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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Scotrospective: Scott Pilgrim Vs the World (The Comic)

Hello, Hello, Hello scottaholics! And what a beautiful day it is: After decades lost in the lost woods, at least it had that catchy tune to keep it company, Scott Pilgrim Vs the World: The Game is FINALLY back and performing for you on all platforms!

Even Stadia, the platform most likely to disappear like this game did for a while! Cheap shots at the stadia aside as a huge fan of the franchise as a whole and of this game who played it back on the 360, and had since sold said 360 so I had no way to get it back or ever play the dlc packs. Seriously who didn’t want to play wallace but never got to? Everyone, everyone is the answer. But with those the entirety of what I consider to be the main cast is playable, it has online so you can beat up hipsters, guys in costumes and robots with your friends, it’s a good damn feeling. And since i’m in a celebratory mood, naturally i’m also feeling like a review. And since it just so happens the next volume up in my look at the comics is Vs the World, seriously I planned this review for this month without thinking to have it come out on the same day as the game until a week or two in, I felt there was no better way to celebrate the biggest day for Scott Pilgrim fans in some time.. and for Brian Lee O Malley as he’ll stop getting twitter asks about it. So with all the exposition taken care of LAST TIME, and the link right there if your curious, we can jump right in. On with the show!

After our opening titles, and yes this comic has opening titles, with Ramona sitting solmely in the rain.

And Scott caught in the title. The rain shot is real pretty by the way. But yeah once we get past those we’re taken back 7 years ago. Finn found out his father was an asshole, and voiced by Stephen Root so hey you take the good with the bad, Steven just learned the horrifying truth about Gem Monsters, Guardians of the Galaxy saved the MCU and I was trying to find work after college.. wait... sorry sorry that was 7 years ago from THIS year. The comic came out in 2005, though the comic takes place on a sliding timescale where only like 2 years pass so I dunno when this is. Let’s just say 98. Okay so 1998: Bill Cllinton’s sex scandal breaks, and puts way too much of hte blame on the young intern whose life came to be defined by one stupid mistake she made with a man who was way older and should’ve known better, the tide of the Monday Night War turned in favor of the WWF as Stone Cold Steve Austin became a household name, and it was an utterly standup year for video game relaases with Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot: Warped, StarCraft, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, WWF: War Zone, Pokemon Stadium, Spyro The Dragon, Pokemon Yellow, WarioLand 2, Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Pokemon: Trading Card Game and Sonic Adventure. It’s like someone took a good chunk of my childhood and squeezed it into one year holy shit, I did not expect this when looking up what came out in 98.

And while the movie pool wasn't’ quite this amazing, we still had The Wedding Singer, The Big Lebowski, the dude abides, Batman and Mr Freeze: SubZero, The Truman Show, Mulan, the good one not the one made near concetration camps that makes her into a demigod, Saving Private Ryan, Blade, Simon Birch, Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, Rushmore, Bride of Chucky, HalloweenTown, Plesantville, and the Prince of Egypt. And in music Weird Al changed from his first signature look to his second, getting Lasik and growing out his hair. Seirously had no idea that was this year. Good to know. Also Elton John got his knighthood. Super shooters. I could go on with 1998 triva for days but I cannot go on for 8 weeks so let’s get to the point here.. during alllla this Scott Pilgrim, age 16, was starting St. John’s Catholic School and a couple of guys who were up to no good started making trouble. . by threatning to beat him up for no real reason. A fight insues and we cut to the principal’s office as Scott’s still a minor and not allowed to get into death fights just yet under the people’s freedom of choices and voices act.

It’s here he meets Lisa Miler, a peppy and sarcastic blonde, who’s intrigued by the fact Scott somehow got beat up after being here just 15 minutes and wants to be friends. Naturally for scott next we see him he’s busy playing video games, and annoyed someone else is around and wondering who this person whose now in his basement is. God no wonder teenage me related to him. So for the next few pages we see their friendship in time lapse: Lisa joins him at lunch, then geninely wonders since Scott’s Untentionally a dick if he hates her.. it’s part of why I think Scott has some form of autisim. And not just because I tend to belivie a character is on the spectrum all the damn time, it’s because of the way he acts: while he is nice and charming at times.. he also clearly has trouble relating to people or realizing how his actions effect them and as seen here in a younger form can often be compeltely distanced from normal social queues, not getting how his actions might be seen until Lisa outright talks to him about it. I mean.. it’s not a huge stretch, and it dosen’t mean he’s nto responsible for his own actions, but it does EXPLAIN a lot of them better: why he just sorta forgets about Knives post-ramona but at the same time still cares enough he dosen’t want to hurt her despite you know, that ship sailing just by having moved on.

But now the two are friends and his parents, who we meet for the first time and sister inquire about her being his girlfirned.. and by next jumpcut his parents apparently don’t want him hanging out with girls? What exactly the fuck? Also they mention Laurence, Scott’s brother whose missing for most of the books and has no real payoff for not being around. Next cut we get KIM!

Thank you Prissy. And she’s.. not all that different, assuming, correctly that their partner project, how she meets scott will just result in her doing all the work.. which not only is how these things usually went when I was in high school a decade later, but reminds me of the time me and my friends curtis and justin were put on a project and when asked who the alied powers were, guessed “Germany?”.... you can understand my fear. And also Curtis punching him for getting nothing done.. and not hard or brutally mind you just once quick in the gut and with full warning. Ah... the adaquate old days.

So back to Lisa as, since Scott’s Mom has a guitar.. a fact I.. never honestly thought about. Seriously I never realized her children, since the Bass Scott has for most of the books is Laurence’s, getting into music was probably due to her. Also Lisa makes her case for WHY be a band: the school has a regular event called Lunchapalooza, where everyone goes to and since by teen logic, just being in a band is automiacally cool, she figures they can jump from not QUITE being in any cliques to being super cool. Which honestly yeah... while I didn’t know any bands in high school, the fact one of my friends, ironically named Scott, was a DJ automatically made him pretty damn cool once he got past his awkard phase. I never got past mine but somehow was loved by all except that one douchey kid in our group who mocked me for naming my Luxray kim, assuming it was based on Kim possible and not Kim Pine... though frankly how that’s an insult when Kim Possible was a fucking awesome show and character is beyond me but he was just 17 and also a douchebag, it didn’t have to make since it just had to piss off the easily pissed off kid with aspergers. So Scott poses how they can be a band with just their guitars and Lisa concedes drums WOULD help.. I mean it’s what MADE Shallow Gravy.

So while Kim wonders if Scott is dating Lisa, because teenagers don’t really get girls and boys can be friends without wanting to be together, though not often as teenage boy brains can be rather stupid and horny... can confrim from personal experince. So it becomes clear Scott has a thing for Kim, and when Scott tries broaching it with Lisa she dosen’t take it well and he backpedals to asking her to be her drummer and plans to monday, proving Scott has somehow not gotten better at reading women, or anyone after 7 years. Can relate.

So yeah he decides to ask Monday, same day as their presentation.. and thankfully missed the bus as he arrives to find the Benvy Tech boys came in, took everyone out and abducted Kim. Because yeah, just in case you were wondering Scott’s life was always like this.. or was it? Questions for later. So one Canadian Version of River City Ransom later, Scott’s made his way to simon... who, since most of you have probably seen the movie or art of the movie.. looks an AWFUL lot like Gideon. Hrmmm. Simon is naturally the final boss here and wonders if this is the best St. Joels can muster. Scott quips back as only Scott can.

So cue an unsuprisingly awesome actoin sequence. IT’s part of why I love these color editions: While they already LOOKED thoroughly fantastic the added colors really help the series shonen manga meets old school video game vibe REALLY fucking pop. So Simon pleads mercy which like Scott delivering a good quip.. should’ve really been a red flag to younger me and is foreshadowing for later in case I was too subtle. He then does what any noble hero would do.. kicks simon into the sunset, tells Kim how he feels and asks her to play drums. They then make out. Awwww.

Lisa suprisingly takes it well as the next montage shows.. granted we’ll learn in Feburary she wasn’t QUITE as over scott as it seemed, but the three, along with a friend of Lisa’s whose name I forgot and who DOSEN’T come back so I’m not going to bother learning, form their own friend group, Scott and Kim get an A, and Scott, Kim and Lisa’s band is dubbed sonic and knuckles, which is an objectively awesome band name. Something the series really does great: Video Game Based Band Names. Crash and the Boys, Sex Bomb-Omb, Clash at the Demonhead... we need more bands like this in the real world dammit. So then they play their big game, the two loose their vrigniity.. and then Kim asks scott “your moving to tornoto?” And.. for now.. that’s that.

While the framing of that will be VERY important in the last volume, as notice how KIM’S the one who brings it up and it’s not explicitly stated scott actually told her, this flasback is great. While it does contribute to the volume’s drifty pacing, more on that as we go, it brilliantly sets up a LOT of stuff for later, paticuarlly Lisa who I assumed wouldn’t be back and younger me’s jaw fucking DROPPED when she popped up in Volume 4. Granted i’m spoiling that suprise for you now but odds are most of you reading this have either alreaddy read these or were probably wondering if the girl from the animated short ever had any actual relevance in the books. So yes, yes she does. She’s also the pink haired girl you see pop up in the game in the background, as a nod to O’Malley’s comic strip style which had her and Kim as the leads. Also yeah for fans of the game or movie or even the comics who were unaware.. this prologue got an animated adaption on adult swim to promote the movie. Naturally Micheal Cera and Allison Pill reprised their roles as Scott and Kim, with Mae Whitman voicing lisa.. and honestly being perfect for the roll, and Jason Schrwartzman voicing Simon naturally. While the animation is slightly limited, it still looks decent and expertly translates O’Malley’s art, while sliming things down slightly where needed to fit a short, and the anmation takes a huge bump for the fight scene which like the comic is short but awesome. While it has no real bearing on the film as Kim’s former relationship with Scott never really comes up or has any impact, as the Film while good was based primarily on volumes 1-3 with small pieces of 4 (paticuarlly the iconic “Lesbians gag”), with Wright working off outlines and drafts of 5 and 6, so the last half hour or so is mostly Wright’s invention.

Not a bad thing as it’s still awesome and not o’malley’s fault but it means kim dosen’t get to do much, and is a big reason why I want an adaptation on netflix or hbo max. While i’d still want changes both because there’s no sense doing an adaptation if your not going to make some tweaks of your own and because it’d be intresting to update the series to modern day, both in societal conventions and so everyone stops saying the r word. Seirously the most telling sign of the series age is that word showing up quite a bit during the first half of the series. Point is there is merit in doing another remix of the story and doing a longer form one so we can get more of the characters, as well as flesh out ones like Steven, Neil (Who was done WAY better in the movie adaptation thanks to the wonderful Johnny Simmons), and Stacey who got the shaft in the books. Again, not slagging off the movie, it’s really great. Just saying there’s always room for more Scott Pilgrim content and we all know it.

We’ll get back to the comic proper, and the present day of 2005, after the cut.

So the story proper opens with Scott dreaming of playing video games... because of course he is with Ramona walking in. and finding it charmingly pathetic but wanting her boyfriend to you know, get out of bed. It’s 11:30. So with Scott’s ass out of bed, we find Scott, Age 23 idiot with a heart of gold and Wallace, 25 king of all gays, on the bus as they talk it getting warmer and Lucas Lee, movie star and jason lee stand in coming to town to film a movie.. and Scott being Scott gets him confused for Luke WIlson. He’s also seen Bottle Rocket which.. good on him. Seriously while not wes anderson’s best film, those were made long afte this comic was published, it’s still a damn good one.. where was his career at this point... looking it up life aquatic was his most recent films and is still one of my favorites. So yeah he was in a good place career wise.

Scott proudly talks about having Ramona over in a couple days so she can see his place and meet Wallace. But as explained by Wallace for those of us just tuning in, he already met her last volume. You know during that time Stacey thought she could magically make her date not be attracted to someone else.. and yes even almost a month later not letting that one go. Stacey should know better. Not saying i’ts right Wallace keeps poaching her boyfriends, but she still shoudlnt’ try and force a relationship with a guy or even finish a date with one who makes out with someone else, regardless of gender, mid date. She deserves better. In general not just in this one scenario but we’ll get to that.

Point is while Scott, as usual, is a bit pissy about this Wallace.. has no time for that and issues an ultimatium

And he’s not bluffing, as he fully intends to tell Ramona the minute she walks in the door if he dosen’t break up with Knives. It really shows Wallace off at his best and why he’s Scott’s closest friend: Kim and Stephen do care about him but Kim both has a LOT of unresolved issues and sexual tension with him and keeps eveyrbody including Scott at arm’s length. And Stephen.. while he will OCASIONALLY call Scott out mostly just enables him, either ignoring his college buddy’s shittier behavior or playing along with it and backing him up when Kim rightfully calls him on being a dickhead. While both love their friend they just aren’t the best at dealing with his shit or getting why he does the things he does good and bad. Wallace on the other hand geninely likes Scott. He’ll lock him out of the house and tell him to sleep elsewhere so he can bang one out, he’ll not wear pants if he dosen’t have to and he’ll certainly hit on Scott just to get a rise out of him, phrasing.. but he also genuinely cares for the guy’s well being. He lets him sleep in their house basically rent free since scott has no money, buys most of their stuff, and is, as we’ll see in this one, the ONLY one of his friends to take an active part in the fight against the exes, training Scott and researching his opponents when he can get info. He won’t baby Scott as seen here, but he will help him, and he will be the harsh voice of reason his friend needs. And he did TRY doing a softer approach last time, simply telling scott to break up with his fake high school girlfriend. Scott had every chance to dump Knives during the last third of the first book.. it’s just a combination of both Knives and Ramona being in the same place and Scott getting panicky meant he balked. He NEEDS to be pushed into leaving Knives or he’s not gonna. And he also gets it’s not just Scott being a shifty coward: Scott DOES like Knives.. he just found someone who actually challenges him, intrests him and connects with him on his level, versus someone who worships and adores him like a puppy who just happens to be skilled with knives. The relationship with Knives. was an ego boost, an unequal paring that gave Scott the illusion of moving on from Envy. Ramona is him ACTUALLY moving on and given how badly Envy fucked him up, which comes into play in this book and the next, Wallace recognizes that Scott does need her... but this relationship can’t go anywhere if Scott is seeing someone else, and they both know it. Wallace is just the one who’s willing to do something about it to force scott to do something about it. He’s doing this for Knives too: it’s very clear he cares about the girl, was against this from the start, and knew this was going to end in pain and the faster Scott rips off the Band-Aid the faster she can move on to someone closer to her age and far more equal to her. Scott.. takes this about how you’d expect, even calling Double Standard, as Wallace does sleep around.. and while Wallace will be a homewrecker to Stacey.. otherwise it’s not remotley the same. Wallace does his sleeping around either casually or when he does get a partner, with their consent from what we can tell. He never cheats or anything, he just likes to bone. So yeah Scott doesn’t have a leg to stand on and acts accordingly.

One of my faviorite gags in the series and one that’s etched in my head for keeps. So with a justified Ultimatium over his head Scott calls knives to hang out. Knives.. shows off that as adorable and trusting as she is.. she’s also kind of creepy and shows up just outside the phone booth he’s calling her from. So the two go to a record store and Knives tries to get Scott into Clash at the Demonhead, her faviorite band. But since i’ts you know, headlined by Scott’s ex as we’ll find out, he’s not into it. But before that can get awkward.. it gets awkward in another way as Knives invites Scott to dinner at her parents place. Which is an objectively bad idea even before you get into the fact Scott wants a way out and as Volume 4 will show us her dad is both not happy with the idea of her dating a white guy and willing to use a katana to prevent it so he dodged a bullet there. Scott TRIES weasling out of it, but his “I’m too old for you” thing falsls on deaf ears.. and actually explains why she thinks this is normal: her parents are 9 years apart. of course obviously two consenting adults with a decade between them is a mite bit diffrent than 5 years between a teenager whose taking this way too seriously and a grown man whose taking this not seroiusly at all and dosen’t get how effed up this is. But Knives is too naive to get that, and papers over any possible concerns about her parents not wanting her to date a white guy with i’m in love. Seeing that he has no EASY way out of this, as he shouldn’t, Scott just rips off the band aid and bluntly breaks up with her, saying it’s not going to work out. Knives.. is clealry devistatd. To her this was a serious relationship.. and Scott realized that too late.. and thankfully while he didn’t break up with her in the best way, at all, simply syaing i’ts not going to work out and confirming to her he means it, it’s clear from his face this hurts to do and he knows he’s REALLY hurting her and REALLY shoudlnt’ of dated her to begin with. IT’s why Scott dating a teenager dosen’t make him a morally rephrenisvie monster: because he was genuinely intrested, didn’t use her sexually, and there are tangible consequences for his actions. Knives just dosen’t disappear neatly into the sunset so he can be with ramona. The rest of the series covers her emotoinal recovery from being with Scott, and how she very horribly handles it and that’s why this plotline works at all: she’s not some act one contrivance to be thrown away, sh’es a human being, and more than that a young woman who got hurt REALLY bad and got way too in over her head with someone who just..wasn’t the one fo rher no matter how much she can’t admit that.

We also get one of my faviorite sets of pages as Scott relfects on things and the sheer devistation on Knives face, which credit to a series that even at this early point loves it’s big bold facial expressions.. her’s being more subded just makes it sting MORE.

This bit to me is vital to keeping Scott sympathetic and to his character. We see he really does regret what happened, dosen’t know how to process it and genuinely feels awful. As I said instead of some exgerated face that would still hurt him.. her face is quiet, clearly unable to process this and clealry lost and hurt.. and that hurts more than any fuck your or sobs he was probably expecting. Just her clearly not getting WHY he’s doing this or why he hurt her, and he KNOWS why he just knows telling her the truth would hurt her even more. But.. as he thinks.. his thoughts move to something else.. and the WHY of why he did this.

He did it for Ramona. Wallace was as harsh as he was right: he needed a clean slate to actually give this relationship a shot and the smile comes off less as him being a calous dick whose just happy to move on, I mean he is a little, but more jus tsomeone READY to finally move on. He found the right person, he let the wrong one go if clumsily.. he has a future to look forward to and he can smile about that.

Granted he’s still his usual unteitonally callous self and his way of telling his friends he and knives broke up is to casually say so and say “dont’ worry you’ll meet my new girlfriend soon.” Their reaction.. is my own.

Look just because Scott is a nuanced douchebag dosne’t stop him from being a Douchebag. It just means he isn’t intolerable to watch and you actually care about him growing as a human being is all.

So with that out of the way, it’s date night and Ramona is coming over.. also Scott is considering calling her Ramy which no. I'm genuinely in favor of a pet name that’s just a variant on someone’s name but a bit cute, as it’s just the right level of obnoxious, but no, just no Scott. No. Ramona enters, meets Wallace again and sits down while Scott tries to shoo him out.. because turnabout is fair play bitch. They also see Ramona’s new hair as she dyes it something new for the first time, in this case a very lovely two tone, the purple from last volume but with a darker purple bellow it. I honestly wish she went for multiple colors in her hair again, but likely didn’t since the book was originally in black and white... which still dosent’ make sense as it would’ve been EASIER that way. Regardless Wallace makes himself scarce proving that he’s more than willing to be equal in terms of one of them spending the ngiht elsewhere. What a guy.

Ramona finds out a few things about Scott: That his apartment is VERY small, just one room with a bed, a cabinet, a small kitchen and a bathroom, which despite what scott says I REALLY dont’ count as another room. Just common sense. She also learns that he can COOK. Yeah while you’d expect Scott to just get a wad of “I did the ultimatum thing okay now gimme” money and buy dinner but no.. he made the whole thing himself from his own recipe. And once we cut to them eating on the floor.. turns out yeah he not only can cook but is REALLY good at it. She wishes there was a table which, small as the place is.. fair point. I mean at least get some tv trays. You have chairs. Or at least the easy chair. You can get nice padded folding chairs so you have a second chair guys. I know your poor but come on. Also Scott leanrs bread makes you fat. Good stuff. Also Scott freaks out when , while making out with Ramona in bed later, she mentions his hair’s getting kinda long and could use a cut... which turns out to be a thing for him. He isn’t an ass about it he just panics a bit because he’s partially convinced his last relationship’s nightmarish breakup was because of a bad haircut he got. As we’ll see next week, that’s a no but as someone whose a touch neroutic myself I get blaming a larger issue on something trivial.

So we then get to the next chapter where it’s KIM’S turn to have a dream.. and the only time we see someone else's dreams. Honestly.. I really would’ve liked if it was a recurring device, even have Ramona pop into other people’s Not used ALL the time but I could easily see it being used with Knives to convey her obsession with Scott and her pain or kim again to help move her plots along or Wallace because I want to know what’s going on in his head. It must be a maze of male gentalia and fine liquor the likes of which has never been seen. It’s scotts funeral as Simon killed him and Scott’s corpse wonders if she dreams about this a lot.

So we see her get ready and wake up her roomate Sarah whose a bitch. And as we’ll see in one of the backups, so’s the rest of her roommates. So drifting into work. Hollie is a character I really liked... the past tense will be explained later. And the first scene is probably why as her and Kim banter effortlessly, with Kim suggesting maybe she was a happy kid... only to admit quickly no she wasn’t, she was pretty withdrawn and then pretty angsty over someasshole who will be named Scott. “Your a holy terror kim, and i’m glad your on your side”> It’s a short scene but the kind this series excells at: just realistic, fun little exchanges bursting with character. I also GENUINELY wish we got more of this kind of thing, as only Knives really gets these kind of scenes to herself for the most part. There ARE scenes without Scott, but not enough like this that just give us as look into what his friends lives are like during the moments they aren’t putting up with his dumbassery or watching him engage in mortal combat. It’s why i’ve been hoping a spinoff will happen even though it likely won’t SOON. I’m sure O’Malley will return to this world some day, but between Snotgirl and Wicked World, which will come out when it’s ready but should be good.. he’s just really busy. But i’d love to see more of Kim.. or Wallace or Knives. The latter two are a no brainer: Knives is the tritagonist of the books, and it’d be intresting to see what she’d be like 5 years at the book, at the same age and stage in life as Scott. And with Wallace it’s because we really DON’T see his friend circle, life or what goes on with him. We hear him talk about a new boyfriend, who we don’t meet until near the end of the series, though you can see him in stage 3 of hte game if your curious, we see him with some random friends in volume 4, but we really don’t KNOW what hyjinks and lojinks wallace gets up to. He’s pretty isoalted from the rest of the main cast, something I hope an adaptation could fix as while realistic i’td be curious to see what his relationship with Kim or Steven would be like. Just food for thought.

Point is this was a good scene. But as is typical for Kim’s life just when she has some serenity her ex crashes back in. In this case Scott needs to rent some movies, kim works at a rental store and god teenage me really wanted a clerks style spinoff.. but enough spinoff talk. Scott asks kim to bororw them, of course and explains he’s training for his fight with Lucas.. which Kim reacts to finding out her second best friend is in a series of death matches.

She has understandable questions such as how the hell doe she know that and is he stalking Lucas and just hoping he’s an ex.. which let’s face it would be a very scott move. But nope Wallace told him, likely learning in an interview he dated Ramona or is coming for scott because he knows everything. We also get one of my faviorite exchanges when Kim wonders why Wallace and Scott are roomates.. a valid question he deflects by saying i’ts a long story.

Also yeah, as much as casting Micheal Cera backfired for the movie.. that panel there proves there wasn’t another choice at the time. When you want a loveable, somewhat douchey, but also somewhat innocent and oblivious slacker.. who you gonna call. Also before we move on.. Kim.. how are you this suprised. You were there for the fight with Matthew. And Ramona giving out the exposition on why he’s there.. and you even did that whole weird space channel 5 thing no one ever did agian and to this day I will never understand what O’Malley was going for and only know the refrence by hearing that’s what it was. Point is you shouldn’t be this suprised. Anyways we next cut to Ramona and Stacey, as Ramona enters her workplace, second cup, and they talk and Scott’s spider sense goes off...

