#the IC Fundamentally Misunderstanding Everything About Them

[dearestaeneas]

Freezer Burn

[word count: 2214]

The snow has not stopped for six whole days. It falls in fat flakes, melting at the slightest touch of human skin, with its warmth and salt. But still, despite (or perhaps, in spite of) its fragility, it falls. It falls in fat flakes and it collects. And collects and collects and collects. The earth here is hard, and cold. There is no blood pumping beneath the surface, no hot red liquid working tirelessly in veins and arteries to warm from within. The machine here is still. And so, the snow collects. And collects and collects and collects.

Sylvan Dorsey is no stranger to the cold. He is no stranger to the snow or the ice or the wind. Neither is his wife, Elizabeth Dorsey (formerly Clarence). Sylvan and Elizabeth Dorsey know all the tricks of the trade: how to check for breaks between door and window frames, how to keep the water from freezing in the pipes. Their supplies included flashlights and long underwear and blankets and gloves and hats and scarves and jugs of bottled water, should the power go out and the well become useless. The Dorseys would not have considered themselves a “board game couple” prior to their initial move, but in the years since the winters had taught them chess and rummy and Scrabble.

They consolidated most supplies to the living room in the winter months. There were obvious disadvantages to the decision, as it was the largest room with the biggest windows. However, any argument to the contrary was quickly extinguished in the face of the fireplace. It was a huge stone number, built by the original owners of the house and fortified by the Dorseys themselves. It was beautiful and huge and warm.

Truly, the Dorseys did not mind the cold and its challenges. It had been Sylvan’s idea to move up north, and Elizabeth had enthusiastically consented. Her singular complaint grew upon learning that municipal water, a luxury she had never realized she’d had prior, did not rely on electricity. A power outage in a city did not mean the toilets became functionally useless.

The cold had rolled in early this year. The Dorseys were a few weeks behind on their preparation schedule, having expected snow by the beginning of the next month. The fascinating thing about winter- the beautiful and terrible thing about the snow and the ice and the cold- was that it did not care about progress. It did not care about electric stoves or cars or telephone wires. It was as harsh and unforgiving in this decade as it had been a hundred years ago. The cold was like that. Even as the planet heats from the jets of careless billionaires and the drills of indifferent oil companies- the cold stays.

There is a fundamental misunderstanding the world has about the cold, and it is this: The cold is, above all else, patient. The warm cannot stay, the fire cannot burn forever. The heat will fizzle. All around everything that is and everything that will be, the cold waits. It does not push in on the planets, because it does not need to. Men cannot resist the cold- they come to it, with their rocket ships and their satellites and their little dogs who deserve far more than just a kiss on the nose. The cold was here before the universe, and it will be here after.

The Dorseys believed they understood this truth. To their credit, they may have been closer to understanding it than most. But no one truly understands what it means to be cold.

“We’re out of firewood.”

Elizabeth Dorsey entered the living room. Her arms were full of garbage bags as she dragged the Shop-Vac behind her. Her husband stood before the fireplace, hugging his arms to himself. Despite wanting this life, the anxiety he felt whenever the temperature started to drop was palpable. Elizabeth had suggested moving back to the city, or at least to a more populated town. They were alone here. But no, Sylvan would not have it. He loved their home, loved the trees and the stream half a mile out.

“Have you cut some outside?” she asked.

“No,” he answered. “I thought we had more time. I thought we had enough for this month.”

Elizabeth nodded. The anger she felt in the back of her throat did not tumble out. “Will the door open?”

The snow had pounded against it for six whole days. Thankfully, the power had not been lost, and Elizabeth had intended on cleaning out the fireplace before it had a chance to go out. “We’ll go together.”

“No!” Sylvan responded quickly. “I’ll go. I’ll stay close by.”

Her protestations were dismissed, even as the door was forced open, having frozen quickly. The snow against it tumbled inside, having been just above waist-high. “I’ll be fine. I’ll stay close by.”

When the door was once again forcefully shut against the cold, the silence that ensued in the house was near deafening. The roar of wind outside was cut cleanly off, and the scrape of Elizabeth’s boots on the floor was grating as she forced the snow that had found its way inside as close to the door as she could manage. Her steps toward the fireplace, the roll of the plastic wheels on the vacuum- it was ear-shattering.

Elizabeth liked the way the snow muffled sounds. She loved the way it crunched underfoot, and when she was in town, she loved how the trucks sounded so far away, even when she was standing across the street from them.

Elizabeth did not love these new sounds. Her skin crawled. She sang, softly, acclimating her ears to the house itself. Outside, faintly, she could hear Sylvan chopping wood. She inhaled, and exhaled. Cleaning the fireplace was an art form to her by this point. What had originally taken her 20 minutes could now be done in 5. She listened to the sound of the ax hitting the stump, the sounds of log after log landing with a fwump! into snow, and then the gentle clunk! of a new log hitting the previous one. These sounds were briefly suffocated by the sound of the vacuum.

Elizabeth emptied the ash and debris of the vacuum into one of the garbage bags, all the while hearing the sounds of wood hitting wood in the snow. Fireplace ready, she pulled her boots back on and heard Sylvan’s scream as her hand made contact with the door.

“STAY INSIDE.”

Elizabeth froze, despite herself. The command had frightened her, causing her to physically recoil away from the door, as if burned. The sounds of wood being chopped had not stopped at any point.

“Sylvan?” she called out hesitantly after several agonizing minutes. “Can I come help you? You’re scaring me.”

As if on cue, the chopping stopped. It was replaced by the soft crunching of footsteps. Elizabeth stepped back from the door, unable to understand why she dreaded the idea of that door opening. Instead, the steps appeared to be leading away from the door. Upon realizing this, Elizabeth pressed her back against the wall. Her breath caught in her chest and held itself.

“Open the door.”

Elizabeth did not move. She did not breathe.

“Open the door.”

Why had he walked away from it?

“Open the door.”

More footsteps.

“Open the door.”

Elizabeth did not move when she saw the blue finger creep from the corner of the window frame and begin scratching on the glass. The nails were sharp, like ice. The glass squealed.

Vomit threatened to release itself from her throat, but Elizabeth swallowed, hard. Tears sprang to her eyes, and every muscle in her body began shaking. The finger disappeared, and it was several seconds before the top of Sylvan’s head came into view from the bottom of the window frame. It was playful, the way he’d peek up and pop back down again. His already gray hair was white with snow, and his skin was blue. A quiet, muffled laughter accompanied the show.

Elizabeth sobbed, tears hot against her cheeks. She wanted to throw up, wanted to scream and hit and bite and claw. She must have begun to make noises, because Sylvan stopped and straightened. The lines on his face were deep, and his movements were stiff and slow. He stared into the house, blue and white. His expression was blank. Behind him, the snow collected.

“What are you crying for?” The wind whipped the words from his mouth.

Elizabeth’s sobs turned to screams, her entire face wet and red. Sylvan held up a finger. The motion was so fluid it caught her off guard, and Elizabeth gave him her focus. She watched as he placed a finger on either side of his mouth and pulled the corners up. He pulled up and up and up, his face becoming frozen in a terrible grin. Elizabeth could hear his skin cracking like ice as he pulled. She vomited until her bones hurt.

“I left the wood at the door for you.”

His voice was strained, coming out of a mouth bent the wrong way.

“What happened?” Elizabeth heard herself ask. Her voice shook.

Sylvan did not answer. “You’ll be needing it soon. It’s cold out.”

“Please don’t do this.”

“Open the door.”

Elizabeth moved before she understood what she was doing. She flung the drapes shut, blocking Sylvan out. The other window was already covered. The room was cast in warm light from the lamps, but Elizabeth knew she wouldn’t make it long without the fire. The house’s elderly heater chugged along faithfully, but needed the supplemental heat of the fireplace to make a real difference.

“Elizabeth,” Sylvan sang. “Elizabeth.”

She wouldn’t sleep. She would stay awake. She would stay awake all winter if she had to. She would not open the door. Her head pounded, her eyes ached.

The house was small enough that remaining in the living room would pose no problem to her safety. She’d burn the dining room chairs and table. She’d burn the wooden desk chairs and the desks themselves. Elizabeth busied herself collecting the soon-to-be tinder, and kept it by the door. Then, she sat. She sat across from the fireplace and stared into it, its dark mouth expectant. She screwed her eyes shut against the sound of Sylvan’s voice outside.

Several hours later, she burned the first chair. She would ration the furniture, keeping warm in other ways. The fire was for nighttime. Elizabeth soon found this conviction to be difficult to stick to, realizing that when the fire burned, Sylvan did not sing. When the flames died, he would start again.

Elizabeth lost track of how many days passed. The rare moments she did sleep, the sight of Sylvan’s distorted mouth was plastered on the inside of her eyes, and the sound of his skin crackling rang in her ears.

His singing and his footsteps circled the house. Every few hours she would try the telephone again. Although the house had not lost power, the phone only responded to Elizabeth with a dead tone.

No one would come. No one would stop by to see how the Dorseys were faring, no one would even notice that they were unreachable by phone. No one would notice that the Dorseys’ old truck never rattled down to the store. All of these would, historically, spark great concern among the Dorseys’ many friends in the area. No family members would wonder why they hadn’t heard from either of them recently. The coming silence would be uncharacteristic. And yet, Elizabeth knew.

Elizabeth knew that she was alone. That no one was coming. That she would have to come to them. She went upstairs. When she looked out the window, there he was. Looking up at her.

By the time Elizabeth decided to burn the house down, she hadn’t eaten in four days. She had run out of furniture to burn a week ago. Sylvan sang incessantly. She did not care about making it to town anymore.

“You could make a break for the truck,” Sylvan suggested, his skin pink and his hair gray. “I can’t outrun you, even if we’re both in the snow.”

He was right, of course. Elizabeth did not care. “You’ll be waiting right outside the door.”

Sylvan nodded. Elizabeth sat on the floor, staring into the empty fireplace. Sylvan sat in front of her. Outside the house, he sang.

“I want quiet.”

Sylvan did not respond. He watched as Elizabeth stood and smiled at him. A real, genuine smile. Her eyes were bloodshot.

Elizabeth lit the match and dropped it on the floor. She lit a second match and dropped it on one of the remaining piles of blankets. A third fell to the final hat and scarf. She tossed the gloves on it. Small fires grew, and fed. When the flames ate the drapes, Sylvan stood outside the window, face frozen in its grotesque smile. His eyes were wide with terror. Flames took bites out of the house, licking the walls. Not even the natural muffle of winter could drown out the crackle.

The Dorseys looked at one another.

Elizabeth stood on the other side of the window and laughed and laughed and laughed.

#on my main i made a post about how my only complaint about the magnus archives is that there is never a statement about the cold. take this #haven't posted a story in a while! happy new year! #horror #horror fiction #fiction #winter #cold #scary #unsettling #body horror #writers #original story #original writing #short story #writing #original characters #original fiction #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing community #writer #short fiction #horror writing #fiction writing

[alexwatchesshows]

Grace & Frankie: S1E1

Spoilers for S1E1 only.

Honestly, I think this is a really solid start to the show. In the first scene, not only do we get the big shock/reveal that sets the premise of the show, but we also get a good introduction to the characters and their relationships to each other. Grace is uptight, concerned with how others see her and critical of others who don't feel this way. Frankie is more easy-going, and is openly emotionally vulnerable. Robert and Sol each seem to match their (ex) wives personalities and values, but we also see that Grace and Robert aren't exactly having the romance of the century. We also get a good introduction to Grace and Frankie's relationship. They are, above all else, very different people. They would not spend any time together if it weren't for their husbands but, because of this link, they have some empathy for each other's situations (as we see when they both talk about how they wish R & S will retire). We also get Grace's iconic martini order for the first time.

Then, as the scene progresses, some of the assumptions I made about G & F's characters are subverted. Frankie, the more extravagant, outgoing character is the one who breaks down quietly whilst Grace is the one who creates a scene. Also, throwing seafood is iconic. What a moment.

The aftermath is one of the things that really sold me on this show. It would be so easy to take the basic premise and turn it into something cliche and tired, but the emotional complexity of the conversations really moves it past that. We see Robert's fundamental misunderstanding of Grace's desires and values, alongside Sol & Frankie's deep-seated love for each other, even in the wake of such a destructive revalation. The introduction of the children (ik they're adults, but they mostly play the role of the main characters' children so just move with it) really adds to this. Off-hand comments about how F & S got a therapist involved when the family dog died and the Grace's desire to keep things hidden from her children so she doesn't have to talk about it further emphasises the difference between the two families. Yet, ultimately, their reactions are very similar. Grace and Frankie both break down and discover that, in light of everything, their children are still there for them. We see the almost palpable pain on the faces of R & S as they realise that they are the ones causing this pain and effectively destroying the families that their children were raised in. This leads quite nicely into one of my favourite things about this show: nobody is every truly in the wrong. There is sympathy for everyone. Everyone is deeply flawed but everyone also has hidden reserves of empathy and kindness. In a weird way, this show really does grasp the complexity of human emotion and morality.

Finally, the end scene. After such a heavy-hitting first half, it's something of a relief to get a more comedic take on the whole unravelling life thing. The Ben & Jerry being more than ice-cream buddies comment haunts me every time I eat any ice-cream. We do still see Grace being quite cruel to Frankie (but, again, we can never fully hate her for it, given everything that's happening to her) but also going to help her without hesitation when she gets that call from Frankie in the night. In the end, it seems like getting high on weird tea with your ex-husband's lover's ex-wife on a beach in the middle of the night will solve a lot of problems. Maybe I should try it.

#grace and frankie #grace and frankie spoilers #grace and frankie review #tv #tv shows #tv show review #show reviews #reviews #lgbtq #episode review #spoiler

[cinaja]

okay but miryam & jurian actually being the most similar is SO GOOD. let them both be ruthless!! ik miryam doesn't canonically have the plagues but the crossing some moral lines + then dying + (eventually) being resurrected thing is a great parallel & also the best fuck you to canon trying to paint miryam as the good fae-acceptable human & jurian as the mean radical one. honestly she deserves to go off & destroy some shit, cause she didn't even get to do ANYTHING in canon, let alone destroy a mountain range or curse the black land.

Ahhh ty! And yes!! I also really love the parallels between Miryam and Jurian and them being so similar. Canon sets up some of the things there already (with them both being human leaders during the war who died at its end and (eventually) got resurrected), but as usual, it takes the worst possible route with everything, and I really enjoyed fixing it.

For making Miryam ruthless (& a lot like Jurian), I think it was a mixture of the whole set-up/story just DEMANDING she be at least a little bit ruthless and it being the only way to fix the mess that were the canon messages the entire thing conveys.

I just. Absolutely hated how she was written to have been the "model" human (specifically because she is presented as more forgiving of the Fae? SOMEHOW? Even though SHE was the one out of the two of them who had been a slave and therefore made the worst experiences with Fae?) and Jurian as the bad guy for... not liking the people who enslave his kind. It's just such a MESS. Tbh, Miryam breaking up with Jurian (a human) and instead marrying Drakon (a Fae noble) was already pretty bad and had a message I could not get behind at all, but with that entire "Miryam as the one who is forgiving towards Fae" thing on top of that, and the fact that Jurian was tortured and died as "punishment" for what he did while Miryam got resurrected and had a happy ever after with her Fae husband just made it completely terrible. It basically has the message that oppressed people should just forgive their oppressors and, idk, assimilate with them, but if they dare fight back, it will have a bad end for them or smth. And basically the only way out of that I saw was to let Miryam do something that is objectively far worse/more morally questionable than what Jurian did to Clythia and also generally be abundantly clear that she is no more forgiving towards the Fae than Jurian is even if she ends up married to one (which wasn't hard because why would she forgive them??? How could she NOT want some sort of revenge? Even if I choose to write her as someone who generally doesn't like violence and prefers to be kind whenever possible, how could that ever logically extend to the people who enslaved her?)

And, well, apart from Miryam's entire backstory and the entire "promised to free her people from the most powerful country of her time and actually succeeding after 7+ years of work" thing implying that she's at least a BIT ruthless, the whole Exodus retelling thing also demanded it since it was clear from the beginning that Miryam would need to be the one doing the plagues for it to work out. Canon doesn't include the plagues at all, but that makes the entire story fall apart (seriously, explain to me how Miryam and Drakon would manage to free all the humans WITHOUT first defeating the Black Land militarily), so I definitely needed them and I also definitely needed Miryam to do them because she is the Moses character in this and if it's already not her parting the sea, it HAS to be her with the plagues. (Also, once again, fuck canon for basically sidelining her in her own backstory. Everything we hear about the war just continuously implies that shr was important, but do we ever hear what she DID? Noooo, we instead hear ten million details about her romantic relationships, because that's apparently what matters. We couldn't spare a sentence to go "she was a diplomat" or "she was leader of the Alliance" or SOMETHING to explai what she actually DID during the war and why Mor thinks simply namedropping her will get her what she wants even 500 years after the war, but I'm so glad we got pages upon pages on her relationship drama ig.)

#this entire story is basically just #humans get to be angry at the Fae! without being demonized for it! #and Miryam gets to be angry and she gets to be ruthless and she gets to do SO MUCH STUFF #bc seriously. that setup of'promised to free her people from the Worst Country Of Her Time at 16-ish and then actually went through with it #is SO COOL. but ONLY if she actually gets to be the one working towards that goal #and her and Jurian are SO SIMILAR #which also makes the way they are presented in canon so hilarious bc I'm basically writing it down to #the IC Fundamentally Misunderstanding Everything About Them #cinaja talks about before the wall #lyn #thanks for the ask!!!

[snowdice]

Masterpost (Old)

This is an old, slightly broken Masterpost, but I might not remember to change all the links. The new one is here.

If you would just like to see all of my writing, I tag everything with #adriana writes on my blog. Click here for everything in chronological order of my posting. Click here for my AO3 account.

Completed fics are marked complete in their summary. You can click on the universe tags to read fics for that universe in chronological order of my posting.

The Prison You Deserve: (Complete) Virgil should have known better. Trying to help only ever ended badly for him. After a misunderstanding, Virgil gets thrown into the most infamous prison across all of the kingdoms, where the most evil criminals are thrown to get what they deserve at the hands of nightmarish creatures from the void. Luckily (for once) Virgil really didn’t deserve it. Trusting that this isn’t just a cruel trick and he isn’t actually going to be tortured though is going to take a while. (In which Patton is a eldritch horror, telepathic nightmare, and still is the sweetest thing on the planet and off it.)

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Bonus Features

Road Trips and Missing Persons:  Patton was just getting groceries. The next thing he knew, there was a knife at his throat and he was an unwilling uber driver. Virgil’s on the run after the murder of his dad, and it’s not just his paranoia that’s telling him he’s being chased down. He has to get somewhere safe, somewhere he can trust, and all he has is a couple of stories from his dad and a name: “Green Bellow Foods and Dispensary.”

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Mismatched High Heel Shoes: (One-shot: Complete) The boys are having fun. (This was for the #magpie500 event.)

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Cops and Not Robbers AU

You I’ll Come Back For: (Complete) They’d met in a jail cell, you see, but unlike now Patton had not been anywhere near trapped, not that Virgil had been aware of that fact. He’d just seen his sweet little cell mate who’d clearly not done anything to deserve being on that side of the bars. Virgil had said “What did you do to get stuck in this joint?” and Patton had started crying. It had taken zero lies and five hours for Patton to coax out the information he’d needed. He’d thought when he’d pranced up to the bars and told Roman he was ready to leave that the absolutely astonished expression which was quickly slipping into fury would be the last thing he’d ever see of the man whose crimes numbered enough to keep him in prison for the rest of his life. He’d escaped during his transfer to federal prison. (This was a dice fic. It also appears below!)

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Mistaken Identities: (One-Shot: Complete) Roman was just walking out of an ice-cream shop when an unfamiliar man’s irate voice made him pause mid lick and look up. “Dammit Remus, I told you to meet me two blocks that way and you’re getting ice cream?” | Now as an identical twin, especially one with a brother who had a… certain personality, he wasn’t exactly unused to this sort of thing happening. So, he promptly opened his mouth to say, “Oh no I’m not…” | “Remus, I don’t care right now,” he interrupted. “Get in the car.” | “But-” | The man snapped his fingers and a hand descended on his shoulder. “Get him in the car.” | Roman meets Deceit and later Logan when he is mistaken for his brother who is apparently doing SOMETHING with his life.

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A Bloody Handkerchief:   (One-Shot: Complete) Dee and Roman help Logan move and Dee finds something from their past.

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Cuffed Universe

Tea, Cookies, and Handcuffs: (Complete) Logan finds a strange man on his property and of course invites him in for tea.

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What Remains Universe

What Remains of Us: (Complete) Virgil was young, but smart. “How are we going to do this?” he asked. “You’re 12. You can’t get a job or a house.” | “Remember when dad used to read us The Boxcar Children?” he asked. “It’ll be like that. Well, not exactly; there aren’t many old train tracks around, but we’ll find something. I even found an old copy of the book in the $.10 bin at the bookstore. The ending’s ripped out, but we’ve got the part where they figure out how to live in the woods. It’ll be like a guide.” | Patton and his little brother Virgil go on a “hiking trip” after the aunt they’d been living with hit Virgil.

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Remains of Memories: (Complete) Patton is about to graduate high school. As his life changes, he figures it’s time to confront some memories with the people he loves.

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Touch Me Gently Universe:

Touch Me Gently: (Complete) He had a total of four soulmarks: not an unheard-of thing, but rather rare. There were purple fingerprints on his wrist, looking like a day-old bruise from where someone had grabbed him too hard. What his mother had seen when he’d entered the kitchen was actually two soulmarks that overlapped slightly: a light blue one that darkened his lips and a yellow handprint that covered the lower parts of his cheek and jaw. The ring finger and the tip of the pinkie hit his lip, mixing with the blue to look like a sickly greenish-yellow bruise. What his dad had seen peaking out of the top of his t-shirt was a dark blue mark in the shape of fingers around his neck. Roman had been overjoyed when he realized what the marks were after the initial confusion. His parents had been a little less enthusiastic. (Roman meets his soulmates one-by-one and it’s not at all what everyone assumed when they first saw his soulmarks.)

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Bonus Features

Never a Chance to Hate You: (Complete) Logan picks Dee up for a date early in their relationship. Dee reflects on how his perceptions of his soulmates changed once he met them.

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Is There Anything Left of Patton? (Zombie AU; One-Shot Series)  (Complete)

Logan has a secret in his basement. Three months into living with him, Virgil finds that secret. He almost wishes the secret was a simple as he first thought it was. Almost. AO3 Link

Something Left

Someone You’ll Never Meet

Food You’ll Never Eat

Things You’ll Never Do

There are Things You Have Lost

There Are Things That Are Missing

And There is a Question

Is There Anything Left of Patton?

