#i have at least 2 more sets i wanna make but watch me make none

[apothe-roses]

I Wanna Ride

modern Aemond Targaryen x reader

Part 2

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Summary: You go to your first biker meet with Aly and Cregan. After witnessing a bit of that classic Targ family tension, an opportunity arises. One that may require you to spend more time with your least favorite Targaryen.

Fic Contains: swearing, family tension, Aemond being a prick (again), sexual tension if you squint

Word Count: 2034

The sun has just set over the gathering in the heart of King’s Landing’s steel district. The air is alive with the sound of purring engines, shouts, and rock music playing. You look around, trying to take everything in at once.

You and Ally likely would’ve been swallowed by the crowd had it not been for Cregan serving as your personal buffer. With his height, he easily cut a path through the crowd for the two of you. One of his hands reaches behind him to hold Aly’s. Her other arm is linked in yours.

“Isn’t this fun?” Aly shouts.

“Yeah, I wish I’d gone to one of these sooner,” you respond just as loud.

“Really? Even the countless times I asked you to come with me?” Aly shoots back playfully.

“I was busy!” you argue.

“Excuses, excuses,” Aly retorts. “You were scaared.” She drags the last word out mockingly.

You elbow her playfully. She laughs and elbows you back.

“Well, at least you’re here now. Right, babe?” She directs the question to her boyfriend.

“Yeah, sure!” Cregan shouts over his shoulder. You’re pretty sure he wasn’t paying attention to your conversation at all.

Suddenly, Cregan raises his free hand and starts waving madly.

“Jace! Jace!” He shouts. He picks up his pace, dragging you and Aly with him.

You come to a less crowded area with picnic benches scattered about. Cregan makes a beeline towards one, letting go of Aly’s hand to engulf another guy in a bear hug. Cregan breaks the hug, ruffling his friend’s curly brown hair. You presume this is “Jace.”

“Aly! How’ve you been,” Jace asks, embracing her.

“I was doing great til I saw your ugly mug,” Aly teases, copying Cregan and ruffling his hair. Jace waves her off, laughing. Then he notices you.

“Hi! I’m Jace! Nice to meet you,” Jace says happily.

“My boyfriend’s boyfriend,” Aly explains over Jace’s shoulder. Jace turns to retort, but Aly takes refuge behind a laughing Cregan. Jace turns back to you, shaking his head.

“Come on. I saved us a table,” he said with a smile. He leads you all to a table where another boy—his brother Luke—sits. You all fall into easy conversation. You tell Jace and Luke about your new dragon, and they tell you about the new models they’re having a hand in developing.

“I thought only Targaryens were allowed to submit designs,” you say, confused.

“Oh, they didn’t tell you? Our mom’s Rhaenyra Targaryen,” Luke explains. Your mouth falls open.

“We take after our dad. Our little brother Joffrey is the same,” Jace adds in. Looking at him, you could see the resemblance to his father, Harwin Strong.

“Oh, wow,” you stammer, unable to find a response. Luckily, you didn’t have to as something catches Luke’s eye.

“Oh no,” he says, shrinking in his seat. You turn to where he’s looking. Walking through the crowd are none other than Aegon and Aemond Targaryen. Both Targaryens have ditched the coveralls you initially met them in. Aegon opted for a navy sweatshirt and jeans, a gold chain hanging around his neck. Aemond was wearing all black, from his leather jacket to his combat boots. His hair was only half pulled up, leaving the rest to hang down his chest.

They were accompanied by two people you immediately recognized as their siblings Daeron and Helaena.

The four siblings spot your group and start to make their way over. Well, three of them do. Aemond immediately turns and stalks off in a different direction. Helaena looks like she’s going to stop him, but Daeron shakes his head at her. You watch as Aemond disappears down an alley. When you turn back, you immediately lock eyes with Aly, who raises a brow and smirks a bit.

You scowl back at her, thinking back to the conversation you two had after getting your bike back.

“You didn’t mention he was hot!”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware the hotness of the mechanic was of any relevance!” Aly shot back sarcastically.

“You also didn’t mention he was…”

“Rude?”

“Yep.”

“Yeah, Aemond’s always been more on the antisocial side. Apparently the rudeness came in after the accident,” she whispers that last part (even though they were the only two people in the room).

“Accident?”

“Yeah. Something to do with his nephew. Never got the full story. All I know is that it really divided the family and they haven’t been the same since.”

That tension is evident in the strained smiles the remaining Targaryen siblings give your group.

“Hello nephews,” Aegon greets Jace and Luke. “And friends,” he finishes, sending a wink your way.

“Mind if we join you?” Helaena asks softly.

“Of course,” Jace answers, noticeably less tense with his aunt. Aegon and Daeron squeeze in on either side of Jace and Luke while Helaena takes a place on the edge of the bench next to you. You notice she has brightly colored earplugs in.

“I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Helaena,” she says softly. You tell her your name in response.

“The one who put Aemond in his place,” Aegon adds from his seat at the table.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset him,” you say

“Don’t be. Aemond’s funny when he’s mad,” Daeron laughs. You furrow your brows.

“We didn’t even interact for that long. I didn’t think I would make much of an impression on him,” you ponder.

“Oh, Arm’s not used to people talking to him at all. People tend to give him a wide berth when they come to the garage,” Aegon explains. “And you not only tried to make conversation but called him out on his bullshit. Honestly, I’m impressed.”

“It’s a shame, really,” Helaena muses. “He’s really nice once you get to know him.

“Everyone is nice to you Hel,” Daeron drawls.

“Still,” Helaena huffs.

The topic is dropped as the table makes meaningless small talk with each other. You tuned most of the conversation out til Aegon clasped his hands together.

“Look, nephews,” Aegon starts, leaning in. “Word on the street is that you know the location of the next Dragon Rally.”

“How do you know we know?” Jace asks.

“Because you don’t shut up about it,” Aly responds, causing Cregan to snort. Jace frowns at her. “Didn’t Grandpa tell any of you about it?” He directs the question to his relatives.

“Of course not,” Daeron scoffs. An awkward silence falls over the table.

“Aaanyways,” Cregan drags out. “You gonna come with us?” He looks at you over his girlfriend’s head. Aly turns to look at you as well.

“Oh, I don’t know,” you reply. The Dragon Rally was a rather secretive event despite its popularity. All you knew was that it involved a grueling ride to whatever location was picked that year and that it was sponsored by the Targaryen family.

“I don’t think I’ll have quite gotten the hang of riding by the time it rolls around,” you continue.

“Oh, Aemond can teach you!” Helaena exclaims. Everyone at the table turns to look at her as if she’s grown a second head.

“What? Vaghar and Meraxes are similar enough models. Plus, it could help patch things up between them.”

“As much as I’d hate to throw you to the wolves, she has a point,” Aegon says. “If anyone’s got the stuff to whip you into shape in a short amount of time, it’s Aemond.”

You look down at the table, thinking on what they said. You’ve spent a long time on the outskirts of this community, wanting to join on the fun but never finding the opportunity—or the courage. You didn’t want to miss out on any more.

“Why doesn’t Aly do it? They’re friends after all,” Jace asks.

“Trust me, Aly couldn’t teach a fish how to swim,” Cregan laughs, earning an elbow in the side from his girlfriend.

“I’m a great teacher,” Aly snaps at Cregan, who laughs and kisses the top of her head.

“Of course you are, love,” he says softly. Daeron pretends to gag, causing Helaena to scold him.

“You know I’d help you,” she says to you. “But my nephew and his gremlin friends are coming into town.” You nod sympathetically. You’ve met Benji Blackwood before. He’s a nice kid, but if he and his friends are in town…Aly’s brother’s gonna need all the help he can get.

“And before you ask, I won’t have the time to lend my expertise. And neither will you,” Cregan explains to Jace.

“Come on, there’s no harm in at least asking,” Aegon teases. You look up at him.

“Alright,” you say simply, rising from the bench.

“Wait, I didn’t mean right now!” Aegon shouts as you walk off in the direction Aemond disappeared in earlier.

Aemond leans against the brick wall, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

“You know that’s bad for you, right?”

Aemond’s eye lands on you. He gives you a once over before removing the cigarette and letting out a puff of smoke.

“Oh. You,” he said flatly.

“Yes. Me,” you parrot back, matching his flat delivery. You swear you see a slight twinkle in his eye.

“I didn’t think events like this were your thing,” you say, folding your arms across your chest.

“They’re not,” Aemond responds curtly. He takes another drag. “My siblings practically kidnapped me. They think I don’t get out enough,” He scoffs.

“Based on the mercifully brief interaction we had, I’d wager they’re right,” you quip.

“Did they send you to drag me out there,” he asks, taking another puff.

“No, actually. I wanted to ask you about something.”

He raises an eyebrow at this. “Did you fuck up your bike already?”

“No,” you huff. “Though if I had, I could probably fix it myself.”

He angles his body towards you, his shoulder braces against the wall. “Could you now?”

You thought he was mocking you, but the look in his eyes…he looks more curious than anything.

“I brought her to you ‘cause I hit a dead end. Thought it would be good to get a second pair of eyes to look her over. Oh!” You mentally kick yourself for your poor word choice. “I didn’t mean—“

“It’s fine. Happens all the time,” Aemond interjects, though you see his jaw clench. “So, what did you want to ask me?”

You took a deep breath. “The Dragon Rally is coming up. I want to go with my friends,” you start.

“That ride is brutal,” he says, frowning. “You’d have to train hard to be ready by the time it rolls around.”

“I know. Which is why I want you to teach me,” you finish, bracing yourself for his response.

He doesn’t say anything, only gapes at you as if you’d spouted the most ludicrous idea in the world. “Why on earth would you want me to teach you?” He asks.

“Your sister suggested it,” you reply shyly. “And Aegon seconded the idea.”

He lowers his gaze with a hmm. You shift from foot to foot, waiting for his response.

“It’s going to be a lot of work. To start from absolutely nothing—“

“We wouldn’t be starting from nothing!” You interrupt.

“Wouldn’t we?” He quips back.

“I know the basics,” you explain.

“The basics,” he scoffed.

“And what’s wrong with that?” you ask incredulously. His lips curl into a smirk as he leans in close enough for you to feel his breath on your ear.

“Riding a dragon,” he purrs, “is anything but basic.”

You weren’t sure if he meant for that to come off as seductive as it did.Gods, why does his voice have to be so sexy?

“So will you do it?” You ask tentatively.

“Hmmm. I’ll think about it,” he responds.

You nod your head. At least it wasn’t an outright no. Not wanting to push your luck, you turn to walk away.

“But if I do say yes, I’ll want something in return,” he calls after you.

You freeze, looking back at him over your shoulder. “And what exactly will that be?”

“Haven’t decided yet,” he replies. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you do anything you’re not comfortable with.” You let out a small sigh of relief.

“But you’ll owe me,” he finishes. “And I never forget a debt.”

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Taglist: @valeskafics @carriellie @let-love-bleeds-red @wintrr13 @queenofshinigamis @seabasscevans @fangirlninja67 @toodlesxcuddles @almostpurplelady @goldenpanda16

Bold means I couldn’t tag you

Let me know if you want me to add you to the list! (Or be removed. No shame in that 😊)

[felonytaxevasion]

Arc 1 - Bonds

My assorted commentary on the first chapter of Pact for my mutuals who were interested in my thoughts. Testing out formatting this might be mess thank you for your patience.

As always no spoilers please thank you <333

This is technically my second time reading this but I wasn't paying attention the first time so I wanted to start over

1.1

“My children are useless,” she said. She was so dismissive and casual about it.

First of all. Icon. I absolutely love wretched old women and I love having the foresight of knowing practitioners cant lie meaning that this is presumably an objective evaluation of her children's capabilities. I'm also gonna watch out for Blake's mom and Aunt Stephanie though. They aren't included in that statement so maybe we can have an evil magic milf era. Like in Umineko. I love Umineko.

If anything I’d said had an impact, it was that. I could see the faint amusement drop away from her. “Are you accusing me of being a liar, Master Blake?”

aHA BECAUSE PRACTITIONER RULES

It was well after dark when someone stepped outside to talk to me. I closed out of the puzzle game I was playing on my phone. The brightness of the screen made for a dark patch that lingered in my vision as I looked up. Eleven-fifty at night.

This is an interesting writing choice because it's clear that a lot of time has passed but not exactly how much. Which adds mystery to the question of "was Rose planned all along or did Rose Sr. make an impulse choice after talking with Blake.

Also I really wanna know. When Rose met Ivy did her parents bring her in and talk or did they just set the baby on the bed and leave.

“Molly! Don’t be rash!” Aunt Irene admonished her. “I don’t want it,” Molly said, again. She grabbed the footboard of the bed. “No.“ “Molly, don’t be silly.”

Molly is one of the biggest reasons I don't want spoilers. Everything about her is so interesting. She was the first choice but she died very quickly. But not THAT quickly. Was Rose 2 always the plan and Molly was the sacrificial lamb to pave the way or was Molly just genuinely the best choice to become heiress. She survived for four months which is, if Pact is paced similarly to Worm, long enough to survive Leviathan, The Slaughterhouse Nine, Coil, and Echidna or whatever their equivalent in Pact land is. And that is no small feat. Like obviously I'm assuming here but I can't imagine the combined forces of Jacobs Bell were just letting her chill. I have so many questions about her and I want answers to none of them.

The blonde woman opposite him folded her hands in front of her. “That was… noteworthy in scale. Kind of her to point the way, but she was never crude. We’ll need to know what she did before we move on.”

THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE. Noteworthy in scale. Rose is not a small feat. Why are she and Blake positioned as the backup plan. Thinking so hard

“Funny thing, Maggie,” Padraic said, and when he smiled, the expression extended further than it should have. The smile too wide, the eyes too long and narrow. “When something momentous occurs, it can be the equivalent of lighting up the night sky, scattering fog and clouds to the horizons. You can see more clearly… but when you look, they can look back, too.”

Maggie and Padraic are some of my favorite characters based on vibes alone. I just know they're going to die so horribly so early on. At least Maggie.

“Mm,” the man in the throne said. “‘Lo, stranger. Listen, I don’t think you should believe what any of them say about me. If you need help, I can offer it.” “For a price,” the dog added.

Now see Johannes I would love to give you the benefit of the doubt however I know for a fact (a pact fact!) I have not seen any fanart of you making out sloppy style with Blake Thorburn and as such I find it hard to believe you are his ally. The wildbow ecosystem is too yaoi deprived to not jump on that pairing unless you're some type of fucked up.

