#it did make me upset again at the remake though

[star-ocean-peahen]

im watching atla with my grandma and it is very much up her alley which is very cute. i think her favorite part is whenever momo does something funny because she smiles the most.

[snekdood]

personally, i dont see the fundamental difference between deleting your account and making a new one and deleting all your old posts, if we're talking about "running from ones past", then what are you tryna hide there, bud?

[nikibogwater]

Actually while I'm thinking about it, I just wanna say that the more live-action remakes Disney shlups out like shoveled manure, the more amazed I am that Cinderella (2015) exists. It breaks literally every standard of Disney's LA remakes.

It's not a shot-for-shot remake of the original 1950 animated film, though it does include small references and homages to it, but only when such things can be incorporated organically into the story.

The creators understood and respected the cross-cultural significance of the Cinderella story. They didn't want to "fix" it, or add some wacky twist to it, they just wanted to make the best possible version of the Quintessential Cinderella that they could.

Everything that could be done practically was done practically. The carriage was a real, the horses pulling it were real, and all of the other animals (with the exception of the mice and lizards, since their performance was a lot more involved than the others') were real living animals, the lizard footman and goose carriage driver were wearing prosthetics instead of just having their animal features added in post, the Fairy Godmother's dress had little LED lights sewn into it so that it would actually glow for real, the ballroom set was built by hand and included real chandeliers with more than 2000 total candles that were all actually lit for the scene, and I could go on but you get the point.

There's a ton of attention paid to little details that make the world feel real and lived in. Ella's shoes are always a little scuffed and dirty. Her farm dress is faded and wrinkled. When she breaks down and runs away to the woods, she rides her horse bareback (which, once again, was a thing Lily James actually did, no stunt-double or editing in post), because not only is that something a country girl like her would know how to do, but it also makes sense that with as upset as she is, she wouldn't want to waste time with saddling the horse. When she's dancing with the prince, it's visually obvious that he is leading her and giving her cues because of course Ella wouldn't know the latest ballroom dances, and would need him to guide her through it.

Hey speaking of dancing, y'know what else this movie does that no other LA remake has been allowed to do (at least not to this extent)? ROMANCE. Land sakes alive, this is one of the most unabashedly and yet still tastefully romantic movies I've ever seen. Ella and Kit are just oozing romantic chemistry from the moment they lock eyes for the first time. It all comes down to the fact that these two characters both have the same core values of courage and kindness, which makes their admiration for each other feel grounded and believable. Richard Madden also really sells Kit's feelings for Ella with the way his eyes go all big and soft whenever he looks at her. And don't even get me started on Lily's performance as Ella. Her quiet awe that someone as powerful as the prince loves her. The timidity and fear that she's not really worthy of that. The selfless determination to protect him from her family's cruelty, even if it means she'll never see him again, I'm just-- *banging my fist against the table and screaming into a pillow*

Absolutely god-tier costume design. No notes, I think Sandy Powell's work speaks for itself. Btw, in case you were somehow still wondering, yes, Ella's ballgown is fully practical--those layers upon layers of dreamy silk skirts are real. CG was only used to brighten up the blue color to make her stand out from the crowd more.

Wicked stepmother was allowed to actually be wicked. The movie never tries to make you sympathize with Lady Tremaine, or shift the blame off to someone else. And her villainy is given an extra layer of depth with the reveal that she is a dark reflection of Ella. They've both lost people they loved, but where Ella refused to let her grief get in the way of kindness, Lady Tremaine became utterly consumed by it. She views the death of her first husband as a sort of twisted justification for pursuing all her worst impulses. She despises Ella for her ability to flourish even while enduring terrible suffering, for being everything Lady Tremaine was either unable or flat-out refused to be.

Also Cate Blanchet absolutely SLAYS in this role. Hands-down my favorite portrayal of the wicked stepmother character.

Anyways, TLDR: Cinderella (2015) is the only Disney live-action remake that can justify its own existence and that's because it actively defies everything the LA remakes are today.

[kelseytheballerina]

woa kelsey what happened

2pretty -> kelseytheballerina, as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now. I’ve been over the 2pretty name for a while now and just ready for something that feels more ‘me’.

my YouTube channel name will match this one now too, so angelkels -> kelseytheballerina

I want to get a refresh on this blog so I’m going to private everything while I go through it all and make them public again as I decide what I want to keep. This account has been feeling pretty stale to me for a minute. Like we can do better than this!

I’ve decided to close down my patreon as well. As much as I sincerely appreciate everyone who has supported me there (like wow that’s so kind of you all???), I just don’t use it often enough and I dont feel comfortable charging you lovely people for something I barely log in to. I really do prefer having all of my content here as a one stop shop where everyone can view and enjoy it as normal, no payment required :) Again, I am so grateful to all of you who flocked to the patreon and supported me but I think it’s just not what I’m into right now. Your generosity has meant a lot to me and I hope no one is upset by my decision. I'm still doing pen pals though ♡

I had 27 (yes, TWENTY-SEVEN) videos made and ready to go but I accidentally lost them ALL. Hours and hours worth of content…gone. Just like that. When I tell you that I was in a depressed rage for the past 2 weeks…it doesn’t even begin to cover it. Like who wants to redo all that work? My maternity leave for ballet is ending so I was taking the time to batch film and now it’s just like…that was a waste of time. I couldn’t even open my computer for a while bc I was so upset. You don't understand, I've never felt this defeated before omg. I finally mustered up the morale to re-record but I kept leaving out shots, forgetting things I wanted to say, it just wasn’t as good as the original and that was sooo upsetting. Anyway I can’t stay upset about it forever so I have to force myself to get over it and just start remaking them as best as I can. Just know that even though I’m moving forward, inside I am the physical manifestation of gritted teeth, white knuckles and veins popping out 🙃. Did I buy a new external hard drive? Yes ma’am I did, with a swiftness!!

[nikos-oneshots]

hello HELLO guess who's back and is into monster prom now.

could i have some headcanons for calculester with a friend who struggles in school?

:D - 🪐

Calculester & Reader who Struggles in School.

Warnings: No beta we die like everybody in the z'gord ending ✌️ Word Count: 0.6k Pronouns: None Notes: I COMPLETELY FORGOT THIS SAID HEADCANONS UNTIL I WENT BACK TO POST THIS!! D: I'M SORRY ANON!! If you want me to remake this, then I will! Note 2: ALSO IM SO GLAD YOUR INTO MONSTER PROM ANON!! I love monster prom so much so i'm always happy to do requests for it!! I hope you enjoy!

Calculester Hewlett-Packard does really well in school. He has the internet as his brain, everything known by man at his fingertips. I wouldn’t assume he talks about school much because he knows he has a huge advantage over everybody else and doesn’t want to upset people by telling them that he has straight A’s in most of his classes. This rule especially applies to you, Cal knows that you don’t do the best in school. Whether you are a person who tries super hard and still doesn’t make it that far or decides to skip class multiple times a week, I would imagine Calculester would be clueless about your struggles.

I would think that he would only notice after midterms.

Everybody is sharing their scores. Liam is subtly bragging about how he got the highest in the school, Polly is super excited to show everybody that she got a 69 and Scott is relieved that he just did good enough to stay on the football team. You on the other hand, aren’t really happy about your score, you did your best, or maybe you didn’t, point is, you got a 20. Cal comes up to you asking about your score, you were hesitant to show him, but after he showed you his score of 89, you showed him your score.

“Oh, dear Friend Y/N. Not to alarm you, but that has been the lowest score I have seen yet. I apologize for your test failure.”

You look down in shame, you thought at least somebody would have done worse.

“I notice your struggles now Friend Y/N. If you are open to the idea, I could teach you what I know, like tutoring. Your problem may be that the strategies the professors here use aren’t effective for you to learn from. What do you say?”

You decide to take him up on his offer and once you begin your first session at the library. Calculester proves himself to be a great teacher, he knows how to tailor the way he teaches to match your learning style. You get through worksheets faster and actually begin learning the material. Along with potentially turning your marks around, you also begin to connect with Calculester more than you have already before! As you get him to talk about himself during your breaks, you learn about the way he also tutors Scott and how much of a struggle it was. You learned that even though he is a sentient computer, he still has so much he still needs to learn about interacting with others. You also learn a couple new plant facts!

When your next big test came up for your science class a couple months later, you went into it with a newfound confidence, an attitude completely different from your usual one. Calculester wished you luck, he was confident you would do amazingly, but deeper down, he was nervous for you. He dreaded the possibility that you come back with a terrible score again, he was scared that you would lose faith in him as a teacher and along with that, your trust; He could have sworn he was about to malfunction with how worried he was for you.

As you received your scores a week later, you instantly go to find Cal to show him your score. You try to hide the smile on your face, but you can’t as you give him your paper marked with a large 79 at the top. Relief washed over him and pulled you into a hug. He was so glad he was able to help you, both of your hard work paid off and he was glad that you had managed to achieve your goal with his help, validating his ability as a tutor. As the bell rang, you guys walked to your next class together. As you guys passed his classroom, you shouted to him as he was going to walk in.

“See you after school for our study session!”

Lots of Love -Niko

[yeyinde]

Haha, I also spoil myself intentionally, but for the plot of movies, tv shows, and games I’m not super invested in. If I accidentally spoil myself (especially if I learn a character dies) I’ll cope by telling myself “I don’t know how/when it happened though”

Anyways Major Character Death!!

