#but truthfully im just missing that sort of the connection | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

vampire-joestar · 4 years

Text

Months. It had been months since that damned night at WindKnight’s Lot. And, more importantly, months since Jonathan vanished.

Speedwagon knew there was an obvious explanation for what had happened to the Joestar. It was all but looming over his shoulders. That Dio had bested him in the horrid fight that had undoubtedly gone down between the two of them, and Jonathan became just another one of that bastard’s zombies.

But Speedwagon would be damned if he wasn’t too bullheaded to accept that.

As long as Jonathan had been missing, Speedwagon had been searching for him. He was more than willing to do anything to get that gentleman back. (Or, if he was simply too late for that, to find some sort of explanation…)

If there was one good thing that could be said of Robert, as much of the scoundrel, useless, good-for-nothing hooligan that he was, it was that his determination knew no bounds.

All of this nightmare had begun at what had seemed to be the end of the whole dealings with tracking down Dio and making the long trek to the castle of Windknight’s lot, something no one, not even the seasoned hamon masters from Tibet had expected, went down.

Dio wanted to face Jonathan alone.

Every single zombie the vampire had at his disposal was ordered to hold back everyone else. Tried as they did to push their way through the seemingly never ending sea of brainless undead quickly and offer some kind of actual help to the Joestar, it simply didn’t work. Hamon and the brute force of a sledgehammer got the job of killing them done, but not quickly. Not quick enough. By the time the doors to the balcony of the castle, and the place where Jonathan and Dio would be were opened, their fight had clearly already come to an end.

Jonathan and Dio had disappeared. No explanation, nothing that could indicate where they were. No blood, dust, nothing. They were just gone.

Of course, Speedwagon was fully intent on searching for Jonathan, and attempted to convince the three hamon warriors, Tonpetty, Dire, and Straizo to help. Alas, while they expressed sympathy and concern, they were more focused on finding and taking down Dio, with or without JoJo. Nothing Speedwagon could've said would've changed their minds.

Robert understood their reasoning, sure. Dio was a threat that needed to be pursued. But even so, that didn't make him any less furious at them for essentially abandoning someone who was not only their ally, but their friend. And so, the warriors and him split off.

Time and time again, Speedwagon attempted to get someone to help, all the while searching everywhere he possibly could. But even with all his efforts, one person looking for someone who could well be anywhere barely made any progress, and even as he was running out of people to turn to, no one was willing to help.

Soon enough, there was only one person he could ask to join the search left.

One Erina Pendleton.

Truthfully, Robert knew full well that Erina would be the person most willing to help. But in his defense, he had his reasons for not turning to her first. The main one being that he wanted to respect Jonathan’s wishes to not get her involved with the whole situation with the masks and vampires.

Though, he’d be lying to say that was the only reason.

The second was that he knew full well that Erina and him were definitely not on the best of terms with each other. In all honesty, he sooner expected to be met with a slap in the face rather than open arms.

Not that he could blame her, really.

Despite all that, he did in fact manage to get himself to her door. Holding his hat to his chest with one hand, he gave the door a couple knocks with the other. As he did so, he looked nothing short of desperate.

“Um- good evening, Ms. Pendleton.” Speedwagon said once she opened the door and stood in front of him, unsure of how else he should really go about starting the conversation.

Erina’s brows furrowed at seeing the scarred man, not needing long to recognize him and subsequently, recall their one not-so-friendly meeting...

“You’re the man who broke into the hospital the night after the Joestar mansion burned down, are you not? Speedwagon, correct?”

“Tell me, what business do you have here?”

Erina met Speedwagon with tone as cold as her gaze on that very night she mentioned. It took him a second to gather himself enough to try and respond.

“Well-- Yes. Indeed I am. That would be me. But please, Ms. Pendleton, I need you to listen t’ me. Not for my sake, but for Jonathan’s.”

“Ya see, at first, I had gone with him t’ help in the battle against Dio, who used that stone mask on ‘imself. That mask transformed him into a vampire. He ‘ad to be stopped. I’m well aware of ‘ow this all sounds like lunacy, but I assure you, every word a’ it is true.”

“But now- Jonathan’s been missing. No one knows where ‘e could be. That’s why I came here. I wanted t’ ask you to help me find ‘im.”

Even though there was just the slightest glimmer of hope in Speedwagon’s voice as he finished speaking, that was quickly extinguished with Erina’s response.

“You, one of the single most dangerous criminals in all of London- no, England for that matter, come to me about someone who I’ve known for many years, come here spouting nonsense and expect me to believe a single word of what you say?”

He felt himself shrink under her gaze, and, nearly instinctively, took a step back. There it was, that same look she’d given him at the hospital. That scornful, icy cold, yet somehow simultaneously searing glare. It was almost comical. Speedwagon was a man who had many brushes with death itself before, faced incredibly violent and dangerous people all his life, and yet, it was Erina who managed to intimidate him.

Worst of all though? Robert damn well she was right. She had no reason to trust him, or even believe a word of what he said.

But, even with that, he stood his ground.

“Ms. Pendleton, please- I might not have known ‘im as long as you ‘ave, but believe me, ‘e’s my friend too. Mr. Joestar is the person who made me want to start bettering myself in the first place.”

He sighed. “Look, I know the last thing I’ve earned is anyone’s trust, but I really must insist. So please. Help me look for ‘im.”

Something about Erina’s demeanor seemed to change in that moment- her expression softened ever so slightly. She knew Speedwagon was a scoundrel, yes, but all the same, she couldn’t ignore the pure honesty his words carried with them.

And- truth was, she missed Jonathan greatly as well. She could hardly bear it.

A silent beat passed.

“...Alright. I will help you.”

From then on, things continued mostly as they had been with the searching, just a slight bit more efficiently. Erina and Robert became something that could almost be called friends; baffling considering how they started off.

But as they continued their efforts to find Jonathan, nothing came of it. And as more time passed, they didn’t necessarily lose hope, but it was starting to dwindle. No news of Dio from the hamon warriors even turned up.

Until eventually, the unthinkable showed up at Erina’s door. A letter. A hand-delivered letter from Jonathan Joestar. It was addressed to both of them.

With hitched breath, they read it over several times, almost unsure if the thing was even real. The letter was primarily a heartfelt apology.

But at the end of it, he asked the two of them to meet with him tomorrow just after the sun sets by a lamppost at the southwesternmost corner of town; the corner closest by the woods, oddly.

Anxiously they approached the designated spot the next day, and sure enough he was waiting for them. Jonathan. They weren’t sure whether to rush to his side in joy or to be frozen in place where they stood, tears coating their eyes.

However, even though Jonthan was standing right there, right in front of them after so long, something about the gentleman’s demeanor seemed… unlike him. He seemed solemn, even distant, as though he were expecting this to be the last time he’d see them, almost.

“Well,” the Joestar was the first to break the silence, offering the two a small, sad smile. “I certainly owe the both of you an explanation, don’t I?”

“I suppose I should start off bluntly-- I’ve been hiding myself away all this time. The reason being, that I’m a danger. That accursed mask, it’s effects were placed upon me during that night at Windknight’s.”

Speedwagon was the first to speak up after connecting the dots, taking a step forward. “Mr. Joestar- does this mean that you’re a…” He didn’t have to finish his sentence, as Jonthan already gave his answer with a slow nod of his head. “Indeed. A vampire.”

“I’m not asking for either of you to accept me like this. But you both deserve to know what happened. I only apologize that it took me so long to get over my cowardice enough to do so.” JoJo’s words sounded rehearsed, like he’d gone over what he’d say in this moment time and time again.

