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marvel-and-mischief · 3 years

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His Saving Grace - Part II

Title: His Saving Grace - Maxwell Lord x F!Reader Words: 2600 Warnings: Small panic attack, I know very little about business and investments. Suspension of disbelief is a wonderful thing! Synopsis: Maxwell and reader have their first meeting

Part I

The world was not being kind to Maxwell, you thought whilst sitting cross legged on your living room floor, spreading out the various newspapers and magazines you had brought from the convenience store late last night.

After your phone call with the man himself, you decided on going all in on your first client, doing as much research as possible to get the lay of the land when it came down to how much of his career you could savage. And by the looks of it, it was nothing at all.

Tabloid newspapers were laughing at him, the gossip mags were prying into his troubled relationship with his son and ex-wife as a possible cause of his devastating breakdown, anything related to business or finance was telling you to stay clear of Maxwell Lord, lest his bad luck rub off on you. His career as an oil tycoon was unsalvageable, so you had to come up with another plan. One you doubted he would like.

Maxwell had sounded so hopeful when you’d agreed to meet with him and some part of you regretted having to tell him his career was over. But you supposed he didn’t hire you to lie to him and give him false hope.

You looked over to the clock on the wall, two hours until you had to leave for your first (and quite possibly your last) meeting. You scanned the images of Maxwell in front of you, his eyes wide with a madness that had scared you at the time.

You remember the day in pieces, mostly because you were drunk, partly because you would rather forget what you had almost wished for. You heard the promises Maxwell had spoken to you through the television screen, had been ready to make your wish before you passed out, the empty bottle of cheap whiskey smashing to the floor the last thing you heard before you woke up the next day thinking you had dreamt the whole world coming to an end thing. When you found out it hadn’t been a dream, you witnessed the world trying to piece itself back together again and you vowed to do the same. No more drinking yourself to near death, no more feeling sorry for yourself. You promised to pick yourself up and start afresh and that’s exactly what you did.

And you waited, and waited, and waited some more until finally Maxwell Lord called your phone and unknowingly gave you the second chance you needed.

You sighed and gathered all your research into a folder, leaving your notepad out to make some notes. This was just the second chance you needed, and you weren’t going to mess it up.

Stepping up to the apartment building you felt butterflies flying around in your stomach, nervous like it was your first day at work, which it kind of was. You hugged the folder to your chest and checked the time on your watch, you were fifteen minutes early.

The building wasn’t as imposing as you imagined. Maxwell had chosen somewhere quiet, away from the busy city, surrounded instead by parks and tall trees that hid the neighbourhood from outsiders. Looking at the buzzers there were only ten apartments, two on each floor, occupied by equally wealthy inhabitants if the posh cars parked outside were anything to go by. You saw movement out the corner of your eye and turned to see a black, shiny car pulling up a few feet away. A woman in a red power suit, sporting a carefully created perm got out, peeling down her large sunglasses to the tip of her nose to give you a once over with a look of disdain that made you want the ground to swallow you up.

You quickly turned and pressed the number ten buzzer on the wall, hoping Maxwell wouldn’t delay because you were early. When his voice came through the tinny speaker you let out a sigh of relief and spoke your name.

“Come on up, the elevator is working for once,” Maxwell buzzed the door open for you and you hurried inside, not daring to look if the woman was still watching you.

When you got to Maxwell’s apartment he was already waiting for you, propped up against the doorway, welcoming you with a shy smile. He looked good, dressed up in a pale green spotted shirt, dark green suspenders and navy suit trousers but forgoing the jacket and instead rolling up his sleeves to set the tone for a casual meeting.

You walked over from the elevator, holding out a hand which he shook.

“Lawyer! I have been eager to meet with you all morning. Come, I have coffee waiting for you,” his enthusiasm was contagious and you found your nervousness fading away the closer you got to the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

Your eyes moved around the open plan apartment. It was nicer than yours and you wondered how he could afford it given his current situation. But as you took a closer look at the ornaments on the shelves you realised it was all an illusion. The decorative figurines were plastic and the fur rug under the coffee table was fake. On first glance the room was impressive but on closer inspection it spoke of Maxwell’s downfall.

You watched as he ushered you over to sit on the couch, pouring you a cup of coffee from the cafetière.

“Sugar? Milk?” He asked, pointing to the cubes of sugar and a little jug with milk in. You nodded to both. “I see you’ve got a very big folder.”

You laughed, placing the folder on the floor by your feet and taking the coffee from him, noting the lack of rings on his fingers that he always seemed to wear in pictures. You wondered if he had to pawn them.

“Research mostly,” you smiled. Your knees were practically touching as he turned his whole body to face you. This close, you could see the bags under his eyes and the wary look of a man who was afraid. He was wringing his hands together and shifting, trying to get comfortable on the couch as he awaited your professional opinion. “I’m not a lawyer, by the way,” you referred to the way he greeted you at the door.

“Ah, but you were once?”

You nodded, placing your half empty cup of coffee on the table.

“Former family lawyer,” you swallowed the lump in your throat at the memories, looking away from Maxwell when you spoke, “high profile clients, but I dabbled with disputes within family businesses, so that’s why I can do this now.”

Maxwell hummed in response, convinced enough for you to silently let out the breath you had been holding. You hoped he wouldn’t ask any more questions which, thankfully, he didn’t, too preoccupied with his own problems.

“So, what do you think?” Maxwell opened his arms, eyebrows raised and a hopeful look crossing his features that contrasted with the way his jaw was clenched in preparation for the worst, “please tell me I’m not a completely lost cause,” he guffawed humourlessly.

“It’s going to be difficult,” you began softly as you clasped your hands together in your lap. Maxwell slapped his hands on his knees, louder than he intended, his expression becoming more serious. “The thing is, the world is still piecing itself back together after what you did. Black Gold is bust and when people think of that name they think of you and what happened. I don’t think it’s ever going to recover from that.”

“There must be something I can do. My savings will only last so long. I have a son…” Maxwell’s hands shook as he carded them through his hair, his emotions spiralling from calm to panic to frustration, with himself. He had done this, he had ruined everything, and he would have to pay the price, he realised.

“What is it you actually want, Mr Lord?” You asked, taking the notepad and pen out of your folder and flipping to a blank page. “Is it money? Is it stability? Being famous again?”

“No,” Maxwell waved his finger in the air at you, “never again, I would rather not a single person knew my name ever again.”

“Then what motivates you? Why did you want me to help you?”

“Alistair.” Theres a pause before Maxwell looks up from his hunched over state. Theres a redness around his eyes where he’s rubbed them in his frustration and his voice cracks when he says his son’s name again, though he fights it to stay strong. “Alistair is the only reason I haven’t given up. He needs a strong father who he can be proud of. He still looks at me like I matter. I can’t let him down again.”

Maxwell stands up, hands on his hips as he paces from the couch to the television, back and forth whilst he collects his thoughts. Meanwhile, you are sat watching him, spinning the pen in your fingers as you think of a solution.

“Oil is out of the question,” you say cautiously, running various options through your head as Maxwell shakes his in agreement, “neither is setting up another business, nobody trusts you,” it sounded cruel but you were talking from experience.

You see Maxwell jump at a sound coming from outside, a car back firing perhaps, but it was loud enough to make the grown man look like a frightened wild animal in a cage. You knew then you couldn’t expect much of him in this state, least of all make up a business plan together.

“Maxwell,” you called his name quietly, rising from the couch and toeing off your heels to pad softly across the floor towards him, “come sit down, I’ll get you a glass of water.”

Maxwell turned to you with a deep sigh, knowing he was spiralling towards a panic attack. It had happened more than once since the incident, when his self-deprecating thoughts overrode his sensibles ones. He allowed you to guide him back to the couch with a hand on his arm, the first human contact he’d had since his hug with Alistair. Your touch sent a pleasant warmth up his arm towards his chest, calming his mind enough to concentrate on breathing to settle his racing heart.

You left him there for a moment, grabbing a glass from a cupboard and filling it with water. Leaning back against the counter you observed him, head resting on the back of the couch, eyes closed, taking deep breaths. You realised he was going to need more help than you originally believed. You would have to build him up from the bottom, get his self belief back, show him there was still a way to make his son proud without being the Maxwell Lord, businessman and entrepreneur.

Looking around at his home you saw that Maxwell still wanted to create an air of splendour and give the impression he was doing better than he was. He was still holding onto the hope that he could be the great man he always wanted to be. It was going to be hard to get through to him that it just wasn’t possible after what he did. Maybe refocussing his goals on his son instead of money, you could help him.

Maxwell looked at you, a look of embarrassment flooding his features as he went to smooth down his ruffled, out of place hair. You hurried over and handed him the glass of water.

“I’m going to help you Maxwell,” you promised, kneeling down by the arm of the couch and fixing him with a confident stare, “but you need to wait this out.”

You pulled open your folder, showing him the numerous newspapers and magazines you had brought with you.

“None of these say a nice thing about you.” Maxwell sucked in a breath at the sight. “I’m sorry to be blunt with you, but I think you need to understand it’s going to get worse before it gets better. But it will get better, I’m sure of it.”

Maxwell nodded and his body seemed to deflate into the couch, his now empty glass falling out of his hand to the couch cushion next to him.

“How can you be so sure?” He sounded so vulnerable you didn’t have the heart to tell him you were only being hopeful. You weren’t relying on your experience, that was no better than relying on a prayer. So you smiled your best smile and placed a hand on his knee, giving a small squeeze of comfort.

“I just know. Because it can’t get worse than this, can it?”

“No,” Maxwell scoffed, leaning forward, “so what do you suggest we do, lawyer?”

You smirked at his nickname for you and took out a piece of paper from your folder.

“If you want money, stocks are the best thing right now. Invest what little you have, make quick turn arounds for small profits. With your business brain and knowledge, you’ll be good at that.”

“Isn’t that risky?” He asked, looking through the list of potential investments, already seeing some good names he could get behind.

“Yes, if you don’t know what you’re doing. You’ve been in this game for years, Maxwell, it’ll be easy.”

The light was coming back into Maxwell’s eyes at your suggestion, his mind naturally working out the pros and cons of investing into each company on the list, humming and harring as he read through.

“What do you think?” You ventured after a moment of quiet. When he looked at you, he nodded and grinned, a small burst of laughter left his chest.

“I think you have given me the first ray of hope in a long time.”

After another hour of talking business, Maxwell felt like the weight of the world had lifted from his shoulders, if only for a while. He knew it wasn’t a permanent solution, investing was hit and miss at the best of times, but he knew you were right. He couldn’t be Maxwell Lord right now, nobody was going to hire him and opening up his own business would be a car crash of epic proportions. He would just have to be patient a little longer.

He stood by his window looking down as you exited the building, folder in hand and a confident sway in your walk. He liked you. He wasn’t sure if it was the hope you had left in his heart at the prospect of things looking up for him. It might have been the way you’d easily calmed him down when he was becoming overwhelmed.

Either way, Maxwell felt that his head was clearer and his heart was fuller, and that was thanks to you.

Though there was one thing that he couldn’t shake off, and that was the way you’d reacted to him calling you ‘lawyer’, as though you were ashamed of the title. Being a lawyer was something to be proud of, wasn’t it? A highly respected career that you… quit to become a business adviser? Maxwell frowned at the thought, not able to quit his train of thought. Something wasn’t right.

Maxwell remembered the folder of research you had compiled of him, and decided he needed to do his own research on you.

Permanent tag list: @autumnleaves1991-blog

#His Saving Grace #Maxwell Lord #Maxwell Lord x reader #WW1984 #Wonder Woman 1984 #Pedro Pascal #Maxwell Lord fic

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zirkkun · 3 years

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I can't sleep so I'm gonna ramble for a minute here about. uh. 2020 i guess lol everyone else is so might as well jump on the bandwagon.

Be aware this is really really fucking long so it's a commitment to read it lmao sorry i just cannot sleep and i guess i had more on my mind about this year than i thought. I also did not proofread this at all. I just started writing and didn't look back lol

This year was... Weird for me. It started out with me feeling my best in January, comfortable and positive as I did my nth playthrough of DBH with friends and finally having enough alts of my boy Alfonse in FEH to have a team of Just him to fight with. (Priorities, right?) February hit, and things were still going good. I met Ray Chase and had him sign a print I did of Roy and Alfonse in some casual outfits for a scrapped au I wrote years ago. (And I gave him one 😊). Hell, like, covid was just coming around when me and my friends went to the con that weekend and a breakout of it hit the city just south of where the con was like a week before, but I was genuinely so excited for it that like I was like "Yeah, if i die, i die. Whatever happens happens." God, at this point, the Alfonse gc I was in was still alive and I still didn't talk to anyone in the group outside of that gc. Lowkey miss it tbh. But oh well. Things move on.

But that con was like... Stressful. I usually have fair amounts of stress at cons, being around so many people, I fear theft, unwanted contact, y'know, the standard; but my friend group was so filled with tension that it was absolutely painful. We'd been split most of the weekend, and if the two groups came together, it was hell, because it just caused unwanted arguments. I felt really bad cause I didn't want them to be upset, yknow? But i also wanted to hang out with my friends all at once. So i swapped between the groups a bit over the weekend. And blew WAY more money than I should have and lowkey it kind of fucked me over for the rest of the year cause I haven't had a job all year outside of, like, a local church job that pays at a rare max of $100 a month ;w;

I'd been struggling in school the previous semester already, about halfway through having just stopped going to classes altogether, yet still somehow managed to pass everything with B's and A's. The next semester rolled around, and I thought at first the distraction and inability to do anything was because of the con, and as it persisted after, I thought it was just post-con depression. But, as it turned out, no, it's just been my biggest relapse of depression since the end of high school, and frankly, it's only gotten worse since. I can't sleep rn because I'm between not wanting to do anything because I have a lack of emotions and motivation and not feeling deserving of sleep lol. I checked out of school on February 28th, however, I was convinced I was merely demotivated by my surroundings -- at this point, I was studying Japanese, and one of my friends at the time was a (although probably unintentionally) complete braggart about how much he was studying and how he was improving... not to mention he was textbook example of "This is an Actual Weeaboo, don't Fucking Do this." (One of many reasons i said friend at the time lol) it was just... So draining being around him, and I had to see him in class every day of the week. I barely scraped together assignments last-minute and never studied under the idea of "What does it matter if I'm not putting in my 100%?" So I checked out, with plans of transferring for the following semester.

Well, then March hit. Y'all know how March went down lmao.

I pretty much locked myself in my room at all times during March, going between Animal Crossing and BOTW (which actually racked up like 200ish hours i think according to the nintendo year in review i had lmao). I started making a bit closer online friends at this point, notably @levitumbling who decided to take me in as his channel designer for YouTube and I've been ever since! But. Of course. My first task? A Sans meme. My payment? One Switch copy of Undertale because he considered it a disgrace that I'd never played the game before.

Now, let me tell you. I was fuckin scared to play this game. I held onto it for weeks between the fear of "My friend bought me this and i should play this" and "I told myself I'd never touch this game with a 20 mile pole because of how much it's been shoved down my throat over the years." So, one day, I don't remember when, early April, I said, fuck it, I'll play it for a little bit, just enough to say "hey i played it for a bit!" and then never go back.

The only thing that stopped me from beating the whole thing in one sitting was it was the crack of dawn when I passed out, extremely tired and extremely frustrated by the fact I couldn't beat Muffet. Yes, I got that far in one sitting I intended to play for 15 minutes tops.

Now. Let me fuckin tell you. About my first playthrough of Undertale. I haven't gone into a game knowing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about it like... I think ever. Usually I know what style of game it is, the genre, the main plot premise. I knew nothing other than the existence of Sans (and, as it turned out, I'd heard some of the soundtrack pieces before, notably Bonetrousle I heard this cover of it in a radio livestream a while back and never really looked it up, but was always excited when the radio looped back around to it being on; and I'd heard Dating Start! because that's Alpharad's go-to sponsorship ost lmao.) But anyway. I was completely in the dark. Do yall mind if i just go through some highlights of my favorite memories? This is supposed to be a summary of the year but I mean, I think this made a big enough impact on me to really like. Discuss it a bit.

I watched the whole opening cutscene, started a new game under my old screenname, "Yoru," since in naming the "Fallen Child," I assumed they were dead. Well, I was a little surprised to just be that child, alive, two seconds later, but whatever, I rolled with it.

I genuinely trusted Flowey right away. Like no shit. He told me run into the "friendliness pellets" and I didn't even fucking question it. And when Toriel came in? And she said to follow her? I straight up was like "Why the hell should I trust you?? That guy just tried to kill me what says you wont?" I followed only because the game made me but i was Wary the whole time. It took me a LONG time to warm up to Toriel.

Now. Let me tell you how stupid I am as well. The game says over and over right, "Don't fight. Spare. Have Mercy when names are Yellow." Well, I took this literally. I didn't understand the Act mechanic most of the time, and when something didn't work I just said, fuck it, and fought them. If their name didn't turn yellow, I just fought them. "They don't want Mercy if their name isn't yellow, right?" After a while, I'd started getting bored of fighting and would just run away, but like, I came to a point where I was like "I have a really low level, I'm really going to regret this later on if I don't grind for a while."

I don't know when I stopped but. I think I was only one or two kills away from a genocide run accidentally my first playthrough, based on how I think I was LV 3 and looking at genocide playthroughs, you're LV 3 or 4 when you fight Toriel. Like. Holy fuck. I can't imagine what I would have thought of this game if that happened lmao.

Speaking of Toriel, still didn't trust her, at all. When we got to Home, and after I did Every Single different phrase she says when you go downstairs before you talk to her reading about snails; I did not Hesitate to ask "cool uh when the fuck can I leave?" When we got to the Ruins exit I was like, ah, here it is. The betrayal from her I was expecting, where she tries to kill me. Well, nothing on the Act menu worked, right? So... I fought and killed her. I didn't really care, actually. I just kept going.

Then meeting Sans and Papyrus happened. I lost my fucking shit at this part, mostly when they were talking, because every time Sans made a pun it would zoom in on him and do a rimshot. The puns were not funny and I was definitely on Pap's side of "oh my GOD shut up." But that fucking zoom in and rimshot was just so fourth wall breaking and unexpected. Fuck, it still gets me. Anyway. Game continues. I again lose my shit at (insane spinning in random directions) "OH MY GOD! IS THAT A HUMAN?" "uh, i think that's a rock." "OH. WAIT! WHAT'S THAT IN FRONT OF THE ROCK?? (IS IT A HUMAN??)" "(yes.)" "OH MY GOD!!!" and still think these two moments in the game are Peak comedy. Oh, and let me tell you, I did not like either of these two at this point. Sans I was like, okay, hes kind of a dumbass in a funny way, but Papyrus is a dumbass in a way that just annoys me. Genuinely the archetype that misses social cues and therefore has miscommunication usually just annoys me to no end. (Mostly for the miscommunication. It's my least favorite trope and makes me unreasonably angry.) But yeah. Wasn't really a fan. But out of everyone so far? Definitely found Sans to be the most tolerable. But that's about all I thought of him lmao.

Getting to Snowdin, with the Papyrus battle, remember how I said I didn't like Papyrus? And yes, this was something I genuinely thought at one point, I genuinely hated Papyrus, imagine that. What a wild world that is. But anyway. You know how his Act menu has the "Flirt" option? I, for no reason, gunned it for the Flirt option, even though I did not want to. Then when he was like "WE'LL GO ON A DATE! LATER!!" i was like yea sure okay lmao. Again, couldn't figure out the Act menu to turn his name yellow, so I fought him, and he was one or two attacks from dying (miraculously) when he ended the battle. I spared him here cause, well, he spared me, it was only fair. Then this guy again is like "ILL BE AT MY HOUSE WHEN YOU WANT TO GO ON THAT DATE!" and i was like haha funny but still turned around to go on the date. Like why? I have no idea. I think I was more like "haha hes probably not gonna be there and its just cause i picked that option and lo and behold there was an actual fucking date. Oh my god. I have never in my life been on a video game date where one party was convinced I was infatuated with them and im here on the other side of the screen like "oh my god make this end i can't stand being around you.???" But still. The date was. Really fucking funny. I wish I could experience it for the first time again like holy shit. There are few playthroughs I did after this where I didn't go on the Pap date, even if I just spedrun through it.

So then you get to Waterfall and Sans is there like "hey wanna go to grillbys" and i was like sure why not so we go there and my choices were fries & ketchup (so i did not get the legendary scene where he chugged a bottle of ketchup, but i sure did my second playthrough, and let me tell you, i was disgusted). But like. This whole experience at grillby's like, the whoopee cushion, him using a comb on his bald ass skull, him just fuckin unapologetically scratching his ass for no reason?? Bro i was like "why the fuck is this guy part of the Tumblr Sexymen™ group ??? He's so ????? Gross???????" and like i still have this question tbh lmao. But like. Okay so he asks you "what do you think of my bro?" And my genuine answer was "uncool" and he was like "hey man sarcasm isnt funny" and can i just mention how like inheritly manipulative sans actually is like fuck he does things like this where he throws your answer the other way a few times and Every time it actually swayed me the other way. Because right here I went. "Oh. Maybe Papyrus is better than I thought." Like holy fuck maybe i should be more aware if something like that can sway my opinion so easily LMAO.

