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princessbettina · 1 year

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Vampire Love-Legacies-Sebastian the Vampire x OC reader: Chapter 3:"Welcome to the new club"

Summary: Taking part in a dangerous mission with a demon hunter, Josie, Lizzie, and Hope find themselves in a bit of trouble as Kenzie prepares and then goes on her date with Sebastian. MG is still in denial that Sebastian is real and tries to figure out the mystery behind him.

(A/N: This is NOT a remake of the season 2 Legacies episode “Since When Do You Speak Japanese?” 02x4. This story episode is inspired and heavily based by that episode)

Today's date day!!! I'm over the moon excited! Sebastian and I have our first date together and I am soooooo looking forward to it. Currently, I'm in the main lobby area of the school along with my best friend and one half of my sisters, Lizzie. She's helping me figure out what I should wear on my date with Sebastian later today. We literally have no idea what to choose from. It's always best to dress for you on a date, but I totally understand wanting to look good and cute in front of your date. I feel that way right now haha. Lizzie was able to manage to get together a few other students to help us create an outfit for me to wear. The students who my sister managed to find were sitting down at a big table that could seat a bunch of people, and had plenty of work space for everyone.

I was sitting on the edge of the table and Lizzie was right next to me, also sitting on the table. So far, everyone who Lizzie and I were working with had nothing and were still coming up with ideas. I had my head faced down to the ground and my hands on my temples.

"Guys! I'm trying my hardest not to worry but Lizzie promised me that you guys would create a super cute outfit for me to wear on my date today. I can't look like some cosplayer in front of Sebastian!" Lizzie tried not to giggle after seeing my little annoyance.

Hey! It's not funny sis! I'd probably do the same thing to her and Josie too though haha.

The people at the table looked around at the clothing items they had and started throwing some ideas together and showed me them.

There was one idea that I liked and it was this blue- green dress that's long and flowy, it went all the way down to my ankles and it looked fitting / matched Sebastian's old fashioned vampire vibe.

I smiled brightly and pointed to the dress idea.

"Ooh! Wait! I really like this one you guys! I'll take this one. It's perfect" The students smiled and told me that the dress was pretty much finished and that it was mine.

I thanked them and took the dress from them and held it in my hands. I hopped off the table and faced my best friend as she smiled brightly at me.

Lizzie and I were chit chatting it up, still in the main lobby area of the school and a few seconds later MG met up with us and joined our chit chat session.

Him and I shared a friendly hug and smiled at me and then Lizzie.

"Hey girls! How are my favorite ladies doing?"

"I'm pleased to say groovy! Liz and I just finished picking out an outfit for me for my date with Sebastian today. By the way, thank you two for helping me with him. I really appreciate it" I smiled at MG and then my sister.

He smiled more at me as Lizzie's eyes widened after me mentioning Sebastian. I noticed and gently put my hand on her shoulder as the two of us moved to the side a little, away from MG and the others.

I whispered to her.

"Lizzie? Are you okay?" She smiled softly at me.

"Yeah. I think if I were you, I'd keep mentioning Sebastian on the low side. I know that you're all into him and all but still" I raised my eyebrow at her.

"Why would I do that, sis?" I asked as I titled my head.

"It's all so new and remember what we talked about last night? Him and not being real to others and just you?" Lizzie quickly admitted with a painful, yet small grin at me.

I slowly nodded my head in agreement because part of me forgot about that. I think it was the excitement of my first official date with a good looking man haha.

I have a good feeling about this. "Ohh, yes right! I remember now. Sorry, I think the excitement took over me"

Lizzie smiled softly and nodded her head. "That's okay, sis. I just don't want you telling people the wrong things without actually knowing if he's real or not yet, you know?"

I smiled and placed my hand on her shoulder again. "Yes, I know sis! I promise but I know that we'll get to fix this and find out the truth about Sebastian. Don't overthink it!"

And with that I walked away from her and went back to my room to try on the dress. Lizzie smiled at me as I walked away and then went to class.

The dress was a groovy success. It fit perfectly and I loved it. I had a good feeling that Sebastian would like it too.

I wonder what he's going to wear, probably something handsome I'm sure. After having the dress on and spending some time in my room, I hear a knock on my door.

I let the person come in and saw that it was Josie. She came back from helping Hope and Landon with something but she was on a break and I thought it would be the appropriate time to finally catch her up on all the details with me and Sebastian.

"And now he wants to take me on a date later today. I'm really excited about it and I have a feeling that it will be a wonderful time" Josie smiled the brightest smile ever after hearing everything that I told her, it was honestly super cute and heartwarming seeing her reaction to that.

I smiled brightly at her and giggled as she squealed while hugging me. "Sis!!! Kenzie!!! I am super excited and happy for you. This Sebastain seems like the perfect person for you. You need to let me know how the date goes"

Josie squealed more as I nodded my head in agreement and giggled even more.

"Aw, don't worry, I gotcha, Jo! I promise" I pinky promised her as she returned it. Just then, our bedroom dorm door slammed open, startling Josie and I.

We looked and saw that it was our other twin sister, and my best friend, Lizzie. She seemed upset about something and I noticed her holding her arm out.

She walked toward us and I raised my eyebrow. "Liz? Are you alright?" I tried to ask but she was focused on Josie.

"There you are, Josie! You have some explaining to do!" Josie looked concerned and her wandering eyes landed on Lizzie's arm which she showed the both of us.

"What's going on sis?" Josie asked softly. Lizzie showed more of her arm to us which was bright red with black spots a little bit.

It looked like a bad rash. I widened my eyes when I saw it.

"How the heck do you explain this? Are you seriously using black magic with Hope and Landon?" Lizzie asked with a firm tone.

I was going to ask if Lizzie was okay but I felt this stinging pain in my arm and hugged my arm towards me as I winced in pain a little bit.

"Does anyone not remember that whatever magic we use or that's used on us doesn't just affect you or one of us, it affects all three of us! Whatever happens to you, also happens to us too, I think that's what's going on here right now!" I stated and looked up at my twin sisters.

"Kenzie! Lizzie! I am so sorry! It was an accident. Landon and Hope made me do it. I promise it won't happen again" Josie sincerely apologized and hugged me and then Lizzie.

I couldn't believe that Josie got back into black magic. Doesn't she know the dangers behind it?

I rolled my dress sleeve back down and dusted myself off a little bit while looking at myself in the mirror.

"This better not affect my date with Sebastian! If I have to cancel because of some painful and annoying black magic wound, I'm going to be mad. I'm not joking you two!" Josie shook her head as did Lizzie. Just then I hear someone speaking in another language.

I raise my eyebrow and see that Josie went to bring the person who was speaking into the room. Lizzie and I were both confused as to who we saw.

"Who the heck is that, Jo?" Lizzie asked as I nodded my head in agreement with her.

Josie began to explain that the person who she brought in is a samurai and demon hunter who needs Hope, Landon, and hers help to find something he lost by killing it by using his demon banishing sword.

"We're going to need all the help we can get. Can you two come?" Josie squealed as she asked us with soft but bright eyes.

"Sure! I'll go!" Lizzie said with a bright smile on her face.

I looked back down at my arm where the rash was and started messing with my dress sleeve for a second.

"I want to help you guys, I really do but I would feel bad having to cancel my date. But yet again, maybe I could help for a little bit, it might help the rash clear up" I smiled softly at Josie who smiled brightly at me and hugged me and Lizzie.

She had excitement in her voice as she thanked the both of us. All of a sudden, I looked up and saw the Samurai looking at me while speaking in his language as he pointed to me.

I break the hug and then look nervously at Josie.

"Is he talking about me? He's calling me crazy, isn't he?" Josie shook her head no and smiled at me as Lizzie rested her hand on my shoulder.

"No, he's talking about the thing that we have to kill. If it gets inside you then it possesses you and makes you act crazy." I widened my eyes after hearing that.

"I'm sorry, Jo but I want to retract my offer. My mental health and stability is the most precious thing that I have. I can deal with a rash, but I can't deal and risk crazy. I'm sorry. Lizzie can take my place " Josie listened carefully to what I said and was going to say something but then was interrupted by the samurai.

He started messing around and scaring some students in the hallway. She had to go chase after him while speaking in the same language as the samurai.

Lizzie and I watched as Josie quickly ran out of the room and giggled to each other softly.

With all the running around that Josie, Hope, Landon, and now Lizzie are doing and have been doing, I'm on my own now and it's perfect because it gave me some more time to get ready for my date with Sebastian in a little bit.

My heart, body, and mind were so looking forward to seeing him again, but I can't rush into things too quickly. But I'm still super excited. As that was happening, MG was talking to Wade and asked if he could borrow a camera for something, what that something is, I have no clue!

Wade was confused at first but then agreed to let MG use one of his cameras and proceeded with their days.

It's the moment that I've been waiting for! Sebastian and I met up at this beautiful and peaceful park that has a calming pond right next to it.

The sun was shining down on both of us as he and I sat down on the grass, of course with a blanket underneath us.

Ew, dirt! No way.

Ooh I almost forgot! We're on a picnic as our first date, so cute and romantic!

"I have so enjoyed our time together" Sebastian softly said which made my heart flutter.

"Me too! I've loved every second of it" I chirped with a big smile on my face, making Sebastian smirk.

"However, I feel like we aren't as close as we could be if you understand my meaning-" Sebastian continued to speak and I couldn't believe what he was saying.

It was interesting but made me really happy. Was my crush feeling the same way about me?

Gosh I hope so.

"And I wish for us to be even closer. Perhaps, maybe even skin to skin..." Sebastian leaned forward and gently rested his hand on top of mine.

That made me smile even more and blush a little. My mind was speechless. It's like I couldn't talk or say anything in response to Sebastian.

All's I did was smile brightly, nod my head in agreement with everything he said, and giggling quietly.

In the corner of my eye, I see his hand try to reach out for my hand across from me.

I of course let rest his hand on mine, which I thought was adorable."I have one question to ask, if you don't mind"

Sebastian quietly asked and I raised my eyebrow a little and allowed him to ask.

"Do you have access to human blood?" I kind of wasn't listening to him and said something out loud, kind of in my own world. "Yes, I am part witch"

Sebastian looked at me with a confused look on his face.

I realized what he asked and I widened my eyes a little from embarrassment. "Oh! My bad" Sebastian smirked at me, which gave me comfort from the embarrassment moment I was just in.

I was about to say more to him but all of a sudden, movement was heard behind us over in the trees. Sebastian and I quickly looked over at what the noise was and it was MG.

What the heck was he doing? Was he spying on me? Did Lizzie not tell him?

Sebastian disappeared but I thought he was still visible but nope!

Anyways, I was too busy figuring out why MG was here and why he crashed my date. "MG? What are you doing here?" I asked as I started to get up from sitting down,kneeling a little bit as he walked closer to me.

"I know this looks bad, Kenzie, but please let me explain!" MG quickly spoke to me but I wasn't having any of it. "You should leave now! Sebastian and I were in the middle of a date" I stood up and walked towards him just a little.

MG looked at me with a sad expression on his face. "I think you should see this!" He said as he turned on the camera and showed me the video he made of me talking to Sebastian but it looked like I was talking to the air.

You couldn't see Sebastian with me in the video. I was so confused and scared.

I shook my head in disbelief. "What the heck is this? Sebastian was right here next to me!"

"I'm really sorry, but this was the only way I could think of to get you to see what everyone else is probably going to see/ find out. I'm sorry but Sebastian isn't real, Kenzie!" MG harshly spoke.

I could feel the tears in my eyes. What was going on? I thought Lizzie told him that he was real already. Had she not found a solution? Was I going to be stuck like this forever?

"Stop talking. Just stop talking" I spoke to MG with a shaky, crying voice. MG looked at me with a concerned look.

"I'm sorry MG but I think it's for the best if we don't talk to each other for a little while. I need a break" I looked at him for a moment before turning away from him and walking back to the school, hoping to see my best friend and sisters.

MG tried to talk to me more but I was gone before he could say more. He was upset about what just happened and wished he could start this moment over.

After arriving back at the school and to my dorm room, I found no one. No Lizzie, no Josie, no dad, no Hope. No one.

Everyone was still out figuring out what to do with the Samurai. I decided to treat myself to some ice cream at a local ice cream shop in town that was still open and hoped that would help me feel better.

It did for a second but I found myself in tears after thinking about what happened earlier with me and MG and I started to talk to myself.

"Ugh, gosh I am so stupid! Of course he isn't real. No real guy ever likes you. 'Cause they know deep down that you're messed up inside. Everyone knows it. Lizzie needs to fess up and tell me that I already am."

With the ice cream spoon in my hands, I took it and looked at my reflection in it and continued to talk to myself more.

"You're some sad, stupid, weirdo who talks to herself" I concluded as I ate more of my ice cream. I then looked around and saw a person walking down the street, into a grassy field.

The person was carrying a sword and as they continued to walk, the more I realized that the person was Landon. At first I was confused but then I didn't mind it anymore.

"Landon! Why are you carrying a sword?" I shouted to him with my mouth kind of full with ice cream in it, don't judge!

But he didn't answer. Not normal but okay.

I got up from my seat and watched Landon carefully. Where was he going? I followed right behind him and did a spell that made the sword fly out of his hand and into mine.

"I have a feeling you're possessed by an insanity demon" I quickly stated as I marched over to him and stabbed him in the chest with the sword. Landon was a little surprised. "Welcome to the new club" I softly spoke to him as I watched him drop to the ground outside.

After that, a few minutes later I felt dizzy and became a little bit unstable. I heard these whooshing and crackling noises around me but had no idea what was happening.

I stumbled more as I rested my hand on my head.

Oh this is not good!

I fell to the ground and it went black. Thankfully, Hope and the others found me. Hope, Josie, and Lizzie came running towards where I was and saw Landon on the ground.

"Landon, oh my gosh!" Hope called as she kneeled down to where Landon was, as did Josie and Lizzie for a second but then stood up and saw me and widened their eyes when they saw me tied to a tree with metal chains around me.

Lizzie ran up to me and put her hand on my shoulder, "Kenzie, are you okay? What happened?"

"No. I found out that I am super crazy and that there's something wrong with me that no one told me about lately. However, I think there's a real reason for it this time around" I spoke as my eyes glowed red for a few seconds.

Josie and Lizzie were really worried, they looked at me with worried looks on their faces and Hope did too when she took her attention off of Landon.

She walked towards me as did Josie too. "The demon's in me you guys". I quickly mentioned while looking at the three of them with a scared look on my face. Hope covered her mouth with her hand for a second.

Hope, and my two wonderful and groovy twin sisters decided that it would be a good idea to try and untie me from the chains. Hope was to the left of me and out of nowhere I growled harshly at her as she jumped and looked at me with a concerned look.

"Oh, I am so sorry about that Hope! I was totally not expecting to do that." I quickly apologized to her. Lizzie shook her head in disbelief, trying to make sense out of all of this.

"I don't understand. How are you talking when the demon is inside you?" Lizzie questioned.

"I have no idea, but I can feel it in my head trying to take over my mind. I don't know how much longer I..." I paused and looked up at my best friend, Josie, and Hope, who watched me. I smiled at them. It felt forced. So not good.

"Never mind. It's gone. You can untie me you guys!" As I said that, Lizzie looked at Josie who looked at Hope who were all looking at me. I then shook my head and looked at them.

"No! That wasn't me. I didn't say that. It did, okay? It's still in me, so don't..." I paused and then changed my body position to a straight position and looked straight at Lizzie.

"Oh gosh, listen to me. I'm fine now. We should probably go and get out of here before we..." I paused again right when my body position changed again, this time making me groan and laugh at the same time.

I shook my head again and l looked to the ground and then back to my twin sisters and Hope. "Okay. You have to stop me. Please! Otherwise, this thing in me is going to win."

