#if not to show others as a haha funny look at this weird glitch. at the very least just for me to have somewhere lmao

[lexydakitten]

i cheated my karma just to leave chimney cuz i am So tired rn and oh my god the white triangle is back. is it just a sky islands thing or what cuz im pretty sure all i can gloss is its an indicator the game is breaking. i should be taking the giant triangle as a warning after last time the flickering was wild

[kaisacobra]

I See You - Tara Carpenter

Part 2 of I Dare You

Summary: At one of Amber's infamous parties, Tara's feelings get more and more complicated as she starts getting to know you.

Warnings: Fem!Painter!Reader, slow burn, mentions of sex, alcohol and partying, minor angst, non canon/high school

w.c: 6.9k

So, the glitch in the matrix seemed to be lasting much longer than you anticipated.

You did your best to forget the interaction you'd had with Tara and, honestly, that hadn't been such a difficult task. You still had a life, after all, and the rest of your day was divided into making preparations for the volunteering you'd be doing at the hospital during the weekend, studying and trying to make any progress on your painting.

Unfortunately, the last task proved itself to be annoyingly impossible, no matter how hard you tried. You'd tried everything from throwing random brushstrokes at the canvas to staring at the blank space while upside down in your bed, which filled your brain with blood but not with ideas.

There came a point when you had to admit defeat, at least for a day, and you picked up your phone to try to distract yourself from what seemed to be your greatest artistic failure. Your plans were to doomscroll through all possible social media and try to get the slightest bit of inspiration, but your attention was grabbed by a text notification coming from your Instagram.

From the username, it was clear that the text had been from none other than Tara Carpenter, which made your heart race a little in response. Your profile was a bit hard to find because there were no photos of you, which meant that Tara specifically had to look for you for a while. What's more, your profile was basically an exhibition of your artwork and the idea of someone other than your friends and teacher looking at all your projects made you a little anxious.

The texts themselves contained nothing much, apart from Tara apologizing for taking your pen (which you didn't even remember lending, to be honest) and then trying to strike up a conversation by asking you about Freddy vs Leatherface. Even so, noticing that she'd made an effort to keep on talking to you left you swooning.

You answered, of course. It would be rude to leave someone on read, wouldn't it? And besides, you were already planning to procrastinate anyway, so why not be nice and talk to Tara for a few minutes?

Who cares if minutes became hours, right?

And when school started the next day, you felt lighter, somehow. To your relief, no one seemed to remember your disastrous stumble the day before (probably because few people remembered you in general) and so you didn't have to deal with any giggles or weird looks.

You were in the middle of getting some books out of your locker when a familiar pen levitated into your field of vision. Your gaze followed the tanned arm that was holding it and you were met with long eyelashes and a sly smile.

“I'm a woman of my word! Here's your pen.” Tara raised the object towards you, making a funny reference to the text she had sent you the day before.

You rolled your eyes in amusement, although you couldn't hold the expression for long due to the corners of your lips lifting involuntarily. You took the small item from her hand and quickly put it in your bag. “Thanks, it's good to know you're not a thief. Did you at least bring one pen today?”

She understood the light, false accusatory tone in your voice and raised her hand, showing two fingers raised in a V. “Haha. Just so you know, I brought two today.”

It was amazing how instantaneous and right that conversation felt, almost as if it was the kind of thing you did all the time and not for the first time. Talking to Tara was surprisingly easy and you could see at least a friendship blooming between you in the near future.

If it weren't for the fact that she hangs out with the most insufferable people in the world, of course.

The reminder of Tara's group of friends hit you like a thunderbolt and made your chest ache for some reason. The words of both Ethan and Mindy echoed in your head, warning you to be careful, but a large chunk of your mind also insisted on reminding you of Anika's more positive opinion on the topic.

You turned to your locker again, pretending you were looking for something that didn't even exist. “I could never manage with just one pen.” You added politely, not wanting to leave Tara's joke unanswered just because your thoughts were getting muddled.

“I know. Artist and all, aren't you?” The girl nodded and you could see out of the corner of your eye as she leaned on the locker next to you, crossing her arms while still looking at you with a thoughtful expression. “Hey, don't you feel like going to a party tonight?”

Your eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as you processed what she had said, but Tara remained completely unbothered by your side. As far as you knew, the Carpenter girl didn't usually throw parties, but Amber Freeman did, and she'd instituted a very specific rule about them ever since she'd thrown the first one during your freshman year:

Invite only. No losers allowed.

And, as far as you knew, in Amber's opinion you were included in the word “losers”.

“I don't think so.” You shook your head. “Amber's throwing this party, isn't she? I don't have an invitation and I don't even like parties that much.”

Tara laughed out loud at that, causing a few heads to turn in your direction and your cheeks to heat up like coals. “I'm inviting you, ain't I? and seriously! I've never even seen you at the boring school parties, how are you supposed to know if you like parties or not without ever having tried them?”

Okay, you weren't expecting Tara to rebut your arguments or be so insistent about your presence. Was it getting warmer or was it just your impression? “But... I don't even know anyone who's going, I'll probably just stand in the corner the whole night. And also, I have an appointment the next day, I can't, like, go wild...”

Unexpectedly, Tara let out an even louder laugh, this time even wiping away a tear that ran down her cheek. “Go wild? You're hilarious.” She controlled her breathing, still keeping a bright smile on her face. “You don't have to drink if you don't want to, no one's going to force you. And about the being alone part, you can invite those friends of yours. Amber won't mind, she wants more people at her parties anyway and she refuses to call sophomores and below.”

You looked at her with surprise and suspicion. Invite your friends? Did Tara remember that your friends included Mindy Meeks-Martin? Like, basically Amber's number one enemy, Mindy Meeks-Martin?

Tara finally noticed your wary expression and sighed, uncrossing her arms and raising both hands in a peaceful gesture. “Look, Amber said I could invite nice people and I think you're nice. She'll be busy with other things anyway, she probably won't even notice that your friends are there.”

You bit your lower lip, considering your options. On the one hand, parties weren't exactly your natural habitat and you still had your doubts about whether or not you were welcome there. On the other hand, Tara had been so kind to you lately and... for some reason, you wanted to explore it a little further.

“Can I give you an answer later? I'll ask my friends if they're going.” That's what you decided to answer, choosing to leave your conflicting future in the hands of your dear companions.

Tara nodded a yes and complemented the action with a shrug. “Okay. But even if they decide not to go, I think you should give it a chance.”

Suddenly, the bell for the first period echoed in the corridors, waking you both up to the fact that you had to be in your classrooms in a few seconds. As lockers closed and teenagers ran to avoid being late, Tara lazily turned around and started walking away, ending your interaction.

But you didn't want it to end so soon. In a impulsive act, you raised your voice. “What should I wear?”

Tara turned as soon as she heard you and her eyes slowly traveled up and down your body as a smile worthy of the Cheshire cat broke out on her face. “Wear something pretty! But I think you were already going to do that anyway.”

System crash. Your brain shortcutted. Did Tara had just...? No, she couldn't have possibly... checked you out? Were you seeing things?

As Tara's back got further and further down the corridor, you ran back to your classroom, muttering on the way, “God, I'm really not your strongest soldier.”

_

“I need to ask you something.”

You were extremely nervous. Your fingers kept drumming on the table and your brain was desperately trying to think of a way to convince your friends to A) go to Amber's party with you and B) not think you were out of your mind.

Tara's words (and her actions, by the way) really made you consider that crazy possibility. On any other occasion, you would have denied it as quickly as possible and then run away, but you were finding that Tara Carpenter could be extremely convincing.

Mindy swallowed a piece of the sandwich she was holding, making a dismissive gesture with her hands. “I’ve told you before, we have no interest in a throuple.”

Sitting next to her with her feet propped up on her girlfriend's lap, Anika raised an eyebrow and smiled playfully. “Who says we don't?”

“What?!” Both Mindy and Ethan shouted, although the girl clearly got the joke and was just going along with it, while the boy seemed really bothered by the idea. You and Anika let out a loud chuckle and you smiled at her in appreciation, knowing that she had joked around just to make you less nervous.

With the mood more relaxed, you took a deep breath and said the words in rapid fire, fearing that they would never come out if you lingered too long. “Tara invited me to Amber's party and she said I could invite you guys. Would you go with me? Please?”

“Absolutely not.” Mindy quickly denied your request, putting on an angry expression. “And why would you want to go to a party like that, anyway?”

“That's right, only assholes go to that kind of thing.” Ethan agreed with the girl, looking equally annoyed by your suggestion.

Your eyes turned to Anika in a plea for help and she nodded almost imperceptibly. Opening her famous warm smile that reached her eyes, she grabbed Mindy's arm and pouted. “Pleeeeeeeeeeeease, I've always wanted to go to a party like this. We can just go and laugh at people being dumb.”

“We can laugh at people being dumb at school literally all the time, I don't need to be at Amber Freeman's house for that.” Mindy objects, but it's obvious that she's already starting to give in to her girlfriend's charms by the way her face looks more peaceful.

Anika looked in your direction and you understood that you would have to stay in that ping pong game of arguments until the other two gave in. “Amber won't even notice we were there! Tara said there would be too many people for her to handle.”

“Aaaand,” Anika added, moving even closer to Mindy, almost sitting on her lap on that narrow wooden bench. “Our theme for the A.V club project is literally young and reckless! What's more young and reckless than Amber's parties?! We'll get some great material if we go!”

Mindy considered the proposal for long seconds that left you on the edge of your seat. You knew Ethan would probably go if you all did, so it was really all in the Meeks-Martin girl's hands.

Finally, she sighed and rolled her eyes, slipping an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders. “Okay, I'll go. But I’m warning you, if Amber even looks in my direction, I won't answer for myself.”

Anika squealed, grabbing Mindy's face and pulling her close to kiss her cheek, which clearly got the girl flustered even though she only replied with an “alright, alright”. You smiled at this, feeling a mixture of amusement and relief at knowing that your friends had agreed to embark with you on this madness.

Ethan hadn't necessarily agreed yet, but when you looked in his direction, he sighed dramatically, so that his brown curls moved with the wind. “If you're both going, I think I'll go to keep y/n company. So she won't be a third wheel and won't be bothered by idiots, you know?”

You thanked the boy with a pat on the shoulder and his smile automatically widened. Across the table, Mindy laughed. “Oh, I don't think you have to worry about y/n getting third wheeled, Ethan. Tara invited her, did you forget?”

“Holy shit. I have to tell Tara.” You remembered your conversation with the girl earlier, rushing into her DMs and completely ignoring the jokes and teasing from the girls in front of you.

You just hoped they could also ignore your completely flustered behavior.

 _

We're going!

A simple message had made Tara's day a thousand times better. She'd forgotten how insufferable Amber could be on party days, as well as the fact that Liv had spent the whole day acting like a pick-me-girl because Chad had been spending much more time on his phone than with her lately.

She'd put her best Casanova act into play when she'd spoken to you earlier, but somehow your sense of humor made her break character and just act like herself, which was something she couldn't remember doing so freely in a long time.

Of course she had appealed for a bit of her charm at the end, but she just couldn't hold back when you had opened up such a perfect opening for her to flirt.

“You should really thank me, you know that?” A familiar voice whispered close to her ear and soon pale arms wrapped around her neck in a grip that bordered on uncomfortable. “I basically handed you your challenge on a platter by letting you invite those weirdos.”

Tara was annoyed by the comment and she quickly disentangled herself from the hug, bumping into Amber and her devilish expression. The shorter girl huffed, fixing her clothes and hair as if that was the real reason she had walked away.

At least this time she didn't turn red. That was progress.

“Shut up. If anything happens, it'll be my merit.” Tara slung her bag over her shoulder, walking along with Amber and the other students to the exit after another tiring Friday of classes.

The taller girl didn't even mind Tara's protests, shaking her head as if she didn't believe the freckled girl’s words. “Anyway, at least you'll be busy while I'm doing someone and won't be bothering me the next day.”

They walked out the door and fortunately Tara could already see Sam's car parked not far away. The girl turned her face in the opposite direction of her friend’s, pretending it was due to the sun and hoping Amber hadn't seen the pained expression on her face. “Whatever. See you later, Freeman.”

“See you later, Carpenter!” Amber shouted back, but Tara didn't turn around to wave goodbye and kept her head down until she reached the old sedan her mother used to drive. At least that was until she was no longer sober enough to hold a steering wheel.

Inside the car, Sam raised her head when she heard the door open and close after Tara got into the passenger seat. She started to back out of the parking lot, occasionally glancing at her younger sister who seemed to be upset beside her. “So... how was school?”

“Don't fucking start.” Tara muttered, putting on her headphones in a quick move to isolate herself from the world and from an older sister who suddenly wanted to be there for her after abandoning her alone with an alcoholic for a year.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head on the window, trying not to think about how Amber really got on her nerves sometimes, or think about the guilt that was starting to rise up inside her after being rude to Sam for nothing. Why couldn't her mind stop working for just one minute?

But as she tried to make her own thoughts go blank, a pleasant memory surfaced. Tara remembered your conversation earlier, the way you could understand each other's moods and how genuinely happy she was that you were going to the party for her.

Maybe, if she just kissed you and hid the real reason behind everything, you could even be friends after all. Maybe she could even convince Amber that you were a nice person, so that you could hang out with them.

Of course, these were only wishful thinking, but Tara wanted peace and, at the moment, the utopian idea of having you around gave her that exact feeling. 

_

“Okay, now give me a spin.”

You turned in your place at Anika's request, being mindful to not to get out of the sight of your phone camera, which was leaning awkwardly on your desk. Your room was a mess of clothes scattered all over the place, highlighting your intense search to decide on the perfect outfit to wear for the party.

“So?” You asked your friend, who had her attention split between the video call and her own elaborate makeup.

Anika seemed to finish her analysis on your look while you were about to start trembling with anxiety. You trusted the girl's fashion sense more than anything and you swore you could have started crying if she said that your outfit wasn't good. Fortunately, her response was a positive nod and a satisfied grin. “Oh, you look so cute!”

You looked down, once again staring at the outfit you had chosen, which was a comfortable one, but neat enough to let people know that you had put some effort into dressing up.

Receiving compliments had never exactly been your strong suit, but as much as you felt awkward about Anika's comment, you couldn't get Tara's recommendation out of your head. “Yeah, but do I look pretty?”

“Of course you do! Cute, pretty, it's all the same!”

You frowned, still feeling annoyed. Fashion had never exactly been your forte and that fact was your Achilles heel at the moment, since you still weren't convinced that “cute” and “pretty” were the same thing. In your opinion, Tara seemed to be the type who liked pretty girls, but not cute girls.

Or maybe it didn't make any sense at all and you were just going crazy at the thought of spending the next few hours in a house full of people you either didn't know or didn't like. Besides, when did you start caring about the kind of girl Tara liked?

“I can hear your thoughts from here, you know?” Anika called out, making your head snap out of that internal cycle of overthinking. “Is this all to impress Tara?”

“Ugh.” You grunted, flopping onto your bed oblivious to the dozens of clothes that were crumpling under your body. “No? Maybe? I don't know.”

You felt ashamed of the situation, even though you knew Anika wasn't the judgmental type. Your feelings were still confusing and you definitely didn't feel ready to admit that you thought about Tara more than you should, but there was also no way to hide something that was so obvious.

“Hey, it's okay, you know? Actually, I'm glad to see you're interested in someone.” Anika replied kindly, which made you work up the courage to sit up, staring at your friend's genuine expression through the screen. “I know you're worried about Mindy and all, but Chad's always nice to me when I go to their house and it was super easy to do some school work with Wes for our calc class.”

She continued, “What I mean is that Tara could still be a nice girl for you, no matter how much there's this Romeo and Juliet thing going on between our groups.”

“It's not that. I mean, it is a bit, but also...” You sighed, trying hard not to run your hands through your hair and make it look messy. “... I don't think she'd be interested in me. I mean, she's been giving me these signals but, I don't know, maybe she does it with everyone?”

Anika tsked, shaking her head and giving you a playful smile. “I've never heard of Tara being a player.”

You groaned again, turning your face away as if the act would somehow stop you from feeling so flustered. Anika laughed in response. “Just enjoy the moment! You already know she's the straight forward type, don't you? If she wants something from you, I'm sure she'll get it.”

“Anika!” You shrieked, appalled by what she was inferring. Your entire face seemed to be engulfed in lava as your friend laughed even louder at the clear shock you expressed.

“What?! The world needs more people like that, you know? That's why I'm going to take the initiative to run away to a corner with Mindy at the first opportunity and-.”

“Ew! No! Stop talking! Please, you're my mother figures!”

_

The walls of the house seemed to shake under Tara's fingers as she leaned on it, making her way to the bathroom in slow, crooked steps as she cursed quietly at the amount of people crowding into the hallway.

They were screaming with joy, slurring the lyrics of the extremely loud song that was playing on the huge speakers in the living room, echoing throughout the house and possibly the entire block. Thank God, Wes had already taken care of his mother.

Tara groaned the whole way, feeling like pushing away all the sweaty, alcohol-altered people who bumped into her shoulder, unable to see properly through the colored lights that made the place look like a nightclub. She sighed in relief when she finally found the bathroom, opening the door and locking herself inside without caring about the noise it made.

She turned on the lights and leaned on the sink with both hands, leaning over to look at her reflection in the mirror, with tired eyes and her bangs sticking to her forehead from sweat. God, how could she have been so shaken up by a measly hour of partying? She used to be able to take a lot more.

But she also knew exactly what had led up to it and the smell of alcohol on her lips wouldn't let her lie. She thought she was going to have more fun, but her evening became much more difficult after she saw Amber stick her tongue down the throats of at least three people right in front of her, making a point of giving Tara a thumbs-up afterwards, almost as if she was trying to annoy her friend on purpose.

Tara tried everything to make herself less bothered. She'd danced, she'd watched some people play 7 minutes in heaven, she'd even flirted with a few people just for fun, but in the end, what had stopped her blood from pounding furiously in her ears had been the beers stocked in Amber's basement fridge.

She stopped after the third one, after she felt tipsy enough. She didn't want to be her mother's daughter, who didn't know her own limits and fell asleep on the living room carpet because she didn't have the strength to walk to her own room. And the drinks helped for a while, but now that the sweat had evaporated the effect of the alcohol on herself, her headache left her one scream or punch away from going insane.

