#this is not chronological but top left is his first appearance

[girafeduvexin]

Fifty shades of green.

[dkmbookworm]

Fizz Character Analysis (Spoiler Warning)

So when I was watching the newest episode of Helluva Boss, I will admit that I was slightly confused by Fizz’s explanation for why he felt he couldn’t quit working for Mammon. After all we saw that Asmodeus was trying to get him to quit working for him already and had spoken of how much he despised the man. So why does Fizz think that Ozzie will leave him or he’ll lose everything if he quits

However, when you look at the circumstances of Fizz’s life leading up to know and the influences he has around them, this actually does make a lot of sense for his character.

Chronologically speaking, we can see that at the beginning of his life in childhood, Fizz was already a child star in the circus, and was well loved and admired for his talents. He completely outperforms and overshadows Blitzo, and garners the attention of his father, Cash Buckzo. It’s been a running joke that Cash far prefers Fizz as a son because he is better than him and rakes in a lot more of a profit. But, we can understand this isn’t real affection, Cash assigns worth to being a good performer and being able to provide something to someone else in order to be loved. Fizz is overworked and under a lot of pressure in this kind of environment

This pops up again, when we see Fizz as a teenager. The pressure of being perfect is starting to get to him and he struggles to establish firm boundaries with others as we see with that rabid fan. Blitzo was the one who had to step in when he got aggressive, and even though everything that fan said was bullshit, his words still deeply affected Fizz.

Jumping forward again in the timeline, we see that Fizz has been picked up my Mammon as a performer. And again, all boundaries are gone as he makes robotic versions of Fizz to be sold all over hell for all manner of uses, and most commonly in the form of sex dolls. This very obviously makes Fizz incredibly uncomfortable but because he feels he owes his success to Mammon it is harder to turn him down without the backup that Blitzo provided to him when they were young.

And based on his treatment in the present day, Mammon Regularly

Scrutinizes his weight and appearance

Touches and manhandles him

Puts him through dangerous stunts

Forces him to talk to crowds of people when he’s already tired or stressed

Makes him deal with sexual harassment

Putting him into costumes that feel restrictive

And most likely he was already dealing with this kind of thing long before he even met Asmodeus and began to date him. The mindset he grew up with in childhood is being reinforced in this time frame. He is worthless if he isn’t performing, he always has to be striving to be better, he needs Mammon.

Another factor to keep in mind, is that while we don’t know this exactly, fizz has just come out of being severely disabled and traumatized by what happened in the fire with him losing his limbs and horns. And with the theory that Mammon was the one who initially provided him with his new robotic attachments, he would have to be feeling a lot of gratitude towards him for this. His image of himself coming out of this is fragile with this new version of his body to come to turns with, on top of losing his best friend. Making him extremely vulnerable and easy to take advantage of.

Then jumping forward again, we see that fizz has started a relationship with Asmodeus, one of the deadly sins, ranked only under Lucifer and his family. Both of them care very deeply for each other and have established very strong mutual trust and boundaries. Albeit, they do have to keep this secret (even tho they are very bad at doing this). Ozzie is protective of Fizz’s safety considering he is ranked much lower than him in hell’s hierarchy and that much more vulnerable to being hurt. This is one of the first positive relationships that fizz has been able to enjoy in a long time, and you can see that Ozzie has sort of filled the hole that blitz left (no pun intended). He acts as that barrier/voice that keeps him from people who cross his boundaries.

And while we can see that Ozzie is an amazing, loving partner to him, this isn’t going to fix the years upon years of problems he’s faced. His childhood, teen years, and a portion of his adulthood have been in the spotlight with managers exploiting him for profit. It is all he knows and they’re going to make sure he can’t leave.

Think about how Mammon knew that Fizz and Ozzie were an item. Think of how he would be talking to him in private telling him that Ozzie could leave him at any point because he’s just some imp. That without his fame and talents that he is nothing. The bottom of hell’s hierarchy.

One of the strongest elements to Helluva Boss’s storytelling is the way they lay out hints and background details that allow audiences to put together the story without it having to be exactly spelled out to us. And I think that is what they have done here, even if the pacing of the show can be a bit off at times. When we go back and rewatch the episodes that feature fizz we can see begin to see how he got to this point in his life and what it took for him to break out of it.

[suchine-toki]

(One more) Top 10 Gintaka moments

Arranged chronologically because it was too difficult to choose. Spoilers ahead.

1. First victory

After going day after day to the Shouka Sonjuku for an undetermined amount of time, Takasugi achieves his first victory against Gintoki. Understanding that he was weak, he defined him and Shouyou as his goal to reach. Thus, chasing Gintoki's back became an objective that he maintained throughout his life. But at this moment, Gintoki was really upset because Takasugi popped his cherry… his defeat cherry, that is (ch. 517).

2. The courtesan incident

After a fight between Gintoki and Takasugi, Sakamoto appears to say that the better friends they are, the more they fight. He also reveals that the reason for their latest conflict was that they both chose the same girl when they went to the red-light district, and she preferred Takasugi. This provoked an attack from Gintoki, but then Tatsuma added that the girl said he only drank and turned out to be very boring, which also provoked an attack from Takasugi, who was in the vicinity despite their previous fight (ch. 453).

3. Heaven

While fighting with the Kiheitai, Takasugi has a flashback of being wounded on the battlefield during the Joui War, and when he lost hope and looked to the heavens, he didn’t see a place to rest peacefully but instead saw the backs of his comrades fighting. He thinks of this while remembering Gintoki protecting him, which could be interpreted as Gintoki being like heaven for him in a way (ch. 639).

4. Give my regards

In spite of being estranged, they both say the phrase "give my regards to sensei for me" as a tribute to their master and a reminder of the legacy he left in their lives to those responsible for his death, showing them that Shouyou still lives. This also demonstrates how they are still united by the same emotional root while reflecting the duality of the paths they chose (chs. 397/398).

5. Pride

Being in Rakuyo and facing an imminent threat, Bansai believes that Gintoki is going to fight for the pride of the samurai, to which he responds that he is not interested in that, but his source of pride lies in both winning and losing against Takasugi many times, and that is the pride he is not willing to lose. In this way, Gintoki acknowledges that he still holds onto the respect and camaraderie they once shared (ch. 569).

6. Friggin' awful

When the Joui 4 were fighting, Gintoki is isolated from the rest and is ambushed by a huge machine that threatens him with a cannon. Before he can react, Takasugi comes to his aid, sabotaging the weapon in front of Gintoki's perplexed gaze. Then, both attack the mecha together as they tease each other, Takasugi asking how it feels to be saved by him who has just woken up from a coma, while Gintoki flips the question around, asking how it feels to have to be protected by him in the first place. To this, both respond that it's the worst, as an explosion occurs behind them. But they play it cool, because cool guys don't look at explosions (chs. 574-575).

7. Shouldn't interfere

Matako and Takechi have been tracking Takasugi and, after two years, finally found him. However, Matako hesitates about whether they should continue following him after seeing him fighting alongside Gintoki, feeling unsure of what to do, also recognizing that it was the first time she saw him acting silly and carefree. Similarly, the ship's captain comments that they both looked like ordinary no-good brats, which not only shows the camaraderie between them but also that they are happy being together (ch. 683).

8. Holding hands

While infiltrating the Terminal, Gintoki and Takasugi held hands twice. The first time was when the stairs they were climbing with Zura were destroyed, so Gintoki extended his hand, and Takasugi managed to grab it. The second time was when they were attacked while climbing the steel cables of an elevator. Here, Gintoki grabs Takasugi's hand to prevent him from falling and throws him towards a door. There was almost a third occasion where Takasugi was going to help Gintoki, but to no one's surprise, he was stabbed before he could do so (ch. 699).

9. Use me

Takasugi urges Gintoki to use his body as a shield, to which Gintoki seemingly agrees. They fight together, protecting each other and deceiving their enemies with strategies they can devise in an instant without speaking, demonstrating how well they know each other. Takasugi uses himself as bait to help Gintoki attack the terminal, but when he decides to sacrifice himself, Gintoki comes running to push him out of danger, a decision for which the enemy mocks him, saying he wasted his chance just because he couldn't bear to lose Takasugi (ch. 700).

10. Mutual support

Takasugi smiles while watching Gintoki reunite with the Yorozuya, something he urged him to do on multiple occasions since they reunited because if there is one thing he wants, it is for Gintoki to be happy. With the little strength he has left, he takes Gintoki's bokuto again and uses it to support himself, symbolizing how Gintoki helps him move forward. Similarly, in his final fight against Utsuro, Gintoki declares that Takasugi is in his soul while seeing his spirit protecting him. Thus, Gintoki holds his sword and defeats the enemy with Takasugi's aid. This is the second time they exchange swords in the series but, unlike the first, here it is more explicit that the other's soul is what helps them do what they have to do (chs. 701/703).

Part (1) (2) (3) (4)

[ym-loreposting]

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Timeline Placement

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a crossover between two mystery gaming series... Professor Layton and Ace Attorney. Officially, this game is set in its own parallel world separate from the canons of either series, as stated by Shu Takumi (the creator of Ace Attorney and a writer for the crossover itself):

4Gamer: Did you decide on a particular point in the timeline of the Gyakuten Saiban series where the Naruhodo and Mayoi in Layton Kyōju VS Gyakuten Saiban come from? Takumi:  Not really. In the Gyakuten Saiban series, there is a clearly defined timeline, but this is just a game for fun, so it is set in a parallel world that is unique to Layton Kyōju VS Gyakuken Saiban.

Despite this, there are several clues in the crossover that allow it to be placed in the timeline of both series. It is a fun exercise which I will be going over here. Spoilers for both series and the crossover follow.

The crossover in the Professor Layton Timeline

The timeline of Professor Layton consists of the six original games featuring Hershel Layton as the protagonist (Curious Village, Pandora's Box, Lost Future, Spectre's Call, Miracle Mask and Azran Legacy), the movie Eternal Diva and the titles Layton Brothers: Mystery Room and Lady Layton: Katrielle & The Millionaire's Conspiracy. These last two are set several decades after the original titles and feature Hershel's adoptive children. New World of Steam, which is set to release in 2025, is set a year after Lost Future, the original game that is set latest in the timeline.

There are no exact dates or years given for the games in the Layton series, but the time between each is more or less known. Relevant for the crossover is that Luke, Hershel Layton's apprentice, uses his design from the original three games, which are all roughly set within the same year. Layton also has the university office he has in these first three games, as opposed to the office he has in Spectre's Call, Miracle Mask and Azran Legacy (which are all set before the original three games).

Left: Luke's design in the first three Layton games and in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Right: Layton's office in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (top) and Layton's office in Lost Future.

