#(another reason why i love immortal relationships -- the lines are drawn so much further)

[laireshi]

okay but more thoughts about alaris and caeden’s last moment because -- even after everything, a part of alaris still didn’t expect caeden to go through with it. he didn’t think caeden was really capable of killing him.

so, what it tells me is that... if he had to kill caeden, or, from his pov, tal -- he wouldn’t have been able to do it. which makes sense, of course, seeing how from his perspective, he just wanted them all to live. caeden chose ✨the greater good✨ over his friends, over himself, to save the world. alaris’ definition of the greater good included all of them being alive. he didn’t have to choose between his friend and his belief, because his belief didn’t require him to kill that friend.

of course the narrative is very clear on which one of them was right, but that’s just why this tragedy is so compelling.

[one-boring-person]

Hi! I had an idea for a David (lost boys)/reader fic if you're interested! Basically David finds his soulmate or mate, whatever you call it and he's doing everything in his power to get her to turn. Like she already knows what he and the guys are and they both are crazy about each other, but she's stuck on the idea of having to kill in order to survive. And David is doing everything from his usual mysterious behavior to down right pleading her to turn so they can be together forever? Thank you!

Thank you for requesting something! I hope this is satisfactory😁😅(I'm sorry if it's a bit cringy)

**

Please?

David (The Lost Boys) x reader

Warnings: mentions of blood and violence, mentions of death

Masterlist

He'd found me six months ago, a lone figure on the Boardwalk with a nervous disposition, jumping and tensing whenever someone nearby suddenly yells or shouts over the cheery music playing in the background, eyes wide at the variety of characters lining the bright streets. I hadn't initially felt the connection between us, but he tells me he'd been drawn to me instantly, somehow feeling the urge to search the crowd until he eventually found me, though he hung back, unwilling to give me any further shock, what with his rather intimidating appearance. It took him a month to finally introduce himself, and even then I'd been a little wary of his confident approach, but I'd soon gotten to know him well enough for him to reveal his secret to me, and to explain to me what the mate bond between us is. As soon as he did this, however, he started asking me the one thing I'd always have to refuse him - if I'd turn for him.

The idea didn't sit well with me, it never had and undoubtedly never will, the thought of having to intentionally kill people in order to survive, not to mention drinking their blood, making me feel sick to the stomach. It has nothing to do with him, or the others, of course; in fact, I've had the best time of my life with them, slowly gaining more confidence as time goes on, falling harder and harder for the platinum blonde mullet wearing vampire, so much so that I would stay with him for an eternity, if it didn't mean slaughtering hundreds of innocent people. I've told him this thousands of times, every time he's tried to get me to turn, but my reasons always fall on deaf ears, the vampire being stubborn and unyielding to the point where he started utilising his incredibly cunning mind to try and convince me. He's tried everything, bribing me with dates and gifts, threatening (unsuccessfully) to leave me and even getting the other boys to talk to me. At some point, he even asked Max for help, but apparently the head vampire could only laugh at David's predicament.

And even after all his failed tricks, he still hasn't given up, which explains why we're currently sat, a metre or so apart, on the beach, my mind having instinctually told me to put space between us when he first brought it up again, a grim expression on my face.

"What's not to like, (Y/n)? Immortality, enhanced senses, flying..." He encourages, giving me the same speech as always, just worded slightly differently.

"Killing people..." I mumble irritably, carrying on the same tone, as if reading out a list, crossing my arms across my chest.

He chuckles, the sound reverberating around my skull as it always does, a smile tempting my lips as I hear it, having always loved the sound of his laugh, even before we officially got together.

"Yes, but I've told you before: you don't think about it once you've done it, and the thrill-"

"Overshadows the guilt, I know. You've told me about a thousand times." I finish for him, knowing he's smirking at my words, though I refuse to give him the satisfaction of looking in his direction, aware of the fact that he's most likely staring at me and able to see me in the dark, what with his vampire vision and all.

"So I don't see why you can't just accept what I'm offering you." He pushes, the vampire taking a drag from the cigarette in his hand, blowing the smoke out a few seconds later with an audible sigh.

Rolling my eyes, I clench my jaw before replying, annoyed that I have to go over it all again.

"Because, unlike you four, I'm not used to drinking blood every night, and I'm most definitely not used to killing people to get it, and the whole idea of doing either one of those things is not one I even want to think about! We've been through this countless times, and every time you just ignore me. Maybe it's time you actually listened, for a change." I snap at him, shocked at my own tone, though it is understandable after all the pestering he's put me through in the last five months.

For once, David is silent, somehow unable to come back with a witty comment or remark, a first for the cocky vampire.

"Maybe that's because I don't want to hear another rejection. I'm just as tired of this as you are, (Y/n)." He finally admits, voice uncharacteristically quiet.

"Then why do you keep doing it?!" I exclaim,  looking over at him to find that he has his head bowed, though I can tell from his posture that he is uncomfortable.

"Because I want to spend eternity with you! It's got nothing to do with the bond or whatever, I genuinely love you!" David retorts, voice laced with raw emotion, a sigh escaping his lips as he tries to calm himself, "At this point, I've run out of ideas so I've got nothing better to try than this."

Confused, I go to speak, only to be cut off when I feel his leather clad finger against my lips, telling me to keep quiet, his hands moving to hold onto mine as he goes to kneel in front of me, taking a deep breath.

"Look, I don't do this often, and it will very likely never happen again, so know that I am being as sincere as I can be. I want you to turn because I can't face an eternity without you. I've felt alone for the longest time, even with the boys hanging around it's nothing compared to how I feel when I'm with you. You make me feel as if I still belong in the world, and that I'm not some abomination that was created to spite the traditional idea of living then dying. I know the idea of killing people isn't a pleasant one, but I swear to you that it gets easier, and controlling yourself can also help with this. You don't necessarily have to kill anyone, and drinking blood doesn't sound as bad when you're like me; it's just like drinking normally, but much more satisfying trust me." He stops for a moment, looking down briefly as I try to come to terms with this new approach, barely recognising the needy vampire before me, "Please, (Y/n), I need you to stay with me. I need someone to ground me as much as you do. I, well, I don't tho k I'll be able to face the rest of my life without you. Please turn, (Y/n), please. For my sake?"

