#and I appreciated that they showed the actual murders in the credits even if it was brief

[mask131]

November is usually my Shining month, and so I want to bring forward again something I have been repeating for a long time now but that I don't see being picked up a lot by people. A detail that is well-hidden inside the Doctor Sleep movie, but that makes the piece even more infinitely appreciable and shows it was made by true Shining fans.

And this detail is... the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel.

Now, when this bunch appeared during the final scene some familiar faces could be spotted. Grady of course, the Injured Guest from the "Great party, isn't it?" scene, the Twins, and of course the Woman of Room 217 -sorry, 237. But there are other faces there - seemingly random people in fancy outfit just for the sake of it. People were confused as to who these people were...

But all you have to do is look at the end credits. And you have a big surprise.

The familiar faces are confirmed to be the ghosts we always thought we were, or to correspond to famous ghosts of the original novel. The twins are confirmed as Grady's two daughters, while the woman in the white dress (not on the picture above but you can her in the scene) is Mrs. Grady. Meaning we have the whole Grady family as ghosts. The woman of room 237 is confirmed to be indeed Mrs. Massey, just like in the book ; as for the Injured Guest (only referred to as "injured guest" in the original scripts of The Shining), the sequel decided to make him Horace Derwent. Meaning he likely can switch between a young/attractive and older/more gruesome form, just like Massey's ghost, since in the original movie Derwent was clearly seen though not named in the scene with the man wearing a dog-bear-like costume (the script confirms it is supposed to be a dog costume though).

Alright, but what of the others? Now this is where things get interesting! The bald man to the right of Grady? That's Vito the Chopper. Yes, the Vito the Chopper from the novel by King, the mafia boss who got his head blown off in the Presidential Suite - as for the two men near him, they are his two bodyguards, Victor T. Boorman and Roger Macassi. Also from the book. These three characters are actually an Easter egg for those who read the book (and we know from the original treatment of Kubrick's movie that the criminal paradise-era of the Overlook and the murders at the Presidential Suite were originally supposed to play a big role in the cinema version of the story too).

But things get even better with the last ghost of the group. He doesn't appear in the picture above either, like Mrs. Grady, but you can notice him during the scene, a large man right behind Mrs. Grady when the ghosts first appear (he is played by Marc Farley). And the ghost's name, as revealed in the credits is... James Parris.

Now, fans of the novel might wonder "Wait... Who's that? I don't recall reading about him". And indeed, you did not! At least if you just read the regular version of the novel! James Parris is however a true character of the Shining, a true victim of the Overlook Hotel, a character written about and invented by Stephen King... But he is part of the deleted prologue of the novel, "Before the Play". You know this prologue that was not part of the published novel but was released in various TV magazines several times, and then finally re-added to the main novel in the collector Cemetery Dance edition of "The Shining"? You must have heard of it - even before the Cemetery Dance release the prologue was going around the Internet, published on small fan websites and discreet literature blogs...

And James Parris was, according to the first part of this prologue (detailling the building and creation of the Overlook... and its first victims) the second owner of the Overlook Hotel. A man that was touched by the same obsession and madness for the hotel that had overtaken Watson's grandfather (the actual builder and first owner of the Hotel), and, if I recall well, ended up dying of a heart attack on the hotel's garden-grounds (near the topiary beasts if I recall well, but I am not too sure, I haven't read the prologue in a while).

So all of that to say - not only did they bother placing an Easter Egg for the fans of King who had read the original book ; but they also placed an Easter Egg for those that knew of or had read the Before the Play prologue, which most regular fans of the novel never even heard about! If this isn't commitment to researching your source material, I don't know what is!

#the shining #shining #doctor sleep #overlook hotel #ghosts #stephen king #stanley kubrick #kubrick's the shining #king's the shining #references #before the play

[sepublic]

The fact that the Collector let him, and King got to hug her... Did his squeal of rage transform Eda back? It’s amazing how he managed to set this all up without the Collector noticing, King’s more clever than we give credit and I love that twist. I love the show’s reveals of our protagonists actually being smarter than that, pretending to be down when really they have it all handled!

But also, in addition to the Collector indulging King’s request, not seizing Francois when they so easily could’ve. They could’ve looked at King at any time and spied but didn’t, because they respected his privacy, trusted him, and didn’t see the need to. They’re not even mad about Eda and Lilith, they give King his own space and ‘friends’ as long as they’re still together too! All of this control but King is exempt and so the unconditional kindness being met by BETRAYAL and good lord the Collector is prob the show’s biggest moral dilemma with how he keeps being used and punished for kindness. Maybe they do deserve to go a bit apeshit actually.

Also can we appreciate that the Collector is so scared of King judging him for the genocides his people enact? But King doesn’t judge because he knows the Collector is better than this and is his own kid. Him and Hunter both being afraid of being revealed as the offspring of murderers and fearing it’d affect others’ perception of them, but it doesn’t.

Poor kid thinks people will judge him again, but he was a misfit for caring and being nice! Non-Collectors will only judge kindly for that!

#the owl house #the owl house collector #king clawthorne #the owl house hunter #parallels

[chronic-escapixt]

His Rose ~ Details

(Kai Parker x Bennett OC fanfiction)

content warnings/tags ~ Dark fiction, dom/sub dynamics, abuse, murder, childhood trauma (mentioned). Minors DNI

I don't claim ownership of The Vampire Diaries or its characters. All credits go to the rightful owner(s). I only own my original character(s).

K.P. Masterlist

This fanfiction is born from my dissatisfaction with the way Kai was criminally underutilized in the TVDU. Honestly, I found him annoying at first, but he grew on me as season 6 went on. Thru Chris Wood's charming performance, Kai stole the show for me. I'll never forgive the showrunners for a lot of things, including underutilizing Chris Wood in this role & not allowing this broken king to have a real redemption arc.

On the topic of the showrunners, I'll never forgive them for how they did Bonnie Bennett or the Bennetts in general with how they were limited to magical plot devices for everyone else's use without any appreciative focus on their power & how it could really benefit them. Even though I love Bonnie & Kai, my otp endgame for her has always been Bonenzo, but I also adore Klonnie ❤️.

My AU changed and added plenty of lore around his coven & certain events. The plot follows the life of Bonnie's younger sister, Rosalina "Rose" Bennett-Ruiz. I go on to describe her below, but I'd like to state that she acts as Kai's antithesis as an innocent, fledgling witch. She's also Bonnie's support system. I always hated how the show often ignored that Bonnie lacked family around her that were unconditionally there for her. Bonnie's mom left when she was small, she lost her grams in season 1, and her father was a non-factor in her life until he returned... just to get killed off in front of her.

I wrote Rose & Bonnie's dynamic keeping in mind everything I hate about older sibling/younger sibling dynamics, like the one between Buffy and Dawn in BTVS. Bonnie deserves family that consistently supports her, encourages her to prioritize her well-being, and actually tries to lessen the existing load on her shoulders.

Another thing I kept in mind when adding Rose to my TVD AU is not to have her replace or take away Bonnie’s space in the plot. Now, I do give her Bonnie's plotline of being sent to the prison world in season 6, but this is essential to the story, and the way Bonnie was treated that season made me so sad that I have no problem taking traumatic experiences from her (of which she has more than enough) and giving them to Rose.

Okay... if you made it through my rant, congrats. I also want to offer my inbox as a place where anyone can offer up requests, scenarios, ask questions, even if you want to roast my cruddy writing... my inbox is open.

🌹Rosalina "Rose" Bennett-Ruiz:🌹

Born: March 18th, 1994 (18yrs)

Gender: Female | Height: 5’1” | Hair color: Brown | Eye color: Hazel

Race/ethnicity: Black and Latino/Hispanic

Species: witch (Bennett)

Titles: Rosy (Kai), littlest witch (by Kol), kid (by Damon)

Characteristics:

Rose is a gentle and kind-hearted person, always looking for the good in people and situations. She can be a people pleaser and she’s naive and overly trusting, often seeing the best in everyone and believing in second chances.

She highly values family, so bonding with Bonnie means a lot her. Due to her naivety and weakness, she can be easily manipulated and taken advantage of. Like Bonnie she’s compassionate and tends to selflessly help others. Struggles with powerful spells because of her insecurity in her magical abilities

She enjoys singing, gardening (honing her nature-based magic, making potions & studying herbology), sewing and cooking (she bakes when she’s anxious)

She has a strong aversion to blood & violence so spending time with vampires took a lot of getting used to

Trilingual: fluent in Spanish & Portuguese

Despite her demure demeanor and virginal innocence, with her stuffed animal collection, enduring love of cartoons and a lack of dating, she harbors the secret desire to submit herself to a powerful dominant

Background:

Family: Bonnie Bennett (half-sister), Jamie Ruiz (half-brother), Abby Bennett-Ruiz (mother), Matteo Ruiz (father 🕊️), Sheila Bennett (maternal gm🕊️)

Rose was raised in Summersville, North Carolina. She was a child model until 13 when her father tragically died. She was the captain of her high school majorette dance team. Her life drastically changed when Bonnie arrived on her doorstep.

Rose was 16 when she & Bonnie would finally meet. Bonnie and Elena came to Abby for help with a spell. Rose was shocked to find that she had an older sister as Abby never mentioned Bonnie or the life she left behind in Mystic Falls. She was even more surprised upon finding out about her magical bloodline and that supernatural creatures walked the earth. Unlike Grams, Abby never mentioned magic throughout Rose’s life and even went as far to suppress her magic with a charmed necklace

After Abby is turned by Damon, she decides to leave her family to learn control and find peace as a fledgling vampire. Rose moves to Mystic Falls with Bonnie where she learns magic from her.

Magic doesn’t come naturally to her. Admittedly having a 50% accuracy rate with her spells. She struggles with her confidence & focus when chanting and spells drain her much quicker even when she tries channeling the energy around her. Despite this, Rose is determined to improve, valuing her one-on-one time with Bonnie and spending late nights on her own practicing & memorizing spells. She is determined to use her magic for good, prove herself and lessen the load on Bonnie as the resident Bennett witch of the group.

Her role in the Mystic Falls gang is the “Bennett witch in training” or “the bringer of baked goods” (according to Damon), since she often supplies their gatherings with fresh pastries. Everyone underestimates her power, even Bonnie. She tries to keep Rose out of danger unless she can’t help it.

🔪Malachai "Kai" Parker:🔪

Born: May 9, 1972 (22yrs)

Gender: Male | Height: 6'0" | Hair color: Dark Brown | Eye color: Blue-gray

Race/ethnicity: white/non-Hispanic

Species: siphoner (Gemini Witch coven)

Titles: abomination, black sheep, the defective twin (his coven)

Characteristics:

Charismatic with a charming smile. Upon meeting him, his charisma operates as a façade to hide his lack of empathy and his sadistic tendencies

Can be hard to read but that’s because he struggles with expressing his emotions which stems from his abusive childhood. He’s cold and relatively unfeeling with people, but once he lets someone in, he’s fiercely loyal and protective.

