#the spoilers are always locked in the vault

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[theender36]

I got some thoughts on Sonic 3 that I wanna talk about so

⚠️ Spoilers for the movie Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) ⚠️

Love that the riff from Live and Learn is used as a leitmotif for Shadow but also Maria was playing it on her guitar which is sad and now I'm picturing Shadow playing that riff in his head all the time

Right before Shadow busts out of containment his heart monitor starts going and then stops which I'm interpreting as his heart beating so fast it doesn't register

They didn't outright say it but Gerald is the one who hacked into GUN to revive Shadow. I don't think they addressed how he got out of prison but he probably built something in his cell

I love the running gag that Ozzie the golden retriever resents Sonic

Loved the joke about Sonic's security system (nunchucks) still working (hit himself in the face again)

Shadow has always been a foil for Sonic but the movie fully realizes the potential of that dynamic in my opinion. They both have a loneliness deep inside from losing someone they loved but Sonic was able to move on and find more family. Shadow hasn't had that chance yet

They used the "Talk about low budget flights" line!

The credits said they used the City Escape music but I must have missed it

Wild that they gave Shadow a gun and a motorcycle again and made it work this time. It probably has something to do with him doing the Akira slide up the side of a building

The CG animation really shines in this movie. I kept looking at how good the reflections in their eyes were. And the fight scenes just had so much slick movement and speed while also properly conveying what was actually happening

When the egg-drones show up, you assume they're going after Team Sonic. But Gerald is controlling the drones so they were definitely gunning for Walters

A Traveling Wilburys song during the flashback was a surprise to be sure but a welcome one. However, I will nitpick the fact that the song End of the Line came out in 1988, which would have been 14 years after Shadow was locked away

Biolizard cameo as the kaiju in the movie Maria and Shadow are watching

Eggman says something about having some unknown quality that makes him "totally undesirable to all possible genders" which suggests to me that he has tried dating loads of people with various gender identities (Woah, he's pansexual! I didn't know that!)

You may ask why the plot treats G.U.N. keeping the other key to the Eclipse Cannon like it's a bad thing. For one thing, the Robotniks are gonna try to steal it, and for another, I don't think a secretive yet fallible military organization having access to a doomsday weapon is a good thing

The concept of G.U.N. keeping a vault that has no records of it so that people can't visualize it to use Warp Rings is very cool and almost SCP-esque

Big fan of Shadow's solution to a telenovela love triangle being for the woman to just kill the two men vying for her affections

Love the subversion of a fight between Sonic and Knuckles with Knuckles instead relenting because he trusts that Sonic will do the right thing in the end

That being said, Knuckles desperately needs a flying island to keep the Master Emerald safe because Wade just ain't gonna cut it

There are a small handful of moments where I think Jim Carey did a really good job of dramatic acting. In particular, the final flashback to Maria's death where he manages to really show the loss and heartbreak Gerald experiences despite wearing a goofy prosthetic

Gerald turning ice-cold to Eggman when he says "You're no Maria"

So glad they did a DragonBall-style Super fight between Sonic and Shadow. If you're gonna make a movie with a bunch of CGI, you might as well go a little nuts with it

You may ask "how are Sonic and Shadow breathing in space?" The same way they do in the games babeeeyyyyy

Shadow and Gerald really wanted to kill the whole world and themselves. And once the Cannon was charged, Shadow didn't care anymore. He was totally willing to let Sonic punch a hole in his chest

Of course, Sonic comes to his senses and is willing to talk with Shadow after sparing him. I love that what changed Shadow's mind was remembering what Maria told him about the stars. That even when they're gone, their light still shines

They literally Lived and Learnt

I wish the Live and Learn sequence wasn't interrupted by Gerald giving Eggman an over-the-knee grandpappy spanking but what can you do

I'm glad that Tails and Knuckles weren't just sidelined for the third act. They show up to save Eggman, help redirect the Cannon, and then save Sonic. Would have been really awkward if they made such a big deal about teamwork only for Sonic to wrap up the conflict on his own

Tails is really chill about Eggman stabbing his grandpa in the butt and launching him into a giant bug zapper

Eggman comes to terms with his own loneliness and is willing to sacrifice himself to save the world not just because he wants to rule it but because he has someone to care about

Missed opportunity for a "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog"

I know it's still a family friendly movie but it's odd that Tom got kicked by an enraged hedgehog moving at the speed of light and all he got was an arm in a sling

The mid-credits scene got me hyped. I can't wait to see who they have voicing Amy. And I like the decision to have an army of Metal Sonics

I hope the next movie explores more about where the animal characters come from because we really don't know much. I'm guessing whoever is behind the Metal Army is from there

Post-credits scene, of course Shadow lived but I'm hyped to see what direction they take that in. Are they gonna do the amnesia thing or will he just be stranded somewhere?

I know that using Chaos Control requires an emerald and the movies established that the Chaos Emeralds are held within the Master Emerald but it sucks they never said it except for in the Shadow Generations DLC. So uh 0/5, do better

[greyfics]

entry 8.5: a side-plot in which norm gets the fuck out.

- °•. ✦ .•° -

subject: norm maclean

fic type: smart relatable underdog side character gets spotlight,

word count: 2.85K

inspo: I really just need to see norm gtfo of that vault lol, I feel like he's got a fighting chance you know?

cw: spoilers for fallout season one  

summary: an overseer that is a brain in a vat. a series of experiments concealed behind the front of a subterranean utopia. the convenient relocation of the last of the people norm cared about- the last of the people questioning the fragile reign of the overseers, and what they might be hiding. norm desperately needs to leave, to find his sister- before he becomes just another one of bud's buds..

- °•. ✦ .•° -

"I suggest you wait it out in your father's pod, unless you want to starve to death- not much food in here, except the occasional large bug."

He is frozen. A small, quivering fist slowly slips down a firmly sealed door- were these vaults reinforced havens, or were they preemptive tombs?- the fist unfurls, as the wrist goes limp and the body connected numbs spare for the pitter patter of palpitations spawned from that very realisation.

His face is absent of blood, and despite the fact he has not yet fatalistically marched over to a cryogenic chamber to further bury himself in this pit, the numbness fades to a chill that kicks his feet into a frenzied pacing.

The robo-brain does a slow, awkward 180° twist, "All that is going to do for you is burn valuable energy that I simply don't have to give back to you, Norm. See, I'm sure you know this if you paid attention during your pristine pre-years education programme, but the human body requires-"

"Just shut up for a second." Is the flat-toned, snappy response Norm gives as he rubs his temples, the repetitive sensation a focal point to ground his shaking limbs, to ground a flurry of rarely seen irrational thoughts in that calculating mind.

Right now, it looks as though his only options are slamming himself against the door fruitlessly until he collapses from exhaustion and inevitably dies of dehydration or starvation, or to get into a pod on the other end of the room and pray that somehow, he is woken up- but what then? what would I even have to wake up to? Norm reflects upon the denizens of Vault 33- the way they force a smile and idle onwards so ignorantly; treating murderers as naughty houseguests, ignoring the slow dissimilation of their vault's security, it's vital resources and population becoming more sparse by the week. Even if there was hope brewing for a better future somewhere on the surface, there's no way that help would reach him down here.

Besides, he was just a problem for Vault 33- he always had been. He recalls the bitter comments about his unenthusiastic demeanour- the fearful confusion directed at his monotony- how lonely, how isolating a life down here is as an anomaly of the herd. With him removed from the equation, and Betty able to sleep at night thinking of him not as dead, but simply as in a rather permanent state of sleep, she would have no reason to wake him up- he who might expose the secrets they had desperately tried to keep locked away for so long. He was better left removed from the vault- left down here.

The reminder of his present predicament begins to suffocate him again, as his eyes flit between the walls and his breath picks up pace, the panic attack coming back for a dizzying second wave. Breathe. Breathe- I can't breathe. I'm going to die down here- this place is a big heaping metal tomb and I have to get out- Norm had never felt so overencumbered at the thought of being buried so deep beneath the surface before, but for the first time ever the urge to scratch his way to the surface was overriding in him the fear of the vultures circling above. He thinks about this- pauses his pacing entirely, and thinks some more. The buzz of an idea begins to spark slowly to fruition in Norm's mind.

It was true that it was better for Betty that he be kept somewhere outside of Vault 33- but maybe he'd even less of a threat left somewhere... else outside of 33? Maybe somewhere he could be more useful? He almost leaps from the exhilaration of having any kind of possible plan c at all in this situation- but his temperament keeps him still- and though his lips remain a flat, pursed line, a playful light dances behind the young genius' eyes, "Locking me in here won't stop Vault 33 from falling apart- it will just guarantee it. I'm your solution." He calmly declares- naturally, Bud's first move is to shut him down, but he is prepared for that, "Norman, you know I can't do that- and you really shouldn't worry about Vault 33 anymore, Betty has things completely-"

"-under control? If Betty had things under control, then how and why did a vault dweller manage to break into her office and trick you into letting them into Vault 31?" Bud stammers, juts to one side and then the other as he awkwardly attempts to give some justifiable explanation to Norm's question.

The bot stills, and lets a sigh out of its speakers, "There may be some... complications to the planned course of action- you being here being one of them, I should remind you- but I'm sure Betty will work through them and get everything back to normal soon enough. What good will it do us to send you to the surface? That would mean opening the vault doors, and risking the safety of everyone inside-" Norm shakes his head at this, takes a step towards the bot as he parries back, "-raiders managed to infiltrate our vault through 32 already, and the main vault door was opened twice after that. Do you really think one more time could hurt?"

The little brain in a pot makes an exasperated crying noise, and shakes itself as emphatically as it can, "But what would be the point in that, buddy, if we can just keep you tucked safely away in the most secure vault of the three down here, and... not open the door at all? None of our problems will be solved by another person leaving." A rare, triumphant grin floats onto Norm's face, and Bud makes a reflexive sharp shuffle backwards at the unnatural site, "If we don't replace our water filtration chip, then eventually Vault 33 runs out of water- and if the vault dwellers don't overthrow the overseer and leave by then? Everyone will die.-"

"Oh my god, why did he smile when he said tha-"

"-Just listen. Vault 32's supplies clearly ran out a long time ago, and evidently no-one from Vault 31 was gonna get up for a glass of water during their 200-year long power nap. By the look on Betty's face when she found out, I'm guessing there isn't a back-up." Bud is back to being completely still and silent now. Norm basks in a moment of captured quiet, takes a couple slow steps to steady the nervous shakes as he deployed as much charisma as he was capable, "You could just keep me in here, and let Betty send someone else to the surface for a replacement- but those people? The other dwellers? They're built for vault life- they fit in here-"

He wavers a little, a lump forming in his throat- but digresses, "I don't. I'm not strong- but I'm quick, and I'm smart... and, I might be a coward- or I was, once- but I'm beginning to realise this place is no better than whatever might be waiting up there. Nobody really knows what they're doing- not you, not Betty- maybe not even my dad. And I don't want to keep sitting around waiting to die when I could be doing something."- I could be helping Lucy, I should have- "So send me. I'll go find a replacement. I'll bring it back- and then neither you nor Betty will ever see me again. You'll be solving two problems with one stone."

The brain-in-a-vat that is Bud spends a painfully long time just sitting there and glowing, still taking in all that Norm had argued, malfunct in his dilemma between maintaining protocol or deviating from protocol for the sake of maintaining the protocol, honestly upset that he was having to do any deep deliberation at all regarding what he had been informed would be a rather simple and satisfying job. When he makes his decision, it comes with a disappointed, exasperated breath- and then a slow, clumsy spin once again, as he veers himself back into the door terminus access point.