"She's fighting the demon somehow, like the Samurai did" Hope stated.

"I'm starting to think that I actually am crazy. Why couldn't you have told me the truth before, Liz?" I asked, signaling towards Lizzie. She had tears forming a little in her eyes as she looked at me.

"The Samurai isn't crazy and neither are you, Kenz!" Josie stated with a stern tone as Hope nodded her head. I looked down at the floor again and then back to them. "Can you go get dad? He can fix this I'm sure! I just want him to be here"

"Didn't you say that the Samurai fought the demon for years, Josie? Maybe if we had a little bit more time then maybe we can fix and help Kenzie". Hope suggested. I heard what Hope said and I didn't like it.

The pounding in my head from the monster that was in me was getting stronger by the second. I wanted out.

"No Hope! I can't live like this anymore." When they saw my state, Josie also had tears forming in her eyes too. Lizzie rested her hands on my shoulders as Hope continued to listen to what I had to say next.

"Apparently, Sebastian isn't real. MG broke the news to me earlier. I really thought you were going to talk to him about that, Liz! Being able to see and hear things that no one else can see sounds fascinating at first, but now it's getting intense and scary. This is scarier than any other small demon in my head that I didn't know that I had until today and that also is scary and sucks too." I admitted to them in a crying tone of voice. That caused both Lizzie and Josie to have even more tears in their eyes, seeing them sad broke me.

Lizzie comforted me even more."Kenzie, we can find a way to fix this and fix you"

"No, I don't think it'll work, there probably isn't any fixing me, Liz." I replied with a shaky voice still.

"Let's face it, I'm shattered and broken and we should all get used to it" Lizzie, Josie, and Hope looked at me with worried looks on their faces still.

"Can you tell dad that I love him? I think you have to end this, Jo" I stated while looking at Josie. She had a confused look on her face. "What?"

I looked at her and then motioned to the sword and then back to her for a second. "With that sword over there." Josie looked at the sword and looked back at me.

Lizzie covered her mouth with her hand and Hope widened her eyes again.

"Woah. I don't like the sound of that. There is no way that we're going to let that happen, Kenzie." Hope quickly stated as she looked up from returning to comfort Landon who was still on the ground.

All of a sudden, whooshing sounds became louder and I felt my body push up forward and I began to talk but as the demon. "You have no choice. This will not stop until you let me have the girl who started this all with black magic."

My two twin sisters and Hope looked at each other and then back at me and continued to watch what was going to happen next. Just then, I felt my body stumble backwards a little which caused Lizzie to notice and tear up more.

"Kenzie, you need to fight this thing" She acknowledged and the demon began to talk again from inside me "Fighting and battling is useless. Our control with Malivore is stronger than ever before. You won't have to worry about me for much longer though, just Malivore."

And with that I was able to snap out of it and was back to me for the moment. I shook it off and looked down at the floor. I then looked up at Lizzie and smiled at her and then at Josie and Hope.

"Would you look at that, the demon's distracted during an all powerful monologue. Honest and classic villain mistake I'd say." I spoke with a soft laugh. Lizzie exhaled deeply for a second and Josie looked down at the ground and where the sword was. It was glowing and made whooshing noises a little bit.

"Jo, you gotta do this. For me, please? Okay." I begged in a teary voice. Josie shook her head in disagreement.

"Think about the Merge. You know,this is even better than that because this way you two probably won't have to live with some messed up and weird part of me in your minds forever, and probably driving you two as crazy as I am." Josie shook her head and turned her body around and walked a little towards Hope and then stopped. "I think we should talk about that when we're finished with this, Kenzie ''.

Lizzie nodded her head in agreement to what Josie said. "Or until we have real solutions that can help us". I was going to say more but all of a sudden I felt a painful stinging pain all over my body, making me cry out in pain. That caused Lizzie and Josie to tear up even more after seeing me like this.

"Josie! Lizzie! Please! You need to do something because it's coming back" Hope watched as I continued to cry in pain.

"You need to do it." I shouted and then I looked at Hope, who looked at me more.

"If Lizzie or Josie won't do this, then you have to Hope!" She widened her eyes a little again and Josie looked at the sword and walked towards it and as she was doing that, I continued to cry out in pain more.

Lizzie stayed at my side the whole time and had her hand resting on my shoulder as well. Josie winced in pain a little as she picked up the sword.

"There's so much black magic in this, it hurts to hold."

"Well, it probably won't feel too good getting stabbed or worse,killed by it" I sarcastically replied. Josie looked down at the sword again and mentioned that she could try to take the magic out of the sword and use it on me to hopefully get the demon out of me.

She placed her fingers on the sword and her fingers turned red and whooshing sounds appeared again as skin turned stone like black.

She moved her head back as it was happening and I just so happened to watch her. Hope and Lizzie watched too with wide eyes. Lizzie wanted to hold the sword too, for whatever reason I don't know.

She quickly ran and joined Josie as she placed her fingers on the sword and the same thing happened to her as it happened to Josie.

All of a sudden, both Josie and Lizzie screamed and aimed the black magic towards me and I was then surrounded by the black magic.

My body was arched back and I hoped for the best from this outcome. The demon could be seen coming out of me. It was roaring a little bit and before I knew it, the demon was out of me and it disappeared into the malivore mud puddle.

Hope watched as she smiled softly. Josie and Lizzie were out of breath, as was I.

I smiled softly at them. "You both did it. Together. Thank you" Josie and Lizzie smiled at me but were trying to catch their breath too.

"I love you both" I squealed to them with a bright smile on my face.

"You better. We love you too." And with that, Josie, Lizzie, and I all fainted after what happened, leaving Hope all alone with Landon, who was still on the ground. She managed to help and wake Landon up and into a comfier place back at the school.

Meanwhile, back at the school this time, MG found Wade sitting in the school's lobby area and gave the camera back to him.

Wade wondered why MG was giving him the camera back already. MG pretty much just said that it was because of creative differences and that it didn't work out with who he was working with. Clearly. Wade understood.

MG turned around to head back to his dorm when all of a sudden he bumped into someone on accident in the hallway as he was heading back.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there" The person who he ran into jumped right to the chase. He turned around to face MG.

"What happened to Mackenzie? Did you say something to her? I'm not able to reach her at the moment and I would very much like to" After hearing the person talk, MG was confused and kept looking down at the floor and then finally turned around to face the person who turned out to be Sebastian.

MG raised his eyebrow and asked in disbelief. "Sebastian?"

Sebastian had this handsome and cute smirk on his face after seeing MG's reaction. MG moved closer to him for a second and whispered to him. "How are you standing there?"

Just then Wade heard MG talk and was a little confused as to who he was talking to. He couldn't see Sebastian. "Ah yeah, no he can't see me." Sebastian pointed out about Wade. MG just shrugged it off as he looked back at Wade for a moment and then turned his attention back to Sebastian.

"You're not real" Sebastian took a step closer to MG this time. "No, I'm very real. And I need your help with something." He admitted to MG and MG agreed to hear more about what Sebastian needed.

When Josie, Lizzie, and I were back on our feet and back inside our bedroom dorm room, Josie and I decided to rest and Lizzie had to talk to MG and fill him in on what's been going on.

He needed to fill her in on what just happened too. They met up in the lobby of the school.

"I had an interesting run in with Sebastian a few minutes ago. You know, all this time I thought your younger twin sister was having a breakdown but the boy she's crushing on is one hundred percent real." MG admitted and Lizzie widened her eyes a little.

"You did? Oh my gosh, that is so interesting. I'm sorry for not telling you our plan with Kenzie and Sebastian, MG. I got so wrapped up in this and my excitement took over and made me forget a little. I can promise you that Sebastian is real. My little sister isn't crazy. We're going to come up with a plan to help figure out why Sebastian isn't visible to most people but just Kenzie and now you."

"I need to apologize to her as soon as I can. I feel bad for hurting her. I should have believed her when she said that the first time, about him being real. I'd also love to help you and her plan to have everything go back to normal." MG smiled softly as did Lizzie. "You're really great, MG. We'd love to have you help us. And I'm sure whatever you did, Kenzie won't be upset for long. I promise." Lizzie smiled as MG chuckled to himself. "Yeah, I hope she won't be. We shall see" The two shared a hug and then went back to their separate dorm rooms and went to sleep for the night. Boy was this day full of wilderness, it is not over yet.

-End of episode story 3 :) :) :)

Hey y'all! I promise that this isn't a rewrite of the actual episode like I mentioned earlier. I made sure that I added my own elements in this story to make sure that it wasn't a copy of the episode. I hope you all enjoyed reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.

#Legacies #legacies fanfiction #sebastian legacies #sizzie #lizzie saltzman #hope mikaelson #thomas doherty

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my-current-obsession · 1 year

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I’ve been thinking about FF7 versus FF7 Remake, and while I REALLY like Remake as a whole, and I’d say the Wall Market segment is probably the best part of the game... I still kind of prefer how that area was handled in the original game.

While Remake’s version is probably more tasteful/respectful, and I DO like the new characters - especially Madam M! - and I absolutely ADORE all the battle commentary by Scotch and Kotch, I think one aspect that was lost in this version was Cloud’s agency and active participation in trying to disguise himself as a girl.

In the original, Aerith brings up the “let’s dress you as a girl” idea in the BEGINNING of the area. They plan from the get-to to go into Corneo’s mansion TOGETHER, and then he goes around actively hunting down pieces to put his disguise together. Instead of getting it all at once, he has to seek out the pieces, and you can even go above and beyond what’s necessary to make a *better* disguise. You can have him stop at the required dress and wig... or you can go out of your way to get him a tiara, wear makeup, and even UNDERWEAR that in theory Corneo would never see or know about.

And then the game rewards/punishes how dedicated the player (and thus, Cloud) was to getting a good disguise by who Corneo picks. To me, this entire sequence and the fact that the outcome is directly affected by your choices is MUCH more satisfying than what Remake did.

The idea of Cloud dressing as a girl and infiltrating Corneo’s mansion doesn’t get brought up until the last possible moment. Hell, Aerith leads him to the Honeybee Inn while he has NO IDEA what she’s thinking, before she FINALLY tells him her plan. Then she straight up tells him “this is our plan and you’ll learn to love it” which is... admittedly FUNNY, but certainly does smack me in the face with how little CHOICE Cloud gets in this version of events. In the original, he clearly CHOSE to go along with this, considering he actively put in the work to get his disguise. Here, Aerith tells him her plan, and he reluctantly goes inside and 5-10 minutes (and a truly great dance sequence) later he’s been given the full makeover by Andrea and his staff.

And yes, technically your “choices” still mattered in determining which dress/wig he gets, but... there’s little to no connection to that and your “choices”. You are given one of two sidequest lines (depending I think on whether you agree/disagree with Johnny?) and get a different good dress from completing the sidequests or a more plain look if you DON’T do the sidequests. The dresses come off as rewards for playing like a completionist rather than something you were actively working towards - especially since Cloud doesn’t even KNOW at that point that he’s going to have to dress as a girl, so story-wise the dresses and sidequests ARE 100% unrelated. And of course the story was changed so Corneo picks Cloud no matter what.

I’m just a little bothered by how little input/agency Cloud gets about this in Remake. On the whole I still think Wall Market is AMAZING and I love so much of what you do there, but I miss that feeling I got in the original game of being *in* on the plan and working towards it instead of like, getting punked and having it thrust upon me all of a sudden.

Surely when they started to work towards Aerith’s dress and invite (right after the hand massage scene), they could have brought up the idea of Cloud ALSO dressing as a girl to get inside THEN. Maybe ask if Madam M could endorse BOTH of them, and be told she can’t so Cloud would need to win over one of the other two. Even if he got the full makeover from Andrea later, at least Cloud would have gone in EXPECTING and PREPARED for it, and a small sense of the work put towards a disguise would be retained, since now you’re fighting in the Corneo Cup for Aerith’s disguise AND to impress Sam and Andrea.

#final fantasy #final fantasy vii #ff7 #final fantasy 7 #ffvii #again i want to reiterate that i LOVE this game and the wall market section #i just wish cloud had been given the idea earlier so he could have had time to accept and work towards it #instead of it being forced upon him and then a whirlwind of events later it's already done #poor guy had NO time to wrap his head around this. it was just The Plan and he had no CHOICE but to Love It

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unusedarbiter · 1 year

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Here’s apparently a wild hot take, maybe stop trying to make, dark gritty adult version of kids concepts? I think everyone can agree that there’s an over saturated of remake, spin offs, and sequels in the film and television industry right now right? And that a lot of it even if it had good aspect should just have been it’s own thing, don’t get me wrong Wednesday was good but the fact that it was an adams family spin off really really hurt it in my eyes, it should have just be its own original show. Another example in the opposite direction would be the new Velma show. I can’t think of a single good thing about it but still I feel like even though it seems universally hated, (rightfully so) it could have skirted the lines and gotten away with being a semi likable show to an average audience of people if it wasn’t a Scooby-Doo spin off. Would it have been good? No probably not but it would have atleast not been hated, connecting it to Scooby-Doo did nothing but injure the show by bringing around Scooby-Doo fans who can clearly see that it isn’t a Scooby-Doo show.

So with the part everyone can agree with out of the way let’s move to the next part. Don’t make stuff “adult” if it wasn’t in the first place, it doesn’t work, you either make a ridiculous mess that people can’t take seriously or you take away some of the most beloved aspects of that thing. For me this is most apparent in the super hero genre, I’ve always loved DC growing up but now a days there’s barely anything I like that comes out from them in any format other than games, because they try to appeal to much to their original audience that’s now grown up the the age groups they were targeting when they got those fans, and it just feels emotionless and vapid. Superheroes are inherently silly and goofy, Wonder Woman has an invisible jet and a lasso of truth, Spider-Man gets a bug bite and now he shoots webs, Bruce Wayne is the richest man in the world and spends his money making every gadget and vehicle you could possibly imagine and making all of it bat themed, let’s not forget his arch nemesis is literally a clown! It’s hard to try and be a gritty adult oriented franchise when you do that, sorry but I can’t take anything seriously when the hero of the story is a ten year old who can turn into a superhero because a wizard told him the magic word. They’re silly and goofy and that’s what I love about them, hell yeah kid shot Shazam so you can go fight the ancient Egyptian with powers he also got from a wizard! I wanna see a man in a latex bat costume beat up a scarecrow! I’m not saying they have to be Adam west Batman all the time but like stick around your age range and maybe stretching a little to one side or the other. I can’t name a single comic from the past few years I’ve enjoyed, but the two newest Spider-Man games were some of the best games I’ve ever played, the Batman Arkham games are a bit too serious at times (city was impacted very hard by everyone being so needlessly and incredibly horny all the time, really ruined my enjoyment of an otherwise solid game), but I think they represent a good maximum ceiling. And I think the reason a lot of these issues exist is because people get the green light to be adult with a franchise and immediately lose all creativity and just cram as much sex, violence, and swearing as they can in there. The big reason horror for kids such as goosebumps will always be leagues ahead of adult horror when man in mask cuts people up and it’s so bloody and gory and guy say “Oh fucking god dam shit, this crazy bastard is going to fucking kill us and shit!” Not to say those things can’t be used well, (I’d say the only adult version of comics I like is the Harley Quinn show, but even then the gore feels overly gratuitous and the show definitely has it high peaks and low low valleys, but if they stayed hard into the sort over the top, ridiculous high schooler/college student nonsense humor it could have been the best comedy show ever.) you can be taken seriously while not having an adult rating, look at the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies or Scooby-Doo incorporated those were both amazing and some of the best in their franchise without having to break the ratings ceilings

In conclusion to the -5 Hollywood executives reading this, make more original stuff instead of trying to twist existing franchises into the original show you made, stop adultifying stuff, and rethink what you definition of media for adults is, I’m sick of drowning in content for all my favorite franchises only for there to be little to none of that content being even remotely good.