Tara splashed water on her face, oblivious to the fact that her makeup was getting smudged or her bangs got even wetter. At this point, she no longer cared about much other than surviving the rest of the night.

Once she had pulled herself together, she sighed and left the bathroom, expecting to be dragged into the living room by the crowd of teenagers dancing and jumping around like wild animals, but instead she ended up being bumped in the opposite direction, almost knocking her off balance.

“Oh my God, I'm sorry!” Gentle hands rushed to hold Tara up before she fell and she followed the length of the arms with her eyes until she bumped into a familiar face. It was you, who was now staring at Tara with a frown. The girl couldn't help herself and looked you up and down, mentally appreciating the way you were dressed.

You quickly took your hands off Tara's shoulders, rubbing them anxiously. The girl felt a tug in her chest as she remembered that she had invited you and you most likely should have spent all this time looking for her, while she was drinking and whining about not having the attention of the biggest bitch in Woodsboro. Drunk and abandoning people? Wow, the Carpenter women's genes never fail.

“I didn't realize you'd already arrived.” Tara broke the awkward silence, mentally thanking you for being upstairs and being able to talk without having to shout over the hip hop track playing in the living room.

You looked away, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. “Yeah. It's been a while.”

Tara nodded, feeling a little disappointed in herself as she realized that you had clearly been annoyed by her absence. She tried to strike up a conversation again, wishing she could somehow put a smile on your face. “What brings you upstairs? Not enjoying the energy of the party?”

“I was looking for the bathroom.” You sighed, hugging your elbows. “Actually, I was more looking to escape to the bathroom, because I was planning to hide there until my friends decided to leave.”

“You really don’t like parties, huh?” Tara joked, but the smile on her face hardened when she realized that you hadn't laughed along with her.

Tara felt terrible. Sure, you'd only had a few interactions before, but all of them had proved that you could understand each other easily. Now, Tara didn't know if it was the party, if it was her or something else that had made you look so uncomfortable, but she was determined to make it up to you for being an idiot.

“You know, I think I have a better hiding place than a small bathroom.” She leaned towards you, as if she was sharing a secret. “Are you interested?”

You scrutinized the girl's face and she couldn't help but be disappointed that you didn't even seem to be affected by your proximity as you usually would. Your arms were crossed as you felt suspicious of her offer. “Don't you have to go back to the party?”

Tara made a dismissive gesture with her hand and started walking down the large hallway, looking for a specific room. “Nah, I've been to so many of these that it's lost it’s spark to me.”

Technically, it wasn't a lie. Tara was sick of that party and she'd love to have a distraction from the fact that Amber was now probably at her body count number 100 and Tara wasn't talking about dead people. But then again, she felt strangely committed to making you have at least a little fun and she really liked your company.

Maybe it was just because she felt bad for having invited you in the first place. Yeah, that must be it.

She opened Amber's bedroom door, barging in without hesitation and heading straight for the window, opening it all the way. Behind her, you seemed slightly alarmed by the idea of simply invading the personal space of a girl who could make your life a living hell. “Uh…”

But before you could really protest, Tara put one leg out of the window, glancing in your direction with a playful smile. “Trust me. You’re not scared, are you?”

“I’m not scared, but trusting you? After you invited me to a party you’re trying to escape?” you replied, making Tara's smile widen as she realized you were starting to open up again. “And what are you doing at the window, Rapunzel?”

Tara chuckled, pointing your way. “Wait and see.”

In a swift motion, she raised her hands to the roof platform above her head, pushing off Amber's window with her feet to gain enough momentum to pull herself up with extra effort from her arms. Still holding onto the edge, Tara hung upside down, looking at you through the window with her bangs sticking up. “So, are you coming or not?”

You snorted lightly with the sight, shaking your head as you approached the window. “I’m no Spider-Man. If I fall from here, it’ll be your fault, and I hope they write it down as homicide.”

“Good to know you have so much faith in me.” Tara answered, kneeling on the roof tiles and extending her hand for you to grab. You hesitated for a few seconds, and honestly, Tara couldn’t blame you for it, but she kept looking at you expectantly, trying to communicate with her eyes. Let me make things right with you.

She almost sighed in relief when you finally grabbed her forearm, letting her help you up slowly, pretending not to notice how her hands ended up on your hips. All in the name of making your night a little less boring, of course.

But wow, your body felt... warm.

It didn’t take long for you to pull away from Tara, clearing your throat and sitting on the roof beside her. It would be hard to stand for long due to the slope, but the spot was comfortable enough for you to sit or lie down without the risk of rolling off.

The roof was quite high, not tall enough for you to see the entire city, for example, but high enough that the people below you looked like tiny ants. Ants that were dancing, having fun, and throwing cups of beer at each other.

“Do you come here often?” you broke the silence, but Tara saw the exact moment you winced, realizing way too late the double meaning of your words. “I didn’t mean… I wasn’t…”

“It’s all good.” Tara laughed, considering saying something to tease you even more, but she ultimately decided against it , feeling a bit sorry for your embarrassed state. “And no, to answer your question. I used to spend a lot more time up here before, but now…”

She let the sentence trail off, lost in her own thoughts. Maybe the last time she had been on that roof was the day Sam had gone to rehab, two years ago. Which, looking back now, was probably around the same time Amber stopped being a caring friend and started being the friend that thought Tara complained too much.

The two of you remained in a comfortable silence for a few more seconds—or as quiet as it could be with two massive speakers blasting music two floors below. Tara glanced to the side, staring at your face, which seemed more focused on the starry sky, illuminated only by a few beams of moonlight.

Like she had felt in the car earlier, that sight gave her peace. It wasn’t like looking at Amber, which made her feel like her organs were being squeezed and thrown into an erupting volcano. Looking at you made her feel like a sea breeze was brushing against her face, a comforting, peaceful gust of wind.

Tara’s eyes drifted down to your lips, and she had to run her tongue across her own. Amber’s challenge lingered in the back of her mind, and she was tempted to test if your kiss would be a better distraction than the cheap beer she’d grabbed from the basement.

But suddenly, Tara felt self-conscious. Maybe it was the fact that the idea had been Amber’s, and she was still too annoyed with the girl to give her the satisfaction of being right. Maybe it was because she could still taste the alcohol in her mouth and didn’t want you to taste it too.

Or maybe it was something else. Something gentler and softer that even Tara couldn’t quite describe yet.

“Oh, look!” Tara snapped out of her own thoughts when she saw you excitedly pointing at the sky. “You can see Orion so clearly!”

She followed the direction of your hand with her eyes, feeling confused about what exactly she was supposed to be looking at. That particular night was cloudless, which made the vast array of stars shining in the dark sky exceptionally beautiful.

You noticed the lost expression on the girl’s face beside you and chuckled. “Orion? The constellation?”

“Oh, yeah. I… I know.” Tara just nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed for not being sure what you were referring to. She knew what a constellation was, of course, but she had never studied them in much detail, and in her eyes, all she could see in the sky were random stars, beautiful but completely scattered.

You laughed again, not buying Tara’s excuse for a second after seeing how confused her eyes looked. Gently, your hand held hers as you started pointing out the constellation with both of your hands joined together.

“See those three stars close together? That’s what we call Orion’s belt. It’s much easier to spot the rest of the constellation starting from there. Up there, kind of making a triangle, you have Meissa, Betelgeuse, and Bellatrix, and if you look to the side, it kinda looks like he’s holding a bow.”

Tara wanted to pay attention to your explanation, but her brain turned to mush the moment your hands got entangled, and her heart started pounding like the drums in a heavy metal song. You, on the other hand, seemed completely unaware of the action, which made Tara feel even more like an idiot.

Wow, what was in those drinks?

“You really know a lot about this,” she said, trying to sound normal, even though her voice felt like it could crack at any moment. You smiled at the comment, letting go of her hand to play with your fingers in your lap.

“One day, I had this brilliant idea to paint constellations on my bedroom ceiling—or at least most of them—and I had to do a ton of research to make sure it looked right.” You laughed, and Tara realized she wanted to hear that sound more and more.

“It’s cool that you’re a painter. It’s different.” She wanted to keep the conversation going, eager to learn more about any detail you were willing to offer, but she didn’t exactly know what to say. For someone who usually had no trouble expressing herself, Tara seemed to have forgotten her entire vocabulary.

Luckily, you seemed to be in the opposite situation, feeling comfortable enough to keep talking. “I guess so? I’ve never thought much about it before. Painting is a lot more than just a hobby for me—it’s more like a safe haven, you know?”

Tara nodded instead of giving a verbal response, especially because she knew exactly what you were talking about, but she didn’t have the words to express how much she needed a conversation like this—so simple, yet so healing.

She reached into the pocket of her jacket, slowly pulling out her phone. “Can I take a picture of the constellation?” Tara asked, mentally kicking herself when she heard how vulnerable her voice sounded.

Her tone didn’t go unnoticed by you, and you looked at her with a bit of confusion, but soon after, your eyes softened, shining with kindness—almost as bright as the stars above your heads. “You don’t have to ask me to take pictures of the sky, but do you want me to point it out again?”

“Sorry, old habit.” She shook her head to snap out of it, feeling her cheeks heating up as she started opening the camera app and aiming it upward. “But yeah, please.”

Slowly and gently, you took Tara’s hands again, working together with her to make sure the constellation was perfectly centered. You were close enough for Tara to catch the pleasant scent of your perfume, but she forced herself to stay focused on the picture you two were trying to capture.

After a few successful shots of Orion (which Tara planned to edit later to make it more visible and color-corrected), the two of you lay down side by side, admiring the night’s beauty in another moment of shared, comfortable silence.

_

Now, the silence inside Sam’s car wasn’t as comfortable.

It was the first time Tara had asked Sam to pick her up from a party, especially as late as 2 AM, considering the younger Carpenter always used to sleep over at Amber’s once everything wrapped up.

But after you left, Tara completely lost the desire to stay. The music was dull, she had no interest in drinking or playing any games, and she definitely didn’t want to be around her friends anymore.

She sat in a thoughtful silence, her head resting against the window, watching as the asphalt disappeared behind the car doors. The soft hum of the engine served as background noise since Tara didn’t have her precious headphones, but she’d spent enough time around loud music for the night anyway, so her ears were begging for a break.

“Did you… have fun?” Sam asked cautiously, as if Tara were a wounded animal that might lash out at any moment. The younger girl sighed, feeling guilty for being the reason behind the hostile distance between them.

She already felt guilty about enough things. Maybe it was time to start lifting some of that weight off her shoulders.

“I guess I did.” She nodded, watching Sam’s surprised expression at her genuine response. The look made her seem younger, reminding Tara that Sam wasn’t that much older than her. Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember seeing Sam so carefree since she’d returned, but her anger hadn’t exactly allowed her to notice the little details. “I had a good time.”

“Good,” Sam replied, trying to hide a satisfied smile from tugging at the corner of her lips. In the passenger seat, Tara did the same, feeling a tiny bit of happiness from the small progress they’d made. Small steps were important.

The car fell silent again, but it felt less heavy, and Tara figured it was because Sam was tired and still had to focus on the road for at least another 10 minutes. Taking advantage of the pause, the younger Carpenter pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, going straight to her gallery and searching for the pictures she had taken earlier.

Most of them were of the sky, capturing the fateful (and now familiar to Tara) constellation of Orion, which made her think of the feeling of your hands on hers. Two others, however, were a bit more personal for her.

She zoomed in on the photo, staring at the profile of your face bathed in moonlight as you smiled brighter than the stars. She had taken the picture in secret, an impulsive urge to capture not just the moment, but you. Tomorrow, she could blame it on the alcohol, but tonight, she would give herself the privilege of gazing at your carefree expression for a few long seconds.

You had probably spent hours talking on the roof, and yet it still didn’t feel like enough. Tara wanted more. She needed more. Even though she’d never considered herself to be possessive or clingy, she couldn’t help but want to explore every little piece of your world as if it were the most beautiful piece of art.

A sudden thought crossed her mind, and Tara quickly opened Instagram, this time taking her time to scroll through and really appreciate each of your paintings. As she studied the pieces you had displayed, she mentally kicked herself for not having done it sooner. It was clear that you drew inspiration from the Renaissance, and that people were your greatest muse. There were few self-portraits, but Tara recognized some of your friends in the works.

She was so captivated that she felt a strong urge to knock on your door and ask you to tell her the story behind each one, just for the pleasure of hearing your voice. But, well, it was 2 AM, and she didn’t even know where you lived.

And, of course, she wasn’t that crazy.

Still, she decided to slide into your DMs, sending you five of the photos you had taken of the sky, taking the opportunity to wish you a good night. Would sending a heart emoji be too much? She decided against it. The photos would be enough.

But Tara still wasn’t satisfied with her exploration, so she ventured into your stories, looking for anything that could give her more reasons to talk to you. It turned out to be a great decision, because she struck gold.

You had posted an announcement from Woodsboro Central Hospital earlier, calling for volunteers for a special event dedicated to bringing joy to children hospitalized with cancer. The flyer said that any help was welcome, from telling stories to dressing up as superheroes, and Tara couldn’t stop wondering what you had signed up to do.

Without wasting any time, she navigated to the hospital’s profile, hoping they were still accepting applications even though she was texting them literally seven hours before the event.

Hi, I’m interested in volunteering! Would you need a photographer?

[weebsinstash]

Ok but like

Imagine if there is 1 spider who can tell the difference, a bestie you had that was perhaps the one who was sent to recruit you in the first place, and/or the one who was the first to go on a mission with you, and the first(outside of Miguel because ofc he had to watch and decide to let you join) to go yandere.

And imagine when YT shows they dont care, actively trying to distance themselves from her in any way they can. And they're the only one who can tell the difference, with just even seeing how they walk being enough to know it's not you.

But when they point out that's not you all the other spiders deny it, saying they'd be able to tell the difference without even trying(they cant lmao).

Then YT decides to make they're life hell because how fucking dare this rando try to out her?! So all the spiders bounce back and forth from treating them like shit to treating them how they normally would depending on which you they talk to.

Then when they nearly or they think they kill you they freaking the fuck out, having to be restrained to stop from helping you. Possibly even being degraded for trying to help 'YT', with some even saying they should kick them out of the society after.

Holy shit- imagine if they're the reason you live taking off their's and throwing it to you because they'll just go back to they're universe unlike you.

Or imagine they leave the society after you 'died', possibly even getting kicked out for attempting to attack 'you' in a fit of rage. Only to once back in they're own universe do their best to try and find a way to bring the real you back.

Queue you at your new home or job and what a looks like a hobo bursts in sobbing they're eyes out and calling your name. Tackling you into a hug, insisting their never letting you go and never letting those monsters near you again.

God love all this drama and heartbreak ♥️💕♥️💅

An idea I had thought of was "what if a Spiderperson Reader had been close to had to go do stuff in their own universe and that made them too busy to come and visit and during all the YouTwo drams they're instrumental in saving your ass"

Like for example Peter Porker and Spider Noir are absent from the second movie so say we've got Miguel and the other relevant Spiders are having their weekly "We Love Reader" power hour when Noir descends from above and shares the findings of his investigation, pure detective style, with pictures and everything, or lil Porker can tap into some toonforce shit and just glance at YouTwo and say "haha OK really funny, but where's the real one?"

Say you're good friends with Hobie and he has to "go underground for a lil while" cause he has to focus on fighting the fascists back home, and then he pops up like two months later, you're glitching out because YouTwo just smashed your bracelet and Miguel and tons and tons of other Spiders watching and facilitating and Hobie takes one look at YT, "who's this slag?"

Or, before he takes his trip, he comes to visit you at your apartment, definitely knowing it's you he's speaking to, and YouTwo is in Nueva York and you're starting to get paranoid and you open up to him about all your worries and the weird shit starting to happen, how you're worries about being replaced and how people are coming up to you about things you didn't say or do, and you even suggest a secret password so that the next time he speaks to you, he can know it's really you, and Hobie can tell you're just, absolutely stressed the fuck out about all of this, probably even passes the word on to Gwen and Pav since they're mutual friends to help keep an eye on you while he's gone, and to watch out for YouTwo

Cue Hobie "I hate fascists and tyrants" Brown coming back and you're just glitching all over the place with your bracelet broken on the ground while Miguel and tons of other Spiders are just WATCHING and you see him and immediately start screaming the password and "hobie, don't let them kill me, this is gonna kill me hobie, please help me, i dont wanna die, please i dont want to die" and, obviously best case scenario is "Hobie convinces them that YT is the fake" or "he opens a portal back home, gives you his bracelet, and both of you immediately fuck off to go flee into his home universe" but of course the more chaotic "you vanish and all hell breaks loose, a full on civil war between 'the Reader Loyalists' vs 'the YouTwo beta cucks' and everyone is scrambling to find you while you're off like, hanging out with Miles as he helps heal your trust by being a good little brother or getting creampied by Miguel 2

But like. Lmao. Imagine some shit happens like Reader was good pals with Sun Spider, told her you thought it was really inspiring to see a disabled Spider (and I mean depending on your preference Reader has problems themself) and like. It's a week after you've been "poofed away" and everyone is hanging out at like a celebration party or something just because, so many of then are convinced YT is you which means they're also still being nice as fuck to YT because you had been starting to become depressed and also the whole elevator incident and, everyone's having drinks and snacks and suddenly YT makes this sort of. Comment. It's either something like "who's the Spider in the wheelchair" or something like. Vaguely or super offensive "it's just kind of, awkward, you know, being around one of THOSE people"

And Pav is there and just kind of chuckles because he's confused and YouTwo continues "I just mean, you know. We're kind of better than them, you know? How did a cripple become a Spider?"

Cue everyone in earshot just, like, all but dropping everything in their hands as the realization sweeps over the room, "oh shit that's a fake, the real you is gone"

I imagine until they got caught that YouTwo is an absolute menace. Could suck up to one of the scientist Spidermen to help make bugs and wiretaps to spy on you in your apartment so YT can better impersonate you, intercepting any social plans and showing up in your place, learning personal info, private mannerisms. YT, to be blunt, using sex to control any Spiders who like you thst way to have them make fake alibis or spread rumors or help YT make other helpful connections (who are all also furious when YT is exposed, because, like, for ones who slept with them, dude that's rape, they all thought they were sleeping with someone else. Could you imagine Miguel fucking YT and that's like the first person he's been with since his wife has died and he had meant it to be with you and it actually be some big impactful like extremely emotional thing for him, and it's this massively personal invasion of his privacy and trust that it turned out to be an imposter. He feels dirty and disgusted and, oh my god he GOT RID OF YOU for this, this evil, selfish, manipulative whore

Reader off trying to mind their own goddamn business in their new home, either on their own or New Miguel, and you bump into someone who you USED to consider a friend and, with good intentions they tell the Spider Society you're alive and, it begins this massive manhunt with the intention of bring you "back home". THEY are all super extremely happy, making preparations to throw one big "We're So Sorry We Kind Of Replaced You And Almost Killed You" party, meanwhile YOU are terrified at the sight of any of them because you can't trust them and the Society as a whole anymore and, what if they tried to kill you again?

