#// this was a whole roller coaster of a thread but I had fun

[moraypower]

「 GET TO KNOW YOUR RP PARTNER! 」 ( repost, please don’t reblog )

「BASICS」

▐ NAME: Xav ▐ PRONOUNS: he/him, she/her or xey/xem ▐ SEXUALITY: women......... ▐ TAKEN OR SINGLE: single! ▐ FIVE FACTS:

I've been teaching myself Japanese since I was 15 years old and speak it at a conversational (though not fluent) level

I have a cat named Cinnamon who I love with my whole heart

I've been playing Splatoon since the second Splatfest to ever happen in North America, Roller Coasters vs. Water Slides, and since I'm still here I think it's safe to say the squids are never letting me go--

I own a Peppa Pig blanket because I won it at a con lmao

one time, I ordered pastries from a store in Japanese while in France. I don't speak French, and the women at the counter didn't speak English, but it turned out we still had a common language! (and this is why I'm very much pro learning whatever language you want. it usually comes in handy when you least expect it!)

「EXPERIENCE」

▐ HOW LONG (YEARS/MONTHS): a little over a decade I think? ▐ PLATFORMS USED: too many. I used to rp a lot on Skype back in the day, if that says anything ▐ BEST EXPERIENCE: honestly, being here in isola! I've always found tumblr a comfortable platform to write on, but a lot of the indie rp scenes on tumblr can be... I'll say odd and leave it at that dsfgdsgd. I really love the myriad of unexpected relationships that pop up in mfrp, and I've enjoyed being part of this community a lot!

「MUSE PREFERENCES」

▐ MALE/FEMALE/OTHER: female, but to be fair. I think that's just what happens when two of your biggest fandoms are Touhou and Splatoon lol ▐ FAVORITE FACECLAIM: you may have noticed from the way I didn't use an icon that I still don't have one. oops ▐ FLUFF, ANGST, OR SMUT: hurt/comfort my beloved!!!! ▐ PLOTS OR MEMES: both! I have a lot of fun throwing memes at people, and it's even more fun when it gets to turn into a whole thread, but I also like sitting down to actually plot and plan something out. ▐ LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: I tend to end up making things longer than I meant to honestly ^^;; I try to keep it short, but I have a lot to say most of the time! ▐ BEST TIME TO WRITE: usually at night for me, but I'm pretty sporadic honestly ▐ ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSES: to a degree! I find it hard to write characters who aren't at least a little like me, but they're plenty different from me, too.

[twistedisciple]

Cuts You Up [Griss & Caeldori]

@venalier

she can hardly believe her ears. that's his line of reasoning? that the officers academy was a military school, so they ought to start getting into the bloodshed early? and, what, grow desensitized to it? or to say that if one wasn't able to shed blood, even if it wasn't necessary, that they didn't deserve to defend or lead a country? she can't even begin to know where to start with how he'd gotten all of this wrong. but it doesn't really matter, because she's beginning to think — as he goads her next, arms flung wide and grin manic — that the academy's educational philosophy isn't even what he cares about at all. "you think death is the only thing you should be sent to the infirmary for?" she snaps back at him angrily before she's able to rein it in, incensed by the finally overt evidence that he's been looking down on her all this time, and has now decided to resort to shock factor just to make his point. she shouldn't even be concerning herself with someone like him, he's right! and she wouldn't, if he wasn't putting everyone else here in danger too! prepared to keep going — and she really ought to keep going! he thinks she doesn't know anything? doesn't know what war means? — caeldori's almost tempted to give in: one swing, with everything she's got, to wipe that smug look off his face like he thinks she won't do it. she's put bigger opponents on the ground with less— but she can't; she knows she can't. ( ultimately, he's right. ) "we're not doing it your way," is the best she can manage instead, terse as she turns on her heel, "no one here is. your method is ridiculous, and i'm informing the adminstration so this doesn't happen again." storming toward the doors, she righteously ignores the burning of her ears — the acute perception of the inevitably mocking stare following her: teacher's pet, goody two-shoes, can't fight your own battles. "anyone else who thinks this isn't right, come with me! i could use some witnesses." and if she has to do it alone, then she'd have to do it alone. she won't — can't — let fear of that reality keep her quiet. no matter how it gnaws.

