#i hate the implication that your hobbies are a waste of time as if you are no longer allowed to be yourself when you get hitched

[friendofbats]

maybe you answered this already, but how do you feel about the sos remake of fomt?

Hi anon! First of all, I'd like to thank you for your patience, as well as apologize for taking so long to get back to your message. Around the time you messaged me, work and school started piling up for me to the point where life became a bit overwhelming. It's the holiday season now so everything's a lot less hectic, and hopefully I can dedicate some time to my hobbies before it packs on again. ☺

Anyway... I'm not sure if I answered this already either actually, but either way, I'm always happy to talk about my opinions regarding Harvest Moon. 😊 I, uh... wrote a lot, lmao so my doozy of an answer is under the cut.

In my personal opinion, the SOS:FoMT remake was... underwhelming.

I was initially excited when I heard news of the remake, given BTN--and by extension, FoMT--is not only one of my favorite Harvest Moon games, but favorite games of all time. There's a ton of nostalgia behind it for me, and the cast of characters is by far the one I love most (HM64 was my first Harvest Moon game, and I remember being ecstatic to find and play Back To Nature, given the same cast of characters for the most part were in the game). I also love the town itself. It feels alive and like an actual community where everyone knows everyone.

So I guess that made the remake (which I'd call more of a "remaster" than anything, honestly) all the more disappointing for me.

There are things I do appreciate about it, like the quality of life changes (finally, I can stack items in my rucksack and can hold more than TWO THINGS at a time! and thank God, I can finally walk over crops so I can FINALLy get that stupid middle spot that's always neglected lolllll), and I'm grateful for the extra heart events AND for same-sex marriage (long overdue, but I digress), among other improvements.

But nearly everything else, I think, was a missed opportunity and waste of potential to really make it shine:

-- The graphics are off-putting, to say the least, and a weird attempt at making things "nostalgic" and "cute", but somehow manages to miss the mark on both (in my opinion).

-- The removal of rival marriages--along with the rival heart events and rival children--is a HUGE misstep and takes away from much of the life of the town. It no longer feels like a little community, but like a hollow, empty version of HM:FoMT.

-- Along with the removal of rival marriages... I feel like a lot of the "magic" of the older games involving some of the harder-hitting stories--like May's mother abandoning her, or Harris's unrequited feelings for Aja, or Aja running away from home--is just... missing. Rick's hatred of Kai feels more irrational because much of the implications of his hatred being tied to his resentment toward his father have been removed (since Kai and Popuri no longer get married), Kai's personality has been watered down from the hated suave ladies' man to just "a nice guy", Harris goes from having a storyline to merely existing, etc. Maybe this is more of a complaint about HM:FoMT too since some of those things were missing there too, but imo my point still stands. It makes SoS:FoMT feel too cutesy and happy-go-lucky, and therefore, again, hollow.

-- Jennifer and Brandon both feel out of place from the rest of the town, and I cannot state emphatically enough how apathetic I feel toward both of them. I guess you could potentially argue that they are both outcasts and therefore they ARE out of place, but I think you can make "outcast" characters and still make them feel like they belong in the cast.

-- There's just... SO MUCH they could have fixed and added to this game that they didn't. I mean, it's a Switch remake, for goodness sake--the Switch is a powerful console! Why is the Frisbee Toss on year 1 still a cut black screen and "yay thanks for coming see you next year"? Why do the characters still just stand around or just walk back and forth, instead of giving them things to do? Why aren't the buildings more fleshed out with decorations, or the characters given different schedules, or different outfits? Why is getting on and off the horse such a monumental task?????

-- (To further drive my point above about the Switch being a powerful console and how the remake didn't even bother attempting to take advantage of it, this post by angelcou drives home this point very well. If you haven't read it, it sums up my thoughts about this all really nicely.)

There's probably a TON more that I can add here which I didn't remember, but overall, I think the remake didn't do the game any justice. When the announcement for SoS:AWL came out, I was--as I was with the SoS:FoMT announcement--ecstatic beyond belief, to say the least. But given my feelings about the FoMT remake, and the additionally underwhelming release of SoS:PooT, I remain firmly planted in the camp of "cautiously optimistic".

What are all your thoughts about the remake?

#harvest moon #story of seasons #hm fomt #sos: fomt #bokumono #answers #fomt

[connectionmiral]

Noteworthy characteristics mspe examples

#Noteworthy characteristics mspe examples how to

#Noteworthy characteristics mspe examples professional

To be able to accept criticism and learn from what you feel is important.

#Noteworthy characteristics mspe examples how to

The ability to bounce back, create opportunities and know how to present yourself. To be and stay grounded! - to know how to deal with your psyche, your emotional self. The ability to “digest” music and retain that memory for the future. The ability to learn everything at once quickly. The ability to learn efficiently - the intelligence of problem-solving in practicing. You need to do what you need to do - it is your job and your responsibility! However, everyone needs to work regularly to keep their highest possible standards at all times. Work ethic - everyone works differently and needs different amounts of time with their instrument. Possess a great memory - having this seems crucial, not just for printed notes but for what works and what does not so as not to waste time. To be curious about all aspects of music and also about life. To search for the underlying structure of a piece. To be emotionally connected to your sense of pulse since rhythm is the breath of music.Ī strong will, the x-factor, charisma - someone who needs to be heard, whose voice is so strong, and who has urgency and imagination in their performance.Ī natural coordination for the instrument - facility, of course, can be learned, but there is truth in being “born to play” the violin, viola, cello, double bass, or any other instrument.Įmotional connection - to have your emotions in sync with your intellect, instinct, intuition, and the physical aspects of playing your instrument.Ĭoncentration - the ability to stay intensely focused for long periods of time.Ĭuriosity, intelligence, independence - the ability and desire to probe deeper to find out more than what you are asked for or just what is in the score. Rhythm - organic sense of pacing, knowing how a tempo relates to the character and structure of the piece you are playing. Students are encouraged to have active roles in identifying their noteworthy characteristics, which may range from accomplishments in research, service to the. Superior hearing - sensitivity for sound quality, intonation, and a natural way of hearing/feeling/understanding the musical implications of harmony and how it affects the drama of a work. What are the qualities that make one performer stand out from all others? Is there a secret formula? Of course not, but nevertheless there seem to be a few common characteristics that somehow stand out.

#Noteworthy characteristics mspe examples professional

What do you guys put? Or does anyone have any better examples than those AAMC ones?LUCIE ROBERT ON THE MAIN QUALITIES REQUIRED TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL PROFESSIONAL STRING PLAYER It seems like a gamble and I am not really the gambling sort. But mostly I question how a program director might view it as its a bit nerdy (in the realm of 'writes and publishes 3rd party D&D adventures - though not quite that). I don't want to really mention it on SDN for fear of outting myself. Extracurriculars-specialty tracks, community service, conferences attended, etc. Noteworthy Characteristics (contd) Examples: Student A has shown a. Leadership-tutoring, mentoring, president of organization, ultrasound scholar, etc. Anatomy of an MSPE Identifying Information Noteworthy Characteristics (Three). I was considering mentioning a hobby I have. MSPE Noteworthy Characteristics Worksheet. Though I think its generic tripe most people get.īut part of me wants to be a little more memorable. On one hand I have a good deal of evaluation comments going "Really good bedside manner, connects well with patients, professional.", so maybe that is a supported positive characteristic to speak to. They feel run of the mill but its at least some meat.įor my last I want to try and do something personal. I hate writing about myself and coming up with these three bullets. Is anyone else finding this a miserable experience? I am trying right now to find good examples of comments, but most are ridiculous things like "Had a babby and completed her surgery rotation.

#Noteworthy characteristics mspe examples

[supersoftly]

One of the things that convinced me that I was genuinely in love was after sharing my interests and hobbies, they never made me feel ashamed for having them. You gotta find someone who doesn't just tolerate what you like, but loves you for it.

#personal #that ff post is whack mang #i hate the implication that your hobbies are a waste of time as if you are no longer allowed to be yourself when you get hitched #and my ex was a huge nerd but still made me feel bad for liking certain series cuz it wasnt good enough for them #it hurts something different to have someone you love shit over your interests #ranting in the tags ignore me lol

[lunarten]

Astrology Observations Pt. 3

As usual, bear in mind that these observations are personal to me and may not apply to everyone. Sorry it took so long to get the third installment out.

💙 Moon in the 2nd house shows an emotional preoccupation with value and stability. The native may worry about financial security and take great relief in material possessions. Alternatively, they may struggle with their self-worth and crave internal and external validation.

💙 8th house placements are rarely satisfied. They crave deep and full understanding, something that superficial knowledge could never placate. For instance: 8H Sun natives may be extremely introspective, constantly examining their motives and desires.

💙 On the other hand, Venus in 8H may direct this energy outward and have an intense need to know every detail about the things and people they love. These natives may have an obsessive need for closeness and intimacy, whether they pace themselves or devour every bit of information as soon as it’s offered.

💙 Virgo Mars really embodies their mutable qualities (adaptable, adventurous, empathetic) in the bedroom. They frequently bring Virgo’s people-pleasing energy into sex, as well. While they’re comfortable in many positions, I’ve noticed that Virgo Mars often prefers to relinquish control to a trusted partner.

💙 Mercury in Pisces and Cancer have a tendency to use expressive and emotional language. When describing something, they may use a lot of imagery or talk about how that thing makes them feel. The Moon (ruler of Cancer) specializes in emotions and empathy. Neptune (ruler of Pisces) specializes in intuition and dreams. Thus, Mercury in these signs may relate what they know using how they feel.

💙 Scorpio Mercury won’t take anything at face value. Whether it’s something you say or do, a Scorpio Mercury will spend a lot of time considering the implications of your words or actions. They are naturally mistrustful and investigative, so you should always be earnest with them. They’re very skilled at catching others in a lie.

💙 Mars in Capricorn reflects someone with willpower and ambition beyond measure. These people frequently grind away at life and may even take pleasure in it. Their aggression is measured and calculated. I’ve found that they’re frequently afraid of failure and will do what’s necessary for success even if it means temporary misery.

💙 Taurus may not be prone to angry outbursts, but that doesn’t mean they’re slow to anger, per se. I’ve noticed that many Taurus placements hate having their time wasted. Once they’ve made a commitment, they’ll be there. If you’re not, they’ll assume you don’t take their time as seriously as your own.

💙 While water signs are known for being sentimental, I would say that fixed signs also fit that label. Fixed signs don’t move on as easily as their mutable or cardinal counterparts and, as such, may have a lasting affection for things or people associated with positive memories.

💙 Having a mutable sign over your 9th house may indicate a frequent desire for change. These natives may change their style, their friends, their hobbies, and more. The 9th house is the house of philosophy and travel, and controls our search for meaning. As such, a mutable sign here may lead someone to change frequently, never being satisfied with their surroundings for long.

#astrology #zodiac #the moon #2nd house #8th house #the sun #venus #virgo mars #pisces mercury #cancer mercury #scorpio mercury #capricorn mars #taurus #water signs #fixed signs #mutable signs #9th house #observations

[ohheyitsokay]

Elle! I come presenting a request!! So, Poly Frontier. Tell me more. What are some of the guys’ favorite activities to do with the reader/each other? How often are giant Cuddle Piles with all of them a thing? How does sharing a bed work with all of em? Who convinces who to get ridiculous matching couples’ shirts but then has to find a way to make all the others match too? - Ghost

ughh (affectionate) @scribbledghost is on a mission to get me to dork out over these boys, even though there's so many combinations it would take forever to fully write all my thoughts for each out

let's do it, abridged, if you need an expansion on any one in particular... lmk

note: this posted from my drafts before I was done! so I'll continue in another post at some point. enjoy!

warnings: this takes place in my poly frontier au, so it's 18+, but pretty mild relationship things, kissing and mild implications of sex, fluff fluff fluff

anyway

I'd like to reiterate that this is more of a web of individual relationships, rather than just one thing, which I think plays well with your questions.

>>

As a group, I really see them doing silly hobby sports. Disc golf, rock climbing, hiking, even annoyingly competitive put put rounds. ("babes I want the blue club and ball, to match my eyes" "you're gonna have blue balls if you keep swinging your club around like that" "you guys are like children")They're all so overpowered, strong and muscular that they get restless - they like to be outside, unsuffocated and soaking in sun. If they can't blow of steam that way, I think they like classic fun dates, like bowling. Even if you're not all equal, they each like to help the more confused out, showing off techniques or using it as a chance to flirt (kissing the shell of your ear as they pretend to show you how to swing a club, gently rolling their hips against your butt). I think they especially prefer activities where it's "acceptable" being in groups, they hate having to waste energy fending off questions or guarding you from judging eyes.

I can see Benny and Santi working out together, and going to sporting events with Will. Santi and Will go for drives, and go to obscure grocery stores for adventures. The two of them and Frankie always volunteer together - kids sports coaching, soup kitchens, firefighting, animal shelters, you name it. Benny joins a lot, but he isnt great with things that dont involve interaction with people or animals, like setting up for local performances or packing care boxes or anything - he gets distracted talking. Santi and Frankie find weird recipes and then ignore them but the food somehow always taste amazing.

Frankie and Will do home projects together, fix things, create things that make the chaos of living in a group a little calmer. They enjoy the physical work, doing something with their hands as they talk. He and Ben go for their own drives, sharing wisdom silence as the crops and streetlights blur by.

It's kind of strange but Will and Frankie like to go on niche tours with you - they like to learn, but from guides and other tradesmen instead of labels and plaques.

If you do go to museums it's with Santi and Will, they both love having quiet talks about the big picture, and feeling simultaneously solid and small with their arms around you.

Surprisingly, Benny and Santi like to go shopping with you. Their taste and skill at helping is varied, but they like to watch you with the things you like, enjoy spending a little extra money on you, if you'll let them. It's innocent conversation, colors and textures and stories that have nothing to do with trauma.

With you alone, they all like to walk. When you stroll with Santi, he likes to make it romantic - pretty views, his jacket on your shoulders, your hand tucked into his elbow. Frankie just laces his big fingers with yours and the conversation flows to and from comfortable silence as naturally as waves wash ashore. More often then not, Will likes to see you occupied while you walk, likes to stuff his hands in his pocket and let you do the talking and just let your voice and glow wash over him, his gaze so adoring you'd think it could make you fly. Your Ben pulls you onto his back, his forearms under your knees, loving the extra weight of you against him, bragging until your nerves dissolve in laughter.

They adore any time they get. It's busy, having five different schedules, but you make time for the things and people you love.

