#there is a running gag between me and myself to find every single ship that this song applies to let me rattle them off real quick
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mochii-derogatory · 1 year ago
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okay we all know that every mothermother song ever is the bane of all character playlists out there, but we need to recognize that there is one song that i find on almost every single ship playlist that is the complete opposite situation like it is so accurate and true every single time and that is The Night We Met by Lord Huron
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cywscross · 4 years ago
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I just finished reading your AiB x KnB work today and I love the interactions between Kuroko and Hanamiya. Thank you for your hard work! Little rant up ahead about these characters:
“Every single one of them proved themselves to be more messed up than the last; it's just that Kuroko apparently hid it a lot better than the rest.”
This line really stood out to me. Especially the last part. Kuroko might not be popular among the fandom but every time I analyze his character..you just realize how much he hides or brushes off what he’s been through. Although his running gag is being invisible...if you take a realistic look at it, being invisible like that is quite..painful? It doesn’t matter if he does have the best poker face in the world, I bet it does impact him in some way. Do you have any recs that analyzes his character and where he is not so easily ignored or he gets the help he needs? Been having a hard time finding good ones.
It’s been a couple weeks since I re-read “When Opposites Attract” but I gotta say, if I hadn’t read such a masterpiece, I wouldn’t have understood characters such as Kuroko and Hanamiya in depth. Especially Hanamiya coz I did dislike him before but then your writing always manages to make me see things from a different perspective (which is really refreshing) and omg I cannot believe you made me like Hanamiya..! Hanamiya of all people..I guess I’ve seen the light your honor haha.
Their dynamic is interesting. I kind of see it as Hanamiya being selfish and Kuroko is the selfless one? I always come back and re-read the scene where Kuroko is near the ocean while it’s raining and he’s on the phone with Hanamiya:
“You can’t keep running after people for the rest of your life,” He concludes with finality.  “In fact, it’s downright unhealthy.  You've got your own life to live, and you of all people should know that that’s hard enough as it is.”
I tend to be a very selfless person and re-reading this quote and basically the whole scene again makes me feel grounded in a way..it’s a good reminder I guess. And it’s crazy but you really do have a way with words. I’ve read almost all your works and I’m just..thankful an author like you exists? I discovered you through those Bleach fics (Sight, Swinging Pendulum and Hero, Martyr, Idiot) I read last year and I’m glad I stumbled upon them. You continue to write such masterpieces. I hope you realize that you’re so appreciated and loved!! I’ll stop ranting now (didn’t intend it to be this long whoops) but I meant every word! Thank you and have a wonderful day!
- M.C
!! This is the best kind of rant, I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed my fics! HanaKuro in particular I know is a very rare ship so not many people’s interested in it, but it’s my otp so what can I do but write them lmao.
Kuroko is def my favourite character precisely because he’s such a reserved person who hides what he feels most of the time and it’s a lot of fun exploring what his personality when you look beyond that surface innocent, determined, friendship is everything layer. Coupled with his lack of presence and the far-less-funny-than-canon-portrayed consequences of something like that, and there’s a lot I can play with when it comes to his character. He just has so much potential as someone with a darker/more damaged side, and I like throwing him in with Hanamiya because if anyone can draw it out or make him feel that he doesn’t have to hide part of who he is, it would be Hanamiya. Also I like how their playing styles could be considered similar, they both have to read the court really well when it comes to Kuroko’s passing and Hanamiya’s spider web, with good enough observational skills to keep track of both teammates and opponents, and hilariously enough, Hanamiya’s team probably comes the closest to ideal teamwork after Seirin because you need good teamwork for Hanamiya’s play style to function as well as it does. And I feel like Hanamiya and Kuroko would click really well together if they ever played on the same team. Imo their dynamic has just the right amount of similarities and contrasts to make it interesting.
I can’t say I really know any fic recs for this fandom, I actually haven’t read that many KnB fics in general, and none that really focuses on the negative impacts of Kuroko’s lack of presence (which is why I wrote it lmao, gotta feed myself if I want the food). You could try Of Unlikely Friendships, Sneaky Bets, Shogi and Sake by itsthechocopuff for HanaKuro + Kirisaki Daiichi more or less adopting Kuroko because Seirin and the GoM sort of unknowingly drop the ball there + Kuroko growing into himself as an individual. And you can always scroll through my KnB bookmarks here for something you might like.
Thanks again for reading and dropping by to let me know what you thought! I will hopefully get the next chapter of that AiBxKnB fic posted soon.
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kittyprincessofcats · 4 years ago
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She-Ra S5 E05 - Save the Cat
ARE YOU READY TO HEAR MY THOUGHTS ON THE BEST SHE-RA EPISODE EVER? SO AM I!
Sorry this took so long. I was pretty nervous to talk about this episode, to be honest, because I love it so much and was scared I’d forget something or wouldn’t do it justice. Don’t know if I still need to say this at this point (since it’s been so long), but there will be spoilers for the rest of the season in this post!
- First of all, and I’ve already talked about this in my review of Stranded, but I need to say it again: Just the premise that Adora is going back to save Catra from Horde Prime really makes their story come full circle: Back in the pilot, Adora left the Horde without Catra, and Catra has been accusing her of “leaving her behind” ever since. In Catra’s mind, Adora leaving the Horde meant that Adora didn’t care about her, and it’s been a huge source of grief and bitterness for her. And now, so many seasons later, even after Catra has hurt so many people, even after she’s asked Adora not to come for her, Adora is literally walking up to Horde Prime himself (way more dangerous than Hordak’s version of the Horde) and endangering her mission and the entire world because she doesn’t want to leave Catra behind again. Because Catra means that much to her. It’s such good storytelling! If Corridors was what started Catra’s redemption, then I think Save the Cat is what redeemed Adora in Catra’s eyes (or at least, what made her understand that Adora does care about her).
- I love how determined Adora looks in that beginning shot. That’s the look of a girl about to go save her gf!
- I thought it was a bit strange that the clones didn’t notice that Adora’s talking to the others on her way to Prime, but since Prime later reveals he knows her friends are there, they probably actually did notice and just didn’t say anything.
- I wish they’d kept that scene of Glimmer having a more elaborate flashback, but I get that they just didn’t have the time for it.
- I love how Entrapta just goes *heart eyes* at the many clones. And Bow asking if they’d believe they’re the inspectors 😂 - great way to bring back that gag.
- “You would never risk the safety of your Catra.” PRIME SHIPS IT. No, seriously though - Prime says he “sees all” (and we know he’s seen Catra’s thoughts) and he said “your” Catra. This, and some other lines in this episode, made me realize it would be canon. (Also, fun fact, because I watched some bits of this show in other languages for fun: As awful as the French dub is for changing that “Kyle had a crush on Rogelio” line to “Catra had a crush on Rogelio”, in this instant they did really well: In French, Prime goes a step further and says “your precious Catra” instead of just “your Catra”.)
- The way Prime touches his clones is so creepy.
- Entrapta asking Wrong Hordak (thinking he’s Hordak) if he recognizes her made me so emotional. I wasn’t even that into Entrapdak back in s2/s3, but the way their relationship was written in season 5 really made me ship it. It’s about the PINING, the LONGING, the TRAGEDY, the way his memories of her make him overcome two mindwipes... I’m here for it!
- I always wonder if it hurts Entrapta when someone grabs her by the hair. Since her hair is magical and all that.
- “We’re not keeping him.” “But we broke him! We’re responsible for him now.” Okay, I love Wrong Hordak. I love how Bow talks about ‘keeping’ him as if he was a pet. And I also like how Entrapta immediately realizes how useful having him around could be. Also, I love that they name him “Wrong Hordak” and seriously just keep calling him that. 😂
- “I don’t fight for the first ones. I fight for my home, for myself and for my friends.” I honestly really like that the show never showed us the first ones or Adora’s birth family. Not that it would necessarily be a bad thing, but I like the message that it doesn’t really matter where she came from - Etheria is her home and what she’s fighting for and that’s enough.
- “Of course, your Catra.” He said it again!
- “She hoped you would come for her, poor thing.” Oh, the angst is real, I love it! Just thinking about Catra (who’d told Adora to stay away) eventually getting so scared that she started to wish Adora would come for her after all... I love angsty stuff like this.
- Oh, that first look of Catra with the gelled back hair and green eyes is so properly creepy.
- When Wrong Hordak complained about the ship being designed “so that it may only be navigated by one who access to the hivemind” it reminded me of Entrapta’s castle that only she can navigate. I think some people have pointed out before that Entrapta and Horde Prime are foils to each other (especially when it comes to Hordak), so that’s a really nice parallel there.
- How did Glimmer manage to open that door when she’s running from the clones? I thought only the clones could open them? Is that a mistake, or is there some canon explanation?
- “What did you do to her?” Oh, I love it when Adora’s so worried about Catra. These two and how cute they are will be the death of me.
- Oh, Prime’s so creepy when he touches Catra... I love him as a villain, but I love to hate him, you know?
- “My place is with Horde Prime, Adora. I don’t want to leave.” Can we talk about the parallel between this line, and Catra insisting back in season 1 (in Promise, I think) that she doesn’t want to leave the Horde?
- “You broke my heart.” I mean, come on! That’s gay!
- Catra and Adora’s fight is so tragic because it’s the first time they’re fighting but both genuinely don’t want to hurt each other.
- “I’m not leaving without you.” Exactly what Catra wanted to hear from Adora back in The Sword Part 2 - You know what I said in the beginning of this post about their story coming full circle?
- “I don’t wanna hurt you!” “But you have already hurt me.” This is supreme lesbian drama, and it’s so good! (I’ve been waiting so long for a show to give a lesbian romance this kind of attention!)
- Adora’s terrified expression when Catra almost lets herself fall is so painful. And the way she hugs Catra afterwards... my heart.
- Catra and Horde Prime talking together is creepy in just the right way.
- “I always hated that guy in particular.” Hell yes, Glimmer!
- “She was afraid in the end. And she suffered. Perhaps I will make her my new vessel, though she would not last me long.” Oh, the angst hurts so good, I love it! (Why do I love seeing my faves suffer?) Also, this slicked back hairstyle on Catra looks kind of amazing.
- “Why did you come back? We both know I don’t matter.” “You matter to me.” 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Yes, tell her, Adora! Tell her you care! Don’t let her talk herself down like that!
- “Come on, Catra! You’ve never listened to anyone in your life. Are you really going to start now?” I love how this is what gets through to her. I could also just quote the entire dialogue from here because everything about it is pure perfection:
Catra: “You’re such an idiot.”
Adora: [smiling and crying] “Yeah. I know.”
Catra: [laughs]
Adora: “I’m going to take you home.”
Catra: “Promise?”
Adora: “I promise.”
Catra: “Adora...”
I mean, what do I even say to that? Catra affectionately calling Adora an idiot, the callback to Promise, how Adora doesn’t hesitate to say “I promise”, how Catra breaks free of Prime’s control... it’s all so perfect. 😭
- Adora just not hesitating to jump after Catra - that’s love, holy shit!
- God, Aimee’s voice acting when Adora cradles Catra... so good. (And that’s their childhood theme playing in the background.) Didn’t Aimee (or someone else?) say on Twitter that that was intentional since your most vulnerable moments make you feel like a child again, or something like that?
- Adora’s transformation into She-Ra gives me chills every single time. Best scene in the entire show, don’t @ me (or at least second best after the kiss). The way she cradles Catra’s lifeless body, Horde Prime’s taunting words, and then she opens those glowing eyes... amazing. And what makes it even better is that this is her first proper transformation after breaking the sword. We got a tease of it in Stranded, but this is when She-Ra really comes back, and it’s her love for Catra that enables her to transform. PERFECTION.
- “You miscalculated.” Yeah, you miscalculated how gay she is.
- Entrapta whistling Darla over like a dog is amazing. 😂
- Adora carrying Catra bridal style while that epic music plays... I’m living!
- Also, side-note: Adora’s new She-Ra look is SO MUCH BETTER than the old one! She also seems a lot stronger now - look at that fancy stuff she can do with the new sword! (I like the idea that the Sword of Protection was only holding her true power back.)
- That healing scene! Adora’s healed people before, but it’s never looked this gay. And Catra waking up and saying “Hey Adora” is just so fitting.
- That hug... I’m not crying, you’re crying. They’re finally together! And Catra’s clinging to Adora so tightly! 😭 Also, she’s purring! (When I first watched this ep with my sisters, one of them literally went “Finally!” at this moment - mood.)
- Hordak finding the LUVD-Crystal and saying Entrapta’s name also gives me chills. I also just realized that he thought Entrapta was dead until this moment - holy hell!
- One more thing I love about this episode is that their plan to save Catra actually worked. Because it’s a plan that seems so stupid and risky at first, and while you’re watching you kind of expect it to go completely wrong and expect Horde Prime to catch them... and then it seems like he does, only for Adora and her friends to turn things around and succeed. I love that.
- Another thing worth pointing out is the whole symbolism of Catra’s death and rebirth and how it marks the beginning of a new chapter in her life.
