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#i know i only ever draw her miserable but did you know that’s actually a sign of a healthy blorbo
khaliarart · 1 year
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Thanks for voting on my poll!! This was so much fun to make.
Let me get emotional on main real quick because it‘s Aka‘s bday (4 years!! sheesh) and that gives me the right to be annoying.
I didn‘t even want an irkensona when I joined the fandom, I rarely saw any of those so the concept was strange to me. But my crush at the time had made an irkensona (you might have heard of Dr. Lola) so naturally I whipped up Aka in about 10 minutes to ship with Lola. Crazy enough it worked out, said crush is now my gf of 4 years<3
I’m really glad the characters sticked, too. They changed my perception of art and really got me into creating my own stories.
Now who wants to see the first art of Aka? Dated 29/09/2019
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e-vay · 1 month
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Hey E-Vay ! Before I say anything, LOVE your work.
Okay, so I know that you're in the process of showing us how Sonic and Amy's wedding and proposal is planned out (no pressure). BuT, just curious, how did Knucks and Rouge get married? Or even how did he get to propose?
Thanks for seeing this!
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Thank you so very much! 🥰 I’m so happy you like my work! 
I will not be doing a full comic or even a full fic of how their wedding goes down just because I have too many other projects I want to do (I’m only one person! 🥵). But I will give you a breakdown of how the Knuxouge wedding goes in my AU! And if anyone wants to do fanart or a fic based off it, I’d love to see/read it!
During the events of Boom!Baby, Knuckles and Rouge finally get engaged. I don’t have the exact proposal in mind, but I like to think that the two of them have been aggressively/playfully putting it off for awhile, with Knuckles constantly joking “As if I’d ever want to be married to HER” and Rouge jabbing back with “Please, you’d need to offer me the Master Emerald on a ring for me to even consider it!” But with Sonic and Amy taking this next major step in their lives, Knuckles is inspired and does end up popping the question (with a CONSIDERABLE ring full of gems that he scavenged himself!).
Knowing Rouge is an absolute diva, she’d have the most extravagant, over-the-top, dazzling wedding you could imagine. And it would definitely be a “no-kids-allowed” event. Have you seen the movie “Crazy Rich Asians”? Picture that. The wedding would be a spectacle that would last for DAYS! But, the wedding date would be expedited super fast (I headcanon that Rouge is actually very insecure and puts out a bold front to hide that about herself. She’d want to rush the wedding because she’s secretly afraid Knuckles will want to back out. She shouldn’t worry about that, he loves her very much and really wants to marry her!).
In my AU, Shadow is off-world during Boom!Baby, so though Rouge would have obviously asked him to be her “Man of Honor,” she wouldn’t be able to find a way to reach him and get him back in time for the wedding. Because of this, Omega gets pushed to the role of “Man (Mech?) of Honor” and Rouge asks Amy to be a bridesmaid instead. Note, Amy is nearing the end of her pregnancy at this time haha. I always write Rouge and Amy to have a very tense “friendship;” that’s just my personal preference. So Rouge asking Amy to be her bridesmaid was because Amy is her closest female friend, but also because she thinks it will make herself look extra fabulous when standing next to a very pregnant lady haha. She even picks out an awful yellow bridesmaid dress for Amy to wear (because Amy is still very beautiful, pregnant or not). Though Amy does agree to be a bridesmaid to support her friend, she’s actually quite upset and very self-conscious and it initially puts a damper on her enjoyment of the wedding festivities (Her feet hurt like hell, she feels like a bowling ball, she thinks she looks horrendous in this color!). Don’t worry though, Sonic cheers her up and reminds her just how radiant she is 🥰
[Sonic seeing Amy in her bridesmaid dress] S: “Wow!” A: “This yellow dress is awful. She did this on purpose.” S: “Well if she was trying to make you look bad, she failed miserably. You look like the sunshine!” A: “I look VERY pregnant!” S: “Sure, pregnant with MY baby. There ain’t a thing more beautiful than that 😉” [Rabid kissing ensues hehehe]
I picture Rouge having many outfit changes for every event that happens during their week-long wedding extravaganza, but for her actual wedding dress I imagine something super sleek, super sexy, and made up entirely of diamonds! My drawing doesn’t even do it justice. Just picture that as she’s walking, every single facet of every single diamond is sparkling! All the men would have to wear 3-piece black tuxedos complete with trousers (Sonic hates this), except Omega obviously. But he’d still wear a dapper bowtie and Sunflower & Iris boutonniere like the rest of the wedding party. (I chose Irises because Rouge seems to like the color purple and they’re a very elegant flower, and I chose sunflowers because they remind me of Knuckles for some reason. Maybe because they’re big and tall. Idk, I can see Knuckles really liking sunflowers and yellow pairs beautifully with purple). Sonic and Tails are Knuckles’ groomsmen, but Team Chaotix are also among honored guests so Vector and Espio (and maybe even Mighty) would attend all the groom-related events (like the bachelor party) leading up to the wedding.
Right before the ceremony, Rouge and Amy have a touching heart-to-heart moment and Rouge does thank her for stepping in and helping out, and she apologizes for making Amy feel bad. She admits that she has insecurities that she doesn’t like people to know about, so that’s why she goes over-the-top and sometimes puts others down in the process. Also (at least in my AU), Rouge doesn’t have very many close friends outside of Shadow and Omega, so Amy really is her next best friend. They make up, the ceremony is perfect and romantic, and everyone gets to have an absolute blast at the reception!
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Lastly, because Rouge is so over-the-top… after Shadow returns back to their planet 20+ years later, I can AB-SO-LUTELY see her throwing a vow renewal that’s even more extravagant than their first wedding as an excuse to have him as her Man of Honor and also as an excuse to throw another huge bash. Though this one would be even crazier and BIGGER, I think the vow renewal would actually be way more fun because everyone (including kids) can come this time, everyone’s families are bigger (even CC would be there!), and Knuckles and Rouge’s adopted kids (Ruff and Tumble) would get to be part of the ceremony, so it’d be very heartfelt even with goofy antics.
Sorry I’m not going to make this one into a full-fledged comic, but I hope you enjoyed this condensed version anyway! And I hope nobody takes the way I write Rouge as me not liking her character. I just like to add a little spice into why she comes off so proud all the time. I adore Knuckles and Rouge as a couple. Their rivalry and catty attitudes are just a hoot!
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flowercrowngods · 1 year
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this wouldn't leave me alone, so have my thoughts on a steve-centric "who did this to you?" steddie concept inspired by @imfinereallyy (i hope this is okay, even though it's uhhh nothing like what you mentioned)
When Eddie gets to the boathouse, he immediately notices that something is off. The door is cracked open but he can’t hear anyone talking or moving stuff around. No one ever comes here — it’s been his hideout spot since the ripe age of thirteen when he’d had hist first real fight with Wayne. 
No one comes here. But now the door is cracked open and Eddie stares at it for a good minute as though that would make it come to life and tell him who’s inside so he won’t have to look and deal with whoever decided to steal his spot. He’s really not in the mood to start any shit today, or to be called all sorts of names — most of which aren’t even half as true as people fear. 
His first instinct is to leave, find somewhere else to hide from this miserable world today, when he hears it. The sound of sniffling, followed by wet, heavy breaths. 
Oh. It sounds like someone’s crying. In his spot.
Maybe it’s some girl who got her heart broken, some dude who lost the last bit of faith in his family, or some kid who— 
Ah, fuck it, he’ll just come back later. Not his problem. Definitely not his problem. And it’s definitely not guilt or worry that gnaw at him as he turns on his heel to leave. 
But then there’s a groan. A pained groan. Someone’s in pain, and crying in his spot, and Eddie really shouldn’t make that his problem. He shouldn't. Nopbody cares when he's crying and in pain either! But fuck if he won’t be thinking about it for the rest of his life if he turns his back on whoever it is. Maybe they need help. 
They most certainly sound like they do.
With a heavy sigh, Eddie is already at the door before he can think about it too much. 
“Hello?” he asks the darkness, and immediately the sniffling stops. 
Silence falls, but only for a moment before whoever it is has to draw shaky, wheezing breaths that make Eddie swear under his breath. 
“Listen, I know you’re here.” He’s taking slow, deliberate steps, his eyes roaming he mess of boats, tools and tarp he knows so well.  “And I’m not trying to start anything. Tell me to go away and I will. But I have a first aid kit in my car and, uh, you sound like maybe you need it.” 
There’s no response, but the wheezing breaths turn into whimpers with every second that whoever it is tries very hard not to make any noise, and Eddie’s heart starts to race in his chest. He can feel worry and panic starting to rise. And overshadowing it is an overwhelming sense of dread.
What the fuck is happening? 
He tries to be careful but his mind is racing and his limbs are starting to feel like lead. His wary steps become heavy and clumsy, and then he accidentally boots something that makes a terrible, horrible noise, breaking the eerie silence. Eddie cringes and is about to apologise, when finally there is movement in his peripheral vision. 
And then he sees him. There, hidden in the shadows between a boat and the far wall, his face breaten and bloodied, his eye swelling around a nasty bruise. Wait, do bruises bleed? Should they look black like that? Is it a cut? Something worse?
Even after years of constant bullying and goading in middle school and high school, he has never actually seen someone look like this. With their face completely smashed in. It makes him freeze for a horrible, horrible moment before he saps out of it.
“Fuck,” Eddie breathes, hurrying over as fast as he can, stumbling over tools and tarp as he does. Something falls to the floor with a loud clunk and it makes the boy flinch again. Eddie curses. “Sorry, shit, sorry!” 
He makes it to the boat rather quickly, crouching down in front of the boy a few feet away so as not to spook him, not to crowd him. And then his heart only plummets further, because he knows this one. 
Steve Harrington. The boy who’s come to school with many a black eye over the past two years — but never this bad. The boy who’s been looking like the world might be about to end each time he rounded a corner in school; ever since things started happening around Hawkins. Since the Holland girl died and the Byers boy disappeared. 
It fascinated Eddie, the way Steve fell from grace. The way he turned quiet, and showed up with healing bruises. There are stories woven around it, because teenagers like to gossip and word spreads fast, and Eddie always listened with rapt attention as Harrington turned into a bit of a myth. A legend. A ghost story.
But fascination is not what he feels right now, seeing Steve like this.
His eyes are unfocused and Eddie knows about the danger of head injuries. He knows about the consequences of blood loss, he knows that Steve will be warm to the touch even though he’s shivering already, and… Fuck!
“Shit, Steve,” he rasps, not daring to speak louder lest he spooks the boy. Of all the reasons he’s had to be afraid of talking to Steve Harrington, this one might be the cruellest. "I..."
He takes in his wounds, his bruised and scraped knuckles where his hands are wrapped around the knees he’s pulled to his chest, and his split lip that he keeps biting. 
Eddie swallows before he asks, “Who did this to you?” 
But Steve just shakes his head clumsily. Sniffles again, and then his breath comes in wet heaves, and Eddie worries for a moment that he’s going to throw up now. 
He doesn’t. 
Steve’s just staring. Eddie isn’t even entirely sure he can see him, or maybe he did and then forgot, or maybe he’s fading. Eddie should do something, he should get help, he should— 
“Steve,” he says, and dares to touch him when he doesn’t react. 
A light touch to the knee shouldn’t make anyone flinch like that, but Steve’s whole body jumps, and then the shivers and the wheezing get worse. It almost sounds like a whimper, and Eddie curses again. Feels like crying now, scared and helpless as he is.
“Fuck, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, okay, I— Jesus, okay.” He swallows hard, trying to think, willing for the panic to subside and a plan to form. “You’re okay. I... I’m gonna, I’m gonna grab the first aid kit. I have it in my car. It’s not, it’s not far. And a blanket. So you'll be warm again. I’ll be right back, okay? Don’t move, don’t…" He gestures wildly, caught between reaching out and pulling away. "Don’t move.” 
Eddie takes a wavering breath and moves to stand on numb, tingly legs, nearly missing Steve’s, “Can’t.” It’s barely more than a whisper, hardly even a wheeze. It’s like he’s just breathing out words because everything else is too much effort. 
Right. Right. This is messed up and Eddie’s panicking, but Steve will be okay. Because things like that don’t happen, not here, not today, and not to Steve Harrington. 
Except this is Hawkins. Where Will Byers disappeared and Barb Holland died and many people are missing and weird shit just ends up happening everywhere even though they’re all just kids. They’re just kids. And Steve’s not even conscious enough to realise that right now. 
Eddie all but runs outside, sprinting to his van with a speed that would make the coach swallow his stupid whistle if gym class only mattered right now. It doesn't. Nothing matters, because Steve is... He's hurt. And there's no one else around to help.
Grabbing the first aid kit, a bottle of water and a thick blanket he always keeps spread out in the back of his van, he makes it back to the boathouse in no time. 
He wasn’t even gone for three minutes, but still he sighs in relief when Steve is still awake. He even looks up. Blinks. Frowns in what can only be confusion and makes Eddie's heart fall.
“Munson?” 
Fuck, that’s not a good sign. That’s messed up, it’s fucked up, it’s— Focus, Eddie! 
“The one and only,” he says, voice shaky and his smile not fooling anyone. He wraps the blanket around Steve, whose eyes are unfocused again, though he tries so hard to blink it away. 
Brave boy, stupid boy. Head trauma isn’t blinked away. Though Eddie is inclined to let him try. Maybe he’ll find a way. 
“Here.” He hands the bottle over to Steve, who grabs it with clumsy hands. He can hold it, but he can’t get it open — again, not a good sign. 
Eddie opens it for him, then turns to his first aid kit. It seemed like a great idea five minutes ago, but he’s petrified now. It’s too dark in here and he can’t really see the wounds, he doesn’t know what to use, what’s in there, he doesn’t, he can’t, he— 
The bottle, empty now, is handed back to him, bumping into his hand, tearing him away from his spiralling thoughts. 
“Thanks,” Harrington breathes, and there’s a small smile visible in the darkness. Eddie just nods and takes it with hands that are still shaking.
“I wanna help you,” he says, like it isn’t obvious. “But I don’t know how. You gotta tell me where it hurts, Steve.” 
A beat. “Everywhere.” 
Eddie sags, falling back to sit opposite Steve, frantically rubbing at his face. “Shit.” 
“Yeah.” Steve chuckles, but it sounds so wet with tears and pain, Eddie never wants to hear it again. “Thought I could do it.” 
