#I’m completely different from who I was 5 years ago when I first took it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

buckyalpine · 1 year

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Hi love ! I have a really fluffy request for you ! Bucky and reader are married and have a beautiful baby girl about 3-4 years old .But when they first met , Bucky and Reader where always bickering , seemingly hating each other. One day , Reader gets home from work to find her husband and daughter on the couch . She’s in her dad’s lap facing him while he’s telling her a story . She smiles at the image in front of her and moves closer to hear the story . The story is how her dad fell in love with her mom . And while she expected to hear about the day they both realized what they had wasn’t hate for each other but love , she heard a completely different story . One Bucky hasn’t told her about . He told his daughter about the first day her ever saw her mom . How the moment he looked at her smile he knew he was we head over heels and wanted to be the one to place all her smiles there . Reader starts sniffling and that’s when they both notice her and run towards her to attack her with hugs and kisses cause they think you’re sad . And then Bucky tells both of you the story of how he fell in love with his wife . Just enemies to lovers and a bunch of domestic fluff

THIS IS SO CUTE MY GOODNESS I've been so excited to get to this from the moment I saw it. Amazing. This is beautiful. I hope you see this my lovely, this request was from a while back, I’m so sorry I took so long to get to it

You smiled hearing your husbands soft voice carry through from the living room while you hung your coat in the closet. Your heart warmed at the sight you saw in the living room, your sweet baby looking wide eyed at your husband while he told her a story. Her attention was completely on him, she didn't even hear the door open or your footsteps. You cocked your head, wondering exactly how great this story was, raising your brow when you heard his next few words.

"And that's when I saw your mama"

Your baby squealed, clapping her hands hearing the entrance of her pretty mommy, scooting closer so she could hear every word. Bucky grinned, letting her crawl onto his lap, letting her get settled before continuing. You silently giggled to yourself, reminiscing about the way you and Bucky fell in love. You had always bickered, never agreeing on anything. You expected Bucky to tell your baby girl about how one day you both realized all the little arguments, disagreements and quarrels were because you were both too silly to realize you were both in love with each other.

5 years ago

“You’re a fucking dumb ass” You hissed, glaring at the smug super soldier who had a cocky smirk on his face, unbothered that you looked like you were about to strangle him across the jet.

“No need to flatter me princess-oh shi-

You lurched from your seat, ready to tackle Bucky to the floor, only to be stopped by a large arm snaking around your waist, pulling you back.

“Put me down Rogers” You growled while Steve chuckled, holding you to his side like a football. “Just let me have 5 minutes with him”

“You’re both like school children” Steve held you in place while you huffed, wishing you could swing at Bucky’s jaw at least once but alas, it wasn’t your lucky day.

There wasn’t a day where you and Bucky got along. It was like he was sent on this earth for the sole purpose of annoying you and it had been that was from the day you met. Every since you joined the team, Bucky made it his mission to critique you and annoy you in every way possible. Your fighting form, mission assignments, weapon choice, even the way you made your damn coffee was a problem for him.

“I like my coffee black”

“Well excuse me for not wanting to drink hot bitterness first thing in the morning”

“Not a fan of hot bitterness, would be difficult to drink me, wouldn’t it”

You threw your toast at Bucky’s head while he cackled, it wasn’t even 7 am yet and Bucky had trailed behind you, determined to start your morning off with his nagging.

“You don’t even taste the coffee when you add milk and sugar” Bucky sassed, loving every minute of you getting more and more riled up with his side commentary, there was something about you when you got annoyed with him.

His angry little bunny.

It had been months of your back and forth, there wasn’t a single moment of peace where you both mutually agreed on something.

“Will you fuck off” You deadpanned while Bucky corrected your fighting stance, moving your leg back and arms up.

“Just shut up and fix your form” Maybe I should fuck you instead-what. Bucky flicked off the rogue thought that slipped into his mind as you shuffled, brushing against his body, his muscles tensed with how close you were to him.

****

“Y/n!” Bucky shoved you out of the way, groaning when he felt the knife plunge into his side, dropping to his knees and falling onto the floor.

“Bucky!” You ran to his side, killing off the hydra agent within seconds before Steve and Sam came to his aid, whisking him off to the jet. You ran behind them, your heart hammering out of your chest while they helped him strip off his tac gear to give him stiches. You took over, insisting the other two could finish up the mission while you took care of Bucky; there was no way you’d be able to focus on anything else anyway. Not when he was hurt.

He groaned, lying down in pain but alert enough to see the way your eyes were glassy, worry etched on your face. You cut off the rest of his shirt, your breath hitching looking at all the dark bruises that littered his body, a few of those hits from shielding you.

“Baby” Your voice was hardly a whisper, not even realizing what you’d just called him, trying to hold yourself together so you could take care of him.

“Baby, huh?” Bucky smirking, wincing in pain while you applied pressure to his cut, stopping some of the bleeding before grabbing the med kit to stitch him up. “Can I finally be your baby now?”

“This doesn’t change anything Barnes” You snorted, bringing him to lie down on your lap while the Jet took off, your hand softly stroking his hair. “I still hate you” you rolled your eyes, trying to look as annoyed as possible but on the inside your stomach was doing flips.

“You love me” Bucky smirked, his heart beating a little faster because deep down he wished it were true. He wished there were more to all your petty squabbles.

“Hm” You shook your head, a hint of a smile flashing across your face before collecting yourself again. “Maybe”

Bucky bit his lip, nodding, not trusting himself to respond to that, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Maybe.

Present

That was the story you thought he was telling her.

But that wasn't.

You’d never heard this story.

“The first day I ever saw your mama, I fell in love with her pretty smile, almost tripped on my own feet seeing her. Daddy was head over heels for her”

Your daughter’s cheeks looked like they were going to burst, smiling so hard, her eyes wide with amazement.

“What did you do daddy, did you make mommy smile? Did she fall heels over head for you too?!”

Bucky snorted, cuddling his baby close to his chest, kissing her chubby cheek.

“Uh huh, I wanted to be the reason she always smiled. You know Uncle Steve brought her to uncle Tony’s house and as soon as she walked in the door, I thought she was a princess”

“Mama’s pretty”

“Mhm, so pretty baby, I feel in love with all of her. Your mama was the kindest person I’ve ever met, she was always so sweet to daddy”

“What did she do?”

“You know how daddy gets scary dreams sometimes?”

“Uh huh”

Bucky’s nightmares had improved significally but they didn’t disappear. Instead of hiding that side of him from your daughter, you had insisted on letting her learn about it. Bucky had hesitated but you didn’t want him to have to hide any part of himself. Your sweet girl was the most understanding, and Bucky was thankful every single day that his daughter knew all parts of him.

“She’d make sure I was okay after, she’d check on me. She’s so smart and brave, when we go on missions, she’d take care of me, sometimes even uncle Steve, uncle Tony, uncle Sam, uncle Clint, aunty Nat”

“ALL OF THEM?!”

Bucky laughed, nodding while your baby grasped onto his shirt, fully engrossed in this story.

“All of them. But she was the nicest to daddy”

“Did she give you lots of hugs?”

“Sometimes even kisses”

“Daddyyy” Your daughter burst into a fit of giggles at the word kisses, nuzzling her face into his neck before pulling away with more questions. “So what did you do?!”

You didn’t even realize you were sniffling until Bucky and your baby girl both turned to you wide eyed when they saw your tear streaked face. You knew Bucky loved you. There was no doubt you were both madly in love with each other but you never heard his side of how he felt about you.

How he adored you from day one.

All the silly little things he did to get your attention.

How beautiful he found you.

How much it meant to him when you made sure he was okay.

Everything just made him fall hard for you all while you also fell in love with him.

Bucky ran over to you while your little one padded behind him, attacking you in a flurry of hugs and kisses.

“What’s wrong darling” Bucky cooed, wiping your tears away while you shook your head, scooping your baby in your arms. She kissed your face all over, grabbing your cheeks, concern etched on her face.

“Why is mama sad”

“Mommy isn’t sad baby” Her face scrunched while you laughed, leaning against your husband as he kissed the top of your head. “I’m happy. I heard daddy telling you a story”

Bucky grinned while your babygirl nodded immediately, her tiny hand tugging on Bucky’s sleeve.

“Daddy you didn’t finish!!!”

“Sorry bubba” Bucky turned to you, his heart filled with butterflies, it didn’t matter that you had already been married for 4 years, he was forever head over heels in love with you, “You want to hear the story too, doll?” Bucky smiled, brining you to cuddle with him on the couch, your daughter snuggled against his chest again.

“Tell us the story daddy!!”

“It all started when uncle Steve had a plan...”

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art · 2 years

Photo

Creator Spotlight: @fourbrickstall

I’m a photographer who likes to shoot portraits, acro, and toys. My favorite themes are medieval fantasy, steampunk, and apocalypse. I manage a fan community about LEGO photography called BrickCentral, and I am its LEGO ambassador.

Check out our full interview below!

How did you get your start in photography?

I think I have always really liked looking at things through a lens—I had plenty of microscopes and telescopes growing up—so photography was a natural progression. I started out taking photos of nature, architecture, and travel but really became a photographer in my mind when I learned studio photography. I love creating interesting light on people in particular.

What inspired you to work with LEGO specifically?

Several years ago, a couple of photography blogs I followed featured a 365-day phone photography project by Andrew Whyte about a miniature traveling LEGO photographer. It was the first time I had ever seen toy photography. And LEGO! It had been years since I had ever even looked at LEGO, but it brought back memories of smiley-faced space explorers on lunar bases. I was surprised by how modern LEGO minifigures had become: this LEGO photographer was so urban with a beanie hat on its head and a cute camera in its hand. I immediately wanted to create a little LEGO version of myself, too (called a “sigfig” or signature figure, I later learned.) Around that time, I had my hands full with a toddler and was looking for a way to keep shooting creatively. But I only had space for one bag at a time—a diaper bag or a camera bag—so a phone and a minifig seemed like a fantastic way to keep taking photos.

Once I got my LEGO minifigure in the mail, I started shooting and became instantly hooked. Not only on the photography but on the collecting aspect too. I now have hundreds of minifigures and even more LEGO minifigure parts to create custom characters with. So it was the LEGO that caught my attention right away, but the photography workflow is what sealed the deal for me.

What is your favorite piece of all time? Why?