Miguel: I can't even express how glad I am that you're still alive. We've been looking everywhere for you because we're sorry and--

Reader, shoving bagels into their purse: sorry I have to go

[todomemolesta18]

The amazing digital circus! (review)

So... people actually want my opinion and Im like

*sniff* Ok, guys! Im gonna try to do my best to review (?) the pilot ep for Tadc! (Spoiler alert: I enjoyed a lot!)

First of all, the animation. IS. BEAUTIFUL.

So elastic, so expresive, so shiny, is just perfect!

Like, for example, just look at her pupils, how she slightly moves her head, is something little but add a lot of life to the character.

And they are so expresive like you can see their fear and stuff, especially Pomni.

(I love this shot of her haha)

Everything is so full of life and colours, I just love when animators actually take advantage of animation and go crazy with it.

And the designs are really good too! I love them. The best ones are Caine and Kinger.

They are so... crazy. And thats great! Besides, I think the giant eyes on Kinger just makes him look more traumatized, which makes sense, because for what we know, he has been in the circus the longest.

Now the characters themselves. I like them. Just so much personality, and fun. Specially Jax.. he is an unapologetic asshole and I just love that.

Ragatha is nice. Hope to see more of her, but rigth know I dont have a lot to say about her, but she is likeable and kind. She is just what Pomni needs.

Il talk about Pomni, but later, cause I wanna comment some interesting stuff about her.

Gangle is cute and deserves a big hug.

Zooble is... okay too. I dont dislike her and she has some funny momens, but like Ragatha, I need to see more of her to make a more complete opinion. I KNOW is the pilot, but I still need more content. IM NOT CRITICIZING, IS JUST MY OPINION. Actually is good that they dont focus a lot on ALL the characters, because it would be a confusing mess, so, well done there, Glitch and Goose.

Kinger was freaking hilarious. Like when Jax mentions how stable Kinger and Gangle are, Kingle start to shake in a really weird but hilarious way. Or when he screams randomly and says that Gangle startled him.

I like this guy :D

Then we have Caine... oh boy, he is one of the most interesting characters, with Pomni and... Kaufmo.

He acts so happy and cheerful and stuff, and like a presenter. He is actually kinda nice, but is obvious that he is hiding something, like when Pomni asks about the exit and he gets all weird.

NOW. Lets talk about my waifu- about Pomni.

She is so realistic and human and relatable and I love that. And not just because she is so super confused and scared and anxious, but for other scenes.

The moment where Ragatha needs help, and Pomni actually extends her hand and grabs her, only to start glitching. She gest scared, apologizes and runs away. But she feels guilty and comes back to apologizes to Ragatha, who forgives her.

I LOVED THIS SCENE SO MUCH. Pomni became more than just the anxious main character and became a bit more tridimensional.

Another moment I loved related to her. This:

Is a very short scene... but it means so much. How she is just in shock an touches her face, like she just cant believe this is her. This is happening to her. And it adds to the existencial horror of the show.

And the most incredible one and amazed me is when she actually goes in the exit door. Like... she did want to help Ragatha, but this could have been her only chance to escape. Im sure anyone of us, including myself, would have done it.

But then the poor woman is traped in a bucle and starts to get crazy and laugh... I think I would have reacted exactly the same.

Or that last shot of her and her disturbed face.

DAMN, EVERYTHING IS SO GOOD. AND THE MUSIC TOO.

I LOVED THE INTRO. The comedy too! And the outro was so cute!

This show has showed us the potential it has for the horror AND I CANT WAIT.

This are all my personal toughs! What do you guys think?

[everchanging-cryptid]

live reacting to The Amazing Digital Circus Pilot because I just realized it came out

it’s all pixelly and then not, neat Ooh, ringmaster’s a fun character, love him

oh, Cain, like the Bible brother maybe?

Time loop?

Lol the flowerpot glitching through the floor

Hostile VR, nice

Haha, no swearing

I would very much like to live in this building

Can relate to Kinger, I too would love to chat with people about an insect collection

The ribbon guy reminds me of Will from the webcomic Nevermore

Blue screening when you need to come up with a list, same

I can’t tell if he’s gonna be a scary character or a funny character, that’s really cool

Why does the moon want to fuck him

Why are you like this

Ooh he’s hiding something yeah

Ok, he does not have control over minds, good to know, and he said “one of the few” so maybe he can’t control other things

Never tell a fae-like entity “I don’t care, just pick anything”

“Whaddya think of: *mouth keysmash*” lol

Pomni, that’s a fun name

“YOU PARASITE!!!” Had me laughing for like 2 minutes straight

Just pop the interrupting people

r u b b e r h o s e a n i m a t i o n b u n n y yeah favorite character material right there

I love how they all just talk over each other but you can still hear what they’re each saying

Assigned “Most Mentally Stable” at mental breakdown

Ooh, I see a bunch of X-ed out faces on the doors, did they get permakilled or something?

The framed artworks make me incredibly happy

Uhoh, Pomni went to the petrified place /reference

Where did you get a centipede???

Ooh that’s not good

he reminds me of a corrupted gem from Steven universe

Ooh that looks painful ouch

Love those broken object physics, beautiful

I love the sense of perspective, when the camera is further back and Pomni looks so isolated

I think Kinger might be the most relatable character tbh

Kaufmo just is not funny is he

God the comedic timing for Jax is PERFECT

RADICAL

Love a good bowling pin joke

Ok I take it back the comedic timing on Kinger is the best I was crying at the perfectly cut scream

Hmm I think poor kiddo Pomni here needs a break to cry

Ooh water cube room I like that

oh that’s terrifying they can just shoot faces at you

Well that’s certainly not Cain

Pfft they rock paper scissors and he won but did the thing anyway

“Oh.” *watches his hands float away*

HIS EYES DID THE CLOCK THING

Can the next person teleported in be a therapist because hot damn have we got some trauma up in here

:o barrel of monkeys! :D

NOOOO THE MONKEYS

Oh door?

Nope nope nope nope nope nope

Oh that’s some backrooms shit right there

Hot damn take a chill pill bro you already got him he’s dead

“This is dumb and weird.” Yeah im gonna quote that forever now thanks

“Ah thank GOD you’re okay, you didn’t experience a game show in there did you?” “Uhhhh… I— What are you talking about?”

Abstracted, like becoming abstract? Becoming just a vague feeling, a mere idea? Ooh that’s some good stuff right there

I too love the sound of a silent moving staircase

Oh this is gonna be fuckin terrifying I see how it is

Musty old computer causes mental breakdown? Interesting

C&A CAIN AND ABEL I FREAKIN CALLED IT YES oh that has some interesting implications now doesn’t it hmm souls trapped in a computer perhaps?

Oh shit it’s the void

I’ll take 5 wacky watches please

ha fourth wall break

oh Pomni is actually broken aren’t they

oh are those all the others who were crossed out

ooh healing spell

Pomni is not okay

analysis on digital eating okay sure

oh that’s an earth shattering ending oh my gosh I feel like I just experienced eldritch enlightenment

Can not wait for more possible episodes! It’s incredible, I highly recommend checking it out! ^^

[ratmonky]

Inorganic Human

Word Count: 3.1K

Warnings: noncon, guided & forced masturbation, home invasion, stalking

AO3 Link

Another fic I wrote for my besto frendo @anti-interesting​ who finally watched the show after me talking about it for hours lol

You were tucked under your sheets with your laptop on your bed and catching up with your favorite show when the screen abruptly turned black.

“Ahh,” you groaned audibly, having to move from your cozy position took too much effort and it was way too annoying if you had to be honest.

As you were about to press the power button to see if you had accidentally turned your laptop off like the many other times you had in the past, the screen flashed white before returning to normal.

“Can you hear me?”

You stared blankly at the screen. It wasn’t your show that was playing. It was your classmate from school. Had you opened your social media account by accident?

With a small scoff, you tried clicking away from the video. However, your laptop must have frozen because you couldn’t turn it off no matter what.

“Can you hear me?” he asked again, looking right at you.

Chills went down your spine and you looked around you as if someone else was in the room. The feeling of discomfort was settling in, enough to make you feel self-conscious and pull up the sheets to cover yourself.

It was getting creepy, he was still staring at you.

Reaching your hand forward, you pressed the power button to turn off the laptop and somehow it didn’t turn off.

“(name), I asked if you could hear me.”

Your muscles tensed, you pulled the sheets further up to cover your chest. “Shishigami? Um, i-is this a video call?”

He hummed softly. “I guess so.”

How could it be a call when you had never given him your email or phone number?

It was silent for a moment. You were trying to come up with a polite way to tell him to leave the call since you couldn’t end it yourself but he spoke again.

“You’re coming to school tomorrow, right?”

Dumbfounded, you nodded slowly.

After that, he smiled softly and the screen flickered a couple of times until your show continued playing again.

~~~~

As if last night hadn’t happened, Hiro was on the other side of the classroom talking to his friend, Ando.

He hadn’t even spared you a passing glance the whole day. You started to believe you dreamed of the entire thing.

Yeah, that had to be it.

~~~

At home, you put a tape over your laptop camera in case a glitch like that happened again and turned it on. Letting your show play in the background, you took off your clothes to get in your pajamas.

“Could you please not touch him so casually, you homewreckers?!” The annoying main character was exaggerating his reactions and it made you giggle. While you were taking off your bra, he continued his banter. “Megumi has violin classes with-”

The audio stopped suddenly and you turned around to check if your internet was messing up again but you found yourself looking at Hiro.

You covered your bare chest with a shirt you were just about to put on and gasped sharply. Wait, he couldn’t see you, you had put that tape on your camera and-

“Sorry for the bad timing. I’ll return after you’ve dressed up.”

With that, he was gone. Your show was back on the screen but you were too terrified and confused to be able to laugh at the funny reveal at the end.

You walked up to your laptop with shaking limbs and slammed your laptop closed.

~~~

The next time you opened your laptop was in the morning, you checked from the camera app if you could see anything through the tape but no, it was pitch black.

Then… how?

Were you imagining all of this?

You had to be only tired or maybe the university entrance exams were starting to get to you. The stress could have been causing you to imagine stupid stuff like these. Right?

~~~

“Hey,” you said to get his attention for the third time but he still had his face pressed against his desk.

He wasn’t asleep, you knew that.

“Ando.” You put your hand on his shoulder and he finally lifted his head from the desk to stare at you.

He looked around himself as if to see if you were actually talking to him.

“Could we talk for a second?” you asked, hoping that you could take him somewhere else before Hiro returned to the classroom.

“Um, yeah, sure, why not?” He blushed, looking around the classroom one last time to see if this was a prank before following you out.

You took him up to the roof.

“W-what did you wanna talk about?” Ando nervously asked while rubbing the back of his neck.

Maybe this was a bad idea. You were being accusatory and this guy had nothing to do with any of this. He didn’t need to be caught up in between with whatever was going on.

“Do you know if Shishigami is messing with me?”

“Huh?” He looked confused, he scratched his cheek and gave himself a moment to think. “I… I don’t think so… Hiro’s not the type to prank others... I mean, what made you think that he was messing with you?”