And There is an Answer

But What Does It Mean?

One More Dance  

One More Chance

When There Is Something Left 

Bonus Features   End Credit Scenes

Dilemmas (One-Shots Series)

“But that doesn’t make any sense!” he yelled.| “Patton,” Remus said evenly.|“It doesn’t!” he screamed turning on him viciously. “There’s a big difference between not being sad someone’s dead and… and… and no! No! I wouldn’t be okay with seeing someone I hated die. I wouldn’t!”| “Yes, you would,” Remus said, standing up himself. He pointed an accusatory finger at him. “You would! And you know you would! Do you think you are the only one who can get a read on another side when functions cross? Those thoughts in your head are my domain and I knew exactly what you were feeling when I asked that question!” Virgil was forcibly summoned immediately, eyes wide. Patton and Remus have a philosophical discussion and then will have to deal with the fall out. (AO3 Link)

Moral Dilemmas

Ethical Reasoning

The Dangers of Stereotypes 

When I Can Say I Love You: (Complete) In a world where their very existences are illegal, let alone their relationship, Patton and Logan share a moment discussing what they wish their world could be.

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The Horror of Stereotypes: (Complete) There had always been a certain stereotype about people like him for as long as anyone could remember. After the Heart War of 1963, those stereotypes had been legalized and places like this had been created to enforce the universal truth: everyone had a soulmate. One soulmate. No more and no less. At least they were supposed to. When Remus’s brother gets arrested because of his two soulmarks, Remus risks everything by infiltrating the facility he legally should be in as well due to his own two soulmates to save him. There he meets Logan and it turns out they have a lot in common: they both got hired this week, they both have two soulmates, and they’re both here for the same reason. Oh. And as it turns out, they’re each other’s soulmates too.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Bonus Features

Labeled Universe (A Superhero AU)

Sometimes Labels Fail: (Complete) Logan was good at labels, at categories. Logan sorted the citizens of his city into 6 different categories in his mind: heroes, villains, vigilantes, criminals, government authorities, and civilians, and knew how to deal with each. But… but what was he supposed to do with him. Virgil was just trying to survive, though he didn’t think the part of him that compelled him to throw himself into fights whenever he saw the superhero Bluebird struggling had gotten the memo. His English teacher was right; he really was stupid. When the villain criminal… when Shadow Caster gets injured while throwing himself into the line of fire for Logan, Logan can’t find it in himself to turn him over to be arrested. Luckily, he knows a doctor very, very well. Virgil is going to get kidnapped adopted by the end of it.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Bonus Features

Sometimes Labels Shift (Post Sometimes Labels Fail Stories)

Here’s a timeline for these fics with some commentary.

Mini Fic Series: One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty-One Twenty-Two Twenty-Three

Two Dinner Plates: (Complete) A muscle ticked in Logan’s jaw and Virgil tried not to flinch. “We seem to be coming from fundamentally different philosophies on how food should be distributed in a family structure.” In which we finally actually talk about Virgil’s thing™ with food. It goes about how one would expect it to.

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Back to School: (Complete) It’s Virgil’s first day back to school after everything and he has some adjustments to make.Aka a blatant excuse to enact the hug Virgil initiative.

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Sticky Note Pandemonium: (Complete) There were also sticky notes on the kitchen counter, the refrigerator, Virgil’s backpack, and even the oven, not to mention every wall. There was even one sticky note stuck on Logan’s butt.His husband had gone on a rampage.

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Arguments and other ‘A’ Words: (Complete) Logan and Virgil have a row. Virgil’s new family has a weird way of fighting.

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The Things We Haven’t Talked About: (Complete) Patton and Logan have noticed some concerning behavior from Virgil in their month with him. Beyond the flinching and haunted look in his eyes courtesy of his last foster father, there’s something else of concern for Patton and Logan and they really aren’t equipped to deal with it. They enlist some help from a couple of friends.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2

Wind Symphony: (Complete) Patton and Logan are still trying to figure out how to be parents and are worried about strange behavior coming from their new son as of late. Logan takes measures to figure out what is wrong.

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Coffee and Cinnamon Rolls: (Complete)  Remy meets his best friend/bosses new child and immediately has the must protect at all cost urges.

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Virgil’s Birthday:  (Complete) Virgil has his first birthday with Logan and Patton and he’s going to get everything he ever wanted.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Punishments: (Complete) Virgil gets into a fight at school. At home, everyone has to deal with their individual hang ups when it comes to punishments.

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Family Game Night: (Complete) The boys have a nice family game night. Patton gets to deal with figuring out how to not let them cheat with their superpowers.

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Family Science Night: (Complete) Dumb science nerd father and his curiosity-killed-the-cat idiot child play with electricity and superpowers.

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We Need to Put a Bell on Virgil: (Complete) Patton and Logan lose Virgil.

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Pumpkins, Corn, and Caffeine: (Complete) Remy steals Virgil to take him to a pumpkin patch. (A Labeled Universe Fic)

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Vengeance is Soft: (Complete) Logan sighed. Patton was a wonderful man: kind, gentle, and empathetic. He listened and took into account other’s perspectives and feelings on every issue and always did his best to make people feel at east. Patton while sick was an absolute monster. | Patton’s friends and family deal with him while he’s sick and here’s the thing about Patton. Patton is a hypocrite.

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First Week Fics: A collection of fics about Virgil's first week with Logan and Patton in the Labeled Universe.

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The Importance of Practice: (Complete) Virgil attempts to perform a simple light manipulation trick during training. He fails. (?)

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Lessons From a Book: (Complete) Virgil cannot get anywhere in his training. He guesses he finally manged to piss Logan off.

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Divestment of Childhood: (Complete) Now, the thing about Virgil was, he knew how to sneak out of a house in the middle of the night. He was very, very good at it. If sneaking out of places was something one could go to college for, Virgil could easily get a PhD. He knew all of the tricks. He did none of these things.Virgil runs away from home.

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Virgil’s Culinary Abilities: (Complete)  Patton’s running late so Virgil cooks dinner.

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Relabeled; Refiled (Prequels to Sometimes Labels Fail)

Coffee Shop Meet Cute: (Complete) Is this what falling in love felt like or was Patton just about to pass out from exhaustion? Patton and Logan’s first meeting in the Sometimes Labels Fail Universe.

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Coffee Shop Incident Report: (Complete) Patton and Logan’s first meeting in the Sometimes Labels Fail Universe, but what Logan put in his files about it afterwards.

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The Things We Never Mentioned: (Complete)  “Believe it or not, academia and relationships are not mutually exclusive.” That was likely true, Logan knew. It was also not the problem. The problem was his ability to move things with his mind, a blue suit he kept in his bag, and the mountains of red files he kept hidden in his apartment. No one knew that Logan was Bluebird, the cities resident superhero. He hadn’t even told his parents and he wasn’t planning on doing so. Sharing such a secret with anyone was a danger to everyone involved. He refused to do so. At the same time, he knew that starting a romantic relationship with anyone who didn’t know the truth, was unfair to that person. Inevitably they would find out and there would be a disastrous fallout, but beyond that, starting a relationship on a foundation of lies was a horribly cruel thing to do to another person. These two conflicting rules Logan followed had never posed an issue for him before recently, but…But he did like Patton.

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Logan’s 25 Step Plan to Ask a Boy Out: (Complete) “No! Logan look,” she said. “He likes you and you like him. You don’t need a list or a plan or schematics for this. Just walk up to him and ask him out before you hesitate so much that he thinks you don’t like him anymore.” | Logan’s eyes widened. “Is that something that can happen.” | “Oh god, this is hopeless.” | How is Logan so good at, but simultaneously so bad at this?

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Facts on White Chrysanthemums: (Complete) Logicality first kiss in the Labeled Universe.

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Gaps in His Files: (Complete) Logan Berry has learned many things the last 10 years: a lot of math and physics, a bit of humility, and how to be a hero being just a few. Through his education, his experience teaching, and his exploits as the superhero Bluebird, he’s changed in a lot of small and large ways. He has recorded these changes in well-organized documents and files. He’s even had to create two new file designations: a red one for files about his moonlighting at Bluebird, and a light blue one dedicated to his boyfriend, Patton.When Bluebird is targeted by a memory device and all of those 10 years of progress suddenly disappear, Patton Sanders and Logan’s extensive files are left as his only resource to get those memories back. But what is Patton supposed to do when there are clear gaps in his files? And what does he do when he is one of them?

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Epilogue

Remy’s Follow Up Questions: (Complete)  Remy sees Patton for the first time after the closet freak out.

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First Anniversary: Logan and Patton go on a trip for their first anniversary.

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Board Games: (Complete) “You’re really going to seduce me to win a monopoly game?” he asked.  | “Is it working?” Logan likes to cheat at board games. Especially at Monopoly.

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The Origin Story of a Yapping Mop: (Complete) Virgil was not the first living creature Logan carried in his arms to Patton. This is how they ended up with a dog.

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Illusory Records (Janus’ story (with a lot of Remus))

A Life That is Yours: (Complete) Decades before he was known the well-known and semi-respected vigilante Deceit, Janus makes a choice. He hopes it is good for the both of them.

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Deceit’s Follow Up Questions: (Complete) So what, if his actions could possibly be construed to look like they were in some way related to helping Bluebird. Maybe an outside might think he was in some way angry about what had happened to the superhero, but that wasn’t what was happening. It just… hit a nerve; it wasn’t a big deal. It did not mean he liked the man. It barely meant he respected him. Ugh. When had he started respecting a superhero?

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Illusions of Grandeur… Or Perhaps Just Illusions: Remus is training to be an undercover super-agent, but training is boring. So, being Remus he… finds some “fun” (read trouble) with the city’s resident vigilante.

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Other

Party Time Boredom: (Complete) Emile is bored at a party, but Bluebird suggests he go talk to a boy.

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Roll the Dice Event

1. Buckets of Roses: (Complete) As far as anyone knew, Logan was supposed to be in class right now. Which begs the question of why and how Roman is now in his room with him. (“And now that I have explained why I am currently in my own dorm room, would you care to explain why you are here?” “Not, um, not particularly.”)

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2. Touch Me Gently: (Complete) He had a total of four soulmarks: not an unheard-of thing, but rather rare. There were purple fingerprints on his wrist, looking like a day-old bruise from where someone had grabbed him too hard. What his mother had seen when he’d entered the kitchen was actually two soulmarks that overlapped slightly: a light blue one that darkened his lips and a yellow handprint that covered the lower parts of his cheek and jaw. The ring finger and the tip of the pinkie hit his lip, mixing with the blue to look like a sickly greenish-yellow bruise. What his dad had seen peaking out of the top of his t-shirt was a dark blue mark in the shape of fingers around his neck. Roman had been overjoyed when he realized what the marks were after the initial confusion. His parents had been a little less enthusiastic. (Roman meets his soulmates one-by-one and it’s not at all what everyone assumed when they first saw his soulmarks.)

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3. Markups: (Complete) Roman leered down at him, clearly incredibly pleased with himself. “You,” he said as Logan did his best to swallow down the rest of his laughter, “have been criticizing my work all day. Which is basically like you’ve been criticizing me. So…why don’t I return the favor?” He wiggled the uncapped pen in front of Logan’s nose. “You wouldn’t dare,” Logan said lowly. (Logan and Roman do some editing.)

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4. Moral Dilemmas: (Complete) “But that doesn’t make any sense!” he yelled.| “Patton,” Remus said evenly.|“It doesn’t!” he screamed turning on him viciously. “There’s a big difference between not being sad someone’s dead and… and… and no! No! I wouldn’t be okay with seeing someone I hated die. I wouldn’t!”| “Yes, you would,” Remus said, standing up himself. He pointed an accusatory finger at him. “You would! And you know you would! Do you think you are the only one who can get a read on another side when functions cross? Those thoughts in your head are my domain and I knew exactly what you were feeling when I asked that question!” Virgil was forcibly summoned immediately, eyes wide. Patton and Remus have a philosophical discussion and then will have to deal with the fall out.

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5. You I’ll Come Back For: (Complete) They’d met in a jail cell, you see, but unlike now Patton had not been anywhere near trapped, not that Virgil had been aware of that fact. He’d just seen his sweet little cell mate who’d clearly not done anything to deserve being on that side of the bars. Virgil had said “What did you do to get stuck in this joint?” and Patton had started crying. It had taken zero lies and five hours for Patton to coax out the information he’d needed. He’d thought when he’d pranced up to the bars and told Roman he was ready to leave that the absolutely astonished expression which was quickly slipping into fury would be the last thing he’d ever see of the man whose crimes numbered enough to keep him in prison for the rest of his life. He’d escaped during his transfer to federal prison.

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6. The Horror of Stereotypes: (Complete) There had always been a certain stereotype about people like him for as long as anyone could remember. After the Heart War of 1963, those stereotypes had been legalized and places like this had been created to enforce the universal truth: everyone had a soulmate. One soulmate. No more and no less. At least they were supposed to. When Remus’s brother gets arrested because of his two soulmarks, Remus risks everything by infiltrating the facility he legally should be in as well due to his own two soulmates to save him. There he meets Logan and it turns out they have a lot in common: they both got hired this week, they both have two soulmates, and they’re both here for the same reason. Oh. And as it turns out, they’re each other’s soulmates too.

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7. Remains of Memories: (Complete) Patton is about to graduate high school. As his life changes, he figures it’s time to confront some memories with the people he loves.

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8. Tea, Cookies, and Handcuffs: (Complete) Logan finds a strange man on his property and of course invites him in for tea.

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9. A Mystery in a Mask (but Not Out of It): (Complete) Roman accidentally sleeps with a co-worker, but since his job is being a superhero and they all wear mask, he’s not sure which co-worker. Also Patton got kidnapped.

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10. Pumpkins, Corn, and Caffeine: (Complete) Remy steals Virgil to take him to a pumpkin patch. (A Labeled Universe Fic)

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11. Where Ghosts Live: (Complete) Logan meets three ghosts on the way to his destination. All of them have different things to say.

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12. The Death of Benji (Complete) A crime has been committed in the mindscape. Patton and Janus investigate. Virgil semi-reluctantly helps.

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#master post #not writing #blog organization

[thezodiaczone]

Scorpio Compatibility

SCORPIO + ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 19) Aries' ruler, passionate Mars, also wields minor command over Scorpio (whose main overlord is Pluto). Fierce physical attraction draws your signs together, but it's a game of sexual gunpowder and erotic explosives. Not that either of you is afraid of such things. No sign is as darkly intense as watery Scorpio. When mixed with Aries' concentrated fire-power, you stir up quite the hydroelectric charge. However, this match can only last if Scorpio has evolved from a ground-dwelling, vengeful scorpion into an elevated "eagle" state. Here's the fundamental challenge: Aries takes; withholding Scorpio takes away. When Aries reaches out his grasping hand, Scorpio's first instinct is to jump back, which wounds the sensitive Ram. Aries energy is consuming, which leaves Scorpio weak-kneed but scared. Aries will need to temper the raw desire, or at least mask it to avoid overwhelming Scorpio. Jealous Scorpio will need to stop Google-stalking Aries and hiring private detectives whenever the independent Ram goes out for a beer with friends. One way in which you're alike? You're both hyper-sensitized to abandonment, and may even shun each other in a self-protection paradox: "Go away before you leave me." (This tactic only guarantees another hot reunion tryst.) Selfishness can also be this couple's downfall. Scorpio is the sign that rules other people's resources—his karmic job is to create wealth from another man's pocket. Aries is simply born entitled. In a sense, you both live by the credo "What's mine is mine; what's yours is mine." Who will refill the coffers once you empty them?

SCORPIO + TAURUS (APRIL 20 - MAY 20) You're opposite signs who can fall into a real love-hate dynamic, mainly since you both like to run the show. Taurus is the bossy Bull, and Scorpio rules power and control. It's like two mafia kingpins trying to rule the same territory: it works as long as you're loyal, but cross each other and you're getting whacked. Differences can be a turn-on for some signs, but for this pair, they're often a deal breaker. Taurus and Scorpio are both "fixed" signs, gifted at perseverance and holding your ground, terrible at adapting to other people's personalities. This inflexibility can lead to serious power struggles and enmity that burns bright after the relationship ends. If ever a couple needed a prenup, it's you. Better yet, you'll need to be extremely self-aware and conscious of your personal power. If you can avoid arousing the sleeping dragon in each other, there's plenty of rich material here. You both love music, food and sensual delights. You're equally intense about your beliefs and passions, and sex is a lusty, no-holds-barred affair. You'll give each other the attentive listening both of you crave. The Bull's earthy nature can be grounding for watery Scorpio, whose emotions can warp his perspective. Practical Taurus will pull Scorpio out of depressive slumps, and Scorpio will help Taurus look below the surface to see hidden motivations and agendas. You're loyal and protective of each other, so stay off each other's sacred turf and respect your differences.

SCORPIO + GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUNE 20) You live on completely different planes, which either turns you off or utterly fascinates you. Both of you are accustomed to reading people like flimsy comic books, then tossing them aside. Here, your X-ray vision fails to penetrate each other's psychic shields. Mutable Gemini is the shape-shifting Twin, home to a traveling cast of personalities. Intense Scorpio is shrouded in mystery and bottomless layers of complexity. Being baffled leaves you without the upper hand, but it also stokes your libido. You're piercingly smart signs who love a good puzzle—this is your romantic Rubik's cube. The challenge sets off sexual dynamite. You tease each other with cat-and-mouse evasions, neither of you making your attraction obvious. This prickles your insecurities, daring you to strive for the other's unbroken gaze. No two signs are as quietly obsessive as yours! There will be frustrating moments, too. You're both prone to depressive spells, and swing from giddiness to unreachable shutdown. Clever mind games edge on cruel or callow, breaking the trust that Scorpio needs. At times, airy Gemini may not be emotional or sensual enough for watery Scorpio; in turn, the Scorpion's emotional and physical passion can be overwhelming to Gemini. However, if you combine your strengths, you'll go far. Gemini is dilettante and a trivia collector who's always got a pocketful of creative ideas. Instinct-driven Scorpio rules details and research—this sign hones in like a laser and masters his chosen field. Whether it's starting a family or running a business, you can be an indefatigable team, with Gemini playing the rowdy ringmaster and Scorpio running the show from behind the scenes.

SCORPIO + CANCER (JUNE 21 - JULY 22) ♥♥♥♥ You're an ideal match, twin Water signs with deeply complementary natures. Highly suspicious and protective of your privacy, neither of you trusts easily. As a result, you intuitively trust each other. The good news is, you've bet on a winning sea-horse. These two signs can mate for life, and the emotional facets of your relationship deepen into an intimacy few couples reach. Romantic and sentimental occasions never go uncelebrated: birthdays, Valentine's Day, the five-month anniversary of the first time you said "I love you." Sex is a sacred, erotic act that can transport you on a one-way trip to Tantra-ville. You feel safe enough together to try anything. The challenge will be breaking the ice, since you both tend to clam up in a red-faced fluster or any icy aloofness around a new love interest. It helps to talk about music, books, films—anything but your feelings. Once you get past the awkward phase, it's smooth sailing. You genuinely enjoy each other's company, and like to do almost everything together. As parents, you're incredibly nurturing and hands-on, and may struggle to cut the cord when your kids reach adolescence. In fact, control is the big challenge for your signs. Jealous and possessive, you know how to avoid your mate's hot buttons—or to push them when you're feeling spiteful. (The Crab pinches and the Scorpion stings; both can wound the relationship fatally.) At times, Cancer's sulking seems childish to Scorpio, and Scorpio's sharp edges can maim the Crab's tender feelings. Fortunately, you know how to win your way back into each other's good graces once the moody spells pass.

SCORPIO + LEO (JULY 23 - AUGUST 22) This combustible combination drips with power plays, a white-hot dynamic you find infuriating and sexy in equal measure. In many ways, you're complete opposites. Secretive Scorpio is a private soul who rules the night. Leo is an exhibitionist ruled by the sun, and his piercing rays expose Scorpio's hidden shadows. Scorpio hates to feel this vulnerable—especially in public—yet, behind closed doors it can be thrilling. You're both passionate and imaginative in bed, with very little you won't try. As business partners and collaborators, you can make a dream team, too. You're both super intense, outdoing most people with your drive and focus. Leo plays the glamorous showstopper, and Scorpio acts as producer behind the scenes. (It worked for Leo Jennifer Lopez and Scorpio Diddy, who collaborated on her breakout album.) At least you don't compete for the spotlight, which can be a saving grace. But you'll struggle for the upper hand, since Scorpio likes to be in control and Leo is the bossy ruler of the jungle. Flirtatious, charismatic Leo can also spark Scorpio's jealous streak. Remember: darkness absorbs light. Leo must be careful not to get swept into Scorpio's powerful undertow and vengeful obsessions.

SCORPIO + VIRGO (AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 22) ♥♥♥♥ Virgo and Scorpio are two of the zodiac's shrewdest signs. Your collective gaze misses nothing, and your conversations can be as hair-splitting as Freudian analysis. You're both insatiable when it comes to understanding the human soul, and examining your own neuroses can keep you busy for weeks. While your obsessive natures would drive other people mad, it only makes you more fascinated by each other. You're like two scientists in the lab of love, researching, analyzing, and measuring data. Moody and introverted, you both have spells where you crave total privacy, and you'll grant each other that space. You unconsciously absorb so much energy from your environments, and you need to clear yourselves on a regular basis. Nature is soothing—Scorpio is a Water sign, and Virgo is Earth—and you may enjoy a healthy or outdoorsy lifestyle. That can mean renting a private chalet on a pristine European lake, or devoting yourselves to raw food, vegetarianism, and yoga. Virgo is the zodiac's Virgin and Scorpio is the sex sign. In bed, Scorpio can be a bit too intense for earthy Virgo. You're both lusty sensualists, but if Scorpio breaks out the dungeon props and dominatrix gear, Virgo draws the line. The Virgin may indulge a fetish with strangers, but he keeps a strict boundary about how far he'll experiment with a partner. No matter. You're good friends and supportive partners who find beauty in the smallest details—the makings of a quality life commitment.

