#that they have bad haircuts. because that is such a make bad choices especially with your hairstyle time of life

[louwhose]

Ren Faire Week Day Seven

Well, the Faire always must come to an end and you have to say goodbye... but that doesn't always mean it has to be forever. (Continued under the cut)

[darklinaforever]

I am convinced that there must be a story between Lilith and Eve, and probably even an identity exchange between the latter at certain times. Why, how, and when, I don't know, but I am convinced that in all cases, there was an exchange !

Here are the official character cards from the hazbin hotel games :

Lilith's seems quite strange. First, the card supposed to represent Lilith does not contain the name Morningstar compared to her daughter and her husband. Of course, this may seem like a simple little detail, but I am convinced that it is not insignificant.

Second, Lilith's haircut and figure (or at least assumed Lilith...), not to mention the smile she displays, are much more similar to the depiction of Eve in the introduction to Hazbin Hotel than to that of Lilith.

And on top of that, a crucial detail, Lilith's face is absent (even though we know it very well, a strange choice), beckoning as if to keep a secret. And once again, she has almost the same smile as Eve in the introduction to Hazbin Hotel and just like Eve, her face is absent. And when else is Lilith's face missing in Hazbin Hotel ? Episode 5, absolutely.

And removing Lilith's face doesn't really make sense, since once again we know it and we even see it in the episode through numerous portraits. Well, it doesn't really make sense, unless it's to point out that something is wrong with her. And once again, the silhouette looks much more like that of Eve than of Lilith.

All this may seem trivial but I am convinced once again that it is not ! To drive the point home, the Hazbin Hotel Twitter account published a photo showing us a little better the two portraits that we were able to see in episode 5 located in Lucifer's office, with a message explicitly saying that the devil is in the details and to look a little closer at the two portraits of the Morningstar family.

And what can we learn from these two paintings concerning Lilith ? She has her eyes open to one, but not to the other (I will also add that we do not see Lilith's eyes in the beach scene, since they are camouflaged by sunglasses). She is very close to her family on one and more withdrawn on the other. She wears her wedding ring on her left hand on one and her left hand is not visible on the other. Another small detail being that Lilith's left hand was also not visible during the flashback of episode 5.

Probably many will think I'm crazy, but I'm convinced that whatever is happening with Lilith, it must have something to do with Eve and that they must have swapped places probably several times for various reasons. Maybe it's not really Lilith we saw at the end of season 1, who knows. But even if it's her, there must be a reason she's here. I doubt that she simply abandoned her husband and daughter overnight to become the real big bad as many theorize. After all, Lilith has literally been with Lucifer since their fall to Hell and lived a family life with him and a visibly happy Charlie from the portraits. So it probably stayed for thousands of years before suddenly mysteriously disappearing for seven years. Also, all this crazy stuff that a lot of people have saying that Lilith is bad because she kept Charlie away from Lucifer… from the portraits it looks like bullshit. Lucifer obviously had his own insecurities regarding his daughter, no point blaming Lilith for that. Especially since, regardless of whether it was Lilith or Eve in the flashback of episode 5, she simply seemed to bring Charlie back to bed damn it ! Don’t hesitate to give me your opinions in comments !

[lurkingshan]

Every You, Every Me

Story 3

A mechanic! Not my Last Twilight trauma

Actually, now that he's stood up and I see this black tshirt and coveralls taken halfway down, his look is more Payu than Mhok

HE'S COMING TO ME

Okay listen, who put these mismatched hair extensions on this boy I just wanna talk 🔪

FIAT!!! I missed him

I continue to recognize but not be able to place most of the background music in this show, it's driving me nuts

What's with all these March 19s... no way

Are you telling me he's been stalking this kid at the graveyard for years on his mother's death anniversary? And he asked the mom’s dead spirit to bless their union before he even talked to him?? You a weirdo for this, X

He's never even talked to him all these years but he says he likes him. Love at first sight, I guess. "His mismatched hair extensions have bewitched me body and soul"

Btw why has this kid Namping had the exact same haircut for so many years, seems unlikely

I have no theory on the significance of their family members changing universe to universe but I am noting it

Does the little brother get a side romance in this one? They have two whole eps this time they're getting ambitious

This Bad Buddy style phone flirting across the balcony/window is very good

There's a real ominous vibe happening here, something is def going on that we don't know about

Well, that sure was a wholly unnecessary full body lift 😏

I think I would have preferred they use the time to go deeper on the main pair in this story rather than squeeze in a side couple, but this is a Thai BL, so

Something very charming about X getting excited and hitting his head on the undercarriage of the car

The extensions look better in this almost kiss scene god bless (btw that was mean, Namping)

The chemistry!! When they let them flirt these two are excellent

Hmmm Namping is P' here, but he def wasn't older in the last story, what does it meeeeeeean

"Stop asking" boy what are you hiding

Sexiest back hug of all time in BL?? Perhaps

Man, what the hell happened to Namping? Crying during sex and then disappearing on X and sobbing as he leaves. Why can't he tell X what's going on?? (and also me, please tell me). This all feels really needlessly cruel and I am struggling to imagine a scenario that would excuse it.

Welp! Ton showing up after a time skip alone, wearing all black, carrying a box sure doesn't bode well

The way they are dragging this secret out has officially become irritating. Just say what the fuck is going on.

Well, at least Namping knows he's a coward. Ffs. I cannot imagine how he justified leaving X in such an abrupt way, telling him nothing, leaving him waiting, knowing he will never come back. A terminal illness is not a good excuse for what he did to him, especially because his supposed reason was not wanting to be selfish. But his choices here were far more selfish and cruel than telling the truth and staying to be happy while he could.

This show is not really what I expected based on the way people talk about it. It's not all that light, for one. I've heard it described as being a fun speed run of fanfic tropes, but it's pretty dramatic (in the sense of dealing with heavier themes), and this last story at least was very melodramatic. It's the kind of maudlin terminal illness plot line you'd see in a decades-old drama. I guess that's the idea? We're just running through classic tropes, including some that have been all but retired. I still don't know if or how these different universes are meant to connect, or what to make of these characters. Should I view each iteration as separate from the ones before, or am I meant to think of these as the same souls repeating lives? It's interesting for sure.

[dotchi18]

Yandere!Butcher x Reader Headcanons

The Butcher of the Rosen Farm, Gabriel Rosen is the one who takes care of dispatching and butchering the cattle Adam is in charge of. And he's damn good at it too, having a lot of arm strength from hooking up the meats and carving perfect cuts from the carcasses, having quite an eye for it.

Both sides of his head are shaved in a wavy fade side haircut, but he still has the Rosen color at the top in rose red curls. He also has rose stems tattooed around his strong forearms, though his body itself is rocking more of a Dad bod than the rest of his brothers, as he doesn't do any more physical activity than is required for his job, paired off with cactus green eyes.

Gabriel strongly dislikes the town he hails from, so it's incredibly unlikely that his Darling would be from there, likely a traveler coming in that unfortunately stops at the one town before the Deep Forest.

He simply takes one look at you and it's all over for you, watching you for your stay in the village, and the hour you have to leave, simply walks to you, slinging an arm around you and saying " Hey, The name's Gabe. I know you've never met me before, but it's alright. We got the rest of our lives for you to figure it out."

Since you're a traveler and less likely to know anyone in the town, he has no social sway over you, but it's pretty hard to say no when you feel a butcher's knife threatening your ribcage.

If he has to stay in this hellhole of a town, so do you. You're immediately taken to the Rosen estate, and if you think you'll find any help there, then you are completely and utterly wrong.

His family simply treats you as if you're his partner, simply commenting on the fact they didn't think he would find anyone at all. It's strange and suffocating, and it's hellish, especially when you receive his first 'gift', an anklet made from carved bone, the runes in it stopping you from leaving the house.

Unlike with Adam or Sonny, you are not treated like an equal partner, nor a higher priority. With Gabriel, you are a glorified pet, especially since he barely knows you when he first gets you.

The town doesn't comment on it because despite the fact Gabriel's a jackass that few like, you're a stranger to them, and Sonny quells any possible questions by smiling and telling others that Gabriel had finally found his 'Fated Person', and that placates them quite well.

Your only contact aside from the Rosens is their Darlings, and while they may pity you, it's unlikely they would help, as Sonny's Darling was raised too close to them, and Adam's doesn't want to make him upset or worried.

Gabriel will make you tell him where you came from, where you were going, what your family was like, he wants to know everything from the outside world and devour it. He would have become a traveler if he could, but going too far off from his home is quite bad for his health, and sent him stumbling back to where he belongs, and he makes it everyone else's problem.

His weapon of choice is his multiple butcher's knives, and he has absolutely no qualms of using it, especially if anyone happened to come looking for his Darling.

Welcome to your new home, little Darling.

[spotsandsocks]

In my defence I was left unsupervised M 1.3k

Buck gets bored and decides on a new look, he may have doubts about the end result but Eddie’s having thoughts, interesting thoughts.

Eddie Diaz might be many things but a convincing liar is apparently not one of them if Buck’s expression is anything to go by. Regardless of the doubt plastered all over his friend’s face Eddie tries again to make Buck feel better.

“It’s… not … that bad?”

“Not that bad?”

Technically they’re the same three words but the tone and therefore the meaning couldn’t be more different. Buck’s incredulous, his face conveys the message Eddie must be dumb or blind or possibly both.

“Not that bad?!”

Buck repeats himself and turns back to stare into the mirror on Eddie’s wall sighing heavily.

“What the fuck was I thinking?”

Buck runs a hand over his head then closes his eyes in distress.

It’s actually quite a sensible question so Eddie repeats it.

“What were you thinking?

That’s fair question right? Eddie decides it has to be because it’s only natural to query the dubious decision making skills of one Evan ‘Buck’ Buckley at the best of times and especially when he seems so distressed by the results of his life choices.

Eddie studies Buck, who’s studying his own reflection with a frown. It certainly is a change. Eddie had definitely been a little taken aback when Buck had walked in 5 minutes ago but now the shock is wearing off there is actually something quite… he redirects his thoughts quickly.

Buck still hasn’t given his reasons for the alterations to his appearance so Eddie rephrases the question.

“I mean… why… ??” his words trail off and he just points with a finger at the relevant area of Buck.

The answer manages to be both ridiculous and entirely plausible. If you know Buck, which he does.

“Because I was bored.”

The noise he makes is entirely involuntary. Honestly, Eddie can’t be judged for the amused and exasperated sound that escapes. Buck does these things to himself. Still staring at his own reflection the man in question adds,

“You know, in retrospect I don’t think bored people should be left unsupervised with scissors.”

The grim declaration is so ridiculous Eddie has to swallow down the urge to laugh because really only Buck would cut all his hair off on a whim.

“It’s so short.” Buck’s voice is a plaintive whine and his blue eyes crinkle in distress.

He’s right obviously, it is extremely short; not quite an army level buzz cut but not too far off. Eddie will miss the curls but on the other hand the longer he looks the more he’s having thoughts and from his point of view it really isn’t “that bad”. Quite the opposite. Sometimes you have to face facts; Buck’s just too damn attractive for any haircut to be truly bad.

In fact the more he studies Buck’s image in the mirror the more he likes it.

The severity of the style adds something to his features. The angles on his face have become sharper which in turn make his lips seem fuller. He’s more….Eddie considers his options and settles on rugged, as the right word, with sexy coming in in second place. Also for some reason Buck’s eyes look bluer and have become far more piercing.

There must be a draft somewhere because a slight shiver runs down his spine as he keeps staring at Buck staring at himself.

It would probably feel good too, under his fingertips. Soft and kinda fuzzy. He can just imagine Buck closing his eyes and sighing in pleasure if he did reach out and scratch through the soft strands of hair.

Continue on ao3

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

You've done what ifs where Aro or Carlisle swapped places with Dumbledore, but what if the protagonists swapped roles instead? Harry Swan and Bella Potter? How would that go?

Anon's referring to this post as well as this post.

