#roberto really missed all the opportunities

[peachyloveswriting]

What would Vash, Wolfwood, and Knives do about sick reader? Like reader knew they had been getting sick for a few days but saying stuff like "I sneezed from the dusty sand" or "I choked on my spit. I wasn't coughing. " they keep coming up with stuff to say till they have a fever and collapse.

YES. MORE FOR KNIVES. I actually really enjoy writing for knives. He's such a complicated character to get right because he hates humans and more often than not the reader is portrayed as human. His feelings are so contradictory but I love it.

You're Only Human (After all)

SUMMARY: Vash, Wolfwood, and Naï, find out that you've been hiding a sickness from them. The outcome feels like a nightmare come true.

NOTES: Vash and knives parts are very long. There's a shit ton of angst but there's also hurt/comfort. I'd say it took me 16 hrs total from start to finish and that's partially because a huge part of Kives original part got deleted and yeah... I couldn't remember some of it. Enjoy tho lol.

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Vash

Setting up camp for the night was no easy task, getting up to gather what everyone needs to sleep comfortably while helping Meryl set up her own tent. Yours always comes last and before you can even finish Roberto is asking you to help him cook. You never stop working and seize every opportunity to stay on your feet, the restlessness that comes with stagnancy kills you. Through constantly throwing yourself into work is painful and tiring, it's been even more so than usual.

"Hey kid. Come and help with this roast."

You ignore Roberto's request, too tired to even think straight much less give a coherent thought, only curling further into the backseat of the truck. In the back of your throat has settled an itch, one that's not quite there but prominent enough to make you force down a cough. It bubbles up suddenly, making you gasp for air in-between coughs. Your throat burns in pain and tenses as it stops.

Soft foot steps pad up to the open door. Meryl peeks in at you with worry before she fixes herself right. "Uh... Sorry if I'm bothering you but could you help me with my tent again?" She clasps her hands together, eagerly waiting for your answer.

Nick watches from the outside of his own tent, gazing at your still form while his hands blindly settle the cross firmly into the sand. He doesn't decide to speak until Meryl extends a hand to tap you. "I'll do it." He offers.

Meryl turns to look at him with a disgruntled smile. "Thanks?" He scoffs. "Yup. Don't mention it. And close the door while you're at it."

Meryl looks at your limp form, not wanting to close any limbs in the door she checks just to be sure before she carefully closes the door. Just before walking away she takes one last peek inside to see if she disturbed you but you haven't moved an inch. Taking a deep breath she turns to stand beside Nick while he puts her tent together.

The night carried on and with it came Vash. To everyone else the night went on as usual but to Vash, a part of him was missing. When he looked for your tent he was sad to find that it hadn't been set up at all. This only worried the blonde further. His stomach would churn with unease the further he looked around. There was no sign on you anywhere. Just as he was about to peek around the truck, a soft finger tapped his shoulder. He turned to find Meryl gazing up at him.

"If you're looking for them..." She points to the truck. "They've been there all evening."

Hia gaze follows her pointed finger to the backseat of the truck. Offering her thanks, he rushes over to the truck and pulls open the door. You lay curled up on the farthest side away from him, your face hidden and tucked away in your arms. Face softening, Vash climbs into the empty space by your feel and closes the door behind him, ensuring privacy.

"Mayfly?" He leans over curiously, his hand slipping under your chin to lift your face into view. You grimace, your head swimming in agony and dizziness. "Are you okay?" His cries crease in concern.

Lazily, you lift a hand to swat him away. Setting your head back on your arms he lifts the back of his hand to your forehead. "You feel hot. Maybe you should get out of the car. Get some fresh air." His hand brushes over your head in a soothing manner.

"I'm fine." He smiles at your half-hearted grumble.

"If you say so..." Swiftly grabbing your shoulder, Vash scoops you up into his arms with ease and scoots to press his back to the door. He spreads his legs and leans back just enough for you to lay comfortably on his chest. You're just lethargic enough that you flop against him, no resistance whatsoever.

He stayed with you until the morning, upset when he kept waking up to you practicing choking in your sleep. Every time he raises a hand to your forehead it burns his skin. You were certainly running a fever of some kind or at the very least sick, he's never seen you so lethargic before. You've always stayed on your feet, working yourself to the brink, till' your legs won't carry you anymore. This might just be one of those spells but you never left the truck. Even when he got out to help everyone pack up you didn't move.

When everyone gathered inside the truck, you didn't move, allowing yourself to get shoved around to make room for Wolfwood and Vash. As Vash climbed in, he scowled at the priest who shoved you about as if you were some object he could just discard. Gently scooping you far enough to slide in. he laid you back down in his lap and held you close, allowing you to get some rather comfortable rest. Hours later, you woke up in a daze. The heat consuming you from head to toe is unbearable, breathing comes harshly.

You can see legs moving through the sand below you as you wake up but very quickly realize they're not yours. You begin to feel hands under each of your knees and your body pressed against another. Below you, Vash's coat flaps into view, the edges of it tugging about with each step.

You groan, dizzy from the heat and disoriented. Your head is reeling about, begging to go back to sleep and crying at the same time. Every part of you aches and your throat feels like it's been grated like fine cheese.

"You're awake!" Vash turns his head to look at you nuzzled into his shoulder. Swallowing harshly, you lift your head to glance at him. "Where are we?"

You cringe at the sound of your own voice, sounding like a decrepit frog that smokes cigarettes. It feels like you haven't drank in forever and your stomach rumbles angrily. Suddenly Vash jumps to keep you up on his back, you whine at the sudden jolt and dig your hands into the chest of his shirt. He grimaces at your painful response.

"You okay?" Forcing yourself to right yourself, you begin to wriggle in his hold. "M' fine. Put me down."

Vash's brows creased with worry. "Are you sure? You've-"

Pushing from his hold you fall into the scorching sands. Hissing in pain, you jump to your feet jostling your brain into a wave of vertigo. Your hand shoots out to find purchase while your vision grows dark. Tingles flood your body as a low dull pain pulses in your head. Two arms scoop you up into security, keeping you from falling back into the hot sands. "Whoa!"

Vash steadies you as you lean against him limply for help. "Slow down. You're not well." His hands move to your shoulders. A long drawn out couch slips from your lips. You shake away from his hole to walk towards the group, they're way ahead of you occasionally glancing back to stop and wait. "I'm fine."

You trudge forward at your own discretion and Vash follows closely behind. "Let me carry you Mayfly." A hand comes to rest at the small of your back. Beneath you, your legs shake horribly, threatening to lose your balance. It's hard just to push forward in the sand without wincing from the sore ache that settles into your bones. "I'll be fine, Vash."

The desert becomes distant, a cold covering your whole body like ice. "I'm..." The sky began to darken, blotting out the light from the suns and the sand beneath you.

"oh!" Slipping forward, Vash stretches an arm over your chest to stop your falling body from collapsing in the sand. The over exertion is obvious and your body makes it hard to deny. Vash can see it clearly, the bleary look in your eyes as he scoops your bridal style in his arms. Gazing down at you with an unreadable expression, he shakes his head. "How long has this been going on?"

You roll your head into his chest, shielding your eyes from the suns. Breathing in to speak you choke out a cough, you can hardly catch a breath in-between. When you finish, your head falls back softly. "A few weeks ago." You mumble weakly.

A frown settles upon his lips as he looks ahead at the horizon, the glare on his shades stops you from seeing his eyes. Those are always a dead give away for how he's feeling. Those shades work wonders for him.

Taking a shaky breath, you relax in Vash's arms. "Don't worry. I'll take you to a doctor. You should rest until then."

You shake your head. "Won't you get tired of carrying me?"

He looks back down at you smiling softly. The smile reaches up to his eyes, softening his gaze and wrinkling the corners of his eyes. "I will. It's okay, I'm supposed to take care of you Mayfly. Just rest." His voice is so soft he's almost whispering. It makes a heat swirl in your chest as you close your eyes.

"I'm sorry Vash."

He chuckles. "It's alright my love."

Wolfwood

Sweat beads along your forehead as you follow the giant wandering cross in front of you. Your wavering pace slows you down even more the longer you push forward. It's so far away now. When was the last time you even had water? God, you can't remember. Trudging through the sands makes the ache in your already sore leg grow worse, you can barely lift your feet from the ground.

Breathing is a labor, it burns your lungs with each breath you take, the longer you go without calling for Nick's help the more dire this starts to become. The dull ache in your head is pounding with the intensity of the suns and your body grows weaker. You regret lying to Nick before he ran out of gas, you knew them you should have said something but the situation was bad enough. You thought saying something then would only cause more worry to settle in Nick's mind and you didn't want to burden him.

Suddenly, searing hot pain blossoms on your exposed skin and sand hugs your body as it lands. Your mind is foggy and blank, you watch Nick grow smaller in the distance not even bothering to look back at you. You rasp his name but your throat doesn't allow you to call any louder than a simple talking tone. After traveling with Nick everywhere, you never thought it would end like this, laying in the sand pathetically sick because of your irrational fear and Inability to ask for help.

Suddenly, in the distance. The space between you and Nick closes in. He runs towards you, tossing the cross all about on his back. Distantly you can hear him call your name for the first time ever, he's only ever called you by silly nicknames. You don't give much care to mutter a response and sink into the sand.

Panic squeezes in Nick's chest and he drops his cross beside him to tend to you. Grabbing your shoulders he turns you over and sits you up in his lap. "C'mon. Don't fall asleep." He begs.

You cough up a laugh. The concern in his face grows even more severe with your seeming obliviousness to the situation. "I'm fine..." You want to shrug him off so bad but even moving feels like hell.

Heart pounding in his chest, Nick swallows harshly "You haven't been fine since we got stranded, have you?" The back of his hand feels freezing as he presses it to your forehead. You grimace with discomfort and whine. "I'm not stupid." Carefully, he stands with you in his arms.

As he turns to walk away you spot his cross on the ground. "Your cross..." Nick acknowledges it with a hum. His face is stern, pointedly staring straight again with his lips pressed into a thin line. "I'll get it back later. You need medical attention first."

You smile. "So you're saying you care?"

His grip on you begins to tighten. *Of course I do! Don't fucking scare me like that again." He growls.

"Sure." Sleep tugs your eyes closed, pulling at your weight the less conscious you become. Nick glares down at you, squeezing you tighter against him. He feels your body grow limp in his arms, heart dropping to his stomach.

"What did I say? Don't fall asleep." You're jostled awake with a groan. "Just let me sleep. Please."

"And if you don't wake up again?" He's become eerily nonchalant. "What then?" The edge in his voice shakes with worry, tracing the thoughts of what might unfold after your death. His chest aches at the thought of losing you and he won't say it but he's scared of losing you. "It'll kill me..."

Nick will never admit it but you do more for him then he lets on. Your company alone could last him a lifetime, your smile, it could make him happy forever. Everything about you fixes everything bad about him and he's not ready to give that up. Especially not over some silly illness. Hearing his words and understanding what he means, you coo quietly and rest your hand over his heart. Your touch quells his fraying nerves.

"I drag you down Nico." Your heart weighs heavy in your chest. "It might be better if you leave me behind."

Stomach clenching wearily, Nick grunts. "No." Venoms laces his tongue. "You idiot. I love you too much to do that." You gaze at him in surprise. "Don't look at me like that. I said what I said. You should just be quiet and conserve your energy."

Hesitant, you gaze at him for a few moments longer before letting your head rest carefully against his chest. "I'll get you help. Just hang in there."

Millions Knives

Sitting beside Naï, he plays the piano. Quietly, you watch his fingers dance over the keys as they belt out a dramatic yet familiar melody. It strikes the soul as misunderstood, you know it well. Many times has Naï played this song in your presence. You've heard everything he plays, as his words command you stay by his side under his watchful eye. Many of his followers take this as a sign of mistrust, a show that the human race will never take his attention. Naï has said to you before: "Hear me and believe my word. My trust in you is not misguided, I only wish to protect you from those who wish to harm you."

