#the fact they had a character with a speech impediment and it wasn’t made to be ‘weird’ or his entire character

[hellborg]

One day I wanna write a whole ass video essay on how the diversity in new vegas has been some of the best video game diversity that we’ve had in over a decade and very few games can match it. The way diverse characters exist and are real. The way some of them don’t struggle with their identity the way some do. The fact that disability is presented in a respectful and amazing way. I know so many Fallout-heads talk up new vegas, but it genuinely has so much representation that’s not heavy handed or disrespectful. These characters just exist and have lives and depth and stories.

[jayeray-hq]

He’s My Best Friend: Aone Takanobu

Post Time Skip/Manga Ending Spoilers!

Warnings: fluff and very, very slight implied NSFW and innuendo

Choose your own ending platonic or romantic!

He’s My Best Friend Masterlist - Character Masterlist

Thank you as ever to the wonderful and talented Tay @deathcab4daddy​, thank you for beta reading for me! I don’t know what I’d do without you!

The Past: How You Met

           You’d met Aone Takanobu the day you’d started school for the very first time. It had been an exciting day for you, one you’d been looking forward to for a long time. You distinctly remembered putting on your fancy new uniform, admiring your reflection in the mirror. You’d almost missed out on breakfast because you ignored the calls for you to join in, you’d been so caught up in how grown up you looked and fantasizing about how amazing school was going to be.

When the time had come for you to be dropped off, you’d pranced happily out of the car without fear, and entered your classroom with your head held high. The teacher had greeted you warmly and helped you find your desk, and you’d immediately set about trying to befriend the people next to you eagerly chatting away.

             The desk mate on your right, whose name you’d long forgotten, had been all too happy to speak with you at the time, but no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get the boy to your left to talk. He’d look at you, and he seemed to be listening to what you said to him, but no matter what questions you asked, no matter what you said or did, he didn’t respond to you, not even when you asked his name.

             In the end, your short attention span meant you’d given up on talking to the quiet white-haired boy, and instead interacted with the others around you. It had been an incredibly enjoyable morning, and it only got better when you were invited outside for recess after lunch. You and some of the girls you’d befriended over the course of the morning had all plopped down together so you could show them how to make flower crowns. It was a skill you were rather proud of at the time, one that your next-door neighbor, who you’d thought was the coolest girl ever- a middle schooler, and clearly knowledgeable about all the best things, had taught you.

             It had all been going extremely well, right up until you’d heard a ruckus on the other side of the playground. You’d looked up from the crown you were making to see a bunch of boys all gathered around the white-haired boy who’d refused to speak to you. Looking at them all grouped together you’d realized rather abruptly that he was really big, standing at least a head taller than the tallest of the other boys and rather broad too.

             Curious you’d tuned into what the other boys were saying to him. You’d gotten the shock of your young life when you realized they were making fun of a boy who looked like he could easily take them all on if he wanted to. Bloodthirsty little thing that you were, you’d watched on eagerly, sure that the boys were about to get beat down, as they called the white-haired boy all sorts of mean names, insinuating he was stupid and slow.

             However, you’d gotten another shock when you realized he wasn’t doing anything. Instead, he just stood there, taking their words, head down and unmoving, not bothering to protest or stand up for himself. It had confused you quite a bit, as you couldn’t fathom why he didn’t try to make them stop one way or another.

             The taunts had increased in fervor a couple seconds later, calling the white-haired boy a cry baby of all things. Concerned and nosy, you’d gotten to your feet and edged closer to the group of boys trying to get a better look. Up close you could see the boy really was crying, though he still wasn’t making any noise, fat tears were running down his pale cheeks. It was a sight pitiful enough to tug your heartstrings, so you’d decided in all your five-year-old glory, that you couldn’t allow it to continue.

             Like the warrior of truth and justice that you’d thought you were at that age, you’d launched yourself at the group of boys, small fists swinging, doling out sharp kicks to the shins and telling them off for being mean. You’d taken them all by surprise, and between that and the fact that you threatened them very fervently with cooties if they didn’t leave you and the white-haired boy alone, they scattered.

             You’d then rounded on the boy, who flinched but still didn’t move, staring at you with wide brown eyes. He’d looked so scared at that moment, clearly afraid that you were about to be just as bad or worse than the boys you’d scared off. Instead, you’d grabbed one of his hands and dragged the confused stumbling boy after you, back to the nice patch of grass where you’d been making flower crowns.

             You’d pulled him down onto the grass next to you, and started back on your work again. As your fingers moved to piece the crown together, you’d lectured him firmly about letting those other boys push him around, and then showed him how to make a proper flower crown. You’d then plopped the one you’d just finished on to his head, and admired your work, extremely pleased with yourself.

             Aone had gazed at you for several long minutes, clearly bewildered, but then had finally spoken to you in a slow, stuttering voice, introducing himself as Aone Takanobu. It turned out the reason he didn’t speak very much was because he had a bit of a speech impediment that made him stutter. It was the reason the boys had been making fun of him earlier, which you thought was just silly.

             You’d told him firmly that it didn’t bother you at all, because you’d given him a flower crown, which meant the two of you were friends for life now. Aone had stared, wide-eyed and clearly astonished, a faint blush on his pale cheeks, but had apparently accepted your declaration at face value. By the end of that recess, you’d had a flower crown of your own in your hair, messy and clumsy but made with care, and the two of you had been best friends ever since.

 The Present: Your High School Days

             Frustrated beyond belief, you slowly beat your head against the table, hoping that you could somehow beat the information into your brain since nothing else seemed to be working. Fortunately, before you could give yourself a concussion on the table, a large warm palm slipped beneath your head.

             You turned your face, keeping your cheek pressed to the hand underneath your head, and looked up at your best friend who was peering at you with clear concern on his face. Seeing his apprehension, you heaved a long sigh and lifted your face up, not wanting to make him worry. Though most didn’t realize, because they judged him solely by his appearance, Aone was an enormous worrywart and would fret himself into anxiety, especially when it came to his friends.

             Despite growing taller, broader, and more muscular, Aone was the same sweet teddy bear of a guy, with a heart made entirely of marshmallow fluff, as he had been when you’d met way back when you were five. The only difference was that these days he was no longer picked on, both because he was too intimidating for most to try, and because you and his other best friend had done your best to encourage him to stand up for himself.

             Futakuchi had been an interesting addition to your group. He’d apparently taken one look at Aone, and much like the other people you met, assumed just because he was big he would have the attitude to match. However, unlike other people, he’d simply thought it was cool and had wanted to befriend him because he thought they’d enjoy the same things.

             He’d been just as stubborn and persistent as you had back when you’d first befriended Aone, coming around all the time and acting like an enormous pest. He’d followed Aone around everywhere, and as his one and only best friend at the time, it had seriously irritated you. It angered you to the point where you and Futakuchi got into petty squabbles almost every day. He thought Aone should stop hanging out with you because you were a girl and obviously lame, while you thought Aone should stop hanging out with him because he was a jerk.

             Things probably would’ve continued like that, except one day both of you had been caught up in squabbling, and suddenly Aone had once again been approached by others looking to bully him. Unfortunately for them, both you and Futakuchi were entirely wound up from fighting with one another, but when presented with other, easier prey had rounded on them. The two of you working together had been enough to bring them to tears, the group of boys running away with their tails between their legs.

             After both you and Futakuchi had gained a grudging respect for one another. Futakuchi had realized that you could be just as vicious as he was in defense of Aone, and you realized that he was willing to stand up for your friend who you were incredibly protective of.

             Things had been easier after that, though the smart-mouthed brunette was still closer to Aone than he was to you, you still got along fairly well. It helped that after Futakuchi had dragged him into volleyball, a place where Aone’s height and size were something to be praised rather than something to make fun of, Aone had gotten much more confident. These days, if your bickering with Futakuchi got out of hand, Aone was right there in the middle of the two of you, pushing you apart, and giving you both scolding looks.

             A gentle hand resting on your head pulled you from your thoughts and you refocused on your friend, who was looking even more worried than he’d been before. His brow was furrowed with concern, his face close enough to yours that you could actually see the pale hairs of his eyebrows that tended to look nonexistent from a distance because of how light they were.

             “I’m alright,” you assured him, pulled back to the present by the gentle weight of hi hand as he set it atop your head, clearly trying to regain your attention, quickly explaining, “Just struggling with math as usual.”

             “Do you need help?” he asked, his voice a low rumble in his chest, the words coming out confidently.

             Aone had managed, with the help of some speech therapy and budding confidence, to get his stutter mostly under control. It rarely ever appeared these days, and never in your presence. He still had to think over what he wanted to say before he said it, which made him a little slow to respond sometimes. However, as long as you waited patiently, he would never leave you hanging, even if he still didn’t talk much around others for fear the stutter would come back.

             “If you don’t mind?” you asked him, giving him the most pitiful look you could muster, earning an amused huff from your friend who knew exactly what you were doing.

             “Show me,” he agreed, taking a seat beside you.

             You did as asked, sliding your work toward him and watching him work through it patiently. You probably should’ve continued to focus on work, but you’d had something on your mind for a while now.

             “Hey, Aone?” you asked, hesitantly.

             The tone of your voice must’ve tipped him off that you had something serious on your mind, because he instantly looked up, all his attention on you. He waited patiently for you to put together the words, not rushing you, simply waiting to hear whatever you had to say.

             “Are you alright?” you managed finally, peering at him worriedly, “I mean, with the third years leaving and Futakuchi being named captain.”

             The words ‘instead of you’ hung between the two of you, unsaid but clearly heard. Honestly, you’d been more than a little shocked that Futakuchi had been named captain, with his oftentimes caustic personality you weren’t sure he had the disposition for it. In your own personal, and likely highly biased opinion, Aone would’ve been much better. He had the patience for it, along with the admiration of his kouhai, and was the best player on their team. It just didn’t make sense to you that he’d been passed over in favor of Futakuchi.

             “I will miss the third years,” Aone told you, after a moment of contemplation, “But their decisions are their own. We will simply have to do our best to make them proud, though they are still coming to practice fairly regularly.”

             You couldn’t help the small smile that flitted across your face at that. You’d known despite their decision to leave that the third years were going to have a bit of a hard time letting go. You’d gotten to know them fairly well, having come to as many games and practices as you could manage in support of your friend, who’d done the same for you.

             You’d honestly really liked Moniwa, and had hoped the captain would stick around a bit longer. He’d been really good both to and for Aone. He was also an incredibly sweet guy, and you’d admired that he was able to deal with both Futakuchi and Kamasaki who was like an older and only slightly mature version of him.

             “Futakuchi will be a good captain,” Aone expressed, quiet but resolute, without any form of regret in his gaze, as he answered your other question, “I trust him to make the right decisions for the team, and will do my best to support him as vice-captain. We’re going to go to nationals next year.”

             That was honestly just like him. Aone was probably one of the most supportive people you’d ever met and a fantastic friend. He wasn’t upset at all and had instead chosen to instead be happy for Futakuchi and focus on what he felt was most important.

             “I’ll be right there, cheering you on,” you told him with a smile, because if he was happy, you were happy.

             He smiled at you, small but sincere as he gently rested his hand on top of your head in thanks, before indicating that you should get back to work. You sighed, but went along with it, glad that he was so willing to help you. You didn’t know what you would’ve done without him.

 The Future: Platonic

             “What are you doing?” the deep voice of your best friend asked, his words startling you enough that the nails you’d been holding in your mouth dropped to the floor with a clatter. You turned to look at Aone, who was standing in the doorway, a distinctly unimpressed look on his face.

             “Fixing it?” you replied, the words coming out more like a question than the statement you’d intended.

             The look he gave you for that was one more judgmental than you’d ever thought your sweet, teddy bear of a friend would ever be able to manage. It made you both simultaneously proud, and a little irked knowing the credit for that lay almost entirely at the feet of you and Futakuchi. You’d never thought it would be turned on you in quite this manner though.

             Aone strode forward and began to thoroughly inspect your work. His hands handled the bookcase parts with care as he gently turned them over seemingly without effort despite the fact that you’d struggled to lift them on your own. The stupid thing had broken after one too many books had been stacked on it, which you’d found rather infuriating. Still, you hadn’t wanted to get rid of it, and so had been trying to fix it yourself. Judging from the look on his face, you hadn’t been doing nearly as well at it as you’d hoped.

             “Well, Mr. Construction worker? What’s the verdict?” you asked curiously, “Is it salvageable?”

             “Maybe,” he told you, completely noncommittal as he held out his hands for the hammer you’d been using. Reluctantly you passed it over to him, knowing full well it would be much safer in his hands than in yours.

             Gently he caught one of your hands with his before you had the chance to pull them back, as quick as ever despite only playing volleyball recreationally these days. He tutted audibly over the state of them, clear disapproval and accusation in his gaze that had you wilting in shame.

             “Why didn’t you call me?” he asked as he gently tugged you to your feet, pulling you toward the bathroom where your first aid supplies were kept.

             “I didn’t want to bug you, you’re a busy man these days, and I totally had it under control,” you told him, even as you hopped up on to the bathroom counter, well used to Aone behaving like a mother hen by now, holding out your hands when he asked for them.

             “Next time, call,” he scolded firmly, the words making you smile despite the fact that he was telling you off. He’d come a long way from the shy little boy you’d met at recess all those years ago. Back then he never would’ve dared to scold you, now he did so without a second thought.

             Being vice-captain of the volleyball team had been good for him, and he’d really come into his own, helping Futakuchi lead them to nationals during interhigh that last year and retiring shortly after. You’d actually been a little surprised he retired, especially since you’d fully believed he had the talent to go pro, a belief backed by several offers from different places for a sports scholarship. However, Aone had confided that while he loved volleyball, life in the spotlight simply wasn’t for him. All he wanted was something peaceful where he didn’t have to talk too much and could work with his hands.

             He’d certainly found that in construction, and was slowly but surely working his way up the ladder. The maturity and assuredness he’d found through volleyball had really helped him become independent and strong, so much so that at times you wondered if he really needed you anymore.

             However, the moment intrusive thoughts like that flitted across your mind Aone was suddenly there, with his quiet but insistent presence, assuring you he would never, ever leave you alone. The two of you were best friends for life, and you knew it, though it was nice to see just how far the two of you had come together.