#vent #hbo velma #dc #movies

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avatar-news · 3 years

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Netflix officially confirms cast + authentic adaptation

A bit under a week after my initial report, Netflix officially confirmed the main cast of the live-action adaptation of ATLA. The announcement included some new information as well:

Albert Kim, previously already reported as showrunner/executive producer, will also be a writer on the series.

Michael Goi, previously already reported as a director, will also be an executive producer.

Roseanne Liang, previously already reported as a director, will also be a co-executive producer.

Jabbar Raisani is a newly announced director on the series! More on him in my next post.

Rideback was also announced as the production company, and from it Dan Lin and Lindsey Liberatore as executive producers (all previously already reported).

Lastly, a pretty extensive mission statement of sorts written by showrunner Albert Kim was released. The main thing is that it “confirms” that the show won’t be modernized or changed fundamentally from the original, probably addressing the assorted viral fake news that has been going on for years. If you follow Avatar News, you’ve already seen me debunk this ten thousand times, and never report it in the first place. :) Well, now it’s OFFICIAL official.

Key takeaways:

They’re confident about the bending VFX.

The story will be more streamlined and expanded compared to the original episodic format.

The worldbuilding will be expanded.

Concerning the following three pillars, it will be an “authentic” adaptation: story, characters, and cultural influences.

They’re specifically using that word “authentic”, and “authenticity”, a lot.

Here’s the full thing (bolding mine), as well as official descriptions of Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Zuko after it (no surprises there):

“This is all my daughter’s fault. She’s the one who got me hooked.

When Avatar: The Last Airbender first aired on Nickelodeon, she wasn’t quite old enough to fully track the narrative. Yet I’d still find her glued to the TV every week, captivated by the adventures of Aang and his friends (who would quickly become her friends).

I began watching along with her with the thought of helping her understand what was going on. But my Dad-splainy duties quickly fell by the wayside as I found myself sucked into the world and characters, and soon we were watching side by side, both of us swept away by the singular mix of action, humor, and epic storytelling.

It also wasn’t lost on me that this was a world that drew from Asian cultures and legend, which is a rarity to this day and something I appreciated as an Asian-American father. That my daughter was able to see characters who looked like her on screen was more than just entertaining. It was a gift.

Flash forward 15 years. Netflix offers me the opportunity to develop a live-action remake of Avatar. My first thought was, “Why? What is there I could do or say with the story that wasn’t done or said in the original?” A:TLA had only grown in popularity and acclaim over the last decade and a half, which is a testament to how complete and resonant a narrative experience it had been. So if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became. VFX technology has advanced to the point where a live-action version can not only faithfully translate what had been done in animation — it can bring a rich new visual dimension to a fantastic world. We’ll be able to see bending in a real and visceral way we’ve never seen before.

Also, Netflix’s format meant we had an opportunity to reimagine a story that had originally been told in self-contained half-hour episodes as an ongoing serialized narrative. That meant story points and emotional arcs we’d loved in the original could be given even more room to breathe and grow.

Finally, a live-action version would establish a new benchmark in representation and bring in a whole new generation of fans. This was a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly exists, very similar to the one we live in.

I also knew what I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to change things for the sake of change. I didn’t want to modernize the story, or twist it to fit current trends. Aang is not going to be a gritty antihero. Katara is not going to get curtain bangs. (I was briefly tempted to give Sokka a TikTok account though. Think of the possibilities.)

Don’t get me wrong. We’ll be expanding and growing the world, and there will be surprises for existing fans and those new to the tale. But throughout this process, our byword has been “authenticity.” To the story. To the characters. To the cultural influences. Authenticity is what keeps us going, both in front of the camera and behind it, which is why we’ve assembled a team unlike any seen before—a group of talented and passionate artists who are working around the clock to bring this rich and incredibly beautiful world to life.

But in the end, the reason I decided to do this came down to one thing:

Somewhere out there, a young kid is sitting glued to their TV, waiting to be taken on an incredible journey. And I want to take them on it.

I hope you’ll come along too.”

Character descriptions:

“GORDON CORMIER (he/him) is AANG (12), a fearless and fun-loving twelve-year-old who just happens to be the Avatar, master of all four elements and the keeper of balance and peace in the world. An airbending prodigy, Aang is a reluctant hero, struggling to deal with the burden of his duties while still holding on to his adventurous and playful nature.

KIAWENTIIO (she/her) is KATARA (14), a determined and hopeful waterbender, the last in her small village. Though only fourteen, she’s already endured great personal tragedy, which has held her back from rising to her true potential, though it’s never dimmed her warm and caring spirit.

IAN OUSLEY (he/him) is SOKKA (16), Katara’s sardonic and resourceful 16-year-old brother. Outwardly confident, even brash, he takes his responsibility as the leader of his tribe seriously, despite his inner doubts over his warrior skills… doubts that he masks with his wit and deadpan sense of humor.

DALLAS LIU (he/him) is ZUKO (17), a skilled firebender and the intense and guarded Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Currently roaming the world in exile, he’s on an obsessive quest to capture the Avatar because he believes that is the only way to reclaim his life and live up to the demands of his cruel and controlling father, the Fire Lord.”

Source: Netflix

#news #live action atla #season 1 #casting #cast and crew #netflix #albert kim #michael goi #roseanne liang #jabbar raisani #adaptation

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crowfootwrites · 3 years

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Sugar [Miguel Galindo x Fem!Reader]

I - I'm not sure what happened, because I didn't plan this lol. But it's probably because I had this song on repeat as I was writing. Miguel has been pissing me off this season, but I guess that's working for me? Idk, that seems like there's a lot to unpack there. Anyway, here's a one-shot!

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, smut (like, a bunch of it), unprotected sex, daddydom!miguel; language; references to sugaring (not the waxing kind) | Words: 3,295

Taglist: @chibsytelford

He had been coming in every Thursday morning for the last several weeks. He ordered the same thing every time. For Miguel, medium flat white with oat milk. An odd choice, in your opinion. Based on his appearance, you would have pegged him as an Americano guy. Or at worst, the type to order a cappuccino and casually drop the “I discovered cappuccinos at this exquisite little café on a Venice canal” line. Especially the first time he came in wearing that white suit. Might as well have been wearing a fucking straw fedora.

He sat in the café every time he came in, reading the paper and looking at you. Men did that, sometimes, but they all had the decency to look away when you caught them staring. But this guy would meet your eyes with not a hint of embarrassment and take his sweet time breaking your gaze to return to his paper. If he had been anyone else, it might’ve made your skin crawl. But the fact that he didn’t look away, as though he didn’t care that you knew he was looking, had you intrigued.

Your barista job was the way you were paying your way through school and you worked a lot. Having something like a handsome regular to look forward to made the time a little more bearable. So, your little dance with the stranger Miguel went on like this for several weeks. After the first few, you started making sure to have his order ready when he arrived, knowing he would show up at 8:15 on the dot. The first time you did that, you slid his drink across the counter as he reached for it, his fingers brushing yours lightly. You met his scrutiny with your own darkening gaze, daring him to say something. But also begging him to say something.

He didn’t. He simply smirked that infuriating smirk and took his usual place at a table near the door, opening his paper with a flick. You turned on your heel, sucking your teeth as your coworker arched her eyebrow at you.

The next Thursday, you had his order ready when he arrived, but in an effort to restore the power balance, you had your coworker bring it to the handoff. You could feel Miguel’s eyes on you as you zipped busily behind the counter, making drinks. He watched you intently for the entirety of his visit. You allowed yourself exactly three glances his way. Each time, you could tell that you were getting him riled up. You had the feeling that no one ever said no to him, and you weren’t giving him the attention he so clearly desired.

Perhaps the timing was right, or perhaps your brush-off worked, but the following week was different. You could tell something had changed when he walked in. He was all business, his shoulders squared beneath his navy suit jacket, his bearded jaw set. He looked… like he was done playing games. The thought sent an involuntary shiver crawling down your spine.

“Good morning, Miguel,” you said coyly as he approached the handoff where you had his drink waiting for him.

“(Y/N),” he offered in response, a devilish glint in his eye.

“I’d like to get this to go,” he continued, motioning to his coffee, and your heart plummeted, immediately assuming you had somehow messed this up for yourself.

“Uh, sure,” you retorted. “Not a problem.” You turned away to remake his drink in a to-go cup, mentally kicking yourself already. When you returned to hand him his drink, he was leaning nonchalantly against the wall, arms crossed over his broad chest, studying you.

“There’s something else I’d like.” He pushed himself off the wall and leaned over the counter conspiratorially, his mouth very close to your ear. His tone was smooth, with just enough authority to make your thighs clench. “You. On your back. In my bed.”

His words squeezed the breath out of your lungs. You pulled back for a moment to meet his gaze, the corners of your mouth twitching upwards. Your pulse thrummed under your skin. “Also, not a problem,” you murmured, proud of how smooth you managed to sound, despite the rolodex of emotions spinning in your head.

***

“Fuck – Miguel!” you moaned, your back arching off of his 1,000 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets as he slid his fingers between your folds, his mouth and beard glistening with your juices. You watched him smirk from his position between your legs, his fingers stretching you exquisitely. He had one of your knees pinned roughly to the bed, keeping you spread for him. You clutched at the sheets on either side of you, but your hands started to wander as he found his rhythm inside you. His thumb circled your clit roughly as your fingers dragged themselves down your body. One hand found a home pinching and twisting your nipple, the sharp twinge punctuating the slow heat building in your core. Your other hand gripped at Miguel’s hair as his tongue lapped at your clit again, and you couldn’t help yourself as you ground your hips harder against his face, whining in pleasure.

Your first orgasm rolled through you like a wave, your whole body convulsing repeatedly as you rode it, wailing Miguel’s name in its wake. He climbed over you as you came down, his thick cock hanging against the inside of your thigh and you shivered, eager to be stretched around him as he fucked you into his fancy mattress. He eyed you hungrily as he moved to press his mouth to your neck, leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses in his wake. When you had been lulled into the gentleness of his ministrations, he bit down hard on your shoulder, sinking roughly into you at the same time, and you cried out as the sensation took your breath away. You clung to Miguel, your fingers clawing frantically at his back, as he bottomed out, thrusting hard and deep.

A low groan rumbled in his chest as he rolled his hips against yours. You relished in the sounds of your fucking echoing in the spacious room, his hips snapping furiously against your ass. He tossed your legs over his shoulders and pounded harder into you, the new angle sinking him even deeper. The fire in his eyes excited you and had your pussy throbbing around him.

“Ahh, Jesus, Miguel, just like that,” you gasped, feeling the pressure building in your core. The higher he took you, the emptier your mind became, until all you knew was the ache to be filled. Miguel pulled your hands off of him, grabbing your wrists roughly and pinning them to the bed above your head, never breaking stride.

“Please don’t stop,” you cried, your eyes screwed shut, quickly approaching another orgasm. Miguel dropped himself onto his elbows to hover over you, the added stimulation over your clit wrecking you. Your second orgasm snapped, spots bursting behind your eyelids and you clenched around Miguel completely. He fucked you through it and moments later he was pulling out to kneel in front of you on the bed, stroking himself desperately before releasing ropes of hot cum on your chest.

He was breathing hard as he ran a finger through the sticky mess on your chest and brought it up to your lips. He watched with dark eyes as you opened your mouth obediently and sucked the taste of him off of his fingers.

After a moment, his face relaxed and he pulled himself off the bed, returning from the bathroom with a damp rag. He gently cleaned off your chest, grazing your clavicle with his lips. You couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped you, at the image of Miguel Galindo cleaning you up.

“What?” he asked with a lopsided smile.

“Hope you’re not expecting me to give you my employee discount from now on,” you snickered.

Miguel grinned. “I think I can afford a cup of coffee, querida.”

***

You were more than a little surprised when Miguel showed up at your door late one Saturday morning. You had been sleeping together for a few months by then; sometimes at fancy hotels, but usually at his home, in his bed. Well, and on a lot of his other furniture. But considering that he lived in a very expensive house with lavish trappings and armed security, him coming to your shitty apartment in Santo Padre was unprecedented. But there he was, standing at your door, while you stared back at him wide-eyed. You drank in his suited appearance while you stood before him in bare feet and an oversized Guns ‘n Roses t-shirt.

“Good morning, princesa,” he said smoothly, that notorious smirk fastened to his lips. “May I come in?”

You shifted from foot to foot. “Uh, sure, I guess.” You stepped back to allow him through.

You watched skeptically as he gazed around him. He kept his expression smoothed into neutrality, making it impossible to read him. Most apartments in Santo Padre were old and somewhat run down. You had worked hard to make yours feel homey. It was small, but your couch was new, and you had a nice TV you had saved up for. There was framed art on the walls and pictures on the shelves. If he had said anything negative about your home, the only space you had to yourself, you might have thrown him out. Perhaps he sensed this; either way, he kept his mouth shut.

“Can I get you something to drink?” you asked courteously, the nicety feeling strange on your tongue considering that not two days ago that same tongue had been wrapped around his cock.

“Coffee?” he asked, and you rolled your eyes, but still let the grin settle on your lips.

You padded to the kitchen and pulled out two ceramic pour-over sets, your grinder, and the most expensive beans you had on hand. You got started on the familiar, comforting process of making coffee, letting yourself focus on the grinding and the pouring and the steeping, while your mind tried to parse out what Miguel was doing here.

When the coffee was done, you returned to the living room to find Miguel sitting on your couch, gazing down at the papers you had been going through strewn chaotically across the coffee table. He glanced up at you as you entered, a rare smile gracing his features, but you caught the furrow of his brows before he looked up.

You handed him the cup of coffee with an arched brow.

“You need a better system of organization,” he chided, motioning towards the mess.

You shrugged as you dropped onto the couch beside him. “Probably, but I would need to find the motivation to organize it first. Looking at all of this makes me depressed,” you responded, only half-joking.

Miguel studied you seriously for a moment. Then his features relaxed and your chest unclenched accordingly. He set his cup on the coffee table and settled back into your couch as you pulled your legs up under you, getting comfortable.

“So,” you started, drawing the word out. “What brings you to the wrong side of the tracks this fine morning, Miguel?”

You caught the irritation that flashed in his eyes as he turned to look at you. But he eased up when he spotted your wry grin.

“Needed a break from work,” he said simply, his hands gently pulling your feet onto his lap.

“So, you came to hide out in the last place they’d look for you, huh?”

He grinned. “Something like that.”

He drew a low groan out of you as he pressed a thumb to the insole of your foot. You had worked a double yesterday and your feet were killing you. You closed your eyes, your head dropping against the couch cushions as you relaxed into his touch.

When you opened them a few minutes later, Miguel’s hungry stare was focused on you.

“Fuck, querida, the sounds you make,” he growled, reaching for your hips and pulling you roughly onto his lap, your back pressed against his firm chest. You let your head drop back onto his shoulder, his breath in your ear sending tremors down your back. His hand slipped beneath the hem of your shirt, his touch teasing against the fabric of your panties. Your pussy clenched in anticipation, and you moaned, a low, wanton sound that had Miguel restraining you firmly with his free arm.

“So needy for me, (Y/N).” With a quick flick of his wrist, he had pulled your panties off and let them drop to the floor. He draped your legs over his, opening you wide for him. His middle finger caressed your slick folds, frustratingly slowly. Patience wasn’t your strong suit, and Miguel very much enjoyed lording that over you.

A low rumble reverberated in his chest as he swatted at the side of your bare ass on his lap. “Beg for it,” he commanded, nipping hard at your neck. You yelped at the exquisite mix of pleasure and pain.

“Please, Miguel. Please, I need you.” You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, rocking on Miguel’s lap, as much as his hold would allow, desperate for more friction.