Despite hating humans, Naï knows his fair share about the ways they operate. He understands the delicacy of your body and handles it with immense measure and meticulous care. He keeps you near to prevent his followers from making a move to take your life. For him, he even strives to understand more about you, to protect you. His care for you and your well-being runs deep, although Naï doesn't quite understand why it's you he's so careful about, he understands that you make him feel something.

Naï, even in his own strange way, shows that he cares for you. He appreciates the company you keep him and he's not foreign with thanking you. Just the same your appreciation runs deep, he offers you friendship, safety, food, and a place to lay your head at night. Above all else, his friendship and company you find the most rewarding, to know so much about him is to see under his facade. Knowing that underneath all of those sharp blades, a gentle, and caring man resides. Only sparing himself to his closet confidants.

Beautifully, the keys fade into an epilogue, an ending to the story it once opened with. You find that as you watch with a smile your lungs begin to burn. A cough tries to bubble its way past your lips, it takes your breath away and chokes you on the way out. Turning away to cover your mouth, you find it hard to catch your breath and tears blur your vision. The melody that had once carried through the room now falls silent in the stead of your sputtering.

Worry tingles in Naï's chest as you gasp for air beside him, he's unsure of what to do or what this is. His knowledge might be expansive but he still has so much to learn, about sickness, potential threats, the many causes of death. His lack of awareness makes his heart quell with concern and his mind reel is fear.

"Are you alright?" His voice carries through the harmonious room. Tentatively his hand hovers over your back.

You wipe the tears from your eyes to see his angelic face clearly. "It's okay Naï, just choked on my spit."

Cautiously, he looks you over with care checking for abnormalities along your external appearance. Your eyes are dark and lightly sunken, despite noticing this fast Naï goes along with your word and nods in earnest. You feel scrutinized under his gaze, like he's judging every part of you without ever saying a word.

"Choked?" He queries. "Is this choking, dangerous?" His brows crease with worry.

"Well..." Recalling gasping for air, the onslaught of coughing as it keeps you from breathing in deep enough to catch your breath makes you choose your next words with ease. "Yes. It can be, depending on the circumstances. But it can also be prevented"

Intensely focused, Naï nods. "How can this be prevented?" His absolute attention is always divulged onto you anytime you talk, it's endearing, the way he listens to every detail. Nothing you've said has ever been forgotten by him, he remembers everything, making it a point to bring it up when useful later on. It tells you that he cares about what you have to say, knowing that makes your heart soar.

"Drinking a glass of water, or anything of likeness, then there's the heimlich. You should ask Con'rad about that if you want to understand it." Although many of the things that Naï knows about humans have been acquired through you, there are many things you can't find the energy to explain. Best someone else with more knowledge explains it to avoid any confusion.

"I'll go visit him then." Naï stands. "Come. I'll escort you to the room." Gently, you hold his outstretched hand, letting it guide you to your feet. He holds it gingerly as he pulls you alongside him. His hand is soft and warm, inhumanely so, you find comfort in his warmth.

The more time chugs along the more you begin to realize you've fallen I'll, coughing spells out of nowhere, extreme fatigue, loss of appetite. The coughing grows worse with intensity, burning your sore throat, your body wastes energy faster, and waking up in the morning becomes a difficult task. For longer times you would lay in bed seeking the comfort of your companion, Naï, despite hiding your growing illness from him. He's buying into what you told him, though it won't last for very long. If he's really that worried he'll seek the knowledge of Con'rad once again.

He knows your habits even down to the smallest details, including your sleep schedule. Though sleep is the only time he lets you spend alone, that's only in his room, the only ones allowed inside are you and him. As far as his knowledge goes, since you last went in about a day ago, no one has bothered to enter. Not even Naï himself would go to see you. He figured you only needed a little alone time before you might come out again to grace him with your company. The time rolled around for you to come out but the door never opened, Naï waited in anticipation, trying to stace off the minutes to spare you time.

The paranoia got to him before you could.

The whole time you've been inside he's only let the door out of his sight once, for only a short amount of time. Very few people would dare enter knowing what punishment would await them if he ever found out but just the thought of someone going in and hurting you... It makes his blood boil. He paces just outside with worry and frustration beginning to build just beneath the surface. He has to know you're okay, he has to hear you speak... No. No, he needs something more... He has to see you physically. Otherwise, he might just lose his mind wondering what awaits him inside.

Eager to finally see your face again, to hear your voice and feel your touch, he pushes the door open. Eyes scouring the darkness for your form he finally spots you laying still beneath the covers of his bed, you make no sound as the door closes and you stay still even as he says your name. In his chest, his heart begins to pound wildly, sending the rest of his body into a frenzy of feelings.

He rushes to the bedside, a singular blade extending to turn the lights on. The darkness cowers away at the flick of a switch and your form is revealed amongst his mattress. Almost stripped bare of your clothes you lay unmoving, almost as if the life from inside you has been drained. Chest straining, Naï climbs over top of your body lowering his head to your chest, your skin feels cold against his ear as he listens for a heartbeat.

Just underneath your delicate skin beats the rhythm of your life, it beats on even as you lay utterly still. Naï can feel his shoulders relax, the sound of your heart telling him that you're indeed still alive, but as he pulls away to further examine you he knows something's not quite right. it makes his stomach churn with unease. Your skin tone seems off, like something's not quite the same as it was before.

As softly as he can, Naï shakes your body. After the first movement he expects you to come to life with a groan but you don't move. If your heart is still beating, why won't you wake up?

"My flower, wake up. You've slept long enough. I need your company by my side." He shakes you harder this time. "Petal, wake up. I demand it." He tries to sound like he normally does when addressing everyone else but he can't seem to find it in himself to truly yell at you, to demand something of you. Especially not when you're stripped of your freedom at this moment.

Naï's throat tightens, his brows creasing with worry and fear. He's so confused, you usually wake up when he calls for you but now he's got nothing. It scares him, knowing just how fragile you really are, it aside now that he rushes you to Con'rad.

Before he parts to the lab, he envelopes your exposed body in his cloak and carries you in his arms. Nothing like this takes more than the blink of an eye, Con'rad barely even has time to process his master's sudden appearance. Everything is thrust at him at once, the fear and confusion that riddles Naï's face when he presents you to Con'rad, how he begs for him to find out what's wrong, to fix you.

Con'rad frowns at your unconscious body as he takes you from his master's arms. "Careful! Don't hurt them." Naï warns.

Con'rad can only cast him a glance before he sets you down on a table, he collects his supplies needed to check you over and watches as Naï retracts the cloak that is wrapped so tightly around your body.

To plants, a decade is only supposed to feel like a day. So why did Naï feel like it had already been years when it was only minutes. He stared at you intently, waiting for you to wake up, willing you to do something. But you didn't move at all. Naï was anxious from tip to bottom, so to quell his nerves Con'rad began explaining things to him.

"Like we discussed, humans are susceptible to many things, illness being one of them. Should a person go an extended amount of time without medication or medical attention, it can cause death. This happens to be the case with your friend. You're lucky you found them when you did Knives. I can still run this IV to get the right fluids in check. After, you can take them back to your room, the IV has to stay in until it's empty though." He eyes the bleach blond from the corner of his eyes as he tapes the IV to your arm. "Again. You're lucky. They should recover soon. But they'll need plenty of rest."

Naï steps away from the wall he had leaned on, the blades slither out from behind his back and circle you carefully until they meld into his cloak once more. Content, he carefully picks you from the table with ease, using another metal appendage to grasp the IV bag.

"Thank you." Naï bows his head to Con'rad in thanks. Before he can reply Naï is gone again just as fast as he appeared.

Returning back to the privacy of his room, Naï gently sets you at the edge of the bed where he could rest the IV bag beside you. Leaving you swaddled in his cloak, Naï climbs up the bed behind you. For a moment he's hesitant to touch you, like it's the wrong thing to do but he pushes forward. Softly laying an arm over your waist, he pulls you flush against him, his face tucked into the back of your neck. He would lay here until you woke, until then, Naï would relish in the feeling of your body against his and find comfort in your presence by his side.

He might lecture you when you wake up, or inspect you thoroughly for any other sickness, but he also might enjoy your waking company for a moment before he does anything else.

[grogusmum]

IRL

Part 2 : of festivals and food

JAVI X F!PLUS SIZE!READER

WORD COUNT: 2200ish

SUMMARY: Set before the events of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Javi and Reader are friends online, and after a year of DMing, they decide to meet. (The only change is that Javi and Gabriela are just friends)

WARNINGS: Reader has insecurities about her size and appearance, Lucas continues to be a fatphobic jerk, and that's about it in this chapter. Worries about food and eating. Javi is adorable, be warned.

Part 1

Javi watches you closely after the encounter with Lucas. He got the feeling your translation was very basic, and on the surface, it might not seem rude. When you pull on an entirely unnecessary cardigan, he knows you know it was at your expense.

“Just in case the air conditioning is - um, you know too cold, or whatever,” you mumble.

He thinks you are just beautiful and not in spite of your size. Your ample curves and softness were just… all he can think about was running his hands up and down your plush arms.

Javi opens the car door for you when you reach the carport and comes around to the driver’s side.

Dropping into his seat, he fills the void-

“So along those lines, this is a 1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A Speedster, Nick-”

“Oh right Nick had one until he sold it because of his 'IRS problems',” releieved to have something else to talk about, you grab onto what feels like a lifeline, a conversation far from what you are thinking about, then your eyes widen.

“Wait-”

Javi smiles and nods animatedly, as you point just as emphatically at the car with your mouth hanging open.

“Is this his?!”

“I got it on auction! I was only too happy to help Nick with his financial difficulties.”

At the restaurant, the Materdi seats you and Javi in a ridiculously romantic alcove with an open window overlooking the beach. You carefully slide onto the semi-circle bench, and Javi slips in after you. There are faerie lights strung above you and a low candle in stained glass mosaic holder on the intimate table.

The server brings water and gives you the chef’s specials. When he returns for your order you do your best to order in Spanish.

Of course Javi knows he doesn’t know how you eat normally, but when you spoke online, you expressed a love of trying new things and experimenting with cooking, though you admitted you failed spectacularly on many occasions. But here you are in Spain for the first time and you order a salad. A side salad and some prawns.

“How would it be if I ordered for the both of us? Javi tries, “that way, you can try a just little of everything, if, you know, you are not very hungry. I would hate for you to miss out on the tapas Roberto’s is so famous for.”

He watches you nibble self-consciously at first, though Roberto’s tapas won the day. Soon, you are making yummy noises, and Javi can’t get enough of them.

“Have you tried this one?” Javi asks, getting a fork full of Patatas Bravas and guiding it toward your mouth. Your little smile just before opening your mouth gives Javi butterflies low in his stomach. Your lips close around it, followed by your eyes as you savor it. Then you give the cutest whine.

“Is that potato?”

“Mhmm,” Javi smiles, “with garlic, hot sauce, and- ”

“Smoked paprika!” You finish together.

“Oh it’s all so good, thank you Javi.”

“For what?”

“Not letting me just have a stupid salad and steamed shrimp.”

After dinner, Javi takes you for a walk along the beach. Wondering if he can take your hand again, when you try to stifle a yawn, the time difference is getting to you.

“To bed!” he declares, seizing the opportunity to take your hand under the guise of directing you toward his palatial home. “We have a big day at the festival.”

“I’m not really ready to say good night, Javi.” You give his hand a squeeze, “But you're probably right, I’d be mortified if I fell asleep during one of the movies.”

“Well, we will head back to the house slowly.”