I really love this photo for lots of reasons. It’s the kind of photographer I want to be: someone who doesn’t let weather or terrain or whatever become an excuse for not doing what they love. I also like that this shot looks like I found this great location in the forest, but the reality is that I shot this on my window sill with just some bark, twigs, and moss that I collected from around Brooklyn. It doesn’t get more metropolitan than NYC, but with just an idea and a few materials, I created a completely different environment. Atmospheric effects are another thing I like to add to my photos, so the “rain” hits the spot. It’s just spray from a water bottle.

From idea to final piece, how long does it take for you to create something?

The great thing about shooting LEGO is that it can be as easy or as complex as you want it to be: from subject to gear, to lighting, to location. As a portrait photographer, shooting an unusual or interesting character is part of the thrill, so I spend about an hour creating one custom minifig from my hundreds of loose parts.

Sometimes I use official LEGO models as a subject or as a background, and these take some time to build, depending on the size of the set. I build my own models and scenes, too—known as My Own Creations (MOCs) in LEGO lingo. These take me forever because I’m not a great MOC builder, and I don’t have thousands of LEGO parts at my disposal. It’s not unusual for MOCs to take days or weeks for me to finish.

This tiny red house on wheels took me about 5 days to build:

This Japanese alley took me a month:

When shooting outdoors, I look for locations that scale well to LEGO minifigs and models and also have beautiful light. I seek out pockets of light through trees to put my subjects in, but I also make sure to have patches of shadow throughout the scene to give it some depth.

I already have some favorite locations, so it’s really just a matter of getting to them or waiting for the right time of day. Indoors, I can get shooting rather quickly at any time of day in my studio nook, which is an alcove I’ve set up with lighting and supports just for my LEGO photography. Having that dedicated space and grip really accelerates getting into a flow state. Negentropy is my friend.

A custom minifig in a MOC photographed in my studio nook is my favorite kind of work to do, but that also takes the longest because of the build time and more complex lighting.

What are 3 things you can’t live without as a creator?

My camera, my lenses, and Lightroom are three things I can’t live without as a creator. I love the whole process of shooting—seeing how different settings and gear change an image—and then taking that image and making it truer to what I feel in post.

What do you wish you knew when you first started out creating content that you know now?

I wish I knew that it’s easier to find your tribe when you figure out who you are as an artist first. I think it’s tempting to try to belong immediately because it’s exciting to find other people who share the same interests as you. But doing that too quickly and investing too deeply can influence your art or trap you in a style that isn’t really you.

What are your file name conventions?

FBT-desc-of-lego-subject.jpg I’m not as organized as I would like to be, but I have my folders set up descriptively and by date in Lightroom. It’s great for managing thousands of photos.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

I love the DnD artists on Tumblr! I’m so inspired by their beautiful illustrations, character creations, and storytelling. I played a few campaigns with my Dungeon Master brother as a teenager, so I know and love that world. I guess my affinity for custom LEGO characters is rooted in the character creation part of DnD.

My favorite characters these days are artificers and tieflings, so I follow those tags on Tumblr to see all the stunning artwork by the community.

Check out more amazing LEGO photography over at @fourbrickstall!

#creator spotlight #lego #photographers on tumblr #lego community #fourbrickstall

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blackroseguzzi · 1 year

Text

Girl Next Door Part 5

Summery: ‘I love you’ and ‘I’m sorry’. Something good happens before something bad.

Sitting at your desk inside your small bedroom, you stared at your old MacBook. The college essay prompt was written in bold letters on the top of your document.

‘Discuss an event that sparked a period of personal grown and a new understanding of yourself and others.’

Before today you had been stumped, having complete writers block when it came to this important paper. You felt a tear roll down your cheek as your fingers started typing feverishly over the keyboard. The words effortlessly coming out of you in your emotional state. After the events that had happen in the last few weeks, you knew just what you had to write about.

Exactly two weeks ago you had been sitting in that same seat, staring at the snow falling from the sky out your bedroom window. You couldn’t find any motivation to write this paper. You were a small town girl living in the suburbs, with zero crime and white picket fences. You had good grades, a great family life, and you were not some leper in society. You fit in well with most, especially with your neighbor Kai, who you had been hooking up with for the last 7 months.

It was hard to believe it had been that long since you shared your first intimate moment together. You guys didn’t talk much about your relationship status, hell you didn’t speak of it at all. You were best fucking friends, and both you and Kai didn’t want to discuss what your new level of friendship was doing to your old one.

Your thoughts were pulled from you as your phone rang beside you.

It was Kai, so you decided to answer. “What’s up?”

“Can I come over? I just really need to get out of this house,” You could hear it in his voice that his parents were arguing. Winter was always at her girlfriends, and Vincent hadn’t been living there for years, so you knew it was just Kai home with the two of them as they were at each others throats.

“Yeah of course, I’m just finishing up my essay.” You lied. Kai thanked you before hanging up the phone. You frowned as you looked to your empty document on your computer screen. Sighing, you shut the laptop and got up from your seat at your desk. You sulked down the stairs moments before Kai’s hand banged on your front door.

He looked tired and worn out as you invited him inside. Your parents had taken a mini vacation for themselves for the 26th anniversary so you had the house to yourself all week. You hoped someday you’d still be in love with your husband 26 years in, just as your parents were.

He rubbed the fallen snow out of his brown shaggy hair. “Hey, thanks for letting me come over. I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” You looked down at your appearance and suddenly felt a wash of embarrassment wash over you as you looked down at your yoga pants and Baggy sweatshirt with a guacamole stain from your afternoon snack lingering on the chest.

“No god Kai, you know you’re always welcome over.. Especially when your parents get like that.” You smiled lightly at him, nodding at him to follow you up the stairs.

You got to your bedroom door and entered the mess of your headquarters. Your room was a vibrant coral color, but the artwork on your walls were of dark comic book covers and thriller movies. The vast difference in the interior design of your room always gave kai a warm feeling in his heart.

Kai plopped down on your unmade bed, his back falling back as he stared at the ceiling which was scattered with stick on glow in the dark stars from your childhood.

“You know, sometimes I wish they would just fucking give up already.” Kai closed his eyes for a moment, fighting back the emotions pulling at him from the inside. “They’re just going through shit after your dads’ accident. It can’t be easy for either of them, or for you.”

You took a sip from your iced coffee that had been sitting so long in your quest to break your writers block that the ice was already melted.

“Its been years y/n, this isn’t going to get better. It's just gotten worse over the last year, and I feel like I can’t leave home. I can’t leave her with him.” He sat back up, his eyes were glassy. You knew he was talking about his mother. She was the brunt of all his father’s PTSD.

You had overhead your mom talking with your dad about how Kai’s mother had been showing up with bruises on her arms lately and that she was worried about what was going on in the Anderson home. You knew that Kai’s dad was a dick, but you really didn’t know how bad until you had found out he was leaving marks on wife.

Casting your eyes away from him, you fidgeted in your seat, “I’m sorry, I wish I could make things easier for you.”

“You do. Seriously you’re the only good thing in my life,” his words made your head shoot up and your eyes locked into his. He was smiling sheepishly, and you wondered how you had gotten so lucky as to have him.

“You don’t mean that,” Your voice came out as a quiet whisper. You felt your chest tighten at the words he had spoken to you. He had always been sweet but something in his words felt different today, like they were heavier than normal.

“Y/n, I know things with us are unusual and we’ve never really talked about what we are. I just want you to know that I love you. I love you as a friend and I love you as something more. I always will.”

It had been two days since Kai had confessed his love to you, and you froze and all you could do was kiss him in fear he was going to expect a reply. You didn’t want to complicate things more, and you really were starting to worry what was going to happen when you went off to college…if you went off to college.

You had other things to worry about today of all days because even though two days ago Kai told you he loved you, it had been two weeks since your missed period.

You stood in the bathroom of your home with a pregnancy test in a cup of your own piss. You paced the bathroom, biting your thumb nail and going through all the other options of why you could have missed your period. I mean there was stress, that was a big one. You had been under so much stress since applying for colleges, the essays lay dormant in your document drafts.

“Im so fucking stupid,” You whispered to yourself as you leaned over the sink, staring at yourself in the mirror. Your hair was slung in a messy bun and the mascara smudged on your eyelids from the tears that fell from your eyes.

You pulled out your phone, realizing that it had been 10 minutes since you had stuck the test in your urine. It was clearly enough time to give an accurate result.

You slowly made it over to the back of the toilet, your eyes smashing shut as you picked up the stick. You prayed, prayed to a god you hardly believed in, but you told him that if he cared at all about you that he would let you off the hook just this once. Please dear god, don’t let me be-

PREGNANT

The words om the little electronic test were clear as day, and you dropped the stick with a shaky hand and covered your mouth. The tears escaping and cascading down your face.

How did this happen? How would you explain any of this to Kai.

Kai. Oh my god, Kai.

You were supposed to go over his house for a movie night tonight, but you couldn’t even fathom how you were supposed to break this news to him.

You picked up the test off the ground, the words pregnant still permanently written on the clear blue test in your hand. You chucked it hard at the wall, the test clanging against the tile of your bathroom. ‘FUCK!,” You angrily yelled out. You stared at the stupid stick that lay flat on the floor. Your hands were sweaty and your throat felt like it did when you were 5 and found out you had an allergy to shellfish.

You grabbed your phone off the sink and pulled up Kai’s number, texting him a quick message that you were headed over.

Entering the Anderson household you rushed right to the basement, walking by Winter and her parents at the kitchen table. They awkwardly looked between themselves at the odd actions of their neighbor. It wasn’t unusual that you walked into their house without knocking, but you usually said a quick hello. Tonight you were on a mission.

Kai sat on the couch, his laptop on his lap when you rushed down the stairs. Kai’s eyes grew wide as you walked down the stairs quickly, letting tears flow freely from your eyes,“woah woah, what’s the matter?”

He shoved the laptop off of him and walked briskly to meet you in the middle of the room, grabbing you in a secure hug. He rubbed your back as you cried into his chest.

“Are your parents okay, what’s happening?” He pulled your shoulders away from him, concern wrecked his face as he watched you shake your head.

“My parents are drinking fucking mojitos on the beach right now,” You sniffled, gaining some composure and looking at Kai for the first time since you barged into the basement.

He looked terrified, but you knew he would look even more terrified when you told him why you were upset in the first place.

“Okay good, that’s a start. What’s going on then?” He questioned you, but all you could focus on was the sweet tenderness of his warm hands moving up and down your arms to comfort you. You wanted to soak every inch of him in before you ruined your relationship forever.

