#where are my sewer squad?!

[dandelionvirus]

Idk what more ridiculously rule breaking thing I want more

Brain figuring out time travel in a way to bring all the wrongfully dead in the mobile games to come together and beat the shit out of MoM in unison

Or the dandelion leaders all being adults and not ghosts (other than ven) and telling Sora and co to get the fuck out of the way this is their fight to finish with MoM or the foretellers or whatever

[froot-batty]

(most of) The sewer squad!

Surprisingly, Clay and Croc were super fun for me to color. Rat was the one that kicked my ass this time

(P.S. sorry about the lore being so long down there)

Waylon Jones was originally born in Louisiana. He was born into a relatively low income but very big, very loving family. He was also born with Epidermolytic Ichthyosis, which caused patches of his skin to blister or thicken, sort of like scales. This would be the first thing he'd be bullied for as a child, and it would only grow worse as he went through school and his undiagnosed ADHD and dyslexia would make it ten times harder for him. He would eventually decide to drop out of school, both because of his learning difficulties and the bullying.

One thing Waylon had always loved was boxing. His father had taught him and all of his siblings the basics of boxing, and Waylon was one of the ones who really took a shining to it. It helped that he was a naturally bulky guy who could put on muscle pretty easily. So now that he was out of school, he decided to put his free time towards participating in amateur boxing matches. It didn't rake in very much money, and usually took place in some guy's backyard or a junkyard, but he thought it was a lot of fun - and, most of all, he was good at it.

He made the choice to move to Gotham after he'd collected enough money to start a life somewhere else. He loved his family, and it hurt to move away from them, but a big city like Gotham provided more opportunity than backyard brawling. And indeed, it did! He graduated from probably illegal homemade boxing matches to actual, professional matches - still nothing above amateur, but it was something, and it made a lot more money!

It was during this time when he'd gain the nickname Killer Croc, from a combination of his skin condition, how big he was, and where he'd been born. (He didn't actually kill anyone though, he was a sweetie. He's just killer at boxing).

Things started going downhill for him when he finally won enough matches to go up against another relatively popular name in the amateur boxing league. This opponent, not wanting to lose against what was still a fresh face in Gotham, conspired to cheat in order to win. Because it's Gotham, and anyone can be made to look the other way, no one caught the man as he mixed plaster of Paris with his hand wraps (which hardens into something similar to concrete) before the match.

Safe to say, Waylon lost the fight pretty badly. While he would have been a good sport about it, he knew that who he'd fought had cheated, and he was pissed. As soon as he was out of the hospital, and his face was healed enough for it, he caught the other boxer as he was leaving the gym. He tried to convince him to admit that he had cheated and forfeit his win, but they'd end up getting into an argument that'd turn physical when he tried to punch Waylon.

When the cops arrived, instead of breaking up the both of them and taking them both in, they instead arrested just Waylon. Because the other boxer chose to press charges, Waylon was shipped off to BlackGate Penitentiary after a hasty trial. But he didn't stay there for very long.

Doctor Hugo Strange, head of Arkham Asylum, had followed Waylon's arrest closely in the news. He took an interest in the boxer specifically because of the irony of his nickname. Strange would go on to convince the superintendent of BlackGate that Waylon was unfit to be housed in a regular prison because of how dangerous he might be - Arkham would be a much better fit for him.

Strange promised Waylon that being in an asylum would greatly reduce how long he'd have to spend incarcerated, as he could get out of an asylum when he was proven "sane". But Waylon was given a cell in the lowest pits of Arkham - in the basement, where Strange made his monsters. And he would become the living test subject for what would become Kirk Langstrom's own bat-serum; his nickname, Killer Croc, once a source of pride, becoming a cruel prediction of what he'd become.

Unlike Kirk, however, Waylon is permanently trapped in this new form; shunned from society and now living as Gotham's monster in the sewers. Forever a Killer Croc.

??? (Nickname: Rat/Rats) was born in....Well, actually, no one really knows where it came from. Rats was there the first time Waylon escaped into the sewers, and it seemed it'd been there a long time before that, too.

Rats is like a cryptid to most of the Gotham population. But, like, the kind of cryptid where everyone knows it's real, you just don't encounter it that often. 12 year old rat child in the sewers? Yeah, everyone knows about that

They're shy, unnerving, and tend to be nonspeaking, their only appearances to most of the public coming from brief glimpses in the sewers or, occasionally, guiding people lost within them back out.

To the rogues, though, Ratcatcher is a source of information. It seems to know far more than it should, due to communication with the all-seeing eyes of it's many rats. But how much it's willing to help depends on how much it trusts you, which is usually not very much at all.

And if they don't want to talk to you, then Waylon will be sure to escort you quickly out of the sewers.

(Fun fact: Rats communicates mostly in ASL!)

Basil Karlo was born and raised in Gotham. A lover of performance from the moment he could join the theatre club in school, he was dead set on pursuing an acting career after he graduated from college. His first experiences were small background roles or roles in commercials, but even then directors could see the acting potential lurking within him.

Small roles grew into more major roles, as they grew from background actor, to minor actor, to eventually starring in major roles. And they were a popular guy! Pretty face, charming voice, they became Gotham's own star!

In one of these movie roles, Basil would grow very close to one of his co-stars. Their relationship would move very quickly from friendship to romance, as it does when you work so closely with someone. It might have even moved a little too fast, as they decided to get married the moment they returned to America from their filming location. She moved into his home in Gotham, and things were good, for a little while.

But a lot of cast romances end up not working out, and this was one of those cases. Basil and his wife began to drift apart, focusing on their own careers and neglecting one another in the process. Their relationship began to decay, and with the nature of Basil's career, there began to be...people on the side.

They thought he kept these escapades a secret. They did everything they could to not let their wife or the public know about their cheating.

Of course, this was a pipedream.

This all happened around the time J's Red Hood Gang was at their peak. They figured out Basil's secret, gathered material, and would present the evidence to Basil himself. To keep their secret safe, Basil was forced under the Red Hood.

Basil...did not take well to what he had to do as a Red Hood. But he was desperate to save face amongst the well-to-do of Gotham, so he continued doing the bidding of J and her gaggle for a good while.

Until the day, with no interference from the Red Hoods, their wife left them. She had apparently been contacted by one of Basil's partners, and now they were going to leak that to the press during the divorce proceedings.

Basil's life was ruined. His reputation was in shambles, and he was doing more work for criminals than directors. But he decided he was going to change that. What was the point of working as a Red Hood if they had no way to blackmail him anymore?

So they attempted to leave. They confronted J and demanded that she let them go, and without waiting for her response, left.

Red Hoods were waiting at their home when they got back there. They kidnapped them, dragged them to Ace Chemicals, and proceeded to pour an experimental chemical onto their face. This chemical made flesh like clay—moldable, which the Hoods used to their advantage as they toyed with Basil's face. Morphing it into different shapes and expressions for their own amusement.

When they were done, they dragged him to the vat where they were developing that chemical and threw him into it, expecting him to die.

Unfortunately for Basil, they did not.

[avoxrising]

The Feral One • Ch 25

Finnick x Y/N

Series Masterlist Link

The angst is real lol

Content Warnings - blood/injury

Finnick watches as your bloodied body collapses into a heap at the base of the ladder. Maybe if he tells himself it’s just the sedative doing it’s job then you’ll be fine. Maybe you’ll be ok.

Gale hops back down to help Finnick pull you up to the rest of the squad. Everyone who made it up the ladder seems relatively fine, minus some fresh trauma and minor flesh wounds. You, however, looked more dead than alive.

Finnick’s fingers brush your neck as he feels for a pulse.

“It’s faint but it’s there,” he tells the group, trying to keep himself together. “I’ll carry her.”

Squad 451 exits the sewers, following Cressida to the shop of a woman named Tigris. She leads them to the basement where they can hide out for awhile.

“Have you ever seen this before?” Finnick asks the cat-like woman, referring to the inky nature of your body.

“Hmmm,” the feline purrs. “It looks familiar but I can’t quite put my paw on it. It reminds me of an experiment one of the former game makers used to do on animals but I’ve never seen it in a human before.”

“Do you know what the experiment was?” Finnick asks.

“No,” she hisses. “I only saw the creatures once. My cousin worked with that game maker but he wouldn’t willingly divulge that information to anyone, and certainly not to you.”

“How do we help her?” Katniss asks, looking at your limp form.

“You win this war,” she tells the two victors, slinking her way back upstairs.

Finnick doesn’t sleep a wink, constantly checking your pulse to make sure you are still with him. Katniss used what limited supplies the group had to clean, stitch, and bandage your wounds but she couldn’t do anything about the internal damage using the resources available.

Your fever was gone, signaling to Katniss that the substance had stopped its spread for now. Maybe you bled enough of it out. She could tell, however, that your sleep was not a result of her arrow, but of wounds she couldn’t see.

“Get some rest,” she instructs Finnick. “I’ll watch her.”

The look he gives tells her exactly what his fear is. He can’t lose you.

“If anything happens I’ll wake you,” she assures him.

By morning, nothing had changed. You hadn’t gotten better but you also hadn’t gotten worse.

Snow made an announcement that refugees were being welcomed at the mansion and Katniss made her decision, she had to end this.

The group decided that Katniss and Gale would head out first, followed by the able bodied members of the squad. Peeta and Finnick stayed back with you, unable to stomach the idea of more bloodshed.

After they were dressed in capital disguises, the group began trickling out to join the masses making their way to promised safety.

Katniss had left Finnick the holo in case he needed to be out on the streets. He wanted to carry you to the nearest medical camp but Katniss said you needed to stay put due to all your stitches. She promised to send medics when she could but Finnick was growing impatient.

It was too risky to try and radio for help. If the signal was tracked to your location then you would be swarmed instantly. Finnick had to think of another solution.

“I’ll go find help,” Peeta states.

“No it’s too dangerous,” Finnick shakes his head.

They younger victor doesn’t have time to debate as the building is shook by a nearby explosion. Screams could be heard from the street above and a few bits of plaster fall from the basement ceiling.

“We need to move her,” Finnick states. “Grab a blanket!”

The men wrap your body up in a blanket, hoping it would cushion your stitches enough to move you. They then quickly pull on some capital clothes and venture out onto the street.

People are laying dead everywhere as smoke fills the air. Parents are screaming for their children as they search the rubble and debris.

“I think we should go that way,” Peeta states, pointing away from the chaos. He grips the holo tightly and leads Finnick through a series of alleyways.

Finnick hears a pained moan as you stir in his arms.

“Shhh stay still,” he tells you. “I’m bringing you to medical.”

Your restless bouts continue as the duo of victors makes their way towards the closest known medical station. They make it about halfway when Finnick feels his hand getting wet.

“The stitches,” he mutters as he looks at the blood coating his hand.

“Peeta!” he calls, no longer worried about being recognized. Peeta turns to see the blood seeping through the blanket and makes his decision.

“Stay here with her,” he states. “I’ll go get help.”

Finnick gives the boy a nod before he runs off to find help. He sets you down on the pavement and slowly unwraps the blanket.

One of the gashes in your side had reopened, gushing blood at an alarming rate. Finnick rips a piece of the blanket off to put over the wound, hoping to slow the bleeding.

“Hey,” he says as he notices your eyes opening. “Don’t move.”

“It hurts,” you groan.

“I know love,” Finnick sighs. “Stay with me, ok. Help will be here soon.”

