#the death stranding 2 trailer was too long

[epicwin64]

I watched that whole thing only for them to announce a State of Play for FF7 Rebirth :(

[staticsable]

I need to preface this by saying that I like FFXIV and Death Stranding, and this isn't intended to be me throwing shade at 14, but I'm frustrated that people piss and moan about Kojima having long cutscenes in his games when it's not a thing that's unique to him. I know he holds the record with his 71 minute cutscene in MGS4, but Death Stranding has maybe 8 hours of cutscenes in total, 14 has roughly 112 and I rarely ever hear people criticize it. People also just completely fabricate bullshit about cutscene length in Death Stranding. There's no 2 hour cutscene, the longest one is just over a half hour, which is shorter than 14's longest one, which is 45 minutes long.

I know I'm comparing a single player game to a mmorpg, but I'm still just kind of tired of people being angry about cutscenes when the guy known for liking cutscenes says he wants to do more cutscenes. At least in a single player Kojima game, you're guaranteed to not get kicked out of a cutscene due to connection issues.

Sorry, it's just frustrating because I've noticed a lot of people who didn't play Death Stranding saw the trailer for the sequel and loudly said "omg this doesn't make any sense/ who cares/ this trailer is too long/is this going to be a game or just a bunch of cutscenes" like oh my god shut uppppppp you have such obvious double standards and it's obnoxious.

[brianhanes]

Why we need a Dooku Series

Star Wars Tales of the Jedi has recently released a trailer. The show will mainly star the Jedi Ahsoka Tano and Dooku back when he was a Jedi Master. Tales of the Jedi is a short six-episode series which 15-minute-long episodes. For Ahsoka, we know she is also getting her own Ahsoka series. It is possible that Tales of the Jedi is a test to gauge the popularity of a potential Dooku series while also generating hype for Ahsoka’s upcoming show.

Info: CIS/Separatists= Dooku’s Faction that broke off from the Republic in the Star Wars Prequels... Canon= Official Star Wars storyline under Disney after it bought out Star Wars in 2013

1. Tales of the Jedi isn’t enough Dooku content

I’ve already said it but yea. While Dooku is a major character in this, keep in mind that Ahsoka also is but she is also getting an Ahsoka series in addition to this.

2. The Dooku series can use a different artstyle for Dooku

Ok, I believe Jedi Dooku looks kind of like Dooku in the trailer but to me, I’m not a huge fan of his art style. I’d like to see an animated Dooku that looks more like this photoshopped picture. I know he has a big nose but I felt the art made it look a little too big.

3. We could see Dooku and Yoda fight together and learn about their master-apprentice relationship

4. Ventress (Origin Story)

We could get a Ventress origin story and learn what she did after her Jedi Master was killed. Even though it’s a Dooku show they could dedicate an entire arc to Ventress. During one of the later seasons, Dooku might read holonet information about her starting from what she did after her master was killed by pirates and she was stranded. Ventress may have become the leader of a local gang, learned how to become an expert pilot after her gang mentor trained her, perhaps her mentor was killed by a new group of muraders led by a fallen Jedi, and Ventress had the defeat the fallen Jedi and his gang on her own.

We could then get a story about how one of the people who snipped her old master escaped and she never caught him. Ventress later gets an opportunity to get revenge on that man as stated in the canon novel “Dooku: Jedi Lost”. The tournament likely looked something like this.

We could also see more of Dooku training Ventress and fighting alongside her. While some may say this was done in Dooku: Jedi Lost, we can argue the same thing about scenes in Ahsoka that were later used in Star Wars the Clone Wars Season 7 and now Star Wars Tales of the Jedi.

We could also see some of Ventress’s early missions against the clones and Republic. We could see her take down some arc troopers, defeat a pair of Jedi, and kill Master Tholme.

5. General Grievous (origin story)

Grievous is one of the most beloved characters in Star Wars. We could get a four-episode ARC that shows how he became a legendary CIS general. He was once a deadly alien General. We could see one of his early battles, how he became crippled and recruited by Dooku, learn about his magnaguards and how Grievous made them resemble his old comrades, wtiness his first fight when he protected CIS leaders in Geonosis, and see one of his first early military victories (perhaps the Battle of Hypori remastered).

6. Jango Fett (Battle of Galidraan)

Perhaps Jango’s first origin story can be saved for a Jango Fett series, movie, or video game however Jango’s first major conflict with the Jedi and the demise of the True Mandalorians would be amazing to see in a Dooku series. Especially since Dooku, led the army that destroyed Jango’s Mandalorian clan and it was all manufactured by the DEATH WATCH (a villainous Mandalorian faction in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series). During that battle, Jango took down several Jedi Knights himself which earned Dooku’s respect. 

Perhaps we could see Jedi Dooku personally take down Jango in a short fight. Without his clan, Jango is forced to start over as a bounty hunter. Then later in the series Dooku returns and gives him an offer he can’t refuse. 

7. Durge

Durge is a bounty hunter who initially appeared in the 2002 Clone Wars miniseries. After Disney took over, that series is no longer canon. However, lots of concepts from old canon Star Wars material has been brought back to the Disney universe. Durge returned to canon in the Marvel comic which started that he fought in the Clone Wars.

8. Dooku’s undercover mission

Perhaps Dooku first went on his own mission taking down several mercenaries, droids, capturing/blackmailing a corrupt politician (maybe Nute Gunray but later earning his loyalty), fighting bounty hunters, and taking on cult leaders before he discovered Sidious.

It could end with an intense duel between Dooku and Sidious that Sidious ultimately wins.

9. Sifo Dyas

Sifo was one of Dooku’s best friends. He left the Jedi order but later had a vision about the Republic’s fall. He was played by Dooku and Sidious and used to create a Clone army (which is referenced in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones). It would be nice to see more of him and to learn about his rapport with Dooku.

10. Dooku’s Sith Lord reign

Most of Dooku’s time as a Sith Lord was before the Clone Wars. Back then, he was a smooth Sith politician working in the shadows. During most cases, he was doing more networking and blackmailing than someone like Darth Maul who was an assassin before Episode 1. Still, Dooku had to act as an assassin during different scenarios when blackmail and politics weren’t enough to get the point across. And Dooku was Sidious’s most powerful disciple during the decade between Episode 1 and 2 so he definitely took down several Jedi and other threats.

He moved swiftly into battle using his mastery of the force and excellent lightsaber skills to destroy his enemies like a ghost. In legends, there was a battle where the Trade Federation wiped out several an army of Wookiees that refused to pay taxes. Perhaps the Wookiee chieftain before Tarful engaged and was destroyed by Dooku.

11. Dooku vs Other Darksiders

This is a bonus point. We know Dooku later fell out with a group of dark siders called the Nightsisters during the Clone Wars. SIdious definitely would want Dooku to destroy any potential rivals to his Empire. Because of this, it would be interesting to see Dooku take down a couple of dark side users who aren’t sith.

Maybe one has a dual yellow lightsabers and another has a brown lightsaber. 

12. Dooku and Jango Fett fighting together

While we have seen Dooku and Jango individually it seemed like they were close during Attack of the Clones. While their relationship may have been strictly professional they clearly had respect for each other. Seeing a skilled Sith Lord and an elite bounty hunter take down multiple mercenaries or local police officers could be amazing.

13. Dooku and Ventress fighting together

While Dooku often sent Ventress on missions during Star Wars the Clone Wars and trained her in the miniseries; we have never seen Dooku and Ventress actually fight alongside each other on screen. With Dooku’s sheer skills, composure, and force feats and Ventress’s balance between stealth, brutality, and the skill it would be amazing to see them take down several warriors as a duo.

I believe they would fight together in near perfect sync. It would look like art.

[nerdishfeels]

It’s always nice to see some new game world premieres on The Game Awards 2022. Didn’t expect to get some surprises! These were a few highlights for me:

Tekken 8 - This looks sick! So refined! Loved seeing some classic characters like King, Law and Paul.

Death stranding 2 - I wasn’t expecting to see a trailer for the sequel but it’s nice to see familiar faces again.

Crash Team Rumble - Now, I’m a sucker for Crash Bandicoot games and it was so awesome to see another game coming out! Ironic that the initials of the game are “CTR”.

Final fantasy XVI - We’ve already seen trailers here and there, but it’s exciting to see how good it looks.

Bayonetta Origins - I love the art style! It’s interesting that we’re getting a game with a young Bayonetta. Looks cute.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden - I really liked the trailer of this. Seems like a deep story that involves losing a loved one and banishing evil ghosts.

There were more games but these were the main ones that came to mind lol.

Overall, it was nice to see Al Pacino appear out of nowhere and see Stray and God of War get some awards too. I love that Christopher did a long speech lol.

Can’t wait for the new games coming out next year!

[comicconradio]

Hideo Kojima is teasing a pretty significant partnership in Death Stranding 2. Hideo Kojima is one of the most prolific video game developers out there and has made a name for himself in making innovative games that are also incredibly thought-provoking, cinematic, and wildly strange. Hideo Kojima has gain such a strong reputation that he has been able to rope in huge names to his games like Kiefer Sutherland, Norman Reedus, Elle Fanning, Mads Mikkelsen, and many others. He's a massive fan of movies, TV, and music and tries to bring in the people/things he loves to his creations, resulting in a star-studded projects. While we already know some big names will grace the screen in Death Stranding 2, it sounds like he'll have some great music in it too. This isn't a huge surprise to anyone who played the first game as the music was incredibly moody and atmospheric, something that was essential to selling that world. It also helped keep the player entertained as they made long treks across the in-game world. Hideo Kojima began to tease on his new podcast that he may be collaborating with Woodkid, a pretty famous artist that gamers may know from some of the Assassin's Creed trailers over the years. "Well, yes. I think people could tell from Twitter that Woodkid and I were going out to eat a lot. That was this." He continued: "I can't say what project it is. Though I'm sure you all can guess."⚡️🍿🍿🍿🎮🎮 #comiccon #spoilermagazine #news #losangeles #podcast #magazine #art #instagram #galaxy #film #tv #hollywood #feature #movies #fandom #graphicdesign #nyc #spoiler #comicconradio #comicbooks #hideokojima #gaming #gamergirl #gamerboy #gamer #deathstranding (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpcjBhGrhWu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[expectingtofly]

finally free, they drive

2k

day 1 of @thiscastielhasflown and i's follower celebration

prompt: diners/roadtrip

Twenty-four years ago in Mankato, Minnesota, Dean killed a wendigo with a bottle of Jack and a lighter. He told Cas this, how the flames lit the inside of the cave and his dad had to drag him out because he suddenly couldn’t move, how he stayed silent for a week even though his dad begged him to speak.

Seventeen years ago, in Monte Vista, Colorado, Dean burned the bones of a malevolent spirit that sliced a gash through his chest before he could swing an iron crowbar through her foggy figure. As he and Cas passed by the cemetery where he and his dad had dug up her remains, he could almost picture himself standing between the tombstones, his dad tossing him the lighter. Do the honors.

In Evanston, Wyoming, he and Cas stopped to eat at a diner that looked vaguely familiar. As they sat down at a booth in the back, waitress handing them their menus, it hit him.

“Pretty sure Sam and I went through here before.” He couldn’t remember what they'd been hunting. “Years ago. After dad. You know. Passed.”

And Cas was silent a moment before replying, "I wish I’d known you then."

Then he declared he wanted the French onion soup from the specials of the day, like he hadn’t just spoken Dean's thoughts aloud in his uncanny way of knowing exactly what Dean wished for before Dean knew it himself.

Sometimes, while passing semi-trailer trucks on the freeway, when the setting sun glinted off the metal partition between west and east-headed traffic, he wondered what life would’ve been like if he knew Cas when he was twenty-six. When he was so lonely, his chest felt like a vise at night, and he slipped out of mildewed motel rooms to gasp in chilly night air. When he sought out crowded bars because accidental nudges and jostles were substitutes for caresses.

What might’ve changed if he'd known Cas when he was twenty-two, when Sam left for college and Dad left with a cutting, Don't look for me. If, confronted with an angel then, he would’ve been able to believe in good things, if he would've kissed him to not feel so alone.

The radio played Dolly Parton at a diner in Des Moines, a young couple sat at the counter, Cas stacked small containers of strawberry jelly and orange marmalade into a tower, and Dean imagined sitting across from him when he was nineteen. But then Cas looked up at him triumphantly over perfectly balanced preserves, and the what-if's dissolved in a growing warmth in his chest. Cas had been right after all. Good things did happen.

They drove without a destination now that they didn’t need one, changing course frequently, turning off exits to follow signs for roadside attractions, homestyle meals, and scenic overlooks.

Prairie and forest, coast and desert. He'd traveled these roads before, but he was paying attention now. Everything looked different with Cas sitting by his side, when every glance to his right revealed Cas already looking at him.

Re-heated diner leftovers and slices of pie for breakfast, crumbs on the bed, brown bags in the backseat, lunch breaks at rest stops, sitting on the hood to unwrap grease-stained burger wrappers, kept warm from the sun coming through the car’s windows.

Baby had been his home for years. He'd learned her nooks, her curves, how best to settle on the benchseat and tuck his jacket against the door to wake without a crick in his neck.

Moving into the bunker, he'd claimed a room, made a space for every item he owned: a hook for every weapon, a box for every photo, a hanger for every jacket. The concrete walls and sterile bathrooms meant order, control.

He used to be afraid that if he let one item fall out of place, he'd lose his grip on the delicate thread which held him together.

Crackling radio in Omaha, searching for a station. Cassette-tapes pulled out of a box that he hadn’t rifled through since a time when angels were still a myth, god didn’t exist, and death was always close, but not someone they knew by name. Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica. Then, out of Cas' pocket, his own “Top 13 Zepp Traxxs,” which he was surprised to learn Cas still kept, the words on the label faded.

“It was a gift,” Cas said, tucking the cassette into the deck and turning up the volume.

Busy diners where their food took ages to come to their table and Dean doodled on napkins to pass the time. Stuffed them into his pocket and forgot until he pulled them out while looking for change to pay for gas. A tiny Impala, a sun with dashes for rays, sigils, tiny flowers which Cas had added to the corners.

An argument on I-70 and sixty-two miles of tense silence. "If you don't speak to me, I can't understand," Cas said, voice quiet under the whir of tires on the road.

Dean changed lanes, watched a tarp flap over the bed of a pick-up truck. "I don't know how," he admitted.

Cas let out a breath that sounded like relief. "We'll learn."

He learned Cas liked brightly colored shirts labeled with the names of locations they visited, oversized because tight sleeves made him itch. He learned that the strangely named items on diner menus had backstories that owners behind counters were all too eager to share when Cas prompted them. He learned Cas hovered in doorways as if he was waiting to be invited inside, learned Cas knew every upbeat song playing over the radio in gas stations, had nightmares too, could stay silent for seventy miles then speak a thought aloud that left Dean stunned for seventy more.

He taught Cas how to pass the time on roads that stretched to the horizon. Name a movie for every letter of the alphabet. Name three items you'd take to a deserted island. Name everyone we've lost along the way—he didn't mean to begin talking about them, but they seemed closer than ever before on the open road, under a vast, cloudless sky. The wind whisked their names from their mouths, and Dean liked the idea of them still existing, here, around them.

A map open on his lap, Cas circled every town they stopped at, traced their route with a red pen. Folded and unfolded the page until the creases made the snaking lines nearly illegible. "I want to remember," he told Dean, and Dean traced the creases to feel their route under his finger. The steering wheel was warm under his palms, the diner floors sticky under his boots, the motel sheets stiff when he pulled them back from the headboard, and he told Cas, "Pinch me," in the dark of an eighty-dollar-a-night room. Cas touched his face and kissed him instead.

The rocky coast off of Oregon delighted Cas. He rolled up his pant legs, clutched Dean's hand as they walked unsteadily over the slippery rocks to step into the Pacific Ocean. The wind whipped his hair over his face and he pushed back the strands, grinning back at Dean. Sometimes at night, when Cas slept curled into him, Dean looked at the photo he'd taken of him and wished he had a place of their own to frame it.

Long phone calls to family and friends who told them to take their time, do not disturb signs hung on motel doorknobs, winding backroads and detours. He grew out his hair and told Cas he needed a cut. Cas twisted his fingers through the strands, and mused, "I like it." Dean kept it and noticed the strands curled at the ends.

A sign on the highway in Ohio read, "Hell is Real." He still had nightmares. As cornfields passed, Cas recounted seeing his soul for the first time, and sometimes Dean imagined he remembered the safety of Cas' wings as he pulled him out of the depths of Hades.

Cas got sick in Idaho, complained, voice echoing in the toilet bowl, "I told you that diner was not sanitary." Dean rubbed his back and told him he'd write a scathing review. In West Virginia, over a pile of spilled salt and stale fries that were probably nuked behind the counter, Cas told him he loved him. It wasn't for the first time, but his breath still caught in his throat.

They ate fried okra in Oklahoma City, beignets in New Orleans, and Dean requested Earth Angel on a jukebox in a vinyl and chrome diner in Wisconsin. Slid into the booth to press against Cas' side and watch him fill out postcards. Did you know dinosaurs once roamed where the Rockies now stand? Don't know when we'll be back. We bought new cassettes to add to the collection and I convinced Dean to let me choose the music. Still so much we haven't seen.

The magic fingers bed at the King's Court Motel cost four quarters for fifteen minutes—three more than when he was younger, he griped to Cas. The vibrating massage didn't seem quite as relaxing as he remembered, but maybe he was just used to more magical fingers—this he accompanied with an exaggerated wink which made Cas roll his eyes.

The Impala broke down on Route 66, and the asphalt radiated heat as he ducked under the hood. Cas hovered at his side and he realized he didn't have the tools to fix her.

They ate lunch at a mom-and-pop’s restaurant as they waited for the mechanic to finish, and Cas gave him the pickle from his sandwich. "I'm sorry I never asked you to stay," Dean told him and wished he'd said it earlier. "I never wanted you to leave."

Cas gave him a sad smile. "It's in the past." He tapped his foot against Dean's under the table, and Dean hooked his ankle with his foot.

