#it all means something; and yet nothing to me{dash games}

[augustinewrites]

tsumiki asks the question on a rare, relaxed saturday afternoon. with both the kid’s baseball games canceled due to some heavy morning rain, the four of you were taking the time to do some much needed relaxation. 

“how did you guys end up together?” 

satoru lifts his head from your lap, where you’d been plucking his brows. “isn’t it obvious? it was due to my roguishly handsome good looks and sharp comedic wit.” 

megumi scoffs from his spot on the armchair. “i doubt that.”

you press your cheek against your boyfriend’s shoulder, laughing. “that’s cute, babe, but do you want to tell them how it really happened? or should i?”

“i’ll tell them,” he volunteers. “because i have been in love with you a lot longer than you might think.”

_____

satoru meets you when he’s seventeen years old. (it’s a stupid age. ‘cause when you’re seventeen, you’re all hormones and ego and think the world revolves around you.) 

so he doesn’t pay you much mind when yaga first introduces you to his little class, because honestly? he’d taken one look at you, fresh out of the countryside with your perfectly pressed uniform, not a hair out of place or a battle scar on your body and was extremely underwhelmed. so he’d brushed you off like lint on his sleeve, because he doubted you’d even survive the year. no point in getting to try and know you. 

that same afternoon, you’d unleashed hell on him with your shikigami and almost broken his nose. 

“i’m sorry,” you’d muttered when you’d forcibly accompanied him to the infirmary. 

“you don’t sound sorry,” he’d huffed. his nose (and his ego) were definitely bruised. 

you rolled your eyes and muttered something that was probably really mean under your breath. he’s about to tell you off when he feels blood start to drip again, cursing and pinching the bridge of his nose as he tilts his head back.

“you’re supposed to tilt your head forward,” you sigh, handing him another folded up piece of paper towel. 

he doesn’t take it, glaring down at you. “why would i do that?”

shoko and geto walk behind you both, highly amused by your bickering. “they’d be good together, don’t you think?”

“if they don’t kill each other first.” the latter chuckles, shoving his hands in his pockets as he eyes you both. 

“if you tilt your head forward, then the blood drips out and not in–”

“why? that’s where the blood is supposed to be.”

“no, it’s not, and if you’d just let me finish what i was saying instead of interrupting me–”

it’s not the last time he interrupts you. it’s not the last time the two of you bicker or the last time he walks with you through the courtyard. days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, and even though you’d almost broken his nose that first day, he quickly realizes that he couldn’t imagine you anywhere but with him. 

_____

it’s late when he sneaks out of your room, sunset streaming through the courtyard as he peeks around the corner, on the lookout for any faculty before he dashes back to the boy’s dorm…

…only to run into geto, who’s standing outside. he feels bad for a second, because they haven’t really talked since…well, everything.

but he just flicks his cigarette, grinning in that all too knowing way of his. “what were you doing in the girl’s wing, creeper?”

“nothing,” he lies, but his cheeks are warm, there are butterflies in his stomach, and he can’t seem to stop smiling.

his best friend looks at him. really looks at him. “oh, man. you’re so obvious.”

“i’m not obvious, you’re obvious,” he retorts.

geto takes another drag before holding it out to him. gojo shakes his head. “you’re one of the smartest, yet dumbest people i know. so i’m going to help you now, because i think without guidance, you are capable of making extremely rash romantic decisions.”

“that’s not true–”

“it’s very true. like that fact that you’re in love with…” geto nods his head towards the girl’s dorm, grinning. 

he tucks his chin under the collar of his jacket when he feels heat crawl up his neck, looking away. “that’s ridiculous. i’m not…it’s not like that. we’re just…hanging out.”

“really?” his friend checks. “because the way that you look at her, i mean…wow. we’ve all seen it. you look at her like you hear tiny forest animals singing whenever she walks into a room.” 

satoru bristles slightly, because he’s not entirely off the mark. 

(but seventeen is a stupid age, and at the time he knew he cared for you deeply, but he didn’t know he loved you yet.)

geto knows though, and just shrugs. “i know you’ll see it someday too.”

_____

“do these shoes go with my outfit?” you ask, looking over your shoulder.

gojo shrugs, hardly even glancing up from his phone. “sure.” 

“you didn’t even look!” 

he exhales a harsh breath, tossing his phone onto your bed as he looks up at you. “why are you trying so hard for some guy you don’t even like? i mean– have you even met him?”

“no,” you sigh, smoothing your hands over your dress. “but me meeting him is really important to my father.” 

he leans back against your headboard, folding his hands behind his head. “why?”

“because a proposal from the kamo clan is a really big deal.” you startle when he sits up so fast that his glasses fall from their perch atop his head. “oh my– what’s wrong?!”

“everything about that sentence. a proposal? as in to be wed?”

“yes, gojo,” you confirm, turning back to adjust your earrings in the mirror. “i was born outside of the zen’in clan, but i have their inherited technique. my dad…all these years he’s worked hard to keep me off their radar so i wouldn’t be stuck there. so i wouldn’t be unhappy like he was. if i accept this proposal and join the kamo clan…all his hard work wouldn’t be for nothing.” 

“the kamo clan,” he repeats, shaking his head. he’s not sure why he’s so annoyed. it’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason. “they’re based in kyoto. you’d– you’d have to leave.”

he doesn’t say anything for a long moment, but all the unsaid things that he’s been too scared to admit to himself (and especially to you) must be written all over his face, because you hesitate before you step out the door, looking back at him hopefully. 

“have fun,” is all he says instead, pretending not to notice when your expression falls. “i’ll probably be out when you get back, but just text so i know you’re alright and haven’t already been whisked off to kyoto.”

_____

“but you never joined the kamo clan,” tsumiki notes, sending you a questioning look. “why did your dad to change his mind?”

“i…actually still don’t know,” you admit, smiling softly. “he’s never told me.” 

“well, whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter now. ‘cause you’re right where you’re supposed to be,” satoru grins. he presses a soft kiss to your lips, but pulls back with a laugh when the kids groan loudly. “on that note, i’m going to start cleaning up.” 

megumi, who’d been silent the entire story, gets up to help, trailing after him into the kitchen.

“it was you,” he says once you and tsumiki are out of earshot.

satoru sets the stack of plates on the counter, glancing over his shoulder at him. “hm?”

“you made some kind of deal with her family, didn’t you? like you did for me.” 

he doesn’t answer right away, moving leftover vegetables into a container. “i don’t know what you’re talking about.”

besides, that was then and this was now. he’s older and wiser and he knows that he’s loved you since he was seventeen years old.

_____

your father seems taken aback, and not just because satoru gojo was standing in his study, but because of what he was proposing. “excuse me?”

blue eyes land on a photo of you on your father’s desk. you’re cherished here. loved. letting you go must be hard, even if it’s for your own good. “you want to keep her away from the zen’in’s right? if she joins the gojo clan, we’ll make the idea of even coming near her radioactive.” 

“but the only way to do that is–”

“marriage. to me, specifically,” he finishes with an easy shrug, as if he’s merely speaking about the weather. “quick, easy, simple. now you can reject the kamo clan’s proposal.”

your father is a smart man, that much is obvious. he’s kept you out of the zen’in’s grasp for years, even after news of your inherited technique had spread. there’s no way he’d turn down a deal as good as this.

“i have nothing to offer you,” he says now, expression pinched. “no dowry, or things of the like.”

“i don’t need your money,” he dismisses with a wave of his hand. “in fact, i only have three conditions.”

gojo’s three conditions

[her-satanic-wiles]

Kinktober Day 6 - Frottage

Cardinal Terzo x Reader

Sweet, horny Cardinal… so desperate to get off, even if it means rubbing against a hunk of plastic to do it.

Masterlist ⛧ Kinktober 2024 Masterlist

Words: 2.8k.

Reading Time: 11 min.

Warnings: begging, brat, degradation, frottage, implied overstimulation, sex toys, spanking,

Taglist: @akayuki56 @alien-the-ghost @amazing-bobinsky @angellayercake @anonymous-appreciation @babydestinyinfluencer @bitchywitchygardener @blossomsea @call-me-little-sunshine84 @copiaspet622 @copiasslut @cosmixxdust @da-rulah @dolceterzo @dopey-fandom-girl @faithisyours @ghoulishxdelights @high-above-the-city @howlingco @inkstainedrat @kaijukimchi @kenken-the-shoggoth @ledger-kaos @magopi @megachaoticstupid @meliza1001 @miss-leto @mommy-dust @neganwifey25-blog @piaart @saintbowie @shycardinale @sister-of-sin-claudia @sisterof-sin @sodoswitchimage @the-did-i-ask @xiyingly @zombiesnips-blog

🔞 MDNI 🔞

Terzo was rarely on his best behaviour, and you wouldn’t have had him any other way. His reputation at the Ministry was well-established—flirting, playing his little games, drinking like there was no tomorrow, and generally having the time of his life. It didn’t faze you. You were far too secure in your own power, too certain of your hold over him. It didn’t matter who he flirted with or what sweet nothings he whispered in their ear; it was all part of his performance. After all, it was always your bed he returned to, always your name spilling from his lips in breathless moans when he was inside you.

In fact, you rather enjoyed watching him toy with others. The way they blushed and fidgeted under his attention, thinking for a fleeting moment they might stand a chance. But they never did. Their hopes were dashed the moment he stepped through your door at the end of the night. And the thought amused you to no end. If only they knew. If only they could see the great Cardinal Terzo—the Satanic Casanova himself—reduced to a whimpering, desperate mess beneath your hands, pleading like a child because you weren’t giving him the touch he so craved. Oh, how delicious it was, holding all that power, savouring the way he squirmed under your control, knowing that no matter what he did or said to others, you were the one who truly owned him.

He was hard and wanting, gasping for air and sighing in frustration, skin flushed and reddened from your stinging and punishing slaps. He was so needy, so pliant, so frantic with desire, that his mind was completely blank save for his all-consuming need to be pounded into the mattress by you. His eyes never left the strap-on, mouth drooling and hole clenching. Desperate, desperate, desperate. Those little hips bucking upwards, wanton and chasing the silicone strapped to your crotch in his dire need to be filled.

