why that weirdo with a bowl cut acts the way he does.”

“Okay, claws in, tiger.” The table laughed with Ian trying to fake-placate the girl. “I’ll hold in the nice things for the rest of the cast.”

“Thank you.” Y/n blinked. “No, wait!”

“Hey, Y/n,” Shayne called. “I like your hoodie.”

“Oh, this ol’ thing?” She pulled at it. “It’s borrowed, and it’s super soft. I’m LIVING. I wanted to ask if there was some vault or something where I could get my own.”

“No, no…” her boyfriend patted her shoulder. “You can wear this one. You can just wear all of my hoodies. Don’t worry about it.”

“I won’t be able to fit in them forever. I was already bigger than you to begin with. I don’t have long until I’ll get stuck putting them on. I need bigger ones, babe.” She turned to Ian. “Honestly, I don’t care what they look like. I just know I’m quickly running out of time before nothing fits anymore.”

“Yeah, of course. You’ll get your own to pick from. Don’t worry about it.”

It was Damien’s turn to pout. “But I like seeing your tumtum. Don’t put it awaaaay.”

“I love you so much, Damien, I do. But I’m about to suffocate in this.” She tried pulling at the bottom hem of the shirt to prove her point.

“If I may ask, how far along are you?” Ian spoke. “Also, as I ask this, I can see Shayne in the corner of my eye, giving me a look because he knows this answer.”

The blonde gave a suspicious smile. “I’m like the pregnancy stalker. I wasn’t trying to be weird about it. I was trying to give them their space, but like, Damien is my best friend in the entire world. I admit I have a problem. It hasn’t reached the point where I show up to doctor appointments, however.”

“Yet.” Y/n chimed in. “But uh to answer your question, Ian, we’re about...6 months? I think? Honestly, anything with numbers is gone from my head. Pregnancy brain is real. I talked to my best friend back home, who has two children, and she said sometimes, pregnancy brain never goes away. So...I’m SUPER excited for that. I can't wait to never do math again. THANKFULLY my man is super smart. He just has to be smart enough for the both of us from now on until we die.”

“That’s the most pressure I’ve ever been under. Thanks, babe.”

Shayne laughed. “Yeah. Having a kid? Easy. Being smart? Oh, man. OOOOOOH MAN. Whole other level.”

The SMOSHcast went on and drifted away from Y/n and Damien’s relationship to other topics. They talked about upcoming projects, future trips, and movies that were coming out. Shayne and Damien threw out jokes. Sarah and Y/n shared looks pertaining to things that were between just the two of them. Ian made sure to keep the talk flowing and always had something to say to stir the pot.

Finnerty called out that they were winding down to about fifteen minutes left of recording. Ian looked at the couple across from him and gave a slight signal that Sarah and Shayne didn’t miss. They shared a look but waited for the expecting couple to start. Y/n and Damien looked at each other to decide who was going to start. Y/n shrugged and sat up straight.

“So there was something else we wanted to share. But it’s actually for the two of you.” She faced Shayne and Sarah. “We were wondering if you’d do us the honor and be our kid’s godparents?”

Sarah’s face lit up, and Shayne gave a simple and quiet “what?”

Damien picked up where Y/n left off. “You two are our best friends, respectively. While yes, we wanted to discuss everything and make this cast an honest statement to the fans, we wanted to ask you something important to us. We love you guys, and there’s no one better for it.”

“OH MY GOD YES! REALLY?!” Sarah yelled but immediately apologized into the mic to the editing team. “You really want us to be godparents?? It’s a total, yes from me! I could never turn that down!”

Everyone turned to Shayne, who was busy trying to hide his tears behind his hands as he tilted his head back. They let him try to collect himself for a minute before Damien tried again.

“Buddy? You good?” He put a hand on his best friend’s shoulder.

“Oh, my God. You really trust me with that?” The blonde actor ran his hands through his hair while still looking at the ceiling.

The look in Damien’s eyes was softer than what Y/n was used to seeing aimed at anyone but herself. But she understood it. It was Damien and Shayne, after all. She winked at Sarah as the two giggled softly.

“Of course! Who else do you think I’d ask? You’re the only one I’d ever pick for that, man. I love you. And I’d be honored if you’d just say ‘yes,’ you dingus.”

“Well, duh! You think I’d say no? Oh, my God.” Shayne and Damien awkwardly hugged as best as they could.

Ian nodded at the whole thing. “Yep. Well, that’s a good place to leave that. Thank you, guys, for listening. If you enjoyed this SMOSHcast and want to know when we post more, then hit that bell. Subscribe. And hey, watch the rest of the videos we’ve uploaded. Stay safe out there. We love you.”

