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literary-illuminati · 1 year

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Book Review 29 - Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

I very theoretically read a few of the Strugatsky Brothers’ short stories for a Soviet Lit class in school years ago, but this is actually the first one of their books I can say I actually read and, like, meaningfully paid attention to. I was likewise vaguely aware that this was a very influential book, but only in a kind of fuzzy ‘the STALKER games are based on it, right?’ sort of way.

All to say, I went in basically blind and was actually pretty pleasantly surprised. Both by the quality of the book and by the realization of how much more influential it has been than I had previously realized. The afterwards by one of the authors for the new edition with the tell-all rant about the publication process was also just fascinating in an entirely different way.

The story takes place in a world where at a certain point aliens made contact with earth – not with any sort of communication or even physical presence, but through some sort of process that left zones around the world warped and strange, full of physics-defying miracles and ten thousand different ways to die horribly or end up slowly mutated and wasting away. The story is set around a small town in probably-Canada that was one of the ground zeroes, and about Red, one of the freelance ‘stalkers’ who make a fortune evading the government quarantine and securing some of those physics-defying-miracles to sell to the highest bidder before the official scientists can slowly make their way to them.

Red does not have what you would call a happy life.

The story’s split into three sections, with significant time jumps between each one. Which I did rather like the effect of, seeing how the town changes from a half-abandoned ruin everyone thinks is a month away from demolition to a scientific boomtown and the long-term effects of exposure become more and more well known but don’t stop the rush to exploit the potential riches of the alien detritus one bit. It also allows for a better look at Red’s slow downward slide in both material circumstance and morality.

Red himself is interesting? He’s a very rough, brutish sort of man, the kind who jumps to threats of violence pretty easily when it comes to disputes where he thinks he’s in the right, who doesn’t have the temperament to hold down any sort of steady, boring job, and knows it, and who has a little bit of a complex about all those things. He tries to look out for his friends and comrades, and provide for his family, and that’s about the highest morality he aspires to. Hardly the most original archetype, but it’s very well-realized. No matter how viscerally unlikable he gets at points when you’re spending so long in the close confines of his head.

Speaking of complexes and guilt – one of his overriding motivations for the back 2/3 of the book is trying to provide for and cure his daughter who, almost certainly due to the weird alien radiation he’s saturated with, was born incredibly mutated (in a ‘has fur and is incapable of human speech’ sort of way). Which, again, kind of blunt instrument characterization but the book did do an excellent job getting across the constant low-level soul eating guilt and resentment that basically soaked through him about her and how that motivates just about every major choice he makes in the final act of the story.

And since I’m talking about characterization – look, I get that most of this is just the close POV to a guy whose a complete boor, but my god did the portrayal of women in this just make me roll my eyes. And I like to think I’ve usually got fairly thick skin for this sort of thing – but hard to ignore the fact that the literal only two women with recurring roles and more than a handful of lines are a) the loving, long-suffering but supportive wife who we basically only ever see in domestic scenes and b) the dissolute hot-but-dumb slutty daughter of the stalker equivalent of the local oligarch, y’know? And Red’s internal monologue and how they’re described did not exactly obscure the issue.

Tone-wise – I mean, look, this book is really not helping the stereotype about Russian novels. Which is not at all a problem for me personally, but there is as far as I can tell exactly one uncomplicated heroic devotee of truth and the common good. He dies at the end of part one, and the guilt over it is another load-bearing chunk of Red’s various complexes. It is overwhelmingly a book of flawed, broken, small-minded and selfish people, most of whom aren’t too found of each other. The very ending, with the wish for a better world quite literally hidden away behind a barrier that requires a human sacrifice to traverse, kind of emphasizes that.

The long timeskips and fairly compressed narration means that there’s only really a vague sketch of the wider world – of the corporations and conspiracies who buy what the stalkers sell, of the miracles that exploiting them has allowed, and of how things have improved and/or gone to shit generally – but it’s a really well done sketch. Then again, the ability to have the protagonist be a bit player in wider structures and to gesture at outside agencies with their own schemes that just don’t matter to the plot seems to have been a much more common skill among sci fi writers a couple generations ago. Still, the sort of retrofutristic noir world, powered by alien wonders that some technicians can use but absolutely no one can understand, is well done and appealing.

Speaking of – so this really is a cosmic horror story, and honestly a better one than most modern inheritors of Lovecraft. The universe is wondrous and deadly and strange, it will kill you or mutate you beyond recognition or make you richer than you’ve ever dreamed, but most of all it does not care. Everything from the title on down is used to reinforce that, and the trouble humanity has coming to terms with the idea that to the aliens who have so profoundly changed civilization, we’re literally irrelevant. The descriptions of the environment and the precautions taken to navigate it are – well, I don’t know if they’re just the oldest example of a preexisting body of tropes or the book actually came up with them, but if it’s the latter then I suddenly understand a lot of what influenced some of my favourite works of sci fi horror.

Not part of the story per se, but the copy my library had included both a forward by Le Guin (mostly a reprint of the review she wrote when it was first translated to English in the...70s, I think?) and an author afterwards written in the 2000s about the book’s publication history. Which were both just absolutely fascinating.

#book review #sff #classic sf #roadside picnic #strugatsky brothers

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milfjagger · 26 days

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long horsey post under cut to save my followers who don’t care

i think i rode a pony for the first time when i was about 5 but i started lessons when i was 7!! my sister started at the same time aged 5 and my mum took up riding again having not ridden since she was a kid. (btw all of these photos are from this really cute memories book that my mum had printed for me and my sister ♥️)

we used to go to northern ireland to see my dad’s family pretty much every easter, and we usually also combined it with a trip to donegal in the ROI bc that was where my dad used to go on holiday as a kid! there was a riding school in rathmullan where you could take the ponies along the beach and that was where i had my first gallop!!! my dad doesn’t ride so he always walked along the beach and tried to get pictures; this is me on a pony who i think was called pearl iirc (i have a really good memory for the names of horses for some reason even if i only met/rode them like once)

by this point we had moved from devon to hertfordshire and i absolutely fucking hated it there BUT they did have a very big and very good riding school in walking distance from our house . we had lessons there every week and when i was 10 my mum bought a horse from them! he was called boris, he was a big chestnut irish draft who was sooo handsome and sweet and everyone was so jealous of him lol but here he is 🧡

boris was supposed to be the family horse but my mum is tall and didn’t really realised how much too big he would be for me and my sister (and my brother who rode for a bit before he decided his horse allergies were too bad to continue 😭), especially bc he was only 5 when we got him and he grew about 3 inches from then (finishing at just under 17 hands). i was already like 5’3 at age 10 (early puberty lol) so was able to ride him a bit but my sister couldn’t really bc her feet barely reached the bottom of the saddle. for a while we loaned (for free, from another owner on the yard) a 14 hand haflinger called tommy who i have literally NO pictures of but if you google haflinger that’s pretty much him, they only come in one colour. tommy was absolutely fucking mental and the strongest pony ever, i remember one time i was cantering on him and literally couldn’t stop him at all so i just had to sit and wait until he got tired 😭 we also did some jumping on him and rode him in our lessons which was always slightly terrifying but we had a lot of fun on him until he went lame from a health condition and his owner put him in retirement. then the stable owners told us they had a pony we could loan for free (mainly for my sister) but quote “it’s not a nice pony” and that is the story of how we got isobel, who we have now had for 17 years, is 25 and completely retired from work. she is a very small (12 hands) roan rescue pony who was extremely nervous and unhandled (she had been turned loose for a year before we got her, she wouldn’t let most of the staff near her and her mane was down to her knees and super matted) but my sister was super patient with her. i rode her a little bit but i was already bordering on too big for her. she was 100% my sister’s pony and my sister ADORED her. we all still love isobel so much even though she is grumpy as fuck she’s so cute and she deserves to live out her retirement in peace and be a friend to mum’s current horses ♥️♥️♥️ this is isobel (first pic with my sister soon after we got her 17 years ago and another recent one)

isobel had some limitations though, mainly that she was terrified of jumping and given what she went through before she was rescued by the rspca we didn’t want to push her too much. our riding school was super jumping focused and at the time me and my sister were both really into jumping (and we thought isobel was only gonna be temporary) so mum decided to get a pony that was bigger than isobel but smaller than boris and would be able to do some jumping. which was when we got cookie, who was an absolute legend and i really hope she’s happy if she is still alive today ♥️ she was a skewbald irish cob with one blue eye and one brown, just over 14 hands and came highly recommended by the riding school who had owned her briefly, but she was being sold by a private owner. we had kind of a rocky start with her (when we went to try her out, me, my sister and my brother all rode her and told mum that she scared the shit out of us, but my mum was like “well it’s this pony or no pony”) and she was completely mental for about 3 months and would just buck and run off constantly but luckily we had trained at the school of tommy (and isobel who could also be kind of quirky) and i started really enjoying her. my sister was still nervous but she had isobel who was much smaller and also now that we had 3 it meant we could all ride together which was super nice :) cookie was an amazing jumper for a cob and so pretty ♥️ she had quite severe hayfever and was very bothered by flies so she had to wear a fly mask in the summer and would toss her head quite a lot and in many ways she was not an easy pony at all but we literally loved her and learned so much from her bc she was so weird and crazy. i always think there are two types of cobs, the ones that are basically walking sofas and the ones that are a bit fucked in the head and she was definitely the second type LOL. here is a pic of me jumping on cookie!!! this is from when the riding school took a bunch of school horses and other kids’ horses to a cross country course and i literally fell off at least twice that day and the yard owner actually got on cookie to try and sort her out and she was like fair play lol that pony is spicy!!! but at least we got some good pics before that

pretty soon after we got cookie we moved back to devon and we were only planning to take cookie and boris bc isobel still belonged to the school but they basically insisted we take her, handed over her documents and she was ours 😭 we moved into a farm with its own stables and joined the local pony club, which kinda sucked tbh it was really cliquey and no one really thought much of cookie bc she was a cob and they all had expensive show ponies or thoroughbreds lol. she could easily jump a course of the same height as their horses but she wasn’t really fast enough to win the timed jump-offs …but we still got some rosettes ♥️ I didn’t take boris to many events bc he was mainly mum’s horse, and at this point my sister was really confident on cookie and wanted to ride her all the time so we thought about getting another horse that would be just mine. we heard from someone at our old yard in hertfordshire that she was looking for a home for her super nice dressage horse, but he would be super cheap bc he had health issues and intermittent lameness. i remembered the horse and had always thought he was really sweet and friendly and we ended up getting him, bc it was an amazing opportunity to have a really highly trained horse and have some fun with him when he was sound, but we did kind of know his time would be limited before he went completely lame. his old name was literally FUGLY which was so cruel and inaccurate but i assume he was a really goofy looking foal or something … anyway i was having none of that negativity so i named him lenny 🧡 he was a big 17 hand chestnut warmblood (oldenburg i think but you need a phd to understand european warmblood breeding) and was such a goofy silly head but so sweet and unlike any horse i had ever ridden and i was so extremely excited to have him. he was also best friends with boris who was a similar size and colour and they looked so cute playing together in the field 🥹♥️ this was lenny (with my mum riding him lol i never rode him at a show for reasons i will get into)

we had just got lenny and we knew he was kind of delicate so there was no way he was going to pony club camp to do jumping and all sorts, so for my first ever pony club camp (age 15) i took boris and my sister took cookie. and on literally the FIRST DAY we were having a jumping lesson, boris tripped and i went over his shoulder and broke my collar bone 😭 i had to go to hospital but luckily he was fine and he actually stayed for the whole camp and i think one of the pony club mums rode him and had a great time 😭 and then basically i couldn’t ride for weeks and was super nervous to get on even when my shoulder was better, especially bc lenny was new and a lot more of an advanced horse than i was used to. my mum absolutely fell in love with lenny though and got into dressage on him. I didn’t really ride much for ages after that and even when i did i usually rode cookie. then boris was diagnosed with arthritis - he could still be ridden a little bit though and had medication to manage his joints. I can’t remember if mum sold him before or after we got my sister’s next horse bailey but she ended up selling boris to someone from pony club who said they just wanted a horse to do light hacking on and we could visit him whenever, but within a few months they had sold him, probably for a profit and by lying about his health which was so incredibly irresponsible, infuriating and heartbreaking. so I have no idea what eventually happened to boris but i suspect he was put to sleep within a few years 💔 it’s really sad and i hate that person so much for lying about what they wanted him for and then potentially tricking someone else into buying a horse that wasn’t fully sound. fuck them forever fr boris was so sweet and deserved way better