Anyway waterfall i genuinely was very bored of the whole time. I spent like a genuine 20 minutes figuring out the puzzle where you have to talk to a wall and I actually didn't realize you could move the telescope around. What helped me solve it is my friend's advice before I played it. "Inspect everything. Even talk to walls. Trust me." And literally thats how I solved it. But pretty much everything in Waterfall otherwise bored me. I did think it was pretty though, and did enjoy reading the lore, but when it started talking about monster biology my one fear had been realized: oh god, oh fuck. My original species for my own series also has physical Souls and die by turning to dust because they're made entirely of magic. God fuck. My luck, it has to be something popular, so now everyone's gonna think I'm a ripoff. But, at the same time, I do think it helped me understand monster biology (and it helped me come up with the ULR biology) better, because I've put in a lot of thought to existence of a species that exists only by magic and a Soul (which, mine only actually have half a Soul, as a full Soul makes a being immortal, which was also similar to the boss monsters in a way). It definitely made a lot more sense for like, the skeletons n stuff for me, because like my characters are wholly shapeshifters but usually take human form, and while they have "organs" in the places humans would have them, they don't operate. They're just placeholders, because they just live with their Soul. So I've always thought the same with UT monsters, since the skelebros can live without organs, that means so do the rest of the monsters, even if they have animal-like appearances.

Off topic lmao. Back to UT. So, the Undyne fight was kind of the turning point for me. She was pissing me off so much during this whole game and like I was like "if theres another fucking part where I have to run away from her im going to scream." Well, once again, her name wasn't yellow, so I wasn't going to spare her... and, actively, I made the decision to kill her, because I didn't want to deal with her still chasing me later on in the game. It took me a long time to beat her, and when I did, I texted my friend (@cheshiregrinnbuttoneyes ) in excitment like "YES I FINALLY KILLED UNDYNE" and she texted back like "YOU DID WHAT?????" and i was like "i.... Killed Undyne????" she replies, "YOU DONT HAVE TO OMFG WHY" and im like "I DIDN'T HAVE TO?? THERE'S OTHER OPTIONS?????" and shes like "YES OMFG THAT'S LITERALLY THE PREMISE OF THE GAME" and im "WHAT."

So then. I get that call from Papyrus like. "HEY! YOU ME AND UNDYNE SHOULD HANG OUT SOMETIME!"

oh my god the guilt i felt.

alphys on undernet being like "omfg i forgot to watch undyne fight the human. ah ill ask her about it later she never loses <3"

bro. i nearly fuckin cried. i was like. Not to mention I'd gotten the crush question right for Mettaton's quiz in answering Undyne (bc i was like "plz be gay plz be gay") so it fucking cut like a knife what I'd done.

I don't remember when I let myself get passed it. But I do know that the whole story arc between Alphys and Mettaton went way over my head. Like, i know im probs the minority on this, but I adore Alphys, I have since I first met her in game, and like, when Mettaton was like "ALPHYS HAS BEEN LYING TO YOU!" i just went "...nah."

Also, I didnt like mettaton at this point, cause I thought he was being really obnoxious, and then the turn around to betray Alphys really kinda pissed me off.

But like.

Oh my god.

Remember how I said I swapped my opinion on Pap earlier bc of Sans's comment? Yeah that was a pretty fast turnaround, but it still took me a few times.

But the second i saw mettaton ex

I was like

"HIM. HE. HE'S THE ONE I LOVE."

Like, full turnaround from Undyne, I actively refused to kill him. All times I thought he was an asshole? Forgotten. Me thinking he's a selfish prick? Gone. Nada. Nothing. Pure adoration. Suddenly every flaw he had was pushed aside purely from how hot I thought he was. Also, fuckin, im really glad i played this when no one in my house was awake, because I still didn't understand the Act mechanic here, and every time you attack mettaton he has this like moan he does and im like oh my god. stop. omfg.

At the end, too, when there was the calls and everything, when he had his big turnaround, I was just so happy for him I genuinely cried. Also, I had to do his battle probably the most out of everyone's in the game (not including genocide), so when it came around to his battle during the (glitchless) speedruns i did, i was more invested in how fast I could rack up points, cause you need 10k rating points to pass, and I actually did get that before he lost his legs, but apparently he needed to lose those too before you passed lol. Unfortunate.

Anyway after Alphys talked to you and everything, i genuinely went to see if Mettaton was still there, but he wasn't :( so i just went to New Home. I was very ill prepared for the fight against Asgore and the only reason I struggled with it so much was because my only healing items were like. Something that healed like 10 or 12 hp and the snowman piece. I was LV 9 when i finished the game, so like, my HP was pretty high, but i didnt have the G to buy items, so i was pretty much fucked. Yes. I had to eat the snowman to win.

Oh speaking of terrifying shit though. Photoshop flowey? My god. I haven't been afraid of a video game boss so much since I was a little kid. It was like 3 am and i was not prepared for him to just delete my save file and then kill me on repeat, glitching and breaking everything as he pleased. Bruh i was genuinely scared. Like, not even just, "oh yikes :(" or something. Like, crying scared. Lmao im an emotional bitch by nature.

I of course had to restart from the beginning again to get the True Pacifist ending. I was very careful to never touch the Fight button literally ever. And, it actually took me a while to reset, because I hate erasing my original save files, yknow? But, well, as it turned out? While technically New Game+ by naming, resetting doesn't erase everything you did. It wasn't a new file. I was a little confused at first to be honest. Toriel saying things were familiar, remembering things I said, Papyrus and Undyne both recognizing me, like. It was unnerving.

When I got to the end, i had to look up how to get Alphys's date (since my friend told me the way to unlock TP was to go on all the dates, but Alphys's was definitely designed in mind of you turning around from New Home and going back to talk to people rather than a new reset. So after unlocking it, getting through Alphys's date (i still remember being like, verbally, "omg alphys you look so nice??" When she came out with the dress on and then had a thought to myself like... since when do i care about what people look like? since when do i compliment people? At that point, while I didn't consider myself to be a rude person, I definitely wasn't exactly all that concerned about others for anything. Sure, I cared about others' lives, but I tended to be a bit more judgemental internally, and just. Didn't really give a fuck about what people did in the most negative sense possible, unless it involved me. Yet, it rolled off my tongue like it was something id say normally to anyone. I really wonder if this is the true turning point for me this year.)

Getting to the end, with everyone cheering me on. Hoo boy. This was the start of many tears to come. Papyrus's "DO WHAT I WOULD DO! BELIEVE IN YOU!!" sticks with me the most. I wasn't surprised by Flowey's actions, but what fucking threw me for a loop was like. When Flowey was revealed as Asriel, I was genuinely jaw-drop shocked. I was like. Holy fuck. I thought he was dead. What the hell. To this day, though, i still think Hopes and Dreams hits me the hardest out of all the boss battle themes. It doesn't super bother me, bc like, difference in opinion is whatever, but like. Whenever I see Megalovania at the top of someone's ost list for Undertale I'm just... Why? Maybe it's because I'd overheard it meme'd to much before I played the game, but like, i dunno, it's not a bad song, but it's not the most emotional provoking piece for me, so it's pretty far down my list. Hopes and Dreams will still remain my #1.

I really did feel determined during this battle. I really felt a lot of emotion. I felt excited. I felt frightened. I felt ambitious. Asriel's battle is probably still the hardest for me, and yes, I'm counting genocide this time. I can't grasp his magic patterns at all, and I more so played it as a "okay, how much damage can i take? Whats his next move?" As i healed every other turn. It took me a very long time to beat him (though no 11 hours like Sans, this was more like, 2 or 3 max) and when I got to the part with the Lost Souls, most of the characters just said their "we hate you" piece and i was like "nope you're controlled" right.

But then there's Sans's "just give up. i did."

I genuinely had to stop. I set down my controller and just sat for a minute. I'd mentioned before how much I've been struggling with depression for years now, and it's at the worst it's been since high school. Maybe you'd think when I saw that, I was like "sure, maybe I should give up." But... It's really the "i did." that hit me like a rock to the stomach. While I do know a couple other people with depression, the most discussion we have with it is "haha i wanna die" kinda jokes yknow? Nothing really serious. And, well, I've always been the type to lean to fictional characters for support more than real people, since I've just been so disconnected from a lot of friends growing up and was too scared to talk about anything with my family.

So seeing someone else say "just give up. i did." hit me so fucking hard that I just started crying. I had already been in a real sappy mood cause the whole scene was so emotional as it was, even if merely the cliche of friendship will save all, y'know what? Its a good ass fuckin trope and makes me emotional lmao.

So, naturally, I was more hyperaware of Sans's implied depression from here onward. The conversations with everyone post-battle left me crying. God, so did the hug with Asriel. I was just fucking bawling.

Oh god. I didn't even mention. "Despite everything, it's still you." Another line that just hit me and I had to pause.

So admist my crying mess, I was telling my friend I'd beat Undertale again. He asks me "so... you gonna play the genocide route?" And I already had from the beginning. I always want to play every available route in a game. I see no point in paying for something and then not playing it all. I'd consider myself a completionist who doesn't ever actually finish anything lmao.

I definitely put my emotions aside for genocide. The absolute hardest kill for me was Papyrus, though. And i was absolutely fucking heartbroken when he said he still believed me as his last words. But I forced it aside. I didn't want to reset. I wanted to beat it to have it under my belt that I had. I was pretty sure the Sans battle would be here, since I hadn't heard Megalovania in the game yet, and I was aware of how hard the battle was, despite never seeing it.

Undyne's battle I'm more emotional about in retrospect than I was at the time. At the time, I didn't care, didn't like the theme much, and the dings gave me a headache. Undyne isn't exactly my favorite character (though definitely not my least favorite, that role is given to Frisk with Toriel not close behind ahdhsb im sorry), so I really wasn't concerned about it. Not to mention, I don't know why, but all of the battles I struggled with EXCEPT Undyne's I ended up liking the character more as a result. Maybe it was the dinging lmao.

Bro you shoulda seen how prepared I was for Mettaton NEO's battle to be hard as fuck. I was like sitting upright, took deep breaths before hitting fight, then when he died in one shot i just kind of "wh...what." Still very disappointed lol but I guess that's kind of the point of the genocide route.

Then came the Sans fight. As I said, I spent 11 hours on this. I genuinely didn't pay attention to what he said after a while, but I do remember the first time I read it, I was fucking terrified. Usually, sarcasm, hatred, and sass is very hard to convey through pure text, especially when it's said in the same tone as his usual talking. But the absolute harshness, the coldness, and the lack of any fucks given Sans had at that point was so plainly transparent through everything he said that it fucking scared me. Toby Fox's writing here was fantastic. I can only dream of being able to write like that. Frankly, I love his writing in general. Actually, fuck it, I love all of the artistic takes of this game. This is gonna sound weird but... The "childishness" of it just is so good. Like, there's no rules. Every socially accepted rule of art, writing, character design, speech patterns, and even basic grammar are thrown aside. He didn't just think outside of the box, there literally was no box. I call it childish only because like, children also create with no rules. They have no rules to restrict their creativity. And seeing that embraced in Undertale in every form possible just blows me away.

Anyway. The battle. It. Was hard. Thats a given. I spent about two weeks playing it on and off, and it's probably the most healthily I've treated myself in recent memory, because when it became too much for me to handle, I set it down and took a break. I would retain what I memorized and use it for the next time I picked it up. Frankly, it came to a point where every time I opened up Undertale to play, it was more just cause I wanted to see him lmao. The guy hated my existence at this point and it's not like i disacknowledged that. But it just felt like every time i opened the game... Idk. I don't know what I felt. I can tell you for sure this isn't the time when Sans started slipping into my favorite character spot over Mettaton, that didn't come until the development of Act to Flirt's first demo, which was a month or so later lmao.

I was very excited when I beat Sans.

But then, after it was over, I felt very empty.

I didn't feel good about beating genocide. I still don't. I want to play the boss battles again, cause they were really fun, despite how hard they were, but I can't bring myself to.

When I got to Chara, and everything went to black, I just wiped my save and started fresh. I think this was the first time I used the name "Willo" for anything. I just picked a random name to use, and Willo was the first thing that came to mind.

I beat neutral again many times, trying to unlock as many secrets as I could. I accidentally spent like, way too long trying to get Sans's room, because I couldn't figure out how to do it... which is when I started speedrunning the game, because I was just so used to going through it all. I timed myself once, and I got somewhere around 1:20:00 ish, which puts me at the very bottom of the NG+ Glitchless runs by like 30 minutes, but hey, it's still not too bad all things considered.

I'd started working on Act to Flirt sometime in between the speedruns. I was playing Papyrus's date again, and I had this thought of. What if Undertale... but all boss fights are instead like Papyrus's date?? I pitched the idea to my friend who was like "thats definitely been done before lol" and immediately I almost shut down the idea. But then I still had that glimmer of hope that, maybe, since I haven't made it yet, people would like my game because it was by me. Besides, quarantine was getting to me. I needed some way to spend my time. So on May 6th to May 7th, I spent the whole 24 hour period making the first proof of concept for the game, which was UI setup and Flowey's tutorial date. I hadn't made any of the art yet, so it was a black background with Flowey's undertale sprite. I originally was going to make everything more visual novel like in the sense that, so like on Papyrus's date, you could make choices like "unwrap the present" "dont unwrap the present" or "you look great" "you look terrible" and getting the ending would involve pretty much just saying the right things at the right times. But this alone was... Yknow, already done before, and part of what makes Undertale so great is that it's, despite its many outside influences, very unique in its gameplay. So I decided to make the dates more like puzzle-solving RPG's, and frankly, since doing that, I dont know if I want to go back to making other visual novels lmao.

After making the first demo and releasing it, I hit a creative funk. I wanted to make the next demo right away, but I forced myself to stop (since i was working 16+ hour days to finish it in exactly a week. I didn't eat much and i slept very little during this time too. Dont do this lmao). I didn't know if the game would be received, and frankly, I'd had many failed projects in the past due to lack of support. I lost a lot of support in the past due to the dropped projects I kept starting and quitting because I had such a small audience, and that made me lose a lot of interest and motivation to work on them. So I posted the first demo and waited. I was very shocked to have a YouTuber with over a million subs play it that weekend. Dantekris I think was her channel name. She speaks Russian, and I never understood a word she said, but I've still watched her let's plays because I enjoy seeing her reactions. I hate that YouTube keeps deleting my responses on her videos, probably because they're long and in English so it's marked as spam on a comments section full of purely Russian comments yknow. But it makes me feel like such an ass ;w;

Mairusu is the next large YouTuber who played it and my god I love seeing when he uploads a new update for my game because I genuinely have no idea what to expect from him. I don't know what it is but he's just so absolutely funny to me. He also seems to be the most common breaker of my game though. Stop making your own bugs!! I try to testplay to find the bugs he gets and it's like.... what did you do.... how did you skip that whole date im so confused thats not supposed to happen..... He accidentally skipped all of Muffet's date because of this too and hers is supposed to be the hardest in the game right now so I'm very upset by it;; i dont know how it happened, it never happens for me.

But like. I was definitely struggling a bit with the direction I wanted to take AtF. I wanted there to be a core message, like with Undertale and many other of my favorite things. When there's a core theme to write about, it makes things a lot easier to compose than if you have a plot with no meaning to it. It ties it all together for a common purpose. But, as I started diving more into the fandom around this time, finding not only it being still alive but still enormous and filled with passion.

Passion. Hm. That's familiar. That's the trait I gave the player character, rather than determination. While it was intended for giggles "haha dating game u have passion wink wonk," it started becoming more than that. It started becoming a manifestation of what I really felt upon finally soaking myself into the deep end of this pool I'd once been too afraid to step into. Passion. Everyone here is so driven by their passion for this game, the characters, its story. Everyone is so inspired and creative. That's it. That's what I wanted Act to Flirt to be.

A game made for those who have already dived deep into Undertale. A game made for those who have the same level if passion I've wittnessed. A game that someone might stumble upon, merely wanting any Undertale content they can find, and a dating sim leaves them grasping at straws, only to find it's a game instead deeply rooted in how much they care about this world and its people. You have a Soul of Passion, because your passion for Undertale brought you to this game. That's what the core message is. Every ending is supposed to depict different kinds of empathy, and True Passion shows you truly cared the most you could for all of these characters. Sans is so blocked from it because, well, how can he really believe it? "if we're really friends, you won't come back," right? But here you are. Again and again.

And Heartbreak. Whose heart is really the one breaking here? Taking the Hopes and Dreams of every single character you've grown to care for and crushing it beneath your feet... who is the one suffering in the end?

I just... I'm very excited. I've written that game with the player as the main character. Not Willo. Not Frisk. Not anybody else. You, the player, are the main character. I've honestly done a lot of looking around in the DDLC code to make this game as 4th wall breaking as I can (without like. Disrupting it as a game experience like ddlc is, with monika deleting things and stuff). Just enough to leave the player unsettled and confused. Like. "Me? Are you talking to me?" Yes. You. Directly to you.

I started sketching out designs and ideas for ULR around July. I genuinely loved Underlust after finding out about it, even though it was posed to me as an insult about the contents of Act to Flirt. I was both like "uh... Act to Flirt is nothing like this. Maybe in reversed roles at best but..." and also "okay but this? This shit is good. Thank you." But finding out it was discontinued and wanting more, well, that's when I decided to make ULR. I presented the idea to my friends, who were like "please stop making aus," and then continued onward. I told myself I wasn't going to work on it though until after I finished Act to Flirt... Then after the next demo came out... Then it turned out I was working on it too much and it resulted in me rushing my release of the 3rd demo of AtF because I'd been so distracted I was going to miss my release deadline of the end of August, before school. I... Still kinda regret that a lot. It's still very buggy. Though I hope I got them all for the next demo...

But speaking of school .... ha... Remember when i said i was going to transfer to another school? Well, I did, and for the first few weeks it was fine! Then I started skipping assignments I didn't want to do. Then I started panicking about my low grades. Then I started getting behind on assignments. Then I stopped going to classes. Then I lost all motivation to work on anything at all. I just locked myself in my room and did next to nothing with the occasional drawing here and there, for weeks. It came to the point where I was like "I just have to get through this semester, then I'll drop out." But if I ever wanted to go back to school, having all F's on my last report card would not bode well for my acceptance. Which lead to more stress. I didn't want to fail, but I also didn't have any motivation to work. I would do one assignment here or there, feel good about myself, then realize I was still months behind on work and suddenly oh god oh fuck finals are next week. And my solution? I just. Fuckin dropped out. Oh my god. It was such a relief to just get that weight off my shoulders that I'd been carrying for months on end, preventing me to do anything I wanted to work on.

Well. Then my car tires died. So that's a thing. But good news! Between commissions and gifts, I have enough money to get them replaced! I don't think I've ever like... Been so excited about that before.

And, well. Now I'm here, pretty much. God, I just went through my entire year summary, and it feels like it was both forever long but also not long at all. I don't get it. 2021 still feels like a far off future, despite the fact I'm now 5 hours into it. Yes, I spent 4 hours writing this. Whoops. Oh well. I couldn't sleep anyway, so it's not that big of a deal.

All in all though... Despite being locked inside, away from my friends, unable to talk to anyone about the things i was enjoying, and living in fear of getting sick at all ever with anything, 2020 definitely fuckin changed me for the better. It was a hellhole of a year and I'd never do it again or wish it upon my worst enemy, but I came out a better person... I think. I hope.

It seems cliche to bring back but fuck it. Undertale? My friend insists its core message was that anyone can be a good person if they just try, which I mean, it definitely probably was intended that way. But that never was the message I felt while playing it.

What lesson I took from it was "things aren't always as they seem."

Flowey betrays you immediately, but then you find out he's just the remnants of a boy who died years ago and is still grieving over the loss of his best friend, whomst, despite how much he cares for them, recognizes they weren't good to him and he'd been manipulated and used by them.

Toriel is a kind and caring woman, a still grieving mother over the loss of her children, who seems to have kindness to no end, but is actually filled with such hatred and depression that she regularly gets drunk, swears, and still, without resilience, hates her ex husband.

Sans is a playful character who is full of puns, a gross atmosphere, and decided to break physics just because he can. He's the embodiment of a comic relief character. But at the same time, he's suffering, struggling, in constant pain and worry. He's lazy, but quick on his feet. He's harmless but will kill without hesitation if need be. He's both caring and the least caring of them all.

Papyrus is like... a self-centered asshole in a way, when you first meet him. He prides himself and everything he does. Yet still, he's actually quite open and accepting and loves everyone. He loves talking with and being with other people, even if maybe sometimes he has a different interpretation of social interaction from the "norm."

Undyne comes off as cruel and deadly, such even being emphasized in many points. But, deep down, she's extremely caring for those who are close to her, and her only cruelty is dealt to those who have wronged her in some way.

Alphys is a sweet and nervous wreck who comes off as helpful and lacking a filter due to her tendency to ramble. She seems to be merely anxious due to likely social anxiety... But you eventually find out that she's a liar who merely wants to create a world to be a better place, and by doing so, she pretends all the bads do not exist.

Mettaton comes off as an absolute self-centered asshole. Like. There's no way around that. He seemingly has no regard for other people with only full intentions of helping himself. But, deep down, he actually cares a lot for other people, especially his family and friends, and just tends to get caught up in things while he's in the moment.

Muffet seems to be greedy with how much money she begs people to give her for the spiders, but, as it turns out, she's flat broke and drops no G when you beat or kill her. She merely needs the money to help the spiders.

Asgore, too, is built up to be this ruthless killer throughout the whole game, and when you finally meet him, he's an incredibly sweet guy who's only filled with regret, and because of his past decisions, has decided to put aside his hopes for the sake of his people.

I...

Didn't see any of these characters for who they really were right away. Why would I? Few of these archetypes are explored much in a lot of fiction lately, or at least what I've been consuming; and is more focused around how someone can change their flaws into something positive... Not how to accept someone for who they are, despite the wrongs they may have committed or the lives they lead. Everyone's different. Everyone's grown up differently. Everyone has a reason for what they do.

And it took me playing this game to realize such a simple concept that I probably should have learned years ago.