He can be observant, calculating and manipulative to taking advantage of someone and get what he wants

He’s a sassy man, often comes back with quick quips and has a natural sense of humor (typically dark humor)

When he’s comfortable, always yapping, has no filter and sucks with certain social cues. After being alone for nearly his whole life, will talk anyone's ear off without realizing they are not willing to listen

Kai can siphon all of a witch’s magic without killing them. He controls how the process feels - at its worst, a fast searing burn to a slight tingle. Overtime, a witch will regenerate their magic

High libido!!- He’s starved for touch and affection (though he would never admit that he needs anyone). Sexual desires reflect his sadistic personality as he enjoys dominating another person through absolute control and pain infliction

He likes raunchy comedies and media with half-naked women such as Bay Watch and MTV videos. A major foodie with constant cravings for sweet and salty snacks. He prefers snacking throughout the day but when he does bother to cook, it’s really good

He is fluent in old Latin, often found in grimoires and other ancient texts. Time allowed him to hone his knowledge of witchcraft and technique

Background:

The Parker family is the head of the Gemini coven. Its patriarch, Joshua Parker is the coven leader. Kai is the eldest child, being half an hour older than his fraternal twin, Josette. Unlike Jo, Kai was born without the ability to generate his own magic, instead siphoning magic from lingering spells, objects, or other witches. When he was young, he would naturally gravitate toward the magic of his sister, so Joshua quickly decided to physically isolate Kai from everyone for fear of his son's "defect" hurting others.

As fraternal twins born of the coven leader, Jo and Kai would be set to merge on their 22nd birthday, where the winner takes the other's magic and coven leadership and the loser dies and is absorbed into the other but with the risk of Kai's siphoning ability giving him an edge in the merge, Joshua and Viviane continued having kids until she birthed another set of twins that would merge instead.

Kai's upbringing was lonely, spending most of his time locked in his bedroom up in the attic. Following his father's lead, most of his family excluded and demonized him. As he grew, Kai learned to internalize the cruel labels they gave him. If they wanted a monster, they would get a monster and on his 22nd birthday, May 9th, 1994, he would finally act on his boiling rage and resentment toward his family, unleashing the hatred he accumulated through a lifetime of torment onto his siblings when Jo refused the merge. To protect the twins, she would relent to merge with him but the coven was waiting and with the help of Sheila Bennett they banished him to a prison world of complete isolation.

Each year that passed only added to his hunger for revenge, left with nothing to do but plan his escape and seizer of coven leadership. He grew to take pride in what he had done to his siblings and his status as a sociopath capable of killing anyone who gets in his way without remorse.

AU-Specific Lore:

Prison world Lore:

The prison world resets with the eclipse every 3 months.

Time works differently, so no one ages throughout their time there.

The prison world cannot create life so the only living inhabitants are those sent there or arrive via ascendant.

Kai is linked to the prison world so he can’t die. If something kills him, he’ll be out for a while depending on the damage but the magic will heal him back to life. Without Kai, the prison world falls apart so while he’s there, it sustains his life to sustain itself. Once he leaves, it ceases to exist.

The Ascendant - an ancient device created by the Gemini coven and a Bennett ancestor that only responds to a living Bennett’s blood and magic. The ascendant is sensitive to magic in general, so even when the spell is done right, it will activate then fall apart. You only have one chance at the time of the eclipse to correctly do the spell, which Kai knows from experience because early on he tried collecting a vial of Bennett blood that he hunted down in a hospital and using Josette's magic he siphoned from a hidden dagger. Disappointment boiled over into rage when he did the spell beneath the eclipse, the ascendant disassembled, but he was not transported out.

The Gemini Coven Lair:

Exists as a non-physical location where the coven keeps ancient texts, grimoires, enchanted items (talismans, gems, ascendants, etc.), and materials for spells & potions

Infinite space that can be utilized by the coven leader: often includes a space for magic instruction, a library, spell casting, a gathering area for the coven, etc.

Accessed only by portal, which is summoned by a spell entrusted to high-ranking Gemini members

#kai parker #bennett oc #tvd #tvd au #the vampire diaries smut #tvd fanfiction #kai parker x reader #kai parker x oc #kai parker x poc reader #kai parker smut #kai parker fanfiction #kai parker x reader smut #the originals #tvd kai #kai parker x y/n #kai parker angst #lovers to enemies to lovers #dark!fic #kai parker imagine #kai parker fluff #headcannon characters #delena #Bonnie bennett #tvd oc #bd/sm kink #bd/sm brat #rose bennett x kai parker #tw yandere #yandere

[goosewriting]

Blorbos and unresolved feelings

summary: your favourite character from the show you’re watching just died. F in the chat for blorbo 🫡

relationship: Rise!Leo x GN reader (can be read with any turtle imo)

warnings: mention of fictional character death, angst?/comfort

word count: ~970

A/N: i have no other explanation for this other than 1. i desperately needed something to get out of my writing block, and 2. i recently binged all of clone wars and the bad batch, and i have A Lot Of Feels that idk what to do with. enjoy :’)

(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)

— — —

It was a Wednesday night, and all that could be heard in your apartment was the ending theme song of your show, and your sniffles.

You were all wrapped up in your blankets on your bed as the credits rolled, with your laptop on your lap and an empty snack bowl at your side, as you religiously had been for the past weeks, watching the new episode to your current favourite show every Wednesday. You thought this would be just like any other episode, where after it was finished, you’d revisit all your favourite scenes, analyse some frames, and then you’d spend the next several hours rambling and fangirling about it on your blog.

What you had not seen coming however, is that your favourite character would die on you; unjustly murdered and left behind like a sack of potatoes. Another wave of sobs came over you, which you desperately tried to choke back. Closing the laptop, you snatched yet another tissue from the box and blew your nose.

Sure, this character wasn’t the main protagonist, but they were important to the story nonetheless! How dare they do that to them. To you. Tears streamed down your cheeks as you inwardly cursed the writers.

Sadly looking at the now empty bowl, you mentally ran through the items in your pantry, deciding which snack would be worthy of this occasion and could somewhat ease the pain in your heart.

As you were about to unwrap yourself from your cocoon of warmth, you heard your living room window softly clicking shut. Weird, you thought to yourself, Leo doesn’t usually come over on Wednesdays.

You heard him softly calling your name as he peeked around your open door.

“Hey babe” he said, holding out some chocolate and a family pack of your favourite chips. “How we holding up?”

You knew Leo didn’t watch your show. But you also knew you had rambled about it to him so much, so often, and so intensely, that he probably wouldn’t even need to. He was also very aware of how much you loved this one character, not only because of the amount of merch and posters you had of them in your room.

Looking up at him from under your blanket pile of misery, and meeting his gentle and understanding gaze, all the feels came back to you and hit you like a freight train. You leaned back into the bed, unable to hold back your sobs, and pulled the blanket over your face. You were conflicted on whether to give in to the pain and be pampered, or try to keep some dignity in front of your boyfriend.

“Oh no, it’s okay!” Leo comforted you and went to sit next to you, moving your laptop and the snacks to the bedside table. He held you as you all but ugly-cried under the blankets, his hand rubbing your arm up and down soothingly to the best of his ability, given how curled up you were.

“You know, I actually follow one of your mutuals’ blogs” Leo admitted with a sheepish smile. “I checked it this morning, and I knew you’d only be able to see the episode late in the evening avoiding the internet at all costs, so I wanted to come prepared.”

As your sniffles died down, he gently pushed back the blanket from your face and was met with your red, puffy eyes, and tear streaked cheeks. Suddenly his face became very serious as he looked at you for a moment. You questioningly raised a brow at him.

“I am so sorry for your loss” he spoke, and then saluted into the emptiness of your room. “F in the chat for our fallen soldier.”

You couldn’t help but giggle at his silly comment, the back of your hand coming up to rub against your face in an attempt to wipe away your tears, but they just wouldn’t stop. You laughed, cried, giggled, sobbed, and cried some more, all the while Leo was there and just let you get it all out.

After a while when you finally calmed down, you sat up to lean on his shoulder, and he hugged you, giving your temple a kiss.

“Feeling better?” he asked, reaching for the chips and handing them to you. You only nodded, mumbling a ‘thank you’ and taking them from his hands. As you were about to rip open the package, you stopped in your tracks. You leaned back slightly and looked up at him.

“This is ridiculous though, isn’t it?” you asked, more at yourself than at him, really.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, here I am, in this state, over a fictional character…” You could feel the tears stinging at the back of your eyes again. “It’s kinda pathetic, really. I don’t know how or why you put up with me—“

You were shushed with a quick kiss to your lips, which was very efficient. Just as quickly as he had leaned in, Leo pulled back again with a stern look, which softened immediately though.

“First of all: no self-deprecating comments on my watch” he stated, and booped your nose with the tip of his. “And second: your blorbo might be fictional, but your pain is real. So you gotta process it in a real way, and that’s okay. I mean, you’re literally grieving them.”

“They deserved so much better!” you squeaked, as your tears came back, streaming down your face. Gosh, you would be so dehydrated after this. You didn’t even bother to wipe them away this time, unabashedly crying into his plastron.

The rest of the night went by with you in Leo’s arms: him being the perfect boyfriend he is, holding you and bringing you drinks and snacks and comforting you, until his warm embrace finally lulled you to sleep. Before drifting off completely, you managed to mumble out a ‘thank you’ because really, how did you deserve him?

— — —

(A/N: *hits chest twice with fist, then holds out peace sign* this is for you fives. you deserved so much better orz)

#goose feathers #rottmnt #save rottmnt #rottmnt leo x reader #tmnt 2018 #tmnt x reader #rottmnt x reader #tmnt leo x reader

[laufire]

march reading meme!

BOOKS

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. Letters from Watson sent this from January to March, alongside a couple of other shorts ("The Field Bazaar" and "The Man with the Watches"). An interesting thing about it is that Sherlock was portrayed as somewhat bitter on the issue of credit (he does all the work, subpar investigators take underserved glory), while he's usually, in both ACD's later works and adaptations, portrayed as ~above such feelings. "The Field Bazaar" was interesting in that, in describing why Watson is a good "foil" for Sherlock's smarts in the books, actually illuminates why I think the smart investigator/fumbling idiot dynamic just. Fucking sucks for me lol. I don't get a kick out of it, I much prefer when they pair two investigator of different talents and portray those as both interesting and helpful in their investigations.

Investigating Lois Lane: The Turbulent History of the Daily Planet's Ace Reporter by Tim Hanley. Amazing read. It takes you through the history of the character, often looking at it through the lense of real-life issues and movements, getting into the different eras, adaptations, etc. It's giving me a lot to think about, both within the dc fandom and outside it.

Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. This one I also read in substack newsletters, going for about a year, the last one being sent in March. It was a reread, and I maintain it's a book everyone should at least try to read. Inferno is by far my favourite part (the theology lessons in Paradise grate on me, in comparison).

Batman: The Ultimate Evil by Andrew Vachss. This book was written by a crime fiction author and attorney that specialices in representing children and in child abuse cases, who was approached by DC to write a book featuring Batman facing child sex trafficking. In the book, Bruce ends up discovering that his mother, Martha Wayne, was a sociologist who was investigating a child molester ring, and that's what caused their deaths. That's what caught my eye first, because really, how many canons give any weight and importance to Martha? If they opt to make the Wayne murders a conspiracy, it's always about Thomas's actions. I also appreciated that, even though the author clearly had to follow some dc-mandated lines (fictional country, individual villain), he practically hits you with a hammer when it comes to dispel a lot of the myths we have about child molesters and how they operate, specifically to challenge those dc-mandated lines. I wish we'd seen more of the social worker character, but I liked her as it was.

Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata. I picked this novella exclusively for vibes and not plot, and it's what it gave me. It's also made me think a lot about how men see women, and how through their eyes our selves are twisted. Komako and Yoko are fascinating characters in part for how inescrutable the male lead finds them and how he might be misunderstanding them. There's so, so much hinted under the surface, about their persons and about their relationship.