“I need to sit down, I need to sit,” Kai moved you slowly over to the couch and you plopped down on the old sofa that harbored so many memories. It was probably where you got yourself into this mess anyway. The thought made your skin grow goosebumps.

“You’re freaking me out, y/n. What’s going on?” Kai’s eyes were wide, and he looked you over for a sign of an injury. Everything in you wanted to just cling to him and feel his body close to yours. If only you could close your eyes hard enough that when you opened them you’d be awake from this terrible nightmare.

“I feel like I can’t breathe.” Nobody told you what an anxiety attack felt like, but you were pretty sure that you were experiencing one.

“Okay listen to me, whatever is going on I’ll help you, just talk to me.”

You shook your head, feeling the heaviness overtaking your chest and you continued to cry. Kai ran his hands through his hair before pulling you to his chest and gently shh-ing you until he felt your body let go of the tenseness.

Moments passed until you felt strong enough to leave the comfort of his hold on you. Kai’s eyes searched you more for answers, and you couldn’t stop repeating yourself. “I’m sorry Kai, Im so sorry.”

“Woah chill, y/n. What is fucking happening here?” He was drained of color seeing you this way, and you just had to rip the band aid off.

“I’m pregnant, Kai.”

#kai anderson #kai anderson x reader #kai anderson fanfiction #kai anderson messiah #kai anderson x you #kai smut #kai anderson smut #ahs cult #kai pre cult anderson #pre cult kai anderson #American Horror story cult #evan peters x y/n #evan peters fanfic #evan peters imagine #evan peters x reader #Evan peters

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idsb · 1 month

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I know your boyfriend has family in the States and that’s a big part of why he can’t see himself moving to Australia but…has he even been there? It’s been your dream for forever, you fought so hard to make it good for yourself…it just seems weird that he hasn’t even seen this place that holds part of your heart if he also has part of it. I’m probably biased though because I was very much team cut him loose when all the shit went down before and I’m still genuinely unclear on why you took him back. Wish I had some advice on a good place to land in the US but DC is my favorite city (well, Arlington/Alexandria) and it doesn’t do it for you, so…I guess I’ll second Chicago…it’s my next favorite. Good luck bestie, whatever comes next you deserve to be happy.

Hi okay I am getting a lot of anons addressing this topic so I do want to explain bc like, I get this line of questioning.

So, I broke up with him while I was on tour with a band, the tour ended in New York and I stayed on the tour bus and headed to California with the band, because I didn’t want to get dropped off back to our apartment in NYC (as per the original tour plan) under those circumstances. On the way back to San Francisco, we stopped in Chicago for 2 days and I’m standing around in a concert venue while we’re there and who walks up to me but my boyfriend. Once he saw where we were he flew there immediately, and he took me outside and had a very, like, Betty moment and he just poured his heart out and sang me a song he’d written and apologized so profusely and begged me to give him a second chance. Albeit reluctantly at first, I did.

I think the person I am with now is almost a completely different human being than the one I was in a relationship with before, in the best way. You know how Chase Stokes is just so obsessed with and all-in and one of the girlies and biggest cheerleader ever ever ever for Kelsea Ballerini? Or how, a bit less so, Travis is for Taylor? That’s how it is and that’s how it’s been. He’s been so supportive of my every dream and every want and just would bend over backwards to make me smile and is so intentional and clear about those things. To the extent where he’d been paying my rent the first 5 months I’ve been here so that I could be here and be less stressed because he wanted me to have this, at like, extreme financial detriment to himself. And it’s not like my love is something someone can purchase, its more about the gesture and willingness to do that. He is so receptive to critique and is always trying to be better for me. I’ve never imagined being so loved or so supported by someone, genuinely. In my first 5 year relationship I would look at girls with supportive boyfriends like this and think about how that kind of thing was just not something that was in the cards for me. I look back now at how fulfilled I am with this relationship and can’t believe I used to feel that way.

To answer your question, he has been here! We came together in 2018 when we were just friends (he is the ONLY person in my whole life who has met The Australian, ha) and he was just visiting me 6 weeks ago. Unfortunately he didn’t get to be in Melbourne very long (we traveled a lot which I now regret) so I couldn’t really like, broadcast my love of it here onto him, but he has visited and he thinks it’s a great place. He just doesn’t feel any kind of emotional calling to it (other than me obv but I am physically capable of moving) that justifies being away from everything he’s ever worked for and loved in his whole life and every family member and friend he cares about (he’s relatively well adjusted with 90% of his family and fears them getting older, cannot relate at all). Which is, I suppose understandable even though I don’t like it or agree: I’d be giving up my dream if I left. He’d be giving up his dream and his life and his family and every friend he’s ever had.

#sorry for this novel I just really feel like it’s important to set this record straight!

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thefinalcinderella · 1 year

Text

List of TW Characters Family Members (Part 2)

I made the first one (which is now pretty outdated) before Pomefiore chapter (2 years ago!!!) dropped and just completely forgot about it so...here's the second part!! A lot of this is from memory/the wiki but I’ll try my best to list all the information, although I’m sure I missed a lot

Vil

- Father, no mention of his mother

- His father’s name is Eric Venue (stage name), who’s a famous actor, he seems to be very supportive of Vil when he was being typecasted as a villain, taking him along with him on his film shoots (Episode 5-65)

- one of the twins’ dad’s favorite movies stars him (Vil Halloween personal story Chapter 1)

- Every Halloween, Vil’s dad would come home with a unique costume and makeup (Vil Halloween voice lines)

Rook

- His family is suspicious for sure

- He has five siblings, two older, three younger, but they rarely see each other because of scheduling conflicts, according to Rook they are a lively bunch when they get together (Episode 6-25)

- Apparently, one of his ancestors traveled all over the world and built villas in many countries with magic devices for easy transportation (Episode 6-25)

- What his family does is a secret (Episode 6-25)

Epel

- Parents, grandmother Marja, grandfather, aunt and uncle, baby cousin (honestly their whole village could be considered a big family)

- His family seems to run some kind of apple juice business (somewhere in Episode 5)

- They live in Harveston, a small mountain village in the Shaftlands

- His mom calls him when Vil promoted their apple juice (Episode 5-42)

- his parents aren’t magic users, but his great-grandmother and grandmother are (Cremonial Robes voicelines)

- we meet his grandmother Marja in the sled event, she’s very passionate about the sled race, she also looked like female Epel when she was younger lol

- Whenever his grandparents fight, they make up by baking an apple pie together (Ghost marriage card voice line)

- Epel gave his plushies to his cousin after he was born (sled event 3-9)

- Epel was very happy when his cousin was born bc there’s finally someone younger than him in the village, but it’s hard for them to connect bc of the age gap (sled event 4-9)

Idia & Ortho

- Parents

- It’s a shame their parents never showed up in the story since I want to know what they thought of everything that happened

- I don’t really feel like explaining the entire Shroud family history so I’ll just stick with their parents

- In Episode 6, Idia mentions that his parents left the whole “managing the overblotters” thing to him and that prioritizing results over their son’s feelings sounds like something they would do (6-43)

- I’m pretty sure his parents were meeting with Crowley and other government people during Episode 6 but I can’t find the chapter that confirms that, in any case in 6-85 Crowley says he and his parents came to an agreement that Idia would continue attending NRC

- Also somewhere in the Wish Upon a Star event it’s mentioned that Idia and Ortho’s parents would take away the power cord for their video game consoles or something??? I cannot find where Idia says this

- Idia mentions that both his grandmother and father were naturally pessimistic Episode 6-85)

- His grandmother’s name was Aidne, she was the head of STYX before retiring; now the current head is Idia’s father (6-17)

Malleus

- grandmother (only blood relative), no mention of what happened to his parents

- His grandmother is the current ruler of Briar Valley, Lilia took care of him when he was younger

- Black is considered a noble color in the Draconia family (Malleus Birthday Boy personal story 1)

- Malleus’s grandmother always sent him a birthday card every year, along with rose seeds

Silver

- the biggest mystery in the cast

- he’s an orphan who was adopted by Lilia when he was a baby (Lilia found him in a forest and named him after his hair color) they lived in a house in the woods in Briar Valley and Silver thought Lilia was his birth father until he realized that they had different ears

- Malleus would visit sometimes when he sneaks out of the castle

- Sebek and Silver knew each other since they were little and were raised like brothers since Lilia taught them both the sword

Sebek

- Mother, father, older sister and brother, grandfather

- His mom’s a fairy but his dad’s a human, so Sebek and his siblings are half fairy

- His dad is a dentist and can’t use magic, but he chose to live in Briar Valley anyways; he’s always amazed when Sebek and his siblings use magic

- His mother is a night fairy; she met his dad when she was at his clinic for an appointment and fell in love at first sight; she married him despite opposition from those around them; she currently works at his clinic as his assistant

Lilia

- Silver (adopted son), but really Malleus and Sebek can be considered his sons too

- Honestly this guy is a complete mystery in regards to his past; we know he used to be a soldier and that he travels a lot and that he’s probably very old, but that’s about it

#twisted wonderland #vil schoenheit #rook Hunt #epel felmier #idia shroud #ortho shroud #malleus draconia #twst silver #silver #sebek zigvolt #Lilia Vanrouge

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artistic-mathematics · 1 year

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my 2am analysis on Dwangela

okay I really don’t know why I decided to write a canon compliant Dwangela fic spanning the entire show like

I don’t even know how I’m gonna begin to write season 4′s stuff. like every time I even think about it I just want to vomit bc HIGHKEY if Dwight had just fed Sprinkles the medicine Angela told him to they probably would’ve gotten married in season 4 and all would’ve been fine but nope it took them eight whole seasons to even get engaged afterwards and then we got almost 0 content of them actually being in a healthy relationship again and it’s just like 3u5irefwngkjej54

this all stemmed from the fact that I genuinely think to this day, Dwangela is still misunderstood by the majority of the community. actually, Angela as a character is still misunderstood, which is crazy considering that this show ended over a decade ago and my first watch was like two months ago.

before anyone says anything YES, Angela was still a horrible person and I don’t really think I need to cite why, but I do think her motivations and eventual progression arc are just completely slept on (and also, season 9 finale Angela is a much, much better person than she was during the rest of the show).