>>

Taglist:

@fangirl-316 @scribbledghost @writeforfandoms @beautyagegoodnesssize @princess76179 @mrsbentallmadge @pbeatriz

Poly frontier taglist:

@grogusmum

#triple frontier poly fic #triple frontier x reader #will miller x reader #santiago garcia x reader #frankie x reader #benny miller x reader #replies #poly frontier #scribbledghost

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

Hi, I sent a not so useful ask wondering about whether I'm esfp or entj, so here's some more information. Again thanks in advance for your help, if this is insufficient I'll write again.

I'm extremely impatient with indecisive people. Especially people who don't know how to prioritize because it always seems obvious to me what needs to be done. I'm a bit less practical in my hobbies and I like indulging in esoteric and mystical subjects, I value spiritual development highly and it's something that's on my mind a lot. I can be alone for days just thinking about these topics but I do reach a point where I need to get out and interact with the world again.

I think I'm at my best when I have something clear to work towards, I'm like a machine when I have a purpose. But when I don't have this and I let it get to me it affects my self esteem and I get super pathetic and aimless. I start pitying myself and get really moody.

I'm always thinking about how what I'm doing will affect me in the long term, how it will contribute to what I want to achieve and what my next steps need to be. I have a strong need to make an impact and for my work to have meaning for me so it's hard to do things that I think are irrelevant but I still push myself to finish regardless.

In a group project I'm usually the one that has a clear idea on what needs to be done and what we need to do to get there. People who stay in the brainstorming phase get on my nerves. However I'm also disorganized and I actually don't like planning very much which may seem contradictory but it's more like I already have an idea of what I need to do so I don't see why I need to waste my time refining the details. I do enjoy being impulsive from time to time but I never go totally blindly into things either. I act on instinct and gut feelings a lot, which may seem like thoughtless behavior from the outside. It's hard to explain, but those gut feelings are like the sum of subconsciously monitoring all my responses to things, evaluating all the pros and cons of the viable options, and getting down to what each option means for the trajectory of my life, so although I'll make an important decision in a second and it seems like I didn't think it over, I instinctively know that it was the right thing to do.

I also really value aesthetics. I like dressing well and being attractive to other people. Which I supposed most people do lol. I love being out in nature and slowing down from time to time to become more in tune with my environment, it helps clear my head.

I don't date around. I hate one night stands and I'm very committed once I'm in a relationship. I'm very private and don't show it off to others at all. I get super uncomfortable when my friends share private things about their relationship and they expect me to do the same, I never do lol even if it makes things awkward. I'm very emotional in my relationships and I'm not comfortable with other people seeing me in that way.

Although I do consider myself very effective and I always finish my work on time I actually don't have much of a routine. I know exactly what I need to do and the time that I need to do it and that's just how my mind instinctively thinks about things, I don't need to have a clear and written out plan if that makes sense.

As a kid I was very introverted and quiet and didn't know how to say things in a way that sounded nice, I thought the message was what mattered and that's it. I now see the value in sugarcoating to get people on your side though. I was very particular and methodical but I didn't exert my will onto others. I cried a lot but I wasn't very aware of my emotions, it was like my body got ahead of my brain in that sense, and I'd always get over things very quickly and don't hold grudges. I was never physically impulsive, I always thought about the implication of things before I did them.

This all sounds like INTJ - you want a clear direction but you don't really want to spend time on details, you focus on the task at hand and value being decisive, and you seem to want a lot of time to focus on the abstract. The part about gut feelings lines up particularly with how a lot of people describe Ni.

#mbti #intj

[yandere-daydreams]

Id bet money that yandere!bakugou watches his darling sleep. He just HAS to. He cant help himself.

You bet your ass he does. And, if I’m any good at this whole writing thing, he does so with as much repressed paranoia as possible. It’d be the closest thing he has to an actual hobby, honestly, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys it. That’d just be out of character.

Title: Loving Observation.

TW: Unhealthy Relationships, Slight Codependence, and Mentions of Somnophilia. 

~

It wasn’t like Katsuki liked watching you sleep.

That was much was common sense. Of course he didn’t like it, of course he didn’t enjoy it, who would? He’d heard stories of guys getting off on the vulnerability, the helplessness, the secrecy, but vulnerability and helplessness and weakness weren’t the kinds of things Katsuki was interested in. Staying up all night was boring. He was always exhausted the next day, always irritated, and he always told himself he wouldn’t do it again the next night, that’d he’d sleep by your side and resist the urge to perch himself at the foot of your bed and stare you down with all the intensity of a bird of prey. But, it was the next night, and here he was, standing guard with all the loyalty of a well-trained pet.

Momentarily, he wondered if he’d start growing feathers, if he kept this up.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep, either. He was sure he’d be able to, and if not, Katsuki was always the type to make the best of his insomnia, he’d never liked the idea of wasting so many precious, undisturbed hours on a staring contest with the ceiling. No, if he hadn’t been able to sleep, he’d be researching the villain he’d have to track down in the morning, or meal-planning, or doing anything besides fisting at the sheets and watching you - tired, beautiful, narcoleptic you - drool onto your pillow and kick your comforter into the space he should be occupying, a habit he knew you’d never fight off. He could sleep, it’d be easy to, but he couldn’t let himself sleep. He couldn’t take that risk. He couldn’t be so careless. He couldn’t do something that dangerous and wake up to a corpse, as his reward. He couldn’t let you down like that.

So, he dug his nails into his hand, letting soothing, awakening pain run from the heel of his palm into his wrist until it infected the tips of his fingers and made the rest of the world a little more vivid. Until it made him a little more aware.

You must’ve been used to falling asleep without him, by now. There was always an effort, an extra cup of coffee or a slurred declaration that you weren’t going to bed until he found the time to carry you there, but you’d worked late, tonight, and you’d been ready to collapse the moment you dragged yourself into his apartment. He’d blamed himself for that, too - if he was really as good of a boyfriend as you thought he was, he wouldn’t let you work yourself to the point of exhaustion. But, he’d been called out for an emergency, and by the time he got home, you were already out, undressed and unconscious under the assumption that he’d join you whenever he was ready to, and you’d be able to make it up to him in the morning with a kiss and an apology for wearing yourself out. 

He wanted that. You couldn’t imagine how badly he wanted that. It was the kind of domestic, private bliss he’d come to crave, since you two first moved in together, and yet, he couldn’t bring himself to indulge in it. Holding you was just too tempting, too innocent. A million things could go wrong as soon as wrapped his arms around you. He could roll over and break your arm, he could hold you too tightly and suffocate you, he could do something wrong and hurt you, because punishing the people that loved him seemed to be the only thing he was good at doing. Because he would hurt you, if he let himself.

Because something else would hurt you, eventually, and he’d be the one to blame.

So wrapped up in his own thoughts, he almost didn’t notice when you rolled over, a small groan forcing itself through your parted lips as you settled onto your back, your hands drifting from your pillow to your sides, and then to your chest, another sound of discomfort drawing his attention to your current position. The air fled from his lungs only to hitch in his throat, and for a moment, he watched as you went still. Mentally, he went through your schedule, through the hours of the day, through every risk you’d taken and ever hazard he’d forced you into. Your job was draining, but it wasn’t dangerous, he’d made sure of that. You took the safest route home he’d been able to find, and he’d been slipping supplements into your food for weeks, a habit you wouldn’t approve of, but one he took to keep you healthy, to keep you safe. Still, there was too much that wasn’t accounted for. There was too much he didn’t know. There were too many things he hadn’t seen because you were so independent and because he was a failure of a guardian and because you must hate him--

Your expression contorted from neutrality to pained discomfort, and Katsuki stopped thinking.

In an instant, he was on top of you, straddling your stomach as he took you by the shoulders, wrenching you upward with all the frantic desperation of a soldier under fire. There was no blood, no injury, but an invisible threat was so, so much worse than a wound he could see and evaluate and fix on his own. Your eyes flew open, your hands finding his in less than a second, but your scream was swallowed down as your shock turned to confusion and that confusion faded into bleary, startled concern. You didn’t try to push him away, didn’t writhe or struggle out of his grip, only scanning over his wide-eyed, panicked expression as you collapsed back onto the mattress, adrenaline dissolving into little more than an unpleasant fatigue. That was good, that was great. You were fine, you were alright, you were perfect. He was just being paranoid, you were…

You were glaring at him.

Fuck, right. He probably deserved that.

“What is it?” You spoke slowly, your voice weighed down by sleep. Already, you were settling back down, and a second later, Katsuki followed your lead, falling to your side and keeping to himself until he felt a tap to his forearm, a signal that you weren’t that mad at him. Hesitantly, he uncurled himself, letting you burrow into his chest, your arm soon draped over his waist and your head resting on his bicep. You didn’t seem to care that he didn’t return the gesture. “Better think of something good, ‘suki. If the building’s not on fire, someone’s gonna sleep on the couch.”

He chuckled, dryly, more at the idea of him sleeping at all than to indulge your idle threat. “I thought... I mean, you looked like you were in pain,” He admitted, knowing you wouldn’t remember this conversation clearly enough to recognize the implications. “I was worried. You know how I get, about you.”

“I know how you get about everything.” There was a sigh, this time, a slight lean in his direction. Without a second thought, he plucked the comforter from where it draped over the side of the bed, laying it over your tense form despite your earlier attempts to free yourself from its plush entrapment. Immediately, you relaxed against him, thanking Katsuki with a small smile and a soft kiss to his collarbone. “This is the third time I’ve ‘been in pain’ this week. I know you’re just being protective, and I know you’re trying to help, but--” Despite the darkened bedroom, you averted your gaze. As you went on, your tone became a little more lucid, a little more genuine. His heart twisted in his chest, and Katsuki wondered if it’d be less painful to make you think he hadn’t cared at all. “The way you’ve been acting is really starting to bother me. You’re not getting any rest, and you’ve been so erratic, lately. It’s hard not to feel like this is....” You paused, biting the inside of your cheek. “Like this is bad for us.” 

It was futile to deny it. Assuring you was probably just as useless, but it felt like the right thing to do. “I know, baby. But I’m trying to--”

“Promise me.” You were clinging to him, now, your words muffled by his skin. “You have to promise me this is going to end. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to...”

You didn’t have to finish. Katsuki knew what you were going to say, and he knew it was as terrifying for you as it was for him. He didn’t want to leave you. He didn’t want you to leave him, even if he knew it was for his own good. He wanted things to be better, but he couldn’t stop, not if he wanted you to be protected, not if he wanted you to be safe. He wouldn’t be able to stop worrying, not unless he found a way to make sure he didn’t have anything to worry about.

It was an awful thought. An awful thing to even consider doing to another person. It was awful, and yet, he found himself pulling you closer, his body going slack as he finally let himself relax. It’d be awful, but it’d be safe, too. And it wasn’t like you were giving him much of a choice.

Giving you up wasn’t an option. You’d suffer, but you’d be secured and bound and safe, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t take care of you. He was a good boyfriend, or, he was really trying to be one, at least, and doing something so extreme, something so permant, would only prove he was more devoted, more capable, more loving. Even if he doubted you’d see it that way. 

From his experience, people usually didn’t react well to waking up in handcuffs. 

Not at first, at least. 

“I promise.”

#yandere #yandere love #yandere x you #yandere x y/n #yandere x reader #yandere prompt #yandere oneshot #yandere drabble #yandere scenarioes #yandere imagines #boku no hero academia #yandere boku no hero academia #boku no hero acadamia imagines #my hero academia #yandere my hero academia #my hero academia imagines #bnha imagines #yandere bnha #mha imagines #yandere mha #yandere bakugo #yandere bakugou #bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #katsuki x reader #yandere katsuki #yandere fantasy #yandere fanfiction #yanderecore #yancore

[americasass81]

Make Her Mine - Chapter Six

Warnings:- 18+, Dark theme, Smut, Dubious Consent, Non-Consensual Sex, Thigh-Riding, Swearing, Implied Breeding, Oral (female receiving).  Do not read if any of these warnings are upsetting.  Feedback is welcomed.

This contains adult themes and by proceeding you are acknowledging that you are over 18 and are consenting to the content below the cut.

 Word Count:- 2,893

Having survived Tony fucking your face as well as the humiliating experience of him washing you afterwards, the shocks just kept on coming when you exited the bathroom to see what he expected you to wear.  While he returned from the closet in a t-shirt and sweatpants, you quickly discovered your predicament was much worse than you ever thought.  Walking towards the double doors when Tony appeared empty handed, he quickly blocked your way and raised an eyebrow at you before speaking.  "Need something darling?"

"Yeah, how about clothes douchebag?"

"You'll get clothes when you need them and when I decide you've earned them.  Though I might be persuaded to fetch you something if you'd adjust your attitude." he smirked, as he reached out to run a hand along your cheek.  Pulling back and walking to the bed, you dropped onto it and wondered how you had come to be reduced to Tony Stark's pet.  Sighing deeply at your dejected form, Tony dropped to his knees in front of you and held you in place when you once again tried to free yourself before looking up at you.  "Y/N, surely you must find this constant struggle exhausting.  Give in to me and I promise your life will be so much easier.  You won't even have any further use for that getaway bag.  Kudos on that by the way."

At the mention of your getaway bag, your eyes widened and your hands clenched into fists.  "Ah yes, that." Tony smirked, shaking his head at your reaction.  "You didn't think I'd just leave it on the New York sidewalk, did you?  Don't worry it's safe, though I'm fascinated why you have it.  Maybe it's something we can discuss over dinner.  Shall we?" he asked, standing back up and reaching out his hand to you.  Suddenly realizing that you had spent too much time trying to physically overpower Iron-Man when you should have tried out thinking him, you decided instead to see what information you could wrangle out of him.

"Okay Tony," you said, unclenching your fists and rising from the bed.  "I'll agree to dinner and I'll try to adjust my attitude, but may I please have something to wear?  It doesn't have to be anything fancy."  As if to emphasize your sincerity, you stepped forward and walked into his waiting arms.

Shocked by this sudden change, it seemed Tony did have a weakness for you however and you soon found his arms wrapped around you while his chin came to rest atop your head.  Listening to the steady beat of his heart, you failed to notice him checking the data from your nanoparticles and whatever he read seemed to cement this sudden adjustment he'd hoped to see.  Releasing you, he quickly disappeared into the closet only to return with a grey t-shirt and blue panties.  "Will these do darling?"

"Thank you Tony.  They'll do fine." you said, taking them from him while reminding yourself to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.  Putting on the clothes before he could catch you out or change his mind, you then looked up at him before placing your hand in his and flashing him your best smile.  "So maybe while we eat you can tell me a bit about this place, I didn't really take much of it in when I was trying to escape."  Wrapping his arm around you, Tony led you out to the kitchen where he planned on introducing you to his culinary skills.