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*if the tag didn’t work please check your settings to make sure other blogs can tag you

[agentarc]

i need to talk about my disabled clone colony lest i die. it might be dumb but i don’t care

this is in no way organized so i apologize in advance

i’m cooking up an idea for small community of disabled or “defective” clones that would have otherwise been sent back to kamino for decommissioning or reconditioning. they operate a little like a mandalorian covert, and i was imagining that they hide in the lower levels of coruscant. only high-ranking clone commanders (and medics maybe? and also certain jedi??) know about them, and when a brother goes down hard and isn’t fit for battle anymore, the commander calls upon the covert to spirit them away to safety, if at all possible. two or so members of the covert kit up in the colors of whatever battalion they’re headed to, probably in some official GAR ship idk, and casually walk in and whisk the injured brother away. command lists them as KIA, body irrecoverable, so as to avoid needing to send a body or armor back to kamino. maybe they even destroy the armor, if not covertly redistribute it among the men if their various pieces need replacing.

the covert itself has clones from all across the GAR, so of course there are all sorts of skill sets to be found. medics and engineers work together to cobble together prosthetics with whatever meager supplies they can get their hands on. a select few able-bodied brothers wear masks or helmets with vocoders to disguise their voices when they go out for supplies or odd jobs, which i imagine could be anything from bounty hunting to stallkeeping, just as long as they can remain anonymous.

i don’t imagine the covert is particularly big in number, because saving an endangered clone isn’t always possible, but the covert does what they can for the GAR in their position. if they’re holed up on coruscant, maybe they act as informants and report to commander fox about various goings-on in the city, or keep tabs on sketchy senators, etc. fox takes care of them best he can. maybe jedi shadows are even in on it, because i’m a slut for jedi shadows…..

within the actual covert, maybe they took on an abandoned warehouse or an unused portion of a sewer system, and fixed it up to be comfortable and secure and totally unassuming, much like a mandalorian covert.

as for the clones, i wonder if they would feel the need to change their names — maybe some would and some wouldn’t? maybe it would depend on whether they were eligible to leave the covert for jobs and whatnot? maybe if they were, they’d use a fake name while out? much to think about… they’d obviously have no choice but to abandon their squads and their batchmates and go no-contact, and if they were ever to give their names outside of the covert, there’s always that slim chance that a recognizable name could make its way back to the GAR somehow.

it’s likely that many candidates for the covert would reject the offer to be sent there, since it’s literally desertion. this could cause complications in the process — would a commander even phrase it like an offer? if a brother rejected the offer on the grounds of desertion, there’s the chance they could snitch to kamino or spread the rumor, putting the covert’s safety in jeopardy. so maybe they’d phrase it like a question. “you’re unfit for duty, so it’s possible we’ll need to ship you back to kamino. if there was an alternative where you keep marching on, would you want to take it? even if it meant leaving the battalion for good?” and if they agree, then without explaining what would happen next, the commander calls in the covert, at which point the injured clone is officially marked KIA. maybe when the covert clones finally arrive and take the injured brother, they do so under the explanation of getting them ready for transport to kamino, and only when they’re safe inside their ship do they explain what’s actually happening. did any of this even make sense? i’m at work and literally just writing stream of consciousness

i think the clones that start the covert are straight-up deserters, a field medic and a captain. i have very little on them at the moment, but it might make the most sense for at least one of them to have been a corrie guard, if the covert lives on coruscant? anyway time to brainstorm more clone ocs thanks for reading

[bsptourist]

Do you have any favorite part or spot from the Half-Life series?

Yeah hang on let me just pick a few favorite children here

In HL1, the area right after you get out of the trash compactor springs to mind— Just a weird little run off area, but it's something someone at Valve still put time into detailing. The lobby/surrounding areas from Questionable Ethics are also up there. (Generally, I've always loved thinking about how Black Mesa presents itself to the outside world, and this is a fun glimpse at that. Excitingly banal stuff!)

As far as HL2 goes, I enjoy any of the areas that incorporate rebel outposts and basebuilding. Scratches the same itch in my brain that building pillowforts as a kid did. I picked the first map of Black Mesa East for the anniversary post because I do genuinely love that area. The way HL1 & 2 both display the passage of time without drawing much attention to it is great. The evening tone and skybox as you arrive to Black Mesa East are still beautiful, and the general hominess of the facility itself has always really stricken me. Any maps in Source that can depict an evening dusk tone convincingly enough always end up winning me over.

People sleep on Episode 1 a lot but I've always adored the citadel meltdown sections, both aesthetically and in terms of gameplay. The overwatch voice just repeating alert... alert... through a shattering Citadel is fantastic. The bridge section from Episode 2 where Alyx mans the heavy sniper also deserves mention!

I tend to like the weird little understated areas in both games more than anything else though. Gun to my head— I would say this spot in Water Hazard, (d1_canals_12,) is my favorite overall:

It incorporates a lot of the things I like about HL2's early goings, that being the late afternoon/dusk tone and makeshift structures. It's ultimately pretty boring compared to the big setpieces the rest of the game offers, sure, but there's a lot of storytelling power in this very sad little vignette that you can miss completely.

Even without the dead/zombified refugees and the metrocop presence just outside of it, this is a sign of how bleak life under Combine rule truly is. Sure, at this point you've seen it firsthand by way of jackbooted police brutality and suppression field talk, but seeing the places these people have had to hastily hole up in drives it home. This is maybe the most hopeless example: life at the end of a sewer canal, waiting on salvation you're not sure will ever come, surviving on god knows what. If you're particularly unlucky, a squad of people just like you, (only more susceptible to propaganda or the draw of civil protection benefits,) will come to mangle or outright kill you for daring to step out of line.

Also. Well. The lighting is pretty. That helps a lot too

[chaotic-tired-fox]

Okay so my last post blew up so here’s more obscure random Resident Evil facts for y’all!

Part one: here

Part three: here

☠️The white dog you save in Resident Evil 4 is a reference to Hewie the dog in Capcom’s other game Haunting Ground which was released at around the same time the original Resident Evil 4 was. The main character Fiona also shares resemblance to Ashley.

☠️ Chris and Claire’s parents both died in a tragic car crash said to be so bad they could only be identified by their dental records

☠️ Jill’s infection (and later cure) of the T-Virus significantly slowed down her ageing

☠️ Chris is the only main character without a clear romantic interest (Leon with Ada, Claire with Leon and Jill with Carlos)

(Edit: A few people have said Claire and Steve but Steve was only 17 at the time of his death so no I don’t care how much chemistry they might’ve had, he was a minor and Claire was 19)

☠️ In the original RE2 Jill had a picture of a man on her desk, in the remake it is changed to a dog instead.

☠️ Barry Burton is one of the only characters in the series to actually retire, moving up to Canada with his family. He and Claire still stay in contact.

☠️ Leon’s signature handgun is actually a modified Samurai Edge he named ‘Silver Ghost’ made by Joseph Kendo the brother of Robert Kendo you meet in RE2 and RE3. Originally the gun was created for Barry Burton but given to Leon instead.

☠️ One of Joseph Kendo’s books on firearms can be found in Ethan’s house at the beginning of Village.

☠️ Capcom’s other zombie series Dead Rising actually has a few references to Resident Evil in them though my favourite is a restaurant called Jill’s Sandwiches

☠️ Luis Sera was apart of Umbrella’s sixth laboratory in Europe which oversaw the creation of Nemesis.

☠️ A detail not many know about Hunk is that he possesses two hidden blades mounted to his wrists almost exactly like the ones seen in Assassins Creed

☠️ Jessica and Raymond are two villains from Revelations that are not only still alive but in possession of a T-Abyss sample and haven’t been seen in the timeline since 2005 what happened to them and the sample is a complete mystery.

☠️ Another storyline that hasn’t been explained yet is Natalia from Revelations 2 and if she may or may not be possessed by the consciousness of Alex Wesker

☠️ It’s implied in the Shadow of Rose DLC that Mia Winters lost custody of Rose sometime in her teenage years

☠️ Chris can canonically pull off front flips whereas Leon can backflip

☠️ Lobo, Tundra and Night Howl of the Hound Wolf Squad actually have little smiley face stickers on the back of their helmets whereas Canine and Umber Eyes do not.

☠️ In every main series game he’s been in (RE2,RE4,RE6) Leon has had to crawl through a sewer

☠️ All of the cgi movies as well as Infinite Darkness are considered completely canon to the story.

☠️ Upon the release of Operation Raccoon City, players could participate in an online ARG which gave away exclusive files on the characters including a psychological evaluation of Hunk which is the most information we’ve ever gotten on his character. The link to it can be found: Here

☠️ Wesker’s British accent was the result of each of his voice actors attempting to mimic the last. This was corrected in the remake of Resident Evil 4 (sadly)

☠️ You can interact with the play park in RE6 with Chris, Piers and Ada and each of them go down the slide differently

☠️ The HWS member that tackles Ethan at the reservoir is Canine and the one standing next to Chris is Night Howl.

☠️ Night Howl is also the author of the laptop reports you find in the Church and the secret underground area where the Mutamycete is in the village.

☠️ Canine is the youngest member of the HWS and the oldest is Umber Eyes

☠️ Lobo from the HWS shares striking similarities to Hunk (Read my full theory on it Here)

☠️ The Duke from Village and The Merchant from RE4 actually know each other and The Duke describes them as ‘old friends’

☠️ Sergei Vladimir, leader of the UCBS is the tallest human character in the franchise standing at 6’7.5”

☠️ Thanks to the Resident Evil 4 remake, Leon can now both speak and read Spanish

☠️ In the Heavenly Island comic, the man Chris sends to assist Claire is Parker Luciani from Revelations

☠️ In RE8 the Village is heavily isolated from the outside world thanks to Miranda and thus has remained primitive but Heisenberg had his own arrangements with the Duke for regular newspapers and cigars from the outside.

☠️ Wesker actually met Claire once while he was still leading STARS. He described her as a ‘lovely girl.’

☠️ That being said Claire swears more than any other main character (Chris, Leon, Jill)

☠️ Chris and Claire have matching leather jackets that both say ‘Made In Heaven’ on the back which is a reference to Queen (the band)

☠️ Although it doesn’t appear in the remake, Barry’s ‘Jill sandwich’ line is considered canon and referenced by his daughter Moira in Revelations 2

☠️ Revelations for the 3DS was so infamous for having its text misspelled on the side of the case Capcom had to issue replacement sleeves for all the buyers who had one.

☠️ Heisenberg calling Chris a ‘Boulder punching asshole’ means his feats in RE5 either made the newspaper or someone told him about it personally (one of the hounds maybe?)

☠️ Expanding upon an earlier fact of mine, Chris knows 7 fighting styles which are: Airforce Combatives, Karate, Boxing, Judo, Wrestling, Capoeira and Kali

☠️ Jill also knows 7 fighting styles which are: Modern Army Combatives, Taekwondo, Ju-Jitsu, Gymnastics, Tricking, Lucha Libre and Kali

☠️ Leon knows 6 fighting styles: Taekwondo, Ju-Jitsu, Wrestling, Kali, Krav Maga and Systema

☠️ The reason why there’s no children in the village in Resident Evil 4 is because Saddler’s blood ritual killed them all before the events of the game (that and the developers agreed child enemies would be far too disturbing)

☠️ The developer of the original RE4 suggests that the best snacks to have while playing the game is Diet Coke and lightly salted potato chips (eaten with chopsticks to avoid greasy controller hands)

☠️ Neither Hunk nor anyone in the USS wear Umbrella logo patches (as much as cosplayers tell you otherwise lol)

☠️ In the RE4 remake, Ashley refers to herself as a ‘master of unlocking’ which is a reference to Jill’s title given to her by Barry in the first game

☠️ Chris and Leon were designed to be complete opposites of each other and you can still see that today even with subtle details (Chris punches, Leon kicks. Chris smokes, Leon doesn’t. Leon is flirtatious, Chris is indifferent)

☠️ Wesker’s red eyes glow brighter any time he experiences strong emotions which is why they sometimes shine through his glasses

☠️ Chris’s zippo lighter was actually a gift from Claire given to him when he joined STARS

☠️ Chris can’t read piano sheet music but he can read guitar

☠️ Jill can play the piano

☠️ The story behind the basement music used in the directors cut of the original Resident Evil is so infamous and has a pretty wild story behind it. The music itself is horrendously bad and said to have been composed by a deaf composer but spoiler alert that composer wasn’t deaf at all and instead was fooling the world. The story is insane and I highly recommend checking out this video on it for the full story here

☠️ Beltway from the USS Wolfpack has a metal prosthetic leg

☠️ Beltway also swears more than any other character in Operation Raccoon City

☠️ The original RE4 has more releases than any other Resident Evil game because of its success

☠️ The original RE4 was also planned to be a lot more survival horror based like it’s predecessors but the remake of the original RE didn’t sell as well as intended so the game was reworked to be more action based instead.

☠️ Crimson head zombies were also completely unique to the remake of Resident Evil and also make an appearance in Operation Raccoon City

☠️ Leon’s relationship with Helena is unique in the fact that neither of them are interested in each other and Leon instead views her as a protege because she reminds him of his younger self.

☠️ You cannot shoot the merchant in the RE4 Remake

☠️ During his time working at the Spencer Mansion, Wesker used to take long hikes around the Arklay Mountains

☠️ Mr X isn’t the only Tyrant of his type in fact multiple of him were released around Raccoon City and it’s also implied two separate Mr X’s are encountered during the story of the RE2 remake

☠️ Out of everything, crows are the most effective carriers and spreaders of the T-Virus

☠️ Hunk’s name is actually an acronym that stands for Human Unit Never Killed

☠️ Leon S Kennedy is the only playable character with a middle name, that being Scott (in fact he might be the only character in the franchise with one but don’t quote me on that)

☠️ Originally Leon’s hair was depicted as brown but was later changed to blond which it had stayed as until Vendetta made it brown again. His canon hair colour is usually agreed to be blond however.

☠️ Same goes for Chris’s eye colour which was originally blue (like Claire’s) until they changed it to brown and back to blue again in Village.

☠️ Birkin discovered the Golgotha Virus by accident while experimenting with Lisa Trevor. In the REmake you can see the G Virus tentacles on her back.

☠️ The brand of clothing and gear the Hound Wolf Squad use is a real brand you can buy exact replicas from for Airsoft called Volk Tactical Gear. There logo is printed on HWS weapons in game.