The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal. Short novelette I picked on a whim. A 60+ yo astronaut is offered a chance to travel to space again, her dream come true. She has to choose between taking it, or staying with her ailing husband, who has little time left. The story apparently later expanded on some novels/prequels, I might pick them up.

COMICS

Secret Origins 80-Page Giant. I picked this one up for Steph's story (I'm going through her comic arcs), but ended up reading all the others. It's cemented my desire to pick up the Young Justice comics. These teens are sooooo chaotic and fun lmao, all of them (back then) with such weird and interesting backstories.

Lois Lane (1986). A two-part issue that shows Lois getting in deep in an investigation about child abductions. It's gets gruesome and heavy at times, but it's a great read, specially for her character. It shows Lois at a moment that the mainline comics seem to have ignored (she missed out on a great professional opportunity due to Superman), and it shows how obsessive she gets and how that is what makes her a great investigator and reporter. I also liked the glimpse at the dynamic between her and her sister Lucy there, how dismissive Lois was of Lucy's stewardess' job, for example.

DC First: Batgirl/Joker. I don't like it as much as the early-Batgirl (2000) run but it's kind of on that vein. Barbara tells Cass about her first encounter with the Joker, and Cass is determined to prove herself against him. I loved the art as well (very different than in the cover).

#reading meme #books #comics #dc comics #my thoughts #dc thoughts #id in alt text #captioned #lois lane #investigating lois lane: the turbulent history of the daily planet’s ace reporter #divine comedy #arthur conan doyle #batman: the ultimate evil #snow country #the lady astronaut of mars #secret origins 80 page giant #lois lane (1986) #dc first: batgirl/joker

[dialovers-lover-xoxo]

Kanato's Relationship Alphabet

Under a cut because it's long

❌ TW: Brief mention of Kanato physically abusing the reader as punishment, multiple mentions of murder, mention of the relationship being abusive, mentions of love-making, verbal abuse and insults ❌

I'll be honest, these headcanons don't paint Kanato in the best light, but it's how I remember him in the games and I want to stay accurate to his personality

Alphabet Credit: @snk-warriors

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

A - Activities (What activities do you do as a couple with him?)

Tea parties. He'll dress you up like a doll and you'll have tea, hot chocolate, cakes, cookies. He also enjoys making clothes for you and having you try them on.

B - Beauty (What physical attribute do they admire about you?)

He really admires your face and neck

C - Comfort (How would they comfort you when you're upset or having a panic attack?)

He doesn't. At least, not in the beginning. He didn't understand what was going on and was really just annoyed at your antics. When your relationship progresses and he comes more attentive towards your needs he will probably stroke your hair and speak soothing words. And probably kill/destroy whoever or whatever triggered your panic attack.

D - Dreams (Do they picture a future with you? If so, what does that future look like?)

Yes, he often imagines you as his spouse, forever loyal and his. He imagines the future a lot. Be it an hour into the future or years into the future. It's a way to pass the time when you're not with him and a way to remind himself you will always be his.

E - Equal (Are they dominating/dominant in the relationship or passive?)

No matter how kind Kanato is to you or how much he loves you, he still won't see you as his equal. He still expects you to do whatever he wants you to do and he won't always reciprocate, thinking it's your duty to please him, not the other way around.

F - Fight (Do they forgive easily? How do they fight?)

Kanato gets mad easily but also calms down and forgives rather easily, as long as you apologize and agree to whatever he demands such as sweets or your blood. When he's angry, he flies into a destructive rage. He will destroy things, scream, guilt-trip you by crying and possibly cause you physical harm like biting you really hard or pulling your hair as punishment

G - Gratitude (How grateful are they in general? How do they show their gratitude?)

Kanato is not above saying "please" and "thank you" even when he's angry but there's more than that. Idk about gratitude but I think he'll subtly show his appreciation for you by allowing you to hold Teddy or offering you sweets

H - Honesty (Do they share everything with you? If they do keep something from you, why?)

Kanato doesn't see the point in hiding something from you. He sees no reason to so he won't.

I - Inspiration (Did they get inspired to change by you? How so?)

Kanato realized that your happiness meant more to him than a candy bar or a sip of blood. He can still be very selfish in the relationship but he's also gained kindness towards you. He wants to treat you well and be kind to you and have you stay with him.

J - Jealousy (Do they get jealous easily? How do they act when they're jealous?)

Kanato rivals, or hell, he might even surpass Ayato, when it comes to jealousy and possessiveness. He flies into a rage and accuses you of cheating or wanting to leave or not being happy with him. He might kill the person you were talking to just to "ensure you couldn't talk to them ever again"

K - Kiss (Are they a good kisser? What are their kisses like? What was the first kiss like?)

If you like tongue and lip biting, Kanato would be a very good kisser. He almost always uses tongue and bites your lip to taste blood. They're very slow but passionate and he holds you firmly in place. The first kiss he just sorta leaned forward and kissed you, then insulted you for getting flustered. Something like "Did you actually think that meant something? Fufu, you're so stupid."

L - Love Confession (What was their love confession like?)

It was him saying that he loves you and wants you by his side forever, followed by passionate love-making and biting. He was pretty forthright, not embarrassed or in denial about his feelings.

M - Marriage (Do they want to get married? How would they propose?)

Yes. He wouldn't exactly propose he'd more say "you're marrying me, Doll. You'll be mine forever."

N - Nicknames (What do they call you as a term of endearment? Where did the nickname come from?)

Cute things like "Doll" "Dollface" and "Dolly" because you are his little doll

O - On cloud 9 (What are they like in love? Can other people tell?)

To everyone else, even his own brothers, all they see is a horribly toxic and abusive relationship where you're submissive to him out of fear. Only you know that he actually loves you.

P - PDA (Are they shy or upfront about their relationship with you? Will they kiss in public?)

He is very upfront and will kiss you or make love to you whenever he pleases and he expects you to respond enthusiastically and want it too.

Q - Quirk (Something random about them that's beneficial in a relationship)

Though he can be unpredictable at times, because he's so similar to a child it's fairly easy to bribe him into being civil towards someone or something

R - Romance (How romantic are they?What is their idea of romance like?)

More intimate than romantic. He's not really one for a movie date or candlelit dinner. He will be very intimate and touchy. He'll hold your cheek as he tells you he loves you.

S - Support (Do they help you reach your goals? Do they believe in you?)

Nope. You shouldn't have goals other than to be with and make him happy. You want to be a teacher? That means you'll have to leave him and will be busy. He'll insult your intelligence and tell you you're incapable of being a teacher. You want to be an actress? You're far too ugly, they'll never hire someone with your face.

T - Thrill (Do they like trying new things in a relationship? Or do they prefer routine?)

He prefers routine. He'll try out a new candy shop or put Teddy in new clothes, but in the grand scheme of things he sticks to what he knows and doesn't like change.

U - Understanding (How well do they understand you?)

He's fairly perceptive so he can tell your feelings and thoughts just from your face but he's incapable of comprehending why you think your comfort or wants should be important in the relationship

V - Value (How important is your relationship to them?)

More important even than Teddy

W - Wild card (A random fluff headcanon)

He does genuinely compliment you fairly often, far more often than the other diaboys probably would

X - XOXO (Are they affectionate? Do they like to kiss and cuddle)

Yes, he's very affectionate. He loves to kiss and cuddle and stroke your hair.

Y - Yearning (How will they cope when they miss you?)

He doesn't cope. He flies into a murderous rage, literally incinerating everyone in sight

Z - Zeal (Are they willing to go to great lengths for your relationship?)

Yes. He will fight and go long distances for you and protect you with his life.

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

Thank you for reading, my loves!

Feedback and reblogs appreciated ❤️

Shu

Reiji

Ayato

#diabolik lovers #fluff alphabet #dialovers kanato #diabolik kanato #diabolik lovers kanato #sakamaki kanato #kanato sakamaki #diabolik lovers headcanons #dialovers #diabolik lovers fandom

[pancake-breakfast]

I guess I have to finish volume 9 at some point. Might as well be now.

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 9, Chapters 5-6 below.

Chapter 5: Demon

Goshdarn, we just had to start with Chapel's stupid face....

IDK, the thing about combat experience is it's experience. You learn to act "without thinking" because you're making calculations so reflexively that there's no delay between thought and action. Just like anything else, it's a matter of practice. But perhaps Chapel means it's not the way he taught Wolfwood to fight, and is implying Wolfwood's picked up and integrated a different fighting style from elsewhere.

And now Chapel has to enter the fight himself instead of just sending others to do his will.

I bet Nightow had a blast designing all these different cross guns.

Ha! Chapel telling Wolfwood to mete out justice with the Punisher. I have thoughts on this... but more on them later.

Chapel is giving badass wheelchairs a bad name.

Considering how few Punishers are supposedly in existence (around a dozen counting the ones Livio has), and given his current standing with Eye of Michael, it's impressive how many are present at this fight. I was wondering when these guys would show up again, since they're apparently not the mercs.

Ah, they're here to make sure Chapel gets the job done of finishing off the traitor.

Wait, WTF?? They're bowing to... Livio??? I thought he was also kicked out of Eye of Michael. Are... are they actually carrying Punishers? Are these additional Punishers aside from the little ones Livio was weilding earlier. Are... are they just... carrying them for him?

Ugh, dramatic Livio pose. It's just *chef's kiss*.

We finally get a view of the eye on the skull side, and Wolfwood immediately recognizes it as not being Livio.

Dude, he's catching bullets. That doesn't bode well.

Ah, yes. Three arms somehow. I get that one's synthetic, but still. Please insert Rev's meme of Nightow saying, "Hey, don't worry about it," here.

Yyyyyeaaaah, they were just holding onto the guns for him. That's... well, it explains a lot, but it bodes poorly for Wolfwood.

Ah there goes the mask. It seems to me that having a breakable mask fall off your face for dramatic effect every time you switch modes would be a bit wasteful.

Did... he have a bunch of hair attached to it, too? Weirdo. (Don't listen to me, Livio. I still love you even if you've got hair issues.)

Ah, there he is. Our New Friend. I just want to point out how much more deliberate his hair looks here compared to Livio's mop of chaos and depression. THIS looks like an intentional punk style.

And with that, we've officially been introduced to Razlo.

Chapter 6: Fortitude

CW: Child abuse, DID

I know others in Book Club have more direct experience with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) than I do, so I don't want to speak to it too much since all my knowledge is book knowledge rather than experiential, but I do think Nightow should be given some credit for actually writing out that Livio's DID is a sort of defense mechanism stemming from childhood trauma. I feel like even today there aren't a ton of good mainstream examples of DID beyond, "Oh, quirky split personalities!" when it's a real condition with documented trends and origins.

Raz was the one who wanted to go find the Eye of Michael. Maybe he should have done some more research first.

I appreciate that he seems to be still healing from where Wolfwood shot him. Not sure I buy how thick his neck suddenly got, but it's a little late in the game for me to start complaining about Nightow's anatomy

Dude, did he just murder-death the people who carry his Punishers?? Rude.

You know... it's not every day I see a character use body parts as chaff.

Gods, Raz's whole demeanor is soooo markedly different from Livio's. His mad grins remind me a bit of Legato. Not sure how I feel about that.

Ugh, Wolfwood...

The level of drama in this panel, though.

Ohhh, Raz's speech pattern is different than Livio's, too, isn't it? It's more rough and casual. Not like Livio's dripping with formality, but I'd guess in the Japanese he's at least base-level polite. Razlo is... most likely not. (If so, props to Overhaul for conveying that.)

