#it was really weird to read stories about characters we used to watch fucking

[stupidfreakingthoughts]

does anyone else go on facetime with their best friend and read the most unhinged explicit fics in low voices so no one else in the house hears them? or is that just me

#we read a hello kitty x the cat in the hat x clifford the big red dog doc #it was lowkey traumatic #gotta love ao3 #ao3 #fanfic #fanfiction #archive of our own #it was really weird to read stories about characters we used to watch fucking

[dbphantom]

maybe i should have gone into practical effects instead of computer science...

#when i was in middle school i used to use red and black pens + spit for blending to make it look like the backs of my hands were torn open #i can't believe it's almost 4am. i just spent 5 hours typing up an essay about MM's erik that i just fuckin privated bc i was embarrassed #AND I STILL NEVER SPELL HIS NAME RIGHT THE FIRST TIME AAAAAAAA #i was right but im going to save all my points for the fanfic im currently planning out and promptly NEVER GOING TO ACTUALLY WRITE #I say shoving my plans for my h2o s3 rewrite off the table #yes i skipped from s2 to s3 i had a BRILLIANT idea [season 3 h2o spoilers ahead be wary my mutuals who are still watching] #okay so you know how lewis goes to the american institute of marine bio in the middle of 3? since this is tied to my s2 rewrite fic i wante #to actually finally reasonably re-introduced dr denman to the story because i never liked that she just fucked off at the end of s1 #despite WITNESSING the moon pool magic. so i made it so she runs into lewis while doing a presentation for the college and they have a chat #(because her JAW paper plays an important part in my s2 rewrite bc i imagine lewis is the kind of guy who SAYS he deleted every copy of #it... but ACTUALLY he secretly printed himself out a copy to study in private to compare to his own notes bc #[lewis voice] come *on* guys just THINK of the progress that he could make with this! [grabby hands in front of chest]) #so yeah they have a chat and Linda kind of gives Lewis the opposite dilemma in s3 that Louise gives him in s1 about science and magic #since SHE knows about the moon pool and has been biding her time and she knows Lewis knows and Lewis is like ah... uh oh. #it will eventually tie into the idea it's not about forcing science and magic together or separating them #its abt respectfully and responsibly utilizing both to see their fullest potential. which lewis learned in s2 and Linda has... not. #BUT #later on she gets a call from 1 (one) ryan who is like 'hey so i heard u did environmental studies on mako for dr bennett a couple years ag #and i was wondering if you've seen anything weird there as im currently doing a-' and she's immediately like 'YOU SON OF A BITCH IM IN' #and he's like 'wha-' and she's like 'i have already booked my plane tickets we're going to have a great time we have lots to talk about :)' #and wheeee now they have someone who knows about mermaids on their team and it's the perfect way to bring lewis back to relevancy in s3 :D #it also gives me reason to have two bad bitches (linda and sophie) meet and get to know each other which is not a dynamic ive seen in #any of the H2O fics i've ever read so im very hyped to delve into how they'll play off each other #also charlotte is there so technically three bad bitches (only in my au Charlotte never lost her tail and is part of the gang she just move #because she felt like she needed to leave to really be able to find herself without being in her grandmother's shadow but she comes back bc #well... it's season 3 mako is sounding the fucking emergency alarms everyone is showing up sdkghkfjhg) #im also so so so hyped to show u guys who's coming back in the s2 rewrite because it ISNT denman and i think everyone thinks it will be :3c #(i said she when telling ppl to look forward to a familiar face... but can u blame me for getting hype she's one of my favorite characters! #i love u H2O #cruddy rambles

[thetransguard]

okay i knew it was coming but its kind of killing me how obtuse people are being towards toshiro (im not fucking calling him shuro and honestly yall should stop with that too). should he have told laios how he really felt about him, sure, yeah, but im going to go off on a limb here and suggest maybe! maybe! he's been raised in an environment where it's actually like legitimately unheard of and taboo to be very open and straight forward about his feelings. the entire party has been calling him by a name that literally isnt even his own because he is so used to quashing down his own reactions to others. like i think other poc diaspora dunmeshi fans might agree with me here but he just reads like someone whos not bothered enough to correct every microaggression thrown his way. because that shit is exhausting. and after like five hours of laios bugging him about stories of his homeland why would he have a good opinion of him. genuinely. im not saying laios is entirely at fault but neither is toshiro. i love laios too but it is Very Weird that toshiro gets the brunt of their friendship's falling out (ill circle back to this)

also to preface this i am a farcille shipper so im. not pushing for falin/toshiro. but people acting like his affection for falin is somehow not relevant or he has no devotion to falin at all is CRAZY. immediately after being teleported out he threw himself back into that dungeon and didnt eat or sleep properly to rescue her. we literally watch him collapse from it. after multiple episodes emphasizing the importance of nutrition and caring for yourself and your take away from a man willing to toss that away is that he just. doesn't care for falin? why is he in the dungeon then? answer. quickly. granted he's not as onboard with the whole black magic thing but his concerns are literally valid and before we see falin chimera he seems to have been talked down from reporting them all for it. its the proof of his concerns of the use of black magic that he decides to go up and report them at all. his bond with falin isn't nearly as strong as marcille's bond but its also not nothing. ignoring that or minimising his own sacrifices is such a nasty bad faith disservice to his character.

speaking of bonds. toshiro doesn't hate laios. guys. his last act this episode was to give laios and the rest of the party (yes, even black magic user marcille) a way out of the hole that they'd already dug for themselves. fleeing to the east and leaving falin to the elves isnt the best case scenario but it is one that lets the majority of the party survive whatever's coming. its the realistic play. is this the act of a man who hates his former colleagues? is he wishing harm and further misfortune on them? his actions speak for themselves. you guys are being way too hard on toshiro and its really fucking telling. this goes for white viewers especially

#dungeon meshi #toshiro nakamoto #ive been in both laios and toshiro's perspectives re: their interpersonal miscommunication and did you know! its actually really hard to #tell people how you really feel. shitting on toshiro for not being able to tell a fellow party member hey you're really draining my social #battery is NOT the act of evil some of you seem hellbent on interpreting it as #seph.txt

[alexanderwales]

Turning Off Your Brain and the Critical Lens

Alright, let's start with this: there is a thing called a critical lens. It is a way of looking at a piece of art, examining what it's saying to us about itself or its subject or themes or whatever.

There are many critical lenses. Because this is something that's mostly only taught at the college level, most of them are (in my opinion) mired in academic language and not actually all that interesting in and of themselves: I think if you read a dozen stories through a feminist lens, you really start to think "okay, yeah, I get it". Different readings of different texts through different lenses can be great fun though, and it's one of my favorite parts of media criticism, and something that I wish people were more explicit about.

I'm going to talk about the Barbie movie, because it's easy. The feminist lens is obvious and in my opinion intended: it's the thing that the movie is most trying to be about, and as a consequence, it's something that probably has the most critical meat. But you can also read the movie through other lenses, and ask what it has to say about capitalism, about race, about neurodivergence and queer theory and game theory and a bunch of other things.

Some of these readings are Unintended. The author (in this case, hundreds of people working together on the film) did not intend for you to look at the movie to see what it's saying about, say, American Imperialism. Probably.

I personally enjoy unintended readings. I like teasing apart a book to see what it's saying about different things, and how it's saying it, and what the assumptions it's operating under, and whether this creates anything interesting when I bring a different set of assumptions. I think the writers and actors of Winter Soldier were not trying to say anything in particular about masculinity, but fuck it, let's watch the movie and think about it.

Sometimes people will watch something and recommend that you turn your brain off. Sometimes they'll say this to you just as you're about to start in on some critical analysis of something that definitely was not made with that critical analysis in mind.

Here's how I think of "turning off your brain": it's a critical lens. It's not a critical lens in the sense that academics might use it, but you're looking at this piece of media from a specific viewpoint, and that viewpoint is "omg they're in love" or "fuck yeah" or "no, don't go into the basement!". There are certain pop genres that greatly benefit from being viewed this way, at least in terms of pure enjoyment.

When I sit down to watch a romcom, I can do it with male/female social dynamics in mind, or I can do it with "aw, I hope these kids get together" in mind. One is the intended reading, and I don't think that it should get all that much privilege for it, but I do think generally it can result in better enjoyment. I love media criticism and consider it to be one of my main hobbies, but if you fall in love with one particular way of viewing media and only use that single one, you're going to have a bad time.

I write and generally enjoy rational fiction, which comes with its own lens, which I guess we can call the rational lens. If you sit and view a work through the rational lens, sometimes you can have fun with it: you try to work through the systems as presented and the actions of the characters and think about how you could make everything make sense. The way to do this that's not very fun is to look at a work through the rational lens and conclude that the author is dumb, the characters are dumb, and the worldbuilding is shit. I guess this can be fun if you have a sense of smug superiority, but I personally do not.

One of the things that I love about media criticism is that you can sometimes extract weird and new things out of a work. One of the things that I love about fanfic is that you can take a deliberately strange reading of a work and then write as though that reading was true. You can look at Batman and say "what does this say about income inequality" and then start writing and say "this is about income inequality now". You can look at Winter Solider and find a reading where Cap and Bucky are gay and then write it out.

Where I think people fail in a way that's personally annoying to me is that they take their preferred reading and then loudly claim ("ironically" or not) that this is the One True Reading against which no other readings can stand. Sometimes "that is not The Point of [thing]". I think you get that a lot from the "shut off your brain" crowd, but I've seen it from other places too, and I would attribute it to people talking past each other, sometimes not even realizing what critical lens they're using.

If you're talking to me, you can just say "non-preferred lens" and I'll understand, or maybe I'll say "wat" because I might forget this blog post moments after I write it.

#writing #fanfic #media criticism

[daenysx]

Hi, would you write a modern aemond where he's a virgin and quite shy? ♡ First time with his girlfriend he's a bit ashamed of his inexperience/has performance anxiety and he doesn't last very long, but she's super kind about it and makes him feel comfortable

thanks love ♡

hii! thank you for this request, i've never written aemond as a shy character before but i tried my best, i hope you like it!!

i always think that aemond would love receiving praises and he deserves to know how good he is. in my stories mostly he is the one giving praises but this time i wanted him to be the praised one. ♡

title's from suki waterhouse' lovely song 'good looking'

my masterlist

my good looking boy

you are the first person modern!aemond has sex with. nsfw.

aemond has no idea how good he looks right now.

not good, perfect. such a gorgeous man and he is with you. you know he doesn't usually believe in your words about how good looking he is, how kind and gentle, how perfect for you. he's gotten used to receiving problematic words from his family, he's never felt appreciated enough and you always intend to change his mind.

he should know how perfect he is.

he is just sitting on the couch with wearing nothing but his sweatpants, his back is against the comfy pillows and he has this book he's recently obsessed with in his hands. his pretty hands. he looks concentrated, unaware of your presence as you stand by the door. you take your time, watch him a little bit more and enjoy the sight in front of you.

he lifts his hand to push his hair from his face then reaches for his cup on the coffee table. he takes a sip and you watch how the muscles of his throat move with the act. as he puts the coffee cup back, he looks at the door and sees you.

he smiles so beautifully when he sees you standing there. you approach him, he puts his book aside and opens his arms for you. he always welcomes you with open arms and helps you lay on top of him. he knows you love the comfort you feel with him after a long day, just listening to his heartbeat to acknowledge his presence, feeling he is there for you.

your relationship has started a little while ago, you were just friends before you both realized your feelings for each other. aemond always told you how bad he thinks he is with feelings and relationships but that was okay. you were willing to be the brave one, the one who confessed first, the one who gave the first kiss, the one who first started a hug.

you lift your head enough to kiss him, he parts his lips enough to let your tongue in his mouth. he holds the back of your head securely in his big hand and you keep kissing him until you decide to move further.

you feel him smiling on your lips and you smile back. you've never done anything more, only these intense kisses and touching each other. it felt a bit awkward at first, thinking you were friends before and now that he is your boyfriend. you took your time, waited enough to feel comfortable for something more.

and now, you feel like you're on the edge with how gorgeous your man looks.

he can turn you on without doing anything spesific. fuck, he turns you on just by sitting shirtless and reading a book. you try to settle on his lap more comfortably and he holds your hips while you do that.

you press yourself to his hardness which is inevitable to feel right now and he makes a sound, clearly indicating he was not expecting this.