He then managed a melancholy “Thank you both for coming to hear me out,” before Jonathan moved to walk away.

There were so many things Speedwagon wanted to say to all that as he and Erina went to stop him, to get him to listen to them, but thankfully Erina, always the more eloquent of the two, was the one to speak up first after stopping the vampire in his tracks first by grabbing hold of his arm.

“Jonathan, honestly, what do you take us for?” She began, clearly taking Jonathan by surprise. “Human or not, I know I speak for both myself and Robert when I say that our views on you could never change. If you think the effects of some mask would make us abandon you, you’re sorely mistaken.”

If Jonathan was shocked before, he certainly was now. “B-But I could end up hurting you! Please understand, I mean no exaggeration when I say I’m a great danger to you! I’m a leech, a m-”

“Jonathan.” Erina interrupted. “You underestimate yourself far too much. Tell me, even after so much time being a vampire, have you ever actually harmed anyone because of it? I highly doubt it. Need I remind you that you apparently hid yourself away for months to avoid such a thing? Jonathan, you are not a monster. And please, Robert and I have been looking for you all that time. The last thing either of us wish is for you to disappear again.”

Robert remained silent as Erina spoke, but nodded in agreement with her as she spoke for both herself and him. The words rendered JoJo completely speechless. There was a long pause before he responded; it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds in reality, but it felt like hours.

At the end of it though, Jonathan couldn’t help but break into a smile-- not a sad one this time, no, rather the genuine, bright and gentle one he’d given countless times before. He pulled the two others into an embrace as fresh tears spilled over. It was overly cautious and soft, but it was more than just a hug. It was a promise. A promise that he would not vanish from the both of them again.

“Thank you, thank you both so, so very much. I cannot even begin to say how much that means to me..” He managed to speak in between low sobs.

Truth be known, Jonathan was still terrified of the idea of bringing harm to them by being around them.

But maybe, just maybe, things could be alright, starting from here.

23 notes · View notes

tempolarriefix · 4 years

Text

dig deeper tag game

thank you so much to one of my favorite people ever @goldenfive for tagging me in this q&a. ilysm! xx 1. Do you prefer writing with a black pen or a blue pen? black gel pen is my go-to!

2. Would you prefer to live in the country or in the city? in the city. i love the feeling of everything all bustling, busy, and lit-up around me.

3. If you could learn a new skill, what would it be? this is going to sound sort of weird but i’ve been really tempted to learn lockpicking lately? so i’ll say that haha!

4. do you drink your tea/coffee with sugar? ........yes, a lot of sugar. probably “too much” sugar.

5. What was your favourite book as a child? i hadn’t thought about this series in ages but i loved The Land of Elyon series and also Dealing with Dragons. 6. Do you prefer baths or showers? showers! my old roommate loved baths and so i tried to get into them but its just not my thing.

7. If you could be a mythical creature, which one would you be? something with magical powers!

8. Paper or electronic books? i always say that i prefer paper but... when was the last time I actually read a hardcopy book? i have no idea. so truthfully, electronic.

9. What is your favourite item of clothing? an oversized hawaiian style shirt with a Brave (like the disney/pixar movie) inspired design

10. Do you like your name? Would you like to change it? i used to not really like it but now i do. (Teachers also always used to say things like “wow your parents named you serena and you really are so serene!” so that’s probably a factor).

11. Who is a mentor to you? i’m not sure actually? I guess my professor is.

12. Would you like to be famous? If so, what for? not really! i dont really like attention and overthink everything so i think if i were famous i’d just be stressin over every detail of everything all the time.

13. Are you a restless sleeper? nope! i’m a very deep sleeper.

14. Do you consider yourself to be a romantic person? not really? i love the concept of romance and enjoy romantic movies/books/fics but when it comes to real life I feel like making things super romantic also adds a lot of pressure so i’d rather just be chill

15. Which element best represents you? everyone says water signs are emotional and i am both a water sign and emotional so... i guess water?

16. Who do you want to be closer to? all my friends! while social distancing it’s been so different connecting with people and i feel like i’ve drifted quite a lot from the people i used to see almost every other day. 17. Do you miss someone at the moment? not any more than usual! Im always missing my long distance friends & my boyfriend.

18. Tell us about an early childhood memory. this is too vague idk what memory to share hahaha.

19. What is the strangest thing you have eaten? i’ll usually try anything once. i guess chicken feet is prob the strangest?

20. What are you most thankful for? my loved ones being safe & healthy

21. Do you like spicy food? yes but i’m sort of weak so there will be tears streaming out of my eyes even tho i’m having a good time.

22. Have you ever met someone famous? i met drake bell when i was in college bc a student club i was part of hosted him for a charity concert event. he was chill and actually had a really good voice during his sound check but then he got high during his meet & greet and after that at the actual show he didn’t sound quite as good hahaha. He was super nice & even took a pic with me for free tho!

23. Do you keep a diary or journal? nope. i used to keep a planner and even that didn’t last haha

24. Do you prefer to use pen or pencil? pencil if i’m working on something where i’ll make mistakes like writing or math but pen if im just jotting down notes or whatever.

25. What is your star sign? cancer

26. Do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy? soggy

27. What would you want your legacy to be? soph’s answer is literally so beautiful so i’m gonna steal it too: “that i made the world a little bit kinder and brighter and better while i was alive” 28. Do you like reading? What was the last book you read? i do enjoy reading but mostly i read fics! the last fic i read was adjudication by @bottomlinsons and it is FANTASTIC. the last actual book i read was the first game of thrones book.

29. How do you show someone you love them? quality time is my love language!

30. Do you like ice in your drinks? usually! i’m drinking iced coffee as i fill this out haha

31. What are you afraid of? failure

32. What is your favourite scent? the smell of an ice cream shop when you first walk in

33. Do you address older people by their name or surname? whatever they introduce themselves to me as. if they don’t, then surname.

34. If money was not a factor, how would you live your life? i would travel so much. if money wasn’t a factor i wouldn’t have to worry about affording to travel OR being able to take time off to do so... it would be great. i wouldn’t always choose the best value option when i purchased anything and would be able to actually support brands that have good values (sustainability, good wages for employees, etc.). i would donate to everything i’ve ever wanted to bc i always feel bad about having to pick which causes i feel most for bc i can’t afford to donate to everything. also i would drink way too much boba (which, let’s be real, i already do).

.35. Do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? the ocean! though i guess i dont really swim so much as like... wave jump haha.

36. What would you do if you found $50 on the ground? try to see if someone lost it and if i couldn’t find them, then keep it.

37. Have you ever seen a shooting star? Did you make a wish? yes and of course!

38. What is one thing you would want to teach your children? just one? hahaha

39. If you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? i have no idea but i would get it someplace hidden where no one would see it, not even me. maybe like a dot on the bottom of my foot lol. i really.... don’t want a tattoo.