For a couple of minutes, I remain silent, my eyes wide at David's heartfelt words; I knew he loved me, but I never realised just how strongly he does, the ulterior meaning behind the words making me feel much happier about the relationship. I soon find my voice, my mind spinning from the different outlook on what he's been trying to get me to do, my response a little shaky.

"Are you begging me, David?" Is all I can manage, my head still trying to wrap itself around the idea. David doesn't beg, not for anything.

He seems to stumble over what to say, until it clicks that that is, in fact, what he is doing.

"It's the only way I can think of that will convince you, (Y/n), so yes, I am begging you to turn and stay with me until the end of our days. Please, (Y/n). I'm begging you."

Again, I take some time to myself, rubbing my thumbs over his gloved hands to reassure him a little, a low ache starting in my head as I think it through properly. I'd never considered that he had become dependant on my attention, but it makes sense: he's spent so long living as the leader of a group of unruly boys that he's most likely missed out on the affection and care that comes with having a lover, so much so that it's made him needy enough to beg for me to join them properly. We'd be able to spend endless days together, enjoying the perks of being immortal vampires through the decades, and God knows I crave doing that, spending time with the vampire I've come to love with all I have to give. But, as always, one thing keeps me from agreeing on the spot.

My thoughts stray to the imaginary images my mind conjured up, recalling the visions of terrified people being torn into by a ravenous, vampiric version of me, dying at my hands simply because I need to feed. But what he'd said earlier strikes a chord within me, reminding me that I don't have to kill, if I learn how to control myself before I become addicted to the thrill.

"(Y/n)?" His concerned voice breaks through the trance-like state I've put myself in, shaking me from my thoughts. I look him in what I think to be the eye, relaxing myself a little before speaking.

"David, I honestly want to spend eternity with you, I really do, but I have to consider the whole killing thing again. You say I can learn to control myself, but none of you guys can, not even Dwayne, who is one of the most controlled people I know. It terrifies me, honestly, having the choice to kill someone or let them live, depending on how hungry I am, and then almost always choosing to kill them anyway, because the bloodlust is just too strong. You have no idea how much that scares me." I confess to him, looking down at my lap in the dark, hoping he won't see the embarrassed flush rising to my cheeks. Quietly, he shuffles around until he's sat beside me again, wrapping his arm around my body and pulling me into his chest as he always does, letting me muzzle into him for comfort, breathing in the familiar scents that always accompany him.

"We can all help you, (Y/n), and you know that I will never give up on you, no matter how stubborn you get. I want, no, need to spend the rest of my life with you, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that happens." He says to me, voice low and comforting as he buries his face into my hair, holding me tighter against him.

"I believe you, David. I just need time to think." I reply, moving my head so that I can look up at him, knowing his icy blue eyes will be focused on me.

"I'll give you time, (Y/n), but you know how impatient I get."

I giggle quietly, reaching up to brush a strand of platinum blonde hair back into its correct place.

"I promise you, David, I will make a decision soon, but if I do turn, you have to swear to me you will help me try not to kill people. Please?" I assure him, watching him for a reaction, though it is nearly impossible in the black night.

"Of course, I'll do anything for you." David hums in agreement, leaning down to capture my lips in a gentle kiss, lifting a hand to cup my face, pulling me closer as I gladly reciprocate.

Pulling away, he rests his chin on top of my head as I return my face to his chest, intent on staying there until he has to move, knowing he is only too happy to oblige.

"I love you, David." I whisper to him carefully, resting a hand on his chest.

"I love you, too." He replies, his voice low as he murmurs this into my hairline, pressing a quick kiss there as his hands continue to caress my sides and back, lulling me into a sense of safety and comfort.

[bigskydreaming]

Can I just say, I am so on board with Duggan showing that when Bobby is really mad, like icy rage kind of chilling mad, all puns intended, like....he is an elemental Terminator jacked up on steroids. He literally just dropped temps so low he smashed through the thick steel hull like he was here to huff and puff and blow their house down, and I personally found it very sexy the way he responded to them trying to kill him by simply making all their trigger fingers snap off from frostbite. What? I’m a very vindictive reader and they deserved it.

And after just ranting the other week about how they needed to just up and let Bobby use his teleportation power all the time without help.....*sobs* here we have him teleporting himself and Bishop across the world just minutes after teleporting himself there in the first place, all without any help or even breaking a sweat. FINALLY!!!!!!!

But that said, on another note, examining this all more seriously:

So, while all of us readers know that Kate’s return is inevitable, as this series has been literally telegraphing this story direction from issue one, with it clearly only being part of her over-all story in this book rather than the end of it.....the characters themselves have no reason to be confident she’ll come back at all, let alone soon, given their concerns about her not being able to interact with Krakoa the way other mutants do.

(Personally, I suspect the reason they’ve paced things the way they have is because Kate’s murder and the mystery of whether or not she can be brought back the same way as everyone else, like...I half suspect that’s going to be among the first things X-Factor deals with, given the premise of that book, and that’s why they’re lining things up for all of this storyline to lead into right around the time X-Factor debuts. But maybe its something else entirely. Who knows. There does seem to be something going on with Lockheed, given the way the last couple of issues have framed focus around him, though I’m completely baffled as to how that could be crucial to this story, but guess we’ll see).

ANYWAY, so we know Kate’s coming back, and likely pretty soon, but the characters don’t know that, not for sure. And when you consider that Bobby, as well as being one of Kate’s really good friends and even dated her in the past, has a kind of unique perspective here....it makes total sense for him to be the one that just goes stone-cold killer here. (Again, pun absolutely intended. Look its me. Its Bobby. Read the room. I’m gonna be doing this a lot here).