I’m SO disappointed in them killing off Soap and especially in how they did it! No buildup or anything! To me it was disrespectful to the character and to Neil Ellice. And then the 141 don’t even say anything and it cuts to them spreading his ashes with a simple goodbye! They could have at least made them a little more upset 🥲 also I hate how abruptly the game ended. Makarov gets away, but no mention to that at the end.

I had also initially requested what would become infinity in the palm of your hand (eternity in an hour) as a way to “cope” with 2009 Soap’s death because it’s always been on the back of my mind for years (weird, I know). But now after playing the new MW3 campaign I look like boo boo the fool because of who went and got killed off 😭 now every time I go back to reread it, it will be painful knowing what’s in store for reader for their current reincarnation of Soap.

Tldr I’m kinda not okay with MW3.

From what I've seen, it feels like they pulled it out of a hat. All names went in, but his (amongst others) came out. And I guess it's safe because he died in the OG, so the backlash can easily be deflected from within their own community when other fans come to their defence over this choice. But idk.

I agree with everything you said. It doesn't make any sense. It's jarring and misplaced, and canonically pointless. I'm not against character death. Grief is a powerful thing. But I just hate when it's so contrived and needless. It was definitely done for shock value over plot/character growth and I think they were trying to re-create the massive storm that happened when OG Soap died because they know they don't have much else going for them. It just massively missed the mark because: a) Price and Gaz had no tangible in-game relationship with Soap the same way Ghost did; and b) what does his death really amount to in the end? Nothing. It feels cobbled together and poorly thought out. It's sad when Portal 2 has better writing than your whole remake combined. Honestly, it's kind of impressive how little thought they put into this. I'm getting flash backs to DGG's Halloween.

If it's any consolation, the mythology I based the reincarnation off of in infinity would essentially just be neverending. An ouroboros. The events would happen much the same way. A knock on the door. Spiral of grief. A bog. A deal. Restart. So, you'd just wake up again and live life until whatever the old you made a deal with decides it's time to collect. You're forever stuck in a loop with your soulmate until you get it right.

The rest is just how I kinda wish it went, but this was getting very long because I have more thoughts on this than I anticipated lmao 😅

Personally, I think it would have been much more interesting if they brought in a new passel of characters and slowly chipped off the main cast in a series of horrible decisions that slowly begin to feel hollow and empty. That leave you, the player, feeling emotionally gutted with each new chapter because the choices previously are absolutely impacting the way they move forward, but they're too deep into their own revenge fantasy to see it until the very end when it's too late. Give me actions have consequences and every choice you make is directly responsible for someone's death. The realities of war. And what happens when you give a group of people the power to play god in countries they know nothing about. It would have matched the gritty tone they tried to go for with the trailers and actually served as an interesting conversation about war and how we tend to deify the military when they're just men with too much power in their hands. Instead, we have a death that means nothing. That arguably happened much too early in the series so the payoff is solely meant for clicks and reaction channels. Pointless.

And Makarov. A Russian Ultra Nationalist. I feel like that title alone says everything for me, and yet. They still somehow managed to give a Russian War Criminal so many wins. I'm just so irritated by it all.

[sapphire-weapon]

Hi! Love reading your writings on the whole RE franchise, and I just would like to know what you think about on a certain part regarding Separate Ways. I bought the game a while ago and have been replaying it nonstop. One thing though that always sits with me (and that I can’t seem to find any other type of discussion for) is the scene where Ada comes across Luis’ death and as she watches it from afar.

Do you think Ada genuinely felt upset and angry at Luis’ death like Leon and Ashley did? How did she feel about it in general? How she did it affect her long term or short term like it probably does to Leon? I know she chases after Krauser, but Ada constantly gives me mixed signals on how she feels lol (but I am autistic and may not be able to read her tone, face, etc, etc.). So some different perspective on it would be nice :) Thank you!

I've found that Ada gets sentimental and develops attachments to people and things. This is a character trait that she carried from OG to Remake. She's of course not a bleeding heart "save the children" type, but people grow on her and she gets attached to them. Think of the three people we actually see her interact with meaningfully in the Remake series so far: Wesker, Leon, and Luis. Ada develops some kind of attachment to all of them.

Incidentally, I think this is also why she refuses to call Ashley by name at any point in SW. She doesn't want to get attached to her, too.

We know that Luis's death affected her because of this moment:

Ada wouldn't have fucked with the bombs to save Ashley if not for Luis's influence.

In fact, Luis's death was the catalyst for a lot of change in her.

So, when Ada witnesses the "For Luis" scene and she stands up and says:

That's her own way of joining in the chorus of "For Luis" -- because helping Leon and Ashley was Luis's dying wish.

I think what would be helpful would be mapping out Ada's character arc in RE4make:

the lie she believes: looking out for myself is the most important thing

doubt moment #1: helping Leon during the village fight and at Mendez's house

test moment #1: Wesker taking her blood and yelling at her for incompetence

test moment #2: Luis expresses a desire to help Leon and Ashley

doubt moment #2: learning that she's infected, too

doubt moment #3: chasing Luis into his burning lab

doubt moment #4: sending Luis away as U3 approaches

CHANGE MOMENT: Luis's death

reinforcement of change: Ada fucks with the bombs even after Wesker pointed a gun at her

further reinforcement of change: refusing to give Wesker the Amber, despite knowing what he's capable of and willing to do to her

moment when she's actively realized that she's changed: encountering Ashley

ending mindset: helping others helps me help myself; I am not an island

I think Ada realized that she couldn't have gotten as far as she did without Luis's help, and she saw that Luis was sincere in his desire to help. So, to watch him fail sparked an "I can't let it end like this" feeling in her, which then prompted her to honor his dying wish.

What's interesting about Ada -- and what probably makes her so hard to read for a lot of people -- is that she doesn't realize right away that she's changed. Most characters have their "aha!" moment as part and parcel with their change moment, but not Ada. Her change kind of sneaks up on her and hits her all at once when she encounters Ashley and finally sees the face of the woman she's been helping all this time.

But, again, none of that would've happened without Luis.

[mooseonahunt]

Cat’s Out of the Bag

Minecraft Streamer AU

Okay so I’ve had this thought brewing for a bit, but it’s about irl Serennedy vs their SMP characters. It’s about their relationship in and out of the Minecraft roleplay. It’s a lot so I’ll put it under the cut.

If they’re following the plot of the RE4 remake (with plenty of changes to make it fit Minecraft), then they’re clearly not together as a couple. But, for all the same reasons that we ship them, they’ve got those little moments interspersed in the roleplay and their fans pick up on them, too. It’s subtle enough not to out them, but it’s also subtle enough for it to be dismissed as being close friends (which they are; they’re dating but they’re also each other’s best friends).

So that kind of brought me to their shipping boundaries that I’ve posted elsewhere. Luis is chill with being shipped with other characters as long as the CC is also fine with it, but there’s kind of an exception with Leon. Luis is the captain of the Serennedy fanbase even though Leon has never outright stated his shipping boundaries. He never addresses it. Naturally there’s a divide in the fandom over whether or not it’s okay to ship Serennedy because, on the one hand, Luis is incredibly supportive of it, but on the other hand, Leon hasn’t ever said anything about it. It’s unclear what his thoughts are about it, but Luis is his best friend and encourages it, so it’s probably fine, right? There’s a lot of discourse over this.

It’s not like Luis and Leon are hiding their relationship on purpose though. It’s just nobody’s business. If they come out, they come out, but it’s not a huge deal. Besides, focusing on them as strangers developing a sort of friendship is ideal for the story they’re trying to tell. They reason it would make for a more compelling narrative if they’re not sure where they stand with each other because of their pasts instead of having them be together from the start. It makes for great storytelling getting to establish this sense of unease and distrust that develops into total trust after they open up to each other.

Then there’s also the fact that nobody knows they’re living together. They were roommates before they were together, so they each have their own rooms. They stream in their own spaces and don’t interrupt each other when they’re doing their own things, so nobody knows that they’re living together– which brings me to what I’ve been thinking about for a couple days now.

The news that Serennedy is, in fact, canon between the two actual streamers and that they live together doesn’t come out until well into the RE SMP’s story. It doesn’t happen until Luis’s character is killed off.

Luis is upset about his character dying, even if he did propose the idea himself. He wrote his way out of the SMP because he’s in grad school and his workload has started to pick up tremendously. He loved his time on the RE SMP, but he knew he couldn’t devote as much time as he wanted into it with his classwork piling up, so he made the decision to kill off his character. He didn’t realise how bummed out he would be about it until the day of. He finishes his stream, but he’s so sad over the end of his character, so he goes into Leon’s room while he’s still streaming. The chat goes wild. They realise Luis and Leon live together.

Luis walks over to him and asks to be comforted, so he sits on his lap and hugs him while Leon finishes up his stream. Again, the chat is going crazy. Serennedy is trending on Twitter. But that’s just a hug! It’s still totally friendly! Totally platonic! Leon pecks Luis on the lips because he knows he’s sad. That’s the end of the shipping discourse. People who thought they were queerbaiting are losing their shit. It’s like Nov 5th, 2020 for the Hellers except it’s actually clearly reciprocated. Leon ends stream like nothing’s happening. Ashley calls him to ask if everything’s okay because outing themselves like that was an insane move, but she’s happy for them and feels relieved that she doesn’t have to worry about slipping up and accidentally outing them herself.