I mean it’s just a bad feeling but still.. weird. WE’ll get back to that later. Scott is in the middle of his training.. and I love the mentor side of Wallace and feel it didn’t get used enough as the series went on. As said before he cares about Scott, so he serves as his Shounen Mentor and a great one: he’s stern and makes Scott work, but he also gets his student and what Scott needs to work. I just wish he’d taught Scott some actual combat, but as we see Wallace’s combat skills boil down to yelling useless info from the sidelines.. I mean he can be useful, we’ll see that next week, it’s just he’s not an action guy. But spirtually he’s the guy scott needs to kick his ass into shape. That being said his “training” consists of watching Lucas’ movies, playing tony hawk and when Scott wants to play more Tony Hawk, having Scott do pushups while Wallace plays Tony Hawk. Before we turn... there is an elephant in the room I just gotta shoo out: Lucas.. is easily the worst setup of the 6 exes. Patel SEEMINGLY comes out of nowhere but his letter and email hint SOMETHING is coming up, and his flashy dynamic entry intro is damn cool and is what turns the series on it’s head, from an indie comic about a guy getting it together.. to that but with huge shonen dustups with epic visuals. Todd is introduced masterfully here, and is a presence from the start of volume 3 as a result, Roxie gets a slight tease in the free comic book day issue, and her not attacking for two months not only sets up tension but allowed for a red herring.. im’ not only hiding that the fourth ex is a she because anyone whose seen the movie or played the game knows the fourth ex is a woman. The cat’s out of the bag, no sense hiding it. The Kentangis show up pretty early on and Gideon is hinted at and built up, as this towering, mysterious figure, his relationship with Ramona, who he is, why he set up the league, and just how fucking strong he is is all obscured, with his only four apperances simply teasing the big final showdown and giving him that much more mysitque.

Lucas.. is just sorta intorduced like “Hey I gotta fight this guy”. There’s just.. nothing. Scott’s just gotta fight him because he’s next up and Wallace knows that because plot convience. It’s VERY lackluster given what comes before.. and frankly while I like Lucas, he’s the weakest plot and character wise. HE’s not even really EVIL, just a sellout and is more doing this because he has to I guess, and likely because of stuff we find out in Book 6 but sssssshhhhh. We’ll get more into that when the fight happens but it’s one of the books weakest points. The evil ex.. just feels like an afterthrought again despite there being no reason to. Thankfully this would never happen again as I said, but it dosen’t make this any less frustrating.

So we cut to Sex Bomb-Omb practice, and after that we get more tease for Clash at Demonhead. And Stephen.. is cool with them and entirely happy one of them made it, while Scott is understandably pisssed off about it and not happy one of his best friends is you know, promoting the band of his ex who broke his heart and as we’ll get more into next time, said rising career is what tore them apart. So yeah Stephen’s a dickhead, and I was wrong last time that he got better. He really.. dosen’t. He gets less CREEPY.. but out of the main 6 characters he’s the weakest: he dosen’t have much of an arc, does some very questionable shit in the second half, and his being around means we have to suffer through Julie. I’ll tear into him more on a case by case basis but for once Scott’s not overreacting. While Kim does nothing she also has no idea just HOW bad things were and Scott won’t tell her. Stephen was there the whole fucking time. He just saw Scott’s rebound with a teenager. He knows he was kind of messed up after this. Dosen’t justfiy knives but still he looses the moral high ground he tries to have at times.

So while Scott shops a song for Ramona to her, Knives calls Scott’s place clearly setting up another suprise apperance. Wallace.. figures out what sh’es doing quick and simply gives her a stern “You have to go” And to me it’s not him being a dick.. he’s both trying to save her from seeing Scott with Ramona and fucking her up worse... and is looking out for her. She needs to move on and moving up to stalking Scott’s not going to help that. Scott dosen’t WANT her anymore, and while he handled it bad, Wallace gets she needs to see that. Granted he could’ve you know explained it to her and tried talking, but as i’ve said he’s not a perfect person and he was also on a time table to get her out of there in case Scott you know, showed up with his new girlfriend and made things a billion times worse. And the two are indeed headed to his place to watch one of Lucas’ movies, and part of that weak setup is that Ramona.. just has no connection with him. It was high school. Scott also pretends he dosent’ remember his. You are a lying liar sir stop that. So they watch the film together hanging out, and it’s.. really bad. The good one was rented out. I miss rental stores.. a magical time. I mean i’ts better now, streaming means 80% of movies are avaliable if you have a bunch of services and even if you just have netflix or hulu or hbo max, you still get a pretty decent selection each month. Plus digital rentals are super easy. Do miss redbox though. I mean it’s still there I’m just warry of something that relies so heavily on touching things in a state with a lot of trump morons. You CAN get Covid twice and I don’t wanna. Also we get some dated Dialouge as Scott commenting on Lucas being hot, he is good taste Scott, is given a “good job convincing me your not gay”. He and ramona end up having sex though so .. yay? I dunno. The series has a really weird thing about not getting bisexuals exist and as someone whose bi, and really against bi errasure it bothers me, it bothers me a lot. Though given O’Malley apparently has not only far more queer rep in snotgirl but a bisexual lead, he’s clearly learned so i’m not going to drag him too hard on this. It was the early 2000′s. People were pretty damn stupid about this. Creators have gottten MUCH more important issues much worse.

So the next morning, Scott gets a call from his well meaning but ditzy mom, and reacts like you’d expect. His parents are in Europe to keep them out of the action and what not. Though apparently according to the last book his mom did read volume 3 at least. Or Wallace told her about the relevant bit. You make the call.

So i’ts Ramona’s turn to meet Sex Bomb-Omb. The group hang out and discuss Gordon Downie.

Look I don’t know indie bands. I have no idea who the tragically hip are I just know the name is really hipstery. We also get the recipe for Vegan Shepards Pie. None of them are vegan they just wanted to try it and I.. really want to make this some time. Just to see if it’s any good. But yeah it’s in general a fun casual scene, as Kim reveals she and Scott dated, just to break the tension, and Scott tries out Rammy but quickly backpedals. Just fun slice of life stuff. Oh and Knives is watching them from the window and takes Scott dating someone else as well as you’d expect.

So she gets some hair bleach to do some highlights and calls her friend Tamara over. We met her last volume as she dragged her along to the show, but it’s here we really get to know what she’s like.. i.e. the sane one in the duo, rightfully pointing out Scott’s not that great. Also Knive’s points out ramona’s “fat”, which is thankfully portrayed as petty sniping as while Ramona does have some curves it’s you know.. not remotely a bad thing and the kind of thing a teenage girl would harp on. Still she’s just in STEPS from this happening.

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But yeah.. it’s clear here Knives has some underlying issues to address and really needs therapy not to go after her ex’s current girlfriend with knives. I mean it’s in the name but still. Then again volume 4 has her dad going around with a katana or something like it wanting to murder her daughter’s older ex boyfriend he dosen’t realize is ex so it’s clear her whole FAMILY needs some therapy. But this does round her out and show there’s more to her.. a pretty violent and obessive side sure, but it shows she wasn’t just some one dimensional ego boost for scott but a person. One whose just as flawed as the rest of the cast.. but more sympatheic because they’ve all got about 6 or 7 years on her and at this age that’s a lifetime. And while Scott DID set this off by dating her which was objecitvely a bad idea... the rest of this isn’t remotely on him. He handled things BAD.... but all he wanted was for both of them to move on. Knives.. simply can’t admit Scott is not a nice person, was probably two timing her as Tamara points out, which as we know he 100% was, and is not some perfect guy she can’t replace: like Knives.. he’s just a person with faults and she’s too blind to see that.

So before we can get to the crazy stalker ninja fight, let’s instead get to Scott and Ramona hanging out where we meet Gideon, Ramona’s Cat who i’ll call Cat Gideon, both because I love steven unvierse and because it’s less confusing. This is a pretty slight scene as Ramona admits not a lot happened with Lucas and Scott’s apartment is a hole.. which yeah, yeah it is. Also she DEFINTLY dind’t cheat on him with any cocky pretty boys. Which would come off worse if it wasn’t for the pact Ramona was clearly doing it out of regret and Scott just liked like 50 pages ago about rembering his exes when one of them is his second best friend.. which neither would admit but you know it’s true. Stephen is third where he belongs.

So next morning it’s fight time, and Scott is glad wallace is going with him. It’s awkard going to fights alone. Which leaves me to wonder if before this comic Scott just.. fought random guys letterkenny style. Like they’d call up, schedule it and then he and one or more of his friends would go beat up a guy. It’s just.. hilarious knowing that this kind of thing is common in canda minus the ki attacks , flash effects, wizards, vegan psycics, ninjas, and roboticists. But damn I now want a scott pilgrimized letterkenny now more than ever. You know you do too don’t deny it. I”d love to see the hard right jay fight but iwth a loud “KO!” when he gets his ass knocked out. Also Casa Loma is a very real, very cool Toronto location, as I never realized as a kid, to the point that the lucas fight was filmed there for the movie.

So Scott approaches Lucas a bit star struck and upon finding out scott is.. punches him out as seen in the header image and throws him into a tower. When Scott regains conciousness, Kim and Neil have arrived and Lucas calls a time out. And it’s here we get to, while being the weakest of the 7, why I like Lucas.. he’s actually a pretty nice guy. At WORST he sold out. But the two have a pretty nice conversation over ritz and baby carrots, with it turning out, unsuprisingly Ramona did cheat on him with a cocky pretty boy, and while like Ramona he’s clearly moved on, it still hurts a bit and understandably so. He also warns scott while she might seem nice i’ts an act.

I mean it isn’t ALL an act, but she does have a tedency to put up walls and act pretty badly as we’re slowly finding out.. though given Scott does the exact same it only means.. she’s human. She’s not MUCH higher above him in terms of morality and this is where we get our first peaks into the fact the series isn’t just about Scott’s development but hers. But it’s understandably absent from volumes 1 and 2 since we need to know her first, and this volume is about getting to know her a bit and get a feel for who she is, something I ddin’t really get a grip on as a teen, but do now. We see more of who she is good and bad as the walls go down. She’s more SURFACE LEVEL functional than scott, but beneath it has a lot of the same exact issues. Lucas and Scott continue to GENUINELY bond, as Scott genuinely thinks the guy is talented and Lucas want’s an Oscar this year.. maybe not for the current film which is a romantic comedy with a teen star but hey, stars have done far worse in their Oscar years. I mean at least he’s not making a comedy about himself in a fat suit domestically abusing himself in a wig while he also plays an asian sterotype. He explains he almost didn’t get into the league but felt too important to ramona’s past.. plus he looks cool. Plus they let Patel in despite barely being in a relationship with her and being kind of a tool so they kinda had to let the handsome affiable movie star in. Scott wonders “wait league” and Lucas is understandably frustrated to find out Patel just sent a letter Scott didn’t read.. and at Matthew let’s be clear. I mean.. Gideon has to have known Scott wouldn’t read that since he’s been in his head. We’ll get to that in part 6. Point is they formed a league, hence why their organized enough to come after him like this and Scott understandably glares at Wallace for you know, having him play tony hawk and watch movies yet missing the fucking obvious clue they were all working together and they were only coming at him one at a time by choice.

Lucas offers to just.. take a bribe and SAY Scott beat him, Scott calls him a sellout jokingly and Lucas proves that while not AS bad as the rest of the League, he’s still a dick by telling him to kiss ramona’s sweet ass goodbye pilgrim. Okay either he’s seen her since high school or he’s fondly remembering a high schooler’s ass. Neither one is nice to think about. But Scott gets out of his ass beating by pointing out a ramp, real thing too used for the movie, and asking him to skate down it. Lucas says i’ts impossible, and Scott just whistles. So Lucas tries skating the impossible and dies via velocity. Yes really. Scott collects his change and gets a gift, a mytryil skateboard he.. can’t use because he dosen’t have a proficency for it and bemoans not picking it up in 5th grade. Also he didn’t get his autograph. He does get some coins though so neat. Yeah I mentioend Lucas was the least of the exes and I stand by it: He’s an intresting character, not a GREAT person but clearly a charming and nice enough guy who likely offered the bribe not because he’sd a sell out but because he genuinely liked scott, and is easily the best adjusted of the exes. But obviously a near non existant setup and a really hilarious and unsastifying finish just.. don’t really feel sastsifying. I mean i’t slampshaded, but after all the build up of her having 7 evil exes, the next one is just..filler. Not BAD, but not really anything special and giving Scott a an early pokemon victory, but unlike ash having done nothing to really DESERVE it. Thankfully both adaptations so far VASTLY improved on this. While Lucas is still affiable in the movie he’s also smarmy, if on better terms with Ramona, saying “he seems nice” after the tower throw and throwing in some stunt doubles. His fight goes from one of the least satisfying and weakst of the series, to easily one of the best of the movie. We’ll talk about that more there but obvious Chris Evans version is far superior, keeping the good traits while giving us an intresting fight.. and still keeping the skateboard death because it’s fucking hilarious and the movie improves on THAT too by having scott give flat wows as he slowly dies. The game likewise keeps teh skateboard death, if shortening it, and the skateboard, and while not changing his apperance does make him a hell of a tough boss. Took three tries and some online grinding to take him out. Still a hell of a fight. Point is while I genuinely like Lucas story wise.. this just dosen’t work for me and is pretty damn weak, even if it gives us some godo character insight we could’ve got that, and a fight and still had the finish we did.

That being said.. we DO get a fight instead, likely why the Lucas fight was so truncated. Next chapter and that evening or the next day or whatever, we pan over the real life tornto refrence library. It is a VERY nice touch thatt the comic and it’s adpations use either real places in toronto or reasonable subsittues. While not canadian myself I love the place and hope to visit Tornoto some day when the world isn’t a living nightmare and it’s really nice that like New York for Marvel, Brian Lee O malley really makes the city feel integral to the comic, like it’s own character. But Knives is ominously perched above. At second cup Scott is horrified to find Julie. Seconded. Julie takes the moment to give out to scott about him dating Ramona despite telling him no. Okay...

Yeah as you can probably guess I don’t like Julie. She’s not a good character. The movie did her better, with the bleeping gag and aubrey plaza’s performance, but in the comic.. she’s just the worst. She sucks bad. If she were an ice cream flavor she’d be pralines and dick. While she’s fine on OCCASION, and actually works in the next volume, outside of that she just gets more unplesant, more unlikeable, more bitchy, more unfathomabbly assholish every. damn. volume. I”ll give out about that a bit then too but I have to put up with her for the entire damn comic. Now her being bitchy to Scott is fair to a point: Scott is a mess, and she’s loyal to Envy in the breakup, and Scott’s own friends drag him on a daily basis. The problems are that she’s like that to EVERYONE, even Knives who isn’t about to stab her much as i’d like that. She’s unberable to Stephen whose tolerance for her is unfathomable, though the ending bits of volume 6 show maybe he just has terrble taste. She’s just a throughly unplesant, social climbing bitch who thinks she’s better than everyone. And it sticks out badly against the main cast; Scott is very bad with women and relating to people, but is also nice, charming and most of the damage he does is not intetional. Ramona puts up walls to keep others out but is also a responsible adult and often cuts through Scott, and at times others, internal bullshit. Wallace is an alcholic, but still a very responsible, very loveable guy who clearly cares about scott and supports him finacially and emotionally. Kim is VERY emotionally distant, very misntrhopic.. but also a good person who as we see as the series goes, has an inner light to her and often drags on Scott because she’s been putting up with his shit the longest and WANTS him to be better. Knives is an obessive and violent stalker.. who was also deeply hurt by an older man, dosen’t GET that her realtionship with scott was wrong and uneven, and is clearly not emtoinallyr eady for the deep feelings she’s having. And Stephen.. well he’s a talented guitarist but also enables scott and julie. Especially him enabling Julie.

Point is their all pretty well rounded, llikeable characters with flaws. Julie.. is just an ass. And this scene demonstrates that with flying colors. While Scott does ignore her because he’s too worried about his sister and girlfriend becoming friends, understandably given Stacey knows all his dark secrets, Julie spends two pages giving out and treating scott like some bad guy for persuing Ramona against her orders. And i’m going to break down why.. this dosen’t work.. on any level for her. 1) Ramona is not Julie’s property. She’s a big girl with her own free will. They aren’t even remotely close: Julie met her only barely before Scott, and given the dream thing probably not even that. And you could say Julie is just looking out for her... she dosen’t know Ramona well enough to KNOW if Ramona is still smarting over Gideon. She probably was.. but she readily, once the awkwardness passed, went out with scott and dove right into the relationship. While there’s still some scars as we’ll see.. she CHOOSE to move on and that’s her choice. If she wasn’t ready, she woudl’ve turned him down or broke it off by now realizing it was a mistake. 2) Scott has no reason to listen to her. She hates his ass, somewhat justifably but still, she hates him and has been against him since fucking colllege. She took his exes side in the breakup despite Envy still being partly in the wrong but paints him as some abusive dickhead and not just an insesntive dickhead. To him he’s just some villian she needs to reign in for her cool friend who wants nothing to do with her and grows to justifably hate her over time. Scott and Julie TOLERATE each other. They are not friend,s they do not like each other and never will. They are around each other because of Stephen. That is it. If Kim , Wallace or Stephen had asked, or at least made him wait for kinves. he probablyw ould’ve or at least considered it since while they take the piss out of him, they genuinely care about him and actually have shown they care about something other than themselves! Speaking of which the cou de gras 3) She’s a selifsh bitch: She is NEVER not in any volume seen as out for anyone but herself, and thus scott has no reason to trust her judgement. She berates Stephen, him and anyone who will listen, is only so loyal to envy because she’s famous, and as I said treats EVERYONE like dogshit. And given Scott is still a very flawed guy.. it takes a LOT for him to be so right and he runs out screaming when Julie mentions her.

So back at the library, Ramona brought Stacey along because the place is a maze. Scott calls Stephen and calls julie evil.. which given the last two paragrahs. Yeah. She is. She really is. But that goes nowhere as he dosen’t have Stacey’s number. He also thinks Julie was responsible for this which while she’s very much not.. would it REALLY be that suprising that if Julie were there she would’ve introdcued the two and set up their little hangout just to piss scott off? God I’m so sick of talking about her.

So the two after dropping off Ramona’s package decide to hang out a bit.. not long as Ramona’s got shit to do, but hey I agree with her logic i’m curious about this palce too. But before they can go up an elevator Ramona spots incoming.. and thus we get the fight of the volume. Though given the next one has two climatctic fights and one or two before that, they easily could’ve had both.. this is still the highlight of the volume. So Ramona snaps off a railing and before Stacey can give out about that she finds out WHY as Knives attacks with a pair of sais. And O’Malley did his homework as while you’d THINK it was just another dumb white person mistake.. O’Malley is asian, thoughw ether he’s candaian korean or canadian chineses, as his last name is korean but he has a large chinese cast in this very comic that might come from experince, I do not know and if you do know tell me. I’d like to refer to him properly as I don’t LIKE lumping all asian cultures into one basket. But not only that he did his home work, as Sai’s, while popularized in Okinawa Japan, were also used in other countries. I bring this up since I assumed it was just a simple mistake even knowing Brian was mixed-race, and was plesantly suprised to fine that know, I was the moron. And i’m fine with admitting that.

So we get a damn good fight.. and Knives figures out Scott WAS cheating on her. Granted she assumes so due to seeing Ramona at the refrence Library, before he actually cheated and clearly blames Ramona for it, but still, it fucking hurts. Plus while her attacking Ramona, who initally assumes she’s gideon’s doing, which.. yeah sending a teenage assasian just to mess with her head does sound like him. So while Stacey does complain “ramona you can’t just tear out art objects” to which I say... yeah high, Stacey? NOT THE POINT RIGHT NOW SCOTT’S EX IS TRYING TO KILL HER. SHE’S DEFENDING HERSELF. So we get one hell of a fight. It not only shows off that Ramona is one hell of a fighter herself, as is knives, but just how immature knives is, resorting to constnat fat jokes and taunts showing just how immature she is.. and unlike volume one where it was endearing and we just saw how sweet she was here it just comes off as mean, bitter, and uncomfortable. But again part of the series biggest charm is the main cast are all well fleshed out and throughly human. She’s doint this because she dosen’t know better and was raised in a house where, again as volume 4 will bear out, finding out her dad is going after scott with a samurai sword just warrants a “dad’s are so weird aren’t they” my point is her frame of refrence is a mite skewed. Plus this is a world where everyone but Stacey just calmly accepts big shonen fights break out, so it’s not that unsuaul to want to settle things with a fight and while i’ve joked about her killing Ramona we genuinely don’t know that was the goal> Could’ve been, easily given murder is peachy in this setting and just leads to a respawn according to O’Malley and would’ve just sent ramona back to her apartment. But I genuinely don’t think she has it in her to do it and while she could’ve planend to, she never would’ve. Plus Ramona easily leads the fight as while Knives uses hit and run tactics and tries make her follow.. Ramona is more annoyed than anything as she has shit to do. Knives only gets one hit in and while i’ts a pretty nasty scratch on the cheek, if thankfully not scarring.. Ramona shrugs it off when she brags about it and easily takes knives down with a potted tree. Knives runs and while she tells herself it’s to fight another day.. its really because her opponent was WAY stronger and way more ready for something like this than she probably planned on. She did defintely want a fight, she just wasn’t prepared to be outmatched so handily. It’s also a nice parallel to last book’s fight: Like with Scott and Matthew, while the fight SEEMS pretty even, in reality our hero/heroine was alwasy teh one in control and easily took care of the less experinced and less ready upstart, who likely wasn’t expecting a fair fight much less to loose.

So Ramona and Stacey wisely get out while Stacey explains Knives is indeed Scott’s ex, though is unaware of the cheating thing. Speaking of Scott he’s playing sonic and knuckles, and in fact kept wallace on the line before just to get advice because of course he did hence why stacey didn’t get through to him, but gets a call... from Envy.

This is easily the second best sequence in the boook, which was lovingly and wonderfully adapted to film and as a result I cannot read it without hearing Brie Larson’s voice for Envy , a nice mixture of seduction and condescension. It’s CLEARLY painful fo rhim, and we do get some things established as Envy toys with him, that it’s been about a year and that she left him for a cocky pretty boy, familiar.. and while Scott claims to not know what he looks like.. given Todd is clearly on her band cover... it’s not exactly hard to put two and two together. So after some awkard catchup and Scott telling her about ramona against his will, we get to the reason she’s here with Scott understanndbly being supscious and calling her a user.. which while Envy denys.. she ends up admitting to. She’s coming to town as estalbished and her opening act backed out, and since Scott has a band, and one that 2/3 of which she knows, she wants them to open for her. Scott naturally isn’t too intrested and thinks it’s just pity. The sequence. is masterful, using a watchmen style 9 by 9 panel layout and intercutting scott’s pained reactions and clear lack of comfort with flashes of envy on her side.. never showing her proper, but showing his memories or what he’s seen in magazines. It’s really striking and really sells the sheer discomfort Scott’s going through. So soon after Wallace gets home.. and finds Scott, drained and miserable on the floor, not even responsive. And this really is the scene that shows me that Wallace cares for the guy and cements that asshole he may be, he loves his buddy. He goes through possible scenarios that fit scott: Food poisoning, finding out Wallace saved over his final fantasy save (though he rules it out as last time that happened he was crying), that ramona dumped him.. before Scott let’s out a pathetic and miserable “Ennnnnvvv”. Wallace , who was at ground zero for that relationship as we’ll find out, realizes this and lets out a little shit, unsure how to help and pissed off at that bitch for once again hurting him like this. As I said it shows how Wallace knows scott in and out and loves him dearly.. and how he knwos about this paticuarly heartbreak better than anyone but Scott and Envy themselves. IT’s just a really tearjerking scene, as we get a sense of WHY scott spiraled into an ego boost of a relationship: His last one REALLY tore him in half, and he’s still not completely healed from the emtional bisection.

So Scott gets more bad news next chapter as Stacey tells him about the fight and he’s worried he’s going to loose ramona on top of this. I mean he desrves it.. .but it’s clear she’s the best thing to happen to him after a really rough year of denial and poor decisionss and loosing her will likely only make him WORSE. He also breaks the bad news, to him at least to the band about the gig. Stephen, being kind of a dick who while understandbly excited about a big gig fails to see his friend REALLY isn’t happy about this nor remembers you know, that the person offering this tore his heart out indiana jones style and while they should take the gig despite the risks, it’s too big an opportunity not to, he should be fucking senstive about this. Kim however... has a suprising and heartbreaking reactoin to this. Which is spread over a few panels but i’m gonna string into one image for convince sake.

