#they really outdid themselves for their home games

[sportsallover]

@.GB, don't you dare pass us by! 😁

[palesweetscherryblossom]

Surprise adoption

Warning: Mentions of violence, non consensual hypnosis and kidnapping.

Even as a young kid, the forest always creeped you out. With all the urban legends about monsters roaming around, hunters disappearing or ending up gravely injured, it certainly didn’t help your bias against it.

So imagine your horror that your older brother, Izuku wanted to take you on a little expedition in the damn place. You and Izuku were orphaned, but were generously taken in my Toshinori, head hunter and beloved icon of your town.

Whereas you preferred to stray clear from all the gritty things hunting entailed, Izuku was fully invested in it.

“I wanna go home, please Izuku?” You asked, hands tightly clutching your clothes.

The moon hung overhead, sounds of chirping from birds, water flowing through streams and crunching of leaves highlighted your surroundings.

Izuku looked at you, his hand reassuringly patting your H/C locks.

“Don’t worry Y/N! Just one more thing and then we can go back.” He said, handing you the lantern.

You frowned as the two of you walked on. One thing Izuku noticed was how pungent the air was over here, it reeked of venom and rot. He cracked out his notebook from his satchel, quickly writing it down. “How weird.” He muttered, you huffed.

“Izuku, it smells over here.” You whined, visibly cringing at seeing a rabbit’s skull.

“D-do you think we might be in naga territory?” You asked, Izuku’s breath hitched at the possibility. Ah, naga. Fearsome creatures with deplorable reputations to boot. Half man, half serpent.

Toshinori once recounted his encounter with a naga once, who was bold enough to attack him head on. Long fangs, red eyes that rivaled rubies, shaggy blue hair.

Many legends circulated about this particular naga, especially about his thirst for destruction and murder. Izuku looked down at you, a friendly smile on his face.

“Probably not, it’s probably just some poisonous frogs or something. But even if it was, I would never let them hurt you.” He assured, you felt a little better.

“We’ll sock them in their faces and skin them for boots!” You announced, Izuku nervously smiled.

“Probably not sis.”

Another notable thing about naga is how some tended to hunt at night, at least Tomura Shigaraki did. The most feared creature in the jungle, by man and beast alike.

It didn’t help that he was accompanied by his equally violent and dangerous mate, Dabi. A alluring, handsome creature but equally deadly.

Blue and black scales slithered across the floor, as the two searched for a late night snack. “Seriously Tomura, I don’t know why you insist on doing this at night. It’s too damn late for this.” Dabi complained, Tomura regarded his mate with a mere look.

“The big and juicy rabbits tend to come out at this time of night. Besides, those stupid, fucking hunters drive away our larger game.” He said, sniffing the air.

Dabi shrugged, his mate did have a point. Possums, sloths and the occasional taste of human flesh wasn’t cutting it. “I thought that those dumbasses would take the hint from the last time.”

Shigaraki gave a raspy chuckle. He really outdid himself that time, they still had the chunk from the hunters leg in the den! “You’re quite the sadistic bastard.” Dabi said in a loving way.

“Which is why you mated with me~” Shigaraki taunted, nuzzling Dabi’s face before narrowing his eyes and sniffed the air again.

“What? What do smell?” Dabi asked before sniffing the air himself. Humans, filthy humans. Shigaraki loathed them, Dabi loathed them.

The two followed the scent, eventually finding themselves in a tree, spying on you and Izuku.

“Oh, it’s Toshinori’s brat.” Shigaraki hissed, his rattle shaking slightly. His hate died down a little once he saw you, clutching onto Izuku’s hand as he gave you some facts.

Oh, how you looked utterly adorable to him. Shigaraki and Dabi had been wanting some hatchings of their own, as nagas tended to feel that way. “She’s precious.” Dabi muttered, a paternal spark igniting in him.

Shigaraki nodded, turning towards his mate. “I’ll go greet our guests.” He said, slowly slinking into view.

“Well now, it’s a hunter in training!” You froze at hearing the raspy voice, Izuku flinched as well. He turned around and was met with the sight of the naga. “GAH!” Izuku yelped, nearly dropping his lantern as you gave a yelp.

“Now now, there’s no need to be scared.” Shigaraki said, Izuku frowned whilst you hid behind your brother. “I’m a friend, always eager to assist with a weary traveler.” He assured, his red eyes looking at you.

You whimpered and hid behind Izuku. “Aw, what’s a little cherub like you doing out so late?” Tomura cooed, Izuku cleared his throat. “Back off, we don’t need your assistance. Besides, we all know what you really want.”

Shigaraki’s eyes narrowed, Toshinori sure knew how to raise a stubborn brat. “Oh? Would you mind telling me then?” Shigaraki taunted, inching closer to Izuku.

Their noses barely touching. Izuku could smell the venom from Shigaraki’s breath, he remained firm. “Tsk, tsk, so stubborn.” Shigaraki said, his tail prodding at you softly.

You yelped as Izuku stood protectively in front of you. “L-leave us alone!” He snapped, Shigaraki didn’t flinch, only giving an amused look.

“You must be so tired, let me fix that.” The naga purred, inching closer from his branch perch. Izuku instinctively stepped back as you hid behind your brother. “No need for the fear fawns, you’ll fear as right as rain once we’re through..” Shigaraki assured, his voice raspy yet sweet. Like candy covered poison.

Shigaraki had a variety of powers but his most useful one was hypnosis. Often used to ensnare his victims into a state of calmness. It was his method to use if he was feeling lazy. Izuku stepped forward, a dagger in hand. Oh, how naive was this poor boy? No worries, Shigaraki and Dabi could make it right.

Izuku attempted to speak but nothing came out, his body felt heavy, all thoughts of resentment, escape and fear slowly melted away. It was like he was trapped inside his own body. His mouth felt unusually dry, like it was stuffed with cotton. Yet, he felt nice? Oddly relaxed even. His joints went relaxed and posture was lazy, his legs felt like jello.

“Izuku?!” You cried, tugging on your brother’s clothes. “Zuku!” You helplessly whined. Shigaraki frowned before inching closer, Izuku couldn’t hear you. He stumbled around like a newly born deer before ultimately dropping his weapon and almost collapsed to the floor himself. If it wasn’t for a black tail with horrifying purple scars, which caught him with ease, it wrapped around your brother’s torso. Much to your horror, you attempted to run but Shigaraki tripped you and swiftly coiled his tail around your ankle. The flaky and rough scales dug into your skin, causing you to whimper and wince at the pain.

“Don’t worry fawn, he’s alright and soon, you’ll be too.” Shigaraki said, quickly ensnaring you in his power as well. You weakly fought back as your defiant words withered away into weak whines and squirms. Your body eventually succumbed to Shigaraki’s control, your vision hazy and eyes droopy. “Zuku..” You muttered softly. You wanted to go home, the smell of the venom and dirt made you sick.

You craved the crisp vanilla and poppy smell of Toshinori’s manor. To be tucked into your bed, surrounded by the comforts of knowing that the monsters couldn’t get you.

“Aw, my sweet hatchling.” Shigaraki crooned, picking you up and cradling you. He nuzzled you, obviously excited to bring you to his nest. Dabi joined Shigaraki’s side, a lazy smirk on his face.

“She’s quite precious.” He mused, kissing Shigaraki’s cheek. “But, what about her brother?” The two looked at Izuku, who was still in Dabi’s grip. The black haired male frowned. Izuku kinda reminded him of someone he desperately wanted to forget. Shigaraki handed you over to Dabi before taking Izuku in his own grip. He regarded his mate with a devious smile, his fangs on display and crimson eyes filled with satisfaction and plotting.

“Well, you know what they say, two is always better than one.”

You and Izuku should’ve stayed home

@thecuriousquest

@messedupcookiejar

@yanderefangirl

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Bpp I'm dying to know your song rankings in chapter 2 now they've all debuted. What are your top picks this year? I miss your writing and hope I can coax you back with 'a fun ask'

***

Okay. :)

Since you asked...

Top 10 Non-BTS K-pop Songs in 2023

10 - Watch It - The Boyz (this song just dropped and it's already in my top ten, yes)

9 - Seoul - H1-key

8 - Ay-Yo - NCT 127

7 - Sweet Venom - ENHYPEN

6 - Neverland Farewell - TXT (Say whatever you like about BigHit, they know how to make good music. Soobin sounds incredible on this song. Beomgyu too. Really, they all do.)

5 - Cool With You - NewJeans

NewJeans isn't going anywhere, so everyone else really should get comfortable with the idea of seeing them at the top. That's all there is to say.

*

4 - Crying - BOYNEXTDOOR

I don't know where my head was at when I ranked this the worst song on the album. Clearly, I was wrong. This song was a pleasant companion during the autumn months, and I can't wait to see what else they come out with.

*

3 - Chaconne - ENHYPEN

Do you know what a chaconne is? That's not a rhetorical question btw. No shade either, I'm just curious. For those who don't know, a chaconne is a rhythmical and harmonic motif over a pronounced bass-line. That's my leftover understanding from music classes taken a lifetime ago. According to google, a chaconne is also "a slow, solemn dance in 3/4 time, of Spanish or Moorish origin, similar to the passacaglia." For a non-k-pop example, I recommend Hilary's rendition of Bach's chaconne (more leftover knowledge from a lifetime ago).

Anyway, this likely isn't important context. The use of "chaconne" in the song probably has more to do with how it sounds in the song, than what it means. In any case, Enhypen earned a gold star from me with this pantydropper anthem.

*

2 - Criminal Love - ENHYPEN

I'm not sure how many of you were here when Heartbeat and Dream Glow were released. What I remember was shock, pure incredulity that BigHit would release songs of that quality for game OSTs. From ARMYs and k-pop stans alike, this was the sentiment. It was like a flex that BTS had such a peerless discography they could make songs like this for a side gig.

That's immediately what I was reminded of when I first heard Criminal Love, released as the OST for Enhypen's webtoon. It's moody, vampy, seduction in a song. That's what that song is. Sad too, when you hear the lyrics. Watching the live performance only drives it home.

*

1 - Blind - ENHYPEN

This song has given me one of the best auditory experiences I've ever had in k-pop. Which is a bit odd because yes a lot happens in the production, but the switches are so subtle you almost don't notice it.

Heeseung, Ni-ki, Jay, Sunoo, Sunghoon, Jake, and Jungwon - all outdid themselves on this song. Vocally, they sound incredible. The writing, (again) is top notch. This is one of the only songs released this year that I genuinely struggle not to loop.

*

Top 5 BTS Solo Songs

5 - Yes or No - Jung Kook

This is one song I'm praying and begging that we get thousands of remixes of. HYBE, please work your magic and give us 10 remixes of Yes or No. I need it. This is the perfect pop song in that it makes you crave more. I know it's got a predictable, common almost, chord progression in VI -> V -> I -> IV, but it's perfect in that it's impossible to get sick of it. It just worms itself into your head and all you can think of is all the ways to sing all over those chords.

Jung Kook's vocal work on that song is irreproachable. He's really set himself apart with this album and I'm glad he did it.

*

4 - Snooze - AGUST D, ft. Ryuichi Sakamoto & Woosung

HUH?! should be here, as should Amygdala so consider this a triple entry: HUH + Snooze + Amygdala. The reason why is self-evident (I hope).

Anyway... I want to talk a bit about Snooze.

Yoongi loves using the piano. He likes the sound of it, and you can tell in songs like Snooze. He has such a profound love and respect for that musical instrument that it only makes sense a man like Ryuichi acknowledged Yoongi before he passed.

With everything that happened this year, remembering Moonbin, and knowing that Yoongi made this song for his juniors... the first time I heard this song it completely destroyed me. Anyone who hasn't paid attention to the lyrics yet should check it.

When I casually listen in to TXT, SVT, Enhypen, BoyNextDoor, and see the work they're doing, putting out easily some of the best music and performances in their generations, I hope and pray they develop a support system that genuinely values them, soon. I hope they survive this industry, and thrive in it.

*

3 - All Day - RM ft Tablo

Not to be that person (since he's canceled for reasons and it actually makes sense why), but when I first saw the song title All Day, I immediately remembered All Day by Kanye West - one of the sauciest and meanest songs he's ever made. I was worried, given the tone of the album to that point, that Namjoon was going to give us his take on Ye's original. Joon is more than capable of dropping a track just as mean if not more. I didn't put it past him to pay homage to the Kanye joint by taking a spin on it. But, thankfully, All Day is nothing like Kanye's song, and it's my favourite song on Indigo because it's the best.

Joon's diction on this track is *chef's kiss*. His voice.... that outro, and thank goodness, Tablo came through. He actually has a presence on the track and made it even more worth the listen.

It kills me that we don't even have a visualizer for this masterpiece.

*

2 - Set Me Free Pt 2 - Jimin

Thank you for giving me another chance to talk about Set Me Free Pt 2.

One reason all the anxiety and fear-mongering around Jimin seems insane to me is because Jimin dropped this song and ended k-pop in 2023. He literally has no real competition. He came in, showed out, and left. That song is the sexiest joint out of Korea this year. It's so nasty. He's absolutely disgusting on this song in how brutally he makes rubbish of everything beneath him. Like, he literally has people bowing down to him in the choreography. Bobbing their heads like Funko Pops, while he sings to be set free. I'm going on a bit of a tangent here, but I want to say something. There's a cruelty in the way Jimin speaks. Whether to someone else or to himself. It's often (somewhat) restrained, born of the way he sees the world I think, and it was especially brutal in their early days, but he's toned it down significantly since 2016. It's virtually non-existent in his speech patterns and word choice now. Jimin of the last few years communicates gently, directly, tactfully, and at worst, bluntly. A lot of that cruelty is toned down but he unleashes a whisper of it on SMF Pt 2. Just listen to what he's saying on that song. That autotune effect on his voice was for our benefit and safety. Nothing can convince me otherwise. And we haven't even yet gotten into the full symbolism of the MV and his lyricism...

