#except the narrator i have no idea what he looks like in my head

[mewmew-dream]

uh, is it too late to make slay the princess long quiet (and narrator) designs..? the voices designs will get designed soon! ((narrator design is basically a spoiler for those who haven't seen or played to the end of the game so beware!)) theres more info for the design and the narrator's design below along with the full image!! - - - took me so long to actually start drawing out my design tbh! mostly a mix of procrastination and other things honestly!. anyways! you may notice how my design differs from what others designed the long quiet as and the official vague renderings of him! this is very much on purpose if you couldnt tell as there is an explanation for this. - (sorry in advanced for the very odd and choppy explanation, im not very good at explaining things so i'll probably draw what i mean later to compensate) - the long quiet in the first loop(s) looks like this, but with each new part to that specific loop he'll start transforming, looking more bird like (like what we have to go off of from art from the game) each time. this also happens in the void area! (i know its called the long quiet also but i call it the void.) the design was my first idea of the game before getting the game and knowing what happened but i kept the design, just not the reason on why he looks like this! basically my thought process on this before was basically " guy who was sketchy to begin with got cursed? cool! but he has to slay a princess due to him being an outcast and his curse? better!! " it doesnt hold up when you know what happened / happens in the end though but yeah.

the narrator is based off what we get from the mirror when the player obtains 5 vessels for the shifting mound, except with all seeing eyes i guess.. he stays near the long quiet to observe in each loop yet out of sight. of course his voice is in the long quiets head so distance isnt accounted for when he's talking! he of course can see the voices as well with those big ol' eyes.

aaand heres the full image! shoutout to anyone who can see the very visible but suppose to be hidden details! (they where very last minute..) also ignore the odd neck feathers, i was gonna add more to the chest but forgot up until now but i might fix it later!!

[mosaickiwi]

Nails, TV, Moving

Rendacted paints your nails and 'asks' you to move in. 1.3k words, GN reader c:

14 Days With You is an 18+ Yandere Visual Novel. MINORS DNI

~

"Unfortunately for our contestant—" the host’s words get cut off as you press a button on the remote.

"Booooo," you jeered at the TV from your spot on the floor and changed the channel. 

Ren hummed softly at your voice, but didn't look up. Despite the dark bangs that obscure their eyes, you can tell they’re focused. He was happily painting your nails—the same shade of black as his own—at your request. He insisted you sit as close as possible on the blanket he laid down, instead of across the coffee table. He'd only ever painted his own nails after all, so the angle was very important to keep him from messing up. You were certain he just said that because he wanted the closeness.

The screen barely flashes a few frames before you're changing it again. A football game, a cartoon, a drama, and then—you finally stop. There's a couple wandering through a cabin, with a disembodied voice narrating all it had to offer. One of the many house hunting shows that came on every so often.

"Oh, this one's pretty." You put down the remote to watch. The couple head upstairs where the master bedroom is and your excitement quickly dies. "Maybe not. The bathroom is a huge let down."

Ren casts a glance up at the TV as the camera pans over the room once more. He took in the slanted ceiling, with the tub stationed on the lower end, lit up by an angled skylight. He didn't really see whatever problem you had. "What's wrong with it?" he asked.

"The ceiling is already so low. You'd have to fold yourself in half to get in that tub, tall as you are. And you'd probably hit your head every time you got out. We couldn't live there," you grumbled and rested your chin on your free hand, eyes never straying from the screen. "No way I'd put you through that."

You didn't notice how he perked up when your concerns involved him—you even said ‘we.’ A miniscule drop of polish fell on the paper towel under your hand. He wasn't sure if you were being considerate, or if your perfectly normal relationship was at the point of buying a home together. He hoped it was the latter. Either way, including them already planted ideas in their mind. "So then, what's our—your ideal home have?"

"My ideal home…" You’d only really thought about things you didn’t want, thanks to your current apartment. "I can't say I'm very picky. No holes in the walls, enough room to breathe, no rats," you paused for a bit—now they were in a rather awkwardly shaped second bedroom. "When I was little I wanted to live in a bounce house. Or have a freezer dedicated to ice cream."

Ren smiled while he carefully painted the nail of your pinky. "One of those is doable."

"True, but I'd rather not blow up my house every day," you joked and continued pondering. "The location is probably the most important, right?" He silently nodded in agreement as you went on. "Corland Bay's nice and all—having everything so close together makes things easy. Except sometimes I wanna fall asleep without hearing cars pass by or Violet playing games. It's much quieter here. Plus your bed is comfy."

"You're more than welcome to live here, Angel," he innocently offered. “Although maybe you’d enjoy somewhere more secluded.”

“Like just out of town? Not too far from civilization. I'd still wanna be near the beach." You watched the couple fuss about the kitchen in another house before you really processed what he just said. You turned to look at him for the first time since the show caught your interest. "Are you asking me to move in with you?" 

"Oh, is that what it sounded like?" His tone was full of shock, but you could see the way his snake bites pulled up in a faint grin. He examined your nails and lifted your hand once he deemed it finished. "I do have all this space, though. The library’s close by. Beach is a short walk away, too. No neighbors, no noise. I've never had a rat problem. I guess it hits all the marks f’you, doesn’t it, Angel?"

"Ren…" You rolled your eyes at his antics. 

"If you really want to move in that badly, I'm not opposed," he said teasingly. "Other hand."

You didn't respond just yet, merely giving them a playful side eye and placing your hand flat on the table. Gently, you blew air on your wet nails while he went to work. The noise of the TV faded into the background as you thought about his offer.

It was a big step to take. You already spent a fair amount of your time at his place. The ever-dwindling amount of laundry you did at home served as proof. Cohabitating with them wouldn't be much different from now. Ren always gave you space when you asked, even with his clingy personality. He was tidy, quiet, and never made a fuss—the perfect roommate on paper. The real issue was money. A place like this would cost way more than a librarian’s salary could pay.

"As much as I want to, I have to consider rent first," you thought aloud, causing him to stop and look up.

"Angel, you don't need to pay anything." His answer was almost immediate and it surprised you how firm he sounded about it.

You shook your head. "I know I probably can't do half, but I’d like to do my fair share. How much is your rent each month?"

"Well, actually," he stalled and idly rolled the nail brush in his fingers before putting it back in the bottle. The rent was one thing he couldn’t be bothered to keep track of. "...I have no idea?"

"How—what?"

"It's an automatic payment so I never think about it," he admitted, explaining further at your incredulous expression. "I mean I definitely saw it when I found the listing—and when I signed the lease. But I can't remember it off the top of my head."

You had a hard time believing what you were hearing. You knew your own rent by heart—it mocked you every time it took a chunk out of your bank account. A question about how he budgeted weighed in your mind, although the rather calm way Ren spoke clearly answered it: he didn't. It seemed obvious now; he'd been a frivolous spender from the beginning.

The blank look on your face made him a little worried. "Honestly, Angel, it’s not an issue. I’ve been paying it on my own just fine," he insisted. "You don’t have t’worry about any cost if you stay here, I promise.” He’d be happy as a clam to pay triple whatever he already was if it meant you'd move in. Hell, he’d even pay for you to live in one of the empty units next door.

"Fine then," you sighed in defeat, glancing towards the TV screen for a moment. The show was already ending. "If I tried to give you money you'd just find a way to give it back anyways.”

Ren let out a faint breath as if he was holding back laughter, but didn’t disagree. "So, how about it? Gonna move in?” he asked with a sincere smile.

You couldn’t help but smile the same in return. “Yeah, why not? I’d be crazy to say no. I can talk to my landlord and be out in a few weeks, probably.”

His excitement only seemed to grow at your words. He was radiating silent joy, fingers tapping rhythmically on the table as he uncapped the bottle of polish once more. You could almost imagine a tail wagging behind him as he tried to make steady brushstrokes over your nail.

“Are you really that happy?” you laughed and he nodded. “Maybe I should just move in tomorrow.” His hand barely slipped, leaving the tiniest streak of polish on the side of your ring finger.

“Oops,” he muttered.

[chi-the-idiot]

For a while now I've wanted to draw my interpretation of the voices, until I realized how EXCRUCIATINGLY DIFFICULT drawing anthropomorphic birds actually was (my most sincere respects go to the artists who were able to put foward their visions).

But then I thought "wait, they don't have physical bodies, they are voices inside the protagonist's head".

SO BOOM, THE VOICES ARE SHADOWY SHILOUETTES BABYYY (part 1, probably)

The Cold was the first design I made, so he doesn't really have much thought process behind him except "make him creepy".

That's why he has that very prim and handsome smile almost none of his other companions have. Come on, zoom in on it, I know you want to feel its warmth radiate through the screen.

What I also did was leave him wing-less. Full disclosure, this idea originally came from another user here on tumblr who posted their designs for the voices, but I tried to search for the post again and couldn't find it (if anyone remembers the username or the post I'm talking about, please send it to me so I may tag them accordingly, i will continue to look for it in my liked posts). Although I do not remember why they chose to leave him wing-less, this did spark the idea of all of the voices having their wings damaged or fractured in some shape or form, either due to their own nature or due to their separation. This is also why he has those scars in his back, chest and face.

The Paranoid was next, and I already had a much clearer idea of what I wanted to do. His wings are not damaged because of the separation, but rather his own anxious nature led him to pull out most of his feathers, and making him even more of a shivering mess.

His scars are my favourite ones, as again they don't only stem from the fracture. Rather, they come from his encounter with the nightmare. Remember that she seems to have some sort of electric power, so I decided to make his scars originate from her touch, and leave marks similar to those a lightning ray would make.

I have to say that The Hunted is my favourite tho. I made him more corvid instead of humanoid, to really pinpoint his more animalistic nature. His fracture is more similar to that of a mirror, and with that I wanted to make a connection with the Narrator as well, sort of hiding their relation to one another in the design. Im still not sure if that one was caused by the beast or the fracturing, but I really like him.