There she goes, all that crumbling Griss knew was coming. He giggles when she snaps, and waits to be consumed by the fire he had seen in her at the start, when she had challenged him, the academy-appointed authority, to find fault in her schedule and he did. He watches her hands like a dog does its master when it learns that those strange appendages sometimes produce strips of jerky, watches for the subtle contraction of muscles, the flash of the blade as it comes from its sheath. Yes. Hit me. Hit me.

The moment sits at the edge of a precipice, and the dumbstruck students - vaguely terrified, but mostly unsure about what will become of their class credit - hold their breath. Come on, Griss begs. Prove me wrong.

And she does, just not in the way he had expected. Or wanted. She turns away instead, all that fury that had boiled all the way to the top somehow pressed back down again. Or maybe just redirected into her feet, which carry her loudly to the training hall's entrance. Griss lowers his arms, one hand settling on his hip as he watches with no little disappointment.

"You that afraid of a little blood, huh?" he sighs, then glances toward the students, many of which follow Caeldori with only their eyes. There is one among them with a spark of righteousness like her classmate's who stands up resolutely. The other twelve look up at her, and she looks down at them for a moment as if expecting others to gather the courage to follow. But none do. Not even when she steps over them, glancing over her shoulder all the while, and meets Caeldori where she stands.

Griss barks out a laugh. "Looks like you're the only ones."

But when they leave, so does his manic fervor. He had nothing to teach these kids anyway, much less a sword technique. Tapping the training sword against his shoulder, he stares thoughtfully at the door for a long while. Then he turns to the remaining students.

"Alright, we're done here."

A confused murmur erupts from the group, but Griss drops the sword on the ground and saunters toward the exit without a glance back.

[clay-cuttlefish]

Forging ahead with 52. #19 to #38. It's so much.

#19

The Evil Skeets plot is great. According to the omnibus it was a very late change away from a generic broken-time story, and I can kinda see that with how some of the earlier evil Skeets behavior doesn't seem super purposeful, but it all works for me.

#20

Mostly spaceguy plot that I don't care much about. The fight's cool at least.

I have no idea what fan speculation was like at the time but the idea of Supernova Jason Todd conspiracy theories is extremely funny so I support the intentional red herrings here.

#21

I keep changing my mind on which storylines I like more as I go. How could I not love Natasha?

#22

Dr. Magnus is back! I wish him being bipolar was handled more sensitively, the whole "oh the medicine keeps me from going ~crazy~" thing is :/, but I'm willing to read it charitably as his own perspective because I like him. He's a psychotic DC character who's heroic and not spooky or magical, just a guy who really doesn't want to have another depersonalization episode and has some internalized sanism about it, it could be so much worse.

#23

I like that Vic's more jaded to the horrors he can't stop than Renee is. He's had a lot of time to get used to the idea he can't save everyone - back in his own book he would've thrown himself in harm's way just like she wants to, but he's gotten better at not starting fights he can't win.

Hate to give Geoff Johns credit for anything but "What the hell are you doing?" "Seeing if it's contagious." is really good.

#24

"We were both guilty of ignoring Ted" Pretty sure Booster nearly died because he dropped everything to help but okay.

Osiris is just a kid...

Introducing a First Nations hero just to kill him off and give his stuff to a white dude sucks.

#25

Alan's out of the spaceguy zone and doing his own thing.

Almost halfway and the threads are still only starting to link up.

#26

I cannot get enough of Vic and Renee being friends with the Black Marvels. It's very sweet!

Tot my friend Tot :)

This is just a nice moment for them.

#27

I'm very into how Evil Skeets is drawn. He manages to be expressive despite having no moving features, it's a good trick.

Ohhh no it's now. I thought I had another issue, but no, this is the turning point.

#28

THE QUESTIONS!!! Love how they're heckling Kate together.