SCORPIO + LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 22) Libra is light and Scorpio rules darkness, but your searing sexual chemistry blazes through borders. As a couple, you're quick to bed and slow to wed. In many ways, the long prenuptial pas de deux is a mutual choice. Romantic Libra loves an extended courtship—long dinners, vacations and lavish gifts. Shrewd, suspicious Scorpio will subject Libra to a battery of character tests, gauging whether Libra can be trusted. Libra is an incurable dilettante whose surface skimming can feel lightweight beside Scorpio's obsessive, detail-focused nature. Because your temperaments are so different, your initial phase can be fraught with misunderstandings. Libra is an outgoing butterfly and an unrepentant flirt, provoking Scorpio's jealousy at every turn. Possessive Scorpio prefers passionate bedside confidentials to paparazzi and parties, but Libra quickly feels smothered without a social scene. To say you'll need compromise is an understatement. Combine your strengths, though, and you can also make a powerful society couple—with Scorpio dominating the world from behind the scenes, and Libra presiding as its lovely, doe-eyed diplomat.

SCORPIO + SCORPIO (OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 21) We like this combination, for seldom can any other sign so skillfully navigate your unspoken power dynamics. Talk isn't just cheap between you; it's unnecessary. You understand each other's wiring based on pure primal instinct, much like a dog leaves his scent as a calling card. We forget that human beings are animals, an amnesia that plagues modern civilization. Yet, Scorpios know that the one you love might also become your prey (if you're hungry or threatened), or could attack you by night. Your ruler is Pluto, god of the underworld; learning your mate's shadow side is a prerequisite to trust. Scorpio is a master at subtle cues, emotional intelligence, and feeling your way through each other's dark depths as though reading Braille. When it's time to let the other be the Top, you submit, then artfully ease him down to the mat when it's time to rule again. Power glides into your gullets like oysters, every bit the aphrodisiac. In the bedroom, you sexy, spiritual stinger-tails make a Tantric twosome with a twist. There's a hint of force and a danger to all you do, even in the way you fiercely protect your children and property. The real threat of this relationship is to the outside world, for you make an invincible familia that could send Tony Soprano on the lam.

SCORPIO + SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 22 - DECEMBER 21) Level with us: Would you really be interested in each other without the element of danger? There's always something that feels a little dirty here—and it's not because you share an aversion to showering (although the musky pheromones might play in…). Your combined willpower—enough to combust a small village—can yoke you together despite your own best interests. The issue is anatomical: Scorpio rules the crotch and Sagittarius rules the hips and thighs. From the waist down, a magnetic field pulls you into insatiable sexual attraction. Above the midsection, it's a love-hate drama as you battle for mental and emotional domination, one-upping and offending each other at every turn. You both love to have the last word, and deep down, you're pretty sure you're smarter than the rest of the population. As friends, this makes you smugly superior comrades, but in love, you tend to unleash your intellectual weapons on each other. Sag's sarcasm and Scorpio's acid-washed retorts will leave you both wounded and estranged. Yet, a good shag seems to erase your short-term memory between attacks. For best results, remain naked at all times, and only discuss problems in the afterglow. Grant each other your own turf and never cross the line of demarcation.

SCORPIO + CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 22 - JANUARY 19) ♥♥♥♥ If you were to sign a pre-nup, Schedule A must clearly designate who will play the "Top" and who will be the "Bottom." After your attorneys haggle over the prone position, you may just call off the engagement. An inability to reach settlement is likely for two uncompromising Alphas such as yourselves. Although your business-savvy signs can make quite the contemporary Napoleon and Josephine, LLC, there are terms that must be negotiated in advance. For one, you'll need to swear off secrecy—and that will be the true test of your relationship. Scorpio and Capricorn are masters of underhanded power plays that could topple this merger fast. Your first job: learn and practice direct communication ("whip me like THIS" or "no, darling, the leather corset, not the PVC"). Master it, and the rest is a cakewalk. You can lash each other to bedposts, tryst on the conference table in your glass-paned office tower, or earn your mile-high wings with nary a flight attendant knowing. The 2.5 kids you produce will have some interesting conception stories, that's for sure. Not that you'll ever tell. A little secrecy with the rest of the world is fine. Just make sure to erase those sex tapes before the housekeeper finds them.

SCORPIO + AQUARIUS (JANUARY 20 - FEBRUARY 18) Years after their modern-day Mrs. Robinson relationship ricocheted the term "cougar" into cliché-dom, the Scorpio-Aquarius pairing of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher can still baffle the naked eye. Scorpio is an intense, seductive creature with ruthless ambition, eagle instincts and a complicated psyche. Aquarius is a silly prankster and a cold-souled nomad who avoids emotion, then releases it in embarrassing blurts of sloppy sentiment. You're certainly an odd couple, down to your values, style and interests. Then there's the power issue to settle. Scorpio wants ultimate control over everything, while rebel Aquarius chafes at any restraint. While Aquarius is happy to hand rulership of the household to Scorpio, any breach of personal freedom will be an instant deal-breaker. Possessive Scorpio must accept that Aquarius is a social creature with friends from all walks of life, and curb the jealousy. Aquarius will need to cut off a few friends (the ex you met at a strip club, the swingers "who are actually really cool") and adopt a few of Scorpio's interests, like Kaballah for Ashton. So where's the click? Different as you are, you both prefer a mate who's hard to figure out: it staves off boredom. To keep this strong, borrow each other's strengths. Aquarius needs Scorpio's depth, and Scorpio lightens up from Aquarius' outrageous jokes and impersonations.

SCORPIO + PISCES (FEBRUARY 19 - MARCH 20) ♥♥♥♥ You're both "spiritual beings having a human experience," Finding an equally sensitive, divinely connected soulmate feels like coming home. Scorpio and Pisces are compatible artistes who love music, drama and romance. Like a lighthouse for two ships adrift on the emotional high seas, your relationship is an anchor and a haven. However, it's not immune to the turbulence caused by your secretive, Water sign natures. Emotional withdrawal is a self-protective act you've both honed over the years, but this tactic backfires when used against each other. The trick is learning to catch a bad mood when it starts, then processing the feelings instead of lashing out. Once the righteous anger and wounded egos kick in, you're like two runaway trains waging a war of domination and submission. Scorpio control tussles with Pisces guilt, Scorpio withholding wrestles Pisces evasion, and so on. Yet, you both want the same thing: a partner who inspires absolute, unshakeable trust with a money-back guarantee. What you need to learn is how to give it before you get it. To adapt the saying, be the change you want to see in your partner. It will keep you together for lifetimes.

#scorpio #compatibility #astrology #zodiac #love #relationships #scorpio compatibility

[yaboylevi]

Does Eren's question mean that he has a cruch on Mikasa?

Mmm, I’ll try to explain how I read the scene.

Short answer: No, I do not believe Eren has a crush on Mikasa and the scene, albeit presented in a romantic light from Mikasa’s pov, it was not on Eren’s part. Same as usual, I’d argue.

I will expand on this under the cut, but I just want to reiterate that this is just my interpretation, as one of the anons said, and I am aware everyone is free to have their own, even if they might puzzle me. You are free to disagree, but please don’t send me hate messages.

Upon reading the chapter the first time, I didn’t feel romantic vibes. It was actually quite tragic and disappointing for me to see one of my favorite characters (Mikasa) completely misunderstand my favorite character (Eren), in spite of how close they are supposed to be. I was so depressed and disturbed by the whole chapter, that even if I read it at 5 AM and I could’ve slept another 2 hours before having to actually wake up, I just laid in bed restlessly, absolutely depressed. I even tweeted about it lol.

Anyway, I was pretty busy that week, and only later I found out most people interpreted the scene as Eren being in love with Mikasa. It was a shock for me. It was literally the opposite of what I personally understood.

- Eren’s headspace

Let’s first talk about Eren and where his mind is in this chapter.

I felt discomfort and anxiety throughout the whole chapter. I am a pretty empathetic person, so I realized why I was feeling like that only later, after rationalizing chapter 123: Eren’s memories (which we know are horrible and gruesome and depressing) were being triggered the whole time he was in Marley and it was disturbing to watch.

He looks distressed and uncomfortable. His gaze is often unfocused (or, well, not focused on the present) and he is constantly spacing out - Armin notices but doesn’t seem to care or understand why. Honestly, it is cringe-worthy seeing Eren’s friends’ behavior. They should know what memories Eren has of this place. I do not know if anyone reading right now is familiar with triggers and what they do to a mind affected by PTSD. It’s enough to know that you feel like suffocating because you are fundamentally battling a panic attack and you ideally would want to get away from the source that is triggering you. So, imagine being in a situation you can’t escape from and everything is triggering your worst nightmares. Literally.

Even here, I’m ashamed no one in canon (and almost even in the fandom?) realizes or bothers to be understanding and careful, even when Eren makes a disturbing comment about it. Mikasa admits to it when it's all too late.

The ice-cream scene, just like the one I’m supposed to analyze in this post, is rose-tinted through Mikasa’s glasses, until we are faced with reality and are asked to reflect on Eren’s emotional state, again and again.

Reality is not a happy trip in a foreign country. Reality is a crowd of grown men wanting to hang a child because he’s different. Reality is people wanting to kill them all. Reality is Eren being triggered by ice-cream. Imagine being unable to look at a certain food because it reminds you of people being abused and brutally killed, something that you have actual memories of.

It’s just really frustrating seeing Mikasa looking at Eren, with this dumbfounded look on her face, every time Eren’s eyes seem to scream “help”.

The strain he is put under for the whole time culminates in him crying while looking at the war victims’ homes. Here at this moment, Mikasa enters the scene.

- The “eremika” scene

At this point, Eren’s reminiscing about an awful part of his past, and has a pretty clear idea of what will happen in Marley in a close future. We can be certain of this because he voices both of these topics out loud.

Eren is visibly distressed. Honestly, I’m pretty sure his voice in this scene will be quite telling of his emotional state in the anime. The direction his thoughts go, when expressed out loud, and the expression on his face are self-explanatory. Or should be, at least.

It doesn’t matter that Mikasa hasn’t seen him cry, she saw Eren wipe his face and noticed that there is, again, something wrong, but she doesn’t even ask him if he’s alright. She either doesn’t comprehend the depth of Eren’s pain, yet again, or she isn’t brave enough to ask. I believe it’s the former.

The whole chapter revolves around Mikasa’s inability to see Eren’s true feelings. Chapter 123 opens with this concept. And it is also quite clear that everything is retold from her point of view, so we shouldn’t complacently accept a surface reading of it; we are instead invited to have a deeper look into the events, both by Mikasa’s initial lines as well as the not at all subtle visual storytelling. So yeah, she has a perspective on Eren that is wrong. I think we should keep this in mind.

That’s why the moment she thinks ice-cream can make Eren happy, she is wrong. The moment she thinks Eren’s question has romantic implications, she is wrong. The moment she wonders if a different answer could’ve prevented Eren from choosing this path, she is also wrong...

Let’s go back to the scene.

Eren opens up on his own, even if Mikasa didn’t ask. He’s always been open throughout the time-skip (and even before), but I believe at this moment he has reached the breaking point since landing in Marley. He is at the most vulnerable. Like a dam finally breaking, his walls, that he had tried to keep up until that moment, fall and his feelings/thoughts spill out, after being mostly silent all day.

His short monologue is a direct continuation, or out loud repetition, of what he had been thinking about only moments before and that had caused him to cry. I believe the future he has decided upon also plays a part in it, but he doesn’t voice it, just offhandedly acknowledge its existence with that “Not yet.” comment.

Seeing a family living in poor conditions because of a war they didn’t even have any say in, has triggered Eren’s memories of the past. His and Mikasa’s and Armin’s past. They only had each other, as family, because the adults weren’t there anymore, unjustly killed, like many others. They had experienced first hand what it meant to lose your loved ones, to live a life without enough food, enough rest, enough protection. Without freedom.

Mikasa doesn’t say anything to this. She doesn’t know how to reply, and, thanks to the chapters dedicated to the time-skip, we know this has been going on for years. It’s honestly…disappointing.

And even before the time-skip, we know that she sometimes projected her insecurities and wishes on Eren, misinterpreting him really badly, to the point of making situations romantic when it really weren't.

The scene in chapter 123 is no different, especially because, as I said, it is explicitly a chapter told from Mikasa’s point of view where she also explicitly says she hasn’t been seeing Eren correctly.

There have been a lot of parallels with past chapters in this recent arc, and even 123 wasn’t lacking in this department: if the ice-cream scene parallels the ocean scene, with everyone having fun, while Eren is in emotional pain and discomfort; This other scene parallels chapter 50. At the ocean, Eren’s words gave pause to everyone, but in chapter 123 nobody, quite frankly, gives a damn about Eren to the point that they forget about him. Similarly, in chapter 50 Mikasa had managed to express her feelings for Eren’s existence (gratitude, acceptance and unconditional love - not necessarily romantic), and managed to surprisingly help him because she understood his needs on a basic level. In chapter 123, she doesn’t understand Eren’s pain and so she doesn’t say the right thing (that, btw, wouldn’t have changed Eren’s mind about his future actions, imo).

Just like in chapter 50, Eren is in an emotionally fragile moment, and what he needs, unconsciously, is the reassurance that he is loved, that someone cares about him for who he is, even if he feels undeserving of it.

I believe he is feeling despair on both occasions.

Of course, we can only guess about what made Eren cry in this new chapter, because we don’t have access to his mind this time around, but I’m sure it’s a mixture of things: knowing how ineluctable their future seems, and whatever it entails is upsetting for Eren as well; empathy for someone else’s painful condition because he’s been there before; probably also sadness, because he knows what he himself will cause to happen (as implied by that “not yet”) as well as that his time with his found family and friends is about to end; the bonds he will have to break, something that breaks Eren in return.

So it’s honestly not that surprising that he searches for comfort. I guess he’s been struggling with what he has seen in his future because he would have never thought himself able to kill innocents. His mindset used to be about protecting himself and his loved ones and innocents from being robbed of their freedom, yet he knows he is about to become someone who takes away that freedom, along with lives. For him, life equals freedom, because when you are born you are intrinsically free. So his future actions must have been weighing heavy on his mind and heart.

I find it fitting and incredibly sad that he asks Mikasa what she thinks of him now, after talking about families being robbed of their freedom and how much pain this causes.

Mikasa has always been family to him. So has been Armin, but Mikasa is somehow different. She has lived with him, he has directly invited her to be part of his family, he admitted he childishly rejected her familial care because he was jealous but after this admittance, he embraces it. Opening Grisha’s book together was an important moment exactly because they are family, and that was their home.

They are constantly compared to family. It doesn’t matter, in my opinion, that Mikasa holds also romantic feelings for Eren. She primarily sees him as family, too.

They are what is left of the Yeager household, and the story has highlighted this.

So I believe that in his pain in 123, Eren seeks something, a word of comfort, an assurance that he is not just a killer or a failure, and that he is Eren, someone who has been trying to do the right thing since forever, someone who has done the right thing often, someone who is deserving of the care of the girl he once saved (even if the question clearly implies he doesn’t think he deserves it). In chapter 50, Eren invokes his mother. I am sure he is searching for the same kind of warmth here too. The warmth of his family.

The scene, to me, felt a lot more about Eren’s feelings of self-hatred and Mikasa missing the point.

The entirety of the chapter is meant to show how Mikasa didn’t understand Eren: both by ignoring some signs and misunderstanding others.

He is suffering, but she thinks he is asking her about her romantic feelings.

She blushes, yet Eren has just finished crying and becomes teary-eyed once again.

He is distressed and looks haunted, during both of the rose-colored scenes with Mikasa. 

His questions are almost needy. Yet, she fails to understand what Eren was in need of: comfort, understanding, an “I care about you because it’s YOU”. Something that she implied later in chapter 112, when it was indeed too late.

- The two choices were possibly both wrong

Eren presented two options and I think they were both partially correct but at the same time incomplete, because Mikasa’s care for Eren is comprised of many facets. We don’t know what he thinks of Mikasa's answer because we don’t see his reaction to it. However, he seems at peace, later on, falling asleep next to the closest members of his found family, meaning he is content with and values the way their relationship is. 

Eren surely doesn’t regret saving Mikasa. He also surely considers Mikasa his family, as I stated before. But there are certain kinds of expectations in being family and in being someone’s savior. You will always care about someone who literally saved your life. You will always care about family because they are…well, family. No matter how messed up they may be, they will always have a small place in your heart, whether it’s bad or good. 

“You’re my savior” might imply a dependance or sticking to someone just to repay them. “Family” might have the meaning of “it’s my duty to look after you because it’s simply what family members do”. Both also imply that Mikasa will be hurt even worse by what Eren is about to do.

These weren’t the answers Eren needed, perhaps.

As I said already, I believe that what he searched for, was a different answer. If Mikasa had told him she cared about him as a person, as Eren himself, Eren would have felt reassured - because he would be loved for the neutral quality of simply existing. That’s also what made him feel better, when hearing Carla’s words at the end of Uprising. That he was loved, cared for, and worthy of existing just for being born. No expectations, no burdens. An “I stick with you because I love you (romantically)” could have held the same meaning, potentially, because love is love, but in no way this means Eren wanted a romantic answer or that he feels the same way. Besides, that’s not the reason Mikasa cares about Eren, that’s just a side effect, imo.

And I don’t believe Mikasa, at the question “what am I to you?”, believes she should have responded with “you are the love of my life”. That would’ve been so out of place, because Eren is not the love of her life. He is more. I think family well describes it, but her half-assed, panicked answer wasn’t truthful or as powerful as her words were in chapter 50, so they had no real effect and felt unsatisfying for everyone, honestly.

I always stated that if Eren fell in love with someone else, their love for one another wouldn’t change, because the strongest feeling Mikasa feels for Eren isn’t romantic love, and romantic love is something that has never been in Eren’s mind when it came to Mikasa, as shown countless times (or rather, the lack of romantic undertones on his part re:Mikasa should be proof enough, imo).

Anyway, I could be wrong, but I can’t see it any other way. I think it’s a very complex scene to analyze and there is way more than meets the eye, especially because we aren’t granted access to Eren.

I am a great fan of Mikasa, but this scene and chapter made me reconsider her a lot, unfortunately. I strongly believed she had resolved and understood her complicated feelings for Eren in chapter 50, so she had reached a less biased view, but there has been a regression. The same happened with Armin, his character arc was about him growing confident in himself, and learning to always pay close attention to his own realistic reading of the world, but he has just become unsure of what he has to do and lost his cynical edge.

And finally, I want to quickly address another two points so I don't have to talk about this scene anymore until new information is revealed:

The “perfect timing” comment: I interpreted it as Eren knowing what was about to happen and being depressed but used to his memories being correct. Proof, for me, is Mikasa being confused at Eren’s comment, just like she was at the “not yet” one. Besides, they had already been interrupted by the old man and he didn’t seem to mind, so this “perfect timing” has nothing to do with their friends “ruining” the moment. He willingly invites them to join in and finally, he is content and relaxed, when he is with all of them. He loves them all. 

Mikasa’s comment about “if only I had said something different”: I think she may have realized that it wasn’t a romantic situation - because clearly, her romantic inclinations have clouded her judgment. That she had failed to understand Eren’s feelings and his reason for bringing up Mikasa’s care for him. I don’t sense a “I should’ve told him I loved him”. Because honestly, familial love IS love. Platonic love IS love, too. If Eren wasn’t “saved” by the purest form of love, I don’t see how any other type of love could’ve changed anything. That panel, revisited by the current Mikasa, focuses even more on Eren’s tears. Eren’s deep sadness clashes with Mikasa’s initial frivolous reading of the moment. So stating that she believes she should’ve confessed, means going against what the chapter has stated to be…not right.

Thank you for reading all of this, if anyone has managed to! :)

#mikasa ackerman #eren yeager #snk 123 #snk spoilers #snk meta #snk #Anonymous

[beevean]

Sonic and speed: are we misunderstanding them?

This article was originally written in Spanish by @latin-dr-robotnik​ on his blog - you can read it here!

Today on SHP, I’d like to bring attention to a topic that I keep noticing being discussed everywhere (especially now during quarantine), and that somehow worries me: are we misunderstanding Sonic and his characteristic speed?

During these last few weeks there has been a new, relatively unusual explosion of videos and comments on the Internet regarding Sonic and, relevant for today, what is the best game or the best level. The simplest reason has to be the lockdown we’re going through, and which is leaving us with more time to play or think about those games we want to play, or never will. On the other hand, the most cynical side of me believes that this boom of Sonic-related content is because Game Apologist’s video about S3&K and Sonic in general was so popular, it sparked the “interest” of other creators (the video itself is great, and I elaborated my opinions on it here). Whatever the case, there is a greater discussion about Sonic going on right now, and I feel like it’s not directed where it should be.

Before starting: there are a bunch of videos that helped me shape a good part of the opinions I’m going to explain today. You don’t need to watch all of them, and they’re not mandatory to fully understand this article, but if after reading it you’re left wanting for more, or you’d like to hear different options, I’d recommend you watch these:

1.     Sonic and Speed (Errant Signal)

2.     The First Levels of Sonic Games (Super Bunnyhop)

3.     SONIC the HEDGEHOG: How Level Design Can Break a Game (Broken Base Gaming)

4.     How Sonic Mania Makes a Level (RelaxAlax)

5.     City Escape is Peak Sonic Game Design (ZoomZike)

6.     Lost Valley Is Not Peak Sonic Game Design (ZoomZike)

What is the problem?

In a series as big and ever-changing as Sonic’s, there is a wide repertory of formulas and possible answers to the question “how to design a game?”. In some cases we’re still looking for an answer, in others we’re looking for alternatives (I talked not too long ago about the accessibility of Sonic Mania and 2D Sonic in general – Spanish only!), and most of the time, the answer has already been given in the past.

This looking for answers in the past has taken us in many directions, like constantly looking back to Sonic Adventure to solve the great enigma that is 3D Sonic; but I’d add that the recent retrospectives about Sonic and its first 2D games have raised some criticism and questions that, while valid, end up muddling a formula that has proven itself to be effective and crucial in the design of everything related to Sonic.

What really worried me is the criticism about Sonic’s speed and the levels that are considered “slow”, and we’re going to delve into this.

The basic Principles of Sonic

Speed. Platforming. Exploration. These are Sonic’s basic Principles and have always been, from its beginning until today. These three concepts are at the core of not just the level design, but the games themselves as well. The best levels in the series know how to balance these aspects, and the best games are those that can keep a balanced flow, preventing the game from going too fast, and losing its exciting component along the way, or from going too slow and becoming boring, causing the player to lose interest. Naturally, in these games there have to be all sorts  of levels: faster, more relaxed, more open and more labyrinthine, all coexisting in harmony and without going too far in one direction. Ignoring these Principles puts the quality of the levels at risk, and even our understanding of the character.

I would have put my own examples here, but just before starting to write this section I got some wonderful ones from Beevean. If you don’t remember her, she helped a lot with the article about the music of Classic Sonic, and I already warned her that if she kept posting examples this good, I would have had no choice but to feature her again. The discussion started from this post, and she says:

If you approach Sonic thinking its only characteristic is “gotta go fast”, the game you’re gonna get is Advance 2. The very flat, boring, “there’s no way to put normal obstacles in these levels so we’re gonna throw bottomless pits at the player until they get sick of them” Advance 2.

