#otherwise is just lore you gotta dig into

[eldragon-x]

I'll never write this but like, Bill returns fic that sets up the basic premise of him coming back to terrorize the Pines, following on the clues in the finale that he would return. But as it goes on it slowly sinks deeper into exploring his character which slowly becomes the main focus here. Bill is very much still the villain and a threat just like before, but the characters have a lot more context to the how and why and Bill is hating it so fucking much as all these things about him are laid out.

[inkydiamonds]

THANK YOU FOR PUTTING SULLY ON YOUR ARTFIGHT I CAN NOW DRAW HER YAYYYYY

also any updates bout the fate of tirazia !!!! I am invested

YAYAY NP!!! I'm so excited to see your art! (Edit: I took so long to answer this that I have seen it!!!!!)

I also really gotta add more characters to my art fight- including more FOT NPCs maybe ?? Maybe ??? I have one in particular I wanna do but I'm not sure how to do it bc I don't want Blue to see him bc he hasn't shown up in the campaign yet lol

For the actual campaign itself! I'm not sure where I left off lol. [Looks at that one long post] Ah! Session 7 it seems, then Blue sent some memes about session 8.

We haven't done any over the summer bc now we're 8 people total and also. Timezones. But! We ended on session 9, and holy shit were these some crazy last two sessions.

Brief session 7 recap:

Sadly, Hans's player couldn't come, so he canonically spends the entire session digging holes in the ground (... long story) and inspecting the mysterious magical skull he got after we raided the Order of the Five castle (where Sully buried that one person alive). However! For the first time, we have a new player who takes over playing Paul. Through this, the rest of the party goes on a wild goose chase to get a magical artifact with him except Anawrete, who visits her parents' place, and we get lore there. At the end of the session, Alloces goes off to investigate mysterious smuggler's den with ties to Anawrete at the Order of the Five castle and Silen follows him. It ends up having a tunnel leading off into the Underdark, and Silen loses sight of Alloces and starts walking down there.

That's session 7!

Now, session 8:

Sully, Paul, Mal, and after a minute Alloces go and reunite with Hans. Hans is outside the Shipbuilder's Guild, having dug a bunch of holes without finding what he wanted to (a lead brick we buried in like session 4ish) This is very concerning, bc it was supposed to be a message to a demon to kill this one guy (we were trying to solve a mystery and didn't know what else to do..... so we did that. Then we tried to unearth it bc we finished the mystery). Also, it wasn't supposed to disappear, even if it did work! So. Um?

However, the party decides that it's not that important, bc we're preoccupied with something else: the skull. Turns out Hans figured out that it's "locked" and that he can brute force unlock whatever magic it has inside it by blasting it with all four types of elemental magic at once. We figure out that between Hans, Alloces, Paul, and Sully, we have the needed elemental magic to do this. Unfortunately, Sully has suddenly become very up-in-arms, saying that combining elemental magic is against everything she believes in, and that she could never help with this. Hans refuses to listen, however, but he's stuck bc Sully is the only one with Earth magic in the party (and Earth magic is hard to obtain as a spell lol). Therefore, he decides to do something... not the greatest. He whispers to Alloces to use Suggest on her, and bc Alloces likes chaos, he complies. (Fun fact: ooc, I was actually the one to propose the Suggest idea. I thought it would be silly. <3) It works, and Sully now has to participate in this ritual against her will.

Meanwhile, Mal is watching all of this go down. She sees Sully rapidly change character, and realizes that something is up. She pulls Sully aside, asking if Sully is okay. Sully, unable to say otherwise, says yes, she's okay, she's just decided to do the ritual now. Mal fails her insight check, and decides that Sully must be okay if she says she is. Mal's player then does something which makes me go CRAZY insane and makes me want to chew on glass (/pos) and decides that NOW is the time to do a scene which she's been thinking about for a while. The Context: back in session 6 during our big fight, Sully got Mal out of death saves with a healing potion. Healing potions are a bit expensive, and Mal had her own which she didn't use before she got downed (overestimating her abilities), but Sully probs didn't even think twice and used her own on Mal. However, Mal obviously has been thinking about it, because she gives Sully that potion, then. Mal, very obviously very nervous, apologizes for "letting Sully down" and for being a burden during the fight, and not being strong enough to stay up herself. AND SULLY CAN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING BC SHE'S PREOCCUPIED WORRYING ABOUT THE RITUAL + BEING UNDER SUGGESTION. Mal then leaves very quickly, and Sully is left there, speechless.

Then the fucking ritual happens and we all unlock the Skull, and Sully snaps out of her Suggestion. The Skull has some kind of spirit inside it, and is filled with Aetheric energy (which......... happens to be something Sully ALSO is very against). Sully then starts yelling at Hans, telling him to drop the Skull and berating him for getting Alloces to possess her (she also hates Alloces but like. She's always hated Alloces. She really liked Hans. This is a betrayal of literally everything she believes in). The spirit of the skull starts speaking and reveals himself to be Logan Mortem, the original founder of the Order of the Five, and with that name Paul freezes as well. Apparently Paul somehow knows him- and is horrified. Then we fight bc Hans still refuses to drop it: Hans and Alloces versus Sully and Paul. Sully and Paul lose as we both roll very low lol (also Sully was mostly trying to knock the skull out of Hans's hand), and Sully, fuming, injured and panicking, decides to leave. Hans and Alloces have a conversation with the skull where it reveals some of its goals. Alloces apparently knows Logan, and Logan is maybe his dad/creator (????). Hans has been chosen to be the next heir of the Order of the Five apparently. Logan wants to "bring order to chaos". Hans is like. "hm. btw, you're not evil, right?" and Logan is like "........no." Hans is like "seems legit 👍". Paul tries to attack Hans one more time, this time with his moon staff (the artifact we were looking for session 7), but it backfires and hurts him somehow. After Alloces and Hans leave, its revealed that when it backfired, Paul got some of his memories taken from him and forgot what he was doing and where he was. He also leaves for the Shipbuilder's hall.

MEANWHILE. Silen is in the fuckin UHHHH Underdark.

When he's walking down, he hears a thunk behind him and ends up running further in. He keeps going down, and down, and down, until he ends up in the Underdark. Honestly, nothing really happens here except him hearing some Drow or Duergar and realizing that he's in the Underdark, and heading back up the way he came. However, when he comes back up, he hears voices in Common (rather than Undercommon). The group of people hear/see him, and they're wearing colorful robes of some kind and have a huge piece of stone in the shape of a body with them. He's like "haha hiiiii". The people, ofc, ask wtf he's doing here, and with his very poorly made excuses, they decide to take him with them. He tries to escape, and they stop him- and when they use elemental magic to stop him, he finally realizes that their robes look quite similar to Sully's.

They take Silen and the rock with them underwater with water magic, and they go into a cliff face opened to show another tunnel in the earth.

Switching over to Sully's perspective, she decides to head over to the Monastery, for the first time as shown in this campaign (tho I think somewhere she goes there and leaves a note about Ansa after session 6 before session 7 for continuity). The party knows nothing about it other than it existing. Even though she's shaken about the fight, she was planning to go here anyways, and talks to Jenevra, a water-aligned monk, saying she's here about the "Anatheme". Jenevra leads her to a secret passageway she's never been in before, and there, she sees, against all odds- fucking Silen.

Adreyão, the lead figure in the party of monks, says that Silen claims to know Sully. Sully, ofc, confirms it, but asks wtf Silen was up to. He really doesn't have a good reason, but Sully takes it as Silen being Silen (which it is), and she says that they can let him go. But before they do, she explains what happened with the fight, and warns Silen not to trust Hans or Alloces, saying that they've been corrupted and don't have his interests at heart. (Kind of unreliable narrator- Sully is very very biased, close-minded, and is actively working to split the party against the two of them). Silen... kind of believes her, but ofc refuses to acknowledge that Alloces is bad bc bro is head over heals in love (why).

Silen is led out by Jenevra, and Adreyão guides Sully through a ritual of their own. She drinks a mysterious liquid, and is suddenly able to change the stone into orange-tinted quartz, revealing what was inside the rock that they transported- Ansa. Chained and cast in crystal, Ansa is transported into a larger room, where many many others like her sit. Surrounded by countless Anathemes cast in ice or crystal, Sully feels much more calm than before.

For the rest of the session, it's a lot of character interactions as we all try to deal with all the shit which just went down (and PAUL LORE). Unfortunately, Anawrete missed all of it (sorry Blue :((( ) so a lot of it is catching her up as she's like I WAS GONE FOR TWO MINUTES.....

When we take a long rest, some people hear weird rustling and chaos coming from Paul's room, and Sully (+unbeknownst to her, Alloces's shadow) investigate and find papers everywhere and a weird blue stone, which the shadow takes.

Meanwhile, Paul sees Anawrete on his morning walk, and tells her a bit about his moon rod, then about the fight and shit which happened the other day. Then he tells her to go touch the rock up in his room, saying he's "not been quite honest".

All the party starts meeting up and chatting in the common room. Mal is chatting with Anawrete about her new fit, Silen is trying to dissuade Hans from the skull (telling him about it possessing him earlier and saying "abomination") (end of session 6 idk if I mentioned this lol), Sully walks in and tries to talk to Mal, but is distracted by the conversation of what the skull is where Alloces says some ominous shit. It's very tense, but Paul walks in, interrupting the conversation by saying "who wants scoOOOOnes :D" (LMFAO)

We briefly talk about the stone, which Alloces gives up. Apparently Paul is losing his memories and says that we can access them through the stone- but that he doesn't want to be there for it. Sully take the stone, and says she'll do it in a bit, then takes Mal to talk to her. (Honestly even tho it was in character I felt bad about being like NO LORE NOW but I'm glad we saved it for the next session bc it was a long sequence of events lol).

Sully and Mal have a conversation, where Sully first says the same thing she did to Silen- explaining the fight, saying that Hans and Alloces don't have their interests at heart, etc. She says that Mal was correct that Sully was not herself at the time, and thanks her for being there, and also says that... Mal never let her down. But Mal has been slowly getting more panicked as Sully has been talking, and says "but now I've let you down twice now! Because I didn't even realize you were influenced by them!!" and Sully doesn't even know what to say to that. She tries to reassure Mal, but it doesn't really work, and they. AUGH THEMMM PIX I'M SO UNWELL ABOUT THEM...... THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE FOR SHIT..................

Anyways, Silen and Anawrete talk, because she figured out that he was at the smuggler's den (tbh I forget how lol, maybs Alloces said it or just Silen himself). She interrogates him, and although he was VERY scared of her, he somehow doesn't mention that Sully's people were there, but he definitely throws Alloces under the bus. He then immediately runs to Sully and says that Anawrete lives there at the den (???) (she does not. bro was confused and scared out of his mind). Anawrete sees him talking to Sully (who mostly ignores him) and I think guesses that Sully was somehow related to all this.

However, at that moment Paul decides he wants to talk to Sully. They go off on their own, and have a very interesting conversation, where it's revealed that Paul definitely has a (negative) history with Logan and he's on her side. He says a lot of other ominous things ("you might have to become a demon to fight one" and "if I start feeling the effects of the skull, finish me off" are notable), and it's pretty obvious that they're against the skull for different reasons, but that they're on the same team.

Anawrete, with so much new info, goes back to her family complex briefly and talks to her mom about it. Her family has been tracking the Order of the Five and their movements, and found that the remaining troops have been heading up to Nortepont (a northern dwarf city), which is very interesting.

Finally, Alloces and Silen have a hilarious talk where Alloces tries to do a deal with him (favor for crossbow Alloces found in the den bc Silen is a ranger) and Silen's like "sure :D. As long as you take me to lunch again" and Alloces, done with this shit, decides against it.

AND THAT'S SESSION 8! SO MUCH SHIT WENT DOWN !!

But uhhhhh we've gone up to session 9. So. There's still more to talk about, though sadly I do not have the time rn. I will get to it later, and I hope you like this very long update!!!!

(I also got a lot of analyses and theories and art AND a whole ass cipher puzzle thing I gave to my campaign so there's. That too)

Also @blue-rhapsody feel free to add on anything! (Or even summarize session 9 I would be so happy if you did that lol)

[hopeymchope]

Loooong final thoughts and lingering questions regarding A.I.: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative

Even moreso than the first game, this game is really hard to discuss without digging into spoilers. Yikes. But I’ll try for a little while, I guess.

1) One the one hand? I loved this game, and I really hope the series gets a third entry so it can be another great Uchikoshi trilogy alongside the “Zero Escape” games. On the other hand? These characters are insanely overdue to get their happy endings, and I’m saddened to see them get delayed for YEARS on that. :P

2) I know I’ve already mentioned this, as did an ask I received before even playing the game. But it bears repeating that the lengths this game goes to in order to avoid spoiling the first game REGARDLESS of whether you already played that game are truly absurd. If they ever DO make a third game, I hope they can find some way around this mess (which would only get even MORE complicated after the events of this sequel). Might I suggest doing a prequel adventure, perhaps... ?

2) Looking back, it’s HILARIOUS how incredibly, deeply wrong my initial speculations were :) 

3) ....okay, but it seriously drove me FUCKING NUTS that nobody in-game even commented on the shape of Komeji’s head. Or why he has a big dot on his forehead where his “third eye” would be, for that matter. That’s all just... normal to the people of the AITSFverse, huh? Really?

4) I’m so very grateful for being able to adjust the difficulty of the somniums. I sucked so bad at somniums in the first one. 

Okay, SPOILER COMMENTARY BEGINS NOW.

1) The first game built an effective mystery out of information our lead doesn’t know, but the sequel builds a mystery out of information that only the player doesn’t know. The characters themselves really had plenty of information that should’ve made them capable of solving the case before SIX YEEEEAAARS had passed, IMO.

2) Can’t say I’m a very big fan of “Tama” and her personality/design. She’s HYPER-sexualized in a way that Aiba wasn’t and isn’t, really. It’s.... kind of uncomfortable sometimes. I have to wonder how an A.I. eyeball decides to generate such a holographic body type or gets so into sexual references anyway? What experiences developed her in this fashion? Hrrrrrm.

3) AS SOON as we started talking about “genetic editing/engineering,” in the game’s second chapter, I said, “Oh man, I really hope they use this plot point to retroactively explain Mizuki’s crazy strength and Date’s wild porn-induced powers.” And hey, one out of two isn’t that bad! I *love* that they went to this trouble to go back and logically justify something that was just a goofy gag in the first title. And after Date provides everyone with a detailed explanation for how his “porn mag = enhanced strength and speed” thing actually works, I was convinced that part of it was still yet to come! Sadly? Not to be. Hey, maybe they can still retroactively introduce an origin for that in part 3! Suffice it to say that I LOVE the idea of going back and retroactively explaining the silliest parts of the series using actual logic and lore. LOVE.

4) Lien’s huge “DANGER ZONE” tattoo is something that amused me from start to finish. I’m simple sometimes. Give a Japanese thug a tattoo referencing a Kenny Loggins classic, and I’m happy. And yes, I absolutely do believe it’s a reference to that seminal Top Gun anthem.

4) More than the first game, this game has the cops just... not even try to negotiate or coerce or otherwise even ATTEMPT to get reticent suspects to tell their secrets. Instead? Everything always comes down to “sync with them,” and if that doesn’t give you the answer you desired? You give up and let them go and never ask about it again. Admittedly, this because game mechanics gotta happen, and the first game isn’t completely innocent of this problem either, but the “drop the issue like a hot rock” element is definitely unique here. .............................. God DAMN do you guys suck at this ‘policing’ business. And that’s not even getting into information that you keep to yourselves when you ABSOLUTELY should be sharing it with your colleagues and superiors.

Y’know, like when a suspicious figure it somehow obscured in your vision while you chase them, and you don’t know why your cybereye is blocking out what they look like, but you just don’t tell anyone it even happened AT ALL........... fuuuuuuuuuuuck

5) Ryuki getting chewed out and threatened with losing his job unless he could hit some arbitrary deadline just because a suspect appeared and escaped within the underground cathedral? Really pissed me off because it made no sense. This has never happened to any cop, ever. I guess we can kinda excuse it because it fits with some old-school movie tropes about cops, maybe? But once the timeline is “corrected” and we see that that didn’t even HAPPEN in the past? IT MAKES EVEN. LESS. SENSE. He is literally never seen or known to do ANYTHING wrong that would warrant such a reaction from Boss!!!! Furthermore: Since he DIDN’T catch the HB Killer back then, does that mean he’s not a cop with ABIS by the later timeline? Because that certainly does not appear to be true! He seems to still be operating as one, just a fucking crazy one due to circumstances beyond his own control that nobody seems to have discovere/addressed in the interim.

6) I absolutely adore that the terrifying visage of Gen’s mask is ultimately hiding... the sweetest, most noble person you can possibly imagine. I am *always* here for someone to subvert the expectations of your first visual impression. ALWAYS down for that shit. Wonderful, thank you, no notes.

7) Although I eventually expected what was under the mask of the mysterious woman in the cool cloak, it also feels like one of the most overt examples of making the story jump through hoops just to suit the twist they wanted. I feel like Uchikoshi definitely thought up the “We told you the story in the wrong order!” twist before he ever came up with the existence of a second Mizuki to explain it all. The fact that they dress exactly the same and act the same and both have that name and both use Aiba but AIba forgets about the first Mizuki by coincidence and... YEAH, it’s pretty forced. 

8) I was both horrified and delighted by the reveal that Amame is one of our culprits. I never once thought that a character we met in the first game - someone who was portrayed as just a quiet, good-hearted, sweet kid - would actually go off and murder someone in our sequel, and I LOVE that twist. In truth, I kind of wish she’d killed Tokiko too as Aiba originally theorized. Just let her go all the way off the deep end! But uhh... that would really make our relatively happy ending a lot less happy, because then Amame wouldn’t be getting that light jail time, huh? So maybe not... lol.

9) Because these games tend to ultimately be so hopeful by the end, I thought Kizuna might even get some futuristic cure to her paralysis by the conclusion and be up to dance by the big finale. But it’s probably better that she didn’t. There have to be SOME consequences to these events, after all. 

10) I wish Mizuki would actually show some concern/affection for her long-missing adoptive father after he finally resurfaces. Like, instead of just insulting him and treating him like shit?? The brief moments when she ISN’T insulting him and belittling him are heartwarming, but they’re SO few and far between. And there’s no denying how much he’s done for her and how much he loves her. Mizuki even took his family name eventually. But from her actual words, you’d be hard-pressed to know that she even likes him at all. Girl needs serious psychological help to learn how to communicate properly, because kee-RY-st.

11) Given how utterly fucking psycho Kizuna’s dad goes in at least one route — particularly with how he sends a massive army of thugs that have no compunction about even KILLING Lien — I was really hoping we’d see Mr. Chieda taken down and arrested for his connections by the end. Alas, there is no ending where he pays for his cruelty and associations. He always just walks the hell away. Meh. :P

12) What... on EARTH.... was the point of Boss pretending like Ryuki died in the final battle?! Only to reveal to EVERYONE that he was alive/fine the whole time... ?!?! So clearly there wasn’t even a need to hide that he lived at all?!? I guess she really just likes fucking with everyone by devastating them for no reason. Jesus Christ, Boss. What the actual FUCK is wrong with you. I guess now I can finally appreciate why someone as whip-smart and hot and utterly girlboss as her is single... it’s because she’s secretly a goddamned SOCIOPATH.

13) The introduction of the “The Frayer” and the unlockable Secret Ending is in keeping with Uchikoshi’s other works, sure, but it also raises a lot of problems that I think I’d rather not contemplate in regards to the universe of the game series. I’ll have to try to compartmentalize that as “stuff that cutely refers to the fact that you’re playing a video game” and not consider that information strictly, y’know, canon. 

Ultimately, I obviously have far more plot/writing concerns than I did with the first. I would still say the first is better. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t having a DAMN good time throughout. I’m still very happy this exists. And here’s hoping for some more adventures down the line...

[phantoids]

I posted 20,147 times in 2022

That's 19,866 more posts than 2021!

1,681 posts created (8%)

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Blogs I reblogged the most:

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@cupsmp

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I tagged 5,163 of my posts in 2022

#void echos - 1,911 posts

#live void reaction - 195 posts

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Longest Tag: 100 characters

#𝖓𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝖆 𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍 𝖜𝖍𝖔 𝖘𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖎𝖗 𝖍𝖆𝖎𝖗 𝖎𝖘 𝖉𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞 𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖉𝖊

I sent 2 gifts in 2022

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

DREAMSMP CHARACTER DYNAMIC POLL ROUND 3 FUCKERS

HEY IT'S HERE I DID IT.

ROUND 3, YOU GET HOWEVER LONG I SLEEP TO DO IT. PROBABY 9 HOURS. VOTE DISCDUO. DISCDUO SWEEP. LET'S GET DISC V CLINGY.

293 notes - Posted September 14, 2022

#4

hi. techno calling out to the tech crew during the whole theseus speech part. he goes to do his speech, and the light isn't on him so he's like 'hey light over here please i'm gonna look so cringe if it isn't right' and then the light moves to tommy and he's just like 'NO. light HERE i'm the one doing the speech i gotta look dramatic.' and it goes back and forth until it lands on techno and he just goes on like none of it happened.

415 notes - Posted December 7, 2022

#3

DREAM SMP CHARACTER DYNAMIC POLLS ROUND 4

Fucking kill me it's 2:30am and i'm out here making this shit. I've got school in the morning.

Here's your round 4, have fun. Also if we get disc v clingy i will write smth a little special for all of us to have a ready read of yk???

Rig it. Do it. Just reblog when you do.

478 notes - Posted September 14, 2022

#2

FOUR CTOMMY FINALE STREAMS AND CCLINGY LORE!?

855 notes - Posted October 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Okay fuck it I'm making this post.

So, we all know the dsmp fandom, especially on twitter, has a bit of a problem with leaktwt and often lots of controversy springing from stuff obtained by kiwifarms. I'd like to talk about this, because it's been pissing me off for months and it's getting ridiculous.

Please stop trusting information like this, or at the very least be cautious with how you interact with it, take it with a large grain of salt or maybe even a handful, don't take it at fucking face value and consider to yourself: why did they obtain this information and how did they obtain it.

Especially the how, because I've noticed the amount of illegally obtained data, from information unobtainable without some form of hacking to a lot of cases of spear phishing. Spear phishing, for those who don't know, is a targeted form of phishing against a specific person; phishing is often described as trying to obtain personal or sensitive information, and here the definition is applicable as digging through years worth of information otherwise inaccessible to the average user without purposefully searching everywhere for it, specifically information from or about a specific person.

This happens a lot, we see many cases, from the people who keep doxxing ccs, to the more recent things with certain information from Steam about Wilbur being made public despite the fact it's inaccessible without some sort of digging or manipulation, and now with (I believe, idk i've not really been looking at it for obvious reasons) the whole Tubbo thing and I believe that was leaked private messages of a friend, I could be wrong there. Either way, there's been so many cases of doxxing, leaked private messages, information inaccessible on the front end of things and it's getting to a genuinely worrying point.

And this isn't because I care about content creators, but I do care about upholding data privacy. Yes, even if they've said shit in the past, please don't go digging and digging because that does fall into spear phishing, and at the end of the day it is very dubiously legal at best. This is something we're taught about in fucking cyber security courses, for even further perspective on how bad it is. Not to mention, often this information is dug up by infamous leaktwt or kiwifarms, which are pretty known for bad faith digging up of shit.

These people dig it up for clout, they dig it up for attention, they do not care who gets fucking hurt and often bringing up old shit is going to harm more people than it fucking helps. It's even worse when you try to hold someone accountable for something someone else did, especially years in the past like it's their fault.

Just, please, stop supporting this, stop circulating this shit like morning gossip, because you're not only hurting people for no good reason, it's also often spreading illegally obtained information from people who commit cybercrimes on the regular. It breaks data protection laws, it breaks someone's fucking privacy.

Content creators are people. Respect their privacy, for fuck's sake, and stop egging on leaktwt/kiwifarms, because at the end of the day you're just telling them it's perfectly fine.

And their campaign of digging things up and harming people in bad faith doesn't end at your favourite cis white boy. They will harm minorities, and they already do, just for clout and fun. Stop it while you can before it gets out of hand, and make it clear they aren't welcome, because the fandom doesn't make it clear enough.

This isn't, of course, to say you cannot be critical of information found about ccs, but please don't allow a side effect to be encouraging or inadvertently making leaktwt/kiwifarms believe it's safe for them here, and that they are supported. Be critical when your fav is found to have said awful shit in the past, give them time to clarify, but also just... be a little critical about how accurate that info is, and who is supplying it. If you find yourself thinking 'now is this really legitimately obtained?' then maybe don't spread it, because it could be fake but a lot of the time it's already been addressed and is simply spread in bad faith.

And sure, they're exposing shitty stuff right now, but what happens when they doxx someone's address for fun?

Data privacy is important, it affects everyone, and even the worst people deserve to keep it. Sure, law enforcement and courts might be able to obtain this stuff, but you're not law enforcement nor a court and you're not entitled to personal data whenever.

1,199 notes - Posted September 24, 2022

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[thekinkyleopard]

The Real Story

Remi x Levi lore

A Live Transcript Series

Part: 1

Author’s Notes: Hello Revi lovers! Should we call y’all Snow puppies? I dig it. Me and @aller-geez have decided to release weekly transcripts of our current canon storyline between Remi and Levi! Everything in this story is true to and for each character, whatever you read in these transcripts, is lore for both and all characters mentioned. Just a lovely reminder that Aller-Geez is the owner of Remington (and other characters she may/will play) and most of the art, unless disclosed otherwise! Enjoy 🫶🏻

Description: Two shifters on the run cross paths, how will they concur their inner demons, self doubt and misery in order to work together to achieve their dreams. What will become of the Snow Leopard and the Black Wolf?

⚠️TW⚠️

RATED: 18+ ONLY for mature themes and language. Themes including; Substance abuse, mental illness, gore, sexual, emotional and physical abuse.

Geezy: Funny how the moments that we REALLY need something to not go wrong always end up with the universe deciding that’s exactly what's going to happen, huh? It was almost like whatever higher power out there knew Remington was in a hurry to handle his shit and get the fuck out of town, and did everything in their power to cause him to stay in the very city his own mother was killed in. It was supposed to be a relatively easy handful of small errands to get him squared away, but nothing was ever easy for the wolf, was it? He was SUPPOSED to only have to stop at his uncles garage before leaving town, where he could drop off his old car, and leave with a fully converted van, a new identity, and a small amount of pocket cash to get him through until he could come up with a new way of procuring money. But that definitely was not how it played out. When he arrived to his uncles shop in a panic, he discovered the shop looking like a tornado had gone through it. Almost every window and mirror to every car was smashed out, glass strewn all over the floor that crunched under his feet as he looked for his uncle. Papers from his uncles personal desk littered the empty space between the glass and other tools that were strewn about. With no luck finding his uncle or anything that would indicate his uncle had been there when they ransacked the place, he was about to make a mad dash for his car, but suddenly something caught his attention once out in the front yard. Tucked off to the side by the old dumpsters sat a dingy looking white van that had paint lifting on every side, and cobwebs sticking to the tires that hadn’t been moved in who knows how long. “You gotta be kidding me…” Remi muttered softly under his breath in a rough voice, before cautiously making his way towards the beat up van. Once next to the van, he could see the torn seats, and the leaves that made small piles on the floor in the front. He opened the drivers side door, and tucked inside one of the rips in the leather seat laid a small, discolored key. “Uncle Ivan.. if you’re alive, and I find you after this, I’ll kill you myself..” the raven haired male growled, gripping the key from the seat and sliding into the drivers side. He slammed the key in the ignition, his neon green eyes constantly scanning the horizon in case his friends decided they wanted to finish the job they started here earlier. “No cash, or social security card like he promised me.. and the..” Four long fingers stretched up towards his head, making air quote gestures. “iTs A fUlLy CoNvErTeD vAn, my ASS, UNCLE.” Remi hissed, turning the key aggressively. The poor van’s engine sputtered, and it took every ounce of self control to keep himself together. With one last twist of the key, Remi’s new “house” finally coughed to life, and he’d never floored a vehicle so quickly in his life. Before a few minutes pass, he’s finally on the highway, heading to the furthest place he could manage before his body gives out to exhaustion.