The moment I heard this song I knew I would bias Jimin. He's a man who knows what he's doing.

Jimin is a one of a kind wonder. Real magic in a person. An artist. He proves it on Set Me Free Pt 2. Kudos to PDogg too - the GOAT.

*

1 - On The Street - j-hope ft J. Cole

When it comes to song construction, I have to give credit where credit is due and the fact is Hoseok outdid himself with this song. It is perfect, my top pick for a k-pop song in 2023. Jermaine did good on it too. But, you know... Hoseok.

The whistle melody he came up with, the beat, the vocal layering, the mixing, the MV direction - all of it is perfect. If we were giving scores based on separate components, OTS would get 10s in every category.

Honestly, Hoseok coming out at number 1 is kind of expected of him lol.

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

A Second Long Rant About The Koffin Trio

Note: I decided to write about these three again (mostly about the genocide route) because I didn't cover everything I wanted to in my previous take, and you guys seemed to like it (I'm glad you enjoyed it as well, @beethovenus!), so here we go. If you haven't already, please read my previous ts!us post, since this is an addition to that.

Let's just say that the writers really outdid themselves when it comes to the genocide route, especially in regards to Harry and Larry. Never before did a video game leave me feeling so emotionally broken. The battle between the Boogiemen and Chara proves that comedic relief characters CAN and SHOULD be put in serious situations. It gives them much-needed depth.

At the beginning, Harry and Larry didn't take Chara seriously and only managed to make it out of the encounter alive because Crossbones/Sans intervened (which just goes to show how reckless both of them are) they're like annoying but loveable little kids i swear

It's this trait of theirs that led them to their downfall later on. I guess you could say that their appearance was meant to 'lighten the mood' of the otherwise dark genocide route, but it only made things worse for them in the long run. I remember reading a comment on YouTube once, and it mentioned how the Boogiemen resemble horror movie characters who die first due to their carelessness. And aside from the fact that they were not the first monsters to get killed by Chara, I agree 100%

Neither one of them believed that a human was even in the Underground, let alone a serious threat... that is, until they tried picking on Chara ↓

...which obviously didn't end well ↓

When they realized that they really WERE in danger, both visibly began to panic; neither one of them even tried to pretend to be fearless ↓

I've got to say that I love the contradictory traits the Boogiemen share: fearless but fearful, fun-loving but seeking safety, reckless but cautious.

Imo, as much as they like to goof off, they want someplace to come back to even more. Koffin-K is the one who makes the keep a place where they feel like they belong; a place that gives them comfort. KK's presence is what reassures them that they're taken care of. He's the one who makes Koffin Keep home.

In the present moment, Harry and Larry can afford to act goofy and careless because they're convinced that, no matter what happens, Koffin will always be there to save them, provide for them, and keep them safe in general.

There's a difference between who Harry & Larry were before and after they got hired (they seemed to have become more mischevious, more open to goofing off, and even more ambitious and confident).

I find it interesting that both of them were anxious/sceptical about working for Koffin when he first met them:

The two weren't attached to Koffin-K at all at the time. They didn't become loyal right off the bat; It took them (a short) time to warm up to him. And now that they are attached, I'm pretty confident that they're never leaving his side

The thing about Harry is that he used to rely on this one low-wage job and probably thought: "If I take the risk and come to regret becoming this weird guy's lackey, or if he fires me, I might never be able to come back to my safe job again and I'll be left with nothing. I'm not even qualified for anything other than menial chores!" yeah I headcanon that both him and Larry dropped out of high school at like 16 and never went to college in the first place I'm also really curious if Harry used to be attached to his previous boss (who he never mentioned) like he is to Koffin-K now, but I doubt it since he DID accept Koffin's job offer the very next day.

And Larry didn't want to risk anything either, even though he pretty much had nothing to lose. Even if he used to have a job as a janitor (if this is the case, I imagine his thought process was the exact same as Harry's), he still lacked a home. It's depressing to think about how Larry apparently wanted to continue his poor-quality life because he didn't believe anything different or better was out there. Or, he had no idea what having a better life even felt like. Maybe he thought he'd be WORSE OFF as Koffin-K's employee and/or that he'd fire him at some point. I just made myself sad, I love these guys a lot and empathize so much I feel like both of them believe they're not good enough and it hurts

Anyway, back to the genocide route.

After they're rescued, Flowey says:

Already setting up the fact that they'll either be an easy and/or optional battle. Nice.

Then we see Harry and Larry straight up putting themselves in danger to please Koffin-K:

Like, guys, I'm sure he would have understood if you hadn't obeyed his order this time. but they CAN'T let him down; they refuse After all, a mass murderer was on the loose

And once again, we're given a choice whether or not to fight them:

And finally, if we follow them... we get to this scene.

Oh god. THIS scene. Where do I even start?

Alright, time for some retrospect.

So, the two dummies have no way to escape and are forced to fight (with their very last conversation being AN UNRESOLVED ARGUMENT), Larry is ruthlessly pushed off the cliff (is this why it's called the ruthless route? Because if so, it fits perfectly), Harry screams his name and falls to his knees, completely dejected, and doesn't even attempt to run or fight, waiting to join Larry in death.

This moment hurts. This text especially. "Quick on his feet" but not quick enough; Larry's name is no longer next to his

No matter how much they annoy each other, the care is clear as day. That's another reason why I think of them as brothers. Harry is pretty fearful, right? And yet he'd rather turn to dust than live a life without Larry.

Sometimes I wonder how the scene would have played out if Harry had been given given the choice to either flee, stay and fight, or let us finish him off.

Ok, the third option would remain unchangeable, and the second would definitely result in his death whether or not he put up a fight, but the first one...

**ANGST WARNING**

Koffin-K would find Harry in his and Larry's house, curled up on their (now only his) bunk bed, sobbing uncontrollably and blaming himself over and over again. Then he'd hold him and they'd cry together. Koffin would regret not being more transparent with his care for his henchmen, and now that he was only left with one, he'd swear to be the best boss and father he could be.

It would take a while, but eventually Harry would stop crying himself to sleep every night, he'd go back to his mischievous self, he'd pull pranks and laugh and have fun because that's what Larry would have wanted.

Koffin and Harry's relationship would strengthen over time (sooner rather than later) and they'd become a true family. But every day, for the rest of his life, Koffin-K would wish that he had told Larry how much he loved him before he died. Harry would wish that, too.

But there was no way to turn back the clock, and the only thing they could do was hope that, wherever Larry was, he'd somehow know.

...he did.

I don't even want to image what would have happend if the roles had been reversed. Let's just say that Larry would have been absolutely shattered if Harry had gotten pushed off a cliff/died first. Based on his reaction if you beat Harry up during their fight in the neutral route, I don't even think he'd ever be able to move on from the pain of losing his brother best friend (or it would be SUPER hard).

Speaking of these scenes, Harry's first reaction was to get furious, Larry's was to burst into tears. What they have in common though was that they showed care for each other sigh... image limit strikes again

Larry also picked up on the purity of Chara's soul (or lack thereof) and it triggered Chara

It reminds me of how Ceroba picked up on the number of monsters Clover had killed

Long story short, I love how both Harry and Larry have their own quirks and personality. They're not just interesting as a duo, but separately, too. It's sometimes hard to remind yourself how, just because two people are a team, that doesn't mean they don't/can't exist as individuals.

I'm really curious to see Koffin-K's reaction to these two's deaths. REALLY REALLY curious.

I think that he'd completely break down (before that he'd be in denial) upon realizing that his idiots are actually gone forever and were killed by someone Koffin thought would make a good servant. Still, for some reason, I doubt he would become so enraged that he could avenge them by killing Chara.

Regardless of his reaction, he'd definitely miss them a lot.

When everyone was gone, Harry and Larry were the first on his mind i feel like they're his biggest headache but also the two monsters he loves most, in his own unique way

Random thoughts as a bonus bc why not:

I swear, it seemed like they wanted to say "You're talking to THE COUNT'S lackeys!" and "You ain't the dad of us to tell us what to do!" Also, Harry looks scared/nervous/unsure/ af. These guys really are both cowardly and impulsive

Istg, they act like (man)children with Koffin being their strict but goofy dad mom who makes them do chores when they'd rather laze around (I know it's part of their job and everything but the way they talk about their duties gives me this vibe)

...yeah, just KK acting like an annoyed dad, nothing new to see here

Remember how, in the last post I wrote, I said that Harry and Larry are materialistic (for a good reason)? Yeah, they're so materialistic that they'd even "betray" their boss for some cash (unrelated, but I love this game's humor)

These two have a dog's loyalty, but even their house looks like a doghouse (or maybe it's just tiny compared to the keep). Speaking of the keep...

Interesting that, whoever wrote on this wiki, didn't include the other workers almost like it's just the three of them that are a family while the others are just there for the easy money

[namjhyun]

DRAMA REVIEW | Are You The One (2024)

Are You The One is a must watch for fans of historical and cunning, independent and smart characters, playing mind games against their enemies. If you liked cdramas like Story of Minglan and Wonderland Of Love, this might be for you.

This was a perfect drama. I have no notes. It delivered on everything that promised from beginning to end and properly developed the troupes of fake marriage and enemies to lovers in a fresh and entertaining way.

The court politics were fascinating to watch, giving the viewers all kind of strategies, taking down enemies one by one, making friends and even breaking down emotional walls for our lead characters. It was a treat to watch every single scheming they put on.

The development of each arc, with its respective main conflict, was entertaining. I am incredible happy with how the scriptwriter of this drama handled every storyline. All the characters consistently grow through this journey and have their moments in the spotlight. The resolution really well done, cohesive, grounded and coherent to each character' respective personalities and wishes.

The cast director really outdid themselves in this drama, each actor is the perfect choice for the character they are playing. My hat off to them for giving Zhang Wanyi such an incredible well written character as Lord Huaiyang, whom delivers some of the best moments of this drama from his war tactics, home life woes and comedic timing. Watching him grovel to win back his loved one was a never ending source of entertainment.

Wang Churan's Miantang is the perfect match. The growing of her character is perhaps more subtle but incredibly well performed and poignant. She delivered in every scene as a savvy business woman and every scheme at court as Lady Huaiyang.

Lord and Lady Huaiyang's respective strategies are different but they complement each other in an harmonious way, helping each other, growing together as people and governors. They consider themselves equals and respect each other, which is why I think they are one of the best couples in Dramaland I have seen in a while.

As for the secondary characters, there's always someone that stands out in a drama and for me, this time, it was Empress Shi, played by Yuan Yu Xuan. She gave us one of the best performances of this year. Her character grows from timid concubine daughter being emotional abused at home to a revered phoenix. When she finally stood her ground, against her own family, it was a wonder to watch. She got a standing ovation from me.

Chang Huasen was a really good choice to play Ziyu, a very stoic character that made sacrifices along the way to power. His growing has a lot to do with trust and I think, at the end of the day, he learns who should never be used as a pawn in the court games.

Marquis Zhennan and Miss He, played respectively by Zhang Chi and Liu Lingzi, were a source of entertaining. Both characters equally smart and filial in different ways that made them complement each other, and help their friends find ways to navigate the art of war.

Even the actors playing the enemies were outstanding, smart as the leads, and keeping them on their toes until the very end.

From a technical point of view, Are You The One also had a beautiful cinematography, the locations and sets were wonderful, the costume design matched each character really well. The use of sound and lack of it, which it's more important than we actually realize, was perfectly matched on every scene.

The strongest point was the writing and directing. It was clear Directors Liu Guo Nan and Cong Xiao know what they are doing when it comes to visual storytelling. As for screen writer Zhao Tian You, I think they did an outstanding job writing these characters and story.

This is how I like my dramas: smart, coherent, cohesive and fun. I highly recommend it.

[maleyanderecafe]

Kimbark Street (Visual Novel)

Created by: AspenGlen

Genre: Horror

Kimbark Street is made by the same person who made Infatuation and just like before does a good job showing the horrors of a yandere. You actually play as the yandere in this one, so you get to experience first hand what he does. There are about four different endings that you can get, and I really think that @aspenglen outdid themselves in this game from the UI to story to art.

The story starts with a radio talking about the disappearance of Kennedy Smith, as he was a respected hero, believing that he simply left the town. The main character turns off the radio, stating that he got what he deserved. He seems very surprised and happy that he has succeeded. He hears someone in the snow, realizing that he had been caught, before cleaning himself up to meet his love, Annie. He meets Annie in front of Kimbark Street. He thinks about all the wonderful things about Annie, only to see Chuck talking to her. Chuck is a local politician and seems to have said something to Annie, making the main character get very angry. When he returns home, Chuck had sent him a note telling him to meet up at the bar. While going there he tries to think of a distraction so he can get rid of him. He meets Chuck in front of the bar before they both go in. Chuck and the two talk, revealing that the main character was an admiral back in the day and the two argue. Chuck eventually reveals that he knows about what he did to Kennedy.