anyway as i said my sister wanted to do more jumping and especially cross country jumping, and she was getting to a level where cookie couldn’t really keep up with the other more sporty type horses so she ended up getting a 15.2 hand bay irish sport horse called bailey. he was also kind of quirky and for a long time she would fall off him literally every time she took him to an event. my mum would be waiting at the finish line to take a picture and see bailey come running in without her 😭 he was so funny though, when you groomed him he would reflexively start grooming the wall with his teeth as if he was mutual grooming with another horse it was so cute ♥️ this was bailey

because my sister fell off so often over jumps, and bc we had lenny who was highly trained in dressage, both my mum and my sister got really into dressage, my mum on lenny and my sister on both lenny and bailey. i get sad talking about those two bc they both had to be put to sleep, lenny first when he went fully lame from his long term injury. he also had a tumour on his ear which didn’t look good and we had to do the kindest thing for him 💔 my mum was devastated (she absolutely loved him, maybe even more than boris) and one of her friends very kindly bought her a big orange rose to plant in his memory ♥️ and then with bailey, it turned out the reason he kept bucking after jumps was bc he had arthritis in his front legs and would be in pain when he landed. he eventually went fully lame and was in constant pain and again it was the kindest thing for him but it was incredibly sad as he was still quite young. i think at some point bailey overlapped with the new horses mum got for herself and my sister but my timeline is wobbly bc i wasn’t really into horses at the time. i did cry a lot over those two being put to sleep and i cried when we eventually sold cookie, but she went to a really good home with someone who really loved her and may still have her to this day (we lost touch but cookie would be about 23 and could well still be alive).

anyway then my mum had a big 16.3 hand piebald warmblood called stan and my sister had a 16 hand grey british sports horse called george. stan was older (15 when mum bought him) and very experienced and well trained but he was extremely grumpy and difficult a lot of the time and everyone except mum was scared of him 😭 and george was a super sweet youngster who was definitely my sister’s favourite horse ever (except probably isobel) but he kind of scared the shit out of my mum bc he was young and nervous. then my sister went to uni and mum had to sell one of the horses bc she wouldn’t be able to exercise two (we still had and still have isobel but she is too small for any of us and retired anyway, not to mention no one would ever buy her lol) and she decided to sell george for some reason even though he was the way nicer horse. my sister was obviously sad but she follows the new owner on instagram and it looks like george is still doing well to this day :) so mum struggled with stan for a few years and then decided he was basically too old to be competing anymore, snd that was probably why he was getting so grumpy, so she sold him quite cheap to someone who just wanted to do light work (and was really happy with him, he was a beautiful horse for the price they paid). and also if mum had kept george then she would probably never have got athena, who is her current dressage horse and my mum loves her to bits. she is a 16.1 hand dark bay warmblood and is basically perfect for mum in every way. she’s not the most friendly horse but she’s really calm and easy to handle and i love her a lot ♥️ this is athena aka bean aka babina she’s such a fancy girl

athena also has a few health issues though (literally classic our family’s luck with horses) and was off lame for ages in 2018-19 and since it was just athena and isobel at home mum was itching to ride so she spent ages looking for the perfect “project horse” i.e. a young horse that had been backed (ridden) but not really trained so she could do some training herself. after looking at about 20 horses she found this funny little 5 year old grey mare who was maybe 15.1 hands at best and really cheap. and that was bubbles aka bugs who I literally love so much she is soooo cute and friendly and has turned into such a nice little horse. she is the one that i ride now when i visit my parents and she is such a sweet girl i absolutely love bubbles ♥️ look how cute she is (ft. me jumpscare)

mum wouldn’t let me ride bubbles straight away though bc bubbles was young and i was really out of practice, plus bubbles needed a confident horse to go out hacking with (i.e. not athena who is too delicate for such things) so one of my mum’s friends really kindly started letting me ride her horse bonnie :) then through 2020-22 bonnie’s owner wasn’t riding so we moved bonnie to the farm and i loaned her full time. she was a little 15 hand bay baroque type lusitano who was bought for literally 100 euros from a meat factory in portugal 💔 she was also literally evil and would attack you while you were grooming, feeding, putting on rugs, tacking up or basically anything that wasn’t riding, but as soon as you got in the saddle she adopted the chiller nature and was really fun to ride, very speedy but really solid and unflappable, presumably bc she used to be a bullfighter and carriage horse back in portugal. despite how mean she was i loved bonnie and she gave me so so much confidence in my riding and i don’t think i would have got back into horses without her. me and my sister rode loads together during lockdown, switching between bonnie and bubbles :) she was also there for me when i wanted to take on another loan horse, a smallish cob called misty, who threw me off quite badly on like my third ride on her and i was terrified to get back on, so i got on bonnie instead and got my confidence back (misty went back to her owner, who then sold her bc he was a professional trainer and even he couldn’t fix whatever was wrong with her lol and she was supposed to be a riding for the disabled horse!!! she was dangerous fr!!!!)

but anyway then i went back to uni and even though my mum kind of wanted to keep bonnie, she wasn’t going to buy her from her owner after all the work and training and money that she put into her and her owner unfortunately really needed the money from a sale (a lot more than the €100 she paid for her…. thanks to the work of literally me and my mum and not bonnie’s actual owner but i digress). I would have bought her myself if i had the money and the time but i don’t live with my parents and the farm is about 1.5 hours drive away and i can’t reasonably ask my mum to look after my horse all the time especially bc she is such a nightmare to handle. and i can’t keep a horse nearer to me, it’s way too expensive and i don’t have the time 💔 but on the plus side i am definitely confident and competent enough for bubbles now (i don’t really ride athena, i wouldn’t get much out of her as i’m nowhere near trained to that level) and it meant i felt really confident on my riding holiday even on a more spicy horse… bc i know i can handle it !!! my mum even admitted yesterday i am “quite a decent rider” and coming from her that means a lot 🥲 ♥️ and i can ride bubbles whenever i visit my parents!! anyway here’s me and my sister on bonnie and bubbles 😁 thank you for reading if you got this far

#deep ezra lore

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brainyrot · 1 year

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ok giving more story to my au because a new chapter dropped for the BaBotqftim fic and i got motivation

As said before, the storyline dosen't change much.

Bendy is still Boris brother, bendy and Boris still go and try to look for the parts for the ink machine, they still befriend alice, holly, cup, mugs and everyone else,

What changes is more of Bendy's feelings, personality and story behind him.

he does not have parents, he used to, but died for a reason unknown. and when his father died, who used to be the previous prince of hell, the devil saw potential in the child and decided to put him in charge.

So basically, a child was put in charge of such big title.

He is supposed to help the devil but as a child who didn't even fully developed yet he can't do much, so he's mainly just watching and getting privileges over others.

to put it short: he got spoiled.

though, for a child, who constantly gets to hear about the surface, it's costumes, and it's people, and sometimes they even get to see it, they get curious.

and bendy, gets very curious, and gets very privileged.

So, at the age of 18, where people told him he could do whatever he wanted because he was old enough to do so (meaning also working as the actual prince of hell) what did he do?

Went to the surface.

Yes, he shouldn't have a problem with it, his job does ask him to be on the surface,

But it certainly doesn't ask him to turn himself in the cute version of himself, make his first deal with a puppy and be his brother both by contract and legally, and SAVE THE WORLD.

yes, it's true he's trying really bad to keep his reputation low and so giving all the credit to everyone else on the team, but everything keeps going downhill,

It's embarrassing to have to work for a puppy and be his brother (while also looking really small and cute.), And then demon puberty (luckily that part is partially saved by his mentor black hat, hates to admit it but he's thankful for the demon's help.) And then he gets the habit of "thank you" and "please" (hurts his pride but has to set an example for the small puppy.) And THEN he befriends an angel AND develops a crush on HER. (which, he honestly dosen't care if she was a demon, a human, an angel, or whatever, it's the fact that he fell in love so EASILY. he's not too fond of romance, he's disgusted by his own feelings he can't suppress.)

And.. he's saving the world?? From this ink illness?? (Yes it is true that he himself is mainly working only for himself, he has the illness and he is his priority, but still...if the demons down there hears it..or worse yet, the DEVIL..)

oh and let's not forget a few details!

he lives most of his time on the surface, and while yes he still goes to hell, he's basically being raised on the surface for how much he stays there.

he has taken a liking to those people in the house with him, he considers them "friends" (weird concept still, especially because they don't ask anything in return, and he stopped asking in return either, but feels nice. Which is WEIRD.)

And all the weirdness of the surface dwellers and surface itself.

but most of all, he is changing.

At first he just didn't care. At all.

Literally, he only cared about himself, he didn't care about demons, he didn't care about ANYONE but himself,

But when he has met that little pup, he has taken someone else in the "i care about that" list.

Then it just grew more and more, until he just stopped being the merciless and spiteful demon he once was?

On some degrees he's still not a good person but man! These people are good at the "i can change him" Game.

it's starting to get him way too much for his own liking and the demons liking.

LUCKILY FOR HIM, for the few of them who knows about this (black hat, raide, ava ect.) He managed to convice them it was just an act. (he's trying to convince himself it is, and that his crush for Alice does not exist.)

For the others he just needs to keep it secret until he can't anymore.

but why does he hide it? Because he's the prince of hell, do you know the scandal if the demon race would find out that he, bendy, the ink demon, the prince of hell, has gotten soft? it would make a chaos.

if it wasn't for that, he wouldn't have cared. But he has to blame his own mindset too, that gets in the way of him accepting his own changes.

We don't talk about how in his head he keeps calling mr.felix "dad"

Little facts:

- bendy is older than he originally is in the fic, he turned 18 when he found Boris, he's in his 20s in the current time (which is still very young for a demon.)

- this means that when he found Boris, not only he had to change his looks, he had to lie about his own age (because his contract was to be the kid's brother not to adopt him, and I'm his head he thought he had to be the kid's playmate.), So now, he's here, being in his 20s in hell, and 18 on the surface.

- he genuinely does not care if Alice is an angel, or better yet, an archangel, it's that he has a CRUSH. In his eyes having a crush and feeling so "funny" about someone makes him feel WEAK and he is disgusted and dissapointed in himself because of it. (And the whole scene where he admits his feelings to Alice does not happen. He rather make a scandal on the surface and go on a date with a guy. (Why do they care so much anyway?))

- at least he knows about own culture, but this time he's completely clueless about the surface, but he does have some informations since he has been with Boris (even though not constantly) for years.

- he knows the basics of course, but it's when he started being on the surface constantly that he noticed he didn't know as much as he thought he did.

He used to practice his thank you and please, and now it's an habit (kinda hates it.), And he even had to study a few words to understand people (why do they say the name of a fruit? Why berries?)

But he's currently way better than before.

- during the cup brothers confession, he also had to say his part, it was way too embarrassing for him to admit, but the puppy said it for him. (He can't believe he had to admit he is here because he said yes to being a kid's brother!)

- Alice and everyone else in the house truly believe bendy can change, and do notice and are happy for the changes that he had. (they don't know he is not as nice as he makes himself be during his time in the surface though.)

Deep down he knows he's only doing all of this out of spite because he thinks it's funny. (Especially when he sees people reactions.)