So yeah, this is the best She-Ra episode ever, I rest my case. Before I watched season 5, I expected it to be gay (I even estimated the chances of Catradora becoming canon at around 70%), but I didn’t expect it to be THIS gay. This episode went beyond my wildest dreams and expectations. Horde Prime saying “your Catra” twice, that whole “You broke my heart / Prime has set me free of that pain” talk, Adora being so scared for Catra during their fight and so determined to save her, the whole “I’m going to take you home / I promise” part, Adora jumping after Catra and cradling her in her arms, her love for Catra bringing back She-Ra, the bridal carry, the healing scene, the hug, and I could go on. Noelle said on twitter that there were two versions of this episode and the gay version is what we ended up getting - AND IT SHOWS.
This is when I knew for sure that Catradora was going to be canon. Before season 5, I gave it a chance of 70%. After those little hints in the first few episodes, I said 80%. But after Save the Cat, I was 100% sure. I basically already considered it canon after this. I kept wondering how it would happen, but the "if" wasn’t a question to me anymore - so I decided to just lean back and enjoy the ride through the rest of the season :)
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mysterioh · 5 years ago
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The Ignorant Beauty and The Beast of New York - Ch. 5
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PAIRING: MOB!STEVE ROGERS X READER
SYNOPSIS: Y/N is an exhausted bio major. Steve is danger with a capital DANGER. She thinks he’s a sarcastic prick with an impressive knowledge in art history. He thinks she’s cute even if she’s only running on one brain cell. All he wants is a single date, but she’s adamant upon denying.
Masterlist
What’s In A Name
I am boo-boo the fool.
Peter stalked down the crumbling sidewalk, cursing himself for actually agreeing to this.
Sure he was a weird guy and had a girlfriend who took it upon herself to make sure he knew that, but he wasn't this weird.
If this was what the mob was all about he was ready to bounce out. But once you're in, you're in and there's no way out.
Alright, Petey, you're fine. You got this in the bag, bro. You're gonna bump into her, make her drop her books, and casually start a conversation. Be smooth. Be cool.
"Who am I kidding I'm not cool," he whined to himself. He turns back to see the two goons looking at him with very stern looks. How unfitting for a pair of clowns, he thought.
His heart skips a beat when he sees the two friends turn and walk towards him.
Oh my God. Ok, it's happening. Everybody stay calm. EVERYBODY STAY FUCKING CALM.
His breathing is short and rapid with every step closer getting heavier. The two of you were right in his path and all he had to do was keep on chugging forward until you swerved to his left just a bit.
No, no, come back.  
"So I was checking the pH of my solution of aluminum dichromate until-" Quentin spoke as they walked.
Peter starts to panic as the two were about to walk by him. Before he could even think about what to do, his body turns automatically and slams into you.
"Yikes," Bucky grimaced at Peter from afar. "He's bad at this."
You fall back onto Quentin making him drop the folder in his hand along with your textbook.
"Watch it!" Quentin hissed. "Can't you see where you're going?"
"S-sorry," Peter's lip quivered. "I didn't see you guys, haha," he laughs nervously.
"Hey, it's no problem," you waved it off. "Ignore my friend he's a bit of a jerk at times." Quentin clicks his tongue but doesn't say anything.
"Still I'm really sorry," Peter replies, as you crouch down to gather the papers that spilled out of your book. "Here let me help," he follows suit.
"Don't you think you've helped enough?" Quentin asked, picking up some papers. You turned towards him with a harmful glare and he huffs.
"Sorry, I'm a total klutz," Peter apologizes, collecting as many papers as possible. He caught a name written in the left-hand corner of the paper and smiled wickedly.
"Like taking candy from a baby," he whispers with a chuckle.
"Sorry, did you say something?" You asked, already standing with Quentin.
"Oh no! I was just - uh sorry," he gets up and hands you the papers. "I just realized I've got to go," he turns on his heel towards the two clowns.
"Not this way, moron," Sam hissed while shaking his head while Bucky made a cutting motion across his throat with his hand.
"Haha, wrong way," Peter chuckles. "Silly me," he walks past them in the opposite direction. "See ya!"
You wave out of courtesy while Quentin raises a brow. "What's he talking about? When is he ever going to see us again?"
"He was just being polite," you sighed, walking by him. "Maybe you should take a page out of his book."
"I'm nice," he defended.
"Only when you want to be," you said, a chuckle coloring your words.
"But I'm always nice to you," he pokes the side of your arm.
"You're an idiot, Beck," you shake your head, fighting the light blush that was rising.
"Crap, she's coming this way," Bucky panicked.
"Just act natural," Sam advised. The two of them whistled against the car while the two walked by, catching a quick glance.
A few minutes later, Peter came back around the block, out of breath from running.
"Sheesh, kid, that was horrible," Bucky nagged.
"Can it, geezer, it's my first time," Peter sassed between breaths. "Did I pass, though?"
"What?" Sam asked.
"Did I pass the initiation?"
"Oh uh yeah," he replied. "So?"
"So what?" Peter stands straight.
"What's her name, you dingus?" Bucky questioned. "Don't tell us you did all that and got nothing out of it."
"Oh I've got a name," Peter smirked.
"Well, spit it out!"
He tells them your name and both of them raise a brow.
"You sure?" Sam asked incredulously.
"Hundred percent I saw it on her paper."
Bucky shrugs. "I mean if it's on paper."
"Still it seems wrong."
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"Her name's Quentin?" Steve asked, a bit of doubt in his voice.
"Am I speaking French?" Bucky retorted. "Yes, it is."
"Isn't that a guy's name?" He questioned with furrowed brows. "Like an old butler name?"
"Maybe her parents wanted to be different?" Sam suggested.
"I don't know," Steve shakes his head. "You sure you got the right girl?"
"We're absolutely positive," Bucky states. "Right, kid?" He asks Peter who was standing in the corner.
"Uh-huh!" Peter nodded. "It's definitely her, Sir! You can't forget a face like that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Steve questioned firmly.
"N-nothing!" Peter replied. This was probably the most he ever talked to the man and he didn't want to get on his bad side. "She's just pretty, is all."
A vein in Steve's head snaps at his statement.
Bucky rubs his face with a sigh while Sam whispered to the boy. "Bad move, kid."
"Yeah?" Steve's voice goes dangerously low as he shoots an icy glare in Peter's direction causing a shiver to run down the boy's spine. "Keep your eyes to yourself, Parker, or I'll yank 'em out myself."
"I have a girlfriend," Peter retorted and another one of Steve's veins snapped.
"You tryna say she's not good enough for you?" He barks, ready to flip over his desk as he stands. "She's not pretty enough?"
"No! That's not what I meant at all!" he tried to explain while hiding behind Sam. "I was just-"
"Take it back or I'm kicking your ass back to preschool!" Steve yells, ready to swing.
"Steve, calm down," Bucky said coming in between them. "He's just saying she's pretty and that she's all yours, okay?" He explains like a mother to a child.
Steve huffs, lips curled in a pout. He peers over Bucky's shoulder to look at the curly-haired brunette hiding behind Sam.
Peter quickly whips his head behind Sam to hide. Steve groans.
"I already know that," Steve affirmed. "I don't need some kid to tell me that."
"Mr. Sam, I'm scared," Peter whispered from behind.
"Just shut up, kid, you're just making it worse," Sam sighed.
"So her name's Quentin," Steve sighed, leaning against his desk. It doesn't settle well with him. But you were already a mystery to him so why not add that to the mix? He shakes his head in amusement.
"Don't like it?" Bucky asked.
"It's kinda weird, but then again so is she," he chuckles. "Ah my fair Quentin, there is no being as beautiful as thee."
Sam gags at him. "Stop this is gross. I'm out of here," he said in disgust before turning on his heel and leaving.
"Wait for me!" Peter shouts behind, quickly escaping his boss's murderous aura.
Steve remains indifferent towards Sam's reaction and even lets the kid go punishment free. And it's all because he's on a ship to La La Land where you're waiting for him with a kiss.
"Steve?" Bucky calls him. "Steve?" He waves a hand in front of him. No response. "Stevie!" He shouts.
"Yeah?" The blonde replied with a dazed expression and a dreamy look in his eye.
Bucky was observing him. He had been for a few days now. The daydreaming. The hushed giggles. The way he was acting right now. They were all symptoms of a little thing called falling in love and Bucky wasn't sure if it was good for him.
He agreed that Steve deserved love, but was this the right way to do it? It was all too dangerously fast.
He opens his mouth to speak, trying to find the right way to word it.
"You're not...you're not falling in love are you?" Bucky asked, warily.
A light blush creeps onto the blonde's cheeks and he's left gaping at his question. He chuckles awkwardly.
"No, Buck, I-I," he tries to say it but it doesn't come out the right way. A picture of you flashes through his mind. That damn girl.
"I'm not sure," he shakes his head then looks over to him with a small smile. "She just won't leave my head."
A/N: Well, they’re stupid...
TAGLIST
@ashwarren32​ @rootcrop​ @siriusement​ @savedbystark​ @little-dark-empress​ @great-goddess-of-sin​ @boxofteenageideas​ @kingbouji3 @imsonick​ @scuzmunkie​ @achishisha​ @calwitch​ @chuckennuggets1213​ 
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babyspiderling · 5 years ago
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Luke Skywalker x Reader angst
Alright Luke x Reader with… wait for it… Hanaki disease. Love sucks, but fanfiction is here to make it better. 
I can’t remember how it started, both the disease and when I realized I loved Luke Skywalker. I had grown used to the pain in my chest and the rawness in my throat far too quickly for my own liking. Leia had found out on Hoth. Flowers littered my room, and my choked gags rang out from the fresher. I remember fishing the last petals from the back of my throat as I heard her gasp. I remember the heavy weight of guilt as her eyes softened at the shape I was in. She held my hair back as I spit out leaves and petals, and watched me in silence as I brushed my teeth. “I’ve heard about this. It’s because of unrequited love, but there are options. We can find who you love and get them to love you back, or Luke can use the force to kill the plant in your lungs. But that will cause the memory of the person you love, and the ability to love someone to die as well. Whatever you decide, I’ll be here for you.” I nod and cry into her shoulder at the realization of my situation. 
It wasn’t long ‘till Chewie and Han found out as well. I was fixing up Luke’s x-wing late at night, when I could hack and cough up flower after flower without the fear of being seen. I had come to the conclusion that the closer I got to Luke, or anything that belonged to him, the worse I got, but no one else was open to fix his ship while he gained much needed rest. I bend over the cockpit, tossing away the petals that had slipped in, when I hear a dull roar and a deep voice responding. As Han and Chewie enter the hangar I panic, my rapid breathing bringing harder and more choked coughs, and bigger piles of petals. At the distressed noises coming from my chest, the two hurry over to “save” me. Chewie pulls me down from my perch, and Han takes in my red lips and watery eyes. I glance to the pile of petals the boys had disrupted, and he follows my gaze. Setting me down, his eyes soften and he clears his throat. “Kid, don’t tell me that’s what I think it is. Don’t tell me those are from you.” Real tears fall from my eyes as I shakily inhale, nodding. He carts his hand through his hair, and glances at his ship. “Chewie, can you finish Luke’s ship for Y/N? I’m gonna get her fixed up.” The wookie roars and lifts himself to continue my work as Han carries me to his ship. “I can walk by myself. I’ve only got flowers in my lungs. You don’t have to carry me.” Ignoring my protests, he plops me down on a bunk. Crossing his arms, he simply replies, “Who is it? Who’s the idiot I get to shoot? Who do you love?” I drop my shoulders and rasp out, “Luke.” This startles him, “But, he can’t… He’s a Jedi, he can’t…” I snap my gaze to the smuggler, crying out: “You don’t think I know that? Why do you think the flowers are here in the first place. It’s because I love him and he can’t love me back. And what’s worse is if I want to continue living, he’s got to be the one who takes away the flowers and his memory.” I wipe away my tears and slump against Han, exhausted from the constant coughing and throwing up. He shushes me and lays down beside me, lulling me to sleep. 
I run to breakfast, lagging behind due to the plants growing in my lungs. I grab my tray and breakfast and sit with Han and Chewie. Han had taken me under his wing not too long before meeting Luke and Ben Kenobi, acting as a big brother to me when I had no family. My lungs seize up, telling me that Luke was close by. It felt as if the flowers were crawling up my chest and through my throat, desperately trying to reach him. As he cleared his throat and sat down next to me, I swallowed down all the petals I could with the water I had received. After murmuring to Han and Chewie about pilot things, he turns to me. “Y/N, how’ve you been? I haven’t seen you around for a while. Not avoiding me, I hope.” He chuckles, teasing me. I do my best to laugh back, but it’s a slightly choked noise, one that alerts Han. He glances back and forth between the both of us, ready to jump in at any time. I shake my head, both at Han to step down and as a response to Luke. “No, not avoiding you. Just busy, that’s all.” We eat in comfortable silence. Jokes being trades, or stories being told, but not out of the need to fill the silence. I was distracted, doing my best to keep the petals from pushing forward, not really listening.
