#she is doing so willingly to protect her son and save her home

[flamingpudding]

That's our baby hero

Protective Amity Park Au but maybe not like you would think?

Danny's identity wasn't as hidden as Sam, Tucker, Jazz and him thought. His identity was an open secret, in fact his whole town knew that Danny was their hero Phantom, well everyone but his oblivious parents but they were a case of their own. The thing was his entire town knew about his oh so big secret identity and that he was the one trying to save them from ghosts 90% of the time as well as from his own parents crazy inventions at times.

Dash shoving him into lockers like a bully? Danny didn't look good and Dash tried in crude ways to give him reasons to skip classes to rest. It also later was a good move to hide him from snoopy government agents also known as the Guys in White or GIW for short. Really his bullying played perfectly into him finding creative ways to get Danny to skip classes for rest.

Valerie hunting him and other ghosts? Well she was hunting him in the very beginning, but then it became an attempt to make him stop fighting the ghosts on their behalf but in the end it turned into her trying her best to be the support to him that Sam and Tucker couldn't be in a fight. Let alone taking 'night shifts' from him so Danny could get at least a good nights rest every now and then.

Sam's parents the Mansons? Sure they didn't like him that much from the start anyway but most of their anger later stemmed from the danger their daughter was willingly get into to help their reckless teenhero that shouldn't be a hero at his age anyway. Let alone shoulder the responsible for their entire town at the age of 14.

Tuckers parents? They were glad any time Danny stayed over with their son, even attempting to subtitle convince the boys to have more sleepovers at their home. Surely being a hero with ghost powers and living in a house of ghost hunting parents wasn't easy on Danny. They were glad that they could give him some peace at their home. They willingly ignored it when Danny showed up late night in Tuckers room, getting patched up by their son.

The entire town apparently hating him with all these negative newspapers and comments? All fake in a desperate attempt to get the 14 years old teenager with a bad sleeping schedule and powers to stop risking his damned life, half-life. Surely if they appeared not thankful the kid would get the hint and stop playing hero. Like seriously he was a kid! Who's bright idea was it to let a kid fight these dangerous appearing ghosts?! Oh right the poor kids parents were incompetent when it came to ghost hunting and it wasn't like they could just up and do it without destroying the kids confidence. Plus the GIW were no help either.

Vlad becoming Mayor was not exactly their plan but they thought maybe they could use that as some help to convince Danny more that he didn't need to play hero for them just because he got powers now. That didn't turn out like they hoped and THAT plan was dismissed quickly. Especially when the GIW showed up. They learned their lesson sort of quickly after that, at least when it came to people from out of Amity did not mean well.

Lancer, at first when Danny first showed up as Phantom, had attempted to get into contact with the Justice League several times, so that Danny would actually get the professional help he needed and get some sleep at night as well as the time he needed for his schooling so that heroing wouldn't be the only career path he would be forced into. The additional point of getting the kid training too for his powers was also very tempting, there are only so many chemical breakers they could allow the him to break before they HAD to sort of ban him from touching them again.

But when the GIW appeared in their town they stopped trying to reach the Justice League. Suspecting that that was the answer they sent in regards to their SOS calls. Amity Parks protectiveness over their teenheroes that sacrificed to much skyrocketed. They started to sabotage the Agents subtitle. Always working within the limits of the orders and finding the loop holes.

"Oh but we did comply, not our fault that you guys tripped and let Phantom escape."

"Wupp, sorry I got that from the Fentons for self defence, but it looks like I need to work on my aim."

"I am so sorry, my car is stuck! See my tire is popped I can't get out of your vans way."

The fact that Amity Parks weather report was more a report on the ghosts, the Fenton parents and the GIW was all a tactic for them all to keep each other informed so they could execute any step to ensure their -by now- towns sweethearts safety. Even if they still tried to turn the poor kid away from being a hero with all the unnecessary mean comments and articles.

So when one day a hero from the Justice League showed up it was predictable that they all were suspicious of it. Even more so when that hero came with a bunch of teenage heroes. Apparently they were here to investigate a bunch of ignored calls one of the teenheroes found in their call logs. Some of the adults eyed Lancer who in turn was glaring at the heroes fessed up, he hadn't attempted to call them ever since they decided to sent the GIW into their town. Which apparently was more of a cover as these heroes showed an interest in the Fentons research of Ectoplasm pretty quickly.

Well now Batman and his flock of bats and birds were confronted with a very unhappy town that was apparently very protective of their hero and 'accidentally' continued to manage to block them from making contact with said teenhero. And who where these Guys in white suits that tried to suck it up to Batman? Better question why was the entire town suddenly hostile towards them when they started to look into the Fenton Family that had a connection to Lazarus Water?

Meanwhile Danny is confused by his towns newfound favouritism towards Batman and his entourage and how whenever he went to find out what was that about everyone seems to deflect. Even Sam, Tucker and Jazz were confused by what was going on!

[imaginefan]

Every Problem *Part 2*

Klaus Mikaelson X Grandson!Character

Word Count: 619

Requested: @emaz-0225

Request: Hello can you do an part two for Every Problem where Elena kills Y/N ( Damon's Wife and Klaus Daughter) right in front of Y/N and Damon's son who then curses Elena and turns to the originals side and he turns to partying ans Drinking and Klaus takes him to New Orleans where he meets Hayley who is pregnant with his aunt or Uncle and Y/S/N starts to hear voices telling him to kill himself and one night he gets super drunk and cries for his mom and Hayley and Klaus get him to calm down and Klaus call Stefan to get Damon to help with Y/S/N

Warning : Reader is Dead, Depression, Grieving

*Part 1*

No one knew what Elena was thinking when she killed you and Elena refused to talk about it, it left an orphan and a very powerful family angry at them but to their surprise they all just left, Klaus was first to leave and he took (Y/S/N) with him both of them heading to New Orleans, followed by Elijah and finally Rebekah. Damon knew that he should check on his son but he was sure that he didn’t want that considering how much he hated him before you had died and now his girlfriend was the reason that you were dead and he still loved her.

In New Orleans Klaus was knee deep in a scheme to take back the Quarter while (Y/S/N) occupied himself with drinking and cornering young tourists to drink from. One evening he came home to find Rebekah sitting on the steps with a girl, he knew that she had been staying at the house however he hadn’t asked what she was doing there. “Where have you been!?” Klaus asked, his eyes shifted to the Hybrid as he held up the bottle of boos that had been swigging. “Having fun.” (Y/S/N) answered. “Is that all you do all day?” Klaus asked. “It’s about the only thing that I have left that I like.” He answered with a shrug “so it’s the only thing that I’m going to willingly be doing for a long time.” “(Y/S/N), you know your mother wouldn’t-” “Don’t! We don’t know what she would want because the Doppelganger killed her and last I checked I wasn’t allowed to kill her because you needed her for a plan that you’ve ultimately abandoned so don’t… Please don’t tell me what my mother would have wanted.” (Y/S/N) warned as he turned back towards the house “good luck to anyone else born into this fucked up family, I don’t think there’s a single one of us worth saving.” They all watched as he walked into the house slamming the door behind him. “You didn’t tell him about the baby?” Rebekah asked. “As you can see he’s not in any shape to be keeping a secret.” Klaus said.

It was a couple of weeks later that he walked in on one of Camile and Klaus’ meetings and got roped into a therapy session that he didn’t ask for, it ended just as terribly. That night he was far more drunk than he usually would be and he cried, Klaus was the first to find him as he reached out a broken voice asking for him to bring his mother back. “I can’t bring her back.” Klaus said softly “but it will do her no good if you spend the rest of your life angry and bitter Klaus muttered as he pulled the boy into his chest. (Y/S/N) saw Hayley standing at the door and sniffed. “Is it true that you two are having a baby?” He asked. “It is.” Klaus answered. “I didn’t mean what I said before, I just thought if I could hurt someone like they hurt me, it might make me feel better but it didn’t, I don’t know how to feel better.” You admitted. “How about we talk to Camille tomorrow about some proper sessions and we look for something to live for like protecting the little one?” Klaus asked “surely we can agree that she deserves a better life than the one that we’ve both lived.” “Yeah, okay.” He nodded. “Let’s get better together.” Klaus said softly, Klaus finally admitting that he was grieving he had lost his daughter and his brother but maybe you could both get better together.

Requests and general question!

[the-coffeeaddict-tim-drake]

Just a Kid Next Door - Chapter 3

Bruce is finally back from being stuck in the time stream. Tim managed to save Batman and his loved ones. Now it is time for Tim to go home and rest. But the problem is that, Tim has no home. Or that's what he thinks so.

This will be a multichapter fic on how did Tim reconcile with his family. It will be full of angst, family feels and family shenanigans.

Masterlist

Here in the link to read the story in ao3.

-------------------------------CHAPTER 3---------------------------------

No person in their right mind would move to Gotham City willingly. After all, she is known for her rife crime and murder rates which makes her extremely unsafe and dangerous for living.

But she is also home to all the Bat and bird themed vigilantes, who swore on their life to protect her and her citizens from the moment they put on their mask and cape.

If they say Gotham city is unsafe, then Crime alley is perilous. It is the hotspot in Gotham city for all the criminal activities. It is notoriously known for Burglary, illegal shipment of drugs, human trafficking, sexual assaults and domestic abuse, which are activities of common occurrence in this part of the city.

But that doesn’t stop Jason from having hope. Having hope that one day, Crime alley will become free of crimes.

The edgy crime lord, protector of Crime alley, the big bad Red Hood is the passionate and fierce vigilante of Gotham city. Residing in Crime alley of all places in Gotham unlike the other bats and birds, he took it upon himself to be the savior of this area. Being born and raised in this part of the town in the early days of his childhood as a street rat made him extremely street-smart .It gave him even more reasons to make this part of the city and free it from the clutches of the cruel monsters.

It is no lie that Jason had a tragic past. His mother was a drug addict and his father, an abuser.

Jason has no habit of doing anything in halves, even when it came to loving his mother, who was blissfully high on drugs most of the time. But Jason’s love for her never dimmed because she was the best mother to him when she wasn’t in euphoric state.

And then his parents died. He became homeless. Even then Jason was a bright eyed kind with hope shimmering in his eyes. And then Bruce took him in as his son, making the fire of hope, blaze.

But then he was also killed by the Joker, which almost extinguished the blazing fire. And then he was resurrected, making the fire flicker again, hoping for another chance. From that moment, he’s been adding fuel to that fire, flaring and red-hot.

It was almost the cark of dawn when Red Hood was grappling his way back to his small abode. But Jason’s mind was elsewhere. His mind was still running the words Clark had said to him a while ago.

‘Batman is back. We saved him from time stream. Wonder Woman and Flash managed to bring him back to the Batcave.’

‘Batman is back’

Batman is back.

Bruce is alive.

Alive.

“Fuck fuck fuck” Jason muttered, while swinging back to his apartment.

‘Bruce is alive. The replacement was right all along. Shit, does Timmy know about this? How will I pass on the news to him? And where the fuck is he by the way?’ Jason’s thoughts were becoming restless by each passing second.