☠️ Ghosts were technically made canon in the Resident Evil universe thanks to 7 and 8 but seem to only relate to the Mold and Mutamycete (You see a ghost girl in 7’s demo/prequel and in 8 Shadow of Rose goes in depth with it)

[quitealotofsodapop]

One thing I don't think is mentioned enough is the fact that during the journey, a lot of Celestials took the opportunity to just... outright FUCK around with Wukong. Like, they'd send all sorts of demons their way intentionally just to intervene and say "Oh hey! You found my favorite pet!" Even Guanyin hadn't been innocent of this considering she had this huge fit over her pet goldfish. And if they weren't using their pets they were finding other methods to delay or otherwise force the Pilgrims off the beaten path and into danger out of some sort of test, spite, or pettiness.

Now, think about how in the both JTTW and Slow Boiled au Wukond actually was pregnant or not during the journey, and in Century au, the Heavenly Court BELIEVE he was pregnant. So imagine how those guys feel after they decided to fuck with Wukong put of spite and found out they unknowingly were stressing a pregnant monkey out!?

Yeah! Characters like Gold Star hide their identities to aid the main characters, while some are just... doing it for fun? Are they LARP-ing? And Monkey has Gold-Vision; why does he always not recognise these people even from his Celestial days?

Guanyin set up a whole honey trap knowing that half the squad ain't into it, and dropped the gang on their way home cus they missed 1 story event. The abbey with the Ginseng tree were pretty rude af. The Buddha's own servants tried to fleece the gang of the scriptures. Multiple kingdoms suffered cus King Who-Care shot somebody's bird-cousin, or knocked over a table of offerings. And the 28 Lunar Mansions took almost 13 years to realise that the Wood Wolf was missing.

Lao Tzu's lab assisants literally run off with his stuff and become demon lords for lulz (or they were the assisants that let the Rhino King/Buffalo out and were scared that they'd get in trouble). And lets not forget RHINO KING. Bruh, you somehow lost track of a gotdang celestial Bull-Rhino!?

Guanyin's not immune from this; TWO of her pets became horrific demons (Goldfish and Sai Taisui) and are arguably the most irredeemable of all the villains faced.

Lady Earth Flow/Albino Rat/Bat spirit is even described as Li Jing's adoptive daughter - how the f that happen?? How did he lose track of a whole kid so bad that she became a vampire-esque demon?

Manjusri let their cat (Azure Lion) out TWICE. And they cursed the Wuji kingdom for tossing them in a sewer for preeching.

After a point, I'd imagine Wukong in the stone egg aus would just throw his hands up and start yelling at the gods directly. He's even bolder in the Jttw Stone Egged au given that he has Macaque as back-up.

You know that chapter where Rhino King steals all of the Heavenly Army's powers and weapons, and the immortals are all infighting so hard that Wukong has to be the voice of reason?

Imagine a tiny hormonal monkey just going nuts at these gods. He's screaming in their faces. He's demanding Nezha lift him up so he can look General Li Jing in the eye. He's telling them what good are they as fighters if they only feel safe with their weapons and powers? Wukong has a *damn* good reason he ain't taking on Rhino King in a 1-v-1 rn, whats all these gods excuse?!

The gods are too surprised and intimidated to argue back. And you better believe a certain alchemist is getting a smack for letting a whole animal loose from his lab.

[rendomski]

The Slow Batch

“To give you a glimpse of our glamorous life, reg. On my second mission with this squad, we were deployed to some backward Separatist planet, Shitholia Minor or something like this, with a mission to map the sewers under the local capital city. Because there's a vanishingly small probability GAR will need to send a proper special task force there someday, and this data may come in handy.”

Echo glowered at the sniper. “Sounds like the right place for both of us.”

Guess who woke up brainstorming about sort of a crossover between The Bad Batch and Slow Horses?

Aka AU, where the Bad Batch are not genetic defects but clone commandos who screwed up badly but weren't decommissioned—because bad commandos are commandos nonetheless. They are assigned boring, almost worthless, but still dangerous jobs, sparing more ‘valuable’ units.

There was no daring mission to Skako Minor and no victory on Anaxes. Echo was accidentally found on a downed Techno Union transport ship, and Rex sends him off with the Bad Batch to keep Echo away and more or less safe from Kaminoans and unfriendly superior officers.

The Bad Batch is a bunch of, essentially, losers. Crosshair is a sniper who shot the wrong target. Wrecker failed to disarm a bomb, and civilians died. Nobody knows what Tech did wrong, and Tech keeps telling smugly that he was just too good to be tolerated by his fellow splicers (so, Tech is essentially Roddy Ho, just still Tech). And Hunter drinks himself to stupor between the missions, so his permanent hangover gives him ‘heightened senses’.

They are depressed, angry, pursued by their past failures, they're labelled as losers and hated by the regs. But they're still commandos; they're losers who have nothing more to lose. And their boring, useless, and often despised missions sometimes bring unexpected results.

Also, their past failures may not be so mundane and accidental…

Not sure if and when I'm writing this, just sharing a pilot bunny 🙂✌🏼

[longwuzhere]

My Adventures with Superman Issue #1 Easter Eggs

My Adventures with Superman's comic book tie-in which bridges the gap between seasons 1 and 2 is out this week and so why not point out the Easter Eggs and references in the first issue which you can buy at your local comic shop! If you haven't seen the Easter eggs and references to season 1, the list is here

My season 2 episode 1 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 2 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 3 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 4 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 5 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 6 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 7 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 2 post is here

My season 2 episode 8 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 9 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 10 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 3 post is here

Spoilers if you have not read the comic

To start things off Clark is talking about enjoying the snow and Christmas and it will be his first Christmas in Metropolis. We get our title, a possible reference to The Man Who Fell to Earth, the novel by Walter Tevis where an alien who lands on Earth and seeks to bring his people there due to a drought on his home world. Very apt title for a Superman comic I should say.

Also check out Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight for a cool crossover between the DC heroes and Santa Claus, its FUCKING AWESOME!

We then see Clark talking about his Christmas experience back in Kansas with Ma and Pa Kent, but he'll be all alone on his first Christmas in Metropolis. Luckily for him Lois and Jimmy are planning special for him but they need the other Daily Planet trio to distract Clark from figuring out the plans. I talked more about them here.

Back at their office Jimmy and Lois plan out what they'll do for Clark's Christmas in Metropolis and Jimmy mentions the Metropolis Monarchs, Metropolis' baseball team who are first mentioned in Atlas of the DC Universe. We also see Kaiju Parasite/Ivo and Overman in the next panel, both of which I talk about here, here, here, and here.

Trouble happens when the Daily Planet begins to topple over and Superman goes to put it back but notices hand prints that melted the base of the building. He, Lois, and Jimmy investigate in the sewers and sees an Amazo robot inspired Parasite. I talked more about the Amazo robot and Parasite here and here, they're the same links as the ones above in the previous section in case you missed them. The Parasite suit here is more Amazo inspired thanks to the green striping on the body.

The second Parasite is able to adapt to Superman's powers like his super strength and before it gets taken down my the US military it tell Superman to "please save me". Robert DuBois arrives on the scene to clear the Parasite's body away. That name may sound familiar to you if you saw the latest Suicide Squad movie because...

Robert DuBois is Bloodsport. He makes his first appearance in Superman #4 (1987) [Cover art by John Byrne]. In the comics Robert was supposed to be drafted for the Vietnam War, but was afraid to go and fled to Canada so his brother, Mickey went instead. Unfortunately Mickey lost his arms and legs and that scarred Robert who then seeked help at the Canadian psychiatric wards.

Lex would then find Robert and outfit him with his outfit you see on the cover and give him weapons that fired green Kryptonite to hopefully kill Superman and a teleportation device that can teleport any weapon he wants to his hands.

Luckily Robert surrendered after Jimmy was able to locate his brother to tell him to stop his rampage and give up and was sentenced to Stryker's Island.

Other Bloodsports have taken up the mantle after Robert, such as Alex Trent, a racist piece of shit, and an unnamed person who dressed similarly to Robert's Bloodsport costume. But the one pop culture knows is Robert DuBois who was played by Idris Elba in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad movie from 2021.

In current continuity we see Robert be more designed to look like his movie counterpart and being part of the Suicide Squad too as shown here from Suicide Squad #5 (2021) [W: Robbie Thompson, P&I: Dexter Soy, Eduardo Pansica, Joe Prado, and Julio Ferreira, C: Alex Sinclair, L: Wes Abbot] where he is on Earth - 3, the evil counterparts Earth for a Task Force X mission.

And speaking of shady DC organizations Slade name drops Checkmate. I talked about both of them here and here.

With that, we finally end our Easter egg and references hunt in My Adventures with Superman #1! Be sure to pick up a copy from your local comic shop and remember to preorder issue 2 when it comes out next month! Preordering books lets DC know there are fans for this series! If you like Superman, My Adventures with Superman, or DC in general give this comic a shot! Take it from me a former comic shop employee during college.

I'll see you all again next week for episode 4 of My Adventures with Superman and next month for issue 2 of the comic!

If you haven't seen the Easter eggs and references to season 1, the list is here.

My season 2 episode 1 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here.

My season 2 episode 2 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here.

My season 2 episode 3 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 4 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 5 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 6 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 7 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 2 post is here

My season 2 episode 8 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 9 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 10 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 3 post is here

[wandamyconfort]

if I were you.. | CH.4

wanda maximoff x fem!reader

summary: y/n is best friends with vision, who ironically, is the boyfriend of his worst enemy, wanda maximoff. until one night, when the clock struck midnight, they are both struck by something mysterious that completely changes the fate of their best friends, including a certain redhead… be careful what you wish for.

sorry for any translation errors, english is not my first language

- I think I got the wrong place, I thought it came to the locker room but apparently it is a sewer manhole. Y/N looked at the team's locker room with a distorted face covering his nose.

- It stinks of feet in here. - grunted to his teammates, who were putting on their uniforms, still holding his hand to his nose.

- And what did you want it to smell like? Roses? Little flower... - Sam laughed sarcastically.

- It wouldn't be bad at all. - replied innocently as he looked at his closet not wanting to see those boys changing.

- Vision, what are you still doing out of uniform? - Coach Olivia asked with her hands on her waist, scolding the boy because he was the only one still sitting on a bench among the lockers still wearing normal clothes. - We don't have all the time in the world, the game starts in ten minutes. The court is already packed, guys, do your best. - she addressed everyone and then left.

Y/N was mentally killing Vision, in a thousand different ways in just five seconds repeatedly for making her go to school. She would have to participate in one of the most important games against a competing high school team and what was even worse: being Quarterback without having a clue what to do. That's great.

- Come on, guys! - Olivia shouted back, pointing at the players. - vision, don't be late, five minutes! - She warned the boy, who had already finished putting on his protective gear.

Y/N was immersed in her thoughts and did not notice the presence of someone behind her. The same person touched her shoulder and she turned around startled but relaxed when she saw that it was wanda.

Wanda was already in her uniform and that skirt seemed shorter than usual.

- Good luck in the cheerleading squad. - smiled without showing his teeth and Wanda approached him looking into his eyes as if she expected something more.

Y/N pressed her lips together already knowing what she wanted, he slowly approached and wanda closed her eyes by instinct waiting for the kiss. The kiss that never came. At least not where she wanted. Y/N had kissed her forehead. wanda huffed.

- That's not a good luck kiss... - she complained in displeasure.

- Isn't it?

- I want it here... - She pointed to her own lips, running her index finger over them sensually, they were painted with a skin-colored lipstick, thin lips.

Y/N bit his in nervousness. What am I going to do? Sir, help me

- Vision, are you coming today or tomorrow? - They were startled by the trainer who suddenly appeared shouting and soon after disappeared. Thanks teacher. Y/N smiled and kissed the girl in front of her again on the forehead.

- You heard her... the kissing is for later. - She ran away, leaving Wanda with a pout forming on her lips.

The field was really crowded, noisy. Everyone was looking forward to the match, the cheerleaders opened the match with a sensational number, and the instant they finished, Y/N immediately thought she was fucked.

She was terrified. Vision told her it was easy, that she had nothing to worry about. A few hours earlier he had shown her some passes: "Catch the ball, keep hold of it, then just run across the white line, and that's it, Touchdown!".

What if prayers made to a wishing fountain could come true, and by an error of fate you came back to me? She repeated the words he had spoken to her a few hours ago in order to build up courage. Vision was visibly in the first row of the bleachers, he also seemed nervous. The match started and Y/N ran to all sides just watching and mentally hoping that no one would pass the ball to her.

- Drew, pass the ball to Sam! - The coach yelled for the boy, who was surrounded, to throw the ball to the Quarterback.

And that was her indication: When you know you won't make it, pass the ball to Vision.

The black-haired boy obeyed, but one of the rival team's players stepped forward with a leap and managed to get possession of the ball. Coach Olivia had surely forgotten that shouting the passes was not a very smart idea. Y/N was relieved that the ball had not reached her. Unlike the school's fans, who shouted curses at the players and muttered something disconnected. A few more minutes of play went by and Wanda watched worriedly as Vision ran without paying attention to the field. It didn't even look like he was playing. Because of his inattention, a player threw the ball at her and she herself fell to her knees. Wanda covered her mouth in shock and wanted to go over to help him but a hand grabbed hers to keep her in place. It was Valkyrie.