40. What can you hear right now? construction noises

41. Where do you feel the safest? in bed

42. What is one thing you want to overcome/conquer? feeling like i’ll never find a career or even field of work that i’m actually passionate about and enjoy and can actually make a steady living in 43. If you could travel back to any era, what would it be? maybe ancient egypt? there’s a lot of cool times to go back to & i’m really indecisive haha. 44. What is your most used emoji? red heart

45. Describe yourself using one word. indecisive

46. What do you regret the most? dwelling on things that were not important and letting it affect my happiness too much

47. Last movie you saw? the warcraft movie lol. i don’t recommend it but playing warcraft is great.

48. Last tv show you watched? either greys anatomy or b99, i can’t remember which was last 49. Invent a word and its meaning idk if there’s a word for this already, but i need a word for feeling like you want to be busy and have things to do when you don’t but then not wanting to do anything when you finally do. bc thats....me. hahaha.

anyways this is pretty long so thanks if you actually read it all. if you want to do this, i’ll tag @harryeatsburger, @louandhazzalove, @bottomlinsons, @nauticalleeds, @soft1ov, @allwaswell16, @lululawrence, @forreveries, @lightwoodsmagic, @ferricadooza, and anyone else who wants to do this. i highly recommend it when procrastinating other projects hahaha.

#tag game #thanks again soph ilysmmm #long post

3 notes · View notes

dr-gloom · 4 years

Text

The Climax (Ch 2)

Commission Me (please)

Ch 1 Ch 3 Ch 4

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Fandom: Sanders’ Sides

Pairing: Moxiety

Tags/Warnings: discussion of rape, depressed character, depression behavior, self-deprecating/self-hate, mentions of a character refusing to eat, slight guilt-tripping

Read it on AO3

fic masterlist

like what I do? buy me a coffee or GoFundMe

Add yourself to my taglist

Virgil had held Roman’s hand as he gave a statement to the blank-faced cop, eyes locked on the faux-wood table. After fingerprinting and DNA collection, they asked if they could do a rape kit. Virgil only agreed to it once they reassured him Roman could stay in the room, and he’d hiccupped and sobbed into Roman’s shoulder as clinical hands collected evidence, Roman shushing him softly and petting his back. Once that was done, they asked to take his clothes and offered MDPD sweats for him to wear home. Virgil changed into the soft, loose clothes and left with Roman, gripping his hand.

Virgil refused to get out of the car when Roman drove him back to the apartment. Roman supposed that was a stupid move on his part and started driving to his place without another word, turning on the radio to break the silence.

“Hey, Roman,” Virgil mutters. Roman glances at him out of the corner of his eye and hums questioningly. “Do you think… You think Pat’s gonna break up with me?”

Roman actually looks at Virgil at that with a bewildered expression. “Why would you think that? He loves you! Once he hears what really happened, I’m sure he’ll take everything back.”

Virgil shrugs limply, looking out the window. “I let him do it again. I cheated on him. I’m tainted.”

Roman purses his lips and pulls over, putting the car in park and turning fully to face Virgil. “Virgil, look at me.” Virgil turns his head to look at Roman, looking tired and defeated. It made Roman’s heart clench. “You did not cheat on Patton. You were raped. None of this is your fault, and if Patton ever holds this against you I’ll kick his ass. Not that I think he ever would.”

Virgil just sighs and goes back to looking out the window.

Roman fluffs the pillow one more time, smiling down at his work. Unlike Patton and Virgil he couldn’t afford a two-bedroom apartment, so Roman had set him up on the couch, complete with bed sheets, a blanket, and his softest pillow. He smiles and turns to Virgil, who’d been standing in the entrance to the kitchen with a mug of tea while he worked. “What do you think? Not too shabby, huh?” He grins. When Virgil doesn’t immediately respond, his smile fades. “Virge? You okay?”

Virgil gnaws on his lip, looking anywhere but Roman as he asks quietly, “Can I… Sleep with you? Don’t wanna be alone…” Roman’s heart clenches. He’d thought Virgil would feel uncomfortable laying next to someone else after what happened, but he forgot that Virgil had basically just ended things with Patton, too. Of course he would want to be close to someone. And Roman was all he had, at least until this was all sorted out.

“Of course, V.”

Roman doesn’t bother fixing the couch, instead making sure Virgil’s done with his tea before lightly dragging him to bed and curling up next to him. He smiles softly as Virgil wraps his arms around Roman and closes his eyes, falling asleep soon after.

Roman wouldn’t be so lucky, his mind working furiously on how to fix this before it gave in and mercifully let him sleep.

That had been nearly a month and a half ago. Virgil was still living with Roman, and with each week that passed more of his things were integrated into the apartment. Patton had proven nearly impossible to get ahold of, but Roman was sure he was staying with Logan; when he went to get more of Virgil’s things, he’d notice some of Patton’s missing as well. No matter when he called or how many times he did, Patton refused to answer. Logan would, of course, but if asked about Patton he would simply say “That is not my business to divulge” and hang up. It was beyond frustrating.

Virgil had barely left bed the entire time he’d been staying with Roman. On a good day, Roman could get him to spend a couple hours on the couch watching a movie, or get him to sit on the little patio connected to his apartment. Though, on the bad days (which greatly outnumbered the good ones), he would only get out of bed to go to the bathroom, and sometimes to eat. That in itself was a battle. Sometimes he just didn’t care, sometimes he didn’t have the energy to, and sometimes he thought he didn’t deserve to eat Roman’s food.

Roman was at his wit’s end. It was breaking his heart seeing Virgil like this, and he was beginning to fear for his health. The weight loss was visible now, Virgil’s cheeks hollowing out a little, his hands a bit more bony. Roman was sure he was weeks if not days away from hair loss, and Virgil didn’t even seem to care.

After the second week, Roman had gently recommended that Virgil sleep on the couch if only for a change of scenery, and Virgil had become nearly inconsolable, gasping and sobbing that he was disgusting, even his friend couldn’t stand to be around him anymore, he was useless, ugly, worthless. Roman had nearly cried hearing what Virgil said about himself, spending nearly two hours talking Virgil down and apologizing. He hasn’t broached the topic since.

Roman thought about all this as he got dressed, pulling his shoes on with a sigh and pocketing his wallet and keys. He slips into his room, pressing a soft kiss to Virgil’s hair. Virgil’s eyes flutter open and Roman smiles at him kindly. “Gonna run to Starbucks. Want anything?” Virgil seemed to think about it for a moment, Roman holding his breath.

“... Hot chocolate?”

Roman beams. Virgil hasn’t wanted to eat or drink anything besides water in days. “You got it. Back in a bit.” He gives Virgil another head kiss and slips out of the room, humming to himself as he makes his way out of the apartment and to his car. As he drove, he continued to think. If he could just see Patton in person, he could explain everything and Patton and Virgil could talk it out! The trick was finding Patton, or getting him to go somewhere when he wouldn’t even answer the phone.

Roman parks outside the Starbucks and gets out, heading inside. He orders a tall non-fat vente latte with extra whip and Virgil’s hot chocolate, then stands to the side. He looks around, admiring the decorations on the walls.

And then he sees them.

Roman thanks whatever deity is out there looking out for him as he marches up to Logan and Patton’s table. He slaps his palms down on the wood, looking right at Patton, feeling a sense of satisfaction as Patton looks up and his smile dies. Logan watches with a raised eyebrow; truthfully, he’d been thinking a confrontation was overdue.

“Why won’t you answer our calls?”

“W-well, I-”

“You know Virgil’s barely left my bed? He also barely eats. He thinks he doesn’t deserve to.”

An unreadable look crosses Patton’s face. “But I-”

“You didn’t even wait for him to explain! You just left him there, alone , after he was raped!”

The words are out of his throat before he even realizes he’s said them. Roman’s eyes widen and he looks around the small shop, most of the chatter dieing down. Oh, screw them, they don’t matter right now. Roman turns back to Patton.

Patton’s face is pale as a sheet, his eyes wide, hands slack around his coffee cup. His voice is barely more than a whisper as he asks, “What?”