You tutted at your lover, condescension dripping deliciously from your voice. “My little demon isn’t behaving himself very well,” you commented, watching his cock jump at the patronising tone you’d taken.

Terzo’s voice came out ragged, barely above a whisper, thick with need as he pleaded, “I’m sorry, please, I’ll be good. I’ll do anything, just—please, do something.” His hips bucked again, a futile attempt to chase the sensation, his eyes glazed with lust and desperation as he begged, “I need it, I need you. Please, let me have it… I’ll be your good little demon, I swear.”

It was evil - your little power trip, but it was too delicious. Making this thirty-five-year-old man suffer was so much fun, how could you stop now? “I like hearing you beg,” you taunted. “But… I’m not convinced yet.” You leaned in closer, letting your breath ghost over his trembling body. “Beg harder, show me just how desperate you are. Maybe then I’ll consider giving my pathetic little demon what he wants… if you can prove you deserve it.”

As you leaned over him, your toy ran over the underside of his cock, making him his in response. It was the first whiff of pleasure he’d had for ten minutes, and he was going to take it. His body began to move softly beneath you, handlessly maneuvering his cock up and down the silicone shaft in an attempt to sneakily draw pleasure from you. It wasn’t a perfect sensation: there wasn’t as much pressure as he needed so it felt barely like a tickle. All it did was drive him crazier, but he didn’t know what else to do. He was so driven by his base desires, this seemed perfect in comparison to the alternative.

He whimpered.

And you caught his hips. Of course, he wasn’t as sneaky as he thought he was, and it was fun to let him think otherwise. But his desperation had sent a shockwave of ideas into your brain, and an evil plan had concocted in that moment. “Oh, Terzo,” you said, feigning disappointment. “I expected you to wait for your pleasure. I told you to beg… and instead, you think you can take what’s mine without permission?” Your voice dripped with condescension, every word laced with taunting authority.

Terzo whimpered, already anticipating the punishment he knew was coming. He was so close to breaking, his entire body on the verge of collapse beneath you.

You leaned forward, pressing your body against his, letting the cool silicone of the strap-on slide tantalisingly along his shaft without giving him the satisfaction of being filled. His breath hitched, body trembling as he instinctively bucked his hips, trying to get some friction. You smirked, knowing this was driving him wild.

“No,” you whispered cruelly, running the toy along his length again, slower this time, making sure it barely grazed his most sensitive spots. “You don’t get to have it that easy.” You shifted, positioning yourself so your body was pressed snugly against him, the pressure just enough to tease. “You’re going to work for your pleasure… and this,” you teased, grinding against him with calculated, torturous strokes, “this is all you’re getting until I’m satisfied.”

The friction of your bodies moving together—skin against skin, your toy gliding up and down his throbbing need—wasn’t enough to drive either of you to the edge, but it was enough to send waves of frustrating pleasure coursing through him. The tension built with each slow grind, and you could feel his muscles tense as he tried to chase more sensation.

You moved your hand between your bodies to keep your cocks lined up and touching continuously, wrapping your fingers around his shaft to keep it still as you continued stroking the underside of him, silicone tip touching its flesh counterpart and making him sing for you. Tiny whimpers falling from his lips as he ran his nails down your back, leaving red whelts in their wake. He looked so beautiful like this: falling apart at the slightest of touches. A sight that would, no doubt, haunt you in your sleep.

You buried your head in his neck as you continued to rub yourself against him, licking and kissing and sucking on the sensitive skin there. Muffled, you said, “I thought I told you to beg, Terzo.”

Terzo was be completely overwhelmed by his desire, barely able to form coherent thoughts but desperate to obey. His voice came out breathy, broken between the tiny whimpers escaping his lips:

“I’m begging—please, I’m… b-begging, I need y-you. I’ll do anything, just please… don’t st-stop.” His fingers dug into your back even harder, nails scraping down your skin as he arched into your touch. His hips would buck slightly against the grip you had on him, futile in their attempts to seek more. “I can’t—please, I’m y-yours, I’ll be good, just—oh, please, I can’t take it anymore…”

His body trembled beneath you, desperate to prove his submission, his every breath laden with need as he begged for mercy.

You lined your mouth up with his ear and dropped your voice down low, “What do you want me to do, Terzo?”

Terzo’s breath hitched, his heart racing at your question, every ounce of desperation flooding his voice as he stammered, “I-I want you to touch me, to fill me up… p-please, just like before. I need you to m-make me feel good.” He turned his head slightly, struggling to maintain eye contact as his gaze flickered with overwhelming need. “I want to feel you inside m-me… to lose myself in y-you. Please… I can’t stand it any longer. Non posso farcela! I’ll be good, I swear,” he added, voice shaking, every word a frantic plea that dripped with urgency. He whimpered, his body writhing beneath you, completely lost in the torrent of desire.

His breath was quickening and his eyes watered a little, the desperation manifesting in other ways. You bit his ear then did the unthinkable: you pulled away.

The loss of your weight on his body was disturbing at best. He’d begged! He’d done everything you asked him to do. He was a good boy, why would you do this to him? He watched in near horror at you flipping onto your back and get comfortable. You poured a little lube from the bottle on the bedside table onto the dildo and rubbed it over the silicone. “Come on, my little demon,” your sweet voice enticingly extended the invitation. “I’m getting tired - come take over for me, won’t you?”

Terzo didn’t need to be told twice. He scrambled to his knees above you, taking purchase on your juicy thighs he was so obsessed with, before lining himself up with the silicone once more and rubbing himself over it. His own grip was tight - far tighter than yours ever was. His movements were also quick.

The feeling was divine.

As Terzo lined himself up with the silicone, the sensation overwhelmed him. The moment he made contact, a rush of pleasure shot through his body, igniting every nerve ending. The smooth surface glided against him, the slickness of the lube enhancing the friction just right. He felt the gentle resistance as he pressed down, the pressure building deliciously, sending waves of euphoria cascading through him.

His own grip tightened, instinctively seeking more—more pressure, more sensation—as he rubbed himself along the shaft, feeling each ridge so intimately, they were scored into his memory. Each movement was frantic, his body instinctively chasing that euphoric high, lost in the rhythmic pleasure of the back-and-forth.

The delicious fullness of the silicone made him gasp, a blend of intensity and ecstasy that seemed to consume him. He felt so desperate, so achingly aware of the exquisite stimulation, as his hips bucked of their own accord, driving him deeper into the sensation. It was a divine melding of pleasure and urgency, as if every thrust was pulling him closer to an edge he could barely comprehend.

As he moved, he couldn’t help but revel in the feeling of being completely consumed by desire, each stroke drawing him closer to bliss. The world outside faded away, leaving only the intoxicating sensation of the silicone and the thrill of your inviting words echoing in his mind, urging him on.

As Terzo continued to ride the silicone, his pleasure surged to a dizzying peak, and he found himself standing on the edge of sanity. His breaths came in quick gasps, and he started to murmur frantically in Italian and English, his voice a mix of desperation and ecstasy:

“Sathanas, it feels so good! I can’t… I can’t take it anymore! Per favore, please, don’t stop! I need more—ho bisogno di te!” He whimpered, his hips moving faster, urgency pouring out in every thrust. “I’m losing it… sto impazzendo! I want it all, tutto! Just like you said, I’ll be good, I promise!”

His words were laced with urgency and longing, each syllable a plea for release, as he teetered on the brink of overwhelming pleasure.

Your rested your hands on his hips, feeling the soft hairs of his thighs beneath your pinkie. His soft body was covered in sweat, the fat on him jiggling as he moved. The sheen of sweat glistened on his skin, highlighting every curve and contour that made him so undeniably beautiful.

Your gaze roamed over him, admiring the way the soft flesh of his belly quivered with each movement, the gentle jiggle serving as a testament to his body’s pleasure. It was a sight that filled you with a deep, yearning desire; the way his flesh yielded so beautifully to your touch made you ache for him even more.

The way his thighs pressed against yours, soft and inviting, drew you in, and you couldn’t help but appreciate every inch of him—the roundness of his form, the way it seemed to invite your hands, your lips. You loved the way his body moved, so full of life, and how it reflected his surrender to the moment.

As he continued to ride the silicone, you felt a swell of longing as you traced your fingers over the smooth skin of his hips, down to the plush softness of his thighs. Each motion he made, each gasp that fell from his lips, only deepened your admiration. You were utterly captivated by him, the sheer beauty of his body igniting a primal desire within you to worship every curve, to lose yourself in the warmth and softness that was entirely Terzo.

“Sei così bello,” you breathed, the words tumbling from your lips without thought. “You’re so beautiful.” Each syllable was infused with longing, a desperate need to convey just how much he meant to you, how much you cherished every soft, lovely inch of him. “Does it feel good, my love?”

“Y-yes! Sì! It feels incredible!” Terzo gasped, his words tumbling out in a breathless rush, overwhelmed by the sensation coursing through him. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment as he savoured the pleasure, every thrust pushing him closer to bliss. “I need more… please, just like this!” His voice quivered, a mix of desperation and delight, echoing the yearning that filled the room.

He opened his eyes, locking onto yours, the heat of his gaze filled with longing and adoration. “I can’t get enough… ti amo,” he confessed, the weight of his desire palpable as he surrendered completely to the overwhelming sensations, eager to please you as much as himself.

You hummed, low and comforting. You rubbed at his hips and thighs, offering some comfort to his overwhelmed mind as he continued to desperately rut against the toy. “Ti amo anche io, mio piccolo demone. Will you let go? Will you come for me?”

The question hung in the air, igniting a flicker of urgency within him. Terzo’s breath quickened, his body trembling with anticipation. “I-I can’t�� I’m so close,” he stammered, his voice shaky and thick with desperation. “I want to—voglio farlo! I need to come for you, please… just a little more!”