Left: Luke's designs in Spectre's Call, Miracle Mask and Azran Legacy. Right: Layton's office in Azran Legacy.

A fun fact here is that in original versions of Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Luke used his design from Spectre's Call. But nonetheless, these details place the crossover somewhere between Curious Village (the first game chronologically where Luke has his original design) and Lost Future (where Luke leaves Layton's side to go live in America). We can get more specific however.

In the crossover, Layton and Inspector Chelmey of Scotland Yard know each other. This detail places the game between Pandora's Box and Lost Future, as Layton and Chelmey meet each other for the first time in Diabolical Box. Chelmey supposedly also appears in Curious Village, but is later revealed to actually be Don Paolo in disguise.

So in conclusion, a hypothetical placement of Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney in the Professor Layton timeline would look like this:

The crossover in the Ace Attorney Timeline

The Ace Attorney timeline consists of two main trilogies and two duologies of spin-offs. The first trilogy is set in the latter half of the 2010s and consists of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Justice For All and Trials and Tribulations. The second trilogy is set seven years later in the mid 2020s and consists of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice. The two spin-off duologies are the Great Ace Attorney and Investigations series, the former of which is set about 100 years ago in the late 19th century and the latter of which takes place a month after Trials and Tribulations.

The timeline of Ace Attorney is more rigidly defined, as each case in each game specified the dates it takes place and each year is known (aside from those of the two Great Ace Attorney games, but those do not really factor into the placement of the crossover as they are set in the distant past).

There are a few references to events in the Ace Attorney timeline in Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney. The first turnabout of the game, the English Turnabout, features a character called the PC Badger, the mascot of the Metropolitan Police. He is based on the Blue Badger, which received the design the PC Badger is based on in Rise from the Ashes (the final case of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney), placing the crossover after.

Later, during the Golden Court, Phoenix Wright cross-examines the parrot Cracker. He comments that the situation feels oddly familiar, referencing the events of Turnabout Goodbyes (the fourth case of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney), where he cross-examined the parrot Polly. But given Rise from the Ashes is after Turnabout Goodbyes chronologically, this doesn't say much.

The crossover also has references to Trials and Tribulations. Maya Fey says the catchphrase 'Zvarri' a few times, which she picked up from detective Luke Atmey in the Stolen Turnabout (the third case of Trials and Tribulations). And when they are exploring ruins under Labyrinthia, Maya can comment that some of the statues there look similar to a statue of Ami Fey at Hazakura Temple. This is a reference to Bridge to the Turnabout, the final case of Trials and Tribulations, and so would place the crossover after Trials and Tribulations. While the statue also appears in the Stolen Turnabout, Hazakura Temple is never mentioned in that case.

But this makes things complicated, as Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney can only be set during a pretty small window of the timeline. Bridge to the Turnabout takes place from February 7th to February 10th of 2019. Meanwhile, in Apollo Justice, it is shown in the flashback portion of Turnabout Succession that Phoenix lost his defense attorney's badge on April 19th of 2019. During the events of the crossover, he is still a defense attorney.

So the crossover has to take place somewhere in that two-month window, but we can narrow it down further. During the credits of the crossover, it shows Phoenix defending a case back in America and standing in court against his rival, prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.

This is notable because during Trials and Tribulations and afterwards, Edgeworth is abroad studying foreign judicial systems. He only returns briefly to America during Bridge of the Turnabout to help Phoenix during the case. In the first Ace Attorney Investigations, which is set in March of 2019, it is revealed that Edgeworth went back to traveling abroad after Bridge to the Turnabout. He only returns to America during the events of Investigations and mentions he spent the previous month away from his office.

Investigations takes place from March 12th to March 17th and its sequel, Prosecutor's Gambit, takes place from March 25th to April 8th. Given how busy Edgeworth is during these days and the fact Phoenix and Maya can be seen in the background doing their own things in both games (The Kidnapped Turnabout in Investigations and Turnabout for the Ages in Prosecutor's Gambit), it seems rather infeasible the crossover takes place in these time frames. That leaves the 8 days between the two Investigations games and the 11 days between Prosecutor's Gambit and Turnabout Succession as possibilities.

The crossover takes place over the course of six days (including the prologue in London). Phoenix and Maya arrive in England per plane and it takes 10 hours to go from Los Angeles to London (and about 14 to 15 from Japan if one wants to take the Japanese versions of Ace Attorney into account). So an extra day can be tacked onto that, coming out at a total of 7, as Phoenix and Maya arrive in London during the first day the game takes place on. The crossover thus most likely would take place between Prosecutor's Gambit and Turnabout Succession, as that gives a few days to spare, tough a placement between the two Investigations games is possible if one assumes that Phoenix and Maya travel to London during one of the last days of the first Investigations game.

[definitelynotaminion]

Rated "R" - pt 3

First 7k here | Skip ahead to the end of my WIP doc/see all updates on patreon (fill 11k doc) | The tag i'm using for this fic on tumblr (chronological order)

“You bought me ice cream, once.” Tim says, voice quiet in the mic. It’s not hesitating but there’s a weight to the words, a fragility. This is important to him, and Jason could break it—and break part of Tim with it.

“Wait-- I remember that.” Jason says, suckerpunched. “I thought you were, like, eight at most.”

“I was thirteen. And a half.” Tim clarifies.

“Small for your age.” Jason says, then narrows his eyes. Underfed, maybe? No, they’d surely had a grocery service. Most likely the lack of nosy—or even present--parents to make sure a neurotic, hyperfocused bird ate regular meals, had left bad habits.

Tim hisses into the comm and Jason laughs.

“You even had a camera. How did I miss that?” A child on a fire escape, big blue eyes and a spill of dark hair.

“I had… invested a certain amount of effort into selling my cover, Jas—Jay.”

Jason grins.

“Yeah, you looked the part. I thought that was your apartment. Just a kid sneaking out of his bedroom to take pictures. Your clothes were even dry.”

“I wore a waterproof parka while traveling between roof tops, and a beanie to keep my hair dry; both of which I stored in my bag as soon as I was set up.” Tim admits, laying out the layers of schedenfrued. “Makeup, to keep up the appearance that I hadn’t been outside long—covering up ears, cheeks and nose so they didn’t flush red in the wind, but using a bit of blsuh to make sure I didn’t look pale from the cold.”

“I’d call you ‘ridiculous’ but we do that kind of thing like breathing. You just had no business making those kinds of calls as a civilian.” Jason is impressed. Fascinated.

“It worked, didn’t it? You had no idea I was so many miles away from home.” Tim’s voice picks up a little snip, but it’s… flustered.

Christ. He’d tricked the world’s greatest detectives with a little prep work and the element of surprise. Gotham kids could be pickpockets and lures into greater crimes, but a well-dressed, well-groomed kid with a high-end camera? He’d held it carefully like a middle-class kid who saved up for years, not a rich kid who could buy it a hundred times over—that would have stood out in the neighborhood he was in.

“You totally had weeks’ worth of Batman and Robin pictures on that thing, didn’t you.” Jason asks, snickering. Snickering badly.

“Jay,” Tim protests. “I backed-up and wiped my SIM card every night, in case it was stolen, I’m not stupid. A night’s worth of photography could be explained, but any more than that would be suspicious at best, at worst…”

“Incriminating.” Jason follows him, wetting his lips. “Gotta protect the secret even then, huh?”

A soft hum of agreement.

“So if I’d have looked through the past few shots…?” A leading tease. Jason grins.

“You’d have realized I didn’t live in the upper west side.” Tim admits readily. “I’d have probably run.”

“I’d have caught you.” Jason answers, without thought. “You would have been suspicious as fuck, at that point.”

“But you didn’t. And I didn’t.” Tim let the words settle. “You… teased me about it. About the pictures. The photography.”His breath picks up, exactly like a little bird trying to keep his respiration even without the cheat of tactical breathing patterns.

[accio-victuuri]

i pulled some early reviews of FPU, related to yibo and his character yang zhen. 👮‍♂️

i chose the ones on the top of the FPU page on weibo to share. credit weibo accounts/bloggers/media etc who watched the premiere and reviewed.

beware or spoilers!!!!

二火山:

The most outstanding thing about the whole film is the sniper Yang Zhen played by Wang Yibo. He has a complete character arc. After watching it, you will not feel that the sentence "I want to maintain world peace" in the trailer is half-hearted. The resolute look in his eyes as soon as he appears makes people have a deep impression. Only later did I learn that Yang Zhen chose to become a peacekeeping policeman in order to complete the unfinished business of his father who died in the line of duty. This is also a kind of inheritance.

This character is full of passion, not afraid of danger, and always regards the lives of civilian children as more important than his own. Looking at the previous roles of Lei Yu and Wei Ruolai, Wang Yibo's characters have a firm sense of mission and belief. I think this is why the director took a fancy to him. In the movie, Yang Zhen encountered danger many times without fear, and was even willing to sacrifice himself for a just cause. He created this righteous, brave and witty image in a very three-dimensional way, making people feel immersed in it. It is difficult not to feel deep respect for the peacekeeping police.

Among them are several scenes that left a deep impression: due to punishment, Yang Zhen got up immediately after doing push-ups and ran to catch up with the team's car, even if he was panting at the extreme state; He mistook him for a child and did not fire, causing his teammates to be injured and feeling guilty; especially when he was shooting at the enemy sniper, the rain kept making his eyes wet, but he was still able to aim hard and consider the wind before finally hitting the target with one shot.

水片

Wang Yibo's casting is particularly successful and outstanding, and according to the chronological sequence, this film is Wang Yibo's first film to enter the film industry. The performance is sincere and not sloppy, and the clues of his growth trajectory are particularly touching, especially in the setting of his deceased father. And with the support of producer Liu Weiqiang, the screen narrative is compact and intense, and the film is full of texture.

啵塞東東

In fact, rather than saying that Yang Zhen is an "impulsive" player, I think he is too upright and kind. (Slight spoiler warning for the next sentence) (It's harmless, don't call the police). He doesn't defend himself when the captain scolds him. It's not like he doesn't shoot. He just didn't want to hurt the child (so when he entered the house and found it was not a child, he said nonchalantly, "It turns out it's not a child").

Wang Yibo was responsible for almost 80% of the action scenes. The parkour rainy night sniper scene was frightening to watch, but they were all very beautiful action scenes, and Yang Zhen's brave young character was something that only he could play. He also looks particularly good in the peacekeeping uniform. He is very tall and handsome.

轻抚油箱85_杨震版

The plot and rhythm are very tight, basically one scene after another, like the last heavy rain, the loss of life, the sacrifice of comrades, the hard-won peace that can only be temporary, are all It happened in this hour and a half. The scenes actually focus more on the portrayal of group portraits. In addition to the peacekeeping team, more focus is placed on the refugees who have lost the envelope of peace.