Kezzi: It was such a beautifully starlit night on the evening of day 3 of Levi’s stay at the Lake front Rest Area. It was his favorite in the whole state and would never miss the opportunity to stay for at least a week. It was prime location as he could park his bus diagonally to the shore view, so every morning he could wake up with the most gorgeous scene of the lake. “You know, I should grill up some of this fish I caught earlier since everyone has cleared out,” he said out loud standing outside his fridge looking his produce up and down. “Fish kebabs? Grilled fish and steamed rice?…ugh but then I gotta get the furnace going for the rice pot…hmmm…kebabs,” he settled on a decision and gathering various veggies along side the bucket of fish. Levi was a man of order and routine, so he had to get what he needed for his meal before he could set up the fire. Once everything was right, Levi took some wood from the storage compartment just outside the bus and got to working on building his fire, which didn’t take him long at all. Seeing as he’d been living the life of a nomad since he was 14 years old with his mom, and once she passed away when he was 17 he used the knowledge from her, and the people he has met along the way to survive. He had to learn how to build, farm, create, it took Levi the last 5 years of constant hard work selling content online to build his dream bus to standard. He had sort of grown up in an RV, which became the government’s after his mother’s death, so he couch hopped and worked as a waiter and dancer to buy his current bus. Sold his car because he was committed to the idea of using his bus as a vehicle and home. The duo hair colored man began to slid his pre cut pieces of fish onto the skewers, he had also brought out, with equally cut pieces of vegetables slid on after every other fish piece. Once he had a hefty pile of dressed skewers he began to hold them two at a time over the fire. Focused on the status of his meal he didn’t even notice the rather sketchy and beat up van that slowly approached the rest stop parking lot.

Geezy: By time the van crunched across the loose gravel of the worn parking lot, Remi had been driving for 37 hours straight. He had only stopped for a quick pee, and to grab another bottle of those caffeine pills that truckers take, and his fourth wind was slowly starting to falter. Now that the adrenaline had finally left his body from the entire ordeal he had went through just days earlier, his bright green eyes were just ever so slightly dimmed, and he just looked completely worn out. Bruises and deep scrapes covered his body, and he had deep purple circles under his eyes. “Okay..” he sighed to himself, taking a quick look around as he made his way through the parking lot. “As much as I’d hate to be around so many other cars, I think if I were to try and drive any further, I’d be lucky to wrap you around a tree.” Remi mumbled deliriously, patting one large hand on the dashboard of the van. A large empty area at the very back of the parking lot that backed up towards part of the lake caught the wolf’s eye, and he clicked his tongue in satisfaction before backing in to the spot. As the giant van came to a stop, it clanked and lurched forward a bit, and Remi grimaced before taking the keys out of the ignition. “Ah, I bet they’d have something to buy to eat up there..” his stomach growled with passionate agreement.

Kezzi: Levi finished up his last few skewers as he noticed the tall, long, dark haired man wandering about the lot after parking the world’s most offensive to look at vehicle. He picked up his plate of food and stood beside his bus door for a bit, his curiosity getting the best of him. Still holding his dish of kebabs in one hand he pushed some of his loose hawk out of his eyes. His clear blue orbs traced carefully as the wolf walked about in search of a food source, he could assume. As the man was freakishly angry being faced with the one snack machine they had out there, but was well known for eating change without exchange. Shaking his head back and forth he cups his free hand around his mouth. “Hey! The store closes at sun down, and you’re better off fishin out on the lake than you are to bunk on with that there disposal,” the male had a light tone to his voice but clearly a slight accent, he was pointing towards the said machine he’d mentioned. Having felt satisfied relaying this information he disappeared inside his bus to build himself a plate, drink, napkins, the works. Collecting all the necessities, but still being classically nosey, he walked back outside his bus to sit at a conveniently close by picnic bench.

Geezy: Remi stood there for a second in front of the machine, his body literally seething as he fought hard to hang on to the one thread of sanity had left in his body. “Of course I am..” the wolf made a very disgusted face, sticking his tongue out slightly. “I think I’d rather starve then eat anything with scales..” Remi realized in his head that he probably couldn’t afford to be picky at this very moment, but his stubbornness clearly took over his self preservation. With a defeated sigh, the man slumped his shoulders and stuffed his hands in his pocket, fishing out his beat up phone.  “Well, guess I won’t be staying HERE for too long..” His facial expression changed to one of concern as his green eyes scanned the Lock Screen to see that he had no messages, or missed calls from a uncle Ivan, or anyone who even knew the struggle he’d had. He sighed again, defeated, before making his way back to his beat up van. He gripped the discolored handle of the side door, and attempted to pull it open, however it was of course a rolling turd of a van, so it didn’t budge. He had to put all of his left over strength, which wasn’t much, into ripping the door open. It made a huge bang once the wheels finally broke free of the dirt and rust that had been sitting on it for who knows how long, which made the wolf wince and rub his temples. “Gah, after the last few days I’ve had, I should be able to HIBERNATE in this bitch..” He shakily sat on the edge of the van his feet still planted firmly on the gravel ground. “I’ll have to get a blanket and pillow tomorrow..” There was no way Remi could convince himself he was ready to lay down on the corrugated metal that made up the vehicles floor.

Kezzi: The whole scene was witnessed by the very intrigued leopard. He’d people watched a many in his life, and he could detect a struggling soul from a mile away. “This guy is something…” mumbling out to himself as he took the last few bites of fish he had left. Finishing up his meal the leopard continued to contemplate how he could possibly help this sorry man, with his sorry van. Getting up and off the bench, tossing his dishes in the sink real quick he came back out and made his way over to his storage chests, stacked on the bike rack located toward the back of his bus. Taking gentle hands against the latches he input the code, then clicked them open leisurely and began to dig inside his chests. After a few minutes he was able to acquire a few of his extras. Inside he was able to retrieve one large 1lb bag of high quality jerky he had picked up a week prior from a small family owned business on his way up here, a large soft black blanket, a decently stuffed pillow with a Rasta pattern case on it, and a couple bottles of water. Placing all these things neatly inside a basket, he made his way slowly over to the sketchy van and dropped the care package with a gentle “thump” at his feet. “I don’t know you, you don’t know me, but I know when someone is in need, I’m Levi,” he stuck out his hand in a proper greeting format, his face morphed into a bright, inviting smile that seemed to gleam under the night stars, his eyes squinted closed and his freckled cheeks crinkled. The smaller of the two was wearing cut off, tight, ripped up jean shorts with a light blue muscle tank, as in particular fashion for him, he was without any shoes, Levi hated shoes, he was a socks or barefoot kind of fellow.

Geezy: The soft thump of the strangers care packaged made the wolf jump nearly two inches off of the metal he was sitting on, breaking his train of thought. A snarl formed on his disheveled face, showing his near freakishly white teeth, which looked strange against the weary backdrop of his face. His eyes were a little sunken in and bloodshot, only making his green eyes stand out even more, and clear veins from both stress and exhaustion protruded from his temples and neck. “I’m not in need, I just haven’t been out this way before..” Remi growled at the man, his posture changing to one of defense. The wolf’s large frame had a big, grey hoodie with some music artist lazily thrown over it, and the tight black jeans that were just a little too short on such long legs had a rip in one knee that the male happened to be fidgeting with when Levi came up. Toxic green eyes were locked on the strangers hand, until they began to follow up his arm and fell intimidatingly on this man’s freckled cheeks.

Kezzi: Levi blinked once, then twice. His facial expression was un-phased by the seemingly violent aura this stranger was seeping with. As he eyed the man up and down, retracting his hand he gave a short roll of his eyes that followed with a cocky smirk. “Sure, big guy, I know, it’s very threatening to receive a care package from a twink, MY BAD,” the messy haired 27 year old poked at him with an offended tone to his Irish accent. He was starting to consider that he may just have tried to help a homophobe. Why else would someone be so offended by his approach? He’s not exactly what anyone would call scary…in this form. “Look, whatever, my bad just don’t hate crime me for trying to be a decent person alright?” He said harshly, giving him another once over before turning now on his heels. He really wanted to believe the best in people and especially strangers he would meet along the road, the idea of community, and his name meaning the joining of harmony, he felt a sort of duty to be the harmony everywhere he went, but this dude was clearly in a bad way and had no intentions of having a friendly chat, and Levi wasn’t one to stay where he wasn’t wanted. However, He also wasn’t going to take it too personally, he was just going to continue to be the gorgeous ray of sunshine that he always is.

Geezy: ‘Hate…. crime….?’ Remi thought to himself, although the amount of thought it took to even process the world around him made his caffeine overloaded brain throb. Confusion fell across his face, which he’d be lying if he tried to say that wasn’t his usual, default face. Watching as the stranger turned to leave, the wolf can feel his muscles slowly unwind themselves, and the adrenaline start to leave his face once again. He let out a weary exhale, but the breath that was brought back into his lungs afterward willed an amazing odor into his sinuses. His green eyes snapped open, and he took a few more good deep breaths in through his nose, before sniffing softly and discovering the scent that was already making his mouth overflow with saliva was coming from the strangers bag. The man quickly looked back up to see the stranger was already back near his own camper van, seeming to have not been phased at all by their conversation. His eyes darted back down to the bag on the ground, and then back at Levi. His breath caught in his throat, and he attempted to nonchalantly, but still sneakily slide the bag towards him, and bring it in to the van for him to closely inspect. Once the bag was in his possession, he scrunched his very lanky body into the back of the van’s uncomfortable metal floor with his legs crossed and the strangers bag in front of him, and closed the sliding side door loudly behind him. His heart was beating so hard he could hear it in his ears at he stared at the strange bag, clearly suffering some sort of PTSD from the ordeal with his mother and uncle. He knew in his heart that this stranger that was nothing but smiles PROBABLY wouldn’t be involved with.. them.. but his gut couldn’t let him let his guard down. He finally was able to break his trancelike stare on the bag, to unzip the top, and his nerves instantly soften once he is able to lay eyes on the contents. The very top of the bag was the pillow, which even his own paranoid brain couldn’t come up with ulterior motives for. He gently took the pillow from the top, and that’s when he saw it, his breath catching in his chest and that /scent/ filling his nose again. The bag of jerky made him quiver, his stomach again growling loudly and twisting on itself. How had he let himself get so hungry that he was almost in tears to see something as simple as beef jerky? He had no idea, but there was no other thought in his head besides devouring the dried meat. Putting the pillow to the side, he grabbed the jerky in a panic, ripping the top with his increasingly shaky hands, and grabbing the biggest piece he could find to stuff in his large waiting mouth. Once he took a huge bite from the chunk in his trembling hands, he exhaled in satisfaction and leaned back against the side of van. The hair raised on his neck and arms from the goosebumps, and his eyes became slightly misty when he realized the actual kindness from this random person, who didn’t know him in any capacity, but still went out of his way for the dark haired man. That wasn’t something Remi experienced ever in life. Even his mother and Uncle both had their own secret agendas. How did this small man not have his own skeletons in his closet? He wondered to himself as he chewed, slowly feeling more strength return to his sullen body.

Kezzi: Levi had made it back into his own bus and tried to shake off the weird vibes he was essentially overcome with. Who was that guy? Why is he out here? “Why do you care? It’s just another passerby!” He said throwing his hands up in exhaustion. “Let’s just get comfy in our Jammie’s, maybe go out on the shore and smoke a J or 3….then bed time!” Hands flattening out around his space of existence as he spoke. He was talking to himself so casually as he began the ultimate shuffle through his drawers and compartments. Levi changed into a pair of black with white trimmed baseball shorts and a long black graphic t-shirt that went past the shorts and almost made one wonder why he wore them anyway, but it was for the aesthetic. The graphic was a pink circle, with an alien holding a yellow balloon. It was a Guardin shirt (unbeknownst to him) he picked up at a goodwill during a stop, far too big for him but he really liked aliens and for $3 he didn’t pass it up. Once he was properly dressed for bedtime, he yoinked three joints out of his stash box along with a lighter, slipped on some fuzzy black slippers and scuffled his way to the shore of the water. It was blackened by the night sky but illuminated by the moon and stars, it was one of Levi’s most favorite views. He remembered when his mom first took him out here as a teen…right after grandma Orla died and his mom was contemplating selling her house for an RV. She had taken Levi across trip in a fancy model she borrowed off one of the many men she used. Eve wanted to give Levi the chance to see how much fun it would be even though his siblings were gone. Of course, it hadn’t been much of what she promised when it came to, but Levi still had nice moments of fishing with his mama down by the lake here. Cares behind them as the sun shined against their pale Irish skin. He sparked up a joint, while he stuck the other two, one behind each of his ears. Taking a long inhale of the herb stick he shortly exhaled it in a slow, relaxed manner, all worries of the strange man in the rotting van were but another experience given to the ether now. It was just him and Mother Nature again, Levi against the world. He chuckled to himself, though it was full of emotion. “Damn, Mam’ I miss you like…barmy…” he sighed out loud, taking in another hit.

Geezy: Before he could even blink, the wolf had cleaned out the whole bag of jerky, and even ripped the bag down the side to be able to lick the crumbs off the side. He had no idea he was so hungry, but running for your life for 37 hours in an “RV” that always felt like it would shake a little too hard just once and completely fall apart, on top of his mother being killed and Uncles entire garage being trashed would definitely do that to anyone. But he would have to really check the poor vehicle he was supposed to call home for however long out once he finally was able to relax somewhere. If there was one thing in life he knew how to do, it was work on cars. At the very least, Remi could get it running better than it did when it drove off the lot, if he had the resources. But here? Who knows if he could work enough magic enough to even consider it a reliable vehicle. But, that was to be a thought for another day. Grabbing a water bottle from the care package, again stopping to appreciate the man, what did he say his name was? Levi? Levi’s generosity to even include it with the things he brought him. He chugged the whole large water bottle, drinking it so quickly that the plastic crunched in on itself and a small bit rolled down his chin. The last swallow choked him up a bit, but he quickly recovered and snatched the pack of Camels with his zippo lighter inside out of the cup holder in the front of the vehicle. He attempted to open the two back doors that were nearly rusted together, but even with all of his 170 pounds, he couldn’t open them. Finally, one foot crashed against one of the two doors loudly and it broke the seal enough that the door came flying open, hitting the side of the van when it did. Suddenly aware of the wolf’s presence in such a quiet place, he looked around cautiously a few times before sliding his boot-cladded feet onto the gravel once again. The wind-chill took him by surprise, causing his long arms to wrap around himself with a shiver, and a large yawn that exposed all of his weirdly white teeth. “Fuck all of this.” He finally muttered softly, putting a cigarette to his lips and flicking the zippo open to light it. He took a concerningly long drag from it, before taking it away and exhaling in a slow grey cloud of smoke, and resting his arm on his bent knee. What the fuck was he going to do? Was he supposed to look for his uncle? Interesting how he seemed to just disappear after his own sister was murdered, and RIGHT when he was the one that was supposed to be getting Remington out of town.. But Meeko.. Suddenly, Remi gasped softly, one large hand cupping his forehead as he doubled over, wincing. Fuck, man. His head felt like a bomb was constantly echoing in the chambers of his skull. He really physically couldn’t give the past week any more thought, or the stress would eat him alive. Completely standing now, Remi shook off the pain in his head and with it, the rest of his thoughts of anything besides finishing his cigarette so he might be able to curl up under the soft blanket Levi had given him, and finally get some well deserved rest.

Kezzi: Halfway through his second joint Levi decided it was getting too late to be out this far by himself so he started trailing his very stoned self out to the lot again. Joint still in hand he walked up the trail and through the parking lot again, and there he was. The strange man again. He really didn’t look well according to the nosey cat. “Not my circus, not my monkeys,” he sighed out a puff of marijuana smoke. Just at that moment his lanyard adorned in the many keychains he has collected through his travels, snapped. “Oh not again,” he sighed embarrassed this would happen just a few feet from the stranger. He felt a strange sensation crawl against his skin, like he was being perceived again. Scrambling now, he grabbed his keys, they jingled loudly and caught the attention of a nearby trucker exiting the bathroom. The tall, roundish man stopped in his tracks, the spurs on his boots made the sound of a tinkle that caused Levi’s inner alarms to start blaring inside his soul. Standing back up on both his feet, straightened back, head high, he started to walk, refusing to acknowledge the creepy existence of this burly man. Oh no…oh no…he left his knife inside…he couldn’t transform here either…he’d have to leave immediately…and he can’t run from another charge. He let someone take him down once before and he hasn’t let another soul get the best of him since. Drops of sweat started to form on the temples of his head, legs carrying him faster now when the man called out “Hey! Where you goin??” Oh shit, oh no. Faster Levi, this man is not prepared for the can of murder he is threatening to open. “Home! Leave me alone!” Levi shouted out back behind him. “Oh come on cutie, that’s no way to act at a rest stop! We can have some fun!” Okay Levi, keep calm, keep cool, everything is fine. Ignore the crazy man and get in your house, maybe go take a quick drive down the road and hide until the guy leaves? He could threaten him with the very large machete he kept for looks….’man I really don’t want to have to get my hands dirty tonight’…Levi concerned within himself as he heard the man speak again with more aggression in his tone. “Don’t be a prude, I’ll take it if I have to,” oh my god, this man wanted to die. Levi spun around and stood as tall as a man who was 5’8 and 120lbs could. “Can you maybe just take the no??” The man growled low in his throat, clearly his masculinity damaged by rejection and started to walk closer to Levi, the leopard’s light blue eyes starting to glow even in the darkened night. Way too noticeable. The man stuttered back, he paused. “You got some crazy ass eyes…” he muttered almost entranced but none the less was determined to at the very least, assert his dominance. The cat’s body started to crouch, legs parted and planted.

Geezy: Remi’s ears rang with the sound of the conflict just down the road a little, and at once all of his attention was directed there. Before he could even react, his body was already moving towards the grotesque man and the stranger that had been so kind to him. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, man.” Remi growled in a haunting voice; one so dark and unsettling that it would make the hairs raise on the back of your neck. As if by teleporting, Remi was already at the truckers side with one hand raised up with his palm out and completely flat. In one swift motion, his huge palm met the side of the mans face, and smashed the other side against the wooden frame of the gazebo type structure they were under. The mans fat cheeks squished out against the wood, panic filling his eyes as he whimpered to the wolf. “I think its time you made your way back to your own accommodations and leave this man alone like I’ve heard him tell you multiple times..” He dug his nails into the mans scalp as he pushed harder against his face, the mans eyes now so mushed that he could barely see out of them. “Or I’ll gut you like the pig you are.. right here in front of everyone..” The trucker gasped against the wood and began to wail loudly in tears, which caused a very familiar tingling to course through Remi’s entire body, starting in his toes and migrating up to his face until he could feel himself getting hot. His green eyes glowed so fiercely that he could see the reflection against the mans face, but he didn’t let up his grasp. The way a terrifying smirk crept across his face caused the man to urinate as he stood there, shaking against Remi’s hand, which was trembling with excitement. Seeing this pathetic display, he finally threw the man to the side by the sleeve of his shirt with a booming laugh that shook the ground a little. “Don’t ever let me catch you coming back around here bothering anyone else.” By this time, Levi had completely vanished from the wolf’s thought, and all he saw was red, from the offense he took of that DISGUSTING man thinking he could force himself on anyone. Remi’s long, fit body was at this point visible shaking with rage and disgust as he seethed, and it was almost if cartoon steam even shot from his ears. Even if he hated his Mother and everything she stood for, he watched her get raped and beaten by so many men her entire life. Hearing the familiar sounds in the distance from his van broke something in him, and he appeared to handle this strangers terrifying encounter that could have easily ended badly without thought.

Kezzi: Without a second to blink, think, or say a word the scene that unfolded before him started to play out within seconds but felt like hours. He kept looking around and the few people that had been out, decided it was best to go back, in. Wherever that was for them. People rarely called police around these areas anyway. Would take entirely too long for them to get there and do anything. Levi froze watching how the man tossed the trucker around like a rag doll. His cheeks got flushed and his body turned hot. “Oh please not now…” he muttered to himself way too quietly for anyone to hear, feeling just a slight tinge of arousal, because though the man was clearly tired and needed a good shower, he was fit and under this moonlight in these circumstances, god damn. He cleared his throat and just stood there after the perpetrator scrambled off lucky to still be alive after his encounter with the unhinged parking lot guest. Clearly he wasn’t a homophobe or out to harm Levi, as the very opposite had just been apparent to him. So what WAS the dude’s deal then? Clearly something was haunting his very essence but that was a mystery to everyone but Remi. The silence fell over them as his eyes lightened again, observing the aftermath. “Hey, I appreciate the help, I could have handled it myself but I do value the camaraderie…” his voice was soft, gentle, almost like the wind, his slippered feet came together at a point. Certainly it was better it ended this way, as Levi wasn’t sure exactly how alive he personally would have left the man but he was lucky. Grateful. Essentially, what the stranger did for him was preserve his ability to keep visiting his favorite place without worry. “But seriously…thanks…”he muttered scratching the back of his neck nervously, avoiding eye contact seeing as their last interaction wasn’t the most friendly, and he wasn’t sure how to communicate with this erratic raven haired man.

Geezy: Just as quickly as the sound of conflict caused the man to sprint from his van, Remi turned on his heels quickly to face the smaller male that he had instinctively come to rescue from the trucker. His grizzled features that only moments ago were so frightening that they made a grown man pee his pants, seemed to soften and almost show.. What was that feeling? Compassion? A very small, almost warm smirk spread across the man’s face, and his muscles could visibly be seen withdrawing from their tight grip. Much to even his own surprise, a deep chuckle escaped his lips. “I’m sorry about that..” he shook his head to try and dismiss the very loud scene that had caused moments earlier. “I don’t usually get involved in other peoples issues..” He adverted his bright green orbs to the ground momentarily, before returning his gaze once again. “It just makes my skin crawl that people like that are allowed to exist thinking they can just take whatever they want.” A quick memory of his own mother getting her face beaten in by one of the many men she tried to rely on caused him to grimace, one gleaming canine tooth being exposed. “Figured i should probably also thank you for the bag you tried to offer me earlier.. I’ve had a week from hell like you probably wouldn’t believe, but I shouldn’t have been an ass.” Remi almost /smiled/ sheepishly, using one large hand to push his disheveled black hair from his eyes. You would never imagine that just moments earlier, the wolf looked like something that was dragged from hell itself and spit out, as he now looked more human than he had the entire time he had been in this strange place. “How’d you know a guy could put down some teriyaki beef jerky?” He chuckled again, rubbing the back of his neck as a very slight pink flush splashed across his bruised cheeks.

Kezzi: The second their eyes met each other, something inside Levi turned on. Not him sexually, I mean, kind of, but no, this was something entirely new he had never in his life experienced before. It was almost like he hadn’t felt alive until this very moment in time. What was it?  He felt his cheeks get hot and they dusted rose as Remi spoke to him. He giggled into his hand softly, almost subconsciously unable to control this weirdly submissive feeling. “No, really, thanks, you’ve preserved something very special for me tonight,” his eyes closed as he smiled brightly, still flushed. When suddenly he was hit with an apology he actually looked quite shocked, Levi wasn’t used to hearing apologies, his shoulders dropped and his expression turned warmly. “No worries, the world is….like a bag of crystals. Some of the things you’ll encounter in it are meant to hurt you or protect you, I get the feeling, ” he shrugged it off easily as he pulled the last joint out of his ear and lifted it up to the taller man. “Well, I got more food stocked up in my place if you need a smoke, more food and just a safe place to relax for a few hours? I myself love a good bag of jerky…that was from a locally sourced farm I passed about 60 miles back nothin better than fresh jerky….” He realized he was babbling, oh no. He rarely got the chance to speak to other people, not like he didn’t try, certain areas are less friendly than others. “No pressure though, I would just like to properly thank you for the help back there… and forgive my tendency to pry but…” he pointed to the vehicle Remi had pulled up in, “that doesn’t look too comfortable…I’ve got an extra bed I could unfold,” he looked him with sincerity deep in his diamond blue eyes. Levi could tell this man wasn’t used to kindness or human decency by the sound of his responses, and If there was one thing he could offer was just that. If anything, the leopard could use a genuine friend.

Geezy: As if a bolt of lightening had struck him, all of Remi’s hair over his whole body began to stand on end, almost as if his own body was preparing for this kindness to be a trap again. However,  he was able to shove this random feeling of panic down to the very pits of his stomach, recovering in record time for the wolf even though it was very apparent that he was fighting some inner demons. “Eh, you’ve already helped me out so much, and you don’t even know me..” The wolf’s sheepish expression evolved into one of confusion, which seemed to fit his face somehow. “Aren’t you worried I’ll fuck you over, or steal your shit?” Remi asked, stuffing his hands in the front pocket of his large hoodie that hung lazily over his frame, almost making you wonder what size sweaters a man of his structure would have to buy for them to be so large. Glancing back over his shoulder at the embarrassment of a van that his uncle “gave” him, the man shook his head a few times with what looked to be a combination of annoyance, amusement, and worry all at once. “Yeah.. Ethel is a monstrosity..” A rough chuckle flowed out of him. “Mad long story you probably don’t care about, but in my defense, I wouldn’t be driving her if I had any other option.” He turned towards Levi again, a smile on his worn face that was something extremely rare to the wolf. He was completely taken off guard by both this strangers complete and utter trust of him, and his kindness towards a dirty stranger who was nothing but rude and unappreciative. But for some reason, the large man’s curiosity was winning out against his caution. Why did this stranger make him feel so many things? Why wasn’t Remi’s first instinct to be rude and otherwise unapproachable like he always was? It’s the tactic that kept him safe for so many years, and it was all just dissolving as his eyes locked with Levi’s. “That’s very kind of you.” Wow, those words felt so strange spilling off of his cracked lips. Had he ever spoken those words to anyone before? His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest, but it only willed him towards the other. “I swear I’ll make it up to you.”

Kezzi: He couldn’t help it, truly he couldn’t, he was slightly awkward but too bold. “Look…” he giggled “the only things I have worth taking, most people could simply as for…I don’t have the most expensive shit, and anyone willing to steal all the food I worked hard to get, well, must need it more than me…you’ll see….it’s just plants and stuffies,” he laughed again almost trying to cover up he was actually embarrassed. Levi had old things, things people wouldn’t really go out of their way to want nor steal. He tried to live very minimal…the only thing he had a hard time with was stuffed animals. “I’ve been on the road for a long time now, I’ll tell you, I’ve had worse people than Mr. Beer Gut earlier, and I’ve also met some of the kindest, wisest souls behind the mask of dirt and bad hair….so trust me when I say, I’m not worried about you, and I hope, you don’t worry about me,” looking up at him again with that same sincere smile and brightly colored eyes. “You don’t need to make it up to me, you know…..” pausing “ I don’t know your name…you’re not obligated to give me a real name If you’re like….on the run or something but …” he shook his head trying to desperately stay on track. “The point is, My dear friend, you are worth bare necessities, you don’t owe me for helping you out in the most necessary human way I can, it’s the bare minimum! Best way you can thank me, is to remember this kindness and to pass it back into the world again shall the opportunity present itself!” he nodded his head in a ‘matter of factly’ type of way and then without a thought turned quickly on his heels and waved his hand, beckoning the large male to follow him. “Come now, I think I have something in the freezer you might enjoy,” knowing very well for certain he did. Levi resourced and collected his meats either through hunting or local indigenous hunters. He usually goes into the reservations, helps them clear their pest population and they reward him with tons of food. Problem is he doesn’t have a lot of space so he had to get creative in a few ways. Let’s just say some of the cabinets in his bus are actually tricked out mini freezers. Cat needs his protein. However, he still hunts when he can because it’s always important to eat a freshly caught meal. They got to the bus, Levi unlocked it and opened the door, quickly ducking inside to turn on his twinkling star lights giving a gentle ambience to the tiny home. “ Casa de Levi!” Letting out a shy snort as he began to shift his table décor around the space only to fold it down into a bed. “Hmm…” he compared the bed to Remi, looking him up and down, he sucked his lips in trying desperately not to laugh. “Okay, you can sleep in my bed and I’ll sleep on here…you’re clearly too tall for this one, but…I’d beg you to take a shower before sleeping in my bed,” he looked like he had sucked on a lemon, trying not to be rude but also trying to be honest that he didn’t want dirt in his precious safe space. “You can take a shower and I’ll cook up one of the steaks I got in here, do you want a baked potato on the side? Oh, everything in the shower feel free to use it’s all homemade soaps and stuffed, labeled,” Levi said without giving Remi much of a chance or choice to answer as he started taking things out of the freezer, fridge, cabinets, already in care taker mode.

