#fuck. so understated and so good. it's not big obvious in your face acting but you can still see/feel just how

[dahllaz]

I've been thinking about the three bosses Liv has had since being in command and how...I really miss Dodds. I think he was the best, storyline/plot driving wise. Garland would maybe be the easiest to work for, but Dodds was more balanced I think, between being an antagonist to Liv and backing her play.

Kind of like Goldilocks story. Garland was too agreeable, McGrath is only antagonistic, but Dodds was just right.

But it also makes me think of one of my favorite scenes from SVU, which is the interrogation of Patton in Forgiving Rollins. I like it so much because it cemented who Dodds is for me (and Peter Gallagher and Kelli Giddish were just fucking amazing too) and even when I disagree with his stance and/or actions I never forgot what this scene showed me.

So we've mostly just seen the political aspect and the antagonistic to Liv side of Dodds up to this point. Even in the scene preceding, he's defending Patton and pointing out he's a cop and should get the benefit of the doubt. With Liv, of course, pointing out so is the victim.

But they are completely setting up that's he's just going to be all in on siding with Patton. The Good Ol' Boys club is strong and thriving etc etc. But they also give us a little hint. Because again, we've seen him being the political Chief before this, but here he also mentions that he was a Homicide detective. Quick little line about live victims being hard to deal with but it's setting up his bona fides as a cop.

And then we have the interrogation. And it's subtle, but Dodds goes from Politician to Cop. He may have walked into that room thinking he was with an equal but it's not long before he knows he's just looking at another perp. Patton knows it too, it's why he gets pissy and then shows his hand by verbally attacking Rollins. But I am convinced that Dodds knew he'd raped Taymor before Patton tried to shift blame.

And Peter Gallagher is fucking amazing because it's all so subtly acted. It's just. The Chief fell away to reveal the (good) cop underneath and I love it. And never forgot it.

#svu #look. Kelli was fucking amazing this scene too. she can bring the more overt emotion like when she broke down in #tucker's office after kim set her up. and in liv's office after finding out she fired the shot that killed esther. but. this scene? #fuck. so understated and so good. it's not big obvious in your face acting but you can still see/feel just how #absolutely devastated and gutted and Exposed Amanda feels when Patton starts saying this is all because she was talking shit #man they set this up so good. Amanda was so so sooo careful to neither endorse nor condemn patton when they asked her opinion #and then it was all for naught because patton can just not resist trying to tear her down and she knows. she knows #that her squad Knows now. they may not know the details (but they do. they know enough. rapists have patterns) but they Know #but to bring it back to the post - dodds is a good enough cop (& person) to also Know. mcgrath could never. garland would but be unsure #my only wish is that they'd let us see more of a revelation of that Knowing from Liv rather than Nick. because Liv is the one #that Amanda half-way disclosed to way back in Educated Guess in s13

[hypnoneghoul]

@xxwhiskeyxx

Pull Me Down Again

WC: 2,7K

Relationship: Swiss & Mountain

Tags: Soft anal sex, first time, love confessions, fluffy smut

“I’d love to help, but your first time has to be special, so if you don’t want to have it with me, I underst–”

“NO! No, please, I’d never want it to be anyone else, I want you. Please, Mountain."

Notes: Swissalps' first time is not a topic I fool around about. I couldn't do it half-assed, so here's nearly 3k words of them being stupid and cute and in love and fucking about it

Read under the cut or on AO3.

Swiss had always been a lot. He had crawled out of the summoning circle uninvited—with a toothy grin and fiery eyes—but he had fitted right in and everyone had loved him right away. He’d loved them all, too, but his eyes had been fixed on one specific ghoul from the very beginning.

Mountain. The moment he’d seen the giant standing over him in the humid and moldy ritual chamber, stoic, but obviously ready to pounce if the new ghoul would decide to attack any of his packmates or Papa. Swiss hadn’t, of course, but when he thought back to that moment, he knew that even if he did have such plans, Mountain’s look alone would stop him.

He had been truly scary in that moment, but Swiss had immediately felt something else about him, too. Something the multi ghoul would recognize as the feeling of safe and home, if he had ever known them in the Pit.

When Swiss had gotten up—he had stayed down until the two ghoulettes who’s summoning he hijacked had left with the pack, not wanting to risk looking like a threat in any way—he’d swayed and stumbled on his feet, and had fallen right into the giant’s arms. He’d tensed, afraid, but Mountain’s touch was gentle. Something Swiss had never experienced before.

The earth ghoul’s face had finally softened and he’d smiled down at the slightly dumbfounded ghoul as he’d scooped him up. Swiss wasn’t especially big, nearly a runt in his old pack in the Pit—though most of the ghoul’s he had just seen were even smaller—but he wasn’t small either, and Mountain had picked him up like he weighed nothing.

“Welcome Topside,” Mountain had rumbled and Swiss felt something warm bloom in his chest.

Months later, Swiss was completely and utterly in love. So enchanted by the earth ghoul that he lost any and all composure every time he and Mountain would be in the same room. He was just perfect, so smart and beautiful and strong and gentle and–

“Hey, Swiss, you there?” a voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Mountain’s voice.

“Yeah, uhm, h– hi,” he squeaked, cheeks burning. The earth ghoul chuckled at his fluster as he flopped down onto the couch next to Swiss. So close their thighs ended up touching and the multi ghoul’s gut twisted.

(Mountain knew exactly how stupid Swiss was about him and truth be told he was no better. The only thing he was better at was acting and not being so obvious. There was an unspoken rule amongst the ghoul’s to not offer any new summons to join the pack’s sexual and romantic dynamics until they properly settled Topside. Usually three-four months was safe, and for Swiss it had been five. Mountain was irrevocably in love with him and he didn’t want to wait anymore.)

���Any plans for the evening, darling?” the earth ghoul asked and watched Swiss’ blush get impossibly deeper in real time.

He swallowed thickly, “D– darling?”

“Not good? I just felt like it fits.”

“No, it’s– it’s nice,” Swiss mumbled and Mountain grinned. 

“Well, then?”

“Then… what?”

The earth ghoul laughed, “I asked you if you had any plans for the evening.”

“OH, oh, yeah, right, you did.” Swiss’ ears drooped and he hung his head, suddenly very interested in a certain loose thread on his jeans. “No plans.”

“In that case, would you like to spend it with me?” Mountain put a hand on the other’s thigh and the multi ghoul jumped, heat flooding him.

“Y– yeah, yes, sure,” Swiss sputtered, looking up at him to send him a little smile.

Mountain squeezed his thigh before letting go and getting up. “See you later, then. It’s a date.”

The next few hours were a torture. Swiss was anxious—terrified, really—but excited. He had no idea what Mountain would want to do with him, but he knew he’d fuck it up somehow. He didn’t know what a date really meant, so he looked it up on that tiny touchy device he was given, and the results terrified him even more. Dates were for people in love and a lot of times ended up in sex. Was that Mountain’s way of saying he did like him and maybe–

Now, Swiss knew what sex was, but he never had a chance to… participate in the act. There’s no breeding or mating opportunities for multi ghoul runts down in the Pit. He knew the feeling—roughly—he did know how to get off, relieve some pressure and pent up energy, but actual sex? With Mountain?

He came to a conclusion he’d simply die.

The earth ghoul hadn’t given him a specific time or place for when and where they should meet, so Swiss prepared himself mentally pretty early, and waited for a sign he should move. It came in a form of a text message and the multi ghoul nearly jumped out of his skin when his silly device buzzed in his pocket. Mountain told him to meet him by his room in five. Clear request, Swiss could do that.

Those five minutes were probably the longest in Swiss’ entire life, but finally he made it to the earth ghoul’s room. Mountain opened the door and his knees buckled. “Been waiting for you, darling.”

“Hi,” Swiss mumbled and dropped his eyes to the floor, the sight of Mountain in a shirt too much for him to handle. He let him in and prompted him to sit on the edge of his bed.

Swiss thought Mountain started talking, but he was too busy staring at him and taking him whole in to pay attention to what was falling from his perfect, full lips, looking so soft.

“...wiss, hey, Swiss, are you okay?” the earth ghoul waved an elegant, long fingered hand right in front of his face to snap him back to reality. Mountain’s brows were furrowed with honest worry. Swiss must’ve really spaced out.

Suddenly he couldn’t bear to wait any longer.

“You are so fucking gorgeous and smart and kind and I can’t not think about you all the time and you turn me into putty of a flustered mess and I think I’m in love with– no, I know I’m in love and you and it’s so bad it hurts and–”

Mountain stopped him with a finger placed over his lips, grinning with a glint in his eyes that couldn’t have been described with any different word than mischievous. Swiss stared at him with wide eyes, face burning after that bout of bravery.

“I think I’m in love with you, too, darling,” the earth ghoul purred, taking his finger off of Swiss’ lips and cupping his face with his hand instead.

“Thank fuck,” Swiss breathed out with a chuckle as relief washed over him. Mountain scooted closer, their legs now touching.

“May I?” he asked and Swiss remembered that.

“I– I’ve never…” he mumbled, “don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“I could never be disappointed with you. I’ll teach you everything, if you’ll let me.”

“Please, Mountain. Please do.” The earth ghoul smiled and leaned in, cupping the back of Swiss’ head with his free hand and pressing their lips together. Swiss let out a sweet little nose when they met, melting into the kiss and Mountain’s arms. Feeling nothing but contentement from the multi ghoul, he deepened the kiss, slowly exploring him.

Neither of them knew if they made out like that—all lovely and gently—for ten minutes or an hour. At some point Swiss ended up laid out on the plush bed with Mountain hovering over him as he peppered the multi ghoul’s face with kisses, making him giggle like a teenage girl. Nothing was rushed, they enjoyed just feeling each other and kissing until they were breathless, only to move to kissing the other somewhere else. It was perfect.

Until Swiss got anxious. He tensed when he felt something low in his gut stirring, afraid that it was still not what Mountain would want from him, that he’d mess up their good time by popping a boner. The earth ghoul felt his sudden hesitation. He pulled away. “Everything okay, darling?”