Some fast levels can be awful - Stardust Speedway is a disaster from a level design standpoint and the whole level seems to work against you. Some slow levels can be super fun - you rarely run in Lava Reef and you spend most of the time dodging obstables, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most beloved levels in S3&K. There’s no arbitrary reason that separates “good” levels from “bad” levels, it’s an amalgamation of many factors - plus of course your personal enjoyment.

And in her tags (because we both include more information in our tags than in our posts) she adds:

The levels that are widely considered bad usually put too much focus on one of the factors you mentioned.

Marble Zone is too slow and linear.

Luminous Forest is too fast and linear.

The Doom and Lost Impact are too labyrinthine.

And so on.

My personal example is Sonic Mania and its progression during the mid-game, from Flying Battery to Mirage Saloon:

Flying Battery is a long level, filled to the brim with speed and emotions, especially during Act 2. After beating the boss, the player is likely going to feeling exhausted after being thrown left and right, and so…

The following level is Press Garden. Act 1 is a relatively closed and relaxed level, but still moving at a reasonable pace. If the player is familiar with the level they can finish it quickly, but they still can take their time appreciating the view of the printing and the machinery of the zone. Act 2 enhances this, with an absolutely lovely view and an active but still relaxed flow…

Then there’s Stardust Speedway, which is divided into two completely opposite acts. Act 1 is a relatively fast level, but very relaxed and almost a Zen-like experience when the player lets himself be carried away by the starry night sky, and with a relative absence of lights or discomfort on the screen (enemies and obstacles aside). Act 2 is the other way around, a largely colorful, explosive, fast level (to the point that I, anything but a speedrunner, managed to finish the level in 31 seconds, 2:10 minutes if you include the fight with Metal Sonic), culminating in one of the longest, most intense bosses in the game that marks the halfway point of the adventure…

After such an exciting journey, the next level is Hydrocity, once again split in half with a calmer, more exploration-oriented Act 1, and an Act 2 that, similarly to the original level, is one of the most adrenaline-filled water levels in the series. The boss is intense as well, but verging on being tedious and not nearly as fast as the level itself…

And finally, Mirage Saloon. Every version of Act 1, regardless of the quality, are there to set up Act 2, a largely open, fast-paced level.

In short, the Mania experience is made of peaks and valleys of emotions and adrenaline, keeping the game to a reasonable pace and with a good dose of speed, exploration and platforming. The player can break the flow anytime to look for Giant Rings and other hidden goodies, and that doesn’t ruin the charm of the level. In the same way, the faster levels require the player to be familiar with them and to know how to platform to get the best results, without giving you free speed like it’s not worth it (looking at you, Advance 2).

Even the worst levels have the chance to redeem themselves, like for example Labyrinth Zone in the “Misfit Pack” Mania mod.

 Breaking the Principles.

When a level or a game breaks the balance for too long, it might become too easy (the infamous “hold right to win”), too boring (the most common argument against Sonic 1 because of levels like Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone), or too obtuse (the criticism against Sonic CD). The key word is “for too long”, as Beevean already explained how levels that prioritize one thing over the others can still be considered good stages by the majority of the fandom (example: Lava Reef, and I’d add Spring Yard and Final Egg).

As I said before, Mania shows us how there are levels that prioritize certain aspects, but only for a few minutes at a time. Mirage Saloon Act 1 for Sonic and Tails may be a slow, boring level, but it’s only 3 minutes long in a game that lasts 2-4 hours. Same goes for Carnival Night Act 2, a long, tedious level, but that is still a 4-9 minutes long interval before getting back on track with Ice Cap and Launch Base.

3D Sonic is a much more complicated situation, as every game has its pros and cons. Adventure 1 is one of the games that experiments the most with the Principles in a 3D plane, but it breaks the flow of the stages with the plot and hubs worlds to explore (which are pretty divisive even to this day; for the record, on this blog we’re pro hubs). Adventure 2 gets rid of the time-wasting hubs but each character focuses on one Principle at the time: Sonic and Shadow focus almost exclusively on speed with some platforming, Tails and Eggman on action and platforming, and Knuckles and Rouge are all about exploration (and RNG…). Sonic Unleashed does pretty much the same, just reintroducing the hub worlds, while Sonic Generations is at its core a balanced mix of speed, platforming and exploring (plus a much smaller hub between levels), and… well, I think I made myself clear. 3D Sonic is a mess of ideas that orbit around the fundamental Principles, but that for some reason are never kept consistent between games.

Going back to utterly breaking the Principles, there’s one level above all that destroys every one of those extremes, never taking the middle road and without worrying at all about what players might think of it. This level is…

Eggmanland

If Sonic Mania is a clear example of a relatively balanced flow, in its mid-game at least, Eggmanland may be the biggest example of what happens when each and every one of the Principles is taken to its extremes. Let me explain:

Speed: Eggmanland can be both too fast for the player to react, between QTE and super quick jumps that may lead to your death if you’re not fast enough (and you rarely will), or too slow of a slog to navigate (the long Werehog sections).

Platforming: Eggmanland can have too much tricky precision platforming, made even harder due to a lack of a drop shade (the second Werehog section is infamous for this), or it can throw stretches where you do almost nothing but hold X and maybe go through a QTE, which if failed lead to your death once again; at worst you have to wait, which sends us back to our previous point.

Exploration: Eggmanland can be a giant, confusing labyrinth (there is no shortage of stories of player getting lost in this behemoth of a level), and at the same time it can have some long linear room to room progression, separated by doors about as fast as Big the Cat.

I should say that, despite all of this, I love Eggmanland a lot, and same goes for Beevean; but this is something that has to do with what we mentioned before, personal preference. From a technical standpoint, and according to many players, Eggmanland is an absolute nightmare.

Are we misunderstanding Sonic?

Going back to the central topic of this article, I believe that I put enough emphasis on the importance of balance in Sonic, so let’s go back to the previous question: what is the problem?

In short, I disagree with the voices that call for redirecting Sonic towards “fast”, adrenaline-filled stages. These people, with their own retrospective, are doing some sort of revisionism with Sonic levels, automatically branding levels that aren’t as fast as others as “bad”. We’re ignoring the true value of platforming and exploring the levels, and the perception of the character is at risk.

Like Beevean said, looking at Sonic just as “gotta go fast” is, plain and simple, absurd. Sonic is much more than this restless teenager that, just like that movie with the bus, if he doesn’t run at speeds higher than 90 mph his heart will stop. Yes, going fast is a big part of his initial appealing and his way of life (“My stories only end when I stop running”); but when Sonic’s speed is brought up in these discussions, the rest of what makes the character is left outside: how much he admires nature and how much he likes to take a rest every now and then before the next adventure. Sonic OVA, Sonic Adventure, Sonic X and even Sonic Lost World’s ending show that Sonic is not just speed, but also rest, curiosity, exploration. There are even cases where the journey and the friends and memories made along the way are much more important than the destiny itself (Sonic Heroes, Sonic Unleashed), and on several occasions it’s been shown as an actual weakness of the character the fact that he would act recklessly and under the influence of the fateful “gotta go fast”. This aspect of Sonic’s attitude might probably be product of the aggressive marketing campaigns this character endured (ever since the Genesis “Blast Processing”), but it doesn’t tell the whole story, and it’s unacceptable to enforce this line of thought over everything we know about the character.

And to end this long section where I was hinting at one of the most important points of one of the most thoughtful games of the series, let’s not forget that Sonic is pretty aware that everything has a beginning and an end, because that’s the Nature’s way of things and we have to live life at its fullest, for it is finite. Running at top speed is just one of many ways Sonic lives his life, and his eyes will forever be filled, not so much with speed, but with curiosity.

Conclusions

To recap this long article, let’s remember that

Speed, Platforming and Exploration are the three basic Sonic Principles. The momentum in the games comes from the interaction between these elements.

Speed is not something that’s delivered for the sake of being delivered: it usually is a reward or an incentive to keep the player interested, engaged and excited for what’s to come.

Breaking the Principles impacts the experience of the game in many aspects… unless you’re Eggmanland and you’re breaking every single Principle in one level anyway.

To narrow Sonic down to just “speed” is to ignore everything else that this character represents. “Gotta go fast” is a facet of his design and personality, but not the only one.

Starting from this, we can sit down and discuss about “good” and “bad” levels in the series all day long, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Now that we’re about to discover what’s next for the series, I believe it’s important to clarify what Sonic represents in every stage, so that with some luck we can see better consistency and quality in his future adventures.

Speaking of this last point, I just remembered The Geek Critique’s series of Sonic retrospectives, another series of videos that inspired me and I found enlightening. Do you guys remember the videos I linked to at the beginning? Well, it’s time for you to watch them :P (if you want to, of course)

(I’d like to thank Beevean again for suggesting the best examples I could have needed. Seriously, she helped much more than it looks)

What do you guys think? What is the ideal Sonic level, and why? Do you agree that Sonic is much more than a speedy blue hedgehog? In the meantime, we’re hopefully going to see each other very soon. See you next time!

I feel this theme is strangely fitting to conclude this article, lol

~

After the Spanish article was posted, I reblogged with this:

To add something more, I was chatting with a friend of mine who pointed out that, for all the talk in the fandom that we want to see less linear levels, most of the fan favorites are pretty linear - Ice Cap, Speed Highway, City Escape, Rooftop Run… I told him that yeah, linearity isn’t a synonym of bad level design because linear levels can still be enjoyable: with these particular cases, what makes them different from a random Lost Valley is that they have other elements that make them stand out (snowboarding, running down a skyscraper, skateboarding through San Francisco, climbing the Big Ben…). Plus they have something to compensate for the linearity, like fluid platforming.

In the case of Ice Cap and Speed Highway, there’s also a contrast between their halves: IC Act 1 is cramped and heavy on platforming, while Act 2 is much faster and without many obstacles, almost as a reward; Speed Highway starts out as fast and exhiliarating, with little platforming getting in the way of running, but the At Dawn section is a short open space, to let the player catch their breath, to the point that even the music and the aesthetic are much more relaxed. So, as you said, the balance is kept, and when you add a memorable setting and music, you have a great level in your hands.

Thank you @latin-dr-robotnik​ for giving me the permission to post this! I just had to translate this fascinating article to share it with everyone :>

#sonic the hedgehog #game design #level design #long post

[wistfulcynic]

Happy Halloween! 

The second chapter of my @csrolereversal and @cshalloweek based on @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713’s stunning art, which STILL gives me a little thrill each time I watch it. I can only hope I’ve done it justice. 

Summary:  “…for we all have stripes, and we all have horns, we all have scales, tails, manes, claws and thorns

                     and here in the dark is where new worlds are born…”

It’s Halloween, when all the weird and wondrous beasts of the world creep out of the shadows and throw themselves one hell of a party. For Emma Swan and Killian Jones, witch and shapeshifter respectively, it’s a chance to kick back, get high, and watch the mayhem unfold…

Chapter One on AO3 and Tumblr

come sit at our feast - 2/2

Moonlight slanted through misty trees as they slipped through the back door of her house and into a forest imperceptible to human eyes. He shifted back to dog form and walked beside her, pressing himself firmly against her leg, his every sense alert. He disliked this forest—or rather what the forest contained—and all her mocking laughter and quoting of Terry Pratchett made no difference. Even scary things are scared of things.

The forest was dark despite the moonlight, despite the eerie glow of the mist itself, the twisty trees hung with moss and creeping vines and inhabited by other creeping things of a different nature. The mist grew denser and its glow began to pulse as they neared their destination: an ancient, gnarled oak tree with a knothole in its trunk that oozed with a sickly light.

She gestured with her hand and the knothole began to split, widening, brightening, slashing reality as it grew and grew, the ragged edges of their world curling back in outraged horror, recoiling from the impossible gash in the fabric of everything that was. Her other hand rested on his neck, fingers curling into his thick fur as they stepped through this crack in the worlds and into nowhere.

“Emma, Killian! How good of you to join us!” said a haughty voice.

The blinding brightness of the portal dimmed as it closed behind them. As their eyes adjusted to the lower light the shadowy figure belonging to the voice resolved into an elegant, black-clad woman with a menacing glint in her eye and a wide smile revealing the most even teeth Emma had ever seen, framed by two very, very sharp fangs.

“Regina.” Emma’s lip curled and Killian shifted, draping an arm around his wife’s shoulders, his face fixed in a sneer. “Why do the vampires always act like they’re in charge of these shindigs?”

Regina patted her cheek condescendingly. “When you’re nine hundred years old, you can play host,” she said. “Until then mind your place, witch.”

Emma hissed and Killian’s arm tightened around her shoulders, urging her away before she could start a fight with Regina. Again. “Now, love, remember last year,” he soothed. “You can’t keep hexing the vampires, it just annoys them. Let’s go talk to the were-creatures, instead, shall we? I see Robin over by the punch bowl and I’ve just recalled he owes me money.”

He steered Emma towards a long table formed of slender, twisted tree trunks and loaded with platters of meats and cheeses and loaves of bread, cakes and cookies and odd-looking fruits, bowls full of steaming hot liquids and ones whose vapours came from ice instead. It sat in the middle of a clearing in a forest exactly like the one they had just left, and also most decidedly unlike it. The angle of the sky was not quite right, nor the way the light fell, nor the mountains that rose above the treetops in one distance while the sound of waves pounding on a rocky shore came from another. Music flowed throughout, as though the air itself were singing, and creatures of all shapes and sizes—horned and furred and scaled, some with limbs and others with wings and still others with no body at all—mixed and mingled in time to its tune.

Next to the table stood the were-fox with his sharp ears and cunning eyes, chatting to a man whose beard and hair were formed of lush green leaves, framing a face that appeared hewn from the trunk of a tree. Each held a flagon of beer that, though they both were drinking deeply, was never less than full. Wherever the Green Man went, things were endlessly renewed… whether you wished them to be or not.

“Well met Robin, August, how are things?” asked Killian, taking two empty flagons from the table. As he handed one to Emma both began to fill with beer. Emma’s stopped just as the liquid reached the edge of the rim, but Killian’s surged up in a wave, overflowing onto his arm and down the front of his jeans.

“Oi!” he cried, setting the flagon down and shaking droplets of beer from his hand. “Watch what you’re doing, mate!”

August gave him a look that was strangely stony for a man with a wooden face. “Payback for last Halloween,” he said coolly. “You know what you did.”

Killian brushed futilely at his drenched jeans. “You’re a tree, mate. I’m a dog. Drink was taken. It was all but inevitable.”

“I’m not a tree,” snapped August, “and it better not happen again.”

“You’ve got leaves growing out of your head,” interjected Robin, who was watching the scene unfold with unbridled glee. “You’re made of wood. How exactly are you not a tree?”

“That’s precisely my point—”

“That’s a fundamental misunderstanding of—”

Emma rolled her eyes and waved her hand over Killian’s jeans to dry them, kissing his cheek as she did. He turned to her with a grin and a nod of understanding, then dove back into the argument.

She slipped away, disappearing into the throng before Robin’s band of merry were-creatures could catch sight of her and rope her into another drinking game that would end, as they inevitably did, with arrows lodged in places where no arrow should ever be. Will Scarlet was a menace with his bow and this lesson at least Emma had managed to learn from Halloween parties past.

She avoided the vampires though her fingers itched with hexing magic, and made her way towards a mournful ghost she could just see through the milling crowd, hovering atop a tree stump, pale and translucent in her white gown, with long hair loose and flowing down her shoulders to frame the oozing stab wound in her heart. Tears flowed gently and unheeded down her cheeks as she attempted to show her book of poetry to another white-clad brunette, this one with a pretty face and a sweet smile just beginning to strain at the edges. Emma stopped short as she spotted the danger, wondering if there was still time to intervene. If Belle didn’t shut up soon, Aurora was going to… oh no… no, it was too late. Aurora’s smile crumbled away, caving into her face as her mouth fell open in a cavernous O, stretching her countenance, lengthening it, her eyes sinking deep into her skull and gaping wide and black and empty.

Emma quickly performed a sound-dampening spell around her head, fixing it in place just as the bloodcurdling shriek began. Aurora’s wail rent the night and the eardrums as she rose into the air, white gown flapping madly as she swooped through the clearing. Creatures ducked and leapt to avoid her, food and drink flying every which way as they clapped their hands over their aching ears. To no avail. The cry pierced their skulls and echoed in their bones and for a single terrifying moment tempted them to madness.

And then, with a final wrenching howl that shook the treetops, Aurora whirled off into the darkness.

The silence that fell in her wake was hollow and tremulous. Slowly, cautiously, everyone began to rise and dust themselves off, blinking and shaking their heads to quell the ringing in their ears. The music flowed again, cautiously at first, and Emma tapped her temple to dissolve her spell.

“I suppose there’s no way her invitation could be lost in the mail next year.” drawled a familiar voice behind her.

“That would be unnecessarily cruel, don’t you think?” she replied, turning to  address a tall, sharply dressed woman. “Aurora looks forward to these things more than anyone. I suppose banshees don’t get much company.”

The woman smirked and her hair writhed, hissing. “She’d want to try living in a cave. The sad fact is that none of us gets much company, darling. Except perhaps you. Tell me, how is that delectable husband of yours?”

“Still delectable.” Emma’s eyes sharpened as the woman’s lips curled in a predatory smile. “Still under my protection,” she added.

“Darling, you surely don’t think that I—”

“There’s almost nothing I’d put past you, Zelena. And I prefer when only one part of Killian is rock hard, thank you very much.”

“Oh?” Zelena’s eyebrow rose over the frame of her mirrored sunglasses. Her hair slithered up, beady eyes focused on Emma, forked tongues flicking. “And which part would that be?”

Emma laughed and shook her head. She never could manage to out-brazen Zelena.

Just then they heard the drumming sound of hoofbeats in the distance, dozens of them, advancing on the gathering but from which direction it was impossible to tell.

“Bloody hell,” snapped Zelena, spinning about and peering into the shadowy depths of the forest beyond, her hair thickening, lengthening, hissing furiously as beside her Emma began to glow with magic. “Must they do this every ye—” She was cut off as the horsemen burst through the trees, careening through the clearing at a full gallop, small men on huge black horses with hooves like knives, waving spears and swords and howling fit to raise the dead.

Which was exactly the point.

This time the creatures were more or less prepared, the Wild Hunt unlike the banshee being an expected if irritating yearly occurrence. With her senses heightened by the magic flowing through her Emma was aware of all the forces gathering: Elsa brandishing her ice-shard sword and Tink’s demented giggle as she pulled razor-sharp throwing daggers from the empty air; Killian shifting and falling back on his haunches, coiled to spring with teeth bared and hackles raised; Robin notching a vicious looking arrow in his bow, his were-creatures similarly armed and primed for battle at his flank.

Emma herself raised a shield of shimmering magic just in time to deflect the enormous pickaxe that came flying straight at her head.

“Damn it, Leroy!” she shouted, whipping away the shield so she could shoot a burst of light at the manically grinning dwarf. He dodged it easily and spun about to make a second pass at her, axe raised high, eyes wide and bloodshot red, full of furious insanity. She strengthened her shield just in time as Leroy swung his axe down, striking it with such a force that sparks of magic went flying, sizzling into the night. Emma thrust a burst of energy through the shield that knocked him back into his saddle, and before he could rear up for another swing an arrow struck him in the shoulder and he nearly dropped his axe.

“What the—” His eyes narrowed in fury. “You!”

“Don’t even think about it, dwarf,” sneered a petite brunette with hair tangled and wild about her shoulders and an arrow trained at Leroy’s head. She sat atop a centaur, Emma was amused to note, a gorgeous palomino with a flowing blonde tail and a much better haircut than when she’d seen him last. It seemed things were really progressing between Snow and David.

Leroy howled in frustration, waving his axe wildly between Emma and Snow. “One of these days, sister!” he shouted. “And you— other sister! One of these days I’m gonna catch you both off your guard!”

“ENOUGH.” Regina’s voice boomed through the clearing and everyone fell silent, all eyes trained on the haughty vampire. “You’ve had your fun, dwarves, but you know the party rules,” she snapped. “No battle steeds, and try to keep the murdering to a minimum. Now get those damned horses out of here.”

With a snarl and a flourish of his axe, Leroy spun his horse around. “I’ll be back, sisters!” he cried, and galloped off.

“Don’t forget the ale!” Snow called after him.

Emma released her magic and rolled the tension from her shoulders. The Wild Hunt was decidedly not her favourite Halloween tradition. But the dwarves insisted, and the special ale they brought when they joined the party properly did make up for a lot.

She turned to her friends with a wide grin and a somewhat successful attempt to imitate Killian’s eyebrow waggle. “Well well,” she said, “Horseback riding, eh?”

David flushed red as Snow slid from his back and gave his flank an energetic pat. “It’s not what it looks like,” he mumbled, but Snow returned Emma’s wicked grin.

“I’m pretty sure it’s exactly what it looks like,” she said. “And I’m here to tell you that everything you’ve heard about horses is true. Everything.”

“I’m not a horse,” David protested weakly.

“Key parts of you are,” smirked Snow.

“Ugh, guys, please, keep it in the barn,” Emma protested.

“That’s inappropriate, Emma,” said Snow primly, as though she hadn’t just been making some seriously bawdy innuendoes. “And a bit species-ist. I don’t make jokes about Killian and doghouses.”

“Well, you do—”

David cleared his throat. “Speaking of Killian—” He looked pleadingly at Emma.

“Over by the table with Robin and August, last I saw him.”

David scanned the clearing. “Ah, yeah, there they are. Um, ladies if you’ll excuse me.” He cantered away, clearly trying not to gallop.

“So,” said Emma. “Really?”

Snow shrugged. “Love is love. The heart wants what the heart wants, Emma.”

“And your heart wants a centaur?”

“Says the woman married to a dog!”

“He’s not a dog all the time.”

“He still licks your face.” Snow’s eyes glinted with an odd light. “And other parts of you I’ll bet.”

Indeed he did. Emma smiled as a particularly fond memory sprang to her mind. “Yeah, well I might not mind that.”

A wave of heat surged around them, accompanied by a whiff of arcane magic. The smile fell from Emma’s face, replaced with a suspicious frown. She glanced at her friend. Snow’s cheeks were bright pink and her eyes looked feverish.

“And I,” she crowed, “might not mind David’s hu—”

“Shhh!” Emma put a hand on Snow’s arm. The odd heat had begun to prickle under her skin and insistent, lascivious urges were rising up in her. Urges to tell Snow everything about her sex life, all the intimate details of the passion that burned so hot between her and Killian, all the ways they liked to tease and pleasure each other. Then to find Killian himself and do all his favourite things to him until he was desperate and begging for her. No matter if everyone was watching.