I think the biggest thing I’ve seen from people is like “why did Angela end up with Dwight?” and they just tend to forget that Angela went through an entire character arc in literally just the last half of season 9. would it have been better if the show actually like shown more of it? absolutely. but it’s pretty obvious that Angela from S9E20: Paper Airplane is a completely different Angela from S9E22: A.A.R.M. is she still the greatest person? oh absolutely not, but I do think that her actions in this last half (starting from S9E16: Moving On) show enough growth and maturation that she deserved her own happy ending with Dwight.

(ALSO YES, IT’S A HAPPY ENDING. people who say that Angela is going to cheat on Dwight clearly misunderstood this entire plot line. I’ll get to that later.)

she hits rock bottom in S9E21: Livin’ the Dream and even then we can see a huge difference between this episode and S9E20. in the previous episode, she refused to accept help from Dwight (and by extension, Esther), but in this episode not only does she try to go out of her way to help Andy but she also accepts help from Oscar and actively reaches out for his hand, something that she’d deadass refused to do since season 3 when he was outed as gay. by accepting she needs help and then finally, FINALLY admitting out loud that she loves Dwight (something that she pretty much skirted around when possible, even back in seasons 4-5), she’s shown that she’s finally letting down the walls that she’d constructed for years and years. she’s finally letting herself be vulnerable, and that shit takes strength, especially from someone who’d spent so many years letting pride dictate her life and practically pretended to live a life that wasn’t hers just to save face.

(yes, she did it because she hit rock bottom. but then again, she literally didn’t even have to do that. she could’ve just kept digging a deeper hole for herself anyway, blaming Oscar and the state senator and still refusing to admit anything. would it have helped her? no lol, but at least she was able to analyze and recognize that her own actions were her downfall instead of continuing blaming others for her issues, which she had no problem doing throughout the show.)

another thing I’ve noticed is that people were like “she continued lying to Dwight about Phillip” and I’ma be real with you, I think that lie is the most ethical lie she told throughout the entire series.

let me explain.

actually, let Angela explain, because she outright explains this during Dwight’s proposal that she wanted him to marry her because it was her he wanted to marry. I don’t think this was selfish at all. sure, she probably should’ve told him -- lying about it is still shitty -- but what does she even gain from lying about it? she literally gains absolutely nothing here. she already admitted to Oscar (and by extension, herself) that she loves Dwight. if Dwight were to propose to her because of Phillip, there’s no world where she’d be unhappy in that relationship since she knows she loves Dwight.

but she doesn’t know if Dwight still loves her (yeah, they did make out like five episodes ago BUT remember he’s in a committed relationship now) -- and she was literally just in a loveless marriage. she was also in a loveless engagement, with Andy (and oh my god I might make a post about this at some point but I HAVE SO MANY GRIPES OVER THIS ENGAGEMENT. not at the writers, but just like how did this even??? like?????).

in S9E21, she makes it very clear that she’s accepted that Dwight and Esther are a thing. S9E22 happens some time afterwards (around a month or so according to Dunderpedia) and it’s probably long enough for Angela to realize that it’s genuinely serious, and I mean. just look at Dwight in that episode. he looks so happy.

when Dwight calls Angela into his office to propose that business marriage, I think all of these things came to her mind -- and let’s be honest, the last time they tried to make some business out of something that clearly should be romantic (cough cough sex contract cough cough) it, uh, didn’t go well. and so she lies. she tells him that Phillip isn’t his son, and that lie was enough. it sent his emotions into turmoil, enough so that he ends up calling Jim in and talking to him about it makes him snap to his senses -- that he still loves Angela, and now that Angela is actually available again he needs to go for it.

and of course Angela accepts. you can see her anger from Dwight almost running her off the road completely ebb away when Dwight yells “I love you!” she pauses and processes.

oh also for the people who think that marriage is terrible and that Angela is just gonna cheat on Dwight? the entire point of Dwangela was that Angela couldn’t commit to any of her other romantic relationships because she still loved Dwight. from seasons 2 through 9 she was still very much in love with Dwight, and only cheated on people with Dwight.

also I don’t think Dwight ever stopped loving Angela, either. I mean like, he seemed to really like Isabel and went through an entire talking head where he compared Isabel and Angela to each other but as Jim said to Dwight in S9E21, “you just have to forget about all the logic and fear and doubt” -- and the thing is, I don’t think love ever made sense to Dwight after he broke up with Angela in season 5. it also makes sense as to why Dwight broke up with Isabel so brutally as a result, treating her like absolute garbage the day of Pam and Jim’s wedding.

also I think people forget that like, Dwight was very in on the cheating??? Angela knew she was engaged to Andy in season 5 and knew she was engaged (and eventually married) to the state senator in season 8, like he obviously was a part of this too lmao? and there was a whole episode where people shat on Michael for dating a woman who had a husband and how he was a horrible person LIKE. he knew she was in a relationship and still chose to do what he did. I’m not saying that it’s his fault entirely bc it’s still like 95% Angela’s fault but Dwight buddy, come on, idk what you expected

anyway I go sleep now I just had to get this out before I passed out lol

#angela martin #dwight schrute #dwangela #the office

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bag-for-life · 9 months

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Semi-coherent self indulgent ramble about Edinburgh below, mostly because I forget things if I don’t record them somewhere - feel free to ignore…

- Within 10 minutes of getting off the train we spotted David O’Doherty, the first show we were seeing that night, I too loudly whispered ‘look, David O’Doherty, green bike helmet, oh my god’ and was instantly ashamed at having so little cool about that stuff although he either didn’t hear me or just convincingly acted that way - his show was fantastic, one of my favourites, I will always be excited to hear his ‘beefs’ song - shortly after the show while I was at the bar my friend saw him walk past with Josie Long, I was pretty relieved as I’m sure I would have started crying as I told her how much I loved her book

- Show 2: Frank Skinner, I wasn’t sure about this when we booked it, the audience demographic changed massively and it was a huge shift from lovely DO’D, he definitely flirted with some more ‘old school’ stuff about brexit but then moved away from the obvious jokes, enjoyable but not so much my thing, Russell Howard and David Baddiel were in the audience taking the comedian count up to 4

- Show 3: Simon Amstell was the last show of day 1 - very much a work in progress but enjoyed it, different again from the first 2 shows, we were talking to some people the next day who said they had seen him a few years ago and would never go again as he was so self involved, couldn’t argue with that so I suppose it comes down to if you like him in the first place?

- Day 2, show 1 was Daniel Kitson - just wonderful, he makes its look so easy, hard to talk about without going into the premise but so far removed from the work in progress show earlier in the year and I can’t wait to see it again once it’s ‘complete’

- Show 2: Tarot, another work in progress - I absolutely love them and was cackling like an idiot for the whole thing and can’t wait to see finished show, was accidentally too enthusiastic and got pulled into some very mild audience participation regarding Mr Blobby (and my brain just can’t do audience participation) pretty sure my response was shite but it didn’t even dent how much I loved it

- Show 3: Stuart Goldsmith - bang on the front row (at the side at least) good lord he has VERY twinkly eyes… also I think the first proper ‘themed’ show we saw, good but very strong competition based on earlier shows of the day

- Show 4: Last minute scarper to the next street over to see Stuart Laws, the first show where I hadn’t seen them before either live or on TV, great visual gag fairly early on. Really enjoyed it, more low quality audience participation from myself… decision taken not to sit on the front row again if I could help it

- Show 5: Nish Kumar was brilliant and I could have listened to him screaming about the government all night, also the loudest audience of the weekend and everyone in the room loved him. Ed Gamble was in the crowd and got some stick which was fun, it was billed as a work in progress but I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was unplanned and he just ranted for the whole hour

- Last show was an ‘All Stars’ show at the Udderbelly, booked mainly because we couldn’t get to see Chloe Petts’ main show - she was fantastic obviously - also loved Lara Ricote

- Day 3, show 1: Ed Gamble, brings out the mum vibes in me despite only being 5 years younger, I find myself thinking he’s a lovely young man, and so handsome too etc He was very funny despite the smell in the venue and the actual children in the crowd, have tickets for the tour next year and am hoping to see him walk onstage wearing his camping trousers

- Show 2: The same stinking venue (Hive 1) for Alison Spittle who took the step of spraying air freshener around the room, great segment where she made assumptions about people’s lives based on their favourite soups, the show was a last minute booking but fantastic

-Show 3: Paul Merton’s Impro Pals, we booked this based on our shared childhood love of watching him on Have I Got News For You, the friendly posh lady we sat next to told us she didn’t like it when comedy was political so we decided not mention how much we enjoyed Nish…it was fun but very ‘lite’ and we were ready to get shouted at by an angry Scottish man

- Show 4: Frankie Boyle, lots of shouting and calling people cunts, lots of his psychotic giggle, couple of what appeared to be walk outs but who knows really, he only heckled the blokes leaving the room which was interesting, took the Prince Andrew is a nonce joke count up by about 100 and loads of fun stuff about the royals which I enjoyed

- Show 5: Buffy Revamped - the only non-stand up show we saw but it was great fun, crowd was full of very enthusiastic people and some VERY drunk people but he handled them expertly

- Show 6: Ivo Graham - pretty chaotic and I’m not sure if it was because it started late or if that’s just the show/the man, regardless it was really fun and had a great audience participation angle that would have worked really really well if the show was extended over a couple of hours, still a great last show of the weekend

This was my first trip to Edinburgh and it was amazing, the bad stuff I had prepared for wasn’t as bad as expected (the crowds, the queuing etc) although it was obviously expensive and I doubt I could afford it every year, also it totally fried my brain so I’m spending the next week indoors and not talking to any other humans as much as possible

Disappointed not to have spotted a wild Watto and also guilty we couldn’t fit his show in, but I am going to see Search next month and have his book on pre-order so I hope that balances things out in the long-run (see also John Robins but with Howl later in the year and without the book) and I didn’t give up hope of a no more jockeys show until ludicrously late into the weekend

I think our comedian spotting skills were fairly poor - we also saw Paul Chowdry and Paul Williams (separately) out and about and then Amy Annette walking down the street with Nish and Ed after Nish’s show, but that’s it

Thus ends my ramble - pics of the stages etc on my equally ‘not of much interest to anyone but me’ shows I’ve been to blog @mylifeintickets

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cadybear420 · 2 months

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Cadybear's Reviews- High School Story: Class Act

First of all, I should mention… this series is actually the reason I wasn’t going to include stories where my last playthrough of them was 2-3 years ago. I’ve been having a lot to say about HSS:CA for a long time, but as more time’s been going by, my memory of the playthrough diminishes more and more. As much as I want to go on and on about how disappointing this series was, I worried it might not be a good look to do so when my statements about its events could very well be uninformed.