- Oh... Oh my God... - she closed his eyes tightly. - Shit, that really hurts. - mumbled almost speechless with his hands between his legs.

She had just been hit hard and it hurt like hell. He had forgotten to put protection there. All the boys stopped to watch him and they frowned, contorting their faces in pain as if they had also been hit. Y/N felt two tears fall and Vision mentally thanked him for not being in his body at that moment. Could this get any worse?

Y/N tried to pull himself together as best he could. The game had to go on.

- Vision, it's yours! - Bucky shouted the instant he threw the ball to his friend. This time no one got in the way and the ball arrived at the right destination.

Damn it. What do I do now? Okay, stay calm, what did Vision actually say...? Oh, I know: Get the ball. Okay, that part I've already done. Now I have to cross the white line... But what white line? What line? There are so many... Or did I have to run first?

- DAMN IT, Y/N, RUN! - The answer came as a shout from his friend who was in the stands. He soon realized his mistake. - I mean... Go, Vision! Go for it... - He smiled faintly seeing that some students looked at him confused and he soon tried to keep a closed face watching the game.

As Y/N was about to start running, she was brutally hit by a big guy from the rival team, at which point she could tell she almost saw the light. That little kiss of good luck is being missed. Y/N grunted in agony through her aching body.

- Damn... I think I hurt my leg. - The girl spoke with the thread of her voice feeling the sharp pain in her leg unable to stand up.

- Congratulations, you idiot! - one of the players shouted without stopping his route to observe him and headed for the locker room.

- I think I'll get my Quarterback job back. - Sam, who was following him, smiled mockingly and headed for the locker room.

- Man, what is your problem? Have you forgotten how to run? - Steve pinned him without waiting for an answer or helping him up. It seemed that everyone made an Indian row of people waiting their turn to recriminate him.

- What's the matter with you guys? I'm fine, thanks for asking.

she managed to get up at great cost and stood feeling the pain in her leg.

- Are you ok? - Wanda asked and Y/N screamed almost off balance. She quickly put her hand on his waist and put his arm around her neck to help him walk.

- Have you come to reproach me too? - muttered with a twisted face.

- Of course not... Come here. - put his arm around her shoulder. - You have to go to the hospital. Can you take a few steps to the car? - She spoke worriedly, and the boy nodded.

(...)

- It was nothing too serious. It's not broken. he'll live. - The Doctor examined the leg over the redhead's expectant gaze.

- You say that because it wasn't with you. - she thought.

Y/N rolled his eyes.

- We'll just put a cast on it and you can go home now, young man.

- Put a cast? - The little girl lying on the stretcher asked in fright.

- Don't be scared, it's only for a few days. This way you'll get better faster. And so that you don't miss school you can use crutches. But... no more effort, that is, no more games for at least a month, okay? - This is the best news I have received so far.

she nodded and Wanda helped her up. She kissed his nose and wrinkled it in a funny way while smiling. Y/N laughed through the pain, finding it amusing.

(...)

- How are you? - the boy asked on the line. After they left the hospital the redhead dropped her off at home, who was now resting in bed.

- I had to put a cast on my leg. - She answered and sighed, looking at her leg.

- I'm sorry I got you into this. You wouldn't know how to play with just a hint, if you hadn't trained before. - he said, feeling guilty. - But on the bright side... At least you won't have to play anymore, right?

- Fuck you, Vision!

- Hey, but listen... - He spoke in the face of the other's muteness. - What do your parents mean, "Don't forget your dance class?"

- Shit... - She squeezed her eyes shut, bringing her hand to her forehead. - I had forgotten. It's my classical ballet class. Don't you remember when I told you that I joined a month ago?

- Yes… Now that you said it, I remembered.

- Well then… It's today at six. You can't be late.

- What? No, no… I can't dance ballet. No way. I'm not going!

- Oh, but you will! - ordered. - I didn't know how to play football either, and I did. Now I have a fucking leg in a cast! - she said angrily. - This is the least you can do.

- Am I supposed to thank you for breaking my leg? - he teased, knowing it would irritate her.

- It's your leg, but I'm the one feeling the pain here! - She fell for the provocation and became more irritated.

- Okay... I'm going to your class. - Having said that he disconnected the call and Y/N grunted, putting the cell phone aside.

- Honey... - Pepper entered the room. - Today unfortunately I'll have to stay on call. I tried to cancel. I tried to find someone to take my place today, but no one could. I didn't want to leave you alone, even more so, so I called your girlfriend so she could stay here tonight with you.

- No, mama! Why did you do that? You didn't have to bother Wanda. I'll be fine here. - Spending an entire night with the girl was not in her plans. What if she tried to kiss you? How could you escape with only one good leg?

- She didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, she liked it and was also worried about you. She also said that your parents had a conference tonight and might not be back until tomorrow afternoon.

- I still don't think I should have called. - She muttered in annoyance, but Pepper hadn't heard.

(...)

- Y/N? - Greeted a smiling girl. Hi, total stranger.

- Hello...- How have you been? Aside from dance classes, we hardly see each other. - The girl was nice and Vision scratched the back of his neck.

- Well, thank you. - He replied without amusement.

- Have you been talking to Virginia? - Who the hell is Virginia?

- No.

- Neither do I... - He smiled without showing his teeth.

- It's been a while since we've spoken. In such a short time you must know when she comes here to Miami, right?

- Um... I don't know when she's coming. - He answered, floating.

- What's up, Y/N? You look at me like you don't know me. - she laughs.

It's because I really don't know you, creature.

- Are you okay? - Yes, I'm fine. - he answered quickly.

- It's really good to be... You already know how kind America is. - She was ironic and Vision frowned.

- america?

- Yes... - She tilted her head to the side in confusion. - Our teacher. Have you forgotten?

(...)

- That must be Wanda. I'll send her up. I'm coming, okay? Take care. Mom loves you. - She kissed the boy's forehead, who was lying on the bed, flipping through some channels on the TV with the remote control.

Y/N nodded.

- I love you too, Mom. - She murmured softly, her eyes still on the television.

Pepper stopped her journey and looked at him with moved eyes. The last time her son had said this her husband was still alive, Vision was twelve years old. They were having a picnic in the park, her husband was teaching him to play baseball as he always did every day after work. Y/N knew that Vision had trouble showing his feelings, he loved his mother but found it hard to tell her. So he decided to give her a little help.

The woman couldn't help but come back and give him another kiss on the forehead, this time longer. Soon after she left the room smiling. y/n smiled sideways and continued to flip through some channels.

- My God, what happened here? - The girl who had just entered the room spoke up, looking at every corner of the place with a surprised look.

- What do you mean?

- Your room. It's organized...

- Oh, yes... - I knew what she was talking about.

- Yeah, it needed some cleaning up, so I finally decided to do it. - She smiled at the other's expression.

- You did well. - She smiled, stepping closer. - Does your leg still hurt?

- Not much. It's much better than before. I can't wait to get it off, it itches so much. - She began to poke and prod at the plaster, annoyed.

- Don't touch it, stubborn... - she sat up in bed. - It could get worse if you keep poking at it. You heard the doctor, it will only be a few days. If you keep poking it, it will take longer to get it out, do you want that?

Y/N shook her head sighing and Wanda held her hand to stop her leg from moving.

- Thank you! - she answered sincerely. knew she was just being nice, worrying, because she thought he was Vision. Even so, she felt obliged to thank her and no longer felt like recriminating or offending her. wanda just smiled.

- Well... I'll stay in the guest room. If you need anything, just call me, ok?

- That's fine. - She answered, relieved that they didn't sleep in the same bed.

The night was cold and gave way to dark, heavy clouds. The dark, calm sky had been changed by lightning. And their light reflected off the bedroom window. The wind whipped against the curtains of the half-open window.

- Oh no… - she mumbled in a terrified voice. - Dad…

Scott and Hope had already left the space for their daughter on the bed. They knew how much Y/N hated that time. scott was waiting for her with a warm smile but the girl gave no sign. The two then became confused and got up and marched to the girl's room finding her sprawled on the bed not at all bothered by the loud thunder.

- I guess our little girl is not a little girl anymore... - whispered Scott to his wife with a thread of sadness, watching the little girl sleep peacefully in bed.

I was happy that she was losing her fears but realized that she was growing up and was no longer a child.

- She will always be our little girl. - Hope whispered with a half smile at the man, she knew what he was thinking. - Let's go back to the room...

- Daddy... - She called him again, but only then realized he wasn't home and began to tremble. y/n began to cry amidst the thunder and lightning that was falling.

- Wanda! - she shouted, and another thunderclap came, making her scream louder. - Wanda, where are you?!

curled up in bed and soon saw a silhouette rush into the room

- What was it? - she asked, visibly startled by the screams.

- Stay with me. - pulled her arm. - Please, Wanda, don't leave me alone. - She asked between sobs and squeezed the other so she wouldn't pull away.

- All right... Stay calm. I'm here now. - lay down next to you. - Tell me what happened... Why are you crying? - she spoke sweetly, wiping his tears.

- I am afraid. - she whispered. - Thunder... I'm scared to death. - said, still whispering like a frightened child.

wanda frowned.

- Since when are you afraid? - she asked confused while caressing his face with the back of her hands.

y/n opened her mouth and couldn't make any sound without knowing how to explain. She couldn't think.

- Calm down, it's okay. It doesn't really matter. I'm not leaving your side. - the redhead spoke in a sweet way, she thought this scene was the most tender thing in the world. Vision afraid of thunder? could never imagine one day seeing that and him admitting it. He was looking like a little boy, which made her feel a desire to take care of him like never before...

- I'm glad you're here. - She had to say, her heart was screaming for it. Just the thought of being alone in that house as she had preferred hours ago made her petrified, she couldn't sleep if she were alone. y/n gripped the bottom of her shirt tightly looking into the girl's green eyes.

- I'm happy to be here. - pulled her into an embrace and nuzzled her head into the curve of his neck. y/n didn't know if it was because of fear or the circumstances she found herself in, but that hug was one of the best she had ever received, and she reciprocated on the same level. With the right to smell the sweet scent that exhaled from the redhead's skin, which made her calmer, more serene. When a thunderstorm was present she squeezed her tighter and that made wanda smile.

Five, ten, twenty minutes... couldn't tell how long she had been hugging her. could hear her heart beating at the same rhythm as hers, and she had to admit. I was enjoying it. The warmth of her body next to his, the quiet breathing, the caress she was making in his hair.

The thunder seemed to give way and only rain was present outside. The hug had also ceased and now they were just staring at each other. The girl's slightly flushed face was so close to his, her lips so inviting just inches away. So close to each other that y/n for a second was afraid she would hear his thoughts. Thank goodness that wasn't possible. For at that moment what she was thinking was that she would not run away should wanda try to kiss her. It was just a kiss, right? A meaningless little kiss, that would be fine. Or would it be wrong? How would vision feel about that? I knew I didn't want to do any more harm or avoid her now, because it would make her sad. She was being nice. It wasn't for her but for Vision.... It didn't matter. Now I didn't want to hurt her or see her suffer. Damn it. Why were you thinking about this? Now he cared about her. Why? Y/n stopped thinking.

- The thunder stopped. - she murmured, looking into the boy's eyes.

- yes... - blushed slightly as if the other had heard her thoughts.

- Let's go to sleep. You need to rest… - She touched his nose with her forefinger in a tender way, she was sleepy. wanda approached him and gave him a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. The intention was on the lips, but it was dark and what was supposed to be a goal was just a crossbar. There was no second attempt.

Y/N let out the air she had been holding in. She could swear her heart had stopped beating for a few seconds, or it was beating too fast that she couldn't even feel it. She hoped wanda hadn't sensed her nervousness. She felt cold, ecstatic. And it wasn't even in her mouth.

- Good night, Wands.

(...)

- Good morning, angel. - Pepper murmured, watching Vision wake up. she had just returned from his shift, exhausted but with a broad smile.

- Mom… where is she? - She looked all around the room, not seeing any trace of the redhead who had slept with her. - Where is wanda?

Y/N wanted to make sure that everything that happened last night was not just a dream.

- Oh, she is gone. I didn't want to wake you up

- And what time is it?

- Seven thirty-four.

- Seven thirty-four? I don't believe it! - tried to get out of bed. - How could I have slept so long? Damn, I'm going to be late!

- Are you sure you want to go? If you want to, I don't see a problem in missing the three remaining days before the cast is removed.

- No. I want to go. That's why they gave me the crutches, right?

quickly straightened up, grabbed the crutches that were near the desk, and stood up, not very dexterously. It was as if he was relearning how to walk, on one leg.

(...)

- Good morning, Y/N. And my leg, how is it? - He smiled at her as he leaned on his locker.

- She is already better.

- I'm glad.

- And how was my class yesterday? - she asked, picking up some books she would need.

- It was great... For me to find out that I hate ballet! - Her smile is gone. - I'm all broken up here, that teacher is crazy, you know? And next time you tell me to do those things, at least indignify yourself to tell me the names of your friends! I'm no psychic to guess. There was a colleague of yours there who asked me about a certain virginia and I was floored, lucky for me she didn't ask me anything complex...

