#i love axl so much its not funny

[vizziefizzie]

Have you seen him??

[axl-awesome]

how to make a paper crane

(AUDIO IS FROM THID VOD LOL: https://youtu.be/H0swdzRSmng?feature=shared&t=880)

[croquettish]

That scene had my mouth hanging open! Like Jesus Christ Henry, that was BLATANT. The whole way that scene is structured says a lot- and its before any of the romance dialogue options pop up. So I think this is when Henry realizes that he doesn't care, that much, I think, about repressing his feelings- like he kind of gives up on being anxious and hiding and wondering if Hans will reciprocate- he thinks, "he won't." And from that gives himself the freedom to express his tender emotions without it being a confession that expects an answer. Thus his shock when he DOES get kissed later on.

I haven't been able to quite pinpoint the instant Hans hits the floor though.

You're SO RIGHT omg... Henry spends all game throwing little hints at Hans (and the player tbh) and Hans keeps giving him so so little because he's terrified of a) admitting anything either to himself or b) not having his feelings reciprocated. I do think Henry didn't expect it at all when Hans kissed him, but he's also been trying to RESIST for so long and so hard, in part because of what he knows of that moment carries so much weight between them.

In fact, I keep thinking about this post about how Henry feels like he's the axle around which the world turns:

Which, yes, is very funny if we think of it in the context of this being a video game and him being its protagonist, but it really made me realize how deeply meaningful it is that Hans kisses Henry first.

He tries all game to show Hans that he cares and never expects anything to come of it precisely because he's always the one who has to do everything, always the one who has to initiate everything, and if he doesn't, nothing ever changes. The world only changes if he changes it.

But here Hans makes the decision. He doesn't wait for Henry to make the first move, he kisses him. And it startles Henry so badly, shakes the very foundation of everything he knows and has come to experience in his video game life, that he rejects that advance, that unfamiliarity at first. Before realizing that no, this is also his choice. Hans has shown him what he wants, that he wants a change, in the most direct way possible, and unless he turns around and actively chooses the same in return he'll never have the thing he desperately wants but has been so terrified of wanting.

That kills me a bit. That just once he didn't have to be the one to do it. And it scared him, but he found his footing again, and this really is just the ship of all time????

AS FOR HANS!!! 👀

Not to be insane here but please picture me coming into this classroom glasses askew, learning materials overflowing in my hands, hands covered in chalkdust-- I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS FOR SO LONG AND I HAVE SO MANY RECEIPTS

I will preface this by saying that in no way do I think my meta on this is canon or correct in any way, it's just how I personally think it happened. I also know I already touched on this a tiny bit in my claustrophobia meta, but definitely not to this extent. So THANK YOU @ anon for giving me an excuse to do a deep dive!!!!

The first indication we get that there's more to Henry and Hans' relationship aside from the entirety of Next to Godliness and how Hans tells Henry he could kiss him after he rescues him in The Prey is in the DLC, The Amorous Adventures of Bold Sir Hans Capon, where Hans tells Henry that he'll have to look elsewhere for the love of his life (while staring right at him) and follows this up by insisting that at least he's capable of appreciating his romantic poetry!

Given the right dialogue options Henry has the chance to start flirting with Hans from like within the first thirty minutes of gameplay:

Henry... why did you say that... you had no reason to say that...

And then two seconds later you're given the option of explaining the nature of Henry's relationship with Theresa. If you don't go with the option of "nothing happened between me and Theresa," Tankard inevitably pushes for more and saucier details, and Henry has the chance to either shut down the conversation right there or... elaborate:

Sending some mixed signals there to your man, Henry...

Hans immediately jumps in to stop Henry:

Regardless of what Henry says, whether he denies anything ever happening with Theresa or he goes into explicit detail, he then proceeds to let out the deepest fucking sigh. In fact, there is a video up about precisely this sigh that I thought was intended to be a hilarious commentary, but after looking at the comments I'm not so sure anymore. Either way you spin it, however, both those offended and those gleefully rubbing their little paws together seem to equally view this as the first hint we get that there might be more to Hans' feelings than meets the eye.

It's also possible for this thought to spark in Hans' mind if you take the Miller Route to get to the wedding that the thought at the very least came up for him here. He quickly bats it away and of course Henry can go the Blacksmith route, but the potential for this thought to arise here exists.

So then, if not at the wedding (where he arguably exhibited quite a few jealous tendencies), then when?

Let's look at their romantic interactions, but backwards.

We know by the time of their romance scene, he knows. He knows all too well how he feels. He just has to work up the courage to do something about it.

Sidenote, it kills me a bit that this is the expression on his face after he realizes that Henry put his hand on his. Like he's trying to tell himself in that moment that if this is all he can ever have, maybe that's enough. Just knowing that the potential was there...

We also know that he knows by the time we run into him in the underground passageway during The Italian Job:

Something he only feels comfortable saying after Henry clarifies that this is about more than just obligation to him:

The "Maybe more than you know..." carries so much fucking weight there. It may as well have been an implicit confession. It's not surprising that Henry felt the need to be this upfront about how he feels, especially given how their interaction up on the ramparts moments earlier went.

(Add to that the fact that Henry almost died just then and it's not particularly surprising that he upped the ante by the time they're in the underground passageway.)

Henry tells him that he thinks they've been spending too little time together lately (of all the times to bring that up, Henry...) and Hans is like no no it's fine don't worry WE'LL BE BACK TO NORMAL BEFORE LONG, this whole gay thing between us might just be a fever dream for all we know!!

He throws it out there like it's meant to be bait for Henry. A test for him to either pass or fail. And honestly? It is. Henry is handed a little note with radio buttons that just reads "Are you 100% heterosexual? Do you really love women? Like really really really love women?" and here are the possible responses:

One of them fails. If Henry says he can't wait to go wenching again, all of Hans' fears are abated. But he's also crushed at the same time.

What a relief! Now I don't have to worry about these gay feelings anymore! ... oh. Now I won't have to worry about these gay feelings anymore.

But Henry answers correctly.

This conversation. I think I could write a whole paper on this interaction alone, I swear to god. Those are some PREGNANT FUCKING PAUSES between what they're saying here. It's like Henry is trying so fucking hard to say the quiet part out loud. Let's translate!

Henry: I like you. I like you a whole fucking lot. Haven't really been worried about wenches all that much.

Hans: Yeah. Obviously. Of course we like each other. And I'm sure we mean that in the same way... which is... actually I don't know which way we mean that...

Henry: Yeah I don't think you understood what I was saying at all. How obvious do I need to be exactly...

Hans: There's no way he likes me like that, right? Am I reading into things?

Hans panics! And promptly taps out. Like yelling out a safe word, he pulls out his safety harness heterosexuality and slams it down on the table.

I'm sharing the full screenshot here just to remind us of the 💪💪💪 he pulls. Holy shit he's trying SO HARD to blow off that entire interaction. Like setting up a safety he can gesture at just in case all of this is actually in his head. All of their romantic interactions make so much sense if you consider that both of them (but especially Hans) always have a church official standing right next to them, watching everything they do and scrutinizing everything they say.

It's entirely possible that things would be a bit different if Hans hadn't been engaged against his will. He just goes from cage to cage to cage in this game (once again thinking about my claustrophobia meta, don't mind me, there's a post about Hans and freedom/agency coming as well). As free as he felt after being rescued from Maleshov, he's immediately imprisoned again via the engagement. Hans almost always has shackles of a kind on him, and those shackles dictate his behavior in certain ways like they do here.

But we can conclude from this that he knows how he feels, even if he doesn't yet know how Henry feels.

The same circumstance applies when Henry has the opportunity to flatter him in Italian! (Incidentally this moment also shows up in tomorrow's fic update.) Does he know what he's saying? Is Henry just practicing his Italian? Did he also say this to the women? It's not inherently romantic if it's said to his bro just... casually.

And Hans knows Italian!!! Hans knew what Henry said, so the fact that he feels the need to clarify does suggest that he's aware of his feelings by the time they hole up in Ruthard Palace as well.

This is further corroborated by their conversation where Henry insists that he'd gladly trade places with Hans instead of going after the papal legate as he worries about leaving Rosa and Katherine with Brabant. And Hans responds by saying this:

Remember how I said that Hans tests Henry? Both of these interactions fit perfectly within that schema. Henry responds by asking, completely baffled, what he's on about:

And Hans is like oh don't worry about it bro my question meant NOTHING AT ALL.

Things are a bit murkier before this point, but not by much.

Their time at the Devil's Den and shortly after is marked by a pronounced jealousy over Sam's relationship with Henry. One could argue that he's unaware of his own feelings in all of this, not entirely sure why he feels so strangely jealous, but that's harder to argue in light of their little hunt out where they have the conversation about Hans' penchant for Karolinas.