That's why I really think 2020 changed me for the better. I made a realization that I should have had many years ago, and it's made me a lot more confident in expressing myself, accepting people for what they do, and seeing the brighter side to everything. I say that, sitting here filled with nothing and void of all emotion whatsoever... But it's a conscious thought i have. My emotions are so weird... They're either on full blast or I feel nothing at all. But yet I have... Thoughts of what i should feel? It's weird. Idk. This is why I'm getting therapy LMAO

But yea. 2020? Fuck you. But also thank you. But mostly fuck you and good riddance lmao

#zircon rambles #a lot #lol #its very long im sorry #i spent way too long writing this too #also please don't reblog this

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jiahlgc · 3 years

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background changes + motivations

reward: 5 tracker points

1. assuming your muse has changed in some way, be it internally or as a result of a change of the external factors around them, how is your muse different? these can be as small as an opinion on a song they hadn’t released previously or as big as a major change in their background. (wc: 278)

sooah had multiple small changes, but nothing major about our sweetheart was changed.

for starters, sooah now has a stage name. she goes by lila in professional settings. i'd like to thank hyeri for being the big brain in this relationship and suggesting a name that has something to do with purple. even if equinox doesn't follow the same patterns as red velvet, lila is a very cute name, and it won't remind me of the pretty wolf villager in animal crossing as skye did. people can call her whatever they feel more comfortable with, so feel free to make your muse settle with whichever they prefer.

her background is pretty much the same still. the only change that i can think of is that sooah didn't audition to get into gold star media. she still went with her friend to the site of the auditions but stayed behind as she was approached by an employee and offered a spot. she got in just because of her looks now, and we know that was what happened with sooah 1.0, but now we make it more obvious.

she's still very hardworking in her training. very timid and lacking confidence in every way and skill, but she persevered. it was also brought to my attention by our favorite jamie, that sooah is the only one in famed now who doesn't have a main or lead position, and i'll wear that badge with pride because while you're all being talented, there's someone who needs to keep things humble. that only means she'll probably work her ass off to get better and be a better performer. we'll use that as a boost.

2. what does your muse think of their company and their group? (wc: 263)

there aren't many differences between fuse and equinox, so all her thoughts about their previous releases remain the same. she's a fan of their sound, and she loves equinox with her whole heart, from the concepts to the members. she wouldn't want to change a thing. she came to rely on them a lot since they were a huge part of her teenage years and maturing process. lila still loves that they have a duo type of concept for equinox, and likes how it plays out in the end for them to show versatility. her opinion on their previous tracks remains the same for the most part since she didn't have a total change of heart. she's still a huge fan and supporter of her group because she thinks they are great.

lila has been experiencing some feelings for not being recognized enough by her company when it comes to equinox's releases, meaning that she doesn't feel like they are seeing her improvement, and wants to keep the status quo when she knows she's doing better. instead, she's pushed to things that aren't related to performing, and even though those are fun and she enjoys doing those gigs, she's a little bit disappointed in them for not trusting her. sooah is growing up, and she's learning how to be more selfish or ask more for the things that she wants, so even though i don't see her going after gold star demanding better treatment, i can say that she's on her way to becoming more confident with what she can and cannot do.

3. is your muse on their first contract or their second? if they’ve renewed, what were their feelings around that at the time and what were their hopes for their second contract? if they haven’t renewed, what are their current thoughts on the end of their eventual first contract? (wc: 272)

sooah is in her second contract with gold star media, and in her mind, she doesn't know why she wouldn't sign with them again to keep their arrangement. it's not as if she was never unsatisfied with her company. in truth, there were various moments when she felt frustrated with them and their ways of dealing with schedules, comebacks, and even her friends' desires. she has her fair share of things to complain about, but she has to admit that they've done some pretty decent things. and this is also the home of her group, and she's emotionally tied to equinox in a way that will be very difficult to dismantle herself. that's why it's hurtful when she sees comments saying that they aren't what they used to be or that this or that member will be the first ones to leave. lila understands that it's just normal that talks like that take place since equinox just recently crossed that seven years mark, but it's a sore point.

to be honest, by the time that they resigned their contract, lila didn't have many expectations of releasing more solo music. she wants to, and she wants to be proved wrong, but she also knows that the chances of it happening are very slim. with that being said, lila wants to take the chance to expand her horizons in variety and hosting. she wants to be a more active figure in variety shows, but not only on tv but also on other platforms. sooah's room was experimentation that ended up doing well, so she expects to be awarded with more projects of the sorts.

4. what are your muse’s goals and motivations? (wc: 288)

as previously mentioned, i'll be using everyone else's better skills sets as motivation to make sooah grow, and that not only goes to performative experience but also personal.

she has always been the type who observes and tries to learn from there, and i think that now more than ever before, she'll be trying to find her motivation and inspiration from others. not the healthiest thing as she will discover later on, but i think sooah wants to see someone and say, "maybe i can get there, too, if i practice a lot", and that kind of thing boosts her to keep going from the checkpoint to checkpoint, seeking for something that suits her the best.

she doesn't want to become the greatest singer or the best dancer by doing so. she still has some sense of the ridiculous and knows that's far beyond her reach. what she doesn't want is to feel like she has stagnated. that might as well be sooah's biggest fear at the moment, and that's why she's looking to other people to try to figure this out.

objectively speaking, sooah's main goal is to be able to hold an audience by herself. as someone who has always been in groups (with her brothers always, then later on with her friend with whom she went to the audition, and now with equinox), sooah learned how to mix with the crowds and let others speak, but now that she's more confident, she wants to have stage presence not only when it's her part but through the whole performance. she wants to have a presence and be engaging, which isn't something difficult for many people, but it's something that she's looking forward to mastering this skill.

5. what is one conflict, internal or external, that your muse is currently dealing with, has recently dealt with, or will need to deal with in the future? (wc: 261)

her personal growth is a matter of constant conflict for sooah. her life is as perfect as one would imagine. she has a nice family, brothers she loves, and friends that she keeps by her side. she doesn't even have that many people who dislike her, to begin with. there aren't many things to complicate her dynamic with the exterior world, so we can only expect her to conflict with herself.

sooah isn't stupid, and she knows and understands that everyone has their limits. she just prefers to ignore that when it's with her. i've made sooah 2.0 a lot more impulsive, i guess. and a lot more of a workaholic than before and probably more than jiah is. she has two different brains to reason when it comes to this, but she's the inconsequential young person who thinks nothing too bad will ever happen to her because she's full of youth and energy. and because it's not of her character to complain about things that she does to herself, it'll be interesting to see if someone will end up picking up on that.

this means that we'll see sooah working longer hours, practicing harder, and since she doesn't live with her family anymore, there's a high chance she'll forget to have her meals at the right time and lose track of the hours she slept (or didn't). as i said, this changes almost nothing in terms of how she interacts with other muses because she has always been like this. sooah 2.0 just had her unhealthy methods of work enhanced.

6. if your muse has established career claims, what are their thoughts on their career so far? if they do not, how do they feel about not having individual activities yet? what would they like to do in the future, if anything? if they don’t have ambitions for individual activities, explain why. (wc: 250)

sooah has established herself as a variety shows person, as well as a producer and composer, and on the side, she has done some brand ambassador things. so she thinks she's all over the place at the same time that she isn't.

first and foremost, sooah loves that she gets to work with music even if she doesn't release that many solo songs. she expected that to happen, of course, since she's not a strong vocalist, but, before, she had some fear that music, which is something that became so important to her, would be eventually taken away from her since she's not necessarily crucial in the group. so, being able to stay connected with the process of music-making is probably one of her favorite parts of her career as a solo artist. she hopes she'll be given the chance to work on an equinox track sometime in the future. that would be nice.

sooah likes modeling well enough. it's something that she has been told many times that suits her because of her looks, so she takes it as a good compliment, but from all the things she does, this is probably the lowest on her list.

variety shows are fun and have helped sooah immensely to come out of her shell and be more comfortable around strangers. she's still a bit awkward because i don't think she'll ever stop being awkward, but she's a lot more open to experiences and doing things that aren't in her comfort zone.

#famedrstask1 #( queue. )#( +5pts. )

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gore-hovnd · 3 years

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/Vent

I haven't posted on this account in weeks and I want to so badly but I really don't have a single thing to say. Tumblr is the only platform I have where I can freely voice my distress without having to worry about people flooding my dms, sometimes it's nice but sometimes it's so intimidating. I don't know how to tell people that I'm simultaneously ok and not ok. I'm ok in the sense that my bills are paid, I'm making decent money, and I don't have the urge to hurt myself but I'm not ok in the sense of I have no inspiration anymore, I can't write or draw like I used to, I haven't even been reading. The last thing I wrote wasn't even an idea I came up with on the spot, it was something that had been sitting, completed in my drafts for a year that I got the sudden urge to pretty up and post. I haven't drawn anything more than pen sketches bc when I try to do anything more, I get frustrated and tired. I haven't been reading but I keep buying books hoping that eventually I'll get something that interests me enough to want to. All I do is watch TV and play videogames. I bought a second switch bc getting further in Animal Crossing is the only thing that makes me feel like I'm making progress with something. I've been doing chores like laundry and dishes only bc I can turn my brain off and not have to sit alone in my own head. Youtube has been getting repetitive, I watch hours upon hours of true crime content because hearing about gruesome murders somehow tends to be easier than thinking about how I'm wasting my own life. I have plans to move next year, but I haven't been saving my money the way I should be and if I don't get my head out of my ass, I won't be able to. Part of me is afraid to move bc I'll lose the decent paying job and then what? I'll be unemployed and alone in my head again. I live with my sister but I feel so isolated. I get scared to be around her because my moods are so volatile and I feel like I could be set off at any second and I desperately don't want her to see me as the shitty brother who thinks he can apologize and then not change anything. But sometimes it feels like aggression is the only way I can emote. I tried to start dating but once again, I'm so overwhelmingly afraid of it. I got distant really fast and I feel like I keep trying to force myself bc I'm convinced that once I know him better I won't be so intimidated. But I'm so scared of the attachment. I want to move next year anyway, so why would I try to get myself into something like that now of all times? My life feels weird. Too good to have the right to complain about it but my mental state makes it hell. The gloomy weather around here lately has been a comfort because it makes me think of Washington, where I desperately want to live but, just as I do with everything else, I treat it like some magical mental health cure-all. Nothing's ever that simple and I know that. The only thing holding me back is my own head, if I didn't feel like shit all the time, maybe I could actually indulge in the hobbies that make me feel fulfilled. Unfortunately the lack in motivation keeps me from being able to. I can't write without inspiration, there's nothing coming to my head. I've gotten overly critical of myself, thinking about things makes me feel stupid. Sometimes I ask myself why I'd waste time doing something I never plan on making money with even though I feel so excited to create. It doesn't feel like I actually have a life plan, just something I say to convince myself I won't be stuck working at a damn gas station the rest of my life. Everything is weird right now, I've been feeling shitty since January and the only thing keeping me sane has been the short manic episodes between the depressive ones. None of it feels like it matters, even now it doesn't feel like I'm typing this all out to get it out of my head, rather that I just want to hear the sound of my keyboard clicking.

#life update #leaves rustle #personal post #vent post

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hb-pickle · 4 years

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Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 - Review

Finally finished watching all 6 episodes of the Frozen 2 Documentary! My consensus is drum roll please... it was not very good.

Things I liked first: I loved watching the team get emotional when they saw their projects coming together (finishing Into The Unknown, etc).

Watching random guys rub rocks together for sound design was funny.

I loved looking at the Disney offices and all the merch, posters, art, etc.

The actors/workers were very charismatic and believable. They seemed to legit enjoy their work and were happy to help.

- -

Criticism:

The documentary promised to be a look into all the hard work, collaboration, blood, sweat and tears, it took to make Frozen 2, but it came off more as a look into the very final stages of Show Yourself and a few unfinished animation clips. So little of the actual movie making process was shown and it was extremely misleading and frustrating.

Songs:

Songs and the songwriting process were definitely the aspect of F2 Disney was most comfortable showing, but that’s saving very little because the attention per song was extremely restricted and lopsided. About 50% of the entire docu-series focuses on just Show Yourself while every other song gets about 20 to 1 minute(s) of screentime (in order from most to least discussion, it goes: Next Right Thing, Into The Unknown, Lost In The Woods, Some Things Never Change, When I’m Older, All Is Found, and Vuile isn’t even mentioned by name). And even when they did discuss these songs, they only showed the lyrics that got into the movie, no cut lyrics or alternatives were shown at all. So it was just long extended scenes of Jenn and the Lopez’ trying to decide whether they should or should not add parts to the song which we, as the viewer, already know were added. And again, they showed no alternatives, so it wasn’t a choice of A or B, it was A or maybe rewrite the middle-ish but no specifics.

They didn't even discuss the public outtakes / deleted scenes they've already released / planned to release like "Get This Right", "Seek The Truth", "Unmeltable Me", etc (they did mention “See They Sky” but nothing else).

The last thing I’d like to mention for this category is that they did discuss the intended emotions / themes of the songs they kept in. They talk about how Show Yourself was supposed to make you feel empowered and satisfyingly wrap up the story, how Next Right Thing was supposed to make you feel just as emotionally raw as Anna, etc. So I can give them credit for that. But again, these explanations became few and far between once they got into the “lesser” songs. Nor do they explain why certain songs were added to the story; for example When I’m Older’s entire existence was justified with “kids really liked it”. “Lost In The Woods” was an 80’s rock ballad because they kinda just wanted to make a 80’s song, etc.

Animation:

Again, just like the songs, Disney was very comfortable showing off the animation process, but only unfinished clips, models, skeletons, etc of shots that were actually used in the film and nothing else. But, I did have fun watching animators physically act out character movements, record them, and then animate them (ex: that poor girl who recorded like 5 shots of her own face singing, all super imposed on bobbing reindeer shaped bubbles for the Lost In The Woods scene lol).

The most new/deleted content they showed were storyboards and sketches of Show Yourself where we got to see alt. backgrounds of Ahtohallan and young Iduna and and See the Sky which was a dance-off type thing between the Northuldra / Arendelle soldiers.

Story:

This, and every consecutive category, is where this documentary was severely lacking. They showed no alternative scenes or storylines like “Hard Nokks” or the secret library. Nor did they go into the intended messages/significance of the story elements they did use, like why they chose to trap the Enchanted Forest in mist, why they spared Arendelle, why Elsa left Arendelle, why they chose a dam for the physical boundary they needed to destroy (even though apparently it was loosely based on an IRL dam that hurt the IRL Sami people; I got this from outside resources), etc.

They also don’t dive into any character motivations (outside of the context of Elsa in Show Yourself/Into The Unknown, Anna in Next Right Thing, and Kristoff in Lost In The Woods).

They very explicitly refused to discuss any changes they made to the script. In episode 5 they spend a lot of time emphasizing the importance of audience feedback but refuse to show any actual feedback (they even talk about how they gave out questionnaires but don’t even show us a blank one). This was very blatant and annoying because they spent a lot of time looking DIRECTLY at the camera going on about how important feedback was, how being willing to change was important, how they DID change things, and how change impacted a lot of the movie (ex: cutting songs and simplifying things for children), but refused to show anything. The one (1) change they did show was the prologue, so we see young Anna and Elsa playing before we see Agnarr's flashback, but that was pretty much it.

Design / Environments:

Character design and dress design was not discussed at all. They do show us a few seconds of fabric physics for Elsa’s spirit dress and show us how they designed Olaf when he was pretending to be Grand Pabbie (using his snowball feet as ears and ferns as a cape), but nothing else. You’d think that since Elsa and Anna both had like 5 costume changes each, they’d want to discuss that, but no. Nor do they even mention Iduna’s shawl / the unity snowflake which had a ton of significance in the movie. They also don’t discuss the designs of the spirits or their symbols (or even water animation for the Nokk’s body which would’ve been perfect in the animation portions).

Research:

The only research we see them doing is visiting IRL glaciers for Ahtohallan in episode 3. This was neat and all, but also very bittersweet because they really emphasized how spectacular and breathtaking Ahtohallan was going to be, but it was literally just an empty cave made of ice; and not even shiny ice (like Elsa’s castle) just dark, flat, and blue. Like I know creating environments is hard but Ahtohallan is very literally empty besides a few extremely narrow hallways and dark colorless abysses. Like it may have been hard to build in a computer but it was NOT creative nor something to boast about (especially compared to the concept art they showed). But this is all my opinion...

They do show a black sand beach which greatly inspired the black sea, but otherwise they don’t show the research it took to properly replicate the Enchanted Forest (like plant life and ecology) nor any of the locations Elsa and the gang briefly passed through on the way to the forest.

Most egregiously of all they completely omit the Sami community and their contributions to the film. They don’t address them by name or even acknowledge the Northuldra are based on them. Nor do they mention the apparent collaboration they did with the Sami community to accurately replicate their culture. The closest they get to acknowledging them or their hand in the creation of F2 was that the subtitles described Vuilie was a "yoik". Which does not count, since no one even says it out loud. You could dismiss all my other complaints about the lack of content and deleted scenes, but this is just flat out disrespectful.

Ending Note:

To me, I just don't see the point of this. If this entire documentary was condensed into an hour long YouTube video and explicitly only about the songs/animation I would've been perfectly happy and would've given this an A! Maybe even more because the little parts about the sound design and interviews with the cast would've been little bonuses. But I can't because this is a 6 episode Disney+ only "documentary" on all of F2.

Tl;Dr - I expected a lot more, but was severely disappointed. I wanted an inside sneak peak on the making of one of Disney’s most iconic and my personal favorite IP, but instead I got 240 minutes of Jennifer Lee and the Lopez’ trying to feel the vibe of Show Yourself and crying. Surely they could’ve cut some of that out to talk about literally anything else. Watching this just felt pointless and I was never engaged nor were my curiosities satisfied.

Extra Note:

For about 10 minutes at the end of one episode (which may seem short but that’s like ¼ of an episode), the documentary takes a detour to talk about Ryder Buck. Ryder Buck was Chris Buck’s (one of the director) son who died shortly after F1 was released, and I mean no disrespect but the sequence dedicated to him had nothing to do with the film or documentary. One of the F2 character’s was named after Ryder, but that was the only connection (they don’t even mention if Ryder in Frozen was based personality-wise on IRL Ryder, just that they shared a name). The whole 10 minute sequence was literally just a charity event in Ryder’s name and Chris and his wife sitting on a mountain talking about how they miss him. Again, no disrespect and I’m sorry Ryder Buck died so young, but a documentary on Frozen 2 wasn’t an appropriate place or time to talk about him.

Crossing out this section because some people took this as an opportunity to attack Chris Buck and his son, which is completely unacceptable and disgusting.

#frozen #frozen2 #disneyfrozen #frozen analysis #frozen 2 #frozen 2 analysis #intotheunknown #frozen2documentary #Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2

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lovemesomesurveys · 3 years

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Do you sit on the couch or the floor? I’d definitely choose the couch over the floor.

How many different colleges have you gone to? Two-- a community college and a UC. How much stress can you handle? It doesn’t take much at all before I get overwhelmed.

What is something you have to do before you go to sleep every night? I like to listen to ASMR.

How confident are you in achieving your dreams? Sigh. I’m a mess. I don’t even really have any dreams I want to achieve right now. I don’t have the motivation or the energy. I don’t have any confidence in myself. I really need to get my shit together.

What is one thing you thought you’d never do but have done or are doing? I didn’t think I’d end up like this. I didn’t have a definite plan with what I wanted to do after college, but I can assure you this wasn’t it.

Have you ever disowned a friend or family member for their beliefs? No.

At what point in your life do you think you will be truly happy? I don’t know. :(

Do you ever make pictures or shapes out of the markings in the ceiling? I did that as a kid sometimes.

Do you ever feel like your life is too boring or predictable? It most definitely is.

Do you really think money will buy your, or anyone else’s, happiness? It can certainly help. I think it could bring some happiness, like happy moments and things that bring joy, but it wouldn’t cure my depression and the other stuff I’m dealing with. It wouldn’t just go away. At the end of the day, I’d still be left with those things. The thoughts and feelings would still be there. Those feelings and thoughts hit me in the middle of doing something I like or if I’m having a good time now and I don’t see that changing if I became financially better off.

Is shopping a form of therapy for you? No.

Do you have to take medication for any mental illness? I’m not currently taking anything for it.

Do you believe it is possible for someone to change? Yes, of course.

What is your favorite food to snack on when watching t.v.? I’m not a big snacker, but lately I have been into sourdough bread and spinach and artichoke dip.

Do you like looking at pictures? Yeah.

Have you ever set 2 people up and it actually worked out? It did for a little while.

Are you good at persuading? Uhh. Depends.

How do you feel about tattoos and piercings? I’m not super into them for myself, but I think they can be cool.

Do you care what people think? Yes and no. Not as much as I used to. I wish it was because I’m now this happy and confident person, but no.

How many dirty looks have you received today? None.

If a loved one who’d died showed up at your door, what would you do? Uh, I’d be scared and freaked out to say the least and extremely confused. I honestly don’t know what I would do or say. I think it’d be a roller coaster of emotions. If it really were them then I’d be overwhelmed and cry and want to hug them and talk to them and omg I’d be a mess. It would feel so surreal. I’d also have a lot of questions.

Do you believe the dead can have connections with the living? I like to believe they give us little signs.

How many times have you looked at a picture and wished you were there? Many times.

And your name is? Stephanie.

How do you like your coffee? With flavored creamer or cream and sugar.

Do you have a job? If so, what do you do? No.

If unemployed, what do you do to keep yourself busy? My days consist of rest, social media, TV, YouTube, Tumblr, reading, playing Animal Crossing, surveys, and spending time with family.

Top 3 favorite foods, go: Wingstop’s garlic parm and lemon pepper boneless wings, ramen, and breakfast sandwiches.

What does the person who texted you last mean to you? My mom means everything to me.

How do you feel about polyamory? Not something I would be okay with.

When did you last have sex? Was it good? Never.

Which apps on your phone do you use the most? YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Kindle.

Do you go through phases when it comes to music genres, or are you pretty consistent in what you listen to? I’m consistent.

Does death scare you? Yes.

If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be? I’d have good health, mentally and physically.