#smosh fanfic #kill me #i keep falling to depths i never i think ill reach #smosh #what have i become #damien haas #damien haas x reader #shaymien friendship #is this another smoshcast #smoshcast #family

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taocastleprincess · 4 years ago

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shaman king (2021) ep 1

i said i was going to type smth up last night but teaching is literally so exhausting sooo i'm here now!! i have watched the episode like a million times since Thursday LMAOOOO i think i mostly have the dialogue memorized, that's how much i've watched it. i'm just so happy though, i've been a lifelong fan of SK, i was obsessed w it in my teens (still am but i was on a DIFF LEVEL in HS), and i'm just SO HAPPY we finally got a reboot!!! Shaman King deserves a canon adaption, so glad that Takei got it :)

this post got super long rambly so my thoughts/glows/concerns are under the cut!

gonna start w the GLOWS

-- honestly, i am in LOVE w the new OST!!! i have had it on repeat since it was released in Japan!! Megumi is a godsend and i feel like both the OST and the ED kept the same vibes as the og adaption OSTs and EDs. can't really explain why that is but the melodies and the feelings you get from the new OST are very authentic to the SK-verse.

-- the animation is absolutely beautiful and i could hardly focus on anything else the first 2 times i watched it. i was really scared about how the animation was going to look bc so many weird rumors about the animation team were circulating on twitter but it is nearly perfect. they stayed true to Takei's style and the background scenery is out of this world. i also think all of the characters look brighter and more... like them? like, i love the og SK but even as a kid i felt like the animation did not really capture any of the characters (especially Yoh, Ren, and Joco) in their true essence. Like, it was just very dull and didn't accentuate any of their key features. The reboot is beautiful and I love the way certain characters' eyes are drawn. I thought that the look of Ryu's crew was a great example of the animators highlighting and emphasizing defining features of certain characters. They aren't major characters at all but we know they are important to Ryu (and his story) so their designs are given their rightful due.

-- i know that a few people didn't appreciate the beginning scene of the episode for a myriad of different reasons and i find them all totally valid and understandable, tbh. however, i think the opening scene was really great. i had a few problems w it (i do think the 'chosen one' set-up for Yoh was heavy-handed and weird bc i don't think the source material really wants us to believe that Yoh is the stereotypical 'chosen one' and i think it pushes back on that trope quite a bit but i'm open to hearing diff opinions on that) but overall, i think it gives a very cool and mysterious set-up for the anime. i don't think it does much to spoil the eventual ~Hao is Yoh's twin!!~ reveal because, to me, personally, it wasn't that big of a reveal/plot twist. what i WILL say is that the opening scene was very diluted in comparison to the manga vers and that was a bit disappointing but i think they might revisit the scene/make it more dramatic later on in the series when there is more context around the events of that night so that may just be a little tease, you know?

-- this should not be shocking to read from an account that is named 'taocastleprincess' but... AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH THE ENDING SCENE WITH REN AND BASON WAS SOOOOO PERFECT AND I DIDN'T EXPECT IT!!!! ON MY FIRST WATCH I RAN IT BACK LIKE 300x!!!! THEY BOTH LOOK AMAZINGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

moving on from glows and to CONCERNS, i spy a lot of possible issues w pacing, character development, and authenticity. the series is currently only slated for 52 episodes, a whole 12-eps shorter than the OG adaptation, and the entirety of the series is supposedly being adapted so... 52 eps for 300 chapters? to me, that seems extremely rushed even with best-case scenarios. i have read opposing views on twitter, people think that 52 eps is just enough if they cut 'filler' and 'stick to the most important arcs.' i don't think i can agree with any part of that argument. i really think that it's a REACH to say that Shaman King has filler chapters or filler arcs. there is a purpose for each and every chapter/arc in the series. plot development, character development, foreshadowing, etc. those all hold distinct and important purposes and the love, thought, and time put into the SK manga is exactly why people love it. 'filler' does not have a true narrative purpose, it only serves to lengthen the story, so to say that there are scenes/chapters/arcs that can be glossed or skipped over you would have to make the argument that they have no narrative purpose or bearing on the story. i personally think it would be extremely difficult (near impossible) to make that argument for anything within the og 300chap work but, again, i'm open to seeing if anyone can change my mind.

the first episode of SK flew through and glossed over a lot of important scenes for character study/development. by the end of the first episode, you don't really understand or relate to Morty as one might have done after the first episode of ogSK. and although Yoh is supposed to remain mysterious/confusing/weird for the first couple of chapters/eps, at the end of ep1 there is no GRAND interest that has been developed about him. The first episode operated at a breakneck speed and to its detriment. the characters so far are extremely flat regarding everything beyond character design. the viewer is hardly invested in the partnership between Yoh and Amidamaru because there is (little to) no build-up of their partnership and both of their characters are... not real to us yet. even the scenes regarding Amidamaru's past and his friendship with Mosuke doesn't affect or interest the viewer at all because it is referenced, addressed, problematized, solved, and wrapped up all within 3.5 mins.... huh?