If he decides to intimidate him and blackmail him about ditching his draft to the military since he's going into be running for office in town. The two make a deal for an oath of silence and Chuck ends up winning the election. John ends up marrying Annie, and while Chuck tried to find the missing bodies, he never did. When Chuck died, John ended up burying him to rot as well.

If he decides to intimidate him and threaten him physically, he punches Chuck, but ends up going home afterwards. While stalking Annie and Chuck, he ends up getting arrested and sent to prison. Upon getting out, he kills and guts Chuck to take Annie back.

If the main character decides to create a distraction, he will smash his pint against the floor, causing a ruckus in the bar, before bringing Chuck outside and bludgeoning him to death on the side of the wall.

If he decides to gut him in front of the school and hang him, the next day he goes to meet Annie, who is in shock after seeing Chuck's gutted body in front of the school. The main character, John, corners her after, wanting her to say his name. When Annie can't remember him, he admits that he killed people for her as he's exasperated that she's forgotten him. He ends up killing her and carving his name into her eyelids.

If he decides to bury him where he buried Kennedy, then he successfully gets away with it, as he's buried him in a burial ground of the unmarked graves along with the three men he's killed. As now he's gotten away with it, he goes to meet Annie, introducing himself as John. He mentions that he knew her during the war, since she was his nurse. She doesn't seem to remember him as she's tended to a lot of people in her time in war. As they talk we learn that Annie wanted to continue being a nurse after the war, but couldn't stand looking at blood anymore and became a teacher instead. John admits that she saved her life, thankful that she tried so hard to save him despite everyone treating him like wasted space. The two talk about their family, then with Annie talking about how he wanted to find a specific soldier and why he moved here. The two end up eating out together, leading to the two getting married, and him getting away with all of his crimes.

First things first, I think it's pretty cool seeing a yandere story in an American historical setting. Generally the types I see are either more European centered (basically most iseakis) or more Asian historical (so Chinese, Korean or Japanese). The setting is in Wred, California in 1949, which does explain the outfits and general attitude of the town people there, seemingly having a lot of them come back from war. Despite being a short game, I think that Kimbark Street was able to capitalize on the feeling of being in the time through not only it's artwork but also it's UI as well, since it gives off a more dusty (I guess it's called) look. There is a glitch in the menu since I can't go back if I press the settings button, but other than that it seems mostly solid.

John as a yandere in the traditional sense, with his tactics of murder and wanting to wed Annie, but it does work with the setting of the game. To me, I always love reading or playing games that have the story from the yandere's point of view because we get to see just how twisted they are and how they think. John is very violent and jealous, gutting his victims and bashing their heads against walls, cutting messages into people but can also be very manipulative as well. It fits as his persona of a soldier, a person who is willing to be brutal while still trying towards his goal. I imagine he learned how to gut while surviving out in the wilderness as a soldier. It's interesting to see that he always "wins" in one way or another, even in the worst ending where he's jailed, he still gets out 10 years later to kill Chuck and take Annie. Chuck just always ends up dead in these situations- shouldn't have confronted him in the first place.

Overall, a very nice game created by Asper. If you are interested in the setting and plot of this story, please try it out! I think it's very good for what it is.

[cityoftheangelllls]

Soooooo the Mario movie was awesome! Definitely the best movie-going experience I've had since Spiderman No Way Home! Illumination really outdid themselves and I think that this has to be the best movie they've done, even more so than the first two Despicable Me movies and Sing! And I can tell they and Nintendo put so much effort into this and making it a giant fan to Mario fans everywhere, from the kids to those who have been there from the beginning. It wasn't perfect (I mean, what movie is, and is there really such a thing as perfection?) but it was still a lot of fun!!!!

Below is what I loved about the movie and what I felt could have been better! Just a heads-up, there ARE spoilers. Even though it has pretty much the typical storyline of most Mario games and is therefore somewhat predictable, I don't want those who haven't seen it yet to miss out on being blown away as I was about it.

*********************************************************************

The Ups:

MARIO. HE IS THE BIGGEST SWEETHEART. HE LOVES HIS BROTHER SO SO MUCH. HE WOULD FETCH A STAR FROM SPACE FOR HIS BROTHER IF HE COULD. I WOULD DIE FOR HIM AND THE LOVE HE HAS FOR HIS BABY BRO. And from the beginning, he's so determined and motivated and never gives up! And it's his brother that motivates him to do most of what he does! I also liked the little details they added to his character that we never got to see before, such as the fact that he initially hates mushrooms.

Peach was amazing! At first I thought that they girlbossed her a bit too much to the point where she was a carbon copy of Daisy, but now I see her as a kind, maternal, and feminine young woman who fights when she needs to and is just doing her job protecting her kingdom. I hate how people are bashing her characterization here, like, have they forgotten how she was in the DIC cartoons, the 1986 anime, and SUPER PRINCESS PEACH? I also like her backstory and she's so cute as a baby! Also, since I HC that she and Daisy are super close, maybe she learned a thing or two from her!

Toad was so silly and chaotic, and he stole every scene he was in!

Luigi was precious and Charlie Day was perfect for his voice, as I predicted! I can tell that he was totally channeling Tony Rosato at times. I loved so many of his moments on screen, especially when he protects his brother during the final battle!

Jack Black KILLED IT as Bowser! He made him a villain who's hilarious but intimidating and ferocious at the same time and not many people can pull that off effectively!

Donkey Kong was a bit annoying and Illumination-y but they did a good job with him here. Also HE DID THE SETH ROGEN LAUGH TWICE FACK YES

The voice cast in general was fantastic! Charlie Day, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Jack Black were literal perfection in particular, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong was lit, and Keegan Michael Key was great for Toad, as I predicted! He's a very versatile comedian and voice actor, after all! Also, Chris Pratt's Mario has grown on me in a good way. Although I vastly prefer Charles Martinet, as well as Lou Albano (who has my favorite Mario voice ever), Chris really didn't do that bad of a job! He DID TOO put effort into voicing him, and his "Wahoo!"s and cries of delight and triumph were on point! The only voice that I still feel like I have to get used to is Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach. She's a talented actress but I don't think she entirely suited Peach's soft, feminine, and maternal nature, but that's just me.

Mario and Luigi's parents are so precious! In fact, their whole family is so cute and hilarious! They remind me of my own proudly Italian (mostly) family. And Charles Martinet voicing their dad was the icing on the cake! I'm just so glad we finally got to see their family in general.

I also like how the boys' situation of still living with their parents, (presumably) not pursuing college and working blue-collar jobs while in their 20s-30s wasn't portrayed in a negative way. It's a great way of telling audiences that it's okay if you haven't gone off on your own yet in adulthood or attended college, that life isn't a sequence of steps that everyone has to follow exactly and at the same time, and that patience, hard work, and a positive attitude will lead you to great opportunities in life when you least expect them, like with what happened to the bros.

THE BROS' REUNION HUG OH MY GOD!!!!!! THE FOREHEAD TOUCH AND MARIO LIFTING LUIGI OFF THE GROUND DURING THEIR SECOND EMBRACE, I ALMOST CHOKED ON MY ICEE AND BECAME A SOBBING MESS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE THEATER MY GOD

And then them teaming up together to defeat Bowser and his forces, AS IT SHOULD BE.

I mean seriously this movie was a slap to the face of everyone who thought Mario hates his brother

Mario and Luigi getting their own little house in the Mushroom Kingdom! AND COFFEE CUPS THAT MATCH THEIR HATS!!!!

Mario and Peach's relationship thus far! I love how close they are by the end of the movie, even though they haven't developed a romance yet, and how Mario was telling her all about Brooklyn and how he'll get her a pet turtle once he gets to take her there. D'awwwwwww.

Peach completing the trainer course ALL WHILE WEARING A FULL LENGTH BALL GOWN AND HEELS. AND her admitting that she didn't master doing it until she had tried multiple, multiple times was such a great addition to character, proof that while she may be more of a girlboss here she still has more character development than Rey in the Star Wars sequels.

Peach telling Luigi that he's brave was so sweet :3 Even though they didn't really have a proper meeting scene like I hoped, I'm glad they got to at least interact a little.

Although I wish they would have used the wedding dress from Odyssey or even Paper Mario, Peach's wedding dress here is so pretty!

Donkey Kong becoming an ally of Mario and them helping each other get to the Mushroom Kingdom was super nice, although I do feel their friendship could have been built on a little more and that DK should have apologized to Mario for insulting his brother.

THE MUSIC!!!!! Brian Tyler NAILED the orchestrations of all those iconic themes! I especially got so happy when I heard the SNES Rainbow Road theme, the DK rap, and Toad's House from SMB3! I can only imagine how Koji Kondo, the man who composed so many of these melodies for chiptune almost 40 years ago and is STILL composing music for the games, is feeling now that they have these epic, sweeping orchestral renditions.

They outdid themselves with the animation and visuals as well! ESPECIALLY the visuals. They're so colorful and whimsical and just scenery p0rn all around, from the Mushroom Kingdom giving off major Alice in Wonderland vibes and Bowser's incredible floating lava castle to the Jungle Kingdom and the rainbow road! And I can't think of a single character (re)design that I didn't like! They all look so good!

The slo mo bits were SO funny. Especially "MMMMMAAAAAAAAMMMAAAAA MMMMIIIIIIIAAAAAA!" and "PPPPPRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNCCCCEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!"

Bringing back such an obscure and relatively forgotten character as Foreman Spike was awesome!

Every time that Diddy Kong was onscreen was so funny!

ALL THE EASTER EGGS, GOOD GOLLY. From the references to the SUPER SHOW OF ALL THINGS to the guy who's supposed to resemble Jumpman (Mario's first incarnation) at the beginning!

That one bit where Mario is sitting in his room playing a video game also felt really reminiscent of the beginning of The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach (1986). If Nintendo was going for that I'm so glad they acknowledged such an obscure piece of Mario media!

The Downs:

Goddammit, you SERIOUSLY had to include minions in the Illumination logo.

It honestly felt a bit rushed in places and I wish more scenes could have had more time devoted to them. Some characters, ESPECIALLY Luigi, didn't really get as much screen time as I felt they needed, and that kind of sucked.

I was really hoping for Bowser to have a hard rock-style villain song, as that really suits his aesthetic and Jack Black could totally have done it! I mean he was in School of Rock for crying out loud and he's proven afterwards that he can really belt out classic rock tunes! Despite that, I'm glad he got to at least sing in the movie, and his song dedicated to Peach was hilarious.

I'm bummed that the movie wasn't really a musical as I had heard around the net so many times; only two characters sang (Bowser and Toad, even though the latter's wasn't really an actual song) and there were a bunch of pop/rock hits from the past few decades sandwiched in. They were still good songs that I like though, such as Thunderstruck, Take on Me, and Holding Out for a Hero (although I wish it could have been the original Bonnie Tyler version). I was ESPECIALLY pumped to hear Mr. Blue Sky!! But still, a lack of songs sung by characters bummed me out.

I don't like how some lines were changed (such as Bowser's "NOW WHO'S GONNA STOP ME?!?!") or cut entirely (e.g. Mario's "I'm not afraid! I'll do anything for my brother!") I'm especially bitter about the latter, since hearing that line in the final trailer made me super emotional and cutting it meant less devotion to how much Mario loves and misses his brother.

It was kind of a wasted opportunity to not see Mario and Luigi's family (and the rest of Brooklyn for that matter) bewildered over their sons bringing back a princess in a wedding gown, a little mushroom man, and an ape wearing a necktie. I bet their dad would have been wondering what someone put in his coffee, and their mom would have taken one look at Peach and been all like, "OMG IS ONE OF MY SONS GETTING MARRIED ALREADY??" It just would have been nice for them to interact a little.

The blue star/Luma was honestly so annoying and gave me an unsettling identity crisis, I just thought that was not fitting for a family friendly movie. Also, why was he/she in Bowser's dungeon in the first place?

As Donkey Kong should have apologized to Mario for fighting with him, Spike should have apologized to Mario and Luigi for doubting them. It didn't really make sense for him to just abruptly cheering for them.

Part of me kind of wishes it had taken place in the 1980s. It kind of makes sense, given that the Mario and Luigi characters formally debuted in 1983 and this is an origin story for how they came to be.

But despite all this, there were way more ups than downs, and the "downs" are just little nitpicks from me that don't take away from the movie being one hell of a ride. It was fantastic, and definitely one of the best animated movies I've seen in a while. 9/10 from me!!.

Some of my several VERY high hopes for the sequel:

YOSHI CUTENESS!!!

Also, if I have to predict a voice actor for Yoshi, it would have to be either Frank Welker or Kazumi Totaka reprising his role.

Luigi getting more screen time and also getting to share in his bro's adventures! Dude deserves way better!

Mario having second thoughts about Luigi accompanying him in dangerous situations because he's terrified of losing him again, and Luigi reminding him that "nothing will harm them as long as they're together"

PLEASE just more brotherly love!

Mario and Peach developing a romance and vowing to protect each other!

At least one callback to the "Mama Luigi" episode of the Super Mario World cartoon series. I mean, it would only seem right now that Yoshi is joining the gang, right?

Heck, I bet it's going to be chock full of references to the Super Mario World game, the Yoshi's Island games, and the Super Mario World cartoon.

DAISY AND/OR ROSALINA PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

Bowser's backstory (and possibly redemption)! It's clear to me that he's just a big softie that needs love and friendship in his life. And, since he's really their friend who likes to engage in role play just for fun according to word of mouth, I wonder how they will incorporate that into the Mario Cinematic Universe.