Just.. DAMN. I honeslty missed this both as a teenager and as an adult when I read through the books last time but holy shit is this a heartbreaking little moment, even more with the development she gets in later books. Keep in mind, over two books so far, Kim.. really hasn’t shown a lot of emtion. The most upset she’s gotten was getting a bit pissed about another a girl drummer. The only other time we’ve seen her sad was at 17 when Scott left. Her only emotions that we could see were angry and surly. But here? She’s genuinely upset and we see her walls break down for the very first time.. and it’s with the clear indication she NEVER really got over Scott. She never got proper closure and while she hasn’t let it so.. it’s been VERY clear she's been grossly uncomfortable with how he just likes to brush off their history, something that very clearly still bothers her and understandably so: 6 years , while a lot of time, still really isn’t long enough to just .. FORGET your first boyfriend , how he made you feel or the fact he took your virginity and you took his. Stuff like that sticks with you.. I’m ony assuming on the virginity thing but my point remains: To Scott it’s SEEMINGLY nothing, when really he’s probably just trying to brush it off because he dosen’t like dealing with things and given how Kim is wrongly assumed she can’t feel pain. I mean to anyone else i’d be a fair assumption and even i’m not convinced if she touched a hot stove she’d burn, but that’s phsysical this is emotional. DIffrent playing fields. Point is Scott’s kind of a dick and not having ANY closure for anything, Kim is still smarting from him leaving as much as Scott is smarting from Envy dumping him. And it somehow gets MORE painful.... which should’ve been the tagline for Bojack Horseman now I think about it but yeah: her line is what cuts me up the most “I saw her on the cover of Now. She’s pretty”. It’s a little line, it’s easy to see why I missed it .. but the subtext really stings. It’s that despite being VERY pretty, I had a crush on her as a kid and I still do now.. Kim just can’t help but compare herself to someone whose now a glamrous rock star. Their equally attractive but all Kim can see is ANOTHER person who Scott cared about more than her. Which seems petty but again he just.. abnadoned her. His moving wasn’t his choice but his not telling her as was framed earlier sure as hell was. And then just.. look at the next people he dates: A glamorous rock star (She wasn’t at the time but that’s for next week), a much younger girl who can’t possible challenge him, and an ultra cool american. To her.. it must feel like he just looks right through her to every other person intersted in him and never even consdered her as a person anymore. I mean.. jesus christ that hurts.. and makes me hate Stephen more since you know he dosen’t notice any of this.. though at least unlike with Scott it’s a bit more understandable because Kim’s so unflappable and he’s already ignoring very obvious and transparent emotional pain why shouldn’t this be any diffrent. So yeah no one’s happy about this, and that ends up including Stephen as he’s so insecure about his band’s talent he’s pretty sure they suck when their probably at least adaquate.

So while Scott dosen’t say anything, it’s clear he’s at least consdiering the offer as when we next see him he and ramona are heading to Envy’s show. And honestly it’s just a really sweet scene as Ramona asks about envy and the two banter and hold hands. A really nice palletee clensar since hte last few pages were like I was the one lucas socked in the gut. Also she assures him she dosen’t hate him, and asks about how the breakup happened, turning down any offers to hear the good times. It was new years eve one year ago, and he mentions it was over her leaving to meet some guy named Todd.. and Ramona finds the story familiar but brushes off Scott wondering if her todd and Envy’s todd wer ethe same guy as a douchey joke. When prying about what happened otherwise, Scott admits it was all a blur.. Ramona isn’t ahppy with the answer.. but it’s nto like it’s that unresonable: he was in deep with Envy, and the breakup was damn bad to the point it took a year for him to recover and end up in the relationship he is now and the one before this was clearly a cry for help. It also helps reinfroce just how much Wallace was there for him and probably WHY Wallace hates Envy so much. They probably live together simply because Scott needed a place after college, was in zero condition to get a job or do anything given his zombie like state.. and Wallace just had him move into his bed, platonically and into his place. It’s probably why while Wallace will complain ocasoinally he isn’t that on scott to find a job. He dosen’t need a paying roomate, they do fine just on his sallary and he has a steady, secure job in some sort of calling office, probably working in medical stuff like my mom. He needs his friend to be safe and happy, then he can get on his ass about being functional, as he is in present day. If nothing else this volume made me realize just how good a person Wallace is. The one thing he CAN remember, to Ramona’s disbelif is a restraunt opening up, the job story he hinted at last volume: basically it was a fancy tex mex place called, and this is one of the best restraunt naems in the history of fiction brace yourself: The Gilded Palace of Flying Burritos. Naturally, as would I as I love tex mex and that name, Scott loved the place, ate there most of the week and like me with some places I liked waited impatietly to get a job. He did and they were even super generous as the food was FREE. Which is a euphoric feeling I relate to, though I also liked any discounts I got. seriously when I worked at Bagel and Bagel a good chunk of my paycheck was eating there for dirt cheap every shift. I miss that place so much. Like even after I left there I still like a good bagel sandwitch. And it wasn’t covid or anything it was just low staffed and slowly coming apart due to a lack of a solid manager after Crystal, the manager who hired me, transfered to a store closer to her home, which I do not blame her for.

Point is I get it even if Ramona thinks this is all made up. Anyways at Lee’s Place, based on the real life Leo’s place, everyone’s gussied up: Steven got an awful haircut and Kim...

But no time to dwell on how great kim’s..everything is.. who DID Neil bring to the concert?

While Kim is VERY much enjoying this, everyone else is a bit freaked with Ramona getting assurance her and Scott dated breifly, with Kim quipping her and neil will probably date even breiflyer, and Stephen.. freaking out, wondering if she seduced him, and asking if they should take him out back and kick his ass..

Just..... that’s a lot of douche to unpack and this review has been VERY long and suprisingly hard already.. but fuck it, we don’t have much left to go let’s do this. Okay one did she seduce him.. I mean I GUESS, but really let’s be clear here: Neil is a horny, lonely, monosolobic 19 year old who lives with his sister’s college friend and whose life revovles around said guys band. Knives is adorable. She likely barely had to flirt with him to get him to say yes .As someone who was a lonely 19 year old doofus, I guarantee no matter the red flags I probably woudl’ve said yes provided she was 18 instead of 17, despite the abudant red flags such as neil vaugely looking like scott, neil being the one single man within scott’s circle to get her way back in, as Knives hasn’t realized she’s bi yet or given how much she looked up to Kim, she probably WOULD’VE gone for it. As would any sane person, which neither knives nor I entirley are. So she didnt’ so much seduce him as offer him a girlfriend he didn’t have and him being too intrested in having a sweet, caring girl on his arm to see the giant army of adrestian soldiers needed to carry all the red flags this presents.

And as for “do we need to kick his ass. “ Stephen.. did you kick SCOTT’S ass? No, you fucking abetted him and only stepped in for the good girl thing. You did NOTHING to stop his relationship with knives or tell him he was screwing up or look out for that girl’s well being. This will bite him in the ass even harder in volume 5, but even now it just makes him look REALLY fucking bad that, even if he probably dosen’t mean it, that’s at all on the table. Also.. Neil, unlike scott is doing slightly less wrong. While he is 20 to her 17, three years.. it’s HALF of what Scott and her’s age diffrence is, and far more equal in power structure. It’s still not.. GREAT, but my point is you did NOTHING when Scott did this, for far flimiser and less forgiavble reasons.. but when NEIL, whose been nothing but weirdly loyal to you dates her, you want to kick someone’s ass. I mean yes he’s being stupid: in a clear role reversal of the Scott and Knives situation, it’s obvious just from her expression that KNVIES is the one in control here, and the one using someone to ease her own pain. Granted it’s wrong, if not as wrong as Scott should techincally know better and Knives very clearly dosen’t, as well as get into a show of her faviorite band. Is what she’s doing wrong.. yeah... while she can’t see it again it’s what Scott did just not QUITE as fucked up due to not being AS embalanced. Should neil probably be dating her after scott did ? No. But should you be threatning him and not scott for you know, setting all this in motion? No. Jesus christ you suck Steven.

Thankfully while Scott presumibly calms Stephen down, Kim spots Hollie and her roomate Joseph, who will be suprisingly important. He’s very gay, very quite, very bearded and is only hear because the bass player is hot and when prodded on it....

Well said. Also I read that with John Heder’s voice fo rsome reason.. don’t know why, his career ended as quickly as it began because he REALLY did not pick his films well. He saw that he was going to be in a film with David Spade and Rob Schinder and didn’t fire his agent for suggesting it. Meanwhile Scott and Ramona run into Sandra and Monique, Scott’s old classmates who just sorta.. show up every so oftne, often backing up Julie because every Alpha Bitch needs a posse. As Boscha has proven once you loose your posse you loose your bitchy powers. They also ask if Scott and Ramona are an item which leads to a fantagious visual gag.

Also Stephen awkardly talks to the new couple, about how much Knives loves the band, and because why start reading the room now just sorta.. CASUALLY slips in the fact he knows her is because she and scott dated.

Granted Knives action this book really EARNED her that curveball.. but still, it’s transparently clear she’s both not over Scott and Neil’s a placebo, and that she loves the band... how the fuck did you get through college, much less get two loyalish friends Steve.

Kim tries to hide when she runs into Sarah whose with.. someon O Malley does not know, literally captioning it “I don’t know htis girl”. Fucking love that gag even if SOMEHOW kim is the roomate they all hate. Despite hte fact as the side story will bare out, her roommates are all pretty obnoxious, so i’ts probably because she’s the only sane person in that group and their VERY lucky kim just dind’t set the place on fire on her way out and let god do what he should’ve a long time ago. Also we meet Lynette, the band’s drummer who smokes “She must be evil” “Still hot though”... both accurate. Also Luke wilson is there.. no really. Just holy shit that’s awesome. Okay so with all of that out of the way, it’s time for the show. So after a full volume’s build up , and a really cool build up in the page before we finally properly meet clash at the demonhead, and miss envy adams.

Heck of a reveal and not the only one as ramona realized what the audience probably already guessed....

Dun dun dun! And since I don’t like leaving a cliffhanger dangling lest I have to... we’ll be getting to this next week.. what you thought i’d say right now or tommorow? This was a lot. But no i’m not leaving you too long. Next week, Evil Ex Crossover! Ramona and Wallace become BFF’s! We learn what the deal with Scott and Envy is! Scott faces the Ken to his Ryu! And Wallace gets a boyfriend. All this and more next week. for now...

Final Thoughts: This one.. was a VERY rough one to review and it ties back to this volume’s biggest problem: it is not paced very well. Like the series as a whole it has a pretty easy going, slice of life pace. The only ones without this kind of easy pacing are 3 and 6, and even 3 has some slice of life bits, their just both more focused due to the events going on. This one... well....

Pretty much. While this one has very important stuff going on, Scott and ramona getting closer, ramona getting more fleshed out, Wallace showing how deep his character is, Kim also getting fleshed out quite a bit, Knives showing off her crazy side, setting up the next volume, the second ex fight.. it’s all just kinda.. jumbled together. It’s not really until the knives fight onward the book takes on some really solid pacing and really gets going.It’s not a BAD book: ther’es some REALLY good character stuff as I dug into.. but the pacing is just really loose and without the Evil Ex fight as an anchor and with ramona and scott just sorta.. getting to know one another, in both biblical and non biblical senses, it dosen’t have either of the series main narrative thrusts. Even the knvies subplot really amoutns to nothing for now, as Ramona dosen’t find out Scott’s a cheater, and only distrusts knives now. That’s about it. It does improve on book one in characterization, with eveyrone being MUCH cleearer in terms of who they are and settling into their iconic selves nicely. Wallace’s more selfless and protective side pops up, Ramona starts to show mroe of her personality good and bad, Scott’s better traits are mixed a bit mor eeven with the douche ones, Knive’s far more unstable and violet stalker side emerges, and Stephen.. well fuck him, point is things are coming together.. but O’Malley still isn’t quite at peak power yet. Not bad and still worth a read like last time, just a bit uneeven is all. That being said... if you want O’Malley at his peak.. well then come back next week. Until then i’ll be doing my usual buisness of reviewing birds, refrencing simpsons and letterkenny, and putting my eyes back in after kim’s look up there. For now the sun’s setting and i’m out of here.

#scott pilgrim #scott pilgrim vs the world #ramona flowers #kim pine #stephen stiles #wallace wells #envy adams #lucas lee #oni press #Brian Lee O'malley #knives chau #neil nordgraf

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glitterblazercalum · 4 years ago

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got a river for a soul, and baby, you’re a boat

or: Oh, fuck. We showed up wearing matching couples’ costumes to this party by accident and now everyone thinks we’re together.” + cashton

hello and happy halloween everyone!! giant thank u to ainslee @ashesonthefloor for putting this event together!! and for forcing me to actually get this fic done, looking it over, and generally being a major source of serotonin in my life. another huge thank u to bella @clumsyclifford for being one of my favorite people and loving frat boys enough that it made me want to write a fic about them to annoy her <3 love you both <3

here is the link to the event masterpost bc I highly recommend checking out all of the other amazing fics:

https://ashesonthefloor.tumblr.com/post/633534107120549888/hello-welcome-to-my-halloween-fic-event

warnings: mentions of alcohol

word count: 2,872

without further ado, please enjoy the fic I wrote mostly all last night while looping drag me down for thirteen hours straight :))

Calum doesn’t know what fuckhead came up with the idea of having a joint Halloween party for Sigma Nu and Sigma Pi this year, but he really wants to fight them. He thinks he’d probably have a lot of people on his side, considering how much Sig Nu and and Sig Pi hate each other, so he tucks the idea of interfraternity war away in his head as a contingency plan in case the party goes to shit, as joint parties with any other frat always seem to. And it’s not like it’s a one night thing, because all three days of the “Halloweekend,” as Michael refuses to stop calling it, are supposedly going to be spent with Sig Nu, one party at their own house, and two at the shithole that he assumes is the Sig Nu house, in some deranged attempt at bonding. He’ll be lucky to make it out alive, probably.

Before college, he really never did anything of his own for Halloween, mainly used to being used as a prop or side character for his sister Mali-Koa’s elaborate costumes, or, after she’d moved out, sticking a pair of fake fangs in his mouth to hand out candy to the few kids who rang the doorbell despite his efforts to keep all the lights in the house off. Last year, as a freshman, he’d gotten roped into a group costume with some of the other Sig Pi pledges, and while his memories are...hazy at best, he vaguely remembers falling asleep in a Teletubbies onesie at the end of the night.

This year, though, no one has tried to tell him what to dress up as, so it’s now a few hours before the first of the three parties, and Calum still has no ideas for what he should dress up as. A quick Google search for “cheap easy costumes” hadn’t really been all that helpful, so he decides to ignore the problem and take a nap until he actually has to leave.

A few hours later, Michael barges into the room to drag him out of bed, and looks around for a few seconds before asking, “You don’t have a costume, do you?”

Calum groans, pulling himself out of bed and wracking his brain for an idea that he can plausibly bullshit in the next few seconds, because he can’t let Michael be right and have something to tease him about, so he blurts, “I’m going to be a salt shaker.”

Michael gapes at him a bit for a few seconds before asking, “What the fuck? What kind of costume is that? What are you even going to wear for that?”

Calum mentally kicks himself in the shin, as hard as possible, because he really hasn’t thought this through. Why couldn’t he have just said cat or cowboy or something even slightly in the realm of normal Halloween costumes?

“Uhhh.. y’know that baseball tee I have? The one with the black sleeves and white middle?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s in my closet, but continue.”

“What the fuck, dude? Give it back!”

“You haven’t noticed that it’s missing for like three weeks, I just assumed it was mine now. Tell me what the rest of the costume is,” Michael demands.

“I’ll just tape a piece of paper with a big ‘S’ on it to the front of my shirt, and then put one of those pots with the holes on my head. Bam! Salt shaker!” Calum says, moderately impressed with his ability to pull stuff out of his ass this quickly.

“What makes you think we even have a colander?” Michael asks, crossing his arms.

Calum gives him a blank stare. “A what?”

“That’s what the pots with the holes are called, you idiot.”

“You think Harry would live anywhere that didn’t have a fully-stocked kitchen? There’s bound to be one in one of the cabinets or something.”

“Fine. I’ll go get the shirt while you look for the colander.” Before Calum can object, suggest that he look through Michael’s closet himself and steal back any of his other clothes that have somehow wound up there, Michael’s already halfway down the hallway.

Sighing, he trudges down the stairs towards the kitchen, where one of the seniors, Niall, is sitting with his head in his hands, dressed as a pirate.

“Hey, dude, nice costume,” Calum offers as a greeting. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I can find a colander, would you? I know Harry—”

“Do not talk to me about Harry right now,” Niall says, and Calum stops his search for a moment to send him a concerned look.

“What happ—”

“That needy-ass motherfucker thinks that just because I didn’t want to do a couples’ costume with him, it means I don’t love him anymore! Never mind the fact that he literally mentioned this idea to me yesterday, well past the point where everyone finalizes their costumes.”

Calum offers him a sympathetic look and offers, “Couples’ costumes are boring and cheesy anyways. Neither of you are missing out on anything, at least in my opinion.”

Niall lifts his head up from where he’d been repeatedly hitting it on the table to smirk at Calum and ask, “Have a lot of experience with couples’ costumes, do you?”

Luckily, Calum has finally found the colander, so he opts to ignore the question and just leave the kitchen entirely.

When he gets back upstairs, Michael’s in his room, unabashedly checking himself out in the mirror that’s on the back of the closet door. “Yeah, yeah, your anime character of the year looks great, now get out and let me get ready.”

Michael scoffs, “Get ready, as if you’re even doing anything,” but moves towards the door anyway.

Michael’s right, the costume is ridiculously easy to throw together, and two minutes later, they’re both out the door, walking across Fraternity Row to get to the Sig Nu house, where the music is already blaring and strobe lights throw red, then green, then blue shadows across everyone’s faces. On his way to the kitchen to grab a drink, he sees Niall and Harry walk into the house, holding hands and laughing together, so he assumes that their fight has blown over as quickly as all of their other fights always seem to.

He sees a few different trays of shots and decides he might as well take one to get the night started off right. After, he realizes that he probably shouldn’t grab a beer now, Mali’s rule about sticking to one color of booze for the night ringing in his head, so he settles for filling up a Solo cup with whatever glow in the dark gin concoction is in all the punch bowls. He wouldn’t put it past the Sig Nus to poison the drink on purpose, but it tastes relatively normal, so he grabs another cup for Michael and attempts to leave the kitchen, steering around the couple sloppily making out in the doorway.

It’s harder to spot Michael than it usually is, considering that at least half the people at the party are wearing some type of wig, but Calum eventually makes his way back over to him. He’s talking to Niall and Harry, and they both offer him a smile before continuing on with the conversation. Once that reaches a lull, Niall leans closer to Calum and says, “Mate, you didn’t need to lie to me about couples’ costumes.”

Calum has no idea what Niall is talking about, so he shakes his head and asks, “What are you talking about?”

Niall cackles, and Harry turns to look at him adoringly before going back to talking to Michael, and Calum is more confused than ever. Niall grabs his shoulder and spins him around and points in the direction of a clump of people. “You’re salt and he’s pepper, right? That’s such an obvious couples’ costume, although you two do seem to have a bit of a disconnect on how much effort you put in. That guy really went all out. And dude, why haven’t you told us that you have a boyfriend? You know we’d want to know about that, give him the Sig Pi seal of approval and all that. Wait. Unless he’s a Sig Nu, in which case, I don’t want to know because I’d probably have to kick you out. That’s a joke, by the way.”

Calum barely has the presence of mind to mumble, “He’s not my boyfriend,” before crossing the room to get to the guy in the hyper-realistic pepper grinder costume.

The guy smiles as Calum approaches, and despite the costume covering most of his body, Calum can tell that he’s cute. “Why so salty?” Pepper Guy greets, the sunshiney smile still on his face.

Calum smirks and replies, “Maybe I just need some more spice in my life.” Pepper Guy laughs, and just like everything else about him, it’s cute, and Calum wants to hear it again. “I’m Calum, by the way.”

“Ashton. Nice to meet you, man.”

Calum leans a little closer so that it’s easier to hold a conversation over the loud music and asks, “What’s the deal with the super realistic pepper grinder costume?”

Ashton makes a strange noise, somewhere between a laugh and a groan, and says, “I got it off some random sketchy website, but it was supposed to be a chess piece. Something clearly went wrong somewhere in production, and my friend Luke said that I might as well sharpie a “P” onto it and just go with it.”

Calum makes a noise of agreement, mind stuck on a dumb idea. Before he can reconsider, he sends Michael a quick text that says if u’ve already taken over as dj, can u play that come grind w me song? and a few seconds later, he hears the opening notes and grins.

“Hey, Ashton?”

“Yeah?” Ashton replies, as realization slips across his face.

Right in time with the singer’s voice, Calum says, “Come grind with me,” and he laughingly pulls Ashton towards the makeshift dance floor. Neither of them can really dance, so it’s a mess of laughter and limbs flopping around, but Calum feels an unmistakable electricity between them too, and once the song is over, they stay for the next few, enraptured by each other. When they finally exhaust themselves with all the laughing and mock-twerking, Ashton asks Calum if he wants a refill, and when Calum nods, he grabs his hand and starts pulling him towards the kitchen.

Once they’re there, Calum goes for another serving of the glow in the dark punch, which is steadily dimming as the glow sticks run out of light. Since that’s really the only light source in the kitchen, Calum doesn’t see Ashton until he’s turning around and Ashton is right in front of him, reaching around him for a cup. Calum’s kind of trapped with his back against the counter, Ashton’s pepper grinder costume tall enough to really block out the view of the rest of the party, and the world narrows, all of it contained in where their eyes connect, and then, after Calum has safely set his drink back on the counter, that narrow point expands just a bit to where their mouths land on each other’s. The colander gets knocked off Calum’s head as he lifts himself up to sit on the counter, wrapping his legs around Ashton’s waist to pull him closer, as close as he can possibly get him.

Ashton’s sucking a mark into Calum’s neck when Calum has his first coherent thought of the past few minutes and pulls back, breathlessly asking “Wait, wait, you’re not a Sig Nu, are you?” fully expecting the answer to be no.

Ashton steps back a little too, and it takes him a second to register the question before he groans, “Of course you’re a fucking Sig Pi, that’s the only explanation that makes sense for me never seeing you anywhere before. You’re too hot for me to not notice otherwise.”

Calum flushes and mentally curses out whatever idiots had started the rivalry between Sig Nu and Sig Pi before he grabs his stupid colander off the ground and gives Ashton an awkward wave goodbye.

Once he’s out of the kitchen, he quickly glances around in search of Michael, and when he can’t immediately find him, he just gives up and leaves entirely. Fuck Sig Nu.

He spends most of the next day bitching about his hangover, and then, a few hours later, bitching about his hangover while helping to set up the house for that night’s party.

He doesn’t really have much more of a costume for tonight, throwing on a gray shirt and sharpie-ing some whiskers on his face. Michael takes pity on him and makes him a headband with an approximation of what they both think mouse ears are, and Calum is mildly entertained by going up to everyone and saying, “I’m a mouse, duh.”

His heart’s really not in the right place to party tonight, which is probably breaking the cardinal rule of being in a frat, so he sticks close to Michael, who has taken over the role of DJ, once again. Zayn from Alpha Sig strolls over after about half an hour, devil horns askew, and quietly says to Calum, “Cat and mouse, huh? Didn’t think you had it in you, Hood, that’s proper cute. Not as cute as me and Lou, mind you, but still, I respect the effort.”

Calum is reluctant to look up and see who he’s accidentally matching with today, because, with his luck, it’s probably another guy from Sig Nu. When he does eventually look up, he immediately makes eye contact with Ashton, who happens to be walking by, dressed in all black and with whiskers sharpie’d onto his face too. Calum wants to bang his head into a wall because the universe clearly hates him if it’s having him match with Ashton again. Even beyond that, Ashton looks so good out of the stupid pepper grinder and in all black that Calum wants to make out with him again.

Ashton is clearly having similar thoughts when he gestures Calum over and leads them towards a little pocket of quiet space in one of the lesser used hallways.

Calum really wants to hook his thumb into one of Ashton’s belt loops, so he does, as Ashton looks him up and down a few times. “Is the mouse costume your way of telling me you want me to chase you?”

Calum murmurs, “Shut up,” before leaning in to kiss him, frat rivalry be damned. It’s just as good as it was the night before, maybe even more so, now that the pepper costume isn’t in their way. At this point, there’s no denying the chemistry. It can’t be blamed on being drunk since Calum’s been nursing the same beer all night, and the part of his brain that’s protesting against being this close to a Sig Nu is getting smaller and smaller as he and Ashton continue to kiss.

They stay in that hallway for the rest of the night, eventually sliding down to sit on the ground, legs pressed together, sharing stupid stories about their respective frats. Calum’s surprised when the music shuts off because it feels like it’s only been an hour at most, that’s how easy it is to talk to Ashton. Ashton heaves himself up and reaches both hands down to help Calum up, too.

“I don’t think there’s any way you can match your costume to mine tomorrow, but I’ll come find you anyways,” Ashton says, as he leaves Calum with a kiss on the cheek.