Action scenes still account for a large proportion. Jumping from high buildings, falling into water, and gunfight scenes are all enough to satisfy the action movie audience. The few literary scenes and daily scenes have a little bit of the flavor of the training camp in the sky, very humorous, and overall ups and downs. there is urgency and slowness. I really like the cooperation and tacit understanding when the team fights.

Next, let’s talk about Yang Zhen. He appeared twice, once for an arm-wrestling event in the early stage and once when he walked into the dormitory on the phone. At that time, a sentence came to my mind: The show is coming. On the big screen, Yang Zhen is wild, occasionally confused, and young enough. Compared with Major Lei Yu, Lei Yu is more mature, more confident, and has clearer goals. It is also because he is young enough that he has the appearance of a newborn calf (I'm sorry, Teacher Wang Yibo didn't mean to scold me by saying you are a calf). He is not afraid of the fierceness of a tiger, and Yang Zhen's "wildness" also comes from this fierceness, which transcends bravery and is a kind of justice that is more inclined to life.

In terms of acting, it can be said that Wang Yibo's performance is still at a high level. Those who go to the cinema for Wang Yibo can rest assured that his eye movements and micro-expressions are still smooth, but the scary thing is that this smooth flow happens. Three years ago, when you went to watch this movie, you would know where Mr. Ye, who was nominated for the Golden Rooster, and Wei Ruolai, who was in the CCTV came from. Every role he played in the past was involved in it, and he became every role in the future with it. flesh and blood.

The lines are as good as ever, whether it's in English or a dialogue in a literary drama, my ears are always happy when I watch his works.

Revisiting the movie three years ago, I have the illusion of peeking into Wang Yibo during the Yang Zhen period, but it is also very romantic and I have not missed Yang Zhen. From this movie, I can conclude that you can always trust Wang Yibo when it comes to acting.

陆支羽

In my opinion, Wang Yibo is very suitable for the role of sniper Yang Zhen. There were two life-and-death collective battle scenes. The first time he risked his life to chase the murderer, and the latter time he didn't fire for fear of accidentally injuring a child, both of which almost resulted in serious consequences. At the same time, the dedication and sincerity of the character Yang Zhen is very three-dimensionally portrayed. From this, he gradually becomes more and more aware of the importance of team spirit and grows into a better peacekeeping policeman.

[yall-batman-fanfic]

In the Events of My Death: The Bruce Wayne Tapes | Batman/Bruce Wayne x Magician!Reader

Synopsis: Inspired by one of the clips in Gotham Knights, one where Dick, Jason, Tim, and Barbara found the video that Bruce wanted to post that would be the cover story of his death. Vivian helps out Alfred with cleaning up the Batcave and comes across a thumb drive that had an interesting video. No, not video. Videos.

Vivian shouldn't be surprised. She knew the reputation Bruce Wayne had when she came to Gotham. The billionaire-philanthropist-playboy was his title after all. Yet when she saw a certain harddrive that had one folder that says: Cover-Up Story for Bruce Wayne's Death. She was shocked. Who might have underestimated the playboy in that title.

~*~

“There is really no need for this, Ms. Vivian,” said Alfred as he placed one of the archived case file boxes in one corner in the Batcave. “I can handle this perfectly. Besides, it’s one of your rare days off! You should rest or do an activity outside, not dusting the Batcave and fixing Master Bruce's things.”

Vivian finished organizing the files in the box and waved a hand to have that box and the one that Alfred carried brought to the storage in one of the many storage places in the cave. “Alfred, it’s fine. There's so much to do here and you've already got a lot on your plate. Besides, Dick and Babs are coming over so we'll get this done faster. Magic can only do so much, you know.”

“Like lifting boxes?” Dick's voice echoed from the pad where he parked his motorcycle. Arriving just after him was Barbara who happily greeted them with a smile. 

“Glad to see you both can make it!” Vivian waved at them from the top.

Coming to where they were, Dick and Barbara greeted Vivian with an embrace, but the woman held onto the latter much longer. She was just glad to see that after three years and seeing the girl's fight to walk again, it finally paid off. 

“Well, it is spring cleaning, right?” Dick shrugged. “That’s a lot of cases.”

“Yeah, and I want this done before the end of the day, so, chop chop!” Vivian went back to one of the boxes she was putting away. “I know I shouldn't ask but, is Condimentsman even a case you want to keep in archives?”

“You know the man you married, Viv,” Barbara laughed. “He likes to keep things in file. Even the cat he saved from the tree.”

They worked for a few hours, sorting through cases, putting them in chronological order under certain categories. It was there when Vivian saw the transition from folders and binders to hard drives, which she, Dick, and Barbara had to sort through to see what it holds. 

In the middle of their sorting, Alfred went up to get them some snacks and then prepare to leave to pick up Tim from school, and it was then that Vivian saw it.

“Wow, this is old,” Vivian muttered as she opened the drive and saw the one folder in it that says: Cover-Up Story for Bruce Wayne's Death. “Hey, kiddo, come here for a second!”

“Coming!” Dick called out. It took him a couple of minutes before appearing at her side with Barbara. “Oh, that looks interesting.”

“It is,” Vivian said. “I don't think we —”

“We should,” said Barbara.

“Come on, it must be private.”

“Viv, we're gonna see it anyway in the event Batman dies and we need to make a cover for Bruce Wayne,” Dick shrugged. “I say we look at it now, besides, aren't you curious?”

She was. Very curious.

“Alright,” she sighed. “This is just because we will eventually see this in the unlikely event of his death.” Just saying it brought sadness to her. Vivian couldn't imagine how she would cope if Bruce were to die.

Opening the folder they were met by over a dozen clips. She decided to open the very first one in the list –”

“HOLY —”

“FUCKING —”

“SHIT!”

The three of them were left gaping at the sight of the video. It was a shot coming from someone else's camera, they weren't sure how Batman got it but he did. And the footage was of Bruce Wayne in his twenties, stripping in the Iceberg Lounge, wearing only his boxers. Music blared and audiences cheered as Bruce did his moves.

“Fuck,” Vivian couldn't believe what she was seeing. 

Was that really her husband?

“Holy shit, this is…” Dick wanted to look away, and he should but he couldn't. 

“That's it, I'm burning my eyes,” said Barbara. “Alfred, where's the bleach?”

“Bleach? What on earth do you need bleach — and what is that noise? Oh dear…” Alfred fell silent as he saw the video they were watching. “Ms. Vivian — Mrs. Wayne, I-I-I do apologize about — I was supposed to dispose of those myself!”

Vivian turned to Alfred with a raised brow, “So, this is why you wanted to do this on your own huh?”

“You must understand, Ma'am,” Alfred stumbled in his words – the man never does — and ran to the computer and stopped the clip. “Those were taken long ago — all the way back in Master Bruce's early days of his return. He needed to keep up appearances as such to keep them from thinking he is Batman.”

“That doesn't really explain the stripping, Alfred,” said Vivian. “How many of these does he have? Oh god, does he have a sex tape here?! How come I never knew about this!?”

“No… not that I have any knowledge in. Please, let me explain.”

“Please, do Alfred,” Barbara said as she sat on a stool. “I need to find a logical explanation for what I just saw.”

Alfred sighed. “As I said, upon Master Bruce's return the Batman appeared. In his first year there were already suspicions of Bruce Wayne being Batman. To silence those whispers, Master Bruce needed to create a persona that would keep them from thinking so. Thus…”

“Billionaire-philanthropist-playboy, Bruce Wayne. Emphasis on the playboy,” Vivian concluded.

“Precisely, Ma'am. He made many appearances in many places, making sure they all are memorable to make good alibis if ever the police would come and question him again. Master Bruce collected all these footages manually and compiled them in this hard drive which is labeled as such.”

“So, Bruce wants to be remembered as a stripper when he dies?” Dick said.

“Oh my god, my Father's worse nightmare. I married a stripper,” Vivian massaged the bridge of her nose. “How come he never told me this?”

“Perhaps, Master Bruce is embarrassed by these videos,” said Alfred. 

“I would be embarrassed too,” said Barbara. “

“Shall I collect these and throw them to the bin for incineration, Ma'am?”

“No,” Vivian said. “I'll be keeping hold of this for a while.” She unplugged the drive and hid it in her pocket. “Bruce will be home any minute now, I want this place done and all of you upstairs before he comes home. Alfred, tell Magic Mike that I want a word with him in the cave.”

Alfred sighed and nodded, “Very well, Ms. Vivian.”

Dick snickered. “We'll get this place cleaned up before he gets here, Viv.” He nudged at Barbara to come along. This was going to be interesting.

~*~

Bruce had a bad feeling about this. Not his Batman-bad feeling, but as a husband. When he came home, he was immediately told by Alfred to go to the cave where Vivian waited. Passing by the sitting room, he greeted Dick and Barbara, but the two only held back laughter and were snickering, which confused him and Tim.

By the time he opened his passage to the Cave, he heard Tim say, “Come on, spill it out. What are you two laughing about?”

Coming down the cave, Bruce could hear distorted loud music mixed with howls and cheers. Was Vivian watching a movie at the Batcomputer? She wouldn't! Not only because he's repeatedly told Dick, Jason, and Tim that the Batcomputer was not a home theater — besides, they have that in the manor too.

“Vivian, is everything alright?” Bruce called out.

Oh no.

There, from the stairs, he saw it. The clips. The many, many clips of his party raves, the clips of him foolishly dancing and stripping, and making an utter fool of himself in his early twenties. Dancing in parties, drinking (but really that's just ginger ale), getting lap dances, making out with every woman he had in his arms, making an utter fool of himself. And watching it all was Vivian.

Alfred was supposed to burn that hard drive!

When the clip showed him making out with one of his model dates then, Bruce ran to the computer and stopped the clip. Turning it all off.

“I can explain,” he told her.

“Don't bother, Alfred already did,” she sniffled.

He saw tears falling down her face, her eyes and nose all red and puffy as if she had been crying for a long time now. 

No, no, no…

Bruce knelt before Vivian. He pulled down her legs that were pressed against her chest and held her hands. “Viv, please, you need to understand. Those were nothing — I made them before I met you. I did all of those long before we met — I was an idiot who thought —”

Vivian wiped her tears. “I know, I know, and it was a smart move. Alfred told me why and I understand… and I was actually having a really good time, laughing at them but then it hit me… Bruce, is this really how you want people to remember you? A wild child. An asshole who does all of that?”

“It was for a cover.”