‘Bruce is alive. Shit, he is alive and breathing. Is he okay? Is he hurt? Dammit, why did I not go to the Manor?’

Jason thoughts were running a mile a minute when he finally reached his safe house. While unlocking the door to his house, he noticed his security system was down.

“What the fuck?” Jason hissed

Someone had the audacity to hack his security system and break into his house. His very strong security system. Only few people who have to skill to do that are the Bats, but no one knew where he lived. Except for –

Oh

“Oh”

Composing himself by letting out a long sigh, he entered his safehouse. Tim is one of the very few people who knew where he lived and has his way with hacking almost anything, after Oracle.

After all, Tim has been breaking into his safehouse to annoy Jason by raiding his kitchen and blabbering, for quite some time now. Jason found it annoyingly cute. Dammit, that leech of a little brother had started to grow on him.

 But now, Jason was worried. He hasn’t seen or heard from that bastard for a very long time. And now that little shit has the audacity to break into his house after worrying him by going MIA for almost six months.

Bruce’s supposed death was hard on everyone. Hell, even Jason found it hard to move on. His dad had died. Left him, left is brothers and sister, left is friends, left everyone, forever. Jason still had nightmares about it.

The last time Jason had seen Tim was the day Tim moved out of the Manor. He was trying to convince everyone that Bruce was alive, which worried Jason. He still vividly remember the conversation he had with him that night.

---

“Next time you break into my house while I’m out for patrol, you scrawny little shit, I will not hesitate to slit your throat once again for good” Jason growled, climbing into his safehouse through the living room window, while removing his helmet.

There was no reply. The apartment was pitch black and there was no sign of anyone.

“Stop hiding from me replacement, it’s of no use” Jason added.

Again, no reply.

Jason was starting to get irritated. “Quit playing games with me Timmy, I’m serious. I have no time for these nonsense.”

He then heard the sound of glass shattering in the kitchen.

“Tim, you in there. Shit, are you injured?” Jason asked, suddenly feeling concerned, while hurrying his way towards the kitchen. ‘How can he be injured?’ Jason thought, because Jason hadn’t seen him on patrol today.

The Kitchen was dark too. But Jason was able to see a slouching figure sitting in the barstool kept near the kitchen island. He wasted no time in switching on the lights.

Tim’s back was facing him, and Jason could see broken pieces of glass just below him on the wet floor.

“Sorry, it just slipped my hand. And no, I’m not injured” Tim said, his voice not more than a whisper. His brother was wearing grey sweatpants and a worn out oversized black hoodie.

“Jesus Timmy, you gave me a scare.”

“Mm-mm”

Jason had a nagging feeling that something was wrong with his little brother. First of all, Timmy hadn’t raided his kitchen for the leftover food, his back was stiff and tense even while slouching on the kitchen island and most importantly, he was silent.

His brother would have eaten his ear off by now, by talking about some random facts like how Australia is bigger than moon or how Scotland chose the Unicorn as its National animal.

Jason then came to a reasonable conclusion that his brother might be sleep deprived. Tim would give Bruce a run for his money by surpassing him when it comes to depriving himself of basic necessities like food and sleep by immersing himself in his nocturnal activities.

“When did you last sleep, replacement?”

“Uh… uh I don’t know?”

Something is definitely wrong.

Jason carefully avoided stepping on the glass shards and went to stand in front of his little brother.

Tim was facing down, finding the broken pieces of glass more interesting than answering his brother properly.

“Tim, Look at me”

After few seconds of complete silence, Tim looked at Jason.

Tim was crying. His eyes were bloodshot, his face wan and almost translucent and his lips were quivering.

“What happened, Babybird?” Shock was an understatement. Jason had never seen the boy cry, not even once, even in horrible moments. His little brother was the most logical among them all. He always relied on his wits and intelligence to solve any problem. Hence even in worst situations, Jason had only seen Tim carefully planning and executing his next move.

“Talk to me, Timmy. What happened?”

Tim started to weep, which startled Jason. He started to rub circles on his back, while consoling his crying brother.

“It’s okay, Timmy. You’re fine. Nothing is gonna happen. I’m there for you. Your brother is there for you."

After a few minutes of consolation, Jason was able to quiet down his brother’s sobs. Tim took few for minutes to stop crying.

“You know what, lemme take you to the manor. I’ll ask Alfred to make a cup of hot chocolate for ya. It is the best for breakdowns. And then we can talk. We can even pull Dickiebird along with us after he comes back from patrol”

“N-no, I can’t go to the Manor”

“What do you mean by ‘you can’t’, Tim?”

“I just- I just can’t, okay?”

“Why, what do you mean by that?”

“Because I moved out, okay. They don’t want me there anymore.” Tim said harshly.

What

“WHAT?” Jason was shocked.

Tim let out a long sigh. He was cracking his knuckles and tapping his feet on the floor board in an annoyingly fast pace.

“What do you mean by you moved out?!?. You’re like what, twelve?”

“I’m sixteen” Tim hissed.

“Yeah, almost the same damn thing” Jason said, exasperated.

“But it’s not a big deal, anyways. Cause they don’t want me there anymore”

Now Jason was confused.

“You are saying me that Goldie and Alfred let you move out of the Manor. Are you shitting me, Kid?”

Tim didn’t reply.

Jason was confused as hell.

“Okay, this is just some big misunderstanding. We will sort it out in the morning in the Manor, okay? Now come on, wash your face and put on your suit at least. We still have some time to patrol. It will help you let off some steam. After that, you could tell me about what happened in the manor, Okay?”

Tim started laughing bitterly. Now Jason was starting to get sacred due to the instant shift of his brother’s mood. ‘What the hell?’ was the only thing that Jason’s mind was able to come up with.

“What kid, did I stutter or something? Go on, put on your suit. I know you love to patrol.”

“What suit?”

“Did you hit your head somewhere, replacement? What do you wear for patrol, a three piece Armani?”

“I don’t have the suit with me, Jason”

“Okay, that’s not a problem. Because you always keep a spare one here somewhere, right? Wait here, lemme go and check” Jason said, making his way to the spare guestroom.

“I cannot wear the suit, Jason” Tim said, his voice sounding forced.

Fucking hell. This kid is going to drive him insane.

Jason turned and looked at Tim. Tim’s face was void of any emotions.

“May I ask why, replacement?” Jason asked, annoyance clear in his tone.

“I’m not Robin anymore, Damian is.”

...

…

What did he just say?

What the fuck?!?

Did he hear that right? Or did replacement totally lose it.

“Yeah no shit. I totally believe you”

But Tim’s face held a serious expression. And then Jason looked into his eyes, which held multitude of emotions.

The first emotion Jason saw was betrayal. ‘Why do Tim feel betrayed?’ he thought. Tim’s eyes held also held pain and loneliness. He then realized that his little brother was scared and lonely.

“I’m not lying, Jason” Tim said, his voice breaking. It took Jason a minute to process what he just heard. He was not able to understand anything. Why did the Gremlin become Robin when Replacement is alive and perfectly functioning. And who made Damian Robin in the first place?

“What the fuck Tim? You are Robin. Not that Gremlin. You are robin until you tragically die some way or the other. And who made him Robin anyways, cause last time I checked, Bruce was fucking six feet under” Jason said raising his voice, feeling like he is going to explode any minute.

Tim flinched, making Jason regret his choice of words.

“It was Dick.”

“What?”

“Dick chose Damian over me”

Tim sounded hopeless. Jason could pick up the boys strained breathing. He swiftly made his way towards the younger boy’s chair.

“Dick, he- he made Damian wear the Costume. He gave Robin to Damian, Jason. Just like that, he snatched it from me.  He chose him over me, Jason.” Tim sobbed, clutching the elastic of his hoodie in an iron grip while staring at Jason. Jason felt his heart break.

Yeah, everyone are in a bad place since Bruce’s death. But it still absolutely makes no sense to Jason why Dick fired Tim from Robin. Dick, out of all people, who knew that Tim struggled with a lot of issues due to his shitty childhood.

He don’t know what made Dick think that snatching Robin from him would be a better idea, given that the kid earned his place with serious determination and hard work. Unlike others, Tim took it upon himself to take the responsibility of Robin after Jason’s tragic ‘death’. And Jason would say without hesitation that Tim is the best Robin among them all. After all, the boy dedicated his whole life for Robin.

He still doesn’t fucking understand who gave Dick the idea that Tim will magically be able to ‘move on’ from the last piece of stability he had left in his life.

Tim stood up abruptly.

“You know what, I’m sorry for bothering you. You might have other important works than hearing me talk about my pathetic life. I’ll get going, Jason. I’m so sorry” Tim said, giving no time to Jason to reply.

He pulled over his hoodie and rushed to the Kitchen window and leaped, before Jason could catch him.

“Tim�� the older boy called out. “Get back here this instant” he shouted, standing near the window

But his little brother did not listen. He was nowhere to be found. Not even in the alley down his apartment.

Jason sighed heavily, trying to process everything when he saw bloody footprints from the glass shards to the kitchen window from which Tim leaped.

---

Just thinking about that night made Jason sick. All the effort Dick put in strengthening his relationship with Jason went down the drain after the incident. Jason entered his safehouse carefully. He’s going to have a very long talk with his little brother now.

[kentray]

Ted Lasso S3 predictions

My predictions before the show is aired. Some have been influenced by SPOILERS (but not too much) so that's a warning.

Ted goes back to Kansas to raise his son. Maybe one reason Jason says the story they have to tell is done, is because there might be an epilogue “a few years later”? Because you can't write more to a story if you jump ahead years and people are apart. A rom com type moment? on the top of the Empire State Building?

Rebecca comes into her own as an owner, falling in love with the game, her boys & herself. She lets go of her hatred of Rupert. Maybe apologizes to the team for what she did in S1? She softens & starts to have feelings for Ted (& vice versa).

If they develop feelings in the last episode or two, maybe a kiss and/or an airport scene? But it’s not yet their time. Ted needs to be with his son. Rebecca is NOT a Kansas girl. So therefore, a reunion via an epilogue.

Roy & Keeley endgame. Funnily enough, a break-up could speed things up in terms of their decisions: whether to marry, children, etc. It’s a short-cut to determine “forever”. They both deal with their insecurities & “save” each other.

Roy deals with whatever trauma he’s been holding in. I want this to be brought on by Keeley but I think some is let out in Ep2 with the team? Maybe starts an academy with Rebecca for Richmond. Boys & girls training together; a focus on a well-rounded upbringing.

Keeley continues to run her own company. She faces imposter syndrome, maybe sabotage by someone (Rupert), maybe things fall to pieces & Roy’s right there to help. We get her backstory, finally. Also, Keeley might get to a point where she needs a client & West Ham might be there. She’ll have to face those decisions & maybe a fallout with Rebecca for a time.

One reason I’ve felt Rupert is doing illegal things is 1) the show’s indictment on billionaires 2) I think Higgins & Keeley will discover things about him that ultimately saves and protects Rebecca (re:Sam) & her ownership, which is why I think Keeley may end up willingly or unwillingly working for Rupert (as per the hint in S2). Maybe that Rupert cooked the books OR maybe phone hacking as that was a big thing with Rupert Murdoch’s tabloids in England years ago.