“Run,” she said. “Get to the house, now.” “Which house? Who-” “Molly’s dead,” she said. “You’re next.”

HAI ROSE

1.2

I actually don't have much commentary on this chapter other than RIP to BlakeRose but I would happily take the deal to become a creepy bird monster. That's the ideal living situation actually.

1.3

The first sheet had only a simple message, penned in a curling script I almost envied. ‘Birth date’. I tried the year I’d been born. It didn’t work. Day, month? One-eight-oh-one.

...

“Molly!” I hollered, loud enough I should have been audible throughout the house. “Anyone!?” No response. Somewhere, in my general confusion and the mess of stuff I didn’t know or understand, I’d hoped that Molly being alive would be one of those things that caught me off guard.

Not to needle at his grieving process but I'm pretty sure the fact that it was His Birthday Not Molly's that opened the door was a pretty clear sign

I shook my head. “No clue. Something to keep in mind. After stipulations, there’s a section on stipend, with a regular allowance, notes on how often the lawyers can be called without incurring a debt. Oh, right here. A mention of the bird-skull monsters.” “What?” I could see Rose move, standing from her seat. “I’m joking,” I said, with zero humor in my voice.

I think Wildbow should do what visual novels franchises do and make a non canon crossover beach themed spinoff episode with all his characters. I want to see Blake and Lisa be cunty together

My friends were artists and artistic types. I had the unfortunate distinction of being a less than stellar artist. But I’d owed them for the help and support they’d given me, and in helping them with their jobs, I’d stumbled onto a bit of work. Setting up their work, installations, as well as all the other grunt jobs. Sure, they could go to a carpenter to get something put together in the way of a display stand, but that carpenter wouldn’t necessarily know what was at play with the art. Along the way, I’d settled into being a go-to handyman and delivery guy in the local art community. I knew the gallery owners, I knew who was who, and if I couldn’t do a job myself, I knew who to call. Not so glamorous or fancy, not exactly stellar pay, but I had stupid little skills that I could use here. In a pinch, I could use my stride or my arm length to help me figure out measurements, thirty three and a half and thirty-two and a half inches, respectively.

So fun fact I was a gallery tech assistant for about three or four years in high school and I would just like the record to state. A. Wildbow you captured the gallery tech mentality exactly. Tired, sassy, and overall filled with peculiar useful skills. 100% accuracy rate.

Also Blake please call your friends sooner rather than later. The blond gallery tech who works for cheap going suddenly missing is going to DEVASTATE that community. Blake you are a protected species under the wildlife conservation act and the human equivalent of catnip for bisexuals with an art history degree you are the foundation of that community and they are going to be CONCERNED

1.4

She looked a little agitated, nervous. “I think we can go this route. Avoid getting into the ugliest stuff, the books on demons and whatever else. If witch hunters and inquisitors can survive this sort of thing, maybe we can too.” “Borrowing power instead of using it?”

I'm trying to figure out if Rose II is in on it. Because like. She should be right? But then she says things like this that make it sound like she really is just as lost as Blake

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of attached to you, metaphysically. You die, I’m going to be a goner too.” “You think. Either way, I’m the one who got injured,” I said. “I’m the one who has stitches in my hand and a cut on my face.” “At least you’re alive,” she retorted.

They've so immediately become siblings.

Which by the way. If Blake and Rose are fucked up twins of a sort. I have questions about Paige and Peter. Especially seeing as Paige is considered a non starter for Rose Senior

“In this scenario, we’ve got a situation involving a number of countries. If you will, there’s America. I’m rather interested in America for the purpose of this discussion, but that’s just me. Powerful, perhaps overly proud, large, keepers of the peace.” I glanced at his uniform. “Sure.”

Close enough. Welcome Back Victoria Dallon!!

1.5

“It smells like a rose,” a man announced, “It’s as beautiful as a rose. I dare say it’s as fragile as a rose, once you get past the thorns. But is it really our Rose?” I turned. Three twenty-somethings, if I went by appearances, were approaching me from behind. I might have been off. Each had alcohol in brown bags.

I want to be one of them so bad. I want to join the fucked up Fairie gang.

“No,” I said. I grabbed one of the books from the coffee table. “Anger is good.” “Good?” “It keeps us moving. You read the book on implements, I’ll read up on familiars when I’m done Essentials.”

True gallery tech mindset <3

1.6

“Blake!” Rose’s voice, from the living room. “You have to help him!”

This is one of those passages that makes me think Rosie is in on it. You've read more than Blake how has this being an other trap not occurred to you

1.7

Should another practitioner need to bait him again, know that this author used: a pile of festering boar carcasses, six feet high, each carved with his name when well into their state of decay, the decay timed using refrigeration to be roughly parallel; seven jars of burning hair, resupplied keep the flames perpetually alight

Yea who hasn't been here at one point

“To everyone and everything that’s listening,” I said. I heard Rose start speaking behind me, but my words drowned hers out. “To me, and to nobody in particular, I’ve gotta say, I didn’t choose this. I’m doing this for family, to respect them as they were in the past, when my cousins were also my friends, so the others don’t face what Molly did. I’m doing it to respect stuff in the present, because even if I dislike my cousins, I don’t want them to have to face this situation and get killed off. I’m doing this for the family that comes in the future, so my kids and all our descendants don’t have this debt hanging over our heads. Above all, I think I’m doing this for my real family. For the friends I made who gave me support when I needed it most, so I can demonstrate what they taught me. Past, present, future, and… more abstract.”

Guy who can only hate his family this much because of how much he loves them Augh Augh

I could hear Rose behind me, still talking, as if she were very distant. “-than a vestige.”

SUSPICIOUS

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, quiet, “because it’s not blood. I’m not offering anything worth taking, and there aren’t any spirits here to listen and obey, are there?” “There are other options, maybe?” “It doesn’t matter,” she said, again. “I don’t care anymore.”

But then this is the opposite of suspicious because she can't lie but she's saying it didn't work and she wants to give up hhhhhhh Rose you are so slippery to understand

Gathered Pages

I didn't highlight any particular passages but Rose Senior I love youuuuuuuu

[thegamingcatmom]

Intrigued about miranda anon

As a person who knows nothing of resident evil but wants to know more

(Not much a gamer, more a watcher of people who do playthroughs)

about birb momma and the dimitrescus (just cause idk more background info context)

Where do you suggest one would start? Should I know the info of previous games

Or like idk?

(Love your content btw)

Hello again, intrigued-about-miranda nonny!

First of all: Resi 7 (Biohazard) and 8 (Village) are kinnnda separated from the rest of the games, you could say. It´s a whole new MC (Ethan Winters) with his own story.

8 is set about three years after 7 and also deals with the aftermath of Biohazard. You do get some flashbacks in Village that show some of the stuff that went down three years ago, but it´s not a lot. I recommend playing Biohazard first, if you´re considering getting into gaming after all. Things will make a lot more sense then. ^^

As for the importance of the previous games:

Ofc there´s some lore sprinkled here and there in Village, like Mother Miranda´s connection to Spencer (one of Umbrella´s founders), but nothing too deep that would make you feel like you´re missing out or anything if your main focus are the ladies (I don´t blame you). Besides-

Resi lore can be...confusing. (At least when you´re going for a deep dive.) Even to those who have played all games. There´s just lots of stuff that´s tied together that also affects other stuff, and you only find out about that other stuff when you play some of the other games, sooo-

Yes, I am one of those confused ppl. In my defense though-

Village started it all for me. Never touched a Resident Evil game in my life before that. But as soon as I heard about Lady D and, well, pretty much ALL the ladies this game would feature, I started working my way through because, just like you, I was worried I´d be missing some info that would come into play later.

Well, turns out I was wrong.

But I still enjoyed playing them all. Resi 2 Remake and 7 are my favs (horror-wise). :3

Have been a Resi fan ever since.

But, to answer your question:

If your main interest is Village but you still wanna have the full package, then start by playing 7 and 8. Or watch a playthrough, if that´s more your thing. ^^

If you´re only here for the ladies, then Village will suffice because none of them are mentioned in any other game. (Fun fact though: Miranda was Spencer´s mentor. So Ig she did influence some of the stuff that went down in previous games. At least in theory. Can´t really influence smt when you haven´t even existed at that time yet ofc, lol.)

I do recommend playing/watching 7 first though. I think the story is great and it really helps getting a better understanding of what´s going down in Village.

.

.

.

Well, I hope that wasn´t too overwhelming for you? I tend to ramble when I get excited, I can´t help it. 😅

Lemme know if you got anymore questions. I´ll happily answer them all to the best of my abilities!

Thanks a lot for your ask! 💋

[sketchy-rosewitch]

Disturbia: Bo Sinclair x f!pregnant!reader

Part 2

Part 3

Part 1

Warnings: None

A/N: oh we did our research babes. Also so sorry for the wait, was working on my two other fanfics too. But here it is!

“We’re gonna measure that stomach of yours now, see how that baby is growing.”

You lay back and watch as the woman’s dark curls bounce behind her as Dr. Fredrick makes her way across the small room to grab a measuring tape. She rounds the bed.

“Okay, you have gotten this done before by other doctors but I just wanna reiterate for consensual purposes. I measure from the top of the pubic bone to your uterus. Is that okay?” The woman tilts her head a bit, you watch her kind brown eyes and smile.

“Of course.”

You watch as she pulls the measuring tape with zero slack. She smiles gently before leaning back up.

“Just as I thought, perfectly healthy, 24 weeks, 24 centimeters.”

You’re smile reaches from ear to ear, she helps you sit up and you hop off of the bed.

“You’re all good to go! Lab results will be in, in a few days so just call us back for those. You have a paper for foods for healthier nutrition and exercises, the number for the childbirth preparation classes, and your information for what preferences you have during birth. They’ll see you out front to schedule your next appointment. Should be four weeks from now and at that point we’ll check everything again and get your whooping cough vaccine okay?” Doctor Fredrick guides you out the door.

“Yes thank you so much. I really appreciate it.”

“Have a good rest of your day now.”

-

You watch as the clouds roll in and pull your jacket over yourself more as you walk back to Bo’s truck. He sits in the divers seat, thinking. At least you assume so by his hand being over his mouth and him looking in the distance leaning against the window.

Bo has been that way in the past month you’ve known him. Always thinking.

You open the door and get in the seat. Heavy metal plays in the background. Bo’s shaken from his thoughts. You buckle yourself in and smile. “Everything’s going good! I’m so happy! I mean I did get nervous a few times I know I hadn’t seen a doctor in two months but a lot can happen in two months of a baby growing!” You explain, you set your papers in your lap and fold your hands over them looking out the window.

“That’s good, glad your baby is doing alright!”

There’s a tinge of fake enthusiasm in his voice. You don’t think about it too much and try not to roll your eyes.

You just assumed Bo didn’t like to talk sometimes and that was okay. But also this past month he’s gotten into more of an attitude. Either that or your hormones are too much and you’re getting more emotional. Either way he should’ve been more considerate with you.

Though, you were staying with him and you’re under his roof. So you don’t say anything. You stay quiet about it anyways because of your baby. Something about Bo just screamed that he liked to argue and shout. Which arguing and shouting isn’t good for the baby. Which means you gotta stay quiet to not cause that.

“Gonna make lobster rolls tonight hope that’s alright with you.”

You nod your head.

-

“Did you have a good day at work? I forgot to ask today.” You walk up to the house, Bo directly in front of you holding his keys.

“Yeah, actually got a couple and their kids who stopped by. Husband helped me a bit while the wife and kids went to the wax museum. Dead battery.”

You nod.

“Good! I just cleaned up a little in the house. At least where I could reach. Then watched a bit of TV.”

The door opens. You smell cooked food and scrunch your brows. You and/or Bo didn’t leave something on the stove did you?

You peak around Bo and one man stands in the kitchen. Long dark hair, he looks to be the same height as him. The man’s head turns.

Both of you look startled at each other. He wears a mask and that scares you and this is a man you have NEVER seen before inside a house you’re staying in.

“Goddamnit Vincent! I told you I’d cook for you while she was here. Get!”

You watch as Bo swats the man away from the stove and you tilt your head in confusion.

Now where have you heard that name before. You scowl and follow Bo into the kitchen. You look at the masked man, the mask resembles Bo’s face and looks like it’s made of- WAX! The wax museum.

“You do the art in the House of Wax don’t you?” You ask looking up at him.

The waxy mask looks down at you and nods. You smile at him. “Well it’s very nice to meet you Vincent… have you been here this whole time?”

You look between the two brothers. Bo was now at the stove and you and Vincent sat between the pool table room and kitchen.

“Yes, we-I didn’t want to make you feel unsafe. Having a masked man walking around the house is normal for us. Not so much for anyone else.” Bo explains, you tilt your head and smile up at Vincent.

“Oh you wouldn’t have scared me. I’ve seen worse. I apologize for Bo having to keep you away. Where are you living?”

You walk to the kitchen table and gesture for Vincent to sit to the left of you as Bo always sits on the right. He sits down with a loud thud making Bo jump a bit. You let out a small laugh.

Vincent starts signing and you blink on confusion.

“Oh! I don’t know much ASL! Let me get some paper real quick. I’m so sorry!” You get up and grab a pad and paper that you started to keep in the kitchen for grocery lists and hand it to him.

He writes down one word: basement.

“Oh! I didn’t even know you had a basement. Don’t you get lonely down there?” You ask. Vincent shrugs.

“He’s- uh, always been more of a loner type ya know. Doesn’t really talk to people.” Bo chuckles a bit and tosses some buns in the oven. Vincent nods in agreement.

“Ah, that’s okay. My mama was like that too. Didn’t really talk to anyone, except my daddy and me.” You shrug.

Bo walks over and sets plates in each of your spots. Vincent immediately picks up his food and leaves. You stop him on the way out. “Before you leave, I just want to say that you don’t have to stay in the basement all the time anymore. I’m so sorry that I was the reason you couldn’t come up. This is your house after all. You shouldn’t have had to accommodate for me. I- I mean I never even told Bo to stop smoking even though it’s bad for my baby. Cause that isn’t right it’s not my house.” You explain.

“Just… thank you. I appreciate what both of you have done. Even if I didn’t know you existed Vincent.”

You look at his face with a gentle smile. He gives a quick nod and leaves, probably going into the basement again.

“If you needed me to stop smokin’ I could’ve sweetheart.” Bo says a little aggressively. You shrug.