“Your legacy is not just Batman, Bruce. No one will know who Batman is, but they will remember who Bruce Wayne is,” Vivian wiped more tears away. “It was supposed to be a good laugh… me watching this but it really just hit me, what if you do die and this is all that we have to give you a cover! Or worse, you made some sort of trigger to put this out there in the event of your death and we have no idea! Think, Bruce. Think about your parents, about Alfred who raised you.Or think about me. What would it look like if that got out? It would be humiliating for me, for Dick, for Tim. It's all laughs now but the aftermath of it.”

Bruce got up and brought Vivian to an embrace. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I should have burned those a long time ago. I should have gotten rid of them the moment I turned my life around, when I realized I didn't need to be some party raving alter ego to keep them from connecting Batman to me. I should have destroyed them the moment we started dating.

“I wasn't thinking. I knew they were here but I never thought it was urgent to get rid of them.”

Vivian got up from her seat and wrapped her arms around her husband. “What hurts more, I think, is the fact you wanted to keep this from me. What happened to for better or for worse?”

Bruce held her tight. “I know… I just thought it would hurt you if you found them.”

“I would have laughed with you if we watched all of these together and not be this blubbering mess now,” she laughed.

“I promise. This is the only one. The only secret that I have from you. The rest you know all about it,” he kissed the top of her head. “I'm so sorry, Vivian.”

Vivian shook her head and told him. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, Bruce.”

“I made you cry.”

“This is my own doing. I shouldn't have watched them behind your back.”

“I still made you cry because I hid them from you.”

Looking up, Vivian got on her toes and kissed his lips. “Forgiven. I'm sorry too, for snooping.”

“It's cleaning day, it was inevitable,” Bruce sighed. 

Wiping her tears, Bruce leaned down and kissed her. “No more secrets, I promise.”

Vivian let out a laugh, “And I thought I was the wild-child between the two of us.”

“I don't think I can top your record: demon hunting, exorcisms, and parties,” Bruce teased. “You don't happen to have videos that are…”

“None. Unless you count the one that had BBC News reporting about Halloween and we were running in the background being chased by a demon.”

“I'll start looking for that.”

Smiling, she kissed him again, but her smile fell as the thought crossed her mind. Bruce noticed the changed and asked her what she was thinking. She said: “I don't want the day to come where we'd have to put up a cover video to explain how Bruce Wayne died… I don't ever want to do that.”

“And you won't. I'll do everything to come back to you, Vivian.”

Taking the hard drive, he held it out for Vivian and said, “Would you do the honors?”

Laughing, Vivian had the hard drive levitate in midair and then burned to a crisp.

~*~

It was late in the night when he returned from patrol. Vivian was fast asleep but the sound of their bedroom door opening and his shoes strolling in woke her from her slumber. Getting up, Vivian greeted Bruce with a, “welcome home,’ with a yawn.

Cape and cowl removed, Bruce sat on the bed and greeted her with a kiss. “Go back to bed,” he said.

“I will when you get here,” Vivian patted on his spot. “So hurry up and get cleaned up. I miss you.”

Chuckling, Bruce leaned down and kissed her again before getting up to head to the shower. He had a quick shower and once done, he went straight to bed, snuggling close to his wife who did not mind his nude body under the covers. 

“Are you asleep?” Bruce asked.

“Nope, I can't now with you poking me from behind,” Vivian teased him.

“Since you're awake, I want to show you something.”

“Bruce, it's later. Let's stay in bed,” Vivian whined.

“We will, it won't be long. I promise,” Bruce reached for his phone and did a few swipes and taps before finding the thing he was looking for. “Here, watch.’

Vivian opened her eyes and watched from his phone the footage he got. It was one of the footage she took during their honeymoon or was it one of their dates on the yacht? Bruce was laying on the beach bench and she was the only holding the camera recording the entire thing.

Bruce, if you wanna sleep, go below deck. Else you'll get sunburned, the Vivian in the video said.

The Bruce in the video sat up and pulled Vivian down, there was a struggle in the camera, laughter and kisses were heard and soon they saw their faces as Vivian held the camera facing them.

Always looking after me, He said in the video.

Somebody has to.

I love you, Pryor.

I love you, Wayne. 

The video ended and Bruce swiped to another one, this time it was taken during their dates and the one who got the shot was a man from the press who wanted to get footage of the couple having a dance, both conversing about something that made Vivian laugh and Bruce kissed her.

The next video was of the couple being filmed by one of Vivian's students as they had a lunch date at Gotham University’s cafeteria. The students teased them, asking how the “michelin star” food was.

The next video was of them walking in the museum. It was Dick who took the shot and was teasing them a lot.

Then the next video, and the next, and the next. All showing videos of the two of them, all stolen moments, all filled with laughter and love.

“In the event that I die, I want one of these to be put out,” said Bruce. “I want them all to know about Bruce Wayne who was a loving husband to his wife. Because you are my legacy, Viv. You and the boys.”

Vivian turned to face him and kissed him deeply. “I love you, Bruce,” she said.

“I love you, Vivian,” he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on top of him. Laughter erupted from the couple's lips as she felt him press against her thigh. In one swift movement, she removed her top and Bruce easily moved her underwear to the side as his fingers played with her folds and her clit. 

“My love, I can't wait any more,” Viivian whispered and aligned him to her and went down until she got him to the hilt. 

Bruce held her waist and helped her move. “I wouldn't mind dying tomorrow if this is the last thing I see,” he joked.

Vivian bit her lip and then took his phone and handed it to him. “We're deleting it immediately.”

She was sure to have felt him grow harder inside her as Bruce turned on the camera and started recording after placing it just above to give the footage a good view of Vivian riding him. 

“I wouldn't mind this going out too,” he teased.

“No,” Vivian rolled her hips, making them both moan.

“Right, just for tonight then,” Bruce chuckled and thrusted his hips up, making her squeak his name. 

The video lasted for an hour, and the two decided to keep it longer than intended to watch as they gave themselves to each other.

[oldworldwidgets]

TEDDY TIME TEDDY TIME

howdy pardners this is theodore dawson, my courier from new vegas :3 he is very large and very angry yet very soft and very gay and he is so precious to me

here's his playlist!! once again it's chronological so u can listen to his story like a fun yeehaw jukebox musical. i think his is my favorite of all my character playlists

alllll the teddy stuff (appearance, stats, story before the canon events of the game, fun facts) can be found under the cut!!! if you feel so inclined to read The Long Version written like a story where my longwinded ass spends about 7k words talking about themes and character motivations (and some soft gay longing perhaps), it's up on ao3 here.

appearance

41 years old; birthday may 3, 2240

6’6 with broad shoulders, generally built like a securitron.

patches of vitiligo splash across his face, chest, and arms

bennys bullet hit the right side of his face, carving a path from his eye to his ear, where a chunk of his ear is missing

because of this, he's blind in his right eye. the blind eye (a light, milky blue) is always a bit more closed than the seeing one (a dark, warm brown)

dark auburn chin-length hair and a short beard, both peppered with white because of his age and vitiligo. a big chunk of hair behind his ear is white as it grows from the scar.

he wears a horse or cow-skin vest with a great khans patch on the back

signature black cowboy hat, either on the top of his head or tied around his neck so it hangs down his back

gold jewelry - dangly cross earring in his left ear, upside down cross on a leather strap around his neck, big ass belt buckle

bright red shotgun shells on leather belt slung around his waist for his shotgun, dinner dell

stats

SPECIAL: 8, 1, 4, 5, 9, 2, 10

favorite perks: confirmed bachelor, animal friend, ferocious loyalty, intimidating presence

story

his dad was raised in utah and was very strictly mormon. when new jerusalem collapsed, dad moved himself, his wife, and his first son to the mojave and found work on an NCR sharecropper farm.

teddy was born fifth of six kids: four older brothers and one younger sister. he, his sister hannah, and his brother noah all have very visible vitiligo.

the kids were all also raised strictly mormon. his whole childhood, they were very poor. "at least we have each other" poor. his dad blamed it on the NCR, who owned the house and land and animals they ranched. they owned nothing, and the NCR paid them little more than that. teddy was quickly disillusioned with the NCR, then with the three of his brothers who decided to join them. one brother stayed back to inherit the ranch.

turns out, the NCR was paying; dad was just gambling it all away. he was so deeply in debt to all the families on the strip that they all decided to cut their losses and burn his farm to the ground.

that's... that's the story teddy decided to tell hannah, anyway (he wouldnt tell u this but he totally burnt that shit down on purpose). mom, dad, and one of his brothers were lost in the fire. teddy and hannah made it out, waved goodbye, parted ways.

teddy took his horse, old red, and began running jobs for whoever needed them. he never tied himself to one organization aaand his jobs weren't always above the ethical board. really, it was luck of the draw that, on any given day, he was the one defending the caravan instead of stealing from it

when he eventually went searching for his siblings, he found that two of the three brothers that had enlisted, predictably, were killed on duty. noah, though, had absconded almost immediately upon arrival due to a nasty chem habit

he found hannah "working" in front of gomorrah on the stip - her vitiligo made them instantly recognizable to each other - but she pretended not to know him because she was ashamed. he understood and gave up, but not before she hinted that he could find noah at the old mormon fort

he did, in fact, find noah there, medically detoxing under the care of some hot, blonde doctor (bweheheh....). they reconnected and it was..... really nice, even when they talked about how ashamed their dad would be if he could see them. it didnt matter. the family disappointments were the only family survivors.

teddy and arcade quickly grew very fond of each other, with arcade even being the first one to call him "teddy" after he told the doctor his name was theodore. he decided, despite its cutesy nature, to keep it.

after finishing his open jobs, teddy decided to stay with noah at the fort and run jobs for the followers when they needed it. he got reeeal comfy with arcade, and their subtle, playful flirtations eventually became noticeable to others. his brother, angry and sick from chem withdrawal and still fighting his religious upbringing, could not handle finding out that his baby brother was gay. when he did, he angrily shouted slurs and threw bottles at them until he was sedated and returned to bed.

teddy left the fort that night while everyone but the night watchman slept. he struggled to recover from what happened and drifted listlessly for a while... until he heard the news that noah had fled from his "rehab" program in the fort the day after teddy left, overdosed, and died.

the news spurred something in him, and he went looking for a real family and place to call home. after excelling in his initiation trials, he found one with the great khans. for two years, he was their resident rancher, runner, therapist, you name it.

then: 2278. the bitter springs massacre. teddy was away when it happened, and he still hasnt forgiven himself for it.

he spent the next three years drifting - again. hunting NCR. somehow racking up bounties in seemingly every single tribe in the mojave. his infamy, believe it or not, helped him survive: when he came across those who would kill him or turn him in, they seemed to prioritize who got to turn him in and collect the bounty over keeping themselves alive. whoops!

it was exhausting, though. drifting, killing, taking on the wasteland completely alone (except his beloved animals) took a heavy toll on teddy. he'd always been a killer and an outlaw, but he'd always been paid to clear other people's consciences. now, he felt he was only killing people to run from the consequences of his own actions. it was exhausting.

so, when three strangers – one in a loud, black-and-white checkered blazer – tried to knock him out and bind his hands, well… he had no reason not to let them.