Some evidence that Mario and Luigi alternating between their lives in Brooklyn (probably just so that they can spend time with their family) and the Mushroom Kingdom

"I HOPE SHE MADE LOTSA SPAGHETTI!"

[dicapiito]

I really liked how Spider Man 2 used so many fan favorites and that one does not need knowledge to have such a fun time with this game.

I definitely think this is GoTY due to how well they have progressed Peter Parker and Miles Morales’ stories. I think that while it should stay a single player game; it is pretty nice how they have their combat styles pretty great for a team up.

Spoilers ahead:

The story is excellent. It’s about time I see a Harry with a story that made sense ( I..didn’t like that Peter didn’t want to help Harry nor how he didn’t disguise his voice in The Amazing Spider Man 2. However that’s how I’d imagine Harry and Dale DeHaan did a phenomenal job so it’s cool) and that one hopes that wherever his story goes; you are still going to root for him and hope he wakes up. Norman Osborne was great because the story always makes it clear that he is the villain but you almost wish he’d change with what happened to Harry and Emily but..we know he never will. Not even to save Harry.

Peter Parker’s story. Such a great story for a character who’s going to take a backseat in the next game. I also love how the alien messed around with his inner dark thoughts. It makes me forget the awful Spider Man 3 and that’s more what I’d expect out of Venom. I mean…those were some serious venomous thoughts about Miles Morales and everyone. Like ..wow…. But at the same time; it was great they went that direction. After all, Venom with Tony Todd as the voice actor?

Then the Spider Friends bit was just so heartwarming ..and then breaking. But still, what an amazing job they did with that arc. I’m also glad that Mary Jane had her story and even improved the fact she should be a mini character but give her some cool gameplay. It was nice that Peter moved out the city and decided to stay in Aunt May’s home.

Miles Morales’ arc was so good. From him and Hailey becoming a couple, or rather he will take her on a date finally to him being able to live downstairs from his Uncle Aaron to him and Martin Li. That was some great stories and side missions for Miles. Mysterio arc was pretty good. I liked how it started to seem off after a few missions but since I was having fun; I just ignored the clues lol. I did think Peter was definitely far gone because when he snapped at Rio Morales; I thought “ oh this is how Peter Parker dies. RIP buddy”. Not to think Spider Man 3 game but it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.

The side missions themselves are great. It’s nice seeing all the Easter Eggs and also, I really didn’t even realize some of the characters were who they were and that’s what made the game even more fun. From Cletus Cassidy to Yuri as Wraithe which made it pretty fun. The DLC, whatever it is, it’s be nice to see where that goes..but we don’t need anymore Black Cat.

The scenery is amazing. They really outdid themselves and it’s pretty great that it looks like New York ( I’d assume from pics and movies lol. Never been) and that it’s just so animated. The cast was great. The gameplay is awesome and I highly recommend.

[hoongjong]

oooh for the ask game red velvet and stray kids/ seventeen?

omg it's going to be insanely difficult to pick a top 5 for red velvet bc their discography is sooo good ;;;;

red velvet

rookie - song of the century!!! i've listened to this song so so so much, i'm not exaggerating when i say that i don't think there's anyone in the world who has listened to it more than i have 🥴 will there ever be a song that will top rookie? i don't think so

look - 4 minutes of pure bliss

automatic - a timeless classic! the smoothest r&b song out there

lp - this! song! is! so! much! fun! 💞

and i'm putting kingdom come and sunny side up! on a shared 5th place bc i can't decide which one i like more! kingdom come is what being in love sounds like to me, and sunny side up!'s harmonies and percussion are perfection

seventeen

lilili yabbay - i love love love the mysterious, dreamy, alluring vibe this song has going on

check-in - apple juice watching sing street

monday to saturday - the little piano tune you hear in the beginning and at the end of the song is just too cute

home;run - we need more swing inspired songs omg! i love the jazzy piano in the pre-chorus and the brass instruments you hear throughout the song, woozi, bumzu and team really outdid themselves with this one

chilli - i know, another unit song, but oooh... ayayaya 🗣️ saucin' on 'em like chilli

and i'm sorry but i don't know any of stray kids' songs... :( but feel free to recommend some of your fave songs and i will check them out!

send me an artist and i'll tell you my top 5 fave songs

[smash-64]

2022 Game of the Year 1. Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition Square Enix Nintendo Switch, 2022 (orig. 1999, 1996)

The rumors were circulating for a while, and I honestly didn’t believe that there would ever be a remaster of Chrono Cross. So it was a huge shock to me when it finally, truly came to fruition. I got it on day one, and even ordered the physical version from Play-Asia for the collection. The cover for the Switch version beats the socks off the original PS1 release, imho. Not that the PS1 version is bad, I just think they really outdid themselves with the new art.

Chrono Cross is a masterpiece, and the remaster is giving tons of new people the chance to play it, while keeping true to the original. Character art has been updated, with everyone getting a glow up that stays true to their original design.

3D models also got an upgrade, while still keeping all the original animations and movements. They look clean, bright, and vivid. I was thrilled to see that they kept the original PS1 feel, but made everything clearer. It’s a hard thing to do and many developers feel the need to make something that breaks too far from the original, but Chrono Cross stayed true.

One thing I was most worried about was the background art. Chrono Cross went with an impressionist style when drawing many of the backgrounds, which gave each location a timeless feel. I never cared for impressionist art before playing this game, and I have come to really like it because it is meant to be imprecise and left up to interpretation. As such, it has a sort of timelessness that isn’t tied to the inevitable aging of graphics. However, simple upscaling can give harsh lines where perhaps none existed. There are a few backgrounds in the remaster that suffer this fate, but I find them so few and far-between that it did not affect me in the slightest. Probably the only example I can find of one that stood out was how the railings of the exterior of Fort Dragonia look a little jagged in the remaster. Everything else was very satisfying.

Other backgrounds go full-on sci-fi pulp novel and it’s honestly breathtaking. I showed this one to a coworker and he actually gasped. It sounds a bit goofy, and he’s not a video game fan, but he loves old pulp novels and he thought it was perfect.

I can’t say too much about the combat that hasn’t already been said. I like the element system with its levels and single-use spells. I like the customization. I like the tiers of attack strengths. And I love the animations. It’s a great battle system, with really the only downside being that maybe it’s a bit easy, especially in New Game+.

The cast of characters is unwieldy and some suffer because of it, with very little development for them. However, you can mostly overlook adding characters to your party, should you choose to do so. There are a few tied directly to the storyline, and you’ll have to use them, so you’ll never be short on characters. Additionally, you can seek out lots of characters just for fun. My personal favorites are Starky, Razzly, Kid, and Harle. 

The soundtrack is possibly the best in video game history. From the heart-racing punch of Time’s Scar in the opening sequence (the one single thing that originally interested me in the game), to the smooth, comforting tunes of Arni Village and the sunny, relaxing bounce of Home World, Chrono Cross sets the tone of the early game very well. Your carefree existence will inevitably change as you begin the story, and each new area has a perfectly matched song to go with it. Ghost Ship. Hydra Marshes. Chronopolis. The songs alone will clue you in to what each world looks like and feels like. Finally, the credits song, sometimes called Radical Dreamers and sometimes called Unstolen Jewel, can still bring a tear to my eye even after years of listening to it on repeat. This is a perfect soundtrack. Only one game even comes close in my mind, and composer Yasunori Mitsuda also worked on that one.

Finally, this special edition of Chrono Cross comes with the Japan only game that eventually became Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers. It’s a text-based adventure game that shares a few characters with its eventual final version, as well as a few locations and songs. I think I prefer the final versions of all of the songs, but it’s great to hear them in their Super Famicom, proto-versions. It’s hard to really rate this game because it was essentially just a DLC game available exclusively on the Satellaview, an Internet-enabled Super Famicom add-on (yes, in the mid-90s), but for what it is, it is filled with charm. Kid is at her snarky, thieving best in this game and it’s definitely a must play if you enjoy Chrono Cross. 

Chrono Cross was the game that won me over to JRPGs as a genre; I still remember @boner-taunt​ in disbelief when I told him I was playing it. Replaying it in glorious HD was the highlight of my video game experience in 2022.

[gardenerian]

5 times they get silly while drunk + 1 time they get sappy <3

I LOVE THIS ooooh i love this. we’re going back to post-canon for this one, simply because i miss sappy idiot husbands today. thanks for the request! the last couple have had some angst, settle in for some silly sweetness now! (tw for alcohol)

1.

mickey didn’t want to go out in the first place, but now that he’s here and four beers in, he can admit that he’s having a good time.

ian had been crawling out of his skin for a night out. “we’ve babysat for the last three weekends, mickey,” he whined. “can we please go out for some adult company? adults that aren’t related to us?”

he shot down mickey’s ideas for a movie night, a midnight swim, or a game of strip poker. ian was practically squirming with the need to dance a little, sip a cocktail, and then feel mickey up in the corner of some west side bar.

and when mickey really thought about it, the plan didn’t sound so bad. it just happens to go totally sideways when ian, giddy and tipsy and giggling, gets lost on his way back from the bathroom.

well, ian thinks he’s lost, anyways.

mickey has eyes on him the whole time, grinning behind his drink as ian bobs and weaves through the crowded bar. he stops at every clump of people, searching each individual’s face for any sign of mickey.

and mickey’s right fucking here, perched by the bar where he’s been all night, and absolutely within earshot. he could call to ian right now, see his face light up at the sound of his voice, but watching him sniff mickey out among the crowd is just too fucking sweet.

some people try to talk to him. “hey man,” one woman asks, placing a friendly hand on ian's shoulder, “you doin’ alright?”

“fine, fine,” he sighs. “just looking for mickey.”

when the woman has no information for him, just blinks sympathetically at him like she’s looking at a lost golden retriever, ian shakes her hand off and moves on.

he wanders around by the dj booth, red hair tinted blue and purple under the lights. mickey couldn’t possibly lose sight of him, he’s a six foot walking glow stick.

when ian realizes that mickey isn’t loitering by the speakers, he drifts around the perimeter of the bar. mickey can barely hear him now over the sound of the music and the people, but he sees ian's lips occasionally mouth his name.

mickey takes a sip of his drink and suddenly ian's on the opposite end of the bar, urgently asking the bartender if he's seen mickey.

"he's my husband," ian tells him proudly. "an' he's short but he's not that short, y'know? and he's pretty but don't tell him i told you that, okay?"

mickey snorts. ian tells him that every day.

"the guy you came in with?" the bartender asks. when ian nods wildly, he points over his shoulder at mickey. "yeah, man, he's right there."

ian, having now done a full lap around the bar looking for him, finally lays eyes on mickey. his body, already loose with alcohol, sags impossibly further in relief.

mickey grins as ian rushes to him, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him lightly as he speaks. "mickey," he breathes, "where did you go?"

"been right here the whole time, ian," mickey tells him. his blood is warm and his skin is flushed and ian's looking at him like he thought he'd never see him again. "had my eye on you."

ian's mouth drops open. "you watched me look for you?"

mickey shrugs, reaches out to touch ian's shirt, plays with the hem. "yeah, man," he laughs, "i'm always watchin' you."

2.

ian's takes one last pull from his drink, looking around the room through blurry, happy eyes. liam graduated middle school today, and the family outdid themselves in celebration.

the family is scattered around the gallagher living room, draped over chairs and stretched out on the floor. it's late, too late, and mickey snores softly where he's slumped against ian's shoulder.

ian nudges him off gently. "mick," he sings lightly, "come on, let's call a car. go home."

mickey stretches out like a cat, peering blearily around the room.

"mornin', sleeping beauty," lip calls from the floor, raising his root beer in toast.

"fuck off," mickey grumbles back, then reaches for his abandoned beer on the coffee table.

"nope," ian says, intercepting mickey's hand and shoving the bottle out of reach. carl snags it and quickly polishes it off. "time to go home, sleep in a real bed."

"don't wanna," mickey whines, wriggling further into the corner of the couch.

"yep, let's do it," ian urges. "it'll feel good to sleep at home. brush our teeth, floss, all that shit."

"no," mickey argues, suddenly upright and very alert. "no fucking flossing, ian."

"why not?"

"god," mickey groans, "because you're so fucking annoying when you do it."

ian's mouth drops open, offended. he can't believe mickey is still ragging on the way he flosses. it was one thing when they were in prison and they were stuck listening to every moment of each other's bathroom routines, but now that they have an actual bathroom? with a door? bullshit.

"you know," ian informs him, "you don't have to stand next to me and brush your teeth at the same time every night."

mickey huffs in response, and ian smirks. gotcha.

"he still do that thing where he sucks on his teeth?" lip chimes in, laughing a little. "that always annoyed the shit out of me, too."

mickey cheers in vindication while ian flips his brother off, visibly betrayed. he chooses not to divulge that lip bleeds everywhere when he flosses his teeth, which is way grosser, in his opinion.

"sorry, little brother," lip offers, not looking very sorry at all. "shit's gross."

alright then, game on.

"not nearly as gross as when mickey pisses all over the toilet seat and doesn't wipe it up," ian fires back.

"hey!" mickey shouts, just as tami sits up and chimes in. "oh yeah," she agrees, "lip does that shit, too. way grosser."

"at least i don't whistle while i pee," mickey accuses, raising an eyebrow at ian while lip chokes on his drink.