Geezy: The wolf was literally dumbfounded by all of the different things Levi said he had while living in a van, let alone that he was being offered any of it, but he still followed behind Levi with both hands crammed in his pockets again. Remi had pretty much grown up on the streets, his mother a doormat that couldn’t even take care of herself, let alone a child, or a wolf child like Remington. Ever since he could remember his mother was drunk, pushing him on any family member or hell, friendly enough neighbor, that would agree to watch him for her. He always wore clothes that should have been thrown away years ago, with holes and loose threads hanging off of them, and shoes with holes straight through to the ground that barely stayed on his feet. He never went to school, as his mother would get in trouble for neglect if anyone saw him the way he was, and he was never even taught about being a wolf by anyone in his family. He only stayed around his mother during what would have been his high school years because his uncle was teaching him to build and work on cars. So the large man may not have the book smarts that he could have, but he could survive out on the street with nothing since he could walk. As they approached Levi’s RV, the wolf’s green eyes widened in amazement at the incredulous design, which was only intensified once inside. His sensitive nose was instantly assaulted with all of the delicious smells of all of the different kinds of meat in such a small area, giving Remi a sort of floaty high and making it difficult for him to think of much else. His stomach growled loudly, interrupting his deep concentration on the scents entering his nose, and refocusing him on the situation. Although he definitely hadn’t heard a single word out of Levi’s mouth until he was told he could sleep in Levi’s bed. “Huh? Oh..” he looked down at his clothes, suddenly noticing the once pristine fabric was fraying in some spots, stained in small blood droplets, and way darker than they were 4 days ago. He flipped his hands over in front of him, smirking at the amount of dirt and blood under his slightly sharpened nails. “Yeah, yeah, that’s totally reasonable.” He nearly let out a full laugh, and a smile spread across his face, something he hadn’t felt in god knows how long. “Honestly, load me up with whatever. I’m not picky..” Remi paused for a second. “Ehhh, anything but things with scales..” He made the same, disgusted face with his tongue partly out that he had made at the machine earlier, before letting that actual full laugh slip out of him. “..Thank you.” finally came from his lips in a soft tone, quite obvious that it wasn’t something he said very often either. “I’ll go take a shower.”

Kezzi: Laughing at his comment about scales, Levi continued to pull things out of his tiny kitchen space. Suddenly he paused “oh!….” He looked around and stuttered a-bit “hmm….” Disappearing behind the curtain of his “bedroom” Shuffling through his clothes he pulled out an overtly large pair of grey sweats and a smaller light blue tank top. Quickly he peeled the clean, but smelling like him, Alien shirt off his head. After which he slid the tank top over and then folded the shirt with the sweats, turned around and handed the clothes to Remi. “Sorry the shirt I was wearing is probably the only shirt I have that’ll fit you….it is clean though! Swear by it, only wore it for about an hour,” He said nervously before speaking again “The water should still be hooked up, hot is left and cold water is right,” pulling a towel out of a nearby compartment he also handed the wolf this article as well. “And to dry,” he said sheepishly grinning. “Take your time, I’ll be out here,” nodding his head, turning his position back towards the meal he was making. Levi did have a hot pot stove he used on occasions like this. He loved his furnace, and using a freshly built fire, but it was far too late to be doing any of that. In a cast iron, he melted some butter with the thawed steak, threw in some rosemary, garlic and just kept the slab of meat moist with flavor. The smells started to fill up his tiny space decorated in hanging vines, lights, and Polaroid pictures of different beautiful views. Levi hummed to himself gently as he stuck a potato in the oven once it dinged that it was ready. During the time of Remi enjoying a freshening up, the leopard was enjoying himself being able to cook for a guest. Rarely did the young man get a chance to be hospitable to people, and he loved having company. Often when he went to the beach he played bingo with the biddies, besides old ladies and young kids, no one really gave Levi much the time of day. Since his mother died, life on the road was lonely and came with obstacles but even when he had his mother, he had always truly felt alone anyway. His ultimate mission was to find his brother and sister. He knew they were out there, somewhere…he got lost in basting his steak for a second before his timers went off. Shaking his head clear, Levi plated the steak, and a fully dressed baked potato with homemade butter, homegrown chives, home cured and dried bacon, and some decadent sour cream also locally sourced and made. Levi almost never bought things from grocery stores unless it was absolutely necessary. He had his own herb and veg garden neatly secured and sprouting ontop of his bus, Levi had to really get creative but it works and it produces great convenience for him. “Foods up! Take your time it’s seating on the food warmer for you!” He shouted out to the man in the shower. Turning on the warming plate, he set the dinner plate ontop to make sure the food stayed up to par until the wolf was ready to emerge. Levi slid off his slippers and put them in his shoe area under his bed and then began to dress the guest bed, to his standards. Adding extra blankets, moving some of his stuffies and pillows he fluffed and stuffed the tiny bed to meet his comfort levels. “Wonderful,” he kissed his fingers like a chef would and then plopped himself in as he started scanning through Netflix titles.

Geezy: “Oh, you don’t have to-“ Remington’s slightly hoarse voice was cut off before he could finish as Levi had already thrust the clothes and towel into his hands. It took until that moment for him to register what shirt he was given, and a genuine smile of excitement covered his lips, although he figured he would comment once he was able to stuff food into his mouth. Taking the clothing and towel he was given into the strangely spacious bathroom, he took notice of how many different soaps and bath products Levi’s bathroom had, before setting the items down on the top of the closed toilet seat. Passing by the mirror, Remi grimaced at his own reflection. Did he really look like that? His eyes were definitely more sunken in than they were a few days ago,  and his defined cheek bones were littered with bruises and dirt. “You be looking mad rough, buddy.” The man grumbled to his reflection, adverting his eyes to the shower to dismiss his self deprecating thoughts. His large hands twisted the shower knobs to adjust the water to just barely under boiling, before he started to peel off the dingy grey sweater he was wearing, and the black shirt that stuck to his skin underneath. Once he finally was able to get a good look at his own body under all of his dirty clothes, a soft gasp escaped his mouth when he finally saw them. The once almost invisible marks from the last syringe that had met his skin had evolved to dark purple marks on both arms, the scabs from the needle still hanging on for dear life. “Well, fuck..” the wolf breathed as he ran a thumb slowly over the dark skin, before looking up at himself in the mirror again. He was much more pale than usual, his usual dark circles under his eyes were now accented with a bright gloss of excess tears, and he sniffed away the small gleam of snot from his nostril. The wolf knew he was starting the very steep, slippery slope down to withdrawal, but he couldn’t think about that now. His muscles begged him to step into the shower, to which he finally gave it. Holy shit was the feeling beyond anything the man had felt in years. Despite the growing pain in his bones, Remi could only think about the delicious food that was now making him salivate again from the scent wafting through the door, and mixing with the steam. Quickly finishing up in the shower, he stepped out and dried off his large frame, which now looked less like that of a homeless man, and lazily dressed himself in the clothes Levi had given him. Putting the shirt on over his head, he had to stop briefly to take a deep inhale of the material, the scent that filling his nose now exciting him nearly as much as the smell of the cooking food. Remi took a second now to check himself over in the mirror once more, the look of a rehab outpatient not so apparent now that he had taken a shower, and finally exited the bathroom. The glorious smell of the food Levi had cooked and was now warming on the hot plate quite literally made Remi’s knees weak, and he had to use one hand to steady himself against the wall. “Damn, it smells so good..” The raven haired man commented, the color partially returning to his face by just smelling the steak.

Kezzi: Having landed on Big Mouth, a raunchy TV show he fell asleep to often, he laid back In his new spot for the night and laughed along to the cheesy, foul bits the show had to offer. Not long after the tall raven haired man came stumbling slowly out his bathroom and he smiled brightly at him. “There he is!! I knew there was a handsome stud under all that stress! Hope the shower was good to you!” The smaller teased cutely, in all seriousness Levi had to pour concrete on his lips to hide the simple fact he wanted to A-ooga the absolute house down, my god what a man. Relax Levi, Jesus. Noticing the bruises, lacerations and more littered across the now clean wolf, he realized he would have to approach that later when he’d gained the stranger’s trust a bit more. Couldn’t send the man off without a proper caring for. He lifted a hand to show Remi which direction his meal was. “Bon Appetit! I wasn’t sure how you like your steak but you give rare vibes like myself so I hope you like pink meat!” His bubbly personality shining through as he quickly launched himself from his spot. “Oh! Annnnnd,” opening his fridge with one swift pull from his hand to retrieve out an ice cold Heineken beer. “It’s not the best but someone gave me a pack the other day for helpin’ them fix a flat, you’re welcome to some,” offering the wolf a drink as he cracked one open for himself using his strong teeth. Some of them jagged and broken, more so in the back of his mouth, his earlier addictions weren’t exactly kind to his dental. However, the teeth that mattered most were still going very strong and relatively straight too. It was almost hard to notice right away. Getting the cap off Levi threw the liquid back without a second thought, finishing with a rather desperate gasp for air. “I have had terrible cotton mouth since before I ran into that asshole…forgive me for being so feral just now,” Levi’s laugh was one of those laughs you could never get tired of, something about it was soul soothing, it echoed through the chambers of the bus. “Make yourself at home, I eat in the beds so don’t worry about that…I’d rather my bed smell like steak than ass if you know, you know,” he waved his hand about before taking a blue vape out of his kitchen drawer, he hit it slowly and exhaled in the opposite direction of Remi’s face as to not bombard him or be rude.

Geezy: Remi’s cheeks seemed to brighten as a soft blush fell across his face. Did he just call the wolf handsome? This kid really must be blind.. “Honestly I wasn’t expecting to need a shower so badly,” he chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry you had to see that.” He quickly shuffled over to the plate Levi had made him, picking it up and licking his lips like a cartoon coyote, before graciously accepting the beer from the other’s hand with a smile. “Damn, treating me like a king, huh?” This time the smile on his lips stretched so far that his white teeth almost sparkled in the light, and now that he was less grungy, they fit better with his sharp features. As his muscles trembled under the strain of just keeping himself upright, the wolf decided to slowly make his way to Levi’s bed and sit down slowly, an almost dad-like groan coming from his lips as he sat down. Once the man was finally comfortable where he was sitting, he wasted no time cutting off a huge bite of the steak and stuffing it into his waiting mouth, goosebumps almost instantly raising across his large arms. Suddenly, his face lit up and he took a in a sharp breath. Remi quickly finished chewing the monster size bite he took that should have choked a snake before he chimed in happily. “Oh, and have you been stalking me?” He laughed, shaking his head before pulling down the shirt he was wearing to display the front better. “How did you just happen to give me the only Guardin shirt I don’t own? He’s my favorite artist.” Remi was almost a different person when he started up about music, or cars, of course. The normally stoic, intimidating and otherwise unapproachable wolf now somehow had a childlike gleam to him that wasn’t instantly stifled by self consciousness. He picked up the beer from the floor, taking a long drink and easily killing half of the bottle in one drink. “If I didn’t leave Sofia at my uncles in the rush to leave, I could even pay you for your hospitality in entertainment.” The laughed that followed was slightly sad as thoughts of the guitar that had been his only valued possession for as long as he could remember raced in his head. “Some other time for sure though.” Remi continued to shovel food into his mouth at inhuman speeds, until everything that was once piling on top of his plate had disappeared.

Kezzi: “This is King treatment? Oh honey…” Levi felt almost genuinely terrible that this man thought genuine human care was the best it can get. “Trust me, you’ll know that treatment when you get it,” he gave a flirty, under confident breathy chuckle, unable to help himself before sharply turning his gaze to the joint he left on the counter, he reached over from where he was and snagged it before sitting on his newly designated bed, sparking the j with a lighter he had hidden nearby, once comfortably seated. He went from calm, cool, collected to a stuttering, blushy mess when Remi called him a stalker, a joke he could pick up and take no problem in most circumstances but something about it made him flustered. “No! No stalking haha!” scratching the back of his neck as he explained “I actually got that shirt at a goodwill, for $3! I was in desperate need for a shirt that day, laundry was all dirty, and Miss Maybelle here,” he slapped the counter of the bus “got her fluids all over me tryna do an oil change…I love Aliens, saw it and had to snag, but it’s served it’s duty with me, keep it, I love how the universe manifested that into existence for you,” smiling with a much cooler demeanor again, teeth out and bright, tad more noticeable how they tended to push together, but it was almost childlike, in the most adorable way. He had never had such a good looking man pay any attention to him, it was always the busted ones that wanted to make nice…and other things. This was refreshing though, the seemingly aggressive man turned out to be no more than a starving pup. It was cute, how easily comfortable the taller, stronger male got around him. It gave him a boost of confidence that maybe his dry spell of friendship would end. It was lonely without someone to message, call, hang out with. It’s the reason he’s almost considered adding a pet to his passage but, pets are a lot of work and he’s got a lot of ADHD. He lost himself in thought while the show played behind them, he waited for Remi to be finished with his meal before handing him the joint. “I have dabs too…” crystal blue eyes rolled back in a quick shot almost to say ‘No biggie’ he heard the statement of payment, and saw the slight sadness reflecting in his eyes. Levi waved his hands in front of him. “No no! It’s really okay, I’m more of an exchange of services type, I make plenty of money at my job, maybe you can help me rotate my tires tomorrow, those bitches are heavy and I CAN do it myself I just….” He shrugged looking a bit shy “wouldn’t mind someone else doing it for me~” his voice reached a higher octave as he sang the last bit in a cheery but comical fashion.

Geezy: “Thanks, I’ve honestly been looking for this shirt for 3 years.. it’s been sold out forever.” He beamed. In a second large gulp, the wolf finished the other half of his beer, and his already bright eyes twinkled at the offer, completely unaware of how to handle the generosity of the other, literally giving him the clothes off of his back. Remi stood up to throw his empty beer bottle in Levi’s recycling bin and set his plate in the sink, still obviously wobbly on his large feet as he moved, and took the opportunity to retrieve the joint from the other’s hand before sitting back down. Pressing the joint to his lips and taking a large drag from it, as the wolf blew out the smoke he French inhaled out of habit, a trick his uncle had taught him when he first started smoking at 11. The THC entering the large male’s bloodstream instantly began to calm the anger in his head and joints. Even if it wasn’t what his body was screaming for, it was one step above sober, and that was all that mattered. He took another quick drag before passing it back to Levi with long arms that easy reached the other. “Oh, word? I can totally rotate your tires for ya if you have the tools? Obviously I, myself, came ill prepared.” He chuckled, gesturing with his eyes towards the rusty van. Two long arms stretched up and locked together behind Remi’s head as he leaned back against the wall that the bed was against. As he slumped down, his body slowly started to realize how comfortable the bed he was sitting on was, and just how tired he really was. He hadn’t slept in nearly 3 days, and boy could his body feel it. His radioactive green eyes could be seen dissociating occasionally as he fought the double vision  to keep them open.

Kezzi: “Honestly, I love every bit of irony in that,” the white haired male beamed back over the bond of a simple t-shirt. What luck, Levi thought to himself. “You’ll find there is almost nothing handy I DONT have!” He giggled feeling the effects of the marijuana slowly overtaking him again, he took the last drag he could and then stamped it out into the tray beside him. That last hit slapping him across the face with a bag of sand, he started slowing down as well, realizing now how worn he was from the day. “We can talk logistics in the morning, for now I think we both had a day,” laugh-yawning at the end of his sentence he got up to lock all the doors, and turn off the lights. Once he had double checked his outlets as well, Levi climbed his way into the guest bed, feeling rather comfy in it despite it being foreign to him. “Night, friend!” He called out to the darkness, still unaware of the wolf’s name but knowing he could probably get that info when the man was well rested, what’s the rush? He snuggled tightly into his favorite bat Squishmallow. Beaming with excitement that he had been able to bond with another person AND have a sleepover. ‘You’d be so proud of me Mam’…..’ he whispered carefully into the softness of his stuffy.

Geezy: Before Levi even had a chance to get up, the wolf was already asleep, his large body still curled up in the smallest amount of space possible on the bed despite having such a large bed all to himself. It was pretty ingrained in the man’s head from a small child to never under any circumstances get in the way, so much so that it even reflected in something subconscious like sleeping. At some point in getting comfortable while half asleep, he manage to get one of the large cow stuffies in his grasp and ended up fully curled up around it, his face nuzzled into its back. Remi slept harder than he had in years, never moving from the spot that he fell asleep, and even his subconscious lucid dream self started to question whether or not he would wake up at all this week. . . .

The Next Morning

Geezy:

Until the twisting of his guts awoke the man with a gasp, causing him to shoot up in the bed with a slender hand shooting up to clutch his stomach in pain. His thick black hair stuck to his face and neck from how much he was sweating, and his skin was ghostly pale, the only part of him with color was the now red and purple rings under his eyes that made him look like something off of The Walking Dead. The wolf scrambled to his feet so quickly he nearly tripped on the corner of the blanket that once help him prisoner, and made a mad dash towards the bathroom that was thankfully as close as it could have been with a hand cupped over his mouth. The sound of intense vomiting slipped past the crack under the door, before Remi took a shaky breath and wiped his mouth and nose with the back of his hand before clearing his throat. Once he was able to recover, he braced himself with both hands against the sink as he looked at himself in the mirror, his face nearly 2 inches from the mirror just to try and focus on seeing through the stream of tears that filled his eyes. “Ugh..” he muttered under his breath, his stomach once again doing an acrobatic act. However, this time he was able to force it back down, crouching in front of the sink to rest his forehead against the cool sink. What a time to have to go through full blown withdrawals.. but that was just his luck. If he could just piece his thoughts together enough to remember what happened yesterday, or even where he was,  or how he could find any china white wherever he was.. shit, he’d even take the black shit at this point. Anything to stop the extreme discomfort he was experiencing throughout his whole body.

Kezzi: Falling asleep harder than he had in a long time, the safety of someone else being there in the bus, comforting him through the usual nightmares he had. It was pure blackness through the night and god, it was bliss. And then a flash, a scene of his lips pressed tight against the stranger of last night’s encounter. The strong hand tight against his throat, as his head slammed back into the wall. “Hng~” he mumbled out loud, when suddenly the sounds of Remi slamming himself into the bathroom and vomiting, woke the sensitive cat from his relatively sensitive dream. “Wha?!” He looked around confused for a moment, realizing at some point his tank top had come off in the night leaving his chest bare to the morning air, forgetting he was in the guest bed. Reality shook him as he realized he was awake, at home, with a stray hanging out in his bus. Not a problem, though the vomiting was concerning…but didn’t exactly shock Levi. The leopard had spent quite the time or two around, addicts. He’d seen the man’s arms last night, and without any judgment he knew of a way to help, but not cure. Levi had spent a lot of time in Slab City, picked up quite a few useful herbal tricks, recipes and medicinals to help himself or others. What a better time than now to use some of those things. He unscrambled himself from the blankets and got out of bed, he allowed Remi to have a moment to himself while he scrambled through his medicine cabinet. “Here it is…” whispering to himself, he found a small tincture bottle that read “asafetida extract”. He set it down on the counter, and began to make up some breakfast while he waited. Grabbing a smaller cast iron than last night’s, then the small basket of eggs out of his fridge, he began to fry some up over his “stove”. As he let those cook he seasoned them with fresh chives, garlic and home ground onion powder.

Geezy: It took Remi a very long time to feel comfortable enough to stand upon baby deer legs, but he finally was able to stand up 3/4ths of the way to splash cold water in his face before he was able to center himself. He remembered everything that transpired the night before, and where he was in that moment, and he just hoped the other wasn’t awake from the commotion that he had once again caused. He winced at another sharp pain in his stomach, but swallowed it to finally exit the bathroom looking like a ghost, still partially hunched over. When he made eye contact with the other who was clearly up now, an embarrassed flush washed over his face. “Hey, I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t wake you up, did i?” He asked, already aware of the answer but hoping to hear something different anyway. “I uh.. I guess the stress just all caught up to me.” He smiled without his eyes, a clear sign he was lying through his teeth. “I made sure to clean up the bathroom though, don’t worry.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his now dull green eyes locked on the floor. “And I swear, I’m not sick or anything.” Remi added quickly, trying to over explain away the situation so the other wouldn’t be upset. He needed the human interaction more than he was willing to admit to himself, and he wasn’t ready to go back to his garbage heap of a van. For some reason, his heart felt complete when he was around the smaller male, and he had given up chasing that feeling decades prior.

Kezzi: Looking over his shoulder from cooking breakfast and flashed Remi a sweet smile off his freckled face. “Good morning!” He wiggled his hips back and forth. “I’m making eggs! Also! I brought out some of my Asa extract, it helps with opioid withdrawals, specifically…” Levi spoke without any reservation or judgement. Quickly he was plating each omelet on two different plates and then fully turned to look at Remi, handing him a plate. “Look, I don’t care what you do, why you do, I can help with some discomforts and other things, but the way this friendship is gonna work and last, is you gotta give me honesty, deal? I know it’s a lot to ask of a stranger but, I promise I won’t ever judge you….and I’ll always give it back as well, starting with what the hell do I call you!? I very well can’t introduce you as “this is my friend…stranger mc idk his name pants”! So let’s start there,” hands on his hips in a mocking fashion, crossing his eyes cartoonishly, he giggled nudging the tall man with his slender hip. The sun shining through the curtains and it illuminated Levi’s pale, freckled skin. “I suggest taking the extract, smoking one of the jays in…” pointing to the small wooden box next to the bed “that box, and eating breakfast first..then go out and get whatever you need to, I have to do some harvesting and clearly….” He paused looking down at the small sink, busting full of dishes. “Dishes…all I ask, is you don’t do it in front of me and you don’t become useless…you can’t rotate my tires if you’re passing out in the gravel,” he broke the edge with a bit of laughter.

Geezy: Shocked that the other knew enough to be able to easily see through his façade, the wolf was left with a slightly confused look on his face, but he gratefully accepted the plate from the other’s thin fingers. The omelet's scent swirled seductively into the air, and he couldn’t help but take a deep breath in through his nose with thankful smile. “Oh, yeah.” It hadn’t even dawned on the big male that he spent all night last night with someone that he hasn’t even given his name to, but he did manage a chuckle at the thought of being introduced like that. “I’m Remington, but just Remi is fine.. I uh,.. I swear, I was being careful with it until a week ago.. Didn’t think I went so ham I’d be left with THIS.” He gestured to his entire run down body, his smile returning. Before he even attempted to sit down, he frantically cut off a bite of omelet with his fork and stuffed it into his mouth, and a soft happy sigh left him at how the others food always seemed to soothe his soul in more ways than one. He managed to swallow the bite, and wasted no time cutting off another one, still standing in the kitchen at this point. “Nah, that’s totally fair. You don’t need to be seeing that anyway.” the wolf swiped away his running nose with a wrist offhandedly cramming another bite into his mouth, and looking up at the other thoughtfully. “I’m gonna try to find a shop somewhere around here to see if I can get some stuff for Ethel… she really needs some love..” Remi laughed in an embarrassed tone, “You need anything but your tires rotated? I could get this girl lookin brand new on the inside if you’re interested.” He laughed again but this time you could tell just by the way he carried himself now that he felt at home under the hood or the chassis of a vehicle. “I swear, i know what I’m doing.” The wolf downed his whole omelette as he continued to stand, and after finishing, he looked at the plate in his hand and back at the sink full of dishes, before making eye contact with Levi. “Anything you need me to do, I got it. I refuse to be in the way.” He rubbed the back of his neck with an ashamed smile, the sentiment obviously still ingrained in the very fiber of the wolf’s being. He would NOT be an inconvenience in this amazing man’s life, if it was the last thing he did.

Kezzi: Sitting beside him on the bed together, Levi began to dig in to his own omelet as he listened to Remington speak. Smiling over at him, swallowing a bite he nodded his head. “It’s wonderful to run into you Remington….er, Remi,” he corrected himself to the shorter version of the male’s name. “Very unique, suits you,” his cheeks flushed in a light pink fashion as he gave the wolf a genuine compliment. Before nodding in agreement, “yeah I was really into Oxy’s for a while there..but truthfully I’d take anything I could get my hands on, I looked ROUGH a few years ago but….I’m 3 years sober!” He said excitedly, his soft, slightly feminine facial features changed to that of celebration for himself. “Whenever your ready you know, I can also help with that, but I know everyone’s journey is different, just know I don’t think any less of you,” he said gently placing his hand on Remi’s knee in reassurance. Trying to remain poker faced, he didn’t want to make the vibes weird, but touching the man….it was like something shocked him. He quickly brought his hand back and stood up. “Right! Ok! Take your Asa tincture, trust me, it’ll make doing things bearable, and you won’t get the sweats,” handing the small bottle to him. “You’ll still feel slightly nauseous but most of your symptoms will become subsided enough that you can function while withdrawing,”  making sure remember every detail of the medicine he had been given. He had used it back when he had a relapse and it helped him through, it isn’t a fix, but a band aid. He flicked on the sink and waited for the water to warm. “I’m going to clean the place up….I need to harvest as well as do some photos for work….” He mumbled the last bit to himself considering what kind of shoot he’d have today. “Oh! But here…”swiftly turning around to his backpack that looked like a regular snow leopard build a bear but Levi had fashioned it into a backpack. The white haired male pulled out a snow leopard printed wallet and picked a card out, handing it to Remi. “There’s a 5k limit on that, pin is 2244, get as much as you want for Ethel, I know /I/ certainly look small and stupid, but I actually built this baby from ground up by myself…I can easily help you build yours to standard!” The trusting leopard prattled on. “I do have a business proposition but, we can discuss it more when you get back, I gotta consider logistics….” He contemplated to himself, snapping out he turned around and grabbed a joint from his box and handing that to Remi as well. “Smoke this while you’re out too, either asap or whenever you feel too nauseous,” blue eyes scanning the small bus he then realized his water was hot and began to skitter his way to washing the dishes. “I’ll be here waiting for your return ever so patiently,” turning to give the taller a cheeky grin followed with a wink.