*aint that a kick in the head starts blaring*

fun facts

hes not a big chem guy but hes such an alcoholic. in game he keeps at least 10 whiskeys on him at all times but would prefer to drink a sarsaparilla over using a stimpak.

he needs glasses pretty badly for his one seeing eye but he’s too stubborn to wear them

his scars always look a bit irritated because he doesnt take care of himself

he was a big pistol guy before benny shot him, but after he went blind in his aiming eye and started suffering from bouts of dizziness, he became a shotgunner. they require a far-from-perfect style of aiming

[slythereen]

also off the top of my head i’m pretty sure drivers don’t usually clap for each other when they get handed the trophy?? maybe for like super significant podiums but i don’t think it’s usual?? i have a bad memory though so take this with a grain of salt for sure

you 🤝 me

horrendous memory for details

anyway by popular demand (my own) (i am the only one asking for this) i decided to do some investigative journalistic research (rewatched some banger podiums).

my final conclusion: idk they seem to run on vibes. like. it's definitely not a Every Time Absolutely, Have Manners™ type of situation. but at least a little clapping each podium, not necessarily limited to p1. there does not appear to be an upwards trend or anything, chronologically. it seems to vary (though i might say that they do it reflexively if the clapping starts earlier and thus clap more for those podiums... hmmm).

choosing the narrative i want where science has failed me to say max and lewis did it for charlie<3

baku gp 2023

charles interestingly is clapping for max as he walks out

max claps for checo as he walks out; charles fixes his hat and then starts clapping too (i get you charlie)

can't see max and charles for the first part of checo's trophy, but they are not clapping for the end of it (and charles is fixing his bracelet so i don't think he was before)

neither max nor charles clap for the medal

all three clap for the rbr mechanic (charles joins a lil late but it's okay that's not his team... yet)

can't see charles and checo for the trophy lift, but by the time you see them when max sets his down they are not clapping (there is a slight tiny smidge of movement to the left as he is handed it that makes me think checo claps. but not firm enough evidence)

you can only see checo for charles' trophy and he is clapping animatedly (as is the rbr mechanic)

conclusion: errrr... they clap when they remember to. rbr mechanic domination. also, checo is kind of a sweetheart with his animated clapping on podiums thus far.* (*this says thus far bc i actually watched out of order)

austria gp 2023

max, checo, and the rbr mechanic clap after the anthem, charles does not (he's busy fixing his hat okay it's important) (this isn't part of my stats i just thought it was funny)

charles and checo clap when max lifts the trophy (you can see checo clapping at the end of the shot. charles is out of frame BUT you can see his arm/elbow moving as he claps presumably so i'm taking it)

checo claps for the medal; charles does not

you can't see the drivers for the rbr mechanic's trophy (except checo at the end, clapping)

you can't see the drivers for charles' trophy

you can't see the drivers until checo is putting his trophy down, they are not clapping then but they might have already stopped. counting it as a negative bc of the hands on the hips / no evidence to support a positive (the rbr mechanic is still clapping at this point)

conclusion: p1 gets some claps?

belgium gp 2023

can't quite see charles when checo initially walks out, but by the time he is in his spot charles is not clapping / is fixing his hat (i sense a theme, charlie)

checo and charles both clap for max walking out

all three clap for the anthem

charles claps for max's trophy lift (checo is shaking hands with the presenter but also does not start clapping for the end of it)

can't see charles for the medal; checo does not appear to clap but is busy leaning in to tease max about something

max claps for the rbr mechanic (can't see charles and checo for the whole time but they weren't at the start/end)

max claps for checo's trophy (can't see charles until very end, movements too ambiguous to guess if he was or not) (rbr mechanic claps too)

max claps for charles' trophy (can't see checo)

conclusion: max emilian is something of a consistent clapper. lestappen consistently clap for one another (not enough data on checo, so they might all three be on par with one another).

mexico gp 2023

charles and lewis do not initially clap for max getting the trophy, but do after the handshakes with the presenter / when he lifts it (no claps for the medal)

charles and max clap for the rbr mechanic lifting the trophy after the handshakes

i can't tell for lewis - f1 rudely cut to toto clapping like a proud dad so didn't see max or charles for the trophy 🤨

max starts clapping for charles before the presenter even hands him the trophy. casual.

we know lewis started clapping fairly quickly too from the side angle video but he wasn't in frame for the f1tv broadcast

conclusion: more or less clapping at least 66% of the time.

for some comparative analysis...

monza gp 2023 (tears in my eyes)

no one claps for the walk outs

checo and carlos both clap for max's trophy lift

no one claps for the medal

can't see the drivers for checo's trophy

max claps for carlos; checo joins in belatedly

(i forgot how awkward it is that carlos had to hype the crowd... at monza)

singapore gp 2023 (i'm suffering for the people)

lewis doesn't clap on lando's walkout

it looks like lando clapped a bit for carlos' walkout

lewis and lando clap for carlos' trophy (lando joins a little late)

lando claps for the medal

lando and lewis clap for fred (carlos is doing something with the trophy it looks like)

lewis claps for lando... carlos doesn't (🤨)

can't see the drivers for lewis' trophy lift but it looks like carlos gave a clap or two at the end

(oh carlos hyped the crowd in singapore too... maybe that's just his thing)

conclusion: sir lewis hamilton is a gentleman. lando is also a consistent clapper. carlos is roughly 50%. not really a super strong correlation between p1 and guaranteed claps.

[the-kipsabian]

god this got so much longer than i intended im so sorry oof

i am admittedly very fascinated by kips gear design (so much so in fact that i straight up asked him if we could ever hear process or design notes about it lmao), so i had some of my own thoughts honestly

im gonna make this in chronological order cause its easier to explain the reasoning that way, so i hope it makes sense but

so we have to go back to the last of the superbad designs first

i cannot for the life of me find a photo of the backside of the gear, but i literally rewatched arcade anarchy for research for this as thats one match i can name from the top of my head where he wears this, and it holds no relevancy (apart from the 'superbad' text on the ass) to what im gonna talk about later, so

but yeah.. i have no explanation for this design choice tbh lol. im pretty sure most of this was just "because he liked the colors and it looked cool", its mostly an aesthetic choice afaik. which, admittedly, it is. its really fucking pretty. the only thing i can say from the top of my head is the drip effect on the top of the tights, as that was in some previous superbad shorts, so thats a recycled thing (and will continue to be, so its good to point out here). likewise the non-matching kneepads, tho interestingly enough the side of the one with images changes as we move on, which. i'll talk about a bit later

i just wanted to point this one out cause it has some elements that keep on appearing later, and also cause its pretty. longboy supremacy 💜

moving onto the return/boxman gear

the boxman gear holds up some of the old design choices - the different kneepads, the drip effect, at this point he also had mismatching kickpads which i found extremely interesting (especially after realizing this was a repeat design choice. like if you look at them, the right one has a light pattern on it but the left one doesnt. and then compare those to the superbad kickpads. same thing). and yeah the superbad text still remains on the ass, which i find kinda funky considering he literally right up to the reveal of this new look went around ripping into his old self so. hmm. tho this is a point im gonna bring up in the collective thoughts later, so put a pin on it

but. theres a few things i wanna focus on here. mainly the clearly toned down color scheme - the more wine red, black and white is clearly toned down from whatever that aesthetic mess was before. but it works, especially later with the colored hair. i dont know the significance of it apart from him just really liking those colors so he wanted to use them (which i believe he has mentioned off-hand before so im just pulling this from my memory idk), but im mentioning them now to talk about it later a bit more when we get to the current design

also the big head on the side. this is more relevant later, again, with how it changes from design to design, but its interesting to see that despite moving on from his "previous self", hes still carrying that image with him. sure its a bit more updated, but the base for the superbad is there and used for it. like i get it that its a logo thing, but still. it sure is a choice

and thennnnn the kneepads. cause this is where i feel like the interesting shit starts (before we move on to current look which is what really prompted this whole thought process). see, there used to be a kip head there. now its a question mark. which has been imagery he used a lot during the boxman era both before and after his return, even to the point where there was a question mark on the back of the box (with the word 'back', yes, but the question mark was still very much there. omnipresent, if you will, as was the boxman himself). it feels like a nod about forgetting, abandoning to your old self and searching for something new, searching for yourself again. to me this looks like a sign of 'who am i/who was i' type of deal, like its such a deliberate choice of where its put - and yes i know the knees change between this and the previous design, but i feel like the point still stands. even more so with the swapped knee tbh, being so lost trying to find yourself you make mistakes. i know this is a reach but bear with me lmao

I ALSO ACTUALLY HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THE KICKPADS CAUSE I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING

look at this. look at it. so i mentioned before that the different patterning on the kickpads, right? well its only on the right side. which is also the only side with the drip effect on it. and look at the kickpad. the pattern shows better in the ddt photo lighting, but what does that look like? its kinda like a blood splatter. and knowing at this point in time, for this character, kip was doing character studies and consuming media etc. about characters that were most often serial killers or otherwise similarly deranged... yeah baby this is a nod to that you cant tell me otherwise!!

and then some choices i just wanna mention cause i think they're interesting but i have no fucking idea what they mean or why they are there lmao. apart from the 'time changes us all' text on the right side, thats pretty obvious (and plays to everything else ive pointed out so far actually) as well as the fact that instead of a few selected fingers, he started taping almost all of them (wedding band my beloved). that one i know he has mentioned was an aesthetic choice cause he liked it (also it might have something to do with him previously having dislocated a finger mid match sssooooo)

but anyways

i just really wanna talk about the lacing of the kickpad. yeah, just the one. cause i really dont know why, but im completely in love with the asymmetry of this design choice, its very similar to the one patterned kneepad. its also made into a more obvious one as time goes on i think, cause its barely visible in the return match at all in zero hour, but just few months down the line its fully visible and you can even see it in the promo pictures, the bow end of it just dangling about. i just honestly think its really cute, but also relevant to, again, the current design so im gonna talk about it more later

..and then i just offhand wanted to mention. this. cause i dont know what the fuck this is or why its a choice in this design but. it is. so here you go have fun lmao

(like in speculation i had a quick thought that MAYBE its trying to match pennys new gears garter belt style, as its just about the same spot, and since they did kinda matching styled gear? but thats literally all i got. i got so distracted by this fucking thing and i have no idea what it is. i hate it now, thats all i know lmao) anyways, moving on! current design yay!!