Finally, a scale, for you to witness how absolutely minimal the hunted is, because I love that about him. Birb boy.

Anygays, thats me for tonight, byebye

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! I need advice for writing a character with oculocutaneous albinism who’s a platonic love interest without descriptions of her coming off as fetishising albinism. Her name is Glass and she’s blind and an investigative journalist and will be a reoccurring character in the series. The MC is gay and he describes her very affectionately in the narrative. When she’s introduced he fondly points out (to the reader) a lot of traits about her including things related to her albinism like “slightly wavy snow white hair in a fashionable bob and striking dark blue eyes that gently danced back and forth. One eye was pointing slightly inwards as she tilted her head and smirked at him.” I got the “dancing eyes” idea from a short film made by someone with albinism and nystagmus. I’m going to try and describe other traits about her more, especially about her personality to counter this.

I also have a question that might be too specific? I’m planning on giving her a little brother with ocular albinism, OA. If someone has a daughter with OCA are they more likely to have a son with OA or are the two kinds of albinism genetically unrelated? I wanted to include him to have more then one blind character in the story. Thanks for your time. :) -Anon Blue.

Hi! We don't currently have mods with Albinism, so I'll try my best. I recommend our #albinism representation tag for resources made by people with it! :-)

If you don't put most of the attention of how she looks to her hair or skin color, I think it should be fine. It's okay to mention it - I mean, that's just how she is, would be kinda weird to fully ignore it - but don't make other characters or the narrator gush over her paleness or eye color every time she comes up. Change it up and praise her fashion sense (like you did with her hairstyle!), the shape of her nose, how bushy her eyebrows are, or how her gums show when she's smiling instead! Her appearance shouldn't be reduced to just "girl with albinism" - give her other visual traits! :-) For other descriptors, I would avoid making her "angelic" or "ethereal" because of her disability. Remember to not make it mystic or magical; there's a whole "Magical Albino" trope out here that you should try to avoid.

You mentioning nystagmus and strabismus is great! Those are often forgotten or ignored in characters with albinism because they're not seen as "pretty". I've seen some people describe their nystagmus as "dancing eyes" before too, I think it's a very cool of conveying it!

In general, a good way to avoid fetishization is to include the "boring/mundane" things. When you show the medical parts of albinism like the esotropia, avoiding the sun, having her use a white cane or a guide animal, or using Braille, the representation will be more informed overall and not just an "aesthetic" - which a lot of characters with albinism unfortunately end up being. There's a big difference between a blind journalist guided by a German shepherd who happens to not have melanin and needs a Big Hat, and an evil sniper with bright red eyes and mysterious powers. I hope this makes sense!

In case that Glass is Black, I'd recommend looking at the #albinism tag at @writingwithcolor - it's always good to make sure your descriptions don't come off as unintentionally colorist if you go into her skin color. Things like describing her as more frail or delicate (when compared to other Black characters) would be in poor taste, so look out for that intersectionality if it applies!

The brother with ocular albinism part; those two types are completely unrelated, and it would be incredibly rare (not impossible) for that to happen as far as I know. For reference, almost all OCA (1-7) and OA (1-2) types are caused by completely different genes. The only exception could be OA1 and OA3; we don't currently know what causes the third one, and there's a theory that it's just a different presentation of the first. But I'm not aware of anything like that for oculocutaneous albinism, so if Glass has OCA1 (as I'm assuming from the description), her brother would have OCA1 as well (as opposed to OCA3 or any other subtype) if anything!

One interesting thing that you could do to have him have OA that I never see in fiction is to have him be adopted. I know multiple families who had a child with a certain disability and decided to adopt a second (or third, or fourth...) one with it! I think it could be very cool and would make sense with him being the younger one. Here is an interview/vlog from a real-life family with six adopted blind kids, if you want an example of that :-)

Wanting to include multiple blind characters is a great idea - if adoption doesn't work for your story, he could have the same type of albinism as Glass or have a non-genetic cause of blindness, like CVI, Retinopathy of Prematurity, glaucoma, or a whole lot of other things!

A story about a blind investigative journalist sounds awesome! Good luck with your writing!

mod Sasza

[nail-art-no-jutsu]

❣️ Nagato aka Pain x gender neutral reader ❣️

I saw this post and I loved it and I was inspired to make my own, in which the truth reveal is Nagato's idea instead! He is such a fave and I'm a big fan of giving love to disabled characters!

The narrator can be unreliable and they kinda have anxiety lolol

This is sfw, weird and fluffy (will post nsfw hcs soon!)

Big thank @ everyone who sent comments encouraging me to write!!

-------------------------------------

*-*-*-*-* minors DNI *-*-*-*-*

-------------------------------------

Pain was waiting for you alone, and for the first time, his back was towards the door. If you didn't know better you'd have thought he didn't even hear you come in.

As always you had your paperwork with you, and you were ready to present your report and to answer endless questions about things you'd already covered. It was a bit ridiculous, but what else could you do but humor your beloved leader?

You knew what he really wanted, of course. Why he started ordering you to stay after the meetings and talk to him in private, and called you over more and more often. Why his hypnotizing eyes focused on yours for far longer than necessary, and he got curious about your past, and he indulged in your small talk...

And if you were lucky, he even awarded your little jokes with a subtle, knowing smile that seemed a bit... well, not quite how you had imagined his smile would be, but damn, it was so attractive! At the same time, it confirmed your theory that his almighty leader persona was just that. You loved that look on him, of course, but it was so delightful that he had shared a bit of insight into how he was off-duty, and the more he showed you, the more you wanted to see.

Except, things seemed to have gotten a bit... stuck.

Ugh! Why didn't he just... give in already, and use his powers to pull you towards him, hold your head in his hands, and devour your mouth? Surely he couldn't have failed to register all the ways you'd been signaling how badly you wanted to get closer to him? What could possibly stand in the way of a man who called himself a god?

Truth be told, you knew well enough that asking yourself such questions was futile, and a part of you had lost hope that you could ever become more to him than a simple collaborator of the Akatsuki.

"Um, Lord Pain? Shall I begin?"

He turned around to face you, and, okay, there was definitely something going on with him today, he looked a little bit... displeased? Was that it? Whatever it was, it had something to do with you. He wasn't unforgiving, you'd made mistakes before, that wasn't what you were worried about--

"No. Today... I have something to share with you."

O...kay?

"I'm listening."

You tried to remind yourself how often you worried for no reason, what if he wanted to give you a promotion, and finally make you a real Akatsuki member, cloak and ring and nail polish and all, but Pain was taking his sweet time, no doubt to increase the impact of his words, and with each passing second you felt more uneasy.

"Before I continue", he began, "I must inform you that what I wish to share is top secret information, and I cannot risk it falling into enemy hands, or even being disclosed to most actual members and allies. Therefore, if you accept to receive this information, you must agree to move into this building for an indefinite amount of time, and exit only in the company of someone I fully trust. You would be provided with everything you require for your daily life and for your work."

Pain gave you a good while to process all of that, and you did your best.

"An... indefinite amount of time?"

"If you accept, you will see why."

"And if I refuse?"

"If you refuse... nothing will change."

Well that's a lie, you thought, or in any case, it was completely impossible. This wasn't the kind of conversation that you could just forget and carry on like before, and you were pretty sure neither could he. Everything had already changed.

So... why not just accept and be done with it? You trusted your leader with everything. You trusted him to rearrange the world, and you trusted him with your life. Besides, this was his residence, you'd get to see him every day, and you'd be the safest you've ever been as long as you continue to get along with him. And indefinite didn't have to mean forever. You'd earned enough of his trust to get this far, you could continue to earn more.

"One more thing before you decide", Pain said. "I've been getting the impression that you're... attracted to me, are you not?"

Before you could reply, you were betrayed by the blood that rushed to your face.

"I... yeah. I am. Very attracted."

... Oh goodness, could the ground just swallow you up, please?

And there was that strange little smile of his again. And a nod. Just one.

"Feel free to take time to think, although I will ask you to do it here, within the premises."

"Oh... it's okay, I've already made up my mind."

Pain's face was serious now, and he was completely still.

"I'd be honored to hear your secret, Lord Pain. And to move in here, too."

"Your decision is final... ?"

"It is."

Pain nodded, and then his eyes turned to the door, and instinctively so did yours. The door opened, and one after another, five Akatsuki walked in, who all had the same orange hair as Pain (except for one who had no hair), the same eyes, the same kind of black piercings. You held your breath, and you wanted to stare at each of them, but then you remembered yourself, and bowed.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance", you said. "Um, Lord Pain's family?"

Two of them looked old enough to be his fathers, and the others, his siblings.

"We" the oldest said.

"Are" the next one immediately added...

"Pain,"

"All"

"Of"

"Us", your leader finished.

The sentence flowed perfectly, as if they had all rehearsed it for hours to sound like only one person was speaking, but what did it actually mean?

"Please listen closely", the first Pain said, "and you might want to take a seat first."

*

You didn't even know how much time had passed until Konan came to pick you up. Pain - the original Pain and the other Pains - had left you alone to contemplate the long, complicated, heartbreaking story you'd just heard.

"You lived", Konan said, and gave you a paper towel to dry your face. "Congratulations."

You accepted it and you bowed.

"I... I'm very sorry to hear about... about your loss!"

You couldn't even imagine what it would be like to see your loved one's corpse walking around, speaking with the voice of your mutual best friend. There seemed to be no emotion on her face, though, at least not in that moment. It made sense, though. Maybe now that you had accepted to move in with all of them she would start to trust you more too. Maybe you'd become friends.

"Well then, are you ready? Pain is waiting for you."

"Oh... yeah. I'm ready."

*

You went into the room alone, and your eyes were immediately drawn to the one pop of color in it: your leader's red hair, and his uncovered eye, which was the only familiar thing about him. You then had but a few moments to take notice of everything: the state of his body, the impressive machine he was using, the rods that pierced his back.

The door closed behind you, and you saw a flash of orange. You looked around, and all six paths were aligned against the wall.

