#kid's getting desperate. or clever (most likely both)

[sharkdays]

i Do think it's interesting how amethio has been having zir and conia track/watch spinel. instead of his initial behavior of a straight on battle (in regards to liko/friede, at least)

i think it says something interesting about his development, especially in regards to the explorers as a whole

[thataddylady]

Analysis: 'To Sir Phillip with Love' What do Philoiseers love about Eloise x Phillip?

So on to the final part, what do we like so much about this pairing and this book? This book has the vibe of Persuasion by Jane Austen, Charlotte Heywood x Alexander Colbourne from Sanditon, or Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in The Lakehouse.

This is for the late bloomers who thought they needed to give up because there was no chance of finding their match and ended up finding the love of their lives.

Eloise was a character I related to. From the strong personality, the rambling and the anxiety about life passing me by, to the prank war with the kids that eventually breaks the ice. I saw myself in her. Eloise is a character with a high opinion of herself but she is very aware that it's not a shared opinion. Which is isolating. Her family loves her but her brothers avoid her and her sisters don't share her interests. No one has the stamina to keep up with her. She's looking for peace and companionship over love.

But then she meets Phillip. He's isolated, has been mostly ignored and passed over most of his life. He is an untapped mine of humor, intellect, tenderness and love. He is desperate for help with his children and his life, it's true, but he is also touch starved and desperate for someone to talk to. he reaches out to Eloise because through their letters to each other he thinks they could find friendship and companionship. Ultimately they want the same things.

What they both end up getting is a champion in their corner who sees them, understands them and appreciates everything they bring. Phillip is a character who has never really had anyone take an interest in him or his interests. Eloise is a person who has always been told that she is too much, too pushy, too talkative. Neither of them are a good fit for society life.

It's the fact that Phillip loves listening to Eloise talk, and genuinely adores pretty much every aspect of her personality. He loves and values how bossy and opinionated she is, he loves how she expresses herself. He loves how intelligent and expressive she is, he loves how capable she is. He is not cowed or put off by these very strong parts of her personality. When her brothers make a joke at her expense he is the first to tell them to knock that shit off, despite the fact that they nearly killed him when they first meet. He loves the color and noise and energy she brings to his life and he nurtures it in her. This is something Eloise has never had with anyone else, not even her family.

For Phillip, Eloise is able to give him a clearer and healthier perspective on his life. The first time anyone tells him "No your father was a monster and I wish he was alive so I could thrash him." is Eloise. The first person to say "I don't think anyone or anything could have made Marina happy," which is a fact (it was beyond his ability as she was clinically depressed with severe postpartum depression) is Eloise. She is the first person he is able to talk to about his marriage and lift the weight of bearing it alone. Eloise is the first person to tell him his children need him and miss him because they love him.

It is something you think is obvious, but he legitimately doesn't realize it. If you look at his history, it makes sense that he would also see his children as people who are stuck with him because there was no one else. His life has also taught him that no matter how hard he tries, he will never be enough, never be what someone needs or wants. When he marries Eloise, he thinks he's gotten them the parent they always deserved, someone better than him. The idea that they genuinely want to be around him as well is not something he has considered.

His children, who are super clever but mischievous and adorable think Eloise hung the moon and basically agree to make her their leader.

Essentially, Phillip and Eloise both become more of themselves but better in a very supportive, loving, wildly passionate relationship. Like they are having sex on the regular. If you think Colin is obsessed with Penelope, buckle up because you haven't seen Phillip Crane. Their love story is the adage that 'everything about you the wrong person couldn't handle is the exact thing the right person has been waiting for'.

The critique I hear a lot is readers wanted Eloise with someone more exciting who challenges her. Phillip isn't a reformed rake with rogueish charm and toxic masculinity who needs a loving touch from the right ball buster to remind him to be human. And I can see the appeal for that kind of hero, especially for Eloise. But would that hero be a better match for Eloise, or is it simply a more entertaining story with a flashier hero for a flashy heroine?

The truth is Eloise is surrounded by people who challenge her. What she lacks is acceptance vs tolerance and genuine appreciation for what she's been told are flaws. Her brothers hate shooting with her because she's too good. Phillip doesn't care, he loves to see her be her awesome self. Her brothers find her too domineering, Phillip loves that she always has a plan and an opinion to share. Phillip isn't a pushover incapable of standing up to her. But he isn't going to fight or argue with her for the sake of it. He'd rather help her do what she wants to do and then make love to her all night afterwards.

Eloise is a person who is in constant battle with the world, with opinions and forces she cannot control but certainly would like to. Does she really need someone to challenge her at home or does she need someone who sees her as she is and accepts her fully, giving her a warm soft place to land? Does she need a sparring partner or a quiet champion who adores her, nurtures her, and is ready to step up to smooth her way when she needs it?

That's all I got folks.

@whatsaweekend this is it!

[rayclubs]

Thoughts on the Zoldyck family dynamics because I'm normal and fine and normal.

Their grandfather is law. He seems to handle the most dangerous contracts, he oversees the kids' training, but he doesn't seem very personally involved - as in, he doesn't interact with them directly and doesn't appear to be interested in what they do at all, unless it's work-related. I think he's one of those set-in-their-ways old people who's had a long streak of valuable achievements throughout their life so they think themselves infallible. I think Kuroro would have obliterated his ass but he would die before he admitted it.

Now, Silva, being the father figure of the family, is compensating like all hell. Literally no other reason for a man to be this tits-out gigantic, but Zeno is still the head of the family, and that deals major damage to Silva's ego. In way of self-validation, he arranges this distant yet carefully controlled relationship with his kids, and he likes being seen as the Cool Dad, but only very rarely, so that every crumb of his attention is sought after with utmost devotion. I don't actually think he hates Zeno or anything though, I think he kind of secretly also wants to be validated by him but it's just not happening because Zeno doesn't give enough of a fuck.

Kikyo is not a presence in the Zoldyck family business. She's also supremely mentally unwell. She's generally well-treated but often neglected by her husband, she's not as successful at her job as the men of the family due to having to split her time between assassinations and child care, she feels unfulfilled as a result and does it have any functional coping mechanisms for it. Like Silva, she seeks validation from her kids. Unlike Silva, she cannot build herself a Cool Mom profile that the older kids would respect, so she dotes on the younger children instead.

Illumi is the oldest child, so he was trained by either Zeno, Silva, or both, personally. He's diligent but untalented. He has a lot of discipline but very little main character juice in his veins. Due to his father's policy of keeping his kids at a distance, as well as his mother's overbearing control, most of the actual parental responsibilities regarding all the younger kids were pushed onto Illumi. He was a bit too young to get overly attached to Milluki in this manner, but he feels very protective of Killua both because they're fairly close as brothers, and because Illumi views his younger siblings as his responsibility. If anything were to happen to one of his brothers, it would be seen by the rest of the family as a failure on Illumi's part. However, due to being the oldest child, he actually spent the most time with Silva, so he lacks the puppydog instinct the man so fervently instills in all the other kids. Illumi is not looking for validation. He's terrified of his parents and grandpa.

Milluki is the failure of the family. He's desperate to please but neither talented nor diligent. His grandpa views him as moderately worthless, his father is too emotionally constipated after involving himself with the parenting of Illumi to even notice Milluki, and Illumi was too young when Milluki was born to become a substitute mentor figure for him. Milluki thinks Killua is stealing the attention he so desperately wants. How, you'd think that since Illumi is papa's boy, then, logically, Milluki would be mama's, and fucking hell he wishes he was, but his anime figurine collection is too cringe, and remember - he's desperate but not diligent. He's obedient but not clever. He can't pick up on social cues and emotional signals. He wants to do what his mom wants from him but can't meet her unpredictable tastes and unstable moods. She mildly dislikes him.

Killua is the prodigy. Illumi loves him, Silva can't wait to emotionally manipulate him to make himself look good, and Zeno pays attention to him but doesn't bother all that much with parenting him - all for previously established reasons. Kikyo tries to dot on him but he's only talented, not diligent - like Milluki, he can't give her what she wants. Unlike Milluki, Killua has a spine. He already has Silva's and Illumi's approval and validation, so he's not running after his mother looking for affections. He kind of starts doing his own thing after he meets some folks outside the family and they introduce him to the concept of free will.

Alluka is transfem and her father hates that whole ordeal viscerally. Like Milluki, she's neither talented nor diligent. Unlike Milluki, she has evil autism ontop of it all. Zeno and Kikyo wish she didn't exist. Milluki senses the similarity between them and doesn't actively dislike her but he's too busy chasing after everyone's approval to actually be a good brother to her. Illumi was so beyond traumatized by the time she was born, I'm actually fully convinced he removed her from his memory entirely or he would go insane. Killua likes her because she's weird and epic, she likes Killua because he's exactly the same.

Kalluto is finally a mama's boy, and holy shit does he play into it. She dresses him up and does his hair and kisses his forehead and calls him a sweetie, and he just wants to go outside for one (1) day. Silva likes him fine but he's still riding the high from Killua looking at him with admiration in his eyes once so he leaves the matter to Kikyo and Illumi, as per usual. Illumi loves Kalluto in a similar way to how he loves Killua, but Kalluto is more protected and far, far more obedient, so Illumi isn't scared for him nearly as much. Milluki thinks Kalluto is annoying, but Kalluto is emotionally intelligent enough to avoid conflict and not provoke any hatred. Killua thinks Kalluto is a stupid little baby and Kalluto honest to god does not care. Kalluto likes Illumi, is indifferent towards Silva and Zeno, tolerates and at times even loves Kikyo, and is too young to properly remember Alluka. Thank god the spider adopted him.

Thanks for reading, 'ight cheers.

[all-pacas]

I saw some of your posts saying how observant and clever Chase is,while also being a "dumb whore". I feel like this is the right place to say that I don't find his "ditzy slut" moments funny in isolation,without taking his cunning,calculating traits into account. If Chase is just a "himbo",it takes away the shock value(not to mention I've seen way funnier "simple dumbasses" than "isolated Chase moments"). On the other hand,a guy who can clearly think on his feet making terrible mistakes that could be avoided by a bit of common sense is a recipe for hilarious "wtf?" moments. Like,I've seen you deduce stuff with striking accuracy with minimal information,how did you come with such an inane conclusion? It's what they call "high intelligence,low wisdom".

Also,I saw a post of you saying Foreman is "book-smarter" than Chase,while the latter is more observant and a "people-person",besides having more "improvising" skills. This is certainly interesting,considering their backgrounds(Foreman was raised in the hood,had some involvement with gangs;whereas Chase was a rich brat with many opportunities. One would think their skillsets would be inverted,lol)

Even before I finished reading this comment, I was planning on making a "he's a high in/low wisdom," so thanks for making that joke for me, lol.

The thing is, Chase is legitimately very lazy. Or like. He works hard and he's very good at his job, but I think it's interesting that both his specialties are… obviously to be a doctor you have to be smart, but he has very hands on specialties. His job isn't to memorize and know everything about auto-immune diseases, his job is to be great at cutting people open and fixing them. Again, I am well aware surgeons and intensive care takes a lot of knowledge! But it's interesting to me, you know? He definitely comes off as less cerebral.

And he's deeply unambitious. He spends half the show in a fellowship, a training program, because he's more comfortable there. Cameron and Foreman have a subplot about writing articles; we never hear anything about Chase doing the same. House literally has to fire Chase to get him off the team. Where Foreman is always desperately trying to prove himself and be the best doctor in the room, and where Cameron is honestly also deeply competitive and demands respect, Chase… we joke about him being spineless, he is spineless, but also he never really seems to mind it. He doesn't care. He does not seem offended Foreman keeps getting put in charge, nor does he really want it for himself. He has the most seniority of the fellows, but never plays it up; he's fine where he is. And I think that's where his 'laziness' comes in. He just… doesn't try very hard. Very rich kid of him, tbh. He coasts whenever possible.

Meanwhile Foreman is a huge perfectionist, and has a huge inferiority complex. He is the first to tell everyone he had perfect grades (he tells Chase a time or two), went to top schools, has a perfect resume, because Foreman derives a lot of his self worth from being able to say that: if he's the best, no one can say he doesn't belong. I think it's because of his background that he's like this: he's a Black man from a Bad Neighborhood and has a Record and he's absolutely aware what that makes him in the eyes of others. He can't afford to be like Chase — Chase can get away with being lazy and unambitious because he's a rich, good looking, white guy (and foreign, at that — but the good kind of foreign, who speaks English as a first language and comes from a rich and successful family). If Foreman acted like Chase — like he didn't give a shit about his career, like he was just working for House for the hell of it — it would look different. It would feel different. Foreman is a perfectionist and has an inferiority complex because his whole life the world has told him he's not as good, he's doomed to "turn out" bad, he won't and can't amount to anything because of who he is. Cameron is assertive and ambitious and gets really touchy when people underestimate or overlook her, because she's sensitive and kind and weak (Foreman himself tells Cameron he thinks she needs to "toughen up"), and so she also constantly has to prove herself, and that she can be a Good Doctor And Leader while still being compassionate and soft. Again, Chase doesn't have to worry about any of this. He can be unambitious and easy-going about his career, because it doesn't really matter to him in the same way. He doesn't have to be the best student or get the best marks and have the best record. He has very little to prove.