His eyes were wide, shimmering with a mixture of need and longing as he sought your approval, your permission. The weight of your words wrapped around him like a silken thread, pulling him closer to the edge he so desperately craved. Every thrust grew more frantic, the sensation of the toy against him blending into a symphony of pleasure that threatened to consume him whole.

With every thrust, the tension within Terzo mounted, spiraling higher and higher until it felt as if he were teetering on the brink of an abyss. His breaths came in ragged gasps, heart pounding in his chest as your words wrapped around him, urging him to let go. “Come for me,” you coaxed, the promise in your voice driving him wild.

“I’m so close!” he cried out, voice trembling with need, his body aching with desire. The pleasure built within him, a potent wave crashing against the shores of his sanity, threatening to pull him under. He could feel the heat pooling low in his belly, a primal force urging him to surrender, to give in completely.

“Please, I need it! I need to come!” he begged, desperation spilling from his lips as he began to lose control, the world around him fading into a blur. Every nerve ending felt alive, igniting under your touch, the sensation of the toy against him sending shockwaves of ecstasy coursing through his body.

With a final, desperate thrust, the dam broke. “C-coming!” he gasped, the word tumbling from his lips as pleasure exploded within him. It felt like pure, unadulterated bliss, a tidal wave crashing over him, engulfing him entirely. His body shuddered violently as he came, every muscle tightening in a glorious, overwhelming release. The physical proof of it, his white cum, seeped from his hole and dripped onto your own soft stomach, gathering hotly on your skin and decorating you like a canvas.

The force of his climax pulled a loud moan from deep within him, raw and unrestrained, echoing off the walls as he surrendered to the ecstasy. It washed over him in waves, leaving him breathless and trembling, a mix of relief and euphoria coursing through his veins. He was lost in the moment, utterly consumed by the pleasure you had created together, body collapsing against you as he basked in the aftershocks, the warmth of your presence grounding him amidst the bliss.

He leaned forward and captured your lips in a frenzied kiss, hissing and shuddering as you wrapped your fingers around him and began to stroke him lazily.

“Th-thank you,” he whimpered as he began to come down from his high.

“Don’t thank me yet, my little demon.” Your grip on his cock got tighter and you put more effort into stroking him. “You’re going to be coming again tonight.”

Translations:

Non posso farcela! = I can’t do it! (Overwhelmed)

ho bisogno di te! = I need you!

sto impazzendo! = I’m going crazy! or I’m losing my mind!

tutto! = Everything!

Ti amo anche io, mio piccolo demone. = I love you too, my little demon.

voglio farlo! - I want to do it!

Prev./Next

[ace-of-spaders]

*taps the mic and laughs nervously because of the major stage fright*

Lizzington shippers, fam, grandmas and grandpas, can I have a moment of your attention, please?

It's not a secret that, while some people in Lizzington community are still active, whether they write or make gifs or keep our dash full of Lizzington even in this trying times ( @melbob26-blog, thank you for this! ), Lizzington community as a whole went into hibernation over the last couple of years.

And I get it, interests change, especially when one show ends and there's another ongoing, moving on from the show that ended is totally natural, especially when it didn't give your favorite characters the happy ending they deserved.

I get it.

Hell, for a pretty lengthy while there I focused on other ships and shows, too, especially after TBL ended ended last year.

But you know what I realized earlier today, when I reread some of the old fics, browsed through gifsets and text posts, watched some fanvids?

It's the show that ended, for some in 2021, for others in 2023. And the only thing that means is that it cannot disappoint us anymore.

( it's not like we were suddenly deprived of quality content, because let's face it, the fans have been the main source of the quality lizzington content for years now, while the show gave us mere crumbs, on a good day )

But Red and Liz?

They are still out there, fighting criminals, catching Blacklisters, travelling the world, shamelessly flirting, toppling shadow organizations, raising Agnes and/or any other children they have, and generally being the sexy badass power couple they are!

Nothing changed in that regard.

So why would we mourn them, when they are out there, healthy and happy and in the middle of yet another adventure? I'm sure right this moment Red is drawing Liz into another one of his heists and she's only too happy to join him, even though she pretends that she's not, for the sake of the game.

There's literally no reason for us to stop writing, giffing, editing, sharing theories and headcanons and memes and just talking about our favorite couple.

And by writing all of this, I want to propose something daring to you:

Let's revive the Lizzington community!

Let's rewatch earlier seasons and gif the hell out of them because it's been a while and because precious moments between these two are not going to become less precious even if it's giffed 10 or 100 more times, not to mention that ever gifmaker's style is different, so there are virtually no two identical gifsets as there are no two identical snow flakes.

Let's make fanvideos, picspams, picture edits, fanart, moodboards! The amount of songs, quotes, moments etc that can inspire you is virtually endless!

Let's write fics, let's explore AUs, let's give each other prompts and challenge each other to try something new or practice some aspect of writing, like writing kisses or AUs or hugs or making up Blacklisters etc!

Let's share headcanons and theories and ideas and what our versions of Red and Liz are like, because everyone has their own unique versions of Red and Liz living in their head, and it's just beautiful, if you ask me!

Let's reblog stuff, filling each other's dashes with Lizzington!

Let's scream about Lizzington because no one does it like them!

Let's revive the Lizzington Community, we all miss it!

PS. Feel free to reblog this post – spread the suggestion!)

PPS. To assure you that I'm not the type of person who encourages others but doesn't do anything themselves, I can tell you I've already got some ideas for a couple of Lizzington events in mind. Those include challenges, thematic weeks etc.

PPPS. I'm not sure how many people are checking the tags these days, so I'm gonna tag some people I know under the cut, just in case, to spread the suggestion. If you weren't tagged, trust me, it's nothing personal!

@meetmeatthecoda @iwouldlovetoeatyourtoast @agxntkeen @factoseintolerant @tale-xistime @james-baeder @lettie1609 @withwhatiam @peace-love-on-planet-earth @missourired @felilaprivada @strawberry-pills @roominthecastle @codewordpumpkin @my-robot-heart @kitkate91060 @imyourplusone @shelly1952 @itsjustme-itsmylife @castle2cute @nancyjocom @cress-26 @lunaarlilacs @femaleoptimistic @scifi-gk @greeneyedsoul88 @figureofdismay @shippinglizzington @kissthefuture @thetwistedargent @actuallylorelaigilmore @sorrydearie @turningtimeinthetardis @buildinggsr @apicturewithasmile @windfalling @piketrickfeet

[saeun]

"i know what you are."

silence. complete silence. the kind of silence when the teacher suddenly announces an exam unknown to the students.

around the dinner table holds you and nanami. your dishes are pushed aside, in front of you empty with only your clasped hands on the table. eyes glued to the man before you. nanami's familiar with such poses and this one he knows all too well. it means business... or maybe you found out his little secret.

"you know what i am?" he questions, eyes moving up and down your frame.

"exactly," you say, pointing a finger at him, "you dirty individual."

now you've captured his attention. he drops his spoon down, mimicking your position.

"then tell me."

"oh, trust me i will," you lace your tone with suspicion, standing up to make u-turn to him. leaning to his ear, you whispered something. something that rewarded itself with a sharp inhale from nanami.

his pupils dash to the side, watching you with cold sweat. i'm fucked. he cannot and will not afford to confirm your accusation — although it is indeed true. nanami holds his head high, clearing his throat as he folds his arms across his chest.

"that's peculiar. tell me more lies."

this time you're the one who inhales a sharp breathe, gasping at nanami's response.

"LIES? i've got proof on my hands to last decades," you say, whipsering the last word for dramatic effect.

nanami chuckles, hinting that he's mocking you. he's been a business man for over 7 years, you're not going to get the confirmation out of him this easily. leaning back into the chair, he gestures at your empty one, quick to suggest that you return.

you don't fight him, slowly stepping back to your seat with an eyebrow raised at him. it's silent for another ten minutes, nothing but the sounds of utensils coming into contact with the dishes. silent until you speak again.

"just admit it," you say, low-key stabbing your food with the fork. "i caught you red-handed."

"did you catch me or did you make it up?" he questions again, finding amusement in teasing you.

"god, you're so peskful."

"darling, that's not a word."

"shut it."

he listens, eyes focused on you who's in deep thought, drumming on the table continuously with your fingers.

you're right, but nanami doesn't want to say so yet. he'll carry on this little game until he found the proper date to reveal his big secret: an engagement ring that's well over twenty-thousand. it's expensive and not the average amount spent on such rings. he knows this but rings of pure gold will never come at an easy price.

[yooniesim]

ok unfortunately for yall the dash made me have a thought so now I gotta ramble lol

but ya know. maybe it's bc I've had so much time away from here and all the bitching (/affectionate) but over the past couple years, I get less angry about this shit and more solution-minded. and I don't mean for the community as a whole (that's impossible lol) but in a sort of... personal circle/responsibility type of way. like what we can do among ourselves without the confrontation aspect bc, just being honest- from my perspective & experience, the anger and the bitching doesn't really accomplish shit. not to say it ain't justified, & it's important to raise awareness for sure, but i swear me & a lot of others that have been talking about this for a long time have just been barking in circles without anything budging one way or another. which leads to burnout/emotional exhaustion not just for the ppl in question but for followers/mutuals/friends. I spent far too long and waaaay too much mental energy thinking that being the loudest and the boldest would get something to change. but the scammers keep scamming and the shit just keeps going. and sure it's fun as hell to shoot the shit and pick and bitch and laugh with your mutuals. baby yall know I love a good simblr circlejerk. but ya know, when you sit down and think about it it's a lil depressing. and the ppl you're talking to/around are already Aware and eventually the anger wears off and they're just tired of hearing about it. you're preaching to the choir and everyone is just pissed and tired with no clear goal to work towards.