Which family member do you get along with the most? My mom and brother..

Do you like horror movies? Why or why not? Yesss.

Do you play video games? If so, what are some of your favorites? I’ve been playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the past year.

How often do you eat fast food? Quite often.

Do you like sushi? Nooo.

Would you ever be able to become a vegan? No.

How often do you drink alcohol? I don’t. I haven’t drank going on 8 years now.

What was your favorite toy as a child? I was obsessed with Barbies.

Who was your first best friend? What is your favorite memory of/with them? Are you two still friends? These two girls, Crystal and Starr, in preschool. I remember they came to my birthday party at Chuck E Cheese; that was fun. No, we lost touch after preschool.

If you could see anyone in concert, living or dead, who would it be? I wish I could have seen Linkin Park with Chester. :(

If you were to get married, would you rather have a big extravagant wedding or a small private affair? Explain your answer. I don’t plan on getting married. I really just don’t see it in the cards for me.

Do you want kids? Why or why not? No.

How did you meet your newest friend? I don’t have any friends.

Have you ever watched the show Teen Mom? What did you think about it? Yeah, I watch Teen Mom OG and Teen Mom 2.

Are you old enough to remember MySpace? Yeah, of course. I’m old.

Where is the boy you want most? There isn’t one.

Where will you be 2 hours from now? Right here.

How old is the last person you kissed? He just turned 30.

Who was the last person of the opposite sex to text you? My brother.

Can you make yourself sneeze? No. Tilting my head back and looking at a bright light doesn’t seem to work for me.

What is your current mood? Blah.

What are you doing tomorrow? Same stuff, different day.

Who was the last person to sleep in your bed besides yourself? I’m the only one.

Do you think you would make a good boyfriend/girlfriend? Not at this time, no.

Where were you at 9am this morning? I was in bed, asleep.

Whose bedroom were you in last? I’m in mine. Do you think you’ll be a good mother/father? I don’t want to have kids.

Do you talk to the person you like everyday? I’m not interested in anyone right now.

Do you have trouble deleting your text messages? I’ve never had a reason to delete them.

Is there something that you haven’t told anyone that you actually would like to tell someone? Ehhhh.

Would you rather rent or buy movies? I like watching them through a streaming service.

What is the best part of your own body? Nothing.

Would you rather watch a full season of American Idol, or So You Think You Can Dance? American Idol, I guess.

Do you like to take walks? No.

Have you ever gone anywhere for spring break? Yeah, my former best friend and I took a few small trips.

Do you worry a lot? Yeppp.

Would you rather have big or small dogs? Medium dog.

Do you mind being cold? I much prefer it to being hot. I like wrapping up in a blanket or lounging around in a sweatshirt or drinking a warm drink.

What is your favorite sports drink? I don’t drink any sports drinks.

Do you keep a diary or journal (offline or online)? This is it.

What is your favorite candy? White chocolate.

Do you document everything in pictures? Not everything, but I do like taking pictures of things I want to remember and having those memories.

Have you ever waited for something for so long and then had it snatched from right underneath you when it seemed so close to grasp? Yes.

Choose one: being able to teleport yourself anywhere in the world at any given time or being able to fly? Teleport, hands down.

Do you feel more comfortable in public wearing jeans or sweatpants? I’m a leggings gal.

What is something that most people wouldn’t know about you from simply looking at you? I take surveys. <<< Ha, true.

Do you fear growing older? Yes.

Have you ever been called a tease? Yes and I was like wtf? I wasn’t the one leading them on or playing with their emotions like they were.

Is there something that reminds you of someone every time you see or hear it? Yeah, many things like that with different people.

Do you trust all of your friends? I don’t have any friends.

Does The X-Files theme song give you the goosebumps? It did when I was a kid.

Have you ever taken the batteries out of a Ferbie only to have it come alive in the middle of the night? Omg, that did happen once! Those things were freaky.

Don't you find those black cat clocks with the moving eyes and tail just a little creepy? lol yeah they kinda are.

When things get bad, are you more likely to blame yourself or somebody else? Myself.

Are most of your friends' biological parents married or divorced? Do you remember those commercials that scared kids into not playing around railroad tracks? No?

Do you ever wish your life was a sitcom, just so all your problems could be solved in thirty minutes? That would be nice.

Have you ever noticed how different everybody's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd bases are? I feel like it’s the same general idea.

Do you tend to set yourself up for disappointment? I’m always expecting the worst case scenarios, so.

Would you ever call a guy back and say, "Oh, sorry. I was taking a hot shower"? No.

Who do you get most of relationship advice from: guys or girls? I used to get it from both. Although, oddly, I was the one people came to for relationship more often and I had none.

Have you ever put your all into someone and got nothing back? Yes.

Do you think that you, personally, have been more shaped by experiences or by people? Experiences.

Do people ever make fun of your religion or lack thereof? Not to me, personally, but yes people do make fun of Christianity.

Have you ever put the television on mute and tried dubbing in new dialogue? No.

Do you say/do things a lot for shock effect? No.

If you were in an iPod commercial, what would you want your background color to be? They don’t make those commercials anymore, but rose gold.

What was the last compliment you gave a guy? I don't know.

Do you usually follow your head, instincts, or heart more? They all play a role, it just depends. I suppose my emotions do probably play a bigger role.

Where do you spend most of your waking time at home? In my room.

Does your jaw ever crack, pop, or lock? It pops sometimes.

With just your life, are you more optimistic, realistic, or pessimistic? Definitely pessimistic.

Is it hard for you to ask for help? Yes.

Have you ever thought of how you would give your kids "the talk"? No. I don’t want to have kids.

Do you ever feel like you're missing out on something? Yeah, life.

Is your high school ANYTHING like the ones in the movies? My high school experience was nothing like that, but I feared it would be going in. Movies never paint high school in a good light.

Are you going to be totally screwed if pigs start flying tomorrow? I don’t recall ever really saying I’d do something if pigs fly or anything like that. I don’t think...

Have you ever finished taking a shower and realize that there are no dry towels? I always grab a towel beforehand.

Do you love listening to sad piano solos? Sometimes.

Was one of your grandpas in a war? My paternal grandpa was.

Did you ever actually try to find the end of a rainbow? As a kid, I’m sure.

Are you afraid of jinxing things? Sometimes.

Do you ever write/draw on windows that are fogged up? I did that as a kid.

If you were married, and your spouse's parents became ill, would you let them move into your home? I’m very close with my family so I would certainly understand and would want to do what we could to help.

Have you screamed in a pillow before? For sure.

If a guy put his jacket on a puddle for you, would you actually walk on it or just look at him like he was crazy? lol aww I would be like you really didn’t have to do that now your jacket is all wet and dirty. We can just go around. I’m in a wheelchair, so that wouldn’t do much good anyway lol.

Would any of your friends dress up like a cow for a free chicken sandwich from Chikfila?

What do you like more, acoustic or electric? Acoustic.

Have you ever ordered something off a commercial on television? Nope.

What do you notice more, somebody's eyes or smile? Smile.

Did you actually have a cookie jar? We did when I was little.

Have you ever put on a shirt that came straight out of the dryer? Yessss. I love that.

Sometimes, does it feel like your life isn't going anywhere? That’s exactly how I’ve felt these past few years.

You've reach a fork in the road, do you go left or right? Hm. Right.

Do you ignore people when you're mad/upset with them? Not flat out ignore, but I become distant and short. I don’t initiate conversation with them.

What's worse, having someone mad or disappointed in you? Disappointed, definitely.

Have you ever gotten up early the next morning to do homework or study? Yes, but I usually just stayed up late and finished instead. I didn’t want to risk waking up late or running out of time and stressing about it.

Do you still consider Pluto a planet? I always still include it.

Right now, are you at a high, leveled, or low point? “And I’m at an all time low low low low low low low....”

When things go from bad to worse, have you ever been afraid of what kind of person you would be when it was all over? These past few years have made be become someone I absolutely do not want to be. :/

Do you honestly believe that good things come to those who wait? It can for some. Sometimes it seems like people are really just handed stuff with minimal to no effort, but generally speaking you have to work at it. I don’t think you can just sit around waiting, you have to get up and do it. And that’s something I need to do. I go on about how each year nothing changes and I’m worried about wasting away and doing nothing with my life, but I am doing anything to try and change that? Am I taking any steps?

What do you bite on more, your tongue, lip, or nails? I’m always biting my lips. I pick at my nails constantly, but I don’t bite them.

Have you ever wanted to fast forward your life so you could see if it was worth it? Sometimes, but I’d be afraid to actually do that if given the chance.

Do you think that knowing when and how you're going to die would ruin your life? I really don’t want to know.

Did you ever feel bad for Tom and Sylvester? Jerry and Tweety did often tease and provoke. You can’t help but feel kinda bad for Tom and Sylvester sometimes.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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woodshorenews · 4 years

Photo

RYAN: This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved True Crime, we take a look at the town of Woodshore, Washington, home to one of the nicest resorts in the country.

SHANE: Oh, yay, something pleasant for once.

RYAN: Let me finish–– home to one of the nicest resorts in the country, however, behind the Pacific ocean views, lies a grizzly and surprisingly recent series of murders that have left police stumped.

SHANE: Annnnd there it is.

RYAN: ... Let's get into it.

RYAN: Located off the coast of Washington, Woodshore is a small city home to about 30,000 people. It’s about a two-hour drive from Seattle. Known for its legendary resort that comprises most of the city and its employment, most people would describe the town as idyllic and quiet. However, murky secrets lurk below.

RYAN: On February 4th of this year, Elias Peabody was last seen outside of the Rail Yard Tap, a local bar. For two whole weeks, the police department said nothing about his disappearance, other than there were no leads. But on the morning of February 19th, local newspapers reported that his body had been found, believed to be killed on the 17th. There were no details on the suspect, and no witnesses came forward. No one knows what happened to Mr. Peabody in the two weeks that he went missing.

RYAN: Another thing worth noting about this time is that on the morning of February 9th, local law enforcement found the remains of a mutilated deer carcass on the trail. And while this may sound unrelated at first, it is worth noting that February 8th, the night before, was a full moon. This has led some local residents to believe that it might be–

SHANE: No, no, no, no. Don’t do that. Don’t go looping your other shit into this.

RYAN: Do what? All I’m saying is that there was conveniently a mutilated animal carcass found. By the reports of it, it sounded pretty uh... pretty grotesque.

SHANE: No. That’s just – you know, the circle of life. Animals being animals.

RYAN: Listen, I’m not saying it was a werewolf.

SHANE: Yes, because werewolves aren’t real.

RYAN: I don’t even believe in werewolves! I’m just saying that’s what happened. And you know, uh, most serial killers, they tend to start off with hurting animals.

SHANE: But he already kidnapped the guy.

RYAN: That’s true. It’s just something to make note of. Let’s keep going.

RYAN: Just over a month later, on the morning of March 13th, a jogger found the body of a woman in these same woods. While the jogger initially thought they might be alive, paramedics declared her dead on the scene. According to the polite report, she appeared to have been pulled off the path and dragged, postmortem, before the suspect covered the body with various brush from the area. She was identified by a family member as 31 year old Nora Wentworth, a local elementary school teacher. The coroner’s report determined the cause of death to be asphyxiation and blunt force trauma to the skull. She was dead for thirty-six hours before she was found in the food. Nora was never reported missing, possibly due to the fact that schools happened to be on spring break that week.

RYAN: Well, I’ll give you that one. I don’t think a– uh, a second grader killed her.

SHANE: Also, hold on. She’d been dead thirty-six hours and the jogger who found her thought that she was still alive? What about decomposition?

RYAN: I don’t know, I mean, I didn’t talk to them. They probably didn’t get that close.

SHANE: What about the smell?

RYAN: Maybe they thought it was nature.

SHANE: Nature? No, no. You know what? The jogger did it. Case closed.

RYAN: That’s not how it works, dude. I mean, c’mon. Resort town. These people are probably you know, just going about their business, la di da, not thinking too much about any of it. They probably assumed there was no way they were finding another dead body in Woodshore.

SHANE: But there’d already been one murder!

RYAN: Yeah, well, nowhere’s perfect. I don’t know, dude, but I think if it was the jogger, they’d have found out by now. Finding the body always makes you a prime suspect.

SHANE: Uh-huh. Sure. What are the police doing, anyway? Sitting back, eating some donuts like those small town cops do, hoping there’s not a third?

RYAN: Well, they’re probably hoping that, yeah. That brings me to my next point.

RYAN: The day after the 2nd murder, the head detective on the case, Detective Hannah Zhang, suggested a town curfew and that people not be alone after day. Mayor Combs agreed to this, and the recommendation was published in the newspaper, along with information about the murder. However, after the case, Detective Zhang declined to make any kind of public comment about the case or how it was proceeding.

RYAN: What’s also interesting about this is that, after the first case, the police department reacted similarly. And, more noteworthy, after the animal attack–

SHANE: Not this shit again.

RYAN: Yes. After the animal attack, they sent out advice about how to go in the woods without upsetting wildlife. Isn’t it interesting how they have the same level of response about both events? I mean – now multiple people being murdered, compared to an animal.

SHANE: I mean, listen, you said this was a resort town. Chances are, they just don’t want to talk about it so that they can avoid putting a dent in their reputation. It doesn’t have to be a big deal. That’s just how small towns are.

RYAN: That’s not just how small towns are. That’s shady!

SHANE: It’s not that shady. C’mon, it’s the popo.

RYAN: That’s a terrible excuse. But, unfortunately for this small town, the lack of answers coming from the police department ultimately ended up with more harm.

RYAN: On April 2nd, only two months ago, Woodshore officers responded to a distress call. Upon arrival, the officers found a young adult who was barely responsive and suffering from extensive wounds to the skull and abdomen. Defensive wounds were also visible, according to paramedics. The phone that was used to make the call was later found at the scene. the young adult was declared dead on arrival at the Woodshore hospital and identified by family members as Orion Rubinstein, a twenty-two year old college student, who had last been seen only hours prior in the family’s suite at the resort.

RYAN: Do you want this guy to murder you?

SHANE: I’d like him to try, yes. I think that would make some great footage. Besides, we obviously wouldn’t be filming this episode if he killed me. I’d be doing viral on Twitter. And you uh, you’d probably be... sobbing and trying to contact my ghost.

RYAN: Yeah, I think I would try to contact your ghost.

SHANE: And you would fail. Because ghosts aren’t real.

RYAN: Not true, but I digress. Obviously, we did get a chance to go to Woodshore in the beginning of May, and neither one of us was murdered. But could we have conceivably crossed paths with a murderer? Definitely. Now would be a good time for that montage...

RYAN: It is a beautiful town.

SHANE: Lovely town. Absolutely lovely.

RYAN: Unfortunately, we haven’t quite covered everything sketchy that’s happened in Woodshore in the last year.

SHANE: Wait, really?

RYAN: Really. And uh... you’re really going to hate this one.

SHANE: Oh boy.

RYAN: On the morning of April 22nd, three weeks after the murder of Orion Rubenstein, the most grisly murder yet occurred. The evidence is both shocking yet underwhelming in what it reveals – there were no significant fingerprints or DNA evidence to be found. While authorities have not released this information publicly, an informant from inside the department has revealed that the victim’s cause of death was a wound to the neck and significant blood loss. The wound in question was two distinct punctures, and while the victim was drained of half of his body’s blood, only a few drops were found at the scene.

The victim was the notorious Augustus Gallagher, a forty-one year old loan shark. He had a history of settling lawsuits for fraud and embezzlement, and has been connected to some of Woodshore’s more unsavory characters, including potentially a drug ring. While this connection has never been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, it raises some serious questions about Mr. Gallagher… and the motives of the Washington Night Stalker.

SHANE: The Washington Night Stalker. Every good serial killer needs a name.

RYAN: So you’re not going to comment on the fact that the victim had two puncture wounds in his neck and was drained of blood? All you care about is the name?

SHANE: Yeah, I mean, it’s a cool name.

RYAN: Uh-huh.

SHANE: And vampires obviously aren’t real.

RYAN: See, I agree with you there. I don’t think they’re real. But, it’s interesting that between Gallagher’s murder, and the whole full moon thing, there’s a little... a little drop of vampires and werewolves in this town.

SHANE: But it doesn’t mean anything because none of that crap is real.

RYAN: Right, right.

SHANE: Well, this is a weird feeling. Four murders this year and the police have got, what? Nothing?

RYAN: Nada.

SHANE: Wow.

RYAN: Yeah. In this case, the police has said so little about the actual case and suspects surrounding it, just that they apparently have significant leads. But, nothing’s actually come from any of this. With four murders under its belt, and maybe something a little more savory going on inside of Woodshore, this resort-style town might not be as idyllic as it appears on the surface.

But for now, this case will remain... Unsolved.

#woodshore: news #multifandom rp #multifandom rpg #fandom rp #town rp

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onegirllis · 4 years

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Since Life is Strange 2 is finally fully released, I let myself to write a probably not-so-short review of the complete season. The momentum for such a summary is already gone I presume but it took me a moment to finally digest and find the proper words to describe what I think and feel about this production. Following the game from the start, I patiently waited to look at the story as a whole, hoping to find an explanation for tons of burning questions and satisfying outcomes to my choices and decisions. Unfortunately, most of those didn’t happen, therefore I present you with a piece that is not very favorable towards the newest Dontnod production, harsh in places but honest. Please, do not read if you really enjoyed the story of the two brothers and find it meaningful and important, not burdened with any fallacy. Life is way too short to read reviews that just leave you frustrated.

Remember the scene in Life is Strange season one (I still hate the fact that I have to separate different instances of the franchise calling them seasons), when Max summoned by an enormous plasma TV in Victoria’s room fantasizes about watching “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” on it? “I like this movie, I don’t care what everybody says,” getting protective about her preferences, the little freckle leaves the room soon after, never gifting us with any explanation as to why she indeed values this animation so much or why it was an important statement. It was never brought back again, it will never matter, becoming simply a meme material or a trigger for snarky comments from Twitch streamers and YouTubers. I watched the said movie a long time ago, recalling only two things about it: the breathtaking animation of hair at the beginning and the fact that the main male character looked like Ben Affleck. The rest of the story fell into obscurity before the end credits hit the screen. I reached for this title only because I was interested in anything video games related, and the name of the popular franchise was more than enough.

The same thing goes for Life is Strange 2.

Just like the mentioned FF: The Spirits Within, the second instance of the beloved series is more of an animation than an interactive experience. Recently, plenty of video games, overwhelmed by finally reachable technology of smooth mocaps, facial expressions, hyper-realistic locations, and scanned people as characters, turned into an alley dedicated to B-class movies. From adventures by David Cage to Death Stranding, video games started to flip their working template, replacing the actual action with long animations, not the other way around. With scattered gameplay, sometimes forced as if the developers reminded themselves at the last minute that this product is supposed to be interactive, they raise an eyebrow at best, and boil your blood with the lack of creativity at its worst. Life Is Strange 2 follows this trend with astonishing enthusiasm and to the core. Even regarding this particular genre that’s supposed to focus on narrative, it barely stands as a walking simulator becoming a hardly watchable TV series — a road trip story where walking is limited.

Well, shit.

The gameplay in Life is Strange 2 is nonexistent. To be frank, riveting action-packed sequences were never a trademark of the series, but a blatant lack of any didn’t make this experience any better. With the first one, the rewind power allowed the player to actually be part of the narrative. The second, where Sean just serves as a witness to his brother’s actions, plays more like a full motion picture. An enormous amount of un-skippable cut-scenes change LIS2 into a tedious, dragging journey straight from the worst selection of buy 1 get 3 free Z-class movies. The music and the mastery in creating an atmosphere that rose Dontnod to international fame due to widespread acclaim can’t save those sequences either. It almost feels like their own creation so enchanted the development team that they ignored all the red flags and clumsy solutions to immerse in the world themselves, treating the actual player as a lesser evil, throwing them a bone just to claim it is a video game format. To no surprise, most of the items the player interacts with don’t matter at all and don’t serve any purpose either to foreshadow an upcoming outcome, present exposition to the world, or be in any way helpful.

The lack of superpower is not an issue here though. Before the Storm met the expectations with way more grace, proving that a story doesn’t need a lot of strange in life to grip and hold its audience for hours. Watching a superhero growing up is an interesting premise, but a hell of a challenge to execute and execute well. Some stories like “Little Man Tate” translate to a brilliant film, but don’t necessarily work as games, after the planning stage or first Game Design Document. The references regarding the first game also remain scattered and uneven, tossed on the pile with a heap of faith that devoted fans would notice, but without a purpose in mind.

Even if I sound harsh, I do believe that Dontnod wanted to deliver the best story possible, but Life is Strange 2 feels even too big to absorb or fill with details. Captain Spirit, not necessarily my cup of tea either, was in my opinion way more coherent, as the creative team felt more comfortable with such a small scope of a product. Everything falls into place after careful exploration, makes more sense with every minute. The mystery about the mother, an alumnus of Blackwell Academy, and an admirer of Jefferson’s work is a solid premise that didn’t raise expectations up the roof nor overpromise. The mystery of yet another mother, this time Life is Strange 2, played for over 3 and a half episodes, falls flat in comparison and ends in the disappointing question “that’s it?”

No, that’s not it. There’s more to it.

Life is Strange 1 was mocked as Tumblr: The Game, while the second instance could easily pass as Twitter: The Animated Series. The writers didn’t challenge themselves or the audience to answer the question of why certain people voted for Donald Trump, or why they would do it yet again. The only reason presented in the story is quite simplistic and obvious – because they are evil, deplorable people, not worth listening to. They are the worst. We are better. Issues of being harangued by foreigners about domestic policies and troubles of your own country are a brewing can of worms I wouldn’t like to touch at the moment. Still, this particular stance, which serves as painful generalization that every single republican voter in the US is foul, can be forged only by someone who either lives in a bubble or doesn’t live here at all. Simply because we all have parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, or co-workers who decided to elect the actual prescient to power. Some of them are racists, disgusting, and horrible personas, and some just belong to the scared of change, confused and manipulated crowd that don’t accept the fast-paced transformation nor the need for a revolution. We coexist together, arguing and fighting, especially during holiday breaks, but even if it costs me a headache, I wouldn’t call them evil. Millions of people voted for Trump, but only a few wouldn’t spit on a swastika if confronted with the Nazi banner.