“It’s not my place. I would’ve if you were in my home but you aren’t. I’m in yours it’s just not polite.” You explain again. Bo laughs a little.

“I mean I guess. But I’ll keep the smoking to a minimum ‘round you and the baby. I apologize for not doin’ so sooner.” Bo takes a bite of his food.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

-

“Vincent why don’t you stay up here a bit. I mean Bo won’t let me go into the basement cause it’s dangerous but I’d like to watch you work on your art… not exactly a lot for a pregnant woman to do around here. Already organized all the rooms I’m allowed in.”

Vincent seems to hesitate. It’s not that he isn’t allowed upstairs for extended periods of time. It’s just that he hasn’t been for years and it almost feels wrong for doing that. He also hasn’t been watched by anyone when he makes his art.

Vincent doesn’t hate hovering and he knows you won’t do it but he’s so nervous. Then an idea sparks.

He nods his head finally and you smile. You’re still a novice at signing and understanding signs so he pulls out a pen and paper he decided to carry on him after you two met.

“Will you let me paint you?”

You take the paper from him, your eyes light up a little and you can’t help but smile bashfully.

“Oh! Of course!”

You feel Vincent’s energy spark up a little and he takes your hand guiding you to one of the chairs in the living room. He moves things out of the way and moves the chair up towards the middle of the living room. Vincent gestures for you to sit down and you do so.

He’s quick to leave the room and you look at your belly rubbing it as you wait. You wonder how Bo is doing. Recently you noticed he’s been getting up early and staying out late, so you don’t see him often. For two weeks you’ve been eating dinner alone and you wonder if it had to do with the baby and smoking. You hope not. You miss him so much and the little conversations you two had. He talked so much yet told so little.

But you enjoyed his voice so much, you enjoyed those small smirks and smiles, the way he’d take his hat off and run his hand through his hair, his face crinkling in focus whenever you would talk.

You sigh and frown a bit. You want to see him again.

Vincent is back up stairs after a few minutes, easel, canvas, and other paint supplies. He messily gets set up before sitting in a fold out chair that was sitting against the wall in the living room.

“You can talk.”

You smile. It’s like being back at the hair salon. Speaking of, you look at your hair and feel it before sighing. You really need to go.

“Well let’s see. What to talk about.. Well Jonsey and I took a nice walk around the property today. Just enough until I felt tired, wasn’t very long. Then we came back to the house and took a nap, she’s the best at snuggling!” You chuckle at the thought of the dog being near your stomach as you slept. Vincent nods in agreement.

“Yeah I love animals, I always dreamed of working as a veterinary assistant. It’s unfortunate I had to stop, but I might go back to school after the baby is grown a little. Gosh speaking of dreams I had a crazy one last night!”

You continue to ramble and rant for hours until your stomach grumbles. You look out the window and realize the sun is gone. “Oh! It’s probably around dinner time. Do you want me to make you something too? I mean you’ve been working hard on your painting and stuff I’m sure you’re hungry too!” You say getting up, you watch for Vincent’s reaction and he nods at you. He follows you into the kitchen.

You pull out a pan.

“I’m thinking grilled cheese and tomato soup. I dunno kinda feeling it for dinner. That alright?” You look up at Vincent. He nods his head as he opens the fridge to take some juice out for himself. He grabs a glass and pours some in then shakes the bottle at you. You shake your head buttering your bread and putting some cheese on the slices.

“No, just some water will be fine.”

You set the sandwich in the pan and go to grab a pot. The dishes cling against each other as you try and pull it out. Vincent grabs the milk jug and then pours you some filtered water (you bought it for yourself and the twins had been using it ever since). You take a can of tomato soup out of the pantry and crack it open, it falls into the pot with a ‘plop!’ You fill the can with milk and mix it with a spoon and pour that into the pot too before turning on the stove for it.

You flip over the grilled cheese. Vincent hands you the water and you take some sips of it leaning against the adjacent counter to the stove.

“Have you talked to Bo lately?” You couldn’t help but ask. Vincent shakes his head.

“Hmm, does he do this a lot?” You furrow your brows, a pit forms in your stomach.

Vincent nods.

You frown and sigh. “Well if you do see him. Don’t tell him I said this but, I do miss him. I dunno it’s silly. I haven’t even known him for that long. But he feels like a best friend to me. So do you of course!” You smile and flip the grilled cheese to check how it’s doing. You set that on a plate and start another one. “I know I say it a million times but I really don’t know what I’d do without you guys. I really don’t, I mean I could’ve been dead by now if it weren’t for you two deciding to take me in. I really appreciate it.”

Vincent gives you two thumbs up and you laugh. You go and grab two bowls from the cabinets, then two spoons from the drawer. You stir the soup and wait until it bubbles. You flip the other grilled cheese while you wait and cross your arms.

“I think I’ll make him lunch and bring it to him tomorrow. Only issue is I can’t walk from here to the gas station… Sorry to ask but do you think you can give me a ride?”

“Well I can give you a ride.”

You look at the kitchen entrance and see Bo. You smile gently at him. “Oh that’d be nice but I normally sleep later than you. I’d hate to keep you waiting or to have you come back up for me while you’re working.” You pour soup into two bowls and take the second grilled cheese and put it on a plate. You hand a bowl and plate over to Bo then take the other one and give it to Vincent.

“Well I’m sure-“

“Bo we’ve had this discussion before I don’t want to ruin you two’s routines cause of me, it’ll be fine. Actually I’ll just drive myself. It’ll be easier on both of you.” You conclude, setting another sandwich in the pan.

“Whatever.”

The night is silent after that. Bo finishes his meal and heads upstairs and Vincent finishes his but waits for you to finish yours. You set the stuff in the sink and before you have a chance to turn on the faucet and start the dishes Vincent points out the kitchen. You sigh and leave heading towards the living room.

You look at the easel in the living room and go around to look at Vincent’s painting. The sink starts running in the background as you observe what he drew and has so far painted.

You sit in a long lavender gown, it’s completely different than what you wear now (which was just some maroon dress and a black cardigan). Your holding your stomach and smiling with your head tilted. The shading wasn’t quite done yet but it was getting there. The painting was absolutely beautiful. You’d thank Vincent tomorrow and compliment him too.

Right now though, you’re too tired. You need to get to bed.

[angelcake-69]

A total of four WHOLE people (at least) read my fic!! I see this as a total win!! o(〃＾▽＾〃)o

So here I am with the next part!! ✧(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

Kuroo x Reader

Chapter 3) Volleyball Practice :P

[Part 1] [Part 2]

Y/ns P.o.v

In the morning, I still wasn't sure what to name my new cat, I kept thinking about it, but I wanted a cool name but not a cringey one. I made the kitten a bowl of food before heading out to meet Cheyenne and Casey. Unfortunately, when I opened my door, I was met with none other than Kuroo himself.. and Kenma so.. maybe, not none other than him... He looked like he was about to knock on the door.

"Oh hey! I was just about to knock." He said with a lazy smile on his face. I smiled at him.

"Yeah I can see that.." I looked around awkwardly.

"Well, we-" "You." "We were wondering if you wanted to walk with us?" Kuroo said with Kenma interrupting him, Kenma didn't really seem to open up to new people I guessed.

"Well... I usually go with Casey and Cheyenne.. soo..." I said awkwardly trying to hint that I didn't want to.

"Oh that's fine, they can come too." He said happily

I sighed and agreed, beginning to walk alongside them. When we made it to me, Cheyenne, and Casey's usual meet-up spot they looked a bit confused.

"Ooh, you brought your boyfriend," Casey said teasingly while poking my shoulder. I tsked.

"He's not my boyfriend.. I don't even like him." I said, already annoyed at her shenanigans.

"Yeah, right." She replied. I groaned. Will they ever let that go?

Soon we made it to school and we had to split to go to our classes and, unfortunately, I and Kuroo both had math so we had to walk down the math hall together. I kept quiet but it seemed like Kuroo had other plans.

"So, how do you like it here so far?" He asked seeming to genuinely care about my response.

"It's cool, I like the uniforms I guess," I replied. It was true, I never went to a school with such pretty uniforms.

"That's good, I'm glad you like it... you'll love being on the volleyball team. Everyone is so fun and nice. You'll fit right in!" He said happily.

I smiled and nodded, I may not like Kuroo that much but he's still pretty cool and I have no doubt that I'd enjoy being on the team and making friends with more people and getting to hang out with someone who isn't Casey or Cheyenne. I waved and told Kuroo goodbye as I approached my classroom. He waved back before continuing. As I entered my classroom, my smile fell, and I went to sit in my seat. I hated math. Why was it my first period!?

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•Timeskip ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

After school, me, Casey, and Cheyenne met up and walked to the gym together. We talked and joked for a bit as we walked, and when we entered, coach Nekomata looked.. happy? He had a sort of evil smile on his face... After i put on my team jacket, i walked up to him.

"Hey coach.. whats going on?" I asked him hesitantly.

"Oh, nothin sweet pea, we're just gonna have a practice match with someone in a few days." He responded.

'Totally not creepily vague.. oh well, we'll see in a few days, I guess..' I thought before I grabbed a volleyball cart and set it near the net while Casey and Cheyenne set it up. Soon, the boys came in and began stretching before they practiced.

I paid close attention to the boys and their forms, making sure to tell them if something they were doing is wrong. As I was watching them, Casey snuck up behind me.

"Hey, buddy!" She said, patting my shoulder. I jumped in surprise and turned to her.

"Jesus! Don't scare me like that!" I yelled at her.

She giggled "Sorry~ anyways, Kuroo needs someone to help him with his spikes, I figured you'd wanna help your boyfriend," she said.

"He's not my boyfriend," I said angrily. "But I'll help him, I guess.." I said reluctantly.

"Good! Because I already told him you would!" She said happily. I glared at her, and she ran off after saying she needed to help Yamamoto. I sighed before I made my way to Kuroo.

"Hey, Casey said you needed help with your spikes?" I said as I looked up at him.

"Oh yeah, thanks, I was gonna ask Casey but she said she had to help Yamamoto and that you'd be happy to help." He replied.

If I'm being honest, I was not happy to help. I kind of resented Kuroo, it wasn't because of him, it was because Casey and Cheyenne kept calling him my boyfriend or crush. He's pretty cool, but everytime I see him I just remember the annoying teasing. However, I did help Kuroo with his spikes.

After a bit, the boys split into two groups to play a game before we went home. On one team was Kuroo, Kenma, kai, yaku, and Fukunaga. On the other team were Yamamoto, Inuoka, Teshiro, Lev, and Shibiyama.

Me, Casey, and Cheyenne stood at the sidelines, Cheyenne was in charge of the scoreboard with me. Casey stood beside us, watching the game. The boys got into their positions and began to play.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Kuroos team was in the lead at first, but eventually, Yamamotos team won. Casey went over to congratulate them, which made Yamamoto very happy, and I went to cheer up Kuroo and his team with Cheyenne.

"Hey, you guys did great!" I said happily.

"Yeah! Especially you Kenma!" Cheyenne said sweetly.

Kenma nodded, looking fed up with her behavior. Cheyenne, however, did not seem to notice or mind.

"Thanks, I was going easy on them." Kuroo said. I assume he was trying to keep his ego intact. I smiled.

"Yeah, I'm sure you were." I said in a half joking way.

Casey came over and put an arm around my shoulders. "He shouldn't have went easy, we got the ace on our side~" Casey said smugly, happy that the team she was going for won.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever Casey. What matters is that we all had fun and got some practice in." I said sweetly.

"Sounds like loser talk to me~" Casey teased before leaving and giving Yamamoto a high five.

I looked away and turned to Cheyenne. "Looks like she's already made a new best friend." I said as we looked at Casey and Yamamoto talking and laughing.

"I know, we're supposed to be her best friends! What a cheating whore." She said with an eye roll. I snickered and nodded.

"Yeah, or maybe she has a crush ~" I joked.

"Maybe, but it won't take the attention away from your crush on Kuroo" Cheyenne replied, i sighed and looked away.

'Damnit i thought that would've worked. People are already starting to assume stuff about me and Kuroo because of them!' I angrily thought.

Cheyenne giggled at my upset face. Before I could respond coach Nekomata called us over to him.

"Good work out there, gentlemen. I reckon it's about time y'all  get changed and head on home." He said. All the guys nodded and went to the club room to change while me, Casey, and Cheyenne left to the ladies changing area and changed back into our school uniforms.

"Oh guys! I've been thinking.. why don't we invite the guys to the festival with us?" I said excitedly.

"Oh yeah! That'll be so fun!" Cheyenne replied.

"Yeah, and it'll be good for team bonding!" Casey said.

We began to excitedly go over our plans for the festival while we walked out of the changing rooms. Then we encountered Kuroo, Kenma, and Yamamoto. Kuroo and Yamamoto gave us smiles.

"Hey, what are ya talking about?" Kuroo said as he rested his elbow on Kenmas head, who moved away from him and slapped his arm.

"We were talking about the festival, by the way, do you guys wanna come with us?" I asked.

"Yeah, we were thinking about asking the whole team." Cheyenne said.

"That sounds like fun. Kenma, we should go!" Kuroo said. Kenma shrugged and nodded, still playing him video game.

Yamamoto smiled and nodded aswell. "Yeah! I was planning on going with my little sister though, os ot okay if she comes too?" He said happily.

I nodded. "Yeah, of course!" I responded.

Yamamoto smiled and thanked me.

"I guess we should ask the others next time." I told Casey and Cheyenne, they nodded. I turned to the guys, who were still standing beside us. "Did you guys wanna walk with us home?" I said awkwardly.

"Oh, yeah. Thats why we came here." Kuroo said as if he just remembered.

"Well.. let's go then!" I said quickly before we began walking out.

Hope you liked this!!

[Ao3 Book]

[Quotev Book]

I am currently working on fixing a problem with wattpad, but as soon as I'm done, I'll add the link to my wattpad version of the story. :)

[sketchybusiness4130]

Honestly I'm really surprised that no ones gone and made a dating sim for fnaf sb so here's some ideas I made for a crossover mod within Monster Prom about Security breach around a year and a half ago.

As someone who might only know of sb and nothing what monster prom is let me go into some detail of the game before I share my ideas

Monster prom is a dating sim set in a high school with almost all of the characters being monsters

So think like monster high but with crack shit humor and everyones gearing up for prom night in a weeks(you can change how long a game last so it could be only one week or two) that game is also multiplayer so you can share the experience with friends!

