#were there parts of this that felt a bit like a Saturday morning cartoon? I answer with another question:

[age-of-moonknight]

“Systemic Approach (Conclusion),” Avengers Unlimited (Vol. 1/2022), Infinity Comic, #65.

Writer: Mat Groom; Penciler and Inker: Caio Majado; Colorist: Pete Pantazis; Letterer: Joe Sabino

[whiteferraristurns]

𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 ⚠︎︎ Dad!Chris x Mom!Reader, tooth rotting fluff, no use of y/n.

𝐁𝐑𝐈ꨄ THIS IS THE MOST ADORABLE THING IN THE WORLD.

Regulated by anon ‹𝟹 (please send in requests!)

reblogs, likes and comments are heavily appreciated ᥫ᭡

It was a quiet Saturday morning in the Sturniolo household. Sunlight streamed through the curtains, casting a soft glow over the living room, where a trail of toys and crayons was scattered on the floor. The soft sound of cartoons echoed through the house, but Chris was still in bed, wrapped in blankets, while you were already awake, sitting at the dining table with your coffee, scrolling through your phone.

Your daughter, Arianna, was in her own little world, her face lit up as she colored a princess in her favorite coloring book. Her curly hair bounced every time she moved, and she occasionally looked up at the TV before focusing back on her artwork.

You smiled softly at the sight of your daughter. You couldn’t believe how fast time had flown by. It seemed like just yesterday that Arianna was a baby, and now here she was, a confident little six-year-old with a big imagination and even bigger heart.

You stood up, making your way to the kitchen to start breakfast. You knew that Arianna would get hungry soon, and Chris would probably roll out of bed at the smell of food. You were pulling out eggs and milk when you felt small hands tugging at your shirt.

“Mommy, can we make pancakes today?” Arianna’s wide, pleading eyes stared up at you, and you couldn’t help but smile.

“Of course, sweetheart,” you replied, ruffling her hair. “You want to help me?”

Arianna’s face lit up, and she quickly grabbed a stool to stand on. Together, you mixed the pancake batter, Arianna giggled as she spilled a bit of flour on the counter.

“Oops,” Arianna said with a small giggle, looking up at you sheepishly.

You chuckled, wiping the flour off her nose. “That’s okay, baby. It’s all part of the fun.”

As you cooked, the sweet scent of pancakes started filling the air. It wasn’t long before Chris appeared in the doorway, his hair a mess and his eyes still heavy with sleep. He smiled at the sight of you and Arianna in the kitchen, his heart swelling with love for his two favorite girls.

“Mmm, pancakes,” Chris mumbled as he walked over to you, kissing you on the cheek and ruffling Arianna’s hair. “You two make the best breakfast team.”

Arianna grinned up at her dad. “I’m the chef, Daddy!”

Chris laughed. “I can see that, Chef Ari.” He lifted her up in his arms, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “What do I have to do to get a pancake around here?”

“You gotta say please,” Arianna said with a playful smirk, imitating the way you would gently remind her about manners.

Chris gave an exaggerated gasp, playing along. “Please, Chef Ari, may I have a pancake?”

Arianna giggled, nodding in approval before pointing to the plate of pancakes that you had just finished cooking. “You can have one, Daddy.”

Chris set Arianna down and grabbed a plate, helping himself to a stack of pancakes. You watched them both with a soft smile, you heart full. The mornings like this—where everything felt simple and peaceful—were your favorite.

You all sat down together at the table, Arianna chattering about her plans for the day. She wanted to play outside, maybe build a fort with the couch cushions, and she definitely wanted to have a tea party with her stuffed animals.

“Mommy, Daddy, will you come to my tea party later?” Arianna asked between bites of her pancake, looking between the two of you with hopeful eyes.

You glanced at Chris, who grinned at you. “Of course, sweet girl. We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” you said.

Chris nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. “I’ll be the best tea party guest you’ve ever had.”

Arianna beamed, clearly pleased with your response.

After breakfast, Arianna ran off to gather her stuffed animals, leaving Chris and you alone in the kitchen for a moment. Chris leaned over the counter, watching you as you washed the dishes.

“You know,” he said, his voice low and teasing, “I think we’ve got a pretty awesome kid.”

You looked over at him, your lips quirking up into a smile. “I think so, too. She gets that from me.”

Chris chuckled, walking over to you and wrapping his arms around your waist from behind. “I guess I’ll give you credit for that.” He kissed your temple softly, enjoying the quiet moment between you two.

You stood like that for a while, wrapped in each other’s warmth, until Arianna’s excited voice echoed from the living room. “Mommy! Daddy! The tea party is ready!”

Chris groaned playfully, pulling away from you. “Time to get our royal titles, I guess.”

You laughed, drying your hands before you made your way to the living room, with Chris following close behind. Arianna had gone all out for her tea party. The living room had been transformed into a royal banquet hall—at least, in the mind of a six-year-old.

She had carefully laid out a pink plastic tea set on the coffee table, complete with matching saucers, tiny forks, and spoons. Her stuffed animals sat in a perfect circle around the table, each with a napkin tucked under their chins, waiting patiently for their royal tea.

You and Chris exchanged amused glances as you entered the living room. Chris crouched down dramatically in front of Arianna, clearing his throat before bowing dramatically.

“Your Majesty, Princess Ari, it is an honor to be invited to your tea party today,” Chris said with a flourish, his hand over his heart.

Arianna giggled, clearly enjoying the formalities. “Thank you, King Daddy,” she said in a regal tone, playing along with the role she had assigned him. She turned to you, as you were taking your seat on the floor smiled brightly. “Queen Mommy, would you like some tea?”

You grinned, adjusting her small crown. That Ari had placed on her head. “Yes, please, Princess. I would love some.”

Arianna delicately lifted the plastic teapot and made an exaggerated show of pouring invisible tea into each cup, her tongue peeking out slightly as she concentrated. “One for you, Mommy,” she said, handing you a small pink cup, “and one for Daddy.”

Chris accepted his cup with the utmost seriousness, nodding his thanks. “Ah, this is the finest tea in all the land,” he proclaimed, raising his cup to his lips and pretending to take a sip. “What a marvelous host you are, Princess Ari.”

Arianna beamed at the praise, her little chest puffing up with pride. “We also have cookies, but you have to share with Mr. Bear,” she announced, pointing to the large stuffed bear seated beside her, dressed in one of her old baby onesies. She handed out plastic cookies, making sure everyone—including Mr. Bear, Mr. Bunny, and her other stuffed guests—received a piece.

Chris looked at his “cookie” with great appreciation. “Princess Ari, these cookies are almost too good to eat,” he said, dramatically placing the plastic cookie in front of him.

Arianna, who was now fully in character, pretended to sip her tea with a raised pinky finger. “Thank you, King Daddy. I made them all by myself.”

You couldn’t help but laugh quietly at how adorable the entire scene was. Arianna was so meticulous about every detail—every stuffed animal had a cup, every plate was properly arranged. She had even taken the time to give her favorite doll a special seat, positioned right next to Chris.

“Would you like to play a game after tea?” Arianna asked, looking between her parents with hopeful eyes.

“What kind of game?” You asked, playing along.

Arianna leaned in closer, lowering her voice as if sharing a great secret. “We have to rescue Mr. Bunny from the evil dragon. He’s trapped in the tower!”

Chris sat up straighter, his face serious. “The evil dragon, you say? We can’t let that stand! Queen Mommy, we must save Mr. Bunny at once!”

You gasped in mock horror. “We must! How can we rescue him?”

Arianna’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She jumped up, grabbing her plush bunny and tucking it under her arm. “The evil dragon is hiding behind the couch! We have to sneak up on him!”

Chris and you exchanged another amused look, fully invested in your roles. Together, they crept behind Arianna, tiptoeing across the room as she led the way with Mr. Bunny in hand.

“There he is!” Arianna whispered, pointing to the back of the couch, where she’d set up a stuffed dragon earlier that morning.

Chris crouched low, his voice filled with faux intensity. “I’ll take care of the dragon! You two go free Mr. Bunny!”

Arianna squealed with delight as Chris “battled” the dragon, waving his arms and making exaggerated roaring sounds. You played along, pretending to “unlock” the tower that Mr. Bunny was trapped in.

“You did it, Daddy!” Arianna shouted, clapping her hands as Chris dramatically collapsed on the couch, feigning exhaustion after his epic battle. “You saved us!”

Chris wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead, grinning. “All in a day’s work, Princess Ari.”

Arianna flung herself into Chris’s arms, hugging him tightly, her giggles filling the room. You watched them, your heart swelling with love. The pure joy on your daughter’s face, the way Chris fully embraced every bit of her imagination—it was moments like these that made everything else seem small in comparison.

After the “battle,” the royal tea party continued, with Arianna asking both of her parents to describe your favorite things about her kingdom and what special powers they had as royalty. You talked about her love for Arianna’s bright, colorful world, while Chris claimed his royal power was making the best pancakes in all the land, which earned him another round of giggles from Arianna.

By the end of the tea party, Arianna was starting to yawn, her energy slowly winding down. Chris scooped her up, settling her in his lap as you all sat together on the floor.

“That was the best tea party ever, Princess,” Chris said softly, kissing the top of her head.

Arianna smiled sleepily, her eyes already beginning to droop. “We can have another one tomorrow, right, Daddy?”

Chris glanced over at you, you smiled at him, and then he looked back down at your daughter. “Of course, sweet girl. We’ll always have time for another tea party.”

With that, Arianna drifted off to sleep in Chris’s arms, her head resting against his chest. You gently stroked Arianna’s hair, your heart full as you leaned your head on Chris’s shoulder.

They sat there for a while, the room quiet except for the soft sound of Arianna’s breathing. Moments like these—the tea parties, the imaginary adventures, the laughter—they were the little pieces of magic that made their family feel whole.

Soon enough you tucked Arianna into bed, brushing her curls away from her face. Arianna yawned, her eyelids heavy with sleep.

“Goodnight, Mommy,” Arianna murmured, her voice soft and sleepy.

“Goodnight, baby girl,” you whispered, kissing her forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

Chris joined you, leaning down to kiss Arianna goodnight as well. “Love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too, Daddy,” Arianna mumbled before drifting off into sleep.

You and Chris quietly left the room, closing the door behind you. As you walked back into the living room, Chris wrapped his arm around your shoulders, pulling you close.

“She really is amazing,” Chris said softly. You smiled, leaning your head against his shoulder. “Yeah, she is. I think we’re doing alright.”

Chris nodded, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “We’re doing more than alright.”

You stood there in the quiet of your home, the peace of the day settling around you like a comforting blanket. Moments like these were everything you both had ever dreamed of, and together, you knew that you had built a beautiful life with your little family.

𝐁𝐑𝐈ꨄ Chris is such a dad to always play pretend with his daughter/son. If you disagree argue with the wall 😣

TAGS ʚ♡ɞ

@mattsnumberoneslut @sturniqloo @iillovechris @chrislilcumslvt @il0vecatzzz

[thewayitalknj]

Part 3 ;  A continuation from my blurb which can be read here.

Quick Notes - Well, I wanted this to be the final part but I felt it was getting too long so...Enjoy! :)

------

Your baffled. Bewildered. Unbalanced. Because in this moment, you realized, once again ; you are left alone with Eddie.

"What do you mean they left?" You began to walk closer.

"They..." He shrugs. "Left."

"And where did they go, exactly?"

"Dunno."

"Okay Eddie, this isn't making any sense nor do I understand. Why would they leave us..." You grit your teeth. "...alone?"

"Maybe they had some errands to run back in town. They really didn't go into detail."

You step up to the counter, taking a seat across from him. "At 9am?"

He shrugs, again.

"They just said they were going to be out of the house for a few hours."

"How will we know they're safe-"

"I'm sure they'll be fine." This whole situation is odd and off to begin with. Why would you friends leave you alone...AGAIN...after you kindly asked them to STOP?

"Okay, okay fine." You step off your barstool chair and make yourself a cup of coffee, turning to Eddie. "So, what do we do today?"

------

As much as you were annoyed with your friends once again pulling another trick, you were in a way thankful. You've always had this small daydream of spending the day at Lovers Lake with Eddie and now it's happening. Thank your lucky stars.

Hell you were even thankful your alarm woke you up so early. You spent the first part of your morning drinking coffee while watching Saturday Morning Cartoons.

You spent the afternoon swimming, eating lunch by the dock.

By midday afternoon you found yourselves on the kids playground, kicking your legs as your swings took you higher and higher.

"Are you gonna jump?" Eddie yells from your left.

"Only if you do!"

"Alright then. 1....2...3!" You both leapt into the air. You landed on the sand first with Eddie trampling over you, both of you laughing hysterically into the humid air. "We still got it after all these years huh?"

"We sure do." As you look up at him, he looks down at you. Even with the overcast clouds above Eddie's eyes still sparkled with the bit of sunlight left.

You've never been this close in proximity before, it almost feels like time stopped. You both begin to catch your breath as he moves himself closer, and closer and closer. Just as your noses touch, eyes closed, mouths just inches away ; thunder claps across the sky and the rain begins to fall.

"Shit, come on!" Eddie screams as he helps you up, both of you sprinting back to the cabin. As you enter back in you switch on the lights and grab some towels from the spare closet.

"Well that could have been worse." Just then the lights flick a few times and then drown out. You both share a look ; "....I spoke too soon huh?"

"Guess so. Are there any candles in there?"

-------

You lit a few candles, made a makeshift lounge in the middle of the living room filled with blankets and pillows, had cereal for dinner. You thought the almost kiss was long forgotten, that maybe it was just a spur of the moment type thing.

After playing every board game you could find, you now found yourselves playing 2 Truths 1 Lie. Anything to pass the time at this point.

"I feel like it's been forever. What time is it?" You asked, shifting your position.

"It's past 10 now."

"Okay, it's your turn."

"Alright...I stole a cassette tape from Ralph's Record Store-"

"That's true, because it's happened on more than one occasion."