Kate is so cool.

Oh right, the spaceguys are still here.

#29

The way the mad science island handles mental illness generally sucks, but it's almost hitting at something interesting with Will being forced off his medication for the sake of "creativity".

#30

Get out of here Bruce.

I am going to cry!

#31

I don't even dislike the spaceguys really, but cmon, more of Ralph or Nat would've been better.

Ralph's still a detective even at his lowest! Strong foreshadowing.

#32

Uh oh, Ralph.

#33

Ohhh Charlie.

Him hallucinating Myra? Only able to admit he loved her at the very end?? It takes me out!

Almost all of his dialogue is straight from the O'Neil run. Rucka describes rereading the entire run just to write this issue because he had to get this right, and it shows.

There's a reason I consider O'Neil and Rucka the essential Question writers, and all the other takes to be interesting sidenotes.

#34

The kids aren't doing so well.

aaaaaaaa

#35

Hands you a picture of Nat. Hands you a picture of Nat. Hands you a picture of Nat.

Lex is the best villain in 52 and it isn't even close to a competition.

#36

AAAAAAA

Fuck dude! Nothing coherent to say here! Look at them!

#37

Wild emotional roller coaster for me as I go from Renee agony to cheering about Booster. My first read of this was a Time.

It's such a fun mystery. I can confirm it works if you know nothing about comics and are just along for the ride, and it comes together so well on the reread.

Mayor Ollie!

#38

AAAAAAA

"I'm afraid of who I'll become without you..." How am I meant to be normal about this!

I had to read this in two pieces because it made me need to get up and pace. It has done this every time I have read it. I am physically incapable of being normal about this.

Head in my hands. Comics are good and worth reading actually.

[countlessrealities]

-gently drops my URL for that one meme right beside you and gives your head a little kiss- uwu

Send a URL and I'll answer the following || Accepting !

{ @advnterccs | @thcpresidcnt | @mcltiples }

Do I Follow Them? I follow all Rin's blogs. ALL of them, even the non-RP ones. So I dare to say that, yeah, I do follow her🤭 We've been writing together for almost a year and a half now and I still love every single word of it like the first time 🖤

Why Did I Follow Them? Tbh, She followed me first. I had seen her Rick & Morty blog around already, but she seems too cool and I didn't dare to approach her because back then my own blog was just 2-3 months old. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw that she had followed me. It was a really good surprise and I'm thankful every day for that!

Do We Role Play? Definitely and a lot. Our muses chat with each other as much as we chat and that's a lot of chatting x'D we write both here (mainly), but also on Discord, so some pieces of our storylines have developed there (especially the whole building of the Ricks's relationship and man, wasn't that a roller coaster!)

Do I Want To Role Play With Them:  Yeah. Si. No doubts. Absolutely. The threads and the dynamics we have are among my faves ever! I'm always happy to get a reply from her or an ask, whether or not it becomes a thread or stays a one-shot / two-shots. Every thing, even the smallest, add to our verses and relationship development, so I treasure them all. Plus, Rin's ideas and writing are amazing and I'm always excite to read / hear about them 🤩 Also because, aside from giving us something interesting to write, they usually also spark some good discussions 😎

An AU Idea For Our Muses: We have this idea of a what-ifs scenario where the Ricks meet as kids and live their whole life together, and I guess that counts as an AU. Another thing that I'd love to write with our muses (any of them, really) is a Soulmate AU. There are so many great concepts around those, and they can work for both platonic and romantic ships.

A Song For Our Muses: We have playlists for almost all our romantic ships and they all have a very decent number of songs x'D I guess I'll pick my fave among those?