But you find yourself in front of your bedroom door far too soon. Before you could overthink it, you give him a kiss on the cheek and a shy goodnight and disappear into your room. Javi leans on the door, his hand going slowly to his cheek. He’s brought back to reality and chuckles to himself until he realizes what or rather who pulled him out of his reverie.

“Cousin, you have a beautiful woman for an assistant, with an incredible body! How have you never-”

“Lucas, stop, will you? Gabriela and I are just friends.”

“And you prefer the heifer?”

All he wants to do is clock Lucas right across his smug and arrogant face more than he has ever wanted to before - and Lucas has a natural ability to pull this reaction from Javi- often. But that will only make things worse. He knows he needs to stand up to his cousin, for many things, but it’s frankly dangerous to do so, so he brushes past and enters his bedroom, just relieved that between the closed door and the rapid Spanish. You probably did not hear what was said.

Bzzzzt bzzzt

You look at your phone

JAVI: Good night. :)

YOU: lol Good night Javi

YOU: sweet dreams

JAVI: I have no doubt. ;)

You stare at the last text. With confused astonishment, your face heats up. But, maybe he’s joking or…

YOU: cheeky

YOU: see you in the morning

JAVI: See you.

Javi looks at his screen, not sure what to say next or if he should say anything next. After a few moments just staring at it, he puts his phone in the charging dock and his hand goes back to the place you kissed it, it was just a little kiss, but he could still feel your soft lips there. He undresses and slides between his cool, crisp sheets and clicks off the light. Laying in bed awake, he listens to the waves crashing on the beach below. Javi thinks of you listening to them, too. He’s glad he chose to put you in a guest room on the same side of the hall. His mind goes over the day, wandering to your arms again, then your hips… how he would explore you if you were to allow it. His imaginings switch over to dreams of you in his bed, tangled in his sheets, breathing heavily as he feasts on you.

You wake to the sounds of seabirds, making you smile. It makes you want to wrap yourself in the incredible sheets and snuggle down into the soft pillows, but you fully remember where you are and what today is, and you roll off the bed, with a little skip as you hop in the shower. You and Javi are spending an entire day at the film festival, you’ll get to nerd out together over favorite writers, actors, directors, and the films they’ve made before anyone else has seen them. Even though you’ve never gone to a fancy festival with film creators or anything you feel that maybe you will feel more in your element with Javi. Thinking less about what he thinks about you now that he’s seen you and just be the person he befriended because of your shared interests.

After showering and putting on the sleeveless summer dress, a light shrug of a sweater, and sandals you had picked out for the event. You put on a little lip stain, leaving your eyes make-up free (who knows how much crying you may do. It looks like there may be a tearjerker or two on the schedule). You look in the mirror a beat more, and give a sigh. Swinging your bag over your shoulder, you go to meet Javi for breakfast.

Following the delicious smell of coffee to the dining room, you find the table is ladened with a beautiful spread of fruit, toast with tomato and olive oil or jam and butter, churros, empanadas, juices, and the smell of fresh coffee, all making your stomach rumble. But it’s Javi that makes your mouth water, he is dressed simply in a white linen button-down shirt and a blue blazer, his hair a little more tamed brushed back away from his face, but still curling around his ears. How is it that the orange of yesterday's shirt looks so amazing and now the light blue too? His brows go up when he sees you, his mouth opening just a bit. Then he breaks into his wide warm smile distracting you from the desire to run your fingers through his hair, for a moment anyway.

“¡Buenos días, mi sol!” good morning, sunshine

“¡Buenos días, Javi!”

Javi brings over a carafe of coffee to the table and pulls out a chair for you. You smile and shake your head, murmuring a thank you as you sit.

“We can have omelets made or…”

“Javi, all of this looks amazing.”

You both tuck in and chat about the schedule, what you are looking forward to, and the things you don't want to miss. Finding yourselves mostly in alignment.

“Do you,” you fall quiet, biting your lip, “Do you think I’m dressed okay, I wasn't sure how dressy-”

“You look incredible!” Javi says instantly. Then he waves his hand dismissively, “You know celebrities are going to do what they do, but for the rest of us? Perfecto!”

You look down at the patterned dress and smile, as Javi adds quietly, “Plus I like sunflowers.”

After both a boat and car ride you arrive in Barcelona-Saint Jordi, you get your passes and people watch. But it seems as though Javi is elsewhere.

"Javi? Is, um,” you worry your bottom lip, “Is everything okay?”

With a sigh, Javi looks at you next to him on a small bench, then looks down.

“I am sorry for my cousin’s behavior. I am so embarrassed. He is the literal worst."

Your laugh turns to a little cough of discomfort-

“I- well, thank you Javi, I appreciate that. But I’m used to it. It, well…”

“That does not make me feel better. You should not be used to such poor treatment. I should have said something”

“Well,” you swallow, ”thank you Jav-”

“I want you to be used to hearing how beautiful you are.” Javi’s words come out in a rush, then his eyes widen slightly at his own daring. Finally, he gives you a sidelong look to assess the damage.

At this you laugh like it's joke and a little absurd, giving his arm a little hug.

“You are the sweetest.”

Javi looks at you again, wondering if you think he's just being a supportive friend. Your tone makes him think so, and it leaves him at war with himself. He's not sure how you feel. Part of him is relieved in a way, and part of him desprately wants you to know. He wants to be courageous, to take the plunge! But maybe now isn't the time. While he's thinking about courage and plunges, you start to pull at his sleeve. When he looks at you, you give a little nod with your eyes going to the right. Javi looks, and there was Randell Cobb. Javi’s eyes go comically wide, making you giggle, and he starts flipping through his program.

“I did not even know he was still acting, “Javi hisses. “He was in-”

“Raising Arizona, I know,” you say excitedly.

“Of course you do,” he squeezes your knee, which is bare since the skirt of your dress is slightly hiked from sitting. It sends a shot of warmth up your thigh. “I mean he’s done other things but that was by far the best…”

“Is he in one of the films? He must be, right?”

Javi dives back to his program, and you keep watching everyone arrive.

After the opening remarks and the first film, you head to lunch and just walk around taking everything in. Javi has an almost permanent blush from the amount of people wondering what movie he's in, if he is an actor or model.

“It is very complimentary, of course… but all I want to do is tell them, ‘no I am a screenplay writer, read my script!!! Please!’”

"Well, you look like you belong here, no doubt. Handsome, tan, beautifully tailored clothes…"

Javi tugs you into an alcove, warm hands running up and down your arms.

"You belong here. You are a wonderful writer, and fantastic film and character analyst. Your breakdowns are one point!"

"I am a chubby (at best) woman, in a fifty dollar dress and a haircut that cost about the same, and I was splurging…"

"You got this lovely dress for fifty dollars? Wow."

You purse a tight smile and then laugh.

"Yes you can get one at TJMaxx, at a strip mall near you!"

A pair of glamorous willowy actors pass your little hiding place.

"You could fit two of these actresses in one of them."

"I like the one who is filling it right now," Javi says shyly, "and how she is filling it."

His hands traverse your hips.

Javi feels the soft plush curve of them, and his sigh carries a small, pleased hmm with it.

"Is this alright?" He whispers.

Your brain's throwing up .exe errors.

Your breathless "yeah" is almost a gasp. Javi is touching you, and liking what he feels through the gauzy fabric.

"We've got two more movies and then we go back to the hotel… but um-"

You mouths crash together. You both do your level best to be quiet, as Javi crowds you into the corner of the alcove behind a palm of some kind.

Part 3

💚THANK YOU FOR READING💚REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED💚

If you care to read more Javi G or any of my stories, you can find my masterlist here, and if you would like to be tagged for any of my fics, you can find my handy dandy taglist form here.

[nanomooselet]

Episode One: No Man's Land

He's so fluffy. <3

Man, the fact that Vash ran out to greet all those people by name and he's not even a minute into it when the ships begin to explode is really everything about him you need to know. The first time we see his face and it's after he's been thrown off his feet as cascading destruction is unleashed around him. The face that crashed a thousand ships? Vash of Troy? My poor sweet boy.

Young children can sometimes have trouble with cause and effect, assuming events relate more to their own actions than they really do and blaming themselves. So Vash asking Rem if the sleepers will be okay... There's simply no time to explain he isn't responsible. All the dominos are being set up in Vash's little head. Nai is the one to knock them down.

And then Rem and Nai wearing identical expressions. It's not surprising that even after her death she's his most enduring ideological opponent. Every time I watch it's just more obvious how enormous the effect she had on Nai was, and how he hates it. (By the way, I keep hearing that Rem told Nai to protect Vash - but as far as I can tell that's a conclusion Nai came to on his own without Rem's intervention? Rem said she'd protect the twins herself and didn't anticipate the crash. Did I miss something?)

I've talked extensively about this part, but to recap: feelings. And look, Rem's got purple eyes! Apart from the colour motif (purple = red + blue, so it represents the unity of humanity and the Plants that was her dream) she would have had to get gene-modded for them, which is a fun detail. Rem, of all people, was a little bit vain. I dunno, I find that endearing.

"Real people don't look like that./Real people aren't such caricatures." More of Orange's composition choices making me foam at the mouth.

We don't know how long Vash has been dangling there, but I doubt it was less time than it would take for a human to die of deprivation or exposure. I really don't think Vash actually needs to eat or drink, nor does he hate being a Plant - it's himself that he hates, as a person. If anything Knives is the one in denial that he's just as human? I don't know.

Anyway personally I like to think that the reporters really are caught up in all this nonsense by sheer happenstance. No one's pulling their strings; they're out to write a meaningless gossip piece and Meryl is taking it too seriously. It's worth noting that focused pursuit of the "dangerous fugitive" (read: Vash) is apparently pretty recent, not to mention unusual.

...I'm guessing my girl doesn't play a lot of poker. Meryl's faces. <3

I've said it before, but the show doesn't cheat. Roberto doesn't pull his conclusions out of his ass; he tallies up incongruities and puts them together into insights. He's obviously experienced, but I think of Sam Vimes, a recovering alcoholic, complaining there aren't meetings you can attend for being a suspicious bastard. Roberto drinks because, too often, his suspicions have been proven right. (I suspect Roberto also suffers from a state of being naturally knurd i.e. he's short of sobriety in the opposite direction to being drunk, and has to down a few before he's on par with the rest of us. But I also think his tolerance is good and he plays up drunken mannerisms when it suits him.)

Huh, the man looks good in a tie. I wonder how recent that photo is.

Anyway, Roberto sees Vash's big honkin' gun, but Vash insists he's "not a fighter". He notes aloud that Vash doesn't look like a Plant engineer and Vash dodges explaining. Then he sees this face Vash is making, and it's scared. He's sweating. This is before the MPs barge in, so it's something about the Plant he's afraid of.

Right, thinks Roberto, we'll tuck that nugget of info away, along with how that piece in his holster sure ain't no damn novelty backscratcher. And when an opportunity arises to test the insight, Roberto takes it.

Uh, never mind what I said about cheating. (Although this is an animation cheat, not a narrative one.) I love that they didn't even pretend like he was maybe hiding it somewhere. Also hilarious, though more darkly so, is the complaint that this turn is "bad writing" because the captain was professional, as if he didn't beat the shit out of a suspect in the process of surrendering, stick his gun in random faces, and agree to a duel with deadly weapons against a bounty head he's meant to bring in alive because some random drunk asshole made slightly mean comments.

("Are you are a man, or a yellow-bellied baby who needs his mommy?" Background info implies the captain has reason to be sensitive about the accusation he's hiding behind his parents. I wonder if the dub writers knew?)

Meanwhile Vash is unwilling to fight until his opponent does something absolutely batshit that imperils everyone around him. He's also bizarrely calm about a cluster of missiles being launched and heading right for him. Roberto's right that he isn't afraid of the MPs.