Back when I had writtin this out I had planned on using the in-game mod menu to make this into a mod but with almost every idea i come up with and get really determined over I lost interest after getting into the actual making it into the thing phase. I gift these ideas for ANYONE to pick up and use! all I ask is to let me see what you make

Now with that out of the way, onto the actual content!

Monster prom & security breach crossover ideas

Freddy and the rest of the cast are in spooky high school wow! 

Event storyline with Freddy that has him and Bonnie Hook up after finding out Bonnie didnt acctly die. if you play your cards right you get the chance join them ;3

Monty and Damian chilling together and then getting into a fist fight and/or a fight over who can cause the most damage 

Vanny event that also has Jerry pop up at least once and the two bond over killing people

Freddy bonding with Liam over being adopt dads (liam is a "dad" in cannon apparently)

I'm gonna have all of em be monsters rather than robots but I cant decide if I want to do this with Freddy too mainly cause I really want to have a 

scene where Gregory pops out of fredds stomach hatch which spooks and horrifies everyone watching, someone exslapes that OMG Freddy YOUr Pregernore?!? 

Vanny and zoe bonding over being fan girls

Vanny got catfished by Afton and is now stuck taking care of him outside of school hours

Sun and vanny scene that starts off with they getting along pretty well and they both start listing off things the two both like and then vanny shares she loves killing kids which ends that budding friendship real quick

Gregory with a Fazblaster will always end well! (hint, it doesnt) roxy gets blinded and if u fuck up the choice so do you

Aaravi finds out that a human child is just chilling amongst all of these “monsters” and self proclaims herself as Gregory's new guardian or something along those lines. Gregory is taking none of her shit at first but likes her attitude and they end up as good friends/a sibling dynamic

“DONT YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS MONSTERS ARE KID?! You cant just chill with these creatures, you must be on your guard at all times. I'll show you the ways “ something like this 

Gregory in a small way reminds Aaravi of her brother, and even more so for Michael. ido how I'll be able to convey this smoothly but damnit it has to happen somehow 

There will be events that lead to odd places around or near the school. Sun made a playroom under the gym bleachers, vanny event/storyline leads you down into the basement to meet afton, Chica event that has the two of you fall into said basement

Maybe chicas storyline can be the two of you searching for montys monster mash thing? 

Ok so freddy is still a robot but hes a ghost haunting said robot, aka Freddy is Michael afton. 

Gregory: “i wanna be like you freddy-”

Freddy:”thats great superstar!”

Gregory: “a kick ass immortal robot >:3”

Freddy, horrorifed: “no you dont” 

Freddys lived a long ass life

Player gets punted into the Sun, aka Sun the monster

Vanny storyline has you help her try to get out of having to take care of Afton, one of the final choices is on how to this [1]he's so old a frail, lets just burn him in a fire [2] beat him at his favorite game, princess quest.

[1] would cause you to fail and have afton be quick to say i always come back with vanny agreeing by giving examples of how many times he has already died and come back, some of which was because of a fire! She loses confidence and you lose your chance forever

[2] has afton scoff at the idea of anyone managing to do such for HE is a master at the game and is the true number one fan and if you dares say otherwise your in for a reckoning, you in turn say “if ur so confident then there should be no problem with wagering my win for vanny’s freedom”(maybe rephrase this) and then commences the most epic game of princess quest, the narrator before you get into it comments on the fact that lucky for you ur a speedrunning champion for old arcade games like this one. It ends up being a close game but you manage to beat the old basdter's high score!

Moons eyes change from blue to pure red depending on his mood

Sun likes to hide out during gym but can't get the braves to full on skip so that's why he made his playroom under the bleachers. Plus no one ever goes under there besides the injured trying to crawl away from their death

Among us Gregory vent meme

Gonna have each of the bois be something completely different than the other, freddy as already stated is the only one that's still a robot, monty is a were-gator that stays in his gator form as often as he can because he’s self conscious, Sun and moon are some kind of doll. Magic or some shit makes their change, Gregory is still a full on human. As for Chica and Roxy, I'm not quite sure what I wanna do for them other than just furry. 

Furry roxy, then bird thing for chica, air people? Yes, when it get brought up joke about it “this will most likely end up proved non canon by the next game but who cares!” 

Gregory: Freddy, I'm serious! 

Freddy: hi serious, im 

Ok Plan is to make the mod with only Sun Moon and Vanny to start off. 

So that would be at least 3 to 4 different routes to make. I want to also throw in a small handful of random events. After making/posting the final result i get to work on update GlamRock, which will add the rest of the cast along with a shit ton of new random events.

Someone brings up how her mouth never moves “annoyed: look its a skin condition”  

Vanny Route, activated after buying a rabbit's foot

Sun Route, you get pulled into this route after buying sun-drops

Moon route, is gotten by buying moon-drops 

Nope ok you get Sun AND Moon’s routes after buying “celestial themed candy” 

Depending on your choices durn this route it will branch off into 3 different endings. Similar to how Aaravi and Hex’s routes work in monster camp ;>

One event has you join sun during one of his shifts at the daycare he works at (guest star of gregory? Depends if i get around to fricking drawing him) 

Moon “moonlights” as a aerial dancer, durning his route you get to watch him durning one of his performances. Joke is made on how much you would love to see him on a pole ;>(this whole game has so many horry jokes, tho you can turn off any nsfw realted stuff through settings)(even then nothing explicit happens or shows btw! At most Just implied) 

During both of sun and moon’s routes you get the chance to pair up with both depending on ur choices 

Costume ideas

Vanny, white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland

Moon, pied piper

Gregory, crying child/ghost

Roxy, Red Riding Hood

~

And thats everything I wrote! As you can probably tell I did not bothing with polishing this up much, if I did I'll never getting around to actually posting this(<- already been procrastinating on posting bc of this reason) so I just decided to post as is.

[aliypop]

Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me: Chapter 4

Word Count: 2,209

Writers Note: Tis the season well near it, so I decided to get a head start. Also finally let me introduce you to Cecelia's parents! Finally.

Warning: None so far except for language and historic language

Pairing: OC x Elvis

Plot: Christmas is around the corner at the Valmos mansion where there's love and a bit of arguing and the Presleys are here can Elvis and Cecelia spread the holiday cheer?

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Taglist: If you wanna be tagged let me know!

@darkmoviesquotespizza

@sissylittlefeather

@richardslady121

@thegettingbyp2

@presleyenterprise

@sissylittlefeather

@dkayfixates

@rjmartin11

@thetaoofzoe

Nashville, Tennessee, December 24th,1957

Paradise Record's Official Christmas Party was the highlight of the music world, with the biggest names of the entertainment industry all under one roof. It was an achievement of Denise Camila Valmos. Who she hoped to one day pass off to her daughter. "Midge... the food." Denise sighed, watching her team finish the final touches of decorating the studio. "You need any help?" Alfonso asked as Denise shot him a glare. It was the age-all question that every man tended to ask, knowing when a woman needed help with something. Cheryl, Midge's wife, was outside directing where all the trees should go. The sharp cold of the wind felt like tiny razor blades cutting into her face. The things she did for Midge, 

"You know I think it's gonna snow tonight..."

"Don't say that." Ruby shook her head,

"Why not?"

"When you say the S word... Denise gets touchy." Eleanor chuckled,

"It feels like it's gonna Snow..." Cecelia said. Her rollers were in her hair still as she was bringing in and setting more decorations. 

"CECELIA SHANEL VALMOS!"

"I said it felt... not that it would..." Fluffing out the bows her mother made for each chair, 

"Denise, if you hated snow, why'd you move to Nashville..." Alfonso questioned, "Don't say the music."

"Don't start with me..." Denise hissed at him.

Midge had been watching the two bicker as Cecelia and her aunts were still decorating. 

"So Cece, how's the movies going?" Ruby asked as Cecelia humed a tune, putting the flowers in a vase. 

"They're great." she shrugged, "I mean, the latest is with MGM, and it's about this girl. She's a princess, and she falls in love with this rockin' guy, who she thinks is a prince, but really he's a lounge singer." Cecelia giggled, thinking of who would play the love interest.

"Who's the fella you get to kiss," Ruby asked.

"Well... They're banking on Elvis." both her aunts watched her swoon when she said his name. She was all dimples and smiles, 

"Honey, it's 57. I doubt if they get Elvis..." Ruby sighed,

"Well, if they don't, I at least get to kiss him and make love-" Cecelia caught herself as both her aunts glanced at her. 

"Nel, you didn't..." Eleanor gasped as if she'd die and tell God,

"I did... I have a few times, but don't tell my mother!" Cecelia blushed hard, 

"What about saving yourself for marriage?" 

"Have you seen Elvis Aaron Presley..." Cecelia smirked, "And his blue eyes and his lips an-"

"Cecelia, go dressed."

"Yes, Mother," she responded as she went to change for the party, fanning herself from her thoughts.

"E, you got this," Rosa said, walking him into the now super crowded and star-studded studio lobby. Things like this always made him wonder how a boy from Tupelo made his way in places like this. In one corner of the room was BB King, who was talking to Ella Fitzgerald, and in the other corner was Little Richard, who found his way straight to the piano, 

"Rosa, I...I don't think I got this." he sighed,

"Your parents are having a great time over there, and-" she felt Elvis try to leave the building as she pulled him back in, 

"Those are legends in there. There's Louis Armstrong talkin to Dean Martin!" He could feel his stomach flip in knots.

"Okay, and you're Elvis the Pelvis, who can sing the panties off anyone's girl." Rosa shrugged, pushing him into the crowd. Rosa might have been trouble, but she was good trouble. 

"Have you seen Elvis?" Scotty asked as Rosa held his hand, 

"Nope... But, hey, isn't that Johnny Cash!" she waved him down, swooning after him. 

"Wonderful Party again, Denise." Cab Calloway said as he kissed her on the hand. Alfonso had a jealous look on his face watching the woman he loved, no hated, no loved, be charmed by his competition. "It's always nice to see you again, Cab." Denise blushed a little. Her French red satin tule-trained mermaid gown was a snug fit on her body, and it only made Alfonso want to pull her in close and kiss her til the cows came home. 

"Nessa, you look bellissima." Dean was kissing up her Opera glove to the skin of her shoulder.

"Oh, Dean." Denise blushed at the Italian lover, " They'll think we're in love." she joked as Alfonso got even more red in the face. 

"Vernon..." Alfonso sat next to him,

"My advice... tell her how ya feel or damn it, suffer to that." 

"Hey Rich..." 

"Yeah, Cece?"

"Have you seen Elvis by chance?" 

"Nope, been woop baba loo-ing honey." he winked at her and kept playing, 

"Thanks..." she sighed, picking up the hem of her off-white dress, holding onto her white fur shaw. Cecelia had hoped the poor thing didn't get so nervous that he backed out of coming and left her to suffer a night of celebrities who'd ask her the same old questions, 

"So tell me, Mr. Presley, what makes you good enough for our niece," Ruby said as she cornered the young man, Eleanor on the other side, with a glass of champagne.

"Well... A- aside from being Elvis, I-I'm an honest man I try to be." another thing he hated was interviews. He could talk til his face turned blue if you asked him to tell you a story, but an interview heck no, he could barely bear it. 

"What about all those other girls you've had..." Eleanor asked,

"I love, love, but I love..." His eyes caught the prettiest sight he'd ever seen. A cream-colored gown, a white fur shawl, a garnet necklace hanging perfectly between her breasts, her white opera gloves up to nearly her shoulders, and her dark brown hair curled into the style of the infamous poodle.

"You love who..."

"Cece..." He had the face of a man who'd just seen an angel. Cecelia was now talking to Dean Martin, and by talking gawking at him like a little schoolgirl, the two had been discussing Jazz, knowing that Cecelia had the idea of doing at least one album to please her parent's pallet. "I like to think you rollers are crooners, especially that Elvis guy." Dean smirked a little, "I mean, without us Crooners, there's no Rollers." 

"I'd simply agree." Cecelia smiled, "And Elvis, he's such a crooner, charming, sensitive, sweet, and..."

"He's comin this way, kid." 

"Sensational..." black hair with a slightly curled cowlick and those piercing blue eyes like Superman, she was in love as she saw him walk her way with his tuxedo on and his bowtie, a look he didn't too much admire, but for Cecelia, he'd do anything. 

"You look..."

"You go first," Elvis said,

"No, you," Cecelia took his hand,

"Well, you look like a dream." He kissed her hand, 

"You look like my forever." Cecelia blushed at the kiss, "Have you met Dean?" she gestured as he laughed at the two lovebirds. 

"Nice to meet you, sir."

"Please call me Dean," he winked, "Ya know Frankie was supposed to be here, but he got busy." Cecelia gasped at the mention of his name, and Elvis found it quite cute. 

"Well, if it ain't Cece and E."

"Johnny!" the two both greeted Johnny Cash, who had a cigarette in his mouth and a slice of cake on a plate. 

"What'cha two getting up two." 

"Well-"

"YOU CAN'T EVER JUST APOLOGIZE HUH, ALFONSO!" 

"SAYS THE ONE WHO'S GOT EVERY MAN KISSIN UP ON HER!"

"MAYBE I WOULDN'T IF YOU HAD PAID ATTENTION TO ME! LOVED ME EVEN!"

The room fell silent. All eyes were on them. Cecelia took a deep breath. Elvis grabbed her by the hand, trying to calm her down. Until Midge walked over, 

"You two need to do something..."

"Why us..." Cecelia whispered,

"Well, those are your parents, and Presley's a voice of a generation. Good luck." Cecelia looked around for anything that could be a distraction until she saw the grand piano, 

"Follow my lead..." Cecelia grabbed his hand,

"Godspeed Cece..." Midge smiled,

"Maybe we should just tell everyone the truth..." Denise sighed,

"The truth about-" 

Heaven, I'm in heaven

And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak

And I seem to find the happiness I seek

When we're out together dancing cheek-to-cheek

 Cecelia sang as she sat on the grand piano. Elvis looked up at her like he'd sometimes look at a cheeseburger. Or his beloved sandwich, 

Oh, I love to climb a mountain

And reach the highest peak

But it doesn't thrill me half as much

As dancing cheek to cheek

Elvis winked at Cecelia as they both continued the song. From the corner of her eye, she could see the guests dancing with each other, couples in love, some even humming the song. But the couple she wanted wasn't dancing, they weren't found until she heard. 