Of course, he doesn’t actually kill anyone, as Bishop’s there to remind him to cool it in time, but he is merciless in his own way, and calculated and deliberate. So again...one of Kate’s dearest friends, no doubt feels guilty for being away with Christian while Kate was murdered instead of with her and protecting her......and one other element:

Bobby’s one of the few mutants that already was facing the prospect of immortality before they came up with the resurrection process. Its been an underlying source of angst for him for a long time, and IMO the true cornerstone of why he’s so often been resistant to exploring his powers and examining the implications of them, and what they suggest about his future:

See, more than anything, Bobby fears being alone. He loves people, he loves the people who are dearest to him, he craves normalcy in the sense of things that are familiar and comfortable to him....and his powers are antagonistic to all of that. Because the many times they’ve proven able to bring him back from the brink of death without him even consciously using them, and the glimpses of futures where centuries from now he’s still around as this jaded, bitter ice wizard or elemental being.....force him to constantly be aware of the potential and even likelihood that he is going to VASTLY outlive pretty much every single person he’s ever loved and ever will love.

People often note Bobby’s tendency to be drawn to various villains or antiheroes, describing this as him having a thing for the bad boys (and girls, before his coming out)....but there’s never really been any sign of the usual hero/bad guy narrative with most of these. He doesn’t actually ever ‘try and change them’ or really think he can, and there’s never anything that suggests that he like, finds their ‘dark side’ itself appealing, nor does being around them make him act more uninhibited or less altruistic or anything, at least not to any strong degree I don’t think.

But IMO, the focus on the bad guy attraction is only one way to go with that. I’ve always noticed there’s another common element that can be found in the more unexpected people Bobby tends to be drawn to:

And that’s the fact that from Mystique to Daken to the occasional cosmic being or god.....they all tend to be people who have the potential to live as long or longer than Bobby himself. People he doesn’t have to worry as much about losing, if he were to fall in love with them.

So consider that Bobby has for so long consciously and subconsciously limited himself and his own development, avoided touching on or examining the many times and things that have foreshadowed his own longevity....because he’s afraid to face it, afraid to even contemplate the idea of there coming a time when most if not all of his closest friends and loved ones are all dead and gone, and he’s still here, still alive, because his powers kinda ensure he’s always among the last standing.

And then along comes Krakoa and all its changes and bounty, and the resurrection process which is almost too good to be believed, a gift for all mutantkind that offers the potential for longevity, even immortality for all of them....

Overnight, everything changed, not just for mutantkind as a whole, but for Bobby himself. Because the resurrection process doesn’t actually offer him anything he really needs HIMSELF. Its not likely he’ll ever need to use it, or that it would even work on him at all (since Bobby’s powers have fairly recently evolved to make him extremely hard for psychics to read, especially when in his ice form, but also even while flesh and blood....so its not a given that Xavier even COULD ‘back up’ his consciousness in Cerebro as easily or as frequently as he does other mutants).

So the resurrection process doesn’t change much for Bobby himself....but its existence and ramifications....they changed EVERYTHING for him. All of a sudden, everything he’s dreaded and feared about his future, everything that’s been underlying his fear and even hatred of his own powers at times.....just like that, its no longer relevant. Everything looks different to him now. The future is no longer something to avoid imagining whenever possible, its something to look FORWARD to......because now he can picture still having his friends and loved ones with him, far from now. He can PLAN for things, he can WISH for things. He can finally start to embrace his powers and thus himself, his full self, without fear of it taking him further and further away from everyone his own immortality has always threatened to leave behind. (I find it very interesting that its NOW of all times that Bobby finally unlocks his teleportation ability, for instance).

But just as Bobby’s started to finally be less cautious with his powers and his relationships, started to just...live, without being constantly afraid and waiting for the day his loved ones start to leave him for good....just when he begins to wrap his mind around that hopeful future.....

Kate, one of the people most important to him, dies.....and all of them are terrified she’s an exception to the new status quo, and resurrection won’t work on her.

So yeah. Bobby lost it this issue. Cold Snap was a particularly fitting title, and if ever there was a moment to showcase how dangerous the widespread death of X-Men and various of Bobby’s loved ones could be for the world and the future....it was this one. Because while I say “Bobby lost it” and you could see Bishop fearing that was exactly the case....I don’t think that means that Bobby was out of control, rather than just he lost sight or willingness to throw up barriers between his most vengeful impulses and reasons to hold himself back. I fully believe everything Bobby did this issue was willful and calculated....he knew exactly what he was doing, and he’s not remotely sorry for any of it, because they took away one of the people he can’t bear to lose JUST as he was starting to get used to the idea that now he might not ever have to actually lose them.

So. Iceberg dead ahead, indeed.

Below the cut: More about the specific ways Bobby and Bishop’s powers work almost exactly opposite, and what that implies for how vulnerable Kate’s true murderer Sebastian Shaw is to the specific friend of hers who appears to have taken point on avenging her death.

Also, me getting rambly again about Bobby’s ultimate potential as the Phoenix/Jean’s true thematic opposite - the inevitable heat death of the universe - and why their fire and ice dichotomy was never a coincidence when the two of them in specific were made the original omega mutants.

Also also, more puns. Because can’t stop won’t stop and they’re necessary. I have a mandate, back off.

So. It was also particularly fitting that Bishop was disturbed by what Bobby was doing because I mean.....again, this isn’t OOC for Bobby, its just he very very VERY rarely gets like this because he IS so aware of how destructive he can actually be and isn’t fully comfortable being a walking force of nature in human/twink form. He signed up to be a disaster gay, not a natural disaster gay. Okay enough with the puns. POINT BEING.....add to that the fact that Bishop, of all the X-Men, has always been the most conscious of the threats they could each be if unchecked, given his original focus on ferreting out who the X-Men traitor was that was destined to lead to the team’s early deaths.

Which means, although it comes up VERY rarely, Bishop has always kept in mind that despite how formidable he himself is, the precise nature of their powers makes him one of the people LEAST suited to deal with the possibility of an out-of-control Bobby Drake on a rampage.....because Bishop’s power is to absorb energy, any kind of energy, and turn it into something he can use offensively himself.

Problem is, despite how often Bobby’s depicted shooting ‘ice beams’....he doesn’t project any kind of energy at all. Its the exact opposite. Bobby’s power at its core is basically a middle finger to the laws of thermodynamics. Cold isn’t an energy after all, its just the absence of heat.....which in turn is really just energy produced by the frenetic kinetic motion of molecules.