Cas parted the curtains in every motel they slept in, tilted his face to the sun beaming through the windshield, urged Dean to stop for a cardboard sign reading Fresh Strawberries $2. Reruns of The Three Stooges made Dean laugh until he wiped tears from the corners of his eyes, had to catch his breath. This happiness didn't seem so fragile, this time. When they turned on the TV tomorrow night three hundred miles away, The Three Stooges would play into the morning, and when he told Cas he loved him, Cas would say it back.

Crossing over rippling water or curving through wooded land, he and Cas spoke a cabin in the woods, a house on the coast, a home. Dean's head filled with the future instead of the past. Every mile that passed under their tires brought them closer to this dream—or so he thought, until he stopped at a red light, and Cas took his hand, and he realized home sat beside him now.

In a diner in Arkansas, Cas read from a menu, plastic corners curling, and commented, "No matter where we go, every place serves an iceberg wedge salad."

Dean replied, "I think I'm ready to stop driving."

He didn't know where they'd park the Impala for good, but he pictured somewhere with windows, patches of sunlight on the floor. The details didn't matter so much, though, not so long as he had Cas.

"For you to me are the only one," he sang over Robert Plant, glancing at Cas as he turned up the radio, wind whistling through the open windows, road humming under their feet. Happiness, no more be sad, happiness, I'm glad.

[popculturebuffet]

Final Space: And Into The Fire Review or Now with 110% More Homoerotic Telepathy

Welcome  new and old to my first Final Space review! If you’ve never seen the blog before, and given this is the first “new” series i’ve covered as it come out in some time that’s probably quite a few of you, welcome. I’m Jake, I do recaps and reviews of various animated shows and comics, mostly just stuff I want to do, often on comission (5 dollars an episode if theres any episode of the first two seasons of this show or any episode of any other show you’d like tos ee me cover), or for my patreon patreon.com/popculturebuffet. And it is my utmost honor to add this show to my rotating roster of shows I cover as they come out. 

I friggin love Final Space. I was intrigued by it back when TBS released the animatics alongside Close Enough (Wth the two shows ironically finally together on HBO max as of earlier this month), for their doomed block. I heard a lot of good things about season 1.. and let it get away from me, not watching it till Season 2. But both seasons had more than enough to pull me in with intriguging characters, even greater jokes and a truly unique idea for a premise involving giant monsters, an edltrich god and lots of cookies. 

So while it took an extra year given Covid, I’m super friggin pumped to get into season 3 at long last after the hell of a cliffhanger, especially since ironically last night I saw Steven Yeun’s oscar nominated performance in “Minari”. Now i get to watch him play a cat teenager again too.. and in a few days Mark friggin Grayson. It’s a good week to be a fan of his is what i’m saying and a good week in general. 

Previously on Final Space Yo!: Since it’s been a year and while the series provides  a recap , I’m going to be doing these anyway so:

Our heroes finally got all 5 dimensional keys and freed Bolo, and in the process also freed Avacato from Invictus, the horrifying entity controlling final space. Meanwhile Tribore got Sheryl to stop being a selfish prick and she joined the team trying to be a better mother from now on. But freeing Bolo came at a high cost as Nightfall sacrified herself as the sixth key (KVN was natrually both Gary and Bolo’s first choice, but was inllegible. ) So we ended the season with our heroes entering Final Space and Gary reuniting with Quinn.... while Invictus loomed. So over a year later we finally get some answers so join me under the cut for spoilers, recaps, and homoerotic text ahoy. 

Something i’m doing since both the roster keeps changing.. and as I correctly guessed from the trailer, and the general tone of the promos for this season, that everyone won’t be all together all season.. or even in one piece.. i’ll be doing a silver age style roll call to let us know who all we have on the Team Squad for the episode Roll Call: Gary, Quinn, Avacato, Little Cato, Ash, Fox, KVN, HUE, AVA, Sheryl, Bolo, and Tribore

So we pick up right where we left off, Gary tearfully reuniting with Quinn, with Quinn wishing he hadn’t come for her, and Gary being Gary naturally having ignored that, and actually been more determined since that made it forbidden which made it extra tempting and him want to extra do it. God I missed this glorious idiot let me tell you. 

So things are quickly interrupted by invictus, who turns out to be a giant flaming head.. thing... and chases them and the crimson light, which has to start speeding with our heroes tethered to the outside, Quinn holding onto Gary. 

So we get one hell of a thrilling chase as the Crimson Light outspeeds the demon head and runs into two titans, but Bolo shows up to take out one, with Mooncake trying his dimension shattering blast thingy on Invictus.. and naturlaly g ven this is the big bad we need to show off how horrying they are, and it does NOTHING. But Gary catches his little buddy so we’re alright. 

Sheryl also shows off her badass bonafieds by LIGHTFOLDING THROUGH A TITAN... granted she still has some parenting skills to learn as “lightfolding while your son is hanging out the back through an edltrich god” really isn’t a motherly thing to do.. but neither is trying to murder your child several times or blaming him for how shitty your life turned out so ANYTHING is a step up for her. 

But.. it’s not enough. While she does manage to kill ONE the Crimson Light is too badly damaged to go on and we get two tragic deaths in one go... The Team Squad is forced to abandon the Crimson Light.. and AVA is too damaged to Upload into HUE. “I’m Sad” “For who?” “For you.. and for us. “ God damn Tom Kenny is amazing. You don’t need me telling you that, but sometimes you need a reminder. 

So our heroes end up on a desolate mystery world, stranded in final space with no ship, no suplies and no hope. The only thing to do now is survivie and hope they can continue the mission at some point. 

ONE MONTH LATER

Things have not gotten any better, as naturally , our heroes have only found weird cartoon eyed worms that regrow their heads when you bite them off. So while this means unlimited food, it’s also disgusting and Garry hates it. “This may be a head but it tastes like a butt”. Quinn and Tribore are with him and Quinn hasn’t been ready to talk about her experiences trapped in this hellscape and still isn’t but being a good dude, Gary dosen’t push her on it. Though the weird red veiny thing on her arm tells me maybe one of you should speed that up before she explodes or gets cronnenburgy. Just saying. I’ll also say i’m not huge on the one month time skip, as while I feel they probably have a reason for being that specific i’ts a bit TOO long and I question why have that long a period of a jump, not the longest but still long enough for things to happen with nothing changingin that time? Still it’s a minor nitpick in an otherwise fantastic episode so I can let it go, I just don’t get it. 

What we do get is some Gary Corpses dropping and Invictius puppeting them... i’m with gary that is bowel openingly scary. I also do like how despite the FAR more dire circumstances, they still get in the requisite shenanigans this series requires. I’ts not to the network mandated subplot levels where it distracts, but it’s enough to help ease the terror of the situation and isn’t around for situations like the opening where it really SHOULDN’T be. As the series always has when something big happens, the bollocks goes away. Once we’re in between we can get back to literal pissing contests, KVN leading a crowd to their deaths and HUE in a pimp hat like god intended. 

So yeah our heroes have to outrun the horrible horde of Gary’s, though Little Cato catches on something’s wrong as Tribore makes gary cary him as foreshadowing for later and Sends mooncake down to asssit. Our heroes escape.. but a cave in happens.

After the break, Gary wakes up confused with the party now split in two: Gary, Quinn, KVN, Tribore and HUE on one side and Avacato, Ash, Fox, Little Cato and Sheryl on the other. So Gary does the logical thing... and take his shirt off telling Avacato to feel him. 

I mean I didn’t even ship them before this scene but... Gary claims because of their bond he can telepahtically connect with Avacato. That’s normal Gary shenanigans.. except not only does he shrug off his girlfriend asking why they can’t do that.. but it WORKS. We have a scene of the two telepahtically talking in a wheatfield that is so homerotic I guarantee there only wasn’t the Careless Whisper sax because they couldn’t afford it.. or their saving it for later this season. Look sometimes you don’t ship a ship because you just.. dont’ care that strongly one way or another and sometimes you just need an incredibly gay scene to see the light. Same thing happened with Weblena same thing here. 

Fox also says “that was glorious to watch” same man. That was freaking art. So our heroes split up into three plots. As usual for me

Team Gary: So yeah... Triobore’s pregnant. No way to really softball into that. He’s been pregnant this whole time. So we get a stupid and mildly horrifying gross out sequence with Gary having to look Triobore in teh eyes and Quinn having to “uncork him”. Which is code for ... you know what i’m not going to say it. If you’ve seen the episode you know and if not your better off not visualizing it trust me. Point is this whole sequence is dumb and the worst part of the episode by far. And the series CAN do good gross out. While Olan Rodgers regrets it, the pissing contest was one of the funniest scenes of season 2, and managed to make a gross idea on paper actually pretty damn funny. This.. this is just “Haha males giving birth and tribore’s an asshole”. There’s no joke here just a .. plug. .. gah.. the vomit is rising let me tell you. 

We do get something good out of this nightmare, Tribore’s son who hatches as the army of gary’s dig their way in, Quanstranstro, who rapidly ages into a stylsih spanish speaking adult badass. He is fucking awesome and a great addition to the team and the sheer.. oddity of his birth is wonderful even if the actual birthing was not. Then the climax happens so before that. 

Team Avacato:

Avacato and Co come across a sleeping giant robot cyborg .. thingy. Naturally Fox wakes him up. Little Cato remains not suprised. It occelates between panicking over it’s legs being gone and amenisa and is pretty damn funny. It’s voiced by John Dimagio. But it gets serious as we find out nothing has ever made it out of final space, and things.. change the longer there there. And Quinn’s been there several months if not a year. Whuh oh. This part is much better both due to better jokes and plot advancment.. though again Quanstrano is still fucking amazing. 

Team Bolo: Bolo meanwhile returns and fights a titan, and has mooncake help him rather htan join the others, but looses, hitting the planet with his body.. I mean he might not get back up.. but the impact shatters the caverns and causes an explosion. Everyone but Gary, Quinn, KVN and HUE are MIA, as our remaining party find earth floating overhead. 

TO BE CONTINUED> 

Final Thoughts: A decent start to the season. Like I said the whole birthing sequence can die in a fire and reminds me of the terrible comedy subplots adult swim wanted grafted onto two episodes.. but otherwise it’s a tense stark opener that sets up the bleak tone while still keeping the series rediciulous shenanigans in tact. It’s the perfect welcome back after so long. I mean the gay telepathy alone would make it a winner. 

Next Time on This Blog: We dive into a little history with HIsteria. See you at the next rainbow. 

[glitteryhellhole]

Doc being Doc 2/?

In which father-son conversation happens after the emotional rollercoaster of 10K getting anthrax, mercying Cassandra and then guest starring on the Sketchy & Skeezy Show.

Fandom: Z nation  Word count: approx 890 Warnings: Discussion of death, Doc-typical drug use Nothing NSFW but my blog is 18+ so interact at your own discretion

10K is pulling faces at his own reflection in his goggles, poking at the mark on his jaw where the anthrax blisters aren't quite healed yet.

“I wouldn't worry too much.” Doc sits down on the ground beside him. “The ladies dig a guy with battle scars. The ones you haven't seen die, anyway.”

10K says nothing.

“What, did I touch a sore spot?”

This earns him an eye roll.

Doc takes a big sip from his water bottle. “For real though. I know what's on your mind. We can talk about it if you want.”

10K scrunches up his nose, scratching under his chin. “I think its starting to get stubbly under here.” He tilts the goggles. “Yeah. A little bit.”

“Beards are pretty good hiding places you know.” Doc settles himself more comfortably on the dusty ground, knowing the kid will open up when he's ready.

It doesn't take long. “I knew you'd come find me. I appreciate it.”

Doc chuckles. “Don't know why you'd need to count on me. You'll survive anything.”

“Yeah but.” 10K places the goggles back on his head, and rubs a hand through his hair which sticks up at several different angles. “You're always there. Everyone else was ready to leave me. It feels nice.”

Doc ruffles the boy's hair, managing to flatten a few strands momentarily. “You're family to me. We don't leave each other behind.”

“I didn't want to feel anything.” The words come tumbling out unrehearsed, as 10K stares resolutely at nothing. “With Cassandra. It was just like my Dad. I didn't care whether I'd ever feel happy again,  nothing mattered anymore. Except having a mission.”

“We've all got feelings. I know you try to bury yours under the number but you can't force yourself to not have a good heart anymore.”

Doc watches 10K blink slowly, which he does when he's trying to process a compliment.

There's a rustling sound and an ancient, half-eaten packet Of biscuits drops onto the ground in front of them.

“Dinner is served.” Warren announces. She clocks 10K's stare and raises an eyebrow at Doc, who nods. She knows to leave them for a while, and retreats.

“Hey.” He nudges the kid's shoulder with his, and reaches for the biscuits. “You must be hungry.”

“Is it really okay?” 10K asks, his fingers twitching as he hugs his knees to his chin. “To feel again. I don't wanna be distracted, but I don't wanna shut anyone out either.”

Doc mulls this over as he chews a stale cookie. “I worked with addicts for a long time after I stopped being one. Some of 'em wanted to numb the pain any way they could. Others said that they didn't feel anything at all and they'd do anything to be happy, or even sad, just something.”

10K reaches slowly for a biscuit. “I'm not an addict. I'm not sure what I am.”

“Human.” he states simply in reply.

They eat their way down to the bottom of the packet in silence, but its companionable. Doc has picked up by now that 10K isn't always great at verbal communication- in the societal aspect at least. Actually, he always says exactly what he means to say, and that's something of a blessing.  His facial expressions give away a lot too, and body language. Others might not pick up on it but Doc spent most of his pre-Z life doing this.

What would he diagnose, if this were his patient? Obviously he isn't qualified to do that as a counsellor, but in many cases a loosely-applied label would make it easier for him to give the most appropriate treatment, without the client worrying about being put in a box for the rest of their life. PTSD would be the first option. Though the “post” is a bit defunct when every single day there is a new narrow escape, a new grotesque corpse, a new horror being committed. And perhaps the word “disorder” is wrong too- as though there's a socially acceptable way of adapting to this shit stain of a world, and any other is maladaptive.

“I dunno.” He says aloud. “Keep counting. Keep working on growing that stubble. Keep kicking ass. Or stop. You won't find your answers out here, they're inside you.”

“Thanks.” 10K gives a lop-sided smile. Now that he's eaten, he's beginning to succumb to exhaustion. Big shadows under eyes too young and too kind to have seen what they've seen.

“And of course I came looking for ya I don't know what I'd do without you, kid.”

Warren's voice interrupts their moment. “Time to move! We ride for as long as we can and then continue on foot.”

Doc makes a bit of a show of struggling to stand. “Hey, any seats in the back? My back's kicking up a stink from all that rowing.”

“Sure thing, old timer. She winks. “Murphy, you go in the trailer with Vasquez. Keep your hood up.”

They haven't been on the road for long before 10K is claimed by sleep. Doc watches the little facial twitches, fluttering eyelids, that indicate troublesome dreams. Perhaps a little Z-weed would help that. But only a little. Don't want the kid whiting out when there's stuff to shoot.

“Man,” He says quietly to himself, “This parenting thing don't get easier.”

<<< I really did not mean for this to end up as an angst fest. There will likely be a follow-up where Doc gives a lesson in self-medication and shenanigans ensue

[musedblues]

Born To Love You [Part: 2]

summary: When Gwilym ropes you into a lie, the truth becomes painfully obvious. When Joe makes things harder, there's no telling if he even has a clue.

a/n: Lads. I can't possibly thank you lot enough all the lovely wonderful feedback. 💖 I hope you'll enjoy the second installment of all this drama! Please don't be afraid to keep sharing your thoughts, feelings, and/or predictions?! And if I forgot to tag you, or you'd like to be tagged, let me know!

w/c: 4k

Part 3

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"Oh my God." You chuckled, raking your eyes over Gwilym's figure. He was dressed in ivory clogs, velvet bell-bottoms, a silk button-up, and a wig of black curls. You couldn't help but giggle.

"What, does it look bad?"

"No, no... not bad!" You eased, laughing still. "Just... so not you!" You nodded his way. Olive clung to your side, trying to figure out if the man standing before you was really her father. He really did look like Brian May, didn't he?

"Well, that is the goal," Gwilym waved you to follow close behind, the sound of his clogs heavy against the concrete floor. He rested his palm on the small of your back, then. The way he did when guiding you through big crowds or supermarkets anytime Olive was in your clutch. So it felt normal. But you all too suddenly realized the act was officially starting.

Ben was walking toward the trailers too, shrugging on a dapper camel leather coat when he noticed you.

"Well, Hello! Is the famous Mrs. Lee really gracing us with her presence on our set, today?" The striking blonde flashed a brilliant smile your way as he stepped in time with your fake husband.

So now, not only were you going by a name that wasn't yours at all, but you were famous for it? You realized then that if you wanted to change your mind, to confess, it was already too late. There was no time to heave a sigh, you were already playing along...

"Hello, Ben. Nice wig." You rose your brows, noticing the strands of blonde around his pretty face. Long hair suited him.

"That's not fair!" Gwilym chuckled. You let out a playful wince because no matter how hard you tried to take Gwilym seriously with a 70's perm, you couldn't.

"It's the clogs, mate." Ben joined forces with you, giving you a sly smirk. You just had to snicker once more, because Gwilym looked like a completely different person.

"I'm to meet Anita tomorrow, you know?" Gwilym fretted in a high pitch.

"Aye, then don't wear the clogs." Ben countered.

Even Olive giggled like she was in on the joke. Gwilym scrunched his nose in her direction as everyone went on poking fun at him.

After last night, neither of you addressed his slip up, or your decision to stoop to his level. You simply went on with some kind of unspoken understanding that if anyone asked, you'd give the same false answers about your relationship status, every time. That had never been true to this degree. Till now you'd given varied answers, revolving around the truth of your relationship. Now, you were flat out lying. Now you were pretending to be married.

So, you'd been nervous, prepared for some kind of overblown press conference where this new group of friends would dig for details about your life as a couple. But you hadn't seen many of them yet, and the ones you had were busy anyway, lost in their own roles.