“Yeah, I just– I don’t want my body to ruin it,” he mumbled, embarrassed.

“What do you mean– oh.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you’re really hot and I’ve been literally dreaming about this and I’m a dumbass who can’t control–”

“It’s okay.” Mountain stopped his rambling again, this time with a kiss. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, we can proceed however you want. We can pause so you can take care of it on your own… or I can help you.”

Swiss stammered, “W– would you? But I’ve never…”

“I would, I’d love to,” the earth ghoul assured, “but your first time has to be special, so if you don’t want to have it with me, I underst–”

“NO! No, please, I’d never want it to be anyone else, I want you. Please, Mountain, I want it to be you,” Swiss pleaded, clinging to Mountain’s shoulder with an iron grip. Once he realized he was doing it he let go, not wanting to hurt him.

“Okay,” he huffed with a smile, “okay, darling, we can do that. I’m honored, but are you absolutely sure?”

Swiss nodded frantically, “Yes, yes, yes.”

Mountain leaned down to kiss him once more before pulling away to unbutton his shirt. The multi ghoul’s mouth fell open as more and more skin was revealed and Mountain smirked. He wasn’t vain, but he wouldn’t lie and say Swiss’ reactions didn’t fuel some weird fire inside him.

“Like what you see, don’t you, darling?”

“Uh-uh.”

The earth ghoul chuckled at his sophisticated response and threw the shirt completely off. “Your turn.”

Swiss snapped out of his trance—but didn’t take his eyes off of Mountain—and with shaky fingers tried to take care of his own shirt. He was too shaky, though, and failed miserably on the buttons. After a few moments of watching his struggle intently, the earth ghoul batted his hands away and opened his shirt for him. Meanwhile, Swiss looked as if drool would start trailing down his chin any moment.

Soon enough—but not as soon as it could’ve been—they were both naked and now Swiss actually was drooling at the sight of the earth ghoul’s beautiful cock. He was also anxious, intimidated by its size.

As he was staring at his dick, Mountain was warming up lube between his fingers. He was kneeling between Swiss’ legs, calves on Mountain’s thighs, nicely spread and waiting. He may have been a blushing virgin, but at that point he was so focused on the earth ghoul he couldn’t care less about being exposed. For the first time ever like this.

“Ready?” he asked. Swiss nodded frantically, but Mountain only tutted. “Words, darling.”

“Yes, yes, fuck, please,” he begged as he bent his legs and opened them further.

The other smiled, leaned down to kiss Swiss’ knee and brought his hand to his hole. With his eyes locked on the multi ghoul’s own to watch out for any signs of discomfort, Mountain pressed a finger in.

“Oh,” Swiss huffed. “That’s… weird, but nice.”

“You’ve never even put anything up here?”

“N– n–oh,” he broke off into a moan when Mountain crooked his fingers and hit his prostate. “Just a– a quick handy now and t– then.”

The earth ghoul hummed in acknowledgement and continued slowly working him open, his free hand smoothing up and down Swiss’ thigh soothingly.

He was floating. He had no idea that sex was all that. He knew the concept, but only from the Pit, where everything was about survival. Sex there was quick and feral and rarely about pleasure. This? This was as close to heaven as any ghoul could ever get.

The multi ghoul zoned out a bit, drowning in love that Mountain was showering him in. He had never before felt so… important.

Mountain squeezed his thigh assuringly as he pulled his fingers out. (When did he get four in there?) “Swiss, are you with me? I need you to listen for me now, okay?”

“Uh-uh… yeah.”

“This is the part where I… put it in. Are you still down, are you sure? I can and will stop at any moment if you need me to, but there’s no going back once that line is crossed,” he explained and while normally it would sound painfully patronizing, Swiss felt nothing but kindness and caring from Mountain.

“I trust you, Mountain,” the multi ghoul said, trying to sound as coherent as possible for that one moment. “I want you and I’m sure of it. I am in love with you.”

“Okay,” he muttered and rose on his knees, moving to hover over Swiss. One hand next to his head, the other on his hip, holding protectively but not possessively. Not yet.

Mountain kissed him and guided his cock to Swiss’ ass.

“I love you,” he whispered against his lips and pushed in. The multi ghoul moaned into Mountain’s mouth as he kept going deeper and deeper, Swiss’ legs wrapped around his middle, until his hips were flush against the other’s. “Okay?”

“S– so, so okay,” Swiss breathed out. “But, uhm… I don’t think it's gonna be a long ride.”

Mountain chuckled, giving the other a moment to adjust, “Me neither, darling, but it doesn’t matter. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

“You gonna fuck me on every surface Topside in that time?”

“Probably. If you’re good I may let you fuck me, too.”

“That’s a good– fuck, incentive,” the multi ghoul giggled, making Mountain laugh at him, too. “Can we, uh, can you move now? Please?”

Mountain nodded and slowly pulled out, just to push back in with a bit more purpose, but equal amounts of gentleness. Swiss moaned, all fucked out, and the earth ghoul took it as a good sign. He picked up a slow but solid rhythm, hitting the other’s prostate with every thrust, causing waves of pleasure to wash over him.

As for Mountain himself, he was barely holding onto his sanity. Swiss was so tight, wet and warm, it was pure bliss. He’d never let himself lose composure in such a moment, but he knew for sure there would be a time he’d fuck the multi ghoul into a true mess.

“M– Mountain, I– I’m– I’m gonna–”

“That’s okay. It’s alright, darling,” he assured, speeding up just a little bit. Swiss hooked his arms around the earth ghoul’s neck and brought him down for a desperate, borderline filthy kiss. Mountain brought a hand to cup his face to return it, albeit a little gentler than Swiss did. “Are you gonna come for me, hm?”

“Yes– fuck,” he whined loudly. “Please, and– and you… in, Mountain, please.”

“Mhm,” Mountain hummed and doubled down on pushing Swiss to the brink of his orgasm. It didn’t take much—barely a few thrusts—before the multi ghoul was going rigid in his arms, clenching around his cock and spilling white between them with a pretty little noise falling from his lips. “There we go, my darling. My sweet darling.”

He was beyond words in the throes of the best orgasm of his entire life. Mountain didn’t need much more to come himself, but a bolt of anxiety shot through him at the sight of tears in Swiss' eyes. He never prayed for anything before, but at that moment he was praying that it was good tears.

“Swiss? Swiss, darling, are you okay?” he asked as soon as he saw some brain return to the multi ghoul as they were coming down.

“Yeah, no, it’s good. So good,” he said, all breathless. “It’s just… I’ve never… I wasn’t ever anyone’s anything, much less someone’s darling.”

Mountain smiled, relieved. “I love you, my heart,” he whispered into Swiss’ lips, following it with a kiss between his horns.

“Your heart, now, hm?” the multi ghoul hummed, half-asleep under him already.

“Yeah. Yeah, you are.”

#hypnone writes #the band ghost #nameless ghouls #swiss ghoul #mountain ghoul #swissalps

[thiswasinevitableid]

For the meet Ugly- 13 with Danbrey?

Here you go! I went SFW on this one

13: we make contact before trying to steal the last seat on the subway/bus/train and I end up in your lap and fuck you, I’m going to stay here because I’ve had a really long day and this seat was mine

The bus is not as fun as she remembers.

When Aubrey was a little kid, her mom would use the bus to take her to the museum or the movies or, on the best days, the magic store. Yes, the Little’s had a nice car, but her mom believed that not only was the bus better for the environment, it was a way to remember that there was nothing scary about being around people who come from all sorts of circumstances (Aubrey later learned this was due to her mom once being at a PTA meeting where hands were rung over children using public transportation being exposed to “unsavory” people).

“The world is full of all kinds of people, firebug. That’s not something to be scared of.”

She wipes her eye surreptitiously under the West Virginia sun. You’d think she’d have learned not to think about mom in public by now.

The bus line she’s using for her tour is inexplicably crowded; half these towns are on their way to being ghosts but somehow she’s always fighting for a seat. She doesn’t like her chances for this leg of the ride, since she got distracted reading about the history of Doc Martens and ended up towards the back of the line.

By some luck, there’s one seat left as she squeezes onto the bus, using her body to keep people from elbowing the fabric carrier containing Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD. But in the time she takes to turn to sit, someone else slips into the spot, so fast it’s almost inhuman.

“Um, excuse me, but this was my seat.” She turns to confront the thief and finds herself looking at a young woman about her age, with honey-blonde hair and hazel eyes which, were she not tired and grumpy, Aubrey would have lots of compliments for.

“No, it wasn’t. I got here first. You’ll just have to stand.”

“That’d be fine if it were just me.” The bus pulls away from the curb, “but it’s bad for Dr. Harris Bonkers to be suspended for too long.” She adjusts the bunny bag, hoping his big brown eyes and wiggly nose will make her case for her.

“Awww” the blonde coos, booping him through the mesh, “don’t worry little guy, you aren’t going too far. You’ll be fine if your person stands for a little bit.”

“It’s not a little bit, it’s twelve hour trip to my next stop!”

A smile full of understated charm and triumph, “It’s thirteen to mine.”

“Aw beans.”

“......are you going to get out of my lap at any point?”

“No” Aubrey turns her head to look out the window, “this is a good seat, even if there’s someone in it. I’m staying.”

It’s not her finest moment, to be sure. But she’s tired and heartsick so she is staying in this seat, damn it. The other woman grumbles something and slumps back against the black seat.

They hit the next stop, but not enough people get off, so she stays in her mystery lady’s lap. Her seat(mate) pulls a baggie of granola from the pocket of her definitely-not-cute-at-all overalls and crunches it louder than necessary by her ear.

“Uh, your rabbit is trying to get out.”

Aubrey glances down to see the mesh front straining as Dr. Harris Bonkers attempts to reach the granola.

“Don’t beg, young man, it’s rude.”

“Can he have a piece?” She holds up a dried strawberry.

“Um, sure.” Aubrey watches as she unzips the top of the carrier and let’s the rabbit nibble the treat from her hand. Aubrey’s a little jealous.