Calum’s too wired to sleep much, so he opts to help clean up the house instead, and that takes up enough of his day that when nighttime rolls around, he’s stood staring at his closet without a costume idea for the third time in as many days. After ten minutes of consideration, he digs through one of his drawers to pull out the fake vampire fangs that he had somehow remembered to bring with him, and he goes down the hall to ask Jack to put some fake blood on his mouth and neck. Jack always goes all out for Halloween.

Once he’s at the party, he doesn’t have to wait long to find Ashton, who looks incredibly good in his werewolf costume. There’s fake blood on him too, which is really the only way their costumes could be understood to be matching, or so Calum thinks. Tonight, Jack and Alex are the ones to tease him, “You know what, I agree. Jacob and Edward should have ended up together, Bella was boring as shit.”

Calum’s really not bothered by the comments at all, so much so that he’s already thinking of couples’ costumes ideas for next year when he finds his way over to Ashton and whispers, “Let’s get out of here.”

“Are you trying to make a move on me? I’m a respectable Sigma Nu, I don’t know if I can allow that.”

Calum laughs and tugs him out the door, “Told you I wanted some more spice in my life.”

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cara-terra-pace · 4 years ago

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Rich Neighbors Au Part 3: Bye Bye Miss Parisian Pie

Part 1 Part 2 The Gabrieling Procrastination Art Rich Neighbors Vine Animatic

-Oh my watermelon kids

-they are finally in America!!!

-First stop: Trash City!

-oops sorry NYC, sorry, they just sound the same when I say them out loud so I get them confused sometimes :)

-(I’m kidding New Yorkers don’t kill me please)

-okay, okay, getting off topic.

-so they’re in New York

-they’re just kind of wandering and they end up running into the Elmos.

-Mari was almost pulled into a hug with one and Felix had to drag her out of the way, saving her from the creep

-they then immediately booked it to a restaurant, hoping that would give them a bit of a reprieve.

-Hard Rock Cafe was the one they picked, Nino’s choice, obviously.

-Marinette gushed over the mini milkshakes for like ten minutes.

-someone ended up recognizing them. They took a picture, posted it on twitter and now BOOM

-every single one of their fans and customers know exactly where they are.

-but ANYWAY

-they’re in nyc, why not go to a broadway show?

-Six. They go to see Six. Don’t @ me, I like six and I thought Marinette and Nino would both enjoy it

-Mari is LIVING for their outfits.

-Nino is also loving every minute.

-They’re in the front and Nino is basically grinning the whole show but during Heart of Stone you can see him tear up a bit.

-Felix actually enjoys it. He shoves all the thoughts of historical inaccuracies out of his head and mostly just listens to Mari ramble about the outfits.

-Adrien vibes with Seymour honestly. And Parr. And basically all the queens.

-Nathalie likes the show too, mostly because it’s a nice break for her and the songs are pretty catchy too

-for Mega Six, Mari is filming and all the queens look directly into her camera

-they also take it and dance on stage with her phone, filming everything

-Mari is about to faint. Doesn’t matter that she’s technically famous, she is DEAD

-they don’t see her face when they take and give back the phone so when she comes backstage afterwards with the gang, at first they just recognize her hair and see her as the girl who was filming the Mega Six

-then they see her face and the costume designer is trying so hard not to squeal, oblivious to the fact that she’s doing the exact same thing.

-Mari is absolutely gushing to them about how great the show was

-She tells Parr that her song was what kept her going in school, since she’s listened to the Broadway and West End soundtracks about a billion times. (Pretend like the broadway one is already out time is a construct with rich people)

-side note, they post the pictures and video and suddenly A BUNCH of Six fans are now following Mari and now Mari is designing outfits inspired by the queens because AH THE COSTUMES ARE GORGEOUS I COULD TALK ABOUT THEM FOR DAYS I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

-fun fact, they are all wearing a “If Found, Please Return to Nathalie” shirt

-Felix is adorable and bought Mari some hair pins with watermelons because Watermelon Kids

-yes Nathalie has a shirt that says “I’m Nathalie”

-they actually did lose Adrien and these two girls were able to return him to Nathalie and they all took a pic with them and followed the two on Twitter

-they don’t know what else to do in New York, so they just make their way down to...

-New Jersey!

-Seaside Boardwalk!!

-they mostly stick to the arcades, Mari sticking to casino pier, and them getting fries and lemonade as a snack.

-they spend the night at the boardwalk, going on a few rides like Moby Dick, and Pirate’s Cove.

-they spend the night at a house of a friend of Tom Dupain’s and the next day, they go to the Ocean County mall because it was close to the house.

-Adrien complained a bit about going to “the least cool mall in the state” but stopped when he found a five below at the plaza.

-five below is his weakness.

-mall, fun, yada yada yada

-bath and body works is inside? Mari’s in heaven.

-Friendly’s for lunch! Ice cream all around my friends!

-that afternoon they go to laser tag and completely dominated.

-Twins on one team, Watermelon Kids on the other.

-for some reason (the reason is called because I said so) they decide to go down to another boardwalk further south.

-on the way they go to lobster house for lunch (lobster house is amazing I don’t even really like it for the food it’s just the VIBES. they are. immaculate.)

-they go to Wildwood and ohhh

-Nino and Adrien are living it up on the rides

-rollercoaster, log flume, submarine ride slash game thingy!

-they’re doing it all

-and Felix and Mari are being so cute and domestic winning each other things at the games

-and then the arcade, where Felix is hopeless at Skeeball and ends up slipping and Mari helps him up while trying not to laugh

-can I just say that I think Mari is probably really good at claw machines?

-she has some weird sort of luck when she’s playing and she’ll always end up winning a prize

-they spend the night at a cute little hotel and the next day they go mini golfing

-now this is where Felix for some reason shines

-Mari keeps losing her golf ball and having to go search for it

-Adrien and Nino are both mediocre at it.

-Adrien got a hole in one and he and Nino screamed and Nino picked him up and spun him around

-they also got ice cream at said mini golf place

-Khor’s is just...*chefs kiss*. They all got the orange and vanilla swirl because I said so and it’s a Khor’s classic

-Felix picks an Italian place for dinner that night. It’s called Little Italy and it’s pretty good.

-and, that’s a wrap for New Jersey! Next...

-alllll the way down to.... North Carolina!

-they spend only a day in North Carolina, but they do go to these caves.

-and also, this place with food that’s mainly made of... alligator?

-basically, it’s a rest day.

-Mari gets SUPER inspired and buys fabric to make a jacket inspired by the caves and honestly it’s gorgeous because she used not only the tan of the rocks, but the beautiful blues of the water.

-NATHALIE BREAK

-she’s so tired but she’s having so much fun with her boys!!!

-she actually feels pretty well rested a few days into the trip.

-Nathalie can’t help but fuss over the kids

-and coo at their cuteness when they do cute things

-She and Mari always share a room

-and the three boys share a room

-Nathalie helps Mari do complicated braids because she’s super good at those and Mari can only do a basic braid.

-next!

-South Carolina!

-specifically Charleston.

-ghost tout ghost tour ghost tour

-“and this is the building where a dude saw the ship that held all his crops sink. He then proceeded to-“

-it gets graphic in that moment and Marinette is having fun but also isn’t a fan of thinking of... uh, head not being on body???

-pirates!!! They go into this cave thingy and see piratey stuff, which is entertaining for everyone because it’s creepy in the cave, which Mari enjoys, PIRATES, which Adrino enjoys, and history for the grumpy Felix

-it’s quiet and everyone’s happy, which Nathalie is living for.

-they mostly just walk around looking at pretty things the next day

-rainbow row rainbow row

-Mari is so inspired that she buys a cheap sketchbook from target just so she can get all these ideas down

-she desperately wants to sew but she has to wait since they don’t have access to a sewing machine.

-so, they eat at a sandwich shop before hitting the road.

-they make a quick stop in Georgia, laugh at a sign that lists the marvel movies made in Georgia, then leave.

-(sorry Georgia. I’m sure you’re a very nice state but I’ve had limited interaction with the state besides passing through and sometimes stopping to eat lunch.)

-this is the thing they’re very excited for!!!

-Florida!

-specifically, Orlando

-that’s right, DISNEY WORLD.

-they are spending a whole week here.

-that’s right, 7 days of fun.

-day 1, animal kingdom because they get there in the afternoon and there isn’t as much they want to see in animal kingdom. They have loads of fun though and are planning on dropping by another day for the first half of the day.

-next day is Magic Kingdom

-they go on so many rides.

-small world is Adrien’s favorite ride, don’t @ me.

-Casey’s Corner is where they get lunch because Mari loves the aesthetic.

-MINNIE EARS ALL AROUND

-Marinette has a different one for every outfit

-Aristocats ears!!!

-she can’t explain why she loves it, she just DOES.

-for their last day (yeah this is out of order but who cares) they park hop, ending in magic kingdom and staying for the fireworks. Our favorite designer wears these lovely light up ears

-when they went to animal kingdom on the first day you KNOW Mari had some cute ears

-shh don’t tell the boys and Nathalie but Felix actually asked Mari to be his girlfriend when they were in Hollywood studios

-they walked off together, and sat on a bench somewhere sharing a snack

-our extra boy asked if she could be his girlfriend with matching beauty and the beast rings

-Mari said yes and she smiled soooo much.

-it’s kind of hard to explain everything so let’s just talk about the interesting stuff!!

-Marinette VIBES with the princesses oh my god

-TIANA INSPIRED OUTFIT PLEASE

-Disney is V fun but... sorry boys, it’s time for Marinette to get some sewing done! (Also I’m kind of bored of writing Disney this took several weeks bc I would write like a sentence a day lol)

-CALIFORNIA TIME

-they do go for one day in Disneyland but most of it’s spent going to get some inspiration for Mari.

-fabric stores fabric stores.

-that girl is sketching and coming up with ideas like her life DEPENDS ON IT

-inspiration explosion

-also some normal Knick knack shopping, so Mari gets some time away from staring down at her tablet and sketchbook.

-resting and just going to try all different sorts of normal, causal restaurants

-living the life

-also, Felix and Mari go on their first date. I say first date Very Loosely because it’s actually them sitting in Mari’s hotel room eating pizza and watching a movie and though they both consider it a date, they want to have a cute, cliche first date when they back home.

-Speaking of home...

-They are about to fly back to Paris when they get a message from Jess, one of the girls who found Adrien in NY.

-It was a message from her asking if she could check her latest tweet.

-it was a recording of Jess playing guitar, the song (an instrumental version of Miraculous but slightly modified) being wonderfully sweet. Aeon, the other girl, was also in the video, humming along to Jess. At the end, Jess dedicated the video the them and they both gushed about how nice they were in person and that both of them had waited until they had the arrangement ready before they posted it on social media.

-it thawed even Felix’s icy heart.

-and as they flew back to Paris, Nathalie couldn’t help but think of what a perfectly wonderful trip it had been. Minus... the accidents.

-But there’s no need to talk about that here.

-They reach Paris safe and sound, and Marinette takes a long, long nap right before she goes into creative mode and sews all the outfits she had sketched. Advantages of being rich, you know? You don’t have to worry about fabric price.

-While Mari was sewing, everyone else was also slowing down.

-And gearing up to go back to school

-*dramatic music*

-What will happen next? Even I have no idea!

.......

It’s almost like.... I exist??? Haha, but seriously, sorry for sort of going MIA??? I finally finished this, mostly by getting lazy towards the end. Yes, before you say it, I don’t hate NYC. It’s cool there, I just love making fun of it and the fact the special cam eout a few days ago is just pure irony. All of those links should work, so you can actually buy the Disney things I’m talking about! If they aren’t, please tell me so I can fix them. Next up is the Nathalie mentioned “Accidents”. That should take way less time because I’m going to go with the tried and true method of “Make stuff up and hope it makes sense”. I say should because you never know with me, I’m a mess ❤️❤️❤️

Tag list: @bigpicklebananatree @kris-pines04 @animegirlweeb @akana-sama @insomniac-nerd-posts-things @virgolioness @goblinwhoships @toastlover21 @buginetye

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thewritewolf · 5 years ago

Text

The Search For Halloween Chapter 7: Class Trip + Catch

Another great idea by Alya, except now she's getting the whole class involved.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 (Final)

@unusual-october

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3. My ko-fi.

Art of this chapter by the amazingly talented @noanieactuallydrawingalot!

“So I’ve been thinking…” Alya began.

Marinette groaned.

“Hush, you.” Alya tried to shoot a glare at Marinette, but was too busy fighting down a grin at her best friend’s dramatics to pull it off. “So, we can’t use that place as a reference for our project ‘cause they’d probably frown on us breaking into an old house.”

The others nodded from around their cafe table. They’d all suspected that’d be the case when they had planned to go there from the beginning.

“I think I have the solution.” They watched her curiously. “We should make our own haunted house.”

She was immediately rewarded with looks ranging from shock to anger to grim acceptance from her friends.

“What, exactly, about that terrible place makes you want to do it again?” Marinette crossed her arms and leaned against the table, glaring at her best friend across from her.

“I’m sure she has a good reason for it,” Adrien replied, rubbing circles on his girlfriend’s back. Excluding the confirmation that ghosts are real and are dicks, that romantic development was the most interesting take away from their little expedition. “Well, she’d better have a good reason for it.”

Alya glanced at Nino, but found no help coming from that direction as he stared resolutely into his coffee, taking a long sip as she watched.

“Okay, I get that it was super freaky at that old house BUT,” she held up a hand to stop Marinette from interrupting, “we can tone it down a lot. Make it fun rather than scary. Maybe something for kids?”

“I’d be down with that,” Nino said, nodding. “It’d be nice to be on the other end of the scares for once.”

Marinette frowned. “I still don’t know… I don’t really want to scare anyone.”

“Me neither,” Adrien added.

“That’s fine.” Alya waved her hand dismissively. “You guys can just be on the outside to let them in a little at a time and then hand them candy on their way out. No need for you guys to be spooky. You’ll still need to be in costumes, though.”

They looked at Marinette, who held her hands up. “Sorry, I can’t do that many costumes that quickly. We’ll have to get some cheap ones from a shop.”

Alya sighed. “Dang. It was a longshot anyway. It’ll all kinda be last minute anyway, so at least the costumes will be right at home.”

“That still doesn’t answer how you plan to pull this off,” Adrien said. “When did you want to do this?”

“Ideally… this weekend.” Again with the disbelieving stares. “Yeah, I know, it’s only a couple days, but next week is the last week of October and we still have our final project to throw together. But don’t worry! I have a plan.”

-------------------

To Adrien’s surprise, things went off without any problems. Alya asked for some help setting up a spooky little ‘maze’ - in reality, just a U-shaped corridor - from Ms Bustier. Their teacher wholeheartedly approved and offered extra credit to anyone who was willing to spend Friday afternoon helping with set-up and running the event.

Practically the entire class was helping out in one way or another. Rose and Juleka were inside the maze with Nino and Alya, keen on getting some screams out of some kids. Max and Markov pulled off some programming wizardry with their lighting and sound effects. Kim and Ivan took turns being the strongman in charge of pulling ropes and strings to get props moving on the inside. Mylene, Nathaniel, and Marc all manned the snack bar after getting done painting props.

Which just left Adrien himself and Marinette, guarding the exit and entrance respectively. Thanks to the shape of the haunted house, they were practically standing next to each other. She’d tell scary stories made up on the spot to get the groups primed and ready. He’d hand out candy as a reward for making it out in one piece.

There weren’t many kids in costume, but that wasn’t too surprising. He’d only barely managed to get his cheap werewolf costume (overnight shipping is a wonderful thing), and even Marinette had been hard pressed to get the basics of a vampire outfit put together. As always, she looked absolutely adorable and he took every opportunity to tell her this.

That was actually the reason he had started to turn around at just the right moment. To achieve the best ambiance for inside the maze, the lights had to be dim outside of it too. For most people, this wasn’t much of an issue. But Marinette wasn’t like most people.

So as Adrien began to turn, he was in a prime position to see Marinette step on her own cape and nearly go tumbling to the floor. ‘Nearly’ because like hell was he going to let her fall while he was around. With catlike reflexes, he caught her by the shoulders and her head connected with his chest rather than the floor.

Marinette’s braced expression slowly faded away and she blinked up at Adrien with wide, bright blue eyes. Surprise melted into affection as their arms wrapped around each other.

They nearly got lost in the moment when a child emerged from the exit behind him and loudly proclaimed, “Look, mommy! Wolfman wuvs the vampire!”

He brushed an errant lock of hair out of Marinette’s face and smiled. “He sure does.”

#Miraculous Ladybug #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Alya Cesaire #Nino Lahiffe #Adrienette #DJ WiFi #ml fanfiction #my writing #The Search for Halloween

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lunsfanatic · 5 years ago

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The Last Titan

Final Space AU/GaryCato

Chapter II

The Galaxy 1 was quiet, the SAMES keep making repairs while Gary was more than happy for finally had someone to talk and play cards without the burning situation , he was enjoying himself so much .

-You're a great player, regardless of your arms and shackles being cuff on ... and your lack of sense of humor ... - Avocato blinked a little, not knowing how to react , he had never laugh out loud and if he didn’t know this man already , he would have already hit him and escape.

-So you're a cat ... -

-Ventrexian -

-Yes, of course, listen, I am very sorry about your arm and I understand that you are in a kind of ultra-secret mission, destroying things and ... people -He was thinking, looking at the cards in his hand , well nobody was perfect and certainly he wasn’t in the position to judge him when he had his hands dirty- But if you don't play I'm going to shoot you, buddy , I also don't know why you don't want to play, you're very good, for someone who is captive -He smiled as he showed his cards to the little green ball who giggled innocently while floating around the table ...

-You have no idea what you have here, right? This little ball of boogers will cause our destruction , it is a planet destroyer and ... -Gary interrupted him getting up from his place to sit next to him - What's the matter ?

-Now listen here buddy, Mooncake is a sweet little ball of love, that saved our lives, an adorable faces hugger from space ! you are just a rude and grumpy cat , should it be expected, my neighbor's cat was always breaking my jars and scratched my back when I tried to save those pigeons also loved to lick itself, I hope you behave for the sake of children in this ship ... -

- I'm not a ...! ¿ Children? - Well, he didn't expect the blond to be a single father too

-Well, yes, Mooncake and according to what HUE explained to me, KVN counts as a child ... a very annoying one ... -

-You are very strange Gary Goodspeed -His tone was somewhat softer than normal , the blond took him from the cheeks and gave them a soft squeeze, making him hiss a little, Gary smiled....

-And you are adorable Mr. whiskers - he mocked him while dodging the bites of the Ventrexian , looked at him for a few seconds and got up

-Are you going to leave me here like this? - He claimed as Gary was leaving the dining room

-Well considering that you tried to kill me and take my green child away, I should give you to the infinity guard, but I think they are idiots so you're lucky

- You are not going to give me up? - But he was already gone

- "For some reason Gary thinks it’s not necessary to surrender yourself to the authorities, after half an hour of pleading from that fool boy ,I agreed " -

-Well, how easy it is to manipulate you AI-

- "Do not underestimate me , the only reason is because Gary asked me, there is no way you can escape by yourself, you are at a clear disadvantage " -

-Yes ... you have a point ... I must warn you, everything I've said about Mooncake is true, the Lord commander is looking for him and won't rest until he finds it ... -

- “I know, but Gary is a hollow headed man with a big heart and that will not stop him, he will continue to see the little ball as an innocent companion…. Oh! It seems that he’s done ”-Avocato just looked at the ceiling confused, heard the door open, a robot entered with a bowl in his arms , wobbly, sparkling with electricity .

-Hey Hank! Gary said that you have to deliver the food to the gigantic kitten and oooh!- KVN entered so flaying so fast that it knocked down Hank, causing Avocato to end up wet and smell of soup, he growled, if he wasn't tied he would have dodged it.

-Well everything is ready , we will free you and ... What happened to you? -

- Oh nothing, just that the stupid robot decided to give me a hot bath! - he shout with closed eyes , trying to protect them from the liquid that as dripping from his head, the he heard hurried steps , growled instinctively, one click, another click, a pair of hands helped him to get up,They walked , walked, Mooncake floated over his head, he felt little bites...?

-Mooncake, don't do that, it's very rude to eat leftovers from someone's head-

-This is so humiliating-

-I know bro, but it is not your fault, I am sure that if you were not injured, you would have already kicked off our heads , it would be super amazing -

-Choookity! -

-I know, it 's crazy, but possible, right HUE? -

- "No Gary " -

-Forget it, everyone is against me, the captain is offended, very, very offended - his tone was so dramatic, Avocato found it funny, smiling with a peaceful mask-Forgetting the offense, HUE Is the bath ready? - There was a sudden silence, he felt like the Ventrexian arched his back and ...

-You know.... I understand, you're a cat, you hate water but ... Was violence necessary? The scratches bring dark memories of my childhood ... my collection-He whispered in a theatrical manner while the wounds were treated, Avocato had not reacted in the best way to the word "bath"

-I'm sorry buddy , but this situation is very uncomfortable for me too, Ventrexians love privacy and our personal space and you have invaded it a lot today - He crossed his legs while passing the alcohol to the man

-It's a shame, I wanted to have a manly sleepover, luckily my intuition is super sharp and prepare a room for you!, ouch ... it's close to mine , well not enough to annoy you, but in case you need something you can visit me ... ah! Mooncake, where did you get that? - he interrupted offended when he saw his little friend with his mouth full of cookies

-Chookity dookity -

- DID HUE GIVE IT TO YOU? The betrayal brother, you have just fallen before the chocolaty charms of the terrible HUE, you have just committed high...treason!-

-Chookity pak! -He shouted in a worried tone as Gary walked away taking exaggerated steps

-Don’t! Now I can only trust in Avocato, I bet he wouldn't eat my cookies , if you'll excuse me, I'm going to cry in the kitchen-

-Well, he does have problems - He chuckled as the the little green ball got closer to his wristband , like a puppy looking to be pet-I must admit that is cute... I mean!...you are cute-He corrected only to see the face of confusion that Mooncake was giving him- Well I'll see how he is-

- "ALERT, SCANNER NOT AUTHORIZED DETECTED " - He heard a scream, a hit and metal falling to the ground, running ,thinking of an accident or the blond on the floor, there he was, using KVN as a hammer tearing apart an object that was too familiar

-Terk- whispered with anger

______________________________________________________________________

-So, liquefy me -

-Yes-

-Isn't it a bit drastic? -

-Nothing is too drastic for Lord commander- he explained as he took the blond’s hand, they had been walking for about 10 minutes and Gary had already got lost 3 times

-You should try this street meat Avocato, it's delicious - He offered as he was carrying more of his souvenirs , he looked like a kid enjoying a day at the amusement park

-Save that, we almost arrived, and here the humans are not very welcome, so keep up the plan! -

-Of course, human servant activated, now say Ah! -

-What.hmpf ?! -The blond had put a piece of meat in his mouth, saying it was part of his service, the cat man rolled his eyes, but did not protest, Gary was not so bad, just a little awkward , it seemed he was having fun and Avocato liked that, for some reason -Well here it is, whatever you do, don't touch anything, this guy is a cheater - the human only nodded with mouth full of goodies as they entered the suspicious place

-Ah, Avocato, what brings you to my humble store of cachivaches? -

-Let aside the bullshit Clarence , we came here for papers-

-Well, always so violent, you know that those documents are not cheap- Without hesitation Avocato pointed him with a gun that he took from his pocket

-Let me remind you the day that i saved your life, if I want I can give you to that alien and collect the reward while I see how they destroy this place apart-Gary was shocked at the attitude of the his friend , saw the fear and sweat on the face of that strange little man, decided to analyze the room looking for some distraction , there, on the desk , saw something that moved his chest

-Avo ... My lord , if I may, I suggest you to not waste your expensive bullets on this subject, I’m sure he won’t make that mistake again...- At first he thought it was a rare joke on the humans part, but seeing his expression felt ... guilt , something he had not felt for a long time , at least for threatening the life of someone outside him.

-What the specimen you have here Avocato, I thought that Lord commander had you punished, a very decorative primate ... -he began to prick his stomach in a mocking way- A little off line, but nothing you can’t fix-he began to analyze in a way too invasive, Gary is more than uncomfortable , even the feline was upset

-Hey dude, take your hands off me, I just saved your life-

- Insolent, speaking without permission, I will touch you as many times i want disgusting primate- The following action of the stupid man made Avocato explode, he did not know how or why, but that store was very much in ruins, the little man was terrified , with trembling hands he give up the requested merchandise, documents,fake ones, and a disguise, they left without looking back, Gary was surprised, he didn’t expect that kind of reaction of the bounty hunter , they walked a little until they reached a dark alley.