Those thoughts from before are running into my thoughts on Chapel dressing down Wolfwood here as he gets ready to execute him... but more on those later.

Oh, Wolfie, don't give up on us.... He really does care for his brother Livio, doesn't he.

Yeah, Wolfwood has historically had too much self-preservation instinct to just jump on the bandwagon of someone who is living a lifestyle that's more precarious than the one he's already living. I have thoughts on this, too... but more on those later.

Heh, Wolfwood recognizing that Vash isn't immortal the way Chapel seems to think he is.

Ugh, all these memories of his moral conflicts with Vash.... They're tugging at the heartstrings.

In light of the words on this panel and my suspicions on where Wolfwood's thoughts are going, I just want to provide the following Bible verses:

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever received one such child in My name, receives Me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea. - Matthew 18:1-6, NASB Translation

Gods, I could write an essay....

Ok, this panel. It's in Wolfwood's mind, and Vash is so big in Wolfwood's mind he takes up the whole page. It's a low shot, showing that Wolfwood is looking up to him, like a child looking up to an adult or an injured person looking up to their protector. And that's the pose Vash is in, too; his back might be turned to Wolfwood, but it's not in rejection but in protection, standing between Wolfwood and whatever might come their way. He has so much trust and admiration for Vash.

Hahahahaha, I love how the last page suggests, despite everything, Wolfwood's not quite dead yet.

My thoughts ended up being too encompassing. The curious can read them here.

Author Bonus Chapter

Who the heck are all these other characters? Are they mobbing Nightow??

Hahahaha, tiny Vash disapproving in the background...

That's right! Gotta do it!

You know, I still haven't watched Gungrave. Pretty sure people recommended it to me back when it came out.

Oh, noooooo, the scriptwriter had soooo many drinks! AND NO SLEEP!!!

Despite? Probably more like because.

Archive

Trigun Vol. 1: Covers + 1-3, 4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 || Vol. 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Vol. 1: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 2: Covers + 1, 2-4, 5, 6-7 || Vol. 3: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-7 || Vol. 4: Covers + 1-2, 3-5, 6-7 || Vol. 5: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 6: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 7: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 8: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5 + Bonus || Vol. 9: Covers + 1-2, 3-4

Extra Credit: Trigun Vol. 1: Nebraska vs. Vash's Motivations, Vash's Loneliness, Vash's Depression (pt 2 of post), Soupy Brains || Vol. 2: Coin Factoids || TriMax Vol. 1: Lina, Vash, and a Haircut || Meryl, Vash, and the Pursuit of Happiness || Vol. 5: Knives, Vash, and Hatred for Humanity || Vol. 6: Coping Series: Wolfwood, Meryl, Vash || Vol. 8: The Uncoordinated Counterattack

#trigunbookclub #trigun maximum #volume 9 #pancake thoughts

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

My Personal Ranking of James Stewart’s movies.

A while ago, I did three separate posts ranking Cary Grant’s, Audrey Hepburn’s and Claude Rains’ films (at least of the ones I’ve seen), and I realized that there are a couple more actors that I wanted to do this for...actors whose filmography I’ve tried to work through, and to see as much of their work as I can.  With 102 credits, it will be a long time before I see all of James Stewart’s work, but here’s my personal ranking of the films I have seen.

And this is based mostly on my enjoyment of the movie, not just his performance...though his performance may have been the deciding factor if I needed a “tie breaker”.

14. Ziegfeld Girl

Now, I actually saw this movie for the first time last night and I was pretty excited to see it.  A young James Stewart in a movie with Judy Garland and there are Busby Berkley musical numbers?  This is going to be great!  Ummm...I have to admit that sadly, I was pretty bored.  This movie is 2 hours and 12 minutes, and they could have easily cut 10 minutes and not lose anything.  And Stewart is only in 25 minutes of the movie.  His scenes are great, and it’s always nice to see Judy Garland in any movie, but the three separate storylines just didn’t flow well together and I found myself checking the time a lot.  The most interesting thing about it for me was that it was Stewart’s last film before WWII, and that some people think you can see Gene Kelly in the background of one of the numbers.

13.  The Greatest Show on Earth

Speaking of overly long movies...this one is a two hour movie stretched out to three...but it’s Cecil B. DeMille, and I don’t think he ever made a movie that wasn’t a long epic with a cast of thousands.  And while a lot of the circus stuff did not age well, a lot of it is still very impressive to watch.  Gloria Grahame learned how to work with elephants, Cornel Wilde and Betty Hutton did their own trapeze work, and the train crash sequence still holds up.  And James Stewart plays a clown!  You never see him out of his clown makeup, as his character is hiding from the law...and it’s kinda fun to see him act silly and do some more gag-type humor.  But this is another case where his scenes are some of the more interesting ones, but he’s just not in the movie all that much.

12.  You Can’t Take It With You

This one is ranked a bit lower because I’ve only seen it once!  So, if I ever get around to watching it again, it may move up the ranks.  But it’s a fun, light comedy that is perfect for someone like Frank Capra.  And he’s really adorable in this movie.

11.  Harvey

Another case of me only seeing this movie once years ago...but this is also a really sweet movie, and Stewart is great as the “pleasant” Elwood P. Dowd, who is best friends with a giant rabbit.

10.  Rope

This is a very interesting movie.  The first time I saw it, I didn’t really like it...but after a few more viewings, I’ve grown to appreciate it more.  It’s not my favorite Hitchcock movie, and not his best collab with Hitchcock, but it is technically impressive with some decent tension.  

9.  Anatomy of a Murder

Now, I’ve only seen this movie once...even though I do own the Criterion Blu-Ray...it’s just a very long movie and it’s tough to find the time.  But it’s a very engaging legal drama and Stewart is excellent as the defense lawyer of a man on trial for murdering his wife’s rapist.

8.  The Man Who Knew Too Much

So, this is a remake that Hitchcock made of one of his mown movies...and Hitchcock preferred this one, saying that “the first was made by an amateur, and the remake by a professional.”  I personally like them both about the same, liking some things more in the original, some in the remake...but James Stewart was the perfect choice to play the father of a kidnapped child.  He and Doris Day have very nice, easy chemistry...they do feel like a married couple who are just so comfortable together.  

7.  Rose Marie

So, this isn’t really a James Stewart movie...not in the way you would think.  This is a Nelson Eddy/Jeanette MacDonald movie, where James Stewart appears in one scene.  This was his second movie, and he is about 21 years old and just so cute...He plays Jeanette Macdonald’s younger brother who is on the run after murdering a Mountie.  I remember watching this movie when I was like, eight...so this was probably my introduction to James Stewart, before I even knew who he was.

6.  Shenendoah

I just re-watched this movie about a week ago and James Stewart is so fucking good in it...if you want to see his definitive curmudgeon performance while he also makes you cry, you don’t need to look any farther than Shenandoah.  Stewart plays a Virginian farmer during the Civil War who has basically not chosen a side.  He doesn’t support the Confederates because he’s opposed to slavery, but he also doesn’t support the North because he’s opposed to war.  He just wants to sit out the war and tend his farm with his seven children...but then his youngest son gets taken prisoner by the Yankees, and he goes off to try and find him.  It’s a deeply layered performance and I’m honestly surprised that he wasn’t nominated for it...it’s also the movie where you get to hear him say the phrase: “a spare tit”, which is weirdly hilarious to me.

5.  It’s a Wonderful Life

Now we’ve made it to his most well-known movie...what can I saw about It’s a Wonderful Life that hasn’t already been said?  It’s so iconic and such a huge part of so many people’s Christmas traditions...and his performance is so incredible... George Bailey goes on such a massive emotional journey, and he is captivating to watch.

4.  Vertigo

This movie is so mesmerizing...it’s definitely one of Hitchcock’s masterpieces.  Stewart’s character Scotty is actually fairly unlikable for the majority of the movie (there are so many moments that just make me go “ick”), but his performance is so layered, you can’t keep your eyes off of him.  And that scene between him and Kim Novak in the tower is one of my favorite scenes in any Hitchcock movie.  It is so intense, and there have been plenty of times that I haven’t rewound the movie to re-watch the scene.

3.  Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

If I had to pick James Stewart’s best performance, I would have to pick this movie.  It is an absolutely incredible, and it is too bad that he didn’t win his Oscar for this movie (though many people think that his win the next year was a consolation prize).  Jefferson Smith is a patriot...wide-eyed, innocent and always believes the best in people...but he slowly gets ground down as he learns that Washington DC is not a great as he thought.  People are dishonest and untrustworthy...he learns it the hard way, but he still has some fight left in him, and he’s the kind of person that just has to try.  And his scenes in the Senate between him and Claude Rains are outstanding.

2.  Rear Window

This was the first Hitchcock movie I ever saw, and what a great way to start!  It is such an interesting murder mystery, and for so long, you’re not even 100% sure that it is a murder mystery...but Jeff is so invested in finding out the truth that you have to stick with him until we know for sure.  And the fact that it takes place all in one room and you never get bored is a testament to how engaging the story and James Stewart as Jeff are.

1.  The Philadelphia Story

I love this movie so much.  It interesting, when I made my Cary Grant countdown, this movie ended up at number one there, too.  But I think it comes down to just how much fun this movie is...the characters are likable and interesting; the dialogue is razor sharp and the actors all have terrific chemistry.  Especially James Stewart and Katharine Hepburn.  That scene with them after the party could be a short film all on its own and it would still be perfect.  And the scene between a drunk Mike and sober Dexter never fails at making me cackle.  I think that this movie is a good recommendation for someone who is looking for more Old Hollywood movies to watch.

And there you have it!  If you’ve made it to the end of this long post, congratulations. :)

There are a couple more of his movies I would like to check out, like Vivacious Lady and Bell, Book and Candle...maybe I’ll make an addition/update to this countdown.

Also, I never realized until I looked at his filmography, just how many westerns this man starred in...he made around 20 over the course of his career, which is so interesting to me, since he’s not the first person I think of when I think “westerns”...but anyway...thanks for reading!

#james stewart #the philadelphia story #mr smith goes to washington #rear window #vertigo #shenandoah #it's a wonderful life

[ratherembarrassing]

2023: week 37

the margot robbie bingewatch of 2023: whisky tango foxtrot (2016). what a weird movie. what a weird movie! there are the obvious problems, which were likely the reasons i never saw it at the time, and there is the tina fey of it all (open very long parenthetical: even in shows/films for which she is not credited as a writer but is credited as a producer, there is such a very very very specific vibe about 1. female characters in general, and 2. any character she plays specifically, that it's very hard not to conclude she is the source. and at least it's interesting but christ does she have an angle. even in a movie that is 95% not a comedy, in which she plays a reporter in afghanistan in the 2000s, the primary "joke" of almost all of the "comedy" is about how objectively unattractive she is compared to actually hot women. the fact that this movie managed to actually and convincingly make kim and tanya friends and their ultimate beef was about their work is, I CAN ONLY ASSUME BASED ON ALL OF HISTORY, is in spite of and not because of tina fey's involvement. it's so weird and depressing that she has a filmography long and extensive enough that this is plainly apparent!) but also, somewhere in there is an okay movie dying to escape! anyway, babyface margot robbie again playing a character who could, with the tiniest of adjustments, totally be a lesbian. i have come to appreciate that even in terrible movies she will likely be playing the most interesting character in the dramatis, and that's very fun of her and for me.

also, greta gerwig: little women (2019). what a fucking movie! i cannot begin to tell you how loudly i was moaning when friedrich showed up again (remember, i've never read the book and never seen the 1994 movie). i should read the book, but i fear my other minor issues will become major issues, but in any event i get why jo march is an icon.

sportsball: aflm: getting knocked out in the prelim final by gws of all teams: devastating. aflw: PORT WON A GAME!!!!!!!!!! it's only happened once before, so this was a very confusing turn of events, but we played so well! i'm very glad i drove to fucking moorabbin for this rare and beautiful experience.

some good food: the land is inhospitable and so are we, mitski (2023). mitski in her country era!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the back to back wallop of heaven (is this to most beautiful song i've ever heard? maybe!) and i don't like my mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the way she continues to play with volume as a second dimension to her sound continues to fascinate and irritate (girl i got enough hearing problems before you start doing this to me) in equal measure. please tour with a full strong contingent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2019 was so long ago 😭 (will i ever stop regretting not buying that ouija board tshirt because they only took cash and something something the atm? 2019 was so long ago.)

things that made me cry: bunny's return to only murders in the building, if only in flashback: devastating. and uma, my love. this show does such a job with its older characters.