They don’t say anything to each other, but the rabbit gets two more treats before they reach the next stop. The person who’s spent the whole trip asleep in the window seat next to them jerks awake and hurries off the bus. Aubrey scoots into it before anyone can dare challenge her.

They’ve just turned onto the highway when she says, “Thanks. For, um, for sharing your granola.”

“You’re welcome.”

“And I’m, um, I’m sorry for sitting on you.”

“Yeah that wasn’t great, but if someone was going to sit on me I’m glad it’s the cutest passenger on the bus.” She points at Dr. Harris Bonkers, but keeps her eyes on Aubrey.

“We’re both kinda tired. We had a show late last night and we’re nervous for the one tomorrow.”

“Show?”

“I’m a magician and he’s my assistant. I’m known as the Lady Flame” she snaps and finger-guns, setting off a flashpaper, “but you can call me Aubrey.”

“Ma’am, no smoking on the bus!”

“Sorry!” She calls to the driver.

“I’m Dani” the blond boops Dr. Harris Bonkers again, “whose this guy?”

“Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD.”

“Nice to meet you, doctor.”

“Are, um, are you just traveling for fun?” She unzips the carrier enough for them both to pet him.

“Not really. I was running an, uh, an errand. I’ll be glad to get back to Kepler.” She fiddles with something in her pocket, “could I see more of your act?”

“I think that might get me thrown off the bus.”

“Don’t you have pictures?” Dani smiles.

“Oh duh, right, here, I even got someone to take some videos.” She scooches closer, Dani closing the remaining distance to rest their shoulders together. As they move through the videos, Dani is noticeably excited, even claps a few times. When Aubrey’s battery dies, they say “fuck” in sync.

“...want to play ‘I Spy?”

“Hell yeah.”

The next three hours pass in a flash, the two of them laughing and trading stories, all the while both cuddling closer to the window (to better play the game, of course).

They reach a travel hub, the driver informing everyone that they’ll leave in an hour on the dot. The two of them select a Dennys, since in Aubrey’s experience they tend to ignore her bringing in an eighteen pound rabbit.

She charges her phone while they eat, Dani getting corned beef hash, (“not as good as the one my friend makes back home”) while Aubrey has pancakes. She gets a little syrup on her cheek and nearly asks Dani to clean it off for her. With her tongue.

It’s dark when they get back to their seats, but the driver keeps the A.C cranked to the point that Aubrey is shivering. Dani pulls a shawl from her backpack, draping it around them both like a blanket as the trees become nothing more than vague shapes in the dark.

They talk about Aubrey’s tattoos, about the garden Dani has back home (“lots of veggies, you’d like that, wouldn’t you buddy?”). Last night starts catching up with Aubrey, yawns threatening to steal her attention from the way the light catches in Dani’s hair.

“Wanna see more videos?” That’s low energy flirtation, right?

“Of course.”

As she opens the videos, she hits an older album and an image of her and her mom fills the screen. She freezes, like the highbeams of the past are barrelling towards her and all she can do is watch.

“Aubrey?” Dani touches her cheek.

“Um, sorry.” She shoves the phone in the pocket of her jacket, “I, my, my mom died a little while ago. That was her. Um. I guess that was obvious. Sorry.”

Dani’s fingers find hers, interlacing them gently, “I’m so sorry, Aubrey. I...I get it. My family is, well I made some choices that mean I’ll never get to see them again. I, the reason I went on this trip was because I heard one of my brothers might have, uh, done the same thing. He hadn’t.” She sighs, “I don’t even know if they’re all still alive.”

“That sucks. This all. Fucking. Sucks.”

Dani nods, rests their heads together, “You know what doesn’t suck? Meeting you.”

“Pfffft” Aubrey smiles through her tears, hoping the joking noise will hide her blush.

Dani cups her cheeks, “I’m serious. Getting to know you feels like, like rounding a corner and seeing your house after years away. I, this is going to sound silly but please tell me you’re stopping in Kepler for a show?”

“I’m not but I, um, I guess I could still stop off there? If you really wanted me to.” Something about Dani’s smile, the warmth in her eyes, soothes her grief to sleep for now.

“I do, fireblossom, so much.”

Aubrey blushes, “Think you might be my first fan; no one else ever requests a show.”

Dani kisses her cheek, “I might even request one in private.”

“I could get into that” she yawns, “damn it, I don’t wanna sleep. I wanna keep flirting with you, cutie pie.”

Dani shifts their luggage, scoots sideways and guides Aubrey’s head down into her lap, “Get some rest, Aubrey. Just being able to look at you is enough for me.”

“Awww” Aubrey nestles against her stomach, “you’re so cute...just a...cutie...pie...zzz”

The last thing she feels is a kiss on the forehead and Dani tucking the shawl around her.

-----------------------------------------------

Aubrey does not want to get off this bus; Dani is cuddled up next to her, telling her about what kind of flowers she’d grow her, when he stops come up.

“Whelp….this is me.”

Dani helps her off the bus, passing her the carrier containing a sleeping Dr. Harris Bonkers. Then she smirks, “is your balance pretty good.”

“Yeah? Wh-mmphhoh” She holds tight as Dani nearly knocks her off her feet in a kiss. She tastes like the strawberry poptart they split for breakfast and is not making it any easier to say goodbye.

“Promise you’ll come see me in Kepler?’ Dani murmurs against her lips.

“Promise.”

A kiss on the nose, then a longer one on the mouth that makes Aubrey feel like she’s going to go up flashpaper. Then Dani is gone, off towards Kepler. A town Aubrey has no knowledge of and no idea how to navigate. And she didn’t get Dani’s last name.

“Fuck.” She says to the rabbit.

The rabbit simply snuffles in reply.

-------------------------------------

A few hours after her most catastrophic show to date and getting a gun pointed at her, Aubrey walks into Amnesty Lodge and finds a certain face, haloed with golden hair, waiting for her by the fireplace.

#Aubrey little/dani #danbrey #TAZ Amnesty #meet ugly

[msbluebell]

Dimitri Protection Squad

It’s the understated truth of FE3H that the Blue Lions all adore Dimitri.

I’m not just saying that as, like, a head canon. Just watching their interactions with him in the game, the way they worry of his mental health, their supports with him, and the very real fact that even after he went feral and said/did awful shit their first concern when he starts getting back on the right path is to make sure that he knows they’re not made at him and are just glad he’s okay. 

Like, I’m serious. The Blue Lions all love Dimitri with such ferocity that I’m surprised it’s not brought up more. I know it’s pretty subtle, in some cases, but you can’t convince me that they’re not doubling as a Dimitri protection squad.

Now, Dedue is the obvious one. He is the one man band of Dimitri protection. But I think the others deserve attention for the sheer amount of Dimitri love they have.

Like, Annette outright said that Dimitri is her big brother in their C-Support. You bet that girl loves him with all the love her heart has to give.

And Sylvain is obviously concerned for his boy, his pal, his prince, his friend Dimitri. He concern through their support chain is getting Dimitri to relax a bit, now, one could argue that this is self-serving, but I would argue back that Sylvain bargained with Dimitri that he would hit on girls less if Dimitri just took time to relax a little. Sylvain, who hit on Ingrid’s granny, actually voluntarily decided that Dimitri was important enough to him to flirt less.  Not only that, but he is also very much aware of Dimitri’s habits, crushes, is one of the first people to outright state that he’s going to forgive Dimitri for those four months of insanity, and shows concern for his well-being several times.

And Felix, while he acts like he can’t stand Dimitri, would probably knock someone’s teeth out for the guy. He very obviously the one most concerned with Dimitri’s mental health and has been beating the “Someone Do Something About This” drum for years regarding Dimitri’s untreated trauma. While he does call Dimitri a boar and an animal, I personally interpret those actions as his way of trying to keep Dimitri in line and from going too far. It’s very clear in any of his endings where Dimitri has died that he just isn’t as content with life without Dimitri around. He seems to regard himself as the one meant to keep Dimitri in line, and if he can’t than Byleth will. Maybe he can insult Dimitri, and maybe Byleth can too, but he’s going to fuck you up if you try to touch him.

Ingrid not as obviously close as Felix, perhaps, and not openly loving like Annette, but she very obviously loves Dimitri too. And I think it’s for more reasons than her dreaming about being a knight and Dimitri being the prince of her country. No, she has very found memories with him, openly gets along with him, and has a very interpersonal connection and healthy concern for him that can only come from two close childhood friends. She would 10/10 stab you for Dimitri and you can’t convince me otherwise. 

Mercedes will absolutely not stand and self-deprecation on Dimitri’s part. She loves him, very deeply cares for his well being, and wants the best for him. She is 100% ready and willing to help this boy learn how to take care of himself and she’s going to drag him towards self-love kicking and screaming.

Ashe, while not nearly as close with him as the others, holds nothing but the greatest respect for Dimitri, and very obviously wants to be his friend and his only being held back by how overwhelming Dimitri’s presence is for him. He respects his prince, dang it, and is in awe of him, and he will 10/10 fight you.

Flayn, too, loves Dimitri the moment she joins the Blue Lions and you cannot convince me otherwise. She is delighted by how sweet and kind he is, and is very obviously concerned for him whenever he isn’t feeling well.

Every last one of these kids would fight you for Dimitri. You insult Dimitri in front of them? They’re going to fight you, and you’re going to die. You will die and it will be your own fault. 

Some anti-royal student suggests that it would have been better if Dimitri died at Duscur? Felix is going to break his nose. But not before they have to face a full blast of Mercedes #Disappointed look. Dedue is going to be looming over that dumb kid with a heated glare to rival the sun itself, arms crossed and just breathing contempt. Ashe has already thrown down the gauntlet and is ready for a good ole round of pure fisticuffs. Annette is crying she’s so made, and yelling about how Dimitri is wonderful and this kid is just a bitter bully.

The only reason this kid is still alive is because Sylvain is holding Ingrid back. That does not, however, keep them save from the full on heat of their shared contempt. The power of it could have destroyed this world alone.

Flayn, like Annete, is crying frustrated tears as she insults the offender with all the insults she knows, telling them they’ll never be as good and kind and caring as Dimitri.