And in a way, Chase is in the same kind of perception trap as the others. Not to suggest he has it soooo much worse than Foreman, but because he's a Rich Good Looking Dude, you kind of expect him to be a nepobaby. You kind of expect him to be useless and underqualified and shallow. To coast on his looks and to not have brains and have no idea how to manage in the Real World. It's definitely how Foreman sees Chase — he says as much, and lowkey hates him for it, and fair enough — but again what's interesting to me is where it isn't quite true. Chase is brilliant, when he cares enough to try. His apathy is learned, not born from an easy life; he comes off as cool and easy-going but holds grudges and resentments and trauma about two inches down. He's afraid of rejection and trying and failing, and so stays in his comfort zones. But where Foreman spends all his time and energy trying to prove the entire world wrong, to fight every automatic perception of who he is as a person, Chase leans in to his own facade. I actually think that S8 Foreman is a pretty happy person. I think S8 Chase, Chase MD in House's office, is at least 70% miserable.

[batsplat]

wait, is there a dovi/jorge feud???? i didn't know this!! also thank you so much for all you do for this community ❤️

not the only ask I've gotten about this and... look, rather than doing a proper write up that would take forever, I'm just gonna give my top ten fun... facts? bits of trivia. tidbits related to the two of them. quite long tidbits, on second glance. the highlight reel, if you will

(1) that time andrea dovizioso made 14 year old jorge lorenzo cry

the two of them already raced each other before the start of their grand prix careers, competing for the first time in 2001 in the cev when dovi was around 15 and jorge around 14. in riveras tobia's biography, here's jorge talking about their first fight:

I led the way at the start and Dovizioso and I escaped. It was our first head-to-head encounter, the first time we raced each other. My dad had heard that Dovi was a really clever rider and he warned me before the race. But just like in 1998 at Jerez, with Olive, I acted like a dummy and pushed for the whole race. I kept looking behind me to see the bastard still there! It was impossible to shake him off, he was watching me the whole race until the last lap. Three comers from the end I could hear his engine getting closer and I saw his shadow to my left, but he didn't come past. I thought to myself "This guy is going to try something in a second!" I decided I had to on a tighter line and close the door. Sure enough, Dovi went wider through that comer and then dived up the inside. I didn't close the door in time and tried to get in his slipstream, desperately hoping I could get him the next corner, but I ran wide and he won. I came back in tears, I didn't even want to go to the podium, I felt so cheated. I'd been on the limit for the whole race and I felt like I deserved the win more than he did.

so that's a nice and positive start! there's something charming about how even fifteen year old dovi was an absolute menace on last laps

also about that race:

'Jorge beat Dovi in Braga but in the previous race at Most, what a tantrum!' recalls Juanito, laughing. 'He didn't even want to go to the podium, he was crying like a baby! I can still see Dani (Antatriain) talking to him, trying to convince him. In the end he went but he didn't want to look at anybody.'

(2) the photo finish

in 2004, they were rivals in 125cc - a year in which dovi claimed the title and jorge was p4 in the standings. in the very first grand prix ever at the lusail circuit (pretty eventful weekend, you have to say), jorge and dovi crossed the line at the exact same moment

(3) dovi's top three favourite career win

dovi and jorge progressed through the categories at the exact same rate, and after their 125cc rivalry they continued fighting in 250cc. they were title rivals in both 2006 and 2007, with jorge's aprilia winning out both times against dovi's underpowered honda. (the general pattern was that dovi clawed back a bunch of points from jorge in the wet - jorge, with perhaps the exception of a few years in the premier class until around 2013, has never been much of a wet weather racers, while it's always been one of dovi's strongest traits.) for dovi's 300th career start in 2019, he was asked what his top three wins were - and one of his picks was from way back when in 2007

I'd recommend the race! which... well, I did in the race rec post - and I can only reiterate that these two kids do not acknowledge each other, not good vibes at all

(4) jorge's thoughts on young dovi from 2008

Jorge has a lot of respect for Andrea Dovizioso and feels that his two 250cc world titles have even more prestige because he had to beat the Italian to win them. 'You wouldn't label Dovizioso as fast, particularly, but he's much faster than he looks. He doesn't set many pole positions but he is always up front in a race, fighting to win. He is very intelligent and you can't trust him an inch on the last lap. He has been faithful to Honda, he has great belief in them. His negative side is that he tends to play the victim too much. He'll say that if his bike had a better engine or if it was a bit faster he would win. He's even said that if he was on the same bike as me he'd give me a hiding. I think he looks for excuses too often sometimes, but as a rider and a person I don't have a bad word to say about him.'

some dovi traits read as very familiar, from how he's a better racer than qualifier to the intelligence to the last lap prowess. as for jorge saying dovi plays victim too much? well

also this:

ER: Don't you think that Dovizioso wanted to be World Champion too in 2006 and 2007? Don't you think he gave everything to achieve it? JL: He will think he gave his maximum but he will be lying to himself because nobody does that. Nobody gets close to their maximum, not even me. He will think that he didn't win because he was riding a Honda. There are very few sportsmen who will say, I deserve what happened to me and there are no excuses. I didn't know how to do any better and I've done things wrong.' That is the only way to be the best, the only way. People who make excuses don't get to the top. I know riders who haven't made it for just that reason.

plus ça change

(5) jorge's thoughts on young dovi from 2018

when they were doing their thing as ducati teammates (bickering), here is one of the things jorge said about dovi:

dovi's been trying to undermine jorge's morale his WHOLE career... even when they were but teenagers... love it when you can really tell someone's been sitting on something for over a decade

(6) "also lorenzo is not my friend"

both of them moved up to motogp in 2008, jorge with factory yamaha and dovi with satellite honda. dovi had a very strong rookie season and finished in p5, only sixteen points behind jorge in p4 (who after a promising first few races had spent a lot of time that season crashing). after that, their fortunes diverged. dovi did not have a particularly happy time in the factory honda team and needed to do some shrewd negotiating to be retained by them for 2011 in that three-man squad, while jorge of course won the championship in 2010

here's a deep cut from 2011, a season where much of the excitement and drama was caused by marco simoncelli alone. jorge had exchanged tense words with sic in estoril, one race before simoncelli was responsible for a crash where dani broke his collarbone. the crash and sic's subsequent penalty meant that the three-way fight between jorge, dovi and valentino became one for the podium, with dovi and valentino eventually grabbing the two remaining spots behind casey. but during the race, jorge had executed a... questionable manoeuvre on dovi, one that did have some similarities to the sic/dani incident. given jorge's strong previous comments on racing standards, unsurprisingly the journalists pounced on this incident in the post-race presser and ask the podium sitters about it. here is the clip:

in this clip, dovi essentially says it was a dangerous move from jorge, but he wasn't sure what jorge's intent had been and he needs to watch the footage again. valentino (who had been the most outspokenly critical of sic of the three of them earlier in the presser) takes the opportunity presented to him to have a bit of a potshot at jorge. he says that dovi doesn't have the best relationship with sic but jorge had done something pretty similar in the race... at which point dovi goes "also lorenzo is not my friend"

which, you know. not exactly a major incident, but I find it very charming dovi felt the need to clarify that, actually, he doesn't like either of them. valentino also adds that by jorge's own standards, surely he too should have gotten a penalty. not exactly a meeting of jorge's biggest fans hm

(7) mapping eight-gate

well I can't leave it out, can I

so in 2017 jorge switches from yamaha to ducati and does not have a great time of it. a lot of weekends, he's just too slow, other times he shoots to the front of a race at the start (typically not great news for the rest of the field in his yamaha days) and then chews up his tyres before gradually dropping like a stone back through the field. at some point that year it became a bit of a running gag - especially when you saw he was the only big name to be picking a soft tyre and just went... buddy we ALL know how this is gonna end....

while this was happening, his teammate dovi was for the first time in his premier class career in championship contention. an extremely close title fight throughout the year with five protagonists until pretty late in the season, it eventually went to a title decider in valencia between dovi and marc. you know, the kind of year where every point counts. the race where marc put a bit of daylight between himself and dovi was phillip island, with marc winning a great dogfight out front while dovi had a bit of a horror show of a weekend. this meant that a lot would have to go right for dovi to have a chance of still winning the title... and sepang was already a match point race for marc

ducati had not won a championship since their 2007 title, courtesy of one casey stoner. after that year, their bike became steadily less competitive every season, reaching a nadir around the 2011-13-ish period. so by the time 2017 rolled around, they wanted this so so badly - even if they wouldn't have expected dovi to lead the charge. dovi had only narrowly beaten out iannone in the 'who's going to be fired for our shiny new lorenzo hire' contest of 2016, and really it was supposed to be jorge who was carrying ducati's dreams on his shoulders. but, never mind, they were throwing everything behind dovi now... no stone left unturned

which brings us, of course, to the subject of team orders. this discourse really took off at the penultimate race of the season at sepang, but was already brewing before that - and in phillip island, satellite ducati rider redding had been told early in the race to let dovi past

here from marc at sepang:

dovi had been in great form all weekend at sepang - and with his wet weather prowess being what it was, really there shouldn't have been any need for team orders at all. but he got a sluggish start, and the race unfolded from there... until eventually jorge was in first, dovi was in second and marc in fourth. in those positions, marc would have clinched the title there

and then, jorge got a message on his dashboard. suggested mapping: mapping 8. pit boards and dashboards and all sorts of boards will feature various codes during races, most of them completely innocuous - but of course they are a healthy source of all sorts of conspiracies. the timing of this one was certainly... notable, and speculation immediately started about how it might be a way of telling jorge that he should swap positions with dovi

jorge didn't end up letting dovi pass - it is questionable whether he really would have done so with what would have been his first ducati win on the line. in the end, he made a mistake that let dovi through so that dovi claimed the win anyway, keeping himself in mathematical contention in valencia. and jorge did say afterwards he was keeping dovi's title hopes in mind, kind of

jorge also said he hadn't gotten any message indicating team orders, and of course nobody at ducati confirmed that mapping eight did have anything to do with team orders

for what it's worth, this is what dovi said about their relationship at this stage:

lovely! let's see what the vibes are like a few months later

anyway, onto valencia. this race was pretty boring despite being a title decider, but the jorge/dovi bits were just unequivocally the weekend's most enjoyable aspect and rather nicely spiced up the whole thing. dovi's chances were always slim going in, given he'd have to win the race and marc would have to barely get any points at all... but still, you never know, right? marc could always crash (narrator: he did almost crash). jorge plays coy early in the weekend about the whole 'helping dovi out thing', and basically just started putting in place...? ... very specific conditions...? under which he'd help:

so during the actual race, dovi got stuck behind jorge in p5, with marc ahead of both of them. valencia is traditionally not a fantastic track to overtake at... so even if dovi had been faster, it's not like he'd have an easy time clearing jorge and cracking on. but they were beginning to drift further away from dani in p3 as ducati watched on, increasingly unamused by what was happening - and the tv cameras were of course kind enough to repeatedly show the ducati box looking deeply unamused. again, they went for the good old mapping eight message, which, hey, that could mean anything! they sure did keep showing it to jorge though, almost like he wasn't paying attention to it

eventually, they abandon all subtlety and go for a pit board message that does just straight-up tell jorge to swap positions. jorge kept ignoring the messages, lap after lap, and he never ended up letting dovi past. eventually they both crashed and marc claimed the title with a p3 finish, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway, but... still. the feeling was that this might things rather awkward inside of ducati

publicly, ducati was extremely keen to smooth over the whole controversy, saying they totally weren't mad at jorge blatantly ignoring team orders. jorge had, after all, explained to them (and the media, repeatedly) that he had totally been intending to help dovi by dragging him closer to dani

Giving his take on events, Lorenzo acknowledged that he ignored Ducati’s instruction because he felt Dovizioso’s chances would be boosted by having him directly ahead. “Even looking at this [dashboard] suggestion, I keep pushing until the end, because I knew it was the best thing for me, for Ducati and for Dovi,” said Lorenzo. “I helped him to improve his pace by one or two tenths, to be as close as possible to the first group. My intention was, and it was the case, that we arrive at the first group. If he had the option to win, I would have gone wide and let him pass. But unfortunately it was not like that. Maybe in some corners Dovi was close and I slow down a little bit his pace, but in general terms, having my wheel in front of him made him improve slightly his pace. I helped him stayed closer to the front group. “I knew Dovi was struggling, I knew his pace during all the weekend, and I knew he was making the best pace of the weekend just in the race. It was [because of the] help from my wheel. I’m happy because I was not wrong. If I was wrong and slowing him, I would be very sorry. But it’s not like that, my feeling was true.”

which, you know. is it really that easy to tell how much faster you are than someone who's sitting on your rear tyre? who's to say. dovi did certainly seem rather keen to get past

anyhow, of course there were plenty of fun dramatics post-race:

'our rider ignored team suggestions not team orders' is a great line, fairs. there's plenty more of this from ducati, some excellent spin doctoring - and dovi was extremely magnanimous about what had happened:

the whole thing was pretty undignified from all non-dovi parties, but it was also very funny so who's to say if it was bad or not