The next morning, I see Luke climb back into his ship. I hold my breath as I pray to the force that I got every last petal. A pink flower is picked up, inspected, and carelessly thrown out the cockpit with a shrug. My heart hits the ground as the petals slam down on the ice floor. His ship takes off and I find it easier to breathe, the flowers not fighting so hard to find their source. As I turn to head back to work, I see Han and Leia huddled together, glancing back to me every few seconds. I tilt my head to the floor and head back to my room to change. 
I grab my few things as we all escape the base and the Empire with it. I feel myself slowing down as I run out of air. Han, Chewie, and Leia come up behind me and without missing a beat, Han throws me over his shoulder and into the Falcon. I hack in the back bunk as the ship flies in evasive maneuvers, petals and flowers flying everywhere, but this time, the once white flowers are deeper shades of red, dyed by my blood. We reach an asteroid and we all sigh a breath of relief, until Leia shrieks at something slamming the glass. It isn’t long until we take off again, Han mentioning a “Lando Calrissian” and we set off for Cloud City. Leia and I talk on the flight, and I tell her about the petals changing colors. She nods, looking calm and collected, but her eyes show the danger I am in. 
We land and leave from the ship, as Han and Lando interact. As I peek out from behind Leia, I meet the strangers eye. “And who is this?” He takes my hand and kisses it, a blush dusting my cheeks. Han steps in front of me like an overprotective older brother. “This is Y/N, and she’s in need of your help.” He murmurs closer to Lando, “She has Hanahaki, and no one else can heal her. We had someone, but he won’t be back in time to save her. She needs medical treatment now.” Nodding, he struts forward, leading us somewhere. We reach the Med Bay, and Han and Leia exchange looks. Leia steps forward and asks if she can be with me while the flowers are removed. Lando nods, allowing both Leia and I into the room. I am knocked out, holding Leia’s hand, and I fall into blissful sleep. I wake up in a strange cell, Leia pounding on the door. “Leia, what’s going on? The last thing I remember was the surgery.” As I sit up, Stormtroopers enter and shove us through a second door. “Leia, Y/N?” Leia falls to her knees next to Han, brushing his hair back, and consoling him. He turns his gaze to me. “Y/N, did it work? Do you remember Luke?”As I knit my eyebrows in thought, Lando comes into the room. “Vader has agreed to turn Leia, Chewie and Y/N over to me.” Leia interjects, but is shut down. “He doesn’t want you at all! He’s after somebody called Skywalker.” Han simply mumbles “Luke” The name sounds familiar, but I’m not sure. Do I remember? I search my memories, yet find nothing attached to that name. “Who’s Luke?” I whisper.  Han grabs me and holds me close. “It worked! Oh thank kriff Lando held that end of the deal.” With that we are collected and marched down to a strange chamber. We are surrounded by troopers and Lord Vader. “Leia, what is Vader doing here? What is going on?” Hushing me, Leia holds me close. She hands me to Chewie to say her goodbye to Han. As they kiss, I feel a phantom feeling in my lungs. Han is frozen as Leia and I huddle together. There is talk of the “Skywalker” arriving, and that he too will be frozen. 
Lando leads us around his city, as Leia and I get a glimpse of a blonde man in tan clothing. She leans into me and whispers, “That is Skywalker, Luke Skywalker.” Blaster fire is heard throughout the corridor, and we are all dragged away. Leia screams through the doorway, “Luke! Luke, don’t it’s a trap! It’s a trap!” We are dragged off again, kicking and screaming. As we draw even closer to the imperial ship, Lando overpowers the troopers with some help from his staff. He makes an announcement to his people, and we hurry to the Falcon, fighting troopers all the way. We finally make it to the ship and take off for open space. 
Leia takes over the ship and says that we have to go back for “Luke Skywalker”. As we near the bottom of the city, we see a moving figure hanging off the structure. We have him drop in the ship, as I steer clear of the stranger. When we arrive at the hangar and Med Bay, Luke finally sees me. “Oh, Y/N, you’re here! You’re ok!” He grabs me and clutches at my clothes. Looking over my shoulder, I mouth to Leia for help. She gently pulls Luke away from me and explains what happened, including how he was apparently the one who caused the flowers to grow in my lungs. A single tear escapes his eye as he turns to me. He spares me one last glance and heads to his room. I feel an emptiness settle in my chest as he walks out, but Leia just holds me and says it’ll all be ok.
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burnedbyshoto · 5 years ago
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Oooooooooooof, I love this show so much just please people, talk about something other than the ships, that's so much of the fandom, like have your fun and all but omg there's more to this show then the two boys you wanna watch fuck (which seems so creepy lmao). Them people that claim to have evidence just please calm down, friends are a thing.
ahem. I am no longer drunk, and will now be answering to this.
to be honest, it sort of confused me when this came into my askbox when I was sober. I looked at this and was plain and simply thinking “I clearly ship myself with these characters, and my oc which I have yet to introduce to y’all”.
honestly, because of shipping wars i’m hesitant to reveal who I ship to you all, as I don’t want to have to defend myself. I don’t want to be forced to feel like the only way to get around some of the toxic fans if through a bloody fist fight:
 so, let’s talk about shipping culture within mainstream media and fandoms *disclaimer: none of the ships I have included in the following I will neither confirm nor deny if I ship. please do not ask me about my ships until I am ready to reveal such.*
I will agree with you, and also disagree with you. 
where I agree with you is about this entire toxic shipper trait that runs within many and nearly all fandoms. every single fandom I was apart of prior to bnha have all experience shipping wars. hell, I am a veteran on the naruto fandom war. I was heavily invested into the fandom circa months before and up until it ended. I was a major and hardcore naruhina shipper. please if you’re a narusasu, narusaku, kibahina, sasuhina, whatever, do not come to me expressing why my feelings towards them are wrong. simply I am sick and tired of shipping wars.
they are by far the worst things about shipping and fandoms. I took a class on ethics and morals, and one of the biggest get aways I took from it was this: never say that people are allowed to have their own opinion. thats how we get nazi’s. so lets view this in… a utilitarian viewpoint. say, for example, if I shipped bakudeku. they make me happy. the amazing content creators that stretch from drawers, writers, and filmmakers are amazing. they all make me happy. thats great! we love that! now my one friend who does not ship tododeku, but instead ships bakudeku. what should I do?
a. scoff, they’re wrong! TODODEKU OR BUST!!!!
b. smile awkwardly, nod your head, and ask “why?” full of judgment
c. literally gag as you shake your head. this friendship is so over.
d. pull out my 1000 slide powerpoint on all the damning evidence as to why tododeku is the best ship, and a 17205879268276048529 slide powerpoint as to why bakudeku is actually a super toxic ship, and how dare you like that ship? “do you support abusive relationships?” you ask, your upper lip curling at your best friend.
what is your choice? thats correct, the correct choice is option E. NONE OF THE FUCKING ABOVE. in which case is this making you happy? your friend has their own interpretation of the damn text, as do you clearly so do or else we would all be shipping the same thing. as long as it clearly does not interfere with deemed normal guidelines, why do you care so much? 
we can all agree we love these characters or else you wouldn’t be in these fandoms, and maybe youre one of those people who are only here for two characters interactions. but how in the damn world is shoving down someones feeling nice? there you are talking about love between two characters and shit over someone elses. what you should do is nod your head, respect what they damn ship, and go ahead and share your own ships! but you know what you should NEVER do???? bash another ship.
stop trying to find someone to fight. no I don’t care about who started it! just stop! there, especially on tumblr, many older fans. im sure we’ve all seen our fair share of ships wars, and its fantastic to be passionate about your ship, definitely don’t stop!!!! but if you’re constantly fighting others over it and bringing another ship to raise up your own…. just leave the fandom. I dont want to see you on the tags ever. i want to see art, writings, and theories, and fun things. I don’t want a 20 paragraph essay on why shigaraki and izuku will be married and why you’re a fucking idiot with a phat #antimomodeku in the tag. keep your ideas to yourself, stop looking for a reaction from rival ships. come on guys….. we know who is endgame for some of these bigger ships, don’t play dumb. but im not going to shame you. judge, or scoff when you continue passionately shipping your ship. go ahead!!! do it!!!! its FUN!!!!! the only ship im open about is momojirou which I know has like 2% chance of being canon, but you don’t see me slamming todomomo/kamijirou shippers.
believe what you want, but your evidence should stay within your own tag. don’t let it bled over. and for the love of god, tag properly and stop looking through ship tags you don’t like just to pick a fight.
where I disagree with you:
people are going to always ship things. we’re human and automatically force social relations between things. it’s a weird psychological thing that many, not all, but many of us have. it’s especially prominent when the main cast is not evenly mixed in terms of representation. this is why male x male ships are so prominent. it’s because the only female main character is uraraka. no one else really is a main character. I love my girl momo, yall know that, but shes not a main character just because she had a mental breakdown during final exams and is super rich smart and pretty. it’s just us being gay. she’s not as important of a character and it annoys me. 
I think people talk about their ships because it makes them happy, and if it’s something that truly annoys you i say you have to keep scrolling, or maybe move to something like reddit, the fandom there is strictly business, no shipping on the general tag. tumblr is a content place and works with tagging, so things involving ships is prominent because this site makes is…. easier…. not really, but easier. so you’ll come across ships because everyone uses the #bnha and #mha tag on their things! on reddit is very much more controlled.
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bi-dazai · 6 years ago
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Could you talk more abt double black’s romance coding if you don’t mind?
it’s just kind of a fun thing!! but anyway the fact is that there’s a lot of double entendre in all of their interactions, history, etc, to the point that as an author myself and also with the knowledge of particularly how the real life dazai osamu deconstructed heterosexual relationships…the character dazai’s relationship with the character chuuya also having such a…homoerotic edge in their dynamic, particularly in the way every fucking scene, line of dialogue, and visual imagery theyre portrayed in is very, VERY easy to pull a romantic double meaning out of…it’s just that to me as an author and by the way skk is written…like thats exactly how i would write a complex broken romantic relationship. 
the way i always put it is try to imagine if one of them was a girl - particularly chuuya, because chuuya absolutely fills in the “jilted lover” to the “cool anime husbando” stereotype. there would be absolutely no doubt that the two have canon sexual tension if one of them was a girl. like it would be known and talked about p openly that, yeah, they used to date/there is a romantic/sexual aspect to their partnership, if one of them was a girl! 
-
to me also there are two types of ships - ships that are just fun dynamics and pairings (shinsou/kaminari, atsushi/akuutagawa, mori/the firey pits of hell where paedophilies burn); and ships that have plenty of canon romantic potential, double entendre, and/or romantic dynamic that i could actually see happening in canon (think kirishima/bakugou, korra/asami, lance/keith from voltron before s7). dazai and chuuya absolutely fall very easily into that second category. to me, dazai/chuuya is more than just “oh wouldnt it be cute if they dated”, it’s more “every time these two characters interact every single thing they say and do is a double entendre”. 
-
the scene where they first interact is literally one of the most sexually tense things in anime ive seen in ages. the way they talk about each other and worry about each other in the double black episode is much more complex and heartfelt than the way kunikida and dazai are written to talk about/to and worry about each other. kunikida and dazai have been shown to be friends and also put trust in one another, yet still hate each other. but kunikida and dazai don’t interact with the sexual tension and romantic double entendre that dazai and chuuya have. for me as an author, that would be a perfect comparative technique to highlight dazai and chuuya’s nature as something more than just a running joke of  “every partner dazai has hates him”. in fact, if that even were a running joke you would know, because bsd loves to play up running jokes. but both of dazai’s partners hating him isnt meant as a joke, it’s meant as a point. literally dazai and kunikida and dazai and chuuya could have had a much more similar dynamic, with minimal differences but not so many/so dramatic in order to create a strong, bsd-style running gag and also a platonic dynamic between them. but by having kunikida hate dazai it literally stands as a comparative point against how chuuya hates him - because chuuya doesnt hate dazai in the same way kunikida does.
kunikida’s frustration with dazai is definitely more of a gag on the comparison between kunikida’s and dazai’s work ethic and personalities. chuuya’s frustration is constantly played down with the numerous times chuuya actually seeks out dazai’s affection AND is concerned for his wellbeing:
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like idk if u know abt the whole sheep backstory with chuuya…but it would be perfectly reasonable to write chuuya as absolutely despising dazai. chuuya’s forced partnership with dazai is a representation of everything the port mafia did to him and his friends with sheep. yet chuuya is written as seeking out dazai’s positive attention and checking he’s okay? and this scene isnt about the port mafia and the agency - it’s about chuuya and dazai. oh, and again, some more comparison - akutagawa seeks out dazai’s positive attention, but it’s pointedly different from the way chuuya seeks it out. with chuuya it seems more about a comment on the complexity of how he feels not about dazai (as akutagawa does) but how he feels towards dazai (if you get what i mean??). akutagawa’s need for dazai to validate him is a primary motivator in the plot and in his character. compared to this, plus comparing the way kunikida and dazai interact in battle, slipping in the way chuuya and dazai express concern for each other when they interact in battle is….interesting. the warmest port mafia executive to dazai other than chuuya is kouyou, and that’s only because she is entrusting him with her surrogate daughter’s life - another primary plot point. compared to all this, it seems…somewhat domestic and pointless to have these little moments. 