"Okay damn-"

"You're gonna have to try harder than that Munson. I know you too well."

He rolls his eyes as he thinks. "When I was 8 I took in a stray cat and hid it from Wayne until he found her in his laundry. Had to give her up because Wayne swore he was allergic but I think he was lying."

"Hm, what color was the cat?

"Gray, with white on her face."

"Her? So what did you name her?"

"Vixen."

"Ha nice. Okay. One more, what's the last statement?"

Eddie thought to himself, the whole reason everyone left was for him, for you. It was his idea, why would he back out now?

***

--The Night Before--

“Dude, you gotta tell her.”

He knew, he always knew how he felt about you ; and now he feels like a fucking idiot.

"Wait, tell her what?" Steve perks up, looking around the room. Everyone's eyes went from Jonathan to Eddie in an instant. "Oh shit, please tell me he means when I think he means."

Eddie slowly nods his head.

"You're in love with her?" Nancy whispers. He nods again. "Did, anyone know?"

"Just Jonathan and Argyle." Eddie answers, pointing to his friends.

"What?! Why didn't you tell us?!" Robin exclaims. Everyone "SHHHH's" and looks upstairs.

"Because you and Steve can't keep a secret and Nancy would have just told Jonathan anyhow. Argyle just...I just knew he wouldn't tell anyone." He looks down at the floor, ashamed he never said anything in the first place. He should have, they were his friends. But you were his best friend.

Argyle speaks up from the counter while popping in a marshmallow from the pack you threw down earlier, "Yeah and it's been hella hard. I've been rooting for you since we started leaving yall alone together every time we hung out."

That's when Eddie's head shot up. Looking up at his friends, one by one. "And that is exactly what you're going to do."

Everyone looks at him confused. "Do...what?" Robin questions.

"What you always do, leave us alone."

***

You snap your fingers in-front of his face. "Eddie? Hello? You still there? Come on it can't be that hard to think of a third statement-"

"I'm in love with you."

Quick Notes - Part 4...Coming Soon?

Click Here to Read Part 4

[shion-yu]

Not Your Fault (part 3)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Shu comes down with Alex's cold from last week, but it seems like it’s hitting him way harder. Final part, thank you for reading! Fill for my @badthingshappenbingo space "Secret Caretaking." Original work, 2,360 words. No TWs, CW mild emeto, Alex is 13 here.

The thing about Shu was that if someone near him was sick, he always went down eventually. This had been true forever and Shu was bound to catch every cold and flu that made the rounds at the office he worked in. Usually he could push through it to the chagrin of his coworkers who had the joy of listening to him cough and sneeze for the next several days, but when he woke up this morning Shu knew right away that there was no way he was leaving the house today. Thank God it was a Saturday. 

It had been a few days since Alex had come down with a chest cold. He'd been truly sick for about two days, but as soon as he started feeling better he went back to his old self, attempting to sneak off to Ryo's as soon as he could. Shu liked Ryo a lot and was extremely glad that Alex had a friend, but he had tried to convince Alex to stay in bed for another day. "You still have a bit of a fever bud," Shu had sighed. "What if you get Ryo and his parents sick too?" Alex's face had soured, but apparently pointing out that he could hurt his friend Ryo worked because he had stayed home until the fever was gone. He waited for the twenty-four hour fever free mark and then escaped immediately. Shu was just glad he was feeling better. 

Knowing how his own body worked, Shu had been trying to get plenty of sleep and chugging Emergen-C for the past several days. He was actually hopeful that it had worked and he’d somehow been spared despite living in the same household as a germ-ridden teenager all week.

Now though, Shu knew whatever Alex had come down with had hit him, and it was hitting him hard. Shu groaned and turned over to look at the time on his phone. It was ten AM on a Saturday morning; he never slept in this late. Crap, where was Alex?

Shu forced himself to sit on the edge of the bed. It felt like his bones were creaking in pain and his headache was splitting. He stood up, was hit with a rush of dizziness, and sat right back down. He felt his legs quivering like he'd just attempted to do some monumental task. Had Alex felt this poorly? When he'd wrangled the teen to the doctor he'd just been diagnosed with a viral upper respiratory infection, nothing too serious, but Shu felt like death. If it wasn't for Alex he would have given up attempting to rise from bed at all, but he told himself this was part of being a parent. He'd signed up for this, and parents didn't get sick days off. 

Shu wobbled into the kitchen, leaning heavily on the walls as he went. To his relief he found Alex right away in the living room, sitting on the couch watching Saturday morning cartoons. He glanced briefly at Shu then did a double take, his eyes widening. "Holy shit, you look terrible," he said. 

Shu snorted with laughter which turned into a chesty cough. He had to sit down. He flopped heavily next to Alex, black spots dancing in his vision. "Thanks a lot, kid. Did you eat breakfast?" He asked, wincing at the pain in his throat.

"Yeah," Alex said. "I think you should probably not be worrying about me right now though." 

"It's only a cold, you know that," Shu said dismissively. "I'm just a wimp." He managed to give Alex what he hoped was an encouraging smile but was interrupted by a loud sneeze which he barely managed to direct away from his distant relative turned foster child. "Huh'AEESHUHh!" He groaned, the powerful sneeze ripping painfully through his aching sinuses. 

"Uh huh. Bless you," Alex said, scooting a few inches farther away from him in disgust.

"Thangks," Shu said, snorting up the snot that had begun to drip from his nose. God his head hurt like hell. "You good here if I go back to bed?" He genuinely couldn't fathom doing anything else right now. Was he just getting old that this was hitting him so much harder than it had Alex? Was this what having a cold at thirty-five felt like? 

"Yeah. Pretty sure I'm safer away from you and your biohazard zone," Alex said dryly. 

Shu didn't point out that Alex was almost certainly the one who'd given him this awful cold. He just nodded and shuffled back to bed, making a pit stop at the bathroom to urinate and grab the thermometer. It had barely gotten a break between uses, he thought as he placed it under his tongue. He looked at his haggard expression in the mirror and grimaced. Should he call his mom to watch Alex, he thought? He didn't think he could keep up with the rambunctious teen like this. He decided against it for now though, not wanting her to think he couldn't handle single parenting just like she had. Alex was thirteen, he didn’t need a babysitter, but he did need to be watched closely to make sure he didn’t do anything problematic.

The thermometer beeped and Shu looked at the flashing 101.8 on the tiny screen. Not good, he thought to himself. He downed two Tylenol and then brought the rest of the bottle with him to the bedroom. He collapsed back into bed and fell asleep before he had time to think about anything else. He spent the rest of the day coughing and sneezing and using an entire box of tissues. His sneezes were most certainly audible in every room in the house. Every cold Shu had seemed to go straight to his chest and this felt like no exception. He could practically feel the junk settling lower and lower in his lungs despite the absurd amount he was already coughing up.

Around lunch time, Shu wobbled to the kitchen to grab more water. Alex was at the table doing school work, which was a nice sight. “Hey bud, you doing okay in here?” Shu asked, wincing at how hoarse his voice had become in comparison to this morning in a mere few hours. 

“I’m definitely okay,” Alex said cautiously. “You look almost dead though.”

“I’m really okay,” Shu reassured him, which was absolutely not backed up by the way he suddenly grabbed the edge of the counter to avoid losing his balance. Alex stood up quickly, face alarmed. Shu waved his hand in his direction, trying to make it seem like he hadn’t nearly fainted. “It’s great you’re doing school work,” he said in an attempt to distract Alex. Predictably, this caused Alex to scowl and go back to what he was doing. However Shu could feel Alex’s concerned expression on his back as he slowly inched back to his bedroom.

He tried to rest, but the cough was really painful and Shu could feel his fever going up despite the Tylenol. He kept thinking about Alex. Could he really trust the kid to take care of himself all day? What if he skipped eating? Not that he usually did that, mealtime was the one thing Shu could actually rely on Alex to show up for but still. Alex was his sole responsibility and Shu wanted him to have more than just enough. He wanted him to feel comfortable and happy. He wanted to take care of Alex so all those bad memories he had became more distant. It seemed like such a monumental task at times though, and right now Shu was in completely new territory. How did he keep an eye on Alex when he could barely lift his head off the pillow?

He made it to dinnertime without incident. Shu hazily warmed up soup for himself. Alex was nowhere to be found. There was a note on the table: ‘At Ryo’s for dinner.’ At least Alex had bothered to let him know where he was and it was somewhere safe. Shu shivered and managed about three bites of the soup before his stomach rejected all of it and more. He dashed to the bathroom with energy he hadn’t known he had and spent the next half hour vomiting into the toilet. He was glad that Alex wasn’t home to hear it. Afterwards his temperature was 102.6. Ouch. Alex’s own fever had peeked at 102.3 that first night he was sick. Shu hoped his own illness was following that same trajectory and it wouldn’t get any higher. 

He forced down a single saltine cracker and two more Tylenol in the hope that it would stay in his stomach, then went back to bed. His stomach and head ached, his chest felt heavy, and Shu was beginning to grow concerned. He hadn’t been this sick in a while and he hadn’t had a kid to worry about that time. He needed to hurry up and get better. He needed to sleep.

He woke up an unknown amount of time later to the feeling of a cool hand on his cheek. It felt nice... Shu forced his eyes open and squinted at the form above him. Alex? Shu was confused. Why was Alex in here? 

"You were moaning in your sleep," Alex explained, noticing Shu's eyes were open now. He looked embarrassed to be caught. He also looked worried. "You feel really hot." 

"Just a fever. I took some Tylenol," Shu said hoarsely, although he had no idea how long ago that was now. “What time is it?”

“Two AM,” Alex said.

“Oh,” Shu said, confused. “Did I wake you up?”

"It’s alright," Alex said, and scurried out before Shu could ask any more questions. Shu didn't expect him to come back and he didn't for several minutes. By this time Shu had almost fallen back to sleep and was barely conscious when he saw Alex slink back into the room with a wet washcloth. He closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep to save Alex from getting more embarrassed. He felt the cool, damp cloth be placed on his forehead and then heard Alex leave again. Shu fell asleep with his lips turned in a smile.

The next time he became half conscious it was only because he was so goddamn cold. He was shaking uncontrollably with aches and chills. He curled into a ball and tried to wait out the pain, but he felt awfully alone right now. He missed his mom. She was always so good to him when was sick, brewing tea and rubbing his arms and legs and giving him the hot water bottle to ease his chills... Just like... Right now?

Shu opened his eyes. Somehow the hot water bottle had appeared in his arms, as well as an extra blanket on top of him. He listened carefully, but there was no quiet chatter of Chinese radio in the background that always accompanied his mom wherever she went. He did hear the sound of water running in the bathroom though, and then Alex's voice saying something like, "He'll be fine, Ry, right?" Shu wanted to reassure Alex he was definitely going to be fine, but he felt too weak and sleepy and soon lost consciousness again.

The quiet chatter of Chinese radio when he came back to his senses was a sure sign his mom was there now. "Ma?" Shu croaked, forcing his eyes open.

He could smell his mom's distinct perfume as she came to his bedside and rubbed his chest. "Háizi. Boy call me, say that you sick."

Shu slowly processed what that meant. Alex had called his mom, Fulu. "Where is he?" Shu asked.

"Friend house," his mom said. "He upset, think you dying."

"Ugh," Shu said, concerned at the thought of upsetting Alex. "Ma, didn't you tell him I'm fine? I always get high fevers..."

"He no listen. Just like his bàba," Fulu said. She handed Shu her phone, silently instructing him to do exactly what Shu already wanted to - to call Alex. He didn't think it was worth correcting his mom right at this second - that he wasn't Alex's dad. Alex was his kid, and so it almost fit. He wanted it to.

Shu's hands shook as he found Alex in Fulu's contacts and called him, pressing the phone to his ear. Alex picked up right away. "Is he okay?" Was how Alex answered.

Shu coughed in surprise. Alex sounded genuinely worried. It would have been touching if Shu didn't feel so guilty about it. "Alex? I'm fine bud. I just have a fever, that's all. Same as you did, just a little worse. I promise." 

There was silence on the line for several seconds. Shu was worried he'd hung up. But finally Alex said, "You weren't getting any better, even though I did the same stuff you did." 

Shu felt a rush of affection. Alex really had been trying to take care of him, even though it was supposed to be the other way around. "It'll be a few days, and then I'll be right as rain," Shu reassured him as confidently as possible. "Do you want to stay at Ryo's this weekend?"

"Can I?" Alex asked hesitantly.

"Of course, if it's okay with his parents. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable. I just need you to understand that you don't need to worry about me. Thanks for calling my mom. I'm glad you got help when you were scared."

"I wasn't scared," Alex shot back, but Shu knew he was lying. "Can you call me again when you feel better?”

"I feel better hearing your voice," Shu said with a smile.

"Ew."

"Sorry," Shu laughed, which quickly became several wet coughs. "I'll text you every time I'm up, alright?"

"Alright," Alex agreed. "Um... I hope you feel better soon."

Maybe it was because he felt so rotten, or because he was relieved that Alex was okay, but Shu felt tears spring to his eyes. He swallowed and tried not to let his voice waver as he said, "Thanks buddy. I will. See you soon."

[reigningqueenofwords]

Doing the Math

Pairing: Dean x Reader, Sam x Reader

Final part of Welcome to the Family

Dean had his suspicions about Brooke that started to creep in around the time that she turned two. He had walked in one Saturday morning after a hunt to see her sitting on the floor. When she turned and smiled at him, with her shaggy brown hair and big hazel eyes, and it was like looking at Sammy all over again. He told himself that it was because she was a Winchester. Brooke was his little girl, so he shook it off, and moved on.

“Daddy!” She got up and ran into his arms, excited to have him home.

His heart melted as he lifted her up. “Morning, princess. What’re we watching?” Dean asked, moving to sit on the couch with her.

“Cartoons.” She giggled, saying it like it was the silliest question she had ever been asked.