(8) runner-up-gate

let's check in on them in 2018, the second and ultimately last year in which they were teammates. remember that 'undermining morale' quote from above? those are from early 2018, after dovi says he wouldn't be surprised to see jorge elsewhere the following season. so, once jorge has complained that dovi had been trying to put him down his entire career, comes this:

so that's something. jorge, dovi and dani have a three-in-one crash in jerez, after which some fingers are pointed but it all remains fairly civil, and a bit later dovi says that jorge's approach doesn't work at ducati:

by the summer break, jorge's results had gotten better, but it was already too late to save the relationship with ducati and they parted ways. anyway, here's dovi and jorge having another go at it:

And while a rough patch for Dovizioso coupled with breakthrough back-to-back wins for Lorenzo in Mugello and Barcelona have now left the pair just three points apart in the standings, Dovizioso refused to back down from his claim when speaking to Spanish sports daily Marca ahead of the upcoming Brno race. “He’s won two races,” Dovizioso said. “Winning two races does not solve the problem of a year and a half. Lorenzo was not signed to win two races. Therefore I do not change my mind.” When the comments were put to Lorenzo, the three-time champion offered an ardent retort, stating that Dovizioso's rhetoric was proof of the claim he'd made back in April. “I'm a bit fed up with this situation, mainly because when I had trouble and he was winning, I was down there applauding,” Lorenzo told Spanish broadcaster Movistar. “What I said in Argentina - and the comments caused a big surprise - you can see that I was right. “He tried to undermine me, or downplay what I achieve or just attack me. As you can see, I wasn't lying. He's still doing it and now he says my method is not good, according to him.” Lorenzo intimated that Dovizioso was in no position to criticise him, as the Italian could do no better than runner-up to Marc Marquez in a 'perfect' 2017 season. He said: “I think my method has not worked too bad in my career. I've won three MotoGP titles and have 46 wins.” “In my second year in Ducati I'm usually faster than him, but maybe I should look at his method closer if in his best season, with everything going perfectly, he was second. Otherwise he's fourth or seventh usually. I'd tell him to leave me to go my way and to focus on his own and everything will be better, because when you have an angry Lorenzo it's usually worse for you.” 

fair to say that by this point the pretence at civility has mostly been dropped. I'm rather fond of the "lorenzo was not signed to win two races" line, though "when you have an angry lorenzo it's usually worse for you" is also really strong stuff. dovi tries to restore a little bit of peace:

Responding in turn to Lorenzo's tirade, Dovizioso sought to play down the conflict. “Jorge has his ideas and I think they are based on particular things. I don't think like him, but it's not a problem,” he told Movistar. “Everybody creates their own ideas based on what they see and how they live. “I don't think he has everything clear in his head about what's happened, but we continue the relationship that we started last year with respect, there's no particular problem. If he thinks this way, that's his problem."

so basically the classic 'idk what he's on about but it's not my problem' approach to attempting to defuse feuds

(9) twitter-gate

there's a few more on-track battles where it's nicely obvious how badly they want to beat each other, with jorge beating marc just ahead of dovi in austria and then dovi beating jorge in brno. jorge's season is increasingly derailed by injuries, which sets the stage for their next big spat:

The row was sparked by Dovizioso's comments to Sky Italia after qualifying at Sepang on Saturday, as he was asked what he thought of Lorenzo having to pull out of the Malaysian GP weekend with injury. "I don't know the details, I don't want to get into this, it's a bit of a strange situation," said Dovizioso."It happens often in Ducati or to certain riders, but I don't understand the details and I don't want to get into it and give my opinion." When it was put to him he was offering 'cryptic words', he added: "I leave things there, it's not my problem."

pretty vague, yeah. but anyway, I'm sure jorge had a proportionate response to this

Dovizioso's comments prompted a series of irate posts from Lorenzo on Twitter, with his first reaction being "Thank you very much @AndreaDovizioso! You are a real gentleman!". In his next post, he went on to call Dovizioso "an exemplary teammate", adding: "You applaud him under the podium when he wins and then... (That's right, he does not give his opinion, it's not his problem)." After that, Lorenzo labelled Dovizioso "envious" and described him as "a world champion... in 125cc."

the podium thing really bothered him, don't you think. their ducati in-fighting follows that general pattern where dovi says something... a little shady, a little ambiguous, where his intentions aren't entirely obvious... at which point jorge goes all in at fighting back and has a go at dovi - often not as much for what dovi is actually saying, but what jorge thinks dovi is implying. which is based on his understanding of dovi, the image of dovi he's built up in his head over the years, so that he is... predisposed to think ill of the intentions of the 'intelligent' dovi who always knows exactly what he's saying

again, dovi tried to downplay the argument, while simultaneously not exhibiting much patience for jorge's stance:

After the Malaysian GP, Dovizioso was asked about Lorenzo's responses to his comments, and the Italian accused his teammate of reading too much into headlines. He said: “Why should I talk to Lorenzo? I do not waste time on these things. He makes the usual mistake of giving too much importance to what is written, even without the context. "I have not pointed my finger at anyone and I have no problem with Jorge."

if I were ducati, I probably would've let the whole thing blow over given jorge was off soon anyway. but they decided the whole thing was so bad they had to organise a peace summit

Asked about the situation, Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti admitted to Motorsport.com that the Bologna marque has already planned to sit its two riders on Tuesday in Milan to make it clear what its priorities are. Ciabatti said: “It is clear that the interests of Ducati come before personal problems between riders. On Tuesday we will be together in Milan, for the EICMA [motorcycle show] and we have in mind to spend half an hour to sit and talk to Jorge and Andrea. "We want to avoid similar things to what happened last weekend. "I understand that these kinds of situations can happen. Sometimes riders get nervous during a Grand Prix weekend and on a rainy day, with tricky conditions, sometimes they say things they shouldn’t have said."

god knows how that turned out

(10) wow, you guys aren't gonna let this go, huh

late 2020 and jorge's career is already over, while dovi's looks like it will be... paused, at the very least. which is always a good time to check in with riders on how they feel about their rivals - if they're still being nasty you know that shit was personal. from december:

some quality petty material here. "I can't understand his somewhat peculiar mind" vs "he was envious of me since 250cc, but I wanted to give our relationship a chance". note too jorge talking again about how generous he had been in the face of dovi's 2017 successes, and how he feels like this was not reciprocated at all. jorge's complaints don't stop there:

merry christmas!

not the only rider jorge has beefed with post-retirement, but compare and contrast with how he really hasn't been doing any of that with some of his biggest career rivals. valentino, marc, dani - sure, he still talks about the controversies he's had with them pretty regularly (to put it lightly), and he's hardly free of complaints... but mostly it's a distinctly nostalgic tone he's adopting with these guys. admittedly, it helps that none of those three have gone out of their way to say anything particularly inflammatory about jorge. still, the absolute lack of any sort of rapprochement with dovi of all people is pretty funny

bonus: that time when jorge skittled all of marc's rivals

you know how in catalunya 2019, jorge took out like? all of marc's major rivals in that era including himself in one go? with half a decade of hindsight, this was kind of hilarious, and it did also feature jorge having to eat a hell of a lot of humble pie and go to the three other blokes to apologise. anyway I have a lovingly assembled set of screenshots of all three of them emoting in their boxes after the incident, all suffering some form of an existential crisis. here is dovi contemplating the bleak realities of our brief lives on this planet:

truly one of the world's least enthusiastic waves

bonus 2: another one for old time's sake

already posted this elsewhere, but this from late 2023 made me laugh

"jorge came to ducati and thought he was going to beat everything, but in the end he didn't" uh huh

[olenvasynyt]

7 for Raivis 👀, 10, 16, 45

7. What is an interesting fact about the 2nd oldest brother Raivis?

He has the deepest voice out of all the brothers and he is a very good singer. He has no interest in singing as a hobby or a career, and he probably doesn't even care about how good of a singer he is, but he does enjoy music, and the LoA loves his voice. Whenever they go to the temple for a worship ceremony, the High Family would sit together and Raivis would sing the hymns once in a while (more so when he was younger / before the War). It always reminds her of when he was younger; it makes him look not only beautiful and fae, but also peaceful.

10. Who do you think has the best relationship with Lucien?  Who has the worst relationship with Lucien?  Explain why and how for both

All of the brothers have different relationships with Lucien at certain moments in time. It all depends on their age and situation. I would say when he was little, he had the best relationship with Eris. It fluxuated from time to time: they grew apart, then grew closer again, and went back and forth. But Lucien clung to Eris when he was little, I would say until he was 8ish. Eris removed his mask for him and taught him things, read to him, allowed him to be the little kid, but when Lucien got older he kind of put on his mask to protect him. I feel like there is a bit of resentment in their relationship.

16. Rank the brothers from Most Fucked Up to Least Fucked Up by Beron

This is one of my favorite questions 😂😭 they're all fucked up in their own ways but I would say the order goes from:

(Most fucked up) Raivis. Was beaten a lot as a kid / adult (for reasons you'll see in my fic👀) , probably has the most expectations put on him after Eris. Has a lot of resentment for his brothers, especially Eris; but also has some self-hatred and pushes him away fro being good, because thinks that being cruel is the best way to survive in the Forest House. Very very manipulative and cruel at times, and he sees kindness as weakness

Maybe Eris? He very much knows good from bad but he still wears his mask, which I think can fuck up the mind a little. Because he also shoves away some parts of himself to survive (gay thoughts are repressed for sureeeee). He is also pretty paranoid since he is always trying to be two steps ahead.

Jora. Not really in a fucked up sense, but he is the 2nd youngest brother and was always shit on by Beron and his eldest brothers. Has a lot to live up to and he tries really hard to get ahead but always falls short. Has a lot of self-hatred which makes him very mean and sad and desperate, and he throws his frustrations o Lucien, who is the only brother who's younger than him

Elmar. I am veryyyyy excited for his little side plot in ACOEAS, I hope I put it together well 👀 becuase it's very fucked up and sad. He also has a lot to live up to, and he is very strong and powerful but easily manipulated

Galeti. The 4th oldest brother, and as a middle brother, he's kind of forgotten about. He's very clever and smart, and Beron can't find a lot of flaws in him and he doesn't see him as a threat to his crown becuase Galeti doesn't give a shit about politics. He is still fucked in the head though because Elmar, the 3rd oldest brother and the one who's closest in age, hates him and beats on him a lot. Plus he fought in the war and that can fuck anyone up. But he's pretty easygoing and parties (drinks a lot) to feel better

(least fucked up) Aatos. He is also fucked up, don't get me wrong, but he's probably the most innocent of the brothers. 3rd youngest brother so he's in the middle and Beron doesn't pay him any mind. He had some resentment for this but Eris was a clever big brother had helped him find things that bring him joy. He is almost always out of the Forest House and helps train the smokehounds, which is a valuable talent but not really seen as something that would earn him power in the political ladder.

45. Open question: name your favorite headcanon for any of the Vanserras!

Lmao I love how so many people make two of the brothers twins! Elmar and Galeti aren't exactly twins but they are born 3 years apart which is basically twins for High Fae since they're so rare. And they are alwayssss bickering and fighting with each other. My two favorite stories are about how Elmar shot Galeti in the ear and Galeti gave him a scar to match. The other is Galeti and Elmar still fight about the infamous stolen knife that “somehow” ended up in the Forest House River (it was Elmar’s knife and Galeti threw it in, but Galeti pretends he has no idea what happened to it and always says Elmar is just being stupid and misplaced it)

[chestnutracc]

I hate how some people after season 2 are just putting hate on Aziraphale. I mean, he in fact, left the Crowley, but he had his own reasons as well, didn't he? Aziraphale have a very compliceted relationship with heaven but he is in fact an angel and he want to belong there OAAAAAHHHHH—

Quick frame from animatic, u can find it on my instagram for example :) chestnut.racc (quick self advertisment haha)

Anyway, those kind of videos where people are insulting Aziraphale or smth like 'me after s2' and the video of taking of his face or covering them all on some kind of placats. I'm shittin myself. I know that thats grief after the ending but... Man his whole life or more like existance is not ONLY about Crowley in fact :/

Look how we get a chance to speculate why did he do that? What was his reasons? I think that the ending of Good Omens was (not only just marketing catch (that dramatic pause for a kiss and 'betrayal') but also a planned procedure? I love them both [Aziraphale and Crowley] equally so you shouldn't think this is a desperate attempt to protect your favorite (wha de duck I am saying, this series have a few months now so it is not a fresh topic... For me it is oh goddd ANYWAY)

Alr, here is another image so you won't go so quickly and read all that shit or not

Hkhm... Let me give yall a wholeass essay in my second language.

Kidding! Not so extreme. Haha. Anyway. Those are the possibilities why Aziraphale decided that he should leave to heaven. Of course, there could be a few. Or everything. Or none. It's just my personal opinion :)

Again, assumptions, personal opinion, don't want to offend anyone. Thing up⬆️ that's the part where you can argue with me, debate maybe. Whatever. Thing down, I gues bunch of headcanonc? I don't know, they are theories? You can as well say what you think!!⬇️

Goosh, sorry for the mess. Lets start already. Yeah. Uh. Right. Right. Alright. Why Aziraphale chose heaven?