Part of that exhaustion is why i made @alwaysfreecc as a positive way to boost always free creators, without focusing on the paywallers. as well as always supporting alternate ways of getting paywalled cc. but I think it takes a lil more than just that. I think, like the post I just reblogged was saying, people need to learn how to make their own content too. I know there's a learning curve, but so many things paywallers make are outright easy to do yourself. Some aren't- there are paywall creators that put great effort into their content and make it worth your money- but a lot of them are. And that isn't to say you should make everything yourself, there's nothing wrong with supporting creators that make content you find interesting or wouldn't want to do yourself, but it can be really rewarding to learn how to make simple edits and recolors on your own. And, image editing and 3d modeling skills can also benefit you elsewhere in life! Whether professionally or when modding other games. Knowing how to make cc in sims helped me figure out how to make certain things for skyrim and fallout, for example. Hell, it's just plain FUN to figure out and do, and I think the community could always use more of that.

Also, sometimes it's freeing to just, stop using certain creators' content. Like, i used to be bitching yet downloading stuff off dhm and shit, out of spite mostly cos half the stuff I didn't even like. But since I cleared out a lot of paywallers' stuff, besides a few I think are worth it/doing things honestly, it just feels better. I don't even think about those mfs anymore until I see something about them on my dash and then I can barely remember who they are lol. You don't realize how much you really don't NEED any of that shit & how you were kinda just downloading it to be downloading it, until you toss it. AND it feels great to have mostly always free creators' content & support them. Liiike i feel proud of ppl i saw get started and are STILL FREE and making awesome stuff, it's exciting! even when I'm not playing the game, I see their posts and be like "dang I need to grab that when I update" or "man they've gotten so much better in so little time" or "wow I never thought of that idea/seen that before". Bc always free peeps get to be so damn creative bc they don't have deadlines or turning off their paying audience to worry about. Like it's so cool and positive and I love that.

idk, just. based on what I've experienced here, i feel like it's kinda time to focus less on what the assholes are doing now (aka the same exact thing they've been doing for years) and more on what to do to make our own personal experiences better. which I know a lot of us are doing! I just wish I personally had done it earlier lol so maybe someone else needs to hear that too. like toss these dummies to the curb and replace them is what I'm sayin. If not in the whole community but just your personal circle. raise awareness as needed sure but don't let em take any more of your energy. cos if you are petty like me (😂) it'll hurt em way more to cast em out than yell at em. all the ppl that have bitched at me yet still have my cc in their folders come to mind lmfao, cos personally that gives me more satisfaction than anything else so I know it's probably the same for the scammers! Like a "you hate me but you can't bear to not use my shit huh 😏" type of deal. Don't give em that sick pleasure! (/projecting) Just focus on you and yours and make some sick ass content for yourself, then share it to me thx 💅

[jewish-vents]

first - i just want to say thank you for making this blog. it’s so important to know that we aren’t alone in the many things we’re experiencing and feeling right now, especially when so many of us have become painfully isolated as of late.

i apologize for how long this one is going to be.

i’ve been feeling so, so alone recently. my tumblr dash has been cut down to just a handful of jewish blogs that i can trust to be kind and understanding and nuanced, but it means that the majority of the content i see is about antisemitism and the war. after a while, it becomes draining to scroll through what feels like endless sadness. i turned to looking at fandom tags instead of following fandom blogs, but it makes me feel equally as insane to click on a blog about race cars and immediately see a post with 60k notes calling what’s happening in gaza “the new holocaust”. i started going back on twitter, but fan accounts on there too are only safe for a day or so before the account owner shares some awful antisemitic tweet from an account known to be an anti-jewish extremist. i went back on instagram briefly, but i was soon afraid to look at people’s stories for fear i’d see something terrible and lose yet another trusted person from my life.

in person, i have to walk by signs saying “zionism = genocide” and hastily scribbled palestinian flags with the colors in the wrong spot on my way to class every day. a wall across from my apartment says “BDS” in giant letters. i haven’t opened my curtains in months because of it. a “protest” of about 25 people stood in the center of campus and yelled and waved their fists in passing students’ faces, so jewish students didn’t go to class on any of the days they gathered. i only have one non jewish friend left at school - the rest abandoned me because i either called them out on antisemitic rhetoric or refused to go along with the idea that anyone, palestinian or israeli, muslim or jewish, is less than human. i had taken several of them along to our hillel’s seder in the past. i don’t know who i can safely go with this year. i have a few jewish friends, of course, but i love bringing goyische friends with little connection to judaism along to experience how joyful and loving jewish holidays can be.

it feels like there is no escape from this fucking war. it sickens me that it’s the only thing people pretend to care about - where is the attention for sudan, ukraine, armenia, uyghurs in china, syria, guyana? how is putting an emoji in your twitter bio or putting a translucent overlay of the palestinian flag on your tumblr icon any sort of real activism? how have we gone from “antisemitism is wrong” to “(((zionists))) control the world media”? it seems like the war is a fandom to these people. it seems like nobody cares enough to fully read and think critically about what they share, let alone do real research beyond looking at an infographic somebody shared on their instagram story. they’ll add on “don’t forget your click today!” to an unrelated twitter thread that went viral, flip the bird at the local starbucks, and put “won’t you free my palestine” on their instagram stories. they’ll anonymously tell a jew online to commit suicide. they’ll feel secure in the knowledge that they’re the perfect leftist, that this is somehow “good trouble”. all this praxis, and nothing to show for it but massive surges in hate crimes against jews. good job, guys! you singlehandedly saved every innocent person in gaza!

it’s isolating. it’s scary. jews can’t mourn. jews can’t be angry. jews can’t disagree. jews can’t suffer. jews can’t be whole, complex people with diverse beliefs and experiences. suffering is a game, and the goal is to hurt the most, scream the most, die the most, all to appease western leftists whose closest connection to war and violence was reading the hunger games in middle school.

i’m tired of it all. i want a peaceful and just resolution to the war. i want the mindless hatred everywhere to stop. i want to be able to scroll through social media and see nothing but fandom. i want to walk through campus with my magen david showing and all the friends i lost by my side on the way to the hillel seder. i want to open my curtains again. i know the experience of one diaspora jew is nothing compared to what people living in israel and palestine are currently going through, yet i still need this all to end. i don’t think any of us can go on like this, but we must, because we have. for thousands of years, we’ve gone on. that still doesn’t mean it has to be this hard all the time.

all i can think is “now we are slaves. next year may we be free.” now we are slaves to hatred and violence and suffering. next year may we all be free. next year may we all be in jerusalem.

.

[iamthecomet]

𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘚𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯: 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘦

Rating: Pairing: Mountain & Cumulus & Dew Word Count: 743 Mountain and Cumulus make Dew's favorite cake for his summoning day. Mushy May brought to you by @forlorn-crows Divider by @ghuleh-recs

Mountain doesn’t consider himself much of a baker. He isn’t Cumulus who can whip up scones, and cookies, and marvelous cakes in an afternoon. He isn’t Dew who has an overall knowledge of all things kitchen that seems to be endless. But, he knows how to follow a recipe. And he knows how to make one thing perfectly.

Dew’s summoning day cake. 

If it was up to Dew–no one would make him anything. They’d have dinner together–that Dew cooked, and play games on the ancient N64 system, or watch a campy horror movie. There would be no cake, no gifts, no fuss. 

It’s not because Dew doesn’t like cake and gifts and fuss–it’s because he doesn’t think he deserves them–sees them as superfluous. 

Mountain won’t stand for it. 

Cumulus is with him, of course. Mountain feels better with her around when he’s baking. Like even if she just stood somewhere in the room and didn’t help it would come out better. She’s standing next to him, creaming butter and sugar while Mountain steeps strong earl gray tea to infuse into the batter. 

Cumulus measures out honey and adds it to her mixture of wet ingredients. Eggs are next. The kitchen already smells divine and they haven’t even put it in the oven yet. 

“He’s going to complain,” Mountain says, apprehensive. 

“He always complains. He doesn’t like when people do things for him.”

“I just wonder if maybe we should listen to him for once.” Mountain strains the tea into Cumulus’ mixture and she sighs. Humming softly as the herbal smell hits her. She adds a dash of lavender–her secret ingredient. 

“What and do nothing?” 

Mountain shakes his head. “Less, maybe. I mean I don’t like when people go all out for me–it feels–I don’t like to be seen like that.” 

“But that’s you, Mount,” Cumulus says softly, watching Mountain sift dry ingredients together. “Dew’s different. And we’re already making the cake.” 

“I don’t mean the cake. Of course we have to make the cake. I mean the gifts, the fawning over him. Maybe we could just watch a bad movie and–”

“Are you really going to be able to watch him make us all dinner on his summoning day and not help at all?” 

Mountain shakes his head. “No.” 

“What did you get him?” 

“Besides the cake?”

Cumulus laughs, she nudges Mountain with her hip. “What? Are you keeping it from me too?” 

Mountain blushes a little. “He found this rock when we were on tour, it’s not even anything special but it’s pretty. I…I might have stolen it from him and made it into a necklace.” 

Cumulus laughs, bright and airy. She takes the bowl of dry ingredients from Mountain and starts to add them little by little to the wet. “And you say you don’t want to fawn over him.”

Mountain flushes, he can’t help it. “He deserves it.” 

Cumulus nods in agreement as she mixes the batter. Mountain watches it come together–he dips his finger in, unable to resist the herbal sweetness of it. The lingering flavor of honey and bergamot burst on his tongue. He goes for another taste and Cumulus bats his hand away.  “Save some for, Droplet.” 

“Droplet will get plenty,” Mountain says, leaning over and kissing her on the temple, sneaking his finger into the batter as he does. 

“Enough!” She hip checks him, and curls her arm protectively over the bowl. “Go make the caramel or the frosting or something. You know Swiss can only keep him busy for so long.” 

Mountain smiles warmly at her, turning to dump the softened butter into the stand mixer. “Yes, ma’am.” 

When Dew and Swiss appear–an hour and a half later, the cake is done. Sitting tall and proud on the table in the middle of the kitchenette. Perfectly iced, caramel glaze dripping decadently down the sides. 

Dew’s smile lights up his face, his eyes dart over to Mountain and Cumulus a pink blush rising to his cheeks. “You didn’t have to.” 