#fun au #made an au just because #bendy and boris in the inky mystery #babtqftim #prince of hell au #yes a lots of actions he did out of kindness ect in this au he made them mainly for himself #for his own safety and/or because the guy who was messing with him or his friend particularly annoyed him #he got out free from the cirus and didn't help any of his new demon buddies was because he only cared for himself at the moment #and boris #he didn't really care for ava and her brother or the fallen angels #just wanted to get out of there #y'know?

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sneakydraws · 2 years

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HIIIIII THIS IS MY ANALYSIS OF MY OWN GOLDFINCH LYRICSTUCK SET TO ZANIM PÓJDĘ BY HAPPYSAD IT IS HERE IF YOU WANT TO SEE IT

disclaimer i wrote this on my flight without actually looking at the video so translation might not be 100% the same but yknow. Also I wish I could include all the photos in this analysis to make my points clearer but I think even tumblr's new liberal photo limit wouldn't allow that lol ok let's go

How much do I owe you?/how much did you charge me for your friendship?/but once I have given it all back/will you be happy and free, or-

This is kind of the framing device of most of the rest of the song, with the painting being taken and returned by Boris. I'm personally fully obsessed with exploring Boris's guilt and his need to repay Theo for this theft, so the pictures basically drew themselves when I heard these lyrics!!! And this sets up the lyrics being from Boris's pov, which for the most part will stay consistent until the end

Will you be happy and free, or...

Man these are so good for Theo, too good even!!! He's given the painting back - the freedom of the bird being a major theme in EVERY discussion of it - but he is neither happy nor free, because he's trapped by his trauma from the explosion as well as all subsequent miseries, one of which is the internalised homophobia that shines in his relationship to Boris. That's why these lines serve as a transition to their parting, because it weighs heavily on Theo's mind. I originally had an idea to not depict Theo leaving straightforwardly, but rather show teen Theo and Boris in the place of their adult selves -

(a la this scene from revolutionary girl utena, or this other one from kung fu hustle (lol))

- to show that their relationship now is forever marked by the past.

But before I go/ But before I go/ But before I go, I want to tell you that:

Admittedly this complicates the pov because it's still more Boris's lines even though he's not the one leaving - but in a way he is, because unlike Theo who HAS to run away from Vegas he's choosing to stay behind, therefore being the one to abandon Theo and not the other way around... I really like how Boris came out in this shot btw, he's got this really sad and knowing/understanding look because I do love to take Theo's claim - that he knew Theo loved him - at face value. I think it muddles their relationship in an interesting way, to have Boris know about Theo's feelings but basically not act on that knowledge until the very final moment, and of course his knowledge of the painting's whereabouts plays into this too.

Love is no teddy bear or flowers

I play pretty fast and loose with the song line-scene associations. In the song, the narrator is obviously using symbols to describe love, whereas I often use the symbols to literally match the lines to scenes and often make more of a statement that this or that relationship isn't "really" love. I do feel like that's a little unfair, to imply that Theo and Boris's is the only relationship of real love in the story - but, well, artistic license! Anyway, this is Theo's first visit to Pippa's bedside, with all the condolences and get well gifts she's gotten from friends - I put a wilted flower on her table as a reference to the card Theo gets from his grandparents! Anyway, Pippa will come up again and again here because of course she's someone Theo """""loves"""""" where the exact nature of his feelings is more muddied. Theo himself describes it as between love and not love, which I'm extremely confused by. Lol

It's no horned devil, either

I went back and forth on whether or not to include tom cable, but I think it's kind of fitting here, since with only a slight stretch of the imagination you could conceivably call him Theo's first (semi) romantic relationship. And it's a decidedly toxic one, too, with basically all the worst parts of his relationship with Boris and none of the good parts (hence the unflattering devil comparison). And they're kids here because this first verse is all about Theo's life pre-timeskip. In case it wasn't clear, they're on their breaking into people's vacation homes adventures!

Or love, when one cries and the other tramples on them

Felt fitting to include Theo's parents here, since it's generally so easy to carry subconscious ideas about what relationships look like with us into adulthood based on our parents' behaviour. Theo does kind of half heartedly admit Audrey had her flaws, but the overall picture is that of pretty one sided abuse or mistreatment on Larry's part.

Love is no film in no cinema, or roses

I had to include Theo's obsession with old movies somehow! I didn't want to imply that his and Audrey's love for each other wasn't real, so I again tried to go more for a "getting ideas about love from the wrong places" angle. I would've liked to include a film Theo mentions directly - I considered citizen Kane - but he doesn't really bring up romances much :/ a friend suggested Dr no only for me to remember that Dr no is actually very important to the plot in completely different ways lol. So I went with Casablanca instead!

Or kisses, big, small

Pippa again! I love that we get textual confirmation that not only was she Theo's first kiss, but he hadn't even held hands with a girl before lol. In rereading this scene I realised they were still connected by the iPod earphones, which I thought made for a really cool visual... I went with my favourite intense rim lighting as well to make it looks more dramatic B)

But love - when one falls down, the other drags them upwards

THIS was the line that really made me go wild. This drawing was the first one I came up with in the whole project - one of Theo's blackout drunk suicide attempts. The image of Boris dragging him away, taking care of him best he could in those moments - genuinely heartwrenching, as is the fact he never brought it up until prompted years later. Anyway it makes for a real good parallel with the repeat image but I'll talk about that later.

(I actually had to butcher this instrumental section a bit because it was longer than I remembered and I didn't have anything to put on screen so people wouldn't get bored or think it froze or that it's finished ahahaha)

(Apologies, happysad. Hopefully no one noticed)

How much do I owe you?

This is of course their reunion post timeskip - and I had a LOT of alternative sketches for this part, including two takes on the iconic eye thumb brush -

- but the specific moment I was referencing is this line where Boris half seriously asks if Theo wants to hit him.

It's kind of a jokey but secretly vulnerable moment - Theo probably thinks Boris is just worried he might be harbouring resentment about Boris not going with him, which probably seems like a ridiculous idea to Theo - it was so long ago, who cares. But Boris is convinced Theo knows about the painting and is genuinely afraid Theo might be completely furious, even planning revenge.

How much did you charge me for your friendship?

Straightforward - Boris feels guilty and like he has to pay Theo back, and of course dealing with Theo finding out that the painting was swapped at all is something he wasn't prepared for at all. I tried to convey Theo's utter panic and disorientation in this scene with the warped perspective and squiggly text <:3

How much were our words worth

I love the scene where Boris drops off popchyk!!! Love love love it. It really showcases Boris's desperation, his guilt, his earnestness - although its end suggests that he might be putting on a show a little bit! And of course he's always talking, talking, talking, skirting around the topic one moment and drowning Theo in fervent promises the next. It also has a moment of what I believe to be the closest they came to kissing again - when Boris looks at Theo's lips and seems "on the verge of rushing in" with something before Theo's frostiness freezes him out. Btw, most of the antiques in this drawing are based either on items from the historical handiwork exhibit at the National Museum in Kraków (my favourite exhibition, I go see it every time I'm home) or my grandma's crazy kitchen/living room full of antiques!

when we tried it all anew again (x2)

Some instances of Boris clearly falling back on their old camaraderie and habits, and of Theo catching himself almost following suit - first at the engagement party, then during the painting handover.

And btw lemme just say I had way too much fun putting stuff in the foreground in this project lmao, the hands of the negotiators were a particularly fun touch

But before I go

Aaand hard cut to the parting in the car! Again, Theo is technically the one getting to his feet in leaving, but it's Boris who's forcing their separation and urgently trying to get Theo to listen and go.

But before I go

Theo's famous letters, and the infamous nonexistent letter to Boris... I've seen theories that he doesn't write one because he believes Boris to be dead, although my initial (somewhat callous) read is that he simply isn't thinking of Boris in his final moments... I guess I went with the slightly more rose tinted option here, of Theo thinking of Boris, or rather of all the people he's loved in his life.

But before I go, I want to tell you that:

I wanted to convey Boris's desperation - I love that Theo mentions the tears in his eyes! - and Theo's utter disorientation, and I also framed it in a way that kind of suggests a kiss might follow, like in the previous use of this line... But instead we get Boris pushing Theo away, another show of love you could call it.

Love is no teddy bear or flowers

I tried to insert subtle parallels between the repeating lines in the second and first verse! Again we have Pippa, but rather than literal teddy bears there's the piles of objects Theo's compulsively collected for her. She's not even in the frame, because Theo's obsession kind of erases her personhood in favour of, uhh, plastering an image of his dead mother over her

It's no horned devil either

Though this scene is about kitsey on the surface, I welcomed the opportunity to feature cable like in the first verse! Especially since it leads to an interpretation of the scene that puts Theo's feelings about tom alongside, or even over, his feelings for kitsey. It also features reflections just like the line in the first verse! Mamma mia I've outdone myself

Or love, when one cries and the other tramples on them

And here is my absolute favourite narrative parallel - that between Theo and his father, again with the concept of repeating our parent's mistakes and dysfunctional patterns. Especially fitting in this scene because it's one of many where Theo makes the comparison directly himself.

It also again includes a door!

Love is no film in no cinema, or roses

No clever parallel here but I had to include this scene, especially since Pippa and Theo's obsession with her is so important...

Or kisses, big, small

The performative kiss to end all performative kisses! And all these book kisses really make me think of how they're all goodbye kisses. In other words, I am once again thinking about the "all Theo does is leave" post

But love - when one falls down, the other drags them upwards

And the second part of that parallel that struck me hard and basically motivated the making of this lyricstuck! Admittedly it's a bit annoying that this is a film only scene, since I took care to be as book accurate as possible everywhere else, but I simply couldn't not include it... The poetry of Boris saving Theo's life again and again - not by jumping in front of a bullet for him (although he kind of tries to do that, too) but by painstakingly tearing him away from suicide...

That's amore!!!!!!!!!!

Here’s some alternative compositions because I high key STRUGGLED to pick - some were vaguely Pieta inspired which I liked? but in the end I went for a shameless movie redraw lmaooo

#the goldfinch #boreo #tgf spoilers #HERE YOU HAVE IT!!!!! i love writing about my process god damn #feel free to shoot if u have any questions btw i feel like i might have forgotten some stuff

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cloudychao · 6 months

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I introduced a hunger games inspired story for the Bladebreakers and I'm going to dive into the marriage of Kai and Takao. (hinting/brushing over the other details that were in the last post just in case it was not someone's cup of tea). Read the previous post for all those details.

To briefly summarize, Takao and Kai are officially recognize as lovers due to the survival game. This is a marriage that cannot be broken until death.

I love thinking about this so there will be a lot to unpack.

Takao and Kai have to do official marriage ceremonies in both of their countries. Ceremonies are just for show and tradition. They usually have no meaning behind it.

For Kai, his family gives them matching back tattoos and then they are buried under snow afterwards. There is a certain meal they eat too and then they have a grand drinking party since Kai is officially the ex-heir now. They have to sleep in separate rooms.

For Takao, they are blessed by all family members and drink sake. They eat a lot of good food together to ensure they live long together. This is very strict because they have to eat the same foods at the same time. They sleep in the same room, but not together.

Takao is overjoyed at visiting Russia since he has never left Japan before and interested in tattoos since they are not allowed in his family. This is the exception since they are marriage tattoos. Takao does not really like a lot of the foods, but eats it just to please Kai's family. He gets a little homesick because of how badly he is adjusting to Russia. He does not know Russian, Kai's family only know a little bit of Japanese, and Takao cannot speak English too well.

Kai is not happy to see his grandfather and do the ceremony, but wants to enjoy his time with Takao, his cousin Yuriy, and cousin Iwan. Bryan and Sergei accompany them since they are their soulmates (due to the games). He quickly picked up the language barrier with Takao and tries his best to translate.

Yuriy is now the official heir since Kai is marrying an foreigner and he is marrying a Russian like Bryan. This is not common, especially for people close to Hiwatari clan. Tala's blood is the closest to Voltaire which makes him next in line, giving him more enemies than friends.