He’s talking. That’s a good thing, right? He can’t pass out as long as he’s talking. That’s how that works, isn’t it? So, Eddie asks, “Do what?” 
“Doctors told me,” Steve sighs, his voice slow and slurring. “Told me to... to stay out of fights. Stay out of them. Said I had to make sure my head won’t—“ 
He makes a motion with his fist, and Eddie thinks he’s simulating a punch, disoriented as it is. It makes his heart fall. Is that what happened? Someone beat Steve to a pulp? Again? Just like that?
Eddie is so stuck on that thought, trying to piece together the puzzle, that he almost misses Steve’s mumbled speech. 
“Y’know, th— Said I’ll go blind. Or deaf. Or just… die.” He says it to matter-of-factly that Eddie’s heart stops for a second.
What the fuck happened to Steve Harrington? Not just today, no. What happened to him?
What happend to make him look up at Eddie Munson, out of all people, with glistening eyes so endlessly scared, and say, “I don’t wanna die, Munson. I never… I didn’t. With the monsters or the torture. I can't—” A wheeze, a keen, a whimper, and Harringtin pulls at his hair, uncaring that he's making things worse.
Meanwhile, Eddie is stuck on his words. Because what. 
“Can’t, can't die now ���cause Tommy thinks he’s so… He’s… He’s just sad, man. Griev'n' and confused. But Billy’s gone, an'— And now I’ll…”
Steve looks at him now, his eyes shining with tears and something that Eddie’s written poems about and created characters around. This expression, like the world will end. And inspiring as it is, it fucking breaks his heart now. 
“They said my brain is hurt, Eddie.”
Eddie swallows the hurt and the fear and the complete overwhelm he's feeling. Steve is telling him things that Eddie doesn't know how to handle.
“You won’t die, Steve,” he says in as gentle a voice as he can muster right now, because that's the only thing he knows.
And he won’t, right? People don’t just die. Not from taking a punch, not when they just graduated high school, not when they’re Steve Harrington. Right? 
“Yeah?” 
“Yeah.” 
“Okay,” Steve breathes. “That’s good.” 
Eddie wants to hug him in that moment. He never knew that this was possible, wanting to hug Steve Harrington, wanting to wrap the blanket around him even tighter and keep him safe and convince him that he won’t die. 
And then the rest of what he said catches up with Eddie and leaves anger in its wake. 
“Hagan did that to you?” 
Steve nods. “Started going off about Billy.”
Eddie’s blood freezes at that name. "Hargrove?” 
Another nod, though Steve doesn’t look too happy about moving his head, and he groans quietly. “They were friends. Tommy is angry. Grieving. Con— Confused. He was just saying shit, like it’s my fault. And it is. Kinda. But Tommy’s, he, he’s... Just saying shit. And then he punched me. A lot. And he didn’t stop. And now… is now.” 
“Yeah,” Eddie breathes dumbly, carefully bandaging the glaring wound at his temple, needing to start somewhere. “Now is now.” His blood is still frozen as he tries very hard not to listen to Steve. Nothing that Harrington says has any right to matter anything to him; they live in two different worlds. If Harrington confesses to murder while severely concussed under Eddie’s watch, then there are no witnesses to drag either of them through the mud for it. Eddie is just gonna forget about it. Or try, anyway. “But you’re… Shit , Steve, you’re really hurt.” 
Steve blinks. Pauses. And Eddie thinks he’s lost him. But then, “Yeah. I’m always hurt.” 
And that, in this little voice, is like a gut punch. Because Eddie knows something about always hurt. “What?” 
“What?” 
There is ice in his veins as he asks, “Who’s hurting you, Steve?” 
Steve looks at him, opening his mouth once, twice, like he’s about to say something and Eddie holds his breath. But then Steve’s eyes droop and he shrinks in on himself a bit more. 
“Jus’ everyone, sometimes. God you don’t… You don’t even know.” 
Know what, Harrington? Eddie can barely breathe anymore.
“’M tired, Eddie,” Steve mumbles, closing his eyes. “Don’t wanna hurt anymore.” 
“Hey, hey, no!” Eddie reaches out, catching Steve’s head and preventing it from colliding with the floor as he’s slumping and falling over. 
And just like that, the panic is back, frantic but determined this time. He’s going to get help; there’s nothing he can do with his lousy first aid kit, not when Steve keeps going in and out of consciousness like that. Not when he can barely see anything or clean the wounds properly.
He’s going to get Steve to a hospital and allow them both to forget this ever happened. Because Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson don’t breathe the same air or share traumatic stories in a boathouse like this. 
He’ll get out of Steve’s hair the second the hospital doors close behind him, and get out of whatever trouble someone like Harrington could be in. Eddie doesn’t even want to know. He doesn't want to be part of his ghost story.
But as he’s scooping him up and helping him out of the damned boathouse, clumsily preventing him from stumbling over his own feet or tools or tarp or planks or whatever fucking shit is littering the floor of this godforsaken place, he can hear Steve speaking quietly. 
"Where‘re we going?"
And even though a second ago he was determined to take Steve to a hospital, there is only one place on Eddie's mind right now. Only one place he knows where he won't be scared anymore.
"Somewhere safe," he says, tightening his hold on the boy even though his hands are shaking now, too. He looks over his shoulders the moment they're out of the boathouse, stupidly worried that whoever did this to Steve – Hagan, apparently – would still be around, would follow them and do the same shit to Eddie.
"Safe?"
"Safe."
"Okay," Steve sighs, like he believes him. Like he trusts him. Hell, they've never even spoken before, but something inside Eddie breaks at the little sigh, at the way Steve goes slack in his arms. And even more at the little, "Thanks."
If Eddie's eyes are filled with tears and the hands around the wheel are clenched so tight to hide the way they're shaking, then Steve is not conscious enough to comment on it.
(addendum 7 december) onwards to part 2
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multi-fandom-imagine · 7 months
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tossing you another overlord husk request for the heck of it.
he meets a sad reader during a party at the casino and finds out a overlord that owns her soul is treating them bad, so he wins her soul and treats her with the respect she deserves.
A/n: Excellent
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It was going to be the most talked about party of the year, only the top of the top were invited. Husk let his gaze roam across the room until it finally landed on you.
'Breath taking'
That was the first thought that ran across his mind, he could see why so many people were flocking towards you....why did that piss him off so much?
Shaking his head, he made his way towards you but the closer he got to you, was that he could clearly see how miserable you looked. Running his tongue over his fangs, he glared at the people still around you.
"Scram!"
That made everyone bolt, your gaze slowly meeting his until you quickly looked to the ground as you took a deep breath in. "Can I help you with something,Sir."
Oh, he liked the way you called him Sir. What a sweet little voice you have. "Why are you all alone looking miserable baby?"
Before you could even answer, a golden collar appeared around your neck yanking you back into a solid chest.
"How about you stay the fuck away from my property"
Biting back a snarl, Husk could see the fear forming in your eyes. You didn't deserve that, you deserved to be treated like a Queen. "How about a little game, nothin too serious. A soul for a soul, you put your girl and i'll put up one of mine." Leaning forward, Husk gave the Overlord a large grin. "What do ya say? Do we have a deal?"
You could feel the weight of the collar, his collar slipping from your neck as the Overlord that owned your soul was dragged kicking and screaming from the casino but yet who's to say he wouldn't be worse?
Casting a weary glance at Overlord, you watched him light a cigar. "What now? What are you going to do to me?"
Blowing out a puff of smoke, Husk placed his claw gently under your chin as he made you look him in the eyes. "Baby, you're going to be treated like royalty."
You thought it would be a lie, that it was something he'd just say to make you fall in line but he kept his word. You had freedom, you felt like you could actually breathe. You weren't afraid anymore.
He treated you with respect. He set you free, you had your soul back.
Maybe that's why you fell in love with him, you know it was a silly notion to tell him but you felt like you had to after all he had done for you. It was easy since it was just 3 simple words.
"I love you."
You saw it in his eyes though, a moment of weakness. He was scared, like it wasn't real because why would someone like you ever fall for someone like him.
Though it did not take long for that smirk to come back on his face. His arm wrapping around your waist drawing you in close. He might have had that arrogant smirk on his face but it was his eyes that gave it way, gave his true feelings away.
"Isn't that a funny little thing. Looks like I love you too, I think you must realize it now, we gotta get married."
"How could I ever say no to the man that saved my life?"
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eemamminy-art · 4 months
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You have turned me from a Zenos hater into a Zenos ambilaventer keep posting and you might manage to turn me into a Zenos lover
If you already hated him though is me drawing him really going to make that big of a difference? 😩 Like I know I give him a fat ass and extremely delicious nose in my artwork but now I feel compelled to give you my tedtalk on why I like zenos lmao
This is about to be really long and also contains spoilers for stormblood, shadowbringers, and endwalker
This might surprise you but I like Zenos for his characterization and storyline in the game itself! The fanart is just kind of a bonus. He's one of many examples in Stormblood of a character that is shaped by their experiences, though I think it's not told as successfully as it is for like, Fordola, Arenvald, or Yotsuyu, because a key part of his backstory was locked to a short story in a print-only book (which I think is out of print now). The most you see of it in the actual game is this blink and you miss it line from Lyse at the very end of 4.0:
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(Dialog from the quest "Stormblood", patch 4.0)
What really, really appeals to me about Zenos though, is that he is the personification of depression and that really resonates with me. He has anything he could possibly want, he has accomplished a great many things, but he feels completely hollow inside. He's miserable. He slaughtered countless Domans including their leader and felt nothing, commanded to do it by his father because (as shown in that short story) he only ever was acknowledged to even exist to his father when he practiced violence. So it's a given now, that's what's expected of him and that's all his life is. He's completely desensitized.
He finds one thing that makes him feel alive, that is the warrior of light challenging him, and it becomes his sole focus. Nothing else matters but chasing that high, because every single other thing is a low. After being bested by the warrior of light for the very last time, faced with probably prison for his crimes, he decides to die by his own hand on that high note rather than go back to the drudgery and misery that is everything else.
It's why in endwalker he can be swayed to do something good at the very, very end. He doesn't have a moral compass because he was shaped into an attack dog by his father, he sees "righteousness" as an excuse for war. Because I mean, what else is Garlean propaganda but righteousness from their twisted perspective? He asks Jullus if he would be happier had he a good reason to kill so many garleans after killing his own father— he makes it plain that death is death and there is no justice or good or evil in his eyes. He did have a reason, and it was that his father's use of black rose would likely kill the warrior of light, the only person or thing that gave Zenos any joy in life. Later, it was that Fandaniel dangled the idea that the warrior of light would be attracted to the slaughter and would come running to stop him so he killed more people during the civil war after the emperor's death. But he doesn't need to say that that was why. The reason doesn't matter, he knows the action would not change no matter how it was justified. Even if it was a "good" reason, death is death.
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(Dialog from the quest "The Time Between the Seconds", patch 4.0)
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(Dialog from the quest "As the Heavens Burn", patch 6.0)
I often see people take Alisaie's part in that scene as her convincing him to be a better person but that's really not what happens. He knows if he takes that action that others perceive as good and helps to stop Endsinger, he could have that high again in facing the warrior of light one more time. He could find joy and meaning, even for a fleeting moment. Then once again end it all because he fears returning to the low monotony of life. It's all over his dialog, especially in Endwalker. The dialog at the very end where he asks the warrior of light if they feel fulfilled, I know is meant to be a bit more of a meta question toward the player themselves, but I'd like to think it's Zenos comparing how different his outlook is to the warrior of light's. The warrior of light has many things keeping them going, whereas Zenos is drowning in despair with only one bright spot that he is constantly chasing time and time again.
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(Dialog from the quest "Friends Gathered", patch 6.0)
those three tiny lines can hold so much zenoswol yearning in them AAAAAAAAAAAAA I AM not well
I personally still feel like there was room for him to survive that and to be gently guided into more and more good and try to undo some of that conditioning but I think he might be too polarizing of a character for him to become a permanent ally in canon. Much as I would love to see that! I have to wonder if the mentions of him in the 6.X patches that bounced between positive and negative were testing the waters, but I will leave my tinfoil hat aside because this post is already WAY too long lmao
I understand why people dislike him: they think he enjoys murder because he does it without "a good reason", they don't like how obsessive he becomes toward the warrior of light who is an extension of the player themselves, they don't like that in Fandaniel's scheme in "in from the cold" Zenos is the one inhabiting the warrior of light's body. Totally get it, totally understand.
I'm just saying I see the complexity to him and I find it compelling. Just as I found the overwhelming grief and despair that motivated Nidhogg or Emet-selch or Elidibus to be compelling. I think what people miss though when you like an antagonist is that feeling empathy toward them means you don't feel empathy toward the people they harmed, or that you somehow agree with what they did. But really, I just love seeing these characters that are faced with such tragedy or misery that they start to lose sight of right and wrong. They're driven entirely by emotions. For a story where emotions are literally power, I think it's a really interesting angle to take with the antagonists of that story.
Man, where was I going with this? 😂 I just love Zenos... I don't think I will be convincing anyone to like him who doesn't already, and that's not at all my intent. I just thought I'd share my perspective a little bit after getting this ask!
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volturissideslut · 1 year
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What if the Humans adopt a child just to see what’s so special about humans and why the Cullens like them so much, not knowing how troublesome a 8 year old can be?
𝖁𝖔𝖑𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖎
strap in because this is going to be one hell of a ride (also I'm assuming asker meant volturi adopt a chaotic human child)
Aro, ever the curious one, cannot even fathom why dear Carlisle cares so much for these... creatures
And it's been like over 3000 years since he was human and he can't really remember much about living
It would also help if it would stop making Marcus be such a miserable slab of stone, and perhaps even Caius could do with a new toy
It just seemed like destiny when an 8 year old child strayed from the feeding group one day, too entertained by chasing a fat tabby cat that had jumped the wall to the garden
Whatever parent or guardian that came with seemingly hadn't noticed - not that they were alive long enough too
And, of course, Felix was the one to deliver the child to Master Aro considering he's the only one with a modium of decorum or respect for life in the castle
Any of the other guards would have eaten you on sight to be honest (they wouldn't in the future but you're just some random human child right now, they don't care about you yet)
Aro takes one look at you're little form, sticky fingers; muddy knees; grazed elbows; a leaf in your hair
Perfect
They're keeping you
easy, right?
wrong
Why is a overexcited yet hysterical human child such a lovable inconvenience, you may ask
well
1) none of them can fully keep track of you're emotions,why are children so confusing???