The craze goes on for like a week and then everyone accepts it as the new normal. For a while nobody can get the Serennedy shippers to shut up about being right about them. Of course there are haters that drop the RE SMP, but they’re a minority and it’s not really noticeable when they leave.

This is subject to change as I continue to develop the AU, but I like this as the reveal. Sorry for rambling. I’m just really into this AU rn

[jerrylevitch]

Chris is a harasser?! And Ronnie disowned his brothers and his mother?? And Anthony stole care money from his mother!?which Jerry was paying??? Why was Chris trying to distance his brothers from their father? (I hope you will correct any incorrect information for me and explain more to me) If Jerry was a bad father, was Patty a bad mother? She did not deserve this treatment at the end of his life, and to see his children in this state, and I was sure that Jerry had his reasons, I mean, from a person who loved his family to a person who disowned them…! I truly feel disappointed… I don't blame him, what a farce this is

Years ago on Facebook, Anthony had a public argument with his brother Gary on photos on his profile. I think it was a photo of their mom or something. Gary accused Anthony of not caring about their mother Patti, and Anthony shot back about Gary not being there for Joseph. Anthony alluded to Chris molesting Joseph. Anthony ended up deleting the comments soon after, but not before fans saw the exchange. This was like in 2012.

Anthony wasn't allowed to see his mom after stealing the money meant for her care. Jerry had been paying the money, then found out what Anthony was doing, and stopped communicating with him. They had been pretty close, before that.

There was an unfinished documentary that Scott was making, that was posted on vimeo. I saved some of those videos. Scott confirms that Anthony isn't allowed to see his mom though it's never specified why, and Anthony goes to see her finally in a nursing home, in the documentary excerpt.

Chris probably was trying to keep the other brothers away, because it just made Jerry upset. That is speculation there though. I don't think that Jerry was aware of Chris having a dark side. Anthony called him Chris the devil, a few times on social media. However Anthony is an awful person himself, and we have feuded with each other on social media. (Somehow he still has me as a Facebook friend?) LOL He told me I was a little person who is best suited to work with shoes..... I work in the entertainment industry and teaching field, but ok. Lol This was after I told him that some info he was saying about Martin and Lewis films was incorrect, and he couldn't handle a polite reply. He's such a pompous ass.

Ronnie disowned his whole family (not sure about Patti), likely partially because of the drama. I had suspected that Ronnie was Jerry's biological son for yrs, and last yr Rick Sapphire (Jerry's former manager/publicist) said that Ronnie is his biological child and when he found out, disowned the family. I don't tend believe Rick Sapphire on very much. Jerry fired him for taking money from fans for autographs and other stuff. Some stuff out of his mouth is just flat out incorrect, and to me he seemed to have vendetta against Jerry, after they fell out. He does currently represent Gary Lewis as his manager. I do believe that Ronnie is Jerry's biological son though. He always had the same dimpled chin. It's clear that the mother of Ronnie had blonde hair. Much like Dean Paul Martin Jr, had blonde hair and looked totally like Jeanne Martin rather than Dean at all.

I just don't know what Patti did for Anthony to treat her like that. He stopped speaking to her for years after Jerry and Patti's divorce too, and took Jerry's side only. She wasn't invited to his wedding, and didn't see her grandchildren for years. He helped her sue Jerry for proceeds from The Nutty Professor remake later, when they had made up. I guess Jerry forgave him after that, because they were close again in the 00's. He still seems very opportunistic.

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #243

What do you want for your birthday? I think I'll get a piercing, but my mind could very well change by then.

What’s your favorite flavor of tea? I hate tea.

What’s your favorite fall drink? Hot chocolate.

What’re you going to be for Halloween? I'm not dressing up. Don't have the money to buy a costume, don't have the motivation to make one. I also don't do anything.

Do you think you’ve learned a lot and grown a lot in the past year? I don't know. I've just struggled a lot the past year. There was around a two-month period where I was in my worst mental state since the start of '17, and I've only barely improved.

Are you satisfied with how you’ve spent your year? NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Again, I've struggled. I've been particularly upset that I haven't done a photoshoot since LAST November. That was my last one. I've barely touched my camera. The few pictures I've taken, I haven't liked enough to really do anything with.

Do you have a lot of friends? No.

Do you own a yellow scarf? I don't.

Do you own anything leopard print? No, not a fan.

Will you buy a cake for your next birthday? I mean, *I* won't, but Mom probably will, unless she makes one.

Are you excited for something currently? I'm looking forward to playing more of the Silent Hill 2 remake with Girt.

If you could change just one thing about your life right now, what would it be? I just wish I was in a mentally better place. It would help me with a lot of other things.

What’s your favorite color? Pink, particularly lighter hues.

Are you artistic? I think so. I just wish I exercised that more often.

When was that last time you drew a picture in a sketchbook? A few months ago.

Is there a tree right outside your bedroom window? There is, actually. Crape myrtle tree.

Have you ever dressed up as a witch on Halloween? I have.

Have you ever been to a masquerade? No.

Do you eat vegetables? I mean, I do, but not often or with much diversity at all. I tend to not enjoy vegetables.

Is there anybody you think is hot over the age of 40? There are people in their 50s I find hot lmao

Did anything bad happen to you in August? It was either July or August when my anhedonia just got so, so much worse and I REALLY struggled to get through the day.

Who in your phone has a heart after their name? Girt.

Do you think your last ex deserves to die? No. I may not like her, at all, but no.

Do any girls like the last guy you kissed? I mean possibly? I trust Girt, though.

Have you done anything sexual today? No, it's actually been a HOT hot minute, just because I haven't been in the mood. Girt doesn't push me or complain about it, even if I have my times of worrying about not giving him enough.

Do you have a second mom? I mean, I have a stepmom. I don't see her as a "mom" to me though, my dad remarried when I was basically an adult, and besides, she's a massive fucking bigot so I struggle to bond with her properly. We're perfectly mannerly with one another, but knowing the shit she believes, it's hard to actually love her. But she makes my dad happy, and that matters to me.

Other than your name, what was the last name someone called you? Ozz. Derivative of the screenname I usually use.

If you could find one long lost friend of the past, who would it be? Megan. I shouldn't care about her, but I do.

Was your sixth grade teacher a man or a woman? I had different teachers for each class in middle school. I remember my math teacher was a male, maybe others, my middle school memories are foggy.

Have you ever had any teeth pulled? My wisdom teeth, which I only had two of.

Do you wash your hair or your body first when taking a shower? Hair.

Have you ever eaten something other people might think is gross? Sure. People hate hot dogs (even I think the concept's gross), but I like them.

When was the last time you colored with crayons? Probably sometime during a psych hospital stay.

When you were a kid, who was your best pal? Varied with grade/age. There was Brianna, Kim, Jenna, Quiata...

Have you ever been to a nursing home? Visited, yes. That's where Girt's grandma is.

Do you own any board games? Somewhere.

Were you born in the state you live in? Yes.

Have you ever lived in a house that has been broken into? No, thank fuck.

Who do you know that watches the most sports? God, probably some AWFUL in-law of Ashley's. He's such an ass, he literally comes into her house and immediately demands she turns "the game" on. I can't even remember exactly who he is, but Ash can't stand his ass, he's so rude.

Have you ever been 4-wheeling? I have.

Will you be attending any weddings in the near future? Next November my younger sister gets married, but that's not exactly the very NEAR future.

Do you live anywhere near the woods? Tragically no.

Do you have any important anniversaries you celebrate? Mine and Girt's.

What’s your favourite brand of energy drink? I don’t drink energy drinks.

Do you have (or have you ever had) acne? I did growing up. At around 17 or 18 it stopped being a big thing.

What will be the next concert you attend? Hell if I know.

Can you rap? There ain't no way in hell I could.

What do you usually order when you’re at McDonald’s? Quarter pounder or McDouble, fries, Coke.

Do you like to wear long, dangling earrings? No, I really can't. I got my lobe piercings at Claire's, which is very unprofessional, and I think they pierced too low, especially my left lobe, because the hole tore quite badly to where the hole has very nearly torn through. Dangling earrings make it worse, I think.

Do you pay any attention to your country’s politics? Mostly, I think. But it can get overwhelming, and I CERTAINLY don't know everything.

Tell me about the sickest you’ve ever felt. Probably this time I had the stomach virus super fuckin' bad, puked a lot to where barely bile would come up, and my abdominal muscles were in a lot of pain.

Any important birthdays coming up? My boyfriend's nephew's bday is next month, I go to his birthday parties.

Fireworks: yay or nay? Fireworks shouldn't be legal. They disturb the hell out of animals (some animals LITERALLY die from fear), people with trauma too, and they cause waste. It's not worth it.

Think of the last long car trip you had, where did you go? Charlotte.

Do you have a Twitter account that you use regularly? Fuck Twitter.

Have you ever seen a horseshoe crab? They’re scary, right?! I have not. I wouldn't call them scary, but their undersides can be a bit creepy with all the legs moving.