“That’s better,” he remarked as he plunged two fingers into you. Your mouth hung open in a silent cry, devastated by the feeling of him stretching you. The pace he set was savage, and you were quickly approaching the edge.

“Fuck, I – I’m so close,” you wailed, the rolling in your hips no longer under your control.

So he pulled his fingers out. A petulant whine escaped your throat before you could stop it and you heard Miguel tut chidingly in your ear.

“Up,” he ordered, and you rose off his lap. He pulled at your waist and bent you over the arm of the couch, positioning himself behind you. You heard his pants dropping to the floor before a firm smack landed first on one cheek, then the other, making you rock forward against the couch, wetness sliding between your thighs.

“Please,” you whispered, and Miguel cracked, pushing his thick cock between your folds. He sheathed himself inside you, his grip bruising on your hips. After giving you a moment to adjust to his size, he pulled out and slammed back into you, returning to his brutal pace from earlier. He looped a strong arm around your torso and hauled you up, his fingers finding their place in a firm grasp around your throat. He fucked furiously up into you, your living room permeated with primal grunts and moans.

Your fingers wandered needily to your clit, twirling around it until the tight coil in your belly snapped and you were coming, writhing so forcefully that you broke from Miguel’s grasp and caught yourself with trembling hands on the arm of the couch. Miguel reached down and gripped your hair, tugging just enough to turn your head to the side, watching you come down from your high. His cock was punishing inside you and you were trembling from overstimulation, but you knew he was close. His jaw clenched and he leaned over you, pressing his forehead against your spine, fucking you deep.

A few more thrusts like that and Miguel was coming undone inside you, his cock twitching with his release. From the corner of your eye, you could see the heavy rise and fall of his chest as he pulled out, immediately going to fetch a towel from the bathroom. He cleaned you up, placing gentle kisses on the red marks on your ass and combing his fingers through your hair. You grabbed his hand and led him to your bedroom, pulling under the covers with you, your eyes already heavy with sleep.

A short nap later, you shuffled back out to the living room, leaving Miguel asleep in your bed. Despite your little interlude, you had to be somewhat productive today. You sighed, steeling yourself for the stack of bills still awaiting you. Your rent and tuition bill would be the priority. There had been more fee hikes at the school, so you were probably looking at another couple of months of pulling as many doubles as you could manage to cover expenses. Plus, you had to consider the cost of your textbooks. As you perched on the edge of the couch with your elbows on your knees, you scanned the sea of papers looking for the tuition statement. Your eyes widened as you located it, a soft “what the fuck?” escaping your lips.

There was a check on top of it. For the total amount of your tuition for the semester. Signed by Miguel Galindo.

You picked up the check with trembling fingers, as though terrified it might disintegrate if you thought about it too hard. You stared at it, your thumb tracing over the check amount, as you stood robotically and made your way back to the bedroom.

Miguel was still asleep, facing the edge of the bed, the almost permanent stress lines around his eyes and mouth gone. You sat heavily on the floor beside him, your head almost touching his, still staring down at the check in your hands.

“Miguel, what is this?” you asked softly, and with a groan, he opened his eyes.

It took him a moment to register what was happening, but when he did, he shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t want you to have to work doubles all month. Then I’ll never get to see you.”

A quiet hum thrummed in your throat. “This is a lot of money,” you muttered.

His lips turned up into a grin, a hint of condescension behind his sleepy eyes. “No, it’s really not, princesa.”

Your brain worked hard to process what was happening. What he was doing. “Does this mean you’re like, paying me for sex, essentially?”

Miguel heaved a heavy sigh and sat up in bed, pulling you into his lap. He buried his nose in your shoulder, his lips gliding softly across your skin. “Consider it mutually beneficial. I need something from you,” he growled, trailing a hand teasingly under your shirt, “and you need something that I can give you in return. And like I said, I would be a very unhappy man if I never get to do this,” he continued, pinching your nipple roughly, eliciting a fragile whine as your mind snapped to attention, “because you’re always at work, especially when I can do something about it.”

You nodded, a little dazed, and Miguel pulled you against him as he laid back down, spooning you. You began to relax as you talked yourself into the arrangement. You were already having sex, right? So, this was just… sweetening the pot? You imagined for a moment how much less stressful your life could be if you didn’t have to spend all your time either in classes or at work to pay for classes. You could have more time to study, more time to cook so you wouldn’t be living on fast food. And you certainly weren’t going to turn down more time with Miguel.

You chuckled quietly and Miguel squeezed your hand questioningly.

“Does this make you my sugar daddy?” you asked with a laugh.

Miguel scoffed. “Not a fan of that term, but I suppose that is an accurate description.”

You rolled over to face him, meeting his heated gaze. You wrapped a leg over his hips and threaded your fingers into his hair, desire blossoming in your belly. “What about just daddy, then?”

You watched that signature smirk appear, the clenching of his jaw hinting at his swelling arousal. He rolled you onto your back, pinning you roughly to the bed. “Now that, querida, I can work with.”

#mayans fx #mayans mc #mayansmc #miguel galindo #miguel galindo x reader #mayans mc imagine #mayans oneshot #miguel galindo oneshot

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starfire-s · 3 years

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here’s a list of the best, mediocre and worst kdramas i watched in 2020

no one asked for this but it’s happening because i have thoughts (also all opinions are my own if you disagree then get well soon i guess... no i’m kidding make your own posts about it don’t hate me please) ahsjsj anyways click to read a lengthy post and if you actually read the whole thing then thank you i hope you enjoy this wild ride!

THE BEST KDRAMAS -

mystic pop up bar - this show had everything i ask from a kdrama literally i can name it all found family (to real family), well thought out characters, a mystery plot, special effects, soft romances that were well written, a happy ending! no show in 2020 even comes close to how good this one was! the writers literally guided you throughout the whole thing so you could come up with theories and didn’t do a ‘aha! gotcha’ thing where they want to prove the audience wrong but they wanted us to be right and satisfied! the worst part about the drama is that it’s still so underrated and people just brush it off as some random fantasy show but it’s so much more than that! 1000/10

flower of evil - who doesn’t want to see lee joon gi being the son of a serial killer, living with the name of a man who is in a coma, and hiding his real identity from his wife who is a detective? this show constantly had me at the edge of my seat on a weekly basis so the emotions i went through while watching this are unparalleled! the writers also did such a good job on writing a coherent story that made sense and tied up all the plot points in the end. just a really satisfying show to watch! 10/10

where your eyes linger - i literally bought a $8 viki pass to watch this show so it should tell you everything you need to know about how i feel ahsjsj the episodes were 10 minutes long but we got a good story with well written characters who got character development in a total of 80 minutes it’s insane! honestly it’s still hard to believe this show had rookie actors because they were just so emotive that you could feel all the happiness, sadness, yearning and pining! probably one of my fave kdramas this year because of the acting that i always constantly rewatch! would recommend 10/10

crash landing on you - okay so this drama was actually released on my birthday last year and it was a time in my life when i was going through a lot so maybe it’s the comfort this show provided me through that time this is why i have such a soft spot for it? like the romance was good, it was funny, there was found family, the nk soldiers were all softies, there were strong female leads, soft male leads!!! ahh!! no other show on this list made me think about the unification of south korea and north korea irl because i wanted se ri and jeong hyeok to be together 4ever! but the only issue i had with this show was the ending they gave seung jun if they didn’t do that i’d give this show a 10/10 but just for that they get a 9/10

psycho but it’s okay - this was one of those shows where you’re literally like ‘wow everyone here needs therapy’ but this show was amazing i loved the story telling and how each episode related to children’s book/fairytales! the writers also did a good job with how carefully they talked about mental health in depth without villainising their characters but actually tried to make the audience understand why they were this way which included all the side characters too who had a well thought out story in each episode! also the dynamic between moon young, kang tae and sang tae was everything to me the actors all did an amazing job portraying their characters, it truly was a healing drama. the only thing i didn’t like about this show was the whole plastic surgery plot with the mother like that was very far fetched but it provided drama so i’ll let it slide because the rest was amazing. this show is a solid 8.5/10

18 again - another underrated gem! who would’ve thought a remake of that zac efron movie could be this good!! lee do hyun stole this show for sure the way he portrayed his character and gave heart eyes to his kids (when he’s only 25 irl was the best thing i saw this year ahsjs) i loved the family dynamics in this show, i loved how it talked about what it’s like to be young parents and how society still think it’s taboo to be divorced! it’s a show that makes you laugh and cry at the same time and that’s why everyone should watch it! however, the biggest clown thing this show did to me though was that i got sls for the first time while watching a kdrama... hwang in yeop if u’re reading this i love u and u deserved better 🤡 that aside this show was a 8/10

itaewon class - i actually didn’t watch this drama as it was airing because i thought i wouldn’t enjoy the plot but when i watched it i binged the whole thing in 2 days and my biggest regret is i didn’t watch it sooner! everyone knows i have a soft spot for park seo joon since he’s my favourite actor i’ve literally watched all his dramas like he could star in the trashiest drama out there and i’d still watch it and be like wow (looking at she was pretty 👀) this show aside from the acting had one of the best revenge plots in a kdrama! just watching a character realistically hustle his way to reach the top while fighting the corrupt man whose son killed his father was so so satisfying to watch! however, the love triangle in this show was questionable idk what they were trying to do with that but it personally annoyed me! but still i’ll give this show a 7.5/10 because i enjoyed it a lot!

do you like brahms? - kim min jae and park eun bin.. that’s all you need to know about why this is a good kdrama! i’m usually not a big fan of melodramas and everyone knows i prefer rom coms but this show was just so perfectly melo that i loved all the angst and pain we got!! also just watching two introverted people awkwardly fall in love was amazing! the characters story arcs were also handled pretty well with song ah finally learning to speak up for herself and joon young learning to express how he truly feels! but... the love square? was probably the most annoying thing the rest in my opinion was nicely done! i know people had mixed feelings about the ending but i loved that after all the pain joon young and song ah went through they got a happy ending together! 7/10

find me in your memory - okay this show started off very slow and it was confusing at the start but as it progressed everything in the plot started to fall into place! i mean this show really took opposites attract to a new level where the male lead could remember every single detail from his life but the female lead had to forget some of her traumatic memories to help her cope with her life! they were also tied together through a mutual character who was a big part of their lives in a different way! just an interesting melodrama with interesting characters i liked it! and moon ga young... i love you queen!!! 7/10

THE MEDIOCRE KDRAMAS -

more than friends - was the storytelling in this show groundbreaking? no. was the acting decent? yes. also probably the main reason i stuck with this show until the end! i think we can all agree lee soo had the best character development on this show he started off as a bad boy who wore one ear stud to actually becoming a well liked character... who else did it like him? no one. also the chemistry between the mains was 🔥 but the second male lead was so annoying is there a opposite word for second lead syndrome because i had that for sure! i think the best part about this show was the people i watched it with on here... shoutout to the five of us ahsjsj also this show introduced me to a talented actor/singer like ong seong wu (y’all know my kpop knowledge is nonexistent so no i didn’t know he was in a band called wanna one) all in all a predictable show but i had fun watching it so 6.5/10

tale of the nine tailed - i didn’t actually watch this show i watched it through gifs and instagram posts ahsjsjs so am i qualified to talk about my opinion definitely no... will I talk about it anyways yes lmao. lee rang deserved better that’s all goodbye and take care. 5.5/10

start up - probably one of the most awaited opinions. y’all thought this would be in the worst kdramas section but i decided to give this show some rights. the show started off strong, lost it’s way after episode 6 and then the last episode gave me what i wanted so i have mixed feelings. the writing was not the best i think we can all agree, love triangle as a plot device? wow so groundbreaking 🤡 the characters on the other hand... i loved every single one of them i mean ship wars? i don’t know her. the show had a lot of potential that was wasted but we also got some cute moments between the characters so there was really no winning or losing with this show? but in all honesty you can’t put a talented cast together like this and then just decide to give the audience a mediocre plot but the writers did exactly that! i think i can redirect y’all to my ‘crimes this show committed’ post for a in-depth analysis. lastly nam do san was a GOOD and REFRESHING male lead and ji pyeong was also a GOOD and FUN second male lead!!! this show gave me the ugliest ship war ever that i was transported back to my high school tvd days so thank you for that!! but the cast was loveable and all had a lot of chemistry together so here’s a 5/10 maybe that's too generous but... i think the reason why i didn't enjoy watching this show as much was definitely because of the tag on here lmao

THE WORST KDRAMAS -

the king eternal monarch - i miss clowning this show so much. the amount of braincells i lost while trying to understand this plot... i should be compensated by the writers. however, woo do hwan was a treat to look at on a weekly basis... however the writers kept decreasing his screen time even though he had a dual role... make it make sense? and i cannot comment on the plot of this show because i still don’t understand anything? also in my opinion tae eul and lee gon were the most bland couple of 2020, there was no chemistry between them and there was just a random kiss in episode 5 and they randomly said i love you... where was the development? also lee gon was soooo boring and such a one dimensional male lead! literally all the side characters were so much more interesting and the cast was good... but this plot. 2/10

do do sol sol la la sol - i wanna fight the writer who decided that the plot twist on the show would be that jun is a minor? i had no expectations from this show but it looked cute and nonsensical but that plot twist made me run the other way so fast that i never looked back! just because jun is a boy they really thought this would be excused like lmao we all have critical thinking skills???? the clown behaviour. a solid 1/10

record of youth - i hate this show so much. imagine not utilising park so dam who just starred in the biggest oscar winning movie to her full potential. imagine just making her a love interest to park bo gum’s character in the year 2020. i watched it up until episode 6 and i kept waiting for her character to get development... but it never happened so i dropped this show. also this show featured the MOST useless love triangle i have ever seen in my life like what was the point? also park bo gum’s characters family was straight up annoying (minus the grandpa) but they got so much screen time like that should’ve been given to park so dam... also villainising a gay side character for no reason at all in the year 2020? this show was a waste of my time i want the 6 hours i spent watching this back. -100/10

backstreet rookie - i watched one episode of this and literally wanted to rip my eyeballs out of my head. idk what ji chang wook was thinking when he signed this drama i think he lost his ability to read because that's the only reasonable explanation for why he chose to star in such a dumpster fire show! this show had a racist character... had a high schooler kiss an adult... sexist jokes... just the worst things you can think of in a drama... this show had it. i still can’t believe so many people watched this show to the point where it had better ratings than pbio... really made me question everyone’s taste? but sorry can’t relate my taste is excellent so here’s the rating this show actually deserves -1000/10

if you made it this far... thank you for reading. let’s continue to love some kdramas together and get clowned by others in 2021! looking forward to it 😅

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montrealmadison · 3 years

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drink deeply

or, as they say at samwell, “penitus potes.” shitty gives the toast at jack and bitty’s wedding. for @zimbitsweddingofficial and day two of zimbits wedding week: the wedding itself!

just for fun, a draft version of the beginning of this fic with lardo, ransom, and holster’s “helpful” edits can be found via google doc here. hope y’all enjoy! <3

Good evening, everyone! On behalf of Jack and Eric, thank you all so much for being here tonight, and welcome to what could very well be the most highly anticipated wedding reception of 2019. I mean, this party was planned by the likes of Suzanne Bittle and Alicia Zimmermann. We are in for a treat, folks.

Before we get to all that, I’d also like to extend a particular welcome to those in attendance who are part of the playing, coaching, and/or office staff of the Providence Falconers. Glad you could all make it this evening; I know this past week was a little bit busy for you guys.

[Insert appropriate pause and gesture to the punch bowl, which on closer inspection is actually—oh yeah—the Stanley Cup the Falcs won three days ago. Hold for inevitable applause, general hysteria, and/or hooting/hollering from Tater.]