"sorry." you say, laughing slightly.

he smiles, "that's okay."

"i know we didn't really talked about this but- if it feels weird we can always try later. i just-"

he cuts your rushed words with a simple kiss. "nothing feels weird with you sweetheart. it's- i want to do this with you. but, i think you should know that i've- i've never done that before."

you are a little bit surprised but you don't say it. "that's fine. we can take all the time you want. just-anything you're okay with."

you see his cheeks turn pink and you love the color on him. you can't even describe how lovely he looks, how pretty for you. you give him a comforting smile.

"do you want to go to bed?" he asks, almost whispering.

you nod, take his hand and lead him to the bedroom. he sits on the bed while you stand and looks at you, unsure of what he's supposed to do.

you lean closer to give him a little kiss as you move your hands to take off your clothes. your shirt goes first, then your skirt. he watches you with a starved look on his face. you take off your bra and your panties as he can look at your face only. your clothes make a little pool on the floor and you kneel in front of him.

"can i take this off?" you ask with a smile, your forefinger points his sweatpants. he nods and lifts his hips to help you.

he doesn't wear any underwear.

and he looks gorgeous. the tip of his cock is slightly red, he is hard for you and you can't help but pressing a little kiss to the tip of him. he winces, closes his eye.

"we can do anything you want, however you want. just tell me, my love." you say with a reassuring smile.

"i'd like to be inside you first, but i'm not sure i can last long." he says.

"that's fine. we have all the time in the world. would you like to be on top?"

he thinks for a small moment. "no, i want you on top of me. you'd look so good on top of me."

for a man who never had sex, aemond targaryen surely knows what to say to make you fall for him.

he lays down on bed, extends his hand for you to reach. you sit on his abs, slowly moving on top of him and his cock presses against your backside. your wetness stains his abs and he loves the feeling. he loves the way you kiss his chest when you move, the way you bite his nipple playfully, the way he can hold onto the soft flesh of your thighs.

you are everything he has ever longed for and he is glad that he waited enough to have his first time with you.

"that feels- fuck, that's perfect but i want you, i want to be inside-" he says with an impatient voice.

"do you have any idea how good you look right now? no, you don't. you don't have a little clue about what you do to me just by looking like that. my good looking boy." you say, finally moving closer to his cock.

he moans deeply when you hold him in your hands, adjust yourself on top of him and take him inside you. he loves the feeling of your warmth, your tight muscles clenching around him, and it's perfect. such a lovely feeling, it makes him feel safe, totally unaware of the outside world right now.

you start riding him, taking his hand to stroke your clit at the same time. you guide him first but he is a fast learner, he starts doing it with his own pace now. you arch your waist like a purring cat and he says your name with a desperate voice.

"i'm- too close, i can't stop!"

you nod feverently, "don't stop. never stop."

he rubs your clit harder and your little kiss on his chest makes the final for him. he lifts his hips and comes inside you with a grunt.

you are mesmerised by the way he looks when he comes.

he takes quick breaths, tries to calm himself. your warmth still surrounds him and he realizes you're still waiting for your own peak.

"fuck, i'm sorry. i'm sorry, my love, i should've-"

you shush him as he sits on bed with you on his lap, put a finger on his lips and stop him from talking nonsense.

"that was perfect, aemond. it was supposed to be good for you and you- you don't know how pretty you look when you come. for me it was enough."

he kisses you, he is still inside and you can feel him getting hard. "thank you for being so kind. i love you."

"i love you, too."

"can you let me make it up to you, right now?"

you laugh at his words. "of course."

he smiles too, you lay on your back now as he stays on top, he pulls himself back. "i need you to tell me what you like. i want to learn how you like it, how to make it good for you."

you nod attentively, hold his face and kiss him. you guide his long fingers on your clit. "i like how you touch me here. like this."

he nods, trying to understand the basics of it. you let his hand move and he finds your entrance with his fingers. you guide them inside you. "there's a spot that feels- oh!"

it appears your good looking boy is successful at everything he does. his fingers find your g-spot with the little help from your hips and he presses there.

he moves his fingers inside you, his thumb stays on your clit. "mm-hmm, there. that's so beautiful. you are so good for me."

aemond loves when you praise him, your words are sincere and so sweet. he wants to make you feel good, he wants his touches to make you lose it for him.

he sucks your nipple, and then the other one. you push your body to him, wanting him to keep going.

"like that, just like that!"

it only takes three more thrusts for you to reach to that lovely state. you moan his name, not caring about how loud you are. he feels the pride deep in his heart, smiles broadly and kisses you. you grab his cock when your orgasm hits you and you move your hand fastly to make him come once more.

he pushes his cock to your fist and he is gone after a few moments.

he feels so good, so relaxed. he lays on bed with you on his chest and pulls the covers on you.

you are trying to catch your breath as he rubs circles on your back, your nipples press on his skin and his softened cock rests on his thigh.

you enjoy a few minutes of comfortable silence.

you leave the bed afterwards, go to the bathroom to clean yourself. you grab a towel for him, hand it to him when you go back to his side and let him clean himself.

he looks calm and grounded, his eye closing slowly and you know he wants to sleep with you in bed. you kiss his forehead affectionally, mumbling how perfect he is. you take the used towel from him and put it in washing machine.

you go to kitchen with quick steps after wearing one of his shirts and clean panties. you bring him a cool glass of water and sit on the edge of the bed on his side.

"come on, drink some water my love."

he slowly sips his water, grateful for the care you show him. you hold his hand when he finishes the water in the glass and put the glass on the nightstand.

he opens the covers for you and takes you in his arms. you kiss his neck, wrap your arms around him.

"thank you." he says, and his voice sounds a little shy it makes your heart clench.

"i want you to feel good with me. i like taking care of you, i like making you smile. you deserve all the sweetness i could ever offer."

"i feel the best when i'm with you. i just- i'm not used to it but i love it. pretty words and someone taking care of me." he says.

"that's okay. we have time, remember? you'll get used to all of it, baby."

he kisses you good night then, and you watch him fall asleep, holding you closer and closer.

your good looking boy.

#aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond x you #aemond x reader #modern!aemond #house of the dragon #hotd #aemond one eye #aemond × reader #aemond fluff #aemond smut #aemond targaryen smut

[kierancaz]

Listen I do not ship Jon and Damian.

But if dc is trying to convince us that they wouldn’t work as a couple they are doing a horrible fucking job at it.

Also literally what the fuck is the dc timeline right now bc I’m literally so confused bc on one hand we have like the new Wonder Woman series which is like far enough in the future for Lizzie to be either a teen or young adult and Damian is Batman and Jon is Superman but then we also have the Batman and Robin series where Damian literally just started high school so like wtf is this Dawn of Dc reboot doing and where are we.

Whatever the fuck happened in Future State is lowkey like bothering me now even tho at the time I was really happy bc we got Yara (which I’m still happy about bc I love her and I want more stuff with her in it) but also I feel like jumping ahead in the timeline was a bad decision bc now it’s all fucked up and weird.

Ngl I haven’t really read the new Wonder Woman series, I started it but didn’t get too far bc I was reading on my phone and there were just sooo many text boxes I wanted to wait until I can get it in graphic novel form. But I see pages from it and stuff (of Damian and Jon raising Lizzie) that are like 5, 10, idk years in the future bc we’re watching Lizzie be grow up and it just makes me go ??? Bc Lizzie is going to be a permanent character (I’m assuming) but they’re just kinda skipping over all of her life ?? And also fast forwarding Damian and Jon’s ??? And if they’re gonna keep with Damian and Jon raising her then they NEED to be fast forwarded in their stories for Lizzie/Trinity to exist. I think Lizzie has had a comic before this (I remember casually comics made a video on it) but Lizzie was a full adult and Damian and Jon were already Batman and Superman so like. Idk the only way Lizzie seems to be able to exist is by cutting out years of story from Damian and Jon and also as someone who doesn’t want Damian to end up as Batman it’s kinda like with Lizzie’s existence it just kinda seals it in stone that Damian is going to be Batman.

#I know I know Damian’s character was literally created to be Batman’s successor or whatever but I just don’t like it ok #I think he should get to define who he wants to be as a vigilante outside of some preexisting mantel of Robin or Batman #and I know that’s probably not going to happen because dc loves it’s legacy characters or whatever but PLEASE #and also I think it’s kinda annoying that Trinity exist bc now we’re probs not gonna get any more Yara comics #like we have the one but we’re probs not getting anymore bc she was branded as the ‘next Wonder Woman’ in future state #but now she’s been like demoted to wonder girl which she is a grown woman so I think that’s a bit dumb and also Cassie is still wonder girl #at least I’m pretty sure she is #idk time for real tags now #wonder woman #wonder woman 2023 #damijon #jondami #jonathan kent #damian wayne #lizzie prince #trinity dc #batman #superman #superboy #robin dc #damian al ghul #jonathan samuel kent #yara flor #wonder girl #bruce wayne #diana prince #diana of themyscira #clark kent #dc comic #dc comics

[ellemfaoh]

Pinball, Hair, and Detention Pt. 4 | Vance Hopper x Reader

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (here)

Word Count: 6.7k

Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Rivalry, Angst, Fluff

Content Warnings: Kidnapping, Swearing, Female Reader Implied/Mentioned, Descriptors of character deaths, Blood, Beatings

Summary: Reader and Vance have some sort of ongoing rivalry. You accidentally spilled your drink on his hair and he in turn gave you a “fresh cut.” You one day get detention together due to fighting. On the walk home one day— where you both live merely a block away, he barely misses your abduction and watches as you helplessly get carried away in a black van.

A/N: We finally hit the climax of the story!!!! AND THE END!!!! Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed <3

——————————————

You heard the click and hum of the basement lights flick on, bleary and groggy eyes forcing themselves open as you sat up. What did he want with you this time? You turned and looked over at the window. Sunset. What day was it again? Was it meal time? As the door opened, you sighed and turned over. You didn’t want to look at him right now. That cable you found crammed under the wall should be used for something. Could you trip him? Keep him down long enough to get out? You didn’t know.