Especially if everyone’s watching.  

Emma sighed. The woman was not subtle. “I know you’re there,” she said, not bothering to disguise her exasperation. “You can come out now.”

A shadow shifted at the edge of the clearing and a woman sauntered into view. Tall and slender and dressed in skintight black, with fishnet stockings and impossible heels, her long dark hair streaked with crimson. “Aww,” she pouted, lips full and glossy red. “Just as it was getting good!”

“Ruby! Are you kidding me? Did you…” Snow waved her hand. “Influence us?”

“Well, naturally.”

“I can’t believe you would do that!”

“It is literally the purpose of my existence, Snow.”

“But we’re your friends!”

“Which just makes me more curious about what you’re up to! If you would call once in a while—”

“I live in the damn mountains!”

Ruby’s reply was drowned out by the music as it began to swell, right on schedule. The Wild Hunt had ridden and all formalities had been observed. Now the party could really start. 

The music rose up loud and heavy, thrumming through the trees and into the earth, shimmering in the air. It was a wild and haunting melody with a frantic beat that made feet itch to dance. It was ancient and primal and it called to Emma, as it did to all of them. To the essence of them. 

The dwarves reappeared, on foot this time and rolling barrels of ale which they hoisted onto the table—now cleared of food—and tapped with great ceremony as a roar of approval rose from the crowd. Emma accepted a brimming flagon and a gruff nod from Leroy and drank deeply. Its rich, bitter tang coated her tongue and flowed through her, sank into her, until she could feel the pulse of blood through her veins and the moonlight on her skin.

Ruby pulled Emma and Snow into the centre of the clearing where a dance pit was already forming. The hot tingle in her belly told Emma that Ruby was exerting her sinful influence over them again but this time she didn’t care. She let the music pound through her, let it lighten her, fill her with a loose, wild joy. All the other nights of the year she had to hide what she was, and what Killian was. She had to practice her magic in secret and hex nosy townspeople like Jefferson who tried to threaten her, to blackmail her with exposure. But tonight… tonight she was free.

The dance pit pulsed and grooved and heaved with bodies as lights flickered into existence and began to strobe in the sky. Emma swung between Elsa and Anna as they twirled and dipped each other, and she shimmied in a dirty grind with Tink and the other dark fairies. She laughed as Aurora swooped down and coaxed Belle into a dance, the two of them waving their arms, white gowns flowing, and she laughed harder at Zelena and Regina, determinedly trying to one-up each other with their moves.

Killian watched her, entranced. He loved seeing her like this, his cautious and self-controlled witch just letting herself go, her hair flying in chaos around her head and her hips shaking. She was luminous, breathtaking, and he needed to touch her. He tried to take a step but found that his body moved forward while his feet did not and he went tumbling to the ground, landing hard on his shoulder with his face in a pile of crisp autumn leaves. He groaned, pushing himself up on his elbow and glaring at his feet.

His shoelaces were tied together.

“Smee!” he roared.

A little man appeared, his round face all gormless innocence, his red hat pulled low over his ears. “Sir?” he said, politely attentive.

“What the bloody hell are you playing at?” Killian snarled.

“Nothing, sir,” said Smee. He pulled a pipe from his pocket and clamped it between his teeth, then offered Killian his hand. “Can I help you up?”

I wouldn’t hurt a fly, his expression said, but Killian knew better. From harsh experience. “You absolutely cannot,” he snapped. “And begone. Take your tricks elsewhere.”

Smee backed away from his vengeful glare, straight into a young woman with auburn hair and mournful eyes and water dripping from her every pore and orifice. She had a long, sharp spear in her hand and at her heels an empty man. Smee spun around and bowed to her, apologies tripping off his lips.

“Madam,” he said. “I beg your pardon. Do allow me to—”

“Don’t even think about it,” she replied, raising her spear menacingly. The man behind her stirred in a vaguely threatening way though his eyes remained blank and glassy.

Smee changed his trajectory a second time and headed for where August stood with David and two of the dwarves. Killian made no move to stop him. He untied his laces and retied them in the correct fashion, then accepted Ariel’s drenched hand to help him up.

“Not dancing?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “Not really feeling it.” She smiled her sad smile and Killian squeezed her hand. He said nothing, though. There wasn’t much you could say, really, to a woman who’d consumed her own true love’s soul.

“You should go dance with her,” said Ariel, nodding towards the dance pit, and Emma.

“Are you sure, lass? I can stay—”

“No. Thank you. It’s enough for me just to be here. Really, it is. And Eric likes it—” She broke off, glancing at the man. Killian carefully kept the pity from his face. “But please do come to visit me, the next time you’re wandering,” Ariel continued, with an attempt at her old brightness.

“I will.” He squeezed her hand again, then impulsively bent over it with a flourish and a gallant kiss. “Milady,” he said.

She smiled, as he’d hoped she would, and he turned away with a smile of his own, plunging into the dancing throng in search of his wife.

When he found her there was manic colour in her cheeks and her eyes were wide, the green a thin ring around the black pupils.

“Heeeyyy,” she said, pulling him close by his jacket collar and wrapping herself around him for a consuming kiss. She tasted of bitter dwarf ale and her own sweet essence, and something else he couldn’t identify. Something that made his tongue tingle and his head spin.

“What are you on?” he asked her breathlessly when the kiss ended.

“These.” She waved her hand and a pile of deep orange berries appeared on her palm. He frowned.

“What are they?”

“Rowan berries. I mean, sort of. But like, insanely strong ones.” She widened her eyes for emphasis then giggled, swaying on her feet. “Probably crossed with something else. Snow brought them from the mountains. I might use some in my winter tea. Here, try them.”

He took the berries from her hand and popped them in his mouth. They burst on his tongue with a bright, fresh flavour and the spinning sensation intensified. A tingling warmth spread across his skin and he could swear he felt Emma pressed against him with each individual cell of his body. He could taste the music. It was delicious.

“Bloody hell,” he muttered.  

“Right?” Emma pulled his mouth to hers again kissed him hard, her fingers tight in his hair. “Reminds me of that night we spent in Norway. Those draligonberries.”

“Aye.”

He curled his arm around her waist and his hand over her ass as they began to sway in time with the pounding rhythm, moving to the music that they heard with their eyes and tasted in their skin, grinding heedlessly, shamelessly against each other, genuinely not caring who might be watching them because they knew no one was.

How long they danced he had no idea, time held no real meaning here and what little attention he was able to focus was all on Emma. They danced and they kissed and they laughed, drifting gradually towards the edge of the clearing until they were tucked against a tree, his hands roaming under her skirt, her mouth on his neck. Through the fading haze left by the berries he could see the others still writhing in a dance that now more closely resembled an orgy: Ruby with her mouth on Elsa’s breast, Anna’s legs wrapped tight around Will, Tink drawing her ragged fingernails roughly down Little John’s neck, Regina with her fangs sunk deep into Robin’s. She sensed Killian’s eyes on her and looked up, her own eyes wild and blood dripping from her crimson lips. She smirked at him and ran her tongue along them.

Robin grabbed her hair and pulled her back down to him, holding her still as he dragged his nose across her cheek and licked the rest of his blood from her lips before kissing her, and Killian realised he’d seen enough.

“Emma. Look at me, love.”

“Hmmmm?” She blinked rapidly, trying to focus. “What is it?”

He brushed a lock of hair back from her face. “Let’s go home.”

“Now? Why?”

“Fuck until sunrise, remember?”

“Mmm, goddess, yes, I want that,” she purred, twining her arms around his neck. “Want you.”

“And I you, but—” he broke off as she kissed him, rocking her hips against him until he could barely think. He pressed her hard against the tree and let himself get lost in her, let the berries still lingering on her tongue carry him away as they kissed, deep and wet and needy.

Fuck it, he thought, we’ll just fuck here. Everyone else is.

The sound of David’s hooves on the forest floor jolted him back to awareness of just where here actually was, and he pulled his mouth from Emma’s in time to see his friend galloping into the forest with Snow on his back.

He shook his head, trying to clear it. They needed to go home, to their own bed, and they needed to do it now before things got any further out of hand. “Emma, darling—” he began.

“Yeah.” Her eyes were sharper now, and she had also seen Snow and David. “Let’s go home.”

She waved her hand, slashing through reality once again and their portal opened. He shifted as they stepped through it, letting her lean against him, her fingers sunk deep into his fur as they walked home through the moonlit night. They slipped silently past the garden gate and through the door and up the stairs to their bedroom. Killian shifted again, half wishing he could shed his clothes as part of his transformation, but when he moved to unfasten his jeans Emma reached out and stilled his hand.

“Allow me,” she said softly, and removed both their clothes with a snap of her fingers. She smirked at him and he growled, grabbing her roughly around the waist and tumbling them both onto the bed.

“By the goddess how I love you, Emma Swan,” he breathed.

She cupped his face in her hands, tracing his cheekbone with her thumb. “I love you too. Happy Halloween, Killian.”

“Happy Halloween, my love.”

―

“A witch ought never to be frightened in the darkest forest… because she should be sure in her soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her.”

― Terry Pratchett

― 

a/n for anyone wondering what exactly the OUAT characters were meant to be (and MASSIVE thanks to @thisonesatellite for helping me figure that out): Regina- vampire Robin- were-fox Will- were-ferret Little John- were-bear Anna- dark elf Elsa- valkyrie Aurora- banshee August- Green Man Smee- Klabautermann Dwarves- Wild Hunt Tink- dark fairy Ariel- ondine Snow-oread David- centaur Belle- ghost Zelena- gorgon Ruby- personification of sin

#csrolereversal #cs halloweek #captain swan #cs fic #cs ff #cs ff au #magic au #halloween #halloween party #monster mash #come to our feast #profdanglaisstuff #allons-y-to-hogwarts-713

[blancheludis]

@ironhusbandsweek, @rhfenovemberbash Day 3: “You know what you’re doing, right?”

Fandom: Marvel, Iron Man Characters: Tony Stark/James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Obadiah Stane Tags: Established Relationship, Misunderstanding, Love, Arguing, Fluff, Stark Industries Words: 3.675

Summary: When Rhodey comes home one night to find Tony sitting amongst moving boxes, he suspects the worst, that Tony is breaking up with him. The truth, as it turns out, does not have him any less worried. 

---

The distinct sound of the key in the lock has Tony straighten with sudden panic. He is sitting on the ground in a mess of things he thinks about throwing away, but between him and the door is an assortment of moving boxes that he would not be able to hide even if he were quick enough to get to them before the door opens.

So that is how Rhodey finds him. Arms raised like a shield in front of him, eyes blown wide, and definite panic on his face. He could not have looked guiltier if he had tried.

To give Rhodey credit, he takes in the situation before he comes to any conclusions, then takes a step farther into their apartment and closes the door with a too calm expression.

“What is going on?” he asks, very carefully holding all accusations out of his tone. In his place, Tony is certain he would not have remained this unmoved.

“Platypus,” Tony calls, voice too high to be natural. “I didn’t think you’d be home so early.” Swallowing, he closes his eyes, cursing his mouth for speaking without waiting for his head to give green light.

“What does that mean?” Rhodey asks, staying right where he is, eyeing the mess Tony has turned their hallway into. “Were you planning on moving out while I was not looking?”

The very thought has Tony feeling sick. This apartment has been his first real home. All the credit for that belongs to Rhodey.

“No,” Tony exclaims hastily and gets to his feet but stays where he is, unsure whether he will be welcome. “No, it’s just, I’m turning twenty-one next week.”

With that, Tony’s mouth clicks shut. He has tried to prepare an explanation, but he is not good with words. Somehow, he always messes it up, no matter how much he practices. He thought he would have more time, did not expect Rhodey to be home so soon, catching him red-handed. A week longer, and everything would have been done and – well, that would not have made it easier, but Tony would not have had a chance to hide anymore.

“I’m aware,” Rhodey answers dryly, not taking his eyes off Tony as if that could cause the moving boxes between them to disappear. “I’ve got a secret party planned where we lock our door and spend the day with cheeseburgers and ice cream without ever getting out of bed.”

“That’s –” Tony cuts himself off. Perfect is what that is. An entire day with Rhodey. No obligations, no projects, no training. That is all he would have wished for if asked. “That’s utterly predictable but still very sweet of you.”

Tony smiles but Rhodey does not answer in kind. Stomach roiling, Tony feels a rising nausea.

“Well, it was until you were apparently planning to break up with me by disappearing without a word,” Rhodey says, keeping his tone so flat that the words do not register with Tony for a long minute.

When they do, he winces, staring at Rhodey, aghast. How could Rhodey ever come to a conclusion like that? There is no arguing that Tony is a disaster of a human being who manages to mess up even the simplest things, but this?

“That’s not what this is,” Tony argues, feeling breathless. In all the ways he thought this could go wrong, this was not among them. “I’m not breaking up with you. Ever.”

That would mean to throw away the best thing that has ever happened to him. His best friend. The love of his life.

Crossing his arms, Rhodey finally takes a step forward, if only to nudge one of the as of yet empty boxes with his foot.

“Explain this, then,” he says, in that tone that means he is not going to take any more excuses as an answer.

“I, all right,” Tony mutters, and cautiously stays where he is. Gathering his courage, he looks at Rhodey and says, “Obie called.”

He sees Rhodey stiffen and has been waiting for it too. Rhodey has never warmed to Obadiah. The animosity goes both ways, really. Whenever Tony asked, he did not get a clear answer from either of them. Rhodey said he does not know why, that Obadiah just rubs him wrong, but Tony is sure that is just because Rhodey has a fundamental distrust of everybody who was involved in Tony’s upbringing. It is endearing right up until it is not.

“What did he want?” Rhodey asks in a flat tone, even less willing now to let the matter rest.

Judging on the way they are standing, with the entire hall between them, tiny as it is, it feels entirely too much as if they are facing off. Tony wishes nothing more than that he left the moving boxes in his lab for a week longer.

“I’m turning twenty-one,” Tony repeats himself, unable to avoided the inevitable for any longer. Again, his voice gives out, knowing how little Rhodey will like this.

“I am still aware of that,” Rhodey comments, not hiding his impatience anymore.

Taking a deep breath, Tony keeps his head up and just lets out the truth. There is no cushioning it anyway.

“I’m getting control of SI back once I turn twenty-one. I would have just let Obie stay on as CEO, but he talked to me and said how much better it would be if I came back, that the company needs a ‘Stark at the helm’ again. I –” Shrugging, Tony trails off, unable to look Rhodey in the eye.

Obadiah’s call has surprised nobody more than him. He thought Obadiah was happy with the state of things, considering that Tony does not have much patience for business and Obadiah has not much patience for him these days. As supportive as he had been after Tony’s parents’ death, he probably thought Tony would get over his grief and the subsequent acting out quicker than this.

What Obadiah calls acting out is mostly just Tony having his own ideas about what to do with his life. Namely staying in Boston, sharing his apartment and life with Rhodey, and building more exciting things than weapons.

“You want to go back to SI?” Rhodey asks and sounds taken aback about it. His posture loses some of its defensiveness.

Tony does not want to. Life is good here. Up until now, everything has worked out well enough with him sending the occasional blueprint to R&D without ever having to get directly involved in how the company is run. Obadiah just thinks that is not going to cut it anymore.

He does not know what to say, so he bites his lip and stares at the boxes at his feet.

“Tones, look at me,” Rhodey all but orders and waits with infinite patience until Tony complies. His eyes are not as cool anymore, but the matter is far from resolved. “What are you doing?”

The usual, Tony wants to say, making life more complicated. Instead, he shrugs as if he could ever appear casual in a moment like this.

“You’re shipping out next week,” Tony finally answers, ignoring how much he is dreading that moment when the war is going to steal Rhodey from him again. “I thought that would be a good time for me to move too.”

In his head, it had sounded like a good plan. In any case, it would give him something to do while Rhodey was gone.

“We’re giving up our apartment?” Rhodey questions.

If they were not almost arguing, Tony could have kissed him for the use of we. Tony is making things difficult again, but Rhodey still thinks of them as a team, is still willing to follow Tony even without quite knowing where yet. It is his right to not sound too happy about it, though.

“I can keep the lease,” Tony offers and knows it is the wrong thing to say before he watches Rhodey’s face darken.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you damn well know it.” Despite the swearing, Rhodey keeps his voice calm, measured. He knows how badly Tony deals with being yelled at. Countless times, Tony has wondered how he deserves Rhodey in his life, and he has not yet come any closer to an answer.

Tony takes a step closer towards Rhodey, holding his arms slightly in front of him as he thinks about reaching out but does not quite dare it.

“I’m not giving up on anything here, Rhodey,” Tony says with vehemence. He knows that, if this relationship will break apart at some point, it will most likely be on him, but Tony is not going to be the one who calls things off. “But what did you think?” he continues, at once apologetic and firm. “That I’d stay in Boston forever, waiting for you to come home to me when you’ve got leave? SI is my company. I have to take responsibility for it at some point.”

Rhodey watches him. He does not look happy, but Tony did not expect him to be. The question is whether they will turn this into an argument – although Tony will not let it come that far. If Rhodey makes him choose, the way forward is clear. Stark Industries has never been that important to Tony, and it is certainly not more important than Rhodey.

“I have never heard you say anything positive about Stark Industries and now you want to take over?” Rhodey asks. A dozen more questions are hidden in there, all of them justified. Tony could not have been happier to turn his back on Stark Industries the very moment his father died. He always knew he could not hide forever, though.

“What else am I going to do?” Tony asks and would gladly take a viable solution. “Obie has been patient enough.”

Cocking his head to the side, Rhodey says, “You could screw them and do what you want.”

It is sometimes hard to reconcile the Rhodey who went to all their classes and did all their classwork with the one who regularly tells him to go against everybody’s expectations of him and take care of his own needs first. Of course, Rhodey needed to be a model student because not everybody can expect to get away with setting fires inside college buildings or correcting their professors or ducking out of classes because they are boring without repercussion. He did not have either the right skin colour, last name, or money for that.

“What if I don’t know what that is?” Tony asks and means it with every fibre of his being.

He wants to stay here instead of moving across the country. He wants to work on his own projects instead of slaving for a company he does not really think is his. He wants to have Rhodey close at all times instead of dealing with people he does not like and who do not like him because he is not enough like his father.

“Then find out,” Rhodey says. It is a challenge. He should know that it will not work to challenge Tony to just be a better version of himself. The rot sits deep within him.

Feeling every step of distance between them like a physical weight on his shoulders, Tony shrugs helplessly. “I don’t have time.”

In response, Rhodey scoffs. “Nonsense, Tony,” he argues. “You’ve got all the time in the world.”

Theoretically, that might even be true. Tony has enough money that he would not need to work a day in his life. The company is doing well enough that it can keep running like this for a while. There is no need to rush. If not for one little thing.

“I’ve already told Obie that I’m coming,” Tony admits sheepishly. He does not look quickly enough away from Rhodey to miss the displeasure flashing over his face.

“Then tell him you’ve changed your mind.”

Perhaps Rhodey thinks it truly is that simple. Sudden irritation flares inside Tony’s chest. Not much of it because he still hates arguing with his boyfriend, but enough that he looks up with fire in his eyes.

“Why are you so against it?” he questions, wishing that the few people he trusts in his life would get along. “It’s my life and my company. I thought you were on my side.”

That is a low blow and completely unwarranted too. The words hang between them for a moment, too late for Tony to take them back.

“I am,” Rhodey says firmly, sounding hurt that Tony would suggest otherwise. “But you’ve always been miserable when you had to deal with your father or SI. I just can’t see you returning to that life turning out any better than the first time.”

It is Rhodey’s concern for Tony that causes him to keep arguing, not doubt. Still, it feels like Tony needs to defend himself.

“This time, I’m in charge,” he says but does not wholly believe himself. It might be his name on the building, but he has never led a company of that size, or any company at all. He will have to work hard to catch up, to avoid being outmanoeuvred at any time by the sharks of the industry and his own board members.

In front of him, Rhodey’s shoulders slump. Tony is not naïve enough that this is the end of it, but at least it feels like they are not on completely different sides of this anymore.

“You don’t even like New York,” Rhodey points out weakly, looking at the moving boxes as if they have personally offended them.

Bolstered by the change in mood, Tony pushes some of the boxes out of the way and walks closer towards Rhodey so they are not talking from opposite ends of the hall anymore. He still does not dare to reach out but the closeness alone soothes his nerves.

“That’s why we’re moving headquarters to California,” Tony explains quietly, unsure how Rhodey is going to take another surprise. “I’ve set my eyes on a nice strip of land in Malibu for us.”

“For us, hm?” Rhodey says. Just those two words, but they are enough to make Tony feel like his world is crumbling. Where he was at first only afraid that Rhodey would not agree with his decision, he now thinks that Rhodey might not come with him at all.

It was never supposed to be like this. He was going to hide the moving boxes until Rhodey was gone and then let him fly to Malibu when he was next on leave. He would come to the house Tony is picturing for them and it would be too late to doubt his decision because everything was already said and done then, and perhaps Tony would have already found his footing then and everything would be all right. He could have shown Rhodey that everything is all right.

“Of course, for us,” Tony says hurriedly, stumbling over the words while he tries to keep himself from pleading incoherently. “I mean, I’m not going to force you to come with me. I meant it when I said I could keep this apartment for you. It’s just – I – we –”

He is not going to have a panic attack because his own bad planning is catching up with him. There is nothing to be afraid of. They have weathered worse things than this; Howard trying to pay Rhodey off to avoid the headlines of Tony being bisexual, Tony acting like a complete maniac at college with no regard for his own safety. The examples are numerous. In a twisted sort of way, it could be amusing that their downfall is coming now, when they have finally settled down, ready to be their own people.

A hand on his arms has Tony crashing back into the present. Rhodey is there, right in front of him. His eyes are warm but worried.

“Stop that, Tones,” he says quietly, waiting patiently for Tony’s breathing to calm down and the wildness to disappear from his gaze. “I’m not going to break up with you,” he then promises with enough conviction that there is no doubting him. “I just wish you would have told me. Before.”

It was perhaps rather short-sighted of Tony to think that he could avoid arguing about this whole matter by bypassing Rhodey completely. Relocating their home without asking would have probably been even worse than that.

Tony did not know how to ask, though. He cannot yet make sense of his own feelings, so he trusts himself navigating Rhodey’s even less.

“You’re not mad?” Tony asks, cursing himself for the hope evident in his tone. Rhodey is not one to exploit such weaknesses but old habits die hard.