Byleth rolls in, stares into the kid’s very soul, and just says one word, “Detention.” Somehow it’s much worse than everyone else.

Dimitri, when he gets back from grabbing the tea-bags or whatever he was out of the room doing, is very confused about the collective contempt his friends have suddenly developed for this one person in particular. But that’s fine, he doesn’t have to know that anyone said anything about him. In fact, the squad are going to make sure he never hears shit like that. Ever.

#dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #Dimitri Protection Squad #Blue Lions #Blue Lion Route #felix hugo fraldarius #sylvain jose gautier #annette dominic #ingrid brandl galatea #dedue molinaro #mercedes von martritz #Ashe #Flayn #byleth eisner #fe3h #fe16 #Fire Emblem Three Houses #Dimitri/Hugs is My OTP #The Blue Lions will fight you for Dimitri #This is canon

[prismatic-bell]

So I was thinking at work, and you know what Disney should have done if they insisted on remaking Beauty and the Beast? They could have solved two major problems from the first movie in one fell swoop.

First, let’s identify the problems. First, there are only three (named) women in the original BatB movie: Belle, Fifi (Lumiere’s girlfriend, who has a different name in literally every single adaptation), and Mrs. Potts. Or, if you want to be blunt about it: The virgin, the whore, and the mother. Thaaaaaaaat’s not just a whole bunch of unfortunate stereotypes right there, not at all. (There is one more woman, but she’s unnamed: the wardrobe. Apparently in development her name was Madame Armoire, so that’s what I’m calling her.)

Next: Lefou. He was an awful gay-stereotype lackey in the original and he became an awful gay lackey in the remake. Note that I actually like Lefou--I think he’s an incredibly fun character--but that execution, in 2018? Nah, fam.

And how would I fix both of these?

Very simple.

Make Lefou a girl.

With some minor plot changes.

Bear with me a minute here. So we start out with Mademoiselle Lefou following Gaston into frame, right, just like the original. But this Lefou is wearing clothes that are way too big; her hair is chopped short and ragged. It becomes obvious from the way she acts and speaks that her giant not-exactly-a-dress is an old shirt of Gaston’s, and the hair is a self-administered hack job. This Lefou, like Belle, is sort of a town joke--it’s only Gaston’s apparent goodwill that keeps her able to remain in town at all, and the reason for her off-kilter, tomboyish look pretty quickly becomes apparent when Gaston says he intends to marry Belle: Lefou protests, and then quickly goes sad and wistful when Gaston says he deserves the best. Lefou might be kidding the town (and herself) with her overblown Gaston-crush, but she’s not fooling us.

Now, I’m a fan of the stage version, so we’re going to borrow from it just a tad here. There’s a song that isn’t in the movie called “Les Maison des Lunes,” and it’s basically the scene where Gaston gets in cahoots with the owner of the asylum, only awesome. (Listen, it’s a great song.) We’re borrowing that. But instead of Lefou gleefully going along, as the song goes on, Lefou starts to realize just exactly what she’s agreeing to, culminating in a line where, in reply to Gaston saying “she’ll be my bride,” Lefou replies “she’d rather die” and quickly covers it up with a rhyme. Maybe she’s just realized she’s turning against a fellow outcast; maybe it’s occurred to her that she, too, will be tossed aside in some terrible fashion when Gaston no longer has a use for her. It doesn’t matter. Blocking and voice tone show she is, at most, now a very reluctant ally to Gaston’s cause.

Lefou is still reluctant to watch the house for Belle and Maurice to return, no longer because she’s “missing out on the action” but because doing so means facilitating a plan she’s no longer on board with. As The Mob Song approaches, Lefou observes how Belle talks about the Beast, and we see her looking between Belle, Gaston, and her own reflection in a hanging pan with increasing horror; she’s not in love with Gaston, and never was. All she was in love with was an ideal that’s suddenly been shown horrifically wrong. All she has to do to know it is to look at Belle’s face; that’s love, right there.

And so Lefou tries to pull away from Gaston as the march to the castle begins, but she’s dragged along--so she tosses Belle the cellar key, or, if we’re going with the animated “Chip did it” version, perhaps she’s the one who kicks out the blocks from under the wood-chopping machine in the hopes it’ll crash out the window.

(I’m also in favor of girl!Chip, by the way. There are even some schools that already do it that way because of a lack of boys for the cast.)

And so, the melee in the castle, there’s one big change: Lefou quickly realizes this is her chance to make up for the harm she’s caused, and starts wreaking holy hell. Gaston’s crossbow (which he carries but then never uses)? “Accidentally” burned when she just fucking yeets it right at the sentient cookstove. Random approaching villagers trying to take the stairs? Bowled over by a living bust Lefou offers a good rolling start. The doors finally slammed? Yep, she’s there, slumping down amid a group of highly suspicious household objects all out of breath until she asks one very important question: “Where’d Gaston go?”

Now at this point you may be thinking okay, Lefou was the shittiest queer representation ever, but he was representation, and I’ve just swapped out a gay man for a lesbian, which is very much not the same thing. No problem, my friends, because remember the feather duster whose entire role is “be slutty to the point even her name doesn’t matter”?

The feather duster is now a very charming wineglass who, in human form, is a footman. (Or valet, if you prefer the term, although a footman is more likely to make sense as a wineglass and if we’re going deep into the lore, would also be more frequently in contact with Lumiere, the maitre’d.) Given that everyone else has horrifically on-the-nose puns for names, let’s call him Duvin.

(If you’re going to scream about historical inaccuracy because I made the singing candelabra queer, we’re gonna have some words about what your real problem is.) Now if you must have “Human Again” in your Beauty and the Beast--and let me state here that I hate it in the musical and hate even more that they put it back in the animated version when the original reason for removing it was that it makes no fucking sense--this does raise a bit of a problem with Lumiere’s lines, in which he says he had “a mademoiselle on each arm” and Mrs. Potts suggests his return to humanity “should cause several husbands alarm.” But might I suggest, if we’re doing this and doing it right, let’s give the wineglass a greater role than poor Fifi/Babette/Plumette did, make him gay, and go right on ahead and let Lumiere be the giant flaming (not sorry) bisexual flirt he really should have been in the first place, and change the lyrics to “a dashing young thing on each arm” and “should cause several spouses alarm.” Other than the fact that we’re including it at all, that fixes all problems with Human Again.

(If you object to me removing a female character here even though I’ve added two via Lefou and Chip and liberated a third by giving Madame Armoire back her original name and bigger role, I can fix that too. There is absolutely nothing in the lore that prevents the cookstove from being a chick. You could also make Belle’s bed canopy sentient and have her turn back into a maid. Or give that violin-playing hatstand a female role. I’m deeply in favor of the hatstand being Cogsworth’s long-suffering sister. There are many options.)

But let’s get back to the end of the movie, shall we, since I just left the Beast about to be deadified and Lefou collapsed in the hallway and Gaston alive, and none of these are a satisfactory turn of events.

Lefou’s dazed question sends those objects capable of going upstairs fleeing toward the West Wing, just in time to see the Beast fall and Belle’s fateful declaration. Yay! Lights! Flashing! Magic! The Beast is alive and is now a kind of pasty-looking dude who really had no right to call anybody else ugly! Let’s go down to the ballroom, everybody!

. . . . ready for it?

We’ve got Belle--who, without that unfortunate trio of named ladies, just becomes our heroine and, now, our princess. We have Mrs. Potts, the head maid, who very neatly pairs with Cogsworth as our dignified elder heads of the staff, and Chip, who’s The Kid. These are three different kinds of women--understated, professional, Literally A Kid.

And then we add our traditional femme via Madame Armoire . . . who comes in with a very dapper Lefou, proper vest and watch chain and everything. Lefou never stops being a hunter or butch or kind of goofy. It’s just she’s found her people.

(And Lumiere and Duvin both get to be equally courtly and not all stereotyped to death or the butt of any guy-in-a-dress jokes. Although if we must have some kind of clothing joke, I’m deeply in favor of “I had forgotten how very dashing you look in uniform.” “Ah. In uniform?” CUT AWAY AND NEVER MENTION AGAIN.)

THERE. GOOD QUEER REP. MORE WOMEN. NO MORE UNFORTUNATE THINGS WITH THE NAMED WOMEN.

Hire me, Disney.

[baconpal]

talkin bout fire force

shit boys it’s been too long time for another unprompted juvenile rant about manga, click keep reading if you’re insane and keep scrolling if you aren’t 

So Fire Force anime starts in just about a week and I decided to just read it all instead of waiting for any anime. It took a while to read all of it and now I just kind of have a lot to say about the manga, the anime, and the author. So here we go. 

I actually have a lot of good things to talk about, but I’ll get the bad shit out of the way first:

THE WRITING

idk his name it doesn’t really matter since he’s made like 2 things he’s just the soul eater guy; his art style has always been charming and the action scenes keep improving but his actual narrative writing is real bad. I’ll talk about the characters themselves since I actually think FF’s characters are a ridiculous improvement from soul eater, and the setting/aesthetic are on point as well but the plot is just as bad if not worse than whatever soul eater was.

The story is riddled with what should obviously be throwaway characters that keep being brought back and doing something evil and unexpected because it’s a shounen manga and if you aren’t being betrayed then the plot isn’t moving forward, or someone introduced as an obviously villainous character just kind of agrees to be friends in a couple chapters. This is used as a constant cycle of introducing both a set of “evil” and “good” characters, then one of the old “good” sets of characters does something evil and the newest “evil” guys turn out to be good. It’s not interesting or shocking to have a character you can’t even remember come back and act like they’re important, especially if it’s repeated over and over.

FF pretends to have some kind of politic overtones where religions and businesses and such act as their own entities and betray each other and prey on the civilians, but you see absolutely none of the impact anybody’s actions have on the world despite ridiculous things constantly happening and world shaking truths being brought to light over and over, nothing happens. Villains will also  have ridiculous unbeatable abilities but then just be ignored, such as making zombie apocalypses or controlling minds and such. This is also likely a concession of being a shounen manga, where you can’t expect readers to read every single chapter, and usually on a week to week basis, so every chapter needs to have its own big shit happening, even if there’s no plans to follow through on anything. 

The worst part about the writing is how much stuff that the reader didn’t know about and has no idea what it is is passed of as some shocking twist when it’s introduced. This mostly happens with powers and with new factions. There’s a ridiculous amount of times where a new group steps in as the bad guy like mentioned earlier. But for the powers, there’s so many things layered on top of an actually acceptable power system that just seem to cause a DBZ type of escalation of power without the fight scenes actually becoming that much crazier at all. On top of the simple 2nd/3rd generation fire fighter powers, the main character is meant to utilize the adolla burst, the adolla link, the preacher’s divine protection, the okay hand emoji that makes you go fast, the breath of life, and superfire fighting. None of that means anything to anyone and are just used as “MC needs to be better at something but only temporarily” over and over. It’s similar to Maka and Soul’s deals with the devil in soul eater except much more common and with absolutely no downsides.

Also not the fault of the writer himself but there is not ANY good translation of this manga out there holy shit. There’s so many incredibly obvious puns and connections and choices of words to be made that are just entirely ignored, the typesetting is always awful, and no name for moves, characters, or even the title are ever agreed upon. It took until the official release titled “Fire Force” before people stopped trying to call the manga “Burning Firefighter Squad of Fire”.

THE ANIME

Just a bit more bad to say before I go into all the shit about this manga i actually like. The anime looks awful. A lot of anime does right now, very little of note has been coming out or seems to be coming in the future, which is usually the case but its not getting better and that sucks! 

But specifically the fire force anime, following up after soul eater, has absolutely none of the visual charm translated from the manga to anime, the voice casting is absolutely abysmal, and there’s nothing to give me hope in it, not enough to even give it an episode most likely. People might try to defend David productions because woah man I love jojo!!! but they’re pretty fucking bad at animating anything. The choice of color is gross and the visual effects are bland, which is a bad place to start for a show that will contain tons of fire and other bombastic effects. Big shame.

OKAY ONTO THAT GOOD SHIT

CHARACTER DESIGN

The visual designs in soul eater were cool if a bit janky, and the actual concepts for characters were far from astounding, usually being able to fully describe characters in single words and not having much development outside of combat abilities. But Fire Force has some of the most tight characters I’ve seen in a while, they’re all simple and focused with strong thematic elements.

Ya’ll know me, hopefully. I really appreciate simple designs and simple characters. Complicated does not equal deep, and simple does not equal shallow. The characters in fire force will usually embody a concept, or a concept and its exact opposite, and be never waver from their design. I’ll talk about em for specific characters when I get to em but even lots of minor characters are very well focused and I appreciate it.

SHINRA

The main character, and while his grocery list of special abilities and “chosen one” kinda shit is annoying, he starts of as a very strong introspective of the weight of your actions vs the impression you give of in the eyes of society. The easiest way to describe it is through the very obvious identity struggle he goes through of wanting to be known as a “Hero” but instead being “The Devil”. All Shinra ever does is selflessly save peoples lives and put himself at extreme risk, he tells everyone and their grandma that they can call on him when they need a hero, and yet his visuals consist of a dark haired punk who constantly smiles a sharp toothy smile, his ability that he uses to fly in and do kamen rider kicks with spews fire from his feet in the shape of pointy wings, and this fire puts a heavy shadow over his face, giving him a monsterous siloutte. It’s not at all subtle that he just looks as evil and menacing as possible, and so his reputation is constantly negative no matter how kind he is. It’s not explored all that deeply but it is still a strong contrast.

ARTHUR

What a fucking idiot. What an absolute buffoon. This stupid fuck functions as a very simple gag character by being nearly too dumb to function and living in a made up reality as a fantasy knight, but is also able to exist as one of the strongest characters in combat. His ridiculous power is handled in a much more engaging way than Shinra’s. As instead of layering multiple chosen one abilities on him, he becomes weaker or stronger depending on his suspension of disbelief. The more in character as a powerful knight he becomes, the stronger he is. It’s a clean way to make a funny delusional characters struggle actually mean something to the people around them, instead of being left to his own devices or constantly told to fuck off. And while I said the plot isn’t very good, the smaller character beats can be very powerful. For example, It was already pretty easy to just accept Arthur as he was, but his family situation is explored late into the manga, and it’s shown that he began to live in fantasy to escape from his families arguments and poor living conditions. His parents take advantage of his disconnect and abandon their home with him in it, leaving all their responsibilities to him with a note saying he’s now the king and has inherited their castle. This pushes him to an even more absurd degree of fantasy in order to just live out his life knowing he was unloved and unwanted. It very understated how you can make a character that’s mostly used for jokes still be very easy to connect to and empathize. 

TAMAKI 

This one is likely to be the hottest take made from me here today, but this is the most interesting character in this series for a variety of reasons. 

Visuals out of the way, the fire fighter outfits everyone wears already look cool as shit and big puffy coats just get me goin, this girl absolutely rocks it on top of having twintails and a cute face. That’s not objective in anyway this is just a character designed to bait specifically me and its fucking working, okay? The writing is the actually interesting part.

So something that’s usually not even worth talking about is fan service. Show of a girls titties cus its what dudes in their teens want to see, its free (You)s for shounen manga, and soul eater was full of it. It was pretty bad in soul eater and could come at jarring and unneeded times for characters that didn’t seem to exist for any sexual reasons. It was a very poor way to include fan service. 

Fire Force also begins in a similar spot, the 3 main girls that are around in the beginning chapters are occasionally seen changing or in a bath or covered in water or whatever, with one particularly bad spread of them with the classic no nipple no vagina bodies all standing together in a shower. Its awkward and stiff and even as a fan of anime tiddie it just wasn’t worth having. 

But then that wildman just does it. He creates one single character to put literally every single ounce of horny energy in to. A character who exists to fall over and get her tits pushed into someones face, but pushed to a cartoonish extreme. It sounds silly to try to pass off fanservice as funny, but it is. It’s so ridiculously intended and impossible and always varied that its actually fun to see her do something stupid and for something to happen. Sometimes its just her ass landing on a dudes face (god i wish that were me) or her body being exposed and drawn in pretty high detail. Sometimes instead they get an entire dude stuck in her shirt after just tripping in a way that is not not being sexual to the reader at all since you see absolutely no skin. She’s simply destined to be put into lewd situations in universe, not in regards to the manga itself. For an example, here she is just standing completely still, and suddenly becoming naked, drawn in a distant, goofy way: 

It’s stupid. It’s definitely still fan service, but it’s just ridiculous. And that’s way more interesting than having every girl in your series randomly get naked at some point. Despite being insane it still works on boys, as Tamaki is the most popular girl in the series by far, ranked as the second most popular character consistently. 

Tamaki also leads to the single best chapter of the manga where a horribly designed throw-away assassin who was beaten by her returns for revenge, but just ends up as a short, self contained, well paced comedic story of love. 

And guess what, she’s still interesting outside of being funny and having fan service. Her cartoonish luck is essentially treated as her actual power, and her fire cat abilities aren’t explored too deeply during most of the series, but this is done for a greater purpose of essentially spitting in the face of high stakes. Tamaki easily witnesses the most deaths in the series, and most of them are cruel and unusual. She witnesses children being killed by a man who inspired her, she sees people she just met be beheaded in some gruesome shots that aren’t anywhere else in the series, and she gets involved in all sorts of life threatening situations. She still just falls over and gets naked. She’ll have fairly serious fights where she tries her hardest or the people around her are completely serious, and without bringing any direct attention to it she still ends up showing skin. There’s a point where every single character is at risk of dying at once to a trap set by the enemy, and Tamaki quietly laments over how she’ll be the only one to survive. She is completely aware of her ridiculous luck and her complete immunity to stakes, which is honestly just great.

Even beyond that, Tamaki is slowly being built up as more and more of an actual character, she has a short backstory section where her own hard work and effort is basically ignored by everyone around her, as if her success in life is only a result of her good luck, which is a feeling that hits very close to home to me (fuck you if you’ve ever discredited someones hard work because they’re “””””talented””””). And in the most recent couple of chapters, shes made an active effort to train alongside Shinra and Arthur, who both value the improvements they can make to themselves through hard work. No other characters in the cast make conscious efforts to improve from their status in the way Tamaki does. She moves up from a joke character to now trying to stand along side the main character as a useful and though out character. It’s a genuinely wonderful character to have been developed and the best thing I’ve gotten from this author.

VISUALS AND COMPOSITION

Okay enough about the characters, the last little thing I wanna touch on is just some of the absolutely bonkers kinds of compositions in this manga. One of the villains has an ability that is explained incredibly poorly. Pretty sure it’s just a time slowing ability that has nothing to do with fire but whatever. The pages where he uses the ability have this absolutely sick warped look to them that plays with the panels in a way that couldn’t be depicted in any other medium. Just look at this shit.

Every panel has a different background and yet still describes a single cut in time. It might not really mean anything, but that’s fucking sick dude.

Another pretty interesting one is this one kid named Nataku, who has an ability forced onto him by a maniac with a motif of stars for eyes, who dies immediately after. This event is shown to have absolutely traumatized him not because its directly said, but because this dead character appears constantly in panels with this kid, sometimes taking up the entire background to yell at him, or being an almost impossible to see spec lingering behind him. Nataku is also drawn in this strange sketchy style where he seems to be melting, and sometimes melds into shapes that resemble this dead character, such Nataku’s mouth becoming the fucking eyeball of the dead guy, star pupil and everything. It’s just such a specific and horrific way to depict that kind of identity trauma and it really stuck out to me.

I’LL SHUT UP NOW

And ye that’s about it. It was a lot of rambling and there are still lots of little things i like about the manga, good designs and cool fights and stuff but i just wanted to talk about the things that were really noteworthy to me. 

It’s been a long time since I’ve spent 4 hours just typing about stuff but if you actually read any of this, on this dead website of all places, you’re cool. Hope you found something interesting too.

#Fire Force #juvenile rant

[kpopyourcherryy]

Shamelessly Dominant - (M)

Genre; It’s Smut my dudes *screeches*

Length; 2,700+

Kink(s); exhibitionism/voyeurism, impact play, degradation, agression, sexual sadism, etc. 

Everyone on the outside of your relationship with Youngjae saw him as the softest, most submissive person ever- God were they wrong. He had them so clueless to the person he really was, the side of him he trusted only you to bear witness to. 

The two of you sat across from each other- him on the faux suede loveseat, you on the couch sandwiched between Mark and Jaebum.  “So what are we gonna do tonight?” Bambam asked, “It’s the first real night off we’ve had in fucking forever.” 

Yugyeom immediately agreed with his friend, “Yeah- Let’s go do something, like a cafe or club- even just going out to eat.” He began, pulling out his phone. “I don’t want to be cooped up here.” 

“Well,” You began, leaning your head on Mark’s shoulder as he hand ran through your hair. You could already feel Youngjae’s jealous gaze burning holes into you, but you continued. He was protective of what was his, especially when it came to his Hyungs and the way they acted around you. “We could go clubbing. I mean- we haven’t done that in forever.” 

Mark’s eyes fell from the maknaes and onto you, his fingers continued stroking your hair- the pads of his fingertips slightly massaging your scalp.  “That sounds like it could be fun.” He chuckled, smiling down at you. “I think the last time we went clubbing was when we- well, Youngjae- met you.” 

Youngjae licked his lips as his breathing became heavier with each passing second.  “Sound’s fun, but I- we need to go to the studio tonight, remember babe?” He asked, hoping you would catch the subtle disapproving hints behind his words. 

Despite being able to hear the warning bells in your head the second you heard his understated discontent, you decided against your better judgment and gave him a playful eye roll. You were really about to dig yourself a grave, weren’t you? 

“So?” You added, innocently shrugging as your eyes locked with his. Not only did you tread on with your bratty antics, you ended up throwing in a bit of flirtatiousness in the mix as your snaked your arm around Mark’s; scooting closer to him as you kept your eyes locked with his. “That doesn’t mean I can’t go out with them? You can go to the studio and I can go hang out with them, I’ll just meet you at home afterward. You can do what you want, but I’m going to do what I want, too.”  

Youngjae ran his index finger along his jawline, breaking eye contact with you as he shook his head in disapproval.  “Baby, you sure about that?” He asked, his eyes slowly moving up your shapely legs before shooting you a cold glare. 

To your surprise, everyone was nearly quiet until then- something about seeing Youngjae’s sudden change in personality had them damn near speechless.  “Yah- Youngjae.” Jaebum suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence while unintentionally resting his hand on your knee. “Stop acting weird, just let Y/n come out with us- we’ll take good care of her.” 

Something about the tone Jaebum’s words were laced with irked him. He wasn’t always the jealous type, but he was protective- and he despised the thought of you being surrounded by a bunch of drunk guys, even if they were his friends. “Look, I don’t like the thought of my girlfriend being around a bunch of drunk guys. Is that so awful of me?” He asked, putting emphasis on the word that indicated his ownership over you as his eyes shot down to his friend's hand touching you. 

Jackson scoffed, “Dude, we’re your friends- her friends.” He began, showing his obvious distaste for his friend’s behavior. “We wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Drunk or sober.” 

“See!” You immediately exclaimed, the other’s responses only seemed to entice your bratty outbursts. “I’m going out tonight and that’s that, I’ll be back early and will just meet you at home.” 

And that’s that. “Is that so, babygirl?” Youngjae rumbled, his hands now gripping the chair’s arms. “And that’s that?”  

Just watching his behavior tense as aggression brimmed inside him caused your stubborn behavior to still for a moment before it bubbled back up once again.  Immediately, you sat up- firmly crossing your arms over your chest as you stared him down. “Yes- That’s that.” You huffed, preparing yourself to quickly rise and run to the bedroom just to allow yourself some time to soak in just how deep a gave you dug before you had to face the consequences, but before you even had the chance your boyfriend was already out of his seat. 

“Do they make you feel tough, babygirl? Do my friends make you forget who you belong to?” He snarled, his eyes moving over each of the wide-eyed men that basically surrounded the two of you. An impish scoff left him as his stare rested on you once again, “Do you really think I won’t punish you in front of them?” 

You couldn’t help but shake your head as you timidly inched away from his friend; silently watching his hazy aura turn red hot.  Bambam instantly cut through the silence, thinking his Hyung’s newly dominant behavior was nothing but a practical joke. “Hyung, stop the act already.” He nervously chuckled, running his hand through his messily slicked back hair. “You know you wouldn’t do a thing, so just stop already.”

Jinyoung instantly cracked a smile, nodding in agreement, “Very true, I mean you nearly cried watching that horror movie the other day.” 

God were they clueless... Your boyfriend’s usually sunshiney personality was the one he preferred to show everyone else, no one truly knew him as you did because just as most things do- he also had a side of him that was such a contrast to the one he portrayed. He was loving in a way no one but the two of you would be able to understand; giving you rules to abide by, rewarding or punishing you depending on your behavior. He gave you the sense of control in your life that you craved like no other, but despite your adoration for the freedom you felt as his submissive- you adored challenging him, disobeying, just as much. 

“Do you?” Youngjae growled, quickly closing whatever space remained between the two of you- completely ignoring his members teasing. You just sat there, your mouth opening slightly as you attempted to speak only to find your words caught in your throat- Youngjae, of course, didn’t appreciate your sudden silence. 

His hand immediately shot up, gripping a fistful of your hair- keeping your gaze up at him as he towered over you.  The aggressive act had everyone breathless- especially you. Not once did you ever think he’d allow this side of him, but here he was doing the unthinkable. 

“I- I..” You mousily stuttered, wincing as your hesitation had him tightening the hold in your hair. 

Tilting his head slightly, Youngjae scoffed as a half grin sprawled across his face. “What?” He retorted, “Where’s the big, tough girl you were just putting on, kitten?” 

Neither of the boys beside you seemed to have the courage to stop him- nor could the others continue their mocking.  Your doe-like gaze stayed glued to his face- his cold, agitated expression was such a contrast compared to his angelic features. 

Turning to his friends, he shot them a dagger-like stare, “What?” He scowled, “Now y’all don’t have a damn thing to say, either?” His voice was saturated with venom. “Fucking pussies...” He growled, turning his attention back to you.  With one hand still tightly wound in your hair, the other shot up- roughly gripping your jaw. His fingertips bruisingly dug into your cheeks, “Now, what are the punishments for disobedience and flirtatiousness, little one?” 

If it weren’t for his firm grip keeping your gaze up towards him, you would’ve mousily hung your head. A small whimper escaped you as he shook your head slightly, “Daddy, I- I’m sorry..” You whined, completely brushing off his question. “I was just joking, I wasn’t serious. I swe-” 

Smack! 

The sound of the impact against your cheek rung throughout the room, followed by your pained gasp, only seemed to entice the voyeuristic predator inside him. “I didn’t ask for your pathetic little apologies, now did I, princess?” He retorted, “Now, I’ll ask you one more time- and if you even attempt to ignore my question one more time, you’ll get it a lot worse than what you already are. Understood?” 

With teary eyes, you nodded, “Ye-Yes, Sir,” You added, ignoring the stares your response earned you. “I understand.” 

A small, prideful smirk appeared on his face- he couldn’t help but relish the looks that painted on his friend’s faces. Luckily, this was only the beginning. “Ahh there’s my good girl,” He subtly teased while gently running the pad of his thumb across the reddening area. “Tell me, baby, what are the punishments for disobedience and flirtatiousness?” 

“The punishment for disobedience is hard spankings, no gentleness-” You began, “-and I have to count each one out until you decided when you want to stop.” 

His smirk slowly sprawled out into a devilish smile, “Good girl,” He smoothly cooed, giving you a taste of his gentle nature as you recited your penance, just as he taught you. “And what disciplinary action did we have set in place for flirtation?”

Just the sheer thought of your punishment ahead had you shaken to the core. Not once had you ever had to endure the full thing, just little tastes of it here and there. You could clearly remember how overwhelmed and hypersensitive your body was, how much your legs shook each time he brought you closer to the edge before dragging you back to square one once or twice before finally allowing you to come undone. 

Anxiously gulping, you began to reply, “Or-Orgasm...” You stuttered as your nerves seemed to bunch up just saying it. “Orgasm denial. If I were to ever flirt with someone, you would deny me every time I need to climax-” Your words seemed caught in your throat as your expression couldn’t hide your anxiety,”-until I cried and begged for forgiveness.” 

Happily, Youngjae chuckled- impishly smirking at the sheer thought of how pretty you would look shedding tears while broken pleas left your mouth, but of course, your first punishment would build up to it.  Roughly, he released his grip on your hair then your face, making his way back to his seat. “Come.” He sharply commanded, motioning you over to him. “Crawl to Daddy, kitten.” 

His song-like order clouded your mind, making it feel as if the two of you were the only ones around despite the glued gazes of his friends.  Gracefully, you sunk down from the couch onto all fours- making the small journey over to him, now sitting patiently at his feet. 

Reaching down, Youngjae sweetly combed his fingers through your hair, grazing your reddened cheek before wrapping his fingers around your leather collar- tightly gripping it as he yanked you up from all four onto your knees.  “Bend over my lap.” He hummed, keeping his face just inches from yours. “It’s time for your first punishment of the night.” 

You hesitantly nodded as a mousy whimper left you as he let you ago, his burning gaze carefully following every movement you made as you rose. 

“Is- Is this seriously happening right now?” Mark suddenly said, breaking the unspoken vow of silence the boys seemed to carry on for a while. No one replied though as they watched your bend over their friend’s lap.

Just as Jackson opened his mouth to speak, the loud slap his friend’s hand made against your bare flesh as the other held up your skirt while firmly resting it on your lower back instantly interrupted him.

“Ahhh!” You whimpered, already squirming as he roughly teased the area.

“Count.” He coldly demanded, smacking the same area once again as a silent warning- relishing the small, pained cry that left you. “Or else I’ll make sure you can’t sit properly for weeks, kitten.”

“Ahh, ok- okay Daddy.” You whimpered, squeezing your eyes shut as you mentally prepped yourself for the next one. “One.” 

Without hesitation, Youngjae continued. SMACK!

“T-Two!” You whined, gripping the material of his jeans. 

SMACK! 

“Three!” 

SMACK!

“Fu- Fuck..” You whined as tears started to swell in your waterline his hits became more heavy handed with each one. “Four!” 

“Mhmm,” Youngjae purred, massaging the afflicted area as it became bright red with specks of a blue hue peaking through as your skin proved just how easy it could bruise. “You’re already bruising up, baby.” He scoffed, turning his gaze up to his friends- a bright smug look in his eyes. “So, I’ve already gone through four-” He said, delightment lacing his voice. “How many more should I inflict on my baby?”

His friends exchanged confused looks.  “Wh- What do you mean?” Yugyeom softly asked, his cheeks flushed a soft rosy hue while trying his absolute hardest not to make eye contact with you. 

Youngjae chuckled before repeating himself, “How many more spankings do you think my little slut should take?” His harsh tone emphasized his demeaning petname for you. 

You couldn’t help the warmth that flooded your core or the feeling of wetness that soaked through your panties. Your mind replayed the petname once more, “Mhmm~~” You involuntarily whined, pressing your thighs together while your head rested against the arm of the seat. 

Your sweet croon immediately caught your boyfriend’s attention. His eyes and attention peeled away from his friends, “Such a naughty little thing..” He teasingly hummed, lightly trailing his fingertips down your spine then stopping just as he reached your reddened bum. “Is my little slut getting all hot and bothered?”  As you immediately nodded, you could hear soft unison hisses coming from your little audience as Youngjae’s hand inched further down. “I bet you’re just soaked, huh darling?” He sharply asked, using his free hand to grab a fistful of your hair as he turned your head just enough to watch as your face contorted with need the closer he came to your heat. “I wonder..” He drawled out, ghosting his fingers over your core, “..how quick I could make you cum, you seem to like having an audience- but too bad, disobedient sluts don’t deserve to have their release..” 

SMACK! 

The unexpected swat hit your cunt and thighs, the impact sent a whirlwind of pain laced lust darting through you.  “Five! Ahh~” You immediately mewled, tightly grasping the material of his jeans as you prepared for another. 

Youngjae groped the area, lightly tapping the sore spot with his fingertips as a predatory hiss escaped him.  “So, I’ll ask again-” He said, turning his gaze to his friends. “How much more should my pet endure?” 

No one seemed to have the ability to even respond as their minds were so conflicted and their arousals grew from the sin they were witnessing.  “Answer-” Youngjae demanded, his tone icy as he spoke, “Answer and I just might reward you.” 

“Reward?” Mark repeated, his curiosity taking over as he kept his gaze on you; his hardened length twitched in his pants while his mind imagined how pretty you’d look all fucked out. 

Smirking, your boyfriend’s hand crawled up your back before harshly gripping your hair; yanking your head up so your heavy-lidded gaze met his friend’s.  “If you give me an answer I like, maybe- just maybe- I’ll feel gracious enough to allow you to play with my princess a little once I’m through with her.” His gaze moved to the others as his little offer peaked their interests. 

Jinyoung grinned, the sadistic side of his mind switched on immediately. “How about you stop the spankings and start with the orgasm denial?” He asked, running his fingertips along his jaw while his stare moved over your form. “I think she gets off on being hit a little too much-” He explained, a devilish smile still sprawled across his face as he tilted his head slightly, “Denying her want she craves would be the only way to imprint on her.” 

“Well, aren’t you smart, Hyung?” Youngjae smugly asked, his rhetorical question drew out one of his malicious little chuckles as he dragged his fingers along your clothed slit- listening to the needy purrs that escaped you as you instinctively bucked your hips back towards them. “She is a needy little thing after all. Taking away her release will be so satisfying..” 

“What do you say, slut, why don’t we get your real punishment started?” 

To Be Continued~

#admin jade #got7 #got7 smut #got7 youngjae #got7 choi youngjae #got7 fanfic #youngjae #choi youngjae #youngjae smut #choi youngjae smut #youngjae fanfic #ars #got7 ars

[drscotcheggmann]

Resident Evil VII: Evil Seems to Have Moved House.

First of all, this isn’t a review. Not really anyway. If it’s a good ol' review you’re after then allow me to oblige: the game is great; buy it! I’m hoping that you’ll still want to keep reading, even if that was all you wanted to know. But I warn you now: all who enter here beware, for spoilers lurk around every corner! Fair warning, more than Ethan ever got! When Resident Evil VII was first teased, I’m sure a lot of fans, like myself, held their breath and said the same sentence to themselves over and over: ‘Please don’t fuck this up, Capcom!’ Well it seems that mass fan recital of that very wish has paid off in full and we can all finally breathe out. Despite some blips in the series most recently, I am pleased to say that Resident Evil VII is a true return to form, ensuring the series remains as relevant as ever. The latest release in the franchise feels less like Resident Evil VII and more like Resident Evil I. And by that I don’t mean a modern reworking of the original formula; I mean, it feels like the series is starting again, acknowledging and retaining what once made it great but at the same time dragging its festering corpse in a fresh (or putrid) new direction. Arguably some of the most striking examples of how this entry in the series attempts to stride into brand new territory occur before the action even begins. The cover art is interesting in itself. Ok, there’s a big spooky house, creepy little girl, a garden in need of some pruning and a fair sized puddle that hints at an underlying drainage problem. Standard horror gaming fare, right? Yes. And I’m fine with that. Does the puddle symbolise the waterlogged, murky and troubled recent past of the Resident Evil series pre VII? Does the fact that the little girl is standing at the other side of said puddle mean that Capcom have exorcised the ghosts of RE6 in particular, hung themselves out to dry and are now ready to tackle whatever the future holds with a fresh set of clothes? Does the sun breaking over the roof of the house hint at a new dawn for the series? In a word, no. This isn’t High School English poetry analysis. The most I can give you is that the house’s porch looks like a gaping mouth into the unknown, the pillars flanking each side acting as teeth, hinting at the menace that awaits on the other side of the front door and ready to swallow up anyone foolish enough to come near. And the little girl? Her face in darkness, it isn’t clear if she’s approaching the house or walking away from it. Entrance or escape? Having finished the game and looking back at something as simple as the cover art, this idea of Evelyn's escape or refuge and its consequences in terms of how pivotal she is to the whole plot, takes on a frightening new meaning. I can honestly say that I’ve never invested so much thought in the cover art of any game to date. All of this conjecture may be a load of old twaddle but at least its interesting old twaddle. But the actual art aside, it’s how Capcom have chosen to market the game’s title that really catches the eye, or at least my very overactive one: The VII hidden or not so hidden in the word Evil. Clever. But is it about more than being clever with words and shapes? Yes, this is VII. The one after VI. But the game isn’t called ‘Resident Evil VII’. It’s called ‘Resident Evil’. The biohazard tag, all lower case and oddly uncapitalised for a title, seems almost like an afterthought. Or else perhaps the name of the first entry in a new series (here’s hoping). But the message is clear – this is a Resident Evil game first and foremost which, ok, is number seven but the understated number seven. It’s as if Capcom wanted to acknowledge it as the next entry, perhaps in ‘hiding’ the VII they hoped to create a little distance from VI but at the same time make clear that it’s a new breed of evil and that’s how we should approach our time in the Baker household. We should expect something new. Yeah, yeah, yeah so why not just call it Resident Evil? Well, I’m sure that calling it this and then risk defecating all over the original’s cult status, especially had VII flopped, was a path that Capcom were reluctant to tread. 'Resident Evil? Do you mean the good one or the shite one?' I’m glad this never happened and Capcom has allowed both games some space to breathe and to exist independently of one another. For this reason I'm sure there was a conscious design decision to set the game in a house rather than another mansion. Run down dilapidated old house means fresh start. And it is a house by the way, a big one but not a mansion. Mansions are luxurious and decadent. By the looks of things in VII, you'd be lucky to find anything fitting that bill in this front yard. I'm also pleased to see that Capcom did not feel the need to blatantly cross reference previous entries in the series for the sake of sycophantic fan service. Don't get me wrong though, Resident Evil VII does have cross references but I'm glad that they don't consist of bland and frankly forgettable audio files and written logs which we often feel obligated to collect for fear of missing something important, as is the norm now in games of this ilk. Resident Evil VII's cross references are subtle and meaningful to those who know what they're looking for. They’re not thrust down your throat with a ‘This is a reference to Resident Evil II! Fucking appreciate it!’ kind of tone. If you miss them, you miss them. It really isn’t a loss in the grand scheme but a gain if you like that sort of thing. For example, there's a painting of the Arklay Mountains in the Main Hall which I'm sure many of us missed. These were the mountains where the Spencer Mansion from the original was built. Didn't know that? No big deal. If you did happen to recognise the name though, you still have to do some memory jogging to pin it to the mansion, especially since said mansion isn't pictured. Subtle. But clever too as the picture does not look in any way out of place in this dimly lit hall and blends seamlessly into the decor of the place, despite it being an obvious/not obvious cross reference. There really is something for everyone here. Perhaps the final example I'll put forward to illustrate this point is the VHS tapes that can be found dotted around the house. Handled incorrectly, these tapes might well have turned into the type of heinous obligatory file collecting exercise mentioned above; the type that has the potential to bore the arse off you, especially if there are 563 of them hidden around the house, which you then feel you must find and listen to. But these tapes are far from arse-numbing. These tapes, remnants of a now almost dead and buried technological age, are paradoxically one of the freshest and most modern mechanisms in the game. Find a tape recorder, put the tape in. It actually takes a minute to load. Shit, is the tape broken? Is my PlayStation broken? Is my TV broken? A click and a flicker and it's rolling. Then not only are you privy to what the tape shows but you become the subject of the film and have control over what you're viewing. Your actions here help inform your decisions as you seek to drive your own narrative forward once the tape clicks and pops out of the recorder. But, again, miss one of these tapes? And you might, as there aren't 563 of them (but why would or should there be in a house this size? A family vendetta against Blockbuster, deliberately never returning rentals?) There are a mere four VHS tapes. Three are optional. It's actually no big deal if you miss an optional one. Ok, you've missed a gem of an ordeal caught on wobbly handheld but you can still proceed regardless. This is brilliant. And realistic. And fresh. And new. For this series at least. But let's pause and rewind, a squeaky VHS style rewind. Perhaps the true taste of things to come arrives as early as the title screen as, with trepidation, you take the plunge and press ‘New Game’. But the traditional ‘RESIDENT EVIL’ voice clip that heralds the beginning of every game in the series, like Christian Bale’s Batman with a chest infection, the voice that always struck me as verging on the ridiculous and somewhat tonally inconsistent with the atmosphere of terror the game tries to create: this voice never comes. It was this voice’s absence that chilled me more than on any start screen of past entries. This is still Resident Evil but not as we know it. In terms of major thematic departures from some previous entries, the one thing that really leapt out at me in REVII, as well as all of the things I really didn’t want to leap out at me, is how ‘human’ the game feels. This may sound odd considering how a large proportion of the game involves sub human abominations seeking to disembowel you at every turn. But I do mean 'human' in the truest, most redeemable sense of the word as well as in the very darkest sense. The central protagonist, for the first time in the series’ history, is a nobody. No offense, Ethan. This is to your and Capcom’s credit. Ethan is not some macho, dual machine gun wielding, in the gym five days a week, protein shake drinking super cop who has direct links to some far-fetched government conspiracy. He’s just an ordinary, everyman looking for his missing girlfriend. In fact, we don’t ever even get to see what he looks like. His facelessness is indicative of this new direction Capcom have taken. Ethan is you, me, everyone and anyone. We all have or have had loved ones and by thrusting us into the character of someone who has had one taken away, we are drawn in immediately and arguably feel a more intimate connection with Ethan than with any other Resident Evil protagonist. The game’s clever subversion of expectations in the opening hand held camera cinematic is both chilling and deeply affecting as Ethan’s girlfriend, Mia looks straight into the camera, addressing you the player directly: ‘…if you get this, stay away.’ Not, ‘come after me, help me, save me’. Pause a moment and think about how genuine this is, from a human rather than a video game protagonist’s / purely narrative perspective. Despite one’s obvious state of emergency, what decent human being would drag a loved one by invitation into a hell hole of horror if it meant putting them at risk? Yet so many games, movies, books have run headlong into this narrative pitfall. Sure, sometimes it can be entertaining but is it realistic? Well done, Capcom on two fronts here. The first is for actually portraying how normal human beings would behave in this situation. If Ethan had heeded his girlfriend’s warning it would have made for a fairly short and shite game for 45 smackers but thankfully he doesn’t. His decision to drive into rural Louisiana is also down to a well met sense of humanity: he loves his girlfriend and cares enough to want to save her. She’s been missing for a few year for Christ’s sake! There’s nothing wrong with that but it’s these sorts of emotions that are sometimes missing in games at the expense of setting up exciting or emotionless dialogue or a cheesy set piece. And thankfully, as Ethan’s car rolls up on the edge of the Baker estate, he doesn’t open the trunk, haul out a Gatling gun and sling several ammo belts over his shoulder ready to wage war on whoever the fuck took his sweetie pie away from him. He doesn’t even seem to anticipate a fight. He’s there to get Mia out and that’s it, not to play the hero in any romantic sense. That leads onto hooray for Capcom point number 2: Mia is no damsel in distress. She’s a highly educated research scientist, not a naïve and over trusting hitchhiker who stumbled upon the wrong house. She can also handle herself, even if this is when her veins are pumping to bursting point with the virus. She’s a strong female presence who is just as robust as her male counterpart, Ethan. While not the main protagonist, she has a face and so is in some ways more identifiable than Ethan is. The gaming scene has seen a positive upsurge in strong female leads recently, most notably the new, significantly less sexed up version of Lara Croft, the headstrong young mind of Ellie in the Last of Us and Aloy, the post apocalyptic kicker of robotic dinosaur ass. More of this, with an extra dollop of humanity all round please! And the much discussed switch to first person is also a great fit to help achieve this sense of the game being more human and intimate. This is never more obvious than when sampling one of Resident Evil VII’s finest items of functional décor: the simple door! Gone are the slowly zooming cut scenes of doors creaking open in previous installments that felt detached and often distanced the player from the action momentarily. For instance, when the Nemesis chases you through that police station in Resident Evil III, frantic music pumping in your ears and you come to a door and have to wait for its animation to finish before proceeding (albeit slightly quicker than normal since you are in kind of a rush) 'Come on, for fuck sake!’ And then the Nemesis just breaks the bloody thing down anyway! What was that about? But here, Ethan’s hand, our hand eases each door open, with a pause before being pushed fully ajar. For me, this, with the deliberate pause, was ten times more tension filled than a generic cut scene, so much so that I would only trust myself to open about three doors at a time before legging it back to a tape recorder. Never in any game I’ve played have corridors, confined and more open spaces been so heavily pervaded with dread. And thanks to how the character of Ethan is introduced to us, his eyes being our eyes and his relationships our relationships, there is a sort of trickle down effect in terms of human emotion and feeling. As a consequence we feel much more deeply affected by it all. And by affected I mean scared. There, I said it. Pure shitting myself for large portions of this, I was. All because Capcom have bothered to make it's setting and everything in it feel real. When I wasn’t staring in wonderment at the box art or title screen, I spent the vast majority of the game scrubbing skid marks from my underpants which in turn is testament to Capcom nailing the other side of the human coin: the subhuman. Resident Evil is an exploration of the darker side of humanity: depravity, cruelty, sadism and blood lust. This is barebones horror. But it’s ok, because it’s not mindless gore. All of the horror you witness as Ethan is not as straightforward as it first seems. Never have you felt more sorry for a family of cannibalistic sociopaths than you have for the Bakers, who happened to be living in the wrong house, on the wrong waterway as the wrong ship ran aground, with the wrong chemically infused little girl on board. It’s a pity it takes until the very end, having been almost run over, chain-sawed and bludgeoned to death by one of the family for you to realise this. But forgive and forget, eh? They are the victims as much as you and Mia. They were a family before all of this happened. Family photos found around the house show a closeness and affection for their children. But unfortunately as we progress, our view of the Bakers is tainted by the fact that they would prefer to have your intestines for dinner (literally) and smear your blood across their living room wall. And you, the lone wrecking ball that blunders in and begins to dismantle this sick family from within, destroying them bit by infected bit. This raises further questions which are not immediately obvious as you make your way through the game: are you noble in your quest to save Mia when you're also ultimately responsible for the death of this backwater family, regardless of what state you find them? Are you saviour or usurper? You might say you're doing them a favour, putting them out of their misery? Has a Resident Evil game ever been so keen to confront you with so many hard hitting and 'human' questions, beyond the more sweeping ones raised by the unethical actions of a megalomaniacal corporation, as seen in previous installments? Then there's the biggest little question of them all: Evelyn. She wants to be loved. She’ll pump your veins full of her muck in a blink and kill you in the process but isn’t that adorable all the same? I’ve only completed the game once and am unlikely to have a second go. But I would be very interested to see how I would actively feel toward what I am going through with all of this knowledge on board. I sense I might be playing an entirely different game. That’s clever! This is the Capcom we deserve but it’s not the one we need! Actually, no, we do need this. Never has this genre needed it more and Capcom have delivered. Resident Evil VII is a gem, there's no doubt. But it's still an imperfect one. The puzzles are nice. That’s a really bland word and it’s a fair one for the puzzles. Not overly challenging but at the same time not overtly offensive either. Solving them quickly means the action and exploration can continue apace. The game is also guilty of quite a bit of hand holding. I’m looking at you, constantly ringing telephone. I did try to melt the cord with the burner at one point but to no avail. Hand holding in this game is especially annoying since the house itself, while not completely linear, is not a huge place. The final and also weakest portion of the game is completely linear and akin to a tower challenge level in which waves of monstrosities are thrown at you to test your mettle, each wave stronger than the last. Then there are the boss fights which, I’m pleased to say, are not as bad as many make out. They’re far from the most sophisticated encounters in gaming and are heralded with the now standard glut of ammo and health remedies housed handily in the room immediately before the fight itself. This stood in direct contrast to the vast majority of the game where I found myself dangerously low on both and having to make sure that I managed my inventory well and that all of my bullets counted. But to the game's immense credit, in nearly all but one boss battle I didn’t fully realise I was engaged in an actual boss battle until the fight was almost over. My chief aim in the garage boss fight with Baker, at least initially, was ‘How the fuck do I get out of here alive?’ rather than actively seeking to engage with the madman. Marguerite's insect form had me literally scraping the coffers of my ammo and health reserves, running around the lower flower frantically, with pee running down each leg, looking for a chance herb or box of bullets. I eventually won this battle backed into a corner, slashing blindly with my knife. Skin. of. my. teeth. And not a boss health bar in sight which was refreshing, a detail that Monster Hunter championed. But at least in that game a monster would limp when injured and near the end. Get with it, Capcom! That one’s your game too! Although I’ve dedicated a sizeable paragraph to the game’s shortcomings, these really are minor when all is said and done. I'm not a Resident Evil/survival horror fanboy by any stretch but imperfections notwithstanding, Resident Evil VII is an absolute tonne of nerve jangling, heart attack inducing fun that will leave you feeling extremely hopeful for the future. It’s handling of people and human beings and how human beings and their emotions should form the focal point of any believable narrative is refreshing to see fullstop, let alone in this genre. For some bizarre reason, this is a detail, as obvious as a wet fish to the face, that is so often sacrificed in video games in favour of jumping off high things, blowing things up or swishing the biggest sword imaginable. I know that not every game is driven by people but when you are aiming to go down that route, let’s do it right. Let’s hope that Evil has not only come home but that it has also moved into a new house! For good. And there's plenty of room for lodgers too!

#resident evil #resident evil vii #resident evil vr #resident evil biohazard #video games #gaming #survival horror #horror #ps4 #narrative