Logan sighs, motioning to the chair in front of Roman. “You might as well sit down.” Roman nods, pulling out the chair and sitting down. Normally, he’d say it wasn’t his place to share this story, but they needed to hear it and Virgil wasn’t going to say anything. He sighs, beginning his recount of that day a month and a half ago.

Tears are streaming down Patton’s face. Some of the anger Roman’s felt since that day ebs away, knowing Patton regrets everything he said and did. He stands up when his name is called. “Look, I’m really sorry to just leave like this, but V wanted hot chocolate and right now, nothing else matters more to me. Text me later if you still wanna talk.”

Logan nods in understanding as Patton wipes his eyes. “Thank you, Roman. We’ll be in touch.”

Taglist: @bunny222 @a-fander-named-skittles @eggy-boyo @hungry-red-panda @neonb-fly @punsterterry @unbefuckinglieveable @metaphoricalpluto2

(also i noticed when i was adding links to past Parts that my taglist used to be bigger so im sorry some of yall got dropped i fixed it)

12 notes · View notes

themangaguide · 5 years

Text

I found while looking

Doupo Cangqiong aka Deals with Break Sphere is a manga that I stumbled on while seeking a manga having a solid lead character. It holds true that the lead character, Yan Xiao was solid at the start. He was likewise solid enough to be called a wizard but unfortunately he losses his powers all so that even dogs might tower above him.

Tale: 7/10 The story is rather enjoyable however the reason I offered A7 to it is generally due to the fact that some aspects is kind of estimated. Lots of points are though points ain't 100% estimated. But allow us go into the story now and also miss out on that. Doupo Cangqiong is fantasy manga, an activity and also a severe wonderful one at that. It has to do with Yan Xiao as well as his fight to come to be more powerful. As well as points is not much easier when you're the group leader's youngster and so delicate that possibly the slaves turn nose up at you. But while this is an activity manga it likewise has relationship in it however the relationship is also things that might be the most predictable in this entire story. But that doesn't mean that it's poor, truthfully I really appreciate the few connection minutes it has. (Things I claim from currently on occurs in the first phase so it's a mild looter.) I think you can mention that it's also a harem like a harem trigger Yan has definitely zero-interest in various other ladies except Dai Im, yet I will certainly not really count it. Which suggests you currently understands who he will certainly end up with in the finish and also Dai Im likewise has sensations for Yan. This manga operates on the one-of-a-kind placement system for just how effective you're. It's greatly something like Dou Hurr Durr for just how powerful one's adversary are so it's an and also, but itis offers you a general although.

I would recommend this to everybody that desires a manga making use of an interesting as well as special history.

Art: 8/10 The Amano Megumi wa Suki Darake art is good but not outstanding. This manga includes a very fundamental version yet in some way very comprehensive. And also the reality that every site is tinted is a large plus for me. I believe that because it's tinted itis offering of the vibe that is it's truly a little bit childish yet it's really not, it's in fact sort of bloody and also people would be classified as psychos whenever they were in our globe so it's not childlike itis simply offering of that feel. However besides that it's well attracted in addition to the art is a lot like extra manga so if you such as practically any type of various other manga you'll successfully like this one too.

Character: 6/10 I think that their personality's pull periodically whilst the various things could be great. I often feel that it is youngster that's dealing with in the direction of the death instead of an adult. One second they're all significant like "You ruined my total clan! I will now kill you for revenge!" after that in the center of the battle it truly is shown that s/he did not damage the clan, but the individual just ignores it as well as continues to combat because of his confidence. I don't have a lot more to share in addition to that their persona's needs more development.

Home entertainment: 9/10 I gave enjoyable a-9 as it's so freaking remarkable to review Doupo Cangqiong. I don't know if it has anything related to that I really like contrary personalities as well as like to view them train to end up being the most effective yet anyhow I should state that it is an excellent manga for me to relish it this much. As well as sometimes I even get back to read the impressive times after which it is great. That typically do not trouble with points like that since I am a guy. Nonetheless the reason I did not offer it a-10 is due to everyone's personalityis. I am talking about a variety of them should have an INTELLIGENCE of absolutely no. Yet this manga continues to be among my faves and so I assume you need to give it a try atleast.

General: 7/10 As a wrapup, the story is extremely unique as well as it's actually genuinely positive but the characteris has defects so that's a minus however the art work is truly terrific as well as detailed to make sure that's a-plus and a minimum of we have the fun and also thatis a big plus generally. For that reason I assume you must at least read the initial 5 chapters prior to you choose it. If you would love to check out manga online after that give it a try!

Please visit https://bestmangabooks.puzl.com/_news/They%2527re-individuals-with-homes/160543 to learn more related information

0 notes

sasstrid-and-dorkcup · 7 years

Text

Starco Fic: Not Without Her

IT TOOK ME A WHOLE WEEK BUT I THOUGHT ABOUT THE FINALE AND I HAVE AN ANGST FILLED EMOTIONAL MARCO FIC FOR YALL I HOPE YOU LOVE IT BC IM TRASH

Title: Not Without Her

Summary: Star has just left Earth, quite possibly forever. And Marco is having a hard time accepting that.

Rating: K

Words: 1977

FFN

A few minutes have passed.

Marco was still standing in what used to be Stars bedroom door, gawking inside it.

It was empty. Changed back to what it used to be. It was just a solemn reminder to the boy that his best friend was now gone, possibly forever, and he may never know why.

For the first few moments, Marco felt like he was paralyzed. Like he couldn't do anything but stand in the doorway and gawk at the empty room. After those minutes passed, however, his mind began to process what had just happened.

Star had left. She took all her belongings with her. She was just...gone.

He took a few steps into the room. In the year that Star had been here, he had forgotten what the room had looked like before she had magically changed it. He looked around at how plain and boring it was. This room used to be filled with color, with magic, with...Star's life. And now it was gone...

Star was gone.

Marco felt his legs give out and he fell to the floor. As soon as he sat down, his mind became flooded with thoughts. He couldn’t stop thinking about what his life would be like now that she was no longer in it. Now that she wouldn’t around to bring some sort of feeling of purpose or importance to his life.

Marco's thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind him.

"Hey, Marco, are you okay?"

Marco turned his head to see Jackie standing in the doorway.

"Oh...uh...I don't know...I..." Marco sighed and lowered his head. "No I'm not."

Jackie came in and sat down next to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I know you probably miss her a lot. Star was super cool, and everyone at Echo Creek is going to miss her.” Jackie didn’t really know what to say beyond that. To be honest, a part of her was getting worried about how Marco may feel about Star, considering what she had just confessed to Marco.

“I miss her like crazy. She hasn’t been gone for more than ten minutes, but I already feel horrible thinking of having to live my life without her around.”

Jackie sighed. She was about to say something she didn’t really want to say, but she knew that for Marco’s sake, it had to be said.

“Are you sure you guys are just friends?”

Marco looked up at her, shocked.

“Wh…what….what do you mean?!” He stuttered, very confused; not about the question, necessarily, but about the fact that he didn’t know how to really answer it.

“I mean, you and Star seem to have a really special connection. I’ve noticed that every time we hang out, every single time we’ve kissed, you interrupted it because of Star. Everyone has seen how happy you are whenever she’s around…it just seems like there’s something more there that maybe you’re not seeing.” Jackie explained.

Marco’s mind was so busy thinking about this that his expression was blank. He didn’t even know what to say to that. He didn’t understand anything anymore.

