#never in my life have i yelled but that doesn't make sense at my screen so many times

[selfish-cat]

Veilguard Re-imagined

Given how DAV turned out to be, I think it would've been much more interesting if it was more in line with what Trespasser was hinting at. Spoilers below:

Instead of ooo bad evil gods and bad evil people, the factions could've been so much more nuanced. And you know who would've been super involved? The elves. Elves still struggling with the truth of their Vallaslin. Elves tired of being treated like dirt. Elves who are proud of their heritage.

I'm imagining the main 3 factions would be:

Evanuris: The base of their followers would be the Dalish who have worshipped them for centuries and don their Vallaslin. Whether or not the Inquisitor spreads the news about their tyranny (and whether or not they're believed), as a people who have lost everything time and time again, why would you turn away the chance to regain the former glory your people once had? The gods wouldn't have to try very hard. They were leaders once of course they know how to sway people. Make them sympathetic! Show them mourning their friends and lovers and lost empire. Have them cast doubt over Solas' claims! They can still have their "bullies and tyrants" and their blighted dragons but they would also have the desperate and disillusioned, maybe some of whom you can still reach out to and pull back.

If you want to bring the Blight in, it would be easy enough to blight their followers under the premise of empowerment (Solas isn't the only one who can lie). Instead of throwing a billion reavers at me, give me intelligent blighted creatures who think they're reclaiming their agency, who think they're avenging themselves, their loved ones, and their ancestors by spreading the blight to cities. It would also be a good way to distinguish between the gods' followers and other factions.

You know who wouldn't be joining them? Tevinter supremacists whose Imperium past prided themselves on conquering the elves. Or the Antaam who haven't renounced their beliefs and upbringing—you don't shake off that lifelong wariness of magic unless a lot of people get real chill with a lot of things real fast. I'm not touching the Butcher part because I still don't understand it although confused, lost track of the plot, wanting to turn yourself inside out? Relatable.

Fen'Harel: Rather than being relegated to a troll in the comments, let Solas lead the army he amassed in Trespasser??? All the Dalish and the city elves who are tired of being systematically oppressed and have been for literal ages?? He clearly cares for their freedom, as established in DAI (I had feelings when he finally called the Dalish "our people" but then it was followed by EA/Bioware nonsense). Other than the one line about him breaking the chains of slaves at the beginning, his deeds are never mentioned again other than to berate Rook.

I think his forces would be smaller. More scouts and spirits that specialize in skirmishes. It would be a three-way fight between the Evanuris, Solas, and Rook (with support from the Inquisitor and different implications depending on whether you disbanded or not). I think it'd be very interesting if you established a friendship/romance with Solas' and his forces withdrew when the Inquisitor appears vs. continue fighting if you decide to burn that bridge because choices matter EA. None of the elves in his forces will have their Vallaslin.

Keep the flashbacks. Keep the lore. Keep Mythal. But also keep the character instead of teehee lied to you again why would I listen to reason uwu.

Rook: None of the party needs to change or even the order of recruitment or any of the powers at play. They're all so charming and fun and clearly written with love.

Of course Harding will be there as a rep from the Inquisition. Let her work through her struggles with the Maker and the Golden City lore. Let her explore Titan lore but in a way that doesn't end with welp guess that's that and now let's not bring it up again since there definitely won't be implications with dwarves across all of Thedas. Neve works with the Shadow Dragons and would be sympathetic to the whole situation. Keep Aelia and involve the Venatori that way—strictly in Tevinter and unrelated to the gods. I imagine their forces were severely weakened after Corypheus. They can still kill the Archon in preparation of installing one of their own in if they want because that'd be in line with their established motives.

Bellara and Davrin can help shed a light on their perspective of things. Bellara tries in DAV but given how elf involvement was basically dismissed with "nah they're steering clear of the evil gods and we defs don't have a problem with any of this" t'was rough. It would've made more sense bringing Cyrian back aligned with the gods than suddenly bringing up a Forgotten One (excellent DLC option in the Tirashan though). Davrin struggling to distance himself from his heritage and empowerment via Wardenhood and fatherhood (lol) is very interesting to explore instead of idk being a farm boy even though it'd be awfully hard to farm without a permanent settlement, which apparently was a thing but I digress. Keep the griffons and Isseya but tie her to Ghilan'nain in a sympathetic but warped way (of course Ghilan'nain loves the griffons and is sympathetic to their plight. Why not make them better? Isseya's a city elf but why would she doubt the Mother of Halla?) Also definitely keep that chat with Solas and have more of that!

Lucanis and Crow lore. Imagine debating with him about practices of kidnapping and torturing children to train them. Characters can grow and learn (look at my best boy Dorian) and when he gets promoted to First Talon, maybe he'll keep your words in mind if your bond is high enough. Taash and Emerich had more personal things to deal with which is great. Not every character arc has to be directly tied back to the Big Bads. In DAV's case, it would've made more sense if they were just standalone issues instead of trying to be like "yeahh y'know, Venatori support. Yup."

And if you play Rook as an elf, there should definitely be a city elf and Dalish option because they're different cultures EA. You can't just have options like "I'm Dalish where it counts" and say "Our Gods" and "Your People" in the same scene because what even does that mean EA. Very good posts about this stuff here and here and here

Ending: At the end of this power struggle, where the gods are inevitably taken down, instead of a uwu everyone lived happily ever after except those who died, there are! Ramifications! Those were elven gods that almost destroyed everything! Why would they just let elves be and the Dalish chill and settle in Arlathan Forest (nvm why they were allowed back in the first place given how the Dalish treat the Dales and how they expect people to react to their presence there)?

Depending on how you play all your games (or a neutral score for new players), I think this is where you see the results of your choices. Did you garner sympathy and support from leaders? What leaders did you put in place? Will things return to a tense status quo? Will there be another Exalted March where they're driven even farther away? Or will there be introspection and understanding maybe resulting in a new Halamshiral for the Dalish somewhere and more rights for city elves?

As for Solas, I think his outcome would depend on the Inquisitor's choice in Trespasser. Do you kill him, leaving any future attempts to breach the Veil a risk? Do you fade into obscurity with him to live out a peaceful life in secrecy? Or do you convince him to give Thedas as is a second chance now that the gods are gone? He can disappear, maybe he occasionally has visitors or visits those he considers friends while keeping an eye on the world and the Veil (he'll be the new Veilguard which would make that ending line make more sense)?

[roses-for-rosalyn]

Hey sweetheart, I have this idea about cop!Ellie and cop!reader I've never shared bc I'm so shy to ask, but if you are open to write about it here it is.(sorry if something doesn't make sense inglish is not my first lenguage)

Well Ellie and reader are work partners and they don't really like each other because Ellie is kinda mean?(she is the director btw) but there's a tension between them anyways. So they have a night shift together and on the way in the car the reader begins to flirt, like touching ellie's thigh, and she stops in a field and fucks the reader brains out<33

-💌

This took forever but I hope I did your idea justice!

a/n: sorry I haven’t written anything in so long, life is crazy

Ellie x reader

Wc: 3k (roughly)

Minors dni 🔞 (I will jump through your screen and poke you in the eyes I stg)

CWs: police officer! Ellie and reader, play girl Ellie, fem reader, cop stuff idk, enemies to lovers (ish?), thigh riding, overstim, oral (r! receiving), fingering (r! receiving), multiple orgasms

—

As a small town cop things rarely became dangerous, so on the rare occasion things did go awry no one was really prepared. You got a call about a car speeding through town at about 90 miles an hour. It quickly becomes a chase with Williams at the wheel. Before she even starts catching up to the car you both begin bickering on what roads to take to catch up and who can read the license plate better. The world becomes a blur as the car picks up speed, the roaring of the engine and the sound of the sirens make it hard to hear anything.

You attempt to shout over the noise, “Williams we might be able to catch them if we take-”

“Shutthefuckup I know what I’m doing!” She yells back even louder, more irritated because you dared tell her what to do. She didn’t even let you finish and she missed the turn that would have taken you ahead of the car to block their path.

“Williams we’re gonna lose ‘em.” You couldn’t convince her, you’re not sure anyone could have. The car takes a sudden turn and she misses it, she quickly reverses and turns down the dirt road only for the car to disappear from sight. She tries to make a few turns but it’s useless, these roads went in every direction with thick woods surrounding them. Even townies got lost in there.

She slows the car down eventually coming to a stop in the middle of the road and quietly mutters “Fuck.” under her breath.

“Maybe you should have listened to the directional advice from someone who was fucking born here instead of trying to do everything yourself.” You can’t help but notice you scolded her like a primary school teacher, but she makes it so hard when she acts like this.

“Please I don’t need a fucking ‘I told you so’ talk right now.” She huffs.

“I hope you know this is completely your fault, I can’t fucking believe-”

“I swear to god if you keep talking I’m going to kick you out of this goddamn car.” She turns and looks at you straight in the eye, challenging you. Her tone is eerily calm. You narrow your gaze but say nothing, turning to look straight ahead. And with that she drives you both back to the station, defeated with only half of the criminal's license plate.

- -

Patrol partners are supposed to be friends- Or at least friend-ly. That’s what anyone would assume, you have to spend every day together, not getting along would just result in various inconvenient miscommunications and misunderstandings.

Yeah, well you weren’t that lucky. Your patrol partner is Ellie Williams aka “Williams” according to her various male coworkers. Her female coworkers tended to lean more towards nicknames like “whore” or “slut” considering she hooked up with a couple of them and then acted like she barely knew them at work the next day and did it all over again. She had to start finding hookups outside the station last month because all her go-tos had refused her unless she wanted something serious. On top of that the few that she got with turned the rest of the girls against her, all she had left was you and all the guys at the station- and you didn’t really count since you were forced to be with her. This meant recently she was particularly irritable considering she couldn’t find a lot- if any- women to relieve any of her tension, so patrolling with her for the past 30 days has been hell.

On a more positive note it made gossiping with your coworkers over coffee the best part of your day. They would talk about their hookups which would inevitably lead back to shit talking Williams- which you would enthusiastically participate in considering how she treated you on the job. However they all agreed that they tolerated it for as long as they did because the sex was good. And you believed them because they had to put up with some crazy bullshit from her. A tiny part of you yearned for them to explain just how good it was, but you’d never ever give in to that curiosity.

Williams- on the rare occasion she would say anything- was mean, she would make snide comments all the time no matter what task you were taking on. She had some sort of superiority complex because she was- admittedly- very good at her job. She had transferred from some big city to your small town station and she had much more experience. She was incredibly skilled at taking people down when she needed to. However, compared to her old job, barely anything happens here. When something did happen she would insist on taking over the task almost every single time, the only thing she couldn’t trump you in was de-escalation. She was terrible at communication and that was most of the job. Calls would mostly be noise complaints or welfare checks, so you took the lead for those and it drove her crazy. She couldn’t stand being inferior to anyone, especially on the job. So you were squabbling constantly.

And for some reason tonight she was in a particularly bad mood. You’re stationed on the side of the road, keeping watch for anyone disobeying any road safety laws and Williams is silent. Not particularly unusual, but her body language was odd, she was weirdly tense. She sat fidgeting with her hands, picking at her cuticles, occasionally glancing up if she heard a car. Nothing in you wanted to show you cared at all for her, because you didn’t, but at this point you were so bored you didn’t care if you started one of your usual squabbles.

“Something wrong Williams?” You tentatively ask.

“ ‘m fine, just tired.” she says, still not glancing up.