1. Aziraphale overall is an angel... Literally... So uhm he is naturally connected with God, wich he as well worships. He don't have to stand with heaven, but he still has a deep bond with good. Leaving the heaven would be, right, a great decision for his wellbeing. It's clear that he's not on their side. But he did not left his God. Saying 'no' to Megatron would be something that would make him feel terribly guilty and overall devasted, as he would disobey his own moral code and he would gave up a part of himself, I suppose.

2. For 6,000 fuckinf years he had been arguing with himself about feeling for Crowley, right now doesn't matter if platonic, romantic. He was renouncing Crowley so many times that he don't know him, he's not his friend. Yet he could not resist, but be with that redhead. Don't you think that he was having some, oh I don't know, moral crisis? Imagine choosing between two most importanr things? The creature you love and, for Azi, a literall purpose of creation - serving God? Oh man, he was in this state for over 6,000 years. If he would say 'no' then, would he ever get another chance like that to habilitate? He was working so hard, for so long, but he didn't had to chose through all those centuries. Now he had. I guess it's logical, that he choosed his creator.

3. Clear and logical! If Crowley would be back to heaven, he wouldn't have to choose between two thing he loves. Ah you clever one :). Nah. He literally said that he wants to work with Crowley. What can I say more.

4. Obvioulsy, he did not wanted to chose what we know of we SHOULD from serial. And pervious point... And previous previous. It felt like he had been lost or something in it all. I mean, he needed to choose if he wants to take Crowley, if he wants to go back. He was rhinking about the kiss, probably about heaven, what would they say, what would they do. To him, to Crowley. What he should say to Megatron. I suppose he was impetuous with that decision. Imagine lying (he is a damn angel whaaa) to yourself for thousands of years and then just having to confess. Nah, he would like better to stay silent and still lie 🙂 oh god why he is so stupid. Crowley is also stupid. They both are!!!

5. He was mad. Similisr to previous point. He felt like he did not belong with Crowley, as he was devasted. And also Crowley ignored him as well, as Azi ignored Crowley. But i want to focus on thing that he said that he NEEDS him and begged to not to leave him. Easy peasy. No communication between those doveys.

6. He was afraid of loving Crowley as - what would heaven say? What would god say? Will they be happy? Will they be safe? Is it really possible for them to be together? Demon and angel?

7. He considered himself as a failure for Crowley 👍 after he said yes, when Crowley was always saying no.

8. He was afraid of the consequences refusing heaven. Like, he literally was making out with devil, then went o heaven, hell's fire couldn't kill 'him' (ik it was crowley but not for heaven), he was hiding Gabriel, he did not cooperated with heaven. There were a few times when he sinned... A lot. Uhm. Well,I DO have a reason to suppose this could have been some kind of test or something... Because what the hell? From archangel, later no one, then back to the archangel?

Aug! Sorry, long post. Rage hit me. I'm going to sleep now, goodnight :)

[bastardofvairemont]

|| Smash or Pass: Sebastian de Vairemont ||

Rules: pretty self-explanatory. include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. the “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc).

Quick Facts

Height: 6'3"

Age: 27

Gender: Cis Man

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Bisexual with a heavy male lean

Pros

Clever

Calculating

Ambitious

Charming

Graceful

Is an excellent dancer

Will compose music for you

Well dressed

Well spoken

Intense

Passionate

Will court you properly like any good nobleman should

Claims he's not a poet, but can be quite poetic

Will ruin someone for looking at you funny

Has somehow managed to keep himself socially relevant without name or title

Cons

Difficult to truly get to know

Wears many public masks to the point that it can be difficult to tell what is a mask and what is Sebastian

Selfish

Power hungry

Desperate to prove his worth

Slow to trust

Afraid of love and it being manipulated as a weakness

Terrified of being abandoned

Is a blooded heretic

Struggles with anger

Morally questionable at best

Is known to have ruined his own sister's marriage and reputation

Is a walking scandal

Is a bastard with no true name or title

Details

Is known to be the bastard son of Lady Ysabel de Vairemont and the executed heretic Declan Mercer, leaving him with one foot in high society and one foot in the Brume. Though, neither world will truly claim him.

Is thought to be the brains behind the running of House Vairemont. While is sister is the formal regent until his nephew reaches his majority, most believe Sebastian to be pulling the strings. A nobleman in all but name.

Lives for music. He plays the violin, piano, and the cello, on top of singing quite well.

Composes music in secret, sharing it only with those he loves. If you receive a piece he has written for you, it is safe to assume he's fallen for you, even if he has yet to say those words.

Can be quite dramatic. He is prone to throwing himself across divans and bemoaning whatever it is that is bothering him in the moment.

Likes to give and receive gifts. In both cases there's usually a crack in his facade and he appears a bit like a kid on starlight.

Is known to be a rake. Most of Ishgardian high society is aware of the fact that Sebastian has slept around quite a lot. Some regard him as something to try at least once before marriage. Though, it's unknown if this is still true given that he is recently betrothed.

Is a blooded heretic and has all of the ups and downs that come with that. Including the fact that he sometimes struggles to control his draconic gifts and can suddenly sprout scales and horns should his emotions get the better of him.

Is rarely ever seen without a cravat and waistcoat. He wears the trappings of a nobleman like armor. If he arrives on a date with his collar open or his sleeves rolled up, he is putting a good bit of faith and trust in you. He might even have feelings.

He is quite intense. Both in his passion for those his loves and his in his quest to prove himself to the world as something more than an bastard that should have been left to the Brume when he was born. This can be a lot for some people. Too much, even.

His alignment is absolutely neutral evil. While this won't be immediately obvious to most who interact with him, the closer you get and the more layers you peel back the more apparent it becomes.

Sexually: Sebastian prefers to take a dominant position in the bedroom. While one could say that he is a switch/Verse, to get him to that point would take quite a lot of work and only one person has been successful thus far. So for all intents and purposes he is a Dom/Top who leans heavily into praise and rewards. He will be as adventurous and experimental as his partner is willing to be.

Romantically: Polyamorous. Depending on his partner he can be quick to catch feelings but slow to reveal them. Love is terrifying for him. Sex is far easier. He will often lead with a sexual relationship only to fall in love later on and struggle with just how to express those feelings, if he should even trust them at all. He is the sort to say 'I love you' in every possible way he can think of before uttering those three little words. Though, once he has fallen in love with someone, they are his world. His everything. His eternal muse. There is very little he won't do for those he loves. And as someone with questionable morals, that says a lot. But, he also tends to open up and become more vulnerable and more honest. There is a sweet, casual, and sometimes goofy side to Sebastian that only those closest to him are allowed to see.

[maeijie]

pretty please. CHAPTER 1

— dad!gojo satoru x fem!reader

cw. cussing, depicts child negligence

note. i don't have a consistent updating schedule so please bear with me! writing is just my way of clearing my mind :) enjoy!

word count. 2.6k

series masterlist | previously | next

Parenthood. In Gojo Satoru's dictionary, that part has yet been defined. In fact, the term itself is not even written. And within that fact, he was never gonna ink that on any of his pages, even after he has signed his book to a close.

Point made? Then why the hell was there a child on his doorstep that's calling him Dad.

Here he is now, seated across the child with those beady, big eyes of hers in a small, corner restaurant selling sandwhiches just down the street of his apartment. Her pupils shining with sparkles of colors Satoru did not want to establish that it was crystal clearly mirroring his own set of irises.

Absurd. Completely coincidental, certainly. He thinks, eyes squinting in suspicion behind his expensive glasses as he watch her sip away on the juice she has picked. His fingers tapping on the table in thought, or more like waiting for the young lady to start addressing the situation that she got both of them.

Earlier, he had prod the child that she had most likely mixed up the address and that she should go to his fellow home unit owners. Yet, she continues to insist, responding that 'she wasn't stupid' as she claims, which by the way, got Satoru perplexed at that reply. And now they have set a deal, in which he'd get her food, and she'd provide him with a needed elaboration of his questions.

While she chose a chicken sandwich with an apple juice box, he simply went for a lemonade. The corner food store they were in was a stand alone business with no branches, owned by two elderly best friends. Satoru chose this specific accommodation as him and the girl was the only customer, along with one businessman. He also didn't want to garner any attention. Eating alone with a child could possibly spark a scandal of him having a Love child. The thought was slowly but surely eating at his brain that it could be true.

All he needed was to ask one crucial question.

Now, he still stands to the idea that this kid is not his. But y'know since it has reached this point of confrontation, might as well get some answers. He gotta be clever when he does this— The kid was smart! He didn't want to come as being desperate to prove her wrong since she's not his. Satoru was certain.

Grumbling to himself with brows lightly furrowed, he started talking to himself internally, still watching her chew on her straw. 'In my almost a decade-long career, not a single one from the many women i've slept with do I remember their name, except the one last night, Hina. That totally was her name.'

It was not.

Truthfully, Satoru only really messed around the most during after filming of movies, he was well aware of when his instances are most active. He doesn't know how, but he could probably narrow the list slightly if he thinks correct.

'She's a 3'6? maybe a bit up? Probably 6 years old? That's not too earlier on in my career, no..'

Still not taking away his gaze from the girl, observing her with stern, hawk eyes as he takes a sip on his beverage. But really, will it matter to know? Not really, he'd just send the kid away back on her merry way afterwards anyway.

He doesn't trust the kid one bit. Too smarty pants and cheeky.

"So–" Satoru clanks down his glass, getting the attention of the kid as well as being the one to initiate the conversation. "Listen here, Sayuri–"

"It's Saori."

"Right." He shifts on his seat, clearing his throat while the child seems to narrow her eyes at the man. When Satoru notices, he raises a brow in question with an attitude. "What?"

Shaking her head, she looks down on her unfinished food before picking it back up to bite. "So Listen, Saori, let me ask you this," Leaning forward slightly, it was pointless to beat around the bush so Satoru went straight to the point. "How old are you?"

In hearing this, Saori seemed unbothered at the question as she looks up at Satoru, blinking up at him whilst chewing before she swallows down the food to answer him.

"I just turned 8 years old."

...

Well, no shit, that narrows the list so much, he has one familiar name in mind.

In Satoru's silent surprise and denial, he immediately responds with tight lips and almost distant gaze, leaning back on his seat before grabbing his drink to slurp to a finish. "I don't believe you."

"Mhm?" Saori tilts her head in question, genuine confusion expressed, mouth slightly agaped. "On what part?"

Making hand gestures like he was flabbergasted and with an almost offended look, stuttering at his own inner panic. "Everything you've said, –you! One, where did you get my address from, two, you don't look eight, and thirdly, who's your Mother?"

But before she could utter a sound, he raises his hand to stop her. "Don't answer that, I'm scared." He was stressing out while rubbing his face with his hands, lifting the glasses up in the process. In doing so, he misses the saddened, little eyes that she looks his way.

"Here's what's gonna happen, Saori." Satoru jumps slightly forward, Saori's expression coming back to neutral as he looks down at her. "You're gonna call your parents to pick you up, and we're gonna pretend none of this happened, yeah?"

"But I can't do that..!" Saori slightly pouts with a whimper, her eyes trying to puppy-eye-effect him. But all it did was get a narrowed gaze in return, which reads a knowing look.

"And why's that? Do tell." Crossing his arms over himself, he awaits her response. Saori however looks to the side, crystal blue orbs darting every but at him, contemplating her answer. "I– well.. well, my mom won't be picking me up until... a month."

"Excuse me?"

"That's what me and mom.. agreed on?"

"And without my say? also, again, I'm not your Father."

Once again, Satoru is left baffled when he witnesses the kid clench her jaw a slight tad bit, eyes squinting yet like they were ablaze, as if she's sizing him up.

'Momma wasn't lying when she said dad was stubborn.'

And after a moment of eyeing her on the side of his vision, she uttered the sentence he's been dreading to hear since the whole confrontation.

"I've got proof."

"No you don't."

Wearily, he watches as she starts to rummage through her accompanied bag when she suddenly slams a photograph on the table, flinching Satoru a bit, her small hand covering the image. As she slowly uncovers it, Satoru scrunches his eyes close in sheer fright, his head faced on the side to not see a glimpse of it, additionally having both his hands stubbornly shielding them. "No! I don't wanna!"

He exclaimed, or almost shrieked, at the action. Alas, his intrusive, curious urges made him peek one eye open oh so slightly. Which was unfortunate to him, is enough to see the entirety of it.

Immediately, Satoru pushes himself away from the table as soon as he's hit with familiarity upon giving it one small, quick glance.

There, a selfie shot of himself as a teenager with a girl around his age; a girl that has made a lasting impact in Satoru's life– a girl simply someone he could never bring to forget no matter how hard he strives to.

And at the bottom right of that wistful visual imagery, in bold neon colors of blue and pink markers reads these letters:

'Satoru + Y/N'

"Oh my god." He mutters to himself, covering his face as he leans his head back. Completely distressed, if it wasn't evident. His obvious hypothesis was just proven. Now that he was thinking about it, the child had features that he was sure he recognizes somewhere but couldn't put his finger on whom.

Now it was so clear.

Satoru, again, peeks his eyes between his fingers over to the girl, scanning her face.