For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been trying to decide whether I should introduce myself by my first name, which will inevitably get me mocked by my friends until the end of time, or by my nickname, which will definitely scandalize anyone who has not spent a significant amount of time around twenty-year-old guys who play hockey. However, as I look around the room, I’m realizing that most of you probably either raised, spent significant time around, or were once a twenty-year-old guy who played hockey. To the rest of you, I am profoundly sorry.

So, hi! I’m Shitty, and I’m Jack’s best man.

read more below or on ao3

Being someone’s best man, as I’ve realized over the last few months, should really come with a playbook or an instruction manual or something, because it’s a task unlike any other you’ll ever take on. In addition to being a friend, you have to be a confidant, an expert at bachelor-party debauchery (I think my college resume definitely prepared me for this part) and someone who’s not afraid to step in to make last-minute decisions so the grooms don’t have to. You also have to do all of these things without getting fired from your job or stepping on anyone’s toes, up to and including: the couple getting married, the other people in the wedding party, the grooms’ parents, the wedding planner, and most importantly, Moomaw, whose word is law around here.

(Seriously. She made the pie tonight, people. Bow down to her.)

But as much as the role can feel a little bit like you’re being thrown in at the deep end, it also definitely comes with its perks. Tonight, I have both the honor and the challenge of somehow summarizing how much I love Jack and Eric in a speech that is heartfelt and witty yet also brief so that we can get to the aforementioned pie as quickly as possible. If you’re still following me here, that is a tall order—but here goes nothing!

I met Jack Zimmermann on our first day of freshman year at Samwell, during the bright, hot summer of 2011. I was participating in the time-honored tradition of moving into a dorm on the third floor of a building with no elevator and no air conditioning in the middle of August. It builds character, or so the good folks in Samwell administration probably tell themselves. Anyway, athletes got to move in early for preseason, so I was expecting to be one of the only guys on the floor for at least a couple days. I was just carrying the last box into my room when the door next to mine opened and—well, you can probably guess who walked out.

Now, I grew up in Boston, which means I also grew up around hockey culture. I’d heard the news that Jack was coming to Samwell, so I knew who he was when he stepped into the hall in that same vague way that you kind of-sort of recognize celebrities hustling down the street or through the airport with their sunglasses on. And he gave me that same vibe—“I know you know who I am, and I’d very much like not to be bothered about it.”

Here is something that will not shock you if you know us: Jack was the first friend I made in college. Here is something that might shock you if you know us: That definitely doesn’t mean we were friends at first. By his own admission, Jack wasn’t at Samwell to make friends at all. He told me, much later, that he was only planning to go to play hockey, get his life back on track, and keep his head down as much as possible.

So in retrospect, maybe it was an unlucky thing for Jack that he ran into the one person who wasn’t going to let him do that.

Because no matter who you are or where you’re from, freshman year of college breeds a unique kind of terror I’ve never felt anywhere else. There’s a lot of pressure to completely remake yourself, to become the person you maybe never could have been in your hometown. By coming to Samwell, I wanted to be a different kind of kid than the one that Andover had raised. Jack wanted to be a different kind of kid than the one he’d spent twenty years telling himself he had to be. As much as neither of us wanted to admit it, we both wanted similar things out of our college experience, and we needed a support system to do that. And so, however begrudging the two of us were about it at first, we started to bond more and more.

It wasn’t always easy. For one thing, my idea of a good time was a lot louder than Jack’s—who enjoyed such scintillating pursuits as “watching golf” and “going to bed at a reasonable hour”, neither of which were quite in my vocabulary at the ripe old age of eighteen. Also, if it’s before six in the morning, he has a hard time remembering to speak English, which used to make for a lot of stilted conversations between the two of us as we walked to early morning practice. (On a completely unrelated note, the first and probably only thing I ever learned in Québécois is how to swear.)

I don’t remember the exact tipping point at which Jack and I really became friends; I think it was more of a quiet acknowledgment that we liked having each other around, that we balanced each other out in ways that neither of us initially knew we needed. What I do know is that, slowly but surely, I started to get glimpses of the Jack that exists off the ice. And so began one of the most extraordinary journeys of my life, because the only thing crazier than knowing Jack Zimmermann is actually knowing Jack.

Here are some things that I’ve learned in the process: He’s on his third pair of neon yellow running shoes, which he buys specifically because the color makes him happy. Before either of us tried Eric’s pies, the only thing that could make him cheat on a meal plan was a sleeve of Double Stuf Oreos. (Don’t ask him how to eat them correctly unless you’re interested in a twenty-minute speech on exactly how they have to be pulled apart.) And he loves Captain America, although it is the opinion of this best man that America’s ass has nothing on his hockey butt. Have you seen that thing? It has Internet fans in at least two different countries.

But I digress.

In our sophomore year we lived next to each other again, by choice instead of by chance, in what I can only describe as the pinnacle of American college living: the Samwell Men’s Hockey Haus. We used to pull the comforter off of one of our beds and climb out onto the roof and clear off the snow so we could share the blanket, look up at the stars, and listen to the bass thumping through the wall of the house next door. On nights when other things felt confusing, this one part of my life was clear. There’s something about sitting out under the open sky that just makes it easier to talk to a guy, you know?

Some nights the conversations we had were funny. Some nights they were serious. Some nights we said nothing at all, just sat secure in the knowledge that someone cared enough to exist alongside us for a little while. There was always an unspoken agreement between us on nights like these: I got your back. For me, Jack’s friendship became a rock, a refuge. It’s something that I came to depend on that year and still do to this day.

As for the content of those late-night conversations—well, some things do have to stay between friends. I’m sure Jack will agree, especially because he has so graciously allowed me to get up here and lovingly roast him just a little bit.

So let’s skip ahead again, to yet another August, the start of our junior year, and the arrival on the scene of one Eric Bittle. This kid burst into our ranks like a ray of Southern sunshine and turned pretty much everything upside down in the process. In the first five minutes of being in the Haus, he somehow made us a pie? Folks, I'm not kidding, it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten. We were a bunch of guys who didn’t know what we were missing until we had it, and let me tell you, it was one hell of a semester after that. In pretty short order we had curtains on the windows and baked goods on the counters, and Samwell Men’s Hockey started to become not only a team but a family.

That was off the ice, at least. On it, things were a little more complicated. As our dear friend and former goalie John Johnson said to me, Jack and Eric hadn’t gone through their character development yet—whatever that means.

Take our third or fourth practice with the full team that year, for example. It had gone… uh. Poorly, would be a word. Later that night I heard some rustling on the roof outside, and God knows I was willing to do just about anything but my homework—so I stuck my head out the window and there was Jack, watching the stars. I asked him if he wanted a buddy, and he said alright, so I slid out and sat down next to him.

That was pretty usual for us at this point. What wasn’t usual was the topic of conversation. The first thing Jack said to me was, “Bittle’s gonna get eaten alive when our schedule starts.” (Remember, people, they’re married now!) The second was, “I want to help.”

Here’s another thing about Jack: Underneath the veneer is a guy who just cares so intensely it’d shock you if you knew nothing else about him. It shocked me a little that day. I think it even shocked him to admit it, to the point where I had to say, “Jack, it’s not a criminal offense to care about other people. Even if it feels like you’re doing it for yourself.”

So he helped. He offered an olive branch, and Bits took him up on it. I’d hear the two of them get up in the morning, hours before the rest of us had to be at Faber, for checking practice. None of the rest of us ever knew exactly what went down, but one thing was for sure—Eric put in a ton of work to overcome some of the fears that had followed him to college. He got better, and Jack relaxed. The two of them really started working as a team, and things started looking up from there.

The day that they told us they were dating was pretty amazing. Eric is so full of light no matter how bleak a situation may look, but that day he was literally almost glowing. And I’ve seen Jack in moments after victory and loss, at his best and at his worst. But I’ve never seen a Jack who was so happy, possessed of such confidence in a decision he’d made, as I saw him that day at brunch. And that’s when I knew this relationship was really special.

From there, many of you know the story. You watched it play out on ESPN and social media and the front pages of every single gossip magazine on the supermarket shelves. But if you’re sitting here with us tonight, you also watched it play out between Jack and Eric themselves. You’ve watched them handle expectations as a united front. You’ve watched their unfailing dedication to each other while they navigate the pressure of being some pretty big firsts. You know that, behind the scenes, these are two incredibly genuine people who bring out the best in each other and are dedicated to doing that every single day.

In the last four years, I’ve watched Eric become self-possessed and confident because he was given the space to do so. In the last six years, I’ve watched Jack grow from a kid with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove to a guy who finally believes that he deserves all the good things the world has given him and then some. If you take nothing else away from this speech, I want you to know this: I’m incredibly proud to call myself a friend to both of them.

Jack, Bits, you’re always gonna be my brothers, my best friends, and two of the finest damn men I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. I wish you both a long and happy marriage. Take care of each other, be good to each other, and never forget where you started—as a team.

So please join me in raising your glasses, everyone, and as they say at Samwell—penitus potes to Jack and Eric!

#shitty knight #jack zimmermann #eric bittle #zimbitswedding #omgcp #check please #this idea jumped into my head and refused to leave #shitty & jack & bitty friendship my beloved #my writing

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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other than Godzilla, Mothra, and the creatures from Lovecraft, are there any iconic monsters and beasties from the pulps?

I do want to give a more thorough answer someday since monsters are much more of an area of interest of mine than pulps are, but for the time being, I'll name 10.

1: The Thing

A monster so iconic that most are not aware it was actually originated in a pulp story, titled "Who Goes There?", first published in Astounding Science Fiction before becoming a novel, then a movie, and then the John Carpenter remake. The Thing's popularity really speaks for itself. I could probably include other John Carpenter monsters here since I've talked before on how much of pulps came through in his films, but I'll leave it to just The Thing as it.

2: Bug-Eyed Monsters

Not so much a specific monster as a general category of pulp sci-fi monsters, usually predatory in nature, grotesquely oversized and described as bug-eyed, which were prevalent enough not just to become a stock archetype that's seen very popular usage outside of pulps, like Invader Zim, but to even be the name of horror anthology magazines

3: The Giant Woman

The almost literal poster girl for 50s pulp sci-fi/horror and all the hokeyness and parody that's usually afforded them nowadays, it's hard to think of the giant woman trope played straight for horror instead of a parody of the idea, or just as a fetish thing, and it's hard to think of them as much of a monster in the first place. Still, it's undeniably iconic, and it's a category of monster in it's own right, if only because of the sheer popularity of the poster for Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

4: Brain in a Jar

Another type of monster generally associated with 50s sci-fi, the Brain in a Jar actually did come to life primarily on pulp magazines, enough times for it to practically constitute a character type in it's own right, showing up in stories written by Olaf Stapledon, Lovecraft, Gustave le Rouge and Otto Binder, and the rogues galleries of characters like Captain Future and Tom Shark, even being the protagonists of a couple of stories, usually as villains or tragic victims wanting to die.

5: Dinosaurs

Yup, dinosaurs as monsters is something that took off in the pulps, not surprisingly. While dinosaurs had been discovered as early as 1812-1820, it wasn't until the very late 1890s and the early 1910s that dinosaurs began taking off as great monsters of fiction, in works like Beyond the Great South Wall in 1901 which marks the first explicitly villainous dinosaur, Panic in Paris in 1910 which seems to be first on the works of fiction to feature scenes of dinosaurs rampaging through streets, and A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder from 1888 which is a "lost world" story that predates Doyle's by over two decades, and might have been considered the progenitor of the fantasy novel had it not debuted a year after H.Rider Haggard's She and King Solomon's Mines.

6: The Phantom of the Opera

I'm gonna avoid including human villains, but The Phantom's essentially become a sub-category of monster in it's own right, and he's definitely iconic enough to merit inclusion. My reasoning for him being grouped alongside pulp characters is because the original story by Gaston Leroux was actually published in serialized format as a feuilleton in newspaper Le Galouis, and as I've established before, feuilletons were France's pulp fiction, one of the very earliest examples of pulp even before the Americans got on it. It's hardly that surprising that Erik would be grouped among the villains and monsters of pulp fiction, considering the similarities between him and a certain shadowy avenger with a similar flair for theatrics.

7: Killer Robots/Cyborgs

Kind of self-explanatory, as they were practically the bread and butter of most sci-fi pulps pending towards horror. Although mentions of automata date from before the pulps, it was in their time that this rose to such pop culture prominence. The Nick Carter novels had what is considered the first cyborg in fiction. The term "robot" was coined by Karel Čapek, who became a pulp magazine writer. Robots and aliens were among the premier monsters of most pulp sci-fi stories, even if not necessarily their main villains usually. And speaking of aliens,

8: UFOs

While they predate pulps, the general idea of aliens as stock pop culture monsters first took life in pulp magazines. Murray Leinster’s First Contact, while it's aliens are not evil, coined the term "first contact" and provided a template for every story based around the idea ever since. The Martian Chronicles by Rad Bradbury is often credited by sci-fi historians as a pivotal event in the genre’s growing respectability and mainstream success. More famously, you had writers like Robert Heinlein, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Olaf Stapledon and Francis Flagg all striking several different speculations regarding aliens, a variety that ultimately ensured the alien's popularity as a new monster archetype.

9: The Headless Mule

Included here because I make it a point to reference one figure from Brazil's history, as cordel literature is our local equivalent to pulp, and the Headless Mule is one of the most famous monsters of our folklore and one of the most prominent stories across cordel. As cordel tends to revolve around folk poems, songs, tales and novels, monsters from Brazilian folklore tend to show up in those, and I intend on writing more extensively about them soon. The Headless Mule is one of the most popular and I'll paste a short description of her below:

The headless mule is, in fact, a woman, cursed after having sexual relations with a priest (regardless of whether or not she consents), who suffers a similar fate to the werewolf. On nights from Thursday to Friday, she turns into a dark-haired mule, with either a head shrouded in flames, or a perpetual flame for a skull.

She goes out riding quickly through villages, seven, to be exact, causing damage wherever she goes by either running over people and trampling and tearing them with sharp hooves, or burning any who approaches it's fire.

There is one way to free the woman from the curse: It carries a glowing iron curb in its mouth. If someone is brave enough to pull it out, the mule will transform back into a woman, never to change again.

10: King Kong

Proof of how irrevelant it is whether or not a pulp character was ever part of a pulp magazine. While Kong didn't start out in pulp magazines, nor was he published in one like Godzilla as far as I can recall, it's pretty indisputable that Kong and Skull Island have been extremely influential in much of pop culture's perception of pulp jungle adventures and giant monsters, influencing the creation of Godzilla and Mothra and the kaiju genre. Kong and Skull Island have had so, so many crossovers with pulp heroes that I'd be incredibly remiss not to include him, and so he's here as my final inclusion.

#replies tag #the thing #john carpenter #attack of the fifty foot woman #giant woman #brain in a jar #dinosaurs #pulp fiction #pulp villains #pulp monsters #phantom of the opera #gaston leroux #king kong #ufo #skull island

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princesssarisa · 3 years

Text

Some more “Little Women” remarks: the problem of Beth

I honestly think most commentary I’ve read about Beth’s character is bad, both academic and from casual readers.

I understand why. She’s a difficult character. Modern readers who love Little Women and want to celebrate it as a proto-feminist work need to contend with the presence of this thoroughly domestic, shy, sweetly self-effacing character, seemingly the opposite of everything a feminist heroine should be. Meanwhile, other readers who despise Little Women and consider it anti-feminist cite Beth as the embodiment of its supposedly outdated morals. Then there’s the fact that she’s based on Louisa May Alcott’s actual sister, Lizzie Alcott, and does show hints of the real young woman’s complexity, and yet she’s much more idealized than the other sisters, which often makes readers view her as more of a symbol (of what they disagree, but definitely a symbol) than a real person.

But even though the various bad takes on her character are understandable, they’re still obnoxious, and in my humble opinion, not founded in the text.

Here are my views on some of the critics’ opinions I least agree with.