AND ALSO THIS: this barbie dancing to nobody by mitski tiktok is what the inside of my head looks like at all times.

#this week in ashleigh

[last-laments]

Last time I posted this, I was asked to explain myself! I’m going to take this as an excuse to be deranged for a minute and draw braindead parallels because I think finding similar themes in wildly different medias is fascinating Okay so since I am definitely going to sound insane, I'm going to list from weakest connections to strongest and scariest. This is just for fun by the way! I’m not taking this chart too seriously and neither should anyone else

Jesse

Starting with Jesse and Zephyr Breeze. I honestly put this one on there within the first few seasons of the show after seeing the way Jesse's parents treated him for the choices he made in life but even so still chose to let him back into their home apparently several times even before the show starts. Along with this, they do both have a sibling much more talented than them that their parents are clearly very proud of. This is my weakest connection because despite the obvious stoner energies Zephyr has, the show is for kids and they would never acknowledge that.

Moving on, we have Mallick from Saw 5 who I've also drawn comparisons to. Between being forced to take lives whether it be accidental or intentional, Jesse and Mallick both commit murder despite clearly not wanting to. Along with this, they both have histories of drug abuse which end up being directly correlated with loss of lives which end up being directly or indirectly their faults. They have similar personalities as well, both being very emotional people who desperately don't want the blame to be placed on them toward the beginning of their respective medias but eventually accept it. I don't believe either of them necessarily deserve to be placed under complete blame, but alas.

Finally, with my comparison between Jesse and Amanda, they actually both follow incredibly similar narratives. Like Mallick, Amanda also suffers from drug abuse toward the beginning of her story, but is forced to overcome it at some point ironically which both come after the death of someone important to them. They both have an older man in their life who they end up viewing as a teacher and who are both incredibly controlling toward them (more on this later).

Walter

For Walter, my weakest connection for him is The Doctor, specifically being the Twelfth from what I remember of him. For as much shit as I’m going to give Walter, there’s no denying how resourceful he is. He seems to rise above the odds many times throughout the show with seemingly very little on his side. To his credit, he was able to get through things many times with very little in his favor, for better or worse. This was something I remember actually appreciating with The Doctor, however. The reason this is the weakest is because USUALLY The Doctor isn’t just doing everything he does for personal gain and this is honestly kind of an insult even if he really isn’t perfect.

Next, we have Eichi Tenshouin. I’m really just being mean with this one, but they do have some things in common. First of all, they both serve as manipulative masterminds of sort towards everyone around them. While Walter’s manipulation seems to extend primarily toward his family and Jesse, Eichi’s is toward.. pretty much everyone in the story including his own unit. Both of them have also decided that because of their poor health and limited time to live, they aim to do as much as they can with the time they have. On top of this, they both have seemingly convinced themselves that their actions are for the greater good despite ruining the lives of many surrounding them. But I’m sure Eichi isn’t as bad as Walter. Probably.

Finally, we have John Kramer. Like the connection with Eichi, John and Walter are both master manipulators who are using the limited time they due to their poor health for what they believe is the greater good. Again, nothing John or Walter do is for anyone’s benefit regardless of what they may have convinced themselves of. They both have ideologies they claim to stick to which are actually fairly flimsy once you look at them for more than a few seconds.They’re both huge hypocrites when it comes to what they deem as morally okay or not, and neither are above letting someone innocent die as long as it furthers their own goals. On top of this, I mentioned already their connection when I analyzed Jesse and Amanda, but they both do seem to view their respective “students” very similarly. I’ll never forget when Walter told Jane’s dad that Jesse he was his son, but I do mean this as negatively as possible. It made me feel a little sick. John seems to view himself in a similar position with Amanda despite everything he put her through. Both of them saw someone who was struggling and decided to use them for their own gain up until the very end. And that’s the real tragedy of it all.

#michael talks #oh boy do i wanna tag this #sure #enstars #saw #the doctor #zephyr breeze #jesse pinkman #walter white #breaking bad #amanda young #malik scott #eichi tenshouin #by the way if you haven't seen my partners art of eichi as john kramer go look at it #i've infected him with my brainrot diseases

[kindlythevoid]

I finished AC: Odyssey and the amount of RAGE I felt when watching the after-credits was UNREAL.

(Please be warned, there is a very long, angry, slightly incomprehensible rant underneath. Proceed with caution.)

Like, not even touching the fact that Kassandra put Herodotus’s manuscripts in the LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA (which made me super mad about the burning of the Library which means that she put it there for NOTHING and his writing is GONE and it makes me EMOTIONAL)

Okay, so I touched on it a little.

But other than that, seeing the little bit at the end? The little “Kassandra’s journey continues in AC: Valhalla”??? Unreal. Absolutely not. I get that she’s immortal (a lie; I really, really don’t and did not appreciate that story line because of the fucking plot holes that gives the rest of the series but it’s fine I’m fine I’m ironing them out as all angry fanfic writers do) but dear lord why is she in another game??

Okay, I have taken a second and reviewed my words. Allow me to rephrase.

I actually really like Kassandra. I think she’s great. I can deal with her outliving everyone (which she DOESN’T DESERVE) and fucking about like the world’s greatest cryptid (srsly do they explain why she never got in contact with the assassins when she so CLEARLY adopted their weapon-of-choice and are aligned in the same damn cause?). Part of me is rubbing my hands together and cackling at all the sand this gives me to play with in the sandbox of canon. Another part of me is screaming and bashing pots and pans together in front of Ubisoft.

Kassandra showing up in another game? Incredible. Fantastic. Start filling in those plot holes immediately. But also? Valhalla is a separate game. (I have my own rant prepared on what I’ve heard about the game, but that is for another day and when I have actually completed the game and have a legitimate soapbox to stand on.)

Please, please inform me if Ezio or… someone? Some other game has an end credit scene with “their journey continues” after everything?

Maybe I’m not the target audience. Maybe I’m too happy with plot to be in the AC fandom. But, dammit, this is where you go to when you want to scream about your opinion and by golly who ever made it this far is going to hear it.

Like, okay, I felt so tired when I saw those words. I was taken right back to the MCU (which I love and adore) and just felt tired. The MCU, at the moment, is churning out, approximately, a fuckton of content at lightning speed. Usually, I can wrap my head around it and move on. But they are leaving no time to digest, very little time (imo) for me to settle into a character and form a connection before the next show/movie/short comes out! And they’re rushing (imo) after COVID with movies that can and should be, I don’t know, pushed back or reviewed or something.

However, I’m deviating a little bit. Sadly, not enough. Because I see those words in Assassin’s Creed, my little comfort murder video game who brought me into the bubble of video games that I didn’t leave and got me attached to these characters, and I am filled with… not even dread; I’m just tired of it.

Like, okay, you start a game with an assassin and Some Guy who happens to be his descendant. Okay, cool. Next game, you introduce another guy, sprinkle references to the first guy, and give the descendant some quirky friends. You then build on this group of people for the next two games (totaling four at this point) before introducing yet another family through the same guy. Then you kill the guy. It is a big, emotional scene, presumably with some implications and effects (affects?) and what-not. But the family stays. The next game, the family stays. But you waffle between protagonists for no less than four games. But at least everything is entwined!! At least you’re going after Juno, the quirky friends from earlier show up and help, everyone gets a sad fun reference through the games.

So then you start over.

You are over ten games into this franchise and you start over. To be fair, it’s with a new protagonist and it feels right. It’s a good decision! It pulls things more mythologically, but it works. Presumably, you’re setting things up. And then you bring up Atlantis. And you introduce an Isu. And there is very little progress in the modern world, even though (again, as far as I am fucking aware) there is a humanity-hating Isu in the internet probably fucking things up for people.

And after all of these games, which focus on death, dying, and the permanence of said death, you make one of the characters immortal. Like. Good sir, are you well? And then you tell me that this immortal character, which throws quite literally everything that was built up over ten-ish games into question, is showing up in the next game. No, no, not showing up, continuing her journey.

There are a few instances that will probably be brought up if anyone has really strong feelings against me disliking this.

Ezio had three games, why does it matter if Kassandra shows up again? Because!! This isn’t!!! Her game!!!! If this was Odyssey 2: Electric Boogaloo, so be it, go for it, very excited for you, honey, you’re doing great. But this is Eivor’s game. As in, about Eivor and their journey.

Well, what about Altair in Revelations? It’s basically the same thing and you liked that game? Yes, I did like that game. I liked it very much. But Altair had something going for him that Kassandra does not. Altair was dead. So very dead. Extremely, extremely dead in a way that does not effect Ezio in any way, shape, or form except as someone to be studied and put to rest. Kassandra? Alive. Very alive. Able to make active changes to her environment (and then they fucking killed her as soon as we figured it out, I swear, Ubisoft, I swear—).

Alright, well, Conner Kenway showed up in Liberation and he was living and breathing? Yeah, as a celebrity guest star. He lead Aveline around, helped her kill some people, stood around awkwardly in the snow, and called it a day. Like, if that is all it is, then my problems are zilch. You can ignore this whole rant and sit smugly with the knowledge that you have a good told-you-so ready as soon as I finish Valhalla. But dammit you don’t phrase things like Marvel if they only make a guest appearance (and if that is a thing, then shame on you. Keep the surprise).

I would like, as a fun change of pace, for game plots (if applicable) to be thought out. Just a little. Maybe even, and this is where I get ‘em, connected. I would like to see wtf Juno is up to at the moment. I would like to see Shaun and Rebecca again. I would like a tangible plot that connects all of the games and characters together in a way better than aesthetic.

But, again, that is more my personal grievances with the modern missions that needs it’s own angry rant.

Kassandra, sweet murder darling Kassandra, is really trying my patience here. Ideally, I play Valhalla, find out that the Abstergo and the Juno storylines were picked up, Kassandra shows up for a hot minute before fucking off to who-knows-where, and this whole rant is for nothing. Heck, I’d take one of the three at this point. Because, and I think I’ve tagged it now, I’m interested in their independent journeys.

Now, admittedly this gets a bit sketchy when talking about the Assassins. They’re like Batman. Everyone thinks they work alone until you look behind them and there is an army of adopted/blood family backing them up and doing their own thing.

AC1 is about Altair’s redemption. It’s also about Malik’s long hard road to forgiveness. If you really want to dip deep, it’s also Maria’s break-out role and Al Mualim’s descent into madness. Ezio’s trilogy is the rise of the Italian brotherhood and Ezio’s quest for vengeance, justice, and knowledge respectively. You can also find his mother and her dealings with grief, Claudia and her own coming-of-age story, as well as Leonardo’s grappling with the outcomes of his inventions. AC3 was about Connor’s work-life balance as he pursued vengeance and protecting the colonies through helping the revolution and his own little homestead. It was also intertwined with Achilles coming to terms with all of the death that preceded his life with Connor.