You spent a while patiently lingering in Gwils trailer while he was called to set, hoping your time here would remain just as easy going as it had been. When he came back for a costume change, you left the space to Gwil, and let Olive wander around behind the scenes, meandering slowly by her side as she stumbled every few steps or so. And like she knew where she was off to all along, the girl led you right toward some of her father's castmates, who were mucking about on a makeshift stage.

Joe was doing some dance that had Ben doubled over with laughter. It was the first time you saw his perm in all its wonder as he jumped from a platform, noticing you. He was already smiling at the way he'd made Ben laugh, but his grin reached his eyes, crinkling a little when your gazes met. When you smiled back, unabashedly, you realized that you were treading very dangerous waters.

You'd been so blindsided by Gwilym's blunder that you'd nearly forgotten just how dazzling Joe's presence was.

Don't look right at him. There's nothing to worry about. You told yourself. He was just apart of the cast.

"Hello, ladies." Joe mused, sauntering toward you as Ben shook off his laughter and followed close behind. Olive reached out to Joe, and attempted to say his name after you greeted him kindly. You'd spent the morning listening to her practice the words she'd already perfected, and hoped a new one would stick out among the few others.

You scoped Olive up out of the way as both actors stopped before you.

"No, no, say Ben! Like before!" Ben coaxed your child to like him the best. She almost had said his name the night before. Now, Olive listened to Ben's plea with a bashful grin, and then shook her head, deciding against obliging the blonde.

"Joe!" Olive leaned away from you, pointing to the actor whose name she spoke clear as a bell.

"Oh my God! Yes! That's me!" Joe laughed, giving Ben a playful jab to really establish his excitement.

"Joe." Olive giggled at these antics and said his name perfectly a second time.

"She'll never stop now." You laugh in realization. You and Gwil called them 'words of the day.' She only knew about four others, but once she'd gotten one just right, she'd say it for hours on end.

"And here I've worked so hard to be your favorite." Ben shook his head at Olive, who looked at him but was still giggling and pointing to Joe. She'd clearly taken a sudden liking to him. Maybe it was his perm, you thought. Joe continued to dance around victoriously until the boy's names were called by some PA. You took the moment to rush back to Gwilym's trailer, but couldn't help and glance over your shoulder to catch one last glimpse of Joe as he frolicked the opposite direction. As he danced away, you noticed Joe looking behind too; casting a small wave you missed as you whipped your head back around and hurried away a little faster.

///

Brian May seemed more like a cheery grandfather, than the musical legend you'd known him to be through screens over the years. It was hard for you to understand that the rosy-cheeked, white-haired man with a kind smile was responsible for some of rock and rolls most iconic sounds. He was standing before you with long arms outstretched, and you'd be a fool not to embrace Brian for all it was worth.

You saved fawning over his legacy in exchange for expressing your excitement that this opportunity gave Gwilym. Your fake husband was on cloud nine at the mention of Bohemian Rhapsody, and stepping onto the set with him another morning in a row was like watching the sunrise.

The next time you saw him, he was clad in the silly black wig and a shining silver button up. Olive was still unsure how to handle seeing her father all dolled up, but she released her death grip on you as Gwilym spoke to the baby in a familiar way. He shook some of the curls out of his eyes and that scored a giggle from Olive; you practically breathed a sigh of relief. It was then, as you were successfully functioning as co-parents, that Brian May brought his lovely wife Anita into the room.

You weren't sure what Gwyilm had told Brian, but even if he'd never mentioned you at all, you knew how this scene looked. You'd seen the faces of strangers in passing as they watched you and Gwilym minding your own business, pushing a strolling through the park. Brian May and his lovely wife were looking at you and Gwilym like that now, albeit, Anita was seeing Gwilym as the younger version of her husband for the first time.

For a moment it was all gasped laughter and starry-eyed stares as Brian snapped photos of his beloved with his clone. Gwilym was a pro at bantering with the lady, almost as if his nerves leading up to this moment never existed at all. Anita spent a moment smiling at Olive in your arms, making your baby smile.

Gwilym took her from you, walking toward the craft table when Joe called his name. The sound of the man's voice caught your attention all the same. Against your better judgment, you stared past everyone and glued your eyes to the actor whose auburn curls were hidden below a giant hooded coat.

"Oh, you lucky girl. What more could you ask for?" Anita gushed. It was then you tore your gaze from Joe and watched Olive pull at a couple of Gwilym faux curls. It was a sweet sight, but Anita's pure swooning made your heart sink.

Between Gwilym and Olive, you were the picture of perfection. You appeared to have everything you'd ever wanted, but you had your sights on someone you'd never have a shot with in a million years. And for what? Just because he was so damn pretty? A pang of terrible, horrible guilt seeped into your being as you watch Brian approach Gwilym with some joke. You had everything you'd ever wanted. A whole family. How could you possibly think you deserved someone else, someone all your own? You were lucky enough as it were.

When Gwil scampered onto set, leaving you and Olive in the craft service area to mingle with the leftover stagehands, you took a deep breath and watched him walk away. You realized that even if your heart didn't hammer for the father of your child, he was always there when you needed him. And Gwilym obviously wanted you around all the same. You realized that you didn't have to be in love with him to be happy to have him.

Then and there, you decided that you were going to give this whole fake marriage deal your most real shot.

///

You traveled back to the home you'd made of your Airbnb around lunchtime, taking the long way to enjoy a pocket park you spotted a day ago. While you pushed Olive in a swing, your thoughts about your current situation kept wandering further away from logical sense as you tried to understand them.

You spent the rest of the afternoon reading books to your daughter and kicking yourself for sulking over selfish desires.

Gwilym finally arrived back long after bedtime, apologizing in a whisper when the commotion of his arrival stirred you from sleep. He looked well exhausted, rubbing a spot on the back of his neck with a wince as he kicked his shoes off.

"Come here, sit." You patted the edge of the queen-sized bed as Gwylim monitored your body language. He was a bit hesitant but because of the assured look in your eyes, he felt comfortable enough to follow your directions.

"Take that jacket off." You suggested. You'd done this once, but the circumstances were different. If Gwilym was put off now, you couldn't tell as he rid himself of a layer, only a thin white shirt between you and his tense muscles. You placed either hand on either of his shoulders and that was a green enough light for Gwilym to start talking.

He told you about his unusually long day and the little things that kept going wrong. You massaged his broad shoulders the best you could and felt his body relax under your touch.

You listened to his rambles of annoyance and exhaustion. The castmates he'd made fast friends of seemed to be beacons of bright white light over the long evening of work.

"Rami is just electric. It's impossible to feel poorly in his presence- I mean the guy just has this way about him." Gwilym laughed, humming in pleasure when your fingers dug into just the right spot of his back.

"Lucy is one lucky gal. They're a perfect match." You mentioned, slowing your massage when your fingers started to ache. Gwil went on after agreeing to your comment...

"And Ben is just so easy going. It's like, if he's doing alright then I should be doing alright." You agreed and admitted how you'd already felt close to Ben. Gwilym admitted to feeling the same when they'd first met, then he kept going... "And then there's Joe. He's just... Hey! He told me Olive said his name, today." Gwilym turned to you with a proud grin. "Why hadn't you mention that?"

Because, you'd promised yourself you wouldn't keep thinking of Joe, in order to avoid the way your palms grew sweaty when you did. So you'd forgotten to mention the incident, knowing if you spoke Joe's name it would probably come out through an embarrassing saccharine sigh.

Now, you just gave Gwil a nervous hum as you slipped your hands away from his shoulders. He kept a studying gaze set on you while you moved away, hoping he couldn't read your expression.

But Gwil knew that look. He'd only seen you pull that face a couple of times, during rom-coms you watched together, and once at a wedding he dragged you along to. And then, like some kind of psychic vision, Gwilym realized, that was the expression pressed among your features when you'd met Joe. When Gwilym was too busy sneaking up to steal his friend's hat to register your longing gaze, then. But everything seemed clear now...

"You like him." Gwil let out a bright laugh, like a kid at a slumber party who was way more excited to play truth or dare than anyone else.

There was no use lying to Gwil, he was the only one who'd been in on the whole truth, anyway. Complicating things by denying what he'd found out was pointless.

But there was also no point in having a conversation about it, like you could tell Gwilym wanted to. There wasn't anything to discuss.

"Go get cleaned up and get some sleep, Gwil." You spoke quietly, turning away from him completely.

He kept a watchful eye on you for a beat, before slowly floating toward the bathroom. And when he was alone with this new realization, Gwyilm felt a pang of regret for being so selfish. Who was he to hold you captive here in this rented flat? To call you someone you weren't? Why was his pride a priority? Why didn't you care about your own wants and desires? He hoped you realized you could call this thing off anytime you wanted...

As you turned off the bedside lamp your mind kept racing. Had you ever even been in love? How did you know what you wanted? Through the fog of your scattered thoughts, came a clear vision of the man you ran into a few nights ago.

You thought of Joe and the way he looked at you, how his glance said just as much as his carefully chosen words, when you met.

Why did Joe feel so compelled to greet you with such a loaded statement? Could he have possibly felt the same buzz in his chest as you felt when your eyes met? Did it even matter?

///

"We have a guest!" Gwilym called as he pushed past the front door.

You sat up a little from your slump on the floor where you'd been sorting through playing blocks that your daughter wasn't even paying attention to anymore.

You shouldn't have been surprised to see Joe walk in behind Gwil, both men laughing at something as they entered the room. Of course, you were expecting one of the cast- but, you still hadn't managed to quell the silly little feelings that fluttered in your chest for Joe.

"What a lovely surprise." You smiled, because it was still true that you were glad to see the guy. It had been a couple of days.

"Everyone went their separate ways today, I thought Joseph might enjoy some company outside of the studio."

Gwil reached for his friend's shoulder as you stood to your feet to meet them. It was a nice gesture. Rami had Lucy, and Ben had his family in the city. Even Gwil had someone to end each day with. Joe must have felt lonely, here on his own. And you hated to think he might have been.

"Well, you're just in time to fight over what's for lunch." You chuckled, gazing at Joe. It took all of your focus not to bask in the sparkle beaming from his deep colored eyes.

Gwilym went on saying apologizing for still not having gone grocery shopping, hating the thought of dining out again, but listed off all the best restaurants in the area.

Then, with a look that let you know he knew exactly what he was doing, Gwilym took Olive into the other room for a change, leaving you and Joe alone.

"I bet it's nice to have an early day off. I hear the shoots are getting more intense." You started in on a polite conversation, all while putting a few toys back where they belonged so you wouldn't have to look right at Joe.

It was easier when Gwil and Olive were around, they were your barrier. Now, you had to keep total control of letting your feelings show, without anything to project them toward.

Joe seemed none the wiser, leaning against the door frame of the small balcony, glancing out of the glass doors to the trees that reached above the iron of the railing.

"Yeah, you could say that." He let out a breath of a laugh. "Telling this band's story, the emotions run high."

Your conversation floated on like that, quite seamlessly. Joe eased into rambles about acting that saved you from speaking up and making a fool of yourself. You listened fondly, and nearly let yourself stare at his mouth as it moved to speak. But that's when Gwil reappeared with Olive wobbling to catch up with him, as he boisterously asked who was ready for lunch. Your daughter raised her little arm, and everyone's focus shifted to how freaking sweet she was.

The next thing you knew, you wound up on the terrace of some hip bistro. You settled into a conversation as quickly as you ordered meals and proceeded to have a surprisingly good time.

Gwil persuaded Joe to do most of the talking. Joe was good at carrying on, but it wasn't an annoying drone. He spoke about things he had a clear passion for. And when he paused to ask your own opinions, you pushed for him to keep speaking, instead. You could have listened forever, and not just because it was easier that way. The sound of Joe's voice was like music to your ears, something about him you could enjoy without giving yourself away.

When Gwil left to get drinks at the bar. He asked what either of you wanted, and you said nothing, hoping he'd come back sooner that way.

You weren't just going to blurt out a confession to Joe, but you were so afraid of chipping your resolve. Letting your gaze lingering too long. Saying the wrong thing when no one else was around to hear.

Thankfully, Olive was occupying the space between the two of you. And the second Gwil left, the kid threw her head back with a sorry groan.

"He'll be back." You reminded, reaching over to cease her whines as she melted into a puddle in her highchair.

As you attempted to assure your babe that there was no reason to fuss so theatrically, Joe leaned over on the other side of the table disappearing for a beat and popping back into view with something in his grasp.

It was Olive's favorite toy bat. Joe handed the plastic animal to Olive who took it as she sniveled. Your daughter must have dropped the thing during lunch and you hadn't at all noticed. But Joe did.

"Jesus, thank you." You let out a small laugh.

Joe grinned, shooing away your thanks. But his attempts at saving the day were barely passable- Olive had almost disregarded the toy completely.

"She's probably due for a nap." You sighed in all honesty, explaining how the surprise trip out had disrupted that schedule. 

"Me too kid." Joe looked at Olive like they were on the same page.

"Joe." Olive perfectly and pathetically whimpered, reaching out to him. And without missing a beat, the guy reached back and let her fingers latch onto his. The sight of Olive holding Joe's hand would have melted your heart if it wasn't beating so fiercely.

"You don't have to- ya know," You began to give Joe a way out of his attempts to give into Olives demands of him, but he was already shaking his head before he cut you off.

"I don't mind. She's adorable." He chuckled warmly, watching Olive bring her favorite bat to her chest while her other hand stayed attached to Joe's.

And while your mind seemed to still and capture every little detail of the scene, he spoke up again.

"She looks a lot like you." As if that was a reason he was endeared to the baby.

And if the comment wasn't enough, his tone was all too reminiscent of when you'd run into meeting each other. You wondered if he'd meant any of what he said to you, that night.

Gwil floated back to the table with a drink for himself and his pal. You shot him a look, hoping he realized you were begging him never to abandon you with Joe ever again. Especially if he wanted this whole lie to work.

The alarm bells that whirred louder each second you'd been in left alone, faded when Joe started rambling to you and Gwil as a pair.

And then it was easy as ever, sharing stories, ideas, and laughs. Were you more yourself when Gwil was around or were you just better at hiding behind him? Whatever, you were having a good time.

In fact, Olive fell asleep in your lap while the three of you went on chatting for another hour or so.

When the afternoon was pushing into the evening, you decided to head home since the boys had another early day on set. And when Gwil walked ahead of everyone to fasten Olive in her car seat, your eye caught Joe's. His forest colored gaze on you was evocative of the first time you'd met. Maybe it was because Gwilym was so far ahead, and no one else was looking. Or maybe it was all in your head.

///

Gwilym dropped you at the Airbnb and left to drive Joe back to his. You settled in for the evening and went about your regular rountine; all while you wondered what kept Gwil so long.

He made it back as the night turned black, looking rather pleased with himself. If you had it your way; you would have gone to bed without speaking too directly. But as became the norm this week, Gwil was on another page, annoucing his way through the rented flat...

"So I've invited Joe on our next day off. I know we've been talking about going out for the day, I thought he'd like to tag along again." Gwil reported as he entered the room with a happy smile.

You knew Gwil's heart was in the right place. You knew he was only attempting to be a good friend. But you also knew Gwil knew of your feelings perfectly well, how they could threaten to turn this whole pretend game upside down. And he hadn't even asked you before he'd invited Joe dangerously close, again.

"Well alright." You grinned through a confused sigh, entirely busy rocking Olive to sleep to get too upset.

Gwil knew you were though. And he hadn't expected you to be.

"What's the matter? I thought you liked Joe." Gwilym wondered as he collected his bedclothes. Surely you'd be glad for the excuse to hang around the guy, right? That was the whole reason he invited him over today in the first place...

"That is the matter." You laughed, feeling defeated and defensive all at once.

If Gwil was so insistent on bringing his newfound friend around, you were going to really need to hone in on your connection to your fake husband. You were going to have to make it seem like you had with Gwil, what everyone really believed came naturally. And you were going to have to act like something spectacular didn't occur when Joe turned his attention to you.

And that sucked.

You shushed Gwilym for carrying on the conversation as Olive started to fall asleep. He left for the bathroom with a strange look on his face, like he was trying to solve an impossible equation.

Gwilym was in the shower, and your daughter was silent in her cot, and you couldn't stop thinking of Joe. It made you sick. The harder you tried to shake his image from your brain, the brighter it became. You shuffled into the kitchen for a glass of cold water but only ended up staring at the wall.

Gwilym found you there, in the middle of the kitchen, fixated on nothing. He spoke your name to grab your attention and shuffled cautiously to find out what your deal was.

"Andy said something to me once," You spoke up in the quiet. "After I had a real shite first date. I excepted the night to be magical. But it was shite. And Andy said, 'What if your love takes time? What if you fall for someone so slowly you don't even realize, till your eighty and sharing a house by the sea?'"

You waved your hands around, trying to connect dots with a tethered, imaginary string. It was a long shot. But you had to take it.

"Y/N, what are you saying?" Gwilym cautioned, pressing the heels of his hands down on the counter behind him as he calmly tried to rationalize your blabbering in the dark.

"I think you should kiss me." You looked toward Gwilym as an imaginary lightbulb flickered above your head. "Maybe... maybe we have what we didn't think we did before this whole thing started. And we won't know till we kiss. Until we try again."

You stood as if to challenge Gwil, and he was looking at you like he'd already watched this whole scene play out and was waiting for you to catch up. But you didn't dare blink until he did.

"Gwil... please. Just once." You practically begged, like a kid.

"Will that seriously make you feel better about this?" Gwil's face subtly twisted into concern, but he was moving toward the middle of the room, toward you.

You nodded quickly, looking up to Gwil as he stood to face you. You zeroed in on Gwilym's ocean colored eyes, searching for something you'd seen the likes of in there, before. Right when a familiar sheen flooded his gaze, Gwilym closed the gap. He cupped your face in his hands and pressed his lips to yours.

Gwilym proceeded to kiss you like a Disney prince trying to wake up a damsel. His soft lips melded against yours, and your mouths both opened like clockwork, like back when you used to practice this together. You rested your palms on Gwilym's broad shoulders as he kissed you breathlessly. When his movements slowed, your grip ever so slightly tightened on his shoulders, trying to hold onto the moment.

Gwil's lips moved away from yours, but he held your arms in place, like trying to steady you after a big fall. Your insides mimicked the plummet from great heights, but you were on both feet and there was a draft where something warmer should have burned.