so what i find the most interesting here, compared to the two others, is lack of color. honestly i think the grayscale works wonderfully with the rest of the design choices as well as his current look, but seeing him go from the previously colored design to this just sparked a thought in me.. tho idk how much of that actually plays into this design choice, considering this was done before he started the transition more away from what the boxman had become with the 'underrated and over it' gimmick and hes moving towards a much more confident version of himself again (sex idol, anyone?), but hes trying to prove something here. less flash in design, more flash in character, if that makes sense. also, classic villain look, black and white and cheesy blond 80s hair. i love him

the drips are also to the minimum now for some reason, and the splat pattern on the kickpad is gone. which is sad cause i really loved that detail, but again, minimalism, more classical and clean look. it still works, but i miss it. i also just like it how all the text is easier to look now, while that font just has the creep vibes. this whole set up feels like a homage to old black and white horror movies tbh, now that i think about it which i absolutely would not put past him

whichhhhh leads us to the first big point i wanted to make with this one - the mask on the side that now entirely replaces the previous kip heads. he very briefly brought it up as part of the two episode stint they did in ddt in february this year with penny, and there was like a single photoshoot in aew with it

and then it was never brought up again. which i believe is cause kip said once that he was waiting for a good opportunity and a longer storyline to bring it out for its full potential. which, sadly never happened as i believe he has now plans to move on from it (and possibly return to the box? we shall see, but thats what he said he wanted to do, so), but i find it interesting that its chosen as the new logo to replace the original kip head on the tights, but yet the box logo design remains on both the front and the back of the jacket (which i didnt bring up here as while i love the design, it holds no relevancy in these cases im talking about here, apart from this one) and the actual mask is never seen on screen

the second thing i wanna talk about is the text on the back. previous two designs have said 'superbad', this one says 'the gallery' - for uninformed, this was(/is?) the unofficial team name of kip, butcher, blade, bunny and penelope. although i believe they are more or less now coining the name 'deadly alliance', but since neither is official... anyways, i just wanna point it out that hes moving on from singling and acknowledging himself only, and moving more into team territory here, which is an interesting touch. especially for someone who can often be viewed as a mastermind behind the things he makes his little henchmen do. hmmm (i could talk about this alliance forever but im gonna spare you, let it just be known that i dont think they are on as equal standings within this group as they might let you believe or think themselves lmao. like kip is obviously leading this bunch of killers but thats a whole another tangent. its just an interesting thought in the relation to him now having a team name on the gear [especially when in the meantime both butcher and blade i believe just have their names SO])

and finally! the actual thing that made me wanna write this whole four fucking hours long operation!! the color splash details!!!

these. the lacing. its the only colorful thing in these pants and it has sparkled so many thoughts in me god. like i obviously see how these were easy to recycle from the previous design (although they are different laces so. theres also that. which makes this an even more deliberate choice), and keeping the colors consistent by making the two similar pieces the same color. this also can be tied together to the horror movie theme still, as while we lack blood splatters overall, we do have these here. in red. which i feel like is an important detail

i do want to, however, talk about why i thought this was so important and what it sparked in me. now, this might be the part where im fucking reaching and reading too much into this, but.. in this transition towards something new and something else, few former pieces remain, although they change along the way. the kneepads are still similar, the pants are still pinstriped, the red laces are there, the kickpads are similar, minor changes to some of the designs, etc.. the basics are the same, but it swaps to new things over time, as we move on

whats the saying thats hes using as a catchphrase and a hashtag everywhere again?

embrace the change

so you see. hes embracing it. hes moving on. hes changing. little by little, things are different, but hes making the active role in accepting it and making them happen. hes still the same old underneath, just the perception to outside and how its viewed is different. the patterns change. the colors change. the names, the phrases, the looks. they all change, hes embracing it, but it all comes down to the same old, because thats the thing; even if youre moving on, you cant forget your roots. cause whats the other, a bit lesser known saying?

time doesnt heal; it changes you

thank you for coming to my tedtalk

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — October 08-14

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This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

10-08 → The Instagram posted nine photos from the MYFM live show.

→ GXG posted a photo of Gong Jun from the airport in Paris, highlighting their clothes.

→ Gong Jun Outdoor Office posted nine photos of Gong Jun in a puffy coat. Caption: "Boss fights for the first place (the first person to wear a down jacket)!"

10-09 → Fresh posted a Q&A video featuring Gong Jun. [subbed video] Fan Observation: It was noticed that he had some scratches on his left forearm. At the time of this post it is not known when this video was filmed.

→ The Instagram posted ten photos of "Zhang Zhehan".

10-10 → Vogue+ posted a video featuring Gong Jun for their issue that he acted as guest editor on. Caption: "Even under the packaging of the entertainment industry filter, people can still clearly perceive @ Gong Jun Simon as a person under his handsome appearance. of truth and intensity. He is not perfect, and is even a little cutely clumsy, often showing subconscious and natural reactions inadvertently. Compared with the stereotyped popular idols, people can observe more emotional resonances similar to themselves in him. Sincerity and warmth are his most dazzling shining points, and are also the source of his concern for autistic people. Rather than clinging to the unreachable distance and insurmountable barriers between hearts, the simple big boy hopes to open his heart."

→ The Instagram posted a video of "Zhang Zhehan".

→ Gong Jun posted a douyin of himself in Paris. Caption: "Shake the Paris inventory #check in a new look"

→ GXG posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

10-11 → Vogue+ posted a teaser video for the photoshoot they would release later. Caption: "There is always an inextricable connection between the soul and emotions, and for the autistic group, the innate sensitivity can also be converted into strength, insight, and perception. Under their brushes, the strong emotions overflowing with colour always hit the soul so directly; on their canvases, the creative patterns are freely telling their love to the world. What kind of emotion is that? Let us follow the guest editor of Vogue+ October issue @ Gong Jun Simon to collect every bit of tenderness like the clear sky after the rain, and listen to the voice from the soul."

Ten minutes later they posted another teaser video. Caption: "✨The stars put together a gorgeous night, 🎨colourful brushes depict the appearance of the world. On top of this gentle blue sky, everything is unconstrained imagination. There are no so-called identity labels here, and there are no boundaries. Natural talents and abilities are the best answers. What kind of imagination for the future does the unique inner world of autistic people contain? 🎈Let’s release the balloons with good wishes. @ Gong Jun Simon, the guest editor of the October issue of Vogue+, will come to this colourful but silent territory with us."

→ Vogue+ posted the cover of their October issue featuring Gong Jun. Caption: "Autism is not a disease, but a lifelong disorder. Autistic people have social communication difficulties. Their inner world is colourful and single-minded. Each of them is unique. They just use their unique perspective to perceive the external world and give them some friend-like support. They may be like us. Share their view of the world. How to observe? How to listen? How to be patient? Whether it is those who love them or those who are loved by them, they have also learned to cherish the colourfulness of life, learn to appreciate different beauties, and learn to feel the silent poetry because of getting along with autistic children. And @ Gong Jun Simon is also one of them. For him, getting along with autistic children is a rare form of 'mutual healing.'

This is the original intention of this cover co-creation plan. As the guest editor of the October issue of VOGUEplus, Gong Jun hopes to use fashion and creativity as a source of public welfare to focus on this special group and let more people understand autism in the right way. Help them obtain more social resources and live the normal life they deserve.

During the co-creation process, we were also amazed by the talents displayed by many autistic children. We used their paintings as fashion design inspiration and told you their stories."

This was reposted by Gong Jun's studio with the added caption: "Transcend spiritual barriers and immerse in wonderful fairy tales. @ Gong Jun Simon listens carefully and protects the innocence and beauty."

→ Vogue+ posted their interview with Gong Jun.

→ Vogue+ posted nineteen photos from their shoot with Gong Jun. Caption: "The world is not black and white. Everyone should have the right to open their heart and show their personality. Sometimes, our tolerance can also be transformed into a strength to support the diversity of this world. 'As a group of people with autism, they live in their own unique world. It is difficult for the outside world to receive their expressions. Therefore, we need to "listen attentively" and give more love and patience to their hearts. I have heard many stories about autistic families, and I hope that through this focus and communication with Vogue+, more people will pay attention to them.'

In the creation of the October issue of Vogue+, we worked with guest editor @ Gong Jun Simon who always falls into emotion invariably. Under the paintbrushes of autistic people, the gorgeous colours always contain emotions blooming on the canvas, freezing those beautiful imaginations. Even in the paintings of adults with autism, we can still see those symbols of freshness and purity. Although his increasingly mature brushwork means that he is constantly growing in his own universe, the beauty he creates remains the same. We cannot bear to break this peace and happiness. Only by listening attentively can we see their true inner thoughts."

→ Vogue+ posted another twelve photos from the shoot. Caption: "Autism itself is a description of a group with essential barriers to social interaction, and each of us is also likely to encounter varying degrees of difficulties and obstacles in this society. Before we have any contact with the autism community, there always seems to be an invisible wall between us and them. Although we can see each other, we don’t quite understand each other’s world.

'At first, my knowledge of autism was limited to some information on the Internet. I also saw on the Internet that there is an organization in Beijing that focuses on helping autistic children and families, and that they organize charity companionship activities. Having this can really help. It is a way for me to get to know, contact and love them freely.' As the guest editor of the Vogue+ October issue, @Gong Jun Simon was fortunate to learn about the Beijing Xingxingyu Education Research Institute by chance. There, for the first time, he learned deeply about the way to get along with autistic children, and felt their unique cuteness; their innate talents in music, painting and other artistic fields; their use of color and unique imaginations… They are 'children of the stars.' They have built a small world for themselves and use interactive methods that are not easily accepted by others to try to establish connections, and their small world is not easy for us to see because it is too pure. For this special group of people who need a lot of encouragement and tolerance to open their hearts, perhaps equal love is the gentlest answer."

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a video from the Vogue+ photoshoot. Caption: "Stop at the Children's Castle and indulge in radiant reverie. @ Gong Jun Simon uses relaxation and ease to apply for a moment of freedom." BGM is It's Not Your Toy by MokkaMusic and 我喜歡 by chill boy.

→ Gong Jun posted twelve photos from the Vogue+ shoot. Caption: "Listen carefully and embrace innocence." He also posted eighteen to his Xiao Hong Shu, caption: "Come Colour the world🎨" and ten to his Instagram, caption: "🤫 ! Listen!" (originally in English)

→ Gong Jun Outdoor Office posted a brief clip from the Vogue+ shoot. Caption: "What does it mean? I can’t understand"

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a douyin from the Vogue+ shoot. Caption: "Sit on @ Gong Jun Simon's time machine and return to childhood~"

→ Gong Jun's studio posted twelve behind the scenes photos from the Vogue+ shoot. Caption: "Restart childhood and capture purity. @ Gong Jun Simon touches the dreamy miracles and looks for vitality."