Bobby doesn’t project energy, he takes it away. And not even by absorbing it himself, its more he just....makes it go bye-bye. Through some process nobody truly understands, least of all him, but there’s no transfer of energy from one source to another when he uses his powers. Its more that all that kinetic energy in the area he’s focusing on, no matter how small or large it is, the molecular activity responsible for the production of any amount of energy at all.....just....stops.

Again, its why I’ve always said that despite how he’s usually depicted compared to her, Bobby truly is the most ideal thematic opposite to Jean and the Phoenix Force, and its why it was a perfect choice to make him the other original omega mutant, alongside her.

After all, Jean as the Phoenix was always shown as a force of fire and light...and her ultimate potential/destiny was usually written as the reincarnation/resurrection force....essentially, the Phoenix is meant to be the spark that reignites creation, that begins everything again, once destroyed.

Bobby, in contrast, isn’t just the Iceman.....his ultimate potential and destiny could just as easily be described as the natural and NECESSARY counterpart to the Phoenix Force....the inevitable Heat Death of the Universe.

Since, much like global warming, the heat death of the universe is a somewhat misleading title. Because of the emphasis it puts on heat, most people hear it and tend to think of the end of the universe being an explosive thing, one last blaze of glory. But in actuality, another name for the heat death of the universe is The Big Chill or The Big Freeze. The whole theory behind it is that the ultimate fate of the universe is that it will someday reach a point where there is no untapped thermodynamic free energy LEFT to power entropic cycles. 

And as entropy is the natural state of the universe....no more entropy means no more universe. It doesn’t imply that the universe would be destroyed or explode, implode, cease to exist....its more that everything would just....stop. Not because it dropped to some specific temperature or anything, but simply because.....there’s no more molecular movement happening. Nothing in motion....and without that molecular motion to PRODUCE energy that in turn powers all the other natural forces/states of being in the universe....nothing can ever happen again, from that point on, basically....

At least not without an outside catalyst, an external force acting to restart, reignite molecular activity, a self-contained power source that could funnel enough external free energy back into the machinery to jumpstart it again....a fuel source for essentially...a Big Bang, an explosion so big that it produces so much free energy that everything starts up again, in whatever new configuration it all settles into in the wake of that primordial explosion. And thus, a universe is born anew, like a phoenix from the ashes, etc, etc.

Anyway, got off on a tangent there, as I am wont to do, but in the vein of my fondness for usually super nice characters who are actually super dangerous if you go about pissing them off in just the right ways, and who could absolutely be the most villainous villains to end all villains if not for their willful and constant choosing of GOOD over self-service and prioritizing their own wants and needs over that of innocents.....

Well, in actuality, the goofy, eternal frat boy, pun-loving, deliberately and consciously immature ‘little brother’ of the X-Men, Bobby Drake....he’s not just an ice sculptor and snow cone maker, for all that he mostly uses his powers just for that stuff, by CHOICE. Because nobody’s more conscious than he that when he really puts his mind to it, there is literally not a more ideal killing machine in the entire Marvel Universe than Bobby himself.

Like, Thanos? Fuck that guy. Thanos would have Bobby-envy if he ever pulled his head out of his own ass long enough to notice someone other than himself. 

Plenty of other mutants, superhumans and even cosmic beings are extremely dangerous killers in all kinds of ways, capable of enormous destruction.

None of them are more suited to one specific part of the Celestial endgame than Bobby himself:

He’s the end result of the attempts to engineer a new generation of cosmic beings that could be the architects of a whole new universe, just as they were the architects of the current one. 

But in order for a new universe to someday begin, the current one has to someday end. 

And the X-Men’s goofy gay twink is the one being noted by Marvel’s current roster of cosmic beings, as being the potential killer of universes needed to make that part of the eternal universal cycle happen. 

The guy who one day, thousands or millions or even billions of years from now, in whatever form he exists in by then...

(since omega mutants were originally described as evolution incarnate, those mutants who are constantly evolving themselves even as they live, so that there is no upper limit to how their powers can grow, change, adapt, mutate, with a by-product of this being they all at some point evolve some way of transcending the limitations of physical bodies and mortality).....

....could just snap his fingers and make everything, all energy, all motion, all molecular activity, just.....stop.

Anyway! Obviously, most of that is just hypothetical and conjecture even within universe, and a long way from ever happening in-universe, if at all, and Bobby for all his power now is still nowhere near that point.

BUT....the reason I brought up Bishop’s disturbed reaction at the start of all this, and noted how Bishop himself is uniquely unsuited to dealing with the Iceman on a rampage....

Is that there’s one specific character whose powers work an awful lot like Bishop’s....which means he shares that specific vulnerability to Bobby in particular.

With that being...Sebastian Shaw, the man ultimately responsible for what happened to Kate, the one who actually killed her and set all of this in motion.

Because just as Bishop absorbs all forms of energy and reprocesses it into offensive energy blasts he fires back on his attackers....Sebastian Shaw absorbs all kinetic energy and converts it into superhuman strength. Making him an almost unstoppable tank, as pretty much everyone’s attempt to fight him only makes him stronger, while doing no actual harm to him.

Except...enter Bobby. Who doesn’t need to hit Sebastian to hurt him. Doesn’t need to feed him any energy he can use at all. All he needs to do, is take all the heat in Sebastian away, and he can shatter him into a million pieces, just like he did all those mercenaries’ trigger fingers. 

And when people find out Sebastian’s part in all this, he’s going to run, no doubt. He’ll probably slip off the island before anyone can manage to get their hands on him, and he’s got so many resources and connections of his own, he can easily flee to any part of the world without needing gate access, and buy his own private army to defend him.

But when you look at how Bobby was this issue, how relentless and implacable, and how little he cared or even acknowledged any of the armed men before him as any kind of threat at all....

Its very easy to remember that as long as he stays in his ice form, Bobby doesn’t need to eat or drink or sleep or ever stop. Period. And as shown in this issue, he can now teleport across the globe in an instant. There’s pretty much nowhere he can’t reach on his own now.