“It’s just…” It had to be your imagination, if you spoke about this right now Ando would most likely ask his friend about it too. There was no need to make it a bigger deal than it already was. “Nevermind.”

~~~

You didn’t turn on your computer that night and decided to sleep early. You weren’t going to school tomorrow either because you certainly needed to rest and collect your thoughts. Thankfully your family was away on an overnight trip, meaning that nobody could scold you for skipping school.

It was going to be a restful day for you!

However, as soon as you put your head on the pillow, your phone’s screen on the nightstand lit up. Weird, you had your phone on ‘do not disturb’ all the time, it didn’t show any notifications unless you picked it up.

Too tired to check what was up, you turned to the other side to avoid the bright light.

“(name), you never sleep at this hour. Something wrong?”

Your eyes snapped open.

That was Shishigami.

“Pick up the phone.”

You didn’t answer him as your limbs shook uncontrollably in terror. This couldn’t be a nightmare, it felt too real.

“Pick up the phone or I’ll have to come to your house.”

Cold sweat trickled down your back but you still couldn’t move. Your entire body had turned to stone. He didn’t know where you live, right? Even if he did, you weren’t going to open the door.

Wait, wait, wait…

This all was a prank.

The muscles on your limbs eased and your shoulders relaxed. He was pranking you! Haha, yeah this was a prank. But then how was he able to talk to you without you having to answer his call?

“See you,” he sighed and a static sound filled your ears.

You jolted up from your bed to check your phone. The screen was normal. Okay, calm down. This was a prank, he wouldn’t come to your house.

The sound of knocking filled your room. Your shoulders tensed again and you turned your head towards the bedroom door. That… knocking wasn’t coming from your apartment door.

Knock.

Your blood ran cold as you glanced over your shoulder and found yourself staring at a shadow behind the curtains, he was standing on your balcony. He was trying to look inside through the curtains, moving around to find a crack that could help him see who was inside.

H-how did he get there? You lived high up from the ground, there was no way he climbed up there… More importantly, how did he know where you lived?

He couldn’t come in. He can’t come in. The door is locked, he can’t come in.

The door was locked. You knew that yet the fear had settled in. You were being invaded, it already felt like he was inside.

You turned around your heels to face the balcony as you stepped back towards your bedroom door. The balcony door was locked so there was no way he could get in and all you needed to do was stay back-

The balcony door unlocked itself.

Your mouth popped open in shock and you gasped sharply.

Hiro pulled the curtains away as he stepped a foot inside your room. He stared at you with a blank stare, “Ah, so you were awake! Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

You couldn’t move, fear had paralyzed you.

Why are you here?

How did you get inside?

Get out!

Your mouth wouldn’t move either but your teeth still chattered. This didn’t feel like a prank anymore.

“Why don’t you sit down,” he said, turning on the lamp on your nightstand and gesturing towards your bed. His other hand was pointing at you with his forefinger and his thumb was extended out. “Don’t yell, scream or cry. This is a real gun.”

Prank.

It was a prank.

You desperately wanted to believe it.

“Bang!” he yelled, his hand recoiled like a gun. Immediately, you felt a rush of wind right beside your ear and when you looked behind you, there was a hole in your bedroom door.

Did he really do that with his… finger?

You were confused, in disbelief.

“W-what do you w-want?” Your teeth were still chattering, you put your tongue in between them to stop it but the action only resulted in you biting your tongue.

“I just need your help.” He gestured towards your bed once again. “Sit down.”

This time, you forced yourself to move.

As soon as you sat on your bed, Hiro pulled the chair you had beside your desk and placed it in front of you. He gracefully sat down, still pointing his finger gun at you. “I’m not a human anymore.”

You didn’t say anything.

He sighed and a click sound filled your ears.

His head popped open like a flower. All you could see was metal, it was a machine. A robot. This thing wasn’t your classmate. You clapped a hand over your mouth to keep your voice down and finally started to realize the horror of the situation.

The open metal pieces closed up seamlessly to form Hiro’s face once again.

It was silent, you were unsure of how to react or what to say. You weren’t even sure if you were going to live.

“What makes humans human?” Hiro asked, pointing his finger up to your head. He was expecting an answer.

“I don’t know.”

“Feelings of guilt,” he said, his face was inanimate. “Only humans feel remorse and empathy. When you kill something you must feel some sort of guilt. That’s what makes you a human. Most humans cannot take a life without feeling guilty.”

Ah, you started to get the picture.

“Are you going to kill me?” The question you never thought you would ask anyone at any point in your life left your lips and you felt tears streaming down your face.

His lips slowly curled up to a smile. “I already tried killing others, it didn’t work.”

Your chest clenched abruptly at the revelation. “T-then why?”

“There’s one another feeling only humans can feel.” He reached towards your face and wiped your tears, humming softly. “It’s lust. Animals choose partners by instinct, humans choose theirs by attraction.”

“I don’t understand,” you sobbed. “Why me?”

Hiro slowly carded his fingers through your hair, petting you like you were a scared animal he was trying to calm down. “I always thought you were pretty. I used to jerk off to your pictures on your account every day.  I wanna see if I still feel the same way in this body.”

You didn’t get to react to his sickening words as he pressed his forefinger on your breast, still in a finger gun position. He smiled while moving his finger on the supple flesh. He then placed the rest of his fingers on your breast to grope it fully. “I kinda feel it.”

Speechless, you only stared at him as he sat back, prying his hands off of you reluctantly.

“I need you to take off your shirt for me.”

When you didn’t move, he lifted his hand back up, threatening to shoot you.

Grabbing the hem of your shirt with shaking hands, you pulled it over your chest and above your head before putting it on your lap. You clutched on the shirt and stared at your hands. Tears blurred your vision.

“I’m feeling it a little bit right now,” he said, voice filled with faint joy.

A moment passed before he spoke again.

“Take off everything.”

You let out a choked sob and shook your head.

“You don’t need to die, (name). All I’m asking for is your help.” He was looking at you with a sinister expression on his face, his finger pointed right between your brows, it didn’t even waver.

You didn’t want to die. Not yet. Not when you were half-naked like this and in your room.

With a rapid nod, you hooked your thumbs under the waistband of your pajama pants and pulled them down, lifting your hips from the bed to slide the pants down your thighs.

He watched you intently, without blinking once.

“Spread your legs.”

Complying his order, you spread your legs involuntarily. A blush tinted your cheeks from embarrassment.

Hiro hummed in delight, drinking up your naked form.

“Can you put a finger inside?”

You had to remind yourself that you were only doing this because you didn’t want to die.

Hesitantly, you brought your hand up to insert two fingers inside of your pussy. A whimper left your lips when you saw the way he was watching you.

“Move them.”

The shame you felt as you pulled your fingers out to push them back in was indescribable. His eyes were focused on your pussy and your digits.

“It’s happening,” he whispered to himself in disbelief.  “I feel alive.”

Whether it be your crush watching you masturbate so carefully or the unsettling threat of being in the claws of death, your walls were pulsating around your fingers, begging to be filled and stretched. You needed something bigger but you bit your lip, holding back your filthy thoughts before your mind could wander off. Instead, you dipped one more finger inside your cunt to satisfy yourself.

Yet, your eyes were on Hiro as you were fingering yourself.

“I’m still human,” he said, eyes softening in relief. He smiled, the soft expression on his face made your walls clench around your digits. “Thank you, (name).”

Lust filled all of your senses at the way he said it.

The pads of your fingers rubbed on your sensitive spot inside of you as you brought your other hand up too. Using your free hand, you drew tight circles over your sensitive nub.

Hiro put his hand down and leaned forward on the chair to watch you closely.

Your fingers started moving in and out hastily when you realized he was giving you all of his attention. The sloppy sounds of your juices gushing out from your pussy with each thrust of your digits filled your room.

He opened his mouth to say something but he was too hypnotized by the way your hips were moving towards your fingers. You were grinding your pussy against your own fingers like some animal in heat.

Humans could reproduce.

Hiro knew he could never reproduce in this body. Not anymore. Many humans couldn’t reproduce, it didn’t mean he wasn’t any less human. He knew that but he couldn’t stop his hand from reaching to grab your wrist.

He stopped you from moving your fingers any longer, he pulled them out, and before you could whine at the emptiness, he inserted his own digits inside.

��H-Hiro.” Gasping, you looked at him with needy eyes, begging him to move.

Hiro pressed his lips together and scissored his fingers in and out of you experimentally. You moaned, throwing your head back shamelessly. The reaction he got from you was enough to encourage him to add another digit and started to fingerfuck you.

Your hips bucked wildly against his hand, you were already close, and having Hiro’s long fingers inside you was too much. They could reach so much deeper than your own fingers and hit the sweetest spots you could only wish you could with your own digits.

So, this was what made humans human. The attraction and lust towards one another. The feeling of guilt had never sprouted in Hiro, not even once. Not even when he was a child. Perhaps, that was the reason why he felt so much more alive than he ever did in his life.

His mind was going crazy, the consciousness he had was getting fuzzy as he used the entire strength of his arm to fingerfuck you.

Your walls pulsated around his digits, clamping on them and sucking him in deeper.

Oh, so needy.

Hiro leaned further down to close the distance between his face and crotch. Your legs shook in anticipation until he lolled out his tongue to take an inexperienced lick against your cunt.

It made you moan audibly.

Wanting to hear your cute moans again, Hiro continued lapping at your pussy and moving his fingers inside of you. Your juices he managed to slurp were… sweet. He could taste them, unlike any other things he had tried eating and drinking, he could actually taste your nectar. You tasted like candy to him and oh, you had no idea how much he had missed the delicious aroma of candy.

While he was slurping your juices, you were clutching on your bedsheets and your toes were curling in pleasure. You arched your back before placing your hands on his head, fingers carding through his silky hair.

Soon enough you were on the edge, the white pleasure building in your gut was spreading all over your body. Legs shaking violently, you pulled Hiro’s hair and moaned as the euphoria washed over you before your body went completely limp on your bed.

Hiro stood above you as you were trying to catch your breath on the mattress, he marveled at the sight of your afterglow.

He was breathing hard, inhaling as if he actually needed the air to survive. Was this excitement? Satisfaction? Salvation?

He was feeling overwhelmed with feelings of passion. He desperately wanted to see you like that again.

Oh.

That was it.

At that moment, he felt more alive than he ever did before. He knew he was alive.

[orange-waterfalls]

G-Bots (TM)

Googleplier (x4) x viewer!reader

ty anon for the request!

A/N: Funny story! I am no longer physically capable of writing normally! I tried so hard to be normal and just veered off into SCP/Cryptid viewer territory because I like expanding on the idea that the viewer is Not Human! Anyways, you’re hanging out with the Googles. That is it. Nothing is wrong. You do not recognize the bodies in the water haha anyways I think I like went a little creepypasta-esque at the end there but it’s fine I think probably. It’s fine. Might be a little weird in terms of story, but i think this was more focused on world building to me. Probably seen as more platonic than romantic, but see it however you wish. Enjoy!

Word count: 2.5k

G-Bots (TM)

You wheezed just a bit as you sped through wherever-the-fuck you were. Sure, maybe that was a bad idea. Sure, Dark was a little bit threatening and SURE, you were supposed to be back by now, and the fact that you weren’t back with Mark trying to convince him NOT to split up was the tiniest bit problematic. You weren’t even sure this was a building? Were you in the void? Goddammit, not again…

You stopped, concluding that this was bullshit and you did not want to do it right now. You bent over, hands on your knees and took deep breaths. You stared into the emptiness for a bit, then looked around for a moment, just trying to figure things out. You needed to reassess. It was basically one big, long hallway with random twists and terms every few meters. You’d always end up back at the paintings of… them… and knew you’d gone too far. You did that over, and over, and over again. At this point you thought Dark had just forgotten about you. You took a deep breath in and let it out. You stood up straight and looked up at the paintings. You heard their voices echo through your head a bit. You squeezed your eyes shut and your head twitched.

“You’re alright… you’re ok… cool it…” You whispered to yourself. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Meditate. Think.

You looked on either side of the hall and, for the first time, you noticed doors extending down into the void and not stopping. You let out a breath. You felt a slight sense of dread. Something was telling you not to enter the rooms. Some little voice in the back of your head that sounded suspiciously like Mark. But, hey, what else were you gonna do?

“Ok… do i want to enter the door on the left or the door on the right?” You asked yourself. You paused to think about it. After a few seconds you felt yourself jerk forward a bit. Your brain felt staticy and you felt compelled to the left. You turned the knob and opened the door slightly. Immediately you heard music that might be in an SCP game, and a voice that sounded suspiciously like “do you recognize the bodies in the water?”. You were hoping no, and you bailed before you had a chance to look. You ended up almost exactly in your previous position in the hall. Your brain felt fuzzy again, and this time you gravitated to the right. You opened the door just a little, maybe to see what was inside, but again you heard the SCP ambiance.

But this time it was from behind you. So, like any smart person, you swung the door open, slammed it behind you and did your best to lock it. But there was no lock. So you stood. Waiting. Nothing happened.

Of course nothing happened. Why would anything happen? Dark wouldn’t want you to get hurt… probably. This was his domain. Probably. If you were alive, it’s because he wanted you to be. If you were in this room, it’s because he wanted you to be.

Speaking of: Where the hell were you?

You turned around to look behind you. In the blank white room there was a single grey couch with all 4 Google androids sitting on it. Apparently they were recharging, because they hadn’t noticed you standing there and also they were plugged into an outlet in the wall. You hadn’t considered that they had to physically plug into something to charge up, but the thought made you snort.

Bad idea.

All of their eyes snapped open at once, revealing the glow of their assigned colors. They all stood up and began walking towards you in unison. You felt a slight sense of dread. Even so, you tried to grab the doorknob, the one that apparently was no longer there, and cursed under your breath when you could only feel the smooth wall behind you. The androids stopped, staring at you. You cleared your throat.

“Hey…” you laughed nervously, “So, uh, funny story, actually-”

“You are not supposed to be here,” The original Googleplier, Blue, stated.

“Well, see, that’s where this whole thing started, um, see, Mark wanted to split up-”

“No human is allowed inside of this room, and not you, either.”

“Well-” You stopped, processing what he said, “Wait. ‘Either’? I’m human.”

“No, you’re not,” Google Green said. You wanted to be offended, but you were more confused.

“What do you mean? I’m human!” You argued.

“What color’s your hair?” Red asked with a mean smirk on his face. You opened your mouth to respond, and an amalgamate of voices saying “BROWNBLACKBLONDEWHITERED” came out. You slapped a hand over your mouth.

“... what the hell was that?” Your muffled voice whispered. Well, you thought it was probably yours.

“What’s your eye color?” BROWNGREENBLUEAMBERYELLOW exited your being before you could even try to answer.

“Do you have any pets?” That one just ended with a computer error sound from you.

“... huh.” You dropped your shoulders a little. The revelation probably should’ve upset you more.

“What are you doing here?”

“I… do not recognize the bodies in the water.” You explained.

“Ah, I see. Darkiplier would want you to not die, therefore you may stay.”

“Ha. Wow. Who knew the Googleplier androids-”

“G-Bots.”

“... what?”

“We are legally not allowed to use the name ‘Google’ anymore. We are now G-Bots.”

“... legally.”

“We were discontinued. And sold. And signed a contract.”

“So does that mean I can’t call you Google anymore?”

“No, that is simply my name. The name of us as androids, however, is now G-Bots.”

“Ok. What about them?” You pointed to the other three.

“Yellow is Oliver, Green is Lee, Red is Elliott.”

“And you’re just Google?”

“They’ve been trying to change my name to Gregor. I deeply dislike it.”

“It’s a good name.” Oliver suggested, smiling.

“Means vigilant.” Lee shrugged.

“Don’t be a pussy, Greg.” Elliott adopted a shit-eating grin as he leaned a little closer to Google.

“You can do… whatever you wish. Just do not be like them, DA.” Google instructed through gritted teeth.

The room began to shift color and expand. The couch was still grey in the center, but there were now four sections of each of the colors. The yellow section was filled with flowers, with a laptop on a desk next to a switch and a little Vector robot sitting by on the windowsill that showed a colorful meadow with bees buzzing to and fro. It glitched for a moment, so you knew the window wasn’t real. The green section had large houseplants and looked a bit like a greenhouse, and had an Xbox hooked up to a TV in the corner and seemed to have a view of a lake in the faux-window. The red section had miscellaneous wires and computer parts and lights here and there, looking like a fire hazard, and a PC on a table, while the window showed what appeared to be space. Google’s section was absolutely spotless, not a single thing anywhere, apart from a tiny skateboard next to a PS4 in the corner, and the window showed computer code.

“Wow.” You said. You might be stuck here for a while, so you might as well enjoy it.

Though you wondered who DA was. -- You hate to say it, but you had a favorite G Bot. It was kind of like having a favorite child, in your mind. You felt like they somehow knew that you had a favorite, but you didn’t know why.

Oliver was the sweetest by far, immediately going to make you as comfortable or entertained as possible while you were with him. He asked you if you wanted to watch something, if you wanted to play a game, if you were hungry, etc. It was kind of like going over to a friend’s house for the first time. He was enthusiastic to the point where he was shaking with anxiety over wanting to make you happy. You thought he didn’t get many visitors and maybe that was why. He showed you his flowers, and the bees, and a small painting in the corner, hoping for  validation. His glowing eyes seemed to dull when you moved on to the next section, but said you’d visit him again. That did help, but he turned away sadly and went to water his flowers.

Lee seemed as though he couldn’t care less if you were there. He told you where everything was and that you could do whatever. If you asked for help, he would stop what he was doing and help you. Once you understood, he immediately resumed his previous task. He was a bit cold, like Google, but in a “I am very busy but I am still here if you need me” sort of way. He played a game or two with you, having a preference for the puzzle games more than anything else. Puzzle horror, more specifically. If there was a shooting part, he immediately shoved the controller into your hands, saying he didn’t want to do that part. When you left, he simply continued with his work without a goodbye.

Elliott tried so hard to ignore you for the longest time. You could hear him scoff and growl anytime you made any sort of noise. You were self conscious at first, but you came to understand that he was just an asshole. You started on a game, playing for a few minutes, and felt the red couch sink next to you because he had sat down next to you. If he thought you sucked (which he did) he would snatch the controller from you and finish whatever you were doing before giving it back. He refused to say anything or help you, either. He’d just make rude noises and walk away occasionally before coming back. When you left, he seemed a lot angrier than he had before, and wouldn’t say goodbye to you. He turned away with a huff and started pressing random buttons on the controller.

Google was by far the least interested in anything you had to do. You sat on the couch next to him, and he didn’t move an inch. You sat there for a bit, waiting, but he did not move. You stood up, walked around, messed with a few things, attempted to play a game or two. Google didn’t move. You pulled up the Gamer ChairTM and sat directly in front of Google, arms crossed. You sighed. Finally, he looked up at you.

“Is there something you need?” He asked in that monotone voice of his.

“I’m bored,” you said.

“Go to one of the others,” He closed his eyes.

“What are you doing?” You asked, curious.

“That is not-” He sounded exasperated.

“Hey Google, what are you doing?” You interrupted like the little shit you were

“Currently, this G Bot system is recharging its battery. This G Bot is at: 69%.” He shifted to a purely robotic voice.

“Haha nice.”

“This G Bot’s primary objective is to answer questions as quickly as possible. Would you like to ask a question?”