Hearing her yell ‘Daddy’, you smiled. You were currently making yourself a cup of coffee, wearing one of Dean’s shirts and a pair of sleep shorts. Picking it up, you moved towards where you had left Brooke. “There’s my handsome husband.” You said softly, looking at him with so much love.

Dean looked over at you and his face lit up. “There’s my gorgeous wife.” He smirked.

“How was the hunt?” You asked, moving to sit with them on the couch. He’d been gone just about a week, so there had to be something interesting to tell.

Brooke was almost four when you got sick. It was Sam’s turn to be off on a hunt, as Dean had done the last one, so he was playing nurse. Nothing was helping, and he was getting worried. It came and went, and that’s when it hit you. “I’m pregnant.” You whispered to yourself, unaware that Dean was nearby. Your eyes were staring at nothing, trying to wrap your head about this.

“You’re pregnant?” He asked, sounding excited as he moved towards you.

Looking up at him, you nodded. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.” You told him. “It all fits.” Of course you had wanted more kids, but planned. This took you by surprise.

Cupping your cheeks, he kissed you gently. “How far along are you?” His green eyes lit up, looking forward to everything that would come after this.

You quickly did the math in your head and felt like you’d be sick. Licking your lips, you knew this was the end. Dean was about to find out about you and Sam. “Eight weeks.” You breathed, watching the look on his face go from love and excitement…to confusion, pain, and then rage.

Dean shook his head, backing up. “What?” He asked, his own tears starting. “That can’t be right.” His gut told him he’d known for years, but he still didn’t want to believe it. “I wasn’t even home.” His voice was dangerously low. You were shaking, your world falling apart. “Brooke isn’t mine, is she?” He asked, and you could hear the heartbreak.

Closing your eyes, you shook your head. “She’s Sam’s.” Your voice was just above a whisper.

He ran his hand through his hair. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” Finally, the rage was being heard as he yelled, making you jump. “How long have you been fucking my brother?” He asked, jaw clenched. When you didn’t answer quick enough, he got a bit closer. “HOW LONG?!”

“Since after I came back from hell.” You choked out.

Nodding, he started pacing. “So, I’ve been raising Brooke as mine, did Sammy know that she’s his?”

“No.” Which was the truth as far as you knew. You’d never told him, and he’d never asked.

“And now, here you are. Pregnant with another of Sam’s kids.” You’d never had him look at you like that before. “Now, I don’t care what you fucking do with Sam from now on. Brooke is staying here with me. She is my daughter, she is MY little girl.” His eyes locked with yours. “The only time I ever want to hear your voice again will have to do with her.” Your cheeks were wet with tears, your heart shattering. It was your own fault, and you knew that. “Move your shit out of my room. I’ll deal with Sam when he gets back.” He growled.

A week had passed since you’d moved out of the room you had shared with Dean. No word from Sam- not a text, or a single call. Brooke was too observant for her own good, knowing that mommy and daddy were ‘mad’ at each other, and sleeping in different rooms.

No matter how much you prayed to Cas, he never showed. Just like every night, you’d prayed to Cas, and then cried yourself to sleep. It felt like minutes had passed before you were woken up by the sound of your phone ringing.

It was Sam’s ringtone.

You were instantly wide awake, grabbing your phone. “Sammy?!” You gasped, your heart nearly pounding out of your chest.

“Uh, no…” Came a voice that was most certainly not Sam. “My name is Hank. I think your buddy is dead.” Your heart sank, taking your stomach with it.

“Wh-what?” You asked, getting out of bed quickly.

Hank chuckled. “That all you have to say?” The voice had changed, sounding disgustingly happy as he spoke. “I tell you that I think your buddy is dead..and you only ask ‘what’?” He laughed. “So, since the cat’s got your tongue I guess I’ll just give you the good news. Sam Winchester is dead.”

Tagging: @callsign-ember

[summerlycoris]

Late Night, On A Couch.

Part of ggyweek 2024- nightmare. @ggyweek2024

Early Saturday morning, Vanessa, Freddy, and Gregory will be sneaking into the Pizzaplex.

It’s eleven-fifteen on Thursday night. Vanessa can’t sleep. And, from the noises she just heard from Gregory’s room, he can’t either.

What do you do when you can't get to sleep? Well, Vanessa watches old cartoon movies. Gregory joins in, as they try to avoid the issues scaring them.

Fic also under the cut. About 3800 words iirc.

It's been a massive change.

Over the course of one bittersweet night, Vanessa had gone from living by herself practically out of her car, to living with a talking bear head, and a fourteen-going-on-fifteen year old roommate.

And it was still a little hard to deal with, if she was being honest. Because she'd never exactly been what anyone could call a… maternal woman.

Luckily, Gregory hadn't really asked that of her. If he wanted fatherly advice- he seemed to ask Freddy for it. It wasn't that he hated her or anything. (anymore?) He was just an independent boy. They'd chat and joke around sometimes. About games or movies, or whatever was going on. They could plan together, about what to do regarding… their problem under the Pizzaplex.

It was the kind of plan that takes time. Something like that… they needed to get it right the first time. Because there wouldn't be a second chance to trap it if they failed.

But their hard work would (hopefully) be paying off soon. They had a plan that should be watertight, should work perfectly.

They'd be heading back to the Pizzaplex early Saturday morning. Around one am.

It was Thursday night. Around eleven fifteen pm.

And Vanessa was totally not on edge about it. Totally not awake after struggling to sleep not long ago. Totally not watching an old cartoon movie she remembered her Mom showing her.

…

She was watching it at a low volume, in the small living room of her new apartment. All snuggled up under a blanket she’d stolen from her bed. And leaning sideways against one of the cushions that she'd bought recently, to make the secondhand sofa feel more like theirs. It wasn't a cold night, by any means. She just wanted something around her. She had the volume nearly all the way down, and subtitles on, because it was late and the walls were thin. Because Gregory was asleep for school tomorrow. Because his room was right next to the living room.

… Because the walls were thin, she could hear the sharp gasp, the creaking of springs under him, and his quiet footsteps, before she saw him open his door and stick his head out.

“Hey kiddo. Sorry, did I wake you up?” She asked. He shook his head. Looking at him, while he looked down at the ground, she could see him shaking but trying to hide it.

She hadn’t known him for long, but she did know him. He was still… hesitant around her sometimes. The best way for her to describe what she’d noticed about him was he prefers to approach on his own terms. Which she understood- after a night of being chased by her (and her evil alter ego), it made sense to want some control back.

Besides- theyd been strangers not too long ago.

Because of this, she knew that asking him about it would probably just get an ‘I’m fine’ out of him, before he’d retreat back to his room.

So she didn't say anything, and focused her gaze back on the tv. Keeping an eye out for him with her peripheral vision.

After a bit, she could see him coming over to stand by the couch, and look at the tv. “What are you watching?” He asked.

“Just something I used to watch as a kid. Plenty of room, if you want to watch too.”

After a few seconds, she felt the couch shift a bit, and could see him up the other end. Sitting cross legged, watching intently. Like usual.

He would shiver occasionally. Which wasn’t usual. The night was too warm for that. She grabbed the longer edge of her blanket, and pushed it over, closer to him. After a few seconds, he took it, and pulled it over his lap.

The cartoon went on for a while, as they sat in silence. There was a song at the very end, about how ‘you are a princess, too.’ And then it rolled to credits. She could hear Gregory scoff at that line. And she had to stifle a giggle at his reaction.

Vanessa didn't want to get up. But she also didn't want to go to bed. It was quarter to twelve. But the credits ended, going back to the main menu. And the main menu of this release had a very short loop of music that drove her batty.

So she forced herself up from the couch, narrowly avoiding taking the blanket with her, and popped the dvd out of the player.

“Anything you'd like to request?” She asked him, looking back at him while she put the dvd away in the racks.

“I dunno, something a little less girly and saccharine?” He said, holding up his fingers to show what he meant by ‘a little’.

“Huh. I thought you liked sweet things.” She joked.

“There’s a difference between sweet and saccharine.” He said, before grinning and crossing his arms. “I guess you wouldn't understand, Princess Of Bad Taste.”

“Wow, okay. Rude much?” she jabbed back. “Keep that up, and I'll be the Princess Of Sending You Back To Bed.”

He fought back a laugh, and leant against a cushion, uncrossing his legs under the blanket. “That’s sad. You'll need a new title now. How about… Princess No Fun?”

Now she couldn't help grinning. “You're giving me a new title? Before you even have one of your own? How about, Prince Of Melting My Spatula While Cooking Last Week?”

He sat up properly. “Hey! I only left it in the pan for ten seconds! I don’t care what you say- it was not made of silicon.”

“Sure, buddy. It was totally the spatula’s fault that the omelets were ruined.”

He rolled his eyes, before pulling the blanket completely up over himself. Only his face and a little bit of hair was visible, in the strange little nest he had created for himself. “Geez, Can’t believe you’re doing this to me. Giving me grief about a spatula? After a nightmare? You’re the worst!” He grumbled.

That could've been a legit complaint, except that she knew him. If he was really angry at her, he would’ve cussed her out already and gone back to his room, slamming the door on the way through. He was just doing a bit.

She got the feeling he was messing around, to distract himself from something bigger. Or maybe she was just projecting.

Either way, she didn’t feel guilty about continuing the bit.

“Maybe I am the worst… or maybe, those are the words of some kid who can dish it, but can’t take it.”

His eyes were wide, and he didn't respond for a bit, before sticking his tongue out at her. “Yep! You really are the worst!”

She couldn't hold it back anymore. Even though it was late, and the walls were thin. She burst out laughing, and she could hear him groan and pull the blanket over his eyes, before mumbling “It’s not funny.”

Playtime was over. Maybe she was being too complacent?

She cut her laughter off. “Sorry, Gregory. I thought we were still goofing around.” she remembered what she’d originally been doing, and tried looking for a dvd that was neither ‘too girly’, or ‘too saccharine’. Which wasn't easy- most of these dvds were from when she was a little girl. And when she was little, she loved all that stuff.

While she was searching, Gregory spoke up. “We were, it's just- tonight hasn't been very good. And Freddy needs all the charge he can get. So I can't talk to him right now…” She knew why- they'd only just managed to build up a body for him, so he could help them with… their problem under the pizzaplex. “... Sorry for kinda ruining the mood. What movie are you thinking?”

“Hey, don't apologize. It’s all good. I’m a little tense too, to be honest.” She grabbed one. Possibly saccharine. Probably less girly. An old Rugrats Movie that her Mom had watched when she was little. And then shown to Vanessa when she was little. Maybe when she was three? She turned back to Gregory with it- seeing he now had his face out of the blanket again.

She showed it to him. “I've never seen that one before. What's it like?” He asked.

“It’s a pretty good movie. I can't remember much about it, but don’t worry- it shouldn't be too girly or anything.”

He tilted his head, but didn’t object.

So she put the dvd in. Letting it load, while she made her way back to the couch. She sat down and absentmindedly reached for where she’d left her side of the blanket… which was no longer there. Because of Gregory’s nest. He chuckled as she turned to him with her hands on her hips. “You gonna share my blanket with me at all?”

He put his arms outside his nest, and pulled the blankets closer to him. Almost possessively, with a cheeky grin on his face. “I dunno... finders keepers Nessa.”

She grabbed the nearby cushion and threw it at his head. He caught it easily.

“Sweet- an extra pillow! Thanks Ness!” he tucked it beside him, on top of the previous pillow, before laying on his side.

She rolled her eyes. “Consider it an early Christmas present- and don't expect anything else!” It was an empty threat, and she knew that Gregory knew it. Otherwise he would tell her off.

They probably would've kept chatting and making light, except the movie started. And it caught both of their attentions pretty fast.

Vanessa hadn’t remembered just how sad this one could get. She’d only partially remembered the hijinks, really.

So the scene where Chuckie didn't have a mom to dance with, really got to her. And she felt a little pathetic. For shivering. For wishing she had that blanket back. For holding herself tightly. For wishing she had her mom to talk to, right now. About everything that happened to her. About everything that could happen to her. About saturday- two days- no, one day away now-

I don’t want to die.

…

She was supposed to be an adult. So why was she feeling so childish?

She was jolted out of this trail of thought, by feeling a soft weight against her side. A warm weight, with a pulse and heartbeat she could feel against her. Gregory- now leaning against her, and trying to wrap the blanket around them both. He looked up, realizing she had started looking at him. “You looked cold. So…”

He looked so tired up close, with bags under his eyes. And honestly? A little miserable, too.

“... Is this scene getting to you too?” She asked.

He shrugged.

… He had never really talked about his parents with her before.

It was probably a touchy topic. Because if it wasn’t, he’d be living with them. Instead of with his previously possessed potential murderer.

She didn't know what to say. And she wasn't even sure what to do.

All she knew was that she could feel him shivering, too.

She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, drawing him in a little closer.

And for a second, she thought she had messed up- because he tensed up beside her.

Before she could move or apologize, he sighed and relaxed, closing his eyes.

“I like Freddys hugs more, but they’re not warm.” He whispered.

They were silent for a while.

What was there to say?

Gregory opened his eyes back up after a bit, and watched the movie again. So she did too. The clock ticked onward, until it was nearly twelve-thirty.

She could feel him shift slightly against her, and looked down at him. “I… I had a bad dream.” He whispered. Eyes wide, looking down at his lap. “It should've been a nice dream- my friends were all there. It was my birthday. I turned fifteen. Mom brought out a cake, and everyone cheered. Dad hugged me tight, then brought out presents-” he choked up, and couldn't finish the sentence.

…

They’d had his fifteenth birthday not too long ago. Her and Freddy had thrown it. There were no other guests. She and Gregory had worked together to make a (somewhat dodgy looking) Freddy face cake. And Freddy had suggested some presents to buy, while Gregory was out at school one day. He’d looked happy enough, at his little party. Had a smile on his face. But it hadn’t reached his eyes. She’d theorized on why, but now she knew it.

And he still couldn't say what he wanted to say.