"Don't mind them", Pain said. "They're here for safety reasons. At least for now. You understand."

"Yes, of course, and besides, they're all... you, Lord Pain, so technically we're alone."

He smiled, and it made you smile too. It was that soft smile you had grown to love. You knew now why it looked so odd to you on Tendo Pain's face. It was this face, his real face, where it truly belonged.

"Why don't you climb up here", he said, and you obliged.

His rinnegan looked so beautiful from up close. You felt the sudden urge to brush his thin curtain of hair away from his face and see both eyes better, but you kept it to yourself.

"Well? Any questions?"

"I... right now, just one..."

"Yes?"

"Well, you got me to admit that I'm interested in you, but you never said anything, and I'd like to know, if you please..."

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? Again? Maybe your answer has changed..."

"Actually, no, it hasn't!"

He glanced behind you.

"If you are disappointed that I don't really look like that, trust me, I understand. Sadly, he is off-limits."

He was looking at his Tendo path, but you didn't turn around to look too.

"No, it's alright, that body belonged to someone who meant the world to you, I'm not surprised that... you wouldn't want..."

"The others, though, if any of them strikes your fancy..."

"This one does! The one I'm looking at right now. My Lord Pain, with his lovely smile, who still hasn't answered my question."

"How is this for an answer?"

And before you realized, he pulled you into a kiss, harder than you would have expected, with one hand cupping your cheek and the other on the top of your head, exactly how you had fantasized. You kissed him back with no hesitation, pouring all your yearning into it, parting your lips for him. He tasted of sweetened medication, and when you reached out to touch him, his skin felt a bit cold, a bit dry.

And that was fine. It was the truth. It was him finally being himself with you.

When you opened your eyes and looked at him, you saw that the kiss had brought the faintest bit of color to his cheeks. Yours, on the other hand, were probably red enough to rival his hair. Judging by his smile, he loved to see it.

"Lord Pain--"

"Please, say my name."

"Nagato... thank you for sharing your truth with me."

"Thank you for being so wonderful."

And they lived happily ever after lalala I'm not listening~ 😂 Thank you for reading😘

[crazykuroneko]

My IWTV S2E4 Watch Notes

Love the episode! I think this is my favorite so far, followed by E3 and E1.

Anyway very long note after the cut. But my main complaint now is: I miss the voice-over narration! It's basically gone after Ep 2 (except for Armand's flashback). I know it's probably a sign of how Loumand have "defanged" Daniel the Journalist and it's part of the mystery, but still! Without it, we don't get much idea about how current Loumand think on certain parts in the flashback. We don't know what exactly Claudia has said in her diaries. I feel so lost without it 😭

Oh, also, my fix-it fic for this episode would be Eglee helping Claudia get out of the coven and leave Paris along with Madeleine. Women support women 😌

• the difference of Loumand's accounts on the reactions to Claudia's play 🤭

• NOT EGLEE GIVING SANTIAGO A BLOWJOB BACKSTAGE

• I love how the founders of the 1927 company got to show off their acting as well

• God @ Claudia being so open with the coven about her hangup with the play and yet. And Louis just sat there being bitchy, giving her "well, /this/ is what you want" look.

• "This is not about Louis" Poor Claudia. people tend to talk about the men around her not her. Many such cases, even out of the screen, unfortunately.

• Santiago creating cracks in Loumand's mind. you have to give it to him

• No @ Eglee my princess catfighting over Santiago's dick.

• Dreamstat came up when Louis is unsure about their relationship. Louis is desperately trying to keep this casual because how bad it was for him the last time. Meanwhile, Armand has history of being abandoned multiple times. Ofc he wants Louis more committed to him. On top of the coven. Like, yknow, he has to risk it for Louis at least he wants to be sure the relationship is real.

• "Only works when I remember shit that pisses me off". Oh, Louis is pissed Armand hanging his history with Lestat over his head. Then Armand goes, "I try to find the vulnerability within the material". The balance is so precarious here

• Ngl the "i love you" sounds so ridiculous. LOUIS PLEASE

• "The fire?" Louis forgets about That?

* Claudia is their current biggest star yet she's still doing the wet room????! Oh fuck off

* Madeilene really matches Claudia's weirdness.

* The restaurant scene. That's what you got when you make a problem with a Black man growing up in Jim Crow NOLA! he's so done with the coven.

* Louis and art. He went into art once he arrives in Paris. I think it's to connect to humanity more. He said it helps freeing his mind as well. I wonder how much seeing Lestat connecting to humanity through art affecting his drive here. Whether consciously or not. But alas, he is businessman at heart. He's good at management and trades. Anyone has tried to guess AMC Louis MBTI?

* The addition in their archive though?? Is rashid a Talamasca agent confirmed? Or that's Armand miscalucating?

* Also that line about Daniel and a girl at high school. Once again a reminder that these men are misogynists first and foremost 🙂

* Oh I like the scene with Louis and Ghostat in the dark room. Ghostat really says everything Louis doesn't dare to admit to himself. He actually knew his weakness as photographer. There's also a meaning here Louis making those lines said by Lestat. Lestat likes to confront Louis about what he believes about himself, but he never does it the right way (which is the crux of their problems). Here he does it the right way.

* Sam giving 🥺 because Louis does that when they're good with each other is so 😭

* "Romeo!" Louis is SO mad about the restaurant if that's how he reacts to Armand romancing him

* "Are you their hostage?" Madeilene why are you so straightforward? (I like her)

* I know it sounds consensual, but Madeleine's body language when telling her story with that German soldier looks weird. Perhaps we'll see her more open later.

* "I don't enjoy using my power like that" he says, after flexing his power on security guards then float to the next floor. I think what Louis said in S1 that Lestat not using his power perhaps in consideration to not make Louis felt way weaker says more about his current situation than he was with Lestat. Like, I get him, you can't help comparing notes on your relationships.

* Oh, the Ghostat in the museum date is clearly Louis' reluctance to believe Armand completely. Or rather than believe, I think "putting his guard down" is more accurate. He did after Lestat told his story and yet he got betrayed. I think Sam does a good job here. As the story goes, Ghostat looks more anxious. Louis wants to let go yet there are still the coven, Armand's power, and the secret hanging over them.

* Assad's acting here 😭

* Going on a date with Louis then threatening Claudia. THAT IS WILD.

* I wonder if Delainey uses chest binder as Claudia. If not, I wish she did. ngl that line and the visual don't match.

* That period blood scene is something. Bet Rolin was very inspired when he read Memnoch

* "I pretended to be an actor for two years." When does Louis mean here? Lestat at Renauld's? He stayed there as an actor for two years before shit happened? I need an updated timeline already OML

* Not @ Ghostat aka indirect Louis calling Claudia a "poor decision"

* Louis knows it's doomed. But again, he's desperate to find happiness in Paris. Because him killing Lestat and choosing to go with Claudia has to pay off somehow. (Is she worth it?) He's desperate to make this work with Armand. He sees Armand is basically a lost child, shouldering this job he doesn't want just because he's older. So, Louis, good at running things etc, takes the wheel here. Trying to save the sinking ship that's the coven. Unbeknownst to them, the doom actually has started already (Santiago finding Lestat's last words). Louis also gives Armand a choice here, but Armand said he wants him. Well, we know what will happen with the coven members 🤭

* The Ghostat disappearing. Ngl the rain and special effects make it look ridiculous. And Hannibal (the show) did a better job with it by literally re-slit Abigail Hobbs' neck. But I understand that won't work in IWTV narrative wise. In Hannibal, it's not Will who slit her throat, so when they redid it it doesn't have added meaning. But Louis the one who slit Lestat's throat. And he doesn't want to re-kill Lestat. He has made peace with it. In fact, the fact he doesn't burn Lestat's side on that photo with Armand and his last words with Ghostat tell me that he's not forgetting Lestat. he's moving on, yes, but he puts Lestat safely in a corner of his heart. Just like Lestat did with his initials. And it reminds me to Louis' initials on the letter he sent Daniel in S2 look a lot like LDL, not LDPDL

* But anyway, isn't it sus Claudia just has her diaries out in the open like that? I mean, yes she doesn't live with Louis anymore, but there's a history of Louis reading her journal. If I were her, I'd at least save them in my coffin at the apartment for save keeping. This is sus.

* "Is that what makes you fascinating?" Oh, Armand is so insecure about their relationship for years. He saw Louis getting interested with this Daniel boy and he tried to crack his brain, finding the reason.

• Daniel isn't filed under suspected victims.

[scribeoffate]

What’s your favorite thing about season 3a of Teen Wolf and why?

The tl;dr answer is almost everything.

Let's start with Tattoo- I love the way the episode sets everything up. I've mentioned it in rewatch before but I really want to explore the use of the word "ephemeral" in Tattoo. From exploring Scott's break up with Allison, to his tattoo not lasting, to the way he uses the word, even to the idea that Scott's status as a beta is ephemeral, even at this point in the series. I love the scene with Stiles and Derek holding Scott down to blowtorch his arm. I LOVE the way it opens with fucking BRAEDEN rescuing Isaac on a motorcycle.

I love the introduction of Deucalion. I love and adore the meet-cute in the elevator. Please enjoy @spikeface's brilliant fic: a certain potential for a fascinating glimpse of Deucalion's POV in that scene.

I love that Scott is Isaac's werewolf contact. I love the tension as the alpha pack stalks Braeden (I would be mad about how this ended, except she comes back) and their intro. I love the tension between Allison, Lydia, and Derek. It's a very well-done episode and definitely sets up a fantastic season so well.

Chaos Rising introduces Heather, who is friends with Danielle from Party Guessed. I was excited. We get the vault rescue, and there's some fun Steter banter. "No, you idiot, I live in a condo downtown, will forever be a favorite moment. The vault rescue! Scott's look at the end is A FAVORED moment, the blood on the chin? I cannot.