Caveat That Bears Repeating

I've said this a number of times in these kinds of posts already, but the thing is that backstories matter. Harry and Bella don't just pop into existence, informed by nothing, they all have histories that lead them to where they end up in canon.

Bella has her parent's messy divorce, her alienation from her father, her irresponsible mother, as well as the socialization of being an American girl in the early 2000's.

Harry is an orphan physically and mentally abused by his surviving relatives, at the age of eleven he suddenly discovers that in a secret society he's bigger than the Beatles, he's a young British boy in the early 1990's who then is thrust into the wizarding world culture.

My point is that as much as I can theorize what Bella or Harry would be like in the AU where Bella's now a British girl living in a cupboard beneath the stairs and Harry's now living with Renee, it's just me handwaving and guessing.

I really don't know with these things.

With that said, we can try.

Bella Potter

We'll say the Dursleys pull the exact same shit with Bella as they would Harry. I imagine Bella's almost New Moon levels of depressed at eleven.

She thinks she's ugly and is purposefully made so by her relatives (given bad haircuts, clothes that don't fit, probably Dudley's castoffs making her look more tom-boyish and less 'cute' than what might be acceptable), she's told her parents were drunks and losers, and her family despises her and thinks she's stupid and a waste of space.

I imagine Bella often contemplates whether it'd be better if she'd never been born in the first place. Where Harry reacted with anger, I imagine from what we see of canon, Bella crumples in on herself.

Then she discovers she's a witch, that weird scar on her forehead that she always tries to cover a sign of her defeating You-Know-Who, and that her parents were wonderful people.

Bella waits for the other shoe to drop, for people to realize she's a phony, that she's not cool, special, pretty, or anything any of these people seem to believe she is based on nothing. Worse, Bella would want to come clean, but she doesn't want to lose any of this.

Hagrid is treating her nicely, on the train that boy Ron genuinely seems to like her and think she's cool and interesting, she has friends and people think she can do things.

Bella's terrified of being found out as a fraud which makes her more nervous than Neville in trying to use magic (especially in Potions where Snape mercilessly bullies her and thus makes her even worse than she otherwise would have been).

However, this gets in the way of typical Harry adventures, as Bella to the best of her ability keeps her nose down and out of trouble (as then everyone would hate her again). As a result, she doesn't save Hermione from the troll, Ron eventually gets bored of her and thinks of her as another girl, she doesn't go after the Philosopher's Stone or later involve herself with the Chamber of Secrets debacle.

Voldemort gets the stone offscreen (likely eventually able to get through the enchantment on the mirror) and is able to resurrect himself at which point Bella is terrified as everyone's now expecting her to do something about it.

"I am twelve?" Bella asks, then cries because she's not a magical princess like everyone wants her to be.

Harry Swan

Where Bella is depressed, Harry is angry.

Harry's not happy about moving to Forks but it was made clear he didn't have much choice. He's very bitter with Renee about this and bitter at Charlie in general for being an absentee father. He's ready to take on the whole school, gossiping all about him he's sure, and spit in their faces.

Unlike Hogwarts, as he doesn't want to be here and doesn't have good preconceptions, it's the equivalent of him being told he's going to Malfoy Boarding School in Malfoy County, to a place where he's sure to hate the people and they're sure to be looking for any weakness. (Remember, Bella did not at all have a good perception of Forks or its people).

He, in fact, immediately does so just to make sure they know where he stands. Yeah, he knows his mom ran off, what about it? I imagine he gets in a fist fight with Mike Newton on his first day, Harry is labeled a delinquent.

He catches a look at the Cullens and thinks they're rich freaks and weirdos who moved to this nowhere town. Charlie is at his wits end with Harry and utterly unsure how to deal with him as most the kids in town don't make this kind of trouble.

Unfortunately for Harry, he catches Edward's interest, unfortunately for Harry, with his outspoken anger and bitterness he's not Edward's type.

There's only two doors for someone with the smell, Edward takes the door labeled "eat me, I'm delicious".

[biggie-chcese]

yuma cockhead

yuma cockhead.... his silhouette is pretty dick shaped in a way thanks to that haircut now that i think abt it

ANYWAY YUMA SHIPS!!! I LOVE A LOT OF THOSE (spoilers below)

NDA

Shinigami- 10/10 i love these two a lot and they're everything 2 me and i am very much enamored by the idea of a pair sharing mind and body. do yall think they had freaky mind se-

Yakou- 20/10 i have rambled before so ill refrain here but the angst potential mixed with the funny roommates potential is everything to me. i feel So Many things about them. they should have pathetic cringefail sex all the time <3

Halara- 9.8/10 i really love them deeply, especially how easily yuma breaks through halara's walls. the only reason points have been docked at all is because theyre not at the forefront of my mind

Desuhiko- 5/10 i only really like them in memes otherwise i kinda dont care

Fubuki- 8/10 theyre sooo cute together and i love how patient and sweet yuma is with her and how much she opens yuma's mind!!! also just not at the front of my mind but it is a banger ship. anyway can we start calling them kokoclock

Vivia- 20/10 OH BABY... fellas is it gay to be narrative foils? is it gay to change each others' outlook on life and truth and peace and happiness? also this fucking height difference makes me crazy

Kurumi- solid 2/10 i dont hate it but i dont like it either. the game makes me dislike it but ive seen some good fanon stuff. i think it's at its best if kurumi has a one-sided fangirl crush that's lowkey creepy but not outright yandere

Amaterasu

Makoto- 20/10 OUGHHH... i Really like this one. rattling them in my brain all the time. there's something i find deeply interesting in the way that they Truly understand each other. it's even easier to see ones own flaws and needs from an outsider's point of view, and i think that's a Really Good Thing for the world's most emotionally constipated minds

Yomi- 8/10 this one is extremely self indulgent to me because i think angry yuma is... really good. i want them to have nasty hatesex where they try to kill each other

Swank- 5/10 because erm uhhh. this has a very Specific appeal to me sorry. i want a lot of things to happen to yuma. swank should burn cigars on yuma's skin and then shotgun smoke with him in a seedy motel after yuma has made several bad choices in a row

Fake Zilch- 5/10 kind of similar reasoning to swank. not elaborating

the rest of the peacekeepers- idk man 2/10 or something i do not give a fuck about these ships but it's yuma so im open to them

Train Detectives

Real Zilch- 4/10 ive seen cute art but im mostly indifferent

Aphex- 5/10 i like that aphex is mean to yuma he should bully him More

Pucci- 3/10 the scene where their hands touched annoyed me i didnt want pucci to be a love interest. and then a more annoying love interest plot came afterwards so i guess that's how it goes. i dont care man idc

Zange- idk like 2/10. i dont care.

Melami- 4.5/10 i like that the first thing she did was grope yuma on sight. realest shit of all time. speak your truth, girl

Misc

Shachi- 4.5/10 i think it's a bit hot that shachi looks like he could snap yuma like a wafer stick. also i once drew them fucking once so now im attached

Nun- 4/10 i read one particularly good fic

The Literal Book of Death- 5/10 i read one particularly good fic

Ramen Shop Owner- 6/10 it would be really, really funny. besides yuma ramenhead deserves at least some good head from number one for literally solving kanai ward for him

aaand that's everything i feel like giving an opinion about! if you're curious about any others, assume i'm indifferent. thanks for asking!

[jillsandwhichs]

Cleon Oneshots/AUs Collection , Chap 8 , Haircut

Masterlist

Pairing: Claire Redfield & Leon Kennedy

Summary: Claire gives Leon a much needed hair cut

Status of their relationship in this oneshot: Married

WC: 3.9k

Type: Sfw

A/n: Hi! Hope you all enjoy. Please check out my masterlist, there's a lot of stuff there. You can get to know me, you can see the rules of my blog and then you can see all of my fanfictions. You'll be able to find the previous chapters to this fic and upcoming ones. You'll also be able to find my Wattpad & AO3. Thank you

It was a late night, around 6:30 PM, which is the time where both Claire & Leon are able to spend some time together since from 5ish AM to 4:30ish PM, they're both at work. Leon works for the D.S.O, a company that helps protect the world from any and all attacks, it also specializes in protecting the president. It is a very elite job but it wasn't necessarily Leon's choice to work there in the first place.

As for Claire though, she works at TerraSave, which isn't as elite as the D.S.O is. TerraSave specializes in helping with the aftermath of B.O.W attacks, sometimes even global attacks. TerraSave isn't as time consuming either ; there are days where Claire is at home, all alone, just waiting for Leon to come home to her. She isn't the clingy type but it can get lonely sometimes.

Leon's position at the D.S.O is a secret agent, he simply just works in the fields. Claire is a representative for TerraSave. She sort of helped found the company. She does all sorts of work for TerraSave. It's safe to say unlike Leon, Claire does enjoy her job and makes the best of it. Then again, unlike Leon, Claire wasn't forced to work for TerraSave, she had a choice. Either way, they both have each other to motivate one another, Leon has stated more than once that Claire is who keeps him going and vice versa.

Considering it's a Friday and both of them are officially out of work, Leon & Claire feel free, which is such a rare feeling for them. Claire can't remember the last time she was able to just lie down in bed and watch a TV show, it feels so strange to her. It's an unfamiliar task to her. She's currently watching 'Brooklyn 99', it's a sitcom that was recommended to her by Moria, a close friend of hers whom also happens to work at TerraSave with her!

Whilst Claire is watching her show, Leon is in the shower. Sometimes the two of them shower together but they but know that whenever that happens, cleaning themselves never actually gets done... So that's why Claire let him do it alone this time. They also value being apart at times. Not because they're losing love for one another or because they're sick of each other, it's simply because it's healthy! It gives you time to yourself, time to think and besides, being around the same person for to long can lead to internalized irritation for said person.

Claire was cuddled up beneath the blankets, their bed was absolutely cluttered. Claire gets cold easily, she can't help but have at least three blankets on the bed at all times. It also just makes her feel safe. Whenever she's doing something vulnerable, such as laying in bed and watching a show, it makes her feel more secure to be covered by hefty blankets. Although, in a real serious situation, that would do her more bad than good. But just for watching some silly show, it worked.

From the bedroom, Leon & Claire's shared bathroom was connected to it, right by their closet there is a door that leads to it. Claire could hear random noises as Leon showered, she could mainly hear the sound of the rapid water spouting out from the head of it. The TV was louder though and surprisingly, the show was quite humorous. Claire actually used to make fun of sitcoms, she found them tacky & boring but this one was good. Moria has great taste.

A little while after, whilst Claire was still watching the show, she heard the shower switch off. She felt warmth form within her stomach knowing she'd get to see Leon. Especially with his hair wet... She loves it. Anyhow, she continued to watch her show, not wanting to seem like she was yearning for him, despite the fact she was. She loves him so very much. Claire honestly becomes feral anytime he gets out of the shower ; she believes that's when he looks his ultimate best.

Hearing the restroom door open, Claire shifted her head to face it, her eyes fixating on Leon as he walked out. Man, he looked good. He wasn't even dressed yet, only having a towel around his waist. His shredded arms were on display for Claire's eyes & his abs were squeaky clean, practically shining. His hair was a bit long, longer than usual, but whenever it's wet, Claire goes crazy. This is exactly what she meant. He is hot.

Leon turned to face Claire, a gentle grin forming on his handsome face, "Hey babygirl." Leon spoke to Claire, walking towards the bed. "Whatcha doing?" Leon asked her, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Hi handsome." Claire gave him a radiant smile. "Just watching a show, the one Moria recommended to me." "Brooklyn 99?" "Yeah, that's the one." Claire replied, tittering to herself. "I see... Do you plan on taking a shower tonight?" "Possibly? I don't know yet... I'm kinda tired." Claire giggled, her hands resting in her lap as she sat criss cross. "Alrighty hun." Leon nodded.