"that's a new habit, ian," he muses. "what's that about?"

ian ignores lip. "like you don't stand outside the door and whistle along, asshole," he directs at mickey.

mickey narrows his eyes, clearly mentally filing through ian's other infractions. "ian leaves his socks in his shoes when he takes them off," he announces.

"wait, what's wrong with that," carl asks. "that way they're there for you when you need your shoes again, right?"

ian's gesturing his thanks to carl when debbie speaks up.

"god, you're disgusting, both of you," she tells them. "don't be putting your day-old, sweaty ass socks back on the next day!"

"well mickey finishes off the milk and then just leaves the jug out instead of putting it in the bin," ian spits.

"yeah," liam murmurs, just waking up in his armchair. "we know, he did that when you guys were living here, too."

"just put it in yourself," mickey suggests, like it's the most obvious solution.

"i shouldn't have to!" ian shouts. "just rinse it out and put it in the fucking bin!"

mickey opens his mouth to argue when lip interrupts. "alright, alright," he soothes, like this isn't his fault in the first place. "you two should head home before you split up right here on the couch. i think it's safe to say you're both gross weirdos, right?"

ian and mickey grumble their assent, and ian pulls out his phone to call an uber. he leads mickey to the car when it arrives and they ride in petty, only-half-mad silence.

so ian is a little surprised when mickey leans his head on his shoulder as they near their apartment. "you know," he murmurs, "i like getting ready for bed next to you."

ian smiles, kisses his head. "oh yeah?"

"yeah," mickey agrees. "even when you're fucking disgusting."

3.

ian has never been one for valentine's day.

it's tacky, over-priced, and, if he's honest, he kind of resents the idea that he'd have to shell out a bunch of cash to prove his love just because hallmark said so.

but fuck, does he love having a valentine.

he and mickey use the evening just to spend some quiet time together. they cook a nice dinner, feed each other bites, and kiss over the dining table. ian bought a shitty little box of chocolates just because he knows mickey will eat them all after dinner.

mickey uncorks a bottle of red wine just before they sit down to eat. they don't drink a lot of wine, both preferring to stick to beers and liquor. but the wine is nice, it's romantic.

it also gets them fucking hammered.

they're lounging on the couch after dinner, and as expected, mickey is making his way through the chocolates. ian snuggles into his side, snagging one from the box and humming contentedly as he chews.

"this is nice," he murmurs. mickey nods his head, reaching for his glass of wine. "how about some music?"

mickey nods again, and ian gets up to grab his phone from the kitchen. he searches through his playlists for something romantic, but nothing piques his interest. until - oh yeah. he grins wickedly when he comes across his sexy dancing playlist.

when the music starts, mickey sits up, confused. "this isn't really what i had in mind, ian," he laughs.

ian shimmies back over to the couch, turning around in front of mickey and rolling his hips. he's little jerkier than he expects, and he stumbles lightly over his own feet.

"jesus, you're trashed," mickey breathes, bringing his hands to grip ian's ass. "you're so bad at this."

"excuse me," ian corrects, "i was a professional once."

"you sucked then, too," mickey chuckles.

"oh yeah?" ian lowers himself over mickey's lap, just hovering, grinding against nothing. "think you could do better?"

mickey grabs him by the hips and pushes him up. ian barks out a surprised laugh when he pushes him down on the couch. then, a shiver on his skin as mickey leans down and whispers, "i know i can."

the song changes; mickey chugs the last of his wine and turns back to ian. he crawls into his lap, rolling his shoulders and swirling his hips. he smirks, blushing a little as he runs his hands down ian's chest.

ian can't breathe. mickey's better than him at this.

he grabs at mickey, pulling him down hard and kissing him until they're both writhing and gasping. mickey stumbles off ian's lap and pulls him up, leading him to their bedroom.

ian stops suddenly and mickey jerks in surprise, looks back at him in question. "hold on, hold on," he laughs. "think i got a few bills in my wallet i can throw at you."

4.

ian looks unbelievably uncomfortable as he sips on his drink, watching with wide eyes as tami rants about lip's latest fuck up.

but it's his own fault for crashing mickey's monthly bar night with tami and sandy. the in-laws drinking and complaining about their gallagher counterparts is a hallowed tradition, and ian should have known better than to insist he come along.

he tries to warn ian not to say anything - shaking his head and furrowing his brow when he opens his mouth to interject. but ian either doesn't get it or he ignores him, choosing to come to his brother's defense anyway.

"i'm sure he didn't mean it like - "

"oh fuck off," tami interrupts, waving him off. "face it, ian, your brother's an idiot."

ian doesn't argue with that, but still attempts to slur his way through some advice. "i just know that when stuff like this happens with me and mickey," he starts, but he's again interrupted.

"ugh, you and mickey," sandy groans. mickey flips her off, but she continues on after slamming back a shot of whiskey. "perfect ian and mickey, childhood sweethearts."

ian just shrugs and mickey beams at him.

"stop it," sandy snaps. "you guys are so gross. mickey never shuts up about it. me and ian don't have this kinda problem," she mocks. "we just know each other too well."

ian purses his lips, nodding in consideration. "we do know each other really well," he agrees.

"prove it," sandy demands, gesturing for another beer. "fuckin' - prove it."

"bitch, what are you talking about?" mickey sighs.

"trivia!" tami cheers, "we did this with debbie last week. they bombed it."

"shut up," sandy sighs, turning back to ian and mickey. "first question," she starts, waving a finger in front of them, "who was ian's first crush?"

"jesus," mickey snorts, "that's your first question? easy. fuckin' timberlake."

tami hums, nodding as she probably considers the merits of a mid-2000s timberlake. "okay then. ian?"

a sly grin slides across ian's face and mickey wants to punch him for what he knows he's about to say. "mickey will say seagal," he says, smug as all hell. "but we all know it's me."

"fuck you," mickey mumbles, but doesn't fight it. he looked at guys before ian, noticed them and liked what he saw. but as far as longstanding feelings went, yeah, ian was the first.

sandy mimes gagging into her beer. "you disgust me. okay, moving along. first kiss?"

"that girl in the fifth grade," mickey answers, snapping his fingers as he tries to recall the name. "jessica something?"

ian nods, he can't remember her name either. "i guess that was it."

"and who was mickey's?" sandy asks, even though she already knows. the whole table already knows, and ian looks so fucking smug.

"i hate this game," mickey grumbles, taking a long sip of beer.

"here's a good one," tami says, "debbie failed this one. what's mickey's weirdest fear?"

"clowns," ian answers immediately. "especially their shoes."

"ian's afraid of raccoons," mickey supplies, both of them correct.

sandy slaps her hands over ian and mickey's eyes. "now, eye color?"

"that's a stupid fucking question," mickey argues, "i look at him every fuckin' day."

"you'd be surprised," tami snickers. "sandy failed this one."

"i'd like to see lip do this," sandy snaps back.

"blue," ian says. "like - like one of those blue slushies. so fuckin' blue."

"poetic," sandy mutters. "mick?"

"green. too goddamn green, it's distracting. alien lookin' bitch."

"what's his favorite thing to sing in the shower?" tami asks, leaning forward in interest.

"ian doesn't sing in the shower, but he whistles when he pees," mickey snickers. "in the shower he reenacts arguments he thinks he lost, trying to come up with better comebacks."

ian can't argue with that; he did it earlier today.

"mickey does beastie boys," ian answers. "missy elliot when he thinks i'm not home."

"i hate you both," sandy sighs. "alright, last one - who lasts longer in bed?"

it's a scramble to answer, both of them slamming their hands against the table: "me."

5.

it's been a long week.

ian and mickey are slumped together on the couch, both knocking back glasses of cheap sparkling wine - a housewarming gift from jill that they've only now opened.

mickey scratches ian's back and ian practically purrs in thanks.

"you know who likes this shit?" he asks, and mickey hums in question. "mandy," ian tells him. mickey snorts in amusement.

"of course she does," he says. "mandy always pretended to drink straight whiskey all the time, but i know she loves the pink shit."

"we used to sit on the roof at my house and split a bottle," ian recalls wistfully. "i miss her."

"yeah," mickey sighs, "me, too."

ian sits straight up, face lit up with an idea. "mickey," he breathes, "we have phones."

"we sure do, champ," mickey laughs.

"we can call her!" he cries, reaching for his phone.

"ian, it's one in the morning."

"she'll wanna talk to me," ian insists, already dialing mandy for facetime.

and so she does. mandy lights up when she sees them, toasting them with her own glass of pink wine. they talk for a few minutes, exchanging details about their weeks, their siblings, their jobs.

mandy hangs up when her partner calls to her, in need of a refill.

"who do we call next?" ian asks, clearly having enjoyed himself.

"fucking no one," mickey tells him. who else would he want to talk to?

but ian is already pulling up fiona's contact details. she smiles wide when she sees them, propped up in bed and gazing at their flushed faces.

"having fun?" she asks, giggling when ian nods exaggeratedly.

"he drank a glass and a half of bubbles," mickey tells her by way of explanation.

"you look happy, sweet face," fiona coos, and ian beams at her.

they send her off to bed, and ian's calling lip before mickey can steal his phone away.

"someone better be dying, ian," lip warns.

"lemme talk to freddie," ian demands, peering down at his phone as if looking for his baby nephew. "i gotta say hi to freddie."

"jesus, ian," mickey laughs. "what time did i say it was?"

"exactly," lip agrees sternly. "hang the fuck up and call me tomorrow."

ian pouts when the screen goes dark, but instantly brightens with another idea.

"liam," he breathes when his brother answers, "lemme say hey to freddie."

"nice to see you too, ian," liam sighs. lip's in the background - go the fuck to sleep, ian!

"sorry," liam shrugs, "no can do." he waves at mickey before hanging up.

ian turns to him with wide, pleading eyes. "i miss freddie," he sulks.

"tell you what," mickey offers. "you drink a fat glass of water right now, and we'll bring donuts over there in the morning."

ian sprints to the kitchen for a cup.

+1

their anniversary is quiet this year. ian set it up this time, but mickey had insisted on something simpler - and less expensive.

they sit on the floor, leaning on pillows and surrounded by candles, sipping on whiskey and munching on strawberries.

"you look so good right now," ian murmurs, "all lit up like that."

mickey hums, gaze fixed on his husbands lips, pink and wet with fruit. he reluctantly pulls his eyes away, drinking in the rest of him. "your hair is fuckin' glowing right now," he notes. "love that hair."

his belly is warm with whiskey, with love. another year with this man.

"i love your hair," ian replies easily, quickly. "love smelling it, love pulling on it."

mickey grins, picking up on the game.

"love your freckles," he says, loving the way ian flushes, looking down at his glass. "you got goddamn stars on your skin."

"constellations, you mean?"

"i said what i said," mickey snaps heatlessly. "stars, man."

"i love your tattoos," ian tells him. "i love what they mean to you. love how sexy they are."

"love your big, stupid hands. love when you grab me with 'em."

"i love your ass," ian says seriously, like he's never meant anything more. "mickey, i love your ass."

"and i love yours," mickey agrees. "love your ass, love your dick."

ian sits up fully then, wobbling a little, eyes searching mickey's for a moment.

"i love you," he says. "i love that you love me, i love that you married me."

mickey is stunned for a moment - he thought for sure ian was going to keep going on about his ass. but god, he loves him.

"i love you," mickey echoes. "love that big, bleeding heart you got in there. love how you take care of me."

"i love how good you are, how strong you are. i love how creative you are."

"i love how fuckin' sweet you are. love how much you love."

ian leans over, kisses him. mickey brings his hands to his face, keeping him there.

"i love you," they breathe against each other's lips.

the lists are long, the things they love about each other. but tonight they've got nothing but time.

[kojinnie]

With The Exception of You

I dislike everyone in the room.

Pairing/Character: Reiner x Reader (she/her), Porco Galliard

Tags: SFW, fluff, college!au, Reiner Braun is a jock who is tired of his own friends, secret relationship

WC: 3.2K

Summary: Reiner had agreed to be in a discreet relationship with you, but after six months and with the arrival of Porco Galliard around you, he couldn’t help but to mark his territory.

Reiner couldn’t seem to fathom the butterflies wreaking havoc in his stomach. It came out of nowhere, as it often happened to be. Once in a while, he could feel his guts twisting as his chest filled with overflown emotions at odd times. Reiner hated it when it happened, because as much as he wanted to convince himself that he wasn’t self-aware of his image, those feelings could potentially strip himself off of his cool guy status.

Reiner had come to realize that such strange feeling often occurred caused by the sight of you.

It could be anything. Things so mundane, so simple. Like the way you twisted the pen in your fingers, the way you squinted your eyes at the blackboard during a lecture, and how you hastily scribbled things on your leather-bound notebook.

Or maybe it’s the way you sighed deliberately loud when someone uttered a dumb, sexist remark in class with no trace of shame, after they tried to debate your sound, well-researched opinion, and how you’d resolved it with a sarcasm that could disintegrate a man’s ego. Reiner sat on the corner of the classroom, disguising his chuckle by clearing his throat, finally coming to experience what they had called butterflies-in-your-stomach all along. 

At that point he had found himself painfully and helplessly in love with you.

He was well-aware of how different the two of you were. Reiner was the athlete, admitted to the uni through football scholarship, and you were the hard-working academician that mostly kept to yourself – hard to approach, hard to tame. Reiner hated how stereotypical he was – tall, buff, blonde, jock, with cheerleader exes and a DM full of thirst trap from his assembly of admirers. Reiner once wished he was anything but a cookie-cutter of everything you had been appalled of.