“A little bit,” Rhodey admits, but he has still not taken his hand from Tony’s arm. “Because I don’t think you’ll be happy with this decision.”

Tony knows he will be happy anywhere as long as Rhodey is with him. And when he is not, Tony just needs to keep himself busy. Stark Industries will work just fine.

“I couldn’t leave Obie hanging for any longer,” Tony offers, knowing it has been unfair to shirk his duties for so long. Taking over Stark Industries might not be exactly what he wants to do with his life, but it is what he was raised for.

Sighing, Rhodey pulls him close and rests their cheeks together when Tony guiltily snakes his arms around him.

“You know what you’re doing, right?” Rhodey asks quietly, his breath warm on Tony’s skin. “You know what you’re getting yourself into? This is not just because you feel guilty you ran from SI after your father died?”

As close as they are, there is no room for lies between them, so Tony says, “I think I know what I’m doing.” That is the best he has to offer.

He feels Rhodey relaxing more into their hug. With reawakened humour, Rhodey remarks, “I guess that’s better than usual.”

For a long moment, they just breathe, holding on to each other as if there was real danger of them not being able to do so again. Tony wishes he would never have to let go, but then he draws back, remaining close enough that they never lose all contact.

“You’re going to come with me, right?” he asks, still afraid of the answer.

“Of course,” Rhodey answers without the slightest reluctance. Only then does he allow himself a smile. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

As if Tony would ever want to get rid of Rhodey. It still surprises him sometimes how much he loves him, how incomplete he feels without Rhodey at his side. Growing up, he had seen both extremes of love. Howard and Maria who were at best cool with each other and at worst cursed each other’s existence. And then Jarvis and Ana, who were perfect, utterly besotted and best friends to boot. If asked, Tony would have put all his money on ending like his father, no matter how much he wished for the opposite. Rhodey is more than his love, he is proof that there is hope for Tony.

Instead of trying to fit all of that into words, Tony takes the coward’s way out and says, “You’ll love the house.”

It is not a lie. The house will be gorgeous and Tony can already imagine them walking down its halls.

“I thought you were only looking at land for now,” Rhodey asks with some suspicion. It would not be the first time that Tony has gone completely overboard.

“I’ve already designed it,” Tony corrects hastily. He has the blueprints lying around and created a 3D model. “Do you want to see or do you want it to be a surprise?”

There are still some problems with the statics and getting the house exactly where he wants it to be. But it is not like a too steep cliff that has made all kinds of architects turn away would actually frighten Tony. He has been picturing their life there, so he is going to make it happen.

“No offence, Tones,” Rhodey says but he is smiling, “but I could do with less of your surprises.”

“I love you?” It ends up sounding too much like a question, although Tony has tried to overcome his insecurity regarding Rhodey’s feelings for him. Rhodey is not the kind of person who would let himself be tied down with someone he does not love, so it is unfair to question his commitment just because Tony still cannot imagine anyone choosing him.

Rhodey’s smile widens when he answers, “And I love you.”

In response, Tony shifts closer and does not hide his relief when Rhodey moves his arm immediately around him again. This is still the safest place in the entire world.

“It’s much warmer in California too,” Tony says quietly, hell-bent on selling the advantages of moving. “And –”

“Stop talking, Tones,” Rhodey shushes him, pressing a kiss into his hair. “I’ve said yes. You should have learned by now to quit when you’re ahead.”

A short bout of laughter tumbles over Tony’s lip. “It usually doesn’t feel like I’m ahead,” he says and means it.

No matter how much he tries, it always feels like he stumbles behind everybody else, trying and failing to keep up, to live up to their expectations. With Rhodey he knows he has someone who will always wait for him instead of running ahead.

“That’s what you’ve got me for. To remind you,” Rhodey remarks good-naturedly. “Now, let’s have a look at that house of ours. And then I’ll help you pack.”

Despite that, they remain where they are for long minutes, just enjoying each other’s closeness. It does not matter what they will pack or what Rhodey will say to the house. Tony would change all of it in a heartbeat. Because this, Tony being held in Rhodey’s arms, is home.

#ironhusbandweek #RhodeyTonyNovemberBash #rhfe #rhodeytony #ironhusbands #fluff #love #fanfiction #tony stark #rhodey #mit era #stark industries #tony does not make the best decision #rhodey loves him anyway #my writing #ao3

[tippitv]

Supernatural recap: 15.04 “Atomic Monsters”

Howdy, recap readers! It's going to be a short one this week as I'm currently battling a cold that's evolved into an ear infection that is currently making me about as well-balanced as a baby giraffe on ice skates. I considered skipping this episode entirely but there were things I really wanted to cover about it.

Namely, there's this opening scene in the bunker. Everything is lit red like a security system has been breached. Indeed, the place is swarming with monsters of some kind. Demons? Yes. Demons. Dean is coolly going about killing them in ballet-like slow motion that speeds back up for the fatal blows.

You can tell at once from the directorial choices that things aren't quite right. The aforementioned lighting is one sign. The influx of demons is another. Then there's Dean's very full beard and imperfect hair. I mean, his hair IS perfect because there's nothing he could do to make it ugly. But it's not its usual texture-puttied self. It's messy and dry, down on his forehead. Dean has obviously not had time to devote to it. All he's got is genetics. The infinity scarf he's sporting is also some kind of indicator of some kind of thing. Maybe it's a sign that he's now some kind of sexy post-apocalyptic lumberjack assassin.

Anyway, what I'm saying is that Ackles, who directed this episode, injected more creativity than regular directors tend to. Which, you know, I get it. Not every episode is going to be innovative. They have a limited schedule and budget. But it does get to a point where many scenes in many episodes feel as if they don't need directors at all. Just have everyone sit down and talk or walk from point A to point B and talk. It gets to be a bit paint-by-numbers so it's nice to have an injection of someone's energy and point of view who's not one of the four or five main directors.

Ah, here's the part where I momentarily lost my shit.

Dean offs a bunch of demons and then pauses when he finds BENNY THE MUTHAFUCKIN FRIENDLY VAMPIRE critically wounded. I've made no secret of the fact that Benny's one of my favorite short-term characters. He had a fantastic intro and a tragic send-off that came too soon.

He dies again (NOOOO) after telling Dean once more, "See you on the other side, brother."

Dean resumes stalking around the bunker in search of the mysterious enemy who turns out to be Sam. Sam's hair is especially bouffant now, which I think is one of the usual indicators of his state of evilness.

And indeed he has returned to imbibing demon blood for reasons we're not yet privy to. We know from their chat that he killed Bobby and Jody (NOOOO) because they got in the way of his doing something. Dean tries to talk some sense into him but Sam's eyes go black and he telekinetically breaks his bro's neck.

In the present day, a non-demonic Sam wakes up with a start. He doesn't tell Dean which means at some point we're going to get an angry confrontation about why Sam didn't mention sooner that something was wrong.

Also, I don't know if Sam is supposed to be a full vegetarian these days but at the least he doesn't eat meat-based bacon anymore, so Dean lying about the kind of bacon he's been buying is a dick move. Also, we're super late in the timeline for Dean's masculinity to still be so fragile. Stop acting like a bite of soybean is going to make your testicles detach from your body and Plinko their way down your pants legs.

Okay so the A-plot is this: Sam and Dean investigate a high school cheerleader's death. It's immediately apparent that the parents of some lacrosse boy are involved because they have that standard "we're vaguely familiar Canadian actors whose characters get more attention than non-villains would warrant" introduction. Now, in a logical world, Sam and Dean would immediately peg them for murderers or at least accomplices, because they've seen this pattern play out many times, but then the A-plot would be over. Long story short: Their son got turned into a vampire but they want him to have a normal life where they live vicariously through his lacrosse successes at Yale. The kid's less of a monster than his parents, and volunteers himself for a beheading. It's a little bit sad but we spent more time on misdirection than getting to know him. It was too late to cure him but Dean could've mentioned his pal Benny who gave up killing. Then Sam could've made an uncomfortable face that communicated "THIS IS RELEVANT TO MY VISION BUT I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING."

Noteworthy is the use of Jensen Ackles's own song "Sounds of Someday" over the ending of this plot. He has a lovely singing voice and it's different enough from his Dean speaking voice (no gargling with gravel here) that I'm not sure I'd notice if I were just a casual viewer.

Now for the B-plot which is actually the more important plot to the season: the return of Supernatural fangirl Becky.

As with probably many of you, my first reaction was to shudder because eight years wasn't enough for me to forgive and forget the utter grossness of "Time for a Wedding!" That one's right up there with the manwitch dog episode for grossness with me. But Becky's gotten herself sorted out and is disgusted by her own actions towards Sam back then, so I'm kind of glad she showed up.

Who else shows up? Chuck Almighty. In need of an ego boost, he intrudes upon Becky's life. She's got herself a handsome husband and cute kids now, and her own Etsy store selling handcrafted Supernatural merch, but she feels a grain of pity for her old boyfriend. Thinking he's an abandoned prophet, she encourages him to get back to writing, but has a little bit of concrit for his new Sam and Dean fluff fic.

Y'all ever had a fic writer who said they wanted a beta reader but then got super mad at even the most helpful advice? Yeah, that's Chuck.

So he starts writing another story. This one is tortured and dark and painful. I think it's basically supposed to be Sam's dream from the opening. But I think the show fundamentally misunderstands something about fans and writing here. Becky says she hates the story because it's dark and hopeless. That's not necessarily why fans hate certain endings. A dark seemingly hopeless ending can feed a fandom for decades and spawn a million fics. But one that isn't earned? One that doesn't feel like a natural outcome of what came before? That's the stuff of shit heaps. That's the stuff people hate.

In writing, a gut punch is good. A sucker punch is bad.

Chuck finally reveals to Becky that he's God by disappearing her husband, her kids, and eventually her, too. Now he's just gonna squat in her house and use her computer. Ex-boyfriends are the worst, amirite?

So that's it for this week. Please reblog if you enjoyed this recap and visit my virtual tip jar if you can: https://ko-fi.com/A4017DA

I'm consistently broke and could use a supply of Nyquil and/or ice skates.

#supernatural #spn recaps #my recaps #atomic monsters #tippitv

[wingsporkhalo]

New Senshi Generation: A Sailor Moon Fanfiction Spork

Hello all! I didn’t get my rear in gear to edit the next video for TodoBaku/BakuTodo, so we’re doing a new fic today!

Today’s fic comes to you from a reader submission! Thank you so much, @happysmilehello! (Not sure why it’s not letting me tag you...)

Now, I am by no means an expert at anything Sailor Moon. I watched maybe 30 episodes of the original (undubbed) anime way back in high school out of sheer curiosity. A lot of it didn’t stick with me. So! I brought on a Sailor Moon expert to help me with this, who also happens to be one of my very best friends! Thanks for all your help, @kittykatz009! All of that out of the way, let’s get started on New Senshi Generation!

============================================================

KittyKatz009 dont even get me started on how they changed the names in the 90s dub

WingSongHalo B U N N Y

KittyKatz009 any more questions before we get started on this wonderful fic

I WISH THEY WOULD HAVE JUST STUCK WITH BUNNY

WingSongHalo ah yes here is the link

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8050676/1/New-Senshi-Generation

KittyKatz009 okay. we are open

WingSongHalo wait they named her something other than Bunny? I forgot that

KittyKatz009 in the english dub her name was Serena

WingSongHalo OH YEAH

KittyKatz009 Usagi -- Serena Ami -- Amy Rei -- Ray Makoto -- Lita Minako -- Mina Mamoru -- Darien ChibiUsa -- Rini

WingSongHalo I like how Ami and Rei got to stay the same lksjdflk

KittyKatz009 just had to ~Americanize~ it

WingSongHalo yeah because schoolgirls wearing seifuku is totally American

KittyKatz009 you know okay. im already on paragraph 2 and have issues

WingSongHalo

The time is 30th Century Crystal Tokyo.

That really sounds more like a year, not a time. If I ask you for the time and you tell me that I'm gonna be pissed

Nobody would ask for a better ruler than her.

Hmm. Your wording, saying nobody WOULD and not nobody COULD, suggests that they are too intimidated to ask for more...

She had a beautiful daughter named Lady Serenity, but the kingdom knew her as ChibiUsa.

Poor little bastard.

She admired her so much that she wanted to be trainind by her.

She wanted to be what now?

She hated that name so much that she asked to be called Usagi.

Understandable.

KittyKatz009 okay so like. Shinta... who is your father? Also, Makoto didn't necessarily like picking fights. she would defend herself, yes. but it wasn't like she was going and picking fights with everyone and their mother. Like yes, I know Makoto got kicked out of her last school for being in a fight, but that does't mean she is a delinquent. this was a part of her entire fucking arc

WingSongHalo

Instead, she more likely to get away from trouble.

She also more likely to skip words in sentences? Hmmm thanks for this background info. So the author has a fundamental misunderstanding of a character's personality right out of the gate.

KittyKatz009 like, everyone was scared of Makoto when she came to school because they heard the rumors and Usagi is all like "damn she cute. let me be her friend" and then there were the bonus points of Makoto being a great cook and Usagi being a bottomless pit

WingSongHalo

but she truely hated it.

Know what I truely hate? People spelling truly like that

KittyKatz009 okay... Amari. you are a carbon copy of your mother jesus christ

WingSongHalo

She spent all of her time the nose in the books and truely believe that friends weren't a necessaty in life.

...there's so much wrong with this sentence that I don't know what to focus on. I think I'll pick "the nose in the books." Like, what nose? Whose? is it just some big-shnauzed person that everyone has nicknamed The Nose? Why are they imprisoning them in the books? What did they do to incur this punishment?

But unfortunatly, she was raised as a fighter.

Excuse you, being raised as a fighter is usually really beneficial for royalty

She had become the new Sailor V.

Wow, she was five of them all by herself?

When she saw the teacher enter the room, she thaught she had saw her before.

She what now

I will call out your name to take your presence.

Where are you taking it and what do you plan to do with it??

KittyKatz009 Actually, Sailor V was Venus's name before she went by Venus, so that one actually tracks

WingSongHalo huh... I understand nothing

Present mam.

Is that Present Mic's similarly-Quirked sister? If it's not, it is now.

I just hope that you won't be as much of a pain as she was.

Wow, this teacher is a real gem!!

Even if she is our gracefull Queen today, your mother truely gave me numerous headaches while under my teachings.

Shit, I'd be late to your class every day too if you talk that ungrammatically. Plus I would also have headaches. NUMEROUS headaches.

KittyKatz009 Sailor Venus awoke first out of the 5 of them, so her alias she went by when she was fighting crime by herself was Sailor V

WingSongHalo huh! So I guess she kind of was 5 all by herself!

KittyKatz009 lmao yeah okay so im stuck on the fact that the author has switched between 90;s english dub and the manga

WingSongHalo

No mam, I might be my mother's daughter, but I am not as clubsy as she was before.

I... assume this means she's not in any clubs?

But she knew, after what had happened, miss Haruna would call her mother.

??? Did I somehow miss something happening? She didn't do anything wrong, did she?

KittyKatz009 Haruna????

WingSongHalo no I mean why would the teacher call Usagi's mother? Usagi didn't do anything wrong

I am very resorsfull.

Then learn to read a dictionary, geez.

KittyKatz009 Im just SO CONFUSED like, they're in Crystal Tokyo now. why in the world would Ms. Haruna be there? She was from the 20th century

WingSongHalo

My mother is not all there sometimes.

I know this means "my mother isn't there all the time," but this wording definitely is Usagi calling her mother crazy aslkfjs;lkd Yeah they mention being in the 20th century?? it says "Usagi felt embarassed as she knew how her mother was in the 20th century. It was now the time to show how she was a lot more mature at her age." oh okay so that was the past

KittyKatz009 i mean, Chibiusa DID think her mom was crazy.

WingSongHalo Haruna is here from there I guess, as a fully-grown woman

KittyKatz009 but... Ms. Haruna was already a full grown woman in the 20th century... she was Usagi's teacher... CLUMSY. That's supposed to be clumsy. jesus

WingSongHalo yes it's supposed to be clumsy

KittyKatz009 okay lol

WingSongHalo and oh I see. So Haruna is just old now

KittyKatz009 Haruna would be fucking dust JESUS I WANT TO CALL YOU AND SCREAM

WingSongHalo laj;fsdlk I listened to a lot of loud crowds and stuff today so I would probably just panic if I heard screaming atm XD

KittyKatz009 not ACTUALLY scream lol but i know what you mean more like rant. bc im on the paragraph about the bad guy and I HAVE WORDS

WingSongHalo

I always spend time talking to all of my firends."

You always spend time talking to Firenze? What are you doing in the Forbidden Forest to begin with?? Not to mention that conversations with centaurs are hardly ever productive; you're probably wasting your time.

An new evil face had been awaken from it's deep sleep.

The new evil face is deep sleep apparently

KittyKatz009 I HAVE SO MANY ISSUES WITH THIS

WingSongHalo

She had long red hair covered by a light pink vail.

A light pink what now

Deep blue eyes and a long turquish blue dress.

Ah yes, Turquish, from the country of Tourquey. Say, won't you have some Tourquish Delight in the Tourquish Bath? Later we'll have some Thanksgiving Tourquey.

KittyKatz009 So you just add -ai to the end of Beryl's name and that's how you get your new villain's name???

WingSongHalo

She was the new Queen of the Negaverse.

All right what the hell is the Negaverse. Please tell me it's better than the Omegaverse

KittyKatz009 Negaverse was the 90's dub term for the Dark Kingdom Next, we have a continuation error. Endymion can't be both the King of Crystal Tokyo AND the Dark Prince. So either he be cheating on Usagi, or you're grasping at straws here for this one.

WingSongHalo

The second one was Cyrius, who controls the East and willed the power of ice. The thrid was general Tera, who controls the West and willed the powers of the earth. And finally, Tempest, who controls the Southern parts of the Underworld and controls the wind.

Mkay so these names are rooted in Greek and Roman Mythology so this leads me to believe that the author did not come up with these names by themself

KittyKatz009 that was what i was thinking too. and convenience was used

WingSongHalo Wait Endymion is with Usagi? Usagi Senior? Wouldn't that just make him Tuxedo Mask

KittyKatz009 Okay, Mamoru, aka Tuxedo Mask, is Endymion

WingSongHalo ah

KittyKatz009 Endymion was the protector of Earth who fell in love with the Moon Princess

WingSongHalo that sure is a lot of names for one person, but I guess it's pretty funny that his name literally means "to protect"

KittyKatz009 he was, for all intents and purposes, Sailor Earth lmao

WingSongHalo I WAS JUST THINKING THAT

KittyKatz009 SAME TERU BRAIN

WingSongHalo "all these dumb bitches writing Sailor Earth fiction... they had one all along"

KittyKatz009 there's so much lore getting messed up here it's ridiculous

WingSongHalo I'm so so glad I have you here to help me parse it all LOL I'd be totally ignorant about everything

KittyKatz009 also... CHIBIUSA IS ALREADY A SAILOR GUARDIAN. YOU CAN'T FUCKING RE-AWAKEN HER. SHE DIDN'T GET HER MEMORIES WIPED

WingSongHalo

" Diana, you have to wake the sleeping powers of the next generation of senshis.

Who the fuck is Diana???

KittyKatz009 Diana is Luna and Artemis's child

WingSongHalo We got fuckin Wonder Woman in here now? That would make sense, although not from a mythological perspective because Artemis and Diana are tHE SAME FUCKING GODDESS well relatively speaking there are of course differences between the Greek and Roman incarnations of the goddess

KittyKatz009 oh, so you took away her brooch. THAT DOESNT MEAN SHE ISN'T A GUARDIAN ANYMORE. SHE'S JUST ONE WHO IS USELESS

WingSongHalo

A new evil had arrived on Earth and they must be stopped. Now go! "

Gee mom, d'you think I could get a little more information first???

KittyKatz009 lmao oh believe me, I know all about Diana and Artemis, since I study both of them so... you LITERALLY have her wearing the same thing her mother wore. when she CANONICALLY HAS HER OWN OUTFIT THAT IS PINK

WingSongHalo

She has experience compared to the inner's daughter, who has none."

What the fuck is the inner. That sounds gross

KittyKatz009 I'm assuming they mean Sailor Venus's child.

WingSongHalo

Luna, are you sure that this is the right thing to do, she might not be able to take care of this by herself? " asks Artemis

You know what? The most irritating thing about this is that there's no description given to any characters except to give us a basic picture of new ones. If I didn't have a basic knowledge of Sailor Moon, it might be hard to remember that Artemis is a fUCKING TALKING CAT

KittyKatz009 i just finished the chapter and i am going to scream i mean, they have human forms too. but yeah, they are in their cat forms from what i gathered

WingSongHalo

You will give her the Moon Brooch and call her Sailo Moon."

I really don't think it works like that. You can't just subtract a letter and call it good oh he has a human form?? How come it's not on the Wiki?? I just looked at the gallery to see if there was one!!

KittyKatz009 because it was a manga only thing

WingSongHalo Ah I see

KittyKatz009 though, in the 2nd sailor moon movie, you do get to see Luna animated in her human form

WingSongHalo wait what the fuck why don't they even list his human form on the wiki under Manga info???

KittyKatz009 i have no idea

WingSongHalo STEP UP UR WIKI GAME, SAILOR MOON FANDOM

KittyKatz009 RIGHT

WingSongHalo It's not like they haven't had plenty of time to compile all the info!!

KittyKatz009 BUT FOR REAL THOUGH

WingSongHalo

Usagi was in her room trying to figure out a way to tell her mother about miss H.'s reaction about her in class.

??? I really don't get this. Usagi didn't do anything wrong; why does she need to tell her mother about it at all???

- What's this? Blue, I don't wear blue. Where the fuku that Pegasus gave us?" Usagi was now freaking out.

WHERE THE FUKU YOU GOING, PEGASUS

KittyKatz009 i have no idea. unless she is embarrassed that her mom is the reason Miss should be dead H has a negative opinion of her

WingSongHalo

Meanwhile, Berylia called out Cyrius and ordered her to steal as many humans as she could, so they could be corrupted to their cause.

Sure why not. Sounds just vague enough to work

She aggrees and leaves.

She what now

KittyKatz009 SPEAKING OF PEGASUS. SM CRYSTAL IS FINALLY GETTING THE 4TH SEASON THIS YEAR. WELL, IT'S THE MOVIE. BUT IT'S THE PEGASUS ARC

WingSongHalo

Her specialy were jewelry and was called madame Bijou.

Leave Hamtaro's girlfriend out of this.

She was now confident enough to capture alot of humans since their desire for shining and expensif jewels were enough to corrupt them.