Do you like people watching and is it something you do often? If so, where are your favorite locations to do so? Not really, I just don't care.

The last time you ate leftovers, what was it that you were eating? Pizza.

What is your favorite board that you've made on Pinterest? Rammstein pics lmao

Do you get on Facebook or Instagram more? Facebook.

What was the last thing you ate or drank that was blue raspberry-flavored? Mountain Dew Voltage.

What was the last song you listened to? I'm not sure.

Have you discovered any new hobbies in the past couple months? No.

What's the wildest animal you've ever come in contact with? I'm not sure.

Do you ever question if your mother loves you? No.

What is your favorite type of Lunchables? The nachos one.

Are any of your siblings' friends like family to you? No.

Do you have any friends who you exchange memes with? Ha, Girt.

Are you in any Discord servers? How often do you use them? I'm actively in a meerkat RP one. I'm also in the Rammstein server that is primarily the Tumblr fanbase, but I'm not active there because it's too active for me to keep up, I get overwhelmed.

Have you ever had to see an emergency vet after hours? I don't think so?

When was the last time you sat under a blanket on a couch? I dunno, it's been a long time.

Can you bite into ice cream or are your teeth too sensitive? I can.

Do you know anyone who's been bitten by a snake? Maybe at one point or another.

Do you prefer strawberries or cherries? I hate cherries, meanwhile strawberries are my favorite fruit.

Biggest insecurity? My weight.

Describe your mom with one word. Selfless.

Do you like fast food or does it disgust you? I HATE how much I tend to enjoy fast food. I know it's not good for you, but.

Who was the last person you kissed? Girt.

What’s your favourite alcoholic drink? Sangrias.

Do you like the smell of BBQs? I like the smell, but hate the taste of southern BBQ. I know elsewhere a "barbecue" just means burgers and hot dogs on the grill, which I like, but southern BBQ is garbage to me, I can't eat it.

Do wasps scare you? Yes.

Have you ever worn flip flops in the snow? I sure have lmfao. Not very heavy snow, though. And I wouldn't if I was STAYING in the snow for more than a minute.

Have you ever heard people having sex in the next room? Yes.

Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? Thank fuck no.

Have you ever lost your voice? Yes. This happened bad the first time I had Covid.

Did you ever have an emo or scene phase? Emo, yes.

Could you see yourself having a child with the last person you kissed? We don't want kids.

Which of the guys you’ve been interested in hurt you the most? Jason.

Do you know anyone who is engaged? Yes, my younger sister is among them.

What are you listening to? A John Wolfe let's play of Red Dead Redemption 2.

What was the last thing you looked up on Google? How to get the "Leave" ending in the SH2 remake to see if it's changed from the base game and just as a reminder since there are multiple factors. When Girt and I played the OG, I aimed us for "In Water" since it's my favorite, so I want him to see a new one.

Ever been kissed on the leg? I mean probably.

Do you think you are ready to be on your own (have your own home, job, etc.)? I very firmly believe I could never survive living solely on my own for many reasons.

Are you friends with someone who’s autistic? Yes.

Have you ever had a Big Mac? No, considering I don't like lettuce on my burgers.

[synergysilhouette]

Remaking Miraculous Ladybug (Season 1)

Oh, boy! Here I go again. Hello, all! I'm a Miraculous Ladybug fan, though my interest in the show has waned over the years due to it's writing. The film adaptation renewed interest for me, and it made me want to rewrite the series--similar to how I rewrote X-Men: Evolution (which I recommend you check out the posts for). Originally I was just gonna make a broad overview of the changes I'd make, but I decided to make it like XME and remake every episode...Yeah, I've got my work cut out for me. Some of these changes are influenced by fans' (not just me) opinions of the show while others are influenced by my own personal thoughts and opinions. As such, in this season, there's a lot of filler, so I'm actually removing some episodes that I don't feel add much to the overall show, possibly taking anything worthwhile and adding to it a different episode. I was gonna make this more PG-13, but I decided not to in the end. I hope you still enjoy it! Please forgive me if I forget/omit any important details due to a lapse in memory of translation changes, as I usually watch the English dub. Sorry in advance!

Ladybug & Cat Noir (Origins-Part 1)--In my remake, the way Marinette and Adrien get their Miraculous is similar to the film version instead of how the show does it, along with Adrien already being a student at the school. While Chat Noir isn't as reckless, he still keeps his light-heartedness and quips, often using his many skills as Adrien to help Ladybug with battling villains. I'd also want more equality for the cat and ladybug miraculous; in this case, if only the ladybug miraculous can purify an akuma, than only the cat miraculous can destroy the akumatized object. Sounds fair, right? Otherwise everything plays out the same. Along with this, I'd like to think their outfits are a bit more detailed; Chat Noir's black outfit is complimented with green designs, and his hair is the same color as Cat Walker's (to avoid suspicion), and Ladybug's hair has red streaks, with it later being joked about by Gabriel that she copied Nathalie.

2. Stoneheart (Origins-Part 2)--Gabriel is shown to be more sympathetic towards Adrien, explaining that he stopped Adrien's homeschooling as a result of Gabriel becoming emotionally detached following Emelie's death. The Ladyblog is more investigative, with Alya wanting to unmask Ladybug. It's revealed that Chloe bullied Ivan because he was nice to Sabrina, and Chloe fears Sabrina leaving her for "utterly ridiculous losers." It's also revealed that Sabrina is an Agreste fan herself (both of Gabriel and Adrien), and Chloe assumes she's brownnosing, but encourages it this time.

3. Stormy Weather--Abandons all stalkerish elements, and Chat Noir is the one to break the parasol with his cataclysm instead of using it on the billboard. I'd also probably put more depth on akumatizations from here on out so that only people with truly angry/sad/envious etc. emotions can be akumatized rather than simply saying to ignore/get rid of negative feelings. Perhaps Aurore had wanted to be a weather girl for a long time and the poll results were closer, causing her to be even more upset that she lost. Otherwise everything plays out the same.

4. The Evillustrator--Lady Wifi being in Marinette's dream is discarded, since production-wise, her episode occurs after this one. When Nathaniel is sent to the principal's office, Marinette realizes that despite sharing classes together for some time, she's just now noticing him. Sabrina, trying to emulate Chloe, jokes at how ironic it is, given that Nathaniel has a crush on her similar to Marinette's crush on Adrien. This makes Marinette feel guilty about not paying attention to Nathaniel, as well as losing hope that Adrien would see her as more than a friend. It's revealed by Sabrina that Chloe is actually good at schoolwork when she was younger, but when her mother left, so did her interests in academics, resulting in relying on Sabrina. Chloe begins to tell off Marinette and threatens to disown Sabrina if she doesn't do what Chloe tells her to, but Adrien overhears and gives Chloe a similar ultimatum of being nicer or he'd stop being friends with her. Sabrina later begs him not to do that, and he feels guilty that he phrased it like he was trying to control her like she controls Sabrina. The Sabrina and Chloe argument doesn't happen here, with Marinette and Chloe arguing instead while Sabrina does all the work, making Marinette feel guilty about putting her own feelings before the group's. It's also revealed that part of the reason Chloe made fun of Nathaniel was because she was worried Nathaniel would be seen as Ladybug's #1 fan instead of her if she saw his work. Chat Noir doesn't flirt with Marinette, acting like Adrien. The Evillustrator more compassionate with Marinette. As the Evillustrator and Chat Noir battle, Marinette wonders if she could be akumatized from unrequited love. When he deakumatizes, Marinette decides that combined with their shared artistic talents and inspired by his passion, asks Nathaniel if he wants to go out sometime, to which he accepts. When Adrien tries to ask Marinette about her time with Chat Noir, she states that he was polite, but when she tells him the reason she's going on a date with Nathaniel, Adrien decides that he needs to be more passionate to win Ladybug's heart.

5. Lady Wifi--Alya doesn't really believe that Chloe is Ladybug, instead suspecting Nathalie (or surmising that she's Nathalie's daughter), but believes that Chloe may be the link to finding out who Ladybug is, given that Chloe upsets enough people that they become akumatized and want to find her, resulting in protection from Ladybug and Chat Noir. While stalking Chloe for any signs of akuma-inducing events, she gets caught and is still suspended. Chloe, once again threatened by another "Ladybug superfan," manipulates Alya into converting her curiosity of Ladybug into frustration, blaming her for getting suspended, making Alya want to expose her. Once akumatized, she goes after Chloe anyway, stating that she pretty much has the heroes on speedial at this point (as well as Lady WiFi's), and embarasses her and Sabrina dressing up as Ladybug and Chat Noir. Most of the episode plays out the same, though Chat Noir narrowly prevents Alya from finding out Ladybug's identity, telling her that Ladybug is someone who doesn't go to the school. Deciding to trust him, Alya decides to turn her attention away from school suspects, and Marinette vows to tell her someday. Everything else is the same.