"Was your shower nice?" Claire questioned, getting up on her knees and scooching closer to him. "Yes, my love, it was but do you wanna know what would've made it more enjoyable?" Leon immediately had a cocky smirk plastered across his face. "Hmm, I wonder...?" Claire said sarcastically, laying her head in his lap with a cute smile ridden on her beautiful face. "You get me." Leon stated with a genuine smile. "I always will." Claire responded, her left hand holding onto his right arm. "You're so pretty." Leon complimented her, studying her face. "You're very handsome." Claire chuckled, patting his arm a few times.

Gandering down at her a little longer, Leon felt happy. Her heartbeat always increases whenever he's around her, even with the fact they've been married for two years and have known one another since the '90s. That right there is how he knows she is the one for him. She is the love of his life. Sure, there have been others he's loved & yeah, he thought he was in love with them but no, it's always been her. It's always going to be Claire. "I wouldn't trade you for the world... Even when you are a pain in my ass." Leon laughed, caressing her cheek with loving strokes. "Oh haha." Claire vocalized with a cocky voice.

The two sat in silence for a minute or so before Claire sat back up and stood up off of the bed, placing her hands on her hips. "Wanna order some takeout for dinner? Not really in the mood to cook." Claire asked whilst establishing how she felt. "Fine by me, what would you like?" Leon questioned her, standing up alongside her as well. "Honestly, Either Chinese or Thai, either or is okay with me." Claire shook her head slowly, just imaging the flourishing tastes of both cultural food. "Definitely Thai then, we have Chinese way to frequently." Leon chortled, shaking his head & making his way to their shared closet.

"I'll order some here in a bit then, okay?" Claire reasoned with him as she ambled into the closet too. "Yeah, alright sweetheart." Leon cleared his throat, turning the closet light on. "Gonna watch me get dressed?" Leon snickered, winking at her seductively. "Better show than the one I was watching." Claire giggled softly, sitting on the platform where their shoes are usually set on. "Oh yeah baby, I have a question." Leon stated. "Yes baby? Ask away!" Claire said lovingly, gazing up at him, her leg tossed up on her other leg. "Well..." He muttered as he went through the rack of his shirts. "I was wondering if you'd cut my hair tonight... Morely just a trim. It's getting too long for my liking." Leon went on, leaving Claire laughing to herself.

"Jesus Leon, are you serious? I've never even cut my own hair before so what makes you think I can do yours?" Claire cackled, her stomach begining to hurt from how much she was laughing. "I am willing to be your test subject." Leon snickered, grabbing a long sleeve grey shirt from the rack and slipping it on. It hugged his body perfectly. You could literally see his ab imprints on it. "Oh baby, I don't think I'd do well." Claire shrieked out a bit more, not believing the fact he genuinely asked her that. "Red, if you can repair a motorcycle all on your own, fight literal B.O.W.S & put up with my ass all in the same week, I promise you, you can trim my hair." Leon assured her with a side of cockiness flowing through his tone.

"If you say so..." Claire heaved heavily. "I'll finish getting dressed, how about you go and set up a chair in the kitchen by the sink and find the scissors, yeah?" Leon questioned, his hand holding her chin firmly, forcing her to gaze up at him. "Mhm." Claire mumbled back. "Good, go do that sweetheart." Leon requested, letting go of her face and looking in his personal drawer for some sweatpants to throw on. Claire nodded and got up, making her way to their kitchen.

The house Claire & Leon owned was large. People often even said it's like a mansion, though they disagree. Their home is in a woodsy area & has a craftsman feel to it, it fits both of their styles in seperate ways. Stone & wood were primary materials used on their home as well. They both loved the house the second they seen it. It was pricy but overall worth it! The economy wasn't at an all time low either when they bought it, they don't even wanna think about what the price would be nowadays...

Striding over to the dining table, she grabbed ahold of one of the many chairs set at the table and brought it over to the island counters sink, placing it neatly & directly in front of it. She may have to get Leon's hair a little more damp so the sink is useful. "That should do it." Claire muttered to herself and then decided to make her way to their bathroom. Somewhere within it, there were scissors, but Claire had absolutely no clue where.

As she entered back into their bedroom, she seen Leon convoy out of the closet. "Got the chair set up, now I just need to find the scissors." Claire shared, crossing her arms across her chest. "Okay babygirl, I'll be waiting." Leon leered at her, planting a sweet kiss upon her smooth cheek. "M'kay." Claire whispered to herself as he left the room. "Right." Claire uttered, getting herself back on track. She already knew she was gonna have one helluva time attempting to find them.

Ambling on into the bathroom, Claire deeply sighed and clicked on the mirror above the sink, it opened and all Claire could see were perfumes and razors. No luck here. She actually has no idea where the hair scissors may be. There is a fine difference between paper scissors & hair scissors and Claire was going to try her absolute best to not mess up Leon's hair. She didn't need her husband looking like a fool & it being on her account.

Crouching down, Claire could feel how cold the bathroom tiles were, she remembers growing up in the orphanage, she'd always hide in the bathrooms and sit on the crisp flooring to hide away from everyone else. It brings her back, despite the memories not being the best. She opened the cupboards attached to the sink but still there was nothing in there besides pipes and random toiletries.

Standing back up & turning around, she began to rummage through the straw basket that was placed on the back of the toilet. With the small amount of luck she still had, she was finally able to find the scissors. "There we go..." Claire expressed aloud, holding them downwards as she was taught growing up. "I found them handsome!" Claire shouted out to Leon as she strolled out of the bathroom for the last time. "Good job!" Leon yelled back, chuckling alongside what he said. He knew she could do it.

Leon sat down in the chair Claire had set for him as he ran his fingers through his hair & tapped his foot repeatedly, waiting for Claire to come to him. He personally thought Claire was overreacting ; it is just hair after all... Either way, he has trust & confidence in her. She's got this. "I hope I don't fuck up your hair." Claire mumbled out as she entered the kitchen, pulling the scissors open. "You need to calm down babe, you got this." Leon snickered, watching her as she walked towards him, her hips swaying side to side so effortlessly.

"We'll see." Claire laughed, now standing in front of him. "I'll start with the front, come here." She stated, moving closer to him. With her left hand, she stroked it through his hair & grabbed strands of it between her fingers. "God, please help me." She whispered before she then cut along the edges of his damp, healthy hair. The snippets of hair fell onto Leon's lap but he just wiped them off. "Just a trim is all I want beautiful." He reminded her, placing his hand on her hip and caressing it.

"I know baby, stay still." Claire requested, cutting off more strands of his locks, she was really surprised at the fact it didn't look bad but she most definitely wasn't about to get her hopes up. "You look so good right now..." Leon praised her with the most cocky smirk ever. Leon was always flirting with her and never fails to make her feel some type of way... "Oh yeah?" Claire giggled, continuing to snip off slivers of his hair. "Yeah... You know, guys at work have literally asked me how I managed to get you to be my wife... You wanna know what I always tell them?" "What's that hun?" Claire questioned with a sly smile.

"I tell them, "By simply being such a hunk..."." "Oh really now? Well, maybe that is how you were able to snatch me right up & make me your wife... That may be the answer!" Claire spoke sarcastically, peeping down at him. "Ok, I think I am done with your bangs & what not, turn your head honey." Claire asked of him, placing both hands on his head and shifting it. "Yes ma'am." Leon chuckled. She began to cut more hair off, being very careful though, she didn't wanna make the slightest mistake.

"I love that you've grown out your hair... Suits you so well..." Claire complimented him as she focused on the snipping. "You think so? Sometimes I miss my short hair." Leon responded, pondering to himself. "I remember how your hair was when I first met you... You were so cute, but you're so handsome now... There's a difference." Claire snorted. "Hey now, you told me you thought I was the cutest guy you'd ever seen so don't act like I wasn't." "Hey! My case still stands... You are and always have been the cutest man I've ever seen. All I'm saying is, is that now you've got a look to ya... An older man look, you're handsome & sexy." Claire expressed, adorable giggles released from her in-between words. "I'll let it slide babe." Leon chortled.

"Speaking of, you should wear your hair down more often... I absolutely love it." Leon said with a happy voice. "I love when you have it up as well... I'm not picky." Leon tittered, keeping his head as still as he could. "I just feel more confident with it in a ponytail, y'know? I'm trying to get used to wearing it down more though, a lot of people have complimented it." Claire explained. Leon knew of her insecurities with her hair but to him, it didn't matter. She was gorgeous no matter what. "To me, no matter how you look, you're always my beautiful girl." Leon spoke with tenderness. "I'm glad." Claire replied.

"I almost have this side finished, your hair is just very layered." Claire vocalized. "Gotcha baby, take your time." Leon responded, tapping his foot on the dark wood floor lightly. "We still ordering food tonight?" "Definitely. After all this labor, I'm gonna need to eat." Claire tittered. "Oh right, cause this is such hard work..." Leon replied playfully. Their humor complimented each other well. Claire gets irritated with his attitude at times but for the most part, it's honestly one thing that brought them together. Their relationship is built onto it among other stuff too.

"Okay, this side is complete! Turn your head again honey." Claire stated. Leon obliged, turning his head and now, he was able to face her. "Gosh you're so beautiful." Leon grinned up at her, placing his hands onto her waist, squeezing it with a firm amount of pressure. "Oh hush, let me focus." Claire snickered, cutting away even more. "I'm serious... Just look at you, Red, you're so perfect." Leon praised her. What would the word be to describe Leon's thing for Claire? It would be obsession. He is undoubtedly obsessed with her and rightfully so.

"You're insane." Claire laughed, biting her lip as she attempted to hold back a goofy smile. "I love you Claire." Leon whispered to her, still trying to stay still, he knew if he moved too much he'd receive a smack to the back of the head. "I love you too." Claire replied to his touching words. "Your hair has gotten too dry, hold on." Claire added, putting the scissors down for a moment to turn the nozzle of the sink on. "Do you need me to lay my head back?" "No, no, I'll just do it, stay in that exact position." Claire said softly, her face was so divine, Leon could not take his eyes off of her.

Running her hand under the water, Claire allowed it to get wet enough before patting it on Leon's hair. "Just one more time..." Claire spoke with a concentrated voice as she stuck her hand beneath the faucet once more. "Will you ever cut your hair again? Like you did a few years ago?" "Maybe... Haven't put much thought into it." Claire replied, letting the water from her hand seep into his dirty blonde hair. "I love your long hair... It's easier to pull." Leon spoke with a seductive yet snarky tone. Claire smacked his arm whilst also trying to not laugh, "Leon!" She shouted, her cheeks flushed. "What? I didn't do anything!" Leon tossed his hands out as if he was innocent. "You're something else." Claire rolled her eyes playfully, interlocking her fingers with the scissors.

Beginning to snip the right side of his head now, Claire was deep in thought. She couldn't help but feel beyond appreciative for the life she's been gifted with. Aside all the bioterrorism & trauma that's with come into her life, with all of that, she met Leon, the love of her life. Without him, she doesn't really know where she'd be... She's not the super sappy type but on occasion, she gets in her feels. "I'm so in love with you..." Claire whispered to her husband, trimming his hair with ease. "You're my world." Leon muttered back to her, he also seemed to be lost in his mind.

Leon's hair was scattered all over the kitchen floor, some of it even on both Leon & Claire's pants. "You're sweeping this up afterwards." Claire demanded with a chuckle. "You got it." Leon responded with a smirk. "I'm almost done, just a few more strands need trimmed off." Claire announced. "Fine by me sweetheart." Leon replied to her statement. They both remained silent for the next couple minutes as Claire continued her work. She was still blown away by how well it looked but then again, as Leon said, it was only a trim. He definitely helped her with the motivation of the task, he helps her in so many ways.

With the final snippet, his hair was complete! "Oh, all done handsome." Claire spoke gently, stepping backwards away from him to get a better full view. "Oh nice." Leon mumbled aloud as he then stood up, he quite literally towered over Claire. "Shake your head baby, it'll make your hair look more natural." Claire implored. Leon nodded in agreement, shaking his head like a wet dog does after it receives a bath. "Great, go take a look and tell me how you feel & like I said, don't you dare get upset with me, this is on you." Claire snorted, pushing him out of the kitchen and aiming for him to go to the bathroom. "If you say so babygirl." Leon giggled, making his way to the bathroom.