I'm fucking dying at "expensif" alkjf;sdkljf

KittyKatz009 okay but like... THIS IS A FUCKING PLAY BY PLAY OF THE ORIGINAL.

the first villain Usagi fights is a monster who disguises itself as Naru's mom (Usagi's bff) who owns a jewelry store and had a 90% off sale

WingSongHalo

Don't miss the opportunity to buy your spouse's happiness."

Sounds legit!!!! lsjkdfdkj what the fuku

The day was a magnificent success.

God I wish that were me

KittyKatz009 im almost in tears from this fic. and it's only chapter 1

WingSongHalo

She saw a young human girl. She grabbed her by the neck and changed into her monster form.

OH NO, NOT A YOUNG HUMAN GIRL!! THOSE ARE THE LEAST FLAVORFUL(???)

KittyKatz009 THOSE ARE THE ONES WITH THE MOST ENERGY

WingSongHalo

- Who are you? Who sent you?"

You need to chill. You just said she's a young human girl. Why would the monster be suspicious of a young human girl? Did it sense something about her? Was she giving off a powerful amount of energy? Did she look familiar? GIVE US SOMETHING, AUTHOR

- Help me please... " as the young victim struggled for air.

that's me laughing at this fic oh wow lookee there! The author actually tries to describe a battle!! Points for effort! However... is this description another blow-by-blow, Jaz?

KittyKatz009 i feel like that's supposed to be a bad parallel to when the ORIGINAL monster held NARU like this and NARU'S cries for help are what made USAGI come save her why yes, yes it is

WingSongHalo ooooooof course

- My name is the Silver Masked Tuxedo. And it was a pleasure to be of help." as he left.

Oh shit, your Silver Moon might show up here yet

KittyKatz009 the only thing they left out was the fact that Usagi started bawling like a baby, and it got amplified, which stunned them before Tuxedo Mask arrived SILVER MOON IS MINE AND THIS AUTHOR CAN FUCK RIGHT OFF

WingSongHalo

Sailor Moon grabbed her tiara and used it to purify the corrupted humans and toast the monster.

Oh, lovely! Everyone loves a good toasted monster, roasted cozily over a campfire. A family favorite

Diana came by her side and ask if she was doing better, but all she had as an answer was babbling.

Well that's a mood.

KittyKatz009 WHY ARE YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL???

WingSongHalo Usagi was zoning out, remembering that really handsome man that just saved her.

It's probably her brother or something I mean if she's like an exact copy of her mom, this guy is an exact copy of their dad, right?? It's all falling into place,,,

KittyKatz009 the only thing i can see is that they bring Pegasus into the fic and that he is Silver Mask

WingSongHalo

- My name is Tsukino Usagi, Lady Serenity and Sailor Moon, all that being in high school and 15 years old. Hope tomorrow will be better.

Hope next chapter will be better.

=============================================================

Next time: chapters 2 and 3! The girls watch InuYasha and fight a villain!

Support me on Patreon! I am poor!! https://www.patreon.com/WingSongHalo And check out my YouTube channel, where you can see video sporks!! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgTMFf7W6SyWoZdpqY9ZdPw

#sailor moon #badfic #bad fanfiction #new senshi generation #kittykatz009

[snowstcrm]

The White Walkers in the Show are Fundamentally Broken

I started writing this as a reply to another post, but it was getting too long and I decided to post it separately.

There are obviously many differences between the books and the show, but this is one of the biggest ones for me. In the books, the WW-- or the Others, seem to be an established group of ancient origins that are intelligent, have motives, can have children, have made deals and have interbred with humans in the past. Something I’ve been reflecting on since the newest season is the depiction of the WW and how everything leading up to the Night King’s singular goal of killing humanity doesn’t quite make sense. In ASOIAF, like in the story mentioned in the other post, humans have interacted with the WW in the past and have ancient ties with the Starks. The Wall and its origins are especially questionable, since the beings with ice powers and who are capable of building it are the WW, not humans. Bran the Builder was credited for The Wall as well as Winterfell (that also has mystical qualities to it that function when Starks are present i.e. There must always be a Stark in Winterfell), but its possible he had help from the WW, or even had WW blood in him since the ancient Starks were possibly hybrids. Bran might not have existed at all, as he’s more of a mythological icon than a documented Stark. He could have very well been a WW/hybrid and over generations, the Stark family have just depicted him (and their ancestors) as pure humans. When you start to think about the actions of the WW before the show branched off from the books, it’s so much more complicated than “kill all of humanity”. If they did have a hand in building The Wall, then that means they were trying to set a boundary and to keep humans OUT. When you start thinking of them with this motive in mind, it suddenly makes sense why they take baby boy offerings from Craster and steal them from other Wildlings. Craster is a human beyond the Wall, and its possible that the boys are offerings in order to stay on WW territory. It would also be in the WW best interest to take baby boys so the human population beyond the wall is kept low and to keep their own numbers up. In the show, first of all they’re given a direct origin whereas in the books they are more mystical. The show sets them up as killing-machines created by the CoTF with no other motive but to destroy humanity. There is a fatal flaw in the logic of the Night King in the show though and that is: if he’s the 8000 year-old original WW and every wight is under his control and is intrinsically linked to his own life... what was his purpose in creating other WW and taking baby boys at all? He doesn’t need them to control his army and they all die if he dies. They’re fundamentally useless and everything about the WW starts falling apart story-wise in the show. He never needed human boys and also every single Wildling should have been a part of his army if he had 8000 years to kill them all and swallow the territory.

I haven’t read most of the books yet so forgive me if I’m wrong with this next take, but I believe the entire purpose of the White Walkers in the books are much more meaningful to the overall theme of the story. If you understand that they’ve made ancient deals with humans and probably even built The Wall to keep a wary distance from humans, than you realize that Northerners have a complete misunderstanding of what the White Walkers are.

I found this comment and they explain it very well:

“The Book Walkers are likely to have a very different origin and purpose in the story. There are two sources for reaching those conclusions: George R. R. Martin’s interviews and his previous work as well as material in the books themselves. George R. R. Martin is a baby-boomer who was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. He visits that murky, destructive, and morally ambiguous conflict in all of his writings and in almost all of his interviews. He has multiple stories in which humanity is tricked through telepathy into either fighting the wrong opponent or mistakes another species for the enemy where the true enemy is within humanity itself. These include but are not limited to “A Song for Lya”, “And Seven Times Never Kill Man”, “The Guardians”, The Armageddon Rag, Dying of the Light, “In the House of the Worm”, Fevre Dream, and “Sandkings”.” [x] 

The White Walkers in the book might not be an enemy on the offense at all and will possibly be triggered into another war against humans if the humans seek it because they believe that the White Walkers are the ultimate evil threatening humanity. The show: The White Walkers are all tied to the Night King who’s only goal is to destroy all of humanity. The books: The White Walkers are an ancient group with a complicated and bitter history with humans and very well might have been the victims of humans in the past all along.

#game of thrones #my posts #white walkers #asoiaf #just some thoughts ive been having #obviously i still enjoy the show and it's still the only show i care about on tv #but the more ive been thinking about the later seasons #the more i feel like the show is fundamentally broken #i love and im attached to all the characters #but the plot they're living in has been falling apart

[thealphabetmurders]

Scrambled Thoughts

Pairings: Romantic Logince, Sibling Analogical

Word Count: 2228 (for Chapter 5), 12714 in total

(Previous) (First)

Summary: Roman was not a rebel by any means. Roman was not a fan of breaking rules. Sure, he bent some from time to time, but never done anything blatantly wrong, that was not in service to his passions. Yet, despite the protests his best friend and his consciousness, he picks up two dozen eggs and goes to vandalize. Now, Roman has to avoid suspension, make amends with Virgil, alleviate the concern of Patton, and not fall in love with his enemy Logan.

Triggers: Bullying, Violence, Vandalism, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Mentions of Racism, Classism

Authors Note: And we are done. Thank you so much to everyone who has read this, I am so very proud of it. I have two announcements for this. #1. I was thinking about getting Roman and Logan's first kiss commissioned by someone, because I really like the way I wrote that. So if you do art or can recommend me someone, then go ahead and comment or message me on here. #2. I have the skeleton of an epilogue for this. It ends the fic on more of a humorous note and finally resolves the eggs, so let me know if you want that. This journey is at it's close.

(This fic was inspired by a dream @misplaced-my-notes had, thank you).

Taglist (for everyone who seemed interested): @misplaced-my-notes, @jaszczurkaaa, @an-atypical, @jughead-is-canonically-aroace, @mystrangedarkson

(Read on AO3)

“Hey.”

Roman felt a harsh kick on the back of his shin. “Ouch,” He responded, turning around to see his former (?) nemesis standing over him, crossing his arms with a small smirk on his face, “What exactly was that for?”

Virgil shrugged, but offered a hand to help Roman up from drilling the bottom section of the flat. “I just need to talk to you,”

Roman frowned at this omission, “What exactly would we need to talk about, no offense,”

Virgil groaned, looked around the auditorium, quickly snapping his head from side to side, then he grabbed Roman by the bicep and pulled him out of the stage area to the spare woods shop and tools room.

“Look, I just wanted to get some things straight with you, okay?

“Impossible, I am a gay as a warm spring day!” Roman flourished, half-bowing. Virgil pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, muttering something under his breath.

“That is obviously not what I meant,”

“What do you need, we are still in class, y’know,” Roman frowned, now getting concerned. He had been watching the anxious kid for about a month now, and he never seemed to go out of his way to talk to anyone. No matter what, he was always recluse and a bit cold, nevertheless, he went out of his way to talk to Roman, which means it must be important.

“Do you know what day it is?”

Roman scoffed, rolling his eyes, “Seriously genius, you couldn’t just look on your phone to see it is Wed-”

“No no, you misunderstand, the date,” Virgil waved his hands in front of Roman, obviously frustrated.

Roman winced in spite of himself, forgetting that Virgil is speaking his second language and translating everything he is saying in his head, so making fun of his vernacular is a dick move, “Ah, sorry, it is September 29th.”

“Right, and do you remember what happened a month ago?”

“I-” Roman’s realization dawned upon him, “Oh, right, that. Did Logan say he was going to-”

“No, he is not,” Roman cocked his head to the side as Virgil continued, “He told me last night that he has ‘let the whole thing go’,” Virgil dropped his air quotes, wearing a disgusted look on his face, but Roman’s expression perked up.

“Well, that’s great, yeah? He is not going to say anything about me egging your house and I obviously am not going to say anything. This is fantastic!”

“Yea, fantastic,” Virgil grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at his shoes.

“Is it not? Do you- do you want me to get expelled Virgil? Because I swear I thought you liked me. I know we are kind of enemies but I always thought it was in a playful banter type of way, not that you would ever actually try to “take me down” or whatever,” Roman gasped, “Unless that was your plan all along. Oh my God, that is genius, you really are an incredible actor, Virgil, you should join theater with-”

“Drž hubu! Drž hubu Roman, I swear, you talk so much,” Virgil shouted. “I just- That is not what I am saying, this has nothing to do with me,”

“What does this have to do with, then?”

Virgil sighed, calming himself down a bit, before speaking, “What are your feelings towards Logan?”

Roman was taken back a bit by the question, which must have put a shocked expression on his face, making Virgil quirk an eyebrow up, “We- we’re friends. Good friends, Virgil,”

“Just friends?”

“No!” Roman said, putting his hands up a bit too defensively, “I mean, yes, obviously just friends, I said no because we are no more than- not more than friends. I just- No, we are friends,”

“I just cannot think of any other reason why Logan would let this go other than him being,” Virgil shivered a bit, “In love. He would do anything to get ahead and is a crazy ambitious guy. He has all the proof he needs as well,”

“What do you mean ‘all the proof’-”

“And you two spend everyday after school together now. I see how you hold onto him on his motorcycle,”

Roman scoffs, thinking about his afterschool activities as of late, specifically, the ride to his apartment, “If you mean how I hold on for dear life because motorcycles are giant death bicycles, then you would be correct,” Virgil widened his eyes, very obviously mouthing ‘wow…’ in Roman’s direction, making the latter frown, standing in akimbo, “Maybe Logan has just, I dunno, thawed out a bit. That whole Ice Punk Prince act was getting tired,”

“Act?” Virgil repeated incredulously.

“No, no, no,” Roman waved his hands in front of him, “Just, a phase,”

“A phase, huh?” Virgil frowned even deeper, crossing his arms over his chest after zipping up his jacket.

Roman sighed, shrinking in on himself, “Well, yea. Clothes often times are a direct reflection of how we are feeling, and Logan tries to distance himself from whomever he feels he is getting close to. This creates problems whenever he tries to form meaningful relationships with anyone because of his abandonment issues with his parents. They were never really there for him so he does not realise how important those kinds of relationships can be, on a fundamental level. The phase that he is in now cannot be held up forever because eventually he is going to need a support system for himself, and I believe he is recognizing that,”

Roman bit his lip a bit, “It feels nice to be one of the first people he is warming up to, y’know? I am sure you understand, Virgil,”

Virgil straightened out his shoulders and uncrossed his arms and was wearing a soft smile on his face, one that was really only reserved for his brother most days, “Yea. I think I do understand, Roman. I am shocked about how well you know Logan,”

Roman laughed, “Well, he was a tough nut to crack, but I try my best to get to know people now before making snap judgments about them. And, I took AP Psych last year,”

“Oh, hey,” Virgil pointed at Roman, “I am in that now,”

“Really? Roman asked, foregoing their original conversation, “Do you have Woodstock?”

“No, I got Davis,”

Roman pouted, “Lucky, you got the easy Psych teacher. She does not grade worksheets, it is all participation,”

“It is not so easy for someone who has anxiety,” Virgil deadpanned. Roman opened his mouth to refute/apologise, until Virgil spoke up again, “Nah, I am just playing, she normally takes pity on me because I am the exchange student,”

“Either way, that is just my two cents from my year of Psych. Maybe all Lo wants is a meaningful friendship.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, “Friendship, sure. Either way, I support you,”

Roman smirked, “Or, maybe, he just really wants my coc-”

There was a harsh rapping on the metal door leading to the shop room where a teen’s voice could be heard, “Roman, Virgil, Mr. B says if you are done making out then you need to come out and help clean up,”

Roman could not help but laugh wildly as Virgil turned beet red and quickly shuffled out of the shop room.

Despite the boisterous laughter, Roman could not cover up what he was thinking: Did he have deeper feelings for Logan? Logan always was a really clever, handsome guy. He was the type of person whose voice carried like silk throughout a room and was pleasant to listen too, and his tight jeans were not doing the world a disservice.  He was always willing to help and to learn, even in a trade he did not necessarily need to know about. Logan will most likely never change oil in his life, but the idea of even having the option to learn was just enough to get him to become excited. Logan had so much passion. Most people thought of him as cold or robotic or unfeeling, but Roman saw the human and the warmth and there was so much passion packed in his stout frame, so much Roman fears sometimes the smaller man will start singing like a teapot and burst.

Logan and Roman continued to text and hang out every day. Roman rode on the back of Logan’s motorcycle enough for his to stop screaming, but the tightness of his grip only increased. They continued this routine for a few days, but Virgil’s question still burned in his mind.

It burned and consumed his every thought. Every interaction now had a deeper meaning and he couldn’t look at anything surface level. It kept him up at night, he couldn’t close his eyes without imagining his smile. It became increasingly difficult to talk or hang out and it made his emotions go haywire, but luckily Roman was an actor by nature.

After two weeks, Roman knew, and Roman had his answer.

Roman: I am head over heels for Logan.

Pat-Man: oh dear… D:

A Tuesday, afterschool

“You ready to go, pretty boy, I don’t like to wait?” Logan threw the helmet at Roman who barely caught it in his haste to put his jacket back on from his waist.

“I told you not to call me that,” Roman grumbled, putting on his helmet.

Logan shrugged, “Why not, it’s so fitting,”

“Wait, what is th-” Roman was cut off by Logan’s motorcycle engine turning on and raised an eyebrow before putting on his helmet. Roman got on the back of the motorcycle before they sped off to Roman’s apartment.

After 10 minutes, they reached their destination. Logan parked his bike and took off his helmet, running his hands through his black hair, climbing off the motorcycle. He looked off into the distance at the parkway he just came off of. Roman let his eyes trail over his frame. Logan’s dark blue button up paired with a black tie nicely accented his subtle muscles. He didn’t wear ripped jeans often, but today, he wore pitch black jeans with rips on the knees and thighs with those oh so familiar combat boots. Roman’s mouth went dry. It was a partly cloudy day, but Logan was glowing. Roman was barely paying any attention until he fell off of the motorcycle back and hit his shoulder hard on the pavement.

“Roman! Are you alright?” Logan rushed over to Roman’s aid, muttering to himself, eyes filled with worry and concern. Roman almost forgot how nice and cool Logan’s voice sounded. He realised he was wrong, Logan’s voice is velvet. “Roman, what is wrong?” He realised only then he had been staring at the other with a blank look on his face, saying nothing.

“No, nothing is wrong. I feel fine,” Roman’s voice wavered a bit as he looked away from Logan.

Logan said nothing as he led Roman over to the curb and they both sat down, Roman let out at sigh of relief, standing up and the short walk to the ledge somehow became very difficult.

“Roman, did you sleep at all? Eat?” Logan asked. Roman shook his head, and Logan took his hand in his and rub his thumb across his knuckles, Roman’s pulse speeding up exponentially at the act, “Do you, uh, want to talk about it?”

Roman’s eyes widened and shook his head, “Oh, good, I would not know how to deal with that,” Logan said, running his hands through his hair with his free hand. Roman smiled at this and shook his head, “Well, here is some generic advice then: you are, uh, incredible, Roman. Whatever this is, it is not worth you not eating or sleeping over,” He raised an eyebrow at Logan and the man in question gripped the bridge of his nose, “I’m sorry, I wish I could be more empathetic. I care about you, Roman. I care… A lot,”

Roman eyes shot up and looked at Logan. He was not looking at any part of Roman and was biting his lip, looking vulnerable and open. He was frantically rubbing his knuckles now, his eyes filled with worry. Roman thought back to what Virgil said, then back to Logan giving him homework, then his apology, then the altercation in the hallway, and the first time they declared war upon one another in the vice principal’s office, what did they all have: Passion. Logan is passion. He tries so hard to subdue it, but it is who he is, and Roman cannot get enough of it. Poor Logan’s stoic demeanor is cracking ever so slightly, and just enough for Roman to read between the lines.

“Hey Logan,” Roman started, his voice scratchy and raw, “Did you know that the lips are among the body parts that have the most nerve endings out of the whole body?”

“Yes, I did. Though I am unsure as to why you’re telling me-”

Roman cut Logan off, he cupped his face and connected their lips, effectively shutting him up. The kiss was sweet and tender and chastate. Yet, somehow the kiss was filled love and admiration, and walls broken down of tension between them. Logan responded and gripped the back of Roman head, slightly tugging his brown locks and deepening the kiss. The kiss now had heat and fire in their lips. A blazing inferno was created with every second passing of the pair’s kissing. Eventually, Logan broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Roman’s.

Roman chuckled slightly, “It is what makes contact with them so perceptible,”

Logan laughed, “Oh, you gorgeous bastard,” He cupped his face and kissed Roman again, filled with that same passion that enraptured Roman so many months ago.  

#my writing #logince #Analogical #logan sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #Virgil Sanders #sanders sides

[eurekaminus-blog]

How I Analyze Decklists

AKA How to be a Better Netdecker

There has been a pretty recent explosion in the popularity of Leila Fusoya decks after Harigai and Sawada’s performance at Masters Final, mostly of the Mono Water variety but also a couple of other spin-off variants. I started grinding games on the deck immediately after reviewing the vods on my Twitch channel (though it was a little different for about a day or two until the lists were published on the Column).

After watching Euro’s and seeing players struggle with mutilated versions of the deck I couldn’t help but feel like people were fundamentally misunderstanding what the point of Harigai’s variant actually is, why it’s teched the way it is, and how you are supposed to play the first few defining turns with the deck. Today, I would like to run through how I analyzed his list and how it taught me his thought process while building and playing the deck and what I should do to achieve a parallel level of performance.

As always, everything I say here is just the way I view and play the game. Take it with a grain of salt; it may not work for you the way it does for me, and that’s okay!

First: The List

Here’s a link for those who prefer one.

Mono Water Fusoya isn’t exactly a hot new archetype. We’ve seen a lot of Fusoya Decks in the past with Water/Lightning variants (ie the OG Harigai and Kurosawa decks) and then Mono Water as a successor for most of Opus 5 until Jihl R became a staple in both dominant Ice variants as a countermeasure that largely drove it out of the meta. So now in Opus 6, why did Harigai’s archetype absolutely curbstop the competition at the Final despite there being a plethora of it seen and tested beforehand? This should be puzzling to you, and it definitely was to me. 

Second: Identify the Change

The first thing I looked at to try to understand the list was what was different. Take a moment to pour over the list and think about it.

There should be a number of things that draw your eye, but the immediately obvious ones should be the 3 PuPu, 3 Brahne, 3 Merlwyb R, and maybe 2 Baderon. These are pretty far out of the ordinary. Merlwyb H is usually preferred over Merlwyb R as an EX Burst and filter for your extra Fusoyas. Brahne is usually a 1 or 2 of, and PuPu is often viewed as strictly worse than Moogle, which isn’t even always a one-of in these lists. The backup lineup cuts a lot of mid-late performance Backups like Scholar and Gladiator, which are often viewed as staples for Water. Without Scholar there really isn’t a reliable Cag combo (yes it is possible with Leviathan) and without Gladiator you can lose some of your opponent mid-late cycle and Cloud of Darkness extensions. So why would Harigai make these unconventional changes? What purpose do they serve?

Third: Think About Why it Changed

This one is surprisingly less straightforward than it seems, and it’s possible that there is no one one “correct” answer; there is often a multitude of a reasons why any given change might have seen particular success at an event whether or not it aligned with the deckbuilder’s original intentions. Some commons things that are probably worth thinking about that may lead you to an answer are things like the popularity of a certain archetype at the previous event, expected fields, the introduction of certain power cards or new synergies (more relevant at the beginning of a new set), and the abuse of cards that have shown themselves to be significantly above the power curve.

To be very clear, Harigai’s changes to the existing archetype can most reasonably be attributed to the last of those statements; in other words, Harigai threw away the common logic of Mono Water Fusoya up until this point to abuse Leila as much as possible. The extra Brahnes and Merlwybs are insurance that you can get your Leila online as fast as possible, and this is often the case as early as turn 1 or 2. The entire of dynamic of the Fusoya deck shifts as a result. While Mono Water Fusoya was often considered a midrangey deck that relied on tempo swings with Summoner/Fusoya combo interaction, Harigai’s version of the list abuses everything that those lists had going for them while increasing the tempo and shifting down to a more aggressive approach. This is where PuPu really comes in to shine. Because if you have no hand you can tack it on to your Merlwyb/Baderon/Brahne/Viking or simply play out your hand and reload a little more quickly that the other aggressive decks (primarily TD, which PuPu is also fantastic into), you have multiple avenues for recovery when your tempo stutters. 

