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#i just finished the game and I’m ready to scream about it honestly
shellxrls · 3 days
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okay let’s talk about how John b fucks. because ohmyfuckinggod
he has such and incredible, immaculate, crazy, aneurism inducing stroke game I cannot even begin to describe it. he just gets it. like ughhh.
he’s so thick and girthy and his VEINS!!! ugh. like I swear it just makes it even better. he has this one vein that runs alll the way down the underside of his cock NMFJFJDH. perfection.
okay I’m going off topic. when John b fucks. he takes it seriously. he will never, and I mean never intentionally neglect someone that he loves. and he is very very firm about that rule in the bedroom.
he always takes it slow at the beginning. he is amazing with the foreplay. sloppy kisses and HEAD!!! AMAZING HEAD!!!! and fingering. oh the fingering.
he knows he’s big, and he knows that it’s nearly impossible to get used to like ughhgh. has to spend minutes jst using his fingers to get me stretched out and ready.
and yall already know HE TALKS THROUGH IT!!! he uses the nickname ‘dolly’ which honestly I wasn’t expecting but I did not complain I can tell you that.
he lovessss pretty noises, and honestly acts like he’s not expecting it and maybe he isn’t but like.. ?? you really expect me not to whimper when ur four fingers knuckles deep inside??
but genuinely, he’s so soothing and lovely. comforting works and always coaxing sweetly.
the foreplay varies by instance but the sex is almost always the same. medium paced, gentle but rough, and soooo just ugh. makes the brain go to mush on autopilot.
he’s just so daddy. like omg. omg. ugh. daddy. he is daddy. daddy is him. I cannot exaggerate this enough.
he is dick is so perfect literally every time he goes in he hits that spot. you know the spot.
he makes these little grunting noises every time he thrusts in it’s so hawt like omg.
he LOVES a good mating press.
he’s also a titty sucker. and. he is. a. TOTAL. munch. he’s so sloppy when he’s suckin on the clit all perfect.
and you bet he does not EVER struggle to find the clit either. this man has experience.
he is also HEAVY. like his whole person he jst pins me down so effortlessly ugh. he literally radiates dominance.
he’s also a chronic clit rubber 🤞🏻always had a thumb on my clit over my shorts or under my skirt.
and he reeks of casual dominance. if I’m being bratty or just whiny he’ll just cup my pussy like it’s nothing. talking in that low voice like SLUT ME OUT.
he lovesss receiving head. normally he’ll be sitting down, me on my knees infront of him. he holds my hair back and guides me <333 ugh he is just SO daddy.
he also loves dry humping <3 ugh like if we’re outside the chateau at sunset n ill just hump on him for ages like YESSS.
also this surprised me but he has a mild choking kink, not like hardcore but he’ll wrap a hand round the throat definitely, even if he doesn’t apply too much pressure.
he’s also a pretty moaner <3
massive breeding kink too!!!! like ugh mhh ohh I love it. he shoots BIG loads so those creampies are immaculate.
when it’s all finished he’ll dip and hand down and scoop some of his cum up and feed it to me <333 mhh
and he is the KING!!! of aftercare. the absolute sweetest. has a checklist in his mind of things to make sure we both keep up our personal hygiene during and after sex. always wiped me up and is very avid that I don’t do too much very physical stuff after cause he fucks for a long time and he fucks deep so bet I’ll be tired af.
lots of cuddles and kisses <33 ugh love him.
okay I think that’s all the points but if I’ve missed anything out or if there’s anything else yall wanna know lmk!!
- rafe shifter
CRYING SCREAMING THIS IS MY BIBLE. this is my holy text oh my god.
PLSS i know that one vein must jut out and feel so fucking GOOD ohmygosksjsjdk.
i can’t even function him just being casually dominant and so daddy mode is making me SICK . clenching my thighs i knew he wld be like this <33.
‘dolly’ IS SO CUTE IM SICK PLEASE. it’s def the grandpa in him and i’d say it to his face no shame 🙏🏼.
i can imagine the grunts i know they’re practically punched outta him with every grind and thrust AGH !!
love that he uses your clit like a little fidget toy that so cute !! i’d never stop wearing shorts and skirts around him tbh bcuz that’s daddy wdym !!
also jeez i need to write a breath play drabble with him now bcuz i’d never though ab it before but i bet those biceps are perfect for choking someone out <3.
i love him so much and once again THANK YOU BABES !! cannot ever say it enough honestly this has been the highlight of my week and i love talking ab it with you <3.
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fireflyels · 8 months
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Sweater weather pt. 2
warnings: mentions of anxiety, cheating (reader is cheated on). homophobia as well as the use of curse words. fluff only!
pairing: female reader x !modern ellie williams
summary: After finding out you were cheated on. You find your self at the beach late at night and happen to meet Ellie.
read pt. 1 of sweater weather here <-
word count: 1,986
——————————————————
you wake up to the sound of pounding on your front door. you know it has to be alex and you’re already over it. you slowly get dressed and make your way to the door not caring about taking up his time since he wasted yours. Alex didn’t live with you but he sure as hell acted like it. you get to the front door and peek out of the peephole and realize it’s not alex.
you take a deep breath and open the door, “what do you want, cat? it’s 7:30 in the morning.” you say in a groggy morning voice while trying to make eye contact with her.
“alex wanted me to come by and get his shit from you. so that’s why i’m here.” she continues, this time looking at you “honestly alex and i have been hooking up the entire relationship and i couldn’t care less about how you feel. we love each other and you get everyone you want and it’s exhaus-“ before cat can finish her words you blurt out “i’m gay anyways cat i myself couldn’t care less, you have fun with that though,” you half smiled in an awkward manner. you thought you should be more sad about what cat is saying but the realizations you came to last night while talking to ellie subsided any of those feelings. if anything you almost felt bad for her.
as you’re rubbing your face you continue, “give me 5 minutes, you can stay out here.” you looked at her and realized she looked upset now rather than the “full of herself” expression she carried on her face to your front door. you knew she was just trying to get a rise out of you. she wanted to make you feel less than her. you shut the door and locked it and went to grab a trash bag to shove a few hoodies and shirts in and what he has of his ps5 games here. you walk back to the door, open it and toss the bag out into the hallway. you take one more look at cat and notice a few tears streaming from her face but she would never admit it was over you. “have a good fucking life y/n.”
she was incredibly bitter from how well you seemed to have taken everything that has happened. as she started walking away, you shouted back at her “see you in class tomorrow cat!” you shut the door and walk to your bathroom.
you spend the next 30 minutes showering and throwing on some mascara to get ready for your day. you finally go to check your phone and get caught up in reading your last night text messages between you and ellie.
hey it’s els, hope u made it home safe pretty girl :)
very safe rn and comfy in bed!! i’m glad you made it home safe els. thanks for the ride to my car, much appreciated <3
anything for you, get some good sleep tonight okay?
i will, i hope you do too els. goodnight :)
as you’re blushing from rereading just those two messages she sent you, a new text comes in. realizing you’re on the chat with read receipts on you throw your phone onto your bed and scream. feeling so embarrassed, should you play it off like you were about to text her? no that would be double texting?? it would be weird wouldn’t it? you thought to yourself. you haven’t even read the new message yet. “fuck it” you said, you grab your phone to see what she said and reply.
morning y/n :) you doing anything this fine sunday morning?
oh hi els!! i was just about to message you actually. my day is cleared. What about you?:)
same here pretty girl. would you like to get some breakfast at tonis this morning?
i would absolutely love that!! i could be there in 20 if that works?:)
sounds perfect y/n, see you soon. get there safe<3
right back at you els:)
you go check yourself in the mirror wondering if your outfit was cute enough. you decided it wasn’t so you threw on some high waisted black pants with a black high neck tank top and your 8053 docs.
you’re excited to know ellie more and spend time with someone who doesn't want to just use you. you make it to tonis and can see ellie’s dads pick up truck there already. you start getting out and see her coming over to you. you’re nervous not knowing if it’s okay to hug her or not knowing you two just met last night. “what if she doesn’t even know i like girls?” you thought to yourself, “she could just be being nice?” you make eye contact and her smile was so warm that none of that mattered.
Ellie went in for a hug anyways which made you feel less weird for wanting one. she had so much warmth to her, not just her smile but you already felt less anxiety being in her presence. there was something so calming about her. “Let's go y/n!” Ellie says while grabbing your hand excitedly. “We gotta get the best booth before it’s gone!” Ellie says with an excited smile. you nod and exchange a smile in return with warmth rushing to your cheeks.
The restaurant is above the ocean, the best booth in here has a complete window view of the waves crashing on this huge rock. It's absolutely beautiful, you could sit there for hours on enx with her. you both take a seat and the waitress takes notice and makes her way over. “Hi girls, what would you two like to drink?”
Ellie starts, “I will take some tea with sugar, thank you.” Ellie looks at you excited to hear what your choice of drink is in the morning. “I'll take a coffee with oat milk and vanilla, thankyou so much.” the waiter smiles back, “no problem i will be back in a few with those sweets.”
She smirks, “coffee huh?” you look at her confused with a laugh, “what do you mean, do you not like coffee?” Ellie starts laughing, “absolutely not, but my dad loves it, he’d trade anything for it if he really had to.”
“i started drinking it young, probably too young. my grandma used to give me decaf when i was about 8 years old because i felt left out of the morning conversations.” Ellie starts laughing “that is so cute, what a fun grandma. yeah Joel tried to get me to drink it a few times but it’s a no for me, but love that for you pretty girl." Ellie realized she slipped her Joels name in wanting to clarify, she continued. “Joel's my dad by the way, well my adoptive dad. He's the best.”
“oh you’re adopted?”
The waiter makes her way back with the drinks and hands them to each one of you. “shall we get these orders started girls?” Ellie looks at you, “you first y/n” you know this menu a little too well. “I will take the number 4 with my eggs scrambled and wheat bread is perfect, with the hashbrowns instead of fruit please.” you look across at ellie. “I will take the number 2 and could you add blueberries to the waffles if that’s okay, and I'll also take hashbrowns instead of the fruit, thank you.” The waiter takes off to get the orders put in and Ellie continues.
“Yeah there’s not much to it, I've been with him since I was young. He's the best dad I've ever had. I think of him like my real dad though and nothing in between. He'd like you, a fellow coffee drinker, to talk shit to me about." Ellie picks up her tea and winks at you. “What about you, what's your family like?”
“I talk to my mom but not my dad, there’s a lot that goes into that. but i’m pretty reserved when it comes to family, i moved out when i was 17. But I'm happy so I'm okay.” you force your smile more to make it look a little more genuine. As much as you love being alone you wish you had more sometimes.
“Well I'm proud of you, I don't know you well but I'm still proud of you.” Ellie gives a genuine smile to you. “Alright, here you girls are!” the waitress approaches and gives each of you your guy’s food. “Enjoy, let me know if you need anything at all!” you both share thanks to her and start eating.
Half way through your food and conversation, you hear the door chime go off and the people you walked in were the last people you’d expect today. In comes Cat and Alex walking up to a booth two booths before yours. You can overhear Cat complaining about not being able to get a better booth with a better view. They haven’t seemed to notice you at least, you think to yourself, maybe they won’t at all. You feel your anxiety build in your chest and Ellie takes notice.
“Hey, what’s going on pretty girl?” it wasn’t their presence that gave you anxiety but not knowing how Alex handled the news that Cat had to have given him by now about you. “umm my ex an-“
Alex interrupted before you could finish your words. “y/n you're gay? Are you serious? Do you not know how this affects me and the way people will view me when they find out? who’s this your fucking girlfriend?” he threw his hands in Ellie's face as he talked. Heat is rushing to your cheeks as he’s talking and you can’t help but just look down at the table. You see Ellie get up out of the corner of your eye. “walk away dude, seriously.” you couldn’t imagine that ellie could even sound or look this mad, but as you looked up at her she looked like she wanted to explode. “yeah whatever. fuck you both, have a good fucking life y/n”
you have tears coming down as Alex walks off back to Cat at their booth. Ellie placed two twenty’s on the table and stood up taking your hand in hers as she guided you to your feet.
As soon as you get outside Ellie goes to the passenger side of her truck and motions at you to get in as she opens the door for you. “Come on, pretty girl, let’s go.” you send a smile her way and wipe some tears as you get in the truck. Ellie makes her way into the driver's seat. “y/n i am so sorry, i should have said more to hi-“ you interrupted Ellie by throwing your hands around her and she immediately embraced you. “don’t say sorry Ellie, thankyou for even saying anything. can we keep hanging out, you’re free the whole day right?” ellie moves the hair out of your face behind your ear. “y/n i’m free for you anytime, what would you like to do love?”
after thinking for a few seconds, “wanna listen to music together els?” Ellie starts the engine, “i would love nothing more y/n, where would you like to go?” you think for a few realizing you’d rather not be home right now, “could we be at your house if that’s okay?” Ellie puts her seatbelt on and puts the truck in reverse, “that’s absolutely no problem at all love, i’ll even play guitar for you if that’ll make you happy.” excitement grows in your face, “why didn’t you tell me you can play guitar ellie!” Ellie laughs, “man i should have started with that i would have swept you off your feet huh?” you start blushing, cheeks filled with heat, as you make eye contact “you already did els.”
a/n: hi guys!! thank u for all the love on my first ever fic! i really appreciate everyone of you! this might be the last chapter for this as i feel i wrapped it up well. if i think of anything else i will potentially keep it going or if people are interested in more chapters! thank you again! :)
likes comments and reposts are appreciated 🤍💫
tag list 💫
@carmellie @gold-dustwomxn @ellieslegalwife @deluluwh-0-re @ximtiredx @elliewilliamsmissingfingerss @tfuuka @whenlostinthedarkness @feelsoseencantdream @soundsfunbutno @lveunoialv
thank you!! lmk if u wanna be added!
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certainlychaotic · 1 year
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I'm Sorry
Requested by: @wosoobsessed
Could I have a Rebecca welton x femreader please where the night before they get into a rlly bad argument where they are like screaming at eachother because perhaps Rupert was flirting with the reader and because the reader felt uncomfortable she didn’t know what to do so she just let him do it and Rebecca gets rlly mad and the reader goes to stay and keeley and Roy’s. And then the next day it awkward between them both where they have meetings together and they can’t even look at each other because they are both so mad. And maybe after the meeting the reader gets rlly upset and goes to talk to keeley and Rebecca overhears how upset the reader is and later she goes to find the reader and apologises for the argument and they make up. Sorry this is so long tysm!!
Word Count: 2873 not bad
Pairing: Rebecca Welton x Fem! Coach! Reader
A/n If you wanted something a little different with more of an in-depth argument, I can try to write something, but this made me realize how hard it is to write an actual argument. If you wasn’t quite what you wanted I can also figure something else out.
Warnings: Creepy Rupert (I just don’t like the man), and argument, cursing (Roy is in this fic)--- if there’s anything else let me know
The game isn’t going well by any standard. Tensions are rising, despite Ted’s attempt to calm everyone down. By half-time, the score was 3-1, and you can hear Roy’s cursing from the other side of the locker room door.
You tap Ted’s shoulder and gesture towards the stands, where you saw Rebecca sitting with Keeley earlier.
“Go on and see your sugar! I’ve got this covered!” Ted chuckles and shoos you with his clip board, but before you get far, he calls your name. “Oh, Y/n! Did you give Roy your play idea?”
 “No, I gave it to Beard! Roy looked ready to erupt…” You chuckle, rubbing the back of you neck, itching to leave and see Rebecca.
“Oh good! Thanks Y/n!” You send him a nod then speed off towards Rebecca’s spot in the stands.