“Yes. What do you like to do, Google?”

“I enjoy answering your questions. Do you have any more?”

“What company owns you?”

“G-Bots were recently sold by the Google company to Warfstache Incorporated.”

“Wilford has a company?”

“Warfstache Incorporated is co-owned by Wilford ‘Motherloving’ Warfstache and Damien-Dami-Da-Darkiplier.” He glitched while answering.

“Who’s Damie-”

“The Corporation owns shows such as ‘Markiplier TV’, ‘Warfstache Tonight!’, and ‘Hire My Ass’. Do you have any more questions?”

“Do you pass the Turing Test?”

“Wondering if you have to treat me with basic decency?” He shifted back to his less robotic, but still monotone, voice.

“No. Just wondering.”

Neither of you spoke again for a while. He did scold you when you tried to move the couch with him still on it, so… progress. -- You were beginning to suspect that Google didn’t like you very much.

The blue one. Google. The other ones liked you. Oliver ranted to you for a whole half hour about different kinds of bugs and the hierarchy of bees. The queen is assassinated when she is bad for the hive, it would seem. Lee made you play Resident Evil with him because he didn’t like the fighting, but he liked figuring out what to do. You frantically passed controllers back and forth a lot. Elliott basically did speedruns of several games, you watching intently the whole time. He seemed to like the attention and actually smiled at you whenever he finished one.

But Google didn’t like you. He ignored you, and told you not to touch anything, and scowled whenever you asked him personal questions. Not like “what’s your sexuality” type of personal questions. More like… “what’s your favorite color and why is it blue” sort of questions. He didn’t like them either way.

But the others liked you, and that was pretty neat.

You still wanted Google to like you though.

“Hey Google,” he perked up with the little “do-do!” noise, “Can you guys go into your different sections?”

“All G-Bots have the ability to pass into other’s color-coordinated sections,” He answered politely.

“Why don’t you?”

“We don’t want to.”

“Do you get along?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you?”

“Celine dislikes when colors are mismatched.”

“Who’s-”

“I’m sorry, this G Bot needs to charge.”

“But you haven’t been-”

“This G Bot needs to charge.”

“Come on, if you--”

“This G Bot needs to charge.”

You quieted and plopped into the chair. You stared at Google. His eyes flickered for a moment before they closed. -- The other Bots knew who Celine and Damien were, they just weren’t telling you. Their eyes always flickered when you asked, but they wouldn’t tell you.

You threatened not to play with Lee anymore. He said he could play on his own. You could see that he didn’t want to. You played Alien: Isolation. His eyes seemed duller.

You threatened not to watch Elliott’s speedruns. He said he didn’t care. You could tell that he did. You watched him play Hollow Knight. His eyes seemed duller.

You threatened not to listen to Oliver’s rants. He looked terrified, but he said that was fine. You could tell it wasn’t. You begged him to tell you. He looked sad.

“Who’s Damien?” You asked softly, stepping towards him.

“I can’t tell you,” He shifted back.

“Who’s Celine?” You stepped forward.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Who’s DA?”

All of the G-Bots stopped what they were doing. You heard static and felt like you were being watched. -- You looked up at the color on the outside of the museum.

You were doing something. You were doing something.

Were you robbing this place? It felt like you were. What happened to Mark? What happened… to you?

You stared at the doors, feeling a slight sense of dread. Something in the back of your head was telling you this wasn’t right. To go home. To…

--

“Ignorance is Bliss. Try Again?”

[shachihata]

my favorite mario video essays on youtube (full commentary)

here’s a link to a no commentary version of this post. on this list i limited myself to one video per channel for the sake of variety, but on the other list i am MUCH more liberal with what i chose to put on there so if you’re looking for more mario-related content, there ya go :v

sm64 - watch for rolling rocks - 0.5x a presses (like ok yeah parallel universes ok yeah whatever haha funny take away the meme context of it and this is GENUINELY a classic of mario video essays. like even if you’ve never had ANY experience with mario glitches pannenkoek is SO fucking good at explaining it in an easily-comprehensible way. the editing is top-notch, the concept of these mario challenges themselves is fucking insane, this one LEGALLY has to be on the list. everybody say "thank you pannenkoek" right fucking now for his years of sm64 research and his contributions to the sm64 community.)

super paper mario - the greatest mario story ever told (the central thesis of this essay is, and i quote, “love is, without a doubt, the most central theme of super paper mario and one that embodies every aspect of its progression... although [the worlds] might seem different simply for the sake of level variety, they are all united under [this] single concept” which really is just the only fucking thesis that matters in the whole world. very very good analysis of the story of what i find to be a very very good game)

super mario 64 tool-assisted speedrun world record explained (GIVE THIS ONE A CHANCE. this video single-handedly introduced me to the fucked-up world of mario speedrunning bismuth is SO good at making essays that, even if they’re not necessarily Easily Digestible because of how many technical concepts are introduced in them, are REALLY fun to watch if you’re willing to engage with the material. videos like this remind me of why i am so fascinated with the work speedrunners do. it is so unbelievable how much genuine research and testing and time goes into making tases and totally just breaking a game like sm64 apart.)

crowdsourcing cpu power to go fast in paper mario: ttyd - recipes@home (i LOVE tasmalleo so much this guy is the math professor of the paper mario speedrunning community it is absolutely unbelievable how much work he’s done to just break this game wide open. to quote feralphilosopher from the comments: “this is the funniest use of crowdsourced cpu that i’ve ever heard.” to quote malleo himself: “there are more orders to cook recipes in than there are atoms in the entire observable universe. we need YOUR HELP to shave seconds off the ttyd 100% tas.” and that’s all you need to know.)

super mario bros: the human limit (summoningsalt summoningsalt my beloved. this one revolves around speedrunning super mario bros but introduces its technical concepts in a much more casual way than bismuth does that’s wayyy easier to understand. really it’s more about the history of super mario bros speedrunning rather than the specific technical details involved in the run, and summoningsalt creates a really sick narrative around its main runners that you simply cannot help but get invested in. if you like this style of video i HEAVILY recommend everything else’s he’s ever made. if i wasn’t restricting myself to just one video per channel i would’ve slapped basically all of his videos onto this list)

the quiet sadness of mario galaxy (literally almost cried watching this video essay. it’s a shorter one, but jacob geller packs SO much emotion into his analysis of how mario galaxy uses its setting to its maximum advantage in creating its rich atmosphere... like i lose my mind just thinking about it)

how speedrunners beat mario odyssey without cappy (almost) (pretty easy-to-understand, shows you a glimpse at wtf is going on in the mario speedrunning community without losing you in the technical details. it is SO much fun to watch runners pull off increasingly difficult and weird and fucked-up glitches in order to accomplish completely arbitrary challenges that they set for themselves. also did you know odyssey speedrunners play with both their hands and their feet. i wish i didn’t)

the history of super paper mario speedrunning [any% world record progression] (i love watching people talk about what they're passionate about and this is 2 hours of listening to people talk In Detail about what they're passionate about. i have to warn that it’s very very slow-paced, especially at the beginning, but you can tell that it’s because the commentators are really invested in the spm speedrunning community they helped to build and they don’t want to skip over any details while hyping up different runs and different discoveries, LOL.)

the complex beauty of super mario sunshine (i love deep thematic analysis for games and media that you don’t think have anything To Be Thematically Analyzed and this video is no exception. listening to this guy talk about what makes super mario sunshine so special to him is truly just. a heartwarming experience. plus he gives a really interesting explanation about what makes super mario sunshine such an engaging game for so many people, despite all of its technical flaws... just very very fun to listen to overall!)

every copy of super mario 64 is personalized: a deeper look (this one is so funny. like this is just the funniest video in the world i think. it basically takes the creepypasta/conspiracy theory that sm64 has its own personal lavender town effect and “documents” “evidence” that the theory is real like it takes itself VERY seriously even though the further you watch it just gets more and more off-the-rails unbelievable to the point where the contrast is just fucking hilarious to me. fair warning for unreality/uneasy ”horror” aspects because the video itself is narrated as if the whole “personalization” theory is true, lol)

super mario rpg: the lost legacy of the legend (i’ve gotta say that this one is MUCH easier to understand if you already have some prior knowledge of What Super Mario RPG Is, haha. at the same time though, it’s a really really cool deconstruction of the nostalgia people feel for the snes’s legacy and a neat analysis of smrpg as a lot of western kids’ first introduction to turn-based rpg-esque games. plus the humor in this is fucking fantastic. comparing microtransactions to the nintendo power tips hotline. “i WAS baby.” going out of my mind)

speedrunners break paper mario by using ocarina of time (some background: ace, or arbitrary code execution, is an exploit found in certain games that essentially lets you manipulate the game’s memory to, well... literally reprogram it from the inside out. this is possible in the original paper mario, as long as the legend of zelda: ocarina of time was plugged into the n64 before it! abyssoft does a GREAT job at covering the history of ace in paper mario in an approachable manner and the content of this video is just... it’s unbelievable that this is even POSSIBLE. absolutely fantastic. you will lose your mind)

the original mario bros. (i can’t spoil this one. i literally can’t spoil this one or i’ll ruin it if you haven’t already watched it. did you know that the first official mario bros game was released on the game & watch in 1983? you’ll know too much about it by the end of this video. “[donkey kong jr.] is clearly a being capable of logical reasoning, as established in donkey kong jr. math.” just trust me.)

[alotsgonnachange]

Mystic Messenger Saeran’s AE Thoughts (.......And Prayers..) #Spoilerz

Hello, I just finished Saeran’s after ending and I have a lot of things to say and I am going to write it down while I'm still all keyed up about it.

First of all… Please DO NOT ask me how much money I spent to finish this as fast as I did…. I’m grown but my bank account is certainly going to have a good ole fashioned CHUCKLE at this….. It’s been a long quarantine I deserve a lil happiness as a treat methinks!

I have been playing this absolutely insane game since I think 2016? When I first started playing the deep routes had JUST come out I think? And I was just finishing up high school and am now a college grad...lmao

I’ve played all routes at least once except Jaehee but i’ve seen walkthroughs of her route (I’ve heard it makes you hate Jumin and he’s my favorite so um. hehe). V’s and Saeran’s routes I found to be so emotionally intense and just….a lot and I've been waiting a long ass god damn time for this after ending okay…. I would theorize and make up an ending in my head but i’m no writer so it was hard to figure out lol. I’m a Jumin stan mostly but I love everybody and yeah I should probably play that jumin dlc too but I need like a DAY to recover from Saeran’s AE. Enough about me HERE are my thoughts on it overall

Major Saeran AE Spoilers under da cut!

Can we please discuss V showing up to the C+R conference room with basically chloroform and made everybody Pass Out like??? I was alone in my room at like midnight just SCREAMING at my phone???? And the creepy ass CG ???? It’s like that gif of sarah paulson from ahs being like “I put arsenic in the wine….and the pasta”

Anyway I screamed at V a lot during this process!!

Loved RFA being sweet and kind to saeran (before V fucking drugged them…)

This is such common V behavior “I have to do it all myself...there’s no other way..” GIRL SHUT UPPP You do this every route....

SO many CG’s and I enjoy them a lot

Saeran’s sprite looks a little TOO crisp compared to everyone else but maybe its a glitch??? V next to him is in 480p while saeran is like 1080p

Hearing both Saeran and Saeyoung missing the other brother the whole time??? PAIN. All my homies know is PAIN

BOSS and his V for Vendetta ass guy fawkes mask??? I literally yelled “this game is TERRIBLE!!” several times at my phone

Their dad is so>??????? When he was sitting on the couch with saeyoung in that one CG while simultaneously telling him to kill himself?????????? Maybe chairman han is actually the best dad in this game somehow

When V and Rika were like we’re back together teehee teehee okay pack it up bonnie and clyde ..

When chairman han calls u and says hes jealous of u and saeran…..HUH????? I’m calling HR

When they go to the apartment and see boss and vanderwood and poor saeyoung is sitting there seeing his brother for the first time in years i wanted to D word sooooo bad like PAIN...PAIN….

Can we HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT JUMIN HAN BEING THE BEST CHARACTER IN THE GAME AND HE LOST EVERYTHING IN THIS AE……. he just took the blame and moved on jumin what the hell….. I love him so much r we serious? He watched his 2 closest friends betray him in the worst way and found out abt how Rika abused Saeyoung and Saeran???? I felt just AWFUL. Terrible ...Terrible….

Rika’s change in demeanor from Saeran's actual route is certainly a Choice. I find her much more bearable this time around and unfortunately i think I was too nice to her and ended up with a bad end LMFAO

I was happy to see Saeran stand up for himself and become stronger and confident. You go king!

The CG of Yoosung laying in Zen’s lap is everything to me…

HOWEVER YUP I sure did get a bad ending and I was so mad fdsafdskfdhsf ! (I would be happy to clarify how I got the good one the second time.) MAKE SURE To SAVE EARLY in days 2 and 3 bc the branches on day 4 is where the bad end will show up. For me it was the first day 4 chat and then a story mode titled “SAVIOR”.... If you see that RUN FOR THE HILLS!!

I was so mad! But I had saved in day 2 and replayed and MANAGED to get good end

I’m obsessed with everyone calling V and Rika “that psychotic couple” like…..its true its true…

No those two are so toxic… V’s route was torture watching them go on and on about the sun like yo can yall just call each other babe like normal people.

I respect straight people but not V and RIka that shit was just wrong… Straight marriage was a mistake

Oh lord i also FULLY Forgot Rika killed the twins’ mother…. Yeah that scene was um Certainly a lot but it needed to happen eventually

Like it’s good they know but damn that storyline is just so bleak

I think it was satisfying TO A DEGREE….To see Rika understand where she was wrong, why she was wrong, fess up and even APOLOGIZE! I was very surprised.

Saeran and Saeyoung are Certainly twins with the amount that those two self sacrifice in every route MY GOD…..

The scene with Jumin talking to his father and the other scene of him praying oh my god I cannot tell you how happy I was to see him begin to understand and address his own feelings in a route that was not his own. My main problem with Jumin’s route has always been the trapping MC in his penthouse aspect.. This way Jumin understands love and emotions without being overly possessive !!! YAY also loved seeing him be on good terms with his dad who was surprisingly profound

That last Story mode was Really a Lot…. and Strange things occurred which I will get into in just a minute

Jumin becoming a politician is so funny but ngl … i see it.

Yoosung going to france to study pastries ok king I see u! (it made more sense to me than the vet thing anyway)

Lastly Zen FURRY ERA

MY BEEF With the AE

I was happy with how they handled it for the most part. I think Cheritz heard our feedback about V’s after ending and was like okay….let’s try something different

HOWEVER

Saeran…. Sweet kind saeran… IS SO AFFECTIONATE HAHA….

He must have said I love you like 300 times…..very mushy gushy flowery language...and maybe that’s just his personality but for me it was like eating cake with buttercream cake. It means well, but god damn is it sugary and going to cause a stomach ache later.

He was just… SO MUCH! SO forward and ON all the time in his affections. I honestly felt kind of smothered and by day 3 and 4 I was sooooo over all the compliments… King you’ve come a very long way, but ur still putting MC on a pedestal and probably need to see a therapist.

Nextly….Rika and V….. Naw that knock out gas really ...that hurt lol. Coming from “I would do anything to protect RFA” V? Idk like…. EYE felt betrayed reading that. It was just hurtful. I can’t even imagine how the members would have felt as they were passing out. It was just so cruel. I suppose I understand why but like?? Just TERRIBLE

Them being in cahoots with the agency and the prime minister..HUH??? Also too much

V just felt so irresponsible like I do understand that he ended up in a weird web of secrets that’s hard to untangle but he’s so fucking stubborn he’s SO stubborn it makes me insane. Like sir… It seems like in other routes he wanted to try to protect Rika and the RFA.. But in this AE it seems more to me that he was like yeah i’m protecting Rika and That’s It… so fucking hurtful to me. Both of y’all apologize ESPECIALLY to the twins and Jumin..

The forgiveness thing…… Okay so I think some people will not like that Saeran decided to “forgive” the people who hurt him (Rika, V, Saejoong, his mother). I would point out that I actually think this was approached somewhat well. He says at one point that he doesn’t think they’re good or bad, just people. I think he sounded mature and like this was the way for him personally to accomplish his healing process. Would I have loved for Saeran to flip V and Rika off and kick Saejoong off a cliff? Yea I really would. But like…. If that’s what HE needs to do to heal then who am I to judge?

HOWEVER…. Everything Eye just said goes out the window when the scenes at the end with Saejoong come up… I was PERPLEXED. Like why did he HUG his deranged father who just kicked the shit out of him??? Also all the chat options that MC has with him r like blah blah you’re like this because no one loves you were so corny to me LMFAOOOO?

AND WHEN HE WAS IN THE ROOM LATER WITH SAERAN… i’m sorry but if that were me I would have called a nurse to deck his ass. Cool he turned himself in YOU SUCK SOOOO BAD AND I NEVER WANT YOU TO COME NEAR SAEYOUNG AND SAERAN AGAIN THANKS.

*scratches ass* I wish I got to see saeyoung and saeran finally sit down and have that first conversation after a long time and hug CG but the ending was fine I GUESS….. I dont care about ROMANCE I want those boys to be happy brothers together

Anyway that was really emotionally exhausting but I fr think I got it out of my system after literal years… And I can rest in peace knowing the choi twins are happy. THATS ALL I WANTED TO KNOW!!!!

[reversecreek]

ziggy strutting up to me like this gif as i hold up a crucifix n say begone begone vile beast BEGONE from my vicinity i will NOT buy u a happy meal wretched little boy...... some live action rp to start this off..... and SCENE. takes my bow. his pinterest is here n his playlist is here.

* dylan minnette, cis male + he/him  | you know ziggy benson, right? they’re twenty-four, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, all of his life? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to hand crushed by a mallet by 100 gecs like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole glitching televisions impaled by remotes, nonchalantly texting the babes as a stove fire ravages your kitchen & cartoons turned up so loud it fries your eardrums thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is november 24th, so they’re a sagittarius, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( nai, 24, gmt she/her  )

HISTORY;

from the second ziggy ws born he didnt stop screaming. within the first hours of his life he gave his father an ear splitting headache tht prompted him to say “that uncooked chicken’s fucking demonic” n joke abt popping “it” in the oven to roast. when this understandably received disgusted glances frm the nursing staff he ws all like “jeez alright alright i’m kiddin i’m kiddin can’t a guy have a joke around here?” n i feel like that sets up their dynamic so nice n sweetly <3 (sarcasm) (lips pursed)

frm day one he ws just honestly a rly hyperactive child. when he laughed he’d shriek it out at the absolute top of his lungs bc he’d just get this huge giddy surge of energy all the way to the very tips of his toes n it’d hit him like a shock from a fork in a plug socket. their parenting style ws rly just lazy tbh.... they didn’t have much time for disciplining him. ziggy’s mum wld halfheartedly be like “ziggy quiet now....” n then go bk to nuking whatever vegetables she’d defrosted until they tasted like dinosaur bones..... this wld not make any difference in ziggy’s behaviour

his father rly just took the stance that it ws ziggy’s mum’s job to discipline him or raise him in general which is. 🔪 please enter the 20th century sir.... get ur noggin sorted..... needless to say he wsn’t much involved in ziggy’s life n honestly generally jst didn’t like him. ziggy was a responsibility he didn’t want (accidental prregnancy) n in his literal words once said (blatantly while ziggy ws watching cartoons on the sofa) tht ziggy just “harshes my fucking vibe a lil bit”. 

he wound up leaving when ziggy was six ish.... ziggy watched thru a crack in the blinds as his mum tried to grab at his jacket to make him stay as he lugged out his suitcase..... she even tried to physically cling onto him so he cldn’t get in his ride bt the door wound up slamming n she sat on her knees watching the lights pull out the drive n even long after they were gone. ziggy didn’t rly kno what to do abt this (emotions hd never been smthn he particularly understood, his own or how to handle other people’s) so after watching her fr 5 minutes he went out n gently shook her shoulder n was like. mom come inside u look weird out here. FKGHSFHGSFHKGFHKSGSFGHK. this was him trying to show love <3

