#which is kind of the whole point of story

[theredcuyo]

Angst infests my head more often than not and so does comfort

So, now, imagine Bruce who got whatever trigger (watching mamma mia, that song from toy story two, whatever involving family), and he just starts hunting down all his kids to give each of them a hug and say nothing else

And he doesn't have a patron (not one they can figure out for now at least), so he catches them of guard and by the time he's midlist they're worried af thinking he's dying or something

Now, he started by Tim, who was kind of not answering anyone's calls and was alone who knows where when suddenly his dad just appeared, gave him a hug, and went away again

He thought it was a hallucination until he came back to Gotham and turns out he did the exact same fucking thing to Steph (who was horrified) Cass, who wasn't even in the same continent and Duke who thought it was normal until he spoke to everyone else

By that point they started to panic, because Bruce wasn't even aknowledging the whole thing, (not to help, the kids didn't say it directly) and was he planning on faking his dead?

Or he had some incurable illness about to do it or-

Just what the fuck

Which was exactly Jason's reaction when his turn came after he went back to one of his safehouses and Bruce was just there. Waiting for him in the dark. And after almost giving his son a heart attack, he gave him a hug and left

And it was also Dick's reaction. Because it wasn't batman. Bruce Wayne went to his station to give officer Grayson a hug and a meal (from Alfred) and say nothing more

Damian was the last one, why? Because it was his fault, he was watching the movie with his father and gave him the idea to "Calm himself down by doing something" and to start it up with Drake, who surely needed it

[genericpuff]

Wait, if Hera hated nymphs, does that mean she had beef with Poseidon's wife???

Who knows, but it does shed a whole new light on this scene from Episode 1:

Like, in the context of the scene, it's clear the point of this interaction is to highlight how "lonely" Hades is that he's the only one at the party without a date. Though I do think it's funny that Hades is frustrated / shocked at the revelation that Poseidon brought his wife to a party that she would presumably be invited to attend, like... of course Poseidon is here with his wife, that makes Amphitrite royalty by extension and so at the very least she'd likely be obligated to attend even if she, for some reason, didn't want to go.

So Hades being like "GOD you mean I'm the ONLY UNMARRIED GUY without a DATE???" like yeah man that's what it means to not be married LOL

But in hindsight, knowing what we know now about Hera being cruel to satyrs and nymphs who are canonically lower class (making it a double whammy of racism AND classism) that interaction of Hades asking Hera if Poseidon brought Amphitrite right after Hera called Minthe "nymph trash" almost feels like Hades calling her out, to which she responds sheepishly, "... Yes."

Again, I know that's not the intention of this scene, but it does come with deeper implications now that the series is over and we know that Hera has a history of racism and classism which largely goes unaddressed.

And those implications kind of read like this:

Hera: "I, for one, am grateful! I don't have to spend the evening with that nymph trash :)"

Hades: "Did Poseidon bring his (oceanid) wife?"

Hera: "(・_・;)... yes, okay, Poseidon brought his wife, Amphritite, but she's not nymph trash or anything, she's one of the good ones!"

Again though, just food for thought that's kinda messed up and kinda funny to think about on re-reads. There's so much classism and racism baked into LO even from the very beginning and it's wild that it wound up going unnoticed for years. Even I didn't really notice it as much as I ought to have when I first started reading. To anyone who's new to the series, LO does a good job at bombarding you with colors, characters, Greek myth references, and feel good fluff moments between H x P to distract you from the often biased and outdated viewpoints in its narrative.

TBH, none of that is to say that Rachel herself is some massive racist for writing a story like this, but I do think she didn't really spend enough time analyzing the works that clearly inspired her and/or challenging her own inspirations to ensure she wasn't continuing the cycle of casual racism. It's really easy to be blissfully aware of your own biases if you never learn to address them, especially when it comes to writing fantasy stories which we tend to "disconnect" from real life, never once realizing that the messages and undertones we might accidentally be sending are often still realities for many people in real life today. Fiction isn't real life, sure, but it can still perpetuate some really dog shit thought patterns and subconscious beliefs if left unchecked, which LO is frankly full of especially upon re-reads with a more critical eye when you're not as likely to get distracted or swept away by the pretty colors and whirlwind romance.

[necromancelena]

where is a good starting point for Touhou? It seems like there's a TON

I'm not really an expert, I've been chipping through the games slowly but I'm only up to 11 so I think that any way I answer is bound to grind the gears of someone that knows better than me. However.

1-5 are the older PC-98 games and unless you're like me and you're specifically interested in seeing how the series developed or you're interested in retro pc98 games I would suggest skipping them. You'd need to emulate a PC-98 (actually that's easier to do than getting the early windows games to work tbh so forget this point) and the games are kind of clunky and also if you're interested specifically because of the characters it doesn't even take place in the same continuity. Touhou 1 isn't even a shmup you play with the ball. And Marisa isn't even there until 2 so wgats the point. They're still fun though i just wouldn't recommend they be your first. unless you wanna. In which case play 1 for 20 minutes and then get into 2 onwards.

First Windows game is 6 (Embodiment of Scarlet Devil) and once you actually get it running it is both the most straightforward gameplay wise and gives you a pretty notorious lineup of girls to like.

It's here that i will say that there isn't actually very much story in the games, most of it is told through brief character interactions at the start of boss fights, and the dialogue can be hard to understand because of a)weird translation b) cultural context you might not have c) pop culture that Zun specifically liked at the time and d) the girls themselves are, in fact, as weird as they sound. So what you're going to do is you're going to play a game to establish your favourite girl from that game based on which was weirdest and then you'll figure out her whole deal by reading the official manga (there are a lot of those and, like the games, I haven't read all of them yet so I'm not even going to try and make a "these are the starter manga you should read" list).

So with that said really the first touhou you should play is whatever you can get your hands on. EoSD is the obvious start, PCB is a bit easier and has fox girls. The early Windows games aren't sold anywhere except japan and are a bit of a hassle to get working on modern devices. So like you can do whatever you want i dunno. You could even start with a fan game if you want. Play the sakuya metroidvania. It's girl osmosis it's fine.

[morgan-tha-gorgan]

Something I don't see enough people talking about is how Deadpool and Wolverine isn't so much a starting point as it is a send off to an era of movies of which we will never see again.

I recently watched the first Xmen movie and it feels so completely different to what we have today. It was almost like it was embarrassed to call itself a superhero movie and instead was going for sleek action movie, which was quite popular in the late 90's and early 20-aughts. It felt like everyone was wearing black jumpsuits because they were afraid they wouldn't be taken seriously by mainstream movie goers. (Another common theme of the time period).

Jump to 24 years later and it is a very different world. Not only do we have grown people crying in theaters over Wolverine's classic yellow suit, but people went wild when he pulled on his mask...could you see people in 2000 having that kind of reaction to that mask? No. The movie would have been dead on arrival. Comic fans would have ate the shit up. But I don't think mainstream audiences were ready for that sincere of a choice in wardrobe. It took us 24 years to get to where Hugh Jackman could wear that suit, and I think it was worth the wait.