“Look, I can tell you’re confused and there’s a lot to process, so I’ll leave you alone for a while.”

Jackie stood up and headed for the door. She paused in the doorway and turned back to face Marco. She took a deep breath before speaking; what she was about to say was going to be hard to say. It was going to be a bit hard for him to hear, but she thought it was something he may need to hear.

“Maybe if she has these feelings for you, it’s for the best that she left.”

She hesitated a moment, lowering her head before she left. She didn’t want to say it, because it was only a small part of her that thought that, but she could tell he needed to hear it, even if it was so he could realize that it was the furthest thing from the truth.

As she walked downstairs and said a quick goodbye to Marco’s parents, she couldn’t help but let a few tears fall. She could tell Marco had very strong feelings for Star, and even if he didn’t realize it, he had been in love with her for a long time. Jackie was beginning to sense that she was standing in between the two, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

Saying what she said to Marco…as bad as it felt to say, she knew that it might be what she had to say to push Marco away from her and closer to Star.

Marco’s eyes widened as he looked over to where Jackie had been standing just moments ago. Her words bounced around wildly in his head.

Maybe it’s for the best that she left.

It couldn’t be true. There was no way that was true. How would it even be possible that his life was better without Star Butterfly?

Marco sighed and laid down on the floor, dismally staring at the ceiling. He moved his head to look around at the rest of the room, taking in just how plain and boring it looked. There wasn’t a single sign left that there had ever been a magical princess from another dimension living here.

A few hours passed as Marco laid still on the floor, letting all the thoughts that were rattling around in his brain attempt (and fail) to sort themselves out.

After several hours, Marco heard a knock at the door. He stood up rather quickly in excitement, thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was possible that Star had come back to talk to him. When his eyes turned to the door, however, he realized that it was just his parents, their faces laced with concern.

“Oh…�� He murmured. “It’s just you guys.” Marco slumped over onto the bed and laid down. Angie and Rafael exchanged worried looks before sitting next to Marco on the bed.

“Honey, are you okay?” Angie asked. She knew he wasn’t, but she didn’t know what else to say.

Hours of sulking and processing what had happened must have finally started to sink in for the boy, because as soon as his mother’s words hit his ears, he broke down and began to sob.

“NO! NO I’M NOT! My best friend in the entire world just left me, and I don’t know why!” Marco bawled.

Angie immediately pulled Marco onto her lap, placing a caring hand on his back, and another on his head, stroking his hair gently. The feeling of his mother’s touch, however comforting, couldn’t soothe the boy’s tears.

Minutes passed as Marco wept in his mother’s lap. Rafael placed a hand on Marco’s back as well, but they both knew that no amount of comforting was going to make him feel better (that didn’t mean that they were ever going to stop, though).

After several minutes, Marco shifted his head so he could speak.

“I just…she just…she…said th..that…” Marco said, in between sobbing gasps. “a..and left…”

“And…I don’t even know how I feel anymore…” Marco took a deep breath. He took a moment to calm down a little before he kept talking.

“How could she expect me to be okay, after running to me so suddenly and telling me that ‘she’s in danger and has to leave Earth forever’? After confessing her…her crush on me…” Marco found that part hard to say. He had to pause before he dared to explain the part that was even worse.

“How could she just say all of that to me, and just…just leave?!”

After he managed to angrily spit out the words “just leave”, he broke out in tears once again, his head retreating to his mother’s lap.

Angie sighed and continued running her hand through his hair.

“Marco, honey, we know you miss her. We miss her too. But we’ve always know that this day would come. We knew she would have to go back to Mewni someday. She’s a princess, sweetie, she probably has a lot of responsibilities back home.”

She knew it wasn’t going to be very helpful, but it was the best she could manage at the moment.

Marco only continued to sob. Truthfully, he had never really considered that before. Maybe he had thought about it during the first few weeks of their friendship, but somehow, they had gotten so close so fast, that he ended up pushing that thought permanently out of his mind.

He pushed it out of his mind because he knew he couldn’t bear the thought of Star not being there.

Angie and Rafael were growing ever more concerned. They knew their son felt strongly for Star, but they never thought it would hurt this much for him to see Star leave. Of course, they missed her a lot too; she had begun to feel like a daughter to them. But they had seen exchange students come and go before, and they knew they’d be okay, and would eventually grow used to not having her around anymore (or, at least, that’s what they told themselves).

It was beginning to seem like nothing would console their son; nothing except seeing Star again. They didn’t want Marco to just disappear into another dimension and walk into whatever danger waited on that other world, though, so they began thinking of things that they could possibly say to get him to stay here.

“Sweetie, I hate to say this, but maybe it had to be this way. Whatever is happening back on Mewni, I’m sure it’s very important. Mewni probably needs Star a lot right now. Maybe it’s best this way, honey.”

Marco’s mother’s words managed to calm him down. His tears faded, leaving red, puffy cheeks in their wake. Angie’s words bounced around in his head for a moment before they really struck him.

Marco suddenly shot up in surprise, his eyes widening. Her words had reminded him of what Jackie had said earlier.

Maybe it’s for the best that she left.

His eyebrows scrunched together as a feeling of anger took him over. The more he thought about it, the more it angered him. It couldn’t be further from the truth.

“NO!” He shouted. His sudden shout took his parents by surprise.

“That’s not true! My life isn’t any better without Star around, it’s worse! Do I look any happier without her around? DO I?!”

Marco found himself incredibly angry, and he didn’t completely understand why. All he knew was that he wanted people to stop telling him to try to think that his life would be improved now that Star was gone.

His parents didn’t know how to react. They realized that that was probably the wrong thing to say, and they didn’t know how to fix it.

Marco was silent for a moment as he turned away from his parents and angrily folded his arms.

“Look, I’m sorry for snapping like that. I just…I think I just wanna be alone for a while.”

Marco sighed and shuffled off to his own bedroom.

He was about to lay down on his bed and cry himself to sleep, when he glanced over at his desk.

That’s when he saw his dimensional scissors sitting there, gleaming as the moonlight shone through his window, hitting them just right.

He furrowed his brows as a thought struck him.

He hesitated for a moment.

Am I really about to do this?

He took a deep breath. Yes, he thought, yes I am.

He quickly opened the drawer of his desk and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.

I can’t stay here anymore. Not without her. -Marco

With the note sitting on top of his computer, Marco cut open a portal to Mewni. He took one last look around his room before walking through it.

#svtfoe #star vs the forces of evil #starco #sasstrid-and-dorkcup's starco fanfics #THIS PROBABLY IS LAME AND NOT GOOD BUT I THINK ITS OK SO PLS ENJOY AND SHIT

145 notes · View notes

sebstanimagines001 · 7 years

Text

Evanescent (Bucky Barnes X Reader)

Okay, so this is gonna have 40s!Bucky flashbacks so enjoyyy

GUYS I HAVE SO MANY THINGS I WANNA WRITE AND NOT ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY AND IM EATING AN ITALIAN ICE RIGHT NOW AND CAN’T TYPE QUICKLY ECH

Bucky laid in his bed, staring at his ceiling. Hours on end, night after night, he did this. Sleep was not something that occurred regularly for the man. He sighed, rubbing his eyes which were itchy with sleep. But, he couldn’t give into sleep because as soon as he did, he saw her. Nobody else knew that there was something that kept him up at night besides the nightmares. That’s because she was a memory reserved just for him, and nobody else.