“Hey, it's okay if you can't talk about it right now. We can try again in the morni-”

“No.” He shook his head, for emphasis. “I just. I just need to get the words off my tongue.” So she waited. And paused the movie- no one was watching it anymore. She didn't want to distract him.

It looked like he was trying not to cry. “Maybe you don't get them, but I've had these dreams before. Dreams where people I've… lost, are okay again. And everything’s great again! And they’re weird dreams- because I know they’re dreams. But it’s like I… choose to forget that? And that's when they become nightmares- Because when I wake up, for a moment I still think it’s real.” His voice cracked at the last bit. And she could see his eyes get shiny, with tears, before he turned to her, and buried his face into her shoulder.

She thought she knew him.

But the Gregory she knew wouldn’t cling to her and cry quietly against her shoulder. Because he was too independent for that.

Maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought.

She still had one arm wrapped around his shoulders. He looked like he needed a hug. A real one- not just a sideways one. So she shifted, until she was twisted enough to face him. And she held him tight, while they sat on the couch. She could feel the shoulder of her sleepshirt getting a little damp. She ran her fingers through his hair- her mom had done that for her, years ago. And she tried to sooth him. Not very well- she wasn't nearly as good at this as Freddy was.

“I think I get what you mean. I’ve had some dreams like that, too.” Dreams where she was doing something mundane with her mom and dad, who still loved each other… even household chores felt special in those dreams. “It's okay, it’s okay…”

He shook his head. “No, it’s really not.”

Pulling away from her, he wiped his eyes quickly with his sleeves. And looked up at her. With eyes that were trying to look determined.

He couldn't hide the fear in them.

“No matter what- no matter what- it won’t get me again? Right? Because I’m fast, and older, and I know it’s tricks now.”

… She got what he was really trying to ask.

You won’t let it get me again? Right? I won’t be it’s puppet again? Right? You won’t let me be him again? Right?!

…

She made a promise she desperately hoped she could keep.

“I promise it won’t get you again. Or me. We’re gonna trap it for good, so it can’t hurt anyone else. Just like we planned.”

She squeezed him tightly, and he practically melted into her hug. Sighing, and just thinking for a while.

She could slowly feel his heartbeat slow down, back to its normal pace. Could hear his breathing get a little easier. Could feel the wet patch on her shoulder slowly dry.

When she next checked the clock, it was nearly one am.

And when she turned back to him, he was looking up at her. She could practically see the gears turning in his brain.

As he loosened himself from the hug slightly. Staring up with big puppy dog eyes. “So, I did that thing Freddy tells me to do...”

Sometimes, she can hear Freddy telling Gregory that he needs to ‘Open up to people.’ and ‘Not bottle up your feelings, Superstar.’ Because the walls were thin, and Freddy couldn't be quiet if you paid him.

“... So you won’t send me to school tomorrow, right?”

Back to the usual Gregory, for the most part. Two can play at that game.

She hemmed and hummed over it, exaggerating it for the bit. “Well… I could keep you home… but then you might miss math! And english! And P.E! The wonderful class of physical education- isn’t it baseball season right now?” She sighed, and shook her head, while he groaned. “What kind of a guardian would I be if I let you miss out on such a fun day at school?”

He thought for a moment, a cheeky grin on his face. His eyes were still a bit red, but he was starting to feel a bit better, clearly. (She hoped.) “You’d be the best kind of guardian?”

“Really?” He nodded. “Because a little birdie told me earlier… that I was the worst!”

She quickly ruffled his hair, somehow making it look neater than it usually looked. In response he squeaked out a “Nessa!”, and tried to shake it back out.

“And another little birdie also told me… that I was Princess No Fun!” she jabbed him in the ribs with her fingers, making him squeal with laughter.

“Wha- what If I told you those birdies were liars?” he wheezed out after the giggle fit, clutching his ribs.

She pretended to be deep in thought about it. “Hmmm, well… if the little birdies were lying… I might consider it. But if they were lying… then what’s the truth?”

“The truth is… you’re the Princess Of Warm Hugs.” He whispered, before flushing red with embarrassment and stammering out- “Wait, that’s saccharine! I take it back! Umm- you’re the Princess Of Being A Pain!”

“Aww- see! I knew you could be sweet if you tried!” She joked. Holding him close again, as he tried to squirm away. “No take-backsies- I’m the Princess Of Warm Hugs now.”

“No you’re not-” He whined. And they probably would’ve continued- if an angry neighbor didn't slam something heavy against the nearby wall.

“Would you two shut up?! Some of us have work in the morning!” Their voice came through, loud and clear. Because it was late, and the walls were thin.

“Sorry! We will!” she said, fighting for her life not to burst out laughing. While Gregory flipped off the wall.

“... I’m gonna pretend I didn’t see that.” She whispered at him.

He just grinned. And whispered his original question- “So, can I have the day off tomorrow? Please?”

She kept him in suspense for a few seconds, before responding- “Okay. But only because you used the magic word.”

In response, he flipped her off. She flicked his ear. “Andddd, that’s your cue to go to bed, you little ratbag.” Because despite the cheeky grin, he had huge bags under his eyes. And because she felt exhausted- she wasn't going to be able to stay up much longer- which meant he needed to be in bed before she started turning off the lights.

She pushed him away from her, and towards his room, getting up from the couch to follow him. The blanket fell down to the floor, and they both barely avoided tripping on it. “Shoo! Scram! Get going! Before I change my mind about school!”

And he did shoo, scram, and get going. At least until he got to his bedroom door, snickering and grinning at her. He turned completely, and saluted her- “Ma’am, yes ma’am!” He opened up the door, while she rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Princess Drill Instructor.” He whispered, before running off to bed, leaving the door open.

Like usual- well, except for the ‘drill instructor’ comment. She knew what to do now.

She stood in the doorway, and saw Gregory sitting in bed, pulling up the covers. Freddy was standing nearby. Still on charge- except now with his eyes open. He must’ve woken up, hearing Gregory go back to bed.

Freddy looked out the window through a gap in the curtain. “Hmm, Superstar. It is still very dark outside. Is everything okay?”

He turned, and looked over at Freddy. “Should be now, I think. Sorry for waking you up, Freddy.”

She could feel Freddy's eyes meet hers.

Now that she was here, it felt like she was intruding- this was usually Freddy’s job.

But she needed to know that he'd be okay overnight.

“Hey, you feeling a bit better now?” she asked Gregory.

He turned back to her and nodded, before continuing. “But if I’m not, can I come wake you up?”

“Yeah, of course. Though, it’ll probably be Fairytopia on next time. So be prepared for the most girly and saccharine thing you've ever seen.” she joked.

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll make sure to bring a bucket then.” he joked back, before laying down, facing Freddy.

”I’m going to start getting ready for bed- I'll see you in the morning, okay?” She said, turning off the light and grabbing his door.

She went to shut it, until he interrupted her- “Hey, Ness?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

She could see him glance at her before looking away, in the light still coming through the open door. “... Thanks for listening. And being there.”

With the warmth she felt in her chest, it was almost like she was still hugging him. “You too, Gregory. Goodnight.”

She shut the door and backed away, hearing him saying “‘Night.” back to her. If she hadn't, she would've been there all night. And she couldn’t. She was too exhausted.

Instead, she went back to the couch. She needed to turn off the tv and dvd player, as well as grab her blanket off the floor. She’d need that, shortly.

With her blanket back, she turned off the living room light, the room now only illuminated by the crack of light through her bedroom door.

When she got back to bed, and snuggled into her pillow, she could hear faint and unintelligible words from Freddy. Because he couldn’t be quiet if you paid him. So they were chatting together.

But she couldn't hear crying, or the creak of springs. Even though it was late, and the walls were thin. She couldn't see his face peering in and asking if she was asleep yet.

So, they were probably just chatting.

She rolled onto her side, and held herself close. She was still scared, about how they’d go with their problem under the Pizzaplex.

But, she also felt braver about it too. She had to be braver- she had someone else counting on her.

And as she heard Freddy fall silent, she knew she could be brave.

She would be keeping that promise, if it was the last thing she did.

********

Authors note- Gregory’s just chilling in the Bad Opinion Zone in this fic lol. (Princess Promenade is great fight me.)

Also, Gregory’s right about the spatula lol. Melting point is WAY too high for a silicone utensil to melt. Vanessa just didn't realize she had a placcy one. (If she had, she would’ve felt ripped off.)

Didn’t manage to keep this under 3000 words, but did keep it under 4000- brevity won! Maybe? Whoo!

[spacevixenmusic]

Unfairly Maligned Games, Vol. 1

Games I loved that got low scores, review bombed, or have some other weird negative stigma attached to them that I think is unfairly earned.

NOTE: I don't believe in giving games a number score or a letter grade. Maybe I'm just bad at criticism or very easy to please, whatever.

Battleborn [2016]

One of my personal favorite games of all time, Battleborn was advertised as a hero-based PVP shooter with MOBA mechanics that unfortunately came out right alongside one of the biggest games of the PVP shooter genre ever released (Overwatch). Thanks to this poor timing, Battleborn - along with several other similar but different games - was doomed to failure, choked to death by Blizzard's infinite marketing resources and predatory Free Play Weekends that just mysteriously happened to occur on the same weekends as its "competitors" major updates, DLC releases, promo events, etc. Battleborn is no longer available to play ANYWHERE as of January 2021; so few people played it after it was review bombed as "the game your mom bought you when you asked for Ovewatch for xmas" (yes Blizz fans used that fucking Simpsons meme TO DEATH, it's their one joke they have about Battleborn) that the game's servers had to be shuttered so the money could be funneled into Gearbox's much bigger cash cow release at the time, Borderlands 3.

Sour grapes aside, Battleborn was in many ways the game that many people actually wish Overwatch was now. In addition to the PVP game, Battleborn had a co-op campaign mode - complete with a story, cutscenes, and unique character dialogue depending on who you brought to each mission - which could be played for character XP (ability tree unlocks), random gear loot (for use in either campaign mode or PVP), and character cosmetics. The 30 playable characters were wildly varied in terms of design and gameplay, and yes I have to point it out every time, Battleborn had both "cute tiny animal in a mech suit" and playable black women BEFORE Overwatch did. The game also featured a very impressive and highly slept-on visual aesthetic that felt like every Saturday Morning Cartoon I ever grew up with from the 80s/90s, featuring a wild blend of 3D and 2D animation that all the other hero PVP games WISH they could have matched.

And damn, dude. If you like Lore in your video games, there was a TON of material written for this one. And I'm not just talking about supplemental media like a comic or a wiki or an interview about cut content or whatever. I mean there was a metric FUCK TON of additional world-building material right there in the game. Each character came with a set of challenges you could complete which would give you the usual XP and money, but also unlocked a fun little tidbit of Lore about the universe. These came in the form of short stories, recorded conversations, email logs, forum posts, shipping manifests, and even fully voiced segments explaining details about each character, who they were, why they were fighting this war, and some fun little ways of explaining how their weapons or abilities worked. For example, Reyna holds her laser pistol on its side, gangster-style, because she wanted to use a very specific gun model, had its internal parts stripped out so she could use an ammo clip of a much stronger caliber than that model was supposed to be capable of, but in order for the chamber to reload correctly, the gun had to sit a bit cockeyed. And that fun little nugget is just sitting there, right in the game, for you to discover! It's fucking cool as hell!

Now I know you're itching to make a joke about there only being like 15 people who even played the game. Yes, I've seen the Active Player Steam charts meme. It's true, Battleborn had a very small, but also very dedicated, community. Despite that, there were so few people playing that we all ended up making friends with each other pretty quickly. It was one of the friendliest PVP communities I'd ever been a part of. We knew there weren't many people online, so we created an environment that felt comfortable for players new and veteran alike. Many of us are still friends today, outside of the game. Because there were so few people online, we also got to play regularly with Gearbox devs and game writers, and even one of the voice actors responsible for at least three of the game's characters (plus a few NPCs!). We organized and hosted our own events, got official backing from the devs for Double XP weekends, held art jams and hashtag celebrations. Hell, I even used my love of this game to jumpstart my serious foray into music by making an entire album of songs for its characters (complete with a bunch of commissioned fan art from the community)!

(art by Leaddybum)

So yeah. Rest in peace, Battleborn. You were ahead of your time and the hate and harassment you got from The Gamers was completely undeserved. I will always keep hope alive that you'll come back to us some day. Maybe as a sequel, maybe in a new format. There was so much more left to explore in that universe.

May our battle never end.

[thevideogameshutterbug]

The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog: Can We Get More of This?

No joke. You might have noticed from my sudden return to activity after a while, but I really, really liked The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog. Gaming April Fools jokes are quirky and weird by nature - that’s the point. But every once in a while a game developer will release an April Fool’s joke that is so fun and unique in its quirkiness that it takes off and completely captures the audience with its charm. Sometimes these are even on purpose - attempts to test the waters and deliver some fun at the same time, like the trailer for Fighting Ex Layer. Sometimes it’s probably not, but... maybe it could be. I think that’s what The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog could be.

I‘ve been a Sonic fan for a very, very long time. I’ve loved most games in the series for the whole length of that time. There are few Sonic games I could say I outright dislike, tbh. But something I’ve long felt the Sonic series could’ve benefited from way back when was a stronger spinoff game. I think people give spinoffs a bad rap just on principle. “Why make disposable spinoffs when we can focus on making mainline games?”, people say (Sonic fans are also a bit unreasonably petrified of alternate gameplay styles). But I think that’s the missing the point. Spinoffs are a major part of what gives game series their identity - especially family focused series like Sonic. Not just because they give accessibility to a wider range of gamers, but because they make a buffer zone. Main line games take a long time. You have to wait years to see it, and if it has problems... well... that’s the reputation of the series for the next few years until the next game comes around. Spinoffs, however, mean that there’s always something involving the character out there to keep people interested. I means that if even if one game isn’t so good, there’s always others out there delivering quality. It gives the series something to look at at all times, and that gives it longevity. So why think about Sonic, a series about super speed and hi-momentum platforming, and make a visual novel spinoff? Visual novels are slow by nature, static images and careful deduction. Well... you make it for exactly the reasons everyone loved Murder.