But I would still like to discuss how I currently feel about the story, based off of what I do remember from it, plus what I’m picking up from screenshots posted by others. I’ve been writing braindumps about this trilogy for quite a long time. If and when I do eventually get around to replaying this (as with all the other stories that I haven’t touched in forever), it will certainly get a re-review, and we’ll see how well this one’s claims hold up. Will they all still stand? Will there be things I’ll change my mind on? Will there be new things I have to say? Who the fuck knows.

Now with that out of the way, let’s do this shit.

Welcome to the thirteenth official Cadybear's Reviews post! Today I'll be talking about High School Story: Class Act, which I have ranked on the "Bronze Tier" at 5 stars out of a possible 10. My last and only playthrough of this series was back in April-June 2021.

To put it briefly… this one is such a mixed bag. A kind of disappointing mixed bag.

Initially, I did fairly enjoy this series. I found the stories alright and the characters interesting, and I was happy to see more of the beloved OG characters even if it was just on the side. It wasn’t as amazing as OG was (no shit), but I still found it decent enough.

But at the same time, something was always just a bit off about all of it. It took me a while to realize this. I couldn’t quite place my finger on why (or when I think I fully realized this), but eventually… it hit me.

It had nothing to do with HSS.

I know, it seems unfair to judge this trilogy in comparison to OG HSS rather than on its own merits, but like… why even bother making it HSS then? If it wanted to be its own thing so bad, then it should have just been made as its own thing. And that’s kind of the main problem with HSS:CA– looking back on it, it entirely feels like it was written as a new different franchise and then had “HSS” stamped onto it to make it seem more appealing to fans of the original iterations. Seriously, you could replace everything HSS that appears in CA with something completely new, and nothing important about it would change.

I’m noticing that that’s kind of a phenomenon we see when it comes to sub-par spinoffs and installments of a (highly beloved and respected) franchise, such as PPG 2016 and HBO’s Velma. A fairly common critique I’ve seen about both of those infamously hated iterations is that you could easily make them as original shows and you’d lose nothing important about them, and frankly they’d have been much less hated if they were original franchises rather than installments of an already existing beloved franchise.

HSS:CA is nowhere near as abhorrent as either of those, don’t get me wrong. But regardless of how much of a desecration of the original franchise you consider it to be, it’s the exact same case here. Most of the stuff in HSS:CA either lacks relevance to and/or is a major downgrade from OG HSS. And while these aspects would still keep the series from being in the higher tiers if it was an original series, they’d be far more forgivable or negligible in that case.

I’ll be honest. HSS:CA is a cute, chill, vanilla slice-of-life high school series at best. And so if it was its own brand new thing? I’d probably rank it in the Silver Tier– which is why there’s a spot that says “HSS:CA (if you pretend it’s not a HSS spinoff)”. But the fact that it’s meant to be a continuation of the HSS franchise kind of gives it some higher standards to hold it to, and it’s hard not to judge it by that.

And in my opinion? It doesn’t hold a candle to those standards. It’s merely a shadow of its parent iterations, and even that’s an overstatement because a shadow at least has some basic connection to its source object.

It’s very difficult to go into this one without bursting into a 9 page long essay. To keep this review organized at least, let’s go by each of my 6 points for why OG HSS was great, and see how CA holds in those points as well. It’s gonna be a long one, but I do want to put my opinions into perspective.

First, the MC.

They’re not terrible by any means– in a vacuum, they’re an okay MC to play as. I don’t mind playing as an unpopular kid, and their adorakble moments and the Aunt Wendy storyline are pretty cute.

But again, this is a HSS spinoff. With that in context, CA MC is just so much more stiff than our old MC, and so it’s hard not to feel like they’re a downgrade. A fair amount of people have said that CA MC is better because they’re “more imperfect and realistic to actual teenagers” or “actually have a personality”, but it doesn’t hold much ground in my opinion. As I’ve said probably ad nauseam by this point, OG MC not having a distinct personality worked in their favor because it made them a lot more wildcard in how you could play their character– and that actually does include making them more “imperfect” to some degree.

I can make my OG MC genuinely mess up in certain areas if I want to, and it can affect certain outcomes for them. If I wanna have my MC be kind of crappy at their extracurricular and make Berry lose the big sports games, or have them be a jerk to the Hearst kids and lose their tryouts spot even if they’re actually good at tryouts themselves, I can have that! And even when you do get all the more successful outcomes for them, they can still feel pretty down-to-earth– they’re just a student who happens to become popular and good at unifying the school, rather than some OP messiah God who’s the great savior of the school and everyone worships the very ground they walk on. Is that still unrealistic? Sure. But who gives a crap? Realistic ≠ better.

(Also, if you think the OG MC was unrealistically talented and successful… well, not only is that on you as the player, but keep in mind that the MC of HSS Prime was a teenager who founded an entire brand new high school, and the whole game exists entirely around that. I’m pretty sure most people aren’t coming to HSS for complete high school realism. A lot of us already experienced complete high school realism when we went to high school IRL, and it probably sucked for most of us.)

With HSS:CA MC however, we don’t get nearly as many choices to personalize the character or affect the story with this one like we do with OG’s, and the options/outcomes that do exist are few and far between. If you replayed the story with a new name and appearance for MC and all different choices, chances are they’d probably still feel the exact same as the previous version of your MC with the exception of your LI choice.

And it’s funny– despite that this MC is pushed as the more awkward and flawed of the two, I don’t really recall any parts where we can have them genuinely screw up and face consequences. The most we get is probably the theatre productions in the first and third books, and some options in Book 2 that allow us to keep Rory/Twin’s election standings lower… but that’s about it. None of them really have the same impact or significance as the outcomes you can get with OG.

This lack of agency with MC’s character can get especially frustrating at certain times, such as how much they agonize over getting their first kiss with Rory in Book 1, or how they’re so passive with assholes like Clint and Natalie and Trevor and Amber. At least moments where they tried to force OG MC into a certain behavior or trait– like wanting to win prom crown, or wanting to matchmake Scott and Julia– were kept very minimal and didn’t push out or upstage their respective choices systems.

To add insult to injury, the OG MC is still around– but purely as a NPC background character. Which, in my opinion, fundamentally does not work for a flexible blank-slate MC like the OG MC. All it does is create the exact problem that OG HSS was trying to avoid when they wrote off Prime MC as having graduated. To make such a flexible MC that relies on how the player builds their character, into non-playable where they’re just a singular set version outside of their appearance and LI and the player has zero control over them? Especially when the new MC we get is so much more rigid and choice-less? It was very jarring and overall didn’t work, especially not in something like HSS. In fact, I’d even argue that there wasn’t any real justification for switching the MC and cast this time around… but I’ll save that for a later section.

Second, the new supporting characters.

When it comes to the new main friend group, I actually find them pretty alright. Ajay and Skye are great characters and their storylines are the strongest aspects about this trilogy, and I found the romance route with Ajay to be pretty cute (yes, I am a bit of an Ajay apologist despite my heavy criticism towards the series). Rory isn’t really much more than being “nice and attractive” and is annoyingly forced in Book 1, but other than that, they’re decent. Twin is enjoyable enough, and I did like their subplot with Amber in Book 1. Erin isn’t much more than a nice kid either, but she’s very pleasant and I would have liked her as a LI option for MC. And one thing about this group that I actually consider better than OG’s friend group is that we got a lot more opportunities to spend time just hanging out with them or the LIs.

And the family members of these characters like Ajay’s family, Skye’s family, and Aunt Wendy are interesting too, by virtue of the storylines they’re in. Another thing I do like a bit better than OG is that we get to actually meet all of the LIs’ families and know a bit more about their personal lives. OG’s LIs had great characterization and growth, but I do wish we got to see more of their family lives too. Heck, we never once even meet Caleb’s and Michael’s parents!

But when it comes to the rest of the in-school community, however? It’s nowhere near as vibrant and grand and interesting as it was in OG. I get that other characters outside of the new MC’s circle of friends are going to be less important because they’re not unifying the school like OG MC was, but everyone outside of the new main friend group is either boring and forgettable and/or an unpleasant one-note dickhead, even the returning OG characters. It wouldn’t be so bad since, obviously, not all characters are going to be pleasant or fleshed out… except for the fact that they’re constantly wanting us to interact with these characters and see them as our friends.

Like I said in my OG HSS review, I felt like I had actual reasons to care about characters like Julian, Mia, Myra, Frank, Jade, Payton, Kieran, Cameron, etc. They had range and actual purposes in the story, one way or another. Though they obviously weren’t as fleshed out as our LIs and they did have their worse moments, they did feel like actual characters and their presence didn’t bring down the story. They were all characters I could root for.

On the other hand, I don’t feel any reason to care about Clint, Natalie, Trevor, not even characters like Aiden and Michael. Well, outside of the fact that they’re from the OG trilogy and I’d rather be seeing what they’re up to– but that’s the extent of their appeal in this trilogy. None of them have really done much, if anything, to earn our new MC’s friendship or our interest as players, and all their interactions with MC really do is take up space in the story.

Even the antagonists were pretty lacking, aside from Skye’s parents. Despite that we get a few more that are less on-the-nose as antagonists than the OG antags tended to be, most of them were incredibly half-baked and felt more like cheap plot devices rather than like actual characters.

Third, the lack of any activity system.

Regardless of your opinion on CA, you can tell there was a lot less effort put into it compared to that of OG. This mainly shows with the lack of different route options and potential outcomes for MC like I mentioned before– and most notably of all, is the complete removal of any extracurricular choice system. Those choices were a key feature that made OG so memorable and immersive, allowing variance in our storyline, experience, and even our potential romance paths. CA throws that away entirely for God knows what reason… and unfortunately, there aren’t really a lot of other impactful choice systems in this trilogy that can really make up for it.

I get they were probably trying to make CA a bit different from OG, but being able to “choose your clique/group/activity” has always been a huge staple of HSS, ever since Prime. Imagine if PB got rid of the nerve score system when making ILB in order to make it “more different” from ILITW. I don’t think anyone would like that. It guts the series of one of the franchise’s biggest defining features and basically cheapens the story as an interactive VN.

What ILB actually did, of course, is that they changed up the nerve score system a bit: more consequential events spread throughout the story than just the fate trials in one of the last chapters, accounting for a group nerve score, having the characters’ scores start at zero and have to be increased. But it is still a *nerve score system*. I bring this up because CA could have done something similar. I get defaulting our MC to do theatre; that was expected from the “Class Act” part of the title. But in that case, why not adapt the “choose your activity” system to intra-theatre activities?