“You alway say that–and yet, we always do.” Cumulus crosse the room to pull Dew into a hug, to kiss him gently on the forehead. 

“Thank you,” he whispers.

Mountain answers Dew’s smile with one of his own. This–he remembers–is why they do this. Just for these small moments when Dew allows himself to be loved and doted on without complaint or embarrassment. For the moment when he sees his favorite cake, waiting, just for him.

[blurglesmurfklaine]

4, 7, 9, 12 for the ask game <3 (all glee if possible)

Yay, thanks for these Crys! 7 was previously answered so I went ahead and skipped it :)

4. say something nice about a ship you don't ship (it can be another ship in your fandom, a mutual's OTP, etc)

I don’t ship St. Berry, but I am of the opinion that if it couldn’t be Finn, I’m glad it was Jesse. He and Rachel really are two sides of the same coin and they seem to love each other very deeply and I hope they’re happy together!

9. a ship that isn't your OTP but that you enjoy

Samcedes 😭 they are my emotional support heterosexuals your honor. But also, they are two genuinely good people who care deeply about one another samcedes you will always be endgame to me

12. compliment someone else in your fandom

Okay this is gonna be a lot because I AM going to do all the active fandoms I’m in! So under the read more!

Glee:

First of all you, Crys! And @backslashdelta You are both so talented with your gif making that it kind of drives me insane.

@kurtsascot is probably one of the most talented writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of interacting with. I feel so lucky that we’ve gotten her so late in the game! I feel similarly about @rockitmans and @thelegendofjenna

@esilher @twinkkurt and @justgleekout make the most BEAUTIFUL fanart I’ve ever seen, and I also wanna thank @carsonphillips for klainegifs and keeping the fandom interesting with their events!

@somefeministtheatrepls is not only an amazing friend but the most thoughtful beta reader and honestly partner in my writing?? Writing is much less stressful because I don’t even worry about things being clunky or weird because I know her ass will help that chapter SHINE

@nancysgillians @kurthummeldeservesbetter also get shoutouts because they are wonderful people to have in your life

Newsies:

I could fill novels with how much I love and appreciate @somanywords! Their amazing storytelling and also volunteering to make art for the MiniBang I hosted earlier this year??? On top of listening to my insane ramblings?? They don’t make em like this anymore folks

@one-paper-bag is also SOOOOOO incredibly talented with their art, and their lovely comments on my Spider-Man AU keep me going (on GOD we are gonna get you another chapter ON GOD!!!!)

@livesincerely and @agentsnickers are some of the most prolific and INSANELY TALENTED writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, and also genuinely lovely people! You know when you see someone on your dash and ur just like “wow. I hope they are having a FANTASTIC day and life. They deserve one.”

@piedoesnotequalpi and @regina-cordium are also so incredibly FUNNY and have the most correct takes on every single newsie and that’s on that ❤️

911:

I’m relatively new to this fandom, so I don’t know a ton of people yet, but there are def people I see on my dash that I have noticed!

@cranberrymoons @lesbianrobin @insertlovelyperson have written some of my absolute FAAAAAAVE fics! I feel like they really have a handle on who the characters are in a way that’s true to the show and kind of difficult to pull off!

@texasbama makes amazing gifs and honestly anytime I see her on my dash I laugh bc genuinely she’s so funny. Also on the list of hilarious contributors is @buckgettingstruck

And a couple of people who I think have genuinely great vibes are @buckera @leathercouchcushion and @yaz-the-spaz

And of course I can’t talk about 911 without a second mention to @regina-cordium who puts up with all my Texas!Buddie nonsense andbansndbsk

-

Okay yeah so that was a LOT sorry!! I didn’t mean for it to get so long BUT I do mean every single word! I’m really blessed to have met so many amazing people through fandom and my experience on this site has been nothing less than superb because of yall ❤️

[aydaptic]

I find it weird how Todd is a child abuser, Zlatko experiments on androids and turns them into monstrosities, Perkins betrays and kills Markus but yet Gavin is considered the worst person because he *checks list* doesn't consider androids alive (like almost everyone else in the game at that point) and doesn't trust Connor.

Among those you mention, Gav is by far the most justified. Yet I wanna clear some things up here bc I'm not a hypocrite.

1.) Todd -- who doesn't think androids are alive -- is an android child abuser.

"You don't want anything, you're just a goddamn piece of plastic." - Todd Williams

It's still phcked up that he's abusing/can kill something that resembles a kid to the T, but it's important to make that distinction. We see no proof of him abusing a human child (...even though it can be theorized bc his wife took their kid and left.)

Abusing an android kid is just as bad as abusing a human kid -- we know this -- but Todd doesn't see it that way, so that describes/partly justifies his reasoning. There's no such thing as 'abusing' a machine and that's how Todd sees it.

A lot of ppl are also (wrongly) infantilizing Con, so I'm not surprised that they consider Gav's bad treatment of Con worse than Todd's bad treatment of Alice who is a literal kid. Seems like most of them don't even care about Alice/kids in the 1st place (...and that says everything you need to know about these POS'.)

Mistreating a kid (Alice) is way more abhorrent than mistreating a grown-ass adult (Con.) Alice is also passive while Con often instigates conflict. So Todd is way worse than Gav by that alone.

2.) Zlatko -- who is aware androids are alive -- thinks he's doing them a favor.

"Believe me, you’re better off being erased and feeling nothing… No more pain… No more hopes dashed… I almost envy you." - Zlatko Andronikov

He's the worst among those four, but this is again a scenario where you need to see the situation from his perspective. Yet he knows they're alive/capable of emotions and that makes him a million times worse than Gav.

3.) Perkins -- who is aware androids are alive -- is doing his job.

"That android… [North] You seem to really care about her… You don't want her to die, do you?" - Richard Perkins

...and if the lover status isn't there

"You could have what you've always dreamed of." - Richard Perkins

In Perkins' eyes, it's about national security. Androids have killed humans (Partners/Stormy Night/Broken -- even if Markus didn't actually kill Leo or Carl, that's what the public thinks -- Zlatko/Spare Parts/etc. too many chapters to mention,) destroyed public property (Capitol Park,) hijacked media (The Stratford Tower,) demonstrated illegally (Freedom March,) etc. Not to mention that androids are superior to humans in every way and nothing tells Perkins that they won't eventually get violent if taking the peaceful route.

Yet his knowing androids feel makes him (as Zlatko) a million times worse than Gav.

"'Could always try roughing it up a little. After all, it’s not human…" - Gavin Reed

Meaning Gav doesn't think they're alive (unlike Zlatko and Perkins.)

Gav isn't the only character I (partly) defend on shit like this. I just defend the others 'less' bc 1.) they're worse, and 2.) they don't get nearly as much undeserved vitriol as Gav does. Something that's legitimately insane bc, again, they're way worse by a longshot and I'll explain why down below.

Con stans (fandom majority) are thinking emotionally instead of logically

ppl hate/envy Gav bc he's a conventionally attractive white man (you don't see a lot of Todd, Perkins, Zlatko, Leo, and Allen fans even if there are a minuscule few bc they're not conventionally attractive)

Funny that we don't see a lot of hate for Amanda. An AI or not, she's the worst influence in Con's life with her emotional manipulation. Something way worse than physical abuse. I wonder why... (not really bc *cough* you apparently can't say anything bad about a black woman without being racist/misogynistic *cough*) Ofc there are some ppl that aren't afraid to speak up against her, but it's nothing compared to the shit Gav gets.

It's also why I'm not talking about North often bc the majority are (rightfully) defending her already. My voice isn't needed there. Every single person -- other than me, in my experience -- who defends Gav is being spinelessly backhanded about it.

Defending someone doesn't mean you agree with them or condone their actions. It's simply proof that one has the empathy/critical thinking skills to understand their point of view. Something lacking nowadays.

[gilly-moon]

PERCY JACKSON TV SHOW REVIEW

(SPOILER ALERT! I Did Not Like It)

It has been 16 long years since I first picked up The Lightning Thief, and once again...I am faced with an adaption of one of my favorite books that is so painfully disappointing. And now that the tv show is completely out, it's time to purge the collection of thoughts I compiled on it:

Starting on one of the (few) positives, the cast was incredible. I know for a FACT that they are all wonderfully talented individuals, and I aim all of my gripes with their acting at the directors and writers.

So much telling. So little showing. Stop explaining the plot and the mythology to me. SHOW it to me. Explain later only when necessary.

And yet, some things weren't explained at all! I know, as someone who read the books, what blue food means to Sally and Percy. But the show never explains its significance. To the unknowing watcher, it's just a weird quirk, not a small rebellion between a woman and her kid against the life they're stuck in. It baffles me what the writers chose to over explain versus under explain. There's no clear reason for either behavior, and it permeates the writing in a bad way.

There's also a lot of the kids just being dragged from point A to point B by an outside force, rather than their own actions. They never really felt alone or even in danger on their quest, because gods kept showing up to help them along. I did not like that.

These kids aren't allowed to be kids. I stg you could make them teens or young adults and the dialogue/their actions would be the same. That's not good.

Why do they always have all of the information!!!?? They immediately know it's Medusa. Echidna introduces herself and they immediately know who she is and that it's a Chimera in her bag. They immediately know what the Lotus casino is. Why? It makes the stakes feel so low, rather than the mad dash scramble in the books that happens a lot when characters have to remember the myths and how to beat a monster mid-fight. And it makes all these scenarios so boring!!!

Also so many of the fight/chase scenes were boring or anticlimactic. The only good ones I can think of were in the first two episodes, and then one with Ares. Someone actually slipped in some good choreo in those few fights, but completely forgot to add it in to....the rest of the show....

There's very little about the show that feels magical. CG is used, obviously, but at times it feels like they should've gone further with it, or used it even more, and they just....didn't. The visuals end up feeling clunky and not very cohesive, with zero whimsy. Hate to make this comparison, but the Harry Potter movies were VERY good at showing the lines between the magical world and the muggle world, and the tension that occurs when the two interact. There is....none of that in the PJO series. Zip. Zero. And the mythological CG that is there is more often than not static or boring.