People like these characters. People really like these characters. They’re fun. They’re all unique from each other. And they bounce off each other so well. But Sonic fans rarely get the chance to really experience the characters. Sonic’s long had a problem of loads of characters without quite knowing what to do with them. Characters like Rouge, a jewel thief primarily used for spy parodies, just plain isn’t going to be in most Sonic games - the games don’t have those kinds of plots often.

But that’s where a visual novel shines. Visual novels are all about going from scene to scene interacting with large swaths of characters, quirky conversations and unexpected character and plot developments. It’s not just that you can use tons of characters, but that you can give them center stage far more freely than you can in a platformer or a more action-focused plot. Sonic has been absolutely killing it this past year with adaptations and projects that were all about exploring the characters and what makes them fun, and Murder’s just the latest example. All the characters get segments to themselves to show off, tell jokes, and be fun - it’s silly and cartoony, charming with lots of character moments and eccentric turns, and it’s perfect for Sonic. So I really want to see more of this sort of thing!

We could get more parodies like this - hey, if Detective Pikachu can be a thing, why not more Detective Tails? Or we could get more involved stories. Something more Adventure-esque, or something more Saturday Morning Cartoon-y like Colors. Or a mixture of both! Character focused, or whole cast all at once just like this. Another everyman as the focus character, or one of the cast - Tails actually makes a very good protagonist for this sort of thing. The sky is the limit, here. Even this little April Fools joke gave us a surprising amount of worldbuilding and fun ideas I hope get revisited someday. Plus, it has to be said that visual novels take an entirely different creative process than platform games, and this game indeed was made by a third party, so the crowd nervous that any spinoff could take away from the development of the main titles doesn’t really have much to worry about: in the end, these would be made by different teams. It’s just a good idea all around. So I really hope this doesn’t get abandoned. Give us the continued spinoff visual novel / point and click adventures of Sonic and friends. I imagine any future ones wouldn’t still be free, but sure I’ll pay for it. Why not? I mean, you’ve got a perfect premise right here:

Eggman Industries’ Famous Eggscape Rooms! They’ll scramble your brains. And maybe your lifespan.

[eziojensenthe3rd]

Midnight Gaming: Serious Squidding

So last night I played some Serious Sam past midnight, checked socials later to find... Nintendo takes down Splatoon 3 video for mentioning sex.

So during a time when Half-life and Halo have led fps games away from one-liner spouting, 90s fps games to ones that focused on a narrative, Serious Sam was a series that stood in defiance of the changing tides with hordes of screaming headless mobs running towards you the player.

The hordes arent really an exaggeration as for the time, croteams first game featuring the tshirt wearing warrior, The First Encounter, was notable in pc gaming for having tons of enemies swarming you on screen, across various arenas and an array of explosions.

My first entry though was infact The Next Encounter on the gamecube before I eventually grabbed the HD remasters as well as 2 and bfe on steam. Beaten First Encounter on normal difficulty and sometimes play the other games from time to time. 2 was the one that repelled me the most due to how cartoony it looked. It was presented like a saturday morning cartoon with corny jokes and all whiched clashed with the bloody carnage. It just didnt mesh well and neither did Before First Encounter and that was for opposite reasons.

BFE from what I heard from rumours was originally meant to be just another military shooter that croteam was working on before it got canned and they repurposed a lot of the enviroment assets for a Serious Sam game instead. Its just a rumor but it does explain why it was all in modern Egypt. But yeah that game felt a bit too grounded at times with the story and graphics being a bit drab. Also it has glory kills? You could melee some enemies with a prompt and just kill them outright, without the need to use your guns, just press the melee when your close enough and you'll blink towards an enemy, kill them outright and move on. Also BFE seems badly optimised for Switch since i've seen a lot of graphics pop in whenever I turn around a corner.

So early parts of First and Second encounter? Fine enough, you go through arenas, face several enemies, you run backwards at times, its serious sam... maybe I dont like Serious sam that much? I like it enough and there are times when it becomes tense and yet.. I often just lose interest nowadays. Could be that I often play on Normal since to me it feels.... fair. You want to play Serious Sam in a way that makes you dread every healing item and ammo pickyp you come across? Play them on Serious difficulty, the highest difficulty thats unlocked from the start, and you will definatly develop some new phobias. I tried playing on Serious for TFE and, there is, never a time where you can reliably let your guard down. Every corner, every hallway, EVERY ITEM, there will be a chance of enemies being spawned. Sometimes right in your face. Go watch a playthrough on Serious difficulty or play it yourself and you'll understand why.

Actually, the games story at first was going back in time in order to find and stop Mental right? Thats what the early games before BFE were about, travelling through the timelock to try and stop an alien overlord who is trying to destroy humanity right? Right? Because I dont think time travel is really utilised much as a narrative device in this series. All the time periods you could potentially visit and fight enemies in. The first encounter only had Egypt. The second encounter had some time periods to go through. The next encounter also had that but that wasnt really made by croteam. 2 didnt had time travel instead going by multiple worlds and BFE onwards was just in modern times on earth. Seems like only croteam only did 2 games that barely scratched the surface on time travel and then just dropped it. Isnt that strange.

Just to wrap this segment up, I will say one more thing. I also went and played the two serious sam ports on steam, Classics Revolution and Serious Sam Fusion... beta.

CR seemed to be focused on the classic versions of TFE and TSE while Fusion is based on the HD remasters and BFE, both of course have workshop support. And you know what, its nice to play Serious Sam with mods, playing through a remastered version of TFE's maps with Overwatch weapons was neat.

So moving on to news, Nintendo. That company has garnered a mixed opinion nowadays. On one hand making great games and on the other hand striking down any form of appreciation shown by their fans. This however does come off as a bit silly though in my opinion, A video by Splatoon youtuber Liora Channel was struck down for "Sexual Content"? So Liora did a video called Splatoon Girls which focused on women who played Splatoon and talked about themselves and their personal lives. Some of these women have admitted they dated some high-profile splatoon players and engaged in casual initimacy. Nintendo didnt like that so they struck the video down.

Now, I'm aware the series is rated around 3+, its very much marketed towards kids but, to be honest I dont think the playerbase is mostly just kids. I guess it was more around late teens to early 20's maybe and with the lobbies allowing for miiverse style picture posts allowing anyone to post any drawn image, I wouldnt think the fanbase is that prudish. Then again I dont play Splatoon so I could be very wrong and Nintendo could be right but if this video that Liora made was to interact with women splatoon players and they admit to having initimate relations, is it really right to strike it down because it clashes with intended marketing. I dont know but i'll leave you the article from gonintendo.com and you can decide for yourself.

Thank you all reading, feel free to leave some feedback and game suggestions. Anons are currently on.

[radiowallet]

Eyes Open - Epilogue

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x Amy Oliver (ofc) Summary: One more trip to the grocery store. WC: 551 Warnings: None really. Mention of the kids. Sickly sweet fluff.

Series Masterlist II Main Masterlist II Marcus Moreno Masterlist

Cross-Posted to AO3

Part 11 <<<<

For any new writing follow @radiowallet-writes and turn on notifications.

------

“Okay, who’s in charge of the list?”

“I’ve got it!”

“Thanks, Missy,” Amy hums, handing the list over to the older girl where she's waiting by the grocery cart. 

She was still a little surprised Missy asked to come with them on the weekly shopping trip, almost positive that the 17-year-old would have something more riveting to do on a Saturday afternoon. But Missy had been all smiles, chatting away with Harris in the backseat of her dad’s car about the cartoon the two of them had watched together over cereal that morning. Amy had watched from the kitchen counter, hiding her smile behind her coffee cup, the sight of the two of them together never losing its shine. 

The list taken care of, she glances over her shoulder, realizing that 2 out of their group of 4 have split off, their wandering eyes (and matching sweet tooths) having been distracted. 

“Normally, people wait to buy candy bars at the end of the shopping trip, not the beginning.” 

Marcus and Harris turn to her with wide, doleful eyes, bottom lips jutting out in perfect unison. 

“Just one, Ames? For us to split?”

“Yeah, Mommy. Just one?”

She frowns, weighing the cost of the fight with Harris to the benefit of Marcus making it up to her later. There had been a small attempt on her end to instill some sort of structure into Harris’s eating habits the older she got, but there were still those days when any food that made it into the 8-year-old felt like a victory. 

Marcus, sensing a shift in her decision, makes one final plea. “They say it’s bad to shop on an empty stomach.” 

She sighs, knowing when she’s been licked, the Moreno charm always so disarming, even under the harsh fluorescent light of a grocery store.  

“Grab two,” she finally agrees, and Marcus pumps his fist into the air before high-fiving Harris. 

“You pick, jellybean. I’m gonna go thank your mom.” 

“Okay, Daddy,” Harris says, her attention already glued to the brightly colored packaging. 

Marcus moves over to Amy, pulling her in for a quick kiss, eyes bright and smile wide. “Is this our last chore for the day?”

“Mmm, why? Bored already?”

“No,” he teases with another kiss to the corner of her lips, eyes darkening the tiniest bit. “Just wondering how long before I get to take you home.”

There’s a joke on the tip of her tongue but she loses her footing, one word sending a thrill down her spine even after all these months. Home. Yes, she thinks. Amy is ready to get home too. 

“This is the last thing,” she promises.

“Good,” Marcus nods just as Harris runs back, M&Ms and a Butterfinger held above her head in victory. He smiles at the sight,  gladly tearing open the brown bag and handing it back before taking the Butterfinger for himself. 

“Hey, Ames?”

“Yeah?” she calls back, already three steps ahead, Missy calling out the first item on the list. 

“Thank you.”

And she can’t help but turn and smile, a quick wink shot in Marcus’s direction. “For what?” 

The End

------

A/N: Hello everyone! I wanted to take a small minute to thank the readers of this little story. This one specifically was always meant to be someplace safe and fun for me. I wrote it start to finish before posting a single chapter, and used it as a way to flex my waning creativity in the middle of a very difficult time. And while I know it isn't my best, it's my most joyful writing to date, and I think there's something to be said about that.

Thank you to every single person who read it, liked it, reblogged it. For sharing in this joy with me for this small moment in time. Thank you.

[henrys-wee-hen]

No-one Fucks With The Lobos - Chapter 14

A short little Teddy chapter! Because our sweet angel needs some love <3

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48070186/chapters/122263495

Or read under the cut!

Teddy

“I would be lying if I said I was not proud of him. My beautiful boy.”

As soon as those words hit him, Teddy felt something change in the pit of his stomach. He choked on his tongue, somehow, the saliva in his mouth going strange. He looked at his mother with huge eyes. She was looking straight at him. A look of pride. A look of love. The look he’d seen her give to Mandy every time the adopted little bitch made the right move… his own work, finally noticed?! He never imagined that his mother had actually paid any attention to the way he played everyone. Acting like a coked-up goof… it had been a risky move, yet there he was… he had the city eating out of his hand. He had men in each of the Five Families, feeding intel back… he’d done that.

(Y/N) was trying to take all that away from him. Love aside (and boy, was he in love), he didn’t think he could do it. Give everything up… when his mother looked at him like that. (Y/N) saw it, too. The look in those eyes told him everything. Was he really about to destroy it all, everything he’d built here… for the old life? A whole week of his own personal torture, the nightmares… the promise of a future… Was he actually about to give it up?!

He felt like there was a fork in the road in front of him.

To one side, (Y/N). Domesticated life. An unknown. A new job, new career, new home, potentially… (Y/N) had mentioned his beautiful car on a manicured, immaculate driveway of a stunning villa over in the Garden District… he’d been to parties in those houses. His father had once had a drug drop there, too. The police never fussed around with the rich folk there… but could he live there? A life? Would there be a tiny Teddy and a tiny (Y/N) running around, playing in the garden on a summery Saturday? Lazy Sunday mornings spent in bed, the kids downstairs watching cartoons on TV… pancakes and sausages for breakfast, with bowls of berries, coffee… Drives out to the lake… Even before kids, he could imagine the sex in every single room, just the two of them in that huge house… sure, his apartment was nice, but was it what (Y/N) wanted? While he understood (Y/N)’s reluctance to become a criminal… part of him felt that he ought to be enough just on that. (Y/N) had been in his ‘care’ for months, now, and not once had he even tried to make good on the desires he’d spent hours dreaming of in the fucking shower. But now? With the presentation of two different paths? It was all he could think about. Fucking (Y/N) against the floor-to-ceiling windows of his apartment so the world below could see, if only they were a bit closer… on the sofa, in the bed, across the island in the kitchen, in the bathtub for real… And the same thoughts in a house. He could see it all…

But then, on the other side, his mother. His mom. The only parent he had left. His mom, who’d been there for him when he was growing up and he’d struggled to figure himself out. His mom, who’d held him when he was sick, covered his cut knees with bandages when he went a little too hard with the neighbour kids in the streets… his mom, who’d read him stories before bed. There had once been a time when his father had told him that his mother was a formidable woman who’d clawed her way to the level where he’d noticed her and been immediately taken with her. Bellafrancesca’s drive, her tenacity, her passion for his life… Teddy had always wanted the relationship his parents had had. His father adored his mother, and his mother adored his father. Both of them loved each other for their faults and the good stuff.

Yet (Y/N) wanted him to change! Nothing like the acceptance and love his mother had had for his father!

Teddy ran his hands through his hair.

“Well, Teddy? Is this what you really want? To leave your role here?” Bellafrancesca looked at him, past (Y/N). Teddy looked at her. He sniffed, running a hand through his hair.

“I think… I gotta fucking think about it!” he breathed, shaking his head. (Y/N) looked at him, and Teddy almost buckled back the other way. He’d never felt so torn in his entire fucking life! He pushed past both of them, leaving the room. He slammed the doors open, disappearing down the corridor. (Y/N) looked past Bellafrancesca, eyes concerned.