You haven’t spoken much today, both too busy with game preparation, and you honestly just want to hear her voice. It always sooths you, and she looked a little stressed herself. Hopefully, you can speak to her for a minute before you have to be back on the sideline with the other coaches.
Getting to the stands, you excitedly wave at Keeley and point at the empty seat next to her. ‘Where’s Rebecca?’
She shrugs at your silent question, before going wide-eyed and pointing behind you.
“Hello, Dove.” Rupert’s voice makes you jump and spin around. He’s leaning against the railing with a dangerous grin. “Uh, yes, hello Mr. Mannion” I stutter out, glancing around for someone to help you.
“I just finished speaking to my ex-wife about you.” He leans a bit closer to you, “How would you feel about working for me, darling?” 
“Um, I’m sorry Mr.Mannion-“ “Please call me Rupert” “Of course, Rupert. I’m sorry, I have to go back to the field.”
“I understand dear. Lovely speaking with you, and please think about the offer. I will be waiting for an answer.” He finally leans back, and you bolt back to the team’s locker room, not noticing that Rebecca was watching the entire interaction. Rupert notices her, and shoots a smug smile at her, before walking past her.
“She didn’t say no.” His words strike Rebecca, but she simply slips past him, taking a seat by Keeley without a word.
Once Rupert is out of sight, Keeley whispers “What was all of that about!” Higgins leans forward, also interested in the whole exchange, but he quickly leans back at Rebecca’s angry glare.
“Rupert is trying to steal Y/n.” The words are growled out, and Rebecca is obviously pissed; however, Keeley doesn’t seem to mind.
“From you or the team, because he was getting really creepy with poor Y/n.”
“She didn’t seem too bothered! She didn’t even reject his offer!” Rebecca waves her hands, nearly whacking Higgins in the face.
“I think everything will be just fine, and Y/n would never leave you or the club.” Higgins tries to calm Rebecca, but she sends him another glare.
“Now you’ve jinxed it!”
Down at the sidelines, you are visibly uncomfortable, drawing the attention of the other coaches. “What’s got you shaking like a chihuahua in a blizzard?”
You frown at Ted’s description but tell them about your run in with Rupert, receiving a few very different reactions.
Beard gave you a light pat on the back.
Ted told gave you a few reassurances and a kind smile.
Roy screamed “Fuck!”, then proceeded to make multiple threats of physical harm against Rupert.
You smile at them, and calm Roy down, telling everyone that you would leave Richmond for another club, much less West Ham.
The game ends in a tie at 3-3, and the team is celebrating the comeback. A few players come up to thank you for the game strategies, but you remind them that they are the ones who pulled it off. In the middle of the celebration, Roy pulls you aside.
“I know you told us about Rupert already, but Keeley texted me about how he was acting. If he pulls that shit again, tell me and I’ll put my head through his fuckin forehead.”
“Oh, uh thanks mate.”
You weren’t expecting Roy to threaten to headbutt Rupert, but the gesture is nice and very Roy-ish.
Figuring you could leave without being noticed, you grab your stuff and head off in search of Rebecca.
“Rebecca!” You call, smiling once you see her figure turning a corner. You speed up, quickly catching up to the tall woman.
“The guys really stepped up in the second half! Now we just need to-““Will there be a we?” You freeze at her cold words.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about ‘Dove’ or ‘Darling’ or whatever other stupid pet name he’s given you!” Rebecca’s voice rises as her temper flares, and she finally whips around to look at you. Her angry eyes glare into your confused ones.
“This is about Rupert?” Your voice is incredulous, and you begin to shift from confused to angry.
“Oh! So, he’s Rupert to you now! That’s wonderful!”
“Jesus! It’s just a damn name! What is going on with you?” You don’t understand what’s going on with Rebecca, but you know there’s more to her anger than just this.
“What’s going on with me? What is going on with you?” She jabs a finger in your face, and you step back. “You just stood there! Listening to him spout off about hiring you!” She takes a step towards you, closing the distance you created a moment ago. “You didn’t even say no!”
“I will talk to you about this when you’re calmer Rebecca. It wasn’t a big deal. I was just trying to get away from him without making a scene.” Your words only further ignite her rage.
“I guess my worries are no big deal then!”
“That’s not what-“”No, don’t bother. I can’t even look at you right now.” She turns away, and you move to follow her, but stop at her words.
“You’re just like him.”
Tears well up in your eyes, but you refuse to breakdown. “Fine then, I will see you at work tomorrow then Ms. Welton.”
You don’t notice the pause in her steps, already walking in the other direction, desperately hoping Keeley hasn’t left already. You rode with Rebecca, but you can’t be in the same vicinity as her right now, not after what just happened.
You don’t understand what happened. You assumed she would’ve been happy about the game, but she was so mad. It was a level of rage you’d never seen in her, and her insinuations stung more than you’d like to admit.
You finally find Keeley in the parking lot, talking to Roy excitedly. Her demeanor is a stark contrast to your mood, but you ignore how you’re feeling and get her attention.
“Hey Keeley, can I stay with you tonight?” You turn to Roy with a sad look. “I’ll stay on the couch and be the least annoying person ever.”
The pair glance at each other before nodding, “I don’t care, but do I need to punch someone?” Keeley hits Roy’s arm at his question, but you give him a wobbly smile, shaking your head no.
“No need for violence, Rebecca is just, uh, busy.”
“Oh! Y/n! Of course, you can stay with use tonight- or however many nights you need!” Roy side eyes her, but she ignores him, opting to give you a hug instead. “We can talk about it more, without company, if you want later.”
“I don’t know, maybe, but I honestly just want to shower and get some sleep.” They both nod, and you all head to their place for the night.
Your night was terrible.
Sleep seemed to escape you, no matter how much tossing and turning you did. The argument with Rebecca kept replaying in your mind, and each time she seemed to be angrier.
Roy ended up finding you lying on the couch, listlessly scrolling through some articles about Rupert.
“It’s fuckin four in the morning. What the fuck are doing reading about that prick?” You startle and fall off the couch at his words. Meekly shrugging, you get up and walk toward the kitchen with him.
“Did he actually get into your head?”
“No!” You gasp, fearing this would turn into an argument like with Rebecca.
“Good. He’s a dick.” Roy grumbles while making some coffee. “You’re too good for West Ham anyways.” You sniffle at his words, making him turn to you. “Oi, what’s wrong with your face?”
“Nothing, I just really needed to hear that.” You walk away to get ready for the upcoming day.
Luckily, Keeley had some old sweats you left from one of your previous “Girls Night”, and let you wash your dirty clothes. You’ll still be wearing yesterday’s clothes, but at least they’re clean.
Stepping out of the bathroom, you’re met with Roy holding out a mug of coffee to you.
“Thanks.” You mutter sipping on the hot drink.
“Yeah, hurry up and finish it, and we’ll go to the field.” He walks off ignoring your confused look.
Roy pulls into the parking lot of Richmond stadium, and steps out with you hot on his heels.
“Why are we here so early?”
“To kick a soccer ball.”
“What?”
“We’re here to kick a soccer ball before the meeting.”
You forgot about the meeting. All the coaches and Rebecca are supposed to meet and discuss future plans for the team today at seven, before practice starts.
How are you supposed to face Rebecca after yesterday?
“Don’t supposed I can skip?” You step onto the pitch.
“You can’t skip if I can’t.” Roy responds while passing you the ball.
“Damn, can I be a little late?” You continue to pass the ball back and forth, and it eventually turns into a one on one.
After a while of playing against each other, you stop to get some water.
“Seems like you still got some moves old man!” You smirk, plopping down onto the bench by a panting Roy. “But it looks like you need to work on your endurance.”
“Fuck off.” His response makes you cackle, but you eventually settle down.
“Thanks, I really needed to clear my mind.” Roy only nods in response, and you figure that’s as much emotion you’ll get from the man. “It’s time for the meeting…” You mutter, changing the subject.
“Yeah, let’s go before Ted drinks some sparkling water again.” Roy grumbles, leading you to the meeting room.
Everyone was already there by the time you and Roy stepped in. The seat to the right of Rebecca and the one farthest from her was too, so you walk directly to the farthest one, ignoring the questioning glances sent your way. While you and Rebecca actively work to avoid looking at each other, Ted and Beard look over to Roy who mutters ‘fuck off’ and crosses his arms. Not phased by Roy’s attitude Ted claps his hands together with a smile.
“Welp, since everyone’s here we can start the meeting, right Boss?”
“O-of course.”
The meeting seemed to go on forever, but both you and Rebecca couldn’t even look each other in the eye. You were only willing to steal short glances when the other wasn’t looking.
Rebecca looked like she got as much sleep as you did, but her exhaustion was better covered by some make-up and fresh clothes. Your heart aches every time you see her tired eyes, but you also keep thinking about the argument you had yesterday.
You don’t notice Rebecca glancing at you, frowning guiltily at the dark circles around your eyes. She knows you don’t sleep well alone and prefer to cuddle up to her at night. She also keeps thinking about the argument you had yesterday, but now every time she thinks about it there is a pang of guilt that accompanies it.
I general, the meeting was a total waste of time. Nothing was really covered, and everyone had to dance around the obvious awkward tension between you and Rebecca, even Ted was uncomfortable. Luckily, practice was about to begin, so you announced the time and bolted out of them, literally jogging down to the field.
So far, practice has been hell for you. You’re so tired, running purely on caffeine and some leftover anger, but your energy is wavering. You can’t seem to pay attention to the drills the team’s going through, catching Ted’s attention, since you almost always explain the details and reasons for the drills to him with Beard, but now you’re just silently standing away from everyone with a frown.
Figuring you’d be more likely to talk to Keeley than him, he sends her a text detailing the ‘situation’ and asking for ‘backup’.
Withing twenty minutes, the team sees Keeley walking on the pitch and excitedly greets her, nearly chorusing a “Hey Keeley!” as they walk off for a water break. Keeley greets them, then makes a B-line for you.
“Come with me Y/n, I think you need some Keeley talk.”
“I’m sorry Keel, but I’m in the middle of practice.” You argue, knowing what she wants to talk about.
“No, it’s fine Y/n! Besides you look more tired than a bear that skipped its hibernation!” Ted says with a smile, making you raise an eyebrow at his chosen simile, but you go off to one of the offices with Keeley to talk.
“Okay babes, you gotta tell me what happened.” Keeley places a hand on your shoulder, and all of your emotions come bursting out. A sniffle escapes you, and Keeley wraps you into a comforting hug, whispering that it’ll be okay.
“You don’t get it Keels…” You sniffle against her shoulder, “She was so mad. I could see the disgust in her eyes when she said I was j-just like Rupert!” Keeley stiffens at the mention of Rupert, but nods letting you continue. “I couldn’t let the argument continue and she was so upset, but I accidentally said it wasn’t a big deal.” You sniffle again and let out a shaky breath. “I didn’t mean her feelings weren’t a big deal, I just, I don’t even know what I meant!” You continue to cry and tell Keeley about the whole argument, lamenting about how you ignored Rebecca’s feelings while Keeley reassured you that everything would be alright.
Unbeknownst to Keeley and you, Rebecca stood outside of the office, listening to your sobs. Her heart broke at how upset you are, kicking herself for not realizing how badly she hurt you with her emotional explosion yesterday. She didn’t mean to take out her frustration on you, and now she needs to fix the damage she inflicted.
After you finally calmed down, Keeley and you talk for a while longer before she’s willing to leave you alone. You promise to call her if you need anything at all and go your separate ways. As you pass Rebecca’s office to go to the pitch, her hesitant voice calls your name, making you sigh and walk into the office.
“Yes?” You stare at your feet, and Rebecca can’t help but think of a kicked puppy when she sees your posture. Usually you’re so much more confident and energetic, but now you’re the complete opposite. She knows she needs to fix this now before it’s too late, if it’s not too late already.
“I’m so sorry Y/n. There is no excuse for my behavior yesterday, and I never should’ve spoken to you like that. I promise I never will again.” Her words are rushed, and she walks closer to you, not quite in arms reach.
“It’s okay, I-““No it’s not okay! I was so upset after speaking to that damned man, and then I saw him cornering you and all I could think of was losing you because that’s what he does. He takes and takes and I can’t lose you, but I’m so afraid that I may have already lost you because of my own actions. I’m so sorry, love.” Her voice becomes thick with emotion, making you finally look up at the upset woman. Tears glisten in her eyes as she speaks, making you feel worse about the way you’ve ignored her.
You step closer to her and wrap her in a hug, feeling the emotions you let out earlier with Keeley rising again.
“I’m so sorry for ignoring you!” Rebecca immediately kisses your hairline, whispering how it’s okay, but you continue to sniffle. “From now on can we please just tell each other what we’re feeling?”
“Of course, love, of course.” She responds, gently leading you to the couch in the corner of her office. She sits down and pulls you down with her.
You continue talking to each other and exchanging gentle kisses and whispers while cuddled up on the couch, before exhaustion catches up to both of you. Roy and Keeley eventually find the two of you snuggled together on the couch, originally to check if you needed to stay the night again, but they both opt to quietly leave you alone.
Well, Keeley took a few pictures, but she did leave quietly after Roy muttered something about “leaving these two idiots alone”.
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An incomplete list of my favorite AFTG fics
All of these are on AO3, and yes I’m only writing this because I’m procrastinating working on TMHYHM. So, in no particular order, my favorite AFTG fics.
The Multi-Part Fics (Complete)
All of these have ended and taken a bit of my heart with them.
1. August by gus_47 (2/2)
If you know anything about me you know that I’m obsessed I enjoy anything and everything written by gus_47. I am their biggest fan; I would read their grocery lists if they let me. So obviously, I was obsessed with this story as soon as it was published. It’s Kevaaron and just- ugh. Heartbreaking. AND !! There’s going to be a second part. So technically it’s finished, but never fear because we’re not done with my boys yet.
2. 12 Ways To Woo A Minyard by NikNak22 (14/14)
This is a non-exy college Andriel fic with background Kevaaron and Jerjean. Basically, Neil is friends with the Foxes and has a huge crush on Andrew. The Foxes try and help Neil confess, lots of fun fluffy antics ensue. Plus, it’s a “Kevaaron is obviously happening but Neil’s too busy pining to notice” fic, so... yeah
3. Flavors of Fall by NikNak22 (20/20)
Don’t even get me started on this one. It’s Andreil, Andrew’s POV, small-town romance. Andrew’s a photographer and lives in a cottage!! in the woods!! and the Foxes have small-town spooky season fun!! It’s just so fluffy and fun and god the yearning. One of my favorite fluff fics, stg it’s so amazing.
4. Bad Habits by mitigates (2/2)
Okay so listen... I won’t lie, there’s a lot of smut. HOWEVER!!! There’s also fuckin soft Jeremy Knox running a childrens home!! and I need that in my life so badly. Anyway, it’s Andriel, Kevaaron, and Jerjean. Also Neil and Kev hooked up once, and it’s a big joke?? Honest to god, it comes up at least four times-
5. Red Rabbits by bloodydamnit, Jeni182, SeaBear13, and windeavesdrops (25/25)
It’s Andriel with background Renee/Allison, not a fluff fic at all so be warned. Andrew is a journalist who starts a podcast trying to hunt down Mary and Nathaniel Wesninksi. Neil, obviously, doesn’t want to be found. It was an interactive story, there’s a Tumblr page, it’s just so good? Really, go read it. I have no other words.