It’s even more painful when you understand what kind of message was sewed into the stitches of a shattered story. There was no ill will, or at least I don’t think so, but an honest, genuine need to express the concern about modern America. Unfortunately, when executed, this concern changed into another yell or discourse by the family table during an argument with your racist uncle. An open discussion in a game community that unifies both left and right supporters equally by their love for this form of entertainment would be appreciated by many, just like after playing LIS1, a handful of people changed their views on LGBT issues.

Instead of a lesson that had to be experienced, we got a lecture about morality and tolerance, contradicting itself constantly and nonchalantly following the well-known tropes NOT in a sarcastic and admirable way known from Saturday Night Live, but in a lazy and sometimes even clumsy substitute of a dramatic format. The political landscape painted in LIS2 is caricatural, unforgiving, harsh like a deserted wasteland with a few peaceful oases to stop at, but shies over its own existence, not willing to thoroughly discuss the dreadful weather. Guess what? The sand won’t change into greener pastures only because you close your eyes, putting your imagination to work. Donald Trump might not be re-elected for a second term, but his supporters will stay in place, even more conflicted by the other side. It’s a brave decision to deliver such a punitive story but such a cowardice to break its pillars, hoping that the general public wouldn’t notice or get distracted when things get too heated up.

The lack of subtlety forced scene by scene is even more polarizing. There is no peaceful dialogue with the other side as if it couldn’t exist in this world. There is no change of heart or a path to do so. Sometimes it feels like the only message that LIS2 writers wanted to provide was to find your own, peaceful and liberal hermitage, either among hipsters in the Redwood forest, driving a car that your ‘family with money but no soul’ had bought you or move to a trailer park filled with artistic souls in Nowhere, Arizona. Any contact with the outside world can hurt you and your feelings. Drop off the grid or die. The end.

No discussion.

The efforts of trying to understand the motivation behind even the most dreadful character of the first game, got lost in preparation for the second. LIS2 builds a higher wall between two political sides, than any other game released after Trump became the president of the United States and desperately wants to keep it erected, ignoring the crumbling foundations of such. A proverbial river you shall not cross nor build bridges over since the only outcome would end up in death, destruction, or you and your young brother getting hurt.

I’m familiar with the discussion about LIS2, especially with a shouting match that if you do not like this instance, you are therefore a racist pig, a disgusting person without a soul, conscience, or working brain that doesn’t understand the situation and never will. On the contrary. In my humble opinion, we deserve a better discussion, better stories, better representation, not sticking to whatever is presented because it’s brave enough or was never approached before. I disagree with the stance that a Latino, bisexual main character is enough to close your eyes, omitting all problems that this title tries to shun, riding its high horse. No. Those topics are way too crucial to just walk past, setting for less with your head down, thanking for the game industry to take notice. You the player deserve better, even if you don’t struggle with specific issues on a daily basis. And after playing LIS2, you may feel so good about yourself, stating that an effort was made but it it wasn’t made enough.

I expected more. I wanted Dontnod to do more, and frankly, I feel silly putting so much faith in them and supporting their efforts. Armed with resources provided by Square Enix, I’m sure they are aware of the fact that most of their audience is quite young and wouldn’t mind a lesson or message about what to do amidst troubled times. Well, Dontnod doesn’t have any but warns you that voicing your opinion or being different may end up in disaster. Outraged, they just yell at the news, angry about what our reality has changed into, but nothing comes out of it. It’s all right, though. Our parents do the same thing. We started to do the same thing, but instead of complaining to family members, we have Twitter.

While Life is Strange 2 tries really hard to come across as a realistic and raw portrait of the US at the end of the decade, they didn’t have enough courage to show realistic obstacles two runaways would be faced with. The brothers do meet a handful of bigots and racists, but the rest of the fellow travelers help them beyond understanding or hidden agenda. Sean and Daniel never really struggle to find a place to stay or a warm meal, usually complaining on or off the screen just before the game mercifully provides them with a solution. There’s no trap they can fall into, no ambiguous characters that promise one thing and then demand something in return. It’s very honorable for Brody to pay for a place to stay, but if an adult man gave young kids a key to a motel room, I would consider a way more sinister outcome. It’s not even about Brody himself, since good people exist, just like the racist ones, but the boys not even once are put in a realistic, scary situation created by a supposed ally. If somebody is helpful, this person is always decent, offering them a job, a ride, some food or money. The bad people wear red hats and yell racist slurs. America by Dontnod is simple to navigate but raw and painful when not necessary and fairy-tale-like when it could teach an actual lesson. Running away from home is not so hazardous because of Trump supporters but because you can end up dead in a ravine, being robbed and raped. It’s not the first and surely not the last time when the developers feared to touch any topic of sexual abuse with a ten-foot pole, but then the journey plays more like a vacation than a desperate escape. Sean gets beaten-up a few times, loses his eye due to a brawl, but it doesn’t affect him at all in the long run. When Daniel finally gets kidnapped, it’s not an Epstein-like circle, dealing with human trafficking, but a religious cult that worships him. The first option, even if it feels like a stretch, is unfortunately way more realistic than the latter.

Preaching to the choir is not the biggest sin this game commits though. That brings me to the most discussed theme of the production, which is education.

With all due respect to the developers, writers, and designers, Life is Strange 2 in this aspect falls flat as a discovery of a Sunday father, who is responsible for taking his kid to the zoo and struggles to find any common ground with his offspring, either trying to crack jokes about famous pop-culture phenomena or talk about food discussing their next favorite meal. The said father is trying his best though, perfectly aware that it’s his only chance to teach his son a thing or two, but doesn’t know exactly where to start, torn apart between buying more ice cream and throwing a fit about a stain on the carpet. The father doesn’t even like kids that much and can’t translate his lessons into an engaging play that would be memorized forever, rolling his eyes and counting the days to his kid’s graduation so they could share a beer or two and talk about adult things. Now, any effort to explain how the world works seems to be in vain, therefore a waste of his precious time. Leaving the emotional approach aside, the father doesn’t have to cuddle with his kid when he’s scared, bullied, traumatized or asks millions of questions about the future or present, because the full-time mother is waiting at home willing to replace him in this duty. The mother, knowing that her ex-partner sucks big time at talking about feelings, will be the one who will hold the kid, patiently explaining that the boogieman does not exist, playing pirates, or stay late at night to distract his sorrows. The kid will never discuss his fears with his dad though, trying so hard to impress his male parent. He will never know, and it’s fine. The mother is going to do the job while he can deliver a once a week entertainment along with the lines of ultimate wisdom that most likely will be forgotten anyway.

This is not raising a kid, it’s nursing them like a fragile plant in a flowerpot, focusing on water, sun, and fertilizer, but discarding the emotional background, hoping that somebody else would take care of such issues if things go south.

Sean can’t raise his brother well, simply because he is immature and will stay immature for the rest of the game. There is no moment when he truly goes through a transformation changing from a boy to a man, a fully grown-up adult who takes responsibility for his actions and makes sacrifices for the sake of the greater good. No, surrendering in a fight in the church doesn’t serve as one, neither does the first sexual experience. He doesn’t wonder even once if the hastily constructed plan is benefiting Daniel, forcing it to the last minutes of the game, taking the separation as the worst thing that could happen. There’s no spark of a tragedy like in “The Road” when a father gives up his son to strangers for the sake of saving him. Sean doesn’t care, presenting no character development across the board, merely pushing forward. If there are doubts, they disappear in the blink of an eye when the next cut-scene takes place.

I understand that such a young lad as Sean wouldn’t know how to raise a kid, especially if having no model to rely on. However, a part of growing pains is developing the awareness that we know way less than we assumed. That said, Sean Diaz is always assuming he is right, not asking for advice regarding Daniel even once. Apparently, it’s not something that he’s interested in or ever will be. If Life is Strange 2 wants to pass as a coming of age story, it falls on its face before it even starts.

Moreover, locked in the auto-driven plot, Sean cannot grow up and gain a new perspective; otherwise, the story wouldn’t reach its big, explosion-packed finale of crossing the border. His desperate efforts of influencing his brother usually converge to order him around, feed him with half-truths or simply leave him in the dark when convenient. I didn’t see any difference or change in Sean’s approach from episode one when he scolded his brother, annoyed for his party plans being interrupted, and in episode three, when he reacts similarly, for the sake of spending time alone with the chosen love interest. There’s no deep thought, no wonder about his own wrongdoings expressed to his brother, no faults admitted, no fallacies explained, with one life-threating situation after another. From an illegal weed growing farm, to destroying police stations, Sean just follows the road, paved by the writers, oblivious to the harm done to his younger sibling, as if Daniel simply forgets the morally gray choices, growing his moral spine entirely on performing chores. Washing the dishes and peeling potatoes does not make us better people but understanding a perspective so different than our own does. Thanks to Sean, Daniel expands his world, but it’s a very one-sided perspective, focusing on always praised, hippie-style liberties, and disregarding every option that requires any code of conduct, as represented by the grandparents. While the older brother forces the younger one to keep up with the designed tasks, he never discusses the issues that really matter. In episode 3, the youngster gets involved in a heist, a robbery, but after it fails, costing Sean his eye and the possible death of some of their companions, this is never mentioned. Mexico, a plan that is hardly a plan at all, is supposed to be an answer to all the questions and doubts. El Dorado of knowledge.

This is not how you raise a dog, not to mention a child.

There is no emotional bond, no special ties between the brothers, except a few problematic moments that play mostly on simple connection forged by blood, not by circumstances. Sean worries about Daniel because he’s his brother, but the player starts to wonder quite quickly why and what for. Reminiscing about old times gets nailed down to a few lines about the comforts and amenities of a life long gone. The tough topics, such as grieving after personally witnessing their father’s death, are mentioned scarcely and without much emphasis, as if serving only as a reminder to the player, but not a poignant struggle. Same goes with the dog, their friends mutilated at the end of the weed farm chapter, Chris (aka captain spirit) who is mentioned just before the end credits of the second episode, and tons of others. On top of it, the scattered and not so often dialogue lines about putting people in danger refer only to the good folk, siding with the brothers, not to humankind in general. Killing a police officer or knocking down a gas station owner are just natural ways of how things work in America, honorable deeds since it’s apparently perfectly fine for a kid to attempt a homicide if people are mean.

What a brave story.

Chloe Price had been suffering for five years after William, her beloved father, died in a car crash. For Sean and Daniel, there is no grief to experience, but a memory to share with a plan to erect a monument in the future. Esteban Diaz is a plot device, a symbol of inequality, but not a family member. Even a dream sequence with his guest appearance lacks the impact of the subconscious conversations we’ve seen in Before the Storm. It just simply doesn’t matter.

I can’t believe I have to say this but the relatable part about LIS1 wasn’t the tornado, just like in LIS2 crossing the border is its weakest point, but it’s those small moments, gestures, quick smiles in passing, the atmosphere and a breath of fresh air when a line, sometimes silly, got dropped. In the most recent story, there is not a single line worth quoting, memorizing, or discussing. And please, don’t bring up “awesome possum” again. It’s literally taken from The Lego Movie song.

The brothers, just like Thelma and Louise, decide to leave everything behind, throwing away the life as they knew it and forging their own future despite all odds. Although, when the two desperate women drive off the cliff committing suicide, chased by the armed forces, there is nothing to explain as the audience fully understands their reasoning. Their will of life was strong, but the path they followed was too steep to return. Without any help or support, confronted with brutal honesty and the world’s cruelty around them, it is the best possible solution. The story of the two brothers, even if it tries to echo the iconic movie, couldn’t be more different. Despite resources at their disposal, family members that do care about their wellbeing, the whole community rising in protest in their hometown, they risk everything for the sake of getting back to the land they don’t even know. Their Mexican heritage is also mentioned just as an exposition, and, as we learn in the very last episode, just before the ending that Daniel doesn’t speak Spanish. So why do the stubborn Diaz brothers despite all odds travel to Mexico? Because.

Canada was too close, I guess.

Last but not least, let’s talk about sex, because why the hell not. A lot of fans or admirers of the previous instances howled across all social media about how much they miss Max and Chloe. I don’t really think it’s the case, but those two girls symbolize something that LIS2 has a tremendous problem with. There’s no emotional connection between the characters the brothers meet along the way, especially the ones that really should matter. Even the love interests feel more like nagging choices than anything else, an experiment during a camping trip, not something that would last or could be fantasized about. Instead of nerve-wracking decisions such as if you’re supposed to kiss Rachel, hold her hand, or the ecstatic discovery (for PriceFielders, but it was ecstatic, right?) that Chloe changed her phone’s background, we are instead presented with a lineup of sexual experiences, that maybe trail-blaze the road when it comes to topics tackled by a video game, but fall into obscurity as an emotional construction. There is no build-up between Sean and Finn as everything develops to a kiss in one conversation, and Cassidy has fewer lines than Victoria Chase before she invites Sean to her tent. We watch it as we watched it before, trying to get attached, feel something, but the only thing we remember was how much it touched us years ago when we played a different game but with a similar title. The sex scene, relatable or not, is stripped from the emotional intimacy and is as sensitively challenging as a dog being killed.

Character development doesn’t move an inch even if Sean, a surrogate father to his brother, lost his virginity to an older girl. There’s no single thought in his head that he might conceive his own offspring during this short but probably memorable experience. There’s not a single line except for the satisfaction of some female parts finally discovered. Oh, dashing explorer, will you ever learn?

It’s sad. I did want to like this game and gave it plenty of chances like no other titles ever. I’ve made excuses for the poor execution, technical problems, with the whiny voice acting that was driving me up the wall, plot twists written (I think) on a lunch break, and so on, but I couldn’t stand it. It’s a hard pass when it comes to a video game in general, not to mention the story, script, and everything else. Life is Strange season one; a low-budget production, was the first step to create a masterpiece that LIS2 might’ve been able to become. The second season didn’t learn much from LIS1’s mistakes, additionally exchanging the well-known beauty for a garbage fire, ignoring all the warning signs along the way. Delivering a story that tackles such important topics, it slides between the checkmarks on the board of issues, mentioning conversion therapy, religion, gayness, illegal immigration, and a spiral of crimes but never elaborating on any of them. There is no meat and potatoes presented on the plate of events, but just a sticky, sweet gravy with nothing underneath that leaves you not only hungry but frustrated, willing to call the chef and yell at the waiter. The trick is that unless you were living under a rock, there are tons of other productions in different media that give those themes justice, carefully unfolding all the aspects, giving voice to both sides. The fact that it’s the first video game having an affair with serious issues doesn’t matter. I don’t believe that anybody who consumes any kind of other media like decent books, movies, or TV shows can remain blind to the problems of Life is Strange 2, claiming it to be a good story. It’s not.

So here we are, girls, boys, and beyond. Life is Strange 2 with its broken mechanics, story, characters, and spirit slowly but surely will be forgotten. It’s Dontnod’s Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within that you might love to watch or play on your brand-new TV, despite what everybody else would say, omitting any valid or invalid criticism, but unfortunately, it won’t change the general optics about this particular piece of media. A lost chance or recklessness created a convoluted mess and with a heart beating in the wrong place. You might praise Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, get excited about it since it’s a free world, free country (and even if it’s not, no one will take this ersatz of such liberty) and don’t let anybody tell you what to love. The problem is, that most likely the only thing that people will remember about this production is that the main male character looked like Ben Affleck and the hair animation was dope. Everything else won’t matter.

The same thing goes, unfortunately, for Life is Strange 2, subtitle: The Spirits Without.

#life is strange 2 #review #honest #dontnod #square enix

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auroreswritings · 4 years

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Here comes my longest submission so far, with a little over 4,100 words, I am shook! I wasn’t inspired AT ALL at first, couldn’t seem to come up with ideas I liked enough to motivate me. I don’t really like doing things like zombie AUs and stuff like that, and the other word prompts were a little similar to things I’ve read or watched recently and I didn’t want to write something with the same plotlines by accident. I actually got the idea loooong after reading the quote and thinking about it while at work, I came up with the title first and couldn’t take it out of my head, and then this happened haha

So yeah, this is inspired by the quote : "You can smell it, too. Death. Dying. Decay. The sky is falling, the sky is dying, the sky is dead." —Bird Box, by Josh Malerman

I’ve never watched the movie, so I have no real idea what it’s about.

I would love to expand on the events of this one-shot, I’m thinking of writing a full chaptered story based on it, with more details, more characters, more revelations, more fluff and more despair, that’d be pretty cool I think.

I’ve had Adele’s song stuck in my head for days because of this, it’s killing me!

It’s also on AO3!

The Day We Saw the Sky Fall

It all happened suddenly. It was unprecedented, unexpected, unavoidable. The scope of it was remarkable. What was passed up as a minor incident became the end of most of humanity. These are the events preceding the sky fall.

Atsushi was sitting at his desk, filling in some urgent paperwork. He had to finish this today; he would be going for a short trip to Osaka the next day: they were holidays of sorts. It all started when Kunikida had complained about Dazai’s lack of interest in handing out his case reports. The suicidal maniac was lying on the couch, as usual, singing a made up song about lover’s suicide, as usual, and ignoring the pile of files on his desk, as usual. Kunikida, stressed out by a particularly hectic week at the agency, was lashing out on the unbothered man, screaming his head off for the entire building to hear. Everybody was on edge, and the animated exchange only served as a trigger for the massive bomb of pent up stress that had built up in the agency. In the blink of an eye, almost everybody was yelling, cursing at each other while the younger members of the agency were trying to hide in the corners of the room, away from the adults’ wrath. It was at this particular moment that Fukuzawa had come back from an errand, and upon finding the mass destruction going on in the office, he had decided to assign everybody on cases that would involve a bit a travelling around, mostly so it could keep all the detectives away from each other for some time. Hence why Atsushi was now rushing to finish all the reports he had to hand in before leaving, getting everything ready for his four-day trip to the nation’s kitchen with his mentor Dazai. Kunikida, Yosano and Kyouka were going to Fukuoka in a couple days, Kenji was to go back and spend some time with his family in Ihatov, and Junichirou and Ranpo had left for Sapporo to day before. Fukuzawa had told them he would handle new cases until their return, only expecting them to give their late files back before leaving. The office wasn’t much quieter than usual, Junichirou and Ranpo not being the noisiest detectives around, but still tension was a little less present in the atmosphere. The prospect of leaving Yokohama for a while had calmed everybody’s nerves down and they all looked forward to their getaways, even though they were still work-related.

To everyone’s surprise, Dazai had finished all his paperwork somehow and was lying on the couch again, his desk free of any casefile. He had managed it in a record time and Atsushi couldn’t help being a little jealous: he had less papers on his desk when they both started and yet, he still had about two hours’ worth of work ahead of him while his mentor was comfortably lazing on the sofa. Deciding feeling envious would only be a waste of time, Atsushi buried himself back in his work, blocking out anything else until everything was completely finished. When he finally looked up again, night had fallen and the office was empty. The young man tidied up his desk quickly, folding the last papers in their respective files before taking them to Fukazawa’s desk. He let out a sigh of relief as he crossed the corridor back from the president’s office. He was done, now he could go back to the dormitory and relax until next morning. His belongings gathered, he was about to head out and close the agency for good when he heard a shuffling from the reception area. Head picking from behind the glass screen, he was met with a heartwarming sight. Dazai was on the sofa, legs dangling off one side, left hand on his stomach, right arm folded over his eyes to block out the light. His chest was rising slowly; he was sleeping deeply. Atsushi observed the man for some time. It was rare to see Dazai in a weak position: most of the time he would just pretend to be asleep, always having an eye out for every little thing happening in the office. The weretiger smiled to himself before approaching the couch and gently shaking his mentor up.

“-Dazai, wake up.” His voice was a mere whisper. “I’m closing the office, it’s time to go.”

The older man stirred a bit, his arm leaving his face. His eyes fluttered open, a frown crossing his eyebrows as light hit his sleepy pupils. Realizing Atsushi was leaning over him, a hand on his shoulder, he straightened a bit, yawning and stretching his arms as he sat up.

“-Atsushi, are you done with your papers? What time is it?

-I finished a few minutes ago”, he answered with a tired sigh. Giving a quick glance at the clock on the wall, he continued with a soft tone, “It’s almost half past eight. We should get going.”

Dazai nodded and stood up, patted Atsushi’s head and went to grab his coat at his desk. The two of them left the building and walked together for a while, light chitchat rising in the fresh night air. The eventually parted ways, bidding the other goodnight and promising to meet at the train station the next day.

Morning had come fast, and the two men were now sitting in the bullet train. It would be a fast ride: it only took a couple hours to reach Osaka. Their wagon was quiet and spacious, their seats comfortable. They remained silent for a while, gazing at the landscape passing by the windows. Atsushi had a hard time hiding his excitement: the prospect of exploring the big city and discovering all its secrets was making his heart beat faster.

“-Dazai, have you ever been to Osaka?” The man looked thoughtful for a moment, pondering over the answers he could give.

“-I have, a couple times. Never really had the time to go sightseeing, though. How about you?

-It’ll be my first time. Actually, it’s also my first time taking the bullet train.” A sheepish smile appeared on Atsushi’s lips, his fingers nervously intertwining on his lap. His agitation made Dazai smile.

“-Well, how do you like it so far?

-It’s nice. I didn’t know a train could actually go so fast.” His tone was full of wonder. The young man still had so much to discover from this world; Dazai was sometimes forgetting he had escaped his orphanage just some time ago and had never had the chance to travel around or experience a normal life. His eyes soften as he looked at his junior.