Like I said. An elemental Terminator jacked up on steroids. There’s nowhere Shaw can go that he can’t follow. No obstacle Shaw can throw up in his path that Bobby can’t shatter and just walk through without slowing. No amount of mercenaries Shaw could hire, that could actually pose any kind of threat to Bobby. And absolutely nothing Sebastian or his own mutant power could do to protect him from the specific advantage Bobby’s own abilities give him in any kind of direct confrontation between them.

In summation.....Bobby Drake, killer of universes, might be billions of years away from reality, if ever.

But even right now, at this point in time.....he’s already evolved into nature’s perfect Sebastian Shaw killing machine.

And I think after this issue, that’s particularly relevant.

[winniedarue]

I just spent a bit of time putting my roleplaying ocs to life. I’ve always had them in my head but for some reason I’ve never really drawn some of them. These guys were created specifically for this intricate roleplay I had with a friend. If you care enough to know more about them then I’ll add brief descriptions down below.

Marianna “Maria” Duques - (28) Maria lived with her emotionally neglectful mother and estranged father all her life. Her father is actually a cursed man who lives an immortal life trapped in a temple. He called a bunch of ladies over from time to time seducing and impregnating them. So she actually has a ton of siblings she doesn’t know about of all ages. Her mother was far too obsessed with her father that he was all she thought about. She never brought Maria to go see him and often left her alone. Maria managed to learn love and some normalcy with an elderly woman she discovered was her sister. She studied fashion design and took courses on marketing and business in school. Her mother kind of went on the deep end after trying to set her house on fire and was sent away to the sanitarium. Maria purchased a building and established her own line of clothes, running her shop in the forbidden city. Maria is pretty nurturing but can become a little overbearing. She does everything she can to help someone she loves, possibly as a means to give to others what she didn’t have from her own mother.

Rose Bricken - (21) Rose is literally my messiest character. She’s an alcoholic and completely childish. She’s only alive because her of best friend and brotherly figure Elill (A character belonging to my pal here. Check her out she’s cool.) She’s actually from a pretty wealthy family but sort of got disowned since she couldn’t get her shit together. She still has a good relationship with her mom and brothers but cannot stand her shithead father. She graduated high school but never bothered going further in her education. She managed to get a job at a bar and grill thanks to Elill and basically lives with the man as she tries getting her shit together.

Evangeline “Eva” Montgomery - (22) Eva is the reincarnation of the forgotten queen of the Forbidden City. She’s a prodigy with a passion for history, myths and legends. She even studied historical architecture in school. She is still studying to learn all she knows of the past and fancies herself a prominent scholar in the Forbidden City. She constantly has her nose in her books in her grand library. She is also a child of wealth but unlike Rose she’s completely doted by her single father. Despite the bits of strain between them when marriage comes into their conversations. Eva can be pretty stubborn but her heart is always in the right place.

Bianca Poldolski - (24) Bianca is a Ukraine woman, youngest of five girls. There isn’t much I figured from her. I’m still having trouble figuring out her backstory but I know that now she’s a treasure hunter and archaeologist. She knows how to do acupuncture and she has a fetish for men bigger than her. She’s also a fucking kink.

Micah and Jeanette - (19) The twins. Orphaned after a horrible flood in their neighborhood. The two don’t always need to be with one another but they love and cherish one another as they are the only family each other has. Micah is a bit detached not wanting to attach himself to anyone or anything. He doesn’t want to love anything for fear he’d lose them. On the other hand Jeanette, while cautious, still wants to make friends and meet new people. Micah is a bit of a hermit and a huge nerd. He’s always playing video games and reading manga and watching anime. Yeah, he’s an otaku why didn’t I just say that? Jeanette is creative and paints casually from time to time. She dreams to find someone special and start a big family, and hopefully introduce someone nice for her brother.

[focsle]

Bloob oc meme

Tagged by @thesaint-jimmy to do @princeofmorley‘s lovely bloobloo meme. I’m copy and pasting some things from the brief thing I already wrote about him but HEYY.

Name: Obediah Mercy Nickname(s): I call him Obi. No one else would call him Obi. Age: 62 Gender: Male Sexuality: Straight but...the coldest of fish.  Height/Build: 6 ft stickbug

Personality description: He has an air of arrogance about him because of his thread-like associations to aristocracy, but ultimately is a subservient person. If he respects someone, he’s an incredibly stalwart ally. To those he thinks are beneath him however (of which there are many), he has a talent for being both polite and vaguely disdainful at the same time. He can be vain when it comes to his abilities and background, but there’s a bit of weariness to him too. He’s fairly taciturn. He rarely shows any outward displays of strong emotion, but has a tendency to hold lifelong grudges. He’s a stickler for propriety and ritual. While he’s usually a very dry fellow, he does appreciate irony and has a bit of a gallows humor on the rare occasions when it strikes him.

Physical description: He’s tall and slight, though his movements are very graceful and nimble in a way that belies his age. He dresses in the unnecessarily extravagant livery of a cainhurst servant, but is a bit ratty as far as personal grooming is concerned. His hair is relatively long and lank, and though he tries to be clean shaven he usually has a couple days of beard growth due to having other things to be concerned about. He tends to have a drawn, disinterested expression, and his facial expressions are very reserved in general so it’s hard to sense what he’s feeling. Bit haggard and hollow looking. Vocally, he’s got this Brummie-esque drone, and like his facial expressions, his inflection rarely betrays any kind of strong emotion.

BACKSTORY

Introduce your hunter and their backstory. Obediah was a servant at Castle Cainhurst, operating as, essentially, a footman for a noble family. A flashy murder-butler. He dealt largely in a pest control capacity, quietly dispatching beasts (and cainhurst’s strange fauna) for the benefit of his masters. It was an occupation passed down his family line, held by his father, his father’s father, stretching all the way back. It wasn’t a job of high rank in any respect, but he carried himself as though it was. I technically have him pulled into an EARLIER iteration of the dream before Cainhurst falls...and its when he wakes up that he finds the place in ruin...so I’m gonna be…FUDGIN WITH QUESTIONS HERE. It’s not like time has ANY meaning whatsoever in bloodborne ahaha.

Which class/origin did you choose for your hunter? Does this tie into their backstory? I chose the Professional just cos I wanted to start my skill build off easy. I suppose it does tie a bit into that backstory in that he has training and experience.