This of course goes back further, to when we're told that Hans is dealing with his increasing claustrophobia by riding out to Bohunowitz and getting ridden there in turn:

Why does he lie? Why does he make this up?

We see something similar when he tells Henry about the bow he stole for him:

It seems to me fairly obvious that he's trying damn fucking hard to push Henry away here all while keeping him close. Urging him, effectively, to be as heterosexual as possible and to view Hans as entirely heterosexual in turn.

I have feelings for you. They terrify me. Maybe if they're not an option they'll just go away on their own. Make me lose hope in this. Remind me of how straight you. See how straight I am? I'm definitely not overcompensation. Please for the love of god just tell me you're so unbelievably into women I can't take it otherwise.

One could argue here that he's still unaware of his feelings, the fact that he's trying this hard to actively work against them suggests to me personally that he's trying his very hardest to repress knowledge that he actively knows and dreads. This inclination of his could be dangerous for both of them but especially for Henry and has to be quenched somehow—and ideally sooner rather than later.

But it's not enough. He's still left with the jealousy. He's told himself that he can't be jealous of women (not that Henry gives him any reason to), but that still leaves Sam open as fair game. How dare he not be trying to push Henry away? How dare he just get that closeness without having to go through everything he and Henry have gone through together? How dare he get Henry when Hans is actively denying himself? If Hans is on a diet, no one else should get to eat any food, etc etc. It's just logical! And so very fair of him to demand!

There's no time for him to express much of anything romantic after the massacre at Raborsch, and the last real romantic moment they had was, of course, during his rescue from Maleshov.

So what do we do with that?

If we look at their romance scene, Hans actually invokes a specific moment from earlier in the game, as if he suddenly sees that moment, what Henry said, in a new light. That now he's afforded the context of knowing he's in love with Henry.

I missed this the first time and only later went back and re-examined it (like only a completely sane person would do). I wasn't sure at first Hans meant, and then realized it was this bit:

Because of how badly he wishes he could save Henry for once (even though that was literally one of the first things that happened in the game; you gotta be easier on yourself baby boy) and how much that means to him in a romantic context as well.

He didn't read this romantically at this point yet, but he does by the end. What happened in between those two events?

The engagement announcement.

This is the face of a man who is actively having a panic attack because he both realized what he wants (Henry) and that he can never have it (because he's been engaged against his will):

When he stares out the window after I would bet good money on him wishing Henry was there in that moment.

We do see him being quite jealous when at the banquet at Trosky where Black Bartosch also is, and there's some hesitation in his reply (as though he's genuinely taken aback by what Henry tells him) after you choose the first romance option, but I'd argue that he doesn't have words to put to his feelings by this point yet. The feelings are there, but the understanding isn't. And while they're escaping Maleshov, things are so chaotic that when we choose the romance option, Hans' emotions are 100% on the terror of the secret passageway and not on his feels. So this moment seems to me the most logical by far.

Now, I know not everyone is going to agree with my take on this. That's fine!! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on this. I just know that the second I saw this scene, I thought to myself, oh my god, he just realized he's in love with Henry. Now, of all times.

[spinningbuster98]

Mega Man X7 Part 1

So I know that technically speaking Zero 1 should be next since it came out the year after X6 but y’know what? There’s only 2 X games left, might as well do them sooner rather than later. Besides the Zero series has a much more connected story throughout its games so it’s more fitting to do them all in sequential order without interruptions.

It’s just too bad that we now have to deal with quite possibly one of the worst games ever made

X7′s issues are much more...explicit than X6′s. You can spot them just by looking at it.

Probably the first thing you’ll notice is just how ugly it looks. This is a 2003 PS2 game, this thing came out at the same time as Sonic Heroes and yet it looks like a Dreamcast game, if the character models were completely and utterly inexpressive, the characters animated like actual puppets (and barely at that) and the environments looked as bland and uninspired and murky as fuck. The opening stage is a recreation of X1′s (because X7 came out to celebrate the X series’ 10th anniversary, now where have I seen a similar situation before?), and it just serves to further drive home the point of how despicably low we’ve fallen

So this game wants to be 3D. Well 3D and 2D as well, with different sections in each level. Barring Legends, which was 3D but kinda cheated by having a different gameplay style altogether, this is technically the first....and only time a traditional Mega Man game has ever been translated into 3D.

You may already spot the main issues, like the camera being stuck in this pseudo bird’s eye view half the time while also being stuck to your ass, making it damn awkward to see where you’re going during 3D sections, especially when platforming is involved.

Another big issue that you wouldn’t notice unless you were playing this is the controls: the characters feel sluggish, slow, they have little sense of fluidity, 3D sections, with their extra spacious design, pretty much require you to dash jump all over the place if you intend of moving at a pace that’s greater than that of entropy and wall jumping feels awkward as hell with the characters jumping way too far away from the wall and the camera moving alongside them even in the 2D sections

The game has an auto lock on, because the devs must have figured that it would be needed in a 3D space and it is, but this also means that Mega Man’s trademark gameplay style of taking aim and firing is neutered since now you can just spam a button indisciminately and stuff will die. They won’t die immediately  because enemies like to be tanky and you can get knocked on your ass by stuff like explosions, which does WONDERS for this game’s pacing but hey.

Word of advice: go to the options and turn on rapid fire. Trust me you’ll see later why you’d wanna do this

Anothe thing you may have noticed is the voice acting

MM8 and X4 are infamous for their voice acting but y’know what? They were somewhat charming in a “so bad it’s funny” kind of way, plus I could count the voiced cutscenes on one hand

X7′s can get funny in a memey sort of way but mostly it’s fucking ear-grating

Zero sounds half decent but the direction they gave the actor makes him sound like he’s changed his mind about coming back to life and now just wants to gp back to the void

Signas is voiced by Robert Belgrade, the man who voiced Alucard in Symphony of The Night, probably the only voice actor in that game who put any kind of genuine effort (besides Dracula’s in his own way). Here though he sounds completely zoned out, like he’s here fot the check and nothing else

Alia sounds like a timid teenage girl

Axl sounds like every annoying shonen kid stereotype all rolled up into one

And X

Ooooh X....

So unlike what my previous criticisms of Zero becoming the de facto protagonist of the series for a while (and my profile picture) may have suggested I actually don’t have a lot of love for X aside from his design.

The series has just never done anything of substance with his concept of being the first robot capable of true free will, and due to his general lack of dialogue and interesting story beats when compared to Zero he just doesn’t amount to much kre than “angsty Mega Man”, like he’s exactly like Rock except you swap out his childlike optimism and drive with lots of angst and doubt. On paper this should be enough to make X different enough but in practice, like I said, the execution has simply never been there.

Theoretically a story where X decides to no longer fight the good fight because he can’t take it any longer would be great; not only is it very human but it also showcases X’s ability to make his own choices in a negative way by having him make a bad decision. It’s a far more interesting idea than simply having him go evil as was the original idea behind the Zero series....which actually ended up having X also retire from fighting out of sheer mental exhaustion before X7 was even a thing.

However what we get here is one of the worst cases of flanderizaton I have ever seen

In past games X would have usually only 1 brief (BRIEF) moment where he laments that he has to once again take up arms and fight to save the world. He’s a pacifist at heart so it makes sense.

X7 makes it X’s entire personality. And in the whiniest, most hateable way possible. And I don’t mean Shinji Ikari kind of whiny.

He just stands there at HQ doing fuck all all day (as far as we can see at least), criticizing others for using violence to deal with dangerous criminals, while not coming up with a better alternative and just being a douchebag overall. He sounds like your average Twitter user who rants about the injustices of the world and how other people are shit for not doing anything about them while they themselves are just sitting there typing at a keyboard from their mother’s basement.

That moment when he tells Red that if he wants Axl back he can have him because he has no intention of fighting for the likes of him is fucking putrid. He’s literally saying that he’s A-OK with handing over a kid, even if a troubled and irresponsible one, to a criminal organization just because “fighting bad”.

It’s pretty funny. Inafune has long left the series and you can tell because Zero is no longer the center of the universe, but now this new dev team want to impose ANOTHER main character in the form of Axl and X is treated worse than ever.

And we’re just getting started

[runimanio]

2024 Game Clear #11 Mega Man ZX Advent

This is largely the last mega man platformer that I hadn't played and beaten yet- there are some technically like maybe ill suffer through the DOS games sometimes and also if you count Mighty No. 9 as a mega man game then yeah I haven't played those yet but its pretty much just RPGs and oddities at this point. It also obviously the last game in the Zero/ZX collection that i had yet to clear which is significance because that collection is what started this misguided attempt to slowly playthrough every mega man game back in 2021 so to have that collection completely behind me now is kinda crazy.

I played through this twice doing a Ashe run and a Grey run respectively and while the changes are pretty minimum I am glad i did because I think I would've left with a little bit of a bad impression if i didn't replay it due to external stuff making me frustrated during the end game, cause me to play bad, making me even more frustrated! My Grey playthrough was much smoother, a good reminder that sometimes these games are better the second time after you know what your doing and man yeah this game rules.