                    *************

Upon entering the kitchen area and seating you at the island unit, Tony told V.I.R.G.I.L. to release level one lockdown protocols which you discovered opened all the cabinet doors and drawers.  Working away on the food as he talked and you listened, you discovered that the house was not only situated at a secluded location but the windows in the ceiling were a result of most of the property being underground.  Tony also disclosed that the only two doors off the kitchen led to the garage and his lab.  The garage you also learned was the only exit out of the house.

"Mr. . . . sorry Tony, does that not seem like a rather monumental fire hazard?" you inquired, genuinely curious now.

Looking over at you while handing you a glass of wine, he couldn't help the smirk that seemed to light up his face.  "Y/N really, think about who you're talking to?  If a fire did break out here, the state of the art fire suppression system I designed will kick in and have it out in seconds.  Besides, I am Iron-Man.  Don't worry darling, you're perfectly safe here."

Choking on his last words, the wine you were drinking hit you wrong and it took him tapping your back to get your breathing back under control.  "Thank you, don't quite know what happened there."

"You're welcome.  I hope you're okay with chicken and mushroom pasta by the way?" he said, smiling over at you as if he had forgotten that it was in an Italian restaurant you had first refused his company.  Now that you had time to really concentrate on the wine, you realized with sickening clarity that it was the same one you drank that night.  Placing the glass back on the counter, a shudder ripped through you as you realized there seemed to be nothing he didn't know about you.

Picking up the glass and leading you to the table, he helped you sit before returning with the food and the bottle of wine.  Filling your glass while taking a seat on your right side, he placed his hand on yours before speaking.  "I'd enjoy the wine if I were you darling.  It's the last you'll be drinking going forward.  Now let's eat before the food gets cold.”

Thinking through the implications of his statement, you did your best to enjoy the meal while you tried to figure out how to get safely out of his clutches before he could knock you up, provided he hadn't done so already.  Deciding to play to his vanity, you complimented him on the meal before asking some of the questions you hoped to get an answer to.  "So Tony, you mentioned my getaway bag earlier, may I ask where it is?"

"It's in my safe, not that you'll be needing it.  Why does someone your age even have it anyway?"

"Being prepared for anything usually means I'm not surprised by something.  Though I guess you're the exception." you laughed, and Tony surprised you yet again when he took your hand and kissed it tenderly.  What shocked you most however was the slight tingle that ran through your body at this most romantic gesture.  When he released your hand again it seemed it was Tony's turn to ask you a question.

"So would you mind telling me what your plan was?  I'm fascinated to know."

"It's not all that exciting to be honest.  I had planned to stay at the Waldorf for a week in the hopes your infatuation would dissipate.  If it didn't, then my getaway bag, bank account and friends would hopefully get me far enough away from you.  Guess that didn't work out too well." you answered while eating more of your meal.

"Like I said, you're wasted where you are and by the way this is not infatuation.  I find you amazingly self-reliant for someone your age and I'd like to build a life with you.  As I told Happy, you're ingenious."  He smiled as if you should be flattered by the compliment, but all you saw was everything he had put you through.  Having finished your food, you drank the rest of your wine while you contemplated how best to continue the conversation.

"Tony let's assume for a moment that I'm okay with us, in plain english, what's your endgame?  Will I see the outside world again?  Will I ever see my friends again?" you asked, noting the irritated look on his face.

Sighing deeply, he took the wine from your hand and gazed into your eyes before speaking.  "My endgame as you put it darling, is to get you back to my place where you will be treated like a queen while our little ones grow up safe and loved.  If you'll agree, I'd also like to marry you and who knows, hopefully your friends can remain a part of your life."

Hating every word he uttered, but needing to know all the same, your hands left the table and inadvertently rested over your stomach as you stared off into space, thinking.  It was only when Tony cleaned up dinner and helped you stand to walk you to the living room, that you regained your focus.  "What about my job, my life?  Tony, what about the nanoparticles in my system?" you asked quickly, as he sat both of you on the couch and tucked you into his body as if you fit there all along.

"The nanoparticles stay, I'm afraid.  Like I said, they have good features and bad.  Hopefully with time and trust the unsavory features can be disabled.  As for your job and life . . . I won't interfere with your job if you wish to remain where you are.  Your life however . . .  I would hope you'd be willing to make room in it for our new family."  Trying not to tick him off, it was your turn to reign in your temper however once Tony uttered his next words.  "Hey perhaps you could tell me about some of the hobbies my money has allowed you to pursue."

"What, you mean there are things the nanoparticles and your Annoying Inquisitor failed to find out about me?"

"Y/N, you know some of the things I've done to get you, as well as what I'm willing to do to keep you.  So please make life easier on yourself, park the attitude and tell me some of the things I don't know."

Thinking through what he told you, you sadly realized that at the present time Tony did indeed have the upper hand in all aspects of your survival.  Swallowing any retort that would more than likely result in some form of retaliation, you gently freed yourself from his grasp and pulled your feet up onto the couch before answering.  "Shooting, Kayaking, Tennis, Hiking, Rock climbing, Restoring Classic Cars and Riding." you quickly rattled off.  Seeing the grin that appeared on his face and relating it to the last activity you named, you cringed as you reached forward and slapped him on the upper arm.  “Ugh, it's Horseback riding you ass.  God is everything with you sexual in nature."

You got your answer however, when he grabbed hold of your arm, pulled you towards him and pressed his lips securely against yours.  Finally letting you up for air, he positioned you on his lap with your back resting against his chest and his arms around your waist.  "Only where you're concerned darling and by the way I'd never have taken you for someone who was into classic cars."

"I'll have you know your money, as you like to remind me, has enabled me to purchase and restore quite a few classics." you replied, while trying to maneuver away from his roaming hands and lips.

"So how come you didn't just drive off in one of them when you left me three days ago?  Would have given you quite the head start."

Feeling your frustration growing you couldn't keep the venom out of your reply.  "Ugh I already told you, this infatuation of yours was supposed to blow over which meant I wouldn't have to leave my life, my friends or my car collection behind."  With that you struggled once more against his hold but unfortunately it held fast.

Moving you slightly so you now sat solely on his left thigh, Tony pressed down on your hips while simultaneously sliding you back and forth.  The friction this created against your clit didn't take long for the now usual sensation to begin building in your core.  Added to this the kisses he placed on your neck and down to your shoulders, along with the degrading things he whispered in your ear and the next thing you knew you were reaching for the edge as every muscle in your lower regions pulled tighter and tighter.

"Oh fuck, Tony, stop please.  I'm gonna . . . ahh."  Now nibbling on your pulse point, all words left you as your release hit you and you felt the moisture leak from you and stain both your panties and Tony's sweatpants.

"Well look at what my dirty girl did.  Now it's my turn."  And before you could protest or do anything to stop him, Tony threw you down on the couch, ripped your panties clean off and buried his head between your spread legs.  Lapping and sucking your now slick folds while shoving two fingers inside you, you couldn't stop the sinful moans that left your lips or the way your hands found themselves entangled in his hair.  Smirking against your folds as you gave yourself over to the pleasure building again from his skillful ministrations, it didn't take him long to get you hovering over the edge once more.

And hover you did . . . just as you were about to come for a second time, Tony pulled back and smiled a most devious smile when you looked up at him and whined.  "Tony please make me come.  Please, please, please." you begged, tears all but falling from your eyes.

Leaning forward to kiss the lips you had previously been chewing on, Tony quickly removed his pants and lining himself up with your entrance, bottomed out as his mouth swallowed the gasp that escaped your lips.  "Oh darling, you're absolutely perfect as always.  Just imagine how beautiful you will look spread out before me all round with our child."

If you had any retort planned, it was completely lost when Tony shifted your legs and hit that glorious spot inside you that had you seeing stars.  Thrusting harder and faster, his hand moved to circle your clit and you felt yourself reaching for the edge once again.  This time however you felt the familiar power building inside you and the possible outcome that awaited you.  "Tony please . . . slow down . . . ahh, it's too much.  I'm gonna . . . Oh god."

"It's okay Y/N, trust me.  You're safe darling, just let go.  I'll be here with you the whole time."  With that, he continued his relentless pounding of your pussy and all rational thought left you as you finally listened to both him and your body and allowed all your cares to melt away.  Crying out as Tony pulled almost all the way out and thrust back in while pinching your clit, you once again weren't conscious when your walls clamped his shaft like a vice as rope after rope of warm cum shot out and painted your walls.

                   *************

True to his word, you woke shortly after nestled on the couch with Tony gently stroking your hair.  "Hey gorgeous girl, how are you feeling?"

"Okay I guess, even though I've now passed out twice in the past few hours.  Perhaps you should consider taking me to a doctor." you suggested, even though you knew nothing would come of it.

"Darling I don't mean to brag, but you and I both know passing out from a powerful orgasm is not something that requires a doctor.  Now would you rather a bath or a shower before bed baby?"

"I think a bath might be nice.  Wait, am I to assume there's a bath here big enough to enable you to join me?"

"Of course silly girl." he grinned at you as he jumped off the couch and held out his hand to help you up.  "I'm surprised and offended you even have to ask."

Taking his hand, you had to grab onto his shoulder instead to steady yourself as you still felt a bit shaky on your feet.  Sensing this, Tony quickly and easily picked you up and next thing you know he placed you in the bathroom attached to what was originally your bedroom.  "Please tell me you'll behave yourself if I get in there with you." you questioned as Tony filled the bath while you made use of the toilet, not caring that he was right there with you.

"Of course I will darling, scout's honor." he smiled, holding up his hand in a salute.

"Seriously, do you honestly expect me to believe you were ever a boy scout?" you scoff as he lowered himself into the bath before reaching out to help you in.

"No, I don't really expect you to believe anything I tell you.  But that doesn't mean I won't spend the rest of our lives together trying to convince you."  With that he nudged you forward until your feet hit the other end of the bath and then leaned you back to rest against his chest before wrapping his arms around you.  Sinking into both his embrace and the warm water, you slowly relaxed for what felt like the first time since this whole ordeal had started.  Eventually washing each other and retiring to bed, you closed your eyes and let your cares slip away as sleep easily claimed you.

Tagging:- @nsfwsebbie @hoseokchild @gotnofucks @ironlady1993 @floatingdaisy7 @taintedgenre @buttercandy16 @kind-of-crazy-butthatsokay , sorry if I missed anyone.

#dark!tony stark x reader

[mwolf0epsilon]

Norman finds out Joey abuses Sammy. How? And what does he do ?

Warning for Joey Drew being a verbally and physically abusive dickhead, Norman being a little voyeuristic, and canon typical violence.

Summary: Despite his imposing size and general weirdness, Norman Polk had a very soft heart...

---

Growing up with a militaristic family had shaped Norman Polk into one of the most capable people to ever work at Joey Drew Studios. He had a variety of skill sets that could cover a lot of general tasks in the studio itself, from handyman to mechanic work, to a bit of plumbing and a lot of heavy lifting. On days he didn't have anything to record, Norman would either find himself organizing the projector storage area, or carrying boxes full of reels, as well as lugging around those damn soup vending machines Drew had splurged large sums of money on (what a waste, he'd seen Grant's notes, he felt for the poor accountant).

In the earlier days of the studio, when Henry was still around, he'd been akin to a godsend in Joey's eyes. Cheap labour and little to no care about the workload.

Now that he had a more set position he helped where he could when asked. Yet, for all his usefulness, everyone in the studio considered him to be a bit of a creep.

Granted, he had done that to himself. His dear ma had always told him he had a bad habit of sticking his nose where he shouldn't, and his older sister had flicked his ears whenever he'd snuck up on her to eevesdrop on her conversations with that boy from across the street she clearly fancied.

"Quiet as a hunting jaguar and twice as observant", his pop would say with pride. His sisters all used to scoff and say he was just a snoop trying to get them in trouble.

Of course he never told on any of them, because that wasn't his intention. No, he simply had an insatiable curiosity that lead to him creeping about in the dark places, where none could see him.

It was something that followed him into adulthood and into the studio.

Quiet as a mouse he got around and saw things. Things no one could even dream he knew about them. Like the contents of Grant's locked filing cabinets, the bottle of whiskey Lacie hid in her toolbox, Thomas Connor's favourite sandwich (peanut butter and jelly, cut in triangle shapes), the conversations Susie had with herself in different voices to warm up for recordings, the rather interesting discussions between Jack and Sammy, Wally's frustration with his memory issues, even the few times he'd caught sight of Bertrum Piedmont being less than appropriate in a workplace bathroom (for his age, Norman had to say the man had restraint and stamina to be able to fiddle with himself for so long unnoticed). Info he could easily use to humiliate or even bribe a few people. But he wouldn't of course... Despite his imposing size and general weirdness, Norman Polk had a very soft heart. One that could fit all these misfits.

Which is why it physically hurt him when he noticed things changing. And not for the better either.

The studio was a mess from day one due to Joey clearly having poor management skills. Things tended to go a little haywire at times, and throwing money at something until it worked didn't solve anything in the end. When the war propaganda started popping up, stuff got way worse. More than half the staff enlisted, leaving Joey to hire women to cover for his losses. And god did Joey Drew hate women.

Norman had been repulsed by all the things he caught his boss saying and doing in the presence of the female staff. The looks of discomfort and masked anger left a bitter taste in his mouth and he cursed his own sneakiness for leaving him without a reasonable way to tell him off for it. How could he know if he wasn't in the room to witness it? How could he just come out and say he was in the walls watching his peers like some creep?

The few who caught on to him observing them often looked at him in disgust. An entire studio of angry women turned against him wouldn't do his sanity no good.

Conflicted mind aside, the new hires weren't the only changes. The few who remained weren't doing any better. If anything there was a decline in behavioral patterns due to an influx of work.

Grant became quieter, more anxious. He saw less of the man on lunch breaks and found him chugging coffee in his office just mumbling numbers to himself like his life depended on it.

Wally's hostility towards Thomas was escalating to the point he'd dragged Shawn Flynn into the mess. A stolen tool belt, a match of the blame game, and an irate Irishman were not good things.

Susie had been replaced, and her subsequent upset at losing a spot she'd adored was affecting her side character voice work. She also acted outright hostile towards the replacement and to Sammy of all people.

Speaking of which, both Sammy and Jack looked tired and had constant migraines from working with the band all day. While he saw little of Jack, he noted that Sammy was behaving in a rather aggressive manner to anyone who so much as inconvenienced him (Buddy had only been trying to be nice and immediately he'd gotten Sammy's full fury on day one of knowing him).