-Are you alright ? -

-Yes, well, my dignity is affected, but nothing I can't overcome ... I want to get out of here as soon as possible-He started to put the weird costume

-I understand, let me help you with that- He extended the disguise, a bluish and loose skin, the blond felt disgusted, but this was important , he wanted adventures after all, he slipped inside and tried to digest the situation in the best way possible

-How I look?-

-Hmm, I would give you a two-

- Only a two?!, I could bleach my hair, use extensions, some blush ... -Avocato looked at him amused, while Gary was still listing beauty treatments, rolled his eyes with humor as they left the alley, there he was, Terk, without doubt Avocato jumped over him.

- What the hell are you doing? You're an asshole- The mercenary shaked his body intentionally throwing the Ventrexian down a railing , Gary panicked and threw himself on the troubled pair.

-Avocato! - Scream when he fell into the void, he watched as his partner tried to reach for him before he fell in a strange metal tub and lose sight of him.

___________________________________________________________________________

After the fight with Terk he wanted to go and look for Gary, but now everything had changed, he was so close, he could not miss this opportunity, his son was there, he didn’t think about the consequences, seen the little one there took his breath away, words of regret exploded from his mouth, desperate , he felt his nails surrender to the thick glass, saw his son scream in silence as he was shot to the ceiling , of course it was a trap.

_______________________________________________________________________

-There is no deal Avocato , your son will stay here until you finish the job or until the job ends you- he felt a force hit his body, knocking him down easily , he tried to break free and ...

-There you are !, this day has been horrible, except for street meat, but this place is disgusting, I just destroyed a family and ... -

-Ah, you must be The Gary- the scary little man whispered as he analyzed the blond man

-Eh ... only Gary if it’s not much to ask and if you are so kind to release my friend here, we ... street meat attack! - without warning he threw a piece of meat to the maniac's face causing him to get distracted and release Avocato - Let's go ! - He pushed him out , but they didn't get far, something made him float back

-Gary! -

-Oh, Gary, you're not very bright, are you ? Didn’t your parents teach you not to trust a mercenary? - the pressure on his body was painful as he was getting close to the creep

-No, but they taught me not to abandon a friend-

-Ha! friends? Avocato was betraying you , turning you and E3 51 up -The man mock him as Avocato reach for Gary

- Lies! , we are friends, right? - His two-colored eyes pierced the feline's soul, he felt guilt again

-I'm so sorry ... - he saw something die in Gary’s eyes -I was just trying to save my son-

-Your son? -

-Ugh..I don't have time for this, let's play a puzzle, okay? First we separated the pieces - his tone was slow and malicious , his eyes shine as the blond began to scream in pain, then his arm was rip of, he grunts, scream as leaning on Avocato, he looked terrified, blood splashed on the face of the tyrant , blinded him for a moment, the feline tried to calm his partner, he was very shaked off by the shock, he noticed something in his eyes, they were flashing energy , he helped Gary up and seal his wound, but his condition didn’t change

-Gary you have to control yourself buddy! We have to get out of here-The man didn’t listen, he turned his head to look directly at the bloody little man, his eyes expelled energy, flashes shot out making the walls explode -Gary! - he shook him once more, the blond closed his eyes and he fell unconscious, the ventrexian took advantage of the confusion and escaped with the man in his arms.

________________________________________________________________________

-And then Gary will die ... - A woman spoke while arranging some furniture, the ship looked like crap, as if a hurricane had swept away all the way down, the beautiful brunette sat down, lit a stopwatch and let it run ...

- “Why are you warning us? According to your statistics, this is or will end in tragedy, there is no hope "-

-I tried every possibility, every possible alternative ending, I've come back thousands of times, I found the multiverse , all I have left is to change this as much as I can, in this case, talking to you is one of those options-

- “What would change with you telling me this? ”-

-That you will be prepared, The Galaxy 1 is destroyed no matter what, Gary saves your conscience but you suffer some complications, you need to prepare yourself, if you manage to save the crew , you would delay certain events , so I would have the advantage i need to give them a chance-

- "You are aware that these actions would create an alternate universe?, yours will not change at all " -The woman just looked down analyzing her watch, a few more seconds

-I know, this is not the first alternate universe that was created , mine was already left behind ... I have to go, see you soon Mooncake- She patted the head of the green ball while preparing to leave - Oh! AND HUE-

- “Yes? ... Nigthfall ”-The woman looked at KVN as it smashed a bunch of cookies watching the show

-You should give KVN a chance, they might be surprised- Without more to say she disappeared into a ray of light

-Choookity- Mooncake said with a tone of amazement

-I know, it was scary, but I think the lady likes me, it's nice I like her,what do you think HUE? -

- "We should not talk about this with Gary" -They remained silent for a few seconds

-HUE , respond!-

- "Guys... " -

-HUE, we need you to come here buddy, Gary is not well-

-"I'm on my way"-

Back on the ship everything was tense, Gary had reacted very badly to the loss of his arm, it was very difficult to convince him to keep calm, his mind was blocked , the AI suspected that there was more than just the physical loss , even the Ventrexian seemed restless , but there was no time to lose, the operation was easy, but it had to be done quickly

- "Gary, we can replace your arm , but we need you to stay calm, you're safe with us, right Avocato? -

- Yes, I will do the procedure myself, is the less I can do, you saved my life - he took his shoulder to give him courage, the blond squeezed his flying friend while he swallowed his nerves, nodded as he lay on the stretcher . The process was somewhat annoying, but Avocato was being very cautious, he almost felt no pain, he stare at him while he thought the following words

-I knew that we would be the best super friends since I saw you - Avocato looked at him confused but he continued- Yes , when I saw you floating while we were fighting to death outside the ship, with a rain of killer meteors in the background, I said “Oh yes, this guy, is the indicated ”-

-Gary, I don’t want you to have your hopes up, I am a mercenary, a bounty hunter , death is my job and I have had a single goal for the last 3 years, I will not let anything get in the way of my mission, save my son-

-Well, you know I like that about you, you are so direct and sincere, I wish you told me before, i certainly would helped even if my brain exploded,if that helped-He said it with such sincerity that Avocato couldn’t d avoid doubting him

-But ... you don't even know me, why would you do something like that for a stranger? -

- You're not a stranger, you really can learn a lot about a person while playing cards also hear me out, there’s a theory that by spending and surviving traumatic events reinforces friendships and KVN stay away from me ! I AM AT AN ULTRASENTIMENTAL MOMENT , don't ruin it-

-Very good Gary, I'll go play in your room with Mooncake- he could only see the horror face that adorned the alien, but he could do nothing but look-I hate that piece of tin -

-It doesn't seem so bad-

-Oh believe me is the worst ... returning to the topic and cutting off the talk since I lost my inspiration -he look him in the eye as taking him by the hand, the feline just froze -I promise that we will save your son, now that will also be my mission-

-What do you want? -

-That you get your son back -

-You must want something, it is a very dangerous mision and I have nothing to give in return ... -The blond teased rolling his eyes, accommodated his new arm as he stood up holding his hands

-This, cato, this is enough ... and a round of cards from time to time would not be bad- The Ventrexian smiled, grabbing his other hand while swearing his friendship and promising protection for both, Gary and Mooncake .

_______________________________________________________________________

-Lord Commander, we brought your prisoner-

-Ecxelent, you can leave... So, any idea what your father was thinking ? He almost killed us, he warned me that this would be dangerous, but I never believed that Gary had such skills , maybe i should raise the price of your rescue -

-Yes, well I have no idea what you're talking about, you have the power of killing me from boredom-Said Little Cato as rolling his eyes with indifference

- Ah, I see that these years have been very soft with you, your level of insolence increases every day, but I didn't bring you here to kill you, I brought you here for this ... -The little man turned on a screen with a photograph in the center, the little one looked terrified

-That's…-

-Oh yes, it was not easy to find them, you ventrexians are so jealous with you lives , but although this Ventrexian is interesting, it is not what I am looking for , its what he’s caring in his arms- pointed to the image while looking at the eyes of the little fella

-And what do you need me for? -

-Oh well, you know that I still appreciate your father, it would be a shame to have to kill him, after all he has been very useful to me these years, I have a message that I want you to deliver -

-He'll know it's a trap-

- I just want you to send these coordinates, he can pick you up there-

-What? - He was defensive, incredulous to what he had just heard , the little man rolled his eyes

-I thought you were smarter, I'm going to free you, I don't see the point in keeping you apart , after all the universe is about to disappear under the grip of my hand, a little compassion wouldn't hurt me -

-What are you planning?-

- Hey, it's an adult theme, kids like you don't have to intrude, just do what I tell you-

-And if I refuse ?-The dictator smiled sideways, his eyes shone as the room darkened , the little ventrexian was lifted from the ground, he felt his neck tighten and his body tensed before energy shocks him out

-Oh little fool, I don't need your permission, you're just a pawn on my board and now it 's my turn to move the pieces-

#little cato #garycato au #finalspaceau #finalspacefanart #traduction #garycato #thelasttitanau

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faustiana · 5 years ago

Text

Halloween at Tony’s was always a huge affair. Sharon remembers begging her aunts to let her stay late at Tony’s because his parties were almost always on a school night.

His parties aren’t as wild as they used to be. Especially with Morgan on the way. “I’m a family man now Bear,” he announces, using his childhood nickname for her. He seems so happy, almost bursting at the seams with pride. “I’ve thrown out all the cheap beer.”

Later, Pepper quietly hands her an expired six pack of Keystone Lights which she disposes off quickly.

She’d never thought she’d ever say this but she’s a little too tired for Halloween this year. A month long special ops in Kiev rooting out black market arms dispensaries has hollowed a deep ache into her bones. An ache that kept telling her to crawl into the nearest bed and let go of her consciousness.

But Halloween is special, and even though she wanted to dress up as one half of the twins from The Shining, she knows from experience that last minute costume shopping is worse than anything Kiev threw at her so she pokes two holes in an old, white duvet, throws it on and calls it a day.

The party’s great. Tony and Pepper are dressed as Gomez and Morticia Addams, the snacks on the food table look appropriately macabre, JARVIS is playing his favourite Halloween playlist which just consists of various Monster Mash remixes and Bucky is there.

She’s glad that her costume hides the way her cheeks go bright red at his costume. Because he’s dressed as John Wick. Three piece suit and all. He looks good. Like really, really good.

Sharon’s made her love for Keanu Reeves pretty well known to anyone who knows her. Her favourite Keanu Reeves character?

“John Wick!” she yelled emphatically once when they were hanging out at the local bar, super drunk. “God, he literally goes on a killing spree to avenge his dog. Relatable!”

Okay,” Bucky had laughed, rubbing her back to calm her down. “We get it!”

(Which reminds her she still hasn’t gotten back the John Wick boxset she’d lent Peter.)

Bucky laughs when he spots her, a drink in hand. (On closer inspection, the drink is just chocolate pudding with gummy worms in it.)

“Carter?” He asks, unable to contain his laughter. Sharon frowns, but of course he doesn’t see that. “How’d you guess? I could’ve been Nat for all you knew.”

“Maybe,” he smirks, loving this. “ But I did see Nat earlier wearing that Catwoman costume. Like she does every year. Also I think you’re one of the few people who could pull this look off.”

She knows full well the trap she’s about to walk into because she’s the one who helps set it up. “How? You can’t even see my face!”

He’s failing at hiding his grin now. “Exactly!”. Sharon's foot darts from underneath the duvet to kick him lightly in the shin but she's grinning.

It’s not that Bucky is predictable. Quite literally the opposite. Their enemies never know where the Winter Soldier would strike them from and how. But Sharon’s been around Bucky long enough to know how conversations with him dip and swirl. They both give each other the conversational equivalent of doing the tango.

Maybe that’s why she loves standing there next to Bucky, trading barbs. Their banter has a solid roast to flirt ratio that’s got her brain trying to keep up with the increased pace of her pulse.

As the party goes on around them, Sharon sheds the duvet because it’s kind of weird having the thin cotton flutter about her face every time she breathes. She talks to Bucky about everything and nothing, tuning out the world around them. She doesn’t notice when Clint accidentally staples the ears of Happy’s bunny costume or when MJ straight up paints a black spider on her cheek.

She’s been around Bucky long enough to develop a godawful crush on him. While, Sharon isn’t the kind to not get what she wants. She wants the chips to fall where they may with Bucky, because she’s a bit too attached to what she has with him now.

She’s not even sure she had a type before Bucky. Suddenly, her type is tall, sometimes broody with an easy smile and would without question sit with her in the corner of the room, rating everyone’s costumes out of ten.

“Sam gets a two. His Nick Fury is average at best.”

Sharon rolls her eyes. “Barnes, please. Five is the average. Sam gets an eight on eyepatch accuracy alone. Steve gets a two. He’s going as Evel Knievel for crying out loud!”

Bucky folds his arms in disagreement. “Evel Knievel is an American legend.”

“So’s Nick Fury. Just a more quieter one.”

“Okay but Banner gets a solid eight for going as Bruce Wayne instead of Batman.”

She scoffs, “Um, I know for a fact Banner’s not in a costume. He’s just in a suit.”

Bucky’s expression becomes more defensive when he says, “No, because when I asked him what he was going as. He said “Bruce” and walked away and I thought to myself That’s a classic Bruce Wayne move.”

“Banner’s first name is Bruce, you dingus. Plus he told me he wasn’t going as anyone this year and he hates superheroes, present company excluded.”

“Oh, shit.” Bucky groans. Sharon tries to grin but a yawn catches her off guard. For all her crush on Bucky Barnes, she doesn’t notice the way his eyes go soft when she tries to soldier on with rating Vision’s costume. She doesn’t know he knows about how she headed straight here from Kiev and how tired she must be.

She doesn’t know he also happens to have a giant ass crush on her, probably far longer than the one she’s had on him.

It's why he's got the John Wick suit in the first place.

("Its quality flirting okay, Sam!" he'd defended himself that morning to Sam who'd only quirked a questioning brow)

He'd had plans on asking her out tonight. He even practiced what he was going to say in the mirror but Sharon is really tired. He's waited this long. He can wait a bit more.

“C’mon,” he says, sliding an arm around her. Sharon leans into the fireplace like warmth radiating off of him. He’s got her duvet folded and draped over his metal arm. “I’m taking you home.”

“Before you do though, do you mind grabbing that plate of spooky sliders?” she asks tiredly, inclining her head towards the snack table. Bucky gives her a smile that he reserves for Sharon alone.

God, he's so done for. At least, this way he gets to practice his flirting skills on the mirror a bit more. When he asks Sharon out, it will be nothing less than perfect.

“I’m already on it."

(@winter13-events)

#winter13week #no.1 #halloween costume party #sharon carter #bucky barnes #winter13 #buckysharon #sharonbucky #(feat. pepperony and Bruce saying FUCK SUPERHERO RIGHTS)#bailey writes

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redrobin-detective · 6 years ago

Note

Yeah Hush is... not good...

I’m just… If you had asked me three days ago about Hush I would have had nothing but good words. A comic classic, one of the first Batman stories I read and an old favorite, a combo of Jim Lee’s stellar art and Loeb’s masterful storytelling.

Rereading on shift last night reminded me that I haven’t physically read it in years and I had a. forgotten how messy it was b. Probably didn’t understand Batman the way I do now. I’m way too tired for long explanations and yall don’t want to see it so I’ll lay out the basics.

- We herald Jim Lee as some kind of artistic deity and by gum some of his panels were beautiful but also every. single. shot that had a woman in it was painful. Everyone was in a body hugging, tit revealing, gravity defying outfit posed in a way no one ACTUALLY stands all tall, curvy and stacked and at times uncanny valley. It was honestly really distracting.

- Its no secret I love Jeph Loeb’s TLH/DV and this story was clearly continued /borrowed from those stories but it just felt kinda cheap? He employed a lot of the same narrative devices used in both stories which I understand but it just really didn’t fit the theme of the story. The big bad guy reveal was not only super obvious but also just badly scripted and a frigging disaster overall.

- Baby me read it and was like “look at all the Batfam! What a good story” but a lot of them are characterized or twisted to suit the story. Selina, my poor Selina, she was a catty (pun intended) bitch the whole time. ‘owo she gave B a kiss’ but like she was either actively fighting against B or needing to be saved, even when she was “helping” she was demeaning Bruce and his coworkers (family) and I’m worried on what Lee/Loeb consider a healthy M/F relationship. Alfred felt flat and remarkably uninvolved in such a personal Bruce Wayne story. Tommy Elliot was a Gary Stu from the start and didn’t have 1 (one) genuine moment the whole book.

- The few bright spots of characterization were Dick and his relationship with B was wonderful and Tim’s little deception with Bruce/Selina was very nice (though it shouldn’t have been necessary).

- The worst to suffer was Bruce and it honestly broke my heart to see Loeb do that. They did the ‘darkness and pain are my only friends, I am so alone, I have no one who understands so the mission is all that matters’ which fits early Bruce more not a Batman who’s grown and matured and amassed a pretty sizable family, in and out of costume. There’s one line where I actually put the book down and stewed for a minute, when he’s fighting Superman where he says “Clark is a fundamentally good man and deep down I am not” which is such a criminally inaccurate description of Bruce Wayne who goddamn loves people more than just about anyone on Earth. There were fleeting moments where we see his kindness and understanding of his heart’s great strength (his whole Jay monologue) but they feel SO out of sorts compared to the theme of the rest of the book.

- Okay I will say I do still like the Jason scene. If only bc i wish I could’ve been a fan as this came out and lost my shit with everyone else like ‘JASON TODD!?!?’ Plus it was fun to pick out where real Jay exchanged for Clay as we know happens in UtRH. Its a bit messy like the rest of the story and kind of doesn’t make sense if you think on it but this was a great example of a comic thing being kind of bad but you’re like “ya know, i don’t care I still like anyway”. I DIDN’T like B’s constant bashing of Robin Jay though ‘tbh Jason was never this good’ ‘he viewed it as a game that got him killed’. I know its not a new idea and almost assuredly was done as set up to UtRH which came out the next year I think but still made me frown.

- Uh rogues were used poorly, where baby me saw it as a grand adventure taking the best of Batman me now was just annoyed at them trying to cram as many familiar faces as possible. Plus the whole idea that Elliot as Hush was working with all these guys is a wreck. I do really still dig the idea of Eddie being behind it all, wish they did more with “Riddler knows Bats’ ID” but w/e. Also idk wtf they were doing to harvey but it was a disservice to his arc in TLH

- Basically the story itself was chaotic, difficult to follow and the conclusion is both obvious and made no sense. The characters were warped visions of themselves tilted through a sexist, grim dark lens to make a Batman world that just felt off with every single word. There’s still elements I did enjoy, I cant say I hate-hate it but wow I won’t be rereading that one for a while.

#Batman Hush #idk I guess I got massive whiplash from what I remembered vs what the story actually is #for so long I cited it as definitive batfam as a good example of a story to get into comics #but ug probably won't recc that to newbies now #it doesn't paint the best picture of the batfam

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midnightbluefox · 6 years ago

Photo

I actually cried when @gopherbroke gifted me this amazing Reylo Halloween art this morning.

At the beginning of the month, we talked about what costumes Rey and Kylo would wear for Halloween in my fic, Broken Things, but I never expected to be gifted something so amazing. She is beyond talented and has such a kind heart, I MEAN, LOOK AT THIS.

It’s honestly just beyond beautiful and I can’t thank her enough <3

I also wrote a Broken Things one-shot featuring The Princess Bride costumes and all the fluff, which I’ll post below.

If you haven’t read Broken Things and want to, you can right here!

----------

“I, uh, I don’t know how I feel about this,” Kylo said, and Rey turned around just in time to see him pulling at the black pants molded around his thighs.

Admittedly, they were a little tight. But damn, she wasn’t complaining. Not when it meant she got to admire every inch of his thick, powerful legs encased in black leather.

He turned around to look in the mirror again and her mouth went dry at the sight of his ass in those form-fitting pants. Nope, she wasn’t complaining one bit. Not one single bit.

“I think you look great,” she told him honestly. “And it’s too late to turn back, you’ve already committed.”

Kylo grimaced. “How was I supposed to say no when you got so excited? You played me.”

She laughed, shaking her head as she pulled her red dress out of its bag and smoothed out the wrinkles. When Poe had told them that he wanted to plan a Halloween party, with costumes mandatory, Rey instantly knew what she wanted to do. The Princess Bride.

There was no denying it; the thought of Kylo in those black pants, billowing shirt, and pirate boots… it did embarrassing things to her. And how could she not love the idea of dressing up like Buttercup? That red dress still gave her flutters in her chest every time she watched the movie.

She’d never thought that he would agree but here they were, and he was filling out that costume in all the ways that she had hoped. Better than she had hoped, if she was being honest.

He lifted his arms in front of the mirror, his black sleeves puffing with air from the movement. It was a little comical looking but all she could focus on was the way that shirt stretched across his broad chest, the front ties just begging to be undone.

Fuck, it was going to be a long night.

She draped her dress over her bed, going over and wrapping her arms around Kylo to press a kiss on his shoulder. “Listen, it’s Halloween. Everyone gives each other a hard time about their dorky costumes, that’s just part of the fun. But I think you look amazing.”

His dark eyes met her own in the mirror, an uncertain look settling on his face. “You really do?”

Rey nodded, letting her hands slide down a little, fingers dipping under his shirt to stroke at the bare skin of his stomach. “I’d be happy to show you just how good I think you look, after the party.”

His stomach muscles tensed under her hands and she could see a small smile curling at the corners of his lips in the mirror.

A deep sound rumbled through him. “Are you sure we can’t just cancel?”

Laughing, she pulled away and spun him around, tucking his shirt in quickly, then handed him his mask. “Not on your life. Poe would just break down the door and yank us out of bed.”

“I mean, I didn’t say anything about using the bed,” he said with a suggestive gleam in his eye.

She rolled hers with a grin, pushing him towards the door. “Go make sure everything is ready, I need to get dressed.”

Kylo dipped into a wide bow, backing out of the room. “As you wish.”

Her cheeks were hot as she closed the door, hating how easily he affected her.

——

Fifteen minutes later, she was just coming out of her room when someone knocked on the door. She heard Kylo heading to answer it so she took a minute to straighten her long dress and gave her apartment one last quick look over.

She had been worried that suggesting the party be here would end up being a mistake, but Poe and Finn had stopped by earlier and decorated the whole place. It felt like every inch was covered in cobwebs, bats, or black lace tablecloths, the whole place lit up with festive purple and orange lights. To be honest, she had just wanted the party to be here so if Kylo got overwhelmed, he could go hide in the bedroom and calm down without feeling weird. But it had actually turned out better than she had hoped.

He still hadn’t come back from answering the door so Rey made her way over to make sure everything was okay. The sight that greeted her was nothing she could have ever imagined.

Poe, obviously dressed as Ian Malcolm, complete with thick-framed glasses, an open black button up, and a splint on his leg, was helping Kylo pull a very unamused looking Finn through her front door. Finn, who was wearing one of those inflatable t-rex costumes.

She lost her shit.

“Can you stop laughing at me and help?” Finn snapped, embarrassment obvious in his voice.

She tried her hardest to stop, she really did. But then she looked at him again.

“This is not helping,” he ground out. He tried to shoulder-shuffle through the door, his little dinosaur arms flopping around.

Kylo stepped back, covering his face with a hand, shoulders shaking. He was trying so hard.

“Okay, wait,” Rey managed to gasp out, trying to catch her breath. “How did you even manage to get him up here in the first place?”

Poe grinned hugely, like he’d accomplished some great feat. “We took him through the double exit doors around back. And I just walked behind him and held him up on the stairs. There were a few close calls but we made it.”

She just stared at him as Kylo shook his head slowly, lips pressed together tightly as he tried not to laugh.

“Can we talk about this after you get me through the door?” Finn nearly growled, much to Poe’s delight.

In the end, they just had to deflate his suit. Luckily, Poe brought the fan in case he wilted throughout the night. He was free to move around the kitchen and living room, though no one mentioned what the plan would be if he needed to go to the bathroom. She supposed they’d tackle that one when they got to it.

On the plus side, they’d all been so busy laughing at Finn’s costume that no one commented on Kylo’s, though Rey did catch Poe checking out his ass with an approving look on his face.

A few minutes later, someone else knocked on the door and Rey let in Rose and her sister Paige, both dressed as Hogwarts students. Though they weren’t super close, especially with Rey not working at the cafe anymore, she’d always liked Rose’s sweet and supportive nature.

A couple more friends of Poe’s shuffled in and Rey’s little apartment was starting to feel a bit crowded. She wiggled through people to find Kylo serving drinks out of a bowl shaped like a witch’s cauldron and oozing mist from the dry ice.

“Hey,” she muttered, pressing against his side. “You doing okay?”