“Hey kid, what’s your name?”

You turned and looked over at him, an annoyed expression on your face. “I bet there are missing posters posted around town already. If you wanna know so bad, go outside.”

His silhouette was unclear, a foggy orange light behind him keeping you from seeing him entirely. You could make out the horns on his head though. The Grabber kept standing there, an annoyed chuckle coming from him. He must’ve been getting itchy for the kill, but like Billy said; he wanted to play a game.

“I must admit, you’re way more feisty than the last two. They just lied through their teeth.” Walking forward, his mask wore a deep frown. You knew he was probably still annoyed at you for that stunt you pulled—but man that was creepy. “Less of a naughty girl after that lesson earlier, huh?”

Silence loomed over you both, a staring match seeming to take place as he threw a newspaper at the ground before you. “I would’ve appreciated an answer though.” He gave a slight chuckle and said, “I almost considered letting you go, too.” as he left.

You quickly crawled over to the paper on the floor and held it in your hands, a big print of your school yearbook picture accompanied by Billy and Griffin’s on the front page labeled ‘MISSING.’ All you could do was let the tears silently fall from your eyes, hugging the newspaper to yourself as if it was the last lifeline you had to get out of this place. You looked around the room and got up, placing the newspaper face up by the phone, getting up to walk over to where you kept the cable stored. You’d find a way out, whether you had to kill him before he got you or if you had to painstakingly dig yourself out.

As you walked over to the toilet in the weird hallway, you looked at the rugs. You couldn’t really do anything with these. Maybe stand higher on them and try to get yourself up to the window. You pondered for a second, then another. You could maybe try knocking the man out too. The toilet tank lid could probably do some serious damage. It was a little heavy though…

“Fuck this!” You shouted, kicking at the rugs and squatting, holding your head in your hands. You were probably going crazy very slowly. “Griffin, Paperboy, either of you, help me out.” You murmured, rocking slowly on the balls of your feet.

——————

Vance was panting heavily, dismounting off the bike and hiding it in a bush nearby before running the rest of the way down the block to the house the man parked at. He never thought he’d be able to do this—it was all a hopeless dream to rescue you, right? Some weird fantasy where you forgive him for saving you from your hell and he feels better about himself?

“God, you’re getting soft Vance.” He said to himself, “you watched her get taken and the cops aren’t doing shit. You’re helping. You aren’t guilty.”

Jogging up the street, Vance made a mental note of the house number, even deciding to carve it into something on him. His shoe sole would have to do the trick. He’d come back later tomorrow, hoping and praying you’re still alive by tomorrow—or he’d stake out the place tonight, hiding amongst the bushes around the neighboring houses as he waited for the man to leave the house so he could get in and get you out. Maybe he’d even wait and get revenge for you all by murdering the sick bastard. For now, he just needed to give Bruce Yamada his bike and get some stuff.

Just as the blonde started making his exit to get the fuck out of there and enact his action plan, the front door of the house opened. It was more reflex than anything, but Vance dove into the nearest bush to hide, effectively scratching himself up a bit. He had to bite his tongue to keep himself from making any noise—which was a bit hard since he had a few thorns stuck to him. As Vance looked through the leaves, he noticed something. Wait a minute, that’s not the fucking Grabber.

“Al, you really need to clean up your fucking cans man, they smell like shit!”

“Max quit complaining and just dump the trash, nobody is around sniffing them like they’re fuckin’ dasies!”

‘He’s living with someone?’ Vance asked himself, making as little movement as possible. ‘An accomplice? Family?’

As soon as Max left, Vance climbed out of the bush, brushed himself off, and left. How was he going to get into the house if another person was living there as well? He was going to need to do way more planning. Grabbing Bruce’s bike, Vance started pedaling towards his neighborhood—considering the three of them all lived within a block of each other. When he left, he didn’t seem to notice the curtain slightly lifted on the second floor.

——————————————

“So you’re telling me that you needed my bike to follow that guy and then found the house of (Y/N)’s kidnapper?” Bruce said, leaning against the wall of his garage with his arms crossed over his chests, looking at a scratched up and ragged Vance.

“I said I’d tell you, so I did.”

Bruce gave one more look at the blonde in front of him and sighed, body sagging forward as he seemed to relax ever so slightly. “I just don’t know what to make of it Vance. This is like some sort of shity cliché in a bad movie.”

Staring at Bruce as he talked, there were small things in his behavior that the boy noticed about the other. He seemed to be a little more pale than normal and more ragged. Bruce Yamada was usually pretty clean-cut, so seeing him like this was a bit of a shock—and funny.

“Well it’s not. Your best friend was kidnapped by a man named Albert with a sick fantasy involving murdering kids.”

Bruce seemed to flinch at his harsh words, looking up at Vance with a spark of anger behind his eyes as he grabbed at the collar of his shirt. “I know! You think I haven’t been stuck on this for the past week?! It’s been a week! She’s probably dead!” Bruce’s grip loosened. “And you were the last one to speak to her.” The two boys stood there as a tense silence hung over them in the dim garage.

“She’s not dead, I can tell.” Vance said, reassuring Bruce. “I’ll save her.”

His grip on Vance’s shirt collar loosened and his head hung as he obviously tried to hide his teary eyes. A small chuckle came from Bruce, which shocked Vance. “When did you get all soft for the girl you tormented?”

Vance stood there in silence. Shit. So it was obvious. Thinking for a moment, Vance looked away. Jeez, this is embarrassing. “I guess you could say I owe her a big apology.” There was a weird look exchanged between the two, a sort of unspoken silence as blue eyes met black.

“Hey, what the fuck is that look you’re giving me?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

——————————————

“Hey.”

You ignored him.

“Hey.”

Still ignored him.

“HEY!”

You sat up when you heard him walking closer, turning quickly to look at the frowny mask and visible angry and excited eyes. What was with him today? You looked out the window, greeted by the darkness of night. What day was this? Three? Seven? Thirteen?

“What do you want?”

He stared at you for a minute, a giggle coming from behind his mask. Raising an eyebrow at your kidnapper you wondered what kind of sick thoughts he was having as he had a sort of perverted laugh. He didn’t look to be visibly armed or anything so your swimming thoughts of death were kept at bay. When The Grabber let out a sort of cough you paid attention to him again. What had him in this kind of mood?

“Looks like one of your friends has a habit of not minding his own business.” The man said, throwing down some pictures of a boy crawling out of a bush, standing around, and then walking away.

The pictures were a bit blurry, but you could tell it was Vance. You pinched at your thigh to keep yourself from showing any sort of joy or hope. You knew the games this man was trying to play on you; he wanted to see your look of recognition, your look of the hope you’d get out of here soon.

The man’s face fell when you looked up with a confused and nonchalant look, shrugging as you tossed the pictures back down and said, “I don’t know this kid.”

He chuckled with an angry sort of lacing to it, squatting and picking one up, pointing at the boy in the picture. “Yes you do, it’s that kid you were walking with last week when I fucking grabbed you.”

So it’s been a week?

“No it isn’t. The hair is a similar color to his, sure—but it’s straighter and a tad darker. Also, that kid is dressed more like that paperboy you nabbed or those dickhead jocks.”

As you pointed out all the differences so casually, the man in front of you grew slightly more frustrated each time. You made for a good liar when the time came, and you could see that doubt was starting to crawl across his face.

“Then why was he in the bushes next to my house?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t even know you had bushes in front of your house until just now. Kids lose shit in bushes by accident all the time. If it really was blondie then he probably would’ve tried to break in immediately or rummage around your shit. Have you seen or heard anything about him? Cops say he’s one of the most reckless and dangerous kids around.”

Shit. Albert was losing. He couldn’t believe with full certainty that it really was that boy he spotted with you that day by his house. It didn’t make sense. Grabbing your cheeks quickly in one hand, he pulled your face close to his and you lost your balance as his eyes scanned yours for what you presumed was the truth. You stared back at him, an angry but scared look crossing your face. Could this old bastard just leave you alone?

He let you go and got up with an angry grunt, scooping the pictures up and walking away, not noticing the one you hid under your stomach when you fell forward after he grabbed your face. The basement door closed with a slam but no heavy click of a lock. He wanted to give you hope so you’d feel more inclined to try and sneak out and into the arms of whoever was outside his house earlier? Yeah right, you’d wait just a little longer to try and make your great escape.

Although…

——————

As Vance was getting some of his shit together; the shit being a bag filled with things he could use tonight and for the next little bit as he waited for an opportunity to try and get you, he felt a lingering sense of doubt. What if when he went to try and save you, you’re already dead? What if he ended up in your position next? What if he died? He shook off those thoughts, masking them with his tough-guy persona. He wouldn’t die. Those what-ifs were just moments of weakness—and Vance Hopper was anything but weak.

Scribbling a note, he wrote, ‘Going to save (Y/N), if I’m not back by tomorrow afternoon assume I’m dead and bring the cops to house 7742 with the shitty metal fence and twisted tree.’ At least if he died, he’d end this sick fucker’s kidnapping career. Sure he could call the cops right now and say he had the house of the kidnapper, but these guys weren’t going to do jack. No matter who went with each of the kidnappings claiming they saw the kidnapper, unless you had solid evidence then it was pointless.

As he walked out of his house and down the winding streets to make it to ‘Al and Max’s’ House, Vance thought out his plan. If he waited until late enough in the night to try and break in, then it’d probably work since he was sure no person would or could stay awake that long and late. One issue was that he didn’t know where exactly in the house you were. You could be in the bedroom, a basement if he even had one, a bathroom.

He thought of you stuck in some dingy and dirty room, face and body dirty and your face scared, and he could imagine your scared face very well considering your guys’ relationship with each other. Vance never felt guilty for bullying someone before—so why did he feel bad for you? He knew a lot of people weren’t exactly happy with him since he was the last person to see you and he didn’t even help when he was just feet away, and he felt bad for how many people mourned your disappearance. Not to mention how Bruce Yamada had said the last person you talked to was him, and the last thing you mentioned was how he fucked up your life in a way.

You really weren’t as bad as he thought when he remembered you. You fought back against him which was a bit of a change to what he was used to, and you seemed to be somewhat of an enjoyable person based on your interactions with other people. You had nice eyes, he supposed. Maybe after everything is over he’d try and make it up to you. Get you some snacks or take you to a movie.

Wait. That wasn’t really making it up. That was more like asking you out on a date. Shit. How had his mind drifted from saving you to taking you out? It’s not like he’d known you in the past, especially not because you two lived on the same block. Thinking back to that incident in the Grab N’ Go, Vance didn’t fully know why he cut your hair. It wasn’t just because you messed up his game, it was also something else he had against you. What that something was, no one would really know.