Geezy: A feeling of slight guilt washed over him and the wolf ran his long fingers through his hair. 3 years clean? He hadn’t had 3 years clean since he was 11 years old. A quick flash of a memory of his mother standing over his small body after he had be rocked in the jaw by the man she was dating at the time. She offered him two oval shaped white pills. “For the pain” she had said to him. And from that moment, the rest of his life was a downward spiral. He shook his head to dismiss the flashback, and he smiled softly at Levi as he returned to earth. “That’s amazing for you. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Remi was a little taken aback at the card being handed to him, still utterly amazed that this small, unthreatening male trusted him so much, but he cautiously took it and slid the card into the wallet he fished from his pocket. Remi’s long arms stretched across Levi to grab the tincture from beside him, opening the bottle and squirting the brown liquid under his tongue, before making a face and swallowing. “Ugh.” His tongue stuck out of his mouth slightly. Returning the dropper to the bottle and screwing on the cap, he replaced the bottle where it came from, and took the joint from Levi between his two fingers. “Thank you.. For everything.” His green eyes glowed softly as they locked with the other’s for a second, and some color painted his cheeks. Embarrassed, the man quickly stood up again, running fumbling fingers through his hair again. “Alright, I’ll be back shortly, as long as Ethel behaves.” Remi laughed once more, and waved a hand behind him as he exited the vehicle, the cool air shocking his lungs as he stepped out, causing him to cough a bit. Damn, it was so fucking bright. As he slightly stumbled towards the run down van, his eyes slowly began to adjust to the light, and he noticed a group of truckers by the building that Remi had approached the night before. The man he had a run in with was among them, and upon seeing Remi’s large frame approaching them, he was quick to exit. “Hey.” Remi barked in a harsh voice as he came closer to the rest of the group of men. “You guys know where a guy could get some H in these trying times?” “Uh, yeah.. I got some black in my truck if you’re trying to buy some?” A short, stout man piped up, and Remi got a scary smile across his lips as he fished out his wallet and two crumpled up $20 bills. “That’ll do.” The two walked towards a large blue rig cab that was parked off to the side behind the building, and upon their return, Remi stuffed the corner of a plastic bag filled with what looked like weed resin that reeked of vinegar, into his pocket, and shuffled to his rusty “white” van, where he opened the drivers side door and slid into the ripped fabric of the seat. His nerves were now calmed with his fix in his pocket, and for one, Ethel managed to start up with just one crank of the key. “WOOOOO” the wolf howled happily in the drivers seat.

Kezzi: Levi was busy cleaning away, scrubbing and slipping water all over himself, when he realized “oh no!” He quickly grabbed a pen and paper, scrawled down his number in perfect writing, tho rushed, and then sprinted outside the second he heard the van roar to life. It was impressive to anyone that saw, how fast Levi could run. His long legs carried him across the lot in seconds, huffing softly he knocked on Remi’s window, and when the wolf opened it, surprised to see him, he stuck the paper through the window and into Remi’s hands. “This….” He huffed catching his breath, swallowing and shaking his hair about. “This is my number…INCASE you do break down, or something happens,” his face slightly worried, but melting into that of hopeful and thoughtful. “Drive safely,” the remark small, but incredibly genuine as he quickly made his way back to the bus, being cat whistled and “hooted” at by the truckers as he scampered into his house. “Stupid men…” he muttered, shaking it all off in one quick dance he looked around for his phone, then started playing Jeris Johnson music. As that played he swung his hips, side to side, scrubbing and washing the kitchen from sink, to counter, to hot plates to the whole 9. Lost in his motivated space, he continued to dance and sing along to his favorite tunes. “Sparkling!” He said clapping his hands together at the wonderful progress he had made in his once messy home. “Much better,” he sighed before smelling himself over. “I should shower before work…would be a good idea,” his nose twitched with distaste. Setting the shower up, with his outfit for the day and towel close by, he decided to quickly hit the dab before bathing. Sliding the glass crystal cluster shaped bong out from one of his secured cabinets, along with tools and star of the show, some diamonds. His eyes lit up looking at the delicious sauce, heating his nail up with a light blue blow torch. “Oooo kitty missed you ~” moaning like a strange individual would upon being greeted with someone unalive. Using a long thin metal tool, he scooped some of the delicious treat up in a decent chunk, and then he was set for suicide. Sucking the melting dab out of the chamber, he could already feel his brain coming to a halt, like someone was wringing it out to dry. He sucked the last bit of smoke out and once it came gusting out of his lungs, he found himself in an aggressive coughing fiesta. “Oh…” cough “my fuCK…” cough “inG gawd…” cough, cough, hack, hiccup, inhale. Levi managed to settle himself within a few seconds, standing up to grab himself some water. The bus felt so much hotter now…OH HIS SHOWER! “I need an herbal remedy for my god damn attention span,” giggling out loud to himself, he undressed and hopped into the hot water.

Geezy: Remi’s heart almost beat out of his chest at the sound of the other knocking on his window, but he quickly swallowed it and smirked as he took the piece of paper from the others outstretched hand. “Thanks, I’ll shoot you a text right now so have my number too, y’know.. just in case..” the wolf’s smirk intensified, and his eyes twinkled in the sunlight of the day pouring in his open window. Grabbing his phone from the beat up backpack behind him, he was thankful to see it was still charged, and typed a quick “Hey, it’s Remi.” before entering the number into his contacts. He waited, watching until the other had completely gone back inside the rv, not able to help himself staring at the others tight ass. He shook his head quickly to dismiss the thoughts that now clouded his brain about his new friend, running his fingers through his hair, and grabbing the aux cord that dangled lazily off of the dirty dashboard of the van. This van may not have been the most reliable or clean, but at least the stereo system was the most functional thing in it. The wolf’s large fingers snapped the cord into his phone while he searched the gps for the closest auto shop, and soon the volume of “Won’t Let This Go” by Fats’e nearly shook the empty metal van. Yet, still somehow, Remi’s voice could still be heard clearly in the background, and he banged the beat of the song on the steering wheel. “Now I’m back on my bullshit! No more sentimental things! I have to make noise!” He sang happily as he pulled out, the color completely to his skin and in a better mood than he had been in maybe his whole life. Maybe that was the tincture Levi made him take? He didn’t know, but he wasn’t about to question it. Remi continued to sing along to his favorite songs on the way to the auto shop, before pulling up and squeezing his large body out of the back door. It was extremely rare for him to ever get parts at a real shop; one’s that were still shiny and smelled like the varnish of the factory that produced them, and not something that was scavenged and rusty beyond belief and smelled like burnt oil and various other car fumes. As he pushed open the front door to the business, a little bell rang above the door that startled him, but he couldn’t help the ‘kid in a candy shop’ look on his normally sullen face as he looked around at the shelves upon shelves of different car items. The older man behind the counter must have felt like an ant compared to Remington, who couldn’t have stood at more than 4’10 with facing white hair. “Can I help you sir?” The man asked carefully. Remi’s face changed as he heard the strange man’s voice, his defensive wall once again back up. “Uh, yeah. I need 8 spark plugs, an oil filter, camshaft intake rod, inlet manifold head, and a 358 cover for the crankcase for a G3500 5.7 liter V8 engine.” He stated matter of factly to the man, who looked at the wolf with confusion. “Uh,… um…” he stuttered, typing the first thing Remi had mentioned into the computer with shaky, wrinkled fingers, and his incompetence quickly made the wolf’s blood boil under his skin. “I got it.” He finally hissed, pushing past the man to the back to pull the items he needed, which he found quickly and slammed on the counter in front of the man. “These.” Remi barked loudly, pulling out his wallet from his pocket.

Kezzi: Levi stepped out of the shower, dried himself off, and started getting dressed in what seemed to be a green lace thong and marijuana leaf pasties over his taut pink nipples. Now began the most frustrating part of his job, tying himself up. He made his way over to his bed, set up his camera and then started tying dark green rope around his upper thighs to his ankles, putting him in a forced, leg spread position. Wobbling around his bed he yanked a black ball gag from the depths of the crack on the side of his bed, out. “There you are,” he giggled wrapping it around his face, the ball placing gently inside his mouth, drool starting to already collect. Setting up his video to photo converting app, he started doing his thing. First he posed with his hands behind his back, missionary, legs spread, facial expression helpless as drool trickled down the sides of his mouth. Slowly moving positions to a behind view of his ass, looking behind him with sultry eyes. He continued like this, switching positions, angles, for a while. Satisfied with the photo portion of his job, he took the ball gag out and swiftly untied himself. “Perfect,” he said standing up and slipping a sapphire blue silk robe over his lewd body. While on his phone, he noticed the text he received from Remi earlier, sending a quick one back. “Sorry! Just finished up photos. Here’s my texty text back!” Regretting it the second he sent it. “Oh my god Levi, texty text? Are you 10??” He sighed inwardly at himself. He was gonna blame it on the weed he smoked instead of the fact he really was starting to develop a little crush on the wolf. “Focus,” he grumbled out loud to himself, starting to go through his photos, add filters and crop. Once he had a good set of 12, he made his way over to the Onlyfans website and started uploading.

“Hey Filthy Fucks! Your favorite virgin here, decided to practice my Shibari skills. What do you all think? 😉 send a tip, receive a tip!” Post. Sighing deeply he knew he had to do something big as he posted teasers and censored pics to his twitter account. His niche was twink virgin boy, and often he received the strangest requests, mostly people wanted to see him get fucked, hard, dirty, violently. Levi wasn’t against it, but he’d never done a collab let alone actually have someone inside him. Sure he’d given the occasional handjob, blow job, truck stop dry hump, but he had never legitimately, had penetrative sex. He knew with an insane video of losing his V card he could rack in several hundred more subs. He considered asking Remi, but could he ask that of someone he just met? More importantly, could Levi actually give it away to someone? He always imagined it being with someone he was in love with. However, he really couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try, it would influx a whole hell of a lot more money. He’d approach his new friend on it later, til then he had time to figure out how the hell he could casually ask someone “hey will you take ownership of my holes for money?” Finishing up replying to fans, and comments, he got up, slid his robe down, kept the thong on, threw on a white t-shirt, and some dark green overalls. “Let’s go get some greens!” He threw his fist in the air, sliding on his favorite pair of crocs, and made his way to the roof, where he had a large garden bed tailored to the top of his bus. There were several things sticking out, more importantly, labels. Sliding on his garden gloves he got down and dirty to retrieve his most precious valuables.

Geezy: The small man jumped, quickly moving the items away from the wolf’s side of the counter, and closer to him to ring up the barcodes. Finally he peeped, “That’ll be $388 for you sir..” Three hundred and eighty eight dollars for some parts that would cost $30 from a scrap yard? Damn. He really needed to figure out where one of those were sometime soon.. Grumbling under his breath, he pulled Levi’s card from his wallet and swiped it on the pad next to him. He had to pause for a moment to think when it prompted him for the PIN, but he was able to search his mind for the answer Levi had given him earlier, and the cashier handed him the bag afterward. “Have a good day sir..” he almost whispered, and Remi turned on his heels and was out the door in one swift motion. God, why were people so infuriating? The wolf continued to grumble to himself as he got to his van, and his large, suddenly shaky hands brushed past the lump in the plastic bag that was tucked in the back corner of his pocket. He exhaled slowly, before grabbing his beat up backpack from behind him. “I’ll just smoke a little bit of this to tide me over until I can take a proper hit..” the man mumbled as he pulled out a small tin Altoids container, and slid through the front seats to the back of the windowless van where he sat again on the wheel well. The tin clicked open in his fingers, the small white straw inside rattling against the lighter quietly as his hands shook. Reaching for the black fabric backpack again, he managed to grab hold of a roll of foil that he had tucked inside. Still inside the bag, he quickly ripped off a large enough sheet of foil to do the job and brought it back to his lip to straighten out a bit. Thankfully, he had parked his van far enough away from the entrance that he wasn’t worried that anyone would look in the front window, especially in such a town off the beaten path. Making a small dip in the foil, he fished the baggie from his pocket and unfolded it, the vinegar smell filling his sinuses making him wince back for a moment. Large trembling fingers broke off a small chunk of the brown substance, and placed it into the center of the foil where the dip was before putting the white straw to his lips and picking up the black metal zippo with a skull and crossbones on it from the kit. ‘Ironic,’ he had thought when he included it in the kit. With the hand containing the zippo, a quick flick of a slender wrist and the wick was set ablaze, and placed just under the lump on the foil. Remi then hovered over the foil with the straw in his mouth, patient waiting until the smoke started the pour from the weird lump. The scent burned the wolf’s sensitive nose, and the bridge of his nose wrinkled in disgust but he took no time inhaling the foul smoke through the straw between his lips. The smoke tasted horrible, but the crash of extreme euphoria flooded his system instantly as it was processed by his lungs. He blew out the hit slowly, before returning to take another very long drag. After continuing about four or five hits when his eyes were ready to roll back in his head, he leaned back against the wall with a loud, satisfied sigh. His body felt light, every ounce of pain he once had in his bones vanishing and his head felt floaty. The large male sat like this for a few minutes, enjoying the rolling pleasure throughout every cell in his body and taking slow, meaningful breaths that reached deep in his chest. He would do anything to feel like this at all times of the day, but that was the problem. After nearly 20 minutes of his back pressed against the worn out metal of the van, he was finally able to float back down to earth and all of his energy and strength had returned to him. The foil was crammed into the bottom of the smallest pocket in his bag, and the straw and zippo replaced into the kit, and into the bag as well.  “Well, I supposed I should probably head back. I gotta rotate those tires before it gets dark.” He said to himself, before sliding back into the drivers seat of the van.

Kezzi: Levi plucked, 7 green onions, 8 potatoes, 4 tomatoes, 3 yellow onions, some basil, ginger, and 2 zucchini’s. “Abundance!” Levi shouted, holding his treasures to the sky in a wicker basket. He climbed down the roof and made his way inside. Putting all his produce away he decided to get out of his gardening clothes and into something cooler, those overalls had him work up a sweat. “Phew…” he fanned himself with his hands, standing in his bus in nothing but a thong. “What to wear…” he muttered before pulling out a pair of light blue cloth shorts that stopped a several inches above his knee, the bottom of his cheeks stickin’ out of the shorts, thong slightly peeping out from the top, the strings clinging to his thin slender hips. After that he put on a white crop top tank that was on the flowy-er side. Sliding on his crocs he decided he was gonna relax now, maybe get some sun. Grabbing another joint, and his vape he went outside and into the back storage compartments he pulled out a folded up lounge chair. Coming undone, he laid it out in the sun, his back against the chair, he sparked up the joint, took a few drags and then put it out, saving the rest for later. Levi then laid back fully, hitting his vape every so often, stretching his long legs out to bask in the heat of the day, he knew it would be getting dark soon, hopefully Remi was okay? He pulled his cell out and checked his phone to make sure he hadn’t missed any emergencies. No calls or texts…..then he’s probably fine and on his way back soon. Shrugging off the concern as he laid back, closed his eyes and enjoyed the full warmth against exposed his pieces of flesh.

Geezy: Adjusting his large body into the ripped drivers seat, the wolf felt as if he was just brought back from the dead, a huge grin plastered across his face. He was actually excited to go back to the smaller male, his heart pumping loudly in his chest as he thought about the white haired man, but it wasn’t as easily explained as the drugs he just smoked. Finally digging his small key ring from his pocket, Remi jammed them into the ignition and turned, the old van once again roaring to life with the first twist of the key. “There ya go girl, you’re getting it.” He chimed, patting the dashboard again as he spoke to the vehicle. He wasted no time plugging his phone in to the aux again, now suddenly filled with life after his fix, his green eyes glowing so brightly that they fought the backlight of his screen as he threw on a Sewerperson song, and set the gps back to where Levi was. “Would you like to set this destination as home?” his phone asked, and he quickly turned bright red, fumbling to change the prompt on the screen. “I dunno about ‘Home’, but he definitely is something, huh?” A genuine smile spread across his lips as he shifted the van into drive and easily found his way back to the rest stop where Levi was waiting for him. The van crunched across the gravel, a comforting sound now to the wolf, and he carefully parked the old vehicle next to the other’s magnificent one, before turning to grab the bag from the auto shop, and his backpack, and sliding onto the ground and slamming the metal door behind him. Remi sighed loudly in relief; he was so thankful to be back. A muscular arm was brought up slowly to knock on the wooden “front door” of Levi’s RV, his mind racing just being able to smell the other’s scent wafting through the door jam.

Kezzi: The leopard, sprawled out in the sun on the hidden side of where Remi returned, his senses were never on vacation as the sounds of the van, scents of the man and knock of his door was heard from where he laid. “I’m out here! The door’s unlocked if you need to go inside tho!” He shouted out to his new friend, feeling the excitement of butterflies doing backflips in the pit of his stomach. To his surprise he was practically wagging his butt at Remi’s return. Trying to remain cool though, he slowly sat up, turned his legs over and stood up from the lounge. “How was the trip? Good?” He asked approaching the long black haired man now. He noticed a certain glow to his eyes this time around, like someone slapped him with fairy dust. He must’ve gotten a fix…man…he missed that feeling. Shaking the internal fight off he stood just inches from Remi now by the front “door” of his bus. “I was able to get some work done, cleaned and harvested some produce from the garden!” Updating the man as if they’d known each other for years and regularly caught up on their days.

Geezy: Turning quickly at the others reply, he nearly floated over to where the smaller man now stood, his scent almost as intoxicating as the H in his system. “Yeah, it was cool! Amazing what kind of auto shop they have in a place so small and seemly under populated. But then again, I haven’t really been to that many.” Remi chuckled, running his fingers back through his hair. “Ah, and this is yours!” The man quickly produced Levi’s card, placing it into the others palms, and his fingertips brushed the leopards skin in the process. The graze sent lightning bolts through his system which only made his eyes glow brighter. “I was able to get the stuff I needed with minor inconveniences from the old man at the counter.” Remi held up the large auto shop bag almost like proof. “But that’s awesome! Can’t wait to taste whatever you make with all of that..” Just thinking about the tantalizing food that Levi always made for him already caused his mouth to over salivate. “I just hope you didn’t have too much to do because of me? Next time I’ll be here to help you, promise.” The wolf held up two fingers in a ‘boyscouts honor’ type of way with a large grin. “But I can still rotate your tires today before it gets dark if you’d like? I can be super quick~” he chimed, the good mood he was in suddenly radiating off of him like an atomic bomb. His white teeth twinkled in the lingering sunlight, and even his thick black hair didn’t look so dull.

Kezzi: Levi found himself struggling to not throw his arms around the man, he was so giddy to be in the same space as him, noticing the way his eyes shined against the sun that threatened to go down within the next 3 1/2 hours. Still unable to place a label or name to this very new and exciting feeling. “We should check out the shopping center some time if you liked that! They have some amazing antique and secondhand shops,” Levi babbled as he listened to the rest of Remi’s words. “Excellent! I’m glad you found some bare minimum stuff! Once we fix all that we can figure out from there what we need to make it habitable,” clapping his hands together bouncing up and down off his tip toes. When the man handed him the card back, Levi’s face, without his consent or concern, turned light pink as their fingers touched ever so gently. Blinking a couple times to bring him back, he psh-ed at the wolf. “I did about as much work as I usually do in a day! No worries, but yes if you could rotate those, I’ll cook dinner out here, do you like beef stew?” He questioned Remi with a raised eyebrow, hands on his thin hips, exposed and decorated still by his thong.

Geezy: Excitement swirled around the wolf’s body at the offer, the smile plastered on his face only getting wider at the thought of spending time together with the other male. “Yeah we should totally check it out sometime!” Remi snorted happily, his mouth starting to salivate at the thought of Levi’s cooking. “Honestly, I don’t think I could hate anything you put on my plate.” The wolf rubbed his neck, a little embarrassed over his insatiable appetite lately. “no problem, I’ll get started now!” With a quick turn, he jogged back to the van, popping the back door again to fumble with a plastic tool box that had “Remi waz here” scratched into the plastic, clearly done by a child. He fished out the collapsible hydraulic jack, before closing the box and latching it, and carrying the whole thing back towards the other. His muscles in his arms and chest flexed tightly against the strain of the heavy box, but he set it on the ground by the rv, before smiling up at Levi. “This girl is all wheel drive, right?” The wolf asked, leaning down to run a thumb up the treading of the back tire, leaving a dark black mark on his skin. Opening the toolbox next to him, he pulled out a socket wrench, and one socket attachment that he placed onto the lug nut, testing the size, just to replace it and try another. When that one fit, he snapped it into the socket wrench and stood up again.  “Oh, and sorry to be so forward, but I can’t get this shirt musty..” a deep laugh echoed in his chest, before Remi’s arms crossed in front of him, gripping the hem of the Guardin shirt Levi had given him, and pulling it swiftly over his head. Every muscle in the man’s body was well defined, and his skin just seemed to slide across them in a fluid motion, almost as if he were chiseled out of marble by the gods themselves. Remi pushed his hair back with his long fingers, a motion that was clearly a habit by this point in his life, but this time he slid an old hair tie loosely into a bun on the back of his head. While he put his hair up, the thumb that he had slid across the rubber of the tire grazed his cheek, a dark black smudge now accenting the man’s features. “I’ll have it done before you can even think about it, trust me.” He winked at the leopard, his white teeth glinting with his grin.

Kezzi: Wiggling his body side to side with overstimulating excitement that his offer was accepted. “Awesome! We can go in a couple days after we have fixed up Ethel’s bones!” Light blue eyes lighting up hearing the other compliment his cooking. He never got to cook for anyone, so it was amazing to share his skills with somebody else. “Well, good! I’ll get started,” unable to keep the smile off his face, Levi went inside the bus to gather the supplies and produce he would need for dinner. He also grabbed two beers out of the fridge. The second Levi’s foot hit the ground outside, he was faced with Remi’s comment right before the show started. Frozen in place, hoping internally it wasn’t too obvious, he just stood there. ‘My….god….’ He thought as couldn’t help but look Remi up and down, slowly biting his lower lip as his eyes met the hands in his hair that fashioned the strands into a bun. Clearing his throat, and swiftly avoiding eye contact he approached the wolf, handing him the beer, face beat red. “I- uh…I brought you something to drink….y-yeah all wheel!” Stating the last part sheepishly, exchanging beer for shirt, like lightening, Levi was out of view, tossing the shirt inside the bus, it landed on the couch inside, the one that once was Levi’s bed. Then he was behind the bus where his fire pit was located. ‘Focus on cooking Levi…not the beef cake rotating your tires….’ He cracked open the beer, and tossed half the liquid down his throat before setting it down on one of his foldable tables outside. “Okay let’s get cookin!” He set up his fire within seconds, it was second nature to him by now. He was also taking his time to cut up his produce and herbs to be ready for cooking. After the fire was roaring and ready, Levi stacked what looked like a very tall grill tray, over the flames. “Wire rack down…” he said happily, he turned around and grabbed his large pot placing it up on the hot grill. Inside he tossed his beef and onions, pushing them back and forth until they started to brown. Once perfectly cooked, in went his red wine and homemade beef broth, the pot sizzled loudly, smoke floating above the cooking food, Levi sighed “mmmm,” once that was ready, the leopard threw in some fresh minced garlic, salt, pepper, some oil, potatoes, green onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste and some fresh rosemary. Stirring that all together he let it marry while he took another gulp of his beer. “Oh man that’s refreshing,” he sighed sweetly, looking up at the sky and allowing the sunshine to grace his pale skin. He could tell it was going to set soon. Grabbing a second rack, he lifted the pot off the first one using some oven mits. Stacking the second rack on top, he replaced the pot again putting a lid on top this time. This would make his fire setting from high to medium heat. The perfect temp for his food to stew in. He had about an hour before it was to be finished, so he walked back into the bus smiling at the working Remi when he did so, chugged the rest of his beer, tossed it and grabbed a second from the fridge along with a joint from his stash. Walking out again, joint in his mouth, though finding it difficult to face the man he still did, even if his cheeks were rose colored. “Food will be ready in about an hour or so…how’s it going over here?” He asked cracking open his second beer, but setting it down to light the joint, inhaling deeply “Smoke?“ he said, slightly suffocated, exhaling a cloud as he handed the jay to the other.

Geezy: Remi could smell something….. different… about the leopard when he came out of the RV, all of his senses on overdrive as he quietly sniffed the air. Completely unaware of how thirsty he was, he took the beer thankfully from the others waiting hands, pulling a lighter out of his pocket and popping the cap. “Thanks!” He replied cheerfully, before tossing back the entire beer in one swift chug, a small stream that happened to miss his large mouth dripping down his chin and splashing against his bare chest. Once the beer was finished, he pulled the bottle from his lips with a satisfied gasp, tossing the empty bottle into the bin from where he stood, the bottle crashing inside gracefully. The wolf was like a completely different person when he had the necessary drugs in his system, but there was something about the tingling he felt in every muscle fiber of his body that wasn’t his usual post-fix glow. Without wasting too much more time, Remi started on the tires, lifting the first corner of the extremely heavy RV to reveal the tire enough for him to unscrew the lug nuts, and pop the rim off of the axel. He stood again to retrieve the donut, momentarily sliding it into place where the other tire was. He rolled the tire he removed to the back of the rv, across from the original position, before returning to slowly lower the vehicle to the ground again. As he worked, sweat beaded down his shoulders and back, but his face was constantly locked in a determined scowl, his brow furrowed in concentration. He continued to rotate the remaining tires in an X pattern, being sure to check over each tire’s tread to make sure the metal threads on the inside of the rubber weren’t showing before he replaced them. If there was one thing Remi was, it was thorough. Soon, he was back to the first tire he took off where the donut now stood, his knee pressed up against the tire from the back to steady it. When Levi came towards him, finally it broke him from his intense trance, his bright eyes lighting up at the pink color dusting the leopards cheeks. “Hey! Just one more tire and she’s all done!” He grinned so wide that he had to close his eyes as he smiled, very proud to finally be able to do something for the other that was helpful instead of causing more work. “That sounds amazing, thanks.” He stood up, dirt and various car liquids stained his tanned skin, and somehow the messy bun he put his hair in had become looser and barely contained his thick mane any longer. Reaching for the joint, he stopped half way, suddenly aware of his fingertips being completely black and grimy. The wolf smiled sheepishly, before taking his hand back. “Could you put it to my mouth? I’ll get that thing disgusting…” The laugh that came from him was warm and inviting, and he instinctively crouched ever so slightly to be at eye height with the smaller man so he wouldn’t have to reach so far.

Kezzi: Levi wanted nothing more than to stick his head into the sand like an Ostrich, never to be seen again. It was incredibly hard for him to maintain composure around someone he found so attractive…he imagined dirty, blackened fingers scrawling filthy words against his stomach…face…he shook his head coming back to reality as he heard the other’s request. “Oh! S-sure!” He stammered a bit as the Adonis crouched closer to him. Slowly Levi lifted his joint holding fingers, to that of Remi’s soft enchanting lips. He stared at them. Long and hard. He started to picture the many places he would like them to be….he felt it in his shorts. ‘Jesus Christ Levi! Think of something not sexy…..your food burning and Remi being absolutely pissed….then hate fuckin the absolu-…NOT HELPING!! No…uh…sad things… grandma Orla’s funeral…grandma Orla’s funeral…oh no…too sad…Levi’s face stayed completely stoic, the only thing that could possibly give away his lewd thoughts, was the very real blush spread across his face, unknown to the leopard. He watched as Remi inhaled slowly, their eyes connected in that moment, almost like time stopped. ‘How the hell have you turned into a prepubescent teen in 24 hours?’ His internal monologue scolded him. Levi was always headstrong, independent, don’t need no man type. Generally, though he was a homosexual male, he hated majority of men. But Jesus Christ, this one was turning a small hold into a vice tight grip he didn’t think he would ever be able to escape. Pulling back his fingers and taking another hit himself he needed a reason to get 5 seconds of alone time to regulate his hormones. “Here, I’ll grab you another brew,” he nodded, turning on his heels, biting his lip and rolling his eyes back, unseen by the wolf. ‘This man is too fine right now..’ making his way back into the bus, he took a second to splash some cold water over his face in the kitchen sink. “You can do this…don’t make shit weird…no one will ever be interested in you for more than your body,” he repeated the words out loud to himself, words of his late mother to him after he had come out to her, a year before her death. He let that sink in, turned the water off, snagged a beer and returned outside a much more composed cat. “There’s a brownish towel inside the closet by the bed, it’s my mechanic towel,” he laughed handing Remi the freshly cool beverage, grabbing his own he had put down earlier. “I use that to wipe off any crude…you’re also free to shower again,” making sure to out lay all the options. “I’m gonna go check on the stew!” Chirping happily he went back to the site of the fire, lifted the lid and checked on their meal. Sniffing it deeply he groaned. “This is gonna be so good,” it was no ready for the peas, and cornstarch slurry he had prepped earlier. Mixing everything to perfection, making sure it was thick enough, he closed the lid, slipped on his oven mits and hoisting the pot off the rack, he brought it inside, setting it down on top of a heat safe mat on the kitchen counter. Levi began to grab some bowls and spoons for the two. “Soups on!” Levi yelled out, followed by a giggle-snort as he has always wanted to say that.