“I suppose it is clear, then,” Bellafrancesca murmured. “That my son is perhaps a little more complex than you originally thought, (Y/N).”

“He is complex. But using his main weakness against him right now, when he’s trying to do better and be better… that’s just plain fucking cruel, Mrs Lobo.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” (Y/N) turned to Bellafrancesca, glaring.

“And I’m sure you do. But since you’re determined to play coy and clueless, I’ll spell it out for you. You’ve never been there for Teddy. You’ve always wanted more from him, more of him – he’s never been good enough for you! But the moment he wants to do better and be better, you’re suddenly proud of him and see the work he’s doing?! Pathetic! But then, a snake will do what it needs to do to get what it wants.” (Y/N) jabbed Bellafrancesca in the chest. “And you’re the biggest fucking snake in New Orleans. So take your adopted little daughter, the thing you’ve really wanted all these years, and give her the role you apparently still see Teddy in.”

“My, my… the little police officer still has claws… you’d be frightening if you weren’t shaking so much, mi amor.” Bellafrancesca’s little laugh was patronizing as hell. “Mandy is good. But she cannot run the family business. Not yet. I have trained her to do what Teddy could not: interrogate, and strike fear into the hearts of our dear enemies.”

“What better way to make use of a little girl you found in an import of guns…” A roll of the eyes. Bellafrancesca pursed her lips again. “Oh – wait, no, sorry, you told Teddy you took her from an orphanage… what would he do if he knew she was a little stowaway, and not something you’d picked by yourself as a pet project?”

“Stop putting words into my son’s mouth –“

“Stop treating your son like a piece of shit and playing with his fucking mind, then!”

“Get out,” Bellafrancesca breathed. “Get out of my house and stay out!”

“Fucking gladly!”

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 8 - Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

So I loved Discworld growing up, just like absolutely everyone else on tumblr. But the last book in the series I’d read was Making Money (vaguely appropriate tbh, since the first book I read in the series was Going Postal, grabbed at random off a library shelf when I was eleven or so). I was always vaguely aware there was more recent stuff I’d never gotten around to reading published before Pratchett passed, but nothing really beyond that.

Anyway cut to me seeing Raising Steam on a display at the library when picking up some holds and figuring hey, why not.

The answer to that being well, I’m sorry it feels mean to say because obviously there were pretty clear and obvious extenuating circumstances here, but it’s just not very good? Now admittedly a big part of that is probably just the inevitability of it failing to live up to my childhood nostalgia, but still. There were fun bits but still – the humour was mostly broad and unpolished, the politics were blunter and less subtle than some electoral manifestos, it was more stuffed full of pacing-killing cameos and fanservice than a later-day MCU flick, and just generally totally devoid of real conflict or drama, or even compellingly scenery-chewing two-dimensional villains to vanquish. It generally just felt like, I don’t know, something in the shape of a Discworld book but without the detail work and polish. Which again, seems very unkind to say, given the circumstances.

Honestly the blatancy and bluntness of the politics was the most striking thing about the whole book, and really cried out as something that would have been smoothed over and nuanced a bit in earlier works. But, well, Discworld’s always had a thick vein of whiggishness running through it, especially the Ankh-Morpok stories. But this one – a reader can only take so many paens to the glorious tolerance of the modern city, where you’re only oppressed on the basis of the class, you know?

The central thematic conflict of the book being ‘Progress, Prosperity and the Railroad, backed by the full weight of capital and high finance, and every crowned head worth mentioning, against a bunch of reactionary religious extremists who everyone hates without a single virtue the author seems to hold in the slightest bit of regard’ is also just fundamentally not very compelling reading, I’m afraid. If the Grags had some, like, saturday-morning-cartoon-villain charisma they might have been more enjoyable, but no such luck.

This might actually be the first story I’ve ever read where the railroad tycoon is a benevolent, good-hearted fellow who really does care about and look after his workers, though. ‘19th century robber baron’ isn’t usually a historical archtype that gets lionized in most fiction.

All that said – honestly, analyzing this as a novel is probably kind of missing the point. The actual plot and story sometimes feel like they’re kind of besides the point, and the real purpose of the book is a love letter and send off to just about every previous Discworld protagonist. There are so, so many cameos and references and call-backs in this book, which I probably would have found rather more charming if I’d read the rest of the series more recently and had everyone being talked about more firmly in my mind. As it was, a lot of them were just kind of annoying cut-away gags.

The book wasn’t, like, the worst thing I ever read or anything. It was always perfectly readable and got a few smiles. But yeah, safe to say it really didn’t work for me.

[unchartedperils]

SPOILERS FOR MK1 AHEAD. DO NOT READ IF YOU DONT WANT TO SEE YET.

First Tournament was really good. Don’t have too much if any complaints, though I wish Shao put up more of a fight against Raiden. And I felt so bad for defeating Li Mei 🥺😭.

The Johnny-Kenshi friendship was really cool and I almost cried when Johnny gave Kenshi Sento.

YES BARAKA AND REPTILE GET TO KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES! Unlike Reiko who stays as Shao’s jobber but that’s his job lmfao so I can’t be mad 😆 (don’t get me started with his “demonstration”).

The reveal of the Deadly Alliance, I LOST MY SHIT. Though I can’t say I like Quan Chi’s new voice or personality that much. At best he seems more like a Saturday morning cartoon villain in the background that Shang’s equal if not more dangerous accomplice.

Speaking of Quan Chi though, I REALLY LOST MY SHIT in Ashrah’s chapter. I had already known that her lore was unchanged at all other than she too had served under Quan Chi, but I still was in amazement at her chapter (wish Havik played a role but he’s up for later) and I hope she can free Sareena from Quan Chi in a possible Mythologies style DLC.

Next up: ERMAC. I CALLED IT, I CALLED IT, I CALLED IT. From the moment he was revealed and mostly bashed by the fanbase, there was a reason for his radical new look: HE WAS JERROD’S BODY and ultimately Quan Chi resurrected him with both his and other souls from the Living Forest! This had been building up since MK9 in numerous endings but it’s now been realized! So badass and touching (more on this in a min)

Then just like Deadly Alliance: THE DRAGON ARMY RESURRECTED BY THEM (not a fan of them writing Onaga out so far but there’s still hope for him)!

Onto Li Mei’s chapter: Obviously as a few of you know, my newest MK oneshot is a AU of her chapter and I have so much to say: Li Mei is just so awesome and I sympathize so much with her for being framed/kicked out of the Umgadi after Jerrod’s death. But her being Sun Do’s first cop is just as interesting and of course with Liu’s help does she kick ass and take names! Oh yea and TAKE THAT TANYA! I just knew you’d betray them just like the older timelines. But at least her and Empress Sindel’s relationship is restored. Btw I have another possible plot bunny for Li Mei but I’ll keep it a surprise.

Sindel: tears were shed when her and Jerrod reunited. And more at her death in his arms 😭😭😭.

Mileena: SO MUCH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND IT WARMED MY HEART! Even with her condition, she’s now a noble and strong warrior! Liu really did redeem her and gave her all she wanted in his New Era. 🥺🥹

And that’s all I can think of for up to the Dragon Army chapter. It’s around this time unfortunately as soon as Liu mentions “timeline” the MK11 part of the story was gonna come back. Per usual the quality dips quite a bit, but if nothing else we got the Armageddon tribute with Liu’s “Forces of Light” against Titan Shang’s “Forces of Darkness” and NRS literally did trial and error on various NPC designs 😆 (Black Dragon Sonya alone had me dying).

But the battle itself was really cool despite the wackiness and now EVERYONE’s ARCADE ENDING IS CANON IN SOME WAY SHAPE OR FORM! And bonus points to if you select someone other than Liu, he initially seems to lose to the Titan DA like in OG DA (except obviously not dying) before the selected character comes to his aid.

Great ending and I’ll leave off at that another 3D era character might attempt to leave where both the OG DA and Titan DA left off…

[popculturebuffet]

Next up for Disney TVA, who is your favorite character from the cartoons in the 90s half of the Disney One Saturday Morning era: Doug (Disney seasons), Jungle Cubs, Nightmare Ned, 101 Dalmatians the Series, Recess, Pepper Ann, Hercules the Animated Series, and Mickey Mouse Works?

Okay so weeding the field, I haven't seen Jungle Cubs, Nightmare Ned, or 101 Dalmations and haven't seen herc recently enough to actually judge it. Like LMM it's just vauge memories. Thankfully I looked ahead and while there will be gaps LATER the next era i've seen pretty much everything. Can't say I'l lhave the deepest opinons or a faviorite characters, but it won't be nearly as sparse as these last two and had I realized that I woudl've had you just cram both together. For now though Disney's Doug: Not sure as I haven't rewatched these lately, but since i'm not sure I named one in the disney section , Mr Dink with Skeeetr a close second: he's funny, goofy and while advice despensing neighbor wasn't exactly new ground, he helped spice it up by being human: he's goofy as hell, up to some down to earth domestic shenanigan. He's basically the american version of red green. (The red green show is great and if you haven't heard of it.. your welcome)

I remember liking this version. While there are a bunch of changes.. none feel bad. A lot of the additions work: Doug having a little sister opens new ground, the rank up to middle school makes sense as they finished elementary last series, and continuing miss dink as mayor and having Bebe's dad become school principal. It also helps one of my faviorite episodes and the only one from this run I clearly remember is here, where Patti finds out her dad is dating her teacher and dosen't take it well. Disney's Doug isn't a super sharp upgrade, it's still pretty standard slice of life but it dosen't SEEM like the downgrade it gets painted as.

Recess: Gus. I thought this would be hard but no, my relatable pov baby boy is still my faviorite. I like Gus in part because on paper he should stop working after a bit.. but unlike other pov everyman characters there for exposition, he has enough outside it, his insecurity, panicky nature, and genuine kindness, to help. I also like the portrayal of a military kid, who his moves around a lot nature was due to that and it makes his friendship with the kids and fight to be seen not just as "the new kid" that more pognaint. They give him just enough depth to make you fully understand why, despite usually being the voice of reason, he sticks around and yet don't have him be a total stick in the mud either. He's usually all for the heists, he's just one of the first to panic about it and even then Gretchen and Mikey just as often chime in.

As you can probably guess... I love recess. It's one of Disney's best shows period, made my top 10 list for Disney TVA"s 10th annviersary (Also a reminder to not forget clerks in these asks) for a reason and is only not at the top of the pile because the network had some of the best shows in recent memory in the late 2010's early 2020's and even with that this still stacks up with the best of them.

Recess captures how it felt to be a kid well, the larger than life worlds we created, how parts of the playground were carved up, how the teachers felt useless or actively malicoius, yet grounds it in reality: both miss finster and principal prickly are slowly revealed to be people. Like Hey Arnold around the same time, but in it's own way, it provides plenty of one offs for the various other clicks and kids, while giving our main sextet a ton of depth, focus and spotlight. The series has a swiss army knife quality to it, ala batman the animated series (A comparrison I never though tof but i've been binging a lot of serum lake on youtube lately. ) but it's one that fits: like BTAS, Recess can pivot between awwkard stories of growing up like mikey's voice changing, a chilling psychological drama like the box, or a simple exploration of language or how adults take shit too seriously like the whomps or trial episodes. The series goes all the hell over the map from heists to mediations on death to using a pokemon stand in to teach economics. I can't say enough about this show. A true masterpiece like almost nothing else and I only say that because it got the perfect spiritual succcesor in craig of the creek and disney woudln't greenlight the revivial because their stupid.

Pepper Ann: Don't have a faviorite as I didn't watch the show that much but what I saw I like and I should revisit it. I got jazzed when it got added to D+ then.. forgot. Which happens often.

Mickey Mouse Works; This is a weird ask as.. iv'e never seen mickey mouse works.. but i've seen the shorts on house of mouse? As such i'll save the discussion for house of mouse for the most part but the shorts are pretty good. There's a few awful ones, the quality coudl vary wildly, but when it hits it hits

[lycanfuck]

words like violence cw implied rape/cocsa, incest, sibling abuse, homophobia, f-slur

it took almost three days for luka's voice to return all the way back to normal. he was worried it never would. he didn't know it was possible to bruise your throat from getting face-fucked, but he guessed if anyone was going to surprise him with shit like this, it was zach.

it was easy enough to explain away, as there was some bug going around school. teo never really thought twice about it even though luka exhibited no other symptoms aside from his strained vocal chords. every time he said anything around zach for those three days, he'd look up at him and smirked and luka felt like throwing up.

the only ones who had seemed to notice anything off about him were, of course, a few of his friends. specifically anne and bri. girls just had that kind of black magic, he supposed. neither of them had said a word but he would catch anne watching him every so often, like she knew something was going on, and while she obviously didn't know what it was exactly, it was clear she didn't like it and luka found himself feeling more uneasy around her than he had in a long time.

teo poured himself an extra glass of wine with dinner friday evening, the world news playing in the corner on the small television that was set on the kitchen counter.

"and in other news tonight, the controversial rape trial featuring a high school girl who'd been drinking the night she claimed to have been raped by two of her school's football team, has recanted part of her testimony."

his stepdad made a disgusted sound and luka pushed his food around on his place with his fork.

"she's already ruined their reputations and now she's taking it back? it's no wonder you can't trust someone when they say they've been raped. us men really have to watch our backs. piss off the wrong bitch and you end up getting accused of rape."

luka could feel zach's eyes on him but he didn't look up. he held his breath, though, waiting to hear his brother's response.

"such a shame, but you reap what you sow."