The credit scene clips from the past 25ish years of Xmen movies and other Fox productions made me cry, not just bc of the song choice (the universal song used to invoke nostalgia) but because you saw how much they loved making those movies. That they were always fun to make. And even though no one had yet cracked the formula on how to put superheros on film, they put their whole pussies into it. And some results were great and some we still kinda use as punchlines to this day. And yet, both were represented in Deadpool and Wolverine in a loving way. Electra was not nearly as beloved as Blade. But I still heard both characters getting a cheer when they appeared.

It is possible they will make a second Deadpool and Wolverine movie. But I don't think it was the intention. Ryan Reyolds and Hugh Jackman both met on the set of Xmen Origins: Wolverine. Ryan was so taken with his character he spent the next 7ish years trying to force it into existence. Whereas Hugh spent those same 7ish years playing the same character and was happy to put him to rest. It just so happens they both wanted to make this movie together. And bc they were some of the original actors from the beginning of the genre, the movie ended up being about their friendship, with some sendoffs to old favorites who maybe never got to be in the limelight the way they did.

This movie deftly mixes sincerity with humor. It doesn't make fun of the audience for what they like. Instead it respected our love for these characters and their stories. No matter how weird or ridiculous they may seem on the surface, there is a heart and a love there between writers, actors, and audience.

And they got that. Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman really got it. And so this movie was a love letter to all superhero movies: the ones we hold dear to our hearts regardless of how "succesful" they were.

It is like what Movies with Mikey says, "Every movie is a miracle," and Deadpool and Wolverine celebrate that.

[zutaranation]

You know, I always found it odd that Mai is just instantly taken in by the gaang. She doesn’t have a changed worldview at all from being perfectly fine with Ozai’s regime and Fire Nation imperialism. She only helped Zuko because she didn’t want him to die. Moments before, she told Zuko he was betraying the Fire Nation by going against his father and teaching the avatar to firebend to defeat him.

In my view, Mai is at least equally responsible for Aang being struck down with lightning as Zuko. She’s far more culpable than Zuko for the conquering of Ba Sing Se. She was literally a part of Azula’s coup to overthrow the EK.

So, in the finale, when the gaang is having an intimate dinner together to celebrate the end of the war, it’s bizarre they’re all fine with breaking bread with her.

It’s also bizarre for Ty Lee, of course. She is just as complicit as Mai and shows no change. Though, she doesn’t make any statements like Mai does, like when she called Zuko a traitor for standing against his father.

Ty Lee, however, is not present at the Jasmine Dragon. She is accepted into the Kyoshi Warriors, but I see that as a beginning for Ty Lee to right her wrongs and come to understand the Fire Nation’s atrocities as she will be spending time with Earth Kingdom girls and women and helping out around the world. It’s implicitly her redemption arc’s beginning, and it’s Suki who exclusively accepts her at that point, not the whole gaang.

I would have liked more lead up to this though. A scene of Ty Lee bonding with Suki in prison or something would be nice to introduce the concept. Atla always needed more female character interaction that passed the bechdel test, so it could’ve been a good opportunity. I like the idea though, it’s poetic that Ty Lee finds herself enough to be okay with being part of a matching set. Plus, her hand-to-hand combat skills make her a great fit to be a Kyoshi Warrior.

But, for Mai, it just seems odd that Katara in particular would allow for her to be at The Jasmine Dragon with them. Obviously, it’s because they were trying to extend kindness to Zuko and Zuko wanted her there to meet his new friends he’s come to love and the writers did it to solidify a pairing “endgame” message, I assume. But, from the characters’ standpoints, it doesn’t make much sense.

She’s just super desperately in need of a redemption arc if she’s going to be a logical partner for Zuko and to be friendly with the gaang in a sensical way. I feel like the writers just disregarded her character entirely, even for a side character, and she was thought to have her story wrapped up as her entire identity being sexistly tied to being Zuko’s girlfriend. Her motivations don’t really exist on screen outside of this, which was a blatantly sexist choice for her character.

[ladykailitha]

Of Butterflies and Backstrokes Part 5

Hey guys!! Things are finally starting to move in this story, I'm not sure how much longer we have, but I just started Eddie's training, so whooo!!

In this we have Eddie being dumb, fixing it, and then apologizing properly! He can be taught!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

~

Robin smacked the back of Steve’s head as she walked past. “No staring. It’s creepy!”

Steve ducked his head and blushed. He had been caught staring so many times today that, yeah, it was starting to be a little creepy now. But in all fairness, Eddie was staring right back. A thought that sent Steve spiraling. But like in a ‘oh shit, that’s hot!’ way.

Which he really, really needed to tamp down on, because yes, the guy was eighteen, but like barely.

“You should just go talk to him,” Robin encouraged gently. Because for all her teasing, she knew how important it was for Steve to talk to him about his swimming.

Steve nodded. He had time until his next class. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He walked up to Eddie and flashed him his patented Harrington smile.

“Hey, you’re Eddie, right?” he said warmly. “Robin tells me you like to swim on Saturdays, yeah?”

Eddie blinked at him for a moment. “Um, hi. Yup! That’s me. My mom used to call me her little fish.”

Steve grinned. He liked that. He wished his mom had taken that kind of interest in his swimming. “I saw you swimming when I was helping Joyce set up for the party last weekend and you were really good! Did you compete in high school?”

“Nah,” Eddie said with a shrug. “I wanted to, but I couldn’t get someone to take me that early in the morning so I stopped. Competed in middle school, though. I was decent enough, I guess.”

Steve was shocked. To have to stop just when you hit your stride must have been quite the blow.

“That fucking sucks, man,” Steve said with a grimace. He scratched his cheek thoughtfully. “You ever think about competing on the national level? Because I really think you could.”

Eddie rolled his eyes with a scoff. “Yeah, right. I couldn’t afford the coach let alone all the traveling I’d have to do to make it to meets. I’m going to have to pass on that one.”

“There’s actually a program here for people who can’t afford it,” Steve hedged. “Robin used it when we both first started out.” He was fighting back the urge to start biting his nails.

Eddie’s eyes narrowed and Steve gulped. “Is that so?” He nodded. “Well ain’t that nice. Still not interested.”

Steve wished the floor would swallow him or that pool would suddenly flood or that he’d get a brain aneurysm and die, right there on the spot. He pursed his lips together and nodded with his whole upper body. He turned on his heel and walked away.

When he was about to the other side of the pool, Eddie called out, “Who would even want to coach me?”

Steve turned around with a grin. “I would.” Then he spun on his toes and walked out of the pool area to the cool fresh air of the hallway.

~

Once Steve was out of the pool area and into the hall, he had a full on panic attack. He sank to the floor and held his head in his hands. Why the fuck did he offer to coach Eddie? He didn’t know Eddie, he was afraid of deep water, and he hadn’t even talked to Joyce yet.

It was a real mess now, but the words just forced themselves from him and now he wants to gobble them back up. Well maybe they’ll just avoid each other from now on. They had done a pretty good job up to this point, they could just continue as normal and forget all about how Steve made a fool of his himself.

Then slowly he began to come out of his panic attack to the sounds of soft words and the gentle rubbing of his wrists with their thumbs. His breathing evened, his heart rate dropped, and his eyes fluttered open.

