#i would say more but these 5 are all based on my dead dogs so i fear if i go on for too long ab it i might throw myself back into grief

[myballsitchaurghouchie]

you should talk about Osiris sometime

Osiris :) Head Disciple of my God's Hunger AU Lamb (tho i'm for sure making her and the others followers in my Bygone AU as well. hashtag dog lover)

She's not the very first follower, but she's one of the ones that stayed by the Lamb's side the longest, followed by her ex-lover Lixi. Her and Lixi had 4 kids; Vodka, Ruby, Rolex (don't. talk to me about the names. don't even try.) and a last one that was adopted by someone else. They all lived on the cult grounds and then the Lamb's cannibal thing happened and only Osiris stayed or something whateverrrrrr

She became a caretaker for the Lamb. Any time that wasn't spent looking after kids was spent around the Lamb either for the quiet or to look after them once they started getting bad. The Lamb slowly became super dependent on her, making her feel like she has to stick around until the very end even when they start going "yooo so like... meat am i right eyes emoji fire emoji", because that's her lamb and her leader. or something

Idk i really like the idea of this Corrupted Bitch Lamb having a literal angel figure in their life that they latch onto in such a way that it destroys the angel

[rockwgooglyeyes]

Taking into consideration Till's history with sexual assault (i will be tw and cw tagging for this), it puts the Ivantill kiss in round 6 in so much more perspective for me. Not only that, but it gives a lot of context and reasoning to the way that Till interacts with other people (as well as his rapid, violent mood swings) into perspective.

I just to preface with this- I have never been the victim of sexual assault or sexual harassment, so my discussion on this purely comes from what I know at a psychological angle, in addition to what I know based on this video from pop culture detective on Youtube and his videos on the male interaction with abuse and generally seedy behavior in media. It's really good, I enjoy his content a lot. Anyways analysis below the cut. Content and trigger warning for discussion of sexual assault, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and pretty much everything else relevant in this fandom (slavery, child abuse, etc)

Out of all of the characters in Alien Stage, Till is the most openly dehumanized. Sua is treated like a doll, Ivan is treated like a trophy horse to parade around, Luka is something of a combination of both- but Till is the lab rat. He's the losing dog that Urak is betting on. They're all dehumanized to a degree but Till is dehumanized so much so that his defining feature is his rebellion. Even amongst the fandom, he's made into Ivan's side piece or the idiot who's hopelessly in love with Mizi and yeah, I do think Till is a dumbass but I say that out of the deepest affection possible, I love this little freak and I want the best for him. I truly do.

He's so smart and talented and yet, he hates himself. He's passionate about music, he uses it to express himself in ways that he can't otherwise, and he's so good at music, too. He's not good with people and he has a temper and he's easily flustered, yes, but he's so complicated. He was hopeful and innocent to the ways of the world but when he was bought by Urak, he was shown how utterly and hopelessly cruel the world could be. Comparatively, even Ivan and Sua got lucky, with their absent and emotionally abusive owners- Till was put through hell, experimented on, forced into a cage and treated like a feral animal that needed to be shown who was boss- even when he was willing to go along with anything at the start. He wanted to be loved. He wanted to be cherished. Children always want so desperately to please their authority figures, I can't imagine that he would have resisted in the beginning, hoping that if he went along with whatever Urak told him to, that he would be rewarded and treated with tenderness and care.

He never was. He was beaten and broken and thrown through the wringer time and time again. They made him miserable because that's what Urak wanted- that's what makes good art, after all. A tortured artist who cuts off their own ear but paints the most beautiful night skies.

Even in Round 2, we see this dehumanization. Till has a tether, keeping him to the stage, because he's "dangerous." He's marketed as this rebel, who needs to be tied down, who needs to gagged and muzzled, we can't let him speak because if he opens his mouth, he'll bite. He's pushed down to the ground, subdued, IN HIS MARKETING. This is how he's presented FROM THE BEGINNING. He is forced into this role of the mad dog who screams and claws and bites because this is the mold he was given, he pushed himself into it because that was all he could do. He's giving Urak what Urak wants and even that isn't enough. Because he might be broken, he might have given in, but he's still a stubborn bastard.

Before Round 6 (but after Round 5), Till refuses to sing Mizi's song in the bar. He gets angry with a member of the audience for implying that Mizi is dead, maybe even saying shitty something about her, and he goes at them with a bottle. As @a-star-that-burns-brightly said, he's the only human we've ever seen to get violent with an alien within the bounds of Alien Stage, which makes Till all the more impressive- which means that they have to bring him down all the more forcefully.

I will admit- I didn't understand the scene to be SA until it was pointed out to me (not that I thought it wasn't, it just went over my head) but it adds so much to Till's character to analyse it through that lens.

They rape Till, punishing him for refusing to sing and punishing him to attacking an audience member. Terry Crews, who some may know from Brooklyn-Nine-Nine or other media, is a survivor of sexual assault, and he talked about it before the United States Senate Judiciary committee. He was assaulted by his manager, who was a man. And you may be wondering why I bring this up, and it's simply because I want to remind people that sexual assault is not about sexuality. It can be connected but correlation is not causation. Sexual assault is about exerting power over an individual to make them feel weak, lesser, and show them who is in control of the situation. It's not dissimilar to bullying (but far, far worse). After all, why would corrective rape be a phenomenon if it wasn't about exerting power over the victim and showing them that they don't have autonomy or agency? Because if they had autonomy or agency, they would be able to consent or conversely, the ability to say no.

Of course they don't have autonomy/agency, though, right? Because they're pets. They're possessions. It's akin to how we treat dogs and cats, we breed them and we don't let them say no, because they don't have an understanding of consent like we do, why would they need to say yes or no? They can just fight someone off if they don't want it, right?

Right?

Something that @k9punkout (Numso) said stood out to me, though, is that this might not even be the first time that this has happened to Till. This breaks my heart. Like, legitimately, it made me nearly cry when I read it, because the idea of sexual abuse being used as a form of regular and routine punishment against someone is horrible- but at the same time, that already happens. In prisons, in war zones, in households, sexual abuse is used as a regular punishment against people and that's horrible. The way that Till's experience specifically reflects that of a child in a toxic and abusive household is immensely interesting because of how people forget about that, how people don't seem to really care. He's a sopping wet kitten, yeah, he's a silly little guy, but he's been abused for his whole fucking life. He has a superiority complex that's teetering on an incredibly thin knife's edge and sometimes it wobbles into self-hatred and an absolute absence of self worth.

It's no wonder that Till clings so fiercely to the idea that Mizi is innocent and pure and hopeful, like he once was, because if she isn't- then does that mean he was stupid to ever hope at all? Was he stupid for expecting love and affection, from the people who were supposed to take care of him? Does that mean he's suffered for no reason, save Urak's amusement? Does that mean he's miserable just because, just because Urak demands that someone be miserable in order for them to be great? Does that mean he's been beaten, broken, made into this wretched, ugly thing simply because he's around? It's not so much that his suffering needs to have a purpose, it's more that if it's pointless and based on whim, then that says something about Till himself. That says that Urak saw something in him, something sturdy enough to be broken again and again and get back up. It says that he deserves this. (He doesn't, no one deserves that and deserving things is horseshit, but I can't imagine Till to be thinking anything else.)

Back, finally, to the whole reason I started writing this fucking thing: the Ivantill kiss in Round 6. I've seen some people call it SA, and while I can see why (and of course, I respect their opinions), I disagree.

Ivan shouldn't have continued to kiss Till after Till pushed him, yes, but at the same time, through the narrative of their kiss- it wasn't really a kiss at all. Not in the sense that it was an expression of sexual intent. And maybe this is because I'm on the acearo spectrum but. I don't believe Ivan wanted to kiss Till, it wasn't a romantic kiss, it was one last attempt to get Till to wake up, before it was too late.

Through the lens of knowing that Till is a survivor of sexual assault, the way that Ivan kissed him and his reaction to Ivan kissing him is all the more impactful because Till pushed Ivan away, yes, but he didn't seem horrified, or hollowed out like he is post assault in the bar scene. It shows his trust in Ivan, and maybe even the fact that he knows that Ivan isn't doing this to hurt him, Ivan is kissing him in a final effort to say "I love you. You're loved. I'm sorry."

Blue (@bluemoonscape) talked through this with me a bit earlier and he said something that stuck out to me as well "The kiss, if anything, shows how much control the aliens assert over them to put them in a position where this would be two friends’ last chance to communicate with one another, hence how desperate it is on Ivan’s part. (...) Ivan wasn’t trying to assert power over Till in any way; that just isn’t in his nature. Over the years, he basically lets Till dictate every aspect of their relationship, hell, he even gives power to Till over Ivan’s own freedom (power that Till didn’t want but nonetheless got)" and he really summed it up beautifully in my opinion. The ivantill kiss WASN'T romantic because it wasn't meant to be- Ivan was just saying that he loved Till period. It was a fucked up way to do it. I wish he hadn't.

But he was just trying to say goodbye.

(@atrophiedemotion because i mentioned this to you! <3)

[accirax]

Danganronpa: Despair Time Chapter 2 Episode 13 Dissection

Jesus CHRIST, the hits keep on coming (/pos). I don't think anyone could have predicted everything that came to light in this episode. But, hey, at least we're finally cooking on the murder method a bit more...?

SPOILERS for Danganronpa: Despair Time though Chapter 2 Episode 13! Also, CW: discussions of suicide.

Similarly to last time, I tried not to look at too many other people's major reactions/theories as to not influence my opinions as they were when I watched the episode. (Although I think I failed to do that more than last week...) Here's what this episode got me thinking about!

Genocide Jack, Junko, Mukuro, Peko, and Korekiyo:

On that note, though, this is... debatably relevant lore about Hope's Peak as it exists in DRDT? We know from Chapter 2 Episode 2 that Veronika (and likely all of the non-Terukos as well) don't remember Trigger Happy Havoc, and, based on this, it's likely that they don't remember much of the history of the old HPA either. Ace being so adamant that HPA wouldn't scout a murderer implies that the new HPA has fully regained its spotless reputation, potentially even more than the Tokyo school ever had.

I want you all to know that I tried to write out a little theory about whether or not Levi could have killed any plot-relevant characters here, but I came to a dead end at every venture. Levi killed Mai? No, he has no motive, and the murder happened before everyone attended Hope's Peak. Levi killed Elliot? No, Ellie was probably killed by dogs, and the timing is all wrong. Levi killed someone at the North C and Chariton incident? That didn't even happen. I was just getting that confused with my theories about what Xander might have done at that incident in FF's DRDT Milgram AU. Not even what actually happened in the AU. Just my theories on what might happen.

The only option I couldn't fully rule out was the idea that Levi killed some of the ~5 missing members of the altDRDT cast, but, holy shit, can you imagine how funny that would be? Teacher and the gang get to the sixth Class Trial and ask all dramatically, "so, what happened to the rest of our class that didn't make it to the killing game...?" and Monowhatever is just like "actually, Levi Fontana just straight up merced those dudes years ago." Hilarious.

Anyways. That goes to show that I do think these were just random guys, and the only specific relevance they would have is in the realm of Levi's backstory specifically.

RIP to the "Levi used to be an assassin" theory. I actually kinda liked that one myself.

(Also, hijacking this image to point out the background music here. You hear the ticking clock motif? Very suspicious indeed...)

Yup, even more confirmation that HPA highly valued having an incredibly pure and righteous image. Of course this HPA was also corrupt. Is it even possible to make an HPA without some level of corruption?

(Levi. My guy. I need you to use a different sprite; the quadruple image combo is starting to look ridiculous.)

What I find really interesting here is that, even in the realm of forgetting about murders, Levi remembers the three random guys before his father. Like, I know that Levi says that he kinda equally doesn't care about everyone (and I believe him to be telling the truth on that), but you would think that, just by virtue of having spent more time with his dad or the people around him's reactions, Levi would have remembered killing his father before offing three random thugs.

I don't know if this is meant to A) really drive the point home that Levi sees no difference between those he "knows" and those he doesn't; B) imply that Levi might have sustained some greater amount of trauma from killing his father that caused him to block that memory out more; C) suggest that killing the guys was more recent than killing his dad, which might lead him to remember it with more clarity; or D) some combination of the former three. However, I think it's an interesting detail to note.

The foils are foiling........

This was hilarious. And lowkey evidence that Nico was the one who tried to kill Ace.

You know, I actually almost made a theory once that the clauses "you're a murderer" and "you have no remorse" could be read as two separate secret statements! Not to say that Levi didn't have no remorse for the killing part, but that having no remorse was a state of being not solely tied to the murdering.

Alsoooo... just gonna say, Levi on Drawing Pins is looking better and better all the time...

Eden: But you're a good person. Why are you saying these things when it's clearly not true? You're so kind to everyone. You're always helping others out, even when it'd be easier not to. Like that time Ace almost died. You kept trying to help him, even if he always pushed you away. Isn't that what "a good person" does?

WE ARE BACK AT IT AGAIN!!! "GOOD PERSON" SPECIFICALLY IN THE LEVI/EDEN CONTEXT AAAAAAAAA

Beyond the further "good person" jumpscare, I found this line interesting due to how Eden describes Ace. Someone who "always pushed [Levi] away." Sounds a lot like Arei, huh? In fact, a lot of it sounds like Eden is applying it to herself.

"But I'm a good person. Why am I thinking these things when it's clearly not true? I'm so kind to everyone. I'm always helping others out, even when it'd be easier not to. Like that time Arei yelled at me. I kept trying to help her, even if she always pushed me away. Isn't that what "a good person" does?"

Obviously, I'm reading into this in the "Eden is the blackened" context, but I think that it's still an interesting read of Eden's mental state even if she isn't the blackened. We know that, to some extent, Eden blames herself for both Min and Arei's deaths. Therefore, despite likely feeling like she's fucked up, she wants to cling onto the idea that she's a good person so she doesn't lose faith in herself.