What an improvement from first game, in the first game it very much felt like the search action game design and the Mega Man game design were getting in each other ways and not really melding together well. It feels a lot better balanced here. I will say that I think the overall aesthetic™ is a little stronger in the first game but y'know that comes at the cost of getting across the map being a pain so it's a fair trade.

It's also kinda nice to have a subseries that deals in the X series terminology of Reploids, Mavericks, A-Trans etc without being super bleak at all times lol.

This story does feels like it was written more for Grey than Ashe, I didn't really understand why Ashe- the non amnesic was so desperate to learn her past when her intro seemed to set her up as someone chasing the future rather than the past, so it's a bit odd

The voice acting pretty funny though I've been quoting Thetis's "I won't give up💅" to my friends a lot. looking through the folks involved it seems to be alot of Shenmue alumni or are only credited on this, one of the actors I looked at had credits on the original dub of Symphony of the Night, Shenmue, Baten Kaitos & X7 the forest gump of cheesy game dubs. But this honestly it isnt anywhere near the worst mega man voice acting out there, nobody audibly flubs their lines and like the best cheesy dubs there alot of line delivery that are pretty memorable im sure if i grew up with this game would live in my head like dubs such as Sonic adventure and Beyblade do. I mean even only playing this twice Atlas's "History of the world, History of the war" got stuck in my head just because it's odd rhymical delivery.

Also Zero and X's X7 actors are in this cast but not as model Z and X I just think that kinda funny.

Shame that we'll probably never return to this world in a meaningful way because I still have alot of questions about this world: What's Ciel up to? I'd love to learn more about the biometal holders, is Thomas teased plan related to Legends? since the other Biometal holders survived the crash does that mean Model Z is alive and other enemy control?, will we ever address Model A just being Axl? so many possibilities for the future of this story

[grimescum-2]

hi hello flea just popping by to give you the opportunity to let you tell me whatever had taken over your brainspace today even if I might not know anything about it :3c

TEETH CHATTERING SWEATING SHAKING AND QUIVERING ok so.... theres these guys... and ummm... theres actually a lot of them im rotating in my head but

hes def one of my favoritest characters of all time hes so fuckingy SILLY snd his past is so sad.. all that shit and yet he remains kind & silly. love him dearly. i think you'd like him too actually :o3

and then theres him :o33333 his name is slayer coz he slays and hes a vampire BUT he's also super silly. he has a wife canonically and im very jealous of her but it's cute how much he loves her so ill let it pass (he gets pegged) (sorry guys i got hacked idk who sayd that)

also hes irish and voiced by the one irish guy. thought that was funny

i mostly like this guy coz hes sexy so no real infodump here

SECOND FAVE UP THERE W FAUST but i dont have many good pics of him yet sorry girl </33 his name is axl hes so damn cute. hes british as u can very obviously see but he makes up for it by being a genuinely good guy. he has a gf but he cant see her :( all he eants to do is see her and its sad. i am however a jealous bitch and wish i was her instead

THANK U SO MUCH U HAVE NO IDEA!!! i was actually considering taking my autism to ur inbox but i was like "naww she doesn't know anything about this" so knowing that you'd be willing to listen regardless is wonderful <33 not to mention that i worry abt being annoying by posting abt my guys on here

[the-90s-music-colosseum]

its funny cause i give my parents updates on this tournament, and the only frame of reference they have is the bands/people i'm into generally. (my mum says "well, you should be glad i don't know who you're talking about because that would mean i'm trying to be hip and cool" lmao). anyways

i think its soooo funny because like. my parents obviously know who oasis is. i have a poster i got from knebworth 22 in my room (place of pride for real), and i've played them in my care a LOT. my mum has a very vague idea of who HIM is because i've got a shirt for them (heart pentagram is such a sick design and i will die on this hill). i showed the two of them to my mum and she was like "obviously liam. the other one looks too much like a girl." and on one hand it was like "you don't understand." but on the other hand, validation. cause like. yeah. liam's gorgeous obviously. but then like. i showed her other picture of ville valo cause i totally voted for him (i'm so sorry liam but how could i not) and she GOT IT.

anyways, dad's upset mariah carey won because "she sings that hideous christmas song and anyone is better than her" and also, he's of the opinion that i should have immediately wanted to vote keanu reeves instead of holding out until i knew who he was up against (still not over liam vs. ville valo the ultimate betrayal and sadness lol)

dad's opinion is also that axl rose should win the next round solely based on the fact that he knows who he is, but really, what does he know, cause he made fun of me rooting for jarvis with my entire being.

idk where i'm going with this sorry. i love this tournament, and hilariously i'm more invested in this than the original bracket, but that's cause my most beloved albums got eliminated soooooo quickly (seeing the same in the 2000s bracket and i tell myself that my taste is just more niche rather than bad)

-from the very tipsy anon that sent something in quite awhile ago. very sorry that you only get these very long winded anons when i've had a few

n.e.ways. this blogs great and i got a kick out of you saying you'd integrate the trent reznor fuck or be like teenage girl thing into your belief system.

also, i agree with the anon that said than radiohead man aged real nice where as damon didn't. given, i last saw him with a mullet, and thought he aged like spoilt milk, but radiohead man (remembered his name Thom! aged real nice)

also, as much as creep is like the stereotypical radiohead song and kinda considered overplayed, it UNDERSTANDS ME and also me as a teen. props to him. idk if i can bring myself to vote for him though (not cause he's kinda weird looking - odd looking people are HOT ok) but cause i had a devestating crush on a guy who was obessed with radiohead and he literally told me that i give off "emotionally unavailable vibes and its cool to make friends with someone so similar to me" and it ruined me emotionally for a good like 5 months)

also, props to oasis for having supersonic as one of their top songs, cause hell yeah Give Me Gin and Tonic! literally my drink of choice lmaooooo

once again, very sorry for very long anon, had another g+t while writing this (that makes 6!)

have a very good evening! i adore this blog! and i think youre hella cool and i could never imagine trying to rum a tournament and answer all the asks that you do (there's reason i'm anon unless i have the amazing urge to send pics in aid of my very special blorbo)

<3

omg no this is lovely actually

Apparently my blog has already met the parents?? I'm so proud ahaha and your parents have some of the funniest takes. I love reading these long asks, it's like a sneak peek into the minds of my viewers and honestly means the world to me. Enjoy your gin and tonic, anon, and a wonderful evening to you as well <3

[weikipedia]

well i am assuming your favorite rockstars are KISS. i kind of can’t stand gene icl but i’m a natural born hater, so.

ummm if i had to make a little list of my sort of favorites/heroes i would say: iggy pop, mick jagger, liam gallagher, david johansen, axl rose, andrew matheson, jim morrison, bobby durango, john lennon, keith richards, jimmy page, pete townsend. i could go on with guitarists for hours just because there are so many who have influenced my playing style but i’ll spare you all of that lmao.

all of them are fairly colorful personalities, all with wild stories. true madmen. but i don’t think rock n roll is very good when it’s played by boring people. it’s all a package deal in my eyes—the music comes first and has to be good, but the musicians have to be cool too.

- 🧼

Gene is an acquired taste, so really, that's fair. My favourite members aren't even the original guys. I kind of can't stand Ace and Peter personally, especially Ace; he annoys me for some reason 💀. I know most people find him funny and he can be but he also gives would be insufferable to know irl to me. Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr are my favourites. I'm also a huge Kee Marcello, Jack Blades, Michael Sweet, Rudy Sarzo, Erik Turner and alot of other rockstars fan lol.

I have a cat names after Axl. Which is kind of funny because I don't even like him that much I just thought his name was cool and suited a male cat 💀 and I wanted something related to music. Also my cat is an Axl honestly lol.

I kind of agree. I think its fun when a band has insane stories. Part of why I love Europe 💀, would never expect it but they are insane.

[robotsafari]

66, 6, 87, 1, 45

prepare for snothing but guilty gear: 66 - Make Oneself (Guilty Gear XX)

not surprised since like any other xx track, well, i listened to it alot. i like this song a lot !! make oneself is a song i can only describe as a very "axl" theme. idk how to communicate why i feel this way but i can just say this song fits him like a glove. i prefer the xx version over the x version personally. idk, the x version just gets too noisy for me. too much of a cacophony most of the time. sorry x version lovers. burn me at the stake or smthing.

6 - Doubt (Guilty Gear Xrd)

WHY. why is this so fucking high .. this song isnt even that good. its just a funny story mode track that plays in some assassins scenes. i guess because i kept making a joke where i played like the ffirst few seconds of this song??? whatever. its fine. press x to doubt or whatever.