“-There’s still a lot for you to see, I’ll take you to the few good places I know when we get there.” Atsushi’s gaze sparkled at the promise, happiness filling his entire being. He looked out the window again, taking in the green and blue hues mixing in the morning sun.

“-Where are we supposed to go?” Atsushi was jogging behind Dazai, trying to keep up with the taller man’s long legs. The Shin-Osaka station was packed and the tiger was thankful for his friend’s height; he was unlosable in the middle of all the busy salary men and giggling high schoolers.

“-We’re going to the Minoo Falls, some small incidents have been occurring and the monkeys there are acting strangely. The local authorities suspect an ability user to be behind it all.

-Monkeys? Are we going to a forest?

-Yes, the waterfall is in the middle of the forest, in between mountains.” Atsushi let out an amazed gasp. He had been to small forests around Yokohama before, but this sounded like a real adventure fit for their short trip.

The ride to Minoo was fast, only interrupted by a connection at the Umeda train station. As they rode their third train of the day, Atsushi could clearly see the change in scenery: skyscrapers were slowly giving way to lower buildings and houses as nature was becoming more prominent. It was almost noon when they finally set foot on land. They decided to grab a bite at a nearby restaurant: the way to the waterfall was a little long and sinuous, climbing up the hills. Enjoying a bowl of udon at a small restaurant in one of the streets behind the station really made this all feel like a holiday, and Atsushi was glad they had travelled all the way here. Dazai felt content too, the good food and peace of the small rural town was putting him at ease.

They eventually left for the Minoo Falls, trekking slowly through the forest. The trees along the path were huge, casting their emerald shadows on the smaller plants and occasional hikers. They walked past a couple restaurants and a temple on the way, following the river quickly running down the mountain. Nothing felt off at first sight.

As the roar of the waterfall was nearing, a man, seemingly in his fifties, approached them. He was wearing a uniform; he was a forest ranger.

“-Are ya those special detectives? ’have been waitin’ for ya!” Despite the serious look on his face, he seemed like a joyous man. Dazai greeted him with a nod.

“-Can you tell us what the problem is?

-Sure can, young man!” He tapped Dazai on the shoulder and led the two younger men to a lookout facing the waterfall. “It started three weeks ago. I was out on me usual patrol, checkin’ the trees, lookin’ out for the monkeys. Everything was okay, but I was feelin’ somethin’ strange when walkin’ to the fall. Ya know, when ya feel like a wild cat is ’bout to attack ya? Well, that kinda feelin’. I was still walkin’, and I noticed more and more dead trees on the ground. One or two trees in normal, but here ’am talking about thirty or more! I told meself it was strange, ya know, but I kept goin’. At some point I realized there were no more fish in the water. When I finally got to fall, I was face to face with a monkey. He was in a rage this one, had never seen that! It was runnin’ after me but I managed to hide in one of our lookouts. I stayed there until I thought it was safe, and I started makin’ my way back home when I found a group of ’em monkeys fightin’ each other to death. Had never seen anythin’ like it, ’am tellin’ ya!”

The man had grown more agitated as he spoke, muscles on his face twitching from time to time as he told his story.

“-Are there other strange things happening around here, mister?” Atsushi was puzzled. This sounded like a weird story indeed, but he wasn’t sure it was a case that required the intervention of the Armed Detective Agency. The ranger’s voice shook him out of his thoughts.

“-We’ve had people fallin’ sick, kiddo. They were just fine in the mornin’, and by noon they had to lie down and couldn’t leave their bed. Some of ’em went to the hospital but they said there was nothin’ wrong with ’em, just tired. Some clever woman told us she informed the government. Told us it was nothin’ big, just somethin’ in the water that was makin’ people sick, nothin’ dangerous. I don’t believe it, if ya ask me. There’s somethin’ strange goin’ on here.”

The two detective glanced at each other, not sure what to think. Them being called here meant that the police hadn’t been able to find anything substantial, leaving the hypothesis that these peculiar happenings were due to an ability user’s activity the last one left to explore. They thanked the man and began nosing around, trying to find anything that could help them understand. Just as the man had described, they found dead trees all around, and even spotted a few dead monkeys, some perfectly intact, others with huge scars covering their bodies. Atsushi was approaching the top of the waterfall when a sudden splash of water caught his attention. Thirty meters below, Dazai had dived in the water, fully clothed and without a single warning. Atsushi could feel the panic rising inside of him, images of the day he met his mentor flashing before his eyes.

“-Dazaaaai! What are you doing?” The young man tried to get as close to the edge of the cliff as he could without falling, eyes searching for the suicidal maniac.

“-Don’t worry, Atsushi, I’m just looking for clues!” The man’s answer echoed against the cliff’s rocky walls. It took him a few seconds but the weretiger finally spotted the drenched man: he was standing right next to the fall, apparently looking for a way to go behind it. Atsushi sighed heavily and traced his steps back, carefully walking down the cliff to find his mentor. As he arrived at the pool at the feet of the fall, Dazai was coming back from behind the spilling water.

“-I found something, you should come and check it out!

-Is there any way to get to it without going in the water?

-Oh, come on, Atsushi, we’re on an adventure! Get in the water already; it’s not even THAT cold.” The weretiger felt his cheeks heat up at the man’s mocking. He quickly took his shoes off and jumped in, clumsily approaching Dazai. The water was freezing.

They both walked as best they could to the back of the waterfall, water slowing them down considerably. A few rocky steps could be seen behind the water, and as they climbed them, a small cave opened in front of their eyes.

“-Is that all?” Atsushi asked, his lips turning a little blue.

“-Just wait and see.” Dazai winked at him and leaned against a wobbly rock, smirk flashing on his face. The rock moved a bit to the side and a low rumble followed. The ground started shaking and as Atsushi was trying to remain stable on his feet, the back of the cave opened, revealing a corridor with concrete walls.

-“Ta-dah! A secret hideout! Let’s go and explore it!” Dazai led the way, apparently unbothered by his cold and wet clothes. Atsushi was following, rubbing his arms to try and warm his shivering body up.

The hideout ended up being a secret government facility. The detectives had only been walking around for five minutes when two heavily armed agents stopped them. Luckily, Dazai had managed to deceive them into thinking the two of them had all the authorizations to be here, and they had been led to one of the higher ups unarmed. The woman had welcomed them warmly, apologizing for the rather forceful welcome. She knew they were looking for an explanation regarding the strange events in the area, and reassured them that the government had been informed. A small incident had happened, one of the tanks in the facility had spilled and a small amount of its content had ended up in the water. It was nothing to worry about, as the authorities had been warned and the people affected by the spilling were being treated. After this, Dazai and Atsushi had been led out of the secret property, not without a warm handshake from the woman and a plea that sounded a lot more like an order not to disclose what they had leaned today. By the time they were out, the sky had taken orange and pink hues, the sun falling behind the horizon for the night.

They walked out of the forest and found a hotel to spend the night at. Of course, none of them were satisfied with what they had been told: the woman’s account was far from convincing and some of things she had said were contradicting what the ranger had witnessed.

“-Dazai, should we keep investigating this place? I know it’s owned by the government and it’s supposed to remain secret, but I have a bad feeling about all this…” his voice died down, distress peeking in the last few words he had uttered. Dazai remained silent for a while, gaze turned to the night sky outside the window.

“-I don’t like this either. Let’s pay them another visit. After all, we have to get your shoes back.” He winked at Atsushi and got up, putting his coat on.

“-Wait, you want to go there now?

-It’ll be easier to sneak around in the dark. Besides, they won’t expect us to be back so soon.”

Sneaking in was easier indeed. Now that they knew how to get in and had seen a bit of the facility, they managed to get around without meeting a single guard. They somehow ended up in a laboratory office with desks crumbling under piles of research papers and cabinets and fridges full of weird looking substances. Atsushi was posted at the door, on the lookout, while Dazai was skimming through the papers scattered on the desks, trying to understand what was going on here. Apparently, this place was a secret research facility on ability users. This seemed all too familiar to him. Some of these papers were mentioning test subjects, all children, taken here to perform countless experiments on them. One of them caught Dazai’s attention. There was a picture of the child; they were no more than eight or nine. From what the research paper said, they had successfully been implanted with a man-made ability. The results had been promising until the child mysteriously lashed out at the scientists taking care of them, killing a couple of them and injuring five more in less than two minutes. The date on the file confirmed this had happened about three weeks prior.

“-Dazai, someone’s coming.” Atsushi had let the tiger out, taking advantage of its heightened senses to keep watch more effectively. Spotting a vent in the ceiling, Dazai gestured at Atsushi to help him reach the grid. Standing on the younger man’s shoulders, he tried to keep his balance as he pushed on the metal plate. As hard as he tried, it wasn’t moving in the slightest. He climbed down Atsushi and looked around, but before he could find another exit the door opened with a loud bang. Several armed guards were posted there, guns pointed at the two intruders. The woman they had met that afternoon was standing behind them, the furious expression in her eyes contrasting with the cold smirk distorting her mouth.

“-Who do we have here? The two little rats from earlier are back. I thought I had made myself clear when I said this place was a governmental facility and it had to remain secret. Guess I’m going to have to take care of you two now.” Atsushi swallowed nervously; the cold tone in her voice clearly told him she wouldn’t be taking care of them in a nice way. She slowly approached and caressed Dazai’s cheek as she continued:

“-What a shame, such a fine looking man.” She grabbed him by the jaw, planting her fingers in his cheeks, “I bet you would have looked good on my silk sheets.”

Before Dazai could make a clever come back, the floor started shaking, making the woman let go of his face. He took this opportunity to send her to the floor, knocking her out when her head hit the corner of a desk. Atsushi, also taking advantage of the quaking, attacked the armed men, destroying their guns with his gigantic claws. He managed to take down most of the men, the last two running out of the room to escape the tiger’s wrath. As the two detectives walked out after them, a loud alarm started blaring through the underground facility. Panic was catching through the building, shouts and heavy steps echoing in the corridors. Atsushi and Dazai were running now, trying to find a way out. The floor was still shaking, some walls were starting to crumble, big cracks appearing in the hard cement.

It was chaos. Men and women in lab coats were running in all directions, complete terror twisting their traits. Some guards were trying to guide them out while others had abandoned their duty and were running away as well, confused and scared looks on their face. Most of them seemed clueless as to what had happened but were still trying to get away from the center of the research lab as fast as possible, mimicking the scientists’ horrified behavior. The two detectives eventually reached an exit, leaving the same way they had entered, through the waterfall. Once outside, they ran towards the city, not yet grasping what was going on yet. Loud crashing noises could be heard, none of them daring to look back. They only looked around when they escaped the forest. The sight in front of them was bone chilling. It seemed as though the mountain had collapsed on itself. The government facility had been crushed by the shattered earth, leaving a hole in the landscape. Smoke was rising, clouding the sky, blocking the moon rays.

Atsushi was gaping at the sight, heavy breath barely feeding him in oxygen. Dazai was leaning against him, unable to process what had happened. As they both tried to come back to their senses, the smoke evading the fallen hill grew thicker, forming menacing clouds above head. In the midst of the threatening fog, a small form was rising, clearly detaching itself against the dark night sky. It took them a moment, but the detectives realized it looked strangely like a child. It finally came to a stop midair, and as it opened its arms wide, a piercing shriek erupted from it. Dazai covered his ears, he felt as if his ear-drums were about to implode. Atsushi had collapsed to the floor, arms around his head, a painful yelp escaping his lips. He crouched into a ball, attempting to block out the intense noise. Dazai covered the poor tiger’s body with his, hoping this would cushion the sound a little.

The sound stopped abruptly, leaving the two men panting. Atsushi’s strength had left him, the previous pain draining the energy out of him. All he could do now was lay there, his limbs as limp as a puppet’s. Dazai was still shielding him with his body, eyes focused on the child hanging in the sky. Were they the one infected with the manufactured ability? As Dazai tried to understand, a rumble roared through the sky as if the heavens had been teared apart. Rain started falling, heavy drops crashing with force. The child’s form could be seen falling to the floor, lifeless. The raindrops were hot against Dazai’s skin, mist rising as they touched the floor. A distressed whimper caught his attention. Atsushi was letting out small cries of agony; the water was fuming against his skin, burning its way through his skin. Dazai stood up quickly, dragging the tiger to a nearby building. They stayed there for the night, Atsushi’s ability slowly healing him, Dazai apprehensively waiting for the rain to stop.

After the collapse of the mountain, Atsushi and Dazai had managed to make their way back to Yokohama. Dazai, because of his ability, was completely unaffected by the downpour. Atsushi could withstand the rain for a few hours, thanks to the tiger’s healing abilities, but nothing could be done for the pain the raindrops were causing. Back at the agency, they discovered that all the detectives had made it back alive, but not without a few injuries. At that point, the rain had already engulfed all of Japan. They tried to fight against it, to no avail. As all their attempts to stop the rain were failing one after the other, the deadly clouds were spreading over the globe, leaving almost no chance for people to survive. The unforgiving drops were burning holes through cloth, melting the skin, destroying the flesh. Just as clouds enveloped the Earth, death was enveloping it too, letting but a few live, mostly ability users, who were better armed to survive the heavenly tears.

This day is now commonly known among survivors as the sky fall. No real answers had been found to explain what had happened. Some said it was God plaguing humans for their sins; others believed the government had been working on a chemical weapon that went out of control. Another theory travelling among survivors was telling of the explosion of a factory that eventually created the deadly rain. A few blamed ability users, but could never prove their involvement in these events. Those who knew better could only tell you that humanity’s thirst for power had been its downfall. Dazai agreed.

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ichigopanhpff · 5 years

Text

BNHA Fic: Blink! Ch. 14

Read Ch. 13 | Masterlist

SPOILER ALERT: This chapter’s not much of spoiler territory but it’s still within season 4. It’s character development time!

Summer’s last breath left near the end of September and brought the autumnal chills. All the interns were able to attend Nighteye’s funeral after the dust settled on the Shie Hassaikai raid. Both the school and hero agencies agreed on putting the work-study program in an indefinite hold.

Ren took two mental health days from classes after all her injuries healed.

She stayed in bed, completely unmotivated to do anything. Despite that, she ultimately returned but her attendance had scattered absences.

This alerted two certain students from 2-A.

When lunch time came around, two familiar second years came up to 1-A’s table. Everyone energetically greeted them.

“Have you guys seen Ren lately?” Seri asked with an underlying tone of worry. Midoriya and Todoroki quickly took notice of it.

“She said she hasn’t been feeling well,” Yaoyorozu answered. “And has been in her room since I last saw her this morning.”

“Gottverdammt,” Tomoe hissed out in German and went back to Japanese, speaking in a hushed manner with Seri. “She’s relapsing.”

The two rushed out of the lunchroom.

“Lange-senpai, wait!” a voice called out.

The two girls turned to see five of the first years followed them.

“What do you mean by relapsing?” Uraraka suddenly asked in between breaths. “She was with us during the raid.”

“If this has anything to do with Chisaki...” Asui assumed.

“We’ll explain on the way,” Seri promptly responded. “Come on.”

The rag tag group exited the corridor and made their way to their dorms at a quickened pace.

“Ren was basically a physical and emotional recluse when we first met each other in class,” Tomoe summarized. “Had a lot of trust issues after being bullied at her old school in the States.”

“Bullied?” Midoriya asked, knowing all too well of this.

“It’s… something to do with her family that’s better coming from her,” the tall girl quickly replied.

“When Tocchan and I managed to become friends with her, she’d have relapse episodes where she wouldn’t come to school for days,” Seri continued. “Her anxiety got the best of her whenever she felt herself opening up. We didn’t know it was such a big vulnerability at the time and thought she was just playing hooky. After butting our way into her place one day after school to give her notes and assignments, we saw her buried under her covers in her room, cowering like an abused animal.”

“We sat with her for hours until she was comfortable enough with us to talk,” Tomoe finished and clicked her tongue. “That dummkopf… She must be a mess right now.”

Finally reaching the Alliance Dorms, they busted through the door and heard a startled yelp from the kitchen. It was Ren at mid-chew with her lunch. The longer part of her hair was halfway up in a messy bun and was wearing a black slouchy sweater with loose cream colored sweatpants.

“What… are you guys doing here?” she asked slowly in confusion, her voice sounding rough.

Tomoe and Seri shook in anger and immediately ran at her; One kicked Ren in the back while the other punched her in the face. She fell down with a dull thud without having a chance to defend herself. Their juniors, for a lack of better word, were completely dumbstruck.

“Du dumpfbacke!” Tomoe yelled in German and went back to Japanese. “You had us worried sick!”

“You bloody wanking bellend!” Seri screamed in British English and continued to stomp on her. “Why didn’t you text us after everything?! We thought you relapsed, you piece of crap!”

The remaining group couldn’t do anything but stand there and watch the beat down commence. They understood their senpais were concerned about her, but this was their way of showing it?

“Lange-senpai, Kubo-senpai,” Midoriya softly called with a fearful quiver. “I think you should stop...”

“We’re not done worrying about her!” both simultaneously angrily shrieked out.

“Ren-senpai’s not moving,” Asui pointed out with fret. “But her arm is twitching though.”

The two girls huffed heavily and looked down to see an unconscious Ren laying on her side, foaming at the mouth. Once the tussle subsided, they all sat down at the couches in the common area and explained themselves.

“Relapsed? Well...” Ren trailed off and rubbed where Tomoe punched her on her face. Her voice sounded hoarse, like she’d been screaming at the top of her lungs. “I did for a bit when we got back, but it wasn’t as serious as you thought it’d be.”

“You look like you’re doing fine,” Seri noticed with a tinge of annoyance. “So why haven’t you come back to class?”

“I’m nursing a throat infection,” she revealed and went into a light coughing fit, covering her mouth with her sleeve. “The medication makes me sleepy.”

“Why didn’t you say so then?!” Tomoe angrily shouted, smacking her arm.

“Ow. Because you were beating me with an inch of my life ten minutes ago,” Ren briskly answered while soothing the stinging area her friend hit.

“You got us there,” Seri surrendered. Her expression went from nonchalant to concern. “… We saw what happened on the live broadcast.”

“Fight Chisaki that recklessly...” The tall girl gripped the hem of her skirt as her shoulder shook, unable to hold her emotions back anymore. “You could’ve died! Even if you did have a vendetta, I wouldn’t have forgiven you if you went out like that,” she angrily shouted.

Tomoe glared at her with tears in her dark brown eyes, now free flowing down her cheeks.

“So don’t go decidin’ somethin’ as selfish as throwing your life away without thinkin’ ‘bout your friends n’ your mom!”

Ren looked at her friend choking back her sobs with the saddest expression. The pink haired girl drew her into a tight hug and stroked the back of her head. After having a few days to reflect on her actions, she did feel a small tinge of guilt for doing what she did.

It’s as Tamaki and Mirio-senpai foresaw: she got blinded by her emotions.

“Sorry… for worrying both of you...” she whispered. “I wanted to tell you, but we were under strict orders from the pros to keep silent.”

Tomoe continued to cry into her shoulder while Seri remained pensive.

“So with Chisaki gone...” The silver white-haired girl softly spoke. “And Togata-senpai on an extended leave from school, what are you going to do?”

Ren’s hazel-green eyes gleamed with sadness and sighed heavily.

“Lately, I’ve been finding myself lacking motivation to come back...” she confessed and released Tomoe from the hug, her friend having now calmed down to sniffles. “All this time, I wanted to be a hero just to find that scumbag and bring him to justice. And now…”

She sighed again and leaned forward with her hands loosely clasped.

“I don’t know what to do.”

The pregnant silence momentarily rang through, feeling the weight of Ren’s words seep into their mind. It was Uraraka who decided to break it.

“It’s fine to continue on as you are, even if you don’t know where it’ll lead,” the gravity girl encouraged.

“Senpai, no matter how tough things get, I hope you know you can trust and rely on us with anything,” Asui soothed with a matching smile. “Even heroes need support.”

“There’s a lot more people out there to save,” Midoriya stated and clenched his fist. “The world needs more strong heroes now more than ever.”

Ren hung her head low, hiding her sullen face with her hair.

“Am I strong though?” she whimpered out with her right hand gripping her left forearm, still trying to make sense of what happened that caused her arm to dislocate.

“We can’t answer that for you...” Todoroki finally spoke up with clarity. “But continuing on to be a hero is what your brother would’ve wanted.”

Her head lifted up with hopeless looking wet eyes, letting out a small gasp.

That’s right: she became a hero for his sake from the start. Why couldn’t she remember something as simple as that? Somewhere along the way, she got swept up with the current, unable to think of her own motives as she ran forward. Ren turned away to wipe the stray tears with her sleeve.

“I’m a pathetic senpai.” She let out a dry laugh between sniffles. “Look at me, being consoled by my juniors over things I have no control over… I’m so lame.”

“You are pretty lame,” Tomoe teased with a comforting grin.

“But you’d do the same for them,” Seri remarked with a small smile.

The rose-gold colored haired girl nodded with a shy grin.

Two days later, Ren returned to class after recovering and her life fell back into the usual routine before the internship happened: Classes, study sessions, counseling 1-A students, and of course, the late-night training sessions resumed with Bakugou and Todoroki.

“I saw you try out that move fightin’ that bastard,” Bakugou casually remarked with crossed arms. “It was sloppy.”

“I was desperate,” Ren angrily quivered out and chugged some water, not wanting to be reminded of her screw up. “With the way I was going up the pillar, I couldn’t attack from behind anyway.”

“Stand,” the blond boy requested, with her complying. “You should’ve came at him like this.”

Bakugou charged at Ren and aimed his right fist low, stopping short at her torso and slowed his left that was aiming at her jawline. Not once did her body flinch, having gotten used to his movements.