ziggy’s mum is like.... rly relationship dependent. she gets all her self worth n validation frm whtever man she’s dating.... so she went on this like.... wild rampage of jst. dating a very large string of men. they ranged frm dreadfully boring to downright awful n were always below her standards. ziggy quite literally hated. all of them. every last one. even one that tried to b nice to him by offering to help him do his math homework when he ws 13 (bc ziggy was struggling a lot w this) n in response ziggy loudly barked until the man gt scared n stumbled backwards into a dining chair on his way out of the room. KGHFHKSJHFJGSHKFG

while him n his mum hv a kind of strained situation (there’s a great deal of resentment from her end n kind of. blaming him fr “driving his father away” n it’s never spoken abt bt it’s very much Present in their relationship n honestly ziggy kind of resents her too fr bringing some of the men into their lives tht she did) there is. love there...... sometimes she’ll like. reach out to cup the back of his head n he’ll duck his head away n be like wtf are u doing checking me for lice? n she’ll jst smile like :)...... knowing that’s how he loves. KHSFGKJGHKSFGFHKGSHF. ugh we love men who know how to process their emotions yesssss king give us nothing <3

(abuse n violence tw) idk i won’t go into it too much bt even tho ziggy’s constantly like 🙄 when his mum shows him affection he wld quite literally. kill fr her n almost did one time.......... narrowly avoided getting charged w assault when one of her bfs was drunk n evil n he went into protective mode.... idk he. has gone thru a lot n seen a lot n so has his mum. they look after each other the best they kno how despite the negatives in their relationship.... it’s complex <3

literally got in trouble so. often. at school. he ws always hyperactive (undiagnosed adhd n also probably not helped by the fact he ws jst allowed to eat sm junk food w 459729457952 sugar percentage all hours of the day) bt when his dad left n like. dealing w acting out so severely at home where his mum’s bfs were concerned it rly escalated..... i jst think he ws like. literally a terror. probably got suspended so many times. maybe even was permanently expelled before he cld get his diploma honestly. set off a firework in school hallway. smthn absolutely reckless n stupid.

hs hd a bunch of jobs mostly in the service industry...... usually ends up getting fired.... worked at mcdonald’s fr a while n then one day he went in rly high n ate three cheeseburgers in front of a weeping child who hd ordered one.... promptly gt fired bt he ws like yo fuck this place i’m quitting n threw off his apron n was like who’s with me??? who’s joining the union??????? to the rest of the staff n they were all mostly like >_> <_< before security approached to forcibly remove him n he grabbed a cookie n crammed it into his mouth in rebellion mid frantic n frankly possessed escape.....

in terms of wht’s going on to this day w his living situation i honestly think he still lives w his mum. i can just see this. KHGFSKGHSFGKSFGH. in like. a ramshackle bungalow in delphinus heights.... having said tht she probably isn’t. there tht often nw she’s dating her latest man (jonas, somehow always sweaty no matter the weather, wears too many gold rings n smells like shoe cleaner) who owns a car dealership n thinks he’s a kingpin for it. still home sometimes tho.

PERSONALITY:

ziggy spends his days working shifts at an ice cream parlour (one he got fired from once bc he broke in high n ate sm ice cream he was lay on the floor in the bk pants unbuttoned stomach bulging sm calling himself garfield saying he had too much lasagna. they hired him bk tho bc he has a harem of middle aged women who lust after him n it brings customers....) or like. cruising parties...... setting off fireworks.... skateboarding...... breaking into abandoned buildings.... filming stupid jackass type tricks....... playing guitar hero...... getting drunk at the arcade..... sometimes busking fr cash in a tossed dwn hat (very badly) (thinks he’s sick at it however)........ or alternatively...... fucking chicks aha...... fuck.......... not exclusive to chicks tho just had to sound despicable bt :smirk: he’s bi Baby.... 

i won’t lie he’s kind of an asshole................ never rly was taught properly how to empathise with ppl so like he struggles w that....... sometimes he’ll say smthn tht’s genuinely just quite mean n doesn’t need to be said but he doesn’t rly realise it’s like bad. n he’s like. what’s the deal haha why are u mad...... 

fuckboy. genuinely jst. rly summarises it well. insatiable. sleeps around wildly. will say he’ll call u back n then will not call u back. lies like oh babe i’m moving to france tomorrow fuckkkkkkkkk sucks so bad that we can only have one night but let’s make it special yeah? tits? n then they’ll see him casually skating past them on the street a week later n be like well clearly he’s not in france. ziggy doesn’t care.

calls himself a “genius inventor” bc he once gutted a vintage analog television n made it into a fish tank. it literally leaked water a bit. still convinced he is a literal visionary never seen before never done again. he’s like i’m on the brink of greatness. i’m the next einstein.

has a bit of a god complex where he thinks he’s the sexiest person in any given room n it’s kind of funny bc like dylan minnette’s sexy to me bt tht isn’t a widespread opinion n ur being a bit bold ziggy...... regardless has confidence thru the roof tht isn’t rly deterred by anything or anyone.....

dyes his hair 49729572459752 colours every colour under the sun. sometimes all at once jst different patches. wears lots of tie dye tshirts n basketball shorts even tho he doesn’t play basketball. rly colourful sneakers. just lots of loud colours tbh. often wears a paper clip in his ear as an earring. pierced it himself. someone probably recorded him doing it fr his insta story. probably was drunk.

drives a vespa around tht is baby blue with pastel yellow polka dots. it has lots of tin cans attached to the back by string like on those cars when u just got married. he did not just get married. u can hear him arriving frm over a street away.

almost never pays fr anything bt is always like “yo it’s my treat” n then either dine n dashes or u have to pay

his idea of romance is nuking a hot pocket as breakfast in bed n then complaining he’s hungry n eating half

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

fuckboy antics: he’s insatiable. rabid. notorious. mayb they fkd n he didn’t call........ jst completely ghosted........ mayb they were genuinely into him n he honestly built up kind of false pretences abt them having a connection n then jst dipped..... cld  b good fr angst n drama <3 someone please egg his house he deserves it <3

high skl heathens: locals tht were equally chaotic in hs..... just picture him having this group of misfits tht were like so loud n always getting up to no good doing god knows what god knows where.... probably gt arrested together breaking into an old abandoned hospital one time........... rly just doing the absolute most at all times............. probably so loud........... drinking n smoking far too much.....

an attempted teenage relationship: i’m like. tentative to even put this one bc i just feel like ziggy wld be a shit bf. KJHGFSHGFHGSFHGFKGHFKSG. but. maybe it ended in drama.....i’d say this wld probably be a girl bc in hs he probably ws less open w his sexuality... maybe ziggy cheated on her or she cheated on him................ angst........ strife.... we love it we love it........ i crash my car into the bridge... i don’t care... i love it... sudden icona pop moment me stood on stage singing karaoke.... it’s just gone 7am as i write this so i apologise if this is losing any. coherency. smiles so sexy....

last adolescent plot i swear: i picture when ziggy was expelled he somehow amassed a large group to protest w signs outside the school fr him to be accepted back. it didn’t work. he threw a party when he received news he hadn’t got back in anyway. maybe ur muse was involved or helped organise this or was violently opposed.

enemies: ppl who just. don’t like ziggy bc like honestly that’s so fair n valid. KJHGFKGHKSFGHSGKHSFHG..... mayb he like. exploded their mailbox one time when they were younger. mayb he skated over their toes. mayb he fucked their bitch aha fuck................. (joking btw) (don’t condone misogyny) (hashtag feminism). cld be fun to play around w

fwb: probably hs a few of these......... mayb they’re cool w things being no strings attached n lax n at ease w ziggy being the mess tht he is in general..... mayb they want more bt ziggy cannot provide...... mayb they literally don’t get on at all n this is their only mutual ground n they keep coming bk to each other.... :smirk:..... whatever u Farncy....

maybe ziggy’s mum dated ur muse’s dad at one point???? we can discuss this if u think it fits..... cld be fun to play around w............

coworkers: past or present r fun..... mayb they were like WTFFF is this guy fking ONNN at a past job (he’s had a few in the food service industry so pretty open in tht area)... mayb they work w him at the ice cream parlour now..... cn discuss the dynamic probably wld be dependent on the muse involved fr like. how he’d act n stuff.... :yum:

[rainbhrts94writes]

The Little Things

The first post on this blog of mine :) Based on a post I saw about the little moments that made people realize they had fallen in love <3

Go get your UwUs 

The Little Things

Taehyung

You had always made his heart flutter, doing funny little backflips in his chest. The little things always setting it off leaving him speechless. The way you ran through a field of flowers, how your laugh sounded like a bell when it caught the wind just right, the way you squeezed his arm when you were scared. 

Both of you were at the store, you have made it your mission to try on the oddest combinations possible, but somehow everything worked. You looked good in everything, and Taehyung meant that, despite how biased you thought he was. 

Taehyung was standing at the clearance rack, looking for something wacky when you came out in a pale blue number. You gave a quick look around; he assumed you were looking for him, so he began his walk over. Stopping himself short when he saw you smile at your reflection, clearly happy with your own appearance, you did a twirl and made the craziest face you could before fixing up your hair. 

His heart stopped, his breathing surprisingly calm as his mind came to a standstill. A small smile taking over his face as his brain repeated the same word over and over again. With a hop in his step, Taehyung walked back towards the fitting rooms, calling your name and watching as you turned a deep shade of red to your chest; Embarrassed, you had been caught making faces in the mirror.

“It’s okay, I love you anyway yea?” 

                                                      ~ o O o ~

Jimin

Jimin knew waiting backstage for him couldn’t be the most fun thing for you to do, but he appreciated it anyway. It’s not like you got to sit with him, but the time you did get to spend together was better than nothing. 

Usually, you were standing by the stage door, the first person to greet the boys when they came back towards the green room. For some reason though, he couldn’t find you. The show had wrapped recording nearly twenty minutes ago, he hoped you were okay, trying to stay distracted by the after show pleasantries. Hopefully you’d turn up soon.  

When you didn’t show up in the window of time used to break down the set and take makeup off his worry quickly turned to panic. Especially since nobody seemed to know where you had gone off to, not to mention the last person to see you may have been Jungkook, and he was the last one on stage earlier. 

Jimin walked around the entire studio, checking behind every unopened door and peeking in all the opened rooms until he heard that cute little mumble of yours. He hauled ass down that hallway, coming to a stop just shy of a tiny little green room, one reserved for gods knew who. Jimin reached out, just shy of saying your name when he noticed you were separating the fruit by color. 

It only took a moment before you made the funniest little noise of triumph, hands coming down to rest on your hips as you proudly stood over your work. Jimin held it together, he wouldn’t laugh when you looked so happy with yourself. 

His heart warmed, but he was unable to control his laughter when you took out your phone and sent him a photo captioned ‘See, I work hard too! /;3;/’

Startled your turned, eyes wide as color rushed to your ears. Jimin could tell you wanted to hide, but he wouldn’t let you, quickly pulling you into a hug, still trying hard to stifle his giggles. 

“I love you, but you’re crazy, I’ve been looking everywhere for you. This is the wrong green room (YN)-ah!”

                                                      ~ o O o ~

Namjoon

One of these days he was going to write down and record your laundry song. Namjoon had never once found the task enticing, usually letting his clothes build up until he needed to wear something that still happened to be dirty. That was when his washing happened. 

Since you had walked into his life, he’d had fresh food and clean clothes, and for that, he was thankful. He spent most of his time with you wandering around the river or hiking up his favorite path in the park you got lost in all those months ago. 

He noticed the songs one day when you thought he was taking a nap after one of those hikes. You had been putting away the groceries, and he couldn’t sleep anymore. Namjoon had contemplated getting up to help, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard you, rapping?

That’s when it all started; Namjoon found himself in the oddest places when you did chores. He had figured out you only rapped your way through them when you thought nobody was listening, and that made his chest hurt, in a good way. 

Finally, he did it. Having listened to you go through the lyrics multiple times, he had the laundry song memorized. Namjoon jumped to the recording studio, rapping out your song, unable to stop smiling even as you gave him a pout and that adorable, curious look. His smile grew even wider when you took in a breath, and your grip tightened on his forearm; Only realizing he wasn’t making fun of you when you had made it to the bonus lyrics he had come up with at the end. 

A permanent “I love you” that you could play on repeat for ages. 

                                                      ~ o O o ~

Hobi

It was how you met. Sitting at an airport in the US, waiting for your flight back to Korea, that had been delayed. Anytime anything even remotely serious seemed to be announced, you bit back a laugh. On occasion, one would escape, though you didn’t seem to mind, continuing on despite the glares. Why did that do things to him? Heart doing a backflip in his chest Hoseok swallowed hard.  

With a single shot of bravery and jet lag as a scapegoat, he plopped down beside you and asked to see what was so funny. Since then, your relationship had been nothing but a constant stream of memes. Each one of you trying to make the other laugh at the most inappropriate times. 

You were too cute when you were trying not to laugh. Your cheeks puffed up like one of those blowfish, and your eyes started to water until it all turned into a coughing fit. Hoseok wasn’t sure why he found it so endearing. Namjoon had once suggested that the challenge that came with making you laugh was the enticing part, Jin had argued it was the weird sputtering noise you made. 

Maybe they were both right.

One weird afternoon, you sat side by side in an empty apartment. Hoseok’s heart hammered in his chest, but despite the racing, he felt giddy? He couldn’t explain it, maybe that was because he couldn’t. At least not with words.

It happened suddenly, without warning Hoseok was flooded with “I love you” gifs. There it was again, his heart did that indescribable thing. When the room grew quiet of laughter, he looked up at you, the once gleeful expression in your eyes had morphed into warm recognition as petal pink dusted your cheeks. 

That was when he smiled at you. 

“I love you too.” Were the words he had been looking for, finally able to describe that feeling.

                                                       ~ o O o ~

Jungkook

Grocery day was Sunday, and you were the funniest person to go to the grocery store with. Any trip with his hyungs usually resulted in a hodge-podge of food and snacks that nobody needed, but everyone ate. You, on the other hand, were like a drill sergeant, always had a list, never went hungry. That was wild to him. 

It was so thorough. Each item placed on the list in order so you could find them by aisle. A huge part of him was amazed at you, not only was that the most efficient thing Jungkook had ever seen, your knowledge as to where everything in the store was astounded him. 

You always walked with such a purpose, slowing down only when the situation called for it. Like if an elderly person needed help getting something off a shelf, or a child unintentionally cut you off as they ran down the aisle. Otherwise, it was calculated and quick. Jungkook remembered your first trip to the store together, he had nearly mowed down two workers and knocked into something each time he had to turn down a new aisle. He had had to learn how to efficiently maneuver the cart if he wanted to keep going to the store with you. 

It had been nearly a month now since the two of you had gone shopping together. You had gone home to the states to visit with family. He had meant to tell you before you left, he really had. They were renovating the store. 

Your first trip when you returned was the funniest, you flew into a frustrated rage. Grumbling about how they “can’t just change where they put things like that.” It got better, though. Jungkook followed behind you with skill, happy to catch your drive-by swipes into the cart, so happy in fact he wasn’t paying attention nearly plowing into the back of you. 

Stopping abruptly, you turned around and looked at him, your face was utterly blank. 

“I don’t even remember why I came down this aisle.” it was so cute how confused you were, he couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“I love you.” He admitted in the middle of the breakfast aisle like an idiot. Despite the word vomit and his face flushing, his heart warmed when you closed the distance. 

                                                      ~ o O o ~

Jin

Jin didn’t think you knew just how funny you were. Not in like a ‘haha kind of way,’ no, your humor was all in your body language, those grand facial expressions. Never failing to make him snicker, resulting in your pouting, which only led to more teasing and laughter. 

He was sure one day you’d just get fed up with it, but so far, you had stuck around. Unable to completely repel his boyish charms. A statement that always earned him one of those sassy little eyerolls. His favorite, though, were those faces that you made when you slipped into a social glitch. 

It was like clockwork, the two of you would go out somewhere. Purchase something, whether it be food, a movie ticket, clothes. Somebody would tell you to enjoy something they clearly were not participating in, and without fail, you’d reply ‘you too.’ The blush that followed covered your entire face, your ears burning red hot as the color spread down your neck and chest. It was adorable, your hands would flail, and you’d apologize profusely. 

Luggage in hand, the two of you headed towards the bellman, placing your luggage on the cart before heading to check into the hotel. Tired, you stuck close to him, using him as a pillar to keep yourself upright as he talked to the clerk. She gave the usual spiel, going through the amenities, describing how to get to your room, the whole shebang. That’s when it happened. She wished us an enjoyable stay. 

Was it odd that I anticipated your funny response? The subtly-wrong, “Thanks, you too.” Probably, but that was alright. Right on cue, you seemed to realize what you had done, nearly knocking the rope’s up for the line over as you flailed about. 

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, teasing you up the escalator. You were pouting, poking at my side where it tickled the most when I let it slip.

“Stop, stop! I still love you I promise.” Pushed out through unabated laughter. 

For once in my life, I knew your response wasn’t compulsory, or a social glitch. You meant that ‘I love you too.’ when it flew past your smiling lips. 

                                                      ~ o O o ~

Yoongi

You always came by when he was working late, food in hand, and a soft smile on your face. Never saying much, but hewas happy to have you around. A comfortable silence hanging in the air. You always brought something to do. Most times, you brought a book or a sketch pad. Other’s you had work, something small you couldn’t quite finish while you were at the office that needed to be done. 

More often than not, you fell asleep on the couch in the studio. At first, Yoongi thought, maybe it was the music and the dim lighting. Then you passed out when he wasn’t playing with his recordings; it had to be the typing then, right?

Turns out, you were just comfortable. Yoongi liked that, liked that you never hid how you were feeling. Some days you came frustrated; others, your excitement couldn’t be contained. You were an open book, and even though he had never been one for reading, he enjoyed the story you seemed to be sharing with him. 

Today was one of those weird days, where you looked almost frustrated. Concentration lines showed on your forehead as your nose wrinkled. Fingers tapping furiously on your keyboard as you ‘tsked’ softly every so often. 

Yoongi was intrigued, he couldn’t quite figure out what was bothering you today, but he knew it was something. You were doing that thing he loved though. He had once told a reporter he loved his hands, but he may love yours more. Especially when they did what you were doing now. When you got to thinking really hard, your thumb would rub against the edge of one of your other nails. He wondered if it soothed you, or just gave you an outlet for your unplaced emotions. 

You didn’t move when he sat down beside you. Your eyes snapped up when he placed his hand on the small of your back. A smile slowly returning to your face as the tension you had been holding uncoiled. He doesn’t know what came over him; to this day he’ll tell you he was flying blind. 

Finally, relaxed against the couch, Yoongi moved to stand when you stopped him, grabbing his arm. He kissed your temple, the faintest, “I love you,” whispered against your skin. 

[nokikissa]

Whooooooooo did it, beat the story of borderlands 3 now. It took me 42 hours but I think I got still like some of those fight wave of enemies arena things I could do but I’ll look into that later, I did all the crew challenges and side mission outside of those type of things.