Takao actually gets along best with Yuriy and Bryan. They call each other by their English names Tyson and Tala, but before they leave, they start calling each other Takao and Yuriy because they get along that well. Bryan only lets Yuriy call him by his actual name and that is only at certain times (like when he's mad lol).

He is visited by his extended family like Brooklyn. Kai never really liked him, but Takao tries to get along with him despite his quirks.

Family friends (who may or may not have weak blood to them) such as the Justice Five, F-Dynasty, BEGA League, Barthez Battalion, the Zagart Family, and Boris. Boris is close to Voltaire (some say they could be having an affair), but he does not work at the main branch often anymore since the children of the main branch started taking on more roles. Yuriy and Iwan do a lot of the jobs now.

Takao gets along with a lot of them pretty well, accidentally having to spend a lot of time with Brooklyn, Mystel, and Garland (much to Kai and Yuriy's displeasure). He is pretty extroverted and did not know how to say no to the 3 powerful people in the family.

Takao really likes hanging out with Zeo, Julia, and Raul, much to Kai's quiet delight because they're the only good other family members. Kai is pretty protective of the 3 since they are often discriminated by other members. Yuriy particularly likes hanging out with this group too if he does not find his cousin Iwan or husband Bryan.

Wow, I talked enough. Next time I will go into how Kai takes in Japan (and ultimately stays there forever).

#bakuten shoot beyblade #beyblade #kai #tyson #tyson granger #takao #takao kinomiya

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horrendous-bisexual-showdown · 1 year

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Poll 8

Chester Wayne Mallory (He/Him) by @liliflower137

Why Should Your OC Win?

Now at first glance Chester seems like he's on top of things. A talented inventor and programmer, a successful streamer, a husband and kids.

But even at the best of times he's an anxiety ridden mess, and while he would never do anything behind his husband's back he's still not immune to swooning over a hothot man

He's terrible at making decisions, his memory is a mess, and his empty nest syndrome is so bad he basically stole a kid once. And on top of everything, his last name means "an unfortunate person"

Plus there was that time he got trapped in a video game while live on twitch and died like 3 times. So embarassing.

Why not give him a win? He could use the self confidence boost!

What is Your OC Like?

Chester Mallory is a kind very family oriented man who gets attacked to people quickly. He tends to show his love through offering food, so his friends often have fridges full of his leftover spicy noodles.

His entire extended family consists of serial adopters, so his family reunions consists of lots and lots of found families

He lost his right arm in a terrible accident but taught himself to build his own prosthetic purely because he thinks the industry around prosthetics is bullshit

His friends tend to get pretty chaotic which usually leads to him playing the straight man and having to go take a nap after, but he still loves them more than anything, and would do anything to protect them all, especially his best buddies Boris and Malcom.

If you'd like to read about him, his story is "Something New" in the Hlvrai tag of ao3! His AU is called eternal stream! (The picture of him was drawn by @year2000electronics)

Maud (They/She) by @laikacore

Why Should Your OC Win?

they're so lame, they thought too much with angry mountain lion hormones in their body and convinced themself that they ruined their chances with the two girls they wanted to date but hadn't even spoken to them at all during that time since they were trapped in different areas of the magical forest they got lost in

What is Your OC Like?

Maud had no friends until she met Liza and Diamond in their sophomore year of high school and spent every waking moment together, becoming fast friends and going on an impromptu, secret road trip out into the guts of rural Ontario. They didn't tell their families, just vanished one day, and people only figured out where they were from their blog posts about the road trip. Maud did actually tell the two kids she babysits though, because she hates lying, and they told their parents but nobody believed them because they're kids. On their trip, they came across a town they'd never heard of, and one night sleeping in Diamond's Jeep, Maud disappeared: they had been turned into a mountain lion and chosen to take revenge upon the cottage construction company taking over the lakeside wilderness. Even though the other two girls were trapped in another place in the woods and had no contact with them, Maud's feelings for them crossed with the righteous and ancient anger in their new body and managed to convince them that they hated the girls and that the girls hated them too. They assumed this entire thing was a plot to separate them and leave them behind, which fueled their rage against the settling humans, and deepened the transformation spell's hold on them. When they were finally given back their body and reunited with their friends, they were surprised that they didn't hate them, but still too nervous to confess their feelings.

#round 2 #polls #Chester Wayne Mallory #Maud

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angelofthepage · 11 months

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24 Bendy Questions/Opinions!

So user BeninjaLIVE over on Twitter has this Bendy thread happening that asks a bunch of opinion questions, and you know what? I'm feeling a little playful tonight, so we're gonna answer them here. If you didn't have a baseline of where I stand as a Bendy fan before, well here you go!

1. Which is your favorite game? feel free to say any of the unreleased ones too!

See this is already hard. XD I really love the original BATIM for its story and characters, definitely my favorite story, but I've enjoyed the experience of Dark Revival a ton too. I've probably been exposed to it more times as a result of friends casually booting it up to play in calls, and the fan service for the original was great, Chapter 4 still breaks my heart. But I am a lot harder on its storytelling since, I don't think it did as good of a job as Ink Machine, especially in terms of how fleshed out its characters were. So I guess, Dark Revival for overall experience.

2. out of all the games, Which Character is your favorite?

I think my answer is still a tie between Sammy and Malice. XD They are my beloveds.

3. Which character installs the most fear / is the most horrific?

That depends on the context! From a gameplay perspective? Carley scares the crap out of me (I love you ghost girl, I want to give you a cookie, even though you're mean to us). From a writing perspective? The ink demon is pretty horrifying both in that he's this terrifying monster and was horribly mistreated within his backstory. A victim turned predator.

4. If you were in charge of directing the new Bendy game, what would change? (new features, new characters, changed gameplay, etc)

This is a dangerous question to ask me. X'''D I would put more focus on story and have more time spent with characters so that we get to know them and care about them a bit more. If we're specifically talking about The Cage, I want more of Sammy and Joey (and Boris, I would kill for a Boris reunion). I want to get to know them (if we're continuing the "Joey Drew learning to be a better person arc" I want him to try and be kinder to Henry and mess it up in his own Joey way). I want to know Henry's feelings about what he's going through. But most importantly, I would be putting Archie Carter, Evan, Buddy Lewek, Constance Gray, and/or Abby Lambert in this game. It doesn't have to be big, but for the love of all that is good and Bendy, PLEASE give us a book character cameo in this game, I beg of thee Meatly! We literally just had a book release involving a ton of Gent stuff, please give us an audiolog from one of these guys while going through the horrors of it, I would be SO HYPED for that!

5. What is your LEAST Favorite Character

This is the silliest thing, but there's only one Bendy character I actively dislike, and it's that puppet in the mop bucket from the prologue of BATDR. That thing creeps me out. I'm so sorry. ^^''''

6. smash or pass the ink demon

Neither, I'm extremely ace and not here for smashing, but I'm not passing up on interacting with him. I'm instead inviting him over for some cookies and hot cocoa.

7. Opinions on Bendy and the Dark Revival? this goes for gameplay, lore, characters, everything.

Already covered this one earlier, but to reiterate, I like it! I just wish we spent more time with the characters. I do have some issues with the way the story was handled. As much as I loved Chapter 4, I do kind of wish we got the reveal that Audrey was the daughter of Drew sooner, or at the very least, gave her more time/scenes to grapple with it. Because love the ending as I might, Joey's speech about her being born of darkness just, doesn't hit for me when she doesn't seem to feel that way about herself at any point? Like we see her struggle with it once and then never again, it needed some more build up and punch. But overall? I loved it. I loved this cast, I love the atmosphere and locations, I loved the expansion of the ink demon's character, Memory Joey was a hit despite doing some things that kind of lessen the horror of the previous game, and Twisted Alice, as nonsensical as her plan was, was such a treat, I was so glad to have her back and have her be such a menace. XD

8. Do you have high hopes for any new bendy games? (mainly Bendy - The Cage)

I have a reasonable level of optimism and curiosity! I'm sure it'll be an interesting entry. Curious how they'll handle more disturbing horror after how disturbing the last game was. I'm trying not to expect too much, going in with fewer expectations makes for a better experience for me personally.

9. How did you feel about BATIM's ending when it first came out?

Mostly confused, but really excited that Henry didn't die. X'''D No joke, when Chapter 5 first came out, I was so freaking anxious about what was gonna happen. A friend got on call and watched a playthrough with me so I didn't like lose my entire cool. X'''D Still one of my fondest memories in this fandom. The ending wasn't everything I hoped for, but I still appreciate it and the rest of Chapter 5 as a result of the experiences I had with friends during it.

10. looking back on it now, how do you feel about Chapter 3 of BATIM?

When the original came out, it needed some balance and bug testing badly. But in its current state? It's not as bad as people make it out to be, but it is tedious. I get so lost in it as someone who's directionally challenged, but like, -gestures at Malice- my GIRL! How can I not enjoy it at least a little when my queen is right there giving some of the best and most informative dialogue of any character in the game?

11. if you could change / improve ONE THING about Bendy and the ink machine (the singular game) , What would it be?

This is going to sound ridiculous, but I would want it to have some gyroscopic control on the Switch port. I'm sorry gamers, I don't know how you play games where you have to aim with the analog sticks, I can't do it, I'm so bad at it. X'''D I use motion controls for stuff like aiming my view in Splatoon, give me that as Henry and I will be unstoppable.

12. Opinions of MAlice Angel / Corrupted Susie Campbell?

She is everything, she is the moment, she is my beloved, and I want to bake for her and tell her she's beautiful, because she IS! She was such a fun antagonist and I want more of her backstory! Like she has been an enjoyable part of every game she's been in. Boris and the Dark Survival with the Milla Tapes? Underrated Alice moment, she was GREAT there.

13. Do you think Sammy dying, and THEN coming back was good or bad?

I don't think I can classify it as good or bad, but I did enjoy it! Like hey, ink creatures don't necessarily stay permanently dead, and they can have some really interesting mental things happening when reforming, that was cool world building! And then when we got to see under the mask, and he's ready to kill us? Oh MAN, oh that was a thrill. Would not trade that brief Sammy boss fight for anything, that's my GUY right there!

14. On a Scale of One to Ten, how convoluted do you thing Bendy's lore as of Present Day?

Eh, gonna roll with the devil's number and say a 6.6. It's not that bad. BATDR convoluted it more than BATIM did, and there are some book moments that puzzle me, but it overall? It's workable, and I only drive myself a tiny bit nuts over it (I say as I've been going "NOTHING IS TRUE THE CANON IS A LIE" for like two weeks trying to assemble a series timeline and classify ink creatures).

15. Opinions / on a scale of 1-10 on the Bendy Books?

Dreams Come to Life - 7/10, needed more clarity in parts, had some good moments with returning characters, Dot we love you, JACOB WE LOVE YOU

The Lost Ones - 7/10, was a little weird not seeing most of our studio cast and being so far removed from the studio itself, but it's an enjoyable read, really liked our new characters and swapping perspective, living for that Wally intro, and I have a lot of questions about what ink can do to your brain and Tom's mental state in 1946

Fade to Black - 9/10, by far my favorite, great balance of old and new, Joey Drew was DELIGHTFULLY UNHINGED (something something that's the Joey I knew), Rose was fun, Evan was fun, DOT HI I MISSED YOU, Archie Carter was THE BIGGEST SURPRISE and I ADORE HIM, never thought we'd get a YouTuber cameo audiolog character as a MAJOR PART of a book, Wilson was a treat, and the studio sections of this one destroy me, I love it love it love it

The Illusion of Living - 7/10, the greatest Joey Drew character study to ever exist, which is great but difficult to read when he jumps all over the place and rambles about who knows what for pages at a time, offered some really great moments that I can't imagine the series without, and it solidified my love of Abby, please give Abby a spot in the games, this book made it very clear she is important to the Joey and Henry backstory, and I am so frustrated that we have not referenced her ONCE in these games when she's one, the head of the art department, and two, the one with the braincell of this trio, also Detective Sinclair's murder mystery was fun, I didn't know I would enjoy that genre so much, also Sammy and Jack were GREAT in this book

Employee Handbook (the original) 6/10 - It's a game guide mostly, but I go back to this thing often since it's one of the few things in the series that ACTUALLY GIVES US DATES for when things happened.