what REALLY destroys me, though, is that the anime seems to be foreshadowing that Manta's character will be playing a backseat role.... the first couple of adventures are from Manta's perspective. he asks the questions that we have, situates us in this very weird world and helps to world-build without it being obvious or heavyhanded, and we start to understand the nuances of his character. none of that was present in 2021 ep1. it kinda felt like Manta was a plot device instead of a character. granted, like i said, none of the characters feel real yet but Manta getting this sort of treatment so early on is dismaying. i really do feel like Manta and Yoh's (developing) friendship and trust in each other is the heart of the first quarter of the series (and is continuously referenced and exalted throughout). rushing through (or, really, just straight up cutting out) the first couple of subplots/mini-adventures that they have together feel really weird and detrimental to the overall tone and purpose of the series. those early adventures cement so much and really lay the groundwork for the rest of the story. it's disappointing that they didn't get their due.

this isn't a very organized review/breakdown, i'm just typing as i think, but to sum up what i am REALLY worried about is this: if the series continues at this extremely crazy pace, i'm a bit worried that the characters will never feel fully developed. not only that, but SK has a lot of heart-wrenching scenes and also a lot of scenes that are beautifully filled with hope and care. i just don't see how those scenes are gonna hit quite as hard or even as they SHOULD if the pace doesn't slow down and let us really sit with these characters and their feelings and motivations.

i mean, i know that this is only the 1st episode of a 52ep series but a lot of things don't look too promising... anyway, these are my initial thoughts/concerns/feelings. i'm way too busy to actually sit down and plan out all of my millions of thoughts but hopefully this was good enough!

#shaman king #episode review #yoh asakura #manta oyamada #personalshy #shy's sk thoughts

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falloutglow · 4 years ago

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5 OTP Songs - Got Lost & Found Love - Echo Gray/Nick Valentine

Saw um... @its-sixxers doing this and weeeeeell... thought I’d uh, give it a shot.

tagging: @glitchvault74, @roachvalentine, @potatocrab, @diredigression, @wastelandersparadise, @nuclear-darling, @commonwealthcommoner, AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO DO IT. sadfsdfkhsd heck

(art drawn by @wastelandersparadise/ @pop-peroni ;w; <3 )

Electric Love by Borns|| Only the Lonely Survive by Marianas Trench|| Sleep by Poets of the Fall|| Kiss From a Rose by Dan Avidan & Super Guitar Bros (Seal cover) || Sway by Dean Martin

*lies the fuck down* You wanna hear me talk about lyrics, check below.

Electric Love by Borns

Honestly, this and a few other songs are very tea shop monsters au (long story) related, but I cannot stop associating this song to them. Helps that Nick’s a synth aaaaand Echo’s got (surprise!) electrokinesis as one of her psyker power(s).

And every night my mind is running around her Thunder's getting louder and louder Baby, you're like lightning in a bottle I can't let you go now that I got it

All I need is to be struck By your electric love Baby, your electric love Electric love

Also...its sappy af and super cheery and its what they deserve.

Only the Lonely Survive by Marianas Trench

So. I’m in slowburn hellscape with these two fools. This song is basically a mutual pining, we both have baggage, and “I can’t be loved.” combo deal.

I don't know how you feel yourself But I'd rather hurt here than be happy somewhere else No one will scar me like you do But no one will ever be compared, compared to you

The heart gets slow-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh We all heal though-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh You never know-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh To stay or go

Echo’s been debating for as long as she’s been in Diamond City if she should leave or stay in Diamond City. She’s never voiced it to anyone except to Dogmeat. Hell, she’s afraid of getting close to anyone...in fear of being found out. Who she is... Who she could even trust...

Meanwhile, Nick’s got the baggage of a depressed pre-war cop in his head on top of all the shit he’s dealt with being a synth. It’s hard to know how anyone ( ESPECIALLY new) will react to him. Sure he’s got a quick tongue and will absolutely demolish folks if they even try to start shit- but that shit still hurts and is probably something he just... will sometimes get hit with especially during the quiet hours of the night when few folks in Diamond City are still awake...

Burns us both To love this close We lose ourselves And I know we won't get out alive But only the lonely survive

They are both lonely people trying to make do with the world they found themselves in and spread some kindness. They are both also very much idiots who will thrust themselves into very stupidly dangerous shit without thinking of themselves. dumbasses.

It hurts like hell To love this well But no one falls The way we fell We'll burn alive Only the lonely survive

Mutual Pining fools who cannot fathom anyone wanting to be in a close relationship (let alone intimate) with them because of the baggage they carry. Slowburn hell...where the other helps, slowly but surly, unpack the luggage and tell them to stay a while...