"A fight should be a show!/We've got an audience, we might as well give them a show!" <- Orange says you're goddamn right about that, crazy captain dude. And it's exactly what they did.

Dweeb. <3 He probably left his ammo behind in his bag on purpose, but didn't expect the captain to do something so recklessly violent and suddenly realised he hasn't had time to restock any of his aces in the hole. Nevertheless, I suspect he's still playing up how hard he's freaking out here. The helpless and pathetic act is very much an act; it's only when he's faced with Knives that it isn't.

It's so sweet that Rosa knows him well enough to have faith he'd pull it off with a single bullet. She put a lot of trust in him. I like to think she kept a stock on hand. She also meant it when she said "a friend of Vash's is a friend of mine," so Meryl makes the throw. And she makes it good. Which all helps what's coming to be more devastating, naturally.

LOL at how clearly this is an animation/particle flex, but it's celebratory too, like fireworks on opening night. Over a decade since Vash did his thing on our screens. Here he is returning with a bang!

Wow, I somehow completely and utterly failed to realise Meryl and Roberto's conversation with Vash about Knives takes place the next day until this time around. Of course they would have had to wait until the captain was conscious enough to ride out of town. All the details I pick up and "the sun is setting" or maybe "unconscious people can't ride birds" missed me entirely. What I'm saying is that I'm very smart.

Hi Zazie!

I don't expect an answer to this question, but I have to wonder. Did Zazie wait to report to Knives until now to be absolutely certain it was Vash after seeing him draw that exact gun and do something impossible? Or does Zazie have some awareness of the fourth wall, knew when they'd cut away to show Knives, and acted so as to achieve a "speak of the devil" effect when Vash finally mentioned his full name?

Regardless, I really like the dub, but it's a shame they couldn't keep the ambiguity of whether Knives is talking about Vash or the red Plant when he says he'll rescue [someone] from the "parasites".

I do like the impression he's talking to the Plant husks (even if it's probably really Zazie he's talking to). My man's always open to constructive criticism when his interlocuter isn't capable of making any.

@tristampparty

[intoxicated-chan]

𝐈❜𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬

Summary ➳ Being separated doesn’t mean anything to him, breaking up doesn’t mean anything to him. In his mind, he still has you. In your mind, he haunts you daily.

(A/n) ➳ Sorry for the lack of posting/updating. I’ve been trying to work on my other works as well as working with a shitty boss. Anyways, eat something and drink water everyone!! I hope you all are taking care of yourselves. Thank you @/benkeibear for the divider!!

Word Count ➳ 790

Content Warnings ➳ Female reader, MODERN AU, toxic relationship, mentions of smoking, swearing, angst, mentions of violence, alcohol use, mentions of threats (not aimed towards reader), sabotaging, yandere/obsessive behavior, stealing…

It wasn’t even a single minute before you received another text from an unknown number…

dont ignore me

What it said. Nothing more, nothing less. You didn’t have to even guess who the text came from, afterall, he���s been terrorizing you ever since you decided to break up with Nicholas.

You thought he took the news well but you couldn’t have been more wrong that day.

He wouldn’t leave you alone for a second. At first, he spoke to you like a usual friend or a regular day. But then came him to ask you to dinner that would’ve landed on your third anniversary.

You thought it was a misunderstanding but he continued to press and press until you gave in.

You had hoped to use that opportunity to make it clear that you wouldn’t tolerate any more attempts like this, but it fell on death’s ears as he clearly ignored your words and talked and talked. Ordering your favorite meal and drink, going as far as to pay and drop you off home.

Nicholas doesn’t even acknowledge your attempts to talk, he very much ignores you, over and over again.

Frustrating would be an understatement.

The next came when Meryl decided to throw a party to celebrate New Years. Since Nicholas wasn’t listening to you, ignoring him was your next choice. But that too became difficult when he was watching you and following you all the damn time.

You wanted to catch up with Vash and his brother, Nicholas stood by you the entire time, contributing nothing to the conversations.

You wanted a cigarette from Roberto? You couldn’t, it was stolen by him… More like he took it and threw it right out in front of you with a smile. Not a smirk. A smile.

You were suspicious when he randomly came up to you with a hug, he refused to let go and kept on until you threatened to kick him in the balls.

“Relax! Relax!” Nicholas laughed. “I just wanted a hug. No need to get all worked up.” Oh, this man certainly pissed you off!

The reason you were suspicious was when he finally left you alone, you noticed your phone missing minutes later. It only reappeared when Meryl found it in the bathroom. When you asked Nicholas about, all he said was-

“You really think that I stole your phone?” His brother, Livio, was there, looking at you. You knew Livio was confused but you couldn’t help but feel guilty. You muttered an apology and remained close to Meryl and Vash.

But there was one good thing about that party, he surprisingly left you alone. But it wouldn’t last long when it was time to go home, he unfortunately had a couple of drinks, and Nicholas was the only person who was in the right state to drive.

You didn’t want his help, you wanted to stay at Meryl’s place until the morning but she was knocked out to say anything in your defense.

The ride felt like hours long, even though it was only twenty minutes. He tried making small talk, ignoring your shutdowns.

He also ignored your protests to push him off you when he helped you walk to your apartment.

He kept a tight grip on your arms, practically dragging you to your door. He tried to stay for the night but Livio called him for help as well.

You were on the verge of passing out, not hearing Nicholas snooping through your apartment.

He took stuff that he was sure that you weren’t going to miss, how does he know? He was with you for two years, just because it was a short time, he made sure he understood every single thing about you.

He knows every flaw, every mark, everything and anything. He has all eyes on you, especially with the app he downloaded into your phone, making sure to remember each and every person that messages you.

He’d share not so kind words with the user that seemed to be getting too close for his taste and that be every user, didn’t matter who. He didn’t care. He never cared.

You ruined him. Maybe he wanted to ruin you.

All those lonely nights just because you wanted to break things off, what did you mean when he was too controlling? Or the resentment he held whenever a man would glance your way?

You didn’t want to listen to him when he said that your family was no good. You didn’t listen to him when you needed to cut Vash and his brother off.

If he couldn’t have you now then he’ll make sure you remember that he’s always around, haunting you.

© Intoxicated-Chan 2023, I do not allow my work to be copied, translated, modified, adapted, or put on any other platform without my permission.

[longbobmckenzie]

Season 6 Volume VII Thoughts

Okay, gangbang is cancelled. These boys are Not It™️. Well, except Andy.

Thoughts on the Boys

Hamish is the wurst. Honestly I'm not entirely surprised because he always did kinda look like a trust fund baby to me, but I'm sad for the people who were looking forward to him

Marshall's chat is dryer than the toast he makes. Ugh. I was excited for him because looks-wise, he's HOT. I want him to rail me. I had the hottest idea for him in the gangbang fic idea. But it's amazing how fast I soured on him.

Francis is exactly what I expected. Ew.

Andy is... really nice and sweet and precious. To be protected at all costs - therefore I will not couple up with him only to break his heart.

Other Thoughts

Me entering Casa, meeting the boys: "Hmm, something someone's missing." Honestly, having a separate date on the roof with Marshall was so weird

Also, Marshall sure mentioned being TWINS with Ozzy a whole lot of time, despite Ozzy never mentioning having a twin, and despite the assets indicating that Ozzy is 24 and Marshall is 27.

Same goes with the Ozzy story, like yeah I believe Ozzy fired him, but I don't believe Ozzy was a snake. It just seems like they wanted different things and Ozzy wasn't happy with the way Marshall was handling him. I trust Ozzy

I didn't actually take the gem scene to learn about Elliot and Grace but I heard afterwards and lol. Grace, girl... That whole situation is a mess

FB's obsession with celebs continues!

Okay, MC and Grace both seeing Marshall for the first time and thinking it was Ozzy? Um, beard and tats? Hello? FB, stop it with the twin identity crisis thing, please, I beg you. They're clearly different people. Also interesting how Grace didn't mistake us for Amelia this time, she's learning!

Another day, another special chat with Amelia. *yawn*

Okay, I'm just going for Marshall at every opportunity because I want the D, but HOW COME YOU CAN DO BITS WITH ALL THE OTHER GUYS BUT NOT HIM!?! Seriously. I checked the scripts and Marshall is the only one with a unique scene, the other boys all share the same one. Rude on so many levels.

Theories under the cut

Marshall is lying about being twins. He says it too much, so I think he's just trying to somehow gain sympathy with MC.

If you pick Marshall to share a bed with, Amelia starts to say he's the one she wanted to share with. She doesn't do it for the other guys. I think she'll bring him back if neither MC nor Grace do

Hamish is (thankfully) probably not an LI. Maybe one of the other girls picks him, but shame on them if so

The fact Bella points out that MC and Elliot are both single and it would be safe to pick someone means we're probably going to be forced to (I mean, we all thought this anyway). Might bring Marshall back just so I can dump his ass, OR pick Andy after flirting with Marshall the whole time

That's it, that's all. I honestly don't care enough at this point to think about all the potential Casa fallout.

I just want Roberto back.

[joselialopes]

“And when I first showed him my scar, he said it was interesting. He used the word ‘textured’. He said ‘smooth’ is boring but ‘textured’ was interesting, and the scar meant that I was stronger than whatever it was that had tried to hurt me.”

BIOGRAPHY | CONNECTIONS | MUSINGS | PINTEREST | SPOTIFY

STATS

Name: Joselia “Jo” Lopes Silva Faceclaim: Bruna Marquezine Gender & Pronouns: Cis woman & she/her Sexuality: Pansexual Age: 30 Birthday: June 3, 1993 Zodiac: Gemini sun, Leo moon, Virgo rising Education: BSW, UC-Riverside Occupation: Addiction Counselor (Social Worker) Neighborhood: Bighorn Hills + open-minded, adaptable, passionate - hot-headed, flaky, impulsive

BIOGRAPHY

tw: drug mention, alcoholism, abortion

also tw I say “daddy” one billion times and I’m so sorry that’s just what Joselia would say

Daddy was always a free spirit. He and Mama married young– him 17 and her 16– and he promised her the world. He painted a beautiful picture of a long, successful career as a football player, a big move to America, and a life where she seldom had to lift a finger. But Gisele Lopes Silva was always more grounded than her husband. She didn’t want all of that, really, just a man who loved her and happy kids. Still, Daddy was determined to shoot for the stars and, in the end, he landed pretty close. Roberto Silva qualified for the Campeonato Brasileiro Series at 19 and he swore up and down it was a straight shot to US Nationals from there. Mama got pregnant with Roberto Jr. that winter, 1984, and five years later in 1989 they had Miguel. With two babies, Mama’s asking Daddy to retire and get a real job graduated from passing remarks to deadpan questions to begging. 

They were doing okay, what with Grandma helping with the boys while Mama worked, but Gisele was wise. She knew it wouldn’t last long. Besides, she’d rather have Daddy around the kids than him be some big, international soccer star. It was a fight she didn’t have the energy for but every now and then, and Daddy became an expert at weasling out of it– bringing home expensive gifts, magazines about life in America, VHS tapes of sitcoms. Money was tight, though, and it was Daddy’s magic-making that made the room dividers in the living room that hid Jr.’s cot feel enchanted, like a portal to another world instead of a family bursting at the seams. In retrospect, Jr. says Mama resented him even then. She was caught in the trap of working all day in the factory and coming home to cook and clean, all the while the boys tugged on Daddy’s pant legs and clamored on top of him and asked to hear the story of his trip to San Fransisco for the hundredth time. 

Mama says that having Joselia in 1993 changed everything. She was finally getting somewhere with Daddy– touting the baby, the only girl, as the reason why he should quit chasing this crazy dream and get a real job. Settle down and give them all the life they deserved. Of course, the very next year was the beginning of the San Jose soccer club. The Earthquakes wanted Daddy on their inaugural team, and Daddy leaped at the chance to move to California– the land of opportunity. According to Daddy, getting recruited to the U.S. was the best thing that ever happened to him. Mama was just grateful that he finally got a kick in the ass to make something of himself. In 1994, the family migrated to San Jose to start their new life. 