It was slightly dark when Vance got to the neighborhood, hiding behind the big bush next door. Vance had a watch with him, so he knew when he should be in and back out. 8:47 PM, not too bad. He figured sneaking around at sometime near 11 would probably be good to get a feel for the place, and actually breaking in around midnight. When the blonde started to look at the front of the house, he nearly jumped out of his skin when the masked man, ‘Al’ as he learned, walked out to let a dog take a piss. Fuck, there was a dog?! This was going to get a little harder.

——————

It took a little bit to prepare yourself, grabbing the soda bottle from yesterday and the cable from their places as you got ready. You didn’t know exactly what you’d do, but you were pretty good at coming up with things on the fly. You could hit the Grabber with the bottle if you needed, and you could use the cable to choke him or trip him or something.

“Oh my god I’m getting ahead of myself.” You whisper to yourself, pacing around the room slightly. You guessed it was sometime around 9 or 10 PM by now. You’d been looking around the area trying to see if you could get out another way. By the toilet, the walls, the window—nothing.

You tied the bottle to the cable by the neck, swinging it around to see if you’d be able to use something with distance. If you couldn’t hold your own against Vance Hopper normally while you were at your best, then you had no chance against a grown man while half-starving. Wait a minute. You did beat Vance once—in the nurse’s office!

You stopped for a second, the swinging bottle stopping and clattering to the floor, making you cringe and wince at the loud noise as glass collided with linoleum. You walked over to grab the bottle, thinking of that tug-of-war you played with Vance a few weeks ago. Now you have a strategy. Thinking of that time in the nurse’s office, your mind drifted back over to Vance. You’d really appreciate him right about now—with his strong arms, threatening demeanor, and all that. You remember staring into his blue eyes when he was on top of you, both scared and intrigued. Eyes are the window to the soul or some bullshit like that. If he wasn’t so scary, you’d probably be into him. He was the bad boy that good girls would want if he wasn’t so violent when provoked.

Hold on, were you just thinking that Vance Hopper was attractive? You shook the thought from your head, bending down to pick up the bottle and noticing the linoleum flooring under it cracked. That’s odd—linoleum didn’t usually crack like that. You stomped on the crack, noticing it push down slightly. What was under this? You eventually clawed at it, noticing dirt. Cheap bastard put tile straight on top of dirt.

You could use this. Quickly, you went at the dirt with the bottle, filling the greenish glass with the dirty substance. Now there was more weight and therefore there’d be more power behind your strikes.

——————

Vance was walking around the house and scoping out where he should break in, the quietness of the night creating a sort of nerve-wracking, tense air around the blonde. So far, any door he’d tried so far had been locked extensively and any window was locked tight and in a hard to access place. It had been about thirty minutes since he started searching around and so far nothing had come of it.

Sitting down against a wall of the house behind a few bushes, the boy leaned his head back. He was supposed to help you, but he wasn’t doing anything helpful aside from just walking around. Maybe he should just go for it and break in by force. He was strong, maybe he could take the man on and win.

Turning his head to look above him at a window, he sighed and slammed his fist against the wall in frustration. That wall didn’t feel like a wall though. Looking down, he noticed a window nestled close to the floor next to him. How he didn’t notice before was crazy to him. Getting on his stomach, his blue eyes were squinted as he tried to make out what room this window led to. It was really dark inside and the window wasn’t the cleanest thing on earth so he struggled a bit, but he noticed something moving inside and was instantly at full attention. Wiping the glass cleaner on his side, Vance saw it was a moving person going back and forth—that moving person being you. Holy shit.

He furiously knocked on the glass, hoping to catch your attention—which he did. As you turned your head to look at where the noise was located, your eyes widened. Vance Hopper was knocking on the glass window leading to your captivity. With watery eyes, you moved a little closer so you could both see each other more clearly. You were both so close but so far away. You tried shouting at him to see if he could hear you, but based on his confused look, you concluded that he really couldn’t hear you. This basement really was soundproof.

You thought for a moment, running over to grab the bottle of dirt you had on the floor somewhere and showing Vance. He had not a single clue what you were trying to tell him, but when he saw you wind your arm back he got the hint and moved away. He heard a loud thump against the glass but ultimately nothing came of it. Moving back over, he peered through the window and saw you with your arms raised back. The bottle broke in its collision against the wall and was now in bits and pieces all over the floor.

Vance got up from his spot and walked away, going to grab his bag of stuff. You didn’t know this however and assumed he just got up and left. Why would he do that? Was he taunting you? Did he get that man to kidnap you? It could’ve been a setup.

You started hyperventilating, tears coming out of your eyes. Your life was going to end soon and Vance Hopper and this kidnapper would be the only ones to truly know of your demise. Covering your mouth to slow your breathing, you were scared by the loud crack of something against metal—your head snapping to the window where Vance was thwacking at the glass with a heavy hammer. When it started cracking and you started calming down in response, you grabbed the cable you had lying by the bed. You could toss it up and he’d pull you out.

Finally, the glass broke, the hand of your tormentor-turned-savior sticking through the window. “Toss that up here. I’ll tie it to the bush and get you out of here.”

You were crying heavy tears now, the relief of everything settling down on your shoulders. You threw the bundle up at the boy with a slight struggle because of your blurry vision and waited for him to finish. When his head popped back into view, he looked more terrified than concentrated. Being caught up in the moment earlier and trying to quiet your sobs, neither of you had heard the basement door swinging open and the masked man coming into the room, the lower half of his mask gone, a deep frown now painted on his face.

“Looks like we have some naughty children at play.” He said whilst bearing a knife that glinted in the dim light of the room.

You backed up, eyes wide and air gone from your lungs. Holy fuck he had a knife. He heard you two and now you’d pay the price. Your eyes flicked between his position near the door and the glass all over the floor. Vance’s shouting at him helped distract the man as you made a quick move to swipe the largest and sharpest shard of green, dirt-covered glass off the floor.

“Leave her alone, Al! That’s right, I know your fucking name! If you so much as touch her I’ll get you straight to the fucking cops!”

The man’s eyes—Al’s eyes, flicked to your sudden movement, a smile slowly spreading across his face. “You wouldn’t be able to get anyone here before she’d be dead and cold on the floor.” He started walking over to you near the corner of the room. He won. You played his game and lost, retreating back into the corner of the room like a scared animal.

You looked around, darting from your current position to the wall by the hallway, his heavy footsteps following with more fury and speed than before. You didn’t make it to your next position before him though, a rough and calloused hand gripping around your elbow and yanking you against him and causing you to lose balance, his other hand fumbling the knife around as he got it into position.

You knew you wouldn’t be at peak physical ability after eating nothing but eggs and soda for your past three or four meals, but you already felt disoriented by just being tugged around? Not to mention that you normally ran faster than you just did.

“You’ve been a very naughty girl, (Y/N).” He murmured, tracing the knife up your arms—the blade biting into some parts deeper than others as you started to bleed. He finally brought the knife to your throat, the tip pressing against the thin layer of flesh on top of your windpipe as a warning. “You got so much closer than that other kid, and yet you’re still gonna die just like he and the other boy before him did.”

You struggled against him, the hand holding the glass shard moving up to get a better vantage point. “Let me go!” Jerking your arm down, you stabbed it into the flesh of his thigh, a loud scream coming from him, his grip around the knife loosening enough to drop it, but the grip on you tightening.

“You little shit!”

Just as the Grabber shoved you to the floor and was winding back his leg to kick you, Vance—who jumped in through the window—came up behind the man and kicked the back of his knees out, watching you roll over as Albert fell forward and jammed the glass further into his leg before rolling over. Ouch, that looked painful. He curled forward in pain until Vance sat himself on his stomach, throwing punches at him and knocking the mask off in the process—which you picked up. Getting his mask knocked off seemed to give The Grabber some newfound energy as he punched Vance in the stomach, the blonde falling off of the man while struggling to get breath back into his lungs.

“Fuck.” He wheezed, gripping his gut, wheezing out in pain when Albert kicked him.

“Two birds with one stone.” His voice was gravely and dry, about to start repaying the favor until the phone rang, startling Vance and Albert.

It gave you the perfect opportunity to grab the knife in your free hand, the steel and rubber a little heavier than you expected which caused you to fumble for a moment as you quickly walked up behind Albert. ‘Shit.’ You thought, knife raised. Your vision was spinning ever so slightly and your arms hurt, so when you made a stab for his back and landed in his shoulder, that would have to be as good as you would get. Vance pushed him off and got up, his steps staggered as he grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the window and cable setup.

“Climb up.” He commanded, turning to keep an eye out for any more surprises your kidnapper had in store. When you threw the mask out the window and crawled through the window frame you ended up cutting your arms and legs on the broken glass around it, tears pricking at your eyes in the process. Just after you got up and reached a hand out for Vance, The Grabber stood, his knife in his left hand while his right was clutching the wound on his shoulder to stop the blood pouring out. Seeing his whole face together and uncovered by any obscurities made your stomach lurch. He looked just as sickening as you imagined.

“Give up already.” Vance said, ready to take him on again. “You’re just about halfway dead anyway.”

“I won our game, (Y/N), now I get to kill you.” He said, ignoring Vance and pointing his knife at you.

“I’m fucking talking to you!” The blonde said, stomping over to the man with his arms in a fighting position. “Just lay down and–”

The man swung his arm out in an arch before him, the knife making contact with Vance as the boy shouted out in pain. It happened so quickly that you barely processed anything; not Vance falling to the floor clutching his arms, not Albert walking to you, and not him yanking on your arm. Just as you started falling through the window and back into hell, you made a grab for the hammer that had been right beside you, swinging your arm at his head as you fell down. The room echoed with the sickening crack of metal on bone and flesh along with the thud of bodies on the linoleum flooring. Albert seemed to be knocked out, blood quickly flooding his hair and the floor around him. You on the other hand though…

“Shit!” You cried out in pain, your left wrist limp and at an unnatural angle. Definitely broken, you thought. Rolling onto your side and holding your arm close to your chest to not move it, your tears and sobs started filling the quietness of the room, so did the sound of ripping and shuffling. You were too focused on the pain to look at what it was.

A warm hand landed on your shoulder, lifting you into a sitting position before pulling you up with a pained grunt coming from behind you. Vance was okay and alive. Thank god. You turned to look at him as you stood, the help of one of his hands cradling your elbow at a stable position, and hugged him, stifled cries coming out in full. It took a moment, but Vance hugged you back with his free arm, his own quiet tears falling onto your dirtied shirt. You two killed the man that had been tormenting your town for weeks and Vance had saved you from death.

The phone on the wall rang again, capturing your attention as you wiped your eyes and started walking over to the wall-mounted device and leaving a confused Vance to wipe his tears. You stood there for a moment, an air of hesitation surrounding you, your unbroken hand just on top of the phone body. It rang once, twice, thrice– Picking it up, you held it to your ear.

“Hey, (Y/N). Thanks.”

“Hey Griffin.”

“He’s gone for good now, right?”

You were surprised to hear Billy as well. “Yeah, he’s gone. Dead and gone.”

It was quiet for a moment until the line went flat. No static, no background noise. Just a phone with a cut cord now. Pulling it away, you smiled at it and put it back, walking over to where the knife laid on the floor to pick it up and thought for a moment. You wouldn’t disturb some universal god right? You walked back to the phone and looked back at Vance, silently asking for help.