Now Mama dance with me

I want my arms about you

That charm about you

Will carry me through

Standing beside her and Elvis were Alfonso and Denise, who were dueting their hit single from back in the 30s. They had looked so in love, like there was only room in the universe for them. When the song had finished, Alfonso and Denise embraced in passionate kisses. The two locked eyes as he got on his knees, took her hand, and said,

 "Denise, I know... I ain't been the best husband or daddy, but I've been one hell of a manager, " he chuckled as Denise blushed, "But that's not what I wanna ask."

"What are you asking me, Alfonso." Denise.

"Will you be my Sapphire and set my soul on fire, marry me again?" he asked. 

"Yes..." Denise blushed as she kissed her husband. There were cheers and claps and singing. It was a romantic affair, but Cecelia needed air. She needed to have a break from it all. Sitting outside, Cecelia had begun to tear up. She thought about how happy her parents seemed. And how happy Gladys and Vernon were dancing along to the singing, all the happy couples that could be together publicly in love. 

"This stair taken..."

"N...No." Cecelia turned her head away from Elvis. Taking off his suit jacket, he put it around her shoulders as he kissed her cheek. 

"Angel, are you cryin'?"

"I'm fine.." 

"Are you sure-" he felt her body press into his chest as he held her. She was going to sob. In which he'd kiss her cheek and listen to her. After all, she'd been there when he needed a good sob. 

"I-I-I wish we could hold hands, kiss how we want to, love how we want to outside those walls outside from our homes, I-" she sniffled, looking into his eyes, 

"I wish the world knew how much I love you." 

"I don't..."

"Whys that..." There was a deep sadness in her eyes as he said that. Elvis had her smaller hands in his as he kissed them, then he had his hands on her cheeks,

"Because the world already knows, and she's the most beautiful world I did ever see." he leaned in to kiss her soft lips. Her skin was cold, but the kiss between them was passionate, sweet, and simple. It said everything the other was trying to say. Suddenly, from the air, snow flurries were falling into their hair. And lashes, and on the ground as he picked her up, their lips never detaching from one another. Her arms were around his neck as he was holding her bridal style.

"Well, shit, finally..." Johnny said, watching the two. 

Later that night, Elvis was in the guest room fiddling with a box he had with him. He knew the next day was Christmas, and it had to be perfect. After all, it wasn't every day a man found the woman of his dreams at 22 years old. Pacing, he'd been practicing his words until he heard. 

"OH, ALFONSO, YES!"

Walking down the creaking floor, Elvis heard the fireplace crackle to a low fire as the lights from the Christmas tree. Illuminating the large living room like an annoying leg lamp, presents were under the tree, and a plate of half-eaten sugar cookies and a glass of milk beside it, sitting there with her legs crossed in her nightgown eating cookies. 

"Cecelia..." 

"Hmmm?" she looked back at Elvis. Over the fireplace was a picture of her and her parents and more awards, but he only had his eyes on one award, his sweet, beautiful girlfriend with crumbs on her lips that he could taste with his tongue, "Elvis..." her hands pulling at his hair, the two would break for air as they'd find other places to kiss and bite and lick,

 "What's gotten into ya, sugar..."

"Love." He smirked, that smile on his face as he got up from being on top of her. Elvis took her by the hand as he beckoned her with his finger to follow. 

"Where are we going..."

"To unwrap you like a bow."

"What if Santa finds out..."

"What he won't know won't kill him, mama." he kissed her neck again as she shivered, 

"Then I suppose you can have this gift early."

[shinygoku]

thoughts on cgi episodes of ttte? I'm curious to hear whatever praises or criticisms you have for that era of the series

Apologies for the delay, I started this but felt it was too Stream-of-Consciousness to be worth publishing. After a virtual pair of scissors it's much better but it's not one of my best metas. Still, I sure have Thoughts! So if you happen upon this month late answer, enjoy~

I think, much like the model series, it's quite the mixed bag... but even at its best None of the CGI episodes or specials reach the early pinnacle set by Seasons 1 and 2.

I'm famously[?] s3 Critical but I'm much more likely to wanna watch one'a the episodes where David Mitton was director than anything CGI (...depending on the episode lmao, some are nuclear waste as early as 3 and a lot in 6 lmaooo) -- that's in part due to my immense fondness and respect for the scale models and practical effects.

This ain't me ragging on CGI, but it is me saying that for Thomas the live action Supermarionation style works best for it. The CGI itself allows for things that wouldn't be possible [or finacially sensible], and that's good! But I feel like it became a crutch for the series to continue spinning wheels without covering new track, y'see?

Like, the Engines as models are still limited in some of the same ways irl Steam Locos are - they have to have track to run on, there's an upper limit for the rakes they pull, you can't bash them into walls without heavy damage, things like that. This also helped inform the post-Awdry stories they ran, it's the kind of limitation that makes writing more robust.

This doesn't make it immune to running out of ideas, of course, but it's a reliable guideline. The model series very much running out of plots is why I don't watch any post season 7!

With CGI there's an "all bets are off" aspect where they could use it for more complex settings, scenarios and characters. But a rot still started to creep in and hit the nadir with BWBA, where they just do whatever a weird ass mandate insists upon.

There's also the moving faces debate, I suppose. CGI letting them lip sync and giving them individual voices was another big game changer. But was it needed? The books lend themselves so well to the Narrator style (when it's someone like Ringo, even better hahaha), but the more distinct voices there are, the more room there is for something to sound ...off.

So let's sum up some CGI pros:

Increased possibility of complex designs, mechanisms and scenery

Episodes should be easier to produce and more effort could go into other areas

If lucky, the voice acting will be good

And some cons:

The majority of the CGI is still pretty daggy looking, and bad CGI ages it much more than seeing the edge of a physical set

The episodes either don't do much interesting with the freedom, or go too far and do stupid shit like an action movie bridge jump or the whole engine rocking back and forth like a kiddie ride when they talk

The voice acting isn't well suited to the stories... or it ain't good at all!

I mean it genuinely when I say not only is 2D Animation better for a less-realistic version of Thomas, but AEG actually going as balls to the wall is an improvement over the dying thrashes of BWBA. The CGI shoulda held itself to more realism, but didn't, but at least Very Cartoony Trains having extendable spider limbs is more consistant with itself.

...In summation, I am Not A Fan of CGI Thomas. Which is why I limit my input of CGI eps, honestly! I ain't saying everything about it sucks, but the collective whole of it isn't good enough to keep me watching.

[re-coding]

I make a stupid decision to decide to make a (fic) writing app, cheers

Well now, I know there's like tons of them out there in the market. A lot of them are good! And even free (or have pretty good free versions)! A reddit thread I found have a few very good ones, you guys can check it out! (I'll add my own two cents later :3)

But look, the only thing I want to do, is to have a place when I can throw my ideas into a list (like what I'm did in my notes app) then auto convert it to a document when I feel like I want to write it. None of them (or at least, what I saw/found) have it!

To do that, I set up a Google Form-Google Sheets system so I can just fill in the form when I get some thoughts™. Then when I feel like I want to add another WIP to my ever-growing list of WIPs, I'll just open the associated sheet, see what idea I would like to write, then create a Google Docs and copy/paste the idea there.

Easy, right? Problem solved?

No, not really. For me, there're a few problems with this.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

The Problem(s)™

The process of opening Google Forms takes forever to load (depending on my Internet) and I have a goldfish memory. What are the odds that I forget my ideas by then.

(Just use phone notes app then) But I'm in the mood to type my fic in a computer 😔😔 I don't wanna copy my prompt there to a doc via phone, or worse, retype it out. There's like 4 steps there at least! I'll lose my motivation by then!

Google Sheets has this problem where the text refuses to wrap properly if you add a long text (my ideas are sometimes a few hundred words of rambling y'know). So whenever I decided to grace the sheet with my presence, I'll need to reformat the wrap if I wanna read what I wrote. That's 1 whole extra step.

I'll need to open at least two tabs here, 1. my sheet file, 2. open a new docs file

Look, they're all pretty minor inconveniences imo, but I'm 1. a lazy mf and 2. a tired mf

So, I made a decision any sane person with a job and 0-energy would do - I thought "Hey, why don't I make my own?".

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

And thus begin the brain-storming

Ok, look I'm not that good at UX/UI designing. I figure that should be the first step so I went and watch a few video and stumbled upon Juxtopposed's world's shortest UI/UX design course (it's pretty great, do check it out!). Simple, quick, concise - perfect.

First, I started with designing the user flow. I planned out a general idea of what I want my app to do and how it would flow from there starting from the landing all the way to when users save their work and exit the app.

Boy, I sure hope I did that correctly.

This generally is made up of user actions (except for landing). You may notice how it's mostly AO3 focused because yes, I'm using this just for AO3 - as in I stopped using fanfiction.net, Wattpad and Quotev a long time ago.

I did get some inspirations for some of the features from other existing apps. Like:

Scriever - it's paid, but most people say it's a godsend but personally, I've never tried it. I think it pioneered the scenes idea tho.

Manuskript - Free open-sourced version of Scriever basically! They also have words and phrase frequency analyser and I think that's pretty neat!

MyStory.today - I like the idea that you can edit and view multiple scenes at once but the writing UI itself feels kinda clunky? It feels bothersome to add a new scene below my current one. But free version is enough and that's pretty nice. Oh yeah, not sure if it's just me, or it's kinda laggy

Wavemaker - ok this actually a great one! Everyone should give it a chance! But again, too complicated to just add one simple idea when I just wake up for instance.

Story Plotter - This one is nice. It actually have a idea to story button but, why are there... so many things... to choose before I can start writing the story. Granted, all of them are optional and you can just spam skip... a whole 7 times (unless it's a freeform, in that case, 4 times). But this provides a nice idea to combine more than 1 ideas into one plot tho. Also, not my style

Campfire - Is nice, there's so much things you can customize! But well, the free version can be quite limiting, like what if I need more than 25k words :(

Notion - Ok, here me out, it's not a great idea to write multi-chapters long fics here exactly without some amount of setting up too. BUT I love the markdown system here and I wanted to include it.

Do try some of them out, maybe you'll find your new writing app soulmate, who knows?

So... about the user flow diagram

I'm making this app because of two main features, ok maybe three, that I want to make my life easier and make me happier.

The ideas being converted and directly stored in my writing doc.

Being able to use markdowns to type unlike google docs *squint eyes*

Copying the whole chapter in HTML so I can just throw it in AO3 and click update without worrying about forgetting the formatting OR having to go to those docs to HTML converters.

And a secret fourth thing to maaaaaybe include things like chats, boxes, and other workskin related things

Oh, yes and how could I forgot, syncing progress across multiple devices

So I want to implement auto-save features (well, at least when you're connected to the internet, else it'll save locally first). The database I'm thinking to store these should be the user's own google drive (but that would required the user to sign in to their drive first).

Inversely, I'm thinking if the user did edit the doc in the drive, it should reflect in the app too, so I'll need to think about that. But the idea is that one chapter should be stored in one doc, and then separated by a scene separator symbol (I'll figure this out) to break it into scenes in the actual app. That may be a bit messy to edit in docs though so maybe a traditional folder + docs might suffice but then, there's also a space constraint, where there is too much scenes. That's probably where the web services come in.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

And, oh! another diagram!

Ok look, the user flow made perfect sense to me while I was making it. After looking at it again while writing this... In hindsight, I should also make a screen/page flow diagram, or sitemap, so here it is! So- ta-da~!

So this should be the whole flow of screens for the app. There may be more screens in the future but for now I think this should be it!

The app mainly just consist of -

The home page - which displays ALL your works/books

The ideas page - which is basically my notes app for, well, ideas, word vomit, random shower thoughts about how much you want a fictional character to be xxx

The writing page - which will be the main working space, the rest of the pages like references, characters, places, timeline, chapters and individual scenes can be accessed easily from this page too

The profile page - well, it's your profile! Access your profile settings, change themes, work space settings or what you want to copy in your html here - maybe add friends for collabs and betas in the future? We'll see

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

And that's it! ...For now

Oh my god, I'll admit, this post went on longer than I expected haha. That's all that I have to share for now! Next up, I'll get started on the wireframing process (moodboards? hunting down apps? reddit???? ok nevermind, reddit sounds like a bad idea). I know I kept calling it app, but I think I want it to have an app, windows, (macs?) and web version.

Thanks for making it this far and reading it all!

[fangs-claws-paws]

Ranting

Just wanna put a bunch of petty, angry thoughts down somewhere.

99% is gonna be Warhammer 40k cuz dear god have some things been bothering me for a bit!

I honest to god care so little about the primarchs it is insane. Like I don't hate them, nor do I think they're bad, and I do genuinely like some of them. My problem is most writing and anything specific has to do with 'omg konrad so hot!' or 'magnus is bae!' p much insert any primarch there and its the same thing. And I just sit there with a grimancing smile cuz I just don't care for them like that, they're interesting characters in their plots, but I don't feel any sort of obsession or compulsion to write more about them, their story is told in the setting and that's good. I really don't want to read the 200th shipping piece about them with each other or insert guilliman/yrvaine, or primarch/self-insert, they are nothing to me. I care leaps and bounds more about the space marine's themselves, more about their loyalty to their primarchs and how that makes many do things they never would have done otherwise. Like the butchers nail in the world eaters, stuff like that. But at least on AO3 fanfiction its so rare it might as well not exist.

I guess bold words coming from the writer of the horniest/most fucked up space marine fan fic on the site. But I am allowed to bitch.

Other thing I hate with AO3 warhammer fanfiction, though looks more general, is the fixation with cross-over writing. Like there at least 10 fics there that are warhammer 40k crossover with my hero academia of all things. Let alone the 50+ fandom crossover fics that are a chore to scroll past due to the length of their tags (thankfully that's mostly reduced thanks to the tag limit AO3 had to enforce). None of them offer anything new, or interesting, or really anything I find worthwhile to read. Most can be boiled down to 'we took academia characters and hastily jammed them in roles of the primarchs' or something else just as uninspired. and again, like you do you, but it's miserable having to scroll through most fics and except for maybe 1 or 2 they are all pretty much the same thing with different window dressing.

Also wish there wasn't a treat of woobifying chaos. Acting like they're secretly the real good guys. Aside from being resoundingly not based in canon even remotely, it removes why I love chaos so much. I'm not a fan of chaos cuz I think they'll make everything right, I'm a fan cuz they just wanna watch everything burn and do horrific shit. Maybe I am tired of being nice, maybe I do wanna go ape shit! That's the appeal, the catharsis of being something so horrific and beyond good, and loving every step of the way.