"this is a depressing topic for dinner," teo wrinkled his nose and scooped more green beans onto his plate.

luka's heart sank to his stomach, but he tried to reason with himself. after all, he had no way of knowing that his son's cum was currently drying between luka's thighs. *** saturday at least gave him a chance to escape his house and zach, and he took off early in the morning with his skateboard, riding down the street, wind whipping through his hair, riding all the way to anne's without pausing the entire way there. he slowed to a stop in front of their house, though, lifting a hand to wave at her grandma, who was sitting on the porch.

della waved back as luka picked up his board and headed up to the sidewalk. "she's still in bed," she told him with an eye roll. "that's okay," he replied with a shrug, moving to sit down beside her on the porch steps. "why are you up so early?"

"saturday morning cartoons," she said with a 'well, duh' expression. "but right now it's pink panther and i don't care for that. i'm here for speed buggy." "that's a good one," he agreed, tucking some hair behind his ear. della looked at him for a moment, studying him like she was trying to figure something out. "you can watch it with me if you want." the offer caught him a bit off-guard, but a tiny smile tugged at his mouth. "yeah? okay. i'd like that."

"we gotta be quiet 'cause we don't wanna wake the beast."

luka considered that, watching anne's grandma from the corner of his eye. "have you had breakfast yet?"

"no, i wanted to treat anne and you to some pancakes today, but... well, you know," with a wince of pain, she gently massaged her knuckles, her fingers moving in slow, soothing circles over the swollen joints.

after a moment, "i think i know how to make pancakes," luka said. her eyes lit up, but she didn't say anything more, so he continued, "what do you say?" "i say heck yeah." pulling a face with her movements, della carefully pushed herself up from the floor, luka offering an arm which she used as steady support. luka left his board on the porch and followed the older woman into the house, then into the kitchen. he'd been here plenty of times in the last year - sometimes it felt a little surreal to eat a meal with them because they were so normal. they didn't call each other names unless it was in a playful manner or throw things at one another and they held actual conversations. every time luka was there, he'd get so caught up in what was going on around him, he'd almost forget about his own shitty life. anne was incredibly lucky. luka had spent so much time there in the last few months in fact, that he knew his way around the kitchen like he actually lived there. in no time at all, he'd gathered all the ingredients needed for homemade pancakes. he'd never done this at home since his mom died because, even with what little dignity, status and respect he had in that house, he wasn't about to cook for teo, and most certainly not for zach.

but he had no issues cooking for anne's family. they'd been welcoming and good to him right from the beginning. he'd been sure back then that they wouldn't like him - that they would meet him and decide he was trouble, but that hadn't happened. instead they'd opened their home to him anytime he showed up on their doorstep, whether or not it was a planned visit.

nobody could do that at his house, with his family. an unexpected visitor would cause trouble for themselves and for whoever they had come to see. aside from ronnie one time early on, none of his friends had ever been to his house, and he'd made sure they understood that it had to stay that way. his family wasn't like any of their families. "where'd you learn to make pancakes? your mama?" della asked, bringing luka out of his thoughts as he went through the motions of preparing breakfast with the older woman at his side. "yeah," he confirmed with a faint smile. "she'd always make them with my stepdad." "your stepdad cooks?" her eyes went wide and a short laugh escaped luka before he could help it. "yeah, he cooks. he's a really good cook, actually." "freddy grills sometimes, but i don't think he even knows how to turn on the stove." *** twenty minutes later, he was setting up a plate of pancakes and bacon on the table for della when he glanced up to see anne frozen in the kitchen entrance, looking somewhere between surprised and confused, whilst ghost was more than happy to rush to him in a frenzied greeting; luka could have sworn he saw him with all paws off the ground at one point. "morning," he greeted, a hint of caution on his voice. "mhm," she responded, looking from him to the pancakes and blinking. "you fixed breakfast?" "yeah, we did," he motioned to the plate stacked with pancakes on the counter and the dish beside it full of hot bacon. "you stole my job..." she placed her hands on her neat rows of tight braids that ran along her scalp in mock-anguish.

"you're supposed to say thank you," della said matter-of-factly before sticking a forkful of pancake in her mouth.

anne shot her a look and her grandma smirked at him as she chewed her food. anne's gaze shifted back to luka. "this is amazing," she told him with a grin. "you're amazing." his cheeks grew warm at the compliment but he rolled his eyes. "fill your plate."

she stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug and luka closed his eyes, exhaling slowly and winding his arms around her, too. he held onto her tightly, not wanting to let go. he felt safe. alive.

"you okay?" she murmured after a moment, though she made no move to let him go. luka's throat ached. he swallowed it down. "yeah. stellar." *** luka managed to avoid zach part of the weekend by staying out of their house for the bigger part of it. his mom had always encouraged luka to spend time with his friends, because she was excited that luka had friends, even if she never got to meet any of them. luka spent most of saturday at anne's home with her and her grandparents and stayed there long past dinner time, playing board games with them, and later video games with anne in her room, their legs pressed together as they sat side by side playing frogger. sunday he was up and out of the house just as early as he'd been the day before, but this time he'd headed for the mccatty's. bri was an early riser even if luka wasn't usually, and she'd been more than a tad surprised to see him on the porch with his backpack in hand, a wad of cash in the other. they'd sat together in companionable silence for nearly two hours as she happily completed his homework for the week before her mother had rolled out of bed, looking as surprised to see him as bri had been.

she'd immediately set about fixing omelettes for everyone and wound up scrapping them into the garbage when they'd ended up burning. disappointed, she had suggested a trip to waffle house, which bri eagerly agreed to. luka knew they didn't go out to eat very often due to the tight budget and he felt guilty tagging along with no leftover money of his own to pay for a meal. by the time they actually made it to the waffle house, he wished he'd refused because zach and a couple of his friends - scotty and darren - were sitting together in a booth a couple tables away from the waitress seated them.

"maybe we should go somewhere else," bri murmured, eyes cutting to where zach sat, arm around the back of the booth as she stared at them while her mom went to the bathroom.

luka was tense, heart beating a little faster in his chest as he refused to look over at him. he had to swallow before speaking, mouth having gone dry. "no, it's fine, he won't bother us," that much he felt sure of. as far as luka's friends knew, zach was still on his best behavior under the threat of a nail bat to his nuts, curtesy of cody. luka didn't want them to think anything was out of the ordinary. he couldn't let them think it. if they started to suspect something wasn't right, he'd be in danger.

"you sure? i'm not crazy about waffle house, anyways."

luka could hear the unease in her voice and he reached out, squeezing her arm lightly. "it's fine, bri." it wasn't fine. he knew it wasn't going to be fine later when he was forced to be at home with zach again the next time. nothing was going to be fine. but it was okay. luka had always been good at playing pretend. *** by the time sunday evening rolled around, he reluctantly returned home, heart sinking as he realized his stepdad's car wasn't in the driveway.

he put his board back down on the sidewalk, deciding he'd just ride back toward town, see if she could hang out with jamie for a while or something just until teo got back from wherever he'd gone.

except zach now stood in the opened door, glaring at him. he said nothing as luka stood frozen, staring back at him and trying to decide on what to do. finally, he lifted his chin ever-so-slightly and got back on his board, skating away from the house and down the road without looking back. *** when luka returned home again that night, zach was asleep, thankfully. he was safe for the night.

morning came all too quickly, though, and he struggled to sleep, waking up at every slight rustle of zach's bed covers as he turned, a creak as he tossed, the sound of his breathing kicking on and off periodically. by the time he got up and got ready for school, luka felt like he hadn't slept at all. he managed to drag himself to the table for a bowl of cereal even though he wasn't hungry and his dread was quickly growing. all-too soon it was time to force himself to get into the passenger side of teo's camaro, every muscle in his body tense as he clutched onto the skateboard with one hand and his backpack with the other. he didn't turn his head to look at zach as he slid into the seat adjacent.

to luka's surprise, he didn't say anything to him until they were alost to school. then he broke the blessed silence. "how was your weekend, luka?" his voice was way too casual and alarm bells began to go off in luka's mind.

he still didn't look at zach. "like you care," he muttered.

"see, that's where you're wrong - i care very much what kind of trouble my brother gets into."

"step-brother," he corrected, jaw tightening slightly.

he went on, completely ignoring him. "whatever trouble your stupid ass gets wrapped up in is my problem." "i didn't get into any trouble," luka snapped, unable to stop himself. it was a mistake, as without warning, zach reached out and grabbed him by his hair, yanking it hard and pulling it toward him as a soft, pained cry escaped him. "watch your fuckin' mouth," he growled, grip tightening. tears sprang to luka's eyes and it was all he could do not to lash out, not to try and punch him or struggle because he knew him well enough to know that wouldn't end well for him. it never did. luka bit down hard on his lip, leaning into the grip in an attempt to loosen his hold on him.

teo's eyes barely deviated from the road as he gave an unenthusiastic, "that's enough, zach."

"shit's gonna change, luka," he shoved luka away from him with as much force as he'd gripped onto him and he winced as his arm banged up against the car door. "a whole lot of shit. you better prepare yourself for that." luka struggled to hold back tears because fuck him. he didn't like crying and he didn't want to do it anymore because of him. didn't want him to have that power over him, that satisfaction. luka could already feel himself slipping away from his own body, mind foggy, and he let it be. at least zach couldn't see that happen. "you got any idea what people say about you at school?" he glanced at his dad in the driver's seat before shooting luka a look. "that you're probably a goddamned faggot." the words stung even though they logically shouldn't. it wasn't the first time someone had said something like that about him. hell, that had been a rumor in jersey. he never bothered to confirm or deny it because he didn't care, but that invited people to mock him for it.

"i wonder it myself sometimes," he looked over at him again, thinly-veiled deceit in his eyes. "you prefer dick, luka? you can tell me. it's important we know, right, dad?"

"go to hell," luka responded evenly, grip tightening on his backpack.

"god is patient and merciful," teo immediately spat out, like he was waiting for luka to say something he could scold in favor of zach. "do not wish that on your family, luka." zach huffed a soft laugh. "i don't blame him," he reached over and squeezed his knee and luka shrank away from him the best that he could, pressing himself up against the door, briefly contemplating reaching for the handle and jumping out. his heart began to beat faster in his chest as he spotted teo's eyes on him in the rear-view mirror. "he's just scared he might end up there. thing is, doesn't matter how much you like dick. you're not gonna fuck up my life more than you already have. it's not fair that your sins have started being projected onto me, when i've been nothing but supportive of your repentance. so you're gonna stop dressing like a fuckin' queer and start acting like a normal guy because i'm tired of hearing people run their mouth about my stepbrother."

he tightened his grip on luka's knee. "clear?"

luka felt his throat tighten at the threat as they pulled into the parking lot of their school. "yeah."

"good." luka scrambled out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him, making a break for school but not before zach had circled around faster than he thought was possible for a person; he placed a hand on luka's shoulder as he passed. "and don't make plans after school today, i've already made some for us," his voice was all-too casual as teo peeled out of the lot. luka wish he'd jumped out of the car when he'd had the chance.

[tapwrites]

Theme through Exposition (Matrix Reloaded, Revolutions & Resurrections)

This is part 2 of a series looking at the Matrix films. You can read the first part before continuing.

Which brings us to the sequels, Reloaded, and Revolutions. These were made at the same time, and function as two halves of the same story. So I'll look at them as one block. Though in less detail... And I've tagged on a bit about Resurrections at the end to round out the series.

First, the reviews:

I enjoyed Reloaded and Revolutions a fair bit less than the first film. Of course, there wasn't that gut-punch of a brand new concept to my psyche--that's to be expected. But something about it was qualitatively different to me.

Compared to the small-scale, big-concept of The Matrix... these sequels were all about the big-scale, high-concept. Giant fights (utilising a lot of pure-CGI), in giant places (the dock, and the entire Matrix). While the concepts are less "big," more just... "high."

There was always some philosophy stuff floating around in the Matrix, but the focus was on the Matrix as a concept--rather than discussions on the definition of a word and the abstract impact that definition has on existence itself. Which basically stops the momentum of the story because really nothing is happening.

The bigger scale of the battles and fights is fine by itself. There's a lot of fun sequences in there. But compared to the tighter story-driven fight scenes in the first film, it often felt a bit "and now there's going to be a fight/battle scene." It was easy to get lost regarding why the heroes were doing what they were doing, and what their goal was.

Why is Neo fighting all those Agents if he can just fly away? Why do they need the Key Maker? Where are they trying to get to? What's the stakes?

Interestingly, the film actually comments on that. With the Merovingian telling the heroes they don't know why they are doing things. And the Oracle telling Neo his job isn't to make a choice, but to understand the future choice he's already made. (More on that later.)

Which... okay, that could happen in a story I guess--characters doing what they can but not really knowing what to do. But it means the viewer doesn't understand the motivation of the characters, because the characters don't understand their own motivations... which in turn means it's easy to just not really care about what's going on.

And then the more recent Resurrections. Which, to sum up, is a mess.

Half Matrix-inspired saturday morning cartoon with a load of colourful one-dimensional characters that do almost nothing (reminded me a lot of some of the Transformers movies in that way). And half meta commentary on the circumstances of making the film, what they thought about the Matrix series and about the suits at Warner Brothers who demanded it be made.

I'm not going to go down the rabbit-hole of the meta stuff about production in this article. You can look into that stuff elsewhere. But watching it with this stuff in mind, and it being so obvious in the subtext (and text) of the movie... it felt like I was watching a mental breakdown as expressed through the medium of film.

But anyway... theme!

The theme of M2 & M3 is Choice... but instead of how "Belief is choice," it's about how "Purpose is choice."

This concept is explored primarily through conversations.

The Oracle tells Neo, "You're not here to make a choice. You're here to understand why you made the choice." [M2 0:45:40] So yes, fate and predestination is real, there is no such thing as real choice. Purpose is a choice already made. Neo should focus on figuring out what his purpose is, not about making free choices.

Which goes against the whole concept of "free your mind" and Neo's free choices being the crux of the whole thing, of being the One in the first place.

Without a lot of work on the viewer's part to untangle the philosophy of it all, it feels very incongruous to the reason they are watching this film... because the loved the first film.