That leads into some super interesting parallels when it comes to this speech versus what Arei said, but I'll talk about that more once we get to the Arei monologue.

This week, acevi shippers take the L. Really, Levi x anyone shippers, but I think acevi shippers got the worst of it.

Except, they also took the W. "Ace lowkey confirms he once had feelings for Levi" was NOT on my bingo card. Or Star's.

(Also I LOVE this new sprite)

I saw some people talking about Ace's friend (Taylor?) but I do not remember and cannot find any information about this character (so I can't even tell if they're just fanmade :( ). If anyone knows what I'm talking about and has a link, please send it to me. Anyways, "insult to his memory" definitely makes it sound like Ace's friend is dead. I wonder if the way in which he died has anything to do with Ace's fear of horses/cowardice in general.

I want to see more Levi and Veronika interactions so bad. It's no surprise that Veronika was the first to pick up what Levi was putting down. Both of them don't have the "normal" way of processing their feelings and interacting with others, but while Levi has decided to try to be what society deems as "good" anyways, Veronika has decided to fully live by her own creed. I wonder if Levi could be at all convinced by Veronika to go back to his old ways.

Veronika: You're always guessing as to what a normal human would do in your situation. You're so awkward in social settings because you can't tell what other people want.

I'm excited to see Levi and Nico interact too, obviously. I suppose Nico is kinda like the midpoint of Veronika and Levi-- doesn't understand people and wants the world to work the way they perceive it, but also has been bullied enough to feel forced to play along with how others want them to be. Characters like these have become some of my favorite archetypes to discuss. I'm so glad that DRDT has so many of them!!!

The foils are foiling AGAIN...

Why the fuck are you so pressed about the secrets now??? I thought you were all about privacy?????

Well, thank you for "confirming" that swap, ladies! This talk of a pact is very interesting, though. I guess Hu must have gone to Veronika pretty early to ensure that her secret wouldn't get out-- makes sense, as without that there's a good chance Hu could believe that Veronika would reveal her secret at the most unflattering time to create drama.

It does slightly recontextualize Veronika's "A little mystery makes this Trial more exciting, don't you think?", though. I wonder if that was just straight up a lie, or if that was the rationale Hu used to appeal to Veronika. I doubt we'll get a flashback of this scene now that this moment's passed, but I'd love to see it. FTEs...? 👀

David you have to stop this right now or you're going to become my new favorite character. Dude's been dying to don the mantle of the comic relief character, apparently.

Is The Motive Scoreboard Accurate?

I'm including this because I've seen some other people say that it is, specifically on Teruko's front. I strongly believe that this motive board is incorrect, and Teruko and Xander's secrets are swapped.

The blaming yourself secret mentions parentS and siblingS. Back in Chapter 1 Episode 4, Teruko says that she never knew her parents (and therefore may even just be assuming that she has two), and she only had one biological brother. Furthermore, she has no idea if they're dead or not. On the parents front, she could assume that being sent to an orphanage is confirmation enough that her parents are dead instead of just not wanting her. Being sent there with her older biological brother is a further implication of that.

However, Teruko specifically says that her brother "left with some other family." She makes no mention of believing he's dead at all. Therefore, for Teruko to have the secret she claims to have, Teruko would have to be constantly mourning parents and an additional sibling that she never knew, and to believe that all of them are dead despite having no reason to believe that her known brother died.

Obviously, all of these things were said aloud to Charles and Whit, so there is a possibility that Teruko lied about or concealed parts of her past to keep her walls up around those two. However, what does this face from David mean if not "I've caught you in my trap?"

(DRDT sprites are SO GOOD--)

To me, this sprite clearly indicates that David knows that Teruko is lying about something, but has chosen not to bring it up to save it for later purposes. I don't know if he has something specific in mind or just wants to hold the potential blackmail over her head, but I strongly suspect that we'll come back to this someday-- either in later daily life or a post-Trial scene in this chapter.

It's also interesting to note that, while David knows that this is Teruko's for sure, Charles and Whit also have the opportunity to recognize the discrepancy. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if Charles kept notes about what he knows about everyone somewhere. We'll have to see if either of them ask her about it down the road as well.

Eden: I know that she's dead!! I know that she's dead and that she's never coming back. I know that I'll never be able to talk to her ever again. But even then... I have to know that when she was alive, she was still trying to become a good person. That if she lived, then maybe there'd be a world in which we would both be friends. If you really say that you lied about making Arei kill herself, then tell me the truth. Tell me that you didn't make her lose hope. Please! Tell me what happened last night between you and Arei!

Oh boy.

Can Eden Still Be the Culprit?

Look. I understand if you look at this and believe that Eden couldn't possibly be the culprit-- or at least, not without being a completely different character than we know her to be. Because I almost did. Zel's performance did a really good job of selling Eden's heartbreak in a way that makes it feel like she couldn't have possibly been the one to end Arei's life. However, upon further review, I do think that Eden's words could be that of the killer, with minimal levels of intentional manipulation thrown in.

If it would cause you emotional distress to listen to me continue to accuse Eden, I'll write the rest of this section in purple so that you can skip it if you'd like. I don't want to make anyone sad, so I fully understand if you want to avoid these bad vibes. However, for those of you who are still on the fence, and those who have stuck with Eden!culprit all along, here's my justification. I think it'll be easiest to break it down block by block.

Eden: I know that she's dead!!

Okay, well, maybe skipping this section a bit. More points for Arei truly being the one who's dead, I guess?

Eden: I know that she's dead and that she's never coming back. I know that I'll never be able to talk to her ever again.

Alright, so, this can fairly easily be read as the same thing as what Eden was doing back when she was talking to Levi: reassuring herself.

Well, maybe "reassuring" is the wrong word. Basically, she's repeating the same mantra that she told herself when she was trying to justify her decision to kill Arei. When making the decision to kill anyone, the killer (if they care) has to process that they will have to kill every other person in the game if they want to escape for themselves. Therefore, if Eden is the killer, she already had to grapple with the fact that she can't turn back time. ("You can't go back, no matter how hard you try.")

I think that Eden might have it in her head that, even if it wouldn't fully erase her wrongdoings, as long as she doesn't just forgive and forget the whole affair, it makes things slightly better. That's why she was yelling things like "You forgot about all the things you did just because you didn't face any consequences for them? That's incredibly selfish!" at Levi.

Feeling bad about things is her punishment to make sure that Arei is never fully forgotten. She knows that, if she goes through with killing, she'll never be able to talk with any of these people again. However, if there's something more important to her than these 13 lives that she has to escape the killing game to reach, it's a consequence she'll have to accept. She knows it's selfish-- but she at least won't be so selfish as to also forget everyone else's sacrifice.

Eden: But even then... I have to know that when she was alive, she was still trying to become a good person. That if she lived, then maybe there'd be a world in which we would both be friends.

This is probably the part that feels the most damning. Why would Eden care about whether or not Arei was trying to become a good person if Eden is the one who killed her? Wouldn't it be better for Eden if she wasn't?

Well, that's what Eden is trying to figure out, too. In Venus' Narrative Defense of Eden Culprit Theory, Venus says that Eden didn't believe that Arei actually changed and wanted to be her friend. And, it really makes complete sense if she didn't-- Eden had no idea that David and Teruko continued to talk so seriously with Arei after her departure, and Arei saving Eden from Arturo literally happened the same day that Arei had her breakdown. It had probably been, like, 4 hours since Arei chewed her out for her worldview being stupid, and then Arei's suddenly turning around and declaring that she wants to protect Eden at all costs. Of course Eden might just believe that Arei was setting her up for a fall! (Murder pun not intended.)

Venus also adds that, at this point in the Trial, David knew something that Eden didn't: namely, that Arei actually wanted to change, and saw Eden as her inspiration for doing so. Under the assumption that that revelation has been bothering Eden the whole time, it makes perfect sense that Eden would want to know more about what David knew about Arei. She needs to know exactly how terrible she needs to feel for doing this terrible thing.

I think the quote becomes a lot less defendable if you just swap out the "that" for an "if."

"But even then... I have to know if when she was alive, she was still trying to become a good person. That if she lived, then maybe there'd be a world in which we would both be friends."

Now, obviously, you could say that this is an unfair point-- Eden didn't say "if," she said, "that"! How can you excuse Eden based off of evidence that isn't actually real?

My point is that, even if DRDTdev didn't have Eden phrase it that way, it would be an incredibly easy swap to make. Thus, the only way in which Eden would have to be lying is to swap out one word. With that one word, "if," we see how she's still doubting whether Arei really was trying to be a good person, and can read into why she's bringing that up at this time. To disguise it, all Eden has to do is trade "if" for "that"-- she doesn't have to be some masterful lying manipulator to pull off a quick exchange that makes her look more innocent.

Eden: If you really say that you lied about making Arei kill herself, then tell me the truth. Tell me that you didn't make her lose hope.

Eden needs the truth so that she can know how despicable she actually is (in her opinion). She needs to know how bad she needs to feel for taking Arei's life, so that she won't wind up as "inhuman" as Levi.

I also think that "tell me that you didn't make Arei lose hope" could be interpreted in a killer-ish way. There is a rhetorical device in English that sorta turns words like that on their head. Like, if I said, "don't tell me you spoiled DRDT for all of your followers!," it's often interpreted as "I know that you did spoil DRDT for all of your followers, but I don't want to hear it." In this case, Eden might not want David to tell her that he made Arei lose hope because she doesn't want to believe that Arei had any hope in the first place. It's better than if Eden was the one to directly crush those hopes, sure, but if Arei approached David talking about wanting to be a better person mere hours before her death, that still means that Eden was killing a hopeful Arei. She doesn't want David to confirm her worst fears.

I don't know if I phrased that section exactly how I imagined it in my mind, but hopefully you understand what I'm getting at.

Eden: Please! Tell me what happened last night between you and Arei!

In the end, though, Eden knows that she has to face the music to figure out how she wants to proceed with this trial, whether that's sinking the cost of her fallacy or owning up to her crime. And that's how I think you can justify this outburst of Eden's within the context of her being the blackened, without having to fully corrupt her character.

What Arei Meant

This part isn't a theory, exactly; it's more of an analysis of the point I think Arei was trying to convey in this section. I've seen some people be sad about the new note that Arei's character is "going out" on, but I actually think that this is a pretty realistic, thematic ending for where Arei's story and the themes of the chapter are headed. Time to praise DRDTdev's writing for a bit!

Arei: I'm a manipulative, two-faced bitch. I pretend to be cute so that I can treat others like trash. I only care about myself, and I always hurt others for selfish and stupid reasons. Of course I wanted to change myself. [...] Still, for the longest time, I thought it was stupid to even try. I'm rotten to the core, and I might as well be a different species from saints like you and Eden. [...] No matter what, I'll never be a good person. And yet, despite all that... David, you... It turns out that you might be a total piece of shit after all. If even a perfect inspirational speaker like you turns out to be an asshole, then there's no such thing as "a good person." [...] And that makes me relieved, because it means I'm not too far gone. It's okay that I'll never be a good person, because no one else can be either.

I don't think that Arei is saying that the world is a lost cause.

Instead, she's saying that no one is a lost cause. She's applying that Syndrome logic: "if everyone is a bad person, no one will be." Arei thought that, because of her upbringing, there was no possibility that she could ever Be Good, because she'd already done too much wrong. Good People are perfect, unerring gods who do nothing but help others and reach out to wayward souls. However, David's manipulations proved that that wasn't true.

Good People fuck up. Good People do good things for bad reasons, and bad things for good reasons, and, hell, if David is a Good Person, then Good People do bad things for bad reasons sometimes, too! Arei confessed to us that she felt like her life was over because she was given an unfair start. However, now she knows that the bar has been lowered, and that being a good person can be done by anyone, anywhere, at any time. Perfection doesn't exist. Now that she knows that there was never any need to be perfect, the chance she sought for so long has finally been granted.

(Dipping back into purple for a sec to talk about Eden culprit stuff)

After this, I feel like the theme of this chapter has to be about deconstructing the myth of "The Good Person." You think that Nico is just a soft and shy bullying victim? No, they're just as willing to kill as anyone else. You think that Hu is a gracious motherly figure? No, she has an angry streak and talks over other people. You think that Levi is a softhearted giant who just struggles with what to say sometimes? His kill count is higher than everyone who's died to the killing game so far, and he doesn't really care that that's the case. You think that Whit is just a silly guy who cares about others? Fuck, even he's willing to stall out the trial in an attempt to fulfill his own agenda.

The main person who hasn't yet been proven so be not as good as they seem so far is Eden, who in this episode has been clinging to the idea of being a good person harder than ever. I know that some people believe that Eden needs to survive to fulfill the role of the optimist, but I feel like this episode proves that that isn't true. We don't need A Hopeful Person because anyone can step up to the plate and believe in hope if they want to do so. Eden isn't A Good Person, but a real person, who's just as capable of laughing and crying and living and dying as anyone else.

A good person is not gold. That's why everyone who tried to cling to the idea that they were being A Good Person-- Xander, David, Levi-- has always wound up hurting others in the end. Xander believed his actions were morally justified, and thus decided to kill Teruko, causing Min's death and lots of anguish for Teruko. David wanted to follow in his footsteps, and beyond his inspirational speaker persona causing damage to himself, he was also about to kill everyone else to do "what's right." Levi (Arei pending) hasn't killed anyone since trying to become A Good Person, but pretending to follow those guidelines without actually wanting to change anything about himself emotionally hurt Ace, who was set up with false expectations.

If Eden is so convinced that she's a good person, she's only blinding herself to the ways that she's inevitably not.

Back to Arei, while it is sad that her development was cut off just as she made this revelation, I believe that clarifying this additional bit of content is a way to allow her to rest in peace. Even if she didn't get to transform as much as she wanted to, she at least got to die knowing that she wasn't as wretched as she convinced herself that she was all these years, and having done at least one good thing-- saving Eden from Arturo-- before she passed. It's an amazing character arc to squeeze in for your second victim.