Daddy always talked about those first few years like they were something out of a fairytale– all blue skies and palm trees and balmy breezes. Long days of doing what he loved, coming home to a slice of Brazil in Mama’s cooking and Jr.’s singing and the artifacts they’d managed to bring with them. Mama isn’t so romantic about it all. Sure, it was nice to not be so strapped for cash. But it was lonely, she says– hardly anybody else spoke Portuguese, and Daddy was alright with his English but Mama struggled. She could hardly make it through trips to the grocery without aid, and she missed her mother. But, Daddy was happy, which had been the point all along, right?

Daddy’s first season with the Earthquakes was a building year– at least, that’s what all the players would say when they would crowd around the kitchen table, drinking and talking and making messes that Mama stayed up well into the night cleaning up. But the kids loved it, crowding around the table with wide eyes and hanging on every word they said. It was this way that Joselia learned English; When her kindergarten teacher wrote home and asked where she’d learned to say “damn it all to hell!”, Daddy just laughed and laughed and laughed. 

Season two was better. By the end of it, everybody was talking about the Earthquakes, and Daddy was even named in a couple articles as a player to watch. That was 1996, a year he still calls the best of his life. Joselia remembers the whole family travelling to LA and Washington, DC and Dallas to see Daddy play. It was exactly what Daddy always promised– traveling the world, staying in fancy hotels, a balanced diet of stadium hot dogs and room service. Even Mama loosened up on their trips, had a glass or two of champagne and got giggly. It was like they were really in love, then. Life should’ve been like that forever– and it would’ve been, if Daddy hadn’t gotten injured.

Three games before the end of the 1997 season, an ill-timed slide tackle caused Daddy’s leg to break in two places. Mama, Jr., Miguel, and Joselia were watching from home, and everything instantly devolved into chaos. Mama screamed and immediately called the neighbor to come watch the kids while she rushed to the hospital. The three kids planted themselves in front of the TV, watching any and all coverage they could find on the local channels, and praying to every saint they knew. 

Daddy put on a brave face, at first. He had high hopes, unreasonable expectations that he’d be as good as new after surgery. But then came the minimum two years of physical therapy, and by the time he was in any condition to run again, they were so far behind with medical bills that Mama put her foot down. He had to get a job– they had to get back on their feet before he started his crazy training regimen. His old teammates still came around back then, and one of them even pulled some strings and got Daddy a job as a daytime bartender at a pub near the training facility. 

But there’s always a point in time where the sympathy runs out. People can’t hold pity forever. The guys stopped coming around, Coach stopped inviting him to closed practices. Mama was never gentle with him– she said that was that, it was time to move on. Find a new dream. Joselia wouldn’t know until much later, but underneath all of his bravado, Daddy was incredibly sensitive. He didn’t take to normal life well, and started mixing his pain meds with a few too many drinks. At first, it was an inconvenience. He would get too drunk and forget to pick up Jr. from school, he would leave Miguel an hour or two longer after school than he meant to. Most nights would end in whispered arguments behind Mama and Daddy’s door– Jr. learned to press a glass to the wood young, but he’d never tell Miguel and Joselia what was said unless it was really bad.

It got really bad when Joselia was in middle school. Jr. was twenty-one and still home, fulfilling the role of oldest child and peacekeeper while he saved up for college. Plus, the income he brought in from his grocery store job helped keep them afloat when Daddy overslept and missed his shifts, which was becoming more and more frequent. Jr. kept them together, with Miguel’s help– they would divide and conquer, Jr. going to Daddy and Miguel going to Mama. But when Daddy started gambling and they lost the apartment, Mama was done. 

Joselia was thirteen when Mama moved them into a new apartment and refused to give Daddy the key. Jr. had to drag her, kicking and screaming, refusing to leave Daddy behind. She’d let him in at night, and Mama would wake her up yelling every morning that she woke up to discover him on the couch. He can’t be trusted! she would say, pleading with Joselia to keep him out. Everybody else had enough of his broken promises, except Jo. She loved him so much that she moved with him to Philly at fifteen, pledged the next decade of her life to following Daddy around, dreaming big dreams with him and picking him up when he fell.

It was difficult leaving Mama and her brothers behind, but Joselia was so hurt that they could be so cruel to Daddy that she buried the grief under anger. Life with him was the same as always– high highs and low lows. On good days, they’d catch a game in the city and share a hotdog and Daddy would tell Jo-Jo all about how he was gonna become a soccer coach. If you can’t do, you teach, he said, and she believed him. She always believed him, and that belief carried her through the bad days, when he would stumble home angry at four a.m., cursing her Mama and her Grandma and the world, vomit dribbling down his chin and too-heavy footsteps.

It took an extra year, but Joselia graduated high school. Her part-time waitressing job became full-time, and her steady paycheck made up for the weeks and months that Daddy was out of work. Mama sent money every couple months with express instructions not to let Daddy touch it– but she always did, and he always blew it on a scratch-off or a round for all his friends. He was chaos personified, but Joselia wasn’t afraid of his self-destruction. Mostly, she was afraid of who she’d be without his fantastical tales and his believing the best in her and his promises that he’d take care of her, one day. 

Joselia met Matthew Foster in Philly, at a show for some grungy band she was just drunk enough to enjoy. Their whirlwind romance felt like home– the ups and downs, the unbridled passion and the teeming rage felt like what Joselia reckoned love was supposed to be. Daddy wasn’t consistent or stable, and he loved her more than anybody in the world– So must Foster. Midnight screaming matches faded into afternoon picnics and so on. He never said so, but Joselia knew he loved her– he showed it dozens of ways, whether by making the best food she’d ever eaten in her life (aside from stadium hotdogs, of course) or by buffing out the same dent in her car over and over from the damn apartment gate. 

They were young and dumb and it felt like everything. Daddy hated him and loved him, depending on the day– and when things were going right for everybody and the three of them drank and watched Daddy’s old matches, well, that was the best feeling in the world. It was after one of those days and a couple of Foster’s custom-made cocktails that they decided to get married at the courthouse. They didn’t have a ring or a dress or a care in the world, and somewhere in a box covered in a thin layer of dust, Joselia has a picture from that day: her in one of Foster’s button downs and a Dodgers hat, him in his usual tshirt and jeans combo, all bright smiles hanging off one another.

Being married didn’t stave off the fighting at all. If anything, it made it worse– gave them each more ammunition to launch at each other, and made it a hell of a lot harder to untangle from the mess. They fell into a familiar pattern– a couple of good days, maybe a week, a fight where they swore they were broken up for good this time, and a couple days later they’d make up. Anything was fair game on these breaks– and it’s not like Joselia had a ring or anything to stop her from seeing other people, so she did. Nothing that stuck, but a couple one or two night flings before she surrendered to Foster’s gravitational pull again.

When Joselia found out she was pregnant after a week “off”, she panicked. She wasn’t going to tell Foster, she was just going to take care of it on her own– but they had such a good day, and she was half convinced they could make it work. They were perfect, they only fought so hard because they loved each other so much. He bolted after that, and in retrospect, she couldn’t blame him. Joselia still harbors that hurt on especially lonely nights, revisits the feeling of waking up and seeing his shit gone, the days-late realization that she’d never see him again.

But it was okay, because there was always Daddy to take care of, and with no Foster and no baby to distract her, Joselia poured all of her energy into him. She was twenty-five and working the same waitressing job she’d had since graduation, spending her weekends taking care of her drunk father– and with nothing else in Philly, reality stung. She started to resent Daddy the same way Mama always had– she resented being the stable one, she resented not being able to fall apart because it’d hurt them both when that’s all she really wanted to do.

A decade late, Joselia’s breaking point finally came when Daddy wrapped her truck around a streetlight. He survived, thank God, but he had a broken arm and a couple of years in jail and mandated therapy. With no other choice, Joselia made her way back to California and turned up on Mama’s doorstep, tail between her legs. The rush of apologies for years of hating her, of thinking Mama was selfish and wrong for abandoning Daddy, was crushed in her mother’s arms. She was home, for real this time, and reconnecting with Mama and Jr. and Miguel helped Joselia figure some things out.

It wasn’t perfect, and she still felt an unreasonable degree of protectiveness over Daddy– they kept in touch, between letters and phone calls– but Jo decided to enroll in college. Better late than never. She started at UC-Riverside and declared Social Work as her major, staying home with Mama until she graduated at 29. It was a big deal, because Jr. had enlisted at 22 and Miguel had gone to trade school. Joselia was the first in their family to graduate college, a fact that Daddy cried about on the phone the morning of her graduation– a fact she still holds with pride.

Her fresh start extended to Colorado Springs, where Joselia took her very first “real” job a year ago as an Addiction Counselor for a nonprofit serving unhoused and at-risk individuals. It was Jr.’s idea, originally, and Joselia ended up loving it– finally her life experience was helpful with something, and the tough love she always should’ve given to Daddy was a requirement. It’s such the perfect fit, in fact, that she was promoted after only a year and transferred to the Providence Peak location. Joselia was hesitant at first to leave Colorado Springs and the comfort of Jr. right down the street, but it was high time for her to forge her own path. She made it up to Philly one more time, to visit Daddy and to clear out the rest of her shit from a storage unit, and is now settling into her new routine.

[alltimefail-sims]

Idk if I'm super late to this or if I missed a response, but I'd like to hear your thoughts about Roberto Crinkletop being Robert Crumplebottom. I'm not sure how I feel about it and would be happy hearing somebody else's opinion

You are not late on this nor did you miss a post from me about Roberto, but oh boy do I have thoughts! LOTS of them! I forgot about EA's atrocious little video until this ask remined me. Thank you!

I considered making a whole lore post on Agnes and I still might - but this whole thing with Roberto has re-contextualized her lore in the most inconsistent way, in my opinion. It has also discouraged me from wanting to talk about her. No surprise there though - they have fumbled the ball with lore in TS4 time and time again, and I think I am apart of a minority that just doesn't want them to address it any more. Even the slight mention of the Landgraabs in their most recent livestream made my skin crawl in the worst way. I just wish the Sims team would just stop pandering to a fanbase they do not care about in order to seem like they're putting thought into these families when they make them (spoiler: it's clear they don't put that much thought into them, if any at all. I truly believe they used to care, but that has been lost to time and that's why the games just aren't the same as they used to be. Trying to fuck with preexisting families, like the Goths for example, is only ruining what made them good in the first place... but I digress.)

Basically though, I'll sum it up now by saying that it seemed to be canon that the death and/or disappearance of Agnes' husband is what made her turn sour and callous (grief is what made her the person she is today, grief and loss made her hate romance). But then that wretched video drops and they decide to portray young Agnes as this mean, naggy wife that her poor husband (eye roll...) had to escape from? It even feels like they're insinuating that she was actually abusive because he says coming to Chestnut Ridge and becoming a nectar maker literally saved his life. Like holy shit! Just seems really fucking dumb to me if we're being honest!

It's just lazy writing, and it doesn't make sense with what we know of Agnes from TS2/TS3. In the original games it felt like she was a nuisance and a miserable old woman who we're supposed to feel bad for. In TS2 her actions aren't explained, but we know she is adverse to romance. In TS3 we see her in a whole new light, and it's pretty devastating how the loss clearly impacted her (that half unfinished nursery lives in my mind rent free). It was implied that they loved each other, in my opinion, but it seems like the Sims team will never miss an opportunity to villainize a female premade. I'm serious - it's actually getting concerning how the negative traits or actions of the male characters in this game are always twisted to be endearing, understandable, or momentarily misguided. But the women? Oh no, they're insufferable nags, abusers whose husbands need to leave them, women who never really loved their spouses at all, they're evil, they're mean, they're distant, they are bad wives and mothers, they are money-hungry, they are killers, and that's the whole of their marketing.