Reiner could feel every ounce of confidence he had ever had shriveled around your presence. It’s the way the two of you almost collided to each other at the campus hallway, and the way you threw an acknowledging, formal smile at him before striding away that made his heart ached. He wished you’d run to him and shriek his name with affection, but Reiner realized you were not one of his cheerleader exes, and not that he wanted you to be one. You were an anomaly he had yet to understand. A misplaced figure sticking out of his history of penchant for conformity.

“I really like you.” one day he finally said. Never had he been weak on the knees for a confession to any girl before, but this one occurrence? He did.

He didn’t know how he mustered the courage, but after hours, days and weeks he had spent trying to know you – learning your favorite song, accompanying you for book hunting, baking your favorite muffins, texting you good morning and good night – he finally got you alone, in the campus library, only five minutes before closing time.

You laughed at first, because the confession sounded ridiculous to you. The last thing you needed was a horde of girls sending you anonymous hate comments on Insta because you took the campus’ most eligible hunk off of the market. But he didn’t laugh along, and that was when realization hit you.

“So, is that why you’ve been following me around?”

Reiner furrowed his thin, almost non-existent brow, “What do you think?”

“I thought you were just bored with your jock friends,” you scoffed, “because you know, I’d be bored out of my ears too if all I ever heard all day is insecure men constantly praising themselves.” you glanced at Reiner, trying to discover even the slightest amusement on his hardened face to no avail.

“Reiner, are you serious?”

He sighed, couldn’t believe his ears. The first time ever Reiner caught you being stupid beyond recognition, “For the millionth times, yes.”

“You’ve only said it once, though.”

“For fuck’s sake,” the jock grunted, but there was a slight smile arose from his face, “I like you, really much. Times eight hundred ninety-eight thousand.”

“And?”

“So would you be my girlfriend?”

And you said yes, after three minutes of hesitation, you said yes. With a laughter. Because the absurdity of you being with someone like Reiner was lurid. Yet still, you were in no capacity to lie when his good morning text had been the most unsubstantiated text you looked forward to every day.

You wondered why? It’s just text. But maybe, you tried to convince yourself, it’s because of the effort he put, of trying to wake earlier before you every morning although he was hardly a morning person. Or it’s the way he listened to your kind of music although he was practically tone deaf, and returned to you the next week with his analysis on why your favorite band’s first album was their masterpiece and that sadly they never outdid it with any of their following albums.

And maybe, it’s the sight of the topless Reiner in the football field, after a home match. The way he was quick to run to the side of the field with his Captain instinct, lurching himself towards the start of a brawl between the two teams’ players, heated by animosity over the match result. Reiner was strong enough to break at least ten muscular jocks apart from throwing punches at each other, and with his deep, stern, authoritative voice, he commanded them to “Stop it. Fuck off.” You remembered immediately leaving the bleachers and found the nearest toilet because you needed to breathe and that you felt things simmering in your nether area. You never felt like that before to any of your exes.

Reiner knew the mutual pining between the two of you was evident, and so he was left puzzled when you said, “But please don’t tell anyone yet.” He asked why, but you only shrugged your shoulder with an answer that gave very little explanation, “I just don’t feel like having people talk about us.”

Reiner trusted you, because at first, he thought it was for modesty, you were not a fan of the limelight, evidently. Or it’s for practical reason, you don’t want to be burdened by society’s expectation on how two adults in relationship should be. Reiner could make 1,000 excuses for you that would justify your terms and conditions, so he went with what you wanted, because he was so hopelessly into you.

Nonetheless, still he enjoyed holding your hand in the dark alley of the campus – away from all the prying eyes, or the girls that’d giggle walking past the beautiful giant. Still he liked to have you sleeping naked in his embrace, making lazy circles with his calloused digits on your small back, at the emptiness of his dorm room when his roommate was home early for Christmas. Still he enjoyed teasing you at unassuming place, at the quiet library, studying together in silence for the upcoming exams, he’d be sitting next to you, leaning to his chair and slithered his right hand underneath your sweatshirt, to playfully and quickly unclasped your bra, only for you to smack his stomach in annoyance. He liked you, and he liked how you scurried to the restroom to fix your bra. He liked to be with you, no matter in silence or in noise.

However, after six months, questions started to throb incessantly inside Reiner’s mind. Even after all the time you had spent together, why must still he go alone to the football team soiree? Why would you let his team mate thought that Reiner was single, and promised him chances with girls, left and right? Why were you unfazed to see the girls sliding into his DMs? And when you put on that tight, backless black dress on New Year’s Eve, why would you put it for your friends’ party, and not for his eyes only? Why would you color your lips with the blood red Chanel lipstick Reiner gave you, and smile at other people that’s not him?

Reiner could not make sense of you. He pondered, he wondered and he became jealous. He’d look at you intently and see whether there was any trace of other man on you that he had not recognized? He’d become quiet and his friends thought he had gotten sensitive over nothing. The captain had become agitated, irritable and his head was hardly in the game – all with seemingly no reason.

Reiner began to think that he knew the reason why. He thought it’s the boy you’d met at the Academic Writing class, with stupid name and equally stupid undercut. Porco Galliard, you said his name was. In an instance his name had become a staple in your conversation. When Reiner asked you out for a dinner, it’d be like, “Ah sorry babe, I got this assignment with Porco.” A trip to the zoo? “You know, Porco have this funny experience with apes.” A night out in his dorm? By the point Reiner had a half-boner forming already seeing you in your lounge shorts, you’d be giggling and stayed busy with your phone. Reiner asked, “What’s so funny, babe?”

“What’s so funny, babe?” he asked again, because you didn’t seem to hear the first time he asked you. Distracted, you showed a stupid meme on your phone, “Porco sent me this.”

Porco here, Porco there. Reiner was sick of hearing that dumb name.

He had tried to look up for his background, and he hated to find that all that ever came up about him were amicable. His friends knew him, said he was chill, said he was smart as fuck, said he had a cool family, said he turned down a track and field scholarship for law school. Porco Galliard is a cool dude, they all said.

At certain point Reiner had grown to be furious, and the more your text messages became sparse or the more you spent your Saturday nights without him, the more he set his mind to do something about the two of you. He had become so sick of hiding and he wanted the whole world to know that you were his. Especially that guy with a name that sounded like her mother hated giving birth to him.

So came that day. You hadn’t been replying to his texts since morning, and only did so after chains of messages he left.

[you | 11.35] oh my god reiner!!! I’M SO SORRY, i left my phone uncharged all morning. i’m heading to cafeteria rn, it’s muffin tuesday 😵👅

[reiner | 06.37] good morning baby

[reiner | 07.49] you awake now?

[reiner | 08.15] sleepyhead 😪💤 see you today pretty

[reiner | 10.23] i got practice today until late. see you tonight? my room?

[reiner | 10.55] are you in class rn?

[reiner | 11.36] wanna go together?

[you | 11.45] haha noo a lot of people there

[reiner | 11.45] who r u going with?

[you | 11.55] with pockooo haha we got class together after lunch

Pocko. Is that an endearing term you came up with for the jizzhead? Reiner thought, pissed off beyond compare. He paced restlessly in his room, trying to figure out what did Porco have that he didn’t have? Thinking of how his undercut made his head looked way bigger for his neck, just like sperm; and it made Reiner mad angry. “Fuck you, Jizzhead”, he hissed, kicking the pile of dirty laundry on his dorm room.

The cafeteria was bustling busy when you arrived with Porco. The two of you immediately joined the line for lunch and the muffin. The man was busy babbling about yet another stupid thing that he had done back in high school, but your mind was darted on the muffins that were sold off fast. You looked around and almost everyone you disliked were present – mostly Reiner’s jock friends and their girlfriends. The prospect of one day going public with Reiner and having to spare days in your life to socialize with these loud people made you squirm. Not that you were completely against it, you were just… enormously reluctant to do so. Also, what would they say about you? You barely existed for them, evident by how they just greeted Porco with huge affection, yet pretended like you were invisible despite the fact that you were talking and standing close to him.

Your mind was elsewhere, between eyeing the muffin and managing your detest towards the it crowd, you weren’t even listening to the small talk that Porco was having with some of the jocks, until the mention of your name spilled out of Porco’s mouth, “Hey, have you guys known ___ before?”

You blinked with surprise, and they looked at you unenthusiastically, “Ummm, no?” one of them said.

Porco stared at them in disbelief, as if not knowing you was a big sin, “Get to know then! She’s cool, she’s really into���” but even before Porco could finish his words, they averted their attention elsewhere, pulling out their phone like it was the most important thing in the world, and talked amongst themselves. How fitting, because the first thing they talked about as an excuse for ignoring you was to talk about Reiner, “The captain’s been grumpy. Haha. That man. What’s up with him?” You cringed, because you knew there was no weight in talking about Reiner that must be done at that time, that moment. They just wanted a reason not to be roped into talking to you, obviously because you didn’t think you were cool enough or some other shit excuse only them and their bobbleheads understand. So, conveniently throwing out Reiner’s name was an effective way to basically say ‘haha look at us talking about the coolest guy in the campus so you know we’re in this cool clique unlike you’. You read them too well. You couldn’t even be amused anymore.

Porco looked embarrassed, he smiled at you awkwardly and stayed silent, until one of the girls threw their attention back to the man dirty blond undercut, “Anyway, Porco, do you know Reiner?”

“Ah, I haven’t had the chance to.”

The girl frowned rather dramatically, “Oh my god, we all should totally hang out together with Reiner, right? He’s like—super cool.” her question was obviously in exclusion of you. You rolled your eyes and turned away to see new text from Reiner appearing.

[reiner | 12.15] im going there

[you | 12.16] convenient. right in time. your cool friends are all here and you can sit with them and be cool with them or whatever I guess haha

You immediately pulled your phone to your chest; you could feel your heart thumping. Is this it? Is this it? The question became menacing in your head, because you were not sure on what Reiner was planning to do. The line to the muffin was still far away, and it would be stupid to run away.

[reiner | 12.17] idgaf about em

[reiner | 12.19] i want u

You could hear the girls were still talking about Reiner. Reiner this, Reiner that. You were nowhere to lie that you could feel your chest heat up with annoyance. The way their squeaking voice praised Reiner’s body, Reiner’s personality, Reiner’s wit. For the first time, you knew you were experiencing jealousy, vibrant and up-close.

“You know what? One time, Reiner thought that the way I did my hair was so cute that he wanted—”

Just in time, one of the boys raised his voice, “Oi Reiner!” and in unison the jocks erupted, welcoming his arrival like they were in some goddamn party.

You could see Reiner walking towards the line you were in, his face was hardened and his walk was swift. You immediately turned away to look at the opposite direction, not wanting to see him.

“Yooo Reiner! Where have you been? We’ve missed you dude,” one of them said. You cringed at how they all tried so hard to sound cool, “have you met Porco, by the way? And his friend—”

“—hey, what’s her name again?” one of the girls chimed in, asking Porco instead of asking you directly, as if you were not there. At that point, Reiner was standing not too far behind you, and you pretended like you were too busy with your phone, hoping the floor would engulf you instead.

“Is she like, deaf or something?” the girl whispered to Porco with a jeer, before getting back to Reiner, “So, Rei, I’ve got this party—”

“—yo Capt, do you know that—”

“—have you heard about the news, dude? Like—”

The way all these people tried to suck up to Reiner was so pathetic and incessant, they all chirped like hungry birds all in a matter of couple of seconds. You hated them and you hated the situation.

“—come on, Capt, that would be awesome—”

“—oh my gosh, Rei—”

“—you must try it, Rei—"

“Shut the fuck up,” Reiner said. Rather abruptly. His voice was cold and deep, like he couldn’t give a damn in this world about any of them. Surprised, they all dropped quiet in an instance. You looked over your back at him. Reiner was staring at you, and at you alone, not even at the Jizzhead he had grown to hate so much, “you all talk too fucking much.”

You snorted, suppressing a laughter to escape from your mouth. Clearly, it was too audible, that the girls were now looking at you with complete disdain.

“Babe,” Reiner said, staring at you, while you were still facing the opposite direction, “babe, what are you doing with this Jizzhead here? I can bake you muffins remember? If you want it so much.”

Your surrounding fell deep in silence. Everyone was either confused or surprised. Murmur started to sweep over the crowd, most audible was: ‘Who is Jizzhead?’

You scoffed, finally turning your back, although still closing your mouth trying to prevent the laughter and the embarrassment to display itself.

“What the hell?” one of the girls asked in dismay, obviously she was one of the girls sliding into Reiner’s DM and sending him bikini photos by the pretense of ‘Rei, you should join us for summer holiday!’ when all she wanted to do was to show her tits.

“Shut up,” Reiner said to her, baffling the girl to complete silence, “and stop sending me your beach photos. They’re ugly.”

An uproar of restraint laughter was heard throughout the cafeteria.

“Babe,” Reiner said again, this time extending his arms toward you, gesturing for you to come closer, “now you know why I need you, right? My friends are fucking whack.”

Few laughter was starting to break. Yet Reiner was unfazed.

“Reiner, what—”

“—yo dude, what the hell?

“—who is she?”

“—are they dating?”

“And listen here, you hag,” Reiner now turned his attention to the girl who called you deaf, “she’s got a name. Her name is ___, and she’s my fucking girlfriend.”

Embarrassed yet amused, you finally let out a small chuckle, “Reiner, please you’re humiliating me.”