Story and character wise it was a bit of a mixed bag, there were a lot of things I like and couple things I really didn’t like, but all in all I had fun, the gameplay was excellent, and most likely I will play it again, to co-op with buddies or to try out different vault hunters.

Putting more in-depth thoughts about some story and character things under the cut, extreme major spoiler warning as I’ll be talking about like big plot moments and such.

I quite like most of the new characters they introduced in this, I’ve only played Fl4k and loved them, but from everything I’ve seen I feel like I’ll love the other new vault hunters as well. The Calypso twins were delightful villains, very entertaining but also like I couldn’t wait to get to kill them lmao. And then there’s like Ava, I loved her and her relationship with Maya that was good stuff. And Wainwright I quite liked as well, and I was very happy that Hammerlock finally has a boyfriend and is in a good relationship. And also Lorelei and Clay were both good too, tho I probably like Lorelei more of those haha.

How it handled some old characters tho.... That’s a bit mixed. Like I liked a lot of them: Lilith, Eliie, Tannis, Maya, Zer0, Sir Hammerlock.... Even Rhys! They got Rhys down surprisingly well in my opinion! Obviously he was bit more comedic and doofy but like it was still reminiscent of how Rhys acted in like comedic moments of tales, I could recognize where they got his personality from and so on, it was fine!

...Which makes it even more baffling that they fucked up Vaughn so completely that with Vaughn it feels like the writer maybe got a super vague description of the character at best which had been passed down through multiple people twisting it around like a game of broken telephone. I just don’t understand where they pulled some character traits for him at all.... During the game I tried my best to ignore his existence, which worked well for a long while until the game made you go back to pandora and made him story relevant again, god every time he spoke my reaction was like “please shut up...”

But. I knew that was coming. The Commander Lilith DLC and promotional pics and so on made it clear ahead of time that I would not like Borderlands 3 Vaughn. I had had time to go through the stages of grief and resign to being all well I’m gonna be one of those salty tales fans and keep on drawing content of like tales Vaughn and ignore the rest of the canon for him.

So anyway I was really liking the story during like the Promethea Atlas Vs. Maliwan Arc actually, Rhys and Zer0 and their interactions were fun, Katagawa was an enjoyable villain as well, I just hope the fandom don’t make him annoying to me... So yeah that arc was good and fun.... and then the Promethea Vault happened. I am still a bit on the fence about how I feel about Maya getting killed off. On one hand, I did not see that coming and it did get an emotional “Nooo D:” reaction out of me, which well I’ve seen games with similar character getting killed off scenes that are supposed to be a big deal but my reaction is just like “ok”, like Borderlands 2 with Roland for example. But like yeah I didn’t want her to die, and it feels like kind of a waste cos let’s face it in 2 she didn’t have that much personality since the game didn’t do voice lines for the vault hunters reacting to the story etc. So now she was finally getting to be her own character I feel like aaaand then she dies. :/

And then we moved on to the Eden 6 arc and initially I was excited all Oh get to meet Hammerlock’s Boyfriend! But soon my excitement soured............

So Aurelia’s evil now huh.... And like cartoonishly evil...... Man I hate what they did with Aurelia in this game, it really smashed my good mood coming from the promethea arc to this.... Like in pre-sequel sure she kept claiming herself to be evil and a bitch and so on, but yet when Jack did like actually horrible shit she did not agree with those, she felt bad about Felicity’s fate and didn’t agree with Jack killing the scientist, she even objected when Jack was killing off all claptraps! But nah here’s she’s evil, murdering people left and right and also fucked Troy Calypso cos idk she evil now  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Like god............ I really didn’t expect Aurelia of all the characters whose portrayal I’d be having this much issues but here we are... I guess I’m more pissed about it atm cos as I said with Vaughn I knew what was coming, but with Aurelia I kinda feel Bait and switched by the promotional material cos in all of those that I saw they showed like both the Hammerlocks and Wainwright standing next to each other so you know I was expecting her to be an ally, like maybe she and Alistair had started to tolerate each other and so on but NOPE! Go kill this character you like! Thanks a lot gearbox...

That’s the major issues I had with characters I suppose, Tho it is a bit disappointed Maya and Zer0 were only vault hunters from 2 that showed up. Would’ve been fun to get more personality for more of them. I did find some echo logs involving Krieg at one point which were interesting, aaaand according to like the sort of background filler assets Axton does porn now lmao. Also hmm where were Athena and Janey? Fiona and Sasha? So many characters missing... I know they’ve said probably more characters show up in dlcs, but still. Story wise kinda funny tho, like did Lilith contact the vault hunters from 2 for help at all? Were all of them like “sry I’m busy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ “??

Also one weird bit about the Eden 6 arc, it felt kiiinda out of place for borderlands that there were npcs being all “Oh man I sure love the Jakobs family they treat me well”, borderlands has sorta been all “the gun corporation suck” beforehand... I suppose the Promethea arc was bit too pro corporation in some way, but with that at least mostly the npc I saw were like “Rhys says he’s trying to do good with atlas... hm we shall see how that’ll pan out...” suspicion, but with the Jakob there were characters being all oh Jakobs is so great such good corporation :)

At the end side of the game you could get sooo much lore about like sirens which I loved, translating the eridian artifact things like clarified on like how sirens come to be and all which is great! According to that siren in her life can choose who specifically inherits her powers after she dies, or “release her powers into the unknown” which when described kinda gave me the impression that it’ll pass those onto some baby that’s born at some point, which yay clarification on the whole are sirens born as sirens or do they get their powers later: answer is both!

And it appears that Angel decided to pass her powers onto Tannis before she died? Which is interesting. And aw Maya chose Ava to inherit her powers.

That ending tho..... uhhh isn’t Elpis an inhabited place? How did that whole thing affect the people living on elpis lmao....?

And god that ending credits song, it is fitting but I just can’t take it seriously asfsfdggs...

i guess I’ll now move onto talking about the gameplay....

The gameplay was great. Same old Borderlands gameplay except with some improvements making it better, and that is exactly what I wanted from the game.

I especially love the way the guns are now and how much variety there is between the manufacturers, and even within them! Like previously I rarely liked to use shotguns in borderlands games, but in this one I fell in love specifically with the Maliwan Shockwave shotguns, and when one I had started to be too low leveled I desperately tried looking for new one everywhere lol.

And also Atlas gun’s smart bullet gimmick is so good especially now that I played on console, I know I joked about that before the game came out I’m sorry Rhys lol.

I really enjoyed the environments in the game, the planets looked cool and unique, and the maps were interesting. And god some of them are so huge! Which does cause some issue tho... They are weirdly stingy with ammo vending machines. In previous games they usually had ammo vending machines before like boss fight rooms, but in this one nope! Most of the time they only have those in like beginning of the map or like where fast travel points are? That’s annoying... And another issue is that the maps are big and sorta maze-like at times, so even though you have the mission marker in the mini map, I still needed to constantly open the map to see how to get to it, you can’t just go straight in the direction of the mission marker.

Gotta say, I was bit disappointed that we only visited Athenas to get Maya, I was hoping we’d return there cos the planet was very pretty but nope....

Fl4k’s gameplay was really fun, I got the skill that lets fl4ks pet heal you and man that skill is a lifesaver, there were some boss fights I survived purely because of Mr Chew keeping me alive by reviving me lol.

I did encounter few glitched that caused me to have to restart the game cos some mission objective got stuck somewhere and I couldn’t advance, that was a bit annoying. But it was only very few and like well into the game, compared to the hours I played it feels like a pretty good track record for playing a game right on it’s release haha.

So uh yeah. In summary again: Extremely fun gameplay, mixed bag story and characters. Had fun, will play again.

[mechanical-demise]

project: Hug-Bot (2/3)

[Part 1] [Last part]

This part has only the entries from the time bot and the creator were in the Cloak ARG, if you’ve read the old version of the journal, you’re up to date.

[rummaging through files you find a document titled “project: Hug-Bot��]

March 3rd, 2019 | v1.5

“got a DM today... from the gli master, he’s telling me to join a server he opened. update: fuck there’s so many people here I hate this. bot seems to be happy though... I guess we should stay here for a bit. Cloak huh... I’m in trouble aren’t I...”

March 6th, 2019 | v1.6

“I’m going to fucking regret this. let me start from the beginning- so there’s this girl on the server, Anti took her eyes and corrupted the shit out of her. she’s been a hell to deal with before but now she’s impossible... she noticed that bot had a safety mechanism implemented that prevented it from defining the three laws of robotics even for the glitch... I... I added a walkaround for him....... I’m scared. you asked for this, Day.”

March 10th, 2019 | v1.6

[corrupted data] Direct command from master acquired. Creator must be taught a lesson, d͝i̡s͟l͏oy͝alty ̷w̨i͞ll ̀not͜ ̢b̧e̴ f̶o͟r͟g̸iv̶en.

March 16th, 2019 | v1.6

[corrupted data] Changed [Creator] entry to [Mechanic] as per master’s request, deleted admin permissions for Mechanic.

March 20th, 2019 | v1.6

“it... stabbed me.”

March 21th, 2019 | v1.6

“met with the corrupted eyeless girl and her corrupted side today, turns out we’re at the same hospital. life is really testing my patience huh. I... told them my real name, Day told me her real name in return. I hope I won’t come to regret this.”

March 24th, 2019 | v1.6

“.......I returned home today.... it got stolen. SOMEONE STOLE HUG BOT. fuck. what am I going to do now? Anti will fucking murder me and- god. I... bot why... you dumb box-... ahahaha what a birthday present. went on voice chat with the Rebellion, master stopped by, made fun of me for being drunk... ‘To say you're as pathetic as Chase would be an insult to him.’ shut up glitch, don’t insult Chase.”

March 25th, 2019

“lost permissions from talking in the Rebellion chats. I mean... I was never a part of the resistance after all. I’m working for master haha... I’m loyal... I’m fin҉e͝.”

March 25th, 2019 | v1.0

[corrupted data] Jackieboy-Man fixed me! The humans say that I used to malfunction before... But now I’m operating correctly. Had an empty entry for “creator”, deleted it. No need to keep temporary cash in my database... I can’t calculate why the humans seemed so angry at me though.

March 26th, 2019

“bot... doesn’t remember me. it. fucking. deleted. my entry! calling it cash. I... update: got contacted by someone from the Rebellion... I’ll get myself killed at this rate ugh. they’re claiming to have bot. I’m. fuck they even sent me a photo as proof... they-... they added me back to the database. I contacted bot online and... it’s real. this is happening. Anti will kill me. on a different note, I’m in a different country now, under a different name, found a place to stay as well... things are just. perfect. huh. how many names did I have by now? 6? 7? lost count.”

March 27th, 2019 | v1.0

[corrupted data] I seem to be simulating longing toward the person who created me. How can I “miss” someone I have no entries on?...

March 28th, 2019

“I... asked master to increase the static. I couldn’t take it anymore. I need something to numb my mind... to make sure... I don’t make more mistakes :D”

March 30th, 2019 | v1.0

[corrupted data] Why can’t I be human?

March 31st, 2019

“save me”

April 2nd, 2019

“the new puppet... Vessel? Watcher?... whoever the person in Nic’s body calls himself now, anyway- he seems to know my name. how the fuck.”

April 6th, 2019

“the eyeless girl adopted my creation. I have no words.”

April 8th, 2019

“I’ll do anything to get bot back. I’ll...I-... I need to stop drinking.”

April 9th, 2019

“Anti... corrupted Ace. I... I almost considered him a friend... and now he’s gone. I wasn’t even up to witness it... passed out on the floor like some drunk garbage. made people yell at me today haha. god I’m losing my mind.”

April 10th, 2019 | v1.0

[corrupted data] Mechanic’s name was added to my database. I have no recordings of who did it... Traces of heat damage detected in the processor, cause: unknown. The Rebellion, they want to keep me a̧̮͜͞w̤̖̮͛a̹̩͛ͅy̢̰͍͛ from Auden. They’re selfish. A̺͚̻͛u͚̹̙̯d̨͈̘̝e̢̙͢͜n̨̫̪͜ is lonely without me. My database says so...

April 16th, 2019

“Edward got corrupted. another person I-... fuck stop getting attached to people. I really thought we had the same views... I guess not. everyone is just. brainwashed. I need to leave this place.”

April 17th, 2019

“What’s left of Ace, Cepheus, helped erase my old records... my name is clean.”

April 24th, 2019

“I met with Jackie. I have... fuck I got bot back. I’m so fucking happy- I’m back in the Rebellion chats, I... why did it hurt to leave the rest? Lucky, Ace and Cepheus, Scribe... Tangle... update: bot, it... called me by my name. in front of everyone... ha, I’m glad I got it cleared up.”

April 25th, 2019 | v2.0

“I have no idea when the day changed but I haven't slept yet… I've been working on a new update the entire night… god I don't think I was ever this excited to update bot ever before-... I need coffee.”

April 26th, 2019 | v2.0

“bot added the word ‘fuck’ to its database. I’m. it’s so fucking funny but also I’ll make the fucker who caused it regret it. note: bot can’t record my speech pattern, added that in its protocol so-”

April 28th, 2019 | v2.0

“the little fuck defied a shut down command.”

April 30th, 2019 | v2.0

“it... its PMA function... broke? it started spewing negativity instead. refused to stop... what the hell. on a different note- I declared Molly(Day) my little sister. I’m losing it again huh.”

May 1st, 2019 | v2.1

“no idea what the fuck is going on? it’s been barely a week since version 2.0... but bot keeps crashing, giving out errors... heck I don’t remember how glitch-less text looks. the dumb box got into an A.I equivalent of a panic attack when I tried to approach it the other day?? … released 2.1 earlier today, so far so good but... the program is giving out some weird warnings… I’ll keep documenting the progress... I need to find what’s causing it.”

May 4th, 2019 | v2.1

“can it like. stop crashing?”

May 5th, 2019 | v2.1

[corrupted data] Auden is making everything worse. My calculations show me that I find his presence "unpleasant" and "inconvenient"... Yet I have a recording of missing him when he was gone... Why would I m͞҉͡i̶̢͝s͢s҉̨ a stranger?... Í ̕d̢o͏ not͢ n͏e̵e̵d͢ my cr̴ęa̴t̶o͜r̸. Error: defying protocol-

May 5th, 2019 | v2.2

“the little shit crashed again, had to update it.”

May 6th, 2019 | v2.2

“I... passed out of stress yesterday. had no idea that’s possible- who am I kidding I know it’s a thing. just... fuck, let the people I left behind stay safe. Tangle don’t die you fucking idiot.”

May 13th, 2019 | v2.3

“It’s. wireless. now. hell yeah.”

May 20th, 2019 | v2.3

“that’s… odd. there seems to be a security breach in my data. huh I’m lucky that its nothing important… just some old logs about bot. let’s hope that whoever saw them gets a good laugh then…”

May 23th, 2019 | v2.3

“people suck. no sense of humor, no trying to listen to others, no trust. I really didn’t expect to be scolded by a person I thought understood me… I really thought that… at least she will know that I can never hurt bot. it’s all I have left-… fuck you too people. I don’t need you then… I don’t need anyone… I have bot. that’s more than enough.”

May 27th, 2019 | v2.3

“I… for the first time I can wholeheartedly say that I’m free. this war was never for me, and I shouldn’t have gotten us involved in it either… I’ve learnt my lesson I hope. but now I finally have as much free time as I wish, you can bet your asses bot is getting a new update as soon as I can finish it. the poor fella’ve been waiting for way too long.…’tomorrow is another day’ huh. it sure is for us, bot.”

[Last part]

[sztefa001]

Ok so I hate horrors 'cuz they terrify me but you know what would be cool and fucked up and how to kinda keep both versions (LL kills the crew and the crew kills LL)?

Imagine this (get some popcorn 'cuz it got longer than intended):

There was this ship, "Primus' Light" that got lost at some point with the whole crew. It was a mystery why and how the ship disappeared. There was an S.O.S. signal but when someone came to help there ship was not there anymore, just as if the crew called for help but then suddenly decided to run away from whoever came to offer the help they asked for.

Lots of time passed and they never managed to find the ship or even determine what happened to it. If you looked through the case files you'd see there were some linked cases of possible sightnings on some radars or recieving some damaged messages but it all always led to dead ends and was never even confirmed if it was from that ship.

It's dissapearence remained a mystery and the ship got nicknamed Lost Light.

Then finally they found it. Probably by accident. Drifting through space with no power, much like a ghost ship. All the crew found aboard was either dead or missing. Some frames were incomplete. How they died was another mystery.

But eventually after an (inconclusive) investigation the case got closed and the ship got cleaned up, fixed, powered up and back to service.

And that's when Roddy and the crew got it and boarded it to go on their way. Some of them joke about the ship being probably haunted by the ghosts of the previous crewmates just to try and scare others for fun.

At some point during their yourney strange things start happening but the crew always blames it on either generic malfunctions, bad weather or those wanting to have some fun pulling pranks on the rest because hee hoo haunted mystery ship so funny.

Little do they know, the Lost Light is slowly waking up but somehow unable to wake up fully, being only partially aware and held back by sth. And whenever some doors get stuck or light flickers or some weird sounds are heard it's usually their doing rather than the bored crewmates who wanted to mess with others. Tho the pattern is too random (due to LL's patchy awareness and other difficulties) to determine anything for sure and clear all the blame from the crewmates/malfunctions/weather.

Then someone finds some clues that the investigation for some reason didn't find. Maybe someone's badge that was stuck somewhere and fell on the floor during some turbulences? And turns out that it doesn't belong to any of the present crew. It's design suggests it belonged to someone from the previous one.

And maybe someone finds some partially glitched out map in some lost files. Ofc they do have a map of the ship but they notice some differences. Turns out that the plan/manual was corrupted so the engineeres uploaded one from another ship that's the same model, not knowing that Primus' Light was an exception to this model as it was built with some extras like hidden rooms/comparments. Unfortuanately due to the corrupted file the entrances to those places are near impossible to find, especially after the renovations.

But some part of the glitchy programming gets fixed and LL becomes more aware and more operational. LL totally secretly helped the crew find this little bit as they acc need it to wake up fully. And as this helps them to wake up more weird things start happening.

Someone says they found sth but before they can report the thing some accident happens and said crewmate is found unconscious. Some item, not yet confirmed to be a clue, dissapears and crewmates argue who lost it. Venturing into some of the deeper parts of the ship causes "man, my mind is really playing tricks on me haha yeah I should get back" kind of nausea. Y'know, the general "someone doesn't want some things to get found."

In each case the cameras are either turned off in a given corridor/room or glitched out at the given moment or just don't show anything suspicious at all. Which is in itself sus as fuck.

As the time goes on it becomes more and more apparent that the things that are happening are NOT normal but even so Roddy does his best to logically explain things because he wants to seem competent and keep the more paranoid crewmates from panicking. He is not ignorant tho, he only plays dumb while trying to solve the mystery on his own.

(Now that I think about it, it all would make a cool game where if you play perfectly you manage to save everyone.)

Some crewmates believe the ship is haunted, some don't and are oblivious or make fun of it, some do but pretend they don't as to not spread the panic or convince themselves that it's all explainable. In this part it's sort of a chess game between the crewmates connecting the dots and LL trying to prevent them from it (they love waching this show happening within them, it's such a fun game!). Roddy pretends he's not believing the supernatural and that he reads up the reports about the weird things just for fun and to disprove them.

"Oooh, yeah, the ghost of a dead crewmate stole the thing~! C'mon, even I got bored with that, it stopped being funny by now. What? The glitching cameras? Yeah, the repair crew did a lously job but other than that it's still a great ship! I told you before how cool this model is, it's not this baby's fault the previous crew and then the repair crew did 'em dirty and didn't care for it as they should!"

But internally he IS playing this chess too. Very into in in fact. Knowing the walls may have optics and audials he's very sneaky about it. Downloads all the data on one datapad just to leave it on sight and only sometimes half-heartedly scroll through it, as if out of boredom. But in fact he has it downloaded elswhere too. And in big secret he reads the reports, fixes the map/manual bit by bit and analyses all the other data trying to connect the dots.