             At times you found it almost ironic, the one who’d needed looking after, and become the one who did all the looking after, your dynamic flipped. Not that you minded. You found it sweet how he fussed over you still despite both of you having other people in your life nowadays. Speaking of which…

             “How did you know I was trying to fix something on my own again anyways?” you asked, more than a bit suspicious.

             The look he gave you in turn spoke volumes. You were going to kill Futakuchi, that little jerk, he was such a tattletale. It was no matter though, you’d just have to remind him once again, that Aone loved you most.

             The clear exasperation in your friend’s eyes told you he knew exactly what you were thinking, and you couldn’t help the joyful laugh that escaped your lips. Honestly, dragging Aone away to make flower crowns that day was probably the best decision you’d made in your whole life.

 The Future: Romantic

             You would’ve thought that of the two of you, it would be you who would initiate a romantic relationship with Aone, that you would jump into it just as fearlessly as you had jumped into being his friend. However, despite the feelings that had slowly but surely grown over the years, you hadn’t been able to take that last step. Something always held you back.

             A part of you desperately wanted it, so badly you could almost taste it. You knew the two of you could be good together, your years of friendship over two decades now, had certainly proved it. However, you were afraid. Back then, Aone had accepted your friendship in part because he simply hadn’t been able to say no. He’d been too shy and unsure to do so even if you both thought that it had worked out for the best in the end.

             He’d grown a lot since those early days, and you liked to think he was much more assertive about getting what he truly wanted these days. However, you’d noticed very early on that Aone never, ever, said no to you. It didn’t matter how much it might inconvenience him or how much he might dislike doing whatever it was you requested. He would quite literally bend over backward for you.

             It meant you’d had to be very, very careful about how you framed your requests, doing your best to be extra considerate of him and his feelings. It also meant that you were now too afraid to confess, afraid he would say yes to you just because it was what you wanted and not what he actually desired. Accidentally forcing a relationship on your friend because he was too sweet to say no to you would be the absolute worst, which meant you were stuck.

             Futakuchi, who’d noticed and teased you rather relentlessly over your feelings, had tried to insist that the only reason Aone never said no to you was because he was head over heels in love with you. However, you were pretty sure he was just being a jerk to you again, and you had done your best to adamantly ignore everything he said, much to his mounting frustration.

             You’d convinced yourself that it was for the best, that if you just waited you would get over your silly one-sided crush. Unfortunately, said crush had lasted over a decade and was showing no signs of fading any time soon. In fact, a part of you knew it was far beyond a crush at this point, but you were absolutely adamant about keeping silent, sure that you were doing what was best, not just for Aone, but for you as well. Because getting into a relationship with him, only to discover later that he’d only ever loved you platonically was a blow you weren’t sure you’d ever be able to recover from.

             Thus, you’d allowed yourself to stay firmly in denial, and didn’t suspect a single thing when Aone came by to pick you up from work that day. The two of you had planned to hang out together, and you were more than a bit excited, especially since he’d said he had a surprise for you.

             You’d noticed as you walked that he was dressed rather nicely, in dark jeans and a plaid button down rolled to the elbows to show off muscular forearms. It was actually a bit unusual for your friend who seemed to prefer comfy clothes in his off time, usually sticking to t-shirts and sweats, or athletic wear when he could. You’d hastily shoved the thought as far down as it would go the second it occurred to you though, locking it up with all the other non-platonic things you’d thought about your friend over the years.

             Instead, you’d focused on pestering him, trying to figure out what this surprise he had planned for you was. However, as to be expected, he was incredibly tight lipped about it, simply offering you amused, indulgent smiles that let you know he knew exactly what you were trying to do, and wouldn’t cave in.

             To your surprise, he’d driven you to a beautiful park, one filled with beautiful fields of flower. You’d been utterly ecstatic about it, practically bouncing as he showed you the picnic basket he’d brought along. The two of you had set up in a nice spot and hung out for a while.

             You’d been so preoccupied with the food and talking to him that you hadn’t noticed that he’d been doing something with his hands, right up until he carefully plopped a neatly formed flower crown on top of your head. You stared up at him in shock, fingers gently brushing the petals of the flowers set among your hair, confused but feeling a surge of warmth at the nostalgia of it all as you peered up at him.

             “No matter what, we are friends for life,” he told you, his voice serious as he held your eyes, the words making your heart squeeze painfully as conflicting emotions warred in your chest. The nostalgia and love you had for him, fighting with the fact that you wanted so much more with him.

             “Futakuchi has told me that I haven’t been obvious enough with my feelings,” he continued solemnly, the name of your nemesis helping to jolt you out of your internal conflict.

             You stared at him wide eyed as he gently took your face in one of his large hands, cradling your cheek as he stared down at you intently and told you, “I’m in love with you, bunny, and would like to be romantically involved with you.”

             It took a moment for the words to process, especially since you got caught up in his nickname for you, a byproduct of an unfortunate incident with marshmallows, Futakuchi, and the fact you were smaller than him. However, once what he said finally reached you, you immediately reached out to pinch your thigh, wincing slightly at the sharp burst of pain. You apparently weren’t dreaming.

             “Are you sure?” you asked him, unable to help your worry or your disbelief that this might actually be happening. Your hands were clenched tightly in your laps, nails digging into your palms as you tried to fight the rising hope, “This isn’t because Futakuchi told you I’m in love with you is it? Because you have to be sure, and if he did tell you I swear to all the kami I…!”

             Your torrent of babble was cut off by a gentle finger on your lips, one that instantly made you fall silent and stare up at your friend in confusion. However, seconds later the finger was replaced with gentle lips, sweet and surprisingly soft against your own, the feel of them enough to make your heart race as your eyes fluttered shut.

             You savored the feeling of his mouth on yours until he pulled back. You blinked your eyes open to find him watching you with the softest expression you’d ever seen on his face, full of affection and care.

             “Futakuchi did nothing but encourage me to confess my own feelings,” he assured you, gravely, then reiterated, “I am in love with you.”

             “I love you too,” you confessed, the words spilling out, raw and unfiltered, your heart racing, giddy joy flooding through you as you realized this was actually happening.

             “Good,” he affirmed, leaning forward to kiss you again.

             You reached for him eagerly, wrapping your arms around his neck and basking in the euphoria of knowing your feelings were returned, noting that you probably owed that idiot Futakuchi a gift basket or something. For now, you were just going to savor the feeling of his lips, and enjoy the fact that you were absolutely and irrevocably in love with your best friend.

[mydrincorrectquotes]

do tell us random facts. i'm at least interested

Aight let’s go

-I’m a Toko, Ibuki, Sonia, and Nagito cosplayer

-I’ve been working on my original story for two years now and I’ve been drawing seriously for 3

-I’m allergic to walnuts and grass and that’s it. It’s very random

-I name most of my stuffed animals off of fictional characters except for chicken nugget the whale

-I have some mini Danganronpa figures and I switch the heads around when I please

-I have sleepwalked multiple times and one time I tried to walk out of a hotel, almost succeeded

-I met one of my friends at age 3 when she tried to run me over with a tricycle

- i was so obsessed with space in seventh grade that I would watch documentaries in class and got in trouble a lot. I still love space

-got kicked out of a pet shop for petting the dogs too much

- I have a golden retriever who’s 75 pounds and sits on my leg a lot

-I have sensory issues and a speech impediment, neither are that bad though

- my biggest stuffed animal is Gin Ibushi the red panda plush and I cuddle him every night, my replacement for human contact

-my group chat has had its name changed a lot and I have a list of its names in my notes app

-I have over 300 hours in animal crossing and a 4 star island, I’ll probably reveal my dream code soon

-I once cried for three hours because girls

-I have a whole folder of memes I made myself. They’re all deep fried and they’re all terrible

-I was a homestuck for a very long time stan Davekat for clear skin

-my real name is super basic and I will not be saying it

-I was multiple friends bisexual awakenings and I literally don’t know how

-uhhhh lets finish it off with I was so obsessed with the color pink as a kid that I would sob for hours if I wasn’t given the pink cup out of the rainbow collection

[thearkhound]

Tsubasa Masao on Metal Gear Acid character designs

Source: Postscript of MGA (waybacked)

The following is a translation of five blog posts made by Metal Gear Acid character designer Tsubasa Masao for the now-defunct “Postscript of MGA” blog, where he provides commentary on the designs he provided for the game. Most of the images were thankfully preserved by the waybacked version, except for the ones on the fourth blog post, which were taken from the still active gallery page from the official Metal Gear Acid 2 website. I’ve moved Tsubasa’s commentary of Snake’s main weapon of choice in MGA into the first section regarding for better flow and also added a model sheet of Snake from MGA2′s official gallery, since the sub-section looked odd without any images..

Solid Snake

The first thing we talked about Snake was wanting to change the impression that people had of him up until now, which resulted in the long-haired Snake we see in this game. Thinking about it now, perhaps it was better if we had kept usual hairstyle. As for his costume, we decided at the earliest stage to keep his usual sneaking suit from previous games, so it is what it is.

We had a request from Mr. Shinkawa to make the XM8 into Snake’s main weapon in the game. It’s a gun with quite a unique appearance, as you would know if you had seen the original. On the illustration we added a lot of over-the-top extra parts to the gun, but in retrospect I think it would had been better if we had left it as it is.

Teliko Friedman

Teliko was the first character we designed for Metal Gear Acid. Since even the scenario was still in its tentative stages, I couldn’t quite grasp an image for her yet.

For the face I was told to make her look like a “female Rambo or something like an Uma Thurman type.” I wasn’t too crazy about doing a female Rambo and wondered about what I should do, which is how I ended up with the design we’re seeing here. I was conscious of Uma Thurman’s role in Pulp Fiction at the time. She had a sort-of coquettish feeling, don’t you think?

Since I don’t like loose-fitting military clothing, I decided to make her silhouette tightly around her body. Afterward, I thought about the character’s stance and came up with the sneaking suit style.

A new-type of sneaking suit.

Built-in muscle strengtheners in one part that increases speed and strength.

 A new-type of bullerproof inner wear made by the U.S. Army. Protective clothing consisting of aramid fiber soaked with polyethylene glycol.

And so on.

Model sheets for Teliko Friedman. There are gimmicks not shown in the game such as stun knuckles and muscle strengtheners.

I wanted her gun holster to flutter on her character model’s hip while she moved, but we abandoned that due to the small screen size of the PSP unit.

As for the coloring, since she was being paired with Solid Snake, we decided to dress her in a brighter color to contrast with Snake’s black sneaking suit.

Teliko was designed to be a very typical heroine, so we thought it would be best if she didn’t have too many idiosyncrasies.

What do you think?

Roger McCoy

He’s the character who supports Snake and Telico in this game. We wanted him to have a very different outward appearance from Colonel Campbell.

We experimented with various patterns such as an elderly version of Roger or a black version of Roger, before we settled on the finalized design.

We didn’t have any particular aim with his concept, but we thought it would be better if he was more intense than previous versions of the Colonel character.

Afterward, I wanted his silhouette to have a peculiar characteristic, so I decided to give him a crippled leg and a cane to walk with. (I don’t know if this is reflected in the game though).

Rough sketch for Roger McCoy. Instead of a suit, he originally wore a military uniform.

Alice Hazel

I was ordered to make a pretty girl with ESP abilities. I was told that she has a personality that clashes with Snake’s, so I drew her in a sassy matter, but then I changed her to be more unemotional, or rather coldhearted.

For her attire I thought just having her wear a school uniform would be too plain, so I gave her a bomber jacket atop her blazer, which she received from Roger. The gun she wields on the second half of the story is hidden inside her jacket.

Since the characters in Acid are involved in a story where they’re either, manipulating someone or being manipulated by someone, I have her holding a doll as a hint that’s she pulling the strings from behind. Originally it was going to be a ventriloquist doll, but that would had been too obvious.

Alice’s initial design. “I thought she should be wearing glasses like Tommy February. I liked how it came out, but I had to redo her design after they decided to go into another direction.”

Alice’s finalized design. You can see the direction of the character took a 180 degrees turn. The characteristic doll remained until the end.

Lt. Leone

It was settled that he would be a “retro soldier”, “have the physique of a bear” and “wields an anti-tank rifle.” Based on those ideas, we decided that his gear should be vintage. But was this really the image of an old-fashioned soldier?

After that we wanted to make his silhouette stand out, so we had him wear a cloak on one side. This cloak takes the form of a Ghillie suit so that it could stand out when he moves rapidly during hand-to-hand combat.

His image was set in stone in the very early stages, so there weren’t any particularly big changes made afterward. By the way, in the international versions they added a voice clip of him chanting “pansies! pansies!, which made him stand out even more.

The left image is an early rough sketch. The right image is a proportion specification designed for reference. “In regards to his body shape, I didn’t want him to just be bigger, I wanted him to stand out as a giant even without the contrast.”

Colored model sheet for Leone. His systematic characteristics and clothing are established to the minuet detail.

From Leone’s model sheet. He was drawn with a fighting image and it seems he was initially expected to have close quarter attacks.

From Leon’s model sheet. The initial character image is almost completed at this stage. His kick attack was rejected due to limitations with the character model and such.

Elsie & Frances

Originally they were supposed to be characters who lived in VR space. But when the scenario changed during the middle of development, they were no longer virtual characters, but ventriloquist dummies who exists in the real world. Out of all the characters, I think they’re the ones who had their image changed the most from the early stages.

Their manipulating strings are established to be wires that could be attached to the walls or ceilings (like a spider’s cobweb), so that the dummies could be controlled from a distance.

We wonder if we made their relevance apparent in the miscellaneous cutscenes.

Finalized design for Elsie and Frances. Shown here is Frances, the elder of the two sisters. Elsie, the younger sister, has a cracked face and a speech impediment.

William L. Fleming (aka Gary Murray)

The boss character of this entry. Since he was established to be an excessive neat freak, he wears a fancy brand name suit under his shabby coat. His shoes are also shiny brand names. His coat is tainted with the oil fluids for Metal Gear KODOQUE.

Since it was said that there was going to be a cutscene where he shoots a gun, he was given a belt under his coat, which is equipped with a gun holster during his Fleming persona.

Originally he was established to be a middle aged man, but since he was going to be a boss character, he ended up looking quite younger than he was intended to be. Because of story reasons, he was a difficult character to make him look unique with his clothing, so we were concerned in making him stand out.

In fact, we had the idea of outfitting him with a powered suit similar to the one worn by Solidus and having him directly confront Snake and Teliko. Mr. Shinkawa gave me various ideas, such as “give him a METAL BLADE!” But because complications with the story, those ideas were abandoned.