6. Princess Fragrance--Marinette has to turn down a date with Nathaniel for Tikki instead of Adrien in this version. Sabrina reads Rose's note, stating that she has a crush of her own and wants to know how to tell them, then destroys it. Chloe doesn't try to flirt with Ali, being more interested in Adrien, but tries to steer Sabrina his way, reasoning that anyone she crushed on wouldn't be good enough for her (Chloe), and Ali was a good way to trade up. Nathaniel tries to reason with Princess Fragrance, saying that what she's doing was the wrong way to get someone to want to be with her, but she ignores him, saying that it worked out for him in the end. Due to Chat Noir's cat sensitivity when it comes to smell, he grows irritated by the fragrance rather than brainwashed by it, helping Ladybug defeat Princess Fragrance. Ali is rattled by Rose's akumatization, and she apologizes for trying to make him love her, and he says that they can just be friends for now.

7. Dark Cupid--Includes the flashback from "Derision," and any Adrien-related romance subplot is removed since Marinette is with Nathaniel. Kim tells Chloe that he's had a crush on her since their bonded over "pranking" Marinette, which inspires Chloe to have him prank Alya, still not over the events of "Lady WiFi." Chloe inquires about who Sabrina's crush is, but she states that Chloe wouldn't be able to guess. Kim becomes akumatized after Alya avoids his prank and Chloe rejects him, giving him a vendetta against Alya. Pretty much everything else is the same.

8. Pixelator--Luka is formally introduced, and it's shown that he and Juleka (who ARE twins) are Jagged Stone's children. Pixelator instead vows to use them to get revenge on Jagged Stone. The sunglasses subplot and the hat designing contest from "Mr. Pigeon" are conflated here, given that I'm not a fan of MP, with Marinette giving Jagged Stone a whole new look, which takes inspiration from Pixelator. Luka and Adrien bond as he distracts Chloe long enough to let him transform (which Luka sees). At the concert, Kitty Section makes their debut appearance, though the costumes are more professional and Rose and Ivan are not part of the group. It's also noted that Nathaniel was asked to do the concept art for Jagged Stone's next album.

9. The Bubbler--Nathaniel and Marinette team up to make a poster of Adrien and his friends (signed by all of them), along with Marinette's scarf. While Chloe forgets a gift for Adrien, Sabrina gives one to him from both of them. Nino and Chloe are permitted to go to Adrien's mansion, but after being rudely treated by Chloe and Adrien lashing out at him (following an upsetting conversation with Gabriel) and causing him to be akumatized. More emphasis is put on Adrien's few friends, especially since Nino is realizing how severe Adrien's situation is. Gabriel also doesn't take credit for the sweater, instead tailoring a custom outfit that happens to go with it. Elements of "Simon Says" also occur here to focus on Adrien and Gabriel's dynamic.

10. Rogercop--It plays out essentially the same, except giving more focus to Sabrina as she becomes angry with Chloe for trying to get her fired, though Chloe lies and claims the bracelet she was missing was one that Sabrina gave her and that it meant a lot to her. More hints to Sabrina's mystery crush is dropped, though not explicitly stated. Some of Roger's akumatization is also due to Alya being critical of the officers being unable to defend the city against akumatized villains, thus creating a more stressful environment that could lead to more akumatizations.

11. Gamer--Almost identical, though Chloe is the cause of Max's akumatization rather than Marinette, given that Marinette is with Nathaniel, and Nino reveals his crush on Alya, Luka is also revealed to be a good gamer, taking Chloe's place.

12. The Puppeteer--plays out the same.

13. Reflekta--plays out mostly the same, but puts more emphasis on Luka and Juleka's sibling relationship and hints at a romance between Juleka and Rose.

14. Antibug--It's revealed that Sabrina had a crush on Adrien as well, and Chloe angrily humiliates her in front of the whole school, as well as denouncing their friendship making her wish she was invisible. Most of this plays out the same, with possibly some references to self-harm, making Chloe regret her cruelty towards Sabrina, and Adrien secretly gives her a kiss on the cheek, telling her that he hopes she doesn't disappear (though stating that he didn't see her as anything more than a friend).

15. Kung Food--It's explained that Marinette knows conversational Mandarin, but Adrien helps her with any complexities, and more emphasis is put on her Chinese heritage and history rather than it being done so quickly. Chloe is genuinely ignorant of Asian cultures, something Adrien corrects her on and she implements, as she does personal insults, not broad, racially insensitive ones. Here, Nathaniel and Marinette share the soup with her uncle, with Nathaniel happy to learn more about his girlfriend's ancestors' culture. Everything else is the same.

16. Volpina--It's revealed that the fox miraculous Lila has is the real deal, albeit stolen, and she uses these powers to make her lies and disguises legitimate. Adrien also suspects his father of being a superhero fan and investigates the Miraculous book. Ladybug flies off the handle at Lila, this time for making unflattering lies about Ladybug. She also uses her powers to make it seem as though Adrien and Marinette have been dating behind Nathaniel's back, causing them to break up (as Marinette can't disprove Lila's illusion), resulting in them having to defeat the Illustrator as well. In the end, Lila despises Ladybug and Nathaniel despises Marinette. Lila also learns of Adrien's warning to Chloe in "Evillustrator," and since she hasn't adhered to it, makes an illusion of Adrien that severs his friendship with Chloe.

Lemme know what you thoughts! I may revise this before I do season 2.

[aidanchaser]

Boulangérella: A Miraculous Fairy Tale AU - Chapter Thirty-Five

Table of Contents Read on Ao3 Prologue

There was little that Félix could do to resist Lila as she pushed him into her carriage.

She had ordered him to steal Ladybug’s earrings, so he had gotten one for her. She had ordered him to stay close, so he had. She had ordered him to stop asking questions, so he kept his mouth shut. She had even ordered him not to be upset with her, so he was left to merely collapse into the seat of the carriage, unable to feel little other than exhaustion that left him thin and faint.

Félix did his best to press against loopholes in Lila’s commands, the way he had tried to do with Gabriel’s, but the problem he kept running into was that while he might physically only be bound to the letter of her command, his will was still bound to her intention.

He had broken Gabriel’s intention once before. Gabriel had ordered him not to speak of what he knew to anyone, and Félix had managed to get away with writing it down, even if it broke Gabriel’s intention to keep him quiet.

Félix puzzled over what the answer might be as Lila instructed her driver to take them out of the city. Distantly, he thought that leaving the city was an odd choice. She didn’t have all of Ladybug’s miraculous gift yet. Did she merely want to get her sole bargaining chip out of Gabriel’s reach? But Félix was too focused on solving his own problems to pay much attention to hers.

“Where’s Adrien’s ring?” Lila asked. “Answer honestly,” she added, before Félix could even think to lie.

Félix, in desperation, grasped for the only loophole he could: stall. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Don’t be stupid.”

It was almost funny how that command settled in his chest. Félix wasn’t stupid by any means, but now he no longer wanted to pretend ignorance. Still, he wielded what little power he could.

“I don’t know if you mean the miraculous gift of destruction or his father’s wedding ring. It’s very reasonable that you could want both.”

“Oh, please. I don’t need both. Once I have Adrien’s ring, he’ll agree to marry me, and Ladybug’s earrings will be enough to convince King Gabriel to make me Adrien’s queen.”

Félix, whose chest tightened more with every second he let her question go unanswered, leaned into her command about intelligence instead. She must know by now that he was the one who had written the letter she’d stolen. She may have told him to stop playing dumb, but even without that, he could see that there wasn’t much point in keeping his knowledge secret anymore.

“If you read the letter that I wrote to Adrien, then you know that won’t work. Gabriel only wants Ladybug’s earrings so he can remake the world with Queen Emilie alive again. Whether he agrees to make you queen in this world or not won’t matter once he has a new world.”

Lila put a well-manicured nail to her lip, but stopped before biting down. She merely stared out the window of the carriage thoughtfully.

Félix didn’t need to read minds to know what Lila’s new plan would be—it was the same plan he would have formed in her position. She would need to claim the miraculous gifts of destruction and creation for herself then make the wish to become queen before Gabriel rewrote the world in his own design.

“You didn’t answer my question,” she said after a moment.

Félix continued to stall. “You never told me which ring you wanted to know about.”

Lila glared at him and pinched the ring between her fingers, as if pressing on it harder might make her commands sink in deeper. “Tell me where the ring that controls Adrien is.”

“Chloé took it from me,” Félix answered, and though he tried to leave it at that, neither his body nor his will would let him. “I believe she returned it to Adrien. In all likelihood, Gabriel has it back by now.”

Finally satisfied with this answer, though not particularly pleased with it, Lila returned to her thoughtful gaze out the window.

Félix tipped his head back and stared up at the carriage’s ceiling. It had been painted with a scenic view of a fox hunt, where in the midst of tall, formidable trees, a pack of dogs had surrounded a small fox, who, with nowhere to run, merely bared his teeth at the encircling hounds in final defiance of his inevitable end.

Lila had forbidden even that from him.

There was one piece of power he had left, one bargaining chip of his own that Lila was unaware of, tucked into his jerkin. The miraculous gift of emotion, however, meant nothing if Félix didn’t have anything to bargain with. Lila and Gabriel had already taken everything from him.

But Lila was about to show him just how much he still had to lose.

Félix assumed that Lila was taking him to one of her family’s estates outside the city, or perhaps to one of the nations her family served as ambassadors to. He expected to be hidden away until she found a way to make him useful. Perhaps she’d find a way to make others believe that he was Adrien, or use his knowledge of the palace’s innerworkings to gain the upperhand in her schemes. Instead, the carriage stopped abruptly in the middle of the forest.