"Was that... what you wanted?" Gwilym asked wearily. Because he really must have already known the answer. You kept your grip on his shoulder and leaned your head against his collarbone; the world's most pathetic hug.

"You're a damn good kisser." You sighed, but not longingly. You handed this statement out like a congratulatory honorable mention ribbon. There were no winners tonight. Gwilym slowly enclosed you in a real hug, smoothing back your hair and heaving his own sorry sigh. He brought either of his hands to the sides of your head and pressed one last lingering kiss to your forehead as a sadly bubbling frustration brewed inside you.

"Maybe... we better come clean, yeah?" Gwilym lightly suggested, rubbing your arms and looking to you as if nothing had just happened, as if nothing changed. It hadn't. "And then, maybe Joe-"

"No." You really couldn't let him finish that sentence. "No, Gwilym. You have to finish this movie without any drama. I'll just get over myself and by the time we leave for home I'll be fine, and no one will have any reason to believe otherwise."

"Y/n." Gwilym seemed to warn. His grip loosely fell away from you as you started to leave the kitchen.

"Just come to bed, please." You gestured toward the quiet room. "We can't be normal, Gwil."

But you could go on pretending, like always. Because Gwilym was an actor. And you wanted what you saw in him badly enough to keep playing along.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

taglist: @sonic-volcano​ @imtheinvisiblequeen​ @redspecialty​ @itscale​ @stardust-killer-queen​ @joemazzelo​ @dancetohotspace​ @kiwi-hardy​ @joeneslee​ @borhapqueen92​ @im-an-adult-ish​ @johndeaconshands​ @seven-seas-of-ham-on-rhye​ @beepbeephardy​ @slutforbritdick​ @joemazzmatazz​ @almightygwil​

[xxx-cat-xxx]

All my Marvel fanfiction

Happy end-of-the-year season! I thought this is a good occasion to compile all the stuff I’ve written to date and spam your dash with my MCU hurt/comfort fics. This is probably the last time I’m gonna put all the fics on one list, because there’s just so freaking many of them now.

I´d be incredibly happy about a reblog to make this blog reach a few more potential readers. Thank you all for sticking around with me so far!

P.S. If you don´t know where to start, the ones I like most are bolded.

——————————————–

Whumping both Tony and Peter

What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood - The universe is saved, Thanos is defeated, the Vanished are returned, and Tony has survived (though with severe radiation burns and one less arm). Everything should be good now - except that it isn’t. (My big 2019 Irondad project - 13.5k words, holy shit!)

One of These Days - Tony gets injured, and a guilt-stricken Peter runs away. Luckily, there´s people looking after both of them.

Away from the Sun - Peter gets injured, and Tony gets injured, and neither of them are quite over Titan yet.

Shadow of the Day - Tony and Peter are stranded in the desert after a plane crash.

——————————————–

Whumping Tony Stark

Thougher Than The Rest - A Pepperony h/c fic that takes place just after the final battle in Iron Man 3.

Just a Bend in the Road - A post-Endgame sickfic with the whole Iron Fam (in the AU where Tony is alive, of course).

Peter Parker and Bruce Banner’s Guide on How To Make Iron Man Sleep - When Tony and Bruce both get a cold, Peter is there to look after his favourite superhero couple. Fluff.

When All is Said and Done - My 4.5th Tony vs. Migraine fic, this time featuring Bruce as caretaker. Science Boyfriends.

Stairway to Heaven (almost) - When the Hulk breaks the elevators in Stark Tower, Peter and Tony have to climb to the top in order to repair them. 93 floors shouldn’t be an issue, Tony tells himself, and completely ignores his heart condition. Turns out that was a bad idea.

When the Walls Come Down - After rescuing Iron Man from his latest kidnapping experience, Clint and Tony are stuck in a crappy motel room. Tony insists he is fine. Clint knows he’s not.

Going Out in Style - Here’s what happened the night after Tony’s disastrous birthday party in IM2.

Say When - Some angsty Endgame and Infinity War canon, including lots of Tony Whump and Irondad feels.

Told You So  - Three times Tony and Bruce take care of each other. Sweet hurt/comfort and Science Boyfriends.

New Beginning - While recovering from the injuries sustained during Civil War, Tony becomes addicted to morphine. In typical Stark fashion, he decides to quit cold turkey and deal with the withdrawal symptoms on his own. Fortunately, Bruce won’t let that happen.

The first time Tony tells Pepper he loves her - I promise, the content is a hundred times less cheesy than the title suggests. TWs for alcohol and drug abuse.

settle our bones (like wood) over time, over time - Tony is down with the flu, so Rhodey helps out by looking after Morgan (and her dad).

let our hearts (like doors) open wide, open wide - Pepper is pregnant, Tony freaks out, Bruce Banner is a good bro and Peter Parker the best Spider-son.

Endgame Drabble inspired by that Tony/Pepper hug

Leave out all the Rest - Irondad, Spiderson, and the rest of the family. This is long and a bit sad, but I´m proud of it. TWs for illness and death.

Not Us - Endgame trailer inspired Steve & Tony something where Tony has pneumonia and everyone is sad.

Sleeping at last - 5 times Tony couldn´t sleep (and the one time he could). Featuring a severely sleep-deprived Tony and various people (and AIs) looking after him.

Safe - Tony, Bruce and Clint are stuck in a “shithole of a safehouse”. Then Tony gets sick, and Clint gets two memorable photographs.

Lose another one - Tony´s arc reactor acts up, Peter worries and receives a sad hug.

Game Face - Tony & Migraine & Steve. This one is whump for whump´s sake, with detailed descriptions of vomiting.

Science Brothers Birthday Drabble - Tony gets carbon monoxide poisoning while preparing a surprise for Bruce.

Behind closed doors - After Ultron, Tony feels like the other Avengers are distancing from him. When he gets appendicitis, he tries to hide it from his teammates.

Just because I´m losing doesn´t mean I´m lost - Tony´s fever is so high that he becomes delirious, but that doesn´t stop him from trying to lead Peter and Clint on a mission - until they find out about it.

Tenderness - Tony with a bad migraine and Pepper looking after him.

Always Gold - Tony is injured while protecting Peter in a battle, but he has to pull through to get everyone to safety.

Devils and Dust - Steve witnesses Tony falling apart on Peter´s birthday party.

Lights and Sounds - Tony has a migraine while spending the day with Peter.

I don´t need to be the hero tonight - Tony attempts a picnic with Peter and May while being in a bad shape both physically and mentally due to a battle lost the day before.

And when it hits, it hits you hard. - Tony returns to earth after Infinity War.

Cracks in the surface - Tony is badly injured on a mission with only Peter there to take care of him.

Where my demons hide - Tony gets beaten down by fever and anxiety, and Peter is trying to be there for him despite Tony´s best attempts at keeping him away.

——————————————–

Whumping Peter Parker

spacesick - Peter and Bruce get motionsick while trying out Tony’s new spaceship. This is very crack and kind of gross.

Headlights on Dark Roads - When Peter is stranded in the middle of a forest at night with serious injuries after one hell of a week, he doesn’t call anyone for help. But Tony comes to his rescue nevertheless. 

Surprises - All Tony wanted was a peaceful night to work on Peter’s birthday gift. But his kids make sure that this doesn’t happen.

Too Close to Home - When Peter gets drunk at an Avengers party, he is not the only one to feel the consequences.

At least I didn’t puke on you - Peter accidently takes Steve’s emergency pills that are designed to make him sick in case he gets poisoned. Cue Tony and Steve spending a night on the bathroom floor with a very pukey Peter Parker.

When you fall like a statue - A worried and exasperated Irondad taking care of Peter and Cap, who both faint after forgetting to eat for 36 hours.

Spiderpox - Peter gets Chickenpox while staying with the Barton Fam. Tony and Clint test their parenting skills.

If you´re still bleeding - Peter is sick and emotionally affected by a movie he saw. Tony tries to figure out how to talk to him about being okay with his feelings despite not being okay with his own.

Blue skies fade to grey - Peter is sick at school with Ned, MJ and eventually Tony taking care of him (well, trying to…in their own particular ways).

Saltwater - Peter gets seasick on a cruise with the Avengers, who try their best to take care of him.

Seen the rain - After a mission, Peter battles sickness caused by motion and guilt. Tony, pretty worn out himself, tries his best to help him through it.

A hand upon my forehead - When Peter gets mildly sick after a mission, Tony discovers that human company isn´t necessarily a bad thing.

Thunder Road - Peter gets carsick around the Avengers and receives help from an unexpected caretaker.

——————————————–

Other stuff with lots of feelings

Fixed It - In which Pepper faints for the first time in her life.

Asleep - A post-Iron Man 2 ficlet for the Pepperony Week prompt ‘Sharing a Bed’.

Hero - My one and probably only Stucky fic.

Lightning Crashes - Peter and Morgan meet after Tony’s funeral.

Human Touch - Tony and Peter take care of Bruce after a mission.

Spectacular - Peter has a special mission: buying reading glasses for Tony, who, of course, doesn´t need them at all.

Precious - Pregnant Tony/Pepper Christmas drabble.

When September ends - Tony, Peter and the old piano.

——————————————–

Red in my Ledger (Natasha series)

Perfect Cuts - When a mission goes badly, Nat and Tony cope in not exactly healthy ways. TWs for self-harm, alcohol abuse.

Holding Water in your Hands - During the missing five years, Natasha is holding position at the empty Avengers compound and trying to hold herself together. Rhodey finds her on a bad day.

——————————————–

OC Whump

Concussion Fic

[idontfindyouthatinteresting]

Death Stranding: A Love Letter

Death Stranding, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time and to be honest there were times where we thought, we’re never getting this game, it just isn’t going to happen. I had this game on pre-order for over 2 years. 2 YEARS! The expectation level was obviously very high, and from my perspective it firmly... delivers. 

WARNING - SPOILER ALERT - This is a review/breakdown by someone who’s finished the game, for people who have finished the game. You have been warned!

Death Stranding revels in it’s cinematic credentials constantly and with intense consistency. From panoramic mountainous vistas which you can control, to dazzling close ups of it’s digitally recreated stars, to just watching Sam go to his Private Room. It’s stunning and a testament to Kojima's cinematic knowledge with every shot. 

Not only does Death Stranding handle this beauty, and intricate world building and story telling with ease and grace; it’s concepts and emotional ideas (which I’ll go into more later) are translated so strongly that you can’t help but get swept up in it. This is the sort of experience that I’m used to getting from films, who embed this framework within their narratives so deeply, in a way it’s expected. Death Stranding hits you like a freight train. Through the power of the performances, the narrative and the fresh nature of the ideas it’s portraying. 

Death Stranding’s emotive credentials are set firmly in 2 scales, the more typical big stuff, saving the world, stopping the extinction, well trodden video game territory. But where it truly sets itself apart, embodied so perfectly when Sam walks away from Die-Hardman’s Inauguration speech, and sets to surprise is in how it handles what could be argued to be the smaller scale stuff. 

Sam’s emotional world is rich and powerful, from his Aphenphosmphobia to the fact that we see him openly weep and break down holding a crying child. This is a male lead in a video game, and as a woman I loved seeing Sam being so vulnerable, to the point where he’s physically naked in those shots (ssshhh, there are academic reasons too.) It’s fresh and poignant, and as a woman it gives me access to media rejecting the male gaze so completely. 

On the notion of the Male Gaze, there is some stuff to unpick about the game’s female characters, as much as I would have loved to have seen more, with some ethnic diversity also, it doesn’t subject it’s women to typical video game stereotypes. The creators of the network (whatever it’s true intentions) are all women, Amelie found the path through the country to place the terminals, with the hardware and software created by Mama and Lockne respectively. This network is recognized as the saviour of humanity, the only male input is Sam connecting the terminals with the Q-pid, a Q-pid created by Mama and Lockne. Fragile is the only character powerful enough to get Sam and all the other characters to where they need to go through her DOOMs. I think the shows opinion on Male Gaze is shown in the story, when Fragile is using Sam’s shower, and Sam moves to the glass, his intention is to see her timefall damaged skin, but Sam is punished for it by Fragile as he questions her motives, she’s aggressive and she puts him thoroughly in his place for it. I love love love the physical powerplay in this scene between them. 

Sam is reluctant, profoundly unhappy, arguably suicidal, and is convinced to do all of this purely to help save his friend. Sam is a constant reminder that there is so much more at play here, drilled home every time he flinches away or holds Lou in his hands. Although there is a world to save, it can be for nothing unless you save yourself too. Sam and Fragile’s final discussion brings this home. Before leaving to stop Amelie Sam is full of hope, but in losing Lou, he does a 180, he’s just a man getting to the next sun rise. Something I’m sure a lot of people can identify with. 

This narrative nuance is reflected in Cliff. Through the memories we’re shown a man just trying to save his child, not the world, not willing to sacrifice his child to be made into the activation code for a city, no matter the cause. He just wants to be a father and that is his driving force. Mads Mikkelsen was my gateway into this particular world, safe to say I have an intense soft spot for him. I can go on all damn day about how talented he is. He’s the best in the business, no one does what he can, no one else can give a performance that is so real and so raw but so full of fight. Mads can take the your most profound story line, otherworldly in it’s extreme, and he embeds it so firmly in the human experience, you’ll never be able to untangle that web. That is why his ability to do what he does can almost never be questioned. You let him get to the heart of your story and that is what he’ll do to it and that is why it works. Mads Mikkelsen could easily have been Higgs, based on early trailers we suspected he was Higgs, but he isn’t. Could not be further from it. 

Death Stranding’s narrative dichotomy in this way is resembled perfectly in the games two ‘Boss’ characters, Cliff and Higgs. Higgs represents the greater plan, the end of the world stuff, and Cliff the smaller scale human to human emotion. Sam must overcome both. 

Death Stranding has an even wider scope, an even wider message. Kojima hasn’t been shy about his message of connection being prominent and poignant in the current political climate, being from the UK I feel this so keenly, but the same is present in the US as well. Humanity driven further apart, through legislation, walls and boarders. You can see the potence of the message being translated through a video game, when alternate reality, video game violence and social media is being blamed for these things. It’s fighting back in a way. Death Stranding’s gameplay is full of positivity, from the signs that other players can leave you that replenish your stamina, make your BB happy, to the fact that if you knock a MULE out in water they have a neck float so they don’t drown and die. 

The lack of violence in this way and use of ‘non-lethal’ guns, which are described as such, were again refreshing. I’m not a first person shooter gamer, never have been, could not be less appealing to me if it tried. But Death Stranding doesn’t just have a gun aversion, to me it is explicitly anti-gun. Again another important message, particularly when the game is set in the US. One of my favourite moments in the whole game is Sam listening to Die-Hardman’s grovelling apology for his actions, his thoughts and his prayers, only for Sam to shove the gun Die-Hardman brought to the Beach back at him, warning him with disgust at his actions, by passing on the message, “that gun won’t work here” and walking away. I completed a video game without taking a single human life. It rejects the notion so fully and completely. You stop the extinction, save humanity, not with a gun but by hugging Amelie, reminding her about how valuable human life is, every human life. It’s not to be thrown away, you need to give it a chance to bloom.

In Death Stranding humanity is left cowering underground, separated by an invisible enemy in the form of BT’s, it has to learn to fight back, with literal blood, sweat and tears. If you couple the notion of the invisible enemy with Bring Me the Horizon’s ‘Ludens’ Lyrics:

Sticks and stones may break my bones but soon the sting will pass But names can dig so many graves, you won't know where to stand

I love this line. (BMTH wrote that song in 5 days to get it into the game in time, by the way!) As children we’re taught that names shouldn’t hurt us, but actually they do. In a time where the effects of racism, sexism, homophobia, all of this “name calling” are putting people in their actual graves, these lyrics should be heard more keenly. Political leaders put people in their graves with their words, through direct or indirect means. These words are the BTs of our world, invisible hands which destroy people.

Some of the criticisms of the game are based on elements of game play, like the deliveries you need to make, as slow and tiresome. Higgs himself addresses this asking whether you’re tired of the grind, begging for a “game over”? 

The game is not only acutely aware that perhaps trudging all over the US with vast cargo loads isn’t what you want to be doing, but it knows it’s what you need to do. And truly, in what way is that different from shooting your way through levels and scenarios to get to the end? Death Stranding makes you feel the sacrifice Sam is making and you experience that with him, every time you fall and drop your cargo, every time you stumble down a mountain side, every time you wreck your stamina bar climbing an incline. Video games can’t really make you feel what it’s like to kill an enemy soldier with an air strike, but hell it can make you feel frustrated at having to climb another mountain with a boat load of heavy gear. 

Death Stranding rejects the idea of a ‘game over’ and other video game staples in other ways, it mockingly calls Higgs and Cliffs narrative end “Boss fights” and when Deadman says that wiping Lou’s memories, her connection with Sam in order to make her work better than a piece of equipment is just a ‘do-over’ a reset, normal, Sam rejects that it’s not that simple and Norman’s performance brings that home acutely. It’s not just a game. 

From style, to message, to performance, to rejection of the Male Gaze, Death Stranding is an intense and beautiful game. It managed to hook me so thoroughly (as I’m sure you’ve been able to tell from my live tweeting/blogging) and I don’t imagine I’ll get the hook out of my heart for a while. It speaks to something higher and I love it for it.

Keep On Keeping On.

[zwiezraczek]

6 + 1 Underground [Four x OC/reader] Chapter 7

SUMMARY: Sasha is a Polish girl, with a strange past. She has various skills, driving amongst others. So she becomes Eight. And you know that Four plus Four is Eight…

CHAPTER 1 - CHAPTER 2 - CHAPTER 3 - CHAPTER 4 - CHAPTER 5 - CHAPTER 6 - CHAPTER 7: Eight is Weronika

Sasha becomes Weronika, and Four becomes Nikita. A hooker and a thief.

WORDS: 2.4k

WARNING: smutty situation at the very end!

TAGLIST (if you want to be part of it, leave a comment! ^^) : @kingniazx @imjustboredso @pandamanda99 @mustbeaweasleyginger @cooliosmosh @lillymitl

“We're having a movie night, you want to join us Eight,” Four asked her with his head only inside her trailer after he opened the door.