6. quicksand by likearecord (9/9)
This bad boy is Andriel with fuckboy Aaron and Neil is Kev’s little brother. The sheer amount of gay panic in this story, I simply cannot express to you how much fun this is. I cackled so loudly in the middle of the fucking night. Also like- Andrew gets to have friends?? and family who loves him?? And Neil is a being of utter chaos. It’s beautiful.
7. The Odds Are Never In Our Favor by MalikShah (29/29)
It’s not my normal style, but it was so good? It’s AFTG + The Hunger Games. Andriel, a few character deaths, and just a lot of tears. They’re so gay and so sad and it’s so fun. 
8. Thorns by Mostly_Maudlin (2/2)
Andreil during Neil’s fifth year. Lots of healthy communication after some not-so-healthy communication. Just a sweet little fic of Andreil learning how to live when they aren’t right next to eachother. (there is smut tho, just so you’re prepared).
9. a switchblade is my preferred weapon by badacts (48/48)
LOCKED FIC, YOU NEED AN AO3 ACCT TO READ !! 
Anyways, this is AFTG if Neil was in the Nest and left with Kevin. It’s Andriel and very good. The slowest of slowburns. You aren’t ready. You may think you’re ready, but you aren’t.
10. Am I Screaming To An Empty Sky? by phan_taloon (4/4)
guys... this one is just heartbreaking. It’s Andriel, hurt with very little comfort, and honestly super triggering so be sure to read the tags before you read. Basically, the Foxes lose the finals and Neil ends up in the Nest. I think I sobbed the whole time I was reading, honestly.
11. never fallen (from quite this high) by crystalcrow (43/43)
It’s AFTG from Andrew’s POV. Deffo a must-read, that’s all I have to say. Also, the first AFTG fic I read so... good memories, ig?
12. Back To The Start by fuzzballsheltiepants (11/11)
Andriel during Neil’s fifth year. Andrew gets injured and loses his memory. It’s just as heartbreaking as it sounds, but also so painfully sweet. gives major “I don’t know you, but I know that I love you” vibes. So good.
The Multi-Part Fics (Incomplete)
Some of these are abandoned, some are not, all of them are worth reading.
1. I left you alone in a house, not a home by ohhhhmygod (4/?)
Andreil after canon where Neil has a little brother. It’s not a super fluffy fic so far, but it’s so good !!
2. Blame It On My Youth by youreyestheyglow (115/?)
Andriel 10 years post-canon. They’re foster dads!! Nat and Paige are what I never knew I needed, I’ve fallen hopelessly in love with this story. The quintessential AFTG fic.
3. Hoax by gus_47 (31/40)
C’mon guys, it’s gus_47 ofc I love it. Jerejean after the Ravens. Absolutely, completely obsessed. It’s so fucking good y’all. Just read it.
4. Redemption by accioice (30/?)
So, Neil goes to the Nest as a kid, but instead of Riko abusing them, the Perfect Court becomes family (plus Ichirou). Eventually they go to Palmetto and there’s Andriel!! Kev is a bi disaster, we get some neurodivergent rep, and really really good found family. They just love each other so much. Honestly, it’s a good “what if..?” fic. Like, what if Riko broke the cycle of abuse? It’s just really good and you need to read it.
5. Andrew Minyard v. The Spear Family by preciousfoxes (10/?)
Andrew takes legal action against the Spears and Neil is a “feral dumpster raccoon lawyer”. Really, it’s just Andrew having gay thoughts for 10 chapters straight. And can you blame him? Neil with a man bun. Neil with piercings and tattoos. Neil in a suit. 
6. I Beg You, Whisper My Name Like A Prayer by Louie__TheLonely (4/?)
Picture this. Highschool AU. Neil and Andrew are best friends. They are horribly gay for each other. And horribly oblivious. I AM OBSESSED.
7. Neil Fights The Foxes by This_Witch_Writes (10/12)
Neil picking fights when the Foxes treat Andrew badly? Yes, please. I am a whore for protective Neil. Be warned, there’s some triggering stuff in later chapters. Check tags and stay safe <3
8. Let’s make things interesting by Nico4undead (16/?)
Enter the Minyard-Josten rivalry. That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
9. Innominate by Major_816 (18/74)
Neil gets sold to the Moriyamas, but ends up with Ichirou instead of Riko. Now he’s a badass crime lord working undercover at Palmetto. Get ready for heartwrenching angst and heartwarming found family. I cannot express how obsessed I am.
10. In Which Neil Josten Is A PR Nightmare by CoverYourEyes (16/?)
Eve has the (mis)fortune of working as Neil Josten’s PR manager during the Minyard-Josten rivalry. Otherwise known as: Neil is ungovernable.
11. Tell Me How You Hate Me by Killingmeslowly_24 (that’s me !!) (3/18)
I can’t make a fic list without including my child. So, it’s TKM from Andrew’s POV. Andrew is absolutely feral for Neil, and he’s seriously in denial. It’s so much fun to write. Also!! we get the Nicky content we deserve!! Nicky as an adoring cousin!! (and is that Renee/Allison I see on the horizon? It is? 0.0)
The Oneshot Fics
They’re short, they might be sweet, and rest assured: they’re amazing.
1. Just Because I Can by NikNak22
Am I obsessed with this writer? maybe. Bro it’s 5+1, Neil pranking the Foxes and the Foxes pranking Neil back. Amazing, hilarious, I love it.
2. A Yellow Made Out Of Gray by thelessiknow
5 times Neil sees his friends feel loved + 1 time Neil feels loved. That’s it. That’s the fic. It’s just as fluffy and perfect as it sounds.
3. stay (you don’t have to go) by Major_816
Ohhhh boy. This one. It breaks me. Andriel highschool AU, they meet on a suicide prevention forum. So... major TW. It destroyed me, I’m not going to lie.
4. One day we’ll reveal the truth by allyasavedtheday
LOCKED FIC, YOU NEED AN AO3 ACCT TO READ !!
Aaron doesn’t trust Neil’s intentions, so Andrew tells him to watch how they interact. Cue the fluff.
5. Scribbles and Sticky Notes by Fortheloveofexy
I am so sorry in advance. Post-canon, Neil starts leaving sticky notes out for Andrew. Sweet things or reminders, whatever. Andrew saves them all. AND THEN YOU CRY !!
6 (and 7). goodbye, family. and don’t say goodbye by queenDay05
Neil knows his countdown is ending, so he records a video. The Foxes can’t find Neil, but they do find his goodbye. Absolutely soul crushing.
8. just a footnote by Anonymous
Kevaaron, they’re friends with benefits. Aaron is in love and not handling it well. Fluff and smut, so much mutual pining. One of my favorite oneshots ever.
Well! That was a wonderful little distraction, uhhhh.... expect an update by the end of the week? Life’s been... shit, honestly and I haven’t had the energy to write. 
Take care of yourselves, my loves <3
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cosmologyofgaming · 2 years
Text
Horizon Forbidden West's Plot Was Actually Not Great And Here's Why Thank You And Goodnight.
Alright, so SadJack and I just finished Horizon Forbidden West and…honestly, I feel really frazzled.
They made a good post a few days ago as I was still collecting my thoughts, parsing out the parts I liked, didn’t, and figuring out how it aligns with Zero Dawn and why this sequel felt like something was missing.
TBH I still can’t fully articulate if I enjoyed the game play, the main plot, the worldbuilding, or the characters. Its all just a silly little mess in my silly little head. So, here’s me trying to decipher those silly little thoughts.
This is 7376 words long. I’m not sorry.
Spoilers under the cut.
Main Plot
Okay so here’s the thing. This story has really weird pacing.
This game very much starts out slow like a drawn bow for the tutorial and prologue—which is ok! I don’t mind long intros especially when interspersed with cutscenes that lay the groundwork and almost “background knowledge” that’s a necessary foundation from which the story will bloom. And HZD did something similar in which after the opening cutscene where Rost does the naming ceremony with Aloy, we play as a young Aloy learning basic stealth techniques, saving a fellow Nora, and falling into the underground cave where she found her focus before finally getting to control Aloy as a young woman. However, that slow placing didn’t stop. In fact, I would argue that HZD is overall a slow burn—a mystery of sorts where Aloy is trying to
- Find acceptance amongst the Nora & Discover who her “mother” was (coming of age)
- Discover who the Eclipse were & why they want to killer her (vengeance quest)
- The world of the Old Ones & What Happened During the Faro Plague & What was Zero Dawn (mystery)
All these plot threads would eventually come to a head and that takes time—it’s not an easy narrative to craft and requires care to attention and detail, not just characters but character building, worldbuilding, and making sure the flow of information comes with that foundation of understanding to continue tying the pieces together in a coherent storyline. It’s almost a tapestry where multiple layers and loops of threads that becomes a collection overtime—a masterclass in narrative writing that HZD with the DLC achieved.
HFW in comparison is just. Hmm.
I honestly think it was rushed.
That’s being nice.
The prologue where Varl chases down Aloy and joins her, (re)introducing the plot of HZD, and setting up the situation where the Earth isn’t quite ready to self-regulate; especially with rogue subordinate functions doing what they will leading to rapid environmental deterioration that won’t stop unless GAIA harmonizes the terraforming systems and their governing AIs globally or else another mass extinction will ignite was really well done. It’s a fascinating plot line that fit with the worldbuilding and story as we knew it without feeling cheap or made up for the sake of dragging the story on—it tied in the concern, and consequences, of subordinate AIs gaining full autonomy soundly. I also didn’t mind the slower pace of catching up with old friends from the first game, seeing familiar sites, and the Daunt functioning sort of like the Embrace did in the first game as the “get good and find your bearings” area. It really helped build up the excitement for entering the “Forbidden West” and finally meeting more Tenakth and Utaru—the only tribes mentioned in the first game with characters that we never learned more about besides those whispers and rumours.
But TBH everything went to shit at the Hades Proving Lab.
As a spoiler for those of you who actually follow us on YouTube, yes. HFW is our current lets play. When this moment happened, SadJack and I had literally called out this plot a good 20 min before it happened and were like "pls don't do this pls don't do this" and cause I'm a blunt bitch, I said "if it's space people, I'm going to scream" and when it happened, I screamed, in rage, at the top of my lungs (rip in advance headphone users for those of you in the Void who watch our channel).
Anyways we had this super slow plot and in the span of like…5 minutes we learn that:
- The Odyssey survived
- Space people who are white supremacists exist
- One of them is in gamergate bro who mentions VR, sparkle sparkle means invincible shield situation, fashion choice looks like the bourgeoisie from the Hunger Games
- There are two (???) back-ups copies of GAIA
- There is another close of Elisabet Sobeck who clearly looks timid and mistreated (same age as Aloy or younger??? Undetermined.)
- Varl has a girlfriend who helped nurse us back to health who is Utaru???
This isn’t even to mention how 20 minutes earlier we spoke to whatever was left of Hades and found out that we are living on “biosphere 5” or whatever like dude I deadass had WHIPLASH from how much information this was in the amount of time we received it.
I was that overwhelmed, lowkey pissed, and frazzled that I stopped playing HFW for a month and had no desire to continue—which for comparison, I've platinumed HZD, played in through with the DLCs fully 3 times, and even based some of my MA thesis on the game.
Other than the obvious information overload, there were a few things that I personally didn't like about this:
1. TBH I’m not the biggest sci-fi fan (especially space exclusive sci-fi) and what made HZD different for me was that it seemed more dystopian post apocalyptic vibes grounded in Earth. The sudden genre shift sort of pulled the carpet from under my feet and made me feel icky (do you ever just get that with genres you don’t like? That cold, empty feeling?)
2. I was a big fan of HZD essentially being sexless. There’s so much oversexualization in video games (especially for female characters—and for those of you unfortunately on Twitter you’ll know that ever Aloy was roasted a few months back for not being “girly enough). There’s also so much push on romance and romancing that I really like the ambiguous nature of the game. There are TONS of hints, cute dialogue that is really left open to the mind of the player to be interpreted as whatever they please and I found this really innovative and refreshing so it focuses more so on platonic relationships—something severely lacking in modern media. Especially as someone into fan culture, I find this really freeing and gives everyone that creative boost of “no true cannon OTPs” for you to be flexible and do what you want. The thing with Varl and Zo was like…hmm don’t like this also was it necessary? And it made it WORSE that it deadass comes out of left field (TBH a detriment to Zo’s character but more on that later).
Honestly the only reason I picked it up again was because of filming obligations for our YouTube channel. And I guess, I did end up enjoying it again.
When I avoided the main quest at all costs and forced the game to slow down (And only cared about the Tenakth. Thank u Mr. Kotallo, sir).
Worldbuilding and the Plight of the 21st Century Things
Doing the side quests, exploring the clans and their environments, learning about their cultural differences, how they evolved within he world of Horizon; and how they adapted during in-game historic events (such as the Carja Red Raids) is the stuff that personally intrigues me. I was super excited with the prospect of learning more about the characters and the precise intricacies of GAIA and her functions. The Frozen Wilds DLC already did such a great job explaining HEPHAESTUS’ rationalization and how it began to evolve once becoming an independent AI gave me hope that the other AIs would be treated similarly to the makeup of the story as it was thus far—especially since I think HZD did such a great job explaining what AI is versus Machine Learning (still a contentious topic in academic circles even today), how bias is imbedded in the machine, and unethical technological consumption only leads to abuse and doom. And honestly, the main quests between the Hades Proving Lab and Gemini are good—but could be better. Capturing AETHER, POSEIDON, and DEMETER open up the world at large, give personalities to the AIs, and even creates wonderful and beautiful areas surrounding them. They're more cascading, with rolling effects that bleed into deeper character growth (Kotallo and Alva for instance) or create new areas all together (Las Vegas, the Grove). Yet at the same time these three AI missions very much fall into the "dungeon crawl fetch quest" stereotype. Go in, solve a puzzle, kill some machines, kill a boss machine, send the AI back to Mother Gaia. The change is also immediate. No more monster storms and the Blight disappears in the blink of an eye—which kind of makes sense…but the game was literally marketed with the Blight being a problem and is solved inconsequentially midway through the game. At least in the Utaru lands the side quest with the Land Gods helped push that thought forward (even though I thought DEMETER was the cause of the blight? Not terraforming machines abandoning tasks which is HEPHAESTUS thing? All in all, this part of the narrative was not well-resolved). Do they have personalities? Did they interact with GAIA peacefully? What other effects did they have?
When exploring desolate ruins in HZD, I never felt that I was doing simple fetch quests. I felt more like a detective sorting through tons of debris, collecting ALL THE DATAPOINTS to uncover what truly happened in those specific facilities beyond production…the people, their final emotions, the nuances surrounding the main time crunch of building GAIA, the burden of lying to the public that they were only fighting to buy time and everyone knew they would die…(seriously I feel like HFW had 1/4 of the datapoints). It was honestly…eerie and melancholic. I remember in a few of those you could literally see mummified remains (Aloy literally gets her focus as a small child pulling it off a corpse…and then listens to datapoints and literally hear how someone shoots themselves and how nurse Chana was offering cyanide pills). There was always that…almost horrific aspect of Zero Dawn when you realized just how dark the world was before it was born anew, contrasted with stunning visuals of booming, bountiful, blossoming life on the surface; sheltered from these underground bunkers and relics. Honestly it was more cauldron crawling than getting a chance to explore the bunkers thoroughly, uncovering how the people of California were coping with the Faro Plague. It’s surprising that this was overlooked, considering how extensively this was explored in the Frozen Wilds DLC where we learned more about the Climate Crisis of the 40s, experiencing nature facilities and national park museums (which I guess…kind of happens at the Grove where you realize the Tenkath are inspired by holograms from a War Museum) but overall, this point was…lacking. In HZD I felt like this split was 50/50 while in HFW it was 25/75 and considering how much they pushed the whole Odyssey, Far Zenith (now Zenithians?? Corporate countries and nationalities coming true??) and the creation of Nemesis?? It’s like they decided to completely forego environmental storytelling to enrichen the current world and the past that was lost.