Also not a huge fan of the new thing being hating space marines as boring generic action heroes, which I do kinda get bc GW loves using them as poster boys. But I dunno, I've just related to space marines more than the guardsmen. Not that I've ever been in war or some of the horrors they face. But when I relate is the isolation and seperation from the average human, like I loved reading in one of the Ahriman books how a space marine sat in a human chair and how it struggled to not shatter, how it made at least me aware how the world is not designed for them. They're children who were taken at an extremely young age and honed into weapons to be wielded, and I love when we're reminded that they kinda still are and how they're dehumanized by the Imperium. While space marines get along decently with each other, they struggle to understand the average human, how technically they're still emotionally children who have been given extremely dangerous weapons. That despite being angels of death for the imperium some humans still see them as freakish mutants that are barely tolerable only because they are weapons.

Like I know its extremely childish of me, but I do feel a little upset, annoyed, etc when space marines get parodied as obnoxious, stupid, hyper-masculine action hero jokes. Like 'oh ho ho! Bad ass space marines have to have their cybernetics tended to by humans, just proves regular humans are so superior to dumb marines!' Like yeah, but do you not see how it can also reflect the level of trust these dehumanized potentially deeply repressed traumatized individuals have to have that they allow select humans to help them with their disability, something that space marines shouldn't have, at least according to propaganda. Or how war can irreperably change even someone who is now seen as a tool, or that space marines are seen as just as replaceable as the cybernetics that they are augmented with. LIke IDK, maybe I see too much of myself in fictional superhuman dudes, but it irks me to have them only be seen as either just cool (which I tolerate infinitely more) or as something that must be constantly parodied and treated as something to be derided as pathetic masculine fantasy (which I detest)

[jen-lee3]

So I love Resident Evil, and in particular Leon Kennedy because when I was like six or seven I watched my dad play Resident Evil 4 on the gamecube and went, I like this funny man. And now years later the remakes slammed me in the face now that I'm capable of complex thoughts. But none of my irl friends like Resident Evil to the point my best friend has stopped me mid conversation because I got really focused on it again. So I need people to talk to about Resident Evil, if not for my sake then my friends. So here are some random Leon headcanons/thoughts that I need to put somewhere. They're not completely original of course, but here.

These are pretty much all Remake Leon, because honestly I prefer him. He's got consistent characterization. Not that og Leon had much of a chance in that regard, there were a lot of writers and years and even consoles between each game, and I still love him. Remake Leon just gives me a chronic case of "i can fix him" disease.

He is a dog person, 100%. I think there's even art for either 2 or 1.5 of him with a bloodhound. But we knew this.

He can’t really have a pet, but if he could I think he’d inexplicably end up with a cat. He doesn’t know how this happened. It just did, and suddenly his phone is filled with pictures of this cat. Like a real ugly cat too.

I feel like he played soccer or baseball in high school. Gotta get look good for those college apps. Absolutely not foot ball.

I feel like he was well liked in high school and college. Not exactly popular, but if someone was planning a party and saw him walk by, shout out an invite to him, because he's just a nice guy.

Girls probably liked him being at parties because while he's bad at flirting, he is always ready to throw down with a creep, watch a drink, walk a girl home. Using his hero complex to enjoy a party without worry.

Leon listens to dad rock. This much is obvious. I’m using my parents for reference but they’re roughly about ten years older so there's differences. Def doesn’t listen to as much hair metal I think, but would probably get a kick out of steel panther still. 

So much nirvana though. So much.

That being said, nothing is funnier than the idea of his inner elevator music being Linkin Park. He kinda missed them, getting beat up by Krauser. But I can see Chris several years later grabbing a cd thinking Leon might like this. Leon doesn’t know when Chris found out his birthday to buy him this gift as he did not tell him. 

The visual of Leon zoning out and miserable with Numb playing just hits different okay. 

Also everyone has seemed to collectively decide he likes NIN, specifically Closer. Which yes totally see it for re4 Leon, but also hilarious. He was 17 when that song came out. Can you imagine, freshman year or college with a Leon that's even a few years younger than re2 Leon, taking a girl back to his dorm room, and putting on some music to try and set the mood or something, and that song pops on. “I wanna fuck you like an animal” Sir, you are a golden retriever of a man that song doesn’t suit you yet.

Leon’s arm with the bullet wound seems to have some issues. I’ve seen several people throw that idea around and it makes sense. We know it was hours before he got proper medical attention at the very least if not days. 

I also think he might have some slight tinnitus. Maybe just in one ear. Not enough that it would make him more vulnerable in a fight than his arm having issues. But the amount of explosions, getting thrown around, and even firing a gun. It wouldn’t be surprising.

I know that when he mentioned Wesker before he called him ‘Wesker’ like everyone else. But I think if they met, Leon would call him Albert cause it’s funny and he had no sense of self preservation. 

I think Leon has a weird thing about his neck. Like sure it's fun to joke about him getting choked, but he has actually been choked by a lot of monsters to the point it’s probably touchy for him. I genuinely don’t think he’d like getting choked. And even touching his neck gets him to flinch unless he trusts them.

I didn’t want to get into nsfw, but since there's literally a tag for this on AO3… yeah, Leon’s packing. At the very least, I think this because something has to give him the confidence to say all that stupid shit. Because I don’t think it’s just his fighting skill. 

Eye contact. The boy loves eye contact. If you manage to get in a conversation with him (and there's not zombies trying to kill you) he is keeping his focus and his gaze. And you know… eye contact in other situations too I guess…

He watched Buffy season 1, only got to watch exactly 2 episodes of Buffy season 2 before Racoon city. I looked up when the episodes aired. He didn’t even get to see the Angelus arc. He’ll never go back and watch until years later when streaming is a thing. 

Another idea I’ve seen more than once I agree with. His apartment is so impersonal. Man walked into Ikea, pointed at one of their display rooms and said yes. Which is what they did in The Room. Tommy Wiseau looked at a display window and went yes.

Loves blockbuster and other video rentals. He loves movies but it’s probably hard for him to have a collection, so he rents them. Though that's always risky if he gets called away. But what else is he gonna spend his money on, the late fees are barely an issue.

sapphire-weapon has a lot of good Leon headcanons but I like the one about him being a fantasy nerd in particular. Being a Neil Gaimon fan makes a lot of sense. Probably enjoys some Terry Prachet as well. Very picky about fantasy but I would just want to show him my weird puppet movies. Like come on, this one has David Bowie who doesn’t like David Bowie?

I recently was shown Escape from New York and I think Leon and Chris would somehow start talking about that movie and they’ll get really excited about it and that they both love it. Like lots of good Kurt Russel movies, but I don’t think The Thing or Big Trouble in Little China gets the same results from those two.

He’s probably not Italian. If he is, it's probably too far back to matter or at the closest a grandparent they don’t really talk too. I would buy Scottish or Irish relatives closer than Italian. He is a white guy in America so he is probably a mix from several European countries but again, too far back to matter or really affect him culturally. He’s just American. Take this from someone who is of Italian descent, (my dad’s grandparents moved to Canada from Italy) and while I’m only a quarter Italian and actually have very similar colouring to Leon (pale, blue eyes, blonde) my family is still very Italian. So I feel like I can be a pretty good point of reference here.

Also the mafia background. Y’all saw one concept artist say he was Italian, and then that mock interview back in the day said his parents died in a “heinous crime” and decided it was mafia related, which hey. But idk, he seems too plucky in re2r. I feel like he’d be more disillusioned with the police force if something like that happened. I mean that is applying realism to Resident Evil which as we all know is a very grounded and realistic horror game, but regardless, he’s not mafia. Mafia princess Leon is hilarious, but just as a fun au.

But eerizon mama’s boy video tho? Makes me want to rip my phone in half (affectionate)

Probably raised catholic. He’s got a couple lines about religion and by merit of being a white guy in America, def christian family. Now y’all in the states have like a million different versions, start throwing directions into it too, so I really only know catholic. And also, Sister Michael of Derry Girls comes to me saying “I do love a good statue it must be said” and she’s right. 

I wish there was more fan art of Leon with Catholic aesthetics because they're so good. Martyr Leon, Saint Leon. the possibilities. God I wish I could draw.

As for shipping, I’ll ship Leon with just about anyone.

Leon and Ashley are my personal favourite, I just think it’s adorable and knight/prince/ss relationships make me feral. 

Chris and Leon are fun because grumpy old men romance!

Luis and Leon are really fun because Leon looks like scary dog privilege but I like the idea Luis is the dangerous one. He may or may not have been involved with Nemesis. Pissing off Leon is bad, but pissing off his boyfriend? Rip. 

Leon and Ada are toxic and fun. I don’t understand the sentiment of, oh it’s not manipulative or unhealthy. Yes it is, that's why it’s sexy. I support women’s wrongs.

Leon and Claire are wild, something ends up on fire at the end of all their dates.

Leon and Krauser… okay maybe I don’t ship them. OG Leon? Sure, they’re more equals. Remake Leon? Krauser I’ll kill you.

In my head I refer to him as blonde because I first saw him in OG re4, but he's really more of a brunette huh. It also varies even in that regard (looking at you vendetta). Kinda like Link. Various between shades of blonde and brown with one random ginger/pink thrown in due to tech constraints.

Anyways, I have more thoughts but this was already waaaay too long. Please talk to me about Resident Evil my bestie can’t take it anymore.

[neechees]

hi justin! i’ve been following you for a while (at least a year or two,) and i’m a big fan of your work! i’ve also really enjoyed watching you god of war post—i knew nothing about gow before i followed you, and i’ve still read all your posts about it and had a great time, even though i was a liiittle confused, lol. now, between your posts and the recent hozier song (that thing is INSANE) i REALLY wanna play ragnarok. howeeever, there are uh. A Lot of gow games, so i was wondering, as somebody who’s already into it, if you would recommend starting with the original trilogy, or starting with the beginning of the norse era? i hope you don’t mind me asking, and thanks for getting me into it! i hope you have a great day 🖤❤️🦇

Hiii omg thank you so much! Nice to have you around! <3

And ah this is a hard question! I'd say, if you want to get into Ragnarok, you can actually just play 4 & 5 if you like because they stand well enough on their own while also paying tribute to & staying pretty canon to the previous games! They explain quite a bit of (relevant) lore from the previous games as well. And that's actually why this is a hard question to answer because the GOW series actually tends to acknowledge every other game within the series in some way & respects the lore it built on, even if it was just a spinoff or pretty minor!

If you'd like to be frugal & just don't have the money or desire to buy too many games, & even if you just want to get into Ragnarok & buy THAT specific game yourself (TOTALLY valid), then I'd suggest at least watching a let's play of God of War 4 on youtube before playing GOW Ragnarok (gow 5) yourself, just so you get the full picture of the preceding events for when you play Ragnarok specifically. So if you JUST wanna try Ragnarok, I'd say GOW4 would be good as well.

However, if you'd like to expand or get into more, there's also the other big three, GOW 1, 2, and 3, those are the classics & are pretty heavily tied into each other in explaining Kratos's journey. Gow 1 and 2 though might be a lot harder to get your hands on or more expensive, since they originally came out on ps2. But if you'd still like to get a taste for the classics, I'd say God of War 3 at least would be a good primer (since it shows what last happened before GOW4) & again, watching a let's play for the other 2 would help it make a lot more sense.

Then there's the more popular spinoffs, GOW Ascension, Gow Ghost of Sparta, & GOW Chains of Olympus. GoS (which is set after GOW1 but before GOW2) was my first ever gow game & that's what made me fall in love with it if that's any recommendation to you, Ascension has some very mixed reviews within the community & some think of it as less necessary to play but I personally really liked the lore & characterization it added, and Chains of Olympus will probably be the most recommended to play. I'd say you could choose which you'd like to play yourself, but Ascension will probably be the easiest to get your hands on. You could still honestly get away with playing or watching none of these, but most GOW fans have played at least one of em.

There's a couple of other spinoffs but personally I don't think they're necessary to play.

Word of warning: these games were a product of their time (that is, very male gazey) & you might get whiplash from the difference in characterization between Greek era Kratos & Norse era Kratos lol. There's in story explanation for this, but mostly again it goes back to the game mechanics of just letting players be assholes if they want, catering to some gamerdude stuff to some extent, & the male gaze thing. There's actually quite a lot of sexual stuff & nudity & generally violent content in these games as well (GOW 4 & 5 are the first in the series where you don't have the option to have sex), so be aware of that lol. But, I still think there's a lot to appreciate about these games. Whatever you'd just rather not play, or even if you'd just like to watch someone else play it before deciding to buy it yourself, just watch a let's play! :) happy gaming

[dreamerdagn]

also before too much more time goes by I want to unpack some of my spiderverse feelings. vvvvv all spoilers vvvvv

~~~~~~~~~spoiler warning in case the readmore doesn’t load~~~~~~~~~

~~~~my thoughts on spiderverse 2 pls don’t read if you don’t wanna ~~~~

so I’m not sure exactly how I feel about if a tbc was an appropriate ending, but either way I kind of respect them for like, trying it.

Like, movies, esp franchise movies like oh idk superhero movies, often have sequel hooks. But they also try to be self-contained movies. 

This isn’t a “try to force the audience to come back” kind of sequel hook. This is a “this is a two-parter, we always envisioned it that way, the two movies are complete and separately they are not and that’s how it is.” I’m not explaining it well but in any event I find it way more respectable.

in terms of visuals, last time they were praised for how each frame was beautiful and they rocked the industry by releasing a successful movie with non-realistic models and textures.

this time when deciding how to push the envelope they went hard on like...non-diagetic visuals I guess? Like characters do remark on how like for example Vulture looks like he’s made of paper so that’s actually diegetic, but what about like, the colors changing and melting during Gwen’s scenes with her father? I’d need to watch it again to get more examples but it’s like...everyone watching can see something weird’s happening with the visuals, and the artists trust are trusting the audience to recognize that it’s not literal.

and pretty much none of that was like, too much or not necessary or something.

and on TOP of that the story and characters are still great. All the new characters are good. Even tho the story isn’t complete it’s still 100% coherent.

and I watched a vid that pointed out one of the themes that they’re setting up seems to be “does it have to be our pain that defines us” and I feel like that’s what Miles is being set up to challenge and like. yes. good. I mean both in the story and irl bad things are going to happen to people, but specifically Miles is challenging the antagonist’s belief that he suffered because he tried to be happy, and you have to resign yourself to certain sacrifices. Again, bad things are going to happen, but you can keep striving for the ideal, and when those efforts pay off, it’s worth it, even if it’s not every time. At least I think that’s what they’re going for. The “I can do both!” thing seems to be setting up the “no you can’t and trying will only make neither work out / make something worse happen” vs the attitude of “I’ll solve the problems in front of me and if that triggers another problem, I’ll solve that too.” (I’m not implying the antagonist like, didn’t try hard enough to solve his original tragedy, heavens no, he didn’t know that would happen and it was just tragic, but that after that he resigned himself to the “this means sacrifices must always be made” mindset.)

oh and even more spoilery things...