After the whole meeting, she had to stay alone and to think. To think about her coming back into the mafia, again. She would lie if she said that she wasn't scared. She absolutely was. And she didn't want to bother the others with her feelings – not again – so she withdrew for a longer moment. She feared an impromptu encounter with one of the people from her previous life, she wouldn't know how to handle this encounter. She wouldn't know how to lie to them, to these people who once called her family. Sometimes, she regretted that decision she took during that night. And even if she knew that Three was about to find a plan for the three of them, she was nervous. Yet excited to know who she was about to be in this another life, her third one apparently.

And Four showed up, out of nowhere offering her a movie night. An offer she couldn't refuse. She sighed only before getting up to follow Four, under the bare sky dotted with stars.

“Ready to be back on tracks,” he asked her, with his hands buried in the pocket of his blue hoodie.

“As I'll ever be,” Sasha replied with a little smile. “But for real, it's just... Too much. Like, I left them and I'm joining them again only after a couple of months? That's just crazy.”

“We'll have to handle this,” he resumed the problem with this only sentence. “”Let's hope that Three will give us a nice role to play because I just can't stand being either out of that game or the delivery-boy,” he complained before they reached his trailer as Sasha giggled.

“I'm sure you're making a great delivery boy,” she teased him as she stepped inside.

“Oh shut up,” he reacted as he rolled his eyes.

Seven and Amelia were already laying on Four's couch. It was really the first time that she went into his trailer for another purpose than work, and apparently when his trailer didn't look like a total mess full of maps, it seemed pretty decent. The large burgundy couch seemed to be pretty comfy, and full of unhealthy food – but with Amelia's supervision, everything was allowed here – which were good news. Seven and Amelia stopped arguing for a second about the movie they were about to chose – just to greet Sasha and Four – before demanding them to pick a side. Space Jam or Home Alone. It hurt Sasha to let Seven win, but she had to admit that Space Jam was something, and she got a handful of popcorn thrown onto her face from Amelia when she picked his side.

“No junk food for you,” she threatened Sasha as she stuck her tongue out.

“No, have some pity,” Sasha said, as she sat next to Amelia and Four sat between her and Seven.

“Have some pity for those with taste,” Seven added making things even worse as he clicked on the laptop in order to start the movie.

“You're the next on my list, Seven!” They shared a laugh before the movie started.

Sasha rested her back against the back of the couch, Amelia's head on her shoulder during the movie. And from time to time, she felt like dozing off. She caught herself fluttering her eyelashes in order to stay awake, and felt strangely warm when she opened her eyes after missing a few scenes. Four had put a blanket on the two of them – Amelia and her – and Sasha found her head on Four's shoulder as they were asleep now, all of them. For a moment, she felt a warm feeling coming from her chest, she felt safe and home, with all of them, with Seven by her side,  Amelia  - her new sister – and Four – her Slav mate. Mostly with Four for some reasons.

~~~

Three's plan was way more than perfect, it was sublime. Dreaded and admired. Sasha couldn't have asked for a better disguise and a better character to impersonate. She chewed her gum as she wrapped a strand of hair around her index. These shorts were outrageous, just like Weronika. Three insisted very much on this girl's poor manners and her easy virtue. She apparently was supposed to be a hooker, a good driving hooker who used to seduce her clients to let her boyfriend – Nikita, who was the brain of the couple – steal from these people. As much as Sasha, Four had to change his look, fully. He got a handful of long-sleeved shirts with very original patterns to wear which suited him – not.

The Ghosts spent month trying to get some information about Mila's gang in the US, about somebody who would come there and give them an opportunity to introduce themselves. And the opportunity was called Wasyl Petrotchenko. One of the Lady in Rouge's man. He was about to close a deal and to have a little accident with a too curious man about what he was doing. One was the man. And who else would save Wasyl? Bingo.

Weronika and Nikita were just passing by in this hotel, Eight trying her best to keep her legs crossed with these short shorts – she wished Three would have thought about her comfort in these – and Nikita having a conversation with a man at the reception. Sasha had a huge sport bag next to her as she eyed the hall, she spotted Four first talking with the receptionist with the thickest accent he could, which, according to herself, wasn't the best idea, and then she spotted their target. Nonchalantly, she stretched her back, hands high in the air and One came in. She felt nervous as hell. From now, she wouldn't see Amelia anymore, for a few months probably because all of this wasn't a small job, no, this was a full-time job. Pretending. Faking smiles. With only one ally by her side: Four.

“Wasyl Petrotchenko,” One asked as he put his hand on the man's shoulder.

“Who are you,” the man aggressively asked, looking left and right.

“Somebody who will be glad to talk with you, in private.”

“I wouldn't if I were you,” the man said, rising his voice slightly. But enough to let Four hear what was happening.

“Oh, you don't know me Wa...”

“You have a problem sir,” Four cut him off, casually walking towards them. He frowned at One, hands in his trouser's pockets, he looked so casual as if it wasn't a death threat to be there and to try this.

“You're lucky, Wasyl. You fucking really are,” One said, stepping outside the building as the two mean looked at each other.

“Thank you young man,” Wasyl said to Four as he gave him his hand.

“Always a pleasure to help.”

“Babe,” Sasha said, trotting her way up to them with her huge bag, “what's wrong?”

“Nothing doll, just some jerk being disrespectful to this man.” She clung to his arm, with a smile and looked at the man.

“Oh, you're with your lady here, young man,” the man said, eyeing Sasha who felt his very eyes undressing her. But Weronika shouldn't mind. Sasha did.

“Weronika,” she presented herself coyly.

“And I'm Nikita.”

“We're coming from the same family apparently,” the man happily said. “What you're up to here?”

“Moving from town to town, just to... Survive, you know,” Four said with heavy undertones that the man seemed to catch immediately.

“Interesting... You should come and meet me in a restaurant tonight, I'm meeting with some friends, I'd like to present you to them,” he offered before handing him a paper. “Bring your lady, it will be a nice evening.”

They got it.

~~~

They got in. Apparently, entering the mafia wasn't as hard as it seemed – when you were Eastern of course. Sasha had forgotten how good it felt to be surrounded by people talking about money, about heists and about a lot of things, and how she could think about what type of car they would need for this mission or how fast she could drive. But Weronika was a hooker, a good-driving hooker but no more. So, she had to look nice and smile, and stay quiet. She had a nice red headband with a little bow on it, and wore a beautiful – and tight – short red dress while sitting next to Four, him having his arm on the back of the couch as she could lean closer to him.

They were trained for that, and, strangely, the first time they had to hold hands and pretend to be a couple for a whole day wasn't as awkward as expected. Sasha tried to understand Weronika, and it seemed easier with Four by her side as Nikita. She told Amelia how disturbing it was to be this comfortable with fake-dating him, and Amelia just rolled her eyes and mumbled something about obliviousness.

And, during that evening, they drank. Never enough, never too much. They drank until the party was over and they had to be back in their hotel, they drank until the man told them that he would call them on the next day to tell them what they could do for him as thieves – as he winked looking at Sasha who coyly smiled and bite her lower lip with her index wandering on the corner of her lips. They seemed to had won it. They felt like king and queen of this mission – not even thinking about Two who had still to enter the mafia in a way or another.

As they walked in the hallway of the hotel, Sasha began to tipsily agitate her hands as she slowly danced her way through the long red carpeted hall. From time to time, she tuned back to look at Four with a smile.

“Don't tell me you didn't enjoy this evening,” she teased with a little giggle.

“Was nice,” Four replied, looking for the keys in his pocket. He couldn't look at Sasha for a longer moment without thinking about her as his girlfriend, not only a fake one but as someone he desired, right now, as drunk as he was. But he had to stay calm.

“You look so concentrated, Niki,” she said to him, brushing his nose with her index. She also wanted to tease him, and to maybe have more. And when she arrived in front of their door, she leaned against it, before Four came up to her. “Want to have a little fun,” she asked as she put her arms around his neck.

“We're drunk,” he tried to say but she put a finger on his lips, encouraged by her tipsiness.

“Not enough.”

He opened the door. She pulled him, grabbing his shirt, against her chest, kissing him passionately. She couldn't get enough of his tongue as she kissed him harder and harder. She lacked air, she had to catch her breath as they parted for a second, her forehead against his.

“Give me all you got Four,” she gasped as he looked deeply into his pearly green eyes.

“Only if you give me everything tonight,” he replied grabbing her by her waist.

“You know that Eight is two times Four,” she asked running her hand through his short blond hair. “I'll give you even more than that.”

She let herself fall on the luxurious bed behind them, Four letting her go. Her long blond hair falling all over from the ponytail she made earlier. She looked at him, lust in her eyes. The Polish angel, looking at him, laying on the dark sheets, her pink lower lip bitten, she screamed innocence but her attitude was anything than that.

“Will you give me your babies, Four,” she asked, teasing him as she ran her hands through the strands of her messy hair. “Pretty please.”

“Don't you fucking Melanie Martinez me or I'll go nuts,” he answered with a hoarse voice as he looked at her, then he humidified his lips with his tongue.

“Maybe it's all I want, Four,” she replied going on her knees, resting on her hands behind her back. “You'll watch me for the rest of the night or we'll have some fun?”

“Stop teasing me Eight, I have a hard time controlling myself right now,” he whispered as he went on the bed, moving forward to reach her and to kiss her neck. “Really hard time...”

“You don't have to, you know I love everything you do,” she gasped between the kisses he gave her in her neck. “Please, please Four...”

She could feel his bulge as he leaned against her, she was really excited too. She ran her fingers under his shirt, stumbling upon some rough scars under her finger tips. He moved back, to take the shirt off, and as he did so, she took her dress off too revealing her black laced bra. The only thing she loved more than comfy clothes was lace. He looked at her with a burning desire, she definitely turned him on: she had that power over him.

“We should stop playing Eight, let's get serious.”

She whispered back “As you wish, Niki.”

And as they game unfurled, she rode him, she moaned and he did too. If she could, she would have taken his babies, but they protected themselves. Sasha slowed down, reaching this panting moment, looking at him, making the pleasure last, as if it could go on forever. She felt it, he felt it too, an explosion. Their moaned their names, their code names. She kissed him, quickly, almost a chaste kiss before whispering “I think I'm breaking One's rule by falling for you.” “You're not alone then, I'm ready to break so much more rules for you.” They probably would.

[idontevenwatchbl]

Do you watch Thai drama that there are not bl? Can you suggest me some ?

Sure! Although, like 99% of them are GMMTV series, so if you already watch them, you’ve probably already at least heard of these.

My no.1 suggestion is The Gifted, and I HIGHLY recommend everyone giving it a go if you haven’t already. I can say for sure that The Gifted is my favorite thai series alongside Love by Chance. I mean nothing can really top LBC, but The Gifted comes super close. It’s just so good in almost every single aspect? The acting is great, the story is great, the characters are enjoyable, and I got so attached to most of them. It really says something that I got my sister to watch this series, and she has 0 interest in thai dramas.

Basically, the story is about a group of high school students with superpowers. But that’s just the basic premise, it gets a lot more interesting than that, and delves into some social issues, but I don’t want to spoil it. I’d recommend watching the trailer and seeing if it seems interesting to you. Second season is coming this year, btw.

This is gonna be a super long post if I go in depth with every single of these series, BUT other ones I’d recommend are:

Happy Birthday the series

-it’s about a boy called Tonmai, whose sister, Tharnam, committed suicide the same day he was born. When Tonmai gets Tharnam’s room as a birthday gift one year, he ends up meeting her ghost. Only she doesn’t remember anything about what led up to her death. It’s a super emotional ride, and totally worth it. It’s sad, but somehow in a really soft way? I can’t really explain it, but at least to me it felt almost cathartic in a way. Might skip this one if you’re really sensitive to suicidality, since that is a key theme in this series, although I think they handled it pretty well overall.

A Gift To The People You Hate

...or something like that, this drama still doesn’t have an english title. It just aired this fall, and somehow I feel like not too many people actually watched it? It’s about a shop where you can buy gifts for people you hate (that’s in the name, good job me lol). Some of them being mostly harmless pranks, while some being deadly. Lots of psychological drama and twists. This series is mostly episodic, although there is an overarching plot. But it’s very barebones. It’s not the best series I’ve seen, but has some interesting ideas. If you’re familiar with anime, this series is what would happen if Death Note and xxxHolic had a baby.

Friend Zone the series

Has a gay couple, but wouldn’t necessarily call it a BL. This is 100% pure relationship drama featuring a lot of bad decisions. Would watch if you crave a more mature drama about young adults struggling with getting their lives together. Some of the characters I didn’t really care for, but most of them I grew to love a lot. I’ve seen a lot of mixed reactions to this series, but personally I loved it a lot? Had some gripes with the ending, but there’s a second season coming out this year!

3 Will Be Free

Again, some might label it as BL, but I don’t, since that isn’t really the focus of the series. It’s about Neo (a stripper and a prostitute), Mew (a hostess) and Shin (a son of a mafia boss), who get caught in mafia affairs after killing a hitman who was ordered by Shin’s father to kill Neo. They have to run away together, and various drama ensues. I’m not doing the series justice with my description, go watch the trailer (or the first ep), to see if it interests you. Has a trans character, whose storyline is surprisingly well handled imo. I’m not trans though, so if there are some problems, I might not notice them all.

The Stranded

The Netflix original series, and probably the most visually impressive thai series I’ve seen (big budget does wonders). It’s about a group of high school students who get stranded on an island after a tsunami hits. There seems to also be some supernatural stuff going on on the island. Not the most original concept, but it gets really interesting later on. REALLY needs a second season though. Has one gay couple, and also a wlw romance (that kinda leads nowhere but fingers crossed for more developement in s2).

Hormones

Super old (I mean I don’t find it that old, but then again, I’m still mentally stuck in 2015), but still a must watch imo. Pretty basic high school drama, but somehow manages to keep itself interesting. Delves into a LOT of topics that are considered taboo. Also has some gay and lesbian romance sideplots. Has three seasons, but I had trouble finding the second one (well, I mostly use youtube so that’s why), so I never watched it. But supposedly the whole series is on netflix in some parts of the world? Most people prefer s1-2, but I personally loved s3 the most.

Also, just gonna mention this briefly since it’s still ongoing, but Angel Beside Me is very much worth watching!

I said I was gonna keep it short but look what happened. Well, I hope this post helped at least someone. If someone has any other suggestions, feel free to add. I know there are people who have seen way more series than I have.

Have a lovely day!

[kileyrose-2003]

Rose the Hat x Teen! Daughter Reader

A/N: @merci-bitch Hi love! This is Jen's request. I hope she/you enjoy it. I'm sorry it took so long to write but I wrote way more than I thought I was going to end up with and I preferred everyone had quality over just another fic to look at. This gets really angsty and sad at times, way more than I planned so hope that's okay.

I highly recommend reading this one in one sitting because if you read part 2 in broken pieces, it might get a little confusing with how trippy it is at one point. Ik you're probably like, trippy? Wtf? This is a hurt/comfort fic with a little angst. It'll make sense one you read it. Trust me. It goes with the backstory/plot. Anyways, I hope all is well with everyone and love you guys :) I have 2 other imagines I'm still working on that should be up soon hopefully.

Warnings: Mentions of miscarriage, child death, violence, violence against children

Pt. 1

Rose the Hat could say she was a lot of things in the 700 years she had been alive but for most of that time, a mother was not one of them.

She tried to be. She really did. The first time she felt a life blooming inside her was nearly two years before she was turned way back in the early 14th century when she was still known by her rube name Rose O'Hara.

Her life was a mystery to everyone including herself. Though her relationship with her mother was short lived, Rose could distinctly remember the woman got around.

Rose got around as well. She didn't know who the child's father was when she found out she was pregnant but nevertheless, she loved the baby. She savoured each kick to felt to her hand she felt as she slept in her cold and torrid room above the local pub. The place permeated with alcohol and foreign tobacco but Rose didn't mind. She had a feeling she wasn't exactly going to be there much longer anyway. Something good was going to come her way in the future and she hoped her baby was going to be a part of it but that wasn't meant to be.

It was a pleasant pregnancy but the labor did not go smooth. There was blood. Too much to mean any good.

She felt the loss of life before she was even told by one of the women she shared her room with that "the lord works in mysterious ways." It would of been a girl, probably special like her too but that chance she had at normality or a chance to feel not as lonely was gone. Rose wasn't the same after that. She became more bitter, more cynical until Grampa Flick found her that day fateful in the streets of some market place that had long since changed names and purpose.

Rose fit in well with The True Knot and it didn't take her long to rise through the rank. She felt a sense of normality and complete for the first time in a while. All the previous pain she felt had been buried and she felt like she could breathe again.

Then she met Crow. Someone who she loved all the more for how special he was. When he first brought up the idea of children to her she was hesitant. The whole knot had been hesitant.

It was possible Grampa Flick had told them, but not likely they'd be able to have a child. They both tried for over 100 years. The two came close on one occasion to almost having the child make it but as expected, they failed.

It was a never ending cycle of joy turned to pain every time they tried again from the first kick to the question Rose seemed to always have on what would of been.

Crow was near at his wits end from the repeated pains of mourning when in the very early 2000s, the pregnancy test Rose always seemed to have in her trailer read pink.

It was not a surprise, as they had no problem making children, it was just the delivery that was the hard part. For the time in a while, Rose felt a strand of hope. Something about this time felt right to her. This one was powerful and horribly strong though Crow refused to get his hopes up.

"If it doesn't work this time," Crow started carefully as he laid next to her in bed one night holding them close to his body. "This is our last time trying."

Rose felt a strain of bitterness inside her. "The fuck did you just say?" She reiterated. "This is the last time, Rosie." She made a face and narrowed her eyes. "Did I say this is our last time trying?"

"For fuck sakes Rosie, we can't keep doing this to ourselves. This pain of trying and trying and no matter what getting the same end result. I'm telling you, don't get too hopeful yet. You know how it ends every single time. Why do you keep-"

"The question should be why do you keep doing it? I would of been perfectly fine to not have another. You're the one who said you wanted to have-"

"And you were the one who agreed and jumped on board right away." Rose rolled her eyes and elbowed him. "Oww!"