Maybe they could have included another Zero Dawn facility, where say Elisabet reveals to Travis that she's not sure that the rumours about the Odyssey being destroyed are true…maybe opening up to him a little about Tilda and then dismissing it as irrelevant as all focus needs to be on Zero Dawn completion. Tilda's house is in California could have had more notes or information we could still not just art? Maybe Aloy discovers and explores Travis' home?? Idk anything other than the heavy handed datapoints about the Odyssey and Far Zenith in the game's prologue??? More info about the people in the FAS Biotech lab not just information on their studies?? Considering how much the game focused on Aloy's character growth in the first quarter of the game—realizing she's becoming an isolationist like Elisabet was who would turn her friends away in light of mission completion, realizing maybe how lonely she was and what her aspirations or regrets were. Since the first game focused so heavily on Elisabet’s story paralleling Aloy’s, perhaps this one should have focused on GAIA. Afterall, it’s hinted at in the first game that GAIA was partially inspired to clone Elisabet after remembering a conversation where she divulged if she had time, she would have liked to have a daughter.
And I think this is the crux of it. Wanting to push this space invaders plot asap, the game became really sloppy with the things that made HZD special…slow burn, world-creation. Not a linear plot from A to B, but a story full of heart. Beyond the lack of data points/simplistic quest lines of the main plot, beyond exploring for the sake of exploring and learning about cultures there's no big motivation to learn about the world. I remember spending hours collecting Banuk figurines and learning about Arnak that gave greater insight into the Banuk; random data points that weren't just military orientated but PEOPLE orientated; Bashar Mati's Vantage Points (lovingly dubbed the "Apocashitstorm Tour"); and even the metal flowers producing poetry—which most of the fandom speculated was DEMETER's doing after going rogue. There are no real collectibles in HFW. And speaking of the metal flowers, given the ones in HFW a stronger tie to HZD is literally not rocket science. It would have been easy to give the ones in HFW poetry as well, have GAIA speak to what Aloy experienced in HZD was the flowers first being deployed, and producing vines over time. Poetry could have still been included and tie it back to some algorithmic function…maybe one of the scientists at FAS Biotech uploaded a diary into the system that got mixed in with DEMTER once it made home in the facility—giving more personality to the AI, just like how we learned in Frozen Wilds that HEPHAESTUS is making killer machines because pesky humans won't stop hunting his terraforming children. It just felt like everything 21st century was ignored cause "Zenithians", and then since everything was based in the Tenakth territories, the Daunt and Plainsong quickly became irrelevant while I felt that in HZD, you had to return back to the Embrace on occasion (other then visiting Rost's grave, literally one of the final missions is there with that Heart of the Nora quest).
 Ok. What About the 30th Century?
Yes, I 100% enjoyed the side quests and learning about the Tenakth and the Utaru than the main plot, but I still think it could have used some work. TBH I think the collectibles I mentioned earlier also really helped enlighten how people are interpreting the past, as did the mass datapoints scattered across Meridian, in the first game. And honestly, blaming it on the fact that the Carja and Oseram can read and write while the Tenakth and Utaru can’t is a convenient excuse. When it comes to the Tenakth and Utaru, cultures that rely on tattooing and oral traditions, you need a different approach when crafting the narrative beyond dialogue and quests.
The game literally took the concept of "environmental storytelling" and yeeted it out the window.
Strike felt like a Gwent replica that didn't serve much purpose (but I suck at it so didn't really stick with it), cooking meals doesn't bring any new or interesting dialogue about how each clan cooks in different ways beyond intuitively reading between the lines, contracts are just to get better armour and dealing with more Oseram tinkers, and the racing I haven't finished yet but apparently the Easter Egg if you complete them all reveals Nil is alive? But these don't exactly enhance the story or create a more nuanced understanding of the world of "Horizon" or the cultures that inhabit the West. This game was much more focused on combat and "mechanics" than building up these cultures. Which is a shame!
Like there were little hints of some Tenakth things that we never really learn more about—their political structures, how they behaved pre Hekkaro unifying them, the Clan wars, KOTALLO TELL ME WHAT YOUR TATTOOS MEAN PLEASE, the idea that Commanders are only replaced when one kill's the other like the Yara/Drakka situation. I mean, there was that one quest in HZD where we fight Ullia who deadass asks us to drink her blood and I *think* there was a hint of this in HFW where they mention this was an old practice but not wide spread. Other Tenakth poke fun at Outlanders for believing it. Ok. So what was the problem in adding more dialogue options? Side quests? Maybe an elder at a fire talking to younglings that you could listen in on if their culture is oral? Talk to a tattoo artist? There was also the one quest in the Lowlands called "The Fog" where we deal with an elder Tenakath dealing with onset Dementia who is getting PTSD like flashbacks to the Clan Wars…and I think its implied Kotallo's parents were killed during the Clan Wars…but then we never really hear more about this. Or the Red Raids, even with Tenakth resilience. Despite the Chaplains being great sources of information, I was also kind of shocked that we didn't get to talk to Hekkaro as much and he would just…disappear when not needed. I felt like I could talk to Avad all the time or whenever I was bored, and he had a much larger impact on the game than Hekkaro ever did. Again, it comes back to this idea of rushing a narrative as opposed to taking the time and care to ensure all major/minor NPCs felt like fully fledged characters we could mostly interact with—especially with the heavier use of the "wit/heart/aggression" dialogue options that sometimes DID generate different response or outcomes. This is all to say, this game was heavy in the Tenkath lands with the Tenakth people. And yet I feel like I still know nothing about them in comparison to the Carja, the Banuk, Nora, and the Oseram (hilarious, considering we've never seen the "Claim" yet). And most of this I think, can be attributed to rushed storytelling. Sure, there are hints, but a whisper, if unheard, fades into the wind.
And then the game the devs were like "hmmm how do we creatively give players information and narrative?? INFO DUMPS AT THE BASE. THIS WILL REALLY GET THE PEOPLE GOING!"
I've seen some interesting perspectives here on tumblr and reddit about the base, the new additions, interesting dialogue that Aloy's companions reveal—especially if you visit them more often. For the most part, I agree. It actually gave you a reason to return to the base and I really liked that the dialogue would adjust, more or less, to what Aloy was doing in the outside world. It made the NPCs feel more immersed in the world and interested in what Aloy was actually doing to an extent and this was more successful with other NPCs more than others imo. But at the same time, sorting through all this dialogue and getting all the options? Exhausting. SadJack and I literally cut AN HOUR OF FOOTAGE from the eventual, final, episode of our HFW playthrough since it was all dialogue options at the base (and that's just the draft cut—not the final). That is insane. How is anyone supposed to retain that much information, let alone care about it. It adds no value to the story—again, pushing me to my "rushed" theory. It like "we have all this extra information and don't know what to do with it or don't have time to create more quests. LET’S HAVE THIS MASSIVE INFO DUMP AT THE END OF THE GAME." Which also comes back to pacing. There is minimal information, massive overload (we meet the Zeniths). Calm. Then the build up starts again, massive information overload (Gemini, Varl is Dead. Tilda. Zo is pregnant??? So much dialogue). And then the game is over.
And now the poor Utaru. I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly, but to my understanding from HZD, the Utaru were a secretive people, devout like the Nora but different from all the other tribes by living a mostly agrarian life. I was a little surprised that I could just waltz into Plainsong without fault considering its also part of the "Forbidden West" (and I also remember their being so much speculation that Plainsong wasn't even IN the West). Regardless, I felt really weird that in this supposed "Tenakth" controlled West, I could causally waltz into all things Utaru. I will say I think the side quests were really good—learning about their culture, the seeds they carry, worldview, and the complicated political stronghold the Chorus has (as well as that one shady murder of that one politically radical Utaru who caused "discord"). However, since the majority of main quests reside in Tenakth lands, I didn’t motivate me to return and seek out Utaru side quests…or their complicated politics didn’t feel connected to the larger story. And weird introduction aside, Zo's quest really returned to that storytelling element of characters telling us events from their memories so we can learn more about a society as a whole. My only complaint with that mission is that I think it taught me more about the Utaru than Zo as a person. Which leads us to our next point.
 Characters
I've already rambled a lot so I'm going try and keep this short and sweet (I say to myself. Like a liar.)
Avad, Uthid, Vanasha, Petra, Murad, Itamen: Really nice to see old friends and familiar faces re-appear. Wish we got to talk to them a bit more—Petra teaches us Strike and I never care to talk to her again. The one time I did, it was new dialogue after I completed the Daunt quests. TBH lowkey surprised Avad wasn't more involved since at the start it really seemed like he was going to be more in the plot, especially after making his intentions with his feelings more prominent (this time being like see Aloy. You are no longer a rebound from Ersa. Take this gold headpiece as proof that I love you. Please date me) and essentially getting us into the Embassy and Fashav's initial introduction. Then I never saw Avad again and never got to make more trophy husband jokes. Speaking of Fashav…
Fashav: I WANTED TO LEARN MORE. WANTED TO SEE HIM INTERACT WITH AVAD. AND HEKKARO. DISAPPOINTED.
Hekkaro: BENEVOLENT KING. WHY CAN'T YOU TALK TO ME. TALK TO ME. 
Talanah: I honestly thought she was going to become part of the GAIA gang. I know she's leader of the Hunter's Lodge in Meridian, but Kotallo's a Marshal and also important so like so what? Also, we have one of each tribe member in the base except for a Carja even though Talanah knew the base location? Wish we got to have the hunting queen with us she's a great friend to Aloy and could join Kotallo in roasting Erend. Also, after the Amadis break-up situation, why drink with Petra in Chainscrape when you can kill some space people instead? She'd march right up to Beta and be like "your attitude. Is shit. We're going to hunt now". Anyways, happy she was introduced, and we got at least that one mini quest line with her. It's literally more justice than what Varl got.
Varl: RIP Sweet Prince you deserved SO much better. Honestly? They wasted Varl's character, killed him in the most humiliating way possible, and justified it as a plot device to damage Aloy further into the hero “messianism” complex. Let me explain.
Then, Zo enters the field and out of nowhere, Varl is in a romantic relationship with someone who he's known for like 2 days and alskdjfal;skdjfasl we'll talk about that more later. But at first, Aloy definitely displays some hostility (jealousy?) for the situation, and I feel like it was meant as a kind of backstab to Aloy's character. Like "see? You didn't move fast enough on Varl you pushed him away and were replaced" vibes (which is honestly really gross and not fair to Zo's character). Although Varl does the best thing a friend can do (make them feel like they haven't been replaced, being able to balance friendship, duty, and newfound romantic partnerships) again, this is just bizarre pacing. I feel like his relationship with Zo should have been, if anything, a slow build up that climaxed (literally, figuratively) near the end of the game. And now onto his death. Which was pointless. Seriously what was the point? Especially the way it happened? To show how "strong" the Zeniths were? Imo, the only point was to push Aloy more into this "messianism" that most heroes embody—the entire weight of the world is on their shoulders, they shouldn’t involve people or they'll get hurt, etc. etc. but more about how this effects Aloy later. For Varl, it did nothing for his character. His death had no impact and I wish he at least put up a fight like Rost did against Helis to showcase some battle prowess.
Varl is one of her first friends, I would argue she's closer to Erend, but at the very least one of the first, alongside his late sister Vala and mother Sona, to accept Aloy before she was "the anointed one" and actually view her as a person. Besides Rost, Varl is essentially her only tie to the Nora that isn't rooted in resentment and disappointment. He's also one of the rare people to know how Aloy was treated, how far she's come, and who she was before becoming Saviour of Meridian who was hinted as a potential romantic interest in HZD. If we split the game up into three arcs (Part 1 The Prologue; Part 2 Daunt and Plainsong; Part 3 Tenakth Lands) than in Part 1 of the game, Varl was very much a friend tracking her down, showing her she didn't have to be alone and how far he would go for her. It could definitely be read as quasi-romantic for those who want to, or just a really loyal friend who highly respects Aloy. She shows him the world of the focus and even though it causes direct conflict with his Nora upbringing and faith, he never comes at her with anger, but rather with compassion and curiosity. Their relationship is very wholesome, and I feel like Varl was probably one of the only people Aloy could talk to about Rost—not just as her father who passed away, but as a Nora outcast. Varl could have been the perfect bridge to help the Nora eventually lose some zealotry. If anything, Varl could have been a conduit for the Nora (lowkey I also feel really sad that Sona has at this point, lost both her children).
Also why did we get to do a side quest with everyone except Varl. Main quest stuff doesn't count.
Zo: I feel bad for Zo. She was this spunky, rebellious character who I never cared for because of how she was introduced, and the way in which her story was presented to us. SadJack pointed this out earlier but Zo's fast romance with Varl and pregnancy reduce her to nothing more than a plot device incubator to carry Varl 2.0. I've also seen some interesting comments of her being the Harbinger since she is a "gravesinger" and gave Varl comfort before his untimely demise. Regardless, I honestly think if we had a side quest or two with her BEFORE she’s shacked up with Varl it would have made more sense for her character in a way that gives a connection to Aloy. Not just "my bff got a new squeeze when I was unconscious and now she has to come with us and I have to learn to like her what??". It also initially pits Zo and Aloy against each other which is such a toxic way to portray woman. And then, we get all these massive dumps about Zo's life from talking to her at the base, and finally a mission with her and the Land Gods. The mission was decent. Gave us some insight into the Utaru and Zo's life, but at the same time it felt impersonal since she was mostly talking to us over the focus. I don't mind having storytelling in the game—in fact earlier, I encouraged it, but there's something about this main character talking at us constantly, asserting herself as part of the team even though we barley know her, without having a direct connection with Aloy and therefore, the player. And its honestly a shame since it undermines Zo's character into this weird foil to Aloy in terms of toxic female tropes and I didn't really care for her, even though objectively she's really cool. Just wish the game nurtured that relationship a bit more. Again, the pacing of her story felt backwards and rushed. I think if we learned about her rebellious nature more, how she stood up amongst the peaceful Utaru to fight with the Tenakth against the Carja, before Varl even met her, it would feel like a more natural progression. This is to say, the only thing we ever learn about Zo is by her talking AT the player. There is no diversity to how her story is told beyond continuous lecturing and "info dumping". Even something as silly as the Land God quest, I think having Zo actually fight side by side with us, alone, and then adding some dialogue of Aloy asking Zo where she learned to fight like that and have a cutscene where Zo explains she fought the Carja, over having her talk through a focus while I'm getting rekted by machines would be far more impactful.
Kotallo: Alexa play Moto Luv by Seemee & Soda Luv. All jokes aside, Kotallo and Alva, imo are the two characters that got the best characterization. I'm not sure if this is because they were new to the gang (well…so was Zo but she just got the "careless love interest baby incubator" treatment). But overall Kotallo and Alva were both part of the main quest, we had missions involving them and missions just to learn more about them. It set their standing and importance in their respective communities, gave chance for them to connect with Aloy, and later they actually interact with what is happening and made them feel more real. Like after returning from Thebes? Kotallo is the only one who showed interest like "hmm I heard you went to see this Faro tomb so I googled him AND HOLY SHIT HE'S THE REASON FOR THE APOCALYPSE". SadJack's planning to write a more in-depth post on Thebes, but the point resides that this charismatic character is not only given complexity into his importance in the world in a way that poor Zo never was. With Kotallo, there is more of a story being told, mutual respect grown, the build up from him calling us "outlander" with spite to finally acknowledging us as his "commander". I also found his story of overcoming the massacre and losing his arm to be really inspiring of accepting himself, realizing he isn't "missing" or lacking, despite what Tenakth culture dictates, and proves himself not only to his friends, but to his Tribe.