I could continue, but I think you get the point. My point is, these stories were all about the individuals, their own personal journeys through grief and heartache and morality, as well as their affects (effects?) on the ones surrounding them, the ones closest to them. By introducing Kassandra into Eivor’s tale, it takes away some of that individuality.

Kassandra already told her tale. (Hell, you fucking picked her tale out for her. But that is a can of worms I’ll explain later.) This is where the torch gets metaphorically passed and Eivor learns their own lessons. While these games are very much stab/slash/kill games, they are also about the meaning of choice and responsibility (especially when dealing with death). They push that these moral lessons are something that should be experienced and carefully examined by each individual.

And quite honestly, as long as Kassandra doesn’t get in the way of Eivor’s lessons? If Eivor gets their own tale, their own emotional journey, without clashing with Kassandra’s? Then, yeah. Yeah, I’ll be happy seeing my favorite misthios running around a different time.

#so that was long #And yes I know I’m late for ac odyssey #And I’m bound to be later for valhalla #But I was feeling feelings and decided this was the best way to rant about it #should I tag spoilers? #The game’s been out for how long now? #Idk I guess the tldr is I miss my boys (and Evie and Aveline and Shao Jun and Maria and Claudia and—) #like when I tell you I got emotional over the collage sequence at the end of the cult killing storyline #i got emotional #but I love Kassandra and Alexios sibling duo #Little disappointed that Deimos didn’t have a snake but I’ll live #just yelling into the void #assassin's creed #assassin’s creed odyssey #asasassin’s creed odyssey spoilers #spoilers #assassin’s creed valhalla #kassandra of sparta #ac eivor #altair ibn la'ahad #ezio auditore #connor kenway #ratonhnhaké:ton #aveline de grandpre #ac juno #shaun hastings #desmond miles #rebecca crane

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 83

Chapter 83: “Answer After 13 Years”

Big props to Nigel for carrying Gillian for who knows how far. It makes me so happy that these kids care for each other so much.

Bayon “lost” you guys, huh? Think again. Look at this dude, just chillin there with his arms crossed as he uses them to lead him right to where Lucas is located. Gotta give credit to Bayon on this plan. It’s safe for him and ends up working perfectly.

I tend to bitch about how Sonju simply told the escapees the demon’s weakness in season two, yet I forget that’s exactly how Lucas & all the GP resistance kids found out too, only from Leuvis. It makes me even more proud of Ray for figuring it out on his own.

Leuvis is too smart for his own good and I absolutely love it. Knowing your enemy’s plan might seem boring to some, but that excites him more. (and then there’s Palvus copying him once again, this time with the finger pointing.)

Eh, the perks of being the main protagonist, I suppose.

The psycho actually agreeing to sit around and wait until more children arrive is a chilling moment. He complies since this whole battle is Lucas’ answer to Leuvis’ game proposal (albeit thirteen years later), but the demon can’t wait to see what other tricks the humans have up their sleeves. Emma’s got nerves of steel to carry out this job too because I know I’d be filled with so much anxiety during these ten minutes, not knowing which allies may or may not show up and forced to stand around next to this dangerous demon who is becoming progressively more enraged with every passing minute whom I may very well might have to fight alone.

Absolutely love how their eyes shine so bright with murderous intent.

Favorite panel/moment:

Leuvis has always been my favorite poacher and demon, hands down, but I am starting to appreciate Bayon a bit more during this slow readthrough. How he calmly snuck after the kids is one reason, but making fun of Peter is a surefire way to get on my good side.

#the promised neverland #tpn manga #182daysoftpn #chidoroki used chatter

[elshells]

Happy STS! Share your favorite piece of meta-lore for your WIPs/books/stories! (by meta-lore I mean, inspirations, how you arrived at your vision, what drove you to form it into what it is today, etc, things like that!)

This is such a cool question, thanks for asking! These are the kinds of things I like to think about ALL the time, and I'm always happy to talk about it!

It's kind of a long funny story. Cue the long-winded flashback!

The idea of Agent Ace actually started out life as a Supernatural fanfiction on Wattpad, though today it's pretty much unrecognizable from what it used to be (I don't even think there are any existing characters atm who are inspired by/reflections of SPN characters anymore). This was about four or five years ago, and although I eventually stopped writing fanfic and abandoned the work as a whole, I was still really drawn to the idea of an urban murder mystery with a twist.

It wasn't until about two years ago that I repurposed that plot for an event on Wattpad called the Open Novella Contest. Basically, if you've never heard of it, annually from February to June, writers are challenged to write a 20,000-40,000 novella and enter it in a series of rounds to be judged by Wattpad staff. I didn't get very far in the contest (I think I only made it three or four chapters in before I hit a wall and missed the monthly deadline), but ever since then this story has haunted me during all hours of the day for the last two years, refusing to pay rent until I complete it. Today, it's basically my heart and soul.

Someone I know once described Agent Ace as a 'spy thriller that dives into the dark side,' and I love that description so much. Though the story has evolved so much since I first began writing it. It's hard to believe, for example, that Sophia, one of the two POVs I follow that fills the conventional 'detective' role, was the original murder victim until I decided to develop her further. It's honestly for the best it's taken me so long to write it; it needs a LOTTTT of time in the oven before it's fully baked, which gives me plenty of time to study my outline (something I never appreciated until I started writing from a dual POV)!

I'm not sure at what point exactly it crossed into the realm of science fiction, but I'm also not surprised. I practically grew up on sci-fi, and it's one of my favorite genres to read and write. The worldbuilding is always so intricate and clever, and the characters are rich and diverse, navigating these unfamiliar worlds so seamlessly, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't influenced by certain sci-fi media. The MCU probably had the biggest impact on the story, and a lot of plot, world, and character elements were inspired by shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arcane (though I've never played League of Legends), and The Umbrella Academy.

I've also gotta give credit to Marissa Meyer, one of favorite sci-fi authors of all time. Her writing style is fantastic and has really helped guide me in developing my own style. The Lunar Chronicles were obviously influential, but I may or may not have definitely started reading her Renegades series for some pointers in writing about a city governed by superheroes.

I haven't completed writing this story yet, even after two years, but I'm more than halfway done and recently passed 50,000 words (which is generally considered the minimum word count for a novel). It's been such a special journey so far, and I'm really proud of the growth and progress I've made along the way.

TLDR; It was hard to pinpoint one thing specifically, but ultimately, what I thought would be just a gritty, standalone murder mystery novella has become the first novel in what I plan to be a four-book series. There's never a dull moment writing this book, and I can't wait to share it with the world one day.

#storyteller saturday #though it's Sunday by the time I post this because oops #wip: agent ace #current wip #lore rambles #ella's writing

[blametheeditor]

Incident 8889-1

Content Warnings: Mentions of death and murder. Mentions of others being lesser than. Darker themes and tone.

SCP-8889's File

How to properly handle a David

____________________________

David learned a long time ago that while humans are stupid, ‘SCP’s’ are much stupider. 

He might give those who are mortal more credit due to the fact he has to tolerate them in order to become powerful, but all in all the fairly newly coined ‘SCP’s’ that interact with the earth and those on it are significantly lower when it comes to status. 

It was certainly interesting watching the progression through the millennia's. When ‘SCP’s’ were first named as monsters and superstitions, humans were certainly at the very bottom of the food chain. It was almost easy getting them to do everything asked of them, even sacrificing their own kind as long as it was for the will of the ‘gods’, even if a true one hadn’t been the one to name a price and therefore had nothing to give. 

It took too long in his opinion, but humans finally began to earn their place. Finally figured out who the actual gods were. Began to understand ‘SCP’s’ as the malicious entities they could be rather than a mythical being. Climbed ever so slowly up the food chain so they stood above the lowest of the low instead of being the one barely above dirt itself. 

And then they became clever, and that’s when ‘SCP’s’ as a whole became the bane of David’s existence. 

As a god, he can’t exactly ignore humanity. Of course, once they got to a certain point, he did come to appreciate the interactions rather than loath them. They were certainly better company than inanimate objects who only made mortals react to its odd characteristics. 

So once he saw the change, heard the new name ‘SCP’ gifted upon his coworkers so to speak, it became clear he could finally use the humans who had conquered the earth. The issue was the fact they started looking for him. 

The time when magic was believed to exist was his favorite period. They were just stupid enough to not realize he was manipulating them strictly due to being a god acting as a mortal. And every single person he talked to was a master at some kind of craft. 

Once ‘science’ was a thing? He had to be much more creative. Had to change his appearance more in two centuries than he did in one millennia. Couldn’t choose a business or family at random but instead become a lot more picky in figuring out what was a true craft, and who were complete idiots acting as prophets. And above all, he could not let the much lesser ‘SCP’s’ come anywhere near him. 

Because while humans evolved, his coworkers didn’t. They still caused havoc as if electricity was still believed to be nothing but magic. Meaning the most brilliant of mortals spent an entire century on researching how to find, capture, and contain them. 

Of course they could never catch David. He’s a god. An immortal all powerful being with powers no mere mortal could possibly ever fathom. But it certainly got annoying when those trained in hunting lesser ‘SCP’s’ down appeared in his area. And it angered him even more when some idiot of an ‘SCP’ wrecked havoc and therefore costing him a deal and yet no one showed up to capture it. 

So to avoid it all, he began reporting them. 

He’s not stupid. He always used someone else’s phone to make the call. Never offered his name. Just made an anonymous tip that ‘odd things’ were occurring where an ‘SCP’ was interrupting his work, all while he stayed a good distance away completing another deal before finishing what he started once the nuisance was gone. 

He’ll give the mortals one thing, they had become quite talented in dealing with his coworkers. As much as he wanted to have such a craft for himself, he wasn’t going anywhere near the humans associated with it. 

Until he met James. 

I. Tall. Wearing a suit. Tucking a piece a paper away as someone walks toward the back. 

II. Small restaurant. Six tables. Four booths. A bar against the right wall. 

III. Only two people working. Six patrons total.

David had only just finished his latest contract, tucking it away when a mortal man approached the counter he sat at, sitting in a chair beside him. 

“You look like someone who would know the best thing to get here.” 

That got David’s attention, because no one ever figured out he’s the right person to talk to regarding anything. Not before a little persuasion. 

“There’s a talented cook who knows how to properly make lobster bisque,” David smiled as he turned to face his companion. “Not once has it disappointed me.” 

“Sounds exactly what I’m looking for,” the man nodded. “Are you the owner here?” 

“Business partner. One who’s going to guarantee a larger restaurant with a long line out the door in a few months,” David couldn’t help but smirk with pride. 

The man’s eyebrows rose. “That’s quite impressive. They’re extremely lucky to have you.” 

He was hitting all of the right buttons. David had met a few who were considered charming, picked up a few things from those were considered masters of it. 

He knew there were those who used it to gain something, but there were those who genuinely enjoyed having conversations and learning about the mortals around them. David was the former, but he loved meeting those of the latter. 

“Do you partner with multiple businesses?” 

It certainly seemed like this man was the latter. 

“I do,” David beamed. “Not just restaurants, either. The clothing store on the other side of town wouldn’t be there today if I hadn’t stepped in.” 

“The one with the gorgeous lace dress in the window?” 