Sleep by Poets of the Fall

I’ve definitely mentioned uh this song before where I kinda see it as Nick watching Echo deal with her echoes nightmares no matter where they go in the wastes while on a case.

Hear your heartbeat Beat a frantic pace And it's not even seven AM You're feeling the rush of anguish settling You cannot help showing them in

It takes a while, but after realizing how tough it is for her to sleep sometimes, Nick starts offering his coat as a blanket, and surprisingly it...helps. While it can’t always block Echo’s ‘echoes’, it helps her sleep longer and well...after time it just becomes routine.

Still it don't mater if you won't listen If you won't let them follow you You just need to heal Make good all your lies Move on and don't look behind

As their bond and feelings grows stronger as well as realizing how much comfort they give each other...they start letting each other into the flashes they see...

Day after day Fickle visions messing with your head Fickle, vicious Sleeping in your bed Messing with your head Fickle visions Fickle, vicious

Sleep, sugar, let your dreams flood in Like waves of sweet fire, you're safe within Sleep, sweetie, let your floods come rushing in And carry you over to a new morning

Because Echo’s not the only one who sees memories that aren’t her own. Nick admits he gets glimpses of memories from pre-war!Nick, the guy whom’s brain the Institute (illegally) downloaded into a synth. This song sorta starts out as an almost lullaby of sorts, for Nick to try and help Echo get more sleep and turned into a shared “You’re tired while you’re brain never stops. Let me be here for you, and help you get through this.

Kiss From a Rose by Dan Avidan & Super Guitar Bros (Seal cover)

Not gonna lie the main reason why is just a few dashes of lyrics from this song:

My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen

and

A light hits the gloom on the grey

Nick’s eyes literally glow and Echo’s eyes are silver gray...and well her last name is also Gray but yea lol. Does not help its got that slow dance energy. What do the lyrics mean? fuck if I know, its a song that gives me feels that’s all I got.

...Also...first kiss...eventually yes... *lies down*

Sway by Dean Martin

SO. This is like spoilers (cause its still WIP) but uh... ahem. Their first dance is to this song.

When Marimba Rhythms start to play Dance with me, make me sway Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore Hold me close, sway me more

The amount of times I’ve listened to this song for the fic..and then also like marked the end of certain lines to figure out timing of the lyrics? Ho man... ANYWAYS, I sorta hc that Nick would really enjoy the “crooners” like the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra; Dean Martin; those dudes) along with jazz music. Sway being one of his, uh, fav songs and a dif hc is that Nick likes to dance. Possibly having flashes from OG!Nick and associating dancing with good energy/memories. Finding a dance partner in the wastes is a bit hard.

Other dancers may be on the floor Dear, but my eyes will see only you Only you have the magic technique When we sway I go weak

MORE spoilers: Echo realizes she’s got a crush.

#as told by glow #tag meme #ship: got lost and found love #its music time #fallout 4 #fo4 #Samara 'Echo' Gray #fallout ocs #nick valentine #....hi i am having emotions askdfhsdf #its like 1am

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flowerslightning · 4 years ago

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Have you heard about PFA and MFA?

or the full name is ‘Psychological First Aid’ (PFA) and ‘Mental Health First Aid’ (MFA)

Can we relate it with Cloud Strife? As we all know, Cloud had mental illness and was struggling alone. Let’s take a quick look on this topic then and see if characters in FF7 ever give PFA/MFA to Cloud or to each other. This is going to be a looooong post although I tried to simplified it, so, yeah. Good luck reading this !

Disclaimer : I’m not a psychologist. I’m still a student and psych is not my major field. During my intern, other than we got exposed a lot about psychiatric disorders and ways to deal with them, we also got trained psychological first aid in emergency department. If it wasnt because of this quarantine, i would have finished my training in emergency field. There might be false interpretation here or there, forgive me for that and pls correct any mistake in this post

This will probably trigger LTD. Sorry, but I had to, Pls read this post with open mind. Keep in mind I like both Tifa and Aerith, i have no grudges agaisnt Barret, Vincent, Nanaki or Cid so I am not being bias with any of them. I forgot a lot of stuff in OG (I played it when I was really really small), so I will be using lots FF7R and AC references here (and a bit from OG, depends whatever I remember)

Good to go? Allow me to rant. Read it slowly and if u skip some of it, u’ll probably mislead my actual words, and u’ll be triggered af. Don’t come at me with madness if u dont read the whole post properly

What is PFA and MFA? Generally speaking, if Basic First Aid is about covering the wound to prevent further bleeding, then PFA (Psychological First Aid) and MFA (Mental Health First Aid) is like applying a bandage on ur mental to avoid u continue being distress.