Break for a positive! I actually really liked that Percy was learning mythology from Mythomagic. The show wasn't really consistent on that point - saying it was his mom instead most of the time - but that was such a fun and clever way to work in the card game and make it plot-relevant. As someone with ADHD, I can confirm I would also learn mythology WAY better if it was for my favorite game.

Ok back to the negatives - Wtf is up with the portrayal of the gods? For one, they're boring to look at. Nothing about their designs makes them feel 'godly' and while that's ok with some gods (Hermes for one, tho I have issues with his weird beige sweat suit look) why is Ares just some regular ass biker dude? Where are the flaming eyes?? And radical skin-leather bike?? He couldn't even have a CUSTOM bike with red bloody paint and boar heads and chain link handles or something???

And the gods are way too fucking nice. Sorry. I don't have an issue with Hermes being nice but. Ares having a heart-to-heart with Grover? When his presence is supposed to stir everyone up into a rage? And Hephaestus sees Annabeth refuse to give up on her friend and just goes 'awww, ok, you and Percy can go, and take my rival's shield back to him too cause I'm just so nice.' Sorry, no. I'm fine with gods being helpful - Hephaestus helps (reluctantly) in the later books. But it was at a price! A favor for a favor! Not a 'get out of jail free' card just because he was moved by normal ass human compassion!!

Hades gets his own bullet point because who the fuck was that. As a child of Hades, I'm offended that this sweet fruity guy just wanders up and goes 'hey, how's it going, wanna snack?' like, that is NOT my dad. My dad had skeleton soldiers filling his halls and a garden of jewels and a voice so loud it rattled the whole Underworld. Whoever that was in the show was a pathetic imitation.

The point of the first series is to work up to Percy throwing it in the gods' faces how awful and neglectful they've been of demigods and specifically their own children. Demanding that they do better. But if they're already showing compassion and 'humanity' in the context of the first book/first season of the tv show....Percy starts running out of ammo against the gods. There's no coherent story progression where Percy spends years seeing the worst of the gods and the best of them at very distinct, important times of his life and his story. It no longer feels like a massive change they have to make in the system, something that deserves a godly favor for Percy to demand of them. Luke no longer feels like his fury at the gods is wholly justified. The whole series begins to crumble because the gods already have a good reason for being how they are, rather than being thoroughly selfish assholes who only dote on demigods when they do something really cool. And the exceptions are presented at intelligent moments that prove to Percy when he most needs it that the gods can be better, they just need a forceful push to get there.

That being said, where was Percy getting the info that the other gods were feeling scared and abused by Zeus? I love the balls on this kid, but like...when did he make these assumptions and why? That whole scene felt really unearned.

Also Olympus was BORING. And EMPTY. And DARK. It looked like we were just back in the Underworld. Which. The Underworld was fucking boring too. Some neat visuals, sure, but put that in some high fantasy show. Not this one.

One last positive before my final point - there were some pretty good jokes scattered around. Not nearly enough, but I did really enjoy the Dionysus introduction and a handful of lines from Percy. Also releasing the animals in Vegas - Grover being like 'oh, you were worried about the humans' got me good.

The final word that kept spinning through my head after finishing episode 8 was: Pathetic. Luke's betrayal was pathetic. No deadly scorpion. No commitment to that period of time in the books we were convinced he really was evil. And Gabe just stumbling on the package with Medusa's head in it? PATHETIC. Percy outright asked his mom if she was being abused in the book, and she took fate into her own hands to statue-ify that bastard. But no. The show was through-and-through just a pathetic, watered-down version of an incredibly fun, emotional, brutal, exciting series of books. I know there was a lot of heart behind this production, but I did not feel it at all. But what else should I have expected from modern Disney?

[alan-in-the-outernet]

vra single player drabble

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

The journey was almost over, but Nala couldn't bring himself to relax. Something was wrong and despite Alan's reassurances, he just couldn't fully trust this. It was Nala's idea I'm the first place to talk to Noogai for help getting back. It seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, if Alan did somehow spark life into the game with that glitch interacting with the ability he had, then surely a digital god would be able to do something to assist him. And yet... He wasn't able to shake the feeling that Alan was being watched by someone other than him. The way the world structured itself seemed to want Alan to go there, despite the fact that it should've been the opposite. He told Alan of these concerns, but they were out of other options.

Nala watched him approach the tree, which opened to make a doorway for him. Suddenly, the uneasiness that Nala had been feeling turned into an alarm as the god began to speak.

"You have returned to me, now we can again be one."

Nala knew that Alan was supposed to be in no real danger in the game, but this was wrong. He didn't know what Noogai could possibly mean, and he didn't want to find out. The danger felt real.

"RUN!" was all Nala could say.

Alan listened and was clearly beginning to panic, trying to make a dash for the exit. Before he could get out however, the door closed. Alan screamed when he was grabbed and he struggled to break free, but nothing had any effect. The god then began to... Absorb him. He screamed in terror, but was helpless.

Nala tried to intervene, but he wasn't able to access the file. He wasn't able to do anything as Alan began to disappear. The screams faded into sobs before eventually those were snuffed out. Alan was gone. Nala was frozen in horror as he stared at the screen, his own tears breaking through. It was his game that did this, his creation that did this. He came up with the horrible idea to speak with Noogai.

He felt sick and he ended up being overcome with nausea, vomit hitting the floor.

How had things gone so terribly wrong?

A minutes later, he got a phone call. He didn't want to answer it, but he felt that he had to. What he didn't expect was to hear Alan's voice. It was rougher than normal as if he'd also been crying and the way his voice shook supported that theory, but he was alive and he was home.

...The words Alan was saying... felt like they were mixing together, as Nala's shaky hand held the phone. He was... home. He was... alive...

It didn't make any sense. Nala had watched him be absorbed by the god... those screams were still echoing in his mind... the sobs and cries... the sudden silence...

Your fault... your fault... yourfaultyourfaultyourfaultYOURFAULTYOURFAULTWHYDIDN'TYOUDOANYTHINGWHYDIDYOUSUGGESTTHATWHYDIDYOUJUSTSITTHEREWHYDIDN'TYOUDOMOREWHYDIDN'TYOUACTQUICKERWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHWYWHWYWHWYWWWWYWWYHW

"Nala...?!"

...He blinked... staring absently at the wall in front of him... the phone gone from his hand... when had he dropped it...? When had his nails began to dig into his head, spit dripping from his mouth and tears pooling in his burning else... bile having raised in his throat...

...He pushed it aside... reaching for the phone... trying to get his throat to work... but nothing was working... his legs felt so shaky... he...

"I-I'm... s-sorry..."

He barely choked it out... but once he did... he couldn't stop...

"I'm sorry... I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry..."

He didn't know how much he said it... he couldn't hear Alan's response...

...He didn't feel real...

[mytragedyperson]

Dabihawks X super psycho love headcanons

Okay, I was in a music mood and now this song came on and it gave me DabiHawks ideas so, let's go with it.

Song is super psycho love by Simon Curtis.

Hawks actually becomes a villain AU? I think so. Why not?

So, it starts how it did in canon, Hawks is originally trying to join the League to spy on them for the Hero Safety commission.

He meets Dabi and is attracted to him but is also like but he's a villain and nothing's gonna happen

He is wrong

First encounters are the usual mix of threats and sexual tension that i've seen in the few DabiHawks fics I've read. Very much I'm attracted to you but I don't like you as a person, you know.

Hawks manages to join the League

This is when things start to change

Dabi is still suspicious of Hawks but is also horny and attracted to Hawks so he starts flirting with him, but only when it's just the two of them. When they're around the League he teeters between dismissive and insulting. He's either ignoring him or arguing with him.

Hawks is naturally confused but decides two can play at that game and starts returning the same energy

Naturally this results in them sleeping together

What does that mean it's friends, or in this case enemies, with benefits time, with a dash of secret relationship because Dabi does not want the League to know he's fucking Hawks.

Hawks is fine with keeping things a secret too because he doesn't want it to get back to the Hero Safety commission, because this is so not the mission. He was told to infiltrate the League. At no point was he told to sleep with one of the members. In fact, it was strongly discouraged

Meanwhile around the others, they still act like they hate each other. It's only partially an act. They still don't really like or trust each other but the sex is amazing and they just keep accidentally turning each other on, or maybe not so accidentally, and then dragging each other around to fuck.

This is a League of Villains are like family thing as well so at the same time, Hawks is slowly bonding with the League and starts having doubts about his mission.

Also some of the League kinda know or have a feeling something is going on between Dabi and Hawks but choose not to comment because they feel it's safer to just not know.

Anyway this continues for a while and slowly, it goes from enemies with benefits to friends with benefits. They start talking and very slowly, very cautiously start opening up and showing their softer sides.

This is a slowburn because trust is a very big problem.

And then Hawks starts developing feelings for Dabi

Dabi may or may not return these feelings yet, but if he does feel the same, he doesn't tell him.

And they're still pretending to hate each otehr around the League so Hawks feels even more confused and it slowly starts driving him insane.

Every day he cares a little less about his mission and his hero career, starts cring about the League members because he sees them just being normal (or as normal as they can be) people, falls in love with Dabi, starts blowing off hero stuff to hang out with the League, using the mission as an excuse.

Hawks finds out who Dabi is and what happened to him and how Endeavour treated him.

And he loses faith because, if that's their number one, and he's a child abuser and it was covered up

So Hawks returns honesty with honesty and admits his mission and how he doesn't want to go through with it anymore.

They both tell the League everything as well and, while there may be some distrust and negative reactions initially, they end up making up.

Dabi and Hawks get together.

The League exposes Endeavour and the Hero Public Safety Commission.

Todoroki Shouto surprises everyone when he backs up Dabi's story and shares his own experiences with Endeavour

turns out he knew Dabi was his brother all along

Maybe Shouto is the UA traitor in this one or maybe he just loves his brother, and hasn't forgiven his dad.

either way after this changes to the society are rapidly made, any corrupt heroes are rooted out.