Model sheet of William L. Flemming. There are detailed notes such as the differences between his true self and his Gary Murray persona. It seems there were plans to have him directly engage Snake and Teliko.

La Clown

La Clown’s backstory is that of an “assassin who specializes in disguises and hypnotism.” Because of this, the character’s design doesn’t differ much from Telico’s. For the illustrations, La Clown’s proportions were changed in subtle ways.

Line art illustration of La Clown

Enemy Soldiers

The jobbers of Metal Gear Acid. The small fry soldiers. This time they wear desert camouflage, giving them a middle eastern atmosphere. Perhaps they have a dusty unfashionable image.

The model sheets of the enemy soldiers. The first sheet is a soldier from Leone’s unit. The second is a member of the Genetics Army. The designs of the enemy soldiers this time are based on MGS2, since it’s set in a similar period.

Model sheet of the Genetics Soldier. “Because it is an equipment for measuring data, there are stuff like experimental cords and labels attached to it.”

Changes in Concepts

Initially the concepts we got from the scenario were horror and suspense. Specifically there would be ghost characters that would appear in key scenes, the boss characters were going to be cyborgs who served Fleming, and so on...

After days and months have passed (or maybe it wasn’t that long), the horror aspect became more downplayed and the scenario was changed to a more suspenseful one in all aspects. The colors red and black are used a lot by many characters in general, but that was actually a remnant from the early stages when the horror aspect was more emphasized.

Although MGS served as the basis, there were many twists and turns in the art designs. Because of the lack of flexibility in the development schedule, I was concerned about keeping the Metal Gear world in place while somehow giving Acid its own color. After all, the world Metal Gear is quite deep.

Model sheet of Minette Donnell. “Because she’s a malicious girl, she wears deep red.”

Rough character designs from the early stages of development. The first character is Dr. Flemming and the second is Senator Viggo. “Originally Viggo Hach was just an old man who suddenly became rich.”

More initial designs. The first is a member of the FPH. The second is the Genetics Soldier Boss. “The Genetics Boss would’ve been an underling of Flemming who would’ve supervised the other Genetics Soldier. He would’ve covered his whole body with armor-like muscle strengtheners.”

More rough designs of boss characters. They too were also underlings of Dr. Flemming. The first design looks like a bee woman with poisonous attacks, while the second looks like a giant man with sludge attacks.

See Also

Metal Gear Acid 1 & 2 Gallery

[bardengarde]

4, 5, and 7 for the historical figure asks!!!!!!!!

First of all, what is the name of your favorite historical figure?

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

4. In your eyes, what is their biggest strength?

The more I thought about answering this, the more difficult the question became! In the end, I think Chamberlain’s biggest strength was his character. In the letter he wrote to Maine’s Governor Israel Washburn, requesting a commission, he wrote “I have always been interested in military matters, and what I do not know in that line I know how to learn.”  Source

Although that statement was only in reference to the military, obviously, I feel like it encapsulates a lot of his outlook on life. If there was something he did not know, he learned it; likewise if there was something he did not think he could do, he did it. “Do it; that’s how!” His father had once ordered Lawrence whenever he was unable to free a cart wheel that was caught between two stumps and asked how he should clear it. “Perhaps the underlying thought was to ‘haw the cattle to’, back out the wheel, and straddle the stump. But the terms and tone gave no instructions- only the order. The youth (which is Lawrence; he referred to himself only in third person in his Early Memoir) seized the hub, lifted the wheel clear of the stump, and threw it over with such force that the cart-tongue knocked against the nose of the ‘off-ox’ and the whole team was ‘off’ in a jiffy.”  Blessed Boyhood!, Chamberlain. Pg. 42

Yeah, you read that right. Lawrence pulled a Valjean with a cart he claims had “only three or four hundred pounds of hay on”, and his father looked on him with a “moment’s pale astonishment, but not a word was said.”  Blessed Boyhood!, Chamberlain. Pg. 42-43

And, as far as learning goes, he was fluent in like 11 different languages, could play the organ and bass violin, and overcame a speech impediment by figuring out how to phrase syllables that frustrated him in a sort of rhythm as if he were to sing them. Also remind me to tell you about the preparations he took in order to study to be accepted into Bowdoin College because that was also an insane feat.

Beyond that, Chamberlain was a reserved, quiet, and respectful man. From what I’ve read, he treated all he met with the same respect he believed that any man was due. Even as an officer, he still did not put himself too highly above other enlisted men. He was humble, and the men of the 20th Maine idolized him as one private remarked. “Lieutenant Colonel Chamberlain is idolized by the whole regiment. He makes a fine appearance, mounted on his rich present, at battalion drill, but he does not ride him in the presence of the enemy. ... Of course I do not have much to do with him, yet, if I wanted any favors, I should apply to him at once, knowing I should get them if it were in his power to confer them.” In The Hands of Providence, Trulock. Pg 77-78

I could go on- from being able to inspire all but six of the 120~ remaining members of the disbanded 2nd Maine to fight with the 20th, to commanding his men to salute the surrendering confederate soldiers as they surrendered their arms to his men at Appomattox Courthouse. I believe one of the biggest reasons he was so well liked and respected by his men and many others who knew him were because of those core values of his: learn what you don’t know, do what you think you can’t, and to treat everyone you meet with dignity and respect as they deserve. 

5. What is the most ridiculous statement on them you've ever read?

He wore a beard for the first part of his adult life up until after he had gone to war, then a Mr. Brown trimmed it all off and left him with the mustache that we all know and love and he liked the look so much that he wore it for the rest of his life. 

“Mr. [Adjut. John Marshall] Brown took the opportunity today of cutting my beard to suit his notion of my face. He has left me with a ferocious mustache and my bit of an imperial only. The ends of the mustache he has waxed and twisted and they reach positively the angle of my jaw... and would almost meet under my chin. Mr. B. thinks he has me now to suit him- especially for a profile.” Joshua L. Chamberlain- A Life In Letters, edited by Thomas Desjardin. Pg 174

Don’t ask me how, but it reminds me of this vine

7. Let us know three random facts about them!

oh lord where to begin-

- Gonna combine two facts into one in that he was, in fact, a Horse Girl and dedicated almost two pages of his Early Memoir to a story of how he tamed a mare at the tender age of thirteen and mentions her again and again and how well they understood each other. That being said, I feel like any time he mounts a horse it ends in a near death experience for him. That same mare once jumped fence where there was also a low hanging branch and while she made it over just fine, Lawrence had to jump off her and grabbed the branch where he was left hanging there, in his words, like Absalom. One time he was trying to plow a field with the same mare, but had trouble steering her and opted to hop on her back to see if that would make a difference. She got spooked somehow and took off in the direction of a fence, reared, and Lawrence very nearly missed falling on top of the plow. He also had six horses shot from under him while in the war. Six!  I’d add excerpts and more sources here, but this post is already a mile long. If anyone needs the proof though, tell me and I’ll make a separate post. For now.... trust me.  - He was friends with the Stowe’s, as in Calvin and Harriet Beecher. Calvin Stowe was the professor of natural and revealed religion at Bowdoin College and Lawrence studied Hebrew literature while taking his class. Lawrence was also invited to the Stowe’s house by Harriet on some Saturday evenings along with some other friends of the Stowe’s where she would read her newest chapters of her current work before she sent it to be published in the abolitionist paper The National Era, what would later become the book we all know as Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In the Hands of Providence, Trulock. Pg. 42

- While he was in college, there was this event called “Class-Tree day” where the custom of each class could go out, find a tree, and come back and plant it on campus. The game was to find a tree as far away from the school as possible, and Lawrence went out with a group of friends to find their own. His friends had brought some alcohol with them (which Lawrence did not drink; he did not drink at all while attending college) and they caused a scene in a town called Lisbon and the people there complained to the college about the students and Lawrence was brought forth to testify against them and point out who had brought along the refreshments. Except he didn’t; he made it clear he did not drink any alcohol but refused to testify against his friends because he did not want to break the trust he had with his friends and commit such a traitorous act. The president of the college threatened to expel him and Lawrence still did not relent, and said that if he was sent home for this then he knew his father would be proud of him. As he packed up his things, his friends heard about what happened and would not let such a fate befall him so they all marched to the Presidents office and fessed up. They all got basically a slap on the wrist and Lawrence wasn’t expelled! Blessed Boyhood!, Chamberlain. Pg. 55-57 Original post is here if you want to ask me more things!

[queenie-in-the-beanie]

If you get this, answer 3 random fact about yourself and send this to the last 7 blogs in your notifications, anonymously or not! Let's get to know the person behind the blog ♥️

1. In middle school, I acted in two plays

I took theatre classes all throughout middle school but never auditioned for the school plays until 8th grade.

Despite botching my audition, I ended up playing the parts of multiple side characters in this cheap ass play. Because I played multiple side characters, I got to do multiple things like:

Fake punch a kid

Pretend to lie dead on the groud

Pantomime zombie fighting

Have a valley girl accent

Be very sarcastic and sassy while wearing a pig nose

Be a homophobic jock

Struggle to fit all my uncontrollable limbs into sleeves during costume changes

As I wasn't a total failure in the first play, I decided to also audition for the next play of that year. The auction went better than my last one but honestly if it had gone bad I probably would have still gotten some part because middle school theatre casting standards are lower than my IQ

I was originally cast as this character who would be pied in the face and had a name I couldn't pronounce or spell. But then some girl had to drop out of the play early on so I got recast as the main fucking character.

I acted okay and didn't forget any lines onstage despite having the memory of a goldfish for my own life. Plus I cried a lot in the bathrooms during rehearsals because it was middle school. Fun times.

2. I won a Writing award with a cash prize and trophy on accident

An assignment in my 8th grade English class was to create some kind of piece for the annual theme of the city's school district writing contest. The assignment itself was graded and could be submitted into the contest but didn't have to be.

I had procrastinated on writing something until the night before that writing was due. Me being me, I quickly wrote up a poem in a couple minutes and turned it in.

A couple days later, the teacher calls me up to the desk and has the audacity to ask if I would like to submit my poem into the contest. I said yes although I honestly thought it wasn't going to win anything.

A coule weeks pass and the winners for our school are announced over intercom that morning and I fucking hear my name.

I had gotten second place in writing for my whole school. What the fuck.

Now the three winners from each of the middle schools would have their work judged against the others and maybe a month later the top three middle schoolers from across the district would go to present their work to the judges in person so the final placement could be made.

Now, I thought I was just and only going to win for my school but definitely not be the top three.

So anyway I got to present my procrastinated poem in front of the judges and a while later was placed second in writing for all the middle schools in my district. On top of that, I got to be handed a trophy in front of a large ass crowd plus a real check for a 150 dollar cash prize.

Moral of the story: my school district is full of bad judges, idiots and any writing career I have peaked in 8th grade.

3. I was in Speech Therapy for more than 8 years

Ever since kindergarten, I had had a speech impediment but mainly struggled with the letter 'R'. Kids would come up to me on the playground and be like:

Dumb Kids: Say 'ring'

My ass: Wing

Assholes: no, no, no, no! RING

Me, trying my best: Wing!

That would go on for a while until they got bored and left me alone. Despite all the bullies, I didn't really care about pronouncing anything correctly because I figured that if people can figure out what I'm saying anyway then what's the point in me correcting myself.

But then I got to middle so I had a new speech pathologist who would give me candy whenever I talked right so guess you eventually graduated out of speech therapy in the middle of 8th grade? This candy motivated bitch did!

Anyway now whenever my impediment rears its ugly head and someone notices, I'll lament loudly about the "EIGHT YEARS OF SPEECH THERAPY I SUFFERED UWU" like the over dramatic gay I am.

((If you wanna learn more about the fun, stupid and random shit I've done, first off, learning is for nerds, secondly, you nerds can send me asks whenever because I 👏 am 👏 bored 👏 as 👏 hell 👏 and 👏 like 👏 to 👏 talk 👏 about 👏 myself))

[matter-of-a-pinion]

VOICE REFERENCE: Livana Fallenruth

⌦ VOICE REFERENCE

► ACCENT

“country” │ “backwoods” │ “sailor” │ “noble” │ foreign speaker | “The Queen’s English” │ “other”

Livana’s dialect has features (where the stress falls on certain words, vocabulary choices, vowel sounds, etc) commonly found around Coerthas/Ishgard mixed a bit with Gridanian features that give away that she has spent most of her time between these two areas.

► ELOQUENCE

educated │ uneducated │ doesn’t use conjunctions │ shortens words │ just makes up their own words │ old English │

Livana’s parents made sure that she and her twin sister had an excruciatingly thorough and formal education. She resented every moment of her education because she was unable to get along with the other students and no matter how well she did at school she sensed that it wasn’t quite good enough for her parents. As a result, though she can speak formally, she prefers not to, finding the whole thing snobbish and insincere.

► TONE loud │ soft │ room volume │ high pitched │ low pitched │seductive │velvety │ speech impediment │ abrasive │ gruff │ shrill │ booming │ matter-of-fact │ toneless │ husky │ gravelly │ breathy │ nasal │ barking │ chatty │ condescending │ musical │suave │ world-weary │ brash │ authoritative │ lisp

Liv’s voice, in general, is fairly quiet. She doesn’t like to make a scene and she’d prefer not having to fight for attention when she speaks (if she gets overlooked because she’s quiet, that’s just fine by her). Her voice is somewhere between high and low in pitch. When she gets frustrated, her volume will raise (to room volume or just a little louder) and she’ll start clipping her words which gives away her agitation.

► HABITS

refers to self in third person plurals │ incorporates different languages / terms / sayings │ uses gender-specific terms │ adapts to audience │ changes pitch around animals or children │ shifts tone when lying │ gives others nicknames │ uses terms of respect towards others │ pauses in mid-sentence to work out the the right word │ incorporates colorful descriptors / analogies

Liv loves animals. She is 100% the cliche’d “I just understand animals more than I understand people” character. She’s more comfortable around them,more relaxed, because they don’t have any secret motives and every person she has known (including herself) has just been so full of secret motives that it’s been absolutely maddening. She speaks with a gentler, even softer, tone to animals (particularly the chocobos she works with). She pauses a lot when she speaks because she is very insecure about her ability to hold a conversation. That said, whenever she finds someone she clicks with she can be downright chatty. She knows several languages and, when comfortable, can even be surprisingly witty with wordplay.