With a blip and a hiss, the door that Norm had believed not too long ago to have sealed his fate begins to steadily unlock itself once again. He cries out with desperate relief and punches the air, before maintaining his composure and striding over to the door. He gets as close as he can, in case his thankfully not forever-friend decides to change his mind last minute. He hears the awful creaking of the vault door opening ahead, and dashes for it without even bothering to say goodbye to Bud- no time to spare, I need to leave now- Betty might not be so stupid. The door rolls to the left, his feet hardly make a sound as they dance across the metal grated platform to freedom-

And falter, pause, reverse a few steps when the figure of Betty Pearson is revealed but a few seconds later, arms crossed, already waiting for the door to roll back open.

Oh god, I think I'm having a heart attack. I think I might just die right now. I think that might be for the best.

...He does not die, and though he is grateful, he is also mildly disappointed that he still has to face Betty. She remains still, silent- her expression does not reveal much surprise at finding him here, but her stasis demands him to speak. Thinking of all she has done to this vault, and what little good she has done for it, he steels himself, and he glares back at her, his tone assertive as he speaks, "I'm going to the surface, and before you say anything-"

"Yes, you're right. You are going to the surface." She replies, steady and quiet,"I-" he is the one to stammer to a standstill this time, "I... am?" She steps towards him, and it takes all his will not to flinch away as a superficially endearing arm firmly braces around his shoulders, guiding him away from Vault 31, "Although at times I'm sure it seems as though I have... overlooked certain hardships that have come to challenge us all in this vault," -'overlooked' is an understatement, and a pretty ironic thing to do when your job title is overseer- "-but I've simply been thinking about the best options for our future. With our friends and family... rehomed, and our guests taken care of, I think it's time we begin dealing with some of our more long-term problems, too." The phrasing sends a chill across Norm's neck, which flows through the rest of his body as Betty guides him around a corner to bear witness to the remaining dwellers of 33, whooping and clapping in celebration for something he did not yet know.

Look closer. He notices the pause, the way they look past him to the overseer before they burst into their frenzied display- there are a couple eyebrows knitted upwards, the faintest flicker of a tear in the corner of an eye or a puffy redness where tears were wiped away to conceal the evidence of a negative emotion.

Some have slanted postures, clap a little slower- don't meet his gaze; they seem guilty of something, guilty of the relief that their body betrays.

Do they already know I'm leaving? How could they, unless-

"As I was telling everyone, Norm selflessly asked me for permission to go out onto the surface and solve our water chip crisis- of course, we do not often open our vault doors, and I felt too close to the matter to feel capable of making the decision myself- especially given the possibility that opening the vault door might threaten our friends in 31 too! So, I sent Norm to speak with Overseer Askins in Vault 31 to see whether he believes that this brave quest should be allowed. Of course, this affects all of us, too- but after talking it through with everyone, we've all agreed that however sad it will be to see you leave us- for a while, of course- it is definitely for the best."

A couple dwellers nod- some intentionally, some just in a lull of subconscious agreement even as their faces feign sadness. It stings to see how fast they were willing to get rid of him- it stings to be let go without a fight. The 'for a while' is simply salt in the wound; insulting to even pretend at this point that anyone in this cramped little gathering genuinely held any belief he would return.

"So!" The overseer pipes up chipperly once again, "Norm..."-not so enthusiastic-"Did you have a productive meeting with the Overseer? Did he give his consent to your proposed assignment?"

He could expose her right now, dismantle the order they had wrought horror and fear to maintain- but he knows he could not lead them, he knows how secretly glad they are to see him, of all people, sacrificed to the world above- he knows they would not survive up there, nor would they survive down here without a figurehead to fall behind, to hide them from reality. So he speaks a truth of kinds:

"The Overseer permitted my leave after I explained the importance of my departure, and how it was the best course of action." His tone lacks conviction in the vague, avoidant choice of words he spews, but a half-hearted cheer and a series of awkward hugs follows them anyway.

It's all just a big show. I'm starting to think I might be the only normal one here.

- °•. ✦ .•° -

A solemn march through the armoury and pharmacy to (ill)equip Norm for his journey through the wastes precedes a long, awkwardly still and quiet elevator ride towards the surface. Norm is the first to step out, bursting ahead into a fast stroll until he found himself standing at the precipice, waiting for the bridge to bring him to his salvation (or his doom). She gets into place-

and lingers, before she presses the button- they are alone now, and they are not so different, really- she just got better at hiding her discontent, "Norman." her voice is different to how he has ever heard it before- it was just... normal. When the calm and collected persona dropped away, she was the most human-sounding person he had yet encountered in his sheltered life. He turns, just his head- makes a point to pay attention, to show some enthusiasm- "You might think you're different, but... being different to most those folks down there is probably more of a good thing than not. You are extraordinary, never forget that. Even without everything that's happened, I think you were always going to be a problem for us. You've always been good at seeing things other people don't."

She pauses for a moment, deliberating on whether or not to bring something up- she chews her cheek, looks off to the side as she weighs up the power of her words- remembers her job, her duty, and the mask goes back on with a sympathetic smile, "We really do need that water chip- our vault has enough water to last about 150 more days, but after that, we'll be out. If you head north-east, ask around and you'll find a place that used to be a town called Shady Sands; it's not exactly close to here, but if it's any motivation I'd bet that's where your sister, Miss Maclean, will have headed too. When you get to Shady Sands, go directly east- I only know of a few vaults outside of ours, and I hear there's an old vault somewhere in the hills there- Vault 13. I'm sure they'll have a water chip to spare. Get the chip back to us, and you'll be a hero to this vault forever..." She certainly makes it sound appealing, but Norman knows better, "...but I'll never be allowed back inside." He finishes the sentence for her.

She hits the button, and Norm finds himself overcome with trembling uncertainty once again. Was he crazy? Just because he wasn't built for vault life didn't mean he was any more suited for the wastelands just beyond the door- the tomb unseals. Once again, a thought occurs to Norm at an inconvenient time- as he tentatively steps towards the radiating light that blinds him from above, he turns a final time to look at his now-former overseer with a quizzical expression, "Does... does Vault 32 not have a water filtration chip?"

Her smile doesn't change, but it takes a sinister feel as her next cheery words come out, tainted and barbed, "I did say our Vault has 150 days of water left- I'm afraid I can't speak for Vault 32, Overseer Harper would know more about that. Unfortunately, until we have a functioning filtration chip of our own, we won't be able to spare any of our own resources. But I'm sure everything will be just fine."

Norman began to run.

[melodywritesstuff]

Nothing more than a relic (The Shepherd King Missing Scene)

There isn't nearly enough content for this fandom, so here's my humble offering. Hope you enjoy this brief missing scene set at the end of Two Twisted Crowns (spoilers ahead!).

(Ao3 link above, but it's so short I thought I'd put it here as well)

Summary: Elm and Ravyn destroy the final Scythe card.

Words: 640

---

Elm tried to ignore the way the stairs to the palace vault felt all too like the confines of the dungeons. The same cold stone and stale, underground air pressed in on him. The cold tore at him, though it was hardly frigid here with torches casting a warm light along the walls. Elm fixed his gaze straight ahead, the way he always did in the throne room. He focused on the sound of Ravyn’s steps behind him.

At the vault doors, he pulled out the keyring he had begun carrying and opened the locks. The box where the king had held his Providence Cards was exactly as Elm had left it, untouched since his last visit, but for one addition.

His father’s Scythe sat on the top of the stack. Drops of dried blood marred one edge, barely discernable against the red velvet, and Elm knew it was his own. He picked up the card and for a moment, its familiar feel was almost comforting. He twirled it between his fingers.

"You destroyed Hauth's Scythe," he said to Ravyn without looking up. "And mine was used to unite the deck. If Brutus Rowan's was destroyed-"

"This is the last one." Ravyn finished his train of thought.

Elm wavered for a moment, then held out the card.

"I want you to destroy it," he said.

Ravyn didn't move to take the card. His brow creased.

"Are you sure?" he asked, and Elm hesitated.

For so long, the Scythe had been his shield, his crutch. His protection from Hauth and from the world. It had been his armor, but also his prison: the fear of what Hauth could do to him- could make him do.

The reason for an education in pain.

Elm remembered lying in the road, in agony, praying he had held on long enough as the card took its toll.

The far greater pain of standing immobilized, utterly helpless, as Hauth drove a dagger into Ione's heart.

"I'm sure," he said firmly. “I refuse to be another Rowan to rule Blunder with fear.”

Ravyn took the card and, as easily as if it were a simple piece of parchment, tore it in two. He handed the pieces back to Elm.

Elm thought for a moment of putting the halves back in the box, or even of burning them. Instead he tucked them into his pocket; nothing more, now, than a relic- a reminder of a life past.

He closed the box, leaving the remaining cards, and turned towards the door.

Ravyn was looking at him thoughtfully.

"You're a different man than you were when I left, Elm," he said. "Confidence suits you."

"And happiness suits you," Elm replied. "It's nice to see the way you smile when you look at her. Who would have guessed that Ravyn Yew, fearsome Captain of the Destriers, was a romantic."

Color rose in Ravyn's cheeks, but his lips twitched into a sheepish smile, and Elm laughed.

"Trees, even thinking about her makes you blush," he teased. Ravyn gave him a playful shove.

"I could say the same about you," he said, and it was Elm's turn to grin.

"I suppose we're both love-struck fools," he conceded.

“Fools who have a banquet to attend,” Ravyn nodded gravely, throwing his arm around Elm’s shoulders. “I’m sure people are waiting to speak with their king.”

Elm groaned.

“Perhaps I could stay down here, say I lost track of time…”

Once, he would have done it without hesitation- to spite his father or simply because he wanted to- but they both knew that that Elm was gone. He was king now, and he had every intention of doing the job well. And of course, Elm thought as he followed Ravyn up the narrow stairs, the pageantry was infinitely more bearable with his family at his side.

---

->Everything belongs to Rachel Gillig, this is just for fun! :)

[thecapricunt1616]

The Bear S3 Capri Live React

WARNING! Spoilers for each episode below the cut!

EP 1 - “Tomorrow”

ASSHFBEJNSNDNEJWNENE AND WHEN IM BACK IN CHICAGO I FEEL ITTT!!!!!! WOOOOOO

CARMY HRJEJWJW YOU'RE OUT OF FREEZER JAIL MY LOVE!!

Oh your poor hand I wanna kiss it, my sweet baby :((

Omg it’s filmed so differenttttt AAAAAA!!!!

Zaddy walked in meaning business lets gOOO

Like I said in TB&HH and many of my one shots this is a STUNNING restaurant - like FUCK!!! Carmy is BRILLIANT !!

Carmen RELAX!! Jesus! With punting the chair!

Omg his notebook from The French Laundry!!! Cute

BRBEBSHSBSNSBSBSBSBSEBVELHCAA LUCAAAAAAA

COPENHAGEN OH MY GO FJEJWBDBD WERE BACK

OHRBE WE ARE SO BACK

New Yorks got everything :( OH this seeaaason is gonna rip my heart to shreeeeeds New York destroyed him.

Oh I think we are getting loads of baby chef Carmy FUCK 

Oh god oh god 'subtract'??? Fuuuuck

I would hate how perfect he always is HAHAHAHA I would haaaate working with him!!!!

Cousin Steve took care of him, I'm glad someone did 🥺

Oh fucking for Carmy to kiss me like that 

The kiss on the nose is everything I want to do in life 

SORRY. THE WORDS OMG GOOD BOY GOOD BOY

OMG SYDCARMY KISS KISSKISSKISSIIISSS

“It’s never gonna happen again” he will die before it happens 

Good apologize to Richie you FUCKING IDIOT and good for saying I’m sorry good for saying I love you. Good boy. Good boy. 

He is about to make everyone miserable.  

“I know you are, honey” that is his real mother figure. 

While Mikey was dying Richie was destroying his marriage trying to save him and Carmy was getting verbally abused in New York. I am…gutted! 

I have thought about Carmy finding out about Mike. I never. Fucking. Thought. They. Would. Show it.