- "The One" by Skillet - Rick & Rick

- "Perfect Two" by Auburn - Morty & Morty

- "Weird" by Elliot Lee - E-Morty & E-Morty

- "Devour" by Disturbed - Evil Rick & Weird Rick

- "Written in Blood" by Beyond the Black - AR & E-Rick

Do I Ship Our Muses? In case it wasn't clear from the previous ask, YEAH, I ship a lot of our muses together x'D Aside from the ones listed above we also have a some other more or less platonic ships. E-Rick & Evil Rick, Mercenary Rick & Vampire Rick (and Morty), Adrien & Marinette, the Summers. Not to mention that we have more in the working and our muses always find the oddest way to come together and somehow work out, which is always fun to see...even when it's unexpected and confusing af xD We also have a couple of polyships with other shared mutuals and they are fantastic too!

What I Think About The Mun: She's one of my favourite people (and yeah, I'm biased but hush). They are a great RP partner, an amazing friend, a strong person and I admire and respect her so, so much. We've gotten to know each other really well in the last year and a half and we've been talking every single day and I'm not bored in the least with it. I'm always glad to talk with her, even when my social battery is low. She always manage to cheer me up 🖤

Overall Opinion: Best RnM writer out there, no doubts. Her other muses are just as good too, I love their portrayal, she puts a lot of thoughts in them. Rin is an engaging partner, fun to talk too, always full of ideas. One of my main and favourite writing partner.

Blog Rate: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+

[the-darklings]

this last chapter is what broke the camel's back for me to just go ahead and send you an ask. i LOVE this story so much. your writing is always excellent and i'm happy to be reading your stuff again after a couple of years of following you. i love how you never take the easy route, especially now with dream and wanderer having a falling out/angst moment wayyy before he gets captured. genius. a lesser writer would just have a constant crescendo of slow burn up until he was captured but not you, you're giving us the whole roller-coaster. just (chef's kiss) i'm kind of itching to make fanart for this fic whenever i'm not horribly busy. anyways, love your work and i'm deeply enjoying the updates.

(btw i had to go check that one ask where you talked about wanderer's relationships with the endless and destruction's just being "secret keeper 👁" was too clever. i hate you.)

those two having a falling out was inevitable in all honestly. Until Dream at least partially embraces the notion of change and listening to other people, and accepting the fact that someone may not agree with him but it doesn’t make them wrong or traitors for doing so, Wanderer and everyone else would forever walk on eggshells around him. You can’t have a fulfilling relationship with someone long term if you are concerned they’ll lose their cool if you push them hard enough, especially when they have the means to kinda just… (gestures at all the things Dream has done to mortals vaguely). Specifically talking romance on this one because, clearly, as a friendship budding to romantic feelings, they did really well for very long because they are that compatible, but a full fledged relationship is different.

also I would LOVE fanart 🥺💕 honestly if any of you draw/make anything (be it fanart, playlist, Pinterest boards) let me know!!! I would love to see them and there is no right or wrong when it comes to Wanderer just your interpretation 🫶

as for Destruction and “secret keeper” I honestly expected more people to pull on that thread, but in that sense, I’m glad no one did, made part 7 more fun 😌

[more-than-a-princess]

Oh, hell. Sonia regretted opening her mouth and sharing her dream as soon as she'd gone and done it. It really was ridiculous. Even her own school prided itself on fulfilling potential and making the dreams of success a reality: it was her issue that she saw little success in equipping the worst people in the world with weapons, the most vulnerable with gambling and schemes they would never crawl out of. Her mother, thank goodness, drew the line at drugs and sex trafficking (they were, by and large, far more demeaning to women than men, which was in conflict to how she ran the Borghese Family). The idea of family, that was as much of her own talent, her own future, that Sonia could truly get behind: it was far more rare than the tales of despair and destruction that came with associating with the mafia, but when a lost soul found a home with her family, even amidst all the crime and secrets and backstabbing, she could live with herself and her future for a little while longer. It was why she kept herself busy with all sorts of hobbies, ones that she even kept quiet from Manjiro Sano. They had just met, after all: she had enough trouble confiding in her most trusted friends and allies, in case they chose to use her words against her where her mother was concerned.

Still, something as banal as wanting to ride a roller coaster was likely not even worth mentioning to the Donna: she'd likely quip back that her underboss, her daughter, was unnecessarily putting her life in danger for the sake of something as inconsequential as fun. Nevertheless, it didn't make it any less embarrassing when he laughed the way he did, following her out of the club and back into the late afternoon light of Kabukicho.