The League of Villains do still recieve consequences for their crimes but they also get the help they need in terms of mental health.

And they kill All For One for using and manipulating Shigaraki

Okay I'm about done. If you liked this, my asks are open. Send a song and any character or ship from BNHA or one of the other fandomes in my pinned post and I'll do the same for them. I say ships meaning general relationships, not necessarily romantic ships

[veryinnovative]

hi corazón de melón <3 Can I have 4, 14 & 23 for the writers ask game pretty please? :)

hello my fig <3 u can have anything u ask me

4 - a story idea you haven’t written yet (like absolutely nothing)

me and @annori <3 yapped a lot about it on dash but right now what i am really itching to write but simply don't have the time for is the jayvik au with alien viktor!

for jegulus it's a dragon age au for a special someone <3

14 - where do you get your inspiration?

mostly from shows/movies! most my wips are inspired by them. followed by games and songs. only one wip is inspired by a song, or well, a genre: midwest emo and that is maybe you love me maybe you floridon't which is also the name of a song!

23 - pick three keywords that describe your writing

INCONSISTENT . my prose is all over the place and depends on what im writing and the vibe im going for. i don't think i have a writing style i can be recognized by because it's always vastly different. same with artstyles. i think ill always be that 'jack of trades' sorta creator. DIALOGUE-CENTRIC . a lot of foreshadowing is done through dialogue as well plus i think it's my strongest suit. i love dialogue. also im very lazy when it comes to everything other than dialogue. which is funny because if i write scifi or other fantasy aus then i can go INSANE? NICHE METAPHORS . speaks for itself. but also certain expressions. im originally from the middle east meaning that my brain just thinks differently when it comes to prose and i hit a HARD wall when certain thinks simply cant be translated into English or don't sound right in English the way they do in e.g. arabic. it infuriates me. like the way the english language will never capture emotion the way middle eastern languages do will always be something i really struggle with. like english simply doesn't have fixed phrases for heart-churning tragic romantique and it will always be a bummer. i can only hope that when i use a specific term or phrase someone from SWANA will go 'I SEE YOU!!!!! IS EE YOU!!!' and tbh that is enough for me

it's why iv been writing arab james so much. have u met arab dads. he's waxing poetry about regulus' eyes on a random tuesday afternoon, entirely unprovoked. he sighs dreamily, entirely sober, murmuring something along the lines of 'you could turn me blind and i wouldn't mind because you're the last thing i saw' and regulus will look up from the pot he was stirring like 'i just asked if this needed more salt???'

[switch-writer]

The Fate of the Cards

A/N: AHHH. Okay, despite all the requests I gotta do, I THINK THIS IS A PERFECT PROJECT TO COME BACK ON. THIS IS MY PART IN A ART/WRITING TRADE WITH @giggly-toybox WHO IS A SWEETHEART. Genuinely give them a follow. BUT! They’re the biggest Basil Hawkins and X Drake fan around, and they deserve some fun shenanigans 😤 BUT THANK YOU FOR THE PATIENCE AND I APOLOGIZE IF ITS SHORT. And I hope you enjoy very much🫶🫶

Ah, yes, The Supernovas, otherwise known as the worst generation, were known to be… aggressive. Monstrous pirates of thieves and brutality… similar to the warlords in a weird way, except the worst generation weren’t Government dogs.

Not that most warlord’s did their jobs anyways… But that’s besides the point.

The point is that the supernovas were brutal pirates who wouldn’t team up for nothing. Not a chance. At least that’s what most would assume. Yet, here they were, Basil Hawkins, the blonde who happened to enjoy tarot card readings, and X Drake, the former marine who swapped sides and who’s since been a pirate.

These two were… reasonable enough to get together and make a strange sort of team despite differences. Although they argued a bit. Drake was more quiet, so was Hawkins… but Hawkins certainly didn’t hesitate to ask questions and came across as harsh. But didn’t most Captains? Especially since X Drake would give him the same attitude back.

“Relax, Hawkins.” X spoke with his usual calm, dead serious tone. While Hawkins typically had that same tone, Drake managed to get him worked up. Over what you may ask? “I refuse to believe that you won fair and square.” Basil accused harshly. This wasn’t what he predicted after all! It had to be cheating!

“Then keep not believing it. Doesn’t make it any less true.” The former Rear Admiral spoke with a careless tone, scoffing in slight disbelief. “Are you actually upset?” Hawkins shot a glare towards the man in response, making it clear he was upset.

“…Oh come on.” X spoke with a deadpan tone, but nodded slowly. “Lighten up, Hawkins, I don’t want to—“ He was cut short by the tarot reader tossing the poker cards of sorts at him.

Silence… a long… dreading… moment of silence.

“Basil Hawkins.”

“…If I had to assume, something tells me that was the wrong choice.” Hawkins spoke calmly, but his eyes showed uncertainty. Was this supposed to be what his previous reading was about?

Drake kept his cold stare as Hawkins slowly shifted his foot, ready to dash if the situation called for it.

“Do those cards tell you when to run? Because only a fool would sit here.” X Drake spoke.

“…Does that mean—“ “yes, it means run!” And suddenly, the zoan devil fruit user dashed forward, and if Hawkins didn’t go in slight shock, he would’ve squawked. However, he didn’t! Instead, he had let out a much more manly noise! Instead of a squawk, he gasped dramatically and then yelped like a dog as he stumbled backwards and began to run.

The long haired Blondie found himself rushing around a room, practically playing tag and using a structure for ‘protection’ so you can’t be tagged. Except this wasn’t tag, in fact, it was cat and mouse. And Basil had no clue what happened when the cat caught him, the mouse.

“You… idiot—! Woah—!” Hawkins spoke with a strong spike of frantic nature in his tone as Drake attempted to fool him by double backing around the couch. “Don’t be stupid—! Stop playing this game!” Basil spoke harshly, attempting to be intimidating and tough.

“You accused me of cheating, I don’t take it lightly. And that was before throwing cards at me.” “You had to cheat—!” The paramecia devil fruit user accused. Which the man who had reddish-brown hair inhaled, before giving a slight smile.

“Accuse me of it, and I’ll do it—!” He claimed, suddenly jumping over the couch, his cape/cloak flowing in the force and wind from his dash and jump, and he almost tackling Basil, wrapping his arms around him as they stumbled together, Hawkins almost fell down as Drake caught both him and the card reader, getting strength in his position and firm in his stance.

And they were stable.

And silent. Hawkins didn’t want to say a word. No. He couldn’t. Or else the reddish-brown haired man would strike—

Suddenly, out of the blue, the man began to feel giggles bubbling in his throat, a smile twitching on his face, his body even feeling that tingly feeling, causing him to squirm. “H-Hehey—!” Hawkins reflectively squirmed upon recognizing the feeling. A ticklish feeling caused by the ‘former’ marine’s fingers.

“Didn’t run well enough.” Drake claimed cleverly before his fingers spidered up ‘the magician’s’ sides and ribs, causing the man to panic and finally let out built up bubbly giggles.

“Y-You’re sohoho insuhufferable!” Hawkins scolds, attempting to remain tough despite it failing miserably. He was a bunch of giggles! And now that the giggle dam broke, it couldn’t stop.

But in response to his tough reply, X decided the best course of action was simple, his fingers teased and tapped across his ribs, occasionally making a stop to scribble between and on the sensitive nerves through there, causing a small squeak followed by soft giggling, and Basil squirming side to side, trying to get out of his grasp.

“Q-Quhuhuit it! Yohou’re a evil, awfuhuhul man—!” The insults kept flowing, and suddenly, Drake moved his hands, making them crawl up to his neck and spidering around his neck. Those feelings across Hawkins neck made him straighten up his hunched over posture and squeal, causing chuckles and a small soft laugh.

“Apologize.” Drake required in exchange for mercy.

However, the fellow pirate was quite stubborn! He refused, shaking his head and grabbing at the ‘X’ tattooed man’s hands in a strong attempt to win. “N-Nehever!” The man in the white wavy sleeved shirt stuck up his nose, showing strength…

Until the marine strikes right at his stomach, scribbling and wiggling his fingers across it, causing the almost electric sensations to spike. And within seconds, that brave face was a smiling one at the least, Hawkins laughing out as he slowly went to the floor, throwing his head back in laughter.

While he squealed, his actual laugh was deeper. Granted, it wasn’t as deep as his speaking voice, but it was still deeper than those girly and sweet squeals and squeaks that only a group of mice could hear.

Drake however was amused by it, his fingers moving quick and effectively, causing the man to squirm and curl up, practically rolling around.

“DRAKE—!” He called out, squeezing his eyes shut with a sweet smile, kicking his legs a little bit as he felt those fingers scribble and poke at his belly, causing more cackles and laughs. “PLEHEASE—!” The blondie softly spoke, his voice weak due to his breathless laughter.

“Hm.” Drake acknowledged, sitting on the man’s legs to prevent him from rushing off, but his fingers stopped. His hands pulled away as the man giggled breathlessly, his hair messily in his face.

“Y-You’re ehevil—!” “I could be worse.” The man reminds the giggling blonde pirate, who begrudgingly agreed. “…But I have no doubt you cheated.” Hawkins states, a wobbly smile upon his face.

…He was still on about this?

Admittedly… Drake wasn’t completely honest. His morals were honorable, but he may of… fibbed and happened to rig the cards in his favor. He was just surprised that the man who always had cards in his hand noticed so fast, or rather was consistent in his accusations.

But due to the man being so quick on his feet and keeping up his accusations, Drake felt himself get… flustered.

“No denial—!” Basil spoke out, causing Drake to immediately claw his hands at the soft tummy, causing the man with the power of straw to start laughing with a happy tone, he certainly wasn’t opposed to this currently. “I’ll shut you up! No cheating was involved.” The darkly dressed man who happened to wear a feathered hat spoke with authority… although a smile grew on his face as he kept tickling Hawkins.

“qUHUHUIT—! BUFFOON!” Hawkins yelped, squealing before scrunching his nose up, a bright smile on his face. “Apologize, then say I won fair and square.”