Lacie was murmuring paranoid mambo jumbo about that one creepy bendy robot thing moving and watching her (he'd never seen it do such a thing, and he'd spent a good part of a morning staring at it).

Bertrum's mood had darkened after an argument with Joey, and even the damn dancer they'd hired a month or so ago was going about hiding stuff behind toilets. If that wasn't disgusting Norman didn't know what was... Some of these people lacked the decency to clean after themselves so there was no way he'd take a peek himself.

The studio was, for a lack of better words, becoming a bit of a circus act.

So really, it shouldn't have surprised him when he'd stumbled upon an alarming sight in Drew's office.

There was a particular vent that lead to a nice and big crawlspace between the ceiling of Joey's office and the floor of the room above. Norman liked to eat lunch there, nice and quiet and with a vantage point to look down at Joey's desk, where he'd be writing the most pitiful letters to his investors.

It was fun to watch the bastard degrade himself when he often degraded those around them instead. That day Norman had expected to find just that, not Joey holding Sammy by the neck and squeezing it tight while the poor music director squirmed uselessly in his grasp.

Naturally de'd frozen in shock, staring through the crack he used to observe his less than favourite protagonist, watching the scene unfolding like something out of them novels his wife liked to read. Murder mystery stuff.

Joey Drew was choking the life out of one of his first employees, while hissing the most cruel and deplorable things imaginable. Once in a while he'd release his grasp when Sammy's face would start turning a horrid shade of blue, then continue to choke him and verbally assault him once the guy reinflated his lungs. The process carried on for at least five minutes before Norman could take no more.

Food abandoned to the mice, he crawled all the way back out and made his way to Drew's office. He slammed his fist on the door before opening it, refusing to wait for an answer.

Joey had released Sammy in the time it took for Norman to get out and back. The blond just barely composing himself while Joey played the part of a saintly boss, sitting behind his desk with a calm and peacefully look on his face.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Polk?" The devil of a man asked, with that false sweet tone he used when addressing his more naive employees. Sammy refused to look at anyone, instead fixing the creases on his shirt and pinning his loosened hair into a messy ponytail.

Caught red-handed, Norman didn't know what to say. Thankfully Wally was a saving grace in that respect.

"FIRE IN THE BAND ROOM! THE DANG PROJECTOR EXPLODED!"

"The music sheets!" Sammy practically shoved past them both to run to the aid of the few pieces that had survived any encounters with the faulty ink pipes. Wally followed, leaving Norman to stare at Joey.

The look in Drew's eyes told him he knew perfectly well why Norman had come here.

"Best be less obvious about your hobbies Mr. Polk..."

"Why Mr. Drew, I haven't a faintest clue what yous is on about... Just comin' ta tell ya the projector was no good no more."

"Right... The projector. Hopefully the projectionist doesn't end up the same. There's only so much a soft heart can take, hm?" The implications of his words were a little unsettling, but thus far Drew was more bark than talk.

"Resortin' to threats now, are we? Can ya really afford ta lose anyone else?" Not to mention it'd be odd to just let him go after years of working at the studio. People would ask questions.

"If I could afford to lose the best damn artist this studio ever saw, I can definitely afford to lose a nosy projectionist." He meant those words. He really did. Norman could sense the malice behind them. So he hit back harder.

"Henry did the right thing leavin' your sorry ass behind."

He got out as soon as the paperweight flew his way. He'd definitely pay for that later, but it felt good to at least spare Sammy from Joey's wrath.

Soft heart and all that...

A soft heart that would inevitable have an axe buried in it, brandished by the very same person he'd been trying to help.

Life didn't much care for soft people, it seemed.

#Eps Writes: #Fanfic #Bendy and the Ink Machine #BATIM #Norman Polk #Sammy Lawrence #Joey Drew

[writeuntilyourhandshurt]

Put That Book Down.

"Oh fuck." Artezia whispered slowly, backing away from Leya, who was rolling on her back, very much ready to attack the man. He just sighed. "Okay, give- no, don't look at me like that." Leya simply stared. "Give me the mistletoe back." She didn't react. "God I can't deal with you." He dropped his shoulders, and made his way to Levi's room, knocking softly onto her door. Upon her soft invite, he walked in.

"Put that book down and come help me." He leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, a knowing smile ever present on his plum lips.

"What? Why?" 

Artezia smirked.

"Dew's cat. She got ahold of the mistletoe. And soon enough she will make her way to the tree I managed to hide. Now, stop staring at me like I'm going to ask you to make gingerbread houses and come help me."

Levi groaned.

"Why dont you just ask Andrew?"

"Andrew is busy knitting. I wouldn't want to interrupt his hobbies. Besides, seeing you angry is way funnier. I feel bad for the boy, but your presence is more enjoyable." 

"Fucking, okay fine-" Levi sighed herself off the bed, and let Artezia lead her to the living room. As soon as she walked in, Leya dropped the mistletoe making her way over to Levi, purring loudly.

"Oh, she likes everyone in this house aside for me." He rolled his eyes and made his way to the mistletoe, picking it up and letting it float to the ceiling, watching it hang itself. 

Levi picked up the cat, cradling her in her arms and scritching under her chin. 

"Do you still need me or did you bring me here just to show off your magic." 

Artezia's smirk remained, but his eyebrows shot up. 

"What do you take me for, my dear Miss L. I asked you out here for multiple reasons. The first one, of course, that...uh, very kind cat, and second… The Tree. The Christmas Tree. I don't celebrate it, Christmas. Mostly because of my birthday. I think it's stupid. However I know multiple people in this house do celebrate it. So they deserve to have a tree. Now, will you please help me with this? Unfortunately I've never done this, so I need help." Of course, spending most of his life on the streets, and then having to celebrate the end of the year by putting on shows for gape-mouthed onlookers left him with little to no understanding of Christmas. It was a foreign concept to him. A time of happiness, when people have to be nice to each other, even if just conditioned. It is a start, he thought, but he knew that regardless of the implications of "having to be good," nobody actually WAS good. Nobody cared. People will always be hungry animals, clawing at each other's throats for every little crumb of validation, money or power they might get. He hated humans, but he hated suffering even more. Which is why he agrees with Christmas, as he understood it, anyway. He didn't know about the baby Jesus. Nor did he care. 

"Jee, okay. Well, bring the beast out. Let's see what tree you picked." At that Artezia nodded, a rather big pine flowing into the living room, and propping itself in the corner, in perfect view to anyone that came in.

"Will this one work?" He asked, proud of the tree he picked. 

"Holy fuck, where did you find that thing?? Does Vezuvia even have these kinds of trees?" Levi looked at it, mouth agape. 

"I don't s'ppose they do. It cost someone a trip to the south to fetch this bad boy. Thank Nuel for helping with setting it up." He lined a bunch of decorations on the table, all made of silver, gold and glass. All painted beautifully. "And also thank Nuel for sending us some decorations from the palace. Nadia also helped, which, we should thank Samuel for. He's the one that sneaked all of these out of the palace from under Lucio's nose. Who was kept busy by London." He looked at Levi, handing her a globe. "We made a whole plan to be able to get these. Don't let them go to waste.~" He picked one for himself, and placed it in the front of the tree. 

"Fuck, okay, didn't know James Bond was in town. Why didn't y'all invite me? I have my shadows, you know?" She started decorating. 

"I personally wanted to surprise you. I'm still not sure if I failed or not." He chuckled, wrapping tinsel around the tree. 

She scoffed, simply punching him playfully in the shoulder. 

"Fuckface." 

"Oh, sorry, L, did you say something? I didnt hear you quite clearly." 

"Yeah, whatever you say, Arty." Now it was Levi who smirked. 

Artezia simply paused, his eyebrows twitching together. His right eye also twitched. 

"Not during the holidays." He smiled. "Let's just make this tree look as good as us." He winked at her, and continued decorating. As time went on, the tree filled with all sorts of decorations, some more exotic, some more local each one placed nicely in the tree. Including some small sculpted figurines, in the form of everyone's familiars. All that was left was the star. 

"Now, the star. Levi, will you do the honors?" 

She smirked again.

"Why, because I'm taller than you?" 

"Why, yes. Because you are taller than me." Artezia blushed, crossing his arms after handing her the star. Star which was something he made. It was thrumming with powerful magic in Levi's hands, glowing faintly in reaction to her shadows. After planting it on top of the tree, Levi came down with a soft "oof". 

Little did she know, she was right under the mistletoe Artezia placed earlier. 

"Beautiful." The man said, looking at Levi rather than the tree. And eagerly closing the place between them, he kissed her on the cheek. He could only chuckle at the blush spreading upon Levi's face, and brace for impact at the elbow fast approaching him. He slid out of the way of the incoming impact, but she was quicker, her knee meeting with his stomach. He doubled over, hugging himself, on his knees, and looking up at her. He wheezed.

He smiled through the pain, helping himself on the table and standing up. 

"Watch the tree." He said, biting his lip. The tree lit up with small specks of light that surrounded it, coming from the star on top. They all sparkled faintly in the light of the living room. But come nightfall, they would give enough light to illuminate the whole tree. 

"Holy shit Arty- that's- wow. Fuck you." 

"What a way to thank me." He smiled again. "A lot of thing went wrong in my life. But you're the one thing that went right. Thank you for being here. And helping me, even though you didn't want to." He looked at her, something fond in his eyes. "You truly are the best." 

"Oh, fuck off." She said, pulling him into a hug. 

"Hm, no. I don't think I will." He replied, hugging her back. 

(WELL HERE WE ARE. IM SORRY I SLACKED OFF ON THIS. AND I AM ALSO SORRY FOR IT BEING UTTERLY SHIT. I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS @trash-onthe-inside !!!! YOU ARE B A B Y TODAY, NO MORE GREMLIN, SO TAKE THIS FLUFF. YOU DESERVE IT.♡♡♡♡

-V. Brooks🌌)

[goliath-de-senfina-sango]

Local Teenager has Trippy Dream and Realizations About Family Importance, Family of Local Geniuses not Aware of how Genius they Are, Deceased Poacher not very Smart, Attacks Local Ghost Hunters, Local Family Discusses the Importance of Failsafes

Voices, vaguely familiar and carrying warmth called out to him.  They called his name, the sound distant and irrelevant, so small it is lost to the hearts of stars singing deep beneath the soil.  Lost to the blooming nebulas staining the dark sky with color, miles upon miles of light and rivers of fire and the promise of something new.  Danny can almost hear the words and language they speak; something so close, so distant, something he has never known -- but they ring with such magnificent, terrible truth that he thinks, maybe he has always known them. Maybe they have always lived inside him, alongside the bones. These melodies, these words, that burn with such ferocious clarity that if he just spoke them aloud then the far would become near and he could reach out and pluck the stars from the sky and cradle them in his hands.

Danny woke up in his bed, surrounded by the warm press of his friends.  The music of his dreams fading to the farthest and darkest reaches of his mind and leaving Danny grasping at nothing for them.  So instead of the music he could barely hear the faintest notes of, Danny focused on his friends. His ears had grown so capable that with some focus he could hear even their heartbeats, and at the moment he was glad.  His friends’ pulses were a reassuring sound, as much as the feeling of them pressed against his body and breathing right next to him on either side - reassurance that they were truly there.

Slipping between the rhythmic dances of their ever vibrating molecules, Danny got out of the bed and landed on his feet near silently.  A glance at the clock told him it was 7:10 AM and Danny was beyond glad that it was Saturday. Holding in a yawn, he walked straight to the bathroom, did his routine, and headed downstairs in just his binder and boxers, as everyone in the household had seen him in already.

Or so he thought.  There was a woman in a purple suit with a tie and curly hair sitting in one of the chairs in his living room, holding up an electronic recorder.  And his parents and sister were on the couch, everyone fully dressed. And staring at him. In his underwear. Considering he just let loose a string of swears therein, he hoped the lady didn’t speak Mandarin.

Three minutes later Danny came down in a purple shirt bearing the FMA logo on it and some sweat pants.  “Uh, hi?”

“Danny, I told you about this interview already,” Jazz said through grit teeth.  “This is Souda Ayodele from Genius magazine.” A quick look on the second layer of everything showed that her aura was one of angry beige bees.

Danny turned to stare at the reporter.  “Hi there.” Ms. Ayodele waved back, and Danny walked past the entire event to the kitchen.  “Eggs, or Cereal?” Danny hummed, before catching his mother’s voice pointing out that her focus was ghost hunting.  “Oh, this will be hilarious.” Grabbing cereal, a bowl, and milk, Danny used his intangibility to speed up getting everything together and grabbing a spoon.  He was on the couch in time to hear Jazz claim that ghost hunting was a hobby.

“What they’re really involved in is inventing.”  Jazz smiled, trying to steer the conversation to somewhere safe and normal.

“True, we do invent a majority of the time.  I’ve personally worked on improving the power sources for all of our things around Fentonworks.  Though, we do mechanical engineering as well,” Mom said as Danny ate his cereal.

Dad pulled out one of their holographic projectors and hit the button to let it float.  “I have a full inventory of our inventions right here actually! For instance-”

“Dr. Fenton” Ayodele said, clearly having been here long enough to know that if she didn’t just interrupt then Dad would keep talking.  “Pardon the interruption, but is that...device, um...floating?"

Dad and Mom blinked, looking at each other. Even Danny and Jazz cocked their heads at the question. Their parents had been toying around with hover engines for years, what was the big deal about that?

"Well, yes," Mom began. "That's a patented Fenton Gravity Inverter."

"And...how much can your...um, Gravity Inverter lift?" The reporter asked again.

"Approximately one metric ton, depending on the model." Dad shrugged. "But the Gravity Inverter is only a small part of the FentonWorks itinerary, such-”

"I'm sorry, but just to confirm: your laboratory has successfully created a device which can lift a ton of weight into the air without the energy requirements being prohibitive?" The reporter asked finally.

"Yes," Mom explained slowly as if talking to a child. "It's a relatively simplistic application of physics. Both Danny and Jazz, our children, have been building them for us for years while my husband and I focused on more advanced applications of our research. The Gravity Inverter is, quite literally, 'kids stuff.' In fact, I think Danny built the model that we eventually decided on using for the Fenton Holoprojector."

“A waste of an afternoon since I coulda been working on my paints,” Danny muttered around his cereal.

Ayodele turned to the kids fully.  “Mr. and Ms. Fenton, is what your parents saying true?"

Danny shrugged, clearing his throat as he nodded. "Ah, sure. I mean, those things are pretty easy, I could almost build one in my sleep nowadays.  I’m even using one for a side project I’m doing with a friend. They're not like Physics Cancelers or anything, right Jazz?"