2) they can't fully keep track of your whereabout either
"HOW ON EARTH DID YOU GET OF THE ROOF YOU HEATHEN CHILD" - Caius probably
3) they know nothing, and I mean nothing, about humans. Expect them to ask the secratery for help next time you're sobbing, only to find out you're hungry because they haven't fed you a proper meal in days thinking you'd forage for it yourself
I swear Marcus is the only one who is knowledgeable, despite how small it is
"the child requires sustinence again" - Jane, fed up of this shit
4) they're used to the traumatic stuff of vampire life, you are not, they don't realise that
poor kid is gonna be so traumatised, by the age of 10 killing someone over cereal seems socially acceptable
At least Caius actually has a soft spot for you, otherwise you'd be dead dead by now
Marcus reads you bedtime stories
Aro wants you to grow up appreciating everything he does, there are many 'daddy/daughter dates' where he takes you to see plays, musicals, concerts, or whatever that he deems suitable
Caius pretends to be impressed with your drawings and fakes excitement at whatever lego monstrosity you've made
Alec shows you the world, taking you around on his days off to Scotland, Brazil, India or wherever you randomly point to on a map
Felix let's you use his cloak as a blanket when he's not using it, you like to play with it and use it for dens and pillow forts (it can also be used as one of those massive fabric parachute tent bubble thingys the class played with in nursery/FS1/kindergarten and hid under (you know what I'm talking about))
Demitri let's you win at hide and seek despite his gift letting him know where you are at all times. He is also not above pretending to play to keep you out the way and quiet for a solid five minutes before you come out giggling saying you won again
Jane will capture butterflies and set them free with you because she knows you love them and you also love to chase them
The queen's are always dressing you up like a doll and doing your hair, they basically get a list from the secratery of everything humans need (food, water, socialising etc) and fulfil those needs for you
The secratery is the only one who actually knows what you want and need most times, being human herself. The kings are seriously considering turning her instead of just killing her you your sake
And God forbid anyone touches their precious baby, you've grown on them and they'd burn the world for you in an instant
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all-my-ocs-are-evil · 8 months
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more Grojband au drawings and headcanons bc apparently I only like making fanart for fandoms that are non-existent or on the brink of extinction.
(au ramblings after the keep reading)
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Relationships
Platonic/Familial:
Lanes and Larry (nickname Lars or Lars Bar) got really close during middle school. They found comfort with each other bc they were in similar situations regarding their crushes. They'd sneak off after band practice to rant to each other about their band leaders and just wallow in self-pity. And that didn't really change as they got older. If anything, they got even closer, acting more like siblings than friends—they even got similar/mirroring piercings to match and wear coordinated outfits—, constantly ranting to or annoying each other at any opportunity. However, their audience doesn't really believe that it's just that (having given both of them the titles of casanovas for dating each other and their band leaders). And neither does Corey. Which, as you can probably guess, often leads being a point of contention between them.
Kim and Konnie: I've made them really close cousins. Why?. Because I can! jk jk but tbch I just wanted to add some variety in the lineup's dynamics. I'm also playing with the idea of one of them being half-white and the other being half-Filipino and having them be raised in different households to see how that would affect the different ways in which they'd interact. They are still close like sisters and each other's best friends, they were born on the same day and wear matching hair ties like friendship bracelets, but I want them to have things about them that make them different from being exact copies of their counterparts. However, this is definitely subject to change as I explore the concept more.
Corey and Carrie: acquaintances. Over the years their rivalry has seriously mellowed out and are more or less pleasant with each other. They will tease each other from time to time but that's kind of just what you do when you've known someone as long as they have.
Mina and Trina: Not quite sure where to put this one lol. Their relationship imploded senior year when Mina confessed to her and Trina responded in the worst way possible. Now Mina is doing school abroad and Trina had to repeat her last year. No one really knows what happened but rumor has it that Mina had said something so bad to Trina that it made her completely break. She doesn't hang out with anyone and she rarely, if ever, talks. She spends all her time alone in her room or at her job that nobody is even really sure she has.
Romantic:
Kon and Konnie: they are just happy and cute together. They started hanging out together more during sophomore year when Konnie's gym closed down and she had to go to a new one. They were definitely more awkward at first, they didn't really dislike each other but their friends did so they kind of just...didn't interact, but once they actually started talking they found they got along really well! They would often spot for the other and offer encouragement when working out. Inevitably they caught feelings and tried dating in secret. But that didn't last long (bc ofc it didn't lol) and they got caught. Both bands were more irritated than mad but eventually got over it.
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Kin and Kim: a bickering old married couple. they are constantly 'breaking up' and then getting back together the next day. They are snarky and live for drama and gossip. They both think that the other is more in love with them and can control them bc of it. In reality, they are both equally whipped for each other but refuse to admit it. They constantly 'fight' to show that they aren't in love then somehow always fail miserably every time. They haven't made their relationship public and hopefully never will. They like having their fans think they're single and that if they found out it would ruin their images as the mysterious prince and princess of their respective groups. The bands' reactions to them range from exasperated eye rolls to mocking laughter.
Larry (yes, I'm sticking to calling him Larry) and Carrie: ??? Larry adores Carrie and she knows this. He makes it very clear and is willing to do almost anything for her. But how Carrie feels for Larry is unclear, at least that's what he says to Laney. She will treat him like a best friend and they'll hang out alone without problem, but she will have this weird distance about her that she doesn't close. That is until the cameras come on. During interviews and shoots, she will pull him close to her and say things that can be easily interpreted and romantic, but when asked to specify she will laugh and deflect the question. Then, once the cameras are off, she goes right back to being distant. He is unsure whether or not she actually likes him romantically or is just refusing to clarify for the sake of the band, but he'll lean into her touch whenever or wherever it's given. He seems to have come to terms with this being their dynamic and just...goes with it. There is one thing he knows for certain, he loves her and regardless of whether or not she cares for him romantically, he will stay by her side no matter what. Oddly enough, whenever the topic of Larry and Laney's relationship is brought up, Carrie refuses to talk about it. To be honest, she'll act like she has no idea what they're talking about and bluntly steer the conversation towards literally anything else.
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Laney and Corey: Contradictory. Laney has essentially given up on forming a romantic bond with Corey. However, her actual feelings don't seem to have gotten the memo. She still cares for him so much it hurts. So much so that she's come to terms with the fact that she will never be able to be with anyone romantically because of it. Laney used to love the high of being in love, floaty and light, and now she feels more like a suffering addict, lost and panicked. She drowns in every touch and caress given to her but at the same time feels burned and scorned every time she realizes how simple and platonic they are. She can't blame him for not liking her back, but she's come to resent him for it. Just a little bit. She sometimes even wishes she had never met Corey. Constantly thinking about the life she could have had had she not been pulled into the living whirlpool that was Corey. She loves him, and he doesn't know it. But he holds her closer than anyone else. He is possessive of her and her attention. Whenever it's directed towards someone else, Larry especially, he pulls her back into him and refuses to let her go. This makes it even more unlikely for her to move on, in fact, it makes her angry. They argue about it often.
I have the beginnings of several scenes that explore these relationships and stuff but I'm not too sure I wanna share them just yet ^^; (my creative writing skill is a bit more than a little lacking lol)
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caffeinemachine · 2 years
Text
A Splash of Milk, Two Sugars
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Summary:  Spencer is struck with a crush from the moment he meets the new BAU member. Weeks fly by and when he finally works up the courage to “make a move” it all goes wrong. 
Spencer Reid x Reader, ( Reader uses she/her pronouns)
Content: Reader has an allergy, BAU!Reader, Fluff, angst if you use a magnifying glass
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SPENCER’S POV
I was already nervous about going to work that day knowing all the crap the team was going to give me about my new haircut, but then I received a call from Hotch telling me to come in early to meet a new recruit and my anxiety was doomed. 
Now as I exited the elevator at the office my eyes were immediately drawn to the head of (h/c) hair standing next to what was once the empty desk across from mine and surrounded by the team. I took notice of all their smiles, seemingly being caused by her. Opening the glass doors some of their heads tore away from her, reluctantly I might add, and turned to me.
“Well... Hello.” JJ said as I sheepishly approached to huddle with my head down. Great, let the shit begin. 
“What did you join a boyband?” Hotch comments next, making everyone snicker and giggle. Though all the laughs sound familiar, all sounds my ears have heard and I realize that she must not have laughed. With this, I draw up some courage to raise my eyes and finally look at the new recruit, finding her already looking at me. A small smile dawns on her lips from our eye contact, and I’m pretty sure my heart skips a beat. 
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so beautiful. 
Ring Ring
The sound of Hotch’s phone ringing snaps me out of my daze as he quickly excuses himself to accept the call. As he steps away Derek speaks up. 
“Pretty boy, meet our new team member Y/N L/N.” My eyes flitted to him before landing back on her, seeing her stick out her hand. I stare at it trying to figure out how to best go about this without offending her. I guess I contemplated it a moment too long because Derek speaks for me.
“Oh don’t fret about the casualty Sunshine, Pretty boy is a bit of a germaphobe.” My cheeks turn a shade of pink from the release of information about my phobia and Derek’s re-use of his embarrassing nickname for me. I take note of the one he’s deemed for her, Sunshine. It’s truly a perfectly fitting name for her. She beams a warmth that feels magnetizing.
“I - uh - I’m Doctor Spencer Reid, it’s nice to meet you.” I try to offer her a smile but through my nerves, I only manage a tight-lipped version that I imagine doesn’t look very welcoming. Which is in total opposition to her perfect smile.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” Her voice is soft, and for the first time in our interaction, I sense a bit of nervousness in her through her speech. 
“We have a case.” 
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THREE MONTHS LATER
SPENCER’S POV
I was miserable. 
Almost every day I went to work. Almost every day I had to sit across from Y/N. Almost every day I had to talk to her. Almost every day I had to harbor the guilt of my feelings toward her. Almost every day I had to look into her gorgeous (e/c) eyes and bite my tongue to stop from blurting out how beautiful she is. Almost every day my feelings grew for her. And every day I never told her how I felt.  
I was falling for her, hard, and it was miserable.
I watched her from my desk as she made her morning cup of coffee in the kitchen. It’s actually her second cup, every morning she comes in early to study old cases with a cup from a local cafe she must live near. By the time the rest of us arrive she’s finished with it and goes to make another from the crappy machine here. She grabs her mug from the universal storage cabinet. Her cup was light blue on the inside, with a picture of a sleepy bear and words reading ‘Bearly Awake’ on the outside. Gosh, she’s adorable. And like usual she poured a splash of milk and two packets of sugar into her coffee.
“I think you're about two minutes over the line of creepy there Reid.” Mortified that I was caught my head snaps to Morgan, who only laughs more at the look on my face.
“I - uh I wasn’t-”
“Relax kid, it ain’t a secret you got a thing for Little Miss Sunshine over there.” He smirks, seemingly finding more and more amusement in our interaction while I only grow more and more embarrassed. 
“You know- oh god she knows?!” I somewhat shout though striving to remain at a low volume.
“Relax, relax Reid. She’s oblivious. The rest of the team however hasn’t missed all your longing glances and how you become a flushed mess when she talks to you.” I let out a relieved breath at his words, not sure what I would do if she knew how I felt about her. “I’d say it’s about time you get a move on though.”
My brows furrow, “What do you mean?”
With a chuckle he explains, “I mean make a move, ask her out already. She’s a young, beautiful, smart woman new to town. It's only about time she branches out and meets someone in the area.” My heart sinks at the insinuation. Not that it has the right to, he was right. She’s been around for three months and I have been blinded by my fear of rejection to do anything. 
“You’re right,” I announce with a nod of my head.
“Excuse me?” Morgan looks baffled by my admission. 
“I’ll make a move.” Morgan opens his mouth to make a response but quickly shuts up when Y/N rounds the corner to her desk next to mine. 
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THE NEXT DAY
SPENCER’S POV
I am making my move. Ok, it's a small move, but from all the rom-coms Garcia has made me watch with her, I think it is justified as a move. I walked into the BAU that day 15 minutes earlier than usual with two cups of coffee in my hand, trying to keep my head up high. 
A splash of milk, two sugars.
I took a deep breath as I spotted her, nose deep in a file as she kept pushing her fallen hair behind her ears. She looked perfect, always perfect. Before I could lose my courage I strutted towards her, tapping her on the shoulder. Slightly startled she looked up at me, fear quickly dissipating when we looked into each other's eyes.
“Oh hey, good morning Spencer!” She greeted me with that beautiful smile of hers. 
“Hey, yeah uh good morning Y/N.” 
She looked skeptical as she went to speak again, “You’re here earlier than usual. I would guess you had paperwork you had to finish but you never seem to have a problem getting that done quick.” She giggled at the end of her statement and I swear I could listen to that sound on replay for the rest of my life and I wouldn’t get sick of it. 
I looked at my feet bashfully with a light chuckle, “You're not wrong, I actually came in early for you.” I looked back up at her with hopeful eyes, only to see her look confused. 
“For me?” I nodded in confirmation and she raised her eyebrows as if to say she needed me to explain. 
“I noticed you coming in early and figured the least I could do was get you some coffee to assist your studies. I’m 99% sure I got your order right, I’ve seen you in the kitchen a few times, and well uh good memory you know.” She laughed at this, taking the coffee I extended towards her and taking a sip. 
“Mhmm wow that's great coffee,” She looked at me then eyes full of sincerity, “Thank you, Spencer, truly, this is the nicest thing someone has done for me since I moved here.” 
I felt a flutter in my chest and I willed myself to continue. “I was also wondering if maybe on one of our days off you’d grant me the pleasure of getting coffee with you. You know, outside of work where we can drink it over a table rather than murder files.” She laughed and for a second my heart stops. I should have seen this coming, I mean why would she agree to go out with me? She is beautiful and smart and-
“I’d love to.”
“Wait really?” I blurted before I could stop myself. 
She bit her lip softly, “Yes really Spencer, I’d love to go out with you.” I couldn’t stop the smile that took over my face. I did it. I made a move. And it worked. 
I didn’t even notice the rest of the team come in until I heard Hotch yell,
"We have a case."