- It must be Vick. - deduced. - But what about Virginia? Don't you know her?

- Of course not!

- How do you not know her? She is a friend of Wanda's. Granddaughter of that neighbor of hers, Mrs. Clarice... - I was trying to make him remember.

- I never saw her there. - She spoke disinterestedly.

- It's because she doesn't live here in Miami anymore, she's from New York. It's been a while since I've seen her here, the last time she came was two years ago...

- How could I meet her when two years ago I didn't even live here in Miami yet?

- That's true. - said contrarily. - Vision... I need to tell you something. - She paused and Vision shook her head silently telling her to continue.

- Last night, Wanda slept with me, Pepper asked her not to leave me alone. I needed to tell you that. - I couldn't stop thinking for a moment about that night, about their closeness and the almost kiss.

- And you didn't kill each other? - He laughed and y/n sighed, looking at him a little guilty.

- She almost kissed me.

- On the mouth? - She widened her eyes

- No, no. On the foot. - she scoffed. - Of course it was in the mouth!

- Y/N, don't kill me for it... But she is my girlfriend. You weren't rude to her, were you? - Spoken as if you were guilty.

Is that really what I heard? And here I am, dying of guilt. If it weren't for my phobia of thunder, Wanda wouldn't have gone to bed with me and wouldn't have almost kissed me. And to make matters worse, I think I would have wanted that kiss to happen. I am to blame here, right? Vision acts like he's to blame, thinks I'm mad... But a few days ago I was angry, yes, at this possibility. So why am I not angry now? I should be hysterical, foaming fire at Vision. But why am I not? Y/N thought.

- No... I wasn't rude... - she whispered, balancing on crutches. - Vision... what do I do if she tries to kiss me again? - Verbalized blushing a little at the possibility. - I mean... should I avoid her?

- Obviously she will want to kiss you. That's what boyfriends do. But please, don't avoid her. It's good so that she doesn't suspect that you are running away. - He said thoughtfully, thinking some more just to then tell her what was going through his mind. - I wonder if... Can't you break this one for me? Give her a few kisses and she will be satisfied.

- You want me to. - She pointed to herself. - Kiss your girlfriend?

y/n was inexpressive.

- I know it's crazy but it doesn't always have to be. Like I said, give her some kisses and roll her over as much as you can. Until everything goes back to normal. Please... - Y/N swallowed hard listening to his friend's pleas.

- I'll see what I can do...

She didn't know what to say, she just said what came into her head, trying not to give it too much importance. Trying to be as formal as possible so that her friend wouldn't suspect her, in the face of that whirlwind of strange sensations she had felt the night before.

- Really? - smiled with relief because he thought she would freak out. - You are the best friend in the world, you know that?

y/n tried to smile but could not. Guilt hammered inside her and she could no longer look him in the eye.

- Just don't fall in love with my girlfriend. - He joked, punching her weakly in the arm, still smiling frankly that she had accepted.

- Don't talk nonsense...

Three days flew by before she finally had that annoying cast removed. Thus closing a week and a half that the two exchanged bodies.

- Mom, you should go... - Y/N insisted.

- But today is Sunday The only day we have to spend together.

- There will be other Sundays. But today, I want you to accept my invitation to go out with him. You need to have some fun and I bet Robert will make the most of it. - she sat down on the sofa next to woman.

Robert worked at the same hospital. A doctor, divorced, he was close to 38 years old and a good friend of his wife. But he had a romantic interest in her. He had invited her once before, but she refused with the excuse that she was spending Sunday with her son. And so she was doing it again.

- I'm not old enough for these things anymore. - She whined and y/n reached for her hand, making her look at her.

- And who told you that love has an age? are not old enough to have fun, to enjoy life... I don't want any more excuses. If you want to go, then call him now and tell him you changed your mind. - handed him the phone.

- Are you sure? - She gave an embarrassed smile, she really wanted to go.

- Totally!

Pepper smiled and went to the kitchen to dial the number. y/n reached for the TV remote and turned it on when she found it. Minutes went by before Pepper returned to the living room.

- He said he'll be by at eight o'clock. - Great. Then we still have two hours. - He turned off the TV and stood up.

- Two hours for what? - She questioned, confused.

- Well... to get ready! I want you to look beautiful and I'm going to help you. - She smiled and pushed Pepper into the room.

(...)

- I am shocked... Who taught you how to paint your nails? - The woman looked fascinated at her freshly painted nails by y/n who was putting the finishing touches.

- É-e-er.. Y/N. But that doesn't matter now... - She tried to change the subject. - Now we just need to choose the clothes and you will look beautiful.

The woman looked really stunning. Y/N chose a sophisticated dress for the occasion. Since they were going to a dinner party. She did a babyliss on her hair, letting the curls fall down her back. She wore basic make-up, because she said that natural beauty was better and that she didn't need to be full of make-up to be beautiful.

For Pepper it was like a "mother-daughter" moment, she was overwhelmed by everything Vision did. She was surprised at the end result. She didn't know he had feminine skills. Robert wasn't short on elegance either, he practically devoured the woman in front of him who felt embarrassed and Y/N raised her eyebrows feeling uncomfortable there.

- Have fun.

- Are you going to be okay? - The woman asked, facing him.

- Of course. I'll be fine, don't worry. Go, Mom... Don't keep that nice guy waiting any longer. - She smiled at the man waiting at the door, who smiled back.

- Okay, then I'll be right there. - You got infected. - Mom loves you.

- Me too, Very much. - It sounded sweet and the woman gave one last smile, leaving with the man for their date, beaming.

Y/N went back to the bedroom and lay down on the bed. His eyes fixed on the ceiling, he bit his lip thinking about Wanda. He closed them, mentally beating himself up for thinking about her, letting out a breath. It was so wrong...

she heard his cell phone vibrate on the table, indicating a new message. picked it up and a smile opened on his face when he saw the name "wands" appear on the screen.

"What are you doing?"

decided to answer, biting his lips to see if he could stop smiling.

"Nothing, and you?"

"I'm dying of boredom. Why don't you come over here to take me out of this boredom? =)"

"No."

"You don't want to see me?"

Y/N was a little hesitant as the memories and sensations of that night invaded her mind again. But it turned out that she saw no problem in accepting.

"Okay... I'll be right there."

"Just like that, teddybear"

Y/N laughed.

(...)

- Where are your parents? - asked as she followed Wanda down the hall.

- They are in the office… - Y/N noticed a mixture of sadness in her voice.

- Is everything ok?

- Yes… - she answered and soon tried to change the subject. - Remember when you asked me about that movie at the amusement park?

- Titanic?

- Yes… Since you and I haven't seen it, so I rented it for us to watch together… What do you think? - Y/N moved his hand squeezing his nose affectionately, wanda made a face and laughed.

- Come on, wands. - she smiled.

- Are you crying? - She turned her gaze to her boyfriend, perplexed.

- Well... Aren't you? - sniffled.

- Yes, but... I've never seen you cry before. - she spoke with an amused smile watching Vision wipe her tears.

- Hm... - She mumbled, blushing, and Wanda threw herself on top of him.

- How beautiful my boyfriend is. - She hugged him like a bear hugs another bear. She broke away from the hug, looking for her boyfriend's lips, who shied away, preventing her from approaching him.

Y/N had been startled.

- Now what?

- Nothing. - she answered quickly and Wanda got off his back.

- Doesn't sound like a nothing to me.... - Y/N noticed her nervousness and became quiet.

- Why don't you kiss me anymore? What is going on? You don't love me anymore, is that it? Is it something I did? Something I said? Please answer me!

Y/N's face paled at the sight of Wanda's completely deranged questioning. Her eyes widened and she began to pray wondering what she would do.

wanda seeing her frightened face let out a laugh and couldn't bear to continue with the joke. Y/N snorted.

- Were you making fun of me? - said indignantly.

- You needed to see your face. You were like, "Help me, what am I going to do now?" - she said amid laughter.

- You pay me, Maximoff!

Y/N threw himself on top of her and started a tickling series on her, who laughed louder now, her eyes already watering and her face turning red trying to find air.

- Stop!

- Not until you apologize to me... Come on, maximoff, apologize! - she said smugly, still tickling the other who was trying to breathe.

- N-no...

- Ask!

- Stop! I'M GOING TO DIE! - she screamed tiredly, trying to find air but laughing uncontrollably.

- Do you give up? - She tried to hold the redhead's hands, who in turn tried to push him to stop the tickling.

- N-no... - tried to say.

- What now? - He held his wrists pinning them to the bed.

The laughter slowly died down, but Wanda still continued to breathe as much air as she could. Her chest was rising and falling with stupendous speed, and it sometimes brushed against the chest of Vision's body on top of her. Y/N shivered from head to toe as he felt the girl's breasts dragging on his chest.

Wanda, already breathing normally, stared at the intense gaze she was receiving and shuddered. Their faces were close to each other. Wanda smiled and kissed the tip of his nose.

- Your eyes... - Y/N whispered wanting to tell her something. - It has little dots around it, and in the middle is a mixture of light green and dark green. - She said fascinated observing in detail the other's eyes. - They are beautiful...

- They are normal greens.

- No... Not just any green. - she whispered, and Wanda was fascinated. - They are not like those dull green ones, their eyes have something more. And they are the most beautiful I have ever seen...

Wanda blushed. She couldn't smile, she was too astute for the new compliment. Praise she had never received before...

- That's the most beautiful thing you've ever said to me. - she whispered.

Y/N threw his body completely on top of her feeling her nipples hardening. Wanda had her two hands on his waist passing from time to time slowly down his back and ribs feeling comfortable in that position. She was already crazy. She wanted to kiss him, but she couldn't deny that she was loving this little game. It was like something new... more exciting. Y/N who was still staring at the green shifted his gaze to her mouth and immediately ran his tongue lightly over hers. Wanda let out a low moan watching this and Y/N soon came closer decisively, brushing his lips lightly against hers. She was longing for this. And she knew it. She needed to know, needed to feel what it would be like to kiss her, and this would be the answer to everything she was feeling. For all the confusing feelings that tormented her so much.

- Daughter, me and your da...

Y/N jumped to the side falling to the floor amazed at the woman's entry into the room.

- Ouch!

- Mom. - Natalya frowned.

- Hello, Vision. I didn't know you were here. - She smiled sympathetically at the boy who had just stood up totally embarrassed.

- Hello, Mrs. Maximoff. Um... this afternoon, I think I'd better go. It was good to see you. - He picked up his cell phone on the bed.

- Wanda, I'll see you tomorrow, ok?

Wanda nodded, blushing.

- Are you using condoms? - she asked when she saw that the boy was already gone.

- How's that? - Wanda's eyes widened.- Yes, daughter. If you're taking care of yourselves. - She said naturally.

- Mama, I'm a virgin!

Her insides crumbled when she heard this. She had already told him this and even asked about it a few days ago, but it seems that the woman hadn't heard anything she said because she was too busy with that damn phone.

- Oh... - She was surprised. - I'm liking this guy more now...

- He's quite different now... - Wanda whispered without knowing why.

- Natalya, dear. We're going to be late. - Erik appeared in the room fixing his tie.

- That's right. Daughter, we're going to a meeting, but we'll be right back.

- But today is Sunday. - she murmured dryly.

- I know, princess, but it was unforeseen. - Erik kissed his daughter on the forehead and then left.

- We'll talk more about this later, okay? She kissed his forehead and then followed in her husband's footsteps.

- Oh, sure ... I'll be waiting for you. But sitting down, so as not to get tired.

(...)

Y/N drove home in a cold sweat. She could not stop running her tongue between her lips. Her thoughts were dominated by only one person: Wanda. The girl who was always tormenting her when she was in her body. The one who bullied her, cursed her, who hurt her... Who now is the same girl she wants to kiss. Everything was so confusing!

She ran her hand over her face nervously and turned on the radio to calm herself down. She wanted to forget Wanda just for a minute, to forget everything that was happening, to forget these insistent feelings...

"This is me praying that this was the very first page. Not where the storyline ends..."

- Damn... this music is not helping. - grumbled when he thought of Wanda again and changed the radio station.

"Your beautiful eyes... Stare right into my eyes. And sometimes i think of you late at night..."

How Damn! she thought angrily.

"My heart has never felt this way before... Just as long as your mine. I'll be you everthing tonight. Let me love you, kiss you. Baby let me miss you. Let me see your... Dream about eyes."

she punched the car window changing the station one more time and almost ran over a dog.

"Cause I see, sparks fly whenever you smile. Get me with those eyes, baby... As the lights go down. I'll run my fingers through hair. And watch the lights go wild, just keep on keeping your eyes onme..."

- No more music! - turned off the radio angrily and hit the steering wheel. - Damn...

[lilolilyr]

Fic rec time! Star Wars: Obi Wan x Jaster Mereel

'The Temporary Temple Guards': 60+k, by RoosjeM on Ao3, not rated, prequel trilogy

Summary: It was a widely known fact within the Temple, that the Temple Guards stationed at the Coruscant Temple were experiencing a ‘shortage’ at the moment. Seeing as Knights were sent out to complete missions and went on protective details, they were also the Corp that was responsible for the Temple Guards.