I think Beard will stay in England & coach. Hopefully, he’ll be able to have a healthier relationship. Perhaps a new character will be introduced near the end? Funny thing is I don’t hate Jane. I think she loves Beard but she needs help.

Nate is eventually forgiven. I have no clue if they’ll deal with the repercussions of what he did to Keeley to my satisfaction. He’ll return to Richmond, maybe as an assistant coach. There will be forgiveness but at a cost. I don’t think others can forgive as easily as Ted.

Sam will be an eventual captain whether it’s Richmond or somewhere else. Roy’s been guiding him. Maybe the Nigerian national team? He will find that Richmond is his home. Maybe meet someone? (Forgot that I think he’ll face bigger repercussions, for his Dubai protest and Rupert & Dick Cole will be out to get him with potential racial overtones. Edwin Akufo is also after him.)

Jamie will make the English National team. He’ll repair his relationship with his mother & come to terms with his abuse. He’ll become the team’s biggest cheerleader, as well as biggest supporter of Roy & Keeley as a couple.

Colin comes out which is a big decision. The team is supportive. My craziest theory is that Isaac is his partner but he chooses not to come out. It’s a risk he’s not willing to take. There’s been some hints along the way… could just be best friends but it would be interesting.

Trent writes the book an in-depth sports book about the team’s journey.

[dllamarama]

Episode 9 Queen of Tears BaekHong recap

Scene: Yongduri-Pear-Tree-House-Youngest-Son-Baek.Hyun.Woo

Queen's Family is in Yonduri to hide from the media attention after being kicked out of their home by the evil MSH and YES. Hyun Woo coming as a knight in shining Mercedes van to save them from humiliation is making it clear that he very much still cares about Hae In and the (foolish) Queen’s Family. He wanted to protect them despite everything that he had gone through because of them. Why is he like this? They were the cause of his sufferings and he is very willingly helping them. I get that he wanted to protect Hae In and that her family is also part of the equation, but helping them to this extent is just too much (because I’m not kind like him). For the first time since their divorce, Hyun Woo is the one making a decision for her. But, Hae In won’t back down so easily. Why would he help them? She is also puzzled with his behaviour, she also doesn’t want him to get involved in the situation because he no longer has to burden himself with their problem. He has been slaving himself for her family for three years and she doesn't want him to do it again, especially when she divorced him because she felt sorry for how poorly he was treated by them. But in the end, Hae In lets him take the lead because to be honest, her family has no other choice. Most importantly, I think she felt Hyun Woo’s sincerity and knew that she wouldn't win this. Hyun Woo won’t let her go anywhere with their current situation. She is moved by his words; to at least be less miserable by staying together even though it won’t make them happier. He worried about her, especially with her current health condition, she needed peace of mind in order for her treatment to be effective and all of these problems will only make it hard for her to focus on her health.

Scene: Hyun Woo with his favourite tiger band-aid

Why is this divorced couple acting like a teenager in love, someone please enlighten me. They are finally on the same page but both are too cautious and scared to start anything again. But then, it is weird in itself to start anything when they just divorced for probably a month (?). Hae In found out that the MP3 actually belongs to her and was happy at the thought of Hyun Woo thinking the MP3 owner (herself) was very pretty for him to still keep in his possession. As usual Hae In is getting ahead of herself and was angry when Hyun Woo said he didn’t remember the owner of the MP3. Baek Hyun Woo being himself obviously trying to save himself from the wrath of his (ex) wife. He wouldn’t dare to admit that to Hae In with the big glaring eyes of her that scared the shit out of him.

Before going to the office the next morning, Hyun Woo checks on Hae In and notices that she didn’t close the window or draw the curtain the previous night. She probably did that just to despise him after being annoyed that he didn’t remember her. Why do we only get the romance after the divorce?

Scene: There are no exes like Baek Hyun Woo

He ran as fast as lightning (almost stumbling on the way) after hearing that Hae In fainted. It’s a short-lived moment when they both enter Hyun Woo’s room, they hold hands. I just need to scream at any chance they give us for BaekHong skinship because of how scarce it is in the series. They discussed Hyun Woo’s investigation behind YES scheme and he tells everything to Hae In but he asks Hae In to not concern herself about the matter and he will do everything for her. Hae In cuts him off and says that she needs to know and do everything that she can so that he will be able to leave her without worrying for her and finally live like a normal divorced couple. Her goal is to be able to part ways with him for good. Hyun Woo's heart dropped with her words and it’s like he was woken up from his dream to realise that they have actually divorced and it’s his fault. We could see the dynamic shift again to Hae In that holds the upper hand in the relationship. Hyun Woo respects her decision and lets her determine her own fate. But we saw in his face that he doesn’t want the same but he had promised to follow her decision and he don’t deserve to ask her to stay. But observing Hae In’s expression, it seems like part of her is hoping for Hyun Woo to ask her to change her mind and ask her to stay. They are suppressing their real feelings and desire to be with each other, probably fearing that this happiness is short-lived. Both of them are learning from their mistakes and want to make the decision where they will be able to keep their promise this time.

Summary:

Hyun Woo, your ideal type and destiny is right in front of you all along. Sometimes I really wonder why kdramas really love these childhood connection troops so much. PJE especially loves this kind of connection. I had a love-hate relationship for this kind of troops, while it could be sweet and tied the main characters as fated-lovers, some are just repetitive and stuck at the same premise. For this drama, I’d say it was less annoying because the focus of Hyun Woo and Hae In relationship is “miraculous love story”. It was also understandable because they need Hae In and Hyun Woo to meet before shibalsaekki YES. It was very much needed to tackle YES who lied that he saved Hae In when they were a child. It was quite disappointing that Hae In did not know that Hyun Woo was the one who saved her from drowning until the end of the drama though.

[fivenightsatfreddysfanfiction]

It feels poetic that The Guard who started the series would become the new protagonist. [Yeah Gregory shares the spotlight with Vanessa, Sydney and Alex, I just mean in the general sense. Especially since Greg's debut game brought people back who hadn't been interested in the series since Mike's introduction game]

The Prodigal Son returns! Sort of...

Gregory being Mike's reincarnation was something I'd been playing with in my head for a while, like about when Ruin dropped and bumped up the priority of rewriting a large chunk of the modern half of the AU. But unlike the other Guard reincarnations who had full memories of their lives when Awakened in their new identities, Gregory was written at the start as a kid whose memories had been purposely stripped from him to remove his identity and make it easier for Elder Afton to take him over. This was because the Aftons learned from Elder's mistake with Lucian, trying to overwrite him with memories intact made it harder to integrate and consume his knowledge and Remnant.

So by robbing Gregory of his memories and messing with his Remnant, the same Remnant that held Mike's memories, emotions, and identity, lots of gaps opened for them that they filled in with each other. In a way he's closer to Digi and Sydney's form of Remnant 'repair'.

Digital Lucian's damaged Remnant and missing memories were filled in with Baby's code, so some of her records went to him as false memories but also a better understanding of the Baby form as his default physical body and an easier acceptance of she/her pronouns while in that form, as well as more leanings towards performance and security.

Sydney's amnesia came from his degrading Remnant and then willingly tearing himself in two in order to save Router from the dispelling of the Trinity of Guards. Router tried to 'heal' what was left of Panther's soul by feeding his own Remnant into him, the emotions of caring for a friend and desperation to keep him safe. This ended up embedding those same feelings into Sydney Herrera as his own, which is how he went from only viewing people in terms of strengths and usefulness to doing everything possible to protect Alex in this new life and befriending Vanessa more genuinely and wanting to save and protect her too, and then extending that care and love (and desperation) to his new little circle of family and friends.

But Gregory? The experiments tore memories from his identity and past as well as Mike's, leaving both of them with gaps. Mike wasn't Awakened fully, just roused during the process in order to fight against it as best he could, thus taking damage. As Gregory heals and has those gaps in memory found and false memories pulled apart, Mike's Remnant fills in those holes in Gregory with pieces of himself, his emotions and memories. And eventually Gregory gets Six to fill in the gaps of Mike with the addition of Gregory's emotions and identity to smooth over the process.

What we have in the end isn't just Mike within Gregory or Gregory with Mike behind him, but a kind of fusion of the two. Sometimes there's more Mike than Gregory in certain cases (it'll be easy to tell when that happens) but most times there's more Gregory than Mike, even when he answers to both names. Like Gregory's use of Mike's phrases that fit best with him in situations or adapting Mike's experiences to his own views, and Mike in turn picks up on technology about animatronics and their quirks and how to use them to his advantage far more easily and quickly thanks to Gregory's experiences and skills.

He's Gregory, first and foremost. But Mike's in there too, just no longer 'separate' thanks to Elizabeth's meddling. When talking to Gregory, you're talking to both, and when Gregory speaks, you're hearing from both. Dunno if that makes sense but that's how I write Gregory as Mike's reincarnation.

The First Guard, home again. Maybe not the same, but it's still him.

[alissaming]

Character Deep Dive: Specter Knight

SPOILER WARNING! This deep dive talks about the character Specter Knight and the ending of Specter Knight's game, as well as his appearance during Shovel of Hope. If you have not played this game yet, I highly recommend you do. If you decide to proceed, you have been warned.

Specter Knight has to be one of the more tragic characters in Shovel Knight. He comes with a variety of cool natural abilities, such as a wall climb and what I like to call the dash-slice. The dash-slice focuses on something (an item, like a bubble, an enemy, or even a nearby friend to grab his hand) and uses it to basically dash to higher hieghts or across gaps. These two abilities, as well as his healing magic item are pretty much the most useful abilites in the entire game.

When you get through the very first level of the game, you fight Black Knight and find out Specter Knight has a distinct, recognizable style and a name. When you defeat Black Knight he calls Specter Knight Donovan. I remember, I was so blown away by this.. Like up until this point, with the exception of Reize, pretty much no one has an actual name. And while some characters have distinctive styles based on their level and what they do, no one seems so recognizable that someone knows their name by their mere attack. Anyway, as you play through the game, you also come across some of Specter Knight's memories. Turns out, he used to be a mortal who had a good friend named Luan. They were going on one last mission together to find an amulet said to bring protection. Luan wants it for his son. Basically the memories follow the two making their way through the Tower of Fate, meeting Shield Knight, and fighting her. What is tragic is that Donovan actually seems to have fatally wounded Luan, then the tower collapses, fatally wounding Donovan. The Enchantress shows up and offers his life back in exchange for serving her. And if he finds her eight knights, she'll return his humanity. That's what the game is following, that quest. Eventually, Reize, Luan's son, breaks into the tower and gets mind controlled by the Enchantress until the end of the game. At the end, Black Knight reveals, after seeing the Enchantress, that she's actually a possessed Shield Knight. Deciding that all his misfortune is her fault, Specter Knight decides to end Enchantress himself. In the end, he can't do it, and since Enchantress is one knight short, she decides she can make do with Reize and give Specter Knight back his humanity. However, Specter Knight, who seems to realize he was the one who was wrong, sacrifices his humanity to save Reize, and willingly becomes one of the Enchantress's knights. He then takes Reize home and goes to where he's the boss in Shovel Knight, putting the locket he carries everywhere (given to him by Luan) into a chest

So some stuff I noticed that I haven't been able to connect yet. Black Knight seems to know who Donovan is, or at least was once. As you may have noticed, Specter Knight is the only one I've called by name at all this entire time. That's because no one else uses an actual name, just a knight name. Even between rivals Black Knight and Shovel Knight, or classmates Shovel Knight and Polar Knight, they always use knight names. Another thing is the way a lot of the knights you face have to say about and to you. Plague Knight, Phantom Striker, and Tinker Knight all refer to Specter Knight as a specter, wraith, ghost, or just saying he's past his prime. Implying they can tell he's undead. King Knight and Phantom Striker both refer to Specter Knight as an honorless dog or errand boy, referencing him serving the Enchantress. The others all have general stuff, other than Black Knight referring to Donovan as a commoner (how can you tell?) and Propeller Knight mentioning Specter Knight's tattered robes.