I’ve heard a lot of talk about the list about going up to 5 Backups and getting stuck or clogged, or being unable to deal with developed opposing boards with your low quality Forwards. I think that if you’re experiencing those kind of issues, you’re probably missing the point of the deck entirely. You are the aggressor, not the controller, and Cloud of Darkness extensions plus Fusoya and his synergies are there to allow you to make those aggressive pushes. It is not an all-in deck, which is why we don’t see cards like Garnet S alongside the PuPu. The entire point of the PuPu is to abuse existing synergies and promote the aggressive playstyle; it is the glue that helps keep the deck bound together. You almost never hit 5 backups, because you should be pitching the dead ones (often Baderon and Wakka) to kill them.

Fourth: Play the Deck With Those Changes in Mind

Now that we’ve identified what Harigai’s list is trying to do; don’t go fuck it up by changing something right away. Playing a few games while thinking explicitly about the working components of the deck is the best way to process these changes, understand the strength of the deck, and abuse it as best as you possible can. Try to work with the changed elements as much as you can. If the point of Harigai’s list was to abuse t1/2 Leila in a Wind/Water, Earth/Wind, and TD heavy matchup, play into those matchups and try to abuse Leila. You’ll find yourself understanding the deck much more quickly.

I would like to clarify that I have no intention to say that you can’t change the deck, only that you shouldn’t do it right away and you shouldn’t turn around and reverse the changes the predecessor made just because you think X cards (Merlwyb H, Scholars, and Gladiators) are better than the new component those changes (Leila abuse via Brahne and Merlwyb R) provide. Every change made should be to take the deck into a direction that you think is more appropriate towards the field while doing your best not to screw with the new dynamic from the deck.

Anything beyond these four steps kind of reaches outside of the realm of netdecking and becomes deckbuilding, which is less about winning-deck analysis and more of a philosophy that I think I (a fairly successful netdecker) am less qualified to talk about. You would be better of reading Kurosawa’s article or listening to a very potent deckbuilding madman like JFB. I hope this gave a little insight into how you might go about understanding the thought process of players and metas just by looking over decklists, the way I do.

[snowdice]

Masterpost (Old As Of 4/7/20)

If you would just like to see all of my writing, I tag everything with #adriana writes on my blog. Click here for everything in chronological order of my posting. Click here for my AO3 account.

Completed fics are marked complete in their summary.

Sanders Sides:

The Prison You Deserve: (On hiatus while I edit the Sometimes Labels Fail Prequel Fic “Gaps in his Files.”) Virgil should have known better. Trying to help only ever ended badly for him. After a misunderstanding, Virgil gets thrown into the most infamous prison across all of the kingdoms, where the most evil criminals are thrown to get what they deserve at the hands of nightmarish creatures from the void. Luckily (for once) Virgil really didn’t deserve it. Trusting that this isn’t just a cruel trick and he isn’t actually going to be tortured though is going to take a while. (In which Patton is a eldritch horror, telepathic nightmare, and still is the sweetest thing on the planet and off it.)

AO3  Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Is There Anything Left of Patton?: (Zombie AU; One-Shot Series)

Logan has a secret in his basement. Three months into living with him, Virgil finds that secret. He almost wishes the secret was a simple as he first thought it was. Almost.

AO3 

Something Left 

Someone You’ll Never Meet

Food You’ll Never Eat

Things You’ll Never Do

There are Things You Have Lost 

There Are Things That Are Missing 

Labeled Universe (A Superhero AU)

Sometimes Labels Fail: (Complete) Logan was good at labels, at categories. Logan sorted the citizens of his city into 6 different categories in his mind: heroes, villains, vigilantes, criminals, government authorities, and civilians, and knew how to deal with each. But… but what was he supposed to do with him. Virgil was just trying to survive, though he didn’t think the part of him that compelled him to throw himself into fights whenever he saw the superhero Bluebird struggling had gotten the memo. His English teacher was right; he really was stupid. When the villain criminal… when Shadow Caster gets injured while throwing himself into the line of fire for Logan, Logan can’t find it in himself to turn him over to be arrested. Luckily, he knows a doctor very, very well. Virgil is going to get kidnapped adopted by the end of it.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Bonus Features 

Sometimes Labels Shift: (Post Sometimes Labels Fail stories)

Two Dinner Plates: (One-shot: Complete) A muscle ticked in Logan’s jaw and Virgil tried not to flinch. “We seem to be coming from fundamentally different philosophies on how food should be distributed in a family structure.” In which we finally actually talk about Virgil’s thing™ with food. It goes about how one would expect it to.

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Back to School: (One-shot: Complete) It’s Virgil’s first day back to school after everything and he has some adjustments to make.Aka a blatant excuse to enact the hug Virgil initiative.

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Sticky Note Pandemonium:   (One-shot: Complete) There were also sticky notes on the kitchen counter, the refrigerator, Virgil’s backpack, and even the oven, not to mention every wall. There was even one sticky note stuck on Logan’s butt.His husband had gone on a rampage.

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Arguments and other ‘A’ Words: (One-shot: Complete) Logan and Virgil have a row. Virgil’s new family has a weird way of fighting.

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The Things We Haven’t Talked About: (Complete) Patton and Logan have noticed some concerning behavior from Virgil in their month with him. Beyond the flinching and haunted look in his eyes courtesy of his last foster father, there’s something else of concern for Patton and Logan and they really aren’t equipped to deal with it. They enlist some help from a couple of friends.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2

Wind Symphony (One-shot: Complete) Patton and Logan are still trying to figure out how to be parents and are worried about strange behavior coming from their new son as of late. Logan takes measures to figure out what is wrong.

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Coffee and Cinnamon Rolls (One-shot: Complete)  Remy meets his best friend/bosses new child and immediately has the must protect at all cost urges.

Virgil’s Birthday:  (Complete) Virgil has his first birthday with Logan and Patton and he’s going to get everything he ever wanted.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Mini Fic Series: One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven

Relabeled; Refiled: (Prequels to Sometimes Labels Fail)

Coffee Shop Meet Cute  (One-shot: Complete) Is this what falling in love felt like or was Patton just about to pass out from exhaustion? Patton and Logan’s first meeting in the Sometimes Labels Fail Universe.

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Coffee Shop Incident Report  (One-shot: Complete) Patton and Logan’s first meeting in the Sometimes Labels Fail Universe, but what Logan put in his files about it afterwards.

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The Things We Never Mentioned  (Complete)  “Believe it or not, academia and relationships are not mutually exclusive.” That was likely true, Logan knew. It was also not the problem. The problem was his ability to move things with his mind, a blue suit he kept in his bag, and the mountains of red files he kept hidden in his apartment. No one knew that Logan was Bluebird, the cities resident superhero. He hadn’t even told his parents and he wasn’t planning on doing so. Sharing such a secret with anyone was a danger to everyone involved. He refused to do so. At the same time, he knew that starting a romantic relationship with anyone who didn’t know the truth, was unfair to that person. Inevitably they would find out and there would be a disastrous fallout, but beyond that, starting a relationship on a foundation of lies was a horribly cruel thing to do to another person. These two conflicting rules Logan followed had never posed an issue for him before recently, but…But he did like Patton.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 

Logan’s 25 Step Plan to Ask a Boy Out: (One-Shot: Complete) “No! Logan look,” she said. “He likes you and you like him. You don’t need a list or a plan or schematics for this. Just walk up to him and ask him out before you hesitate so much that he thinks you don’t like him anymore.” | Logan’s eyes widened. “Is that something that can happen.” | “Oh god, this is hopeless.” | How is Logan so good at, but simultaneously so bad at this?

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Gaps in His Files: Logan Berry has learned many things the last 10 years: a lot of math and physics, a bit of humility, and how to be a hero being just a few. Through his education, his experience teaching, and his exploits as the superhero Bluebird, he’s changed in a lot of small and large ways. He has recorded these changes in well-organized documents and files. He’s even had to create two new file designations: a red one for files about his moonlighting at Bluebird, and a light blue one dedicated to his boyfriend, Patton.When Bluebird is targeted by a memory device and all of those 10 years of progress suddenly disappear, Patton Sanders and Logan’s extensive files are left as his only resource to get those memories back. But what is Patton supposed to do when there are clear gaps in his files? And what does he do when he is one of them? 

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Epilogue

The Origin Story of a Yapping Mop: (One-Shot: Complete) Virgil was not the first living creature Logan carried in his arms to Patton. This is how they ended up with a dog.

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Cops and Not Robbers AU:

You I’ll Come Back For: (Complete) They’d met in a jail cell, you see, but unlike now Patton had not been anywhere near trapped, not that Virgil had been aware of that fact. He’d just seen his sweet little cell mate who’d clearly not done anything to deserve being on that side of the bars. Virgil had said “What did you do to get stuck in this joint?” and Patton had started crying. It had taken zero lies and five hours for Patton to coax out the information he’d needed. He’d thought when he’d pranced up to the bars and told Roman he was ready to leave that the absolutely astonished expression which was quickly slipping into fury would be the last thing he’d ever see of the man whose crimes numbered enough to keep him in prison for the rest of his life. He’d escaped during his transfer to federal prison. (This was a dice fic. It also appears below!)

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Mistaken Identities: (One-Shot: Complete) Roman was just walking out of an ice-cream shop when an unfamiliar man’s irate voice made him pause mid lick and look up. “Dammit Remus, I told you to meet me two blocks that way and you’re getting ice cream?” | Now as an identical twin, especially one with a brother who had a… certain personality, he wasn’t exactly unused to this sort of thing happening. So, he promptly opened his mouth to say, “Oh no I’m not…” | “Remus, I don’t care right now,” he interrupted. “Get in the car.” | “But-” | The man snapped his fingers and a hand descended on his shoulder. “Get him in the car.” | Roman meets Deceit and later Logan when he is mistaken for his brother who is apparently doing SOMETHING with his life.

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Dilemmas One-Shots

Moral Dilemmas: (One-shot) “But that doesn’t make any sense!” he yelled.| “Patton,” Remus said evenly.|“It doesn’t!” he screamed turning on him viciously. “There’s a big difference between not being sad someone’s dead and… and… and no! No! I wouldn’t be okay with seeing someone I hated die. I wouldn’t!”| “Yes, you would,” Remus said, standing up himself. He pointed an accusatory finger at him. “You would! And you know you would! Do you think you are the only one who can get a read on another side when functions cross? Those thoughts in your head are my domain and I knew exactly what you were feeling when I asked that question!” Virgil was forcibly summoned immediately, eyes wide. Patton and Remus have a philosophical discussion and then will have to deal with the fall out.

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Ethical Reasoning: (One-shot: Complete) “What happened Remus?” Remus looked at him for a moment and then slammed the door in his face. “Okay,” Logan growled at the closed door. “I’ve had about enough of this. ”Everyone else has to deal with the fallout from the end of Moral Dilemmas. It isn’t pretty.

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Mismatched High Heel Shoes: (One-shot: Complete) The boys are having fun. (This was for the #magpie500 event.)

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Roll the Dice Event:

Buckets of Roses: (One-shot: Complete) As far as anyone knew, Logan was supposed to be in class right now. Which begs the question of why and how Roman is now in his room with him. (“And now that I have explained why I am currently in my own dorm room, would you care to explain why you are here?” “Not, um, not particularly.”)

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Touch Me Gently: (Complete) He had a total of four soulmarks: not an unheard-of thing, but rather rare. There were purple fingerprints on his wrist, looking like a day-old bruise from where someone had grabbed him too hard. What his mother had seen when he’d entered the kitchen was actually two soulmarks that overlapped slightly: a light blue one that darkened his lips and a yellow handprint that covered the lower parts of his cheek and jaw. The ring finger and the tip of the pinkie hit his lip, mixing with the blue to look like a sickly greenish-yellow bruise. What his dad had seen peaking out of the top of his t-shirt was a dark blue mark in the shape of fingers around his neck. Roman had been overjoyed when he realized what the marks were after the initial confusion. His parents had been a little less enthusiastic. (Roman meets his soulmates one-by-one and it’s not at all what everyone assumed when they first saw his soulmarks.)

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Bonus Features

Markups: (One-shot, Complete) Roman leered down at him, clearly incredibly pleased with himself. “You,” he said as Logan did his best to swallow down the rest of his laughter, “have been criticizing my work all day. Which is basically like you’ve been criticizing me. So…why don’t I return the favor?” He wiggled the uncapped pen in front of Logan’s nose. “You wouldn’t dare,” Logan said lowly. (Logan and Roman do some editing.)

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Moral Dilemmas: (One-shot) “But that doesn’t make any sense!” he yelled.| “Patton,” Remus said evenly.|“It doesn’t!” he screamed turning on him viciously. “There’s a big difference between not being sad someone’s dead and… and… and no! No! I wouldn’t be okay with seeing someone I hated die. I wouldn’t!”| “Yes, you would,” Remus said, standing up himself. He pointed an accusatory finger at him. “You would! And you know you would! Do you think you are the only one who can get a read on another side when functions cross? Those thoughts in your head are my domain and I knew exactly what you were feeling when I asked that question!” Virgil was forcibly summoned immediately, eyes wide. Patton and Remus have a philosophical discussion and then will have to deal with the fall out.

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You I’ll Come Back For: (Complete) They’d met in a jail cell, you see, but unlike now Patton had not been anywhere near trapped, not that Virgil had been aware of that fact. He’d just seen his sweet little cell mate who’d clearly not done anything to deserve being on that side of the bars. Virgil had said “What did you do to get stuck in this joint?” and Patton had started crying. It had taken zero lies and five hours for Patton to coax out the information he’d needed. He’d thought when he’d pranced up to the bars and told Roman he was ready to leave that the absolutely astonished expression which was quickly slipping into fury would be the last thing he’d ever see of the man whose crimes numbered enough to keep him in prison for the rest of his life. He’d escaped during his transfer to federal prison.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

The Horror of Stereotypes: There had always been a certain stereotype about people like him for as long as anyone could remember. After the Heart War of 1963, those stereotypes had been legalized and places like this had been created to enforce the universal truth: everyone had a soulmate. One soulmate. No more and no less. At least they were supposed to. When Remus’s brother gets arrested because of his two soulmarks, Remus risks everything by infiltrating the facility he legally should be in as well due to his own two soulmates to save him. There he meets Logan and it turns out they have a lot in common: they both got hired this week, they both have two soulmates, and they’re both here for the same reason. Oh. And as it turns out, they’re each other’s soulmates too.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Bonus Features

Remains of Memories: (One-Shot: Complete) Patton is about to graduate high school. As his life changes, he figures it’s time to confront some memories with the people he loves. 

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Tea, Cookies, and Handcuffs: (One-Shot: Complete) Logan finds a strange man on his property and of course invites him in for tea.

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#master post #not writing #blog organization

[kaette-kita-slayers]

Kanzaka Q&As (July-December 2016)

July 2016

Q: After Rezo killed Zel's parents, did he dig a grave and bury them? Does Zel know where their graves are?

K: I think he dug a grave and buried them with great care, though I'll leave it to your imagination whether he did so for appearances or out of genuine feeling. He's never told Zel where it is.

Q: You said in an answer before that "no powerful Mazoku have been created in recent years", but why is that? I thought it might be because they aren't able to increase the numbers of powerful Mazoku any further, since they have to cut away part of their own power in order to create new Mazoku. (Kanzaka already answered this one the previous year. Maybe he forgot?)

K: Of course, the Mazoku accumulate power bit by bit from the negative emotions of humans, but ever since the Demon War, they've been expending more than they've taken in, so they haven't had the reserves necessary to create powerful Mazoku.

Q: In volume 9, from the second half of Slayers, Gourry said he more or less remembered Zel and Amelia, though he pretended to have forgotten them as a joke. So by the time that volume 15 takes place, did he still remember them properly? He remembered Xelloss, and in volume 9, he said himself that he remembers his friends, so I think it's probably all right. It's still bothered me for years.

K: I hope he remembers them.

August 2016

Q: I have a question about Slayers. Two different generations of the kings of Dilse were cursed with Raugnut Rushavna. Is there any possibility that the curse was lifted on one (or both?) of them by the time the second half of the series wrapped up? It seems like there might be, if Dynast wasn't the one who actually cursed King Wells. Also, has the Mazoku who cursed Dilus II appeared or been mentioned in the series?

K: Dynast was the one who cursed the prior king. Raugnut Rushavna is a curse that endlessly inflicts pain and quasi-immortality, and it requires that the person who used it be in good shape, as the source of magical power. Dynast wasn't destroyed but did lose his power. As a result, the curse would have been weakened in some fashion, but it wouldn't have been broken.

Q: Mazoku are fundamentally different from other beings, seeking "destruction". Considering how the Mazoku relate to one another as superiors and inferiors and the various restrictions they have on them---especially the high-ranking Mazoku---they come across as being somehow mechanical (this may be putting it a bit harshly, but like living instruments of destruction), even though they possess individuality. To what degree do they have emotions like humans and dragons do? I've found mentions in the novels of them feeling rage, joy, and attachment to things, but I think that they probably don't feel love, since they want destruction. Can they feel sorrow or admiration, or genuinely care for things? If you've outlined this for yourself, please tell me.

K: The Mazoku try to comprehend the emotions of humans, etc. in order to bring the world closer to destruction. As a result, they display things that appear like human emotions such as happiness, but I don't think that the Mazoku themselves know whether those are genuine or only surface-level imitations.

Q: In the Slayers world, if a mid- to high-ranking Mazoku who can take on human form were to infiltrate human society in order to gather information, which would they enjoy more, something like going drinking with a bunch of middle aged men like Tarim and Daymia and being forced to organize the whole thing, or getting information from girls who are their type (not necessarily romantically)? Do the subordinates of each of Shabranigdu's five retainers have different tendencies? Like the Mazoku under Phibrizzo's command being good at approaching women, or a lot of Gaav's Mazoku being types that are popular even though they don't understand women and lose their motivation if they have to keep talking to men at parties, or the Mazoku under Zelas and Xelloss' command being good at everything.

K: Mazoku are quite diverse in their preferences. There are Mazoku who do things like mingling with a bunch of middle-aged guys out drinking and egging them on when they complain about their own bosses and subordinates, thinking, "Such sweet negative emotions!" There are also types who would mingle with married women and encourage their negative feelings toward their in-laws.

September 2016

Q: Did the piece of Shabranigdu sealed in Rezo's eyes feed solely on the negative emotions from Rezo's own mind? Is it reasonable to assume that the thoughts and feelings of the people around Rezo, such as Zel's hatred for him, had no effect on Shabranigdu? It would be kind of a relief to hear that, compared to Rezo's intense negative emotions, the negative emotions from Zel, who was like night and day compared to Rezo, or Rezo's gang, who weren't really all that bad deep down, weren't that powerful and thus didn't have any effect.

K: The Demon Lord was sealed away at the time, so he wasn't consuming people's negative emotions. However, just by existing, he did in fact have a negative influence on Rezo's mind.

Q: About the Demon Lord of the North---even though the strength of the seal on him has never changed, the most he can manage to do, lately, is to give instructions by talking in his sleep. Does that mean that he's growing weaker? If that's true, then will he eventually be destroyed as time passes? Or will he be reincarnated in another human body? L would be lonely without S.

K: I think you have the wrong impression. In this case, "lately" is referring to a span of time from the Mazoku's perspective. "Lately" means the entire time from when he was sealed in ice until the present time.

Q: Did Rezo's gang ever keep a pet cat at their hideout? Or was it more like "I want a cat, but we'll just have to leave on another journey, so I can't..." since they were always moving from place to place?

K: They had one... ♪ ... to experiment on. (T-T)

October 2016

Q: Why did L base her form on that of the woman Lei Magnus loved?

K: I should explain this so that there won't be any misunderstandings---L has never manifested in that world aside from when she borrowed Lina's body. I meant that the version of L that I've scribbled on greeting cards and things like that looks that way. Though of course, S's lover wasn't a little girl.

Q: Was Rezo ever rejected by someone he liked?

K: To be rejected, you naturally have to approach someone first. I don't think that he would have fallen in love and approached some woman when he had an all-consuming obsession with his research and his eyes.

Q: In Slayers volume 1, page 72, line 10, when Lina and Zel are negotiating over the orihalcon statue, Lina says, "I try to make a practice of avoiding your type at all costs. Call it woman's intuition. (cut) And intuition or not, I'd rather die than be associated with the likes of you." After that point, Zel fights the Demon Lord alongside Lina and Gourry, and then makes it through various other battles along with them. Did Zel kinda think to himself that Lina's "women's intuition" is completely unreliable, despite the big deal she made about it? Or did Zel never believe in the concept of "women's intuition" in the first place? Did Zel not believe at all in something as unscientific as "women's intuition" while Rezo thought "Well, I've been around long enough that I can't say with absolute certainty that it doesn't work..."? (Leaving aside the question of whether Lina's intuition works or not.) (Dialogue from the Tokyopop translation)

K: That wasn't women's intuition in the first place. She was just trying to provoke him, which he was perfectly aware of.

November 2016

(No entry)

December 2016

Q: In Granblue, the Blast Sword was a water element weapon. Is this in any way connected to the original work? Or is it something presented by the Granblue staff that only applies to Granblue? I remember people discussing how the Sword of Light was a dark element weapon because it's a Mazoku...

K: About the elements, I basically left it to them to take care of integrating [the weapons] into the game, so that doesn't mean that the Blast Sword in the original is a water element weapon. By the way, my Granblue party's selection of water element weapons is completely awful. I'd welcome a water event!

Q: I understand that you initially imagined Noonsa as a normal fishman and not a taiyaki. (Of course, I also love Noonsa's current design!) Did you maybe imagine Noonsa at first as something like "a little slimy, but with a handsome face"? (Taiyaki, if you're not familiar.)

K: That's not even possible.

Q: Phibrizzo sent Gourry's Sword of Light back to the Demon Lord of another world. I know it's impossible, but if he could go to that other world, could he get the Sword of Light back? Or was it absorbed as soon as it returned, because it was a part of the Demon Lord, so it's no longer in the shape of a sword?

K: In its original world, the Sword of Light was created in the form of a weapon, just like Dulgofa, so if he could go to that world, he would be able to use it as a weapon, as usual.

#slayers #hajime kanzaka #interview