-
my final main argument for canon skk underlying romance coding is some of the visual “double entendre”. while dazai and chuuya havent exactly ever said or done anything explicitly romantic (such as kiss, admit explicit romantic feelings for each other, etc), a lot of the visual coding and the dialogue (particularly in the anime) is…pretty easy to interpret as romantic and sexual. i mean:
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(dont mind the subtitles for this first one, what matters is the imagery)
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(double entendre - how often do you use this in fiction outside of lovers quiffs?)
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(like it isnt every day you see two anime dudes between each others legs lol)
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(double entendre in this line) (also dazai doesn’t “reunite” with any other port mafioso. except maybe akutagawa, who has a dynamic just as complex but much less…”angry lover” dynamic and reunion with dazai. oh yeah. another comparison.)
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like im just putting this entire scene from dead apple because it was so heavily visually romantically and sexually double entendre…like again. if one of them was a girl. dead apple is…a lot.
(also sorry for shitty quality on some of the images)
anyway some of this i know sounds like a reach but it’s honestly me just theorising from my own perspective as an author! this show is v complex and well-written, and so far there havent rly been any bits that are just…on accident?? everything is very purposeful. and a lot of the ways that kafka asagiri writes dazai and chuuya’s dynamic, dialogue, interactions, etc, are very much real writing techniques that i would use to write in a romantic pairing, especially a same-sex romantic pairing that i might not be able to be too explicit about and have to find ways to get around that. like im obvsly not saying that this is all canon and real and ive found a way into asagiri’s head, but ive just…noticed a lot of things and i think they arent rly…discussed too much in the bsd fandom?? which is disappointing cos soukoku is a rly well written and complex relationship and pairing that needs more meta!
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ghxst-princee · 7 years ago
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Yes [Part One]
~•~
- Ship: Markhyuck (Mark X Donghyuck/Haechan)
- Date written: April 6, 2018
- Word count: 2978
- Part Two
~•~
High school was never a place for long term relationships, it was never a place for real love or feelings to blossom, it wasn't a place for anything other than success and the attempts at having fun while doing so. High school wasn't Hell like many movies and storybooks made it out to be, but it surely wasn't Heaven. However, that doesn't mean there couldn't be one person in such a place that makes it feel like Heaven, makes it feel w o r t h it.
     For Mark, this person came in the form of a devious, red haired male by the name of Donghyuck.
         It came in vile words that strung out in sarcastic insults, pranks, anything to anger or get under someone's skin. More specifically, Mark's skin.
He was a year younger than Mark, grade 10 and for some reason, this was the first year he'd seen him, noticed him. This was the first year High School felt a little bit like Heaven.
They were first introduced after Mark's friend, Jaehyun met him in music. Jaehyun wouldn't stop complaining over how "unfair it is that someone two years younger can hit high notes better than me!" and that was enough to catch Mark's interest.
     Jaehyun was a good, no, an amazing vocalist so someone better, someone y o u n g e r had been unheard of.
          Until now.
When Jaehyun finally introduced the pair, Donghyuck named himself royalty and commanded Mark to get on his knees and kiss his feet. More specifically his worn down white converse that looked like they had trudged to the end of the world and back about five different times.
    Long story short, Mark didn't do it and had quickly become irritated with the younger male.
         Thus leading to Donghyuck becoming irritated.
              By the time the two had practically stomped away from each other in a (dramatic) fit of annoyance with the mere fact that the other was still breathing the same air, Jaehyun had been more than hopelessly confused.
They both agreed that they would never meet again. Never talk again, look at each other, even b r e a t h e near one another.
    But then a fall evening full of cars and rowdy laughter outside a drive in movie happened, and Mark and Donghyuck were in the same premise again.
         It wouldn't have been so bad (good) if they had just stayed with who they came with, Mark with his friends and Donghyuck with his, expect that Taeyong had spotted the group of younger kids across the lot and just h a d to squish one of their cheeks (the victim of such actions ended up being Jisung).
So they were stuck, car beside truck, open trunk beside backside, group beside group, Mark beside Donghyuck.
   �� "I'm sorry for the way our meeting went last time."
          "Whatever."
               "Should we try again?"
                     "No."
                         They didn't talk again aside for a "Goodbye" passed through the tense air when the two groups went their separate ways.
The third time they met was at school again, fourth period lunch to be specific. This meeting was again, coincidental, as if fate wasn't planning on giving up until they became friends, best friends...maybe even lovers.
     The third time was when Donghyuck had strolled, ever so casually, into the cafeteria that he wasn't supposed to be in (considering he had c l a s s right now-!) and slammed down a work sheet beside Taeil's food.
          "I don't understand."
             "Go ask your teacher, get to
             class!"
                  "I don't like my class."
                      "You can't just skip!"
                          "Just help me and I'll go back-!"
                               Taeil refused.
                                  But Mark didn't.
It was math, something Mark had never been overly strong in but he did pass it last year, so he must know at least something of worth and with the amazed expression Donghyuck looked at him with, he figured he at least knew more than Donghyuck did. That was really all that mattered, wasn't it?
They had finished it pretty quickly, Mark finding some pride in himself with the way he had managed to explain each question in terms that could actually make sense and not just be a bunch of jumbled up mathematical terms, Donghyuck seemed to appreciate it as well.
     Yeah, maybe Mark might have appreciated, no, e n j o y e d some other things as well; like the way Donghyuck had gradually moved himself closer to Mark until their thighs were just gently brushing. Or the way Donghyuck's golden hues seemed more focused on the brunette next to him than they were on the piece of paper he was supposed to be looking over.
          Yeah, maybe Mark enjoyed those moments too.
The third meeting seemed to end on better terms, with a simple "Thank you" and "I'll be sure to come to you again if I have other questions" before the red head had scurried off in the direction towards the class he was surely about to receive a detention for skipping out on mid-way.
     Surprisingly, it was there that they met for the fourth time.
"Goody two shoes Mark, in detention? I'm shocked."
     This time it was Mark who had rolled his eyes, he had successfully managed to forget half of his binders in his room after waking up late that morning, spilled coffee all over himself on the bus ride, and then tripped walking through the door. His day had not been the best to start with and arriving to his first class only to be greeted by a detention slip and the cackling laughter of his best friend Lucas beside him, really had shoved his mood off the happy track it was usually sent on.
          Unfortunately it seemed that Donghyuck didn't catch this, nor did it seem that he cared about the detention teacher's warning glares being shot his way every time he opened his mouth.
"What'd you do to get locked in here?"
   "Are you ignoring me? You're not supposed to ignore friends, Mark-hyung."
       "Oh, so I'm just a passing breeze to you then? I see how it is."
           "I don't need you anyways, I can entertain myself."
               "We're not even friends."
                   "Did you beat someone up? Ooh an evil Mark-hyung, I'd pay to see that. Wait! No! I could record it and post it on YouTube, then I'd be paid to see it."
                          "M a r k"
Until finally, "That's Hyung to you."
     Donghyuck at least groaned and threw his head back over the top of his chair in an act of over dramatic annoyance. It had remained relatively silent between the pair, much to Mark's liking, until about ten minutes to their release. That's when Donghyuck must have decided writing curse woods onto the wood of his desk with the lead of a pencil he found on the floor, must have become boring.
"Are you upset over something? I know it's not in my place to ask because we aren't...friends, or whatever, and I really don't care anyways but you just seem off? I know that sounds stupid but you're just...like, not Mark enough."
     "Not Mark enough?"
         "Yeah, not as smiley or obviously annoyed with me, not as cheerful, I guess."
           "I'm fine, Donghyuck...thanks, though."
              "Yeah, yeah, it's...it's whatever."
Things seemed to shift after that, it wasn't by much and it wouldn't be that obvious to other people but Mark noticed and maybe it had his heart fluttering, just maybe.
     Whenever the pair would pass by each other in the hallway, the smaller redhead would shoot Mark a little thumbs up, a fist in the air with words 'fighting!' mouthed in silence, sometimes it would even just be a simple smile (occasionally he'd add in a wink and Mark could feel himself falling apart at the seams) but whatever it was, Mark found himself treasuring it.
This brings out their next meeting, at volleyball practice out of everything it could have been. Donghyuck was definitely the last person Mark expected to see at a sport, ever. Nothing against him, of course, but after becoming decent friends with Donghyuck's best friend, Jeno, Mark had managed to learn a few things about the younger male, the first being he d e s p i s e d sports.
     So what was he doing at volleyball?
          It was a question Mark would like to know the answer to. However, approaching him and just asking like that would be rather rude, so maybe, he'd just wait.
                 Maybe he didn't have to.
"First detention, now volleyball, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
     "I could say the same about you, you don't seem like the type to like sports."
           "There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Mark Lee. Don't go judging a book by it's cover."
It had only taken a few moments until Donghyuck had begun to fake gag at the sound of his own words reaching his ears, mutters of "cliché", "disgusting", and "why did I say that?" leaving between the forced coughs.
     Yeah, okay, maybe Mark had laughed at that.
But it seemed that wasn't the end of Donghyuck's twisted humour making Mark break down into laughter, because the rest of the practice, that's all Mark seemed to do.
     At least, almost all he seemed to do, but there was one point where he found his attention getting drawn elsewhere. Getting drawn to something he'd never noticed about Donghyuck before but quickly fell in love with.
It was during their time running laps, Donghyuck lightly jogging in front of Mark, only glancing back at his friendly companion when he had reached a single digit out to point at the group of females across the field.
     "Hey, Mark, look, cheerleaders-! They're beautiful aren't they?"
          Except Mark didn't care about some grouping of girls, some cheerleaders because he was too focused on a pair of thighs. Muscular thighs that were covered in the most beautiful honey-kissed tan and a light dusting of freckles. Donghyuck's thighs.
                "Yeah...beautiful."
~ Part two
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writedreamlie · 7 years ago
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@zsaszmatazz tagged me to do the “six movies I can watch any time” meme (LIKE 10 YEARS AGO I’M SORRY) so here goes!
1. Road to El Dorado
Don’t tell me you can’t also watch this whenever. It’s lolzy, it’s feelsy, and it’s the source of one of my three OT3s. If Miguel/Tulio wasn’t allowed to be canon, I’m making Miguel/Chel/Tulio my headcanon dammit. Fight me.
The story is a fantastic adventure every time. The music is amazing, the animation is GORGEOUS. The jokes are funny no matter how many times I hear them. “Stars.” “Holy ship.” “Apparently ‘El Dorado’ is native for GREAT... BIG... ROCK.” 
And don’t get me started on the armadillo. Is that thing a spirit guide? A god? Probably. I’m for it.
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2. Chicken Run
I consider this one a guilty pleasure. Again, always a funny, fun adventure. Just serious enough to balance out the lolz. And Ginger is one hell of a snarky character. I love that she’s simultaneously mom friend and rebel friend.
Also, it’s that claymation Wallace and Gromit animation, which is just... nifty! I always find myself watching certain characters move, checking out different textures, especially with Babs and her knitting. Just... excellent.
Also, also this:
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3. Stardust
What can I say about this movie? Well...
I was based on a book written by my favorite author, Neil Gaiman, is a fantastic adventure that addresses the line between magic and non-magic worlds and includes such fun things as evil witches, falling in love, warring princes, falling stars, unicorns, ghosts, and sky pirates in drag (which Neil said he’s pretty sure he didn’t write, but it’s such a good scene you guys).
I am always happy by the end of it. The growing-up story is so good. And Tristan kind of bumbles through it like I totally believe I would were I thrown into a story like that. It’s just... such a satisfyingly complete and fun story, and I love it every single time.
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4. Megamind
Shut the hell your mouth this is the best villain-to-hero story I know. I am always so proud of Megamind. Like, real talk, how often does our favorite adorable villain get the girl? How often do we get to see the bumbling bad guy actually get a cool-ass happy ending? And the emotional journey he goes on gets just serious enough without killing the funny vibe the whole movie carries.
The writing is tropey, but in a way that totally plays on those tropes while making fun of them. Trope-ception is my favorite trope. And I love, love, LOVE the design choices. This movie is so colorful, and the proportions are so over the top. It’s just a visual salad. 
And, as always, the jokes are good no matter what. I don’t think I’ll ever get over, “And I love you, random citizen!” This movie is such a fun time, please go watch it.
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5. Strange Magic
Have you heard of this movie? Well, now you have. Please go watch it. 
Much like Megamind, Strange Magic got pushed to the back burner by more popular movies coming out at the same time. And that’s just a shame, because it’s just so good.