So what exactly is going on with Specter Knight. I think it's actually pretty clear. He's suffering from doubt and guilt for killing his best friend, allowing his best friend's son to become mind controlled by the Enchantress, and making his deal with the Enchantress. We don't see it focused on much during the game, but it's pretty clear to me it's there. It's coming out as him blaming others, specifically Shield Knight, because she fought him trying to stop them taking the amulet, for his misfortune. He's convinced himself that, if not for her, none of what happened, happened. He may have even convinced himself she did what she did because she wanted to free the Enchantress. None of this really comes out until the end of the game when he fights her. And I think his sacrifice for Reize, wasn't just because of who Reize was, but what Reize represented. That all of this was actually his fault. He got himself into this situation, and now he had to get Reize out of it.

The locket is also important, as it plays an important part in Shovel of Hope. It's the Locket of Invulerability or whatever that's called. It's taken from the chest by Plague Knight in his game and given to Chester for stuff Plague Knight, and Chester sells them to Shovel Knight. So yeah, you have a family heir loom and it gives Shovel Knight temporary invincibility. Anyway, that's my thoughts and all the stuff I noticed.

[bubblegum---bitch]

I know this is cliche, but what about a human recently dying and for some reason Stolas swoons over them. For example protecting them and what not since they're new to hell, preferably male but obviously up to you. Love your work ❤️

Consider it done 👍🏾

Requested by: @supbra154

Note: Editing took a lot longer than i thought it would but I hope you like what I came up with ,and thank you for all the love and support😊

Stolas x Innocent Male! Reader

Your parents were wearing red cloaks when they dragged you down from your room into the living room. Most of the adults you've known all of your life were crowded together there, all adorned in red cloaks.

You remembered there being an old wooden alter in the center of the spacious area, all of the furniture and family photos that hung from the walls were gone, red painted satanic symbols stained the white beneath and trickled onto the wooden floor.

You didn't want to jump to any conclusions, your parents were good Christian people, they went to church every Sunday, threw tides and offerings, volunteered every week at the homeless shelter, and were well respected in little community of people that made up your home town.

Even the people that stood in your living room were all god fearing people that you grew up around. They had groomed you to be apart of the church ever since you could walk, all you've ever known was the church. You've never disobeyed, you never did most of the things young adults do like drugs, parties or even sex because you were taught that sex before marriage was a sin and God would punish you.

You held the ten commandments close to your heart and the teachings that you've read in the bible like they were your life line. You were as they called 'a perfect child' growing up, and you grew up being the perfect son.

But now you were being dragged kicking and screaming to the alter. Your father and your pastors son that you practically grew up with held onto you, pushing and tugging at you to walk go the alter, as if they expected you to go willingly to it. But with much force and a punch to your stomach by your own father, they had managed to strap you down by your wrists and ankles.

Two men that worked at the local grocery store just a few blocks away from your house approached and cut off every article of clothing that you had on, leaving you naked in front of everyone and scared beyond comprehension.

Your middle aged home tutor came over to you with a large golden bowl cupped gently between her hands. She didn't so much as look at you as she began to murmur something in a language you didn't know, her fingers dipped into the bowl and they came back up coated in a thick red substance you could immediately tell was blood.

She smeared it all over you drawing patterns and symbols, not caring about how much you were moving and screaming for help, it was as if she didn't even acknowledge you, or just refused to.

All of your begs and pleads met deaf ears as your pastor began to read from a old looking book as the rest of them chanted in a foreign language, you highly doubted it was the bible.

Your mother now stood over you with a loving smile on her face, her warm hand caressed your face, her thumb wiping away your tears like she did when you were a child. You begged her to help you, you even apologized for whatever you did that lead to this but she just shook her head and smiled eerily.

The only comfort she offered was that you were fulfilling your purpose and that she would always love you for being such a good son. She leant over and kissed you on your cold sweaty forehead for a full five seconds, you closed your eyes silently praying for the lord to save you or to at least wake you up from this nightmare.

Then came the worst pain you've ever felt.

When your mother arose, you saw a dagger sticking out of your chest, the handle held firmly by your mother with tiny splats of your blood splatted on her hand.

You didn't feel or hear much after that. Everything began to fade into a dark blur, then there was nothing. The last thing you saw was your mother, ever smiling, she didn't seen to even care that her son had just drawn his last breath.

================================================

Now you were falling, like that dream where you're descending through a bright blue sky surrounded by clouds with the ground slowly getting closer but was still a good distance away. But there was no sky, no clouds, not even the sound of rushing winds against your ears as you fell.

The only thing you could make out was that wherever you were, it was really warm.

And it got warmer, and warmer, then hot. Not normal heat, this was much different. You were sweating, and your skin burned like when you grip the belly of a kettle that was boiling away over a roaring fire. You were still naked so you felt everything, even if you weren't you didn't think it would have made that much of a difference.

A slight tint of red caught your eyes, that was probably the bottom of this deep hole you were falling in. Was this it? Were you really being sent to hell? You lived a good life, a simple and clean life. You never took part in worldly things and you keep true to the bible. Why was God punishing you despite all of this? Didn't he not want you? Were you not good enough to be saved?

You let out a painful cry as your skin began to peel off bit by bit. The heat on your skin had bust into literal fire that enveloped your entire body, turning you into a screaming fire ball that was being burnt down to the very bone.

================================================

When you awoke, the first thing that caught your attention was the color of the sky. It had to be the sky because there were clouds and birds flying around, the only difference was that it was red. And there was a glowing pentagon in the center of it.

You let out a groan when sensation returned to your body. Everything hurt and you felt as if you got hit with a car and then run over just to make sure you were dead. You managed to sit yourself up on the ground and you were surprised to be met by a vast array of lush vegetation. It wasn't like anything you've ever seen on earth which was strange since you never thought hell would have such things as vegetation. You distinctly remember reading it to be nothing but endless fire, darkness and eternal suffering. This wasn't what you pictured it to be like at all, at least from what you could see.

Memories of what happened mere moments ago flashed in your mind, the blood, the feeling to complete helplessness and betrayal of not only your parents but God as well. The fact that you never knew that your parents were Satan worshipers and they sacrificed you, their own son who they claimed to love made your heart hurt and that not even your faith could have saved you from eternal damnation.

So what was the point of it all? Your whole life was nothing but a lie, everyone that you thought cared about you had been grooming you to be a sacrifice and now you were dead and alone in a strange place and no idea what you were suppose to do. What else was to left do but cry? For not only what happened but for what you've lost, the life you could have lived and love you could have shared with someone special someday.

"Why are you crying.. and naked?" The little voice startled you from behind and you turned around to see a little owl like creature. She was quite small and had the biggest eyes you've ever soon. You wanted to be afraid of such a strange creature but she reminded you of a little girl despite the obvious differences.

"What's your name? I'm Octavia." You introduced yourself and she seemed to like it. You watched as she fished through a pocket in her little flower patterned dress and pulled out a little handkerchief to hand to you.

Not seeing the harm of the kind gesture you accepted and cleaning the tears and snot that were poring down your face. The little girl continued to talk to you about who you were and how you ended up in her fathers garden. It was innocent curiosity that you didn't mind answering, in fact you felt less awful than you did before she showed up.

She also shared a little about herself and you had to admit that this was the brightest six year old you've ever met. She was extremely intelligent for her age and was verse in many topics that you had no former experience in.

She disclosed that she was also a princess and went on to talk about her parents who apparently fought a lot, thus her being outside to avoid the yelling and throwing of very expensive vases. But she had ran back into her castle and in no time ran out back with a long piece of cloth that looked like a very expensive looking cloak but all they you cared about was being less naked in front of a six year old girl.

Time seemed to pass by quickly as the two of you had conversation after conversation about random things that you wanted to share with each other. The color of the sky didn't change much but Octavia seemed to know the time and it was pretty late but she didn't seem too eager to get up.

"I'm sure your parents are looking for you by now, you should probably head inside don't princesses have bedtimes like other little girls?"

"But we're having so much fun, can't you stay a little bit longer?"

"I don't think your parents would appreciate you bringing in a total stranger into your house, I'm already trespassing as it is." Which was true and if you know anything its that rich people don't like trespassers and the last thing you needed was to be on anyone's bad side, especially in hell.

The fact that you had to leave seemed to upset her and she actually began to pout with little tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Oh no, please don't cry. I really don't want to get in trouble with your parents by being here."

That seemed to upset her more and the moment you decided to get up she burst into tears. She was practically balling her eyes out as she clung onto your leg, preventing you from moving. You tried to calm her down by picking her up and hugging her but she just latched on to you tighter.

You felt a wave of panic when you hear a man call out for her, that was probably her father looking for her and heard her crying. There wasn't much you could do other than stand there with the crying child clinging to your chest, you sure as hell weren't going to run.

"Octavia where are.." A much bigger version of the toddler showed up and he wasn't what you pictured him to be. He was freakishly tall, had four glowing red eyes and was dressed like a prince.

"Who are you? Give me back my daughter this instant!" You did your best, trying to pull Octavia off of you without hurting her but she would not budge.

"Octavia let go of this strange man at once, did he hurt you? Did you hurt my daughter?"

"What? Gods no I would never hurt her." This was getting out of hand. You really didn't want to get on this guys bad side and Octavia wasn't making it ant easier for you to explain yourself with all of her wailing and crying.

"Y/n wants to leave daddy, please don't make him leave daddy!!" She begged the towering owl. He seemed to crumble under the pressure just from one look at her teary eyes. You obviously weren't doing her any harm, you looked more uncomfortable having a crying child and her father who was looking down at you. With a heavy sigh he turned around and made his way back into his mansion. You weren't sure what to do but he soon told you to follow him in.

Octavia seemed to calm down and was snuggling into your chest happily as you followed her father through the spacious hall ways. You passed several family portraits that showed a happily married couple and their daughter, nothing like what Octavia explained to you at all but looks were always deceiving.