Phew, finally, a chance to talk about objective lore instead of heavy and divisive character themes! Except, uh...

WHAT THE FUCK???

Remember when, at the beginning, I said that no one could have predicted everything that came to light in this episode? This was the main point I was talking about. I don't think anyone saw this reveal coming, especially in this moment.

For starters, even though this CG does appear in David's memories, I don't think that he or Arei actually remembers whatever this was taking place. Beyond me attempting to debunk the idea that David had additional memories of Hope's Peak last week, Arei or David specifically referring to this moment means that they had to... be there? When whatever this was happened?

I say "whatever this was" to briefly create suspense before connecting the dots everyone's already talked about: that Eden was probably the one to scratch out Xander's eye. This would make Eden the "she" that Xander (er, I mean, "the guy with the bloody hands") talks about in the intro scene.

It also gives some more context to the clock with the fork stabbed into it depicted in LGI.

I don't know if "non-functional" and "I didn't expect her to" mean that Eden could have been brainwashed or otherwise broken down into not acting like herself when this happened, but it certainly seems out of character for what we know of Eden. Even her facial expression seems to suggest that she might not have wanted or intended to attack anyone with that fork.

Anyways, for Arei or David to know about the contents of that CG, they would've had to both be there when Eden attacked Xander and then also have regained/had their memories of it, which seems unlikely given how both of them treat Eden. Like, even if Arei is sure that Eden "did something to hurt someone in the past," this seems a bit extreme, and David probably wouldn't be so neutral on her if he knew that she attacked his man.

Another really clever point that I saw someone make (AND THEN COULDN'T TRACK DOWN WHO OR IN WHICH POST IT WAS--) was that Eden is wearing her current outfit in this CG. Interestingly, I looked back at A History of Hope's Peak and Visiting Graves to see what Min and Xander were wearing, and while Min was wearing her typical killing game uniform, Xander was wearing something different. Given that Min's scene takes place in HPA and Xander's doesn't, this could imply that Min was wearing the HPA uniform? That's fitting, for her.

We also know that the DRDT cast were all wearing these outfits believing that they were headed for the HPA entrance ceremony. Therefore, we know that Eden would wear this getup to school, but we don't know if she'd wear it elsewhere. Once again, assuming it was Xander who got forked, we can place this CG some time between Visiting Graves and the start of the killing game. I have a hunch that Visiting Graves might have taken place during HPA's spring break-- in A History, Min and Mai (er, I mean, "Unnamed Student") are at school studying for a test with "Spring Break next week" on the chalkboard, while in Visiting Graves, Mai and Xander have traveled elsewhere-- but that's not confirmed, so we can't lock it down.

Maybe we can get more information about this in Eden's bonus episode! Because, well, I at least do think that most of the mysteries of this CG could be solved within a bonus episode and/or other characters talking about her posthumously in later chapters. Again, I understand if you want to use this CG as evidence that Eden is important enough to need to stick around, though.

AREI I MISS YOUUUUUUUUUU

Also, I didn't catch this at all, but credit to everyone who noticed how similar this scene is to the "Diana Chiem" scene in LGI! Fascinating implications that I have no additional thoughts on at the moment. Mostly because we don't know shit about Diana, if that even is her who's portrayed in that CG. I'm sure I'll come back to this someday, just not right now.

Oh, and I don't think you can really argue that Ace made up this conversation anymore. Idk how much of it he stuck around to listen to, though.

See like why is she so pressed about it???

I'd like to say that this is a win for Whit not being the mastermind (because he doesn't seem to know what MonoTV is talking about), but he could probably just be going "why are you saying that at this time?" or something like that. Sigh (/j)

Why Does Whit Know So Much About Hanging?

Alright, so, obviously, this could be a super-suspect hint that Whit knows all of this stuff about hanging and therefore decided to use that knowledge to kill Arei. But, I don't care about that! What I don't understand is how Whit came to know all of this in the first place!

Well, after a quick review, there's one option that stands out more than all the others: Whit's mom was killed by hanging, likely self-inflicted. The only thing we "know" about Whit's mom dying (assuming that secret really is his) is that she is dead, and Whit omits it. It's phrased pretty vaguely. We also know that Whit thinks his mom is awesome, but that doesn't tell us anything about how she saw herself. Sadly, I think this lines up all too well.

Whit's main character flaw, as we've seen throughout the story so far, is ignoring things that stress him out or make him sad. He represses, and chooses not to get involved in others' fights because it's "not his business." It would make sense if the same extended to what he was like before the killing game. If Whit always chooses to ignore things that worry him, there's a possibility he blames himself for his mom's death via not paying enough attention to any warning signs that her mental state might have gotten so dire. Of course, if repression runs in the family, she might have been doing her best to not make it obvious as well.

So, even though he hates himself for not giving his mom enough support in her darkest hour, he still can't (yet) make any changes in his life because ignorance is the only way he knows how to cope. Yet, he still won't let himself pass up on helping another soul in clear need of support, like Charles panicking over the blood, or Eden suffering over seeing Arei's body. He can push himself to help others that are sad, as long as he never focuses on himself.

Or, he's the time loop mastermind who's heard Class Trials discuss hanging a billion times before. You never know with this guy.

CONGRATS TO FF AND BADJOE FOR BEING THE SMARTEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 Man, even seeing Teruko explain this mechanism as the truth, I still don't know if I would've been able to come up with it myself. This fandom is so smart :D

(Also, why was Whit a dog? Goddammit, is this more MonoTV coding?! /lh)

FUCK YES, WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO GET ANSWERS ABOUT THE GYM MURDER IN THIS TRIAL? HALLELUJAH! IT'S ABOUT TO BE T A P E T I M E, MOTHERFUCKERS! (/j)

Phew, barely squeaked it within 30 images! I'm impressed and amazed that DRDTdev keeps managing to make such gripping episodes week after week.

Get it? Gripping? Like grippy tape?

I'd apologize, but you're almost certainly going to hear more of that from me next week. Until then!

[bittergirlsworld]

I finally gave up and saw TVD to understand some stuff in TO, and I just have to say: what an awfully written show. My goodness, how the hell is the most annoying girl in Mystic Falls the anchor who holds them together? Caroline, the fandom darling has no personality whatsoever. She's a camaleon, she's what they need her to be in the episode. Sometimes, she's the greatest soul alive, sometimes she's only there to slutshame another girl for doing exactly what she does. Sometimes she's pinning after her boyfriend, sometimes she backstabs him. Sometimes she's so repulsed by the 1000 year murder who bribes her with fancy things and sometimes she's okay to use the hell out of him to have what she needs. Elena, who's supposed to be the protagonist, becomes more and more the love interest to Damon. His love for her, that both recognize as toxic, comes from a sire bond and everyone insists to pretend that she loves him just the same without it as if she wasn't heavily projecting Stefan on him to the point he calls her out. The Originals, who were supposed to be invicible, the most insane of them just dies for a teenage hunter. Finn, the most sane one, portrait as a bore because he resented the bother who kept him in a coffin for thousands of years. Katherine, who I swear is one of the only two female characters really interesting in this show, is called a bitch all the time for the unforgivable crime of running from a psycho hybrid who wanted to slaughter her and then slaughtered her fucking family. Elijah and Rebekah does not exist outside of Klaus. Rebekah was just extremely annoying till they gave her a real personality and in the spin-off. Out of nowhere, she was obsessed with being human. Bonnie, poor Bonnie. The racism was blatantly showing. She was only there to be the magic negro trope. They didn't even allowed her to have romantic storyline! Her boyfriend who she resurrected cheats on her with a freaking ghost and she still back with him in season 5? She deserved so much better. Damon turns her mother in a vampire and then she's his best friend? She loses her entire family as well and is never treated with the same courtesy Elena has been treated. Not even the fancy balls she could attend, apparently. (Her wigs were also terrible. Poor Kat, they made her appear so old sometimes with those hairs).

And the romantic pairings? Awful. Damon and Elena were downright disgusting. He raped Caroline. Why everyone pretends he wasn't compelling her while having sex with her? Why all these centuries old man are so obsessed with fuck teenagers? How's that's romantic, date a girl on high school when you had two shares of a lifetime? Even if we take in consideration the lore that vampires stop aging when they're turned, the only couple who would make sense in this logic were Stefan and Elena, since Stefan was a teenager when turned. Klaus and Caroline had no romantic connection. She used him dry, he bite her to die to make a point to her boyfriend. He would be her last love but fucked her and left. She hated him but would happily accept his gifts while treating him like a dog. Damon and Elena loudly assume to each other that they are terrible together but then forget because they're fucking again. I swear to god, that relationship was pure based on their sex drive. She wanted that old dick so bad she blamed dead Katherine for the fact he killed her friend and threatened her brother.

The timeline made no sense. Plotholes all around. Why Bonnie couldn't make magic while being the anchor? Must be because she would be too powerful, and with Elena being so useless, they couldn't allow that. Caroline is another one completely useless for the plot. She could disappear from the show and wouldn't change a single thing.

It's really awful. After finally seeing this I can say with conviction that The Originals was the best they could have.

[lizzaneia-elizalde]

ME FIRST!

CAN YOU DO YANDERE JOCK PLEASE!

Yandere! Jock x Honor student! gn! reader

YEY A MOTIVATION TO WRITE!

As my first request... I'm going to put voice claims as like a celebration!

Yan! Jock (Damon): Marshall Lee from Adventure Time (Donald Glover)

Yan! Sugar daddy (Rowan Silas): Howl from Howl's Moving Castle (Christian Bale)

Yan! Butler (Zero): Baizhu from Genshin Impact in JP (Yusa Koji)

Yan! Theater actor (Ignatius): Tamaki from Ouran Highschool Host Club (Vic Mignogna)

Yan! Dragon (Vincent): Lilac Cookie from Cookie Run Kingdom (Behzad Dabu)

Yan! Artist (Arlen): Sal Fischer from Sally Face

((Just the voice claims, the charas involved are not really related to the Yans. BUT FOR THE LIFE OF ME I CAN'T FIND A PERFECT FIT FOR ROWAN GRRRRRRRR also Zero being in Japanese... Well, I actually did a Beware the Villainess voice headcannons before, and I used Baizhu JP as Nine's voice. Since Zero's inspired by him, then... Yeah.))

TW: Blood, gore, violence against a dead body.

He's a bit... Dumb.

That's what his friends would say when you ask about Damon.

He's dumb, yet sweet, kind, and insanely athletic.

People call him your typical himbo.

Rumors had it that he's completely a mama's boy, someone who doesn't know the difference between their, they're, and there, a man who has just one braincell that ticks around his head like the dvd logo bouncing around the screen and only get used on sports.

Ah yes, sports. The only thing he's extremely smart at.

Other than being street smart, he's body smart also. That's why he's being passed around by sports team in his University and also being gatekept by the clubs.

The baseball club needs a batter? On it. The basketball club had their ace sick? Don't worry, the mvp is here. The badminton team needs a pair for the doubles? Sure, just make sure to let him bring his own racket. Fencing club lacks one person for a complete sparring session? Uh, he hasn't tried fencing yet, but he will still master it immediately.

So because everything in his peanut brain gets squeezed onto sports, his academics isn't really the best...

Yet, his athlete scholarship made him stay afloat in the University. Plus he's the adorable kind of dumb, so everyone loved him.

If you try to tell him that he's a himbo, he would take it as an offense and would yell at you with the biggest pout and puppy dog eyes that he's not a himbo!

Oh, sweet summer child he is.

Everyone liked to watch this big, buff puppy play around with a smile on his face.

But not the Dean of his college. I mean, he's an athlete scholar, that's for sure, but he's still in Education! He needs to do better in his studies if he wants to be a teacher in the future!

And no! Damon cannot just cluelessly tilt his head to the side!

While Damon pouted, the dean called for you.

You're the candidate magna cum laude in your batch. Smart as you are, you buried your nose in books and notes as you studied to become a teacher, but lacked the confidence and charisma to be an effective one.

So the Dean thought this would be the perfect synergy. Damon's personality would rub on you, while your braincells will rub on his.

It was perfect.

And while you stood there with your eyes downcast, Damon's eyes widened as he stared at you.

It was love at first sight.

"Damon for the last time, it's School Based Management! Not Shoe Base Management! How did you even twist it to that?"

"Hehe, sorry y/n..."

*You sighed and crossed out the number.*

"5/50. How did your score got lower than the last time?! And it's a repeat test too!"

Rowan pouted and fiddled with his fingers. His eyes downcast as he appeared vulnerable.

"I'm sorry y/n.... I will do my best next time..."

*You sighed once more, knowing you can't deny this man.*

"Alright alright. Let's just study again."

You and Damon are in the library now, studying for the upcoming retake that Damon needs to take. But despite being here in the library for two hours, he still hasn't improved at all!

You stood up and glanced around, trying to see more books to use for studying. One preferably understandable for ding dongs like him.

Maybe a children's picture book of CPE 102 was needed for this guy.

You were harsh yet also patient with Damon, something he really likes. If he had a tail right now, it would wag rapidly to the point he'll break a bone in it.

All his thoughts is filled with you and you. The back of his notebook is scribbled with your name and his encased in a heart, crude drawings of you and him holding hands, or a silly children's game where he does a compatibility test using both of your names.

Neverminded that the test always ends up at "enemies" or "strangers", no no no... He won't accept it.

So these tests had large scribble marks all over him as words filled with rage about how the tests are lies are inked there.

And while Damon swung his feet while scribbling your and his future children's (yes, plural) names, he suddenly wondered where you are.

He got off his seat and walked around until he found you.

"Y/n--!"

He stopped dead in his tracks.

He felt shivers run down his spine.

There you where, smiling and bantering with an another man. Amicably talking to each other like you were the best of pals.

Damon recognized him from your class records (don't question why he knew your class records, he swears he's just doing research). Jupiter was his name, oddly enough. He's also a candidate magna cum laude and your study buddy. He's naturally gifted in academics and so does in his looks.