16. Opinions / on a scale of 1-10 on the Crack up Comics?

Crack Up Comics is a solid 9/10 for me, it was genuinely fun to read. Sucks that so many comics got spoiled for me on Twitter (much like the ending of DCTL, still sore about that), but the art is really cute, there's a small bit of lore, and the characters are written in such a fun way. Bendy you little scamp, I love you. Hindsight being what it is, I'm still a bit sore there was no cameo appearance for Carley in this book, and I feel the same way about all the toons from this book not appearing anywhere in Dark Revival. What is the point of having fun cartoon characters if they're not at least making a small appearance on a wall poster or something? That is such a missed opportunity.

17. Best Toon Character? (Out of Bendy, Boris, and Alice)

Alice, by far. Don't get me wrong, I love Bendy and Boris too, but Alice has such a fun character, especially in the comics, I LOVED her.

17 (2). Best Butcher Gang Member? (toon)

Edgar. I've warmed up to Charley a lot over the years, but Edgar is my baby boy, I want to hold him and squeeze him and love him, he's so SWEET.

18. Not a question; but SHOW US YOUR / AN OC!! FEEL FREE TO LORE DUMP !!

So hiiii, this is my girl Bella Ewe, a young woman who got roped into Joey's shenanigans as an apprentice animator (after he accidentally broke her leg), and accidentally ends up in the cycle. She gets sacrificed by Sammy, ends up as a searcher that steadily evolves, he has regrets about it, and now with Jack, they're working as a trio called The Shepherds to try and help break the narrative that everyone's been forced to play a part in. Her dive ability allows her to plunge into the depths of the ink, where she talks to people to try and help them regain their humanity. She goes from timid and hopeless to fiery and surrounded by found family, and she is my beloved sheepy daughter.

19. Best Human Character? (Out of Henry, Joey, Audrey, Wilson)

Oooh, that's hard. I'm gonna have to say Joey. I love Henry and Audrey, but the two of them don't get a lot of characterization. Joey however, we get to know him throughout multiple stages of his life AND an inky memory of him, and all of them are such a fun time to explore.

19 (2). Best Human Character? (Out of Wally, Nathan, Sammy, and Bertrum)

Okay that's not fair. X'''D Sammy is my favorite, I love his human iteration just as much as I love his inky one, but Wally is also high up there. He's a fun comedic relief.

20. Best Inked Creature? (Out of the ink demon, Malice, Sammy, and Buddy Boris)

This also isn't fair, how dare you make me pick between my wife and my husband. X'''D But I'm gonna have to say Alice. She's got the more compelling story, but Sammy is also really good as our first introduction to what can happen to a human tainted by ink, he's the one that pulled me into liking Bendy in the first place.

20 (2). Best Inked Creature? (Out of Shipahoy Dudley, Lost Ones/Searchers, Allison, and Tom Boris)

This is hard, but I think I'm gonna say Searchers and Lost Ones. Back when BATIM Chapter 4 dropped, you know that part where that one Lost One goes "when can we go home" and then you open the door to see a room FULL OF THEM? Shivering and miserable? That broke me, I just kept whispering "I'm sorry" as we went through there. (Also Porter and Heidi are great, I hope we see them again someday.)

21. Whats the best ink demon variant?

BATDR, hands down. He is a much more intimidating monster, the voice gives me chills (thank you Sean), I can't get over his silly little hooves, he's great. Still love all the others though, they're good in their own ways.

22. The Better gloves? three lines or two dots?

I prefer the two dots for Bendy, but it doesn't really matter. Alice got infinitely cooler gloves, I'm sorry. X'''D

23. Did you prefer Wally being Boris, or Buddy being Boris?

I'm a Buddy Boris kind of gal. Buddy stole my heart in the books, and I love him a lot. That said, I think they both have merit, and I can appreciate fan content that explores both of these options. When the original game was in development, and Wally and Boris were the characters that were left, all the others we could make pretty reliable guesses about the fates on, so him being Boris was a process of elimination theory that people tried to justify with details like him knowing his way around the vent system. And it would have been so sad as a twist since his whole thing was "I'm outta here," him not getting out would be the unfortunate punchline. I get why it was popular, and like I said, I enjoy a number of fan works that use it. But I won't lie, it didn't ever feel like that was the canon for me, not enough information to back it up. I mean Buddy has a similar problem, but at least we know he's a Boris. Whether or not he's Henry's Boris friend is the inconclusive part. Regardless of canon, that's how I write him at least.

24. Did you like Joey being inky or the newer lore?

I'm not sure what this is asking, but I get the sense this has to do with the old theories about Joey being the Ink Demon vs. what we have now with Memory Joey and the human Joey being dead? I'm okay with it to be honest. Would I have liked Joey to be the big bad that also suffers as a monster for his crimes against his co-workers? Yes, that would be very satisfying. But I think in a lot of ways, his current lore can still be satisfying too. It's no secret that I have some mixed feelings about his slideshow presentation, but let's reiterate for anyone who doesn't know me, because I think it ties into this in an important way.

I struggle with the decision to change the lore for Henry and Allison, and it affects my feelings about Joey. Memory Joey is a great character, he's a Joey Drew that's trying to be a better person, and that's what I like about him. He's imperfect, because he's a Joey and Joey is far from perfect, he's going to make mistakes and botch things up, but he's trying. He cares about Audrey, he's trying to help her through the studio without overstepping the boundaries, because again, he's still figuring out this whole "being a better person" thing. And ultimately, that was what endeared me to him. You don't need to change the lore of the previous games to give Joey Drew a redemption arc. All we needed was Joey choosing to try and be better. It doesn't erase his sins and all the bad stuff he did along the way, it doesn't change how he treated people, it doesn't change the literal murder and chaos he caused, the lives he ruined. And it shouldn't. Redemption arcs aren't about a character being forgiven or given a pass, they're about a character choosing to be better regardless of how the world sees them, and that's what's SO POWERFUL about Memory Joey! Joey Drew in life was so concerned with how the world saw him at several stages, so much time is spent being stuck in the past, despite his insistence that he doesn't want to think about the past. And finally we have an iteration of him that has tried to move past what he was before, and I am SO PROUD OF HIM!

That was all we needed, we did not need Henry and Allison being clones to soften his crimes. That does not help with Joey's redemption arc, in some ways it kind of cheapens it for me. Instead it has caused more confusion on whether or not ink creatures require a soul, lessens the horror of the original BATIM for Henry's characterization, brings about SEVERAL questions about who is and isn't a clone now (looking at you Tom), and just like, it's been really weird when it comes to Joey's murder and victim count. Like, the guy has been responsible for multiple deaths in BATIM and the books, why are we deciding now that these two aren't part of that? Also the one note about the ink children that came before Audrey, that is also a can of worms and I'm very exhausted thinking about it.

Overall, I like Joey as he is now. As stated before, I think Fade to Black has some of the best Joey writing in the entire series (as does TIOL, even if it was a bit of a slog to get through). I like Memory Joey a lot, I mean I wouldn't have made a doll of him if I didn't. X'''D He's alright.

Thank you for these wonderful questions! You guys, if you made it to the end and wanna go engage with the original, here's the link one more time, just so you don't have to scroll to the top. XD Have fun.

#bendy and the dark revival #batdr #batim #bendy and the ink machine #bendy books #bendy fade to black #bendy fade to black spoilers #bendy ftb #bendy ftb spoilers #ftb #bendy theories #bendy questions #memory joey #bendy opinions

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ask-lock-shock-and-barrel · 2 years

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im already loving barrel's mom and dad so much, can you tell us more about them, like names?

((Yeah!

Barrel's mom is named Aurora, their dad is named Boris, and they both love(d) their little glowpup so dearly.

Aurora was, like in Barrel's story, a Northern Lights spirit they're sort of a 'cryptid' of the Christmas realm where they're sort of fascinating but unsettling, and their presence in any other realm would almost feel like interacting with a space alien. They're thousands-year old creatures that are regarded as super mystical and elusive by lorekeepers of the Christmas realm. With a few exceptions, they almost all lack vocal chords so they do not speak, or sing, and communicate through astral pictures in light. Most are pretty aloof in nature, and mostly driven to fulfill their purpose to create the lights with other celestial forces, but Aurora got bored of this lifestyle and got curious about other civilizations and after some very embarrassing and awkward first visit into Christmas Town, she decided to go explore new frontiers and wandered into the grove with the holiday trees, randomly choosing the Pumpkin Door, since it contained a non-winter color. After some exploring and scaring people with her complete lack of social cues (including thinking flipping people off is a gesture of kind greeting), she came across a small woodland commune gathering for a music show, and met Boris who chickened out of playing in the show out of anxiety, and innocently followed him home without his knowing and accidentally scared the bejeezus out of him. He had to sort of give her refreshers on social cues (as much as he could), but they bonded very quickly over their nonverbal communication tactics being fascinating and new to each other (Aurora was so excited to learn sign language), how each other was so strange and new to the other, and love of music. She was very sweet and a bit in the clouds, and had a goofy sense of humor that Barrel inherited from her, on top of her powers of astral projection, which has affected Barrel's dreams and inherited transformation skills as a werewolf. Up to this point, Barrel has been classified as a ghoul purely because they had no idea what the hell they were aside from half werewolf.

Boris, a werewolf, was unable to talk either from a very young age, possibly even at birth, and used sign language to communicate with his family. A lot of werewolves are nomadic by nature, which resulted in Boris sometimes feeling pretty isolated, and he also struggled to make friends. Once he became self sufficient, he decided to live in the woods independently, away from the busy city, and found peace and quiet in a small community of nomads. He was very warm and lighthearted around Aurora, and shied around strangers, who usually shied away from him first anyway because of his tall stature and looming silent presence. Aurora found him fascinating, and the first kind face she'd met anywhere, and they both became enamored with each other, blossoming into a romance, of which eventually resulted in the birth a certain trick or treater.

...I don't have much to say here except goddamn isn't Barrel just so cute.

Anyway, Barrel was about a year and a half old when a wildfire of mysterious origin tore through their little home and while Boris and Aurora were able to shelter Barrel from the flames, they both perished, and their spirits traveled to the dream realm together in a desperate bid to keep close watch on their baby.

Barrel was far too little to fully process the circumstances, but deeply affected by the feeling of loss in their heart, becoming achingly lonely. It was only after almost a year of surviving alone that Barrel would meet a new face and a new brother.))

#tnbc #tnbc fanart #blog lore #the nightmare before christmas #tnbc oc: barrel's parents #tnbc barrel #lock shock and barrel #answered qs

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aurorasilverthorne · 2 years

Text

Bailey School Kids Headcanons and Theories:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1: Madame Hauntly was the wife of the farmer Edwardo in the story that she tells Ben, Jane and Annie in "Vampire Trouble". This also means she is the mother of his six children and that Vlad, who tried to steal the farmer's land and wife, was probably Vlad the Impaler.

2. Mrs. Jeepers fell in love with a human, but he died, and she keeps all his favorite books in that box in the basement of the old Clancy Estate to have something that reminds her of him. I believe her husband knew that she was a vampiress and that's why he gave her the bat bracelet as a way to reassure her that her secret was safe with him. I think that is what Mrs. Jeepers meant in "Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots" when she told Eddie and the others that she feels like her husband is still with her at times despite his death.

3. Madame Hauntly and her children are capable of walking around in daylight because a) she's a very old vampiress which means she's super powerful and b) her children are half human, so the sun doesn't have as much of an effect on them, though Mrs. Jeepers still uses her brooch to increase her own power and it also serves as added protection from the sun.