Claire waited patiently in the kitchen for Leon to come back to her, wanting to see his initial reaction. Was he gonna like it? Or dislike it? Even hate it? Deep down, she knew he'd like it no matter what but even so, that worrying feeling filled her deep within. She trusts herself though. "Baby? Come back here. Do you like it!?" Claire spoke with a full throated tone. She waited for a response but he didn't make a single pipet of a noise.

"Leon!" Claire yelled as she began to step towards the bathroom and as she did, she seen him standing in the doorway of the bathroom, checking himself out in the mirror. "Jesus baby, why diidn't you answer me?" "To busy checking myself out, damn I'm hot." Leon said jokingly as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh... So you like it? It's not too messed up?" Claire wondered, folding her arms and slowly treading to the bathroom arch way. "Honey..." Leon chuckled as he spun around to face her. "You did wonderful, come here." Leon held his hands out as she walked closer to him.

"Well, I'm glad, you do look quite dapper." Claire giggled, wrapping her lanky arms around his muscular back, facing up at him. "You think? I could say the same for you, beautiful." Leon flirted back with her, patting her butt delicately. Claire didn't say anything back, she only nestled her head into the warmth of his chest. His heartbeat was calm & collected, it made her feel immense peace. "You okay?" Leon cackled out, rubbing her back with complete & utter love. "Yeah, I just love you." "I love you babygirl." Leon whispered to her, his left hand petting her head.

Leon was always way more physically affectionate than Claire was but she has her moments. It doesn't hurt to wanna cuddle up sometimes, which they'd definitely be doing tonight. They needed each other & often they need one another's touch. "I really do like how you did my hair, don't think I'm just saying that because you're my girl." Leon uttered to her, pulling away and staring into her piercing, breath-taking eyes. "If you say so." Claire chortled, her delicate hands resting on his hard chest. "I mean it, Red." Leon said with a affirming tone, hoping Claire would realize he's being truthful. She nodded in reply.

"Now, how about we order that food? I'll even sit through your show." Leon smirked. "Sounds like a plan handsome." Claire replied, pulling how her phone from her pocket and begining to dial the number.

[beevean]

Comparing CV and NFCV designs

I was having thoughts about how game designs were translated to the show. While I'm not a character design expert, I ended up having a fair bit to say, because most of the changes are fascinating, for better or for worse :P

1) Sypha

She's the only character I would say that was improved over the game version.

While Sypha never starred in any game post-CV3, and wasn't redesigned by Ayami Kojima like Trevor and Alucard were (excluding a cameo in PtR), we know what she looks like by her ending sprite of CV3 and the Fake Sypha of SoTN:

Yet another long-blonde-haired woman. Like pretty much every other woman in CV with few exceptions. She's carried by her mage outfit and her big hood that give her a mystique air, but I don't blame the showrunners for redesigning her.

Giving her short, reddish hair was a great choice IMO. It's a very cute haircut that doesn't fall into the "Stronk Female Character" stereotype (think Zafir essentially lol). Too bad they didn't even attempt the whole "secretly a man" plot point because it would have worked pretty well. Her clothes are simple, and I wish she hid herself in the hood more, but they work for her character. Full thumbs up!

2) Dracula

I'll use the Dracula from SoTN and CoD as reference, since those are the designs that inspired the one from the show.

His SoTN design is iconic, a true classy villain that inspires awe, and surprisingly faithful to the description in Bram Stoker's book. His CoD design isn't bad, very similar in features to the previous one, but with clothes more inspired to his "Classic" style, which makes sense. (the spiked wings are particularly cool)

... but I must confess that I prefer Dracula with black hair rather than white:

I know that LoI didn't happen in NFCV, but it would make more sense for the original Dracula. He could have looked like an older Mathias by the time of CV3... then the grief of losing Lisa would turn his hair white, as we see in CoD and after. Also it's just aesthetically more pleasing lol.

I like the outfit as well. The top is inspired from the CoD outfit, where he looked like a sorcerer, and the bottom is inspired from the SoTN outfit, where he looked like a noble (he wears boots, hidden here). Not particularly elegant, but then again this Dracula is neither of those things, so it works well enough.

It's ranked below Sypha simply because, well, it's just Dracula with a dye job, not much effort went into here. Hell, Kojima herself considered the idea first:

But it's a small change that works wonders and I like him a lot!

3) St. Germain

In CoD, St. Germain was meant to look very out of place:

He wears anachronistic clothes, and even his body build is unusual for the style. You can tell before he opens his mouth that something's up with him.

In the show, having a different background, he had to be redesigned:

He looks more time appropriate and stockier, but still recognizeable as the original character in physical traits. They even kept the hourglass!

I have little to add. The two characters serve different purposes, so they have to look different, and both work. I don't prefer one over the other, which is good enough. It was also a cute easter egg that N!St. Germain at one point wore the original outfit.

4) Trevor

Now we're getting into "obvious downgrades compared to the original" territory, but Trevor still looks fine for what he is:

Handsome in a scruffy way, combat ready (especially after ditching the cape), and with noble heritage. Nothing near as iconic as his CoD design, which looks both elegant and as combat ready as a veteran vampire hunter should be...

... but again, it's fine for the kind of character this Trevor is, and he's still aesthetically pleasing.

I do question, however, why Trevor starts out with his scar. In CoD, he got the scars on his eye and chest after the fight with Dracula, to mark him as a survivor of the Dark Lord at the peak of his strength. Giving it to Trevor simply because he got in trouble with humans is cheapening it.

5) Hector

Hector has the dubious honor of being one of the few characters who looks nearly identical to his game counterpart. As you can tell by the placing of the designs, I don't like this choice (Dracula notwithstanding because the black hair really is an improvement IMO), because they end up looking like discount versions of the beautiful Kojima designs.

Still, what more or less saves Hector is that his design had to be simplified, because man there is a lot going on here:

Hector's design conveys two important factors: he's a knight, and he's proficient in combat. The outfit's not elegant, but it's protective - look at the armor on his chest, his boots, and the guard on his left arm. His clothes overall look sturdy and comfortable enough to run and fight. He also has a ton of details that would be a nightmare to animate, such as the holes in his sleeves and pants, the chains, the skewed belt...

The simplification here was done with the right amount of care. The holes have become a motif, and the sleeves are no longer asymmetrical in color; same for the holes in the pants. The armor and boots still share the same motif, even without the detail that made them look protective (in fact, the armor is more visibly made of metal here, while in Kojima's style it's hard to tell if it's metal or leather). The belt has become a singular object, and most importantly they removed the black ribbon wrapped around the sash - it was most likely an accidental choice, but since that is Rosaly's ribbon, and ofc Hector wouldn't have it in this version, it was the right call.

There are, however, some problems with this. All these compromises make for a weird design in the context of the show: no other character has this extravagant design, even with all the simplifications. I'll explain later that he's especially jarring contrasted with Isaac. Also, it simply doesn't fit the character: this version of Hector is infamously completely ineffectual in battle, spends most of his screentime being used and tortured, and never once swings a weapon at an opponent (perhaps this is why he looks like he lost all muscle mass lol). Just look at the glove on his right hand: the reason the real Hector wears it is as protection when he uses his sword. Hector from the show doesn't even have a sword! That glove is completely useless for a blacksmith like he's supposed to be!

As a plus, this is what Hector is supposed to wear when employed under Dracula:

They gave Isaac the correct uniform (and I will have words about it). Hector started to wear his CoD clothes after he decided to run all over Wallachia to chase Isaac. Again, the outfit is not for work, it's for combat.

But it's not just the clothing that changed. On a positive note, I like his darker skin: Hector here is canonically Greek, and I appreciate it. I would like to see this bronze skin tone with game Hector's silver hair. On a negative note, however, this Hector's hair is very bad: not only it's a dull grey and not shiny silver, but the haircut is simply unflattering - why did they cut off the tips like that? It falls very badly around his face, it looks like a cheap, static wig.

(i'm not even going to deign words for how they drew child hector. that thing has suffered enough)

Overall, I don't know why they bothered to recreate the same design when it simply doesn't fit the character, and the character in general just looks like a downgrade, but I can accept the compromises in a vacuum. It helps that Hector's original design is just that good.

6) Lisa

Lisa also looks identical to her game counterpart, perhaps because there was no need to waste time for a minor character.

She's female Alucard with a typical mom ponytail. Nothing much to say.

And I will only say one thing about Lisa in the show.

Man is the style so damn unflattering for her.

She can look better depending on the artist...

But I'm not giving points for literally copying Kojima's design and doing it poorly.

7) Alucard

Alucard's design by Kojima is one of the most iconic in videogame history.

Look at him. Pure, effortless elegance. An absolute prince, graceful and deadly. The sheer amount of detail in his clothing are a fashion designer's dream. You cannot top this. Which is why I imagine the show didn't even attempt to.

... but what the actual fuck am I looking at here.

Again. Simplification was in order, I get it, I understand. But... really? Really. You did this to Alucard. You gave him the shittiest V-neck shirt and pants I could buy at the thrift store? Where is the elegance? Where is the nobility? Just having a long coat isn't enough to recreate the same style!

I also resent the scar on his chest, given to him by Dracula (unlike Trevor). That is the true reason he wears the shitty V-neck shirt. His S4 design all but proves it:

Now this is just nonsensical. What's the point of wearing a cape and a coat, but still going around with your whole chest out? I mean. We all know why. But it's ridiculous.

This is why Alucard ranks far lower than Hector and Lisa: his design has cheap fanservice as its priority, and I find that disrespectful towards the character and the audience. Plus, much like Lisa, the style is very unflattering to him.

I don't know what to tell you, guys. I just find him ugly, even in the best shots.

8) Carmilla

Comparing the two Carmillas isn't even worth it, but then again I could say the same about Isaac, and I don't want to be unfair :P

This is the most famous design for Carmilla in the games:

A giant, masked, naked woman riding a skull crying bloody tears. Nothing like any other foe in the series, and absolutely raw.

We also have "Camilla" from CotM:

Aww, she's cute. She's so pink and frilly! She has fins in her hair! Hard to imagine her as a villain. But don't worry, she also turns into a giant naked demon lady riding a skull:

So the showrunners had some good ideas to transport into the show.

... And they went for the most generic "sexy female villain" design they could.

She's not ugly, but... she's just boring. This design fits her to a T because her whole character is boring. They didn't even give her a mask, or a skull motif. Nothing. It's just a forgettable sexy #girlboss. Disappointing. Even the dress is boring - does this thing even have shading?

I guess they recycled the idea of a cute vampire villain for Lenore, but she's outside the scope of this list, so.

9) Isaac

And finally we get to the worst downgrade in the whole show :)

Where do I even begin with this guy. He's unlike any other character designed by Kojima, but not to the point of looking like he doesn't belong. What matters is that you can tell everything you need to know about him at first glance, and first and foremost: he's the peak of flamboyancy and insanity. You are not going to forget Isaac very soon lol.

But it's all the details that make the picture. He's red and black, marking him as a foil to Hector who is blue and silver. His outfit is obviously similar to Hector's, but fallen off of him and rotten (the "armor" on his chest resembles Hector's own, just stripped down). He has long forgotten anything resembling "sturdy and comfortable", but the bloodied spear tells us he's still a formidable fighter. The hair is anachronistic to say the least, but the way the bangs cover a side of his face contrasts Hector's billowing hair and draws attention to the tattoo on his face. He is covered head to toe with intricate tattoos, that must have been painful to get: a show of strength, loyalty, or masochism, you decide. Among these, he proudly displays a tattoo in the shape of the Devil Forgemaster crest on his back: this, along with the collar, tell us that he's slavishly devoted to his master.

This is Isaac's character, and the design does a fantastic job at telling us everything we need to know without even needing him to move or speak. I would say that his main characteristics are the color red (the hair, mostly) and the tattoos.