And the tickling ensued due to stubbornness, the blonde shaking his head before laughing, using his hands to cover his mouth, refusing to show his smile now, his laughter still vocal and quite lovely to listen to even if muffled.

But, during that monent, Drake striked by wiggling a finger right into his belly button, causing a snort to suddenly come from the usually cynical man’s throat. With that, more laughter flowed from Basil’s mouth, a finger teasing and tickling right at his belly button. It was driving him crazy!

But it stopped, causing the magician to slowly open his eyes, shocked it stopped. But the moment he opened his eyes, the zoan user lifted his shirt and brushed a feather across his belly, causing a squeaky sound of a laugh to leave his throat, and immediately. He caved.

“eHEHE—! IT’S FAHAIR!”

Yelled the tarot reader, causing the man holding a feather to raise a brow. “Hm?”

“…And I’m… begrudgingly sorry.” Hawkins spoke softly with a huff.

“Much better.” And for good measure, Drake gave him a congratulations stroke from the feather in his hand, causing the straw-man to tumble over with a small laugh, causing him to hold his belly to attempt to block tickles. “T-THAHAT’S ENough—!” He exclaimed with a laugh, his hands batting at him now.

And with a nod, the reddish-brown haired man moved off his legs, letting his breathing even out… and finally… he relaxed. They both relaxed in silence. Hawkins was sprawled out on the floor, and Drake sat calmly nearby…

“…I did cheat.”

“…” and a slow head turn with a glare occurred, and within a moment, the blonde was on top of Drake. “You’ll pay for feeding into a delusion!”

As dramatic and loud as his wording was, it was silly… and X Drake found enjoyment in challenging Hawkins… as for Hawkins… if anyone were to tickle him, he supposed it’d be best for it to be him…

Especially when he could get his revenge.

[gaywatch]

So I started watching the first episode of The Sign, right? I'd had it on my computer for a couple/few days and couldn't immediately remember what it was actually about, but I knew it was a new Thai BL genre mashup thing I'd seen on my dash and that's good enough for me.

A team of special agents infiltrate a big warehouse/facility place at night. Okay. Cool. There are bombs and a hostage? Sure. One guy tells other guys what to do, so he must be the leader, and he tells a few guys to focus on the bombs and the others to find the hostage. They encounter bad guys when they get inside, and some of the fight choreo is cool and some of it is absurd, but I'm just happy to be seeing an action-oriented BL series and I've seen worse crimes committed by a low budget, no big deal.

But it's been a few minutes into the first episode now, and I'm starting to wonder a few things. We have stakes, technically: there are bombs and a hostage--it would be bad if the bombs went off while the team was inside because they would get hurt or killed, and by default we don't want to see a hostage harmed.

But we have no context. At all. I'm five minutes in and I know nothing. Who's the hostage? Who are the bad guys? What do the bad guys want? Why do I care? I'm assuming this is like some quick action-y beginning and we'll cut to a main character at some point to see the "real" first scene of the show, but now it's been like seven minutes and we're still here in this warehouse place. If the special ops team are supposed to be the cast, I haven't heard a single scrap of dialogue that wasn't about the task at hand. I haven't even seen anyone's face yet.

Tagging @bengiyo, @lurkingshan 'cause they were interested in a side comment I made about this in some tags.

Even when they finally start to pull up their masks and talk, it's all immediate business (which is somewhat understandable given they're in danger but we're still lacking important context). Who am I rooting for? Who are these dudes? Why is this one sequence taking over ten minutes without giving me anything or anyone to latch onto? Are they assuming I read a blurb on the premise of the show and then immediately hit play? Because that's a cardinal sin--you never assume that everyone who watches your show or reads your book will know the premise, even in this day and age. You always lay in the necessary exposition/context to immediately anchor the audience into the premise and main character (or cast). (The only time you can assume everyone already knows at least the broad strokes of a concept is in fanfiction, but even then there could still be changes you made that you need to clue people in on from the get go. )

Then Tharn got his first premonition about Phaya, and I was like 'ohhhh, this is a story about a guy with some form of precognition who's in some sort of special forces. I wish they could have brought this up ten minutes ago, but okay.'

And finally, the big reveal: it's all a test! They're trainees, not officers! Well, that certainly explains why we got zero context all this time, because they didn't want to give away The Trick. Except it didn't feel like a clever rug pull at all. Worrying that the audience will clue in to what's going on doesn't mean you get to just Not Tell Them. You mislead them instead. The team could have easily rattled off the necessary details and context about the mission--after the training reveal, we would have chalked it up to practice mission prep. And with no context or reason to care about anything, I sat there for fifteen minutes only to be told that I didn't have to care anyway because it was all staged.

I would have taken any context, even something super cliche and ham fisted. "Okay boys, remember: our old mission commander is being held hostage in there and they'll kill him unless we hand over their psychotic leader. It took us weeks to track them down to this warehouse, and if they escape again it's game over. Don't let me down!" or something, anything for me to latch onto besides Dudes Doing Things. It's okay to mislead the audience, in fact you pretty much have to in order to pull the well worn "it was all an exercise" trick in the first place.

And fifteen minutes to pull all that off was a rather astonishing waste of screen time. The opening scene in the 2009 reboot of Star Trek establishes a handful of characters, makes you care about them, takes them through an amazing high stakes action sequence, and has you in tears at the end as we watch a guy we've only known for a few minutes sacrifice himself to save what's left of the crew as the film's protagonist--his son--is literally born, and it does all of that in almost half the time.

Compare that to The Sign, where in fifteen minutes we know: dudes in black fight things, one guy has premonitions, and actually they're trainees. No complexity, emotional stakes, or context beyond that. I was floored.

But what really made my jaw drop came after that.

A first episode has a lot of heavy lifting to do. You're introducing a world, a cast, promising the type of fun that's to be had, kickstarting the central relationships, etc etc. One of the most fundamental aspects to all this set up is to let us know why the main character/cast is here, what they're trying to do, and why it matters if they fail. And the entire first episode of the sign doesn't have that. At all. Period.

Oh, we're introduced to characters, the harsh training, Tharn's gift, Tharn and Phaya's initial dynamic, but once again we're given no context or emotionally relevant exposition. Who are these dudes? Why are they training? Why do they care about becoming special ops? What's their motivation? Goals? Obstacles in the way of that goal? Motive/Goal/Obstacle is the engine of story, and we're not given a single one until--and this is what blew my mind--almost halfway through the second episode.

In episode two we finally get a line from Tharn's bff about how if Tharn doesn't get onto the special ops team he won't be able to investigate his dad's (parents? can't remember) mysterious death.

A goal! A reason to care about Tharn's training! Emotional investment! Except it's coming way, way, wayyyyyyyyyyy too late. We should have known about this in the first five minutes of episode one. They should've found another fake hostage, Tharn should've lifted his mask and said "shit, if we fail this I'll never have what I need to find out how dad died." THANK YOU, now I have a reason to care.

I was shocked at such a massive oversight, like I'm gonna remember it as a cautionary example for a long time 'cause that's just wild to me.

[hastings727]

Deadlock and the Multiverse of Mechanics

"Hey, do you want to try Deadlock? Check your email, I just sent you an invite."

That was about two weeks ago, and those first few games felt quite stereotypical to the MOBA genre: Overwhelming.

Big map! Lots of stuff on screen! A variety of characters!

And so I picked a random character (Dynamo) and sat in a bot game with my friend and messed around. Those first two games felt both fast and extremely slow at the same time. They probably ended in 20 minutes or less, but I spent most of my time just observing stuff.

"Oh, there's little alleyways that you can't see into, built into the lanes." "Oh, you can shoot the souls that come out of enemies and they give you more money." "Oh you can deny enemies their souls if you shoot them first." "There's a shop to buy items? And underground areas with a "secret shop"? Teleporters? Jungle creeps?!" "YOU CAN AIR DASH IN THIS GAME?!"

Revelations fell one after the other, and I was suitably impressed. And then I didn't play it for 3 days. There was nothing wrong with the game of course, but you have to let things marinate sometimes. A mistake I often see from players in competitive games is the inability to take a break. I often take breaks from pvp games. It lets you breathe.

And so I sat down again after 3 days of marination, and went to their training mode. And when I say this feels like the multiverse of mechanics, I mean it: Deadlock is an amalgamation of mechanics that stem from Dota2, Team Fortress 2, League of Legends, and Gunz the Duel.

And I was severely lacking in two areas: The aiming, and the movement. When you first play Deadlock, it feels clunky. Every character has bars of stamina, and you use them to double jump, dash, ground dash. But what really opened my third eye was looking at the reticle during a dash: It glowed blue. Oho. That means something. And so I start messing around and lo and behold: You can spend more stamina to combine movement mechanics. You can dash and jump, you can dash, jump, and air dash. You can dash and slide. Oh boy, we are COOKING now.

This game, for being an invite only alpha test, feels incredibly crispy. The map invites you to mess around with its movement, because unlike league or dota there is verticality. I can climb buildings, I can dive down and attack enemies. There are two (technically 3) characters that can temporarily fly. Every revelation of this game's mechanics told me where Valve had gotten their ideas. And best of all, I could see in my teammates and opponents where their expertise in the game came from. Good aim, positioning and movement? Probably Overwatch, or Apex. Smart laning and roaming, knowing when to leave lane to buy items? Yeah, you probably play dota or league. If you've played ANY popular pvp game within the last 10 years, you'll find a home in Deadlock.

What I find the most pleasing about Deadlock however, is their insistence on a specific aesthetic: Neo-noir. This game sits squarely in the 1920s/30s americana, with hints of sci fi and supernatural throughout its characters. Tall buildings with ads adorning the sides. But yet one of the characters (Vindicta) is basically a witch with a sniper rifle. The architecture screams dark art deco, but yet 2 (possibly three?) of the characters are clearly robots. Where league and dota tend towards both high and low fantasy, with shakes of steampunky tech throughout, for Valve to choose dark deco neo noir feels like such a beautiful risk.