He nodded, though the movement was a bit jerky and she could see a muscle tick in his jaw. This many people in her small apartment, necessary socializing with strangers… it was wearing on him.

“Don’t forget, just say the word and I’ll create a distraction so you can slip away.”

His smile was strained but genuine. “I’m okay for now.”

“I’m not,” an annoyed voice said from the other side of the counter. Hux stood there, empty cup in hand, trademark scowl across his face. “I’m exhausted thanks to my client from hell and everyone keeps giving me dirty looks for not wearing a dumb costume.”

Kylo looked thoughtful, raising his eyebrows. “Client from hell… Hux, that might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me. Maybe coming to a party and loosening up a little is good for you.”

Hux actually sneered at him. “You’re one to talk about loosening up, Ren. How long until you nervous sweat straight through that ridiculous shirt of yours? I only came because you said free drinks.”

“Actually,” Rey whispered loudly, “he’s only in a good mood because Rose wore that short plaid skirt.”

She was totally reaching, making a guess based off of the lingering, carefully expressionless look he’d given Rose across the kitchen earlier, but his ears turned bright red.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said stiffly, turning around and walking away with his empty cup.

They watched him go in a stunned silence.

“Well, that was weird,” Kylo finally said. “Should we warn Rose?”

Rey considered for a second. “I mean, I feel like I should, as her friend. But also, I want to see where this goes. And it’s not like Rose couldn’t take care of herself if he approached her. That girl would destroy him, and I’m just saying, I wouldn’t mind seeing it.”

Chuckling, he leaned against the counter, looking visibly less tense and together, they watched Finn try to back into an empty corner without knocking anything over.

“This is the first Halloween party that I’ve ever been to,” Kylo told her. “Or uh, thrown, I guess.”

Rey grinned, remembering cheesy party after cheesy party over the years. It was pretty much an unspoken requirement that if you were throwing a Halloween party, it couldn’t be too high budget or cool.

“You haven’t missed much,” she told him. “They’re all pretty similar to this; silly costumes, cheap drinks, and cheaper decorations.”

“I kind of weirdly like it,” he admitted. He always sounded so surprised when he tried something new and enjoyed it.

She felt bad for a second, thinking about how she’d almost declined to have the party or go at all. Leia was throwing one for her foundation and all of the kids they’d been helping were invited. She didn’t want to miss it, or the chance to connect with some of the children who she’d been counseling, but now she was happy she did. Making these sorts of memories with Kylo would always be a priority to her.

“Then we’ll do another one next year,” she said, giving him a smile. “Though, we might have to use your apartment instead… mine will probably still be going through repairs after Finn gets done destroying everything tonight.” She laughed, having seen him knock several things over already.

He tensed up next to her. “I actually wanted to talk to you about that… though now might not be the best time.”

Rey could feel her eyebrows coming together in confusion. What exactly did he want to talk to her about? The Halloween party next year?

Taking his hand, she led him out of the kitchen and through the crowded living room, managing to make it to the bedroom in one piece. She distinctly heard a suggestive whistle that she knew was Poe, and gave him the finger and a saucy smile as she closed the door behind them.

BB immediately darted out from underneath her bed, Kylo’s mask firmly between his teeth. She’d been looking for it all day.

“You brat,” she muttered, going over to sit next to Kylo on the bed. He looked pale, paler than before, and his fingers were tapping out a frantic beat against his leg.

She caught this hand in her own, squeezing gently. “Hey, what’s going on? You’re obviously nervous.”

His dark eyes met hers, always so vulnerable and open. If anyone ever wanted to know what he was feeling, all they needed to do was study his eyes.

“You’d think after everything we’ve been through, I wouldn’t get nervous with you anymore,” he said, a self-deprecating smile curling at the corners of his mouth. “I wasn’t planning on asking you tonight but I just… I couldn’t get it off of my mind and we’re having a good time and it just seemed-”

“Ask me?” Rey cut him off, mouth going strangely dry. She was suddenly hyper-aware of the heat of his hand in hers.

He took a deep breath. “I wanted to ask you to move in with me. I mean, if you’d like to move in with me. I know we live literally right next to each other but if we moved in together, we wouldn’t have to-”

She laughed softly, cutting him off again. “Kylo, you don’t have to convince me. I’ve been hoping you’d ask for a while now. It makes sense and I want to live with you.”

And there it was; the look of surprise lighting up his face and turning his dark eyes into a warm brown.

“Okay,” he breathed. “Okay, let’s move in together.”

“Well, we can’t right this second,” she teased, shifting closer, heart pounding with excitement and love. “There’s kind of a party going on, if you didn’t notice.”

“Really? I didn’t,” he deadpanned, making her chuckle.

Leaning up, Rey kissed him softly, his lips warm and welcoming against her own. She’s known for a while now that home was wherever Kylo was, where they could be together.

He wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer, deepening the kiss eagerly. He tasted like relief and happiness, of the promise of their life together.

A loud bang on the door sent them jerking apart, a startled gasp escaping Rey.

“Are you guys getting it on in there?” Poe called, banging on the door again, sounding like he’d already had a few drinks. “I know life finds a way and all that, but there’s a party out here and we’re all going to listen to you guys if you are.”

A loud chorus of “nopes” and “no ways” followed his statement and one disgusted sounding scoff that had to have come from Hux.

Rey covered her face, wondering if this hadn’t been a mistake after all.

“You know what,” she told Kylo, who looked like he didn’t know whether he should laugh or hide under the bed. “I think my window opens to the fire escape. Want to sneak up to the roof and hide out all night?”

His laugh shook the bed. “That sounds perfect.”

#reylo #reylo fanfic #broken things #reylo modern au #reylo coffeeshop #reylo halloween #reylo fanart #rey #kylo ren #ben solo #star wars #the princess bride #bb8 #fluff

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ladyhawk-s · 6 years ago

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“What a Halloween”

Summary: Tamaki Amajiki has always been a fearful person, even at the smallest of ages. However, making friends with Mirio has pushed him in ways that he maybe doesn’t want to know if he should be pushed in. Especially when it comes time for Halloween. Despite wanting to avoid all mentions of Halloween, Mirio decides that it’s time to celebrate his first Halloween and it’s one Tamaki won’t forget.

READ ON AO3 / READ ON FF.NET

A/N: Hello hello! So obviously, it's not Halloween, it's actually....28 days after that (29 depending on your time zone) and I really have no words to explain. Rather, I just want to apologize heavily for the....month delay on this. I actually have been going through a writing rut since I'm graduating this semester and doing a lot of things that have been stressing me out so, despite me wanting to write this, it almost turned into a stressor. It's been rough and I have another 3 weeks of it being rough but I'm so happy to have this done! It was for the @bnha-halloween-bb and Im sure I will be shot by the mods with how late I am but it's at least here! By no means am I proud of it but it's done and I'm so happy to be able to share it with you guys despite me not being the most pleased with it.

Rather, please support my LOVELY artist @nekosisterart who drew the piece for this fic:. They did such a phenomenal job with it and I'm literally shook. Not only are they amazingly talented but they are also super kind and sweet and just a wonderful bean and I was so honored to be working with them again. Really, go send all the love to them since they are super great <3 They put up with me during this whole thing and they are incredibly patient so I want to just WILL SMITH SHOW THEM OFF because they are wonderful !!! ----------------- Halloween was a strange time. In the past, it was a time where quirkless humans could pretend that they were beasts or have magical powers that sprouted from the palms of their hands. They were able to get candy by pretending to scare people with their fake powers and teeth and it was a day where the imaginable became reality.

But then quirks emerged and it threw off the balance that Halloween used to have. The fake accessories became real and people really developed features that originally were used for fear. Confusion swirled around people for a while on what to do for the holiday, wondering what to do next since there wasn’t much to fear anymore.

However, creativity burst in the people and Halloween was back in full swing, this time with an even higher intensity. People used their quirks to impress enough for candies and costumes became more elaborate. The horror cranked up to new levels and scary movies took on a different form that would have been eye wrenching in the past.

Even the little kids also took onto this new level. Before the age of four, they dressed up in whatever might have been cute or what their parents might have wanted them to wear. Then, when the quirks came in, that’s when the intensity started. Quirks shaped their halloween experiences and there was almost a competition on who could pull the scariest identities. School got involved in these activities and the school where Tamaki Amajiki and Mirio Togata went to was no different. The school encouraged students to go all out in their costumes provided that damages were kept to a fixable minimum.

But, while every classmate was discussing the plans of their costumes and how best to scare their parents day of, Tamaki wasn’t exactly in the same mood as them. Or rather, to put it into more simpler terms, he was absolutely terrified of Halloween and the horrors that came with it. Despite having the ability to transform his limbs into monstrous animals that he ingested earlier and possibly becoming more terrified than any recreations out there, something about the way tissue paper folded into itself and cheap fabric rippled on human skin just seemed to frighten Tamaki from where he was standing. Even though his mother constantly coaxed him through the day, he still ended up shivering at the mythical creatures that haunted his nightmares with their bloodsucking and howls at the moon. Sometimes he could feel little bit marks on the base of his neck that his mother said was from his imagination but Tamaki knew better.

So when the topic of the Halloween festival came up, Tamaki was on the top of the list on not attending. The teachers brought their hands and wiggled their fingers when discussing the horrors they would experience. There would be a haunted mansion maze that was made to send a soul out of the body and there would be enough candy to have a stomach ache for a week after. Everyone bounced in their seats the more was revealed but Tamaki could only ball up his fists and hide his head beneath the comfort of his arms. Images of fright conjured up in his mind, though they might have been more exaggerated to him than probably the other students. Not even his mother offering to volunteer or accompanying him to the event was enough to make Tamaki go.

But a certain blonde child had that effect on him.

In other schools, Tamaki never really had friends. His social anxiety made him quiver in front of other students and teachers usually went easier on him due to it, though others couldn’t understand the turmoil that went through his mind and usually left him alone, saying he could go play with the teachers. Friends were never something he had the chance to experience and there was always that little voice that desperately wailed for that chance.

And that chance happened this year.

This year he transferred to a new school and had to be immersed with new faces. While moving schools was already daunting enough, the fact that these would be new faces that would judge him the same way others did only made this more anxiety filled. He could remember walking down the halls, holding the strips of his backpack with tight hands that paled from the strong grip he had. His introduction didn’t even last that long because he couldn’t express the words he wanted to and ended up sitting down earlier than expected. Tears budded up on the water line of his eyes and he couldn’t focus for the rest of the class.

Until a boy called out to him and finished the sentence Tamaki couldn’t. “You want to be a hero, right?” the boy asked back, reading the mind of the scared one. Instantly, within a manner of 10 minutes, he found out that the blonde child was called Mirio Togata, he had a permutation quirk that could only work if he held his breath (which he was still having trouble perfecting and constantly hit walls and other foreign objects that left little scars on the top of his head), and that he was a curious kid that spammed Tamaki with questions about his quirk and what kind of animals he could recreate along with the feeling he got when his limbs were changed to chicken legs. Somehow Mirio ended up finding out more about Tamaki than anyone except his parents had in his entire life and Tamaki wasn’t so sure what to do with that. He knew he should have been cautious and wary and making sure that there was some distance but….Mirio had that cheerful smile that was infectious and Tamaki tunneled into it. Which turned out to be the right action since he began to be Tamaki’s first friend and he would never regret ever allowing Mirio to be open with him.

Until now. Now Tamaki was really beginning to question his friendship with Mirio.

Unlike Tamaki, Mirio happened to be the head of the excitement club for this school event. Everyday he would giddly explain the preparations his father making to his costume and he didn’t give anyone any hints as to what he was going to be (although Tamaki knew him well at this point and this year he was going to be a werewolf with fluffy ears and a bushed out tail. To be fair Mirio did invite him to his house and he saw those pieces laying around that Mirio would bashfully brush off whenever Tamaki asked him if those were parts of his costume). Many times throughout the day, he would go up to Tamaki’s desk and tell him how excited he was for it and that he was looking forward being able to go this year since last year was a year of flu but this time, he stocked up on his vitamins and enough of cold medicine to defeat the toughest of runny noses. And he would always check up on Tamaki to make sure he was still coming.

Yes, Tamaki told Mirio he would go. It wasn’t a very smart decision at all, it actually had a lot of flaws attached to it but seeing Mirio’s bright smile made him cave in and go to the festival. Besides it was a bit more complicated than that. Mirio was Tamaki’s first friend. Never did Tamaki have someone who would go out of their way to invite him to their house for dinner or to a party or even to spend just a bit of time with. While Tamaki knew in the bottom of his heart that Mirio wouldn’t judge him or leave him alone if he said no to coming, there was still this pressurized feeling that he had to go. At least to go for the sake of his friend. It was a weird sense of paying him back for all the kindness he’s given Tamaki. Possibly making it up to him might have had better connotations. Whatever it might have been, Tamaki was now stuck with date filled of events that were only going to be frightening and enough to haunt his dreams for the rest of the year.

Since Tamaki vowed to eliminate Halloween from his calendar, he never had to worry about making or even purchasing a costume. It was something that never crossed his mind and something that didn’t seem like it would be used anytime soon. Except for the fact that his initial plans to sit at home and watch cute shows were now tainted with going to a festival where the dress codes skewed to fit varieties of costumes. He initially tried to think of casual costumes that he could make using the items in his closet. However, when Tamaki brought these ideas up with Mirio, his friend cried nonsense and the next day came with an old vampire suit that was only worn once by its owner.

Every day, it was a reminder that Halloween was soon approaching and every day, Tamaki wished time would slow to prevent it from coming. But before anyone could stop it, it turned into the night of Halloween.

With a small bucket in the shape of a pumpkin, little Mirio Togata waddled through the sidewalk in his super secret and special costume of a werewolf. It was more uncomfortable than he had originally expected, especially with the tail bunching up near the gap between his legs, however he worked hard for this costume and nothing was going to stop him. He could endure it for a small bit.

After receiving looks and grins, he finally made it to Tamaki Amajiki’s house. In retrospect, they didn’t actually live too far from each other. They only lived a couple of blocks away and those blocks were covered with enough sidewalk and light that his father felt confident he could walk there by himself without being hurt. It also very much helped that Mirio had a quirk that allowed him to sink away in case so Mirio could only grin and be excited. His hands produced a small but mighty knock on the door, creating little pounds of noise that echoed within the house. At first nobody answered. But that didn’t stop Mirio from producing another round of knocks until the door opened to reveal a tired looking woman with bags ringing around her eyes.

“Oh hello, Togata. How are you?” She asked with a strain that was attempted to be covered in smiles but failing at every turn with that. Small wailes waved from behind her and the crinkles of her eyes pierced inwards. There was a tired and exhausted look seeped into her eyes that made Mirio feel bad for Tamaki’s mother.

“I’m doing well, Ms. Amajiki. Is Tamaki home?” Mirio asked, though he already knew the answer. Even at his young age, he still knew the fine motors of manners.

“Yes he is. Tamaki!” She called from the door. Silence. “Tamaki, your friend is here!” She yelled once more. Even more silence. Suddenly, the wails from earlier resurfaced and his mother’s eyes winced at the emergence. “It seems as if he’s huddled in his room, you can go in,” she said while giving room to the blonde boy. The second his body entered through the frame, she shut the door and quickly ran over to the screams, leaving Mirio by himself in the vast house.

With the layout of the house engraved in his mind from his countless visits, Mirio traversed through the halls to reach Tamaki’s room. It was hidden in a corner of the house that had shadows covering the darkness of the door, perfect for a person who couldn’t handle much of the sun beaming on them. Coming to the door, Mirio pressed his ear against the wood to hear any remnants of life. Silence. Tamaki sure knew when to be quiet when he wanted. Mirio’s hand went towards the knob and he cracked it open to find the room shrouded in darkness. “Amajiki? Are you here?” He asked softly, stepping onto the carpeted floor. There weren’t any visible signs of his friend but little whimpers came from the under the desk that stationed against the opposite wall. Mirio took careful steps before he crouched to see Tamaki’s directly. “Amajiki? What are you doing? Are you ok?”

Hearing Mirio’s voice snapped Tamaki out of the tunnel he found himself immersed in. Since putting on his costume, he found himself jumping at even the small sounds of wood shifting or the steps coming from his parents. He didn’t much remember how he exactly ended up in this position and what crossed his mind to end up underneath the desk but he wouldn’t lie, he didn’t exactly want to leave his spot. “It’s….nothing…..” Tamaki said softly as he crouched further into himself.

Until he felt his arm being pulled away from his hair so he could see the concern on Mirio’s face directly. “Then why are you under here?” His friend asked softly, his head slightly tilting to show his confusion.

Seeing that look made Tamaki’s eyes wander around as he thought of what to say next. It wasn’t necessarily that he was avoiding his look but rather, it was his way of trying to formulate all the thoughts that floated around in his mind. He didn’t want to go but he wanted to make Mirio happy but would this really make Mirio happy? So many thoughts ran through his brain and they could only come out as little stutters from the tip of his tongue. “I’m….I’m….sc-scar-re-d….” He managed to speak out, albeit in chopped syllables. His eyes closed once more to go back into that fantastical hole that he created in his mind.

“Why are you scared, Amajiki?” A tiny voice spoke out, making Tamaki reopen his eyes once more. Mirio’s beady eyes crinkled in worry and his mouth gave a small pout that contained a small frown in it.

Once more, Tamaki’s eyes diverted away from his and he could feel small tremors coursing through his body. He took a deep breath in. “I...don’t like the monsters...I don’t want to be hurt….There’s scary sounds and scary people and…I don’t...like those things…” he rambled on, trying to make sense of a situation that had no sense to it.

Tamaki then felt Mirio place his hands into his own and squeeze them tight in the darkness. It was hard to fully make out the emotion that was seen but it almost had a brotherly love attached to it. “There’s no reason to be scared Amajiki. All of it is fake. No one will hurt you.”

“B-but...how do you know?? They could jump out and...and….”

“Amajiki, I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you. I promise. Just trust me, ok?”

Tamaki wasn’t sure if it was that or the exchanges that happened back and forth but soon, having Mirio be someone to lean on, he managed to emerge from under the desk. Things turned into a blur and he didn’t exactly remember how things turned out. His mind went back and forth and switched off reality in moments. One minute, he remembered being in his house and the next, he was outside, walking alongside Mirio. He could hear Mirio speaking talking about different subjects but none of it truly registered in his head. The only thing that went through to him was the calling of his name and his cape fluttering around his feet. There wasn’t a measure on how long they were walking but the quiet winds of the streets gave a sign that they were heading to their destination but not quite there.

Unfortunately, soon enough, the sounds of goblins and ghouls began to mix itself into the winds. The duo reached the school that had been transformed from a clean, pristine building into one with cobwebs stringing from side to side and splotches of black smearing down the side. Animatronic screeches loomed from the interiors of bushes that came with cackles of lightning rotating in.

The closer they reached, the more Tamaki’s teeth chattered with little clicks that echoed from his mouth. His arm gripped tighter onto Mirio’s, holding onto him super tight in this special type of fear that came straight from horror films.

Yet, funnily enough, Mirio looked complete opposite from his friend. His beady black eyes shone with little stars twinkling in his pupils and his mouth formed a perfect amazed gap that was filled with wonder and excitement. If his tail had any form of reality behind it, it would have wagged ridiculously back and forth in this childish excitement that fit for his age. “Woah, that’s so awesome!” Mirio exclaimed, his feet bouncing up and down that made both him and Tamaki bob in unison. “C’mon, we gotta hurry!” And with that last push of pressure, Mirio took their still steps into a run that skidded through the dirt and landed them within the depths of the festival.

[They see a bunch of different costumes and there are some people trying to scare them which works for Tamaki but Mirio is chilling and such]

It was corny to say but it was something of another realm. The school was known to have proper clothing that seemed to be ironed onto skin with serious expressions that could make anyone be stiff. But this, this was something else. Baggy costumes of all kinds floated around with buckets in the shape of pumpkins being swung around. Teachers that only knew how to wear suits wore elaborate costumes with fancy trims and delicate lace that showed their own pleasure into the spirit of the holiday. Even parents took the occasion to wear outfits that uniformed themselves to their children and little cheers and claps came from them as their little monsters performed in excellent ways.

While Mirio took in all the sights and engaged himself at all the beauty surrounding him, Tamaki, on the other hand, began to tremble even harder. If it wasn’t for his ill formed pants, one could be able to easily see his knees buckling within themselves, his kneecaps bruising from the small bangs they were doing. His arms latched even harder to Mirio’s werewolf costume and, if no one knew who he was, they would think that he was actually the wimpiest vampire to ever exist, even more than the ones from the popular series, Twilight.

“Boo!” A voice ringed from behind, echoing within Tamaki’s ear. Fright surged up his spine and he collapsed into Mirio, sending them both soaring into the ground. Tamaki could hear some exchanges happening before a hand shook his clothed shoulder. “Hey are you alright??” Moving in whimpers, Tamaki took in the sights in front of him. The hand that shook him out belonged to Mirio while the adult removed the mask that covered his face to reveal a scared and worried face. Still in a form of shock, Tamaki could only manage a nod before having help from Mirio to stand up. “Oh goodness, I’m so sorry. I didn’t expect this type of reaction. Are you hurt? I can run to go get some stuff,” the adult said, his hands raised to offer any assistance that was needed.

Tamaki only could shake his head while Mirio grabbed onto the sides of his body to keep him steady. “Don’t worry sir, he seems alright!” Mirio responded for Tamaki, coaxing the situation to a calmer state. While Mirio and the man exchanged reassurances, Tamaki looked himself over. To his surprise, there was only a bit of dirt that caught onto his cape from the fall he made that easily was brushed off with a few swipes. When he focused back onto Mirio, the other two exchanged final words before Mirio looked back at his friend with upturned eyebrows. “Are you ok, Amajiki? You didn’t get hurt or anything?” Tamaki shook his head once more, leaving Mirio to check him more thoroughly. After a few swipes of his own, he focused back on his friend and smiled. “Well, why don’t we play some games for a bit? There’s a lot of activities that I am sure we can fun with. C’mon Amajiki,” and hand in hand, they walked into the fairgrounds.

Although it was covered in more halloween decorations and spooky accessories, the games all inherently had the same themes that were present in a regular festival. Ranging from shooting games to activities that involved heavy amounts of bobbing objects, there were children covering each inch of the booths. Little shouts came from the games that signaled activity and beckoned the two boys to join in.

At first, it was a bit difficult for the boys to get into the fun of the games. Costumed kids pushed each other to get to the front, even ignoring the cries from adults that tried to have a semblance of a line. Mirio managed to dodge the hits from the other kids but that didn’t exactly work out for the other boy. Bruises started to form on the top of his skin and multiple times he had to reach out for Mirio when he felt himself being separated from Mirio. At first, Mirio didn’t realize what was happening but when he almost got upset at Tamaki for bumping into him, then those same kids learned well to keep their distance.

After minutes of trying to find that perfect game to play, the boys managed to find space in a game that involved the test of aim. This was a game heavily seen in America that was brought to their festivals time to time and it involved throwing balls into moving vases that circled around in a spiral frenzy.

“Hey, you two! Come try out your aim! Get the ball in the white cup and get a prize!” The attender called out to them, beckoning them closer.

“You wanna try this, Amajiki? It looks like it would be pretty fun,” Mirio asked his friend with a soft yet encouraging tone. Tamaki gave a light nod and he pulled them up to the man. “We would like to try sir!”

“Excellent!” He then dipped lower to pick up a series of balls that balanced themselves on his palm. “Who’s up first?”

“I’ll go!” Mirio volunteered, raising his hand up really high to showcase his readiness. Exchanges happened between them and he bounced on the balls of his feet, gearing up to showcase his aim. “Alright, here I go!” And he began to aim at the moving cups.

If anyone separated the scene into two different parts, a person would believe that Mirio was winning due to the smile and determination that created creases on his forehead. However, the balls ended up nowhere the moving vases. Despite adjusting his strength in different conditions, the balls would roll around in the rims of the cups until they bounced off into the water. The last throw almost made it in, that is until a gust of wind blew it off.

“Sorry about that, young boy. You’ll do better next time,” The attender tried to encourage while collecting the fallen balls to dry them for the next game.

“Ahhh! I was so close!” Mirio grunted out, placing the bottoms of his palm into his eyes.

Tamaki didn’t say anything but he knew that Mirio’s light heartened frustration was actually bothering him much more than what he was letting on. Each time he threw the ball, Tamaki saw the small glint that would cross his eyes that came from the desire of wanting one of the plushies. It wasn’t clear which one attracted him and pushed him forward in determination but knowing his friend, he had a good idea behind.