He had known it right on the top of his head without any hesitation. About a store that did grow due to David’s influence. But that contract had been made 30 years ago. 

“That’s quite an impressive resume.” 

David only knew he wanted to make a deal with this man if only to have an excuse to have someone around to praise him all day long. “And you look like someone who could match it.” 

The man gave a small smile as if sheepish about the compliment, and David really wanted to keep him under his thumb. “Definitely not as impressive. I’m just a storm chaser.” 

“Never heard of it.” 

“I chase after things like tornado’s and hurricane’s,” the man clarified. “Disasters that could level a town, especially if people aren’t warned in time.” 

“A fairly noble job,” David offers. 

The man shrugged as if to give back the compliment. “A bit hard to do. I don’t know every storm’s pattern, so I can’t predict them all.” 

David couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. Because this was going to be the easiest one yet. “I grant you an effortless next chase.” 

The man gave him a genuine look of gratitude as he lifted his arm. 

“In exchange for my full name, I accept."

Before David could realize just how odd the response was, a companionable hand is being set on his shoulder in thank you. 

That’s when David is suddenly shoved into his own personal realm. One every god has. One only they control, and yet he didn’t want to be inside it.

Not that he hates it. It’s his realm. Tailored specifically to him that he can manipulate with just a thought. And considering the fact he has to do all of his deals in the mortal realm, it’s always nice to finally be where he belongs. 

Sitting in a comfortable chair at an ornate desk in a well organized office. Two bookshelves behind him filled with contracts all painstakingly placed where they should be. Able to conjure up pens, a computer, or a new contract within seconds by snapping his fingers. 

The only thing out of place? The mortal man he had been speaking to standing no taller than three inches on his desk. Looking as calm as before despite a well over two hundred foot god sitting before him. 

What mortal thought they could best him. 

David sighed once it became clear the man clearly wasn’t a storm chaser. Not looking almost bored as he crossed his arms. “You clearly are completely out of your-” 

“James Stiller.” 

He didn’t conjure the contract that appeared in front of them on the desk. One that’s longer than the miniscule mortal is tall. But it states the pest is the one in control. 

David stared before growling. “You little-” 

“I have dealt with enough of demons to know a contract when I hear one,” the mortal, James began, having the audacity to look almost disappointed. “You might be a god, but you’re just like every other SCP.” 

...this, this human was an ‘SCP’ hunter? 

That meant...that meant David was just caught. And David made it happen. 

“You.” He couldn’t finish the sentence. Staring as he attempts to remember how to speak. 

Because he was captured. The single sentence of trading the easiest chase for his name ensured David couldn’t add his own condition in. James filled in the blank. And by speaking his name, he completed his end of the contract. Meaning David has to hold his end of the deal. 

When he can’t respond, James makes an offering motion. “We could keep this contract. I take you to the nearest facility, you get put into a containment cell, and studied by numerous scientists."

David’s fists clenched in fear. At the thought of never being able to leave, locked away for eternity as the centuries passed him by. No better than the other ‘SCP’s’ he reported himself to get captured. A god being controlled by mortals. 

“Or, we can say this one has been completed in exchange for another one.” 

...what could be worse than being locked up for eternity? “I’m listening.” 

A blank contract appears on the desk. 

“In exchange for keeping your identity as an SCP classified in which only I and the O5 have knowledge of, you will work as a senior researcher in one of the facilities where we contain SCP’s.” 

“You’re kidding me,” David growls. “How is that any better than the first one!” 

He’ll admit, he’s impressed the human never flinches with his movements or his yelling. He knows this form is terrifying for most mortals, but it seems like this particular one has faced a few giants in his career. Though even if there was fear, he wouldn’t do anything to reduce it. 

He should threaten to squash the pest if anything... 

“The first one has you as the SCP being researched,” James explains slowly. Patronizingly. “The second one has you researching other SCP’s.” 

“Right,” David huffs, unable to feel accomplished at the brown hair being blown back from his action. “Yet I’ll be surrounded by mortals like you.” 

“You won’t know you’re an SCP. If any of them figure it out or I tell them, my side of the contract will be broken. And no one will be allowed to put you in containment until you are a mile away.” 

“Ten.” 

“Ten miles away.” 

David stares at the human. Glances between the two written contracts. “Why are you offering this?” 

James finally smiles. “It was almost too easy capturing my first god.” 

“I could crush you.” 

“So we like the first contract more?” 

David sputters. “No you mortal pest!” 

And the human goes and taunts him by reaching toward the one that leaves David imprisoned. He has no choice but to snap it away, growling as he extends a hand. Not even able to smirk at the fact the stupid little thing isn’t even as tall as his pinky. “Do we have a deal on the one entailing my employment?” 

James immediately extends his own hand, and that’s when he finally sees the nonchalant façade crack as he jumps at his entire arm being enveloped by David’s thumb and first finger, a facsimile of a hand shake completed. 

“We have a deal.” 

His realm disappears immediately, their return to the human realm greeted by the restaurant owner waving a hand in front of David’s face, making him leaning back in confusion. “What are you doing?” 

“You two were sitting there just staring into space for five minutes!” she exclaimed. 

“Forget about it,” David waved before glaring at James looking smug. “Lead the way.” 

“Right this way Dr. Harrison.” 

“Mr. Harrison.” 

“Researchers go by doctor,” James said as he walked out. “And they wear lab coats.” 

“You’re the most sadistic mortal I have ever met.” 

“You might want to get a different insult. You know, one that doesn’t scream you’re an SCP. I don’t want to throw you into containment only a week from now. At least last a month.” 

“Like I would let you catch me again,” David grumbled as he quickly fell into step with the shorter man. His new coworker. The first and only warden he will ever have. 

“I would,” James responded. “Catch you again. And again if you escaped, but I warn you with every success, the containment gets more and more difficult to do so the next time.” 

“Very ominous. Did they teach you that when you became an ‘SCP’ hunter?” 

“That’s just me.” 

David scowls before finally allowing himself to accept the fact a mortal had bested him at his own game. Prepares for a role he never thought he would have to take, but at least he has one contract to pull it off. At least until James breaks his end, and then he’s free again. 

“Anything else I should know about?” 

“If you ever need anything, call me.”

#I am so sorry for the weird time again #but DANG is it good to write #might just have to ban homework in this household #but it's a David!! #FNAF bois #SCP AU #BTE writing #cw #content warning

[maliro-t]

Happy Witcher eve! Since this is a blogging website, I’m gonna put up a long Blog Post™ I wrote a really long time ago about adaptation just to get my thoughts out there before new material comes out-- book spoilers abound but I don’t actually explain them.

I will always credit The Magicians for changing the way I think about what ‘good’ adaptation is, which is ironic, I know, but the fact that it stumbles so spectacularly in places is part of what did it for me, so ultimately thanks for the mess, I guess! I owe a lot of that to the fact I watched that show before reading the books, which obviously changes your perspective.

But that isn’t the case with The Witcher, and with all this endless talk of show deviations I’m like...there’s some Witcher stuff I honestly do not want to see adapted accurately lmao. I am tentatively curious to see what they do with the Rats & Mistle etc, mostly because I fully just....don’t want to see that story as written on screen but also have absolutely no idea what they could do to change it. I would say Time of Contempt and Baptism of Fire are my favorite books in the series with Tower of the Swallow close behind, so I don’t dislike the Rats storyline overall--in fact, I think it’s thematically very good in the grand scheme of things--but when I first read it, Time of Contempt ending Like That after being my favorite book yet by far definitely put a damper on my excitement to start the next one, and while I don’t hate the story as it is (and do really like the nuance with which the group & Ciri’s place within it is fleshed out in Tower of the Swallow), there is truly no part of me that wants to see people adapt that page by page in uhhh 2023 onwards. Which is complex, too, because let’s say they fix the Mistle/Ciri relationship, give it a consensual start, make it less dysfunctional and low-key abusive: then can they be accused romanticizing the original source material? I mean, they’ll certainly be accused of shamefully deviating, but again, I really don’t mind that. But I don’t think I would prefer a version of them that’s healthy per-se, because the dysfunctionality is part of the point. Like, the Rats are interesting because they’re a bunch of kids who have been absolutely mistreated by society, totally uncared for, and they let their anger at the world overtake them so completely that their only vocation is violence-- they’ve been so deprived of a kind world that, despite their closeness, they barely even know how to properly care for each other, let alone other people. And they're still children! Angry, murderous, un-guided children! For Ciri they represent a kind of ‘cycle of violence’ style trap, which she eventually is forcefully shunted out of. The ‘love’ that she does find with them is fueled by hatred and conflict. But also, it’s like. How do you navigate that without being a) a little too close homophobic tropes for comfort and b) just like. fully unfun to watch at some parts???

That’s honestly how I feel about 85 percent of the Ciri stuff in Tower of the Swallow, which again, is a book I LOVE, and that stuff makes up probably at least half of it. But it’s also absolutely fucking miserable lmfao!!! I simply do not want or need to see it all on TV as written!!! I would appreciate a new take!!! It's miserable and I love it and I don't need it replicated. All three are true. Ultimately, it will be what it is, and I may enjoy it, or I may not.

But anyways-- all of that aside, demands for accuracy always fall flat for me because the books are so specifically literary anyways, with their frame stories, and in universe documents, and storytelling via witness testimony and gossip, letters with old census-style misspelled names, intermittent slices of Dandelion’s memoirs, etc etc etc--lest we forget the random chapter near the end of Baptism of Fire where the whole thing suddenly becomes a story being told to children squabbling over which characters they want to hear about next! This is one of my absolute favorite things about the series, and it’s something which with no uncertainty cannot be even slightly replicated in the show lol!!! So why shouldn’t they figure out what works for them in a different medium? Especially when it means there are many significant characters that we only see in slivers here and there in the books because of the amount of much third-party information being used to convey events. In a TV environment, I think the time they’re giving to flesh characters like the sorceresses is, for the most part, phenomenally well used, and I’ve really enjoyed seeing their takes on them. Cahir is another one I love, and he has definitely been taken in some different directions (although again his presence is so scarce for the first several books that they have that freedom) but he also has Things About Him in the books that I’m glad they are not adhering to thus far!

I certainly have my own disappointments with how changes turn out sometimes, which I’ve talked about a little--I speculated after watching season 2 that part of the reason for the changes that they made (which weren’t my favorite by the end of the season, but which were still enjoyable enough television) were because they felt locked into the action focused monster-of-the-week formula of the first season. That formula was a demand of adapting the short stories, but one which also created certain audience expectations for viewers coming in blind, so a hard turn into adapting a novel with very little actual plot was a risk they weren’t willing to take. (This is something that I later had uhhhh 100 percent confirmed watching an interview with the showrunner where she said this almost exactly lmao!!). I do still think it’s odd that they fully omitted some of the plottiest stuff with Philippa near the end in favor of their invented conflicts (conflicts which ALSO changed almost beyond recognition my favorite Yen & Ciri stuff from Blood of Elves but I digress), but that is the story they told so there really isn’t any point in could-have-beens. It’s way more useful for me to look at the show they are making and decide if it’s still fun or entertaining or interesting or ‘good’ or whatever on its own.

My point is really that a 1:1 adaptation really isn’t possible across media for this series, but even if it were, there really just isn’t a need for that, right? To capture the spirit of a story even with differences is still to honor it, and when the source material relies so much on being a book is there really anything wrong with an adaptation taking a different path through the same woods? Like, their differences don’t actually affect one another. The show being its own thing doesn’t ‘ruin’ the books. Change is not disrespect; it’s just change.