ARE WE SEEING MIKES 

WE ARE OH NY FJEBE WE ARE SEEING MICHAELS FUCKING OH HIS FUNERAL HE SAT. OUTSIDE. OH I AM COOKED THIS SEASON I AM C O O K E D !!!!!

“LET IT RIP BEAR” OH FHEJWBDBDB 

Like a mother Nat snuck the money in his pocket. I’m fuckin CRYYYING BRO THIS SEASON IS GONNA GUT ME 

The best meal Syd has ever had 🥹

The fennel makes him think of Syd because she has an allergy I’m gonna stroke out. 

EP1 ; Final Thoughts - SydCarmy is SO happening if it doesn’t what the fuck are they doing. Baby Carmy is gutting me. I hope Luca doesn’t go away after this episode. Mikey. Oh, Mikey :(((. Natalie? The cinematography - oh I’m about to EAT w these fics. Oh my god.I am fucking GUUTTTEEDDD THIS SEASON IS GOING TO DESTROY ME

EP2 - “Next”

SYD! MY GORL THERE YOU ARE BBY!!!

the AirPod falling out is so real

Lmaoooo her dad !! She is absolutely moving out as soon as she can 

Awww the ‘love you chef’ <3

See this music like shut up SydCarmy or bust!!! lmaooooo

Why is the fourth wall being broken???

His anxiety is so insane he is acting cracked out LMAO

CICERO OH NO - this is gonna be INSANE

Carmy needs to step off Syds dick and give her some control lmfaooo - like ? you don’t even own this place little man.

“Technique is spelt wrong but OK” BYE THIS IDIOTTTTTTTTTTTTTT 

“You know buddy, I tried to call in and get you an order but they says you was back in the fridge yelling at yourself” LMFOAAOAOAO VJKFDNVLAKNLKVN I AM CRYING HE IS I LOVE UNC SO MUCH

everyone is asking him why the fuck he’s doing this and he cant say “because i cant stick my dick in syd” so he doesn’t know what to say.

He’s quitting smoking not for his health but to save … time. Alright then.

“The computer drafted the agreement so make sure you have a lawyer look at it” CAAAACKLING 

DAAAAADDDYYYY RICHIEEEE

Carmen shut the fuck up you are in no position for fuck yous.

“I commend your bravery from inside a locked vault” IM DRFNDJSNENN HAHAHAHA GET HIM RICH

“Oh my god am I finally having a stroke?” “Am I having a stroke?” These POOR WOMEN SOMEONE PUT CARMEN ON A FUCKING LEASH

“I insist that you get fucked my good man” BYEEEEE HAHAHAHAHAHA RICHIE IS TOO FUNNY 

They are bickering like BITCHES 

his ego needs to be stroked lmaoooo he’s asking Syd to stroke his ego 

“I know sweetheart, don’t be scared” NATALIEEEE HAHAHAH It's ok Fak I'M scared of Carmy rn lmao.

holy fucking shit Carmen you are driving me CRRAAAAZYY SHUT UP 

“This is scary” FAK, HONEY I KNOW CARMY IS CRACKED OUT

“Every day Jeffery-Ballet?” TINA HAHAHAHA I LOVE THAT 

This IS banana town sweetheart Fak

“Sup PIMP” PLEEEASE HAHAHA

“He was gonna tell us what he said to Claire”- Richie: “classic behavior dysregulation” PLLLEEASE

“Then I actually take it back, fuck you” i love Richie down

“What’s nunya” “nunya fuckin business” THE WAY IM CRRRY LAUGHINGGGGG LMFAAAAOOOOO THIS IS A GLIMPSE OF HIS CHILDHOOD

The gum chewing is sexy 

“Is that what you did” “no i’m just here if you need anything” oh, Carmy :(

Oh, Marcus :((((((. “Take us there bear” “yes chef” oh my god I’m crying again 

EP2 ; Final Thoughts - Carmen needs to fucking relax and I’m gonna say this probably a lot. Omg the fighting with Richie in this episode was pissing me off they are fighting like catty brothers!!! The moment with Marcus at the end really got to me. This was overall though a hilarious episode

EP3 - “Doors”

Marcus mom funeral!! Awww I’m glad they all are there for him. Thiiis is the moms funeral, ok, so they did it all in one day the shooting for both funerals so we wouldn’t know!!!

I wonder how Carm feels he’s there for Marcus’ mom but wasn’t for his brother 

Wow this speech must be so impactful for Carmy to get a glimpse into someone else’s life like this 

Look alive lizards we are OPENN

Richie is so goooodddd at his job 🥹🫶

For the bear and his honey fans princess cake is 100% going in there hahahah

Hmm things are going a bit too well 

Carmy throwing so much good decent edible food away makes me twitch. 

Carmy and his little edible flowers hahaha I love it

“The rare Transylvanian 5 titted goat?!” CICEROOO HAHAHAH

“Joy” “this is a waste of time, give it to sugar” HAHAHAHA

LMAOOO SINGING HAPPY BDAY IN SPANISH HAHAHA LOVE IT

Fak not putting it ON THE TABLE and Richie being like “keep my mans name out of your mouth “ PLLLELEEEASEE

Something abt Carmy cleaning is so hot

GRAAAHHH THAT PIECE OF BACK SKIN POKING OUT OF HIS SHIRT WHEN HE BENDS OVER

They’re being so too hard on tina :((

Richie is bringing patrons to the kitchen and Carmy is just violently bitching Syd out I am dead also, someone get the belt i’m gonna beat him.

This goes out to everyone who said there’s no chance the bear could fail and that it was a stupid idea it could? (cough- ex moots, cough) ; please tell me why they don’t even have a star and they’re already doing poorly with funds

I can’t- Carmen and Richie are fully going at each others throats and physically fighting.

Please Fak just grilling customers for info.

Carmy is SO little brother and I wanna choke him “we’ll figure it out” “ME?” “I’m trying to use less shiiittt >:(“ like a winey bitch - YOU ARE AN ADULT SHE IS THERE TO HELP YOU YOU LITTLE COCKSUCKER DO YOUR GOD DAMN JOB EFFICIENTLY

Carmy is losing it he needs to be medicated ASAP

Thank GOD Syd is putting her foot down and telling him to shut up

Syd looks fed the fuck up, rightfully

EP3 ; Final Thoughts - Holy shit Carmen is going nuts. Sydcarmy is going so hard rn he needs to finish shit with Claire so he can admit his feelings to himself about Syd. He needs to stop being so mean to her, he is going to cause her to panic. Whats so funny is I drafted Carmy bitching Syd out in my OC fic in the most recent chapter before this even came out (but in my world (in girl world) winnie is behind him chewing his ass out and literally told him he’s acting like his old boss) But it’s funny because hes literally telling her abusive ass shit his boss told him.

EP4 - “Violet”

Ohhhhh to kiss Carmy that way. A dream

The nose kiss oh my god oh my god 

He’s such a good listener 

He is so fucking - oh my god this man. This man. I need him astronomically 

Marcus :(((

I love Syd’s scarf but also lmao the stress of that docu - I get you girl hahah

Yaaaay she’s moving! 

This apartment is stunning!!!

DAD RICHIEEEE AHSHDJSHSHJ EVA OMG CUTIE PATTOOOTIEEE

Him laying with her is so cute. 

“He’s not my uncle like Carmy” 🥹PLS SO CUTE

This is so good such kid convo omgggg kids are just like thissss!! He’s such a good dad omfg playing her handdddd fuckFUCKCJCKCJC expect more Richie content soon

DONNAS GOING TO TIFFS WEDDING OMG!!!!!

Yes daddy TAKE THAT RING OFF YOURE A NEW MAN PAPA 

LMFAOAOAOA THEM SCREAMING HELP

“Maybe you’ve reached as far as your talent can go” makes MY stomach hurt, dawg 

“I feel like Bear is starting to respect me” please the way they look up to him I cantttt lmao

YAY MORE DAD RICHIE 

TAYLOR SWIFT!!!!!!!!!!

This Frank guy is weird- they made a great job at making this feel awkward as fuck.

HE DID INVITE HIM TO THE WEDDING OH GOD

that’s my girl! 

Oh is she about to get poached

Oooo like not Carmy??? Oooooo hes trying to poach her

Marcus has such nicely manicured hands

The way they just stuff snacks in faks mouth to make him go away hahaha love it

Mmhmm this season will make me fall more in love with Richie then ever before

Richie. Richie. Richie. Richie. Richie. Oh my god. My heart is being ripped out 

Wait they’re being reviewed for a star?! Already? They JUST opened! 

EP4 ; Final Thoughts - This was SUCH a Richie episode! I loved it alot :))) <3!!! So many Dad!Richie moments that made me smile. He also almost made me cry with his whole being alone thing. I will remedy my sadness with writing Richie fics literally probably tomorrow because holy holy holy this man I need to give him kissesssssss

EP5 - “Children”

So do the Bears all have the same alarm clocks?

Marcus speech really touched Natalie :((

Carmen doing the boxes by himself HAHAHA its what he deserves!! BAD BOY! 

Syd the ultimate good friend helping Marcus with his moms stuff 

Syd looks so cute her outfit is adorable 

Lmaooo Syd with her dead mom club jokes she’s too funny I see why Carmy is so whipped 

The Bear and His Honey is going to fucking SLAP with this new Carmy content WOW

Him throwing away more food that is perfect literally perfect. *sarcasm*

I wanna leave hickeys on Richie’s neck so bad - it’s so pretty 

Omg Carmys mentor closing the restaurant- he’s spiraling and looking at the every second counts she instilled in him- oh god.. Oh god-

Richie has grown so much im so so proud of him! 

He is crushing on this girl from Ever so hard

IS THAT JOHN CENA?!

JOHN CENA IS A FAK I AM DBHSJABDBEBE HAHAHAHAH

Carmy is gonna get his legs broken if he doesn’t cut it out hahahaha

Fak drinking a Capri-sun LOL

Omgggg him saying to fire Marcus you are CRAZY 

Lmaooo Jimmy venting to syd and saying that carmy has a tree up his ass

Carmy finding baby pics I’m SICK

EP5 ; Final Thoughts - WOWOWOWOW This is the last ep. I am watching tonight I need to digest. This was such a cute Richie ep. I am so in love with Dad!Richie. He is such a good, good dad. I also am dead- John Cena as a Fak? And having a mikey esc. Haircut???? And smoking in the restaurant- and then them saying it smells like smoke I am dead as fuck. Richie really really wants this review to go well, I hope it does:((

EP6 - “Napkins”

Good morning! time for e6 It is Directed by Ayo so i fear it is gonna kill me :) !

Well at least Tina has a normal clock 

Oooo get down on it!!!! Let’s go Tina!!! Get in that groove mama! 

Tina is so Puerto Rican mom I love it so so much 

Tina’s married?! I love it!! how sweet 

If Mikey’s in here- I’m gonna fucking die 

Baker tina!! Oh- customer service Tina? No! Books Tina!!! Smart girl!! that’s my lady :))

NOOOO - WHAT ?! THEY’RE LETTING HER GO?!

THIS IS WHAT LANDED HER AT THE BEEF??? THIS???

Oh Tina I’ve been there mama you’ll land on your feet :((( That’s right baby everything will be ok 

One thing about this show is all of the characters need routine 

The degree thing pisses me off to no end because of how real it is. Like shes been doing this 15 years and knows it better then someone right out of school with a stupid degree.

Awww Tina and hubs been together so long!! So sweet I love it her husband is good to her. 