87 - Drumhead Pulsation (Guilty Gear Isuka)

YEAAAAAAHH NOW WE'RE TALKINNNNN!!!!!!!!!! this song fucking rules and its honestly a crime i havent listened to it more often. this is like. roadtrip music material to me idk why. i could blast this shit in a car or something and go nuts. so awesome. im so lame.

1 - i think i hauve autism

yeah. its the xx version of a solitude that asks nothing in return. i love venom. you know i love venom. you know the entire guild does insane things to my brain. you know the solemn vibe of the track makes me shake and cry for 500 hours. you know that violin part gets me every time. you know the fact that venom's theme changes so drastically between x & xx breaks my soul into an unfathomable number of pieces. its a modern fucking masterpiece except that this song is probably a decade old at this point. hey. did you know that in the violin part, the bassline has a motif from the old version of that part? yeah. just wanted to let you know that.

45 - The Original (not the original version for some reason)

wait why the xx version i like the x version better--

jokes aside. yeha i like faust's theme in this game its very good. i guess the xx version is so high because i found out the x version exists and is good too late. sad. well the xx version isnt that bad its just well.. its missing the saxophone, the funky synths, the whimsy, the heart, the soul.. sorry. its inferior but its still a bop.

so if you wanna send me an ask of this please do a batch like this its very fun and i dont have a lot of followers or ppl who pay attention to what i say.

[tazma-art]

OMG YES THAT'S PRETTY CLOSE TO WHAT I WAS THINKING. His wings as a cloak is big brain.

Also I love picturing him as being able to mostly look like a person standing upright and using his wings as a cloak but then he gets on all fours and that's DEFINITELY not a person

The image of a digger slowly freaking out more and more as they get closer to him is so funny! And of course Volnutt would be the one to approach something like that.

I imagined a scenario where Barrett and Areo once encountered Zero on one of their digs and told Axl about it. When Axl heard about the red cryptid with soul piercing blue eyes, a wild blond mane, surrounded by spirits, and with two pairs of horns on the back of its head that goes around saving people, he was like "that Сукин сын is alive" and asked Barrett to take him there Immediately. Unfortunately, Zero doesn't stay in one place too long unless there's something particularly of interest in it so he was long gone by the time Axl got there. Barrett and Areo are very confused about why his mentor is desperately trying to find this creature, so much so that they even look in the surrounding islands, but Zero is not easy to find unless he wants to be found and he doesn't know anyone from his time is alive.

Axl starts questioning everyone he can about the Cryptid but they all say mostly the same things. Scary red thing with a blond mane that saved me by killing a reverbot with it's bare hands and he is pretty sure that's Zero, but he can't be 100% certain. Though when he asked Volnutt about it the kid said "oh yeah I met them! They were terrifying but nice enough! Saved me from being crushed by a reaverbot when I was just starting out but when I got up to thank them they got a weird look on their face. Almost like they recognized me. They said it was nothing and just gave me some food and a really cool artifact and left, I wish I had talked to them more but the way they looked at me was a little unnerving " Axl is now a lot more certain that that's Zero.

Also, I was picturing the kid he accidentally adopted laying down on his hair with him and 🥺 Dad Zero is my weakness. But my man does not know how to parent. I imagine him trying to give his kid straight up raw or barely cooked meat cuz he doesn't know the difference, and the kid is like (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠) I cant eat this. Or maybe they would eat it idk, I have no idea who this kid would be. I am not an expert in megaman legends lore so I would not know if it's anyone from cannon. I think he would let his kid do a lot of insanely dangerous stuff because hey he was just born when he first killed a man so eh. I also pictured him with a coffee mug that said Worlds Okayest Dad and hahsjhshdjjjs

Hello! So this was originally going to be an ask but it spiraled out of my control and it got too long so here we are :D I hope you enjoy my ramblings. Also I'm not a writer so I'm sorry if I sometimes don't make sense (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

@absolutely-normal-about-x

Your legends reborn AU has given me brain worms and ideas and I would like to share them if you don't mind! :D

It's mostly about Zero.

So, in one of your posts you said that you view the guardians' animalistic traits as a sign of freedom and that got me thinking about Zero.

I'm not 100% sure on how you interpret him, or how you want him to be in the au but from what I've gathered you like to see him as a Creature™ and it's how i view him too most times!

I love your head cannon that Zero can go on all fours because was not only made to be the ultimate weapon but also the ultimate predator (or hunter I don't remember the exact word you used)

So I was thinking that in your legends reborn au, since it's a time of peace and he is not a war machine anymore, he's (mostly) not a weapon anymore! :D

So, his predator/ hunter side is more present which makes his animalistic traits more prominent then the guardians. He can run on all fours, has paws :3, I like imagining him using his hair/mane as a bed or a blanket, and maybe give him some wings to reflect the absolute armor and the mother elf a little since she was based on him. (I still think he wears armor though)

I just want them to represent how free he is in the new world. I see the world of megaman legends as being very freeing for a being like Zero.

I think he has always lived in very restricting conditions. As I said before this man is a Creature™ and I don't think Wily ever intended for him to be a social one or to live in crowded places like a city (cuz he was supposed to Destroy those). I imagine living in the hunters HQ with so many reploids never felt quite right to him.

And Sure he could act like other reploids and mostly blend in but his mind was still so different he had to work extra hard to fit in. (Basically he's had to mask so hard for most of his life)

I think the only time he felt most like he was in his natural habitat was in the Zero games when he was mindlessly destroying thousands of enemies in large spaces to achieve a goal, and mostly not talking to people. It was still not very fun for him though, since missing most of his memories, and missing people he did not remember did not feel nice.

Then he wakes up in a world where there is no war, no virus, no mavericks, no great or good he needed to die for. Only (relative) peace and a strange new body that needed to sleep and eat.

His body is hard to get used to. The prospect of hunting is not new to him, but eating definitely is, and sleeping is just as hard. Getting used to it is challenging enough that it distracts him from thinking about his situation too hard at first.

After a while, it starts to hit him that he doesn't have a purpose. He had always had something he had to do, something or someone to fight for. But now there was no one and the peace he and his loved ones had fought so hard for was achieved. Now his only purpose was to keep himself alive and help some of the people he finds in trouble, because what else does he do?

This makes him feel empty at first but then it's starts to feel so natural. To just exist, to hunt and help people he finds along the way, to learn about this new world and finally live.

He had never really lived before, not like this, his life was always dominated by being a weapon first. And later, accidentally adopting someone will really make him feel like he's alive.

He still misses X, Axl and many others terribly, but he tries to keep himself busy

Aaaa anyway, what I wanted to get at is that he's finally truly free. Like X is. And I like to portray that as him being able to be more wild.

[theflyingkipper]

why Rebbeca look like she almost has Gordon's attitude 😂 but anyway she look so good on your drawing style

ohhh thank you 🤗💕

making her look a bit more snooty/uptight was my intention, I dont like her bland happy-go-lucky personality

if we can show love to ONE snooty express engine, why not two ? and also because *ahem* girl characters who act arrogant rarely get redeemed or appreciated in spite of their attitude. and I feel girl characters in thomas kind of get stuck with this :) im nice personality, and I would like to give them more distinct attitudes because... girls have just as much variation and depth as boys why is this something that needs to be said

ANYWAY here is my take on rebecca in writing (+some of her development and relationships with other characters, especially Nia)

In my headcanon, Rebecca is more of a "little miss perfect" type, she has a clean record, excellent performance. shes a modern light pacific and she knows it . Her attitude actually drives Gordon a little insane because Rebecca seems to be stealing sir topham's good graces from him XD

(Thomas tells him not to be such a hypocrite.)

Rebecca has a few glaring problems that she masks with anger or indifference. she has mechanical trouble (wheelslip mostly) that can get especially bad sometimes, and if anyone points it out she tries to pretend she heard nothing.

[I like to think around this point (I should mention I dont have a clear timeline for anything I make I just have vague estimates of decades/time periods because ill make my head explode if I try) which is about the late 70s, is some years after Emily arrives. I really like the idea of Emily being a replica of a stirling single, rather than an original because its fitting of her attitude and ive seen a lot of REALLY detailed headcanons of it by various people.]

Emily and Rebecca butt heads at first. Rebeccas shiny and modern, while Emily's a thing of the past- and not even one deserving of high regard because she's a replica! The two start off HATING each other and Emily doesn't have anything nice to say about her to the rest of the fleet. And it's not like Rebecca has had any compliments to give either! She calls Rosie a latrine-mouthed three-humped camel.

Nia at this time is being switched around between jobs, and while Rosie is out of service, she gets to be station pilot at Tidmouth for a while.

(I HC that Nias paintwork and general upkeep wasnt too good before she was rehomed on Sodor, and at this time she's been NWR blue since her arrival)

Rebecca initially thinks the engine who will take over Rosie's shunting duties is Thomas, since she's told a "little blue engine" will be arriving to help. Since the last impression Rebecca had of Thomas was him telling Gordon not to be such a hypocrite, she expects he'll be waiting on her wheel and axle.