Despite her set of irises matching his, she definitely had your eyes, perfectly mirroring your sharp gaze. Her hair? Completely got it from you. She had a complexion that's a perfect mix of yours and Satoru's skin.

Saori said nothing but stare at Satoru, not assessing her anymore but instead returning the look while seemingly thinking, a sweat rolling down his temples.

And when Satoru all of a sudden stood up, Saori raises her brows in shock. She eyes Satoru fumble for his pocket to fish his wallet, mumbling to himself. "No, no, nope. Nuh uh."

She only watches as he places some cash on the table, not sparing her a look. "Here, go back to your Mother– You should not be here, kid." He says agitatedly, already starting to head to the door.

He sighs, rubbing his head. The ordeal drained Satoru's energy completely, and it wasn't even lunch yet. This wasn't what he was expecting to happen when he woke up this morning. And now, his head hurt; That idea was too much to take in for him as of this moment.

He got you pregnant? God, you were so long ago and you didn't find it in you to try and tell him earlier? Not only that, you sent your daughter alone? Unbelievable.

Nobody knew of his relationship with you, except a few selected people. It happened before he was known to be the IT of Japan's Acting Industry. The love that was once between you two was only just teenage school romance, Satoru thinks.

He was ready to forget about today and collapse back on his bed, his hand reaching for the door—

"This is child endangerment!"

Satoru flinches at the abrupt, and loud high pitched yell, his heart hammering due to being spooked. He turned alarming, seeing the child standing and staring right at him. Her eyes strongly fixated on his, brows furrowed in irritation, and lips pouting to display her disappointment.

In other circumstances, Satoru would probably find that adorable, a child doing their best at showing their anger, almost like a tantrum. But the child in question was his own, something that he still don't quite grasp and appreciate just yet.

But also, because the three other people inside the establishment was giving him judgmental looks, the owners whispering to themselves. Satoru was flabbergasted at the dirty stares, his mouth agaped.

'WHAT THE FUCK?'

-

"So Satoru, care to explain why there's a kid in your living room?" A woman mutters at the said man.

After dragging Saori back to his house following that fiasco, Satoru immediately contacted two of his best friends, asking them to come over as soon as possible. Upon entering his door, the sight of an unknown little girl was a surprise, their eyes as wide as they could muster to do. Their reaction was as expected by the white-haired man, face palming at them.

Now, he has kept her occupied, watching a random show the girl asked for. And finally, the three adults are seated on the kitchen island, whispering amongst themselves while stealing short glances at the child from time to time.

At the question, Satoru groans exasperatingly, a hand on his forehead. "I do not even wanna a think about it."

The other man, Suguru, who was just drinking from his glass of water, is now looking at the inside of the cup. "Babysitting is something I didn't expect from you, unless the kid's yours." he says with a slight humor. But when he only recieves a small tud from Satoru dropping his head on the island counter, he turns his body towards his friend, face blank. "You're kidding."

A sigh is heard from the woman, Shoko, beside them, cheek on her hand, eyes closed in quiet stress like she already expected that idea the moment she saw the kid.

"She just came and knock on my door. Tried to ask her kindly to leave– but caused a scene instead." Satoru huffs, showing visible tiredness due to now being hunched over the counter, arms sprawled.

Suguru leans forward a bit, looking over his shoulder at the girl then back at Satoru. "You do know that's a fully grown, developed child? Why're you just finding out?

"You're not asking the important questions," Shoko copied the ravenette's actions, expression now eager. "Who's the Mother?"

For a moment, Satoru ignores them, despite their expectant faces pointed at his. And so, collecting his thoughts, he fixes his posture as he leans closer to them, the two doing the same, "Remember (Y/N)?"

"The one from high school?"

"Y'mean the one you ghosted when we were freshman–?"

"I'm offended! I did not do such!" Satoru exclaims a little too loud with a hand on his chest, taken back at the accusation. Shoko immediately hits him on his arm, gesturing at the kid, which resulted a hurt look with a pout from Satoru, rubbing the spot.

"So she's the Mom?"

"That's what she told me. She also had a picture of me and (Y/N)" he begrudgingly says.

The three looks over once again, observing the child completely engrossed on the television, a small smile visible on her face, "She's so adorable though, Saori right?" Shoko says, tilting her head at the child. At that, Satoru groans, "Do not start."

"Well I remember you being head over heels for (Y/N)!" Shoko presses, still watching Saori. "You have no idea how flabbergasted I was when you said you ended it with her." she remarks with raised brows.

"Ditto. There was an annoying point where nothing but her comes outta that mouth of yours." Suguru mumbles as he shuts his eyes while crossing his arms.

"Gosh, I'm reminiscing– kinda miss her now. I liked her around when you both were too irritable." she gasps facing Suguru, "Remember when they were lying about being together but then we caught Satoru pampering her on the face–?" Suguru lightly gasps as well, facing her properly from the reminder. "When (Y/N) shoved him so hard he fell, is very much imbedded in my head still."

With an irritated crease of his brows, Satoru looks at his best friends, "Oi, she's in the past alright? Doesn't matter anymore." He reiterates firmly, muttering the last part under his breath.

With a sharp intake of air through his teeth, Suguru grabs Satoru's shoulders. "But you see, Satoru, it does matter— You definitely need to reach (Y/N) some how, talk about Saori or just have her pick the kid up."

"You sure 'bout that though, Satoru?" Shoko looks at him. "Don't wanna spend time with your daughter?"

It took Satoru a second to reply, actually thinking about it for a bit. He thought about possibilities that could happen if she does stay with him. But the thoughts left him as fast as it entered his mind, knocking him back to his senses.

Sighing, he puts a hand on his forehead, "We're not even sure if she's mine—"

"She showed you irrefutable proof. Plus she's the child I imagined you two would have back then." Suguru interjects. He is completely convinced that Saori is Satoru's, knowing his history with you. Complete silence fell on them, the sound from the television reaching their ears while they think. Then a hum is heard from Shoko.

"Oh yeah I remember that. We had a bet, and now you owe me lunch."

"What do you mean, I said their kid would look like (Y/N) and have Satoru's eyes."

"You bet that they'd have a boy, I said they would have a girl."

Satoru slams his head on the counter with a load, irritated groan, zoning out the conversation between his friends as they bicker about the past.

God, this was a lot for him today

taglist 🔖

@jotarohat @bleppt @jonesmelodys

[cringemesstickles]

Spencer Reid’s Big Secret

(Squealing Santa 2023)

Summary: Spencer Reid has a secret, and Morgan wants to know what it is.

Pairing: Moreid (Morgan/Reid)

Word count: 1,555

A/N: Merry Christmas y’all! This is my squealing Santa gift to @gaybananabread !! :D

I combined two of the prompts bc they were both too cute and I couldn’t decide :’)

I had a lotta fun writing this and I hope you enjoy it!

———————————————————

The BAU headquarters was quieter than usual, a calm before the storm of another case. In a corner of the room, Dr. Spencer Reid sat, his attention buried in a pile of books and papers.

Now, Spencer Reid was incredibly clever… there was no about it.

However, he was never very good at concealing the fact that he was hiding something. You’d think that in his line of work it would be quite the opposite, but most of the time, that just isn’t the case.

Whenever he was hiding something, he would act even more awkward than usual.

Derek Morgan, ever so observant, caught this look and couldn’t resist the urge to investigate.

“Alright, pretty boy, spill it.” Morgan abruptly confronted, palms slammed on the table as if he were conducting a real interrogation, startling the young detective.

Reid looked up with surprise before he put on a mask of innocence. “Spill what?”

“Don’t play dumb. You’re hiding something, and I wanna know what it is!”

The younger averted his eyes and Morgan swore that he saw a faint blush on his cheeks.

“What would give you that idea? I’m not hiding anything…”

Morgan wasn’t buying it. He moved closer, a playful yet determined look on his face as he circled around behind Reid.

“Alright… if you won’t talk, I have other methods.”

With that, he quickly spun the chair around to make Reid face him before making a beeline for the detective’s vulnerable sides, digging into the sensitive flesh.

Taken off guard by the sudden tickling ambush, Reid lets out a surprised yelp before loud, unrestrained laughter tumbled from his lips.

“Hey! W-What are you dohohohoing?!”

The older man gave a sly grin.

He was definitely gonna have fun with this.

“What does it look like I’m doing, genius?” He asked teasingly, skillfully spidering his fingers up to Reid’s ribs, using just enough pressure to drive the young detective crazy.

“Ahh! Y-You’re tickling mehehehehee!”

“Bingo!” Morgan said with a grin. “And I’m not gonna stop until you tell me what you’re hiding!”

The blonde squirmed desperately in his seat, trapped between the chair and his attacker. Well… he could maybe escape if he wanted to. The seat didn’t have any armrests; he just wasn’t willing to throw himself at the floor quite yet.

Perhaps he could hold out and Morgan would just give up.

“Nohohoho! Morgan, plehehease! I-I’m not hiding aNYTHIHIHING- WAHAHAIT!”

The doctor’s plea was cut off by his own raucous laughter when he felt the tingling sensations migrate from his ribcage to under his arms, one of his hot spots.

“You can’t lie to me, pretty boy! You better start talking, or I might have to take drastic measures.” The elder playfully threatened, drilling his thumbs into the tender hollows, getting an uncharacteristic shriek from the normally reserved detective.

Reid glued his arms to his sides, but it didn’t matter. Morgan kept on tickling, even with his hands trapped.

Truthfully, Morgan kind of hoped that Reid would stay stubborn, just so that he’d have an excuse to keep tickling him.

Reid’s laughter was so rare, and to have it ringing so openly was nothing short of a gift.

He didn’t even care about the secret as long as he could get Reid to keep laughing like that.

Well… okay, maybe he cared about the secret a little bit.

But that just means he has every excuse in the world to keep tickling the young genius.

Besides, the poor kid needed some playfulness in his life.

“I-I’M NOT TEHEHELLING!!”

This statement, ladies and gentlemen, was a huge mistake.

Morgan quirked a brow, pausing to give the younger man a momentary break from the tickling, but moving to grab his wrists so that he doesn’t escape.

“Not telling, huh? So you admit that you’re hiding something!”

Reid’s face flushed bright red and his eyes widened comically as he realized his mistake.

“Wait, no, I-I meant that, uh…”

Morgan wasn’t having it.

“Y’know, Reid… I think those lanky legs of yours are feeling a little left out.”

He didn’t have to say anymore before Reid began kicking his legs, pleading for mercy before Morgan even touched him.

“Nononono, Morgan, plehehease dohohon’t!” There was a nervous smile on his face, which was starting to turn a nice rosy shade.

“Oh, I think I will, since you’re sooo insistent on not sharing that secret.”

Before Reid could let out another protest, Morgan’s hand caught one of the flailing legs while the other hand began to squeeze rapidly at the kneecap.

The young genius let out a snort, his laughter taking on a boyish energy as he tried his hardest to free his leg, thrashing his entire body from the intense electric tickling sensation.

“NAHAHAH- MORGAHAHAN, T-TOO TIHIHIHICKLISH!!” He shrieked, tears of mirth starting to prick at his eyes.

Morgan couldn’t help but laugh along, not expecting such an extreme reaction from Spencer Reid.

How on earth had Morgan been neglecting Reid’s knees until now?!

“Maybe if you tell me your secret, I can make it a little less ticklish~”

The younger shook his head stubbornly. His stomach was starting to hurt from how hard he was laughing.

He knew his knees were sensitive, but he didn’t know they were THAT sensitive.

Nevertheless, he refused to give in!

At least until Morgan began scribbling over the kneecap…

“Well that’s too bad, Reid. What if I just- woah!”

The minute Morgan touched his knee with that scribbling motion, Reid let out a scream of laughter before throwing himself to the floor in a desperate escape act.

And it worked! He was free from Morgan’s ticklish clutches.

For a few seconds…

Undeterred, the older detective simply followed Reid to the floor, now able to pin him more effectively by sitting on his hips.

“Nice try, kid. You can’t escape me that easily!”

The younger man gave a childish whine, wriggling hopelessly and realizing he definitely wasn’t getting out of this until he gave Morgan what he wanted.

But strangely, it seemed almost as if Reid was enjoying himself… like he was having just as much fun as Morgan was.

“Alright, Reid. I didn’t wanna have to do this, but you leave me no choice.”

With that ominous statement, the older agent began to roll up the younger’s shirt, watching with a mischievous sparkle in his eye as he sees his victim’s expression shift from playful dread, to one of sheer panic… and a glimmer of excitement?

“Your tummy looks rather tasty, Reid. If you’re not gonna share that secret, maybe I should give it a little taste?”

Reid’s eyes went as wide as saucers and he burst into a fit of anticipatory giggles, futilely tugging at his arms.

“Oh? Giggling already? Something you wanna tell me, Reid?”

The giggling agent in question frantically nodded his head, signaling to Morgan that all was about to be revealed.

“I’m listening…”

When Reid looked at Morgan with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he finally said…

“I’m never telling you.”

Taken aback by the sass, the elder decided it was time to unleash his secret weapon.

“That’s it! You asked for this, Reid!”

With that, he brought his face to Reid’s tummy and began to nibble at the soft skin.

The response he got was pure gold.