Then, we move on to Fireflies. I am weak for Scott saving those kids in the beginning, for the tension between him and Allison, and for the introduction of Cora! And then they are working with Chris. Who is still pointing a gun at Scott, but Scott is so soft and accepting of it. "I get that," he says. 🥺 Then they do a rescue! And Jennifer is there! And Derek is so worried about hurting her. Unfortunate. (When I was first watching, I leaned over to @illbeintheend and was like, "Tell me she's evil?" :D ) I think my favorite bit of Unleashed is when they pull the motorcycle swap on the twins. That is like PEAK supernatural teenager shenanigans to me. And they deserved more lower stakes (not that the twins are entirely low-stakes) shenans, overall. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE that Allison knows so much about motorcycles. Scallison motorcycle trip whenst?

Frayed. Frayed. FRAYED. BELOVED. I love so much about this episode. The sciles! the scallison! more truedemon in the elevator? and then on an escalator!! the scerek! the scisaac! BOYDDD. That moment where Scott is like "Well, I do," when Boyd doesn't care what happens to himself? Gyahhh. I CANNOT. And the the fight scene? Is SO good? Despite them having forgotten about light bulbs by 3a I find that to be one of the best choreographed fight scenes in the show. The Coach of it all? Ofc he's not gonna let them stop for a bathroom break, SIT DOWN BILINSKI. I love Frayed. AND THEN WE GET MOTEL CALIFORNIA RIGHT AFTER?? Lydia's arc in this is SOOO good. The Allison and Lydia moment where Allison is just "I believe you" and Lydia is so touched and clearly bolstered, it's one of the reasons I head canon she's had access to her powers her entire life. It's just now that people believe her about them. The Isaac and Ethan character moments? LEARNING ABOUT ALICIA (GREAT BUT OMG SHOOOOWWWW WHY IS THIS ALL WE GET???). Boyd. Cry!!! And THEN. The angst of the parking light scene at the end. I tear up still watching it. (Tbf I cry real easy.) Currents. I love Currents for the metronome scene and the way it highlights Boyd's intelligence. He has one of the best plans. And then the way it ends? That hurts me. Proto-alpha Scott almost rescuing Deaton? Bbbb. I have mixed feelings about Visionary. The Paige arc is devastating. Read my own excellent fic (i just) died in your arms for a look at my thoughts on her and Derek. I love the glimpse of pre-canon and Deucalion's backstory. I find the "unreliable narrator" bit to be a touch heavy-handed, but it's grown on me after many watched for fics.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much and The Overlooked. GYHAHHHH! I love so much about these. The scydia hand hold moment. "For someone like you to help" she says to Scott and I MELT. The big orchestra crescendo! The death of Deputy Tara and the little hints at her relationship with Stiles? The way Derek absolutely believes Scott and Stiles about Jennifer and her utter shock but quick turnaround?

The elevator scene! It's so silly and SO GREAT. I love it so much, okay. Deucalion manipulating events? The desperation as Stiles and Scott try and rescue their parents? Listen, these episodes are also so good. And then we have Scott going with Deucalion at the end of the episode. The way he has no idea what to do. He's just a lost kid, in so far over his head. And his mom and Stile's dad are missing and his (pretty damn good, too) English teacher is evil and there is Deucalion. And he has no choice and maybe he was right in that motel parking lot, it certainly feels like there's no help.

Then Alpha Pact happens. Then we get to Lunar Eclipse. And I just. The ice baths?? I have spent so much time wondering how Deaton, Isaac, and Lydia felt sitting there. Waiting. For hours. Lydia desperately holding back her screams for Allison, Scott and Stiles. Also, they all look so gooood in black. The Nemeton! The matching tattoos! The way it brings everything together to s1. The scalisaac moment with Rafael? Priceless. Love Kalia and Jennifer's showdown. It looks so cool, first of all. But there is a moment, where you think, just maybe Kali might NOT double down. And then the glass shards fly.

The bit where Deucalion is "brother against brother, how very American," cracks me up, every watch. And then he roars and tries to force Scott to kill and well, then we have an Eclipse. AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN we get the true alpha moment we've been building to since Scott threw off Peter's control in s1 and chose his own pack over Derek's in s2. That moment is so good.

Thank you for asking, anon. <3 I just love 3a so much.

[maidragoste]

hello, its your newest nuisance writing to you, but this time...

SPOILERS BELOW IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED YET, DO NOT READDDDD!! I IMPLORE YOU, DO NOT READ!!

....

ok, now that those cautions were taken I hope your day has been well and when you do watch the episode, I hope you I was gonna say find joy, but each episode I become crazier than the last and each episode is either 1/4 good or 3/4 bad.

like Aemond is becoming worse and worse before my eyes, Alicent doesn't even want to go back and is on a religious retreat like some sort of "find myself and meditate" regimen. Rhaenyra is hosting a game show called: "Welcome to the dragon games!! let us see who can claim a dragon and survive!!" Ooooooo!! And she's not even giving a waiver, smh. Like they were told nothing except that they'd possible claim a dragon, like if I left my job/life to die, don't you think I should get a notice?? Also, Ulf is the man he said he was lol.

Jace being man low borns can claim dragons is funny because they have about as much parentage as him lol. They're all bastards like himself, the only difference is those bastards parents didn't have the means to keep them like Rhaenyra did and on most occasions the parents didn't want them so Jace best count his blessings that his mom didn't leave him to the streets and that his grandfather was willing to turn many blind eyes because not everyone had that (Saera we're looking at you sis, because I know you have a multitude of babies running around).

Also, this dragon testing is like in Grey's Anatomy when Meredith and Derek were testing out cure's for tumors like it reminded me of that because in the beginning they had bad results and in the end, they did it and "weeeee, happy ending for alllllll!!" well....except those that died.... Maybe Rhaenyra watches Grey's when she's not kissing everyone on sight??

This episode wasn't bad, but like again, I think it's the writing like whomever is in the writing room needs to stop with the fillers because season 2 was clearly a filler to season 3 where the real events begin, like I get wanting a show to have many seasons, but it should have many seasons if there's cause for it. And I know that Fire and Ice is an unreliable narrator to the plot events so anything could be hypothetically cannon, but like, do we not take ideas from hypotheticals and fill in the gaps? This show is like watching one's own head cannon of events like if that's the case, let me have my turn to write up what's gonna happen next.

But, who am I lol, I'm not a film writer. Welp, thank you again for listening to my rant and you have yourself a marry day.

hey bestie i love reading your opinions of the show episodes. sorry for taking so long to reply i was busy

honestly as an aemond girl and an alicent girl it's painful to watch this season for me 😭😭

you are so right about the Rhaenyra thing. not only did she not give them any direction but she also wouldn't let them leave which is an idiotic move because she was supposed to be looking for a rider for silverwing too ☠️☠️

About Jacaerys in my opinion he is right to be angry and i understand his point of view. i really liked the scene of him facing Rhaenyra. But I admit that at the same time I have mixed feelings because in the book he is the one who comes up with the idea of the dragon seeds

I didn't watch Grey's Anatomy so I don't know what you're talking about lol

The episode was good but I feel like this was a season of transition and as you say instead of following any of the hypotheses of the book the writers are doing what they want 😭😭

I hope you're okay anon, thanks for writing to me 🥰💖

[phanfictioncatalogue]

3k-5k Words Fics (6) Masterlist

part one, part two, part three, part four, part five

A Nun and A Priest: You Get Me Closer to God (ao3) - Spring_Haze

Summary: When Dan dresses up as a sexy nun for Halloween in America, he finds himself longing for a sexy priest.

and the days after that (ao3) - cityofphanchester

Summary: He can hear Dan’s voice coming down the hall, laughing with someone from the crew, and it makes his breath stop in his chest.

(doomed tour usa, autumn 2022)

cat bells (ao3) - N_Chu4Ever

Summary: The catboy photoshoot, except it all goes weirdly wrong because Phil accidentally bought Dan a magic cat costume off the internet. Oops.

🌸 cherry blossom 🌸 (ao3) - natigail

Summary: It had been a silly dream at first. The idea to have a cherry blossom tree in their garden they didn't even have yet. It hadn't felt like it was something that would really happen.

But it was real. Dan was watching their tree, Phil's arms around him, and hoping they would get to see its first bloom soon.

Chips (ao3) - philsmeatylegss

Summary: Dan struggling with the concept that all healthy couples should fight.

Comfort in Chaos (ao3) - Anonymous

Summary: Phil wakes to Dan having a nightmare that he struggles to rouse him from. It later transpires that there is a reason behind his unsettled and panicked behaviour.

DreamCasts Presents (ao3) - SummerFlingsAndThings (QueenJunoTheGreat)

Summary: Phil's son is obsessed with the faceless man who narrates audiobooks.

Dan's daughter is obsessed with the brightly dressed librarian in charge of the children's department.

And Dan and Phil? Well, they're a little obsessed with one another.

easy for you to say (ao3) - phantasticworks (steddieworks)

Summary: Phil tries to convince Dan to throw away the grey shirt. Dan can’t do it.

Golden Boy (ao3) - hygge

Summary: Phil takes a drawing class in university and needs a subject for his drawing final.

growing up or just going down (ao3) - SylvesterLester

Summary: Phil is 15 years old today. He's going to have the best birthday of his life, to kick off the best year of his life.

Right?

hard launch at last (ao3) - calvinahobbes

Summary: “Maybe the exact right moment won’t ever present itself.” Dan can feel himself hurtling towards some cosmic revelation as they stand here on a sandy beach in Portugal, the ocean bringing out the blue in Phil’s eyes.

home renovations (ao3) - possumdnp

Summary: Phil is a new homeowner with a knack for getting himself into awkward situations around cute guys. Dan is a builder who's always working on renovations around Phil's house. What could go wrong?

(An alternate meeting YouTuber Phil/builder Dan AU.)

I know you, hands under my sweatshirt (ao3) - midorijpg

Summary: “How are you?”