“You seem offly tense for a tired person.” You try to push her a bit.

She finally looks up at you, her expression remaining neutral “Considering your observations, you really think now’s a good time to test me sweetheart?” God you hated when she called you that, she refused to refer to you by your last name, always resorting to some condescending nickname.

You roll your eyes, just as you were about to respond a staticky voice interrupts, asking for anyone available for a call about a noise complaint about two minutes away. Ellie picks up the walkie and calls in saying she could take it and starts the car.

You drive there in silence and to no one’s surprise it’s Mrs. Taylor. She frequently calls at night whenever she hears her teenage neighbors so much as talk loud enough for her to hear. And every time she would make you both walk over to them and ask them to quiet down.

This time though when you got out of the car you could hear muffled music coming from the neighbor’s all the way from Mrs. Taylor’s lawn. You walk up to her door, Williams following silently, and knock gently a couple of times. You hear soft shuffling, a lock clicking and then the door opens revealing the grumpy old woman’s tired face. She’s wearing a long dusty pink robe, striped pajama pants and ratty slippers, clearly she had been recently woken up by the noise.

“Hello Mrs. Taylor.” You smile politely.

“Hello dear.” She smiles back at you, but falters for a moment when she spots your partner, refusing to acknowledge her presence. She used to babysit all the kids in the neighborhood, you were always her favorite. She treated everyone else like they were some sort of pest, especially outsiders.

“Neighbors bothering you again?” You already knew the answer, but you felt the need to be polite.

“I can’t sleep with all that ruckus, rotten children they are. Too bad too, they used to be the sweetest when they were little.” She shook her head.

“Alright we’ll get it all sorted out, you can go back to bed.” You nod your head.

The old woman smiles before reaching forward and pinching your cheek while saying “You’re so good to me dear. Come over for dinner some time so I can make it up to you.”

“Just doing my job ma'am.” You reassure her.

“Well, goodnight. Call me tomorrow morning and we’ll sort something out.” She begins shuffling backwards, and grabs the door handle.

“Good night Mrs. Taylor.” You wave at her and she closes the door.

“God you’re unbelievable.” Ellie scoffs from behind you.

“What?” you turn around to face her.

“Would it kill you to be nice to me like that once in a while?” For the life of you you could not figure out where this was coming from.

“You have to earn it.” You retort, while beginning to walk to the neighbors house. Ellie just huffs and jogs a bit to catch up to you, god forbid you get ahead of her in any way.

You make your way to the house, the bass rattling your teeth by the time you're on the front stoop. Ellie takes her usual spot behind you and you knock loudly, bashing your fist against the door. Hopefully someone hears so you don’t have to make a scene, they weren’t bad kids. Sure enough the music turns off and the door opens slowly revealing a set of scared, round eyes.

“Hey Kelly.” You knew her well from the past complaints, she was pretty polite especially for a teenager. The poor girl was practically shaking. “You probably know why we’re here.” She nods slowly. “Ok, so just do us a favor and turn your music down so we don’t get another call from Mrs. Taylor alright?” you say gently, knowing when you’re in uniform everything about you was intimidating enough without you having to yell.

“Th-that’s it?” She asks, her whole body shaking with adrenaline at this point.

“Yup, just make sure this doesn’t happen again. Shouldn’t have the volume that high anyway, it’s bad for your hearing.” You smile, “Probably don’t want to go deaf by the time you’re 20.”

Kelly just nods again “O-ok thank you. We’ll keep it down, promise.”

“Alright have a good night, stay out of trouble.” You turn away and Ellie does the same.

The walk back to the car is silent except for the steady hum of cicadas. You’re about to put your seatbelt on when Ellie says “So what do I have to do?”

You pause your movements, “What?”

“What do I have to do to earn it?” When you still look confused she elaborates “You being nice to me. What do I have to do to earn that?”

“I don’t know. With the way you treat me it’s almost like you enjoy me being mean to you.” You let out a dry laugh.

She slowly leans towards you, “Oh, I do.” She says, her tone changing completely, her voice becomes raspy and deep, almost like a whisper and a smirk tugs at her lips. “I love making you mad, but something tells me you’re even more delightful when you’re all sweet like that.”

“Williams what-” She leans even closer, inches away from your face and suddenly you forgot everything that wasn’t Ellie. You couldn’t utter a word if you tried.

“Tell me.” Her eyes flicker from yours to your lips. “What.” Her lips are so close you can almost feel her words. “To do.” You let out a sigh and give in, abandoning all logic you press your lips against hers. She stiffens but then her hands automatically move to cup your jaw so she can deepen the kiss. Her tongue swipes across your lips, inviting them to open. You can’t really move, unable to completely process what’s happening. She’s so warm and soft and everything you didn’t expect.

She starts making her way down to your neck, exploring your reactions as she kisses and sucks at the sensitive skin. A small whimper escapes from your lips, and Ellie is sure she’s never heard something more intoxicating.

“Williams-” She finds a particular spot behind your ear that causes you to let out a quiet moan, making you forget how to speak for a moment.

“W-we can’t do this here, you know that.” She stops and moves her head to meet your gaze.

“You’re right, we should probably find someplace where we don’t run the risk of teenagers or Mrs. Taylor finding us.” That wasn’t what you meant but it was probably the first time she had ever agreed with you the entire time you’ve been partners.

--

She pulls off the road into a field and as soon as she parks she immediately starts where she left off. Somehow she knew exactly how to reduce you to a whimpering mess in mere moments. In between kisses she whispers “Take off your belt.” Her tone was so sure and dominant it sent a wave of arousal straight to your center. You do as she says, you forgot you had put on your utility belt for the call, but she clearly took note. You try not to move too much as she continues marking up your skin. She stops again, “Now get in the back.” She doesn’t wait for your response before taking her own utility belt off, leaving it in the front seat and opening her door. It was a little more work in a patrol car considering there were bars separating the front and backseat, but at this point neither of you cared much.

Ellie is first to sit down in the back and shut the door behind her, you do the same and crawl over to straddle her lap. “You feelin a little eager, sweetheart?” She looks at you with that obnoxious smirk on her face, but this time it didn’t annoy you as much as it usually did. You kiss the grin off her face before moving to her neck, listening to her little sighs and moans as you press your lips to her soft skin. The noises she’s making send arousal straight to your aching center and you begin to grind down on her lap, desperate for some kind of relief. She starts taking off your belt with trembling, eager fingers and throws it off to the side. You reach for hers as she untucks your shirt and begins unbuttoning it as quickly as she could, leaving you in your tank top. Your lips meet hers and the kisses grow hungrier by the second, each of you becoming more and more eager to undress the other.

As you begin to unfasten Ellie’s shirt she sighs in frustration, “Jesus christ all these fucking layers are driving me crazy.”

You laugh and say in between kisses, “Gotta make you work for it Williams.” With that she rips off your tank top, and immediately begins groping your breasts over your bra. You moan into her mouth and begin to grind down onto her even harder. Ellie notices and spreads her legs a bit, moving your leg in between hers so you were straddling her thigh. Relief rushes through you as you lower down onto her muscular thigh and begin moving your hips back and forth. She reaches behind you to unclasp your bra leaving your top half bare for her. She can’t resist breaking the kiss to move her focus to your chest, taking your nipple in her mouth with a satisfied hum. A soft whine escapes your lips as her warm tongue circles your sensitive nipples. Her hands have a steady hold on your hips, encouraging you to move against her thigh, harder and faster. Yours have found a home in her hair, tugging harder and harder as your pleasure builds on itself causing Ellie to groan as arousal begins to pool in her boxers.

“Get up.” Ellie commands in a hoarse whisper that sends butterflies straight to your cunt. You climb off her and lean against the car door. The sight of you in the dim moonlight, topless with spread legs and unzipped pants, a fucked out expression on your face almost has Ellie coming right then and there. She unties your shoes and gently removes them, before grabbing the hem of your pants and tugging them down in one swift motion. She crawls between your legs and wraps her arms around each of your thighs, gently kissing a path to your dripping cunt. A wet spot had formed on your panties causing your face to become hot from embarrassment, but Ellie seemed to have a different reaction “God you’re so beautiful, it’s driving me crazy.” She begins teasing you over the fabric of your underwear, running her fingers up and down your slit. A whimper escapes your lips as a silent plea for more, but she continues teasing. She finally pulls the fabric of your underwear to the side and takes a moment before gently blowing on your soaked folds.

“Please-” you manage to whimper as the cool air from Ellie’s lips hits your warm center sending a pleasurable shock through you. You would expect for her to make you beg for it, but she immediately obliged, licking a line from your dripping entrance to your clit. You gasp and grip on to her hair, searching for anything to hold on to as pleasure overwhelms every one of your senses. Ellie groans at the feeling as she begins gently licking at your clit, teasing you. The sound sends vibrations through your lower body and you moan at the feeling, now losing any control you had over the volume of your voice. She begins moving her tongue in circles over your sensitive bud as she teases your entrance with a slender finger. You let out the loudest moan yet, encouraging Ellie to plunge her finger further inside you. It slides in easily, arousal practically coating your thighs at this point. Suddenly she hits the spot causing a desperate whiny “Oh fuck,” To escape from your swollen lips as you clench lightly around her finger. She adds a second, the feeling of her two fingers causes a satisfying amount of pressure to fill your cunt. She hits a spot that you swear sends white light through your closed eyes and keeps hitting it with every rough, slow thrust of her fingers. Your hips begin to move, trying to get her to fuck you harder but she only pins your down by your waist with her free hand forcing you to endure her painful pace. “Ellie,” you whine, “please- I-“ you cut yourself off with a moan.

“What do you need sweetheart?” She pauses briefly to look at your fucked out expression and your arousal has dropped all the down her chin. The very sight almost does you in.

“Please,” you beg her in hopes she’ll spare you the humiliation of asking her.

“Mm mm,” she lightly shakes her head “words baby.” That was a much better nickname, the way she said baby made your cunt flutter around her fingers

“P-please-” you sigh before finishing “-fuck me harder pleasee.” You think that’s probably the most pathetic you’ll ever sound but Ellie obeys. She sucks your puffy clit into her mouth, swirling her tongue around the hypersensitive nub before moving her fingers faster. She picks up speed until you can’t think about anything but Ellie’s mouth and fingers. The pace was practically inhuman, you tilt your head back as a silent scream rips it’s way through you before you moan “fffuuckk,” in a high pitched tone. She continues moving her hands rapidly in and out of you curling them at just the right angle. You begin to flutter around her fingers and she knew you were close.

“Almost there baby?” All you can do in response in moan, she has you practically incapacitated. She giggled a little “Good, come for me.” As her words reached your ears your pleasure finally hit it’s peak. You begin writing against Ellie’s fingers as you roughly clench down on them. Your pleasure rips through you in overwhelming waves, moans uncontrollably leaving your lips as Ellie’s fingers continue their brutal pace. She doesn’t let up though, she keeps going as your clit grows more and more sensitive. You tug at her hair but she doesn’t move, she continues as your hips begin bucking against her arm that was pinning you down.

“Ellie it’s too much I can’t-”

“You can take one more can’t you sweetheart?” She asks sweetly as she fucks your sensitive hole with no mercy. You just nod and she continues sucking and licking at your clit, occasionally moaning which only enhanced the overwhelming pleasure. This time you were more tightly wound up and faster. It didn’t take long before you approached the edge again, the feeling twice as intense. You almost worry as it begins to build and build, just as you thought you had reached your peak it kept going. You finally topple over the edge as Ellie’s teeth lightly graze your clit, the feeling sending you into overdrive. You tugs Ellie’s hair harder than you ever had before as you make a mess all over the seats and Ellie’s mouth and fingers. She laps it all up contently, actually backing down when you pushed her away this time. She leans back into her knees and tries to catch her breath.