Reid let out the most childlike squeal before falling into bright, boisterous guffaws, arching his back out of instinct.

“OH MY GOHOHOD, MORGON, PLEHEHEHEASE!!”

Morgan simply let out a low chuckle, the sound vibrating against Reid’s skin, before he continued the tummy nibbles, making obnoxious nomming sounds which only seemed to make Reid laugh louder.

“NOOO! O-OKAY OKAHAHAHAY!! I’LL TEHEHELL!!”

The tickler lifted his head, looking at Reid with a raised eyebrow.

“For real this time? Don’t make me-”

“EEK- NONONO, I MEAN IT, I PROHOHOMISE!!!”

Morgan pulled back, giving Reid a moment to catch his breath.

At last, Reid inhaled… ready to unleash his big secret.

“So, um… you know how earlier this morning, Hotch said that somebody used all the sugar?..”

Morgan stared blankly.

Surely this was going somewhere…

Reid fiddled with his hands, guiltily averting his eyes.

“I did it…”

For a moment, neither said a word.

“That’s it!?” Exclaimed the older man, expecting more of a, well… secret?

“I used all the sugar, Morgan!”

The blonde tilted his head when Morgan began laughing and shaking his head with disbelief.

“God, Reid… you’re a mess.” He chuckled, reaching out to ruffle the younger’s hair.

Reid’s cheeks turned a rosy shade, whether it was from embarrassment or the affectionate gesture, he couldn’t quite tell.

With an amused expression, Morgan hopped up off the ground, extending a hand for Reid to take, which the doctor graciously took.

“That’s enough excitement for me for one day… I’m heading home.”

Before he left, he turned to give Reid a wink.

“Don’t worry, pretty boy… I won’t tell your oh so terrible secret.” He teased, flashing that charming smile.

Reid felt the heat rise to his cheeks.

As he packed up his own belongings, his thoughts kept drifting towards Morgan, and how maybe he should stop being so uptight all the time…

Maybe it was kind of fun laughing until he couldn’t breathe.

And maybe, just maybe… he kind of liked it when Morgan called him pretty boy.

[tinfoil-jones]

Early Amnesia AU: What was Stan and Rick's relationship like?

WARNINGS: TW self harm, toxic relationship

When Rick found Stan in the woods, he tased him, because Stan was in some dissociative state and tried to attack him. He would have just left him there if it weren't for the fact that Stan had survived a tasing device that would kill most humans. In fact, despite clearly already being injured in some way Rick couldn't immediately see (he was awfully sooty and his clothes were in bad condition), Stan was just unconscious, the shock didn't seem to damage him in any way.

So Rick was curious.

He was even more curious when the guy woke up and he was missing memories. He could remember his name - Stan, just Stan, Malone. He didn't know who he was really, where he came from. He'd been living on the streets for almost a decade and he remembered that. He remembered  criminal associates, places he'd been banned from, how much he hated cops and the IRS.

Rick didn't have a lot of friends or allies as it was. When your wife and daughter are dead, all of your closest friends are aliens, and a considerable amount of your social circle is just alternate versions of yourself, lonliness tends to happen.

This 'Stan' had no real connections with other people, and with the first 17 or so years of his life missing from his memory, he was nothing but curiousity.

Sure, he wasn't as smart as Rick (after all, he was the smartest man in the universe, it was objective fact within the central finite curve) but he was clever, he was tricky, and although his personality left a lot to be desired (not that Rick was one to talk) he could read and manipulate the people around him quite easily.

And more than anything else, the dude could take an insane amount of punishment. It didn't matter what he went through or put himself through, he always managed to just walk it off in some way, shape, or form.

Rick learned quickly that once you got his trust (which wasn't easy to get), he would do basically anything for you if you'd just let him stay by your side. Guy was lonely and desperate for connection, and Rick didn't mind the clinginess. It was nice to have someone be that devoted, yet require so very little from you back.

The first month was harsh. Stan had been fine at first, but it quicky became clear that he must have inhaled something bad, or a lot of something bad, because he had acute bronchitis - the bronchial tubes of his airway became irritated, and the irritation turned into a chest infection.

He was delirious with a fever, and it was a good thing Rick had a steady supply of advanced painkillers and narcotics, because keeping Stan unconscious was the only way to properly treat him. He needed an oxygen mask at the time, to deliver not just oxygen but an inhalant version of an antibiotic, but anytime he was awake he would try to tear it off, wheezing that he was being smothered or suffocated, so unaware that what was actually smothering him was the fluid build up and inflamation in his lungs, and the mask on his face was what was keeping him alive.

When Stan finally got better, he took to Ricks sci-fi adventures in stride. In fact, the whole prospect excited him, like a kid getting to live out their adventure fantasies. Except in this case, the grit and the violence didn't scare him away. Like Rick, he treated it like a challenge. Like another thrill.

In fact, for all of their differences, they had some glaring simularities.

Particularly, the tendency to be destructive. They were both self destructive, but while Stan tended to turn his destructiveness inwards and towards himself, Rick projected his destructiveness outwards and towards the very universe around him. Sometimes to multiple universes all at once.

And rather than temper each other out, they encouraged each other in the worst possible ways.

Stan got into an argument at the bar? Rick egged him on until it turned into a full scale brawl.

Rick was self harming by cutting into his thighs? Stan told him he could go deeper than that.

Stan wanted to steal something? Rick reminded him that he had quicker hands than that, he could steal more, in fact why not just burn the whole aisle down while you're at it?

Rick on so many substances his vision is dancing and he feels disconnected from his body? Stan urged him to take some more come on we're just getting started.

It's like they wanted to share their pain with each other but also make it worse until it felt good again. They'd push each others limits constantly.

But they also did influence each other positively, in very minor ways.

Stan didn't have his memories. He didn't remember being the "dumb twin" so he didn't have the self esteem issues he had before. However, he was still lazy. Rick encouraged him to apply himself in ways he otherwise wouldn't have - Stan of course you can learn Gromflomish, those bureaucrats can do it and they arent even real people. Stan you're not as good as me as math because no one else in the universe is, but you can learn math you just need to learn it in a different way. Working my inventions isn't hard its just like picking locks you love picking locks, Stan, you fuckin kleptomaniac.

Rick was often comforted and grounded by Stan in return, and reminded that he was still a human being and not a god or monster - You're nothing like that bastard Prime, you'd never hurt your family like that not even alternates. Rick, you're so brilliant, I'm glad that I met you. Its okay that you still love her even though she's gone, Rick, you're not wrong for that.

Ultimately, Rick did not fight Stan's decision to stay in their dimension and planet because they both knew that though they held a special place and time in each others lives, it was never meant to last. They would have either killed each other, or gotten each other killed.

[fayedartmouth]

More of the car accident fic. I don't love this snippet? But it's kind of expository and in a necessary way? I'll do something more interesting next time, but this lays out how the Pogues are and what the outlook is. I think maybe after this we visit with Pope? I think we'll hit up each of the Pogues. Let me know!

When Shoupe pulled his cruiser up outside the hospital, he told himself this was the job.  Strictly business.  Peterkin assigned him this car accident.  The scene had been secured, with cleanup underway.  His officers had filed evidence and were writing up reports.  Getting victim statements was just the next step in the process, that was all.

That didn’t explain, then, why his stomach churned at the thought.

<i>Victim statements.</i>

As if he didn’t care about those four smart ass kids.  Those Pogues who were too clever and not clever enough.  Too loyal, too poor, too brazen, and too desperate.

John B’s dad was missing.  JJ’s father was the butt of every joke in town.  Pope’s parents were never going to make enough to send him to school, and Kiara Carrera was determined to burn down her Kook lifestyle, even if it cost her everything.

They were kids.  They were young and full of life.  They had potential, and futures.

They weren’t <i>victims</i>.

At least, they shouldn’t be victims.

That wasn’t for him to say, though, and it wasn’t in the job description.  He had a case to close, and it was straightforward.  Get the statements.  Close the case.

Move on.

With that, he got himself out of the car.

At the desk, the receptionist seemed to regard him quickly.  The uniform had that effect; she knew it was official business and got a nurse to talk to him, who quickly found the doctor.  Shoupe knew the man – it was an occupational hazard for both of them, to vary degrees – and when Shoupe said it was about the MVA from earlier, the man knew exactly what he was talking about.

“The kids, right?” he asked.

Shoupe nodded, trying to act benignly curious, like a good cop should.  

“I treated two of them, one earlier, and then the one you brought in later,” he said.

“Maybank,” Shoupe said, almost without meaning, too.  He tried not to redden, even as the emotion flushed over him.  He could still remember the feeling of compressing JJ’s chest, pumping the blood in his body for him.  That kid was defiant to the end, and it startled Shoupe to think about that.  <i>The end.</i>

He wasn’t doing as good of a job as he’d hope, keeping it in check.  The doctor seemed to sense that his curiosity wasn’t so professional.  “Were you there?” he asked.  “In the field?”

He swallowed.  Hard.  “I was the one who found him,” Shoupe reported, and he wet his lips.  “I, uh.  Administered first aid.”

The fact that it had included CPR, notwithstanding.

At that, the doctor nodded with a note of sympathy.  “Well, he made it here alive, for what that’s worth,” he said.  He was clearly trying to be positive about it, but there wasn’t much good to report.  “But his condition was critical when we redlined him up to the OR.”

Shoupe trained his responses, reminding himself that it wasn’t unexpected.  He’d been there when the kid’s heart had stopped.  He’d seen how much blood the kid had lost.  He knew how long he’d been lying there, overlooked and discarded on the side of the road.

<i>He knew</i>.

“And how is he?”

He sighed, making a little face.  “Honestly, based on my assessment of him, it’s a 50/50 proposition,” he said.  “There were massive internal injuries, all of which were exacerbated by the fact that he’d been bleeding so long.  Honestly, I don’t know how he survived long enough to even get upstairs.”

That was the story, right?  How the hell was JJ Maybank still alive?

With the odds stacked against him.

And not one damn person on this island ready to fight for him.

“He’s a fighter,” he said, as if that wasn’t the most unfair thing in the world.  The kid was 16; he wasn’t supposed to fight.  But he’d clawed every good thing he had from an indifferent universe, and everyone sat around and wondered why he didn’t do it better.

The doctor took a breath and sighed.  “Well, he’s going to have to be,” he said candidly.  No doubt, the man would have used more measured language with the family.  But Shoupe was a professional here; he was supposed to have distance.  “The skull laceration looked the worst, but that’s a relatively easy cosmetic repair.  I’m sure plastic can come up to stitch it back with minimal scarring.”

Shoupe blinked, trying to convince himself that he <i>was</i> that professional.  This was part of the job, that was all.

The doctor’s expression creased, though.  “But the internal injuries – that’s what the team will have to repair in surgery,” he reported.  “In the ER, we diagnosed a lacerated kidney, a collapsed lung, and various other bleeds in the GI tract.  All of which is consistent with the type of trauma you’d expect from being ejected from the vehicle.”

He nodded numbly.  “Right,” he said, like it was that simple.  “It was an old van.  We’re not sure the seatbelts all worked.”

The doctor shrugged slightly.  “That also explains why one of his legs was broken.  We didn’t have time to check him fully for other fractures, and I wouldn't be surprised if we find something,” he said, and he crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head.  “If anything, the impact with the ground could have been worse.  He’s only got a moderate concussion with no signs of swelling or bleeding in the brain.”

“Right,” Shoupe said.  He tried to smile, but it felt all wrong.  “So at least he doesn’t have brain damage.”

The doctor blinked at him, as if he wasn’t sure if Shoupe was serious or not.

Shit, Shoupe didn’t know if he was serious or not.

It was a horrible thing, right?  Sitting around, talking about injuries like there’s some silver lining in the fact that the kid didn’t have scrambled eggs for brains.  Like that made the fact that he was barely alive so much better.

“Right,” the doctor agreed after a beat.  He wet his lips, and continued.  “The good news is, he’s made it this far.  And if he makes it out of surgery, then I think he’s got pretty good odds.”

It felt wrong, casually assessing JJ’s condition like that.  Like whether or not he lived was a topic of idle curiosity.  A talking point of his damn police report.

He didn’t want to write up a fatality.

He <i>didn’t</i>.

And he didn’t want to bury some damn kid before he even had the chance to grow up.

That wasn’t it, though.  He blinked – and hard – and forced himself to focus.  Plumb could do this without flinching.  Thomas would just be bored by the details.  Peterkin would tell him they had a job to serve and protect, that was all.  That was it.

“What about the others?” he asked, forcing his voice to work and ignoring how tight his throat felt.

The doctor nodded, picking up his iPad, presumably to bring up their charts.  “Let me see,” he murmured.  “Right.  Routledge.  The driver?”

Shoupe nodded tightly.  “John B.”

The doctor skimmed through the information.  “Well, he’s also in surgery right now.”

“Okay,” Shoupe said.  “And his condition?”

“Serious but not as critical,” he said.  “They’re going an ex-lap right now.”

“But why?” Shoupe asked, frowning.  “The officers on the scene said he was conscious and coherent.”