It's with an undertone of fear that he dares ask that, as always, even if he knows that he’s lucky if Dan even decides to answer. And as he imagines, Dan just tilts his head, looking at him as if lost in thought, swinging the bottle with his hand before just resting it on the floor.

“Make room,” he just says.

“What?”

“I said, make room.”

or, something something about having bad days and growing up and realizing you don't (completely) fit in couches anymore.

in this smoking chaos (ao3) - writingcollective

Summary: Dan bottoms for the first time, not being able to shut down his inner demons that whisper internalised homophobic thoughts into his ear. But Phil guides him through it, somehow.

Like a cicada rhythm. (ao3) - emmibug

Summary: every night they share the same bed, legs twisted together, arms holding each other close. dan and phil haven’t grown up from their childlike sense of friendship which leads people to believe there’s something deeper going on.

a dan and phil childhood best friends to lovers AU where they share the same bed and always have done.

Magi (ao3) - yikesola

Summary: Dan doesn’t know how he hadn't thought about a gift for Phil yet. Phil is still feeling a little weird about how much he spent on Dan’s gift.

A fic about coincidence and sacrifice.

Neighbourly Nook (ao3) - wednesday_ukiru

Summary: The stranger had a dimple on his cheek that appeared when he laughed.

“I’m Dan,” he said, extending his hand. Phil reached for it with extreme eagerness, their knuckles knocking together in a particularly painful way, and they both winced, but Dan immediately broke into a smile. “I don’t know why I offered you a handshake, I never know how to do them.”

Revolving Door (ao3) - intoapuddle

Summary: Phil really doesn’t want to think about what Dan said. He really would like to leave, and take this strangled feeling elsewhere. But he can’t stop listening to Dan’s song.

so american (ao3) - ae121

Summary: Phil has been living in London for a year and thinks he's gotten pretty used to the city. He works part-time at a bookstore, using it at first to gain some friends, now it's just fun for him. His friends are constantly trying to find him someone to date, but all of his dates don't go well.

Well, that's until he met Dan.

Sunshine on the street at the parade (ao3) - ForeverJustAnEmoKidAtHeart

Summary: Dan and Phil meet at a Pride Parade.

so good (ao3) - grievingwarwidow

Summary: dan gets a piercing

since i wrote you last (ao3) - dizzy

Summary: Dan and his letters to Santa over the years.

The Knight of Wands (ao3) - Nefertiti1052 (Succubusphan)

Summary: Phil had always had dreams that he couldn't quite comprehend and a certain intuition about what was truly important for his future.

They fade to nothing when I look at him (ao3) - phasamtasie

Summary: Arriving in the kitchen Phil made himself his one cup of coffee he allowed himself on weekend days and stared out the window lost in thought, so it took him a few seconds to register why the light had seemed so much brighter than usual at 8am. With childish delight he saw that it had snowed overnight, and not just the usual UK dusting where one could still see the grass underneath but a proper snow, coating everything outside in a bright white.

OR

Dan and Phil go sledging.

trouble between you and i (ao3) - calvinahobbes

Summary: Phil can't stand the silence for another moment. "I don't want to break up," he says.

Weight on my Shoulders (ao3) - ByTheFire

Summary: When Phil starts getting some unexpected gifts from his dad he starts to worry if he knows something he is not ready to share. Thankfully Dan is there to make it all a bit less scary. All Phil can hope is his dad doesn't want to change who he truly is.

when i walk in the kitchen, my heart hits the floor (ao3) - aura_sky

Summary: a phivorce fic

based on the Renee Rapp song (In the Kitchen)

or

Dan walks into the kitchen and he misses Phil.

[birdmitosis]

if you’re still doing the ask game, i’d love to hear your thoughts abt voice of the smitten please 😊 (no pressure though)

[ask game here]

Oh gosh, no worries! I am super open to doing more of these :D

SMITTEN TIME 💖

First impression

My first impression of him was absolutely during the Damsel route, and I'll be real, I mostly defaulted to vaguely fond exasperation. I was a bit "oh no, he's funny for sure but Oh No" about him and he was one of my least favorite voices for the longest time!

Impression now

...Whereas at this point he may not be one of my favorites but I honestly love him. He is fascinating, having darker depths of emotion than one would think at first and being capable of some definitely bad things, but also having a great capacity for love that is unflinching, unashamed, and comes with no caveats. He is a supportive darling with unbending faith and this also somehow makes him not only one of the strongest voices but also one of the most potentially dangerous to the group. This is great.

Favorite moment

Ohhh, there are so many small moments I can't choose between! The "He just likes to hear himself talk." "I do." exchange, the part where he straight-up says he's no thoughts head empty except for the Princess, how quick he is to forgive Opportunist and just accept him back on sides, how he slays us if we slay Damsel and his homoerotic fight with Cold at the very beginning of the Burned Grey route, The Look...

I think my favorite moment, though, might just be when you find the Princess's skeleton in the basement in Burned Grey and he goes "No! She was alive and well just a moment ago, floating away transparently!" It is SUCH a funny moment and if I make another "funniest moments in Slay the Princess" video, that is definitely going in there. He is hilarious.

Idea for a story

TBH, before the Pristine Cut comes out, it could be fun to write a version of the Damsel Chapter III that I don't think we're getting, one that I'd been toying with in my head... Choosing to stay with Damsel and the Narrator trying to force our hand again (or threatening to) leading to Smitten slaying us to show Narry he's serious about that, and then when we get to Chapter III instead of a basement it's an upstairs room, and it's way more livable, comfortable, with chairs and things, and her chain is thin and long and allows her access to the whole room comfortably. There is no blade. The only option, if they don't want to stay forever, is to brave what might be out there together and face the world, whatever may be. Once you actually decide to break the chains they snap easily.

(I think Cheated would be a fun option for this one, but I'd probably write it with Paranoid. Torn between love and fear in the Damsel chapter, and part of why we're "staying together" instead of escaping is fear of what will happen and what we'll find if we leave...)

Unpopular opinion

IDK how unpopular either of these are per se, so I'm going to give two of them:

One, Smitten shines least in his own basic route. If you go for Damsel and either free Damsel or deconstruct her, it is definitely incredible to see just how powerful Smitten's power of belief really is, but he himself isn't all that interesting and isn't as hilarious or as fun as in other routes. He has incredible moments in the Razor path, he's intensely sympathetic in the Moment of Clarity, he is both funny and very interesting personality-wise in Thorn (especially if you do free her), and then if you slay Damsel and get into Burned Grey he's maybe at his strongest both humor- and interest-wise.

Two, despite what I said above about loving Smitten in the Thorn chapter, which I do... I don't actually like the way to get Smitten in the Thorn chapter. I think it's jarring and kind of off-putting to start strongly flirting with Witch in that particular situation, and I don't like the implications of the "why are you actually trying to free me" "you're beautiful" exchange.

Favorite relationship

Among the other voices, I think my favorite relationship he has with them canonically is the one he has with Opportunist in the Thorn chapter. (I told you I love Smitten in The Thorn! I just don't like how you get there with him!) His weirdass relationship with Cold is a very close second, though, and I would be very interested in seeing them with a different dynamic in one of the new Pristine Cut Chapter IIIs, potentially!

Among the other voices, the relationships we don't really get to see in game that I'd love to see are how he'd be with Broken or Skeptic, with Cheated, Contrarian, and Paranoid being runners-up.

Among the vessels, my favorite canonical relationship he has with any of them... Hear me out, because I did say he is least interesting in his own base chapter, but I still really do love his relationship with Damsel. One of the only two vessel/voice ships I actually ship somewhat strongly (along with Adversary/Stubborn). I'd also love to see his relationship with Prisoner, Spectre, or Wild!

My favorite relationship for him in a shippy way is with Broken, though, by far. (Mending Hearts my beloved...)

Favorite headcanon

I really do love the idea that Smitten's unhesitating, unapologetic love of the Princess also translates to a love of the world, and that in any post-Construct AU where Shifty wasn't slain, he loves the world and life intensely because she is a part of all of it, even if he misses her.

I also really love trans Smitten, though! I specifically go back and forth between seeing Smitten as transfem and Damsel as transmasc, or seeing both of them as bigender, sometimes he/him and sometimes she/her.

[itsscromp]

Miguel O'Hara x reader platonic

Hey again everyone, as of time when I post this it'll officially be my birthday in 1 weeks time, so what better to celebrate than by giving you all a birthday fic with 2099 himself, let's dive right into it. word count:1.1K

Since joining the society, you have accomplished many things, some of which you thought you weren't even capable of, All thanks to help from Miguel. He was the one person you could always count on.

The day before your birthday as he was looking through the universes to find potential anomalies, Lylla spoke up.

"You do know it's y/n's birthday tomorrow miggy"

"Lylla I told you not to call me that"

"Sorry chief, but I am right about the birthday part"

"Are you sure ??"

Lylla then pulls up your file and read through.

"Yep Y/B/D is just as correct"

Miguel was slowly now starting to freak out, he wanted to do something special for you, but since it was tomorrow how could he find the time.

"Qué debo hacer, Qué debo hacer" (What do I do, What do I do)

"Maybe take them to a movie ??"

No no, he couldn't do that, he wanted to show how much you meant to him. how much he loved you. After laying in bed staring at the ceiling, he had an idea.

"Lylla !!"

*yawns* Lylla's hologram popped up, she looked like she was sleeping too. "This better be good"

"I have an idea"

The next day.

Today was your birthday, another lap around the sun. well, now another lap around the multiverse. You didn't feel much older other than knowing it was your birthday, It was exciting as you got to spend it with your bestest friends in the multiverse. As soon as you woke up, Ben barged into your room with a party horn.

*party horn noises* "Happy birthday pal !!!"

"Hey ben thank you" you smiled at him

He then wraps an arm around your neck and gets you in a gentle and playful chock hold

"This is called a chocker hold, I'm using my bicep to constrict you so i can noogie your head" He did so, stuffing up your hair

"Ben !!" You laughed, managing to get out of the hold and hugged him tightly. "Thank you"

Ben happily hugged you back just as tight "Anything for my best friend"

"Who has completed another 365 days around the sun, They have been such a bright light in my life.."