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We had finished debriefing on the plane and I sat next to Morgan and across from JJ and Y/N while I read to pass the time. I looked up from my book, originally only trying to sneak a glance at Y/N but when I did I noticed her dazed-out look. Her head was bobbling on top of her body as if it was going to make her tip forward and hit her forehead on the table between us. 
“Y/N,” She looked up slowly at her name, and Morgan and JJ also turned to look at her. “Are you ok?”
“I uh, yeah I’m fine.” She stuttered out, voice far too slurred for my liking. It seemed JJ was concerned too, motherly instincts kicking in. 
“Sweetheart are you sure? You don’t look too good,” JJ reached her hand over to Y/N’s forehead to feel her temperature, and judging by JJ’s growing look of concern it wasn’t good. “You're burning up Y/N.” Gently JJ used her hand on her forehead to push Y/N’s head back to rest on her seat. 
“Yeah, I’m actually not feeling too good. I think I’m having an allergic reaction, but I haven’t eaten anything to cause it. I usually would take a Lactaid to prevent this.” Y/N seemed to suppress a gag at the end of talking, getting up, and briskly walking to the bathroom. While I just sat there in horror.
“I poisoned Y/N,” I spoke aloud to Morgan and JJ causing both of them to look at me with wide eyes, so I quickly elaborated. “This morning I bought her coffee, I was just trying to make a move like Morgan told me! It all feels so stupid now I can't believe it worked. But anyway I could have sworn I knew her order, I’ve seen her make her coffee countless times in the kitchen. A splash of the milk in the blue carton, the 2%, and two packets of sugar! How can she possibly be allergic to milk?” I rambled looking between Morgan and JJ, searching for answers. 
“A splash of Lactaid milk,” JJ says, a slightly amused smile playing on her lips. I look at her confused.
“The blue carton she pours into her coffee is lactose-free milk. She buys her own and keeps it in the fridge here for her coffee. She usually gets black coffee when she buys it out.” She explains and I am mortified. I sit there speechless. I made her sick, I gave her exactly what she couldn’t have. I’ve been admiring her for three months how could I not know she had an allergy? 
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The team was at the local police office building working on the case, except for Y/N. She was sent straight to the hotel when we landed, too sick to be working. I tried to focus but my mind was consumed with worrying thoughts. She was sick and alone, how was she doing, was she feeling better? I needed to know.
“Go.” Hotch’s voice took me from my thoughts.
“What?” I looked up at him confused.
“Go check on her. We can do without you, you’re not much help like this anyway.”
I tried to act confused as if I had no idea what he meant but ultimately decided there was no use, landing on a simple, “Thank you.” Before walking out. 
The drive to the hotel was quick and after easily securing an extra key to her room from the concierge, I was on my way up to her. Trying to be respectful I lightly knocked, before unlocking the door when I got no response. In the room I found her curled up in a ball on the bed, and a piece of my heart chipped to see her look distressed during something as peaceful as sleep. 
On her bedside table was a bottle of water, an open case of ibuprofen, and a cup of mint tea. I moved next to her, gently sitting on the side of the bed as I sealed the bottle of medicine. Looking over at her I tenderly moved a piece of hair out of her face, cursing myself when I saw her eyelids flutter. 
“Sp-Spence?” My heart whirled at the new nickname she bestowed on me but I knew it wasn't the time to dwell on that.
“Hey, hey, I just came to check on how you’re doing?” I kept my voice soft, only dreaming it could ease some of the pain I caused her. I went to draw my hand away from her face but she lightly grabbed my wrist, placing my hand on her cheek before nustling into it. 
“I’m better now that you’re here.” I was surprised at her actions as well as her words, chalking most of it up to her not feeling well. I was just glad that she kept her eyes closed, hiding my growing blush from her. 
“Y/N, there uh is something I need to tell you.” She opened her eyes then, sitting up a little, looking at me slightly worried.
“What is it, Spencer?”
I cleared my throat before speaking, “I think I am the reason you got sick. You see I wasn’t aware of your allergies, and I got you milk in your coffee this morning. I'm so so sorry, I should’ve asked, or just got you plain coffee, I wasn’t thinking-”
“Spence, shh.” She respectfully stopped my rambling and continued speaking with a giggle, “Don’t worry about it you didn’t know. I'm not mad at you. Plus you can make it up to me by buying my coffee on our date when we get back.” 
My eyebrows raised, “You still want to go out with me?”
She looked at me like I was stupid, scoffing humorously, “Of course Spencer. I like you, and your causing me to have a stomach ache isn’t enough to change that.” I smiled, feeling like I had won the lottery. She liked me. 
“Ok then, well I- Is there anything I can do?” 
“Yeah, you can stay with me for a while.” 
I thought she couldn't possibly surprise me more. But hell if I was going to deny her what she wanted. I would give her everything she wanted for the rest of my life if she let me. A small smile tugged at her lips when I told her.“Of course, yeah I can stay a while.”
She patted the bed next to her, non-verbally asking me to sit down next to her. I didn’t object to going next to her, but I didn’t want to push any boundaries she may have too far, making sure to have a comfortable distance between us. She had a different idea though as she scooted closer to me, laying her head on my chest.
“Is this okay?” She asked me quietly.
I pulled her in closer, never wanting to let go. 
“This is perfect.”
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jade-of-mourning · 1 year
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"what a shitbagning brotherband" - erak starfucker 645 C.E.
and i was like oh yeah, i've gotta focus on my schoolwork, i'm not gonna procrastinate anymore, and i put this dumb shit off for all of two(?) mildly miserable days and oh fuck i have a test tomorrow. im coping shut up
i based this off of this lovely fabulous insanely Tasty art from this super cool brotherband instagram-er that i stumbled upon so the words are mixed from flonkerton and the op. all credit to op i literally had that tab open staring at it trying to suck their artistic talent into my soul.
i did a lydia atlatl doodle to make up for this i miss her
don't question what ulf and wulf are doing in the background i geniunely don't know and i cant'd raw people interacting???? why are they the only part of this drawing i actually despise but was too lazy to redraw &lt;;/3
sorry bout the incredibly low quality here's full res
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oh also here's the atlatl lydia doodle i might clean it up and post it later idk
i've become such a tumblr artist courtesy of these mad brainrots that i don't think i can draw anything properly ever again uh
also sorry to those rotting in my inbox i love you guys and it's on the way i swear after i finish this test and that lit book and that other test and ah fuck seven assignments and textbook chapter and uh </3
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supercorpkid · 2 years
Text
Where do we go now?
Supergirl, Baby Danvers, Lena Luthor x Reader, Kara Danvers x B!D, Alex Danvers x B!D
Word Count: 2540.
Part 2 coming soon!
“Lena, please.” You say as soon as she opens the door of her penthouse. 
“How –” She stops the question, knowing exactly how you got there, as if there isn’t a call directly from her for you to be sent up at all times. Lena breathes out, exasperated and you try not to let that affect you. “Go away, Y/N.”
“Please, let’s-let’s talk.” You reach your hand, careful enough not to touch her just yet. You don’t want to invade her space and you know she’s not feeling particularly thrilled about having you here. Not after everything.
It got out of hand. It got stupidly, immensely, undeniably out of hand. Kara should’ve told Lena she is Supergirl sooner. She should've trusted her best friend with that information years ago. And you, you should’ve done something about it. 
Sure, it wasn’t your secret to tell and you would never betray your sister’s trust by telling her most important secret. Yet, you can’t stop thinking you should’ve done something else. Insisted, annoyed her into it, should have given Lena some pieces of information to help her get there by herself. You’re not sure what, just something.
Something to not have Lena looking at you the way she is right now. Filled with anger and resentment, feeling betrayed, alone and broken. So miserably broken.
“What, you here to tell me you didn’t mean to lie to me?” She quips, pulling the ground from under your feet because, yeah, that was a huge part of your apology. “Or maybe, Y/N, you’re here to tell me that it wasn’t your place to tell me.”
Well, there goes all of your arguments and apologies in one go. 
“Or are you here to tell me you didn’t want to break my heart? That you didn’t play me for a fool. That you didn’t build a relationship with me and lied to my face just like your sister did, over and over and over again.”
“Lena-”
“I’m starting to think this is a family thing, y’know?” Lena’s face is red, eyes full of tears shooting daggers at you. You’re still in the same place, because she hasn't let you in and she might never let you in again. Not in her house and not in her life. Especially when you can see the disgust on her face. “I thought all Luthors were deceiving lying monsters, but maybe,”
No, please. Don’t say it.
“Maybe that’s what the Danvers are as well.”
You can’t stop the violent tears cascading from your eyes. Can’t stop the way your throat closes and no words come out. Can’t stop the trembling legs and hands. The way your heart beats so slow, it vows to stop soon.
“Lena, please-”
“Please what, Y/N? Tell me, why are you crying on my doorstep as if I’m the one who broke your heart and not the other way around?”
“I –“ How can you possibly apologize, how can you find the words that are not only stuck in your throat but actually in your heart? “I don’t want this to be it. It can’t be the end of – of us. Not like this.”
“Why do you care?” She bites, wanting to hurt you the same you’ve hurt her. And she accomplishes it easily.
“Because I love you.” You try, but Lena’s reaction is a loud scoff. 
“You love me. God, you love me, don’t you Y/N?” You can see her knuckles turning white on the door knob. Face contorting with fury and suffering. “Well, I hate you.” Her voice is heavy and accusatory, but not very far from the truth. “And I can’t believe I ever let myself love you too.”
“Please, don’t say that.” Your face is ridiculously wet, voice small filled with shame and regrets. “Please, I – I’ll do whatever to get you to trust me again. I’ll do anything –”
“Yeah?” Lena asks and you shake your head agreeing vividly. “Then go rot in hell.” 
And the door gets slammed at your face so fast and abruptly, you’re surprised it didn’t hit you right in the reaching hand you never once retrieved.  You stay stuck, mouth agape and feet fastened on the marbled floor. Heart giving out slowly, squeezing on your chest so hard, it keeps you from drawing anything other than shallow breaths.
Lena was right. She was right. She had every reason to slam the door at your face and tell you that you deserve hell. She should hate you. She should and she does. And you hate yourself too.
You drag yourself out of there, sorry and sorrow blending in together in some sort of spiraling uncontrolled thoughts. Feeling lonely and small and at the same time incredibly vulnerable. Lena has ripped you right open with her bare hands, and you’re not sure people aren’t seeing you bleeding out as you walk back home.
But you can’t go home. You can’t be alone with your thoughts and your sorry ass. You can’t be alone with the guilt and the thought of Lena’s mad face directed at you.
“Hey,” You walk inside Kara’s apartment, but she doesn’t even raise her head to look at you from the place she has settled on the couch. You also don’t get a word, it is mostly a grunt as you make your way to your sister. “Never left the couch, did ya?”
“What for?” She pouts. Voice so low and thick, you know she’s stopping herself from crying. 
You raise the blue throw blanket she has on top of her, getting yourself under it, and she finally raises her head, only to lay it on your lap.
“I messed up.” She tells you, as if you weren’t in the same situation as she was. “I was so wrong, so stupid, and now she hates me.”
“Us.” You breathe out, not trying to add to her already sad state, but unable to hold it back.
Kara’s eyes are filled with tears instantly. “I’m sorry, baby,” She nuzzles her face in your stomach and you know she is crying when you feel the tears wetting your t-shirt. “She is my best friend, and I was so scared of her reaction,” She mumbles, face still buried there. “and I know you love her, and I ruined that for you too.”
You want to soothe her, you don’t want your sister feeling guilty over anything, but how the hell can you work up the nerve to tell her that is not true. That she didn’t ruin your friendship with Lena, when it was exactly what she did? 
And sure, some people can get over it. I mean, Alex doesn’t even seem to care that now Lena is cold and distant and she hates all Danvers. And she probably can’t even understand the big fuss you and Kara are making. But you get it. Oh, that you do.
You know how Kara likes to think she has the high ground to stand on. This big moral code that the Supers are supposed to have and now she knows it’s her fault. She lied over and over again. She missed all of her cues to say the truth before, skipped all of her opportunities to come clean. So yeah, the tears and the sadness of losing her best friend only adds up to the disappointment she is feeling at herself.
But you, you feel something different. You feel like your heart has been broken into tiny little pieces that can never be glued together again. Not when Lena has told you that she does not, cannot, will not love you the same way ever again. Because you love her. Just love all of her and all she is. And knowing that she once loved you, but now resents you, it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever faced.
So you settle for, “Well, it seems that we both have learned our lessons the hardest way possible. And by the looks of it, we will also have to learn how to live without her.”
Kara searches for your face, forgetting to ever clean her tear-soaked one, as she supports her weight in her elbows so she can have a better view of you. “You went there?”
It sounds like a question, but it’s not. Your sister knows it in her soul and sees it in your puffy eyes and red cheeks. “Y/N, what happened?”
“Nothing.” 
Everything.
Lena broke you. Rightfully, but still destroyed you. And you will pretend you can just move on from it, but you can never. You will never.
They move on. Or sort of do. As they fight their inner demons and Lena’s ire. 
Kara finds justification, excuses, and there’s no arguing about it anymore, not when she’s right and Lena is supposedly acting like a villain, like a Luthor, like a deceiving lying monster.
And you are mad too, God knows how angry you get at her for using fucking kryptonite on your sister, knowing how that could hurt her. 
But it’s Lena. And she broke your heart, ripped you open, took your will to live when she left. And she cut all the ties, but you were never going to leave her. You will never treat her like a Luthor or ignore her pain, when the Danvers acted like lying bastards in the first place. 
“If she is going to act like a villain, I’m going to start treating her like one.” Kara’s face, filled with anger and tears after Lena’s latest mischief, is uncanny to you.
“Act like a villain? Kara, look at you! Do you hear yourself? It’s Lena!”
“I gave her millions of chances to turn back from this path, Y/N.”
“She gave you millions of chances to tell her the truth and yet you insisted on lying.”
“I did it to protect her!”
“Bullshit! You did it to protect yourself. You were scared she wasn’t gonna love you if she knew you were a Super because you were always antagonizing her as such.”
“She used kryptonite on me!” Kara yells, neck veins about to pop out. “You’re supposed to be on my side! You’re my sister!”