"I guess they're pretty easy," Jazz shrugged, uncomfortable with being the center of attention. "Mom and dad only ask us to work with the safe stuff anyway. None of this is too complicated." Jazz turned to her parents, "If you're using the Model II that Danny built for the Projector, why did you want me to put together a Model VI last week?”

Mom smiled, "Oh, that's for the Specter Speeder, sweetie. We'll be showing that off a little later.  At any rate, though, we would like to get on with the demonstration now. Jack, honey, if you would?"

“Rightio Mads!”  Dad pulled out a remote from his pocket and a projection of an oblong, missile-like object coated in shiny metal and streamlined with a flaming F decal on both sides.  The projection spun in the air at Dad’s press of a button.

"The Fenton Ghost Zone Probe," Mom began, “When finished, will be launched into the Ghost Portal and take numerous measurements including temperature, ecto-thermography, radiospectronomy, and more...of course, this will include video and audio data!"

“Did you say… Ghost Portal?”  The woman looked remarkably uneased by the implications of there being a ghost portal, which was understandable.  Danny wasn’t a fan of the fact himself. Just realizing how easily he slid through matter without even a second thought had Danny shuddering.

“Yup!  We can’t exactly show ya that one just yet,” Dad said with a sigh.  “We didn’t prepare for a presentation proper. We can, however, describe to you exactly how it works!”

And so Dad did just that and Danny tuned him out, eating his cereal since he’d heard this all before about six times.  Instead, he focused on the look of mounting horror on Jazz’s face and counted the seconds before she interrupted Dad again.

“The portal isn’t what we’re here to talk about, Dad!”  Wow, a full 36 seconds. Danny was impressed. “Can we talk about your work in energy?  A self-regenerating energy source?”

“Ectoplasm, Jazz.”  Danny pointed with his spoon.  “They’re converting some of the nuclear batteries to use reactions with ectoplasm instead of the usual stuff.”

“Nuclear… batteries?”  The poor reporter looked so lost and Danny had to wonder why.  Did he say something about ghosts? Well beyond ectoplasm but everyone knew ghosts were made of ectoplasm.  “Do the two of you work at a nuclear facility?”

“No?”  Mom frowned.  “We have nuclear batteries in our ghost hunting technology.”

“The entire facility is powered by a reactor under the labs.”  Danny rolled his eyes. “And solar panels on the roof and a backup geothermal generator.  Actually, all of our windows are solar panels too. I’m pretty sure Mom and Dad are just looking for ways to replicate those effects with ectoplasm?”

“Like we told you, Danny, it’s far more efficient in storage and output of energy than any material we’ve found on earth or any other dimension.”

“I know Mom, I just… I dunno, expected something new?”  Danny shrugged and slurped up the milk from his now-empty bowl, relishing in Jazz’s glare.  “Well, I’m gonna be upstairs having fun.” It was then that Danny spotted Tucker and Sam on the stairs, Sam in her black jeans and a Dumpty Humpty shirt she left last time she stayed over and Tucker in a button-up of Danny’s.  “Guys, c’mon, ignore the interview we’ve got funner stuff to do.”

“That’s not a word, Danny.”  Sam rolled her eyes. “This explains why English teachers hate you.”

“Oh please,” Danny chuckled as he headed into the kitchen, waiting for Sam and Tucker to grab their breakfast.  “The teachers love me. Lancer’s just a pain.”

“Dude,” Tucker said as he grabbed a bag of bacon bits like they were chips and started eating.  “You guys have nuclear reactors in your house?”

“Well not in this house specifically but yeah,” Danny shrugged.  “Did you think we were on the city’s power grid or something?”

“Actually honey we’re supplying power to the whole town,” Mom called out, displaying that all mothers were supernatural entities that could hear anything.

“Huh.  Well, there ya go.”  Danny shrugged and headed to and up the stairs.  Sam and Tucker soon followed, Sam holding a bowl full of fruit.  “Did you put that there yesterday?”

“Yes, you need healthier food in this house, Danny - also why am I only just learning that you guys power the entire town?”  Sam was scowling at him, and Danny wasn’t sure what he’d done this time.

“Because I only just found out?”

“What did you mean by This house, Danny?”  Tucker sat on Danny’s bed while Sam got into his desk chair.  “Do you guys have more than one house?”

“Yeah, FentonWorks is the entire block.”  Judging by his friends’ expressions, Danny hadn’t told them this.  “I guess it never came up?” Danny held up a game disc. “Did you think I built our HorrorStations in my room?”  Danny slid the disc into the hand made console, grabbed his controller, and sat next to Tucker.

Before Tucker could respond, Danny felt a chill run up his spine, into his lungs and past his lips and he looked around on the second realm, but he was too late.  The robot Sam had described appeared, right behind Danny, arm aimed point-blank at him. A net shot out and tangled around Danny’s body, throwing him off the bed and into his own console.  In seconds, all three of them were bound in blue nets. “Hello, Ghost Child.”

“Who are you?”  Danny arched a brow.  He needed a moment to pull that power of brilliant, life granting stars into his muscles.  If he transformed inside the house for a fight his parents would not only notice but come up and see his ghost form instead of him.

“I am Skulker,” the robot said, holding up a holographic projection of a cage filled with green abominations unto all gods Danny could think of.  “A collector of things rare and unique. And you, ghost child, are that and more.” Skulker laughed, far more dramatically than he deserved to, and took a step, Danny’s rocket cracking and shattering into pieces.

“That’s my fucking rocket!”  Green fire filled Danny’s veins and he tore the net off of himself, rising to put some dents in the robot.  But when he reached into himself proper, that ice-cold void, heatless and full of lights that no other human being could ever claim to see, he was burned and staggered backward.  “I built that! Just like this!” The Wrist Ray™ struck Skulker in the chest, burning a hole in him, and Danny felt that fire drain out of him into the weapon.

Sam and Tucker behind him used their own wrist rays to cut through the nets, and Sam’s shot from her crouch on the ground sailed over Skulker’s ducking head, leaving a dent in Danny’s wall.  Skulker hit a button on his wrist and the nets began to snap and crackle. Danny reached out and snatched Tucker away before he could get zapped, and kicked the net away from Sam’s feet. He let go just fast enough that neither of them felt the shocks when they raced up into his body and forced his every muscle to tense up - nerves ablaze with screams that he couldn’t make.

Tucker raised his Wrist Ray ™  but Skulker shot it off of his wrist and he yelped.  “Holy shit!”

“Come now, ghost boy, I expected this to be far more of a challenge.  And yet here you are, easily cowed by the merest targeting of your little friends?”  Skulker’s words barely reached Danny’s ears. All he could hear was the rushing of his blood and pain.  Just as the current died down, Danny’s vision blacked out when Sam’s Wrist Ray shot missed the netting itself and hit his foot instead.

The door opened with a bang.  “GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY SON!”  BOOM Skulker was blasted back by Dad’s bazooka into the wall, and Danny’s vision slowly returned to him.  “Jasmine, take your brother to the infirmary! Kids, get out of here!”

Skulker launched a net at Dad but Mom came to the rescue with her own cannon fire.  It struck Skulker right in the net launcher and ripped off a piece of paneling on his arm.  With a snarl, Skulker took in his surroundings and reached down to grab something purple, before fading from sight and quickly vacating Danny’s range of extra senses.

And soon that didn’t matter because Danny was being rushed down to the infirmary and he could hear Sam and Tucker telling his parents what had happened, ignoring the reporter entirely.  Letting out a cough, Danny turned to Jazz and flashed a grin. It felt more like a grimace. “Hey, I stopped them from embarrassing you in that interview right?”

“You’re a disaster, little brother.”  Jazz took a breath and carded a hand through his hair like she always did when he was hurt.  “We’re gonna get you better, and when you’re better you’re gonna explain to me what the hell you were thinking.”

“Sure thing, Spazz.”  Danny chuckled and sighed.  “I think I need a nap.”

Danny reaches out, eyes transfixed on the distant hearts of stars. One whisper is all it needs. He could do it. He can. If he could just shape the cold clay of his lips.

Danny opened his eyes to the sight of Jazz, Tucker, Sam and his Mom all sitting around the infirmary and doing things.  Sam was looking through one of her scrapbooks while Tucker did something on one of his PDAs - didn’t Skulker fly off with the other one?  Jazz was reading a book about trauma and Mom was checking something on a holographic display. Everything was unnervingly quiet, and for a moment Danny considered going back to sleep.  Rare and unique.  Enough of a freak that some ghost would come hunting me down just to say to the rest of the Underworld ‘hey look, I caught the weirdo!’ regardless of who got in his way or what I have to say about it.  Horologium, with how I rip apart ghosts that piss me off bad enough, I might as well be one of the weird Things that he was showing off in his little hologram.

Instead of dwelling on how his very fucked up existence that shouldn’t have been was putting his family in danger now, he sat up.  His muscles were sore and stiff, and he let out a pained groan from the action, but Danny was at least relieved that he could move at all.  “Okay, remind me never to touch another live wire again.” He saw his friends wince and shrugged before wincing again himself.

“Danny!  Oh, honey don’t try to move too much, alright?”  Mom came to his side in the blink of an eye, checking him over for any signs of electrical burns.  “Oh Danny, baby, are you alright?”

“I’m about as sore as Zephyrus was about Hyacinthus, but I think I’ll be alright.  Though, I’d love to never have to deal with that again.” Danny let out a sigh and laid his head back. I’d also love to be done with this getting better thing.  What was it that Mom and Dad said about ectoplasm? It can absorb electromagnetic energy?   Danny closed his eyes and reached out for the dangling threads of buzzing whines in the lights and sockets, pulling it into himself clumsily.  He bit back a yelp and felt his arm practically convulse when the electricity went the wrong way. Note to self, don’t try that in human form again.  Human bodies are complicated.

“Flex your muscles slowly and methodically, Danny,” Tucker said.  “Gotta get your blood flowing. And check for nerve damage, cause electricity is horrible for the body.  Speaking of, thank you for pulling us out of those nets."

Sam came over and held out a hand, looking slightly unsure as to what she wanted to do.  "Gods, I'm so sorry for shooting you in the foot."

Danny laughed, ignoring the pain of tensing muscles because that was the last thing anyone needed to apologize for as far as Danny was concerned.   "You got the net off yourself by blasting it so you blasted the net on my foot, it's cool. Though, if we end up netted again, please just grab something non-conductive to knock the net away."

"There will be no Next Time, pumpkin.  The anti-ghost defense grid is up and running and no nasty ghost robot is getting in here to target you."

"Thanks, Mom."  Danny let out a sigh and felt something uncurl in relief.  He was safe at home, at the very least. "So Jazz, I think I owe you a thought process."

"That is correct, Second."

"Well, False Maturity, I was thinking, 'that button has something to do with those nets. If I get them away from Sam and Tuck, he can't hurt them with them.' And so I tried doin that."

"My boy the hero!"  Dad came barreling into the room and immediately scooped Danny up into a hug.  "Gave us all a scare! That ecto scum will think twice before trying to attack FentonWorks now!"

“I’ve been told… lungs are important.”  Danny hugged back anyway of course, he wasn’t going to leave this hug ever.

“Mom, Dad,” Jazz piped up.  “The things that come out of the portal are clearly dangerous.  One attacked Danny in his room! Why haven’t we shut down the portal yet?”  The squeeze of Dad’s hug got uncomfortably tighter.

“We’ve tried, Jazzerincess, can’t get the darn thing to turn off.”  Danny felt his blood run even colder.

“What?” Mom sighed and ran a hand over her face.  “We unplugged it, cut all the power from the portal but it seems to be self-sustaining.  All we can do is block it up with those blast doors.”

For several moments there was silence while everyone digested that they had no solid way of keeping the ghosts out of their world.  And I'm the one who opened the door in the first place.

Sam cleared her throat.  "Drs. Fenton? I know who the ghost is.  He told us during his monologing he died putting down the last female purple back gorilla in a hunt.  Name’s Hunter Grosvenor.” Sam sneered around the name as though it were the most disgusting piece of meat she'd had to swallow in her life.

Danny covered his mouth with his hand, curling his fingers into a fist slowly.  Blowing air into it, he resisted the urge to growl. Tucker glared at the sky, daring Skulker to appear so he could dismantle him personally.  “I’ve not felt so incredibly violent in a while. I need videogames-"

"Actually," Tucker interrupted with a sigh.  "Your Horrorstation broke in all the fighting.  The scrap heap also stole my PDA."

"First he gives my best friend a burn on her stomach, then he breaks my models and now my videogames?  When I next see Skulker, I'm going to burn a hole through his faceplate." Danny groaned, laying his head back.   "Can I get a moment with Sam and Tuck?"

"Of course, son."  Dad set him down and ruffled his hair, more gentle with Danny than he ever remembered him being.  The air around Dad was vaguely orangish and Danny let the tiniest bit of ectoplasm reach his eyes.  The orange air around his dad, probably an aura, was tinged with echoes of sour fear and boiling anger that had Danny ready to crawl out of his skin, grab a gun and hunt Skulker down himself.  "You kids go on and do that research project of yours! Mads and I will hunt down that putrid undead creep and rip it apart on a molecular level!"

Danny had never felt so conflicted about something his Dad had said.  On one hand, I'd love for him to destroy Skulker. On the other, the dehumanizing way he says it is disturbing as all hell.

Just as the Fenton Adults left the room, Dad turned around with a big grin.  "By the way Danny, I'm proud of you for looking out for your friends like that."

A wave of something brilliant and blue and love pride relief joy slammed into Danny and filled him from the inside out.  And as the door closed, Danny flexed his fingers and rolled his joints.  Danny stood up and stretched. "Holy shit guys, I think that Dad just healed me up a bit."

"Sweet.  Think he can spread that around or is that a You thing?"  Tucker looked ready to take notes since Danny didn't have his notebook on him.

Danny closed his eyes and focused, gently pulling that cool void up and letting it fill his eyes and ears and every nerve on his body.   He opened his eyes and Danny saw the world bathed in that extreme indigo-like color that seemed to come off of every person he looked at.  Looking closer, he noticed faint blue strings leading from him to his Dad and Mom and Jazz upstairs and a silver string leading to Tucker and Sam each.   Reaching out to grasp the one that he just knew belonged to Jazz Danny was floored by so potent and blended a mix of positivity, concern, and manic energy that he had to stumble back into the bed.  "Danny?"