She realizes there's more than one little blue engine, and is surprised to see a long engine with 8 wheels, a cowcatcher and extra cylinders. Blue with red stripes, but not Thomas.

Nia greets Rebecca with her usual "how are your wheels? how are your axles and boiler?" And even agrees that her "three-humped-camel" joke was funny. Rebecca starts off thinking Nia's going to kiss up to her.

She is wrong 💕

Nia knows a thing or two about dealing with grumpy sticks in the mud.

Rebecca, several times, tries to push Nia's buttons. She implores "aren't you tired of pushing coaches around all day? Don't you want to see the world?" And expects Nia to get all puffed up. Nia says she's been all over the world, and likes to stay in one place for a change.

Throughout Nia's time as a station pilot, she learns that Rebecca is actually very insecure, and she can see how her wheels spin painfully if she starts too fast. She points this out once and Rebecca, who's been trying to hide this, and is at her wits end that day, just blurts out that it's nothing, nothings wrong with her.

Rebecca ends up damaging her drive wheels and axles after she fails on Gordon's hill and is shamefully sent for repairs at Crovan's gate. and Henry pushes her to the works.

While Rebecca's being loaded in, Henry tries to be kind and tells Rebecca that it isn't her fault she was built the way she was. Rebecca thinks:

what would you, a big strong Black 5 know about that? Aren't you lot Stanier's swan song?

She's achingly tired of engines noticing her faults, especially ones who perform mechanically sound and clearly wouldnt know a thing about what fronts she has to put up to stay respectable. She's pleasantly surprised (though she doesn't show it) that Henry does, in fact, know exactly how she feels.

Rebecca's damage is more severe than originally thought, and a more extensive overhaul is planned. She's hoisted in the air and much of her chassis is detached.

Meanwhile, Nia arrives at the works for maintenance and a new coat of paint. Rebecca watches from above as Nia's repainted in KUR colors.

Rebecca: That's a... distinct color. It's quite becoming. Nia: was that a compliment I heard? From you?

*Rebecca has to keep from spluttering.*

Rebecca: ...I know a nice livery when I see one.

Nia: (grinning) maybe you should get repainted to something nice and bright too. Like a bright yellow and red.

(She looks across the works at Molly and Rosie, who are trying not to giggle)

Rebecca: *gasps and scoffs* I like my paint the way it is, thank you very much.

Rebecca comes back from the works a different engine, still prone to bouts of arrogance and uptightness, but a much more understanding engine who doesn't have to put up such huge facades to be respected.

Over the next few years she ends up properly becoming friends with Nia, Gordon, Rosie, Molly, and Emily. I think the idea of she and Emily having a race and making funny banter would be amazing.

See, Mattel ???you can do cool and interesting things with your girl characters and Im only at the TIP of the iceberg with my Rebecca story ideas XD

[mrmckagansmissus]

All I wanted..

angstyy

Think of me when you're out when you're out there  I'll beg you nice from my knees  And when the world treats you way too fairly  Well it's a shame I'm a dream 

Tiffany sat on the couch, watching his skinny tall figure sit with the rest of the band on the tv. Not that she was listening to what they were talking about, she missed the smell of vodka that he trailed everywhere with him, she missed the short jokes he used to make about her. she just missed him. 

All I wanted was you  All I wanted was you... 

“why do you care so much anyways tiff, it’s a little date get over it”  

“it matters because it hurts seeing the man I fell in love with go on date with people who aren’t me ,it hurts duff”  

“well then your fucking stupid falling in love with a rockstar tiffany lee” 

I think I'll pace my apartment a few times  And fall asleep on the couch  Wake up early to black and white re-runs  That escaped from my mouth 

The rest of the night tiffany remained on the couch playing the argument through her head, regretting ever telling him she was in love with him but he was right she was an idiot for falling in love with a rockstar who didn’t see her as anymore but a friend. 

All I wanted was you  All I wanted was you  All I wanted was you  All I wanted was you 

The ringing of the phone was starting to get on tiff's nerves, and so were the voicemails of various band members with the constant “hey tiff it’s steven I was just calling to check on you, call back as soon as you get this, we are all worried about you” or “tiff Its Axl, I know you’re at your house pick up the phone dammit, steven thinks you’ve died and won't get off our asses about it” tiff laughed at that one, steven was always by your side, although one voicemail came through that absolutely shattered her heart into a million pieces “tiffany answer the phone the fucking argument wasn’t even that bad” hearing the voice of the man that stepped all over her heart was too much to deal with. 

I could follow you to the beginning  And just to relive the start  And maybe then we'll remember to slow down  At all of our favorite parts 

Tiffanys eyes burnt, the last of the remaining week spent sobbing into the shirt he brought her for her 21st birthday, she remembered it clear as day she was so happy, giggling and having fun with the band it was one of the best birthdays she had ever had. 

All I wanted was you  All I wanted was you  All I wanted was you  All I wanted was you 

The house was eerily quiet, the only thing being heard was tiffs own breathing for once she could hear her own thoughts but did she really want to?. It almost didn’t feel right without the boys being here, she didn’t have slash to talk about snakes too, steven to laugh about anything, or even Izzy who would always laugh at her stupid jokes, funny or not. She missed her boys. Looking out the window into the busy world she wondered if it would ever go back to the way it was. 

[enixamyram]

Thor Love and Thunder Review

Summary... I didn't like it.

Warning Spoilers Bellow:

Little Pet Peeve: I really resent that I was expecting a film of Thor and the Guardians and instead they got rid of the Guardians as soon as they could. Makes Thor leaving with them at the end of the last film extremely pointless.

Now I know this is an unpopular opinion but I was not the biggest fan of Thor Ragnarok. It was a funny film and alright on its own but I just felt it didn't flow with the rest of the MCU films and the scenes kind of just bounced along from point to point in a way that didn't seem to fit smoothly. And in a way, this film is very much the same but also worse.

For starters, the tone seemed all over the place. When it was funny, it was very funny. When it was scary, it was very scary. It might have worked individually. Altogether? It feels like a mess. Like the funny parts and the scary parts should be their own movies but instead, for some reason, they're pushed together into one film that gives me whiplash and I kind of get confused on how I'm supposed to be feeling. I mean one minute you have the villain ripping off heads of creatures and throwing it at the kids to terrify them, the next you have Zeus and the other Gods talking about the orgy they're planning to have.

There was also so much that was so forced purely for plot convenience and it really isn't subtle. Axl for example. Heimdall's son, who appears from nowhere, doesn't have any emotional connection to his deceased father (or anyone really) and is purely around so they can use Heimdall's powers when convenient to move the story along. Like when he needs to help Thor figure out where they are, or at the end when he can get the kids out of there so Thor can focus on fighting.

Or how Thor can suddenly temporarily bestow his powers onto all the kids at the end. Where was this power before?! There's no real explanation for why he can suddenly do it now so all I can think is that I'm sure Steve, Tony and everyone else would have really appreciated a bit of a God-boost when they were fighting Thanos.

Then there's Jane. Now Mighty Thor was my biggest reason for going to see the film and I adored every scene she was in. The action and emotional scenes with her were on point and amazing!

Only they decided to just kill her off at the end and like the rest of the film, it feels so tacked on for the convenience of the plot.

Like it was done to manipulate the audience into rooting for Thor taking in the Gorr's daughter. It's so painful how obvious it is. I mean, Thor's girlfriends dying and the Love's dad is dying so hey, now they're alone they can just slot together and make a sad ending a happy ending, look how well that works out.

It did have some good things. - Like I said, it was funny and scary when it wanted to be. - All Mighty Thor scenes were wonderful. - I loved all Korg and Valkyrie moments. - Even the parts that were bad were still entertaining. I may have issues with how he can suddenly hand out his powers, sure, but it was still a lot of fun to see a dozen kids running around and fighting with Thor's powers (the girl with the stuffed toy cracked me up)! - And I am looking forward to what they'll do with Love now since she's kind of a blank slate at the moment that has a lot of potential.

But in general, very disappointed. I hoped for so much more. Was very let down in the end.

[broken-clover]

🎥💕💔💎?

🎥 do you have any favorite scenes from your hyperfixation?

I have the Valkyrie Garden fight saved and tabbed because I go back and watch it so often. Swear at this point I could make a damn thesis paper on its narrative themes. The bar porch scene is also a favorite though that's less for it being deep and complex and more because I like seeing Sol and Axl interact

Also lowkey Happy spinning around in the chair and monologuing but not because I thought it was interesting and philosophical but more that it was like watching a zoo animal I wanted to throw pebbles at

💕 tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them!

Anything I could say about my usual big three (Bedman, Faust, and Zappa) I think would be redundant so I'll do another I don't ramble about as much even though I should.