“I….I would like to try….” Tamaki spoke up, raising his hand shyly. Eyes snapped towards his comment and he tried to hide within his cape until the balls of were thrust towards him. Smiles went around that pushed Tamaki out of the shell he was hiding under. Even Mirio gave a slight cheer and nudged him forward.

Pressure began to build up around Tamaki and his throat kept swallowing down the anxiety that formed lumps in his throat. This was exactly why he never put himself into any type of sports or performances and he almost brought back the balls until a glance at Mirio built in a push of confidence.

Nowhere around the stand or even in the neighboring areas were there mentions of the usage of quirks. There wasn’t anything stated outright that quirks were banned from the fairgrounds. Yet, Tamaki couldn’t help but feel a little guilty at the gasps that erupted when his arm transformed itself into a tentacle from the octopus he ate earlier in the day. The thin endpoint carefully wrapped around the first ball, suctioning it into itself the crevices. With immense precision, he brought his tentacle closer to rotating balls and focused in on the scarce white cups hidden within the sea of color. Their slow pace seemed to speed up within the energy of pressure but Tamaki focused in his senses and flicked it right at the moment his gut told him to do so. Time slowed into a blur that put Tamaki in a haze until Mirio’s shouts and screams pulled him out.

“Oh my gosh, Amajiki!!! That was awesome!!! You’re so freaking cool!!!” Mirio bounced around, going in and out of hugging his friend with a type of spastic energy. It took Tamaki for a second to be brought back to reality but when he returned, he saw the smiles on everyone’s face with the ball resting peacefully in the white cup. Little tugs pulled up on the corners of his mouth and he couldn’t help but feel a tad bit of pride in that. And each moment he managed to get the balls into the desired cups, he could have sworn he felt a little lighter and the shouts were a bit louder.

“My, my, my young lad! Even with the use of your quirk, you did a marvelous job! It’s a rare sight to see for sure!” The man complimented before jerking his thumb towards the prizes surrounding the back frame of the tent. “You can get whatever you want! You can get 4 small prizes, 1 big one with 2 other small ones, or even 2 big ones! Whatever you want!”

Immediately, his answer was met with Tamaki pointing at the big large plushies that were constricted by the large cords. “Are you sure you want those?” Which was met with a strong nod. “Well, alright, give me a second,” the man said as he climbed out of the stand and pulled out a small ladder. He struggled a bit with the tightness of the cords and even gave a small curse under his breath with his hands twisting them around. However, soon enough, he managed to get them down and presented them towards the small child. “Here you go! Enjoy!”

Tamaki brought the two plushies in and almost doubled over in the huge weight that it was creating against his fragile body. He had to set them down on top of a cleaner patch of the ground in order to figure out his bearings. With a small breath in and out, he reached for one of the plushies and hid his face behind it as he turned to Mirio and brought his arms forward. “This….this is for you…..” Tamaki said quietly, a small blush fired up in his cheeks.

He couldn’t see well behind the toy but he could definitely hear the gasp that came from his friend. “Really!? It’s for me!?” Mirio shouted back, forming an image of bouncing feet in Tamaki’s mind.

“...yes….” Tamaki responded softly, his head bobbing slightly in a nod. He pushed it towards Mirio even more, hoping he would take it soon since it was starting to be heavy in his arms.

That hope soon was answered when Mirio took it from his hands and hugged it within himself. “Thank you so much Amajiki! You’re such an amazing friend! It’s the best!” His friend spoke, though there was a small waver in his voice that threatened to release tears. However, once Tamaki picked up his own plush and a cough came from Mirio, the same excitement burst back in. “Let’s go Amajiki!! There’s still a lot to see,” and with that, the boys went off.

It was a bit silly to see two small kids with toys half their size but they somehow managed to traverse the grounds will small peeks of their toys’ shoulders and using the sounds of nearby footsteps. Fortunately, Tamaki recently ate an aquatic animal that had the ability of echolocation so he managed to traverse the grounds while making sure him and Mirio to submit to their sudden deaths. He could hear little sighs of protest coming from Mirio with his inability to see but Tamaki actually enjoyed the lack of sight. His plush kept him in a fuzzy darkness that was comforting. It almost made this experience fun and enjoyable.

“Hey Amajiki! Look! It’s a haunted house! We totally got to go to it!!” Or maybe not.

Tamaki pushed his face more into the back of his plush, smashing his face in enough that it was as if he completely disappeared from sight. “Do...do we have….to?” He asked softly, his tone carrying hesitation, though the indentations muddled within the soft core of the plush.

“Of course we do! This is the biggest thing here! I’ve been looking forward to that all week!” Mirio responded quickly before doubling back a bit and tilting his head towards his friend. “I mean, unless you don’t want to go. It’s fine if you don’t. I won’t make you,” he added, though there was a hint of sadness within it.

Tamaki heard that and peeked over at his friend. Selfishly, he wanted to take on that offer and walk away and never look at it again. Mirio did say that they didn’t have to do it so the lack of pressure dissipated. And yet, Tamaki couldn’t do it. Seeing the lack of glint in his eyes made his stomach turn in different directions. He had never seen a frown on the blonde boy and yet, there it was. And it wasn’t as if Mirio was doing it to make him feel guilty, rather he would do whatever Tamaki desired and needed and would always put his friendship first. Which is why Tamaki had to change his answer. “No it’s ok….we can go….” he muttered to his friend, his voice quiet but still present enough to hear.

“Really? Are you sure? We don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable. I won’t pressure you,” Mirio responded back, his voice still sincere and worried, yet Tamaki could tell that there was a small little glint in the corner of his eyes. Already feeling regret bubbling inside of him, he nodded his head, affirming his previous words. Suddenly, the saddened face Mirio wore turned brighter, shining in the midst of the darkness looming around them. “Wow, you really are as bright as the sun Tamaki,” he said, though Tamaki couldn’t help but look at the irony in his statement. Then, he felt his hand being intertwined with his friend and he peeped up to see that Mirio beamed at him. “C’mon, let’s go. Don’t worry, it’ll be a lot of fun! I promise! And if you’re ever scared, you can always hold on to me.”

And with a little affirmative noise from Tamaki, the duo moved towards the haunted house.

Not surprisingly enough, there was a line of all ages shooting out from the door of the maze. Jitters and laughs came from the line while screams of those interior echoed against their excitement. Mirio kept bouncing on the balls of feet and moved around the sides that pulled Tamaki along with his movements. Having Mirio’s anxiety to get in only fueled Tamaki’s anxiety to go in, the screams and commotion only intensifying it even more. The shy boy even had to disappear once more into his plush until he heard a grunt. His dark eyes shifted to the owner and the first thing he saw was a teacher wrapped in bandages to a point where any recognizable features were gone. Dark patches of makeup covered any exposed areas of skin, looking as if they crawled out of a casket that buried them alive many years back. Only grunts came out of their mouth but they did hold a sign that stated, “Please leave all belongings in the cabinets to your right!”, to which Tamaki peered past them and saw kids cluttered around the lockers.

Tamaki was about to protest this rule when Mirio pulled on his arm to guide him along the way inside. “We gotta hurry Amajiki! We don’t want a bad spot!” Which was a reason that made Tamaki tilt his head in question but soon became clear when he saw Mirio shove other kids to have that cubby that was the right size for their plushies and bags and that wasn’t too high nor too low. Tamaki froze in the midst of the squandering children so there was a little bit of grace when Mirio took his stuff and placed it right next to his own. It took a bit for his friend to come over back to him but soon they were reunited and Tamaki’s arm began to pull out of his socket with Mirio dragging him along.

The mere second Tamaki laid eyes on the darkened door frame with pieces of stained fabric ruffling in the entrance, he could feel his soul seeping out of him, leaving his body into a frozen state. The only reason his feet kept moving was because of Mirio’s insistent pulls that drove him further into the tunnel. However, when the blood stained fabric brushed against his skin, the shock that froze his limbs shattered into millions of pieces and the adrenaline of fear zapped into him. Shakes covered his whole body and nails dug deep into his friends arms.

Eerie sounds echoed around them that contained jabs of snarls and henious jackal laughs. Hidden speakers scattered around the hallways, making the boys feel as if it was all happening right next to them. Splashes of red light illuminated parts of the hallway to help them find passage, though the first thought that came to Tamaki’s mind was that it was meant to help them lead the way to sudden death. Little ooo’s and aaaa’s came from Mirio and Tamaki questioned in his mind if his friend actually understood the negatives of this maze.

A dead end appeared at the end of the hallway with a window that had shadows dancing behind it. By force, the boys had to turn right with a darkened shadow peering off the left next to the ghostly window. With focus on getting through the new hallway in front of them, neither of them noticed a grotesque female in a tattered dress with zombie holes pushing herself out of the shadows, shouting monstrous noises while curling her clawed hands. Screams bubbled out of the boys and they scurried forward in fear she would be trailing behind them. In that scurry though, they didn’t notice a barn door slamming open and having a bloodied farmer popping out, reaching his arm for the boys to grab on help. However, before they could register the need, a horrific figure seeped behind the farmer and pulled him out of view that soon became replaced with sounds of hacking skin and blood bubbling screams. It felt like a scene from a horror film and Tamaki dug his face more into the crook of Mirio’s neck.

As they continued forward, the horrors turned more into sickening nightmare. The boys pushed through heavy black straps that greeted them with deafening chainsaw sounds. The scenery changed from a dark interior to a red lit farm. Glossy sheep and cows laid strewn on the turf, blood painted on the plastic surface. Bumpy paper mache trees stood tall, almost looking too calm in the scene of horror. They took more cautious steps, looking at the details and getting lost enough to distract the actions in their peripheral. Shooting behind the stationary tree was a younger male with a crumpled mask and plastic knife, charging after them with theatrical groans. Little screams erupted from the kids and they ran with adrenaline pumping in their system.

They pushed through to the next hallway and caught their breath in silence while listening to the whispers of halloween music in the background. Tamaki doubled over and placed his hands on his knees, wheezing from the creatures that popped out at him. He only paid attention to his breathing until the positive energy of Mirio snapped him out of it. “That….was awesome!” He heard Mirio say. Tamaki brought his eyes upwards and saw a gleaming smile on his face, completely serious on his comment. Mirio twisted to his friend and gave him a boost of encouragement. “Are you doing alright, Amajiki?” Tamaki wanted to give a big no along with running in maddening circles but he knew that the only way out was through the tunnel. He gave Mirio a nod and his friend stuck out his arm for him to grab. “Don’t worry, we’re almost there. Just a little bit more!” Mirio continued on, waiting until Tamaki grabbed his arm. “If anything, just close your eyes! Don’t worry, I won’t let anything to you. That’s a promise!”

Tamaki could only nuzzle into his shoulder and nod his head in response. Walking forward, he could steal hear the exaggerated halloween music playing in the background with screams and bangs hitting against the areas of the maze. He could also hear Mirio’s screams that were filled with more of a shock than any actual fear. Tamaki could occasionally feel slimy objects pressing against him or even the cold slivers of chill running up his spine when passing through a new hallway. However, no matter what ran through his mind and whatever colors flashed behind his eyelids, Tamaki made sure that they were kept shut as they traversed through the maze.

Then, a little glimmer of light seeped into his closed lids. He opened them to find a glowing hole, like the light at the end of the tunnel. True, there were hanging corpses and fragments of web shadowing over it but that went over Tamaki’s head. It meant his escape, the end to the horrors he had to endure the while he was stuck here, clutching onto Mirio’s arm and only having his laugh comfort his screams.

“C’mon! We’re almost there!” Mirio exclaimed loudly while pushing the hanged body out of the way. Their steps trudged through the wood flooring and the creepily placed tissue paper that stuck their feet into the ground, as if the maze was trying to keep them within the walls. However, with force, the boys pushed through. It wasn’t easy or fun or even comforting for Tamaki to have to push through hanging corpses that shared deceased eye contact with him with pieces of their toilet paper wrappings brushing against his skin. Nor was it easy or amazing to have to touch anything that had death and blood slime all over it. Yet, the light was getting closer and closer and the chills on his arms subsided and his eyes were screaming in adjustment and it kept going and going until….

They made it outside.

At first, it took Tamaki a small while to adjust to his surroundings. The fairgrounds had completely different vibes than what was shown in the maze. While the interior of the house was decked in horror and fright, the fairgrounds brought him back to the happier side of halloween with candy and costumes running around. Tamaki could feel his heartbeat calming down at the sights of comfort around him. Even his breath slowed down and the hyperextension of anxiety twirled down to a more easy rate, one that he was more used to.

“Congratulations for getting through the maze you guys!” A teacher in a witch costume encouraged. In her hands were little pumpkins buckets filled with all sorts of sweets brimming at the top. “Here, take this you guys. You earned it! Don’t forget to pick up your stuff!” She said with a sweet smile as she handed the buckets to the boys. Mirio gave a loud gasp while Tamaki matched it with wide eyes. Every candy that a sweet tooth desired found its way in the bucket and Tamaki couldn’t help but feel his mouth watering with anticipation to eating one of the candies in there.

Yet, before he could quickly pop one in his house, he grew distracted at the posture Mirio was doing. In his hand, Mirio held up a piece of chocolate with a grin slapped on his face. “Let’s do a toast to the night we already had so far and for the night to come!” And he brought the chocolate closer to Tamaki, hoping for a little bop back. It took a bit for Tamaki to get and Mirio had to give a small hint but he managed to scavenege a similar piece of chocolate and gave it a small boop into the one Mirio had in his hand while giving a small cheers in return. In unison, the boys ripped through the wrapper and chucked the chocolate in, savoring the sweet and melting flavor against their small tongues.

Silence passed between them when they tasted the goods but their swallows aligned at the right second and Mirio hooked his arm within Tamaki’s. “Alright, let’s get our stuff and do more stuff! There’s a lot to do and I’m sure we can get more candy!” He told Tamaki excitedly, making him walk toward the cabinets.

Tamaki didn’t say a word while Mirio went on and on about the different activities that were still left to do. However, it wasn’t exactly a terrified silence. Rather, and to his shock, Tamaki ended up smiling and nodding towards Mirio’s words, almost as if he was excited for the rest of the night. As if….this was going to end up being one of the best days within Tamaki’s life so far.

#bnha #mha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bnha halloween big bang #mirio togata #tamaki amajiki #miritama

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seenashwrite · 6 years ago

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14.04 Round-Up

Here, have a Nash-Is-Running-On-Fumes round-up.

Disagree on Salem Ohio. Shoulda gone Indiana. Why would you choose Salem, anyway? Given that this has nothing to do with witchy anything? Wait, does it? [Post-show pseudo-addendum: Nope.]

Shocker. Like, THE Shocker, or... 😳 *ahem*

What is the fixation with giving characters the same/similar names?

[Post-show pseudo-addendum: I get the shtick for the purposes of this episode, not entirely the point, keep reading]

And I'm also not talking about super-duper-common names (Jane, Mary, etc.), I get how those would naturally come up over the course of 13/14 years. I mean they’re fixated on the same names for women that have more than a just-passing-through role.

This chick is Sam, short for Samantha. So why not just call her Samantha? Especially given the tone of their conversation, we don’t typically revert to nicknames when we’re pissed, we typically dial it up to full first names (and for parents, to full first-and-middle). Nope, gotta be "Sam". And he said it three times. Three times in a conversation that maybe lasted a minute, to make sure we got it.

WE GOT IT

Welcome, Sam-Specifically-Not-Samantha! Meet Anna, Hannah, Anael, Jessica, Jo, Josie, Jody, Jessica, and Jo. Hope you don't die! PS: your hair is phenomenal.

I was about to say - I'd be in my room with all those people running around, too, archangel farts still bouncing around, or no.

So I take it Thundercats is DC property. Learn sumpin’ new every day (I will never need this knowledge)

You know, they *just* had a dinosaur toy come to life in Scooby. Writing wise, wish they'd have just said characters in general coming to life, would've covered the movie/comic spread and all the swag that comes with. Who wrote this? [checks] Oh fuck us, it's Perez.

Fortnite *vomit*

These outfits are fantastic, well-played, wardrobe.

"I don't know who Riley is. But cool." ---> Same, Dean-Who-May-Be-Michael-Faking. Same.

The gif of them ducking down in the car is gonna be precious.

[Post-show pseudo-addendum: Yup]

Why does Sam suddenly not know how to whip his jacket off and put pressure on a wound?

Goddamnit my food got here in time for me to miss the Dean-confronts-thing scene. Thank goodness for giffers and clippers. Though I still haven't gotten my Fluids gif from the Scooby ep. I want that gif.

Stewie is not breathing 27 times per minute. Just hire me. Let me deal with your medical shit. I ain't cheap, but I can be had.

"I like to watch movies where I know the bad guy's gonna lose" ----> gooooood, Perez, you can doooo eeeeeeet (unless that was a script editor’s call, in which case ::sigh::)

See there now, Sam's calling her Samantha. Stewie could’ve just called her "Sam" once, that plus seeing her name come up on his phone is plenty, didn’t need three farging times in less than a minute at the top of the ep. No, I'm not letting this go.

Blood transfusers don't hang out in rando hospital rooms. It just ain't a hang-out, what-if, ya-never-can-tell type of jam.

This ep's pretty much squelched my Michael impersonating Dean option, might have to be in the Michael's hiding in his back molar camp. I say that because this is the most "Dean" he's acted thus far. I mean, I *guess* he could be accessing Dean's memories about the movies, but why lay it on so thick since Sam's not around to witness it? Doesn't matter, I don't know why I'm even going down this road, I don't trust this writer's room in the least to have a carefully crafted plan that they've shared with Jensen. Well, it's beyond trust - Jensen all but said it in that interview (go find it yourselves, I'm sleepy, and this sammich ain't gonna eat itself, but I love you)

I really want Samantha's hair, and now her flannel shirt. I like her and her personality about a million times more than Maggie, why couldn't she be Maggie? OH SHIT. Samantha - I forgot to introduce you to two more members of the name game club, here's Magda and Maggie. [Post-show pseudo-addendum thanks to astute Nashooligan] We would also like to introduce you to Amelia and Amelia and also the Name Game Sorority’s den mother, Millie, who we aren’t quite sure should be included but are hedging our bets. Could be Millicent or Melissa, sure, but why not complete an Amelia trifecta? ---> I’m about to digress with a side note that has nothing to do with this ep, I just want to further cement how much you should trust my judgment: in my big story, this name shit infuriates me so much, it was a factor I considered when constructing Millie’s background. I made Millie come from a slightly posh background on her British mother’s side, and a military family life courtesy of her high-ranking American father. I searched for names that the nickname “Millie” could evolve from that I thought would sound appropriate with this somewhat upper-crust lifestyle, so I made her real name be Emeline (Em-ah-lynn for me, though I’ve heard the last part with a long “i”, too) which is a sweet and classy oldie-goldie jam I wish would come back. It’s Brit-y for her mom, allows for her dad to be the only one who calls her Millie til Henry comes along. Her brothers call her “Em”, which annoys her mom. My psychiatrist’s front office girl has this name (except double-M) but insists on going by “Em”. Not “Emma”, not “Emme”. Em. (As in Auntie Em, I just had a fever dream about little people who give out candy, and grown men dressed in costumes who like skipping down roads with young girls, and trees that throw apples, and flying monkeys, which are cool, but still.) I have found her to be idiotic in several respects over the years, and this decision was not a point in her favor. There, I’m done.

Stewie's respirations are not 115 per minute.

(I'm looking at the bottom feed, btw, in case you're wondering. His heart rate and rhythm is up near the top, BP would be bottom left and would be 2 numbers, and O2 sats max at 100. Also not art line nor ICP. I'll get a better look in gifs but pretty sure it's supposed to be his resps. Or else it is the sats and somebody's gotten their butterfingers on the training module. I mean regardless of their intent, 29 to 115′s a helluva spread for any vital sign unless it’s your heart rate whilst I’m doing CPR because straight up, I do happen to get after it pretty fierce when the occasion has arisen. Anyway, they are ass at this. All they have to do is ask. When Nashville the show was still in production, they asked us shit all the time. I’m revealing too much of my secret identity. Moving on.)

This is great, the cutting between movie and real life, high-five to editing.

Sam and Samantha are legit adorable in that scene.

HAHAHAHA hesitation elbow.

Nice cut to the movie commercial. I don't care for the reusing of all the same clips we just saw, I can't imagine there weren't extra little pieces of discarded scenes for editing to choose from, so... but otherwise, I dig it.

Thankfully, the M.E.’s stainless steel vegetable chopping knife was there in the morgue.🤨

I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally wish for a moment there, not even five seconds, when ol' boy was standing above him, we saw some Mikey flash across Dean's face with a touch - and I mean a *touch*, CG department, don't blow your whole wad per usual - of blue. That nobody sees, only the audience and the monster, have monster kinda pause, maybe look confused and hit his little button but this time it comes out with the tiniest lilt of a questioning upspeak on the last syllable, and nothing ultimately happens since Sam arrives, Dean shakes his drowsiness off, then proceed to choke hold, etc. It would fall in line with whatever route they're going (Mikey actively impersonating Dean/Mikey residuals left in Dean/Mikey passively hiding out in Dean), also be a nice audience tease.

I didn't think I needed to specify that I wanted mushrooms on this cheesesteak hoagie. On god, the world is completely falling apart.

That whole car convo was.... weird. The party memory story went on too long and was stupid as shit, sure, but the costume discussion is what I mean. And then the one it ended on was especially weird. Why not just end with a shot of the Impala and their conversation continuing with their voices fading away with the engine? End on a better duo than Thelma and Louise who, Perez, killed themselves by driving their car into a canyon. Hell, end on Scooby. I mean, you had the lunchbox which the camera held on for forever to make damn sure we all saw it, may as well double-down.

The doll's eyes should've flicked closed at the end. Missed opportunity.

Okay, cute little ep. Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth that this Perez kid can't have an original idea to save his life, though. Kinda taints it.

Heh. Check it, yo - I brought things full damn circle.

You know.

Shocker. Taint.

HEY THERE YOU GO DEAN - duo Halloween costume!

My work here is done, see y'all next week.

#SPN Season 14 #SPN S14 #SPN Spoilers #14.04 #Nash Watches Live #SPN XIV #Queueby Dooby Doo #Dad's on a blog post and #he hasn't been queued in a few days

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drink-n-watch · 6 years ago

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Genre : Action, fighting, supernatural

Episodes: 12

Studio: Platinum Vision

Something has awakened. Something that’s been slumbering for a long time is beginning to stir and the shockwaves are being felt all over heaven and earth. Demons are getting restless and the attacks on innocent villages have become routine. Thankfully, the Sanzo party is here to protect the good people from the fiends that would do them harm. Never mind that they happen to be just as fiendish themselves. As long as you can pay for the services, you can trust them. Probably. After all, you have to be able to trust a venerable Sanzo monk now don’t you? He’s the one smoking and getting into a fist fight with his demon buddy while screaming obscenities. Yeah, this should work out just fine!

The journey for this little title to make it on my to watch list went something like this: this looks like an otome adaptation, it’s probably really stupid, I’m gonna watch it. a week later – yeah there’s plenty of stupid out there, maybe I don’t need this one, I’m going to flush it. Wait the summary says Yokai, I like Yokai, I’m going to keep it. OK, I guess I should really watch this at some point…

yeah…this is a smart way to start this post…

If you didn’t pick it up from my little skit there, I did not know what I was getting into but I sure thought I did. The production value for this show is decent. animation can get a bit visibly cheap with reused scenes and stills with offscreen battles but for the most part, everything is well done. Voice acting is quite good, colours stick to a signature palette, design and art is pretty.

Unfortunately, I think this pretty design and art is in fact doing Saiyuki Reload Blast a disservice. I took one look at those chiseled young men and their intricate costumes (all different and this is important) and I immediately thought, this is clearly an otome. At best it’s a poor man’s Touken Ranbu which remains one of the best cute boy shows I’ve ever seen and also only. The lack of a clear female lead was pushing me towards option number two but I was expecting some basic slice of life nonsense with historical flourishes thrown in for flavour. Some manservice and if they wanted to push it maybe a drop of hoyay suggestion.

look at all that…mancandy?

I judged it entirely on it’s cover I have to admit. I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one at that. That’s the problem you see. Those that are generally uninterested in those types of shows probably dismissed it offhand. I don’t blame them, the aesthetic is pretty glaring, and it’s not entirely wrong, the show is classified as Josei. But aside for a few scenes in the OP, there’s no fanservice at all (unless you count the lady monk with the super tight outfit) and none of the expected staples of the genre. Someone specifically looking for the show insinuated by those visuals, would be disappointed or at least, confused.