It’s a jukebox musical with reenactments of all sorts of songs, all of which are brilliant (half the time because Evan Rachel Wood My Queen is singing them, but also Alan Cumming, and sometimes they sing together and I die). The story is predictable, but the characters are what make it for me. They’re fun enough that even though I saw the end coming a mile away, it was nothing but enjoyable watching them get there.
This fandom is also dear to my heart. It’s full of some of the sweetest people with some of the most interesting fan fiction that I’ve ever read. When I think good writing, I think @abutterflyobsession who has made me cry on more than one occasion, and @jaegereska whose lore and OCs add so much to the world beyond the movie. 
Major draws: good music, lovely animation, self-confidence story, princess with a sword, SWEET SWEET VENGEANCE, and did I mention singing by Evan Rachel Wood, Alan Cumming, and Kristin Chenoweth? Bruh.
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6. Labyrinth
My favorite movie for now and always. Set it at the bottom for full effect. Get ready.
First off, music by David Bowie that is fuckin’ catchy as heck. If you don’t want to at least tap your foot along to ‘Dance Magic Dance’ you’re lying. ‘As the World Falls Down’ was the first song I remember wanting to know the lyrics to. 
Side note: If you didn’t think the Fireys were creepy as fuck, you’re also lying.
There has never been so much glitter in one place ever. The visual gags are always funny. Like, there are Bowie faces I still can’t find to this day hidden in the scenery??? The muppets are all adorable because Brian Froud is amazing, and I want a pet goblin. Everything is just so much fun to look at. Don’t even get me started on the ridiculous fantasy fulfillment that is the ballroom scene. I just. 
The jokes are always funny because they run on a dry sense of humor like mine. “Well, come on feet.” One I missed for years. “No, that’s the dead end, behind you!” Ha, hubris. “It’s a piece of cake!” Shut up, Sarah...
But you also can’t not love the characters? Like, come on, who doesn’t wanna hug Ludo just a little. And Didymus, the fox knight that rides a fuckin’ tiny dog into battle?? And Hoggle who collects jewelry and pretends to be bitter as hell but cares so much??? Heck off, they’re all awesome.
Fave movie. Always. 
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Honorable Mention: Big Fish
Added this one because I can watch this any time, but it always makes me cry, so I usually save it for when I need a good cry. (Srsly, @may10baby can vouch, I once tried to explain the end to her and started sobbing in the car).
It’s just such a cool story. We get to see the life of the father as told through his own hyperbolic stories, which include a star-studded cast playing funny scenes in between serious family time. And the end... christ, it’s just such a satisfying ending. Such a good play on storytelling and what it can mean to people. Which, as a writer, means a lot to me.
Also, it’s the only Tim Burton movie I’ve seen that doesn’t look like... that. You know. How Burton movies look. Helena Bonham Carter plays like 3 different people, and none of them are Mrs. Lovett. That’s a feat, honestly.
I’ve said this about a few of these, but please watch this movie.
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Ummm I guess I’m gonna send this along to the people I already tagged, @abutterflyobsession @jaegereska @may10baby and also @fandomizedwonderland @thetrendywitch @pkmndaisuki for shits and giggles.
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poeticsandaliens · 7 years ago
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A Pirate’s Life For Me Ch. 5
Note: I promise I’ll get to the fun battle part in the next chapter, but I needed my dark, grisly back-story interlude. 
When they arrived at Tortuga, Stella ferried her in the rowboat until she could reach the dock. It was a far from ideal—the long-cursed pirate could not go ashore, and her living guest needed to replenish food and fresh water.
“You can find the markets next to the pub,” Stella explained. “It’s been a decade since I last saw that pub. I don’t remember it’s name, but you’ll know as soon as you spot it.”
Scully climbed onto the dock. When she turned around, Stella and the rowboat had disappeared, leaving only a spatter of bubbles at the ocean surface. In the distance, the Flying Dutchman decorated a fading horizon, its sails glowing silver in the moonlight. Ship of curses, ship of ghosts, ship of dreams.
By contrast, Tortuga was decidedly not Scully’s favorite port in the Caribbean. The docks smelled of dead fish and rotten salt, the streets of livestock and rum. It held all the grit of piracy with none of the intrigue, belonging to drunks and thieves washed up by unfavorable tides.
She stalked through the shadows of Tortuga wearing Stella's blouse and trousers. In Stella’s clothing, carrying Stella’s sword beside her pistol, she felt braver than she had in Los Barriles, and she couldn’t discern whether it was her garb or her weeks at sea that bolstered her confidence. When a stranger eyed her up, she stared coldly back at him—robbers couldn’t give her a fright if she frightened them first.
A troop of English soldiers hustled toward her, dragging a thick-bearded man in cuffs and a gag. Scully ducked into the nearest doorway. She’d hardly been familiar with every soldier in the Caribbean, she was a Navy man’s daughter. She had attended the balls, waved her father farewell on the docks and run to greet him as he disembarked his ship. She could hardly risk being recognized, different as she appeared from when she’d left Port Washington. They'd undoubtedly drag her home in disgrace, leave her jobless on the docks of Port Washington, without Mulder, without her pistol, and without the Flying Dutchman.
The soldiers passed, and Scully breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the door. A man walked through the entryway, his hat striking the wooden sign above her head. It swung precariously, and Scully read the words “Davy Jones’s Locker” in misaligned script, the paint worn and chipped. She smirked and glanced inside. A young, russet haired woman handed pints of questionable beer out to ragged men. She looked worn, weathered, overworked, and tough enough to bear her burdens well. Scully scanned the tavern. It was rowdier than the Blue Baron, a feat Scully assumed would be hard to achieve. She looked again at the sign—this had to be pub Stella mentioned. The market would be only a few steps up the road.
As she turned to leave, a woman’s voice called, “Oi!” from inside the pub. Scully turned around. The barwoman stood facing her, hands on her hips. She wore practical trousers like Scully and a pistol strapped across her chest. Picking a fight had not been a part of the plan, and this woman seemed a more formidable opponent than most. Lifting her hands in the air, Scully backed toward the door.
“You, with the sword!” Scully met her eyes. “Yes, you! Come back here!”
Hesitantly, Scully weaved her way between tables, feeling every patron’s eyes on her back. When she reached the bar, she lifted her chin and asked as confidently as she could, “Yes?”
The woman crossed her arms impatiently. “I know that sword,” she said in a roughened Irish accent. "You steal it?”
“It was given to me.”
“Oh, really?” The barwoman raised her eyebrows. “That’s not a gift given lightly.”
“I’m a passenger aboard a smugglers’ vessel.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. “We encountered trouble, and I needed to defend myself.”
The woman didn’t look convinced. “Smugglers?” she challenged. “That sword belongs to the one and only Captain Stella Gibson, and her father before that. So I’ll ask you again—did you steal it?”
The woman knew of Stella. Odd—she hadn’t imagined that anyone knew of Stella, outside a couple of old wives’ tales. From her encounter with Burns, she’d gleaned that Stella had been force to be reckoned with long before she became captain of the Dutchman. But to Scully, she was more a legend than a tangible woman. She carried herself with a dangerous confidence and a swaggering step; she sailed to the tune of a funereal organ and danced like a ghost floating inches off the ground. She had never imagined Stella as a baby, a stubborn child, a young pirate woman like the barmaid standing before her.
That this woman so quickly came to Stella unconditional defense came as a surprise to Scully, given Stella's last meeting with an old acquaintance. She felt thoughtless. She sat down on a stool and rested her elbows on the bar, the young woman’s glare still boring into her.
“I didn’t steal the sword. Stella lent it to me for protection while I’m in her charge.” She hoped her words came as a promise.
To her dismay, the barmaid glare only sharpened. “You’re stubborn. Let me explain—" she snapped, "I don’t believe you because Stella Gibson died ten years ago, and today you turn up wearing her sword.” The woman looked her up and down once more. “And her clothes.”
She died? She ought not to pry, but the woman had piqued her curiosity. “How did she die, if I may ask?”
The woman pursed her lips. “By the hand of Philip Pagett. How else? Now I’ll ask you again—how did you come by that sword?”
“And I shall tell you, Miss—”
“Ferrington,” the barmaid snapped.
“Miss Ferrington. I swear by my father’s grave Stella lent me this sword.” Scully had a sneaking suspicion Miss Ferrington knew more of Stella’s whereabouts than she let on, if she recognized the blade strapped to her waist. She leaned in dramatically. “Have you ever heard the story of Davy Jones? Captain of the Flying Dutchman, neither living nor dead, bound to the sea but for a single day every ten years. She spent that day in a Los Barriles inn, and by chance, I found myself searching that very inn for a proper pirate." She paused, trying unsuccessfully to read Ferrington's features. "I've been aboard the Dutchman ever since,” Scully finished matter-of-factly.
Then Ferrington breathed an audible sigh of relief. “You’re no bloodthirsty seeker of riches. I always feared one day a man would come in with Stella’s sword and hat and boast of finding Davy Jones’s heart.” Her eyes saddened as she told Scully, “I might not recognize Stella now, nor Stella me. But it was never unlike her to take in a woman unhappy with her station. What be your name?”
She straightened her father’s pistol over her hip. “Scully,” she said. Only Scully.
“And just how does a woman such as yourself wind up scouring Los Barriles in search of a pirate?”
Scully crossed her arms. “If I’m to regale you with stories, I’ll need a pint.” The foul taste of Tortuga rum would keep her alert, if nothing else. For a woman her size, she held her liquor well.
“It’s Captain Ferrington, if you please,” she said hotly, passing Scully a pint of rum.
“Captain? How does a captain find herself serving spirits in a Tortuga tavern?”
Ferrington shrugged. “Bartender died in a scrum with some rogue fellows. We chased the bunch back to sea, but someone had to keep the rum flowing.”
Scully gagged at the first burning sip of run. “Horrid,” she choked. “I’ll make my tale brief. My friend has been taken hostage aboard the Claudius. When the officers in Port Washington refused to pursue his captors, I took matters into my own hands and scoured Los Barriles for a captain whom I could hire to rescue him. I found no one who would let a woman accompany them until Stella offered her services. You see, we share a foe. The Claudius’s captain has forcefully employed my friend's navigation skills to find Stella’s heart.”
Ferrington's eyes darkened. Bottle clutched tightly to her chest, she thumped weakly against the wall. “Spector’s back."
“You’ve heard of Spector?”
“Aye,” said Ferrington grimly. “We were docked in a thick fog outside London. It was the last night I saw Stella alive, but it'd been a fortnight since she'd left us when Spector boarded our ship, raped and murdered a woman seeking refuge with us. He caught us all unawares; by the time I knew what’d happened he was back on the Claudius. I thought he’d get away, and then—” A heavy pause— “The Flying Dutchman appeared, and at its helm stood none other than Stella Gibson herself." Ferrington shivered; her eyes had drifted far away. "I remember how different she looked, then. She’d always been stern and tough, but she had sharpened out. At the helm of that ship, she looked as if the sea had seeped into her bones, chiseling her out like a cliff face.”
Scully imagined a younger Stella, without her bandanna, her feathered hat and swaying coattails; a Stella who danced to a fiddle instead of an organ. In her mind, Stella had always been grave and beautiful, but the Stella Scully knew had a strapping, rugged maturity despite (or perhaps due to) her immortality. She tried to picture Stella instead with a scabbed, red wound across her chest, who tied the first bandanna and looked in the mirror and wondered how the sea had aged her immortal face in only a few weeks. This was Ferrington's Stella, who had just barely settled into Davy Jones when she shattered the white crests of London Sound.
“She challenged him to a duel, said she would dispense justice on behalf of the dead girl and fought him recklessly. He stabbed her, but of course he could not take her life. We all stared dumbly at her—the we'd had no idea of her curse—as she stood before Spector in the very shirt you’re wearing, and we saw the sword sticking out her back like a cooking spit. She could have shot him, you know, but she believed in duels of justice by the pirate code. She bound him and named him prisoner in my charge, but as soon as the Dutchman sank back to its watery depths, he wriggled free and fled to the Claudius." She gritted her teeth, clearly blaming herself for Spector's escape.
“He swore revenge upon Stella for sticking him though; she swore revenge upon him for taking that poor woman’s life aboard her ship.” Ferrington raised her mug in Scully’s direction. “The ocean's only got room for one of them. Pray it’s Stella.”
“Her ship?” Scully took a gulp from her pint, drowning the rowdy voices around them. Stella was an incredibly private person, and she shared more fairy tales than truths as to her past. Nearly all Scully knew of her had come from Jim Burns.
“Aye. She was my captain aboard the Ophelia. A bedraggled bunch we were too, and now the Ophelia’s mine. Say, Scully,” Dani said hopefully, “What say you to bringing me crew some peace of mind? We’ve not heard from Stella Gibson in ten years, but for old sailors hobbling into Tortuga claiming they spotted the Dutchman.”
Scully nodded hesitantly—did she want to meet Stella’s old crew? Did she want them to know her name? Reservations aside, she was curious who her companion had traveled with in the past, who she had been before she had all the time in the world. That was the truest test of character, after all—how one used what little time they possessed.