I sooo love Tina is getting her moment the actress is so kind and amazing 

Woah I thought the big interview would be at the beef LOLLLL like not that it’s big but that they really need her lolll 

Oh my god. They hired someone ??? What the fuck and didnt tell her?!! RUDEEEE 

This little fucking prick oh my god yes Tina fuck him

Aw baby I wanna hug her it’ll be fine mama I know it doesn’t feel like it

Bus is delayed SO SHE COULD APPLY AT THE BEEF HAHAHAHAHA

THERES MY MANNNN RICHIEEE!! HES SO HOT AAAA

“Maam you can’t smoke in here anymore” I can’t hahaha

Everyone calling him handsome I can’t hahah he is! But still hahaha

Omggg richieeee I love him he’s always been so sociallll!! Get ready to eat with the beef Richie oh. Wow. This whole scene is so chef kiss i cant wait to write more the beef!richie

FAKS FAKS FAKS ok where’s Mikey HDBDHAHSHEBDNEBSBD. THERE HE IS IN SHFJENSNSJEJEJENDNEJWKA

MIKEY OH MY GOD JEJSNANQ

RICHIE LMAO STOP THEY ACT HOW IN KNOW THEY WOULDDD

“She can’t be crying in here” I am done LMAO

I fear I’m seeing the Mikey crush AAA “sandwich really that bad??” Stop being funny !! I also see how he got Carmy out of his panic attacks what a brother stop Mikey!! Why would you do that Mikey everyone loved you so muchhh 🥺💔

Gosh Mikey IS so handsome

THE HAUNTED EXPLODING TOILET THAT CARM IS STILL DEALING WITH HAHAHAHA

oh my god Carmy takes after him SO SO SO MUCH oh my god Carmy takes after him so much 

Oh my gosh I didn’t realize she was older then Richie!! 46 means something in this show- did Mikey…at 46? If he did I will fucking sue 

OMG SHOWING HER THE PIC OH ANS TELLING ABOUT CARMY SHUT UP HE “hes the shit” he wasn’t allowed to work at the beef because mikey knew that he’s better then the beef. He sees so much in him I knew that was the case!!! I’m sick 

My god !! Carmy!! Takes!!! After Mikey so fucking MUCH!!! 

Oh Mikey- oh. Mikey. Oh Mikey. Oh Mikey. Oh Michael Berzatto. Hit me while I’m down PAL kick me why don’t you?! “I knew I was gonna get skipped because I had people to take care of” I knew this episode would make me sick. 

oh my god when Tina said she loved Mikey she loved Mikey like a good friend and I am so gutted when Carmy says everyone loved Mikey and he just lit a room up and could make anyone comfortable oh my god I’m so gutted!!!!!!!!!!! 

EP6 ; Final Thoughts - This episode let us truly meet Michael & oh my god it’s almost painful to watch these back to back like- this is a lot to digest holy fuck. When Carmen talked about a temp in a room and how Mikey could feel it then lean into it and manipulate it however he wanted. He did such a good job portraying that. I’d give anything for him to have just called Carmy when he was on that bridge and for him to have answered and for Carmy to change his mind. Oh my god I’m so- like oh my god? This show. I can’t.

EP7 - “Legacy”

Carmy so pretty :)

Oh Richie. Thinking about :((( everything. 

Syd thinking of Carmy 

SHE IS GETTING POACHED BY EVER MAN OH NO

good Carmy is back at AI-ANON 

so much fucking family hahahah god I love Italians hey uncle Gary! 

*sighs* good morning, Syd. 

Oh. Ok he’s opening his own place ok…and he’s asking her I KNEW IT POACHER!! POACHER!!!!!

oh my god he’s offering her a real CDC job - with a real good salary,  it would be healthier for her sadly!!!!!!

How’d I headcanon Carmy knew French PUUUURRIODD 😌

“You look nice” ha. Ha. Ha.  Shoot me in the FUCKING FACE

The gum chewing HNNNNG IM CHEWING ON MY CAGE

“That sounds legendary pal” I WANT TO KISS HIM ON HIS STUPID MOUTH 

ARE THEY PART TIME THE BEEF NOW?!! OH MY GOD- THEY ARE!!! EBRA IS LIVINGGGG HAHAH OMG THIS IS SO COOL???

“Matter of fak supply” LOL

Richie is taking this so seriously which makes me more mad how Carmy treats him like he really is so good at the job and loves it.

Aw he really misses Tiff. :( he’s so different now and wishes he could go back so bad but he’s gonna find someone that I’ll be very jealous of bc I need this man SO BAD

Oh him crying abt Mikey- no stop I can’t 

SYDS TURN IN THE BOXESS HAHAHAH

“Hey grandpa” “hey grandma” I love Ebra and Tina sm lol and her mimicking his accent they’re adorable 

“Maybe you can go fuck, Ted” hahahaha I love telling people to go fuck now 

Eva’s drawing in Richie’s host book 🥹🫶

Carmen I wanna choke you out so bad!  Can you take a single suggestion ???

THE BABY IS COMING :D!!!!

EP7 ; Final Thoughts - Another good episode!! Very balanced which I like, the character centered episodes feel very heavy but I still love them. I'm just happy that we got a little bit of a second to breathe!! I think it’s cool how they’re doing the beef on the side, like so cool! I never thought of that as an option. Because it’s true the neighborhood would probably miss their local sandwich spot! I liked this episode a lot :) Carmy can go fuck this episode, though he’s in the dog house and I hope Syd leaves to teach him a lesson! (& it makes him realize he loves her!!!)

EP8 - “Ice Chips”

I’m guessing before we start Nat is gonna find comfort not in her brother, but in Syd! 

Oh poor Nat all alone :( PETE ANSWER THE PHONE- SYD ANSWER -CARMY ANSWER !!! SOMEONE ANSWERRRRR

CLAIRE SHES FINDING COMFORT IN CLAIRE. NO HER MOM!!! OH MY GOD OH DONNAAAAAA WHAT 

oh my god Donna SUGAR oh my god sugar snapping on Donna I can’t 

COACHING. SHES BEING A MOM HAHAHAH PLEASEE 

someone get someone here other then Donna 

My Scorpio sissy Natalie !!! 11/10/88 (this confirms to me carmy is still in his 20s theres no way hes 33 when nat is 34)

Donna needs to leave this is the worst she’s the worst birth partner ever 

At least Donna is being nice 

She never told her mom she was pregnant??? Wow!

Donna’s labor with Carmy being so incredibly hard is honestly canon! That is so funny actually. Yeah that kid makes everything hard for himself! 

lol you get that epidural queen!!!

I’m glad Donna is hearing that she scared them as children. 

Donna is an alcoholic because her mother had problems

Ok I’m feeling Donna sympathy 

Oh a mothers love. Please STOP THIS I DONT WANN A FEEL BAD FOR DONNA 

EP8 ; Final Thoughts - wow. Wowowowowowowowow 0 Carmy and 0 Richie basically but this was nats episode and Donna’s! I am happy we were able to see the sweet side of Donna, I think (and hope !!) she is on the right path to sobriety!!! This episode was very tender , I loved hearing about their childhoods more <3 Nat is gonna be a good mommy!!!

EP9 - “Apologies”

Magic? Ok sick, ok Marcus!! That’s who was watching this ok then wonder what thats about?

“Claire is peace” please- the thought of her gives you a panic attack. 

He’s gonna apologize this episode Jesus we wasted a whole season still no sydcarmykiss. It’s ok guys stay strong we’ll be there next season 

Yes Syd leave him 

Carmen you are nuts!!! 

Richie and Carmy staring at eachother through the window like bears about to kill eachother is freaking me out.

Syd say it -

Oh wait it’s the funeral for ever lol! I forgot that’s the funeral. Ok not worried 

He goes to the walk in to try to make it in his mind like he hasn’t waited all this time to apologize hahahaha 

AND RIGHT TO SYD AND THE AGREEMENNT I DJSJEBDJSJEHSHWHSBD SYDCARMY TILL I dIEEEE

“Missing one, that wouldn’t the the thing happened to be wedged up your ass the last few weeks is it?” JIMMYYYYY HAHAHAHAHAHA

Jesus this man’s eyes literally glow blue 

He owes him sooo much money wow 

Tina and Marcus are so cute

Carmy and his drawings are adorable 

Ten minutes left and Carmy hasn’t said sorry lol 

His little smile at the farm AAAA

Syd ls bringing them food before Carmy 

No she’s right Carmy I’m sorry why wouldn’t it be immediate insurance what is … wrong with you?

Oh my god fak going to see Claire Fak leave now no no no no no no no no oh my god this is so bad 

Mommy Nat 🥹💖

Aw Carmy looking at mikes funeral card 😭💔

EP9 ; Final Thoughts - Why does this season not feel done?! Well prob because they’re gonna do a season 4. But still there’s no way they can finish all of this in one episode. Holy moly the Faks need to stop interfering this is so bad!!!! Too many Faks!! Ok I can’t last episode time AAA

E10 - “Forever” !!!!!!

This mentor I like very much 

He took the popes nose thing from this mentor hahaha

This man who mentored Carmy it’s understandable why he was so driven or like, inspired to keep going

LUCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LUCAAA LUCA LUCA LUCA LUCA

LUCA LUCA HES SO CUTE HRJJEJSJEJDNDJSNSNS “is that injected? Or is it…oh..ok” CUTE SHY EMBARASSED LUCAAAAAA

OMG CARMY MINGLING GOOD BOY!!!

Richie is crushing on Jess hard 

Luca oh baby I wanna kiss himmm oh him 

SYDYFBDNANA. SYD SYD SYD SYD CARMY IS GONNA EXPLODE 

oh my fid oh my god oh my god oh my god his boss his his oh my god 

Oh my god oh m y god “working for a bad boss is the worst because the culture you’re a part of is the culture you create” Carmen is spiraling rn (the next chapter of my oc fic is gonna go crazy)

Syd being more sociable then Carmy bc Carmy is panicking 

This smug bastard loves that he makes Carmen squirm I wanna punch him

“This is why you’re alone you can’t handle this” I’m going to fucking stab something

Carmy finds 0 joy in cooking anymore. 

Richie is so lovable the boss loves him and knew him for less then a week hahahahah

Carmy OH CARMY CARMY CARMY OH CARMY  “generally being you” my jaw is my jaw my jaw my jaw my jaw my jaw on THE FLOOOOORRRRRRRRRR. Oh my god. He’s such this asshole boss I hope he dies holy fuck HOW DARE HE HOW DARE HE HOW DARE HE HOW DARE HE. I WANT TO PEEL OFF HIS SKIN

Luca and Syd??? Ok- I say go for it queen

My mind is blown so far this is so amazing but also how the fuck hasn’t he sorted with Claire and S3 is closing???

Omg after party at SYDS?! Where is Carmy??? literally Marcus and Tina are there and the Faks?? He has to be seeing Claire there’s no way why would he miss out on this!!!!

If only Carmy got to be apart of something fun. Of course he’d deprive himself. OF COURSE

He is… giving Syd ptsd like his boss did to him. She is having done to her what was done to him.

Oh Syd. Oh Syd. Oh you need to get out of there baby it’s killing you. I hate seeing her upset its hurting me.