“She’s nothing but a bland, boring model of feminine virtue.”

Of course it’s fair to find her bland and boring. Everyone is entitled to feel how they feel about any character. But she’s not just a cardboard cutout of 19th century feminine virtue. So many people seem to dismiss her shyness as just the maidenly modesty that conduct books used to encourage. But it seems blatantly obvious to me that it’s more than just that. Beth’s crippling shyness is actively portrayed as her “burden,” just like Jo’s temper or Meg and Amy’s vanity and materialism. She struggles with it. Her parents have homeschooled her because her anxiety made the classroom unbearable for her – no conduct book has ever encouraged that! In Part 1, she has a character arc of overcoming enough of her shyness to make new friends like Mr. Laurence and Frank Vaughn. Then, in Part 2, she has the arc of struggling to accept her impending death: she doesn’t face it with pure serenity, but goes through a long journey of both physical and emotional pain before she finds peace in the end. Her character arcs might be quieter and subtler than her sisters’, but she’s not the static figure she’s often misremembered as being.

‘She needs to die because her life has no meaning outside of her family and the domestic sphere.”

In all fairness, Beth believes this herself: she says she was “never meant” to live long because she’s just “stupid little Beth,” with no plans for the future and of no use to anyone outside the home. But for readers to agree with that assessment has massive unfortunate implications! The world is full of both women and men who – whether because of physical or mental illness, disability, autism, Down Syndrome, or some other reason – can’t attend regular school, don’t make friends easily, are always “young for their age,” don’t get married or have romantic relationships, aren’t able to hold a regular job, never live apart from their families, and lead quiet, introverted, home-based lives. Should we look at those real people and think they all need to die? I don’t think so! Besides, it seems to me that the book actively refutes Beth’s self-deprecation. During both of her illnesses, it’s made clear how many people love her and how many people’s lives her quiet kindness has touched – not just her family and few close friends, but the neighbors, the Hummels (of course), the local tradespeople she interacts with, and the children she sews gifts for who write her letters of gratitude. Then there’s the last passage written from her viewpoint before her death, where she finds Jo’s poem that describes what a positive influence her memory will always be, and realizes that her short, quiet life hasn’t been the waste she thought it was. How anyone can read that passage and still come away viewing her life as meaningless is beyond me.

“She needs to die because she symbolizes a weak, outdated model of femininity.”

SparkNotes takes this interpretation of Beth and it annoys me to think of how many young readers that study guide has probably taught to view her this way. No matter how feisty and unconventional Louisa May Alcott was, and no mater how much she personally rebelled against passive, domestic femininity, would she really have portrayed her beloved sister Lizzie as “needing to die” because she was “too weak to survive in the modern world”? Would she really have turned Lizzie’s tragic death into a symbol of a toxic old archetype’s welcome death? But even if Beth were a purely fictional character and not based on the author’s sister, within the text she’s much too beloved and too positive an influence on everyone around her for this interpretation to feel right. This seems less like a valid reading of her character and more like wishful thinking on the part of some feminist scholars.

“She's a symbol of pure goodness who needs to die because she’s Too Good For This Sinful Earth™.”

Enough with the reasons why Beth “needs to die”! At least this one isn’t insulting. But I don’t think it’s really supported by the text either. If she were a symbol of goodness too pure for this world, then she wouldn’t forget to feed her pet bird for a week and lose him to starvation. She wouldn’t get snappish when she’s bored, even if she does only vent her frustration on her doll. She wouldn’t struggle with social anxiety, or dislike washing dishes, or be explicitly described as “not an angel” by the narrator because she can’t help but long for a better piano than the one she has. Now of course those flaws (except for accidentally letting her bird die) are minute compared to her sisters’. It’s fair to say that only “lip service” is paid to Beth’s humanity in an otherwise angelic portrayal. But it seems clear that Alcott did try to make her more human than other saintly, doomed young girls from the literature of her day: she’s certainly much more real than little Eva from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, for example.

“She’s destroyed by the oppressive model of femininity she adheres to.”

This argument holds that because Beth’s selfless care for others causes her illness, her story’s purpose is to condemn the expectation that women toil endlessly to serve others. But if Alcott meant to convey that message, I’d think she would have had Beth get sick by doing some unnecessary selfless deed. Helping a desperately poor, single immigrant mother take care of her sick children isn’t unnecessary. That’s not the kind of selflessness to file under “things feminists should rebel against.”

“She’s a symbol of ideal 19th century femininity, whom all three of her sisters – and implicitly all young female readers – are portrayed as needing to learn to be like.”

Whether people take this view positively (e.g. 19th and early 20th century parents who held up Beth as the model of sweet docility they wanted from their daughters) or negatively (e.g. feminists who can’t forgive Alcott for “remaking Jo in Beth’s image” by the end), I honestly think they’re misreading the book. I’ve already outlined the ways in which Beth struggles and grows just like her sisters do. If any character is portrayed as the ideal woman whom our young heroines all need to learn to be like, it’s not Beth, it’s Marmee. She combines aspects of all her daughters’ best selves (Meg and Beth’s nurturing, Jo’s strong will and Amy’s dignity) and she’s their chief source of wise advice and moral support. Yet none of her daughters become exactly like her either. They all maintain their distinct personalties, even as they grow. Admittedly, Beth’s sisters do sometimes put her on a pedestal as the person they should emulate – i.e. Amy during Beth’s first illness and Jo in the months directly after her death. But in both of those cases, their grief-inspired efforts are short-lived and they eventually go back to their natural boldness and ambitions. They just combine them with more of Beth’s kindness and unselfishness than before.

“She wills her own death.”

Of all these interpretations, this one is possibly the most blatantly contradicted by the text. Just because Beth’s fatal illness is vague and undefined beyond “she never recovered her strength after her scarlet fever” doesn’t mean it's caused by a lack of “will to live”; just because she interprets her lack of future plans or desire to leave home to mean that she’s “not meant to live long” doesn’t mean she’s so afraid to grow up that she wants to die. It’s made very clear that Beth wants to get well. Even though she tries to hide her deep depression from her family and face death willingly, she’s still distraught to have her happy life cut short.

I’ll admit that I’m probably biased, because as as a person on the autism spectrum who’s also struggled with social anxiety and led an introverted, home-based life, I personally relate to Beth. If I didn’t find her relatable, these interpretations would probably annoy me less. But I still think they’re based on a shallow overview of Beth’s character, combined with disdain for girls who don’t fit either the tomboyish “Jo” model or the sparkling “Amy” model of lively, outgoing young womanhood, rather than a close reading of the book.

#little women #beth march #meta #literary criticism

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stxphxn-strange · 3 years

Text

(no) rest for the innocent

summary: Tony wasn’t even on trial, but the jury found him guilty and he couldn’t disagree.

a/n: idk last night i was thinking about tony dealing w survivor’s guilt after endgame (and IW) so i threw this together, tw for mention of death and implied thoughts of suicide

“Good evening, Doctor.” FRIDAY’s warm, pleasant voice always reminded Stephen of home and cinnamon scented candles. “How was your trip?”

“Too long for a meeting that could’ve been handled over email. Or through carrier pigeon, as Tony would say,” Stephen replied as his cloak sailed off down the hall.

He washed his hands carefully, drying them on an Iron Man dish towel that Peter had given them as a joke wedding gift before putting the kettle on.

As the water was boiling, he noticed a covered plate on the kitchen counter. There was an obnoxiously orange piece of paper in front of it, which made Stephen smile. Tony always left him little notes on purposefully electrifying paper, that way they were easy to find.

The sorcerer’s smile only widened as he read the note.

Steph—

I wasn’t sure when you’d be back, but I decided to make you dinner anyway. But not because I’m missing you and wanted to surprise you, I just accidentally cooked too much. You know how that happens sometimes and you just end up with an ungodly amount of chicken parm? Life’s funny like that.

Anyway, I’m in the lab. I had some good ideas earlier and I wanted to start them while I still felt productive. Welcome home sweetheart, and if you go to bed before I do (because you probably will, you responsible asshole you), sweet dreams and goodnight.

Love, Tones

PS— Orange you glad you met me? … don’t answer that, I just couldn’t help it and had to write that down.

Stephen rolled his eyes fondly. “Fri, will you tell Tony that even though he’s not funny, I’m very glad I met him?”

FRIDAY was quiet for a few moments before responding. “Boss says, quote, ‘fuck you Gandalf, I’m hilarious,’ unquote.”

Stephen smiled, heating up his meal before sitting down to eat. He flipped through a magazine while he ate, FRIDAY turning on some soft jazz music as background noise until Stephen cleaned up and left the kitchen. After a refreshing shower, the sorcerer found himself in his most comfortable pjs and slippers as he walked through the house. Stephen wasn’t sure if he was going to bed yet, but he wanted to see Tony (and maybe he wanted a kiss or two or even three).

The music in the lab automatically lowered when Stephen shut the door behind him, and Tony looked up with an expression that could only be described as tired.

Actually, he looked exhausted. Weary. Barely holding himself together. Stephen wasn’t a thesaurus, but very concerned about his husband.

Tony was trying to smile, but he seemed too exhausted to do that and just gave up, not saying anything as Stephen sat beside him.

“Hi.” Stephen leaned over and softly kissed his husband’s temple. “Thanks for cooking for me, you didn’t have to.”

Tony shrugged. “I had a lot of energy earlier, and I accidentally cooked way too much. Maybe it was intentional, you know I’d take any excuse to go out of my way for you.”

His words said one thing, but his tone betrayed him. His voice was brittle, hard, and almost staticky. Stephen thought he sounded like a rusted hinge that was trying not to cry out for repairs… or maybe that analogy only made sense given where they were.

Stephen kissed him again as Tony sat back at his desk, closing his well-used sketchbook. “You alright?”

“Yeah. Tired I guess.” Tony sounded as unconvinced as Stephen felt.

“Come to bed with me,” Stephen offered. “I’ll bore you to sleep by telling you about the meeting.”

Tony laughed hollowly. “That bad?”

“I don’t know how to describe it, but it was a waste of time. Even Wong was bored, and he watches the Antiques Roadshow remake for fun,” Stephen replied. He yawned and leaned against Tony’s side.

“I see what you’re doing,” Tony murmured, trying to be lighthearted. He was just feeling some kind of way right now, he felt serious and was so endeared by his husband that it hurt.

“What am I doing?” Stephen asked, resting his head on Tony’s shoulder.

“Being cute and sweet so I’ll go to bed and let you be the big spoon,” Tony accused. “And maybe I just really fucking need a hug, but… it’s working.”

Stephen shifted and pulled Tony into his arms, holding the mechanic close as he went lax.

“My Boss Is Singing Closing Time Protocol please, Fri,” Tony mumbled.

“Goodnight Boss, goodnight Doctor,” the AI replied, beginning to run the lab’s standard closing protocol.

“Portal?” Stephen asked. Tony was getting better with going through portals, but some days were harder than others. Stephen didn’t know what tonight would be like and opted to ask, selfishly wanting to make sure Tony got some rest as soon as possible.

He was so out of it by that point that Stephen wasn’t sure if Tony registered the question, but he nodded slowly and trusted Stephen to lead him through it and into their bed.

Despite “resembling a sloth clinging to a tree bough,” (Tony’s words) Stephen was intuitive and knew when not to hug Tony. Even when he was asleep, if Tony woke up thrashing or fighting against something in a dream, Stephen let him go.

Tonight was a bit different. Stephen wasn’t brought to the edge of reality by Tony thrashing in their bed or accidentally tangling himself in their sheets, so he assumed everything was fine. That was until the sorcerer hugged his husband closer, still mostly asleep and just following his instinct, and Tony outright begged Stephen to let go of him. He wasn’t quite awake, but Stephen backed off immediately and heard Tony trip over his own feet as he left the room. The sorcerer fell asleep again after that, trying to stop the sound of Tony’s broken plea from cementing itself in his memory. When Tony climbed back into bed some time later, Stephen was stirring a little bit more. Tony hid his face in Stephen’s collarbone and said nothing, his breathing still slightly erratic.

“Sorry if I woke you up,” he mumbled.

“Don’ be,” Stephen replied, his voice unsure whether or not to wake up.

“Will you hold me again?” Tony asked pleadingly, his voice almost imperceptible.

Stephen wordlessly obliged, kissing the top of his head. “Whatever’s bothering you… you can talk to me about it. When you’re ready. And you don’t have to, but I’m here for you.”

Tony nodded. “It feels like too much right now. What I’m thinking about, I mean. I need time to process, I guess.”

“Okay,” Stephen said simply. “But I’m here for you whenever.”

“I know. I love you,” Tony replied.

Stephen began to trace soothing patterns on Tony’s back. “Love you Tones.”

++++

Tony didn’t seem any more rested the next day, but his confident Tony Stark™ pose seemed natural. He’d easily be able to fool people who didn’t know him as well as his family did. So it was a “fake it until you make it” kind of day, and Tony’s energy was on a strict schedule. There was only so much he could take today, and if his teammates wanted to call him selfish then that was their choice.

It would just go in one ear and out the other, especially this late in the day and after brutal team training. Tony was close to skipping the meeting, but a cutting remark in the hallway made him change his mind. Why did they always act like it was breaking news when Tony needed to step back from something anyway? He was just as human as anyone else, and the world was happy to throw responsibilities on his unenhanced, steady shoulders just because he was a natural caretaker.

The arguments about Tony’s quiet, withdrawn demeanor started two minutes into the meeting. Stephen was ready to defend his husband as soon as they got to the conference room, Tony collapsing into a chair and leaning his head against the cool metal of the table.

He didn’t want to talk today, and Stephen didn’t want him to.

“It’s not nap time, Stark.” There was a small hint of fondness in Natasha’s cold, clipped voice.

Tony was already regretting his decision to show up, wishing he hadn’t told Stephen again and again that he was fine. He wasn’t, and they both knew it. Everyone knew it, but Tony knew better than to advocate for himself in front of his… colleagues.

“I don’t even remember what we’re meeting about,” Tony muttered, looking up enough to address whoever was talking to him.

Rhodey took a seat beside Tony, encouragingly patting his back. “You good?”

“I’m fine, Honeybear,” Tony replied. He was sitting between his two favorite people, and that helped him feel a little more grounded. “I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

Someone scoffed. “I don’t think anyone’s slept right in months. And don’t say you haven’t slept in years, Stark. We don’t need a story about how everything you’ve ever done has led to years of sleepless nights. We know already. Put it in a book or something and make the team more money so I can have better arrows.”

Stephen was two seconds away from dropping the archer into the Dark Dimension, or flipping a table. He wasn’t sure how to handle the man yet, still taken aback by the rudeness and stupidity of his comment. “Barton, what the fuck—”

“Steph, don’t bother with him,” Tony said. He stood up, forcing his tiredness into a corner and giving his coworkers a confident glare. “Pardon me for giving it my all and being a bit tired as a result. Now I’m going to get an ice pack for my shoulder and maybe a cup of coffee. Does anyone want anything?”

“I’ll take a—”

“Get it yourself, you know where the kitchen is.”

For dramatic effect (and moral support), the cloak landed on Tony’s shoulders and billowed out as he left the room. He returned with the aforementioned ice and coffee, and a mug of tea for Stephen.

“You didn’t have to do that sweetheart, but thank you,” Stephen said appreciatively.

“That’s why I wanted to,” Tony replied. He relaxed a little into his chair, starting to believe he could get through the meeting.

Then, like clockwork, Clint opened his mouth to complain.

“Why did you bring him tea and nothing for the rest of us?” He whined.

“Doesn’t Tony do enough for you?” Stephen asked, innocently taking a sip of his tea. It was his afternoon green tea, made exactly the way he liked it.