► VOICE REFERENCE

I don’t really know... Maybe Leliana from Dragon Age (minus the accent unless we want to assume that accent is what Ishgardian sounds like)?

Tagged by: @dumb-hat and @luck-and-larceny Tagging: Everyone! @kalencook (since you’re running the tabletop game she’s in and all...)

Would 100% tag Nyra if she had a tumblr...

[jackbeiste]

stumblin’ in [jack + sebastian]

characters: jack beiste and sebastian smythe (@sebastiansmythejoie)

date: october 15

note: jack wants to study, and sebastian feels surprisingly okay with it

warnings: minor explicit mentions

jack

He did feel a bit insecure about his sex life... perhaps not really the active sex life itself, but rather the way he quite enjoyed submitting to men... that he didn't actually know that well at all. It wasn't like he hadn't had his kinks during his solo sessions, but... he was truly getting an appetite for it. But the asks the other night made him hesitate. He felt embarrassed at the idea that people knew what he was doing. Whenever he had thought about sex before either Valerian or Sebastian, the realistic fantasies had always been... more making love. Now? He wasn't sure what the fuck was going on. Instead of cancelling on Sebastian, he decided that they were perfectly capable of doing something else - even if his idea of going to the library together was easily abandoned. Still, he actually felt quite relaxed as he knocked on Sebastian's door; strangely excited in a way to do something that didn't include getting their clothes off for once.

sebastian

Sebastian was looking forward to seeing Jack again, he was almost surprised the boy hadn't cancelled after yesterdays ordeal with the invasive internet people who seemed so interested in Jack's sex life. The younger man didn't exactly seem happy about how much was being shared but Seb wasn't ashamed and clearly neither was Val. He was just happy Jack hadn't been put off enough that he didn't want to see Bas again. Sebastian laughed at his phone seeing the text about studying and shook his head. Sure studying. Bas poured himself a drink as he closed his books for the night, not actually expecting to look at them again. He needed a drink though, things had been tough with Kat and Val recently and now that fencing competition season was close he was back to consuming nothing more elicit than a stiff drink. "Hello handsome" Bas smiled, opening the door for Jack, he chuckled seeing the books in Jacks arms.

jack

"Hey," he said softly, stepping inside. He had to admit, it felt a bit weird. It was the first time he'd meet up with Sebastian without... well, without sex being involved. He hoped the brunette would be okay with that. "I brau.... brought snacks to.. too." He walked over to place his books on Sebastian's table, shrugging his bag off to start piling up all his study snacks next to the books.

sebastian

Sebastian watched Jack with interest, again noticing the speech impediment but choosing to not mention it. Too many times in the past he had ended up in horrible situations because of things people couldn't change about themselves and Jack seemed like an honest good person and Seb didn't want to destroy that. Having someone honest and good around was what he needed right now, even if he would never admit it. "You know the only thing you needed to bring was yourself." He chuckled, but decided to go along with this plan to study, at least for a while. Seb sat down at the place at the table opposite Jack and flipped open the book on the top of his pile, taking a drink from the glass he had just poured.

jack

Jack rolled his eyes at the comment, though unable to stop a smirk. Even if it did fluster him a lot, he liked how Sebastian had no issue commenting on that kind of stuff. The words stayed with him all day, giving him a confidence he hadn't thought possible. He shrugged his bag off, candy and baked goods welling out like he'd packed for a month away in the woods. "Did your midtem.. midterms go ok, okay?" He asked softly, opening one of his books before looking for the right notebook on his bag filled with snacks and a few other things, like a notebook or two.

sebastian

Seb chuckled, his ability to make men smirk silly was one of his greatest sources of pride. "Mid-terms were as expected, A's across the board so keeping up my 3.9 GPA." He responded, with a look that said, 'I'm a genius and I know it'. "How were yours, Mr Pirates of the Caribbean?" Seb rolled his eyes in a playful mocking way, remembering Jack talking about his Pirates and the Carribean class earlier in the semester. A child-like mischievous look appeared on his face at the sight of baked goods. "Are you a baker?" He asked curiously, eyeing the treats.

jack

Jack nodded, not entirely surprised. He studied Law, after all... or he thought so anyway. He felt too shy to ask for clarification at this point. "I... okay, I thunk. Think," He said with a slight shrug. He'd been freaking out about midterms, especially as it was his very first time, even if he'd never been too concerned with grades (to be fair, he'd only gotten grades below A or B a few times, and it had mostly been math). "Sometimes... only at Val's. These are bau... bought."

sebastian

Seb tipped his head thoughtfully. "Did you not get your grades back yet? The deadline was supposed to be the 14th, that's why we had that weird camping social event so the profs could have a day full of grading." Seb rolled his eyes, teachers sure could be useless sometimes. "only at Val's" He stiffened in his seat. A flicker of something different crossed Bastian's face at the comment about Val. A lot of things in Sebastians life seemed to be hanging on that man. Seb was usually so relaxed around Jack but now he forced himself to stare at the text book in front of him reading the same sentence over and over. "How about you make me something sweet instead." Seb retorted, pushing down the feeling something was stuck in his throat.

jack

"I did... mostly As and Bs," He replied, not as used to bragging and boasting as Sebastian seemed to be. The only reason he got good grades was because he was also passionate about the subjects in his courses after all. He glanced over at the other man with a confused look, not entirely sure why his entire demeanor had suddenly changed. Was it somethint he had said? "Now?"

sebastian

Seb was slightly confused that Jack did in-fact know his grades but hadn't offered the information until Seb asked, especially when he had done well. He shrugged it off, taking another drink and grabbing a snack from the pile Jack had created on his dining table. "Sure, why not, unless you only bake for your special friend." He teased, letting humour cover his thoughts.(edited)

jack

"He's not...," Jack murmured, feeling his cheeks heat up. He knew Valerian and Sebastian had talked about him, and it made him a little nervous. "We're so.. supposed to studi.. study," He countered, looking over at the older man with a raised eyebrow. At least it wasn't sex he was suggesting, Jack reasoned with himself. Then again, baking had been the thing that somehow turned into sex at Valerian's. "Can you kv.. quiz me instead?"

sebastian

"That blush suits you handsome." Sebastian chuckled, it was easy to disarm Jack and he liked that. "Fine let's study." He rolled his eyes playfully, sticking his tongue out at Jack. Bas would never admit to any kind of jealousy and would do everything in his power to cover it and his playful expression was aiming to do just that. "Do you have flash cards or something or do you want me to surprise you?" He responded, reaching for Jack's text book, pushing his own aside.

jack

He flashed a grin at the way Sebastian stuck his tongue out, relaxing as the other man seemed to be okay after all. "Uh, there's some ques...tions at the end," he explained, gesturing for the other to turn the page. He liked the book because the quiz part was always easy but good, with concrete questions like, "where is Havana?" or "What did the Spanish mainly trade with in the Caribbean?"

sebastian

Sebastian flipped though the book, skimming some of the information; he was curious by nature and this was a completely new subject to him, learning new things was one of his pleasures in life. Finally he stopped at the page labelled quiz. "Okay here's a interesting one! What relation did Mary Read have to Mark Read?"

jack

A smile formed on his lips as Sebastian actually seemed to be looking for the chapter's study questions; it felt strange, but good, to be doing this. It wasn't all fucking with them, but it sure wasn't this. Sex was always the focus of their meetings. "All right, um...," He ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. "Mark Read was Mary Reed, Read's alter-ego. She began dressing as a boy when she was young, and it eventually took her to the, ah, West Indies where she worked as a pirate under Jack Rackham."

sebastian

Sebastian cocked his head with a smile Jack was clearly in his element with this, and he was enjoying seeing passion in Jack that wasn't just for their sexual endeavours. "Way more information than they asked for but Mary Read sounds like a girl who knows what she wants, kudos." Seb looked back down at the book, but his eyes kept flicking back up to Jack's face. "Okay next question, What did the Spanish mainly trade with in the Caribbean?"

jack

"Yeah, but you know they'll want that part too on the eks.., exam," He shrugged, blushing slightly as he knew it was more his interest in the subject than in getting the best grade possible. "Uh, sugar and slaves."

sebastian

"Is it essay questions or quick answers for the exam?" Seb asked curiously, it was unlike him to openly take an interest in another person but Jack was interesting in him and that didn't happen often beyond being interested for sex. "So tell me what does a Pirates and the Carribean class get you after college?"

jack

"Both. At leash.. least on the midterms," Jack said, a bit thoughtfully. He quite liked it that way, even if he sometimes felt they used the wrong format for the wrong topics. Especially his class about witchcraft in american history. The professor loved to force them to go into details about mundane things, while the really interesting stuff only demanded quick answers; sometimes they were even just a simple three choice question. But he felt a bit uncertain wether that would interest Sebastian; he'd never been this interested in something that didn't clearly result in sex before. "Uh," he reached up to rub his temple, a small smile on his lips; both at the clear interest, and the fact taht he had no idea what he wanted to do. "It's not just pirates."

sebastian

Sebastian watched Jack carefully answering his questions about his classes, paying the younger man his full attention. He was getting more curious about Jack's speech; it seemed like he had more to say but was holding back, maybe because of his impairment, Seb wanted to ask but he knew this could go the wrong way and he didn't want to end up in any situation like he had done in the past. "What else are you studying?" He asked, gently pushing Jack to elaborate, he took a long drink from his glass, keeping his eyes on the other.

jack

He'd be lying if he didn't feel a bit surprised as well as relieved at how both Sebastian and Valerian seemed to just take his speech for what it was. It had felt more terrifying than he had expected to suddenly be in a new environment with none of his best friends around. Gabriel was there, sure, but it was different. His best friends from back home all had speech issues. But as relaxed as he felt, he still couldn't quite bring himself to talk freely. He kept the blabbering online. It made him feel safe, but he also felt limited. There was so much he wanted to say. But he supposed he also had a feeling Sebastian wasn't that interested. Perhaps the interest was simply because he didn't talk much. He doubted the older man would look as interested in what he was saying if he actually did say all he wanted to. "Uh, the wild west in popular culture. Wy.. Witches in America. All history stuff."

sebastian

"So you either want to teach kindergartener's history or you want to write period novels," Seb chucked, "Those are some wild class choices. The Ancient Egyptians and Romans will be so disappointed you're going all alternative." He rolled his eyes playfully. He was surprised how utterly interesting he found Jack and wanted the other to keep talking but he knew that wasn't necessarily a wish that could be fulfilled but as long as he kept talking Seb felt he could eventually get himself in under Jack's skin.

jack

He blushed at that, not as much at the former as the latter - Sebastian wasn't wrong about that part. "I prefer Perc.. Persia," he shrugged, covering up his trademark blush with a grin. He really did love Ancient Persia. "What do you study? You never told me." To be fair, Sebastian had told him extremely little about himself.

sebastian

"Aha good old Persia, always down for a fight, but what's got you so interested?" Seb laughed, History was something he was mildly interested in but really he just wanted to know more about Jack. Seb was fine bragging about his accomplishments but terrible at sharing personal things. "I'm in the Law program. Got to have some people with their head on straight ensuring the laws in this damn country are enforced." He shrugged, yeah he really was bad at talking about himself in a way that held any substance.

jack

"I...," Jack hesitated, not sure wether to go with the honest truth or just the truth. "I liked how it sounded in my head. I couldn't... get it right, but...," he shrugged, his speech choppier than usual as he told Sebastian something so personal. Maybe it wouldn't come off as personal, but sounds had always been personal to him. "Oh?" He smiled crookedly at that, amused at the phrasing. It seemed... very Sebastian. And he liked that.

sebastian

Seb cocked his head thoughtfully; it was like seeing into Jack's soul knowing sounds were so important to him even though he struggled so much with them. A shiver went through Seb as Jack told him something that was clearly so personal; he wasn't the kind of person others usually chose to confide in. "That part of Southwestern Asia is supposed to be beautiful so if you like the name of their historic empires maybe the place will be just as fascinating." Seb mused, it was nothing to him to think of taking a trip just because he had an interest in something, plus he had a niggling part of his mind wanting to whisk Jack away. "How else do you think they will know who needs to be punished." Seb winked, not ready to tell Jack his deeper feeling on his future in law.

jack

Jack nodded, reaching up to rub at his temple a bit nervously; something he often did when he felt vunerable or insecure. He hadn't expected to confide in Sebastian, it had just come out. He hoped the older man would be okay with it, even if he was clearly not the kind of person who liked to get personal. "I hope to c... see it one day," he said softly. He had travelled quite a bit with his father across America, but he'd never been abroad. Sometimes he wasn't sure he wanted to - afraid that reality would be a disappointment compared to the worlds he'd created in his mind. He chuckled at that, but felt a bit strange at how this made his heart buzz. He knew better than to see Sebastian like that. "You don't want to do the punishing?" He asked innocently, raising an eyebrow, as he took extra care to spell out the last word correctly.

sebastian

"Maybe if you're good I'll take you" Seb winked, teasing to lighten the mood. He was enjoying seeing inside Jack but serious conversations were not something he felt comfortable with often and Jack was new in his life, though admittedly he had seen more of Jack recently than some of his fuckboys across the lifetime of their 'relationships'. "Oh punishment I can do," Seb grinned at the so called innocent look on Jack's face. "Do you want me to show you how well I can punish?" He whispered seductively, leaning over so his lips were almost touching Jack's ear as he spoke.

jack

Jack swallowed hard at the question, almost dropping the pen he'd kept in his hand. The words, especially the way they were said, went straight to his crotch; he could feel his cock stir in his jeans. "I... yeah," he managed to get out before he could really stop himself, wanting nothing more than to be punished by Sebastian right now.

sebastian

Sex hadn't been the plan today, well in Sebastian's mind it had been but they had made plans to study but here they were once again about to spiral out of control. Seb seemed even more unable to keep things PG around Jack than everyone else in his life and that was saying something considering how often things turned sexual with Sebastian.