She was his whole life,it’s as simple as that. He met her when they were fourteen; she was new to their school. It was lunch and Bucky had been messing around with a couple kids in the hallway, late to the cafeteria. When he got there, he saw a scene he had grown all too accustomed to; his best friend Steve getting bullied by the bigger guys. He was about to step in, when an unfamiliar component of this scene began to play out.

There, in front of him, an angry looking girl marched up to the group messing with Steve. She planted her feet down firmly, defiance hidden in the sparkle in her eyes.

“Hey, you big losers! Why don’t you go pick on someone your own size,” She yelled, yanking back on one of their shoulders. They looked at her bewildered, but she only stepped closer.

“I swear, if I see any of you lay a finger on this guy again the last thing you’ll see will be my fist in your face!” She threatened, holding up her fist for effect. They nodded, and slowly backed away from her. After, I saw her turn to Steve and help him up, before politely shaking his hand.

From that moment on, she had become an irreplaceable part of our little group. Not only did she stand up for Steve, but she taught him how to stand up for himself. She also had a sense of humor to match Bucky’s, always being able to banter back and forth with the boy without missing a beat.

She was so different from anyone else Bucky had ever met, and he couldn’t help himself from falling helplessly in love with her. In fact, she had that effect on most of the boys and men around her.

Bucky smiled at the thought of her, but he could feel the tears gathering in his eyes. It physically pained him to think about her, the overwhelming feeling of emptiness, of missing her, followed even after the happiest of memories- scratch that, especially after the happiest of memories.

It was a normal Friday night for Steve, Bucky, and (y/n). Every single Friday without fail, the trio would go to (Y/n)’s house for a sleepover. Except, instead of sleeping, they often talked through the night, straight into the morning light. On this particular night, the three were sprawled out across (Y/n)’s room. Bucky was lounging in the girl’s comfy chair, Steve was lying on his back on the floor, and (y/n) was lying on her stomach on her bed.

“You know guys, I think about how different our lives would be if we never met each other a lot,” Steve admitted, looking at his two best friends. (Y/n) looked over at him thoughtfully.

“Well, I’d probably have no friends,” she said finally.

“I’d probably be a bad kid, running with the wrong crowd,” Bucky admits, a sad sort of look passing through his features.

“I’d probably be dead,” Steve laughed, though you could hear the underlying fear in his voice.

“Well, then I guess it’s good we all got each other, then,” Bucky smiled cheekily, (y/n) and Steve nodding along.

---

It was school picture day, and everyone was dressed their best in hopes of a good picture. That included (y/n), who was wearing her favorite red dress, accompanied by her hair flowing like a halo around her head. When Bucky picked her up to walk to school, she took his breath away. She looked so perfect, he knew right then and there that he wanted her to be his.

“Morning, Barnes,” she grinned, meeting him on the sidewalk. He looped his arms with hers, grinning widely down at her.

“Well you look simply breathtaking, doll,” he greeted, an underlying tone of awe masked in his voice. She looked up to meet his eyes, the sparkle in hers mesmerizing.

“You look rather dashing yourself, James,”she replied, grinning like an idiot at one of her best friends. She looked so flawless to him in that moment, Bucky decided to just screw it and throw everything out the window.

“H-hey, (y/n)?” he started off, cursing his voice for sounding so timid and nervous She looked at him, one eyebrow quirked, a small, amused smile on her lips.

“Um, do you, I-I mean, would you like to maybe go on a date with me?” he flickered his eyes to the ground, preparing for rejection.

“Of course I would, James! Pick me up at seven,” she grinned, leaning her head on the taller boy’s shoulder.

He hadn’t realized it, but he was crying. Salty, cold, tears rolled down his face, and he didn’t even bother to wipe them away. He was smiling at the fond memory, though an excruciating ache had taken hold of his heart. He tried to stop- to stop thinking about her, to let her go, but he couldn’t.

Bucky watched his girlfriend run ahead of him, to the school doors. She turned around, excitement and innocence glimmering in her eyes.

“Oh, Buck, look! It’s raining!” she shouted gleefully. He chuckled, leaning against the wall and watching as she ran out, spinning around in the raindrops. She stopped momentarily, looking over at him, before beckoning him to join her. He shook his head, rolling his eyes, before running out to her.

“Dance with me, Bucky!” she smiled, and they started slow dancing in the rain, talking and laughing about nothing.

“You look beautiful, doll,” Bucky smiled; a genuine smile, not his signature smirk, making his heart ache as he watched her cheeks dust red.

“Kiss me, you dork,” she giggled, before reaching up on her tiptoes. His lips met hers, and he could taste her signature vanilla chapstick. He smiled into the kiss, pulling her as close as humanly possible. He thought only for a moment about how this moment was so absolutely cliche, but then decided he didn’t care at all.

“James, do you ever think of our future?” she asked one day as they laid side by side on his bed. He turned to look at her, though she was still looked at the ceiling. He took a moment to admire her long, dark eyelashes, cute nose, and perfect lips.

“’Course I do, doll,”he answered truthfully. On more than one occasion he thought about how he hoped to marry her one day, and even past that.

“And what do you think about, exactly?” she asked, turning to cuddle her head into his side.

“Well, I think about how I want to marry you one day. Maybe have a couple ‘a cute kids, grow old and bitter together,” he told her, both of them chuckling at the last part.

“I’d like that to,” she said, smiling. He leaned down, connecting his lips with hers.

By now, he couldn’t stop the tears from coming down his face. Thinking about someone like her could only result in a slew of emotions. He loved her-no, loves her- with every single cell in his body. He fell hard and fast for her, and he still was under her trance, even though he knew he would never see her again.

That was the worst part. He would never see her sparkling eyes, bright smile, and sassy attitude ever again. It physically hurt him that he wasn’t lying in bed with her at his side, cuddling her, protecting her.

The thunder clapped yet again, making her whimper and burrow deeper into his side.

“Shh, doll, everything’s okay. I’ve got you, I’ll protect you,” he murmured into her hair, wrapping his arms tightly around her torso. She looked up at him, and her tear stained face and fear-filled eyes broke his heart. There weren’t many things that she was afraid of, and thunderstorms happened to be one of them.

“I don’t know what i’d do without you, Buck,” she mumbled, closing her eyes.

He remembered that night very clearly still. That night, when he promised to protect her. He remembered that, maybe, because he broke that promise.

She stared in shock at him, tears welling in her eyes and his. He gulped down the lump in his throat. He’d practiced telling her so many times over the last day, and he never expected it to be so hard.

“Y-you’re shipping out in two days?” she asked, her lip quivering. The tears in her eyes finally spilled over as he nodded solemnly. She came forward and buried her face in his chest. He wrapped his arms protectively around her, resting his chin on top of her head.

“I’m gonna miss you like crazy, doll, but don’t worry, i’ll be back. And when I get back, i’m gonna marry you. And we’re going to get our own little house in Brooklyn, and we’re gonna live there until we’re old and bitter,” he promised, which only made her cry harder.

“I love you, James, so so much, much more than you even know,” she said to him, wiping furiously at her eyes.

“And I love you, way more than I could ever tell you,” he replied, kissing her with enough passion to last until he got back.

He never saw her again. Not because of his experimentation, not because he couldn’t make it back, but because when he did get back, the only thing he could visit was a grave.

“Where’s (y/n)?” Bucky asked as he got settled back in at home. (y/n)’s sister, Luisa, frowned, her eyes saddening. His grin faltered, and he repeated his question.

“I-i’m sorry, James, truly I am. Shortly after you left, she felt useless. she wanted to do her part in the war, so she took up a job at the bomb factory. T-there was a mishap, an explosion, and s-she didn’t m-make it out alive,” Luisa sobbed, covering her face with her hands.