He made a left into a very luxurious room that looked like a kitchen and offered you a seat at a small table by the window. You sat down holding Octavia as her father seemed to be making something to drink.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" He asked not looking back at you but you declined, you weren't a very big fan of coffee but you did accept a cup of tea when he asked. You sat together in silence for like half an hour before you decided to break the thick ice.

"Um.. so I haven't really explained myself your majesty, sir." You explained that you just woke up in his garden and that his daughter found you. You went further to tell him what happened to you before you woke up in hell and that you didn't want any trouble and would happily leave to avoid causing any trouble.

He didn't seem to even acknowledge that you had said something. Now that you got a good look at him he wasn't looking too hot, in fact he looked tired and in need of a twelve hour sleep.

"Are you ok? You seem stressed. Not that its any of my business of course I'm just trying to make conversation, I'll shut up if you don't want to talk." Wow, you could not get anymore awkward.

"She seems to like you a lot. I'm glad, she doesn't take a liking to a lot of people." You looked down at your chest and smiled to see that the little princess had fallen asleep. She looked so cute and peaceful snuggling you like you were an overgrown stuffed bear.

"Yeah, she's a pretty great kid." You fell into silence again but this time it wasn't as uncomfortable. "You know, this isn't what I pictured hell to be like at all, thought this place was suppose to be all fire and brimstone."

"That was eons ago, brimstone is quite unpleasant to smell let alone have stick to your feathers and I refused to live so uncivilized."

You fell into a conversation about what hell was actually like and he even explained many things about heave, for example the yearly extermination that massacre's tens of thousands of sinners to keep the ever growing population in check. To say you were shocked was an understatement.

"I always thought that good people go to heaven no matter how they died. Even if my parents did this to me, I thought that God would have saved me before I got sent down here. Was it stupid to have believed that?"

"I've learnt the hard way to not put my faith into the hands of others. But you'll come to see that things aren't as bad as most people think down here. In fact life here can be quite comfortable for you with the right connections. So why don't you stay with us until you get on your feet? Octavia has been incredibly lonely as of late and she's obviously taken quite a liking to you. You could be her playmate and besides hell is no place for a soul like you. Why they'd eat you up and spit you out before you knew what hit you."

As morbid as he made it sound, it calmed your nerves a little when he offered you a place to stay. You knew nothing about living on your own much less what living in hell would be like for someone like you.

So during the course of three months you had gotten into your new role of being the nanny of the little princess Octavia. You were very surprised to learn that there were other demons of royalty in hell and that you were lucky enough to land in the garden of one of the most respected and feared overlords in the underworld.

Stolas was very kind and generous despite the whispers you'd hear from the little red servants that tend to all of their needs and the maintenance of the castle. He would often times seek you out and invite you to brunch and give you tours around all the rings of hell to get you better acquainted with your new living situation.

He even goes so far as to sit in and watch you and Octavia have fun and play around the castle. He's admitted to finding it refreshing having someone other than himself that makes his daughter happy. Despite having a mother, she wasn't the type to show love and affection to anyone, even to her daughter.

But despite it all he defends her actions and hardly says anything that would paint his wife as a bad person. But you've learnt on your own that she was quite bitter when things weren't done her way to reached her expectations, especially you.

The moment she laid her eyes on you and saw how happy her husband and daughter seemed to be around you, a complete total stranger that they just welcomed into their home without her permission made her dislike you very much and she never misses a chance to show it.

She's even gone so far as to try and get Stolas to get rid of you because you 'coddle' Octavia too much and would spoil her but Stolas would not have any of it and it's at those times that he'd show his anger towards his wife.

You were an only child to your parents so you've never known the joy of taking care of someone so young and full of potential in a place like hell. Octavia often times refers to you as her big brother behind closed doors to avoid being scolded by her mother.

But she too despite her young age also craved for someone to talk and share secrets with despite having her ever doting father. You had become an essential part of her life and heaven forbid if her mother ever tries to hurt you in some way just to get rid of you.

He also likes to have you accompany the family to special events and parties to keep Octavia company. She has a tendency of running off to find children her age to play with so with you always being there she wouldn't have to do that anymore.

There would be moments that when in public, many overlords that would meet you would often try to flirt and actually steal you away from Stolas despite him being five feet away from you. He of course is on them in mere seconds and quickly beat the shit out of them and swiftly takin you to safety and apologizing for putting you in danger.

[cornerofhell]

RANT ABOUT ANDY

This is a more unpopular opinion, I’ve learned, but I’m gonna say it.

Andy deserves more recognition. 

Let’s put his life into terms without all the Chucky jokes. Andy started out as a six year old child. An innocent little boy who loved his mommy and aunt Maggie, and just wanted a simple Good Guy doll. What the fuck does he get? A doll with a 38 year old serial killer pretending to be an angel from his dead dad who wants to kill everyone he loves and take over his body. Kills his aunt, uses him to kill others, tries to kill his mother, and forces him to grow up at the age of SIX.  Second movie rolls around. Not only is his mother locked away in a mental institution and Mike has been fired, Andy’s been in a fucking FOSTER HOME for the past two years because no one wants him. A family finally does take him in, they’re different but kinda trying..? And then Chucky comes back, to steal him again, and this time he has NO ONE to protect him, or believe him. Not even his new family, who doesn’t know how to handle his needs as a child suffering from trauma. His school doesn’t believe him, his family doesn’t, and Chucky is just freely killing everyone. And then Chucky kills his foster dad and leaves his foster mother to HATE AND BLAME HIM, AND SEND HIM BACK. All he has left is Kyle, his only leg left to stand on and protect him. Oh, and his last motherly fiure who showed genuine sympathy besides his own mother is uh, stabbed right in front of him. And photocopied. And Chucky casually reminds him; This isn’t the first time he’s seen a fucking corpse. He reminds this.... to an 8 year old. Chucky is almost succesful in taking over his body by an INCH, and then all he wants to do is KILL HIM BRUTALLY.  Third movie. Kyle has grown out of Foster Care, leaving Andy alone, and Karen is still in the institute. Foster family after foster family who reject him because of his past trauma, leaving him to fend for himself until he gets kicked to a BOOT CAMP. He’s bullied, tormented, Chucky’s back, no one believes him, people start dying, and now ANDY has to become the protector of a boy who might suffer the same fate as he has these past years. Curse of Chucky! Andy is a fully grown adult. We see he’s doing well-ish.... Mike and Karen are in his life, so is Kyle- and then Chucky peeks out of the box. And Andy is there.... waiting for him with a gun. Andy has known he would come back and has WAITED FOR IT. He’s 32 and he’s WAITED FOR IT.  Cult of Chucky! Andy has him, finally. He gets to make the son of a bitch suffer everything he’s suffered, and Chucky torments him. He tries to date. He can’t properly interact with people much anymore. He’s so broken after all those years, that he CAN’T. He’s once again not believed, being threatened by Chucky AND TIFFANY, and he knows of a woman who was blamed for Chucky’s crimes, and he knows she can’t and shouldn’t suffer like he has. So what happens? He gets locked into the hospital (MUCH LIKE HIS OWN MOTHER).... And then he sees it. He’s forced to see what could have been HIM at SIX. The woman he had planned to save, has been taken, he was too late.... and now is trying to blame him for the murders.  I’ll say this willingly. Andy is the most miserable, suffered, character in horror. Sidney Prescott found love after Billy. Laurie Strode had families of her own. Tommy Jarvis found a girlfriend and moved on. Am I saying they aren’t traumatized? FUCK NO! They are just as much so, but... ANDY can’t even properly social interact. ANDY locks himself alone from the world with weapons. ANDY is willing to take down anyone to kill the monsters. Chucky was right about one thing, he took Andy’s childhood. Andy went from an innocent six year old little boy to a cold, angry victim, because of Charles Lee Ray and what he did to his family and mind. Chucky deserved every inch of pain he’s gotten from his deaths, and every ounce of torture. As much as I do enjoy to watch Chucky on the big screen, people seem to forget the IMPACTS he’s made, and instead use their love of Chucky to talk shit on Andy.  This is an ‘Andy Barclay deserves love’ page. 

[fickleminder]

The Haunting of Serenity Manor

I shared this in my discord server some time back but figured I’d type it out properly here too. Haunted House AU set in the human world, inspired by this and this 👻

- MC inherits Serenity Manor after their grandmother passes away. In order to earn the rest of their inheritance, they have to restore the manor (which is kind of abandoned and derelict) within a stipulated timeframe

- They decide to move in and save on rent, since utilities are still (barely) running and the manor is located in this nice little secluded area some distance from town, surrounded by a small forest. Peace and quiet, you know?

- Unbeknownst to MC, the manor is haunted by seven demons

- The bros try to scare MC away at first with standard haunted shenanigans: banging doors, flickering lights, shadows on the walls, etc. because how dare this lowly human waltz into our home like they own it (they technically do) and rearrange the furniture?

- But MC loved their grandma and grew up on stories of her time spent at the manor during her youth, so they really want to see this through and do their best to put things back the way they were in the glory days

- And through MC’s efforts, the bros slowly warm up to them and return the favor

- Install routers and get wifi in every corner of the house? MC will have hot water whenever they want, even if the pipes haven’t been completely fixed yet

- Spruce up the garden and plant pretty flowers? The manor always smells fresh and stays relatively dust-free

- Put up some old bling deco and several bookshelves? Crows and cats become regular visitors, leaving shiny trinkets behind and getting rid of the rats in the cellar

- Solomon is this shady acquaintance of MC’s who stops by the manor one day after hearing that they’ve inherited it. He’s aware of the spooky rumors surrounding the place and wants to make sure everything’s okay, but MC is in denial about the whole haunted house thing despite the strange happenings when they had first moved in

“Demons? In my manor?”

“It’s more likely than you think!”

- Even then, MC refuses to go near the ouija board Solomon brings along because hell nah, they’ve seen enough horror movies to tempt fate. In the end, Solomon decides that MC isn’t in any supernatural danger and offers to make them lunch in return for hosting him

“Sol, you’re my friend and I love you, but your cooking can kill a demon.”

“Well, that would certainly solve your housemate problem.”

“...GTFO of my kitchen.”

- Simeon is a family friend with an adoptive son that MC sometimes babysits. MC and Luke like to bake together and ever since moving into the manor, MC notices that they always end up with more food than the recipe caters for

While Luke washes up in the bathroom, one of his bedtime stories comes to mind.

“...Jesus?” MC asks the air.

Behind them, a lightbulb explodes.