Their review was bad…. :((((((((((((

YES I KNEW ITTTTTT!! TO BE CONTINUED !!!!! ASDFGHJKLASDFGHJKL

EP10/S3 ; Overall Final Thoughts -

IM CRYING omggggg omg omg omg omg omg omg the whole thing with the boss had me in actual tears. TB&HH is about to eat so hard so so hard oh I have so many ideas AAAA and I’m so in love w Richie even more then last season he is totally crushing on Jess. Oh my god syd needs to get out of the bear Carmy is actually killing her. He is doing to her what his boss did to him and that’s evil!!! Evil evil. Oh my god so many thoughts I have but wow just wow. I can’t most of all wait to read the rest of the fandoms thoughts WOW my fics are about to eat I’m so inspired ALSO SydCarmy fics are about to be so angsty and eeeeeaaaatttttt!! He is slowly killing his girl, also - him being able to say sorry to syd but not claire??? I’m mad that the Faks had so much screentime like they were funny sometimes sure, but waywaaay too much faks. Not enough Nat, not enough MARCUS!! The most powerful touching scene or at least most inspiring of the season for me was the one with carmy & his old boss the sack of shit, that scene is gonna propel tb&hh so farrrr also this whole season is going to! Im so excited to keep writing that. I see people are not liking this season in my peeks on my home page (i didnt want to taint my thoughts) but im kinda surprised - like yes we didn’t wrap everything up & there were too many faks and not enough syd BUT the cinematography was stunning, and we got to see in carmys head which is what i predicted - this season was to get in his head to see 2 main things 1) how he does what he does 2) why he is how he is - and we got both of those answers, I think everyone was expecting this to be the last season and it was never going to be! In order to wrap this up we had to fully understand why carmen is how he is, are you all catching my drift here? I cant wait for S4!!! I feel it that SydCarmy will happen, I know that chefkids will put it in to words because their brain is much bigger then mine - but wow wow and wow. I’m gonna have to watch each episode 10 more times to digest it but wow. Loved it! MOST OF ALL I CANT WAIT FOR S4!!!!!! AAAAA

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Predictions: Eternity In A Box (Spoilers for Blood Communion)

In Ep3 I was freaking out over the parallels b/t vampires running their fingers thru Louis' hair as he thinks he (& Claudia) are gonna die.

In the movie's version of The Trial, Santiago condemns Louis to solitary confinement:

"Eternity in a box. Walled in a dungeon. Your only company will be your screams."

And I'm convinced the Theatre's gonna bury Louis alive.

TBF, I could be WAY off; but I was thinking abt how the scene went in the movie: the Theatre locked Louis in an iron coffin and buried him underground in the walls of Theatre, and how Mr. I Could Not Prevent It waited until way later to come in and literally dig Louis back up.

Hatred as a Box: Buried Alive

Both are HORRIBLE ways for vampires to "die." Compared to going out by fire it's a light sentence, sure, until you consider the LORE.

Iron + vampires = no bueno. (The same applies to witches & fae.)

Initially, AR's vampires weren't subject to traditional wards like silver, iron, crosses, garlic, etc. The Theatre coffin was wooden, just sealed with iron locks. But magic DOES have a strong effect on vamps, as highlighted in Merrick.

In TVA Armand describes his kidnapping by the Children of Satan:

In Blood Communion, AR specifically retconned iron in 2 notable instances. Cyril bound Baudwin in iron pickets ripped from a wrought-iron fence:

And most infamously: Rhosh's kidnap of Gabrielle, Marius, & Louis:

(I pray to GOD that AMC gets this far, it's one of my fave AR books.)

I can't tell if the coffin AMC!Lou's in is iron or wood, but if he's stuffed in the Wet Room's morgue-like "burial vaults," that's definitely metal, if not steel/iron. Which is such a clever modern update to coffins. 👌

Then there's the pebbles all over Louis. Nothing much here, except that they're made of stone, and I was reminded of the hardening/crystalizing process of AR's vampires, as they age & become more & more stone-like as their luracastria hardens over time.

The stone hardening of a vampire =/= Death, but rather SLEEP; as exemplified with Akasha & Enkil--the 2 oldest vamps, who look/feel like statues. (The QotD movie took this too literally with Maharet.)

But yeah, I like the visual poetry of Lou in a coffin full of stone pebbles, essentially put to sleep by Santiago for eternity in a box; which is not unlike too what Rhosh would end up doing to him in BC.

Love as a Box: A Prized Treasure

The imagery of coffins & the theme of Louis spending eternity in a box further made me think abt Louis' (toxic) romantic relationships.

I've spoken ad nauseum abt Loustat, so I wanna focus more on Loumand here. Cuz Armand's love of Lou seems to contradict his tendency to wait for catastrophe to strike b4 he "rescues" Lou from horrible situations that could've been avoided had Armand made his move a lot sooner. (Unkind & ungracious, I know, but I'm on a tangent here.)

We see this with the Theatre, as Armand lets the coven slowly descend upon Louis & Claudia, knowing they're in danger but wanting Claudia out of the picture before he extracts Louis.

We're seeing it in Dubai, as Louis' broken "in pieces for the privilege of putting them back together again," like jigsaw pieces kept in a box. (Not NEFARIOUSLY, but Louis does speak about "pieces of himself" that he's lost/forgotten. And he asks Armand's permission to see Claudia's diaries? Which tells me that Coven Master Armand's ALWAYS held significant sway over Louis' life in their household.

And I suspect that we'll see it again if AMC pulls a Merrick on us, and swaps out Merrick & David for Armand & Lestat (a la AR's Tulane drafts), when Louis puts his own coffin in the sun and burns alive.

Cuz this is all just history repeating itself. We've seen this dynamic in Lou's life w/ Les. As his 2 great romantic loves, Les & Armand are similar & different. Neither of them's healthy for Lou, but they genuinely love him in their own effed up way. But Claudia's still right: BOTH of them keep Lou in a box.

Louis of Troy: Venus de Milo

Let's think for a sec abt the Venus de Milo we saw at the end of Ep1:

At the time I was thinking: why did AMC pick that statue? Sure, it's famous & iconic and is at the Louvre in Paris. But I stuck a pin it it.

Loumand visits an art museum in Ep4, and we can probably assume it'll have something to do with Armand's career as an art thief/broker.

During WWII all kinds of buildings got looted & bombed up, and museums had to literally bury their priceless art in boxes/crates in the dirt in order to keep them safe from the Nazis and people who wanted to steal/destroy the priceless statues.

Which is ironic, cuz a lot of discovered art was excavated/dug up; people exhuming ancient statues out of the dark earth, into the light of a new era--like a vampire. (Venus de Milo was dug up too.)

Supposedly, VdM depicts the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, holding the Apple of Discord in her hand (which was found broken off next to the statue). The Apple of Discord was the prize given to Aphrodite during the Judgement of Paris, a beauty pageant that caused Paris to run off with (the already married) Helen of Troy/Sparta & started the Trojan War. Herodotus, the "Father of History," said the West (Greeks/Europeans) vs the East (Asians/Africans) were always fighting cuz people kept stealing e/o's brides. 😂 Women were chattel just like animals in antiquity, so bride raids & cattle raids were typical catalysts for numerous mythic & historic conflicts.

Typical xenophobic fodder for racist miscegenation laws, ofc, but vampire literature eats this trope up, thanks to Dracula. AR's books do this over & over--culminating in Rhosh's infamous rape/capture of Gabrielle, Louis & Marius in BC. And AMC's emphasis on interracial/multicultural relationships inevitably draws comparisons, too.

Naturally, I'm thinking about how Troy burned over Helen; and the Theatre burned over Claudia (& Madeleine); and the Chateau burned over Gabrielle/Louis/Marius.

But I'm also thinking about how the first time Akasha & Enkil moved in 1000+ years, it was cuz Akasha allowed Lestat to drink from her, and Enkil was so mad that he got up and nearly curbstomped Lestat to mush b4 Marius wrestled Enkil off of him. 🤣

The victim/woman inevitably gets blamed, from Helen to Akasha, and ofc Louis; but it still tracks that entire wars get launched purely over love/sex--another form of treasure/money/property/status.

And I can't help but wonder how much AMC will or won't lean into the possibility that Lou's being held captive in the Dubai penthouse by Armand--NOT necessarily by force, but rather by...compliance; COMPLICIT--and that their relationship is a huge catastrophe that Lestat will inevitably have to "rescue" Louis from like some damsel in distress, like he had to do with Nicki. Or if Lou will somehow rescue himself and NOT pull a Merrick after all. 👀

And that (finally) brings me to my final point.

Safety as a Box: Louis' "coffin"

When Daniel asked Lou where his coffin was, Lou told Dan the entire Dubai penthouse was his coffin. Thanks to Armand's UV-light-controlled iPad, the vamps can walk safely in gold-warm sunlight.

But the penthouse still radiates CHILL. They're in the middle of a desert, but Daniel's constantly in a cardigan, Louis' often dressed in hoodies, Armand even wears an actual coat--it looks cold. 🙁 The sunlight's filtered/diluted; it can't warm anybody--human or vamp.

As opposed to the natural lighting at 1132, coming not from the windows (which are always carefully closed & curtained), but from the fireplaces--seemingly ALWAYS roaring by Loustat's coffins in the Coffin Room, and sofas in the parlor (there's another one across from their bed, too). 1132 exudes warmth; the florals & earthtones adding to the tropical NOLA vibe--there's peacocks on their wallpapers ffs.

Loustat's townhouse emulates a wild & free Savage Garden, but the vampires sleep in extremely close quarters in their coffins--even doubling up after Lou breaks Les.' Is it confining? Or intimate?

I have to wonder if, in Louis' efforts to take Claudia's words to heart, and not be confined in a "small box" anymore, Lou insisted on not sharing a coffin with his 2nd husband. Instead, they sleep in a HUGE king-sized bed, with plenty of space (at the price of less intimacy). But Louis hilariously STILL sleeps like a corpse vampire in a coffin, arms/hands folded across his chest! XD

And as spacious as Louis' new bed is, he's sleeping in a literal JAIL CELL; an utterly inorganic crypt-looking edifice of strange shapes, where the open plan does nothing to distract from the mental patient aura of the sunken bed & padded ceiling & metal (iron? 👀) cage bars. Is it for Louis' reluctant safety? Or for Louis' elusive sanity?

Pick Your Poison

So this is my long-winded way of saying: Lou's BEEN doomed to spend eternity in a box. It's just that that box is shaped & defined by the love his 2 control-freak toxic AF husbands have for him:

Lestat is clingy and heavy-handed, and 1132 is more cramped/crowded, but more warm & intimate. It's a contained wilderness/Savage Garden in miniature; the seraglio crawling with mistresses (Antoinette) & soldiers picked for an orgy; fit for a pimp--where Louis himself is paranoiacally caged like a prized slave/housewife.

Armand is more distant/mature (internally desperate) and enabling, and the Dubai penthouse is more spacious/open-planned, cold and foreboding; a locked off tower in the sky. It's a glorified jail cell not even trying to disguise its bars; full of around-the clock staff & handlers & nursemaids/doctors (Fareed)--where Louis is jealously guarded like an in-house mental patient kept in an asylum.

[jev-urisk]

Morreial's heist supplies: Tag Game ✨️

Original game by @thecomfywriter (Post HERE). Thanks for the tag @the-golden-comet!

Premise: Write your OC using these tools (from Ch. 18 of Throne of Vengeance) to commit a heist involving an armored vault. A piece of string, a lantern, oil, matches, a book, a cup, an enchanted shovel, and a pair of gloves. And, a navy blue Henley

Love, LOVE this prompt. It's perfect for Kazimier💋, my shapeshifting incubus OC from my WIP 🌐7 Circles🌐

It's kinda spoiler-y, because it goes over some of Kazimier's abilities and really shows the kind of bastard he is. You've been warned.

Tonight is your final meeting with this criminal. Kazimier smirks behind his drink, an appraising glint in his mismatched eyes. "You wanna know how I did it?" he teases. He knew you did, but wanted to hear you say it anyway.

"How did you steal it?"

He leans back, swirling his glass. "So the safe in this fancy hotel was owned by a Nexi couple, right? They shipped the damn thing down from Nexis years ago an' had it installed in their always-booked penthouse suite. I woulda' sacked it a decade ago but this safe has an arcane lock, capisce?"

You shake your head no, and he rolls his eyes.

"Magic technology, unpickable. An' the only way to open this particular lock is to touch their wedding rings to this weird circle on the front, yeah? So the first thing I do is track down a mediocre fairy lantern replica."

"Wait, what?" you can help uttering, and it earns you a scoff.

"What? It's not like faeries are real, an' if they were they'd appreciate how stupid some folks are over their alleged arda'facts. The husband was one such stupid folk, and after broadcastin' that someone on the black market found a new lantern, a few fake death threats, and a well-placed comment made by a poker dealer- I got him to agree to a meeting in a car. One of them fancy Nexi ones that comes with a driver an' I made sure the person at the wheel is one on my payroll. I arrive as a representative of the auction house, shapeshifted to look like a vampiress."