“I may have an issue.”

“What is it?”

“I have a youngling in front of me. There is no one else around and I am pretty sure he’s Mandalorian, and he's lost.”

Or: it’s Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi’s turn to be a Temporary Temple Guard and of course one of his past missions comes back to haunt him.

It's quite canon-divergent from even before the fic timeline starts, the author sums it up quite well in a note on chapter 2:

"Korda VI happened differently, Galidraan didn't happen but Mandalorians and Jedi have not been in contact so all they really know about each other is galaxy wide rumours and their troubled history [...].

I moved Obi-Wan's timeline up. [...] the Missions to Mandalore [was] his last missions as a Padawan in this fic (meaning he's early twenties when he is there). The Naboo mission is not a thing.

Jaster [...] writes the Supercommando Codex earlier. His Haat'ade were only starting to gain allies which eventually led to the Clan Wars.

Jango is younger as well because I think baby-Jango is top tier comedy."

This fic is so good, I'm trying to follow it along despite my usual modus operandi with wips being either a) ignore it till it's finished or abandoned or b) read what's written then forget about it forever, because i just don't have a good enough memory to know what fic it is whenever sth updates...

I just re-read the first ten chapters (because, again, no memory) and summarized them all so in the future once the fic updates, or if I don't read the next chapters in one go, I can just read my summary instead to remember where I'm at - when I wanted to continue my summary on my bookmark for c11-16, I ran out of character space! So I'm continuing it here on tumblr instead :)