The narrative and execution of Saiyuri Reload Blast is closest to a rather traditional fighting shonen. If you had switched one of the main characters’ design to a sexy lady without changing anything else at all, you could have marketed it as such easily. The season is roughly separated into three arcs. The opening establishing arc plays out as a series of monster of the week episodes, with our main party going from one village to the next and saving them from demon attacks. It’s fine, a little dry but I’ve seen worse.

I said it was ok….

The second arc is a flashback to 500 years prior where the story starts to really from and the foundations are laid for the greater lore. It quickly became apparent the this show was basing itself on a Journey to the West, which is pretty awesome. It’s a very loose retelling but there were enough similarities for me to recognize it pretty easily, that made my appreciation for the series rise quite a bit.

This flashback arc was rich in references to classic Chinese folklore and filled with a tense atmosphere unmatched by the other episodes. I also found the flashback characters considerably more interesting. Despite how bloody and ultimately sad this arc was, it was by far my favorite part of the anime and I would have loved a season that explored just that story. The last arc brings us back to the present where past and future collide in an all out multiple episode battle.

After watching the show I found out that Saiyuri is an expansive franchise. Reload blast is only the latest in several anime incarnations, a whole series of OVAs, multiple rounds of manga, at least one movie and a stage play. This may in fact explain some of my gripes. You see, Saiyuri really plays up a lot of shonen tropes. The never ending battles, mid-fight monologues (this is so prevalent in fact that I think in the middle of battle is the only way we get an exposition), the best friend fisty cuffs, the super dramatic realization screams and the cathartic last minute saves.

Nantaku really needed more development mind you

They’re all there and all well done, except this is a 12 episode series. When you’re characters are going through this massive emotional struggle over what is a pretty silly situation in fact at episode 60, it works because you’ve grown to really know the characters and you accept their eccentricities. Also the stakes have been slowly rising so you got accustomed to it at your own pace before everything spilled over into ridiculous. Now you’re just kind of in for the ride. When the same thing happens at episode 4 you’re like, yo relax dude and this is kinda silly.

The low episode count and the need to fit in a fully realized three arc narrative with a centuries spanning background really condensed everything. To Saiyuri’s credit, the narrative was still pretty easy to follow and although the characters were pretty shallow, they weren’t completely 2 dimensional either. But the dramatic pacing is what really suffers here and ultimately will stop most people from engaging with what is at it’s core a decent, even interesting story.

mullets again…

If you happen to be interested in the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, I say give this anime a shot. It has some good moments and the parallels with Journey to the West are really fun to notice. If you like the character designs and are in the mood for a fighting anime that won’t make you commit to a high episode count, this could also be for you. Otherwise, it’s uneven and clumsy. There was enough there for me to be intrigued about the other anime seasons and-or manga but not enough for me to actively seek it out.

Also, in the very last episode we find out the jeep they have been driving in al along has a mind of its own and is in fact Hakuryuu which is Hakkai’s pet dragon. We find this out in the last 5 minutes of the last episode. Like wha??? OK, I’m done now. Oh no wait one last thing. There’s no Yokai. I mean the demons are technically yokai but they call them demons and they look like demons… this show has some failings is what I’m saying.

Favorite character: Field Marshal Tenpou (If there’s a season dedicated to the heaven’s arc – I will watch it!)

What this anime reminded me: This is the only way a monocle makes sense:

The problem with some people is that when they aren’t drunk they’re sober

Suggested drink: Berry Burbon Blast

Every time Sanzo is sleepy(ing)– take a sip

Every time Gojyo gets called a water sprite – take a sip of water

Every time Sanzo tells someone to shut up – take a sip

Every time we hear a stomach growl – get a snack

Every time Hakkai spouts random facts – humour him

Every time Gojyo’s chain scythe thingy appears out of nowhere – take a sip

Every time Nantaku gets hurt – take a sip

Every time Goku throws a fit – roll your eyes

Every time anyone smokes – take a breath

Every time there’s mid battle monologue – laugh, it’s all you can do at this point

Saiyuki Reload Blast – Journey to the Middle Genre : Action, fighting, supernatural Episodes: 12 Studio: Platinum Vision Something has awakened. Something that's been slumbering for a long time is beginning to stir and the shockwaves are being felt all over heaven and earth.

#action #anime #blonde bishie #fighting #Saiyuki #supernatural

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couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name · 7 years ago

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- L o r d

- Okay so Tom has finally quit, we’re proud of him. But now there’s two other guys working the sound right- This guy Chris who I vaguely recognize did the shows when I was in them but never spoke to, and this kid Ian who has a streak of grey hair that I was unable to discern if it was done intentionally or if he’s just That Stressed

- So it was hectic with that because they like....lowkey couldn’t figure out what they wanted me to do lmao like I was working and stuff but I think currently their only plan is to have me run the sound effects during the show and there’s like...only five of them lmao. They’re trying to figure out a better plan

- When I came in the Lion King soundtrack was playing over the speaker but then it snagged and just started going ‘hehehehehehehehehe’ the kids were Shaken

- So I personally hate the Lion King and these two guys have never seen it so I actually had to sit there and explain everything that was happening and give character names and they just. Were not absorbing the information omfg

- The costumes......................................................

-The costumes

- Listen

- The Grown Lions(tm) have those cool head pieces that look like African Masks but they wear as hats, those are good. The baby lions look a little ridiculous but they’re cute as hell so no one cares. Zazu’s costume doesn’t really inspire ‘bird’ but it’s cute. They all like....fit the usual color scheme of the show, you know?

- But then we got these Giraffes....oh my God. Like, they’re ADORABLE- the girls are in yellow leotards and they have long giraffe necks+smiling heads strapped on their back and they carry the legs. It’s super cute but like....they’re BRIGHT yellow. Like, cartoonishly yellow. And it just super clashes with all the other costumes????

- And then the other animals are pretty much just in tights and brown or grey shirts. THE FUCKING ELEPHANTS THO. They have these poor girls in plain grey sweats, right, but then they gave them these fucking.....bright pink sparkly hats with the ears and the trunks on them?? And the trunks are like, above their foreheads, like they don’t cover their face, so when they stand profile on the stage they jus tloook like a bunch of flamingos flying away asdfghjk. AND THEN. They came onstage for Circle of Life....waving their arms.....as if they were their trunks??????? The trunk is already on the costume????? What happened to these elephants lord

- The kid playing Scar....listen. He’s having fun. That’s clear. That’s great! Does he have to scream every line at the top of his lungs????

- The script: SCAR(whispers)- Long Live The King

This kid: “LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG LIVE THE KIIIIIIIIN NGGGGG MWUHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

-like please calm down a bit asdfghj

- Wait back to those fucking giraffes for a hot sec. There were like....two different music numbers where they just came out without the heads or legs??? Just some girls in some bright yellow dresses???? What in the world????

- They actually made it to act two? Literally everyone was shocked

- Like they got thru act one and the director was like ‘what time is- oh? We still have an hour and a half? Uhhhh okay?????’ like there were audible gasps throughout the theater lmao

- Did not finish act two tho omfg they got to the scene where Nala finds Simba, Timon and Pumbaa and after a couple takes the director literally just Quit lmao she was like ‘we’re just gonna call it here since apparently no one knows their lines you can all go home’ sdfghj

- I told the man that I had worked on the soundboard before but his was Slightly More Complicated so he thought I couldn’t handle it and he tried to go through and explain how everything worked to me and I got so lost I was literally like Sir Listen The Spirit Just Inhabits My Body And Presses Buttons When Shit Goes Down. We needn’t add science or reason to that

- Lmao but I was in fact able to run it fine when he ducked out for a bit

- THERE IS NO SET

- N O S E T

- They have??? I guess???? It’s supposed to be Pride Rock???? Sure. And then it turns around and theres a little nook in it so it’s the Hyena’s lair or whatever the hell.

- Nothing else?????????? There’s a giant screen in the back and I was like “Oh, okay, they’re just gonna use projections for setting like we did with Hair. Fine, cheap, not a big deal” BUT THERE’S NO PROJECTIONS??????

- They’re just using it to bounce light off please kill me....like the director was all ‘light is a very important part of lion king’ and it is!!! But like it went from a red-orange backdrop for the dessert and then Simba goes to the jungle right and like....you’d think maybe just. Project a pic of some jungle trees??? Nope!!!! Just green lights!!! There’s a scene where they’re talking about the stars and there just. Aren’t even any stars projected on this thing just...blue purple lights alright fuck me I guess

- I was cackling during circle of life bc for the part where Raffiki is presenting baby Simba they deadass have like the stuffed Simba toy you’d get at the Disney store asdfgh but I lost it because instead of like, reverently picking up the kid and slowly holding him high over the crowd the girl just. Roughly grabbed it in one hand and held it out at arms length asdfgh it was so funny okay

- For a solid 40 minutes the two guys I was with were trying to discreetly figure out how old I am like at first they were like ‘do you.......Know this cast?’ and I was like ‘uhhh I recognize the one kid from batb and Pippin but they’re all really young you know’ and they were like ‘hmm’ and then the director mentioned I used to be in shows and they were like ‘so did you just stop or did you........age out?’ and I was like ‘yeah pretty much. My last show was West Side Story’ and this man’s jaw DROPPED he was like ‘that was......like four years ago!’ and I was like yeah it was!!! and then finally after a while of this the other guy just flat out asked ‘so are you a high schooler or like a college student’ please kill me I am 22 years old asdsdfgh

- They went to some different company for all the equipment and they were so proud because ‘wow the mics sound really better :) We won’t have any problems with this show :)‘ and I was like uh dudes something always goes wrong with the mics and they wouldn’t listen

- mic one started acting up

- they were so shocked lmao

- And tbh still not sure what they issue was???? At first I thought it was just young Simba’s costume bc with the other two shows I've worked with that kid on, his costumes ALWAYS refuse to cooperate with the mics, it’s his brand at this point lol

- But then it was crackling and getting feedback when he wasn’t even moving and THEN when we switched it to Grown Nala it got even worse lmao. They tried changing the station, the batteries, the back, and the wire like dear God

- When I was collecting mics at the end of rehearsal Timon handed me hers and it was just....fucking shredded what did this girl do!!!

- We couldn’t find the girl to give mic six to so I asked the director and she’s like ‘she’s absent today...........she’s barely been to any of the rehearsals’ JUDI. JUDI JUST RECAST HER JFC YOU’VE HAD WEEKS!!!!

- Oh and mic seven broke before we could even get it on a kid so uh yeah....normal enough I guess

- like inherently I know there’s gotta be some 12/13 year olds in the cast but we are all terrified to trust the kids to do mic switches themselves backstage lmao like please no. Not for the Infants!!! so tomorrow I might just camp out back there to make sure nothing gets broken again lmao

- young simba mic switches with grown nala and the dude on soundboard was so....weird about it like apparently it messed up a frequency or something??? I couldn’t really follow but apparently it was an Issue that nala’s voice was deeper than simba’s like he kept going on about it and I'm like ‘one of them....is a four foot tall boy who hasn’t hit puberty and the other....is a teenage alto’ but this just did not Connect for him that it made sense that girl had the deeper voice help me

- Also I'm not....much of a conversationalist around strangers, and I've got a nervous giggle, and he was so lowkey offended by it like he assumed I just didn’t give a shit about anything he was saying bc I just kept saying ‘yeah yeah’ with a giggle like sir!!!! it’s my default setting!!!! I just already know what you’re talking about what am I supposed to do!!!!!!

- like just the fact that he felt the need to Call It Out like please dude I'm just hear trying to help like??? I literally don’t have to be there why would he assume I didn’t care?????

- we somehow started talking about Les Mis 2014 for some reason and he was trying to tell me how stressful it was with the band and all the solos and stuff and I was like.....sir yeah I was a soloist in that show I Know lmao. I remember the band. No One was calm during those rehearsals lmao

- We were apparently told that this would be a Keyboard Only production but then like....other people with other instruments....just kinda.....showed up lol

- I'm missing stuff but I only slept for like an hour and a half last night so....I'm dead. anyway I currently have zero predictions for how this show is gonna turn out???? send prayers

#LK vagueblogging 2k18 #lion king #musicals #molly mumbles #lol

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blazardragon · 7 years ago

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Korotan D: English Translation of Chapter 7 (Last Chapter)

Finally, we have reached chapter 7! It’s been a fun ride, but all good things must come to an end :’D

In this chapter, Karma confronts Nagisa about Kayano, so Nagisa’s thoughts are revealed to the reader a bit more. Only a bit, though, as it seems that Nagisa might be better at reading Karma than Karma is at reading Nagisa. Also, a good portion of this chapter is Kayano being amazing and the class’s well-read folks (Hazama, Fuwa, and Mimura) appreciating her amazingness. Well, I guess everyone in 3-E found her amazing, but those three’s conversation about movie adaptations was fun to read ^^

Chapter 7: Performance Time

“We’ll start filming in 10 minutes! Hurry it up with your preparations!”

Nathonni raised his voice through a megaphone. The art group was busy working to reproduce an authentic-looking street of food stalls. Sugaya, too, worked as a member of the art group, painting one of the stalls so that a feeling of livelihood could be felt.

Kimura, Isogai, Kataoka, Okano, and Maehara, the members of Class E who were particularly confident in their physical abilities, hurried to put on their costumes in the waiting room. After hearing about Class E’s efforts to recover the golden Buddha statue from Jerome, the director suddenly decided to add another scene. It was a scene where ninjas who pursued Rin from Japan have a showdown with Jerome, a scene that was once rejected because they didn’t have enough stuntmen. He offered to have Class E play the part of the ninja group.

Knowing that he was about to take part in an action scene, Kimura was itching with excitement as he checked out the ninja costumes, which Hara helped make. Karma peeped in on the five ninja figures as they waited in the waiting room.

“Westerners really like having ninjas appear for no reason, huh~ But if it’s that director, it may end up being interesting after all, so I’m looking forward to this, too.”

“I’m jealous of you, Karma. If word got out that you did the stunts for Jerome the heartthrob, you’d be soooo popular with the girls!”

The idea was very like Maehara. Thanks to Jerome’s injuries, he was unable to complete his action scenes, and because Karma could move well and had a build similar to Jerome’s, Karma was selected to be his stuntman. Karma being Karma, he looked calm on the surface, but, in truth, he was thrilled that he was going to perform in one of director Nathonni’s films.

“Karma, you’re really happy, aren’t you? Even if you try to hide it, I can still tell.”

Nagisa saw through Karma’s heart.

“Not really.”

Karma had a broad grin as he said this.

Nathonni broadcasted his orders through his megaphone.

“Okay, take-one! Action!”

Mimura, who was appointed as the assistant director in charge of directing the extras on-site, received Nathonni’s orders and made a large motion with his hand.

“Action! Walk!”

People acting as passerbys began walking back and forth along the street. Those stationed at the food stalls also began acting. Karma, acting in place of Jerome, and Kayano, acting as Rin, ran through the area. They made it look as if they were running away in a hurry. Behind them, ninjas hiding themselves behind their masks and black clothing were following in pursuit. The ninjas made use of their agility as they jumped over the pedestrians and ran atop the food stalls, and, in the blink of an eye, they caught up to and surrounded the pair.

“Cut! Magnificent! That was even better than I had imagined!”

Nathonni cried out in excitement.

“But why in the world are you all so physically capable?”

Kurahashi, who was observing beside the director, puffed out her chest as she answered.

“Our P.E. teacher in middle school was super strict! If you ever saw his superhuman moves, you’d totally offer him a job~”

When it became time to re-shoot the kiss scene that Kayano had messed up repeatedly, Nathonni anticipated that Kayano would be nervous, so he urged the staff to work quietly. Sensitively feeling such an air around her, she continuously told herself to concentrate. However, when rumor got around that the two stars’ kiss scene was about to be filmed, the crowd of onlookers became even larger than usual.

“Quietly, quietly.”

Mimura told the locals in English and through his gestures to try not to make a sound. However, it turned out that such a thing wouldn’t be so easy.

As many trainees gathered around the filming location in a hubbub, Nagisa silently distanced himself.

“Nagisa, where are you going? The filming site is that way.”

Karma caught Nagisa.

“I was thinking that I should try not to disturb Kayano.”

“You’re the one who said that Kayano’s blade isn’t so fragile. What are you going to do if you don’t put your faith in her here?”

“ ……Also, when I watch Kayano’s kiss scene with Jerome, I feel really anxious.”

“Ooh? And why is that?”

“Because of her work, Kayano’s in a frightening world where it’s impossible to know just what might happen, right?”

“Well…… I guess.”

“If by chance she were to get involved with a lewd beast like that and have her career as an actress adversely affected in the future…… when I imagine such a thing, supporting her in person feels so complicated.”

Karma burst out laughing when he heard Nagisa refer to the new Hollywood star as a “lewd beast”. He didn’t know if Nagisa was saying this as a friend, as something like a parent, as a fan, or as something else entirely, but Karma knew that for Nagisa, too, the fact that Kayano is a special, precious existence will never change.

“Look, instead of chatting here, let’s go watch her. If you’re going to support her, you have to watch her properly with your own eyes.”

Karma grabbed Nagisa’s shoulders and forcibly pulled him along.

At the filming site, Kayano and Jerome were already standing in position. Kayano stood with a nervous expression, straining to keep her concentration from breaking. In contrast, Jerome was staring at her with a smirk on his face. This was because out of all the girls he has done a kiss scene with, every single one of them had fallen for him.

“Action!”

The scene began with lines from Rin.

“You’re only in it for the money!”

“Yeah. I do love money. But you know, there are other things I love besides money!”

“Like what!?”

At Rin’s strong response, Jerome grabbed both her shoulders.

“You.”

Jerome closed in on Rin’s lips, and gave her a bold, masterful kiss.

When I release my lips, Haruna’s gonna be looking at me with lovey-dovey eye-

At that moment, Rin slapped him.

Stunned, Jerome reflexively held his cheek, but Rin removed his hand and kissed that same cheek.

“Don’t just steal my lips as you please! With this, we’re even.”

Jerome stared at Rin, eyes open wide. Rin’s lively smile stood in stark contrast against his expression, inspiring even greater interest in the audience to witness their adventure.

“Hey, don’t space out on me! We need to go retrieve my father’s Buddha statue!”

As Jerome’s face returned to its original whiteness after the slap, Rin pulled Jerome’s arm and led him forward.

“Cut! Haruna, your ad-lib was the best!”

Nathonni was roaring with laughter as he praised Kayano. Jerome, on the other hand, looked as if he wanted to protest.

“D-director! Doesn’t this totally go against the script!?”

“Yup, it does. Haruna proposed the idea to me, telling me, ‘Rin is a determined, unyielding character, so having her be swayed by a single kiss from a man is way too simplistic. I want to add to this scene.’ However, never in my wildest dreams did I think that suddenly slapping you would be her ad-lib! I’m in awe!”

“Wai- but you treated my ad-libs like a joke! Director, you’re laughing way too much!”

“Jerome, your talent is in your reactions to other people’s ad-libs. You can check the video we recorded just now. Your expression is first-class, which maximizes the charm of your character.”

“……”

In fact, the director’s eyes were on the mark. Later on, the comical expression Jerome made in this scene was highly acclaimed, expanding his range as an actor.

What a woman…… She didn’t change a single line, and yet with just one slap, she doubled the liveliness of the whole scene.

Checking the video, Jerome was astonished at Kayano’s acting sense, which made both of them shine. It was as if she were a killer wearing an actor’s skin. If he were to get lazy on his acting, he, the protagonist, would be devoured. He figured he should stop trying to flirt with her for a while…… For the rest of the time they were filming, he looked so serious that one would have thought his life depended on his acting.

When Kayano returned to the waiting room, Class E suddenly encircled around her.

“That was so good! He’s a bad guy, but you straightened him up!!”

“That slap wasn’t in the script, right!? Was that what you’d call an ad-lib?”

“Although, considering that the script was set for you to be all lovey-dovey from one kiss, that slap is quite the sudden change. The director took it well.”

“Kukuku, we laid the groundwork.”

With their plan complete, Hazama and Fuwa laughed.

“It’s a common thing for screenplays based on great novels to lay down such undisguised opportunism. Even when the original novel isn’t a love story, they employ cheap developments such as that. In the original novel, the charm of Rin’s character is supposed to be her unshakable, strong heart.”

Fuwa nodded approvingly at Hazama’s opinion.

“And that’s precisely why it’s better to make use of her self-assured character! I told the director that when we were eating.”

“The director didn’t take it as bad as I thought he would. It sounds like the producers were pushing for it since it was written by a screenwriter they had sponsored, but it seems he was unsatisfied with the script. Right, Mimura?”

“Yup. As the director, changing the script is easy if he gets onboard with Kayano’s ad-lib. In Hollywood, it’s fine if the final product takes a 180 degree turn by the time filming is complete and editing begins.”

“So, taking the director’s responses to three different people as a hint, I decided to try acting the way you saw earlier. I wasn’t sure if he was going to give me the okay, though.”

Kayano smiled wryly.

Kayano left behind her classmates, still talking enthusiastically about the script, to get a drink when she spotted Nagisa, who was standing there with his mouth agape.

“Nagisa! What did you think about my acting!?”

“……It was amazing. Maybe I’m just stating the obvious, but…... the one standing there was Rin, not Kayano. You kissed with Rin’s heart and words, then returned to being the usual Kayano. I guess that’s what acting is.”

“It depends on the actor, but I leave my role behind the second I hear the word ‘cut’. After all, the everyday me is the everyday me! I don’t want to take my work home with me.”

Once again, Nagisa couldn’t help but respect Kayano’s high level of professionalism. He felt ashamed of himself for the unneeded concern he was feeling just moments ago.

“So, so, how was Jerome’s kiss? Was it good? Was it, was it?”

Nakamura laid bare her trashy heart as she asked Kayano.

“Hmmm, I guess it’s because I’ve felt Bitch-sensei’s kisses, but I thought it was nothing special.”

Everyone went into a bustle at her response.

“Ooh~ After facing off against a Hollywood star, our Kayano has said it herself!”

Nakamura stirred things up even more.

To press for an answer to his questions, Karma poked fun at the two of them as he observed them closely.

“And yet Nagisa was so worried that you’d go all lovey-dovey over Jerome’s kissing technique~”

“Wai- Karma!”

As Nagisa panicked, Kayano reacted sensitively,

“You’re horrible! You thought I’d brainlessly get hooked by a goofy showoff like that!?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Nagisa was being tormented from all sides.

“Nagisa, go apologize!”

“You’re treating Kayano like a bitch!”

“I’m really sorry!”

Seeing Nagisa put his hands together in apology, Kayano recalled the Nagisa of three years ago.

Nagisa had apologized in the same way after saving her with his kiss when the tentacles were killing her. At that moment, Kayano was shot through the heart, and Nagisa has kept her stolen heart since then. Even now, no matter how popular the actor, no matter how skillfully she is kissed, they will never compare to the kiss her junior high school classmate risked his life to give her.

He hasn’t noticed yet, has he……? Just how fearsome a killer he is.

The bitter smile Kayano let escape was quickly replaced by a genuine smile as she witnessed the liveliness of her classmates, unchanged since back then. She returned to her circle of friends, who were all messing with Nagisa once more.

Everyone laughed together, hugging each other’s shoulders and joking around as the crumbled crescent moon rose above them. It was as if it wished to continue watching over those students, as if there were still more to come.

Class 3-E is the Assassination Classroom.

Tomorrow, as well, the morning bell will ring.

No notes, so just comments:

We need more actresses like Kayano! That kind of respect for the original source material is a rare occurrence these days! Although, as much as I love the way she changed that scene, her complaint about Rin being swayed by a single kiss is a little ironic considering how much she was swayed by a single kiss from Nagisa.

Speaking of irony, Maehara would be in hysteria if he knew how popular Karma already is with girls. He doesn’t need to do Jerome’s stunts to have fangirls.

I was hoping everyone got a line in the last chapter, but a lot of the names I had seen were just mentions, it seems. Although, a fair number of students weren’t even mentioned in this chapter D: Where did Okuda, Takebayashi, and the others go?

I’m mildly disappointed that the moon wasn’t described as “chipped” since the ending theme for half of season 2 was called the “Chipped Moon”. However, that mild disappointment is nothing compared to the feeling of anticipation that the ending gives me. This might be overly optimistic of me, but it feels as if it’s implying that there will be more canon material in the future. I don’t want to feed my hopes, but maybe… just maybe…

I hope you all enjoyed this! It feels weird for this to have ended already. My translation is nearly 20,000 words long, so it’s a lot of new content, but it feels like we blazed through it so quickly! I definitely still want more DX

#assassination classroom #Ansatsu Kyoushitsu #Korotan D #Nagisa Shiota #Karma Akabane #Kayano Kaede #Class E #translations

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