You didn't care if he was narrating again, He was there.

"Come on, some of the other spider people have a surprise for you."

the two then swung to were some of the other spider-society members had a little party for you.

"Surprise !!" Gwen was there, Hobie was there, pavitar was there, Peter B and mayday too.

"You guys..." You looked around finding the decorations and the cake.

"Happy birthday y/n" Gwen ran up to you and hugged you tightly.

"Oh my gosh, this is amazing !!!, Y/n is also amazing !!" pavitar spoke up.

"This day is yours mate, You do you and don't let anyone tell ya how. Hobie spoke up and ruffled your hair.

You then heard babbling as a certain spider baby crawled up behind your back and placed a gentle kiss on your cheek.

"Y/n !!!"

"Mayday also says happy birthday kiddo"

You smiled as you then held mayday and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you guys so much"

"Alright, who's ready for cake !!!" Pavitar was super excited as he spent all day baking it, infusing an array of sweets and spices into it.

As you gathered and chatted and laughed, you noticed one person missing, Miguel.

You knew he wasn't the gathering type but you were sure he would make today an exception.

"I wonder where Miguel is."

"Oh bro ain't the birthday type" Hobie immediately

"Come to think of it, He hasn't really celebrated any birthdays" Gwen spoke up.

"No No, he did celebrate this little one's birthday when she turned 1" Peter B gently bounced Mayday as she giggled "Isn't that right my sweet cheeks ??" He gently kisses her head.

"I'll go and find him."

You then ventured to Miguel's base.

"I wish you luck y/n !!!" pavitar shouted

Entering the base and ignoring the creepy nearly completed suit-looking thing, you looked up to see Miguel not on his platform.

"Miguel ??!! You here ??"

Miguel was hiding, Lylla alerted him of your imminent arrival having prepared his idea, he set it into motion.

The room suddenly went dark.

'Miguel ??..." You then saw the familiar digital droplet falling down and blooming into the tree you saw when you first met the society.

"What's going on ??"

But when the webs were forming, something was different. Instead of the canon events of every single Spider-Man, it was just you and Miguel, all the moments where smiles and laughs were shared.

You smiled looking through all of these events, Looking back at your favorite ones.

"Miguel did you see that !!!!" You saw one event where you caught your first anomaly. Miguel was so so proud of you that day.

"I did y/n, Great job." he patted your shoulder before the two of you brought it back to the society.

"Ok... so if x equals that then the web shooters would be able to extend further than they normally would" In one event you were making modifications to your web shooters to make them extend further as they were having some trouble shooting.

"That should be correct. Give it a go Niño" (Kiddo)

You then aimed your web shooters at the test dummy which was further than usual. shooting at it, the webs stuck to the dummy.

"Miguel we did it !!!!" You smiled widely at him

"Look at you go little genius" He ruffled your hair A proud dad moment.

"Come on Miguel just one game please." You managed to bring your games console back from your universe and convinced Miguel to play just one round with you.

"Ok Ok just one round"

But one round turned to multiple, he was having so much fun with you.

"Your going down y/n."

"Oh no your not !!"

But at the last minute surprisingly Miguel pulled a combo move on you, eventually making the game his for the taking.

"Guess I can say I'm the ultimate Spider-Man and gamer" He even did somewhat of a victory dance which got you laughing.

Seeing all of this made you smile wide, You've shared a lot of fond memories with Miguel.

The webs disappeared and the room lit up again.

"Happy birthday y/n" Miguel came out of his hiding spot, smiling widely.

"Miguel..." Your happy tears brew as you rush to him and hug him tightly. He wrapped his strong arms around you, hugging you just as tight.

"I loved it... thank you so much"

"I love you Niño, so so much, happy birthday"

Lylla appeared blowing her party horn and popping digital party streamers. "Happy birthday to the one and only Y/N !!!"

The smile not leaving your face all day. you just witnessed the greatest birthday gift of all time. Miguel spent all night organizing each event into one web. You couldn't have asked for a greater birthday gift than that.

taglist: @callofdudes

[blackjackkent]

All right, after an extremely emotionally turbulent exploration of the rest of the circus, time for Rakha and co. to finally meet Dribbles. Once again, Rakha has become deeply invested in making sure Wyll gets to see the show, which is the only reason she doesn't turn around and leave as soon as she realizes what exactly that entails.

"Buddy the Dog is my very best friend? Do you know why?"

Oh, Rakha thinks. That is what a clown is.

She remembers the terrible night in the Shadowlands when she was cursed into a strange, nonsensical face-painting (twice); it was fundamentally one of the worst days she has any memory of and resulted in her having a complete breakdown out in the curse-shrouded dark. And now she understands the full import of the pixie's mocking gesture, for she sees similar paint on the face of this entertainer surrounded by excited children, telling terrible jokes.

"Because with him, anything is PAW-sible! Wahey!"

Rakha comes very close to turning around and walking away right there - except that Wyll, at her side, laughs delightedly.

"Haha!" He snickers, nudging Rakha gently in the side with his elbow. "Between you and me," he whispers, "I love a good clown. And Dribbles is the best."

Rakha sets her jaw and remains still, resisting the urge to turn away. Wyll is happy. That's what matters. That was the whole point of being here in the first place.

No matter that something prickles uncomfortably in the back of her mind as she looks up at the strange, brightly-colored man and his inhuman stretched and painted grin. No matter that the beast in her head sees the crowd of innocents around her and longs to rip and tear and shred and bleed...

"Did you hear about the scarecrow who lost a fight?" Dribbles crows brightly.

He seems to be expecting some answer from the crowd, but Rakha has no idea what that answer might be.

Simply watch.

"He got the stuffing kicked out of him!" the clown finishes the joke to a burst of laughter from the onlookers. "Wa-hey!"

Jaheira groans good-naturedly. Wyll laughs again. Lae'zel is standing stock-still next to Rakha, her head cocked with an attitude of mild puzzlement. Minthara casually pulls a dagger from her hip and begins to examine its edge.

Rakha's head aches. Her tongue feels heavy in her mouth suddenly, her palms damp in her gloves. The crowd presses around them, too close, too loud.

"Oh, oh, you're all such good friends!" the clown shouts cheerfully. "I've had a wonderful time, but I have to go..." This elicits a predictable chorus of groans and protests from the children watching, and Dribbles' grin widens. "Oh, well, if you insist! How about a magic trick? But first - I need a volunteer with nerves of steel and the heart of a lion." He begins to scan the crowd with exaggerated intensity, a hand over his brow. "Who will it be? Who...?"

The crowd begins to shout, the children all bouncing up and down with their hands in the air, excited and eager.

Rakha's vision blurs, going white at the edges, and she feels for a panicky moment as if she is about to lose control--

Narrator: A bloodthirsty rush of fury engulfs you. You want to butcher the crowd, women and children alike, and soak in their innards. It is glorious.

It's some combination of the memory of her curse, the crowd and noise around her, the clown's sharp-edged cheeriness, Wyll's smile and her own darkness-- she can't bear it. She will break, she will snap, she will kill--

"Rakha?" Wyll's hand is on her arm, his voice in her ear, laughing.

Her vision clears and she realizes that Dribbles is looking directly at her, one hand outstretched.

"You!" he calls. "My special assistant. Come on up!"

No. She flinches. No. She can't go up there in front of these people. Not with her sanity hanging on a knife's edge, not with her head aching like there's a dagger in her temple. She's struck with an odd sourceless feeling that Dribbles knows, that he sees exactly what she is thinking, what she is...

That's nonsense, surely. It is just a game, like Wyll said the dryad was. This is a bit of foolishness, of fun.

But she can't go up there.

She shakes her head once sharply, turns to look at Wyll with an inarticulate plea in her eyes. "I-- think this is a job for the Blade of Frontiers," she says haltingly. She makes an attempt to smile, to give the words an attitude of play, but can't quite manage it; the whites show in her eyes. "Don't you, Wyll?"

It's better that he go up, anyway. This show is for him...

He knows something is wrong, certainly, and takes her hand and squeezes it for a moment. "I'm not so sure," he says hesitantly. And through the haze in her mind, she loves him for that hesitation, for not wanting to leave her side.

But she shakes her head. "Go on, Wyll," she mutters, as the clown shouts encouragement from the stage.

He draws back, and she sees the smile work back onto his face almost in spite of himself. "Well," he says - to the cheering crowd around them as much as to her, "if you insist!"

She struggles to focus, to watch attentively as he climbs onto the stage. The clown grins and the blink dog at his side steps back out of the way.

"Now!" Dribbles cries. "You're *very* special! As special as can be! Does anyone know why?"

Rakha knows a hundred, a thousand reasons why Wyll is special. None she would speak aloud to this painted fool, though. She remains silent as more shouts erupt from the crowd around her, her eyes locked on Wyll, trying her best to shut out the chaos.

"You're special, my friend," Dribbles continues, "because I have a message just for you!"

It happens in an instant, like a switch being flipped. That wide painted grin goes from cheerful to menacing, from bright fire to cold ice. All the humanity drops out of Dribbles's eyes and his smile suddenly shows all of his teeth.

And Rakha feels all of the beast's inarticulate fury coalesce into a fear-rage that suddenly has a very specific target.

"Praise the Absolute," the clown whispers.

"Trap," Jaheira hisses. Minthara growls something in Undercommon and Lae'zel curses, her blade flicked out of its scabbard and glinting in the late afternoon light.

But Rakha is only conscious of the clown and Wyll and the dog leaping forward from among the curtains and sinking its teeth into Wyll's arm. The smell of blood crashes across the arena and the crowd's shouts turn to screams.

Rakha's control, already strained to the breaking point, snaps. Her vision fades and the beast takes over, and she surges forward with only one thought remaining in her mind.

KILL THE CLOWN.