“Right, he was wearing a seatbelt," the doctor said, looking at Shoupe over the device.  He tipped his head to the side as he explained it.  “I mean, you know how it is.  Seatbelts save lives, but not without some risks.  The force of the impact pressed into his belly, causing a bleed.  The bruising line was consistent with a restrained blunt force trauma.”

That figured.  Even when these kids did something right, they still managed to do it wrong.  Those Pogues.  If they didn’t have the worst luck, he swore they wouldn’t have any luck at all.  This island hated them, that much was true.  He was starting to wonder if the whole damn universe hated them too.

“What’s his prognosis?” Shoupe said, asking the question that needed to be asked.  For professional reasons, for sure.  Not because the thought of those four idiot kids in the hospital made his stomach turn and his skin crawl.  “Will he be okay?”

“Laparotomies have high rates of complications, but we caught his bleed early, and all signs pointed to it being small,” he said.  “I think his chances are good.”

That was something, at least.  Shoupe tried to find some reassurance in that, but he found it difficult, all things considered.  Doing this job was hard.

When you cared about the people, it was harder.

Why did Shoupe care about these kids?

Well, shit.  Someone had to.

John B and JJ – they didn’t have anyone.

As for Pope and Kiara–

He exhaled, trying to find his calm once more.  “What about the Heyward boy?”

The doctor pulled up his screen again.  “Right,” he said, tapping a few things.  He made a little face.  “Head injury.  A bad one.”

Shoupe felt his stomach drop.  This just kept getting worse.  He was here for four victim statements.  And yeah, he was racking up victims.  Statements, not so much.

“He’s been in and out with diminished consciousness,” he explained, looking at Shoupe again.  “Early scans are mixed.  Head injuries like this, it’s wait and see.  He could have significant delays.  Or he could be fine.”

Now, he just felt sick.  He knew that kid was bright, bright enough that everyone wondered why he hung around with the Pogues.  He was the one they expected to make it out.  They couldn’t understand how such a smart kid could be so blind.

Shoupe got it, though.  Smart decisions weren’t just about making money and getting a job.  It wasn’t about a house on the Figure Eight or money in a bank account.

It was the people you shared life with.

The family you made.

The friends you chose.

The fact that Pope chose that – well, it made Shoupe think Pope was even brighter than people gave him credit for.

“But we’ve given him medication, and it looks like the brain swelling is under control for now,” he said.  “As long as he continues responding to the treatment, then we should know more in a day or so.”

So JJ might not survive surgery.  John B might develop an infection.  And Pope might never be the same.

Great.

That was all great.

“And the girl,” the doctor said, tapping the iPad again.  “Carrera?”

Shoupe nodded.  “Kiara.”

“Of them all, she’s probably in the best condition,” the doctor reported.  He wrinkled his nose, passing over the screen with a few swipes of his finger.  “She had a piece of metal, cutting into her leg.”

He gaped, wondering if he’d misheard.  “What?  I thought you said she was in the best condition?”

The doctor nodded, putting the iPad down again and tucking it under his arm.  “It partially severed an artery in her leg, which is why she lost consciousness,” he said.  “She was in hypovolemic shock when she arrived.”

Shoupe shifted from foot to foot, clearing his throat.  “Still not sure how that’s best?’

“It was a relatively quick repair – we stitched her up right here in the ER,” he said.  “She’s still being transfused now, but once her vitals are restored, I’m certain she’ll make a quick recovery.”

And yeah.  If that was the good news, then Shoipue knew they were scraping by at rock bottom.

But it was something.

After performing CPR on JJ in the field, Shoupe figured he would take what he could get.

“So are any of them conscious?” he asked.  “I, uh, need to interview them.”

“Both Routledge and Maybank are in surgery, and Carrera is admitted upstairs but the chart says she’s not awake yet,” he said.  “Heyward is in the ICU, but he’s been in and out.  I’m not sure he’s coherent, but you’re welcome to try.”

“Thank you,” he said, forcing himself to smile.  “For – everything.”

For the information.  For trying to save their lives.

The doctor nodded back.  “They’ve got a ways to go,” he said.  “But they’re friends, right?  So maybe they can help each other.”

Friends.  More like family.

“You can count on it,” Shoupe said.  “Thanks again, doc.”

[noemitenshi]

@marrecarandgi

ok so, the mommy issues: he does have them though i don't think they are sexual in nature (which is also why i don't like to call them 'mommy issues'--- theres always a certain… connotation attached (and on top of that it sounds, to me, like blaming the victim. not saying you're doing it! not at all! Just describing my aversion to that particular phrase as best as i can)).

So what that whole thing boils down to is that he never experienced the love of his parents, that's where it stems from. That's part of why he fixates on Madison so hard. BC already in the first ep of s3, moments after he greets madison, he watches her declare her love for her kids and for travis. "do you love him more than your life?" he asks her and the way he looks at her… like that's such a strange thing to him and at the same time he'd wished someone would love him that much. or like even half as much. hell, he'd take a quarter! It's kinda heartbreaking. He's drawn to such a love and jealous too. Of course he is, he never got it. And then he finds out who her son is she got in such danger for and… is angry at him. Angry that he has such love in his life and just--- treats it with such disrespect (=bc he's a junkie and also bc he clearly ran away from his mom). I think it reminds him of the relationship with his own mom, how HE had such love for her and how she had only disdain for him and for his love. And while he can't hate his mom - i mean i think he does. but he also loves her. feelings for his mom are complicated… but with NICK it's not complicated. He can just hate him. So yeah there's a lot of projecting going on. None of it sexual though, I don't believe so. Explains part of his fixation though. AND THEN on top of her apparent love, she immediately turns around and tries to manipulate him. "My, my son, he's out there, somewhere. Alone. I'm sure if you were lost in the wasteland, your mother would do anything to find you" Definitely he loves the way Madison could play his games (the way she did even as she was disadvantaged, even as she was scared), the way she tried to manipulate him AND also the way she loved, those two things drew him to her. Personally I think he was most taken in by the 'she keeps at it even while she's afraid what he'll do' thing she had going on. Pushing onwards despite. Does it remind him of himself? Most certainly. He loves to draw that out of her, that bravery, that opposition. After all, he likes people pushing back it's attention, it's caring enough to engage with him, not just dismissing him… And I think a third aspect in their relationship is that he also wants her to.. teach him, in a way. Because they're pretty similar - both manipulative and clever, wanting to control all others around them and not afraid to do what needs to be done (in their eyes) - but then! She's got a family that loves her. If she could just teach him how she did that… he could have a shot at that too. At long last he could have that, too! If only she could teach him her secret.

So yes, his family did fuck with his head badly, he's certainly got issues. And it comes out as desperate to make connections, as soaking up attention and affection wherever he gets it, no matter how dangerous it is. He knows full well Madison is playing him but he just can't NOT engage, at least in s3. I'm so fucking happy for him he got over that in s8. How heartbreaking would that have been otherwise… And I think the reason he got over it is because he finally got what he was craving - someone that loves him. Not wanting to use him or someone who merely tolerates him, but honestly, truly loves him. First Serena (I assume) and then definitely Tracy.

--

Now about the 180 he did wrt killing Madison - honestly that's just bad writing in my opinion and having everything rushed because they wanted to do too much for 12 eps. That's how it felt while watching haha. (Same btw for Tracy suddenly saving Madison what the fuck come on get out of here with this shit omg). Anyway, what I could imagine is going on here: he knows he's fucked (chances of surviving this and actually getting tracy to safety pretty low) so he does what he thinks will most likely ensure Tracy's safety. Getting on the good side of these people (by saving Madison).

It's still a stretch, I know, but makes more sense than 'he saw into her eyes and realized bla bla bla' come on! Orrrr maybe he realized her dying now, without anything she believes in is no punishment for her. She *needs* to believe in the same shit Serena did so it really hurts her when she dies. She'll feel like she's losing out on something, or whatever. Now it seems like she welcomes death. She even said it to him didnt she. Something along the lines that padre will be safe without ppl like them around. She wants to die. So. He saves her. (Just like she didn't kill him when he begged her back in s3. she just sent him into exile). I kinda see this one as the most likely explanation. Also makes sense he wasn't paying attention to Madison, just worried about Tracy. Because that's his number 1 prioority.

---

Now naming Tracy Tracy still has me scratching my head and calling bullshit. Sorry, no in-universe explanation for it, writers were being stupid. Probably thought 'oh this will show he really really cares about family bc he named her after his mom' or whatever.

[tbshorts]

The Best Panels of One Piece, Syrup Village (chapter 23-32)

Full video scripts under the cut

Chapter 23:

Which are the best panels in One Piece?

Chapter 23 sees the introduction of Usopp, who… wow, remember when his nose and eyes used to be this small? Huh.

Most of the action is about introducing him and endearing him to the audience by showing us his shenanigans, all his comedy cowardice, his ridiculous lying, and his trusty crew of village kids who look up to him.

But it also hints a bit at the bravery that Usopp can display, when he stands his ground and lies to the Straw Hats, despite clearly being pretty scared. It shows us that Usopp is someone who, when backed into a corner, has the guts to at least go for something, to swing for the fences in desperation. And it's a trait that will save his life many times over the next 25 years.

But the best panel, I think, doesn't even have Usopp in it. It's right near the end, with Kaya in her mansion. It is a bright, airy, mostly pure white space with barely any shadows anywhere, which suits her as a frail, "pure hearted maiden" sort of character. And then in the background there is the stark, pure black shadow of Klahadore looming behind her. It's unsettling. He looks out of place and ominous, and that, kids, is good visual foreshadowing.

Chapter 24:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

In chapter 24 we get to meet the villain of this arc proper, Klahadore or spoiler alert Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates, and the chapter is mostly about establishing his character, especially as a counterpoint to Usopp. Usopp is an honest man who presents himself as a liar, while Kuro is a liar presenting himself as an honest man. They make good foils for one another. This panel in particular is a great microcosm of the story - on the one side Usopp and all his friends, on the other Kuro, alone, and caught in between them Kaya, the person whose trust they're fighting over.

Speaking of, Kaya also gets a pretty good panel here, when she has her first outburst. See how Oda applies a fish eye lens, bending the window around her shouting, emphasizing it? It's just good technique. But no, the best panel is the punch. It's the first time we see the easygoing Usopp use violence, but it's also just a gorgeously dynamic shot, look at that foreshortening, and then the clever little trick of extending the line of his punch through the strap of his bag, it really emphasizes the motion, and it just looks great.

Chapter 25:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

Chapter 25 is one of those chapters that feels even darker in hindsight, opening with Kaya questioning Kuro about why he tries to isolate her from her friends, and why he keeps making her feel guilty about it. He then feeds her his fake sad backstory and turns it around that it's only because he cares about her SO MUCH, play-acting emotional anguish which gets Kaya to back off. It is the textbook dynamic of an abusive caretaker relationship.

That said it's not a chapter with any clear standout panels. Arguably it doesn't need any, it's not a bombastic chapter, nothing needs to be high impact. If I had to pick, I quite like this one where Zoro and Nami are sitting with the village kids, because of the way Zoro is sitting EXACTLY like the kids while Nami is up on the fence by contrast. It’s cute! But… y'know, although it's a bit flat, this panel of Usopp sitting on a cliff looking out over the ocean - the way his head rises just above the horizon line, that sense of how he's drawn to the sea… that's pretty good too.

Chapter 26:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

Chapter 26 opens with some awkward exposition, a classic "characters telling each other what they both already know" which is… efficient if inelegant. It gets Kuro's real motivation established quickly and sets the stakes, but it's a janky way to storytell. Oda does a visually clever little callback, repeating the exact same set of three panels for Usopp's now terrified truthtelling as when he told his prank lie and it's a bit funny because you can see Usopp's character design already changing a mere three chapters after his introduction.

It's another chapter without any strong standout panels, though, nothing that really rises above the rest. Usopp's terrified face when he realizes what Kuro is up to is good, as are his horrified reactions at Luffy's brashness, but if I had to pick… it's probably this one. It's not exceptional, but there's a subtlety of despair under the cartoony artstyle that comes through in the furrowed lines on his brows, the squeeze around the cheeks up under the eyes. If you look at it for a bit, you do feel his desperation.

Chapter 27:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

In chapter 27 the action finally kicks up. Usopp's fight with the guards at Kaya's mansion is a standout little sequence, Usopp diving out of the way of a gun while loading his slingshot and firing is dynamic as hell, albeit, jesus christ, they're pulling guns on a teenager pretty casually. What are these guys, American cops?

I also quite like this panel when Usopp realizes that he has no chance to convince anyone that he's finally telling the truth. The use of the screentone to literally have a shadow pass over him sells the feeling well, along with that raised face barely holding back the pain. This moment where he's hiding his injured arm from his friends and lying to keep them out of danger is also good. But the killer panel comes at the end, with Usopp holding up his bleeding arm and declaring that they can shoot him and chase him and hurt him, but he loves the village and will fight for it. It's the moment Usopp really becomes a hero. It's the moment he becomes a Straw Hat.

Chapter 28:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

In chapter 24 we get to meet the villain of this arc proper, Klahadore or spoiler alert Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates, and the chapter is mostly about establishing his character, especially as a counterpoint to Usopp. Usopp is an honest man who presents himself as a liar, while Kuro is a liar presenting himself as an honest man. They make good foils for one another. This panel in particular is a great microcosm of the story - on the one side Usopp and all his friends, on the other Kuro, alone, and caught in between them Kaya, the person whose trust they're fighting over.