Where is your hunter from? What brought them to Yharnam?Cainhurst. He was quite ill, fatally so, and came to Yharnam for a blood ministration to hopefully cure him. IT WORKED in the sense that he got dragged into the weird-dream-horrid-immortality-until-further-notice instead.

Did your hunter know any of the characters from the game before they entered the Hunter’s Dream? He knew of Annalise but never personally met her prior to becoming a vileblood after the fall of Cainhurst. The family he served was on speaking terms with her though...which gave him an ego by-proxy.

Had they fought beasts before entering the Dream, or is this their first experience as a hunter? Yep, he’d fought them before. That was his job. Pest control.

CHARACTER DETAILS

How do they react to first waking up in the Hunter’s Dream? Do they remember anything about their life before the Dream? He doesn’t remember anything about his life before the dream. He’s disoriented and frustrated at his circumstances but he takes to it quickly. Even if he doesn’t recall his background for quite some time, the skilled murdering thing is all muscle memory.

Do they align themselves with any Covenants or other factions (the Healing Church, the Choir, the Old Hunters, the Unseen Village, etc) Vilebloods.

Do they befriend any NPCs in particular? Make enemies of any NPCs? I think he’d be quite fond of Arianna. He’d probably get along decently with Eileen too. Strongly dislikes Adella. He’d WANT TO WRECK ALFRED but I think Alfred would probably wreck him. 

Are they in a relationship? If so, with whom? No lol. HE’S A BRICK WALL.

How does your hunter feel about the Healing Church? About blood ministration? He thinks blood ministration is practical, and he’s familiar enough with it since Cainhurst had their own blood shit going on. He is, predictably, very venomous about the Church though.

Do they fear the scourge? Are they afraid of turning into a beast? Afraid of becoming blood-addled? Of the unknown Cosmos? What are they afraid of? He doesn’t fear the scourge, and doesn’t think about the possibility of becoming blood-addled, though that’s what happens to him eventually once he’s out of the dream. He’d be very afraid of kin though. Great ones. All that. He doesn’t have a strong fortitude when it comes to the unknown.

Does your hunter relish in the Hunt or revile their bloody work? He enjoys the hunt. Gives him a sense of purpose. And it’s familiar to him.

What is your hunter’s attitude towards Gehrman? Do they resent being trapped in the Hunter’s Dream? He finds him irritatingly cryptic at first, but comes to respect him well enough. Mostly because Obediah does best when he’s in service to someone, and Gehrman is the only someone around.

Does your hunter sympathize and associate with fellow hunters, or are they more of a loner who avoids other hunters? Do they leave notes for other hunters? He’s a loner, and also very opportunistic. He hunts other hunters. Not very sociable. He wouldn’t leave notes. Though if he met a hunter presently in the dream he would be sympathetic to them and not fight them--partly because he doesn’t want to possibly add another death to the list, but more practically, he could never outpace someone immortal.

Does your hunter worship the Great Ones? Do they worship blood? Or do they have a different belief system? If they’re not devout, what do they value or prioritize in life? Obediah is loyal to both the people he respects and the ideologies they hold. He’s very comfortable being in service to someone and in fact, absolutely needs to be for his own validation. His sense of worth comes from what he does for other people. And if he is serving someone, his viewpoints are quite malleable under the influence of that person.

Do they have a special place where they feel safe or “at home”? Is there a place they’re afraid of or that they avoid? I don’t think he feels at home anywhere. Cainhurst definitely doesn’t feel like a home anymore, given the state that it’s in, but he does have a small part of the castle he holes up in. Still spends time in its intensely drafty library from time to time. If he knew about the shit that went down in Upper Cathedral Ward he’d definitely avoid it, but he doesn’t know.

Are there any particular items your hunter holds onto for sentimental reasons, or items that serve to comfort them? He gets some comfort from a hand lantern. It just makes him feel more grounded. Also just...his weapon and occupational garb since, again, it’s something normal and familiar in the face of the life that he knew being uprooted and destroyed by the Executioners.

Do any of the discoveries in the game (about the old blood, the Healing Church, the Great Ones, etc) shock them? How do they react to these revelations? He’d…almost come undone when it comes to great ones. Yahargul would fuck him up. He’d feel like he was treading incredibly dangerous ground concerning the mensis ritual, and also the church’s activities in upper cathedral ward. But I don’t think, when he’s in the dream, he comes to that understanding about Great Ones.

Does your hunter want to discover the secrets of the Healing Church and the origins of the scourge, or do they just want to kill some beasts and escape the Dream? What motivates them? I think when he’s in the Hunter’s Dream he DOES want to find meaning in it. He wants to know why he’s there, and what his tasks are leading him to.

How does your hunter feel about being effectively immortal? How do the unending deaths affect them over the course of their time in the Dream? So tired. He’s so tired. Every time he dies he hopes it’s the last time. The dream ages him significantly.

COMBAT AND STATS

Which primary stat does your hunter most rely on (Strength, Skill, Bloodtinge, Arcane)? Do they prioritize Vitality or Endurance? Skill, and he prioritizes endurance. Can’t hit him if he keeps moving.

What are your hunter’s trick weapon and firearm of choice? Why? In the dream he initially uses the threaded cane, but once he reconnects with cainhurst and becomes a vileblood, he uses reiterpallasch. It’s a familiar weapon he’s at ease with. (tho I personally love rakuyo so that’s what I use with him)

Do they make use of any hunter tools? Old Hunter Bone. He’d use numbing mist too. He fights dirty.

What type of armor do they wear? Why? In the dream he wore decorative old hunter’s garb, because the dream ends up making him quite superstitious. Again, once he reconnects with Cainhurst he wears the knight’s garb because he remembers that’s what he used to be. It’s only PROPER AND FITTING.

Describe their fighting style. Obediah’s fighting style is brutal, but efficient, though in his age he’s not as adept as he used to be. He prefers to fight with finesse, and favors swift and lighter hitting weapons over slow, harder hitting ones.  While he’s still quite nimble, his balance is easily thrown. His aim is to not let a foe touch him, because it’s not hard to knock him down. He tends to rely on sneaky visceral attacks instead, because his aim is to deal as much damage as quickly as possible so the opponent doesn’t have the opportunity to get the upper hand of him.