A smirk grows on your face as you begin leaning towards her, “it’s your turn.”

—

Idrk how I feel about this but at least I finished it 😀👍

Reblogs and notes are always appreciated and encouraged 💕‼️

Hopefully I will start updating more but I can’t really promise anything lmao

[slayfics]

Illumi comes with a warning.

900 words

Warnings: mentions of death

You sat in your room, a gentle breeze swept through bringing the fresh air in with it. It was peaceful, you mindlessly scrolled on your phone enjoying the fleeting relaxation that is so hard to come by nowadays.

Giggling at a silly video, another breeze came through, strong enough to blow your curtains this time. The rustling caught your attention, and your eyes diverted from your screen to your curtains to watch them stir. The breeze continued and with it, your curtains flowed, however, the shadow of a figure behind your curtains became visible.

You screamed at the intrusion, curtains settling down revealing the man behind the curtains. Long black hair flowing he stated, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Illumi?!" You exclaimed confused, unsure why the assassin had appeared in your room.

"Quick, we have to go," he said shortly.

"Hu? What do you mean?" You asked, but without answering he grabbed you, moving you both a great distance from your house in a matter of seconds. Once satisfied by the distance Illumi hid with you behind a building.

"What the hell is going on?!" You asked again, irritated at the hasty removal from your peaceful room.

"Keep your voice down," Illumi instructed before explaining, "Someone has hired my father to kill you."

"WHAT!?" You yelled.

Illumi covered your mouth, "I said keep your voice down," he instructed once more. "You have to be quiet. Do you understand?"

You nodded slowly eyes wide at the information Illumi had just explained. If this was true, and someone had hired Silva to assassinate you, you were on borrowed time.

"Illumi, that doesn't make any sense. Who would pay that price to kill me?" You asked.

"I cannot tell you that," he answered.

"I just don't get it... I don't think I've pissed off anyone that much," you wondered. Before you could dispute the point any further you heard a deafening sound, something that you could only imagine was a devastating explosion.

You peered around the side of the building; the sight made your blood run cold. Your place was destroyed, only rumble where it used to be. However, the surrounding buildings and monuments were untouched.

Illumi quickly snatched you back behind the building, "Do you want to die!?" He scolded.

"Of course not! But if your father is after me, I'm as good as dead already!" You spat back, fear gripping you at accepting you were in the last moments of your life.

"No. Not if you're quiet and listen to me," Illumi stated.

You looked up at him, your mouth agape unsure if you understood him correctly, "You... you're going to help me?" It didn't make any sense to you that Illumi would go against his family business.

"My father was hired to kill you, not me," he explained. "All I have to do is kill who hired my father, then you'll be safe. My father won't have a reason to kill you if he's not collecting money for it."

"Oh. So, you- want me to pay you then? To assassinate whoever hired Silva to kill me," You clarified. Understanding now Illumi must have been coming to you for a guaranteed job.

Illumi started at you blankly, "No. I would never illicit a job that way."

Your expression mirrored the same bewildered expression Illumi had. You couldn't believe he was offering to kill someone for you without payment and for the purpose of saving your life. Your adventures had brought you two to cross paths several times, but you didn't realize how much your company had grown on him.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"Save your gratitude for after I pull this off," he said.

"Ok, so what is the plan?" You asked.

"While I hunt down and kill who hired my father, I have to keep you somewhere my father won't find easily," Illumi explained. "I think that will best be achieved if I'm able to manipulate you freely," Illumi said, holding up pins between his fingers.

You started at the pins settled between his fingers, hesitant to answer. His plan was to keep you hidden and undetectable. It makes sense that to do that he would want full control over you. Under his control, you would follow his lead without any questions or communication needed.

Yet, the thought crossed your mind of if Illumi was telling the truth. Is it possible this was a big ruse for Illumi to manipulate you easily, and without a fight? What if, Illumi was actually the Zoldyck hired to kill you, and this was his way of doing it gently?

"Hm? Don't you trust me?" he asked.

Truthfully no, no you didn't trust him. You weren't so naive to blindly believe an assassin. Yet, what was the other option?

If this was the truth and you denied Illumi's help, Silva would kill you. If this was a lie and Illumi's way of killing you softly, and you fought back, Illumi would kill you. Any way you looked at it, you only had one slim chance of survival. To hope that Illumi was being honest.

"Yes, yes I trust you." You whispered looking back up at Illumi.

"Good, this will only sting for a second," he promised, swiftly piercing you with his Nen needles.

sinners: @unofficialsapphire @illumiiiz @hyperiondickrider

[soft-pine]

the thing about supernatural season 1 episode 13 route 666 is that cassie robinson is the most beautiful woman i have ever seen.

she is also a truly phenomenal, compelling, dynamic character and it sucks she's only in one episode!

but what an episode it is. i think similarly to bugs, route 666 gets a lot of hate. and, again, i'm not going to defend it against people who do experience it negatively. but the way route 666 simply lays out the truth of the racial violence black people experience is pretty straightforward and uncompromising. it's important the way it just says: white people controlled the town, the police, the paper, the violence, the courts. and that's so bad. it's important the way it reaffirms so so many times that none of that was very long ago at all. it's important the why it says that that violence and injustice was so extreme that it haunts and stalks the present and still has the power to kill.

i hope i'm saying this in a way that makes sense. but i love the way both bugs and route 666 clearly name historical injustices and thematically show how the ramifications of that injustice and violence are still deeply present today. supernatural doesn't often handle politicized things head on and it is kind of fascinating to me that the two episodes with some of strongest politics happen in season 1.

i have a few other stray thoughts about this episode... 1. as a tractor operator it kills me that that little kubota is able to pull a water-logged truck out of a lake with its tires that deep in mud (i can't actually make out the model of the tractor (just the loader arm attachment) but, affectionately, no way).

2. it is always so special to me that dean's first on-screen romance is with his long-term ex. commitment boy i love you.

3. "i'm still really involved with my dad's work." spams the spiral-eyes emoji

4. i love that dean told cassie the truth about his life and hunting. i love that he didn't want to lie to her! it's kinda crazy that sam yells at him for it because sam never told jess. like dude no one was stopping you?

5. why did they make the racist truck look so much like john's gmc? like okay i know this is kinda a stretch (there's lots of kinds of big black trucks) maybe but it always reminds me of the grand sierra...

6. okay again we see dean just decide to play the role of bait to give sam time to work out a plan. but the plan sam works out is for dean to play even riskier bait (without communicating that!!). dean's shocked, pitched-up voice and stressed-out slamming his hands on the steering wheel, ough oof ow owie yeoch.

[lou-struck]

Are You Watching?

Katsuki Bakugou x reader

~ Bakugou has never seen your favorite movie before, and so you end up watching him more than the movie.

Genre: Fluff

a/n: I do this alot, I just get so excited when I’m watching one of my favorite movies with someone I want to know that they are liking it.

As you walk through your front door and kick off your shoes that just don't quite fit right, you are hit with an overwhelming sense of victory.

Today was a bitch, but you made it through unscathed.

That in itself calls for a celebration of self-care. With Katsuki still out on patrol for a bit, you decide to slip into something cozy, get yourself a big bowl of microwavable popcorn, and take out your stack of DVDs.

But these aren't just any DVDs; these are your favorite comfort movies, the kind you can watch anytime and never get bored. You know every line by heart, quoting the lines under your breath and laughing in anticipation of your favorite scenes.

You've only been watching for twenty minutes or so, but your mood has already been raised up out of the gutters of exhaustion and disappeared when you first came home.

"Oi, what are you watching?" a familiar guff voice calls from behind you, sending elated prickles over your skin as your turn around.

Katsuki Bakugou, your boyfriend leans up against the doorway, he looks so natural, but you have a feeling he posed himself that way to look cool in front of you. You pause the movie and turn your full attention to your handsome partner, who looks just as exhausted as you did earlier.

"Suki, I didn't hear you come in." you smile, scooting over on the couch. "Get changed and come watch these with me."

"Haven't you seen this one before?" he yells from down the hall, already changing into his comfy clothes. He loves watching movies with you; it makes him feel normal after a long day dealing with the worst society has to offer.

"Yeah, so? It's one of my favorites," you call back defensively. "What's the big deal?"

"I just don't get how you can watch the same damn movie so many times," he grumbles, coming back into the living room wearing a black shirt and some flannel pajama bottoms you got him for Christmas last year. He is already looking more relaxed than he did before. Off in the distance, you can barely make out the sound of the washing machine buzzing to life, cleaning the rest of the day out of his hero costume.

"But you haven't seen it yet." you giggle, flipping up the mountain of blankets dramatically so he can get under them with you, patting the now open spot with your other hand.

He chuckles amusedly and joins you on the couch. His warmth comforts you in a different way than the blankets have as you breathe in his familiar scent. "This is much better," you sigh as his arm wraps around you. You place your head on his chest, your favorite kind of pillow.

"Bad day?" he asks, gently rubbing circles onto your skin.

"Not the best," you admit, shuddering at the memories from earlier today. You'd tell him all the annoying details later, but now, unwinding is the priority. "You?"

"It was pretty shitty, but I've had worse," he responds flatly. You believe him; the news coverage today told you all you needed to know about his bad day. 

"Then I guess we can just stay here until it all goes away," you chuckle, reaching for the remote and pressing play. Bakugou wouldn't admit it out loud, but the idea of just staying here on the couch, cozy with you in his arms, is the perfect ending to any day, no matter how shitty it was. 

Your conversation dies down as you both watch the movie. It really is the kind that you can watch over and over again. 

You think to yourself that it's strange that even after watching this movie in your living room so many times, Katsuki has never seen it for himself.

Wait, if he hasn't seen it before, that means he doesn't know about The Twist. 

You find your eyes drifting from the screen over to his handsome face. His crimson gaze remains transfixed on the screen in front of him. There is something so satisfying about watching someone watch your favorite movie so intently. Even if it's one he would not choose to watch himself.

You know what's going to happen, so you don't need to be watching as close. Katsuki is much more interesting right now. How will he react? Some of your friends said that the Twist was predictable, but others said they had no idea it was coming. The anticipation of it all makes you look at him even more intensely. 

Sensing your gaze on him, he turns his head towards you. "What are you looking at?" he huffs, "Do I have somethin on my face?"

"No," you say, looking away quickly, "It's nothing; keep watching."

He shrugs it off and returns his attention to the screen. You try and focus on the movie, but you can't help it; you have to see what he thinks about the Twist. You have to see his face. You shamelessly bring your gaze back over to him, only to find that he is not looking at the screen at all. His eyes are on you.

"Suki, you're not watching; this is important," you whine dramatically as if you are not the whole reason he is distracted in the first place.

He tsks, "How am I supposed to watch the damn movie if you're staring at me like that?" his voice rising in volume. 

"Just pay attention," you pout, crossing your arms over your chest., "I just wanted to see what you thought about the next part. It's my favorite."

His gaze softens as he tries to untangle your crossed arms. "Such a weirdo," he chuckles, leaning over and giving your cheek a quick kiss. "I'm watchin, I Promise."