“Stop. Don’t do that. Don’t turn this into a side thing, or I’ll leave.” You touch Kara’s arms, like telling her to calm down. “I’m on your side, I’m always on your side. You’re my best friend and I love and support you. But not when you’re wrong.”
She huffs, ready to argue, but you don’t let go of her arm, squeezing it gently.
“The world isn’t black and white, I thought you had learned that by now. Lena isn’t a villain and you aren’t a hero. You’re both people who have hurt each other and keep trying to do so because you can’t deal with each other's absences.”
“I – You –” She adjusts the glasses she isn’t wearing. Kara’s tough resolution comes crumbling down when she finally notices the tears pooling on your eyes. “I’m sorry, I know.” She pulls you in, kissing the top of your head. “I know. I get it.”
“You don’t. You can’t.” You mumble, squeezed inside Kara’s protective hug, crying in her supersuit. 
Because how could she? How can she see Lena as the evil one here, or ever? Lena, the only of the superfriends that sat down next to you the first time you came to National City and asked you a million questions so she would get to know you. And by the time you answered the tenth you had already memorized her face. Her mouth and how it curves, the way she talks and how she pronounces some words different, better, more beautiful than you. You had memorized her freckles. And all the colors of her iris.
You think that was the moment you fell in love.
Your body stiffens inside Kara’s embrace. You never thought of that before. Not with those words, not with this intensity. You’ve thought about how much you love her. More. Deeper. Compulsively. But you never once admitted you were in love. 
Now that makes sense.
“I do. I get it.” 
“You don’t. You don’t.” You repeat over and over again, about ten times. She doesn’t get it because you just now got it. “You don’t.”
“I do, little one.” Kara raises your head so you can look at her. “You love her.” She blinks her understanding at you. “I’ve always known. Alex knows too.”
They could’ve told you then.
They make up. Or sort of do. Lena helps save the world, she works against her own brother and well, it could’ve been it. It should’ve been ‘win and celebrate’ like it always was. 
But it isn’t.
It’s absolutely not what happened. 
Because the worst has happened. Your sister is gone.
Kara is gone and the world just stops making sense altogether. It all just becomes  nonsensical chatter and days and hours merge in together. You barely get any sleep. Because no one leaves the phantom zone, no one ever left it before and even though you know that if someone can do it, it is your sister, still. Hope is her specialty and without her you’re just hopeless and broke. 
“Hey,” Alex says and you raise your head from your place on Kara’s couch. “Thought I might find you here.”
“I’ve been staying here ever since…” There’s no need to finish your sentence, she knows. Your voice still breaks just at the prospect of having to say it. Ever since your sister is gone, like a death sentence over your head.
“Yeah.” Alex plops herself on the couch next to you. “How are you, kid? We haven’t talked much these days.”
“You mean ever since you decided to antagonize Lena and I wouldn’t have it?”
Sure, you’re being a bitch. It’s ridiculous of you. You shouldn’t do that to Alex because you know that she is suffering too. Just look at the bags under her eyes and how much older she looks in just a few days since it happened. And this has nothing to do with Kara nor Lena. Or even how Alex has just been so laser focused in this last Lex-fight, that she hasn’t noticed how much you’ve been suffering. No, it’s all because you’re alone, and lost, and the only person who gives you any hope is nowhere. Literally.
“Lena is fine, she is part of the team. All it’s in the past. She has forgiven me already.” Alex touches your hand, but you retract from her touch. “Will you?”
“I’m not mad.” Which is a half-lie. Because you are livid at the universe for taking Lena from you, and now Kara. Who else is it coming for? “I’m just –” You look at your hands. “Sad.”
Alex insists on the touch, throwing her arms over your shoulders and bringing you inside her hug. “We all are, kid. But we cannot lose hope. We will bring Kara back.” She kisses the top of your head. “Please come to the Tower to be with us. I don’t like the thought of you being alone here.”
“Okay.”
You can’t fathom being around people, but you don’t want to be alone anymore. Your thoughts are destroying you. So you go.
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ticklishraspberries · 2 years
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Shameless (Draco/Luna)
Summary: Luna is never embarrassed, which means Draco has to be the one blushing. Neither of them really mind. (Based on a prompt by @itslittlegiggle that I’ve been hoarding in my inbox for god knows how long! Hope y’all enjoy it!)
It had been quite a surprise for Draco Malfoy to realize that he was pining after Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw girl in the year below him, and probably the most teased girl in Hogwarts since Moaning Myrtle had been alive. He felt himself drawn to her individualism, her quirkiness, and how she acted like none of the bullies made the slightest dent in her armor. Not only did she hold her head up with pride when people made jokes about her clothes, her jewelry, her beliefs, or her relationship, but she refused to change a thing about herself to make it stop
Of course, he would come to learn that the bullying did get under her skin, when he found her wandering the halls, searching for her shoes that had been stolen once again. As a Prefect, he should have given her detention. But he was going soft for her, it seemed, as he instead took it upon himself to help her look, and after they found the pair of pink shoes hanging from a suit of armor’s hand, she had given him a kiss on the cheek as a thank you.
And, well, it had sort of spiraled from there, until eventually, the halls of Hogwarts were filled with whispered gossip about how Draco Malfoy and Luna Lovegood were apparently going out. Most people said that Draco could do better - he scoffed at that, as if those people knew what he wanted. Others questioned if Luna had snuck him a love potion or put him under some sort of spell. He may or may not have hexed a fourth year for implying it. And despite all the rumors, Luna had no issue coming up to him in the halls and wrapping her arms around his neck, ignoring the eyes on them.
If there was one thing about Luna that still managed to surprise him, it was her shamelessness. It was as if embarrassment was simply not an emotion she was capable of. She lacked a filter, and would often say strange and taboo things. The thing that had really proven this was when Blaise had teasingly asked if they were headed off to shag, and Luna had replied: “No, but we will probably be kissing. We haven’t actually had sex yet.” and Draco had gone bright red and pulled her away while his friends laughed. She hadn’t meant to embarrass him, she just simply saw nothing wrong with announcing that.
He had spent so much of his life caring what other people thought of him, it was refreshing to be someone who couldn’t give a damn. While he tried to sit up straight and look put-together, Luna had no problem sitting cross-legged and slouched over, as comfort was her priority. And when he felt something was too silly, too un-Draco-like to do, she would gently push him out of his comfort zone and urge him to have fun.
He realized that he was actually a quite good artist when he allowed himself to doodle, and that he loved cuddling more than he ever thought he would. Perhaps Luna’s favorite discovery so far was the fact that Draco Malfoy was apparently incredibly ticklish, and it flustered him to no end.
“I don’t see why you get so shy,” she mused, her fingers trailing lightly over his neck. “Everyone is ticklish. You just happen to be more sensitive than most people.”
Shrugging his shoulders up, Draco tried to hold back his giggling to no avail. “It’s childish!” he replied, and he could feel the blush rising in his face.
Luna giggled too, and ran her fingers down his spine before moving outward to tickle his sides. “It’s not something you grow out of. And besides, I find it quite cute.”
Draco squirmed, laughing in a way that only Luna seemed to draw out of him, whether it be with this playful torment or her amusing antics. “I am not cute!” he said, trying to sound intimidating and failing miserably.
“Agree to disagree,” she replied, smiling fondly. “Besides, do you think I should be embarrassed for being ticklish?”
He shook his head, not trusting his mouth to form words as she toyed with his lower ribs.
“So then why should you be? I think you’re just being too hard on yourself. You’re allowed to have fun, and I know that you’re having fun, because you never push me away.”
Merlin, this girl was going to be the death of him. His blush had spread down his neck and up to the tips of his ears, and he buried his face in her shoulder as he laughed, hands grasping at her robes. “Please stop talking,” he said, not meaning it at all.
She laughed, a light and airy sound that still pulled on his heartstrings. “You don’t mean that. You love it when I talk. Even when I’m flustering you.”
When her hands went under his arms, his laughter reached a new octave, and he felt her giggling along with him. She was right, that it was normal to be ticklish, and she was also right that he didn’t mind when she tickled him. Maybe it was silly to be embarrassed about it, but he didn’t care. She had enough shamelessness for the both of them, after all.
When her fingers stilled, she snuggled into him and kissed one of his flushed cheeks with more tenderness than he felt he deserved.
Luna was full of surprises, and Draco loved to experience each one, even if it left him blushing like mad. 
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96percentdone · 1 year
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In Defense of Tearer
Character writing, not the uncountable crimes
AI:TSF Nirvana Initiative is a very divisive game, for many reasons, some of which I’ve discussed before even. With its twists and split storytelling, and a horrible no spoilers policy that leaves fans of the first game with no connective tissue that respects the time they spent with those characters in the first game, it was destined for controversy, no matter how many good ideas and interesting characters it contained. And make no mistake, Nirvana Initiative has many interesting, even consistently well executed ideas. There are some things in Nirvana Initiative that I think are better than they ever were in the first game, like the serial killer at the center of it all.
Apparently, Tearer is controversial. Some think he is lesser than Saito. Less presence. Weaker. Uninteresting. Irrelevant. They think his only purpose is to provide a motive for Amame, who is actually the interesting culprit. But I believe all of that is incorrect. It misunderstands what makes Saito compelling, what makes Amame compelling, and most importantly, for my purposes, why fucking Tearer fucking rules. Tearer is critical to the fundamental nature of not just AINI’s plot, but it’s themes; he is essential to the conversation about love, determinism, and trauma and without him this game is weak and flavorless, and all the other things you like about it would be worse. Under the cut.
Part Zero: S**TO
AITSF is about love. It’s in the title. Water is wet. But for the sake of drawing clearer parallels, let’s actually talk about Sejima Saito.
Saito cannot feel love or happiness from anything from murder, because of a brain disorder, or more accurately, he would have been able to if even one person loved him to begin with. I say this because Date exists within the same body, and he’s able to get by on medication. Because people cared about Date, and wanted him to be happy; they loved him. But Sejima Sou, the world’s worst man, does not care about Saito. His son killed animals, and he did nothing. His son killed his mistress, and he covered it up, but didn’t look into the root issue. He doesn’t care. On a literal level, Saito cannot feel love because of a brain disorder, but on a thematic level, he cannot feel it because no one ever offered it to him. He does not know what it is. (From this perspective, you could say that Saito is a victim of ableism and not only just. A problematic trope, although like it’s all definitely like still here)
And the sad thing is, Saito does not know what love is, he cannot understand it, yet he still wants it from his father! He’s on record saying this is why he killed Manaka because she stole him away. Sejima does not care about him, and he recognizes that, and it bothers him. He wants what he cannot have, so he kills instead. He has to rip that which his father loves away from him. That’s why killing her makes him happy! Are you seeing the bigger picture? The dopamine rush from killing is just the literal read; Saito derives pleasure from murder because he is ripping love away from others, a thing he wants but thinks he cannot have.
Saito switches into several different bodies that do not have the same brain disorder that his did, but this doesn’t make him understand love, because the problem isn’t actually the brain disorder. It’s that at this point, he has gone so long without ever being loved, without ever knowing what love is, with wanting it but never being allowed to have it, that he absolutely refuses to conceive of a version of himself where he could be happy and capable of it. He looks at Date, in his body, who is happy, and living a life full of love, with people who care about him, and its incomprehensible to him. That should not be possible. Date is using that body wrong because to be Saito is to be without love.
Saito has defined himself as loveless, as someone who could only ever be happy when he’s making everyone as miserable as he is. Sejima did not love him, and did not support him, but even once Saito became an adult with the resources and wealth that name possesses, he did not seek out happiness elsewhere, away from the people who failed him. When he gets second chances in different bodies, he does not seek out love, no matter how false it may be. Instead he uses whatever love someone might have for whoever used to live in that body as a tool to carry out his ends, because he is determined to stay as he is. He was not loved, so he will never be loved, and so no one else should ever be either.
This is how Saito is used in the narrative of the first game. In a story where love saves and redeems, about the connections we make with others no matter how fleeting, and the strength it gives us to pull through, the antagonist is someone who was denied it, and because he was denied it is now determined to destroy it for everyone else.
Now that we’ve laid the groundwork, by talking about Saito, let’s move to the main event.
Part One: Forsaken | Child
Carrying on the thematic torch, we get to AINI, and like with any sequel, the discussion about love has shifted. To simplify things, the discussion in the first game is “love good not loving bad.” Characters you’re meant to like are filled with love to give and are loved in return, characters who aren’t well...aren’t. It is good to love. I agree. But AINI takes this theme a step further: who/what do you love, and how? What does love mean to you?
This question shows up at multiple points. Komeji loves his family so dearly, but his pursuit of his dream he loves just as much keeps putting them in danger and costs him his wife and later his life. Shouma struggles to admit he loves his father, constantly fighting with him, until it is too late, and he’s gone, and there is nowhere for this love to go. At the cathedral Ryuki has to pick between Date and Tama: who does he love more? I could go on like this (we will get to Amame), but this all comes back to one source: Tearer. So, who does Tearer love, and how? What does love mean to him?
Tearer loves one person: his ‘mother’, Shigure Tokiko, the world’s worst woman. (I promise we’ll get to Amame when we fucking get there.) Like Saito, he is desperate for the approval and love of his parent, something he too does not get, but there are several fundamental differences. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is that while Sejima Sou is Saito’s literal father, and has not legally forfeit his parentage over him no matter how garbage and bereft of love he may be, Shigure Tokiko is not Tearer’s mother in any sense of the word. She did not give birth to him, she didn’t adopt him, she does not raise him with love or compassion—no. She and her partner/ex Horadori Chikara (the world’s other worst man) kidnapped him and keep him trapped in the fucking basement so they can harvest his fucking organs and body parts for their biological son they gave up but actually love, Furue Jin.
And as obvious as saying that might be, it’s actually pretty critical to begin here. Both of these environments are loveless. Sejima is implicitly neglectful, and I don’t like need to tell you what’s wrong with what Shigure and Horadori are doing, yet the results are fundamentally different. There are two reasons for this. The first is that Saito was always a Sejima, and his life began in a house without love, thus he never knew it in the first place, Tearer was once a little boy not unlike any other, happy, innocent, loved up until the day he was kidnapped. For a brief moment, he knew what love was, and that will always matter.