Axl! My beloved trash man. I do genuinely love basically everything about this disaster. The shitty clothes are endearing. He's a dork. He's trying so so hard to be cool and failing basically every time. He's friends with some random vegetable vendor. He can absolutely be smart and thoughtful when need be but when need not be oh my god is there nothing going on up there. And I'll always love the concept of a fantasy world with extreme stakes and complicated lore and then there's just Some Guy uninvolved in basically all of it. He's just here.

💔 tell us about one of your LEAST favorite characters and why you dislike them.

Zato. I shall not continue because otherwise we will be here all day.

And though I always felt kind of iffy about her I've developed a dislike for Jack-O, I just really don't care for her personality and presence in Strive, plot-wise and gameplay-wise. She just rubs me the wrong way in so many regards.

💎 are there any fun facts or trivia that you would like to share?

Man, what haven't I already yammered about the kingdom come? I'll try and think of a couple

-President Vernon in the English Dub is voiced by former Dolphins member Anthony Alabi, which funny enough iirc Vernon mentions being a fan of American football.

-So far Ky has had a different dub actor for every mainline game that's had one- Liam O'Brien in Overture, Sam Riegel in Xrd SIGN, and Sean Chiplock in Strive, making him the character with the most number of VA's in terms of dubbing

-(Maybe less trivia and more just fun coincidence but I like that in Breath of the Wild Revali says he dislikes blonde knights with holy swords and went on to voice Ky who is literally all of those things)

-Bedman has the same voice actor as Marth in both English and Japanese

-For some reason in his AC art Zappa has six fingers on one hand and I'm not 100% sure but I don't think that occurs in any of his other character art or in his Xrd model

[lost-in-the-80s]

The Hotel - Halloween Special

Pairing: Izzy Stradlin x Reader

Words: 4,859k

Summary: You and your boyfriend, Izzy decide to make a road trip, however, strange events end up leading you to a strange hotel on October, 31st. (kind of angst) 

A/N: Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so I decided to make an Imagine with the Halloween theme. It is inspired by the song Hotel California by Eagles.

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of death, ghosts and paranormal events. It’s a horror fic, if you don’t like this theme, maybe this isn’t the right fic for you. 

Tag list: @roger-taylors-car​ @ladieswttda​ @teasid​ add yourself to my tag list :)

It was the fall of 1990, you and your boyfriend, Izzy were enjoying the last few months you had together before he went on another world tour with his band, Gun n Roses.

The two of you were in the living room of your shared apartment in L.A. You shared a cozy blanket while sitting on the couch, watching some romantic movie on the TV. Izzy didn’t really like this type of movie, but made an effort because he knew how much you liked them. 

You snuggled in his chest, pressing yourself even more on him, he chuckled a little and passed his fingers through your hair.

“We should do something.” He stated.

“Like what?”

“How about a road trip? We take the car and drive until Portland, then come back.”

“Portland? You mean, Oregon?”

“Yeah, Oregon. I was looking on the map and it has some beautiful locations there.”

“But how long will it take us?”

“It’s a 14-hour drive, we can make it in a week through the coast and then come back in another week, taking a different road.”

“Hmm, sounds nice! Let’s do it!” 

“How about we leave by the end of October? So I can have enough time to finish some stuff at the studio.”

“Sure, babe!”

And so October went by, Izzy finished some final touches at the studio, you rescheduled some appointments of yours, you two organized your bags, bought a map, a flashlight and some other travel essentials and checked the car with a mechanic. Everything was going as planned. 

You decided to leave on Monday, 22nd, because the roads would be less packed. So you both woke up, took shower, had a delicious breakfast and started your amazing trip.

You knew that the reason why Izzy wanted to leave town for a while, was because he was stressed. Axl was a perfectionist, while Izzy liked things to sound less rehearsed, for that reason the two of them have been bickering towards each other during all this album recording, and Izzy really needed some time away from all of this. 

The trip started just fine, you drove through the coast and you got amazed by how beautiful California’s coast was. All its colors, shapes and beaches getting a special place in your memory.

The first stop was Santa Barbara, you two enjoyed it’s beaches, becoming friends with a group of sourfists that taught Izzy how to surf. By night you went to a nice restaurant in front of the beach, delighting yourselves with cocktails and seafood.

Then you went to San Francisco, where you decided to stay for two days, visiting all its touristic places, like the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Pier 39 and the Coit Tower.

Moving on to Sonoma, you could savor some of the best wine you had had in your life and spend the night at a cozy cottage, reading a book and cuddling together in front of the fireplace. 

The last stop in California was the Redwood National Park. You got completely stunned by that place, admiring the magnitude of the world, as you looked so small beside those trees. 

Soon the greenish color of the sea turned bluer, the sunset became less orange and the mornings turned more grey, the sand turned to earth and the breeze became colder and you arrived in Oregon. 

You glimpsed the strength of the sea at the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor and Cape Sebastian State Scenic Corridor and admired the sunset at the Face Rock State Scenic Area. 

And finally, you got stunned with the Devil’s Punchbowl and spent a day relaxing at Neskowin Beach ending the week taking the most beautiful pictures at Cannon Beach, where you bought souvenirs for all your friends. 

Then you finally arrived in Portland, spending the weekend there, seeing all the touristic places and visiting museums. On Sunday night, Izzy took you to this fancy restaurant, you wore a beautiful blue dress he had asked you to bring along, while he put on a black shirt with a blazer.

You had just eaten delicious lamb meat with a glass of wonderful wine and were waiting for the dessert when he started talking.

“I’ve been thinking these past days, about the tour and stuff.”

You looked up at him and his eyes caught yours.

 “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I’m sure it will be a long time and I didn’t really want to leave without doing something first.”

He touched your hand that was resting on top of the table.

“You’ve been with me for years now. You met me when having a big band and becoming famous were just dreams, you saw me in my best and in my worst and you never let go of me, even when I was being an asshole with you.”

He made a pause.

“I wake up happy every day, just because I know that I’ll see you when I open my eyes, and I can’t imagine my life without you. So I was wondering if…” He stopped and started to search for something in his blazer pockets, he took a small black box out of it and you gasped, covering your mouth as a huge smile appeared on your face. “If you would like to marry me, Y/N?”

Recovering a little from your surprise, you replied with teary eyes. “Yes, Izzy, I would love to!” 

He placed a small silver ring with a single diamond on top of it, on your ring finger and kissed the back of your hand, then he leaned a little on the table and pecked your lips.

“I love you!”

“I love you too, Izzy”

When Monday came by, you two fueled the car and started driving back home. stopping at some locations you haven’t been before.

You had the chance to drive a buggy at the Oregon Dunes, take lots of pictures at the Heceta Head Lighthouse and make a forest trail at the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area before camping at Beverly Beach. Which, by the way, was a disaster, you forgot the repellent spray and the mosquitos had a nice dinner over with you and Izzy. 

Soon, day 31st arrived. You woke up in your tent with a single sunbeam illuminating the place, you felt Izzy’s arms holding you close to him and you took a moment to admire your engagement ring. 

You stretched up a little bit, which woke him up. He yawned and squeezed you harder, before speaking with a husky morning voice. 

“Good morning, beautiful!”

“Good morning, Iz!”

You turned around and kissed him quickly on the lips.

“Happy Halloween.”

“Today’s Halloween?” He frowned.

You just hummed in response. 

“All right, let’s get up then.” He pecked your lips one more time and let go of you, as he sat up. 

You got ready, packed your stuff and exited the tent, starting to walk towards the parking lot. 

You looked up to the sky and saw the grey color became prevalent.

“I think it’s gonna rain.” You said.

“Maybe if we have breakfast fast enough, we can get to California before it starts.”

You sat on the passenger seat, scrolling through the radio stations until you found one that pleased your ears.

After a few minutes driving, you stopped at a cafe, taking a table in front of the window and ordering pancakes with coffee.

“Where’s the next stop?” Izzy asked.

You took the map out of your purse and looked cautiously.

“Mount Shasta.”

“Hmm. I think we’ll get there for lunch.” He paused to take a sip of his coffee. “A friend of mine told me about a hotel there, I don’t remember the name, but it has Wale on it.”

“Nice. We should spend the night there!”

“We really should.”

You finished eating and started driving again. Izzy took the wheel while you gave him the directions. It was a little past ten when the rain started pouring, making Izzy drive slower, not trusting his car to stop fast enough if you needed it.

About 2 in the afternoon you got to Mount Shasta. It was still raining and the trail had been closed due to the bad weather.

Not having many more things to do, you both had lunch at a local restaurant and took pictures of yourselves at the mounting foot and other places you found interesting. You smiled as Izzy made a funny face for you to take a picture.

An old man started walking near you, and you asked him if he could take a picture of the two of you, which he happily complied. 