Despite the dry air outside, his lips are still soft and smooth against your skin. You uncross your arms and return to your previous position on top of him. "You gotta watch," you mumble, trying to discreetly look at him and the screen at the same time.

And then it happens—the Twist. 

The main character being betrayed by their own best friend. You've seen this part so many times you could quote it word for word. But Katsuki…

"Where the Hell did that come from," he yells, sitting up quickly, ruining your comfortable resting spot against him. His mouth is agape, and his eyes are wide as he stares back at you, hoping for some sort of explanation. His features then go from shock to loving irritation as he ruffles your hair on top of your head. "You were waiting for me to watch this, weren't you?" 

"I knew you'd be surprised," you grin cheekily. Trying to bat away his hand from your head. "There were a few hints earlier on that make more sense."

"What hints?" he asks, narrowing his eyes and biting the inside of his cheeks as he tries to recall any sort of detail that would lead to the reveal of this betrayal. Obviously, he is still very troubled by the turn of events. "I didn't see any damn hints. Gimme the remote; we are watching this thing again."

[just7frogsinapeoplesuit]

I just watched the second Dune movie since it's been out of theaters for a bit and wow it was. Bad. The first one was unnecessarily long and showy but it at least stuck to the plot of the book. This one felt like someone read summaries of the main plot points and just made up a bunch of stuff to go in between, and the editing was really really bad. It's actually entirely possible it might have been a decent movie in script form, but whoever pieced it together did it like a total amateur. There was no sense of time or pacing, scenes happened almost at random with no explanation, and on many occasions someone says or does something that clearly is supposed to go somewhere important or add to the scene and then it just. Doesn't.

I need to vent so, things I can remember off the top of my head:

- There is almost no suspense in the (very large number of) fight scenes simply because it is not entirely clear what is happening, why it's happening, and what we are supposed to be rooting for.

- The acting is mostly bad. Nobody sounds genuine, except when they are suddenly so genuine it's jarring.

- The choice to have half the Fremen not really believe in their culture's religion immediately undermines the entire core of the tensions in the plot and adds a really weird inconsistency to the tone to the film.

- At one point the camera briefly shows a wholeass eclipse occurring in the middle of an otherwise normal scene of people talking. It does not affect the lighting or dialogue in any way.

- The scene where Jessica becomes a reverend mother is just sad. It was probably the most profound, gripping scene in the book and instead she's behind a random rock surrounded by people who think the ceremony is bullshit and then just foams at the mouth a little and goes "ok I know things now and also my baby is a little fucked up"

- There is not, at any point, a drug-induced orgy or even a reference to one, which is just cowardice on the part of the writers

- Actually, aside from the foaming at the mouth nobody really does drugs at all. In Dune.

- Despite the enormous CGI and costuming budgets, they decided to make people's eyes blue by just adding a (highly inconsistent and sometimes barely noticeable) tint to them in post. I'm sure this was done for Acting reasons (fully blue eyes can't convey emotion as well) but it looks really cheap.

- It is never mentioned that all of the protagonists (and some of the most necessary people in the empire) are physically dependent on spice to stay alive. This feels like a ridiculous oversight given how important it is.

- At one point we pan across the hold of a harkonnen ship before a battle (not during!) and one of the soldiers is projectile vomiting across the whole screen for absolutely no reason. I did audibly laugh at this one.

- They barely explain any of the politics behind what's happening, despite that being necessary to understand half the scenes they included. I am assuming this is because CGI explosions get better ratings than making sense.

- Stilgar's only function in the entire film is to act religious and yell "lisan al gaib" every time Paul does anything. He's also the only major character with an accent, which is supposedly due to him being from the overly-religious south. That's not even subtle racism, guys, because you purposely drew attention to it.

- We are never shown anything that explains why the Fremen believe in Paul so much, other than that he can fight ok. The concept of strategy is mentioned only for the final battle, and even then barely

- Merit points for removing the homophobia from baron harkonnen's character, but docked again because they kept him as the only fat person. Not surprised here, just disappointed.

- Paul mentioning that people close to him died is treated like a "gotcha!" that makes some Fremen feel bad for him. At this point I'm pretty sure the writers did not read Dune at all.

- Most of the exposition about the water of life is done as Desert Voices Paul is hearing, except they just plainly state what he has to do in English. If you're going to have him hear magic voices at least make them slightly mysterious, this just felt lazy especially considering how vague and non-literal all of his visions are.

- The camera regularly lingers on completely unimportant things for way longer than needed. Whoever did the editing probably thought it made the film more ~artistic~. It did not. It just made things even more bumpy.

- Alia stays a fetus for the whole film and communicates with Jessica telepathically from the womb? I'm assuming they didn't want to CGI a talking baby and they're going to use her in a future film so they couldn't leave her out. It's probably less weird for people who haven't read the book, but it also speeds up the entire timeline by multiple years which is its own host of issues.

- They have a perfect opportunity to explain what the water storage is for and the Fremen's end goal (sustainable ecology), but just leave it at "the water is needed for our salvation"?? So people who haven't read the books have no idea what the goal is?? I swear they did this because they didn't want Stilgar to say anything that sounded smart

- As far as I could tell there is not a single chrysknife in the whole film.

- During the final feyd rautha fight, we clearly see Paul get stabbed in the abdomen. When he removes the knife after we wins, it's in his shoulder. Unless he got stabbed with two knives and I didn't notice because the editing was so bad.

There is way more but I am tired. Not even going to touch on all the other unnecessary changes to basic plot points. A few of them made sense, but not most.

[joandfriedrich]

My apologies if you have answered this before but I was wondering what are your thoughts on the portrayal of Jo in Little Women (2019)? I like Saoirse Ronan as an actress and I think she did wonderful in the movie but the role she was playing didn’t feel like Jo March at all. It feels like a completely different person with the same name. Does that make sense? Like Jo in the 2019 version is a different person than the Jo in the books. And honestly I was kinda disappointed because the aesthetic and scenery are lovely but the writing was not little women at all.

No worries, I don't know if I've ever done a full detailed explanation of my feelings on Jo's character in the 2019 specifically, so this is a good excuse to talk about it. I completely understand what you mean, her portrayal did not feel in anyway the Jo March I came to know and love after all the years. Let's explore Jo's character assassination.

When I first heard of the project, I was so excited because for a long while Saoirse Ronan was my first choice to play Jo. I have seen her in many movies from "Atonement", "The Lovely Bones", "Brooklyn", and I agree, I believe she is an amazing actress, and I was excited to see what she would do for Jo. On a technical standpoint, she did act very well in the film, but whether or not I felt she deserved an Oscar nom for the part is something different. I personally think she didn't deserve it, not because she's a bad actor, but I don't think what she gave for the character felt worthy of it, you know what I mean? If anything, I think Lupita Nyong'o deserved it much more for her parts in "Us" than Saoirse did for this film.

So where does the problem lie? The writing. I would like to have it on record, I am not one of those people that say that every book adaption must be 100% exact from page to screen, I am open for leeway, creative choices, and cuts, but what I felt was done wrong here was simplifying and changing characters to the point they felt like hollow versions of their flawed but beautiful book counterparts.

Jo is one of the most complex characters in the novel, as her arch starts as a 15 year old girl who is all tomboy and rebel to an independent but loving woman she becomes. We see her reject ideas of marriage because of the social pressures she feels to marry well and how marriage at the time was a loss of freedom for women, to understanding that being a woman isn't contained to one specific box, that she is able to be independent while also having a husband who supports her dreams. She has a temper, it isn't something she gets over as quickly as she has a moment of crisis, she learns how to handle it, like Marmee did. She has internal misogyny that colors her viewpoint of the world, especially women, to understanding that women are as different as each March sister is, and that doesn't lessen their worth as women. Are these lessons we find in the 2019 film? No, it isn't.

Gerwig wrote Jo as if she was trying to appeal to the masses, giving her contradictions that go against her growth and character. Seeing her yell at Friedrich, throwing a tantrum worthy of a kindergartner, and acting selfish throughout her adulthood when it's the time she is the lest selfish is so wrong for her. Jo as a child was not kind, I think we as a society need to stop demonizing a 12 year old Amy for getting fed up when her 15 year old sister continually picked on her for so long that she snapped and did something she came to regret. These are kids, they are meant to be flawed, even annoying, and yet, so many people try to raise child Jo up as if she is the symbol of feminism when she was anything but. And Gerwig followed suit.

Throughout the movie, Jo acted so childish and it was portrayed as liberating, that her maturing means a sacrifice of her true self, that it leaves her sad and alone, and I feel like this is the opposite of real life. I am about to be 30 in a week, and as I have reflected in my life, I have never felt more like my true self in my whole life. It's because I had trials and tribulations to challenge me, question how I see the world, what do I want, where do I wish to go? These are questions we all go through as we get older, and it doesn't mean that we grow older and sadder, it means we change and become more self aware, closer to who we may truly be than anything else. And never forget, there is still so much life ahead, we have so much to learn, plenty of time to become who we ought to be. As David Bowie said "Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been."

Jo by the end of the film gains no character arch, she remains practically the same, having issues with change, relying on the familiar rather than ready to explore the unknown, going back on her feelings on Laurie to the point of writing a letter to accept him, which NEVER happened in the book, as she stayed firm on her resolve that she didn't love him romantically. The lack of an arch for Jo means we don't see her grow up, she stays this perpetual 15 year old girl who is selfish, can't take criticism (which book Jo gladly did as an adult), is pressured by her sisters to chase after a man she didn't even seem that interested in (if you go with the one ending), or ends up sad and alone with her book which is what she didn't want to do as she proclaimed she was lonely (if you follow the other ending). Her story is unsatisfying, as it paints her this tragic figure that never got what she wanted in life, despite that not being the case.

She gets to open a school that helps underprivileged kids to get an education, she gets to become an author in the following books, marries a man who loves her not only as a wife but as an equal, has children she loves dearly, and by the end feels she has had a fulfilled life that she wouldn't have traded for anything in the world. Gerwig didn't seem to understand that Jo could be all these things and decided to stick with what she wanted the character to be, but knew she had to satisfy the divided fanbase, hence the confusing ending and character that is Jo March.

Gerwig tried to add in elements of the real life Alcott, thinking that the idealized version of Jo and she were exactly one in the same, but it's not true, as Alcott did long to have a family of her own, had been in love with Henry David Thoreau, and wrote the character of Friedrich Bhaer as the expy of him to be with the expy of her. If Gerwig truly wanted to respect the wishes and vision of Alcott, she didn't need to look further than the wonderful novel she wrote over one hundred years ago.

In the end, the Jo we see in the 2019 film is nothing more than a hollow shadow of a great literary character that was destroyed by someone who, like the people she pandered to, never quite understood Jo in the first place, and therefore didn't deserve her.

[the-chorus-of-voices-collective]

I just saw a post that was something along the lines of-

This line of dialog "being gay/trans is unnatural!" And then the post saying in response 'you traumatized your child so regularly and severely that their identity fractured into 49 different parts'

The post ends with this 'no animal could ever come close to hurting a child like that'

This really. Really stuck with me. Cause their right. Animals run primarily on instinct and learned behaviors. However that instinct will never be to hurt their offspring the way humans hurt theirs. Animals do not have the urge to inflict unnecessary pain. Do some kill/eat their children from time to time? Yes I won't deny that. But it's not for their pleasure. They simply do it because it's the circle of life.

What I'm trying to say is that-i believe. Or I would hope because humans have already failed me.