Which Caryll runes does your hunter keep equipped? Anti-clockwise metamorphosis because he needs his stamina, and blood rapture and clawmark because he tends to eviscerate things and likes to get REWARDED for it.

How much Insight does your hunter have? How does this affect them? Mercifully, Obediah would not have much of it. If he was seeing amygdalas everywhere he’d like…lose it.

Does your hunter take advantage of Beasthood to fuel their attacks? How does it affect them? Nope, not at all.

Is there a beast or type of enemy your hunter likes to fight? An enemy they avoid? He likes fighting other hunters because it’s a challenge to his skill but also quite satisfying to his ego when he defeats them. Kin terrify him. Especially winter lanterns and brain suckers.

Do they often summon the Old Hunters or hunters from other worlds to aid them? I DO SOMETIMES but Obediah wouldn’t, again, loner factor. He will handle things on his OWN.

PLOT DECISIONS

Does your hunter’s story deviate from the central plot of Bloodborne? In what ways? Yes, in that I imagine he was in the dream prior, and in the events of bloodborne he’s just a mortal vileblood. Does your hunter try to rescue any of the civilians of Yharnam? Are they successful? This would not be his concern at all.

Does your hunter kill the Impostor Iosefka or let her continue her work? He would kill Imposter Iosefka due to her link to the church.

Do they fight Djura or befriend him? What about Eileen the Crow? He thinks Djura is a FOOLISH BLEEDING HEART of course he would fight him. He likes Eileen, but he’d take issue with fighting the Crow of Cainhurst. Though when he realized he was blood addled, he’d be less bothered by it.

Do they choose to side with Alfred or Queen Annalise? Annalise. Naturally. 

Does your hunter enter the Chalice Dungeons? Yes, again in trying to understand what would be going on in the dream.

Does your hunter enter the Hunter’s Nightmare? Do they defeat the Orphan of Kos? If he goes to the Hunter’s Nightmare, it would probably be because he’s blood addled himself, and would be in no state to even reach the Orphan of Kos.

What is your hunter’s final choice at the end of the game? He lets Gehrman chop his head off. Doesn’t even matter if he wakes up or not. He just wants to be DONE.

If they accept Gehrman’s offer, what does your hunter do once they’re free of the Hunter’s Dream? After he wakes up he has a bit of amnesia to work through. But he ultimately goes back to Cainhurst despite its ruin and serves Annalise. He’s inwardly unenthusiastic about her motivations, and wishes the castle and its population could be revitalized again but that is NOT ON THE AGENDA.

If applicable, how does your hunter die? He ends up becoming blood-addled and is killed by a fellow hunter.

[its-just-like-the-movies]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (17, B)

With reviews for delightful films with ambling titles like My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea and I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore waiting on my hard drive, nevermind other personal favorites like The Final Girls waiting in the wings, why not take the time to talk about this weekend’s biggest indie hit, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? Yes, that joke is stale to me too, but since this feels like the very first Marvel movie that’s indulgent to the kind of movie director James Gunn wants to make, and since the joke is terrible, it feels very fitting to this particular lot. I’m genuinely surprised to be as excited about this as I am, not just because I liked the first Guardians without feeling the love a lot of people in my life did, but because even the first half or so of Vol. 2 kept grating me in spite of how confident Gunn was that it was hilarious. But then, with one glorious set piece, everything comes together perfectly as the film finally becomes the best version of the Marvel template that’s ever been realized while seeming to carve out a whole new path through sheer force of will and deliriously entertaining spectacle. The family ties with these characters matter more than any Avengers get-together ever has, not just because they’re better defined here but because everything, from the worlds to the side characters to the visual palette to the villain of all goddamn things, has been realized with equal care, and color, and thought. At a certain point the jokes are a lot funnier, it’s more kinetic, the CGI final battle extravaganza is more its own mess than just another round of stolid off-grays coming together to fight a really really big off-gray thing. It’s the most personality a Marvel movie has ever had, and for that alone it’s the best they’ve made yet.

It doesn’t start that way, though, and it takes a little while to get there. For sure the opening spectacle of Lil Baby Groot dancing along while the rest of the crew fights some eldritch horror is a delight, and has one of the best early Drax jokes in the film. But James Gunn thinks the one basic joke Drax has, or is - his stubborn literalism - is a lot funnier than it is, and at the very least the sheer insistence on making him the primary valve of comic relief got old fast. Not that any one joke was bad, and as someone who wasn’t cackling at every joke I was the outlier in my audience, but every joke pointed at the same aspect, hitting it harder on the head and to cruder effect practically every time. Kudos to Dave Bautista for being game, I guess, but it flattens the character even as he tries to tell the story of seeing his wife for the first time. On top of that, making Drax the outright comic relief deprives the rest of the crew from getting as much comedic material. Mostly they all get to bicker, and boy does everybody have issues, with each other and themselves. Even the captured Nebula has a lot to reckon with, aside from completing her Beatrix Kiddo hit-list. There’s also the race of golden alien beings who chase the Guardians around in remote-controlled fighter pods with user stations that are hilariously stylized like an 80’s arcade game, but they’re sort of tangential for the moment. Yondu faces similar issues, though he at least doesn’t start off with the gold people problem. Re-introduced in a scene that seems to imply he just had sex with a robot prostitute, we learn his Ravagers faction has been cast out of the entire Ravagers network because of that whole child-napping thing he did with Peter. Scorned by Sylvester Stallone and offered one last job by the High Priestess of the Goldfingers, to capture the Guardians of the Galaxy so she can kill them as penitence for Rocket stealing some of their lightbulbs, Yondu’s seeming path to vengeance is clear.