The eyes looking back at him were warm chocolate brown and deeply concerned. The angel in front of him said something but Steve couldn’t hear. Then all at once all the sounds came rushing back into the hall. And suddenly there were more people in the hall with him than he thought. In addition to Eddie who was the one holding his hands, Robin and Joyce were there too.

“I think he’s coming around,” Joyce said gently as Steve’s eyes focused on her. “Hey, there, Steve. Are you okay now?”

Steve gulped, nodding. He was feeling better. In fact he didn’t have a pounding headache like he usually had after an episode. “My head doesn’t hurt.” He looked over at Robin in confusion. “Why doesn’t it hurt?”

“Uh...” Eddie said hesitantly. “I might have something to do with that. I used some calming techniques my friend’s dad showed me.”

Steve turned to him, mouth open in awe. “Oh. Thank you.” He didn’t know what to do with that because technically it was his conversation with Eddie which caused the panic attack in the first place. But maybe that’s why Eddie helped, because he knew he’d caused it. That was a nice thought, Steve supposed.

Eddie smiled and stood back up. “I have to get back to work. You take care of yourself, okay Stevie?”

Steve nodded and Eddie slapped his hands on his knees, standing up. He muttered goodbye to the two women and then wandered off.

As Robin helped him to his feet, she said dryly, “I take it the conversation didn’t go well.”

He barked out a laugh causing Joyce to look back and forth between them in confusion. So Steve put her out of her misery. “I was telling him that he was good enough of a swimmer to compete, but I think he thought I was mocking him or something, because he kinda blew me off.”

He rubbed his temples for a moment before adding. “I even offered to coach him.”

Joyce blinked at him for a moment. “You offered what now?”

When he looked up both Robin and Joyce were looking at him with large, wide eyes and slack jaws. “Yeah, that’s kinda what started the panic attack if I’m honest. I know I am like the worst person for the job with all my...” he waved his hand helplessly. Then he snapped his fingers. “Issues. Anyway. It was nice of him to help me out after all that.”

“Dingus...” Robin said with a heavy sigh. “What were you going to do if he accepted?”

Steve grimaced and ducked his head. “Have you help me?” He looked up at her through his eyelashes and batted them, pouting.

Robin pushed his shoulder. “Disgusting!” Then she gave him a huge hug and kiss on the cheek. “Of course I’d help you.”

“I think it would be perfect,” Joyce blurted out. They both turned and looked at her. “This place could use the publicity if I’m honest. There are other pools in Indy that have been bringing in the bigger names. So if Eddie accepts and starts training under five time gold medal champion Steve Harrington...”

“Then this place could start bringing in the big names again,” Robin said. “Not to say that Steve isn’t a big name of his own,” she added when Steve’s face twisted into something like offense.

Steve shook his head. “Which isn’t going to happen because he said no.”

Joyce and Robin sighed. There was that. But they knew they shouldn’t go trying to pressure Eddie into it. Plus, despite how good he was there was no telling he’d be on par or better than his younger peers.

Steve and Robin left Joyce standing there, pondering her dilemma.

~

Eddie chewed on the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. He was grateful that the technique worked, but he was pretty sure that he had caused the attack in the first place. Which was... not good. He could have handled the offer to have him trained to compete a little better. Steve was paying him a compliment and he threw it back in his face as charity. He didn’t need charity not from no one.

There was no two ways about it. He was going to have to apologize. Which was never his strong suit. But he’d do it. He just wasn’t going to take Steve up on his offer. He would see about staying on here as paid help because then he could still have access to his beloved pool.

It took him a couple of days but finally their schedules matched up and Eddie was on his break and Steve had time between classes again.

“Um, hey,” he said timidly, sauntering up to Steve. “I just wanted to apologize for being a bitch on Monday. I was rude and that wasn’t fair.”

A slow smile spread out over Steve’s face. “Thanks. I did just spring it on you without an preamble, so...”

Eddie laughed. “Yeah, there was that. But it still was mean and I should have been nicer.”

“Well, you made up for it by helping me with the panic attack afterwards,” Steve said. “I’d say that makes us even.”

“A panic attack I’m pretty sure I caused.”

Steve winced, confirming the worst of Eddie’s suspicion on that one. Steve rubbed his chin thoughtful. “I’ll tell you what, if you teach Robin and Joyce that technique you used to pull me out of my panic attack, then we’ll be even.”

Eddie smiled that sweet closed mouth smile that melted Steve’s insides when he saw it. “Sure thing I can do that. On Saturday before the crew swim. I’ll teach them both.”

Steve’s shoulders relaxed. That was going to be so useful, having multiple people know how to get him out of an attack would make it easier for him to go out in public. Something that was very limited after the incident in Beijing.

“That’ll be great, thanks.”

“You should come too,” Eddie suggested. “I know you don’t like being in the pool, but you could come hang out and have a little fun for a change.”

Steve gasped dramatically. “What do you mean? Isn’t teaching beginning classes meant to be fun?”

Eddie’s eyes went wide. It took him two seconds long than it should have to realize that Steve was joking him. He pushed Steve’s shoulder playfully.

“At least with us,” he teased, “we won’t try and drown you, deliberately or otherwise.”

Steve tilted his head to side and looked at him in confusion. Where the urge to bite those cheeks came from, Eddie will deny knowing until his last breath. “I saw that snotty teenaged little shit try to pull you into the pool. That’s fucked up at hell.”

Steve’s smile was blinding. “Fair enough. I like getting to sleep in on Saturdays, but we’ll see.”

Eddie grinned back. “I never used to get up this early for school. But ya know, keeping out of jail is pretty inspiring.”

“I could see that, yeah,” Steve agreed. “It was the one downside being on the swim team in high school.”

“You went to a regular high school?” Eddie asked tilting his head. “I would have thought after getting fifth in your first Olympics you would have gone to a special school for kids that are huge in sports or whatever?”

Steve blinked at him for a moment. “Do they have schools like that?”

“They do for like actors and shit,” Eddie said with a shrug. “So I assumed they would have something similar for the jocks.”

Steve laughed. “Yeah, no. That would have been preferable.” He shook his head. “But no, it’s much more cut throat that than that. Pretty much, schools try and poach students from other schools to make the best sports teams.”

Eddie’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, really?”

“Yep!” Steve said beaming at him. He looked up at the clock on the wall. “Look, my next class is about to start. So I really should get going. Especially with Joyce’s son in the class, I don’t want to be late.”

“Why is he starting so late?” Eddie asked. “I would have thought with Joyce being in charge of the rec center and his older brother literally being a trainer too, he would have been in the tots class.”

Steve nodded. “She didn’t get the manager position until five years ago and Will was afraid of the water by then. So they just waited until he was ready.”

“So he’s ready now?” Eddie asked curiously.

“Mhmm,” Steve hummed. “All his friends are going to be in the class with him, so he ready to hop in the pool with them.”

Eddie smiled. “That’s cute.”

That surprised a huff of laughter out him. “Sure is. But don’t tell him that. He’s at the age where cute is akin to baby and well...”

“He’s too old for that?” Eddie finished.

“Yeah.”