“Whatever,” he shrugged off. Reiner now turned his attention to Porco, “and listen here you, Jizzhead. You can be nice to her but keep in your fucking mind, she’s mine.”

Without hesitation, Reiner pulled your hand and yanked you closer to him. You stared at him for a second, eyes broadened and heart thumping, “Reiner, what are you gonna do—”

“—shut up.” he said, cupping your face with his gigantic hands, and pulled your face roughly to him, before landing his dry, chapped lips to yours. He had gone sick of pretending, and doing things in secret. So there Reiner Braun was, hungrily, longingly, sloppily devouring your lips with his mouth, so deep, so thirsty of your taste. He finally showed the world who the true owner of his heart was. You.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 12 second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Funsies) 

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

After locking Wei Wuxian into some comically large chains, Wen Chao has him thrown into the dungeon, with an unpleasant surprise.

This Fucking Dog

Being a fan of The Untamed involves occasional second-hand embarrassment, like when they fly on their swords, or the zombies all have the same wig, or a fight sequence moves slower than everybody’s granny. It's ok because each of these things is offset by excellence in acting, story, costumes, weapons, sets, etc.

Then there's this fucking dog. 

The department of questionable practical effects really outdid themselves with this thing. Just seeing this awful creation on screen gives me so much cringe squick I can barely look at it. But for you, dear readers, I FORCED MY EYEBALLS to watch the entire dog sequence OVER AND OVER. Then I applied some brightness adjustments and looked at it EVEN MORE. 

Let's get desensitized! I’m going all in on this monstrosity.

First, this dog does not ever move its body or its feet. Its legs are totally immobile. It appears to be made of a big sawhorse with a stick for the neck. The head swings up and down and side to side. That’s it.  

“Animatronic” is too generous of a term for this thing. The animatronics at Chucky Cheese learned to play musical instruments and host birthday parties decades ago. This dog cannot play an instrument and it has to wait for Wei Wuxian to walk over to it before it can attack him. 

When it falls over after Wen Ning K.O’s it, it’s like a chair falling over. It just topples to the side, legs sticking straight out.  

(more after the cut)

Next, It has a mouth full of teeth, which opens and closes. And it has drool the texture of Astroglide Extra-Thick Gel. But...no tongue.

Seriously you guys, it literally does not have a tongue. They just sculpted a little bump at the at the bottom of its mouth, despite dogs being known for, like, lolling their tongues out of their mouths at every opportunity.

Moving along, it has dull, lifeless eyes, and its eyelids are visibly disconnected from the rest of its head, like a doll that mechanically shuts its eyes when you lay it down to sleep.

Finally, its fur looks like a fucking muppet, and it has random shiny spots all around its eyes and lips. These are probably supposed to be body fluids of some kind, but they just look like someone was careless with the cra-z-glue.

Xiao Zhan gamely tries to act opposite this ridiculous fail prop, but there is nothing remotely scary about it.  

Here is Wei Wuxian being scared. I replaced the animatronic dog with a reversed clip of my dog Pepper asking for a piece of cheese, and I think it looks more convincing this way. 

Ok, let's be done with this stupid fucking dog. Wen Ning knocks it out, Wen Chao criticizes it in the morning, and nobody ever speaks of it again. 

Wei Wuxian is so mortified to have endured this farce that when Lan Wangji asks him, much later, “why are you afraid of dogs?” he does not say “don’t you remember that time I got chewed on by a giant animatronic dog at Wen Chao’s place?” but instead pretends that this never fucking happened. 

Wen Ning to the Rescue

For contrast, the next dungeon scene is a really touching and important encounter between Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian. 

Wen Ning comes and knocks out the creature, and gives Wei Wuxian medicine. 

Wen Ning is doing this in defiance of his clan and his sister, simply because Wei Wuxian is his friend. Yes, he feels indebted, but Wen Qing saved WWX’s life once, so the tally is already even. Wen Ning is just super attached to Wei Wuxian, and vice versa; WWX calls him Wen-Xiong in this scene. 

When Wen Ning explains how to use the medicine, Wei Wuxian changes the subject to ask how WN and his sister are doing. He is bleeding, chained up, high on adrenaline and fear, and what he really wants is to hear how his friends are doing. When Wen Ning talks about Wen Qing’s troubles, Wei Wuxian wishes she would accept help, instead of always going it alone. 

Wei Wuxian thanks Wen Ning formally, and tells him no words can express his gratitude. Whether this is a literally correct translation, the gratitude both of these young men feel toward each other transcends words. It will become a driving force in both of their lives as they save each other from increasingly awful situations. 

Wen Ning tells Wei Wuxian about the burning of Cloud Recesses....the burning of the half we never visit. It would suck to damage that exquisite set, so I’m ok with that production choice, but creates some cognitive dissonance when characters get upset about the fire. 

Wei Wuxian reacts to the news of Lan Wangji’s injury by punching the concrete floor of the dungeon, which is dumb but also highly relatable. 

After Wen Ning leaves, Wei Wuxian decides to save the medicine for Lan Wangji, who might not even need it, while WWX is bleeding right now and definitely needs it. No matter how bad things are for him personally, Wei Wuxian is always thinking about ways to help the people he loves, and constantly seeing his own needs as less important than everybody else’s. 

Breakfast Time

After his night of terror and maiming, Wei Wuxian emerges as chipper as ever. Almost like he is already an expert at hiding his trauma from the people close to him. 

Lan Wangji gives him a careful look, taking in the sight of his ripped clothes and bloody neck and hands. 

Jiang Cheng is angry at Wei Wuxian for joking about his injuries, so he shoves him, potentially causing more injuries. 

Wei Wuxian laughs off the signs of torture and attempted murder and everyone goes along with it. Nobody knows what happened to him other than "dungeon" and what he looks like right now, and they’re all just like, okey dokey, I guess you’re fine.  

He’ll carefully laugh off his months in the burial mounds in the same way, later, and Jiang Cheng will accept it nearly as readily as he accepts this. But by that time Lan Wangji will see right through him.

Nie Huaisang mentions the Lan Clan in the course of discussing breakfast, and then everyone pauses awkwardly because they know that mentioning this will make Lan Wangji think about the recent attack on his home and the deaths of many of his fellow disciples. Whereas if nobody had mentioned it, he totally wouldn't think about it. That's how grief works, right?

Insult to Injury

Wen Chao decides to spend some time gloating about battles and insulting people's families, which he does with Wen Qing standing behind his eyeline so that she can warn Wei Wuxian not to let his brother go off. 

Jiang Cheng is not going to let anybody who isn't his mother insult his father like that, but in a reversal of their normal roles, Wei Wuxian restrains him and helps keep him from doing something rash.

Monster Hunting

Wen Chao makes everyone read out loud until Nie Huaisang wisely faints and gets carried off. Then he gathers everyone for a monster hunt.  It's unclear why he wants to go monster hunting but he sure does, and bringing the hostages along might make them all die, which would be a nice bonus.

The cultivators wander around en masse in a small section of forest, thoroughly covering every inch of it. This is a great way to hunt for a dead body but not so good for living prey. 

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng stand around like bitchy queens at a dance club, talking smack about Wen Chao and his girlfriend. 

Wei Wuxian brings out a salty phrase and Jiang Cheng wonders what websites he's been going to. 

Dude. Lighten up.

Leave that Boy Alone

Wei Wuxian notices Lan Wangji struggling, and now that he knows the backstory, he's determined to help. Jiang Cheng is determined to stop him.

This is, once again, the fundamental disagreement between the brothers, and it's never going to be solvable. Jiang Cheng's specific dislike of Lan Wangji may be rooted in jealousy, but his belief in not helping outsiders runs a lot deeper than that.

For Wei Wuxian, there is no such thing as having helped enough. If someone is his friend, he will never stop helping them, and he has a lot of friends, and makes new ones wherever he goes. He's always going to be giving something of himself, to the detriment of any conflicting obligations. 

Jiang Cheng tells him that Lan Wangji won't accept his help, and Wei Wuxian says that's not the point. 

What other people think, want, say, or do, is not going to have any effect on whether Wei Wuxian does what he feels is right. This is a bit of a problem where a person's right to self-determination conflicts with Wei Wuxian's need to help them, as Jiang Cheng will eventually discover.

Jiang Cheng's least effective argument is the one he relies on most often when they disagree: other people's problems are not our responsibility. He's saying this to an orphan who was eating trash and stealing scraps from dogs before Jiang Fengmian came into his life. 

Jiang Cheng doesn’t seem to realize the underlying logic of this argument. If it's wrong for Wei Wuxian to help the people he cares about, it was also wrong for Jiang Fengmian to help Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng loves Wei Wuxian and would willingly die for him, but he, like his mother, rejects the philosophy that brought them together in the first place.  

Wei Wuxian walks away from an upset and shocked Jiang Cheng to offer a piggyback ride to Lan Wangji.

...who won't accept it, but who will remember the offer forever.

Writing prompt: Thoughts of an animatronic dog

Soundtrack:  Five Nights at Freddy’s by The Living Tombstone

[just-a-fangirl13]

Thoughts & Theories about MacGyver 5x10 [MacRiley]

HOLY SHIT! 

This episode was absolutely INSANE. Im writing out my thoughts once and for all because I need to stop thinking about everything that happened (I highly doubt I will be able to but here's to trying)

SPOILERS FOR 5x10 OFCOURSE

Straight off the bat, I was screaming *internally* and yelling at Mac when he showed the diamond to Bozer. I suspected it yesterday when we got the snippet of Murdoc saying the words DIAMOND and RING with extra emphasis..(everyone on twitter said I was jumping to conclusions.. I thought so too honestly) But damn I did NOT expect them to actually do that!

Now here's why I am not mad about it anymore. [this is my interpretation you are free to disagree]

Firstly, when Mac told Bozer he was going to propose he didnt say I’m doing it because I love Desi or I want to spend the rest of our lives together or because she’s the one (doesn't mean he doesnt care for her ofcourse)

He said “Ever since I lost my dad & Jack, I have been thinking about the bigger picture and a commitment to make things work is exactly what Desi and I need right now. A grand romantic gesture.” He wanted to propose for stability so he could finally be on the same page with her. They never really defined their relationship before and this was a way for Mac to final bring it together. A grand romantic gesture is usually something people use to win their partners back which is what Mac was trying to do I guess. It almost sounds like he has to do it so he doesn't lose her again 

(ill get to my second reason in the end)

Then ofcourse Bozer tells Riley about it so she can be prepared. Bozer is such a good friend. He is supportive of Mac AND wants to protect Riley. I love him for it! He really is doing everything to be the best friend he can to both of them. (Leannas death was so painful and I just want to hug him but thankfully Riley had that covered.)

Next we get the BIG REVEAL. The moment all of us had been waiting for. 

The moment that SHOOK Angus MacGyver and CHANGED EVERYTHING!

Rileys Feelings!

“You want me to say it out loud? Fine. Yes I had feelings for Mac. There I said it. and yeah watching him and Desi together was breaking my heart so I moved out of his house. I should have said something to him a long time ago but I didn’t and now its over. ”

I had the opposite of a HEART ATTACK! (my heart rate was through THE ROOF!)

I have to say they really really outdid themselves on this reveal. 

SIDE NOTE: If anyone comes for Riley and tries to call her a slut or a home wrecker? You will have me to deal with. Even after Murdoc played the clip of her confession she still tried to deny it and brush it off so it wouldn't complicate things for Mac and Desi. If Riley had wanted, she could have easily told Mac this to his face while he was dating Desi and then let things happen from there but she DIDNT. She kept that secret buried so deep she herself was in denial.

(also if anyone calls Mac a player or anything like that.. I will end you. He is doing his best to deal with everything that has happened to him and people keep giving him shit for it....)

Anyways, we see Mac’s expression & he is just confused and shocked and clearly not trying to think about it because it changed EVERYTHING for him. 

[Murdoc saying I THINK IM ON TEAM RILEY was a HUGE HIGHLIGHT for me! I love him so damn much!]

Desi took it really well too actually. If they keep going down this road of growth and maturity for her I think I could actually like her again. (Russ too when he apologised to Bozer) 

She didnt throw a hissy fit or say I knew it or look at Riley like she was the villain. She focused on the mission & I respect her for that.

(Riley does say, “the next thing you are going to hear on that recording-” and then gets cut off by Desi.. If this will come into play at some point later on or if it was just her trying to explain herself, remains to be seen.)

Then after the climax, we finally hear Riley say the words to Mac in real time and we get our FIRST MacRiley hug of the season! 

At this point I thought they would agree to be friends and make the friendzone thing clear BUT NOPE. (you have no idea how happy I am about it not going down like that!)

I was also a puddle on the floor. SO

“Mac look-”

“You don’t have to say anything if you dont want to. Really.”

“I want to. Last year in Germany. I realised I was starting to have feelings for you. Real feelings. I didnt want to make anything weird between you and Desi. I didnt want to mess up our work or our friendship so I decided to bury it. Until the feelings passed.”

“Emotions aren’t a science. You can’t control them.”

Gosh they are so perfect together! The way they look at each other and the HUG! OH MY GOD THE HUG! Its just perfection.

Now we also see this from Desi’s POV. Again no anger or jealousy from her. I think it was an understanding. She realised that she and Mac were never going to work.. maybe a little pain but honestly everything that went down with her and Mac was her fault too. The lack of trust and understanding was always a problem for them. Sure, things were going well but she didnt seem like she was ready for a commitment if im being honest. If Mac had proposed I think Desi would have said no.(again nothing wrong with that) 

She didnt want to label their relationship..they haven't said the words I love you to each other and I dont think they even live together. It really was way too sudden.(these are just things im assuming people define how well a relationship is going by.. I have no experience.)