"Wait, so you-"

"Had tits, yes. Along with long brown hair, skinny ankles, and a pencil skirt shorter than your attention span."

You grimace, "I wasn't going to ask about you having, uh.."

"-AAAnnyway, the moment I set down my briefcase bag it starts leakin' a sleeping gas and I keep him distracted. Soon enough he's out like a light and I crack open the hollowed out copy of 'Auctions Uncatalogued: A Dry Fuckin' History Book' for a few supplies. I knew he was a thicc bastard, so I came prepared with some oil and string to get the ring off, as well as gloves to keep the guy's taste outta my brain."

"What does that mean??"

"I'm not gonna explain how to get little rings offa big fingers, bud. Ask the internet. OH, I also filched his shirt- a blue henley kinda' thing, and his slacks. The car keeps movin' and I use his weird-Nexi-phone to call his broad, who is very occupied in some high-stakes gambling and tell 'er using her husband's voice that I need her ring to make an exchange of some Nexan technology in the safe for the super legit fairy lamp some vampire just showed me. I shapeshift into the husband, put on his clothes, and am in and out of the casino without the broad suspecting a thing. She hands me the ring, I complain bitterly about her not spendin' enough time with me, she tells me not now and goes back to her gambling. Perfect marriage. An hour later I've exchanged their top-grade arcane technology for a dinky old lamp and am waitin' around for the wife to show up." Kazimier finishes, quirking his brow as he drinks some of his cocktail.

After a few moments it seems like he;s truly done, but it might be another instance of him leading you to egg him on. "Well what happened when the wife showed up?" you ask, hooked despite yourself.

Kazimier's grin widens, "She found a brown-haired vampress in her penthouse wearing nothing but her husbands blue henley." He takes in your expression and keeps going, "The broad probably would've killed me if I didn't 'confess' that her husband had just left for the bar in the lobby with the other girl. Boy did that lie get her back out the door in an instant. From there I put a little oil in a glass cup, light it with a match, an' drop the little moltov offa' the balcony. A signal to get in position. I count to sixty and jump off myself- make my getaway."

You lean back, taking in the convoluted mind you're sitting with tonight, somewhat stunned. "Wait- Why did you need to borrow my enchanted shovel, then?" you add, happy that it was returned to you clean and unharmed the moment you sat down but curious since Kazimier said it was needed for this heist.

"Oh, that? I killed the husband." Kazimier says with a casual shrug.

"You used my shovel to bury a Nexan?!" you hiss, leaning forward. This wasn't what you expected at all when Kazimier offered you a deal.

Kazimier leans forward, all the humor gone from his face, only the tilt of his head hinting at his amusement. "I used your very unique shovel to kill, a Nexan, sunshine." He kills his drink and with a parting chuckle you and your shovel are left behind, tools that have fulfilled their use and you realize with ice in your blood why Kazimier just told you everything.

Tonight is your final meeting with this criminal.

Taggames: Taggames: @katenewmanwrites @smellyrottentrees @wyked-ao3 @lychhiker-writes @cowboybrunch @zackprincebooks @urbiggestfan-01 @quillswriting @tragedycoded

[geth-consensus]

Fallout show spoilers below. A mostly exhausted rant, of sorts.

Bethesda’s fetish for keeping the world of Fallout perpetually quantum locked into nothing more than a post-apocalyptic wasteland just makes everything feel so…purposeless.

First the Commonwealth, and now the NCR. Why should even bother getting invested in these factions when they’re just going to be destroyed/reset later on. Worse actually. They’re always destroyed off screen. We don’t even get to experience their decline. Just a second hand, expository explanation after the fact.

And if a faction as ingrained into the series as the NCR isn’t safe from being just offed off screen, then what is even the point anymore. The series reduced to nothing more than an endless wasteland of raiders and baby faced vault dwellers forever, until the end of time.

Unless of course you’re the Brotherhood of Steel. A faction Bethesda are more then happy to bend over backwards to break canon for. Or the Enclave, who will seemingly always persist no matter how many times their leaders are killed, or bases blown up.

Just…what’s the point anymore. Why should we care? The world will never be allowed to recover. Any interesting stories it could provide atomised in the single minded drive to keep everything in ruins, and to forever keep this world trapped in the state in which it began.

As the eternal aftermath of the Great War…

…and never allowed to be able to move on from it. Never again allowed to move forward. To just move on.

[itschlorosis]

back on silo rant - episode 7-8 spoilers

can we catch a break with this season ? i swear it’s making me really mad because the first season was so good it make me read 3 fucking books in 2 months, but whatever they have going on now ? it’s bullshit.

didn’t really have anything to say about episode 6 because everything they did in that episode was just to caught up on their filler episodes so, yeah, thanks for sticking to the book at some point i guess

as always, spoilers (of the show AND the books), swearing and a lot of frustration just after. don’t mind the typing and grammatical errors, for real can’t be bother to proofread this.

episode 7

the first thing i need to say it’s : WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH THE LIGHTNING ??? full on brightness on the tv, room is in total darkness and still i can’t see a freaking thing ! i know it’s a silo, and it’s supposed to be dark but really ????

then fucking shirley and knox plotline, why ??? wait let me rephrase actually, all the romantic subplots, why ???? walker and carla ???? sims and camille ???? even the shérif and his wife like fucking hell… THE ONLY IMPORTANT ROMANTIC SUBPLOT IS NOT EVEN HAPPENING … my sheila (lukas and jules)

THE IPAD ???? i screamed at this, fuck it, i screamed at the entire vault thing cause it’s supposed to be a not so comfortable place under the servers where it’s no noticeable ! the door to that place is a trap on the floor ??? but they had to make it a cosy hilton suite i guess, which doesn’t make sense but hey, nothing make sense in s2.

stop trying to make knox a leader, he should be long dead by now, but they so want to force him to be a fan favourite it’s pissing me off. him and shirley are pissing me off (and the actors are doing a very bad job so it’s not helping).

the plot with silo 17 is so slow ? we are finally getting close to meeting the children but i feel like they are going to make it the big revelation of the last episode when i hoped it would have been silo 1. because, lets put things back in order, the ENTIRE s1 was HALF of Wool, so s2 should have been the other half right ? but it’s moving so fucking slowly that we don’t even have the rebellion yet, not fight happened, lukas is barely a shadow and still hasn’t contacting juliette and she still hadn’t meet the children so i feel like they are timing everything WRONG. the books are not that long to be making 3 seasons out of the first book.

episode 8

there is so much bad acting and the whole “you’re never betraying mechanicals again” make me laugh from stupidity, all the actors from silo 18 had abandoned for real, i feel like none of them are doing a great work (esp. shirley and walker) and it’s really taking me out of the show. not going to say anything about sims because common has done a bad job since s1 so yeah

lukas running around the silo DONT MAKE ANY SENSE ! the entire thing about his character was that he was so alone he started thinking he wasn’t doing the right thing, he is supposed to be LOCK DOWN reading the pacte and the heritage not going around asking question. i was missing him, but because they make him go on quest, they are destroying his all character.

yeah, well, of course they fucked yo the “children” introduction. i’m not even sure they are gonna be children now (i couldn’t clearly see BECAUSE OF THE FUCKING LIGHTNING) … i know it must be pissing you off that i compare everything to the book but i mean, i have to. i know it’s an adaptation but they are taking too much liberties to my own satisfaction.

walker, walker, walker … she is pissing me the fuck off. it doesn’t make sense, at all. i was interesting when they made her in love with the girl from fourniture (that i can’t be bothered to remember the name apparently) but now it’s juste making her betray mechanicals ??? just like that, i HATE IT. and it’s so far of from her character, walker is loyal to mechanicals, it’s her entire life. she is not even supposed to be walking so freely in the silo, in the book, she is back in her room not leaving and being depressed about jules, not running around betraying everything for a wife ? everything is pissing me off im not even kidding at this point. and the actress is very bad (but i feel like it’s a pattern in this series, surely because the script is so bad lmfao)

at this point i’m begging for this show to be cancelled, because i’m so fucking scared of what they will make of the silo 1 and all the silo 40 plot … legit SCARED !

[amageish]

Spider-Man 2 Post-Credit Spoilers

Time for some more signature Amageish overthinking!

Sooooooooooooo.

How about that Cindy Moon appearance, huh?

From this Gizmodo article, we do have a bit of insight into the decision to have her appear where they mention the challenge of making a Cindy unique to the GamerVerse specifically - though it's obvious they are keeping their cards close to their chest here as well.

io9: Along with giving Miles a promotion, you’ve introduced Cindy Moon, aka Silk, into your universe. Of all the Spider-heroes, I don’t think anyone was expecting her. What made her so appealing over someone like Eddie or Gwen Stacy? Arfmann: Cindy’s always been a really compelling character in the comics who, similar to [SM1's] Martin Li, hasn’t really gotten a ton of exposure outside of the immediate fanbase. There’s something really exciting about taking a character who we love, who not everybody’s had a chance to meet, and exposing her to a wider audience. Morris: I’m so excited to see what we do with Cindy. Arfmann: Exactly. That was the real drive with her, and figuring out who Insomniac’s Cindy Moon is a really exciting challenge. And we also have this interesting complication that [Cindy’s dad] Albert is dating [Miles’ mom] Rio, and we’re thrilled to explore how that creates a new iteration of this character that folks already love.

So this confirms that they will be changing stuff too! This is going to be a unique take on her, but they are also self-aware that this will be plenty of people's introduction to the character.

The main question on my mind is a pretty basic one: Does Cindy Moon need to be shoved into a bunker for 7-10 years in order to be recognizably Cindy Moon? Her father is already in the game, so we know the "parents are missing" story is probably off the table, but does she need to still spend all that time in isolation to be Cindy?

In the comics, her time in the bunker is credited in-text with being a source of so many of her defining character traits.

It is something that separates her experiences from Peter and the other Spider-heroes.

It's something that fills her with a drive to prove herself and is the experience that made her such a talented martial artist.

It informs her understanding of modern technology and the level of pop culture awareness she has - the former of which helped her develop her uniquely positive relationship with J Jonah Jameson.

And, lastly, the time she had in isolation is credited with causing her to develop her anxiety disorder and communication challenges.

So, with all that in mind, it feels like Cindy does have to be put into a bunker, right? As it's such a core part of her backstory?

Well, no. Maybe this will be a hot take, but I honestly don't think she does.

While I do think everything I've listed here is a key aspect of Cindy Moon as a character, I don't think they need to lock her in a vault for 7-10 years in order to explain why a Korean-American woman in New York city has anxiety or practices martial arts or feels a need to work twice as hard to have her accomplishments recognized. These are all very relatable experiences that do not require a fantastical superhero origin story to justify them.

Honestly, with how emotion-forward the Insomniac Spider-Man games are already, I think her being a woman who has had a depressive episode recently which she describes as having felt like being trapped would work just as well as literally having had her be trapped by a supervillain. I would not be surprised if the ability to tell a story about anxiety and depression was a factor in them selecting Cindy as the next playable character as well - the potential for a Silk game that incorporates actual mindfulness and grounding techniques into the gameplay is really high IMHO.

I also think that the final scene kind of supports the idea too? Cindy has no lines, but she does have a silent awkward wave. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but her introduction makes me think she already has social anxiety - so unless she's already been in the bunker and we'll get a story about how she escaped, then I think she will probably jut be getting powers and moving forward from there.

Anyway, that's a lot of thoughts brought about by like 5 seconds of Cindy waving. I'm just really eager to see where things go from here and am hoping we'll get a DLC trailer or a Silk expandalone announced sometimes soon...