And this difference leads to the second, which is far more interesting to me. Saito decided that if he could not have love then no one could, that he would destroy every instance of it within his grasp with his bare hands out of spite purely because he could not have it and never knew it, and never once attempted to know it himself. But every single thing Tearer does is all in the name of love. He wants the world to laud him as a hero and savior, to recognize him as important. He does not care that he killed Komeji, or that he is going to kill billions of others, because from his point of view, he believes he is bringing them to true freedom. An act of service for humanity at large. This, as warped as it may be, is a version of love, and a request for reciprocation. He is obviously wrong to think like this, even if he himself cannot understand or comprehend it, but even if he somehow did, it’s secondary to his real motive, which again is for his ‘mother,’ who he loves more than anyone else in the world.
Everything he does, with the exception of trying to convince Amame of his totally based and epic gamer plan to wipe out all human life that also involved murdering her dad, is for her. That plan he came up with is based on her beliefs about the world that he dedicated himself to because she taught them to him, and he is devoted to her without question. Shigure may say that Naix is more scientific than a cult, and is thus better than whatever Horadori is doing, but Tearer is their #1 worshipper, and that is because he adores her. He wants to prove her beliefs correct, to brings everyone to Moksha, because yes everyone will love him and worship him as a hero obviously and his endless pain and torment will end and be retconned into having not happened, but mostly because it would make her happy to be right, and if he makes her happy, then surely she will love him in return, right?
Nonentity Incognito is a somnium about Tearer’s absolute desperation for Shigure to love him in the same way she loves Jin. He wants to be her son. He cries to be let out, somebody, “MOM HELP ME,” but she won’t, and no one else will. They take his ideas, his work, his organs, his skin—everything from him, while they leave him locked in a rusty cell in a basement with a door that cannot open from the inside, and yet he still cries from the bottom of his heart “I love you so much! Why won’t you love me? Why, mom, why?” But he knows exactly why she won’t. Because Shigure loves Jin, or at least she did at one point (she doesn’t anymore care much anymore given she’s all for Tearer’s plan that killed him). As much as he screams and cries and begs, she will never love him. She never has loved him. To her, he was just a child with the right DNA that could be used to save the kid that mattered to her. When asked if Tearer is her son, even when he is right there, she does not answer; the silence speaks for itself. Nothing he does will ever make her love him. He will never be her son, no matter how much he wants to be.
Some may wonder then, with this level of horrific abuse, why would he even want to? Especially since he hates Horadori and Jin for his torment, something that is no secret and is clearly illustrated within and outside his somnium. I mean he explicitly picks both of them as targets because he hates them that much. Horadori only tortures him, and Jin gets not only what Horadori takes but Shigure’s love, the one thing he wants, but why does he want it? Why does he want her love?
Part Two: Damned | Destiny
Shigure Tokiko has given Tearer exactly one thing. Not freedom, not remorse, not even a half-hearted apology, no she didn’t give him anything for his sake, but she did give him something. She taught him about her shitty cult ideology. Shigure believes the world is a simulation. Nothing is real, so there is no pain, and no sorrow, and no unhappiness if we just leave this false prison. She promises him that if he follows her, they can leave this fake world together, where true happiness, paradise, lies. . She does not tell him this because she feels sorry for him, it’s not for him, but because his obvious suffering is a confrontation of her guilt. He is in constant agony because they steal his literal body from him and keep him trapped in a dingy prison in the basement living off preserved food in a broken refrigerator, and if his torture is real, then she is culpable for it. It is her fault he suffers, so it cannot be real. This world where something this horrific happened, where she is enabling and partaking in something this cruel because she loved her son she gave up, Furue Jin—she cannot accept it. She promises him a world where he does not feel pain, and she does not feel guilt.
This obviously is just like shitty, and evil, which yeah, she runs a cult and kidnapped a child, of course she is shitty and evil, but he would not see it that way. To him, an orphan kidnapped overnight who routinely has had his organs taken from him by one of his abductors for another child who gets to be loved (or at least receives some approximation of it) instead, this manipulative bullshit looks like kindness. He’s so young. They took him when he was only six, and now this woman is promising him she can take him to a world where not only will he not be in pain anymore, but it will have never happened.
No one comes for him. He cannot escape. Even if he could somehow get the door open, they’ve taken enough of his lungs he has trouble breathing when he sleeps, so imagine every other physical challenge he could face in a body they routinely steal from. Of course, he clings onto her promises, her teachings; He has to believe her. What choice does he have? He just wants it not to hurt anymore! He is trapped in a cell, and she is telling him that they can leave it if they leave this world behind. He can be free. He doesn’t have to hurt. He will never hurt again. What she has to offer him is insincere, it is not helpful, and it is not even truly for his benefit (they even steal his work for Naix, insane, cant have shit in horaken), but who else is there to offer him anything? Shigure Tokiko does not and will never love him; she will never view him as her son. At most she sees him as a brilliant tool to further her agenda, a convenience as well as an organ donor, but he cannot leave. He is their prisoner, trapped, so her self-self-serving ‘kindness’ is the only thing he has.
They don’t let him go outside, cause obviously their unwilling organ donator can’t escape, and he’s only allowed to learn and do the things they think would be useful to them, (quantum mechanics, molecular biology, electrical engineering, Naix’ fucking teachings, etc), he has no friends or actual family, he’s lost his name, he’s lost half his face and body—what does he have that is his own? What can he have that is his own? What choices can he make that are truly his, when he has so little freedom? What else can he do?
This is where determinism comes into play. Because Nirvana Initiative is not just about love, it is about choices, and how those things often intersect and tie together: the things you do for those you love, the things you do to get it, how far you’re willing to go in its name. Tearer was willing to end the world in the name of Shigure Tokiko, because he loves her. He loves her because he has no choice but to love her, because in the situation they put him in he can make no choices at all.
When Horadori Chikara and Shigure Tokiko made that decision to abduct the child with the right DNA to save their son from his half body tumors, they sealed that child’s fate. Their love, however warped it may be, damned him into being Tearer.
Regrettably for literally everyone besides Shigure, this means he kills people, takes people hostage, blows up a building, tries to commit world genocide, dresses like a clown, and all in all just kind of sucks and posts cringe 24/7. My poor little meow meow lmao. He is the principal antagonist of the game, even if he turns out to be fucking dead for half of it. This is in part, of course, because this fucking unhinged maniac has no hobbies outside of Zero Escape and vaporwave and designed all of his plans to work with or without him being alive, but like Saito in the first game, Tearer is also representative of an idea. You may have already figured out what purpose he serves already, but if not, I think it’ll become much clearer once we talk about how he affects the story as the antagonist.
Talking about every single detail in AINI would take too long and waste a lot of time, especially since not everything that happens in the game is ties back to the HB case (hence some of the controversy), so our purposes we will focus on the characters most affected by Tearer: Ryuki Kuruto and Doi Amame. Ryuki first!
Part Three:  Fractured | Mind
Now, to be completely fair, ya boi Ryuki was already going the fuck through it before the half body incident even started. Ryuki’s became a psyncer because of a childish sense of justice he cannot let go of because of the horrifying way he lost his twin brother, who was hit by a truck in pursuit of a criminal and half of his body was crushed beyond recognition. It was his brother with the heroic dreams, Ryuki is just carrying the torch. While the localization uses a reference to My Hero Academia, in the original Japanese, his catchphrase is an Anpanman reference, a superhero show for small children. He wants to do good, he wants to be a hero, to help people, but those naïve ideals can be easily twisted by his trauma and his grief, most notably into a profound hatred of criminals.
So, imagine you’re Ryuki, it’s the time of year your brother died, and now there’s a serial killer going around killing people by leaving half bodies: how do you think that’s going to go? And yeah! It goes like shit! He makes mistake after mistake after mistake, he’s constantly dissociating, memory lapses, he’s vibrating with anticipating waiting for Tama to give him the okay to kill some guys he thinks are tied to the incident, Ryuki shoots an unarmed civilian because he thinks they might be Tearer! He cannot separate his trauma from the case! And frankly, how could he be expected to?
I am not going to lie to you and pretend that Tearer designed the half body incident to trigger Ryuki’s personal issues deliberately. He didn’t. That guy doesn’t go outside lmao. But like Ryuki’s brother, Tearer too has been halved, and so he halves Horadori and Jin as punishment for what has happened to him. What is his catharsis is Ryuki’s trigger, and this inevitably leads Ryuki right into his grasp to be used, where the real shitshow begins.
Tearer has sabotaged Tama. He will kill her if Ryuki does not do what he wants, and what he wants is for Ryuki to kill Date and deal with any other minor nuisances in the meantime. And Ryuki shoots Bibi with a stun bullet, even if it worsens Bibi’s heart condition, because he loves Tama. He cannot bear Tama being destroyed, no matter how much Bibi screams at him, no matter how much she hates him.
He is under Tearer’s thrall up through to the cathedral, and he has one job. Shoot Date. Shoot Date, and Kizuna and Tama and everyone else in the cathedral gets to live! Seems easy, right? Even Date says he should shoot him. But despite this. Despite everything, despite all that is at stake, he can’t. Ryuki cannot shoot Date. It is the guilt of having shot Bibi, yes, but he loves Date. How could he ever shoot him? How can Tearer ask him to choose between the two people he loves more than anyone else in the world? How could he ever make this choice?
He can’t, so Tearer makes it for him, because Tearer has been making his decisions for him ever since he took Tama prisoner. He blows up the cathedral, and Mizuki loses her eye, and Kizuna is paralyzes, and Date is ‘killed,’ and Ryuki never moves on from this. He spends the next six years drinking into oblivion, his PTSD worsening, unable to forgive, unable to forget, unable to move forward. When ‘Jin’s other half’ drops he throws himself back into the case, still a wreck, still hallucinating, still having manic and dissociative episodes, to the point he doesn’t even seem to know what year it is, often interacting with others like it is 2020.
You might remember he caught TC-Perge, the bioweapon Tearer had Horadori Institute make, but the literal elements of a text are never just literal. When Ryuki dissociates or he hallucinates, it comes in the form of glitches to the matrix. Tearer believes in simulation theory, because of Shigure. She and Horadori kept him imprisoned, and she taught him the world itself is a fake they must escape from. For him, this virus is an escape attempt, but like how cutting people in half is cathartic for him but triggering for Ryuki, TC-PERGE is his prison.
Tearer is dead, but it is what remains of him haunts. It lingers, it possesses, and it does not let Ryuki forget or move forward. Ryuki is stuck in place, in February 2020 during the Half-Body Incident, because since it kept triggering him he ended up trapped, forced to do the bidding of the one that reminds him most of his trauma against those he loves most. He is trapped in the time Tearer stripped his agency from him, used his love against him, and that love is now his cage. It has transformed into guilt.
Who do you love, and how? What does love mean to you? Ryuki loved his brother, to the point that he choose to live the live he should have had, to uphold his ideals of justice. For Ryuki, love is grief is trauma. It is a list of reasons for him to hate himself. Tearer only adds to that list. He puts Ryuki in the same place he is, unable to move, clinging on to your own self destruction. For Tearer, it is the Nirvana Initiative, and for Ryuki, it’s the alcoholism, and the self-loathing, and the belief he has to solve and fix it all himself or die trying because it is the only way he can possibly atone. He takes a bullet for Date, even after he gets the pep talk from them and told they forgive him, and the only way he can atone is by working together to move forward. It seems only by taking it does he find his way out.
Ryuki gets cured. He will heal from his gunshot wound. Tama is free from Tearer’s clutches, and Date is fucking fine, and Ryuki will be okay. There was a way out of this hellish nightmare Tearer put him in, and it did not involve making the villains and himself pay forever indefinitely, it involved forgiveness. It involved accepting the love offered to you, because it should not be a prison, but freedom.  
But the other person was not so lucky.
Part Four: Choose | Correctly
Okay to just take care of this, Tearer thinks he’s thinks he’s in love with Amame, but what’s actually happening is he hasn’t like seen a human woman who isn’t his ‘mom’ for like two decades, and his maturity levels are out of wack cause of the human experimentation prison cell thing, so his hormones are just going crazy. I have nothing further to say about this aspect. It’s just sad, and a little gross, and it’s not interesting. We’re moving on.
Determinism and causality already haunt Amame before Tearer kills her father. Doi Amame is a girl split in two. Every decision presented to her, every choice she makes is logged deep within her heart and kept perfectly preserved in bubbles, and sometimes she takes them out and rotates them, let’s the light distort their colors into something new. What if she stayed with her father during the divorce? What if she worked a different job? Less hours? Part of her is always in the past, ruminating on what could have been if only she had done something different, maybe it would have been better. In that sense, she and Ryuki have a lot in common, and it’s also why Ryuki should have been the protagonist full time, but this is not that essay.
We will briefly have to talk about Komeji, the king of bad decisions. If there were ever a reason for Amame to be constantly thinking about the consequences of her actions, it would be looking at her dad and going “Jesus Christ.” He loves family dearly, but he consistently makes short-sighted decisions that sound great in the moment, but get him and the people he loves further in hot water. This is why he thought it was a great idea to blackmail the serial killer with the body he found and stole, cause he was wasted, and hey it’ll get him money which he can pay the loan sharks with and then his kids will be safe right?  WRONG. SO WRONG DUDE. Guy was a hot mess, and he pays for it with his life.
It because of that Amame and Tearer meet. Amame hides Furue Jin’s left half in the freezer in Brahman, and she shows up at Studio Dvaita just in time for Tearer to be finishing up arranging her father’s corpse, although she does not know it’s his at first. Their fates are now inexorably intertwined. “I met the person of my destiny.” Amame discovers her father in the body-bag.
While Tearer develops a bunch of fantasies about her over the course of six years, because what else is he going to fucking do I guess, Amame grieves and mourns. Her pile of capsuled choices only grows with every minute of every day, and she spends more time looking at them. Thinking about them. Wondering which choice was the correct one. Maybe she should have stayed with her father. Maybe she should have told the truth and worked less hours to come home early. Maybe she should have comforted him when Furue Jin’s body dropped on Face to Faith, because she knew he needed it. Could she have saved him then? Would he still be alive now? Yes, Komeji was a hot mess, but he was her dad! She loved him! And now he’s gone, forever.
Maybe she could have made peace with that, had her encounters with Tearer ended there. While it would never be fair, or right, knowledge that Komeji never made good choices, and that it was another bad choice that lead him to Tearer could be made peace with. With a lack of specifics about what Tearer was even trying to do before or after her father got involved with his plans, she could fill in the blanks herself, tell herself similar stories like the what ifs she conjures because there are no answers to her questions. But that is not what fate has in store for her.