Usually, PFA is often associated with disaster event or terrorism, where large number of people got affected. Meanwhile, MFA focus in one person who is developing mental health prob or already in mental crisis due to certain traumas, such as vehicle accident, house burned and etc

Pls note that, certain people NEED MFA while the others may NOT NEED it. It is important to respect their needs/wants. Some victims may refuse verbally but they ACTUALLY NEED it (CLOUD STRIFE) and maybe some victims look like they dont need it, but they want it, and its super fine to give it

PFA/MFA not only done by the professionals and it is not a professional counselling, although necessarily training is needed if u want to approach deeper in this field. PFA/MFA is also not a psychological ‘debriefing’ - in which MFA/PFA doesnt need to involve a detailed discussion of the trauma event with the victim, but instead, it is an alternative way to psychological debriefing that helps for long-term recovery. (unless if ure a pscyhiatrist, then u have to forget about MFA and ask detailed questions regarding the events to help the patient to recover)

MFA and PFA both almost the same, but I will mention more about MFA here.

MFA (Mental Health First Aid) is not just about comforting “Oh, are u alright. I’m sorry for what u’ve been through”, but it is also about assessing their needs and concerns, protecting them from harm, provide practical support and support them feeling able to help themselves and others.

The main key for these two term is RESPECT - respect victim’s dignity, respect both parties safety and respect victim’s rights to make decision. Even without the PFA, we should respect these three in whatever circumstance we are in.

A lot of us honestly were born with natural skill of MFA bcause of our own empathy, instinct or experiences and some got trained professionally. Some of them already had MFA due to high common senses they have.

Some of the Do’s and Dont’s when giving MFA include;

Do’s : 1. Be trustworthy | 2. Respect their decision | 3. Be aware of and set aside ur bias | 4. Make it clear to them u are available for help even they push u away | 5. Respect their privacy and personal space | 6. Do remain calm and soft when the person in distress | 7. Listen and don’t interrupt their talking | 8. Help in terms of basic needs | 9. Create connection the person with others | 10. Give hope to them | 11. Provide private place to talk about the event | 12. Respect their strenght | 13. Advice small necessary matters or give simple words of encouragement | 14. Acknowledge positive features of what victims have done

To simplify, there are 3 ways for MFA to begin, and I will only talk about one of them, the one that is the hardest to do, that is when u notice someone looks distressed and ure concern about them, and leading u to approach them first without them noticing ur concern. [Am I putting the right words here?]

In Cloud’s case, who do u think the first noticed Cloud behaved oddly and went to help him first ? - yeah Tifa. U probably would say “OFC she went to help him, she met him first at the train station. That guy looked sick af, who wouldnt ask if he was alright. If Aerith/Yuffie/Jessie met him first, they would do the same”. Okay guys, that was not my point.

Let’s focus one by one characters and see what Do’s and Dont’s MFA (Mental Health First Aid) they’ve done to Cloud and other charas. Keep in mind, none of them know what Cloud had gone through, but Cloud had showed some obvious sign he was unwell and only a few of them noticed that and took action for it.

The symbol [X] means the Dont’s in MFA and ( ✔) means the Do’s in MFA.

Biggs Jessie Wedge -

I know there’s a thing about man helping man’s psychology and Jessie being flirty with a guy.They [X] thought Cloud was like how they saw Cloud. and they considered it as normal. They didnt see Cloud under distress so they dont have the need to concern his mental status. The good thing about them was, the three of them (✔) respect Cloud’s strenght, giving Cloud the confident to be in action. But, Jessie [X] had zero respect on Cloud’s personal space

I wanna highlight about Biggs. Biggs had an attitude of overthinking stuff, but it wasnt so bad that would cause him harm, he just cared too much about his friends. So I believe Biggs was the type that would notice immediately when his friend being strange and would give MFA (Mental Health First Aid) with his own instinct even without the person asking it.

During the Sector 7 Plate attack, where Biggs was severely injured, when Cloud said he was not a fan of kids and Biggs said Cloud had so much in common (in common of what? Cloud with the kids or Cloud with him?), Cloud gave him ‘a sad look’ and Biggs reached out his hand to Cloud’s head. Biggs (✔) remain calm and soft when dealing with Cloud’s feeling (who faced traumatic event but Biggs didnt know about it) on that moment despite his current physical status. And also he (✔) wished goodluck to Cloud, leading to prevention distress on Cloud

Marle -

Marle [X] judged Cloud for someone who had no skills, but she entrusted Cloud to take care of Tifa’s well being. Not knowing who Cloud was, Marle noticed Cloud looked glum, she (✔) offered her ear for Cloud to rant and knew right away he was not having enough sleep, then (✔) advising him to sleep more . Lol, she was [X] biased with Cloud and Tifa. Not her fault, she only knew Tifa’s story, not Cloud’s. After the Sector 7 plate fall, we saw her being the most active member to help with the remaining citizens there. Marle without a doubt had given the citizens there PFA (Psychological First Aid) , by helping them with their (✔) basic needs, (✔) create connections, (✔) put away bias, (✔) remain calm and soft.