You went to Izzy’s side and rested your hand on his chest, while his hand circled your waist. You saw the flash and then Izzy kissed your forehead, the second flash hit your eyes and Izzy thanked the man, getting the camera back.

The day started to grow dark and you decided to head to the hotel, since it was about an hour away from the city.

The rain became stronger and the mist started to cover the road. You passed by the numerous trees that surrounded the road while listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd.

In the distance, you saw a red light appear beside a big house. “There!” you shouted.

You were right, it was the hotel. You were both sure as you saw “Californian Wale” written on top of the house. There was just one problem, the red neon light in front of it said “No vacancy”, which meant you would have to keep on driving, during that weather, until you found somewhere else to stay. 

As the sunset and the night arrived, the weather got worse, thunder and lightning turning the night into a spectacle and you barely could see anything until it was really close to you. 

You were becoming hopeless, you thought you wouldn't be able to find anywhere to stay for the night.

By 7 in the night, Izzy didn't see a hole on the road, a loud sound broke in the darkness and you knew you had punctured the tire.

For a second Izzy lost control over the car and you ended up out of the road. 

"Fuck! Are you alright?"

"Yes." You let go of a breath you didn't realize you had caught.

"Where's the flashlight?"

You searched through the glove compartment until your hands touched the cold material. You handed him the object as he thanked you and exited the car.

After a few minutes, he came back. "Fuck!" He was dripping wet. "We don't have a spare wheel."

"What do you mean we don't have a spare wheel?"

"I mean we don't have a spare wheel, Y/N!" He replied to you as if he was talking to a toddler. 

"I thought you had checked the car out with the mechanic!"

"I did it! But we just checked the engine and shit, I didn't even think about the step!"

"Fuck! What do we do now?"

"I don't know." He leaned his head on the wheel while cursing.

Suddenly a car headlight lightened the road.

"Look!" 

Izzy lifted his head and you smashed the car's horn, making the driver stop his truck beside your car, turning on the alert lights. 

It was a squeak. You breathed out in relief.

"What happened?" He shouted through his window.

"We punctured the tire and don't have a spare wheel!"

"Alright, hold it!" He lined up his truck with your car and exited it.

"Wait inside." Was all Izzy said before exiting the car to help the driver hitch the car on the truck.

After a few minutes he came back and the car started to be pulled back on the road.

"He called us crazy for not having seen the weather forecast on the news. We're underneath a huge storm cloud." He chuckled.

"He said there's a small city not too far from here, he'll let us there."

"Good" You sighed.

After some minutes you saw the city's entrance, he wasn't joking when he said it was small. It had just one main street and all the houses looked old.

He left you and Izzy in front of a mechanic garage and refused to get the money Izzy offered him for having driven you there.

You entered the office of the garage, hand in hand, and a man in his 40s appeared behind the counter. He had a toothpick between his lips and looked like he hadn't taken shower in ages. 

"Hm, good night. We have a punctured tire." Izzy spoke up.

"I see, let's take a look."

He moved outside and looked at your tire. 

"Well, it's not that bad. I have a tire of this type here, I can fix it in 30 minutes or so."

"Good!"

"Do you have a car jack?"

"Yes, it's in the back."

"Go get it while I get the tire then."

Izzy moved towards the car and the man looked you up and down, making you feel a huge discomfort. 

You walked quickly to Izzy's side while the man walked back inside the office.

"I don't like this man." You whispered.

"Me neither, but we need to fix the car, baby." He put a lock of your hair behind your ear and closed the trunk. 

The man came back and you leaned against a wall while you watched them working on the car. 

"All done! It's 250 bucks." The man said, while he scratched his nose.

"250? Wow, that's way more than I had thought."

"I'm working at night, kid, my time it's not for free."

Izzy stared at him.

"I can take the tire off if you want." He said, leaning down. 

"No, it's fine." 

You both walked inside the office, while Izzy paid the man.

"Do you take a check?"

"I don't, usually." 

"I don't walk around with 250 bucks in my wallet, man." 

"Alright, I'll take your check then, but I want the date for tomorrow."

"Alright, man."

"Where are you guys going?"

"We're going to Los Angeles."

"It's a long road until Los Angeles, especially with this weather. If I were you, I would spend the night at a hotel… We have a good one, a little bit after the city. They serve a good soup at nights like this."

Izzy signed up for the check. "Thank you"

He grabbed your hand and you walked back to the car.

"What do you think? Should we check out this hotel?"

"I think it's a good idea. I'm soaked, we're hungry and it's raining cats and dogs outside." He turned on the car. "Plus, we don't know if we'll find somewhere else nearby."

You agreed. 

He drove until you saw a huge Victorian house with a sign saying "Hotel Hoffmann".

"I guess we're here."

He parked the car and you both exited, running in the rain until you got to the main door of the house.

You knocked repeatedly until an old woman opened the door for you. She had white hair and dark eyes and was dressed as if she still lived in the 50s.

"Come on in, kids." She gave you a creepy smile.

You gulped, grabbing Izzy's hand before entering the place.

"What a night huh?" She laughed a little. "Bill called saying you two would probably stop by."

"I'm sorry, but, who's Bill?" You asked.

"The man who fixed your car, darling."

"Oh"

"We still have some open rooms for you. Do you prefer it on the first or second floor?"

"Second, please" Izzy cleared his throat, the rain starting to make him feel sick.

"All right, I'll put you in room number 13." She looked through the multiple keys behind her, before putting the one with a locksmith with a big 13 written. 

"We'll be serving soup until nine at the main saloon." She put a leather-covered notebook on the desk. "In which name should I make the reservation?"

"Jeffrey Isbell." Izzy spoke before you could answer. 

She wrote his name down with a beautiful calligraphy before handing him the pen to sign. 

She handed you the keys to your room and said she would take you both there. Izzy interjected saying he would go grab your baggage in the car.

"Do you want help?"

"No, honey, it's okay." He left the room and an uncomfortable silence filled in. 

"It's been a long time since we last had a young couple like you."

You forced a smile, not really knowing what to say.

Izzy came back with the bags and she led you to your room. Once inside, Izzy locked the door.

You stopped for a moment to look at the room. It was big, the walls were painted in peach color and the furniture looked old.

"Finally some peace." He hugged you from behind, kissing the top of your head.

You turned around, hugging him back. "You need to take a shower, or you're gonna catch a cold."

"Hmm, and will you join me?" He asked suggestively.

"No, I'll go later, babe"

"Are you sure?"

You nodded your head and he walked towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him. 

You took a long breath. Something was wrong. You couldn't quite put into words what, but your heart was clenched ever since you got in that town.

You took a seat at the bench underneath the window, looking at the dimly light garden. No cars were passing by, the only thing you distinguished outside was a dog running down the street.

"The rain is starting to stop." 

Izzy's voice made you jump a little, you hadn't realized he had left the bathroom, nor that you had been there for so long. 

You looked at him. "Why don't you take a shower and we go down to eat something?" He caressed your face and you instantly felt calmer.

He always had this power over you, no matter what was happening, you always felt safe and calm when Izzy was with you. 

"There's something wrong, Iz."

"What do you mean?" He sat in front of you.

"I don't know. I don't like this place, there's something wrong with the energy around here."

"I don't like this place too, but it's only for one night, tomorrow morning we get in the car and drive to the next destination ok?"

"Okay"

You stood up and walked towards the bathroom, closing the door and turning on the shower. Taking off your clothes you looked at yourself in the mirror before getting underneath the hot water, letting it warm your body.

Exiting the bathroom you put on a pair of jeans and a red sweatshirt and walked with Izzy to the main room. There was just a couple with a young daughter there. They stared at you until you sat down. 

Another old woman brought you two plates with soup and you started eating. The taste was horrible, but you were so hungry that you ate everything.

Back to your room, you guys were feeling so tired that decided to call it a night, Izzy removed his clothes and you put on his sweater, before climbing on bed with him. You adjusted the blankets and closed your eyes, allowing yourself to fall asleep.

A loud scream woke you up. You sat down on the bed and turned the night table light on, looking at the clock you saw it was 3 in the morning. 

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah." Izzy said getting up and putting his pants on.

The corridor light allowed you to see a shadow passing by the door.

"Turn the light off." Izzy murmured.

You did as he said and you saw the person take another direction.

After a few seconds you turn it on again, and a scream left your lips as you could swear you saw someone behind Izzy.

"Shh, it's okay." He climbed on the bed and cupped your face. "I'm here, nothing is gonna happen to you, ok?"

"Okay." You breathed slowly, trying to calm yourself.

Suddenly the bedroom windows opened and the cool breeze of the night invaded the room.

"Izzy…" you tugged on his arm.

"Let's get out of here." He grabbed your hand and dragged you out of the room.

The corridor was empty and you started to walk quickly towards the entry door. You turned left and were faced with a long corridor full of doors.

That's when you hear what looked like a child asking for help. Izzy started walking towards the sound and you pulled him back by the hand murmuring for him not to do so. 