I believe that an animal should they have been given our sentience and awareness they wouldn't inflict suffering on their young. I think they would cherish those little guys like children are meant to be. Those little guys wouldn't be subjected to anything close to what I or many others have been through. Because at their core I genuinely believe animals can only love.

Humans on the other hand. Are full of hatred and it sickens me.

Yknow my boyfriend texted me today. Half-dissociated and numb. Because his grandmother responded to a snarky comment by snatching, and ruining my boyfriends food. My boyfriend had to wrestle his food back. And feeling obvious frustration, he slammed the door of the microwave and subsequently got yelled at for it. He yelled back. He got hit for it. His aunt and his mother had to get between them because that grown ass woman was dead set on beating my boyfriend. Then proceeded to get bitchy and defensive when not given the fucking chance.

Why am I saying this? Why the fuck am I going on this long-winded rant. I may not even be making sense right now. None of you could have stopped and read this but that doesn't matter cause If one person hears me and processes what I'm trying to get across that's enough for me. If that person is myself? Well thats fine by me.

I hate the human race. I hate DID/OSDD and what had to happen for our community to have this disorder. Maybe not everyday is pain but I remember a time when it was.

20 headmates. 20 people living in our brain because mother couldn't stop fighting and screaming and couldn't ever seem to get to us when her now ex-husband got too angry and pushed me around like a rag doll. Said ex-husband being sure to employ graphic threats to my or my siblings safety when he felt he was being disrespected. Various fits of loud pointed cursing and throwing things around.

A child shouldn't fear being hit by someone who should love them. A child shouldn't expect someone who should love them to hit them.

Animals wouldn't hurt me like humans have. The worst my dog has ever done to me is hump my fucking leg before backing off with a bit of scolding.

The worst my parents have done to me is fracture my identity into 20 pieces because they were so hurt and broken they just couldn't help themselves to break me down to that state as well.

they didn't hear me when I screamed. When I screamed for help or just a scrap of love that wasn't imposing or codependent. They weren't there when I cried into the night wishing for death.

I was a scared little kid. And now I'm a traumatized and bitter teenager.

Who am I?

It depends.

But one thing is this. Animals? They wouldn't hurt me the way humans have. They wouldn't hurt you. They would take in or have children and love them because that's what you're supposed to do with children.

We didn't deserve what happened to us.

The animals know that.

(I was going to reblong the original post but unfortunately I had to refresh my screen and lost sight of it. Credit goes to the original poster)

[ronecam]

So I thought I could do a post about Emilia (My Suicide Squad OC) just in case lol. Like a character bio. Will add some stuff about her relationship with Abner at the end lolol.

GENERAL INFORMATION AND BACKSTORY

Her full name is Emilia Diaz. Her villain name is Cyberwick. She's a demolitions expert that can make bombs out of common objects. She's the daughter of a weapons engineer (her mom) and a marine (her dad). When she was 6, her dad left her mom, which caused her to start using Emilia to replace him, trying to make her like him and also putting her on the receiving end of her endless yelling fits every time she was stressed, like she would do with her dad. She decided to make Emilia a cyborg to make her a supersoldier, sending her on dangerous missions from a young age and making her train until she would pass out from exhaustion. Emilia killed her mom when she was 19 and ran away to become a villain. After some time she was arrested, and eventually joined Task Force.

PERSONALITY

Her personality is reckless and mostly apathetic. Though she can be melodramatic about things that matter way less than things that don't get a reaction out of her. Outside of her knowledge on explosives, she's pretty dim-witted, being someone who doesn't put much thought into things. She has a very passive view of life, letting things happen as she believes things will turn out how they have to turn out. She doesn't really take action unless she absolutely has to, or has something to gain from it.

Her way of thinking is very simplistic, and she's a very direct person. She almost always speaks her mind and she would never manipulate anyone. She doesn't overthink much either. She also prioritizes her happiness and/or having fun over any responsibilities.

Her morals are not the best, as she will do anything she wants as long as she can get away with it. The only thing that will deter her from doing something bad is if she knows there will be consequences that outweight the rewards. She also has no objections against resorting to violence, as it is her preferred way of dealing with most things.

She's not a very social person as she is very self-isolating, but she is very codependent. Which means she won't approach people willingly but once she likes someone she won't leave them alone. She's also very protective of those she cares about.

She avoids talking about her past and her mom as much as possible. She believes that it doesn't affect her as long as she doesn't think about it. She also can't remember most of what happened in her childhood, at least not clearly. But she will crack jokes about the few things she does remember.

She tends to feel hate and disgust towards anyone she considers similar to her mom. Which is why she has a deep hatred for Amanda Waller, after being sent on countless suicide missions by her. She's not stupid though, so she tries to stay on her good side.

She also likes to mess with people when possible. If she has the opportunity to make someone annoyed or scared she will. She's just a lil shit.

GOALS AND FEARS

If you asked me what Emilia wants the most, it's to get her original body back. But since she knows that's impossible, her biggest wish is to make the most out of the life she already has. If she's going to be a villain, she's going to be a successful one and have fun doing it. She dreams of having a "big underground villain lair with robot minions and a bunch of screens" (her words, not mine).

Her biggest fear is becoming like her mom. Not in the sense that she hurts people, but in the sense that she doesn't want to become psychologically abusive to anyone she cares about. She doesn't want to cause them anxiety by having them walk on eggshells around her or having to guess what she's thinking. This is why she makes a big deal out of having good communication and being direct. Being compared to her mom causes her a lot of distress and anxiety.

And at times when her mental state is at its lowest she will experience fear of the dark. Which is why she will sometimes sleep with a night light (Ex. Her glowy boyfriend).

SKILLS AND CYBERNETICS

Now for the fun stuff. Her abilities in combat. All 4 of her limbs are robotic, which means she's physically stronger than she would be without them. The limbs are not of good quality though. So while they can throw a good punch or carry heavy things, it's very easy for them to break during a fight. She will often be missing a hand or a leg after a mission.

Despite her enhanced strength, her lack of defense stops her from being a skilled fighter. So her specialty is making explosives, often used to help the team get through obstacles or take out a lot of enemies quickly. She seems to have a love for explosions, looking happy or excited every time she gets to cause one. This is because (even if she's not aware of it) it makes her feel in control for once. After being a soldier her entire childhood, getting to cause chaos and destruction because she wants to feels liberating and cathartic for her.

If she were to have to defend herself in a fight however, that usually wouldn't end well, as she's more apt for getting out of situations than to actually solve them. She's not one to win fights often, so she avoids physical confrontations. She has described herself as a "slippery weasel" that's only survived this long because the grim reaper hasn't been able to get a hold of her yet.

Other than her 4 mechanical limbs, she has more cybernetic parts. Her left eye and most of her internal organs were replaced as well. She can't blink with her left eye because of nerve damage caused by the surgery. Her eye being replaced wasn't part of her mom's plan, but she lost it in an accident. When asked about it she says she lost it during a mission or training, but it's actually the product of her mom throwing an ash tray at her during a fight, hence the scar in her eyebrow.

THE FUNNY DOT MAN

And last but not least, her relationship with Abner. Depending on what I'm writing, they meet in different circumstances. But for the sake of this post let's go with the one where they meet in Task Force X.

Abner and Emilia met during a mission and despite both of them being pretty much adamantly antisocial, they started to get along and realized how much they had in common. Being able to relate to eachother's struggles was cathartic in a way, as they finally felt understood by someone. After they started dating, Emilia would always be trying to protect Abner from danger, afraid that he'd get hurt. And he doesn't mind. It makes him feel loved.

Both of them have pretty good communication, which they really value. They also help eachother through their issues, and take care of the other when they need it. Their biggest problem as a couple however would be that they constantly enable eachother's unhealthy habits, especially those that are harmful to other people. Such as using violence as a way to cope with anger, or doing bad things to feel like they have control over their lives. They are also very possessive of the other. But other than that, they have a pretty wholesome relationship where they make sure they don't hurt the other. And if they do, they're quick to talk it out and try to fix their mistake so it doesn't happen again.

And yeah that's basically it! If you made it this far, you get a kiss. Thanks for reading ^^

[pixelcurious]

Something that keeps me from enjoying media the way it's meant to be is my damned eye for certain details, like how people on TV will make a date to meet someone but they never say when, other than like "this evening." I know it's just a simplification, it's not relevant information to the narrative, but i can't help but notice. Every time.

That's mildly annoying. Much more annoying is when someone leaves a car door open and just wanders off. This happens a lot on TV! Drives me crazy. I'm yelling at the screen because their car battery is going to run down and then where will they be?

People on TV are constantly taking one or two bites of their meal and never finishing it. They get a coffee and throw it away. Who does that in real life?

Scene from last night -- an assassin comes back to her trailer in the woods. Her door's ajar so she puts her groceries on the ground and enters with her gun drawn. All well and good so far. There's nobody in her trailer, but she finds a package and opens it. It's a, what do you call it... a helmet thing for a VR video game. Which she puts on right away! Hello, your groceries are outside and you live in the frickin woods! They're going to be swarming with ants by the time you get back to them. Not to mention her door is still open. You're telling me an assassin is going to put on a VR headset, cutting herself off from her immediate environment, with her door standing wide open? Do the writers want me to think she's an idiot?

I read a book recently where the protagonist had a pet fish on their spaceship. The narrative mentions feeding the fish multiple times. The protag loves their fish and takes good care of it. Then they park on a planet and stay there for an unspecified number of days but they didn't bring the fish! Is it just abandoned and starving? Granted the protag has a lot to do during this part of the story, but all I could think of was what's happening to the fish? Eventually they wind up in the hospital and then their girlfriend goes back for the fish and is taking care of it. So I know the author didn't just forget, and they could have put in a sentence about fetching the fish from the spaceship earlier. But they didn't. Because it makes more sense apparently that a character you've established as caring for their pet suddenly doesn't think about it for days on end.

See what I mean? Someone should hire me to read stuff and point these things out before publication, so people like me can enjoy media more. It would be a service to the world.

[sleepy-achilles]

Bleeding Me Dry.

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

Shawn can't stop the tears rolling down his face as his entire world collapses on him. He hands clench against the cold lockeroom floor as the yelling echos in his head.

What the hell has he done?

The sound of the door opening breaks through his hyperventilating sobs. He looks over his shoulders to see the true devil.

Vince claps as he walks in. "The sharpshooter was a brilliant idea shawnie!" Vince smiles walking over to the wounded man. "Always knew my lil boy toy could do it." Vince mutters taking shawns chin in his hand. "Please." Shawn whispers. Vinces smile fades, his grip turns violent. "You have no right to making requests." Vince growls. "I-I did what you asked!" Shawn protests grabbing vinces wrist. "And you know why?" He asks. Shawn stares at him. "Because I own you. I fucking own you Shawn michaels and I always will." He spits before shoving Shawn to the floor.

"Now, clean yourself up. People are looking for the showstopper." Vince orders before walking out.

Shawns whole body shakes as he cries.

'I always will.'

Always.

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

Shawn hums to himself as he watches John's match. He was proud of how far the boy has come.

He however doesn't have long to linger on those thoughts as something forces him out of them.

"Why is my contract different?" Shawn can't help but slowly look back over his shoulder. His eyes widen as he sees his middle child stood infront of vince, a contract in his hands. "Whatever do you mean?" Vince asks. "I just compared it with some of the others and..its just different. Worded differently. Older." Leon states. Shawns heart races. "Its because your special, and I want to make sure your protected the most" "special?" "Your like a grandson to me Leon. That contract? That protects you from everything and one." Vince explains. "Oh. Okay, yeah that makes sense" Leon nods. "Did..did you sign it?" Vince asks. "Yeah" Leon smiles handing it over. "Atta boy. Go train" vince hums looking at the paper.