- Everything’s all well and good and the manor is almost back to it’s original pristine state

- And then one day the police show up at MC’s door

- People have gone missing around Serenity Manor, they claim, flashing a warrant to search the premises, low-key hinting that MC is suspected of murder

- MC cooperates willingly and gives them free reign of the grounds, but there’s nothing to find. They’ve not received any visitors despite the abandoned cars at the edge of the small forest surrounding the area, and the security tapes are clean

- What MC doesn’t know is that they have a bunch of greedy relatives who want to claim MC’s portion of the inheritance by sending people to sabotage the house repairs, because the manor has to pass official inspection before MC can get the rest of the money, which would otherwise be forfeited

- Good thing MC has seven housemates to protect them! Anybody with malicious intent trying to find their way through the forest are just never seen again

- A side plot could be MC’s grandmother being a reincarnation of Lilith, which explains why she was so fond of the manor and the bros were sad when she had to leave her childhood home

- Maybe MC dreams about it, hears a deep voice calling her Lilith while her child-dream-self laughs and says “my name is Lily!” (aka grandma Lily)

- Dark/spooky ending: there’s this secret room that doesn’t show up in the house plans where the bros are preparing a ritual for when the time is right. Even if MC decides to permanently reside in the manor, they’ve grown to love MC so much that they want to make sure MC doesn’t leave them like Lily did

- What the spell does exactly... only time will tell

[devilish-miasma]

An AU where nobody's an orphan! Hc Sparda twins' s/o meeting their parents plz- Watch out here's some mama Eva

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Ah yes. What could have been if Capcom hadn’t cheated us out of it.

Here, Dante and Vergil are depicted in their DMC3 age of nineteen. This also turned into a college AU, so.

Toxic

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Dante

He was going to drop out if you hadn’t offered to tutor him. Vergil wouldn’t do it, saying that Dante would actually understand the curriculum if he didn’t slack off.

So when you offered to do it, it was a lifesaving moment.

“I hate this boring shit,” Dante groans, slamming his head into his book.

“You’re just being dramatic.” You smile and hand him some coffee.

Over your study and tutoring sessions, you both developed crushes on each other. You thought Dante was cute despite the constant whining, and he thought you were the most beautiful person he ever laid eyes on. Unlike everyone he knew, you actually took the time out of your day to put up with him, willingly. It was heartwarming.

But you kept your mouth shut. You didn’t want to risk what you had with your feelings.

Your relationship with Dante changed the moment he got his exam score back. He stood there in absolute shock. It was an A-, a massive improvement. You congratulated him, praising him on a job well done, and that’s when Dante strode over and pressed your lips together.

You two became a couple after that. So, for a few months it was just dates and getting to know each other better. (And getting snuck into Dante’s dorm.)

Dante and his brother planned on returning home for Christmas break, which made you a little jealous. You didn’t really have anywhere to go. Knowing this, Dante invited you to come with them. You gladly accepted.

Dante laughed at your awestruck face over the mansion. You knew of his background, but you didn’t know it was like this!

You were accepted immediately by Sparda and Eva. But as kind as they were, you instantly knew how protective they were of him. Dante told you the story of the house fire years ago, which nearly resulted in his and Eva’s lives. So their protective nature was understandable.

You had a talk with Eva. While you had her approval, you knew that if you were to ever break Dante’s heart, you would regret it. You would never do that, but still.

Momma Eva will come after you if you hurt her baby. She may be kind, but mothers are a force to be reckoned with.

Vergil

You were both the top of your class, so therefore rivals (or, at least, you proclaimed the two of you to be rivals. Vergil couldn’t care less.)

The “rivalry” stopped when Vergil saved you one night. You refused to tutor some boy, someone who was notorious for intimidating top students into doing his work for him. You were stubborn in refusing, but he didn’t take it well. He and his friends jumped you, and that’s when Vergil arrived out of nowhere. He stood between you and your attackers, who were stunned and frightened. Vergil could be quite intimidating, especially now that he had a sword. Wait, where the hell did he get a sword??

They ran with their tails between their legs. Cowards, really.

You tried to play it off coolly. “Thought you were gonna kill them for a second.”

A scoff. “Mother would have my head if I harmed a human.”

Ah. A momma’s boy, then.

You managed to worm your way into his life after that, and slowly, into his heart. Vergil watched you and your mannerisms, and, as gross as it was, he found it adorable. You seemed… precious. The urge to protect you strengthened as time went on. It was an unlikely change.

At one point you tried grabbing this large, heavy box off a high shelf. It would have fallen off and crushed you if Vergil hadn’t darted over and and stopped it with his hands, grabbing it and pulling it down. You sighed, and Vergil started scolding you.

“What were you thinking? I’m 6’5”, I could have easily gotten that for you. If I hadn’t rushed over and stopped it in time it would have—”

You grabbed the side of his face and kissed his cheek. Vergil immediately stopped talking.

“My fierce protector,” You chuckled, kissing his temple. “Thank you for being there for me.” You’ve never seen Vergil blush before.

When you met Sparda and Eva, they were shocked. They didn’t expect Vergil to be the one to leave and come back with a partner, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

Like with Dante, they’re protective of him. His first trigger was under… dire and traumatic circumstances, nearly losing his mother and brother one night. After going through so much, Eva became quite protective over her son, and obviously talked to you voicing her concerns.

“Just don’t hurt him.” Eva told you. “He’s so young and has been through so much already. So treat him nice. Do not hurt him.”

Of course you wouldn’t. How could you? You loved him, after all.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Read it on AO3 | Rules | Buy this devil a coffee

[mountain-man-cumeth]

What Went Wrong: An In-Depth Analysis of Muriel's Route

*Youtuber voice*

Below are the opinions of an uneducated individual on what could’ve left the majority of The Arcana audience dissatisfied. I will explore the plot, tropes, themes and morals of the Muriel route and try to explain what may have gone wrong. I will be treating the game as a novel since it's advertised as one.

1. Consistency. If you are unfamiliar with the chekhov's gun; it's a story writing principle that dictates each element you introduce should come into play (foreshadowing). Now let's start with a few story beats that were later abandoned or concluded in an underwhelming manner:

Muriel's blanket

Muriel's magic mark (on his back)

Forest spirit (spirits in general)

Lucio's upbringing

Circumstances of MC's death

Figurines/whittling/charms

Muriel's blanket is teased to be a tapestry, which would tie in with his later fascination with them later on, as it had been the only thing he had left from his past. MC neither sees nor comments on the blanket, we only know it exists thanks to other playthroughs and short stories.

Magic marks are an important point in the game. Every main route emphasises on how it affects the chosen LI. It's reveal is important in a way that it serves as a passage to a new act where the reader explores magic and Arcana pantheon as they are a monumental part of the overall worldbuilding. This exact point applies to the Heart of the Forest and how spirits interact with the world around them as well.

Whittling and Charm making are the only hobbies we get from Muriel's isolated life, their introduction helps the reader humanise the character by giving us a crumb of his everyday life. It's never mentioned again after the scene where MC asks him what he does. He doesn't idly whittle during their journey and charms only come to play in an offhanded reference during reversed ending.

The other two are also ignored but I will touch on Lucio later on.

Why do these matter? A few abandoned plot points don't make or break the story but on a grander level it hinders the audience investment. When we read, we like to think the details we notice will come to play eventually, we like recognizing references that were introduced earlier. I'm sure I don't need to give examples on this one, I don't think anyone will disagree.

2. Themes. Thematic influences this story utilized are all over the place, and it seems to me like it stems from the improper application of certain tropes;

The Hero's Journey

Home Sweet Home

Shell-Shocked Vet

Last of His Kind

etc.

Some of these tropes tackle themes such as;

Slavery

PTSD

Survivor's Guilt

Genocide

I'm not going to try to explain How to Write any of these topics. I'm not remotely qualified. I think it's better if I just give examples from popular media because whether you know how to write it or not, you can still understand when it's written well;

AtLA deals with genocide and survivor's guilt. It's in the name; The Last Airbender. Aang is the sole survivor of a culture he'd only had an opportunity to engage in for a handful of years. He left them with a childish tantrum and now they're gone forever. I can't think of another mainstream series that shows the gruesome reality of war and genocide better than this one.

When Muriel realizes his true heritage and loses Khamgalai is the point of the story where Luke sees his family's farm burned down, Aang goes back to the air temple, Treebeard walks in on the demolished part of the forest. (The inciting incident)

(Could also have been forest spirit’s death but it was too early in the story so I don’t consider it a missed opportunity.)

Up until this point the hero has their doubts, they're going through the motions but they are either underestimating the enemy or they're a passive protagonist. Either way, this is the point where the hero has to take the reins of the story. What purpose does this serve in Muriel's route instead? It simply validates Muriel's beliefs. He's useless, he isn't strong enough. We as the reader need a point to see where the hero takes a step to drive the story forward or whoever takes that step will steal the spotlight, it will be their story. As it is, this is the point where it ceases to be Muriel’s story.

PTSD got the worst end of the deal. Since Dragon Age fandom has a huge overlap with the Arcana I will use Fenris as an example; for those who are unfamiliar with the character, Fenris is an escaped slave. After the sex scene he vividly describes an experience that most people can easily identify as a flashback. The game never tells us that he was abused, it doesn’t show us him having a panic attack but it shows us that whatever transpired between him and the player character clearly triggered an unpleasant memory.

Arcana tries and initially succeeds to do something similar. We see that the character is untrustworthy, sensitive to touch, easily agitated, can’t sleep outside of his perceived safe environment… It introduces us the cause later on and the story has two options, each will drastically change the moral of the story:

Remember these as they will be important later on

Portray Muriel fighting as a bad thing; You can’t fight violence with violence angle or the fact that the villain’s forcing him into a situation where he’ll have to fight again makes the villain all the more intimidating.

Portray Muriel fighting as a good thing; He has the means to defeat the villain and he just needs encouragement. With great power comes great responsibility. By not fighting he willingly condemns everyone to an awful fate and that he is selfish.

I’d like to take a second to explore the 1. Option, I feel like the game may have intended to implement that idea but failed because of the implementation of Morga and choices presented for the player character: Morga is an Old-Soldier, these characters are often push the hero out of their comfort zone in an aggressive way towards complacency, they are a narrative foil to the mentor. For the first option to work the story had to show Khamgalai acting as a mentor and having the protagonists challenge Morga’s teachings(see Ozai-Iroh). As it is, Morga’s actions are never put under scrutiny (narratively) and her death feels hollow as a result. She didn’t sacrifice herself for the heroes due to her guilt, she died because she felt a moment of sympathy for her son which wasn’t explored before, she showed no intention to change nor any doubt.

It is clear the game choose 2. Option, it is a controversial choice given Muriel’s mental condition and the game is acutely aware of this, which is likely why Muriel’s PTSD will get carefully scraped from the story from here on out. (I won’t address other instances where his trauma wasn’t taken into account, I feel like this explanation should cover them as well.)

3. Morals. Every story, whether the author intends it or not, has a moral. The Villain most often acts against that moral and in turn can change the hero's perspective. Morals are not ideals; the morality of Killmonger isn’t that marginalised people should fight for their rights, it is that vengeance is just. Whether it’s right or wrong can be debated but what makes an ideal the moral of the story is in the portrayal. How the narrator depicts the events, how people around the heroes react... all are a part of portrayal.

The story choosing “Muriel fighting is a good thing” earlier puts in the foundation of a moral. The story tells us Muriel has to fight, it’s the right thing to do. He has to be brave for the people he loves.