(except for when CDPR just like...forgot that Regis doesn't drink alcohol in the games; that WAS disrespect bc he is literally a character about addiction. but he WOULD be a connoisseur regardless so it is FORGIVEN)

#welcome to my live journal everyone. in the most literal of senses #tldr i don't care about book accuracy! u probably shouldn't either! #asjdhdfgj actually i wrote this cause i got SO ANNOYED abt the conversation around the hc recast #it speaks #witcher posting

[popculturebuffet]

Watchmen Issue by Issue Finale: A Stronger Loving World (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)

The clock has struck midnight. Armageddon has been prevented.. but it took armageddon to do it. But questions linger, questions that may never get a satsifactory answer as we enter the final chapter of one of the greatest comic books of all time.

This has been an intresting experiment. While Kev came up with the idea and bankrolled it, it was still intresting to go through watchmen again and i'm coming out of the other side with a new appreciation for the work: the style, the sheer beauty and mastery in Gibbons art and layouts, and just how precise the story is. Like a watch some guy throws out a window because he thinks nuclear physics is a better thing for his son to take up and isn't good with Subtely. It's been a long, intresting project and i'm sad to see it over, but happy I did it. This comic is everything it's built up to be and more. IT dosen't mean i'm done with Watchmen, as I still have a movie to get to and I may return one day to cover one of the sequels or prequels. We'll have to see how I feel and what time brings. But this is still the end of a project that while I wish was more cohesive I don't regret taking on. Taking a nice slow look helped me see all the intricate wonder of this comic and I won't trade that for anything. I AM glad that the next year long patreon project Kev has for me is, while once again a massive tonal shift, FAR lighter in both covering it and in tone, but that dosen't mean it's bittersweet getting to the end of this one. So let's watch one last time as our heroes have failed.. and have to decide what they can do next… and if they should.

We open with easily one of the most horrifying sequences i've ever seen in a comic, possibly ever: just six straight pages of horror as we see giant tentacles strewn about dozens of corpses. Half of New York, as Adrian later puts it, is dead. And in the middle a horrifying alien face… and a familiar blue one as Dr. Manhattan arrives just after everyone is dead. Turns out there was some interfernce, but it wasn't the bombs going off like he thought: something cough adrian cough kept him from looking here. Laurie for her part.. can barely look at it and given i'm just seeing it on page I can't imagine what seeing all this up close, the smells, the sounds… or possible deathly quite.. just thinking about it has me about to collapse in horror. Jon takes her away from this and to his credit, he actually realizes it may of been bad taste to pontifcate on the how while surrounded by horses. HIs character growth from realizing humanity's worth.. has stuck.

Back at the fortress our two heroes have taken diffrent approaches to the news: Dan is in DEEEEEEP denial while Shackles fully buys it: Adrian isn't lying. Even the holes all add up as Adrian gleefully fills them in: the brain was from a young psychic, simply bloated and weaponized by Adrians people. The assians bullet? Well he can catch those. How he did it? Simple: Lethal informatoin: alien worlds, sounds: anyone not dead of the psychic shockwave will be driven mad. And anyone who was involved.. is dead. Killed by assasians or Adirans own plans. That leaves dan in the uninveable position of asking "What happens to us?" which is NEVER a question you want to ask when your hip deep in a supervillian layer after the evil genius at the heart of it just laid out how he killed any other person who could possibly out his plan.

Thankfully hope arrives in all it's naked blue glory as Jon shows up outside.. and leaves Laurie out there because he's still a dick just only mostly a dick now. And he quickly lets himself in, leaving Adrian to soil himself as he tries to use a death trap and a kitty cat. He then murders HIS OWN KITTY BUBASTIS to trap Jon, using the same machine that made him to try and kill him.

Honestly out of all the horrible crimes he's commited, this one is up there. Seconds later Laurie confronts him with a gun and nearly shoots him dead. He DOES catch the bullet like he said he could.. but his next line is telling

He's lost control. He's gone from plans he know will work with deadly efficency.. to barely keeping ahead of his foes. He launches into yet ANOTHER monologue after dan understandably gets pissed about him shooting laurie and tell shim to grow up. That superheroics have no place i his new world and that he's the outer god and.. wait what's that your all looking at?

As satisfying as it is though, seeing Jon utterly wreck this smug bastards day…. it sadly dosen't last. In any other superhero story Jon would likely kick his ass, find some way to turn him in and our heroes, while living in a still tense would, would find a better one. Instead.. Adrian simply flips on his giant tv wall which is somehow also a massive chekovs gun, as it shows our heroes.. that his plan worked. Tensions have ceased between the US and USSR, focusing on a new threat instead. Adrian reacts with all the grace and subtley you'd expect at this point

There is some depth here: The tear down his cheek, a hold over from the previous panel, shows that there's some part of him, however arrogant that was worried this woudln't work. That no matter what he did no matter how many dogs he kicked and cats he murdered that this woudn't work. But i'ts quickly overrid by him sliding into how he's going to fix the world, and smugly assuming he's going to get away with all this. It shows Adrian's true colors: While he plays this as being for the world and what not.. he really did it for his own ego. He did genuinely want to save the world.. but he had to do it in a way that showed what a clever clever boy he is. It's the only reason he just didn't fire missles at Dan and Rorshach and be done with it: He needed SOMONE to gloat to. Someone to brag about how only he could pull this off. How he did all the pieces. To revel in his "genius". Sure he hid all the evidence.. but it meant nothing if he didn't get to lay it all out. His gloating comes off as well planned as everything else. Even Dr. Manhattan, as scared as he clearly was, had a counter ready for him.

It's what makes Adrian's plan and genuine hope ring hollow: to him those half a city's worth of people he gruesomely murdered, the islanders he slaughtered, the scientests he poisoned, even his good boy sweet boy kitty cat, they were all acceptable losses. All for his grand masterstroke. Adrian posed a question to day last issue: "What do you think I am, some kind of republic serial villian?"

Just because Adrian WON dosen't make him any less of a super villian. It's the great irony of the work: Watchmen was a world with maybe one super criminal but no one who could really stand up to dr. manhattan for long or who really deserved the title.. and when it got one he was too good at his job. He made the heroes seemingly obsolete. Adrian Veidt.. is a monster. And i'ts summed up all too well from some lyrics I love, from the Run the Jewels Song "A Few Words for the Firing Squad"

I used to wanna get the chance to show the world i'm Smart Isn't that Dumb? I Shoudl've focused Mostly on the HEart Cause I seen Smarter People Trample Life Like It's an Art So Bein smart ain't waht it used to be that's fuckin dark.

That's Adrian: Trampling life like it's an art and bragging about it like he just did his piscasso.

Our heroes though are stuck:

This again dosen't make Adrian right… it just means they can't stop him. They do.. and this was all for nothing. They don't and they still have to live with letting a mass murderer get away. No one wins. Rorshach disagrees.. but even then it's hard to take him seriously. So dan and Laurie find solace in each other, with Laurie just a sobbing mess… to her after seeing all that carnage nothing matters.. nothing.. except love. Except comfort. Except the two of them. She just needs something to make sense and to her, Dan does. She may of left.. but it was only to try and save us all. Now.. she has all she needs.

Rorshach.. does not get such a happy ending. Pun unintended. He plans to leave.. but Jon stops him. Even the faint chance of him threatning things is too much. And shockingly despite often being such an unlikeable pirck.. Rorshach's death.. is probably the saddes, most powerful in this entire work.

Yes he's being stubborn, yes he's not a great person… but at th eend of the day… despite all he got wrong over his crusade he's right. He's ultimately the only person willing to tell the truth, that as Adrian pointed out no one would believe anyway, and he's paying for it. What's one more corpse among the foundations? And while I don't like Rorshach I will admit his death.. was on his own terms. Pulling down the mask so Jon had to look him in the eye, tears streaming down knowing this was it and sad tha tthe truth seemingly dies with him. I haven't hid how much I hate this man, the fact he spews out tons of right wing propoganda and has only gotten more horribly relevant as a charcter with age as a result dosen't realyl help.. but I can pitty him as he explodes in the snow, cold alone and in his mind the only one who could do right. He didn't compromise in the face of armageddon, held fast to who he was.. and it amounted to sadly little: the conpsiracy he worked to unravel won, life goes on and he's just one last ink blot in blood on the snow to be washed away along with any legacy. His life is just.l.. a sad one.. a traumatized man who needed help, refused to take it… and ended his story in tragedy instead of moving on. We get a sweet moment as Jon heads back inside.. and smiles at Dan and Laurie. BEfore he was detached from the stiuation, ressigned to it.. but now.. he's just happy she's happy at last. He goes to talk to adrian, and while he regained his intrest in humanity he's leaving.. but leaves his "friend" with some advice

This is the true hell for Adrian Veidt and a satisfying conclusion: He WON.. but there's no guarnatee his peace is the eternal world peace he smugly thought ti'd be. That any of this lasts. He wanted to be a better alexander.. but there's no guarnatee it won't go up in ruins> And wether it does or not the possiblity will forever haunt him. And i'm going to enjoy it

We cut to a few months later: it's Christmas! Huh I forgot this ended on Christmas. We wrap up Dan and Laurie's story as they visit her mom under assumed identities. She reveals what she learned.. and as her mother apologizes she says.. it's okay. She gets sometimes the worlds messed up and you do things you can't admit to people. And it's okay. She never did wrong by her. It's a ncie message of not blaming a victim or blaming someone for a moment of weakness. Just letting it pass. Laurie and Dan baanter ab it happy while Laurie prepares to put on a gimp mask and gun like her old man.

I'll admit the message here is kinda.. fucked that Laurie will be more like her dad.. who was a pretty awful person… I can't tell if she's reclaming it for herself or their implying it's a good thing. And maybe tha'ts the point.

So the world goes on, the newstand is replaced by a booth, and at the fronteirsman… a clueless intern trying to find some content to fill for his asshole jingoist boss.. finds the journal. About to publish it. What does it do? Well.. that's up to you. As a wise naked man once said.. it's never over. What happens next is in your hand

Or in the sequels but.. we'll table those for now and I question why make them as this endings ambigiuity is what makes it work: We don't know if this Journal will destroy everything or just be dismissed as writing. If dan and laurie's new careers work out. What JOn's new life will be. And that's the point. As he said.. it's never over. life moves on.. and what happens next for better or worse. .is out of my watch

Watchmen is a masterpiece. That statment isn't at all new, but revisiting it has made me see just how masterfully i'ts put totgether. It's not to say it's without fault but most are with age: The sexual assault stuff is handelded very poorly, Laurie feels mildly underwitten compared to the male cast a lot of the time, the handling of gay people is bleh, and some of the language used is sur eis from the 1980s. LIke a lot of comic books, parts of it have aged like old tissue paper, but what keeps it despite it's issues.. is the central themes; of looming war, of what superheros can really do about it and of the beauty of just being alive and how it can be takena way from us. Watchmen has perserved for a reason. Like Dan and Laurie it may of aged a bit.. but it's still got a long ways to go. Did it need sequels or prequels? Probably not, but we can analyize tha tanother day. For now… the clock is ticking past midnight and while the comic is over.. there's one last show to catch. So thank you for reading this, i'l lbe collecting all these reviews shortly.. .I just have a movie to review first. Yes next time we take a look at Zac Snyders watchmen and see if it's that bad. Until then… smile, even in the face of armageddon.

#watchmen #dc comics #alan moore #doctor manhattan #ozymandis #nite owl #silk spectre #rorschach #dave gibbons #comics #limited series