It didn't make it any less surprising either, when he placed a baseball cap on her head and a pair of men's sunglasses on her face. The hat sat awkwardly on her hair and headband, but if she pulled it into a ponytail and threaded it through the back, it would show the purple orchid on the back of her neck that Sonia only put on display at the right time, for the right reasons. An amusement park, full of innocent children and families, was hardly the place to display her chosen flower, her family tattoo. "You want to take someone you just met, someone whose family business indirectly murdered one of your friends, to an amusement park?" She repeated incredulously. As far as she was aware, it was the style of Japanese street gangs to use their fists and feet, on occasion a blade, to handle their disputes, not string them up on the highest roller coaster and let the cars travel the length of the track. But it wasn't impossible for someone to have connections. The Invincible Mikey, surely, could be believed to have connections. "Believe me, I am very flattered and interested, but I cannot help but ask why. You certainly do not have to."

Not that that stopped her from putting a helmet over the baseball cap. Or waving off the subordinates in the car parked nearby, who waved and gestured and called out to her, to return to the safety of the car's backseat where she'd be taken home, to her penthouse condo in the glamorous, ritzy Aoyama neighborhood, where she had floor to ceiling windows of Tokyo, with all of its lights, its possibilities, and its loneliness, surrounded by a staff paid to look after her but not to be her friend. Or getting on the back of his bike, holding Mikey by the waist again as, for the first time in awhile, she relinquished control of her life willingly to someone else. If he intended to kill her, Invincible as he was, he would still encounter a fight in the process. Besides, he seemed quite proud of the whole plan, one she rather suspected had come together in the span of seconds in his head.

"You...are forever changed, I think. Once you kill someone for the first time," She replied quietly, before he started the engine. Even if they were in Kabukicho and near a club her family owned, that didn't mean it was wise to broadcast that sort of information to the world. To him...maybe, it would be all right. "I recommend avoiding it if you can. It does not stop, you know, when their lives leave them. It will haunt you." She spoke as if she had authority on the subject. Which she did. Which no one was supposed to know about. "But I think you are strong in more ways than one, Manjiro-san. You could have choked that woman to death today, and you did not. I do not think that is you growing weaker, I think that is you exhibiting strength in a way you might have not done before. Something new, that likely stretches and flexes muscles that have gone unused. It might ache afterward as it repairs and reflects upon itself, but it grows stronger. You...grow stronger. If you do not mind such words from a near stranger."

The two of them in place, the engine revved, Sonia smirked for a moment as it, as he, drowned out the protesting cries of her security team. It was short-lived, as he asked, again a near stranger, to do what most would deem the impossible. "If you lose all of your humanity, I will take you out myself." She called to him as they turned back into the street. She didn't know what amusement park they'd visit, she hoped he knew the way at least. For as much as motorcycles ran up and down the various streets in Tokyo's neighborhoods (not hers, though: the Minato ward cracked down on street gangs, but in her travels she heard them), she found it a reasonable expectation that he knew his way around. Still, it could be interpreted so many ways that she didn't mind shouting it over the sound of the motorcycle speeding up into traffic. She thought about mentioning her amusement at the prospect of him coming to rescue her, she was no princess, good and benevolent and stuck in a castle tower, waiting for a dragon to be slayed in order to free her, but she thought better of it. "Where are we going, what sort of amusement park is it?" She asked instead as they drove on. "Is it one of the places where you wear animal ears on a headband, and eat giant sweets from food stands? I have seen those on television! They look delicious, alongside all the other cozy foods and junk foods! Like diners, but made to walk around and enjoy them! I admit I have not been to one of those either."

Mikey watched the scene in disinterest, still staring at Trixie as if she was maggot, even as she lay slumped after he'd let her go. Lifeless, cobalt hues lingered on the hostess' slender fingers as she spoke of them, and he took a step forward. He had a knife in his pocket. He'd never actually used it or needed it: He was the invincible Mikey after all. His best weapons were his legs and fists. However, that pulsing darkness had convinced him a couple of years ago, that he would need the object one day, when he couldn't keep his urges at bay any longer...