This choice affects how his past actions will be perceived; now, him escaping the arena to save himself is cowardly, abandoning Morga is cowardly.

The story tells us it wasn’t, but shows us that it was. This is the end of the midpoint of the story, at this point we need to have a good grasp on what we should perceive as wrong or right for us to feel invested. If we zig-zag between the morals we won’t know which actions we should root for. But more than that, the conclusion will not feel cathartic as it will inevitably demonstrate the opposing ideals clashing at its climax.

Villain doesn't necessarily have to be sympathetic and Muriel's route makes no effort to make him as such, but they need to be understandable. What danger does Lucio pose to the status quo, what makes him a compelling villain? Whether he conquers Vesuvia or not doesn’t drastically affect Muriel’s way of life, he’s been in hiding for years. He doesn’t threaten to steal MC’s body, Muriel is not compelled to pick up arms to save his beloved. He wants to protect the people from going through what he’s been through, right? That is what the story wants us to think. But what has he been through? Fighting was his choice, Lucio tricked him into it. Lucio later tricked Morga, his own mother, to save his own hide. This tells us that Lucio is a manipulator, but he doesn’t manipulate his way into Vesuvia, he barges in with deus ex machina monsters. He doesn’t demonstrate his skills as a tactician by making deals with neighbouring kingdoms to get their armies. We don’t know his strengths therefore we don’t know his weaknesses. If he seems to be losing he can just conjure a giant dragon to burn everything down, we just can’t know. That is why the application of deus ex machina is highly taboo, the victories don’t feel earned and defeats feel unfair.

4. Tone. Playing with the genre is not uncommon and a game such as Arcana has many opportunities to do so. It is a romance story, everything else is the back-drop. The tone works best when its overall consistent but tonal changes act as shock for the audience to keep them engaged and keeping one tone indefinitely gets us desensitized. We can’t feel constant misery if we are not made to feel tinges of hope in between. Good examples of dramatic tonal change (that I can think of): Mulan - arriving at the decimated village, La Vita e Bella - the father’s death, M*A*S*H - death of Hawkeye’s friend. Two of these examples are mostly comedy which is why this tonal shift affects us so, it was all fun and games until we are slapped in the face with the war going on. There are no one liners in those scenes, the story takes a moment to show appropriate respect to the dead, it gives its characters time to digest and come to terms with loss. Bad examples are the majority of Marvel movies.

In Muriel’s route there’s never such a thing, Muriel has a panic attack and MC kisses him. This unintentionally tells us, the genre being romance, that the panic attack only served to further MC’s advances. It tells us that he’s never had the control of his life and it’s yet again stripped from him by the decisions of player character. This is not the only instance this happens. The story shoe-horns in multiple cuddle sessions between important plot beats. And it does the exact opposite during a moment where he is having a heart-to-heart with the person he loves by having the ghost of Morga appear to give an ominous warning/advice.

When he runs off during masquerade it’s built up to be an important plot point. Muriel will finally face his past, he’s been running away from it all along, and he will have an opportunity to be accepted back in. MC is supportive but ultimately, it’s meant to be Muriel's moment. But as I mentioned above this is not his story anymore so he’s not given any time to address his problems, instead a ghost appears to tell him what he needs to do, again. Because we need to wrap the story up, we don’t have time.

Remember how I said the 2 Options will be important later on, well here we are at the very end. Upright and reversed.

“Portray Muriel fighting as a bad thing”

This suggests that the triumph of Muriel won’t be through violence. Maybe he will outsmart Lucio in a different way, he won’t play his games anymore. This option suggests that Lucio will not be beaten by his own terms.

“Portray Muriel fighting as a good thing”

This option concludes with Muriel finally overcoming his reservations on violence and doing what's right to save the people he loves. And bringing justice to people who Lucio hurt.

If you are wondering why the upright ending feels random, this is likely why. The ending plays out as if the story was building on the 1st option while we spent chapters upon chapters playing out the 2nd one. It is unearned.

(The reversed ending, being reversed, also uses Option 1 path but in which Muriel can’t achieve his narrative conclusion)

The Coliseum is filled with people who are on their side against Lucio’s shadow goons. Because we can’t have people being on Lucio’s side without addressing the duality of human nature, even though it’s an important part of Muriel’s story. The people who watched and enjoyed Lucio’s bloodsport are no more, they are all new and enlightened offscreen. We completely skipped the part where Vesuvia comes to terms with its own complacency and Muriel simply feels at ease because the crowd is cheering on him now. This is what happens when you give the character a chance to challenge those who have been complicit in his abuse (masquerade scene) and completely skip it to move the story along.

Muriel doesn't get justice, ever. The people only love him now because he's fighting for them instead of his own survival. Morga or her clan doesn't answer for the massacre of Kokhuri, Vesuvia doesn't answer for the sick entertainment they indulged in and Lucio doesn't answer for Muriel's enslavement. It is not even acknowledged, nowhere in the story (except the very end of reversed ending, and even then it almost gets him killed so its clearly the wrong thing to do on his part) is a choice presented where Muriel has an opportunity to get any sort of compensation where he instead chooses to move on.

I don’t intend to straw man anyone but this is a sentiment I’ve seen a lot; “It’s a short story, a dating-sim, what do you expect?”

I expect nothing, I’m simply explaining why some people feel how they feel. It is a short dating-sim but it seems to me like it was aiming to be something more by borrowing elements that were clearly far above their weight range to tease something more and under deliver. It is okay to feel content with the story, and it’s okay to feel let down. If we had a unanimous decision on literature we would never be inclined to write our own stories.

[tc-doherty]

I was tagged in the 3 Image Meme by @muddshadow​ a while ago, but it took me forever to actually get around to it. For now I just did 10 that I either already had images for or I thought would be easy, I can do more later maybe.

I don't know who has or hasn't done this yet, so take it as an open tag if you want! But I am tagging @emilyoracle​

The Deadlands

Genevieve is a singer from the big city who takes a job in a theater across the Meren River, in the mysterious Deadlands. Once there she can’t stop herself from getting involved with the hitherto unknown-to-her magical culture of the area which may or may not be human in nature, as well as with a certain woman who makes both the Deadlands and the magical culture there her home.

Dragon’s Daughter

In a ruined castle deep in the wilderness, there lived a beautiful princess guarded by a ferocious dragon. Except for the fact that the maiden in the tower was no princess at all, but the dragon’s daughter. Rescued against her will, she is carried off to human lands and given the name Lady Patrice Drake.

Caught between culture shock and grief, she must find a way to navigate her strange new surroundings lest she be drowned under human machinations and politics.

Who among these people are enemies? Who among them are allies? And most importantly, who is she without her mother’s guidance and protection?

Hoofbeats

Kadife is a horse trainer who falls in love with Tirzha - the daughter of an organized crime lord who forbids the relationship due to the difference in their social classes. But every year he hosts a very illegal and very dangerous steeplechase event and the winner can ask for anything that they want, so Kadife enters with the intention of asking for Tirzha’s hand in marriage.

Laero

Kradhi is a prophesied warrior who eventually breaks under the strain of the expectations her tribe puts on her and runs away.

Nelli is the daughter of a general who ends up eloping with the enemy.

From different cultures and with vastly different philosophies and problems, the two of them are nonetheless thrown together by fate and have no choice but to travel together to request aid and try to save lives of thousands of innocent people who would certainly die without their interference.

Magic Black as Knight

Iskandar is the son of a witch, and not just any witch. His mother is Ashtoret, Lady of Thornvalley Manor, a woman so unforgiving, ruthless, and powerful that even other witches speak her name in hushed tones.

Some day, Iskandar will succeed her as Lord of the Manor, and he has no problem with that.

At least not until he sees Clovis, a young man training to be a paladin, and falls instantly in love with him.

‘If evil can tempt good, why can’t good tempt evil?’ With this thought in mind, Iskandar embarks on an attempt to win Clovis’s affections.

But it isn’t as straightforward as it seems. His mother would never allow her only son to abandon the path of witchcraft to live as a knight, and he isn’t strong enough to openly defy her. And Clovis, as a trainee knight of the realm, could only be equally ruthless if he discovered Iskandar’s true identity.

If Iskandar wants to get what he desires and live long enough to enjoy it, there’s only one choice – he must somehow manage to live as both a witch and a knight, without either side discovering the other.

Miracles

Larkin ends his relationship with a god in an extremely dramatic fashion – by stabbing him. Kishar may have deserved it (he definitely deserved it) but now Larkin has divine blood on his hands and a curse chasing him. In order to avoid the curse he has to travel cross-country to the temple of miracles and get Kishar a new, unsullied sword within a certain amount of time. The main problem is the fact that the temple miracles is deep within dragon territory, where no sane person would ever willingly choose to go. He ends up in a traveling party with two others, each with their own secrets to hide and curses to bear.

Northbound

The daughter of two archaeologists is summoned back in time to serve as the personal mage to a temperamental young princess. Sasia’s job is already hard enough just living in the Imperial court, but things only get more intense when Keril accepts a political marriage to a fiery young general from the recently conquered northern reaches and it embroils them both in a far-reaching political struggle.

Worst of all, Sasia knows from her childhood that an unknown disaster of epic proportions is bearing down on the Empire and she can’t help but feeling like this marriage has something to do with it. She does her best to protect Keril, survive herself, and prevent the Empire from turning into the ruins she remembers it as.

The Race of the Midday Moon

Eskalliq’s best friend has come down with an illness, but medicine is expensive where they live. The only way to earn enough money to purchase it is to enter the annual, extremely dangerous, cross-country dog sledding competition…and win.

Second Chances

Kovaria has no statute of limitations on escaped slaves. He barely survived his escape to begin with and he should've kept running. But Mahesha is determined to stay by the side of the boy who saved his life, who gave him a new name and a new start. Even if it means giving up all hope of true freedom. Even if it means completely reinventing himself, burying the past and the truth both. Even if it means his own death from an illness humans can't treat.

Silverwood

A four generation spanning sociopolitical fantasy epic which follows the consequences of actions made by a single family over the generations.

[strangerthings4theories]

Billy Is A Christ Figure, a.k.a. He Will Die And RISE AGAIN

This isn’t a radical statement. Literature and film teem with “Christ figures” who symbolically (or literally) die and rise again. Billy is just one of the Duffers’ additions to a long, venerated tradition.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

>>Billy’s story lines up with the Christ figure concept.

I really like how Christopher Lansdown explains it:

Christ figures in literature are - when done well - characters who relate to the rest of the story as Christ related to the world. [Salient features include...]

1. Saves the world from the effects of the misuse of free will. 2. Has a dual-nature where one of these natures is what allows #1. 3. Bridges the gap, in his person, between the two natures. 4. Sacrifices himself willingly for the sake of the world. 5. In sacrificing himself, takes the problems of the world into him and conquers them, thus saving the world from them. 6. Comes back from the sacrifice because of his other nature.

Billy’s storyline hits several of these notes already. First, he saves the world by sacrificing himself willingly. Second, he’s presented as having two natures: his corrupted monster-self (the bully in S2; the puppet of the Mind Flayer in S3) vs. his innocent child-self. (You could describe him as being human and divine too. I’ll get to that in another post.)