(PS: Having Peter already be in a committed relationship with MJ and Miles, who is also already in a relationship with Hailey, being in a psuedo-sibling relationship with Cindy is an excellent way of desexualizing the Cindy + Spider-Men relationship. I have no fears about Insomniac stumbling on that particular hurdle.)

(I do, however, have fears that I will be seeing unironic speculation about pheromones in reddit threads for the next 2 years until whenever Spider-Man: Miles Morales 2 or Silk: Cindy Moon is announced... but that probably cannot be changed, unfortunately.)

[agender-witchery]

I'm putting this one under a cut just so people read the first damn paragraph.

I am playing through Outer Wilds for the first time, I've beaten the base game and I'm now going through the DLC. I do not want ANY information whatsoever, spoiler or not. I want to learn everything by myself. The questions and observations I make are for me to think about and answer, not you. If you post a reply or reblog with tags that go against these wishes, you will be blocked immediately.

If you saw my last post, you know that I sum up what I know and what I want to learn after each play session and send that to my friend who's watching me play through the game. If you didn't see my last post, well now you know. I've actually had two sessions since my last post - I just never got a chance to do a full write up of the former of the two. I'll do my best to put some of it here though.

Alright so. The Strangers came from their star system to ours, presumably in search of the Eye after seeing its echo. I think that they showed up prior to the Nomai, given that they only activated the Stranger's cloaking mechanism after reaching our star system, they appear to have been killed by ghost matter, and the Nomai have no writings about the Stranger. It doesn't seem like they can return, given the fact that they seemed grief stricken when looking at slides of their home world and the fact that they're still here. I initially thought that the way their eyes go empty and their mouths split in an... unsettling manner was something the Eye caused somehow, but it turns out that empty eyes and slit mouths are just... things they do, though it's often portrayed in a sinister way. I... don't think their motives are sinister though. I think that's just how I interpret those expressions. After receiving the vision of the Eye destroying everything, they turned on it. They seemed to hold it in reverence similar to the Nomai at first, but now they seem to despise it. They're upset, they're angry, and I think that's worth respecting. Once they turned against the Eye, they went into hiding, and... I don't think they want to be found, given their reactions when I do run into them. I feel like I'm intruding, like I'm doing something wrong for reasons I don't even understand yet. I have a path to unlocking the vault, but... it almost feels irresponsible not to have an idea of why it was locked in the first place. They made it, they want it closed, and I'm not welcome. Of course, they never truly hurt me, but maybe they can't hurt me, not in a dream. I can test it, by hurting myself, so I'll do that.

I am... almost convinced that there's a living Stranger still around due to the empty bed in the Cinder Isle dream chamber. And if they're alive... they'd be underwater, to avoid the ghost matter. Perhaps a living Stranger might have a way to communicate, and perhaps they'd be more amenable to my presence than the dreaming Strangers. They might have information, and as always, I have all the time in the world to search for them.

Of course... there is the matter that there's more info to be found for me in two of the dream regions. I could blindly dive around to try and find a living Stranger, but I think searching the dream world will be more productive.

In the base game, I felt a connection to the Nomai. I could understand them and their motives entirely, and I knew I wanted to find the Eye very early on. I was working with and alongside the Nomai, carrying on their legacy, and considered a friend by Solanum. With the Strangers, I feel disconnected and adversarial. Currently, I feel like I am working against them, and the intentionally eerie atmosphere definitely enhances this feeling. I feel at unease when I'm viewing their history, more so when I'm experiencing their dream, and especially so when I've disturbed them. The information I gather is via their slides, many of which are heavily damaged, and even their visions provide little insight into why they act the way they do. There's a lot I don't understand. And I think I need to understand before I try and violate their wishes.

Questions:

Why do the Strangers act the way they do?

What is in the vault?

If there is a living Stranger, where are they?

I still don't know why the sun doesn't activate their devices, or why their fires burn green. Notably, the candles in the dream world DON'T burn green, so green is special in some way.

[popculturebuffet]

Did you hear the reboot seasons of Total Drama are finally gonna air in the USA starting on June 1st on Cartoon Network? Considering they've been airing in other countries for a year now, is it cool it's finally airing here? Especially since they need to get a lot of views in USA to motivate the higher ups to renew them for more seasons after that.

Yup! And I can't wait. I've even considered doing my own season for funsies ala dead meat's horror survivor.

I've held out on watching the new seasons simply because I wanted to support them. Granted I didn't think there'd be a decent sized gap between the US and CA airings, but for once Warner Bros Discovery actually makes some remote sense with a seemingly baffling decision: They wanted to wait for summer, and given we're going back to camp (and a somehow unsunken Wawanakwa), it fits well.

It's not the SMARTEST decision as full spoilers for the season are already out there and going to wikipedia could tell you the results, but it's still one that makes some sense and has historical precident both raitings wise and tradition wise. Unlike say shelving shows or locking them in a vault for always and always, this at least makes some sense and the bar really is that low that that's a win.

On the renewal side i'm not AS worried since this is a co-production with Fresh TV and , to my shock when I looked it up to confirm, the BBC. While it's clear Warner has decent stake in this (the show aired on Discovery+ in italy, where it aired early), they could be swayed by international numbers and Fresh isn't nearly as likely to let them just.. give up after five minutes and move on. This is their biggest franchise, their big breakout hit in the US, and one I do think COULD make that comeback: Survivor still exists. Reality compettition shows haven't gone away and teen drama always sells. I think the show has a genuine chance to do gangbusters again and I look forward to watching it as it comes out. I DO hope they dont' super delay part 2 of this season, as so far it's just intended to run through the summer, but otherwise i'm pumped to go back to the island. again.

[adminbryantsaki]

Welcome to the Multiverse Part 2

I Do not own the Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything related to the series. It belongs to the Walt Disney Company. I own the Four sisters though. If this isn’t your cup of tea, blend of spices, or brew of coffee, move on. Reader discretion is advised.)

TW: MCU Spoilers, OCs, destruction, war,

WC: 1,849

Within the walls of a very secure vault under a house, the six Infinity Stones glowed in the darkness within separate cases. All of the sudden BOOM, and a wall fell through, a tall, slender woman stepped over the rubble and into the vault where she grinned at the sight of the glowing Stones. The light of the Time and Mind Stones illuminated her face to reveal an angular face with high cheekbones, thin lips, and beady black eyes that seemed to radiate absolute greed when she saw the Stones.

“Those foolish sisters left all the Stones open for the taking. Guess I’ll just keep them safe for those sisters. They are such a thorn in my side. I’m glad that they up and disappeared with no trace. Stupid of them to leave the stones here though.” Lamina spoke.

One sunny afternoon, just after training with Doctor Strange, Ren and Azar received a letter

From their home universe informing them that their Infinity Stones had been stolen by their arch nemesis, Lamina, and was currently wrecking havoc on their home world. Azar later showed this letter to her sisters after summoning them from the other sanctums and they decided to go back home, so they could save their universe.  Ren was upset about this as she worked hard to help make a better universe for her sisters, but she stormed off to her room and began to pack. Terra went after her and leaned against the doorway. “You know why we must go back. Lamina will tear our world apart piece by piece with those Stones.” Terra spoke as Ren walked past her and out the door. “I know, that’s why we’re going back. We must stop her and get the Stones away from her and locked up again so we can come back and keep learning the Mystic Arts.” Ren spoke and carried her bag down to the main lobby where Dr. Strange was talking with Azar and Zephyria when he looked up to Ren and gestured for her to come over. “I have told your sisters this and I’ll tell you now. The four of you have done so well in your training that you are ready to move on. Go back home and save your world. If you wish to visit this world, then you may do so, but leave your Stones in your universe.” He spoke. Ren was shocked, thinking they still had years of training to do. But the sorcerer in front of her was right. She and her sisters needed to go home and stop Lamina. Ren nodded and turned to the wall, where she assisted Terra in opening a portal back to their home, back in their house. Once the portal was open, Azar and Zephyria went through first before Ren and Terra followed and Ren closed the portal, cutting off their connection to the World of Heroes.

Ren took a deep breath and turned to the dark grey walls of their home and the empty pedestals where their six Infinity Stones once stood. The pedestals had been smashed to bits and there was a hole in one of the walls just past the pedestals that looked over the crowded city that seemed to be burning below.

“We’re too late.” Zephyria spoke as she saw the destruction that had been wrecked on the city. “No, look up, Lamina is there with the Stones. She’s using them to cause all this destruction.” Azar spoke and pointed to a figure levitating in the sky above the city. “If we can do anything, we need to use our skills in the Mystic Arts that we have learned these past few weeks. We need to bind her down and take the Stones back, and always keep them on our bodies, Incursions be damned.” Ren spoke and put her necklace on that had two empty places where the Time and Soul Stones would be. Azar had a pair of gauntlets that would hold the Reality and Space Stones, Terra had a headband that held the Mind Stone, and Zephyria had a bracelet that held the Power Stone. All the slots for the Stones were empty, but the sisters gathered their courage and followed Ren who charged out of their home and created a glowing shield to help her float in the air and sped quickly to where Lamina was causing destruction all over their home. “LAMINA! STOP THIS NOW AND HAND THE STONES OVER TO US! THEY DO NOT BELONG TO YOU!” Ren bellowed. Lamina paused what she was doing and turned around to face Ren who was seething with every fiber in her being. Lamina was a tall and slender woman who looked like she had one too many plastic surgery operations to try and achieve the ultimate vision of beauty. She didn’t achieve that at all. She looked like a skeleton with flesh wrapped around the bones and a metal armor that was skin tight and showed every part of her bony body. Across her chest was the Infinity Stones in this order: Reality, Soul, Mind, Time, Space, and Power. Her face had twisted into a frown at the sight of the young women in front of her. “Took you long enough to realize that your world is in danger. Where did the four of you go anyways?” Lamina asked. “None of your business. Just hand the Stones over and we will leave you alone.” Ren spoke. “Now why would I do that when I’m only just beginning to have fun?” She asked as she plucked out the Reality Stone and spun it around in her gloved fingers. Azar’s eyes widened and lunged forward at Lamina, trying to get the stone away from the villain. Lamina caught her and pulled her hand away, chuckling at Azar at her failed attempt to get the Stone away from her. “You all should know by now that I’m not going to give these beauties up so easily. I plan to wipe this world clean and remake it to be more beautiful, and no longer such an ugly, grey world that it is now.” She spoke.

Yes, their world did look grey and lifeless. But it wasn’t ugly. There were things of beauty to be seen within the small cracks of the city. Clearly Lamina was blind to these other forms of beauty as she was too focused on her own self-image to even notice them. “You’re wrong.” Zephyria spoke quietly that only her sisters could hear and Lamina caught a whisper of her voice. “What did you say?” Lamina hissed, lunging at the girl, and pulling her up by her hair. “You’re wrong. Our world isn’t ugly and lifeless. You only think that because you took too much time on your own self worth and never thought to look at beauty in the small things. You only focused on the grand picture and how your ideals would fit into it. When you didn’t fit in, you went to more drastic measures, altering your body until you look horrendous and like a skeleton fit into a skin suit without the organs, muscles, and fat, and even planned so that when my sisters and I left to learn how to defeat you once and for all is when you chose to strike. Taking what isn’t yours to try and unnecessarily change the world into what you think is ‘right’ and ‘beautiful’. You shouldn’t do that, but I can’t change your mind, and I’m sorry for you.” Zephyria spoke and smiled as someone approached with the cops. “Lamina! Give up! You are surrounded with no escape. Turn the Stones back to their rightful owners and come with us peacefully!” The chief of police called through a loudspeaker at the villain who glared down at them before looking back to Zephyria who had a smirk plastered on her face. “If you decide to not give up the Stones and turn yourself over to the police, you’ll only make yourself look uglier.” She told her. Lamina snarled in defeat and floated down to the ground, pushing Zephyria away from her and into the arms of Terra who felt safer on the ground during this fight an held her wrists out to the police. “Alright, you have me.” She spoke in defeat. “You must hand the Infinity Stones over first. We cannot trust you to not use them against us.” The chief spoke. Lamina hesitantly turned to where Ren and Azar were landing next to Terra and Zephyria she plucked each of the remaining Stones and floated them over to the sisters who took their respective stones back into their jewelry.