“You can’t be serious! This has to be a joke. Where is she, really?” he asked, not being able to believe it. But Luisa just shook her head, tears leaking from her eyes. He fell to the floor, sobs racking his body. That was it, there was nothing he wanted to live for anymore. He was alone, nothing mattered anymore.

Many times he laid there in his bed, right into the early hours of the morning, thinking of what life would have been like if he never enlisted. How he would have married the love of his life, settled down in Brooklyn, and lived out a happy, fulfilling, and hopefully long life.

But he couldn’t that. Not without her.

Nothing could ever be good without her.

#bucky barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes #james buchanan barnes #james barnes #Sebastian Stan #sebastian stan imagines #sebastian stan imagine #marvel imagine #marvel imagines #marvel #bucky barnes imagine

120 notes · View notes

yeeyee-alumni · 3 years

Note

Hi there, anon last week who offered some criticism about bias/etc in response to the Joel essay. Was looking forward to your Abby essay and really wanted to be open minded but truthfully you managed to cherry pick the absolute shit out of moments in the game and ignored so many allusions/small nuances/moments that you claim aren’t in the game (Abby showing regret, etc). That take is one of the most biased takes yet that I have read about this game. Also your use of the word retarded to describe Ellie’s questionable decision making with Mel and Owen isn’t cool. If you’re capable of writing an essay like this, you’re capable of finding another word to use instead of that.

But onto the issues with some of the arguments. This is going to be long so buckle up. (I hope it sends in it’s entirety so apologies if it doesn’t). I don’t expect this to be posted, again this is just a criticism to try and point out some bias that I’m seeing coming through. I tried to stay in a linear order of examples you brought up but if I bounce around I apologize. There’s a lot of moments that you give as examples where you would seem to embellish what happened and twist it to fit the narrative that you wanted regarding Abby and her arc.

After Joel’s death, there’s references made to Abby not sleeping and we see that she’s still having nightmares about running into the operating room and finding her dad/finding Lev and Yara. If she truly felt justified in her actions and that she had gotten her revenge, why would she still be having nightmares about this subject? Perhaps she is feeling guilt and didn’t receive any closure from Joel’s death and it’s not until after she knows Yara is okay that we finally see some sort of closure where the nightmare of death turns into a dream. It could be argued that perhaps she’s found a new purpose in life after the end of a 4 year quest and that through taking care of those that saved her life, she’s been able to move on because of this. There’s also moments during the opening of her half (specifically when we see the mansion scene again but from her view) that after the final blow, there’s no relief. For one or two moments, some of her expression look like she could be contemplating the extent of her own actions. It doesn’t seem like there’s any joy or happiness there.

Next. Expecting Abby to change her view on the Seraphites in two days because of some kids she saved is highly unrealistic. She has conversations with Lev though when they’re making their way up to the sky bridge where they discuss the religion, how the prophets teachings have been skewed over time. Even learning about them, the Seraphites would try to kill her regardless. There’s no reason for her to have a change of heart because she’s met two outliers to their religion. The majority of them still are religious fanatics.

As far as expressing remorse to Ellie for what she did to Joel, Abby didn’t know of Joel’s importance to Ellie in the same way that Ellie didn’t know it was Jerry’s death that Abby sought out vengeance for, not taking away the cure (as stated by Ellie int he theatre confrontation where she states ‘I’m the one you want, there’s no cure because of me’.” This was a really interesting decision on the writers part. Personally I would loved to have seen some sort of revelations with these but I also enjoy the fact that they never know how significantly their lives impacted each other. Abby had to reason to show Ellie remorse because she simply didn’t know the connection. For all she knew, Joel and Ellie could have been a randomly paired patrol group from Jackson. Not a father-daughter like bond.

I do agree with your assessment that perhaps Isaac had something to do with her dark ways. Clearly he has no qualms with brutal tactics and seeing as Abby is consistently referred to as one of the top WLF, it’s not unrealistic to assume that he had a direct hand into grooming her violent ways. That’s not to say she didn’t have a choice, but it’s an interesting concept to explore how he could have shaped the growth of a 16 year old Abby hell bent on revenge.

Owen’s drunk provocation of Abby is an interesting scene because Abby has always relied on Owen to be by her side. To hear his unfiltered thoughts on Joel’s torture could have come as a shock to the system because he has always been straight with her and to have someone as important to her as him paint her brutal actions in such a blunt, disapproving way could have maybe felt like a slight betrayal. There’s no excuse for Owen cheating on Mel, but we see a moment of weakness and vlunerability with the two of them. Not sure why the sex scene gets bashed so much. Whereas Ellie and Dina are allowed to be intimate (granted yes not anywhere near as explicit as Abby and Owen), there seems to be no issue with the former as opposed to the latter. Sex is natural. What’s so traumatizing about the scene? Genuinely curious.

Onto arguments about Seraphite island. You call the line from Yara a throw away line (about how there’s fighting and gun fire from the other way) yet if the conflict has spilled out to where they were, why would they go back that way? Abby trusted Lev and Yara to know a way out because she wasn’t familiar with the island. Why shut down their suggestions when she knows nothing about the layout or inner workings? Regarding Isaac, I don’t think Abby all of a sudden offering to torture a Seraphite would have been an automatic get out of jail free card. Isaac wanted the fight to be over, why would he allow one soldier to take a boat to take a child away for torture? In the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t make sense. Abby could have chosen to go back to the WLF but instead, she chose her new family (Lev). To act like she was best friends with all of the WLF and this means she shouldn’t have killed them once again doesn’t feel realistic. Even Isaac makes a comment about the Salt Lake Crew and how close they are, there’s no reason to believe that she went out of her way to befriend others when she already had her group. Abby more than likely would have gone to SB with Owen and the others (pre Mel conversation) since she was already an enemy of the WLF by that point. There’s no need to call writers less talented/less creative because you didn’t like the story. Resorting to personal attacks on their abilities doesn’t help your arguments. It comes off as petty.

Onto Abby ‘dragging’ Lev to the theater. You’re more than willing to point out Lev’s traumatic experiences but not Abby’s. Lev chose to give Abby the map. He had no reason to, but instead offered it up to her. Lev isn’t stupid. In his interactions with Abby, he shows an understanding of Owen’s importance to her so it’s not out of the box for him to understand the implications of giving her a literal map to the location of the person that had killed the two of them. As for why wouldn’t they give up Abby’s location: Mel was ready to do so and was going to. We know she doesn’t like Abby, figured she was likely dead, and saw a chance to perhaps save the two of them if she gave Ellie what she wanted. Owen cares for Abby and didn’t want to risk the possibility of Ellie finding her, interrupting the conversation before Mel could give any info. Owen approaching Ellie wasn’t wise, but how is his effort to try and deescalate anything other than an attempt to protect both himself and Mel?

Next. Abby did not respond with glee to learning Dina was pregnant. I’m not sure what you think glee is, but there’s nothing happy or joyful about the way she reacted. She’s fueled by blind rage at that point and it’s already been established she’s an eye for an eye type person. Ellie had killed Mel who was pregnant (she’s wearing a coat because there’s a giant ass rainstorm. I’m not sure why her wearing a coat would be so confusing and out of character?) and Dina happening to be pregnant would be an eye for an eye in Abby’s view. Does this make it right? No. But she was not jumping for joy and oh so happy to find that out.