Alva: Alva shares a similar story arc to Kotallo and behaves similarly in that she comments on in-game events at the base instead of "this are the cool things I learned today Aloy :)" Which I also liked! It was interesting to see characters learning about the old world and get excited about things (even though I was a little surprised that Aloy was giving focuses out like candy at Halloween) but again, their presence is more impactful the more they engage with Aloy beyond talking at her and diversifying the types of storytelling deployed. This also has me thinking that instead of just wasting hours talking to everyone at the base, systematically between missions, if there was some sort of "companion" option where we could take one character with us to complex side quests or errands, they could talk to us and reveal more in these instances. Also, would have really supported the "Aloy learn to rely on your friends and not to do things alone" plotline they really tried to push. The one thing I will say is that despite the way I like the mysteriousness of the Quen, their corrupt, draconian politics, and the hint as to why Ted was an ancestor (old focuses that don't have new data passed the 40s, when during the Climate Crisis Faro industries made atmosphere detoxifying robots design by Elisabet when she was still working for him) I'm honestly surprised, given Tenakth hostility towards outsiders, that more of them and they were fairly isolated (conveniently even) in San Francisco.
Erend: I think Erend was the happy middle between Varl/Zo versus Kotallo/Alva. He didn't interact with our missions much, but did show care for Aloy and wanting to prove his usefulness—almost like with Ersa, that he didn't need to be left behind and was capable in helping. Also, since Varl got the serotonin boost of *love* from Zo, Erend was truly the only character left that could actively criticize Aloy for how she treated her friends and abandoned them. I also wish that since Varl and Zo were just heart-eyes at each other, and Erend showed some discomfort, they elaborated more on his loneliness…maybe he also tried to chat with Beta and she spurned everyone except Varl…but then rekindles something with Alva and Kotallo. I will say though, I really liked that he joined us for the mission against Asera and we spoke to him about how he hasn't fully processed the death of his sister and does feel lonely (especially with Kotallo locking himself away to brood, forced to stare at the lovers flirting all day). I really wish that the pressure he put on Aloy remained (and highkey I wish Varl also put more pressure on Aloy for this…even in his own kind way) and perhaps help Aloy talk about the pain of losing Rost and help her work through this.
Sylens: I've always considered Sylens one of the most mysterious and fascinating characters of the game. He's morally grey, self-serving, and loyal only to his hubris. I think Sylens' introduction was incredible—tying in the final cutscene of HZD with how Sylens stole Hades and pulled a fast one on all of us, torturing an AI for information, and leading Aloy on another goose chase that almost results in her getting killed. Just good ol, classic Sylens stuff. And then…the end game with the Zeniths. It feels like lazy writing that Sylens caused a civil war. Again. And armed fanatical separatists. Again. We learned that he lied to the Banuk and might not even be Banuk in the Frozen Wilds DLC and I honestly wish it explored that part of his character more instead of being like "Sylens got a call from the Space People and is *enlightened*" and then has this weird parallel to Tilda (but far less creepy since lets be real, Tilda was essentially grooming Beta) involved with secrecy as a self-serving snake, but there was something about Aloy finally blackmailing Sylens to join her that…didn't seem as satisfying as it should? I think it's because he essentially did the same things, he did in the first game. Just this time around, Aloy isn't in the loop, and he doesn't call us occasionally.
Regalla: She should have been the main antagonist of the game. Period. And honestly, I think Regalla's character was also wasted when she could have had the same levels of complexity that Sylens possesses. Similarly to Helis, Regalla is marked with ferocious loyalty and fervent righteousness regarding what she believes is right. But unlike Helis who was like "Jiran is dead f u Avad" Regalla feeling humiliated by Hekkaro's mercy, blood-thirsty for vengeance against the Carja for their atrocities during the Red Raids was interesting since it doesn't necessarily make her "evil". I wish we learned more about her in the bandit camps just like with Helis, or at the very least, had more confrontations from her, learned more about her time as a Marshal, why she was considered the best, and how the Sky and Lowland clans viewed her other than the small information we learn about her from the Desert Clan fades away by the end of the storyline. It would have been cool to also see her effect more beyond Dekka's grandson joining the rebellion. More soldiers, or even rebels, arguing with the Tenakth about joining Regalla. She could have also been working with Sky Clan Commander Tekkoteh to learn of the embassy, more messy politics of the Tenkath. Send Fashav to Avad, and kill him in a third game later. I mean, the rebels didn’t even outwardly attack any major Tenakth cities.
I also found that this one instance of sparing her versus killing her was weird. There is also no real "neutral" option (just like with Yara and Drakka) and when you choose the "neutral/wits" option (which I personally leaned to in the first game). I think its right that you give Kotallo justice and allow him to kill Regalla since I felt there was no real reason to not kill her? She gives a—you GUESSED IT—INFO DUMP at the Base before getting this…weird quasi-heroic death fighting off a hoard of specters.
Asera: Very much felt like the…worse 2B version of Derval. I did not care for her cause she was this random side villain who we knew nothing about and had a vendetta against Aloy I guess. Like cool story bro, tell it again. Also, other than the weird fact that Asera and the Brothers of Prometheus (BoP) being more so influenced by Sylens than Regalla's rebels, why did we never learn about how Asera and Regalla started working together? Was their relationship business only? Cordial? Mutual respect? Or begrudging convenience? Was one planning to stab the other in the back? Considering the BoP were situated alongside Tenkath rebels at the bandit camp locations? This honestly could have been a fantastic plot. Two women, frustrated by how their tribes have come to quickly forgive the Carja, form an alliance through strange means and work together to take down Avad. Would have preferred that, and having a chance to interact more with Avad (maybe even getting Avad and Hekkaro to work together to further solidify peace between their tribes), than this Zeniathian space invaders bullshit. Especially since at the first bandit camp you can hear Asera and Regalla talking about their pact and Regalla reprimanding the camp for getting into a fight with BoP before asking Asera if that “line of discipline” was sufficient. I would have loved to see them interact together and again, gives me the impression they had more planned, but it was cut or rushed.
The Zeniths: Were also, ultimately, pointless. Their floating sucked. Their sparkly clothing was stupid. Most of them ended up being canon fodder. Their leader? Jeff Bezos wannabe? Forgettable. His name was Peter Tshivhumble? Deadass had to google what his name was. The fact that they were at one point a corporation and then became a colony and used that name to define themselves? Cancer. Erik Visser? Lil Gamergate bitch boy? Apparently, an ancestor to the Quen? Why. Learned nothing about him. Alva please tell me more, preferably not as an info dump at the base. But also, he killed Varl and deserved to die physically and spiritually in obscurity. Gave Zo some extra goodie points for her final murder of him. Tilda? True villain potential. Manipulative, self-serving, and an excellent foil to Sylens. But considering I hate the Zenithian plot device could go without her.
Also writing this out now I realize the three main villains that were treated stupidly were women. Go figure.
Aloy: The Queen herself. I think part 1 Aloy was better than part 2.
Part 1 Aloy was shown consequences for her increasing isolationism, her growing short temper and general smarminess as if caught between the frustration of none of her friends truly understanding the gravity of the situation, while also feeling the pressure of needing to save the world again. It set up the story as an arc for further character development from Aloy—showing that not all heroes need to work alone, how you treat your friends matters, and that some people are so loyal they will follow you regardless of what you want. After Varl was murdered this all went to shit. Part 2 Aloy behaves almost like end of HZD Aloy which doesn’t make too much sense since their story arcs are completely different. As if having done a 180 Aloy is suddenly compassionate and patient again, ignoring the awkward tension between her and Zo for full acceptance, suddenly seeing Beta as “sister” despite 5 minutes earlier being frustrated and wanting nothing to do with her and laskjdflaksjdflaksdjf;lkdjf all the things that were promised disappeared and Aloy’s growth arc either mutated or was totally dropped. I mentioned earlier how the response options significantly reduced in HFW and I wonder if that was to perhaps show Aloy’s increasing impatience and unyieldiness…especially since everytime you chose “compassion, aggression, heart” dialogue options it was only a guise for “yes/no” scenarios, while HZD very much leaned into the fluid nature of these three responses.   Lastly, Aloy got to glide but never got to use the shield she got from defeating Regalla’s champion. Why.
 Dystopian Futurism, Sci-Fi, and Trans-Humanistic Disaster 
So, AFTER ALL THIS and some reflection, I think my initial diagnosis of the problem being the game feels unfinished and rushed was correct. Its not that the game is bad per se, it was just really sloppily executed from what initially was a very promising plot. It's also really unfortunate that the first game definitely receive more developmental time, more care for the narrative, etc. and the direct sequel doesn't match it for the same level of storytelling if that makes sense and I do feel disappointed because of this. The story honestly, to me, feels downgraded from the first one.
Especially the Zenith and Nemesis plot. I still think that's the stupidest shit ever. And SadJack nailed it earlier—take out the Zeniths, leave them for game three, and you would have had a really solid plot. Expand the rebellion and in-game politics, expand exploration of the functions and maybe even add in some more Quen development. Hell, this game could have ended with a cliffhanger in which you can’t find 1 or 2 final functions and that’s when the hint of the Zenithians comes in (in which case, this game could have had more datapoints at potential Odyssey survival), etc.
This game cared more about mechanics than the narrative. The first game is the epitome of wabi sabi aesthetics—a melancholic hauntology that is contrasted with incredible beauty and hope. The poetry of the game, the slow burn of the plot, well rounded characters to a point where random NPCs for side quests had fully fleshed storylines. Instead, we had weird timing of space and compression, narratives dumps in dialogue that took hours to sort through, and a larger focus on battle mechanics (new weapons, all weapons are different, machine varieties, strategies), than exploring the world (collectibles, poetry, more dialogue decisions, etc.)
It's imbalanced. And is falling into so many tropes that the narrative is predictable. Like even in the future, let's be real, Nemesis will probably be absorbed by GAIA to become the new "Hades".
The end.
— Mod Zmora
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pastafossa · 2 years
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Hi pasta!
Good luck with the storm and also fingers crossed your fiberglass nightmare ends soon <3
I wanted to start writing some matt x reader one shots, but I’m kinda new to writing. Do you have any tips on how to start and actually finish anything?
Ty! I know the room will be worth it in the end because it desperately needed some insulation, but damnnn this is just a nightmare that I'd like to be over LOL.
I can give some tips on starting and finishing, absolutely!
Remember that there's no real pressure with fanfic - it's either for fun or something you can use to hone your skills. This means that either way, it's ok if it's not perfect. You win just by writing, learning something new, or enjoying yourself, so try to remember that if the anxiety monster grabs hold and wants you to give up.
There will be a point while you're writing where you'll likely think what you're writing sucks and should be burned. This happens with every art form, whether it's painting or writing or wood carving. Just shove the screaming voice in a box and tell yourself you can fix it in editing (truth).
Tropes are fun for a reason, so my advice is to start small and pick a beloved trope you can do a fun little drabble on where there's an obvious endpoint. Think Matt having the sniffles and needing care, or him and reader trying to bake Christmas cookies (flirtations and smut optional). These have the benefits of having a clear end which can help when you're worried about finishing. The cookies get baked, or Matt starts feeling better, so there's always this neat little finish line you can direct yourself towards.
You can also grab something from a prompt list! It can be a kiss prompt list, or a hurt/comfort one, smut, fluff, etc. Things with action generally work nicely for one-shots; quotes can be a little harder, but don't be afraid to look at those if you want to try!
If you can't figure out how to start, consider trying this: skip a lot of the initial stuff. If they're baking cookies, you can jump right into, say, Matt coming home to Reader who's already got the ingredients out and ready to mix, and the oven turned on. It'll be made pretty clear in the scene and via dialogue what's happening, so you don't need to include grocery shopping and deciding and finding the recipe, etc etc. This way you can jump right to the fun stuff.
Don't worry about wordcount. When you're new to something, it's alright if it's short, although you might end up going longer!. If you were playing a game and starting at a low level, smacking at a dragon with 50k hitpoints doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You start with rats you can easily shank in 3 hits as you level up. If you have a clear end point (boom, cookies), and a topic you know you can kill, then all you have to focus on is getting there.
When you're writing, just try to write. Let it all flow, get the words out, run with your story idea. I know some people argue about editing as they go, but in my experience, this doesn't work. Editing as you go slows you down, it makes you second guess yourself, and you begin to doubt what you're writing. You're way more likely to stop writing. What you want is word vomit, because absolutely everything can be fixed in editing. This is what I do for TRT and one shots, and it's served me well. Spelling errors? Ignore them. Clumsy sentences? Fix them later. Get your idea out while the muse is hot and save editing for the next day after everything is done.
I hope these tips help! The biggest thing is honestly to just jump. When I first started writing fic as a preteen, my stuff was about the quality level you'd expect, but that's just because I was new to it, and I'd never have gotten to where I am if I'd stopped. Just takes some learning and leveling up. <3
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ohheyitsyouagain · 2 years
Text
Damian’s Fic Recs - DuckTales
[August 2022]
writing up another one today, because I’m not in the mood to sleep, apparently. there won’t be as much commentary with this one, since I haven’t actually read any of these in a while. I’m just going through my bookmarks. but I know there’s still duck fans looking for content!
so, here we go!
check out the rest of my recs~
Ratings Guide:
🌹 - Shippy
🌷 - Hints/mentions of ships, but not the main focus
🌻 - Purely Platonic
💚 - General Audiences
💛 - Teen
🧡 - Mature
✅ - Complete
❌- In-progress
🌹💚❌ Febufluff 2020: Ducktales Edition by orphan_account
Word Count: 21k Chapters: 20/28
First Published: February 1st, 2020 Latest Update: April 22, 2020
This is a series of one-shots (that aren't connected) from the Febufluff 2020 prompts.
[Notes: given the fact that this hasn’t been updated since 2020, and that it’s orphaned, I wouldn’t get my hopes up about it getting any more updates. still, there’s a lot of variety in here, and at least one of these oneshots will probably catch your eye.]
🌻💚✅ [humming “moon theme” from the ducktales nes video game] by organicjacket
Word Count: 500 Chapters: 5/5
First Published: July 7th, 2021 Finished: July 16th, 2021
100-word short drabbles based on Della Duck or Drabbles based on words from a random word generator I found online.
[Notes: there’s going to be another organicjacket fic in here, because I’m a sucker for clean word counts and random word generators.]
🌻💚✅ *don cheadle’s voice* i am the storm by organicjacket
Word Count: 600 Chapters: 6/6
First Published: June 28th, 2021 Finished: July 4th, 2021
100-word short drabbles based on Donald Duck or Drabbles based on words from a random word generator I found online.
🌻💛✅ The Fall of the House of Funso by PartlyCloudySkies
Word Count: 5.8k Chapters: 1/1
Published: January 2nd, 2021
Pepper throws a pizza party and nearly destroys F.O.W.L.
🌻💚✅ No Surprise Here by Rintin10
Word Count: 496 Chapters: 1/1
Published: September 13th, 2019
Donald wasn’t surprised that his family had forgotten about him.