* * * * * * * *

jack

Jack collapsed onto the bed, body still shaking as he couldn't quite let go of the bed frame. He could tell he was going to be sore tomorrow, but right now he just felt bliss, almost sleepy bliss. He reached up just enough to be able to pull Sebastian on to the bed next to him, giving him a soft, almost thankful, kiss.

sebastian

Sebastian was panting hard but had a satisfied smile on his face and the post sex haze was settling over him. In the haze he allowed Jack to pull him in close and kiss him in what felt like a very sweet way; much sweeter than the kind of kiss Seb was used to and it made him shiver; goosebumps raising on his naked body. Bas kissed Jack back almost nervously; it was without his usual hunger, instead it was slow and soft, his eyes fluttering shut and simply feeling.

jack

He finally let go of the bed frame, his hand cupping Sebastian's cheek as he continued to kiss him; still soft, almost loving. He loved the taste of Sebastian; both bitter and sweet in a way he could never quite explain. And he loved the feeling of the other's naked body against his own, even when they were both as sweaty as now. He couldn't quite explain why, maybe it was because it was so rare - Sebastian was usually rather quick to get his pants on again, sometimes out the door before Jack had truly recovered. This was... different. His thumb stroked Sebastian's cheek, smiling into the kiss.

sebastian

Seb melted into the bed, letting himself be physically close to Jack. Post sex was raw and Seb had trained himself to escape that moment as soon as possible; he could never risk letting someone fall though the cracks in that moment when emotions were running wild. Right now though Sebastian's mind and body felt clouded in a way he wasn't used to and he couldn't bring himself to run from Jack. Even the thought of staying hot and sticky was usually enough to get him moving but right now he didn't care; the feel of Jacks hot messy body against him was almost soothing. Bas parted gently from the kiss and threaded his hands gently through Jack's hair; not rough as his did during sex but rather just enough to keep the younger man close so his sweet breath was hot on Seb's face.

jack

Jack sighed softly, a little sad the other man pulled away from the kiss but comforted by the way he ran his fingers through his hair. He leaned into his touch, his thumb still gently stroking Sebastian's cheek. He trailed one hand down to roll the condom off of the brunette, smirking at the fact that the other for once hadn't gotten around to that part yet. He removed his other hand from Sebastian's face to tie a knot on the condom, placing it as far away on the bed as possible; he'd throw it away later. Right now he just wanted to relish in the feeling of their warm, naked bodies against each other; Sebastian's soft skin sending shivers through him.

sebastian

Sebastian felt a thrill try and awaken his cock as Jack reached down to touch him but his body quickly relaxed again one the other had pulled off the condom. He was feeling quite self conscious that he was clearly too distracted to even remember that. Awkwardness was begining to creep up on Sebastian, he'd never spent this long laying with someone after sex, and he wasn't a person well versed in comfortable silences. He tried to think of something to say but he was distracted by the thumb caressing his cheek. Bas had never in all his long and torrid sexual history had someone caress him like this and suddenly he was feeling so overwhelmed when years of hidden emotions, crushed down under layers of cruelty and sarcasm, tried to escape.

jack

"I wish I didn't have to go," He murmured, his fingers running through the hair on the back of Sebastian's head; his eyes closed as he nuzzled into the pillow. He had no doubt this meant the study session had ended. Even if he wasn't expecting actual cuddling, it would be nice to just... lay there. If he wanted another turn, it was always rushed; often still too sensitive and exhausted from round one. And he would be lying if it didn't make him feel cheap sometimes,   almost expecting the older man to throw some coins at him as he rushed off. Maybe that wasn't fair - he knew what Sebastian was about, and yet he continued to see him. But it didn't make the feeling go away, or the feeling of constantly wanting just a little bit more of Sebastian for each time.

sebastian

"Shame we have people to do, things to see." Sebastian chuckled, spinning the common phrase on it's head as he often did. Laying here in the quiet with Jack the world seemed to slow and for a moment that was calming, nice even, but the world was starting to spin again and everything was catching up with him. He couldn't lay here forever because it just might start to crack the foundations of the walls he had built and he couldn't risk letting them fall; he couldn't risk getting hurt. "Speaking of things to do I have a Fencing preseason practice to get to shortly."

jack

Jack smiled small at that, though a little sadly as he knew time was up. He felt guilty about being such a bad fuck buddy, he knew what he had gotten himself into and yet, he couldn't help but expect more. It wasn't fair. "Yeah... yeah," he murmured, his hands withdrawing from Sebastian, not sure he could bear to continue to touch him now. Suddenly, he also wanted to leave. "I'll....," he gestured out towards the kitchen, almost rushing to grab the clothing items he'd dropped on their way from the kitchen table to the bed.

[diego-hargreeve2]

light in the dark

Part Twenty

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)

Ship: Diego Hargreeves x Original Character

Warnings: Language, abuse (emotional and physical), mental illness, violence and, in later chapters, smut.

Chapter Specific Author Note: I’m not an expert on stuttering and I’ve never had this specific speech impediment. I have done some reading and sought to portray this in a way which is accurate and sensitive. If you have thoughts, pointers or issues to flag up to me, feel free to drop me a message so I can improve.  

He knew she wasn’t at the shelter – but where she was left Diego at a loss. His first thought was the gym, and he’d headed home but there was no sign of her. The moment he was sure he was back in the car, driving along the streets where he’d found her before, the diner they went the first night they met, before returning to the shelter. Kyle just shook his head at the question, and Diego was back out the door immediately to return to his car and driving aimlessly.

His fingers flexed on the wheel, itching to hold a knife even though his worry wasn’t an enemy he could hope to defeat with a blade. It was more a tick, a tool to comfort himself, and Diego didn’t know a better way to deal with the level of emotion that raged inside him. The longer he drove, the more streets he crawled down at the lowest speed the car could manage, the engine growling in protest, the more panicked he grew.

It was a circuit he ended up making – the shelter, the gym, the street where they met, and repeat. Without family and friends, without a job, without ties…Diego had no other ideas and the dawn light was lifting the darkness of the night when he pulled up outside the gym and checked for what felt like the hundredth time. Still no Evie.

Sliding back into the driver’s seat he slammed his fist against the steering wheel, all that worry over her turning into anger as he punched the car, a frustrated primal scream escaping him. Diego was exhausted, and out of ideas.

Where would she go?

No back to Idaho. But that did remind him of the journey she’d made across the states. Catching lights on highways, and begging money for…train tickets.

He fired the engine back up with a roar as a new thought occurred to him.

Evie was sat outside the bus station, crossed legged. Her head hunched forward, a hood pulled up, the fabric and her hair masking her face more effectively than the disguise Diego adopted of a night, and yet he knew her at once. She had slid her hands into the opposite sleeves, wore her backpack despite the fact she had sat down, and there was a scuffed paper cup sat in front of her.

Diego yanked the handbrake, heedless of the needs of the car he was normally so protective over, and was out the door in a moment to crouch on the ground before her.

“Shit Evie, you had me scared. Are you okay?” he said, both hands reaching to cup her elbows but she shifted away, turning her head to avoid his gaze. This was hard enough for her right now - in her mind, even sure it was Patch he wanted, Diego was who she wanted. It was the worst heartache she had felt in her life - to be so in need of comfort and having the person you’d most seek that from in front of you and yet to not take that, to hold back, to try and save yourself further pain and maintain some dignity.

“Angel, c’mon. I’ve been out my head with worry, looking for you for hours. Talk to me”. The frustration was gone, all he had was relief that at least he found her and fear she wouldn’t let him explain, wouldn’t even listen.

For a long moment there was silence, nothing comfortable like the quiet that usually settled between them, but taut and crackling with emotion neither one of them could voice.

“Why didn’t you come and talk to me? Why’d you run off?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you used to date Patch?” Eve responded, turning her face and now he could see her cheeks, streaked with tears, her lashes which had dried into salty spikes, and her lower lip, bleeding and marked with teeth marks, the skin torn and worried at.

“Because it didn’t fucking matter anymore” he insisted, vehemence lending his voice more violence then he intended. “It was years ago”.

Eve shook her head, unable to meet his gaze, her mouth quivering. She had thought she was done with crying, but more tears threatened to fall as she was faced with the reality of him.

“No? Evie – it’s the past”.

“But you didn’t-”

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I figured you’d prefer not to know”.

“Not to know that you’re in love with her…yeah…I’d have preferred not to know that” she admitted, with a bitter smile devoid of happiness.

“Wuh-wuh-wuh-” His old stutter returned, and his cheeks flushed beneath the stubble at the frustration. He hated the way his tongue betrayed him at the worst time. Grace always told him to slow down, to picture the word in his mind, but at times like this the concept of having to think before he spoke when emotions were running so high felt like the worst curse he could be saddled with. The more he tried to reach for the word the further away it seemed to be, the harder he tried the more impossible the task became.

It got her attention more effectively than any articulate word could have. Last time she heard him stumble like that it had been when he saw her scars.

Hurt as she was, the frustration on his face as he fought with his tongue had her heart aching and she lifted a hand to touch his cheek despite herself.

“Diego…” Her fingers dropped away from his skin, yanking back as though he could burn her skin as she realised, she shouldn’t do that. Fast as her automatic reaction was his own reflexes were sharp, and he caught her wrist. 

“I don’t love her now” he insisted, giving up on the previous sentence, the vowel easier to manage and force out.

“You didn’t tell me-”

“To save you getting upset. I didn’t wuh-wuh-wuh…to save you feeling... ...feeling jealous. I thought you’d wuh-wuh-wuh...that you’d wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh - SHIT for fucks sake”. The curse exploded out of him with anger aimed at himself and the noise that tripped him up. He rose to his feet in one smooth motion, hardly aware he was doing it, both hands lifting to his head for a moment before one yanked out a knife. It was to secure himself, trying to find the easy fluidity with which he could throw the blades and transfer that to his mouth. It didn’t escape his notice though the way she flinched and, spinning the dagger between his fingers, he dropped to sit beside her and sought again to speak. 

“I thought you’d stress over it and you’d be stressing over nothing, so I didn’t tell you”. Stress wasn’t in truth the word he meant or wanted to use but it worked at least - the hiss had never been his downfall. 

Evie understood his decision for the word choice, even if she didn’t understand the sentiment or the decision 

“If there was nothing to hide...you’d have told me”.

He could understand that way of thinking; Diego always found it suspicious himself when people were invasive during his ‘interrogations’ - but this had been nothing like that, it had been intended to protect Evie.

“I just...” she swallowed, struggling in a way that was different to Diego’s difficulty in this conversation as she tried to find the courage to speak the thoughts in her mind. 

“I don’t...if you love her, why...I don’t understand why you...I’m not...” she pulled her knees up to her chest, her forehead dropping down to hide her face entirely between her hair, the hood and her kneecaps.

The urge to interrupt and correct her thinking was strong and Diego forced himself to resist as he fidgeted with the knife, twirling it around to diffuse the tension in his body. Few things aggravated him more than people jumping in and offering the words he was trying to say when he struggled, so he tried to avoid doing the same to Eve, to give her the space to get out what she wanted to say without him interrupting despite the fact there were so many things he wanted to say. 

Hidden away it was easier for her to complete a sentence, but her cheeks burned with shame even as she forced the words out. 

“I’ve never...I’m not somebody who...Why did you sleep with me if you love her?” Her voice breaking and full of tears.

If she had been somebody who slept around regularly maybe it wouldn’t have mattered. But Eve found it hard to open up, to reveal herself, and to have done so to somebody she thought understood that - and to have believe he cared...there was a pain behind her sternum and her stomach ached, her cheeks red hot and her mind eager to remind her that this was her own fault. 

She should’ve known nobody like Diego would want somebody like her - nobody would ever want her. She was a mistake and a disgrace with her mother’s blood on her hands. 

“I don’t love Eudora anymore” he insisted, shifting closer to her, the hand not fiddling with his knife trying to take find a way to touch her she’d accept; he avoided her hands and her back given the state she was in, sliding his fingers beneath her elbow, his thumb curling to hold onto her. 

She shook her head slightly, unable to believe him and Diego tightened his grip slightly. 

The fact she wouldn’t listen, and had clearly intended to flee the city, was causing his heart to thud. Stabbing the knife into the bench beside him he shifted to crouch before her again, strong hands reaching out to grab her ankles and pull her legs down so he could see her face.

She couldn’t leave. The idea of not having Evie was...his stomach twisted, his palms slick with sweat and his throat tightening. 

“Don’t go”, the word strangled between his dry mouth and constricted airways. 

“I have to - I can’t - I’m sorry. I should’ve known-” Her own tears cut her off, choking her. She should’ve known better, should never have let herself believe in something better, to have hope.

“You think nobody could care about you and you’re wrong. I do. And I never meant to worry you. Look at me Evie”. He lifted his hands to her face, fingers along her jaw so she couldn’t turn away, feeling the wetness of tears against his own damp skin. 

His eyes were full of tears she could see that much, and seeing Diego hurting felt like all the pain and nausea inside her twisting and getting worse as a sob caught in her throat. 

“I want you. Nobody else. Don’t leave me” he murmured. She had no words and he watched her, seeing the way she was struggling in herself. Moving he half stood, bracing himself with a knee on the bench beside her, as he leaned forward and captured her mouth in a kiss. Part of him expected - feared - that she’d resist, but as his mouth closed on hers - tasting salt and iron - she tilted her face upwards and kissed him back. Eve wished she could have had the strength in her heart but truthfully - she was desperate to keep him in her life. Hating herself she opened her mouth to him, sure of her own weakness and how pathetic she was, and knowing Patch was more worthy of him - she couldn’t blame him for preferring Eudora - and yet so alone and crazy for him specifically that she gave in anyway. 

Breaking away from her he stroked his fingers down her face, searching her eyes.

“Come home with me”.

She nodded, even as fresh tears welled up in her eyes and the self-loathing made her mouth taste of bile. Even to him her agreement didn’t feel like a victory, this wasn’t resolved. At this moment though getting her home was a start and, stepping back, one hand yanked the knife out the wood and the other reached for her, waiting as she shook her fingers and cooled them before sliding her hand into his. Pulling her upright Diego pressed a kiss to her temple before leading her to the car.

At least he’d found her.

sad times continued

@lovinglydiego @klausbutgayer @reblogserpent @me125 @fatbottomedcurls @mrsdiegohargreeves @carryon-doctor-lock @rhymesmenagerie  @eleventhdoctorsangel​

[hollowedrpg]

CONGRATULATIONS, SAMMY! — You’ve been accepted for the role of Arthur Weasley, with a face claim change to Domhnall Gleeson. Arthur is a balance between a fighter and a protector, and with his unique circumstance of having his children with him in Godric’s Hollow, he’s in a precarious position. In your app, you managed to convey that balance and the difficult spot he’s in. I can’t wait to see how your Arthur interacts within Hollowed Souls.