“I feel that,” Eddie agreed. “Have fun in your class, and remember you can always make it look like an accident.”

Steve laughed out right at that and waved goodbye. Eddie watched him go feeling better about the whole panic attack thing. Now all he had to do was make sure it never happened again. Or at least not by his own big fucking mouth.

~

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[nekohime19]

AITA for sleeping with the guy my girlfriend is cheating on me with?

Idk what happened but I just had the funniest idea ever and I just had to write it. So basically it's a reddit post style short story with Wukong's pov. It's an interactive story so the comments will be used as the answers. There will probably be a part two (maybe even a part three) but I don't think I'll write more than that.

Shadowpeach is the end goal and we don't forgive cheaters in this household.

Also sorry Spider Queen, love ya.

AITA for sleeping with the guy my girlfriend is cheating on me with?

Okay, so I'm not used to this internet madness but my successor once said it could help sometimes so here I am sharing drama.

So I (5000, He/him monkey immortal) have been dating this other person we'll call Venom (??, She/her, spider demon) for quite some time. And I've been quite happy with her. I know I'm not the most… upfront with things and I have issues (like a lot) but she liked me and we worked well together.

But then we got into more arguments when I began to train my successor (21, he/him, human???), we'll call him… Bud, just because.

The thing is, Venom got this whole world domination plan, which is kinda normal for demons. A lot of demons do that. And it never really bothered me because I was retired (for context I'm a retired hero who used to battle demons a lot). Besides, I had some kind of the same phase in my youth so I just thought it would pass when she'd realize it's kind of a stupid plan, and anyway she never did anything to achieve it.

But then I found a successor, Bud, and I began to train him to protect the city and fight demons, all that heroing stuff. Venom, of course, wasn't happy with that and we began to get into arguments. She accused me of betraying her and I just told her I was a hero from the start so she shouldn't have expected me to agree with her view and all.

Things got really bad when Venom decided to pull a end-of-the-world shit show on New Year when we agreed beforehand to go on a date that day. It felt like she was spiting me. Plus, she destroyed more than half of the city and gave Bud a really awful time so I was, understably I think, very angry with her.

We got on our biggest argument and took some time apart to cool off. But then Venom got back all sweet and said to leave that behind us, so I was very happy and just decided to forget our arguments entirely. I thought she just decided to stop her world domination thing. It wasn't weird for us to do that. Not the first time we got into an argument about heroing and usually we just get back together after a little bit and decide to move on.

But then I started to notice some weird stuff about Venom. Like, she was on her phone a lot more (when she always thought those mortal things were lame before) and she was kinda dismissive and distant. She forgot some of our dates and had some lame excuses, like taking weeks of vacation or something??? When she never did that before.

In hindsight maybe I shouldn't have done that but I'm a monkey you know, so I'm naturally curious. So I took her phone and snooped around a bit.

Turns out Venom was cheating on me with another guy (??, he/him, monkey demon) we'll call him Six. She was seeing him behind my back and all, planning date and calling him “darling”, 🤢. I saw red. Like cheating ???? I know we have our ups and downs but to the point of cheating on me? I was really hurt by this.

So, I don't know, to try to calm down I started to investigate on Six. Like what kind of guy he is? Is he better than me? I was kinda surprised to discover he's another celestial monkey, like I always thought I was the only one?? But also it kinda hurt because Venom was cheating with a cheap dark version of me.

So I got petty.

I wanted revenge. And info. I decided I was gonna confront this Six guy first and pull a Monkey Cop, sussing him out to see if he was aware of my existence and to clarify this situation. Maybe I should have just talked to Venom but, idk, I guess some part of me was dreading the confrontation with her.

So I got to Six workplace with a disguise and all (sunglasses and hoodie). He works in the local theater and, okay, he was kind of good on stage. I'm not gonna lie, he's also kinda cute. Just a little bit. So I approached him at the end of the show, praising him for the performance.

One thing led to another and we kinda took dinner together??? I learned he moved in recently and that he got in a relationship with Venom three months ago (which hurt). But he seemed to genuinely like her and had no idea he was the side piece here. Sooo, maybe I took pity on him, like the guy didn't deserve that? I offered him a bottle and we got waisted. In hindsight, a really bad idea, especially since I have a loose mouth when I'm drunk.

We had a fun night, doing stuff together. He admitted my disguise was shit (which, rude 🙄) and was excited to meet another celestial monkey. We talked about our experiences and we really bonded. Annnd, I got to ruin it and spill the beans, saying the truth about how Venom is in fact my girlfriend.

At first he didn't believe me, but then I pulled pictures and, yeah, he was understandably upset. He kinda looks hot when mad. We got even more waisted and cried and cursed Venom and ate ice cream then we got on my mountain, drank some more of my personal celestial wine collection, and watched Monkey Cop… Then I say “You're kinda cute.” and he says “You too”.... One thing led to another and, yeah, we slept together.

And so now I'm in my bed typing this with the worst headache on earth and with very obvious marks of what happened last night on me. Six is sleeping next to me and I'm questioning my life (and my sexuality???)

WHAT DO I DO????

AITA ??

[alleyskywalker]

Some of Louis’ choices in the finale do make me raise my eyebrows a little bit at him. He's got all the right to be pissed at Armand, no question. But why does this automatically redeem Lestat in his eyes? OK, sure, Lestat saves him - that's new information to him, but...First, this doesn't change anything about Lestat's part in Claudia's death (which is what he primarily confronted him about in the tower) nor the fact that Lestat willingly participated in the trial. Nor does it change the fact that Armand saved him from being starved to death. Technically, they both saved Louis, but at different points and in different ways. (If Armand really wanted him dead, he could have just left him in the wall or could have warned the coven about Louis’ plan to destroy/attack them, etc. And even though he lied about the proportion of his role, Armand had already admitted to knowing that the coven was planning to kill Louis and Claudia. And…Louis makes the choice to warn Armand to not be at the theater before he gets the “full” story of how much Armand knew/participated. At that point, all Louis “knew” was that Armand had saved him, which…wasn’t even technically a lie in and of itself, just, again the degree of things.)

So, what really changes re: Armand and Lestat in the final reveal? For Armand: he participated in the trial more actively and in saving Louis less than originally supposed. For Lestat: he participated in saving Louis, whereas initially Louis thought he hadn’t. So ultimately…both Armand and Lestat actively participate in the trial and then both participate in saving Louis. (Granted, Armand lies more in the process. But on the other hand – Armand can’t really be expected to care about Claudia and Lestat can; Armand had attachments and commitments to the coven and Lestat didn’t…) If Louis had just walked away from Armand as well, that’s fair enough. But how does Lestat suddenly warrant a reconciliation (and apology??) when a similar level of participation in this whole debacle warrants Armand – Louis’ partner for decades, whom he had supposedly forgiven for the worst of what happened in Paris, who has stuck with him through various self-destructive behavior trying to fix what he'd broken – an immediate break up (with some physical violence to boot) with no questions asked? (And he has to be at least somewhat over it if he hasn’t bothered to hunt down Sam despite them knowing all about where he is and what he’s up to these days.)