[cookies-over-yonder]

a thousand words left unsaid

dedicated to @iersei

Taylor and Link explore the undiscovered depths of the Swift household basement. ✧*.♡.*✧ DnDads Halloween Week Day 3: Things Left Abandoned

ao3

The Swift household is pitch black on the inside from the looks of it, and Link isn't quite sure why. He had planned to hang out with Taylor tonight, but wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary.

"Come inside," Taylor says with a mischievous lilt to his voice.

"Um, why are all the lights off?"

"It's spooky ," Taylor hands him a flashlight, and holds his hand, guiding him into the depths of the darkness.

Link chuckles a little. "Okay, but what are we doing?"

"We're exploring, obviously."

"But this is your house."

"True, true, but this is also a haunted mansion, and there are nooks and crannies unfamiliar to even me ," Taylor says, putting on this spooky narration voice that has Link cracking up again.

"Whatever you say, Taylor."

They head down to the basement, and Taylor opens a closet full of boxes.

"These boxes have been unopened since time immemorial…" he says.

"Whatever you say."

"And we are going to discover what's inside!" he shouts, picking up the first box and dropping it on the ground with a loud thump .

Taylor pulls out a switchblade and slices the tape on the top of it, and Link kneels down with him to lift up the flaps of cardboard.

"What do we have here?" Taylor asks, as they open the box to reveal a stack of dusty old novels.

"Books?"

"Ancient texts!" Taylor corrects, lifting one up and dusting it off. The cover reads Twilight . "These will be useful for our future journeys."

"Should we look through the rest of the books?" Link asks, playing into Taylor's adventure. He's so cute when he gets all roleplay-ey.

"No time! We must search through the other boxes," Taylor answers, bringing a couple more down from the closet. They all seem to be stacked haphazardly on top of each other.

Taylor passes Link his switchblade and resolves to use his sharp nails to slice the tape.

"Ah, more ancient texts!"

"Same here."

The two continue looking through the boxes and finding books neither recognize, save for some old editions of manga that Taylor keeps aside rather than putting them back in the boxes, and…

"At last! The final two."

One is bigger, and stacked atop the other. Link grabs it and starts to open it, while Taylor grabs the other one, dusting it off to do the same.

This box has a pair of shoes in it. They're big sneakers that were probably once white but now rock a slightly icky shade of yellow. There's a soccer ball next to it, also slightly yellow, and there's a little heart drawn on it in what appears to be black sharpie.

Nothing else is in the box.

"There's shoes and a soccer ball in mine, what about yours?" Link asks.

And from Taylor, there is nothing but a small gasp.

Link looks over, and he's got his flashlight pointed toward what looks like a picture frame.

Link scoots over and up close beside him to get a better view of what he's looking at, and oh .

It's a picture of Nicky, smiling and holding a baby in his arms, in a white frame with hearts drawn all over it, and at the bottom, in neat printing, it says, My Boys .

Taylor is quiet, except for increasingly shaky breaths.

"Taylor, I…"

What could Link even say?

And then it's too late, because Taylor puts the photo down on the floor and digs through the box with far too much aggression for a silly haunted mansion adventure.

There's a jersey, and some sweatshirts, and a beanie, and Link thinks he hears paper rustling, and Taylor pulls out what appears to be a letter in a tri-fold from the bottom of the box.

He unfolds it with shaky hands, and clears his throat.

Link doesn't think it a good idea, but he's not going to stop him.

And Taylor begins to read.

"Dear Cass, I'm so sorry I had to tell you this way, but I did it to keep you two safe," Taylor sucks in a breath, his voice shakier by the second, "I have to leave, I'm in trouble, and I can't let anything happen to you because they're after me. I've put money in the envelope, and I'll keep sending it for as long as I can."

Taylor stops for a second, and with what little light there is, Link can see tears start to slide down his face.

Just as Link opens his mouth, Taylor continues:

"I know Taylor won't remember me, but please give him a hug and a kiss on my behalf. I love you both, and… and…"

Taylor sucks in a shuddering breath, and breaks down in sobs.

Link is quick to envelop him in a hug, not caring that the paper crumples between them.

"Taylor, hey, hey, hey, it's okay," he soothes, carding his fingers through Taylor's hair.

Trembling violently in Link's grip, Taylor only whines and sobs harder, sucking in breath after breath as if he can't quite fill his lungs.

"It's okay, it's okay."

"It's not! " he shouts into Link's chest, shaking his head vigourously before whining again.

"Okay, maybe it's not, but I'm here okay? I'm here with you, and it's going to be okay."

" Link , I—"

Another sob rips through him, followed by the sound of Taylor nearing hyperventilation.

"Taylor, Taylor, breathe. Breathe with me okay? Deep breaths."

Taylor nods, and follows Link's lead in breathing deeply. It takes a while, and each little squeak and pained noise from Taylor struggling so much breaks Link's heart more and more, but eventually, he calms down, back to little whimpers and sniffles.

"That's better," Link hums, holding him close. "See? You're okay."

"Uh-huh…" Taylor mumbles, tear-laced and wobbly, before pulling away.

"This is my fault," he says, before putting the letter back in the box, on top of the clothes.

"Hey, no it's not."

Taylor whines again, swiping at his tears.

"Why don't we go upstairs and watch a movie?" Link asks, running his hand up and down Taylor's arm.

"Okay…" Taylor mumbles, moving to close the boxes full of books and collect the manga he found.

Link grabs the picture frame and moves to put it on top of the letter, but not before reading the last line Taylor couldn't get through:

I love you both, and maybe in another timeline, things could have been different.

- Nicky

[psianabel]

Ephemer's and Brain's scenes where they get appointed as a Union Leader - a comparison (and some other stuff relating to that)

Hi I'm Psi and I've been rotating these scenes in my mind for so long I just need to put down some words about this. Idk how long this is going to be, but I hope you will enjoy this. (Also screw the 10 picture limit of tumblr.)

There is quite the difference between those two scenes and it reflects a lot about their relationship with Ava, how they treat the title as a Union Leader, and are just ... generally interesting to look at, now that we kinda know everything.

The first frame each scene.

We know all of them got appointed at this same hill (except Strelitzia and, well, Ventus). Yet right from the start - even though the positioning are the same between them, Brain is seen lying down on the hill as Ava talks to him, while Ephemer seems to have been called to the hill to meet Ava there. Ava might have joined Brain on the hill instead of the other way around.

Brain is seen with the Rule Book in his hands already. The conversion starts for us right in the middle - he already got that book, and Ava told him to become a Union Leader.

The scene with Ephemer also starts right in the middle for us. Yet he doesn't have the rule book yet, but also asks Ava the same question as Brain.

Let's continue with Ephemer's scene for now. He questions everything Ava tells him, can't quite understand this end of the world, how he can't wrap his head around this while Ava already tells him what he has to do. It is very overwhelming for him (understandable), but he tries to listen to Ava's talk.

Ava assures him he isn't alone in this, that they can work together.

Ephemer just takes it all in, without questioning this loud on screen. I'm certain his mind is running miles right now. A silent thinker.

Brain, however, reacts quite differently. While we don't see the conversation they had before, the talk about the end, the war, doesn't happen here (which I definitely get from a narration point, and assume happened as he got the Rule Book before this scene started).

Instead he questions the choice of him taking on such an important role, immediately asking whose idea this was. Ava tells him the truth, that it was the Master of Masters, and assures him he'll be fine. And again Brain isn't quite happy about the work he just got appointed to do, and questions her about the four others - Ava must have told him about how they will take over the roles of the foretellers, to lead the Unions, how they can work together etc.

While he doesn't get an answer to his question, Ava's answer is still enough for him to draw an answer for himself - looking right through everything, how they aren't supposed to meet up before the war to do something unexpected.

"Clever as always" says to me that Ava knew Brain before all this. They definitely have met before, Ava knows how Brain thinks, how he's like and what he's capable of. Her short answers of "you'll be fine" over and over imply to me that.

The two scenes now drift apart in terms of the topic, yet they still kind of follow the same path.

Ava asks Ephemer to prepare for the other world - the world she intends to send the Dandelions to - while she starts a conversation about fate and destiny about Brain.

Again, let's start with Ephemer's scene first. Ava has given Ephemer the Rule Book now, and while Ephemer is still hung up about everything Ava just told him, Ava tells him how this other world won't have the Dandelions remember the war. Ephemer counters with how he isn't sure if this is a good idea, how the past is what makes the future after all. Ava notes how she thought he might say that and wonders if he still thought the same if he was there to witness the end.

Ephemer doesn't answer and the scene ends.

Throughout the entire scene Ava stays serious, going through this calm and collected without showing much emotion. The only time she does crack a small smile is at the very end.

Ava, now having joined Brain's side on the ground, starts dropping think-pieces towards Brain about the future, about predetermined fate, and if you knew what would happen, would you be able to change it.

Brain always answers her curious questions with curious questions of his own, furthering the discussion with her. He brings up the Book of Prophecies and knows how it holds the future in text form, wonders if you were to change the future if the text were to change as well.

Ava's expressions during that scene stays smiling, she chuckles at some answers from Brain, ... it comes off as appreciation that Brain just gets her, understands what she is about and her thought process.

A wavelength they share. Ava trusts him and you can see it in that conversation alone.

It is interesting, because with Ephemer - as he states the past is what makes the future - she simply comes off as "don't think about that. Follow the rules set in stone". Ephemer tries to challenge the thought, but Ava shuts him down. Even that far that, when he later meets Brain for the first time and Brain asks about the rules, Ephemer remembers Ava's words and follows what he had been told to.

Sure, these two topics - between Ava and Ephemer, and Ava and Brain - are different, yet it is still a conversation only the two individually got. And I can't help but compare these two, because the intentions of these scenes are the same, yet so vastly different excecuted.

And to bring everything to a peak, Brain's scene continues with him getting the Book of Prophecies, together with the list of the names of the five new Union Leaders.