Thank you so much for applying. Please create your account and send in the link, track the right tags, and follow everyone on the follow list. Welcome to Hollowed Souls!

ooc.

name: Sammy

age: 22

preferred pronouns: She/Her

timezone: CST

activity: I’d say almost every day, I am also in another rp as well as being a part-time student and working part-time

are you applying for more than one character?: No

how do you feel about your character dying?: This is AU so I’m going to say yes, though I’d feel terribly for the Weasley children, especially since Molly is currently missing, but it’s war and some children become orphans.

anything else?: If you wanna do his canon birthday of February 6th I understand, I’d just change the part about his zodiac

ic details.

full name: Arthur Septimus Weasley, a man who can come up with a thousand nicknames for others but hasn’t yet found one for himself that he wants to stick. Art and Artie each cut down like a tree whenever someone speaks them into existence, “It’s Arthur,” he insists with a look that is more intense than the other could believe him capable of. “Arthur or Weasley.”

date of birth: March 23rd, 1952

former hogwarts house: Gryffindor, as all good Weasleys have been since the dawn of Hogwarts. He wondered if Ravenclaw might have fit him better, might have allowed him to stretch his wings and explore the possibilities of his knowledge. The Sorting Hat, however, read him as a Weasley and whispered in his ear that he knew where Arthur belonged, what house he was meant to be in due to his lineage. Sometimes he still

sexuality: Bisexual with a preference for women

gender/pronouns: Cisgender Male / He/Him

face claim change: Domhnall Gleeson

more.

An Aries, while not the typical entity for chaos, Arthur’s whirlwind enthusiasm for his muggle gadgets and gizmos bring out that turbulence. Any spare time that isn’t swallowed up by his children, the war, and his job is consumed by his burning curiosity. He wants to know how the world works. Arthur is in awe of the enormous world that muggles have created without the use of magic, the workarounds they’ve found for problems wizards can only rely upon their magic to fix. He’s jealous, really, that their technology is so readily available, especially since so much of those resources are made null by the magic in the air of his own home.

Too many words in his head than the ability to say, Arthur’s speech impediment has been an embarrassment to him since he was young. He knew his parents were too busy to listen to him and his classmates were too impatient and his professors were much too overworked to wait on him to finally release the words. This is why, among the many things that he loved about Molly, he was so in awe by her. It didn’t matter what was going on around them, she made time for him and his words. He tried not to gab her ears off but he knew that, if he had something to say, she would listen to him.

Arthur joined the good fight to protect those he cares about. He worries constantly about those around him. He’s less of a fighter than a protector in his own mind. He’d love to handle things with words and gentleness but he has seen what these people do and has had things taken from him over the course of the war that has brewed. He knows words won’t fix anything. They must resort to violence and Arthur has found the idea more appealing as of late. Seeing Molly disappear with a Death Eater hot on her tails set a fire in his belly like he’d never experienced before. He wants those bastards to pay for what they’ve done!

At the same time he’s got his children and people like Charity that he’s responsible for or at least feels he’s responsible for. He and Molly may not have seen eye-to-eye on letting the blonde witch into the Order so soon but Arthur wanted her to stop wallowing and wasting away and do something productive. He was a strong believer in doing things with your hands in order to move forward. This war is no different.

Arthur believes, wholeheartedly, that being in Godric’s Hollow is the right choice for his family. He could send them away to some countryside home as though it was the forties again but he doesn’t want to do that. He can’t sleep without them nearby, knowing that they are safe and alive. Particularly Ginny he’s concerned with. A mere five months old, his daughter won’t even remember Molly if something has happened to her. Neither would Ron, his youngest son who was old enough to ask for her now. He tried his best to tell his children she’d be coming back, that she’d be home soon, but with the eight of them residing in Godric’s Hollow he’s not sure that they believe him. He doesn’t even know if he believes himself.

As a father, Arthur usually finds that he’s not the “Strict Parent” of the Weasley Clan. He’s much more laid back, encouraging his children’s interests and hobbies. That’s not to say he’s a pushover, though at times his children would say so, but Molly was always the disciplinarian of them. He supported her, doing his best to keep a serious face while doing so, but he didn’t have the heart to discourage their fun. He’s even been known to quietly tell the twins not to get caught during their games, though he’ll deny that if you ask.

With Molly gone, however, he’s been more strict, more easily irritated than he’d been before. He doesn’t let the children out of his sight more than necessary. Even then he makes sure that both another adult and Bill are there to watch after the little ones. He knows it isn’t fair to Bill to be a surrogate parent to the six other children but right now they’re down one so someone had to step up.

Bill turning ten was a terrifying time when Arthur realized that his son would be going to Hogwarts soon in the midst of this war. Yes, they always said that there was “No safer place than Hogwarts” but, then again, Voldemort had started at the school and people that Arthur had studied alongside had joined the cause. There were Death Eaters getting to children in this supposed “safe place.”

His paranoia over what could possibly happen to his children are why he has remained a part of the Order. That and the fact he wanted to stay until they found out what had happened to his wife. He wasn’t a widower yet, not until they knew more. If there was one thing he knew about Molly Weasley, she was a goddamn fighter!

extra.

Mockblog: X

Aesthetic: X

[24hourstilldeath-blog]

The Bloodies Raven Sings

A spoop story written for @bloodymagpie for Halloween yesterday! Involves two of her characters from her Deathwatch games, a Blood Raven named Brel and a minor appearance from her Dark Angel Leviticus. Horror themes abound!

Within him stirred a digital parasite. Menos, it called itself. Both everything and nothing. The body it inhabited had fallen from a great distance, injuring even its Astartes physiology. Had it been wholly organic the tender shell would have surely been shattered beyond repair. As it was, the shell was most parts metal. Metal and circuits Menos could freely manipulate with some effort whether the host wanted this or not. It tried to do so now, pausing at the sharp neural feedback it realized was agony. Dense bone structures and nigh impenetrable sheets of black carapace had severally bruised the delicate organic engines keeping its host alive. Faintly, Menos realized he should be worried. Significant amounts of the host’s bright red lubricant had spilled onto the iron it was plastered against. Splatters had even traveled up the near by wall. It could know this only because it dragged open its host’s fleshy optical covers. The host’s naked, exposed jaw bones were apparently cracked as well. They rattled when jolts of feedback made the mandible shiver.

Still, it forced the host to stand. This was an awkward, jerky process. More red lubricant leaked from between the cracks in its host’s connected armor. Menos considered ditching this. Fragments of the busted material ground against fused, shattered ribs, irritating an essential mechanism called breathing. If the host could not breath, Menos remembered, it would die. And death was not an option. With its host in a healing coma, the digital parasite would have to do this itself.

And so it did. Servo-arms pried loose the broken plate, letting it fall from the bruised, leaking outer covering. Skin, was it called? It did not care to know. Gradually, the stinging feedback it knew as pain started to fade. The armor must have stopped functioning and caring for its wearer like it was suppose to. Thus being rid of it let what still ran correctly to do its job. Menos buzzed in annoyance when its hosts fueling system suddenly purged its contents across the floor. Although it supposed the amount of lubricant it had swallowed couldn’t be digested and so needed to be removed.

Now to continue dragging this broken frame to safety. This proved harder than it first calculated. Firing stimulation across the electoos crossing skin at regular intervals helped, but the nerves were sluggish. Wounded. Even the hosts’ durable metals legs and single metal arm, far more evolved than the flesh twin hanging on the other side, were slow.

Damage Check:75% blood loss. Vitals below optimal levels. Unable to sense environment. Danger…danger…danger…tracer inactive. Armor link not established. 70% blood loss...

Something close to fear crawled across Meno’s neural webscape. The host was dying? It had to hurry if it too wanted to live. Of course it did. Its what it had been programmed to do. It forced bent joints to move, clamping its host’s avian augmented feet to the decking. The iron under its claws creaked. It had a good anchor. Slowly, the host ambled forward, stumbling away from the site of its fall to clamber and stride towards what Menos identified as a door. It was closed, but nothing the digital parasite could not tease open.

Interface damaged replacement required. Upload blood lock inactive…interface dama-

Crackle crackle caw the bloodied raven sings!

… … …

Portal opening stand by.

Menos cackled in joy through the host’s hijacked vox as the door mechanisms overloaded and flung open. The host stumbled through without impediment. Slowly, slowly slowly it walked the body forward. Stamp, step, clang, clack went its metal feet, so much like that of Menos’ own. Faster, faster! It urged. It…

[Leviticus]: Brel, do you read me? Brel, your life signs aren’t registering. What’s going on? Brel!?

Menos hissed. Apparently the host’s ranged communication devices were still active. Both fortunate and not. It loathed the flesh creature that was speaking now. It knew the looks it was often given even if such organic expressions were well beyond it. The host was not trusted by this creature much either. It considered Leviticus an enemy, but its function would serve the host in its time of need. To refuse to do so would be a breach of its born function, after all.

SALVATIONSALVATIONSALVATIONSALVATION

The message looped endlessly through the communication device, set to continue even if the flesh creature at the other end terminated its end of the link. Leviticus spat something harsh that might have been a curse before doing just that. Menos cackled, feeling pride in having done its duty to protect the host, as it was always meant to do.

Stamp, step, clang, clack went its metal feet, so much like that of Menos’ own. Faster, faster! It urged.

Stamp, step, clang, clack went its metal feet, so much like that of Menos’ own. Faster, faster! It urged.

Stamp, step, clang, clack went its metal feet, so much like that of Menos’ own. Faster, faster! It urged. Leviticus paused, nearly horrified as Brel clambered around the corner, turning with an awkward, painful slowness. He shouldn’t be moving like that. Joints weren’t bending correctly or otherwise overextending. Brel was suitably naked as well, leaving behind bloody claw prints and a trail of sparks and oil. The sheer disregard to his own movements, combined with the suspicious vox he’d received in reply had him on edge. None the less, the apothecary approached, bolter held at the shoulder but notably dropped away from Brel’s core mass. He doubted the broken battle brother could do much in that state, yet…

No, that wasn’t right. Brel’s life signals were slowly popping back online, but they were showing him as unconscious. In fact, Brel’s sus-an membrane was marked as active. So how…?

The techmarine’s neck mounted vox popped with static, jaundiced eyes rolling awkward until it made contact with his. A jaw that was no longer meant for speaking clacked in a mockery of speech. The noise that bellowed forth was not a voice.

CRACKLE CRACKLE CAW THE BLOODIED RAVEN SINGS

CRACKLE CRACKLE CAW THE BLOODIED RAVEN SINGS

 CRACKLE CRACKLE CAW THE BLOODIED RAVEN SINGS

[miasswier]

miasswier’s ultimate glee ranking: no 38

38: Wheels

Written by: Ryan Murphy Directed by: Paris Barclay

Overall Thoughts: How in the world did I forget how incredible this episode is?!?!?!! I remember all the awesome things that happen in this episode, but somehow forgot that they all happen in this episode – for some reason I thought Defying Gravity was in “Ballad”? I don’t even know. Anyway, this episode is absolutely fantastic, but I’m going to head straight into what I like about it because I don’t want to repeat myself too much!

What I Like:

This is the first episode of Glee that actually feels like we’re watching an ensemble show. Artie and Kurt get their own subplot, and Tina gets a little bit of the spotlight too. Also, Puck and Quinn get to interact for a solid two or three minutes throughout this episode without either Finn or Rachel getting involved. And Will isn’t as central to the plot! It’s honestly fantastic

The introduction of Becky Jackson, who would become one o f the most hilarious characters in all of Glee. It’s really interesting seeing her here, and how different she is from how she ends up. You can definitely see Sue’s influence on her, and while in some areas it’s a bad thing, overall I think it was really good for her. She ends the series with so much confidence that it’s absolutely blinding, and I think the way Sue treats her really helps her.

Sue calling Will out for being ableist in the guise of being open-minded. Becky very clearly has no problems with Sue telling her she needs to improve, and she also responds to her in a way that no other Cheerio ever does – she straight up tells Sue that she’s trying, but it’s difficult. No other Cheerio ever says anything like that to Sue. Even though we watch Becky grow in her confidence and independence, you can already see the seeds of that here. Seriously, I just absolutely adore Becky Jackson and her relationship with Sue, and I’m totally willing to fight people who don’t.

The scene with Puck and Quinn “baking”. This is honestly the scene that made me fall in love with these two as a couple. It’s adorable, it’s hilarious, and it’s really, really sweet. I think it’s the first time in the whole show that we actually see Quinn genuinely happy. It’s refreshing.

Puck calling Finn out on his shit, how he’s always complaining about how hard this is on him but never seems to realize that it’s a thousand times harder for Quinn. The fact that it took five whole episodes of Quinn being pregnant before somebody asked “what about how she’s feeling” is really sad, though.

Burt sticking up for Kurt and not taking any of Will’s bullshit.

Burt being faced with the reality that Kurt is being bullied, and probably will be bullied for the rest of his life. It’s an emotional scene, and while it’s nice to see Burt tell Kurt that “nobody pushes the Hummel’s around”, you can also see how it’s just hitting him that Kurt doesn’t have it easy, and will never have it easy, all because other people are narrow minded and stupid. He never once blames Kurt or asks him to stop being himself – in fact, he encourages Kurt to continue being himself, and seems legitimately angry when Kurt admits he flubbed the note. It’s really refreshing, coming from the guy who “isn’t in love with the idea” of his son being gay and isn’t ready to have a conversation about Kurt and guys yet.

Kurt being willing to sacrifice a solo because he doesn’t want his father to be hurt by the bullying he faces. I feel like this really defines a huge part of Kurt’s character, and it’s nice to see him becoming fleshed out.

Will drawing attention to the fact that McKinley High isn’t accessible, and Artie wanting to use the Glee bake sale money to build a ramp in the auditorium. I’m really glad that they touched on the issue of accessibility without getting too “life is hard enough for Artie as it is can’t we make it just a little easier for him?”, which I find a lot of shows, movies, and books tend to do. They focus wasn’t on how hard Artie’s life is because he’s in a wheelchair, it was on the fact that the lack of accessibility in the school is what makes his life harder. He isn’t the problem the – the school is.

Brittany openly and honestly being friends with Becky – not because she feels pity for her, but because she actually likes her. I have no idea how this Brittany eventually turned into the awful, mean-spirited Brittany that we were subjected to throughout most of seasons 3 and 4. I feel like people always want to focus on Quinn’s character assassination but honestly, this show did Brittany so dirty.