"Just a me thing.  Definitely. I can see these… strings, connecting me to you guys and my family.  Like spider threads. But like, made of emotions?" He rubbed his temples and hummed.  "Ectoplasm is psychoreactive so maybe it's like, a connection between us made semi tangible to my ghost because of how much ectoplasm is normally around here?  You guys definitely got hit by ectoplasm in spades when the portal activated, so that explains why I can see it linking me to you guys too…"

"Hey.  Science boy."  Sam nudged his hip with her foot and Danny arched a brow at her.   "Save the theories for later. We need a game plan to deal with the guy as soon as possible.  Grovsner was a very efficient hunter if a sadistic bastard.”

Danny sighed and nodded, sitting back down.  “Well, what do we know about him?” Tucker began tapping away at his PDA, eyes moving quickly.

“I know that you’re probably not gonna find anything on the internet.  I had done a report on his barbaric treatment toward animals for an extra credit project and when I looked back for them, on all the same sites as before.  Nothing.” Sam groaned. “But, I do remember what it was he typically did on a hunt for a protected species. He had hunting dogs, laid all kinds of traps, the works.  I’m not sure what kind of things ectoplasm can do to a net besides making it gooier, but being able to phase into walls and crawl spaces where you usually go to is something he’s definitely going to take advantage of.”

“So my locker is probably gonna be rigged to explode, I have to worry about hell hounds, and he has nets that might fall on me on the way to the library or just to like, GameStop.”  Danny leaned back, closing his eyes. “That sounds fun.”

"You assume there are hell hounds," Tucker snorted.

"Of course there are."

"Because you so want there to be ghost dogs."

"Tucker.  Imagine it.  A dog that doesn't poop, just cuddles up with you and gives you infinite love."

"Don't all dogs go to Heaven, Danny?"

"I have strong evidence that there is no such thing as Heaven just like. A door down.  Literally past that wall over there."

"Fair enough."  Tucker sighed and laid his head back.   Then he sat straight up with a grin. "You know what's a great way of being harder to trap?"

"Intelligence?"

"Mobility, Sam.  If we finish those hoverboards we should be able to avoid most of his land traps!"  Danny and Tucker beamed at each other and high fived each other.

"I'm good to go on that!  Sam, wanna learn how to-"

"You guys can have your geek things, Danny, I'm heading upstairs to make use of all your handhelds."  Sam smiled and held her hands up, walking to the stairs. "Scream if you need me."

"Same to you!"  Danny grinned and headed to the door that lead to the main lab.

“You know how your gravity inverter™ works better than I do so I’m gonna work on like, an AI.  No, Danny don’t give me that look, it’s just for navigation, it isn’t self improving or anything like that.  I just want something to help me not crash into things when flying.”

#Danny Phantom #Danny Fenton #Tucker Foley #Sam Manson #Jazz Fenton #Jack Fenton #Maddie Fenton #Skulker #Hunter Grovsner #fanfiction #Phanfiction #fanPhiction #fanfic #Phanfic #fanPhic #PhanPhiction #PhanPhic #MCS #Monstrous Chosen Spellslingers #Rexy Writes

[kirbychan234]

Mountain Sound - Chapter 4

Written for @k2-week

Day 4 - Rain

Read it on AO3

“Yes Ma…”

A pause.

“No, I know, Ma. Trust me, I get it. I just had a few more things to look over for that test. I’m on my way home now.”

Kyle sighed as he listened to his mother go on about “the dangers of walking around at night”. He figured Shelia would know better than anyone that he knew all that, but she just had to be the doting mother hen sometimes to her superhero son.

Ugh. If this was what Kenny dealt with to warrant him calling Kite himself a mother hen, then he really owed him an apology. Kyle hoped he wasn’t that bad at least.

“I’m literally like ten minutes away from home, don’t worry. And I – Mom I wouldn’t be talking to you right this very second if I didn’t have my phone.” Kyle rubbed his temples, a habit he picked up from Stan. “Look, I got my raincoat and umbrella. The house is just around the corner. All I gotta do is-”

Kyle paused his speech as he turned said corner, stopping in his tracks. The shortcut home through the local playground was usually barren at this time…but not tonight, it seemed. The familiar orange parka made his heart skip a few beats, even if the coat was completely drenched by the rain.

He’d never met Kenny outside of costume before. What the hell was he doing here, in the pouring rain no less?

“Listen, Ma, I’ll call you back later, okay?” Kyle spoke quickly. “Something came up. Talk to you later.” And ignoring his mother’s protests of doing any kind of superhero nonsense tonight, Kyle hung up on her.

Oh, he’d pay for that later. Right now though, Kyle couldn’t care less. This was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Kenny was facing away from him, hadn’t even realized he was there. Kyle’s breath hitched when he realized he was softly singing a familiar tune, the same one Kite had heard the first time Kenny had sung for him.

Kyle took the moment to listen, still loving his voice even now. The rain only enhanced it. And yet it had a soft somber tone to it this time…

He’d heard of singing in the rain before, but this was ridiculous. Kenny could be mistaken for a drowned opossum at this point.

Kyle slowly walked over and moved his umbrella so it covered Kenny too. It wouldn’t matter much since Kenny was already soaked, but it was the thought that counted, right?

He watched Kenny jump in his seat when the downpour suddenly stopped over him. Kenny looked up at the umbrella, and then turned around to stare at him.

It was…weird to not see recognition in his eyes. It was suspicion instead. Kyle bit his lip; they were strangers. Kenny knew Human Kite, not Kyle. He had to remember that. “Hey,” he started with a small smile. “What the hell’re you doing out here? You’ll catch a cold, you know.”

Kenny stared at him, like he was reaching deep into his soul, untrusting. “…Thanks,” he finally replied, turning back around. “So will you if you stay out here.”

Touché, but still. Kyle moved a little closer. “Yeah, I’m on my way home. You should do the same.”

Kenny was silent, and Kyle almost thought he missed his answer because of the rain, but a single word soon caught his attention. “Can’t.”

One word that held so many implications. Human Kite could never get Kenny to open up about his home life, barring his siblings. Maybe Kyle could. “Why not?”

“I just can’t.” Still just as tight-lipped as ever. Kyle sighed and invited himself to sit next to his…friend? Crush? Boyfriend? He still wasn’t exactly sure where they stood, at least when he had his “mask” on.

He ignored the look Kenny gave him from behind his soggy hood. It would probably be funny if the situation didn’t feel so serious. “Come on,” Kyle urged. “That’s not an answer.”

Kenny rolled his eyes. He was almost a completely different person when he wasn’t sure if he liked you, Kyle observed. “Look, I don’t talk about my personal life with strangers, okay? I appreciate the concern, but-”

“How about this?” Kyle cut him off. He knew how Kenny’s mind worked by now. “I’ll tell you what I’m doing out here if you tell me why you are?” He smiled at him kindly. Why not use Kenny’s own tactic against him for once? “Someone who sings as well as you should be practicing somewhere nice, not out here.”

Even behind the hood, Kyle could tell he flattered Kenny at least a little. “You heard that?”

“Yeah. You’re really good, dude.”

“Thanks.” Wow, gratitude. Kyle considered that a step in the right direction. “You first.”

Oh? And he was complying? Kyle didn’t want this chance to pass him by. “I kinda spent way too much time at the library,” he explained. “My class is weird, and I needed to find a specific book because we have to “use a source that isn’t the internet” or whatever. So I lost track of time.”

Kyle laughed, and was pleased when he saw a ghost of a smile on Kenny’s face. “Then my mom calls me in a panic, like I wasn’t fifteen minutes from home. I swear she worries as a hobby or something.”

Then Kenny laughed. Kyle had missed it dearly. “Hey dude, at least your mom cares enough to worry.”

He probably meant it as a joke or something, but the implications of that sentence hit Kyle like a fucking truck. “What?”

Kenny looked as if he’d been caught doing something wrong. “Uh…”

“What’s that mean?”

“Oh nothing. Really, it’s-”

“Dude…” Kyle was concerned. He showed it, and Kenny paused in his excuse.

Was genuine care seriously that foreign to him that he had to pass all his troubles as nothing? Kyle felt his heart go even more out to this guy. It was unreal.

“Seriously…” Kenny looked away. “I’m just out here ‘cause my parents are wasted off their asses. Dad kicked me out of the house again.”

Kyle felt his heart drop at the nonchalant tone. “Again?”

“Yeah. Happens all the time.”

“Dude.” Kyle leaned forward. He was speaking before he even realized what he was saying. “If you need a place to at least keep dry-”

Kenny laughed again. “Sorry. My mom at least taught me not to go into strangers’ houses,” he chuckled. “But really, it’s fine. Like I said, happens all the time, and I’d rather be away from all the yelling anyway. My brother’s gonna text me when they’re all calmed down. Dad never remembers kicking me out, so.”

That didn’t make things much better, at least not where Kyle was concerned. “Dude, that…”

“It’s not a big deal.” Kenny shrugged. “I’ve been out here for like an hour, he’ll probably pass out soon and I’ll be outta here.” He nudged Kyle playfully. “Go home before you mom calls the cops or something.”

“She’ll be fine,” Kyle replied almost immediately. If Kenny wouldn’t come home with him, he could at least keep him company for a while.

It made Kenny smirk a little. “Wow, you’re a worrywart too. I guess you got your mom’s genes somethin’ fierce, huh?”

Kyle winced. He hated being compared to his mom, but he let it slide this time. It wasn’t like Kenny knew his mom anyway. “This happens a lot?” He asked a question of his own, ignoring Kenny’s.

It didn’t faze him, at least. “Mhm,” Kenny replied with a nod. “I’m just glad it’s me and not my sister, you know? I’d kick Dad’s ass if he made her come out here.”

He was such a fucking martyr, and Kyle found himself annoyed. Human Kite had told Kenny he’d make a good hero, sure, but there were lines to be drawn, and Kenny was already crossing them without looking back. “You keep saying shit like that. “It’s no big deal, happens all the time, glad it’s me and not someone else.” Jesus dude, don’t you care about yourself at all?”

Kenny stared at him, and Kyle stared right back, awaiting his answer. Neither of them noticed the rain slowly coming to a stop, and it felt like forever before a small ‘ping’ from Kenny’s phone broke the tense atmosphere.

They finally broke eye contact as Kenny checked his phone. “That’s him…” he mumbled as he pocketed the device. “Dad passed out like five minutes ago. I’d…better get going.”

The fact that Kenny hadn’t answered him troubled Kyle more than he would have liked to admit. “You-”

“Thanks for hanging out with me.” Kenny cut him off with a weak smile. “Take care of yourself. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”

He watched Kenny wave, turn around, and then walk off. Kyle stared after him, jaw set. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “You definitely will.”

#Kirby writes #south park #sp k2 week #sp k2 week 2019 #kitenny #a little bit of angst

[avani008]

So I watched Padmaavat....

(And I have thoughts. Who’s surprised?)

tl;dr: beautiful cinematography/costumes/people as to be expected from Bhansali, so much Islamophobia, so much bi/homophobia, and so much of a refusal to focus on the female characters, who are the only competent/likeable people in this whole thing.

(More of my subjective ranting behind the cut for spoilers)

Cleverer people than I have commented on the Islamophobia, misogyny, and bi/homophobia already, both on Tumblr and on the rest of the internet, so I won’t repeat their assessments except to add that I agree completely. It’s....pretty wince-worthy, especially given the irony of the protests surrounding this movie in the first place. I’m just going to add some of the thoughts that I had that I haven’t seen other people mention, because I don’t think I can improve on the thoughtful criticism already out there.

An addendum to the beautiful cinematography comment above: the movie starts with Ranveer bringing in the most ridiculous-looking CGI ostrich possible. There’s....absolutely no plot reason for this to be an ostrich, specially; it could have been any exotic creature or object. But yet, the random ostrich is there in all its glory, never to be mentioned again.

In hindsight, I should have taken this as a sign.

As I see it, the problem with Padmaavat is that there are the makings of what I would consider a really interesting movie (well, to me, at least) somewhere buried within it, only for these plot points to be ignored and dropped. For example, with regards to the Islamophobia! What many of the reviews don’t mention is that Khilji’s first wife, Mehrunissa, is an interesting and positive Muslim character! Who doesn’t get killed off! (And whose reaction to meeting Padmavati in the flesh is, IIRC, something along the lines of: “even angels would fall for your beauty, I can hardly blame my husband.”

Yes, the AU where they run off together and leave their terrible husbands just writes itself.)

Her relationship and reaction to Khilji’s rise is fascinating, as is the fact that in her last scene with Khilji, he....actually seems to have feelings for her, despite his terrible treatment of her throughout the film. Ranveer got 100% more interesting to me in this scene, where he was allowed to be an actual human being instead of a near-comedic caricature of the Evil Muslim, and Aditi Rao Hydari knocks it out of the park. 

So why not show Khilji’s part of the story through Mehrunissa’s perspective? And, if you must keep Khilji boorish bestial for whatever narrative reason, why not have all the other Muslim characters be civilized and complex as they would have been in real life, instead of these stupid narrative cut-outs of chicken-gnawing barbarians? In that case, it would be much easier to read Khilji’s portrayal as Mehrunissa’s biased perspective, rather than the disturbing political implications it holds.  Furthermore, instead of the film being a love triangle, the film could just as easily compare and contrast Padmavati--in a land far from her birthplace, surrounded by odd customs--and Mehrunissa--trapped in familiar surroundings turned upside down by her husband’s systemic slaughter of her family? If they must keep the jauhar, juxtaposing it with Mehrunissa’s survival and adding a plot arc for her where she decides to survive at all costs would do a lot of make it seem like Padmavati’s choice was a personal one for her, rather than The One Right Choice Every Woman Should Make.

(That said: guys, the jauhar scene is stomach-turning. There’s a pregnant woman and what looks like a preteen clearly featured, and despite the heroic music, all I felt was horror. Plus I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to all the non-kshatriya women in the fort? Or the male children? Or the farmers, who get a one-second mention of being brought inside to safety and then never mentioned again? Does anyone care about their well-being???)

Speaking of Padmavati--she surprised me, in being pretty great! Given Bajirao Mastani’s horribly shallow Mastani, I did not have high hopes, but Padmavati is actually smart! Allowed some measure of agency! Sure, once she marries, her “Singhal” (....in what way is that Sri Lanka, by the way? Deepika runs around in loose salwar kameez, hunts deer, and hangs out in a cave with Buddha statues all around, and....in no way resembles anything like actual South Indian culture whatsoever.) identity, personal hobbies, religion all get consumed by her husband’s Rajput identity, but I will take what I can get. Poor Padmavati is, in most scenes, the only voice of reason around--and when she’s not, her husband’s first wife gets to point out helpful things like: “Hey, maybe we shouldn’t waste time or resources celebrating Diwali when we’re under siege” and “You idiots, of course Khilji’s going to come back and attack us once more since you left him alive.”