Then ofcourse we have what im calling the goodbye scene. Its the break up before the break up in my opinion.

Desi tells Mac that they should pretend the last 24 hours never happened (that might actually include Mac wanting to propose but make of it what you will..) and that they should have a clean slate. But its very clear from Mac’s face and Desi sees it too that he isnt 100% onboard with it. He cant forget about it.

Which is when Desi says “Look Mac just do whatever you feel is right” and Mac looks confused.

She then gives him a goodbye kiss. 

Look if you have ever watched any show/movie before where the characters are saying goodbye to each other or breaking each others hearts...THERE IS ALWAYS A KISS ON THE CHEEK. A final farewell of sorts. 

That is what it seemed like to me. It was Desi telling Mac to do what he has to. Even if it inevitably leads to their break up.

Again real emotional maturity from Desi here!

Then we get the scene, Monica Macer (the show runner) tweeted about back in December.

Mac knocking on someones door. If im being honest? I thought it was Desi’s place and he was going to propose...

BUT it turned out to be Riley’s.

Mac clearly hasn't stopped thinking about what happened. I wouldnt either if my best friend who has put her life on the line for me and trusts me 100%, now has feelings for me? That would turn my world upside down too.

especially if I had feelings for her that I buried so deep that I never acknowledged them.

Also this is my scenario for how their first kiss goes down just FYI.. (Mac showing up at Rileys doorstep and finally confessing his feelings and kissing her *probably won't happen that way now though, but I still love it*)

Mac hesitates for a second before finally knocking on her door.

“Mac? Everything okay?”

“I can’t pretend like the last 24 hours didnt just happen. They did. So I gotta ask. Did it work?”

“Did what work?”

“Hiding your emotions and letting it pass. Did they go away?”

and I proceeded to pass out. My brain just checked out...

Now initially in all my freaking out I thought Mac was asking Riley about his feelings. If HE buried them deep enough would he still be able to move on with Desi but then I rewatched it and I realised he was asking RILEY if her feelings were still there, if there was still a possibility of something ever happening. 

She never told him its all good now! my feelings are gone and it was a long time ago. She told him she buried it but he needed to know if a future with Riley was something tangible. 

BASICALLY ANGUS MACGYVER ASKED RILEY DAVIS IF SHE WAS STILL IN LOVE WITH HIM. *I think I need to go to a hospital now*

So this was my second reason for not being annoyed about the proposal. The writers used it to show what a huge impact it would have on Mac. How much Rileys feelings would actually mean to him. the GAME CHANGER it would be.

A friend of mine said it was kinda funny and a little jarring but I liked it. (I could have done without the proposal) But I understand why they did it. They couldnt have Mac and Desi break up the same day Riley’s feelings came out because then people would hate Mac. They had to make him want to take the next step with Desi but then drop a bomb on him, that would make him question everything.

Again this is what I took away from it.

BUT GOSH WAS THIS EPISODE AMAZING!

I do get that some people are not happy with this and some said it was too sudden *not like we’ve been waiting since season 1 or anything* but I think after 5x11 things will slow down again. Mac may break up with Desi only at the end of the season when he finally comes to terms with his feelings. (Some people are still cautious and I get it but after everything that just happened I find it hard to believe that Mac and Riley won't end up together after all.. not to mention the leaked script conversation between Mac and Riley from 5x15)

Now I dont know how the final scene ends.. they definitely dont get called away for their solo mission immediately after because Mac’s cheek injury is relatively healed in this stills, which means Riley does answer Mac’s question. She may try to avoid it or deflect but he is standing right there so...who knows.

Next weeks episode is a MacRIley solo mission and lets just say things definitely are heating up a bit..*wink wink*

YUP IM HYPED. 

BRING ON THE SEXUAL TENSION AND THE ANGST!

[quizzyisdone]

I've been replaying the BOCW campaign and I didn't realize until now that the first time you're in the safehouse Adler will follow you if you're out of his line of sight for a little bit. I was just exploring the photo room and when I turned around to leave I saw him standing a short distance away from me and just watching me. He turned and walked back to where he was before when I looked at him. He did the same thing when I walked into the hall and stayed there a bit and also when I went into the locked room. I then tested this out when you're in the safehouse again after other missions and Adler doesn't seem to do it anymore. I just think that's a cool little detail I've never noticed before.

It's also interesting to see how in the beginning Adler had such little trust in Bell that he couldn't even let them be in a room by themselves without feeling the need to see what they're doing. Then as the game progresses it seems like he truly does begin to trust Bell since he stops following and watching them from afar when they're somewhere in the safehouse.

I noticed this too when I first replayed the game! Honestly, the devs had me so damn impressed with this installment of the Black Ops franchise, I personally think it's one of the best CoD games to date. At launch, the game was initially received poorly because it was so buggy (which has since been fixed) but because of that people tend to just stick with Modern Warfare (2019) and now the game is super underrated by most in the community. Of course, you have to remember that the game was produced mostly at home which is why it had so many technical hiccups.

But Jesus Christ, Treyarch really outdid themselves on the campaign in this one. I always thought the first Black Ops would reign as the superior CoD campaign, but evidently I was proven wrong. The masterful storytelling, the complex characters, the ability to interact, those small details you mentioned that really just add so much to these characters and Adler specifically, it was just amazing. Call of Duty traditionally hasn't been very good at telling a story (Black Ops 1 not withstanding). Sure you can find yourself interested in it and become attached to a character, but never has it been this engaging. It's always been just a shooty-shooty game that relied upon multiplayer to sell it.

I always loved Black Ops 2 and MW2 and the like, but never has a CoD game provoked such strong feelings or gave me such a strong attachment to the characters like like BOCW has.

Making such a detailed, enthralling, interactive campaign such as this one is something I never expected from the series, and unfortunately I don't think we'll ever see again because of the poor receival at launch. This game should've been a highlight in the CoD series, similar to Black Ops 1 or 2 or MW (2019), in my opinion.

[that-house]

Viego Rant (villainy and character design and tragedy and all that jazz)

Introduction The more I think about Viego, League of Legends’ newest character, the more enamored I am with him as a villain (unrelated to his general sexiness, though that does tie in with what makes him such a good villain).

I’ve seen a lot of complaints about his design. The Ruined King, one of the greatest threats in Runeterra, the progenitor of the Shadow Isles, the lord of the undead, is finally released as a playable champion and he looks like this:

People were expecting another Mordekaiser (who is similarly an undead king with a ghost army), a lich-tyrant clad in iron, decayed flesh peeling from an aged face. What we got was an angsty anime prettyboy, and it was infinitely better than the alternatives. 

Lore Viego isn’t a conquering king. While his combat abilities are indeed badass, his personality is far from it. He’s a whiny brat and that’s incredible. He isn’t bent on world domination. His character arc revolves around just how human, how fallible he really is. For those unfamiliar with his lore, I’ll paraphrase it here:

Viego was the second son of a great king. Overshadowed by his brother and with no expectations upon him and near-limitless wealth, he wandered around being an idiot fuckboy for the vast majority of his formative years. Disaster struck when his brother died in an accident, and Viego took the throne with no training, no experience, and no desire to be king. He was a shitty king. The worst king. Just all-around apathetic. Gave zero shits. Can you blame him? It’s a lot of responsibility to be thrust upon someone who isn’t much more than a child, and with no preparation. He didn’t care about anything, that is, until he met Isolde. She was a poor seamstress, but he fell in love with her upon their first meeting. Together they ruled the country but it was really just them staring longingly into each others’ eyes. His allies were kinda fucking pissed about that, and one day an assassin came from Viego. The assassin fucked up and stabbed Isolde instead, and the poison on the blade made her fall gravely ill. As she lay in her bed, slowly dying, Viego went mad seeking a cure. He ravaged the land seeking any knowledge that might help, pouring all of his money into finding an antidote. He failed. As a last resort, he brought Isolde’s body to the Blessed Isles, a place rumored to be able to resurrect the dead. It worked, to an extent. Isolde’s wraith, confused, afraid, and angry at being ripped from the peace of death, unthinkingly stabbed Viego in the chest with his own magic sword, creating basically a magic nuke that turned the Blessed Isles into the domain of the undead. Viego resurrected as the king of the Shadow Isles some time later, having totally forgotten that Isolde killed him. He controls a big-ass ghost army, could probably beat up any living thing in a fight, and has evil ghost magic. Now this stupid simp wants his wife back and if he has to kill every living thing on Runeterra, well, anything for his queen. He’s even a tier 3 sub to her Twitch.

Music His musical theme isn’t some heavy metal anthem or intense cinematic piece (unlike the Pentakill song named after his sword, Blade of the Ruined King). It’s mostly sad and slow, almost sinister, with a piano and a music box. It has its loud moments featuring violins and choral bits like any villainous music, but the song is mostly subtle. It is a banger though.

In the comments section of this video, someone pointed out that the music reflects his story from beginning to end:

Everything about this champion is so well done. Riot Games really outdid themselves on this one. Bravo, encore please.

Motivation While the Mordekaiser circlejerkers on r/LeagueofLegends won’t shut the fuck up about how powerful Mordekaiser is, Viego is the better villain. Mordekaiser may be a bigger threat to all life on Runeterra, but Viego is a better character. (There’s a guy on my League discord server who won’t shut up about Mordekaiser so forgive me for being pissed at Morde stans).

Mordekaiser is motivated by a desire for control, to rule the world. Viego is motivated by obsession and misplaced love. There aren’t a lot of Mordekaisers on Earth. Supervillains are rare in real life. But Viego’s motivations are a lot closer to home. People in positions of power that they don’t deserve can do a lot of harm (for example: Trump).

He’s a grieving husband who was never prepared to deal with anything more difficult than choosing what wine to drink with dinner, who is trying to get his wife back because the world had always complied to his every whim. He’s a funky mix between a truly hopeless romantic and a spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum.

Obsession is scary. It’s a real-world emotional state that’s been the cause of a lot of murders over mankind’s history. In contrast, Mordekaiser’s cartoonish Genghis Khan XXL schtick isn’t something that we encounter often. Of course a superpowered ultradictator would be worse for the world, but if you give ultimate power to a random person, you’re more likely to get someone like Tighten from Megamind. Or, more relevantly, Viego.

Design His design is sexy and stupid, just like him. He wears an open shirt into battle and wields his sword like an idiot (I’ve seen all the rants about how that’s not how that sword is meant to be used) because he was never really a warrior. Even at his most violent, right before the end of his mortal life, he didn’t do much combat himself, leaving his military endeavors to his underlings. Even now that he’s essentially a god, he still has a colossal wraith army that causes far more devastation than he ever could personally.

Despite his slim build (by League of Legends standards), he easily wields his colossal sword because of the strength of his state of undeath. Like his political power when he was alive, his posthumous magical and physical powers were never something he sought out, they were just given to him by circumstance.

The big cool-ass triangle hole in his chest where Isolde stabbed him is the source of the Black Mist, which is evil ghost mist that ebbs and flows from the Shadow Isles, bringing with it hordes of the undead. The sadder Viego is, the more Mist he creates. Poetically, his invasion of the world is inspired by his sorrow at his wife’s death and enabled by his wife’s reluctance to return to him. His story is perfectly reflected by his design.

Isolde Isolde’s spirit took up residence inside a young Senna (who’s another League champion, not particularly important here). This led to some Black Mist-related shenanigans and at least for the time being, Senna uses Isolde’s power to fight off the servants of Viego which threaten all life on Runeterra.

It seems pretty clear that whatever love Isolde felt for Viego is gone by now. Whether or not she ever loved him or was just unable to say no to the king is up for debate, but I’d like to believe there was something there. In my opinion, Viego’s story hits harder if they really were a great couple at first, torn apart by circumstance and obsession.

Much like the Maiden of the Woods in that one comic that circulates around here, to whom the knight gave his heart and she was like “yo what the fuck i literally never asked you to do this,” Viego went a little too far in trying to save her. They may have once been happy, but the Ruined King ruined his own life, too.

Unless Isolde is a lot less morally decent than we’ve been led to believe, I doubt she can forgive all the massacring that her husband’s been doing lately. In the recent cinematic, she was shown to be pretty anti-Viego. Maybe she’ll get a bastardization arc, but it certainly seems unlikely.

All of Season 2021 is based around Viego, Isolde, and the Shadow Isles, so we’ll just have to see what comes next. It’s possible that we’ll get Isolde as a playable champion, which should clear a lot of things up.

Final Thoughts Unlike so many villains, he’s not fueled by rage or hatred, but rather by sorrow. He’s stuck in his past, unable to move on. He regrets the actions of his life but is set on his course now. The sunk-cost fallacy comes into play here; he’s put so much time and effort and blood into bringing back Isolde, that turning away from it would feel to him like an insult, not only to her but to the innocent lives he’s taken in her name.

His tale is a tragedy, a love story gone horrifically wrong. Viego has suffered throughout his thousand-year life. Despite this, he’s undoubtedly the villain. His permanent death would be a net positive for the world. In has rage and grief he’s destroyed multiple civilizations, and will burn down the world to get Isolde back.

His heart may be in the wrong place, but it’s in a very human place. I don’t think he’ll get the ending he’s looking for, but I hope he finds some closure in the end.