So when Damon saw how your eyes sparkled while talking to that guy...

He felt his façade crack.

Jupiter ran quickly across the lit yet empty rugby field in his University. Everyone was out for the school day since it was already 10pm.

How did Jupiter end up running away frantically with his clothes sticking on his body due to sweat?

It would be because of a masked man chasing him, power walking towards him with a metal baseball bat in hand. Jupiter can't see his face, but knew he's absolutely huge.

Jupiter ran as quickly as he can, but his body can't keep up. His legs weakened and his knee started to hurt as he heaved quickly. His vision swimming as he tried to run across and away from the man.

He's academic for god's sake! Physical activities are his mortal enemy!

As he cursed his hatred away, Jupiter tripped on a rock and rolled forward. His knee also finally gave up and is now hurting a lot.

Jupiter tried to scream for help, but all he could do is bite his lip as he held his poor knee.

Not until the man got close and clubbed him on that knee, making Jupiter scream in agony.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

That night, Jupiter's scream echoed throughout the empty rugby field and the sound of a hard object hitting a body. Then,

SQUELCH!

CRACK!

Then silence.

The masked man looked at the bloodied mess and chuckled. His small giggle turning into a full blown laughter as he tried to suppress it.

Damon grabbed a sharpie from his back pocket and scribbled on Jupiter's mangled body. His back, which is still somehow smooth, now contained your nickname and Damon's.

He's doing the compatibility test again.

"Soulmates! Oh my god!" Damon screamed in happiness. "Finally! Oh this is great! I shouldn't have doubted the test!"

Damon danced around Jupiter's body like he's not dead. Then, he kicked Jupiter's body. And kicked it. And kicked it. And kicked it more.

"Tch. You think you can smile at my soulmate like that? Think again buckaroo." Damon whispered, dropping his himbo jock persona.

This man had a sharp, intelligent look in his eyes. One that does not hold innocent curiosity, only a morbid bloodthirst.

This was the real Damon.

"Fuck. This dumb himbo persona is fucking me up. All I could do is put all my frustrations on sports." Damon spat out and kicked Jupiter's body towards his expensive truck. "I'm sick and tired of being labeled like that."

Then, he remembered your face. How he caught you staring at him with fondness as he acted dumb and cute.

He shivered.

"Maybe I'll continue to do this persona. Fuck. If only my parents would leave me be after that incident, then I won't have to do this."

Once Damon placed Jupiter's body on his truck, he started to clean the field with ease.

This wasn't his first kill after all.

He's always been twisted since he's a kid. But was forced to hide it due to his parents finding out he killed his cat with his own two hands with a smile on his face.

A trip to rehab, and he adopted this persona.

He slammed his truck close and drove away, humming and thanking that the University security cameras are broken.

He would kill more if necessary.

He's not afraid to dirty his hands. If ever, he loved it.

He looked at a picture of you and him in his dashboard. The picture was you smiling widely to the camera with a blushing Damon on the side, a test paper raised. It had full marks.

He kissed his finger and placed that finger on your lips.

"My soulmate~"

[jinglejingleclown]

Just watched venom 3: the lasst dance, and so I've got. Commentary. I discussed most of it with my saint-like friend, so now I'm just left puzzled rather than vaguely upset. Spoilers be upon yee, be warned.

1. Those alien xenomorph things were honestly pretty tame. They didn't kill humans unless provoked. They couldn't see shit besides the codex. Straight up they didnt even attack eddie so long as venom was semi-under wraps. So why was it so deeply necessary for venom to sacrifice himself and kill them? I don't get why, based off what the movie had shown us, eddie and venom couldn't have just straight up walked out of the situation and everyone couldda been chill while they calmly called in reenforcements. This was like a really weird way to raise the stakes, those aliens were genuinely like very pleasant for killer-alien standards from what was shown

2. The area 51 scenes were the most inefficient lore dumps ever. I got the stakes within the first 3 mins of the movie when sephiroth was just explaining paragraphs of lore i didnt need scientists to reexplain it over stretches of 40 minute nothing-lore dumps

3. Now not to say that any venom movie has been the wittiest quipiest smartest movie ever, but there was a lot of just. Dumping lore on the ground. Tell dont show type beat. Like it was impressive how they were fumbling that bag. Not like ive ever had high standards for marvel movies but wow that was tough

4. Why were the symbiotes nice? Based off of venom's coworkers and son, symbiotes are not nice. I find it hard to believe all the symbiotes were chill at the end and saving nearby families n shit. Eddie is still teaching venom what the word "morals" mean, granted venom isnt the smartest symbiote but still im pretty sure symbiotes dont give a shit abt humans, and nothing explains why theyre nice and helpful suddenly

5. Venom did not need to die deadass i dont know why he and eddie didnt straight up walk away. Deadass. Like i get it maybe they have enoigh scraps of morals bt the two of them to put together one good decision, but even still like it was a weird way to raise the stakes and kill venom. Im not mad that venoms dead in general, i think it sucks but like that was a decision they could make and that id be reasonable abt. But he didnt have to die like this, yknow? That was a really weird set of circumstances to make him go out on. Id have believed him dying to carnage more than thos, the emotional and physical stakes just werent high enough for me to feel anything or be invested while it happened. And btw i loooooove venom and im not the strongest willed person if they had hammed that shit up i would have been sniffling and sobbing at the end. But i left dry eyed and like ??? What was that bro

6. Maroon 5 amv? Dog what. And i've also seen tiktok edits do better montages btw

7. Lot of weird editing/timing/cutting decisions made for this movie that made it kinda drag, even during action sequences

8. Hippie family was cute at first, then got annoying, genuinely felt tortured alongside eddie during that super long song sequence

9. Why were venom and eddie not like more of the main focus of the movie

10. Why didnt the symbiotes just kill venom and eddie to get rid of the codex. Then they wont be hunted too. That easy. I would have believed venoms death more and been more amused if the symbiotes had turned this into like a total fucking massacre

11. Deadass the area 51 part of the plot generally jist didnt need to happen i didnt need to know any of those character or their motivations

12. Eddie had no emotional weight during the death of venom, venom carried the emotional scene hard but eddie didnt even do the standard minimum screaming wailing crying why god why. No. Maroon 5 montage.

13. Didnt fuck nasty on screen :(

14. Why was eddie let off the hook by the government like that, that was crazy why are tbey letting him loose and after they let him loose why isnt he going nuts trynna get venom back. I get they were like muts together and visually eddie was NOT doing fine during their symbiosis, but the other movies made me believe they were both ride or die abt each other. Venom sure as fuck wouldnt just like be chill after eddie died, hed be going crazy trying to bring eddie back. This isnt a one way street. Wheres the fire in eddie. "I'll never forget you" eddie "fucking nuts dogged journalist whos forever trembling like a neurotic chihuahua" brock would never. But no. Maroon 5.

15. Just a lot of generally hand-wavey stuff. And im not a cruel watcher, if i recognize plot holes, especially in a silly movie like this, i could be like oh okay well ill ignore it or come up with some reasoning for it. But deadassssss the monsters couldnt fucking see eddie and venom so long as they didnt COMPLETELY transform. Venom could literally still be doing his shit they just couldt transform completely. Easy. Thats fine bro. They couldda waited it out until they figured out a solution. With the stakes as they were, there was no reason for venom to die in this movie. The stakes were so high and it was so easy to avoid triggering them, venoms a lot of things but hes not That stupid. I deadass think that venom and eddie couldda just walked away from the area 51 situation with the last like 3 living scientists in tow and been like fine

16. He just straight up didnt need to die in the scenario they gave him. He could have escaped unscathed. Deadass. Im so confused why he would choose to die in that situation. Bc he'd be forever hunted so long as the codex existed? Dog I dont think venom gives a shit abt the other symbiotes he cares abt himself, eddie, and like 4 other ppl from LA and thats it. He ate three peoples heads at the beginning of the movie, hes not like, captain moral

17. Didnt fuck nasty raw on screen :((((

Conclusions: i really enjoyed eddie and venoms road trip, and only those parts of the movie. Every other part was not only a drag, but unneccessary. Venom in the movie verse isnt built like captain america, they raise the stakes too high for a dude and his gay tapeworm. Eddie and venom should be fighting like, joker-scale enemies max. Villain of the week type shit. I genuinely wouldda been happy with just like a singular symbiote-eating alien invading thats like low stakes enough for their buddy-cop schtick. The fate of every symbiote was a lot, and also most symbiotes dont even fuckin like venom lmao. "The black one" had me snorting in theaters tho, what a nickname damn. The horse and river montage was great. I liked some of venoms mannerisms i thought he was really cute this movie.eI dont know why this movie couldn have just been explosioms, macbine guns, and venom on the run from the government, that wouldda been great dumb fun. 3/10. I'm gonna go read fanfiction and dream up a better way to end this trilogy. There wasn't even a french kiss. Not even a normal kiss. Damn they didnt even hold hands deadass. Im not trynna be mean its more like i cant beliebe they fumbled the ball this hard rather than using a perfectly acceptable cliche villain of the week approach, kicking back, and raking in that fangirl dough. It didnt have to be a weel written movie, it just had to be okay and coherent and it was somehow neither

[kazz-brekker]

hotd episode 5 thoughts:

this was a pretty talk-heavy episode, which i guess is to be expected after all the action of rook's rest, but i am glad it seems like there will be more dragons and drama in the next episode

ooooh boy the greens parading the head of meleys through king's landing was NOT a good pr move, it is such a bad look to show that the creatures you based your entire reign around are fallible and can be killed

kind of thought aegon's burns might be even worse than they turned out to be, but the maesters having to cut that armor off his body because it had sealed to the wounds was pretty gross

i feel like rhaenyra and alicent need another secret meet-up to commiserate about workplace sexism because WOW those two councils were infuriating

jace flying off on his dragon to do some unsanctioned diplomacy just like rhaenyra did when she was a teenager…he really is his mother's son

i HAVE missed caraxes the noodle dragon, it is true, good to see him again <3

daemon's petulant little "i did not think they would be so eager to die" while sitting on a rock in his fancy dragon armor was really fucking funny

we got to see jeyne arryn and the eyrie, at last! and some of her dialogue was a direct quote from the books, which is fun

rhaenyra and mysaria's dynamic is one of my favorite surprises of the season so far, it's nice that rhaenyra has someone she can be honest about her frustrations with

man, daemon's harrenhal dreams are getting FREAKY. at first i thought that lady he was hallucinating was aemma but. uh. nope!

i continue to love how no-nonsense simon strong is and how done he is with daemon's dramatics

i'm continuing to appreciate how this show is giving screentime to the smallfolk and emphasizing how much an impact the war is having on them

need someone to adopt cheese's dog and give him some good pats please, he deserves better than this

alicent and criston really are never ever getting back together after this episode

it was fun to see the twins and that jace is pretty good at this whole diplomacy thing. i don't THINK the lady at the table was sabitha frey otherwise they would have mentioned her by name?

i really like how unimpressed alys is with daemon and her dragging him for his poor planning and tactics while also getting more hints of her magic

i feel like my stanning of house blackwood has perhaps reached a slight bump with this batch of war crimes. alas!

i liked when the laena hallucination turned up just to drag daemon for being an absent father

really pleased by the amount of baela and her characterization that we got in this episode, hope we'll see more of rhaena too

we can debate blacks vs greens as long as we want but everyone MUST acknowledge that rhaenyra has VASTLY better taste in who to appoint as her hand

you know, i think this is the first one-on-one scene aemond and helaena have ever had?

aegon waking up just long enough to say "mummy" after alicent has already left…kill me now

rhaenyra immediately knowing that jace had flown out and done diplomacy without her was such a mom move

not really sure what the errand elinda massey got sent on was???

i refuse to believe sunfyre is dead until i see the evidence with my own two eyes

in the book the new dragonriders is mostly jace's idea so i like the idea of it being a jace and rhaenyra collaboration, and i'm VERY excited to see vermithor and silverwing next week

[matttgirlies]

Matt & Me🎀

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

a story heavily based on Priscilla Presley’s Book “Elvis & Me” based in the 1950’s - 1970’s.

fem! reader x singer! matt

disclaimer!! - in no way am i saying matt would ever support or do these kind of things, for the sake of the book certain unethical things do happen at times.

y/nn = your nickname for any confusion🩷

Chapter 10

It was the era of the Polaroid and the beginning of videotape. He was the director and I his star acting out fantasies. We dressed up and undressed, played and wrestled, told stories, acted out our fantasies, and invented scenes. Whether it was dressing up in my school uniform and playing at being a sweet, innocent schoolgirl, or a secretary coming home from work and relaxing in the privacy of her own bedroom, or a teacher seducing her student, we were always inventing new stories, and eventually, I learned what stimulated Matt the most.

Almost every night I made quick trips to the local drugstore to buy considerable amounts of Polaroid film. Some of the cashiers knew me, and I wondered if they suspected what we were doing.

I put on dark glasses to “disguise” myself, but ended up looking even more conspicuous as I’d sweetly request twelve packs of Polaroid film while making excuses like, “Gee, the others must have been defective. I just can’t seem to get them to come out right,” or “You’re not going to believe this, but someone stole my film.”

Making it in and out of Graceland was no easy feat, either. I’d pass Mr. Stall at the gate at odd hours of the night, smiling and waving hello, returning shortly with the same smile and the same wave. I was sure he harbored some suspicious thoughts about what I was doing.

Matt laughed when I told him. “It’s all in your mind. He’s no more thinking anything than a dog sleeping.”

“Well, what if he starts spreading rumors, like I go out at night?”

“It might create some excitement around here. This town’s dead. Boston needs a little gossip!”

Matt and I both loved creating these sexual fantasies and it seemed to bring us closer together. I had no previous sexual experience to compare with his inventive sexuality and I was ready to indulge him any way I could. Being in the fast lane, he was exposed to every pleasure available in life. Ordinary thrills sometimes were not enough, especially when he was under the influence of powerful drugs.