For example: a bifurcation of theatre jobs, where we can choose between being an actor, director, or techie/set designer (kind of like the MC options in HWU). You could maybe have different ways to customize the production and affect how it turns out based on your activity. And you’d have opportunities for extra interactions/moments with all of the LIs– Rory if you choose to be an actor, Ajay if you choose to be a director, Skye if you choose to be a techie/set designer (in Book 3, anyways).

Or if not that, then perhaps we could have a choice in the acting parts in the plays. Seriously, I feel so baited by that one scene where we could choose to say which part in the first play we wanted the most. Like, they make this big deal about how MC wants to be the prince/princess so they can get their first kiss with Rory, but really I imagined my MC as someone who would much rather be the witch (and didn’t crush on Rory either way).

Fourth, the stories.

Credit where credit is due, the subplots about some of the characters’ personal lives are pretty damn solid and probably one of the few things about the series that actually feels well-executed and fitting to HSS. I’d say the series is at its best when it’s focusing on stuff that doesn’t have to do with in-school drama. Which checks out, because most of the stuff that does take place in the school is lukewarm at best, and… kind of mean-spirited at worst, actually.

There’s nothing wrong with stories about more vanilla and mundane situations, but here it just guts the heart of HSS. Berry High in CA is not “the high school you’d want to go to” like it was in OG… which is kind of funny when you remember the HSS:CA teaser at the end of OG Book 3, where CA MC can tell Rory that they’re “so so so excited” to go to high school because “you guys have scandals and rivalries and food fights”. I can only imagine how disappointed they must have actually been when they started high school (I mean, that’s what this trilogy is, frankly), especially considering some of the bullshit they’re put through while they’re there.

No, seriously. I use the term “mean-spirited” to describe some of CA’s in-school conflicts because a lot of the stuff that happens to our new MC is more needlessly cruel than what happens to OG MC. Book 1’s storyline with MC being instantly accused of sabotage and ostracized by the theatre kids for days(?) on end is by far the worst offender, and Book 2’s storyline with MC being pulled in two directions by Twin and Rory with their election campaigns isn’t much better. Book 3 isn’t nearly as bad, but the useless one-note bully hivemind that is the Statton kids do still bring it down.

And the worst part is, I don’t feel like the characters “get anything” out of it. The characters in OG would often go through a series of pretty awful events too, such as the football game against Statton or literally everything that happened with Isa. But they’d always be able to pick themselves back up and some characters would even grow from these events, so it never felt in bad spirit. Even if you get some of the “lesser” outcomes such as losing the sports games or failing the spirit stick heist, the character development everyone has gone through still holds up. They didn’t succeed, but they tried their best and still got something good out of it, and they can still enjoy their homecoming dance.

In CA, it feels less about the characters overcoming their obstacles and a lot more like “drama and conflict for the sake of drama that we’re gonna throw at the MC, okay now it’s over with, moving on”. Like, why did MC need to suffer through being ostracized by 95% of the theatre kids or getting pulled between Rory’s and Twin’s campaigns? MC getting to kiss Rory in the play and getting the Greenhouse Ex Machina built to merge Twin and Rory’s campaigns and overtake Lorenzo’s campaign, aren’t nearly enough to amend the unnecessary crap they had to deal with throughout those respective stories.

And sure, some of those events are technically more “realistic” to the average high school experience, but again, that doesn’t make them better written. Need I bring up Prime’s MC again? Realism means fuck all to me if the conflicts are cheap, especially in HSS.

What’s funny about the “realistic” aspect though, is that despite OG being the seemingly more “corny cheesy Disney Channel high school” of the two trilogies, the teenage characters and their conflicts/drama in that one actually felt more natural and believable. There was actual tension building, and context for why characters acted irrational. I didn’t always like what happened, but it was more understandable why band and cheer would start rooting against basketball, or why Jade/Cameron/Kieran would believe MC was the one to sabotage them, or even why the characters would break out into a food fight. Again, the story gives me actual reason to care about these characters.

A lot of the events in CA felt a lot more lazy to me in comparison, like the only reason the characters act out is because “Har har, teenagers be irrational and messy!”. Which they often tend to be, sure… but characters like Clint and Natalie have no other traits in Book 1 besides being clingy Rory simps, Trevor has no other traits than just being a dickhead, the Statton kids have no other traits in Book 3 than being pretentious assnads. That's all they really have to go by, and it makes the conflicts feel painfully one-dimensional.

Sometimes an event will just straight up contradict the themes established in OG. Like how a lot of the same characters that were present during Isa’s reign of manipulative behaviors and even participated in taking her down, are also weirdly quick to reject CA MC’s discovery that Lorenzo’s kitten stunt was a sham. I have a lot of problems with Book 2’s main plot, but this is easily the biggest one. There’s teenagers being irrational and messy, and then there’s this 5-year-old hivemind behavior. And I… just couldn’t with that.

Finally, and probably the most glaring issue of HSS:CA’s lack of relevance to HSS, it does not bridge well with its past source material at all.

The returning Prime characters may have had smaller roles and their utilizations in OG weren’t all perfect, but overall, they felt very in-their-element and more like an actual part of the story. Their cameos were much more organic, like they were fellow students along with the new characters, and some of them even felt like more mature versions from how they were in Prime. They only really stand out as “the older characters” by being the soon-to-graduate senior class. All of which makes sense because, like I mentioned in my OG HSS review, it’s sort of meant to be “passing down the torch to unify Berry” to the new MC and cast. And that’s about it, it doesn’t need to shove it in your face that these are the characters from the original 2013 mobile game that you may or may not have played before.

The returning OG characters, on the other hand, are all non-characters, and their cameos only serve as nostalgia bait. I mean, I think they were kind of doomed from the start when they made the OG MC non-playable, but they could have at least tried with the other characters, no? Even in Book 3 where they join the CA gang in the musical and London trip, which should have been leagues more epic than whatever the fuck we actually got. They were just there for the sake of being there, doing nothing more than just tagging along with the CA gang– hell, Maria even straight up admits that when she says she and the other characters are only joining the musical production so they could join MC and Aiden on the London trip.

I’ll admit, those premium scenes where you could spend time with the OG characters were kind of fun. But notice how OG didn’t need obligatory special premium scenes in order to make the Prime characters relevant? Sure, there were some scenes that involved certain Prime characters, but… they had a lot more personality than just “Spend time with the Prime characters!”. The Prime characters’ cameos were more than just “Hey hey look look it’s the characters from Prime!”.

This kind of makes CA problematic both for returning OG fans and for new fans who haven’t yet played OG, when you really think about it. OG can integrate the Prime characters well but actually stand on its own two feet at the same time, whereas people who play CA before OG are probably going to be like (Patrick Star voice) “Who are you people!?!?” every time they try to push these diamond scenes.

(And yes, I know I said continuing the OG HSS after the first three books doesn’t have the problem of needing to appeal to new fans. But by virtue of making the continuation a spinoff with a new MC, they kind of did bring that problem onto themselves. No one’s going to be playing the TRH trilogy before they play the TRR trilogy. No one’s going to be playing the two “The Sophomore” books before they play the first four “The Freshman” books, they’re clearly continuations of the previous books involving the same MC and their storyline, just with different titles. HSS:CA clearly has a different MC from the OG one, so there are going to be (and have been) people who play HSS:CA first. Had they made these books a continuation of OG MC’s storyline, this wouldn’t even be an issue.)

And while I did enjoy the new main cast well enough… let’s face it. There wasn’t really any purpose for switching the MCs and casts this time around. Sure, they contrast in that OG MC is more popular and unifies the school while CA MC is more unpopular and sticks with just their theatre family, but that’s not much to go by. The Prime-to-OG switch worked because the Prime writers knew that a Choices iteration of HSS needed to be welcoming both to older fans from Prime AND to newer fans from Choices, given Choices is a completely separate app from the Prime game. It’d be difficult to continue the focus on the Prime MC and their friends without requiring players to have played Prime first, which would be very problematic considering Prime has no in-game features for replaying certain stories or quests.

HSS:CA on the other hand is a more direct continuation of OG HSS, existing on the same app (which does allow you to replay stories or chapters) and taking place the following school year at Berry after the OG HSS timeline. If the spinoff was maybe a few years after the first trilogy, when the OG characters have graduated; or if it was taking place in a different location like Hearst High, then that’d make more sense. Instead, it’s just the next year at Berry High, but this time the focus is on a theatre freshman at Berry and their friends, whose stories pretty much happen in a complete vacuum from everything else that’s happened in HSS canon. It feels very much like PB switched casts with HSS:CA for the same reason that Rick and Morty did Interdimensional Cable II: “We pretty much nailed it the first time”.

What really puts the nail in the coffin is that the finale was terribly inconclusive and soulless, and did not work as a sendoff to the franchise. Seriously, it’s ID-1-standalone-ending levels of bad and I don’t think that’s talked about enough. And even ID 1’s standalone ending at least had some emotional stakes to it. There’s no emotion in the scenes where you talk to the OG characters– in fact the writers seemed to care so little about the OG characters in this ending (and the trilogy as a whole) that they initially forgot that OG MC, Emma, Caleb, and Michael are actually a year below Aiden and Maria and not in the same grade.

And as a whole, it just ends on such a weird note– “Yay I finished my first year of high school, what’s next for me” to “And now your time at Berry must come to an end” is such a whiplash that I’m pretty sure it broke my fucking neck. I think rushed book endings like this and ATV’s ending walked so that the rushed endings of 2022-2023 Choices books could run.

There’s only one major plus of HSS that carried over well to HSS:CA, and that was the lack of smut scenes. Which is kind of expected, honestly. (Though I will say, the writing for CA was, arguably, noticeably more horny this time around… is that just me?)

Of course, CA isn’t without its other redeeming factors, which I have mentioned across each of these points. But the fact that it has these redeeming factors, these ideas that were good in concept but terrible in execution, just makes it all the more tragic as a series and it’s part of why I’m so hard on it.

See, had CA just been among the ranks of something like PPG 2016 or HBO’s Velma– a straight-up bad trilogy that butchered all the characters and everything about HSS and had no redeeming qualities and was ultimately a stain on the HSS franchise– I’d just have to go “Jesus H. Christ this sucks” and pretend it doesn’t exist.