Speaking of questions for Louis, here’s one. So, Armand claims that the coven “improvised” a death sentence from the word banishment. He says this in the context of claiming that he saved Louis by mind controlling the crowd into sentencing Louis to banishment instead of death. But what if…it’s not true that the coven “improvised”? Perhaps “banishment” has a double meaning or gets used as a euphemism for those sentenced to die of starvation in the wall or just who get buried in those crypts after committing crimes. I’m not saying, btw, that this is indeed so, but we don’t actually have evidence that it isn’t. Satiago getting flustered at first indicates that this isn’t a formal way to refer to this kind of punishment/sentencing at least, but when he tells the coven to “tuck him in nice and tight” everyone know exactly what he means, so there’s a basis to assume  the possibility of some common understanding of banishment = getting shoved into the wall, alive or not, whether slang, euphemism or similar. So, let’s for a second assume this is true.

Armand wouldn’t admit this context to Louis while he’s lying about saving him at the trial, because it takes away from Armand’s role as his savior, so if he’s going to lie about mind controlling the crowd, he has to lie/bend the truth about how much the coven needed to improvise to arrange for a death sentence regardless. It also makes sense then that Armand might not have taken this road to trying to save Louis, in fear/knowledge that it would/could just come out worse.

So, what of Lestat? Lestat knows the rules, conventions, and language customs around the coven because, well, he founded/was part of it. So if “banishment” could be easily interpreted as “banishment to starve in the wall,” then Lestat would know that or could be expected to. Yet, this is the punishment he chose when he could have mind controlled the crowd into saying anything. Hell, why didn’t he mind control them into saying “not guilty?” Would have solved a lot of issues, yk?  Would this make Lestat kinda extra vengeful/sadistic? Sure, but…he did just willingly participate as the star witness in a trial to burn Louis and their “daughter” to death. Is this really sooo out of character from what Louis knows or thinks he knows about Lestat at that point in time? Like, not even to question Daniel’s suggestion that Lestat saved him – even though, the script is not actually evidence of that, just that Armand might have had a more extensive role in the play? (And…he could have still been under duress to direct it as much as he would have been to just not tell Louis about it. But Louis doesn’t ask about/consider this either.)

I’m not saying that’s how it went, mind. The reunion scene with Lestat makes it pretty clear that Lestat had in fact wanted to save Louis. But Louis can’t/doesn’t know this, certainly not prior to the reunion scene. Did Lestat actually save him? Is there any other context he might be missing? This is just a theory Daniel has after all. Does Claudia’s death no longer matter then? Doesn’t this just mean that both Lestat and Armand belatedly tried to save him? He’s obviously shocked and not thinking straight – I’m not saying this to bash him or anything (and leaving Armand would have been a justified reaction regardless, just for the lying). But it’s kinda crazy to me that Louis is apparently so eager to believe the worst of Armand and find any reason possible to forgive Lestat at the drop of a hat.  

I don’t really have a point here. Just…need to throw thoughts into the void because the show melted my brain a bit. Forgive me, etc. I do love/enjoy all these characters.

[mithrifer]

My thoughts on Flipside

Class of 09 Flipside was hilarious, but I don't think it approaches the original or reup in quality.

I don't think it's because the main character is Jecka, or anything. Honestly, Jecka is the best part of the game, she's consistently good whether it be in jokes or likeability. The side characters just don't... live up to her though. Aside from her it's just Nicole, Jeffery, her dad and Kelly. I don't think Nicole is very good in this game, Jeffery and her dad are rather one note as expected and Kelly... unfortunately stars in the weakest route by far and does not much even there. Barely any Emily and Ari, no Kylar, no Karen. No Kyle. Jecka's great and carries herself quite well throughout the game, but she feels really alone narratively. This could be a conscious choice, as she goes through most of her troubles as a lonely girl without anyone to rely on, but I think they could've made that point without sacrificing the interest that comes with everyone surrounding her. Most of her interactions either use the other characters as jokes or to elevate her story, which wasn't how 09 or reup felt. Nicole got to try out new things thanks to all the weirdos she was surrounded with giving her new ways to have fun, whereas Jecka only really has Jeffery and her dad in that way, and she feels trapped no matter what she does. She didn't seem that way in the first twk games, but I suppose you could say those were not about her. I think the fact that you can't see her mom even on the school routes speaks volumes though.

Every ending is there just to shock you, and I'm not saying this because there's no happy endings or anything, the first two barely had those. It's more like... the endings feel like they barely have anything to do with the routes they come from? Why does the foot route end with... that? It's just out of nowhere. Not to mention the deal with the whole FYE route. I don't think there's anything redeeming about that one, it doesn't even feel like it belongs to the same world. And the way the game cheapens one of the best endings in the original by just, inserting Jecka. Which is something people have wanted for a while now, but I don't think the idea was done justice. It feels like a cheap "here you go" moment to me. It's really upsetting because I feel like the game could have gone in a ton of great places, but there's barely any choices or routes and the abrupt, weird endings just feel like a slap on the face even to the ones that were given. I think the best route was the one about drinking because it felt honest to Jecka's character and the ending was something I could've actually foreseen in one of the earlier games. After that it's the one with Jeffery, but I'm kind of iffy on that because I don't think Nicole would do that. Not for any moral reasons but more due overall disgust. Feels inconsistent with her presently given character.

The writing feels overall different imo. It's hard to put a finger on it, because it definitely relies on the same formula it had in the previous entries, but nothing in Flipside packs the same emotional punch. The humor is fairly good, but it's not spectacular like the first two games were for me. I still laughed out a few times though, since this is right up my alley.

I'm still happy I saw it, because it was quite fun... But it wasn't really more than that. It just felt like a humor piece. I don't know what spoke out to me in the first two VN's, but I don't think Flipside has it. And honestly, considering it true to these two (canon, ig?) lessens their value for me due to the shift in the thematics and I guess writing, so I think I'll ignore it when I think about the series in general. Which is such a shame, because I want to love it, it's just... not there.

It's definitely worth the time to check it out either way though. Again, pretty funny. This is what I felt about it, and I wanted to get my thoughts out. Since it's so early in its release, I've tried to avoid putting any spoilers in the post. Maybe someone will read it and appreciate, idk. Drunk driving rules.

[burning-academia-if]

Heyyyy em! I stole an ask... I'm gonna send it around lol

So Spell gone wrong ROs get transported to some place in time where little bitty MC is the one to find them...

How does that go??? 😏😭🤣

Omg baby MC...back before their Whole World collapsed

Rook: Rook meeting MC at an even younger age than when the two became friends and feeling incredibly odd about being allowed to see you at every stage of your life so far. He's actually pretty good with kids, and I can see him entertaining MC and playing them before sending them on their way (also resisting temptation to say something to MC's dad, which I find very funny considering how MC's dad would not like Rook either)

Beck: I think he'd find MC as a child the cutest thing, and would immediately want to spoil them lol he's the best with kids out of the whole cast, and he'd play with them or tell them stories to distract them before returning them to their parents (with a sugary treat as well, although shh it's a secret from your parents ok?)