Ferrington put two fingers in her mouth and whistled so loud the quarreling trio in the back of the bar fell silent as the grave. “Tom, join me at the bar!” she called sharply, and a curly-haired man wearing a grey vest and and dagger atop his shirt raised his head from a center table.
“Aye, Captain!” he called, picking up a pint and picking his way between crooked tables with a wicked smile . He sat down beside Scully and ran his hand over the uneven stubble on his cheeks. “What’s the news on repairs? We be ready to leave port by the month’s end?”
“Perhaps,” said Ferrington, “but that’s not the matter. Scully, meet my first mate Tom Anderson.”
He tipped an invisible hat in her direction. “Pleasure.” His eye were charming; his wry grin could mislead a trusting soul, were it anything but utterly genuine. Scully liked him, thus far. He glanced at the sword on her belt, and his eyebrows shot up. “Could’ve sword I saw that blade before.”
“Scully is sailing with Stella Gibson.”
“Good god!” he shouted gaily, “You’ve seen Captain Gibson! We haven’t heard from her in ten odd years.”
“Her first day ashore was only a few weeks past,” said Ferrington. “Ten years at sea, one day on land.”
“It has been ten years, hasn't it? God Dani, I remember the night she left us like it was only yesterday.” He turned to Scully. “You’ve been traveling in the Flying Dutchman, then?”
Scully nodded.
“What a ship!” he exclaimed, thumping his empty pint on the table. He lowered his voice, as if passing a secret. “How is she, after all this time?”
“I hardly know her,” Scully admitted.
“She’s very private,” said Dani, leaning against the bar. “She’s ashamed of no secrets, but keeping to herself was always Stella’s way of staying master of her fate. Perhaps more so now that her fate is decided.”
Scully couldn’t help but ask what she had wondered since John Jack put three bullets in Stella’s chest. “How did it happen?”
“You mean how’d she become captain of the Dutchman,” stated Dani matter-of-factly.
“She doesn’t strike me as a woman who’d seek out curses. She hardly strikes me as a woman who would believe in one, if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.”
“It’s not a happy tale,” Tom Anderson warned her. “And if she hasn’t told you, she doesn’t intend for you to hear.”
Scully lifted her chin. The night she’d met Stella, she had stared into those pale blue eyes and wondered what Stella had done to earn such a curse. Part of her still wanted nothing to do with that Stella’s old mates had to say. But her will had strengthened, or perhaps curiosity had gotten the best of her—it always did; she shared an insatiable curiosity with Mulder, despite their innumerable differences, and it had saved them often enough that she knew not to fight it.
Mulder. There was the anxious itch again, lingering in the back of her mind. Some nights she felt as though she had all the time in the world to find him; other nights she laid awake in her cabin, begging the ship to sail faster lest he die before she reach him. Tonight she had little choice—the food and ale of Tortuga beckoned, and a strong headwind had kept the Dutchman nearly at a standstill for hours before it made port. Tonight she had time for pirates’ tales.
“Better to hear it from her shipmate than her enemy,” Scully said with a decisive nod.
“Very well,” replied Dani, sliding two pints of rum down the bar for a band of weary newcomers.
Tom relaxed in his chair. “I met Stella when she was first mate aboard the Beatrice. She worked us hard, but she worked herself harder. I admit I was a little taken with her when I first joined the crew,” he chuckled to himself, “but she had my instant respect and after some time at sea, by deepest loyalties. She’s got that power the best captains have, to make you want to stick with her.”
The Beatrice. Stella must have been Jim Burns’s first mate.
“It’s how she carries herself,” Dani interjected. “In a single moment, she seems both like she has no feelings and like she bears all the love and hurt in the world.”
“We were attacked by the Ophelia—another ship of buccaneers—and by Stella and Burns’s planning won the battle with almost no damage to either ship. Captain Burns offered her the Ophelia as reward for her service—I think he hoped she might sail it by the Beatrice’s side—and those of us who wanted Stella Gibson as our captain left with her during the night. By dawn, the Beatrice was behind our horizon.”
Dani finished the last of her drink. “I joined the crew while Stella was docked in Port Royale. I was awaiting the noose on charges of sodomy and impiety.” She smirked. “And singing treasonous shanties while under arrest.”
Anderson snorted into his cup.
“It’s a crime to love a woman by the laws of England, but not in the Pirate’s code,” Dani said with a grimace. “I'll neither marry nor live in peace, but a pirate’s life serves me well. We may be plunderers, but we fight for ourselves and take our booty as payment for our trouble. We’re all miscreants here; what’s one more law?” The look in her eyes dared Scully to condemn her. By her Catholic upbringing, a younger Scully might have done just that, but she’d changed a lot, working with Mulder. She had unlocked her power to question. Sunset after sunset, they had stood on the cliff banks overlooking the bay and watched ships come and go and wondered as to the sailors’ fates. Her God had changed from a court justice—the God of her youth—to a maelstrom that gave and took at random. Once, she had belonged to her faith; now her faith belonged to her. She opposed looting England's bounty, of course, but she'd never been sentenced to hanging either.
She met Captain Ferrington���s eyes evenly, and the young woman calmed. Ferrington was used to these moment of uncertainty, waiting to see whether her supposed comrade would turn on her in the name of the law and the Church. She faced the moment with a stoicism not unlike Stella Gibson’s, and Scully wondered how many similar moments Stella had faced.
“I was only hours from hanging when a woman in a guard’s uniform sprung me from prison and offered me a place on her ship. Said she’d almost been hanged for the same crimes in England and that’s what made her a pirate. She talked about it like it was the best thing that ever happened to her.
“Can’t say exactly how long I spent on the Ophelia before we returned to London. One day, the Flying Dutchman broke the waves beside us, and we thought we were all doomed to Davy Jones’s locker, but Captain Padgett—” Dani shivered as she spoke the cursed name—” demanded parlay. Then he sank back below the waves, and we could all breathe again; then the next morning, Stella said we were sailing to London.”
Tom broke in. “Stella’s father owed a debt to Philip Padgett. He’d been a shipwreck while a Navy Commodore, just before Stella was born. In order that his life be spared so he could meet his daughter, he would take Padgett’s place as captain of the Dutchman. Inevitably, the day came when Padgett could no longer live with his curse. He gave Stella the knife with which he cut out his heart, to bring to her father in London so he could fulfill his end of the deal.
“We docked near Canterbury to avoid capture. Stella returned after a week, bearing the knife and chest, and locked herself in her cabin. The next morning, we found her at the prow of the ship, wearing her hat and her coat.”
“She named me Captain,” said Dani, her voice shaking. “Told us goodbye and marched off the ship, planting her feet firmly in the sand and asking me to raise the anchor and sail away as soon as I could.”
“She had Padgett’s chest next to her and the knife around her neck,” Tom added.
Dani chewed her bottom lip and wrapped her arms around her chest. “Her face was ghastly white; her eyes were exhausted; her coat was buttoned up the neck. Confused and hurt and proud all at once, I watched her from the wheel, and then good God, it hit me. She’d taken her father’s place. She’d waited for Davy Jones to arrive and taken the chest and curse for herself. Padgett wouldn’t care whether father or daughter paid the debt, long as he was free to die.
Dani clung to the counter rail until her knuckles turned white. “That’s why she'd locked herself away all night. Lord, we all thought she'd been grieving, but she did it while we were sleeping so we didn’t have to know. So we couldn’t see her in pain."
Couldn’t see her put that knife in her chest, Scully realized. Couldn’t see her heart beating blood in her hand.
"I didn’t tell my crew, figuring if she wanted us to know she would have told us herself.”
Anderson cut her off, his eyes on the tabletop. “I knew.”
Dani’s head whipped around. “You did?”
“I’m a light sleeper. I woke to someone singing Hoist the Colours after midnight.”
Dani nodded. “I heard it too. Thought it was a sleepless mate.”
“I couldn’t help my curiosity. I followed the noise to her cabin; it sounded throaty and haunted. It hurt to listen to. I picked the lock and opened the door a little, just to see what the hell was going on.” He gritted his teeth. “She was on the cabin floor, sitting against her desk. And she had that damned knife planted in her chest. She didn’t see me; her eyes were closed. And she was fucking singing to keep any other sound from escaping.” He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his fingers into his temples. “Stella was our captain, and we were awed by her. And It’s so odd ,” Tom continued, “but I thought in that moment—if Stella ever had a child, she would refuse to give birth until the midwife left the room. Not from embarrassment, but pride and self-reliance.” A harsh laugh crawled up his throat, and Scully shivered. Had she been in Anderson’s place, ten years ago, she might have vomited on the deck.
Captain Ferrington choked on her rum. “This was her burden,” she snapped. “And her right to do it in privacy.”
“I wasn’t about to burst in on her privacy; I ran right back to my cabin before I could toss up my dinner to run to her, though I never fell back asleep, her first mate insisted. "Now I understand why she’d want no witnesses to such an act, but were it me, I’d want someone holding my hand steady.”
Scully's mind whirred—what would she have done in Stella’s position? Her father drowned long ago, but had he bargained with the Sea Devil, would she have brought his curse upon herself? Would she have sat alone in her cabin, desperately seeking the courage to place her heart in that box? And would she have done so alone, or sought her mother’s comfort? No, she could never subject her mother to such a sight. She would lie in Mulder’s firm arms, or perhaps with Stella Gibson’s cold, steady hand gripping her own and keeping her terrified fingers from dropping the knife. Why would Stella be beside her, Scully asked herself.
“Stella could remain calm under threat of death,” she said aloud. “I think another person’s horror would only exacerbate her own.”
“Is she so different now?” Dani inquired. "I’d ask to see her, if only she could come ashore.”
Scully answered, “perhaps more weathered than last you saw her, perhaps more scarred. At any rate, she now leaves her battle scars fully visible and equipped with grand stories. She’s witty, low-throated, accustomed to herself and her curse. We dance to the Dutchman’s organ during squalls, for time passes slowly in rough waters.”
Tom and Dani were silent. Scully glanced between them uncomfortably, as the tavern's white noise suddenly separated into a hundred odd sounds, filling the space her drinking companions left empty.
At last, Dani opened her mouth. “I hope you find her heart in time, before Spector gets to her. And of course, I hope you find your friend.”
“I’m pleased to have met you both,” Scully replied. “You've been kind hosts in a less than kind port. And you certainly satisfied my curiosity.” A gunshot echoed from the back of the room. Scully stood up and ran her hand reassuringly over the hilt of her sword—Stella Gibson’s father’s sword. “That’s my cue to leave. The Dutchman has yet to grant me Stella’s invincibility, and I cannot die in the middle of a journey.”
“Don’t drown,” Anderson warned her casually, “or you’ll join the Dutchman’s band of voiceless ghosts. You’re wiser and more reckless than you let on, sailing with only Stella Gibson. Remember there’s only two of you against the Claudius’s crew.”
As the familiar ring of blades echoed from the bar fight, Scully hurried toward the door before she could repeat the incident with John Jack. “Best of luck to you both!” she called out, hoping they heard. It was a brief farewell to a long conversation, yet it seemed appropriate. There was nothing more they could bear to speak or hear.
Scully filled several satchels with fresh fruit and cuts of meat, hurrying from seller to seller as the moon rose overhead. She felt a sense of urgency she hadn’t at the tavern, despite the fact that high winds likely would keep the Dutchman anchored and out of sight until morning. After speaking to Stella’s old crew, she desperately wanted to see Davy Jones again, be re-introduced to the woman she’d grown accustomed to. Yet she worried her hands as she walked, her mind haunted by the image of a younger, warmer Stella staring at Philip Padgett’s knife and knowing what she must do.
Making friends from strangers, there was always a moment when she began to see their lives in their faces, and she had never feared that moment as much as she did striding down the grimy alleys of Tortuga to meet Stella Gibson.
The beach was bathed in moonlight, shimmering crystals of sand scattered across its surface. Pale dunes rose to her left, swaying like dancers in the wind. Scully took off her boots and carried them with her satchel, stumbling barefoot toward the water and relishing the feeling of cold sand against her feet. The Dutchman lay hidden on the other side of a small, shrub-covered isthmus Scully could barely make out in the dark. An orange light flickered at sea, faint and tired, and she traced the outline of a rowboat perhaps half a kilometer from her. It broke the waves quicker than any mortal boat could. Scully waded into the low tide waters to meet it, her wet clothes quickly clinging to her thighs, as if afraid they might float off and drown.
Stella jumped from the boat and met her in waist deep water. She looked like a mer-creature, ghostly and half submerged. The pale scar on her chest gleamed, the lines on her face exacerbated in darkness, and her blue eyes were oddly welcoming. Scully found her positively stunning, in the strapping, elegant fashion of pirates she had only met in bedtime stories.