But in actuality, it has ideas that I would enjoy to see explored as part of the world of HSS– I do genuinely like exploring Berry’s theatre department, and the idea of the OG and CA gangs going to London together. And there is some really good potential for interactions between the two groups, like Emma helping Ajay deal with his parents’ divorce, or the OG gang taking Skye under their wing as Brian’s younger sister. But it ultimately failed to handle those well and just ended up leaving me feeling empty inside. So it’s this weird tug-of-war between “I like you” and “I don’t like you”.

So I definitely wouldn’t consider CA to be awful, as it does have its share of redeeming qualities. But the thing is, those redeeming qualities are part of why the series left me feeling empty and disappointed, because we could have had something much greater for the HSS franchise. But this trilogy, as it is, probably would have been much better off as a completely new and separate franchise.

#choices stories you play #choices #choices game #choices stories we play fandom #high school story #choices stories we play #hss #choices hss #choices high school story #cadybear's choices reviews #choices high school story: class act #hss: class act #hss class act #high school story class act #high school story: class act #hss:ca #choices hss:ca

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dansantcaparet · 2 years

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The Zack Factor

CloTi nonsense: "Aerith only loved Cloud because of Zack"/"Aerith is still in love with Zack.".

You can only believe something this absurd if you completely ignore the many times Aerith has said otherwise.

a. In the game, Aerith clearly states that her relationship with Zack was in the past and that they were NOT serious. From FFVII (at the playground): Cloud: "You were...serious?" Aerith: "No. But I liked him for awhile." Cloud: "I probably knew him. What was his name?" Aerith: "It doesn't really matter." That's a pretty strange attitude for someone who is still supposedly so hung up over her ex-boyfriend, isn't it? She clearly states that they weren't serious and then follows up by saying she doesn't really care if Cloud knows him. If Aerith were still hung up over Zack at this point, wouldn't she be dying to know some news about him? But, from this conversation alone, we learn that, not only are Aerith's feelings for Zack all in the past, she obviously considers her first love to have been a mere fleeting fancy and nothing more. This is confirmed in Maiden of the Planet when Zack is referred to as Aerith's "light taste of first love" and is also confirmed to be "now a very dear friend" and nothing more. This becomes even more apparent in the FFVII prequel, Crisis Core, where the affection level between Aerith and Zack is completely optional, Zack has multiple girlfriends, and Aerith has moved on without him by the end of the game. b. Aerith did not act all that concerned when she found out that Zack had been missing for 5 years and was possibly dead. From FFVII (Gongaga): Aerith: "What a shock.... I didn't know Zack was from this town." Cloud: "You know him?" Aerith: "Didn't I tell you? He was my first love." Cloud: "......" Aerith: "Zack.... SOLDIER First Class. Same as Cloud." Cloud: "Strange, there aren't that many who make First Class, but I've never heard of him." Aerith: "That's all right. It's all in the past now. I was just worried because I heard he's been missing." Cloud: "Missing?" Aerith: "I think it was 5 years ago. He went out on a job, and never came back." "He loved women, a real lady's man. He probably found someone else." For someone who is supposedly still pining over her ex-boyfriend, Aerith sure took that news well. All she did was shrug it off, say that their relationship was all in the past, and assume that he had probably run off with another woman. Aerith later follows up this conversation by saying that she doesn't mind that she hasn't heard from him. I'm sorry, but I don't see any indication here of Aerith still being in love with Zack. Honestly, if she were, wouldn't she be going insane over the news that he has been missing for the past 5 years and no one has heard a peep from him? Instead, she acted as though it really didn't matter and you even have the in- game option of making Aerith tease Cloud for being jealous over Zack. c. Aerith states, more than once, that she understands that Cloud and Zack are different and she loves Cloud more anyways. 1. From FFVII (the date scene): Aerith: "First off, it bothered me how you looked exactly alike. Two completely different people, but look exactly the same. The way you walk, gesture... I think I must have seen him again, in you... But you're different. Things are different..." First of all, please note that Aerith states that it bothered her that Cloud looked like Zack. She didn't say she was happy about it or even excited. Bothered. Some definitions of bother: "to give trouble to; annoy; pester; worry" "to bewilder; confuse" So, Aerith was either worried about Cloud's resemblance to Zack or confused by it. Neither of these suggest that she was particularly happy about it. I am sure the "Zack-ness" of Cloud was what initially drew Aerith to him. However, Aerith learned very quickly that Cloud was nothing like Zack, hence her words "But you're different." 2. From Final Fantasy VII Dismantled, an official book which has sections that focus on the thoughts of the FFVII characters, there is a section that speaks of Aerith's feelings for Cloud. She states that she realizes that Cloud is nothing like Zack and that she loves Cloud more than Zack anyways: "At first when I met Cloud, I believed he was similar to Zack. Little actions, the way he spoke... his kindness. But Cloud is Cloud. I, now undoubtedly, love Cloud much more than Zack. But Cloud is clueless." (FFVII Dismantled, Aerith's monologue in Gongaga, p. 159) This statement alone is enough to completely trump Zack x Aerith. I mean, Aerith blatantly states that she loves Cloud more than she ever loved Zack, which means she is over Zack and has moved on with Cloud. And this is from an official source, people, not some made up delusion that CloTis like to pawn off as truth. 3. From the official novella Maiden of the Planet, Aerith tells Zack that his "bad point" was that he was nice to everyone (in other words, he's a flirt). That and the fact that he wasn't "simplistic and awkward like Cloud". And so Aerith is stating she prefers Cloud's simplistic, awkward behavior to Zack's flirty, womanizing behavior. Aerith obviously prefers Cloud over Zack, and says so quite clearly. And... the ultimate nail in the coffin of this absurd theory: "She loved him [Cloud] much more than her first love." You can't get much clearer than that! This is the second time that Aerith has confirmed in an official source that she loves Cloud far more than she ever loved Zack! RIP Zerith.... XD d. Aerith completely rejects Zack in the Lifestream (Maiden of the Planet): Zack: "Man, you know Aerith. Out of all the girls I've gotten along with, you truly are the best. After that mission, we could've stayed the way we were and might have been able to continue to go out with each other after I returned home. I hate Sephiroth. And I hate Shinra who's been hiding all the stuff they've been doing." Aerith: "Someone who's gotten along with so many girls can never become a lover." Zack: "How mean. I'm nice to everyone." Aerith: "And that's your bad point. You're not simplistic and awkward like Cloud." And... Zack: "But whenever you feel lonely, call me Aerith." Aerith: "Only if I get really lonely. Goodnight, Zack." So, how anyone can believe that Aerith still harbors feelings for Zack is beyond me. She states multiple times that she loves Cloud more than Zack and that she completely understands he is different from Zack. Actually, Aerith seems to prefer Cloud's type now that she is a mature woman, only being attracted to Zack when she was much younger and inexperienced. Throw in the fact that Aerith rejects Zack's advances in the Lifestream, and the evidence becomes so rock-solid, I really don't see why people continue to live in denial of the facts. And, as usual, I saved the best for last.... e. In Case of Lifestream: White, it is stated that Cloud is Aerith's koibito. Case of Lifestream: White is a novella written by Kazushige Nojima. It takes place directly before and during AC/ACC and allows one to view the events taking place within the Lifestream. Case of Lifestream: White focuses on Aerith, while Case of Lifestream: Black focuses on Sephiroth. During the novella, Aerith is referred to as "the woman". Below is the excerpt of interest: "Cloud was her friend, her beloved — a symbol of what was important to her, and someone to be protected." Please note that the word translated as "beloved" is koibito in Japanese. Besides "beloved", it can also be translated as "sweetheart", "lover", or "boyfriend/girlfriend". There are no official translations for this novella as of yet. The important thing to note is that Cloud is, at the very least, considered Aerith's "beloved". Clearly, if Aerith considers Cloud her beloved, then she no longer harbors any feelings of a romantic nature for Zack. Zack, BTW, was glaringly absent in Aerith's novella.

#clerith #cloud strife #aerith gainsborough #final fantasy 7 remake #ff7r

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artbookisland · 1 year

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What I’m reading these days #5

Previously:

* What I’m reading these days #01 * What I’m reading these days #02 * What I’m reading these days #03 * What I’m reading these days #04

Hey everyone, I hope you're doing all right! It's been a long while since I wrote one of these posts, almost 5 years actually... Yeah, recently I've been more focused on sharing scans than texts like these or artbook reviews, sorry!

Anway, these days I'm reading four cool books at once so I figured I could make you (re)discover something, so let's go!

What a surprise, yes, I'm reading Dragon Ball again, last time was 6 years ago so I thought I could revisit this cool universe that always brings me back to my childhood. In France we have a "Perfect Edition" which has a bigger format than usual mangas, a new translation and all the original colour pages so it's a great pleasure to read! I'm always in awe when looking at Toriyama's watercolours, they were absolutely beautiful.

I'm not going to dive much further into Dragon Ball because I've already talked about it a lot, maybe take a look at this old article.

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Now something completely different, if you are an avid TV show enthusiast, you might have watched the sci-fi show The Expanse. I discovered it after a few seasons had already aired and really enjoyed it (except maybe the last two seasons which had some flaws in my opinion). I quickly learned that before being on TV it was a very good series of books by a couple of authors writing under a single name: James S.A. Corey. So naturally I started buying and reading these books, loved them and realised that the adaptation was quite good. It took some years but I eventually finished reading the nine books and at that moment, just when I thought I was out of this amazing universe, I saw that there was a collection of The Expanse short stories published under the title Memory's Legion.

So that's what I'm reading right now and just like the rest of the series, it's very cool and definitely fills some interesting holes in the Expanse's lore (plus I always enjoy good sci-fi short stories)! You will learn a little bit more about the guy who came up with the Epstein drive that made space travel a lot easier in the story, the backstory of a cruel but intriguing character (Cortazar), the life of a young Amos (even before he was called Amos), etc. It's a very good read if, like me, you've finished the main series and still want more!

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Let's keep our heads towards the sky for this next book: Moonfire by Norman Mailer. I stumbled upon it in a bookstore in Lyon, France and the cover immediately caught my eye. It's a small but thick book which contains as much text as photos from NASA's Apollo 11 mission (the first time humans beings walked on the Moon back in 1969). Being an astronomy and space exploration fan I just had to buy it and I'm glad I did!