Feel free to save this post if you are also following the fic along as it's written and have the same memory problems as I have :) if you aren't up to date with the latest chapters yet, beware the spoilers below the cut!

~~~ continue reading ~~~

C1

Obi & Quinlan are temporary assigned as guards bc of a staff shortage

A Mandalorian kid is lost, sees a man in armor & asks for help, not caring that it's a Jedi, not a Mandalorian! Obi brings him to little keldabe as taking him to the temple could cause an international incident, breaking pretty much all Guard rules apart from the vow of silence which he keeps the entire time.

In Little Keldabe he is threatened with weapons but not harmed because the kid is in the way. Once the kid's Buir shows up (Jaster, though he doesn't recognize him), Obi escapes through the sewers.

C2

Flashback: obi's mission on mandalore! Satine and the new mandalorians are a bother, Obi-Wan doesn't like their fake-pacifist weak ways, he wants to join with the Haat'ade for his and Satine's protection. They go by Ben and Tina for anonymity.

Present day: Jaster POV: on Coruscant for peace talks the Senate asked for, he hates the planet. When guards lose Jango he's even more pissed and ofc worried.

"You saved the squad that just so ended up being the current Mand’alor’s squad.” Quinlan remembers about Obi-Wan's time on Mandalore.

There's video footage of Obi bringing Jango to little Keldabe, so the mandos see (and Jaster thinks Obi seems familiar), and the Jedi find out- obe's not worried about the council because 'Yoda felt guilty for all the kark Obi-Wan had to go through under Qui-Gon Jinn’s care since he was the one that pushed them together.'

Turns out the council isn't too pissed anyway because his stunt improved the image of Temple Guards quite a lot. He's still asked not to repeat it.

C3

Jaster's mandos observe the temple looking for obi-wan. Jango also wants to find 'his Aran'.

Obi-stays temporary guard with Feemor, and they have lineage tea with Dooku, who's quite nice if you get to know him better.

The Temple Guards bring the lurking mandos datapads: subtly and threateningly telling them to piss off.

Flashback: obi on Mandalore with his late adopted dad Bardan Jusik of House Skirata (Kal's uncle btw), learning about armor.

C4

Overtired obi in Guard armor (& hidden Mando vambraces) after his shift stumbles across visiting Jaster, they fight and Jaster takes off his helmet to reveal - they knew each other, friends when Obi was on mandayaim

More flashbacks of the haat'ade, mentions that Qui-Gon left obi behind and did a shit job at mentoring in general, and more flashback to how Obi became Ben be aliit Jusik of House Skirata: Bardan offered to adopt him, asked him to consider becoming haat'ade. The Goran had figured out he was jettii and offered armor anyway. He also became close to alor Jaster, into the inner circle of the Haat'ade.

C7

Flashback: Jaster x Obi get together ♡

When death watch attacks, Obi-wan fought back with his lightsaber. Bardan's death by darksaber was blamed on him by the Skiratas and he named Dar'manda. Obi took Satine and left without telling Jaster goodbye. To

Present day: Jaster tells him he should have come to him to clear it all up, that he would have protected him, that he loves Obi-Wan/Ben and doesn't think their time was a lie, that he wants to get to know Obi-Wan properly now.

C8

Jaster tells Obi that his buir Barden lived! The Skiratas have been looking for him all this time.

The mandos are offered lodgings in the temple (bc Jaster and Obi are taking so long in Obi's rooms xD) they recognize Feemor as the threat/message bringer bc he 'moves the same'. Feemor is freaked out by this.

Barden POV: he is impatient, not having heard from the mandalorians on Coruscant since they went to the temple. He and Alor Skirata are also looking for Ben, going to MelidaDaan.

Jaster finds the dha'ka'dau in Obi's room, who didn't know what it was, just that the kyber wanted to rest.

Mandos incl Jaster&Obi are invited for breakfast, the mandos realize the Jedi are all just one big family.

Council meeting: it's revealed by Jaster that Obi is still considered adopted mandalorian, even if Barden had really died. It's decided he should go to Mandalore as a potential watchbeing and to give him the opportunity to meet with the Skiratas.

C9

The darksaber decides to come along to Mandalore, bullying Obi-Wan into it (sentient sword!!)

Obi-Wan won't hide his Jedi heritage this time. He's being a bit petty about it, refusing to wear any armor apart from the kom'rk(vambraces).

En route, Jaster and Obi meditate together. Jaster is just slightly force sensitive.

C10

Bardan learns about the former Young on Melidaan but doesn't figure out that 'Obi-Wan' is his kid. The Young regret that Obi-Wan left and they don't know what happened to him.

Arriving on Mandalore, Obi-Wan is greeted with weapons aimed at him when Jango asks to be picked up. Jaster reprimands the mandos and has Obi with Jango walk next to him despite him not having a rank

C11

Walon Vau, a friend of Bardon and so Obi's uncle, comes to collect him for first meal. He is asked to sit with him, Jaster and the other alore. Jaster says that despite first meal not being socially important for mandalorians, he wants to spend it with his cyare Obi-Wan because it is important for Jedi.

Obi-Wan goes to the Forge with the Goran, who asks why he isn't wearing his armor, and Obi-Wan finally admits he struggles with the dual identity of Jedi and Mandalorian. He meets Mand'alor Tarre Vizla in a vision who thanks him for taking care of the dha'kad and asks him to unite Mandalorians and Jedi. Obi-Wan's armor is to be reforged.

Bardan and Obi-Wan have a tearful reunion.

C12

Obi-Wan tells his buir everything and asks for advice about what to do after the three months posting in Mandalore is up.

Erri Skirata feels guilty for being the reason Ben/Obi-Wan ran away. Obi-Wan and Erri have an official clan dispute talk with the Goran and Jaster, and Obi-Wan forgives her for what happened, saying given the circumstances, he understands why she thought he killed Barden. He just wants to move past it.

Jaster with Kal's help starts an investigation in the Jedi's ties to the Senate and the Ruusan reformation.

C13

Obi heals a plant, thought on Mandalore to be the last of its kind, and recognizes it from a Jedi garden.

The Young are visiting and Obi-Wan has another tearful reunion! Nield apologizes for blaming Obi for Cerasi's death. Barden realizes Obi-Wan the General of the Young is Ben, his son, and breaks down crying.

C14

Obi-Wan and Barden have a talk about OW's past with a mindhealer present. They speak of Bandomeer.

Jaster has Kal look for old information on Jetii armor

Obi-Wan defeats Walon in a spar for the first time.

C15

Jaster reminds/tells Ben that he is trying to court him.

In the Forge, when receiving his beskar'gam, OW has a vision of Tarre Viszla telling him "You must unite Jedi and Mando’ad. Should you fail, you both will fall. Enemies are everywhere."

Ao3: C1 | C13

OW's Jedi siblings come by unannounced for his birthday. Bear clan lives with Barden during their stay before they're called back by Yoda.

C16

Feemor works in the archives with Kal and Kal asks him on a date.

the bookmark that started this post

Fyi, I use this code to hide spoilery summaries on Ao3 bookmarks:

<details><summary>spoilers </summary> WRITE YOUR TEXT HERE </Details>

Header image by me, made from this and this and of course trusty remove dot bg and Sony Sketch App.

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[demonsteapot]

Im new here, can you tell me about your oc's?

OH YEAH I CAN this is gonna be a long bitch of a post though

so there are a lot but these are probably the main eight even though i only draw like 3 of them regularly

(please forgive the half-assed sketches, i just wanted to get their designs across lol)

so the premise of this setting is that the sun (which is god) is dead and the earth is now inhabited by mindless angels and mostly humanoid demons (which may or may not be either spirits or just a human derivative). demons live in small city-states and their environs built on top of giant geothermal-harvesting living flesh networks (referred to as humans since they're derived from them)

demons on the outskirts of these places are tasked with keeping angels out. this is what most of these characters do; these eight live in or around fleur, a town in the middle of buttfuck nowhere on the easternmost point of a human kingdom named rust. five of them work for an agency (rust monitor) which scouts and euthanizes angels.

also, magic exists! the (fuzzy) system for magic is mainly based on blood. i think that's enough context so i can introduce these guys

fooling around in the top left are vivian (seated) and fran (seating?). both of them work for RM in bronya's squad, the moss-eaters. if you scroll through my art tags you will probably find that viv is unaccountably the favourite child, as it were. he loves to yap about his interests, especially to fran. he hunts bugs and angels using a combat umbrella. he died once and got resurrected after like two years by nova, which is why he is all stitched together. he has ice magic. his resurrection also may or may not count as force feminization?

fran is a foolhardy and mostly unkillable goofball. the three snakes on his head are named diogenes, gello and lettuce. he started working for RM after bronya accidentally hit him with her car. he's best friends with viv. fran is also a fan of the demon equivalent of pro wrestling, which is more violent and somehow more homoerotic than the human one, and that i can't depict because i wouldn't do it justice. he has some force magic skills, which let him do things like move comically fast and punch shit so hard it explodes. he used to fight using an axe but graduated to just using his hands. he plays the bass sometimes

the catgirl to their right is bernadette harley. she used to be friends with viv and fran, but left fran estranged after viv's death. she lives with her father estus, who used to work for RM. they do not like each other. bernadette hunts using estus's old coilgun. she mostly hunts for food, but occasionally she helps the moss-eaters out with angels or other monsters. she was cheery when she was younger and now she's not. she has a large parasite in her stomach which eats angels

top right, with the thorns on her back, is nova harley, bernadette's sister... sort of. nova also used to be friends with the previous three, but she ran away from home and now she's feral. she has an affinity for magic that deals with manipulating living flesh, and after viv's death she spent about two years reconstructing him out of various vivisected (heh...?) animals. nova is easily stressed and depressed. she hurts people sometimes but not intentionally... usually. she likes sewer slvt. she eats carrion off the asphalt, and the only living things that like her are the flies and the ravens. she also doubles as my sona for venting!

bottom left, with the gillstalks, is princess valentine phloem, or val for short. she is not in fact demon, but human– specifically, a polyp of rust that was intended to grow into the next queen regent. however, she didn't like this idea, so she chainsawed her way right out of rust's bowels and ended up in the remotest part of the kingdom– fleur, where she joined the mossies. fran likes to arm-wrestle with her, but she always wins. having lived in a fleshy, subterranean hellscape for most of her existence, she has an appreciation for life that others don't. it often seems to her friends as though she experiences twice as much world as they do.

in the bottom middle, in the maid outfit and gasmask, is mincey leyland. he lives in part of an ancient bunker complex and delivers vigilante justice when he isn't busy fucking with bronnie's squad. vivian, who mincey considers his brother, is technically a clone of him, and he wields fire magics as a counterpart to viv's ice. he carries a long-standing rivalry with his brother, though it's mostly an elaborate in-joke between them at this point. though he professes loathing for and has legitimate envy of his brother, he helped nova extensively when she rebuilt him. he hates to let his machines do his dirty work, so he prefers single combat with his enemies, with a skeletal rainshade as his favoured weapon. he also maybe stole some people's organs to help nova

bottom right, the blonde machine and the gorgon leaning on them are gato cello and bronya wormwood respectively. cello is bronnie's assistant, a heavily modified domestic android unit that had a long stint as an assassin before bronnie roped them into working for her. they are a scout unit for the mossies, but also very much the team pet. kind of an asshole. met bronnie when they were hired to kill her when she was in college. the two have an unbreakable friendship wherein they hurl insults that border abuse at each other constantly. fortunately, the rest of their teammates find this very entertaining.

finally, bronya is the field captain of the moss-eaters. she is about thirty and depressed and gay. she's a weapons hardware engineer and made most of cello's modifications, as well as a home-made pile bunker she uses to deliver the coup de grâce to wounded angels. she drives a legged squad vehicle called a scuttlebuggy (her aforementioned car), which i have never posted because i can't figure out how to make it look good. her snakes are named bleach, tara, pissboy, euterpe, princess and kyle. kyle is the dead one

anyway all of this stuff is subject to change and none of it is comprehensive. i have never had an internally consistent cast of characters or setting for very long. also, with the exception of viv, fran and nova, no one has a consistent design right now, so those are wips too.

anyway sorry for the long post i dont rant much so it all happens at once

[saintmeghanmarkle]

True Off My Chest by u/Reasonable-Regret7

True Off My Chest SUPER UNPOPULAR OPINION: I feel like this place is getting completely out of control. I get that people don't believe Meghan was actually pregnant, but I'm becoming increasingly disturbed by how many posts are picking apart every picture that was ever taken while she was pregnant. I can't freaking stand Meghan, but it's come to a point it's basically body shaming to pick apart her pregnancies like this claiming she's faked everything. People will see what they want to see, and believe what they want to believe. M&H have lied too much about too many things, people have questions, and extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. These theories existed before KateGate, and with all the uproar over that, it seems people feel even more emboldened to go in on Meghan because the Sewer Squad made their outlandish claims. I know this opinion will basically make me a pariah here, but I honestly want to know at what point it's going to be considered body shaming in a sub that allegedly prohibits it. What are the parameters here? By this sub's standards and pregnancy metrics, I also must have hired a surrogate and never gave birth. I just wanted to share my opinion because the sub's content has drastically lowered my participation. I can't stand Meghan, but I STILL think picking her body and pregnancy apart the way some do is unhinged. I also think she carried her kids and that her body ABSOLUTELY bears the signs of that without it being drug induced.I just wonder where the line is, is all. Thanks for reading. post link: https://ift.tt/O48Rhrd author: Reasonable-Regret7 submitted: April 08, 2024 at 06:41AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[awritingcaitlin]

💥Find the Word Tag Game

@sentfromwolves tagged me for the words Crack, Creak, Crunch, Crave, and Click.

Tagging: @turnips-creates, @runeseaks, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @circa-specturgia, and @juls-writes

Your words are: dread, night, energy, hope, trap

I'll do snippets from Siege under the cut, since it's the first WIP I found that had all the words. (Crave is apparently not one I use often??)

💤CRAVE(D)

It was the most dreadful fog. Rinnie would wake up for what seemed like microseconds before drifting back into a terrible abyss of nothing. She thought about how nice it was to sleep and her body craved it.

She fought it. She wasn’t supposed to be sleeping.

When she was at last able to throw it off, she heard the Priestess swear something. Rinnie elbowed the man carrying her in the temple and they both dropped to the ground. He tried to subdue her, but she shimmied away quicker. She noted exactly how close they were to the edge of the docks. She fearfully realized she was trapped.

There was a gunshot. Rinnie covered her head, already on the ground.

The shot wasn’t meant for her anyway.

.

🌕CRUNCH

Perhaps it was only the night, but the place seemed so temporary. The oldness of the buildings inside the Wall was not present here. Everything was made of wood, brick, and cheap metals. It smelled of fish and sewer. If it were daytime, Rinnie supposed she could imagine the place bustling with workers—fishermen, traders, merchants, the like.

But right now, everything was so lonely and empty.

She came across a water bucket sitting against a building. There was enough light from the moons to provide Rinnie the ability to see her reflection. Her face was bruised and scratched. Her nose was crooked, and her eyes both blackened. The sea had washed the blood away. Also her hair was significantly shorter in spots, like it had been burned off.

Gritting her teeth, she reached up and braced her nose between her fingertips, then wrenched. With a crunch, her nose went back to where it was supposed to be. Rinnie gasped in pain, despite having known it was coming.

She put her face in her hands and willed the bones to re-fuse and the blood vessels to do likewise. It was hard, not being able to see the work. But she could feel, more or less, what needed to be done.

.

🌊CRACK(ING)

“Sheesh, we don’t get tomorrow off, do we?” Rinnie asked, wiping sweat from her brow.

“I can give everyone stamina shots!” Mica exclaimed, sounding excited by the prospect.

“No thanks, Mica,” Riela said flatly. “I’d rather get my energy the normal way.”

“I find a good morning swim wakes me right up,” Killian said, cracking his knuckles.

“Hmm,” Rinnie mused. “I might just join you.”  The thought of swimming was invigorating on its own.

.

💼CLICK(ED)

“We’d made a good life here,” Thea said. “Hopefully we can come back soon.”

“It wouldn’t be the first home we’ve left.”

Thea shrugged. “I know. But I can dream a little.”

Behind her, her trunk clicked shut. Cael stood up straighter. Thea closed her eyes and straightened her own spine as well. It was time to move.

“Let’s ward the house,” she said.

.

🏫CREAK(ED)

Still, he couldn’t help but think about traps. He’d grown up as an academic, not a hunter. But many of his friends had grown up that way and a phrase they liked to use kept popping into his mind: driving prey.

Killian led the squads to the center of the school complex. They stuck to the walls, not wanting to expose themselves in the open courtyard. The swings on the swing set creaked eerily in between the sounds of gunfire. It became unfortunately clear the maps on the wall had been drawn to be easy to look at, not to scale. If they’d been to scale, they’d’ve reached the stairs sooner.

The crack of a rifle bullet as it struck the wall less than an inch from Adler’s nose and peppered his face with plaster flakes reminded him that no plan, no matter how well or hastily conceived, ever survived contact with the enemy. Adler’s body threw itself backwards of its own accord and out of the line of fire of a Nid who’d fired at point-blank range with a sniper rifle.

The Nids already had control over the courtyard.

“We can’t turn back,” Killian said. “They’ll have us surrounded.”

[xenodile]

Honestly, Crow has to arguably be the worst written villain in NIKKE. Like... no matter her justifications for her actions, at the end of the day, she's little more than a dollar store knockoff of Heath Ledger's Joker in the worst way. Diesel absolutely deserved to kill her, or at least maim her horribly. Ditto for the Commander, cuz like... Why even make a note of how she's literally the only Nikke that they've actively considered killing, if they're not going to follow through, ESPECIALLY after everything she's done? It's baffling.

It doesn't help that she's also one of, if not THE worst SSR Nikke in her supposed niche from a gameplay standpoint too, to the point that you'd genuinely be better off using basically any SR rarity Nikke in your squad instead of her.

My issue is less Crow herself, and more how the narrative of chapter 23 bends over backwards to act like she's smarter than she actually is, and like doing something to stop a person like that makes you a bad person in turn.

Like Crow's rhetoric of a charismatic and eloquent speaker that uses societal inequality to justify extreme measures, but in truth doesn't believe any of it because she's an antisocial sadist is compelling in its own right. A killer that understands people well enough to talk them into being complicit or make them second guess themselves just long enough for her to act makes for a very strong villain, but the point is she's full of shit, and once that's revealed, she should lose power.

Like the whole bit with Diesel was disappointing because it treats Diesel wanting revenge against the woman that murdered her and her little brother as being wrong, in a situation where stopping Crow would've been helpful and prevented things from escalating further. It doesn't make sense internally either, because Nikkes are created with the capacity to be soldiers. Like even Nikkes that aren't made with the intention of sending them to the surface, like the maids, the bunnies, the ACPU, and so on, all have NIMPH and the training to fight, and in Diesel's case specifically, protecting the passengers of the train is part of her job!

Like the way things went of "if you shoot Crow you'll lose part of yourself" "you'll forever associate the train with what you did" "you weren't built for revenge" all of it is just moralizing about how killing us wrong with no regard to the context of the story it's being told in. Diesel is a fucking COMBAT CYBORG that has gone onto the surface and fought in a warzone!! She took the train up and helped Counters fight through a horde of Raptures with Soline and Brid!!! Violence IS what she was built for, and the trauma of being a victim of Crow's previous train bombing has defined her. Like she says herself, she had been waiting her entire life for Crow to try bombing the train again so she could catch her.