4. Mr. Drake is Mrs. Jeepers' and Boris' brother and the dad of Kilmer's cousin in "Vampire Baby".

5. Grandpa Vamps is Mrs. Jeepers' uncle or grandfather in the story "Mrs. Jeepers' Creepy Christmas". She called him in to get Eddie interested in reading as the boy was being stubborn and kept refusing to cooperate with her.

6. Most of the adults the children think are monsters are normal humans trying to live their lives. However, Mrs. Jeepers and her Hauntly relatives are in fact vampires and monsters, but don't pose a threat to the people of Bailey City as they are kind and caring towards their neighbors and have not harmed anyone since their arrival as far as we know. The other legit monsters include leprechauns as it was implied in "Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball" that Mrs. Jeepers' was in fact the vampiress teacher who stole the brooch from the leprechaun king.

7. Mrs. Jeepers can't have children of her own maybe because of a health issue, but she loves children, so she became a school teacher to be around them, and to nurture and satisfy her own maternal instinct. She wants all of her students to succeed and to be safe which is why she's so strict with them and won't give Eddie attention when he acts up in class or during field trips. She refuses to reward his negative behavior which is why she reprimands him with extra work or chores when he misbehaves.

8. Eddie knows Mrs. Jeepers is a vampire because she showed her fangs when she dragged him into the hall to talk about his bad behavior in the first book "Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots". That's why he won't tell his friends what happened. She likely warned him to be quiet and to quit misbehaving, but he realized in time that she wouldn't actually hurt him, so he kept acting up despite the fact that she was an actual vampire and he still feared her to some extent. Eddie knew she wouldn't harm anyone so he pushed his luck and she had to keep him in line until he moved up into fourth grade.

9. Mrs. Jeepers and her family continued to protect and watch over all her students well into their adult years. She and the Hauntlys stayed in Bailey City a) until residents began to notice they weren't aging and they had to move to another place to start again or b) her ex-students realized what they were, but chose to keep their secret so they could remain in Bailey City teaching and befriending the future generations of their families.

#horror #adventure #mystery #bailey school kids #mrs. jeepers #vampire #fan theory #headcanon

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zeciex · 8 months

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I think that because of your story I am team green, your way of capturing Aemond and the entire family plot makes me empathize with them much more than with Daemon and Rhaenyra... what's wrong WITH ME

Its weird because I'm team Black!!! I support Rhaenyra's rights and wrongs lol

I think its because we've spend so much time with the characters (mostly Aemond) from team green in the story. I empathize with the green characters, and understand their characters and why they are the way they are.

But I also extend the same empathy to team Black. In this story, Rhaenyra has taken a step back from the political intrigue to raise her family on Dragonstone. She's a bit like her father in her avoidance of things that really shouldn't be avoided. And Daemon is just preparing for the inevitable. Daenera is send to KL because he trusts her and trust that she will prepare things for when Rhaenyra decide to step up and take a more political role. He didn't expect Daenera to get in the trouble she got in with Aemond, and when he heard that she had fucked up by giving Aemond her maidenhead (ammo for ruining her), he did what he thought was best and had her betrothed to Boris.

Of course, that was to save Daenera's ass from rumors of ruin, but it was also pragmatic-- a two birds one stone kind of thing. Daemon put a lot of expectations on Daenera, and he does love her, but he also sees her as a pawn he can use. And perhaps, he should have eased up on her, but he didn't.

Daemon is a character who sees things as black and white, either you're a friend or you're an enemy. There's a hard line that shouldn't be crossed, and he will react poorly if it is. But he's also very protective of those that he loves, of Rhaenyra especially, of his brother, of his children. Daenera may think that he doesn't consider her his, but he does-- he just expects more of her than the others (mostly also because we haven't really seen his relationship with his children) And I'm 100% sure that he would have flown to KL and cut Boris down had he known of the abuse, but Daenera was afraid he wouldn't and she was afraid of disappointing him.

I like team black and we will see more of them when ep 10 comes around for the story; we'll get to hop into both Rhaenyra and Daemon's head, and see how they handle things.

Strangely a lot of readers dislike Rhaenyra and Daemon in this story, which is not what I at all intended. Some of their actions are misconstrued into something I never intended it to be, but that's how writing is sometimes. And I think a lot of it comes from the fact that we haven't seen a lot of them, and that they've been away when major things happen/we've only seen them through Daenera's view and its inherently biased; she's a girl who doesn't want to worry her parents and don't want to disappoint them. And honestly, the reason why I've had them separated this much (like them not attending the wedding/funeral) was because it would trigger scenes too early or screw up the timeline.

This was far longer than you properly expected, sorry for that! But hey!! I'm very happy you're enjoying the story and that you might have gotten another point of view <3

#ask & answer #a vow of blood

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chaosincurate · 1 year

Text

The Bigotry and other evils of The Monster Mash By Bobby "Boris" Pickett

I've been listening to a lot of Bobby "Boris" Pickett lately, and I gotta say, the Monster Mash lore is fascinating, yet despicable, like a good true crime story. There is a lot of very compelling lore to the universe of The Monster Mash, but be warned, it is quite revolting and will likely irreparably damage your perception of Bobby "Boris" Pickett. No longer can I view him, as billion's of others around the world do, as a relatively noble entertainer, worthy of his success.

For those who are unshaken by such a warning, you may proceed, albeit with some caution, but for those who don't think they can take such a painful, earth-shattering revelation, turn back now. There is no shame in knowing your limits.

So the first awful act occurs in the hit song Monster Mash from the 1962 album The Original Monster Mash, it is established that Bobby "Boris" Pickett is not the creator of the dance, but the creator of the monster (Igor) that made the mash, which was actually plagiarised from Dracula's Transylvania Twist: "What ever happened to my Transylvania Twist? // (Its now the mash)".

Considering the fact that Dracula was reported to be "part of the band" at the end of Monster Mash (no doubt as an inferior form of hush money), you may believe that Drac and Bobby "Boris" Pickett are on good terms. There is still tension, albeit one-way, present on next track Rabian - The Fiendage Idol however, as Dracula politely asks the famous thief for a favour: to give his friend Rabian an opportunity to show his worth and hopefully collaborate. Bobby "Boris" Pickett responds with his soon-to-be characteristic egotistical response, lamenting that since he had a hit record and "made all this bread" his monsters have been asking for favours from their selfish master. He then hits Drac with another "bl**d-s*cker" slur as he relents and gives Rabian a chance. After being impressed he threatens to gentrify Rabians image and condescendingly sends him away with a "don't call us we'll call you". Horrific behavior.

What ever happened to my Transylvania Twist?

(Its now the mash)

Blood Bank Blues is performed by unproblematic king Dracula, so it is relatively controversy-free to begin with, as he simply opens up about the challenges of vampirism, but Bobby "Boris" Pickett refuses to give up his spotlight for even a single song, so he does make an appearance in which he threatens to singe Dracula's wings. Dracula, who is rightfully upset but still displaying his famous composure, shares with the world via Bobby "Boris" Pickett's own album, that "[Bobby] "Boris" [Pickett] put a stake in my girl's heart", which, given his blatant racism towards vampires throughout the record is undoubtedly a hate crime.

Then the album explores another aspect of Bobby "Boris" Pickett's cruelty, as he forces Igor into work in Graveyard Shift. It isn't clear whether Igor (or any other monster that is confirmed to be working for Bobby "Boris" Pickett in this song) is getting paid, but given they are in a band with a very successful hit song and Igor expresses anxiety around the idea, it isn't much of a stretch to assume that this is at least some form of exploitation.

Next song Skully Gully is frankly hard for me to dissect. I feel as though there is some skelephobia here, but I'm honestly not well educated enough on this topic to expose it. If there are any skeletons reading this, I'd love to hear your perspective on this song if you'd be willing to share.

More monsterism follows as the album reaches Wolfbane, a song in which Bobby "Boris" Pickett spouts every anti-werewolf stereotype going, from the notion that werewolfs only want to "chew people up", to the infantilising idea that they just want to play but can't keep themselves from getting carried away. Not just that though, he ridicules the features of werewolves and depicts them as ugly and undesirable, criticizes their clothes for not being "continental", and makes the assumption that a werewolf is related to the only other werewolf he is known to have interacted with at this point, Rabian. And while we are on the topic of Rabian, this song surely retrospectively casts some light on Bobby "Boris" Pickett's treatment of him in his eponymous song. It felt like there was something off about that, and I think this is why.

This next one gets ugly. Real ugly. Monster Minuet opens with what seems to be Bobby "Boris" Pickett apologetically reaching out to Dracula by giving him and his wife a warm welcome to the former's party, but things quickly spiral out of control. Natural charmer Count Dracula then compliments the "ladies in waiting", calling them "beautiful", to which an endlessly despicable Bobby "Boris" Pickett interjects referring to them as "slimy old ghouls". The discomfort continues as Bobby "Boris" Pickett asks Vampyra for "the pleasure of this minuet", which neither Vampyra nor Dracula feel very comfortable with, judging from the Countess' silence (not to mention the fact that Bobby "Boris" Pickett is reported to have tried to kill her) and Dracula's protestations.

Admittedly, Dracula didn't need to make things as tense as he did with his comment "There could hardly be any pleasure dancing with you", but his being on edge is totally justified considering the host's previous behaviour, which he was all too willing to revisit as he responds with a slur, biting back with "who asked you, f*ng-f*ce?"

The creaturism continues with Bobby "Boris" Pickett going after the fact that Dracula sleeps all day (a natural result of being biologically unable to leave the house in the daytime), and reusing his favourite ant-vampiric slur "bl**d-s*cker", and the "song" eventually ends with Bobby "Boris" Pickett referring to Countess Vampyra as a "snaggle-toothed bag of bones". A disgusting display of bigotry all round from Bobby "Boris" Pickett on this one. It's a very difficult listen.

The next song is a defiant instrumental from Dracula, the long awaited redebut of Transylvania Twist. Bobby "Boris" Pickett tries to deny its boppiness, but by the end even he has to admit "its a rocker!" It's not much, but it's good to see the true creative genius of the album get a win, despite such a powerful man trying to keep him down.

The record doesn't stay positive for long though, as Bobby "Boris" Pickett shamelessly pens a song with a thinly-veiled dancing metaphor for killing his workers, in particular Yanwish the Ghoul, as both a form of punishment for minor failings and just for sadistic fun. This is truly a whole new level of evil from Bobby "Boris" Pickett. Of course, we know that he attempted to murder Countess Vampyra in a hate crime, but this song displays such a shamelessness and lack of accountability that it terrifies anyone who cares about any of these workers.

Me & My Mummy is worth a brief mention, as Bobby "Boris" Pickett adds nuance to his character with an anthem about loving, and being attracted to those who aren't conventionally attractive. He still manages to be a bigot about it, but this is at least some growth that warrants a mention. If he keeps this progress up for a millennium he may not be a despicable person.

Unproblematic king Count Dracula returns to demonstrate true leadership credentials in contrast to Bobby "Boris" Pickett's totalitarian approach. He continues to innovate as Bobby "Boris" Pickett continues to rest on his laurels after the success of Monster Mash, with Drac flying out to Transylvania to work out a new dance, The Monster Motion. He consistently provides calm, constructive criticism as he works out the kinks of their new project. Yet another win against the odds from the hero of this story.

In the next song, The Monsters' Mash Party Frankenstein, here nicknamed "Frankie", opens the song by begging to be unchained so that he can Mash. Bobby "Boris" Pickett cruelly refuses to free him in a harrowing opening to another despicable song. It doesn't end there though, as Bobby "Boris" Pickett in the next verse greets Drac's statement of preference for his own people's dance with a condescending and hateful "Who asked you, bl**ds*cker?", the third instance of that slur in the album, and fourth anti-vampiric slur out the mouth of Bobby "Boris" Pickett by my count.