At first I was totally open to Matt and many of his ideas. I lived for those moments we were alone. I was careful to say little that might jeopardize my bond with him. I fulfilled his needs, and his beliefs became mine. Under no circumstances were his ideas or playfulness perverted or in any way harmful.

A few days after he came home, he led me to his long black limousine and we sped off to one of Boston’s most exclusive boutiques on Union Street for some after-hours shopping, just as we’d done in Las Vegas. While the boys milled around the shop and the store’s sales staff tried to look nonchalant, Matt got a big kick out of having me model dozens of stunning dresses and suits and coats that were so stylish I was doubtful I could wear them. I was still an insecure teenager.

“Matt,” I said, wearing a sexy gold lamé gown that clung to my every curve, “these clothes are too sophisticated for me.”

“Sophisticated?” he said, regarding me admiringly. “What’s sophisticated? You could go around wearing a feather and that would be sophisticated.”

“Well, bring me a feather then.”

We spent four hours at that shop and during that time, I had a personalized lesson in the Matt Sturniolo Fashion Course.

As I tried on dress after dress, Matt delivered a running commentary on color. He liked me in red, blue, turquoise, emerald green, and black and white—the same colors he himself wore. He liked solids only, declaring that large prints took away from my looks. “Too distracting,” he said. He hated browns and dark green, colors inextricably associated in his mind with the Army.

Exhausted and a little confused about my new look, I walked out of the shop dressed in a sleek black linen suit with four-inch highheeled shoes to match. With Matt sitting proudly beside me, the guys loaded the trunk of the limo with armfuls of packages, and I felt very special.

Back at Graceland he had me model all my new clothes again for Grandma, who patiently sat through a long two hours of changes. I was Matt’s doll, his own living doll, to fashion as he pleased.

It was the early sixties, when clothes and makeup veered to extremes. Women’s eyeliner was heavier, their hair more teased, and their skirts shorter than ever before. All the rules I’d learned about dressing and applying makeup (less is more, the simpler the better) were being broken, and men seemed to love it. Matt certainly did. If I went a little light with the mascara or black eyeliner, he’d send me back upstairs to apply it more heavily.

Matt liked long hair. When I’d cut mine without asking his permission, he was shocked.

“How could you cut your goddamn hair? You know I like long hair. Men love long hair.”

He wanted it long and jet black, dyed to match his because, as he said, “You have pretty eyes, baby. Black hair will make your eyes stand out more.” He made a lot of sense to me and soon my hair was dyed jet black, like his.

The more we were together the more I came to resemble him in every way. His tastes, his insecurities, his hang-ups—all became mine.

For instance, high collars were his trademark, not because he especially liked them, but because he felt his neck looked too long. He never felt comfortable unless he was in a customized high-collared shirt, though in a pinch he’d turn the collar up on a regular shirt as he had when he was in school.

When he told me that the collar I was wearing on a particular blouse was too small for my “long, skinny neck,” I too began wearing high-collared shirts. Why not? My sole ambition was to please him, to be rewarded with his approval and affection. When he criticized me, I fell to pieces.

The Pygmalion nature of our relationship was a mixed blessing. The most fundamental thing at this stage in our life together was that Matt was my mentor, someone who studied my every gesture, listened critically to my every utterance, and was generous, to a fault, with advice.

When I did something that wasn’t to his liking, I was corrected. It is extremely difficult to relax under such scrutiny. Little escaped him. Little except the most salient fact of allthat I was a volcano about to erupt.

There were evenings when he’d send me back upstairs to change clothes because my choice was “dull,” “unflattering,” or “not dressy enough” for him. Even the way I walked came under review; he told me to move more slowly, and for a short while, he had me walking around the house with a book on my head.

I appreciated his interest, but I hated having to hear him remind me of my shortcomings so many times, and each time having to promise him that he’d never have to tell me again.

Would I ever be able to live up to his vision of how his ideal woman should behave and appear? She had to be sensitive, loving, and extremely understanding, meeting unusual demands any average woman might reject. This included being left behind when he made spur-of-the-moment, questionable “business” trips.

She had to be pretty and she had to possess an offbeat sense of humor to survive all the joking at Graceland. Often I’d walk into Sunday afternoon football gatherings and hear inside jokes about the cute all-American cheerleaders. Eventually I found myself thinking like one of the guys. “Nice tits and ass,” I’d say to myself. “A little heavy in the thighs, but the face makes up for it.”

Matt had a strong aversion to wearing jeans. As a poor boy, he had no choice but to wear them and he never wanted to lay eyes on another pair. That applied to everyone in the group.

His firm ideas on my wardrobe didn’t make it easy for me to go out and buy clothes for myself. One day I came home proud of a dress I’d just bought and couldn’t wait to put on. I knew he didn’t like prints, but this was a blackand-white flowered silk that I thought very special.

The first words out of his mouth when he saw me were: “That dress doesn’t suit you. Does nothing for you. Takes away from your face, your eyes. All you see’s the dress.”

As he tore me apart I started to cry. “Are you quite finished?” I inquired. I didn’t give him a chance to answer, bolting for my bathroom and slamming the door.

A few minutes later I heard his voice from the other side of the door: “You gotta keep away from those large prints. You’re a small girl, Sattnin.”

I opened the bathroom door and snapped, “Okay, I’ll return the fuckin’ dress.”

Matt fell to the floor laughing; eventually I joined in, unable to stop myself. Once again I’d compromised my own taste.

He ignored no aspect of my appearance, including my teeth. He took me to his dentist, told him to clean my teeth and give me a thorough examination. He was to look for probable cavities only and should I need any fillings, they were to be made of white porcelain. To him a mouth loaded with gold or silver was an eyesore.

He was equally fanatical about posture. If I slumped, he’d straighten my back. When I’d look up at him and wrinkle my forehead, he’d smooth it out—or tap it—telling me not to get in that habit. I didn’t like him rapping me, so I learned that one fast.

When we came home from the movies one night, I was getting ready for bed and he was in his office playing the piano. I came in to listen, propping my foot on the bench where he was sitting. He looked down at a small chip in my nail polish and I immediately withdrew my foot from the bench and started making up excuses about why it wasn’t fixed. “I’m going to have my pedicure tomorrow,” I promised.

“Good,” he said, “cause that doesn’t look like my Little Girl’s. You should always keep them looking nice.”

I was leading a double life—a schoolgirl by day, a femme fatale by night. Our evening appearance downstairs usually resembled a grand entrance. Even when our only intention was to have dinner, we always dressed for the occasion. Matt might wear a three-piece suit with a brocade vest and a Stetson hat. Under his coat he always carried a gun. He’d given me a small pearl-handled derringer and I carried it in my bra or tucked it into a holster around my waist. We were a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde.

Matt loved films, and we went to the Memphian almost every night. He was still renting the whole house after regular hours since he couldn’t attend a movie without being mobbed. One of the guys always lined up several films in case Matt didn’t like one of them or decided to see as many as three or four in a row. We usually arrived around midnight, our limousine pulling around to the back of the Memphian. From there we’d proceed into the side door like a royal couple leading their court.

Already seated in the theater were the usual crowd of thirty to fifty local friends and fans. Matt always sat in the same seat—with Nate Doe to his right, me to his left.

Before calling “Roll ’em!” he looked around the theater to make sure everyone was seated. He was an acutely aware person and could immediately spot any unwanted or unfamiliar faces. If any new faces were sitting too close to him, Matt suggested they move elsewhere. He was more lenient with the girls. He might not demand they move but he certainly wanted to know who they were, and should they object to being asked for this information or smart off in any way, he would not hesitate to have one of the boys escort them out, telling them never to come back.

There were times Matt rented the entire Boston Fairgrounds after closing and we all  spent hours on our favorite rides. We tried such daredevil feats on the roller-coaster as seeing who could stand the longest with both arms outstretched as it whipped and twisted around the track again and again.

Matt loved the bumper cars and would team up with the entourage against some locals. They’d spend the night seemingly trying to kill each other, laughing and bruising themselves like tough little boys while we girls watched and cheered them on. After several hours my own enthusiasm waned.

Excerpt from: "Elvis and Me" by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley. Scribd.

This material may be protected by copyright.

a/n - hope u enjoyed this chapter!!🎀

[malarkgirlypop]

Love BoB and love your works! If you feel so inclined to help me…I would love a fix it fic where the reader somehow gets Muck out of the foxhole before they get hit in Bastogne. I just want to feel ok again. Just did my rewatch of Breaking Point 😔

I just want to feel ok again (Skip Muck x F!Reader)

So lovely @i-guess-im-hecking-gay came up with this amazing idea of a "fix it fic". And you know what I actually do feel better after writing this. So I hope you all enjoy not being sad.

Based on the HBO show and the actors who portray the characters.

if anyone wants to be tagged in my work please let me know.

“Will you scoot over!” I pushed back against Skip who had fallen asleep half on top of me. 

“Skip!” I said in a hushed yell. I was supposed to be watching the line but that was hard when my body was being dragged back down into the hole by his dead weight. 

“Huh? What?” Skip yawned sleepily stretching his arms over his head. 

“Warren Muck if you don’t get your ass off me in two seconds, I will knock you over the head with my gun.” I whispered angrily at the man. 

“Aw Y/N I love it when you get all mad.” Skip teased poking me in my sides. 

“Would you quit it!” I slapped his hand away trying my best to focus on my task at hand. How I had ended up on the other side of the world sitting in a foxhole in the freezing winter, I had no idea. 

Skip and I had known each other forever. Two peas in a pod our mothers used to say, but I thought it was more, I was stuck in the pod with the most annoying pea in the world.

When Skip told me he had signed up I had marched right over there after him and done the same. See I was the stronger out of the two of us and I couldn’t let my friend get beaten up without me. 

Luckily enough we were sectioned in the same Company, I had written a strongly worded letter about how much of an asset I would be to the team. I think they had let me join as a joke, not taking me very seriously. But I proved them wrong nonetheless. 

So now here I was being half squished by my idiot friend in the middle of freezing cold woods on a standoff with the Germans.

“Stop fighting!” I was tackled from the other side as Penkala dove into the hole. 

“Alex!” I cried trying to get out of the dog pile the men had squashed me into. 

“I am trying to hold the line would you fuckers piss off!” I huffed in annoyance trying to keep my eyes on the misty scene before me. Not like I could see much anyway, the snow and mist hung so low I could barely see the ground 5 paces ahead of me.    

“Alex come on, the girl has a serious job to do.” Skip teased trying to get his cold fingers under my scarf where I was somewhat warm. 

“Yeah, she’s big and scary and going to kill a bunch of Germans.” Penkala tried the same move from the other side. I tightly scrunched my shoulders up to my ears to try and prevent the menaces from getting to my ticklish neck. 

“You are the worst holemates in the world! Where’s Luz and Malarkey when I need them?” I fended off the two idiots who tried their best to tickle me to death. 

There were plenty of times where I thought I was going to die in this war, and I’m ashamed to say one of them was when Skip and Alex had pinned me down and tickled me so hard I thought I was going to suffocate.

For however annoying the pair were together I loved them deeply. Penkala reminded both Skip and I of our younger brothers, easy to tease and get into mischief with. And Skip, well Skip was the only person I could truly bare my soul too. 

We had been through it all, thick and thin, good and bad. All. Most of my early memories were with him, his bright smile and hearty laugh. 

He was everything good in the world. He brought joy to so many, he made an impact on people, made friends so easily, everyone back home knew his name and had a story or two to share about him. 

Skip was kind and thoughtful. He never made anyone feel left out, the best guy. I was glad he chose me to be his person. 

“Need saving?” Luz asked from a squat outside the foxhole. 

“I do!” I reached out for his grasp. 

Luz chuckled, taking my hand and dragging me from the hole. The pair whined and groaned as I slipped out from between them. 

“You’re on watch now, behave!” I pointed at the pair of them like a school teacher reprimanding  her class. 

I headed to the back of the line with Luz. We arrived just in time as lunch was served to the soldiers taking their breaks at that time. 

We ate quickly and in silence, too hungry to talk. I sighed leaning back against the tree we had perched in front of. 

“I miss my mother’s cooking.” I said in a melancholy tone. Imagining the flavourful dishes my mother whipped up for us. 

“Same. This just doesn’t hit the spot.” Luz nodded, pushing away his empty plate. 

“Hey, stop complaining about the food! If you don’t want it, don't eat it.” Joey the chef complained. 

“Joey, we aren't complaining. Just wanting things we can’t have. Like a bed. God I miss my bed.” I groaned, I tried to not think about things from home, made me more sad and miserable than I already was. 

“I miss heaters.” Luz sighed. I nodded in agreement. 

“Baths.” I whined, the thought of sinking my cold bones into the hot water made me want to cry. 

“Oh stop, Y/N, you'll make me weep.” Luz covered my mouth, but his eyes crinkled at the sides. 

“Let’s head back. Those men probably have gotten themselves killed, their a liability together. 

“Tell me about it!” I laughed, getting to my feet and hauling George up, so we could make our way back to the front.

—-------------------------------------------

My teeth chattered together so hard I was sure the Germans could hear the clacking from across the field.

“I don’t think my toes are still attached.” Penkala shivered next to me.

“Is my nose still there?” Skip asked, patting around his face trying to find his bright pink nose.

“Yes your nose is on your face, don't worry you can’t miss it.” I laughed as he jabbed me in the side. 

“Oh you think you’re so funny?” Skip sneered teasingly. 

“I do! I am! Aren’t I Alex?” I looked over to Penk with raised eyebrows egging him on to agree with me. 

“No! I’m not getting in between a lovers quarrel.” Alex held his hands up in surrender. 

“Oh!” I groaned.

“Alex!” Skip scolded the man elbowing him in the ribs. “How many times do we have to tell you, we aren’t lovers!” 