Barret Wallace -

Barret was the same like Biggs Jessie Wedge. I’m sure Barret thought Cloud was just fine. Barret saw Cloud as a mercenary with stinky attitude,[X] judging him like that causing Barret to gave him the same attitude too. But overall, he (✔) respected Cloud’s strength a lot

However, after the Sector 7 plate fall, Tifa and Barret were the one that hurt (mentally) the most, Tifa as usual locking her emotions, there we could see how Barret comforting Tifa by (✔) giving words of encouragement and proceed on (✔) hugging her to show his empathy. Barret also (✔) remain calm and soft spoken when talking to the survival victims of Sector 7 citizens. He also (✔) acknowledged what the citizens had done to survive

Vincent Valentine -

Don’t be surprise Vincent was listed here. This guy here was like another version of Cloud but more mature. In addiction, they both kinda share the same pain. So, I personally think Vincent understands Cloud pretty well. In AC, where Cloud was mentally ill, Vincent saved Cloud from Kadaj and brothers and (✔) took him to safer place. That was a common thing to do. But let’s go deeper, Cloud never told him about himself, but Vincent already (✔) aware of Cloud’s trouble with the geostigma stuff and Cloud’s current mental status. Vincent, (✔) calm and soft like always (✔) didnt hesitate to asked if all of these were just about ‘fighting’ and it made Cloud to ‘re-think’ further about his problem. He (✔) didnt pressure Cloud here, instead he was (✔) helping Cloud to understand the condition he was facing, and this lead Cloud to avoid distress.

Aerith Gainsborough -

I know Aerith was special. She was an important character and devs created her to be ‘loved’ by the fans so that her death would be tragic. Aerith did almost all the things that shouldnt be done when giving MFA to mentally ill person. Some of u may say “Duh, Aerith didnt know anything about Cloud thus she had no intentions of giving him MFA”. Yup, ure right. Aerith didnt know about Cloud’s mental status but so as all the other characters in the series.

Aerith was [X] being pushy with Cloud, in lots of ways, from making him as a bodyguard for free to forcing him to wear a dress. She [X] forced Cloud to accept her idea about meeting Andrea, dance and gown. She also [X] forced Cloud to help picking the flowers. Aerith [X] didn’t let Cloud to have his own decision [X] neither giving him a chance to talk, and [X] abandon his feelings (cough..uhm, Aerith resolution). She also had [X] no respect on Cloud’s personal space and [X] too much touching and leaning to him. Aerith also [X] put herself in danger and that worried Cloud. She [X] looked down on Cloud in someways too

However, at the Sector 5 slum, where the hooded man appeared, Aerith noticed Cloud was having trouble with himself, she (✔) encouraged Cloud to keep himself together. Also, throughout the entire game, Aerith always remind the team to (✔) have hope in everything. Her positive vibrant attitude was what (✔) made everyone able to believe in themselves. She also (✔) ensure Marlene’s safety and protected her. She was able to (✔) remain soft and calm when approaching Marlene. Remember Betty? Aerith took her time to helped her out and she even (✔) respected the little girl’s strength, (✔)slow and steady when saving her and (✔)soft spoken

Tifa Lockhart -

Tifa met Cloud at the train station, saw him being ‘not-so-fine’ state despite Cloud claiming he was completely okay. Tifa didn’t know what Cloud had gone through and she (✔) didn’t pressure him to talk about it. She even helped him to (✔) find a place to sleep even when Cloud never asked for it. Tifa unconsciously was the first person to give Cloud MFA without knowing what Cloud had faced previously. And Cloud, on that moment, he really needed a help. Tifa also (✔) stated that if Cloud need anything, she would help him with it

Tifa (✔) remain calm everytime Cloud had sudden headache, she didn’t leave him alone and (✔) didnt put any pressure on him by asking question. During the (✔) Alone At Last, they had privacy Tifa asked about what happened after he left Nibelheim. She (✔) listened and didnt interrupt him, (✔) neither pushing him to talk more. Moreover, Tifa (✔) put a distance with Cloud, dunno if she was the one who was being uncomfortable or she actually (✔) respect Cloud’s personal space and privacy. Tifa (✔) didn’t force him to stay at Midgar, she asked him and was glad Cloud would stay for a while. Tifa was no doubt (✔) respect all Cloud’s decisions too. Also, don’t forget, Tifa also helped Cloud to help (✔) make ‘close connection’ with the Avalanche members and people in Sector 7 slums. She also (✔) didn’t do much touching with Cloud (Well, I mean, she didnt touch him in clingy way)

In AC, Tifa (✔) encouraged Cloud to have hope for Geostigma and the family

Tifa did [X] put herself in danger by becoming Corneos bride participant and that gave Cloud trouble (but Tifa ensured him she would be fine on her own previously) And btw, in OG, I read about the fans questioning why Tifa [X] didnt tell Cloud the truth. I would like to argue this matter. TIFA IS A CHARACTER WITH REAL HUMAN FLAWS, she too had her own traumatic event and was not really sure of herself on what to do. However, considering what Tifa had done for him, Tifa had helped with Cloud’s psychology the most.