The next song is Irresistible Igor, which expresses very minor evils compared to the rest of the awful behaviour on display in this album. Bobby "Boris" Pickett takes a shot at Igor's looks, while praising his ability to break hearts, by seemingly leading women on for one night stands and then ghosting them. A cruel thing to do, for sure, but not particularly noteworthy amongst so much immorality.

In the next song Bella's Bash, he continues to berate and slander Dracula while again taking credit for a dance that Igor stole from Dracula,

After that, he then appears to visit Dracula, who is also apparently having a party, and judgementally asks to see his dance, which it appears he has had to modify since the original was robbed, decredited and sold to widespread acclaim. To make matters worse, Bobby "Boris" Pickett chooses to judge Drac's new dance (as a wrongfully respected choreographer) in front of Dracula's own children. Then he disrespects his dance by claiming that its not accessible to people outside of his creature group and is supposedly therefore inferior, contributing to a general theme in this album of Bobby "Boris" Pickett being in favour of total cultural assimilation.

Hope they didn't bring Drac, he's no friend of mine

His jealousy is widely known

Doesn't dig my Mash he's got a dance of his own

Also, for those keeping count, there is yet another use of the bl**ds*cker slur from Bobby "Boris" Pickett in this track.

Trigger warning on this next song for non-consensual pornography. Bobby "Boris" Pickett continues to demonstrate his exploitation of his spooky subjects, and particular bullying of Dracula as the next "song" on the album Let's Fly Away appears to be a recording of Dracula making love to Vampyra, likely without their consent, with them moaning each other's names.

Thankfully, the album comes to a close now with Monster's Holiday. It starts as an act of resistance against discrimination from Santa, who presumably ignored them up until that point. To retaliate, the monsters planned to rob Santa's sleigh, but as they were about to act on it, Santa actually gave them gifts, putting an end to that particular form of discrimination. It's nice to have the album end on such a hopeful note, following such an inundation of bigotry and harm.

So basically *The Original Monster Mash* is the best concept album ever made, with complex storytelling on display, with the clearest example of subversive writing being that of the evil protagonist Bobby "Boris" Pickett. 10/10 must listen

#chaosincurate #halloween #happy halloweeeeeeen #music #music essay

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sapphire-strikes · 4 years

Note

Could your write something about Boris trying to cheer up a FK who just isn't having it. They're in the middle of working on something and keep politely brushing him off when he tries anything despite obviously being very tired and fed up with whatever they're focusing on. (Perhaps with a guest appearance by tickle monster Boris to help them come around?)

Just a whole bunch of fluff.

Kamal: {Hey, bud, you home yet?}

Boris: {Nopey nope! I was just closing up shop! :-D }

Kamal: {Alright, just thought I'd tell you the kid is gonna be there when you get back. Their wi-fi's down so they asked if they could come over and use ours}

Boris: {That is great news thank you, Kamal!}

Kamal: {I'm assuming you don't mean great that their internet's down, lol}

{I'm sure you're happy to have them over but they're there to work on something so try not to distract them too much okay?}

{...}

{Boris?}

{Boris!}

{Well it's not like I didn't try}

Quickly tucking away his phone, Boris made haste to finish his closing duties. You'd mentioned not being able to walk him home from the shop today so whatever you were working on must have been the "business" that you had to take care of. It seemed your friendship really was meant to be because even on the days you didn't plan on seeing each other fate found a way to bring you back to him and Kamal; that's what Boris thought to himself at least as he untied his apron and hung it on the rack by the door.

Busy at work or not, it probably wasn't any fun sitting in their home all alone so he was quick to flip the sign to closed and skip out the door.

By the time home was within view he couldn't contain his excitement anymore and dashed to the front door.

You sat crossed legged on the couch, hunched over the laptop that sat in your lap. The sound of the door smacking against the wall as he burst inside made you jump considerably, almost dropping your computer in the process.

"Hello! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

It took you a moment to register who was standing in the door after their sudden entrance but the scared look on your face disappeared when he took a few steps closer.

"Oh hey, Boris." You readjusted your sitting position into something more comfortable after almost jumping off the couch a second ago. "You're good, I wasn't really waiting after all." You mentioned.

He stepped behind you and rested his hands on the back of the couch, bending over a bit to get a better look at what was on your screen.

"I see you are hard at work, yes?"

"Yeah, and I've...still got a good bit to work on. Kamal said it was alright for me to hang out today so I hope I'm not in your way or anything."

"Of course not, it is no trouble at all! We are always happy to have you!" Something about the excited way he spoke told you he didn't really understand your situation.

"That's great, thanks Boris. Don't mind me then." You turned to give him one final grin before focusing back on your laptop.

There was a noticeable moment of silence from Boris as he seemed to be processing that that was the end of the conversation. Unfortunately, he didn't come to any kind of worth while conclusion because his wide smile returned.

"Alrighty! I'm going to go get changed, be back soon!

As promised, it wasn't long before you heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming back down the stairs. Doing your best to keep your eyes focused on your keyboard you finally looked up when you felt someone leer over you.

"What's up?"

"I'm going to go take care of my lilies out back, would you like to come?"

"I'm sorry, Boris, but I'm still going to be at this for a while yet. I'd work at home but that storm last night took out some of the lines by my house."

"Oh..." His face fell for a second "That's all right! Do come out and find me if you find yourself in need of some fresh air!"

"Sure thing, if I can finish up in time I'll be right out", you agreed.

However, an hour passed and you stayed where you were. Somewhere around the 30 minute mark Boris had come back inside, looking noticeably disappointed when he saw you in the same position he'd left you in. But Instead of interrupting you again he busied himself with finishing little things inside the house, all of which happened to be in the livingroom, and you weren't blind to the way he seemed to be constantly looking up from whatever he was doing to see if you were done.

At one point he even feigned reading beside you. You could only assume he was faking it at least, unless he had a preference for reading books upside down. Admittedly, you did feel the slightest bit bad for "ignoring" him but the both of you knew why you were there in the first place.

It really was almost exactly and hour before he seemed to reach his breaking point and you once again felt someone approach you. The next second you were lifted up from behind as Boris moved to sit where you had been just a moment before, placing you back down in front of him.

"Soooo... what are you working on?" He asked, draping his arms over your shoulders and resting his chin on the top of your head.

Letting out a defeated chuckle, you decided to humor him a bit.

"I'm writing an email right now actually."

"Ooh, email!" He clapped his hands together happily. "Who are we emailing?"

"People..." You joked.

"Are they nice people?"

You shrugged, wiggling your hand in a so-so motion then the sound of typing pulled your attention back down to your keyboard.

Boris had reached forward, typing out a :-) at the end of your last paragraph. When you cocked your head up to look at him he just grinned widely, thankfully not taking too much offence when you moved to erase his playful work.

Without another word you turned your attention away from him and hunched back over your laptop, returning to work as if you weren't sitting in the lap of someone else and hoping said person would get the hint that you had other things to focus on.

But as diligent as your efforts to stay focused were, so was the obliviousness of the attention hungry giant behind you and he followed your movement, once again closing the space between your back and his chest has he hunched over you as well, this time wrapping his arms around your midsection and intertwining his fingers for good measure.

This position wasn't actually that bad, if even a bit cozy and part of you hoped he would be content enough to let you work while he watched tv or something. You were gifted a few more minutes of peace but before you were able to fall back into a comfortable state of work, your attention was once again pulled back to Boris as he began drumming his fingers against your stomach and humming quietly.

As though he was waiting for you to acknowledge him; when you finally moved your eyes off your screen he leaned forward and rested his head on your shoulder.

"You need something, bud?" You asked dryly, turning to look at him.

"Oh, not really..." He answered, letting out an exaggerated sigh of boredom and keeping his eyes staring off to the side. It didn't give the effect he was going for though as his face was still squished snugly beside yours and the act only lasted a moment before he was smiling again. "Do you want to watch tv? :-)"

You had to wonder if the exasperated look on your face was really that hard to recognize.

"....No."

"No?"

"No."

"Okee."

After that Boris finally released you, leaning back and tapping his fingers against the arm of the couch.

Despite your almost salty attitude you had to admit you weren't really annoyed with him. In fact the only thing weighing on your mood right now was all the work you still had ahead of you.

Slowly running your hand over your mouth, you let out a long sigh, the stone face you'd been holding finally sinking to a small frown when you weren't paying attention.

Boris leaned forward once again, this time much more slowly, his signature grin replaced with a look of concern as he cocked himself around your shoulder to get a better look at your face.

"How long have you been working on this?"

"I got here a little after 8 this morning." You groaned, rubbing your eyes.

"Oh, that was shortly after I left!"

"Yeah, and now I see why Kamal advised me to wait until after you'd went to work." You whispered with a tired smile, too quiet for him to hear.

"That was quite a few hours ago...aren't you tired?"

"I'm not not tired... BUT!" You continued "It's kind of my own fault for waiting until the last minute to get all my work done, so I'll be okay."

At a much more startling pace this time he reached around you and pulled you back against his chest in a tight hug.

"I think that's long enough for today, don't you? You should take a break! You don't have to go home though, I can make snacks and we can watch a movie!"

You did your best to collect yourself, your shirt ridding up and your hair getting ruffled as he lifted up your torso and snuggled you from behind. You probably looked akin to a stuffed animal being squeezed by a small child.

"Thanks, but I'd really rather get it done today." You managed to wiggle yourself a bit of slack in his grip but as soon as he felt you start to pull away you were squished back against his chest and he gave you an extra tight squeeze as if to send the message that he wasn't ready to let go yet.

The sudden movement shifted your laptop and you lurched forward to reach for it, your fingers coming up just an inch short as it teetered over the edge of your leg. Thankfully, Boris reached for it right on time, slapping it shut and lifting it from its place in front of you.

"Looking at that screen for so long is no good for you anyway... :-(" He commented with a frown, bringing it closer to his face to examine it. The computer almost looked to be the size of a tablet in his large hand.

"Not really my concern right now." You reached for it but on cue he lifted it up out of your reach and despite only hugging you with one arm now, his grip was still unmovable. "Come on, give it back!"

You thought he may have actually been listening when he lowered his arm, only for him to raise it back up out of your reach when you moved to grab it.

"Ой, так близко!"

The audacity of that little tease actually surprised you coming from him, but if he was going to play dirty then so could you.

"Boris, give it back or I'm going home." Despite the playfulness in your voice his smug smile vanished and he quickly released both you and your laptop.

"Thank you!" You jumped to your feet proudly, making a show to tuck your laptop under your arm as a sign of victory.

"Ты не весел ..." Boris crossed his arms and pouted, slouching down into the couch as you moved to sit on the other side from him.

You felt his gaze linger on you for a while, then felt the couch shift as he moved to sit facing you on his knees. "Может, мы сможем это изменить?"

Still feeling contented with yourself, you refused to look up at him, he was probably making some kind of stupid face in an attempt to make you smile. After a moment he scooted closer and you finally gave in.

"Yes, Boris?"

He didn't respond, staring at you with the biggest grin. It was like he expected you to know what he ...oh.

"Boris, I know what you're thinking but not right now." You quickly pulled your feet up off the ground and held you legs close to yourself. While you knew you'd have a better chance of getting away if you ran now, you knew playing into it right away would erase any chance you had of talking yourself out of your current situation.

Your acknowledgement of the situation only seemed to make him smile wider as he leaned closer to you.

"Boris, I'm serious I have work to do." Your serious composure failed you and you scrambled backwards as he got closer, almost falling off the arm of the couch as you leaped over it. "We can hang out once I'm done, I promise."

"Hmmm.." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Nah, I think..." He leaped over the back of the couch, getting closer each time you moved away. "I think I want to see you smile!"

With that final statement he rushed forward, arms extended and just barely missed you as you jumped to the side.

The two of you ended up running in circles around the couch. Boris held his arms out, staring you down when you came to a momentary stand still on either sides of the couch, ready to move in whatever direction you would and cut you off.