"You're acting like a child! Like you said before, don't get your hopes up. I'm telling you. Something great is coming this time. I can feel it." Crow sighed and shook. "If you say so, Rosie.." He was still skeptical though for the remaining months, cherishing every kick and little burst of energy he felt radiating off of Rose until she proved herself right.

The labor had been slow and painful this time but unlike all the other times, she didn't feel herself trying to pry back at the energy fading from her so fastly. The energy remained strong and she could feel her power booming. She had high hopes this one was going to be the one.

The grounds around the campsite they were staying at shook as she dealt with the hard task of delivering this time around. Once it ended there was dead silence for a moment and earth went back to its natural state.

In the midst of her pain, the sound of a cry in the distance rung in her ear and tears started flowing down her cheeks. "Would it of been a daughter or a son?" She rasped, staring up at the ceiling and still out of it. Then the more she listened she realized it wasn't Crow crying this time. It sounded faint, like a baby.

She turned her gaze to the foot of her bed and bit down on her lip as she seen Crow softly weeping as he cradled a pink bundle close to his chest. "Our blessed angel..it's a girl. Ten fingers, ten toes, and a good set of lungs."

Rose let out a sob. Nearly 150 years of taking blows back to back and they finally had the living child they always wanted. She held her arms out. "Let me see her." Crow handed you over to Rose being so gentle it was as if he was afraid he would break you.

Rose moved you close to her chest, making sure you got skin to skin contact with her. "Well, hi there angel. I'm your mommy." You let out a cry and Rose began to nurse you. "Shhh..it's okay my darling. Mommy and daddy's got you."

Your fussing began to subside and you curled your little body up into Rose's chest. Crow smiled with tears in his eyes and slipped next to Rose in her bed, running his one finger up and down your back.

You were so precious to them. "What are we naming her?" Rose thought about it for a moment and kissed the top of your head. "What about, Y/n?"

"Y/n..I like it. It suits her." Rose grinned and caressed your cheeks. "Welcome to the family, my Y/n.."

It took a while for The True Knot to get used to having a child around but once they did, they enjoyed you and you loved them in return.

It didn't take long for any of them to realize you were special like them. When you were happy, radios and tvs would turn on by themselves. Playing whatever song you liked that day and when you were upset about, rare but it did happen, sometimes light bulbs would blow out if your cries worsened and as you grew older it got stronger.

By the time you were 4, you were already having premonitions of things to come in the future and The Knot used it to their advantage. It was something the whole family thought Rose would be jealous of but she loved you all the the more for it.

She made sure you never wanted for anything growing up. Want that sundress with the ombre pattern? Done. You wanted a hug? She'd give you more than you even asked for throughout the course of the day. "Mama will fix it," Was a recurring phrase she often repeated to you and you believed it. You liked being around your mom she made you feel safe. Rose was safe.

Rose didn't like sharing you with the rest of your family, including your father, for that reason. It wasn't that she was trying to hide you from them. It was just that your bond was so strong and Rose was afraid of them weakening it. It caused more arguments with Crow than you could count on your fingers and eventually Rose caved in on letting him see you but she didn't care.

While you and your dad were pretty close wherever Rose went, she always made sure you were with her. Not that you minded anyways. The two of you were inseparable, especially when you hit the beginnings of your teen years.

Your family made it a point to make sure that you never seen or interacted with any of the kids they killed but you knew what they were doing anyways. The smell of iron and bloodshed lingered on them everytime they got close to you and the stench was too strong to mean any good.

You knew they'd never hurt you though but it didn't mean you approved. The night before they captured their food you noticed how your mom would hold your hand a little longer than normal when you'd sit next to each other at the nightly campfire or how your dad would hug you tight compared to the gentle embrace he normally gave you. You were the exception and it shone through.

Pt. 2

"...Y/n..Y/n!" You jumped up and let out a cough, half sitting up in bed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." You felt part of the mattress sink down and you looked at your mom. "No, it's alright. You didn't mean too," You sniffled. "Ugh, damn flu." Your mom ran a hand threw your hair and kissed the top of your sweaty forehead. "How are you feeling?

"Miserable." You looked out the window and seen nothing but darkness. "Where are we?" You asked. "Just outside Bankerton, Iowa. You slept through the whole ride and pit stop."

"Is that what we're calling it now?" Rose frowned. "Don't be fresh." You laid your head back against and waved your hand dismissively in the air. "Where outside Bankerton though?"

"Nowhere you have to worry about. Either way you won't be seeing or hearing it." She took hold of one of your hands and kissed the tops of your knuckles.

Crow stepped out from the cockpit of Rose's RV sharpening a knife. "Rosie, you ready to go?" She nodded and caressed your cheeks. "Stay put and rest please?" You nodded and rolled onto your side. "Love you mama," You muttered into the pillow. "Love you too, sweetie." You could hear the sound of footsteps followed by the slam of her trailer door.

...

You tried to ignore the screams but they were unavoidable. Your hands gripped at the comforter as each word came rolling off whatever child it was that they captured.

"Number 19!" You could hear the smack of the glove through the thin walls. "Kid, you were good." You cringed and squeezed your eyes shut. "No! No please don't-" Tears started flowing down your cheeks. "I won't tell! I won't tell! Please!"

You buried your head underneath your pillow despite the fever baking off of you and tried to ignore the pleas for mercy and final came that scream. That god awful scream you knew too well.

"Please god, make it stop and make it quick," You whispered aloud. You could hear the husky barks of the baseball boy's screams followed by the pouring out of steam. "That poor boy." You found him in the distance and reached out with your shine.

(Can you hear me?)

Nothing. You gave it a shot again.

(Hello?)

This time you were greeted by a sharp, burning pain in your abdomen and you screeched. "Oh fuck! Fuck!" The bohemian-chic setting of Rose's setting began to fade around you and you found yourself standing in the middle of a picnic ground.

The leaves around you were turning and the weather felt beautiful but you had a feeling you weren't there for a beautiful day. You noticed Barry standing next to you and you tried to reach out to him to see if he would react but you got no response.

'What the fuck is going on?' You thought to yourself. You noticed a stuffed bunny similar to the one you had as a child sitting on a picnic table with a needle sticking out of it. "Parlor tricks! It's all a fucking parlor trick!"

(Save yourself while you still have the chance.)

BANG!

You keeled over and gasped as you felt your insides burning. In the far distance you could hear your mother's voice. 'No, get out of there! Get out of there.'

Despite the pain you glanced around and scanned the people around you. 'Dad. Where the hell is my dad?'

BANG!

You whimpered and screamed. Each shot feeling like a stab at your heart. You could feel each of them slipping from your mental grasp and you let out a sob.

(MOM! MOM!)

Nothing.

(Please hear me! Please hear me.)

Still nothing. "Make it stop! Make it stop! Please, how do I make it stop?" You begged, desperate to prevent any of this.

(Leave the looker alone.)

Eventually the vision faded from your mind and when you eventually woke up you were a hysterical mess, refusing any comfort from your aunts or uncles. At first they figured you'd eventually calm down and so they kept at making attempts at trying to hold your hands or run a hand through your hair that way they could get on the road as soon as your parents finished shovel duty but you wouldn't stop. It wasn't until you started sputtering out fragments about an ambush and a looker that they began to listen. Fear unlocked an unnoble reserve across their faces and they scrambled for help.

Rose sent Crow over to you try and knock some sense into you. "What did you see?" Your father yelled over your screams as he attempted to try and pull you into a hug, his bloodied hands and arms staining your skin. "Just get..away!" You knew your mother wasn't there but you couldn't remember if your father was.

That sinking feeling settled deep inside you and you couldn't bear to look him in the eyes. You couldn't-no you wouldn't be able to handle losing either or both of your parents.

"If you think I'm just going to let you be alone while you're like this, you're out of your damn mind." You attempted to push him away but he was strong. You wanted your mom. You couldn't look at him.

"Just relax. I'm right here, baby. Daddy's right here." You let out a wail and buried your head in chest, knowing you weren't going to be getting out of this.

"I-i can't-I want mom!" He shushed you and gently rubbed shapes on your back. "I know..I know but I'm not going anywhere. It's okay." You cried into him, gripping tightly to the back of his shirt.

...

When you woke up in bed the next morning, the space that Crow occupied was empty but you weren't alone. Your mother stood in your kitchenette, rummaging through your cabinets.

You sat up and groggily rubbed your eyes. You noticed your arms weren't stained from the blood of whatever child it was that they took and you wondered how long she had been in your trailer before you woke up. "What are you looking for?"

"Your tea. Did I not teach you anything about self comfort when you were little?" Her tone was teasing and you found yourself hinting at a smile. "Other cabinet, bottom left hand side."

Rose shut the cupboard she had opened and grinned at the sight of neatly stacked tea boxes. "Ah! So nice to see someone else around here with such refinement. Chamomile or peppermint?"

"Peppermint, please." You watched as she poured the clearly hot water into a tea cup. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to make sure you were properly taken care of. Does it matter though, my sweet?" You decided it didn't and you shook your head.

Rose walked over with your cup of tea and sat down across from you, carefully handing over the scalding beverage. You set it down on your window sill and your eyes interlocked with your mother's. Despite taking steam last night, she looked barely any younger to you.

She held her mug up to lips and took a sip as if it was a drink she desperately longed for. "Care to tell me what happened night?" The question was met with silence and Rose smiled. "Okay, let me rephrase that. What did you see last night?"

"I'm not talking about this with you." Your mom laughed. "Oh, sweetie. You know well enough that unlike your father, I don't give choices on matters like this."

You glanced around your trailer. "Where is he anyways?" You asked softly. "Out getting Grampa whatever fruit he asked for this morning. Why?"

"Good. Because if we're talking about this, I don't want him to be around because I can't even look him in the eye as it is right now." Rose raised a brow and stood up off the mattress to lock the door. "That bad?"

"Yeah.." As you explained the whole thing to Rose, she held your hand gently in her own. Occasionally planting gentle kisses on your knuckles as you got emotional at times.

"Was he there? Your father?" She squeezed your hand tightly. "I don't know. I don't remember seeing him but I remember feeling him somewhere and he was in pain. You were in pain too but you were back at home."

"And where were you?" You paused for a moment. "With the rest of the family. Dad wanted me to go with him but you didn't..I ended up going anyways. It felt like someone tore my heart out and ripped it into pieces right infront of me."

"Yeah, I'd imagine." Her response was short and snippy almost as if she was being defensive. "The thought of losing either of you, let alone the rest of our family-" A lump grew in your throat and you couldn't say anymore.

Rose sighed and ran a hand through your hair. You tried looking inside her mind but it was completely blank. "...a long time ago, the person who turned me taught me something smart. The past, that's completely set in stone but the future: that's in pencil."

"Mom, I'm telling you. There's no changing this. If you go after this looker, Uncle Doug, Aunt Sarey, all of them. They're going to die." You insisted.

"You also had a vision of us murdering Ariel from The Little Mermaid when you were six." You could tell your mom was trying to comfort you but you wanted none of it. You had to stop her. "And not even a week later, the little girl you took was wearing an Ariel bracelet. Mama, I've never been wrong on this stuff."

"I know-"

"Bad things are going to happen if-"

"I know! I know but she still has time to ripen. Things might change by then. You might be turned by then." 'I won't let that happen though,' You thought to yourself. You might not have control over this situation but you had control over that. You'd let them all murder you before them turn you.

"You're not that far away from 18. I've got to take care of the family, Y/n. I need to take care of you. I lost your other siblings and I am not losing you. Your father and I wouldn't be able to handle it. Hell, I'd be lying if I said your father wasn't hurt last night when you tried to turn him away."

Confusion mixed with pain as you felt your heart shatter into pieces. Your mother had told you that you were a miracle but never did you think of why you were a miracle to them. "Mama-"

"I will say no more." You couldn't tell if she was trying to protect you or her from more heart break. You figured the chances were it was probably for the both of you. "Besides, when have I ever let you or any of the family down?" You didn't even have to think about the answer to the question. "Never."

"And why is that?" She hummed. "Because mama fixes everything." Your voices blended together and Rose smiled. "See? I've always kept everything under control." You felt a little bit better but still couldn't shake that dark feeling away.

Rose pressed a kiss against your forehead. "Try not to worry about it too much, darling." You nodded and took a sip of your cooled tea.

You could hear the sound of crunching leaves in distance and identified it silently as the sound of the Jeep. "I should apologize."

"To who?"

"Dad. I didn't mean to push him away. I just-" Rose shushed you. "I know." She stood up from your bed and held a hand out towards you. "Come on. I'll take you to see him. That way it's a little less awkward."

"Thanks," You hummed softly and let Rose guide you towards the front door. "Mama?" She turned to look at you as she placed her hand on the doorknob. "Yes, my sweet?"

"I love you.." You didn't have to look at your mom to know she was smiling. "I love you too, angel.."

Pt. 3

Not long after that you did forget about the whole thing for a while but the premonition never slipped from your mind. You were always on alert subconsciously and silently praying whoever this looker was, that their shine would just fade and they wouldn't matter anymore but even though no one was talking about, you could also tell your family was suffering.

While some part of you felt that maybe, just maybe, they deserved it for all the pain they had caused to all those kids and their parents, they were still your family and it didn't mean you loved them any less. You just didn't like what they did.

On that cool, October night you sat next to Snakebite Andi in a lounge with your hands interlaced as you both read a copy of 'The Dark Tower' infront of her RV. It was a reclusive spot away from the rest of the family and it was one of your favorite places to be besides Rose's trailer. Like Rose, Andi was a safe person to you and it helped that you both were close in age. You both understood each other and she enjoyed your company and you enjoyed her's.

"You know," Andi started as finished the fifth chapter. "If your dad had more personality, I could say he almost reminds me of Randall Flagg." You let out a chuckle and flipped the page with your unoccupied hand. "Doesn't help that he wears the cowboy boots and jeans too," You smiled. "He's really not a dry person. It's just that he's very straight forward with somethings."

"That's a word for it." You lowered the book and scowled slightly. "Sorry. It's not personal. It's just-" You gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and gave a sympathetic smile. "I know." She lowered her book as well and you both stared up at the dark night sky. "Your mom tell you what happened to me?"

"Bits and pieces." You paused for a moment. "It's not your fault, you know? If I was in your position, I would of done the same thing." Andi sighed and rubbed her face. "Yeah, I know. It's just hard, you know."

"I'd imagine." Andi cracked a hint of a smile. "Have you seen Rose today?" You shook your head. "No, actually. She told me this morning she had to go grocery shopping but I haven't seen her since. She should be back by now." You sat up. "That's weird..anyways, I had something to ask her."

"You want me to see if she's back?" Andi nodded. "If you don't mind." You waved to her. "Not at all. I'll be back." She returned the gesture and brought the book back up to her face. "I'll see you."

You walked slightly up hill to your mother's RV and carefully knocked on the door. You knew she had to be back. You seen the Jeep parked up hill. "Mama?" Your father opened the door. Normally he was all smiles and amicable but not now. He looked frustrated. "Sweetie, now is not a good time."

"Why? What's wrong?" You asked quietly. "Your mother is a little besides-"

"Crow, who's at the door and don't even think about lying to me!" He breathed inwardly and looked at Rose. "Y/n, dear."

"Let her in. I'd love to get her opinion on the subject." He grimaced and opened the door a little more that way you could step inside. "Sure." Your eyes interlocked with his as you took your shoes off at the door. "Hi mama."

"Hi baby." Rose turned her gaze to Crow. "You can leave now." You could feel him biting back a snide remark and you had to try your hardest not laugh. "Night, Rosie."

"Night." Crow shut the door behind him and your mom paced back and forth for a minute. "You okay?" You asked. "Remember back in Iowa, when you had the flu?"

"Yeah." You felt the pit in your stomach growing. "The looker I told you I seen, she found me again." You furrowed your brows.

"Why?" You asked. "I don't know and I don't care but I want her and your father is arguing with me about having her and I want her." Her eyes looked insane and you had to swalow your fear. The memory of that awful vison you had coming back over.

"S-she's that big of a steamhead?" Rose scoffed and smirked impishly. "Oh honey, she's huge. She's the epitome of the Great White Whale." You shifted uncomfortably and hoped she didn't notice it. "I fail to see why your father can't recognize that."

"I mean, even if none of us agree you're going to do what you want anyways." The words were innocent on the surface but the tonality of your words was snippy and fresh.

Your eyes mixed with her's and before you had the chance to block her from your mind, Rose already seen what laid underneath the surface. "You little bitch. You agree with him."

"I-it's not that it's just- Mom, I've never been wrong." Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "Are we seriously going back to this again?"

"Mom, what do you want me to do?! Let you go into this thing blind and let you get everyone killed because of one girl?" You screamed.

"Don't you dare back talk to me. Again, you could be wrong. You're just a fucking child and I won't let you control me." There were two ways you could respond to her words. Either use the option that would let her be just a little pissed and life would get back to normal, or B, to push.

"I'm almost eighteen years old! You're not going to have control over me much longer. It's overbearing and if the other's had any balls, they would tell you they feel the same way, including dad."

"If I were you, I'd watch your words dear. They might come back to bite you. Tell me dearest, how am I overbearing?" Despite Rose's anger she was smiling at you.

"You kept me from my own father for over 3 years." You noticed Rose's hands balling up into fist. "I have my reasons for what I do and the sooner you come to understand that, the better. Do you know how long it's been since our family has been able to birth children into it?"

She walked towards you and caressed your cheek. You could feel her anger radiating off of her so much you almost wanted to cry at the near sight of her. "You're special honey. Maybe even more special than I am but that will remain in between the two of us. That's why when we get the lookers steam, I want to turn you."