I know Cloud was putting up a font, and that made him to have condescending attitude, and people couldnt see what Cloud was hiding behind the the bravery face. However, all of us as fans acknowledged the pain Cloud was suffering in the entire FF7 story. Some of the characters like Tifa, Marle, Vincent, Biggs noticed it and they took actions for it, while others, I do personally thing, they were hurting the Real Cloud’s mentality more.

Long story short, Tifa was the one who gave mental health support the most to Cloud, followed by Vincent (AC), Biggs and Marle. Aerith did the worst with Real Cloud's mentality + she then died, mking Cloud be more miserable,

However, Aerith actually had the best way to give MFA/PFA to children, but maybe the worst to Cloud. While Tifa gave the best MFA to Cloud which helped him to get himself together through out the entire time

Alright thats the end of my talk. Thank you for being with meee

#final fantasy 7 #final fantasy vii #cloud strife #character analysis #final fantasy theory #advent children

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cutietobio · 5 years ago

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HC’s for Ushijima, Bokuto, Kageyama, Nishinoya, & Kuroo with an S/O who fosters kittens / has lots of pets cats. Like sis just can’t seem to say no to an animal in need. How would they react?

Sure, anon! Hope you like it :’) I apologize for the inconsistent length, but I get more ideas for some characters than others at a time.

USHIJIMA

- He’s a dog person (confirmed by my group chat, very reliable source) so he’s used to more energetic pets. He does admit that your cats are very calming, and he finds himself smiling at the sounds of their purrs. All of your cats are drawn to him like a magnet, he doesn’t understand why and he sits with a stoic face, hands on his knees while dozens of cats are rubbing up against his legs, chest and one even found its way upon his head. He would remain as still as possible, hoping they find it comfortable up there.

- He’s not very talkative when playing with your cats, but you see the soft smile which graces his features at the funny antics of your furry friends. It’s all very calming, your favourite moments is during a rainy evening when Ushijima cuddles with you upon your couch and all your kitties join in on the love. (catch me crying in the club rn, your head is resting on his chest, legs intertwined, blanket over the both of you and your cats are scattered everywhere. One is nestled upon your feet, a few on the armrests and on top of the back while a very tiny kitten is curled up on Ushijima’s sternum, underneath his warm hand)

- He would spoil them a lot, bringing over treats and exotic-sounding food. The once he came over with cotton candy flavoured meat treats and you soon realized his obsession with strangely flavoured items. Each week he comes back with something weird and you fear that your cats won't like it but you give it to them anyway, to your surprise, they almost never turn their nose to it, and if they do, Ushijima is able to get them to eat it just by holding it out for them.

BOKUTO

- He’s surprised upon first visiting your home, only to be greeted by seemingly dozens of cats staring back at him. He lets out a sudden noise of excitement, causing all your furry friends to scatter in multiple directions. Yeah, they’re kinda scared of him and yes, Bokuto looks extremely dejected about it. The whole visit he attempts to warm up to your cats who keep a wary eye on him and pouts when none of them warms up to him. Feeling bad for him, you brought him your newest addition to your cat family which had been a tiny little kitten which you distanced from the rest. It had no power to fight back and instantly curled up into Bokuto’s chest. You swore his eyes grew misty and his smile was absolutely contagious.

- Eventually, your cats warm up to him after his constant visits and he never fails to bring them gifts. These include treats, toys and even costumes. He buys these all unironically, he’s genuinely so excited to see what they will look like in the cute sparkly dress he bought because his heart swelled upon first seeing it. Unwilling to disappoint, you dress up one of your more tamer cats in the outfit and Bokuto is almost brought to the verge of tears at how cute they look. He’s very enthusiastic when it comes to your babies :’)

- Frequently questions when you’re considering getting your next cat. You make the mistake of asking him if he would like to tag along with you and pick out a cat to foster, you return home with four additional kittens all snugly asleep in Bokuto’s arms. (...can ya’ll imagine seeing him carrying a bunch of sleeping kittens in his muscular AF arms... I-)

- Your love for cats is so endearing to Bokuto, he catches himself staring at you whilst you play with them, admiration gleaming within his eyes. Seeing you so gentle towards them makes his heart swell with pride at the thought that he managed to meet and date someone as loving and caring as you. He doesn’t even play his staring off as something else when you catch him and instead he openly admits what a lovely person you are. (your cat is sitting there like...human...proceed giving me attention with the delightful chase of the feather string...why do you love this owl-head anyway)

KAGEYAMA

- The only experience Kageyama has had when it comes to pets is his own fish which he sometimes forgets exists. This is proved canon by my group chat members and I. He’s pretty overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cats you have and finds himself awkwardly stroking one who comes up and rubs themselves against his legs. He looks a bit uncomfortable, not sure what to do. You help him ease up by putting your hand on top of his and guiding it over the soft fur of your cat.