"It's a child Y/N!"

He let go of your hand and moved towards the only room with an open door. You walked closely behind him. You saw a boy sitting on the floor crying as he asked for help again. 

Izzy entered the room, but before you could do the same the door closed behind him.

"IZZY!" 

"Y/N!" He yelled back, trying to open the door. 

"IZZY!!" You started to shove your fists against the door.

You heard a loud sound inside the room and Izzy saying: "Oh my God!" And you became hysterical.

You tried to open the door with all your force, shoving your fists and shoulders on the wood trying to take Izzy out of there.

"Y/N Leave!"

"I'm not leaving without you!!" You started to cry.

"Get on the fucking car and leave!!" 

Before you could reply the corridor lights started to flick and you saw someone approaching you. Turning your head to the left you saw a young man getting closer to you, illuminated by the moonlight. 

You were about to ask him for help when the lights flicked on again. He was tall and was dressed in 60s clothes, everything looked normal except for his white morbid eyes and his broken neck, his head slightly leaned to the side.

You screamed loudly this time as you started to walk back.

"Y/N!!" Izzy hit the door trying to open it.

You turned around and started running down the stairs, while still hearing Izzy calling for you. 

Running towards the main door you were stopped as a woman with a cut neck appeared in front of you.

"Where are you going, sweetie?"

You screamed again and turned left, getting in a corridor you haven't been before. 

She started to walk behind you and you saw an open room, getting inside and closing the door behind you. It was a library, with big windows. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

You heard a loud sound coming from the second floor and one of the windows breaking. 

You saw someone falling from it, and when you got closer to the glass you saw a white man with black hair and red leather pants. 

"Izzy!!" You yelled punching the glass, seeing his lifeless body laying on the grass.

Tears started to fall from your eyes as you heard the door of the Library opening.

"You are going to be with him soon, darling, don't worry."

It was the old lady.

You ran and passed through the second door of the room, ending up in another corridor.

You ran until you found two big doors separating the corridor. You opened them and were greeted with an indoor pool area. The ceiling was made of glass, just like most of the walls. You looked from one way to another but there were no other doors. You were stuck.

"It's useless to run." She reappeared behind you.

You turned around, facing her. "Please, just let me go!"

She said nothing, but took one step closer, making you take one step back. 

"Please, I didn't do anything! Just let me go!"

The couple from the dinner appeared beside her, alongside the boy with the broken neck and the bleeding woman, along with some other people you haven't seen before.

They all looked hurt in some sort of way and their eyes were white as if a cloud was hiding their true ones.

You kept walking backward as they kept walking towards you.

"Please, let me go!! Please!" Your crying was evident in your voice and you were starting to freak out.

"Please, don't hurt me!" You took one last step back and was involved in water. You fell in the pool. 

You were so scared that you forgot the pool was there, and most importantly, you forgot you didn't know how to swim.

You tried as hard as you could. Moving your legs and arms to try to get to the surface again, but it was useless. The more you moved, the deeper you got.

You opened your mouth to try to breathe but was greeted with water filling your lungs, making you choke.

You moved your hand to your neck as if the gesture would bring you some oxygen. You looked up and saw all those people circling the pool and then darkness overtook you.

You woke up gasping for air, touching your body to check you were ok. Sweat covered your forehead and most parts of your body and hot tears left your eyes.

You suddenly saw the lights turn on, realizing you were still in the hotel room. "Shh, it's okay." 

You pulled away when he touched you.

"It's okay. It's me!" You didn't look at him, so he touched your chin and lightly made you look in his direction. "It's me Y/N!"

You let go of a long breath and hugged him tightly. 

"It's ok, it was just a nightmare. You're ok!" 

"You were dead and I was dead and the pool…." You dragged on, sharing the first memories you had from your dream.

"Shh" He kissed the top of your head. "We're fine Y/N."

"She was following me…"

"As long as I'm here, no one will hurt you, okay?" He parted from you to look in your eyes. 

You nodded slowly.

Looking at the clock on your bedside table you saw it was 2:35 am.

"Let's get out of here, Izzy. Please!"

"But it's in the middle of the night, babe"

"Please, Izzy, please, let's get out of here!"

He saw how frightened you were. "Okay." He paused for a second. "Let's get dressed then."

You both got up and got dressed, throwing all your stuff back in your bags. You paused before exiting the room.

"Promise me that you will ignore anything you might hear!"

"What?"

"Promise me, Izzy!"

"Ok! I promise!" 

You grabbed his hand and dragged him down the corridor and down the stairs as fast as you could. 

Arriving at the reception you rang the bell on the table tirelessly until the old woman appeared. She was wearing a robe, but didn't look tired at all.

"What's the problem kids? Didn't like your room?"

"We want to check out!" You replied quickly. 

"Now? But it's still early!" She paused for a moment, trying to think about what to say. "Wouldn't you prefer to leave by morning?"

"No! We have to go now!"

"We serve a good breakfast here."

"I said we have to go now!" You were growing frustrated.

"Okay, but I'll have to demand the same price as if you had stayed until morning." 

"Ok! How much?"

"45 dollars."

You opened your purse, looking for your wallet, getting 50 bucks, and putting them on her desk.

She opened a drawer to get your change, but you rushed in saying she could keep it, before grabbing Izzy by the hand and leading him to the door. Trying to open it, you realized it was still locked.

"The door is locked, mam" Izzy spoke up.

"Oh, wait a minute, I'll get the keys. They might be somewhere here.” She entered a small room behind the reception and you started to stomp the ground anxiously.

"She's taking too long!"

"Calm down, Y/N!" He touched your shoulder, making you feel calmer, but you were still cautious.

"We're in a rush!" You shouted.

"Oh I'm sorry, I was not finding them." She walked calmly towards the door, using all her time to open it.

Once she finally opened, you stormed out of it, dragging Izzy with you.

"Where are the car keys?"

"Jesus! Relax, Y/N! They're here!" He took the keys out of his pant's pocket and opened the trunk of the car first.

You literally threw your bag inside and rushed to the driver's door. "I'm driving!" You extended your hand for him to put the keys on. 

"No way! You're too shaken to do so. You're gonna end up killing us."

"Fine, but be fast!" You gave in, rushing to the passenger door, seating fastly once Izzy unlocked the car.

Turning on the engine, he drove the car back to the street, driving out of the city.

"What time is it?"

He looked at his clock. "3 am"

You looked back just in time to see all the hotel lights turning on and strange people appearing at the windows.

A shiver ran down your spine as you sat still on your seat again, thanking that you were out of that place. 

[grimescum-2]

part 2 !!! with talk of shitty old fandoms i was in so cw cringe for that (no offense intended). i talk about better stuff after the first 3 paragraphs though. mostly one big ramble for fun

i remember when i was huge into danganronpa i had a new wife every month or so it was kinda funny. i guess thats what kept me in the fandom for so long

umm..... kazuichi will always be my number one fave character from dr evn if he contributed jack shit. i love that he's a sad weirdo with a big stupid crush on a woman way out of his league. korekiyo (minus the inc3st shit), gonta and twogami are fairly high up there

when i was really big into bnha my stupid ass was more obsessed w todoroki than the superior choice of Literally Everyone Else (not really but still). when i finally gained sentience and got better taste i was big on iida and shigaraki :o3 i like shigaraki because hes ugly and weird. when i saw how they anime boy-ified him in the recent episodes i was so fucking mad u have no idea.. and umm i like iida because he is autism incarnate and very cute

not an old fandom but jojo!! kinda the same case w dr, i always had a new character i had a crush on. given just how fucking many characters r in jojo its no surprise its the fandom ive been in for the longest.. anyway if i had to choose my absolute faves it would be mista, gyro, kira and mikitaka. but again i love so many of them its crazy

persona 5 :o3 HUGE on yusuke. i still think he's cute, him n futaba are my faves. i've been starting to appreciate ryuji more now though.. other than that i like maruki, the other guy with the long black hair and futaba's dad who's name i just forgot. also i love yosuke from persona 3 but i havent seen much of it

i love basically everyone from guilty gear but faust, axl, testament and slayer hit the hardest. i was so shocked when i found out slayer had an irish accent it was so fucking crazy.. irishman jumpscare..

from the various horror movies ive watched i love brahms heelshire (hellshire? forgot), billy lenz, herbert west (duh), otis driftwood/firefly and umm. whicherver guys i forgot. I haven't watched tcm yet but i am in love with chop top and leatherface ok <3

w/ kaiji ultimate survivor its very easy to pick. def just ichijou and kaiji. the rest im either uninterested in or find them to be too ugly. i did have a brief thing for kazuya though

... i think thats mostly all of the significant fandoms ive been in . THANK U IF U READ ALL OF THIS U R SO AWESOME!! even if u didn't tbf i dont blame u HWYAHA

me writing this