“Why?” He asked, taking the knife from you and holding the twisting phone cord.

“Good question,” You started, leaning your head against his shoulder. “Maybe I want to keep a piece of Griffin and Billy out of here, ya know?”

“I really don't. Are you sure you didn’t go crazy?”

“I’m not sure.”

——————

When you two walked out of the basement through the stairs and looked around, it was strange. Vance felt like he’d been in that basement for weeks even though it might’ve been just an hour—so he couldn’t imagine how you felt when you hobbled up the stairs leading away from your captivity. In short, you were shocked. The house looked so normal—nothing like what you’d expect from a man as sick in the head as Albert.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” You muttered, looking around for the way out of this place.

“Puke on his couch or something.”

Looking around for a quick second, you both noticed the front door and the bike lock on it. Vance looked particularly pissed about it since he assumed you both didn’t know the code and you’d have to end up going through the window—which your broken wrist and his sliced and barely scabbed over bloody arms didn’t allow.

Grabbing at the lock and shaking it with clear frustration, Vance didn’t expect to hear a dog start barking like crazy, both of you jumping out of your skins. If you two escaped a murderous serial killer but died to a dog…that’d be really embarrassing to you both. Footsteps started walking down the hall to your left and you both looked that way and saw a disheveled man who had clearly just woken up looking at you both—scratch that, he was looking at you in fear.

“Holy shit. You’re the girl The Grabber kidnapped!”

You and Vance exchanged confused looks. Wait—did he not know? When Vance leaned back to look at him, he had a mixture of emotions on his face. Why wasn’t that man freaking out? Why wasn’t he attacking you both to avenge Albert?

“You mean that man downstairs?”

His face changed into one of disbelief. You guys were bullshitting him right? “What do you mean? There isn’t a downstairs.”

——————————————

When you and Vance ended up at the nearest police station—courtesy of Max, who’s whole world seemed to fall apart when you two explained what happened, it was a whirlwind of events; several officers running over to you and asking you everything that happened, paramedics being called, both of your parents being called, reports, cars driving to the house at four in the morning. It was a lot.

Vance had severe lacerations across his forearms and ended up needing several stitches, along with severe bruising and two cracked ribs. You meanwhile had completely shattered your left wrist, had a few small cuts that needed one or two stitches, and slightly malnourished. You have to stay in the hospital for around a week, while Vance is just there for two nights and one day.

You had a lot of visitors come through: your family, Bruce (who started to sob upon seeing you), Donna, Gwenny, Finney, Robin, and the press, but they kept getting denied. By the end of the first day you were allowed to see visitors, you were a little disappointed Vance didn’t show up. Laying back in your bed and staring up at the ceiling in the dark room you sighed. After all this mumbo-jumbo was taken care of life would be back to normal; people going about their days in peace and kids out and playing again—meanwhile you’d be terrified too to walk around the area alone.

“‘Lucky escapist’ they say, but I think I’m more on the unlucky side.”

“I think living as a sort of hero and escaping that guy is pretty damn lucky.” A gruff voice muttered out, startling you enough into sitting up quickly, looking around.

“Vance?” You asked, heart pounding. “You don’t come visit me all day and then at night you do?!”

As much as you appreciated the sentiment and that he came to talk to you—that terrified you. Albert had come to visit you so often at night, often waking you up just because he was watching. You didn’t even realize how heavy you were breathing, your body unable to regulate itself as fear and adrenaline took over.

“Holy shit, (Y/N), I didn’t realize it would scare you so much.”

You glared at him, laying back with your hands over your face in an attempt to take away all the open air and calm yourself down. “I’m just still scared.” You admitted. “He watched me at night.”

Vance walked closer from his spot near the door, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to you. “Well you’re still lucky you got out of there.”

“Only thanks to you. I think I would’ve died on my own…” Small pause. “No. I definitely would’ve died without you.”

Vance looked at your small smile, your eyes holding a sort of sadness. He’d tormented you since the summer and led you into your kidnapping, yet you still were grateful for his help when you could just as easily take it as something he should’ve done. God, he felt like the biggest asshole ever.

“I’m sorry.”

You were shocked, eyes wide. Vance Hopper apologizing? You had no clue what he was apologizing for—but it was shocking. “For what?”

“What do you mean for what? Did your body start eating its own brain? I’m apologizing for what I did to you before you got kidnapped!”

“Ohhh.” You said, giggling at his facial expression. “I think after my getting kidnapped overshadows that. I’m not mad or salty about it anymore.”

The blonde leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh. God, you were stupid. He turned his head to look at the wall, spotting a picture on the nightstand. “Did someone leave a polaroid here with you or something?” He asked, snatching it before you could react.

“Wait a minute, is this a picture of me?”

Your mouth opened and closed like a fish, the words lost on your tongue. “It was The Grabber! He took those pictures and came downstairs asking if it was you!”

He started laughing. Yes, laughing. It was a little shocking to hear him laugh about something like this, but you joined in. In your defense—his laughter was really contagious. When you realized he was getting really loud though, you got up and covered his mouth.

“As much as I’d like to appreciate my hero, you’ve gotta be way more quiet. I don’t want us to get in trouble.”

He stared at you, his hand reaching up to your wrist and pulling your hand off his mouth. “Your hero, huh?”

Your face turned red, looking away. “You saved me, what else am I supposed to say?”

“Nothing, I guess.”

There were a few moments of silence as you two sat there, the air slightly awkward. You stared at the wall across from you and Vance stared at the picture. Damn, so he wasn’t as slick as he thought he was when he was sneaking around that house. He looked up at you. Why’d you keep the picture? He couldn’t think of anything that would make you want to keep it—unless…

“Since I’m your hero, don’t I deserve a reward?”

“Huh?!”

“Now you’re the one being too loud.” He said, leaning forward. “Why’d you keep the picture?”

You stuttered a few times, hands fiddling with the blankets nervously. “My last connection to the outside?”

“Hm.” Staring at you, his blue eyes were hooded and piercing, a nervous blush spreading across your face.

“Fine.” You murmured, leaning forward to place a kiss on his cheek, surprised when he turned his head at the last moment and pressed his lips on yours.

His hands slid on top of yours resting on your lap, lips connected for a good few seconds before you both pulled away. Your face was hot, embarrassment and shyness taking over. Vance’s cheeks were pink, his eyes focused on where your hands were connected. You’d only ever thought that Vance Hopper would probably be a pleasant person to kiss; with his rough exterior slowly becoming soft just before the moment, and now you actually did kiss him.

“Bruce um…he helped me realize something.”

You nodded, lips pressed into a small smile as you intertwined your fingers together. “Bruce didn’t help, but I think being kidnapped did.” You laughed at what you said as Vance leaned his forehead against yours, both of your noses touching as he looked at you.

“So…do you think ‘lucky escapist’ is actually true now?”

—————— FIN ——————

Taglist

@finneysbaseball @bxtchboy69 @marcspector4ever@lanadelraystan @slutsforsturniolos @riddlersh0e @onyxzombie @annoying-anna @crustlover @andreeasancheez @tmd-narnia14 @boogieman20 @mandy-bo-bandy @drownedskelly @marimarvelfan @urgworl @hvnatahyugasblog @killualover7 @fran-xes @choptopssonnybono @edenthebean @cookierooki @hebrokeimup@foodpills @tw-inkl-e-tit-s @parker-natasha @graywrites20 @retirement-home @starfleshwherew0lf @pl4net-neptune @reblogged-fandoms @ureleesian @annamonstersstuff @nayasshits @veronalie @otrausuariamas @ynbutbetter @frogtits1 @kpopslur @ahmya-4 @expired-avacado @d3w-nurs3 @munsons-grl

#asks open #brady hepner #ethan hawke #finney blake #finney blake x reader #mason thames #miguel cazarez mora #robin arellano #robin arellano x reader #the black phone #the black phone x reader #the grabber #vance hopper #vance hopper x reader #bruce yamada #bruce yamada x reader #fanfic #pinball vance #the black phone x you #tristan pravong

[jewishcissiekj]

hi let's talk about her

Honestly I have so much to say about her. so much. so here's some of it

-Asajj (NOT VENTRESS THAT'S HER LAST NAME ISTG PEOPLE JUST HATE USING HER ACTUAL NAME AND IDK WHY I GUESS IT'S A COOL NAME BUT ASAJJ IS ALSO A COOL NAME AND)

-Asajj was last seen in canon in the Dark Disciple novel. Where she died. I would never recommend that book to anyone so if you haven't read it yet please don't. In short, after becoming a Bounty Hunter in The Clone Wars she grew out her hair, got a cool yellow Lightsaber and for some reason teamed up with Quinlan Vos to try and kill Dooku. They didn't manage to do it. And Asajj died (was fridged) trying to protect Quinlan. The Bad Batch will not contradict that, as was said by the creators. So this is just a summary for anyone who hasn't read it because I wholeheartedly believe that book is bad

-I have not watched a single Bad Batch episode in my life. As a disclaimer. I started the first one, watched their TCW arc and saw memes screenshots clips and spoilers but I do not know this show. I will watch it now that Asajj's there tho

-She does not have the same outfit anymore! It's a change, and we haven't gotten a clear look at her new design so idk how to judge it yet. Might be to look less recognizable, but it has a very different vibe than any of her prior outfits. There's a leftover shoulder pad and probably some other stuff from her last design but I feel like they kinda clash with the new one and tbb's design language in general. The Bounty Hunter look has a very TCWish feel to it and this one is a sharp turn in another, much more casual direction. I'm not inherently against it but I guess we'll see how it looks in action soon

-In my opinion the hair looks like shit. I don't think she should have hair ever. I don't understand why she can't be bald. Why is she bald when she's evil and has hair when she's a padawan (good) and when she is "redeemed"? guess we'll never know. It's a leftover from the cancelled Dark Disciple TCW arc design (and the Dark Disciple cover and promotional material ofc) and it's bad if you ask me but to each their own and if you like it good for you

-Her Lightsaber!!!!! Same case as the hair in terms of irl development but I like it so much better. The yellow just fits her character and it's pretty. Would love for her to find another one and get back to dual-wielding (I know that won't happen)

-The bag and pouches make me so happy as a design element do you think she carries a (tooka) cat in there

-Now, visually she looks great and the animation style is smoother and nicer than TCW (as is the quality), but what about the direction the character's going in? I didn't like her being dead before, but I felt like it was somewhat better than her being shoved into being a cameo character in new content. If you can't touch her after a certain point, you also can't mess her up. But I do wonder where they're going with her. A few questions:

-Asajj in canon is a directionless character. Also, a partially nonsensical and inconsistent character in her choices and storylines. I've talked about it a lot but in short she just feels messy. What's her purpose in life? Her motive? Her origin story doesn't really make sense, even. She's a Bounty Hunter, sure, but why? If all she wants is revenge on Dooku and maybe money (which was pretty much the case in Dark Disciple), what's she doing after the Empire? And more importantly, why?

-Obviously, the question I haven't asked yet because I don't like it: How the fuck is she alive? Nightsisters have a weird relationship with death but seriously, how?