Tony was always so sweet and attentive with his loved ones, it warmed Stephen’s heart. The sorcerer stifled a laugh as Rhodey poured half of Tony’s coffee into his own empty mug.

“Thank you,” the colonel said impishly. “Consider the roommate tax paid for this month.”

Tony tried to smile at the old inside joke, but Stephen noticed that it fell flat.

“Are we done with the interruptions? We need to talk about what’s out there. We don’t know if Thanos is the exception or the rule, and—”

Tony stopped listening. Clint’s snootiness was doing his head in, but the idea of another threat, another thing, another colossus he’d have to conquer and survive if his luck had anything to say about it… that was the breaking point.

Tony didn’t have a good relationship with luck. He didn’t really believe in it, but apparently it believed in him. Because Tony was lucky. It was true that he was lucky in meeting his husband, his friends, and his family, but this was a different kind of luck. Tony was intelligent and skilled, shrewd and savvy, and there was virtually nothing he couldn’t do or solve, except for one thing.

He was constantly lucky, constantly cheating death.

And he didn’t realize that he was hyperventilating, didn’t recall dropping his head into his hands. He didn’t recall that he’d just walked out in the middle of the meeting after a minute, didn’t realize that he was home when he opened his eyes.

Tony was home, in his spot on the couch in Stephen’s library. Stephen was sitting beside him, quietly watching a documentary or something like that. Tony was laying down, his head in Stephen’s lap with the cloak draped over him like a blanket. The crimson fabric continued to cling to him as he sat up, further proving Tony’s point that Levi liked him best, but he wasn’t in the mood to banter now. He just appreciated the support and the warmth of his sorcerer and their shared, sentient blanket.

With some hesitancy, Tony leaned over and rested his head on Stephen’s shoulder. They locked eyes for a minute, Tony’s gaze deliriously bright and vacant.

Stephen didn’t know what to say or do to make the man trembling in his arms feel better, but started by hugging him closer and softly stroking up and down his spine.

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispered, lowering his head and hiding against Stephen’s chest.

“No apologies,” Stephen reminded him. “I don’t want or need them, and you don’t have to explain yourself.”

“I have to give a good reason,” Tony said, his voice beginning to shake. “Everything I do needs a reason.”

“Why? Says who?” Stephen asked. He was more thinking aloud, half expecting Tony to leave the question unanswered.

For a while, he did. He just sat, furiously trying to blink back tears and gather his thoughts as Stephen held him protectively.

“Sometimes I think about… things,” Tony began vaguely. “And people. And places. I guess I just like nouns.”

At this point, he didn’t even know if he was trying to deflect or just tell a joke, but his attempt at humor fell flat. He tried to force a laugh, but halfway through it turned into a painful sob. He cried harder with each breath, ignoring the ache in his chest. Tony barely listened when Stephen encouraged him to breathe, but eventually he gave into his exhaustion and listened to his lungs.

His stupid lungs, which apparently were just as stubborn as his brain.

“I can’t keep doing this,” Tony whispered. “I shouldn’t have survived Afghanistan, New York, Sokovia, Siberia, or Titan. I can’t keep cheating death, Stephen. I don’t want to. I don’t want to be lucky and survive when the damage I’ve caused, the damage I claim full responsibility for, has taken so many lives. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt or killed for me.”

Stephen pressed a soft kiss to his hair, feeling Tony’s guit and fatigue as if it was his own.

“I don’t want to do this,” Tony repeated. “I’m probably just spiraling or being needlessly selfish, but I… I don’t know.”

“You’re taking on too much responsibility where you don’t need to,” Stephen said. “I know that’s easy for me to just say from the outside, but you aren’t the only Avenger. It’s about time the team, if you can even call them that, takes accountability for their actions and stops bulldozing you with their problems. You aren’t selfish, Tones. You’re tired and overworked, and you deserve a break. You deserve to breathe, to just exist without feeling like you have to look over your shoulder or justify your every step.”

“I don’t think I know how to even do that anymore,” Tony replied. “And I don’t deserve it.”

“You do,” Stephen argued. “And rest assured I’ll keep telling you that. And I’ll keep telling you how much I love you, because I really do.”

Tony smiled sadly, trying to press himself closer to Stephen if that was even possible. “I love you too.”

He was starting to settle down, soothed by a flurry of soft kisses in his hair and the gentle brushes up and down his spine, when FRIDAY quietly spoke up. She almost sounded remorseful.

“Mister Parker is requesting one or both of you in the lab, whenever it’s convenient,” she began. “And he’s asked me to assure you that it’s nothing major.”

Tony sighed, sitting up again. “I’ll investigate.”

Stephen shook his head. “No, let me. I’ll tell Peter that you’re resting, and he’ll understand.”

“I don’t want him to think I don’t care,” Tony whispered.

“He would never think that. You know how he gets about making sure you take care of yourself, and Peter knows with certainty that you care about him. Our son is much more mature than the Avengers,” Stephen replied.

“I still feel bad,” Tony said.

“I know. I can promise him Thai food if that’ll make you feel better?” Stephen suggested, half jokingly.

“It actually would,” Tony admitted. “FRIDAY, will you schedule a Thai food delivery for 6:30pm please?”

“Scheduled,” she replied simpy. She still sounded apologetic for disturbing them right as Tony was falling asleep, but maybe Stephen imagined that.

The sorcerer stood up gracefully, covering Tony with another blanket as the cloak wrapped a bit tighter around him. “Look after yourself and relax, or get some sleep. No one’s expecting anything from you right now Tones, alright? I love you.”

Tony nodded, a little smile on his face as Stephen kissed him again. “Love you.”

He really wanted to sleep. He actually put effort into falling asleep, which was something he never thought he’d do, and of course sleep didn’t come easily. Sleep never came easily, but the memories did. It was all too easy for Tony to get caught in a thought stream, whether he was planning a surprise, inventing, or remembering unpleasantries. Today he was overwhelmed by guilt, readily convincing himself that he was a selfish failure like Howard Stark and his teammates liked to say. It was too easy to get lost in their ire and wanting to please everyone, and Tony had given up so much of his agency just to try and make other people happy.

It was exhausting, and he didn’t even feel like he’d succeeded at that.

The mechanic started tearing up again as he continued to think in a circular pattern, faintly aware of the Cloak trying to comfort him. It was a sweet, welcome gesture, and Tony let it happen and let himself cry. He was still laying there in tears when Stephen came back in half an hour later.

“Pete says he hopes you feel better,” Stephen said, returning to his spot and pulling Tony close. “And I told him to just go ahead and eat whenever he’s hungry, or when the food gets here.”

Tony just nodded, feeling relieved and supported in Stephen’s arms again. He nodded again, as if trying to shake the unending self-deprecating thoughts from his head, before saying anything. “Sounds good.”

tags: @salty-ironstrange-shipper @stark-strange-love2 @chocopiggy @katninjagirl97 @kitkatfat15 @taruyison @funkylittlebidiot

#tony stark #stephen strange #ironstrange #not endgame compliant #non infinity war compliant #peter parker #ironstrange and spiderson #not avengers friendly lowkey #not clint barton friendly #james rhodey rhodes #tw mention of character death #tw death mention #tw sui mention

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rayomz · 2 years

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pour one out for all the people who dont want to give beyond good & evil a chance bc of what the second one is/will be, perceived to be yet another realistic generic openworld sandbox ubisoft game, space GTA, whatever when the first game is not like that at ALL

i didn’t play the first game bc i thought it would be “just another ubisoft game” despite it coming out in 2003, i wasn’t interested until i actually sat down and watched gameplay, ofc then i played it, fell in love, became a major SI for me

if you put bge1 fans and bge2 “fans” in a venn diagram there would be very little to no overlap bc they are completely different audiences

thinking of this for many reasons, one of which is bc a lot of bge1 fans, if not most, are rayman fans. yet i can’t think of a single rayman fan on here who has played bge. like... this game is on NOBODY’S radar despite it being by michel ancel and the fact that it feels EXACTLY like a mishmash of rayman 2 and rayman 3. i went into this game really desperately wanting a rayman 4, played this, and was satisfied afterwards. it feels like a rayman game more than anything else

another reason i was thinking about bge’s appeal was that it’s a CARTOON. thats something bge2 ISN’T and people might look that over when looking at bge1. not only is it a cartoon in style but there are SO MANY JOKES and even GAMEPLAY MECHANICS in the game that rely on it being a CARTOON. if they were to make a realistic remake of the game, not only would the charm be lost, but a lot of the jokes wouldn’t make sense if they tried to make it 1:1, and the mechanics wouldn’t work. you can’t simply remake beyond good & evil. the way you defeat the alphas, peyj’s jetboots, the mr decastellac joke at the end of black isle, double h’s introduction, the slaughterhouse hovercraft puzzles, all of these rely on cartoon logic and can NOT work in a realistic setting with realistically-rendered characters. you would have to reboot the whole thing

speaking of humour, this game is actually more humorous than rayman 2. like i can think of very few jokes in rayman 2 but bge has so many. albeit they’re all in the beginning of the game bc it gets more serious midway through, but never grim. there’s always this silliness to the game the whole way through

the enemies in the game look like this ffs

this guy straight up looks like a reject rayman 3 enemy

we’re back to getting like 1 fanart per 6 months and its always like.. a sketch of jade and nothing else. bge supposedly has “a loyal fanbase” like yeah, the game has fans, people have played it, people LOVE bge, yet there’s no *community*

there’s no *fandom*

there’s a new fanfic like once every 2-3 years and even then, it’s usually just a short one-shot. fanart in general is few and far between and it’s usually just jade. i LOVE jade but good luck if you’re a fan of any of the other characters (double h...)

also the game is like $3 on sale but i’d recommend like... emulating it over anything lol. this isn’t the most accessible game due to it not being on modern consoles and the PC port being shit. HD versions are shit too but are slightly more accessible if you have a ps3 or something. best versions are the originals if you have access to those, if not, bge on gamecube runs well on dolphin. it’s a short game at no longer than 10-15 hours if you try to 100% it on a first run. my personal best is like 4 and a half hours but a casual run for me takes no longer than like 6-8 hours depending on how much i complete. it’s fairly easy too i think, no rayman 1 nonsense. the final boss can be tricky but at that point you can just watch it on youtube imo lol

or if you prefer, i recommend chipcheezum’s recent letsplay of the game. i recommend this one over others bc of how familiar him and ironicus are with the game, they’re able to comment on things in a meaningful way. and it’s also really funny

youtube

tldr everyone play beyond good & evil it’s a funny cartoon adventure game if you like funny cartoon games you’ll probably like this one

#long post /#rayman

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codename-adler · 3 years

Text

Dear Tumblr toxicity,

Hi. Adler here. We need to talk.

- TW: mental health issues, depression, bipolar disorder, self-harm, homophobia, transphobia, coming out, xenophobia, islamophobia, racism, implied sexual content, rape, non-con, addictions, abuse, parental negligence, depictions of violence, swearing (please message me kindly if I forget anything)

- What prompted this message: The release of Skam France S7 teaser (emphasis on teaser, will get into that below)

- Where I’m coming from: I will talk from the pov of a white, cis and queer 22-years-old woman (she/her); this is the pov that affects my experiences and the opinions I will share below; but my message comes from a place of deep hurt, and love

- What this is about: My goal is to share a recurring experience that has hurt me in order to spread a message of awareness, maturity, peace and love

- Central content: Skam France, Skam Wtfock, and Skam/remakes in general

From now on I will assume people have enough information for me to talk about the topics without explaining every plotline/character. There are plenty of wiki pages to help you out and I will gladly answer any (respectful) questions asked if a plothole bothers your comprehension of my message. I’m only making these assumptions in order to alleviate the text.

January 9th, 2021.

The francetv slash YouTube channel releases an unexpected teaser video for an equally unexpected seventh season Skam France. The video features Tiffany, a white, cis female teenager, going into labour from denial pregnancy just after winning what appears to be a gymnastics championship. Overall, the video and its release are very dramatic.

The character of Tiffany, also called Tiff, was previously seen on season 6 of Skam France as a bully who persecuted the main character, Lola, both at school and on social media. Outside of this characterization, nothing is known about her. It is majorly accepted that Tiff is not a liked character; she rather poses as one of the antagonists of Lola’s arc.

Now you know the details of what happened, in the most objectively possible way.

Now I’ll speak for myself.

Before I went digging around for people’s reaction, here is what I initially thought of this video.

1) Shock: I thought Skam France was over, so... Big, big shock.

2) Excitement: I hold this web series very close to my heart. It has gotten me through depressive episodes, anxiety attacks, coming out to my best friend. To see this new development? It couldn’t bring me more joy.

3) Curiosity: I recognized Tiff immediately. I was intrigued as to what would happen to her to set off a new season in true Skam Fr fashion. As soon as she started gripping her stomach, I knew she was pregnant and wasn’t aware of it. Big, big surprise here again.

4) Numbness/Overthinking: As I stared at my screen, motionless, my mind went off. What did it mean? How did she not know? Who is the father? Do we know him? Will the baby survive? Where are the other characters? Will Lamifex be present? What? How? When? Why? Who?

5) Disappointment: No, I did not like Tiff one bit in S6. Yes, I sincerely wished for a season on either Jo (ambiguous and funny teenage girl, cis + white), Sekou (seemingly neurodivergent teenage boy, cis + black), and my favorite, Max (mysterious and grave teenage boy, trans + white) So why Tiff? It felt to me like a missed opportunity, but I did not lose hope.

So, these were the five stages of my emotional process. And then I made the terrible mistake to go look for the fans’ reaction. I didn’t even look at the YT comments, I didn’t go on Instagram, I went directly here on Tumblr. Why? I’m still asking myself that. From S1 to S6 of Skam Fr, I kept my love for the show to myself and only looked at ig and video edits. I tried once, and only once, to look it up on Tumblr, and was greeted by fervent agressivity, disrespect and hate. Why did I ever forget that after watching the S7 teaser? I still don’t know.

The reactions on this platform were wild. People are furious (I get that). People are disappointed (I get that). People are anxious (I get that). People are also verbally agressive, insensitive, hateful, disrespectful and bullies. I don’t get that.

Comments along the lines of “What she gonna do with a fucking baby?”, “Are we gonna watch the baby do nothing all fucking season?”, “Wowwww, teenage pregnancy, so new and relatable!” (note the sarcasm made in the comment here), “Who gives a shit about Tiff?”, etc.

And then all the mistakes Skam Fr ever made flooded back onto the feed. The wlw misrepresentation, the whitewashing, the overdramatization, the dubious sex scenes between minors, all of it.

Let’s take a break here. Do I condone these mistakes? Nope. Am I a white-bully apologist? Nope. Did I forget every horrible action Tiff has made in the past? Nope. She manipulated a whole school against Lola, she profited from Lola’s mother’s death, she bullied her, harrassed her, pushed her deeper into mental distress. Tiff was a despicable character that I never once liked. The way she was played by the actress made it clear that Tiff was not intended to be a good guy. If I could replace her as the main of S7, I would, in a heartbeat. I’d choose, as I said, Jo, Sekou or Max.

Skam France deeply lacks diversity and made mistakes when attempting to diverse the issues represented. This is not an opinion, it’s a fact.

Poc representation is very, very low. Only one season has a woc of Islam beliefs as mc (Imane, S4) with poc entourage/family. Only 2 other characters not related to Imane were poc (Sekou and Sarah, S1-S2). These 2 characters were very in the background and served to further the mc’s plotline, they had no real content. (I am not a poc, and so my opinion does not matter here. If you are not poc, your “opinions” don’t matter here, this point is not for you to debate. These are facts.)

While I do not particularly find the wlw representation bad, I do understand how it hurts/bothers other queer women. From my perspective, the bar was very low regarding my expectations of the Lola/Maya pair (none of them died *yay* they had a happy ending *yay* they were not typically overfeminized or overmasculinized *yay* Lola and Maya were respectful of each other, understood each other, accepted each other with all their flaws and their beauty *yay* I truly believed in their love and it gave me confidence and hope *yay* I ould really go on but this is not my main point so I’ll stop here) Regardless of my opinion on Mayla, I understand that to some queer women, it was bothering/hurtful. (If you are anything other than a woman / wlw, this point is not for you to debate. Keep your “opinions” to yourself, it does not matter here. These are facts.)

Like every remake of the original Skam where the S4 was given to Sana/Imane, the Muslim community was not represented at its best, at its most beautiful and respectfully. The character of Imane, although she is my favorite girl of the series, was not portrayed in a way that respected the majority of the Muslim community. (If you are anything other than Muslim, this point is not for you to debate. Our opinions do not matter here. These are facts.)

And so the same goes for the portrayal of sexual assault and child pronography in S2, of mental illness and homophobia in S3, of disabilities in S5, of addiction, transphobia, self-harm and neurodivergence in S6. Again, if you are not part of these communities, your opinions do not matter on these issues. These are facts that are not up for debate.

In other words, Skam France, as well as the original Skam, Skam Wtfock, Skam España, and probably all the others I haven’t watched in their entirety, are NOT perfect shows. They (maybe) tried their best to portray issues of the younger generations that are ugly, shameful, taboo, hard-to-swallow-pills. Of course they made mistakes. Of course they have to be held accountable. Of course they can and should do better. Of course it must be spoken about.

Here is my problem.

The so-called “fans” shamelessly SHITTING on the WHOLE show because of ONE TEASER TRAILER. (btw, this is where I get angry)

I am not talking about the fans making fun of the show and this season’s premise like “Better MCs than Tiff for S7: a romance between the car that almost hit Lucas S3 and the car that hit Arthur S5, or the school’s nurse, or Imane’s dad, or Elu’s rabbit” (that shit’s funny and I’d watch all of these).Or the joke about Wtfock and Skam Fr shaking hands while signing the same contract to disappoint the fans with white MCs (it’s funny cuz it’s trueeeee).

I am not talking about the fans criticizing the producers’ choice of Tiff as MC. There is a difference between shitting on issues and adressing/discussing them. I WANT to talk about how this season’s issue would have been so much better if a woc, specifically a black woman, had been the MC, because black women and doctors are a whole different level of issue than white women and doctors. Add on top of that an unplanned teenage pregnancy? It would have been IMMACULATE. I WANT to talk which wlw couple was better represented, Mayla or Croana/Crisana, and why is that. I WANT to talk about disabilities in black and poc communities. I WANT to talk about headcanons, AUs, to rectify the missed marks. I WANT to talk about our takes on seasons about Max, Sekou and Jo, instead of Tiff’s.

I DO NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR SHITTY, NEGATIVE, UNHELPFUL, HURTFUL COMMENTS.

Just because the protagonist is white, doesn’t give you ANY right to dismiss the issue that is unplanned teenage pregnancy. This is a problem that affects countries WORLDWIDE. Do you know how many deaths are related to minors giving birth? Do you know how many babies die at birth from these pregnancies? Do you have any idea the trauma it puts you through, to go into labor without even knowing you were pregnant in the first place, and then giving birth, and then having to care for a defensless human being? The dilemma of keeping it, or giving it away? The fear that lives in every person able to give birth, that one day they’ll become pregnant, because society turns sych a shameful look to that? No matter your ethnicity, your gender identity, your sexuality, your political stance or whatever shit you bring up to justify your disgraceful and downright degrading comments, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT A MINOR GIVING BIRTH IS NOT AN ISSUE.

You think the topic has been covered plenty before? Yeah, because shows like “16 and pregnant” and “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant!” are such good examples and show the reality with such an objective point of view!

Bullshit. Teenage pregnancy is still a taboo, it still kills, and people are still morons about it.

“Well I guess everybody is secretly pregnant now!” No, Jessica, but you wouldn’t know about it, would you? Because I wouldn’t tell you shit if you were my “friend” and I was going through it. The whole message of all the Skams is not that it presents super relatable issues of teenagers, although it is a big topic of the show. They present some issues that affect the youth in an authentic light, but that’s not it.

Tous les gens que tu rencontres mènent un combat dont tu ignores tout.

Sois indulgente. Toujours. x x x

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

Be kind. Always. x x x

THAT’S THE MESSAGE. THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT OF THE SHOW.

And you all missed it.

All of you making dead baby jokes and death threats, degrading people who give birth, shaming teenagers for their pregnancies... Listen to yourselves.

“Well she deserves it, she was such a bitch!” No, Michael, you shit stick. Let’s rewind a bit for you, yeah? It was a GOD DAMN TEASER. We literally know nothing! Nothing at all! Why are y’all getting mad when we saw 3:25 minutes representing a whole ass season! Listen to yourselves. Y’all judge so fast for people pretending to love Skam and its authenticity and its motto.

You say Tiff is irredeemable?

Emma cheated on her boyfriend.

Manon lied and manipulated her friends.

Lucas was homophobic and prejudiced agaisnt mentally ill people.

Imane was homophobic too and went behind her friends’ back to get what she wanted.

Arthur cheated on his girlfriend too.

Lola dragged Elliot down with her in her addiction, lied, was verbally abusive, etc.

ALL THE MAINS ARE PROBLEMATIC.

Any guess why?

BECAUSE THEY ARE TEENAGERS. THEY ARE STILL GROWING AND LEARNING.

Yet we still loved them all.

So don’t you dare tell me that Tiff deserves this, that her baby deserves to die, that teenage motherhood is irrelevant. Motherhood is not a curse in the first place, nor is it something to wish to inflict upon anyone. Motherhood is different for every single person and nobody except the person living with it can have an opinion on that. We don’t even know if the baby survived, for God’s sake!

There is no excuse for this kind of behavior..

It makes me so angry. Women are discriminated against in a fandom I thought was safe, again and again and again.

I have to stop here because, well, this is just too much. There is much wrong with Skam (the original AND all the remakes), but there is even more wrong with the fans. I’m done.

You don’t support the show anymore? Fine, then don’t watch it! If I really am wrong, the number of viewers will go down and the show will die, just like you wished. There is no need to be vicious about it.

I hope y’all are proud of your misogyny.

Sincerely,

Adler.

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akampana · 3 years

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Because of zero 10th anniversary I have a lot of people are #Remakesaberroute, and I have mixed feelings about this in one part it would meant the remake of the final farewell of saber and Gilgamesh in 4k, 144fps l, but in the other it would meant suffering trough saber x Shirou again, want do you think, would you like a remake or are satisfied with the original

Do I want a remake?

Actually, I like the idea of a remake, as long as it corrects a critical flaw the Deen adaptation had: the lack of Shirou's internal monologue.

Especially after reading the visual novel, you just realize how much of Shirou the anime, well, left out. Compared to what we get in the VN, the Deen FSN is so half-baked it's like he didn't even make it into the oven.

In the end, the anime was...well...limited by its own medium. There is so much that goes on in the VN that they just couldn't cram it all into 25 half-hour episodes. Not to say the VN is perfect, there are still some issues that I have with it and Nasu himself also said he has some issues with the way things were written, but the depth of Shirou's incredibly messed up state of being is explored there, while the anime doesn't quite get that right.

UBW did a better job of showcasing Shirou's trauma, by frequent flashbacks, Shirou's expressions when he isn't able to save Illya, how they portrayed him and Rin when inside the Blood Fort and all their classmates were unconscious etc. but I still think more can be done.

So I'm not satisfied with the original anime. (VN is better tho xD)

Ship Stuff

Also, while I don't main Shirou x Saber, I definitely realize its importance and respect it (Admittedly, that took me reading through the VNs. I went on this whole obsessive arc after Deen FSN where I was like "No that can't be it! That CAN'T BE IT!" while eating up all three routes like a starving dog.) It's got its own space on my dock, although I haven't boarded that ship in years, and only mention it in passing in most of my works. To see that relationship done right would make me happy. Shirou's relationship with Saber was the most idealistic and well, romantic in the literary sense (come on, endlessly pursuing, endlessly waiting, that shit slaps) and to see it given the justice it deserves would be great actually.

And yeah, Gilgamesh's goodbye? I'd love to see how they showcase that. Tomokazu Seki's delivery of his last words really sold the Deen version and damn I'd like to see him give it another go (FGO's similar line aside).

Other stuff

Whether or not we'd actually get a remake, though? That's the real question. It's more of a want than a need in the Fate fandom, y'know? Especially since a large part of the fanbase swears by the Deen version anyway, and anime aside Arturia and Shirou are very much beloved by the fans.

Plus, a re-adaptation would probably warrant Nasu going back to correct or improve the parts of the route he would have wanted to change. I'm not sure what his stance would be on doing that (and uh, please Nasu, get some sleep) and well, from what I see, the new LB is clearly an ode to the Fate Route. So he might not even have to go back, and instead just continue writing new things.

I would be happy to get it, but I'd be okay with not getting a remake. At this point a remake seems like the stuff of dreams. Tsukihime got its revival though, so you never know.

If anything, maybe at least a wide release of the Last Episode. I'd wanna see that. I mean we have all three routes adapted now, so haven't we unlocked this ending yet?

This?

"Yes welcome back, Shirou." The dream, finally announced its end here.

This I'd love to see.

#akampana asks

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fishpuncher · 3 years

Text

Reviewing Resident Evil games I’ve played for fun

I bought the Resident Evil 2 remake in April of last year and since then I’ve become a fan of the franchise, so I figured I’d do a little review of all the RE games I’ve played listed in sort of release order (remakes taking place of originals)

Resident Evil 1 Remake (2003)

The third RE game I played after the 2 remake and 7, so my introduction to the older games/originals. Honestly a lot of fun, it took me a while to get used to the fixed cameras and the controls (I used the updated alternate controls, not tank) and I never really mastered it but the game is super good. Great puzzles, great atmosphere, and it still looks pretty great 18 years later. The story is also good and isn’t particularly convoluted like some of the later games get lmao

Resident Evil 2 Remake (2019)

The first RE game I played, and what got me hooked on the franchise. I never played the original so I have nothing to compare it to, but this game is almost perfect imo. The puzzles are good, the environments are amazing, and the characters are likable. Mr. X is terrifying (at least in my first playthrough, he’s a lot less scary in subsequent playthroughs) and his chase music is phenomenal. Overall I can’t recommend this game enough.

Resident Evil 3 Remake (2020)

Pretty much everything I said about 2 is applicable to this one as well. Jill and Carlos are great characters and I only wish we got more of them. I know people say that the remake is way shorter and cut-down than the original, but I haven’t played it so I don’t have that frame of reference. As a standalone game, it’s extremely good and the final boss fight is extremely badass.

Resident Evil - Code: Veronica X (2000)

My introduction to tank controls. The game is extremely good, and I’m enjoying it immensely. It can be quite punishing if you forget certain items or don’t conserve your ammo, as I’ve read about players getting to the final boss and having to restart the game because they didn’t bring an item that the game doesn’t even tell you to bring. Luckily I’m an item hoarder in these games, as I’d already grabbed the item before I couldn’t go back for it. The puzzles are good as always, if not confusing as I’m forgetful and have to look up where new items go as I don’t want to spend an hour searching every wall in the game. My main complaint is the sniper battle halfway through the game, as the hitbox for it just seems random more than anything. I love that we get more of Chris too. His casual “Hey” after being thrown by an explosion just kills me. Steve is whiny though and kind of the worst.

Resident Evil 0 (2002)

Pretty okay game, but one that I can’t really recommend. The partner system was pretty good, and made for some amazing puzzles/gameplay at times (getting split up at the beginning and then getting split up in a castle-ish area later). I thought both of those were great uses of the partner switching and more than justify it. However, the reason I can’t recommend this game is almost entirely due to the way you’re supposed to handle items. I play the RE games like a hoarder, every single item goes in the chest. Except this game doesn’t have a chest. You have two inventories with only six or eight (I don’t remember) slots each, and no item boxes. Instead, you can drop items on the ground and pick them up again later. For a hoarder like me, that means a whole lot of backtracking when you advance to the next area. Another annoying thing was the final two boss fights, as they were confusing for my simple brain since one of them is legit just shooting them until they die, but there’s never any indication that you’re affecting it, so I’m running around the room looking for something else that will kill him. In the final fight, it’s the same thing, except the game makes a point of showing you certain parts of the room that are obviously interactable, so I immediately run to those. Only those aren’t used until the second phase of the fight. I like Rebecca and Billy though, and hope that they’ll return at some point.

Resident Evil 4 (2005)

Very fun game, the over the shoulder is a welcome respite from the fixed cameras of 1 and 0, even if it is still tank controls. Leon is very quippy and I’m not a huge fan of his constantly hitting on the woman on the radio, but he’s an entertaining protagonist for sure. Escorting Ashley through most of the game isn’t that bad, as you can have her hide sometimes, or she’s pretty decent at taking care of herself (though I definitely accidentally killed her a few times oops). I thought Ashley was like 15 for the entire game so her asking Leon if he wanted to fuck at the end of the game absolutely floored me (though I’m still not a fan of that unnecessary comment honestly). My main complaint is that I was playing the Steam version at 60fps, but QTEs just do not work at that framerate, so I had to lower it to 30fps just to get through certain parts of the game (I did that minecart section like five times). Overall a great game, though I wouldn’t say it’s the best in the series, as many do.

Resident Evil 5 (2009)

People say this one is bad, but it’s such a blast playing co-op with a friend. I didn’t have to deal with the AI partner, so I can’t talk about that, but this is such a good co-op game. Getting to a spot where you both need to interact with it and mashing the button so Chris yells “SHEVA SHEVA HURRY COME ON HURRY SHEVA” over and over is always funny and always annoying when you’re on the receiving end. I still don’t really get the story and how Umbrella and BSAA are related or anything, but the gameplay is super fun, I highly recommend this one if you’ve got someone to play with. Although, we did have to install some files in order to play online co-op, but it’s a pretty simple process.

Resident Evil: Revelations (2012)

This one is rough, as I got halfway through it before I got bored and quit. The game introduces Raymond as a bad guy pointing his gun at you, then there’s a flashback and his backstory is “guy silently standing in corner of room.” Back in present day, five minutes after being introduced as a bad guy, he’s helping you out. Jessica isn’t that bad but her character design is incredibly awful. The first minor thing is when she’s on a mission with Chris in snowy mountains and she’s wearing pounds of makeup. Then later they have her in a wetsuit but some hair is outside of it??? I guess so you know she’s a sexy woman. Plus her wetsuit is literally missing a leg. It leaves her left leg completely bare. The dialogue regarding her is sexist too. Overall, the gameplay is very meh and the plot is kind of dumb, even for RE.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017)

My second RE game to play, but probably the first one I watched. This game is amazing and I highly recommend it. The first person makes the setting much scarier, and it lets you relate to Ethan and immerse yourself more. I like that Ethan is just Some Guy with no training, he just walks his way through this whole mess like a champ. The boss fights are great and the characters are so memorable. Not to mention the DLCs for the game are wonderful: playing a fucked up version of 21 and then fighting goop monsters hand to hand are seriously fun.

Resident Evil Village (2021)

The most recent RE game and quite possibly the best. Village combines the first person perspective of 7 and the inventory system of 4, making an incredible game. The four lords all have such different environments and it makes for such good variety. My favorite one was the Silent Hill-esque house with the dolls, as scary as it was. The Duke is a fun character and I love that he’s part of the story. Chris’s section at the end turns the game into Call of Duty but it’s a fun massacre through the village, easily destroying enemies that have troubled you all game. Overall one of my favorite RE games.

#resident evil #re1 remake #re2 remake #re3 remake #re code veronica #re4 #re0 #re5 #re revelations #re7 #re village #RE8

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