Yeah, good job not keeping a damn thing that made him recognizeable.

This is a dude. This is a completely average dude who rolled into the set and stole a costume for the role. No, giving him red eyes and a few dots on his face is not enough to give him an unique, memorable design. He's bland... neutered. And they absolutely did it on purpose, because this design is the complete opposite of the controversial original above - this Isaac is serious and "deep", not a gay clown, duhhh.

They don't even deserve credit for the uniform:

And may I say that Kojima, being an artist on a whole different level, was able to make the cossacks look elegant and dynamic, while N!Isaac above looks flat and boring.

Also, in PtR, Hector and Isaac match:

Because they're wearing a uniform. They have the same job and the same role, so they are wearing the same clothes. It's common sense. (it also makes more satisfying when at the end they diverge, displaying more of their personalities)

In the show, they do not:

Why is Hector, the ineffectual non-fighter, wearing combat clothes, while Isaac, the sharp and strong fighter, is wearing a full vest? Why is Hector wearing blue and Isaac is wearing black? Why do they have different crests on their armor???? IT'S A UNIFORM!

This is what happens when you browse the wiki without actually doing research on what the elements you're referencing mean.

Also, blue and black? Nowhere near as striking as blue and red. Isaac has something of a red motif in the show, only in his magic, but his personality doesn't match it. Even worse, Isaac wears blue in S4. Because he's not a foil to Hector, he is Hector but worse.

As for the tattoos, obviously I would never expect all those intricate tattoos in an animated show, but it would have been cool if he had at least the Devil Forgemaster one (even the extremely simplified version on this Hector's back), since even this Isaac starts out as being blindly loyal to Dracula. Instead, they thought that Isaac has a fetish for pain, and they gave show Isaac the habit of flagellating himself... which then got attributed to religion, and then was dropped lol. His actual tattoos are... weird? And overall they hardly matter, since they're concealed most of the time. Unlike game Isaac's tattoos, they don't convey anything about his character.

As you can guess, the reason Isaac is my least favorite design is that he's not just a downgrade: he's a downgrade that pretends, and is accepted, to be an upgrade. You can feel the contempt against the real Isaac, by showrunners who didn't bother to understand the character and hastly rewrote him to "fix" him. Isaac was deliberately neutered because the show thought itself too superior... although in retrospect it's funny, since they allowed a pink haired BDSM vampire in Nocturne...

[heinzpilsner]

Some more (supposedly unpopular) thoughts on Zuko's image in atla

'cause apparently that's what I think about these days, geez

Okay, so, I'm not a great expert in style or character design or anything obviously, but I have some general theoretical ideas about it.

Here they are, basically:

1) In practice, attempts to "soften severe features" with, well, soft decorations more often than not make potentially attractive people to look just meh;

2) When you can't hide some feature, it makes more sense to incorporate it as an organic part of your overall image (yes, Zuko's scar, I'm talking about you);

3) Good man doesn't necessary have to look all soft and fluffy to remain a good man. If softness of decoration collides with character's constitution, it makes the audience more emotionally confused than anything, even if just subconsciously (e.g., thoughts like "So, he's a good guy now, but I am less attracted to him than before. Does it mean that I find good guys less hot in general?". ... Yes, it was surprisingly specific. And no, I'm not gonna elaborate.)

If we go all back to beginning though, originally, 13-year-old Zuko's elegant facial features allowed him to go in many different directions with his style.

... That's until Ozai made this choice for him permanently, oh dear that's the one way to put it.

Actually, Zuko was kinda lucky with his scar's shape (considering all the possible alternatives): it ended up looking more like a warpaint or a Bowie-like face decoration than a disfigurement it is wow, almost as if it was specifically designed by professionals with this exact tought in mind lol. And while I totally understand the human in-character desire to hide it behind hair, from the stylistic point of view, that's exactly what Zuko shouldn't do. With such a face, all attempts to avoid people's attention will only lead to the opposite effect.

Also, to hide the scar behind some fringes means to hide Zuko's overall striking features as well, which is a freaking crime against aestetics, if you ask me. His face bears so much more potential than that.

So, what I'm trying to say is this: paradoxically, Zuko manages to look good (yes, good) with supposedly "awful" season 1 haircut, and just meh with supposedly "sexy" season 3 haircut. Because "awful" haircut, while pretty eccentric, opens his features, turns the scar from a weakness into a strengh, and hence translates more character in a harmonic way, apparently.

While later-season-3 Zuko doesn't exactly look bad either (which is especially true when animators make a deliberate effort to depict him extra pretty for dramatic scenes lol I'm not blind guys), he mostly looks... unimpressive? Actually, more often than not he reminds me of a shaggy puppy that just made a puddle nearby, lol. Alternatively, he looks like some simple guy next door - kinda cute then a light hits right, but nothing special. And although I can understand the general thought behind this choice (symbolic humbling as well as he-needs-his-hair-to-wear-the-crown-in-universe-logical), "cute simple guy" is exactly what Zuko isn't. And no, bryke, he's not an emo boy either. He can be awkward turtleduck sometimes, yes, but never someone ordinary. His whole appearance was initially created with this idea in mind.

So, "Bad prince with awful haircut" vs "Good prince with sexy haircut" lens helps to keep things in simple boxes, of course, but there's so much more nuance to Zuko's appearance than that, for better or for worse.

So... ponytail rights again, yay! Gods, I need more season 1 au zutara

(Btw... Am I the only person who remembers what Katara canonically kinda defended Zuko's ponytail to Sokka? And they were enemies back then! I mean, you may think she has a bad taste if you like, but the fact remains).

... Lee-the-refugee-before-the-Jasmine-Dragon haircut is my fav though. But just like all the good things in Zuko's life, it couldn't last long, could it? (Ouch, negligent shagginess looks nice on Jet, but it doesn't do many favors for Zuko's high-contrast aristocratic beauty. I kinda hated it, honestly.)

/typing all this on my phone from memory also without trusty google translator, so yep, no pictures. just my blunt words in poor english with no evidence for you to call me on my bullshit lol.

Also, I have no idea how people react to my posts, or whether they react at all. Ignoring tumblr notifications kinda helps me to keep my sanity intact, lol. But if you found this amateur-and-totally-subjective analysis of mine interesting for some reason... Thanks for your attention, I guess?

... But why I have this sinking feeling what I potentially managed to offend 2/3 of the fandom for completely different reasons without even trying? Lol, whatever./

[bunbeeplays]

It's time for The Hot Girls Only Fitness Club's weekly meeting, where new member Moses was warmly welcomed.

Ophelia is sure being around parents who have been, or are currently going through, what he's dealing with regarding Shea, will do him some good.

Ophelia hits the treadmill and catches up with her sister-in-law.

Hilary: I would have been fine just going to the courthouse, but I want to do something special for Omari with our kids, and your family, of course.

Penny Pizzazz is just happy to be getting screentime again!

Ophelia checks in on Moses, who's showing Celeste pictures of Shea and chatting about what a handful she is.

Celeste: Ha, trust me, you'll miss the days where they won't leave you alone. Getting my teen to even tell me about his day is like pulling teeth!

Time to check on Hilary again.

Ophelia: You doing okay, Hil?

Hilary: I'm pretending this punching bag is Hector's big stupid head. Planning a wedding in Tartosa is difficult when your ex-husband is the king of the wedding industry there.

Hilary: I finally found a partner that treats me right. Omari deserves a special day, but I spent 20 years helping Hector plan hundreds of weddings, so every step of the wedding planning process makes me think of him and how he betrayed me! It's llamashit!

Poor Hilary.

Time for a pep talk from fitness pro Ophelia.

Ophelia: Get that anger out, girl! Just imagine a stupid fedora on top of that bag and have at it! You're Hilary Pappas, you're strong as hell and nobody is going to ruin your big day with the love of your life, especially not him!

Hilary: You're damn right I'm not!

Ophelia has always admired Hilary's fierce drive. Considering she practically raised Xander, it's crazy how different they are personality wise, but they both definitely never let anything get them down for long.

After some intense workouts, and some even more intense vent sessions, a few of the Hot Girls (including Moses because being a Hot Girl is a state of mind) unwind in the sauna.

Becca: So Ophelia, you ready to finally age up?

Ophelia: I don't really have a choice either way.

Becca: Soooo, any big plans?

Ophelia: Not really, I'm probably just going to do something lowkey at home with the kids.

Becca: Aww, come on, you're a celebrity, you're not even going to have a party?

Ophelia: Parties are so glitchy, they're more trouble than they're worth!

Ophelia: Just being with you guys right now is enough of a celebration. You doing okay, Moses?

Moses: Yeah, I was a bit worried about Shea at first, but Ian hasn't called or texted so they must be doing okay. Thanks for welcoming me, ladies.

Hilary: The more the merrier!

Moses: However, don't think I'm letting you leave without a little birthday gift. I booked you a massage.

Ophelia: Moses, you didn't have to do that!

Moses: Hey, only the best for my kid!

Meanwhile, outside the sauna, Penny is doing push ups in a towel and Summer is taking a yoga class taught by a Servo. Classic Sims moment.

After her sauna session, Ophelia gets ready for her massage from ace king Aurelio Robles. Unfortunately, he's not a very good masseuse.

Ophelia: Woohoock, who knew someone rubbing hot rocks all over your back would hurt!

Aurelio is an Ophelia Lemon stan, so he's very ashamed.

Back home, while Ophelia's working on lunches for the next day, Jaden comes in to have a little snack.

Ophelia: Hey, buddy.

Jaden: Hi, Mom.

While Jaden munches, Ophelia can't help but notice how long his hair has gotten.

Ophelia: Look at that hair. You're due for a trim, kid.

Oh. Jaden always had short hair as a toddler, and he aged up with a short haircut too. He kind of likes how he looks with his hair longer, but if Mom says he needs a haircut…

Too bad Ophelia was focused on cooking, otherwise she would have seen her son's sad little face.

Jaden tries not to let it bother him as he enjoys some water fun with Gemma and Lulu (and the cats apparently) in the backyard. It also helps him not to think about the braces he's getting tomorrow.

[cozycryptidcorner]

Monster match for a lovely anonymous user.

I’d consider myself a fairly confident outgoing person, for the most part? I’m the type of person who will offer to walk up to the snack table with you even if I don’t actually want anything so you don’t have to feel awkward about going alone, yk? I have a tendency to get excited and ramble and I’m known to be… a bit loud, at times ^^;; While I may not *enjoy* doing it, I’m certainly not afraid of confrontation and I’m told by friends that I come off as a bit intimidating. I try my best to always be kind and encouraging to everyone though!! I do, however, have a bit of a protective/possessive streak. I’m also dramatic as fuck, but it’s for the bit.

Something’s wrong with the schedule, so the conductor lets you all out of the train to the nearby town. Only vaguely saying that there’s been some kind of miscommunication, and instructs that you return in an hour for an update. That wouldn’t be so bad, except you’re in the middle of nowhere. Flat fields of wheat stretch so far you can almost make out the curve of the Earth through the green horizon. 

The town is strange, clearly old, buildings made from faded red bricks, and heat wobbling from the dusty gray asphalt. After the main street, only a few gravel roads push further away into the sea of unripe grain. A lone Dairy Queen makes itself at home in an abandoned Pizza Hut shack, two cars in the admittedly small parking lot. People stare at you and the other passengers of the broken train, not in hostility, but more out of curiosity, eyeing your clothing choice and hairstyle with blank expressions. 

Some train riders head to Dairy Queen, while you begin wandering around the tiny downtown, stepping over enormous cracks in the concrete. There isn’t much to look at, a general store, a Shell gas station, and… A shop that pulls you toward it, and upon further inspection, you realize that it’s a spiritual shop. Not a Christian shop, like you would expect out here, and as you enter, the thick incense settles in your chest strangely. 