The carriage had navigated the path into the wood as far as it could manage. Trees clustered together more tightly here, and it was going to be fairly difficult getting the horses to turn around. Scraps of moonlight broke through the canopy overhead, but most of the light came from the carriage lanterns.

Lila pulled Félix out of the carriage and, unconcerned with the underbrush’s contrary relationship with her fine silk dress, took a lantern from the carriage and pulled Félix with her deeper into the woods.

Félix had a dozen questions, but all of them piled up in his throat and made it difficult to breathe. Questions may not be permitted, but he had to say something.

He finally managed, “I’m surprised you would leave your driver all alone in the Forest of Fay.”

“He knows what he’s doing,” she said, “and he knows he’s not allowed where we’re going.” She glanced back at him and even gave him a smile. “You’re lucky, you know. No one outside of my family has ever seen what I’m going to show you.”

Félix wondered if she knew how badly the question of “where” still burned in him, even though he wasn’t allowed to ask. It felt like she was dangling it in front of him to taunt him, and he couldn’t even be angry with her for it. If he had not been so wrapped up in his own self-pity, he might have figured out her plan sooner.

Félix would have preferred to make this trek in hunting boots, rather than dancing slippers, but he didn’t have any choice in the matter. Sticks and burrs clung to his silks and Lila’s alike. She didn’t seem bothered however, and picked her way through the trees confidently until they reached a small clearing.

The full moon, by now making its descent in the west, illuminated most of the grassy patch, and Lila’s lantern took care of the rest. The warm torchlight fell on a stack of six slabs of stone, but otherwise the clearing seemed void of human influence. The grass grew wild and a few bloodred flowers, black in the moonlight, broke up the tall, thin stems.

“My family has been coming here for generations.” Lila touched the stack of rocks, large enough to reach her waist, the way someone with a soul might approach an altar. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Félix wasn’t in the mood to appreciate a landscape, and she had not commanded him to answer, so he said nothing. She didn’t seem to mind his reticence. She set the lantern down on top of the stack of stones and knelt down beside it.

Félix glanced away, into the darkness of the forest. He considered what it would take to run, but even the notion burned all the air from his lungs. She had said, “Stay with me,” hours ago, but it still spun through his veins like another thread of a spider’s silver web.

Don’t run, don’t lie, don’t ask questions, don’t be upset, don’t, don’t, don’t…

Would he be anything by the time she was through with him, or nothing but a collection of prohibitions?

“I hope you’re not thinking of running,” she said.

Félix reluctantly turned back to face her.

She’d dug up a small iron box from the ground beside the cairn. It was no longer than her forearm, and not a lot wider. When she opened it, Félix could see the vague shape of a dagger.

Félix could not fathom what she planned to do with him now, but he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like it.

“You asked me to stay at your side,” he managed to say without letting any fear color his voice. “Where else would I go?”

His answer seemed to please her, and she once more placed her hand on the pile of stones.

“I put this one here myself,” she said. “The one before that, my grandmother placed, and her father before her, and his great-grandfather before him. For three hundred years, my family has added stones to this cairn, marking each of those who served as holders of the miraculous gift of trickery and illusion.”

“So you’ve come to add yours,” Félix suggested, since he wasn’t allowed to articulate the question he wanted to ask.

“Hardly.” Lila’s smile was tight and bitter. “Chat Noir took that miraculous gift from me, and the fay it was associated with. And I will reclaim it,” she added sharply, voice full of fury, “but for the moment I’ll have to be content with the miraculous gift of creation.”

“You came to the forest to make a deal,” he said, but it hardly explained why she had brought him here, nor what the knife was for.

“I’m just not entirely sure it will work.” Lila tapped her fingers against the stone. “You see, my family has hunted the fay for generations, and we learned a long time ago just what sort of sacrifice pleases the fay. Do you know what a fay wants more than anything?”

Félix shrugged. “Flowers?”

“Human blood. No fay can resist it. They’ll take first borns and lovers and parents alike, and they’ll grant whatever power you ask for as long as you give them a human life. There’s just a small catch.”

“They have to be willing,” Félix murmured, and a shiver ran down his spine. Now he could see the shape of Lila’s plan, and he felt like an idiot for not recognizing it sooner. Hadn’t his father, too, been taken out into the Forest of Fay and slaughtered for the Fay of Luck and Creation? He should have predicted this, though he didn’t know how he could have stopped it.

“So you are smart. Then tell me, Your Highness, is your blood human?” She twisted the ring on her finger. “And are you willing?”

The rings on Chat Blanc’s finger vanished in the crackling white glow of pure destruction that gathered in his hand. Hawk Moth had to shield his eyes as its brightness grew, but he gleefully instructed his latest curse to direct such destruction at Ladybug.

Chat Blanc didn’t seem interested in listening to him. The power in his hand merely continued to grow without direction or target.

“I am your father,” Hawk Moth snarled. “Listen to me!”

But it was different than the communication he had had with any of his curse victims so far. Hawk Moth could feel his victims’ emotions, knew the pulse of their rage and heartbreak, and could amplify that as he wished to drive them into battle, like adjusting the course of a stream. For Chat Blanc, however, it was as if Hawk Moth was trying to manage an ocean rather than a river. There were no shores or guidelines to adjust, only grief, full and all-consuming.

The lilies in the tower’s upper chamber began to wilt as the power in Chat Blanc’s hand grew. The floor beneath their feet began to crack.

“Chat Blanc, stop this!” Hawk Moth tried again, but there was no acknowledgement that he was heard. Even Ladybug’s screams for Chat Noir went unanswered.

The floor beneath them gave way, and Hawk Moth had nothing but his magical guise to protect him from the fall.

Félix fell to his knees, heart pounding like it wanted to get in as many final beats as it could before its time ran out. Lila handed him the knife, handle to him, blade to her.

“Take it—and don’t use it against me,” she said, and another thread wound itself around Félix’s will.

He wondered if he would ever get used to the feeling of his heart being yanked on like a marionette. He wondered if he would have the time.

His hand shook, but he did take the blade, and he did not, for even a moment, entertain the thought of running it through Lila’s heart or cutting off her hand and running with the ring. He couldn’t think of freedom, for she’d woven his cage too tightly.

Lila brushed her hand against his cheek in a simulation of tenderness. “You want to do this, don’t you?”

Félix nodded.

She pursed her lips, uncertain, then straightened with a shrug. “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough if you mean it or not.” She leaned back against the cairn, all reverence for it gone as she eyed Félix.

“And if this works, then I know I can use Adrien to claim the miraculous gift of destruction.” She laughed, suddenly and sharply. “Hawk Moth could have easily had everything he wanted if he wasn’t a coward.”

Félix looked down at his hands so that Lila would not see the abject terror in his eyes. He had not been afraid to face his own death, for this was what she had asked of him. He wanted to do it, but he did not want Adrien to suffer this fate as well.

He had done so much to try to spare them both. He could have run, time and time again, there were ways he could have escaped. He could have left when Gabriel first stole his ring, he could have left when he had planned to, but instead he had stayed to save Adrien. He was only in Lila’s clutches because he had tried to protect Adrien.

Maybe his father wasn’t the only thing that had kept him tethered to the castle.

But despite Félix’s new trepidations, the knife went into his abdomen. It hurt. His blood was warm as it spilled over his hands. He wondered, distantly, what his father’s last thoughts had been, who he had prayed to. Perhaps Michel had hoped that this act would protect Félix from Gabriel. Félix had no illusions that his sacrifice here would protect anyone that he loved, didn’t know who he would bother praying to about it anyway.

He doubled over and the knife went in deeper. He gritted his teeth against the pain and pressed one hand against his chest, over the brooch buried in his silks.

“What do you want? And what are you willing to trade?” a small voice whispered. Félix prayed that Lila could not hear it.

He didn’t have the words. He opened his mouth, but he only tasted blood. I don’t know, Félix thought. I don’t know what I want. I don’t know what I’m allowed to want.

“Surely you can do better than that.” The fay’s voice was soft, but lilting. There was desire and temptation in it, in the same tone it had promised Félix knowledge of what had happened to his father, if only he was willing to feel every emotion that came with it.

Félix gritted his teeth against the pain and swallowed down a mouthful of blood. He risked a glance at Lila, but she seemed more interested in nudging the earring in her palm, like she was waiting for it to spring to life in her hand, than in watching him bleed out.

Félix knew what he wanted; he wanted the thing he had always wanted. Just give me power, he begged. Enough power to save himself, to save Adrien.

“What is it worth to you, little prince?”

“Everything,” Félix spat through clenched teeth and this, finally, made Lila look up at him, just in time to watch Duusu’s magic spread through his body.

In a burst of brilliant blue light, an enormous luminescent fantail decorated in brilliant blue feathers and spotted with bloodred peacock eyes sprouted behind him like wings. His pallor, already pale from blood loss, turned an unnatural shade of blue in the sudden light that cloaked him.

He pulled the knife from his own gut and, without reluctance or resistance, turned the blade on Lila.

Amelie had never sharpened a dagger before. While her son had been raised with swords and armor, she had been raised with music and needlework. She assumed sharpening a dagger had little difference from sharpening a needle.

She ran the blade against the whetstone until it drew blood when she ran her finger along its edge.