Poor uwu baby boys, save them from the mean ladies!! And if they cheat on the mean ladies, the ladies deserved it! If they are a serial cheater who will go as far as to leave their fiance at the aisle, that's okay because they're just a lovable himbo! If their wives go missing and they date a woman much younger than them, that's okay - she's actually the money hungry one! Yes he is lazy and does not have any ambition or drive, but his wife is so mean for being tired of their life being stagnant - she is the problem! She is a money hungry evil woman and he is just her husband who has no idea! He's rich and literally lives with her but uhhhh he's so nice that the estranged son (who looks just like him) isn't even his!

Ugh. Give me a break sims team. I'm tired!

[fizzingwizard]

At last I caved and am watching new!Xmen 97. Two eps in so far.

The animation is good, it really is... They leaned into the retro style but cleaned up and it looks great. But so far there's next to no atmosphere (except for Storm's bits lol). Even in the middle of the night everyone's lit up bright as day lol. Pet peeve of mine.

Also I really wish western animators would learn a little about dynamic storyboarding from anime. Especially since the faces can be so unemotional, it's important to let body language, lighting, and framing convey what they won't use faces for so they won't look "unmanly"

When the voice actors are talking about normal stuff, they sound awesome. When they're talking about X-men stuff, they sound like they stepped out of the 90s yesterday. Lol. Makes me batty. That one scene where Jean's like "I remember when all of existence was on the brink of destruction and there was Scott" and then segues into some nice female support group with Ororo is a good example.

The jokes are funny. Like they are actually funny you guys x'D Wolvie vs Scott has me in stitches. Beast of course has the best lines. Gambit's pretty good too.

Scott makes a really good show these first couple episodes. I'm enjoying him. He's a lot like X-men Evo Scott. Animated Scotts are always so chipper compared to comics Scott, but at least he's not all burnt out like WatXM Scott or all one note like movie Scott.

They let Jean fight while pregnant! I mean... she was just sitting there using her psychic powers... but still. She fought while pregnant! lol.

When she went into labor I thought it was a missed opportunity for some peak humor. Like they got a good start with Wolvie being her only option for getting her to the hospital, and then the chaos on the ride over was funny. But they ruined it by making half the team just quit fighting and go to the hospital. Of course it's important for Scott to be there, but... Honestly I think it would've been funnier if Jean had no one but Logan. Also Rogue saying "what if I touch the baby by accident" kinda baffled me because no one should be touching a newborn, let alone the mother, without gloves...

Morph upsets me xD In a nice way, I guess. Like they're clearly a stand in for Deadpool. Yes, comics Morph is also like that, but still... they're here to be this universe's Wolverine's Deadpool. And they haven't even had that many good lines yet! I'm sure there'll be more as the season goes on but. Then they even cheer up Logan with not only a six pack of beer but a good old bout of wrestling? CMON THAT'S LOGAN AND KURT'S THING. lol. I'm so offended. No not really. But kinda. Anyway. Morph is sweet even though they've stolen Crawler's role with the beer and the friendly fisticuffs and the insecurity etc etc.

For a less extremely personal and subjective opinion on Morph... I actually am slightly bugged that they're here only because their power is morphing. So the X-men have got Rogue, who can imitate anyone's power once she absorbs it, and Morph, who can just imitate anyones power by morphing. If they have limits in this show it's not clear as of yet. So that is too much power on the X-men if you ask me. Can they not just morph into Juggernaut or something? It is really challenging to balance all X-men powers and use them logically. I feel like you shoot yourself in the foot by tossing in too many of the overpowered types.

I LIKE MORPH OKAY I DO. DON'T COME FOR ME. I'M JUST A DEPRIVED X-FAN FROM YER MOM'S GENERATION OKAY

On a very positive note, I'm thrilled that it's only two episodes in and almost everyone on the cast has stuff to do! Scott and Jean obvs - Magneto and Xavier - Jubilee and (potentially) Roberto - Rogue and Gambit (to be fair Gambit's not really happened yet but the seeds are planted with his crush on Rogue and her involvement with Magneto) - and of course Storm. I'm kinda nervous right now because 97!Storm is one of the best Storms ever, and if she's depowered and gone from the team for long the show will really miss her... But that was a great story arc for her in the comics and I'm really hoping it pans out well in this season too.

notice I didn't mention Wolverine. Well Wolverine's always involved in stuff. I don't have to worry about him lol. I'm happy to let someone else be more relevant to the story for a while.

So the hits keep coming and they don't stop coming, which is great, because everyone has something to do, but is also nuts, because boy the show moves fast. Take a breather ffs. It's EPISODE TWO lmao.

Overall I guess it's what I would have expected from a sequel to the old TAS series, but also rather better than what I would have expected. So that's pretty great.

[biglisbonnews]

Portugal routs Luxembourg in record 9-0 win without suspended Ronaldo Portugal didn't need Cristiano Ronaldo to rack up its biggest-ever win in a competitive game. A 9-0 rout of Luxembourg in European Championship qualifying on Monday was achieved without Ronaldo, who was suspended because of an accumulation of yellow cards in earlier Group J games. In the absence of the five-time world player of the year and record scorer in men's internationals, Goncalo Ramos, Goncalo Inacio and Diogo Jota all scored twice along with goals for Ricardo Horta, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Felix in the Algarve. It was a satisfactory aspect that, being 4-0 or 5-0 up, the team kept playing the same way as if it was 0-0, Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said. "When you get that, it shows you the values of the players and that the respect toward the team is essential that was really good to see. The 38-year-old Ronaldo missed a great chance to add to his haul of 123 international goals but there'll be four more opportunities in a group that Portugal is dominating with six ... https://www.business-standard.com/sports/football-news/portugal-routs-luxembourg-in-record-9-0-win-without-suspended-ronaldo-123091200181_1.html

[laura-apexart]

DAY 7 7.14.23

Coffee tasting at Divino Café Especial in Candelaria area— Instagram messaged with Leandro the owner of the cafe and coffee business before arriving to confirm my spot. He was super warm, personable and really put together a whole sensory and educational experience about how to choose your coffees. I arrived early and had a rich but not sweet hot chocolate—then went into a small room with a couple from Scotland, a couple from Seattle and two friends who were traveling together from Toronto—we all sat at a bar where various beans and cups were carefully placed before us—and took part in a smelling, tasting/drinking challenge.

Sweet -tip of tongue, acidic middle of tongue, bitter back or in throat. The whole event lasted over 2 hours. At the end we placed our orders, I got sn espresso and were served delicious cakes with our coffee, what a treat. 

—Leandro told the story of where he was from, the labor involved and his family’s history of growing, farming and producing beans and coffee and how he created his sensitivity and love for coffee and built his business and I left very caffeinated and will definitely go back and buy coffee to bring back home as gifts for various family/friends. 

Support coffee producers -tracing it to his home in Colombia-linking to a specific family and opportunity for housing, education etc.

Here is the translated description of his experience:

“fun dynamic in which through a coffee tasting you will learn through the senses to differentiate a good coffee in its fragrance, aroma, flavor and texture, later, you will taste a specialty coffee prepared in different methods (Chemex, V60, Aeropress, French Press ), and you will discover some tricks and techniques to make the perfect coffee at home” 

Walked around the campus of the National University-pretty quiet, lots of radical graffiti and murals on campus buildings-was told site where demonstrations often take place.

Went to see theater at San Jose Bavaria Theater which was connected to the library where I did the performance workshop the day before, only I did not make that connection until I was inside because it was dark out when I arrived for the 8pm performance. 

Incredible puppetry, masks, movement/dance and vocals-felt like a folk tale drawing on  traditions of Japanese noh theater (influences) or connections and relationships or maybe the other way around? Totally immersed despite not understanding the language.

Accordion, maracas, drums, bells, triangles, operatic voices-ventriloquist narration from puppeteers operating animal puppets —a wolf (the narrator) and dog and two vultures which were incredibly life like-a glowing egg /orb which was reminiscent of the golden egg or bean in museo del ORO that represented the shape of world . A love story, a demon/old man who must be fought who is after the egg/the woman, a figure playing the sun and the moon of life and death. Though I may have missed some of the major themes it was transporting. After the director came up and spoke.

I only looked up The translation of the playbill after the performance : THE ANIMISTS

'LOBO' DIRECTION AND DRAMATURGY

JAVIER GAMEZ

PRODUCTION OF THE TEATRO MAYOR JULIO MARIO SANTO DOMINGO AND THE ANIMISTS

'Lobo' is a theatrical staging in which actors' theater, puppet theater, music, sound and dance dialogue. Part of the meeting with Roberto Wolf, son of Hungarian immigrants who settled in the village of La Colonia, Villarrica municipality, and lived and suffered the tragedy of inhabiting a land plundered by war.

This staging invites viewers to enter into a personal confrontation about the truth and about the way in which human beings internally relate to the truth. Understanding it not externally, but internally, is the search that the editing wants to explore, a point of view that is made manifest in various testimonies that have been reviewed, including, of course, that of Roberto Wolf.

The conquest of inner truth, emblematic theme of the theater of the East, is the objective of the production and this is assumed as a condition of a collective truth in the face of the moral degradation of the country because of the war.

[laurlovez]

it still physically pains me sabrina morningstar was the one sent to the endless

if spellman had gone instead, we could have had the episode parallel of the CENTURY with sabrina morningstar and caliban teaming up with the fright club to take down satanic panic in 4.06, just like they helped with the pygmalion spell in 3.06

but no. but NO.

[bettyminicoop]

the final numbers are in 🥴😭😂😂😂 184.000

Ok, let's talk about this a little.

These final numbers are incredibly low. Will they drop to 100 one day? Probably. Is there any chance that the ratings will rise to at least 300? Maybe, but most likely not. This show has passed the point of no return, no OG couples will return Riverdale to its previous ratings. So they can really film whatever they want now - the finale is on the horizon.

What worries me is that already in two interviews, two different people (Cole and I don’t remember who was the second) said that in 10 years Riverdale will be valued differently. Because then it would make sense. By these words is meant that it is necessary to reach the end in order to understand the whole genius of writers. This is not a new concept for Riverdale. They've done it four times already. But then at least the story was still not so bumpy along the way. Because if the individual chapters of the story are stupid, incomprehensible, contradict each other and themselves - and only at the very end, a step before the finale, they are combined with the word "because" - this means that this whole story is shit. This is not an ingenious unappreciated work, which only in 10 years will be understood by everyone around, because everyone will know the ending in advance (because in fact it is impossible to enjoy this road without knowing its end). It's a poorly thought out story that several impatient storytellers who don't have a common opinion are trying to tell at the same time.

And I'm not even going to bring up such topics as "missed opportunities" and "lack of emotional resolution" here.

But back to the ratings. They are deplorable. They continue to fall and there is no chance of an unexpected sharp rise. The fandom finds justification for the last two episodes. The Oscars were at the same time as episode 6-07, and the Grammy Awards were during episode 6-08. That's why the ratings were so low, and they will definitely rise later. Not really. Let's see.

These are the ratings for the Sunday evening shows for March 20, March 27, and April 3. A source. Let's see how the Oscars (March 27), the Grammy Awards (April 3) and nothing else (March 20) has affected the views.