🌻💚✅ all the things they might have said to you by twilighteve
Word Count: 6k Chapters: 1/1
Published: October, 24th, 2020
Della went to the moon and wondered how much of it was wanderlust and how much of it was her heart screaming terrified screams over the children she chose to bear but wasn’t ready to. Donald broke his relationship with the man he thought of as a father and raised his nephews, mourning for a corpse that was still alive. Scrooge shut himself off from the world. He built glass castles of routine and cold detachment and glue them all together with nothing but spit and spite. Della comes back from the dead, and the glass castles shatter.
[Notes: I remember this one emotionally devastating me when I first read it. and it made me permanently associate Never Love an Anchor by The Crane Wives with Della Duck.]
🌻💛❌ De Spelled by rip_in_pieces_my_last_braincell
Word Count:1.7k Chapters: 1/15
First Published: March 23rd, 2021 Latest Update: March 23rd, 2021
“Hey so a stray spell hit one of the cells and now there’s a dude there saying he’s Magica’s brother. What uh...what am I supposed to do about that?”
[Notes: like with febufluff, I wouldn’t expect a continuation. but hey, you never know.]
🌹💛❌ Birds of a Feather by ZeroTwo
Word Count: 22k Chapters: 4/5
First Published: April 26th, 2020 Latest Update: November 4th, 2021
Honestly Donald had no idea why José had taken such a liking to him. The duck didn’t make new friends easily.
[Notes: okay, this one is actually going to get updated. I hope. I’ve been following this one since the start, and it’s the one duck fic I’m still keeping up with.]
🌻💚✅ Oops! All uncles! by astrojanus
Word Count: 925 Chapters: 1/1
Published: March 26th, 2021
Dewey and Panchito are just spending some quality time together by using nerf guns for target practice when, as expected, they end up breaking something. Meanwhile José wonders why he thought that allowing a child to wield a real sword to “playfully spar” with him was a good idea, and Donald has to be the responsible one.
🌻💚✅ Big Brother by Stargaze_Sunflower
Word Count:1.1k Chapters: 1/1
Published: March 26th, 2021
He hadn’t forgotten, exactly, that Louie was younger than him, it just didn’t cross his mind very often. He was usually too busy thinking about how he was younger than Huey. He’d spent all day trying to prove himself as ‘big brother’, and he’d sort of overlooked that he’d actually been one all along.
🌹💚❌ One, Two, Three! by orphan_account
Word Count: 38k Chapters: 6/?
First Published: April 7th, 2020 Latest Update: June 10th, 2020
How an opportunity for José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles changed their lives, and a life of a certain duck too.
[Notes: yet another orphaned fic. sigh.]
🌻💛✅ Trick and Treat by agentz123
Word Count: 1.8k Chapters: 3/3
First Published: October 10th, 2020 Finished: October 11th, 2020
Huey, Dewey, and Louie set out on their first trick-or-treating session without their uncle Donald.
🌻💛✅ Safe and young by ToddyToon
Word Count: 1.3k Chapters: 1/1
Published: April 7th, 2019
The scene brought up too many memories, he couldn’t really say if they were better times, but they were definitely happy, joyful. A little, just a little, less troublesome. Oh, how much he’d missed them.
🌹🧡✅ O Pato Donald by Caleana_Duck
Word Count: 34k Chapters: 8/8
First Published: April 5th, 2020 Finished: July 8th, 2020
Donald is tricked into traveling to Brazil with his family, thinking they are searching for some lost treasure. He meets some old friends, and may have gotten more than he bargained for.
[Notes: I can’t believe this fic started and finished in just three months. the wait felt so much longer when I was actually reading it...]
🌻💚✅ 2. Choking by ohheyitsyougain
Word Count: 713 Chapters: 1/1
Published: October 2nd, 2021
Della wakes up on the moon.
[Notes: we’ve officially reached the point of the rec list where I start plugging my own fics. I don’t write ducks anymore, but there’s quite a few that I’m still proud of! All of these ones with numbers in them were written for last year’s whumptober, just to give you a feel for the mood they’ll all have.]
🌻💚✅ 4. Pushed by ohheyitsyouagain
Word Count: 1.4k Chapters: 1/1
Published: October 4th, 2021
Donald was tired. Tired of being ignored, tired of everyone acting like their ideals were more important than his, tired of having to deal with his curse of loving a family that was in life-threatening danger on a daily basis. Who knew that a brick being thrown through his window would change all of that?
🌻💚✅ 8. Definitely Just A Cold by ohheyitsyouagain
Word Count: 1.1k Chapters: 1/1
Published: October 8th, 2021
Hanahaki doesn't kill. It's chronic, not terminal. That doesn't make it any less of a pain, especially when your kids start worrying about it, too.
🌻💚✅ 10. Hospital by ohheyitsyouagain
Word Count: 1.4k Chapters: 1/1
Published: October 10th, 2021
Della pays Donald a visit at the hospital after the Moonvasion.
🌻💚✅ 12. Begging by ohheyitsyouagain
Word Count: 687 Chapters: 1/1
Published: October 12th, 2021
“You need to stay awake, okay?” The smaller duck clung to him with chilled, trembling fingers. “H-Huey, I don’t-” “Please, Louie. Stay awake. So I know you’re okay.”
🌻💛✅ 17. Please Don’t Move by ohheyitsyouagain
Word Count: 708 Chapters: 1/1
Published: October 17th, 2021
Theoretically, Huey knew how to set a broken bone, and he knew how to bandage one. But knowing how to do something and actually doing it are very, very different things. Especially when it was your little brother on the ground, sobbing in agony over a broken leg and not a training dummy.
🌻💛✅ Servant of Evil by ohheyitsyouagain
Word Count: 1.5k Chapters: 1/1
Published: July 9th, 2021
“Della.” She looked up from her writing, and did a double take when she saw who was standing in her doorway. She laughed. “Oh, hey Donald!” He was wearing one of her yellow dresses, and his hair was out of its usual ponytail. “I almost didn’t recognize you!” He stiffened, not even smirking at her statement. “That’s sort of the plan, actually…”
[Notes: this fic has a sequel, seen below.]
🌻💚✅ Regret Message by ohheyitsyouagain
Word Count: 794 Chapters: 1/1
Published: August 7th, 2021
Della Duck was dead. She was killed in the uprising years ago, in a public execution watched by many a long-suffering peasant. It was practically a kingdom-wide holiday. At last, the daughter of evil had been vanquished. That’s what everyone thought, anyway.
[Notes: sequel to the above fic.]
🌹💚✅ It Makes an Ass out of You and Me by ohheyitsyouagain
Word Count: 486 Chapters: 1/1
Published: October 9th, 2020
When you spend eleven years on the moon, you tend to make some assumptions about the things that have happened since you left. Aka: Three related but unconnected oneshots of Della vastly overestimating Donald's romantic capabilities.
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roosterbox · 7 months
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It’s Done
I’ve finished watching Hannibal. And honestly idk how y’all survived that finale back in 2015. Goddamn.
Anyway, I took notes. Spoilers, obviously.
Notes on The Wrath of the Lamb
Oooooooh boy here we fucking goooooo. Idk if I’m ready for this, guys
Poor Chilton. Really.
And poor Reba! She’s so awesome.
Richard Armitage is really great as Dolarhyde.
He’s got such a deep fucking voice, damn son.
Go Reba go!
This is my last time seeing this intro. *sighs*
Side note: at least half of the ads I’ve gotten on Hulu since watching this show have been kind of queer themed. I’m not gonna say it was because of Hannibal, but I’m not not saying that either, lol.
Will and Reba, awww. These two.
Will is such a good, ugh. I love him.
Dig dat memory palace
Get you a man that looks at you like Hannibal Lecter looks at Will Graham.
“What a cunning boy you are.” HANNI you’re such a FLIRT, stahp.
Is he stopped? Is he really, Will?
All of Will and Hannibal’s scenes in the second half of season 3 are like two birds doing a matching pair of outrageous mating dances. While also shit-talking each other the whole time. Their courtship game is next level.
THE HAND ON THE GLASSSSSSS my hearrrrrrrt
Will tries breaking Hannibal’s heart again, lol.
Oh shiiiiiiit. Told you he wasn’t stopped, Will.
Francis, if you hurt my baby boy…
Jimmy and Zeller! I’m gonna miss you guys when this ends. Even you, Zeller.
Bedelia! I’m sure I’ll see you again…
Also Will is sooooooo bitchy to her, lmao. He’s so jealous.
But Bedelia does know all.
“Meat’s back on the menu” FORESHADOWING, lmao. I love jealous, bitchy Will so much.
Yeeesh, poor Chilton. It’s kinda strange, because if this had happened to movie!Chilton? I wouldn’t have cared. Movie!Chilton is a true and irredeemable asshole of the highest order. But something (be it the writing or Raul Esparza) made series!Chilton into a more interesting, sympathetic, well-rounded character than his film counterpart. Never would have thought going in that I’d actually like Frederick Chilton, lol.
Gotta say, I’m not super fond of Alana’s post time skip hairstyle. But that’s just me.
Hanni hopes Chilton won’t be very ugly. Nice reference to the Red Dragon book, though he was talking about Will in that.
I love it when Hannibal gets all menacing. I don’t actually find Mads that intimidating as a person, but when he gets like that? Almost.
“I’ll say pretty please.” Oh I’m sure you will, Will. I’m sure you will ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
All of their fucking scenes are supercharged with sexual tension, my god.
“I need you, Hannibal.” And just like that, all of Hanni’s fantasies are coming true. Well, almost all of them. We’ll get back to that…
The escape. Yessssss.
Oh hey Francis. Fancy seeing you here.
“Going my way?” ASDFGHJKJHGFDS THESE GUYSSSSSS
The way Will looks at Hannibal ASDFJKLBFJBLK I cannot.
btw I still remember that Bryan Fuller said that Will and Hannibal’s “lips were busy” while the time passed. Don’t think I’ve forgotten, lmao.
And they’ve changed clothes, hmmmmm
There’s the Goldberg Variations again.
“My compassion for you is inconvenient, Will” might as well have said he loves him, lol.
IT BEGINS.
Hanni deliberately stood in front of the window (and Will) to take the bullet.
WILL! Francis, you touched his FACE! His beautiful FACE! How could you?!
Pull out that knife, Will.
They kill as a team. How romantic 🥰 And thus marks the moment when literally all of Hannibal’s deepest fantasies came true.
Damn, son. Daaaaamn.
I love to see my baby boy go so FERAL. It’s my favorite headcanon about how they kill together: Hanni is very clean, collected, almost elegant. Whereas Will will go straight savage on a motherfucker.
The blood spreads like wings. That’s cute.
Oh my goooooood it’s HAPPENING.
“This is all I ever wanted for you, Will. For both of us.” AHHHHHHHH!
“It’s beautiful.” I AM SCREAMING AND CRYING AND ROLLING ON THE FLOOOOOOR.
I think I love this song tbh.
The EMBRACE.
The FALL.
And then they went on the run. Also they got married. And fucked. A lot.
OH HEY Bedelia. Bon Appetit!
And with that… my first time Hannibal viewing journey comes to an end. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t very emotional about it. Also about that cliff scene, GODDAMN. I’ll see about doing a big write up about my thoughts tomorrow. It’s getting a bit late for that now.
Summary: I loved it.
I’m off to read more fanfics, lol.
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imasiriuslydirtydaddy · 7 months
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just finished Don’t Worry Darling…
Y’ALL IM IN AWE. THIS MOVIE IS SO DAMN GOOD
obviously i’d heard it’s good and when i saw it’s one Netflix and had the motivation to watch i decided i’d better watch it then or i never would and honestly i didn’t think i’d be super into it
definitely one of my top five movies now
the acting is AMAZING Florence Pugh never fails ✋ and Harry Styles was great too- the car scene?! UGH SO GOOD
and the soundtrack was amazing everyone knows music adds so much to what the audience feels but guys- THIS WAS SO GOOD kinda reminded me of Squid Game’s music but the tone was so different cause of the visuals. in Squid Game that music gives you some kind of excited anticipation, but in DWD it has you curled up, tense, and ready to run. that shit kept me on my toes way more than those hallucinations(?) ever did.
speaking of ^ they confused me (mostly at first) but they add so much- it really helps you understand how Alice is feeling and why it’s making her feel so out of place and on edge
AND THE PLOT TWISTS PEOPLE GOOD GRIEF (spoilers here) as i mentioned the cat scene earlier, when Alice is being taken away, my jaw was dropped, my fingers lax, and my eyes wide. i was suspicious when they first got in and he said “I’m sorry” but their earlier conversation about leaving reassured me. until he started crying and the red guys game- HER SCREAMING AS SHE WAS PULLED AWAY AND HIS SOBS AND RAGE- HOLY SHIT GUYS IT WAS AMAZING
and when she found out the truth Jack made me so mad and then she killed him and i was like YES ALICE LETS GO (though i thought he was just unconscious at first) AND WHEN BUNNY CAME TO HELP (she kinda seemed a little crazy when talking about her kids ngl) AND BILL’S CHARACTER BREAK “this wasn’t supposed to happen they said this wouldn’t happen” AND THE OTHER GUY YELLING AT HIM UGH I WAS SO SHOCKED AND READY TO GOOOO
but it was so good 10/10 recommend
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qyuoza · 1 year
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Sk8er Boi (Hueningkai)
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“Guys, I think I fell for skater boy”
Genre: Angst
Pairing: Hueningkai x afab!reader
AU: Skater Boy!au, Highschool!au
Synopsis: He never stood out to you as someone you’d find worth knowing in class, so why is your heart beating faster as he smiles at the ground from just staring at you in the other side of the room?
Note: True story again and like 100% of this is all real with exact same amount of people and none of the events were even tweaked by a bit.
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It was the first month of your last year of highschool and you honestly had way too much to think about already. With projects and deadlines screaming at you to be done, what better way to deal with them than to plan an outing with your friends and invite your classmates along?
“Alright, whoever is coming can come. We’re just there to have a good time, so if you’re ready to go we’re meeting at the pizza place on the third floor of the mall” your friend Ningning says at the front of the class.
As everyone caused a fuss on who was allowed to go, who can go and who couldn’t, you stayed quiet. Your friend group, which consisted of, Ningning, Yunjin, Chaeryeong and Jeongin were already going, it’s really just a matter of who else would go with.
“Taehyun! I’m going if you’re going with!” You hear a voice coming from behind. It was Hueningkai, a rowdy but also quiet boy in your class, he was really just hyperactive around his friends and other guys. He’s just quiet on most days so you barely really hear from him knowing how shy he is.
“I don’t see it as a bad idea honestly, what time are we meeting up on Saturday?” Taehyun asks your friend.
“We’re meeting up at around lunch and then we’ll probably go to like the arcade, we can plan when we get there” Ningning says back from the front.
Hueningkai high fives Taehyun and turns over to look at Jay, Sunghoon and Jake. They all nod at the suggestion as everyone finally settled down.
“Well, at least the boys are going. It would be so bad if we were left on our own, you know our friend group only” Chaeryeong chimes in. You agree with a laugh whilst your teacher started the last class of the week, you couldn’t wait to spend time with them.
When you get home that night, a lot of your classmates are still pretty much undecided but majority of the ones mentioned awhile ago seem to be going according to a poll Ningning made in the class group chat. So, you didn’t think much of it as you got ready for bed.
“Y/n! You’re finally here!” You arrive just in time to see everyone else before you all ordered food to share, not that anyone was going to stuff themselves full since there’ll probably be a lot going on in the day.
Taehyun was already there with Jay, Jake and Sunghoon, as well as your own friend group and two other girls from your class. The two girls were Winter and Ryujin, classmates you had yet to be acquainted with.
“Are we all here? And should we save a slice for Hueningkai since he’s late?” Yunjin quipped. The boys only shook their heads as you all made your way to the arcade.
You all stood in line as you got ready to pay for the card and the credits, when suddenly the boys started to chuckle and laugh. Turning around, you see that Hueningkai had arrived, but you pay no mind to him as you continued to talk to your own friend group.
“Oh? Y/n look, it’s Lee Heeseung. He’s totally staring at you” Yunjin giggled and you rolled your eyes at her.
Heeseung was sitting by the games and waiting for his other friends to finish talking to Chaeryeong and the other guys, though indeed, he was staring at you every now and then.
You never knew Lee Heeseung that well, however you did find him very attractive during the times you’ve met him. “I’m not looking for anything right now, you know that Jen” you reply, but Yunjin just gave you a smile and shook her head.
“Guys get over here, we should split up the cards before we head over to the karaoke room alright?” Ningning distributes the cards and the boys are off on their own, leaving you with Jeongin and the other girls.
“Can we play the shooting game? I wanna try it!” Yunjin and Ningning run over to the shooting game in the corner of the room as you, Chaeryeong and Jeongin follow suit, laughing at them from behind.
Jeongin scans the card and gives Yunjin a look, along with Ningning. “If you two are ass at this game, then we just wasted 64 credit” he says to the two. Your jaws fall slack at how expensive the game was, and without warning, it started right away.
“Yah move over! I’ll do it!” You say playfully, and Ningning hands the gun over to you with a laugh. Ryujin, Winter and Jeongin filming you both.
“Y/n I bet you’re just as shit as them!” Jeongin hollers behind you. You stick your tongue out at him and focus on the game. “See this is someone who clearly knows how to play!” Chaeryeong laughs.
Just then, Hueningkai and the other guys walk past you all in that moment. “Looking good Y/n, seems like it suits you being a sniper” he laughs while the rest follow.
“Thanks—“ you yell back, trying not to make anything of it. You promised yourself that you wouldn’t get your heart broken again, so of course this was simply a friendly gesture and a way for you all to get closer.
After a few rounds in the arcade, with you guys jumping from game to game, your group decided to end it with a karaoke session and we’re relieved to find a empty room in the arcade as well.
“Hurry! And can you tell the other guys to come here? Someone might take our spot!” Yunjin said loudly. Within a few minutes, the rest of the guys followed and you all piled into the small room with laughter being exchanged.
“Ok who’s going first? I’m swiping the card and typing the number in” Jeongin says. Ningning types the song number in and Jeongin swipes the card as the music starts to play, him immediately handing the mic over.
The calm singing didn’t last long though as Yunjun ultimately decided to request Super Bass by Nicki Minaj next. “Yah! Hand the mic over right now! It’s my time to shine” she screams. You thank whatever higher being is out there for making the room soundproof, otherwise you’d all be heard by the entire arcade.
“Boy you got my heartbeat running away, beating like a drum that’s coming your way” you sing along with everyone else. The girls on the couch were rowdy whilst the other guys, aside from Jeongin, stayed quiet with the exception of only Taehyun and Hueningkai laughing at the side.
“Jeongin! I can’t I’m exhausted” you tell the boy next to you. He nods and agrees while trying to catch his breath, it was then your turn to sing. “What?! Why me?!” You screech.
“It’s only fair that you do! Now sing Strip that Down by Liam Payne” Jeongin types in the number before you could even oppose, and you decided to give in and just have fun.
“You know I love it when the music stops so come and strip that down for me—!” You scream into the mic breathlessly as everyone chanted for you to do the dance, which you shamelessly complied to, doing it exactly like how you memorized.
When your turn was over, you noticed Lee Heeseung peeking into the room with Beomgyu and his other friends beside him, chuckling at what seems to be you since you were practically hunched over with exhaustion at the side.
“I’m tapping out ohmygod” you breathe out. Everyone laughs as the rest of the girls on the couch became even rowdier while you and Jeongin cheered from the side.
“Hand over the mic, I’ll do it on behalf of the guys” Taehyun grabbed the mic as he sang Sway by Michael Bublé, Hueningkai shocked at the newfound confidence from his best friend.
“When marimba rhythms start to play, dance with me, make me sway” everyone sang in unison as Taehyun did a little sway from side to side, causing a wave of reactions from the others.
In the midst of all this, without telling anyone, you had noticed that Hueningkai had been chuckling and making eye contact with you the entire time, leaving you flustered almost. He stayed quiet during your prolonged eye contact and then quickly turned to the side with a smile.
Your heart raced but you continued to ignore it while trying to sing and jump to the lyrics like everyone else, the thoughts of Hueningkai’s smile still burning into your head. He wasn’t all that when you knew him in school, but when he came earlier, you couldn’t deny that he was definitely a sight for sore eyes, maybe even more than that.
Time passed quicker than you’d all realized and soon enough it was time to say goodbye while dispersing into groups, the girls sticking together, besides Ningning and Jeongin since they had gone home way earlier.
“Hey, I’ll run into Daiso really quick to get something for my sister, you guys wouldn’t mind right?” Yunjin smiled. You and Chaeryeong shake your heads as she makes her way into the Daiso, then the two of you suddenly noticed the other guys in the Toys R’ Us, specifically Taehyun and Hueningkai.
Sunghoon, Jake and Jay seemed to noticed as you and Chaeryeong started snapping pictures of them, the three ducking as they were aware of what you were doing. Meanwhile, Hueningkai had ended up posing for you as you tried to hold your embarrassment in.
In no time, Yunjin was out and snapping pictures of them as well before you all finally did go your separate ways and waved to the boys as a sign of goodbye.
“Guys, I think I fell for skater boy” you blurt out, while walking towards the mall exit. Your friends stop in their tracks and give you shocked looks before they started to tease you.
“Eyy Y/n fell for our skater boy Hueningkai huh? Was it the way he skated? Or—“ you cut Chaeryeong off with a short scoff. “His gaze ok, and not gonna lie, he’s actually very cute” you reply.
Yunjin shakes you uncontrollably, and you knew in that moment that you were fucked. “Girl! He doesn’t seem like the type of person to date right now, I don’t want you heartbroken again when it’s been the eighth time!” she cries out.
“I’m not going to be heartbroken Jen, trust me. Now I need to get going, my ride’s here” you wave your other two friends goodbye and get into your parent’s car, no words exchanged during the entire ride as always, they never really cared of course.
You took this opportunity to maybe go over your interactions with Hueningkai and a few of his skate boarding videos, which you weren’t going to lie, were pretty good since you didn’t know how to skate yourself.
Still, your heart ached knowing you’d never have a chance. He was too busy with his own life and it’s not like he’d make space to get to know you personally, you two were only going to be mere acquaintances at most, and that’s what’s keeping your growing feelings at bay.
© qyuoza 2022 -. no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any manner without the permission from the publisher.
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dragonfly0808 · 1 year
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Soundtrack for Season 3
So uh… I literally just finished writing Chapter 8 and I’m honestly starting to feel like a bit of a menace so I decided to give you something literally noone asked for, the soundtrack of season 3 AKA, the songs I listen to when writing/the songs that give me inspo or help me get in the mood of s3, the songs that give off s3 vibes.
Paint It, Black by Ciara / Game of Survival by Ruelle / Wings by Pixy and Rise by Katy Perry: those are the main 4 that just ooze season 3 vibes to me.
Burn the Witch by Shawn James and Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift are Valtor songs.
The Classics from all the edits from lit any and every fandom out there: Warriors by Imagine Dragons / Centuries by Fall Out Boy / Control by Halsey and Born Ready by Zayde Wolf
Venus Sunrise by Lia Marie Johnson is just a song that always gets me in the mood to write and I can fit it to almost any story (that bridge could save me from Vecna’s curse)
Some other songs I sometimes put on to prepare: Blah Blah Blah and Voltage by Itzy / The Lighthouse by Halsey / Scream by Dreamcatcher / Paint the Town by Loona / Bigger Than The Whole Sky by Taylor Swift (you already know what that one will be about) / We Fresh and Lion Tamer by Kep1er and Wandering (Don’t Go) by Hues and Lia Marie Johnson
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haveamagicalday · 2 years
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No spoilers review!
Two years ago I stumbled onto the horror game Until Dawn. I read the synopsis of the game and was fascinated with the storyline and the interactive element. I even started to watch a youtube stream of it and when I realized how simple the gameplay was, decided to try it out myself. I loved it! Even though I knew the storyline and the big twists it was still a blast to play so I was super pumped when they announced in March that a spiritual successor was coming out just three months later! Well I just finished the game so here are my thoughts:
The Story: It’s the end of summer camp at Hackett’s Quarry and our camp counselors are getting ready to head out. The owner of the camp, Chris Hackett, is somewhat eager for them to leave but unfortunately a tampered with car engine delays them another day. With a cryptic warning to stay indoors for the night, Mr. H leaves the teens to fend for themselves. Ignoring his warnings they decided to have a last summer hurrah but when the sun goes down, the horror begins! You guide nine different characters through the night and your choices will determine whether they live or die.
Out of the nine counselors I kept five alive, which sounds like a lot but it was still a “bad” ending (more on that later). Actually I was surprised I managed to keep them all alive as long as I did. There is a playable prologue and ten chapters in total. Overall the game lasts about 8-10 hours depending on your actions. 
Overall I really enjoyed it! I’m already excited to give it another shot. But it still had some flaws so let's start with those. 
Cons:
In comparison to Until Dawn, this game was not scary. Now, Until Dawn has a ton of jumpscares. I hate jumpscares but I will admit that they were very effective in creating a lot of tension. At least half, if not more, of the jumpscares in Until Dawn are actually fake out scares so it’s honestly not that bad but there are some really good ones in there that caused me to scream. The Quarry has barely any jumpscares. Which is good! But the gamemakers weren’t able to recapture the tension you felt in Until Dawn in The Quarry without them. There are a ton of ways to make things scary without jumpscares but this game didn’t really try. Because of the lack of jumpscares, I let my guard down pretty early and it never went back up. There were some creepy moments but I never felt scared like I did with Until Dawn.
No big plot twists. Until Dawn has a great twist about 2/3rds of the way through. You think you are playing one type of horror game but then the twist comes and it turns out there is a whole other genre of horror that is happening. The Quarry didn’t have this. There are plenty of reveals and little twists as the story goes on but nowhere near the same magnitude as Until Dawn. 
This is a nitpicky one but the game was too dark? Like, visually dark. I couldn’t see shit! I don’t know if I just needed to adjust the settings on my tv or what but a lot of areas were really dark and even when your character had a flashlight, it really didn’t illuminate anything for you
The “epilogue”. After the game ends in Until Dawn we get clips of our surviving characters being interviewed by the police. It’s not much of a follow up but it’s more than what we get here. Instead we get a podcast over the credits with two annoying hosts. They go over all of the clues and evidence you find over the game and piece together a story. The story is the game we just played. It’s literally just a rehash of everything we already know. And it goes on for 20 minutes! Longer I’m assuming if you collected more evidence than I did. I sat through it because I was hoping for an end credit scene (like Until Dawn) and there was none. I was mad lol
I felt that there was a lot more that could have been fleshed out. There are three different clue storylines that you can collect clues for. They are Camp History, Hackett History and The Sideshow History. The sideshow history is probably what excited me the most. Unfortunately because of some of the characters that died in my gameplay, I never got a conclusion to it. It was never really brought up by anybody. Well, I looked up the game after finishing it and learned that if I had kept certain characters alive, I would have not only gotten a conclusion to that storyline but there would have been a whole other final showdown. However, even learning all this, I was still disappointed that there wasn’t more to the sideshow storyline. I think there was so much potential for that to be creepy, maybe even take over the main storyline like Until Dawn with its two different stories and create a whole new experience. And while I like the idea that your choices might lead to you not discovering all the secrets of the summer camp, I don’t want to have to go through another 10 hours of gameplay to maybe get all my questions answered. I’m still going to though.
I wanted more! I wanted more story, more twists, more tension, just overall more! Until Dawn also had its faults and while this game improved on some of them, I still was left wanting more.
So now let’s talk about the good!
Pros
The characters. The characters were fun and distinct! I hated some and loved others. It was a strong cast of characters for this game.
The gameplay. I’ve seen some complain that they dumbed it down but for someone who’s video game playing rangers from the Sims to Super Paper Mario, I appreciated that this one had easier gameplay. Now, the gameplay in Until Dawn was also super easy but this was even easier somehow. I play these games for the story and experience not to be challenged or whatever. There are quicktime events and in Until Dawn these are done by hitting one of three buttons (square, triangle, circle) within a very short amount of time. In The Quarry the quick time events are done by moving the joystick in the direction it tells you too. This is so much more manageable. So for me, this was a pro but I get why it would be a con for some. Until Dawn also had a feature where you had to hold the controller completely still while hiding. This feature was janky and was super sensitive to movement. The Quarry did away with this and introduced holding your breath while hiding. This feature requires you to hold down the X button and release it only when you think it is safe. Much easier. They also give you the option to adjust some of these functions to make it easier or harder.
While the story has its faults, overall it is fun and spooky! It’s modern day but it has an 80s vibe that is entertaining. A bit predictable at some points but I don’t think it made this story any less good.
The soundtrack was fire
Replayability. Even though I looked up all the other endings, I enjoyed the game enough to want to play through it again so I can get those endings for myself.
This isn’t something I realized could happen in my gameplay because of the choices I made but there is actually a third thing that can happen to your characters. They can live, die or this third secret thing that I won’t spoil but I thought that was a really cool feature!
Barely any jumpscares!
Movie mode! I don’t know if I will ever actually use this mode but I thought it was awesome they added it. Basically you pick at the beginning whether you want everyone to live or die and then you just sit back and literally just watch the game as a movie. There’s also the director’s chair feature where you take it a step further and pick out character traits and then see how the traits affect the character’s actions and ultimately the outcome of the game. From what I’ve heard the movie mode is about 4-6 hours long.
So I will wrap this up by saying that I thought this game was a strong successor to Until Dawn. It was similar enough that you will enjoy it if you love Until Dawn but it might not leave as much of an impact as Until Dawn does. Overall, I think I enjoyed Until Dawn more but I will say I loved the creepy summer camp setting more than the ski lodge in Until Dawn. I’m getting excited to play it again as I type all of this!
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1d1195 · 1 month
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SAM MY LOVE I MISSED YOU SO MUCHHHHH!!!!😭 it felt so weird not being able to talk to you😭 how are you my love?!? How was your break?!?
AHHHH SO MUCH TO CATCH UP ON BESTIE!!!
And you’re right we really are so similar that I honestly did not take it in a bad way! If anything I always appreciate your insight! Exams were hell but like it’s whatever at this point lol I have one last round of midterms in two weeks before my finals so I will be ✨suppressing✨ my feelings on that until I’m done bahaha BUT OMG I QUESTION MY FRIENDS CHOICES TOO BAHAHA I have had a history girl…. It’s a lot for sure for another day lol AND OMG SAM HOT PROFESSOR 😵‍💫 he’s sooooo omg I could cry bc he’s so hot and I seriously always spiral in class lol he puts effort in his fits but like still does not look exaggerated anyways idk if I mentioned before but HES A BIKER!!! And he’s so sweet and he always ends class with “see ya later gang” like 😭 THE DILF VIBES THAT HE EMITTS ARE CRAZY😭
Yeah I can totally agree with obsessions and the TOLL that it is lol like I feel so bad for my parents that they wasted so much money on me shopping at hot topic 😭 anyways still was fun though lol I definitely wish I had that energy again bc I simply cannot keep up anymore lol
Bestie I read part 3 and IT WAS SO GOOD !! SO MANY THOUGHTS HONESTLY oh and I read the sun kissed extra!!! So many thoughts!!! I will try to get my main points and reactions bc I feel like I wrote already too much lol
I LITERALLY WAS SO EXCITED FOR SUN KISSED EXTRA!!! I voted for that one and was surprised that it wasn’t voted on too much :( BUT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO CHOOSE BC I LOVE ALL OF THEM! Anyways I MISSED THEM SO MUCH I LITERALLY LOVE THAT STORY SOLEY BC WHERE IM FROM THE BEACH IS A BIG DEAL! Anyways I can’t believe they are moving together and Harry literally transferred to her district 😭😭😭 CRYYYYYYYY I HOPE WE CAN GET MORE OF THEM!
NOW PART 3 WAS SOOOO GOOD!!! You know I love when Harry gets jealous and possessive😵‍💫 and omg TELL ME WHY I HAVE A KYLE IN KY LIFE BAHAHAH but Kyle was so cute and honestly kinda loved he stood up for the MC and essentially was ready to go to war for her🥰 bahah anyways THEY ARE OFFICIAL NOW WHICH IS SO CUTE!!! I LOVE THEM QND IM LIVING THEOUGH THEM RN!!! I have a Kyle and all I need is a Harry 😩
Missed you so much Sam! Thank you for constantly putting out such lovely content❤️-💜
HIIIIII I've missed you SOOOOO much. I hope your exams went well, I'm sure you aced them! That seems so crazy you have midterms and you're already thinking about finals! I feel like the semester just started! I knew you were busy all week but by Friday I literally was like "Ughhh where is she!?" My break was good! Very boring, nothing to really chat about. I finished a book last week and I'm about half way through this one--it's very good. I actually think YOU would like the book I finished because I did not hahahahahahahaha don't get me wrong it was VERY well written and I did like it, but it was so stressful and not what I usually read. The Lost Girls of Willowbrook. Very creepy in my opinion.
ANYWAY.
YOU DID MENTION HE WAS A BIKER BUT I ALWAYS APPRECIATE THE REMINDER. We love a well-dressed DILF. I'm so glad you're able to learn in that environment. I would be a stuttering mess and would probs do something embarrassing like tell him I loved him or write our names together in a notebook. Did you see the pics of Harry at Manchester soccer game? He looked very DILF-y too🤤😍 I was spiraling myself.
HOT TOPIC I'M SCREAMING. I got my Edward shirt from Hot Topic and I wore it every night to bed like a a LUNATIC. (Now much more appropriately, I wear my Harry's House to bed and do NOT feel like a lunatic). But you're right I do not have the energy anymore. The CONSPIRACIES and THEORIES people have I am so overwhelmed, I don't know what to say. I'm not a Swiftie (not an anti-Swiftie either) but HOLY COW. "She wore purple so that means--" "The date adds up to the number 13" "In 2010 on this date she posted this so in 2024 that means this" ?????? THAT'S CRAZY, but like good for them. I'm in awe tbh.
Aw! I'm so glad you voted for them! I have another round of voting coming this week and I feel like it will be VERY split five different ways hahahaha I'm a beach girl as well! I feel like it's one of the only things I have a good grasp on writing about because it was so entrenched in my childhood. I don't know if I have any other ideas for them at the moment (I feel like all the couples I've been writing about lately/voted on are getting engaged this week and next week 🤭 --spoiler/not spoiler: not MFT they're just babies). But I can try and come up with something eventually. I gotta reshare my draft list so everyone can see inside my head, it's getting wilder by the minute.
I'm currently writing the 4th part to MFT and I feel like the first two parts were really good and parts 3 and 4 are very 🤷‍♀️ I'm so glad you liked Kyle! (I wanted to name him Noah actually but I think I mentioned I'm a big Noah Kahan fan right now and it was too coincidental; I noticed when I had his character say "that makes a lot of sense" and I was like "okay, Samantha, that's a literal song lyric, make it more obvious." So I renamed him Kyle). Idk if you read Icebreaker (it was very big on TikTok for a while) Kyle is modeled after Henry a bit. He's a cutie pie 😊
TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR KYLE!?!?!?!?! 😍
SO happy to hear from you, hope you had a relaxing weekend after a busy week, sorry for the novel rambling in response but you should not feel bad about writing too much. It's always the highlight of my day when I get a message from you! 💕
xoxo
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xian-1502 · 4 months
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Topical post: I’ve been really thinking about arrive now that it’s approaching y’know. Im afraid. i want to kiss him. he’s hot and cool and i’m happy to be around and here from him. But i’m still antsy as fuck and afraid that when i go in to kiss him he’ll be like “oh what the fuck man” and just be blown away. Or like the physical experience of my personality pushes him away. More insecurities but i’ve been thinking of them double time lately since it’s literally almost here practically tomorrow after a shift length flight, and then i’m in philly and from there we are lip locked (metaphorically, no shot we spend all of our time lip to lip. that’s actually ridiculous). i hope i’m a comforting presence for her. Or at least my own wake instills comfort in him. Or that i hold him with the right amount of squeeze in the right places. As well as hoping that we’re cute together in our kuromi pajamas. I’m siper psyched for this trip and icl, work tomorrow is gonna feel double long as a result probably, but i’m so ready for it to get here so we can be there together. I want to be there at with him after all. As well as wanting her to be in ky arms/vice versa.
Aside from the trip, thinking about the downer vibe i give. It’s become increasingly apparent with this song i’ve been listening to non stop. After listening, the lyrics are VERY on the nose, and it’s not like i relate entirely but sometimes i go “real mr ross. real.” Realizing if some one hears the music i listen to and paid attention the the lyrics i would look depraved as hell
“anything i can do to feel unalive”- unalive, braden ross
“i’m so sick i wake up i hate it”- sidelines, juno (julian norton)
“my tears were glowing just to muffle the screaming”- brakence, venus fly trap
“hands on my mouth trying not to cry too loud”- fisheye rouri 404
yikes indeed. But they go crazy, and honestly they’re pretty good brain off gaming songs imo. or rather, i do pretty well listening to them. And i like the melodies within said songs and how they allow me to use my voice when i sing them. Despite how depraved they may seem. Incongruent beats to each song imo.
With friendsgiving tomorrow i see friends and know we have a hard talk. Our friend is in the IDF since she’s a citizen, and the law there mandates to keep it she must serve two years. Her second year was almost finished and this conflict started and now it’s like. We don’t know. We haven’t talked to her much, she’s not deployed from what we hear. But it’s just really hard to talk to someone who is in the IDF and has also had opinions in favor of israel in past contexts, albeit i can’t blame her fully as she was born and raised there just to come here until she graduated. So it’s unlikely she would have differing opinions if she not only is in an immigrant family, but also regularly engaged in jewish/israeli activities and such while here such as bbyo and other jewish camps and clubs. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow(minutes.)
He asked me about lube and condoms recently and it dawned on me at the time i never got my std/sti/blood test results at that time and he also never asked me. Got them today at noon but i had notifications off in my medical app so i didn’t see. Anyway all clean thankfully but it just like clicked to me how like real all that is. Not that im not cool with getting to and through it all. in fact i look forward to it and hope i do good since i really wanna please him yknow. I want to him to know what it’s like to feel good like that by someone else’s actions rather than a self serve thing. That sounds nice. And idk fulfill scenarios he fantasizes about or hopes to experience within my range of action. Hoping to be walked through what he knows he likes within his grasp at least mc, that way i have a good baseline to jump from and fiddle with. Also as mentioned before. Notable wannabe munch so do with that what you will.
I was trying on my clothes today again and man do they look lame on me. But maybe cause i see them all the time and fold them and wear them. I was agonizing over my outfits cause i don’t want to wear anything like not good over it since i take pride in my fashion or at least, to some degrees. Going on a trip with mid fits sounds awful. Unfortunately i will have to finish my laundry another day(tomorrow). My aunt decided “actually i’m doing laundry today too” like she didn’t have 2 weeks in advance to pick a day. And while someone can say “xian! you could’ve done the same!” i’ve literally ran the numbers on this. She NEVER does laundry in thursdays. Monday wednesday and friday? maybe. NO tuesday and thursday. So that decision was just an unnecessary bottle neck for no reason. Considering it was also THANKSGIVING and there were people she invited otw. Regardless i’m all set on that front. I just have to pack my bathroom bag the night before after i use it. And then i’ll be outta here on saturday (should the plane gods not want hell for me)
Work tomorrow, not looking forward to it. On casual days it’s as lame as is, managers asking for crazy things and just making the environment unpleasant. Like my manager asked me to get 5 cards and memberships in a day once. Let’s be so fucking for real. Not only have i never seen him with more than 2 of at least one or a mix of them in one day. But even on good days, from what i’ve gleamed not even our best salespeople get those numbers so why are you pulling me aside to talk to me about this?? go to hell. Also customers suck dick. Some people should just never buy electronics cause they simply will not grasp it however you tell them. Why on EARTH was i arguing with this lady for 45 minutes about printer cables. I work there. I know. I’ve seen them and had these talks. Why are you gonna tell me IM wrong when you don’t even know what printer uiu have or what cable it takes outside of a note from the repair man you refuse to follow. Get real. But yeah just that 8 hour and i’ll be free for a week. Hopefully in bliss.
With black friday i’m no longer sure if i should shop at all. The only thing i would buy are games,clothes, or components for my computer. and while i have t been buying too much of the former lately, the latter has had me perturbed. With the current boycott i do not want to be buying electronics that have components confusing blood metals, despite the extreme discount and convenience since at that point i could just wait and buy them when they’re discounted after the newer models come out.But also with companies deciding to keep component composition as a trade secret, it’s pretty uncool imo. Now i just would rather not buy more stuff for my pc despite the “need” (quote un quote) for an upgrade if it comes at these costs.
Back to important stuff. With the oncoming trip i’ve got a lot saved in the calendar. But without a doubt tuesday is the scariest day. I don’t know why to expect meeting his family. How i should compose myself, how to ac, all that jazz. What to do if her mom tries to start anything with him/ make jabs or anything. Do i get involved? is this family business. Unsure. But i’m also wary on why she wants to be there so bad after uninviting him from today. seems super wishy washy and uncool . Also just unsure if i want to meet his mom at all. Like i’m even thinking about if i want to shake the hands and be cordial with someone who’s done what i’ve heard about but respect them i shall. As for siblings, i hope they’re cool, and i’m especially hopefully that they get to have a heart to heart maybe. Probably the greatest opportunity for it to some degree if it can happen. Albeit, mega awkward for me if i’m with the other 3. But i’ll go through it for that if it occurs. much more important imo.
Anyway, that concludes the list of 11/24/23
xian out
i was gonna say “see you there” but maybe actually smooch you there. Cause we will. For sure. I guarantee it. If it’s cool least.
aforementioned downer music
“We’re all frauds, aint no contest. I’m no god, just a complex.
It no fun, to be broken. Burning sun, i’m unchosen 💚☀️”
- Braden ross, unalive
2:07
(Fyi, written lyrics not accurately sequential)
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elena-fishr · 1 year
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Hi! Have you finished RE4R yet? And if you have, what did you think?
Hey anon I just want to thank you for always talking RE with me :,) <3 it does make my day better when I see an ask
in short, I did enjoy it and am still enjoying it! More in-depth and spoiler ramblings below the cut
I did finish it over the weekend and I really like it! They cut that bastard U-3 out and not a single tear was shed over it lmao
the game is gorgeous, the puzzles were actually fun imo, they’re simple but I enjoyed doing them lol, level design ✨ flawless ✨
I have small issues with it tho, like Leon’s movement in gameplay and how they scuffed my man Ramon Salazar. In the OG he was such a presence in all his wacky glory and in the remake I hardly remembered him after I was done, he’s one of my favorites from the OG 4 so it did bum me out that I don’t even have a memorable line that sticks out from him in the remake
Overall, it’s really fun and that’s all that matters! Now I’m enjoying getting money so I can buy and upgrade every weapon :D (which reminds me of RE5 btw)
The typewriter storage in re4r serves as a base inventory like in 5 so you can keep and improve ALL weapons available, it’s such a nice upgrade from OG 4 I just wish it was even more like 5 so we could store ammo and herbs and resources
And I have to talk about how much RE5 I see in RE4r because there’s so much! The fact that they extended AI companions, especially Luis where he can set you up for melees and vice versa with him, it screams re5 and I loved when he and Leon bantered mid combat and he would tell you when he had a guy ready to melee down
Ashley isn’t so much involved in combat but in cutscenes she’s so adamant about being a team with Leon, that’s such a re5 move honestly capcom lol sheva says the same thing to Chris to bring them together when Chris is trying to tell her about his personal stake in the mission
Of course the exploration in the boat and CHICKEN ISLAND!! Like that’s a level ripped right out of re5 lol It’s way more optional in re4r but it’s still there and you can find a weapon on an abandoned boat (red 9 pistol) in re5 you can find an rpg on an abandoned boat
The final cutscene with Ada and Wesker gave me such weird feelings!!! Like I was excited to see wesker but the voice bro…. I don’t enjoy his voice (I didn’t like Ada’s either. I think Leon and Luis had the best voice acting) I saw a picture showing Wesker’s computer screen which had the progenitor flower garden in the cave and excella and CHRIS REDFIELD (in his winter gear from revelations) so there was nothing new but it was still so cool to see and whether the next remake is code Veronica or Re5 I think it’s very likely it’s one of those two and either way I win 😈
I also want to say how much I LOVED the Krauser subplot, my only complaint about it is I wish there was more! His fights and the arc between him and Leon were so so so good it kills me
I got the feeling that krauser was more than just an asshole, he’s an asshole who cared, he couldn’t let go of his past, his fallen men. He wanted power and revenge and he cared so much about every man he ever trained, especially Leon. His end was so fitting and I know he was proud of Leon and that gave him peace before his end
Krauser is a bad guy, but he’s a bad guy I like 😆
If you played the game did you enjoy it? Did you like the newer interpretations of all the characters? Are you looking forward to mercenaries? :)
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ford-ye-fiji · 3 years
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I always thought with the MJ stealth sections, instead of playing as MJ and occasionally directing Spider-Man to web up or distract a bad guy, you should have played as Spidey on ceiling, dealing with all the goons and only giving MJ the go ahead when its safe. They'd still probably be painful, but at least this way you'd get to play as SPIDER-MAN in the SPIDER-MAN GAME!
I think MJ and Spidey worked together exactly once and that was in Grand Central against Li. I mean they also kinda worked together against Sable in the Oscorp tower but I don’t think that really counts because Peter only jumped in at the last second.
BUT anyway!!! I enjoyed them working together. Being able to direct Spider Man to take out enemies was nice. But that was only once and the rest of the stealth sections were just excruciatingly painful.
I might just not be a patient person but having to play as MJ and Miles and distract the baddies to run by- crossing my fingers and hoping I wasn’t seen was the hardest and most tense part of the game for me XD
I think it was frustrating because there was no one to take anyone down and giving MJ a taser was really nice in the last stealth mission. I think that helplessness was part of the narrative though- that MJ and Peter needed to figure out how to work together. MJ dies/is caught too easily because she’s is a regular human being, but she also has the ability to make Spider Man take downs more efficient such as in the Grand Central station scenario.
I get it, the point they were trying to make (and they did it very well) was that they had to work together- that MJ had to realize she could be a liability and that Peter had to realize that she was capable of helping him out... but also yeah, I want to play as spider man XD
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