Scully tossed her satchels of goods onto the rowboat and climbed in without a word. She never knew how to greet Stella—she wasn’t the type of woman Scully felt comfortable greeting in typical fashion, or in fact felt comfortable greeting at all. Stella’s gestures spoke volumes, and she offered Scully a friendly half-smile as she helped her into the boat.
She touched the hilt of Stella’s father’s sword. It was more ornate than the typical Navy-issue rapier, and she presumed it had been gifted to him upon his promotion to Commodore. Her own father had carried his sword everywhere, practiced on every empty street and taught her to duel every morning. Now the sea had his sword, and she had Commodore Gibson’s. She relaxed, dropping her hand into the black waves. The ocean always paid its debts.
“Did you find everything?” Stella sat across from her in the boat. She tapped the starboard side and pointed casually toward the Dutchman, and the rowboat changed direction.
Scully nodded, watching Stella wring the salt water out of her hair. A little black crab crept up Stella’s arm, and she merely arched one eyebrow and rested comfortably against the rocking wood.
Stella’s shipmates had cautioned her of the sea’s vastness and unpredictability, its immense power Scully knew only too well. She shifted as a wave pushed the boat into her back, and her sword flashed in the moonlight. If she died on this journey, the sea would not be what killed her. She was its welcome guest.
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attract-mode-collective · 8 years ago
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Dat Genesis Aesthetic
Welcome to the next level of the Attract Mode blog! As explained last time, every Monday or Tuesday (or Wednesday) I’ll be sharing all the wacky game culture goodness that crossed my path the previous week (mixed with bits and pieces that I’ve long wanted to share, but haven’t, cuz I didn’t think it worked as a stand alone post or some other reason).
And kicking things off is Studio SUPER’s “Lives & Times”, in which they created eight different animated scenes, all running in tandem on a CRT monitor (i actually discovered this in a post in a CRT enthusiasts group I belong to on Facebook, which is a private, so I’ll say no more), and all of which screams dat Genesis aesthetic. Each of the ten monitors displays a letter, spelling out “Lives & Time”; the above are actually animated gifs, but due to Tumblr’s technical constraints, they’re simply still images, hence why I’m not going to bother to share the individual monitors (so please check out the source to see everything in action).
But yeah, it once again warms this old school fan of Sega’s 16-bitter that the kids today are embracing the look and feel of the platform, whereas those used to be punching bags, primarily among Super Nintendo devotees. Though, to be honest, the above actually reminds me of 32X’s aesthetic; the other night was my yearly attempt at giving Knuckles Chaotix another shot, and dear God does it ever look like someone attempt at making a game based upon found internet art and vaporwave album art that’s all been inspired by the Genesis, which means I absolutely adore AV, but dear God is it unplayable or what.
Back to the Genesis/Mega Drive real quick; here’s your new desktop wallpaper, courtesy of @SEGAotaku; you’re welcome…
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With the new way of doing things around here, bits of randomness that had been the basis of semi-regular gags will be folded into the new weekly format. Like the Please Enjoy entries. So, please enjoy this wonderful mash-up of Sonic and Totoro, with a dash of the Iron Maiden font… on a t-shirt (courtesy of twosatans)…
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It’s that time again, in which I really wish I had a PC. And GDC has barely gotten under way! By the end, I’ll no doubt see some new game that I’m dying to play, but cannot, unless it gets ported to the PS4. Though in this instance, I’m talking about DESCENT, which Prosthetic Knowledge describes as “Part music video, part demoscene production, part art history remix”. At least I can enjoy this video in the meanwhile…
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Sorry, can’t say I agree with this statement. As for my choice for top FF, you’ll have to see what I wrote on the wall of the men’s room at Grassroots Tavern (located on the sound side of St. Mark’s between 2nd and 3rd Ave) in person….
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Yet another “feature” of this blog, one that was only recently proposed, are semi-arbitrary comparisons. And they too will be part of the package every week, starting with; which do you prefer, this old photo of a young boy, proudly showing off his newly unwrapped Galaxian tabletop arcade cab, courtesy of ausretrogamer…
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Or this somewhat more recent pic of young girl, one who is to ecstatic to have gotten a Game Boy Advance SP, courtesy of 2000ish…
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Classic Gaming Quarterly just posted another Let’s Read, its in-depth, page at a time analysis of a classic gaming mag. In this instance, it’s Electronic Gaming Monthly #6 from early 1990…
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Among the more interesting questions asked and observations made…
- Yeah, what exactly was the deal behind Fester’s Quest? Why in the heck was there an Addams Family game in the year 1989 (and not 1990 as stated in the video) for the NES? Then again, the same could be asked of Midnight Mutants, which was based upon the Munsters for the Atari 7800 in 1990. Is there a connection between the two?
- Not only did I have no idea that there was an arcade board based upon the PC Engine, I also never made the assumption myself that the SuperGrafx was perhaps originally destined for the US, given that the name of the PC Engine follow-up is more closely tied to the name of the US version, the TurboGrafx!
- Though I do recall people not being all that impressed with Super Mario World’s visuals upon release, as well as how the original Game Boy was considered a disappointment for a long while there. In fact, in EGM’s end of the year assessment for gaming hardware, for many years there, the GB was constantly scoring super low numbers.
One can never understate how important Pokemon’s arrival was for the platform in the US, which is actually 21 years ago today BTW/FYI!
Speaking of Game Boys, yet again, I really wanna play Kimutaku vs Predator; according to obscurevideogames, Takuya Kimura is from the J-pop boy band SMAP, but I bet most of you knew that already…
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And back to the subject of video games rags; which cover featuring a shmup do you prefer, the one with Xevious…
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Or Radiant Silvergun? BTW, both were found over at the shmups Tumblr, naturally…
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Remember my round up of classic video game music on vinyl? Well here’s a clip that I wanted to include but couldn’t cuz I hit the limit of YouTube embeds in a single Tumblr post, plus it’s of a re-release on CD; it’s the third disc of a trilogy box set, of classic Namco tunes, and perhaps the best of the bunch (since I realize straight up Xevious audio ain’t for everyone)…
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Sticking with the subject of music, Kotaku actually posted a real oldie but goodie, and since it was on a Sunday, there’s a good chance many may have missed it, so…
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And back to shmups, as well as something else that one of the major outlets recently posted that’s definitely worth a look for anyone who may have missed it, is The Verge pointing out a rather intriguing part of a Fast Company write-up on Atari head honcho Nolan Bushnell’s early 80s high-tech incubator. Which is how the triangle in virtually every GPS system out there is actually the ship from Asteroids!
Which do you prefer, this old pic of Mexican wrestlers from Lucha Underground playing Mortal Kombat X on the PS4….
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Or this recently release image of the WWE’s John Cena playing... I dunno actually... on the Nintendo Switch….
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Speaking of the Switch, my aforementioned personal fave angry video game nerd recently shared his thoughts on Nintendo’s forthcoming hybrid home console/handheld. The title pretty much says it all: “NINTENDO SWITCH CAN SUCK IT!!!” is pretty much all you need to know. Still worth watching though! As is his recent follow up…
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Said it before, and I’ll say it again; I don’t have to agree with BitHead1000 to find him hilarious.
As you may have heard, a Dreamcast signed by Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst was recently up for grabs on eBay. The original auction ended without a winner, which means everyone out there still has a chance to be one! One of six; I want to know the circumstances that led to Durst signing a Dreamcast, let alone several. Though I have to wonder if the seller will actually go through them all, let alone the first…
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This animated gif by mazeon really makes me wish that there was a video game based upon The Black Hole. Actually, it’s ripe for a LucasArts/Double Fine-esque adventure! What do you fellow fans of the movie think? All six of you…
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And finally, one last comparison; which do you all prefer; this Virtual Girl, who I found via posthumanwanderings…
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Or this Virtual Boy wearing and Mountain Graphics’s STAR SOLDIUS shirt, which you can nab in the Super Attractive Club shop, along other things…
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Don’t forget: Attract Mode is now on Medium! There you can subscribe to keep up to date, as well as enjoy some “best of” content you might have missed the first time around, plus be spared of the technical issues that’s starting to overtake Tumblr.
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theartofsimpleomens · 7 years ago
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No Shoes in Space 1.0
Another weekend, another almighty bender. I stumbled down the street carrying my far-too-high heels in one hand and clutching my coat and bag in the other. The world was swimming in front of my eyes and I felt a wave of sickness that caused me to stop and dry heave, my elbows on my knees. Oh god I was never doing this again, I know I said the same thing last week but this time I really meant it.
A group of young lads shouted at me from across the road and I waved them off with my shoes. No time for banter, not when the chip butty was threatening to make itself known a second time. Why did I choose to wear this stupid little skirt? The waist was some corset thing and it was cutting into my soft, squishy stomach and edging the slurry of alcohol and grease to reappear.
With a deep breath I straightened up and pushed onward, thinking of my soft bed and a morning of absolutely bloody nothing. I just had to cut through the park and I would be home, I would be warm and I could strip all of this shit off and collapse into blissful slumber. Oh god, sleeping shouldn’t sound as good as sex but this certainly did.
The park was pitch black, there used to be lights that ran around the edge of the field but they broke years ago and the council never saw fit to replace them so I only had the moonlight to guide me. Not that I needed that, I had done this trek a hundred times before and I could do it with my eyes closed. To be honest I was basically doing just that seeing as the clouds were thick and heavy overhead, blotting out any natural lighting. That was, until the sky opened with such blinding light that the sheer volume of it made me stumble.
And then the light was gone, and everything went black.
I woke up and I was cold and I hurt all over. It felt like I had taken a kicking in every soft part of my body and then left in a freezer for hours. I forced my eyes to open and was assaulted by a wall of light that reminded me that I had been drinking heavily for six hours last night and now had a hangover so pronounced that I didn’t get a chance to try and stop my stomach from releasing its contents. I did at least have a mind to turn my head as hot bile pooled around me and, keeping my eyes firmly closed, I began to try to twist myself into a kneeling position. Once the gagging was done I wiped my mouth and risked opening one eye a little, waiting for the blur of sleep to pass and the world to become crisp around me. I was kneeling on a once shiny, now vomit covered, floor, surrounded by four glowing walls.
Once both eyes were open I could have a proper look around. Pushing the ball of my hand to my forehead to try and keep the pulsing of my brain in check I turned slowly, surveying everything around me. There honestly wasn’t much to look at. I seemed to be in a box, a glowing, metal box. I felt my heart beginning to beat a little faster now as the scope of what was happening really started to hit home.
Did someone kidnap me?
Is this some kind of Saw-like scenario where I would be forced to find a way out?
Why is everything glowing?
Why is this happening to me?!
I forced myself to calm down, which was hard as every gulp of air tasted like vomit and threatened to make round two begin. Ok, so, what do we know? We know that they took my shoes, coat and bag but they were cheap shit from Peacocks and my phone was an ancient Nokia so they probably weren’t thieves… at least, not good thieves. We know that everything hurts but I am a hundred percent sure no one did anything intrusive to me as the pain is kept to my arms, legs and ribs. Oh, and my head, but that is all my fault not theirs. We know that I am in a box that seems to be glowing and is made of… a metal. Oh god I have no idea what is going on, who am I kidding?!
I stumbled to my feet and slammed my hand on a glowing wall in frustration. It dented. stumbling backwards from shock I looked between my fist and the wall, one was broken and surprisingly it wasn’t my hand. I pulled myself back up and punched again. The wall felt like the thick tinfoil you get your chicken korma in when you order an Indian and every punch made it bend further and further out. I was thankful for my long fingernails as I began digging into the ice cold walls and found that with a bit of pushing I could get some purchase and began to tear through. A blast of cold air greeted me as I opened a hole to freedom and it turn my skin to goose flesh. I must be on a ship, or a plane, I thought numbly to myself, England is cold but it isn’t this cold.
With a final push I split myself through the box fully and fell down half a foot to the ground, slamming my knees hard into the cold metal. I let out a surprised yelp and then pushed my hands to my mouth like I might be able to force the sound back in. Grunting in pain I rose to my shivering legs and saw dozens more glowing boxes surrounding me. This was all so surreal, why the hell did anyone make boxes that glowed? And why were they so thin? Well this was all stuff I could find out later, when I was warm and washed and hopefully home. Oh god I hoped I could get home.
The good thing about not having shoes was that my stockinged feet padded quietly through the hallway of boxes even as my knees complained about the punishment they had endured. I came to the end of the box emporium and found a good ten metres between the safety of my boxes and a set of much darker walls further on. My breath was fogging the air and I had to grit my teeth to stop them from clacking together and I knew I couldn’t stay here, couldn’t just wait to see if an easy answer presented itself. I ran.
Before I even got halfway sirens began to blare and I instantly knew I had fucked up. There was no going back now so I picked up speed and found that when I wanted to slow down, as I approached the wall, I couldn’t. My feet slid and I flew directly into the metal barrier, only there wasn’t a barrier for long. It peeled away even easier than the glowing box had and I crashed through to the other side, crumpled into a heap surrounded by debris.