"I don't want to be-"

"And was I asking for your opinion? No. I didn't ask for yours and I certainly did ask for your fucking father's either." She picked up a vase and threw it unceremoniously against the wall. The shards glistening all over the wooden floor of her trailer and you found yourself relating to it's broken state.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing and acting like this? I know you're stressed out but I don't want to-"

"Because I can't lose you, god damn it!!" You were no stranger to your mom's yelling but her words made you feel sick to your stomach. "What?" You asked. "For gods sakes, Y/n. You're a smart girl. Use your brain." Her voice was venomous and bitter. "Everything I do is for you and this family! Not for me! For everyone else's benefit. I want you to have everything I do and be able to live just as long, if not longer than I do and yet here you are acting like a selfish little bitch! You don't want to be fucking turned! Forget going down in the blaze of fire, think of what you would do your family!"

"Mom, I'm not trying to be selfish. I'm worried about you. I don't want you to-"

"Don't talk back to me! I don't want to hear any of your bullshit excuses! You don't know how lucky you are, Y/n! You wouldn't believe how many miscarriages and stillbirths I had until you came around."

"I know, mama. I appreciate you and lo-"

"Then stop worrying about me so much and let me do what I have to do to get us what we need." Tears welled up in your eyes and you nodded. "Y-yes mama."

Rose shook her head and ran her fingers through your hair. "What a waste of life you are." Her words felt like a knife and you finally hit your breaking point mentally and physically. Tears started streaming down your face and it wasn't until Rose seen you crying, she realized what she had.

"Y/n..Y/n, baby! I-" You shook your head. "No, you did. You meant every word of what you just said to me," You snapped. "Y/n, I just got so angry. I really didn't mean it." You refused to meet her eyes and Rose attempted to pull you into a hug. "Sweetie-"

"Just me alone. I don't want to talk to you right now!" You ran out of her trailer. "Y/n!" Rose attempted to grab your wrist. "Don't you run from me Y/n."

"Just get away!" You shoved her the opposite direction and panic began to bubble up inside her as she watched you run into the woods. "Y/n! Y/n!"

Andi tried running after you. She grabbed your wrist and you pushed her away. "Don't you fucking touch me! Any of you!"

Crow stepped out of his trailer, hearing the commotion. "What the hell just happened?" He shouted over to Rose.

She seen red and started throwing her antique candle holders all over the place. "Fucking bullshit! I refuse to deal with this.." She kept going on and Crow tried to grab her hands. "Rosie-"

"Just step away from, Crow! You're turning her against me. This is all your fault!" She shouted then started crying. "My fault? How the hell is it-" His infrequent temper started to shine through and he had to take a deep breath to calm himself down. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Rose explained the whole thing from start to finish, every other word coming out of her mouth being foreign Irish curses.

"Rosie, what did you think was going to happen? For me to say your remark to her was hurtful is an understatement. I get it. You're still in pain but that's been over. What the hell were you thinking?!" Crow spat, unusually harsh in his tone. "I-i don't know. Look- I didn't think she was going to run."

"Yeah well, she did and I can't exactly say that I blame her." Rose paused at his snarkiness. "What do I do now?" Crow covered his face with his hands. "Apologizing would probably be the right thing, Rosie."

"I can't go up there and talk to her."

"Why not?"

"Because, she's not going to want to see me. Not after what I said. Why can't you go talk to her?" Rose could hear the whining tone in her voice and she hated it. "Because I'm not the one who made her upset. Look, just be gentle. Let her get what's in her system out. It'll be fine."

"Okay." Rose let out a shakey breath and began her walk up hill. She didn't even know how she was even going to begin what she had to say. She heard sniffling in the distance and breathed inwardly. "Y/n?"

"I told you I don't want to talk to you. Go away!" Rose had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "Y/n..Y/n, I'm sorry." She called out. "No you're not. You wouldn't of said what you did then."

"Well even if you don't want to talk, can you at least just show me where you are." Rose heard the crunching of leaves and you stepped out from behind one of the large trees. Minimal lightning shined on your face but she could see your mascara was running.

Rose pulled one of her cloth bracelets, a souvenir from one of her victims, of her wrist to clean your face up. "Sit down, please." Rose was surprised you obeyed and she knelt down across you. Tenderly wiping your makeup off your face. "Never can quite understand why you and Andi feel the need to wear this stuff. You both are young girls."

"Yeah." You let out a chuckle and your eyes locked for a minute. In that moment you both looked at each other something inside you clicked and you felt a pang of sadness.

"Y/n, are you okay?"

"I-i" You bit down on your lip,silently hating yourself for the words that were going to come next. "I'm sorry!" You let out a sob and held onto your mom tightly. "No, no. You have nothing to be sorry about. I just felt so angry and the words just spilled and I'm sorry. You're my world, my everything, and I'd never mean to hurt you the way I did." You sniffled and nodded your head feverishly. "I'm just so scared," You whispered so softly you didn't even know if she heard you at first.

"I know but I'm going to fix it because I always fix what's wrong, right?" Rose forced you to meet her eyes and you sniffled. "Mama always fixes everything."

"Yes, but-"

"But what?" She wiped a tear away from your eye. "You can't fix everything, mama." Rose sighed and you nuzzled close to her. "I'm going to try to though. I want a good life for you. That's all I ever wanted for you and our family. Just think of what this looker could bring!"

"But mama, people are going to get hurt. Good people! You, daddy-"

"Your father and I are strong."

"But you're not invincible."

When you looked into your mother's eyes they were full of mania and panic and it scared you. "Please, just this once, listen to me," You begged.

The look on Rose's face was unreadable and she pressed a kiss against your forehead. "I make no promises but for at least tonight, this will be the end of the discussion." You sighed some relieved and Rose smiled, placing her one sleeve under the bags of your eyes and wiped them. "God, your eyeliner is so smudged too."

You chuckled and rubbed your eyes. "That makes two of us then because so is yours." Rose actually chuckled and held her hands out to hold yours. For a moment you felt as if you actually understood her. "You're coming back to camp with me?"

You thought about the words of the baseball boy and you looked down at The True's campfire you seen in the distance and everything came together. You were like the fire burning below. Fast and passionate yet delicate and easy to put out. Destiny was destiny and if you were to go in the blaze of fire then so be it. You knew where you belonged and no matter what, that was with your family. "Yeah..I'll come."

"Good." Rose's smile on her face was bold and you couldn't help but felt a tinge of irony panging through you. Their only living child who came so close to life yet would lose it so within arms reach. While you fulfilled your destiny, they would live theirs. All those children they took from families who loved their child so similar to the way did, they would also lose their child and now that they knew what was supposed to go down like the other families, they also would have to live with it.

A cynical smile graced your beautiful face and you smiled. "Mama?"

"Yes, my sweet?" You pressed a kiss against her cheek. "I love you." Rose smiled and swung her hand back and forth as you walked back home together. "I love you too my blessed angel. I love you too.."

[altalksaboutstuff]

My Top 5 Games of the Past Generation Youtube Script Plus Notes

This is, more or less, the script for My Top 5 Games of the Past Generation video that I just published on Youtube: With the Xbox One and Playstation Four about to head out of the door to make ways for the Xbox Series X and the Playstation 5 respectively to lead us into the next generation of consoles were only Nintendo has been sitting comfortably with the Switch, the Wii U has been long gone and Nintendo also recently announced the official end of the Nintendo 3DS line cutting all the ties to this last generation.  With that almost everyone is now releasing their lists of the best games of the current generation, myself included, I couldn't help but notice a lot of same-soundy lists such as Game Informer's top 5 list.  I myself have to disagree with these, not to say that any and/or all five of those games on Game Informer's Top 5 aren't good, important or worth playing just that I don't think they are the best representative of this generation in terms of impact and wide appeal, so much as had the most money backing them. That these games on the list are more the best representative of the biggest Triple A titles.  The games that I had in mind are more impactful on how this generation swayed and set new standards.  I want you to keep in mind that while I liked some of these games, these aren't my personal top 5 of the past generation either but I think closer to what best represents our closing era of gaming, when I say the “best games of the current generation.”

First off I'd like to make an honorable mention of PT.  PT or playable trailer was supposed to be a demo for the new Silent Hill S game that unfortunately never came to be for the Playstation 4 from Konami.  A joint venture between film director Guillermo del Toro and the famous creator of Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima, this demo spooked the pants off of everyone and was probably the reason a lot of people decided to buy a Playstation 4.  Unfortunately Konami let Hideo Kojima go under less than favorable conditions and the demo vanished with him in time.  Since then the immersive, first person perspective horror game demo changed the landscape of what survival horror could be.  We then saw Resident Evil VII by Capcom, the Park by Funcom, Layers of Fear by Aspyr and Death Standing by Hideo Kojima's new studio Kojima Productions that were all heavily influenced by PT (this point made more obvious for Hido Kojima's Death Stranding) and the future of Survial Horror / Suspense games seems to be headed there with upcoming games like Resident Evil VIII: The Village.  The only reason this isn't officially on the list is because, well, it was sadly never a game but its influence was too important for me not to mention.

Number 5: Sonic Mania.  Ok so Sonic Mania isn't anything new but it is very important in the sense that it is a major franchise, Sonic, by a well established publisher, Sega, and they had officially given the keys of Mobius to the fandom to make a new game and it was fantastic. While that's oversimplying things a bit errr a lot, since Sega just didn't come out of the blue offering that opportunity.  Rather Sega saw a Sonic game pitched by Christian Whitehead, aka Taxman, who worked on porting previous ports of Sonic games to Mobile platforms. Why I think it is important is that this validating the bridge between fandom and passion projects in world where game hacks and fangames are traditionally shut down almost immediately after gaining the slightest attention.  While Sonic Mania isn't a fangame, its roots were deep from the Romhack community.  This represents cracking the door between what the fandom produces and what the corporate offices allow being available to consumers in a world were popular fangames and hacks result in cease and desist orders - which is why I think is very important to put Sonic Mania as the number 5 game of this console generation.

Number 4: Rocket League.  As of today, Rocket League is a now free to play game for better or for worse.  Rocket League is high-octane fun, blasting balls across various courts and fields such as basketball and football with fast automobiles but what it is most well known for is basically soccer with cars.  Rocket League is a lot of fun to play and has a large audience of  in the streaming and esports field which would be reason enough to put this game in a top 5 but what this game marks maybe even more importantly is cross console online play. While other games have and do continue to have online play across systems, back in March of 2016 Microsoft was very interested in allowing online play between Xbox One and other consoles them being extremely hopeful for Playstation 4 in particular, however Sony was holding out.  Sony was hesitant, citing their emphasis on providing a certain quality online experience but finally came to the party and in 2019 you could finally play Rocket League online with all your friends whether it be on PC, Xbox One, Switch, or Playstation 4. Since then we have had other games slowly roll out this feature such as Wargroove and the trend seems to be expanding.  I hope to see all games adopt this in the future and since Rocket League “birthed” this concept coming to the table for cross console online play for us all to enjoy, this is why I think Rocket League deserves the number 4 slot.

Number 3: Bloodborne/Dark Souls III.  This past generation and hell even to some extent decade, spanning to the PS3/Xbox 360, has lead us to compare every challenging game that comes out to Dark Souls.  Cuphead is the Dark Souls of run and gun shooters, Dead Cells is the Dark Souls of Metroidvanias, Celeste is the Dark Souls of platformers, etc.  While the meme of “X is like the Dark Souls of” is hard to find a concrete start, according to Google Trends this first seemed to spike in April of 2015 around the release of Bloodborne, the PS4 game created by FromSoftware.  While not technically a Dark Souls game, it was made by the same team and the game play and feel is very Dark Souls in the sense that I feel the phrase is used today, in contrast to the first two Dark Souls games.  Then we can see that in/and around October 2017 the trend has risen to its peak a little after a year and a half of the release of Dark Souls III.  While this justification may seem more flimsy and ultimately the Dark Souls brand was established in 2011, I do think Bloodborne/Dark Souls III is more in the zeitgeist, if you will, of the “X is like Dark Souls” comparison that has shaped the conversation of so many games today.

Number 2: Undertale.  Undertale is perhaps the darling of this generation. A game chock full of charm with multiple ways to approach it.  Will you save everyone, sacrifice everyone, or something in-between?  This game does look next gen, current gen or even comparable to past gen games until you hit perhaps the SNES or even late NES.  Maybe a number 2 spot is too high on list – this game didn't revolutionize the industry in ways that the other games on this list did nor was it the first anti-RPG of its kind, that would probably go to MOON, but Undertale just had such a powerful impact on gamers when it came out and became so unforgettable.  I feel like Undertale will be a game that we remember for a long time and to not include it in this list because its an indie game would be a real tragedy which segways me to my number 1 game.

Number 1: Shovel Knight.  Shovel Knight is the indie game that, I think, lead to the current boom of retro inspired indie games we have been enjoying.  A love letter to the NES games of the past such as Castlevania, Mega Man and Ducktales to name a few.  Shovel Knight wasn't the first retro inspired indie games but I feel like the attention to detail in trying to stay as true to what the hardware could run in terms of look, color, sound and pixel art with its overwhelming success showed that there was a market for these type of games.  Its success kickstarter in 2013 also showed that Kickstarter could be used as a viable platform to create indie games for a wider audience without having to rely on that Triple A model of good gaming synonymous with big budget corporate funding.  I firmly believe that we wouldn't have the great retro inspired games like Celeste and Dead Cells or the Kickstarter'd Yooka Laylee and Bloodstained or games that did both like Blasphemous if it wasn't for the hard-work and ingenuity that Yacht Club Games paved with Shovel Knight.

To use a popular Youtube cliché to conclude this list, “At the end of the day” I didn't make this list to put Game Informer or anyone's personal preferences down.  If you believe that they got the Top 5 games of the decade right that's perfectly ok and valid too, to have as your opinion.  I also want to reiterate that those five games – The Last of Us Part II, the Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Zelda Breath of the Wild and God of War are all important to this generation coming to a close as well in their own way.  While this list isn't my favorite games of the past generation, maybe I'll do that in the future, they are my subjective “best games list” of the past generation for what I think they did to the industry and you are free to agree, disagree, pick and choose between my list and Game Informers list or make a completely different list of your own.  I'm personally excited to see what the future of gaming has for us in this coming generation and optimistic for what's both around the corner and late into the next systems' life-cycle.  Happy gaming to you however you play.

Webpages noted: https://www.polygon.com/2020/9/17/21443683/nintendo-3ds-discontinued-lifetime-sales-hardware-software-units

https://www.fandom.com/articles/sonic-mania-just-nostalgia

https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/15/15807138/sony-playstation-cross-network-play-xbox-block-response

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/were-ready-microsoft-says-about-xbox-one-ps4-cross/1100-6438654/

https://www.rocketleague.com/news/full-cross-platform-play-now-live-in-rocket-league/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yachtclubgames/shovel-knight

https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidDAngelo/20140625/219383/Breaking_the_NES_for_Shovel_Knight.php

Games shown/referenced in the video:

The Last of Us Part 2

God of War

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Red Dead Redeption II

Witcher 3

PT / Silent Hill S

Sonic Mania

Rocket League

Blood Borne

Dark Souls III

Undertale

Shovel Knight

Shantae: Half Genie Hero

Cuphead

Celeste

Yooka Laylee

Mega Man 2

Ducktales

Castlevania

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Blasphemous

Dead Cells

Resident Evil 7

Resident Evil 8

Moon

Layers of Fear

The Park

Death Stranding

Bonus Footage:

Xbox Series X reveal trailer

PS5 reveal trailer

Also note: I messed up in the original video and said the phrase, “X is like Dark Souls of” spiked in April of 2015 when I should have said first peaked in January to April of 2015.  I noted it in the video but wanted to note it again, sorry.

[onegirllis]

Since Life is Strange 2 is finally fully released, I let myself to write a probably not-so-short review of the complete season. The momentum for such a summary is already gone I presume but it took me a moment to finally digest and find the proper words to describe what I think and feel about this production. Following the game from the start, I patiently waited to look at the story as a whole, hoping to find an explanation for tons of burning questions and satisfying outcomes to my choices and decisions. Unfortunately, most of those didn’t happen, therefore I present you with a piece that is not very favorable towards the newest Dontnod production, harsh in places but honest. Please, do not read if you really enjoyed the story of the two brothers and find it meaningful and important, not burdened with any fallacy. Life is way too short to read reviews that just leave you frustrated.

Remember the scene in Life is Strange season one (I still hate the fact that I have to separate different instances of the franchise calling them seasons), when Max summoned by an enormous plasma TV in Victoria’s room fantasizes about watching “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” on it? “I like this movie, I don’t care what everybody says,” getting protective about her preferences, the little freckle leaves the room soon after, never gifting us with any explanation as to why she indeed values this animation so much or why it was an important statement. It was never brought back again, it will never matter, becoming simply a meme material or a trigger for snarky comments from Twitch streamers and YouTubers. I watched the said movie a long time ago, recalling only two things about it: the breathtaking animation of hair at the beginning and the fact that the main male character looked like Ben Affleck. The rest of the story fell into obscurity before the end credits hit the screen. I reached for this title only because I was interested in anything video games related, and the name of the popular franchise was more than enough.

The same thing goes for Life is Strange 2.

Just like the mentioned FF: The Spirits Within, the second instance of the beloved series is more of an animation than an interactive experience. Recently, plenty of video games, overwhelmed by finally reachable technology of smooth mocaps, facial expressions, hyper-realistic locations, and scanned people as characters, turned into an alley dedicated to B-class movies. From adventures by David Cage to Death Stranding, video games started to flip their working template, replacing the actual action with long animations, not the other way around. With scattered gameplay, sometimes forced as if the developers reminded themselves at the last minute that this product is supposed to be interactive, they raise an eyebrow at best, and boil your blood with the lack of creativity at its worst. Life Is Strange 2 follows this trend with astonishing enthusiasm and to the core. Even regarding this particular genre that’s supposed to focus on narrative, it barely stands as a walking simulator becoming a hardly watchable TV series — a road trip story where walking is limited.

Well, shit.

The gameplay in Life is Strange 2 is nonexistent. To be frank, riveting action-packed sequences were never a trademark of the series, but a blatant lack of any didn’t make this experience any better. With the first one, the rewind power allowed the player to actually be part of the narrative. The second, where Sean just serves as a witness to his brother’s actions, plays more like a full motion picture. An enormous amount of un-skippable cut-scenes change LIS2 into a tedious, dragging journey straight from the worst selection of buy 1 get 3 free Z-class movies. The music and the mastery in creating an atmosphere that rose Dontnod to international fame due to widespread acclaim can’t save those sequences either. It almost feels like their own creation so enchanted the development team that they ignored all the red flags and clumsy solutions to immerse in the world themselves, treating the actual player as a lesser evil, throwing them a bone just to claim it is a video game format. To no surprise, most of the items the player interacts with don’t matter at all and don’t serve any purpose either to foreshadow an upcoming outcome, present exposition to the world, or be in any way helpful.

The lack of superpower is not an issue here though. Before the Storm met the expectations with way more grace, proving that a story doesn’t need a lot of strange in life to grip and hold its audience for hours. Watching a superhero growing up is an interesting premise, but a hell of a challenge to execute and execute well. Some stories like “Little Man Tate” translate to a brilliant film, but don’t necessarily work as games, after the planning stage or first Game Design Document. The references regarding the first game also remain scattered and uneven, tossed on the pile with a heap of faith that devoted fans would notice, but without a purpose in mind.

Even if I sound harsh, I do believe that Dontnod wanted to deliver the best story possible, but Life is Strange 2 feels even too big to absorb or fill with details. Captain Spirit, not necessarily my cup of tea either, was in my opinion way more coherent, as the creative team felt more comfortable with such a small scope of a product. Everything falls into place after careful exploration, makes more sense with every minute. The mystery about the mother, an alumnus of Blackwell Academy, and an admirer of Jefferson’s work is a solid premise that didn’t raise expectations up the roof nor overpromise. The mystery of yet another mother, this time Life is Strange 2, played for over 3 and a half episodes, falls flat in comparison and ends in the disappointing question “that’s it?”

No, that’s not it. There’s more to it.

Life is Strange 1 was mocked as Tumblr: The Game, while the second instance could easily pass as Twitter: The Animated Series. The writers didn’t challenge themselves or the audience to answer the question of why certain people voted for Donald Trump, or why they would do it yet again. The only reason presented in the story is quite simplistic and obvious – because they are evil, deplorable people, not worth listening to. They are the worst. We are better. Issues of being harangued by foreigners about domestic policies and troubles of your own country are a brewing can of worms I wouldn’t like to touch at the moment. Still, this particular stance, which serves as painful generalization that every single republican voter in the US is foul, can be forged only by someone who either lives in a bubble or doesn’t live here at all. Simply because we all have parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, or co-workers who decided to elect the actual prescient to power. Some of them are racists, disgusting, and horrible personas, and some just belong to the scared of change, confused and manipulated crowd that don’t accept the fast-paced transformation nor the need for a revolution. We coexist together, arguing and fighting, especially during holiday breaks, but even if it costs me a headache, I wouldn’t call them evil. Millions of people voted for Trump, but only a few wouldn’t spit on a swastika if confronted with the Nazi banner.

It’s even more painful when you understand what kind of message was sewed into the stitches of a shattered story. There was no ill will, or at least I don’t think so, but an honest, genuine need to express the concern about modern America. Unfortunately, when executed, this concern changed into another yell or discourse by the family table during an argument with your racist uncle. An open discussion in a game community that unifies both left and right supporters equally by their love for this form of entertainment would be appreciated by many, just like after playing LIS1, a handful of people changed their views on LGBT issues.

Instead of a lesson that had to be experienced, we got a lecture about morality and tolerance, contradicting itself constantly and nonchalantly following the well-known tropes NOT in a sarcastic and admirable way known from Saturday Night Live, but in a lazy and sometimes even clumsy substitute of a dramatic format. The political landscape painted in LIS2 is caricatural, unforgiving, harsh like a deserted wasteland with a few peaceful oases to stop at, but shies over its own existence, not willing to thoroughly discuss the dreadful weather. Guess what? The sand won’t change into greener pastures only because you close your eyes, putting your imagination to work. Donald Trump might not be re-elected for a second term, but his supporters will stay in place, even more conflicted by the other side. It’s a brave decision to deliver such a punitive story but such a cowardice to break its pillars, hoping that the general public wouldn’t notice or get distracted when things get too heated up.

The lack of subtlety forced scene by scene is even more polarizing. There is no peaceful dialogue with the other side as if it couldn’t exist in this world. There is no change of heart or a path to do so. Sometimes it feels like the only message that LIS2 writers wanted to provide was to find your own, peaceful and liberal hermitage, either among hipsters in the Redwood forest, driving a car that your ‘family with money but no soul’ had bought you or move to a trailer park filled with artistic souls in Nowhere, Arizona. Any contact with the outside world can hurt you and your feelings. Drop off the grid or die. The end.

No discussion.

The efforts of trying to understand the motivation behind even the most dreadful character of the first game, got lost in preparation for the second. LIS2 builds a higher wall between two political sides, than any other game released after Trump became the president of the United States and desperately wants to keep it erected, ignoring the crumbling foundations of such. A proverbial river you shall not cross nor build bridges over since the only outcome would end up in death, destruction, or you and your young brother getting hurt.

I’m familiar with the discussion about LIS2, especially with a shouting match that if you do not like this instance, you are therefore a racist pig, a disgusting person without a soul, conscience, or working brain that doesn’t understand the situation and never will. On the contrary. In my humble opinion, we deserve a better discussion, better stories, better representation, not sticking to whatever is presented because it’s brave enough or was never approached before. I disagree with the stance that a Latino, bisexual main character is enough to close your eyes, omitting all problems that this title tries to shun, riding its high horse. No. Those topics are way too crucial to just walk past, setting for less with your head down, thanking for the game industry to take notice. You the player deserve better, even if you don’t struggle with specific issues on a daily basis. And after playing LIS2, you may feel so good about yourself, stating that an effort was made but it it wasn’t made enough.

I expected more. I wanted Dontnod to do more, and frankly, I feel silly putting so much faith in them and supporting their efforts. Armed with resources provided by Square Enix, I’m sure they are aware of the fact that most of their audience is quite young and wouldn’t mind a lesson or message about what to do amidst troubled times. Well, Dontnod doesn’t have any but warns you that voicing your opinion or being different may end up in disaster. Outraged, they just yell at the news, angry about what our reality has changed into, but nothing comes out of it. It’s all right, though. Our parents do the same thing. We started to do the same thing, but instead of complaining to family members, we have Twitter.

While Life is Strange 2 tries really hard to come across as a realistic and raw portrait of the US at the end of the decade, they didn’t have enough courage to show realistic obstacles two runaways would be faced with. The brothers do meet a handful of bigots and racists, but the rest of the fellow travelers help them beyond understanding or hidden agenda. Sean and Daniel never really struggle to find a place to stay or a warm meal, usually complaining on or off the screen just before the game mercifully provides them with a solution. There’s no trap they can fall into, no ambiguous characters that promise one thing and then demand something in return. It’s very honorable for Brody to pay for a place to stay, but if an adult man gave young kids a key to a motel room, I would consider a way more sinister outcome. It’s not even about Brody himself, since good people exist, just like the racist ones, but the boys not even once are put in a realistic, scary situation created by a supposed ally. If somebody is helpful, this person is always decent, offering them a job, a ride, some food or money. The bad people wear red hats and yell racist slurs. America by Dontnod is simple to navigate but raw and painful when not necessary and fairy-tale-like when it could teach an actual lesson. Running away from home is not so hazardous because of Trump supporters but because you can end up dead in a ravine, being robbed and raped. It’s not the first and surely not the last time when the developers feared to touch any topic of sexual abuse with a ten-foot pole, but then the journey plays more like a vacation than a desperate escape. Sean gets beaten-up a few times, loses his eye due to a brawl, but it doesn’t affect him at all in the long run. When Daniel finally gets kidnapped, it’s not an Epstein-like circle, dealing with human trafficking, but a religious cult that worships him. The first option, even if it feels like a stretch, is unfortunately way more realistic than the latter.

Preaching to the choir is not the biggest sin this game commits though. That brings me to the most discussed theme of the production, which is education.

With all due respect to the developers, writers, and designers, Life is Strange 2 in this aspect falls flat as a discovery of a Sunday father, who is responsible for taking his kid to the zoo and struggles to find any common ground with his offspring, either trying to crack jokes about famous pop-culture phenomena or talk about food discussing their next favorite meal. The said father is trying his best though, perfectly aware that it’s his only chance to teach his son a thing or two, but doesn’t know exactly where to start, torn apart between buying more ice cream and throwing a fit about a stain on the carpet. The father doesn’t even like kids that much and can’t translate his lessons into an engaging play that would be memorized forever, rolling his eyes and counting the days to his kid’s graduation so they could share a beer or two and talk about adult things. Now, any effort to explain how the world works seems to be in vain, therefore a waste of his precious time. Leaving the emotional approach aside, the father doesn’t have to cuddle with his kid when he’s scared, bullied, traumatized or asks millions of questions about the future or present, because the full-time mother is waiting at home willing to replace him in this duty. The mother, knowing that her ex-partner sucks big time at talking about feelings, will be the one who will hold the kid, patiently explaining that the boogieman does not exist, playing pirates, or stay late at night to distract his sorrows. The kid will never discuss his fears with his dad though, trying so hard to impress his male parent. He will never know, and it’s fine. The mother is going to do the job while he can deliver a once a week entertainment along with the lines of ultimate wisdom that most likely will be forgotten anyway.

This is not raising a kid, it’s nursing them like a fragile plant in a flowerpot, focusing on water, sun, and fertilizer, but discarding the emotional background, hoping that somebody else would take care of such issues if things go south.

Sean can’t raise his brother well, simply because he is immature and will stay immature for the rest of the game. There is no moment when he truly goes through a transformation changing from a boy to a man, a fully grown-up adult who takes responsibility for his actions and makes sacrifices for the sake of the greater good. No, surrendering in a fight in the church doesn’t serve as one, neither does the first sexual experience. He doesn’t wonder even once if the hastily constructed plan is benefiting Daniel, forcing it to the last minutes of the game, taking the separation as the worst thing that could happen. There’s no spark of a tragedy like in “The Road” when a father gives up his son to strangers for the sake of saving him. Sean doesn’t care, presenting no character development across the board, merely pushing forward. If there are doubts, they disappear in the blink of an eye when the next cut-scene takes place.

I understand that such a young lad as Sean wouldn’t know how to raise a kid, especially if having no model to rely on. However, a part of growing pains is developing the awareness that we know way less than we assumed. That said, Sean Diaz is always assuming he is right, not asking for advice regarding Daniel even once. Apparently, it’s not something that he’s interested in or ever will be. If Life is Strange 2 wants to pass as a coming of age story, it falls on its face before it even starts.

Moreover, locked in the auto-driven plot, Sean cannot grow up and gain a new perspective; otherwise, the story wouldn’t reach its big, explosion-packed finale of crossing the border. His desperate efforts of influencing his brother usually converge to order him around, feed him with half-truths or simply leave him in the dark when convenient. I didn’t see any difference or change in Sean’s approach from episode one when he scolded his brother, annoyed for his party plans being interrupted, and in episode three, when he reacts similarly, for the sake of spending time alone with the chosen love interest. There’s no deep thought, no wonder about his own wrongdoings expressed to his brother, no faults admitted, no fallacies explained, with one life-threating situation after another. From an illegal weed growing farm, to destroying police stations, Sean just follows the road, paved by the writers, oblivious to the harm done to his younger sibling, as if Daniel simply forgets the morally gray choices, growing his moral spine entirely on performing chores. Washing the dishes and peeling potatoes does not make us better people but understanding a perspective so different than our own does. Thanks to Sean, Daniel expands his world, but it’s a very one-sided perspective, focusing on always praised, hippie-style liberties, and disregarding every option that requires any code of conduct, as represented by the grandparents. While the older brother forces the younger one to keep up with the designed tasks, he never discusses the issues that really matter. In episode 3, the youngster gets involved in a heist, a robbery, but after it fails, costing Sean his eye and the possible death of some of their companions, this is never mentioned. Mexico, a plan that is hardly a plan at all, is supposed to be an answer to all the questions and doubts. El Dorado of knowledge.

This is not how you raise a dog, not to mention a child.

There is no emotional bond, no special ties between the brothers, except a few problematic moments that play mostly on simple connection forged by blood, not by circumstances. Sean worries about Daniel because he’s his brother, but the player starts to wonder quite quickly why and what for. Reminiscing about old times gets nailed down to a few lines about the comforts and amenities of a life long gone. The tough topics, such as grieving after personally witnessing their father’s death, are mentioned scarcely and without much emphasis, as if serving only as a reminder to the player, but not a poignant struggle. Same goes with the dog, their friends mutilated at the end of the weed farm chapter, Chris (aka captain spirit) who is mentioned just before the end credits of the second episode, and tons of others. On top of it, the scattered and not so often dialogue lines about putting people in danger refer only to the good folk, siding with the brothers, not to humankind in general. Killing a police officer or knocking down a gas station owner are just natural ways of how things work in America, honorable deeds since it’s apparently perfectly fine for a kid to attempt a homicide if people are mean.

What a brave story.

Chloe Price had been suffering for five years after William, her beloved father, died in a car crash. For Sean and Daniel, there is no grief to experience, but a memory to share with a plan to erect a monument in the future. Esteban Diaz is a plot device, a symbol of inequality, but not a family member. Even a dream sequence with his guest appearance lacks the impact of the subconscious conversations we’ve seen in Before the Storm. It just simply doesn’t matter.

I can’t believe I have to say this but the relatable part about LIS1 wasn’t the tornado, just like in LIS2 crossing the border is its weakest point, but it’s those small moments, gestures, quick smiles in passing, the atmosphere and a breath of fresh air when a line, sometimes silly, got dropped. In the most recent story, there is not a single line worth quoting, memorizing, or discussing. And please, don’t bring up “awesome possum” again. It’s literally taken from The Lego Movie song.

The brothers, just like Thelma and Louise, decide to leave everything behind, throwing away the life as they knew it and forging their own future despite all odds. Although, when the two desperate women drive off the cliff committing suicide, chased by the armed forces, there is nothing to explain as the audience fully understands their reasoning. Their will of life was strong, but the path they followed was too steep to return. Without any help or support, confronted with brutal honesty and the world’s cruelty around them, it is the best possible solution. The story of the two brothers, even if it tries to echo the iconic movie, couldn’t be more different. Despite resources at their disposal, family members that do care about their wellbeing, the whole community rising in protest in their hometown, they risk everything for the sake of getting back to the land they don’t even know. Their Mexican heritage is also mentioned just as an exposition, and, as we learn in the very last episode, just before the ending that Daniel doesn’t speak Spanish. So why do the stubborn Diaz brothers despite all odds travel to Mexico? Because.

Canada was too close, I guess.

Last but not least, let’s talk about sex, because why the hell not. A lot of fans or admirers of the previous instances howled across all social media about how much they miss Max and Chloe. I don’t really think it’s the case, but those two girls symbolize something that LIS2 has a tremendous problem with. There’s no emotional connection between the characters the brothers meet along the way, especially the ones that really should matter. Even the love interests feel more like nagging choices than anything else, an experiment during a camping trip, not something that would last or could be fantasized about. Instead of nerve-wracking decisions such as if you’re supposed to kiss Rachel, hold her hand, or the ecstatic discovery (for PriceFielders, but it was ecstatic, right?) that Chloe changed her phone’s background, we are instead presented with a lineup of sexual experiences, that maybe trail-blaze the road when it comes to topics tackled by a video game, but fall into obscurity as an emotional construction. There is no build-up between Sean and Finn as everything develops to a kiss in one conversation, and Cassidy has fewer lines than Victoria Chase before she invites Sean to her tent. We watch it as we watched it before, trying to get attached, feel something, but the only thing we remember was how much it touched us years ago when we played a different game but with a similar title. The sex scene, relatable or not, is stripped from the emotional intimacy and is as sensitively challenging as a dog being killed.

Character development doesn’t move an inch even if Sean, a surrogate father to his brother, lost his virginity to an older girl. There’s no single thought in his head that he might conceive his own offspring during this short but probably memorable experience. There’s not a single line except for the satisfaction of some female parts finally discovered. Oh, dashing explorer, will you ever learn?

It’s sad. I did want to like this game and gave it plenty of chances like no other titles ever. I’ve made excuses for the poor execution, technical problems, with the whiny voice acting that was driving me up the wall, plot twists written (I think) on a lunch break, and so on, but I couldn’t stand it. It’s a hard pass when it comes to a video game in general, not to mention the story, script, and everything else. Life is Strange season one; a low-budget production, was the first step to create a masterpiece that LIS2 might’ve been able to become. The second season didn’t learn much from LIS1’s mistakes, additionally exchanging the well-known beauty for a garbage fire, ignoring all the warning signs along the way. Delivering a story that tackles such important topics, it slides between the checkmarks on the board of issues, mentioning conversion therapy, religion, gayness, illegal immigration, and a spiral of crimes but never elaborating on any of them. There is no meat and potatoes presented on the plate of events, but just a sticky, sweet gravy with nothing underneath that leaves you not only hungry but frustrated, willing to call the chef and yell at the waiter. The trick is that unless you were living under a rock, there are tons of other productions in different media that give those themes justice, carefully unfolding all the aspects, giving voice to both sides. The fact that it’s the first video game having an affair with serious issues doesn’t matter. I don’t believe that anybody who consumes any kind of other media like decent books, movies, or TV shows can remain blind to the problems of Life is Strange 2, claiming it to be a good story. It’s not.

So here we are, girls, boys, and beyond. Life is Strange 2 with its broken mechanics, story, characters, and spirit slowly but surely will be forgotten. It’s Dontnod’s Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within that you might love to watch or play on your brand-new TV, despite what everybody else would say, omitting any valid or invalid criticism, but unfortunately, it won’t change the general optics about this particular piece of media. A lost chance or recklessness created a convoluted mess and with a heart beating in the wrong place. You might praise Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, get excited about it since it’s a free world, free country (and even if it’s not, no one will take this ersatz of such liberty) and don’t let anybody tell you what to love. The problem is, that most likely the only thing that people will remember about this production is that the main male character looked like Ben Affleck and the hair animation was dope. Everything else won’t matter.

The same thing goes, unfortunately, for Life is Strange 2, subtitle: The Spirits Without.