Leon leaves and vinces eyes meet his. Shawn fully turns, ignoring the staff around them. "What are you doing?" Shawn's voice cracks straight away, tears bubbling as vince moves closer. "Like I told you" vince states, grabbing shawns arm and pulling him in. "I will always own you." Vince whispers against his ear before walking off.

Shawn stands there for a minute as it sinks in.

Of course, Shawn will not live forever, but Leon?

Shawn looks back at the tv screen. His eyes not focused on the fighters but instead the actual ring.

Leon will be chained to those ring posts for ever.

A sob escapes Shawn.

-----

Taker wasn't stupid. Shawns been cold, distant since Leon signed his contract.

He walks into the kitchen to see Shawn stood at the sink. His hands rested against the counter, his eyes more interested in something outside. Taker doesn't hesitate to stand behind him, caging him in. He also doesn't miss how Shawn flinches.

"Whats going on angel?" Taker murmurs against his ear. Shawn lowers his head. "I've ruined our sons life and he doesn't even know it." Shawn whispers. For once in his life, Taker is shocked.

He turns Shawn around. "Who? John or Leon?" Taker asks. "Leon." "You? I've basically cursed the boy with demon blood" Taker huffs. "Atleast he was free." Shawn states pulling away. Taker stares at the empty space before looking at shawn. "Shawn? Shawn, what's going on?" Taker asks taking shawns wrist. Shawn looks at him. "Im hoping our son will forgive me. I'm hoping you'll forgive me." Shawn smiles pulling away.

Taker is left stood in their kitchen. So many questions in his head.

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

Shawn was not coming back. He was going to lose at wrestlemania 26 and never, ever step foot in this company ever again. "Youll be great in a suit." Vince hums behind him.

Shawns entire hopes and dreams crash around him.

When did he lose his love for wrestling?

No. Not his love for wrestling. His love for this company.

Shawn looks at him. "Why? Why can't you let me go. I have given you everything. My soul, my blood, you stole my god damn sons soul. He was supposed to be mine. He was part of the one thing I had that was my own and you've taken that from me." Shawn snaps. Vince smiles. "Ill bleed you dry if I have to. You-" "belong to you. I fuckin know" Shawn spits pushing past the older man. "Take it as a gift." Vince calls causing Shawn to halt by the door. "God knows what I'll do to Leon if you leave." Shawn's heart sinks.

He doesn't understand why Leon's been cursed the same fate as him. Why cassie and John were the apple of vinces eyes and all Leon got was fake love.

"Why"

"Why what?" Vince asks. Shawn looks at him. "If you need to be mean, be mean to me, not him. I can take it and he just doesn't deserve it." Shawn basically pleads. Vince chuckles. "Good luck out there Shawn." Is all he says before leaving. Shawn turns away and slaps a hand over his mouth as a scream begs to release.

All the anger and pain built up over the years and as long as Leon was still here, still under contract, there was not a damn thing Shawn could do except cry and scream into his empty lockeroom.

Unknown to him a shadow watches before disappearing into the arena, heartbroken.

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

Shawn doesn't know if it's the valley but he knows something is wrong before anyone else.

His heart suddenly breaks and Leon's screams hit his ears. Without a word he's rushing out of the meeting with Steph and hunter and down the halls. Ignoring them on his tail he turns the corner and freezes, hunter slamming into his back sending him flying to the floor.

He doesn't care.

Not when his son is already on the floor crying. Leon's hands are caked in blood as his hands frantically move across drews bleeding skin.

Shawn feels sick to the stomach at the cameras filming. At the people staring in shock. He hears steph mention ambulance.

That's when he sees vince. Stood there. Smirking. "This was mine! He was mine! I finally have something that is mine! And you want, no need to take it from me and exploit it!" Leon yells, his voice cracking. The words are too similar to be a anything but mimicking.

"Shawn"

Leon's head snaps towards him. Shawn waits for the hatred but no. Its just pity, sadness. The whole world seems to pause around them. No. Not seems, it does. Shawn spots the purple in Leon's eyes. "We don't have to do this. People we love don't have to suffer." Leon states, tears staining his face. "No, your right. You don't. I do." Shawn whispers. "Why?" "Yes why?" A new voice asks.

Both michaels look to see taker stood to the right of them, in the middle. Shawn and taker stare at each other.

It's not a battle you must fight alone.

It is and it always will be.

No. I married you, I accepted the demons, you accepted mine. Do not push me out now.

"Enough!" Everyone is back. Taker and shawn look at Leon. "I hate when you two do that shit." Leon hisses looking back at drew. Taker admires the glow coming from Leon's hand. Shawn sits back. He's trying to heal drew...

Leon gasps as drews injuries start to form on himself. Taker quickly grabs his hand, blocking the cameras view. "No." Taker hisses. It all fades. "Not here. Not now." Taker warns.

Leon growls at him softly. Shawn looks at vince. "A word. Now." Shawn growls pulling himself up. Taker and Leon look at him as he practically shoves vince towards the offices.

He slams vinces door shut and looks at the other man. "Fuck with me, control Leon if you must, but you leave drew and taker fucking out of it. You promised me that" Shawn growls. "I promised no harm would come to Leon or taker. Never drew." Vince hums. "Harming drew harms Leon! You promised me!" Shawn yells. Vince grabs shawns jaw. "You have no right to be making demands" vince growls. Shawn hisses as he pulls away. "No. I don't. But Leon is getting closer and closer to the truth and unlike me, he will kill you, he will make you suffer. And I won't feel a ounce of sympathy" Shawn whispers.

Vince examines him. "Leave.drew.out.of.it." Shawn warns before turning and storming out.

Takers eyes lock with shawn and he immediately knows what he has to do.

To fight human evil, you have to become human evil.

-------

Shawn stares in shock as hunter reveals the news about vince.

His eyes land on taker.

What did you do?

Whatever I need to save my family.

"Any questions?" Hunter asks. Leon raises his hand. This shocks everyone. "Yes Leon?" "Will we be able to change contracts? Edit them, revise them?" Leon asks. Hunter looks at Stephanie. "Yes, why?" She asks. "What about superstars who are no longer active but still work here?" "None of them should have cont-" "answer the question." "Well yes, if one happened to be under contract still than Yes. We'd probably terminate it"

Terminate it.

"We can finally be free?"

Everyone looks at shawn.

"What?"

"I can finally be free."

[aortaobservatory]

hey! i just started classpect researching to better understand the system. do you pull any of your sources and understanding from homestuck canon itself? if so, how do you separate class influence from aspect influence from general character traits? i know that the characters/classpect system were catered to eachother, but do you have any thoughts? sorry if this doesnt make any sense

I love this question, I think this is one of my favorite questions I've ever received on this blog. Yes, I do pull a basic understanding of the classes and how they interact with the aspects from Homestuck canon! I try my best to keep my understanding and research of the classpecting system true to what is shown to us in canon and what comes from canon sources, with a little dash of what makes sense in real life. We are given canon explanations for the aspects from [The Extended Zodiac], so I pull my understanding of the aspects from the canon summaries that are given and what we are shown in Homestuck canon.

We are not given canon class explanations, so that area will always remain nebulous ranging from classpector to classpector (unless we suddenly are given canon explanations). As such, how I've been able to separate class from aspect from character traits in regards to canon is based almost entirely on my understanding of the aspects, then comparing two characters of the same class to see what is similar and what is not.

Karkat is a good example. At first glance, we can see he is an extremely angry character. He yells a lot, curses a lot, he's full of rage, and yet, he is not a Ragebound character. Why that is, has everything to do with what an aspect is. What does an aspect mean to a person, or what does it mean to have or be an aspect of something?

Ah, this became a long post. I'll put it under a read-more.

Aspect is the force that is most important in a person's life, whether lacking or abundant, whether good or bad, whether they want it or not.

Karkat is not Ragebound because Rage is not his driving force. [Rage as an aspect is about fighting and tearing down the system, rebellion, and discovering the truth.] It is activism and change. Karkat is a very stubborn and angry character, but the Rage aspect traits are not what drives him forward. In fact, Karkat is actually the antithesis of a Ragebound; he loves Alternia's empire, and it's one of his dreams to serve as a part of it as a Threshecutioner! He doesn't question the empire, despite its rules regarding the hemocaste that tell him he will never belong to it. That's actually more of a Hopebound trait than Ragebound trait.

So, he is not Ragebound despite being an angry character. What drives him forward is Blood, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. His own blood color is what drives his entire character, but aside from the literal symbolism, Karkat's driving force is his friends. [Blood as an aspect is about the ties that bind, the weight that promises hold, the value of relationships and keeping everyone together.] It is unity as a group, camaraderie within, the relationships you make and the responsibility you have to maintain those ties. I do talk a bit about Karkat and Kankri in my post about the Blood aspect; I've linked it in the brackets above.

So then, what is class, and how do we separate it from the aspect traits and just plain character traits? We hear a lot about "active classes" and "passive classes". Some class mechanics are even explored and explained in canon, but we never get a concrete definition; only pieces of a bigger picture. From these little pieces, I defined it down to a single sentence.

Class is how a person interacts with or is shaped by their aspect, either actively (directly) or passively (indirectly).

To separate class traits from aspect traits and character traits, I compared the two Knights in canon who get a lot of screen-time; Karkat and Dave. Being Knights of different aspects, I figured that, theoretically, if I subtracted their known aspect traits from their characters and then compare what is the same and what is not, I could find a pretty good ground for the Knight class to stand on. Whatever was not the same between them would be character traits. Whatever was the same could be a class trait pertaining to the Knight.

What I got was this:

Knights are extremely adept with their aspect, their driving effort to protect it and others through it. They are loyal to their aspect's cause and naturally gifted with it, using it as a tool to achieve whatever they set themself to. Their challenge is to learn how to be less harsh on themselves, to accept and learn from failure, and to accept the assistance of others when they need it.

Knights are an Active Utilizing class; they have a direct relationship with their aspect and make use of it, and with Karkat, this is very true! He's the self-proclaimed "relationships guy", and honestly, when he actually shuts the fuck up and gets to his point, he's pretty spot on with a lot of his stuff. He uses Blood because he has an extremely direct relationship with it (his own blood defines how he sees himself and what he strives for, after all). He's very gifted with Blood; it's how he was able to bring twelve very different and very difficult people (himself included) together for long enough to succeed at an extremely long and convoluted game where the mechanics aren't exactly explained to you. In fact, I might even argue he was so good at Blood that him "giving (the Beta Kids') universe cancer" was him accidentally forging a tie with them (perhaps that's why they all have mutant candy red blood like him). Of course, the other trolls affected the kids' universe as well, but it was through Karkat's leadership over the trolls that the Beta Kids crossed sessions and came together with the trolls as one big group.

Anyways, this kind of became a love letter to how Karkat's character is written, my apologies.

Though the dancestors were written quite flatly, we are given at least three of each class in canon between the Beta Kids, Alpha Kids, and the trolls (except for four; the Thief, Mage, Sylph, Bard). The dancestors are caricatures, which made analyzing them harder, but it was extremely interesting to subtract their aspect traits and parse out what was similar between the classes of the dancestors and characters who were written with more thought behind them.