He’s surrounded by unlit candles, chin resting on his hand. You only catch a glimpse of him like that, at rest, eyes cast down onto the counter before the door’s jingling alerts him of your presence. His eyes are large and brown, like a doe caught in headlights, looking surprised that you bothered walking into the store, but he closes the book he’s reading and offers a shy smile. The sweater he wears is worn but clearly cared for, color faded but clean. His sandy-brown hair is curly and in need of a haircut, the strands brushing against his thick lashes. 

The two of you make some small talk, especially about being abandoned by the train, and he shows you the extensive collection of crystals, raw and tumbled. Then he shows you the books, all seemingly ancient and smelling of old paper and dust. One of them looks like it could have been made on the very last printing press, the ink staining your fingers as you flip through the pages. 

It takes you a moment to notice his scars, long, crisp, too long and clean to be done in a self-inflicted way. Instead, they look similar to surgery scars, like when someone gets their appendix removed, or when a split wound is stitched back together. Except they crawl all the way up his arms and disappear into his sweater, and you manage to catch a glimpse of one stretching down the back of his neck. You don’t ask, though, it doesn’t seem polite when you know him so little. 

After the designated hour, you buy a few cheap things, because you like his company and you want to thank him for spending some time with you. Then you head back to the train, and as you leave, you see his shadow falter. Like he’s sad you’re leaving. And you realize how desolet the store is, and how everyone outside seems to steer away from the shop, eyeing you now with a level of hostility. Like you’ve been marked, somehow, and you chalk it up to the hypo-christian area and the pagan nature of the store. 

But the train is still broken, and it looks like you’re about to spend the night. Now with a sadder step, you pull a duffel from a stowing shelf, standing listlessly in the street, until deciding to return to the store. You want to ask him a couple of questions about where to stay, and he’s immediately on the store’s wired phone (one that’s still plugged into a wall), and he’s pulling a favor to get you a room for free in the local motel.

He invites you to dinner, and you have nothing better to do than grab something from Dairy Queen and eat on the roof, in the shadow of the store’s facade. You get to know him a little more, see more of his scars as he tilts his head back and forth in the setting sun. Even though you don’t ask, he knows you’re wondering about it, why he looks like he’s been surgically pulled at the seams and stitched back together. But you don’t pry, and he’s thankful for that. 

Later, you will learn that he was. Almost. No one in the town wants to be around a walking corpse, with the beating heart of a dead demon. You don’t believe him necessarily at first, but the more you get to know him, even through the distance, you begin to realize that there aren’t logical explanations for what he can do. Like peeling a piece of his skin away to reveal a gilded ribcage. 

There was an incident eight years ago that left multiple people dead, and that’s when he (as he knows himself) first opened his eyes. He had the fob to a car in his pocket, ten dollars, and the key to this store. There are pictures of him in the back office that look like it might be him, and his father, but he cannot know for sure. His name might be Matthew. Or that could be his father’s name. 

His heart, if you can call it that, is like a writhing void, beating a slow, rumbling way that sounds like the dull roar of an engine more than thrum. He’s not sure how he became like this, has faint memories of growing up with a father who disappeared between then and now. He doesn’t remember going to school, attending prom, learning how to ride a bike, but he can read and write just fine… and he can even drive, even if he doesn’t have a license. And he’s quite smart, capable of picking up running the store after whoever abandoned it… well. 

He doesn’t leave because he feels strangely chained to this place, but now that he has you, he might be tempted. You’re the first person to be more than just polite, you seem to care about him in a way that no one else has. He would burn the store to the ground and hop on a train if you so much as insinuate he do so. The town is rotting and he doesn’t intend to rot with it, especially if he has this supposed second chance at life.

[cthulhuwritesstuff]

I could not help myself. Helms is such a bratty babygirl in the live action.

Drabble

Theme: Helmeppo’s pov when he meets Zoro

(What happens between the four walls of Helms’s room is up to imagination, interpretation, and wishes. But if the poor little Helmeppo doll could speak, I am sure they’d have one juicy story to tell)

The filthy tavern is decently occupied, the people might even call the place busy, and perhaps it is the perfect time to grab an excuse of a drink and find a piece of mind on the bottom of a glass - or several.

Helmeppo pushes the door like he is making a statement, suppressing a groan when he catches a glimpse of several white uniforms tailing him like dogs. Father always did have strange ways to show whatever he considers to be affection, and his obedient lackeys playing babysitter for Helmeppo was one of Father’s many questionable ways.

No matter. Helmeppo can’t bring himself to particularly care, since he’s been in a sour mood the whole morning regardless. Besides, he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed some extra attention. Especially on such a bad day.

First, his breakfasts was an overcooked disaster.

Secondly, his request to be pushed up the Marine ranks just because he wishes for it was denied once more and that really put a wrench in Helmeppo already fragile mood.

Thirdly, and most importantly, he is bored. Utterly so. This godforsaken town Father is so attached to is practically the most boring place Helmeppo had ever had the tragedy of walking into. And he is supposed to stay there for the unforeseeable future - now that is just a travesty at its finest.

By all means, Helmeppo is devastated and he makes his way toward the bar, disregarding anyone and anything in his way to get a glass of something more bitter than his current state of mind.

The wretched girl that carelessly walks into him is what sparks the fuse, but the green-haired idiot with three swords at his hip (what an absolute monstrous git) is what causes Helmeppo to finally explode like a stick of dynamite.

What was it that he said?

“A shithead Marine with a bad haircut.”

Well, that’s rich. Coming from a man with a cactus on his head.

The bigger problem than the obvious lack of style is: the green-haired menace with no manners is a wickedly good fighter. No matter how much that pains Helmeppo to admit. Despite the foul mouth on the cactus musketeer, he is ruthless, and doesn’t even seem to blink at the prospect of beating up a whole group of Marines. Helmeppo decides very quickly upon their meeting that he hates him.

It doesn’t take long for the samurai of Kelptown to be subdued due to sheer numbers, and Helmeppo can’t help but preen at the sight of him seething in anger. There’s just something endlessly satisfying watching those eyes gleam dangerously. And the growling - the animal.

Helmeppo denies that it makes him shiver.

As they exit the tavern he notices a girl with orange hair fumbling with the buttons of an unconscious Marine but the swordsman in their custody says something nasty about Helmeppo’s choice of wardrobe and he gets distracted enough to not make a note of the girl.

How dare that hamaki wearing zucchini speak to Helmeppo in such a way anyway?

What an absolute prick.

—

Roronoa Zoro is a bounty hunter that kills pirates for cash and beats up Marines in taverns.

Yes, his name is Roronoa Zoro.

What a mouthful.

Helmeppo can’t help but sneer at him as Father gives one of his grand speeches about his power and status and blah blah blah, the green-haired, so called Demon of the East, threatens Helmeppo’s life and the blond is absolutely furious.

His outburst earns him a sturdy slap across the face which he resents but he did expect it and as Helmeppo rises to his feet, he hears his Father praise the beast that had assaulted him.

Helmeppo’s anger only worsens.

—

Wado is a gorgeous sword.

What does a growling, alcoholic excuse for a palm tree even know what to do with a sword like this one? The idiot must have stolen it. It belongs in someone else’s hands, surely. Someone with more grace, with style, poise- someone a bit more appreciation for the beauty and grace that is Wado.

Indeed.

So Helmeppo indulges - quite dramatically so - in the grace that is the perfectly balanced blade. He already took the sword to flash it in front of the green-haired beast tied up in the yard and it was exhilarating to say the least- the way Zoro barked at him. Animal, truly. Helmeppo flinches, but it’s for a very specific reason: this is the first time he’d seen the swordsman genuinely angry.

Huh…

Helmeppo contemplates as his eyes travel up and down the blade back where it’s safe from the glaring beastly eyes - seriously what is it with that intense staring - and he notices that Wado is an entirely well-kept sword. Surprisingly. Helmeppo truly wouldn’t pin Roronoa Zoro to be a careful kind.

He pauses, head tilting to the side and grabs a piece of parchment off his desk. Worth testing.

The blade cuts through the parchment like butter, clean and quick, causing Helmeppo’s breath to catch.

Very well-kept sword.

The Zoro guy sure is full of surprises.

—

It isn’t one of his proudest moments the way he yelps and stiffens at the sight of the swordsman barging through the door of his room, and it is definitely a moment that Helmeppo learns embarrassment is incapable of killing a person. Because, he naked as the day he was born, with a rag doll of his liking in one hand and the Wado in the other. In front of Roronoa fucking Zoro and his deadly glare, no less. Now truly, if there ever were an occurrence Helmeppo might have wished to be swallowed by the ground and disappear, it is definitely this moment right here, but Gods do not hear his panicked prayers.

Zoro doesn’t give him a moment of consideration before he walks across the room and grabs Wado by her hilt. Helmeppo wheezes out the question,

“Are you going to kill me?”

“No,” Zoro grunts inches away from his face and Helmeppo swallows, “I have something much better in mind.”

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…

Here we go.

The beast is about to unman Helmeppo, surely.

He is about to cut off a piece of him.

What else is to expect from someone as vicious, dangerous, and— huh, he does have quite a jawline there - Roronoa Zoro?

[englishmagic]

In other news, today my boomer mother suggested I look into getting an autism diagnosis. The one person I was most sure would go on about ‘oh these silly young people, everyone wants a diagnosis for everything these days’.

I guess that’s… a sign that I might not just be overestimating the significance of relatable memes to figuring out what’s “wrong” with me

In more annoying news, she told me my sister had said she hoped I’d shave my face for her birthday. Why do these people care so much about MY appearance, like. I don’t give a shit what they look like. Whatever makes them happy, you know? I’d appreciate the same courtesy in return. Then again, my sister didn’t literally tell me to shave; she mentioned it to my mother, and I don’t know if that is better or worse. But it certainly rubs me the wrong way that my mother felt the need to tell me about it.

Thinking about it, these women are always surprised or even offended if I don’t comment when they get a new haircut. So they literally make their aesthetic choices hoping to get comments. Whereas I would ideally not have people commenting on my appearance altogether. I guess I enjoy the odd compliment, like on my badass tattoo or my rocking outfit. But if someone comments that “oh, you cut your hair!” I almost kind of panic and want to bark back, “and what of it?!?” Like I’m expecting a criticism. I don’t make my appearance choices expecting people to like them and comment on them, I make them mostly despite what I expect those closest to me will think. It’s about expressing me and feeling comfortable in myself. If I comment on their appearance, it’s either because I especially like their look that day or because they’ve made a visible effort which, while not being my cup of tea, deserves some commendation.

(Well. I will occasionally say something akin to “hey I notice you’ve lost a lot of weight over a short period of time, is everything okay” but that’s because I know my mother has a history of disordered eating. And I don’t really do that anymore because she takes it as a compliment because skinny=good in her mind and that’s not. What I mean.)

And guess what, beyond those comments, I don’t actually think about or notice their appearance that much. Is that rude of me? I’m always lowkey worried about being rude because there’s stuff I don’t notice which I’m supposed to comment on. But I don’t really pay attention to people’s appearances; it’s their business. And if I don’t feel compelled to say anything about them TO THEM, why the fuck would I want to say something about them to other people?!? It’s so weird! When I say something about someone else’s appearance to others, it’s always positive! I think? Maybe I say mean stuff and I forget about it? That can be the case; I wouldn’t put it past my memory to overwrite bad stuff I do and say to make myself look good to myself. But like. The rare bad comment I have to make about someone. I will definitely not utter. Especially not to someone who knows the person.

All this to say that I would hate to upset my sister so I will probably shave my face before going to her birthday. I am trying to work on my confidence in my facial hair, because I sometimes like it and sometimes don’t, but importantly it’s the only thing about my appearance that makes anyone I’ve met question whether or not I am a woman. Which I am not. And obviously that’s kind of important to me, to have people view me as not-a-woman.

(And yes, I do fully suspect that that’s why they don’t like my facial hair - it’s too unusual, to unwomanly, and they’d prefer it if I were nonbinary in private and presented female to the world so as not to embarrass them by association.)

[full-loup]

Big, Bad Krystal

More fat Krystal with an associated short story. This one featuring on my own take with her joining Star Wolf.