"Boris, stop this right now, I'm not in the mood!" You were doing your best to sound serious but the giggles of anticipation seeped through.

"You will be once I put some butterflies in your tummy! Come now, do not make this harder than it has to be, you'll feel right as rain after a good giggle~" His teasing voice sent chills down your spine and the nervous look on your face seemed to be exactly what he was looking for as his smile turned to a more mischievous one as well. A split second later he caught you off guard, climbing over the couch to meet you head on. "The smile doctor is in and you're his first appointment!

Luckily he stumbled a bit on the cushions, giving you a second to change course and break away from the endless cycle of circling the couch.

"Boris, please, I'm too tired for this!" You whined, running towards the kitchen.

"That works out great then! We can take a nap afterwards, it will be so nice!" He stopped in the door way of the kitchen to clasp his hands by his face and smile. He seemed to return to his usual wholesome self, which you preferred to the mischievous one, but what made it worse was the way he spoke like a man who knew he wasn't going to loose. "Now if you would just stop running away. :-("

Your chase in the kitchen was short lived, at one point you even considered running out the back door only to change your mind when you decided you didn't need half the neighborhood to hear you laughing like a madman if he had managed to catch you outside, so you ended up rushing back out into the living room and towards the hall.

On your way there, you noticed Kamal who had just gotten home.

"Hi, Kamal!" You yelled, almost crashing into him. Thinking quickly, you hid behind him as Boris came clamoring back into the living room after you.

"Oh, Hello, Kamal! Y/n and were just in the middle of something." He spoke calmly attempting to circle around Kamal and grab you.

"Don't let me interrupt." Kamal insisted, letting you spin him around with you as you used him as a shield. "Hey, kid, you gonna be able to stay for dinner tonight?"

"No I can't, I've still got work to do and please, please do interrupt!" You begged.

"Yeah, thought so." Kamal shrugged, ducking in unison with you as Boris attempted to reach over him.

This went on for a minute before he turned back to you and smirked "You're gonna have to finish this on your own, kid, I gotta get cookin'." And with that he stepped out from in front of you and headed for the kitchen, leaving you completely exposed.

"I tried to warn ya, little buddy!" He yelled over his shoulder as Boris chased you down the hall.

You knew you were running out of options as the end of the hall wasn't far ahead of you. If you were going to do something you had to do it now or you were a goner. Taking your only other option you skidded to a halt, throwing open the door to your left and running inside, locking it just in time to hear Boris collide with the other side.

While you didn't open the door back up you pressed your ear to it and spoke, worried he may have actually gotten hurt.

"Oh, crap, Boris are you okay?!"

"To think..." He responded quietly.

"To think you'd hide from me in my own dojo!" His volume returned with a happy vigor as he wiggled the knob of his bedroom door. "You can not stay in there forever you know!"

On one hand you were glad he was okay, on the other hand, a little part of you was sad the impact didn't knock him out as he cooed to you though the door. Still, you felt rather satisfied with yourself, the chase usually never lasts long enough for you to find somewhere to hide like this.

"Watch me!" You fired back with a new sense of confidence.

"If you unlock the door...I will give you a-no, two- no...three hugs!"

"Yeah, I think I'll pass." You commented, finally stepping away from the door to look around his room.

"Fine, four hugs, but you have to hug me back! Final offer!" You heard the door squeak as he pressed all his weight up against it and then a sad whine from the other side when you didn't respond.

Actually ignoring him this time, you sat down on the side of his bed, finally giving yourself a second to rest. As much as you hated to admit it, you were almost grateful that you weren't still glued to your laptop. You were really tired, Boris got that much right at least.

Whipping your head around, a heavy thump on the floor behind you had you right back on guard.

Worried that Boris might have somehow found a way in, you jumped to your feet, looking around and finally catching sight of the stack of books that had toppled off of his dresser.

When you realized the truth of the situation you let out a sigh of relief, sitting back down.

"Hi, Pabit."

And just like that the dead eyes of the puppet that was sitting where the books once were lit up as a smile crossed its face.

"Heeyoo, Y/n!" The little guy finished his journey across the dresser, jumping onto the nightstand and then onto the bed beside you.

"What was with the inanimate act?" You asked, wondering why the puppet hadn't jumped you as soon as you got in.

"I's was waiTin 4 my Q!"

"Ah, of course." You laughed, propping your elbow on your knee and resting your head on your hand.

"What're U doin, Y/n?"

"Hiding from your maker, he thinks I'm in dire need of a good laugh."

"Ooh, R yous twos havin' a tickle fight? Eye wAnt to plaY too!" The puppet exclaimed, bouncing over to hug your side.

"Uh uh, last thing I need is two of you on my back." You cut him off, pulling him off by the scruff of his little jacket and setting him back down beside you.

"You's just like, Karmel; kno fun at alL! EvEn when u jyust kneed a little chyeering up!"

"I don't really need cheering up, I just wanted to get my work done."

"Yes u due, ur sparkle's all fAded..."

"My what?"

"Ur sparkle, dummy!" He jumped up and bonked you on the head, his little felt hand probably not giving the impact he was hoping for.

"Whatever." You rolled your eyes.

"Is that Pabit?" Boris finally spoke up again from outside the door. "Pabit, unlock the door, please!"

"Ah! Don't you dare!" You reached forward catching the puppet before it had successfully jumped off the bed to follow his orders. "Who's side are you on?" You asked, tucking the puppet under your arm to hold it securely.

"Whichever syide gets u 2 smile!" Pabit retorted quickly, pointing to the sides of its face as it demonstrated a big smile.

Just as you were about to chew him out, you saw something black out of the corner of your eye.

The small shadows that were visible from the light shining in under the door stretched into the room without someone to cast them. If you hadn't been used to sights like this by now you might have been terrified as after a moment it formed into a familiar silhouette and picked itself up off the ground.

Unfamiliar though was the scowl he bore as he turned back to normal.

"How did you-"

"That was a nasty little trick to pull, you know, Y/n?" Boris cut you off, taking several long strides towards you.

"I..." You froze, looking down to Pabit for help. He only offered you a sympathetic smile then a sinister looking smirk.

"Yous gonna get it now..."

Quickly dropping him in favor of backing away, you didn't get too far before you backed into the foot of his bed, and before you were given a chance to look for another way out he had already closed the distance between you.

It wasn't too often that you took into consideration just how much bigger Boris was than...well everything. But you were given just enough time to take it in as he stopped right in front of you, still staring down at you with that serious expression and you began to worry that you actually had upset him.

"Boris, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" He raised a hand to shush you, lifting an eyebrow.

"You're sorry?!" Crap, his voice was intimidating when he used it right. "The only thing you have to be sorry for..."

"Is for being so darn cu-uute!" You squeaked as you were thrown up into the air and then caught under your arms. Boris held you at arms length, lifting you to his eye level and pulling you closer to rub his nose against yours. "You had me really scared back there, I thought you were going to lock yourself in here aalllll night! Now that wouldn't have been any fun would it? Even with Pabit keeping you company. " Adding on to your disorientation, he spun around with you to face the door. "Let's get going then shall we?"

Halfway out the door it finally registered what just happened; you'd been caught.

"Boris, do not!"

"Don't what? I haven't done anything yet?" He tilted his head to the side and smiled at you innocently. You kicked your legs a bit, knowing full well it wouldn't get you anywhere but still did so out of spite.

"Oh? Are you not comfy? How about this?" He tossed you up one last time, throwing you over his shoulder potato sack style after catching you. "Better?"

"Noho!" You did your best to sound mad with no luck.

Boris managed to make even the walk out to the livingroom interesting; spinning around every other step, jumping up and down with you, letting you go for a second then catching you by the knees before you fell off his shoulder.

By the time the two of you actually made it to the livingroom you were just barely keeping your laugher in just because of the absurdity of the situation.

"Put me down!" You yelled, but there was no masking the smile in your voice.

"If you say so!" He pulled you off of his shoulder fast, catching you in a dip before letting you drop gently onto the couch.

As soon as you were released you turned and tried to make a run for it, only to be stopped as he looped one of his arms around your torso and pulled you back again his chest.

"Deja vu, yes?" He joked. "So..." he started only to stop when you both focused on something at the same time. Your laptop still sat on the coffee table and you turned to glare at him, deciding to be challenging one final time.

"So..." he continued, "Do you want to watch some tv? :-)"

"..."

"No."

"Your laugh is so pretty! Why would you make me wait so long to hear it?" He cooed happily, continuing to try to poke through the ball you'd curdled into on his lap like he had been the last few minutes

"You're so mean!" you managed to whine through your suppressed giggles.

"You are the mean one! I'm just trying to help you relax a little. It will be over quicker if you give in and show me that smile~"

He reached his hands forward, giving both your sides a quick squeeze and making a little roar. "The tickle monster is getting hungry and the hungrier he gets the longer he has to tickle you, you know!"

"Let's see...." He thought to himself, looking you over for a week spot and eventually finding one as he shoved both his hands into the crooks of your neck, causing you to shriek and uncurl yourself.

"Ooh, it worked!" He cheered, taking the opportunity to flip you onto you back, holding you down firmly with one hand and sitting on your legs. "Now we can get to work! Are you ready? Cause here comes the tickle monster!"

He raised his hands up for dramatic effect and lowered them down to your torso quickly with a growl. Before he made contact however he stopped, his wide smile slowly fading as he focused on your face.

Your eyes were squeezed shut and you were holding onto yourself tight. When you didn't feel anything you peaked an eye open to see Boris looking down at you curiously.

"Get it over with!" You said, closing your eyes again and reluctantly lifting your arms up.

"Hmm..."

"'Hmm' what do you mean 'Hmm'?"

"Ooone sec, something's not right..."

"I'd say so!" You sneered, making one final effort to try and squirm out from underneath him but to no avail.

"I know!" He snapped his fingers. "I need you to say 'hi' to someone first!" And just like that he pulled Pabit out from behind himself and once again, it was seemingly out of thin air.

"Heeyoo, Y/n!" The puppet greeted you once again.

"You little traitor."

"Can't bee a twaitor if I's was nyever on ur syide!" He spoke proudly, resting his hands on what would have been his hips.

"Anyway, "Boris cut in, "there's something really special you need to know about Pabit; he loves to eat smiles, they're his favorite food!

"..."

":-D and yours is just the kind he's been looking for!" Without further explanation the puppet was thrust in front of you, making exaggerated "nom nom nom" sounds as it pretended to chomp on your face.

Part of you would have insisted it was just the fabric tickling your face but you finally started to laugh, if for any reason just because of how silly he was being.

"Yhohu are suuch a dhorork!" You spat out, reaching up to try to push his arm away but it refused to so much as budge.

"Yep, a smile just like that!" Boris cheered you on, finally using his free hand to scribble at your stomach.

Mostly out of reflex, you managed you reach up and pull the puppet off of Boris's arm, realizing your mistake shortly after as Pabit glared down at you from his place in your hands.

"Shoot, I'm sorry-" before you could finish your apology, Pabit reached forward and gripped your face, pulling himself closer and nuzzling your face on his own.

"Eet's okee!"

You soon realized you'd made a mistake for a different reason as Pabit held tight to your face and kept his snuggling up, taking extra care to nuzzle your neck and nose as Boris was given back use of his hand to further scribble your stomach and sides. Their own excited smiles telling you you weren't getting out of this any time soon.

In the kitchen, Kamal jumped, almost dropping his pan at the sudden flurry of laughter that sounded in the next room.

"Eh, they had it comin'." He huffed to himself fondly.

#smile for me #boris habit #dr. habit #pabit #sfm #reader/flower kid #A story in which Boris loves his friends very much #and has trouble sharing a space with others without having their attention #Kind of into the idea that Boris can actually tell when someone isn't happy #A smile dosen't count unless you're having at least a little bit of fun #Kamal even waited until he knew Boris would be heading home to tell him you were there #Otherwise he would have closed up shop early

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