The air was warmer here, noticeably so, but was also filled with what sounded like panicked voices in a language I couldn’t understand. I looked up sharply and found I was surrounded by monsters. Each of them was easily twice as tall as me and three times as wide. Their skin looked like one of those sea slugs you see in the aquarium, all glossy and soft looking and had flashing lights that pulsated up and down them with alarming speed. I squeaked out a small scream and stumbled back, crushing more metal under my body as I tried to get away from the creatures who seemed to be trying to do the same, but in the other direction.
One of them pointed an arm at me, I noticed that it had four, two big two small, and the others continued to make their garbled replies, their body flashing and pulsating so brightly it was reinforcing my headache. I stood up and raised my hands defensively, eyeing the things up. They didn’t look hostile, I couldn’t tell you what emotion they were portraying but the way they flinched back and shouted at each other with voices and colours made me think that they were trying to choose one of them to do something about the girl who just fell through their wall.
This was as good a time as any. I ran forward and they all screeched, pushing their soft bodies away from me and they parted like I had some kind of force field that ended a meter away from me. The door out of the room didn’t open fast enough and I ended up destroying half of it as I barreled through and into a long wide corridor. The alarms were still ringing out and they seemed to be even louder in here. I pushed my hands to my ears and continued running. I didn’t know where I was going but damnit if I was going to be surrounded by monsters again.
I barely had time to finish that thought when that scenario was thrust on me once again. This time there had to be over fifty of the things, all different sizes, shapes and colours, filling up a massive hall. Apparently my body thought the last squeak of surprise was so good it needed me to do it again and every last one of the terrifying creatures turned to look at me. There was a long moment where the only sound was the siren and then all hell broke loose.
Everyone moved like I had fired a gun and they all wanted to be clear of me, all pushing and shoving each other and squawking in their various different languages. That was, until a single voice echoed out from the opposite end of the hall and everyone turned to face it.
The crowd of monsters parted much like how the sea-slugs had done for me and I could quickly see why. A creature walked through the ranks, every inch of it covered in muscles and chitin, moving with the kind of assurance that you get from being the biggest, baddest bastard in the group. That was enough for me, I would try the next hallway or maybe go back with the other monsters, they were much less threatening. As I turned the doors slammed together, inches from my nose and I saw through the glass that there were two more that closed directly behind it. Ah, even if it was thin it would take me a few seconds to move enough of it out of the way to squeeze my fat arse through. I hazard a glance behind me and wished I hadn’t, the big buggy bastard was only a few steps away from me and closing quickly. God this was shitty.
I scrambled to get away but once again my feet slid and all I ended up doing was comically running in place until a massive hand closed around my head and I fell. The hand did not stop the falling, in fact I was torn so quickly out of the giant’s hand that I felt fingers snap and by the time my knees once again hit the floor, it was screaming and clutching at the appendage. I looked up in time to see a foot racing to meet my head and I could do nothing but close my eyes and hope this didn’t kill me. As the foot hit me my teeth snapped together and my head was thrown back but I heard more snapping of what I guessed was bones or chitin and the creature fell heavily to the ground. Its falling signalled everyone to once again panic, including myself.
Had they sent the glass-man to fight me?! My head was swimming from the kick but I managed to pull myself together enough to see everyone filing out through a small door to the right while different creatures, this time in what I guessed was hazmat suits and strange water-gun looking objects, came in from the left. I picked myself back up but before I could take a step forward I was sprayed with a foul smelling liquid from one of the hazmat guys. I wiped it from my face and spat it out of my mouth before looking accusingly at the thing that did that to me and it, in turn, looked down at the nozzle where the gunk had come from. Instead of walking towards them I decided my best bet was the door where I had come from and I began to tear at it. This was not appreciated though and gained me another showering with the goop. It smelled like old beer and dish-water and had the consistency of shampoo and each of these bastards with the goop-guns were doing their best of cover me head to toe in the stuff. I soon found out why as my head began to swim and my body felt like it was moving through treacle. As the last one emptied its gun on me I fell straight through the door and once again blacked out.
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zydrateacademy · 8 years ago
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Review - Mass Effect: Andromeda
It occurred to me while thinking/drafting/writing some of this out that I have a lot of complaints mixed in with everything I say here so let me be clear: I like the game. I’m a fan of the series as a whole and my experience with the trilogy may paint over this review with the brush of bias. This game can be boiled down to “just more Mass Effect” and for a certain amount of fans, that’s all we need. I have some fairly strong feelings about how the internet has treated ME:A under a sort of double standard. An Elder Scrolls game gets released with a hundred bugs and graphical hiccups, nobody cares and just makes memes out of it. ME:A comes out and everyone loses their minds about how a triple A studio should have been “more prepared” and they had “five whole years”. Alongside various other logical leaps. Bioware is already taking steps to mitigate the wonky animations and frankly, that's enough for me. I'll be happy to see the patch later on. Yes, you could argue that it should have been done already but shit happens and making games is probably really difficult. I'm not really going to be part of the consumer dictation on what they do or don't do because I'm not in the industry, don't understand how it works and neither do most of us. Moving on. We’ll start with the story. The game begins six hundred years after the events of Mass Effect 3. We play as one of the Ryder siblings, put under cryosleep for those last centuries as a variety of “Arks” were prepared for the Reaper invasion and were sent off into Oblivion for the longevity of various species. The “Initiative” was never mentioned in the trilogy despite its rather insane implications but the Asari Councillor did have a sort of throwaway line in ME3 that could have alluded to this. Not all is golden, however. Right after you wake up you run into something called the Scourge, a silly name for some space magic that destroys some systems and puts your not-used sibling into a coma. (Yep, they’re still in the game. Clever!) After some literal firefighting you meet up with the Nexus, which is effectively the Citadel from the previous trilogy, except mostly under construction. You get sent to Eos in hopes to create a proper colony, but in order to do that you have to discover the secret to some “remnant” technology that is present across the universe as some sort of terraforming project.
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This begins to tie into one of my main complaints of the game as a whole; The writing here is some of the weakest in the series. Once again, our entire existence relies on technology we know nothing about and are constantly fighting what is essentially the maintenance workers of the whole thing. They’re basically the stand-in for the Prothean race (At least the third game went and gave us one to talk to). Just another mystery to solve, and I don’t like it. Too many questions; What if one of these “Vaults” breaks down? Why are they even called “vaults?” They don’t store anything. They’re basically maintenance facilities. Find another word. That’s only the surface. Everything is named the way a ten year old would name their action figures. All the remnant robots are called something to the effect of what they do; “Observers” are oculus-type things with eye beams. “Creepers” are spider-like robots that swarm but don’t do a lot to you. “Nullifiers” have shields. And so on. It doesn’t end there. After you clear Eos of its radiation and return to it a few missions later, it unlocks some new areas and as you’re driving through some of these new areas, someone pipes up on the radio to justify their dumb names. I forgot the exact name of it but driving through one area was basically called “Allshope” or something with the radio saying “The mayor named it this because you gave us such hope!” Some shit like that.
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However most of my ire is towards the vault thing. It’s Knights of the Old republic all over again, these vaults being the new Star Forge. Remember that? If you do, then you basically have a hold on how the whole game’s story is structured. Still, I’m here for the flavor and ME:A has plenty of it. The combat, as you may have heard in other reviews, is good. Not mindblowing (Nothing in ME:A is) but solid enough to be interesting. I mainly only played infiltrator in previous games and I really do miss the Slow-Mo I had to help me line up proper headshots but it’s mitigated with an admittedly more interesting RPG system that’s reminiscent of Mass Effect 1, at least in the sense of scale. You see: You have access to everything. Everything. You don’t just choose a class in the beginning of the game and stuck with that forever. Nay nay, Instead you opt into “profiles” that give you class-related buffs that are different across the board. You can swap between them as you feel encounters merit, but I have not explored this mechanic yet. As of writing I am level 32 - Of the 135 level cap. It’ll be something I’ll explore more in the NG+ but for now, I’m pleased with my tech abilities. While the trilogy struggled to find a balance between pure action and RPG elements, I think this is a cool style. The only hindrance I can think of is replayability - There’s almost no need to reroll a separate save file unless you just want to experience the early game with an entire different kit. I may do this with a biotic at some point, myself.
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On a lore standpoint, this is due to an AI being implanted into you (Not as sexy as it sounds) and being able to “override” motor functions, etc. Hey, this is SciFi. On a similar vein, loot and crafting is derivative of Dragon Age: Inquisition, which brings its own set of irritations. Frankly, I don’t quite enjoy wasting too much time trying to scour every corner for every scrap of loot. Typically there’s a ton of mods, salvage, weapons, and armor that I will never use. Most players find a set of armor that caters to their playstyle and stick with it (It’s hard to ignore things like shield bonuses and weapon damage). The game doesn’t care, as it throws yet another shotgun at me, I just end up selling it. The only loot that excites me comes in the form of minerals which act as crafting supplies. They’re harder to get than usual and the early-game was a huge pain in the ass as I was forced to use the same equipment for the first 10-15 hours of the game. Early Game Hell is in full effect here folks and I don’t blame some people for finding it a tad boring. Indeed, this is Inquisition in space. Keep that in mind. Before I get down to a real hate-on let me cover a few things I like; I like most of the squadmates. Liam and Cora are a bit bland for my tastes but that’s generally been the case with all ME games two starter squadmates.  I like how the squadmates actually move around on the ship. Good touch. I like the crafting, even though the early game is a pain in the ass. I like the environments. By extension, I like some of the cities. Kadara Port looks awesome. I like the vaults themselves, even if I find them weak on a story standpoint. The moral choices are back and they’re pretty intense. I hope to see the ramifications and I predict another playthrough to ‘correct’ some of them. Go ahead and assume that stuff I don’t mention is probably at least “adequate”. Let’s get to the real hate. SAM. SAM is that AI I mentioned earlier that I wish would, for the love of all that is good, would shut the f[insert overlong explicit gag here] up about the survivability. See, when you’re off on your adventures, the environments will usually constantly wear down your life support because, as explained before, the terraforming devices have gone under disuse, or were otherwise turned off. A fine mechanic that makes sense and doesn’t bother me too much except for certain areas, like enemy strongholds, that have pockets of “adequate” breathability and support. So imagine my frustration when I’m fighting enemies, running and ducking for cover which takes me in and out of these compounds... Yes, SAM pipes up every single time it happens. He’ll even interrupt and override squad banter just to tell me that the area is ten less degrees than ideal. Fuck off, SAM. It doesn’t end with that. When you’re in the NOMAD, a slightly more passable version of the Mako from previous games, you have the chance to probe certain areas for minerals and resources. Usually when you’re in an applicable area, the interface will start a subtle blinking animation to let you know.
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For some players, they’ll stop because crafting. Some just want to go complete the next quest and come back to these areas later; They don’t go anywhere to my knowledge. Of course, SAM cannot WAIT to tell me about it the nanosecond I drive into range of one of these areas. I’ve never played a Zelda game but I think I can sympathize, now more than ever. There are also some performance issues that put a stop to my being able to record the game for my Youtube channel. Every so often the game effectively becomes a fast slideshow, jagged nonsense that renders the game unplayable. It typically happens when landing to a new planet and exiting my ship but that is not the sole time it happens. It will also happen when I drive next to an enemy camp, lead the Nomad, and it begins again. Every time it happens I’m stuck in an unplayable state for a solid 30 seconds or more while I try to aim my slideshow behind cover so I can not die while the game remembers how to game. I’ve tweaked settings as much as I could and I’ve yet to go all the way to “low” on everything but I shouldn’t have to. My system is not toaster-oven status for another few years. There’s also some glitches that almost break the game, though I suspect they’d be remedied by reloading an earlier save. Every now and then you’ll have an objective akin to “Clear all enemies”. One time I ran around for five minutes trying to figure out what to do next, only to find out that one enemy was left, inside a wall.
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I got lucky, they managed to clip through the wall and I was able to shoot their arm to death. That doesn’t happen every time, the above screenshot was in a generic respawning enemy camp that I couldn’t clear because that idiot was stuck in a rock. Clearing camps usually nets around 250 exp, and I don’t remember if I got it or not. To Bioware’s credit they’ve already outlined a roadmap to patching a lot of the problems people are facing with this game. I understand if some buyers will wait for a sale, some will wait a few months down the line while some of the major sweeping patches finally hit. For example, they’ve done a week one patch of adding some eye shaders that helped a lot with the uncanny valley issues everyone was having. I also made it to the same spot that one gif where Ryder steals the gun out of someone’s hand with an awkward expression; That did not happen in my game. So they’ve already done some hotfixing, and kudos to them for working on that. Whether or not I recommend this game comes in two parts. If you’re like me and you’ve been a fan of the franchise from the start, in all of its ups and downs then you’ll feel at home here. It’s more Mass Effect and after five years, I’m content with that. If you expect ‘more’ from developers, the best tech possible for the year, then some of the technical issues may hamper your enjoyment. Either way if you’ve played the trilogy and enjoyed it, then it’s very likely you should play this game to see the universe continue. That’s what I’m here for.
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