“Your opponent’s guard lets down when you hit their core first and you can follow up with the finishing blow to kill ‘em,” he instructed.

“And if you add your quirk to it, you’d have an extra element of surprise,” Todoroki added. “Increasing your chances of victory.”

“Don’t butt into our conversation, half-and-half,” Bakugou scowled.

“There’s… somethin’ I wanna try,” Ren suddenly blurted out. “I need the two of you to come at me with your quirks at full force.”

“Are you sure?” the bi-colored haired boy asked.

“I don’t think it’ll work unless I feel my life’s in danger. And I can’t rely on it all the time.”

The three positioned themselves and as always, Bakugou was the first to attack with a mighty yell and charge. He shot an explosion with his right, only to have Ren duck under it with her speed and jumped up to dodge Todoroki’s trail of ice on the ground.

“You’re mine!”

Rapid shots of explosion shot out of his palm at close quarter, making Ren put her arms up in an X-formation and jumped back. The singe on her arms smelled of burnt hair and skin; she had to endure the discomfort.

“Hey! We agreed to no hits to the face!” she shouted.

“Huuh?! I can’t hear you over the sound of me winning!” he retorted and went on the offensive by using his hands as a rocket blast.

Ren timed it perfectly and managed to roundhouse him in the face, making use of his back to jump on to attack Todoroki on the back line. He came at her with his ice wall attack, but used her momentum to leverage herself on the already laid frozen crystals and flipped over toward him. Remembering how Toga moved when she attacked Aizawa, the airborne girl struck hard at his right shoulder blade with her hand of her fist making a stabbing motion. The shock immediately traveled up his body and brought the boy to his knees after she landed. She gasped out loud and turned to see Todoroki on all fours, sweating hard and panting. His arms were shaking.

“Oh crap!” she exclaimed and ran up to dual-quirk user. “Did I hit too hard?!”

“My body’s… just in shock,” he gasped out. “I think you hit a nerve.”

“I thought you said no face hits, ya dumbass!” Bakugou shouted from the other side of the room. Ren mockingly held her hand up to her ear.

“You’ll have to speak up. I can’t hear you over the sound of me winning,” she mimicked his previous response.

A short pause later, Todoroki was able to regain control over his body and plopped down on the floor to the right of Ren, glancing over at her, who was patting her face down with a towel.

“That move before...” the boy questioned. “Did you learn that from the raid?”

“From the enemy’s side, yes,” she hesitantly answered, not wanting to let slip who.

“Speakin’ of enemies,” Bakugou interjected and placed a hand on his hip. “What’s the deal with you n’ birdface? I take it he’s part of your history?”

Ren rested her arms on her knees, looking up at the ash blond boy. “We’ll talk this weekend. I did promise Kiri-kun, after all. That good with you?”

Bakugou glanced at his senpai, her expression completely different from how she was weeks ago. There was a sense of peace and openness reflecting in her hazel-green eyes.

“I’ll have to let Midoriya, Ochaco and Tsuyu-chan know about it too,” she noted aloud.

“Why does that damn nerd and the extras need to be involved with this?!”

“Because I owe them my life,” Ren argued back. “So grow up and deal with it, Bakkun.”

“Don’t call me ‘Bakkun’!”

“I rather like it,” she teased with a grin and rested her index finger on her chin like Asui. “Makes me think of ‘Ba-Boom’, like your quirk,” she chuckled.

“Senpai, your arms...” Todoroki pointed out. She looked down to see her forearms decorated with irritated red burn marks from Bakugou’s attack and clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“Bakkun!” She yelled and held her arms up for him to see. “You’re treating this right now!”

“What the hell?! You told me not to hold back!” he retorted.

“You’re still treating it,” the girl demanded and pouted like a child. “And you have to kiss it to make it feel better.”

“Like hell I’m gonna do somethin’ idiotic like that,” he grumbled and grabbed the first aid kit beside him. He carefully lathered aloe vera ointment on her right forearm, feeling the cool sensation sink into her pores. While Bakugou tended to the other limb, Todoroki unconsciously held his right palm over the already treated one.

A gentle chill emitted from his hand, sending a wave of goosebumps up Ren’s entire arm. She stared at him in awe while he concentrated. His head tilted up the moment she let out a small sneeze that sounded like a mouse squeaking.

“Sorry, was it too cold?” he asked with a tone of concern.

“Just a little,” she sheepishly replied with a tiny chatter coming from her teeth and sniffled. “But it felt nice.”

“I’ll hold back on your left then,” he verbally noted and tended to it.

“If you two morons are done gawking at each other like lovesick puppies, I’m heading out,” Bakugou listlessly spoke and got up off of the floor, shoving his hands in his pocket.

“Bakkun,” Ren called once more, making him turn around. She flashed him a grateful smile and said, “Thanks for not holding back and treating my arms.”

A splash of red dotted his cheeks and urged him to quickly turned back, merely acknowledging her with a gruff grunt.

–

The weekend came quicker than Ren expected and started getting nervous. She was picking at an invisible hangnail on her finger, staring at the box on the floor still. Ren mentioned in passing to Tomoe and Seri about what she was going to do, only to be met with an understanding and concerned look. Before they could say anything, she reassured them it was fine; their trust was forged in the fires of battle with her.

Perhaps she should’ve asked them to be here for moral support and inwardly groaned.

A soft rap of the door jolted her brain back and swallowed hard.

“Here goes nothing...” she whispered to herself and opened her door and invited her guests in.

#mha spoilers #bnha spoilers #todoroki shouto #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #deku #mha oc #bnha oc #mha season 4 #bnha season 4 #bnha midoriya #mha midoriya #mha bakugo katsuki #bnha bakugo katsuki #mha todoroki #bnha todoroki

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venus-says · 5 years

Text

Star Twinkle Precure Episodes 17-20

Cure Cosmo says Happy Pride!

No, I’m not dead!!

Okay, maybe I am. But that’s more like a spiritual thing rather than a health issue.

I don’t know why I’ve been procrastinating and delaying this. I just have more fun spending an hour watching people play RPG than watching anime. Not that Star Twinkle is bad or anything, I'm just not feeling it anymore the way I used to in its first 5 episodes or so, and I have no one to blame other than myself and how my life has been in the past 3~4 months.

But anyway, enough babbling, let's go to the episodes.

Episode 17 was... meh? As much as I like Blue Cat and all this episode was pretty bland. I also don’t like how they reused the planet AND EVEN THE FIRST SCENE WAS ALMOST THE SAME AS THE ONE IN EPISODE 15. Like, if you wanna do something with Blue Cat you can do it on another planet. She’s a thief, she travels space stealing, there’s no need to reuse a planet and use such a bland plot for it.

Another flaw of this episode is that this is obviously a Blue Cat focused episode, but since they have to justify Elena getting the new pen they try to focus on her as well. But in the way they’ve done we got way more Blue Cat and Hikaru rather than Elena, so when they try to make a nice moment with Soleil before she gets the pen it falls flat because who interacted more with Blue Cat was Hikaru, not Elena. In the end, it feels more like they’re saying burglary is okay rather than trying to be nice to someone.

The last complaint I have about this one is how Drums says he has investigated both the girls and Blue Cat but HE DOESN’T KNOW THEY’RE PRECURE. Is something dumb to complain about, but is me we’re talking about so. XD

But this episode isn’t all that bad. First I like how they’ve kept Elena as being the diplomat of the group, is a role that fits her very well and I’m always down to see it more in action. Second, Hikaru is absolutely amazing in this episode, she shone in this episode and her comedic scenes were just the best. And last but not least, I like how they planted things that would become relevant in the future (given that is a REALLY NEAR future, but it was still nice).

Different from the last one, Episode 18 was AMAZING. I liked the plot and it was nice finally getting to see more of Hikaru’s family, all we’ve known till this point was she has a strict grandfather, a grandma, her mother, and her absent father and a dog, and that was all. Now we know her mother is an aspiring mangaka and her father works traveling the world, that’s neat.

Hikaru's mom is really cool and I think in the end she serves as a good example both for kids and the older precure audience. It is the same "keep chasing your dreams" motto that we always see, but a reinforcement of the thing is never too much.

Another beautiful thing about this episode is the Mom-Daugther relationship between Terumi and Hikaru. They bond over something most people would consider childish, but for them, that's really important and it's what makes them support each other so well.

But the lesson I take from this episode as the most important one is what Terumi says to Hikaru in the flashback: You don't have to like what everyone likes. Just pick the things that really resonate with you and be passionate about them because independent of what others think they're precious to you and you should treasure them without the fear of being judged. Just beautiful.

And to not ignore the precure side of things, the fight was nice too, I like when they make things with paint and paper and they somehow integrate that to the monster's fight style. Yes is a shame that is such a short fight, but I know that this is there just because is "mandatory" so is not that big of a deal.

If there's one bad thing to say about Episode 18 is that it somehow feels lost in the timeline...? It's kinda like Episode 16 with Madoka's competition that came out of the blue. They are good episodes, but their placement doesn't feel right. I think that because they got smushed inside the Blue Cat ark in a way to fill it up in order to not make Cure Cosmo feel like an outsider of the group they sit on this void of the timeline where isolated they're great but when you watch them in a batch there's something weird about them. It’s not really a big deal, but this made me feel like Lala trying to read manga upside down. XD

Episode 19 brings us back to the Blue Cat plot.

It shares the same problem as 17 does. This is an obvious Blue Cat episode, but since Lala has to get a pen in the end, they try to shine her more. But it doesn’t work. Her moment protecting Blue Cat of the Nottrigger works better than Soleil’s moment but is still lacking in my mind. But this is the only negative feeling I have about this one. But this is an episode of reveals and these reveals make for a more interesting episode than 17 was.

First, Eyewon petrifying an entire planet, so far we’ve seen the black pens’ power and being honest they never seemed to hold that much power on them before, but now to see how destructive they can be is really a shocker.

Second and most important, BLUE CAT WAS BAKENYAN ALL THE TIME. I never saw THAT coming. Yes I had my suspicions about Bakenyan before, he always looked very shady even for a villain, but it never crossed my mind that he could’ve been Blue Cat. That really exploded my mind.

I wish they’ve worked a little more in explaining the background of the whole situation because in the way it was done it was a little confusing timeline-wise, but I know the next episode is a direct continuation of this so it’s not a problem since it has room to clear these issues.

I also feel a bit weird about the ending. Because we’ve spent 19 episodes with the villains trying to steal the pens BUT BLUE CAT HAS DONE IT IN LESS THAN 30 SECONDS. AND SHE ALSO STOLE FUWA. I get that they needed a way to put those elements in her hand so that she can transform but cmon, this was way too easy.

Episode 20 is the beginning of this ark’s climax.

This episode is amazing. I watched the whole thing glued to my chair doing nothing and witnessing this masterpiece. I didn’t take notes to write about, I didn’t take timestamps to make gifs, I didn’t even take screenshots to illustrate this post, I had to watch a second time and even in the second time I’d space out and forget about what I was doing because I was enjoying it so much.

This entire episode feels heavy, and they put you in the same mood as the characters are. We feel the tension of the cures, the sadness of Blue Cat and even the anger from Eyewon. Everything works very well.

We touch in Blue Cat’s past and get the explanation I feel that was needed from the last episode. I wish we could’ve gotten a little more, or at least got to know Blue Cat’s real name from it, but it was still nice to see how that world was and actually see a planet that “died” from the Nottrayders influence. We’ve barely seen any of that and make it feel like they’re not a real threat but now we know what they really can do. It was an accident but still got that entire planet doomed.

I wish we could’ve seen more of Eyewon and how the Bakenyan betrayal messed with her, but I believe this will be touched on the next episode so no complaints there, I’m just very excited to see it.

Another thing I wanna mention is, what’s the thing with Hikaru’s grandpa? We’ve seen him here and in the last episode in a kind of prologue with things related to rain and it seems like they’re trying to build up for something that’s about to come. I have a feeling that it will be something to play with Cosmo and how she’s the “rainbow spectrum that shines in the galaxy” and they’re just trying to allude to that, but I wish it was something else, maybe related to the next ark.

And since we touched in the Cosmo subject, let’s talk about her!

I like all those confrontational scenes of the girls and Blue Cat before the real action takes place, but I think the connection they tried to make with her and Cure Star was a bit weak, they tried to make as both motivations having the same weight but I don’t see that way. As I see it Cosmo has a much bigger burden on her shoulders because, 1 she’s alone, 2 she saw the horrors of what the Notrayders are capable of. But I can get past that.

The actual moment of her transformation was really nice. When she steps up and tries to protect them it is made to be as “she’s doing something out of character because of the influence of the cures” but in reality, she was just being true to herself. She wants to do good, she wants to protect people, if that wasn’t her nature she wouldn’t have become Blue Cat in the first place because she would just run away and not try to revive her planet. And I think that this was one of the reasons why Fuwa was comfortable around her even though at that moment she was being kidnapped, she saw the good on Blue Cat all the time and this culminates on her becoming Cure Cosmo moments later.

Cure Cosmo is amazing. I admit, I wasn’t happy with her from the leaks, more so because of the leaks themselves than with her design and everything, but still I wasn’t keen on having a fifth cure. But after seeing Blue Cat, and that gorgeous transformation I completely fell in love with her. I love how elaborate it is, there are prisms refracting the light all around, the moment she paints each tile of her skirt, that moment when she sticks her tongue out is just amazing, but the real highlight is right at the beginning when we see all of her personas showing up, is just beautiful. I can’t wait to finally see her more in action from here on now.

The last thing I have to say. When Fuwa summons Bue Cat’s pendant we cut off to Princess Taurus and Darknest for a brief second and that got me really intrigued. This, together with those Hikaru’s grandpa prologues, makes me want to believe that something even greater than Cure Cosmo is about to come. I’m don’t wanna get excited for nothing, but I can’t deny that I already am. XD

And I guess that's it.

I wish we lived on a planet where a day lasted for 32 hours so that I could promise you all to be back soon but sadly, that's not the case so I don't know when I'll have the time and be in the mood for it so... sorry. XD

See ya next time~

#Star Twinkle Precure #precure

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forever-forgotten-angel · 5 years

Text

Little Acts of Anxiety

Warnings: Hints of Virgil having romantic feelings for Thomas towards the end, though it’s mostly platonic.

Summary: Just a moderately fluffy pre-Accepting Anxiety idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. Hello, I was babysitting for a friend last night and the kid fell asleep. My phone was dead so I grabbed some paper and started writing and ended up with this story, well the outline anyway. I added a bunch of stuff as I was typing it up this morning. Hope you enjoy!

The first time Thomas had ever noticed was by complete chance.

He had been up well into the early hours of the morning editing his most recent video. He only had a bit left to go, but his eyes were drooping. He stretched out his stiff muscles and lied down on the couch, promising he would just let his eyes rest for a few minutes. So of course, he promptly fell asleep.

He jolted awake as he rolled over in his sleep and almost fell. He sat up and was confused to find himself in his bed. He hadn’t remembered coming upstairs. He was about to shrug it off as him just being too tired to remember coming to bed and go back to sleep when he heard noise from the floor below him.

He stood up, grabbing his phone off his nightstand just in case he needed to make an emergency call. He crept warily out of his room and to the stairs, avoiding the places where he knew the floor creaked. Moving as quietly as he could, he descended the stairs and peered into his living room where the sound was coming from.

He found Anxiety sitting on the couch and with Thomas’ open laptop on his lap, using it for, well Thomas couldn’t really be sure. He stood, just watching the side in shock for a several minutes, wondering if he was still asleep. But no, Anxiety was there. Thomas felt himself shift from shock to anger. Who the heck gave Anxiety the right to mess with his computer without permission?

He was about to confront the hoodie clad man when he suddenly shut Thomas laptop, placed it gently down on the coffee table, and sunk out of the room. Thomas was tempted to call him back and demand an explanation, but decided to check the computer himself first.

He opened the still warm laptop up again and turned it back on. He couldn’t find anything wrong. Nothing seemed to be altered, no embarrassing photos were pulled up for him to cringe at, no harsh reminders of upcoming events, nothing he would associate with the anxious side. He went to shut the computer down once more, figuring the man must have just been web surfing, which wasn’t too bad though he still should have asked before using someone else’s computer, when he noticed something. The video he was absolutely sure he hadn’t quite finished editing when he dozed off was now completed.

But Anxiety wouldn’t have done that…right?

The next day, Thomas made sure to mention to Patton his surprise at the video being finished as he thought he still had a it to go when he fell asleep. Anxiety was well within earshot, but did not claim credit. He just stared out Thomas’ window and quietly sipped from a mug. From the look on his face, he didn’t seem to be enjoying what he was drinking though.

Thomas managed to get a hold of the mug when Anxiety set it down during an argument with Roman. He gave the dark colored beverage a taste, not particularly worried about catching germs from an aspect of his personality, and nearly gagged.

It was coffee, completely black, no sugar or milk or anything else. It tasted awful, and Thomas had no idea why the side was drinking it since it was pretty clear he didn’t like it either. He pondered over this as he grabbed a piece of gum off of his desk and began to chew it furiously to get the bitter taste out of his mouth.

There was no reason for Anxiety to be drinking that coffee. It was clear he didn’t like it. If he was doing it for aesthetic purposes he would have chosen a clear mug, or at least drawn attention to it. So why?

It may have been a bit of a stretch, but Thomas was sure it had to be because he was up late editing Thomas’ video for him and felt he needed the caffeine. He didn’t have any real evidence of this, and it seemed like a silly detail to cement his opinion on, but he felt certain anyway. He knew he didn’t finish it, he knew Anxiety was on his computer, and he knew it was done when Anxiety got off. There was no other explanation.

The question was, why? Thomas thought about confronting the side and asking but he was too anxious (hah) to do so, not knowing how the anxious trait would react. He clearly didn’t want it known, since he did it in secret and then never took any credit even when Thomas gave him a clear opening.

In the weeks while he debated confronting the side, he started to take notice of more and more little things he never had before.

Things he was pretty sure he’d forgotten were added to his grocery list. His sheets were changed. His desk was a bit more organized. His bathrooms looked cleaner. His bed was made when he was ninety nine percent sure he’d left it unmade. His videos were edited, if not finished because he left too much that it would be obvious a bit more was done than before he went to bed.

He just knew the anxious side was responsible and it made no sense to him. He always seemed so cold and harsh, why would he be doing these things for Thomas? Especially without bringing it up to anyone and at least taunting Thomas for his inability to take care of himself. What was the motive? He didn’t know for sure the side’s reasoning, but he felt obligated to thank him in some way. So he went out to the store and found a cool kinda gothic looking journal and pen (Anxiety had mentioned he wrote poetry one, although he may have just been being sarcastic to Logan but Thomas took the chance) as well as a gift card for music and a small black cat plushie with deep violet eyes that he spotted on the way to the check out line.

He felt a little odd actually summoning Anxiety instead of the trait just showing up when he least expected and least wanted the side to do so. Anxiety himself looked quite surprised as well, though he quickly changed his expression when he saw Thomas looking at him. “Sup?” He held out the bag holding the gifts he’d bought to Anxiety. The side looked defensive as he peered at the bag. “What’s that?” Thomas shrugged awkwardly. “Just something to say thank you.” This time the surprise on Anxiety’s face stayed, despite the side clearly fighting to keep his typical demeanor. “For?” “For helping edit my videos, and making my bed, and changing my sheets, and keeping my grocery list updated, and cleaning the house up some, and-” Thomas was cut off by the darkly dressed man standing in front of him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about Sanders.” Anxiety was good. He really was. Thomas would have believed that. If he couldn’t one hundred percent see the pink hue blooming on the side’s normally pale cheeks. But okay, he could play along if that’s what Anxiety wanted. “Well, take it anyway. I bought it for you; I’ve got no one else to give it to.” He tried to keep the knowing smile from showing on his face, but he was pretty sure he had a gleam in his eye that the other could see. Anxiety looked at the bag hesitant but almost longing, still not reaching for it. Thomas stepped forward and pressed the bag into Anxiety’s hands and then, on an insane and sudden impulse, he reaches forward and hugs the side.

He expects to be pushed back instantly but instead Anxiety freezes under his touch. He doesn’t think he’s ever felt someone so tense. He’s goes to pull back when arms wrap around him and squeeze him tight. He can feel Anxiety’s heart race against his chest and the side doesn’t seem to be breathing. As if any small movement will cause this moment to end and it will never come back.

He eventually starts to grow concerned at the trait’s lack of breath and pulls back, looking at him. He isn’t entirely sure, but it looks like the side’s eyes are a bit shiny. His hands clutch the bag tightly as if any second now Thomas will snatch it back. Anxiety opens and shuts his mouth a few times before seeming to decide it’s better to just sink out. Thomas smiles when he hears a “Thank You” echo through his room in the side’s wake, in a smooth, soft tone he had never heard from Anxiety before.

Virgil waited until he was fully in his room with the door securely locked before tearing into the bag like a four year old on Christmas morning.

He feels his own anxiety trying to tell him this is probably just a trick. That Thomas found out about all the little things he’d been doing to try and help him and thought it was pathetic so he got something to make fun of him. He tried to choke that fear down. Thomas wouldn’t do that. He was far too good of a person for something like that. The first thing he pulls out is a little stuffed black kitty. He stares at it for a moment before hugging it to his chest with a smile. He gently places it down beside the stuffed dog Patton had given him when he’d found out that Virgil was the only side without a stuffed animal. Even Logan had a teddy bear dressed in a lab coat named Albeart Einstein, though he’d deny it if you asked. An odd thought that it was good the dog now had a friend crossed his mind, making him feel a bit silly. He shook off the ridiculous thought as he went to put the bag away. He knew the fact that he wouldn’t even throw the bag away since it was from Thomas was kinda sad, but he didn’t care. However when he picked it up, he was shocked to feel there was more in there.