1. 60 Minutes - CBS - 19:00

9.066 on 20th March

7.791 on 27th March

6.484 on 3rd April

2. The Simpsons - FOX - 20:00

1.043 on 20th March

1.095 on 27th March (the Oscars didn't affect the rating at all)

0.820 on 3rd April (this is a repeat of the episode, but the rating is still high)

3. American Idol - ABC - 20:00

5.396 on 20th March

canceled due to the Oscars on 27th March

4.892 on 3rd April

4. NCIS: Los Angeles - CBS - 21:00

5.598 on 20th March

4.911 on 27th March

canceled due to the Grammy Awards on 3rd April

5. Bob's Burgers/Family Guy - FOX - 21:00

1.012/1.144 on 20th March

1.049/1.134 on 27th March

0.677/0.768 on 3rd April (repeat of the episodes)

6. S.W.A.T - CBS - 22:00

3.936 on 20th March

3.668 on 27th March

canceled due to the Grammy Awards on 3rd April

7. And now the most interesting. March - The CW - 21:00

0.103 on 20th March

Prelims rating 0.099 on 27th March (There are no final numbers, either because it is 0 or because no one cares about it anymore. And by the way, apparently this is also the season finale. And I'm almost sure that Riverdale will have similar ratings by the end of s6)

On 3rd April, World's Funniest Animals was on the air at this timeslot with a rating of 0.324. That's almost double the amount of Riverdale that ran right before. If someone is interested, then this show looks something like this - link. Audiences were more willing to watch the funny animals than the adventures of the selfish Archie and his Bingo the Dog forgotten at home.

Fans are hoping that the next episode 6-09 will be a little higher in the ratings. But Roberto wants to show it at Paley Fest, the day before the episode airs. I bet the fandom will know the full details of what's going to happen in less than an hour. Which means that 6-09 will have even lower ratings, because the episode will most likely be about nothing. But if Bughead kisses in it, and Varchie discuss about their wedding, the episode has a chance of even more viewers watching it. Which won't happen, of course.

Well, why did I spread these long rants here? I wonder what excuses for low ratings Riverdale will have next? Because at the moment I get the impression that only a few shippers and those who forgot to turn off the TV are watching this show.

[spacelessbian]

So CAOS Part 4 was a mess

SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING

I used this exact same title for Part 3 but it seemed very fitting for Part 4 as well. I just want to preface this by saying I didn’t expect anything before watching (well, I expected it to be bad, which gave the show a chance to surprise me), I just hoped that my friends shipping Zelda and Marie would get some sweet sapphic content and well... Let’s get to it. 

I must say Part 4 was not as nonsensical as Part 3 and I must give credit where credit is due. It also returned to the monster-of-the-week format which I love. The Eldritch Terrors were a good concept with mostly fine execution (although the Terrors could have been a little more diverse... Would it kill the writers to give one more of them a female voice? And on that nore, why not hire Janet from the Good Place to voice the Void? They missed out on that so bad!). Other things I liked, in no particular order:

Vinegar Tom coming back to life and Zelda being truly happy for once

giving Agatha her sanity back

Prudence and chainsaw, ‘nough said

Lilith finally murdering her abuser the way she and we as the viewers deserved

the OG aunties and their whole episode

Ambrose, the light of my life, and all the adult cast (except for Lucifer, what the hell was that)

Unfortunately these are mostly minor positives and I don’t have the capacity to cover everything bad with Part 4, so I’ll just stick to what I started at the beginning of the post – Mambo Marie and the wlw representation in the show. Prepare for long-ish post.

It was weird from the start. We got a cute scene in the first episode (with horrible lighting I must say, I immediately felt sorry for y’all who make gifs) but then Zelda and Marie barely interacted. Yes, they were often standing next to each other, but I don’t think they had a single meaningful interaction since. I don’t think they even touched, let alone acted romantically towards each other. Marie was also extremely shady the whole time, she was constantly acting on her own (only after the fact was it acknowledged that the rest of the coven knew, but to me it just looked weird), that I really thought I was right with my joke prediction of her being the surprise villain. Turns out she’s a surprise man and the villain is Roberto, the showrunner! 

From the start of the show it must have been obvious to Roberto and the rest of the creative team that a large number of fans wanted to see some lesbians (specifically Zelda and Lilith getting together). Obviously the creators do not have do anything the fans want, but giving us a canonical sapphic relationship and then being like “syke! fooled you, there were no lesbians actually. no homo uwu” just seems extremely ignorant at best and malevolent at worst. Plus the fact that in the alternate “perversed” universe, Zelda was called Madam Spellman. Who does that??? WTF. 

I must also mention that the reveal, that comes out of nowhere and leads to nothing, means that Zelda’s two consecutive partners didn’t care about informed consent. Big yikes. Of course none of this was acknowledged in universe, so thanks for that, Roberto, thank you very much.

And now to minor grievances:

Theo and his boyfriend, whose name I don’t remember, go through unnecessary conflict that just takes up time and space

it almost looked like the Blackwood twins will become real people with their own thoughts and actions, but no

the afterlife doesn’t make sense, also the glorification of suicide

people constantly bring up the color of Sabrina’s headband like if anyone cared about that to notice (I expected some twist with Sabrinas changing places and the reveal being the headband, but no)

you turned an octopus into a... diving equipment???

Sabrina and her huge crisis that she doesn’t have a boyfriend for 5 minutes (so she has to make out with more than one Eldritch Terrors)

Roberto not being capable of letting babies exist after their extremely traumatic prolonged birth scenes (yes, I’m coming back to Part 1, too, what about it)

Aaaand I think I’m ready to breathe again. I’m happy the show’s over, not because I’m an evil hater (I am definitely evil though) but because it had (and still has) so much potential, but it is obvious the writers can’t write for shit. The cast is amazing and I love almost every single one of them, their kind interactions with fans were really a joy to watch (that cannot be said for some fans but what can you do). I hope I will have the opportunity to meet some of them when the ‘rona is finally over. I also met a lot of lovely people through CAOS and I am eternally grateful.

If you’re still reading, you’re a star ♥. This was a wild ride.

(Please note I will not respond to any aggresive or nasty comments but I’m eager to read any of your hot takes or polite disagreements.)

[dacostaintl]

@whoaindeed​

In a way, the Mousehole wasn’t too different from the X-Mansion – a peculiar place full of peculiar people, to the point where everything that seemed strange to the average human became normal for those living behind the fortified walls. One was always prone to walk into a room and find something levitating, someone appearing out of nowhere, feathers or fur left behind... all twisted through with the boring regularity of a domestic life. Berto hadn’t been paying attention to how much he missed sharing a living space with his own people, not since deciding that Genosha wasn’t really for him, what with the little things he couldn’t agree upon.

In tune with that familiar domesticity, the smell of food coming from one of the kitchens invited him in – he could bet that he had a good chance of charming whomever was there into sharing their meal with him. The tall figure by the counter, back turned to him, was unmistakable and suddenly the food was less important than the opportunity to catch up with yet another one of his former teachers. High school reunion and all, perhaps.

“What’s up, doc?” Roberto called out as he crossed the distance to check out what was being prepared there. “Guess the two of us have traded the tropical weather for... whatever the hell is happening here in Sokovia.”

[xenetala]

Piofiore: Fated Memories Review

I’ll keep this as spoiler free as possible, but with this game that may be a bit difficult. This is just my thoughts on the game and its quality. This game overall is really well done and if you are familiar with Amnesia Memories, you’ll really enjoy this one.

There are a few things I’d like to give people a heads up on in this one. First, this is a game about the Mafia. While it should be obvious, many people who play otome games may not realize this isn’t like the sweet games such as Kissed by the Baddest Bidder. Please do not play this game if you are sensitive to blood, gore, death, rape, drug abuse, psychological abuse, torture, violence, general crime, and other such themes. While you can play the best routes and avoid too much of this, you will be exposed to some pretty gruesome and brutal things in this game.

The second thing I’d like to give a heads up on is you have to play the routes in a semi set order to unlock things. By this I mean you don’t get to completely choose who you play at first. While this by no means makes the game bad, it’s something to think about before playing. You may not get to choose your favorite boy right off.

If you do play this, I have a recommended play route. I recommend this based on the lore of the world. That’s not to say you have to play this order, but I think it’ll give a better feel for the world.

While you can start with either Dante or Nicola, I’d recommend playing through Dante’s route first and follow his route with Orlock. While Yang is my absolute favorite boy by far, I recommend playing Nicola before Yang. Gilbert’s route you can’t play until you’ve played the other 4 so Dante > Orlock > Nicola > Yang is my recommended order, but Dante > Nicola > Orlock > Yang isn’t a bad order either.

Overall Story

This is a really good story. There’s a lot of absolutely lovable characters in it and I wish there were more routes. I also wish the stories were longer just because of how good the characters are. Even the supporting characters are great. The setting is in Italy during the 1920′s. There are a few references to world events around that time such as World War I, the depression, American prohibition, and several other things that happened around the world.

The game takes a lot of the terms and historical things and puts them in a nice handy dictionary in case the audience isn’t familiar with them. Personally I find all of the references common knowledge, but then I’m also a history buff so that may not be the case.

As far as the plot goes, the basis is you play an MC who grew up in a church in a small mafia run city. Depending on the route, the MC gets captured or rescued by one of the three mafia groups and ends up in their care as a guest. The three groups are the Italian based Falzone, the mixed heritage Visconti, and the Chinese based Lao-Shu.

Each route has a different part of the story and history of the world and the town as well as a different perspective. Some of the routes are more peaceful while others not so much. In all of them, the MC is one I consistently like. Despite being brought up in a quasi Roman Catholic based belief system, she’s quite down to Earth and many times stands up to the mafia so that earns her many points in my book.

The one thing in this game that I feel is a big missed opportunity is the character Roberto De Feo. I would have loved to see him as an option in this game. Especially after playing all of the routes including the hidden one, I feel like he would have made a nice addition to the story.

Characters

This game has a really good set of characters and even the supporting characters are good so I’m going to go over quite a few people in this. I’ll break these down by factions to help keep things orderly. Each character does have a best, good, and tragic ending. Some of them are really good, but the tragic ones to be pretty brutal to play.

Also, a fun note in the CGs you can press a button to hear the character’s comments on the scene.

Falzone Family

Dante Falzone - This is the first route I recommend playing. He’s kind of the ‘canon’ route in this and goes over a lot of the lore of the world. It can get a bit overwhelming to keep up with all of the mythology of the game, but you will need that information for later routes.

He’s introduced as the cold and cruel boss of the Falzone, but in reality he’s more of the slightly cold gentleman. While he can be cruel as evidenced in a torture scene, he’s really very sweet and you see much more of his caring side as the story progresses. I’m not a fan of his route as it is way sweeter than I’d like for a mafia boss, but it is the most romantic one.

In this route the MC spends most of her time confined with Dante and is more of a prisoner than a guest in my opinion. She’s not allowed to roam free much and is quite dependent on Dante. There is a lot of violence in this route and is one of the more gruesome ones in a few places. I actually like his good ending better than the best ending. His tragic end is really sad so beware. It’s not as brutal as others, but it’ll tug your heartstrings. Death can bring more peace than life. 

Leo Cavagnis - While not a love interest, Leo is an adorable character. He’s assigned as the MC’s body guard in anything related to the Falzone family. I would like to have seen him as a romance option just because it’d be nice to have a choice other than only higher ranking mafia members, but even without him being an option he’s a fun character in all of the routes.

Nicola Francesca - He is the underboss for the Falzone family and is Dante’s cousin. I liked his route much more than I thought I would and he is more what you’d expect for a mafia themed game. It is mentioned in all routes a few times that Nicola is more suited to being the boss than the underboss, and I agree with this.

Nicola is presented as a playboy, but though he’s flirty he’s not really a playboy. He has a lot of charisma and appears nice, but there is a cruel side to him. This is showcased in how he treats his men and in a torture scene. His route has almost none of the lore and is refreshing in that fact.