Once the sisters had the Stones back, a cop took Lamina under custody. Everything seemed to be going easy, almost too easy. Lamina had been taken away in the police car and the sisters were heading back into their house to begin cleaning up and helping with fixing whatever other destruction that had been caused due to Lamina’s control over the Stones. They had put the Stones back on their pedestals for now as they contributed to the cleaning up and repairing of their city. But once those operations were over, Ren wanted to go back to Dr. Strange and ask if they could still train under him as she knew that they hadn’t trained for long enough when the threat had risen-up in their world.

Ren went to the same wall where she would open and close portals to other dimensions and opened one to the New York Sanctum in Earth-616 where she found Dr. Strange sitting down across from his fireplace with a cup of tea and a good book. She stepped through the portal and approached Dr. Strange. “If you are here to ask about furthering your training, its not needed. As I told you and your sisters before you left to save your planet, which you did an excellent job. But you finished your training. There is no need for any of you to come back.” He spoke. Ren felt hurt and crestfallen. She turned to go back through the still-open portal and go home. But she was stopped by Dr. Strange who stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. “But, I had a talk with Wong and the other Sanctum Leaders. We decided that the four of you should help us by gathering information on Kang the Conqueror and any other threats to our universe that seen like an issue to us so we will be ready for anything.” Dr. Strange spoke. Ren lit up and thanked him before running back through the portal to home to tell her sisters the good news.

The End.

[rottenbrainstuff]

BG3 playthrough - still trying to find Minsc

Spoilers below the cut!

Been a bit busy lately and I’m STILL trying to get Minsc but goddamn it this is turning into a big huge fucking thing, I had no idea, and I am tired.

One of the funniest things I have seen in this game so far are the high-security family vaults in the great big vault room in the bank, where you have the fight with the cultists. The game wants you to go out on a scavenger hunt and grab all the keys but myeh. You can just pick the locks. You can pick the locks while the bank manager is STANDING RIGHT THERE. If he’s behind you when you do it, he will run up behind you like HEY! WHAT ARE YOU… oh whatever, go on. Not like it matters now anyways.

I am crying!

The vaults were kind of neat, little pieces of lore for some of the characters we’ve already met. The Ravengard diary made me sad, I didn’t have Wyll with me when I read it, oops, does he have a reaction to that? I also liked the memo that notes that a “representative” from the Szarr family was by at night depositing something and acted “shocked and horrified” when they were asked the standard security screening questions. A supervisor noted that this was standard behavior for their representatives and no more questions should be asked. I assume this is a spawn on an errand and panicking because they were asked questions that they didn’t know how to answer. Neat tidbits.

Speaking of that vault fight btw, wtf is up with the bad guys’ invisibility shroud, why is it always perfect? That fight took way longer than it should have cause those assholes kept disappearing and my character that can see invisible things couldn’t see them. In the end I had to throw around alchemist fires until I finally hit them. And once I was all done, I was going around reading books in the desks and whatnot, and suddenly got attacked by one last cultist who was just apparently hiding in a shadow I guess, was that a bug or was he supposed to be hiding there?...??

Now I’m going through the sewer trying to track Minsc, which I thought was going to be a quick jaunt but noooo, apparently everyone is hiding out down here. I ran into Arabella, and Gandrel with two Gur children (tell me again how it’s a better decision to just kill all the spawn?), Voss is down here patiently waiting for me and he is going to keep on waiting for now, I found some random sleeping tiefling who is just there apparently and has no actual dialogue or associated quests, and I ran into the craziest fucking dude just hanging out being crazy with some nasty grease monsters. My oldest kid says she made friends with him, but I don’t know how that’s possible. Every single dialogue option I have leads him to allow me to pass through exactly once and if I come back, they attack. She also speeds through this game at a blinding speed so I’m thinking she is possibly simply mistaken.

Apparently Orin is down here too somewhere? Man I don’t know if I’m ready to do all of that yet either… I’m still enjoying this game so much, more than I can remember enjoying any game in a long long time, but act 3 is definitely rough around the edges. At least I haven’t been running into any of the game-breaking bugs some people have described. I wonder if those have largely been fixed? I’ve found no bugs, just a ton of random, messy, loosely-integrated content.

Hey for some reason I had in my head Zevlor was hanging out at a pub somewhere in act 3 and you could chat with him to recruit him for the last battle, but apparently that’s not a thing, you can’t talk to him anywhere, and he will just show up when it’s big fight time like “yay I’m a Hellrider again”. Boo! Come on, I would be really really willing to sacrifice things like a weird random grease sorcerer and a pointless sleeping character for, you know, even one tiny little proper act 3 chat with an actual recurring character I’ve been friends with since act one…

Random thought: I was thinking about pre-game durge recently, and Sceleritas. I mean obviously pre-game, durge was not a good person. You have flashbacks of leading a Bhaal cult. You have flashbacks of graverobbing and murder and vivisection. Durge sounds like a literal monster.

But, now I find myself wondering just how much they went along with things, and if they ever tried to resist, pre-game.

Because I’ve just been thinking about how Sceleritas talks to you. If you are playing a resisting durge, Sceleritas never sounds *surprised* that you don’t want to commit horrible murders, he only sounds disappointed. You’d think that a resistant durge is acting so out of character that Sceleritas would be somewhat surprised, but it’s never ever “oh no master, what has happened to you, you used to LOVE the cold-blooded slaughter of innocents?” Sure in act 1 there’s an element of, “oh poor master, your brain is all scrambled, don’t worry we’ll get you fixed”…. but in act 2, it feels more like “oh you naughty disobedient master, you better listen to what daddy says”, like he’s heard durge try to argue out of murder before and he needs to yet again convince naughty durge to eat their murder-vegetables. I dunno. I was wondering if even pre-game, durge resisted sometimes. It’s interesting to think about a durge that was always having little problems all along the way, a rebellious teenager talking back to daddy every once in a while, Sceleritas trying his best to keep durge on the “right” track. Maybe it’s not what the writers intended at all, but I was just thinking about it.

And lastly, Kled - still thinking about Kled - I will never shut up about Kled. Kled would still love you if you were a worm. Kled assumes it’s impossible the lady he likes could ever like him back and he doesn’t care, he’s there anyways as a friend with no expectations. Even Nere has fics on AO3 and Kled has none and that’s not fair! Kled forever.

[pateretfilia]

Blog verses — Verse descriptions are not spoiler-free and neither is this blog! Proceed with caution.

V: Presequel — takes place during and before the events of the Presequel game. Jack is a low-level programmer at Hyperion who dreams beong a hero— and gets his chance when the lunar base is attacked one day. I will likely not be using this verse much at this point, as I've not yet finished the Presequel!

V: BL2 — Takes place around or during the events of Borderlands 2. Jack is the President of the Hyperion Corporation, and de facto ruler of the planet Pandora. His ultimate goal is twofold: open the Vault of the Warrior and cleanse the world of all the bandits, such as the Crimson Raiders. This is generally the verse I will default to, given the Borderlands series lore spans planets and galaxies, Pandora, while it is where our story takes place, being only but one among them.

V: TFTBL & Post TFTBL: Following Jack's death in BL2, his consciousness continues to exist as an AI. This AI lay dormant and unused for a long time following the death of its creator, until it is one day found and used by a cybernetically-enhanced Hyperion employee, Rhys Strongfork. AI Jack manipulates Rhys into following his whims, and is able to at times control his cybernetic arm or other machinery. Once Rhys reaches the Hyperion base in the latter part of the game, AI Jack reveals that his plan all along has been to install Rhys as president, then take over his body via a contraption known as an endoskeleton, and create an army of clones of himself.

Rhys ultimately foils these plans, forcibly removing all cybernetics from his body in a brutal and bloody fashion, but in the remnants of the removed cybernetic eye implant, the AI Jack still exists, again on the void, waiting for someone to awaken him.

AU: Fantasy: Jack is an adventurer who heads the Hyperion Organization, an interconnected network of weapons dealers and spies. His abilities include the use of some magic (mostly to restrain the powers of his daughter, whom he keeps locked in a tower with the help of a collar that restrains her very powerful magic), manipulation, charisma, and swordfighting. Jack is an adventurer who heads the Hyperiron Organization, an interconnected network of weapons dealers and spies. His abilities include the use of some artificer magic (mostly to restrain the powers of his daughter, whom he keeps locked in a tower with the help of a collar that restrains her very powerful magic), manipulation, charisma, and swordfighting.

Angel, on the other hand, is locked in a tower, but even with herself and her powers restrained, she's allowed to interact with the world in one key way: her powers allow her to possess and control inanimate objects. In Angel's case, this can come in the form of attacking others from miles away, or helping them from miles away by taking control of birds or other animals and allowing herself to speak perfectly through them with her magic. Jack uses this to gather information— and lead other adventurers to their deaths— as he pursues an apocalpytic relic he believes will cleanse the world of evil the likes of which once betrayed him, forcing him to always wear a glamor over a disfigured face.

[apieters]

Writing Journal, Swashbucklers of the Magic Kingdom

Question: How to off as many protagonists as possible?

[Warning: Contains spoilers for a story that hasn't been written yet]

So I'm still outlining the second half of Swashbucklers of the Magic Kingdom (which I need to outline in order to outline the first half), and I have managed to get all my characters--protagonists and antagonists--into the same building for the climax. Which is exactly where the Big Bad wants them to be.

Because if their evil plan to get what they want through blackmail and dirty political maneuvering fails, they always have Plan B, which, being villainous, means good old-fashioned murder. But how to do it? I am torn between three options:

A large cache of gunpowder hidden in the vaults below the venue.

A bunch of hidden crossbowmen up on the balcony seats.

Set the venue on fire.

The original concept was to use the gunpowder. Unfortunately, I and the protagonists changed the venue from the National Assembly building to Notre Dame Cathedral, which is an important location thematically and the story will end in that location anyway, so I might as well make it the location of the whole last act. Now, as currently envisioned, the cathedral was not supposed to be the gathering spot for the final act--that was the National Assembly building--so if I did decide to use the gunpowder, it would have to be moved in-story from its original location below the National Assembly to the sewers beneath the cathedral. And since it's been raining a ton in-story, the sewers and catacombs below the cathedral will be flooded, which means that it's not the best place for a bomb. Now, it could still work if I time everything right, but right now using gunpowder just seems too convoluted to be the work of an evil chessmaster and more like a saving throw. So I'm leaning away from it. The idea of using crossbowmen hiding in the balconies is also a decent idea--it requires less resources, after all--but the main problem is that the gathering in the cathedral is a gathering of the Royalty of the Magic Kingdom--kings, queens, princes and princesses are the only ones allowed, and there's too many of them to permit civilian spectators in the space even if they did allow it, which in this case they would not. The assassins would only be able to get in if they could disguise themselves as spectators, so that wouldn't work either. Setting the cathedral on fire, meanwhile, would tie the Swashbuckler's universe to the real world a bit more (Notre Dame did catch fire, after all), and would tie very thematically to the Hamlet Incident, an important backstory element that involved a fire in a crowded theatre and the ensuing stampede (one guess as to which Disney movie's characters are involved). It also has the benefit of requiring almost no infrastructure besides the Big Bad and a lighter, an item easily smuggled in by someone who's supposed to be there anyway. The fact that everyone will be locked inside means that I still get to have the race-against-time element that I originally wanted in the scene, except that instead of racing against a bomb detonation I would be racing to beat smoke and a crashing roof. And even after I save several characters I can still trap another inside for the final duel. I'm liking this solution so far...