Another step was taken. All he had to do was cross the distance between them once more. He would grab her hand this time and use his knife to slice off her fingers one by one, since they were so crucial to her, so she'd learn how it felt to lose something important. He would enjoy the way she screamed as he did it. She had just been in his grasp. Why had he even let her go?

Slowly, he became aware of another presence. It hadn't been that long since the other person in this room had spoken to him, but it already felt like forever ago. She'd managed to stop him already, but he'd been so close to losing to the darkness once more. He managed to tear himself away from the girl, just as the men filed in. He let the door close behind him with a loud click as he stared at the hallway wall.

Toman's leader tried to distract himself from the darkness, as his urges finally settled down. His mind wandered to Sonia once more. She'd managed to stop him this time, which was actually quite surprising. Takemitchy and Draken had been the only ones brave enough to attempt to stop him before, and he generally wasn't easy to talk down when he got that way.

The Borghese Princess was tougher than he'd given her credit for. He couldn't help but remember how sad she'd looked when he proclaimed he would free her. He knew full well how hard that would be. He'd been obsessed with gangs for his whole life, and he knew a ragtag gang of delinquents like his own was no match for a legitimate mafia. They would make an enemy of an entire country.

However, Mikey knew that this version of Toman wouldn't last for forever. Someday, he knew the darkness would win. His gang would no longer be a place for friends to have fun. It would warp into something twisted, not unlike a mafia family, where they would earn copious amounts of money, deal drugs, and silence any who got in their way. He hoped that his friends would leave before that happened, but either way, it was inevitable. He supposed that he would have the power then to rescue the princess, but would the dark version of himself even care to?

He was shaken out of his thoughts by her voice, and he looked up. Somehow, hearing her talk of her dream, as simple as it was, chased the rest of his immorality away. "That's it? An amusement park? Hah!" He gave her a small smile, gratefully following her out of the back entrance. "Let's make a pit stop then. Yeah, yeah I know, the mafia and all that, but lucky for you..." As they reached his bike, he rummaged through the seat's compartment, pulling out a baseball cap.

The blonde attempted to place it on Sonia's head. He also pulled out a pair of sunglasses, and handed those to her next. It was a simple disguise, yet Mikey seemed oddly proud. "Sonia? Don't know her. Hop on! We're going to ride the biggest roller coaster in the park!"

His grin faded when she spoke of his dream once more though. She had been able to stop him, so maybe he should tell her the truth. "One day I'm going to kill someone." He spoke the words plainly, and with acceptance. "Ever since my brother died, I've been fighting the darkness. After Baji, and now Satori... It grows stronger and I grow weaker." He smiled sadly, as he sat down on his motorcycle's seat, turning away.

"Once I kill one person, I'm not going to stop. That'll be the end of me. Just... hopefully I'll free you on the way out. And if I don't, you should use your family's connections to kill me. Promise me.. If I ever hurt my friends, that your family will wipe me out."

[azusawrites]

title. ferris wheel

rating. T

characters. Kalim Al Asim/Kore Hightower

taglist. @itsocxcanonweek

Neon lights swirling around. Soft music in the background. She can feel the pressure of his fingers against her waist and thanks herself for wearing something that leaves her skin bare so his heat washes over her in waves. He smells like tangerines and the soft, pink bubblegum candy floss they had after the train ride that left them squashed in between two other couples, holding tight onto the railing, and close enough she could almost breathe through his lungs. She liked the T-Shirt he wore on their date – light and colourful, then creased by all the running around they did. She could trace the lines with her fingertips, count every juncture and every overlay. There was a stain at the bottom, just where the corners folded against themselves, and it stood out because it was the same type of mustard that she used at home. She wondered if he knew. Though even if he didn’t, she still treasured that little thread that tied them to each other through these little moments, through these little fairytale dreams that she fears she’s still asleep for.