I always felt like her Command outfit was hideous and was wondering why Star Wolf doesn't have its own logo, so I rectified both issues.

Almost two full years had passed since Fox McCloud had kicked Krystal from Star Fox, concerned for his lover's safety. At the time, it had made sense to Fox, and he at least partially still believed it was the right decision. Unfortunately things didn't turn out at all as he had hoped, the vixen placing herself into danger anyways, taking mercenary jobs and eventually even teaming up with Star Wolf as though hoping to spite him for what he'd done.

After hearing of this, Fox had reached out to her and Star Wolf, the teams engaging in a rare joint effort to take down the newly forged Anglar Empire, a threat that had boiled out of the seas of Venom and drowned the Lylat system in the chaos of war. With Star Wolf's help, Fox managed to defeat the Anglar's forces. Unfortunately for Star Fox, Wolf had struck the final blow to their hideous Emperor, ending his reign of terror and making them heroes in the eyes of Corneria and its surrounding planets. Now with their main opposition out of the way, and much of the celebrations focusing upon their rivals, Fox had more than enough time to repair his shattered relationship. A shame, then, that Krystal didn't plan on making things easy for him.

She did not take well to his choice to remove her from the team. Not at all. He knew those feelings would change her, especially with all that time for them to stew and broil and worsen within the scorned woman. He just didn't expect those changes to be so... physical as well.

He had seen her briefly whenever she would comm him over his arwing's combat channels, but in the heat of battle and with her not desiring to keep said channels open long, he'd never got a good look at his former love. Other than that, the two had kept more to simple voice calls whenever they made contact, and while Fox had assumed she simply didn't wish to see the man who had broken her heart, he now realized things may have been more complex than that.

"Krystal!" Fox called out to rotund vulpine as she climbed less than gracefully out of her arwing, painted in the signature red of Wolf O'Donnel's mercs. His arms were held out wide in welcome as he struggled to hide the astonishment from his expression, failing for the most part, "You... You look different, but also great! New haircut!"

Turning to face him as she climbed down the ladder from her cockpit, Krystal glared at him. Fox's blood ran ice cold, knowing full well the both of them understood the vixen's hair was one of the only things that hadn't changed since they last met. She'd be able to read his true thoughts full well thanks to that damn telepathy of hers, making his comment doubly idiotic.

"Let me help you Fox. 'You've gotten fat', that's what you meant, isn't it?" The blue-furred pilot snarled, her belly leading the way as she  stomped over to him, "Let's just get it out of the way right now, right here why don't we? Or am I supposed to be as ashamed of my weight as you are?"

Fox's expression soured, his smile curling into a snarl of his own as he stepped up to meet his ex-lover and ex-teammate, "I thought you wanted to talk, but if you just want a fight? Just get back in that fighter and off my ship because we are not doing things like this."

The vixen's green eyes narrowed at that, a frown dimpling her chubby cheeks, "Kicking me out again already?" She said, before sighing and shaking her head, "But I can't pretend to be angry about that when I know how you really feel. Even now, beyond your... I'll just say it, disgust, I can tell that you still want this... Want us. More than..."

Not waiting for her to finish, Fox reached out his paws to hold Krystal's in his own, pulling her to him as he looked into her eyes, "More than anything else."

She blinked for a moment at him, then snorted, tugging her paws free and turning away, "Alright. We can try, but this time we need to be more honest with each other. Both of us do," She said as she grabbed her supplies from the arwing and began to make her way out of the hanger.

"Fine by me," Fox grumbled before calling out to her, "Why don't I start?! How long until you get back in shape?!"

A growl tore free from Krystal's lips as she stormed out the door, slamming her fist on the control before it slid shut.

For the next week or so, neither of the vulpines talked much, the Great Fox making its way back towards Corneria for the victory celebrations. The ship was large enough for the two to avoid each other, and Krystal had made it clear that she would need space for some time before she would warm up to the idea of talking things through with Fox. He was completely fine with that idea, especially after their fight in the hanger, and so did his best to give the vixen all the room she required. 

"All the space she needs? Smart move." Falco said, sitting across from Fox in the ship's canteen as he sipped his morning coffee.

Fox chuckled awkwardly, leaning back into his chair as he let the eggs he was eating through steam, "Yeah... and believe me, she needs plenty these days. Have you seen her since she got back?"

Falco gave Fox's chosen dish a brief glance, huffing to himself in disapproval before setting down his mug, "She hasn't been out of her room much, but uuhhh, kinda hard to miss her, haha. Wouldn't be so quick to blame her though, maybe that Panther guy has a thing for big girls?"

Without even realizing it, Fox's fists began to clench. He'd heard about the relationship between the two, and while Krystal had implied things didn't get too intimate between the two, he had no way to know for sure without coming out and asking her, and now really wasn't the best time for that. Add to this that Panther had made it clear that he was still carrying a flame for the vixen, despite her breaking things off to try and work things out with Fox, and just the mention of the feline set McCloud on edge.

Taking a deep breath, Fox let it out slowly as his fists relaxed and simply said, "The less said about him, the better Falco."

Falco chuckled and shook his head.

"What?"

"Well it's just, you know, you're gonna have to get over that quick Fox, you're gonna be having dinner with the guy."

Fox stared at the avian for a moment, "What do you mean?"

There was silence as Falco gulped, not sure how to continue, "Well... you know, the dinner after the awards ceremony? Slippy told me Krystal was going to eat with Star Wolf after, and, um... wants us to come I guess. I thought you kne-"

Fox slammed his fists onto the table, filling the canteen with the sound of breaking glass as knocked his plate and cup over the edge, silverware tumbling across the floor with a noise that made Falco's feathers stand on edge.

"She's going to WHAT?!"

Krystal stood in the doorway to her quarters, the portal only partially slid open as she stared daggers at the fox shouting at her, "I was invited Fox. I was still part of Star Wolf when the battle happened. Tell me how this is all a big deal?"

"Oh I don't know! Maybe because O'Donnell is scum? Because he hired the man who betrayed my father before taking a job from the man who killed my father to kill us? Because he continued to be a thorn in our side for years, even after we met! I really shouldn't have to explain all this!"

Sighing, Krystal rubbed her temples with her fingers as she responded, "And I shouldn't have to explain to you all the times he's decided to help us. The Aparoids, and now the Anglars? They've changed Fox, and Pigma's not even a part of Star Wolf anymore! They couldn't even stand him, and he's dead anyways! You bloody killed him! So why can't you put all of this behind you?"

Fox leaned in close, slamming his paw against the door frame and squeezing it tightly as he growled into Krystal's face, "If you really expect me to just sit there, sharing a meal with the likes of Wolf and..."

He stopped himself short, but it was too late. He cringed as he heard Krystal start to snort, holding back laughter.

"Panther? That's what all of this is about, isn't it? Amazing, Fox. Really."

The vulpine's face flushed beneath his red and white fur, his ears drooping as his eyes failed to meet the vixen's own, "You still never told me if he... if you..."

"Don't." She growled at him, "Don't you dare ask me that Fox... not after you kicked me to the curb. You don't have to come to the dinner if you want to, but yes, he will be there. So think about that before you decide to turn me down." She said, turning and giving him a view of her much wider backside. Her voluptuously chubby body was bulging within the confines of a dark purple flight suit with silver and black accents, and just before the door slide shut to her bedroom, Fox caught sight of the black leather jacket she wore over it, emblazoned with the Star Wolf logo.

He looked at the button for the intercom next to the door, then jammed his finger so hard against it he felt like he might break it, "Can you at least wear something else to the ceremony?"

Krystal's face flashed onto the intercom screen, the vixen sneering into the camera, "I can't actually, all my old suits don't fit, so get used to it flyboy." As her face disappeared, a red circle with a slash through the middle replaced it on the screen, letting Fox know she would not be disturbed further.

[queenofcats17]

More for @hlvrai-twh~ More suffering for Benrey~

This is a bit of a longer one. Also, warning, this does contain mentions of murder and violence

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

He’d thought it would get easier the more time that passed. He’d get used to this new life, this new identity. It would get easier, he kept telling himself.

It didn’t.

In fact, it was getting worse.

It was getting to the point where he could no longer hide how much he was struggling from other people, especially after a late-night haircut that had ended with his hair absolutely butchered which had made him feel even worse.

People started asking him what was going on.

When asked, he told people he’d had an incredibly nasty fight with some friends. He’d said and done some inexcusable things and now he didn’t think they’d ever talk to him again and the guilt was eating him alive. Well, maybe he didn’t say that specifically, but he did make it clear how bad he felt. Those around him assured him it couldn’t be that bad and encouraged him to talk it out with his friends. Because he was Gordon.

And Gordon would never do anything that couldn’t be worked out with a genuine apology and a heartfelt talk.

Benrey didn’t argue with them, but he knew they were wrong. He wasn’t Gordon. And what he’d done was unforgivable. 

He’d known he was making the wrong choice even as he’d done it, but he hadn’t seen a way out. And he couldn’t have just backed out halfway through. Not after all he’d done.

Now he wished he had.

He wished he’d stopped, wished he’d told everyone what was going on.

He wished he’d saved Gordon.

Joshua definitely knew something was wrong and had been trying to make “Gordon” feel better as best he could. He kept bringing Benrey his stuffed animals, offering him some of his prized cashews, and giving him hugs. It only made the whole thing hurt even more.

He didn’t deserve Joshua’s concern. He didn’t deserve his love. He’d killed and replaced Joshua’s father. He didn’t deserve to have his dead friend’s son doting on him, trying to assuage the guilt he didn’t even know Benrey was feeling.

Nine days after escaping the game, Benrey finally caved and went back. He needed to do something. He needed to apologize. He couldn’t stand feeling like this anymore.

So, with shaking hands, he put the VR headset on and booted up the game. His heart pounded as the level loaded. Who would be waiting for him? Would all his friends be together? How would they react to seeing him again? A part of him was terrified of what awaited him. But another larger part hoped it would be punishment. He hoped they would be angry. It was what he deserved, after all.

When the level finally loaded, he found himself face-to-face with only one of his friends.

Tommy stood at the end of the hall, staring at Benrey with a flat expression. It was so often easy to forget that Tommy was the son of the infamous Gman. He was usually so cheerful and expressive that you could hardly connect him with his father if they weren’t standing next to each other. But the resemblance was clear now.

Standing there, with the full force of Tommy’s gaze upon him, Benrey felt very much like some poor mortal who had run into a god they’d recently been badmouthing.

“Hi, Tommy.” Benrey forced a weak smile, waving at him.

Tommy neither smiled nor waved. He simply kept staring. “…Hi, Benrey.”

There was a long period of silence. There was so much Benrey wanted to say, but he knew all of it would just be excuses. Tommy needed to start the conversation. Tommy had to take the lead and Benrey would follow. Otherwise, it would just seem like he was trying to talk his way out of it.

“…You’re a bad friend,” Tommy finally said.

“I know.” Benrey’s shoulders slumped as he lowered his gaze.

“There’s a lot of things I want to say to you, but we’re at work, so I won’t,” Tommy said. His voice was icy, eerily calm. He spoke slowly, deliberately. He sounded just like his father.

Benrey frowned, looking back up. “But we’re not-”

“We. Are. At. Work,” Tommy repeated a bit more forcefully.

“...Right.” Benrey lowered his gaze once more.

The silence resumed, neither moving, neither speaking. The longer they went in silence, the more suffocating it felt to Benrey. He could feel Tommy’s judgemental gaze on him, but he was given no relief. There was none of the righteous fury he’d craved, none of the verbal beating. Just quiet disapproval.

Tommy was the one to break the silence again, his voice almost making Benrey gasp in relief.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Tommy asked.

Benrey didn’t even need to ask what he meant. “I was scared and angry,” he said, still avoiding looking at Tommy. “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“Obviously,” Tommy muttered darkly.

There was another lapse of silence before Tommy whispered, “I thought we were friends, Benrey.”