Actually I thought it would be a historico-scientific recollection of this incredible event of the XXth century but that's because I didn't know Norman Mailer! I will let you read his Wikipedia page but he wasn't "just" a writer, he also was a journalist, a poet, an essayist and so on. So instead of simply telling us what happened in that important period of human history, he includes himself in the story as a character and shares his thoughts about the situations, the people, the technology, etc. It makes for a surprising yet very interesting read as he takes this unique opportunity to analyze, criticize even our modern society and more specifically the USA's society of the time.

I'm about halfway through the book and I really enjoy Mailer's way of telling the story but also the incredible photos of the event, most of them taken during the mission itself by astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, I cannot stop looking at these shots and wonder what their experience was like. They freakin' walked on another celestial body (actually only two of them did while Collins was busy being the loneliest person in the history of Human life, flying above the far side of the Moon)!

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A couple of my friends work at a local comic book shop and thanks to them I often discover very cool comics, mangas and bandes dessinées (what we call european comics in France). Also it's worth mentioning that the french publisher Urban Comics (they publish a lot of american comics here) is trying to make a selection of their books more affordable and compact for people who don't have much money or space in their home that they can dedicate to comic books. And so in this effort they have started a collection called "Urban Nomad" in which all prices are below 10€ (approx. 10 USD). The first one I picked is Watchmen.

I have watched the movie adaptation when it came out... 14 years ago (ouch!) and really liked it but kind of forgot about it, which is a good thing because now I can re-discover the story in its original format: on paper!

And what a story! Since the first pages I was sucked in by the strength of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. The story is so good and feels so contemporary that I have to keep reminding myself that this was made in 1986-87! If you don't know anything about Watchmen I won't spoil it for you but the story takes place in a version of our world where masked vigilantes are already has-been, one of the reasons being the accidental transformation of a man into a God-like version of himself. Because of this event, the course of history is different from the one we know and live in, and in this context one of the few remaining masked vigilantes (pictured on the cover) is investigating a series of murders among his former colleagues. This is all extremely well integrated into the politico-historic context of the time (though once again it's somewhat different from our reality) and it's easy to recognize the quality of Moore and Gibbons' work!

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Well, that's it for now, I hope you've discovered something, if so let me know! And I'll try not to wait five more years to write a "What I'm reading these days" again. See ya!

#books #comics #manga #Dragon Ball #Akira Toriyama #James SA Corey #The Expanse #Moonfire #Norman Mailer #Watchmen #Alan Moore #Dave Gibbons #John Higgins

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animeangelriku · 1 year

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Slash Ships to Get to Know Me

Thank you to the delightful @davidbowielovesyou for tagging me in this!!

Rules: Name at least five (but no upper limit) slash (M/M) ships you love. Each from a different fandom.

Damn, right now I’m thinking I can’t quite possibly get to five ships, but let’s see how we do!

1. Puzzleshipping (Yugi Mutou/Atem (Yami Yugi) from Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Look. I know it doesn’t look like it makes any sense, but I promise you it does. And even if that’s my biased brain talking, that’s fine. These two were my first ship, more than fifteen years ago, at this point, and I legitimately and literally owe them my life. They will always hold a very special and very dear place in my heart.

2. The Ineffable Husbands (Aziraphale/Crowley from Good Omens)

I read the book like half a year before the show aired and thought there was a lot of potential there, but told myself not to get my hopes up. Then the show came out and fucking blew me out of the water, and now I have these two dumbass idiots tattooed on my arm. The pining! The yearning!!! YOU GO TOO FAST FOR ME, CROWLEY!!! Excuse me while I go cry. Also, “ineffable husbands” is just a cute af title, don’t @ me.

3. Linus Baker/Arthur Parnassus (from The House in the Cerulean Sea)

I read this book last year and it took over my life. Linus just called to me as a character, and I related so hard to him from the very first chapters, and it was just an absolute delight to follow him on his journey to finding the love and family he wants. The way these two love each other just does things to me, man, I’m only human!

4. Achilles/Patroclus (specifically from Hades)

Listen. LISTEN. I was obsessed with Greek mythology as a teen, so when Hades came out, I bought it only after I found out that there was a side-quest for reuniting Achilles and Patroclus in the afterlife. Their devotion to each other has pushed me to tears on occasion. Besides, I’m of the mind that old gay men deserve to be happy and to make out as much as they want to.

EDIT: I COMPLETELY MISSED THE PART WHERE IT SAID M/M SHIPS, WHY AM I SO BLIND DKBFKJBFADSKLFBKD

5. Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor (from Red, White & Royal Blue)

I have become OBSESSED with this book and with this couple specifically. They fall into bed before they fall in love, but when they fall in love? It is WILD, and INTENSE, and it honestly made me so fucking happy because I’ve rarely read the kind of love story they have, and the fact that it’s a queer love story just watered my crops and (temporarily) cured my depression. I have spent my free time reading fanfics for these two for like the past three weeks. A month? Time is unreal, but you get the idea.

Tagging (but please only if you want to) @sodiumazideandothertoxins, @cassieoh, @hkblack, @kamikazeworld, @thegreyscalerainbow, and anyone else who wants to do this!!

#tag you're it #tagged you're it #puzzleshipping #ineffable husbands #linus baker/arthur parnassus #patrochilles #alex claremont diaz/henry fox

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sendinthehuskies · 2 years

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as an england nt historian could you pls provide background for john/joe hart as both an irl working partnership and a fictional ship? bc i have been deep diving 2016/2018 internationals content to forget about the upcoming one and i see there is a lot of....well intimate touches and looks going on. not on a disgusting and marital level as with stonesford but still noticeable. the 'caption this' vid john did with dele ft. harty walks and lallana (remember him lol) is a strong blatant example. sidebar but my deep dive has also taught me that dele and walks had some animosity at england camp back in the day which does not seem to come up much in fic of the time, kind of funny to me. how was this our 3lions squad and our vibe only 4/5 years ago too? it feels like over a decade, completely different times

Joe Hart was an England stalwart and wore the Number 1 jersey for nine years from 2008. He was with City and a double premier league winner for 12 years from 2006.

For John coming up through the England youth teams, Joe was iconic. He has been vocal about the fact that he was a fan growing up and how special it was for him to get his first call up in 2014 to finally play alongside Joe:

“I couldn’t believe it; I’d watched Harty for years as a young guy; playing for England. Obviously training with him was something special.”

John didn’t get a whole lot of time playing for the senior team when he was first called up, but it didn’t matter - he was there, and Joe Hart rated him. At the World Cup in Brazil, Joe said:

“I think we’re all incredibly excited. We’ve all worked really, really hard as a unit – I include John Stones and Jon Flanagan in that, they’ve been absolutely fantastic and a great example of people who want to be involved in this World Cup.

“We want to make them proud, we want to make the people at home proud as well.

“I’ve got a role whether playing it’s John Terry playing in front or whether it’s Stonesy starting his international career,” he said.

“I’m always going to try and fulfill my role in the team.

“But I trust every single one of these players at this level. They’ve proved it at their Premier League clubs and deserve to be in the squad.”

Joe took John under his wing and they absolutely clicked from the get go. At a time when John wasn’t too highly rated and was extremely junior in the England NT, the goalkeeper that he’d looked up to for so many years was determined to see him succeed.

Things changed in 2016 when Man City hired Pep Guardiola. Hart was excited that Pep wanted to sign John but he didn’t know that he wasn’t to be included in Pep’s plans himself:

“Joe Hart personally convinced his friend, John Stones, to join City and the “ambitious project” in 2016 - only to be shipped out on loan to Torino the same month.”

Still, when John arrived at City - very nervous and without people like Kyle Walker - Harty was there for him:

“John Stones on the first player he met at City: “I think it was Joe Hart. I came in with Harty, I didn’t know the way to the training ground. So I rang Harty asking if I could come with him.

I was nervous. Very nervous. I had friends from England, Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph and Joe Hart - he especially made it so much easier. It's a big period as you know where nothing is, like the canteen, where to be, what time to get there and he coached me through, putting an arm around me. I've still got a note in my locker from him when he went to Torino - I won't read it out as it has some naughty words - but he told me to just be me and not change who I am.”

Joe was gutted to leave City but he didn’t anticipate that he’d then be let go from England. He was part of England’s qualification for the World Cup in 2018, but after an injury ruled him out for a game, Jordan Pickford was given a chance to step in. He did not fumble his audition and was given the number 1 spot for the World Cup. Harty said:

“Not going to lie, I'm gutted. After two years of trying to make the most of a really tough situation, this is hard to take.”

A few months later, he posted on Instagram ahead of the World Cup:

John smashed it at the World Cup, and so did Pickford, and arguably it was the way they played together that made them do so well. It is unfortunate that this connection is what would ultimately cement Pickford as number 1 and see Harty dropped for good:

“Jordan’s positioning allows the team to stay spread and dispersed a lot wider. When we have the ball, he becomes what you might call a ‘second-pivot,” explains Dittmer.

“When you play with a back four, you can use the goalkeeper as the pivot to bounce the ball around. When you play with a back three - like we have done in Russia - you already have that pivot there with the central player which has been John Stones.

“As a goalkeeper behind a back three, you need to become the second pivot.

“You have to position yourself between the central defender and one of the two outside centre-halves to offer receiving positions to help the team play out.

“Those positions are quite complicated and complex to take up but he’s done that really well.

“Jordan’s positioning stops the centre forward from just closing down one option.

“If the forward runs towards Jordan, he’ll play through the pressure. If the attacker presses the central defender, there’s an option to use Jordan and get out round the other side.

“It gives the team more opportunities to play out from the back and retain possession.

“His understanding of positioning has really helped the team stay dispersed, rotate the ball and play forward in a positive way. It’s great to see and it has given confidence to everyone.”

But Joe and John stayed obsessed with each other. When they met at Tottenham years later they were physical and friendly, and Joe always has kind words to say about John - never once has he not been John’s biggest cheerleader.

Joe will always be John’s first England number 1. He was pivotal in John’s City career and the love between them has never dimmed. They will always be famous. The end

#this is so #I have more to add I think but I’ll come back to it #this doesn’t even include the caption this video!#John looking up at Harty through his eyelashes! filth!#they’re fascinating cos in a way John’s success ensured hart’s demise but there was no resentment in it #and for John who loved Jordan Pickford from years of playing with him… thank god he did or he might’ve resented Jordan for replacing Joe #there just isn’t enough fic about them but I’ll be honest I haven’t read much #on my way to do a deep dive #John stones #Joe hart #long post

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