“Sure, sure. You say that everytime, but I have a sense for these things ok!” We rolled our eyes at the man.

Penk always went on that he was a love guru and could tell when people were made for each other. 

I mean when he first met us he assumed we were married, even though we told him numerous times that we weren’t. 

“I have a gift and you will thank me for it later.” Alex declared adamantly.

—--------------------------------------------------

The Germans didn’t hold back on their onslaught of artillery. The amount of bombs they dropped onto our line was horrific. Countless men were dead and many more injured. 

I watched as they carted away Toye and Bill, their legs mangled and hardly attached as they passed me by. 

“This is hell.” I muttered to myself as Skip, Penk and I walked back to the foxholes to clean up the debris from all of the shellings. It was time to dig in again, make more covering for our holes.

“It will be over soon. They are talking about having an attack on Foy sometime soon. Then we will be outta here!” Skip wrapped his arm around my shoulders giving me a gentle squeeze. 

I sighed leaning into his embrace, it seemed to be one of the only things that brought me comfort. That he was here with me and that we had each other. 

Night fell quickly, but somehow the men still had high spirits, even after all we had seen. I guess it wasn’t good to dwell on the bad when we knew there could be even more coming. 

We huddled in a small circle as Luz told us stories from the previous bombing. 

“You fellas know I got no reason to bullshit you, right?” Luz says, as we chuckled. 

“Yeah, right.” Skip says sarcastically. 

“Look, I’m not gonna bullshit you. This is what I saw. It was so unbelievable, you might not believe me. So you-know-who comes running up to Lipton. He’s got no helmet, no gear, no nothing.” Luz tells us. “Ah, 1st Sergeant Lipton, you organise things here, and I’m gonna go for…help.” Luz mimics Dike’s voice. “I need to go polish my oak leaf clusters.” The men and I burst into fits of laughter. I shook my head wiping the tears from my eyes. 

“No way that is real!” I was shocked.

“All true, I swear on my life.” Luz put his hand over his heart and lifted the other into the air.   

I heard someone clearing their throat, we all straightened as we looked behind George to find Lip. 

We all suppressed our laughter, biting our lips and clearing our throats, pretending we hadn’t been up to no good. 

We all knew that Lip doesn’t like us to bad mouth Dike, he says it brings down morale and it’s not helpful. It’s true but you gotta rant sometimes especially about Dike. I grin at the man as he gets called away by Lip. 

“Alright fellas.” Luz looks sheepish as he turns to go talk to Lip. 

“Goodnight, goodnight all.” Don says as he makes his way back to the foxhole.

“Night!” I called to Don waving as he walked away. 

“Alright roomies!” I gathered the two men under my arms as we made our way back to the hole. 

“Penk do you think you could try to not snore tonight?” I asked cheekily, earning a side-eye from Alex. 

“How about you don’t fart.” He retorted. I gasped in shock.

“I do not!” I defended myself against the false accusations. 

“Do too!” Alex poked out his tongue at me. 

“Oh my god, you two need to be separated.” Skip said wrangling free from my grasp and pushing in between Penk and I. 

I stumbled forward, looking down at my worn out boots I noticed the issue. The laces of my boot were untied. I bent down out of Skip’s hold, the pair paused noticing I wasn’t with them. 

“You guys go ahead, I won’t be long.” I shooed them away. 

Normally tying laces was an easy task, but in sub zero degrees with frozen fingers it took a little longer than normal. 

I cursed, pulling my gloves from my hands, the night air had a stinging bite. I tried to rub some warmth back into my freezing digits but it was no use. I fumbled with the laces trying to get my fine motor skills to work in the chilling temperatures. I finally got the bunny into the hole and pulled them tight. I paused as a sound pierced the quiet. A sound that sent shivers up my spine. 

Whistling. 

I didn’t even get time to lift my head to gauge where the sound was coming from exactly before the first shell hit the ground with an almighty boom.

The shaking of the ground was constant as more explosives ripped the trees apart around me. 

The dark night was now brought to life with bright bursts of light. 

“Shit!” I hollered, trying to get to my feet. I need to be in a foxhole not crouching out in the open. 

I got to my feet, trying my best to stay on them as I sprinted back towards the foxhole and I was sharing with the boys. 

I could see them in front of me, they hadn’t made it to the hole either. Why were they not in it yet?

“Y/N get moving, come on!” Skip screamed at me, ushering me to move faster. 

The men were faster than me, I could barely stay on my feet. I crashed to the ground again, cursing wildly under my breath. 

I looked up, from deep in the pitch black sky I could see a shimmer. A black glossy object descended quickly. 

It was only a split second of glancing its trajectory, but it seemed like it was heading straight for our hole. 

The hole the Alex and Skip were both b-linging for.   

“Stop! Wait! Guys!” I screamed, getting to my feet as quickly as possible.  

But the pair didn’t turn to look at me, my voice probably couldn’t be heard over all of the explosions and the ringing in our ears. 

I dashed towards them both, Skip more ahead than Penk. 

Time seemed to still. All I could hear was the blood rushing in my veins and the ragged breaths that left my mouth. I was so close to them, but so far at the same time. I dug my heels in, willing my body to go faster, to work harder.    

I finally reached Alex, I harshley shoved the man off to the side. He flew through the air landing on the hard ground. Penk seemed to be confused but I couldn’t stop in my crusade. 

Skip had reached the hole. 

“WARREN!” I screeched, the man paused before he jumped into safety. Turning to look at me.

I flung my body towards him, hands outstretched. I collided into Skip, knocking him off balance. The force of my tackle pushed up both off to the side, landing adjacent to the foxhole. 

It was barely a second before said hole was hit. A blinding light blasted us as we clung to each other, we could feel the hot explosion on our skin and hear the sizzling of our exposed skin. 

The bombing continued on, but we couldn’t collect ourselves enough to move. So we held each other tightly begging for the rain of shells to end. 

“Holy fuck!” I heard from above us, some of the soldiers stood around gawking. I leaned back, my eyes quickly glancing over Skip. He appeared to be all intact and alive. 

“Are you guys alright?” Luz asked, pulling us apart. We nodded both in shock. 

My eyes darted around, I sighed in relief, there still lying in the snow was Alex. 

“Y/N you saved my life!” Skip said, pulling my attention back to him. 

“Yeah.” I nodded. 

“What do you mean, ‘yeah’? You risked your life to save me.” Skip stared at me in awe. 

“Of course I would. I love you. You would do the exact same thing for me.” I said as if it was a simple chore. 

“I love you, Y/N, so much.” Skip moved towards me, embracing me in his arms. Skip pulled back and before I could say anything else he pressed his lips sweetly to mine. A kiss that was filled with so much love it made me melt even in the freezing cold.  

“And that boys is how I saved your Father.” I smiled at the two small children who sat in front of me wide eyed.   

“Mum, tell it again!” They begged. 

“No, it is time for sleep.” I bent down kissing their heads and tucking them up tightly into bed. 

“Please Mumma!” The youngest asked sweetly. Before I could shake my head no, the other joined in. 

“Yeah Mum. One more time. Please!” He sprung out of bed, and flew towards me. Landing in a heap on his younger brother’s bed. 

“Are you two behaving for your Mother?” Skip voice entered the room. 

“Daddy!” They cried in unison, both jumping up to rush to their father. 

“Warren! I was trying to get them to sleep.” I scolded him, but the grin on my lips didn’t play into the facade. 

“What story did she tell tonight boys?” Skip asked the pair. 

“How she saved your’s and Uncle Penk’s lives.” The older child grinned up at his father. 

“Oh yes your Mother loves to tell that story.” I rolled my eyes at my smiling husband.

“Should she tell it one more time?” He asked the children. 

They agreed enthusiastically, scurrying back over to their beds and sliding in under the covers. 

“One more time and then bed.” I reminded them. Skip climbed in beside the youngest, while I laid with Elmer. He rested his head on my chest and I started the story again from the beginning. 

“Will you scoot over!”

[panzershrike-pretz]

THIS! This tag game seems so fun! Made by the amazing @ronald-speirs!

Favorite place in the world you’ve visited?

That would be either the alps in Germany or the Salinas beach, here in Brazil! I adored both the snow and thes amount of stuff i find at the beach there

Something you’re proud of yourself for?

The amount of progress I made since being diagnosed with autism, depression and anxiety. Even if I stopped going to therapy, I feel like the diagnosis (esspecially the autism one) shed so much light on my life, and I was able to makes the world around me (even if just at home) more confortable for myself by understanding myself more and adjusting the way I do things so it's easier on me.

Favorite books?

Hmmmmm let's see- the Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children series, obviously, but I also LOVE The Book Thief, American Gods and definetely Warrior Cats (I only read the first arc, so Idk how good's the rest xD)

Something that makes your heart happy when thinking about it?

My dog and my characters! Love them :]

Favorite thing about your culture?

Hmmmmmm probably food? But I'm extremely picky so I don't even eat most of our stuff 💀 i do love feijoada, brigadeiro, pastel and coxinha tho- Idk about the rest KAKAKAKA other than that, the slangs. So cool. Love it

When did you join the HBO War fandom? What was the first show you watched?

Back at the end of 2022 or early 2023 was when I first heard about it, but as for officially joining...? Probably like. 5 or 6 months ago? I have no idea what time even is-

The first show was Band of Brothers :D

Have you read any of Easy Company’s books? If so, which ones were your favorite?

Nope. And won't.

Favorite HBO War character and your favorite moment with them?

Webster. Him shoving himself on the ground was the best. Just like me fr💕

Do you make content for any fandoms, if so; what sort of content?

Uhhhhh I make memes and occasionally fanart? I wouldn't classify this as content but when I'm really into something I take some aspects of it for my own world, so I can always keep it close to me, even if the hyperfixation faded a bit with time

Favorite actor/actress and your favorite film of theirs?

I know no one- but I do like Bud Spencer and Terence Hill's movies. They are the only actors I know the name of 💀 I like the funny coeboy movies, many good memories watching them with dad when I was a kid (and still doing so, every now and then)

Favorite quote/s that you wish to share with others?

"I'll beat you with a dead cat 'till it starts mewing" - a popular brazilian saying (the best ever)

Random fact your mutuals/followers don’t know about you?

HmmmmmmmmI share so much about myself that I don't even know 💀 probably that I once fell facefirst on a river when I was 4, while I was fishing? That was A Day

If you’re a writer, do you need a beta reader (say yes so I can be your beta reader 🤭)?

I don't write much but!! I did write something yesterday about my characters and idk if I should post, but if you're interested, I can show you :D

Three things that make you smile?

My dog, my characters, birds

Any nicknames you like?

Based off my real name I like "Rah", but only when used irl. As for the internet, I love Pretz! And I have a special one my best friend @isazmoon gave me, which is Pretzu, but this ones I feel like it's only hers :3

List some people you love to see around on tumblr!

@1waveshortofashipwreck @xxluckystrike @ronald-speirs @ronsparky @minha-xuh @whollyjoly @sweetxvanixlla!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!! AMAZING PEOPLE!!

What would you do during a zombie apocalypse?

What would I live for, my stupid ass can't even run 😭 i'd die fast as fuck. And I know all my friendswould die too so we all just perish together 💕💕💕 friendship goals

Favorite movie?

How To Train Your Dragon? Wolfwalkers? Saving Private Ryan? Pirates of the Caribbean? Can't probably choose only one, it's torture

Do you like horror movies?

Ehh, not much? I prefer animations

Tags (no pressure): @xxluckystrike @whollyjoly @ronsparky @sweetxvanixlla @grumpy-liebgott @1waveshortofashipwreck @blueberry-ovaries @minha-xuh (hey Gih, if you want you can take off the HBOwar bits and/or replace them with MPHFPC, since you're from another fandom, feel free!)

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: Queen In 5 Minutes

This is one of those videos where I'm gonna have to remind myself to not talk about the music, because Queen is awesome, I know quite a decent amount of their songs, and this arrangement/performance is really freaking good. But the video itself certainly isn't boring either (Freddie would be proud), and I'm very excited to talk about this one, so let's go! (Yeah this one's a long one, you have been warned)

Apparently this video (released on the 24th of November, 2018) was at least in part inspired by a health scare that Earl had while touring with Voiceplay, which no doubt was very distressing for all of them, but he obviously was fine or got better, which I'm glad about, and this video is creative as heck!

Won't talk about their appearances just yet, but of course I gotta point out the iconic Bohemian Rhapsody diamond configuration thing!

Cool necklace! I don't know the exact meaning of it, and whether or not it was just acquired for the video, but I do know that the album/track image for this cover on Spotify takes inspiration from it!

(Also this song is split into two parts on music streaming platforms, idk why)

*(clapping my hands together)* character time!

I have no clue what mythological being Layne's character is meant to be based off of, if any - "Guardian" is a bit of a vague name after all - and the main thing that popped up when I typed "mythology sentinel of the underworld" into Google was Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog from Ancient Greek myths. And well... it'd check out actually. Layne doesn't talk/sing in this video (not counting vocal percussion of course), he's wearing a big furry grey coat, and none of the other 3 are from Greek (or even Roman) mythology, so it's entirely possible that "Guardian" could just be a human-form Cerberus (minus the two extra heads).

Apparently "Yama" is the Hindu god of death and justice, though he was also adopted into Buddhist, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean, and Japanese mythology as the king of hell, so-

A 19th-century painting of Yama on his mount depicts him as completely blue, so Eli's blue face paint definitely fits.

("Dark angel" definitely sounds fitting)

Geoff is based on Baron Samedi, who is a spirit (Iwa) of the dead in Haitian Vodou, as well as of course the more well-known Louisiana/New Orleans Voodoo. Fun fact: Dr Facilier in The Princess And The Frog is partly inspired by Baron Samedi!