Benrey could hear the quaver of stifled sobs in his voice. He sounded so...hurt. So betrayed. His voice was small and vulnerable. It cut through Benrey far more than any yelling ever could. Tommy had been his best friend, even before Gordon. To have Tommy be this hurt and upset at him...If Benrey hadn’t known he fucked up before he certainly did now.

Benrey hunched his shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t going to fix this!” Tommy’s voice rose for a moment, but he quickly wrestled himself under control. “It’s not- It isn’t going to fix this. You- You really messed up.”

“I know.” Benrey nodded, finally forcing himself to look up at Tommy. Tommy’s face was red and blotchy, a few tear tracks going down his cheeks. He looked like he was trying very hard not to either yell or break down into tears. Probably both.

“I’m...I’m not gonna ask you or anyone else to forgive me,” Benrey continued. “I know I fucked up. I just...I just wanna apologize. To everybody. Couldn’t...Couldn’t stand feeling like this anymore.” He was starting to cry a little as well. He furiously wiped away the tears. He didn’t deserve to be crying right now. This wasn’t about him. This was about everybody else.

Tommy studied Benrey’s face for a few minutes before letting out a long exhale and shoving his hands in his pockets. “Everyone else is- They’re not going to be happy to see you, you know. They’re probably going to- They’re going to hurt you.”

“I know.”

“You’re probably hoping for that, aren’t you?” Tommy’s expression settled into one of resigned exhaustion.

Benrey didn’t answer, just smiling nervously. He was probably showing too many teeth. He couldn’t get smiling as Gordon right. He always ended up showing too many teeth. It never looked right.

Tommy sighed again. “Let’s just- Let’s just go.”

Benrey was about to fall into step behind him when he noticed a familiar black shape on the ground to his right.

“Welcome back, player,” the Cat purred, bright cyan eyes narrowing in something close to a smile. “Come to admire your handiwork?”

“I came back to make things right.” Benrey couldn’t help but glower at the cat. Even now, he still didn’t like him.

“Things didn’t work out as you expected, did they?” The Cat’s tail flicked. “Having...regrets?”

Benrey wanted to stay strong. He didn’t want to let this asshole see his weakness. And yet, his lower lip quivered as tears welled up in his eyes again. “...Yes,” he admitted in a small, broken voice.  

“Well. I suppose I shouldn’t keep you, should I? You have a lot of work to do.”

Benrey was about to ask what the Cat meant, only to be distracted by Tommy’s voice from down the hall.

“Benrey! Are you- Are you coming or not?!”

“I’m coming!” Benrey called back. When he turned his attention back to where the Cat had been, the creature was gone.

Benrey let out a frustrated huff. “Fucking shady bastard...” Then he turned and jogged to catch up with Tommy.

As Tommy had predicted, the others were not at all happy to see Benrey.

Coomer punched him so hard that he went through the wall at the bottom of the stairs. It wasn’t clear which part killed him, the punch or going through the wall. Either way, he’d died and had to reload the save he’d made before going through the door. When Benrey apologized for everything he’d put them through, Coomer gave him no answer. They completed the floor mostly in silence.

Bubby killed him twice. The first time, as soon as the door opened, Bubby launched himself onto Benrey, screaming obscenities and wrapping his hands around Benrey’s neck until the former security guard died. The old scientist wasn’t nearly as strong as his partner, but he was angry enough that it didn’t matter. The second time, Bubby set him on fire. Coomer stopped Bubby the third time, quietly explaining that Benrey wanted to apologize.

“Apologize?” Bubby repeated derisively. “That bastard wants to apologize?!”

“I think he’s genuine, if it- if it helps,” Tommy added. His look of exhaustion hadn’t changed.

“If it helps,” Bubby sneered. “Of course it doesn’t help! Does he really think the heinous shit he did can just be smoothed over with an apology?!”

“I know it can’t,” Benrey said. “I just...I needed to come back. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I had to try to make it better. I couldn’t live with it.”

Bubby slowly turned his gaze to Benrey, leveling him with a positively murderous glare. “Good. You deserve it.”

Forzen shot him. It wasn’t clear whether he’d done it on purpose. The spray of bullets from behind the closed door could conceivably have been a response to a perceived enemy. Or maybe he’d known Benrey had been coming. In the end, it wasn’t really important. Just to be safe, though, after he reloaded, Benrey called out to Forzen, announcing his presence.

Forzen opened the door.

Benrey smiled nervously, giving a little wave.

“Why did you come back?” Forzen asked, eyes narrowing. “I thought you wanted out of here.” His voice was tight with barely contained anger and betrayal.

“He miraculously grew a conscience,” Bubby provided sarcastically. “Thought he’d come back and apologize. As if that’ll fix anything.”

“Really?” Forzen sounded incredulous.

Benrey nodded meekly. “I’m...I’m really sorry. I know it’s not gonna make it better, but I am. I’m so so sorry.”

Forzen’s eyes narrowed again as he studied Benrey’s expression, looking for any sign of deception. Benrey kept up his nervous smile, fiddling with the wrap of his bandage. He’d lost an arm again. That seemed like something that would happen every time. He deserved the pain anyway.

Finally, Forzen turned away, grunting out an, “alright” before disappearing back through the doorway.

He didn’t talk to Benrey much throughout the floor.

Darnold didn’t want to talk to him at all. Benrey tried to apologize, but Darnold didn’t reply.

“I want to get this over with,” he said, heading toward the first puzzle.

He didn’t look at Benrey, making a concerted effort to stay away from him as they went about solving the puzzles. He flinched away whenever Benrey got near, preferring to surround himself with the other AIs.

The puzzles had changed since the first playthrough. They were harder than they’d been before. There was more of a chance of death. Benrey embraced it. He charged headlong into death after death, hoping that this would show the others that he was serious. Maybe if he willingly kept dying they’d know he really was sorry.

If they noticed what he was doing, they didn’t say anything.

He’d need to come back, he decided. He’d have to prove he wanted to make things better. Maybe he could find a way to move them out of the game. Not physically out, but maybe onto the desktop. That was doable, right? He’d need to talk about it with Coomer and...maybe Gman. But only as a last resort.

He was so caught up in this planning that he didn’t stop to think about what might be waiting for thematn the Xen level. After all, Gordon was dead, wasn’t he? There shouldn’t be a boss waiting for him. So, what was there to think about? And he certainly didn’t notice the AIs whispering amongst each other the closer they got to said level.

He still wasn’t completely paying attention when they spawned into the Xen room. However, what was in the middle of the room immediately derailed his train of thought. Because there, in the middle of the room, long hair floating around him as though he were underwater, was Gordon.

Gordon was alive.

Benrey almost started crying all over again. He couldn’t believe it. Gordon was here. Gordon was alive! He’d clearly changed, but that didn’t matter because Gordon was here and Benrey could make it all right.

He started to walk toward Gordon, splashing loudly as he did. He hardly noticed how the AI’s all quickly scrambled away from him. They knew exactly what was about to happen.

Gordon turned upon hearing the splashing. He opened his mouth, likely to greet what he thought were the AIs. His voice died in his throat, however, when he saw not the AIs, but...Benrey.

For a moment, all was still. Gordon and Benrey stared at each other, while the AIs watched from what they felt was a safe distance away.

Then, Gordon spoke.

“You,” Gordon growled, his face contorting in a snarl as his single visible eye flashed that familiar bright magenta. In an instant, he’d closed the gap between them, hoisting Benrey up by his collar.

“Gordon-” Benrey began, only for Gordon to slam him back against the wall of the cave.

“Y-Y-Y-Y-You don’t get to c-c-c-c-call me that!” Gordon’s voice shrieked, distorted, and glitched, with his face and body doing the same. His face stretched and split. His hair writhed around him like angry snakes. “N-N-N-Not after w-w-w-w-what you did to me! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!”

Like this, Benrey could see that the top right half of his face, the part that had previously been covered by hair, had the same skin tone as Benrey’s original body, with the eye simply displaying a missing texture pattern. 

“I’m sorry,” Benrey gasped, putting his hands on Gordon’s. “I-I’m so sorry.” He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, all the emotions he’d been repressing for over a week bubbling up.

“S-S-S-S-S-S-Sorry?! You’re s-s-s-s-s-sorry?!” Gordon laughed, the sound harsh and derisive. “After a-a-a-a-all the shit you p-p-p-pulled now you’re sorry!”

“I am!” Benrey insisted. The floodgates broke and he began to sob. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you! The whole time I was out I couldn’t stop thinking about how shitty I was! I couldn’t stop seeing your face! I missed you so much!” Despite Gordon being the one pinning him against a wall, he clung to him as though the other man were a life preserver. “I want to give it all back, man. I want to switch back. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t. It doesn’t feel right.”

Gordon’s lip curled up in a sneer as his face continued to glitch and distort. “You s-s-s-s-s-seriously expect me to believe that? After everything y-y-y-y-y-you put me through, you expect me to trust you?!”

Benrey couldn’t even form a response. He was crying too hard. He couldn’t believe Gordon was here. He couldn’t believe they’d saved Gordon. He could make it right. He could make it all right. He could give it all back.

“Stop crying!” Gordon yelled, slamming Benrey against the wall again. “Y-Y-Y-You don’t get to cry! I-I-I-I’m the one who lost everything! I’m the one who got his life stolen by some p-p-p-p-parasite he thought was his friend!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Benrey gasped out through tears.

With a frustrated growl, Gordon dropped him, allowing Benrey to fall into the water with a loud splash.

“You’re not fooling me again,” Gordon said. His voice was softer now, but no less angry. His hair continued to float and writhe around him, even though his form had stopped glitching.

“I do believe his remorse is genuine,” Coomer offered, moving toward Gordon.

“You believe him?!” Gordon turned on Coomer, beginning to glitch and warp once more. “Did you forget everything he did to us?! To me?!”

“I haven’t,” Coomer replied, completely calm in the face of Gordon’s mounting anger. “And I certainly don’t forgive him, but I do believe he is genuine about wanting to fix things.” He took Gordon’s hand in his, giving him a gentle fatherly look. “I won’t ask you to forgive him either, Gordon, but...If there’s a chance you might be able to go back home...I think you should take it.”

Gordon hesitated, his warping slowly stopping and his hair slowly returning to its languid underwater movement. “...What if he’s tricking us again?” He asked. His voice was small, unsure.

“Then we kick his ass again!” Bubby yelled with a savage grin.

“If he betrays us again, we’ll make him pay,” Tommy agreed.

Gordon nodded, withdrawing his hands from Coomer and turning back to Benrey. He still looked unsure, but there was hope in his eyes. “…You really mean it? You’ll give it all back?”

Benrey nodded. “Yeah.”

“Then let’s do it. Right now.” Gordon held a hand out to Benrey.

Benrey grimaced. “I…can’t.”

Gordon’s expression darkened. He began to move away, looking ready to start in on another yelling tirade.

“Wait!” Benrey stumbled to his feet, grabbing Gordon’s hands. “I can’t do it right now because both people need to trust each other completely for it to work. That’s why…” He faltered, but shook his head and forced himself to go on. “That’s why I couldn’t just switch back when I was having second thoughts. I already broke your trust.”

Gordon stiffened at the contact but didn’t pull away thankfully.

“So...I need to trust you for it to work,” he said slowly.

“Yeah.”

Gordon snorted derisively. “You’ve got your work cut out for you there after all the shit you’ve pulled.”

Benrey couldn’t help but smile. “Well, I guess I’ve gotta get working then, huh?”

Gordon let out something that might have been a laugh, although it was hard to tell as his stormy expression had returned. “If this is a trick,” he said, lowering his voice and leaning in close. “I will make you regret ever setting foot back in this game. Are we clear?”

Benrey nodded fervently.

“Good.” Gordon removed his hands from Benrey’s. “Now leave. I need to think.”

Benrey nodded again.

As he logged out of the game and removed the headset, for the first time in over a week, he actually felt happy. He was going to do it. He was going to give it all back.

He was going to make things right.