I was so excited when Crow's bomb fizzled and then Diesel and Soline have guns on her in a second. It was Crow directly facing the consequences of her previous mass killing and Diesel getting closure against the person that harmed her, but then all of that is thrown out to act like this isn't a story where everyone is a living weapon that's trained to kill. Then, because the narrative decided all of a sudden that protecting yourself and others from someone who has made it clear they want to hurt or kill you is morally unacceptable, Crow is allowed to just walk away AND COMMIT FURTHER VIOLENCE. It's nonsense.

There's also the bit with the flamethrowers in the sewers that was just. Straight up bullshit. Viper threatens Rapi and Commander with a bunch of hidden flamethrowers, then Rapi calls her bluff and breaks a wall to reveal there aren't any, but when Crow needs a contrived excuse to escape suddenly there are a bunch of hidden flamethrowers. Like the story straight up contradicts itself to let Crow get away with things, to the point of not being coherent.

[styrmwb]

I beat Wargroove 2.....'s Greatest Custom Campaign Ever

Warning: Lots of glazing and ego coming up ahead

Back in October of 2023, ShadowMarioXLI (henceforth referred to as Eric, and found here, amongst other places) started creating a campaign in Wargroove 2; a sequel, to the one he made back in the original, featuring a story centered around the 41 Alliance + Mega Squad community. This endeavor would eat away hundreds of hours at this poor retired content creator and father, but it was a labor of love. Now, it's finally out!

Now you may ask, why do I care? This isn't even the main Wargroove 2. You haven't even played Wargroove 2. You haven't even played Wargroove 1. Well... I'm a part of the community! I've seen this campaign personally rip and tear Eric until he was done; so when I see that, plus I know that me and my friends are gonna be in it? I mean, I'm buying the game for this alone; and holy shit. All of the effort he put in was worth it.

The reason I'm writing this post, is because the man made A Full Game. Well. Obviously the Wargroove team made the game. But like, map design, story, you know. Full game! I HAVE to consider this as its own entry! Let me just barf the adoration I have over this wonderful experience for a million paragraphs.

#gameplay-and-map-design

Now, to clarify. This is not a Wargroove 2 post. I am not talking about the main game at all. Maybe I'll play it one day, but to be honest it's just not my concern right now. But to get some initial groundwork done, my background in strategy games is more Fire Emblem than Advance Wars, which Wargroove seems to be a lot more similar to (similar! not same. don't kill me.) But I did get the hang of it. I'll probably use that comparison a lot going ahead, so bear with me.

Anyways, what's really special and unique about this campaign is the map design. Every single map feels like it's not the same as the other. There are some more traditional maps, such as the first; capture buildings, build your army up, go fight the enemy commander. But then as you progress further, even the more traditional style maps have some kind of gimmick. Fog of war, magic items littered around everywhere, the enemy commander getting buffed for your units dying, it makes the whole experience feel super fresh; and that's not even talking about the not traditional maps! From a combatless puzzle map, to things that felt like Fire Emblem, with no buildings, just your units as you escape from a sewer, to a full on Zelda dungeon???? Dude. Even when I didn't care so much for the map, I could still appreciate the concept and creation behind it (there's really only one example here, where you're controlling 2 separate armies that eventually converge. I struggled.). They all have a unique identity. I liked being able to see the intended pathway through, as there was usually a very clear flow; such as going upwards and left, progressing as well as running from the horde of mobs running down the right, or swooping below an army to take a back path to the objective. I never felt Lost.

While most of the maps are super exciting and filled with combat, my real favorite maps were the ones where you just... walk and talk. There's about 5 of them? I think? They remind me of the inbetween sections in modern FE games, like the Monastery in Three Houses or the Somniel in Engage. A nice time to breath, explore, and relax; continuing to make progress in the game, but also resting. I think these sections helped me power through (I word this like it was a chore, it wasn't I promise), as not only was I able to progress the story, but my energy could be conserved for longer sessions. With the nature of the combat flow of this game, maps do take a while for the most part, and starting out, I could really only get through one or two a day (this sped up over time) due to Personal Energy Banks. The breathers were great.

Back to in the maps, I loved the usage of mechanics in the game. As someone that has not played the main game, I was learning as I went; and some of these maps were actual tutorials for me, without Literally being a tutorial. Some maps would teach me how to use a character's groove (their ult, basically) successfully by giving reoccuring usages, and/or building the map specifically around it. Some of my favorite examples are giving me a bunch of 1 HP idiots to learn how to Tee Off properly, or the aforementioned puzzle map showing me how to connect units to make the proper electrical shock. It's not even just the characters with grooves, I also got the hang of individual units with this. My top example of this is that sewer map I mentioned; it gave me an army of frogs that I could use to pull my enemies into the water, which I proceeded to never let go of and tried to abuse as much as I possibly could throughout the whole campaign LMAO; by the end of it, I feel like I had a really good sense for the game (to give credit where it's due, it wasn't just Eric's awesome map design, but the codex in the base game was very helpful.)

More things that made the maps fun and engaging; bonus objectives and secrets. Most every map had side goals to get higher star rankings for the map (I'm fairly sure this is a main game thing so I'm sure I'd like it there too), and they absolutely affected how I would play out the map, plus give it replayability if you didn't manage to get them all in the first try. As for secrets; there's a lot. A carry-over from his last campaign in the previous game, every* map has one space that if you bring a commander character there, will give you a fun little cutscene, developer commentary, and a bonus unit. Once I learned about these, they became a primary objective for me as much as I could. Not only do I get to hear my friend's thoughts, but then I also get something that helps me win my struggling battles!... most of the time. Or Eric will fuck with me and give me the most useless thing to exist. Jerk. Those of course, aren't the only secrets in the game. He hid a whole extra mechanic behind one, not to mention countless other lines of dialogue or alternate paths.

A couple more things that helped my experience, are base game creations. Sorry man, can't give these to you. The adjustable difficulty was a god send. I am Not great at this game, and the ability to make it easier (but not Too easy) was so needed. Plus the option to undo turns helped me learn the game properly/help me when I make stupid misclicks. Other than that, I really do love the groove system. Each character feels unique, and a lot of them felt super fun + turned the tide of battle. Tee Off is my absolute favorite. Finally, units. Golems and Frogs are my absolute joy. When I can flood the map with my army? I'm living on top of the world.

I think that even if you aren't able to appreciate what I'm going to be talking about going forward, you can appreciate everything here, and can still get something from this campaign. Now:

#the-part-where-i-talk-about-all-the-text (Plot + Setting)

I'm gonna be an Absolute Mess in these next parts, I Apologize.

The text is the other reason that this campaign brought me so much joy. A very, very, Very large script full of jokes and references in the form of a very silly yet creative plot, delivered from the mouths of caricatures of members of the community. From frame 1, it is a delight to read every text box possible (and there is A Lot holy shit); I don't think it's even possible to read every line of text, cause he just accounted for so many edge cases.

I think before I talk about the actual plot or anything, I have to talk about what it contains and why. Like I've said, this is a story that's a celebration of a community. Most every character is a real person with their real username. Other characters that inhabit the world are our Discord server's emotes (I'm not kidding.), and then a fair couple others that are either a video game reference, or a reference to something in the past relating to the community; and speaking of our Discord server, that's where it takes place. A very silly combination of an actual fantasy land and an online community that when you think about it too hard makes no sense but it believes in itself and it's great. Everything. is related to Eric and MegaFreak400 (like and subscribe and follow and donate to him he's my very good friend)'s creations and history, including their old Youtube Let's Play collab group of CrystalStarStudio. So you're gonna get a lot of silly video game references, a lot of mentions of trivia, of Maze Games, of naming game tunes, cause that's what all of this is! So now with that kind of background base knowledge, Hopefully what I'm about to say won't sound as insane (I mean, it's still gonna be insane. But insanity is fine if you can follow it).

The first campaign follows the adventures of :blueghost: the emote as they make friends and enemies through the Discord server, preventing it from falling under the clutches of the evil Pond (very funny) and the Star Warriors, led by the villainous SlimKirby (also very funny). So then what is it followed up by? Well, after a bit of a cast switch up, as people have left, joined, or became more prominent in the community (me!!!!), we get less of a lone character's journey, and more of Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame. In a plot that tries its best (and in my opinion succeeds but I am biased) to give a highlight to each Actual Person behind this, that also expounds on some story beats from the last campaign, the people of the 41 Alliance + Mega Squad band together... against Discord itself. There isn't a main character, the entire server is the main character. Sure, there are points of view you follow more than others (ME BABYYYYYY I'M THE MAIN CHARACTER), but it presents a bunch of storylines that are all able to tie together very nicely, especially right at the end.

Not that I would have been able to make anything close to it myself, but I genuinely think this is the best thing Eric could have had as the concept for this campaign. Having the enemy force be an entity rather than a specific person leads itself to a lot of very funny bits, but I also feel gives more respect and love to the Actual People that are referenced in the game. It was also very clever, taking the minor mention of Discord Nitro, and turning it into a whole plot arc. For one, the Star Warriors color just matches the Nitro color irl, so it works great there, but also it continues to feed into that reasoning for the antagonistic force to be something beyond a person. Also from there, I feel like the story follows up very well from the last one; especially in the way it handled new characters, or "dead" characters returning (using Discord and Nitro as the method for this as well was a very smart play). Another thing I think was a WONDERFUL play, which was not needed at all, was the prologue chapter. A walking map that contains as much cast/references to the last campaign as possible that gives people that don't know what anything is background knowledge, including a complete retelling of the first campaign in a massive cutscene, very similar energy to ATLA's Ember Island Players episode (this was on purpose, I'm directly referencing the dev commentary).

As this was my first experience with this fictional world, the novelty of it was nice and fresh for me. I loved how most areas, behind the veil of being a fantasy location, were just channels of the Discord. Others were locations that continued to fit into this universe by being a video game reference, or a community reference. It all fits together very nicely, where despite being ridiculous, it stays consistent. There's an arena, every fantasy world has an arena, but the combat is referred to as Smash. The administrators of the server are treated as the rulers and have their own island instead of a mod channel, but they are still referred to with the normal phrasing. Our never used #tv-spoilers channel becomes a desert, our #bulletin-board channel and #scheduled-events channels are still called those, but in universe serve an actual societal function of being the news network or a location. It's very silly, but very clever, and the way that it's all treated as normal helps suspend disbelief. You don't think about how this society works, you're just able to accept it.

#the-part-where-i-talk-about-all-the-text (Characters)

If you're reading this far, you probably know me, or have read another one of these posts. You know how I get about characters. This isn't any different. I'm sorry.

I think the best possible experience I could have had reading the dialogue of these characters, is thinking of the real person behind it. Yes, not a single person is exactly like their real life counterpart. Some are caricatures, some are a single bit turned into a whole person. But behind all of that, is a bit of the soul of that person. I absolutely love reading a piece of dialogue and thinking "yeah they would say that.", even if it was just one line for some, or every single piece of dialogue for another; and I think this really shows the love that was put into this project.

I'm not friends with absolutely everyone mentioned in the game. Not that I hate anyone of course, it's just the nature of community that you don't get to know everyone. It happens! But the people that I DO know, that I talk to near daily, it made me so happy to see what was done with them. Some of my personal favorites (personal bias/knowledge coming up ahead I'm very sorry, but also know there's more than just this):

Mega's high standards forming into becoming a great trainer and leader (and his frustration fitting VERY ACCURATELY in that final map). I also got a kick out of the constant flow of video game titles being thrown into his dialogue, or whenever he would say "it's anyone's game".

Eric poking fun at himself in the nature of retirement and parenthood through the lens of a king putting down his crown.

Pond's "hot takes" turning into an entire villain arc (but also because they aren't that in real life getting to be a friend :D). I liked the walking map where their redemption arc started, especially in the film conversation.

Summer's lovingly antagonistic nature being shown and flanderized in the form of a self-centered dog. (I think more than anyone I felt "she would say that" the most with her character)

Zany, along with his increased presence, being more than just a character based off his username, and more skeletal, in line with his actual brand. (I actually popped off at this)

Lucas's journey of shiny collection turning into being a legendary Collector. Something about the giant hammer and his general nature fits quite well in my head too, heheh.

Sallas's D&D history coming out in their dialogue, as well as the concept of being a Dragon Master (I've fought him in Pokemon. This is not an exaggeration.)

PK's whole character was hype incarnate. Once I learned about the history of him being the secret character in Eric's previous creations, it made his reveal and bit amazing. Honestly probably one of my favorites in the game.

Nam's pacifism truly being able to shine. I don't think there's anyone I can respect their morals and will more, it deserves to be shown like this.

Darth's competitive nature was shown quite well. I can't think of a better role for someone who I think I've had the most close calls with in Name That Game Tune.

Naran is someone who's personality and speech lends itself very well to a character. I loved the concept of Coach Naran guiding the battlefield with sport plays; and of course the obsession of the Yak Utopia fitting very well with the bits he loves to latch onto (positive, I promise).

Q of course gets to be full of cat puns; and her avatar was picked so well that I was genuinely convinced that vampires in Wargroove were just cats. I was ready to accept that. Something about her being the usual archiver of channels/running the no-context account being turned into a reporter fit very well.

and the part where I get to have the most ego

Me and my best friend, Sneaky (Nina) getting to be a duo unit worked perfectly. She fits very well as the louder one of the two, always talking about bugs and being more involved in the "thievery" aspect of our in universe job. I get to be the less confident one, but full of Final Fantasy references, and my general love of RPGs presenting itself as me wanting to be a great, famous adventurer. I could not be happier with how we were presented. AND OF COURSE WE'RE ALSO THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE SERVER SO YEAH WE'RE GONNA HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF FOCUS WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Again, there's SO much more love and accuracy beyond those examples. These were just my favorites. (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE SERVER I PROMISE THIS IS NOT A REAL RANKING OF YOU I'M TALKING ABOUT THE CHARACTERS THIS IS HARD)

Of course, while they aren't real people, I have to give credit to the Actual main characters of :blueghost: and :greyghost:, the Maze Game duo. A couple silly sprites made by Mega for Eric's game turned into full on characters. You could make a whole video essay of how their single expressions and horizontal/vertical movement turns them into the positive leader and vengeful warrior they are in the games. It's honestly astounding how Eric was able to turn some molehills into mountains here.

#a-creative-interruption

I was originally going to talk about the character of the Discord army in the last section, but then I realized; the reason why it's so enjoyable is something that's in the entire game. I gotta section it out. Bots in real life are nearly infinite. They're everywhere, they're annoying, they hurt people's accounts. It's why we don't have em in the server. So to turn that into an endless, alien invading army of robots? That's amazing. To have an abuse of a system given turn into a terms of service violation, leading towards deletion, and to turn that into an uncaring force ready to destroy the world? Perfect. To take the name of Discord's logo, and to turn that into the main villain. Outstanding. It is such a creative way to take the inspiration behind the campaign, and to turn it into a storytelling medium; and that's true of the entire game. It's creative! Like I was saying with how the world is presented as a fantasy land, but referred to with real life online terms, that's such a fun concept. Then you go into the map design, and of course the fact that they're all so unique is even more proof. To combine these two, I think the greatest shine of creativity in this format is one of the final paralogues, where :greyghost: and PK are in an ancient archive searching for a copy of Banji, :greyghost:'s friend. It takes the concept of file storage, turning it into a literal library. It's full of puzzles and mini battles. It takes that library concept further by placing books of trivia of the community, and fun references to the past. To tie all of this together, to have a really cool experience narratively AND mechanically is a wonder.

#the-part-where-i-talk-about-all-the-text (Funny)

To get back to the writing aspect of this game (and probably a shorter section but still just as important): it's very funny. Sure, humor is subjective, and of course a lot of the content matter is community injokes, but I think Eric's writing is absolutely hilarious; I found myself laughing INCREDIBLY loudly at at least one moment in nearly every chapter. (The reveal in the puzzle level was the best thing ever, not to mention the nearly never ending mini Stanley Parable he put in Nina and I's first map) Beyond the injokes, there's a healthy amount of fourth wall breaking, poking fun at gaming and the world with topics like remakes and AI (not just those but those are the ones that stuck with me) that serve both entertainment and a bit of coping with the state of what we all love. So many characters speak in dumb bits and references, and for the most part they really just appeal to my stupid sense of humor (I'm in this community for a reason I suppose). So many puns. So. So. SO many puns. I would love to see Eric's search history when it comes to this game's script. Gotta be(e) hilarious. The best part of this being a custom campaign for a game rather than its own entity, is that it's ABLE to be this too. It feels free.

#sm41triviahq-finale

I've been writing this off and on all day. Continuing to read this back and make sure it's like, legible; I feel like I could continue on forever, but I also feel like I'm gonna go in circles, so it might be time to wrap up.

This campaign was such a joy to play through. Eric put so much hard work into it, and like I've said to him a bunch, and will say again: it was worth it. The joy of a strategy game with awesome map design; the novelty of seeing my friends and all the members of the community past and present represented in this story that's more coherent than it has any right to be; the video game references, the internet humor, the absolute absurdity of it all, with love baked in.

In a way, I almost feel like this is a case study of sorts. You know, several times when playing it I was surprised. "One guy made this." Granted, some might say an entire community made this, but come on. One guy made this. And I think you could really look at a piece of media like this, and not only learn a lot of the people it represents, but the person who's lens you're looking through. I dunno. There's something kinda artistic about it that I think someone with a degree could do better than me at talking about, but it does help the experience.

I do not think that anyone not in the community, not Literally in the game like I am, will get 100% the same amount of enjoyment that I did. But I do think; that this is something that anyone who has knowledge of video game internet communities, modern and classic, or someone that likes strategy games, CAN get enjoyment out of. It's a very special beast.

The download code is 35LG5DUA. I have links to both Eric and Mega, the most important people in all of this up above, plus a couple other things, please check them out.

10/10. A labor of love that's also impressive in gameplay, and has brought me countless amounts of joy through laughter and heartfelt smiles.