She did not bother to hide what she was about to do. As she left her private rooms, she carried the dagger at her side. Félix was gone, and she firmly believed he would be safer if there was no temptation for him to return to the palace, not even to see her. She would face treason without flinching.

Amelie started towards the ballroom, for if Gabriel was not there, at least Nathalie would be, and while Amelie thought starting with Gabriel would be for the best, she was not opposed to adjusting her plans.

However, the servants running from the ballroom suggested that Hawk Moth had levied another curse against the kingdom.

For Gabriel to have been Hawk Moth for the past year meant he had to have some place safe and secret, a place that had been locked away and hidden from the staff. It was easy enough to determine where that might be—Félix had told her about the painting, after all.

She adjusted her course for the throne room. She was not keen on the idea of sneaking up on Gabriel while he was transformed into Hawk Moth. She had seen enough of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s endurance to assume it would be hard to hurt him with a simple blade, but she would give it her best attempt.

Amelie turned down the corridor that led to the throne room just as the doors burst open and a dozen guards, commanded by Gabriel, hurried by. She pressed herself against the wall to let them pass, but they hardly seemed to see her. Over the clanking of their armor and weapons she could hear Gabriel shouting something about catching Ladybug and Chat Noir before they disappeared.

For a third time, Amelie adjusted her plans. She had little faith that Gabriel’s guards would be able to stop Ladybug and Chat Noir. They faced monsters almost daily and won every time. A cluster of mortals with sharpened sticks meant nothing to a fay-powered hero, as far as Amelie was concerned.

But perhaps murdering Gabriel in front of Ladybug and Chat Noir and delivering Gabriel’s fay to them would be the best course of action. It certainly gave her revenge-quest a level of nobility she hadn’t counted on. She could be heralded as a hero for stopping Hawk Moth, rather than arrested for murdering her king.

She found, however, that she rather disliked the idea. Her only motivation for hurting Gabriel was revenge for Michel and Félix. To add this layer of goodness, of helping the kingdom, soured the purity of her intentions.

But if it could not be helped, then she would allow this measure of charity to color her revenge.

Before she turned to the ballroom, however, Gabriel returned to her line of sight. She tightened her grip on the dagger and prepared to step forward—only to freeze.

He was dragging Adrien behind him.

This, for the first time since Félix’s words had settled into her heart and solidified into a drive for revenge, gave Amelie true pause. She was not just avenging the people she loved; she was orphaning her nephew.

Adrien would certainly make a better king than his father, and while Amelie was not going to let her sympathy for Adrien’s grief stop her, she had to admit she was not particularly keen on murdering Gabriel in front of Adrien.

Still, she crept to the throne room door behind them, just in time to see Gabriel pull Adrien into Emilie’s tower.

That was unfortunate. She was already hesitant to murder Gabriel in front of Adrien and now she really did not want to murder Gabriel while Adrien saw his mother for the first time in a year.

While Amelie considered how long to wait for them come down, or if perhaps she ought to hunt down Nathalie while she waited, heavy footsteps approached from behind her. She stepped aside, just in time to see Ladybug herself pass by, followed by a soldier in green armor and a trail of—well, a trail of magic, Amelie supposed. She couldn’t make out much more than a few white and gray wisps of smoke slipping past her and following Ladybug’s wake.

And then, bringing up the very rear, was Chloé Bourgeois.

Amelie had seen plenty of tantrums from Chloé as she had grown up, but these tears, large and uncontrollable and making a mess of her makeup, seemed different.

Amelie hid the blade under her skirts and approached Chloé. She pulled her aside and relied on all of her years of mothering a very sullen child of her own to try and calm Chloé down.

“It’s okay, Chloé,” she said, in as soothing a tone as she could manage. “Can you tell me what’s happened,” she said.

“It’s Adrien,” Chloé said through gasping sobs. “And Hawk Moth and—Adrien’s in trouble.”

“King Gabriel won’t hurt Adrien,” Amelie assured her.

“But King Gabriel is Hawk Moth!” Chloé exclaimed.

Amelie was a little surprised that Chloé knew, but she took it in stride. “And he’s never cursed Adrien before. You don’t need to worry, Chloé. Either Ladybug will take care of it, or I will.”

“You don’t understand! Adrien is Chat Noir.”

She swallowed. “And… Gabriel knows?”

Chloé nodded.

“Did he know this the entire time?” Surely not, or he would have acted sooner instead of increasing the bounty on the thief, but Amelie had to ask.

Chloé shook her head. “Adrien’s power ran out of time in the ballroom. Everyone saw, and King Gabriel took him away and—please, I have to go help him!”

But as Chloé begged for Amelie to let her pass, the ground beneath their feet shook. A huge rumble rolled through the throne room and the pillars that held up the high ceiling trembled. The enormous glass behind the throne shattered as rocks and stones crashed through it, and a portion of the wall crumbled away. Cracks spread through the ceiling of the throne room and Amelie ushered Chloé out.

Though they ran, they could not run fast enough to escape the force of destruction that burst from the tower. Amelie and Chloé were thrown forward as the tower crumbled. Amelie struck her head against a wall, but she could hear, faintly, the pillars of the throne room buckling one by one.

Chloé was still at her side, but unmoving. Amelie dragged her forward, hoping the collapse would not extend into the corridors. She made it through the threshold just in time. The ceiling caved in and the doors to throne room sagged, but the rest of the palace shuddered and held steady in the wake of the destruction.

Amelie coughed as the dust and mortar rose into the air and settled into her lungs and eyes. She blinked back tears and scanned the chaos through the haze, heart heavy. She wanted Gabriel dead, but not at the cost of Adrien. She searched desperately for a flash of Adrien’s black mourning attire, or even Gabriel’s red and white regalia. Something green flickered in the haze, but that was irrelevant to her. And then—there it was: a flash of purple, crawling away from the chaos caught her eye.

Hawk Moth’s magical clothing was undamaged, though something dark and unnatural crawled up his neck and into his cheeks. It looked a lot like Chat Noir’s destructive Cataclysm.

But Amelie saw no sign of Chat Noir, nor Adrien. There was no scrap of black tucked away in the rubble. Only, not far from Hawk Moth, a young man in brilliant white and silver, unsullied by dirt and rubble.

Amelie did not know who he was and was wholly uninterested in him and whatever magic protected him. She had one goal. She got to her feet and climbed over the rubble until she reached Hawk Moth.

“Amelie,” he gasped, or maybe in his desperation he called for her sister. She couldn’t be sure, and she wasn’t going to ask. She helped him to his feet and he gripped her arms. His legs trembled as if they could not sustain his own weight. It was possible he was already on the edge of death from the fall and whatever magic was seeping into his bones. But Amelie was not going to take any chances.

Without hesitation, she plunged her knife into his gut, and he collapsed into her arms.

Félix slumped to the grass and with weak, numb fingers, pried his ring from Lila’s limp hand. He kept one hand pressed against his stomach, trying to stem the pain and the bleeding. He ought to be dead, but the magic in his veins seemed to be keeping him alive. He didn’t know how much longer it would sustain him for. He had asked for the power to save Adrien, and with Lila dead…

With Lila dead, he was only halfway there. Gabriel still waited at the palace.

Félix slipped his ring onto his finger. Bits of it glinted silver in the moonlight, but for the most part it was black with a combination of her blood and his. He also grabbed the tear-drop shaped ruby from her hand, then paused to retch at the base of the blood-stained cairn.

Despite a lifetime of fencing lessons, no one had adequately prepared Félix for what it meant to take another life. He didn’t regret what he had done, but it didn’t feel particularly noble or just. It just felt… empty.

Félix used his sleeve to wipe his mouth dry of blood and bile and used the bloody pile of stones to stagger to his feet. He wondered if he would even be able to walk to the palace in his condition, let alone find it.

But he had to get to Adrien. He had to. None of this mattered if he couldn’t save Adrien.

He grabbed the lantern more as an afterthought, rather than any real foresight. His vision wasn’t particularly steady, light or no light, but he didn’t fancy bumping into a hundred trees in the darkness. No need to add concussions to his growing list of wounds.

He only knew to go vaguely west, so he followed the moonlight as best as he was able. He wasn’t counting on much—not his own skill, not the Forest, nor even whatever magic he had been granted. If he was counting on anything, it was luck. And if he prayed to anyone, it was Ladybug.

[stargazinglesbian]

YOU LOVE TWELVE FOREVER TOOOOOOOOO,INFODUMP IF YA CAN /nf ofc and i want to too!

I WAS SO OBSESSED WITH IT WHEN I WAS YOUNGER!!! i loved all the characters like ALL of them but i loved reggie and esther the most and i wanted to live on endless island sooo bad, i remember i had a whole self insert with a design for how i'd look on the island but i can't remember any details about it anymore 😭😭😭 i can feel myself getting sucked into the show again though so... maybe i'll remake em 👀👀👀

i found Reggie's worries about puberty incredibly relatable, although that might also have been a little bit of my gender non conformity peaking through at the idea of "becoming a real woman" which i really was not comfortable with at all. even though i can't remember a lot of specific details from the show, purely because of me personally relating to her and now looking back and realising why, reggie is now non binary/transmasc in my mind forever and always (◡‿◡✿)

reggie's older brother who did not give any actual fucks and just hangs out in his room is basically my older brother- also, hating lame birthday presents and her being a nerd is really proving to me that Reggie is LITERALLY me

i was so obsessed with the idea of making my very own endless island with my friend because it just. seemed so wonderful 😭😭😭!!! i also loved projecting me and my friendgroup onto all the characters ahjahajwiajshs

i'm rewatching the pilot right now and the way that reggie's super upset about getting rid of brown roger even though mum points out that "he's been stuffed in the garage for months" really hit home as someone who hoards so much and has a lot of things that mean a lot to me that also sit in the back of my closet forever.

the main trio and their friendship was SO special to me and it still is- they loved each other so much, and when i was younger seeing a group of friends who accepted their other friends weirder interests and creativity really hit me like rightttttt here 🏹💖

[bihansthot]

Thoughts on Kronika's comeback?