I'm sure most if not all of us have heard of Anubis, but regardless, Anubis is the Ancient Egyptian god of funerary rites, and he's also a protector of graves, and of course, a guide to the underworld. He can take both human and animal form, and in artwork is often depicted with the body of a man and head of a jackal/canine animal (which Voiceplay subtly refers to in this shot here with the little Anubis Shrine statue sitting next to J)

Cool and Normal! 😆

(Also really love that jacket/blazer)

"Anubis" is of course weighing Earl's heart against a feather to see whether or not he is worthy of ascending to the heavenly afterlife. And since the heart appears to be slightly lighter, he's good! (Not that he's actually ready to pass on, though)

(Also, from a production viewpoint, I'm guessing they had some small stones or counterweights hiding underneath the feather?)

...Not gonna say anything, just putting this here

Love how "Baron" glances at his cane as if to check for any dirt or smudges from Earl 😆

(Geoff still has that cane I believe; when he did a few Q&A/"how to sing low" videos on his channel back in 2020, the cane was just chilling in the background, behind where he was sitting in his home office/workspace)

(Also obligatory he's so handsome/pretty aaaaaaa)

The body language of "Anubis" here when Baron starts talking (i.e. when Geoff starts singing), and the way that he, "Yama", and "Guardian" are all at one end of the stage, while "Baron" is on the other, says so much in such a small way! (Geoff once again getting to be Special(tm), love that for him)

"I've done my sentence, but committed no criiiiiiime!"

Cool necklace! (Also really love the subtle red edging/trim on his blazer/coat, very cool and gives me Crowley vibes)

While I'm talking about Geoff, time for another hair study!

(This one I actually used separate screencaps for the outline and for the colour grabs)

Wasn't even trying to pause in this shot but pfft Eli/Yama and J/Anubis doing the 🤏 thing

(Also kinda sorta another Eli Eyebrow raise?)

Baron: *(evil laugh)*

Anubis: OHKAY it's getting a little tense in here, time to lighten the mood a little bit!

Baron: wow rude

Anubis: here hold this for me thanks!

Guardian: wait what am I meant to do with this?

(Though I'm pretty sure that's meant to be his sword anyway?)

"Nooo time for looosers"

Fight! Fight! Fight! (Eli/Yama: "I'm three ounces of whoop-ass")

Love the facial expressions here, Anubis/J looks like he half-wishes he had popcorn! 😂

Thumbnail moment! (Or close enough anyway)

Yama singing "I don't need you" to Baron and Baron doing a sort of sarcastic "haha very funny" head motion in return, love it

Not talking about the arrangement but I'd like to thank the Good Omens fandom, because I wouldn't have recognized/known the bridge of Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy in this medley otherwise (I didn't first see this video until like a year or so after it first came out)

If you ever wind up in hospital, don't actually try to rip out IV drips or cannulas or any other tubes connected to your body!

If I had a nickel for every time a different member of Voiceplay played air guitar in a video, I'd have at least four nickels! (Earl here, Cesar in Hellfire, Eli in Top 10 Sitcom Themes, and Geoff in at least three or more videos (maybe 5 if we count J None in the Frozen 2 Medley))

Full-body group shot! (Also Eli, those shorts and those shoes are... an interesting combination that's for sure 😅) Also check out the body language of Baron/Geoff and Guardian/Layne!

There's a comment or two that sums up "Guardian's" body language as "I don't actually want to hurt you, but I will if I absolutely have to"

Love "Yama's" expression right before he's turned into a puff of smoke 😆

Baron was on Earl's side the whole time!

It would have been cool to have Baron bow out himself and be like "you did well, you can go on living now", rather than being poofed away like the others, but eh I'm sure Voiceplay had their reasonings

I would post a pic of the final shot, but Tumblr isn't letting me (I'm guessing I hit an image limit, rip). But still, it's very cute and sweet.

There's a reason why so many people adore this video/cover. The arrangement is stunning, the vocals are great, the costumes are cool, the makeup is really well done, and the whole plot/direction of the video is such a creative and original concept! Shoutout to Layne and Eli, who were in charge of both the video and the arrangement!

[netsage]

my thoughts on the new HYUNA song drop and the various scenes in the song

1. Mizi rebels (no surprise), but interestingly, is being kissed multiple times by Hyuna to kind of drag her out of her discomfort/thoughts, some type of new ship or platonic relations??? (i’m not sure, but if that’s the case, im open to it, seems like an another great arc and more character development in one way or another)

2. Mizi’s hair was cut off, leaving behind past memories (that’s great! (she looks hot, im not complaining) question is, does this also mean she has moved past from her grievance for Sua?) (does this mean that possible romantic indication with Hyuna? if so, im happy for her for moving on, im sure Sua would too tbh…)

3. Hyuna has like defo a some sort of love hate relations with Luka, cuz he literally killed her brother (HE IS INSANE) (i officially dub him as like some scheming yandere with like manipulative tendencies, cuz she payed attention to him once and he goes like “give me more” anddddd she doesn’t cuz she needs to care for her sibling and he gets jealous and just starts a fight and so happens to “accidentally” push him or something and he’s dead. bro casually looks up to Hyuna and says “woops, i didn’t mean to” and from there on, she just feels absolutely rage and just thinks he’s insanely brainwashed in some way)

4. Hyuna’s group is bonkers and they all just flirt for fun (head canon she’s actually bi/les) anddddd she saved mizi cuz she saw her and was like “omg, my possible partner fr? i’ll give her everything (refer to the scene where Mizi and Hyuna fought like the alien bots or smth and like was infiltrating what i think was probs a base of some sort + like little hugs and kisses (those were so cute)), fuck you luka”

5. Ivan and Till is expect to fight in the next round… and slight foreshadowing, someone hits till’s face, does this possibly mean that he is eliminated in the next round????

6. (continuing from point 5!) but Ivan is said to have feelings for Till, so another possibility is that they try and do a duet, like what Sua and Mizi did. (will they be successful or end up the same fate as the both of them? tragic, but it may happen)

7. another scenario is the Ivan ends up the winner, and Hyuna and her gang comes and pull Till out from the situation (aka just like Luka and Mizi round), then it would be like crazy for Till to handle since Mizi would be there. (or alternatively, Mizi tries to convince Hyuna to save Till cuz Till is her friend (LMAO friend zone fr), and it worked, in which same shit goes down.) (but question is, if this case happens, will Ivan try and report the case and find Till? meaning which, he rebels more (ANOTHER REBEL IVAN ARC (just a teeny bit) ?) and eventually sneaks out to search for Till (his beloved lmao). )

8. but a possible scenario too in that round could be that Till gives up on singing and Ivan punches the absolute shit out of him to force him to sing (or vice versa cuz Till is mad that Ivan is just pitying him or that he’s just giving up so easily just so he can live)

9. OR ANOTHER SCENARIO (there’s so many im sorry😞) is that like Till don’t care (just like when he did in the round with some side character 😭😭), and then screws over Ivan, Ivan just goes like “i wish you the best my liege” and then explodes and Till just either “idc” or “what the fuck have i done”

10. WHAT IF TILL HAS LIKE LINGERING FEELINGS??? (i lowkey headcanon him as like bi but he has this one case of internalised homophobia, refer to like the cover they made with like ‘MY CLEMATIS’ ) cuz like Ivan tried saving him yk, so what if, like he comes to regret that afterwards (head canon, when he’s stressed he feels extremely nauseous to the point he puked like multiple times and got beat up for being like high maintenance, which would explain more about why he’s so feral dog angry at the aliens all the time) (and also cuz like they did like a lot of fucked up shit, any sane human would grow to hate them tbh, so it’s valid, but i like to think that it gives him more reason to want to rebel them even more out of more spite and just plain hatred for what they have done to like the contestants and Mizi (especially her))

11. also back to the topic of luka…. (i hate this man, but his song is so good 😠😠😠), will like he come and find Hyuna? like lowkey Luka and Hyuna interaction fr??? (probs like confrontation in a sense, and then one of them like goes feral or something cuz obvs someone is OBSESSED with like Hyuna 😞😞😞)

ALSO, referring back to point 5, Till gets eliminated and yk the whole “win or die” process, and Ivan just turns into the next Mizi (vengeance or smth) or he just mourns, and refuses to do anything more (REBEL ARC maybe)

another thing i would like to add on from point 3 is that i imagine the three of them just discussing ways to possibly get out of this situation alive, and just was blissfully happy for like awhile cuz they’re all together in this and up till the day Luka (the insane bastard) killed her brother, she actually admired him for like his skills (in terms of able to perform and stuff)

I MAY BE WRONG (but it’s my thoughts and i would like my fellow alien stage enjoyers to give me their insight too, cuz rn i’m just ranting about my little expectations 😞😞)

[hannahwatcheshorror]

THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)

😿dog half un-dies (I guess?)

This is a wild follow up to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD but is an extremely fun time and a great movie. Just don’t expect it to be like its predecessor. Special effects were a treat, use of the F-word felt very natural (who wouldn’t be saying it in their situation?), and the characters felt genuine and likable. You can see how it is inspired by the previous film and that influence only makes this one better. This movie is a romp and a half, I highly recommend it, (and as long as everyone is okay with a little female nudity) watch this with friends!

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Right off the bat, let me just say that I love how the whole premise of this movie is based around the US Army royally screwing up AND making faulty equipment. At first I wasn’t sure how they were going to make this punky and colorful sequel have anything to do with its black & white dramatic predecessor but they used it as non-fiction in universe movie lore (think like Grave Encounters only it doesn’t lead you to the place where you die, oh wait).

Freddy is our friend who now works at a medical supply place (the kind that sells real skeletons, cadavers, and half-dogs) with this guy Frank who wants to scare the new kid with these sPoOkY metal barrels the army left behind back in 1968 (though Frank claims 1969), he says they contain bodies from the actual events that inspired the movie NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. They go down to investigate and to prove their strength Frank slaps a barrel like he’s a car salesman and the thing immediately starts to spew a thick yellow gas that knocks them both out. 

When they come to, the cadaver in the freezer is dancing a jig (and his little half-dog too) but here is where I have my first problem, the zombies are just so damn fast. For a reanimated stiff that was frozen, you’d think this first guy would be a little more… Stiff. But he runs out that door like a sprinter and doesn’t stop squiggling and squirming until they roast up his pieces in the crematorium. Not thinking about the smoke rising from the chimney (all thick and yellow) the team falsely assume the night is over. Rain pours the chemical smoke back down to earth and now the party really begins because Freddy’s punk friends are all rocking out in the graveyard (aptly named Resurrection) and suddenly this acid rain is gonna wake the dead.

Our girl, Trash, (that is her name, I’m not making fun of her), gets the death she always wanted, ripped apart by old men (the dream, really). The rest of the wildly named gang hightail it out of there and find themselves face to face with the original Barrel Boy. He is a goopy mess who not only knows how to use tools but understands the basics of leverage? This guy was really scary and freaky and wasn’t fast but he was persistent and I think that made him the worst of them all! He was also one of the Zoombobbies we watched just grab a character by the face and bite into their head which is a lot to process. Award for best/worst Z-Babe to the Gooey Basement Barrel Boy.

Speaking of dead people, Freddy and Frank just simply do not have vital signs anymore. They are talking and moving around but… Yikes, let’s get them some help. But oh, no! This sets off a domino effect of paramedics being called and eaten then cops being called then eaten. The wild thing is, it was the reanimated who kept calling for more help. That was very alarming to me. But it also confused me about what exactly these guys are. I joke around not always calling them “Zombies” but half of the time they seem like magical beings the way they have been decomposing in the ground for goodness knows how long but then were able to crawl out and now can sprint and have incredible strength? I don’t fully buy it (shenanigans). In NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, the threat was in hoards and being overwhelmed, but in this film (much like 28 DAYS LATER) just one Zomb-o in your area and you’re basically already dead.

Finally when things came down to it they contacted the number on the barrels, they asked the army for help, they thought they could handle it on their own and just bury the problem but they couldn’t. Turns out the army had a contingency plan in case this sort of thing ever happened. They just NUKED LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY. I understand WHY they did it, but there have to be some real ramifications from just casually launching a nuke. I don’t think the rest of the world would just sit quietly when the US bombs one of its own cities. Maybe it is just our political climate now (vs 1985 when this film came out) but I think it is wild that that was their solution and they just ended it there like US citizens weren’t rioting in the streets saying, “I had family there!” and that neighboring towns weren’t suffering radiation poisoning… WILD.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Trimax Thoughts Vol. 5 Pt. 1

Here's my stream of consciousness thoughts for the volume again. Sorry I'm late! Can't wait to suffer more!

Nooooo my poor boy... ugh this is fucking visceral...

Ooo... he was looking for Count Vasquez... that's interesting. That's the man he's suspected in the murder of way back on his wanted poster.

Hey so. This is so much fucking worse. He knew these people. He liked these people. They liked him and they didn't want him to leave so soon. Agony.

Always someone to be helped, huh? Always a reason to get back on his feet again... go get Meryl back!

Midvalley and Hoppered just killed Zazie??? Hello???

Actually Midvalley is really powerful... I love when characters have sound based powers yesssss. I also like these two as a duo they're kind of funny to me. Hoppered doesn't care if he dies and Midvalley wants to get out so bad. Hoppered warns people they're about to be killed and Midvalley just wants to murder people with his saxophone in peace. Somehow they spend a fair amount of their dialogue being honest and concerned about the other and handshake over having the same no good terrible boss hjfghbn

Hoppered... :( (Also fuck these people man. Hoppered is just trying to look out for this girl because it seems like no one else will without looking down on them or trying to take advantage of them... *snapcube sonic fandub voice* "you ableist piece of shit"... I actually want to know what the relation is here. Guy just kind of assumed they're together or something but maybe it's more that they are the only ones like the other... I kind of vibe with it being a shared trauma or shared experience thing they've got going... obsessed too, with the fact that we haven't actually seen his face at all... he warns people to get away but then quietly watches them die... does it bother him? does he justify it somehow? ...anyways Hoppered my fave GHG for real I love him.)