When he stands up to the Mind Flayer at Starcourt, he begins the process of integrating his two natures. That’s why he looks so childlike here: his innocent child-self is coming out for the first time in years.

All that’s left is for him to “come back from his sacrifice.”

>>The Duffers infuse Billy with Christ symbolism.

The most obvious example, imo, is the special necklace they gave him. The genius @aeon-of-neon​ figured out that his necklace is a Lady of the Pillar medallion - i.e., a depiction of Mother Mary with baby Jesus. 

On its own, the necklace tells an incredible story. It suggests Billy is symbolically the Christ child, and at some point his mother - symbolically the Virgin Mary - had the medallion blessed to protect her son. (I think we all recognize Neil wouldn’t give a shit about protecting Billy.)

The show reinforces that reading in subtle yet mind-blowing ways. In his last shot in S2, Billy is pictured in front of a Christmas tree. This associates him with the meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of a child who will save the world.

In the sauna in S3, Billy passes in front of a poster for the Hawkins Fourth of July parade. A lot of people have latched onto the “American” symbolism here (as they should - I’ll address that in another post). I’ve even seen people talk about the stars on the poster giving him a crown of thorns or saintly halo. But I haven’t seen anyone mention that the poster gives him a crown of stars like Mary, Queen of Heaven. 

"A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads." (Revelation 12:1-3)

Combined with the necklace, this small detail suggests his mother, aka the Virgin Mary, is watching over him as he battles the Mind Flayer, aka the Dragon.

Now look at this screenshot again--

See how prominent his necklace is in the frame? That’s not an accident. The Duffers had to direct and light this shot just right to achieve the desired effect. If you look closely, Dacre is standing in an awkward, unnatural position. I can practically hear the Duffers saying, “Shoulders forward, Dacre... a little more... now tuck in your abdomen and push your chest out... that’s it!” All while they’re trying to avoid getting too much light on the necklace. It needs to be well-lit but not washed out.

All that work was for a good cause. The shot suggests Billy’s mother is with him in his moment of sacrifice. He’s just reclaimed her memory, and now he’s honoring it as he lays down his life for the world.

Yeah, it hurts :)))) but there’s more to cover...

...such as Billy’s crucifixion poses.

The crucifixion pose is common enough in film that it gets its own entry on TVTropes. The first sentence of the entry? “It’s very common for a character who just performed a Heroic Sacrifice to be lying with their arms outstretched like the crucified Jesus.” 

We see that with Billy multiple times.

In the sauna, El lifts Billy in the air right before she deals the “death blow.” He hangs there for a moment, arms outstretched. My inner Christian teenager thinks of John 3:14-15: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man [Jesus] be lifted up [on the cross], so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

To really drive the point home, the Duffers put Billy in the crucifixion pose AGAIN, at the moment of his actual death, while he shouts at the Devil. (The Mind Flayer is symbolically the Devil/Satan. Stick a pin in that, we’ll come back to it at another time.)

The Mind Flayer then kills Billy by impaling him (Christ being impaled by the spear, anyone?), and Billy falls to the ground, arms outstretched yet again.

Guess who else dies sacrificially... and gets Christ symbolism at his moment of death?

It’s less obvious with Hopper; he isn’t shown with his arms outstretched. Instead, the Duffers give the crucifixion pose to Joyce right before she deals the “death blow.” She is in the pose on Hopper’s behalf.

Take a screenshot at the right instant, and the beams of electricity shooting out of the “key” machine even form a cross behind her. 

(This scratches the surface of another subject: the STRONG PARALLELS between Hopper and Billy. Stick a pin in that, too... *sigh*)

Well, guess what. We already know Hopper’s coming back. David Harbour even compared his return to the resurrection of Gandalf, the Christ figure of the Lord of the Rings:

"Gandalf the Grey who fights the Balrog and then becomes Gandalf the White. It’s the idea of the resurrection of the character. And mythologically, Hopper, in a sense, had to change. I mean, you couldn’t go on the way he was going on. He has to resurrect in some way. So it was a great opportunity to do that. So we’ll see a very different guy going forwards. The same guy but in a different vein.”

"[He] had to change... [he] couldn’t go on the way he was going on...” Doesn’t that describe Billy exactly?

»»————-　✼　————-««

Ugh, there’s a lot here, guys. I haven’t even touched on all of Billy’s Christ symbolism yet. I’ll have to save the rest for another time.

Until then, I’ll leave you with this very interesting song from Billy’s official Spotify playlist...

Muthafucka I’m back From the dead I’m about To raise hell Out of my coma I’m ready to show ya That season of my life is done...

»»————-　✼　————-««

P.S., all of this explains why Dacre proposed the idea that Billy’s mom was literally a virgin. It’s batshit crazy and makes NO sense... unless he and the Duffers were discussing Christ imagery for Billy.

»»————-　✼　————-««

The “Billy Is Alive” Meta Series

For updates, follow the hashtag #billy is alive meta

[the-army-brat-and-the-nerd]

Which are your favorite comics featuring clois?

Hello! Thank you so much for asking...there's no way I can keep this one short, please forgive me for that. I've read quite a lot of Superman comics (but not enough) and to minimize it to a catalogue has been far from my mind, and is thus gonna be-indeed, hard. So, without much ado-here goes:

#1: LOIS LANE: ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE

It is simply the best comic I've read in ages- maybe I'm biased because of Lois- whose characterization was on point with the excellent combination of wit, sarcasm and badass..Her snarky, daring, cynical and outspoken nature was toned to perfection, highlighting her unquestionable love for Clark, her uttermost commitment to her job, the lengths she would go to protect her family and the risks she was willing to face to steer clear of a massive threat which bombarded itself into the Kent household. She pushed her limits, found her way out of her comfort zone to defend her husband, all the while keeping him away from the limelight- about her ultimate intentions, proving that even invincible superheroes, sometimes, need saving! Most of all- Clois was so well written, and I just don't have enough words to express my gratitude and admiration for the fantastic duo behind it- Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins. The best part about clois is their unrelenting faith in each other- the wonderful way Clark just does not push Lois into revealing what she's actually upto, trusting her and supporting her dead-set decisions throughout, the way they keep the spark alive, and still manage to effortlessly maintain an unbreakable bond to that day, even after so many years of marriage and raising an upright, virtuous and morale seventeen year old son in the process. They are just the best example of everlasting love!

Some Clois snapshots:

#2: ACTION COMICS (2016)

I totally loved this as a comic, it was fascinatingly written, but I guess I fell for  clois immediately. Depicted as a strong passionate couple who support each other’s dreams, ambitions and intentions,(Clark wholeheartedly stands up for Lois’s ambition to write, which leads her to eventually publish a hit seller under the pseudonym, “Author X” and willingly cooperates with her desire to take up her dream job at the Planet, even though they endanger everything, especially when they are in a different universe altogether, and Lois’s selfless commitment to do the right thing- never hesitating to encourage Clark to do what he does, motivating him to go on despite her deepest, well-masked fears of her and Jon being alone, and constantly inspiring him every single day) standing by each other’s side in the darkest of times (Path of doom was a nightmarish experience for Lois, who had gone through the Doomsday scenario once and was scared of losing her husband again) and never giving up on each other, (I loved how they battled mxyzptlk and found their way back to each other at the day’s end)- so all in all, I can say they were flawlessly captured and adorably cute- the family was complete with Jon Kent, and their little moments of bliss together are such a delight, and it makes my day!

CLOIS SNAPSHOTS:

Goodies for you:

#3: SUPERMAN: LOIS & CLARK

It was an enticing portrayal of the power couple, giving us a glimpse to how well they adapt (with each other’s help) in another, unfamiliar world, (which was under Darkseid’s menacing attack) battling through challenges and struggles of their daily life and upbring their young son, Jonathan Samuel Kent, keeping him in the dark about their true identities, taking refuge in a small home, far away from Metropolis. The initial years, though hard for them to get used to, they  came to the realization and mutual agreement that as long as they were together, they could make the impossible possible. This was indeed a masterpiece and I would recommend it any day to the cloisers out there.

CLOIS SNAPSHOTS

#4: Smallville season 11

Loved the version of Clois depicted here, it was too good to read, with cute, endearing moments. The transformation from the mysterious Blur to the red-and-blue spandex adorned Superman was great, but most importantly- it was an exploration of how they coped up with Clark’s debut , the home that they build together 6 months post “Finale”, their daily life and  the way they were born to handle the unpredictable situations thrown at them. It was a meticulous version of the couple, and it still remains to be one of my favorite clois comics books.

CLOIS SNAPSHOTS:

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

# SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT(one of my favorite comics of all time)

# CONVERGENCE SUPERMAN

# SUPERMAN (2018)

# ALL STAR SUPERMAN

# JUSTICE LEAGUE(2018)

# THE MAN OF STEEL(2018)

# DOOMSDAY CLOCK

# INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US (The only thing I like about it is this first part)

# MAN & SUPERMAN (2006-2009) (I enjoyed their banter/flirting 101)

# ACTION COMICS 2011 (NEW 52)

No doubt this received mixed feelings, with Super-Wonder shipping and a poor characterization of Lois(in some parts, not entirely). But, one cannot deny Clois and their obvious attraction to each other.(even when both were in seperate realtionships)

Clark Kent hallucinated this:(fantasized, really- even though he was already involved with Diana)

And this- was what really happened(weird as it was)

There’s more:

Ok- hope you all liked my *hem* essay!

[fleet-admiral-hiba]

Headcanon: just hypothetically speaking, hopefully won't happen in canon, if Pudding, Perospero, or Oven finds Capone Pez alone, somewhere on the sea, floating in a boat, because his parents ship was attacked by enemies. Would they take him in, or leave him somewhere else?

IMAGINE IF...

Oh boy. It depends on what he's doing at the moment and how he's feeling.

If he's after the event of WCI, chances are he will either leave him there or kill him. The betrayal is still fresh in his mind and he can't welcome with open arms a baby from his enemies

Or

If it's before WCI and the all shenanigans, chances are he would probably save him. Bege is still an ally of the family and,that meant that even his nephew is.

But probably,he will act pretty neutral about it,so don't expect much from him.

Probably the best chance little Pez has to survive. Being so close to Chiffon, she is willingly going to save her nephew, even if it's risky.

But, after that she will have two choices: A) she finds someone who's willing to take care of him, either a sibling or a random stranger, or B) she finally leaves Totto Land for good and starts a new life with Pez

There's no compromise here, but the wellbeing of her nephew comes before her family. Chiffon really loved her, and Pez is the last memory she has of her. She's gonna protect him with her life

Not gonna lie, he'll feel pretty conflicted. On one hand that's his nephew, but on the other he's the son of not one but two traitors. Shame

It will go in three ways: either he feels some sort of "pity" and drops the child somewhere where it won't bother him, aka far far away from home; he will kill him or he will probably be indifferent

Chances are it's one of the last two options. But probably he will be indifferent. He's not going to kill a child, but he's not gonna take care of him either