Geezy: As the wolf’s eyes locked his green eyes with the other’s icy blue ones, a surge of what was almost possessiveness swelled inside him, feeling the others delicate fingers gently on his lips as he took a slow drag from the jay. The deep breath he took only causing his normally large chest to increase in size, he held the breath in as the other removed his hand and Remi returned to his normal stature. He French inhaled the smoke as usual before blowing it out for a second time with a smile. “Thanks.” The wolf put a grimy hand against the tire he was supporting with his knee, uttering a few coughs. He watched the other retreat into the safety of the RV with a hunger in his eyes that could only be describes as the way a cheetah looks before it launches its body into one of an antelope; just pure, primal prey drive. As the door of the RV shut, the sound broke him from his near feeding frenzy. ‘Calm down Remi, we talked about this’ his internal monologue warned him. “You cant sleep with everyone you make friends with.. This is why you have no friends. When you INEVITABLY let your true self come out and act like an ass to them or otherwise fuck them over, they leave you with a little less of yourself than you started with.” The large man quickly dismissed this thought with a swift shake of his head, only furthering the mane of hair behind him to fall out of the bun it was in more. He sighed, fully removing the hair tie and replacing it on his wrist, he made short work of the last tire and put the toolbox and jack in his van, as well as the donut he used for the first tire. Returning to the vehicle behind Levi, the smell of the stew the leopard had made made his eyes water, and if he was in his wolf form, he would have an incessant wagging tail behind him. Remi took a deep breath through his nose, clinging to the feeling of belonging that the food always smelled like, among the perfectly paired flavors, of course. “Damn, I was going to suggest I take a shower, but I don’t know if I can wait that long for this..” He swiped the corner of his mouth with a strong, blackened hand trying to catch the drool from escaping his mouth, only leaving another dark black streak on his face. If the man was a cartoon, he would have hearts beating out of his emerald eyes as he became entranced by the stew in front of him. If it wasn’t already obvious, Remi had a one track mind, and was very quick to lose focus if certain topics were brought up.

Kezzi: Serving their meals up into their bowls he looked up at Remi, only to burst into laughter as he smeared the black mess along his face. “You don’t need to shower before dinner, but let me help you with that at least…” chuckling again, shaking his head side to side. Levi turned around to grab one of his clean kitchen rags, dampened it and then very gently, and sweetly, wiped the muck off of the wolf’s face, eyes connecting once in a quick motion before pulling his hand back slowly. “There you are, now…wash your hands and I’ll follow you, we can eat out on the chairs and watch the sunset!” praying the other would be happy with this option. It had been so long since Levi got to watch the sun set with anyone, he couldn’t genuinely tell you when he actually last did. Chugging the last of his second beer, setting it on the counter with a loud clank, the leopard definitely started to feel the loosening affects, feeling much braver, more confident now. They grabbed their steaming bowls and after washing his hands off, made their way out to see they were right on time as the sun began to slowly descend from the sky, hues of orange, purple and yellow gracing their starving faces. “Perfect! Look at that! Got everything done we needed to today, right before the setting of this glorious day that’ll turn to night,” sighing with contentment as he slunk into one of the loungers. Holding his bowl in one hand, spoon in the other he wafted the stew just under his nostrils. “Mmm,” his eyes rolled to a close, his shoulders giving a small but joyful shimmy, he scooped his first bite and slid the spoon past his lips.

Geezy: With a confused look across the large mans face, he almost physically recoiled when Levi came close to him, an instinctual reaction that he somehow managed to advert without much physical reaction except a few quick blinks. The soft touch of the leopards hands through the damp rag that wiped the muck off of his face made his knees weak for a second like when you scratch a dogs ‘spot’ and they kick their leg, but once his hand was removed, Remi smiled charmingly. “Ah, shit, was it on my face?” He laughed warmly, looking down at his completely black hands again before gliding over to the kitchen sink in one movement of his long legs, and turning on the water to scrub off the day’s work down the drain. Once finished, his green eyes sparkled at the suggestion of eating outside, and he nodded quickly. “Sure, that’s my favorite way to eat.” His sparkling white teeth glinted in his mouth again as he smiled, picking the beer he had been given from the sink and the bowl the leopard gently handed him, and following Levi outside to the chairs that were perfectly positioned towards the incoming sunset. Slinking into the chair next to Levi, the wolf couldn’t help but to stare while the other was unaware, admiring the contentment on his freckled face. His heart rate increased ever so slightly as green eyes traced the slightly feminine features of his new friends face. He was just so CUTE, and SWEET, and the wolf hadn't met anyone like him before in his life. Jolted back to reality by the leopards voice, he suddenly turned his head and gaze away to avoid detection as he replied. “Yeah, its been a pretty productive day! Been a long time for me.” He smiled, opening the beer with the metal on the side of the armchair and pocketing the cap that fell on the ground under him. Taking a long swig which emptied this beer as he did with the first, he set it on the ground before all of the wolfs one track mind was diverted to the food in front of him. He could feel the temperature of the dish through the bowl in his hands, yet continued to shove his spoon to the very bottom of the bowl and come back up with the largest bite he could fit on the spoon, a little bit of everything perched atop the metal as steam poured into the wind above it. He didn’t even have to spend any time smelling the dish, as his sensitive canine nose could already pick up every little ingredient and was about to put him into an embarrassing position if he didn’t stuff his face, like, immediately.. Remi plunged the huge bite of stew into his mouth, where his eyes quickly began to water as soon as it touched his tongue because of how hot it was. You could nearly see the steam pouring from his nose as he quickly began to chew, alternating between breathing through his teeth and through his nose to cool the hot food in his mouth. Shortly, he swallowed as quickly as possible and let out a loud, satisfied groan. “Fuck, this shit is so good.. Why are you just the best cook ever?” He smiled with the compliment. How had this dumb lug of a wolf even tasted it, between the HUGE bite, and taking his bite from the bottom of the dish, being the hottest. He easily must have melted off all of his taste buds. But Remi couldn’t help it. He had always eaten like an animal scavenging a carcass that eats so fast because it didn’t know where its next meal was coming from. Which, in a way, was Remi to a T.

Kezzi: Unaware of the ogling eyes that were on him at one point, Levi continued to delicately scoop stew into his mouth. He was very clean, very proper, Levi wasn’t one to leave a mess after eating, well mannered one could say, compared to the beast beside him. He didn’t mind it though, the way Remi messily ate and vacuumed his food, it made the leopard feel good, genuine happiness to know the man enjoyed his food so much. Taking a second away from his food to answer Remi’s question he spoke “Well, to be fair, I owe my skills to my grandmother, she taught me. I used to love watching her cook,” the younger reminisced fondly of his grandma. “I have sooooo many Irish dishes I learned from her!” His accent coming out thicker when he said the name of his native home. It was almost unnoticeable sometimes but certain words brought it out. It didn’t take the cat long to finish up his meal and when he did he patted his skinny stomach that stuck out from under his crop. “Happy tummy, happy Levi,” giggling to himself. “Think I’m gonna grab another drink, I’ll bring you another too!” Cheerfully he brought his bowl back inside, set it in the sink and then shifted his attention to the fridge. Grabbing the last Heineken out, and a tall can of modelo he had been given by a fellow camper his first day at the site. He came back handing Remi the glass and sticking the can with himself. He liked modelo and corona way more than more beers even though in his heart of hearts, he’s a white claw kind of vibe. Cracking open his can he shrugged “Figured I'd celebrate our new friendship! I really just wanna say thanks for hanging around, even though it’s only been a day, you’re …” feeling a bit brave “truly amazing to be around, Rem,” smiling fondly as he raised his can in a toast. They clinked and he began to drink a big portion of the can. Suddenly, Levi’s phone buzzes on the table that was in between them, planning to simply ignore it, before he saw it was an email from OF about a tip. “Oh?” He said out loud, quickly grabbing his phone to check. “Well I’ll be damned, johnnybro97 comes baring gifts,” he said staring at the large tip he received for his photos this morning. $150 tip. It brought a bright smile to his face as he wiggled and danced in his seat. “Ooo! I love big tippers,” he giggled looking over at the wolf now, setting the phone down.

Geezy: The wolf continued to shovel hot stew into his mouth, nodding to Levi as he spoke to acknowledge that he was listening through the loud breathing and slurping sounds as he ate. “Well she must have been a great cook to have taught you so much.” He finally replied with another charming smile after swallowing, his bowl already more than half gone by this point. Remi nodded at the leopards statement, again not able to advert his eyes from the others tight ass as he left. He had to calm the feeling that roared up inside of him quickly, or he would pounce on the smaller male when he returned, against all of his brains wishes. When the smaller man returned with the beer for him, he couldn’t help but flash that gorgeous smirk. “Thanks” he replied, popping the top off on the chair again and picking it up to join the other one in his pocket. Remi was a large man, but with the heroin already swirling through his system, the physical labor he just performed, and the lack of restful sleep the last week had left him already feeling the buzz of the previous two beers, and he took notice, however pushed on with the third, bringing it to his lips and taking another large gulp after they toasted, halving the beer already. Against his better judgement, he knew he shouldn’t let his inhibition down, or his new friend could really get hurt.. As the wolf brought the beer bottle back down, his smirk returned, the glaze of intoxication over his still bright green eyes. “Nah, nah.. The pleasure’s all mine, really. I’d be a pretty sad starving guy in a cold van without you.” Remi snorted at this thought, a very small slur to his words. As he watched the leopard interact with his phone, he tilted his head slightly to the side like a dog, perplexed by what the other had said. “Oh, you make tips at your job?” He asked, swirling the liquid in his beer can as he spoke. “I don’t think I ever asked you what you did for work?” Remi realized quickly, rubbing his neck embarrassed that he hadn't asked earlier. “Ah, unless that’s too personal.” The wolf extended both hands in front of him defensively, to diffuse any tension if it were to arise from the question.

Kezzi: “Well thank you! I guess it just means her spirit lives on through me,” smiling softly at his own sentiment. He missed his grandma O, she was his best friend, they didn’t everything together for a while, despite her reservations towards his mom and siblings. Honestly, everyone that wasn’t Levi, she was sour to, but always a sweet spot for him. The beer was making him sentimental, laughing at Remi’s comment. “Well I couldn’t have that, cold and starving? For such a handsome man? That just won’t do,” the statement followed by a short giggle that ended with a soft snort. Looking to the side embarrassed that he even made such a sound. He hated it. However, he brushed it off and watched as Remi slugged down majority of his beer. How did the wolf not ever belch after taking such long swigs, he’d never know. Taking slow, but still hefty in his own fashion, sips, he shrugged at the question. “No it’s not personal, I’m a content creator! I make…well…porn,” he said matter of factly, followed with a sheepish breathy chuckle. “I mean….I don’t do like PORN porn….well,” he tried to figure out the best way he could explain it. “I am a virgin, kind of…” he blushed brightly now, avoiding eye contact as he explained his position. “I take photos and videos of myself doing …solo things, people subscribe for a set monthly price and can send tips! I usually make $3-5k a month depending, with an extra $2-500 in tips,” less embarrassed now and a bit more proud of his income. It took him a while to build his platform to where it was currently. He had worked many jobs before but this one allowed him to do things for himself at his own pace on his own time. It gave him creative expression and freedom, he hasn’t had to rely on anyone for help since he got 5 months into his OF career, Twitter loved him, he had over 6k in followers on there, it’s essentially what helped him build his OF platform to what it is now. Levi felt confident in what he did but suddenly telling this very handsome man, made him feel very…shy? No…submissive….? He brought his hands together in a fist, setting them in his lap, thumbs twiddling back and forth.

Geezy: Remi arched a sharp eyebrow, in sudden disbelief at just one of the words that seemed the flow from the leopards mouth. ‘Virgin?…’ the word seemed foreign to him, as he hadn’t had his virginity for 17 years. How old was this man he was staying with? Was he a man? Remi had only almost accidentally gone home with an underage girl once, but thankfully was avoided at the last moment, and since then he had always been careful.. But Levi didn’t look underage.. especially if he was doing porn? The wolf sat silent for a second in thought, a dazed look on his face as he tried to break down what was being told to him. When his eyes met the icy blue gaze of the other, he swiftly realized he must look a little judgmental while lost in thought and he quickly corrected himself. “Honestly, that sounds like a very empowering job.” Remi grinned again, the compliment the leopard had given him subconsciously inflating his ego a little bit. “I’m sorry, I was just stuck on the fact that you said you’re a virgin..” The wolf’s facial expression hinted at something a little more, feral, but the inflection in his words didn’t show the same. “You mean you play a virgin?” He asked quizzically, taking another final bite of his stew on his lap. The sweat on Remi’s bare chest caught the light of the passing sunset, enunciating every line of the muscles that stretched across his torso. He knew just how attractive he was, and he also knew just how to flaunt it in his the right ways, making it seem natural. He grabbed the beer bottle from where it sat on the ground by his feet, and took another long drink. Upon hearing the leopards income though, he almost did a spit take, coughing and sputtering on the beer in his lungs. After quickly recovering, he swiped the back of his hand across his mouth before turning back to the other. “Damn, you make HOW much?” Remi had never even seen that amount of money in his 28 years of life. “Shit, if I had a card I would definitely be added to your list of followers.” Remi mumbled seductively, his sense of self preservation slowly fading with more and more alcohol in his stomach.

Kezzi: This time, Levi’s face turned redder than it ever had at the questions he received, but more so the slight, flirtation behind his curiosity, Levi could practically smell it, however he still was unsure of the other he couldn’t just assume. It’s unlikely that the man was gay, right? I mean….the hottest ones never seem to be, in Levi’s case. The “ocean full of fish” was more like a polluted ocean full of hybrid salt water piranhas, scary world to be apart of. He didn’t feel judged, but he certainly felt under the microscope, kind of like a mouse caught in the corner by a playful cat….he wasn’t used to that. It was always the other way around for him usually. Clearing his throat he nodded “You heard me right, virgin…27 years old and I’ve never had someone in me,” he laughed trying to make a joke out of it. “Honestly, never met anyone before that I wanted to…” choosing his words carefully, as he didn’t want to say one’s that would make Remi feel down for the count. He very much wanted that man inside him. However, he was playing it cool, calm, collected, though he was starting to feel very drunk after finishing his tall can in a few swigs. Feeling validated by Remi’s kindness he smiled, sweetly “It is! It’s actually so amazing being your own boss!” sighing with relief at the fact he’d never have to return to the boring parts of the work force again. He looked Remi up and down, sitting on the lounge chair across from him, as he took the last drink of his own, the way the sunset glistened against Remi’s skin, it made his whole body feel warm, and tingly, almost feeling self conscious at how absolutely toned he was, Levi wasn’t unfit, but he wasn’t muscly like a lot of guys were, which made him insecure in some ways. People assumed because he was small he couldn’t handle anything, when the deep truth was, his pain tolerance was threw the rough and he could crack several necks if need be. Levi hated nothing more than being perceived as weak, because he would be damned if he would through all that bullshit as a kid to be called weak. He just more or less always chose passiveness, but in this moment he was feeling fully submissive, catching on to that last tag line of ‘I’d subscribe’. ‘Omg he IS flirting with me…’ almost giddy like a school girl finalizing this information inside his head. His skin felt hot, his brain felt foggy. He desperately worked to keep his words straight, and concise while the alcohol boiled through him, he figured, there wouldn’t be a better time. If he was going to dip a toe in the water, make it the whole foot “I mean…IF you were interested…we could…do a collab video, something small at first, don’t gotta dive right into the crazy stuff but, my audience has never seen me with anyone else, it would definitely get new subs, get twitter buzzing and we could split the profits, use that money to fix up Ethel!” Trying so incredibly hard to seem casual and not just flat out ask the wolf to devour him right there on the loungers. No, he was a classy lady, he would not throw himself at this man..yet.

Geezy: The wolf’s large chest swelled with pride at the proposition, his eyes almost like lasers as they glowed brightly and bore into Levi with a seductive gaze, and he couldn’t help but utter a short, guttural growl from deep in his throat. He had been fighting the beast within him for what seemed like centuries, but it seemed like the other man wanted to unleash it, and he didn’t know what he was getting himself into. Trying desperately to disguise his hot lust for the the leopard, his left hand gripped the arm of the lounger until the his large knuckles turned white. “Uh, wouldn’t that ruin your whole, virgin vibe?” The wolf asked, his heart caught in his throat as he was already ravishing Levi with his eyes. “I mean.. if it would help bring in some cash to reup on the things you’ve used for me, even, who would I be to deny your fans?” A devilish smirk flashed across his face now, the same primal ‘prey drive’ look in his eyes as his pupils even seemed to stretch out. “What would you even have in mind?” The wolf was already sold on the idea from the jump, already making a mental note of how drunk he actually was, as he knew he could do serious damage if he was too inebriated… from experience. He leaned forward towards Levi, his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers laced in front of him, his upper lip pressed against his index fingers. The wolf was suddenly aware of how tight the grey sweats Levi had give him the night before were on his hips, his whole body starting to gently tremble as many thoughts rushed through his drunk head of all the ways he could destro- err, partake in a sex tape with the man in front of him. His breath was hot in the palms of his hands and the crashing of his heartbeat in his ears was almost deafening.

Kezzi: Laughing a bit at the question he simply shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t be a virgin forever, as long as they get to witness it, It’ll be okay,” he said simply, his hands now laid out on his thighs, nervously scratching and clawing at his flesh, not hard enough to leave marks. Starting to feel the pressure of his excitement under his skin. “Well…idk we could start off with like ….dry humping and like….a blowjob? Or something…” he muttered the last bit trying not to seem too eager but also trying to assert his naughty desires. His drunk gaze calculating every move that was made by the Wolf. It was almost too obvious he was staring. Sucking his lower lip through his teeth, he gave a short, cheeky grin “Yeah? You’ll make a lot of them quite jealous,” giggling cutely, hand over his mouth, he stood up now as the sunset was quite over, the leopard swaying his hips as he made his way to the bus. He paused halfway, looked back behind his shoulder and beckoned Remi to follow him with a simple raised brow and cocked nod. “Comin?” Asking with a sultry tone to his voice.

Geezy: Time nearly stopped for the wolf now, his broad chest heaving with the heavy breaths  his lungs were exchanging. His whole body felt as if he had just done whip-its, every atom vibrating within him. The thought of the leopards soft, supple lips around his cock, his glacier eyes looking up at him innocently, it made a shiver descend down Remi’s spine. His cock twitched within the already tight sweatpants, and a surge of possessiveness flowed through him, nearly jumping from the chair as Levi asked him to join him. He normally would be able to contain himself; Mr. calm cool and collected. But this time was different. There was nothing he could do now to quiet the urges that he had to force down the past 24 hours. Crashing behind Levi and nearly knocking him over, Remi grunted at the mental force it took to not grip the leopard by the throat and just take him right on the stairs of the RV. The wolf’s pheromones were pouring into the air around him, and a large hand quickly went to steady himself on the railing of the stairs in front of him. “M’Sorry.” The man said quickly, realizing how forcefully he must have knocked into the smaller male, his excitement obvious by this point as he loomed over Levi’s thin neck, his hot breath dancing over his nape. Oh how that leopard’s scent was just intoxicating, causing his already heavy breathing to hitch…..

To be continued…

Hope you enjoyed this first part! More will be posted at the end of every week! Thanks for reading, don’t be scared to leave some feedback! *Be Kind*

[a-luran]

I ADORED the fic (I am a complete coward when it comes to horror and I was Scared but it was way too good to stop reading regardless of any nightmares that might be coming.) All of your work this week has been so amazing and I feel so lucky that you write and post it where I can read it.

About today's fic especially: I gotta know... Everything. Just, everything. What's going on with Alasdair? Why won't the people who live nearby help Arthur's friends? The radio call at the end - WHO MAKES IT AND WHY? Also, it felt very supernatural with the way the first night went/the mask, but then Alasdair seems... Not supernatural, anyways. So I am also wondering about that.

Literally as much as you are willing to share I am begging to hear, I am so invested in this.

anon ♡♡♡ thank you for reading!! I wouldn't keep going if it weren't for the encouragement, I really appreciate it.

As always aye haha this fic (The Restless) has LORE, and out of all the one-shots I submitted it's the most likely to develop into a multi-chapter story.

The title of the story and one of the word prompts for the day are the keys to the question 'is Alasdair human?' The answer is resoundingly not any more. I'd like to explore what he is more thoroughly in another chapter or one shot but in simple terms he is a restless spirit given shape by the land he inhabits. Orkney, where the story is set, has a rich folk tradition. I was lucky enough to spend some time there a while back working on a project but for a quick read on some of the more popular Orcadian ghost stories I would direct you here . If you'd rather a book on fae-like folklore I'd also recommend The Mermaid Bride (and other Orkney folk tales), a retelling by Tom Muir (this one makes for a very good gift!). Alasdair is a walking contradiction. Undead and not. Human no longer, but a man nonetheless. Restless.

Arthur though doesn't see him as anything other than human which is equal part intriguing to Alasdair and courageous on Arthur's part. This would come up in future instalments but it is also just generally true that whenever I write Arthur (especially in human AUs) he is trans. He has been put in positions where people have tried to frighten him, take advantage of him, have abandoned him rather than stand by him and defend him all of his life. So as well as being frightened he is angry. Righteously angry, which makes him brave. He is faced with this otherwordly threat wearing a man's face and his response is to see right through the supernatural and straight into the humanity Alasdair still possesses. He wears a man's face, has a man's eyes; the only thing monstrous about him are his actions. Or at least that is Arthur's logic, coloured admittedly by his scepticism. Part of him is also still just trying to hold on to a rational, human explanation because otherwise well, oh shit oh fuck that is an undead ghost man. He'll come around though.

(Incidentally, if Arthur hadn't gone poking around in the middle of the night he would not have caught Alasdair's attention. If only he had stayed behind that stone wall, on the bothy's grounds, none of this would have happened. Restless, indeed.

I should also point out that for all that Alasdair acts a little animalistic at times, and processes things the way anyone would after a few centuries of social isolation, he admires Arthur and his resolute commitment to life. Arthur fights and digs in his heels and bites him. Alasdair will be carrying a mark from him forever. He admires that Arthur is clearly aware that he is outmatched but he still runs and crafts weapons and keeps on breathing.)

As for the locals, they do help them once it is safe to operate the ferries and carry out the search. I didn't go into it in detail but opinions amongst them are pretty split, even if Arthur's friends (and Francis in particular) feel like they are hiding something from them. Sadly there is a sense that the lads brought this upon themselves and lost a friend due to their own folly; the reader and some of the more superstitious folk know that they meddled with something greater than themselves and paid the price, but there is a good amount of people who might cry fowl and blame them, the only witnesses, for Arthur's disappearance. So if they are reluctant to help it is partly out of suspicion and their own reservations about these strangers who came back to the mainland with this wild story to tell. They would have been questioned by police extensively to the point that even they might start doubting what they saw and what happened that night, and part of them might want to stop thinking about it out of guilt. The only person who refuses to move on if Francis which brings me to your last question. The call on the radio.

That's for him.

[taiblogcomics]

Fever Swamp II: And the Legend Continues...

Hey there, Edward Scissorhands. It's time to start our final Goosebumps comic story! You knew we weren't getting out of this without some goddamn werewolves. I don't think that's a spoiler, it's well-known that one out of every five Goosebumps works is a werewolf story. Another one in five is a Slappy story nowadays, but I digress. This one's also gonna run a bit longer, so settle in~

Here's the cover:

This is a fantastic cover to start off with right from the start. You get your protags all in a row. You get your antag right in the foreground. (This is also why I don't think the werewolf thing is a spoiler~) A nicely wooded forest, a bit of the pink sky still leaking in from our last story... But this time, I think it works to the cover's advantage, because it uses a less cartoony art style. Does that make sense? Probably not. Also really dig the character designs here. Cool girl in the middle, Quinn Morgendorffer on the right, big hair on the left. Good stuff~

So we open with our protagonist Blake (the middle gal, with the green top and prosthetic arm) playing some kind of fantasy MMO. You can tell whoever wrote this doesn't actually play multiplayer online games, because every player on the scoreboard is listed as just a single real-world first name. It's just "Lily", "Zac", "Marie", "Eden". Nobody's named anything like, say, Bonerlord420 or DarkfireTaimatsu. I also dunno if MMOs have leaderboards based on number of "challenges" completed, but Blake is only three positions away from the number 1 spot when her aunt calls her to dinner.

As usual, this story has started with Blake moving in, if only for the summer. She's not too bugged, because she's got Lore Hunter to play and online friends to talk to. This is suddenly the most relatable protagonist. Aunt Camila promises to introduce her to a girl down the street who also plays the same game, but Blake isn't super interested. Auntie won't let her stay inside all summer, though, because otherwise we wouldn't have a book. And that's when the bombshell drops: the place she's spending her summer? It's the town of Fever Swamp, just like the classic Goosebumps book.

Next morning, Camila takes Blake on a tour of the town, pointing out all two of the local establishments. They end up at the other girl's house, who turns out to be both the red-headed girl with braids on the cover and also Lily, the top player on the Lore Hunter leaderboards. Lily, in turn, recognises Blake (which is probably why real MMOs have usernames), and neither is intimidated by the other. So obviously they're going to become friends. And likewise, she has other friends to introduce Blake to, because we gotta introduce the cast as soon as we can.

So our third protagonist is Cara, our big-haired girl from the cover. She's out having a picnic at the moment, and she even has a Switch with her. She probably doesn't play Popular Fantasy MMO, at least. The pair of them decide now is the best time to educate Blake on the local gossips and rumours: monsters. The swamp is probably full of them. Heck, you can hear howling at night sometimes. Cara is not in the mood for monster hunting (though I think that one is on the Switch), but Blake isn't afraid of any ol' local rumours. Blah blah blah, "she should be"~

So that night, Blake prepares a backpack and sneaks out. Because of course at night, it's hardly exciting to look for monsters in the day when you can see them. Blake and Lily meet, mentioning Cara definitely isn't coming, and trudge into the swamp. Lily is determined to prove something lives out here, be it monsters or a mundane explanation like wolves. After a few pages and a jumpscare by a small groundhog or something, Blake starts to suggest they head back--only to be cut off by Lily screaming. She's screaming because she's shined her flashlight directly on a werewolf.

Here we go with another setup. The characters are pretty likeable, if a little cut from the same cloth. Like, so far the main difference between Blake and Lily is that Lily is number 1 on the leaderboards and Blake is number 3 (and also has a prosthetic arm). Heck, let’s talk about that. What’s good is that we barely have talk about it. It’s called attention to all of once, when she meets Lily, and Blake herself notes it doesn’t impair her gaming. We’ll have to see how it’s treated in the rest of the story, but it’s rare to see a character with a disability like that, especially in children’s media, so we’ll have to keep an eye on it. Anyways, even with this being a longer series (five issues instead of three this time) and having a longer time to devote to character stuff, you knew we were gonna get to the werewolves by the end of the issue. What did you think we came here for~?

[pikachugirltits]

I posted 13,052 times in 2022

That's 4,272 more posts than 2021!

65 posts created (0%)

12,987 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@littlemisspipebomb

@rozario-sanguinem

@queenelvendork

@thedepressionoftrees

@abyssalandromeda

I tagged 1,349 of my posts in 2022

#gotta blog them all - 238 posts

#leave it to fate - 228 posts

#living up to my username - 71 posts

#still need a one piece tag - 34 posts

#marina is trans - 31 posts

#alexis rambles on - 26 posts

#gura tag - 22 posts

#alexis shows her face - 18 posts

#number 25 - 16 posts

#hail to the demon king - 16 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#you're telling me that there's people whose go to frame of reference for a john leguizamo role isn't luigi from the super mario bros movie?