-She's a Force User after the Rise of the Empire now, so what does he do about that? Is she founding The Path? Fucking around and finding out? Making a not-Jedi-not-Sith order with other force users she finds? Is the Empire after her? Do they know she's live?

-What about her girlfriend? Is Latts Razzi safe? Is she alright?

-Why is she in The Bad Batch show? Are we making her into a cameo character or is there a purpose? Why'd they bring her back? For fun? What is she doing after the show? Floating in dead space? Cameo-ing? Will we have a book?

-OK enough for tonight but if we see Quinlan Vos in the show I'll become violent (/neg). We probably will (he might just get mentioned idk).

#daily asajj thought of the day #sw #star wars #ventress #the bad batch #asajj ventress #the bad batch season 3 #tbb #star wars the bad batch #if you catch me watching only the asajj episodes of tbb and nothing else don't mind me #i still don't really care about that show #star wars the clone wars #tcw #if you read the whole thing thanks #i think i'm so interesting #this still feels unreal #need to remind myself it does not effect legends asajj in the slightest #to calm down #i'll draw some version of this design at some point #most likely

[affixjoy]

Today I continued my Star Trek journey by rewatching Star Trek (2009) and boy howdy do I have some thoughts.

So first off, I saw this for the first time when I came out in 2009. It wasn’t my first experience with Star Trek, but it was probably my first with Kirk and Spock and that gang. I remember liking it a lot.

Now that I’ve watched all of TOS and a few of the movies with the original cast my feelings are a little more complicated.

Overall, fun movie! I imagine they had to have felt the weight of recasting and redoing such iconic characters, and in a lot of ways they succeeded. It certainly got younger people like me interested in the franchise!

💫 Spock: I do love this version of him. His “live long and prosper” to the VSA is perfectly bitchy and I’m obsessed with it.

💫BONES!! if you’ve read any of my other posts you’ll know that somehow Bones snuck up on me as my favorite character. I love his intro here, and I think Karl Urban gets the tone just right. This really is a buffet for the McKirkers out there, I can see how this led to 1000 academy era fics of them.

💫Kirk: oh Jim. Jimmy Jim Jim. Baby boy. What are you doing. How did being played by Chris Pine (who is incredibly hot) make you LESS attractive??

Obviously this Kirk suffers from some Kirk drift and the added trauma of losing his dad. He’s so much angrier, so much less sweet and nerdy. Rewatching this now I can see why I was so hesitant to like him in TOS because he’s a lot less lovable here.

💫 I get it’s an emergency and they had to for plot reasons, but almost all of Pike’s staffing choices make no sense. Sure, Spock as acting captain, I get that. But everyone else?? Imagine being one of the other people there who has been with starfleet for years and seeing him hand Kirk the role of first officer. The ship can’t be entirely cadets can it?? Imagine the group texts going around after like “thank god he didn’t die because I really need to bitch about this.”

💫 I love all three Uhuras (tos, aos, and snw) and I get why they made her Spock’s love interest here because they’ve got fun chemistry! They have a lot in common, they’re both hot and smart, I get it. But cmon guys, that man is a 6 on the Kinsey scale. You keep pairing him with women and it doesn’t work.

💫 I feel like they worked in lots of little references to classic trek, from plot stuff to smaller details like when Spock enters from the turbolift at the end in a very TMP way. I love that, it makes me feel like the people making the movie really care about the stories and the characters. When Spock Prime says good luck I felt all the weight of his relationship with his Jim and how it changed him. So lovely and touching.

And just how close they made Kirk and Spock stand, especially towards the end of the movie. They were always glued to each other in TOS and JJ must have known us Spirk shippers needed something to latch on to 😅

💫 There’s too much action in this movie for me. We didn’t need to see Scotty beamed into the water tank. The best sf stuff is always story based, I don’t need extravagant fights and cgi shit. I’m sure there are people who watch science fiction for the spectacle but I’m here for the ideas and the feelings.

💫 goddddd everything with Vulcan and losing Amanda. Rip all our hearts out why don’t you. Spock’s mom dying is just heartbreaking. I know they had to lose someone we knew to make the destruction of the planet more real to us as viewers but so crushing to see it.

💫 Old Spock 😭😭😭

He knows right away who Jim is and expects that Jim found him on purpose.

Old Spock just launched right in to the mind meld huh. To me this really says that he and his Jim are on very casual mind meld terms and he’s not fully understanding that this Jim is not his Jim.

Think about how fucking weird all this must be for old Spock. How heartbreakingly strange it would be so see a young version of your husband and send him to a young version of yourself. Meeting all your old friends young selves, years after you’ve lost them all.

And from here out it’s just miscellaneous thoughts I jotted down while watching that don’t fit great anywhere else:

⭐️I love when the redshirt is so excited to get the Romulans and Kirk gets this look like… that’s why you’re here? Dude the battle not the appeal here. A nice glimpse of how this Kirk is similar at heart to TOS Kirk.

⭐️Love you Sulu and your fencing skills

⭐️I love when they stop the lift for emotional reasons.

⭐️“Our destinies have changed” goddddd great speech Spock

⭐️Jim has the look of a man who is frequently escorted places by security

⭐️Spock wants to break Kirk so bad 😂

⭐️When Jim slaps Spock’s back and Spock has a look of “I think that just awakened something in me.”

⭐️Spock you’re calling him Jim already? You slut. (Delighted, affectionate)

Overall I think it’s a fun movie but it misses a lot of what’s at the heart of the classic Trek I love. They try to do everything too fast and it just doesn’t work as well for me. I’m excited to rewatch the next two and see how these versions of the characters change!

#spirk #star trek #james t kirk #spock #leonard mccoy #star trek 2009 #nyota uhura #not a bad movie! #but missing a lot of the vibes I love #I get why people love it and I get why people hate it. #mckirk

[mulberriesandtea]

A VERY DISORGANIZED AND WEIRD MESS OF THOUGHTS THAT ARE ALL RELATED TO THE SODA EGO SOMEHOW

So wellcheer's story is like, this employee getting drugged and taken aboard a ship, and eventually coming to enjoy his work there, finding it better than working in the city. In general this reads to me as the escapist fantasy of the employees, wanting something that's more fulfilling, more satisfying, hoping for a change. While I think Hong Lu having it is somewhat self explanatory, I think we need to consider Ryoushuu as well, since both can provide context for one another. I will also bring up the fact that someone pointed out they could correlate to the types of work that give grape wellcheers, those being attachment(being kind and friendly) and repression(denying the abnormality in some way)- which I didn't quite agree with at first, but I think I understand better now that yes, it's likely. With that out of the way~! Let's talk about Hong Lu, since he's the one we understand the most about! These are not clean sections by the way. They're ramblings of a mad man.

"Tadaa~ Transformation complete! Hah, we've a boatload!" 

- Hong Lu Awakening

I think Hong Lu's is specifically meant to represent denial as his form of escapism. He denies anything that happens to him, and instead focuses on other things. We can note that Hong Lu seems to enjoy film in some way, and often mentions boredom and 'entertainment.' Not to mention Land of Illusion(I stare at the 5 gloom cost good fucking lord). Yah. Anyways, his magical girl transformation is an obvious reference to well, magical girl shows. Y'know, the kind of shows you watch and go 'man I'd love to be just like her" at least according to people. Understanding that, as well as pointing out that in both his Dimension Shredder and his Roseate Desire he seems a lot more overtaken by the abnormality than Yi Sang and Ishmael respectively in their awakenings(Yi Sang at least has both arms and Ishmael seems really not to be having a fun time), I think I can safely say that I think Hong Lu being on the boat is quite literally him fully accepting the fantasy of it. Have any of you method acted before? I have done it before, but not correctly, and I'm easily swayed by the emotions and thoughts of the characters I overtake, it's incredibly hard to maintain a divide between 'yourself' and 'your character' if you don't properly understand yourself- I mention this because it's quite literally what the Sinners do. I know this seems random to bring up but I hear me out here. I think it's clear that method acting wise, Hong Lu gets much more lost in his roles than the other sinners- I'd argue Canto IV especially shows this. Some of the others seem to also have trouble with Canto IV's play scene, but I believe the difference between that and their EGOs is how prolonged it is. Hard to explain, but yeah, Hong Lu quietly gets much more lost in his roles and it really does show in his EGOs- which is likely part of the escapism of it all. TL;DR I think his thing is denial, and as such, he represents the Repression half of the Wellcheers Grape Soda, and the reason he's on the boat is that he's *fully* invested in the EGO.

...Someone more into method acting should explain it better and see how it works within the context of EGO.

"Go on, open wide. Relax and cram this drink down your throats, heheh." 

- Ryoushuu Awakening

And that brings us to Ryoushuu, who I think represents the Attatchment side. And that might sound really weird at first. Why is the friendly one who seems to be more open with everyone Repression and the one who quite literally would attack other people and seems much more distant from everyone else despite it being several months now be Attachment? I'll explain more in Hong Lu's corrosion section. Anyways Ryoushuu! I think, in a way, her EGO, and the fact it's Zayin, is rather important- I'm still not quite sure on that aspect outside of 'it is really notable Gregor and Ryoushuu have Zayin EGOs.' I think her form of escapism is much more external than Hong Lu's- of course there's her tendency to smoke, but there's also her tendency to get obsessed with her art- and I think the fact that art is often heavily affected by the emotions of the creator is important. Art's a form of venting in a sense, but the way Ryoushuu does art she forces other people to deal with her problems. It's hard to explain gosh. Basically, she's very much ignoring her problems by creating art- she's not solving the root problem, she's not actually understanding why she's feeling that way, she just doesn't deal with it. THIS IS SHORTER THAN HONG LU'S SECTION BUT IN MY DEFENSE-

"The seagulls... They keep crying and screaming away...!" 

- Hong Lu Corrosion

So yeah these two. Ryoushuu's based on a man who committed suicide after the death of his daughter(who we know is dead in Limbus too, Fourth Match Flame and Red Eyes very heavily imply that, not to mention how Ryoushuu reacts to Outis during Hell's Chicken) and very much so has self-destructive behavior(said staring directly at Indiscriminate Art, which passive wise is exactly the same as Self-Neglect, and her smoking habits), while Hong Lu seems to very much have a persona of being cheerful and oblivious to the point of where it's very hard to tell if he's being genuine or not(The one potato joke in Hell's Chicken)- a persona that has not cracked yet in story, even when Faust attempted to break it with a sledgehammer(Once again, Hell's Chicken). I mention this because his persona has cracked in his EGOs- and this is one of them. I argue that both of their egos will be them no longer able to confide in their coping mechanisms of escapism, and their reactions to that. Hong Lu's EGO specifically shows him with the net stuck around him and in his mouth, and with him seeming almost panicked and lost. It's very particular he seems focused on the 'seagulls' which can seem a bit random, but I believe this is due to the 'seagulls' representing his last thread of escapism- his world, literally and in his denial, is falling apart. I'd argue that Ryoushuu's will be somewhat similar, also representing her thread of escapism falling apart- likely to do with either Yuzuki’s death or her completion of the ‘Hellscreen,’ and her being unable to deal with it.