The reason why no one listens to Padmavati, and the movie’s not 2 hours shorter, is because of her husband and the character i found myself hating the most, Rawal Ratan Singh. As presented in Padmaavat, this guy is unbearable: every five seconds he’s babbling about honor, and using that as an excuse to make really, really stupid decisions. How stupid? Going-to-meet-Khilji-in-his-camp-alone-and-unarmed-because-of-HONOR (before he promptly gets captured and Padmavati has to save him) stupid. Insisting-on-going-to-see/taunting-Khilji-during-his-escape (so that Mehrunissa and Padmavati have to risk their lives to save him, and Gora and Badal die covering his escape when he finally decides to leave) stupid. Getting accidentally shot by Padmavati at their first meeting (so she has to save him) stupid.

Are you guys noticing a pattern?

I have...no clue what Padmavati sees in him, or why they are supposed to be so in love. Their big love scenes consist of lots of....staring at each other, and that’s mostly it; their other discussions consist of Padmavati pointing out logical, well-reasoned arguments to just KILL KHILJI ALREADY, and Ratan Singh refusing because of (you guessed it) HONOR. Not only that, but his overall treatment of his first wife is....really terrible. Unlike in Bajirao Mastani, where the second marriage is kind of sorta accidental (?), and Bajirao at least expresses regret for hurting Kashi, here Ratan Singh has No Idea why his wife is pissed that he regifted her father’s priceless pearl necklace, No Idea why she’s upset and hurt that he brings home a Suprise! Second wife instead of the damn pearls, No Idea why he needs to spend any time with her any more instead of hanging out with Padmavati 24/7.....In conclusion, Ratan Singh is terrible, IMHO, and for a second there, it almost seems Bhansali wants you to feel the same frustration with his over-idealism--until we’re back to celebrating his HONOR and HOW HISTORY WILL REMEMBER HIM, and I shake my head in disbelief. 

(I’m serious about wanting Padmavati and Mehrunissa to find freedom and happiness. Maybe Ratan Singh’s poor first wife can escape the madness, too.)

In conclusion, it’s....amazing how much we lucked out with Baahubali as period drama, compared to Padmaavat--while I appreciate all the hard work the cast and crew put in, I honestly feel like the moments that the makers find interesting in the movie and I find interesting are fundamentally incompatible, unfortunately.

#avani rants #if there are any flaws in my criticism please chime in #or if you want to discuss! #that's cool too

[disneydreamlights]

So, while most of the Norts in the MMO AU follow the rule of "personality traits through the filter of Xehanort", Terra-Xehanort would be different, due to Terra/Eraqus and Xehanort constantly struggling for control. That, combined with his amnesia, would result in Terranort developing a split personality. One is how Terra views Xehanort, which would later become Ansem, and the other how Xehanort views Terra, which would later become Xemnas. Extracting Terra's heart wouldn't fix this.

...Which would explain why neither Ansem SoD or Xemnas aren’t a lot like Xehanort at all. I’d imagine it must’ve driven Xigbar crazy though. (Good.)

So, what keeps the Dandelions from being total gamebreakers once they're freed is that they are, for the most part, pacifists. This means that they'd just serve the in-universe explanation for where the other players in Multiplayer come from, unless there is an in-universe explanation for them to be more involved in the plot. Additionally, I imagine most of them would hang up their Keyblades to live normal lives after being freed. And to be frank, I wouldn't blame them.

I wouldn’t either given all that the MMO AU puts them through.

As for the Keykids running the Ice Cream shop, they'd both be Dandelions due to being from different Unions and not wanting to have to fight each other. They would not wear their ice cream uniforms at the Dandelion meetings, since they're not on the job, and the ice cream is more of a hobby. They would both wield Sweetstack though, even when off the job. All the Sweetstack Materials would be Ice Cream ingredients. Strelitzia and Mog were their favorite customers.

As for how the fact that they're siblings would be revealed? After you ask them about Ven's whereabouts (which wouldn't be easy seeing as they change what World their located in every day), Black Hair would remark on how surprising it is that they get along despite being in different Unions, while White Hair would bring up that they're twins. Cue the flood of angsty oneshots about them fighting and killing eachother in the Keyblade War until they're revealed to be Dandelions.

As for why they're running an ice cream stand? It was the family business, and they both want to keep their family's legacy arrive. They open up the shop whenever they both fill their Daily Quotas. And I just now realized that I accidentally created two OCs with a cute yet angsty backstory while trying to come up with an excuse for Sweetstack to be in the MMO AU. Although I kinda wish I knew how to draw because I just realized my imagined uniforms for them aren't in the canon game.

Ice cream twins you’ve got me sold I am now invested in these characters.

As for where the Ice Cream Vendors would run their shops on what day? Dwarf Woodlands outside the mines on Monday, Wonderland by the White Rabbit's house on Tuesday, Agrabah's Bizarre on Wednesday, Olympus Coliseum by the stands on Thursday (In the Underworld near the entrance in October), Beast's Castle in the Courtyard on Friday, and Daybreak Town in the park on the Weekend. They'd sell ice cream to the spectators during your matches in Olympus Coliseum, just to give the tournament more flavor

Can we buy ice cream while we watch matches or is it just the NPCs and they’re just there to add more character to the Olympus Coliseum stands and as a cute Easter Egg.

You know, after COM put forth the idea that death was the best possible ending for Repliku and that beings like himself could never be happy because they're not real people, I'm REALLY glad that the future games that remember he existed treated his demise as something tragic and not some kind of "mercy kill". His death always made me so mad because it was ultimately POINTLESS to the plot and a great example of a WASTED character. There's a reason I NEVER go down the same route canon did with him

That’s because it wasn’t really a mercy kill. Repliku shouldn’t have existed, it’s true, but once he did he also didn’t really deserve to die. He deserved a better life than the one he got, and its why the fact that he had to face Riku and die all the more tragic.

You know what, can we just have an AU where Namine stops Riku and his Replica from fighting to the death so that Repliku has the chance to be his own person and go on a journey of self discovery? Although I feel like he'd be relieved if Riku got a Keyblade and he didn't just because that would be one difference between them both. He'd probably also style his hair differently from Riku as part of that "forging my own identity" thing. It would be difficult and painful, but at least he'd be alive.

So I don’t quite have that at my disposal, but:

How do you feel about a 500+ chapter AU in which we get to see Repliku saved on the brink of death and shoved into a completely new universe where he is the only Riku? Because I can supply that for you it’s basically the starting point of one of my favorite fics.

Okay so, in KH3, while Roxas would have grown alongside Sora, Ven would not have aged a day while he was in the Chamber of Waking. This means that Roxas would look older than Ven. Vanitas would also look younger than Sora, due to not aging while his Remnant survived through sheer force of hate. Poor Ven, he's ancient but looks younger than the 3 year old.

This is one of the most hilarious things I have ever heard rip Ven.

I imagine Back Cover would be where all the vitriol that was once directed at Brain would then be redirected at Lauriam. Because once you see a 14-15 year old flashback to how he lost his sight and friends just days after the fact, and witnessed someone murder their closest friend, it's kinda hard to not rethink things like that.

I mean all my hatred towards Blaine if I had any would be immediately redirected towards Lauriam once Strelitzia is dead so I don’t even think I’d need Back Cover to hate him, assuming she’s revealed before Back Cover releases at least.

Laurie would lie about Aced killing Strelitzia before 2.8 released. In Back Cover, the famous Case of Luxury scene would be shown when Ava asks Luxu if he's the traitor, and cut back with the implication that he told Ava what the Master told him. The fun-sized Chirithy Ava squeed over was totally Nightmare Chirithy. Invi and Ira would be fighting during Ava's confrontation we Luxu.

Hey Lauriam don’t blame my son for my daughter’s demise.

Anyways, I’d like that transition more. Tbh I kinda wish we did get to see the Keyblade War unfold. It’s one of the only things I don’t like about BC is that it doesn’t follow X to its conclusion.

Okay so, in the MORNING AU, I imagine that the Mango could continue past KH2 depending on why the Manga ends there. As such there would be a Manga Adaptation AND Novelization of KHX. The novelization would have the default male protagonist, while the Manga would have the default female protagonist, and have her be part of Anguis. They'd also be characterized differently, the novel protagonist being more timid and the Manga protagonist being more snarky.

So yeah, the protagonist of the Manga would have Lauriam and the Keyblade Wielders from the Neoshadow Arc as party members until the Neoshadow Trio become Darklings. She'd leave the party after Lauriam blames her for what happened to their three party members. The Novel protagonist MIGHT be an Ursus Wielder, not sure yet. Aced would terrify both of them, since neither could defeat Ava when she was holding back, and Aced would actually be trying to kill them.

SNARKY FEMALE MANGA PROTAGONIST I AM ALL FOR THIS SHIT.

If they’re part of Ursus, I doubt they’d be afraid of Ursus. If you ask me, I think novel protag should be a member of Leopardus though. Creates good contrast versus Ava, and could create a lot of interesting arcs.

Both would have Medals in the "Toon Medal" deal. The Manga protagonist would have a Power-type Medal while the Novel protagonist would have a Speed-type Medal. The first time we hear either say their names would be when Ephemer is introduced. Neither protagonist would talk much, though the Manga protagonist's thoughts would serve as narration. The first time the Manga protagonist speaks would be to tell off Lauriam at the end of the Neoshadow arc before leaving his Party.

So, the Novel and Manga protagonists would both have Medals in the "Toon Medals" deal. The Manga protagonist would have a Power Medal while the Novel Protagonist would have a Speed Medal (if in Ursus) or a Magic Medal (if in Leopardos), in accordance with the idea that all the Keykids are the type that their Foretellers are strong against. They'd be the closest thing we'd have to Medals based off the Player, though both would be treated as distinct characters.

I think there should be a KHUx Toon Medal deal later on actually, where you can get Player and the five Foretellers, since in Ux they’re dead and could be used as medals.

So, MMO AU 0.2 would be virtually unchanged, save for the more intense version of "The End of a World" cutscene that I'm already forming a new idea for in my head, but that's a story for another day. But there would be one other change. You'd actually be able to see what abilities Aqua has on the difficulty you're playing on. Aqua'd have Treasure Magnet on both Beginner and she and Mickey'd both have it on Critical. There still wouldn't be prize drops in Critical, it's only there to taunt you.

...Wow, that’s cruel. Good thing I don’t play Critical because I’d cry I think.

So, in the MMO AU, starting up Back Cover in 2.8 would play a "spinning heart scene" like in the game. Unlike the games, the little screens would depict moments from past Kingdom Hearts games instead of moments from Back Cover. The music that plays over the spinning heart would be "Ventus". The credits themes would be "Case of Foretellers" and "Cavern of Remembrance". I'd probably keep the cutesy recap opening, just without the annoyingly formatted text layover. That was just BAD.

Actually maybe "The Dream" would be more appropriate than "Ventus". Anyway as for how I'd change "The End of a World" from my original idea would be to have the Keyblade Graveyard get absorbed by Kingdom Hearts. THEN Kingdom Hearts explodes, vaporizing the entire universe save for Luxu who survives by hiding out in the Realm of Darkness before Kingdom Hearts can absorb him. I mean, escaping from that to fulfill his role would be kinda difficult.

Honestly please change the entire intro. Maybe keep some of it but that intro could’ve been done so much better than they actually did.

Wow, honestly poor Luxu. Hiding in the RoD to survive doesn’t sound like it’d be fun.

So, I've lost track of what all I've sent you over the past couple of weeks, but I did have one idea that could be cool: imagine if there had been a movie based off the fall of Radiant Garden. I imagine that Xehanort would start out as the main antagonist until he splits between Ansem and Xemnas, at which point one of them would take over the role. I don't actually have as many ideas here as I do for the MMO part of the MMO AU.

I don’t need as many ideas make it a full length movie collaboration between Disney and Squeenix and I’m sold.

So, Sora would be conspicuously absent during Strelitzia's solo game as well as during the Epilogue DLC is that for the final phase of the final battle against Xehanort, Sora would trap himself and Xehanort within Kingdom Hearts. While the final clash would only be about as long as the battle against Xemnas' final form, outside of Kingdom Hearts, an entire year would pass during that duel. Fortunately, Sora would escape as soon as Xehanort is defeated, unscathed save for losing his powers again.

Damn...Poor RIku and Kairi. THey’d probably be searching for ways to rescue Sora the entire time instead of doing anything involving the other characters.

I kinda can't help but notice something mildly amusing about the MMO version of Back Cover. Mickey Mouse (or rather, a holographic double of him) is basically a herald of the apocalypse. I mean, his appearance is what tells the Foretellers that the people in the Book of Prophecy's Holo Worlds can leak out into the real world, explaining where the Heartless came from. Lauriam and Ventus just confuse them, because they KNOW they're not holograms.

GUYS THE WORLD IS ENDING CAN’T YOU TELL IT’S BECAUSE OF MICKEY FREAKING MOUSE. XD

So yeah, Invi basically accuses each of the other 4 Foretellers of being the traitor throughout MMO!BC. First she accuses Aced when he tries to kill her for talking Gula out of their alliance. Then she assumes it's Gula upon learning that Ira thinks that's the case. Then she accuses Ava upon learning about the Dandelions. Then, upon learning of Aced's true role, decides that IRA must be the traitor. The fact that Ira intends to wipe out everyone who fights in the Keyblade War doesn't help.

Okay so, Invi is kinda like Aqua in her devotion to the MoM, save for the fact that she LITERALLY worships him. That's kind of why her last words implied she was okay with the World ending, she had pieced together that the MoM WANTED the apocalypse to happen, and who is she to defy his will? The MoM is, amused by her worship of him, and he probably could have told her his true goals without her lifting a finger to stop him. It's Ava he's worried about.

So yeah, the reason he's so uncharacteristically serious around Ava is because he needs her to get Ven and Lauriam into the Unchained State. He needs Xehanort's plans to end a specific way in order for his eye that he placed in his Keyblade to end up in Kingdom Hearts, while Xehanort needs to drop Ventus off at the Land of Departure to notice the darkness in Terra's heart. Ava and factors he knows he can't control (the Gazing Eye doesn't see everything), could make everything fall apart

You know given how Invi was meant to invoke appearances related to Aqua with color scheme the fact that she parallels Aqua is really fitting.

Him being super serious around Ava makes sense if she’s the biggest threat though. Taking her more seriously means she’s less likely to mess things up for him.