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Hey Magic Tumblr, anyone else hear about Artisan Commander? It's a new Commander variant that I've heard people on Reddit talking about.

Basically, it's more or less just normal Commander but you have the additional deck building restriction of commons and uncommons only.

The cool thing is because it otherwise follows regular Commander rules, you can build an Artisan Commander deck and even if you can't find other people specifically playing Artisan Commander you can just use your deck in a regular Commander game.

I've already built two myself. It's fun digging through your collection to find a bunch of cards you'd otherwise pass over to put together a deck.

23 notes - Posted August 8, 2022

#4

Everybody is so busy memeing on the Among Us that I've yet to see anyone talk about this excellent exchange.

24 notes - Posted August 11, 2022

#3

A lot of people are focusing on the voice acting, but can I just say that the Mario movie teaser trailer has put to rest one of my biggest fears about the movie.

They're not video game characters! I was so, so afraid that this was going to do the whole "all the characters are self aware game characters and their world runs on video game rules" thing and half the "jokes" were going to be annoyingly self aware lampshade hangings on how dumb video game mechanics are.

But so far it seems we're getting a legitimate adaptation of Super Mario Bros as a setting. Which I was not realistically expecting...Mario isn't exactly one of Nintendo's lore heavy franchises.

I unironically want to see this movie now.

25 notes - Posted October 6, 2022

#2

37 notes - Posted September 13, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

My girlfriend accidentally called today Trans Day of Victory because she wasn't sure what the V was for.

Which is appropriate. Life is a game and trans people are winning.

122 notes - Posted March 31, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[csmeaner]

Design Shitting: Over-priced Bird Edition

It’s been a bit since we had a nice, clean dump. So why don’t we look at Celestial Seas?

Yes, THAT Celestial Seas. The one where the rarest birds are hoarded more fiercely that Digimitsu with his worthless Cyphers. The one where a custom went for 10K.

You might say, but Design Shitter! Corrin’s designs look great! Okay, sure, some of them do, especially earlier ones and ones he makes for himself or friends. But are they really worth the price point? Look past the pretty rendering and flashy traits. Take a moment to take a critical look at how, actually, Corrin (and by association, most of his staff/GAs) over-renders to justify his absurdly high prices for bird people with horns and halos. It’s a shell game.

CS showing us, once again, that contrast isn’t necessary as long as you pay $650: character(/)Browbird-479.

it’s got a fucking sims gem on top of it. it’s nice but not 650 dollars nice

It’s just so overdone! Click the 2nd form to see it get even worse. Almost 2K: character(/)Browbird-315.

I’d honestly dig this and even say 2k for all that would be ALMOST fine if it were a one-off but precisely because it’s a browbird and made by corrin that I am unimpressed. Browbirds has so much sparkle and polish that it reminds me of Elnins with being full blown illustrations instead of actual characters, and are considered premium and thus a luxury above luxuries that breeds more pompous assholes.

Gotta justify that $800 somehow: character(/)Browbird-213

All these adopts really are just gaussian blurred that wouldn’t look close to the same in a non-illustrative style. It’s just Corrin and their crew circlejerking each other off. Left one has so much gunk on it and details that lap together it’s hard to even figure out what’s what

$600 for something whose face is so dark it might as well not exist. In fact, it’s mostly just a very dark gradient: character(/)Browbird-551

In terms of colors it’s on the better side because it’s design well. On the other hand it really could be any other furry emoboy pastel rainbow dream adopt but because it’s a browbird it’s 600 dollars with all those super special traits that make it a premium

Bland werewolf character number 7674563 for over 1K: character(/)Browbird-506

Yep I was right, Browbirds and all those species lose their selling point the second they stop being made in Corrin’s specific style. They resemble run of the mill furries and this one’s not BAD per se but imagine spending 1000+ dollars for something like this when you could’ve had a full illustration, or even a bunch more art from another artist entirely. It also has. White pubes for some reason?

The only draw to this one is the outfit and the alternate(?) form that doesn’t even look like a Browbird. Otherwise it’s just a plain bird person some dumbfuck paid 3K for. character(/)Browbird-105

What, I humbly ask, is the use of rendering all those fucking bottles in the lower middle, as well as a full ensemble of clothes and knickknacks that make you puzzle out what is even a body part. I see Browbirds also going down the route of multiple forms to juice more money from a single adopt. Eye scopophobia shit or something since there’s eyes up the wazoo. The big headshot in the middle I don’t even know the lore of but because of the extra fur on the neck they look like they have an enormous chin and idk if the hands below it are supposed to be connected because if they are they look like they don’t even attach. It’s a lot of little details put into it and shitton of exclusive traits seem to have been the main selling point. It’s like literally if it weren’t Corrin these would be better by default, but they’re mostly the same recycled aesthetics with traits dropped on and then gaussian blurred together

[justal0wk3yg4mer]

Things I've Said: Werewolf the Apocalypse-Earthblood (Spoilers)

Me: *Player/My Actions* Character Dialogue

Huh...symbolism.

Cool story bro.

Oh he's married and has a kid that's nice. And I'm gonna go ahead and call it; they're gonna kill one of them for plot.

A black what now?

I love how I can just grab someone and fucking yeet them out of existence.

Um, context please? Cahal: Five years ago... Ah, thank you.

I keep toggling for eagle vision but this isn't eagle vision now is it?

What the fuck is that?!

*Spends 5 minutes trying to say penumbra* Fuck this, it's wolf vision.

Are you just going to ignore the fact that your daughter hates you for abandoning her?

Not gonna lie, if I was ever out in the woods and saw Yfen, I would think that I was either dead or high.

The amount of disrespect calling that Major 'Tank Girl' makes me laugh every time.

You're stupid. Man looks like he's in a biker gang, not from some intelligence division and you told him literally everything.

There's literally chemical slug every--Y'ALL AIN'T EVEN HIDING IT!!

If you die Rodko, on my fucking grave.

This feels like a trap. A.I.: Warning intruder alert. That's because it is!! 🤬

This is about to be a whole 'Taken' movie isn't it?

WHAT THE FUCK DID I SAY RODKO!

What kind of Ebola lookin' ass...

Fuck em' up Yfen-oh wait, I gotta fuck em' up. Damn.

DRUGS!!!

That man is like, "I'm gonna suck his dick."

Oh honey, they did you dirty.

Pachu'a could strike me down I would thank them.

This is literally 'Taken' but with wolves and y'all can't convince me otherwise.

I take back my sympathetic honey. You're being a bitch.

Um...I killed a God?

Okay, genius...but absolutely fucked.

You have leveled back up to sympathetic honey.

How the literal fuck did I do this?

What is this? Big bitch, lil' bitch?

What the fuck, spit her out!

BABY GIRL!!! 😭

Oh of course they want me to chose, fuck that guy...but damn my bleeding heart.

I really liked this game! I loved the lore and how they did a different take on werewolves. The storyline was pretty good and the mechanics were fun. I just wish it wasn't so short! I was fully ready, hell; excited, for a 18+ hours game and then it just ended (it was about 9-10 hours). I have so many questions!!! While I was playing, I found out that this game is actually part of a bigger universe (World of Darkness) and there are some other games as well so I'm probably going to try and dig into that (anyone have info or advice?). Anyway......WORD COUNT!!

Sneaky Boi: 196

[tsuki-sennin]

It's a two-for-one special, folks! ...and it has nothing to do with the fact that I neglected my Pretty Cure watching the week before, nuh-uh!

Besides, 14 episodes minus 13 episodes is equal to like... 1 episode, right? This should count as 1 episode altogether~!

I'm pretty late for tonight since I already had dinner. Fast food. Not particularly good for you, but you make sacrifices for convenience, you know? Besides, a bit of Chinken Nunget does a man good!

Spoilers, I guess... con carne~! And uh... this might be a bit long, so...

Episode 13, dig in!

-Amane Get!

-What the hecc, two?

-Oh, twins. Yuan and Mitsuki. ...quite an unusual combination of names.

-I uh... very nearly assumed something I probably shouldn't have.

-Oh hi, Takumi-kun! I look forward to your increased relevance, Mr. "I'm prominent as hell in the opening!"

-"Does that gay dude summon monsters like a duelist?"

-Oh, epic, curry!

-Fishermen.

-Aw, dammit, that means both Takumi and Yui's hot moms aren't available!

-...though then again, both of their dads are pretty good lookin'...

-Man, traveling the world sounds wonderful...

-Don't embarrass your son about this, An!

-Boy, what kinda stiff-ass office chair is that?

-Ah, he's goin' for a while, huh?

-Ohhhh, Monpei! He's got a name card and everything, he must be important!

-Ohhhhhhhh, shoot!

-So, the Delicioustone has much more to it than.

-You're the chosen one, Taco Meat!

-Oh, you gotta look good for your Dad, huh man?

-Oh c'mon, Dad! Not you too!

-Oh... your name's Hikaru too, huh?

-Kome-Kome's taken

-Instant food. ...damn, that's wonderful... man...

-Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh

-Good thing I was raised by a single mom, otherwise I'd be personally disgusted on Takumi's behalf.

-Guess Takumi's walkin' around in the dark.

-Ohhhh, romance lore!

-Ooooooh, delicious~!

-...wait, he's four years younger than you!?

-Damn.

-OH GOD SHE WAS HIS BOSS TOO AGH

-Oh, he's got Organization coat.

-...WAIT

-Delicioustone, randomly showing u

-Oh I got it now, Rosemary's Monpei's brother, and thus Takumi's uncle! I'm calling it now! You can't beat me, Toei! I'm way too smart for this show made for young girls!

-Oh, that sucks, huh Yui-pyon?

-"Holy shit, I fucking love rice."

-C'mon buddy, say it!

-Aw... Yone...

-Whitebait rice~!

-Missed opportunity to call it the Radiopeppi.

-Yeah, you assholes have fun with that!

-Pretty boy going around dressed like an asshole.

-"Ugh... gross. People having fun."

-Man, he's just a proper bastard, huh?

-"Ah fuck, my fitbit's going off. I need to do my daily violence!"

-Ohhhhhhh, shit

-Yeah, I get it fully now. Ending businesses, erasing memories... the Bundoru Gang are real bastards.

-Aaaaand, off she goes.

-Narcistoru. Coolest Phantom Ever.

-"What a waste of his looks" PAMU M N

-You petty-ass bitch

-"Hah. Okay!"

-"C'mon! Motto Ubau-zo!"

-I can respect the flourish, at least.

-Go for it, Takumi!

-Oh wow, this went on a bit. Uh... not that I didn't expect it too, but

-Well, it's definitely way stronger now. With a cognomen like "Motto", I imagine it would be.

-Jesus Christ, that bastard microwave is speedy. ...is it a microwave, or like some kinda weird toaster oven?

-Ohhhhh, there he is!

-Aaaaand the babbies are free

-Well, I hope you're not so suspicious of Rosemary now.

-...not gonna show me your Delicioustone drip, huh buddy? I've been saving my thoughts on it until I see it in action! I promise I won't make fun of you!

-Well, no preview! Jumping straight into Episode 14!

-...Episode 14!

-Ah, I guess we're shelving the first dozen episodes' Grandma intro?

-Love's first taste~! Truly bittersweet...

-Heeeeey, look at you, Takumi!

-Rosemary takes great pride.

-...yeah, the opening's really a vibe. I

-Takumicchi! Can I call ya Takumicchi? Yeah, you've got a litte lady friend!

-"Good job! Gay Uncle Mari's proud of you!"

-Tomoe, huh?

-Salt and pepper...

-"Uhhhh , yeah, ketchup and mayo!"

-Pepper Man.

-Weeeeeell... that manner of conviction is admirable. You should probably get to know somebody a bit more before springing a question like that on them, though.

-"Egg."

-He didn't even get a chance lol

-Oh man,

-S

-SHE RAISED HER FUCKING FINGER AND QUOTED HER GRANDMA

-YUI NAGOMI

-FUKKIN TENDO

-I can't make any more jokes about Grandma Tendou. They fuckin' beat me!

-Those cheap bastards!

-No, I don't give a crap about Takumicchi's girl problems anymore, the joke has been run into the ground and I'm sad!

-Good for you, Ran-Ran.

-"Eat."

-Sweet. Sour. Fizzy. Refreshing. Melting.

-The innumerable

-Oh... Rosemary-san... I see...

-"Yeah, you wanna fuckin' eat that shit, huh Secretoru?"

-Bittersweet.

-Man, these two...

-There you are, Takumicchi!

-Ohhhh, he's serious.

-About the delicate subject of love, that is~!

-"WHAT MANNER OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE IS THIS?!"

-"Aaaaaah, young love~! How delightfully tempestuous and confusing~!"

-"Wow!"

-"Fuit gummy!"

-Ohhhhhh, there she is!

-Your sassy gay uncle is now besties with Sans Undertale.

-Ah, love's like that, eh Takumicchi?

-Amane Kasai will be just fine.

-"Ohhhh, goddammit, I can't believe I'm doing this..."

-Ohhh, egg pasta...

-The way it's presented here... I think I'd like to have it with a splash of hotsauce and Parmesan.

-Recibepis

-Memory Massacring!

-Hora!

-It's a... panini press? Mmm...

-Let's go, Takumicchi!

-...I just realized that I don't have an awful lot to say about Kokone this time around. ...uhhh, she's pretty kino. I'd love to see Spicy gets to something super cool sometime soon.

-Steampressed!

-Yeaaaah, good job, Spicy! Ask and ye shall receive.

-Mmmmmm... grilled sandwiches...

-Sammich...

-Hell yeah, Spicy, press that bitch!

-Shit's al dente!

-Steamed Rice.

-Is it he? Can he be?

-Oh trust me Mem-Mem, if you hit that panini press, the fight'd be over in seconds.

-Ohhhh there he is!

-Cinnamon~!

-Black Pepper!

-Black Pepper! ...a fairly simple design, to be sure, but damn do you make it work! I really like how antithetical it is to the Bundoru Gang.

-Seeing dudes do stuff in Pretty Cure's never not gonna be unappreciated.

-Punch.

-Yep, we won pretty handily.

-...soooooo, are we gonna keep this secret, Pepper Boy?

-Cook Fighter!

-"I respectfully decline, but I hope we can enjoy a long and fruitful friendship regardless."

-Real Chad move.

-The taste of first love is truly bittersweet. Let it out, Tomoe-chan. You got this.

-Man.

-Good work today, everybody! I realize this is a pretty long one, but hopefully we all had some fun!

-I can only imagine where we're going with the developments we've seen tonight.

-Pic-a-nic~!

-Ahhhhh, Kokone~! Hooray, Kokone focus~! I'm pleased as punch about this! Looking forward to Saturday~! ...for real this time, I promise.

[kittymaverick]

Mystery Case Files 21: The Harbinger commentary and review, part 2.

outSpoiler free review first: Holy SHIT GRANDMA studios, talk about knocking the ball out of the park. Not only was that a solid good MCF game to start off with, you’ve now set up the expectation for the next game so high, I’m honestly a little afraid for you. Like... do you know how high the bar is now that you’ve hinted about the content of the next game? Right, coming back to Harbinger for a second. Barring one tiny little slip up which I think was just something that got lost in translation (English is like that), the lore of MCF managed to stay intact, which needs to be applauded. At one point, I almost questioned if there might be almost too many references, especially with that happens to the references in the game itself. (Yes, I, the MCF nerd and fanatic, actually had that thought). I still flip-flop a bit on whether this was a good execution, or a good but shaky execution. For one thing, the way it’s executed... wow, that’s some heavy stuff emotionally. Which is why I’m questioning if that’s “good”, because I suppose there was a line of emotional heaviness I didn’t expect we’ll cross in MCF, but GRANDMA took it there. And so far... part of me is guiltily okay with it, but wow... The studio’s art style does suggest that a detraction from from MCF’s usual Elizabethan English Horror Story with a side of Soul Steampunk and Celtic Druidism would not necessarily be a bad thing. That GRANDMA chose otherwise though, and stuck with a very, very MCF story (albeit more limited to the Celtic legends part), takes guts. What I do wish we’ll get, after the next game, is a story line that’s a GRANDMA original, sort of like Eipex’s the Black Veil, because I think the studio has potential in creating something that’s more them without pulling away too much from MCF. Anyway, that’s the spoiler free review part. Back to my spoiler filled commentary!

Aisling: I know I act suspicious, but I’m just a psychic! MD: I know I’m just a detective, but people keep dying around me, so hey, we’ve got that in common. Aisling: James gave me this cube by the way-- huh? *Emblem of MD appears* ...I’m sorry, that ancient celtic emblem... has a bloody hat. It has a bloody hat. I’m DYING.

Realized I jumped back too far to do this retroactive commentary. Oops.

MD: Okay, well, maybe he isn’t dead yet. We could probably dig him out-- *Nigel turns to bone* MD: ...Never mind. He’s beyond saving. Someone get the coroner!

Six thousand mirrors in the room, and not one shows your face. MD: A technique I have perfected over the two decades of my career. Didn’t save you from getting married to a homicidal madman though. MD: ...I don’t think he picked me because of my looks to begin with.

...Hey MD, I know paper work wasn’t exactly involved and all, but did you actually divorce Charles, or did you just betray him? MD: *DEATH GLARE* You know what, pretend I never asked. MD: You’d better.

MD: Let’s see what skeletons Nigel has in his closet. You know, the last time you found skeletons in a closet, quite literally... MD: Shut up, I was trying not to think about that! (This happened in Key to Ravenhearst. The Skeleton was Charles and Victor.)

Okay, so James was a MCF fanboy, Marge you met on one of your American trips, Nigel was a Fate Carney, John worked on a restored Ravenhearst. I don’t want to say her Majesty might have under exaggerated the number of keywords there were going on here... MD: Oh no, she definitely made it out to be less important than it seemed. She also definitely sent me in because the report she’s going to get out of this is going to be spectacular. The idea that HRM might be the ultimate MCF fan in-universe tickles me with delight. MD: And fills me with utter dread.

Nigel’s shadow puppet theatre: I got fired from the carnival! Boo! MD: Nigel, getting fired from Fate’s Carnival probably saved your ass. Temporarily, until whatever is going on here got you. MD: .................... What? Oh... MD: Yeah. Oh geez I’m looking forward to the case after this now! 8D MD: Why is it that the more I’m tortured, the more gleeful you are?

*Telephone rings* MD: Hello? Marge: HELP ME SOMETHING IS HERE AAAAHHH Well shit. MD: Yeah, she’s done for. Let’s go see the body.

*Gibs collects collectibles before going to body* *I die laughing because that’s my priority too*

MD: Oh no Marge I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you in time... ...Yeah right, says the person who doesn’t want to get their hand on the black stuff. MD: Look, my sorrow doesn’t in anyway override my desire for hygiene, okay? Reminds me of that one time I called some detectives from the last century dandies for refusing to stick their hand into a barrel of rainwater...

MD can I point out how you’re making detailed sketches of MARGE’S BODY in your journal? MD: Look it’s this or pyromania, okay? Don’t judge me. Also, I’m starting to think people that meet you on your cases shouldn’t bother locking their diaries. You always manage to crack them open.

Marge: Oh James is such a darling, I should get him to marry my daughter, then I’ll be such a happy mother-in-law. .............................. MD: ...................... Well, um, I guess Marge was a cougar on the inside, maybe? MD: Yeah, let’s phrase it like that (Restrain desire to make crude NSFW jokes...)

Marge: DAMN THAT GIRL FOR STEALING MY BOY. Marge, seriously, there’s officer Davis. I’m sure he’s just as nice! MD: And not on anyone’s death list. For now. MD: Don’t say that...

Davis: Well, I guess that’s one more evidence against Aisling. HOLD IT! MD: This note here shows clearly that Marge intended to frame Aisling for an attack on her! And the diary entries clearly document how much she hates the suspect. Therefore, the evidence shouldn’t be permissible-- Davis: Yeah, but Marge is dead, and there really isn’t anyone else in town left. *Record scratch* MD: ....It could be... you? Davis: Harhar, look here’s the evidence, go talk to Aisling. MD: Urgh, fine. It’s okay, MD, I was rooting for you there at least!

Aisling: Death, death is all around us! *Flees* MD: Okay, Aisling, that’s really not helping and only making you more suspicious! But since you’re away, I’m going to rifle through your trailer. Um, now who’s suspicious???

Hm, you know, this place would have been great for a holiday spot. MD: I don’t know, given my records with holidays... ...True, you’ll probably end up doing exactly what you are doing now. MD: That said, I think I’ll take a slice of apple pie since no one’s looking. Does the agency pay for your food on your cases? MD: They’d better because I’m giving the recipes to Her Majesty if they don’t...

Aisling: I came here to save John but he’s locked upstairs, please help! MD: Um, if you had let me come with you... maybe some time could have been saved? Aisling: But what if I get killed first then? MD:........ She’s got a point. MD: Dammit, fine...

Hm, so John’s ancestor worked on the original Ravenhearst... We’ll probably need to open up the original game to see if that was the guy that fell from the construction site. (My guess is it’s not, because that carpenter was originally meant to be Rose Summerset’s husband, so it should have been Summerset. Plus Rose’s kids were the twins and Victor.)

Oh damn, a model of Ravenhearst-- MD: Hm, it’s missing a weather vane. ........... MD: Look, just because I burn the place down several times, doesn’t mean I don’t care what it looks like, okay? Can you point out the window that you escaped out of by any chance? 8D MD: *sighs* This one...

Aisling: John, NOOOOOO. MD: Right, gotta cut him down quick! He might still be alive. *Proceed to spend over minutes solving puzzles* MD: I swear, this happened very fast in actuality... Never as fast as the plot demanded though...

*Puts weather vane on model* *Model turns into a raven* MD: ???????????????? Okay, I need to take points off for THAT ridiculous transformation and animation. XD

Aisling: I can’t take this anymore! MD: I know this is hard, Aisling-- Aisling: Here’s the next slab, btw. ....This mood whiplash... I’m dying.

Um, so apparently the banshee wasn’t trying to destroy the world, but was trying to restore herself, which... you disrupted. MD: Look, Allison and her friends needed rescuing okay? I couldn’t just sit idling by. ...If that was disrupted, then how DID Aisling turn human then??? MD: .....Let’s save that mystery for another time because I feel a headache incoming... (Fix edit: It seems to imply that the ritual was only disrupted, not failed, so Aisling did get her skin back, though now she doesn’t remember being a banshee...)

Aisling: I’m a banshee? That’s... That’s impossible. MD: Well, I’ve been through a lot to say most impossible things are actually probable in reality, though if you somehow don’t remember me shoving you back into the cave, um, then I’m grateful. Once you do, please don’t kill me. BTW, your turn on the cube of mystery!

Aisling: Well, if I’m a banshee, I guess I should go back to Dire Grove. We can catch the next ferry. MD: You know that’s a really long trip right? It might take us the better half of a day-- Or a single puzzle’s worth of time. MD: ...Where was THAT kind of fast travel all these years??? I do like how it’s implied that you guys had a huge detour with picking people up and dropping them off though.

Ais: Okay, we’re here in Dire Grove-- AH! MD: Wow, even nature is saying NO to you. Ooooooor it could be a certain immortal druid-- MD: Please don’t. It’s fine! We have a banshee. MD: All she does is predict death! Oh yeah, forgot about that...

*Aisling gets “kidnapped” by green energy* Gibs: That can’t be healthy. MD: That’s honestly pretty normal at this point for us. At least she didn’t get dropped down a tube.

Um, what’s with the Chinese incense in a Druid’s domain? X’D (I’m going to pretend they traded that...)

(I honestly don’t have a lot of stuff to comment on in the section in Dire Grove, because there isn’t much to snark about. Which, I guess, comes to show that 99% of silliness comes from MD dealing with PEOPLE, alive, dead, revived, or otherwise not really a human.)

*Aisling goes back to banshee form* MD: First, no hard feelings about last time, right? Aisling: *stares* MD: Please, thank you, and I’m sorry??? Aisling: You did help me out, so I guess it’s fine. MD: *sigh of relief* BTW, four people technically did DIE though in the process. Aisling: Um, that wasn’t me, if you recall your lore correctly. MD: True enough, but STILL. Just pointing it out. You want her to scream in your ear? She’s still got time for that.

Aisling: BTW, this energy is still floating about. And I think I know why. Will you accept this energy and use it to save the world? MD: Oh hold ON a minute. You want ME to do WHAT? Aisling: Save the world. You heard what I said. MD: Okay, listen. I started this detective job mostly because I thought it was cool... (MD’s going to be at this for a while. Are you going to listen, Aisling? A: To be honest, I’ll probably stop around the part where MD apologized for shoving me back into the cave... By the way, want to hear my part of the story on how I turned back into a banshee? Sure!) *****************************************************************

HOW AISLING BECAME A BANSHEE, AGAIN. Aisling: To make a long story short, there was a lot of puzzles Puzzles which you had to personally solve, without MD’s help? Aisling: It really makes you appreciate how hard MD has had it for the last 21 years...

Did... did you just KILL four people to restore your spirit? Aisling: I just helped their soul cross over! I swear! Aisling, you’re being really SUS right now and I’ve practice how to spot a liar lately! Aisling: I only predict deaths! And then find the souls and tell them where to go. I swear that’s my task. EVERYONE VOTE AISLING AISLING IS THE IMPOSTER

Is one of your abilities literally “summon joyride”???? Aisling: it’s a carriage A carriage can be an awesome joyride if you use it irresponsibly Aisling: How does MD tolerate you? They don’t, they’ve just had worse company and I’m a lesser evil. 8D

Aisling (actually Gibs): *suffers through the last giant super puzzle* ...Yeah, REALLY makes you appreciate what MD goes through. Aisling: Is it always this bad??? Sometimes. I’ve seen worse.

Gibs: THAT CARRIAGE IS BADASS. See, I told you it was a joyride. Aisling: You know, I think I’ll float back to the MD. No joyrides. Awwwwwwwwwwww... Okay, now let’s rewind back to when MD started their rant. **************************************************

Aisling: BTW, this energy is still floating about. And I think I know why. Will you accept this energy and use it to save the world? MD: Oh hold ON a minute. You want ME to do WHAT? Aisling: Save the world. You heard what I said. MD: Okay, listen. I started this detective job mostly because I thought it was cool, and it was for the first couple of cases where all I had to deal with was bust the criminal organization STAIN and recover the Hope diamond for the Queen. But then that’s where all my trouble started because she sent me to this creepy manor which turned out to be a prison to not one, not two, but FOUR ghosts. What’s even worse is the first time I went, I thought I only had to rescue Emma. I was wrong, and for the longest time, I thought Fate Carnival folks were dying from my mistake. Turns out later it was completely personal. This was everything that happened before I met YOU. (Again, really sorry about kicking you back into the cave and getting you stuck in the situation you were in in the last who knows how many years...) Afterwards, I went to the Louisiana which got me on the bad side of a certain ghost pirate, who turned out to be the grandfather of the guy killing the carney folks from his mother’s side. Which was why he was killing them by the way. She sold him to Fate’s Carnival. Anyway, after figuring out that I’ve dun goofed, I went back to Ravenhearst manor, which turned out there was a WHOLE OTHER SECTION I didn’t discover last time, which was somehow a very personalized and twisted marriage proposal that I didn’t notice until too late. I burned THAT down for good measure before taking a break in some place near a lake. But then that guy’s FATHER took up issue with what I did, which I didn’t even started, to be honest. He tried to kill me for whatever grudge it was that he had. I had to stab his horocrux with my badge to get him to stop that time. But then it turns out that father ALSO has some offspring here in Dire Grove, and I had to come back to prevent THAT from going down in flames as well. Thankfully, I think they remained sane. I can’t say the same for the twins, who turned out to be the evil guy’s kids. They most definitely went insane, and REMADE Ravenhearst, which I had to burn down for THE THIRD TIME. All that plus the jump I took landed me in an asylum, which turned out to be the one where both the evil bald guy and his dad was imprisoned once upon a time. Of course, the guy’s father tried to kill me, AGAIN. Took care of that, and also removed the shard that was driving me bonkers. It only gets worse from here though. I got chased around by an woman with a clock for her heart who I had to defenestrate out a clock tower. She didn’t stab me, but then the guy who probably ENGINEERED MY ENTIRE LIFE did, because apparently he wanted to use my soul’s virtue to anchor death to the mortal world or something. I got an immortality feather out of that, I guess, so it wasn’t too bad, but I basically DIED. And then afterwards there was that undead guy who was really hung up about his biker jacket. Next was the evil guy’s ancient youngest son nearly destroying the world (4th wall break: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT) trying to revive him which thankfully DIDN’T HAPPEN BECAUSE OH GODS I WOULD HAVE DIED FOR REAL ON THE SPOT IF IT DID, FEATHER OR NOT. Then a creepy woman in a mirror had to be locked back into the mirror dimension. And that’s when my agency had a fucking SECURITY BREACH which turned out to have been in the making for YEARS. And then the pirate guy came back and nearly enslaved me. I had to blow up his ship and exorcise him from this world. And AFTER all of that, I was finally sent to Blackmoor, where I met YOU, and also saw a bunch of people marginally related to me die from a cause we still don’t have any answers for. *DEEP INHALE*

Aisling: Okay, so your point is.... MD: My POINT is.... out of ALL the sane and wholesome people in the world who don’t have ANY BAGGAGE whatsoever, why do I, the Master Detective, have to be the one to save the world here-- Charles: Hello. MD: *SCREEEEEEECH*

CHARLES IT’S BEEN FOREVER-- wait, you’re not here to serve the divorce papers are you? Charles: Of course not. I’m asking MD to come back home with me. MD: WHAT?! Charles: Where else would I welcome you back to? *Evil cackle* ......... 8D8D8D8D8D8D8D8D Aisling: ........... :| :| :| :| :| :| :| :| :| MD: .................D:< D:< D:< D:< D:< D:< D:< MD: Aisling, hand that energy over, I’ve a WORLD TO BURN.