I kinda thought it sounded like a Prowler-like sting was playing when Miguel was on screen, and Miles has some line like “are you sure you’re Spiderman??” when Miguel breaks out his very Prowler-like claws...so with the reveal at the end of the movie I think that’s definitely going to be somehow part of Miguel’s backstory. We honestly didn’t see much of his backstory, it was a very quick setup of what his damage was and not much else. We know he universe-hopped and we don’t know almost anything about what his life was like in his original universe.

also defo think he’s going to have a redemption arc, they went hard on making him scary and I think that’s because they wanted a suitably dramatic fight, and it worked. not sure what’ll happen to Spot, he seems to have gone full “inhuman monster,” but the harder the redemption the more I like it if they pull it off

oh and also the “you’re the original anomaly” was a huge emotional gut-punch for Miles but as for me I was like “HECK YEAH” because it’s supposed to position him as a problem, but it just means that problem has to be solved and he’s going to solve it.

I know we’ve had a bunch of multiverse movies lately, it being a concept that’s been talked about a lot in other media but generally not movies, but I think this one solidly earns its place for its use of them. The Spiderverse series and EEAaO can stay.

[chuya-chuya-blog]

I finished coloring a splash page yesterday. The feeling of accomplishment swings by once again. Onward to the next! I do want to draw more dynamic pictures, though. And I'd like to draw more characters, although I'm not far in the series, yet.

Also, I have a confession. I didn't script my chapters beforehand. I just keep saying, "it'll take too long! I'll just figure it out when I do the layouts! They go hand in hand, anyway!" Well it STILL takes long, AND it slows down the process of my chapters by piling on the extra stress of not having the scenes planned beforehand and figuring out what goes where and who says what. It's like combing your hair when it's gotten nappy. You wouldn't start at the top because 1. That hurts and 2. You didn't work out all the kinks beforehand so the comb is gonna get stuck, and you'll be frustrated(and you'll have a ton of breakage!). You have to work from the bottom so you can have a clear path when you finally start combing the roots.

My story went off the spine I made for it because I wasn't watching where it was going. Settings, characters, all of it has to be planned and I did NONE of it because it's already taken me YEARS to finally start my comic. I just had the story spine and that's it. "I'll figure it out as I go," was my motto. And to a degree, that makes sense. But I didn't even design their outfits. I had some vague ideas, but for the most part, "I dunno, some European looking coat?" was the idea. I didn't wanna be one of those people who did a hundred turn around sheets and splash pages and never posts a panel of manga. I used to see this a lot and I hated it.

And because of this, I'll be taking time to at least plan and script out some chapters. I AM figuring some things out as I go, now it's time to organize my thoughts and write them down. I feel like just focusing on the script for a bit will be exciting. Between that and my contest entries, my main series will be on the back burner for a while. And speaking of my contest endeavors,

PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEEEEESE LET ME SOMEHOW MANAGE TO GET BOTH MY CONTEST ENTRIES DONE THIS MONTH! AND ON TIME!

And please let me win.🙂

That is all.

[fan-burns]

Robots 2

Chapter 11: Harvey’s POV (Later that same night)

One month 

One month of this torture and Ratchet has already lost his mind. More so than usual.

When he called me that night, that night when the EMP went off, he told me to get to the Chop Shop asap. What he did not tell me, was that he was going to set off the fucking mind control ray. The second I got there, he takes my phone and throws me in a box, A BOX, for two hours! I kept banging on the door, screaming and begging to know what he was doing, and he didn’t fucking say anything! By the time he let me out, it was already too late. He took over the fucking city. And now everyone is some brainwashed slave to him! 

I only joined this freak show to be with him so his army wouldn’t kill me, and to watch him fail! How was I supposed to know it would backfire on me?! 

When you hear someone say “Oh I wanna take over the city!” You laugh, realize he’s serious, get stuck with him, laugh the pain away and wait around to see what happens! When the inevitable happens, you both laugh it off, make amends, and at the end of the day the two of you scored yourself a new boyfriend! Done, paid, and laid in one night! 

This, none of this, WAS PART OF THE FUCKING PLAN!!!

He’s got some new police called The Guard, and he’s got this Door to door evangelism thing going on with The Congregation! They were supposed to be a task force to keep the peace, but they’ve become less professional and more religious! After that, he made sure there was an oil crisis so he could hoard all of it and give it to the elite. And now he’s got some “Loyalty Test”?! What the hell is going on with him?! What the hell did I get myself into now?! 

I took a deep breath and stopped reminding myself of how much of a fucking idiot I was and got up from my desk...or I should say Rodney’s desk. I felt terrible sitting here, where he used to work at for hours before finally calling it quits. I never wanted it to get this bad…I didn’t even think it would work! 

This was a mistake...I should’ve just swallowed my damn pride and said something to the cops, Hell I could’ve even gone to the girls! I bet they would’ve loved to beat Ratchet into a car battery! Especially Dial and Piper! I should’ve just left Ratchet and that so-called doctor when I had the chance. I should’ve just stayed in Detroit…at least then I’d be allowed to leave my own damned office! 

Ratchet figured out how I felt about this whole scheme when I was sleep talking again. He repurposed an old storage room, called it my room, and locked me in the building and posted guards outside every door so I wouldn’t escape. The guards deliver me about one to three cans a day, but it’s never enough to keep me going throughout the day. I usually end up falling asleep in the afternoon. I bet he’s keeping me weak on purpose…just what have I gotten myself into?! I’m so much smarter than this, how did I let myself be tricked?!

This is the last time I let a pretty face get the better of me! I don’t care if he has an entire army ready to kill me, I’ll kick his sorry aft! If I can get out of this alive, I’ll kill him for this! 

I looked out the windows behind the desks. Even in the dark, I could see that the city was a mess, in more ways than one. There’s scaffolding everywhere you look, billboards have Ratchet’s face plastered onto them, and worse yet the Transport Pods were flying everywhere you looked. More so than usual. I always hated those damned things. I would not want to be flying a train right now, if trains were even allowed to fly in the first place. I haven’t seen one in the sky for a while, so I’m guessing the stations were closed down when the walls came up. 

From what I can gather the city’s been cut off from everyone for weeks now. Unless you're a Diamond Drill Oil rig, no one on the outside can get in and no one here can get out. At least I’m not the only prisoner here…at least he's locked away from the rest of the world too. I can’t even imagine what would happen if this EMP thing were to get out there…I don’t think I want to know.

The door behind me suddenly creaked open, and one of the guards entered with my nightly provisions. I knew who it was before the light hit his face. 

He was a younger bot named Gyro. He was a slim bot that was similar to Ratchet’s model, probably made from the same manufacturer from the looks of things. He had these beautifully sharp shoulders that came at a point, and his face was sharp too. Literally. He looked like a knight in shining armor with a sphere instead of legs. It didn’t help that his “signature weapon” was a Lance like all the other guards…I don’t have the heart to tell him that though. The Lance in question was slung over his back, leaving his hands free to hold the silver tray with the fuel cans on top.

“Master Davidson?” He spoke softly, “Your provisions from Lord Ratchet for the night.”

I looked at him in confusion, “Lord Ratchet? What, does he think he’s an emperor now?”

He shrugged his shoulders as he entered the room, the giant red ribbon on his head dancing in the wind as he moved. It came to a halt as he placed the tray on my desk. “He has a lot of names now,” he explained. “Lord Ratchet, King Ratchet, Our Savior. The list is endless.”

I noticed that he failed to close the door. I briefly thought about making a run for it, but then I remembered the thousands of other guards hell bent on keeping me locked up in here. Instead, I wanted to test something. 

“That’s ridiculous.” I boldly proclaimed. “Ratchet is a robot, not Cog. He’s not seriously masquerading as a king, is he?”

He was going to answer, but hesitated. He wanted to answer, he truly did, but something had taken hold of him. An outer force took a hold of his throat and prevented him from answering truthfully. Eventually, it let him go, but only after he found the words he didn’t want to say. 

“I-I guess he is? I’m not sure what to think of it myself…but Ratchet is the one who saved us all, so it’s only fitting that we praise him for what he’s done for us. I’d actually never thought about it much, I’m not really supposed to.”

“You’re not supposed to think?! You’re not a machine, Gyro, you’re allowed to have opinions! Who said you couldn’t think?!”

“With all due respect,” he objected. “I’m just a Guard Bot. I’m meant to guard, not to strategize, it’s my designation and purpose in life. That’s how things were before Bigweld showed up, remember?”

“But who told you that?!” I demanded. 

“Lord Ratchet did!” He responded matter of factly, “He’s told us everything that we forgot about! Hasn’t he told you your purpose yet? Is that why you’re in here?”

I didn’t know what to say…I just stared at him. I could feel a wave of heat and anger rising within my chest. Purpose? Designations? What the hell was Ratchet thinking?! What else did he say to them?! 

I wanted to tell him everything right then and there. The EMP, The Doctor, Ratchet, and whatever else I was hiding…but I couldn’t. If he was crazy enough to do this and everything prior, then who knows what he’d do to me if I said anything. That, and his whole army would be after me. But if I don’t say anything, then everyone will be stuck thinking like this, thinking that they’re good for only one thing. They’d be stuck doing the same thing forever, over and over again even if they don’t want to. I’d be betraying myself for betraying Rodney by not betraying Ratchet. Then again, I already did betray him and myself and… Oh y’know what? Screw it. I’m not going to let two pathetic little shits scare me into obeying. If I die it’s going to be on my terms. 

“Gyro...there’s something you need to-”

Suddenly, a third voice broke the conversation. “Evening, Harvey.”

“OH SHI-I mean...Hello there, Ratchet! How’s it going?” I addressed him sheepishly. Standing in the doorframe was Ratchet himself, right when I was going to do something smart for once. Damn it.

Gyro gave a salute to him. “Lord Ratchet! Sir! I was just providing Master Davidson his nightly provisions…and we were just chatting about how much of an honor it is to serve under your command.”

Oh thank Cog Gyro is a quick thinker. Bless you, Gyro. Bless you. Marry me.

Ratchet looked suspicious at first, but upon seeing the tray on the desk, he was satisfied with the answer. “Well, I’m glad to see you interacting with Harvey while not disobeying orders! He needs the extra company, but next time, do take care to shut the door.”

Gyro smiled, but I could tell he had something else on his mind. “As you wish, sir.” 

“That’s a good guard.” Ratchet spoke to him. “Oh, and Gyro? Could you leave the two of us for the night? I need to discuss something important to talk to him. I’ll throw in a bonus for your service to Harvey.”

Oh no.

Gyro placed his hand over his chest, and took a bow. As he did so, the feather in his helmet fell onto his shoulders.“As you command, sir.” He then turned to me, “I’ll be seeing you again, Master Harvey.”

I faked a smile at him, “You too...have a good night, Gyro.”

The feather danced freely as he left the room, and gently closed the door behind him, leaving the two of us alone.

“Harvey,” Ratchet began bluntly. “I wanted to talk to you about the city.”

Did he know I was having doubts about the plan?...I mean, he already did, but now is he going to finally do something about it? 

I knew I had to play it cool, so I played along, “W-What was on your mind?”

“I’ve been thinking about doing something special for the city again, like those free upgrades I did a month ago. Something like the Bigweld ball, but about me! I know how creative you can be, so I was wondering if you could come up with something.”

Oh thank Cog I thought I was dead for sure! I can actually do something here. Maybe I can use this to my advantage…maybe this could be my ticket to fixing everything! Storm the castle, kill the king!

“Oh, well we can do a disco! Or a gala! Wait, no no! Even better…We can do a masquerade!”

He looked puzzled by what I said, so I guess he’s never heard of a masquerade before. If she weren’t already dead, I would’ve had a lovely chat with his mother about this severe lack of taste.

“A masquerade ball!” I exclaimed. “You know? It’s where you wear your richest and finest upgrades alongside an elegant mask! We did them all the time at the Diamond Drill Hall!”

“Why wear a mask?” He questioned.

I was close to blowing a circuit, but was able to keep myself in check. “That’s part of the fun! The whole event is a sort of game, where you have to find out who’s who. We can throw some other activities too, but that’s the main purpose of the event. It’s for fun! It’s for letting loose any stress or worries, and it’ll be nice to get out of the “king persona” for a bit!”

I’m glad I said that last bit, because now his face seemed to soften. “King persona? Whatever do you mean?”

I threw my hands up in defense. “I didn’t mean anything bad! I just thought that, maybe…you’d like to tone things down a bit?”

I stepped towards him and fixed his tie as I said this. It’s basic 101 in seduction, play with your lover’s frames and they’ll get the hint. Any small accessories they have are a goldmine of things to mess with, and you should always fiddle with them if you can. 

At least…that’s what’s supposed to happen. Instead he brushed me aside and stared out the window in his signature overdramatic brooding pose. Either I’m a little rusty, or he’s dumber than he looks…It’s definitely the latter, I’m never rusty.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Harvey,” he said, “My image has to represent what I expect from them. I expect obedience and professionalism from them, so I must do the same.”

“You’re failing at that obedience thing.” I remarked quickly. “And that professionalism.”

He quickly turned to face me, “What makes you say that? Because I have no one to take orders from?! I am in charge, so I obey myself! I obey my own laws and decrees! I-”

“You need to listen to yourself!” I interrupted. “Decrees? Commands? This isn’t the medieval times, this is a city in the 20th century! A city that’s being ruled by an iron fist no less!”

He looked down at his hands awkwardly.

“Metaphorically! My point is that you’re crossing a line! Many lines in fact!”

I took a breath and continued, “Let’s just…tone it down a bit. You’re starting to freak everyone out.”

He tightened his grip on the Conduit, and the staff began to shake. I backed away from him and braced myself just in case he decided to take a swing at me.

“I suppose you do have a point,” he admitted as he glared at me, “…but what about you? How can I trust that you won’t run away when I let you plan this thing?”

And just like that, we’re back to that night when he heard me in my sleep. We’re back to me arguing my case, only for him to find me guilty and sentencing me to life in prison.