Rhea: It takes her a moment to realize who this small child is that has bumped into her. She isn't entirely sure how to interact with kids, but she'd smooth out her usual stern expression and try to make herself gentle, asking where MC's parents are and if they'd like her help to find them. Feels a strange pang in her chest when she hands you off, although she can't tell why

Zoe: Another one of those moments where their Older Sibling mode is activated lol quick to make sure MC is fine before hesitantly asking about their parents. When MC points them out, Zoe feels an instant weight on them. You, small and innocent, and your family rushing to collect you, whole and complete. There's nothing they can do for you, and they can only watch you run back to your family with a heavy heart

Lars: Please, he finds you annoying enough as an adult, let alone as a Small Child LMAO I think his reaction will vary depending on what kind of child you were, but he neither knows how to interact with child or really would want to, even if it is MC. Plus, I think he's too wary of the potential consequences of it so he just acknowledges it's you before moving on

???: Strangely enough, they don't feel they have a right to approach you. Instead, they watch as you interact with your family, anger flaring in their chest at the knowledge of the future. The image is false now, lost to the sands of time. If only the young child they see could have stayed unmarked by the trials to come in the rest of their life

[keakiwis]

if you’re asking then yes it does hurt me to know that if i think too much then i can see so many references between kim dokja and viewpoints. “omniscient reader’s viewpoint” is such a good title in itself. yes, it’s kim dokja’s skill name. yet it’d also be considered his title in a way. or, maybe some would also suggest that it’d be because we’re spectating within his viewpoint. and yet it all narrows down to viewpoints in the end.

i think about how sometimes no matter how much you think you know a person, you won’t ever be able to fully piece them as a whole, you won’t know every inch and detail about them, just as they won’t know every nook and cranny of their self. you go on different perspectives, how different people perceive you. kimcom wrote each of their perspectives of how they saw kim dokja and tried to write it out, yet they will never really know kim dokja, they’ll have different versions of him. just like sometimes, when people mischaracterize, it just proves that not everybody comes to an agreeable point on a character. overall, it’s the most agreed upon kind of traits of a person that gets the title of the “canon compliant.”

but if you think about what 999th yjh said, how do you really think you know that character best? how do you know what kind of character that person is? because of how the narrative tells it? how do you know your favorite character might end up liking chocolate more than vanilla? you might have different versions of the same story if you keep rereading it. you’ll also find yourself seeing smaller details of that story, which might change how you perceive that story.

even as we read in kim dokja’s point of view, we can find that he’s unreliable. which is what boils it down because we can see that he’s an unreliable narrator, so this is clearly what kimcom thought of him. this is what they projected of the parts they knew of him. they saw him as somebody who could never FULLY rely information to them. only some portions of information.

the demon king of salvation, the only constellation to ever make it pass the final wall, the doomed sole reader of a certain web novel, the leader of kimcom, a most dearest companion, a father figure of sort. all things kim dokja was seen as. yet his character was all crafted by these things. these viewpoints were merged to make his story in a way. and in the end, kimcom will never get to fully grasp him, never get to fully understand him.

[abarbaricyalp]

Bed, Beignets, Birthdays, and Other B Things Sam Wilson Likes

Happy birthday, Cap! 🎉 // AO3 Link 🛏🥐🎂

Sam’s arm fell to the other side of the bed and landed on a warm chest instead of cool sheets. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before turning over and sneaking a glance at the man next to him. Scared, just for a moment, that this might slip away if he actually looked.

Bucky was already awake, but he was still sleep rumpled, impression lines crossing his face and chest, hair a mess. Sam wondered if he could convince him to cut it now. Surely he was more susceptible to the idea when it was all tangled in the morning. Then again, Sam figured if the whole ‘your secret identity will be harder to figure out if you cut off your trademark mane’ hadn’t worked, he didn’t think a few knots would either.

“You stayed,” he yawned and stretched his arms into Bucky’s space.

Bucky’s fingers fell across one of Sam’s hands, traced over the lines of his metacarpals lightly. “It’s your birthday,” he said simply. “Thought I should at least buy you breakfast. Give you a day off.”

Sam smiled at the idea. Not hunting down rogue bases and ghost stories was fine by him. It seemed like a lovely day outside. The seasons were actually turning here and there was a crispness he could feel even without opening the window. It made him press closer to Bucky’s chest, hiding his head under Bucky’s jaw. Bucky’s arms went around him, his left arm slow in caution and also because he was laying on it.

“Maybe I like chasing you down,” Sam suggested.

“You like pastries more,” Bucky pointed out. And that was true. Food in general, but breakfast desserts were a favorite. And they were in Paris of all places. Sam really could not envision a better day.

“You got any other plans for the day?” Sam asked. “Or are you gonna disappear as soon as I turn my back on you outside?”

“I don’t plan on letting you outside,” Bucky admitted. “My plans involved getting you in the shower and then back in this bed. Everything else can be ordered in.”

Sam hummed. That did sound like a really good plan. “Can I open the window?”

“We’re on a fourth floor, so I don’t think that many people will be able to hear you. Go for it.”

Sam lifted his head enough to watch Bucky’s face until it broke into a grin. “Oh, that kind of day in bed, huh?” he asked.

Bucky’s fingers moved up Sam’s back. “That kind of day in bed,” he agreed and turned onto his back, pulling Sam over him as he went. His fingers went back to tracing Sam’s spine and Sam tried not to shiver with it. He didn’t succeed.

“If you were gonna ask for something today, what would it be?” Bucky asked.

Sam raised an eyebrow and took his own turn to brush his fingers over Bucky’s chest–the line of hair traveling down his pecs, a birthmark against his ribs, a scar under his collarbone, which Sam weirdly had a matching one to. They’d both gotten them when they were kids, lifetimes before they knew each other or had any shared life experience. Except, Sam supposed, falling out of a tree and hitting every branch on the way down.

“Use pet names today,” he decided. “Don’t call me Wilson.”

“What about–”

“Sam and all your terrible variations are fine,” Sam added.

Bucky grinned up at him. “Alright, doll,” he agreed. “That one’s easy enough to give you.” He sat up so they were shoulder to shoulder, chest to chest, hip to hip. It made Sam light-headed and he tilted forward to catch Bucky’s mouth on his and also steady himself.

Bucky kissed like he thought it was the last thing he was going to do. Sam refused to consider the legitimacy of that fear. Bucky was intense and excited. Sometimes it felt like running into a brick wall and sometimes he opened up like an endless expanse of soft lips and searching hands. Sometimes the brick wall came down between them, and then tilted forward for extra kisses, with a hand on Sam’s chest, pushing him back.

“Wait, wait,” Bucky panted and then took another three kisses. “Shower first,” he encouraged. “I have a plan for today.”

“What about food?” Sam asked.

Bucky grinned at him and it made Sam’s stomach turn over in the most desirable way. “Well, I’m gonna eat,” he said oh-so innocently. “But I don’t know how long it’s gonna take, so I figured we could order in later.”

Sam was nodding before Bucky even finished talking. “Yeah, alright,” he agreed, pulling Bucky into another kiss.

He was expecting it when Bucky stood and lifted him in the same motion, but it still made him go light headed all over again. He kind of loved it when Bucky did that. It made him feel young and spontaneous and it was so damn hot.

“Happy birthday, baby,” Bucky breathed against Sam’s chest, where he seemed to be trying to kiss his way to Sam’s heart.

“Yeah,” Sam agreed dazedly. “And here’s to many more.”

“Well you’ve still got to get through this one,” Bucky teased.

Sam shivered and curled his arms around the back of Bucky’s neck. He kind of thought this wouldn’t be such a bad way to go. But he was fully planning on doing this again next year.

Read the rest on AO3

[bi-hanslefttittie]

KHAOS REIGNS

Okay so I just finished playing the whole thing and finished the three towers for Sektor, Cyrax and Bi-Han (justice 4 him).

Spoilers Below:

My Thoughts (And prayers).

I'll confess that I cannot completely process what happened in the gameplay, my mind is still processing the fact that they killed Bi-Han and the fade to black. Uhhh so this will be mostly scattered points. I didnt feel like replaying for more screenshots but i will do my best with i could screencap.

OKAY FIRST I WAS JUMPSCARED BY HAVIK AS SOON AS I OPENED THE GAME AND THE INTRO PLAYED, WHICH IS PRETTY COOL ACTUALLY. I liked the change of pace we had and the overview is beutiful. The menu is pretty and the incorporation of the towers of Time was great. The new roster obviously is something I like. Also I really liked getting so many skins when I finished playing and the fact that there's new brutalities makes me very happy.

Kharacters.

Cyrax:

Apart from her design being gorgeous, I have a mostly positive opinion on her jugability. Her character was easy to pick up and play with, which made her very enjoyable. She is a noble person with determination and a personality. She is reluctant to follow orders she doesn't agree with and apologizes when she makes a mistake. I think her ending was nice. Her selflessness makes her very endearing and while I felt a bit awkward seeing her scenes with Kuai Liang, the rest was fine.

I came to realize that my issue with her scenes with Kuai Liang weren't so much about her, but the way Kuai Liang was behaving towards her and his brother. Weirdly unforgiving Kuai Liang made me cringe slightly when the scenes became corny and elongated. I think Cyrax as a character has a lot more potential and strength. Not only is she extremely talented and she was deemed honorable of an armor, but she's a confident woman that can throw shade when neccesary. I like that she never bites down an answer and speaks her mind. She has a kind nature but I PLEASE HOPE PEOPLE DON'T UWUfy her.

Another thing I would like to Pin point is how Cyrax prevented Harumi's death. Which I think is curious because Bi-Han was ALMOST responsible for her death. ALMOST.

the fact that she is so willing to die because of what happened is crazy. She's truly remarkable.

I just remembered the I am a human scene and it kinda tugged at my heartstrings considering the history of the character and I really hope she lives a long happy live as a human being... pretty please?

Also can I say how pretty she is????? Like she's gorgeous.

Her tower ending was nice, I like to see her accomodating to the Shirai Ryu and that it wasn't easy for her but Cyrax earned their respect in the end. Good for her!

im afraid of bugs so I can't say much of her Animality...

HER FATALITY IS KINDA CUTE NGL

SEKTOR:

Man, I said it once and I'll say it again. I really don't care if she's good, bad, neutral, i would die for this woman. The sentiment hasnt really changed for me, and I actually grew more endeared to this cocky confident warrior. She is very proud of her heritage and what her family has built. I'm sad we didn't see Madame Bo in this one though, I feel bringing up that Bo is her mom and then not making it important is a bit of a waste? But, yeah, the story wasn't really about her so...

For the most part I really liked her personality, the way her convictions don't waver although she is willing to relent if it is for the greater good (according to her). Sektor comes to me as a bit hypocritical but then again I realize that she saw more to the story than we as an audience do and we don't really know the nature of her relationship with Kuai Liang was before this whole ordeal. Like we know Cyrax and Kuai Liang liked each other once (platonically or romantically I don't really care. But I would love to see a bit of the dynamic before all of this happened).

She is a mentor and is dedicated to keep her promises. I feel that the fact that she wants Cyrax to be the best version of herself (according to Sektor's vision) has a lot to say about her as a character. Specially considering her mom is a mentor too, although in a different way and in a different manner. Bo's training of Raiden and Kung Lao might differ from Sektor's training of Cyrax, but I think she is as dedicated to her craft and her students as Madame Bo. Which is why it pisses her off so much that Cyrax can't fulfill her objectives.

... Yeah I'm living for her making Bi-Han smile. CALLED IT. He is happy around her and she knows it.

I wish I could see more of Khameleon and her though,

Her moments with Empress Tanya were nice, I liked their little banter I wish I could have seen more but then again these characters were sorta... IDK. I mean ignoring the main roster and reintroducing variants from the other universe is kinda awkward.

She is slightly less easy to play than Cyrax on my perspective, but she's fun to use and you can build pretty good kombos with her. Khameleon as a kameo really helped me with her actually.

Her design is really pretty. (im sad that my hc design doesnt match her completely though 😭😭) As for her tower ending I should probably make it a separate posed tied to Bi-Han's ending.

It is a big missed opportunity on making her take charge and not depending on Bi-Han (sure, I love them together, but like, girl) Like it was the perfect chance to get her to advance with the cyber innitiative and take route to what makes her character. She truly has a lot of vision and MK writers have sinned by only telling us about it and not showing us. I WANT TO SEE A SEKTOR WITH GREASE ON HER FACE, MOTOR OIL ON HER CLOTHES, EYEBAGS AND MELTING METAL, WORKING WIRES AND GETTING EXCITED WHEN SOMETHING WORKS.

NOOB SAIBOT:

Man, i want to say a lot about him and at the same time i don't want to say anything at all. I'm conflicted on this dude. Should I separate him from Sub Zero to analyze him or should I simply treat it as a unit?

Well, let's start on the fact that this dude was built, both metaphorically and literally on character assasination. That's it. That's my take on him. Baby I love you and everything but they really said "We have to bring Noob Saibot back somehow -cuz money- so let's make Sub-Zero cartoonishly villanous and let's make him LOSE TO CYRAX, then he will jump into a closing portal where a Titan and his crew are thriving". I literally cackled when he faced Havik and his goons because is like that latino meme "yo contra todos ustedes" (Translation: me vs all of you. Derived from the situation in which a small child decides to have a soccer match agaisnt all the big kids on his own) Yeah, im not amused by a Grandmaster being beat by his subordinate, nothing against Cyrax but this has happened literally more than once. Your character is either a powerful warrior or he isn't. And I'm saddened to say that Bi-Han, both in history mode and playability hasn't been up to the task. (Look at me critique a character I'm so attached to)

As a positive thing. I like that he smiles more in the DLC. I dont think we ever saw him smiling on the base game outside his tower ending which BTW was when Sektor was mentioned which makes me happy. I like that at least we don't have him completely dettached of humanity and see friendship, allyship and a shared vision. (I CAN WORK WITH THIS, ACTUALLY. people often wondered how supportive Bi-Han is of their s/o on fanfics. Y'all got ur answers)

ughhhhhh. Alright I know this is the "Die like my father" dude, but the way Kuai Liang and him speak about the late Grandmaster is weird. AND I WISHED THAT TOMAS WAS MORE INVOLVED IN THIS. LIKE, IT WAS HIS FATHER TOO. We may not share blood but we're still brothers left... where???? Like, at least bring him into the mission instead of introducing comic-relief Johnny Cage (I love him, he is adorable. I smiled every time he appeared onscreen. I don't find him useful at all)

Again im so weirded out by Kuai's attitude but at the same time I get it. Like, on the end pf the story you could really tell these are brothers fighting and part of it is their weakness. which is cute.

Props to the voice actor, he delivers his lines excellenty, and his screams really made me stop laughing and wince. Like, man. What a terrible way to go.

UHHHHHHH onto Noob. I really thought he wouldnt get uncorrupted, like, I saw the way he spoke to Scorpion and said, ah well, this is how it's gonna play out from now on. I'm kinda glad it isn't. I'm not a fan of Noob being Havik's creation... also again. Tomas is needed here. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE A NOOB SMOKE DUO.

Again he lost and uhhh... idk. the whole Liu Kang restoring his mind thing and expecting that the man that was presumably violently tortured to death would act cool headed was kinda stupid to me, but whatever. That's Liu Kang for you.

As for him Killing every person he crosses (good for him!!!) and making it about his ego is funny to me because we are side to side with someone who's rightfully angry because his brother let his dad pass away (And we are supposed to sympathize. Which I do, to some extent), and someone who, again, just got killed in a horrible way and his BODY was used to craft a henchman of chaos and is pissed off because of it (and we are supposed to deem this as wrong because... he is making it about himself?)

Thats the thing for me, actually. The fact that Kuai Liang essentially made it about him throughout the journey (while obeying orders, he still refused to collaborate when it came to Bi-Han, and mentioned A LOT of times about what Bi-Han did, which, fair but it takes from the argument that Bi-Han is wrong for being angry for personal motives)

This IS his fight. Because they did him wrong and for once he wants to escape all expectations and do things on his own terms. Specially considering the level of helplessness he could have felt when yet again someone used him for their cause. This time more literally.

Liu Kang is becoming kinda insufferable to me, tbh but thats only on me I don't have objective grounds for this (Still i find the Invasion's season kinda ironic considering his emphasis on control and the power he holds over individuals to the point of ethem, keeping them dormant)

WHICH BRINGS ME TOOOO

His tower ending. Fuck. Uhhh

Good for him I guess??? I'm glad you found your life's purpose boo, but like it kinda contradicts some of the points i've been making and my argument is now crumbling. Like, if it was so horrible...

also this truly makes me wonder how much does Bi-Han values his own body and if it isnt over the Lin Kuei, if he would perharps considering replacing his body with something more resourceful...

like Machinery.

I kinda like this concept, maybe seeing him mix up ice powers and shadows soon??? As long as they don't fuck it up (They will)

His design is ok. Not a fan but it isn't terrible. It will take me a few more rounds to get accostumed to him as a character.

Havik:

UHHHHHHHHHHHH. I liked the theatrics. He's very dramatic and I love that. His design is gorgeous I really loved the color palettes

He kinda looks like Drahmin ngl. He's a funny character, made me laugh a lot. Which prompted to me making a cock joke in the middle of his monologue to Bi-Han before killing him.

I thought for a moment we was getting Meat back. But one can only dream about things.

I'm sad we didn't get a chapter to play him. I would have gotten more attached.

Yeah, that's it about him. He started imposing but my mind sorta went elsewhere midway through and I think that might be a pacing issue??

OVERALL:

Uh. Yeah, it was a DLC alright. It had a smaller cast of characters, more emotionally charged although clumsier. Didn't have test your mights on it which I kinda missed, I was hoping for something more dynamic like a survive challenge on it or something.

I think it was awkwardly placed and some jokes didn't land correctly, or they did land on the wrong time making the scene lose their intended tension and adding nothing to the story (Looking at you, JC Red Wedding joke)

the animation was gorgeous and some Scenes were beutifully composed like Empress Tanya facing a dragon which, was simply stunning.

Speaking of Tanya. Marrying her to Rain was a choice. Not that I didn't appreciate their dynamic but, you know... Mileena. And stuff.

ALSO TEASING US WITH EMPRESS MILEENA AND GIVING US LIKE TWO SCENES IS A ROBBERY. We need to see said changes in Edenia, like, okay so Shao and Reiko are up to some busines and there's revolts. That sounds interesting, why am I not watching this instead? Idk the continuity on the tower endings concerns me because of it. I hope all those endings finally get a continuation on MK2. PLEASE. There's so much interesting shit there. Including ONAGA.

It was a cute ending. Although I wasn't very satisfied with the resolution of it all. It was fine I guess.

[electricdissonance]

50 Follower Electric Dissonance Q&A!

thanks to all who sent in asks!! grab some popcorn and i hope you enjoy!! :]

I'm not sure! There are definitely a handful of major plot points I have planned for you all to work through that will take many months to get through (especially given my work schedule oof). After which, I'd consider the AU technically concluded. I'd love to go beyond just the main stuff, but I don't really have plans for something like an after story yet ^^;

I think the existence of after story fully depends on the kind of relationships with characters and new plot/conflict potential YOU all build using your characters!

idk im a huge fucking furry LMAO

really though, in the earliest Sonny concepts I visualized him in the digital world as this horrifying mess of vengeful teeth and claws. It was the most appealing way to manifest the monstrosity of his character, and at first I tried to create some vague beast-shaped creature and when it ended up looking like a bear, I just rolled with it!!

(he's also a big hairy dudeso like there's that too HAHSDJ)

As for your second question.........

:)

The year is 1997, a year derived from the game's lore which states that Sonny passes away months prior to KinitoPET's scheduled release by the end of 1999. I just subtracted two years since this is an AU that takes place early in KinitoPET's development :>

I'm glad you've been enjoying it!!! <3

IT'S VERY FUN!!! Growing up I loved reading and participating in ask blogs; I never thought in a million years I'd be behind one :) one of the most rewarding aspects has got to be watching you all interact and play with the story and characters <3

I do wish I could move this chunk of my life to an earlier time though because having next to 0 time or energy to consistently update sux :')

Certainly! :3

Kinito - He's still pretty hurt by what Firecracker had said... He's too nice/timid to treat them harshly or anything like that, but he's certainly going to be fairly guarded unless they come forward and apologize.

Sam - It's pretty hard to get under his skin; he's a pretty empathetic guy, so he understands why Firecracker is the way they are (the whole situation sounds insane). So, he has no particular favor or ill will towards them.

Sonny -

im a huge fucking furry

[trans-xianxian]

as much as I love wei wuxian and slander against him is banned from this house I Do sometimes think that people forget he's like. supposed to be a morally complex person who did things that were bad. like the whole point of him and his story is that he was a good man who was pushed to do terrible things, and when we fail to examine those terrible things/completely ignore them, we're sort of doing wei wuxian and the points being made by his arc a disservice

[egophiliac]

CROWLEY SSR THOUGHTS

there is zero basis for this, but I can't get this thought of my head

I don't know why I decided to draw it this way