- Kageyama finds your will to help cats admirable, not that he would do something like that himself, but he can tell a lot of hard work goes into it and he thinks you’re amazing for being able to cope. Many times he finds himself willing to help you clean up or even help bathe one of your cats. His hands are full of scratches afterwards and you feel sick to your stomach with guilt, only for him to offer you a small smile of reassurance and tell you he didn't mind - it was fun, in fact, seeing as he never had the opportunity to take care of his own pet in such a way before.

- He’s only close with one of your cats. For some reason, this cat eases him and whenever he comes over, he’s instantly greeted by the cat upon stepping through the door. The one time, you caught Kageyama falling asleep upon your bed with the cat curled up against his chest, both of them with seemingly content smiles. You managed to snag a picture and it will forever remain your profile picture because what on earth can top a sleeping Kageyama with his favourite cat snuggling on top of him. (me thinking about Kageyama cuddling with a cat.)

NISHINOYA

- Your poor cats.

- In the beginning, Nishinoya is in awe at how many cats you have. He doesn’t make an attempt to rush towards them but he definitely thinks their cute. He’s more interested in how he can entertain himself by playing with them. You show him some tricks they can do and he’s immediately hooked, oohing at every minor thing they do.

- “Whoa! that was so cool,,”

- “Uh..that wasn’t a trick.”

- Lowkey terrorizes your cats ngl. He’s gonna test out the theory that cats are afraid of cucumbers like he’s seen so many times on youtube and laugh his ass off when one of your cats jump nearly ten feet into the air. He records the whole thing and likely uploads it to social media. He likes to set up pranks for them. The one time you wanted to walk into the kitchen, only to find the entrance blocked off with clingwrap and all your cats sitting expectantly before it, their heads bouncing around in sync. Peering around the doorway, you find Nishinoya sipping on a milk box as he waves a toy around, holding back the snickers at how funny your cats look trying to get through.

- Overall, he thinks its really cool of you to do such a thing. Despite pulling pranks on your cats, he’s really endeared by them. Knowing how much you want to help, he often sends you posts he finds from animal shelters who are looking for foster homes. It makes you happy knowing he keeps your interests in mind when you’re away from each other.

- He’ll come over with catnip one day, saying he wants to see how high your cats can get. “Damn, pass the joint du-” *hiss* “I just want my hit, man.”

KUROO

- He’s in his element whenever he comes over to your house, your cats literally swarm around his feet upon barely taking a step inside the door. He’s their cat daddy, and you have zero say in the situation. Your cats probably like him more than you and you can’t even be mad at them tbh. Of course, you get a bit salty when your cats, which you have handpicked and rescued from a terrible fate, turn their nose to your cooing and tempting treats and instead find comfort in curling next to Kuroo who is watching youtube videos, not even making an effort to coax them into doing so.

- You have that one cat, the true OG, your loyal disciple who refuses to leave your side. They turn their head at Kuroo like he’s a walking infestation inside your house and they refuse to look at him with their nose up in the air. You don’t pick favourites, you love all your kitties equally, but you do find yourself loving that specific cat more during those moments. Kuroo doesn’t really mind, he just ruffles your hair teasingly and sarcastically comments that it’s good at least one of your cats love you. (yes, you did attack him with a pillow afterwards.)

- He truly doesn’t mind your mild obsession with cats. He loves them and they love him, with the exception of one. He doesn’t encourage you out of the blue but if you talk about potentially wanting to rescue a new cat he’s totally there to support you. This dude buys you so much cat food! You hardly need to go out and buy any, it’s like an unlimited supply. The one time he burst your front door open, carrying two bags of cat food over his shoulders whilst posing theatrically. “Come to me, my sweet children,” he says loudly over the deafening meow’s of your cats that circle his legs.

- He would likely ironically buy your cats these stupid looking costumes and dress them up with literal tears of laughter in his eyes. He lowkey makes fun of your cats and even YOU feel personally offended. But you gotta admit, he brings home really funny outfits and you feel bad for laughing at times. Kuroo is there for all the fun things, but as soon as it comes to bathing your cats or cleaning out litter boxes, he’s outta there.

#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #kuroo #ushijima #kageyama #nishinoya #bokuto #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu headcanons #kuroo x reader #ushijima x reader #kageyama x reader #bokuto x reader #nishinoya x reader

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