“Why would I run?” I argued once again. “Where would I run to? The whole city is locked up, it doesn’t make sense for me to leave if I can’t go anywhere! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you the whole time, you don’t have to keep me in here!”

I considered getting on my knees, but that would look too desperate and he might suspect something. I have to play it cool. Instead, I just clasped my hands together. I approached him again as I spoke. “Please, sir. I know what I said, but I never wanted to say it like that. I wanted to have a proper conversation about it, like we are now! I’m trying to keep you from going over your head! Remember that promise? That you’d let me stop you if it goes too far? That’s what I’m doing now, I’m keeping that promise!”

I placed my hand on his shoulder, with the other one gently caressing the side fin on his head. “Please…let’s try to tone it down a bit.”

He placed his hand over his shoulder, covering mine.  “Harvey…I think you’re right.”

“…What?”

He brushed my hands off, “You’re right…maybe this is getting to be a bit much. Maybe I do need a break for a bit.”

Ok, great! He’s not completely out of his mind yet! I can use this!..I don’t know how yet, but I can use this against him!

He kept his gaze fixed on me, “How about a deal then? I’ll let you go so you can help with this masquerade of yours. If it’s a hit, We’ll make it an annual thing. If not, I’ll still let you go and we’ll just have to think of something else. Deal?”

I didn’t even hesitate. I reached my hand out to shake his, “Deal. Where should we start?”

He grinned at that as he twirled his staff around like a batton. Pretty impressive considering how thick it was. “Let’s start with our outfits…I’m thinking of keeping it simple. I want everyone to at least know who I am!”

I rolled my eyes with a pretend smile. Now that I know he’s somewhat sane, I can use him against him. That, and to knock him down a few thousand pegs. Maybe knock his head off while I’m at it.

“Fair enough…what were you thinking of?”

“Just a crown and cape. Nothing too flashy. I still need to look the part of a king!”

Or maybe I spoke too soon. At least I’m making some progress. I can still use whatever I learn against him when he’s weak and not in the king persona. I can try to find Rodney if he hasn’t already been brainwashed and pass what I find to him or even Bigweld. Maybe I can snap some sense into Damion and Axyl when I run into them. I’ve got to do something to fix this!

At least I hope I can fix this…otherwise I don’t know how anyone could beat him at this rate.

[fancoloredglasses]

[RERUN] 7 Little Superheroes (a good ol’ fashioned...kidnapping mystery?)

[All images are owned by Marvel Disney. Please don’t sue me]

This is a review that suffers from some serious “wall of text” issues, in that there’s not a SINGLE image or video clip from the episode save the title screen! Well, we’re about to fix that! If you wish to slog through what is essentially a book report, you can do so here.

I’m sure most of you have heard/seen a variant of the “Ten Little Indians” trope in which someone invites a group to a secluded area with no chance of escape, then composes a cryptic poem about the means in which every one of them will die, one by one. In fact, Rooster Teeth did one of these in which they “killed off”  most of their executives.

Anyway, the writers of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends thought this would be a great story to adapt. Just three problems...

1. The “Spider Friends” were just three. No worries, we’ll just bring in 7 guest heroes!

2. The show is only half an hour long (minus commercials and credits, so more like 20 minutes) No problem, we’ll cut the cast to 7 total.

3. That damn issue with violence on kids’ TV, plus do we really wanna kill off heroes like Captain America? Ummmm...right...they’ll just be...captured?

The villain of the episode is the Chameleon. I’d never heard of him before or since viewing the episode, but a quick Wikipedia search says he is the half-brother to Kraven the Hunter and a master of disguise (given his name, that makes sense) His voice seemed familiar, so a quick IMDb search revealed the actor also voiced Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain, from the Rankin-Bass Animation production of The Hobbit (a much better version than Peter Jackson’s production as it was more cohesive while being less than 20% as long, but I digress...)

If you would like to watch the episode, Disney+ has your hookup.

The episode begins with the Chameleon spouting the first lines of the poem...

7 Little Superheroes vanish one by one...7 Little Superheroes, soon there will be none!

We switch to Spider-Man swinging through New York, when he encounters a letter addressed to him along his patrol route (is he that predictable? Why hasn’t anyone set a booby trap on one of his regular perches?) inviting him to Wolf Island Mansion for some sort of gathering (not in the least suspicious...especially since Iceman and Firestar have similar invites...seriously, booby traps!)

Peter informs Aunt May that the three of them are going to a house party. Aunt May decides to invite their dog Ms. Lion along as well. Peter objects, but do you really think he could say no to Aunt May?

When the heroes reach Wolf Island, Iceman’s ice slide accidentally covers the lake that Prince Namor of Atlantis, the Sub-Mariner (hero #4) was swimming in. Iceman apologizes, but Namor insults them and flies off (yes, the undersea prince can fly. Don’t ask me, I just report this stuff!)

Upon entering the mansion, the group encounters the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange (hero #5), Captain America (#6), and Shanna the Jungle Queen (who? I mean #7)

[NOTE: the comic version is Shanna the She-Devil, but the writers understandably changed her name for the episode...I mean, no sense pissing off the parents! Either way, I’ve never heard of her...]

The Chameleon makes his presence (and intentions) known. This pisses off Namor (what doesn’t?) and he decides to leave...

...only to run into a force field (bet that pissed him off too) which covers the mansion, trapping everyone on the grounds! Then we get our first clue as to who’s on the chopping block...

7 Little Superheroes in quite a fix...One will meet fire, and then there will be six!

The group deduces that their “host” is the Chameleon, and that he very well could be disguising himself as any of them! (I thought he just disguised himself. Can he mimic powers too?)

Namor (no doubt in the most pissed off way possible) decides it’s best to work alone as he can’t trust appearances. (know what Namor is an anagram for? Mor...an? hmmm, doesn’t quite work, but you get my point)

(Thanks to Imperius Wrecked)

You’d think he’d be able to smell the difference between water and alcohol...)

Namor attempts to fly over the pool to the exit...

...but the Chameleon ignites the alcohol. The heat further weakens Namor and he falls into the fiery pool!

Meanwhile, Spider-Man is searching on the roof of the mansion, but falls into a trap panel (on the outside of the building? The Chameleon must have a hell of an issue with squirrels and raccoons getting in...), allowing the Chameleon to assume the web-head’s identity.

Let’s check in with Iceman and Captain America out on the grounds, shall we?

6 Little Superheroes trying to stay alive...One will step into quicksand, and then there will be five!

Seems a bit specific, don’t ya think? I mean, all you have to do is stay off the ground, right?

Iceman falls prey to a snare trap that suspends him about 10 feet off the ground. Cap rushes to his aid...

...only to catch a tripwire of his own, sending flying barbs his way. They’re easily blocked by his shield, but there are a lot of ‘em. “Spider-Man” arrives on the scene, suggesting Cap dive into a nearby pond until the barbs stop flying. (three guesses what the “pond” actually is...)

Captain Gullible dives in, and is pulled down by the quicksand. Iceman freezes the rope to free himself (why didn’t he do that before?) and is about to freeze the pond to save Cap, but “Spider-Man” offers to use his webbing to pull him out instead, only the webbing doesn’t stick to Cap and he sinks below the surface...

...as “Spider-Man” swings away, chuckling menacingly as Ms. Lion snarls at him.

Firestar and Doctor Strange arrive, and Firestar deduces that it must have been the Chameleon. The three follow Ms. Lion back to the mansion...

...where we see Spider-Man finally freeing himself from the trap panel by climbing down the flue (seriously, how does the Chameleon not have a problem with woodland animals invading his home?) just in time for Iceman to hit him hard with a blast of frozen mistaken identity.

The group quickly realizes their error when Ms. Lion shows concern for Spidey.

Let’s check in on Shanna the She-Devil Jungle Queen. She has climbed a nearby spire to get a view of the surroundings. I’m sure the view is impressive, but instead of getting your breath taken away by it...

...shouldn’t you be watching the Chameleon setting off the explosions in the very spire you’re standing on? (he does get around, doesn’t he?) Shanna falls into a pit (what? no poem?), but not before she sends a telepathic distress call (wait, she can do that? I honestly don’t know, as I’ve never heard of her) to Doctor Strange. The Spider Friends and Strange rush to her aid.

Unfortunately, by the time they arrive, the Chameleon has changed into Shanna. (This is beyond being a quick-change artist. This is shape-shifting!)

“Shanna” then jumps down and hangs off of a nearly ledge (you’d think someone with Shanna’s agility could get herself out of that predicament) as the group approaches. “Shanna” falls just in time for Spider-Man to swing in to catch her.

The group might have been fooled if not for Ms. Lion not liking her (who knew cartoon dogs were such excellent judges of character?), so the now-revealed Chameleon takes his revenge...

...by opening a trap door under Ms. Lion! Fortunately, Spider-Man grabs her before she falls.

The group chases “Shanna” into a maze of caves (pretty sure you can guess what happens here) The Chameleon hides as Firestar flies by, then transforms into her.

5 Little Superheroes want to know the score? One will run into herself, and then there will be four!

First off, shouldn’t that be “4 Little Superheroes”, since he already took out Shanna? Second, it’s now pretty apparent (well, a 50/50 chance) to the group who the next victim will be (unless the Chameleon plans on targeting Ms. Lion)

Fortunately, the group guesses correctly (or have they forgotten about Shanna?) and run after Firestar, who was scouting ahead, (have these people not learned to not let ANYONE out of their sight when there’s a shape-shifter around?!) but not fast enough...

...as Firestar encounters “Firestar”, who blasts her with freezing air, incapacitating her as she falls down a trap door!

Meanwhile, Shanna manages to free herself from the rubble (guess the count was right after all) and goes looking for the group (pretty sure we all know what’s about to happen...)

“Firestar” starts a recording as he joins the group, making everyone think he’s the real deal.

4 Little Superheroes, scared as can be...A demon will devour one, and then there will be three!

Right on cue, a robotic “demon” shows up to attack the group. Shanna chooses this moment to find the group, distracting them long enough for the demon to blast the group, sending everyone except Doctor Strange flying...

...then he eats Strange! Spidey deduces “Firestar” is not who he says he is, so the Chameleon runs off.

3 Little Superheroes, racing to pursue...But one will fall right off the bridge, and then there will be two!

In the middle of the Chameleon’s poem, he starts a tremor as Shanna falls (heh) behind. Spider-Man tries to web her...

...but she falls into the chasm below before the web reaches her! (not sure why he couldn’t try again...)

So with just the wall crawler and Iceman left, things seem grim. In desperation, the pair heads outside so Iceman can try to break through the force field again.

2 Little Superheroes out in the sun...the Iceman will be melted, and now there is but one!

Once again, the Chameleon strikes before he finishes speaking...

...this time with a heat ray that nullifies his ice powers, then a tractor beam to draw him back into the mansion!

[Gonna hit the pause button and go back 41 years to when I first saw the episode up to this point. I honestly was shocked that the show would kill off Captain America and Doctor Strange (I had no clue who Shanna was and, to be honest, Namor was being a complete ass and deserved what he got), but in both Iceman’s and Firestar’s cases, their fates were a bit more benign as Firestar was being incapacitated by icy jets of air (so essentially tortured instead of killed, then?) and Iceman was captured rather than given a death scene. I guessed this was because they had “star power” immunity and would eventually be rescued (I mean, they wouldn’t kill the title characters, right? Right?) Yes, now I know how things worked better, but my younger self...

Pause over, let’s resume]

It seems that Iceman and Firestar are imprisoned next to each other, so the Chameleon tricks them into using their powers on one another.

Meanwhile, web-head has re-entered the mansion. One rotating wall later, he falls into a web (ironic)

1 Little Superhero eaten to the bone...Leaving myself, the super super villain, all by myself alone!

A giant robotic spider comes across the web, hoping for a bit of cannibalism (of a sort, I guess...) Spidey discovers the “web” is made of electrical cables...

...so tears the end from one and jabs it into the spider, shorting it out with a jolt of deus ex supershit.

Escaping the room, he finds a room where all six “victims” are alive. (Cap, Strange, and Shanna are imprisoned, while Namor, Iceman, and Firestar are incapacitated by their weaknesses)

That’s when the Chameleon announces he has rigged the island with enough explosives to level it!

OK, the show time counter is at 21:21...let’s see if the bomb can be defused by 22:21.

[While we’re on the subject of suspension of disbelief, how the hell did the Chameleon get Namor out of the fire, Cap out of the quicksand, and Shanna out of the abyss...not to mention moving Iceman and Firestar from their cells to this chamber...when he has been sticking close to the heroes or in his control room the entire episode? Strange was obviously transported there by the robotic demon, but how did the Chameleon keep him from casting spells?

Soapbox over, now for the thrilling conclusion!]

First, Spidey redirects the heat lamp drying out Namor onto the block of ice imprisoning Firestar (wouldn’t she have suffocated by now?), with the melt flowing around Namor, reviving him, and Iceman, dousing his flaming cage. (29 seconds left according to the show time counter...) Namor then destroys the generator near the cage (guess it was electrified...? That explains why Cap wouldn’t just use his strength to bend the bars. 9 seconds to go, by the way...)

The Chameleon takes off in his helicopter (22:34; Everyone’s dead, including the Chameleon) and deactivates the force field. Doctor Strange magics everyone to the roof...

...and Spidey shoots a web onto the chopper, pulling himself up and inside. (Nice to know the Chameleon is polite enough to let the authorities know what vehicle he’s in)

Meanwhile, the timer is obviously running slow as it’s reading T-minus 20 seconds one minute and 49 seconds after the one minute timer started. (did you follow that?)

We switch back to the chopper where Spidey has finished tying up the Chameleon with webbing. (obviously the Chameleon got beat up off-camera where no parents could object) Spidey then grabs a megaphone and calls to the others.

7 Little Superheroes, get together gang...Swing on my spider-line cuz there’s gonna be a bang!

(No shit! It should have happened over a minute ago!)

The heroes fly off, abandoning poor Ms. Lion!

(The timer should have gone off a minute and sixteen seconds ago. The Chameleon really needs to not skimp on his timers next time) Firestar realizes they forgot the dog.

Spidey takes aim and shoots a line, snaring Ms. Lion and pulling her to safely as the explosives go off a minute and thirty-five seconds late!

The web-slinger give Ms. Lion the props she deserves for giving the heroes an unexpected edge as we fade out.

I really wonder what this tale would look like today with (limited) violence being allowed in televised animated programming. While Marvel obviously wouldn’t kill anyone, they could put the heroes in dire peril enough to take them out of action without seeming as contrived.