Again, Ava trusts Brain in this, how he uses it, what he's supposed to do with it. And he assures her that he understood her message loud and clear. The scene ends with Brain saying he won't open it if he can avoid it and Ava, again, assuring him that he will know best.

Ava was intrusted to give the Book of Prophecies to one of the new Union Leaders in secret, noted that no one else from the other four should ever get their hands on it. Now that we know it wasn't Brain who was supposed to get it, the look at this and some other scenes get quite ... interesting.

There are some leftover things I want to cover.

- Ava and Brain have a much more comfortable conversation than Ava and Ephemer. I conclude from that that they knew each other before all this, as I mentioned before. Ephemer states that Ava is easy to talk to, so maybe that is also a factor. I also conclude from this that she specifically chose Brain for the Book because she already knew him. If she knew him before or after she got the list with the names would really be interesting to know, but sadly we don't know that. (But could you imagine if she knew him before she got her role?)

- Maybe Ephemer just needed this serious talk. We do know him as his bright, laughing boy, able to make friends quickly. He has troubles making important serious decisions alone (Shift Pride for example). Brain on the other hand is the more serious one, and Ava was more smiley in his scene - he can make decisions on his own if he wants to, maybe coming from a background where he was alone pre keyblade war times. Hm, just wondering here how this might be relevant to Missing Link one day ...

- Which scene happens first? Ephemer's or Brain's? I can only speculate, but let's put some things in order. We see one other scene between Ephemer and Ava, and it is when they meet at the fountain on the day Ephemer first met Player. There the conversation starts with "oh your name is Ephemer, right?" as if they ... have maybe met once before. Ava would definitely know Ephemer more here already if they had the talk about the Union Leader thing already. It must have been later than this then, though not much all too later, because Ephemer vanishes shortly after, to carry out what Ava asked him to do.

- So, Brain's scene before or after this point? We don't have a clear indication. I want to bring in the lines during the Ephemer - Ava fountain scene "Hey, maybe talking about the Book will cheer you up!" "Not a chance." here, simply because I feel this is important to Ava's decision of giving Brain the Book. Ephemer is so curious about the Book of Prophecies, he doesn't hide it. There is another line I want to bring in now, from the KHUx Finale.

"Master Ava told me you've been wanting to read the Book for a long time." This very line could reference this very fountain scene, implying that Brain and Ava met again at some later point to let him know just about that. Which is interesting, because it means that Brain knew that Ephemer was a Union Leader even before the war, or maybe Ava told him in a way without mentioning he's a new leader - paraphrasing here - "there is a boy called Ephemer who wants to read the Book so badly". Either way, it makes me think Brain's scene happened before Ephemer's just because of this line.

- following up on my previous point, Brain knowing that Ephemer wants to read the Book so badly from the very beginning makes the keyblade graveyard scene of them meeting for the first time interesting to look at. Other theories aside here, Brain asking him if he's the leader and if they should follow the rules, knowing this one thing about Ephemer - challenging him like Ava did in his scene, but this time in reversed roles. Kind of to see where he stands.

- knowing all that, seeing their relationship flourish through the game is so ... good. From Brain questioning if he's the leader to downright trusting him by showing him the list of the names of the Union Leaders, being the first person Brain seeks out to talk about this issue they face. I will not go into details about that, I just want to conclude it with my final image.

The keyblade, the Book, it was meant for Ephemer all this time - implying that Ephemer was the one who was circled in red by the Master of Masters in the first place.

I could go into another deep dive here, about how this was meant to happen in the first place, how even if Ava wanted to challenge fate and destiny by switching around the owners, this timeline was written down in the first place like that - but maybe that's for another day.

So ..... yeah.

Two scenes, so different, yet so similar to the core. Ephemer, who took his role as a Union Leader serious right away. Brain, who calls him a leader right away, calling himself lazy and not fit for the job in the first place.

Yet in the end they worked together blindly, understood and trusted each other.

Anyways uhhh, that's all, thanks for reading and I hope my jumbled thoughts make somewhat sense, lmao.

[inmarbleimmobility]

1.1.8 "After-Dinner Philosophy"

good god there's so, so much going on in this chapter ever so subtly - sassy Myriel is my favorite Myriel! i'll see if i can get my thoughts out quickly.

in the continuing trend of "alex notices obvious things they never got before": this senator seems to be the same as the one from 1.1.2 who complains about the bishop claiming his carriage expenses, which is hilariously ironic. (unless there's another "senator referred to above" that i've missed in the last 6 chapters, which is. extremely possible!)

this whole chapter is like a very satisfying twitter ratio. this senator just gets roasted so hard by Myriel and by the narrator and I love it.

"it's difficult for a senator and a bishop to look each other in the eye without blinking" - there's a specific historical context here, for sure, but it feels church vs. state-ish to me.

what on earth does the senator mean by "we are two prophets"???? is this a translation choice? is he just referring to the fact that they have different ideas about what happens after death??

"you are on the purple bed, Monsieur Senator" also doesn't make sense to me. just purple like opulence?

there's something in "good fellows"/"good devils" but i suspect it's a French nuance I don't get. I'll try to remember to check my French text for it later. also the "good devils" oxymoron is delightful.

this whole speech feels very similar to something a certain other drunk man who loves to philosophize at length might say... "Down with this great All; how he irritates me! Hail, Zero! He leaves me alone" especially.

in animal mentions: the thing about wolves not sacrificing themselves for each other. wolf count 2! plus his later reference to "eat or be eaten". (yes, this DID get the attack on titan theme song stuck in my head.)

the senator sees no reason to think about questions of "good and evil, justice and injustice" except for the possibility of future punishment, and since he doesn't believe in that, he just doesn't think of them. absolutely not a hint of thinking about these things just to, you know, make the world a better place.

going to have to look into the "raised the skirt of Isis" reference too.

"Duped by the Infinite!" is such an interesting thing to say!

"all fall into the great gulf - the end; finis; total liquidation" - the abyss again! and "our tomorrow is night".

"the good Lord is good enough for the people" - alright, karl marx, easy!

and the bishop closes by pointing out the privilege the rich have to live by this senator's philosophy.

Myriel isn't even telling the senator he should sacrifice his earthly wealth for paradise, just that 'you can't take it with you'. it also feels like he's saying "wow, how nice of you to leave religion for ~the poor~ after spending your whole life stockpiling material wealth and using that as an excuse not to help others", as well as implying that he thinks the senator is the true loser here. one has to wonder if the senator even realizes just how much he's getting Owned or if he really thinks he did something there.

[shaolinrouge]

Okay, so I rewatched PR:U for the first time since its release, and I definitely had some thoughts.

To begin with, what is with the really bizarre product placement in the beginning. Jake did not need to hold up those Oreos so blatantly lmao.

PR:U jumps straight into the action in a really identifiably different way than Pacific Rim does. In PR, Raleigh narrates the Kaiju War and then we see him and Yancy get into the Knifehead fight, and it flows really well overall. On the other hand, PR:U starts with a quick relay of the Kaiju War, and then we're introduced to Jake in the regions still affected by past Kaiju attacks (i.e. half-destroyed mansion, which I also have some thoughts on). So it quickly becomes clear he's got some black market dealings going on, and the first action sequence of the movie is Jake running from these random Jaeger scrappers (??). It's just really throwing compared to the first one, since we at least have a general idea of what's going on with Raleigh.

Side note: I'm assuming they're in the Bay Area that was largely evacuated considering they head toward a Jaeger scrapyard, so how does that mansion have like...any utilities.

So then we're introduced to Amara, who can build a sickass Jaeger but has no security system? I don't know, she seems really careful about being discovered for obvious reasons, so I feel her hideout would at least have an alarm or some kind of traps, But Jake essentially just strolls in.

Of course, then we have November Ajax vs. Scrapper, which I actually do like. Its nice to see what the new Jaegers look like, and see what Scrapper, the first single-pilot Jaeger, is capable of. This scene also really seals the tone of PR:U as kind of lighthearted and jokey while also having action and death, which isn't really the case in Pacific Rim.

Another thing I like: Amara and Jake's relationship. A lot of things about this movie feel funky, but I think the actors did a very good job of forming a very genuine-feeling bond between these two characters.

Mako's introduction just feels. very bizarre. I understand that she obviously can't be there in person, thus the hologram, but the whole situation just has a weird vibe that I can't place. I'm not sure if it's because Jake and Mako act so familiar with each other even though Jake was never mentioned in the movie, or because I'm just not a fan of the hologram bit.

Contrary to popular opinion (at least what I've seen), I really like the Jaegers in PR:U. I hate that they removed the realism from their movements that was always present in the first, but there were some very interesting weapons and new designs introduced at the same time, so I can let it slide. Except the giant rotating ball of blades on Bracer Phoenix, it can go die.

Mako's death is genuinely my least favorite scene in the movie for obvious reasons. She was essentially killed off for no reason, since we don't see much of Jake's grief, meaning they wrote her off for pointless plot purposes, which I hate.

I do enjoy the villain bait with Liwen, although it's a shame Newton ended up being the villain. They were definitely setting her up as an antagonist since she was on a side somewhat opposite to Mako's, and because it becomes clear that Shao Industries is somehow evil before having her turn around and attempt to stop Newton no matter the force necessary.

While on women in the movie, not a huge fan of how Jules was treated, but she's also not present that much so I won't go on and on about female characters being used a tool to create tension being male characters blah blah.

The fight against the Mega-Kaiju was...something. Suresh dying was completely out of the blue, and I hated it. I think the cadets all being so young is an odd decision to make, especially because in the first movie most of the Jaeger pilots come into the program in their very late teenage years at the least (besides Chuck and Raleigh, iirc). They try to justify the whole. child soldier-esque training by saying the Bond is stronger at a young age, but they didn't even have that young of recruits in the first PR and that was during a war so idk.

Raleigh not being mentioned at all is also a crime btw. Or Herc, for that matter, but he could at least make a little more justifiable sense than Raleigh.

Anyway, this was a really scattered collection of musings on the movie, but there we go.