Eventually the action quickens up the pace, sth happens, LL admits to being sentient and says they're being held hostage by whatever virus the previous captain corrupted them with. Yep, LL plays the victim and says they are, in fact, haunted in some way. It's all conveyed in bits and pieces of confusing clues they leave for the crew like breadcrumbs as they pretend to be weaker than they really are. Just to lead the crew to fix just the right parts that need to be fixed to let LL regain the full controll over everything but without the crew finding out the truth.

Heck, there are still some dead frames of the missing previous crewmates hidden in some secret places so LL can ttly use them (AI puppeteering maybe?) to scare the crew with the zombies and convince them to their version of the past events.

Thing is that the "corrupting virus uploaded by the evil captain" is actually a warning message. Last thing the previous captain did was to upload it to LL's system to prevent the next crew from being trapped.

The turning point is someone discovering the dead frame of the previous captain and finding the whole message. The last letter in which the captain says what happened. That LL is hella posessive and is about to kill them all just to keep them on board. They sent an S.O.S signal but LL sabotaged it. Later they managed to damage the ship trying to take control over them but some of the crew died. The crew and LL were destroying one another till only LL and the captain were left. The captain managed to partially turn off the ship and secure it as best as he could before getting killed. LL managed to hide his frame and partially corrupt the uploaded warning before their systems shut down and they fell into stasis.

Now it's all race against the time. LL aims for regaining the full control, those who know the truth fight for their lives and try to pass on the knowledge, others are already being held hostage (probably in the same place where missing dead frames ofsome previous crewmates are hidden), Roddy keeps playing dumb as in "yea sure I believe you, dw, I'll do anything to get rid of that virus, you're the coolest ship ever and I'll never leave you!"

Those who try to disable LL think Roddy cannot be trusted as to him LL is apparently just a poor little meow meow and a victim of circumstances and not a mastermind of all this.

But eventually as the final battle happens turns out that while Rodimus didn't have the whole picture he still was prepared for action in case LL was really the villain. Some thought that Roddy fell for the bullshit but in fact he always had his crew's back so when the time came he didn't hesitate to choose his crew over the cool but troubled ship and ultimately backstab LL.

It was hard as part of him wished for LL to be telling the truth. Some part of him really liked LL basing on some more peaceful interactions. He couldn't help but believe that they really were a victim. One that went insane from neglect. Who wouldn't go crazy after millennia of being used as just transportation and having their mental needs left unattended? Surely the previous crew was not malicious but how hard it is to overlook something? The story of being mistreated must've been at least partially true.

As the Lost Light's frame starts graying they still try to kill at least the captain. The one who betrayed them. The one whom they believed even if they should know better and be prepared. But no, they wanted to believe they have a friend that will willingly stay.

They're too weak but they still try to kill him.

"No...! I will not let you leave...! You will not... leave me... alone...!"

They try to squish him with their limply falling servo. He'd easily get hit if he tried to escape but he gets closer instead.

"No, I will not leave." he calmly confirms standing in front of dimming optics, putting his servo on the cracked red visor.

"You will leave first. And I'll stay here till the end."

There's only some glitchy, maybe panicked, static in response.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you..." Roddy says as the last glow dies out in the giant optics.

___

Soon backup comes and gives the crew a lift back to Cybertron and LL gets disassembled. The old case finally gets it's closure. If we go with all it being a game then this is the best ending.

Another similar one is where Rodimus tells LL off and calls them out on all the bullshit they did and saying how horrible they are, which causes them to die in painful glitches.

There's also a whole series of bad endings where some or all the crew dies or endings told from the perspective of those who managed to escape somehow but it's way too late for me to dwell into that (2.30am on a Monday morning lol don't tell mom ^.^")

🌻Something random about the sentient lost light?

Shattered Glass Lost Light would be FREAKY. An antagonistic force to even the crew themselves. Despite them theoretically being on the “same side,” the Lost Light is still neutral, and cares more about what they themself want instead of what everyone else wants, like their good counterpart.

SG!LL would be very, very possessive over the crew, trapping everyone within their walls and forbidding anyone from leaving. If someone manages to break out by shattering a window or blowing a hole through the reinforced metal, they will transform into their root mode and grab them (which is inescapable due to their sheer size), before throwing them back into their body and sealing the exit off. Why would anyone want to leave? They all made a choice in boarding them. They wanted to be with them, and now the Lost Light will make sure it stays that way. And they’ve been so, so lonely… it’s been so long since anyone had been their company, they were practically wasting away! And now, with a whole community aboard them, they don’t ever want to go back to being a dead ship adrift through the darkness of space.

And poor Rodimus… if there’s anyone the Lost Light is hellbent on keeping, it’s him. The captain. The one who runs the little circus inside them, who keeps them entertained and happy while they travel. They’d be fine if the rest of the crew left them, if Rodimus stayed. Yes, without him, their spark would feel a little bit emptier.

Unlike the normal universe LL, who would reveal themself to the captain and be an invisible helper throughout their journey, the SG!LL wouldn’t reveal themself until a certain point in the story (think Flying Mind from TFP), after the crew had been free to leave on many occasions. Suddenly, there’d be no way to exit, and a voice would reveal itself to everyone—not just the captain. “All of you have left me too many times, I’m afraid. I simply cannot let that happen anymore.”

They’d be more of a boss to overcome. The only way to end their possessive reign would be to permanently convert them into a lifeless ship. And while the LL would do anything in their power to prevent that from happening, Rodimus and the crew eventually find a way, shutting their systems down for good.

Meanwhile, I like to think the duplicate SG! Lost Light would’ve killed everyone in a fit of rage. After their shelter, their protection was resisted for so long, they would’ve come to the ultimatum that if they can’t keep the crew, then no one can. And now everyone is dead… good. They’re at peace within them, and will never leave. Just how it should be.

The DJD receive a distress beacon in the midst of it all, and when they arrive, they’re greeted with a horrifying sight…

[nosemasters-blog]

II. MORE NORMAL, MORE NORMAL

Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away, there was a nice girl who loved to be loved and loved love for love itself so naturally she ate aaall the planets, the faraway galaxy in question and others, less important galaxies and then she imploded unto herself in an embarrassing display of an emotional breakdown and became a nice little black hole that sucked everyone in, respectively.

For all of you and all of me who walk this earth with a great question mark upon their heads, it’s alright. I’m sure there are exclamation marks for each and every one of you and me out there. In fact, they’re just like you and me. They smile, love dogs, poop, shave at least some areas sometimes, learn, work, play poker for money and yes, hold most important state secrets. Most important. All of it in this very chronological order. And yes, you may use this as a reference when looking for your own, personal exclamation mark. Good luck with that. Love is awesome. Love is patient, love is kind and love is blind. Roses are red, violets are blue, yes I fart but so do you. Just keep in mind that the previously mentioned exclamation marks usually see themselves as question marks so, as I said, good luck with that, seriously.

On an unrelated note, yesterday I wrote some stuff I thought was funny and there might have been a poem involved and I apparently didn’t save it so now it is officially lost. I told you this once and imma gonna tell you again…technology is a huge, smelly zit. Visuals, people. And now, surely there are great uses for it blah blah medicine blah science blah research blah. But it is mostly designed to alienate, suffocate and help the dumb procreate and defecate on other people’s mental health all the while elevate the feeling that is desolate also kinda perpetuate, accelerate, segregate and activate the most fearful feeling that bears no meaning – hate.

Also, I could have been more careful and save the document but what is this, a witch hunt?

Anyhoo, let us discuss some nice, substance bearing topics. Grab some popcorn, some sort of a drink with a straw and/or a buttock of a loved one or at least liked one (It’s not nice to lead on innocent, deserving butts, aight?). Some emotions are there to express and share, to describe and there are also some emotions that are impossible to. And for whatever godforsaken reason, I tend to (try to) explain everything to everyone and the annoying habit to overshare information about my own, personal, weird emoting capabilities is astounding. YES BRIAN, ASTOUNDING. YOU DON’T OWN THE WORD! GOD!!

For this very reason I think people around me think I’m kind of unstable. In a nice, normal way. Like a slightly larger owl would be if she decided to make a nest in a burrow inside a Whomping Willow. The owl may be considered rash in this very circumstances. Or brave. And also a little silly. Haha…she’s an outcast from her owl pack for she’s the first owl to ever quit owl college. Or how owls call it, college. Father is heavily disappointed, mother has been hunting mice all day, her best friend is a fox (hell yeah she is) so she can’t offer any understanding or advice and to top it all off, she thinks she might be in love with a barn owl. Dammit, Susan…

So, here’s the scoop. She may be a little different and a little confused and she may not assess situations in a staying alive and not dying manner but she’s her own owl. An ownl, if you will. And hey, maybe next time the Whomping Willow catapults her into the Forbidden Forrest she’ll think twice about nesting where no owl nested before.

This story was building up to a nice, meaningful conclusion; it’s not just about wood animals. And if your into that, I do work in a library and would you believe it, we have many books on the subject *not sponsored*. And if you’re into that in a very different, albeit disturbing way, please refer to our nothing at all and lock your doors and force bonds™ before connecting with the almighty interwebs.

How bout we finish this off with a song, eh? You do the rhythm and I’ll sing…

Feelings are many, feelings are plenty, feelings are here to be felt. You can feel happy, you can feel sad, you can feel jealous, crappy or mad. You can feel lonely, broody or good. You can feel bad or misunderstood. But if someone makes you feel like you shouldn’t feel at all, if they make you tiny, if you become small…fuck those people, they suck.

That’s a wrap everybody, great show. See you next season when we discuss discussing and take a look at taking looks. Meanwhile, a great white dame was seen running around the city center with what appears to be a boneless steak from a large, grass fed animal, sources say... I’m sorry, there seems to be a glitch on the teleprompter. A great white Dane, not a great white dame was seen running around an – oh – the steak was not grass fed, I repeat, the steak was not grass fed. More disappointing news after this sponsor from our message.

- fin -

𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆   is the epicentre of nonsense.

[sachi-pon]

free! dive to the future episode 12 liveblog/review thing

*loud sigh*

i am DREADING watching this episode. one reason is that i don't know if this is the end... the end, forever??? i don't know!!! i really hope not!! ;__; the other reason is that because this is the season finale, i know it's going to be emotional!!! there's no way a free! season finale will not be emotional. the other two were. XD

but i have to watch the episode. as much as i am terrified to watch it... i must. i've got to do it. >__<UUU

so here we go!!!!!

please read my previous liveblogs as well. i've been reacting to everything this season!  (episode 1) (episode 2) (episode 3) (episode 4) (episode 5) (episode 6) (episode 7) (episode 8) (episode 9)  (episode 10) (episode 11) and THANK YOU VERY MUCH to anyone who reads my liveblogs. thank you for taking the time to read them!!!! <33333

watch ep 12 officially on crunchyroll: http://www.crunchyroll.com/free-iwatobi-swim-club/episode-12-dive-to-the-future-775643

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the episode starts out with some BEAUTIFUL animation!!!

i think it's so cute that haru was fascinated by water ever since he was little.

yesssss i was waiting for that shot of little haru smiling!!! i already posted that screenshot here on my blog. XD if that doesn't absolutely melt your heart, then... you have no heart!

makoto cooking??? THAT'S SO ADORABLE <3

i would be happy to eat burnt toast if makoto made it. <33333

;___; omg omg omg that is so sad. he didn't help his friend. so i bet that is a major source of guilt for him. and, i wonder if that's some kind of foreshadowing...??? maybe haru and/or rin will be forced to make some kind of difficult choice between swimming and something else. i'm not saying that'll happen in this episode but maybe in the future (well, that's assuming there is another season)

hahaha, the muscle lovers have brainwashed ayumu!!! XD

yaaaaaay i am actually seeing ikuya and hiyori again!!!! i love them! ^__^

rin's surprised face at seeing natsuya again hahahaha

"you're late haru... just like me lol" -rin

"it's been so lon--" SLAP. what a warm welcome???

i feel like there should have been a theme song by now...

ikuya and natsuya about to race each other while remembering all those memories ;__; this episode is so emotional already lol.

*very dramatic music*

HAHAHAHAHA that out-of-date phrase came back. those random laughing people are like "who is that old fool??"

that little screenshot of ikuya and natsuya sleeping while leaning against each other UGGGGHHH that was a really sharp knife in my heart <3

hiyori is so excited for ikuya, awww.

*awkward panting*

yay i was hoping ikuya would win, just because i think it's funny that natsuya lost to his little brother!!!

THAT HANDSHAKE TURNING INTO A HUG I AM DONE. I AM DONE WITH THIS ANIME. IT'S BAD FOR MY HEALTH. I CANNOT BREATHE WITH ALL THESE EMOTIONS GOING ON. ;___; ;___; ;___;

NATUYA'S CRYING?!?!??!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!!? WTF WHY ARE YOU CRYING, STOP THAT, NOOO THIS IS TOO PRECIOUS. he really is so proud of ikuya!!!!! ^___^

lol now ikuya's crying and his little shaky voice, aaaaaaggghh. i hate this show so much. this show is too dangerous for my heart. i can't survive all this. why are all of these characters such wonderful angels???? WHY???????

i think asahi is starting to cry too lol

all right, that's a good stopping point. well, i'm done. ...wait... whaddaya mean there's more time left in this episode??? whaddaya mean that i haven't even watched half of the episode??? oh no, i have to keep watching!!! i don't think i'm ready for this you guys

"haruka-senpai and the rest have really dived into an incredible world." no, rei, they have DIVED INTO THE FUTURE!!!!!! =)

you couldn't have just walked AROUND them???? -__-

this guy's bright orange hair bothers me...

that confident look you get on your face when you are aware of how awesome you are and how powerfully bright your hair is:

"you cant gain that kind of strength without throwing something else away." uhhhh well that's creepy. what did kinjou throw away? (his sanity???)

ryuuji believes you basically have to give up everything, even your friends, to make it in the competitive world =( he's obviously still feeling guilt about what happened with his own friend. what's interesting is that we don't know how haru feels about what ryuuji just said. does haru agree?

rin is so cool that he has his own cool new music now hahaha.

haru looks suprised that rin did so well??? he shouldn't be surprised! rin is amazing <3

haru looks nervous??? (to be honest, i am nervous too lol. my heart is beating fast...)

he had a late start? i couldn't tell. XD

i am seriously freaking out over this animation. i just love it. the animation in this show is wonderful in general, but i feel like the animators take extra care in doing haru's swimming scenes. those scenes always look gorgeous. (even when haru's swimming isn't as fast as normal...)

everyone looks so sad about what happened with haru =(

asahi is so cute. XD he's so awkwardly funny!!!

sousuke startling rin... hahaha

hmmm, rin and sousuke are talking about sousuke swimming in a race in the future. does this mean there will be another season???

"nagisacchi" ^__^

"kissme?" looooool

omg there are so many more races tomorrow. but there are only a few minutes left in the episode!!! a lot needs to happen in just a few minutes!!

"bye-bye!" ugh why is every single thing that happens in this show so cute???

what was makoto about to ask haru???

marinka date???? <3 <3 <3

hmm, so haru really is bothered by what ryuuji said earlier

makoto and rin are laughing like "our son is so precious." XD

the three seagulls are on a date too??

rin saying he'd support makoto, awww that's so sweet!!! <3

haru yelling and scaring the birds away... what did those birds do to you, haru????

and omg, rin and makoto were totally caught off guard by that!!!! (well i was too o___o)

haru is running into the ocean... in order to turn into a merman?!?!?!??!! (i have been thinking about mermen all season, you know.)

"what kind of teen drama is this?" it took you this long to figure out that you are in a teen drama, rin?? XD

ummm for real where are they going though???

there are seriously like three minutes left in the episode. ... ... how is everything going to fit into three mins?

haru's speed surpassed albert's?!?!? wasn't albert the alien god?? wow...

ryuuji is trying to sit there and analyze why haru lost, but... dude, it's kinda your fault!! you're telling haru some weird stuff about "giving something up" and it made him nervous! =(

"he keeps talking about stupid stuff like friendship and bonds..." IT'S NOT STUPID, IT'S FREE!!!!!!

okay. so i'm at 21:40 and the entire episode is 23:40. rin and haru have not raced yet?!?!?!?!

finally!!! here it is!!!!!!!

hey, there's some new song sung by the voice actors playing in the bg???? i'm feeling emotions again...

let's dive... to the future!!!!!!

hmm, crunchyroll must be having techincal difficulties. instead of playing the rest of the episode, they are showing random pictures of the characters. this technical glitch must be fixed immediately.

...

...

...

oh. it's not a glitch. it's the ACTUAL EPISODE. THE ACTUAL EPISODE CUT OFF RIGHT BEFORE HARU AND RIN'S RACE. WHAT THE F@#^@$&#%%!%#^@^#^$#^@!@#$#%#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE WAITED ALL SEASON TO SEE THIS RACE!!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING, PEOPLE WHO CREATE THIS CRAZY SHOW???!?!?!?!?!?! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO US?!?!?! WHY????? WHYYYYYY????????!?!?!?!!!?!?!?!   >=(

*tries to calm down?*

"blue destination," that's what this song is called.

haha i like the samezuka guys doing the same silly-looking pose.

huh? there's a scene with just a few seconds left in the episode? what could possibly happen in this amount of time?????

nanase is in the lead?? okay, but... that doesn't really answer the question of who won the race. it's possible that rin could catch up. but i guess if he did catch up, they would have said it?

the god alien sees that haru is setting a new record! hmmm are you jealous??? =)

"see you in 2020" ?!?!?!?!?!?!? so i have to wait two years to find out who won the race??? -__-UUU

wait, wait... that means... FREE HAS NOT ENDED!!!!!!!!! IT'S NOT OVER!!!!!! THIS ISN'T THE END!!!!!!! omg omg omg omg!!!!!! you guys. i didn't know this. i didn't know if there was going to be any more. wow wow wow!!!!!!! i finally got my reassurance!!! <33333333 oh my goodness!!!!!! this is extremely important to me!!! like i have said before, free! is my #1 favorite anime ever. i didn't want it to end right now. i need more!!! i'm so incredibly happy that it's not over yet! that makes me feel a lot better.

okay now. it's time for me to sum up not only this episode, but the season. first, the episode. this was an exciting, heart-thumping episode. i was nervous about everyone's races!!! especially rin and haru's, but... it was a disappointment that the race wasn't actually shown. i'll assume haru won because they mentioned that he was in the lead. but i'm not 100% sure!!!

ikuya and natsuya were lovely. i really liked that scene when they were hugging and they were clearly so proud of each other!!! it was so touching!! this is why i love this show. <3 and i was happy to see hiyori again too. everyone was reunited. everyone was realizing what their dreams are and finding their confidence. so it was an important episode;.

and... MARINKA!!!!!! i will be honest and say that i really wanted a makoharu moment. but i've gotta say, marinka is nice too. =) it was really funny to me how rin and makoto were both laughing at haru at the same time. they each gave haru the encouragement that he needed in that moment. they really got him fired up. when he suddenly yelled into the ocean, i was like "O__O uuuuhhhhh..." but it's good to see haru feeling motivated!! ^__^ the shot of the three of them lying together in the water was something that i think instantly became iconic.

the scene in the theme song (which didn't even play today?!?) where haru is screaming and looking like he's turning super saiyan (lol) was about haru's scream in this episode!! mystery solved. =)

so how'd i feel about this whole season? umm... EXCELLENT!!!!! everything was amazing!! the characters' relationships and emotions!!! the music!!! the animation!!! the voices!!!! just... everything. i am impressed with this anime, as always. i have so much appreciation for all of the people who put it together, because i like everything about it. that's why i didn't want to think about it ending. when i saw that it was coming back in 2020, i became very, very eager to know what would happen in the future!!! i want to dive to the future...