(Also he's cute actually. He's so earnest compared to the rest of the GHG. Look at him <3)

So yeah, confirmation that Wolfwood currently cannot see, his head is likely ringing and who knows what other internal damage he's taken and he is still fighting. He is so cool but also :(

Oh HECK YEAH MILLY!!!

^Midvalley and Wolfwood rival ballet dancer au when

*Midvalley voice* I know what you are

Oh! We can see Hoppered now! He... has a cross on his face...? Um. I am even more curious about him now...

*chuckles* Oh we are in danger.

Yo Knives WTF. Also I feel so fucking bad for Hoppered oh my god he's seeing and feeling all of this.

We actually see the people getting sucked in??? Aughhhh

OH NO MERYL SAW IT ALL TOO??? NOOOOO OH MY GOD

Did Legato just make Hoppered kill Midvalley??? Oh god and that was Hoppered screaming once he realized it too... And then he RUNS HIM OVER??? LEGATO WTF.

Zazie's back!!!

So this is complicated lemme see if I got it right: Vash is stopping Legato from running over Hoppered. Legato is using all his power to hold Vash. Because he is doing this, he can't spare enough power to stop Hoppered from pointing a gun at him. Wolfwood is pointing his guns at Legato and Zazie. Zazie is pointing their guns at Wolfwood and Hoppered. And Midvalley... is fucking dead I guess. ...where's Meryl...?

OH QUEEN SHIT HELLO??? And she shot Legato in the face lmao. Who's gonna break the standoff? It's Meryl with a steel chair derringer!!!

You know. I think there's something to be said about Vash activating the angel arm in response to Hoppered about to be shot... I can't brain right now but it says a lot about how he only ever tries to help but all this destruction comes along with him.

"If I could save a single life... if I could do just a little... would that... be good enough?" <- Vash from Trigun and Atsushi from Bungou Stray Dogs shaking hands because they are literally same hat

Ok so airship woman's "I hate suicidal people" -> I thought she was talking about Vash at first but it seems she's talking about Legato. Interesting. Also I think Legato is seriously having a sanity slippage here.

The difference between Vash sprouting feathers like an angel in reality, but seeing himself as this twisted eldritch freak in his own mind... all the contorted pieces of the people who died in some kind of living horror show on his own body as he apologizes over and over... :(

Because they were kind... that is what it comes down to after all...

Elendira has the character intro ever. All mysterious on the phone with Knives, big damn villains moment where she stops the angel arm going off, nails the weird creature person thing helping Legato with absolutely zero effort on her part, then immediately falls from the airship on her ass and says "owie". She is then revealed to be trans and the most powerful secret GHG on the very next page. She impales Legato and takes him with her like one would a runaway puppy and delivers an ominous final warning which she ends off with "ciao!". What a character. 10/10 I'm obsessed with her already.

Hoppered... :( I find his last words interesting. He refers to himself as the bad guy but then also still feels such resentment for Vash that he still wants him to suffer, yet in such a resigned tone... Then Vash reaches out to take his hand with the hand that becomes his angel arm, having since gotten it under control, safe enough to provide a bit of final respite now instead of cause more harm...

MUCH NEEDED CATHARSIS! MILLY AND MERYL HUGS!

Vash hosting funerals for Midvalley and Hoppered... :')

^Another great example of Vash taking responsibility for things and that going beyond just a simple "no one dies" mentality and carrying that on beyond just action and fights - but also I love that he dragged Wolfwood into it and apparently did not explain anything to him. And Wolfwood apparently just started shoveling without understanding why he was being told to do so. ??????? These two were born to be a comedy duo.

Anyways. I'm sad. :)

[sleepis4theweak]

FLASHBACK AU QUESTIONS, YOU SAY? FLASHBACK AU QUESTIONS YOU SHALL RECEIVE (Or at least somewhat related to the au questions...)!!

How did you originally come up with the story? Have you planned it out? Have you made any changes since you first thought of it?

What's your fav Mikey dynamic? Do you think it shows in the comic? My personal fav is PB & J duo :>>

Who's your least favorite character in the comic to draw?

Who's your favorite character to draw?

Where did Madame Bishop (I forgot her name- she had one didn't she?..was it Joanne? MAN I HAVE AMNESIA) get that scar from?

IS... IS MIKEY GONNA STAY DEAD...? 😰

Can we have a sneak peek by any chance? :3

What do you think Madame Bishop (...yeah might be Joanne...) would have been like in the doomed timeline?

ALRIGHT THAT'S ALL I CAN THINK OF, I'LL LEAVE YOU OFF WITH A PUN : Have you heard of the theory that no two people see color the same? I guess that would mean color is just a pigment of our imagination 🤔

YAYYAYAYAYYA THANK YOU I GOT VERY EXCITED TO ANSWER THESE YAY!

ANYWHO LONG ANSWERS BUT:

1- This was honestly supposed to be a two part comic. The entire au is based off of experiences I have had (minus the whole dying part of course) with my cousins and or brother. The first part was about Donnie and Mikey- and Mikey having the puppy dog eyes that Donnie couldn't do. That was about my cousin! It was supposed to just be like oh look Mikey can do puppy eyes. And then I saw something about how kids that struggle with understanding emotions can practice expressions in the mirror sometimes* and was like haha I should add this since it's actually something I used to do as well! THEN I wrote the line about him wanting to be the youngest and I mean... my brain went straight to "now what if Mikey dies"...

I didn't expect people to like it as much as they did tbh... so when people started to really comment on it I was like okay I should bring Mikey back to life... But then it turned into a whole au...

It's almost entirely planned out now! And most comics are still based off of stories of things that have happened with my cousins or brother! (Like how I smashed my cousins legos because I was angry at him.... its a long story lol).

*(It can also be something that kids with autism do... and someone actually pointed it out! ->)

-----------

2- Thats a really hard one... I think my fav has to do with the situation I guess? Or how I'm feeling? But Donnie and Mikey are probably my favorite overall! But only by a teensy tiny bit.

Raph and Mikey are my favorite angst wise, and the ones I can relate to the most. Leo and Mikey are really fun, and I really like using it to explore responsibility.

I think it does show in the comic! I mean I went straight to the PB & J duo- and then with Leo and Mikey I really explored responsibility. With Raph and Mikey it was shorter, but it was a lot more emotional for me personally. And right now Raph and Mikey are really getting the spotlight. Though Leo and Mikey are the main ones in the next update! :)

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3- DONNIE. OMFG DONNIE IS SO RECTANGULAR AND ITS TERRIBLE. ITS WHY HE'S HANGING HALF IN HALF OUT OF A LOT OF FRAMES BECAUSE I HATE DRAWING HIM. I've definitely gotten better at him tho! Example for u ->

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4- I think Leo is the easiest to draw, with Mikey coming in second! My favorite to draw though is definitely Mikey. I like his mask tails :) Also he's my favorite in general hehehe

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5- LMAO I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THE NAME JOANNE CAME FROM IM LAUGHING SO HARD- THATS HER CANNON NAME NOW. ITS CANNON HER NAME IS DR. JOANNE BISHOP.

She got that scar from an experiment! Idk which one... but she was experimenting on something and it freaked and scratched her! :3

It isn't too important to the story, but it may add some depth/explanation to some of her reactions later on.

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6- ... lemme tell you, I have gotten this ask so many times... BUT CONGRATS I WONT DELETE THE ASK THIS TIME JUST FOR YOU <3

Usually I answer the ask, wait until I'm sure the person sending it saw my response and delete it to keep the mystery alive hehe... but I won't delete this one.

No. Mikey is not gonna stay dead. I mentioned it in the first one, but the comic was supposed to end with him maybe dead maybe not... but since the au is continuing... I don't like it when characters die :( Its sad so he was never gonna be actually dead. So yes, he will come back! Its just gonna take a bit...

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7- YOU MAY! I was considering which spoiler to give you... but I've decided to give you a big spoiler... just cropped. :) Because I'm evil like that :))

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8- Hmmm.... idk to be honest, I haven't thought about it... I think she would be just... even crazier. Like batshit insane.

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THAT PUN MADE ME LAUGH SO HARD- THANK YOU FOR THAT AND THANK YOU FOR THIS ASK IT MADE MY DAY <3

[queenvreads]

REVIEW: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

*Contains Spoilers *

I am going to be VERY generous—no, EXTREMELY generous (because I waited on a waitlist for this book and paid $31 for it)—and give this book 2.75 stars/5. The premise of the book is actually good, but the execution falls short. AND I must emphasize that if this book hadn't been so hyped up, I might have enjoyed it more. But because of all the hype, I had high expectations, and unfortunately, it didn't meet them.

Let's begin my rant.

Violet studied her whole life to be a scribe, but her mom decides that she should become a dragon rider instead. The majority of the cadets at this brutal academy are conscripted, meaning they don't have enough soldiers in the military and need to draft these kids. However, these kids are just left for dead during the trials, and tragically, every moment and every day someone dies. They can even kill each other, with a few exceptions based on the Codex rules.

In the beginning of the book, 60-something kids died on the parapet. What is the point of that? It would have made more sense if the losers of the trials were assigned different roles like scribes, cooks, or healers instead of being killed.

Furthermore, all the kids of the separatists are conscripted into the military. Why would you give kids of traitors with strong vendettas access to secrets and military information? But even worse, they are given dragons. Doesn't anyone see a problem with this? It's not a very smart military strategy. (But what do I know!)

The world-building and dialogue in the book were very corny and cringe-worthy. There were instances of strange dialogue early on that stood out. For example, on page 9, Violet & Mira are talking about Violet's situation. It's bad—she's literally going to a death academy. They have this super weird conversation about a rider who can make small things very big. "I roll my eyes." "I mean how much bigger?" I don't know... like... that's what comes to mind when you're panicked for your life in this high-stress situation? Soooo cringe. Then they go on to talk about sex lives... like, seriously? I think Violet needs to focus on a different topic today 🤣

Another example is on page 14 when Mira warns Violet about Xaden. Instead of a natural conversation, Violet starts info-dumping facts about Xaden's father. "That Xaden Riorson?" and then Violet starts saying the facts about who Xaden's father is. "His father was the Great Betrayer. He led the rebellion." Who talks like that? Imagine you're talking to someone about your friend ABC, and then that person says, "Oh ABC, they grew up in a small town and have 4 dogs." Yes, that's the one.

This pattern of cringe dialogue continues throughout the book. While I understand the appeal of providing details to the reader, the descriptions were too literal and lacked subtlety.

Another example when Xaden and Violet meet, they say "Sorengail?" "You're General Sorrengail's youngest!" "You're Fen Riorson's son!" DUH 😵😵 Oh my God, pull my teeth out.

Let's move on to Violet. (O.M.G. I could not stand this nickname.)

She is tiny, frail, and weakly built. YOU CANNOT FORGET THIS, BECAUSE IT'S REPEATED THROUGHOUT THE BOOK. My main issue with her is that she knowingly puts herself in a dangerous situation where death is almost guaranteed, yet she acts SO STUPID. 🤯🤠😵

I fail to understand why Xaden keeps praising her intelligence when her actions don't reflect it. WHAT'S SO SMART ABOUT HER? If she were smart, she would have let Dain take her away.

For example, the moment she shares one of her good boots with Rhiannon, who, at that moment, could have been a Jack 2.0, I knew she was dumb. She consistently comes across as lacking common sense.

Another moment... when she protected Andarna before they bonded. I'd want to protect an innocent creature as well from being killed, but the fact that she puts herself in harm's way, to protect a DRAGON when she's outnumbered like that, is insane.

And how on earth does she get 2 dragons? Of course, her dragon is mated with Xaden's. At least it's not mated faes...

There was a part when Jack challenged her. She didn't want Liam to tell Xaden, yet during the fight, she has a thought about how she needs to survive for Xaden's safety. IT MAKES NO SENSE. She could have told him, and he would have stopped it!

Next up, I had no connection to her and Xaden romantically. Of course, he's this misunderstood villain who actually has morals. Violet is scared for her life, and Xaden has a reason to kill her, yet she fantasizes about how good-looking he is. SCORCHING HOT. OH MY GOSH. PLEASE. NO. What is this vocabulary they use in this book?? The constant reminder that her body is reacting to him, he's so.fucking.hot, that her self-preservation is out the door. AND LET'S NOT EVEN TALK ABOUT THE SEX SCENES. Oh, my goodness, the dirty talk was so CRINGE. Ok, let's move on, I can't talk about it.

Moving on.... There is a point that Violet, VIOLET.. finds out about Xaden's secret gatherings. (When she is in the tree) she then promises him secrecy. Why? It makes no sense. She thinks he's going to murder her. She overhears him talk, and she's like, "Oh, he's not so bad, that's good advice he's telling his potential rebellion gang." Like what? Then the escalation from "ok, I'll keep your secret" to "ok, are you going to kill me or what?" Does she have A.D.D.??

Everything about her interactions is useless. ANOTHER EXAMPLE. She bonds with 2 dragons, they are deliberating about the laws, and when they announce her as "girl," in her mind she corrects them with "woman!" And it's like.. ok so people are trying to kill you, you are injured, you are experiencing trauma, and that's where the line in your mind is crossed? Everything about her makes me want to bang my head against the wall.

Dain starts as being sweet and quickly becomes overbearing. He's condescending and whiny. They keep saying they are each other's best friends, but are they? REALLY? He puts policy before her. ALTHOUGH, he is the only one smart enough to attempt to get her out of the academy. It's like Tamlin and Rhys all over again, only much much worse.

Lastly, as much as I love dragons, them being telepathic with their riders ruined the grandeur and mystique of them for me. Big, great, ominous, strong dragons having sarcastic banter with an insecure Violet didn't work. It still doesn't make sense how she was thrown into this situation and is just accepting it. And actually choosing to stay.

The ending was good, the last line definitely something I will think about. Do I care to know what happens next? It really depends on whether this author will clean up her writing style and mature these characters.

I am never falling for TIKTOK hype ever again. 🤯... maybe thats a lie, but I will be WEARY!

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