Amame gets a phone call from Tearer. He wants to meet with her, because he is convinced, for reasons we will get to in a second, that she will understand him. And Amame, although she knows she hates him, knows she cannot forgive him for what he has done to her father, knows she is plagued by the decisions she has made that she can never undo, she does not call the police. She does not tell anyone. She accepts his offer, and she goes. She just wants to know what he has to say, right? She just wants answers. Only that. Then she’ll leave. Finally, an explanation for why her father was killed.
And she gets it!  And it’s the worst explanation she’s ever heard in her entire life! Simulation? Moksha? Nirvana Initiative? What the fuck is he talking about? Her dad died for this? She asks him if he remembers what happened on February 13th, 2020, the day her dad was murdered. She is trying to gauge if he remembers what he did to her father, if he even cares at all. And all he has to say is “That was the fateful day I met you.” Her father? He doesn’t matter. Komeji died because he needed a body to put at Misetan since Jin’s other half was never returned, and Tearer considers this entire thing a performance and a game. It wasn’t personal, like Horadori, or Furue Jin. It meant next to nothing to him. Her father died for no reason. He just moves on! He laughs! He’s blathers on maniacally about his plans to destroy all life on earth in the name of liberation or whatever, right in front of a woman whose dad he killed that he doesn’t remember or consider important!
He thinks she thinks this is super based, and that he’s like the smartest guy ever, and that he’s going to save the day, and that it’s an honor she is getting the chance to work with him, that she is considered intelligent and special enough to know about their ideals. Why does he think this? Is he delusional? Has he lost his mind? Well, yes, obviously, that happened like ages ago when they started stealing his organs and trapped him in the basement, but there’s another layer. Shigure Tokiko does not love him, but she only ever validated him when he supported her cult ideology, and his other relationships do not exist. She is his only frame of reference. He wishes to connect with Amame because he wishes to connect with another human being and be understood, and Amame was there, but he only knows how to do that through this shitty cult he is thoroughly indoctrinated in to the point he kills people and plans genocide for it, and with all that in mind, the result is inevitable.
It was bold of him to turn his back to her. She was never going to understand him. Enda Amame knocks him out with a wrench, drags him to the slicer, and kills him in the same way he killed her father. Another decision she can never take back. But she was not alone. Shigure saw her kill him, and now she is under her thrall. She has to move not just his body, but hers, or else her secret will get out. So she helps Shigure with her plan, to keep her secret, and lives the next couple of days quiet and somber, lost in her what ifs and her grief. She cannot bear this weight much longer. Not just her loss, or the weight of the secret she now keeps, but the ever-mounting regrets that began years ago.
“I did what was best for me! I don’t care if people attack me for it, I have no regrets! I have no regrets!” Amame cries at the end of Nightmare Irreconcilable, a Somnium that plays through each of her regrets, and the things she could have done instead. She wants so desperately to believe this, because while she can imagine going to see Komeji instead of Iris, or picking him in the divorce, she can’t picture not killing Tearer, even though her regrets all lead her to that point. Even though killing him did not bring her father back, but just took her away from her brother, and Gen, and her other best friends.
When Tearer calls Amame “the person of his destiny,” he is correct, but not for the reason he thinks he is. Before him, Amame’s life is full of people who love her, and of people who love her in return. Yes, her father is a mess, and the divorce was hard, but she’s okay. She has support, and she’s kind and self-sacrificing and a little eccentric, but that just makes her lovable. The choices she makes matter but they are not a fixation of hers. The world is open. She is free.
But that day in Dvaita, the world starts to close up. She is still loved, and she still loves people, and she’s still gentle and eccentric, but she’s starting to close off. Her dad’s decisions lead to the slicer. What does that mean for her? Was the world always so small? He’s gone, and there are no answers, just a hole that will never heal, no matter how much people love her, or how much she loves in return. The pathways for her get narrower and narrower and narrower, leading her directly to that dingy cell that seals her fate. And just like the man she killed that was trapped down there, she too is treated as another disposable tool by Shigure Tokiko, and is currently trapped in a cell, not unlike where he used to be.  
To talk about Tearer is to talk about Amame because to talk about Amame is to talk about Tearer. They are direct responses to one another. Tearer was damned into being so at age six. His ability to choose, to love, to decide were all taken from him when he was stolen from that orphanage. And this monstrous cruelty contaminates everything it touches. Tearer desperately tries to escape to a world where his trauma never happened because it is all that he is, and like him she fixates on imagined possibilities where things are better, because the pain of her loss is too much to bear.
The world was available to Amame, until it was infected by him, by what he had no choice but to become. He killed her father, and although the world was still available to her, she was still free, she could not see it. All she saw was the past she could not undo, the family she lost forever, and the man who was to blame. For that one moment, Amame threw out all the love the world still had to offer her because she hated him more, and immediately regretted it. It’s the cycle of cruelty, of abuse, of trauma.
Conclusion: Trauma | Symbolism
This is why Tearer fucking rules, more than anything else. He is the embodiment of trauma, the breathing symbol of thematic horror the cast is trying to overcome. That’s why half his body is literally fucking chitin, a visual representation of the wounds that do not heal. That’s why his personality is entirely formed by the horrific experiences he had at the hands of Horadori and Shigure, and why everything he does is motivated by that experience, down to his fucking name! He was literally trapped because when you’re traumatized it often feels like you cannot move from where you are. He clings to Shigure and her idealogy because she stands for nihilism. She promises all those that enter her grasp that this world is meaningless and the only real way to find happiness is by ending it all: a death wish. He never leaves the narrative, even after he’s killed, and killing him cannot defeat him, just perpetuates the cycle. Amame only comes out of that even more traumatized, more guilt-ridden and horrified, it adds to her trauma. Trauma is not something you kill. His plan to kill everyone is to make people destroy themselves from the inside out, by ruining their minds so they cannot interact with one another without inevitably causing pain.
The only way to stop him is through unity and attempting to mend bridges, by process the things that hurt you instead of bottling them up. Accept the love that people give you. Embrace the opportunities that the world still has to offer.
Bonus: Somezuki Uru
You must have one question left. How come in this entire essay, I never once called him by his real name? I even pretended for a second he lost it forever somehow. Well, that’s because…Tearer is an idea, isn’t he? He is entirely shaped by the horrors forced upon him. Like I just said, he is trauma. We don’t know anything about Somezuki Uru, other than he was orphan, a normal boy, and honestly based on knowledge of Sejima’s cursed dick and balls, his brilliance in technical achievement as Tearer is probably an indicator of something significant going on in his brain that just isn’t to the same degree as cancer or the oxytocin deficiency. My money is on autism (source: autistic). Everything else we get is shaped by the horrors, and I just talked about those at length. But if I still have you here…
It is 1996, and tucked into his bed at Aioen orphanage, Uru wonders what tomorrow may bring? Rain or sunshine? Outside the open window, the moon that hangs high in the half-clouded sky has no clear answers. The breeze smells wet. Maybe it’ll rain after all. Didn’t Mr. Chieda get that new game for the computer….? That might be fun to try. He yawns. The breeze smells dry again, but he’ll worry about it tomorrow. This great big world full of possibilities isn’t going anywhere.
I hope the world you live in right now is kind to you. Thank you for reading this.
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retrobr · 5 months
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Lazytown Shenanigans Pt. 7
I was too lazy and tired to make a post yesterday, so this time I have to talk about three episodes in a row: "Time to Learn," "Let's Go to the Moon," and "Robbie's Dream Team." And, therefore, this rambling is going to be the longest one in this series so far. I mean, THE LO-O-ONGEST one (you have been warned guys) 💀
Also I didn't take any screenshots from the "Time to Learn" episode and there are very few of the other two, so please accept my apologies in advance!!
It's very doubtful that someone will read it till the very end, but let's begin, I guess 😭
"Time to Learn."
I can't say that this episode was very interesting, at least compared to other ones that will be mentioned in this post very soon, but there were some amusing and cute moments. Maybe that's because I was tired once again while I was watching it, but whatever
The episode started with Robbie rambling about Sportacus, as usual 🤭. But anyway, this is not the most important part of that scene; I have some other things to say about it
First of all. In some previous posts I declared that Robbie is a fucking genius, which is true in my opinion, but omg. Bro is kinda stupid in terms of school subjects, such as math, for example. Not blaming him in any way, I sucked at math as well when I studied in school, but this somehow doesn't fit in with the fact that he can build such complex and knowledge-intensive mechanisms... Bro is stupid, but not completely I guess 😭
Second of all, it was kinda amusing to me that Stephanie didn't notice all those silly scribbles of Sportacus at all. She just looked at the blackboard and was like, "OMG ROBBIE YOU'RE DOIN' MATH THAT'S SO COOL." Girl look at those drawings, why don't you pay any attention to it 🙄
And third of all, I can't help but say that it was so freaking adorable that Stephanie took her time to help Robbie with math, and he was actually listening to her. Family bonding 🥹
But enough of that silly scene. I was somewhat surprised that Robbie didn't end up at least in the top five of the best antagonists; I mean, have you even seen what he's able to create using only improvised materials? Have you even known that he makes all that shit on his own and has no assistants at all? Even though his plans don't work out all the time, he's definitely not the worst, but not the best antagonist either. And I don't even want to hear anything about graduation from school (because of the lack of that, he was identified as the worst antagonist). He's pretty good at his occupation even without it
I've gotten too defensive, so let us continue. Being a pretty big fan of the NatM movie franchise as well, I was SO HAPPY to hear Amelia Earhart's name in this episode (she was in the second NatM movie). When Bessie asked kids about the first woman who flew across the Atlantic Ocean, I was like "OH SHIT I KNOW I KNOW WHO THAT WAS-"
Also I think that I remember the song from that episode. I have a vague memory of hearing that song in Russian dubbing when I was a kid, so that was a very nice experience 🥺
Some words about the funny thing. It cracked me up when Robbie loosened the fastenings at the door and MEANSWELL ACCIDENTALLY BLEW THE FUCK OFF THAT MISERABLE DOOR AND LANDED HIS HEAD IN AN IRON BUCKET. I LITERALLY CHOKED ON THE AIR WHEN I SAW IT 😭😭
Since I mentioned Robbie, let's talk about him once again (I'll never get tired of talking about my favorite dorks)
I will not leave unvoiced the fact that Robbie ALMOST ate at least one Sportscandy — a banana, in this case. HE ALMOST DID IT. GOOD FOR HIM!! And one little detail from that scene: it was Ziggy who shared that banana with him. This once again confirms that Ziggy is the best kid ever; he's not sorry to share something with other people at all, whether it's his favorite sweets or Sportscandy 🥺
And now for my favorite part... ;]
This was kind of one of those episodes in which Robbie didn't act that mean towards Sportacus (let's forget about the very beginning of the episode because it's not that significant). He was even too excited to ask him some questions when Sportacus visited them to save Meanswell, and as far as I understood he had quite a lot of questions (and who's the main Sport's fan here now? /j), but the opportunity to ask him anything was given to Ziggy. Robbie was somewhat frustrated :(
Plus Robbie genuinely thanked him when he was saved, and it seemed to me that there was no falsehood at all; he wasn't annoyed or anything like that, at least, and for once he was pretty happy to be saved 🥺
The last thing that I'll mention about this episode is that I felt pretty bad for Stephanie when she didn't pass the final exam because of Robbie, while all of her friends succeeded in that. That was quite cruel on his part, stealing her answers from her and changing them to his own; like dude, she literally helped you that morning.. I hate to see when nice characters are crying, poor girl :(
Ok, now let's move on to the next episode,
"Let's Go to the Moon."
That episode was something. I mean it in the sense that this episode probably has one of the most beautiful views and landscapes; I should also point out that I'm a complete sucker for all those space-related things (my love for "Guardians of the Galaxy" can prove it very well), so that episode was a real eye-candy for me
I mean, just look at this:
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PURPLE LIGHTING. SPACE. STARS. 😭
This episode is very well done, and when I say "very well done" I really mean it
But enough of my drooling over the episodes' appearance, let's touch on the topics of the plot and some moments from there!!
I was fucking shocked when I saw that there was a WHOLE UNDERGROUND GARAGE WITH A ROCKET in the yard of Pixel's house. How... How is this kid still not part of some super-fancy university for prodigies? I doubt that someone helped him build all that shit, so apparently he did it all by himself. Wow 💀
And the scene in which Bessie and Milford thought that kids are just playing and it's not real killed me fr; like, no, my darlings, they are actually going to the fucking moon 😭
I was somewhat amused by the fact that Robbie was so fed up with the kids' games and fuss that he literally decided to leave the earth and rest on the moon. Gosh, just let the dude rest properly for once; he's an old man, after all, and he really needs some quiet at times... /hj
And even then the kids didn't let him rest. They literally went to the moon right after him (just for funsies), started to dance and play, and then met Robbie and thought that he was an alien. Ziggy was the very first one to stumble upon him:
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And Ziggy was pretty startled to see a supposed alien, which quite confused me. Wasn't he the one who wanted to make friends with an alien in the "Ziggy's Alien" episode and wasn't scared of Robbie disguised as an alien at all?.. The boy changed his mind apparently 🙄
And since we're talking about fears and all this shit, it was a somewhat sad sight to see a scared Robbie. The man was afraid that he would be left completely alone on the moon without any chance to come back home because his spaceship was somehow broken. I understand his fear, but I think there was no great reason to be that afraid; Sportacus' gadgets would've sooner or later given a signal that someone was in trouble, and therefore he could've counted on salvation :]
Also. A small detail that made me smile like a dork. Robbie laid down to sleep in the crater with Sportacus' apple laying in it (in the very beginning of the episode he threw an apple there with a baseball bat). My brain goes fuzzy and my chest goes warm 🥹💜
In the final part of the rambling about this episode, I would like to point out that I didn't quite understand the behavior of the kids at the end of the episode; they were indignant because of Robbie's appearance, but WHY?? He literally didn't do anything wrong in this episode, he just wanted to rest and, a little later, wanted to go home. Why are they so mean to him without any significant reason; don't judge him for nothing, or just leave him be, at least 😭
In general, this episode looked very beautiful, and I can say that this is probably one of my favorite episodes so far. Not because of the characters' interactions, not because of my beloved dorks, but just because this episode looks absolutely amazing :]
Now for the most delicious part of this post,
"Robbie's Dream Team."