Speaking of, Kaya also gets a pretty good panel here, when she has her first outburst. See how Oda applies a fish eye lens, bending the window around her shouting, emphasizing it? It's just good technique. But no, the best panel is the punch. It's the first time we see the easygoing Usopp use violence, but it's also just a gorgeously dynamic shot, look at that foreshortening, and then the clever little trick of extending the line of his punch through the strap of his bag, it really emphasizes the motion, and it just looks great.

Chapter 29:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

Chapter 29 opens on a really strong panel, Usopp alone at the top of a hill facing down the Black Cat Pirates. It's a great dramatic opening, and a reminder that he was never ACTUALLY a coward, he just gets scared, and those aren't the same thing. This chapter has lots of fantastic action panels, like this shot of Usopp taking a blow to the head, or Nami saving Usopp and blocking that sword stroke - you can really see how overmatched she is from her posture and the way the staff is buckling.

But the best panel still goes to Usopp, clinging on to the belt of a pirate, dripping in blood and unwilling, even at the cost of his life, to let them go. He cuts, in this posture, both quite a pathetic but also a profoundly heroic figure. These are the sorts of moments that define the Straw Hats as heroes, and Usopp will have them more than once on the adventure.

Chapter 30:

Which are the best panels in One Piece?

Well, let's not mess about, in chapter 30 it is ABSOLUTELY the Gum Gum Gatling Gun. The sense of scale, the converging action, the way Oda hatches speedlines into the geometry of each hand to give it weight and momentum, while still making sure every line follows the action, it's just so good. The pirates who are the targets are tiny pinpricks against the overwhelming force of Luffy’s assault, one glance and you KNOW the kind of power he’s unleashing.

There are other good panels, like the follow-up where the entire panel is a chaos of sound effects and crashing bodies, all framing Luffy as the stable center, the literal last man standing. And the panel when the pirates get hypnotized and spring back to life has a lot of charm too - one of Oda's less talked about skills is how good he is at drawing a lively panel full of characters in compelling poses.

But yeah, no, it's Gum Gum Gatling Gun, god DAMN this panel is good. What a way to introduce a special move!

Chapter 31:

Which are the best panels in One Piece?

Chapter 31 sees Kaya finally discovering Captain Kuro's villainy, and one of the quite good panels in the chapter is the discovery of Merry's bloodied body: the body itself is in the foreground, rendered in rock-solid flat black, while the entire background is scratched and indistinct, drawing our eye to the shocking sight we're meant to focus on.

But I think the best panel is a quieter thing. One of the key traits of Kaya is that she's sickly, she's frail and vulnerable - the threat she's under is the source of dramatic tension for this entire arc. She's about to exert herself a lot, trying to save the village and her friends, so this chapter spends quite a bit of time establishing just how hard that is for her, how much she struggles to do what she's about to do.

And this panel, where she's hunched over, the sweat of fever drenching her body, idly clutching the blanket around her and her hair falling all over her face… yeah. That's what it's like, being sick and feeling alone. Clammy, clenched and claustrophobic. That's the posture of that kind of misery.

Chapter 32:

Which are the best panels in One Piece?

Ooh man I don't like the Nyanban Brothers. They're on the F-list of Oda's character designs, and their fight with Zoro just isn't very interesting. In fact the whole chapter is kind of mid when it comes to the art, if I'm honest. The Meowban's character designs don't lend themselves very well to dynamism, and some of these compositions really feel rather rushed. Which maybe they were! Working for Shonen Jump is a pretty relentless gig.

Regardless, it does mean the chapter is light on banger panels. Zoro's slash through Siam here gives him a gorgeous action posture, and the brothers do get ONE good, dynamic action panel when they smack Zoro to the ground here, but eeeh.

No, I think the best panel is more of a technical accomplishment. It's this one, of Zoro shouting angrily at Usopp for trying to interfere. It's shown from below Zoro's body, hunched over on the ground, using him to frame the people he's shouting at in the background, which is a genuinely INCREDIBLY clever way to show both his posture and the desperation of his situation, show visually who he's shouting at, AND communicate the geography of how far they are from each other, which is going to matter when Nami runs for his swords later. It's just very good use of composition.

[19thperson]

19th's Steam Next Fest Impressions Oct 2024 Edition - Day 4

Day 1/Day 2/Day 3

KiNoKoe: Tree's Voice

A Japanese salaryman , after seeing a strange light in a public park, discovers strange and subtle symbols woven into the surrounding tree's bark. After visiting a shrine, he discovers that these symbols are a language, and the messages he decodes sends him on a trip across Japan.

It's got the relaxing vibe down, but the main problem is lack of puzzle variety. So far it's just been simple blackout puzzles, simple Witness-style line mazes, and laser redirection puzzles. Nothing actually puzzling yet. Even the tree langauge decoding is something done for you once you have enough symbols, so there's no conlang learning.

While the exploration is fun, your player character moves too slow. There's busses to fast travel with but the demo blocks them off for a good portion of the demo.

Keep Driving

A game about being a reckless teenager in the mid-90's and going on road-trips.

This game is mostly about managing resources: time, money, your car's durability, your gas, trunk space, your energy, etc. The game feels simple until it extremely isn't.

Once you set a route, you'll come across road events. while some are harmless or beneficial, such as getting a hitchhiker, most are hazards. When this happens, you're presented with a set of symbols, each a threat that will ding a different resource. You have skills that will remove threats, but each has their limits. It can cost a resource, it can have limited uses, it can only do a certain configuration of symbols (i.e. two energy drains side-by-side) and you feel both lucky and clever when you're able to clear them all in a turn. The game adds a nice gambling feature with the option to speed past obstacles. Can I clear this or do I cut my losses?

I only did two runs. The first I learned how easy it is to completely fuck yourself over (don't drink and drive kids, even if one of your hitchhikers gives you a quest to do so) and the 2nd one ended in a softlock on the map screen.

While I love the game's musical styling, it needs more songs. Hopefully the full release has a more varied soundtrack.

Mousebusters

You move into a new apartment, dirt cheap due to rumors of it being haunted. The next day, you wake up and discover you've been turned into a mouse. Another mouse comes up and tells you that you can turn back to human if you clear the apartment of the ghosts driving each inhabitant crazy.

You only have 1 "mission" in the demo, but I can imagine they will follow a similar structure. Since you're a mouse, you have to stealth around the tenants and find some way to move them away from the ghosts they can't see. Then you do a simple shooting minigame to get rid of them. The shooting minigame feels…prefunctory, and the first set of puzzles were kind of pathetically easy. But I can see them possibly scaling up.

Unfortunately we get very little of the game getting Extra Weird that we see in the trailer. But I'm expecting that to be latter half stuff. The Pixel art is beautiful, but that's to be expected from Odencat.

Rogue Flight

Star-Fox esque rail shooter with excellent presentation. After a rogue AI system decimates human civilization, desperate survivors stage a last ditch attack on its main core in space.

Impressed with the number of systems on display and how they interact with each other. The game has a chaining system, and aside from points, you get resources like lock-on missiles from maintaining a long chain. Said missiles can be used to easily start or bridge chains together, creating a self propelling system. You can hold back to vacuum up power ups without leaving your flight path, but it both leaves you vulnerable and could kill your chain. The "drift" system feels great, where you slow-mo and whip your ship around, treating it's rockets like a "whip" across the screen.

My main issue is difficulty. Of course, it's only first level, but right now it feels too easy. As in I was able to complete "extreme" difficulty on first try. And that's due to a single decision:

Instead of lives, you heave a singular health bar. Which, fine. 6 of one half a dozen of another. But maintaining a 4+ chain refills your health over time. I never felt in danger because I was constantly covering up my mistakes. I only felt the heat at the boss, due to being unable to maintain the chain there. That being said the trailer makes it look like later areas will have more pressure so, here's hoping.

Bugaboo Pocket

Pet raising game about bugs. Feed them, play minigames to earn food and decorations for them, try to raise for specific traits, pet them, so on and so forth.

I like the melancholy vibe of the whole project. You're an etymologist who was hired by a company "asking her to revitalize an already dead ecosystem." There was a massive fire caused by the company that she feels partially responsible for, since she didn't raise alarms about some bad practices.

Most importantly, it's not if your pet dies, but when. Your care can only take them so far.

There are even different systems to handle the dead: a collect-them-all system for pinning them and a system for maintaining a garden using their bodies as fertilizer.

That isn't to say this is all bummers. I can tell this is setup for a redemption story as the ecosystem is restored. But considering how often cozy games make the mistake of just staying in the heartfelt zone, this contrast feels refreshing.

My main problem is that the demo doesn't give you enough to do, so there's periods of just… sitting and waiting, doing the same mini-game over and over or petting the same bug over and over. But I assume that aspect improves once you're raising multiple bugs at once.

[the19thduckpotato]

Shifting irritably in his hospital bed, Sorahiko resigned himself to another bland day of "rest and relaxation".

Until, that is, he heard the hesitant knock at the door. His good eye squinted at the shadow on the other side of the window then crinkled in glee. There was only one person he knew that tall and gangly.

He quickly laid back against his pillows and called out in a weak voice: "Who's there? Come in, come in...."

And sure enough, here came the kid, he of impossible stature and extraordinary fame. World's Most Famous hero and yet he still crouched behind the door as if Sorahiko was going to sit up and pitch things at his head.

Good.

He noted the large envelope in one hand and a faint forehead crease formed. Depending on what yer about, I just might throw things at you.

But instead, he merely croaked out: "Toshinori...? Is that you?"

"Hello." The blond bowed his head in greeting then tried a hesitant smile, his face a mess of worry and guilt and fear. His grip on the envelope tightened then relaxed as he placed it at the foot of the bed. Looking about, he drew a chair up to Sorahiko's side. "Forgive me for not visiting sooner."

Sorahiko coughed and waved a limp hand. "No worries my boy," he rasped out. "Generally, you tend to wait till someone's on their deathbed till you say hi, doncha?"

Toshinori's mouth dropped open as he paled, his ears turning red. "Wh--"

"Well you don't have to worry, I still got plenty of years in me!" Sorahiko cackled and kicked at the envelope before Toshinori could snatch it away.

Hurt radiated out from the kid's glance as he knelt for the envelope. Sorahiko liked that just fine. He could always tell when the kid was about to do something stupid and/or dangerous and this smacked of both plus a third thing.

If yer gonna try and do what I think you are, then you got another thing coming. We didn't desperately claw our way to this point just for you to throw it all away in a fit of existential crisis.

The former Number One frowned at the envelope then looked to the door.

"Toshinori!" Sorahiko barked. "I'm not getting any younger so if ya got something to say then say it. The fact that you had the guts to come here means you did at least one thing right so far."

The old man found himself pinned by a stony gaze, blue eyes now unreadable. Ah hell, he's gone into defensive mode. All right, let's rein it back a little else I'm never gonna talk him down.

With a grunt, he held out a gnarled hand. "Whatcha got there?"

Toshinori continued to stare at him, one thumb rubbing against the envelope. Then, as if deciding something, the kid put it back on the bed beside Sorahiko.

"What's this, yer last will and testament," Sorahiko quipped.

"Yes," the blond replied quietly.

Sorahiko's heart froze at that

"Sorahiko, I've had to make a difficult decision"

as the single word hung in the air

she sobbed in his arms, the last remnants of her life given away

and the old man wearily stared down at the envelope.

Given away so she would focus only on fighting.

Sorahiko forced a lazy grin. "I was just kidding, Doom and Gloom."

"Well, I'm not."

His chest ached as he saw that look again, the look that had been in her eyes now echoed in her student's. Cold. Detached. Devoid of any joy.

It's happening again.

"Oh yeah?" Sorahiko laid his fingers on the envelope. "Give me a preview," he added casually, as if they were discussing nothing more than the weather.

"Izu--ah, young Midoriya will inherit Might Tower and all its resources therein."

Sorahiko's good eye widened and Toshinori gave a wistful smile. "Kid deserves it after all he's done, after all he's been through..."

Torino grunted. "I'm surprised Tsukauchi agreed to this."

"He, ah... doesn't know."

Shit. There went my first plan.

"He'd put me under lock and key if he knew what I've been up to."

He's been planning this. Shit on a brick, kid's a clever lil piss. Time to outwit him.

"Why's that? Because he wouldn't want a national treasure to just walk into a massive bomb of a trap?"

Toshinori smiled softly at that; then the detached look returned.

Sorahiko hated that look. She wore that look when she shut him out, shut them all out.

"Listen," Toshinori said. "Things are going to happen that--"

"--that you think you aren't strong enough to overcome."

A glint of anger appeared in the detached look.

"And you think, well la dee dah, if I set my affairs in order, I can blanelessly walk straight into the arms of that demon and die some glorious bloody death and fuck the rest of us, huh?"

Sorahiko realized he was starting to get angry and took some satisfaction in seeing the same in the kid.

Oh Nana, if we had had this kind of talk, would you still be alive?

His path was clear now. He wasn't letting Nana's kid follow in her footsteps. Not this time.