I have to point this out... the last time we saw Charles IN THE FLESH in game, was Escape from Ravenhearst, which was NINE YEARS AGO, likely TEN by the time Crossfade comes out. Happy Tenth Anniversary of your wedding, Master Detective? 8D

MD: AS IF.

[misseffect]

VIDEO GAME TAG

Me: gets tagged

Also me: immediately forgets every video game i've ever played

Thanks to @thealexmachina for this - it made me think about games I haven't thought about in years! Tagging @shepgarrus @zaeedmassanis & @garriante (but only if you fancy it).

Games

First game you ever played: oh boy, probably Monsters Inc on GBA. I'm a woman of culture, you see.

Favorite game: LoZ: Twilight Princess. It was the first game I'd played with a story that utterly hooked me. And my first LoZ title.

Game you’ve played through multiple times: Lego Star Wars. BF is making me watch the prequels atm and I keep recognising rooms from the games. If they just smash up those chairs they'll get some studs and an extra heart.

Game you hated at first but now love: Shadow of Mordor. Hate is a strong word. Didn't care for it initially and it's not normally my type, but it was actually a lot of fun.

Game you used to love but now hate: Okami. It's beautiful and the mechanics are cool, but there's this stupid fucking digging mini game that I just cannot beat. Non-optional mini games can eat my whole ass. I put it down last year in a rage and never picked it back up.

Your favorite game atmosphere/setting(s): RDR2. Rockstar's worldbuilding is second to none - the dialogue, the locations, the horses, the little bits of lore scattered through the world for you to find. Stunning. Very close second goes to BotW because the peaceful post-apocalypse vibe is really refreshing. And it also has horses.

A game with your favorite ending: LA Noire. Sometimes shit's broken and people are difficult and the bad guys get away with it, and there's nothing you can do about it but god damnit do we we try anyway. That final sequence in the sewers was some high-octane shit.

A game with the WORST ending: obligatory Mass Effect 3. Otherwise, Skyrim because it just never fucking ends. 100+hrs in and you're a Dragonborn Arch-Mage Dark Brotherhood assassin vampire Nightingale warewolf who could kill a Giant with a sneeze but half the quests are broken so you can't bloody finish anything properly.

Best character customization?: New Horizons. Fight me.

Hero and Companions

Your favorite playable character: FemShep, obviously. Corvo from Dishonoured is also very cool.

The funniest playable character: ooh that's a tough one. Arthur from RDR2 doesn't get enough credit imo. He's a funny dude.

Your favorite companion(s): Midna from Twilight Princess. The bit after the water temple where she gets hurt you have to take her to Hyrule Castle in the dark and the rain? Yeah. Honourable mention to Wrex from ME and Bekowsky from LA Noire. We only get them both as actual companions really briefly which a shame.

Companions you could live without: Thane. Sorry buddy, I just didn't care about you at all.

Relationships

Favorite game friendship(s): Arthur and Lenny from RDR2. FemShep and Ashley are hugely underrated in the fandom imo - there's a scene in the Citadel DLC where you both get hammered and start a bar fight. Just gals bein dudes. Also Phoenix and Maya from the Ace Attorney series for the 10/10 sibling dynamic and found family wholesomeness.

Favorite game relationship(s): Shepard and Garrus because I'm always a slut for relationships built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect. Also the one in Transistor. You know the one.

Favorite companion banter: gotta be the OG Mass Effect alien squad - Garrus, Wrex, Tali and Liara. I love how their interactions evolve through the games.

A relationship you weren’t sure of but loved: Alistair and the Warden. They got off on the wrong foot initially in my first Origins play-through but he's a sweetheart really.

A minor character you wish could be a companion: every Star Wars game should have a Gonk Droid companion option and that's the tea.

A character you wish you COULD romance: Morrigan. You expect me to believe the swamp witch is straight? Please.

Fun

Shoutout to a random NPC: ISAAC NEWTON IS THE DEADLIEST SONOFABITCH IN SPACE.

A game you love watching playthroughs for and want to play: the Uncharted series. I'd give anything for a PC port, Sony. ANYTHING.

Love watching playthroughs but won’t ever play: literally any horror game. Until Dawn, Dead Space, etc. But even then I never watch them full screen and usually only have one headphone on.

Online gaming or solo?: Solo. The only online game I really play is GTA V because I don't have friends.

Why do you play video games?: I don't read a lot at the moment so they get me my fiction fix, and games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley are thereputic. And I just think they're neat.

[inventors-fair]

Let’s Talk Flavor: Commentary

I would say overall that most of these cards were fantastic and a great number of the story ideas were good. There will be parts where I suggest edits, and the thing about story edits is, well, it doesn’t impact game design. That’s the thing about the Fair and the thing about Magic in general: the whole thing could be replicated with number systems and program lines and it would be the exact same. It’s the fact that a creature has Flying, or that a spell is made of Lightning that makes the game exciting. This was an interesting experiment. 

Let’s talk about cards!

@ace-hobo​ — Captain’s Wrench

This is a perfectly fine card. I like the “fixed” Voltaic Key style, the moderate power level. It’s a card that someone would probably be middling in artifact decks but fine in budget builds. I’m sort of feeling an Ixalan vibe, maybe with a little steampunkishness. I get that the wrench belongs to De, but it’s a little confusing regarding why they have the wrench. If they’re the captain and they’re not in the engine room, why is the card depicting a tool that would suit them better if they never left the engine room? Maybe the story should be about how DESPITE their captain status, they spend time in the engine room. It’s an easy enough tweak.

@cas-420 — Boiling Blood

The card is pretty good. It’s very aggressive and has synergistic potential. I really don’t see where the flavor is tying into it. I am favorably inclined towards your text, in concept. I can see where you were making the pun on “execution.” The wording is clunky with the repeated syntax, and could have just used the execution line. But what does that have to do with the card? The flavor evokes dissent, protest, retaliation. The flavor of the card evokes speed, purpose, initiative. It’s not a perfect tonal match. I would save the text for a different card with a clearer purpose

@dabudder​ — Wisdom of the Tides

In terms of card wording, I believe you’d be looking for something like Mysteries of the Deep, where you have an “instead” wording — unless you’re supposed to draw an additional card after? It’s a little confusing how you have it now. Still, Flourish is a fine mechanic, executed well. This was pretty close to being a runner-up. I like the nod towards crabs. We’ve been having a crab mood lately. Overall, not bad. Might need to be four mana, but that’s me being cautious.

@deafeningsandwichpeach​ — Jyska, Artificer Overlord

The name is probably the best thing about this card, and it’s fair enough for a legendary creature. Considering that this is essentially the Nim ability from original Mirrodin and that it’s a vanilla creature otherwise, I would contest that you’re severely overestimating the power level of this card. It’s not as strong as it seems. In terms of flavor text, this is basically exposition. I won’t dissuade you from story-rich cards, but there’s too much information presented in a manner that overloads the reader. Simplify, punch, beat, punctuate. In terms of presentation, the whole block should be in quotes, and you don’t need to attribute the quote if the character’s on the card itself.

@demimonde-semigoddess​ — Thaw

Great name, great snow flavor. I can see this in the tundra wastes, something emerging from the snow, bursting out. I had to do some digging. As it turns out, “gelid” is a real English word I had no idea about! I thought from the shackles and your flavor text that it was some Coldsnap lore. In terms of the text itself, it’s not bad. It’s just that the two statements are somewhat disconnected. They work both on their own, but together, they don’t gel well. Still, bonus points to mechanical flavor for an anti-ice feel.

@dimestoretajic​ — Phytotemple

The card is pretty funky for an uncommon, pushed but not busted. I’d call it a pain in the butt but no more than Wayfaring Temple. Ah, I see, the wayfarers, an homage. But there’s a lot I don’t understand. Who lost the wayfarers? Who’s saying this quote? Why did the phytotemples start appearing in general? Did the original wayfaring temples break into them? What does Selesnya have to do with construction crews? How is that related to the phytotemple’s physiology and motivation? Most importantly, why is there a street named after a Selesnya dissident? I think you should have focused on one specific area of the card’s backstory.

@emmypupcake — Bloom Nurturer

I was really surprised that there wasn’t a card already named this. In terms of card wording, look at High Tide or Bubbling Muck; I think it would read “Until end of turn, whenever you tap a Forest for mana, add an additional G.” The quote doesn’t light my world on fire, but it fits well and reads well. Just remember to indent the attribution with shift+enter. Overall? Good enough.

@fractured-infinity​ — Shara, Skalla Vengeant

I had to do a little digging, but I like how you incorporated Vivien’s lore in here. That said, Skalla is also, well, destroyed, presumably forever. Where did the spirit come from? Is it wandering around Skalla? In that case, did Vivien go back? Why? That raises a couple questions. In terms of this card, it’s broken. In anything but the most pushed Commander formats, it’s three mana to deal seven damage to any creature you want with minimal repercussions. Any prevention makes her impossible to deal with. In limited, she would sweep unfairly.

@ghost31415926535 — Man-Eater Wurm

Firstly, I would like to apologize for the flavor bar being in the middle of the line. That’s my bad. Let’s talk about the rest of the card. In concept, it shouldn’t be too overpowered. But deathtouch and trample together create complex rules baggage that many casual players simply don’t understand. Nine times out of ten, they’ll never be printed together. Seeing that this is exactly how you submitted it, consider for next time: Only the first keyword needs to be capitalized in a string. Something like Unearth needs its own line. The flavor text is standard enough. Just remember that quote attribution also needs its own line.

@gollumni​ — Gives You Hell

I love the name here. I got that All-American Rejects song stuck in my head now. Remember that one? Anyway. Firstly, you don’t need to put “target” there; “Enchant creature” implies it. Secondly, and least importantly, don’t forget you can add watermarks in MSE! Thirdly, the flavor text. I get it, but it doesn’t flow great. If there was some wordplay to be done on fire-spitting and whatever turn of phrase you used, like, “spitting poison” in the literal sense — I don’t know, I just expect something a little more concise. It’s a great concept and has the potential to be very funny, so points there. Also, the card itself? Fantastic.

@greensunzenith​ — Decorated Demon

Liking the name. I don’t like how this card has to be a rare. It’s more of an annoyance than anything. It feels like a card that prevents decisions. It’s not aggressive, nor is it particularly interactive. Conceptually it works, but I’m not in favor. The flavor text is a bit of a head-scratcher. The real question is: who is giving demons sigils? How do they become redeemed? On what world CAN demons become redeemed? This isn’t a Bant thing, is it? I’m a little lost as to the specifics, since it doesn’t play into any tropes and doesn’t inform the world in a recognizable way.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes​ — Goblin Decorator

If the flavor text had simply been, in quotes, “Earwigs would go so well with that wallpaper!”, then this card could have been a runner-up. Also, this should definitely be an uncommon. The effect is awesome and powerful and annoying and plays into a variety of strategies. Still, the flavor text is just...too much. It’s a lot of text that tells a story that doesn’t really need to be told. We get enough from the name and that last sentence, combined with a fun ability that matches the card. That’s all we need! Gotta simplify.

@ignorantturtlegaming​ — Dust, Revenant Force

For future cards, I would highly recommend reading up on design philosophy, what Magic’s colors are about, and how cards come into being. There are a lot of questions that this card raises, and a lot of things that need to be edited.

Green doesn’t get first strike, certainly not mono-green.

Why does this card cost five green mana? What does it provide for the limited/constructed environment?

It should be “Fox Warrior.”

The first thing about the flavor text is that there is far too much of it. It’s exposition for exposition’s sake. Fine in a high fantasy short story, but not on a Magic card.

The second thing about the flavor text is that Dust appears to be a white-aligned character through their actions and themes. I don’t feel anything green about them.

@juggernaut-is-a-metalhead — Devil’s Payment

I’m going easy on card art attribution since, well, it’s Disney and they are indeed evil, but in the future, please attribute it to the show itself and/or the director/copyright holder. So, the card itself. Is it supposed to be a common? Is it an homage to Cruel Bargain and Infernal Contract? This certainly isn’t a common effect, and for one mana, well, I don’t know what to say about this card. In terms of the flavor text, why is everything separated in lines like a poem? It’s way too long to fit into a card with three lines of rules text already. I don’t really understand what it’s even trying to say. The devil asked for the MAN’S youth. What does that has to do with his own? And why is it only sometimes capitalized? I don’t really understand this at all.

@koth-of-the-hammerpants — Hidden Bombardier

Great name. For the card text, it’s powerful, arguably fine in the right format, but very strong regardless. It also needs to say “It deals 3 damage” instead of just “Deal.” Gotta get past the 90′s, erryone. So now, the flavor text... I kinda get it? I just don’t understand what makes this card a shapeshifter. I don’t understand the world in which shapeshifters exist. This card feels like a Goblin. It’s an interesting kamikaze take, if a little too flowery and on-the-nose. It doesn’t exactly inform me, and it doesn’t exactly excite me.

@mardu-lesbian​ — Ballynock Adoptee

I had to look up to make sure that there were dwarfs on Lorwyn, and by golly, you’re right, there are! In RW hybrid in Eventide, anyway. And that brings up to a major story problem. By the introduction of dwarfs, the world has already plunged into Shadowmoor, and the thoughtweft has already been replaced with the mindweft. I’m stealing this from the wiki, so berate me if I’m wrong, but I always got the sense that the kithkin were highly xenophobic regardless of where the Great Aurora was. The jarring question that remains is: how does a non-kithkin creature become part of the thoughtweft/mindweft? It goes against what we know about the Kithkin and the world in general. If there’s a good explanation, I’m all ears, but I’m not convinced at this point in time.

@mistershinyobject​ — Phenax’s Messenger

Bonus judge trivia time: I studied Latin in high school and a little in college. From what I can tell about The Callapheia from other cards bearing it’s flavor text, it is meant to evoke classical poetry from Greek and Latin epics. The lines are written four at a time, indented carefully. HERE is a link to all cards with “Callapheia” in the flavor text. The gist is, this card does NOT evoke that. There’s a lot of text, a lot of quotes, a lot of forced story that could have been way punchier if you just had stuff about a snake eating a prophet. I love the card as a limited filler. But yeah, gotta do more research into what it means to have certain aspects on your cards.

@nicolbolas96​ — Unpredictable Betrayal

You know, it’s hard to evoke Nicol Bolas well in flavor text. He’s one of Magic’s major villains, a huge face of many sets, with years behind him. And honestly? You didn’t do a half-bad job in this flavor text. Props! That said, this card is way busted. For one, double strike doesn’t affect fighting at all, so that’s...something. For two, it would need to be three sentences; you did a run-on for that last one. For three, mechanically? This is a two-mana spell that eight times out of ten will absolutely destroy two creatures you don’t control. In limited, that’s insanely powerful. In any format that plays creatures, that’s usually amazingly good. There’s a reason spells like Blood Feud and Clash of Titans cost what they cost. Getting two creatures you don’t control to fight is powerful.

@nine-effing-hells​ — Cairn to Athusis

Actually, this card was one of my favorites from the contest. I’m a heavy Gruul player when I’m not playing cruel control, and I think the gist of this card is super interesting. You made it an enchantment artifact AND a shrine, giving flavor there as well to your new world. The only thing I would have changed is erasing that first sentence from your flavor text entirely. The second is so powerful that it stands on its own. It’s poetic without being overwrought, specific to the world and building off of known tropes. Also, it tells us that “orcs are RG in this world” which is a great mechanical touch. Just needed that little bit of trimming.

@real-aspen-hours​ — Deflect Consequences

Now this is an interesting card!... What practical use does it have? I’m curious what this has on something like Harmless Offering. I don’t believe that cast triggers will be affected. Maybe it would specifically go against things like “counter target spell you don’t control” or something, but if control changes... I’m uncertain of this card’s applications past the gimmick point. That said, it would be fun to cast a Leveler and have it enter the battlefield under an opponent’s control. I’m not in love with the flavor text. It’s fine. Doesn’t light my world on fire. A touch wordy. But it’s fine. Fits the name and the ability well, so that’s nice.

@reaperfromtheabyss​ — Inconquerable Alseid

Besides the fact that “Hope” should be lowercase and separated by a colon, the flavor text is really cool! I don’t like this card much. It’s honestly fine, and it’s an interesting commander card that could lead to some cool consequences, but there’s a reason Undaunted has reminder text. It doesn’t look good floating there by itself. There are some abilities that just need reminder text all the time, and Undaunted is on so few cards that it significantly needs this. I think I was a little too harsh on this card on my first go-around, but I haven’t warmed up to it yet. I think the great flavor could have been used on a simpler, more protective card.

@scavenger98​ — Kadalla the Scornful

I’m 99% sure it should go “First strike, deathtouch, haste.” Order of keywords is weird sometimes. So are creature types. I don’t really understand the world on which an Elf can be Mardu colors. It’s a stretch of the imagination to say the least. The card itself is...fine? I’d honestly make her an uncommon in today’s world. Yeah, she’s powerful, but she’s a 2/1 for three with all different mana symbols. Regarding the flavor, it’s well-worded, but it’s lengthy and doesn’t actually tell us anything about the character or the world. It doesn’t inform the card, and that’s its major misstep. Again, though, good writing.

@shandylamb​ — Multani’s Offspring

A fine card, a funny flavor. Just so you know, though, “Saproling” is pretty much only relegated to the token, and this card would probably see print as a plant or fungus. And additionally, as nice as the pun is... What’s this card even trying to say in the story? Multani’s only known child is Muldrotha, and that’s deep lore as-is. As funny as this card might be, it really doesn’t mesh with a Magic feel.

@starch255​ — Unscrupulous Horpske 

There are only two things I’m concerned about. Firstly: what about this creature makes it “unscrupulous?” What scruples does it have normally in its species? Secondly, this card is trying to make potato salad canon in the multiverse, and I don’t know if such a travesty would be allowed to happen. Potato salad is an affront to taste, no offense to the horpske.

Literally everything else about this card is a 10/10. I would also encourage you to work on a set symbol. Everyone should!

@teaxch​ — Hidden Seers

Interesting. So what timeline is this? Is this supposed to be, like, a return to Tarkir? Cool concept, I think, although I’m not entirely sold. After hearing the shaman’s whispers, why is Surrak’s first instinct to assume that without dragons a human would lead the clan? Wouldn’t the thought of a world without dragons evoke other thoughts and fears first? That’s my main hand-iffy-motion reason. This is also a supremely petty nitpick, probably the pettiest thing I’ve ever said about a card, but if this is the Dragon timeline then wouldn’t the watermark be the Atarka one instead of the Temur one?

@tmstage​ — Apostasy

Everything about this card is good...individually. Great name, but what does that have to do with the ability? What is it trying to depict? What does shuffling your library have to do with religious dogma? And the flavor text feels overbearing. Nykita as a character is someone I’d like to know more about, but this card doesn’t tell me much about her. It’s mostly that the mechanics and the flavor don’t mesh in the least, and, well, it’s not a good mechanic. Shuffling is time-consuming, game-prolonging, and has no discernible benefit to the game outside of incredibly niche cards that mostly don’t affect you as the player. And the more I read the flavor text, the less it makes sense. “Allow the world to deform your flawed notions?” It sounds awesome, but what does it mean?

~

Thank you all for your submissions. New contest tomorrow. 

[thewrongexecution]

thinkin’ ‘bout final fantasy

I go by Not The Author for exactly the reason that I ain’t no expert on any given work of fiction, but I do like to make connections what make me seem smart: an illusion, haphazardly crafted by incident accident and supplemented by precocious pretentiousness. All the same, here are some fun thoughts I had that you might also enjoy!

I do have a point, that I do get to. I feel like I should say that ahead of time, all things considered. Like, I can appreciate if you can’t appreciate a shaggy dog story? But there is a point to all this.

...Eventually.

Spoiler Warning:

Final Fantasies 1, 6, 7, 7R, 13 and 15

Content Warning:

Discussion of death

Cussin’

Length warning:

5621 words

13 sections

16 digressions

Let’s dig in.

- - - - -

Final Fantasy 1 was not my first Final Fantasy experience, but I think it was the first I ever played by myself? The remaster for the GBA, came bundled with FF2 on the same cart, which I played briefly but did not complete and do not remember, except that it had Cid.

FF1 doesn’t have a Cid, but I really loved the narrative anyway, straightforward as it was, because it was very specifically about spitting in the face of an uncaring god who would doom the world for a laugh. Take these chains that bind us to darkness and, though we be forgot to history, strangle with them that selfsame darkness to bring an end to its tyranny.

((it is a terrible curse, to love time travel. so many grand expectations, so few ever met. play ghost trick, chrono trigger, radiant historia, majora’s mask, outer wilds. have you any recs yourself, lemme know! I digress.

((I digress a lot, as I may have mentioned. they’ll be noted in parenthetical, like this.))

This is the foundation upon which Final Fantasy is built, and while any student of architecture could tell you of many and varied perfectly valid construction techniques, it resonates. Grappling with an immutable past to course-correct an uncaring future is, too, an apt description of personal growth; a theme as universal as being alive. And I, as an impressionable youth, ate that shit up.

((I assume I was young, at any rate. my love for time travel, be it era-spanning or moment-stretching, is, I suspect, not entirely coincidental to my terrible temporal memory.))

And that was the tale of the studio, too. Final Fantasy was so titled because, the story goes, the developers knew they would shutter if it didn’t make bank. Staring your imminent demise in the face, knowing your fate is doom, and giving it your all, all the same.

And then they made another twelve, plus two-and-a-half MMOs, and god knows how many mobile games and spin-offs, and now the Fantasy is that there could ever be a Final one. so say I: life parodies art.

((the half-an-MMO is FF14 1.0, which no longer exists and is a fascinating tale, a rally against bleak futures all its own. I’ll [link] Noclip’s three-part documentary covering the developer’s side of things, because that’s the one I’ve seen. there’s plenty other material to hunt down, though, if you wanna.))

- - - - -

Final Fantasy VII is a game about fate, too. Particularly Death, that most ultimate of fates. Tragic, to be sure; preventable, or at least delayable, in many cases; necessary, at times, for the growth of something new.

Unrelenting. Unstoppable. Inescapable.

Death, and the fights against it, take many forms. There are the fascist death squads that hunt down your ragtag band and any dissent against their cruel masters, but these will only truly stop by cutting off the hydra’s head and building an entirely new society; eight dudes and their dog, faced with a corporate private military, can survive but never win. There are such disasters as do slay that hydra, be they natural or man-made. There’s the space alien and the apocalypse it ushers. There’s literal illness and injury, physical or otherwise. There are the deaths of loved ones, friends and family, that lead to some subtler deaths within those that survive them. The deaths of relationships, by neglect or abandonment. The ideological deaths we inflict on ourselves, accepting ever-growing lesser evils in the name of some impossible ideal.

Every day, the person we were becomes the person we are, and soon, the person we are will give way to someone new, and this, too, is a sort of death. In this sense, we tally Cloud’s deaths at least five: failure to become a Soldier and rebirth in shame, the massacre of Nibelheim and rebirth in grief, arrival at Midgar and rebirth in delusion, his cratering at the Crater and rebirth in nihilism, and his death and rebirth in the Lifestream of Mideel.

((you could prolly hunt down another two if you wanna be cheeky, but I lack the knowledge, motive and patience. frankly, this whole thing is to create a leading line of logic and probably isn’t, uh. academically ethical? or whatever the term is. I’m not necessarily wrong, but I’m definitely scuttling nuance. oh well!))

Now, I say “rebirth,” because that’s how deaths of identity more-or-less work. There’s usually some new identity waiting in the wings to take over. And rebirth is itself a notable theme, inasmuch as it is one outcome of death. But death is oft more final than that, and what people do in its imminence and wake is key here, too. Wutai’s collapse into an insular tourist trap. Avalanche’s vengeful fervor, in general and post-plate drop. Bugenhagen trying to pass his knowledge on to Red. The whole party’s ongoing post-traumatic depressive episodes.

Ultimately, death is the inescapable fate of all things. It’s what we do, in light of that, that makes us who we are.

- - - - -

Final Fantasies 13 and 15 are the only modern Final Fantasies I’ve beaten, and I bring them up because both deal very prominently with fate and death, and as Square’s most recent mainline FF titles, Remake can’t exist without comparison to them. Here’s what I remember:

Final Fantasy 13 was a game I enjoyed. The stagger system mixed up my casual FF tradition of Get The Big Numbers by putting a prominent UI element onscreen that says You Can’t Get The Big Numbers Unless The Bar Is Full. Suddenly there’s a natural-but-enforced ebb and flow to combat built in, where you gotta juggle chip damage, survival, and crowd control while keeping resources enough to burst down a staggered foe, but maintain situational awareness to swap back into survival mode if you’re not gonna down your enemy, all in something close to real-time. Very obviously a direct precursor to the combat of Remake. I didn’t realize the depth of it, but it was still super fun.

People at the time didn’t like the linearity of the game and, I can see that in retrospect? I think it’s closer to, there weren’t breakpoints, there wasn’t variety. It was cutscenes, combat, and the stretches of land between them; the only real thing for the brain to get a workout on was the combat, and eating only one kinda food is gonna make that food taste bland.

((I didn’t mind, but I like idle games, and, also probably had depression around then. Take that how you will.))

The story, though, I loved. You got your uncaring gods forcing mortals to do their increasingly-impossible bidding, cursing them to agonized unlife if they take too long, and with blissful, beautiful death if they succeed. It sucks! And here you have a ragtag band of incidental idiots trying to rebel against a system that, actually, wants them to? Like that’s the plan? Have mortals kill god and summon the devil to destroy all life, because god, doesn’t.... like life anymore?

((The lore gets more than a little impenetrable, and I remember bouncing off it a couple times. The throughline of God Sucks And Makes Zombies was good though.))