#MMO Anon #Anonymous #Heather Answers

[furloughloa]

Before I even step into this review I have to admit, Ezko is my favorite up and coming DMV rapper. So I was stoked when he agreed to let me get the exclusive on this album and review it. But like any friend that I speak to about their hobby, craft, or passion - I hold no punches. There isn’t an ounce of “yes-man” in me. So if you shoot pictures, I’ll tell you if that picture is whack. If you make websites and that site sucks, I’m going to tell you. And in this case - if you rap, you better have bars. Especially when your FB handle is Ezko Bars. So let’s get right into it.

Ezko wastes no time getting right to the point from the jump of his newest project, Buy My$elf. First of all, that title is fire. It perfectly encompasses what this project is about to give you. The subtle play on words with the deeper implication standing in the shadows behind it, is what I really love seeing from artists. It automatically lets me know this project may have some substance to it, it’s up to the artist to follow through. Partner that in with the artwork and it’s safe to assume you’re about to get Grade A product. Shout out to the graphic artist on the cover. 

Young Ezko opens up with “Sleeping Ugly.” This track is probably one of my favorite off of the project. The production is stellar with the sample really doing a great job of pulling you into its melodic trance. Then Ezko cuts in sharp as a knife at the beat drop. The contrast that the rasp in his voice provides over such a laid back beat, is amazing. They compliment each other so well that it feels as if Ezko is laying down on the beat, simply spittin’ game over the drums. 

“Gone off the loud/my head in the clouds/ and haters come around just to see what I’m about// they know the flow’s dope they heard by word of mouf/ I’m working everyday I’m tryna buy my mom a house/ a nice ride for my pops/ vacations for the fam/ a chance to show em all a young nigga became a man.” 

The above is one of the main reasons why I pay so much attention to Ezko’s flowering career. The seamless transition from “Rapper Bravado” to the introspection of why he’s really rapping, is flawless victory. The way he flows it all out as well, is just the icing on the cake. It’s not like he just gave you a triple entendre, because honestly those bars aren’t the most complicated. Rather it paints a very vivid picture and gives you that visual into this young man’s thoughts. My only gripe with this song is the during the intro when Ezko hits you with an almost Wiz esque “yeah, yeah, uh yeah yeah.” I would have rather heard the sample ride out in solidarity then have Ezko just break in the way he did. I felt like this would have come off way cleaner and hit harder. 

Speaking of cleaner - Lowkey Livin’ is probably the cleanest track on the whole tape. What feels like a lyrical smokers type track, is very reminiscent of Cypress Hill. The beat translates exactly how Ezko smells every time I see em, dank. If there is a track on the tape that is the smoker’s anthem, it’s this one. Ezko then moves onto Piece of the P.I.E 2. This track feels like that in between space of coming down from being super high and getting caught in your thoughts/emotions. Which is a perfect transition from the previous herbal anthem. I really do appreciate what the vocals were trying to accomplish but I honestly thought the singing it self was trash. There’s only ever been one person who can’t sing but can sing type of singer and his name is Pharrell. I wish more people realized this and wouldn’t attempt it. If it were me, I would have had homegirl write the harmony's down that she heard on paper and had someone else sing them. Because she definitely bodied the placement. 

Kool Aid & Newports moves the tape right along bringing the tempo back up. While I usually hate ANY track that is “something & something” post Kush & Orange juice - I’m not mad at this at all. And it’s probably because I can honestly imagine Ezko sitting around with a red solo cup full of Kool-Aid inhaling a Newport down to the filter. Unlike most “something & something” tracks, Ezko actually takes full advantage to convey an actual message.

 “I guess I gotta walk through the rain/Thou shalt get money, Thou shall not complain.” 

Home, But I Can’t, N.F.W.T, and Keep It Real - really did nothing for me at all. Not that they were bad tracks because I honestly don’t feel there’s a SINGLE bad track on the tape. I literally just found myself saying, he’s better than these songs while listening to them. My first time through, I actually skipped them altogether because I just wasn’t feeling them. There are definitely bars embedded in these songs but I thought his presentation could have been more polished on these tracks or maybe just used different production entirely.

Murder She Wrote 2 rounds up the project and in grand fashion. Accompanied by the homie Nature Boi, one of the DopeMusicVillage head honchos, hailing from Baltimore and SLan is THEE BEST track on the tape. I ran this back so many times I lost count. There are way too many quotable’s on this to even start getting into it. Everything down to the order of of MC’s stepping to the mic is perfection. To me, order has always been everything when a track has multiple MC’s on it. The wrong order can ruin a potentially amazing track showcasing how dope each artist really is. This opportunity is not easily squandered over what is one of the hardest beats I’ve ever heard. Shout out to Doc Battle. I really like how SLan recorded his verse as well. The layering is top notch and it mixed down very well. I felt like the way he presented on this, is one of the contributing factors to run the track back. It’s like the track wasn’t meant to end so you run it right back and end up in an endless loop. 

All in all, I have to say I’m rather impressed from this first body of work from Ezko. Not only did I have very high expectations but I also had high hopes for this tape. I feel like Ezko is well on his way to becoming a formidable force in the DMV, if continues what can at times feel like an endless grind. Though, he does seem to be fully aware of the journey that faces him, in the years to come. I truly feel Ezko could be one of the next big things to come out the area if he continues to work towards his goals. He has seeminlgy found his own pocket to flow within, his lyrical ability improves every time I hear him, and he’s got one of the strongest groups backing him every step of the way in the form of DopeMusicVillage. I think the latter may be one of the main reasons Ezko consistently improves. Nature is a force to be reckoned with as a producer, lyricist, and businessman. Couple that with Brain Rapp’s lyrical prowess to bar faces quite literally off skulls, while providing some pretty amazing visuals - and you have one hell of a team. They say steel sharpens steel and Ezko proves he’s on point with this debut project. 

I’d rate this project a solid 3.5 Dylan’s out of 5 if I used a rating system. Despite Ezko being the homie, I really did enjoy this product and no I didn’t get payola. Ezko, where’s my LitGang Shirt!? 

If you’re in the area please come by and support bro for his album release. The info is in the pic above. Come and show love to the locals. In the meantime head over to Ezko’s site and cop some merch. He actually has a couple of really dope pieces. So even if you don’t like his music, don’t be a hater and cop a shirt.

peace.

#music

[tinnefoil]

Some thoughts on the fixxer upper concept

A while ago somebody posted an article that complained about Karamel following a fixxer-upper storyline structure and those are creepy and pretty sexist. 

Now, I actually do agree with many of these concepts. 

But what struck me about the argument was that I personally differentiate between: 

1.) Fixxer Upper

2.) Lovable oaf

3.) Badboy redeemed

(and lovable/angsty badboy)

For example, I don’t see Homer Simpson and most of the “Sitcom where the wife is attractive and the husband is not” as fixxer uppers. Because I don’t think that the Homer is ever going to change. The implication to me is more that Homer has a (in his case huuuuuuge) set of unappealing and awful traits, but he has some traits that Marge likes and that in her hand make up for it. [or: Homer “changes” mostly in such that the writers sometimes throw in a nicer episode because they worry the watchers will get sick of it, note, I haven’t watched the Simpsons regularly anymore for ages, maybe my info is outdated]

The “friendly” version lovable idiot is probably something like “accept people who they are” or “we are all flawed” etc. 

As for the difference between fixxer upper and badboy redeemed. I guess I would say the gravity of the crimes? And that badboy redeemed maybe has a bigger focus on paying for your sins versus changing? Or a bigger focus on “only she understands his real pain”. 

I actually find most of these elements are at least so far relatively absent in Karamel and if they exist, they are not a huge focus. (like Kara doesn’t spend a ton of time trying to understand Mon-El’s manpain and cuddling him over it, or at least not on screen)

Anyway, I think one aspect is the different treatment of crimes versus habits. In society if you commit a murder you are expected to go to jail. We can talk very long and detail about the philosophy of jail, but let’s agree that in the public consciousness this is often thought of as “paying” for you crime. (in fandom paying usually comes in a bunch of different forms, having bad things happen to you and suffering (karma justice/paying in pain, sometimes bleeding over bad childhood as both payment and excuse), trying to do good things to “make up for it”, direct compensation to the people who you have hurt, forgiveness from the people you have hurt) 

But you don’t “pay” for chewing with your mouth open (well at least I hope you don’t). You just either learn to stop it or you don’t.   

The other thing about fixxer upper, or rather what I picture under fixxer upper is that: 

1.) Fixxer uppers are imo relatively frequent in real life

2.) Fixxer uppers are by comparison imo relatively rare in fiction

3.) I personally believe the main reason for 2 is because men really hate fixxer upper as a concept 

Again, I do think that fixxer upper as a concept are is based on sexist ideas about roles. I think it is best personified by the saying “Women marry a guy hoping they can change him, men marry a woman hoping that she will never change” (ie never gain weight, never get a better job, never want less sex than before, never have less time for him) 

It’s this whole idea that women have to do all the impressing work upfront or that relationships are more front loaded for men (ie the good parts are the beginning and it goes downhill from there). Excluding the idea that there for example might be non-domestic women or men who really do get something out of domesticity. 

I think the male perspective on the fixxer upper is the vision of the nagging shrew who always tries to push you into things you don’t want and can’t just let you live in peace and accept you who you are. I think we see a slightly sanitized version of this in the various “men who never want to grow up” comedies, where the women are portrayed as spoilsports but maybe with some underlying “okay, maybe she is kinda sorta right in principle, I have to grow up eventually”. 

In real life the fixxer upper relationships I’ve seen usually centered around: 

1.) Losing weight

2.) Eating more healthy

3.) Dressing better

4.) Getting rid of sucky friends

5.) Getting a job

6.) Asking for a promotion 

(so this is what I’m picturing when somebody says fixxer upper, more like the slobby guy, the “well he is not as fit or well dressed or rich as I would like him to be, but those things I can fix”, and not the wifebeater/drug addict/5th stint in jail guy and his handwringing long suffering wife)

I can’t say how happy or unhappy these real life fixxer uppers are, though a decent amount of them seem to last a decent amount of time, and at least some women come off almost if they are bragging about it, almost like it is some kind of hobby. 

In real life I always kind of fascinating because in real life the joke on this is often that men have to be molded/have no will of their own (like jokes that one has to unlearn him any bad habits that his mother or last girlfriend taught him or jokes that the previous girlfriend did a good job in breaking him in). Which again I think is the reason why men don’t really care for seeing this portrayed in fiction. 

So the female negative perspective on Fixxer Upper is that it means that good women have to marry slobs and improve them because men are not taught to fix themselves up for relationships to the same extent as women are and the male perspective is something like that women are shrews who care about the wrong things, don’t accept you for who you are, and always try to push you into a direction you don’t want. 

In real life I suspect men go into this because well, most of these things are usually can be argued to have some sort of benefit or are not too end of the world awful. 

I’m guessing the romanticized version of fixxer upper from the women’s side is that she isn’t really forcing him into it, that he has this inner need anyway. 

And I guess the romanticized version from the man’s POV is supposed to be that somebody saw their true potential and supported them all the way through. (kind of like a slightly more down to earth “chosen one” narrative, based on this idea that most normal people probably at least sometimes feel that they are wasting their potential, but procrastination or maybe even self confidence is a hard thing to shake). 

Which brings me to another aspect, namely that fixxer upper as a construct is like really taboo in real life when it goes into the other direction. A woman wanting her boyfriend to lose weight is her caring about his health. A man wanting his girlfriend to lose weight makes him an horrible shallow person. Because we trust women to not just be superficial and visually oriented and to be nurturing, but we don’t trust men to be the same. Because for a woman to be beautiful has a very different meaning and value in a social context than it has for a man. And because for a long time the tools men had to try to affect their spouse’s life were very different than the other way around (like the man having the right to decide whether the woman can have a job or a bank account). 

The original article also talked about, what about the other side. What about female fixxer uppers? 

I think there are male fantasy versions that are kind of related to this concept. I think the male version of fixxer upper/badboy redeemed tends to bleed over more into a hero fantasy. It’s basically “the girl with ‘issues’”. Falling for the drug addict girl and trying to get her to come clean. Falling for the girl whose boyfriend beats her and always goes back to him (bleeding into nice guy (tm) and “if she only came to her senses and saw that I’m so much better for her”).

So back to fixxer upper versus lovable oaf versus angsty badboy. Now I do think that there’s a reason why they tend to bleed over into each other. Because I’m sure a lot of characters are a mix between them. 

Like, most redeeming badboys probably also suffers from habits that need fixing that were responsible for him doing the crimes in the first place (I guess maybe there are some exceptions where it’s more like “basically good guy in character who did bad things in the past that he feels guilty over”, but I would put that more under “goodguy with a dark and tragic past” rather than “badboy redeemed”). So he needs to do both, unlearn the old habits and pay for the crimes. Or it might be decided that it’s wrong for the woman to try to fix a guy or at least to try and fix all habits, so in regards to those habits he turns into the lovable oaf. He still retains some bad habits, but he’s still lovable due to other traits.  

Btw, it gets further complicated that what fandom considers crimes doesn’t necessarily overlap 100% with actual crimes, like fandom tends to see cheating as a crime-crime and is much more likely to make excuses for “I was violent/murdered somebody to protect my loves ones”. It creates some interesting situations when for example cheating gets treated more like a crime that you pay for (like by being beaten up and crying a lot) rather than habit you have to fight/get rid of, with like psychological help. 

One last thing, I think both fixxer upper and badboy redeemed are often a type of power fantasy. Now this doesn’t mean that it’s good or healthy (like one can argue that this power fantasy is attractive because it comes from a person of powerless or otherwise one wouldn’t have to fantasize about it), it just means that that is what it feels like to the people who like it. Because to shape a person or to deeply affect their lives, are examples of having power over a person. 

The other example of course is people who like badboy redeemed from the perspective of the angsty badboy. I think this blends into the fantasy of the chosen one, of we know we suck/are less than our perfect selves, but then somebody comes and sees our potential and helps us develop it. It makes me wonder if this is related the other version, the one with the fixxer upper girl, being so taboo in society. That outside of some teacher/mentor relationships, the true equivalent of badboy redeemed, where the person is really shit, has give into her feelings, be rebuilt, see that they are shit and strive to become better is considered much more creepy with the genders reversed. Because we assume men are more controlling, because the mental image of a girl running to gain a guy’s approval is much more scary to us, because the push for women to take care of the changing without prompting is bigger/the criticism on fictional relationships like that would be harsher. Or maybe seeing it with a girl as the one to redeemed hits too close to home, so it is “safer” to project those feelings on a guy. 

To get back to the original topic: I think Kara/Mon-El so far shares the most traits with Fixxer Upper and fewer traits with traditional badboy redeemed. We might end up with some elements of lovable oaf, but it’s too soon to tell. 

#supergirl meta #mon-el