Ego doesn’t have this problem, simply hoping to reunite with his long-stolen son and become the dad he never had the chance to be. Kurt Russell, as the equally ruggedly handsome father of Chris Pratt, is inspired casting for the part, giving as good a performance as everyone else in the cast to boot. Accompanied by the empath Mantis, who gets to do a far more earnest and good-natured take on Drax’s whole “unstoppably literal” thing with great aplomb by Pom Klementieff, the journey to Ego’s self-made homeworld is the biggest blast of color that’s come from any Marvel film before it. Asgard didn’t look this majestic, and it manages the impressive feat of featuring practically the entire color wheel without ever becoming a garish eyesore, balancing hue, saturation, and texture on a tremendous scale. As Peter, Gamora, and Drax join Ego and Mantis on his homeworld, Rocket stays behind with Groot and the imprisoned Nebula, who manages to break free and complete a mutiny against Yondu once he talks of letting the Guardians go despite the million dollar bounty on their heads from the Goldfingers. And as things get worse for them, things get better for Peter and Ego as Ego teaches his son how to harness the energy of his planet to create shapes and become effectively immortal.

All of this is compelling stuff, but for one reason or another none of these plotlines quite clicked within themselves. There’s plenty of great moments, like watching Peter and Ego play catch with orbs of pure energy, or Rocket, tied to chair, completely tearing down the head mutineer who willingly chose to call himself Tazerhead. Yondu having a heart to heart with Rocket is surprisingly touching, and if the joke of Groot trying to find a prototype fin for Yondu runs a little long, its sheer absurdity and escalation makes it worth it. And then they get that fin, and it somehow doesn’t look silly on Yondu, who then whistles his way to slaughtering every single being in the ship except for our heroes and regretful mutineer Sean Gunn while “Come a Little Bit Closer” plays over the carnage, and it all came together. I’ve lauded how expansive the color palette is already, but the neon pink of Yondu’s murder wand as it flies around the compound, in tandem with the falling bodies, gives you so much to look at while achieving real heights of visual interest and charisma. Rarely is there more than any one thing to look at in the frame in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and rarely is it in such a gorgeous array of colors. Of course they have nothing on DC’s murky, sad grays and almost inherent fear of anything bright, joyful, or fun in any sense, but Guardians is still an impressive peak that far outstripes the visual style of a film series that struggles in terms of inventive composition or visually arresting color schemes. Even the eventual third act Big Bad Boss Battle, overflowing with CGI, is still more coherent in its fight choreography and geography than say, the Captain America: Civil War airport fight, and bursting with creativity on all levels while fully utilizing each of the characters involved.

The characters, too, are far better drawn than the usual Marvel ensembles, and do so without a larger wellspring of goodwill for viewers to instinctively draw upon. As compared to the seemingly arbitrary lines in the sand drawn between the amazingly vaguely rendered Avengers in Civil War, each of the Guardians and the surrounding characters have far more logical, better defined wants and relationships that are further enhanced as we learn more about them. The sibling rivalry between Gamora and Nebula is given as much room to shine as Peter’s contentious relationships with Ego, Yondu, and Gamora are mended and unmended. Yondu’s own relationship with Rocket lands in the emotional truths it exposes about both of them, and if Drax seems mismanaged as a joke machine early on, his bonding with Mantis ends up in where it needs to once Act Two starts. Even the threat of the High Priestess and her Sovereign, who I looked up the names of between paragraphs, is more effective than other doomed-to-fail MCU villains like those in Ant-Man, Iron Man 3, the Chi’tari swarms of The Avengers, or even Nebula in the previous Guardians film. The ultimate villain and their plan, which finally encompasses the destruction of the entire universe, is easily the most effective of Marvel’s villains that’ve appeared yet. After acting like the universe is at stake in every previous film, it’d be odd to say it’s so refreshing that they go for it this time if the tone of the second half didn’t feel so appropriately attuned to the grandiosity of it. In part, it’s because the villain is so effective in how they challenge our heroes, their attitude so unique among Marvel villains. Their offer is surprisingly tantalizing to the character they ask allegiance of, until it very much isn’t, but more than that they seem genuinely thrown by the idea that anyone would’ve want them to wipe out all life as we know it beyond them. But more than that, James Gunn’s direction of the second half of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is such a unique style for not just a Marvel movie, but any film to take. It’s remarkably in range of a jukebox musical, or a family melodrama, which is one of the easiest subjects for a musical to explore. The choreography and editing of scenes in tandem with the song score is a sterling achievement, one that begins in the opening scene and keeps going strong with continuous creativity. I practically expected characters to start breaking into song at a certain point, and the poignant returns to previous conversations and themes certainly could’ve lent themselves to it. Yondu in particular, whose starts his arc an exiled child-napper and ends the film celebrated and redeemed by his fellow Ravagers and Peter Quill, is perhaps the easiest character to translate into a musical, but all the characters and their arcs would fit wonderfully into that kind of milieu, and their actual dialogue works fairly well as the book parts of a show, be it original or jukebox tunes. Maybe speculating on the potential of a Guardians of the Galaxy musical adaptation isn’t the most constructive angle to consider this film, but it gets at the spirit of the film with ease.

Going forward, I hope this is a sign that Marvel will let their directors have more tangible influences and visions in their projects, especially with films by Taika Waititi and Ryan Coogler coming ‘round the bend. I also hope that James Gunn will continue in the direction he’s going with this series, and that the Russo brothers are watching the responses to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and taking note of what everyone is responding to so positively here that isn’t in other MCU films but absolutely should be. We need color and light and really inventive composition in our films. Children and art can always go together. And how nice is it, between this and Logan, that there’ve been two very distinct and different kinds of comic book films doing well on the market? I hope Wonder Woman breaks from the traditional DC mold and is actually watchable, and I hope Justice League is bad enough for the theater to unabashedly laugh at it with me, since I know my otherwise spectacular boyfriend is definitely going to make me go with him to this, and I’ll always wonder would’ve happened if I’d laughed at the beginning of Batman v Superman like I wanted to. But we’re not talking about that, we’re talking about a good movie, one that started out just fine and turns into a pretty great movie, showing real creativity on nearly every front. I think this is the first film I’m talking about I can’t even pretend to encourage people to see, since everyone has probably seen it already. And thank goodness such a fun, unique comic book blockbuster is getting the somewhat perfunctory but still gloriously deserved attention it’s receiving. Let more franchise films learn the lessons about being pretty and allowing their directors to actually shape their films, and if not, at least we have Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to keeping savoring among so much unadventurous clutter.