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the scene between Tina and Artie at the end. I do think they’re super cute and super sweet, and the scene definitely has that tone. Tina revealing that she doesn’t have a stutter and doesn’t feel like she has to keep faking because now she’s in Glee and doesn’t want to push people away is sweet, but I also really appreciate that Artie calls her out when she says that they’re the same, because he’s right, when it comes to this, they’re not. He can’t fake the fact that he’s in a wheelchair, and it was unfair of her to act like they have something in common because of a speech impediment that she’s been faking for years. That being said…

Things I Don’t Like:

… it’s not like Tina gets to fake being Asian. Artie acts like because Tina doesn’t have a stutter she suddenly isn’t a minority and doesn’t know what it’s like to be discriminated against. To be fair to Artie, though, Glee never really addressed race issues on a large scale, and was honestly full of microaggressions and just… overall had a very bad, very ugly relationship with race. So it’s not like Artie is specifically being ignorant (and I mean, for fucks sake, he’s a fourteen-year-old, I don’t expect him to be completely knowledgeable on intersectionality and oppression), it’s just how Glee rolls. It still rubs me the wrong way, though.

Small addition to that, who the fuck has their first date in their high school after hours? Why?

The fact that we finally get to see some of the everyday struggles that Artie faces because the school simply isn’t accessible, but it’s shown through a montage of Finn and Rachel struggling with these things.

Finn and Rachel using a fake disability in order to get Finn a job. That is honestly so disgusting and gross, I can’t even begin to explain how awful it is. Ugh.

Quinn making no effort to get a job herself, but insisting that Finn do so. Look, I’m usually on Quinn’s side in this whole story, but in this episode she is honestly being quite unreasonable. Especially considering Finn isn’t actually the father of her baby, and she knows that full well.

Rachel acting like she deserves the solo that was literally handed to her. If you don’t work for something you can’t get mad when it’s taken away. Also, that line where she’s like “maybe one day you’ll find a way to create teaching moments without ruining my life” makes me roll my eyes SO HARD. How is Will supposed to ever teach anybody anything if you demand all of his attention and every single song ever sung? For fucks sake…

Everybody acting like Brittany shouldn’t be hanging out with Becky, and seeming surprised that the two are friends. Fuck off, you assholes.

Songs

Dancing with Myself: Artie’s first real solo. I can’t believe it took nine episodes for us to get this. Artie’s voice is amazing, and this slowed-down version of the song really works. I especially like how the instruments fade away at the end and we see that it’s really just Artie singing alone in the auditorium. It really works to showcase how lonely and isolated he feels. My only issue is that we are forced to watch Will awkwardly creeping. I wish they could have let Artie just have his moment, instead of making it about Will deciding to be Noble.

Defying Gravity: I’m a huge Wicked fan, so this cut version has always sort of irked me, mostly because they cut my favourite part of the song. I also am not really a fan of the Rachel sections of this song (and I’ve never bothered listening to the full Rachel solo version) because I feel like she sounds too much like Idina Menzel and what’s the point of doing a cover if you just sound exactly like the original singer? The format of it for the diva-off is cool, though, and Kurt sounds awesome. It really does suck that they forced him to mess up the note when Chris Colfer specifically wanted to sing this song.

Proud Mary: I love this song! The energy is awesome, and I feel like it’s the first real group number that we get. The choreography is awesome, and the outfits are adorable. Really a fantastic way to end a fantastic episode.

[curufins-smile]

I never thought it would come to this

But I’ve reached Peak Irritation so here we go.

Feanor’s treatment in this fandom is frankly unfair and I’m sick of it. No other character gets so consistently called “crazy” and is derided so much. Feanor and most of his sons are often treated worse than Sauron and Melkor and I don’t understand at all. So I’m going to address some of the key misunderstandings i see all the time here. No references, i wrote this at work, if I’m wrong on anything please forgive me and correct me. Also I’m really very angry about some of the things I’ve seen recently so forgive the super confrontational language.

I’d just like to state a disclaimer.

I am not saying Feanor did nothing wrong. I am not minimising his misdeeds. I am addressing character issues that are frequently mishandled or overlooked.

1) Feanor is a bad father.

First, I don’t accept amrod dying at losgar as canon as it isn’t in the actual silm so don’t start about that. Secondly, why on earth would his sons have immediately sworn the oath if he was a bad dad?? I wouldn’t instantly swear a life binding oath for my dad and i love him very much. All quotes in regards to feanor and his sons describe a relationship where he cares for them a great deal and they him, with them travelling Valinor. I just can’t really understand how this hc has propagated because all evidence is to the contrary.

2) Feanor was awful to his stepmother

This is a sticky one as I am not denying that this is a two sided issue. Feanor was certainly not the best stepson/brother. But I feel here that there’s a wilful lack of empathy that goes on. If going with the timeline where feanor is an adult when Finwe remarries this is a different argument. However a lot of the fandom goes with the timeline where Feanor is still a kid (and this is my personal timeline so let’s argue that).

Real life families struggle with divorce and grief. A divorce or bereavement can often create issues for someone struggling with the loss. There is a reason that grief counselling exists and is often heavily recommended if someone is grieving so strongly. Magnify this by the fact that Finwe and Feanor are the only family in Valinor to even have this problem, and there likely being no one who can empathise with their pain, and you have them unable to even get help if they wanted it.

This is also two sided. Indis is the adult in this situation. Please don’t accuse me of hating on her, because i think it’s a very difficult situation for her. But as the adult, she’s capable of more rational thought than Feanor, and she should have assured him that she wasn’t attempting to replace Miriel.

Also, Indis is literally the reason Miriel can never return from death. You can argue that Feanor should be hating Finwe instead, but Finwe has been raising Feanor alone for pretty much his entire life, and Feanor *can’t* hate him. So Indis bears the brunt of it, which isn’t fair on her but nothing about this situation is fair.

3) The thing about the Þ

As someone who has had their name mispronounced their entire life, that shit fucking sucks. Also please i beg you stop calling it a lisp. I’ve got a damn lisp and it took a lot of work to get over so can we not make fun of that shit. I don’t have any nuanced arguments about linguistic shift, I’m just sick of people making fun of my speech impediment and my wish to have my name said fucking right thanks.

4) Feanor was hysterical and irrational in his feud with Fingolfin

No hate to Fingolfin but. He literally was spreading shit. There were two sides to the feud. Fingolfin handled it much better than Feanor, but Melkor was whispering in his ear probably more than he was to Feanor even. I’m not saying that Feanor didn’t overreact, but let’s not pretend Fingolfin was a perfect saint because you’re actually removing a lot of the agency from his character. Fingolfin genuinely was talking shit about Feanor and angling for the throne. It wasn’t just Feanor deciding one day to threaten his innocent brother. Was Losgar too paranoid? Yes. But one promise from Fingolfin that they’re besties now isn’t going to magically remove that feud mistrust.

5) Feanor was wrong to refuse the Valar the silmarils

No. This is bullshit. As someone whose work relies on materials manufactured by someone else this is legitimately a huge peeve for me. This is like DMC laying claim to all my cross stitch because they made the threads. It’s ridiculous.

Was Feanor wrong to refuse them when the trees had been destroyed? I think personally it’s a moot point as they were already stolen by then. But let’s look at the situation Feanor is in here.

He’s at a party he was ORDERED to go to. He’s been banished due to manwe interfering where he frankly shouldn’t have, and then made to go to this event. The valar have a history with the silmarils (I can’t imagine feanor actually being too pleased about Varda hallowing them). If i were put into this situation I’m fairly certain I’d tell them to get fucked too.

6) Feanor was crazy and took his people to war over shiny rocks

I am sick of seeing people calling Feanor crazy and then seeing their blogs full of “your mental illness is valid uwu” stuff. You don’t get to do both. Feanor suffers some kind of mental break due to his grief over his father. His actions before and his actions after Finwe’s death are two totally separate things. Feanor partly wants after Melkor for the silmarils of course but what is often forgotten is that he wants revenge for Finwe. Finwe is possibly the person Feanor loves most in the world, every single line of text about their relationship describes Feanor as loving him more than the trees or “the peerless works of his hand”, so more than the silmarils. Finwe is gone, and Feanor is now having to deal with that loss, and as said above historically grief has not been well handled among the elves. There’s no time for counselling if there even were such facilities so Feanor again has to work through it himself. Which he clearly can’t.

I am not stating Feanor is “broken” or what he did was not wrong.

There is absolutely no shame in needing help to get through mental illness or difficult periods. And mental illness such as depression (which i have so don’t start at me) is no excuse for the first kinslaying etc. I am just attempting to provide a more nuanced view about this since i so frequently see people just assigning it as Feanor “being crazy”. He’s grieving.

I’m going to leave off here because otherwise I could rant for days. The point here is not that I am trying to say Feanor did nothing wrong. I like my characters nuanced and I don’t think that can be done by erasing their misdeeds. But I just want to address a lot of the things I’ve been seeing because it’s really irritating to me that Feanor is being criticised for things exclusively when there were many factors.

If you want to shout at me about this please don’t, 90% of the fandom thinks the way you do. I wrote this to vent steam.

[zcvgiroux]

would it be rude to ask what happened with the players? so i know whether I should stay away from the group?

alright, since im p sure everyone’s blocked me so i won’t have to delete any anons (or deal with anymore blatant transphobia on discord. hey negan! i have the screenshots if anyone’s interested in proof)

let’s just. run down my list. this is gonna be long, and i’m not putting it under a readmore, so. 

negan. the star of the hour. i’m gonna be really real, when i first started writing in the group, i thought negan was pretty cool. his writing style isn’t like mine, but i mean, hey, i wasn’t gonna write him off for that. that’d be real shitty of me. but. things started happening with negan and his characters. well, with one in particular. angelo. or should i say a-a-a-a-a-a-angelo. as someone who’s struggled with speech impediments from a young age, i’m always happy to see those sorts of things represented. but only if they’re done respectfully. my first issue with angelo was how unrealistic his stutter was, from only stammering on the first sound, to having no real rhyme or reason to what triggered the stutter, etc etc. but hey. everyone stutters different so. maybe there’s people who stutter like that. that alone wasn’t enough to tick me off. then he ultimately decided angelo is trans. as a transmasculine person, i’d be a complete shit lord if that bothered me. it didn’t bother me. what bothered me was how negan handled angelo’s transness. constantly referring to him as a trans BOY despite angelo being a 40 year old man, completely infantilizing him in speech patterns and behavior, it all just reeked of internalized transphobia. listen, i won’t kinkshame anyone here, but maybe some understanding of Kink While Trans should have been applied to angelo here. and that’s not even addressing that he apparently finds it appropriate to refer to me as “princess” when he’s trying to be condescending, even though he knows i’m a transmasculine person with extreme dysphoria. 

joey. what a fuckin sleezeball. he’s offender numero uno on my list of Gross Dudes With An Age Difference Fetish. like i said. everyone’s got different thresholds for this stuff. some don’t mind a five year difference, some don’t mind a ten year difference. whatever. and, like, if the younger muse is, like, 21, and the older one is, like, early 30s, IDGAF. you do you. but when your 18 year old character seeks out men twice as old as him or older, and you’re older than your muse by, like, a bit, that’s a red fuckin’ flag. how obtuse do you have to be to not see the predatory stereotypes you’re making characters fall into here? 

jaybird. jay. whatever he’s going by. first of all, he sent me the anon hate that sparked this need to Never Fucking Shut Up About How Shit This Group Is so. y’all can thank him for that! at least, i’m operating on the assumption it was him, seeing as how the points match up to his points in the ooc chat. so there’s strike one. strike two is petty as hell but of all the fucking occupations to give a character, he chose to have his character be a part of a racist, victim blaming franchise with a known r*pist on their team. but again, that on its own isn’t enough to make me outright hate someone. the nhl as a whole is its own problem. whatever. but when you combine that, with the anon hate, and then the fact that his, like, 35 year old character was actively pursuing and involved with an 18 year old character? fucking disgusting. 

ray. 

that’s not an apology. “sorry you got offended” isn’t an apology for offending someone. not to mention, he’s constantly condescending and got a holier than thou attitude about fuckin’ everything. and, again, complete cop apologist. i don’t give a flying fuck that he’s dating a cop or whatever. that actually only proves my point. ray’s the type that’ll get you, though. i’ll be honest, i really liked him in the beginning. i thought he was upbeat and positive, and all around a good guy. but it’s such bull. ray’s got what i call Motivational Speaker Positivity. You know the sort. “Everything is good! Things are great! If you don’t think so, that’s on you! It’s your fault! You could change if you tried but since you aren’t happy you’re just not trying!” that shit. it’s not real, begins to feel hostile after a while. and you start to realize that. wait a minute. he’s been a dick this entire time. i can’t speak for his characters because i hardly ever saw them online, and they only interacted with, like, 10 other characters combined. in an rp whose character count was almost triple digits. yeah. 

coop. gonna be honest, this is another one i can’t speak too much about the characters, because i think i only ever interacted with one? something like that. similarly to ray, a cop apologist, and quick to mention they’ve only ever known ONE bad cop. that’s cool, coop. when’s the last time you were locked in a room by yourself for 12 hours while every cop you tried to flag down to explain your situation laughed in your face? when’s the last time your father was made to take 10 field sobriety tests, all of which he passed, refused a breathalyzer when he requested it from the cop, and then still slapped with a DUI because the officer smelled the beer someone had spilled on him? when’s the last time you’ve had a cop chase you through a neighborhood for not doing a damn thing wrong? hm? exactly. 

i don’t really like A either but that’s more just that i hate the fake tough act they try to pull on the main, like. calm it down. no one gives a shit. you sound like a douchebag. other than that, i hardly interacted with them IC or OOC enough to know what their deal is. 

those are the ones that pop out at me, but notice three of them are admins. yikes. my advice? stay away. stay far, far away from boystownhq. 