The biblical parallels are obvious, and if they weren’t, the final boss’ design will clue you in, god that’s a good design. hang on I can add pictures and already tossed a spoiler warning, here, look at this:

(per the Final Fantasy Fandom Wiki [X])

That’s literally The Holy Trinity But A Sword The Size Of A Building. It’s perfect.

Anyway, I love this game, because the heroes win, which is what God wants, so in winning, they lose, as was fated to be, right? Fuck All That, say the lesbians from space australia, as they turn into satan and, as satan, stop God’s shitty metal moon from crashing into space australia and destroying all life.

((this awakened something in me, though, as is becoming a theme, I wasn’t aware of it at the time. actually hold up I’m gonna rewatch that sequence.

((yeah okay wow on review that was aggressively cheesy and had a whole bunch of weird emotional whiplash that just leaves a super-bad aftertaste. I don’t really like it as an experience, but big bazonga lesbian satan with arms for hair is still a look-and-a-half.))

The whole thing is not entirely unlike if meteor was also Midgar, and there’s more than a few points where I went, hang on, are they trying to evoke 7 here? “Lightning” is ex-military and bad at emotions, Sazh is a black dad w/ guns and emotional trauma and I love him, quirky pink healer girl who might be an alien is here, the game starts on a train and leads into a robot bug fight; obviously it’s not one-to-one but the connections are there for a brain like mine to make, and only more prominent for the fact that FF7 was the more satisfying game.

((I cannot speak to 13-2 or -3; 13-2 was fun up until the enemies were abruptly 30 levels higher than me, more or less a mandate by the game for me to do all the side content, which I was not on-board with. I skipped 13-3 entirely, especially when I learned the whole game is on a timer. did not and do not need that stress in my life.))

- - - - -

But okay, FF13 was “too linear” and wasn’t doing super great. Enter Final Fantasy Versus 13, by which I mean enter Final Fantasy 15 actually, we don’t need any more of this 13 crap. And once again, I enjoyed it! ...Right up until it was bad.

Final Fantasy 15 was not a finished game, and we know this for certain now, because all its DLC was to make it a finished game. At the time, though, there was uncomfortable and inconsistent story pacing, only one playable character, relatively sparse combat mechanics... but it was open-world, and hey, that’s what you wanted, right? open, non-linear environments? I picked it up because, Teleporting Swordsman With a Motorcycle Sword. I am of simple pleasures, and those are they.

Of the little I remember, one point that’s stuck with me is the sequence following the Leviathan fight. See, we’ve been talking about fate and destiny and how Final Fantasy likes to spite them. Here in 15, our main man Noctis doesn’t want the destiny he’s been burdened with, to Become The King and Save The World from the Coming Darkness, or whatever. He’d really rather be doing, anything else? like hanging out with his buddies or actually getting married or, I dunno, grieving the death of his father. Nope! You don’t get to do that. Go find the ghost armaments of your dead ancestors so you can ~saaave the wooorld!~ I would have been in college around then, so, eminently relatable.

Now, on this journey, you meet a guy called Ardyn. He’s the sort of character that was built as an attack on me personally: sleazy, charming, possessing airs of casual familiarity with people he’s never met, kinda helps you out in tight spots, and also, by the way, vizier to the empire that killed your dad and wants you and your friends dead too. But not in the “secret good guy” way, he just likes fucking with you! he’s perfect.

Right up until the Leviathan fight.

See, Lunafreya, your betrothed--

((I’m so mad about this stupid, stupid garbage. I love Lunafreya on principle, but the game doesn’t bother to give her screentime. you only ever hear about her incidentally, which can be cool if you then meet the character and get to compare/contrast what you’ve heard, but the initial release only has her show up for this one chapter, and your party doesn’t really get to interact with her that much.))

Your betrothed is here and she’s some symbol of the peoples’ hope, right? she’s got light magic or something, and can actually commune with the gods. the gods are on your side, but you can’t actually understand a word they say, but she can, and that’s sick as hell. anyway.

You lose the fight against Leviathan, because you’re a shitty emo teen who doesn’t know how to use your ghost swords, and she got beat up earlier when Levi got all pissy at being summoned. And then Ardyn shows up in his magitek dropship.

Now earlier, Ardyn had Luna as his captive, completely at his mercy, and right now, he who would be king of kings, destined to save the world from darkness, is clutching at rock in a hurricane, beaten, wounded and dying.

Of the two, which do you think he stabs to death?

if you thought, “the protagonist, which will allow him to win, and subvert Final Fantasy’s themes of defying fate by having the villain be the one to do it, forcing everyone else to scramble for some alternate solution and deal with the fallout,” congratulations! You win disappointment, because that idea’s cool as hell and they didn’t. fucking. Do it.

((Ardyn, before this, had given me major Kefka vibes, and thinking on it now, the world descending into darkness in the 15 we never had could have played with even deeper parallels to FF6... but I never played 6, and that FF15 doesn’t exist, so... I’ll leave that analysis to better scholars.))

now, with the benefit of hindsight, that was never going to happen. too long in development hell, game had to ship, had no time or budget for mid-game upheaval. but at the time? made me lose any interest I had in Ardyn, made me mad at the developers for passing up on fulfilling the themes their series had explored in past, made me almost stop playing the game. I’m still mad about it for crying out loud!

((thinking about it gets me tensed up, coiled, with that sort of full-body thrum that’s best conveyed with letters that jitter around. best I can do here is bold italics, but it doesn’t have the right energy. it’s a fleeting feeling, but when it’s here? god. given the men that wrote this scene I would fight all of them and win.

((inhale...

((exhale...

((and move on.))

We, the player, never really meet Luna, so there’s no real... impact, no substance to it. It’s sad, but impersonal. villain kills damsel to inflict manpain on hero. that’s it. we’ve seen this song and dance before.

But kill Noctis? The character the player’s been controlling all this time, who they know intimately? Now it’s personal. Now your party members’ grief is a mirror to your own. And now you get to play as Luna, maybe? give the game time to flesh her out, have her bond with your old companions over their shared grief, and maybe use her connections and public speaking skills to rally the people of the world, in a perhaps-vain attempt to resist the oncoming darkness, while simultaneously using that public-facingness to drive her to hide her own fear and hopelessness...? That’s a complex character ripe for drama and tragedy right there! And then her, at the head of a story about people coming together to solve a global calamity themselves, rather than await their appointed savior?

Even then, but especially now... You can see the appeal, right?

- - - - -

Lemme step back and zoom out for a moment, because there’s one more kind of Fate to discuss before I finalize my thesis. Yes, I promise, there is a point besides being mad at FF15, this is still ultimately about Remake. Bear with me a little longer.

See, Remake’s premise is that it’s not quite FF7, but that itself is predicated on Remake being essentially FF7. Certain things must be in the Remake series, or it will cease to be the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series. The developers have gone on record saying as much, that they’ll still cover the thrust of the original, and that makes a lot of sense from a development standpoint. Building on an existing framework saves loads of time, and lets them focus on details as they have in Remake.

((I think they've already set up an in-universe justification for this, too. The party may have defeated the Whispers at Midgar, but the Whispers are the will of the planet. The only way to truly defeat them would be to defeat the planet itself, which: kind of the goal of the villains!

((a bit ironic, because the villains are the Whispers’ means to keep manipulating events. Remake backends a very large portion of the plot, and I don’t think Rufus seeing the Whispers is a throwaway detail. The party chases Sephiroth by chasing Shinra in the original, so even if the party has shaken free of the direct influence of the Whispers, manipulating Shinra should in turn manipulate the party.

((on top of which, Rufus prizes power, and the power to change or control fate-- something both the party and Sephiroth have seized-- would be as enticing as anything.))

But this begs the question: How much of Final Fantasy 7 is necessary before it stops being Final Fantasy 7? Do you need all nine characters? The Weapons? Rideable chocobo? Breedable chocobo? What about locations? Can you drop the Gold Saucer? or Mount Condor? or Mideel? How many minigames am I holding up? These are necessary questions, but so is this:

“Would a one-to-one recreation of the original game have the same emotional impact as when it released, twenty-three years ago?”

- - - - -

Now, the phrase “emotional impact” is necessarily kind of nebulous and subjective, so lemme dig into that a little bit.

The first significant chunk of the original FF7 takes place entirely in Midgar, which is one huge city. Every screen is densely packed; movement is typically constrained to narrow corridors and industrial crawlspaces. The whole world is deeply claustrophobic and visually hostile, by design.

This is FF7 for the first few hours, before a motorcycle chase deposits you outside city limits, and then... you hit the world map, and everything changes. The world is rendered in three whole dimensions, now! (Then, a technological marvel in its own right.) There’s a sky! There’s a horizon! Grass, mountains, the ocean!

Boundless, terrifying freedom.

From a mechanical standpoint, there’s only one real destination, an A-to-B with random encounters before a small enclosure with an inn and shops, no real change from what you’ve already been doing. But the mood? Everything’s fresh and new, now. Everything’s an unknown.

So, how do we do that again, two-and-a-half decades on?

Let’s say, something like this: Remake 2 starts with Cloud and Sephiroth en route to Nibelheim. For new players, this provides immediate intrigue: why are these mortal enemies hanging out in a truck? how did they get here, where are they going? For veterans, it’s familiar: oh, we’re in the flashback sequence.

For both, it provides mechanical familiarity. We just finished last game hanging out in Midgar, a bunch of town squares with shops and cutscenes connected to hazardous corridors. Well, Nibelheim’s a town with shops and cutscenes, connected to a monster-filled anthill and capped with a reactor. We know this. We’ve done this. We can do this again.

And when the flashback ends, we’re in Kalm. Another town, maybe with sidequests this time; Midgar looming in the distant skybox as a reminder of how far we’ve come.

And then you leave Kalm, and the camera zooms out, and out, and out...

Remake is essentially 7, and you can’t have the impact of 7′s world map reveal if Remake isn’t functionally open-world too. Square has plenty of experience with open environments, however successful their more recent attempts have been; I’m confident that the have the ability, at least, to craft an expansive world that feels appropriate to FF7.

((I’d like to take a moment here to talk about FF14, which mixes both compact twisty dungeons and wide-open overworld zones, and is necessarily wildly successful to still be operating as an MMO... but though I have played it briefly, I don’t claim knowledge sufficient to go in-depth. The point is, Square not only can make a game like that, they have, and are, and apparently possess non-zero competency. I have worries, but I’m not worried, if that makes sense.))

So, can you recreate a given kind of emotional impact? Yeah!

Can scenes from the original Final Fantasy 7 be rendered into a new context, more-or-less as they were? Absolutely!

Would a one-to-one recreation of the original game have the same emotional impact as when it released, twenty-three years ago?

- - - - -

Aerith dies.

If you opened this post and didn’t know that, well. There were spoiler warnings up at the top, the game’s more than two decades old, and the spoiler itself is basically a piece of pop-culture, up there with space dad and wizard killer. There’re probably plenty of people who know next-to-nothing about Final Fantasy 7 except that Aerith dies.

Everyone knows because, at the time, it was so big a thing. This was a title that Square hyped to heaven and back to push JRPGs into mainstream western markets, and it worked. And this was before major death was so common and arbitrary as it is today; even now, Game of Thrones and its ilk are a relative rarity. The death of a protagonist or love interest wasn’t a new thing for games, or any media really, but usually you knew it was coming, or it served some purpose. Aerith’s death was sudden, arbitrary, you’re almost immediately thrown into a boss fight so you don’t even have time to process it right away, and it’s the first stone in an avalanche of other pointless arbitrary tragedy. It’s an obvious narrative setup for the endgame confrontation with Sephiroth; instead, Cloud has a breakdown, Meteor happens, and now there’s an entire Disk 2.

Fandom has always been fandom, even before the continuous immediacy of the modern internet, but... people wrote letters to Square, and got sad on message boards. There’s an entire subset of forum signatures, back when those were a thing, that you could sort as “people fucked up over Aerith dying.” And again, this was the world. Not just Japan, or Asia, but everyone.

((Or, everyone with the finances to have a PS2 and/or an internet connection. Gaming as a pastime remains way expensive, whether played or watched. But you know how it is.))

And that’s the problem with answering that question.

See, FF7 is a lot of things, but for better or worse, it is defined by Aerith’s death. It’s one of many factors, but you can’t... leave it out, right? or it wouldn’t be FF7 anymore.

Aerith dies in FF7, and everyone knows it.

- - - - -

But Remake has promised, repeatedly, that things will be different this time. Everyone is coming together to defy fate, and Cloud in particular is here to keep Aerith from dying. Bodyguard jokes aside, Cloud repeatedly has flashbacks (flashforwards?) to Aerith’s death and the events leading to it. When he meets her in the church, when they cross into Sector 6, twice in the final battle. Hell, the very first time they meet, Sephiroth taunts him about not being able to save her. Even from a metatextual standpoint, since everyone knows Aerith dies, that’s like, The Most Obvious Fate To Change.

If, after all that, Aerith still dies? It’s not just tragedy, at that point. That’s the developers, actively lying to the player about their intent in making this game series. That’s frustrating, and immersion-breaking, and when said death is likely to still have one or more entire sequels to come after? maybe not great for sales! I know I didn’t bother buying the complete edition of FF15; I couldn’t bring myself to care enough about a game that set up this cool possibility, and then just, failed to deliver on every count.

And, Remake is being made for two audiences. I’ve said “everybody knows Aerith dies,” but that’s not really true, is it? It’s been 23 years, after all. Remake could well be someone’s very first Final Fantasy experience. That’s why they’ve been telegraphing Aerith’s death so hard. Not everyone knows, but at least everyone can guess. Is it fair, then, to this new audience, with potentially no knowledge or understanding of the legacy of this flashy new action game, to foreshadow tragedy in the future, have everyone come together to say, We’re Going To Stop This, and then... not? Is that good writing? Is that satisfying? When this is a multi-game and potentially multi-console investment of time and money, is this, as a newcomer, a story you’d want to keep playing?

And then on top of that, it’s 2020.

I don’t mean that in the current-year-fallacy, “we’re better than this now” kind of way. Rather, the way I felt about Final Fantasy 15 is even more relevant now. People, in real life, are realizing that the powers-that-be are failing them, have failed them, have been failing them for far longer than twenty-three years. The people that already knew that are actually showing up for each other, to spite what felt and feels like inescapable fate and finding that, together, they might just be able to ruin God’s day.

Game development is, of course, its own whole beast, and projects in motion tend to stay in motion; deviating from a plan takes time and money that Square may be unwilling to spend. But, under current world circumstances: is making a game where the hero sets out to save one specific person from their fated death, and following that with a game where that one specific person dies anyway, aside from everything else, a good business decision?

- - - - -

So... Aerith, shouldn’t die, right...? But, FF7 requires Meteor, and so requires the Temple of the Ancients and the Black Materia. And, Meteor can only be stopped by Holy, so FF7 requires the Forgotten City.

FF7 is a tragedy. FF7 demands blood.

...Hey, actually, hold that thought. How come Cloud can remember Aerith dying in the first place? He’s not from the future, right? He’s got a connection to Sephiroth, who is from the future... and Sephiroth can manipulate his memories...? but, why would Sephiroth let him, or make him, remember that?

Hey, how come Zack is alive, but like, in the “narrative scope” sense? Wouldn’t his presence circumvent Cloud’s delusions about the Nibelheim incident?

Hey, how come Cloud had multiple big climactic Sephiroth confrontations at what’s essentially the end of the prologue, including one that mirrors the very end of the original FF7? Shouldn’t that still come at, like, you know. the end?

Hey, how come--

- - - - -

Remake has these... Callbacks? Refrains? Like my favorite, when Sephiroth throws a train-- you know, The Fate Metaphor-- at Cloud, who absolutely shreds the thing. Or, for a more direct example:

And it frequently uses these to show that people are changing, that things can change. You know, the whole Running Theme the game has going on.

Sephiroth gets a refrain, too.

At the start of the game (give or take a reactor), in his first real appearance, Sephiroth philosophizes at Cloud, makes sure Cloud hates him, and tells Cloud what he wants.

At the end of the game, in his last appearance, Sephiroth philosophizes at Cloud, tells Cloud what he wants, and makes sure Cloud hates him.

Structurally, these encounters more-or-less bookend the game; thematically, it doesn’t exactly indicate change. Barret may or may not have come around on Cloud, and his admission that Cloud is important to him after all is, itself, important. Cloud, on the other hand, was always going to defy Sephiroth. He stands resolute, now, ready to fight rather than flee, but apathy was never on the table.

Now, Sephiroth’s whole Thing is psychologically manipulating Cloud to get what he wants, and as part of that, what Sephiroth wants is usually not what he says he wants.

All throughout the original FF7, Sephiroth riled up Cloud so that Cloud would pursue and defy him, culminating first in the Black Materia incident, and then again in the Forgotten City. None of the Sephiroth clones could survive the trip through the Northern Crater, so Sephiroth had to lure Cloud, with the Black Materia, to him, and then also convince Cloud to give up the Black Materia of his own accord. Mind control, memory manipulation and illusions were involved, but if Sephiroth could maintain those indefinitely, he probably just. Would have done that instead. Way easier,

The point is, in Remake, in addition to all the intermittent retraumitization sprinkled throughout the game, Sephiroth goes out of his way twice to directly ask Cloud, “hey, you hate me, right?” And, as part of that question, he tells Cloud, “this is what I want.” And Cloud? He hates Sephiroth, and will do his damnedest to keep Sephiroth from getting what he wants.

So. What does Sephiroth... say he wants?

- - - - -

One last aside before we cap off: This post would not exist without the valiant efforts of one Maximilian_dood. His devotion to the series kept myself and many others engaged and excited and, frankly, hopeful, in the leadup to the release of Remake, and his correlations between the rest of the FF7 series and Remake were enlightening and entertaining.

and had he not the gall to identify defying fate as a device to make aerith’s death more tragic, I would never have been angry enough to write this.

((I know, I know. Gaming and streaming and lit analysis are all hard individually, and I don’t begrudge losing one for the other two. And it was a first playthrough! I might have seen these lines sooner than some, but collating all this info was certainly not instantaneous. And Square can be hack writers at times-- see again my rant on FF15-- so even then, I can’t discount the possibility.

((but, still.

((Really?))

So, while I would like to believe that I have, by now, made my thesis on Remake’s narrative direction abundantly clear, here it is spelled out anyway:

- - - - -

At the bottom of the Forgotten City, at the shrine on the pillar in the lake, Cloud will find Aerith, who believes her fate immutable.

Sephiroth will descend, and Cloud will sacrifice himself, that Aerith should live.

This is Sephiroth’s plan.

- - - - -

Hey, thanks for reading this far! With my conversational tone and rambling tendencies, I’d have preferred to make this an audio post or, god forbid, a video essay, but I got a keyboard, and that’ll have to do. Diction is important to me, as the capitalization, italics and use of punctuation may have clued you in on, so... maybe you’ll get a dramatic reading sometime in the future? but, don’t bet on it.

Feel free to riddle me with questions, or point out inconsistencies with this big ol’ thing! I’m not exactly an expert, and I’m sure I glossed over, heavily paraphrased, completely forgot, intentionally ignored and/or aggressively misrepresented some stuff, but I love learning and teaching esoteric bullshit about The Vijigams. On that note, anything that sounds like it should be sourced is sourced from “I heard about it on social media or in a stream or youtube video one time, but if I actually had to hunt it down this whole thing would never see the light of day, and it has already been like three months,” which isn’t to excuse my lack of due diligence, but I do, lack diligence, so, tough.

Oh! but the Remake screens all come from [here]. Don’t care much for that splash screen, but, I Get It, so, whatever.

There were some other things I wanted to touch on but couldn’t really find a spot for. FF7 Remake as a metaphor for its own development, for example. Or, some of The Possibilities, like how Cloud’s death could very literally haunt Aerith, or how Remake sets up a more fleshed-out Midgar revisit that Cloud’s death specifically would make infinitely sadder.

On that note, if it was not yet obvious, I love speculation, and if they do go this direction, it’ll probably be their justification to go completely... off the rails? Remake only has to be FF7 until it doesn’t, after all. If there’s some wilder implications youall see for like... I dunno, a Jenova more fully-regenerated from also having Cloud’s cells back, getting into proper Kaiju-on-Kaiju battles with the Weapons, or anything like that? Feed me your brain juice, etc.

And, once more, for the road: this is interpretation; subjective, opinionated, and very much in denial of any kind of author-ity. Nor is this a claim on how things should be, or an assertion that this would be good or bad. Everything ultimately rests on Square's narrative design team and, we’ve touched on them already.

((but, for your consideration: I’m smart, and right))

Here’s hoping, whatever happens, we get the game we deserve.

thanks for coming to my ted talk, have a great day

[changeling-rin]

It's fairly easy to tell with most of the guys, but I've been wondering: what kinds of things are Lore afraid of? How does he react when he's forced to face those things?

Oh!  @ask-the-dimensional-links did a thing on this!  Give me a minute, I’ll go and dig up that post- 

Click Here To Read It

Also, I went back through my message history and found the original thoughts I sent them regarding that Ask in the first place.  However, it is long, and I have recently figured out how to stop spamming people with novel-length posts, so!  The LONG answer shall be under the cut ;)

(But if you don’t want to read the whole thing I’ll put Lore’s in bold so you can just skip to it)

((For greatest fears… well, honestly I’ve only addressed this a couple times, because most of my interpretation of being the Holder of Courage means that said Holder isn’t afraid of a ton of stuff. That said, I have tried to give each Link something that they ARE afraid of, if only because Courage also means overcoming your fear and doing the thing anyway. I probably haven’t mentioned them all in-story because not all of them came up through natural events or dialogue, but hey, now I can!  Gen is afraid of spiders. I did this because, in his game, they’re freaking enormous and have a nasty habit of dropping out of absolutely flipping nowhere, landing on his head, and proceeding to try and eat him then and there. Granted, the spiders in Twilight Princess can be equally large, but you can usually see them coming. Plus, Dusk has very sharp teeth and that quick-time event thing with Midna and her magic, so he’s much better equipped to take them out swiftly whereas Gen has to stab the thing and usually get spider guts on himself too.Speck worries about getting stepped on. One of the very first things he learned about being small is that almost nobody pays attention to you, and they certainly don’t pay attention to where they’re walking. Most of the time he uses this to his advantage, like his fighting style. But he always makes sure to keep to corners and to walk in places where he can’t easily be spotted, because getting crushed to death by an unobservant human sounds absolutely terrifying.The Four don’t like being alone. It’s something that’s developed more in relation to the more time they spend together; there’s something really intimate about sharing thoughts the way they do, and they’re a little bit worried about how they’re going to handle it all when they have to put the Four Sword back. To them, noise means people and people mean life and warmth and laughter and a bunch of other good stuff. Their hive-mind means that they’ve always got each other, but especially now that they’ve gotten used to having ten-plus siblings around, being alone just sounds so… lonely.Ocarina is scared that he can’t measure up. It’s a lot of pressure, to take a nine-year-old boy and tell him, “Hey, you gotta save the world.” Now, though, he’s in a body that he’s still getting used to (he never had the opportunity to grow into it, after all), and there’s a future version of himself hanging around who’s confident and cocky and everything Ocarina’s not. He’s afraid that Mask might look at him one day and say, ‘You’ll never be me. You’re not enough.’ Common sense, of course, tells him that this is obviously never going to happen, because otherwise that would be a massive paradox and plus Mask just isn’t that kind of person, but fear isn’t exactly rational.Mask got over that whole inferiority thing a looooong time ago, but now he’s got a new issue: he can’t stand being left behind. Not in the kind of ‘You’re too slow’ way, but in the 'people move on without him’ way. It started when Princess Zelda sent him back to his child years (without actually consulting him on it, might I add), and suddenly here he is with all these memories surrounded by all these people who have no idea what he’s been through. Mask would have much rather continued as he was, with the people who shared the experience with him. Then Navi left, for reasons he’s still trying to figure out, and he literally left the country and went to a new one searching for her. This is part of the reason why he resonates with the Skull Kid; they’ve both got the same fear.Neither of them are very fond of Dead Hands, though.  Dusk doesn’t like losing people - at all. He’s so protective that the idea of one of the people he values getting hurt terrifies him. After all, what did he do when his adoptive brother got kidnapped? (That’s Colin, by the way.) And what did he do when Colin nearly got tossed off a bridge by King Bulblin? He went nuts on the guy. Same thing when Speck almost got crushed. He’s a wolf, and the pack means everything to him. He’s going to fight until he literally can’t anymore to keep anything from happening to his family.Vio, Blue, Red, and Green each have a diluted version of Link’s original fear, because they’re one personality split across four bodies. Basically, Link hates being the person who screwed up. The reason that Vaati is free in the first place was because he drew the Four Sword, breaking the seal and letting the sorcerer loose. (If you’d like, the Blue in him outweighed the Vio and instead of thinking of other ways to rescue the Princess, he went for the immediate option.) In a roundabout way, the whole mess is his fault (or at least he thinks it’s his fault), and he’ll do anything to make sure it doesn’t happen again. For his four split selves, this manifests into a general desire to not be the person in the group to botch the timing on a combat plan and to have their teamwork, at least, be smoothly-running.Lore, for a while, didn’t think he had a fear. Then he met the group and he abruptly realized, that, yes, he actually does. Lore’s afraid of rejection, that one day these people that he’d come to regard as family will say 'That’s it, we’re done, you’re too weird and we can’t cope with it.’ He actually reigned himself in, at first, just a little bit, because he liked these people and he wanted to stick around and for some reason, the idea of them looking at him in apprehension and confusion the way most other people did bothered him. He’s let loose by now, obviously, because he knows that none of them are going anywhere and neither is he, but it’s just one of those things that comes up in a bad dream every once in a while and always ends with him spending the rest of the night awake.Sketch has a straight-up phobia of water. I’ve covered this one fairly in-depth in the story, I believe, so I won’t reiterate it too much. But Sketch is always going to look at the ocean differently than the rest of the group will, because The Rain Incident is never too far in his mind.Realm is secretly afraid that one day, he’s going to get lost on his way to save somebody and by the time he finally gets there it’ll be too late. Or, that he’ll lose his sword and be unable to fend off an attack, or lose his shield and be unable to defend someone. This is why he never stops trying to find whichever item he misplaced or whichever location he lost track of this time. He’s going to get there whether it takes him two weeks or not, because the alternative isn’t an option. He’s better nowadays, because somehow hanging with the group cuts his travel time by about eighty percent and he still can’t believe that it’s normal for people to get where they’re going in less than a week, but it’s awesome and he’s not complaining one bit.Wind is afraid to lose. Not exactly in the traditional sense, but more like he’s terrified of what will happen if he fails. What would have happened to Aryll if he’d failed to save her after she’d gotten kidnapped? What would have happened to Tetra if he’d failed to get her out of Ganondorf’s hands? What would happen to her now if he fails to find Bellum? And, the current one, what will happen to existence if they fail to stop Demise? (I guess he’s afraid of the Game Over scenario, heh.)Steam never says anything about it, but he sometimes sees things that nobody else does and they freak the living daylights out of him. He’s started suspecting that there’s some form of spirit world sharing the space with their physical one. He’s learned to ignore it, for the most part, although being able to see it did come in really handy when Zelda lost her body. Unfortunately, that led him to think that he’s seeing the afterlife, and that was just uncomfortable.

Shadow likes to pretend that he doesn’t have a fear and he gets away with it too, because what he’s actually afraid of never actually occurred to anybody else. Which is funny, because he’s actually really obvious about it. He doesn’t like sunlight. Kinda like Sketch and his water phobia, Shadow’s afraid of sunlight because it hurts. He’s never tempted fate to see what would happen, but judging by the smoke that starts coming off his hair he doesn’t think he wants to find out. Hence the cloak he wears, and why he’s always under a shady tree somewhere.Oni dislikes the idea of losing his legacy. He’s the very first Hero, after all, he’s gotta protect his kids. Plus, if they’re gone, who’s gonna beat up the evil that pops up all the time? He’s like the formal older brother/father who’s actually an enraged momma bear if you manage to trigger his fear.))