Holding another person, being held by another person – these are strange notions to Kore yet. It feels like the weight of the world is pressed against her frame when he puts his arms around her, and yet it doesn’t feel heavy at all. She doesn’t feel any strain, just the soft rocking of the ocean as it laps at her feet and how the desert kisses her skin, promising her that it will do anything it can to make the song on the tip of her tongue burst forth. He says he likes the way she tastes. That she closes her eyes just after they kiss. And those were things she never expected anybody to say about her but now only wanted to hear from him.

The cabin that they sit in is mostly drenched in shadows that drape themselves on top of them, almost covering their whole bodies. Huddled in the corner as they are, she thinks not even the moon can spot them through the darkness. There are no stars tonight – the firelights have sent them scrambling, falling over each other until later this month they will descend in a shower. He told her they have to go see it when it happens. She made her plans and noted it in her calendar, a little pink heart just above the number, that was erased later because it felt too silly to put something like that in, then redrew it because she realized it didn’t matter because it made her happy.

“This was fun,” he mutters against her hair. Her legs are thrown over his, her white sneakers not even touching the floor, and she’s halfway in his lap, his fingers against her skin. She thinks this is what heaven must feel like. All warm and loving and soft, kissing the top of your head and yawning occasionally with a satisfied smile on its kind face. Kalim looked cute no matter what but in this low light he was heartbreakingly handsome. “We should come here someday again!”

“We should,” she agrees. “But next time we shouldn’t eat hotdogs just before we get on the roller coaster, you know?”

He laughs and it sounds like bells. “That was still so much fun!”

“We threw up after!”

“That’s true,” he says and brings her closer. Her chest presses against him, and her legs get tangled up in his, but she doesn’t feel the need to move. This position too is comfortable, even if his belt digs in her stomach. “But wasn’t it fun when we went through that loop? I thought I would fall out of my seat! Then I got worried you would.”

“We had the belts so we would have been fine.”

“Hm, I guess that’s true too…” He shifts the giant toy cat he won for her (after 178 attempts) to the other side of the bench, where it sits pressed against the window of the cabin, overlooking the fair. Grim will be furious when he’ll see it later this night, plotting already to dispose of his rival, but for now, she’s enjoying the sight of it whole and cute and all for her. There must be people down there and light and colours. Couples and families all darting around trying to immerse themselves in the fun and the laughter just like they did before. While they were still having their fun too, probably. But then she only had eyes for Kalim so it might as well have been a deserted ground. He wraps his arms around her waist and brings her closer, trailing kisses all across her forehead while she buries her face in his neck. He has such soft skin – it’s intoxicating. “Can I kiss you now?”

“What?” Kore asks.

“Can I kiss you now? You said I couldn’t kiss you until some time passed after we rode the roller coaster and we brushed our teeth and that was… four hours ago!”

“Was it really that long?”

“It was,” he whines and kisses her head. “I kept looking at the watch because I wasn’t sure what you meant by later but every time we just kept on getting on new rides! And that was fun! But by the I remembered, I just didn’t have the chance anymore.” The Ferris Wheel comes to a halt atop its highest point, where the lights below become so dim she can barely spot them anymore. In the darkness, she can feel the beat of his heart and his warmth, the welcome embrace that he always keeps her in when they are together. “So, can we kiss now? Please?”

She thinks her heart might melt someday. That the heat might be too much and will just leave it in a pink puddle on the floor, glittering under the sunlight. Kalim has the oddest effect on her – she feels like she can’t breathe anymore, while at the same time, it’s like her lungs are expanding for the first time ever. She’s filled with the sight of him until every inch of her skin is glistening with the love and lightness that he overflows with. Kalim is warmth in every sense of the word – easy and pristine and welcoming. Staying in his arms makes him feel like her weary bones can finally rest after the long haul that has always been her life. In this softness, she can find the own beat of her heart echoing.

She smiles, but she’s certain he can’t see it in the dark. The moon makes for a poor light source, but she still lets herself gaze into his eyes.

“It’s so dark. