#recap and thoughts

[centaurianthropology]

NY by Night S1E8 ‘Virtue Overthrow’ Recap and Thoughts

And here we are, at the end of a season.  We pause our story with these four vampires for now, and the Camarilla vampires are left with huge shoes to fill, because this cast has been stellar.  This story has been excellent, and it has danced on the edge of disaster for an entire season.  Until tonight, when it all came to a head in an emotional blowout that will have ramifications for this coterie whenever we get to see them again.  Read on after the cut to see my thoughts on this, the season finale of the first season of ‘NY by Night’.

We start with North Brother Island, uninhabited, chosen formerly as a quarantine hospital for severe illnesses.  The Coterie approaches the island at Isaac’s invitation, but something is different about our favorite Tzimisce.  He looks just a little different, specifically he looks like an idealized version of himself.  Fuego uses Unswayable Mind, thinking he’s cast some sort of illusion, as she’s finding him distractingly hot suddenly.  But he doesn’t change.  Whatever has happened is genuine, physical.  

This starts a conversation.  Fuego, fresh off her emotional turmoil of last week, is setting out to clear the air and connect with this, her closest connection to kindred society.  She asks Isaac about his appearance, which leads into her apologizing for being nasty to him the night at the Crescent.  He in turn apologizes for being short with her; he wanted to impress on her the severity of the situation, but doesn’t actually care that she murdered someone.  He more cares that they were sloppy and careless.  She sets aside his general disregard for human life, something she has carefully guarded her own ability to care about, and instead accepts his olive branch, twisted as it is.  After they’ve made up, he fills the coterie in on his mission to find the skull, including his encounter with a Camarilla vamp in Rafferty’s employ.  Fuego reveals that he’s her sire, but she knows very little about him. 

They arrive at the island.  The tone is immediately surreal.  It’s abandoned and ruined, but there are no animals, no birds, no people.  There is nothing except the hidden haven of a single kindred: Isaac’s sire, Vaclav.  Isaac urges them to let Vaclav take the lead in any conversation.  He’s only ever interacted with his sire—who is considerably older than they are—one on one and doesn’t know how they’ll handle other people.  As much as Isaac can be somewhat anxious, he is, because Vaclav is dangerous, and he’s old, an Isaac is walking a pack of volatile baby kindred into his domain.  They spot a light, and Rey makes a Paul Revere joke that only Fuego gets.  He feels old, and we find out that when Isaac said he didn’t finish school, he meant high school.  Isaac is very smart and very articulate, but clearly has huge holes in his education.

They enter the haven, and get their first glimpse of Isaac’s sire.  The haven looks like the 19th century so perfectly that it could be from a movie, and Vaclav himself (he is presenting male at present) awaits them in equally antiquated clothing.  He greets them with courtesy (and a quote from Dracula, which is hilarious and none of them get it, which disappoints him a little, making him immediately more interesting and loveable than I expected him to be).  They all sit down and get refreshments (some suspiciously fresh blood, one imagines from some unfortunate fleshcrafted couch).  Vaclav is courteous and charming, and the coterie, amazingly, manages to be on their best behavior.  Fuego is excited and honestly charmed by Vaclav.  Rey is polite and as even-keeled as he can be.  Serif is the only one who seem to twig that there is a sense of creepiness about this whole thing, that there is something off about this old man, but even she seems to find him charming in spite of herself.  

Isaac reveals that he wanted them to meet Vaclav because they all have poor relations with their own sires, that they have limited information, and no one older except him to help them.  He wanted them to meet his own sire, to see that relations can be good with that sire, even if it’s uncommon, and he wanted them all to see an older vampire who wasn’t openly trying to push them around or use them so they could gain some perspective.

Vaclav is clearly enjoying playing host.  He gets information from these young kindred, yes, but he also just gets visitors, and gets to impart wisdom to the new friends of the childe he is clearly quite proud of.  Isaac and Vaclav have a polite but definitely warm relationship, and Vaclav extends that warmth to Isaac’s coterie-mates.  He invites them to ask him questions.  He has been in torpor for some time, and while he’s been awake for about a decade, he hasn’t entirely adjusted to the new world.  Still, he will answer what questions he can, and he proves to be a wealth of knowledge.    

They discuss the Camarilla, its pros and its cons, and how the Camarilla did not always control New York.  This segues into a discussion about the Sabbat.  Vaclav seems to have been in torpor at the time of the battle, and seems distant from both parties involved.  Alone on his island, Vaclav seems to be avoiding politics, with no close ties to any faction, and so he can judge all of them.  Fuego uses the opportunity to ask why, if the Camarilla need numbers to keep out the Sabbat, they still exclude certain clans. It seems counter-productive.  While there are many possible reasons, the largest is old prejudice.  While Fuego would be welcome, Serif and Isaac would not. 

Serif has her own continued focus, and a seemingly friendly source of information, so she asks how to un-ghoul someone.  She is open with Vaclav about why she wants to know.  She tells him about her mother’s situation, an in turn he offers her honest options: she can kill her mother, turn her into a vampire, or cut her off from blood.  That last option sounds good, but that has one major drawback: the twenty-five years Serif’s mother has been a ghoul will rapidly catch up with her, possibly damaging her permanently.  Serif realizes she has no good options for saving her mother.  Even making her into a vampire is not an easy answer.  Few sires and children get along well, and having it be her own mother that she turns has added complications.

This leads to a new discussion of sires and children.  Fuego admires what Vaclav and Isaac have, but feel that what she has with Rafferty is entirely different.  She barely knows him, but still finds herself loving him to an extent that she feels like something has to be wrong.  It’s too much, not warmth but more.  Vaclav speculates it could be a blood bond, but when Fuego says she only drank from Rafferty once, Vaclav chalks it up to an unusually intense reaction to the embrace, that will likely fade with time and separation.  She intellectually wants this, but emotionally …

Rey also has a question about sires, but his question is more about why certain vampires choose those they embrace.  He wants to know if his sire chose him specifically, or if his embrace could be random chance (that he wasn’t meant to be Gangrel).  Vaclav says there are many reasons to embrace someone, and that any number of reasons could account for Rey’s embrace, or any embrace Rey chooses to give to someone else.  Rey is disappointed, but Vaclav encourages him to realize that the Gangrel have what he calls a ‘desperate power’, that they are often underestimated.  Rey’s weaknesses could be strengths, if he only embraced and harnessed them.  Rey doesn’t react to that, but it may have been the first time someone told him that in such an open way, an it’s definitely the first time someone has implied that he should embrace his power and Rey didn’t immediately snap at them.  It seems like Vaclav even has his respect. 

Serif wonders about the power of the Tzimisce.  If Rey has power, and Fuego has power, and she has power, what exactly do the Tzimisce do?

The anwer, after Isaac beats around the bush a bit, is of course flesh-crafting.  Isaac can now change himself, as he revealed before, and Vaclav adds that more powerful Tzimisce can change others as well.  Fuego covers her shock quickly, asking for wings when Isaac figures that one out, but there is a clear moment of fear.  This is a power none of the others have.  A potentially horrible power, and even vampires as young as they are recognize that. 

The conversation quickly shifts to wights.  Vaclav confirms Isaac’s suspicions about what wights are, and after its revealed that it’s a sabbat project gone wrong, Vaclav gives them more information about why so many Sabbat become wights.  The Sabbat reject their humanity and walk different paths to maintain balance with the beast, but that makes them more vulnerable to losing control and losing themselves.  Those who can’t walk their chosen path become wights. 

Vaclav knows a lot about the Sabbat, not just their external structure, but about the Paths, and about their structure.  He doesn’t say it, barely even implies it, but I have to think he was Sabbat at one point.  However, it also seems that he broke with them long ago enough that the Anarchs don’t mind him, and he is treated as a free agent.

Their conversation draws to a close, and Vaclav offers them all one more question.  Rey asks why the Camarilla want to get rid of unclaimed childer.  Vaclav offers several possibilities, but concludes that the Camarilla are simply short-sighted and prejudiced, and have a lot of old ideas that don’t work as well as they should.  Rey is disappointed, but sometimes these simple answers are the correct ones. 

Serif asks if he met any previous Ravnos.  Vaclav discusses one who was well-traveled, well-read, capricious, intelligent, but dislikable.  Serif asks if it’s Argus, and Vaclav not only confirms that it was, but that her revealing that Argus is alive, has her mother as a ghoul, and sired Serif is important information to him.  So much so that this old vampire offers Serif a boon, which is no small thing in kindred society.  We don’t know why this information is so important, but something tells me that we will eventually find out.

Fuego and Isaac forego a final question.  As thanks for the hospitality, Fuego offers Vaclav a nearly-dead Kindle filled with books.  While Vaclav doesn’t touch the new tech, he of course accepts the gift.  And with that, this meeting—which went shockingly well for this group—ends.  Questions are now answered, there is something going on between Vaclav and Argus that means Serif earned a boon from an elder vampire, and Vaclav actually likes the whole coterie, which is great for all of them, even if their newest, best ally is an elder Tzimisce on a creepy island.

They return to the Bronx to find that Isaac’s vehicle has been run-by tagged. Serif investigates the tagging and finds that it’s a commonly used warning amongst local street-gangs: ‘GET OUT.’ Isaac brushes it off, thinking that it has something to do with his association with the Midnighters.  Serif is less convinced, but they drop it for the moment in favor of a wight-hunt.  They need to take care of that, and fast.

Isaac asks Angela for a knife, and Rey jumps in to tell him not to start cutting bits off himself just because he found that he can alter his body.  Isaac is surprised; he meant the knife for Serif so she can defend herself. Everyone is thrilled that Rey is getting protective of Isaac—a new development and further evidence of their bond—and Rey is just embarrassed. 

Isaac still has Annabelle’s stake as well.  He wants to keep it, of course, but it is prudent to have in a fight with a kindred. Isaac also has his own new abilities, which everyone is slightly horrified by as he mentions altering his bones (there’s also a great dirty pun about bones from Fuego, who is clearly still dealing with the fact that she now finds Isaac hot, and doesn’t quite know what to do with that. It was one of my favorite lines of the night, and delivered with some great comedic timing).

They drive off, trying to locate the wight with Serif’s abilities to sense the beast.  It takes them hours, but they do manage it.  Serif manages to rescue its intended victim, then takes off after it, leaving the others to catch up.  Isaac uses a brief moment to extrude the bone from his forearm to create a blade across his fingers.  The scene is like something out of a horror movie, and both Rey and Fuego are disgusted and fascinated. 

In the meantime, Serif reaches the wight alone.  It easily throws her down, but she comes back at it with the knife.  She fails to get the jump on it, and it tears into her, trying to eat her just as Isaac arrive on the scene.  He gets the first good hit on it, scissoring his bone knives into either side of its neck.  Then Fuego and Rey arrive, with Fuego trying to spray her blood around enough to gets its attention, and Rey trying to grapple it to force it to look at her.  He fails, but decides to at least prevent it from running.  He tackles it to the ground, but with a messy critical the wight grows serpentine fangs and bites into his face.  Rey has to make a frenzy check, but manages to keep it together by the barest margin. 

Fuego runs in, trying to beat at it with her flashlight.  She doesn’t put a dent in it, but Isaac grabs the stake he stole from Annabelle, and tries to drive it home while the wight is distracted.  He get close, but doesn’t manage to hit it in the heart.  It isn’t until Serif helps that they manage to paralyze it. 

Isaac warns them that it’s not dead, and they have to take care of it.  He gets ready to behead it, but Rey insists that they don’t kill it.  Everyone is shocked, asking him why.  He tries to dance around his reasons, but that just makes everyone more suspicious.  Fuego manages to mesmerize him and compel him to give his real reasons.

And the coterie learns that he needs it to prove to the Camarilla that he’s worth their time.  To say that the others are disgusted is an understatement.  The others immediately tell Isaac to proceed with whatever he was going to do, and he beheads it with his bone knives while Rey frantically tries to grab bits of it.  Serif snaps a photo of it before Isaac puts it down, and even texts it to Rey with the message ‘hope it was worth it’, but he’s too distraught to even notice.  

There are people coming and they have to go.  They all pile into the minivan with tension in the air.  Michael makes a fast getaway, and they tend to themselves in tense silence.  Isaac has to essentially treat aggravated damage to put his weapons away, showing that there is a big cost to his newfound abilities.  Rey decides not to heal, given his poor rolls.  Serif heals her own wounds, but the failure of one hunger roll puts her at four hunger, inches away from frenzy.

 It’s in this atmosphere that the confrontation about Rey’s Camarilla connections comes to a head.  Rey insists that he needed the wight in order not to give up the coterie to the Camarilla, which raises all their hackles.  Angela wants to shoot Rey.  Fuego threatens Angela, and Isaac threatens Fuego right back, forever protective of his people.  Threats escalate amongst all of them.  Secrets have been kept on all sides, yes.  Fuego didn’t tell them about Rafferty.  Serif changed her accent to hide her origins.  Isaac doesn’t want anyone on the third floor of his home, apparently less because it contains some terrible secret and more that he wanted one place that was solely his, where he could do his art in peace.  

Despite these secrets, Rey’s threats to turn them into the Cam are something more.  This isn’t just something personal.  This is something that could get Fuego blood-bonded worse than she already is, and get Serif and Isaac summarily executed.  Rey insists that this is why he needed the wight.  If he could provide more than the Camarilla asked for, he figured they wouldn’t ask him to turn on his coterie.  

Isaac snaps that the Camarilla doesn’t work like that.  They will demand everything from Rey forever, and they will still never accept him.  He will always be less than them.  Rey tries to counter with the Camarilla accepting Lasombra, but Isaac replies that the Camarilla will accept the Lasombra, but they will never accept an animal.

It’s brutal, but it starts to open people up to some real honesty.  Serif checks Rey’s personal pity with her own reasons why she needs the coterie.  All her life someone has just wanted something from her, never just liked her for her, but always only accepted her as a possession or something to extract value from.  This group is the first to offer her something like friendship without obvious strings.  She needs this.  She needs to be free, and the Camarilla are the end of that freedom for her. 

Fuego remains quiet.  In her family, people yell and fight, and that’s okay, because they get somewhere in the end.  She says that Rey will trust them, or he won’t, and her saying anything wouldn’t change it. 

Then Angela speaks up. This is a tactical problem.  Rey wants to be able to go into Manhattan without a stake in his back, not necessarily join the Camarilla.  He cannot do this on his own, but might be able to if he works with the coterie rather than lying to them.  They have to rely on one another, and maybe even like one another for a while.  It’s the only way they’ll survive.  

Rey has a choice, but he refuses to make it yet.  Not tonight. 

So we are left in limbo, with three of the coterie more or less pledging to one another out of necessity and the beginnings of something like affection.  Rey is on the outside.  He wants different things, and even the suggestion that they could help him not get staked is anathema to him, as he insists on doing everything on his own.  Could he accept this group?  Would he turn on them?  Will he try to go alone?  I suppose we will find out what he decides, and what becomes of our band of Anarchs in season 3.

 Thoughts

What a finale.  Again, light on large-scale plot, but this was heavy on paying off the interpersonal and emotional threads of the season, while giving us a conclusion to the wight that was satisfying and a difficult combat encounter.

We also finally have the coterie with at least most of their cards on the table.  They know what Rey has done, and what he wants.  They know more about Serif’s life, and what she needs, and why they are the closest she’s ever had to people who like her for her.  We know Fuego loves her community, has a complicated relationship with her sire possibly involving a blood bond or something similar, but has little interest in truly joining him.  And we know Isaac is actually the closest to the Anarchs in terms of philosophy as well as circumstance of all of them.  Yes, the Camarilla would kill him, but he also wants his freedom.  He wants his space and his things and his territory and his third floor which apparently just as his art in it (so far).  And they would all accomplish these things better together, if Rey can accept that and embrace it. 

So we leave this wonderful, messy foursome driving together, taking the long way home.  We end not with a tight conclusion, or a definitive end, but instead we end on an ellipsis.

With that, I’d like to discuss where the characters are emotionally, and why, to my mind, they need one another.  Serif is the most open about it.  Despite her misgivings, she cares about them all.  Francis still looms in her background, a Sabbat-shaped danger that none of them—even her—know about.  But he’s a less tempting thing now, because she may dislike some of the choices her coterie has made, but they’re hers.  Isaac is protective of her without asking anything in return.  Fuego laughs with her.  Even Rey has tried to be there for her.  These people have acted more like her family than the fucked-up reality of her blood family ever did.

Fuego’s great catharsis was last week.  The hardest-hit she was tonight was when Isaac claimed they would all lose their humanity eventually, if they lived long enough.  That’s the one thought she can’t stand.  And so, even if she didn’t express it as loudly as Serif did, this coterie is a totem for her, a proof of her own humanity.  As long as she needs them and likes them and doesn’t stop caring about them because she’s lost too much of herself to care, she’s still Fuego. She’s not Margot or Rafferty’s childe. She’s Fuego, with her humanity hard-won and her friends at her side protecting her.  And she does care about them.  She tries to defend Rey when Serif and Isaac go after him for his betrayal. She likes Serif a great deal, even if she can’t quite understand her.  She finds Isaac intriguing and powerful (and now, apparently, hot).  She can’t have her old family like she used to, even though she clings to them.  She needs community, and this is what she gets.  Four fuck-up Anarchs on their own in the Bronx.  And she’s holding onto that, and by extension her humanity, with all she’s got.

Isaac needs them too. We still don’t know the extent of his problems.  He has remained the biggest black box of the group this season.  But he needs them because he’s weak on his own, and his clan is reviled, and the Camarilla would execute him in a heartbeat.  And he does care, in his own weird Isaac way.  He cares about Serif, who is in a similar boat to him. He cares about Fuego’s desperate bid for her own humanity, even if he doesn’t quite understand it.  And he cares about Rey, because he wouldn’t be so angry if he didn’t.  He wouldn’t feel as betrayed as he does if he didn’t already sort of trust and sort of like this man.  Isaac is walls within walls and masks within masks.  He is the anomaly, the one of them with a good sire, and two friends (who he ghouled), but no real connections to kindred society.  Whoever he was before, high-school dropout and gangster, he is reinventing himself, and he both needs these people to keep him alive, and to keep him grounded.

Rey has brought the Camarilla to their doorstep, yes, but the Cam already knew about them; Angela was right about that.  Julia didn’t dangle the pronunciation of Tzimisce in front of Rey because she didn’t know how to say it.  It was a test.  She wanted to see if Rey would give her Isaac; she wanted to play the good cop and see how far he was really willing to go for the Cam.  And at this point, that’s still a dangling question, and one I don’t think even Rey knows the answer to.  He’s trying to play all ends to the middle, and he got his coterie caught in the middle with him.  Isaac was cruel, but he was probably right that the Camarilla would never accept Rey. They would use him up and throw him out.  If he wants respect, the only people likely to give it to him are these four, at least until he’s powerful enough that the Anarchs will respect him too.  

What this episode drove home is how much they all do need one another, and how unwillingly they’ve come to care about each other.  There isn’t actually much of a power differential between them.  They are all young, all vulnerable, all overwhelmed and scared and becoming something new.  And at least three of them are now committed to doing it together.

I will miss these four characters and their actors fiercely.  I am doing my best to be open to the second-season coterie, because I’m sure they’ll be great too, but I have liked this foursome more than almost any I’ve seen in live play TTRPGs in a long time.  They have such good chemistry, such great conflict, and such intense moments of real honest interaction and catharsis.

I want to congratulate all the players and Jason Carl on a great first season.  Aabria Iyengar brought such verve and such fun and such passion to Fuego that her emotional scene last episode was a phenomenal moment of real character growth for her, setting her up to be the voice of reason, humanity, and understanding in this final episode.  Joey Rassool has been phenomenally dedicated to being the wildcard, to playing Rey to the hilt even when—and perhaps especially when—it’s the wrong call, making him a breathless thrill to watch.  Mayanna Berrin plays Serif with such heart and fierceness and need to be free and valued and all the things everyone else craves but is too afraid to admit. And Alex Ward brings a creepy stillness coupled with an incredible intensity to Isaac that makes him electrifying to watch in every scene he’s in. 

I adore these characters and their story and this weird little coterie in their shitty part of the Bronx.  I will miss them tremendously, and can’t wait to see them again.  Thank you all!

#NY by Night #recap and thoughts #Fuego Walker #Isaac Brooke #Serif #Reyes Malcolm #what a great end to a great season #I am going to miss this cast immensely #and I can't wait for them to return in season 3

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

you want a new kind of guy, fine, i raise you: the lady i was briefly roommates with in college who once smoked a blunt at a party and then spent an hour confessing earnestly to me that she genuinely preferred reading detailed episode recaps over actually watching the tv show in question

#she sounded so remorseful & i just stood staring like an anthropologist watching their phd thesis spontaneously manifest before their eyes #apparently she would watch the pilot episode to get a feel for the characters #and then just read a bunch of recaps & episode reviews instead of watching future episodes. what fresh steaming hell #this conversation took place like a year and a half after we were roommates btw. i had seen her maybe twice in that time period #i thought she was a standard frat girl but then 18 months later she appears in the wild grass to reveal unhinged character background to me #and i'm just standing there nodding feeling like i missed a weird opportunity i did not want or ask for #honestly thought i was the weirdest person in that apartment situation but now i'm wondering what our other 2 roommates were hiding #not my strangest college experience at ALL but like. definitely top 20 #this wasn't the same person as Aquarium Girl btw but oddly enough they were roommates actually #(not at the same time that Recaps Lady and i were roommates but at different intervals idk) #anyway i probably should have interviewed at more than one apartment before taking over a sublease but summer sess is a weird time u know #oh and this happened in Hong Kong btw

[iaminjail]

idc if he killed all those people he was swag as hell while doing it

#sally face #sally face fanart #sal fisher #sally fisher #alternate title: pov its 2017 and you're exposing yourself to indie horror games for the first time (you're pissing your pants) #are any of you people still alive #if you are then hiiiii #rewatched jack's playthrough of sally face. havent seen it since he first uploaded it and thought i needed a recap #just as fun as when i was younger tbh i still love sally face #the ending was kinda crazy but it was the sickest shit ever so i didnt care much #anyways yeah. also came to the realization sally face shaped essentially my entire identity #and i havent credited it once im so sorry developers of sally face #thanks for making me emo

[jq37]

I'm obsessed with Kipperlilly being the one who came up with the name "High Five Heroes" and being upset about the name change when, as far we know, she's the Rat Grindiest of them all. It gives me the vibe of the Chris Fleming bit about vibe dysphoria.

[Transcript]

"You know that thing where the most toxic person you've ever met over-relates to woodland creatures on social media? I call it Vibe Dysphoria. She'll put up a picture of a mouse in a jean jacket with 'It's me.' That is not you. I don't know how you got under the impression that you are a mouse in a jean jacket. You are an eel with a gun. She posts a toad with a basket of mushrooms like 'Me doing my little things.' Oh madam, there is nothing little about your things. You gave me psychosexual issues I'll carry to my watery grave. You are not a toad in the forest…You are a cruel woman who just happens to be small."

#dimension 20 #d20 #fantasy high #kipperlilly copperkettle #i find her fascinating #i have actually finished the recap part of the next report card already #i just haven't posted it bc I'm gathering my thoughts for the commentary section #bc there is just So Much To Unpack

[rainbowchaox]

Analysis of Pissa So Far.

This is a essay looking at our favorite death dads and how their relationship changed and their different nuances from to start to most recent. This will primarily look at the major three times we had Phil and Missa interact from the start with being paired for the eggs to recently the Mexican Independence Party. So bare with me and come with me down memory lane.

I rewatched day 1 of the pairing up of pissa to mainly cope with CERTAIN lore that happened recently. And yes it’s as fluffy and cute as I remembered. But let’s start at the beginning. Before the pairing up Missa and Phil knew of each other casually like acquaintances. In real life along with in general their characters/cubitos. (Again major thanks for the server in general bringing all these wonderful creators together.) Anyways the first time Phil met Missa was when he jumped off the wall and gave them food. I like to imagine missa had a non-serious crush on the man. But they didn’t really interact. And it’s fair to understand why.

But then the egg event happened. Which honestly in my opinion was the best event to bring the Spanish and English sides together organically. And looking back now it WORKED. So back on track everyone goes to the adoption center and like most Qsmp events it’s total chaos. Phil chooses his ticket and when I rewatched it Missa literally like spammed clicked it to break it and get Phil. Atleast that is what it looks like to me. So we already have the seeds of simp Missa from the very start. Also can we all take a break and just realize they both got tickets with D? And literally they are Deathduo? The more I rewatch the pairing lottery the more I think it was rigged by the admins and not actually by chance. Every duo either had similar humor or charm.

Immediately Phil and Missa find out they both have D. And it’s casual no romantic undertones the cubitos are still getting to know each other. But Missa being a sweetheart immediately is like you can choose whatever egg. And I think this is when Phil starts to soften and gets majorly endeared towards the clumsy reaper. Like not a crush. Not love. But the seeds of the adoration and love we see from Phil down the road. The fact of the matter Phil let Missa choose Chayanne name. The fact literally the newly formed death family was being fluffy and saying chayanne will be the best egg while literally everyone was screaming in the background. Its the main thing that would later define the dynamic of the ship. The gentle understanding and teamwork. That would later be a staple whether you ship them platonically or romantically.

And chayanne is the best way to show why pissa was meant to always work. Chayanne personality and hobbies all came from his two dads (Literally the reason chayanne was interested in cooking so much was because Missa taught him to cook). And like Phil once he was thrust into parenthood with Missa immediately found him endeared by his assigned husband? The amount of times he laughed because of Missa. Another theme so important to why pissa works so well.

Missa is Philzas calm balm. He relaxes Phil so much. And that’s so rare for that to happen. So of course a hour or so in taking care of their son. Phil visibly softens and gets endeared to the man. Phil immediately starts worrying about missa when he left. Missa may have fallen first but Phil fell harder. Like more time Phil spends with Missa the more comfortable and at ease he gets. Missa fully was like I have the best husband ever let me casually call you pet names.

Not to mention two popular scenes burned into the minds of fans. The moment when Mariana called Phil my love and tried to steal him. And Phil being Phil immediately was I’m okay with my partner thank you very much. And both Missa and Phil cuddled close. I still think Missa fell day 1 but Phil was quickly getting a crush on his assigned husband. Secondly Phil literally invited Missa to bed.

Their dynamic was one of like relaxation of trust and just both trying their best for Chayanne. They easily slid into a cute dynamic as both got endeared to the others. And also in day 1 Phil never said platonic it’s only after day 1 he started using that. And only when he wasn’t with Missa. He is a repressed romantic guy struggling with a crush. Not to mention the crows practically grew so attached to Missa it was insane to see.

Anyways like most couples they had to both take care of chayanne until Missa canonically got kidnapped by wolves for four months. During the time Missa was there he was pining HARD for Phil. Calling him his love and darling in Spanish. Phil meanwhile keep saying it was platonic and most of the fans accepted that. But then Missa was gone.

And cubito Phil missed him so fucking much. It’s at this point I fully believe is when Phil finally realized he loved him. He kept referencing Missa. He made armor for Missa. He dyed his backpack black with a skull because of Missa. It’s truly my belief that Philza realized he fucking adored the man in Missas absence. He never gave up waiting for Missa. And Missa eventually kept his promise and came back to his family.

And this is when you see some of nuance or facets change slightly in their dynamic. The core is the same all the way back from day 1 but it does change. It somehow becomes softer and domestic. Sure Philza even before his grand realization in Missa absence SPOILED missa. Missa made him soft. But when the reunion happened? Somehow Philza softens even more. Somehow he spoils Missa even more. This is why I believe that Philza finally realized he loves Missa. Because there is a clear increase in the affectionate displays between them.

Philza and the rest of the server went on the mission once Missa appeared. It was legit like Philza forgot that he was a mission. Philza when Missa appeared immediately softened so much. Of course Philza isn’t angry he’s gone. He just missed his husband. And voila once asked by Cellbit “oh this is your husband?!” He immediately agreed. This is important because for months if someone asked about who is Missa he would always and never fail to say Missa is his platonic partner/husband.

But in the reunion Philza just said husband. Because in my opinion Philza fully thought of Missa his romantic partner. The fact that Philza showed everyone including Missa the skull on the black backpack almost like a bird showing off his feathers. And Missa was immediately all gushy. The fact he only looked at Missa when he said you can go into my boat. And felps not realizing the sorta of energy the two of them was having immediately was cursed to be a third wheel.

Like literally felps was in the back of the boat being all “just ignore that I’m here” when literally Philza and Missa were lost in their own fucking world. Gently flirting with each other. Felps was regretting majorly getting in the boat with them so no wonder he bounced as soon as possible. And literally they were left by themselves still on a mission to save people. But I won’t lie it was a date.

Just them loving in each other company. And Philza being so gentle and loving and protective towards Missa. Their dynamic at their core is the same yes. But it’s undeniably more romantic. And Missa side of the dynamic also changes. He starts trying his best to protect Philza. The man who has from the start been protecting him and their son.

Missa slowly starts to become more brave and actually comments on how attractive Phil is in front of him. (I can see your pecs….yes Missa we get it you love Phil). They are closer than ever. Phil also immediately accepts Missa as Tallulah other dad. Do you guys know how massive that is? He trusts and loves Missa so darn much to let him easily be part of his whole family.

And eventually Missa had to go for a bit. But the amount of pissa interaction we get during the renuion stream doesn’t end. We have loads more to dissect. Missa comes back in hope to see his son and new daughter but sadly they were sleeping but later on despite showing Tubbo around. Once he saw Missa was whispering to him in chat immediately left as soon as possible to get to his husband. Also Cellbit who was with him and tubbo was immediately like “oh you need to help your husband understandable” while tubbo was just like so confused.

Meanwhile before this Missa was crying wanting to go back to Phil. Phil is his safety blanket. Phil never fails to make him feel safe and secure and protected. There’s reasons why Missa fell so quickly. And they met up. And to bring up my earlier point above. What Phil does nest is one of my primarily reasons why I believe Phil fully realizes he loves Missa.

Yes Phil spoils Missa. It’s his love lanuage but all the gifts and upgrades he did late at night (which Phil made a mission to give stuff to Missa before he logged off.) and even the armor he made so long ago. The amount of spoiling and pampering just screams love, adoration, and affection.

And of course they get sorta matching backpacks. And of course Missa says he loves him so fast so the translator doesn’t pick it up. This leds to when Missa showed up by himself had a loony toon day before being called out by roier. He fully says he loves Philza. LOVES PHILZA. TE AMO. Romantic.

Most of the fans knew because just look how Missa acted. But once it was confirmed Missa feels romantic feelings for Philza? That’s when the majority starting fully accepting them as romantic soulmates. And started seeing Philza actions how they are. Romantic. (Though if you prefer them as platonic that’s also very valid).

The only reason a pissa wedding or confession haven’t happened is because Missa loves Philza so much he doesn’t want to make him uncomfortable or burden him with his feelings for him. If philza said let’s get married he would accept immediately. But knowing Phil he will say nothing about loving Missa because he is scared he won’t be able to be protect.

And more recently. The Mexican Independence Day party. I won’t lie the times they were together they were always flirting. They were so cute. And both in my eyes were getting brave with their love for the other in their own ways. Missa literally screaming VIVA TE AMO on stage when Roier said Philza. Or Philza making sure he follows Missa during the dance. The fact Philza was so gentle explaining the recent egg disappearance and made a comment of being shock that Missa came back (he misses Missa so much each time he is gone.).

And their dynamic switches slightly again. Because Phil the whole time was worried and hovering around Missa when ingesting everything lore at once. And Missa is again getting brave he fully said he going on a date with Phil. It’s romantic. There’s no way I can personally can see it otherwise (though again if you like them platonic you are hella valid). At the start there was seeds but their romance has grown. They love each other. They need to confess for my sanity. And I fully trusts that Missa will have some sort of role in saving his love. And maybe perhaps we can get a confession or wedding in the future-

#qsmp #pissa #I’m dead guys. THIS is literally my two essays combined #Leave your thoughts on tags. #or comments #I hope you enjoyed this summary? recap? of pissa as a dynamic from the start to more recent. #yes I know I’m normal about them #LET ME BE FREE #this is how I cope mates. #qsmp shipping #pissa newspaper

[chaos0pikachu]

sometimes I think about xie wang from Word of Honor and I'm like baby, honey, chepito, you have like two lesbians who'd kill for you, and two bisexual women who had been burned by men in horrific ways who were all telling you during Hair Braiding Hours in between slitting throats and looking for the glazed donut that you 👏 deserve 👏👏 better 👏👏 you are pretty enough to get a new sugar daddy who doesn't got twinks - sorry, nephews~~~ - on the side like you're not even the main baby??? your smokey eye is to good for this, your fit is to tight for this, stop letting that man treat you like a grape jolly rancher and stand up!!!

and then he didn't listen and got eaten by snow mountain rip XW this is what happens when you don't listen to the lesbians

#word of honor #xie wang #love that in fics he gets with yby tho #got himself a new daddy love that for him #chaos pikachu speaks #sometimes I just be Having Thoughts #pikachu's chaotic recaps

[butchsophiewalten]

03/03/24 Twitter Space Recap (2/2)

After the other Twitter Space which I already made a recap for, Martin, Eva ("Bon" and Bon's VA), Coral (Susan's VA), and Kyle (Boozoo & Charles' VA) reconvened for another space, this time with a Q&A focus, later in the day. This one was really long, and they talked about a lot, but I've summarized it here to the best of my ability:

-Someone asks "What would Jenny major in college? Because it's implied that she's in college." Martin answers (reiterating an answer he gave in a previous Space) that she studies psychology. Coral chimes in to say that they think Jenny would understand Sophie and her trauma a lot better for it, and Martin agrees, saying "Yeah, yeah, I think Jenny has a really good understanding of how Sophie thinks because of that."

-Someone asks "Hypothetically, which Tyler, The Creator album would be Sophie's favorite?". Martin answers that he thinks it would be Flower Boy.

-"When Jack and Rosemary argue, Jack sleeps on the couch and he goes to Molly, and he goes like 'Hey, could you go pick that up for me? I don't want to enter the room,' 'cause, like, whenever Rosemary is mad she's actually really scary. So Jack just doesn't- doesn't get involved. He just sleeps on the couch."

-Eva goes, "Martin, didn't we agree before that if Sophie and Brian ever met, Sophie would just kick his ass?". Martin answers, "Yeah, Sophie would hate Brian."

-"Okay, here's a Jophie fact, Jophie wasn't even supposed to be, like, an actual relationship, at first. Originally, it was gonna be, like, they would gradually start dating as the series went on. But then, we were like, Y'know what, it's way easier if they are already a couple... Imagine if you're going through the animatronic drama, and simultaneously it's just these two girls falling in love, in the middle of all that shit."

-"Will Richie appear again?" At this point the battery in Martin's phone has died, but nobody has noticed, so Eva steps in to answer, "Martin has had plans to bring Richie back for more stuff, but he hasn't really done anything with him yet, but I dunno." Kyle says he doesn't remember who Richie is, which is really funny to me.

-Someone asks if either Sophie or Jenny would like Weezer, and Coral says they think Jenny would like them unironically, but Sophie would like something like Buddy Holly ironically. Martin answers, "Y'know, I think Sophie- I've always thought that Sophie isn't the kinda person to like- like, experimental or artistic stuff too much, because she's like a very- a person that gets confused very easily. So, she would listen to stuff like Weezer and she would think internally, like, 'what the fuck is this?', but she'd go like "Oh, this is fire, Jenny, I love- I love it."'

-Kyle says he thinks it's important for Jenny to be a bit of a loser, in an endearing way. Eva slightly disagrees, saying Jenny would probably be the cool one between them, while Sophie is an absolute loser. Martin says, "I was trying to say, before we change the subject, the way I see it is that, to me, Sophie has a lot of like, street smarts, and Jenny is more like a very dorky person that probably just, like, lived a very normal and fulfilled life, y'know? She just, like, lived in the suburbs, with supporting people in her life. I think Sophie, yeah, she's kind of loser, but I think, in a way, in my opinion I think Sophie's a little braver than Jenny is. I've always seen them like that."

-Coral says, "I feel like Sophie wouldn't really know how to emote properly." and Martin says, emphatically, that she doesn't. Coral describes a scenario where Jenny is upset or scared by something, and is crying. and how Sophie would try her best to comfort her, but would really not know what to do, and would struggle immensely in a situation like that. Martin adds an anecdote, "Yeah, no, I-I told this to Eva one time, Sophie doesn't cry. Jenny has never- has never seen Sophie cry, ever."

-Eva says, "I think, like, um- [Sophie's], like, lack of really, like, full awareness of what's going on for episode 3- like, seeming really 'dead', the whole time, is like- while it could be seen as like, bad writing, it- I think it also can be taken as a part of her character. And that's also, like, further emphasized in future episodes, and here emotions are just, like really--" and Coral interrupts, saying, "No offense to Martin, but I feel like it's a mix of both."

Martin says, ""Yeah, it's a mix of both. It- the intention of making her seem like someone who wasn't really 'in there', at the time, someone who wasn't really like, aware of what's going on, is just like, barely even phased by it, was there, but it was just mostly bad writing. The way I see it is that, back then I didn't trust the series as much as I trust it now, so I was always making sure that people would understand stuff the way that I intended it to, and that resulted in Sophie just saying everything out loud. Like, 'this is very weird!'"

-Eva talks for a bit about how she gets frustrated when Crystal, Sophie's VA, gets criticism over her performance, when the problem really laid with Martin's writing. She says that one of her favorite aspects of Crystal's performance as Sophie is that she sounds very childlike, not in the way of her actually being a child, but in seeming very much like someone who never really grew out of being a child.

On this topic, Martin says, "Or- to me, more like Sophie being someone who never grew out of being a child- is someone who was forced to grow up very quickly. So, so she doesn't know how to be- she didn't get to know how to be a child, but she didn't get to know how to be an adult, either. So she's, like, stuck and is constantly- she doesn't really know what to do most of the time, because- she doesn't really understand what she's supposed to do and how she's supposed to do things."

-Eva says, "Sophie is like, probably one of the most interesting characters in the series to me, and I can't wait for her to come back, 'cause she's so interesting." and Martin responds, "Oh, yeah! I really- because I think if she comes back, she's gonna feel so different, with like, the new style of writing, and stuff. I think, um, something I really like about Sophie is that, uh, I really like how people think of Sophie like this fucking girl- oh, I mean, back in the day, I don't know how it is now, but back in the day people would think Sophie would be like, this very soft and shy person, but, no, in a way, Sophie's a very mean person! She's like, something I always thought about when it comes to her character is that she is- she has so many weak, like, social skills, that she usually gets very defensive with anybody."

-Eva talks about how Sophie is definitely a very walled-off and antisocial person, and how she tends to push people out of her life, aside from Jenny, and Martin says, "And, like, Sophie fucking hated Jenny at the beginning. [laughing] Like, she didn't hate her, but I remember telling you specifically how they met, and it took a while- not- not a while-while, but it took some time for Sophie to get used to Jenny, and actually start developing feelings for her." Coral compares the evolution of their relationship to the process of taming a feral cat.

-Eva says, "Someone said, 'What animal would Sophie be if she was an animal,' I think she'd be a deer." Martin says, "I think she'd be a WOLF! A WEREWOLF!" Kyle says he thinks if Sophie is a deer, Jenny should be a moose.

-Martin reads a question, "'Besides painting, what other art does Rose make?' Okay, this was an idea from back when Coker was part of the team, that, we wanted to make, like, a third Showstopper album, which was going to be songs composed by Rose. So, Rose was kind of like a songwriter."

-Eva says, "Someone asked for a Richie fact, and asked if he's friends with Chris." Martin hems and haws, going "Oh, I wanna talk about it, but I don't know if I should!", but then says, "Yeah, they're friends."

Kyle says he thinks they would hold hands, "In a platonic way, because it's cold outside." Martin jokes, saying, "I think they would hold hands... in a romantic way!"

-Martin reads a question, saying he thinks Kyle would enjoy answering it, "Is Felix Kranken religious? If so, what's his religion?", and Kyle says he has an idea that Felix isn't religious and never has been, but during his lowest moments in life, he prays. "He is an incredibly superstitious person, so when the going gets really bad, all he can think to do is drop to his knees, and just home that somebody's listening."

Martin says, "The Waltens actually- I mean, Sophie, Edd, and Molly aren't, but Jack and Rosemary are Christian." Eva jokes that she thinks Edd & Molly are Satanists.

-Coral asks what everything thinks is the worst thing Edd & Molly have done, and Martin says, "From the top of my head, like something I'm just making up, I really think something they would do, is they would buy all of Jack's socks, and change them for smaller ones so they don't fit his feet. So he has to go to work with, like, really tiny socks."

-Eva reads a question, "Where's Brian Stells hiding? Like, where's his spirit hiding." Martin and Eva both say that they think his ghost lingered around for a while, but that he probably just died. Like, nothing special happened to his ghost. Eva shares an idea she has, that Bon probably realized, at some point while killing Brian, that he wasn't Sophie, but continued to mutilate him out of anger that he wasn't her.

-Martin goes, "What do you think made him realize [that Brian wasn't Sophie]? I like to think that Bon looked at him, and was like, 'wait, Sophie's not fucking blonde, is she?', and he took like three seconds to remember."

-Eva reads, "Can we get a CyberTelly fact?" and Kyle answers, "CyberTelly used to be a car salesman before he joined Bon's Burgers."

-Eva goes, "Wait, Martin, didn't we agree at one point that Bon would have a ridiculous amount of exes? He's like Ramona Flowers?" and Martin laughs and agrees emphatically. He says, "So fucking funny- Bon has a fucking ex-wife that's literally just a female version of Bon. Like, Bon with a pink bowtie."

-Eva says, "Someone just asked, 'What's Richie's last name', can we just come up with the stupidest last name for him on the spot?". They spitball a bunch of really stupid answers, and land on "Richie Ratterson".

-Martin reads a question, "'Are we going to see Showbear's replacement in 5 & 6?' Yep!"

-They start talking about how Felix has a new voice actor, but at the time of the Space, they hadn't actually told him yet, that he had been picked to be Felix's new VA. They invite him to the stream and tell him live! He's very thankful and very surprised. You can find him on Twitter Here!

-Martin posted this (and deleted it after five seconds) to celebrate Felix's new voice actor. Isn't it nice don't you guys love it

After posting this he kept going "Toxic Yaoi!" in a very sing-song way.

-Coral complains that they never got kissing art when they became a VA for The Walten Files, so Martin drew this for them, and again deleted it after a couple seconds:

-Coral talks about a while about how, just before the Space, everyone speaking in the space (minus Connor, Felix's new VA) watched the finished portions of TWF6. They gush for a bit about just how good it was, and how nice it was to see everyone's hard work come together and how glad they are that everyone seems so proud of and happy with the episode.

-Martin answers a question, "Please, Martin, can you draw Felix and "Bon", I'll take it over Jelix, please don't draw that again," with, "Don't worry, don't worry, you're going to see Felix and "Bon", eventually."

-Martin talks for a bit about how he found out PepsiCo supports Israel, and how mad he is, because in Bon's Burgers there's a Pepsi ad on the wall, and it's in virtually every scene, and can't be removed. He apologizes preemptively, saying "I created that map before being made aware of that, so I'm sorry in advance for that."

-In the last minute of the space, Martin attempts a lightning round Q&A session, answering as many questions as he can as quickly as he can. Here are those answers:

-"Would Jenny listen to Ska? Okay, sure, why not."

-"Do Derek Collins and/or Frank Davis appear in 5 or 6? Yeah, Derek appears."

-"Would Sophie be an Undertale fan? No."

-My audio blipped out this part of the recording, so I can't transcribe it, but someone asked who would win in a fight, Jack or Susan. Martin initially answered Jack, but after thinking about it for another moment, decides Susan would probably win.

-"Is Susan and cat or dog person? Probably cat."

#the walten files #okay this wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be. i didnt need to put it off for this long #i mean writing this did take me like 3 hours because that's how long this recording is. but its ok #they did a lot more just chatting between themselves than like. Walten Files Facts. so not too much to write down #twitter space recap

[unmotivated-student]

Why did you start watching the qsmp and why did you stay?

#In my case I think it's kind of funny because I had never been so committed to a Minecraft server #I watched a little bit of Tortillaland and some other bits of Karmaland #I liked Quackity and most of my time on Twitch I spent watching elmariana [It was the only thing I watched on Twitch] #I liked Roier but I didn't really watch him much [I don't know why] and I loved Missa's Youtube videos but I actually started watching #qsmp because of Jaiden #when I saw that she was part of the server I thought “wait #Jaiden? Jaiden animations? one of my favorite content creators is part of a #Minecraft server? I will definitely be watching“ #Jaiden was my main pov for much of the qsmp but it's a little funny that she doesn't appear in my Twitch recap because most of the time #I watched her live was on YouTube #and first place on my recap is Roier #my current main pov and whom I became very fond of throughout my time watching the qsmp #qsmp

[delicatepointofview]

HARRY STYLES: YEAR IN REVIEW 2022

#harry styles #stylesnews #stylesedits #hledit #hlcreators #hljournal #1dsource #gif* #jaerie #<- for the lot uk and lot chicago videos bless you #https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzOadVujpv4 #https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL56pJoLMSc #https://twitter.com/sunflwerrmoon/status/1587297624482148352 #https://www.tiktok.com/@nilenochill/video/7166637015910321450?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7166637015910321450 #https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ygJ7OZV6w #https://twitter.com/lwt91stini/status/1603211818771615744 #flashing tw #first of all: thanks to the blog on my notes reblogging things and tagging as recap #that's why i thought of doing this gifset #2nd: this looked much better (and bigger) in my head #3rd: the dedication of giffing a movie i havent watched lol #this is my last gifset of the year so i'd like to thank everyone here (who pressed to read the full tags lmao) for all the support #and reblogs (!!!) and nice comments on my stuff #truly keeps me going and i enjoy doing content for you all too much <3 #happy new year <3

[rillils]

STEVE & BUCKY'S LOVE STORY, UNABRIDGED SOMEWHAT ABRIDGED, part 3/4 (here are part 1 and part 2)

i just want to preface this by saying: as much as they tried to make this movie all about tony, and as much as they tried to no-homo the steve/bucky situation, they still somehow ended up making CACW the gayest movie in the whole cap trilogy, and that's saying something *throws confetti*

now, picking up where we left off:

aided by his friends sam and natasha, steve spends the following two years or so chasing after bucky, looking for clues as to where he could be hiding, until he eventually finds him.

their reunion scene is like. i honestly don't know if i can convey the sheer, ridiculous, absolute beauty that is this scene.

the thing is, steve isn't the only one who discovered bucky's location: the bad guys did too, and they're coming. like they're coming RIGHT NOW, as sam keeps trying to warn steve. which means that he and bucky have about 20 seconds to do this, and that might sound like too short of a time, right? but honey, the amount of repressed emotions and homoerotic subtext these two manage to stuff into those 20 seconds, my god--

no because like, there's a whole-ass SWAT team outside, waiting to crash through their door and blow up the place, yeah? and instead of getting the fuck out of there PRONTO, steve, mr romeo fucking rogers, decides to spend those precious few seconds trying to get bucky to admit that he loves him, making this much yearned-for, long-awaited reunion the most high-stakes game of gay chicken in the whole of history. you might think i'm kidding, but i'm not!!!!

INTRODUCING:

in the red corner, we've got steve basically telling bucky: "i know that you remember me, i know that you saved me because you still love me, please will you just say it out loud babe"

and in the blue corner there's bucky, extremely conflicted because YES, of course he loves steve, but he also knows he's putting steve in danger just by standing in the same room as him, and steve shouldn't even be here in the first place, and anyways STEVE NOW'S NOT THE TIME PLS FUCK

so he's just (unsuccessfully) trying to deny everything, you know?? "fuck no i don't know you, just know your name from a museum, what do you mEAN i saved your ass because i love you more than life itself and that's literally the first thing i remembered when i got my memory back"

(a quick reenactment:)

but really, you'll see the love in bucky's eyes if you just look hard enough.

n- no, look harder

a bit harder?

see, i told you

so here they are, just about to slam each other into the nearest wall and make out like it's brokeback mountain and they're just two guys coming from a time where their love had to be kept a secret and they miss what little privacy they used to have in their own little bubble when they were younger and living together and then life tore them apart and they haven't seen each other in ages and they've been yearning all the while and now that they're finally standing before each other again the air feels electric between them and they just can't help but- wait. uh. that, uh. that sounds familiar. uh.

OKAY so they're totally about to snog the living daylights out of each other, but time is running out. the bad guys are here!! and- and also a bunch of other people! because apparently everybody wants bucky either dead or locked up for one reason or another!! MY BOY CAN'T CATCH A FUCKING BREAK!!

so bucky is apprehended. but before anyone can do much about it, this other guy - this movie's Official Antagonist™ - gets bucky alone and triggers bucky's brainwashed assassin persona into taking over.

no longer conscious of his own actions, bucky wreaks havoc in the building, knocking people down in his wake like a sexy buff steamroller, and tries to escape; but steve, desperate not to lose him again, goes after him and stops him.

by grabbing onto a fucking helicopter, as one does

one extremely romantic, freaking insane stunt later, steve manages to get bucky to safety. next thing you know, bucky's waking up and back to himself, and they finally have a bit longer than 20 seconds to talk. you think they're gonna be normal about this? you think they're gonna share a standard heart to heart conversation? oh hell no, babes. WHIP OUT THE BEDROOM EYES, TURN THAT SOFTNESS UP TO ELEVEN, WE'RE UNLOCKING A BRAND NEW LEVEL OF EMOTIONS HERE

seriously. you don't know what true tenderness is, until you've heard james buchanan barnes softly say, in his sweet, gruff, velvety drawl, barely holding back a smile, "your mom's name was sarah. you used to wear newspapers in your shoes."

also the two of them just. spend half the scene making INTENSE heart eyes at each other, gazing deeply and intimately in each other's eyes, just bypassing the flirting zone to move straight to eye-lovemaking lane, while sam is in the room, because they've got no chill whatsoever.

unfortunately, sam cockblocks reminds them that they don't have time for this shit (dammit, sam) as they kinda have more pressing matters at hand, being on the run from like every government in the world (and then some). also they must neutralize The Antagonist™ before he can act on his Evil Plan™, so, you know. put the eyesex on hold, guys!

(to be continued in part 4)

#stucky #stevebucky #the silly stucky recap you didn't ask for #part 3 :D #so this got too long and i thought it'd be best to split it in two parts #hence the change from 3/3 to 3/4 #rillers scribbles #i'm still not 100% sure how to tag it in the first place tbh xD #but here #have some silliness in your day #cacw

[aurorangen]

hi i hope you don't mind me doing this...

i wanted to tell vincent's backstory when he found out isaac was his brother. then you wanted to see babies and i thought ok, i will delay it! now i can't keep putting it aside and vincent's backstory is important to understand him better! so i will be telling it soon. as you know, he's had a tough life and i need some time and motivation to get me started on planning/playing it out properly.

so for the time being i hope you enjoy my tjolc comeback! i miss my tjolc sims and i just wanted to play in mt.komorebi for a bit. it's a new story and environment to focus on and it helped with my motivation a lot!! thanks for being patient with me 😊

and you'll see oscar again (hopefully see how far i get) then the other guy you've waited 9 months for - his face remains a secret 🤫

#its more like i wanted to take my mind off postcard legacy for a bit before telling his story! i know its a weird thought process #i could post infant gp but tbh it would be the same scenery/background as future posts and i know id get bored easily #but i loved visiting this save again and taking pics in mt komorebi #i never really “started” this legacy so i will be revisiting those posts first for a recap. since my gshade and sim style has changed a bit #i must make it consistent AHAHA #rambles #gameplay update

[centaurianthropology]

Thoughts on NY by Night S1E5 ‘Darkness Clings’

Wow, that was an episode, and as usual, and appropriately-titled episode at that. What started off with some interesting RP and the coterie setting off on a ‘treasure hunt’ rapidly devolved into something far messier, far more dangerous, and something that shot cracks through everyone’s shaky connections.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?  It’s fun when basic healing and feeding leads to some serious RP, both with the confrontation between Fuego and Rey over her asking him to kill a man, and when Serif’s risk-taking behavior bites her in the ass with a 4-hunger spike.  Not only did it give us good scenes, but it led to more information about the blood bond, as Serif very nearly made an accidental one by feeding off Rey.  I found it very interesting how obviously conflicted Isaac was about either letting it happen or warning them ahead of time.  There is a part of him that loves watching others make mistakes, likes to study the foibles and stand back from being emotionally invested in anything. He also is struggling with being the one who is somewhat in charge of this group, as he’s not great with people, and his possessive tendencies don’t seem to tend him toward rulership so much as being owed favors.  He’s an extortionist, not a king.

But he’s also the only source of information these vampires have that they see on a regular basis, and so he does end up stepping in to stop Serif and Rey before they can make a mistake without proper information.  And armed with that information, Serif elects to finally eat the blood bag that’s been in Fuego’s purse for a week, and then go hunting (I loved the touch of her victim calling her ‘m’lady’.  A great moment of humor in an otherwise fairly bleak episode).  This is clearly not how she likes to feed.  She likes mortals who know who she is, who are her friends and who enjoy the feeding, and just picking up some random idiot at a bar makes her feel hollow.

So it’s already not a great start to the night.  And things are made more complicated by the strain between Rey and Fuego after their confrontation.  He’s uncomfortable around her, even as he finds her hard to resist or deny.  And that clearly scares the shit out of him. Fuego, rather than de-escalating the situation, leans into it, letting him think even more that she can control him, though she does imply that she’s not actively doing so to the extent he fears. Still, it leaves them very much at odds, and when she finds out about the blood bond, she has a very different reaction to the information than Serif and Rey did.  She seems intrigued.  She looks Rey up and down like a tasty snack, and something tells me that, while he’s the obvious target, she might not want to stop with him.  This coterie is her ticket to control over her life and her surroundings, but they also are coming apart at the seams.  It wouldn’t be too far a step for a Ventrue to decide to blood bond them all to her, or at least be very tempted to try.  

And that’s how they start their treasure hunt, trying to be cheerful while cracks open up under their feet. When they get to the Crescent and the construction site things only get more complicated.  There are still workers there, making their entry and their attempt to get underground and find the lost ship far more dangerous.  Rey has the sense to leave his jacket behind, and Serif tries to talk to a crow nearby, only to find that it’s the familiar of another vampire who’s been scoping out the site.  Her name is Bree, and she’s a Gangrel.

Bree is both a help and a trouble immediately.  She’s friendly and open, but also clearly more interested in solving things with violence than the others might be.  When they confront two security guards in the underground parking garage, things deteriorate into a blood bath.  Rey and Bree both whiff their initial attacks against the guards, leading to Bree getting shot and Fuego stepping in, wresting the gun from one security guard and shooting him in the head.  Bree then goes and slits the throat of the other, though she doesn’t kill him.  All the while Serif is shocked by the turn of events, and Isaac watches on with grim distaste as they make a hash out of an encounter that could so easily have been resolved with a precision application of Dominate.  

After the blood bond scene, Isaac is clearly sick of having to step in constantly and prevent them from making mistakes, so he just watches, and once they’re done he turns and leaves, Serif on his heels.  The others follow, but Isaac turns on them, coldly furious that things devolved so fast and that they just left the bodies behind.  Fuego, realizing what she’s done, seems to be as shocked as anyone, and doesn’t know what to do.  Isaac insists that they do something about the bodies, disposing of them or otherwise. His anger pisses her off, as I think she was hoping for him to give her a hand or some pointers, rather than to treat her as though she fucked up and now has to clean up her mess.  This is as cold as he’s ever been with them, and it snaps whatever tenuous connection he and Fuego might have had.  

As Isaac returns to the van, refusing to help them out of this particular dilemma, Bree helps Fuego dump the body of the man she shot into wet concrete.  They kiss, and Bree urges Fuego to claim her own freedom, to be beholden to nothing save herself.  With Fuego on a steep moral decline, this might not be the best advice ever, even as Fuego grabs onto it.  It’s clear she likes things to go smooth.  She likes people to like her.  Rey is scared of her, Isaac was cold to her, and Serif has her own problems. So Bree is the most welcoming option.

As Fuego and Bree try to shove aside the consequences or moral quandaries of their actions, Rey has his own moral quandary.  The guard he was fighting with isn’t dead, but he is very badly hurt and will die without help.  Rey wants to take him to the hospital, but the man saw their faces.  Rey is struggling to hold onto his humanity, to uphold his personal vow to be a man and not a beast, and he wants to save this guard where he couldn’t save the other guard or the real estate developer Fuego convinced him to kill.  

And that leaves Rey, so far as he’s concerned, with only one option.  He can feed the guard his blood, save his life, and start him down a path to being a ghoul.  Serif, who is with him, turns and leaves in disgust as soon as she realizes what he plans. To her, death would be the better option than servitude.  It also means that their bond cracks as well.  They have perhaps the most closely aligned morals of the group, with Fuego’s being tenuous and very specific, and Isaac’s being fairly far off normal morality. But this action means that Serif in particular would have a hard time finding common ground.  So Rey is left alone.  Serif is left alone.  Fuego has a temporary new bond with Bree, but she is also alone.  And Isaac goes back to Michael and Angela, alone as well.

Their reunion at Isaac’s van is tension-filled.  Fuego doesn’t want to get back into that van, doesn’t want to be anywhere near the man who left her alone with her mistakes.  Serif doesn’t want to be anywhere near Rey and his choices.  Rey doesn’t want to be near Fuego and the danger she poses. And Isaac is frankly fed up with all of them.  

It leads to at least a temporary parting of the ways.  Fuego, Bree, and Serif decide they’ll take a walk, while Isaac and Rey get back in the minivan.  The episode is capped with two interesting discussions.  The first is between Bree and Fuego and Serif.  Serif reveals that she plans on not letting her mother remain a ghoul much longer, one way or another.  She’s struggling because she wants to be free more than anything, but she feels beholden to her mother, her sire, and now the coterie.  And she feels uncomfortable with and betrayed by all of them. She obviously has a growing sense of distance from the coterie she was hoping would help her break her chains. Isaac keeps ghouls unapologetically, she likes Fuego but they’re working on very different wavelengths, and Rey just made another man a ghoul almost in front of her.  

Fuego, while feeling sympathetic to Serif’s plight (they still have perhaps the bond coterie that seems the least strained amongst the coterie) is mired with her own moral conundrum. She murdered a man, not with her fangs but with a gun.  She shot him, and the moral question of that has not yet been addressed.  Bree urges her to own her mistakes, or own her actions and regret nothing.  While the former would perhaps be the better choice for Fuego morally, the latter definitely speaks more to the monster inside her that is unapologetic and hungry for control.  The two share another kiss, with Serif concealed by shadow nearby, and Serif watches on, happy enough for Fuego, but grimacing all the while.  She tries to still be friendly once Bree leaves, but she is drawing away from this group of people, even Fuego.

Meanwhile, in the van, Rey is grappling with his own moral dilemma, and demands that Michael tell him if Isaac could undo their bond and make him ‘normal’ again.  When Rey gets aggressive, demanding answers, Michael comes back at him, stating that Rey can’t order him to do shit.  When Isaac gives permission for Michael to divulge the information, Michael states that, while the bond could be broken and he could go back to normal, he doesn’t want to.  Isaac rounds on Rey, raising his voice for the second time this episode (it’s been a bad night for all of them).  It’s as close to snapping as we’ve seen from Isaac, and though it’s clearly a far more dangerous situation than Rey realizes, it also might be the single most honest moment we’ve had from our normally smiley Tzimisce.  For once, there is no politeness, but simply the bare statement that Isaac has opened his home and offered this group of fuck-ups excessive hospitality, which they have returned with ingratitude.  He expects politeness, and he expects that Rey never ever speak to Michael in that tone again.  There’s a brief confrontation between Rey and Isaac with Rey getting sassy and Isaac getting increasingly angry that these three chuckle-fucks they have the temerity to be mad at him when they fuck up a plan and he doesn’t stop them.  I feel like this is a continuation of the earlier moment this episode when he stopped them forming a blood bond.  Isaac, again, is not cut out to be a den mother.  He’s trying his best, but is losing patience. And feeling like his hospitality is being scorned?  Really not where Rey wants to be with a Tzimisce.

Luckily, Rey is the one to de-escalate.  When Isaac demands to know why he’s angry with Isaac, Rey admits that this just wasn’t where he expected to be.  He isn’t as open about his personal conflict as he was with Fuego, but he says enough. He can’t see ‘the bright side’ of undeath the way he thinks Isaac with his smiles and his friendly demeanor can.

And his honesty is returned in kind, as Isaac continues to be more open about his outlook and his perspective in this moment than I think he may have been this entire campaign so far. He says quite plainly that there is no ‘bright side’.  They’ve all lost the bright side right along with the sun.  The only thing they have is being all right with living in the dark.

Perhaps Rey understands this honesty, or at least respects it more than the friendly mask Isaac usually wears, because the two of them settle in in something like acceptance. Not friendship or even any particular fondness, but a better understanding of one another.  Isaac lays out Rey’s options: he can never see the man he saved again, and the man will return to normal after a rough month.  Or he can take responsibility for what he’s made. Rey asks if Isaac would want a servant in the tower, but Isaac immediately rejects that notion.  He chooses his servants with extremely stringent criteria.

What struck me both with that moment and with him genuinely snapping at one of his coterie for the first time after Rey got aggressive with Michael, is that—while Isaac’s attitude toward ghouls is clearly influenced by his Tzimisce possessiveness—he is also abnormal for his clan in that he looks at Michael and Angela as his friends. His real friends, who he will protect.

Isaac is, I think, lonely. They all are.  They crave a connection with other vampires in a world in which being as young as they are means that their options for connection and trust are extremely limited.  Every other vampire want something from them, wants debts and rent and favors.  A coterie is the option to simply have people who you trust to have your back, but they were thrown together, and they don’t trust one another.  By the end of this episode they barely like one another.  The dynamic has shifted from the Fuego-and-Rey and Isaac-and-Serif dynamics we’ve had to Serif-and-Fuego and Rey-and-Isaac.  And weirdly, despite the cracks these might be a healthier pairing for each of them to end up in at this point.  They are coming apart, yes, but Serif does still like Fuego.  Fuego sympathizes with Serif and wants to help her.  And though there’s less friendship between Isaac and Rey, Rey really does need an anchor point of calm with his frayed self-control.  Isaac could provide that, and if Rey can get himself more under control and treat Isaac and his people with respect, then the two of them might actually have a lot in common as far as their criminal backgrounds go.  They might have some very interesting conversations about the nature of monstrousness, as they both strike me as men who were monstrous even before the embrace.  

But that’s presuming they can patch over the cracks and get back together.  At this point, that’s going to take some real honesty and some real acceptance of the nature of themselves and the others.  They’re all monsters, and they’re all monsters with very different drives and motivations.  The beasts within them want wildly different things and drive them all to different bad places.  Serif wants friends, but she also wants freedom and to never be tied to them too closely, especially after the revelations about Isaac and Rey.  Fuego wants people who understand her the way her human family can’t anymore.  She wants the sense of community she’s lost, but she also needs to control her interactions in a way that often leads to unhealthy results.  Rey wants to be a good man, and to be around people who help him do that.  He wants them to be anchors and points of calm when he lacks it.  But he can’t trust Fuego, and he’s alienated Serif.  Isaac maybe could do that for him, but that would require Isaac to be interested in being an anchor for a Gangrel with an anger issue.  There’s not a lot in that deal for him at this moment.  There’s not a lot in this coterie for Isaac at all, so far as I can see. He’s remained the most emotionally removed from them so far.  He’s been a source of information and resources, but not a friend.  And with this rupture and his view that they’ve spurned his hospitality he must be very tempted to kick them all out and go back to just living alone in the brownstone with the two people he genuinely cares about: Michael and Angela.  

At this point, they’re either going to break or something major is going to happen to throw them all together in a way they can’t deny or skip out on.  They need something to bond them together more than just circumstance and Richter’s order that they share domain.  Perhaps that Sabbat monster is what shifts the tides for them.  An incursion into the Bronx by the Sabbat would be just the disaster to force them to lay aside their differences.  Fuego would need their help in protecting the people she loves in the community.  Isaac would need them to protect him from both sides, as the Anarchs already half-view him as a Sabbat spy, and the Sabbat would see him as a traitor.  Serif would need them to keep her free, and that sort of danger would trigger all of Rey’s protective instincts.

Would they come out of some real danger as friends?  It’s difficult to say.  They’re all complete messes in very different ways.  They’re oil and water with one another on fundamental levels.  But they also occasionally bring out something necessary in one another.  When they manage to work as a team, they are genuinely stronger and better than when they fall apart.  And they are interesting in every configuration I’ve seen so far.  Each different iteration of this four-way-mess of a coterie is fascinating.  So I hope that some major event comes along to force them to see the benefits in one another more than they see the shortcomings.  

Anyway, this was a great mid-point for the season, with the team at their lowest, cracked down the middle and teetering on the edge of complete collapse.  I love how hard all the players are leaning into their beasts and the bad decisions they’re driven to in the heat of the moment.  I love how morally complicated they all are, and I love how dangerous they all are to one another, as much as they could be a fantastic team.  I can’t wait to see what comes next week.

#NY by Night #NY by Night spoilers #recap and thoughts #I warned you all there would be essays #and it feels good to get back into the swing of my long rambling meta thoughts #it's been a while since I wrote one of these

[ep2nd]

The MCYT PJO AU

Dsmp. Empires smp. Hermitcraft. Pirates smp. Rats smp. Earthsmp. Origins smp. Traffic smp. Evo smp. Mcyt. Etc.

I'd like to thank Dino from Discord for helping me through this, they were an amazing help and couldn't have done it without them.

Also Chaos from Discord who gave me ideas! She's here on tumblr too

Be aware I probably missed someone OR you may have another idea for someone else, if do please send an ask or reblog would love to hear yalls thoughts

Now without further adu- MCYT PJ AU

Poseidon

Lizzie

Zeus

Foolish

Sparklez

Hades

Joe

Ares

Techno

Pearl

Gem

Reddoons

Bek

Welsknight

Pigical

Boffy

Muka

Athena

Etho

False

Impulse

Puffy

Tapl

Xisuma

Eloise

Sniff

Quig

Pete

Aphrodite

Scar

Joey

Eret

Keralis

Skeppy

Netty

Hephaestus

Mumbo

Fwhip

Tango

Sam

Doc

Iskall

TFC

Zee

Hermes

Grian

Tommy

Sneeg

Cub

Fundy

Michael

Punz

Purpled

Taurtis

Demeter

Stress

Hannah

Katherine

Lani

Tubbo

Acho

Apo

Ant

Mika

Apollo

CPK

Hbomb

Olive

Owen

Ren

Wilbur

Lyrrah

Pix

Fit

Dionysus

Schlatt

Beau

Ninja

Oli

Hypnos

George

Hypno

Bdubs

Nike

Dream

Drista

Sapnap

Jevin

Vik

Lazarbeam

Hecate

Alyssa

Lauren

Shubble

Beef

Aphmau

Iris

Sausage

Scott

Wisp

Deo

Nemesis

Jack

Niki

Eryn

Notus

Couriway

Melinoe

Bertha

TomaHawk

Phobos

Xornoth

Asclepius

Ponk

Kymopoleia

XB

Prismarina

Janus

Ranboo

Aimsey

Tyche

Quackity

Aeolus

Martyn

Philza

Tina

SloyXP

Thanatos

Kristin

Morpheus

Karl

Boreas

Illumina

Zephyros

Connor

Hebe

Skizz

Big B

Boomer

Guqqie

Deimos

BBH

HellsKnight

Macaria

Cleo

Eris

Evil X(Alex)

Jimmy

Krow

Oracle

Callahan

#dsmp #hermitcraft #hermitcraft recap #empires smp #origins smp #MCYT PJ AU #afterlife smp #pirates smp #rats smp #outsiders smp #traffic smp #evo smp #earthsmp #mcyt #i think thats all??? #if you think im listing every person ya crazy #im so doen #definitely missed someone #would love to hear any thoughts

[tedcicle]

swagger SDMP day 2 highlights

- keef the cat went missing! someone kidnapped her and left a ransom sign asking for 3 diamonds

- swagger went to the twilight forest instead. he fought the naga and (struggled a bit with) the twilight lich, but brought both trophies home

- ross let swagger in on his 9/11 re-enactment bit, which went just as well as you might have expected. it also led to swagger losing some of his gear

- aside from farming, adding more to his house, and learning how to use the cooking pot, swagger searched for keef. he asked various server members for any information about keef, but didn’t get any leads

- he put up posters for his safe return, offering a reward for any information about her whereabouts or the perpetrator(s) themselves. justin nothinbutlag got some missing posters and is going to help place them around

#brewing #sdmp #swaggersouls #do people care about my swagger pov summaries? #well too bad I have memory issues you’re getting them and you’re gonna like them #also authors note: i use he/she interchangeably for keef because swagger does #he asked chat what they thought and a decent chunk of people said both and personally i am a fan of the bigender cat #swaggersouls sdmp recap

[hajihiko]

a family of ex-terrorists splitting their time between living on a ship and living on a deserted island, their complicated polycule structure, and their teenage girl ghost that follows them everywhere

#As predicted I got in a horror mood lol #I thought about like. On the ship and in the cabins in general you always sleep with a buddy at night #Dont leave by yourself and dont open the door right away if someone knocks #Every time a new person joins or wakes up it's like hi happy to have you! ok so quick recap: dont chase figures in the dark #They're strongest together so they try never to have few numbers on their own. Preferably split the group in no less than threes #I just love the Haunting of Class 77 #not an art

[kurjakani]

*rereads the messages you've sent* (i love you) *thinks about the way you word your sorrows and what that way implies* (i love you) *thinks about what kind of dishware i would buy with you* (i love you) *keeps a folder of your photos on my phone* (i love you) *talks about you to my other friends and family* (i love you) *smiles at the sudden thought of your face* (i love you)

#i was thinking avt that have u eaten today (i love u) post and then thought about the more hidden secret ways of loving ppl by friends #etc so :D meme recap #kanitalk