As for the four classes who had one well written character to represent them and one flatly written character to represent them, I looked to their paired active/passive class. The Thief and Rogue are Allocators; while the Rogue is passive, the Thief is active. The Mage and Seer are Understanders; while the Seer is passive, the Mage is active. [The Sylph and Maid are Enhancers; while the Maid is passive, the Sylph is active.] Finally, the Prince and the Bard are Destroyers; while the Prince is active, the Bard is passive.

Since I had already constructed the other eight classes from analyzing the characters in canon and what little tidbits are given to us in canon, I figured I could look at how, let's say, the Knight (Active Utilizer) and the Page (Passive Utilizer) interacted as a fully analyzed class pair, then follow that pattern for the remaining four classes that needed a proper analysis.

[You can read my basic overview of the 12 classes here.]

Thank you so much for asking, this question was extremely fun to answer! So sorry I made it about Karkat, I just happen to love him.

[steakout-05]

rambling and theorycrafting about Peter Simpkins and his relationship with Barry Steakfries for way too many paragraphs

i was thinking about The Ballad Of Barry Steakfries just now and how fucking weird it would be for Barry to find out all the scientists are just slightly dffeirent versions of his dad, but then it also got me thinking about the second episode with Barry getting Robo Barry to draw what the former saw when Craig's helmet came off, and how one moment in particular made me very very curious about Peter Simpkins being directly related to Barry. it's the look the lingers on Barry's face for a moment when his robotic counterpart shows him the drawing.

(this also serves as a brilliant reaction image alongside that one of Bandit screaming at someone's phone screen but that's besides the point)

i just. i keep thinking about what that look means. that's a really weird reaction to have if Craig's appearance didn't strike something in Barry, especially with the attitude Barry had right before this happened. it's heavily implied in these shorts that Simpkins is directly related to Barry as a fatherly figure (what with Craig looking very similar to Barry, the blurred pieces you can abrely make out matching up with the features of Craig's face), but if that is the case, then why didn't Barry immediately go "Hey, that looks just like my dad!" and act more surprised about it? he doesn't do that, he just stares at it with a weird look on his face. there has to be something more to it. my theory is that Barry never actually knew his real dad, who is Simpkins, and instead had a foster parent or stepdad growing up after his real dad's death. i think, judging by how old the photos of him and Brains are and how young the two look (it's hard to tell with Simpkins' face being pixellated obviously, but judging by Robo Barry's drawing and what little we see of Craig's face in the shadows, he looks noticably younger than Barry), that Simpkins died either before or shortly after Barry was born, thus Barry never knew him, prompting him giving that look that i can only read as a familiar yet strange sense of recognition.

now, on the topic of Barry's dad specifically: Barry's dad (who according to Barry's mum, is apparently named 'Lareth' or Larry for short) barely, if ever, gets brought up at all in any media whatsoever... except for the vlog series. that, to my knowledge, is the only time he ever gets mentioned or talked about, and whenever he does, it's very interesting.

in Barry's vlog series (which i'm not sure is generally considered canon. i don't believe it's entirely canon but there are bits and pieces that i think would line up with canon. it's weird), whenever Barry talks about his dad, he's always portrayed as somewhat distant from his son. in one of the earliest episodes (i think it's the first one), Barry says something that implies his dad has memory issues, with him yelling at Barry asking him who he is and why he's in his home even though Barry is his son and lives with him as well. there was another episode where Barry recounts a childhood memory of being hungry but not being able to tell his dad about it until it got to the point where he felt like he was starving. i can't remember the episode he said this in, but i know he said it. he seems noticeably absent from Barry's life in comparison to Barry's mum, not even appearing or being heard when the latter calls him over in the 100th episode. this, coupled with little things Barry says around episode 70 of the series that suggest a "dark family history" (his own words), suggest that Barry doesn't exactly have the best relationship with his dad. i'm probably forgetting a few things because i'm thinking of these off the top of my head, but these are the most glaring examples from the vlog itself that i think are interesting in relation to this.

finally roping this back around to my theory that Simpkins died before Barry was born/when he was very young: you know how on the scientists little bio for Jetpack Joyride 2 thhat it says Simpkins died during the development of Mr. Cuddles, and how it was just assumed that Simpkins' death took place during the 'Robot Bird' rock opera because that was the only information we had about the event and its connection to Mr. Cuddles? what if we got that all wrong? cause like, in the third The Ballad Of Barry Steakfries short, there's a photo with a considerably younger Brains and Simpkins standing in front of blueprints for the Profit Bird vehicle, which was also being developed by Toni (the yellow-stripe scientist) in the rock opera. the rock opera takes place well after Barry's first outing in the laboratory, so if Simpkins were Barry's dad and if Brains were a younger (probably less evil) man around that time, then that just wouldn't make much sense. his death had to have taken place years before this event occurred. i'm gonna do a bit of theory/fanfic crafting and say that i think that Simpkins was the one who developed the original prototypes of the Profit Bird, Mr. Cuddles and even Flash years and years before Professor Brains started making clones of him and hired actual people as their scientists, but something went horribly wrong that resulted in his death developing the mechanical dragon. it was then that Brains began to create cloned copies of Simpkins after his death to continue the work he developed as he couldn't do it on his own without his friend. one of the original cloned scientists was Toni, but his efforts were considered a failure as he kept coming up with newer (and more ridiculous) ideas for the vehicles and he was promptly kicked out of the laboratory. he might have a bigger villain role later that's related to this (and also Barry Steakfries partly being responsible for his downfall).

this whole Peter Simpkins and Barry stuff is very intriguing to me and i'm interested in seeing where it goes. idk how i feel about him potentially being Craig (or at least a clone of him being Craig) as i still think it's unfitting in relation to his character, but i think the idea is interesting and weird enough for me to want to follow. it's just wild thinking this simple little game about some australian dude going wild with a jetpack is expanding into weird dad/best friend mix-ups and a darker deeper narrative.

also, one more little thing: how the fuck did Robo Barry know what Craig's whole face looked like? Barry only saw the back of his head and a little bit of the side, but nothing beyond the rim of his glasses and his eyebrows, unless he somehow managed to see something more before Craig was quickly hidden by the other scientists. does Robo Barry potentially have more knowledge of the late scientist? Robo Barry has been characterised as being slightly smarter (or at least more observant) than his human counterpart in the dialogue of Jetpack Joyride 2, and Brains DID originally design him to kill Barry Steakfries (which judging by the training video from the third episode, seems to be a sentiment that has a lot to do with Simpkins). i also wonder if Barry was connecting the dots in his head with Craig's hair looking weirdly similar to Barry's hair and thinking he must look similar to himself. Barry never mentioned a moustache though, although in saying that, we do only catch Robo Barry and Barry in the middle of them trying to figure out how Craig would look, so maybe it was mentioned beforehand offscreen and we just didn't see it happen. maybe, if we are to go with the idea of Simpkins passing away shortly after Barry's birth, that maybe Barry was connecting the dots with some blurry old memory he had of seeing the face of his real father as a baby and he was sorta subconsciously describing what he looked like based off that, before being shocked by Robo Barry's drawing. just some food for thought.

edit: i realised i said the "dark family history of the Steakfries" line is around episode 70, but it's actually in episode 50. whoops!

additional random and slightly unrelated though: i imagined a plot point where Craig and Barry, in an attempt to try to figure out wtf is going on, come across a secret part of the laboratory that just houses these absolutely horrific failed prototype clones of Simpkins. missing or duplicated limbs, malformed melted faces, some of them are just masses of flesh that barely even quantify as a living thing, but it still persists because it's being forced to stay alive by the lab's technology. poor Barry's gonna need so much therapy after that one

[stnaf-vn]

Hi!! I am hoping for clarifications, and I wanted to share my theories & analysis. I'm bad at paraphrasing and getting to the point, so please be patient with me. (I'm so glad asks don't have character limits anymore lol This will be long)

In the very beginning of the demo, a voice colored with an unsaturated purple says "...you better do as I say...", "...I can ruin your life, you know?" The next phrase is has red (threatening?) colored text, "I can make you wish you were never born." The MC wonders who is speaking. The faded purple reappears with "Yeah, that's what I thought. It shouldn't be too much trouble right?" You are then given a choice to open your eyes or not. If you select "Open your eyes?" the MC sees nothing but darkness, but they feel something touch their shoulder in a soothing manner. The unidentified person(?) cuddles the MC, saying "Shh. Go back to sleep, my dear." and the MC falls back to sleep to the sound of humming. If you select "Don't." the result doesn't change. After falling asleep, the MC has a nightmare. The nightmare involves running away from something in a dark, foggy, cold, and empty city. There is a quote on a nearby building wall: "They who walk into the lion's den will surely be swallowed whole." The sidewalk has the word "R U N" on it. There is also an upside-down stop sign that says "Wrong Way". The MC is lost, out of breath, and terrified. Any cry for help echos around them without a response. Eventually, MC begins hearing footsteps. A hooded figure with a bit of blonde hair peaking out approaches from across the road. MC begs the stranger for help from a distance. Glitched thought text appears saying, "Wait, that's not right... Something isn't right... "

The faded purple text reappears, labeled as "Stranger" and glitching as well, "Where do you think you're going?" The stranger laughs and causes the MC to shiver. "You can't get very far without me!!" He(?) yells. "YOU NEED ME!!!!" MC's heartbeat rushes with fear. Glitched red text appears, "You have to hide." "... No..." Then a glitched purple colored text that is more saturated (I think like the color of Friend's regular text) says "Y o u nee d to ru n." You are then given the option to run or hide. Regardless of which you choose, you are met with a flashed cg, like a jumpscare, of the Stranger close to the screen with a hand reached out to grab you. At the sound of an alarm clock, MC shoots up in their bed, covered with sweat and alone.

So, now that everyone reading has the details, let's discuss! Feel free to tell me what you can, and let me know if an answer is too spoiler-y.

First set of questions, did the beginning dark part before the city nightmare actually happen? Was it a memory? Was it a part of the dream? If it did actually happen, was it actually current Friend watching, touching, and talking to a sleeping MC? If it was a memory, could it be something MC heard from Kegan?

It would make sense if Friend was there that night, for two reasons: 1) he is in your apartment when you wake up, 2) his license plate says "ICUzzzBBY" lmao

It confused me a bit how the faded purple text went from threatening manipulation to comforting the MC back to sleep. That detail led me to believe that perhaps it was part of the dream OR the person was attempting to drill these things into MC's subconscious mind OR they were speaking their true thoughts that they are not ready for MC to hear out of fear of scaring them...

Is the red text only used for threatening emphasis or is there more significance?

Was the "Y o u nee d to ru n." actually a different shade of purple? Was it Friend's purple? If so, was it purposeful and significant to the lore? I know Friend wants to protect and be close to MC more than anything else...

Who is faded purple text?

I believe the faded purple text, eventually revealed as "Stranger", belongs to either the Original Friend (who was ultimately retconned for being too mean), or a nightmare version of Friend made from MC's subconscious worries about his strange behaviors. I have watched the original animation you made with Original Friend that started STNAF, and from what I can tell Stranger behaves and speaks very similarly to OG Friend.

The faded purple text could also just be indicating Friend speaking with a more sinister tone.

(Also, it's a little funny to me that he's called "Stranger" and Friend is "Friend", cause the names make it sound like Stranger is a dark version of him in a Markiplier-Darkiplier kind of way.)