I think they'll both be either Lust or Gluttony EGOs put a cute little thumbsup here

Of course I can be like, completely wrong. Anyways it's like 3 in the morning stream heart's claws by vane(flashing colors warning): 

https://youtu.be/2M2BHjVQPH4

i wanted to post the sodas but that’d take too long

#I FORGOT TAGS LMAO #limbus company #lcb hong lu #lcb ryoshu #soda ego #yippee. #there is a girl in the narrative #smoke and mirrors more like. no. #tea with mul

[anthurak]

So I’ve been reading/watching a few different Helluva Boss theory posts/videos recently, and I really have to ask:

We all recognize that when it comes to serious theory-crafting on lore, character backgrounds and most other things, basically EVERYTHING from the pilot is firmly in ‘take with a grain of salt’ territory, right?

Like this is not some ‘true episode one’ or weird ‘episode zero’ thing. It’s a pilot, a proof-of-concept and basic introduction to the series premise and main characters. Now it is certainly a GREAT intro to that premise and those characters, but it’s also clear that at this point the writers were still ironing out the characters, lore and other elements. I mean just compare Stolas in the pilot to Stolas in just the first episode, or how Tilla went from being Blitzo’s older sister to being his mother.

And we can really see this dissonance all over the pilot, as well as possibly getting a sense of what earlier drafts of characters might have looked like.

For example, Moxxie’s ‘dreaming my parents were getting murdered’ line in the pilot certainly feels like it may have at one point been foreshadowing, but it also just doesn’t fit very well with what we later got in the actual show. It seems like Moxxie would have nightmares about his mother being killed, but find dreams about Crimson being murdered to be quite appealing. Instead, I think we can guess that the plan at the time of the pilot was for Moxxie’s parents to have both been murdered by the mob/Crimson, possibly leading to Moxxie being adopted (perhaps by force) by Crimson. But between the pilot and the first episode, Vivzie and the team opted to streamline things by making Crimson be Moxxie’s father in the first place and him having murdered Moxxie’s mother. As evidenced by how Moxxie’s ‘maybe a shitty dad, or a mob family…’ line in Murder Family is MUCH more in line with what we end up seeing in Season 2.

Likewise, I imagine that Tilla originally being Blitzo’s sister likely had her in a nurturing, adoptive older sister role to Blitzo and Barbie, until the writers decided it simply made more sense for Tilla to just be the twins’ mother instead.

So when I see people doing stuff like using Loona’s implication that she has syphilis as a major part of or even the whole basis for theories on her messed up background/childhood, I can’t help but feel like they’re unwittingly building up their theory on a pretty shaky foundation.

Like don’t get me wrong, I fully agree that Loona went through some major shit in her childhood. I even have a hunch/headcannon that her backstory is actually going to have Blitzo AND Moxxie beat in the fucked-up department. It’s just that I think a far more reliable source of foreshadowing on this is something like Loona’s whole ‘This kid probably sets dogs on fire’ spiel in Murder Family, rather than anything from the pilot. Particularly since we now how at least two other cases of seemingly offhand, inconsequential jokes from that episode actually being foreshadowing; again, Moxxie’s ‘maybe a shitty dad…’ line, as well as Blitzo’s ‘we’re just killing a mother…’ line.

Finally, everything I’ve said here goes double, triple and frankly QUADRUPLE for Hazbin Hotel. Whereas we only had a little more than a year between Helluva Boss’s pilot and first episode, we’ve had over FOUR years for Hazbin. And it’s clear already from the trailers and other promotional material that things have changed quite a bit since the pilot. Like I’m as hyped as anyone else to finally see this show get released, but when it comes to specific expectations, we REALLY need to take basically all but the most general, basic, broad-strokes story, character and lore details that were in the pilot with a MASSIVE grain of salt.

Things like the basic premise, general character personalities, Charlie and Vaggie being a couple, etc; those we know are still a thing. Everything else is WILDLY up in the air.

#helluva boss #hazbin hotel #assume that NONE of your precious headcanons are going to survive the hazbin premier

[littledigits]

thoughts on the cut episodes and ppls reactions 'n stuff

Since it was confirmed that a few more episodes of Hilda were written but cut, I do think the reaction of people finding this out is really interesting and not just because its fairly common in the industry and isint a sign of anything bad necessarily. I mean heck, in a weird way being behind the scenes and then seeing how people interpret things, what they take as important, what they think is a thread…all of that is interesting. When your job is basically trying to get people to pick up what you're putting down storywise its kind of a neat topic, because everyone communicates in their own way.

BTW before I keep going this is not a post to say dont crit/vent/complain/whatever about whatever the heck you want in hilda or any media, you do you. I think peoples honest takes are fascinating (said in victoria van gale voice) and even just people speaking their mind shows that they are interested and they care so that matters. Also not one singular post triggered this, its just been on my mind as I surface level read things so no stressies.

When It comes to the cut episodes, I'm seeing some people assume that whatever was cut would have fixed some of the crits they may have had about the season..and who knows, maybe yes? But I'd say ultimately probably not. Not because they dont include things that people want to see, or may have some topics people want expanded on ..but because thats just impossible in the grand scheme of things.

I mean this applies to shows in general, not just hilda. Every person who watches a show has their own idea of what the show represents to them. For some of its more of the surface events or characters where as others connect it with a deeper emotion. A lot of people respond to different tones of the episodes, which there are many. Some people prefer the one off adventures that stand alone as their own stories and others want to see more of a stronger through line. Some may see a new character and expect a new arc and thread, while others wonder why we couldn't've used a previously introduced character. Some may read between the lines more and others may take what is presented as very straight forward and literal …and no one is WRONG, because our big wrinkly brain meats all have their own tastes and ways of imputing information.

Television animation is rife with factors that actually futz with the quality and ability of the team to make a beautiful, amazing product like EVERY DAY. The script process and what goes into production is just one. The team is made up of many creatives all with their own varied experiences and voices just like the audience. In order for people to have their own voices and say, you are going to end up with some things that hit better then others, especially if the team is allowed to grow and experiment and play a little. Hilda has always been a show where we've been able to have a lot of creative say, and i think that sincerity comes through ! but with the sincerity and that humanity, it also means that there are going to be things that arnt going to make sense in the grand scheme of things lol. Even the writers and creators and producers have differing opinions on what to explore and dive into, probably more so then fandoms haha. Having more episodes may scratch some itches but not all, HECK, those episodes being cut could have re-allocated resources to other areas that helped elevate your fav ep of the season ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ who knows! Schrodinger's episodes! (also ngl I was having cold sweats over the scope of some of them as cool as they were. The season may have been shorter but it was intense..it takes a long time to do stuff that looks that clean and crisp)

Imperfect art is very human! Do the best you can at the time with the factors you have. I was given so much trust and freedom on my episodes, and I was just happy to do something fun that allowed me and my team to grow and learn. I was fucking STOKED to get a one off story because it was way less pressure for me to take my next step directing cuz just doing the thing is a feat. Any sincerity you feel cant come through if that means we're afraid that we cant make mistakes, or do a story choice ppl wont vibe with. All you can do is do the best you can, see if people are picking up what you're putting down, and grow from it for next time.

Anyway, just a thought ramble. Its not to say do or dont do this or think this way blah blah. I just love that storytelling is messy and complex and everyones gonna take it a lil differently, especially if you have a team where you allow lots of voices to have input. It is all just a big experiment to see if people leave with a particular experience by putting your resources into the things you have that matter, and try you best to distract from burnt edges or patched up holes that happened throughout the process of making the dang thing lol.

#me as marge simpson holding up a potato of communication #I just think they're NEAT #it is cool to see who vibes with what episodes and why #lil rambley bits #I personally strive for a good 7/10 #maybe a 7.5 if im feeling spicy #everything else is luck

[demodraws0606]

You know I think there is something interesting to say in terms of where the fuck WxS is going because like

I think WxS is the only unit where the end goal or overall progression is probably the most unknown out of all of them ???

MMJ and VBS are extremely obvious, they both have the most explicit goals that are said to us in a straightforward way

25-ji, in the end we know the main goal at the end will be for all of the characters to go over their hurdles with Mafuyu finally being able to find herself and move forward

Leo/need is probably the closest in terms of vagueness but we know the end goal is clear for them to grow as a band, probably ending in a big concert or something along those lines

But with WxS...like I guess the closest thing I can see to an end goal is all of WxS preparing a show together with everyone playing their part but that definitely doesn't feel like something you'd build up for an entire arc and definitely not something that feels fitting after the emotional turmoil that was the disbandement arc ???

In terms of physical achievements as well they literally revived an entire parc through one gigantic show, so it just comes into question what they can do now.

Then you look at their first few event for this arc considering usually the first event kinda set up what will be planned for the future but it's...weird.

Yeah, Tsukasa and Rui's events set up they're inexperienced and how they will grow in the future but also there is this weird feeling of something feeling off ?

The plays/scripts all are strangely depressing, the play in Tsukasa's event being about a failed writer planning to drown himself (which I believe is one of the only undeniable explicit description of suicide ever in the game?????) and the second being someone whose given up on life meeting their estranged sister only for her to become ill.

We even have Emu's side story in Rui's event where they watched the movie Rin was watching during the event made by the same producer and Emu herself note how depressing the story is (meanwhile the main character of the movie clearly parallels Rui)

We don't see the conclusion of these in-game stories as well, lingering on their worst moment never really seeing the presumably happy conclusion.

THEN we also have Emukasa fes which....again strangely different in tone from what you'd expect a WxS fes card, they're not really all that conclusive either. Tsukasa never aknowledges how he relates to the brother in the story and Emu doesn't really get a conclusion on her grief.

Then we also have Rui's entire fuckign event with the cards and his cyberpunk deadbo-YOU SEE WHAT IM SAYING

The closest we fucking have to knowing what WxS's fucking endgoal towards the story is, is fucking WL which....TELLS US NOTHING

At least with VBS we know that they're goal is to go even further beyond and conquer the whole world, that is a developpement of their goal.

What I'm saying is I don't know what the fuck colorpalet is cooking wiht WxS but I feel like i'm a fucking twilight zone reading the way they're writing WxS now because I can't be the only one feeling insane at how weird all of this is

#wxs #wonderlandxshowtime #project sekai #pjsk #prsk #wxs prsk #wxs pjsk #reading this fucking unit feels like i'm stuck in a strange hell dimension where everything just feels like foreshadowing or some kind of #fucking wink colorpalet is oding at me like it's not the first time they've done insane foreshadowing with wxs #in fact its the norm #i wish i could know what goes on in their head when they write these clowns cos i swear i can't understand what the fuck they're doing #like with other units i can geyt like a general idea #but like WxS ???? #they could go literally anywhere with them #i guess going to broadway could be like a huge goal but like ????? #it doesn't FEEL WxS yknow ? #especially after the disbandement arc which we technically haven't gotten really a conclusion for because...Emu's still gonna come back ?? #So like what do we do when Emu comes back to Pheonix Wonderland ????????????? #Cos I do think WxS would want to come back to perform but ESPECIALLY nene's dreams are kind of incompatible with that #cos we know she wants to perform all over the world like her idol #It's just #I guess I'm waiting to see what kind of unholy bullshit colorpalet has for us after the pain that was the disbandement arc #i was also tired while writing this so if this seems extremely rambly thats why #i'm just losing my mind

[gurindeen]

Rant time!