[w-arcuino]

“The King’s Speech” Movie Synopsis and Analysis

By: Windolf Arrho L. Arcuino  (11-Competence)

Synopsis:

Dating back to the 1920s, Prince Albert, the Duke of York, suffers a speech impediment where he stammers when talking. Despite being part of the Royal Family and being raised to do public affairs, he has problems in doing so. After countless attempts seeking a cure from different therapists, they eventually stumbled upon Lionel Louge, a speech therapist from Australia. At first, Prince Albert wasn't sure about Lionel's ways, but after a long process of speech therapy, tongue twisters, and diaphragmatic exercises, the Duke's condition seemed better. Time passed as Prince Albert eventually had to step in on the throne as King George VI. Days into his monarchy, the King, unfortunately, discovered that Lionel was a quack. With the King's trust broken, Lionel had to explain himself saying, he never claimed to be a doctor and had earned experience from treating his fellow soldiers at war. And with a strong friendship, the King forgave Lionel. Years passed, and with help from his speech therapist, King George VI successfully delivered his first wartime speech on the declaration of war with Germany. King George VI lived to be a great king, leading the UK bravely through times of war and darkness.

Analysis:

The King's Speech is a Historical Film, directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. The film transports us back to the late 1920s featuring the story behind King Geoge VI and his monarchy. Played by Colin Firth, King George VI suffered a speech impediment where he stammers when he tries to communicate. To cope with this, he encounters Lionel Louge (played by Geoffrey Rush), a speech therapist from Australia, where they formed a friendship. Eventually, through years of therapy, King George VI was able to perform speeches in front of his people and the whole world.

Looking at the film technically, I was baffled how by how they were able to create scenes that embody England during Queen Elizabeth II's childhood. Movie Sets such as the Royal Palace fascinate me about their culture and the monarchy. Details, such as the casts' clothing, vintage items such as old cars, airplanes, cigarette containers, and as they like to call it, "wireless" microphones & radio, screams that they had a big budget making this film. 

The dialogues were well-baked, words like "shan't" and other British slangs we're present. The actors were amazingly talented; the chemistry between each cast member is what made the film sell. Actor Colin's "stammering" was true-to-life, and once he had that mental breakdown, I couldn't help but feel his emotion too. I fell in love with Hellen Carter's (the Duke's Wife) performance once again, as she nailed this role and all the other roles she played in films such as Alice in Wonderland as the Red Queen and Cinderella's Fairy God-Mother. And of course, Mr. Geoffrey's perfectly embodied how sagacious Lionel was.

But of course, despite its wonders, the film was not historically accurate. According to The New Republic Website, the picture forgot to mention that David, the Prince of Wales, at that time was also "an ardent admirer of Hitler and fascism." The film had to cater to a broader audience; thus, they sanitized his character and others too. But overall, this does not dim the light of the film's message. And the film's purpose itself.

One thing that made this film a hit for me was the fact that this film focused on the lives of the Royale Family behind their public facade. Showcasing the struggles of these people, these people on pedestals, seeing how they also suffer hardships and conflicts within themselves, remind us that no human is truly secure in this world. The story of how King George VI grew from a traumatized and confused duke to a great and noble king inspires me to improve in any way possible too. I could easily see that King George's stammers made him socially anxious.  I bear similar internal conflicts that affect my performance as a student, but slowly I am making strides to be a better communicator verbally.  I want to improve; thus, I believe I can. I thank this film for showing me that.

Sources: 

The King's Speech Movie Information: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1504320/

The New Republic's Critic Article: https://newrepublic.com/article/80948/the-kings-speech-film-royal-mess

[briangroth27]

IT (2017) Review

IT is fantastic! I don’t remember much of the original miniseries except that Tim Curry was very good as Pennywise, but this felt like a whole other animal. I haven’t read the book, but the movie definitely made me want to. The tone was perfect, with just enough humor to get you through the ever-increasing tension created by Pennywise, Henry Bowers, and the general sense of dread from the town’s adults. There’s a palpable sense that even though the adults lived through similar events, they’re not going to be any help to the kids. One of my favorite subgenres is kids encountering the supernatural, and IT absolutely delivered!

Every single one of the kids did a spectacular job! They all felt like real, relatable kids and they’ve got incredible talent. These actors also formed an incredible sense of chemistry; like the young casts of Super 8 and Stranger Things, they felt like actual friends and I imagine shooting this was a lot of fun for them. The thing that perhaps let them down a bit was the runtime; at two hours and fifteen minutes, it’s understandable things had to be succinct, shortchanging a couple of the Losers. Stan (Wyatt Oleff) in particular didn’t get much to do, but even he had some great moments of characterization, such as when all the kids unceremoniously drop their bikes and run off, while he takes a moment to calmly use his kickstand. Since his bar mitzvah is the big moment in his life here, I think they could’ve explored what his idea of becoming a man was and how that played into dealing with Pennywise, particularly as this is a coming of age tale. Mike (Chosen Hansen) didn’t feel like he got much screentime in comparison to some of the others either, but I liked the connections to societal issues his story included; he experiences the racism in Derry the other kids don’t, pulling him a step further into the horror of the town than the other kids. I really liked Mike’s grandfather’s (Steven Williams) speech about Mike needing to decide whether he wanted to be the man killing sheep or the sheep being killed, because if he didn’t the world would decide for him. That felt especially relevant to today while playing into his arc of learning to stand up for himself (and he gets a particularly surprising climax to that arc!). Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor) handled the exposition well (as did Hansen) and brought a plucky charm to his role as the new kid in town. He was easy to root for and sympathize with, and had several perfect adolescent moments like sneaking a peek at Bev’s room during a break from a rather disturbing clean-up session. Eddie’s (Jack Dylan Grazer) hypochondria provided him with a solid Achilles Heel, a great place for comedy to spring from, and a strong foundation for him to eventually stand up to his mom (Mollie Jane Atkinson). Grazer played all of those to their fullest extent! My friend pointed out that his mom’s obsessive overprotectiveness may’ve been brought on because she does know something evil is in Derry, she just doesn’t know what, and is protecting him the best way she can. That’s an interesting variation to the Derry adults’ forgetfulness/apathy about the evil in their town.

I was a little disappointed Richie (Finn Wolfhard) didn’t get a solo scare sequence outside the house on Neibolt Street like everyone else did, though if cutting it got us as much time with Ben, Mike, and Stan as we got, I’ll take it. Still, he had perhaps the most clearly-defined and strongest characterization of the kids; Wolfhard refused to let Richie be just another kid in the group. Going in, I thought he’d feel like his character on Stranger Things (probably because this is also 80s-set horror with kids encountering a monster), but Richie was totally different from Mike and Wolfhard sold it completely. Sofia Lillis was very good at achieving balance between Bev’s friendly, almost cheery outlook with her new friends and the jaded, knowing sensibility that had been forced on her by everyone else. The whole town seemed to see Beverly as a sex object or a slut, including creepy adults (like Mike, she’s deeper into the hell that is Derry than the others). Beverly knowing exactly how to work the adults to her advantage spoke not only to the fact that this is nothing new to her and she’s had to learn coping and survival skills, but to the tragedy that this was the case. Every scene with her father (Alvin Marsh) was incredibly uncomfortable given what he was, and I was rooting for her to escape the situation. Bill (Jaeden Leiberher) and Ben’s crushes on Bev worked well, though I think they could’ve played up the difference in their early meet-cutes a bit more: she’s nice to Ben and talks to him, while Bill sees her walking in near-slow-motion in dreamy sunlight. They also could’ve contrasted Stan exploring what it means to be a man (and Mike discovering what it means to be an African-American man) with her attempts to define what being a woman means outside of what everyone tells her she should be. The love triangle between Bev, Ben, and Bill was sweet, with neither of them expecting anything from her, and thankfully didn’t explode into jealousy the way I thought it would. Bill had the most personal connection to Pennywise via Georgie’s (Jackson Robert Scott) murder, and they mined it for all it was worth. I totally bought Leiberher as the kind of kid who could rally the others to go on an adventure to save the day. Bill’s stutter felt totally natural and never felt like Leiberher was playing a caricature of someone with a speech impediment. His relationship with Georgie was sweet and they felt like real brothers, so Bill’s pain over losing him felt real. Watching him literally fight through his sorrow and guilt over giving the boat to Georgie (and encouraging him to sneak out of the house) was great! Scott was perfect as Georgie too, showing just as much range in his limited scenes as the other kids got to: from scared of the basement and telling himself “I’m brave,” to carefree (and sneaky) kid playtime, to sad Bill wasn’t with him after his death, and finally horror as a manifestation of Pennywise, he was fully on par with the other young actors.

When I watched Georgie meet Tim Curry’s Pennywise as a kid, I remember being sadder about him losing his boat than encountering a killer clown in the sewer (I guess as a kid, losing a beloved toy was the more likely and pressing fear!). That was not the case here. Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise was playful enough with Georgie, but otherwise he was unsettling and a few jump scares got me. I liked how there were moments where his whole body would quiver and waver except his head, giving the impression that he was tightly coiled and ready to spring into an attack at any moment. He had an otherworldly sensibility about him—appropriate given what the deadlights are—and an overall creepy demeanor that was perfect. He didn’t echo Tim Curry’s Pennywise voice and that was a smart choice; Skarsgard was creepy in his own way. I really liked how he was able to pervert the entire town, popping in and out of murals to watch the kids, running a bizarre kid’s television show no one seemed to find strange, and possibly fueling (or feeding off of, which would be worse) the hate, apathy, and ugliness under Derry’s wholesome surface. Aside from school bullies and adults who varied from uninterested in protecting the kids to downright creepy predators, the real-world villainy mainly manifested in Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton). I imagine Henry is a bully to prove to himself that he’s not the only “paper man” who’ll crumble when confronted with fear. Even with that tenuous understanding, though, Henry is a total psychopath who was scarier than Pennywise (possibly because Pennywise needs to eat kids to survive, while Henry is just angry and violent for no reason). He was such a strong villain that they could’ve removed the supernatural altogether and it still would’ve worked as a solid coming of age movie. As it was, the supernatural was a perfect bonus to the story being told!

The move from the 50s setting to the 80s worked very well, with It’s manifestations (aside from Pennywise) reflecting the kids’ personal fears instead of classic movie monsters. I love Dracula and those monsters, but using the tragedies of Derry’s history and the personal struggles the kids are living through as Pennywise’s alternate forms works better. The one thing that stood out to me as perhaps not fitting with the ’89 setting was naming Bill’s bike Silver; would a kid in the late 80s have been a fan of the Lone Ranger? There was a failed movie in 1981 with Christopher Lloyd, but I don’t know if westerns or that character in particular were very popular by then. Maybe Bill’s dad (Geoffrey Pounsett) introduced him to the Lone Ranger and was a fan in his youth (I was born in the mid-80s and was aware of the Lone Ranger thanks to my parents). Perhaps this Silver is a reference to King’s Silver Bullet wheelchair in Cycle of the Werewolf and the Silver Bullet film instead (maybe Bill sees a connection between Marty’s paralysis and his stutter?). In any case, that was a very small thing and otherwise contemporary mentions like the AIDS epidemic (which played into Eddie’s hypochondria perfectly) made the time period feel real, while the presence of 80s movie posters, movies like Batman playing at the theater, and video games like Street Fighter made it feel like the 80s without being nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. The New Kids on the Block elements that appear in the film also served to build Ben’s character rather than just appearing as cheap jokes or because it was the late 80s.

Derry itself felt like a very real, relatable town that you might want to live in if you didn’t know what was beneath the surface. The house on Neibolt Street was a perfect haunted house that stuck out like a festering sore on the town, while also feeling like it was a natural part of this world. Cutting from animals walking though slaughterhouse stalls to kids heading through the school halls was a great, ominous bit of editing at the beginning. The pacing was excellent; while it felt like a long movie, it did so because it felt so full rather than because of dull scenes. When the kids first confronted Pennywise in 29 Neibolt street, I thought it could be the climax, but the movie keeps going to a very satisfying conclusion after that! It was smart to split the book into one movie for the kids and another for their adult counterparts; even if this weren't a huge success and sure to get the second half, it'd feel like a complete story. Whoever they cast as the adult versions of the Losers Club are going to have some impressive shoes to fill! I definitely hope they get the kids back for flashbacks in Chapter 2.

The film has a great feeling of dread (punctuated by some truly funny lines), excellent villains in Pennywise and Henry Bowers, and a young cast of fantastic actors. 2017’s IT (perfectly released 27 years after the story’s last adaptation in 1990!) is neck and neck with Kubrick’s The Shining as the best of the Stephen King adaptations. Definitely see this and get your Halloween season started off right!

  Full spoilers….

-I’m glad the sex scene in the sewer was left out. Obviously that’d be really screwed up to film/show/see, but I don’t think it would’ve fit even beyond the fact of the creepy content. Not only did these kids not need that to bond them, but I don’t think it would’ve fit with any of their characters as they were drawn here. Even boastful loudmouth Richie seems like the kind of guy who’d be intimidated by the prospect of sex if it actually presented itself. That’s to say nothing of the fact that Bev would’ve been forced into exactly the role the town wants her to take (and wants to punish her for taking), and that would’ve been a tragedy. The kids just hugging after their ordeal worked perfectly.

-I was so glad that there were no consequences to Bev killing her creepy father, even to her reputation (at least from what we saw) once word inevitably would get out about why she did it. It’s possible she was leaving town partially because of what people would say, but I’m choosing to believe she was just jumping at the chance for a fresh, happier start.

-I think the leeches I’ve heard of in the book for Patrick Hockstetter’s (Owen Teague) death would’ve been cooler than the burnt people he encountered in the sewer. That’s probably the one Pennywise manifestation that sounds better in the book than what was onscreen.

-Eddie changing the “Loser” signature on his cast to say “Lover” was a funny bit of characterization I wish we’d seen more of from him. Who is this kid—or who does he want to be—to proclaim himself that? Haha

-Eddie mistakenly calling placebos “gazebos” was perhaps the most unexpected laugh I’ve had in a theater in a long time.

-Given how little Stan got to do in this movie and what I’ve read about adult Stan’s part in the present-day portion of the book, I really hope his fate is changed in the sequel. If not, it’ll feel like he was just there to die.

-Finn Wolfhard gets maybe the best line in the movie with “…and now I’ve gotta kill this fucking clown!”

-There were a few Easter Eggs in the movie, including a picture of Tim Curry’s Pennywise!

-IT has perhaps some of my favorite stories from Twitter. One guy said someone in his screening released a single red balloon into the theater once the movie was over! Another theatergoer walked into his screening and there was a clown cosplayer sitting alone in the room, holding a single balloon. I’d have been severely unnerved. Hahaha I think it’d be great if theaters did things like this in an official capacity; it’d be a fun return to the promotional stunts of the 50s and 60s.