Stranger is dressed in all black, with a hoodie and a face mask. Even while mostly disguised, I believe the physical traits that are visible (hair, skin color, eyes, body size) all match up with the person MC knows as Friend. Is there a reason the MC did not recognize the Stranger? I guess it's fair if they were just too panicked, but *looks at the blonde bangs* you would think they would recognize their best friend. If not in the moment, then retroactively.

How did MC know something was not right? Was it just a feeling, something they saw, or did they start to realize they were dreaming? Was the Stranger the "thing" MC was initially running from?

Will the choices made in the beginning (opening eyes, run or hide) have significance for the full game? Does it already have significance in the demo? (Significance as in will it influence the ending or the storyline the player gets, does it affect the MC's personality.)

Why did you want to include this beginning sequence? (Don't get me wrong, I love it! I am genuinely curious.)

Perhaps it was to make the player less trusting of Friend, or to give them a spook and a taste of OG!Friend?

I believe what we see in the city nightmare is a warning and a commentary on having a relationship between MC and Friend. With the quote on the building "They who walk into the lion's den will surely be swallowed whole", Friend is the lion, and walking into the den refers to time spent with him, getting close. Being swallowed whole probably has a few meanings... Friend will get rid any competition for MC's attention, and he will manipulate them until he has them exactly where he wants. Friend wants to be the only person in their life. He wants them to be kept close, and to be the one to take care of all their needs. Under certain conditions he will kidnap MC and completely isolate them. (Correct me if I'm wrong)

The "R U N" on the sidewalk, the Wrong Way sign, and the "Y ou nee d to ru n" are obvious warnings of 'Danger! Quickly go in the opposite direction you are going!'. I think the warnings were applying to Stranger who is about to approach from ahead of them in the nightmare, and also a warning about entering a relationship with Friend. They make me want to always choose the "Run." option.

There was also an Edgar Allan Poe quote at the beginning I forgot to mention before: "I was never insane except for instances in which my heart was touched." The quote was accompanied by the sound of static, and a tape(?) beginning to play (lore or just spooky sound design?). I believe the quote is just fitting for Friend's character. He is willing to do anything for MC, because he loves them.

Additional Comments & Questions:

-I love the art style!!

-I melt when he calls me sweetheart or love 😍

-He's so cute and kind!

-I am very in love, consider me thoroughly wooed. I have considered the potential consequences & outcomes, and tbh I would still be willingly obedient to his every desire.

-Should I be worried about how pale he is? Also, the black eye bags! He needs to sleep more!

-I really want to write something for the contest, but I've had terrible writer's block for months 😭 I have ideas, it's just the actually writing part... I still have time to try! I hope to get inspiration by replaying the demo and listening to music. (Friend: 🎶 I wanna be your boyfriend, I wanna be your boyfriend~ I wanna go on walks with you, I wanna have long talks with you~ You can be my [partner], you can be my [partner]~ I'll compliment you frequently, I wanna treat you decently~ 🎶)

-I love the banter <3 Makes me happy

-I'm scared of driving, so it works out that he is willing to drive me places!

-When he pats MC's knee in the car and then asks if they're comfortable with it?? Then if they give the go ahead he puts his hand on their thigh and strokes it with his thumb... Hhhhhh 🤭

-The intimate scenes are very well written, I'm still blushing...

-I am sending this on anon, because I am an anxious person. If I want send another ask after your response, I need to be identifiable. I would like to be recognized with this emoji combination: 🐻🌻 It's a bear head and a sunflower emoji. Let me know if it's already taken.

I hope you are doing well!!

- 🐻🌻

Words cannot express how much I love theory asks, it's like eating a good meal. Just so satisfying. I've built this world with the intent to have some story with enough wiggle room for theorization. So some things will be left up to your own personal interpretation because I find it more fun that way. I will say that the beginning before the nightmare(?), Friend was actually on the phone with your boss threatening him to give you the morning off. (He only "asked" for the morning off because he assumed you would fight him when it came to taking the WHOLE day off, but he wanted to spend time with you.) Also, thank you so much for noticing the small details I put in there! And I'm so glad you enjoyed the demo! Chapter 1 is currently in the works, and I hope you and others will catch on to the small details once again.

Thank you Sun-bear for this awesome theory ask.

[ocalaghan]

just spent the past couple of weeks watching happy valley and now idk what to do with myself without it.

was just craving a juicy british crime drama but i wasn't expecting it to be so good. i loved everyone, i was constantly yelling at the tv or gasping or something. it was way more violent than i was expecting. when kirsten died... holy fuck. tommy was such a twisted little bastard. the sub-plots of each season were all so interesting too.

the finale did leave me feeling a bit bummed, it was a bit more flat than i was expecting. i thought there would be more of a big drama between catherine and tommy but that conversation was enlightening enough on its own too. that tommy really did think he hadn't done wrong, but that he also had the capacity to love because he did genuinely seem to care for ryan, especially if he was willing to say aloud that he wanted catherine to keep raising him the way she has been all his life.

i just felt like so many loose ends were left!!!

i wanted catherine to apologise for the way she'd spoken to clare. i know she was so hurt by what clare did but i know catherine doesn't really think any of those things about her, and i know clare knows that too, but it still would've been nice to see her apologise for it on screen in more ways than just saying she understands now that ryan probably would've visited tommy anyway one day. and we were also left wondering because clare and neil were last noted not to be on speaking terms but i don't think they broke up; i doubt that was the implication but it would've been nice to see them reunite on screen also!!!

as for ann and daniel... there was a noted tension at the start of the final season about ann seemingly not wanting to have children (yet) whereas daniel did want them and that never is brought up again, and we last see ann very distraught and talking to ryan in a horrible way. i absolutely loved ann so it would've been great to see her go out on a better note, maybe with less implications of relationship issues between her and daniel. and some mention of daniel's kid, perhaps?! has he forgotten he already has a daughter with his ex? she'd be about 7 by then and she was never mentioned.

also ros and richard were obviously on the rocks and it almost felt like it was hinting richard and catherine could reunite but nothing came of this either. ros seems like she hates him now. i think richard and catherine getting back together would make the most sense going forward, particularly with tommy dead and catherine seeming to find some peace in that in regards to becky.

and maybe, y'know, some note of ryan doing better and having more honest, loving relationships with everyone going forward now that he knows the whole truth and knows who his father truly was. what ann said to him was honest but it was harsh and that would've been a lot for a teenager to hear, especially with ryan being the way that he is. honestly catherine dropped the ball a little not having that kid in therapy from day one.

anyway though, fantastic series, bummed it's over. they are all happy happy happy forevermore in my head.

[getmemymicroscope]

What is the fuckity fuck fuck? Somehow, it took less than 2 days to find a movie that might actually, somehow, be worse than Wafaa (it's at least equal, for sure).

Every single character is fucking annoying. Also, in very typical "everything happens at night" movie style, you can't see 90% of things because they refuse to allow any sort of lighting. So you're just seeing vague movement in a dark screen.

What they don't shy away from here, unfortunately, is very loud, high-pitched, unnecessary, and out-of-place screams (which I guess amount to the 'background music' in this movie). Like, I guess trying for the horror film-type 'music,' but it just randomly shows up and doesn't even correlate to like scare scenes. Literally I think the first one comes when Teesta is like pouring a drink or something. And then some evil-sounding laugh as Pratyush leaves. What?

The plot, apparently taken from James Hadley Chase's 'Tiger By the Tail,' has some potential, but it completely destroyed by some horrific acting, horrible sound and film decisions, and bad lighting. It's not the first Bollywood attempt at adapting a Chase story, and while I haven't seen all of the others, this one is almost certainly near the bottom.

Atul Kulkarni, normally so dependable, is absolutely laughable as a 'scared for his life, accused of murder' protagonist (well, laughable once you get past the never-ending frustration of how dumb everything is). Hell, even the 'accusation' doesn't happen until the very end, and is only made by a secondary officer as a veiled threat over a phone; the officer is promptly vocally disciplined by our lead investigator, who listen to this fucking annoying yelling and then is like "the case is solved" before walking out. I understand Pratyush's beginning reason for going to meet Teesta - but his sticking around upon figuring out it was a lie is just dumb. And then, after that pointless nonsense at the club, after she ends up murdered, he stupidly answers her phone. Which, fine - maybe nerves got to him (even though he had the wherewithal to wipe his prints away BEFORE the phone rang; why didn't he just let it ring and leave?). But then, on the way out, he runs into literally every possible thing in the hallway. Like, looking forward you fucking idiot, especially after the first thing you run into.

Later, near the end, he has this stupid scene at the phone - after the accusation by the cop - where he may or may not be trying to call his wife (versus, honestly, it looks like he's just randomly standing at the phone, number half dialed, crying her name). It's an absolute disaster of a scene, and I literally almost punched my wall (and I did yell out a "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?"). And the, at the very end, his wife find's Teesta card and asks him about it, and suddenly he's all tongue-tied. (Also, her coming back and saying "it's my fault" - what the fuck? No, it most definitely isn't.)

Speaking of crying, and disaster - the scene with Sonali and KK, where Sonali is crying about her love for her brother is also a shit-show of horrible (and fake appearing) crying. Not only does it sound fake (maybe it is supposed to be fake?), but it also makes it impossible to hear half of what she is saying.

Prashant, after being shot, has Pratyush come to try and save him - and instead, he start acting like an idiot, runs closer to the edge of the building (and obviously falls and has to be dragged up - this is clearly done as a way to build tension and allow the baddie to reach them, but it makes absolutely no sense of a just shot, near-death character to have someone try to save him and respond by moving closer to a ledge). Plus, like literally every other character in this movie (except maybe Rahul Dev?!, but he's wasted by this pathetic attempt, and Suchitra Pillai, in a very small role as Pratyush's understandably distraught wife), he's a total ass in the limited time we get to see/know him.

KK's random-ass monologue to Prashant is also out-of-place, dumb, and just like "why the fuck are you saying any of this?" Everything with the serial blackmailer is also fucking annoying. Teesta's actions, when she's alive, are also a mess. And why the fuck did she have his keys (hell, he left her place - how did they end up at the bar together)? His friend Aslam is also obviously a horrible person, and it's crazy that Aslam is the one who is like "we aren't friends anymore" when clearly Pratyush should've been the one saying that - I mean, fucking hell, Aslam pretended he was dying to get Pratyush, a married man who had just fought with his wife but was already regretting it, to go see an exotic dancer (or whatever). It almost feels like Pratyush is typically a complete pushover (except with his wife, of course, who he slaps ON THEIR ANNIVERSARY because she's questioning why he went and spent 3 hours with his friend - a girl he has had a crush on - when she was waiting for him; again, this is ON THEIR ANNIVERSARY) - how else can you explain why he thinks of Aslam as a friend for even one second after he first suggests the exotic dancer (and doesn't take no for an answer).

On top of the random-ass yelling 'music,' there are also a couple of completely random, disorienting scenes where the pictures like get all blurry/weird (not the correct words, I don't think - but essentially, the sort of disorientation that movies try to do when showing up that the characters are high or otherwise drugged). Except, you know, our characters aren't drugged at the time. They're just fucking around with the picture/imaging for no real reason than to give you a headache. There's even one scene where it literally feels like they just used a 2D filter and make everything super flat, simply because they could. It's not at all clever or well-done or a feather in the cap for this movie - it's just another addition to a very long list of "things wrong with this movie."

The biggest problem, of course, is that the opposite list - "things right with this movie" - has absolutely nothing on it. Like Wafaa before it, this movie has absolutely nothing going for it.