Not sure what the qualms are with something as small as collections cards vs coins. It’s a video game. There was a chance to add more collectibles for a trophy so why not? This seems like a detail to just pick at just because you can. Giraffe/zebra, we knew in the first game wild animals were running around. Why is it out of the box for a group LIVING in SLC to make a hobby of watching them? Again, seems nitpicky. A father/father figure teasing a child about a relationship. Isn’t this just a dad thing? Again, feels nitpicky and serves no purpose as a legitimate critique. The museum/aquarium, are people not allowed to explore and have things they’re intersted in?’ These little details you throw in serve no real purpose other than to nitpick and are basing this off an emotional response instead of trying to use logic regrding game mechanics/achievements/explanations/etc.

Im sure there’s things I’m missing or that I forgot to mention but this has become quite long. As a wrap up, it feels like you truly haven’t tried to look at the game from a neutral perspective. Perhaps you really have tried, but that doesn’t really show in your essays. It shows as still having a strong bias towards anything that isn’t complimentary of Ellie or Joel and their stories. I do enjoy reading different perspectives on the game and having discussions, but I would still find it hard to approach and have a thoughtful discussion because there seems to be no openness and the vibe that you know the story better than the writers do. That paired with insults flung at the writers makes it feel like nothing more than a spiteful rant for not living up to your expectation rather than a constructive critique. I look forward to further essays and hope that perhaps the tone can become a bit more neutral in them. Have a great evening.

First of all, I wanna say thank you for reaching out and offering some critique, of course that is what I am hoping for (I'm not writing a 4500 word essay only to have it not be read and discussed), so again thank you for that. The next thing, you are absolutely right about the use of the word "retarded", I'll change that as soon as I posted this response. Regarding the cherry picking, I yet again have to agree with you. Of course I picked scenes that serve as (for me the most fitting) examples to support my claim/stance. I think you would agree that talking about every single scene of this game, especially in a single essay, is near impossible. So I instead reduced the list of my arguments to what I believed to be most crucial ones in informing my opinion (thus hoping they would also be most convincing to the reader). Before I go on to react to the specific arguments you make, and I had hoped I worded my essay in a way that that becomes clear, that essay is an outline of my thoughts in a way, it is me saying: this is my opinion/position/stance and these are reasons x, y, z of why I have that opinion. Subsequently, it is neither a definitive statement of any kind nor is it a critique to people who feel differently than me. I repeatedly say "in my point of view", "for me", "I expected", as well as giving room for other interpretations (I literally state that other interpretations are possible, and then went on to explain why I interpreted it the way I did). Which leads me neatly to your first argument. For you, Abby's nightmares read as an expression of guilt as well as other instances, allusions and nuances as you say, that could be interpreted this way. But that is exactly my critique. Interpretation is something so subjective and all these supposed allusions (again that is up to the individual's interpretation) are so incredibly vague that there is no way we could ever make a definitive statement about what they actually allude to. You reading it as guilt concerning Joel is absolutely and 100% justified, but me not doing so is just as legitimate. And Abby didn't strike me as feeling guilty the first time I played, and she still didn't the tenth time I did. Additionally, a glance that lasts a few seconds (and could be interpreteted in a marriott of ways) is unfortunately not substantial and concrete enough to balance out all the concrete evidence (Abby's actual actions) I have of her being a questionable person. This is one of the reasons why I needed Abby to have an actual conversation, to verbalize what's going on in her head. And it could have been with any one person, honestly, it didn't need to be Ellie. And I 100% agree with you there that we'd have to tweak a lot of the rest of the game if we were to arrive at my proposed alternative ending, since Abby wouldn't have the information needed (none of my proposed fixes work in isolation btw, so this goes for the Isaac confrontation as well). But it instead could have been a conversation with Lev, or Owen during that scene on the boat for instance (which I absolutely adore, by the way, it's one of my favourite scenes in the entire game). Owen's heartfelt monolgue could have been the perfect stepping stone for Abby to reveal her inner conflicts, thoughts, and motivations. But instead we get a sex scene. My issues here lies with the fact that they decided to show as much as they did for pure shock value (as opposed to implying it like they did with Ellie and Dina). But this is only issue #273 I have, so let's move on to the more important stuff. And this is where it gets interesting to me personally: You argue that Abby living with the WLF for the past four years would not lead her to having a strong enough connection to her comrades to not be willing to kill them. How is her connection to Lev so strong then after just 48 hours? Looks a lot like cherry picking to me. And this next argument has to be my favourite: You don't have to critize the writers just because you didn't like the story. Have you considered that I didn't like the story because it was

poorly written? I have no idea why people put writers on such a pedestal. It is their literal job. And when they don't do their job well I have the right to critize them for it. Abby dragging Lev to the theatre is and will remain inexcusable to me. First of all, Abby's "traumatic" experiences pale next to Lev's, but on top of that she's an adult and Lev a literal child. If you don't care that she's dismissive of his feelings and struggles here, because she prioritizes her own, that's your right. But I find it horrendous. "Glee" might have been the wrong word to choose here, but you still understand what I was trying to express. Her reaction to receiving that information is still messed up and concerning. And if Abby is indeed an eye for an eye type of character, and that is the supposed motivation for her to want to kill Dina, why then did Joel saving her life not lead to her letting him live in return? That would have been the eye for an eye solution, you saved my life so I will spare yours. And yet. Now, as the second to last thing, I want to address the critique that I do not come off as neutral enough. And I am absolutely aware of that. I had a second person proofread my essay before I posted it and they also let me know (even though I was aware of it beforehand) that as a reader one can tell that I am getting increasingly more frustrated as the essay goes on. And for a while I thought of going over the essay again to fix it to try to sound more neutral, objective and unemotional (like I did with my other two essays, that still aren't entirely neutral or free of personal bias by any means, as no text expressing opinions and feelings ever truly can be), but I ultimately decided against it. Not only is this a game specifically designed to elicit strong emotions, and pointing out all the issues I have did frustrate me, so why should I try to play that down? But also, why am I the only person expected to be completely rid of personal bias or emotions? Why are my arguments only seen as valid or legitimate if I present them in precisely the one way that suits you best? How am I expected to anticipate any one reader's interpretation and thus emotional reaction to my words and consciously construct my essay in a way which aims to prevent said reaction? No utterance, especially regarding opinions and feelings, is entirely neutral or free of personal bias. Your critique of my essay is filled with personal bias as well as it is emotionally charged. Does not take away from the legitimacy of your stance and/or arguments though, does it?

My priorities when I write these essays are: accumulating enough strong arguments to support my position, structuring them in a logical way as to assist the reader in recreating my thought process (to increase comprehension), wording it in a way that is as thorough while also as efficient as possible, attempting to word it in a way that is as neutral and objective as I can be (the exception being my Abby essay as I have just explained). And since I am not dismissive, condescending, or accusatory towards people who might disagree with me, I don't see a problem with being emotionally charged every now and then.

Now, finally I do wanna thank you again for voicing critique. I do appreciate it a lot. Not only for reading my essays, but again trying to look at them critically and informing me about issues you have found within my writing. It continues to force me to look at my own opinion with a critical eye and more often than not I have found myself persuaded by compelling arguments presented by people like you. And while you said you wouldn't be interested in having an open discussion/conversation, I would have to disagree, but I think an oral conversation would be more fruitful since I do get the feeling a lot might get lost by having it be a written conversation.

#ask #tlou #the last of us #tlou2 #the last of us 2 #the last of us part 2 #opinion #abby #ellie #joel

6 notes · View notes