→ Xie Yiwen, Xie Yihua's sister who co-owns the EHz.Z trademarks, made a post (link leads to screenshots) on her Instagram showing that she designed the costme worn by Zhang Sanjian at the 10-07 MYFM live show. Almost immediately after, the EHz.Z Weibo deleted a post they had made referring to the outfit as "high end." Previous pieces she's made were sold online for 100RMB.

10-12 → Vogue+ posted a written interview with Gong Jun.

→ Vogue+ posted three vlogs [1] [2] [3] by Gong Jun from the photoshoot talking about some of the outfits. Subbed videos: [1] [2] [3]

→ Vogue+ posted five miscellaneous photos with quotes from Gong Jun. Caption: "Open this issue of the magazine, and you will also receive the fixed column #Gong Jun's healing handling#, travel through time with @ Gong Jun Simon , and see '"Me" having a conversations with "me". Here are also the puppies that I met when I went camping in my daily leisure time; the healing sunset I saw after a tiring day of shooting; the cute little things I bought at the corner store and the brilliance of life.' It is heart-warming moments like these that constitute Gong Jun’s little world.❤️" Fan Observations: Regarding the "'Me' having a conversation with 'me'" one: the Vogue+ photoshoot was released on the release anniversary of Zhang Zhehan's mini-album, I Met Myself.

→ The Instagram posted a video of Zhang Zhehan in the outfit Xie Yiwen made.

10-13 → Gong Jun's studio posted ten photos of Gong Jun from that day. "Extremely elegant and interpreting classic style, @ Gong Jun Simon sets out on a journey to explore the secret realm of the Fantasy Sea."

→ Gong Jun attended an event for Tiffany & Co.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a video of the earlier photoshoot and another at the Tiffany event. Caption: "The blue sea surges and the mist rises. @ Gong Jun Simon explores the story of the ocean."

10-14 → Gong Jun's studio posted nine photos of him from the Tiffany event. Caption: "The spirit of the deep sea rests on the chest, and the bright crown interprets romance. @ Gong Jun Simon traces mysterious legends in the fantasy sea."

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a douyin from the Tiffany event. Caption: "In the secret realm of the fantasy sea, the aloof male god @ Gong Jun Simon performs the ultimate nobility." BGM is Golden Hour by JVKE.

→ Tiffany & Co. posted two photos of Gong Jun from the previous evening's event. Gong Jun reposted this with the added caption: "Wander the secret realm of the fantasy sea and encounter the wonderful life of the deep sea."

→ Tiffany & Co. posted a collection of photos of celebrities who had attended their event.

→ The Instagram posted ten photos of "Zhang Zhehan".

→ Gong Jun's studio posted updates on the lawsuits previously made public on 03-17 and some new ones, showing that some have been won. Among those being sued are antis, whalers, and Grifter Wu; Grifter Wu's account is connected to CAPA, so it's possible that Gong Jun's lawsuit against him could be useful for Zhang Zhehan's case. Caption: "The latest progress of Mr. Gong Jun’s reputation protection case is explained below. We will always insist on using legal means to protect Mr. Gong Jun’s legitimate rights and interests, and all compensation received from the case will be donated to support public welfare projects."

Additional Reading: → The scam gang is now trying to sell claims that Gong Jun and Zhang Sanjian are "back on good terms" and that there were "reasons" for the divorce video. 🤡

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[monstraparty]

THE CAROUSEL/HORSE APPEARANCES

The carrousel and horses appear throughout Mahiru’s second trial:

There are 3 main colored horses that appear throughout the entire MV

(I know it’s hard to tell here but you’ll see it better throughout the post)

There is a blue horse representing the Boyfriend, the pink horse representing Mahiru, and the green horse representing something

———————————————————————

Here are all the appearances of the horses/carousel in chronological order:

We first see the blue and green horse. The blue horse that represents the boyfriend is to the side on the left, and the green horse is in front of his body.

the next shot is showing the pink horse with Mahiru is in actually in the middle of the horses (in the carousel) and couldn’t be seen from the angle of the first shot. The green horse is in front of the pink horse on the carousel however the camera angle shows the green horse in the middle.

The blue horse is now covering Mahiru/the pink horse. The green horse is side-by-side to the blue horse as it covers Mahiru.

When Mahiru goes to the broken couch, she’s in front of the pink horse as the green horse follows right behind.

When it becomes Mahiru’s “dream state” the pink horse is the only one that appears. It stands right behind the boyfriend.

Then it shows the carousel going around, and it gets corrupted of the dream state images. The carousel is in all white as the background is black

the dream state images are distorted but colored how they were originally, and shown over the carousel.

next it shows the boyfriend and Mahiru together. There is a horse behind the boyfriend. The covered up horse is in the middle of the blue and pink horse. The pink horse is to the right next to where Mahiru is and the blue horse is to the left distant front the boyfriend.

The sparkle effect does cover up the blue horse at the end of the shot, but this might not be like an artistic choice of interpretation but more of “we put the effect over the scene and that just happened lol” still worth noting though.

The both of them are shown together now, and they cover up a third horse. The pink horse is behind Mahiru and the blue horse is behind the boyfriend. The sparkle effect covers the horse behind the pink horse. The background horse to the right corner seems green but it’s hard for me to tell. If it is the green horse, it is in front of the pink and blue horse in the carousel.

Next it shows Mahiru on the pink horse in the very front leading as Mahiru is on top looking back at her boyfriend. The green horse is in the middle of the horses but farther back from the scene. The boyfriend is on the blue horse looking at Mahiru smiling.

Next it shows the forest and the real world. The green horse disappears from the scene as Mahiru and the boyfriend are still on their horses. They both are wearing tattered clothes and still looking at each other.

When it shows Mahiru giving her boyfriend a piece of cake/rat to eat, in the dream state where we see her giving him cake, we see the pink horse behind the boyfriend followed by the green horse in the very back behind the pink one.

Next it shows the dream world horses spinning. We see pink and orange horses.

The previous horses become tattered and worn down and a purple-ish effect is put over.

It shows the pink horse

Then the green horse distant and blurred but in the middle of the pink and blue horse. The green horse is a lot closer to the blue horse than it is to the pink horse.

Finally, it shows the blue horse bloody and tattered up, and the boyfriend is shown hanging as his rope looks like the poles connecting the horses to the carrousel.

(feel free to correct me if the order is wrong or if I missed anything!)

———————————————————————

The green horse could represent a couple of things: A third party/cheater? A representation of toxicity? The hair dresser/stylist Mahiru goes to? I don’t really know from first glance, I need a couple days to think it over to see if it makes more sense.

The carousel itself represents cycles/repeating cycles of abuse inside of it. It’s seen throughout the leading horse changes but for the majority it is the pink horse. The green horse is important, but I don’t really know what it is. The green horse is always (besides the second screenshot) in front of the blue horse.

We clearly aren’t getting a full picture still. It did clear up some things but a lot of things are left unanswered. It changed from bird/fashion symbolism to horse/carousel symbolism. I looked at the second trial MV and I couldn’t find any bird symbolism at all, with only the forest being similar to it.

[perplexedflower]

SPN Drabbles - 7/14: Pacify

Fandom: Supernatural.

Category: F/M.

Relationship: Lucifer x Female Reader.

Type: Drabble.

Words: 545.

Chronology: Any season.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm not human. I never was. So why are you expecting me to act like one?"

I was beaten down, kneeling on the floor, held up only by the collar of my shirt, yet, I still found the strength to beam a weak smile.

"I'm not asking you to be human, Lucifer. I'm asking you to acknowledge what you're feeling, to remain who and what you are, but to accept the fact you're not as emotionless as you tell yourself."

Looking into his eyes, I could see he was fighting back the urge to speak up and tell me I was wrong; fighting back, because he knew I was right, and at last, he finally seemed to be willing to hear the truth.

"I know what's going through your head, you know." I said while still smiling. "I know you feel things... for me. Because if you didn't, you wouldn't have gotten to me last. You wouldn't have had your little fun with Sam, Dean, and Cas first. You wouldn't have wanted them to be unconscious while holding me the way you're doing it now."

I felt his hand hold the collar of my shirt tighter, yet the glow in his eyes softened.

"And... because you wouldn't have hesitated for so long to finish me off." I scoffed weakly.

"You don't know—"

"How your brain works?" I cut him off, finishing his sentence. "Or how your heart works? Maybe I don't. Maybe I don't know what it's like to be you, what it's like to feel such resentment, such pain. But... it doesn't take much to understand you're going through an inner conflict."

Growing tired of feeling exposed, he looked away from me, though without letting go of me.

"Lucifer..." I softly called out to him in hopes of making him look back at me.

No matter how many times he would deny the facts, the spark appearing in his eyes every time I said his name would always betray him. I turned my head to my left and took a deep breath in as I stared at Sam, Dean, and Castiel, the three of them scattered across the room, lying unconscious on the ground.

I'm not angry at him for what he did to them. I thought to myself. I know he's only doing it because he's never been given the chance to do anything other than to destroy. He was never taught to be kind.

Looking back up at the archangel standing in front of me, I gently rested one of my hands on top of his, which made him twitch slightly in surprise.

"I don't want you to be any different than the way you are now, Lucifer. I don't want you to be good."

I gave my three friends another glance, before shaking my head slowly.

"I'm not asking you to do the right thing. I'm not asking you to heal them."

My eyes met with his again, and this time we shared the same spark.

"Just let them go. For me."

I kept on staring into the blue of his eyes, until they turned into a white glow, illuminating the entire room. I closed my eyes, covering them with my hands, and when I opened them again, he had vanished.

[jollywizardwitch]

Qifrey x reader: "I do."

Hey, this is my first fanfic, so please be kind! I will be taking requests later in time! Hope you like it!

(not my art)

I could see the devine wisteria trees from the tainted window of the chapels dressing room.

"Professor (y/n), can you help me figure out how to get this spell to tie this ribbon please?"

Suddenly snapped back into reality, I realized that Riche was holding her little spell book out to me.

"Oh! Riche, I thought it was Tetia who was talking to me!" I say as I scratch the back of my head and giggled a bit.

"Of course I can." "Look, if you want the spell to move a certain way, you have to make the arrows move in chronological order. Top, to bottom."

"oh, I thought the arrow movements were left to right."

I chuckled, and pointed at the paper and was about to speak when there was a knock at the door.

"(Y/N) ? Are you in here?"