I have just finished watching Catching Fire after rereading the Catching Fire book and???? WHERE IS PEETA. Where is Peeta the whole time in this movie? He just kind of sits there with quizzical looks on his face. I get it, it’s a long story to condense into 2h26min, but. Peeta is such a central character in this book. I’m upset.

I may be overfangirling this but if I didn’t know the story I guess I’d be really confused as to why Katniss wanted Peeta to be the one who lives so badly. I just feel like he wasn’t given much depth in the CF movie. Which is weird considering I think the movies did a pretty good job with that in THG. Peeta is so brilliant, kind and present this entire book.

On top of that, Katniss and Peeta don’t really seem to share what is going on, or even support each other that much. Aside from the scene where Peeta’s heart stops, which is very good, they feel distant. When they talk on the beach, it feels off. Why do you even need him, movie!Katniss? You look like coworkers or something. Weird. Where is everlark understanding and leaning on each other so much that Katniss wouldn’t risk Peeta removing his goddamn makeup in his own room because they might lock him away from her for the night? You know what I mean?

And what’s with Katniss kissing Gale before the reaping, while he’s fully awake and well? That is substantially different from kissing him when he was passed out and wishing him to not remember it the day after. (not me whining because evethorne got this and we didn't get the picnic scene)

What irks me the most about all of this is: why? I’m pretty sure it was of knowledge when the movie was made that Peeta mattered quite a lot to the story and to Katniss - because if he didn’t, if he was just some cute teammate with a crush on her, who she gives only one and a half fuck about - none of it would have happened. No berries, no defiance, no Snow using Peeta to hurt the Mockingjay and deeply as he could. No reason to have hope, no dandelion. No revolution!

With Peeta, I feel like this movie stripped him down to ill assorted bit of the love triangle. Which is not only annoying, but downright Capitol level of treating love as marketing. And stupid, because, as I hinted above, the books where already fully out, right? Before rewatching CF, I was just talking to a friend who hasn't read the books and she said - oh, I didn't think Katniss actually liked Peeta, thought it was just the shared trauma. Yes. That's what it looked like in this movie. And not because they were trying to not focus on love, because they've amped the love triangle thing up. So I don't get it. Why do you always have to take a nice character and treat them like less just because they’re nice? (Ron Weasley I'm talking about you) Tell me, am I exaggerating? Do I just love Peeta too much?

#peeta mellark #catching fire #catching fire movie #everlark #rant

[danyvhell-writes]

Ais headcanons pt 2 ! (Touchstarved)

GN reader - no warnings | Ais, my beloved. My brain won't stop thinking about him, there's so much to say omg ! I need to draw him this is serious :')

+ Not really a headcanon but when I first saw Ais in the trailer I thought he would be a kinda pirate character :') don't make fun of me lmaouiadubgziu !! I really imagined our first encounter with him on the coast of the city/harbor and that his story would be based on pirate tales and marine legends. I'm still sticking to my idea that it would be fucking awesome to have Ais as a captain or something, traveling the seas and oceans with him and his crew. (let me dream) PIRATE AIS AU WHEN ????!!? (Helloooo sailor !!)

• Has really pretty hands for someone who fights so much ! Likes to be presentable in front of you.

• He's a simp in his own ways. Someone making a remark about how good looking you are, he's gonna brag "Damn right they are ! Look at them."

• If you're mixed or have unusual features for your ethnicity, he would try to guess your origins (and he's strangely good at it ?). And if you have a weird/rare mix it's even more fun to see him struggle a bit.

• Likes to share foods ! Please feed him, he loves it. He'll just watch your dish with insistance until you ask him "You want some ?" and lean opening his mouth. He'll gently make you taste his meal in return. You're his little sparrow after all, so of course he's gonna let you peck in his plate.

• If your gaze meets his, he'll wink casually. It's his way to say "Hi babe."

• Completely forgot to ad this in my last hc post but !! If you use ASL, he will learn just so he can talk with you. Teach him everything you know, he's a good student >:) And if you happen to know how to read lips, this man would be thrilled to learn how to do it ! I just know he'd love to spy on people's conversation and gossip with you hehehe

• When you guys go on a walk and see sparrows he's always saying stuff like "Look, your friends' saying hi !" "This one looks just like you, cute." or "Wonder who's the real little sparrow… Sure you're not an impostor hm ?"

• When he doesn't smoke, he smells like a mix of cloves, iodine, humid air & metal (you know what i mean ?)

• Ties up his hair in a little ponytail sometimes and it's the cutest thing ever !!!

• If you're sensitive to the smell of cigarette (I personally despise that shit), he'd be careful not to smoke near you or puff in your direction. Passive smoking is not an option ! When you tell him it's fine, he responds "I don't want to screw up your healthy lil lungs !" ↑ However if you take cigs too, he'll gladly share a smoke with you. Really likes to have a calm talk with you while you guys enjoy your stuff. (+ shotgun kiss grrr)

• If you trip on your feet or something while walking, no need to feel ashamed. He would simply do the same on purpose to reassure you and act like it's something casual. "Can't watch my feet either apparently :)" You can be clumsy around him, do not worry !

• We know he doesn't like easy fights and he's kinda into brats so… give him challenges. Dumb ones, hard ones whatever you want ! He needs adrenaline and what's better than a little dare. "Bet you can't climb that tree in less than twenty seconds !" "Oh yeah ? Don't be presumptuous, I'll show you." and there he goes, perching himself on a big branch.

• Related to that... You're a snarky little shit ? Good. He likes it. Be cocky with him, that's what he needs. Of course he loves your soft side but no bickering nor teasing would be boring. This man needs a challenge.

• Loves going on walks with you and his babies (soulless). He'd show you around, make you visit nice places you've never been to and you get to play with Princess + the rest of the pack ! Sometimes his destinations are a little perilous but it's worth the risk. Two whole hours walking in the mist to watch the sunset ? Okay let's go, handsome !

• You're a trans person ? Great. He is too. Now go makeout like the T4T couple you are. (My Ais is trans and I won't come back on this statement 🏃🏽‍♂️💨)

• Always rests his hand on your hip. Number one resting place, comfortable & perfect shape for it. Sometimes the touch feels almost ghosting against you, you wonder if you're imagining things. Please, do the same for him. His waist is literally snatched with that pretty belt of his, perfect place to put your hands on ! He would really appreciate.

• He's good with makeup. Let him put you some red eyeliner so you guys can match ;) Just imagine him holding your face gently while he's concentrated on making a cool pattern with the liner. "Don't move." "I'm trying sorry !" "Am I that distracting to you ?". He won't mind if you try some on him. Dark lipstick omg, he'll rock that shit !

#touchstarved game #ais #touchstarved ais #touchstarved #ais x reader #gn reader #ais touchstarved #headcanons #touchstarved headcanons #touchstarved demo #red spring studios #so obsessed with this guy it's insane ! #okay but guys imagine trans pirate Ais i- #promise i'll write about the other guys don't worry #my hcs

[linalavender]

How Tatsuki Fujimoto writes Affection

First of all I would like to give massive credit to Tiktok user @campaign_baby for their Tiktok I saw on this that really made me think of it alot more

I will Bring up Examples from:

Shikaku

Mermaid Rhapsody

Goodbye Eri

Fire Punch

Chainsaw Man Part 1 (Quite a big spoiler in this will give fair warning)

Fujimoto has a sort of strange method he uses to write that a character Loves/cares deeply for someone. And its The character either being willing to be consumed or to provide sustenance to someone, Or to consume the other person. Examples:

Shikaku

After Shikaku confesses her love for Yucel, He rushes to the hospital to offer her his blood, Making her into an immortal vampire just like him. Yucel has also fallen for Shikaku, its basically his confession of love, He wants to live with her Forever.

Its drawn in a way you can tell its such an act of compassion too.

Mermaid Rhapsody

"I loved her so much that I thought, If it was by someone with a smile as pretty as hers, Maybe being eaten wouldn't be so bad."

Toshihides Dad feels the exact same way about his Mom as Toshihide feels about Shijyu. Mermaids eat humans, But that never mattered to either of them.

Goodbye Eri

In Yuutas Movie about Eri, He writes her to be a Vampire, because he wouldnt actually mind to be her sustenance, In his movie, he loves Eri so much. (I genuinely cant read this fucking story without sobbing, Rereading it again just to get this screengrab just made me cry for like 20 min help)

Fire Punch

This one is Pretty straight forward, Agni with his regenerative powers feeds his village by continuously chopping of his Arm so they dont all starve to death. But more importantly he does this to prevent his sister from doing it aswell. He doesnt want her to suffer that pain so he takes sole responsibility for providing himself to the village.

Agni also later feeds his followers with the help of Togata Chopping of the part of his face that isnt on Fire. I think this has more todo with making sure Togata gets fed rather than his followers, To Agni Togata means alot.

⚠️Chainsaw Man Part 1 (Spoilers for the Final arc)⚠️

When Power is about to Die, Power not only offers her own blood For Denji to Drink so he can get back to health, But Pochita also offers a small part of himself so she can come back as a Powerful Devil.

And ofcourse the big one is Denji Eating Makima. He obviously has to and all for the sake of erasing her. But he explicitly says it wasnt an Attack, It was an act of Love.

Its such a fascinating thing that the idea of consuming someone can be concidered something you do to a cherished one, as an affectionate thing. I guess as Denji mentions that you basically become one with eachother in a way if you consume them.

But this is such a Weird thing Right? Where does this idea even originate from? Well ofcourse we can only Speculate but I really think he took on inspiration from his own life here, Because he has actually done this to someone he loved. Yes, Seriously.

Tatsuki Fujimoto eating his deceased Pet Fish

In the Authors notes for "Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26" Fujimoto shares a story from when he was 24:

"Even though we were poor, we had a pet Japanese rice fish. I found it dead one summer. I went to toss its body into the trash like in Parasyte, but my girlfriend said she wanted me to bury it, So off I went to the park, alone. I tried to bury it under this big tree, but the ground was too hard, my hands got all dirty and I had no hole to show for my effort. Out of Options, I figured I would pretend I had buried the fish and left it lying there on top of the ground. As I watched it for a little while, ants found the body and began to carry it away. Im not sure what came over me, but in that moment, love for that pet fish welled within me for the first time. I brushed the ants away, and then Ate it."

You can read the full story here

It has that "Wait what the hell am I reading" Charm to the story like alot of his works, But theres something so weirdly beautiful about this story, Somehow stricken with grief and love for this fish, He ate it. As Denji says, its not an attack, his fish is part of him now and its an act of love. So strange, yet so Beautiful.

Anyways thanks for reading this insanely long post if you even got this far I appreciate it!

#tatsuki fujimoto #fire punch #chainsaw man #goodbye eri #Mermaid Rhapsody #Shikaku #chainsaw man spoilers