Honestly I know a lot of people are upset about it but I’m ok with it? I find it a little odd that she’s back but she didn’t bother me in MK11 so I’m willing to give her another shot in MK1. I will be a little upset if she ends up being the final boss again because I feel like that’s lazy to make her the final boss again so soon and because since it’s some crazy, convoluted remake of the original MK1 I’d love to see Shang Tsung as the big bad. I think it would be a nice throw back. I do think the idea that’s been going around that Kronika is actually Damashi is very interesting though since a lot of people want Onaga back. I just hope they don’t waste Kronika’s potential this time around like I feel they did in 11, I love her new design though so yeah I’m just interested to see where things go!

[rainbowcarousels]

I saw some of the Daniel meta and something kind of occurred to me that's a little uncomfortable: I think it came to me what Marius means when he says that Armand has 'the savage and ignorant soul of a child' when he says that the aliens should be hunted down and killed. I want to be clear that this is a horrendous thing to say to him and I still think Marius needs an ass-kicking for it but oh, I think it's just hit me why he thinks that.

There is something to be said about theway a part of us can remain stuck at the point where we have trauma that needs processing and to a point, I do think that's true with Armand. There are pieces of his identity scattered between every person he's been and then subsections for each thing he's not dealing with on top of that. As Amadeo, he (and Marius) reinvent but even then, Armand can't fully get away from the memories he's burying. He tells Benedict he was never a child, and god, just that one line says so much about how he's started to confront all the parts of himself that he's been rejecting and ignoring. Then you have everything that happened in Venice, the 'birth' of Armand within the CoS cult and life as the coven master and it's destruction.

It's after this that something interesting happens though - he starts keeping pets during his tenure at the theatre, but he does this after Nicki (I think, I don't think it's specified) because Nicki was supposed to help him navigate the world which I mean Istg Lestat let's not leave the traumatised kids together when they tend to set each other off but that's a whole other post.

But Nicki's descent is what I want to talk about because I don't think Armand (or any other of the cults survivors for that matter) know how to relate to Nicki at all. They see a symptom of a greater problem and use a simple, short term problem. Nicki runs off to accost people in the streets, upsetting himself and them? Well, he's calm when he writes, so they tie him down so he'll sit and write instead. Makes total sense if your understanding is so rudimentry and broken that you cannot process the nuance or issues BEHIND what's readily apparent.

"Our Oldest Friend becomes more angry with every passing night" is what Eleni writes of Armand and you can kind of see why, can't you? His understanding of trauma is push it down, seperate it, do things and you'll forget the pain that you have and if you don't do that, you get punished because well, we all know what happened with Marius when he tried to push. His understanding of the world is carved by Marius and being so removed from mortality that he doesn't understand why Nicki's mind doesn't just splinter the way his own did to make him functional again because clearly, being functional was all that mattered to so many people in his life.

Eventually, unable to deal with Nicki running around and almost getting them all exposed and killed, he does what he thinks will help and removes the problem by taking away the factor of the public. It's something @desertfangs said about Armand and it rings so true: his instinct isn't to dig into the problem, uncover the issue and work it through but just obliterate the thing that seems to be causing the problem. The world upsets Nicolas? Remove him from it. He does nothing but play obsessively? Well, take his hands, then he can't play, he can have them back when he calms down. In many ways, it feels like Armand is reliving his own 'rebirth' in this moment: he found the strength in brutality, isolation and starvation to remake himself and survive and thought Nicki would do the same. He was wrong and I think it broke his heart.

Armand's perspective is having been a child, a pawn, a victim and he's so far removed from mortality that he can't grasp how to deal with any of this in a healthy or mature way. It's not ignorant or savage by choice but because he has no other experience at this point and this is the Armand that I think Marius has trouble seeing past. Because the thing is, he isn't just this person anymore, he's moved on at least twice over since this and with every move, he gets further from the child Marius expects to see.

Fast forward to the theatre era we see with Louis and Armand likes to keep pets. I don't know if it's ever said anywhere (not that I remember) that they're children, but I think they are and tbh I think this continues to feed the problem. Armand does get a mortal frame of reference, but it's always of children who are enamored with him. Once again, he tries with Louis to move on, to be the renegade with him but guilt and pain are eating them both and eventually, in despair, he leaves again.

Then we have Daniel. Daniel may not be particularly old at twenty-one, but he's not a child and he has SOME life experience. Daniel takes him around the world, visiting places he hasn't seen or acknowledged since they were part of his Other Lives. Daniel is who he slowly lets his guard down with and starts to explore himself, at least who he can be in this century. I think privately he also started acknowledging his former life more, even if he couldn't stomach sharing it because what if Daniel left?

Again, we do see that he tends to do the same thing with Daniel. If he's shaking, have a drink, it stops the shaking. If Daniel wants blood more than he wants to argue or leave, give him the blood. I don't think it's malicious, it's just that he's still grasping the nuances and I think by the time Daniel is changed, he's begun to grasp it more. It becomes part of his journey to accept himself, to accept being loved and his past, one that needed the unconditional support of the kids, one that needed a chance to be happy with Louis and one that allows him to forgive himself and remember being young isn't a sin. He's allowed to be young and learning and figuring it out and yes, he'll still make mistakes and forget nuances sometimes, but he's getting there. Marius is wrong even if I can now see why he thinks that.

Armand's journey is fucking beautiful.

[pk-freezer-burnt]

Epic Yume Nikki - Dream Diary - Review

Five years ago a reboot of the cult classique video game Yume Nikki was released into the world at the tender age of zero. I have recently completed the game in its entirety, and today....... I share my thoughts.

I remember shatting myself when this game got announced on Steam. I got it on release day! However.... my laptop back then was not strong enough to run it - like I couldn't even move Madotsuki at all and my laptop was torching up. So, super duper sadly, I had to refund it......

And then.... I felt even more disappointed when the initial reviews came rolling in for the game on Steam and they were "Mixed" - and if you are familiar with Steam game reviews, if a game manages to have a mixed reception, it's p much synonymous to shit. I was shocked bro. So since then I was under the impression it was a failed reboot that didn't get the same feel as the original game, or just too new to be seen as Yume Nikki.

Fast forward to recently, when I figured I'd pick the game up again (and now able to play it since I've gotten a new laptop within the past 5 years) and.... I SERIOUSLY wish I didn't listen to those reviews, because now I get that they were probably the crowd that gets too repulsed by reboots/remakes that are too different from the original (Pokemon fans know what Im talking about). Like cmon guys it was made under the supervision of the dude who made the original Yume Nikki themselves

Anyways. HOLY shmoley. I'm serious. This game was SO GOOD!! The art... it was just BEAUTIFUL! In the reboot, you actually get to see Madotsuki's diary (which is full of sketches and concept art as you progress thru the game) and I went ahead and collected ALL the drawings because I love them so much.

I do remember being a little sad that there were less doors (I think?) compared to the original. Number World in the og was my favorite place because somehow seeing a really really long number on the floor was somewhat unsettling. Sadly it wasn't there, but the way the worlds were intertwined and different areas were referenced were SO genius.

Shout out to le new creature made by the original creator, thanks for throwing up blood everywhere when I played hot cross buns on my recorder I mean flute

Ok so I figured out his name is Wrapi :]

Likewise with the worlds, there were only a few effects present in the game instead of 20+. Although I do like the Eye with Hand effect being remade into a Hamsa ^___^ I don't usually see that amulet in media which is awesomesauce. And it's fitting.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Fisherman, cup boy at the mall filled with blood or juice who tripped and spilled everywhere, AND.....

Also, ironically, the scariest part of the game for me was after you make Mado stab the monster on the highway. and she wakes up. And your controls stop working and she stares at you. Yeah I shat myself bro not even gonna sugarcoat it.

Second scariest part was when the last achievement I had to get was to score 5000 POINTS ON SUPER NASU ARRGHH!! (i did it tho).

Ok so now IT'S ENDGAME TIME.

The game actually has two endings and neither of them are the same as the original. And I think I like that. The main ending... it gave Madotsuki more hope, i think - Like escaping those nightmares and getting back to living life happily. Even though the majority of the game is in the dreamworld, the further you progress, the messier Mado's room got and the more she woke up upset. Seeing the main ending made me happy for her :] I also liked the secret ending (had to look up how to do that one), I think this one implied more of an escapism ending. So not as much closure but yeah.

Overall, I really liked this game. It was a great homage to the original, had engaging puzzles, beautiful arts, and lovely OST remixes.

IN CONCLUSION: