#this quest sucked but the scenes at the end were SO GOOD

[warlordfelwinter]

"I am just the stone... she is the hand."

[junonreactor]

just did all the party sidequests. that was really cute

[huggybearhughes43]

Idk if you’ve ever watched the Netflix movie “through my window” but there’s this one scene where the girl and the guy are laying in bed together and he slips his hand into her panties and starts to finger her while they’re in bed with someone else. They aren’t together and lowkey it’s like enemies with lots of sexual tension.

Anyway I was thinking that with Ethan Edwards? Maybe the reader is really good friends with the other umich boys and ends up going back to their house after a party and she’s inbetween Ethan and one of the other boys even though her and Ethan kind of can’t stand each other and he has his arm around her and starts to kinda of touch her everywhere which makes her involuntarily move against him and they end up having sex together

Pretty Girl

Ethan Edwards x Fem! Reader

Warnings- smut, fingering, finger sucking (teehee), sharing the bed, pet names (pretty girl, brat, baby), Ethan is mean but gentle, very soft, riding, creampie (she’s on the pill), I think that’s it???

Summary- in the request

Work count- 1.5k

Drunken laughter filled Marks apartment as him and his teammates cram into the small place. But me? I was the designated driver to get back to this said apartment. It was nearly two in the morning, making me fearful to drive back onto campus to my dorm, if I was caught I’d be in big trouble for being out past curfew. Instead Marks little drunk giggles were in my ear while his girlfriend was asleep in his arms.

“I have a quest room” he says in a lame excuse for a hushed whisper. It was a wonder how Farah was still asleep on his chest. “But like…” he hiccups, “Ethan and Rut are sleeping in there” another hiccup from the drunk boy, “I’m sure you can find room”. I sigh softly, I can’t complain when he’s giving me a place to stay. I nod reluctantly and stand up, making my way to the spare room. The source of the drunkenness was the hockey seniors going away party. It was just pretty much the team and their girlfriends… and you know, me: the media girl.

Rutger was passed out on the right side of the bed when I walk in, drool on the corner of his mouth as his soft snore echoed in the room. He didn’t even care to attempt to wipe off the lipstick marks from his girlfriend Kayleigh as they were plastered all over his face. I was mildly surprised she wasn’t here, they were normally inseparable but I guessed her friends had taken her back to their place.

Ethan was sat up against the headboards with an arm behind his head, scrolling through his phone. I hated his guts. He was always stuck up and made snarky comments. He let his fame get in the way of a friendship with me, always thinking he was better than everyone else. But in reality, me the media, gave him his fame. I didn’t care to fix it though, I never let it bother me. Until now that is, his eyes meeting mine with a scoff. I narrow my eyes in disgust. “Mark told me I can sleep in here, he also said for you two to make room for me.” Ethan’s eyes look down at the floor. “A lot of room left down there.” I roll my eyes and step towards the bed.

I ignore his request as I crawl on the bed and squeeze between him and Rutger. “Go fuck yourself” I mutter and turn my back to him, so squished my face was practically pressed into the back of the snoring boy. I wiggle myself under the covers and close my eyes, slowly drifting to sleep. In my deep slumber I could feel a body lay beside me and an arm wrap around my waist. Normally, I’d be quick to push anyone off but in this state I couldn’t tell between a dream and reality.

My eyes flutter open to soft breaths against my neck. Rutger was still in front of me. My face heats up at the realization of who had me wrapped in their arms. I knew he wasn’t asleep because his soft thumb rubbing back and forth on my hip. I turn my head slightly. “What’re you doing, Ethan?” He groans softly with no response. “Ethan, I’m serio-“ I was cut off by his hand moving closer to the center on my stomach, just above the waistband on my sweatpants. “Do you ever know when to shut up?” He laughs softly as he moves his hand all over my stomach, hips, then eventually lifting it under my tank top to cup my bare breasts.

“Ethan.” I warn in a faint whisper, hoping I wouldn’t wake up Rutger. “What? Do you want me to stop? Hate me all you want but you know this feels good.” He chuckles as I gasp when he pinches one of my nipples. I don’t respond. “That’s why at I thought.” He laughs and presses a kiss to my shoulder. “Just wanted to thank you for looking out for us at the party. You’re still a brat, but thank you” a sudden realization hits me. “Ethan- you’re drunk” I try to swat his hand away “I didn’t touch a single drop of alcohol all night, pretty girl.” I let out a relieved sigh.

His large hand makes its way into my sweatpants and under my panties. I feel him smile against my shoulder when he slots a finger between my folds. I whimper softly and reach my hand down to hold his wrist, not to stop him but as support. “So wet for me.” He presses another sloppy kiss to my shoulder. Without warning his finger dips into my wet hole making me accidentally moan out. His other hand moves to wrap around my neck and cover my mouth. “I wanna hear those pretty moans so bad but we can’t wake him up”. He begins to thrust his thick finger in and out of my hole, I moan against his hand but it was still loud enough to potentially wake up Rutger.

“Fuck,” he removes his hand just to stuff two fingers into my mouth, “keep these warm for me, pretty girl.”. He works another finger into me. I screw my eyes shut and force myself to suck his fingers to block a moan. He removes his fingers from both my pussy and mouth causing me to whine. “Y/n, baby, my cock will feel so much better.” A quiet “oh” falls from my lips causing him to chuckle. He flips me over to face him and our eyes meet. I’m suddenly reminded that this is the same guy that pisses me off every single day. “It’s probably tiny.” I say without thinking. I expected him to get mad but instead a smirk plays on his lips. “Don’t be a fucking brat.”

He loops his fingers in my waistband and pulls them down enough for me to be able to kick them off. He doesn’t touch my panties in case rutger wakes up, he doesn’t want me to be completely exposed. In some strange way I find it cute that he’d protect me from another guys gaze. He pulls his own pants down just enough for his dick to spring free. He grabs one of my legs and places it over his hip, moving my panties to the side and pressing his dick to my entrance. I bite my lip at the realization that there was no way he was small. He laughs softly at my reaction and presses his forehead to mine. “It’s hard to admit you’re wrong huh, brat? Don’t worry, though…” he presses a soft and quick kiss to my lips then pulls away slightly, “I’ll go slow for you.”

He slowly presses into me, stretching me out in ways I didn’t know was possible. “Ethan…” I whisper. “I know, pretty girl, I’m almost all the way in.” As he finishes the sentence he bottoms out. My mouth falls agape and my eyes squeeze shut. He knew I wouldn’t be able to keep my moans in if he moved so for precaution, he forcefully pressed his lips into mine before moving. He snakes his hand around me and grabs my ass. He moves back, his tip was the only thing left in me before he slams back in. My moans are swallowed by his kiss. Rutger stirs causing Ethan to completely stop. “M’sorry, baby, but for this to work you’re gonna have to ride me.”

I whine softly and hoist myself on top of him. “There you go baby, don’t feel like being a brat anymore, huh?”. I let out a shaky breath before rounding my hips on him. My head drops to his shoulder as I rock back and forth sloppily. “There you go, pretty girl, just like that. Fuck, making me feel like I can cum already. “Ethan-“ I gasp out as I tighten around him. “I’m on the pill-“ my tummy tightens as my legs shake. Without warning my cream creates a ring around his cock. I stop moving out of exhaustion. Ethan chuckles softly and moves my hips for me, lifting me up and down on his cock. “Gonna fill you up, baby… you want me to fill you up?” He teases and I tiredly nod against his shoulder. His hips snap up into me as he holds me down, his thick ropes of cum filling me up.

I lift up off of him and fall back onto the bed. I re adjust my panties and put my sweatpants back on in case his cum leaked out of my swollen pussy. After he fixes his pants he pulls me into him. “M’sorry for being an asshole” he kisses my forehead, “I won’t stop but I am sorry.” I laugh quietly and nestle into his chest.

“Yeah well now I know how I can shut you up.”

[lady-ashfade]

A Love Watered By Blood

Part one.

Enemies to lovers- Percy Jackson x Fem!Reader.

-£ Plot: No matter how much the two tried peace was never a option. Always insults, and never compliments. it was the middle of the school year, and a new adventure started. Could they be civil when the time comes. Or will the war between them get in the way.

-£words: 3k words.

-£Previous // Next (coming soon)

-£Warning: Fighting, Cursing, Blood, Death, Seeing horrible things, Angsty, happy ending, slow updates, New god, Percy being rude, enemies to lovers, New plot, Slight slow burn

“So,” the trio looked at the restaurant that glowed yellow, a old dinner style with big windows. it screamed 80s movie scene. they could smell the freshly made food coming from inside the diner, making their mouths water.

“This is the best day of my life.” Percy smirked as he looked into the window for the girl they had been searching for. the two beside him just looked at each other with a knowing look, that this was going to be a long couple of weeks.

“Percy,” Grover spoke and leaned his arm on his shorter friend, “don’t be rude. we need her to come along with us and we can’t stand you both fighting this whole trip.” annabeth nodded along and rubbed her forehead thinking of how the two argued often at every chance they got.

Percy looked between the two of his friends and rolled his eyes, “I’m not mean. She’s just rude and I have to defend myself, come on.” He pointed to the dinner, “How can she of all people be a waitress? She has the shortest temper.” they ignored him and walked passed him and into the diner. he let out a groan and followed behind them but his smirk returned quickly.

once they sat at a booth they waited for you to come out or see you. your mother said you were working here tonight. another girl was across from them on the other side helping a elderly couple. “she’s probably in the back.” Grover looked at the kitchen door waiting for you to pop out. annabeth looked at the menu to pass the time, plus she was hungry.

things were quite for a few minutes, them sometimes glancingaround. they couldn’t be patient even if their lives depended on it. Grover was getting hunger by the second that he could almost eat the counter underneath his hands. anything really.

they heard shouting from the kitchen and then the door swing open, a girl stepped out with a old waitress style outfit and her hair pushed out of her face. the group looked and found the girl they had come to see.

percy smirked and got too proud of himself when he spotted you, knowing you would hate him being here. when you looked over to see them your face dropped and your body froze for a minute, then you rolled your eyes and got out your notebook and marched towards them.

they see you throw on the fakest smile and suck your teeth before speaking, “Welcome to The Country Diner, what can I get started for you today?” the fake preppy voice made their ears scratch. you hated how he was looking at you. that same wide smile made you want to grab his neck and wait till he stops breathing.

“Oh, look at that! Our waitress is here,” percy cleared his voice and grabbed his menu, “I really just love that outfit, don’t you guys?” the two glared at him. annabeth kicked him under the table and gave him a warning look.

of course, percy didn’t judge against waitress because his mother was once on. but he knew that you’d never wanted to be caught wearing the outfit.

“y/n, it’s so good to see you.” You look at the satyr you’ve known for a long time. his hair grown longer and bushier, and his face more grown and facial hair started to grow. “hello Grover.” that was genuine. You nodded to annebeth before looking down at the notepad.

“Tell me what you want.”

“We want you to come along with us on a new quest.” she saw your eyes perk up and take a minute to register. huffing you look around you, the other girl who worked with was now out of sight and no manager around.

“And, why me? There is already three of you.” you raised a brow. the three looked at each other wondering who was going to tell you. grover shifted in his seat and slapped his hands on his legs.

“We need you on this quest,” you look at him with your head titled.

“Look, I can’t really take any quests at the moment. I have this test that effects half of my grade, I have money to make-” your voice was cutter off by the satyr. “It’s about your father!” His voice loud and made the couple on the other side turn their heads at the shouting.

shifting your weight you sit on the empty spot in the booth, and unfortunately it was next to Percy but you didn’t care at the moment. “my father would have said something.”

“he wasn’t allowed. you know how he is, I mean you must have felt something?” your eyes found the table as your thoughts brought up the memories of the past few days. your dreams were more vague and darker then normal, each night you saw at least three different people in hard problem. and each night you woke up drench in sweat and tears. you saw everything from their eyes.

he looked at you and at how you were deep in thought, making his theory correct. “what have you been seeing?” You shifted uncomfortably in the booth. looking to the side you check for any of the workers in case. sighing you open up,

“it’s been getting worse, I have at least five a night.” annabeth and grover nod while percy looks confused at what you are saying, he never listened to you or asked.

“then you know somethings wrong,” he leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. “The Episkopos has been stolen.”

they watch you freeze again and your eyes start to glare, mind running. “when?” You ask. Annabeth perked up and took over the conversation from Grover.

“A week ago.” You nod your head and place your hand on the edge of the table and slide out from the table. Percy’s eyes glares in confusion, “Where are you going?” looking back at him you give him a death stare.

“You think I want to go on a quest in this outfit? Or without anything?” Crossing your eyes. “Not all of us want to look like they put no effort in.”

“Clearly, I mean look at you.” he snapped back.

Grover sat up quietly and took you by the shoulders before you had the chance tackle him. And you have before. Pulling you to the side he hears you mumbling angrily and fight back against his hold. Once he gets to the end of the counter Grover lets you go and carefully, but ready to hold you if he needs to again.

“We need to leave soon. You know how powerful your fathers mirror is, I’m afraid of what someone might do with it.” The look in his eyes brought you back to reality. you hum and relax you tensed body. “If they are smart enough to use it.” You shrug at the thought of the thief. you pat his shoulder and give him a small smile before walking away to the kitchen door and wondering how in the hell you’re going to get out of working.

“So remind me, what exactly do you “see” when you sleep?” percys asks out loud as his fingers trace the posters on the wall. “you being wiped from experience.” the girl smirks as she places some clothes in a book bag. the boy laughed sarcastically and looks back at her.

“That’s funny, I’d like to say the same thing but you don’t even exist in mine.”

their friends sit on the bed watching the two throw insults knowing that this was what the whole trip would be like. “Can we just stop fighting? You two are so annoying.” annabeth looks at a magazine in her hands bored. “It would save a lot of time.” The satyr agrees with his friend.

“She started it this time.” Percy pointed his finger and then turn his head back around to snoop around your things.

“If you must know, beach boy, I’ve been seeing many things. Oh yes, like death of loved ones, some receiving horrible news, or maybe you want to hear of how I watch someone take their final breaths from their own eyes?” the girl faked beaming with happiness as she put on a happy face. maybe that was mean but he was asking for it. she didn’t want to talk about the things she was cursed in seeing.

the boy turned fully with all the sarcasm and sass leaving his body as he leaned against the dresser. “sorry.” the girl replied with a huffed and continued to stuff her bag full of stuff. a few bills she had been saving under her mattress and anything she thought she’d need.

now Percy hated her to the ends of the earth. everything about her made him annoyed. her breathing. the way she’d tease him. how she looked. how her voice sounded. no one hated her more then him. but seeing all that- he’d never wish that on her or anyone, not even the worst monster.

the room around them looks like a slight punk. posters of bands all over the walls, a few messy clothes laying around and jewelry spread around. a big mirror hung above the dresser with pictures stuck to it, mostly taken in camp.

“okay, after that lovely piece of information we should talk about what we should do.” Grover clapped his hands together once more and looked at each of them.

“The oracle says to go to the temple of the unknown,” Percy steps closer and looked at y/n. “Do you know?”

“It’s called the temple of the unknown for a reason.” She taunted him again and zipped up the bag.

“Well, as his daughter I thought you would know.” He stepped closer to her direction.

“Do you know everything about your dad?” she asked and waits for a moment. he goes to answer but he stops himself because he didn’t. “Exactly.”

the boy when to fight with her but he only made noises and then backed off with his hands flying in the air. he couldn’t do this, she was too much. y/n smiled softly in victory and threw the black bag over her shoulders, “I think I might know something but I’m not for sure..”

the three are now looking at her, “Even when I’m dreaming I knew exactly where I am. The last place I saw was a park in Minnesota, but every place i saw was almost like a road map. I think we should follow it.”

they look at each other to conform. they nod and stay up, “at least we have a plan.”

and it was a really shitty plan.

you stayed in that small town because of the waste of mortals. or in the diner that smelled of food that over powered your scent. now three demi gods and a satyr traveled together, a death wish just waiting to happen.

being a demigod always makes things so much harder.

The group didn’t even make it half way across the state without being attacked by a monster. and usually you could handle it but you had walked into a town filled with them. a nest of some sort.

you had to relay on fleeing and try not to get seen, and for annabeth it was easy. however, you and Percy found it hard when he kept bumping into you. you whispered at him to stop a little too loud, and he glared and whispered(yell) back. and they could only tell you both to stop a few times because you both could you guys caught.

“What is your problem?” Percy yelled at you after you guys finally got away, having to fight some monster and all of you getting a few scratches.and bruises. “Me? What about you. How clumsy can you be to run into me ten times? is your scull just filled with water?” You flicked his head and he hissed in slight pain.

“because you kept stopping for no reason, I had no choice. it was your fault we got caught.” his fingers pointed at you.

“Me? you are the one who squealed when you stumbled back, that was one hundred percent your fault.”

his mouth handing open as his eyes went up and his face turned angrily amused. “sometimes I can’t believe how stupid you sound sometimes. do tell, who trip and made us almost get eaten?”

you had been running away and your foot bent slightly and causing you to slipped, you put your hands out to try and stop yourself. percy was the closest one to you so he helped you up and made sure to get you in front of him in case that happened again. no matter how much he wanted to leave you. he wasn’t that kind of person.

“okay, really? it wasn’t my fault the ground was slippery. we would have more time if you hadn’t-” the yelling of the two drowned out to Grover as he covers his ears and blocked them out.

can’t they just say quite for a day?

“It’s both your faults! both of you did things wrong, and your yelling isn’t helping.” the boy shouted and pulled them both apart.

“please, just shut up! If you don’t have anything nice to say then not speak.” the two looked at him surprised. he didn’t usually do this but only when he got really angry or annoyed.

y/n looked away and kicked a rock on the ground, “sorry.” She mumbled quietly. percy did the same thing, “whatever.” he walked away from them both to cool himself off. he didn’t understand how she could always mess up and get under his skin, it’s like she was made just to annoy him.

after that the group barely spoke to each other. they traveled for a few hours until sundown and looked for a place to stay. luckily, they found a old house that was newly abandoned. when they set up the sleeping area y/n walked out, saying she would keep a eye out for any monsters. they all could see how shut off she was being and how clearly upset she was. and in this situation it was easy to let her be.

Annebeth was curled in the corner with her hands clinging to her dagger. Grover was spread out with his arm spread across his face slightly snoring.

percy tried to sleep.

he toasted and turned but there was something plaguing his mind that kept him awake. how you clung to his arm when he pulled you up. you looked so afraid as the monster nipped at your feet almost getting you, that you had no choice but to ask for help. he’s ever seen you so scared and for some reason, all he could see was the fear in your face when he blinked.

“don’t be a idiot, I’d never ask you for help.” he could hear the words ring in his head if he told you.

pushing the shirt thrown over him to the side he carefully stood up without waking the other two. he walked out the room and went to search for you. if he wasn’t going to get any sleep he might as well help with the lookout.

he found you sitting on the steps with your head leaned against the railing. humming a soft tune to yourself and for a second, he felt peaceful. but he remembered that it was you. cleaning his throat to make his presence know and walked across the porch boards.

turning your head you looked at him. it was a soft look of hate and not the full glare he was expecting. “what do you want?” He sat down on the same step away from you but as far as he could. almost afraid you’d bite him.

“couldn’t sleep.”

you hum in response and slight nod your head. you continued to look at the street and around the place in case something was to sneak up on you. a breath leaves your lungs and you lean back on your hands, pushing yourself back against the stairs above you. you throw you head back up and close your eyes to relax for just a minute.

“you know,” you began as his ears perked up. “I have no clue where the hell we are going.” You admitted with little confidence in yourself.

“it could just all be a trick and I’m leading us down the wrong path. but each time I feel-” you cut yourself off before you go to deep.

percy looked at you with your eyes closed. this was a actual conversation. no insults. he didn’t even feel angry as he stood next to you. for the first time it was a comfortable understanding.

“i know how you feel. when I search for the lighting bolt I knew exactly where I was in my dreams dispute never going to those places.”

he watched your eyes open again and look into his. “sometimes we are shown things. i trust you, for this quest at least. you’re the only one who could help us get there now.” you face grows and small smirk and your eyebrows raise.

tilting your head and sit up slight, “that almost sounds like a compliment.” you teased him. he rolled his eyes playfully and looked away from you, “never in a million years.” he chucked. you looked at him for a second longer then you normally do. this was the first time you saw him smile with you, it was new.

and kinda pretty.

shaking your head at the thought you looked away from him and let the thoughts get pushed back into your head. there was nothing pleasing about him and your brain needed to remember that. your both just to tired to fight and it means nothing. because never in a million years, will you ever be friends with Percy Jackson.

but, maybe you can get along with him for this quest at least.

Taglist: @american-idiot21 @kazurami14 @anonymouslyawesome25 @itzmeme @poemfreak306 @motorsport @mxlI0d1 @daughterofthemoons-stuff (just ask to be added and I will)

[angstics]

3.3k words summarizing queliot if you've never seen the magicians. or if youve seen it and you want to indulge in my insane criticisms. lord touch his mind

okay so the magicians was a tv show about a bunch of post grads learning magic in magic university then discovering that the fantasy world from a kids book series was actually real and the Beast of that world was out to get them. WHO GIVES A FUCK. the crazy people were focused on the relationship btwn main character quentin coldwater (depressed, heart on his sleeve, surprise sex maniac who is new to magic and loves those books) and gay best friend eliot waugh (substance addicted (big surprise!!), gay trauma, named after evelyn waugh oh you know…) they form a friendship and it’s weirdly touchy and close. eliot keeps trying to seduce quentin but it’s never serious. i dont even think quentin notices. anyone remember the “lets not talk” scene? he was about to fuck that sad man. anyway this tension was actually fulfilled by the end of the 1st season with a drunk threesome including the two and their best friend margo. they at least kiss and cuddle and MAYBE sucked dick if the ghost of his girlfriend who haunts him later is to be believed (which i do #cockinhismouthsunday).

at this time articles that were like “THIS SIFI SERIES IS PROUDLY BISEXUAL” were coming out which. lol. lmfao! quentin never had any sort of queer identity. not even a hint of it. the homophobia of the show started with the regurgitation of the “sad drunk lonely sex-crazed” gay man trope with eliot, then the “everyone is fluid but no one actually has same sex attraction” trope, THEN by sidelining and killing off almost every gay or trans character, THEN THE QUENTIN THING. and the quentin thing turned people insane. let’s see why.

so after the threesome, eliot and quentin continue having a good friendship. there is some tension that isnt present with margo which sure is a choice… but it is resolved by a heartfelt crowning ceremony nd hug. oh theyre kings of the magic land now btw. eliot and q are pretty much separate from this point on xcept for certain episodes/moments. it is strange they dont have any storylines together. but love finds a way. at some point a version of eliot sacrifies himself for quentin. if u look at the scene it is on instinct it is crazy. then they reunite at the end of s2 but it’s all business really. the show was really involved w its nonsense plot.

anyway season 3. hahaha. so like i said theyre separate most of the show past s1. this is true in this season xcept for episodes 305 and 313 (with some notable moments in between). the plot of this season is that they have to go on quests to collect keys. the creature that gives eliot this plot calls quentin his “brother of the heart”. ok! when they see each other for the first time in a while in 304, they hug in a very sweet way :) look at this photo from bts during that scene :) i have it framed

after a series of other quests, 305 turns out to be the Eliot and Quentin quest! finally a story with the two! the quest is for the “time key”, which is fabled to be given to whoever solves the mosaic puzzle in fillory (magic world). the puzzle? they have to arrange 100s of tiles in a way that depicts “the beauty of all life”. quentin is very excited about it. eliot is happy to hear him infodump. they eventually get pushed into fillory to solve the mosaic. turns out they were also sent DECADES in the past. there might have been a way out but they were dead-set on solving the mosaic and getting their key. so they get to work. they live in a cottage attached to the mosaic and they spend hours, days, months on it. just the two of them and the mosaic. this episode is called “a life in a day” which is so perfect you wonder why the writing couldnt be that good within the show.

at the 1 year anniversary, quentin kisses eliot. and eliot kisses him back. and you wonder woah what does this mean?! well keep wondering girl because this tv show does not care to explore any of that. it chugs on and eliot and q fight about “living their lives there” and quentin gets a Wife and has a child with her and then she DIES (leaving her as a narrative incubator rather than an actual character, which is very in line with the sexism of the show). and they grow up and decades pass and the child grows old enough to leave and it seems eliot co-parented him but (again) the tv show doesnt care to show you that. and this whole time theyre working on the mosaic. years and years. eventually they grow old. it’s just the two of them. until eliot dies. quentin goes to bury him in the mosaic plot and he finds a special little tile. he places it in the mosaic. he gets the key. the puzzle is solved. “the beauty of all life”. but quentin is alone. his life companion is gone. and that’s the last we see of him.

we go back in time til before they enter fillory. their friend stops them and she has the key through time shenanigans and they never live that timeline. UNTIL!!!!! they do. they remember it all. what does decades (50 yrs btw) of living happily together mean for them?!? FUCK ALL APPARENTLY!!!! because the next episode (306 if yr keep track) they mention it ONCE AND NEVER AGAIN. and there is so much beneath the surface with the looks and the line that mentions it (“go be life partners with someone else” eliot says jokingly in a manner that shouldve been the catalyst to quentin’s magic-induced suicide spiral later that episode).

ok quentin does mention it once more to his dying dad. but nothing about his Male Life Partner Of Fifty Years. Nothing. they dont even talk about it with their best friends, leading one to believe they just kept it a secret . which. okay.

okay. so theyre apart til the last episode of the season. and quentin decides to sacrifice himself by locking himself in a cage with a monster for all of eternity. he says the quest prepared him for it which is yikesss. eliot refuses. but quentin insists. they travel to the prison (he gets back together with his gf during this trip btw they had been apart that season after some shit. one of their worst writing decisions i hate this stupid ass cockroach relationship). quentin almost exchanges himself. then eliot shoots the monster. dooming them all.

so the monster doesnt die. instead he possesses eliot. and that becomes the story for season 4. at first quentin and co think eliot is dead. and it’s devastating lol. an interesting thing is that the monster was so. touchy with quentin. unbearably so. it’s such a perverse reflection of eliot’s touch. which is sorta pointed out by quentin in this quote (paraphrase) “i know it’s not eliot. but he has his face and his eyes…”

anyhow 405. hahahahahaha. so this episode it’s revealed eliot is alive but trapped in his own head. and to get out for a moment and tell his friends he’s alive, he needs to confront his most terrible most shameful memory. the whole episode is him trying to figure out what it is. meanwhile, quentin and co are setting up a plan to kill the monster. and quentin breaks up with his gf (lol). in a deleted scene that WAS shown in promo they argue about the monster. and quentin says “im team eliot”. lol

anyhow, eliot’s hit a dead end. he cant figure the worst thing that’s happened in his life. then his memory of quentin (theyve been hangin out) says he’ll “sacrifice” himself if he had to. eliot smiles and says “i know youre just a memory… but youre a very generous one.” and quentin says— (im reciting this from memory btw all of this has been from 4 years of NON STOP thinking about it) quentin says “well you sacrifice for the people you love” and he gives eliot a VERY pointed look. and then it dawns on eliot. and the guilt is instantly palpable.

hahahahha. hahaha. hahahahahaha. okay so eliot goes to the memory he knows is the worst thing he’s ever done. his most traumatic memory, after a lifetime of violent homophobia and bad choices. the person possessed before him described this memory as being “the day he left home”.

the memory? the day they remembered their past lives. did it happen? fifty years. it happened.

theyre sat under a wedding arch (that was the b plot of the episode lol). it’s beautiful. eliot watches the memory play out, standing in front of the seated figures. the guilt. the guilt.

outside, the tension is building. the plan to kill the monster is in motion. quentin has to coax him to a certain spot. he has to look at him as he kills his best friend.

eliot doesnt know this but he gets anxious watching it play out. there is a certainty that this is it. the first time viewer has no idea whats going on. we never saw the direct aftermath of them remembering. we always assumed there wasnt anything.

well a year after 305 aired, a yr after thinking THAT WAS IT, they recontextualize Everything.

it is worth saying here that in the promo interviews leading up to season 4, quentin’s and eliot’s actors were sussing it UP. quentin’s at some point talks on q’s queerness, saying it was the one aspect of his life he didnt feel anxious about.

well

what happens is that quentin asks eliot for a relationship. remember how it was quentin who first kissed eliot? it happens again. heart on his fucking sleeve. i can recite this scene pretty well so im going to fucking do it:

did it happen? fifty years. it happened. it was sort of beautiful. it really was. i know this is gonna sound dumb but … us. i mean we work. we know it cause we lived it. who gets that proof of concept? (eliot smiles uneasily) we just got injected with fifty years of memories so i get that youre not thinking clearly. no im just saying… what if we gave it a shot, would that be so crazy? (eliot looks down, worried and thoughtful. quentin smiles RADIANTLY it is BLINDING) why the fuck not?

editors opinion: quentin is such a beautiful person. to be so truthful about something so scary is unthinkable. especially in context of him being so hopelessly and quietly in love his childhood best friend, and his whirlwind romance with previously mentioned gf, and all the tragedy he endured with these two. but this is someone who loves with his whole heart. what was he supposed to do? contain it?

then eliot hardens.

i know you and you arent… whats the matter? dont be naive it matters. (pause) q i love you but… that isnt me and that definitely isnt you. not when we have a choice. (quentin looks away. he wipes his eye) oh. okay. sorry.

and silence. the real eliot, the eliot who isnt the memory, looks on. tired and angry, he speaks to himself:

what the hell is wrong with you? what the hell are you doing? someone Good and True… Loves you. yeah it was a little crazy but you knew. you knew this truly mattered. and you just SNUFFED IT OUT.

then he looks to the memory of quentin. soft as the clouds:

q. im sorry. i was afraid. and when im afraid i run away.

then he kisses him. and he hits you with the thesis of the episode:

if i ever get out of here q… know that when im braver it cause i learned it from you.

well

thats his most traumatic memory. he is granted passage to consciousness. what is the first thing he sees? quentin. the real quentin.

q? (smiles) q (laughs) it’s me. it’s eliot. ok come on no games. it’s eliot. i said no games. (eliot looks around, worried as all hell) fifty years (he walks towards q) who gets proof of concept like that? what? peaches and plums motherfucker (this is the symbol to their mosaic life) im alive in here. (eyes as wide as saucers, heart in his throat) eliot…

and he ruins their plans of killing the monster. “eliot’s alive.”

then the episodes keep rolling. “eliot eliot eliot. why do you care so much about him?” “because i do.” and “wow i love that plan. except the part where it doesnt save eliot.” quentin gets back with his gf for reasons only the devil knows. but fine ok whatever quentin and eliot will HAVE to talk post-saving. even if the writers ignore it once more they have some kind of relationship. and they do save eliot in the finale! you know who they dont save? lmfao

quentin dies. in a manner that many including myself found weird and unsatisfactory and suicidal. and he never gets to know how eliot feels. never. he’s just gone. their story means nothing 💯

editors note: this ending broke me. i was using the show as a depression crutch, so a fate so hopeless ruined me. cant blame the show for my mistake but being so technically bad certainly didnt help.

well when the show came back for its next (and final lol) season, they did attempt closure for eliot and quentin. for some reason this was all contained in 3 episodes, most of it in the third (503) but what the fuck ever. it has its moments.

the episode is basically about eliot and alice (q’s gf i dont think ive mentioned her name. sorry alice) going on a mini quest up a treacherous mountain for grievers to return a piece of quentin’s soul back to the underworld. their fights are soooo funny. toxic lover vs almost-lover.

alice at some point says “well he was MY boyfriend this is MY pilgrimage and you just TAGGED ALONG” and (blood obviously boiling) eliot goes “right, because he meant nothing to me”. and this highlights something so sneakily homophobic about this whole affair. quentin and eliot’s relationship never mattered to the narrative as much as all the other straight relationships, especially quentin and alice’s. like i said, they would separate for entire seasons. you will be happy to know that not 1 episode goes by without quentin and alice conflicting and making up conflicting and etc. i dont understand how quentin and eliot’s relationship wasnt important enough. they were best friends, they kissed multiple times and had sex AT LEAST once if the mosaic subtext isnt considered. and the mosaic… it isnt just that they lived together for 50 yrs and raised a child and were happy, something they couldnt quite grasp in their old lives… they achieved the beauty of all life. that is a monumental achievement that shouldve changed not only their lives, but their stories.

the thing about the confession is that it wasnt planted in s3. talking about 405, the writers said they came up with it while working on that episode. it was essentially a retcon. though its inclusion explains why they didnt talk about it literally, it doesnt excuse the narrative outright ignoring it. it DEFINITELY doesnt account for why it ignored the rest of the SAME SEASON it was ESTABLISHED IN. if this was quentin and alice, they would be talking about it nonstop. and guess the fuck what when they get back together it is *non stop*.

SO. 503. they are on their pilgrimage. tensions build. eliot hallucinates quentin’s voice (it’s a soundbite from the mosaic when eliot dies which is depressing). they meet another traveller who is grieving his long dead boyfriend.

the traveller asks who theyre grieving and alice goes My Boyfriend and eliot looks away and says he knew him as a friend and it’s so sad it makes me want to die. why did they invent new exciting ways for gay people to be ashamed of who they love. i hate this show.

anyway the traveller talks about his boyfriend and how he was a magician who died young and how his dreams were haunted by him. and eliot is listening so intensely you want to jump hale appleman for being so good at this acting thing. alice goes to sleep and leaves the two alone. then they really start talkin:

(the traveller asks) have you ever had love? (eliot smiles small, hesitant) love…? yeah love. (pause) the friend we’re putting to rest. (traveller is delightfully shock) wasnt just a friend.

truly truly truly cant describe to you how much it physically pains me that it took 2 seasons and for one of them to die and a conversation with a stranger to get to this point. why wasnt this always part of the narrative. why does this only matter now after 2 yrs of fans badgering you about why this isnt part of the fucking show despite BEING PART OF THE FUCKING SHOW! it is dead obvious this was never the intent so even with something that should feel right feels wrong because the show never wanted it. it never wanted quentin to be in love with eliot. but it doesnt make sense if he isnt. i hate this show.

the convo continues 🙄:

does she know? oh god no. a torrid secret affair. (eliot looks away) no, nothing like that.

and i wish eliot was given a proper story. i wish i knew what was going on in his head through all of this. i wish i wish.

so it is revealed that quentin and eliot “had love” and that eliot is keeping it a secret (a revelation considering they werent intimate on screen past the 1 yr anniversary, they were only ever referred to as best friends by cast and crew, AND even what they were was obscured in the confession scene. and their feelings didnt matter past 405 fuck this world). this is huge. it should be huge. eliot’s first arc is about how he cant fall in love until he does and gets his heart broken. quentin’s stories are so wrapped up in alice that having another love interest should complicate that entirely. it doesnt.

the climax of the episode is when eliot expresses difficulty of letting go of quentin and alice says “he was your friend” and eliot replies (quick as if not meaning to) “he wasnt just my friend.” and wowww. how cathartic. the first time in the history of the show they talk about it. 5 seasons btw.

and eliot tells her about the mosaic and how “we loved each other for a really really long time.” and how he told him to fuck off and how he died for him and how he was never able to talk to him again. he just died.

and that part is supposed to be cathartic too. it feels cathartic for eliot the character at least. but to me the Viewer. i was sick of how they were trying to appeal to MY thoughts of what he should be feeling. as if trying to placate me. cuz if it was soo important it wouldnt just been solved after this episode. he DGAF about quentin after this. i dont get it. why cant they write a proper story.

well one line that stuck with me and i truly felt was this:

alice: he was pretty in love with you eliot: i wouldnt say that alice: .. i would

and then eliot looks at her the most devastated a man can look.

thats it. that’s quentin and eliot. a heartfelt and final fuck this show. the fic goes crazy esp the 2019 shit.

[sadlynojellybeans]

So I am re-reading TOA and i have decided to write some things i noticed now that I know what is going to happen next.

THE HIDDEN ORACLE

Meg was about do develop a crush on Percy, and Apollo noticed. It was immediatly curbed by Percy mentioning his girlfriend. He did not even notice XD

Apollo actually got out of the three legged death race unscathed O.o Scared to death but unharmed

Lester is being surprisingly not pathetic??? I mean, he can't remember shit and has the constutution of a limp noodle, but he has not fainted in several chapters!!! Maybe it's because Camp Half Blood is a relatively safe space for them...

THE FORESHADOWING IN CHAPTER 26 IS DEVASTATING - he gets confirmation it is the emperors behind everything and he thinks "i would have rather tangled with Tartarus or Ouranos or Primordial Chaos" APOLLO PLEASE

Speaking of foreshadowing, Rhea?!??!? "Find your center. Enlightenment has to come from within" HELLO??!?!??

Apollo mentioning he caused an earthquake that wiped out most of Sparta and that he never liked the Spartans much??? What about HYACINTHUS???????

"I busted out some footwork the Nine Muses and I had been working on" please I want so bad to see Apollo dance. Especially Apollo as Lester

Apollo being absolutely convinced that he will never have a proper partner is tragic. "It was not in my destiny" bro

The Germani appear and the absolute first thing Apollo does is move in front of Meg. "Instinctively". This is the same guy that at the beginning of the book was evaluating which demigods would be best to keep on hand to throw at quests. I can't. Just how much exactly did he repress his protective instincts through the years and centuries?

I find so fascinating that Apollo wants to strike Nero down immediately after meeting him. Like, yes. Apollo is a god. And he would not allow anyone to threaten what he cares about. Even after his trials, he might be kinder and more attentive to demigods, but I think that anybody who crosses him (really crosses him) will have to start praying for mercy.

If there is one thing I can say about TOA is that it is certainly expanding my musical horizons, with all the songs I have to check out on youtube just to have an idea of what Apollo is singing about.

He did not suck during the confrontation with Nero?! Burst of godly strength saved the day and his dignity

"Just because she had lied about being my friend did not mean I wasn't hers. She was in danger. I was not going to leave her" man. He cares so fucking much. No wonder he never let anybody get close to him in the last years.

Didn't they say a sonnet was worse than a limerick in the next book?

"BLESS HIS CONNIVING LITTLE HEART". "Children of Hermes cannot rap". "[Cecil] was demoted to dancer" skjsjskansnkzbsnsmmsnzm

It's kind of ... sad? How happy Apollo is when flying on the giant ants. He is used to being a god who can fly whenever he wants, and a part of him is usually in the sky every day as he drives the sun chariot. And instead he has been stranded on earth, away from what is both his duty and something he greatly enjoys. "It felt so good to fly again. [...] For two or three seconds I was exhilarated".

AND THE ARROW OF DODONA IS FINALLY HERE AND TALKING FRIENDS!!!!

I cannot believe I am so happy because of a talking arrow

The arrow QUIVERED kjsnsksjsnsnzjxndnsk i love them so much

Not Apollo asking where Jason Grace is 💀

I genuinely cannot understand if this is foreshadowing or really lucky wording on Riordan's part. Rachel asks about Meg and Apollo thinks "She might as well have plunged the Arrow of Dodona into my chest". RICK. RICK DID YOU KNOW? HAD YOU ALREADY THOUGTH ABOUT THAT SCENE IN TBM OR WAS IT PURE CHANCE????

WE WERE ROBBED. I have been wondering for a few days if in TOA we ever see Apollo sing for fun (not to confuse enemies, not to open doors, not for any practical purpose. Just for the fun of it). The depressing answer seems to be no, although I might have forgotten. At the end of THO it is implied that Apollo, Leo and Calypso join the sing-along at CHB, but the fact that the books end before we actually see him sing is a travesty.

[fairytale-poll]

SEMIFINAL ROUND, MATCH 1 OUT OF 2!

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Mofurun as “Mofurella”

listen. they do an episode where they’re all sucked into Cinderella and they make the trans teddy bear Cinderella. Incredible story writing, 10/10, no notes.

Mofurdella is even plot relevant, that episode is how they get the Rainbow Carriage for their group attack anyway MOFURDELLA FIRST CINDERELLA PRECURE EPISODE TO GET ONE MOFURILLION VOTES

Ella of Frell:

She’s had a “gift” of obedience placed on her, and her quest is to figure out how to get rid of it. I love her

he’s under a curse that makes her obey any order given to her. She met her Prince Charming (Char) when they kids, and they became friends. Her stepsisters found out about her curse while they were at boarding school, and because of that (and some things they made her do) she ran away to try and find the fairy that cursed her. When she does, the fairy says that she doesn’t do magic anymore, because she realized her gifts were actually curses, and refuses to remove it. Ella goes back, and is eventually demoted from “lord’s daughter” to “maid”. She still writes letters to Char (currently in a foreign kingdom, but before that, when he came to try and talk to her, her sister forbid her from leaving her room so she would have all his attention), but eventually stops and even writes a fake letter from her sister to convince him that she never cared/doesn’t care about him, because she realized it would be too dangerous for them to be together; with her curse, she could easily be made to hurt or kill him. Flash forward, and Char returns home. The king throws balls, and she goes, because even if she can’t be with or let him know who she is, she just wants to see him again. Char is drawn to her, and for a lot of the three balls, they’re together. At the end, her stepsister gets jealous, and right as Char proposes (because Ella, despite having to lie about her identity, is the most honest person at the ball and a friend already), she grabs her mask, revealing her identity. Char reaches her home before she can leave, and there’s a whole scene where he finds out she’s a scullery maid, that the letter was a lie, and says that she doesn’t have to be Ella if she doesn’t want to be, and she says she’s not, and he asks if she loves him, and she does– and then it’s all ruined because he accidentally orders her to marry him, and then her stepmother tells her to, and all the while she’s fighting the curse, because she doesn’t want to endanger him and their nation, and doesn’t want her step family to be rich and powerful, and finally– she says no. She gets so excited to say no, to refuse, that she didn’t even fully realize she broke the curse until Mandy (her fairy godmother) tells her. Anyway, they all lived happily ever after. Ella is one of my favorite Cinderellas ever and I really hope I did a good job of explaining her and what her story is about (it’s been a while since I’ve read the book)

I was so enraptured with this book as a kid, it had such an impact on my young mind. Got me into fantasy.

BEST CINDERELLA!!! please use the picture from the book cover and not the movie 🙏

She breaks her curse spell in such a magnificent way. Like yes she embodies the whole “kindness” and “courageous” characteristics that Cinderellas are known for, but for her she’s been forced to be obedient as well. And while she thinks can rise above anything she soon learns she will just hurt so many more people that way. She chose to be self-sacrificing because it was the one way she could express her love that wouldn’t harm anyone (then). But! But! She also ends up getting to be selfish! And that is also a great kindness! To herself and to those whom love her and she loves in return.  All that after she breaks the curse.

She can mimic languages. :) She refused to marry the love of her life and thus broke her curse. :) She fell in love via letters. :) She lied to the royal family that orange carriages are very popular in a nearby city.

brave, smart, a linguist, a nerd, she evolves steadily and beautifully throughout the book, with a sharp voice that never stops being distinctive and fun to hang with.

complex character coool as fuck premise and also. the nostalgia of it all

[11queensupreme11]

I didn’t finish my au about Percy getting teleported into the hobbit but it posted it anyway 🫥…

Au:

Throughout the entire quest Percy has killed so many Orcs and monsters with ease making Gandalf curious…how does she have a sword?..how is she so good with a weapon if she’s just a teenage girl?…Gandalf becomes suspicious but doesn’t find out she’s a child of the gods until they are surrounded by Azog and his followers..As Thorin was about to be killed bilbo is about to save him but instead Percy saves Thorin first.finally showing some of her power when defends Thorin…since I suck at describing fight scenes I’ll let it to your imagination…when the eagles save all of them Percy used her healing powers to heal Thorin a injuries shocking them more now knowing they had a child of the gods on their side..so they promise to help her find a way home and azog..ooohh azog…he knows now too…and he doesn’t keep quiet about it now everyone in all of middle earth the Mirkwood elves,the elves in Rivendell,dwarves,kings and queens all now hear that the company of Thorin Oakenshield have a god on their side making everyone shocked….and when they finally take Erabor back from Smaug Thorin becomes greedy..he forbids her from leaving and tries to control Percy into doing his every will and give him more power but when she refuses he tries to kill her and gets his butt beat..and because of that Percy goes with bilbo to give the Arkenstone to Thranduil and bard..they were both worried about the company being too powerful with a child of the gods on their side and the fact they don’t even know what the child of the gods look like so when bilbo arrives with Percy they don’t recognize her..so when they find out she is the child of the gods they try to convince Percy to join them and help them take down Thorin..she wants to deny and she only wants to go home..but they disagree Thranduil..Because he finally had someone powerful enough to steal back his wife’s gems..(and maybe because Percy reminds him of his wife very much) and Bard because Percy can help and protect the people of lake town..(also because he sees her as his child)..Gandalf wants her because she can help stop the war and she can help protect the company..during the beginning of the five armies the company demand Percy comes back while the Thranduil and bard demands she comes on their side..then Thorins cousin arrives and some hen he sees Percy he demands Percy is on their side…they all want Percy on their side so they all fight over it..then when azog comes he wants Percy so he can have more power(obviously) and joins the fight…and I’m getting very tired so Im sorry if I was very lazy with the ending..when Thorin comes to his senses and the army of elves,men, and dwarves reluctantly join together Percy finally joins the fight and uses a lot of her power taking down a lot of orcs…and she saves fili and Kili in the process..after the war they still fight over her but surprise surprise the summoning had a limited amount of time so while they fight over her she is sent away pissing them off as they try to summon her back..it never works again until…she is summoned again by the fellowship in the LOTR….thats all I got tell me if this idea is crap or not cause I think it would be a good story…especially if you wrote it..feel free to ignore this I just had an idea…

THERE'S MORE 🥳

"Thorin becomes greedy..he forbids her from leaving and tries to control Percy into doing his every will and give him more power but when she refuses he tries to kill her and gets his butt beat"

i got mixed results on thorin's height (saying he's 5'2" or between 4'5"-4'8") but he's a shortie regardless so i'm just imagining percy easily kicking him over LMAO

and thranduil.... 🤤

that name just awakened something in me.... 🤤 🤤 🤤

im pretty sure i had a huge ass crush on him when i was a kid (i'm probably gonna start looking at thranduil fics cuz of you lol)

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

Punk music is, politically speaking, a vehicle that was built to express sentiments of working class rage and destructive tendencies. That doesn't mean it's perfectly left wing, poor people are not perfectly left wing. From the patches and safety pins and ripped denim that are staples of punk fashion to the subject matter of songs by the Dead Kennedys, The Clash, Black Flag, and even the Sex Pistols, its all class rage and resentment all the way down.

Goth and Punk both as subcultural movements have relatively clear intentions, even if the politics get jumbled. They're nihilistic, angry, angsty reactions to a world that beats down on poor people. It's the idea that there is something deeply wrong with a society that doesn't take care of its people and using music to express how you feel about that situation.

I came up in the 2010s, which meant that Emo was on the back end of its moment when I was discovering music outside of my parent's taste and whatever was on the radio. I've heard a lot of things about the emo movement as it relates to other subcultures but one thing I heard that I want to respond to here is that it's not about anything, which is not perfectly correct but it looks that way on the surface and is actually a very interesting observation. Punk's about how we can't pay the rent our government is taking advantage of us, rich people are taking advantage of us, and unlike those hippies who think they can solve all the worlds problems with peace and love and non violent protest, we're gonna break stuff. We're gonna make it everyone else's problem. Goth coming from the punk scene was less angry and more purely nihilistic and death obsessed but still had that sort of vibe of the aristocracy's time has come, look how easily I can look like a decaying version of them. Emo doesn't really have that clear of a message by comparison.

I would like to posit that this is because Emo is end of history punk. There's still that feeling that there's something deeply wrong, there's still angst and rage and nihilism and resentment, but by now the enemies of the United States' capitalistic global hegemony have fallen, there is no alternative, terrible things keep happening but the propaganda machine is pumping it into your brain every single day that this is the best of all possible worlds. The problem can't be society it has to be you.

So punk music evolves, we're not doing a revolution anymore the revolution is dead, we're not watching it decay anymore because this shambling corpse won't drop dead and has managed to convince us it's immortal. But the feelings are all still there. So they turn inward. The destruction becomes self-destruction. You can't be feeling this way because society is bad, it must be you, you must be depressed, that girl you didn't really like that much broke up with you, maybe it's that. It couldn't possibly be the fact that you're poor and you're sick but can't get help and the corporations are destroying the planet and you can't do anything about it. This is the best of all possible worlds, remember? You are an acceptable casualty of that, if you don't like it you can either suck it up, take pills, or slit your wrists, the choice is yours. And the emo scene says maybe I will slit my wrists because I can't live like this.

I think now both punk music and emo music along with the fashion are having a bit of an interesting revival, and I don't think the revival is good but I definitely think it is necessarily a sign of the times. The common person has been given access to a certain level of celebrity, the cracks in the political hegemony that the 90s and 00s propaganda told us would last until the heat death of the universe are showing, corporations in their quest for endless growth have made us into modern serfs and commodified every aspect of our lives. We see so much death every day from covid from state violence that used to be easier to cover up. The apocalypse we were warned about but unable to stop is here. There's an appetite for the nihilism, the rage, the self destruction from the failure to change anything, and in pursuit of profit, the companies see that appetite and respond to it with fast fashion and industry plants, and the common person who is under constant surveillance and has been convinced it's what they want has prettied up the grittier aspects of the scene in order to make it social media ready. The goth bars close and the regular bar has an emo night, social media influencers who used to bully you for your DIY fashion does a "Tradgoth" makeup trend that looks more like Gottmik than Siouxie Sioux just to wipe it off and post it for a Sephora sponsorship. You say anything about any of it and you get accused of being more hardcore than thou even though you're just making observation about the scene you've been in for a decade. And you look around you and the same thing is happening to hip-hop and the state of the music scene is even worse for normies so this is clearly a universal problem.

[azure-firecracker]

ATLA Live Action Stream of Consciousness (Episode 5, Part 1):

This one’s gonna be 3 parts because I have many thoughts.

Best episode title so far!

Katara’s done some powering up we love to see it! (I know people think it’s too fast but I think with how much we’ve seen her struggle it’s okay).

Okay this is the Winter Solstice two parter. Not one of my favorites from the OG actually so hopefully they do something new and interesting.

Aang being a little angsty. I think that’s good to show that he has layers but they shouldn’t overdo it (Netflix your track record sucks).

See this scene with Aang and Katara is one where I don’t mind her being quieter. I don’t even necessarily mind her being a little quieter in general as long as they make her…a character with agency. And let her be more than “sweet demure girl.”

Sokka being good with kids is cute and endearing.

When did Aang learn all about spirit stuff?

Snarky Zuko! Love to see it! And I’m glad they’re not making him too nice. Based on what I saw on Tumblr I thought he might be.

AZULA SCENE YAY YAY YAY!

She’s nailing the voice and the facial expressions.

LIZZY’S FACE WHEN OZAI GIVES HER THE SLIGHTEST PRAISE I CAN’T!!

AND NOW SHE’S GOING TO CRY!

This is an interesting take on how Ozai shaped Azula into the “perfect child” so to speak. It didn’t occur to me that he would use Zuko as a comparison or a threat, or that he would be putting her down like that. I always pictured it more as her being on this pedestal and knowing that everything would be lost if she fell off. That being said, this version is good too. I think it’s something that conceivably could have happened, presuming some stuff changes before she ends up where she is at the beginning of book 2. I like that they show her reaction so plainly. It makes sense that she’s more emotional here, because this is her learning to bury and hide those emotions since they’re so obviously her weakness. It’s clear that they want to make her a real character, and I’m glad for it. It’s also super clear that Ozai is using her, and I’m glad for that too.

Much less deep but the throne room set is gorgeous. I love that EVERYTHING is red.

Poor Aang really has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I think they were good to show this more than they could in the cartoon, but I feel like he hasn’t had a moment of levity in so long.

Oh they’re ALL in the spirit world that’s an interesting change.

I like the ethereal feel of the spirit world but the bright swirly lights are not good for my sensory sensitive self.

I love a good pub scene. This music they’re playing sounds like a sevdalinka which I also love!

Eyyy callbacks to side quests they had to cut!

Poor Zuko you’re so miserable.

JUNE HAS ME FLOORED SHE’S SO HOT WTF?!

Okay she is everything.

WHY IS WAN SHI TONG HERE?!

I’ve seen people ask what they’re gonna do in season 2 if they get one since they’ve used so many plotlines and here I’m inclined to agree. They can’t cut the Library episode.

This “truth showing” business reminds me of the swamp but I am okay with this. We REALLY need some character exploration.

[thewomancallednova]

so i just wrote a whole long tumblr post about my feelings on Discovery's last episode and tumblr ate it so I'm doing a bullet points version SPOILERS

Liked it as a whole

Very happy with the revelations about the progenitors tech

Glad that there's no resurrection tech, but I wish we could spend more time with Moll to see how she copes with that (but season finale I get it)

Loved how Burnham handled the crisis in the end, especially with the whole worthiness quest leading up to her deciding to throw the tech in a black hole

Extremely glad Burnham gets to keep being captain and doesn't become like the guardian of the tech or something

Yay Saru/T'Rina wedding

Nay Burnham and Book leave the wedding prematurely for no good reason wtf

i did really like their scene at the beach but just the Kovich calling sucked

Speaking of what an underwhelming reveal that your most mysterious guy is actually crewman Daniels from Enterprise cabin E-14

Like I just wanted to know what his formal function is, like is he in charge of Starfleet Security or something, or like a more cool secret division? Knowing he's a not terribly interesting pre-existing character was just not a very interesting revelation

Super super happy that we got that flashforward and get to see Burnham and Book live happily ever after

THEYIR KID'S NAMED LETO TT

Don't love that they felt they needed to connect the episode to "Calypso". Knowing that Zora was abanonded for almost a millenia knowingly and on purpose for no reason that is at all explained feels really cruel, like you knew you were damning that poor woman to an eternity in isolation and y'all have no better reason than "I guess there's someone or something called Craft?" feels very weak

But all in all good episode and very enjoyable season

Really hope we get to see the characters again in Starfleet Academy, especially since Tilly mentioned introducing that mentor programm.

[youngmoviemaker]

Elemental (Pixar) Thoughts

Okay so . . . I think I have gathered my thoughts for Elemental after seeing it four (yes really) times over the weekend. Spoilers incoming.

I wasn't expecting much from the movie, hell, I wasn't even going to see it but I had just gotten out of watching Spiderverse 2 for the second time and wanted to watch something cleanse my pallet. The trailers and marketing didn't really get me excited as it just came off as a bland Romano & Juliet esque film with the main hook being the characters were made of elements. Then there were the first few early reviews I've heard that called the film bland and another miss for Pixar.

So you can say i had low expectations going in.

But I was so so wrong.

I came out of my first viewing tearfilled, giddy, and gobsmacked. The film that was being advertised was not the film I had just watched and . . . I loved the film I had just watched . . .

The whole conflict isn't romantic shenanigans between cute Ember and sweet Wade, although that is important part of it . . .

It's about Ember being the child of immigrants, growing up in a city that wasn't built with her people in mind and which can be down right terrible to her just because she was born fire. It's Ember's struggle to live up to her family expectations and trying to be a good daughter all while slowly discovering that thing she spent her whole life preparing to do, wasn't what she wanted to do.

Ember's journey is very touching and relatable, leaving me to think about it hours after the film.

Then there's Wade and by extension, their romance.

Wade is honestly one of the sweetest and most loveable romantic interests I've seen in a long time. He's very attuned to not only his emotions but the emotions of the people around him. He's not afraid to cry and goes out of his way to cheer up those around him. The chemistry between him and Ember felt natural as they slowly fell for one another.

If I hadn't saw the trailer with him trying to help pick up her headphones, I honestly wouldn't have expected him to become her love interest. They start off in conflict with him writing citations for her father's shop but he ends helping her in her quest to get the tickets overturned.

The looks in this film is godtier, like, they were able to make elements so expressable (Wade being my favorite with how they were able to convey that he holds his heart on his sleeve.)

And it felt very refreshing that there wasn't a main villian (cough cough Zootopia cough cough). The main conflict is character driven by the choices and consequences of Ember.

It's genuinely making me sad that this film is being panned by a lot of people as being bland Pixar and boring.

I really hope that the film does do well at the box office. It deserves it.

And just because a film has a simplistic plot, doesn't mean it's going to be bad. It's the execution of it that matters. Pixar is known for this.

For me, film was refreshing drink of water on a pleasant summer's day.

Okay quick fire of my favorite moments and or scenes:

• The soundtrack was really good! I loved the scores that had singing in what I think is suppose to be firish? It provokes Atlantis: The Lost Empire vibes in me and that's my favorite score of all time so I see that as a plus.

• The openning scene of Ember's parents immigrating to Element City really set the tone for the film and was done really well.

• Wade giving his uncle the "that was uncalled for/are you fuckin serious" look whenever the uncle mentioned Ember speaks so well. The rest of the family is AwkwardPartyReactionMeme.exe.

• Yes customers can be that stupid and infuriating in real life. They were able to capture that so well. I feel you Ember, I gotta deal people like that everyday, it sucks.

• Butterfly, Windshield Wiper, Half . . . A Butterfly

• Wade really pulled out all the stops, nearly freaking confessing his love for her infront of his family who had just met her just to win a game. Like damn, you go dude.

• "I made you a painting of a sad man . . ." Uncle gives Wade a painting. It's of Wade crying.

• Ember's mom being able to sniff out love is hilarious to me.

• Kiss me I'm Firish

I CANT BELIEVE I FORGOT TO WRITE THIS ONE! BLUE FLAME FORGIVE ME!

• Act of God or an act of Clooooood.

[bagheerita]

finally finished DS9 and decided to post some thoughts in one big blob

I was honestly about to give up on season 7 and put the rest of this show to the side for a few months, but then Ezri and Worf have a 3 episode arc sorting out their relationship, only talking to each other because they're marooned/imprisoned, and I was so charmed by them being loud and messy that I managed to bull my way through to the end. I love the two of them as friends, they are adorable. 

I actually really like Damar and his arc, and it’s pretty rare I say that about a character who killed my favorite. 

I feel like the reason Section 31 exists, and they keep forcing episodes about it upon me, is because they wrote themselves into a corner with inventing the changeling disease to kneecap an unbeatable enemy and didn’t know how else to fix it/end the war except with secret secret spies. 

Ezri has this whole speech she gives to Worf about dismantling structures of power and I feel like they needed to end the show before anyone was like, hey the Federation kind of sucks and we should definitely do that. 

Garak’s mom showed up and everything was good in the world again.

Ezri and Julian are like “can’t deny the chemistry.” lol babes that's called being a young attractive allosexual. "Chemistry" is what Worf and O'Brien have in all the scenes where they're mocking you.

I’ve never felt the truth of the phrase “I support women’s wrongs” so intensely as I do with Kai Winn. I love her and I want to give her everything. I didn't love her getting assaulted by Dukat, but when she knows everything that's happening and chooses the pah-wraiths anyway, yes fuck it up. When she poisoned Dukat I was like, hot damn if this character dies as a footnote in someone else's quest for power I will forgive everything that this show has put me through because of him. But we can't have nice things. I did like that her last act was to choose to take their victory from them, and give Sisko the clue he needed to beat them.

I do love Martok but I feel like he’s going to be about as good a chancellor as Robert Baratheon was a king. 

Odo is The Last Unicorn, but with brain-melding: he’s going to share his experience of loving a mortal with the other immortals. I still don’t “get” him and Kira as a couple, their relationship literally went from -20 to 100% after a single all night conversation locked in Jadzia's bathroom and no actual onscreen development, but at least I believe that they believe they’re in love. 

Why the ever loving fuck is Julian so obsessed with the Alamo. Every time they bring it up I want to grab him and Miles and shake them. I get that it's supposed to be some sort of metaphor for fighting a hopeless war, but really? You want to go up to the fake room where you can do/be literally anything and you're going to repeatedly reenact a battle where you die to defend your right to have slaves and practice settler colonialism??? Even in the last episode they’ve won the real war and they’re still obsessed with reenacting this old battle. They also spend that one episode trying to figure out how to win the Alamo… babes, that actually happened: it’s called the Battle of San Jacinto- learn some actual fucking history, your side won the war. This isn’t about metaphors anymore, the metaphor has failed, now Julian just has a neurosis.

The Dominion War plot line goes on for way too long and there is so little internal emotional catharsis. (Maybe because for me the things that were supposed to be cathartic just induced more rage? 🤔) The ending was fine as far as character wrap ups but felt pretty rushed considering how long it took us to get to this point, and I really think they needed more time to handle the denouement. The overall pacing of the episodes/seasons is terrible: you wasted like a season and a half puttering around, with whole episodes where you forgot to mention the war; you added in mirror-verse episodes without bothering to use them for story or character development; Quark is one of my favorite characters but there are too many episodes about Ferengi shenanigans that do not impact the actual plot; there are whole scenes and arcs dedicated to a character who does not (within the internal logic of the show) exist. And then you slammed all the development into the last half of the last season. I'm not surprised now that I forgot this entire show after watching it while airing because it’s emotionally exhausting. I've compared DS9 to SGA in the past, but the Dominion remind me of the Ori: You've killed the enjoyment I found in this show and have made it a chore to watch.

I do like that what ends the war is Julian’s determination and Odo’s compassion. You've proven the Founders wrong, but this entire plot thread was so poorly handled that I don't know that anyone remembers one mention from four seasons ago about why this war even started and, honestly, standing on a planet where you just murdered millions of children it's kind of not enough. I like that they let Garak kill the last Weyoun, and I adore the scene where he lets Kira take the phaser, but honestly he deserved more. It wouldn't solve anything, and I think there's a nice parallel in Garak's fears inspiring him into attempting genocide being incredible grounded in reality and the Founder's similar fears being negated, but he deserves it, the head Founder deserves to be torn into tiny pieces by grieving Cardassians, and I deserve to watch it. (I also desperately want Garak to find out about Section 31 and the changeling disease just so he can be like, "Oh so when I try to commit genocide I get 6 months in jail, but when the Federation wants to commit genocide that's okay?")

I don’t know who on the production team is so invested in Mark Alaimo getting a paycheck, but by the end Dukat as a character has long outlived any interesting qualities he may have had at one point. The final battle shit with the pah-wraiths was pretty underwhelming; except for the deeper exploration of Winn's motives that this season has allowed for, "The Reckoning" was such a better structured episode. (At least at this point they've let Kira go off and be awesome without being forced into episodes with Dukat. The sheer amount of abusive old men sexually attracted to much younger women in this show is frankly unnecessary; I will never be able to unhear Curzon say he flunked Jadzia from the symbiont program because he wanted to bang her, and Dukat’s relentless pursuit of Kira especially/even after we learn he sexually assaulted her mother is disgusting.) 

I have mixed feelings about Sisko, and his character having a “white savior” role with the Bajorans. Like, I guess it’s a cool twist that he’s a black white savior, maybe that's the best the 90s can do, but also can we decide to not write stories where we give foreigners positions of power over recently subjugated peoples??  I was feeling pretty yikes about it especially after the beginning of this season and learning that he was basically genetically bred by the Prophets for the position, but… I dunno, I’m probably not someone who can or should have a deep opinion about this. I do like that arc for him as a character outside of what it means for the Bajorans, but his ending feels too open. I wish we got to know more about what he learns from hanging out with the Prophets, and I wish that the great "sorrow" he suffers from disregarding the visions felt more concrete. Kassidy is really the only one sad about this, Sisko seems excited to exist outside of time. (And I feel like a lot of the "yikes" of the character could have been fixed by making the character be Bajoran? You wouldn't need to invent a reason why he was chosen by the Prophets. He could even have been raised on Earth and still have those ties, and I think it would have made the pull between his duty as an officer and his duty as the Emissary more interesting. Also can you imagine if Jake and Ziyal were both half Bajoran and hanging out with each other??? But they don't pay me to write shows.)

Why do Miles and Julian have the gayest final montage? It's literally the first of the montages and they start it up over "The Way You Look Tonight" and I was just like... wtf did I accidentally put in a fan video? Miles is the only person in a relationship who has a montage without any mention of their significant other, though I guess Worf's does jump from his first meeting with Sisko straight to season 5 clips so they didn't mention Jadzia either. I love that Miles and Julian have such a deep friendship, and I feel like this show could use more interrogation of the concept of love and the fact that platonic love/friendship is just as important as romantic love, but the production has spent so much time "no homo"ing every relationship they can think of that it just comes off as bizarre. 

All the bts things I’ve read about this show pretty much amount to the production being like “we had no idea what we were doing with this character” which, when combined with the failure to manage season structure and some of the utterly bonkers episodes this show threw out there, leads me to believe that pretty much anything I enjoyed about this show comes from the actors. This is definitely a show I feel like I’m going to be “rewatching” through fanfiction and gif sets before I ever rewatch the entire show again. 

[anosrepasi]

10 Character/10 Fandoms/10 Tags

Tagged by the wonderful @aeide :)

Nil (Horizon Dawn Zero/Forbidden West) - My current obsession I'm rotating around in my mind. What's not to love he's charming in the sense that his most common AU occupation is "Serial Killer." Will he kill you? Depends! Only if you suck, and he promises to never stab you in the back, he wants to look you in the eye if he tries to kill you. But actually, I find him utterly fascinating and in the context of HZD he's just. so nuanced it destroys me. This man has decades of c-ptsd and asks the question of what happens when someone drenched in violence is suddenly expected to stop fighting- the answer is, it takes a lot! I adore him.

Kassandra (AC:Odyssey) - Look the more I think about Kassandra and like the canon quests in that game the more I'm like. They did you wrong, girl. They did you so dirty. SHE JUST WANTS TO GO HOME. IT TAKES DECADES. HER STORY IS A FUSION OF THE ODYSSEY AND THE ILIAD. YOU CAN APPLY THEMES FROM BOTHA ND IT DRIVES ME INSANE. And. And then they say, all thsi you worked so hard for? Well. We have other things we need from you. I am going to chew through my arm.

Mizu (Blue Eye Samurai) - Look. I could link thousand upon thousands words of meta about Mizu and her/they're relationship to gender and existence as a mixed race individual in isolationist Japan. And it still wouldn't capture it all. And past that it's hot person brutally murdering people in absolutely fantastically animated fight scenes.

Vincent Valentine (Final Fantasy VII) - Look. He's my original blorbo. I saw 10 minutes of screen time of him in Advent Children and have been insane ever since. I bought and played through Dirge of Cerberus for him. Something about him apparently just imprinted on me as a child, I've been a lost cause ever since.

Xaden Riorson (Fourth Wing/Iron Flame) - These books are still relatively new so I'll hold my tongue since a lot of what I am obsessed with re: him is spoilers but oh my god. oh. my. god. buddy.

Axel (Kingdom Hearts) - Also an original blorbo from childhood, imprinted on him like a baby duck. His death in KH2 made me bawl. His entire storyline makes me sob, he's the reason why every single aspect of Roxas' story was a gut punch cause like. The best way to make people care about characters is give them someone who loves them then make it sad.

Charles Milton Porter (Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den) - Look. This dude's DLC made me cry. big cry. I still kinda get choked up when i think about it for a while. it's about the grief.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits - I can't choose a characters from this, so I just advise everyone to play this game. It's so good. You're going to be emotionally devastated. It's also about grief. Every character in this game is so so good and you will feel things.

Joe Miller (The Expanse) - He was not the first but he was my defining love of shitty noir space detectives. I loved him from when he was introduced to when he left the series and my love was rewarded so much. Holden and Amos were the runner up characters for this fandom.

Death (The Book Thief) - I read the book thief for the first time in 7th grade I think? Every day of my life since them on my commute to work or when on break I look at the sky and think about how Death would describe the taste of the colors. This book irrecoverably changed me from the day I read it and firmly cemented this Death as the death i hope is there at the end of everything, i love this version of it so much. This death is like. look. go read the book if you haven't had the opportunity.

Tagging for anyone who wants to do it: @ongreenergrasses @lobstermatriarch @airmidcelt @tirsynni @aevallare @duesternis @salsedine @avelera @thehoundkeeper @green-nbean

[thedevilinherself]

So I finished the BG3 after doing every side mission I could find. And.... I have feelings

So I played with the poly mod, so I romanced everyone but Lae'zel and Shadowheart who I couldn't get the romance to start for. I also had the mod that lets me have all the companions with me, so I don't know how or if that changes the ending cut scenes.

But first off, the endings were way too short. I heavily dislike endings that have you fight the final battle, give you a cut scene, then end. Give us a little something after to come down from the high of the victory and see the happiness of the ending we fought so hard for.

Speaking of happiness; I can't say I'm happy with anyone's endings. I told Lae'zel she should go back to her people cause I know that's what she's wanted this whole time, so she left to free her people. This was in my opinion the happiest companion ending I got, even though it's still bitter sweet and doesn't feel like theirs closure cause she still has to fight to free her people with no time to rest.

Astarion just started to burn in the sun and ran off, then Shadowheart was like "poor guy, no more sun for him" then I never saw him again. Kinda shitty considering everything he fought for and the fact I was in a relationship with him. And it's not like the ending just picked one of my love interests to give the ending for, since all my other partners acknowledged me as their partner in their cut scenes (more on that in a moment).

Gale just stood at the edge of the doc and was like "the crown fell into the water. Guess I gotta find it" and then talked about his ex some more before saying we'll do it together. Didn't like that his arch was left open ended as well with him still afflicted with the orb AND wanting to return to Mystra who is terrible for so many reasons.

I got nothing for Shadowheart, and I don't know if Wyll can have his own scene, but his was lumped in with Karlach's for mine. Karlach is dying, her engine burning up, and she says she loves me and is glad we could be together. Wyll was really upset and yells "my love, we have to get her back to avernus! It's the only way to save her". Karlach didn't want to go back, but we convinced her and tell her we will be there with her and will protect her till we find a way to cure her. The three of us go to avernus and it ends with us about to fight imps and I guess I'm in a poly with the two of them, which I didn't know was an option, but them both referring to me as their love in that cut scene was a scripted thing so I don't think it was cause of the mod. Either way, I hated that at the end of the game, we haven't cured Karlach and now she's back in avernus. All her endings seem to suck as, spoiler, she either dies, returns to avernus, or becomes a mind flayer and has to live in hiding. So all of her endings suck.

I hated how none of the characters felt like they got a good resolution or much closure. There wasn't a sense of happiness or real victory. That kinda thing can work in DND cause the campaign can keep going, but in a video game, where there is no way to move forward, it seriously sucks. I put 300+ hours into this game, made so many choices to ensure my companions were safe and happy, tried to get them each the best ending I could without looking up too many spoilers, and in the end, they each get 3-5 minute cut scenes where their main character quest is unfinished and left in limbo? That just feels really crushing and disheartening as a gamer. In my next playthrough, why bother trying to help Karlach? She'll still be uncured by the end. Gale's just going to go back to his abusive god or maybe still blow up. Who knows. Astarion will still be hiding in the shadows, stuck as a spawn forever.

Over all, it just kinda sucked that not one of them felt like their arch got wrapped up/resolved.

[masiethewriter]

Honored Eternal Path of Demise CH. 5 - Companion Quest: Part 1

What stands out about the painting and which makes Shen Qingqiu feel a chill going down his spine, is that the man's face is completely covered in darkness. Heavy shadows have been painted over, like a dark mist is filling the depicted room. Only the glowing light from his red eyes can be seen. Eyes that, as Shen Qingqiu moves further into the room, feel as if they follow his every step.

Previous Chapter ~~ First Chapter ~~ Next Chapter

Shen Qingqiu wakes up. Before he opens his eyes, he calmly lifts his hand and pats his forehead. His fingers stroke across clear and whole skin. Not a scar to be felt. 

He slaps himself on his head. 

His skin stings. He hit hard enough that his forehead will probably bear a mark for a few seconds. Still, it is nothing compared to having a dull axe chop right into his skull.

Opening his eyes and sitting up he finds himself in the same room that he started in in the last session. What he expected, but it's good to have it confirmed. Whenever he dies he will start over. Just like the game. 

And what a death. 

Honored Eternal Path of Demise was a disappointment in almost every single way. Fans of Proud Immortal Demon Way hated it. Haters of Proud Immortal Demon Way hated it. And people who didn't know anything about the novel hated it. The only reason the game managed to sell as many copies as it did was thanks to initial loyalists who brought it at release, combined with haters who played it for the irony (Which category Shen Yuan belonged to is irrelevant). 

But in the end, there were two aspects of the game that made it stand out from other horror games. Two parts, which might not be immune to critique, but still deserved acknowledgement if not praise. Because for a game where death was such a central theme and the main game mechanic, what it didn't do was hold back. So the game got known for two things:

The horrible explicit and extreme death scenes for each character.

The horrible explicit and extreme sexualisation of the death scenes for the female characters. 

Shen Qingqiu knew this. He played the game all the way through, gaining every miserable ending. Of course he knew. And he knew death was inevitable in this world. 

But did it have to be this excessive?!?

Whether it is being stabbed in the chest or his head chopped to bits, the amount of suffering he is experiencing while it happens is not realistic what-so-ever!

And okay, this is a splatter horror game, the point is that the deaths are exaggerated, gruesome, horrible, etc. And yeah, while playing, when it was all happening on his computer, it was fun to see the creative and disgusting ways characters would die. But as already established: Living! It! For! real! Sucks!!!

And the jarring dissonance from being in excruciating pain one second to suddenly waking up with his body healthy and sound actually makes him feel sick. Like, he doesn't think he is actually sick, but his mind just can't handle the sudden shift in being. What the fuck! He almost wants to stab something into his head, just so he actually would feel like how he felt he should feel.

This is so fucked up.

Instead of following this insane compulsion, he just slaps his forehead a few more times. There, now his head hurts. That feels more right. Now his entire body doesn't feel as itchy and uneven. Time to get back into the game.

Getting out of bed, he doesn't waste time looking around. He has already seen it all once before and got new stuff he needs to check out. A huge mansion to explore and all that. He has got to see a fraction of what this place has to offer before Ning Yingying-

Okay, no pointing fingers. This time none of what she did was intentional. She had just tried to survive and she wasn't blessed with being a walking cheat guide. And, in her defence, just like most other characters (Especially the females) she suffered from stupid-brain-syndrome every time she wasn't controlled by a player. That’s not her fault!

She wasn't being controlled by a player, right? Shen Qingqiu isn't sure it would be better or worse if she was. He doesn't think she is. Her actions felt very much like her own. Also there was one glaring sign that she wasn't: he is still able to remember what happened in the prior sessions. Normally it is only the player who keeps their memory, none of the characters.

But still, it is a weird thought. He will have to try to keep an eye on player-like behaviour when together with the other characters just to be sure. 

This time, as he leaves his room, he knows exactly where he is going. He aims straight for the main entrance, no need to check the fake doors on his way. As he gets closer, he can hear the now recognizable voices and he does not hesitate to enter.

"Senior! You are here too?" Ning Yingying calls out the second she sees him on top of the stairs. Ahh yes, here we go again.

"Ning Yingying, you know who this is?"

"Of course! That is Shen Qingqiu. One of the seniors that helped us when we first started. Don't you remember A-Luo?"

Shen Qingqiu does his best to repeat his exact movements from the last session. They shouldn't remember anything, but consistency is key. It is also easier this time to act like an aloof senior when he is less distracted by his fanboy freakout from being in Luo Binghes presence.

He is still excited over seeing and interacting with Luo Binghe for real. It's just not as much a shock to his system the second time around. 

"Senior Shen, it is so good to see you! Do you have any idea where we are? A-Luo and I woke up with no memory of how we got here. I am so lucky we found each other, I have no idea what I would do if I was all alone by myself-"

Shen Qingqiu quietens her. 

"I just got here after waking up myself. I don't know anything either."

They repeat the script once more. Luo Binghe asks if he knows anything. He answers in the negative. They decide to split up. The couple going outside. Shen Qingqiu staying to explore the mansion. 

"Will Senior be okay? I don't like the thought of you walking all by yourself."

"You should worry more about yourself than others. You stick with... your friend... and he should take care of you. This one is perfectly capable of taking care of himself."

"Be careful Senior Shen! Please wait for us to come back for you!"

The door falls shut. 

Shen Qingqiu turns 180 degrees and goes in a straight line to the safe room. This time he doesn't waste time exploring. He goes to the desk, solves the sliding puzzle, grabs the spiritbox and then he is back upstairs. 

He goes right for the room where he first saw the killer, turning on the spiritbox on his way. He skips the large broom closet this time. For now it doesn't contain anything he can use. He still doesn't know where the key to the box is and the bandages and lantern oil certainly didn't help much when his head got smashed with an axe. He knows where the things are if he needs them.

Back in the small guest room he immediately looks under the armchair. And there it is, the thing he saw last time. Which reveals itself to be a note.

Leaning back on his heels, he looks it over. The front is a ripped newspaper page. There is no title, but a section of text is mostly readable.

"After the unfor__nate incident at Ti______ Manor, where the loss of multi___ staff as well as the ______ _____ing, police were unable to cat_h the perpetrator. It is believed that one of the inhabitants was ______ the m_____, as they also disappeared shortly after. Authorities are searching the area, hoping to find any clues for-"

Yeah, yeah, people died and someone was super suspicious about it and stuff. Shen Qingqiu knows the whole story, he already beat this part of the game once. Who cares? He certainly doesn’t. He is much more interested in what he finds as he turns the paper around.

4-8-6-2

A nice and simple number combination. He doesn’t know what it is for yet, but even if he doesn't find it this session, this is easy to remember. He won't have to come back here again as long as he remembers the code. Still, he puts the note in his pocket. 

Then he leaves.

Okay, another room to cross off the list. He will have to come back later to check out the locked door, but it was made clear that the door won't be unlocked until the Killer spawns. So more exploration first!

He felt he got to look around the piano room well enough last session. But the small kitchenette could still have some things hidden.

Once he gets there, he checks out the cabinet with teapots and cups. At first he mostly does the same as Ning Yingying did, but without accidentally pushing the entire cabinet over. He already learned about that trap, he has no need to repeat it, thank you very much. He doesn’t find anything, though.

He does notice that the teapots are a bit unique. They each have their own particular and highly realistic flower pattern painted on, a matching cup placed on the side of each pot. The amount of pots is also a bit weird. Who needs this many teapots placed in the same place? There can't have been that many people wanting tea in just this part of the mansion. And the room is too inconveniently placed for bringing the tea elsewhere. 

Could be ignorant interior design. Or it could hint towards some kind of puzzle. Either way, Shen Qingqiu files it away in his mind for later. 

Okay, time for the next place on the list. The room he and Ning Yingying hid in after they got found by the Killer.

It feels weird following the hallway that feels like he just ran through less than an hour ago. He can't help but slow down, feeling hesitant in his movement. He constantly looks over his shoulder, even though he knows he is safe as long as the spiritbox stays quiet. Though there is one boarding school student sized danger that the spirit box won't warn him against...

He finds the room easily enough, and as he steps in he realises how much he missed the first time he was here. 

The flasks he noticed filling the walls last time aren't placed on normal flat shelves. Rather, the shelves lean downwards with holes that keep the flasks from falling. This craftsmanship means that each bottle is visible and easy to reach, rather than if they had all been placed around each other. Not having to hide for his life (which either way didn't do much) means that he can recognize the flasks as chemical bottles. Each one with a worn out lapel in front of them, indicating their respective place.

Besides the door he came from, is a well-used work desk, full of tools and instruments meant for experimentation. It all resembles an old fashioned laboratory, mostly made of wood and glass. No modern appliances.

Shen Qingqiu does not investigate the bottles or desk, unlike how he had done in the other rooms. If there ever is a place that screams "TRAP" this is it. He can risk it later if he gets stuck, but for now he instead goes over to see what is behind the curtain.

Ahhh yes, this he recognizes. 

The space behind the curtain is quite big. There are no flasks on the walls, but a small table is placed in the corner with a few bottles on it. The middle of the room has four posts, evenly spaced around so they form a trapeze. The longest side of the shape almost frames the wall, on which hangs a portrait taller than Shen Qingqiu himself.

The portrait is quite simple in its composition. It portrays a man sitting on what resembles a throne, though more modest. He wears an old fashioned outfit that fits well with the mansion aesthetic observed so far. A window is painted in the background of the painting. A lonely moon makes it clear it is meant to be night. 

What stands out about the painting and which makes Shen Qingqiu feel a chill going down his spine, is that the man's face is completely covered in darkness. Heavy shadows have been painted over, like a dark mist is filling the depicted room. Only the glowing light from his red eyes can be seen. Eyes that, as Shen Qingqiu moves further into the room, feel as if they follow his every step.

Not the kind of figure he wants hovering over him while he explores, but he can only do his best to ignore it for now.

But it is not the painting that he recognizes. No, it is the posts that stand out to him. Or more specifically, the puzzle he remembers being linked to the posts. While they are made of an unidentified material, small metal beaks poke out from their sides. On the top, discs are placed, which Shen Qingqiu remembers can be pressed.

He does not press any of them. He does turn the beaks left and right and they release a low click every time he moves them to a different notch.

Shen Qingqiu should be more precise. It is not just the puzzle itself that made this memorable, but rather the trap associated with the puzzle. A trap he knows will result in his guaranteed death if he activates it.

While many traps are hidden around the mansion (Some of them randomised, so you could have fun dying to them multiple times!), they are different degrees of deadly. Only the more obvious ones tend to end in instant death. Those are the kind usually activated when failing a puzzle or doing something particularly stupid. Which is also why they usually result in the worst kind of deaths.

The rest work more like an alarm system. If a monster is nowhere near, triggering those traps will instantly teleport it close to your location, almost guaranteeing a chase. Triggering another alarm trap while a monster is already near usually ends in death, with only the most skillful players being able to hide in time. If they were lucky.

That is likely what had happened in the last session. After spawning the Killer with the toppled cabinet, Ning Yingying had triggered a second alarm trap when she got stung with the needle. And thus, she had guaranteed Shen Qingqius’ death.

Though, thinking about it, he wasn't sure the cabinets had actually been a real trap. While playing through the game, before he died the first time, he's pretty sure that there were no traps related to what Ning Yingying did. And he certainly didn't remember interactions with cabinets that lead to the level of examination she had attempted. So it might actually just have been a pure accident.

The idea that actions like that could lead to accidental traps that didn't exist in the original game was terrifying. This meant a whole new plethora of deaths never seen before could be possible. Deaths, which with Shen Qingqius luck, would be harder to avoid. Mostly because he was working with a cast that drew misfortune towards themselves like locusts swarming towards fresh vegetation. 

As in, you got devoured. Until there is nothing left.

(There might actually be a death like that, if Shen QIngqiu remembered correctly...).

What all of this means is that Shen QIngqiu have no plans of playing around with this puzzle until he finds the solution for it. And even then he isn't necessarily going to come back and solve it. 

Let's just says, there are many ways characters can fuck with each others survival. They don't have to interact directly with you to sabotage your progress. And there are many discreet ways to cause someone else's death. 

It is as Shen Qinqiu considers his options that the spiritbox comes to life. Scratchy static signalling that danger has returned. He immediately turns it off.

His steps are more careful as he goes to the door leading out the room. 

Already he feels more in control than the first time. First of all, he is more prepared, so he doesn't panic. His skin still breaks out in goosebumps and his clothes suddenly feel more sweaty. But his mind is more clear. 

The static hadn't been as loud as the first time. Based on this, Shen Qingqiu risks the guess that the Killer won't suddenly kick in the door. It also isn't so low, that he can just freely keep investigating. He needs to find out his situation.

At the door he gets an idea. It is simple, but still he feels a thrill at the thought. While he currently is caught in a game world with puzzles and quests, not all the rules and limitations apply in the same way. If they did, he would have no control over which dialogue to say and Ning Yingying wouldn't be able to accidentally push over cabinets. So with that in mind, Shen Qingqiu introduces a game mechanic that never existed in the original game.

Peeking out the door. 

Not through the keyhole. No, that was possible when he originally played. Rather, he opens the door just enough that he can look through the gap. And like this, he is able to see the Killer down the hallway, as he rounds the corner, heavy axe dragged behind. Slowly walking in Shen Qingqius’ direction.

He quietly closes the door. As silently as possible, he goes to the broom closet, locking the door once he is inside. 

Now he is back where it all went wrong. 

But there are major differences of course. Outside of a chase, the likelihood of the Killer checking the room or trying to break in is minimal. With no Ning Yingying he also doesn't have to worry about anyone but himself. So the tension is nowhere near as suffocating, no longer as distressing. 

Shen Qingqiu even dares to explore a bit, while he waits for the Killer to pass.

First of all, he stays away from the metal cabinet. He does not know what triggers the needle trap. If it is only when trying to open the cabinet or if just interacting with it is enough. Either way he is not risking it. For all he knows, the needle could be an instant death trap in itself. Even if Ning Yingying got away from the Killer last session, she might not have survived long. Whether dying from poison or tetanus, that tiny needle signals nothing good. If the cabinet contains something important, he will have to find another way to open it. 

The room is small, so there isn't much else to check out. He finds a flask of oil that he pockets while he is here, but not much else. None of the chemistry tools that he noticed last time hide anything else that is useful.

Something he does note is that the instruments in here look more modern than the laboratory on the other side of the door. Especially the cabinet looks quite out of place when he thinks about it. Of course, the game never actually defines what time period all this happens in, but from character conversations, it is certainly not earlier than the fifties. He does think one of the characters mentions playing video games at one point. 

It does break the aesthetical consistency streak the mansion has had so far. Well, another failure to put on the long, long list. 

At least a few minutes have passed by now. Shen Qingqiu briefly turns on the spiritbox, and the static appear slightly weaker than before. He dares to leave the broom closet and goes back to peek out the room. 

He has to open the door wider, pushing himself further out of the room to look in the direction the Killer went. The hallway is empty. For now.

Again, he is blocked off from exploration thanks to the Killers presence, but also he can just come back later. Still more places to explore. Adding to his checklist, he starts to go back. 

And right as he reaches the corner, Ning Yingying appears. 

Two things happen in the next second.  

Ning Yingying sees him, lets out a cry and calls his name too loud to be comfortable. And a door behind him, further down the hallway opens. 

Shen Qingqiu can't help himself as he turns around and catches the eyes of the Killer's grinning devil mask. 

The Killer immediately marches towards them.

"Run!" he spits, pushing Ning Yingying back. She is a second too slow to realise what is happening, but when she does, she promptly listens to him. She turns around and runs. Shen Qingqiu is right behind her. 

How they are in this situation again, he doesn't have time to contemplate. What he does know is that he won't let it end with the same result. So Instead of running blindly, he already has an idea.

He has to act before the Killer rounds the corner. While he knows there is no hiding place inside, the moment they get to the kitchenette room, he grabs Ning Yingyings arm. She shouts in confusion, but he doesn't bother explaining. Instead, he pushes her inside, firmly closing the door behind her. 

He runs a few more steps before he looks behind. The Killer appears at the end of the hallway. He looks directly at Shen Qingqiu. He begins to charge. 

Now, as he has the Killers full attention, Shen Qingqiu runs as fast as he can. 

This session, he is not blocked off. There are many places where he can hide. Many calculations he could do to find the closest and safest. But why do that, when he could go for the one guaranteed to save him?

The Killer is slightly faster than him. It means that Shen Qingqiu won't be able to run from him forever. But with the head start, it should be enough to reach the safe room.

So he runs. He keeps running forward. Past the diverging passages. Past the room he starts the game in. He continues down the too long hallway. Going until he bursts through the door to the main entrance. It slams behind him as he goes for the stairs.

Then the door bursts open again. Shen Qingqiu stumbles. 

The Killer should not be this close. He had such a big head start. How could the Killer have caught up to him so fast? He has to look back to confirm it with his own eyes. 

That is his mistake. 

With his eyes no longer seeing where he is going, he misses a step on the stairs. He feels himself fall backwards and attempts to grasp the railing. His hand slips.

Falling down, he is unable to turn in time. So he can do nothing as he feels his neck smash against the staircase. The sound of it breaking can't possibly be this loud to anyone else. 

Shen Qingqiu loses control of his body. Like a puppet, it falls the rest of the way down. The fall lasting an eternity. First after his senses are no longer pure white static, is he able to recognize his broken body. Now laying at the bottom of the stairs.

He can not move. He can barely breathe. He is helpless.

Heavy steps come and stand beside him. He can hardly hear the heavy breathing past the erratic beating of his heart. He is unable to turn around and look at the Killer.

For too long, Shen Qingqiu is caught in excruciating pain. The Killer does nothing. He wants to scream or cry, but only shallow shrill gasps pass his lips. Something wet and sticky leaks underneath his chin. In this moment, he realises he wishes the Killer would swing his dull axe. Put an end to his suffering. 

He waits. He waits and waits and waits. And as he thinks he can wait no longer, heavy steps turn to leave. Going away. Not even offering him this mercy. 

Shen Qingqiu can only release a screeching wail instead of a scream. He can only weep as he is left. A door opening and closing signalling the Killer being gone.

Like this, he is only able to lay in anguish, as he slowly and painfully dies.