The MC is still more of prisoner in this one, but she’s not as dependent on Nicola. Even though I’d say Nicola is more ruthless than Dante, this route is actually one of the less violent ones. I will warn that his route is predictable and not quite as exciting to play as far as plot twists and such. Despite that, this is a fun route and the MC gets to showcase a bit more strength than in some of the others.

He is really tied to his idea of trying to free Dante from the curse of his blood and duties so Nicola often acts brashly and without really trying to understand others. This makes him quite focused on his own goals. His best ending is a great ending and for sure deserves to be called the best ending. I don’t really care for his good ending as much. While not sad, he’s too much of a mafia boss for the good ending to really fit him. His tragic ending is a work of art.

Giulia Ceste - She is the motherly housekeeper of the Falzone and takes care of the MC a lot when in the company of the Falzone family. While not a big character, she does help create some humor in the routes and is always a welcome addition when things get really serious.

The Church

Just a few notes on this ‘faction’. This group plays different roles in each route and doesn’t really follow a branch of the Christian religions. Even though the set up is implied to be the Roman Catholic branch, the lore behind this church isn’t really clear on things. There’s a relic mentioned and that relic is given all sorts of explanations as to what it is, but in reality very little of this game really follows any specific branch. So, if you find yourself confused on this group that’s normal.

Josef von Rosburg - Josef is a bishop for the church and has varying roles depending on the route you play. For the most part he’s reasonably pious and does things on behalf of what he believes to be the best for the church. Although, as the saying goes the road to hell is paved with the best of intentions.

Orlock - This boy is all cinnamon roll and I did not like his route until I played all endings. Part of the problem I have with his route is he’s so naïve and innocent that he comes off as childlike. After seeing him in some of the other routes I’d had the expectation that he’d be more of a cold hearted assassin than he is.

That I think colored my perceptions too much to fully enjoy this route and is partly why I recommend him as the second one you play. He is a disciple which basically just means he’s an assassin for the church.

He is absolutely devoted to the MC to the point of basically worshiping her and can see no fault in anything she does. This route is one of the more violent ones and uncovers more of the lore of the world. Orlock feels much younger than the MC because of his innocence despite being able to kill just about anyone.

The good route I liked a lot more than the best route in this one and that’s partly because he didn’t feel as much like a child in that end. The tragic route though changed my mind about his story a bit though. I love his tragic route. It is brutal and merciless, but you see him as an adult and not like a child. Plus, I’m a sucker for a good gut wrenching tragedy that just makes you question why you’d put yourself through the torture of reading it.

Elena Croce - This girl is the MCs best friend and someone she grew up with in the church. Her role varies depending on the route, but she’s generally a quite girl and is good at cooking.

Sister Sofia - She is one of the sisters in the church and is the mother figure of the story. She knows MC’s history and why she’s so important, but keeps things secret from her to prevent her from carrying a heavy burden.

Oliver Haas - Sadly this is another one that doesn’t have a romance option. Oliver is the Visconti family lawyer and helps smooth things over when members of the family get arrested. He is very strict and is often reprimanding Gilbert for things. It would be interesting to see the story from his perspective for sure.

Visconti Family

Gilbert Redford - He is the leader of the Visconti family and was born in Chicago. Gilbert has ties to the US and the mafia in Chicago. Unlike the Falzone family, he had to earn his way to the boss of the faction and wasn’t passed to him through blood ties.

This route is the most peaceful route. Though Gilbert is mafia, he is a businessman first and foremost. In his story the MC has a lot more freedom as she leaves the manor and tours sections of the city with Gilbert. Much of the MC’s time with him is more like being on dates.

Even though this route is far less violent than the others and softer in many respects, this one has more intrigue. Gilbert is the type that fights with strategy more than with violence so there’s a lot of intelligence gathering and plotting.

Basically the premise is that Gilbert is being framed for a crime and everyone is trying to clear his name. Due to the nature of the crime, it affects all of the families and even Yang is willing to help out Gilbert through this ordeal. The whole story is really a build up to the big finale of the case and you get to see aspects of all the characters in a very different light.

I really like his endings. All of them fit the story and are beautifully done. One of the things I like most about Gilbert’s story is everyone sticks together and helps out.

Lan - She is one of the twins that is assigned as the MC’s guard when in company with the Laou-Shu. This girl is absolutely adorable and creates a lot of fun moments. As cute and sweet as she is, she is also very strong and will kill someone without a second thought.

Laou-Shu

Yang - He is by far my favorite of all the characters. Yang is highly intelligent and very skilled in combat. This is show cased by the fact that he is bored without intrigue or other shenanigans to provide him amusement. The MC in this route is one of the more interesting ones in my opinion. Her intelligence really shines through in this one because in order to survive Yang she has to think on her feet a lot.

One of the things I really liked about this route is there were more fun scenes in it. While Yang’s route is by far the most brutal and violent, there are points that are just good fun and provide some of that cute romantic mishap stuff we all kind of want in these games.

The Laou-Shu is a different type of mafia group from the others and this story is in opposition to the lore of the world. Pretty much everyone gets killed and there’s a lot of misfortune in Yang’s route. He is a violent person who grew up under less than ideal circumstances. The MC is gets involved in the goings on with the Laou-Shu and is brought to some pretty grisly things.

I’ve seen quite a few people compare Yang’s personality to that of Hisoka from the anime Hunter x Hunter and I agree that they have similarities. Both live for the moment and share the bloodlust from a good battle with a strong opponent. He is also a master manipulator and very good at twisting words to get exactly what he wants. His best and tragic endings are simply gorgeous, but his good ending isn’t as fun. It’s not a badly done ending, but I would have liked them both to die in it.

Fei - He is the other of the twins that guard the MC when in the company of the Laou-Shu. He’s very protective of his sister and is the calming force for her. Just like Lan, as adorable as he is he can and will kill someone without a second thought.

Marco Caldroni - He is the other detective that comes into the game and is more often than not trying to keep Roberto in check. Marco is more okay with letting the mafia deal with things than his partner is and tends to either stay out of the way or help in cases where civilians are in danger.

Police

Roberto De Feo - This guy grows on you as you play the game. At first I really didn’t like him and especially so after playing Nicola’s route, but they really should have given him an option. I’d rather have been able to play Roberto than Orlock. Roberto is a newer detective with the police force and has a very strong idea of what justice is. He does not like that the town is overrun with mafia and that the mafia controls everything. This guy tends to pop up and pick fights with some of the mafia members.

Others

??? - This is a hidden route that is only unlocked after you’ve played through all of the others. You learn a lot more about the lore of the world and the MC is pretty much on her own in this route. I found this route very boring and the person you romance in this is too haunted by the past for me to really enjoy them.

As much as I love a good redemption story or even a good tragedy, this route is so boring. I would much rather have this be a totally different character’s route. While I get this person’s story helps fill in the gaps from Gilbert’s route, this gentleman is one of those revenge is everything types and I’m just not onboard with him. The endings are a peaceful kind of harem ending for the best ending and I don’t mind that one too much. There is a romance ending and I just don’t care for this character enough.

I get wanting revenge, but I find the all consuming revenge to the point of self-destruction and destruction of everything you hold dear just stupid. That’s how this romance goes. Reminds me a lot of the Sasuke and Sakura stuff from the anime Naruto.

[fiercestpurpose]

I love seeing your input on JeanScott, so I have a question. Ignoring Hickman’s current run, if the comics picked up from everyone coming back together, do you think Jean and Scott would get back together? How? Why?

YES! GOD YES! I wanted them to sooooooo badly lol

Realistically, I think that post-Rosenberg, they should have taken some time before getting back together, and talked about things. See, Scott and Jean, even when they’re in love, aren’t the best at communicating (see: Silver Age X-Men, X-Factor when Scott just doesn’t tell Jean that he’s married, Scott’s reaction to Jean becoming Phoenix, etc.). What separates healthy long-term couple Scott/Jean from hopelessly in love but sort of doomed Scott/Jean is that they’ve learned that they need to communicate, and they do this both through their psychic rapport and by having actual, out-loud conversation.

And after Jean comes back to life and then Scott comes back to life, they have a lot to talk about, including but not limited to Scott cheating on Jean with Emma and Scott being possessed by the Phoenix Force and killing Charles.

So let’s say we have an Uncanny title as our flagship (Storm, Jubilee, Wolverine, Kwannon, Nightcrawler) and they’re working on solving the problems of mutants. All problems, all mutants. It sort of picks up where Rosenberg’s left off, this is a harsh world and harsh times, people are against mutants, hated and feared, etc.

And then we have the B-team, which is X-Factor - Scott, Jean, and Hank, and then we pick up some of the X-Force members, Bable, Rictor, and Sunspot. That’s a lot of good threads to pull on - Scott and Hank were at each other’s throats for a while there, Rictor’s back with X-Factor when he hasn’t really connected with them since he was a teenager, Berto really loved Cable and Bable is Cable but also killed him, and Bable is Scott and Jean’s unruly teenage son who they raised in the far future but then abandoned (again). And, of course, Scott and Jean still have to talk.

I imagine X-Factor as sort of a return to basics, the characters involved all using it as a way to learn/reconnect with why they’re part of the X-Men anyway. It’s a way for Scott (Mr. Mutant Revolutionary) to remember that he’s helping mutants, it’s a way for Roberto (Mr. AIM) to come back from the Avengers and just reconnect with the more personal parts of being a superhero, it’s a way for all of them to take a step back from the big noise and just help mutants. They work out of a basement under a mutant community center (probably in NYC). The jobs are things like tracking missing mutants, helping the Morlocks move house without getting attacked by the police, making contact with new mutants, stopping mutants from hurting other people but by addressing their concerns and not by handing them over to the legal authorities. It’s a very ground-level, anti-police, confronting-oppression-by-helping-the-individuals-affected-by-it approach (in contrast with the flagship, which is much more big picture). And I think a key part of that is having them not be in charge of their own missions – they’ve been disconnected from the broader mutant community for so long that they don’t really have the right to say “This is what this community needs.” So it’s also a way for them to let go of leadership responsibility – not that they aren’t all capable of it, but it’s important for them to have some time off, to let someone else guide them for a while.

I think this sort of mundane setting would be an excellent opportunity for Scott and Jean to get back into working as a team. It’s an escape from all the chaos of normal superheroics and a chance for them to do real, concrete good together. It would also give them plenty of downtime – say X-Factor is supposed to make contact with a runaway mutant, so Rictor and Bable go to handle that, and Scott and Jean man the office and have a chance to talk.

They have a lot to talk about, and I think you’d need to spread it out over several arcs. They can have one serious conversation every 4-5 issues. One arc involves a virus that is being used to make people commit crimes, and Jean and Scott disagree about whether the people who are possessed are in fact responsible for the crimes, and it turns out they’re really talking about the Phoenix and they should probably talk about their experiences with the Phoenix rather than projecting that onto a different scenario. At one point Bable goes way out of line and Scott and Jean have to acknowledge that they’re still his parents, and they really do need to step in and exert some influence over him. And they sort of reminisce about when life was simpler and they lived in a post-Apocalyptic future raising their son. I think you leave the conversation about Emma for last, and the important thing is to build up their relationship in a natural way over the course of the series. (In this ideal world, perfectly good series don’t get canceled or rebooted every year just because Marvel wants a temporary sales bump.)

So that’s the how. As for why… I just think they make sense together. I think that a couple that you can only break up by having one of them die is a couple that, when they’re alive, would want to be together. They didn’t just “grow apart,” the way some people claim, they were forced into extremely OOC behaviour because Morrison thought “powerful women don’t make good wives.” From an out-of-universe point of view, they deserve a chance to rebuild an interesting, compelling relationship that was ended for no good reason. From an in-universe point of view, they’re in love, they’re good for each other, and they deserve to be happy.

Thank you for the question, I love talking about Jean and Scott and an alternate universe where I get to run the X-office. :)