OH MY GOD YES. THIS ONE. ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC EPISODES IN THIS SHOW. I FUCKING LOVED IT BECAUSE OF A LOT OF THINGS 👊👊
But let's calm down for a minute and talk about everything in order...
I won't keep quiet about that scene in which Sportacus balanced on two basketballs while standing on one hand... How. How does he even do that. I was literally sitting there with my mouth wide open; I don't know, maybe there was some trick with those basketballs, and they were kinda attached to the floor, because I don't quite believe that he was able to do it without those basketballs rolling away. That man literally consists of a bunch of talents; seriously, he's amazing 😭
Not far from the topic of my favorite dorks: this was another episode in which Robbie once again spends all his time and efforts on catching Sportacus. This one was almost entirely dedicated to his futile attempts to catch him, but the funny part is that bro didn't even know why exactly he needed to catch Sportacus in the first place; initially his main goal was just catching and kidnapping him. For no reason. Robbie came up with the plan of getting rid of him only when he finally caught him 🤭
And his frustrated "How does he always do that??! :(" when Sportacus didn't end up in his trap once again was so fucking amusing; I dunno buddy, maybe that's because that trap was too small? 😭
By the way, in this episode he attempted to catch Sportacus three times (at least I was able to count this number of attempts): the first one in the beginning with a trap in the ground, the second one with a cage that was attached to the tree, and the third, successful one. He was really dedicated in that episode, as I see 😏
Maybe that's a little off topic, but it was also the fourth episode in the whole season (I've watched five episodes from this season so far, just for reference) in which he tries, or at least intends, to feed Sportacus a sugar apple. Apparently bro realized that this was the most effective and fail-safe remedy against him
Also, just take a look at this pathetic creature. And this is your so-called "master of disguise" 😭 /j
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Ok but whatever. Let's move on and talk about the second attempt at catching Sportacus; there were some amusing moments as well 😈
This time the kids, Stephanie and Stingy, were spying on him, and they saw the final stage of setting up the trap. You know guys, in some of my previous posts I joked that Robbie's behavior towards Sportacus is kinda suspicious, AND, WELL, I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT STINGY WILL LITERALLY VOICE MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT BECAUSE HE LITERALLY SAID, "Hmm there's suspicious behavior" 😭😭
(I know I misinterpreted that phrase but let me be. I just thought that was too funny and I actually laughed like crazy when i heard that 💀)
And I should admit that it was kinda nice to see that kids wanted to help him, because, well, they didn't know Robbie's true intentions since he lied to them. They know that he's a villain, and they probably shouldn't take part in catching someone for him, but they still suggested some help 🥺
Speaking of the kids, it was one of the few episodes in which Stingy was pretty tolerable in my opinion. He didn't do anything selfish or bad, which quite surprised me, and I didn't feel any annoyance because of him. Enemies to lovers trop? /jj
Finally. Now we're going to talk about the most important part of this episode — something that made this episode iconic throughout the show and in meme culture: THE ROBBIE'S GANG. 
OH MY FUCKING GOD, HOW MUCH I LIKED THOSE DORKS. Unfortunately I didn't remember each of them by name (I have a very bad memory), but I remember that in general their names were Bobby, Tobby, and Flobby. I really liked them and the way they look, and I mean it genuinely. And now I really want to read some fics that include them because they are so precious 🥺
One of them kinda reminded me of an Oompa-Loompa from Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," but we won't talk about it 😭
AND THE SONG. THE SONG. "WE ARE NUMBER ONE" WAS A BIG PART OF MY CHILDHOOD BECAUSE IT WAS A VERY POPULAR MEME BACK THEN. THE FEELING OF NOSTALGIA THAT SONG GAVE ME WAS INDESCRIBABLE AND I FUCKING LIVE FOR IT. But seriously, the melody and the instrumental accompaniment were very catchy; it's a top-tier song in the whole show imo and I won't shut up about how much I love it
Speaking of nostalgia, this episode in general was pretty nostalgic to me, because I have a weird vague feeling that I've seen this episode on some sunny spring morning when I was like, nine or ten years old?? What I'm trying to say is that while I was watching this episode, I had a small feeling like I watched it once before going to school, but I don't remember it; I just feel it. If it makes any sense 😭
But fine, let's move on. It seemed pretty cute to me that after Stephanie and Stingy helped Sportacus get over his sugar meltdown, he BECAME FRIENDS WITH ROBBIE'S GANG. They were all so happy to play together in the lair and on the sports field, since, well, they literally said that they didn't want to become villains. I'm literally smiling right now while writing it because IT'S SO CUTE OMG 🥺
The last thing that I'll mention, or, to be more precise, show, is this scene
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Yeah like. I get you dude; it's always nice to watch pretty men sleeping 🤭 (i mean Sportacus wasn't sleeping but was feeling pretty shitty because of his sugar meltdown but let's put all the details aside 💀)
In conclusion, this episode is definitely and undoubtedly one of my favorites. Some of the reasons for that are the nostalgia factor and the presence of some new characters. Oh and the badass song, of course
OK SO THAT IS THE END OF THIS POST, FINALLY. I know for sure that most people won't read it till the end, but I have completed my own mission: to put all my thoughts in order. But if someone actually took their time to read it all, then, guys, I can't say anything less than you are the best. /gen 
I spent 4 hours writing all this shit, so it means so very much to me that someone read it till the end!! Thank you genuinely and have a good day, your attention is very-very-very appreciated :) 💜
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notnights · 3 months
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You mentioned that years ago you felt just as miserable as you do now. Which means you've lived threw this before, and you will again.
Or atleast i really hope you do, you seem nice
The art you make and stuff you write is honestly beyond just hella awesome even the reblogs you make are just rad! (im bad at verbalizing this kind of stuff but i do appreciate you on my dash, im glad your here. But much more than that i appreciate the type of person you seem to be and the stuff you like)
I hope whatever is plagueing you washes away again as it did before, until then remember to take care of yourself please. Summertime is usually a tough time for people all over the world and we kind of forget we're like actual animals, Be your own zookeeper! Drink enough water and get plenty of sleep
I hope your day/night gets better man
The problem is several of it will never ever go away. It’s always with me most of it will always be with me no matter what. And that sucks. Hahah man that sucks. Sure some other things might get better but some others are always going to be there and will still be there when other problems arise again. And I constantly wonder if maybe I preformed some terrible deeds in a past life to get such a messy combination of problems. And every month seems like worse news comes up and who knows maybe if I had a break, maybe try and fix one of those things at a time things would get better but that’s literally impossible without how this stuff works.
I do feel like drawing and story telling is the only real value I have about myself but it’s not like viable compared to everything else wrong with me. It’s a skill that doesn’t effect or that I can even utilize in helping in any other things in my life currently other than I guess vent and make art. I draw so much it feels like such a byproduct I don’t even like post 40% of what I make because I either feel it’s unfinished or just not something people would be interested in (which is fine I draw for myself and mostly myself posting it or not is just a socialization thing more than anything else for me)
But it’s like that doesn’t help treat my illness, or help me figure out what’s wrong with my brain that makes it unable to drive a car, make enough money to treat me or move and get out of here, heaven forbid if my mother found out the type of stuff I was drawing, what she’d do should warrant her own stay at the psyche ward.
Sorry this is a lot to dump on a stranger a little anon I know you’re just trying to help and I do appreciate it I’m sorry I’m being so negative. I do appreciate small things like you liking stuff I reblog and do decide to share.
Yesterday I accidentally stayed up near 30 hours after a break down after reading a letter I received with sucky news. Then now just woke up after sleeping 19 hours and I’ll probably decide to sleep more what else I got to lose. But I still haven’t eaten. Even if I was given food right in front of me I don’t think I could stomach it I feel so emotionally awful.
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mirthlxss · 1 year
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Hello my dear, I was so sad when this blog went a little AWOL due to the gross anons, miss mam you can't leave me hanging like that... seeing you slowly coming back made me SOY excited, I hope you find the time/strength to get back to Off To the Races... In the mean time, could I please request some general Price content? I love how you depict him, do you have any general headcanons for the big guy > :£
Sincerely, your Tumblr stalker... Haha, just joking!
You’re lucky I have a few of these knocking about, here are some random Captain Price headcanons. I’mma be zesty in saying they align with the John we know in Off to the Races. 
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Captain Price understands and appreciates the humble goodness of simplistic food. The man will stand in the safe house kitchen and harp on about how a well-timed egg with lashings of pepper and salt is practically gourmet when done to perfection. As much as this is true, he is also the sauce king. How can the two exist simultaneously? When it's his own cooking: hearty, jejune in a very English stew type of way. But at base? God, he hates the canteen food, only the right balance between various sauces can smother the tin taste of inadequately drained brine tuna. Has an extensive collection of bbq and hot sauces. Won’t share them. 
Thought that if he hadn’t gone into the army that he would’ve become a carpenter of some degree, appreciates the intricacies of woodwork and likes to let his fingers draw over the ridges of a well-carved decor. Would love to take a few classes in his spare time though he’s never committed to it, always finding one excuse or another. That doesn’t stop him from buying certain wooden trinkets, favouring darker wood, he has an ornate hand-carved box to keep his cigars. Often gazes thoughtfully upon it as he smokes in the office. 
His father had cancer when he was quite young, he felt extremely guilty leaving for the army at sixteen but he knew he’d be more use put to work than he’d be causing trouble around the town. John had a lot of pent-up emotion and no positive place to put it, aggravated at life and the lot he was given. It stressed his parents to no end, mostly his mother. Between his sisters, father and himself, she was strung out and tearing at the seams. Sometimes he questions whether he did it for himself or his family, he often concludes it was for both. He was given leave in his early twenties to go say his goodbyes at the hospice, doesn’t think he’s ever really recovered from that moment. It seems like every death he’s experienced after that felt innately personal, he carries each one and hasn’t figured out how to put any of them down to rest fully in his mind. 
Loves his mother dearly, more than his sister though he’d never admit that. Sends her postcards when he can, doesn’t talk much to his siblings but remembers to buy them somewhat last-minute gifts at Christmas, mostly pre-wrapped toiletry sets he’s grabbed a the pharmacy whilst he’s stopped along the motorway home. Doesn’t go to family gatherings as much as he should, with each bit of war that stains his consciousness he feels more and more detached from his former self, like a ghost in the room with his family as he watches them with their children and wrinkles slowly forming from smiling over the years. 
Soap has tried, and failed miserably, to set John up with blind dates. He outright refuses, or somehow, already knows who he’d be going with and then refuses. Somehow always finds some overthought, finicky excuse, convinced he is destined to be a little lonely. He’s had partners before and has dated around but as the years pass by he’s given less and less thought to actually pursuing anyone, more time given to ruminating on the life he could’ve had. One somewhat like his siblings, smile lines, Christmas and cheeky children. 
Is hilarious at team 141’s karaoke nights when they all get too drunk and stumble back to the shared common room. Gaz bought a second-hand karaoke machine from a charity shop and they’ve had endless fun with it. Price likes Nickleback, won’t hear anything else about it. Is surprisingly good at singing How you remind me, has the rasp for it. Also surprised the boys with his rendition of Poker Face, particularly in response to catching Soap training to it. Won’t admit that he sang it, claims they were all drunk and delirious, which is completely true but that doesn’t explain the video.  
Thank you for the support, I am slowly coming round to another chapter, just gathering the mental agility needed to volt over the potential of new anons ;)
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xfangheartx · 26 days
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Summary- Blitzø tries to visit Stolas, and things do happen.
Preview:
  Octavia didn’t understand anything, anymore. Just when she thought she had finally obtained some normalcy in her life… this happens. Her father comes home in tears, claiming that Blitzø, the object of his affection, had finally confessed his love for him… and then took it away. Now, Stolas was even more miserable than he had ever been with Stella if such a thing was possible.
  Now, Octavia found herself back at square one… except her seething hatred for the imp who broke her father’s heart had increased twofold. Just when she finally begins to accept that Blitzø was a part of her father’s life, the imp does a complete 180 and decides that he doesn’t want to be with Stolas anymore because he no longer needs him. Now Octavia was back to being the brooding teenager that she had turned into when her father first committed his infidelity with Blitzø, locking herself up in her room and blaring her music into her ears with her headphones.
  As Octavia sat in the palace drawing room, she somehow heard a knock on the door despite having her headphones up full blast. She sighed before she got up and walked to the front door, but just in case, she looked out through the stained glass window. The moment she did, she narrowed her glowing pink eyes before she pulled her headphones off her head and pulled open the door… revealing Blitzø standing in front of her, giving her an awkward smile.
  “Um… hi, Octavia-” he started, only to be cut off.
  “Don’t you fucking dare,” Octavia interjected. “You’ve got some fucking nerve, showing your face here after the shit you said to my Dad!”
  “Octavia, look, I know you’re upset-” Blitzø started.
  “I am beyond fucking upset, you asshole!” Octavia snapped. “I am furious!! My Dad says that he loves you, and THIS is how you react?! You tell him that you love him back, but then you say that you don’t need him anymore?! What kind of person confesses to someone and then rejects them at the same fucking time?! And to think, I actually started to like you!!”
  “I… I was…” Blitzø started, and yet the words kept dying in his throat. “Look, Octavia, if you could just let me talk to your dad so I can explain-”
  “Forget it!” Octavia interrupted. “My Dad doesn’t want to talk to you! So just do us both a favor and leave us alone!!” She then slammed the door in the imp’s face, causing him to flinch before he hung his head and turned to head back to his van, only for the door to open again. However, as he turned around, Octavia suddenly shoved a cardboard box in his hands, full of T-shirts, some sex toys, and even a copy of Spirit on DVD.
  “W-what is all-” Blitzø started.
  “It’s stuff that you left here whenever you spent the night with my Dad!” Octavia answered. “He told me to give it to you if you ever showed your shitty face around here! And by the way, he wants the stuff he left at your place too!”
  “…I see…” Blitzø muttered as he held the box. “I’ll, uh… I’ll send them, then.” With that, he turned to walk away, only to stop and look back. “Hey… where is your dad, anyway?”
  “He’s getting ready to go some party on Earth,” said Octavia as she crossed her arms. “Verosika Mayday invited him. I can’t go because I’m too young. I’m not telling you where it is.”
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