Agate and Tetia ran to the door and put their whole bodies up against it.

"professor Oru! You can't see her until she's ready!"

They said in EXACT sync. "Oru, you can't see me yet!" I said, barely concealing my giggles .

"I know, just I was making sure you were okay."

The voice behind the door said. I sighed, and smiled to myself. One of the boys I grew up with, acts so protective over me, yet always shuts himself away in his room.

The girls eventually gave In and let him go.

"OH MY LITERAL GOD! YOU SHAVED!"

" Yeah, it's a magic tool called a cosmetic mask. " He grinned.

"Miraculous, isn't it?" A soft tone said from behind the oak wood door. Tetia, Coco, Agate, and Riche all ran to the door and yelled....

"PROFESSOR QIFREY! GET OUT! GET OUT!"

I couldn't hide my laughter by any means.

"I'm sorry, but I recall certain little girls thinking me and Qifrey together was gross and mushy." I said with a smirk.

Tetia and Coco tried to put the most injured look on their faces. "I THOUGHT IT WAS CUTE!" Tetia yelled.

"Qifrey, you can't see me before the wedding! It's bad luck!"

A soft chuckle came from behind the door. "Okay, okay. I'll leave."

*later...*

After everyone was ready, everyone but me got together to take a group photo.

(looks something like this)

(besides Oru, of course)

The dress would look something like this👇

You were nervous, and you felt like crying. What if Qifrey changed his mind? What if it doesn't work out?

Then, out of the blue, Coco appeared behind you and hugged you.

"It will be okay professor (Y/N). It will all be alright.'

You could barely contain your tears, but for the sake of the 30 minute makeup sesh, you kept your cool.

"Thank you Coco. That means a lot to me."

I walked down the aisle with the girls ahead tossing pedals. There he was, with Olruoggio, up at the front .

All of our eyes shining 🌟 ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🌟

[cinderella-ish]

Masterpost: lovers alone wear sunlight

A collection of canon-compliant ficlets and oneshots, listed in chronological story order

Link to series page on Ao3

Over (Un)Easy | Short Story G | Yuki & Shigure, Yuki & Haru | slice of life Yuki moves into Shigure's house and stumbles through his first day outside of that dark room.

Completely Hopeless | Short Story T | Tohru/Kyo | hurt/comfort Tohru swoons on the way home from school after failing one of her midterms. How does Kyo get her home safe?

Fly on the Wall | Flash Fiction G | Gen - Machi | angst Machi's thoughts on the day Haru destroyed her classroom.

Furedi | Short Story T | Gen (ensemble cast) | fluff & humor When his younger cousins come over to watch Mogeta, Shigure finally tells Kyo the true nature of Jason, just in time to invent a new threat in the surrounding woods: Freddy.

Same Thing | Flash Fiction T | Gen - Kyo (background Tohru/Kyo pre-relationship) | angst As Kyo watches his senpai graduate, he reflects on the upcoming year; the last year of his life outside of the cage.

Lifeline | Short Story T | Tohru/Kyo | angst Tohru sat on the floor of her room, clutching her knees to her chest. It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay... She clung to the words like a lifeline, desperately seeking to reassure herself that she wouldn’t lose her mother again.

Lonely Future | Flash Fiction G | Tohru/Kyo | angst Kyo Sohma didn't believe in soulmates.

Love Me Not | Flash Fiction T | Tohru/Kyo | angst Tohru finds Kyo on the roof. Kyo convinces himself it doesn't mean anything. French Translation: Ne m'aime pas

Where We Left It | Flash Fiction G | Tohru/Momiji (one-sided) | angst Momiji reflects on his love for Tohru in the wake of his curse breaking.

Burn Me | Flash Fiction T | Tohru/Kyo | Angst If Tohru had to pick one word to describe how Kyo makes her feel, it would be heat.

We Have the Rest of Our Lives | Short Story T | Tohru/Kyo | fluff & hurt/comfort Kyo helps Tohru change her bandages after she's released from the hospital.

Melon Splitting | Short Story T | Gen - Tohru & Yuki (Tohru/Kyo and Machi/Yuki appear) | humor & hurt/comfort Back at the beach house, a game of watermelon splitting goes wrong.

On Top of the World | Flash Fiction G | Tohru/Kyo | fluff Tohru has a surprise planned for her date with Kyo.

Hold Me | Flash Fiction T | Tohru/Kyo | hurt/comfort A year after the curse breaks, Kyo still gets nightmares.

Jellyfish in the Water | Short Story T | Mayu/Hatori | humor & hurt/comfort Mayu gets stung by a jellyfish while on her honeymoon with Hatori

So Lucky | Flash Fiction T | Tohru/Kyo | hurt/comfort Kyo always wanted to protect her. She was so incredibly precious to him. He never wanted to let anything bad happen to her. But, as he quickly learned, protecting Tohru was a lot easier said than done.

Welcome Home | Flash Fiction G | Tohru/Kyo | fluff Tohru anxiously awaits Kyo's return from a training trip.

In a Pickle | Short Story T | Machi/Yuki | hurt/comfort While Yuki is on the phone with Tohru, she asks about Machi, like she always does. As he answers, she notices some signs that their lives are about to change in a big way.

Baby's First Birthday | Flash Fiction G | Tohru/Kyo, Tohru & Yuki | mild hurt/comfort Tohru can't seem to get her camcorder to work.

Don't Be a Stranger | Short Story T | Gen - Arisa & Akimoto | slice of life After a draining day at work, Arisa Uotani runs into someone from her past.

Like Father, Like Son | Short Story T | Gen - Tohru & Kyo & Hajime & Yuma (Tohru/Kyo as well) | fluff When Tohru and Kyo can't find their two young sons one morning, they turn up in an unexpected-- and very cute!-- place.

Wish | Short Story G | Tohru/Kyo | fluff Tohru and Kyo take their three children to their small town's Tanabata festival.

Like a Bolt Out Of the Blue | Short Story | Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket Another G | Tohru/Kyo, Hajime/Mutsuki, Momiji/OMC | fluff & pining At their annual family beach trip, Hajime wrestles with some big feelings.

See my fics listed Alphabetically | by Fandom | by Genre | by Main Pairing/Character | by Wordcount | Series: That Day in the Rain

[all-the-pacs]

#1 - Galaxian (1979) (Yes, Actually)

What the? You said you'd be playing all the Pacs! But that's clearly Galaxian! What gives?! Well, if you'll just sit down, you'll understand a bit...

So... Technicality is a funny thing. One moment you're sitting down to play every single Pac-Man game you can think of in chronological order, and the next thing you know, you're playing a game before Pac-Man chronologically released. Such is the power of highly-specific iconography that would later come to be heavily associated with the series actually appearing in a game before it even existed!

So. Galaxian. You've probably heard of it if you've heard of video games before--or at the very least, you've heard of its older brother, Galaga. While the latter doesn't meet the requirements to be a Pac (and quite frankly, this game almost didn't), there's juuust enough here that makes us raise an eyebrow and say, "this'll do."

What's this? Why, at the top of the "Score Advance Table" is none other than... The word "Convoy"! And below that and to the left is none other than the Galaxian Flagship. On the off-chance you've never gotten far enough in Pac-Man before, or just never used his Neutral B in Smash, that there alien flagship was effectively Namco's de-facto mascot before Pac-Man really shook things up for them. As a result, it got a cameo in the first Pac-Man game and has been closely orbiting Pac-Man ever since!

Also, wait, the Galaxians are the heroes and we're just fighting aliens? That's definitely strange, seeing as in Galaga the enemies are manned by the "Boss Galaga", which seems to imply the alternative.

Though, not as strange as the fact your ship is also called a... Galaxip. Just rolls off the tongue there.

Okay, one thing that's not apparent in these still images is that this game is shrill. Like, very high-pitched and very squeaky. Especially compared to many other early Arcade games, it sticks out like a sore thumb in just how dang loud this game is. Anyways, the standard game loop of Galaxian aren't really anything to write home about--and they weren't even when the game first released. Space Invaders had already existed for some time, after all.

No, Galaxian stood out for a few other reasons. For one, as that cyan alien is kindly demonstrating, the aliens don't just sit there and take your fire, only occasionally firing back. No, when an alien wants to fire back, it descends from formation to both shoot at you and also try and take a swing at you--contact damage will kill you! Secondly, and why those Flagships are so important and why this game was as revolutionary as it was...

Yep, the enemies actively employ the buddy system. Flagships will bring up to 2 Red Aliens with them at a time, descending upon you with not only increased firepower, but the red aliens will actually serve as a meat(? spacecraft?) shield for the Flagship, tanking shots themselves to prevent you from getting a solid shot in.

They do a good job, evidently, because wow we stink at Galaxian. We'd like to think we're okay enough at video games--we've got a few challenge runs of games much more complex than this under our belt--but it just goes to show that sometimes the simplest things to grasp can totally kick you in the shins.

In addition, however, there's one last detail; should there only be a few aliens left standing, they'll enter a sort of panic mode and, instead of returning to their spot in formation, they will gladly charge you endlessly. Forever, if necessary! Until either you shoot them down or they take you out, they will endlessly circle from the top to the bottom, wrapping back around and occasionally firing at you.

So, let's say you brave the trials that the Flagship ship poises, and properly gun it down in spite of its bodyguards. The game's actually equipped to handle various possibilities and reward you accordingly for how "dangerous" the game deemed it. The factors--as far as we could tell--are if the Flagship died last, and how many Red Aliens guarding it you took out. Pictured is the result of gunning down the maximum two red aliens guarding a Flagship, before gunning the Flagship itself down. This resulted in 800 points, the maximum amount you can get out of a Flagship! It's worth mentioning you only have one bullet per round, so your aim needs to be pretty good to get this. One miss and that thing will gladly rocket to the other end of the screen, leaving you a sitting duck while the aliens get to circle back unscathed.

You may be wondering if anything unique happens if you clear the board of all aliens. Does the game end? Are the Galaxians safe from the intergalactic conflict they've found themselves in? Do the aliens do a little dance?

Nope, the round simply resets and a new set of aliens shows up. You actually get a little indicator of how many rounds you've cleared in the bottom right, however--looking it up, the game will actually abbreviate the flags if you clear 10 rounds of this. Can you imagine 10 rounds of pure, unaltered Galaxian? Too much for us, at least.

Still, this was a fun time, and we're glad we got to sit down and warm up to this project with this game. Get our proverbial feet wet, and all that. But let's be real here--you didn't come here for the Flagship. You're here for a different guy entirely.

Never you mind, we getcha, and we hear ya loud and clear. And no fake-outs next time; we're playin' the original Pac-Man. See ya whenever we get around to that one!