The Merovingian says it is the "why" that has the power. And the gang does not know why they are doing any of this. They are choosing to do what they're told, without understanding why they are choosing to do it. [M2 1:05:22]

Which is totally true. The Oracle said "jump," and they said "how high?"

This is part of why it's not so enjoyable to watch. The viewer doesn't have any idea why they're doing what they're doing either; the characters have no motivation beyond "Oracle told me to do it." That's not an interesting motivation for a character to have.

When they have 3 ships and 3 missions, Morpheus says: "I do not see coincidence, I see providence. I see purpose." [M2 1:41:42]

Though in reality, one of those ships does nothing at all... beyond maybe making the others believe there's purpose and this is the right plan.

There's a lot of chat going on here, interleaved with carrying out the plan. The plan itself isn't that interesting. And we keep cutting back to Morpheus trying to make it all sound grander than it is. There's a lot of bouncing around in time, there's something about the timing of power dropping and when things blow up and when the door disappears and... it's all very confusing. Especially on first-viewing.

The Architect tells Neo why he exists in the first place, and therefore what his purpose is--why he chose to come here. To decide to let Zion die, make a new Zion with new people from the Matrix, and let the loop keep on looping. [M2 1:54:56]

This is actually quite a cool revelation, but is confusing as all get-out because it's written like an academic paper. It took me a fair bit of studying this scene to figure out what he was actually saying at any point in time.

And it actually turns out none of it was relevant because Neo just decides that's not his purpose, and takes the door no One before him ever took so he could save Trinity. ...Which also doesn't seem to affect anything but the decision in that moment.

The Oracle has changed bodies, because she made a choice. "Since the test of any choice is to make it again, knowing full well what it might cost, I guess I feel pretty good about that choice. Because here I am, at it again." [M3 0:05:38]

This doesn't really fit in with the whole "purpose" idea. It's just more philosophical dialogue.

Morpheus has a crisis of faith, finding out that the prophecy was a lie. He asks the Oracle, "After everything that has happened, how can you expect me to believe you?" Who replies, "I don't. I expect just what I've always expected. For you to make up your own [darn] mind. Believe me or don't." [M3 0:07:00]

She told Neo this in the park, too. And it does fit with M1. Though all the other stuff she told Neo and everything the films are about goes against this idea So... it's just not very cohesive at all, and if you try to figure this stuff out, it comes out as pretty confusing just by itself.

Rama-Kandra speaks to Neo in the station. He's a program who controls recycling at the power plant. "It is my karma. A way of saying 'what I am here to do.' I do not resent my karma. I am grateful for it. Grateful for my wonderful wife, for my beautiful daughter." [M3 0:12:19]

But really his job had nothing to do with those things. He has a purpose. But also some amount of freedom to choose--to have relationships, to create new programs like Sati.

Though programs created for no real reason, like Sati, have no purpose. They exist purely to do whatever they feel like. To make choices. To use their free-will, you could say.

Though the Machines don't like anything to exist that has no purpose. It's just sub-optimal. They want to delete such programs. Which is why Sati is being sent to the Matrix, where such programs can hide from the Machines.

This is cool worldbuilding. Though it's not really explored as part of the story. These facts, and Sati herself, have no effect on what happens. Just more dialogue-only exploration of ideas.

Speaking of whatever he did to the Oracle, Merv says, "Where others see coincidence, I see consequence. Where others see chance, I see cost." What he did to her was business, economics. [M3 0:21:52]

This mirrors what Morpheus said in M2. Though he doesn't see the grandiose purpose and providence, but the mundane consequence and cost--economics in place of fate.

Choice doesn't factor into either of these. Morpheus doesn't believe choice factors in because it's already been decided--similar to how the Oracle thinks. Merv is just cranking the wheel of give and take.

During the finale battle, Smith says "the purpose of life is to end." [M3 1:44:53] Namely by being taken over by him. He aims to take over everything, because he's a virus. And that's a big problem for the Machines.

Thematically, this doesn't really do much. Though it kind of fits into how the fight ends.

Neo gives up and lets Smith take him over. Which allows the Machines to... do... something through Neo I guess? To destroy all of the Smiths? Somehow? [M3 1:52:50]

This could be the choice he didn't understand maybe. Though potentially it could've been the choice he made at the Architect's room--to not create a new Zion, and seemingly allow all of humankind to die.

Apparently he was seeing the door of light in a prophetic dream, though we never saw that so it didn't really have any impact.

Anyway, one of these were this was the choice he didn't understand, that he was destined to make according to the Oracle. Though at the time, it was just pure confusion for the audience.

That's really the problem here, thematically. It was pretty much all talk about the theme, but we saw very little to demonstrate any of it.

There were a lot of "let's sit down and chat" scenes in these films. Technically, the exploration of theme in M1 were also conversations--but those conversations happened because of the story. They were directly related to the story unfolding, they came naturally as a result of what came before. They were direct and relevant.

In M2 & M3, these conversations did not come from what came before. They were not particularly relevant to what was happening. They often meandered and jumped from topic to somewhat unrelated topic--awkwardly setting up aspects that would come into play, but with nothing motivating it being brought up.

One speaker would say something cryptic and the other would understand exactly what they meant and say it--because just a monologue would be too obviously an infodump. Or one speaker would change the subject at random and the other would carry on as if nothing weird just happened.

While there were thematic threads linking to the events--well, pretty much the very final events perhaps--the viewer wasn't in on that. And the conversations were mainly used to worldbuild, exposit at the viewers, talk about philosophical concepts.

Just as in M1, the same concepts were revisited over and over, from different angles. But not in a subtle way that was worked into the story; it felt more like the characters were saying to each other:

ORACLE/ARCHITECT/MERV: Hey, you know how the theme of this movie is fate, or purpose or something? NEO: Yeah? SMITH/MORPHEUS: Isn't it cool? NEO: Uhuh.

The visions didn't really do anything but give the writers an excuse to lead Neo by the nose. We care about Trinity potentially dying, and that piques our interest at the start--that's fine. But it has absolutely no impact on the story whatsoever. She doesn't die, and life carries on.

Or is the idea that the only reason Neo chose not to go along with the "new Zion" door is because he had to save Trinity immediately? If Trinity wasn't falling, he would have left her to die by the Machines instead? I don't buy that, personally. It just doesn't all fit together.

This doesn't mean those chats should all just be ripped out. Imagine if this was done with the finesse of the first film...

For example, we could see the choice Neo would make that was incomprehensible. In the dreams, we see him giving up and dying--something anathema to who he is as the One. We see him taking a door that means the end of all humankind. We see him full-on snogging Persephone.

Maybe just flashes at the start--Neo calmly allowing Smith to attack--to keep some suspense. And as his mind returns to it, the flashes lengthen--we see Smith's black goop ooze over him. Stuff like that.

He's worried. He has self-doubts. He's meant to be this all-powerful thing within the Matrix, this saviour all of Zion has been waiting for. Nothing can stop him. But... is he really going to give up?

We're confused by the dream too, identifying with Neo's response to it. We've got something to think about that we actually care about, that will actually have dramatic impact later on.

Now he has something to talk about, with the dream. Oracle tells him they are choices he will make. That he needs to understand the choice. Now it has meaning, weight. The conversation is now relevant to the story, because the story starts with those visions.

There's the hint of the Machines being this sort of strict dictatorship where if you have no purpose, or become obsolete, you will be killed. And there's an "underground railroad" type of thing going on with the Trainman and the Merovingian.

But that's also purely there to spout theme. It doesn't come into play through the story in any meaningful way.

What if Neo actually helped an escaping program--another thing he couldn't understand the choice to do, perhaps. Running from agents or whatever. Some concrete reason why this is happening more now. Perhaps word of a virus sweeping the Machine City--which turns out to be Smith. We sympathise with "the other side" in this war. If only there was some way for both sides to co-exist. ...Which of course sets up the very end.

There are several indications that the Matrix was intended to be about "the future," a future of humans and machines learning to coexist.

But while it's said at the end of Revolutions that's what happens... I certainly didn't buy it. There's too many questions about how that could possibly work, why the Machines would agree to it--especially as Neo said nothing about it when talking to the nanobot-baby.

That ending felt a lot more like a "blue sky" ending, one where you're not meant to think too hard about it, but just accept the happy ending and move on with your life.

The main issue though is that it wasn't set up in the story. It felt bolted-on. If I was properly prepared by the story for this to be a thing, I could've accepted it as a satisfying and earned conclusion.

And lastly, Resurrections. (sigh)

There's a whole lot going on in this film. A lot of meta themes, a lot of themes about society, random themes thrown in from time to time and never mentioned again...

To save my sanity, I'm just going to focus on the one with the through-line to the Matrix series itself: "You call this a choice?" As in, that's not much of a choice.

Which is linked to the themes and subtext of M1, I think. But with this darker, more twisted tone. Instead of the surface-reading being "Neo is helped by people showing him the truth, and he's going to be the One, yay!" it's "Neo is trapped in a hell no one else can see and there's nothing he can do about it."

"You call this a choice?" and variants of it, is said throughout the film by various characters...

Smith/Morpheus says the choice between a blue pill and a red pill isn't much of a choice. [M4 0:11:22] Bugs agrees, but says it's just an illusion because everyone who is offered the choice is going to pick the red pill. It's offered because the person offering the pills knows what they will pick.

The red pill is there to give the feeling that you are making some sort of choice. But really, as the Oracle put it in M2, "you've already made the choice." In M1, Neo had "already made the choice" to escape the Matrix, by seeking out Morpheus in the first place.

...And then after he was freed, Neo was taught what the Matrix actually is, and so "understood the choice." That's why he went to Morpheus; to understand his "choice" or motivation to "exit" the world. It's a little mind-bendy, but if you squint it sorta works.

Later, Neo, in Thomas-form, is told by Smith, in Boss-form (yeah I knew this was going to be confusing)... that Warner Brothers has offered the choice of make the sequel or watch them make it. [M4 0:19:43] Thomas doesn't want to lose control over something he's worked so hard to make, so they must choose to make that sequel.

This parallels the apparent situation Warner Brothers put the Wachowskis in regarding this movie, in fact. I have no idea how this whole thing made it into Resurrections, to be honest. But there' a lot of meta nods about this in the film.

Neo is locked up by old-curmudgeon-Niobe for reasons, and Morph (what I like to call the slightly odd cartoon-character version of Morpheus in this movie) talks about breaking out.

MORPH: Well, I could tell you that they're standing by, waiting for you to make the choice to remain meekly incarcerated... or bust the [heck] out of here and go and find Trinity. But that ain't a choice.

Which is a little tonally different, but if you're going to the trouble of using very similar phrasing throughout the script, then any instance of it is definitely on purpose.

Morph is telling Neo he has to bust out and save Trinity. Neo has kind of regressed. Both in the fact he's back stuck in the Matrix at the start... but also he's not making any decisions in this film, pretty much. He's just along for the ride.

Which is a shame, considering how far he'd come in M1.

Anyway, they run, do some fighting, and Neo chats to Trinity but comes back empty-handed. Back in the ship, Bugs gets a call from the german guy.

SHEPERD: Check your long-range scans. Squids are combing this area. ... You can stay here and die, or come back and face a court-martial. MORPH: And you call that a choice?

They're not going to choose death. So they must go back and get told off my Granny Niobe.

They go back again. (There's a lot of running back and forth between IO and the Matrix in this film isn't there? Seems pretty redundant.) And for no apparent reason Niobe decides to help them get Trinity out this time.

Sati from M3, now a grown up program, talks with Niobe and Neo. Admits that she knew Neo and Trinity were out there somewhere.

NIOBE: I'm sorry, you knew what happened to him? You knew that he and Trinity both were alive... and you didn't tell me? SATI: There were times I doubted my decision, Niobe. But I/O needed you. The city needed to be built, for your people as well as mine. If I would have told you everything, you would have had a very difficult choice to make. NIOBE: My friends let me make my own choices.

Again, the choice was made for her. She wasn't even offered a fake choice in this case.

In Resurrections, this is actually a step up from M2 & 3. The film has a lot of flaws, but there are no sit-down chats about what choice is as a concept, and what it means to have no choice.

The way the theme--or this theme at least--was written into the story worked just fine in Resurrections. It does make it clear what the theme is, by repeating it with similar phrasing each time. But at least it all fits with the story being told.

(The story being told, I didn't find to be that compelling for many other reasons. But let's not get side-tracked...)

In Reloaded and Revolutions, it was just too high-falutin and wordy. Too much philosophy-major, not enough writing-major (or something). I, and others I'm sure, got a bit bored during the wordy parts... but not because it wasn't 100% action, but because the conversations weren't connecting to the story and therefore we had no reason to be interested.

And the way the theme was used in the story--Neo searching for motivation--left the other parts of the story lacking. Because they literally had no motivation most of the time for Neo's storyline.

But I think the original, The Matrix, really is a shining example of how theme works.

It's not in your face. Could even be that the writers weren't thinking that hard about themes, and they just wrote the story as they saw it... and my analysis of it is just me making connections anyway. But if they did come up with the theme they wanted to explore and then build the story around it, they did such an amazing job that it seemed effortless!

On first viewing the theme went unnoticed to me. Even by the 20th viewing, I knew it was about choice in some abstract way--where Neo essentially "chose" for the bullets to stop, chose to live, chose to save Morpheus, etc. But analysing what's really going on, what's true and untrue, the undercurrent of manipulation--even if used for good--etc... really let me see the depths of the themes here.

As a side-note, just for me, there's a repeating motif the Wachowskis seem to like making in each sequel, which also rubbed me up the wrong way. I won't go in depth now, but progress just kept on being reset over and over again. Power creep and "oh look shiny new thing" slid the world around over time, making it all feel less solid... And worse, those who were really into the worldbuilding were let down by such changes, and by the writers ignoring what was set up in the previous stories, instead of being rewarded for their interest. Ugh.

Anyway... that's enough from me. Maybe I'll speak more on this series. There's a lot to talk about. Or maybe I'll move on to something else to learn from next!