He hadn’t been helping Thomas out in hopes of receiving anything in return, on the contrary he’d assumed it would go unnoticed and he’d continue to be as hated as ever (not that he thought Thomas’ opinion of him was completely changed now, maybe softened a bit if he was lucky). He just wanted to do something, anything, to make up for all the times he had to cause Thomas pain.

He hadn’t expected anyone to ever know. Yet his host had gotten him not one, but multiple gifts in return? As if Virgil needed another reason to love Thomas. He had actually been starting to feel like he could….not get over but at least push aside his less than purely out of duty feelings for his host. Then Thomas did something like this and they just came rushing right back. The YouTuber really had no idea what he did to Virgil, and Virgil was determined to keep it that way for the rest of their life.

His already present smile grows more as he finds a gift card for some music tucked into a really neat looking notebook that has a pen hooked to it. He feels the urge to let out a few tears as he realizes Thomas actually put thought, thought of him, into picking these things out. It was something he would treasure forever.

He put the now fully empty bag away in his desk drawer and sat down on his bed beside his stuffed toys. He grabbed his phone and headphones off his nightstand and activated the gift card before downloading a few new songs he’d been wanting. Once he had his tunes blasting in his ears, he opened the notebook and poised the pen onto the paper.

The blackest sky can always see the sun Even in the darkness, after day is done

Though it’s only seen when the sun is not

The darkest sky is content to rot If it means the sun shines for eternity

As the dark sky fades into lost memory

Because nothing else matters to the sky of night

As long as the sun never loses its light

Taglist: @organizeddiscord, @lesliealiceinwonderland, @theagenderghost

#sanders sides #thomas sanders #virgil sanders #slight thvi #platonic thvi #pre accepting anxiety #fic #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders

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princessjaqulinechess1031 · 5 years

Text

Family Reunion

Characters: Varian, Juliet (OC), Hector

Description: Varian Wry is not pleased when one snarky vegetarian (his wife) meets the other snark vegetarian (his uncle) in his life.

Notes: Is this in anyway possible in canon, for Hector and Varian to have this relationship? Probably not. Enjoy anyway. Also, Varian and Juliet would both be 24/15-ish at this point. This photo below also has like nothing to do with the story but I really like The Look it has.

Varian Wry hadn’t seen one Hector del Bosque in thirteen years, yet, somehow Varian wasn’t surprised when he came home to see Hector sitting at his kitchen table, sipping tea. Hector had seemingly decided to forego the aging process, as he looked exactly the same as he did when Varian was twelve; scrawny with thick dark hair and crazed yellow-green eyes.

If Varian hadn’t of known who Vector was, he would have been frightened by his sudden appearance in his kitchen. But Varian did know Hector. And while Varian knew Hector was formidable in battle, Varian has also seen Hector cry over a bunny because it was too cute.

“You’re lucky Juliet didn’t get here first,” Varian said, not bothering with a greeting. He also didn’t bother to mention who Juliet was, despite the two never meeting. Hector has his ways of knowing things.

Hector took a sip of his tea and shifted in his wooden chair.

“I am still miffed I did not receive a wedding invitation,” Hector said conversely, as if they were in the middle of their last conversation and thirteen years had not passed. “After all I have done for you.”

Varian ignored that the amount of things Hector had done for him amounted to zero and took a seat across from him.

“It’s hard to send an invitation to ‘My Kinda-Sorta-Uncle That Lives With Two Bearcats and A Rhino In A Haunted Tree’. Not sure how to address it.”

Hector narrowed his eyes. “Quirin would have found a way.”

“Well, I’m Varian, and it was my wedding, so I could invite whoever I damn well please.”

Hector snickered but did not smile because he did not smile.

“Where’s your lovely bride anyway?” Hector asked. “I can’t wait to meet the girl who managed to make you look up for five seconds.”

Varian sighed. “She said something about helping a cow give birth this morning before running out. That was about....say, five or six hours ago. She’ll be back shortly.” Varian leaned forward, scrunching his brow together. He wasn’t sure if he should ask if Hector wanted something, because it was completely in character for Hector to show up randomly but also with a motive.

“Relax your worried face,” Hector said. “You’ll get wrinkles. End up looking like your aunt Adira.” Varian just rubbed at his temple. This was going to be a long visit, he could tell. “I’m just stopping by. I was in the area, thought I’d stop and see you’re new Mrs. Wry.”

New? Him and Juliet were twenty-five, they’ve been married for three years. The marriage wasn’t old, but it wasn’t new either.

Hector flicked one of his own braids and stood, leaving his teacup behind on the table.

“Where’s the Mini Ones of You?”

Varian felt a deep part of him groan.

“You mean children, Uncle Hector?” Varian said. “Me and Juliet don’t have any yet.”

Hector hummed thoughtfully and then turned back around to Varian.

“Is it true she’s some kind of an animal whisperer?” Hector said. Varian nodded slowly. Juliet’s abilities were no secret and Hector had been quite a spymaster back in the days before Varian lived. Hector would know even if they hid it.

“And before you ask, no, we don’t know how she does it.”

If this affected Hector, he didn’t show it.

“Interesting,” Hector said, “I can’t wait to meet her.” If Varian didn’t know better, he would say Hector looked almost excited.

Varian heard the front door slam open and shut, and Varian quickly stood.

“Well, here’s your chance.”

“Varian?” she called out.

“In the kitchen!”

“Okay!” He heard her feet start to shuffle towards the kitchen as she kept yelling. “Sorry it took so long! Manny was grateful for all the help and tried to get me to take some meat from a pig he just killed, and I know you like ham, but taking meat after delivering a cow just seemed wrong. So I picked some apples, I thought we could make pie instead, since I know you like that.”

Hector turned to Varian, raising a brow.

“Pie?” Hector asked. Varian sighed.

“She really likes pie,” he said. Ever since she discovered it at eighteen, she had been crazy about it. And she was pretty good at making it, actually. Her apple pie, especially, was great. Varian was always excited when she said she was going to make one, and the news she planned to actually made the day seem a little brighter.

“Then you won’t believe who I ran into!” Juliet said, pulling into the kitchen with a basket full of shiny green apples. “Cosette’s grandbunnies! They’re so cute, they look just like her—“

Juliet stopped suddenly, eyes finding Hector. Her eyes were wide, mouth open in surprise and confusion, feelings she didn’t bother to hide. Not that he could blame her. Hector was quite a character.

The closest thing that Hector could make to a smile crossed his face.

“You must be Juliet, Varian’s wife,” Hector said. “I’m Hector, his uncle. I’m sure Varian must have told you about me.”

Juliet twirled to face Varian head on.

“Uncle?” Juliet said. “But I thought you said your dad was an only child.”

Varian bit his lip. “Long story.”

Hector’s brow raised subtly and he crossed his arms.

“You didn’t tell her about me?” Hector asked. “Some kind of nephew you are.”

Varian could feel a headache building, and he wished he didn’t keep the medicine in the basement lab. Then he could take some and not be tempted to disappear and leave Juliet alone with Hector. It had only been five minutes, and he was already so tempted to do so.

“It just never came up,” Varian said. “We’ve got lives of our own.”

“Apparently so,” Hector said thoughtfully. He picked up there salt-shaker, like he was inspecting it and then put it back down with a simple nod. Varian didn’t ask.

“Adira sends a message,” Hector said. Varian gave a small smile. He rather liked Adira, at least she acted more reasonable than the man before him. “She says to please give Quirin grandkids so he’ll stop talking about wanting them in his letters.”

Varian felt his insides die and his cheeks burn red. Of course that would be what Adira sends to say. He took back what he thought about liking her. Juliet just smiled and put down her basket on the counter.

“Tell Adira is that it’s not for a lack of trying Quirin doesn’t have them yet.” If Varian could die twice, he did it, because Juliet really just said that. Of all things.

“Jules!”

“What?” Juliet asked. “We’re trying to have a baby. There’s nothing shameful about it. In the animal kingdom, it’s pretty much a known and accepted truth amongst mates that the two are trying for mates.”

Hector nodded. “She’s right.”

Juliet smiled brightly. “I like him.”

And then Varian died a third time.

Because of course Juliet liked Hector. Of course she did.

“Hector do you like pie?” Juliet asked. Hector shook his head.

“No. It’s disgusting,” Hector said. Juliet’s smile didn’t waver.

“Too bad,” Juliet said. “Because if you stay for dinner, I’m making pie for dessert so eat it or weep.”

Hector smiled — not smirked or snickered — he smiled.

“I like her.”

^^^

“Out of Hector and Adira, you had to like Hector?” Varian asked, cutting carrots at the kitchen table. Juliet smiled sweetly at him from where she was mixing the stew in a pot.

“‘Rian, last time I saw Adira was when we were fifteen, and she threatened me with a sword,” Juliet said.

“Yeah, she does that,” Varian said. Threats were how Adira showed affection Varian sometimes thought.

“Naturally I’m going to like the one who doesn’t do that more.”

Varian finished with the carrots and brought them over to Juliet.

“But he’s just so...weird,” Varian said. Juliet chuckled softly and threw the carrots in the soup.

“Honey, isn’t that pot calling the kettle black?” Juliet said. Varian titled his head in confusion.

“Since when have you started using common phrases?” Varian asked. Juliet rolled her eyes and kept stirring.

“Since I realized the potential it has for sarcasm,” Juliet said. She motioned towards the table, where an onion sat, ready to be peeled for the soup. “Now, can you please peel the onion? It’s the last thing we need for the soup.”

“Why are we making soup anyway?” Varian asked. “Neither of us particularly like it.”

“Because we have guests,” Juliet said. “We have to make sure they’re well-fed.” Oh, right. In addition to Hector, Juliet had suggested inviting Quirin over for some kind of makeshift family reunion. Which meant soup, because it was the only thing besides pie and sandwiches that either knew how to make worth anything.

“Besides, I’ve been craving some carrot soup,” Juliet said. Varian picked up the onion but turned back to her.

“You hate carrot soup,” Varian said. “We only make it for guests. Why would you be craving that?” Juliet seemed surprised too at the revelation but then but her lip nervously. She twirled the spoon around and didn’t answer. Varian decided to let her suspicious behavior go.

“Where’s Ruddiger?” Varian asked instead. Juliet shrugged.

“Disappeared into the forest after we picked apples,” Juliet said. “Said something about telling the others the apples were in season.”

Onion now peeled, he brought it too her.

“Ruddiger?” Varian said. “Focus on apples, who would have guessed?”

Juliet clicked her tongue in annoyance and took the onion from him.

“I hope your uncle doesn’t mind vegetarian food, love,” Juliet said. Varian smiled and hugged her shoulders from behind.

“No, he too has embraced your joyless way of life,” Varian said. Juliet turned back to give him an seething look and Varian chuckled, kissing her cheek once. “I’m kidding Jules, you know I don’t care about you being a vegetarian. But Hector is one too, for real. He won’t care.”

Juliet hummed to herself and hugged one arm around her stomach. Juliet seemed like she was going to say something else when Hector appeared in the doorway of the kitchen again, Dad by his side.

Dad smiled at them, wearily but kind all the same. Time hadn’t been the kindest to Dad — his hair was more gray than brown, and his wrinkles were beginning to be too numerous to ignore. And next to the seemingly ageless Hector, it was easier to see. Yet, somehow, it hadn’t diminished the respect he could receive just by his arrival. Dad carried himself strong and sturdy, just like always, like a grand, old lion. Time hadn’t been kind, but Dad seemed ready to fight it’s unjust affects.

“Hello son, Juliet,” Dad said. Varian grinned and let go of his wife, walking to greet them.

“I see you’ve caught up with Uncle Hector,” Varian said. Hector beamed wickedly and walked over to the chair he had occupied earlier.

“Yes, Hector, you can take a seat,” Juliet said, crossing her arms. Hector seemed one step removed form surprised, and raised a brow. “Varian, can you please help Hector set the table while I finish the soup?”

Varian helped pull Hector from his chair and led him to where they kept bowls. Hector seemed more than a little confused.

“Why doesn’t Quirin have to help?” Hector asked like a five year old.

“Because he’s my father,” Varian said simply.

“And he didn’t just take a seat, Mister Rude,” Juliet said. Dad laughed and moved deeper into the kitchen.

“I can help set the table, it’s not a problem,” Dad said. Varian dug through a cabinet for spoons as Hector set out the bowls with a scowl.

“Quirin,” Juliet said, “you’re fine. Just take a seat. Consider it a reward for not barging into our house when we’re not here.”

“Oh, Varian told you about that,” Hector said dully. Varian put down the spoons and turned to Hector with a raised brow.

“Did you think I wouldn’t tell her?” Varian asked.

“If you were a good nephew, no, you wouldn’t have told her.”

#tangled #tangled the series #tts #disney #rapunzel's tangled adventure #tts varian #varian #hector #tts hector #oc #tangled oc #juliet oc #varian x oc #fanfic #disney fanfic

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magic-and-moonlit-wings · 5 years

Text

Chapter 38: Hard To Say

Becoming the Mask

Possible content warnings for this chapter: alcohol is consumed, Barbara questions her worth as a parent, and Jim discusses his 'contingency plans' to cover up if a human friend dies under troll-related circumstances.

Nancy had offered Barbara hot chocolate when her neighbour appeared on her doorstep, and Barbara hesitated only a moment before accepting. She refused to spend the rest of her life questioning the motives and methods of anyone offering her something to drink.

"Jim's been … He's involved in something confusing and dangerous," she confessed to the woman who had been housing him for the past week. "He finally told me what's going on, and I … I didn't handle it well. He's a troll, Nana."

Nancy gasped. "That's so sad! That's one of those internet bullies, isn't it? And Jimmy always seemed like such a nice boy."

"Not an internet troll, a real troll."

Nancy put her mug down and put her hands over Barbara's. When she spoke, it was in the carefully non-judgemental voice she'd used when asking whether Barbara and James were temporarily separated or if Barbara planned to divorce him.

"Barbara, dear … Are you on the drugs?"

"No, Nana, he showed me. Jim turned into this blue – creature, with tusks and horns and stone skin, and admitted to how he replaced the original Jim when he was just a tiny baby. He's not the only one – one of his teachers, and a woman I know from krav maga, they're trolls too. And there are other trolls, who can't make themselves look human, and, and it's not entirely clear in my head, but Jim's been helping them, and fighting them."

"And you're sure he wasn't just telling you about a video game."

"I saw him shapeshift."

"But those costumes nowadays are very realistic. My Toby's been learning to speak troll for some game or other. That might be the same one Jim was telling you about."

Nancy shook her head, smiling.

"All these invented languages nowadays. It seems like every book or show or game has one. Reminds me of how Monique and Betsy used to argue about whether we should take club notes in Vulcan or Klingon. Did I ever tell you about the time we met Leonard Nimoy?"

Nancy spent the next hour or so giving Barbara an audio tour of her memories. Barbara decided this was the best response she could hope for. She'd wanted, desperately, to talk this out with another human being, but without any evidence to present, trolls did sound as made up as any Star Trek species.

"Toby and Jim are out awfully late tonight," Barbara noted several anecdotes later, peering out the dark windows.

"It's not a school night." Nancy produced a bottle of sherry. "Let them have their fun."

Barbara would never entirely remember how they ended up baking cookies. Nancy might have suggested it as a way to pass the time, or Barbara might have been bemoaning her lack of cooking and baking skills, or maybe they'd just wanted cookies and realized the Domzalskis were out of them.

"If my Ralph had come back from that cruise," said Nancy, seemingly apropos of nothing as she put the first bowl of dough into the fridge to chill, "and I found out sixteen years later he wasn't really my Ralph, I don't know how I'd feel. But if he'd been raising Toby-Pie, then to Toby, that Ralph would be his father, and I have to assume he'd see Toby as his son."

Barbara cracked an egg too forcefully, getting shell fragments in the bowl and under her fingernails, and getting egg white on the counter.

"I know how I feel. I'm angry, and guilty, and sad. I should've noticed something was off right from the start. What kind of mother doesn't notice when her baby gets switched for a different one? What kind of mother never realizes her son's been sneaking out and putting himself in danger? What kind of –?"

Her voice cracked like the eggshell had.

"What kind of mother can't think of any kind of solution to a fight with her child besides throwing him out of the house while she tries to get her head together?"

Of course she was still angry at Jim, for the lies and the sleeping potions; and at James, who was as guilty as she was in failing to notice Jim and Jay-Jay were different people; and more abstractly at trolls and Changelings as a whole; but Barbara was so, so angry at herself.

Nancy took the bowl away and pressed a fresh mug of hot chocolate into Barbara's hands, generously spiked with sherry.

They'd been drinking it out of wine glasses, but it was good mixed into hot drinks as well. Between them they'd finished off the bottle (already two-thirds empty when they started) and baked several different types of cookie by the time Jim and Toby finally returned.

What did you say to a kid a week after kicking them out? Get your stuff, we're going home?

He's technically not a kid, a small part of Barbara reminded the rest of her, which wasn't actually helpful in deciding what to say and was therefore dismissed.

Jim gulped down a cookie. "Hi."

Barbara got up, nearly tripped over the cat which had been underfoot all night, crossed the kitchen, and hugged him.

I'm sorry. I've missed you. I still don't know what to say or do and I'm confused and scared but I want things to be better between you and me and I don't want you to feel like I'm punishing you for finally being honest even though I'm still angry about some of the things I learned.

She was not drunk. She'd been snacking, and sherry was … actually she wasn't sure how strong sherry was, but she was pretty sure she was not drunk. She was probably tipsy, but she was sober enough to know she should be careful about what she said, especially in case Jim mistakenly assumed she was drunk.

Jim made a soft, squeaky noise, perhaps a whine, and hugged her back.

"There's nothing in the oven right now," said Nancy. "We'll give you two a moment." She chivvied Toby out of the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry, Jim," said Barbara. "I should've … I'm the grown-up here. I should have figured out a way to deal with my feelings without … I made a commitment, a promise, to raise and take care of you, and I went back on that."

"You promised Jay-Jay," he corrected, muffled by her shirt. "You didn't know about me."

"You're the one I told, 'we just have to take care of each other'."

"And I shouldn't have used spindle gloss on you. Or at least not kept doing it after I changed sides."

Right, he'd been working for the eventual downfall of humanity when he'd first replaced her biological son. It was such an absurd concept, so far out of Barbara's range of experience, that it was hard to imagine, especially with Jim clinging to her and sounding like he was about to cry any second.

"I'll show you Jay-Jay any time you want," he said. "I've been experimenting with my phone. I can take photos and videos and send them to you. You'll always know where he is and how he's doing. I'll help you learn to cook so you don't have to worry about what I might be putting in the food. I, I don't know what else I can offer to help you feel safe with me. But if there's anything, just tell me. Please."

"Oh, Jim … sweetie …" Barbara blinked back tears. "You don't … Okay, we are going to have to rebuild some trust here, but it goes both ways. I don't want you to be scared of me either. I never should've told you to leave home."

They cried on each other in the neighbours' kitchen until Toby came back in.

"Jimbo? Hate to spring yet another thing on you, but Dr L told Nana about trolls. Nana still thinks it's a video game, so it's mostly contained, but I thought I should give you the heads up."

Jim groaned. Barbara was about to apologize again, but he said, "I get it. I saw this coming when I saw you here." The Lakes untangled themselves. "Tobes, if she thinks it's a video game, let her think that for now."

"If Toby's involved, she has a right to know it's real," Barbara countered.

"But to avoid the Changelings who haven't changed sides coming to kill us all to plug the leak," said Jim, "it's better to leave her with an innocent explanation."

"And what are you going to tell her if Toby doesn't come home someday?"

"Skip town, hack his phone, and text her that we ran away to LA to start a rock band," said Jim promptly. "My pre-cellphone plan was to fake his handwriting and send postcards, and before we turned ten I was going to say we were searching for his parents and James Senior."

"Wait, if I died, you were planning to leave Arcadia forever?" said Toby.

"No, no, just a few years, and then come back and claim we got separated and I didn't know what happened to you."

"Jim, that's horrible!" said Barbara.

"It's only if he dies in circumstances that don't allow a mundane cover-up!" Jim insisted, as though that made it better. "If I could just make it look like a hit-and-run car accident or an animal attack, of course I'd go with that instead and let Nana have closure."

"Do I want to know your plans for …" Toby looked from Jim to Barbara warily. "Anyone else we know?"

"Initially, it was just 'deny everything', because we weren't seen together in public often enough for anyone to think to connect me to their disappearance. Now I don't know. The rock band cover could still work."

Barbara narrowed her eyes.

"Who else is involved in this?" she asked.

Jim, still off-kilter (part of Barbara was ashamed for pushing him like this while knowing he was desperate to regain her favour), broke first.

"Some girls we know from school. I got careless and they and Toby followed me into Trollmarket."

"And I'm guessing their families don't know."

"One has a Changeling brother who knows she knows and vice-versa?" Jim offered, attempting a grin.

Barbara sighed heavily.

"It's …" she glanced at the clock on the oven, "four in the morning. We aren't going to wake everyone up now to tell them their children are fighting trolls. But you will tell me who they are and we will be telling their families."

"And," said Toby, "since it's a bit late to be packing and hauling bags across the street, how about you both stay here and you can sort out the move back tomorrow – or, later today."

Jim froze up, but Barbara nodded.

"Good idea, Toby."

Jim gasped and looked at her, wide-eyed, and then hugged his mother again.

Previous Chapter (Blinky tells Jim where baby trolls come from)

Table of Contents

Next Chapter (How and why Angor Rot is introduced to the plot)

Star Trek is 53 years old according to Google (first airing in 1966), so Nana's probably old enough to be one of the original Trekkies.

#Trollhunters #Changeling Jim #Dr Barbara Lake #Nana Nancy Domzalski #Tobias Domzalski #Becoming The Mask chapters #My Fanfiction #Monday is fanfic day!#Tales of Arcadia #alcohol #star trek #video games #languages #LIES

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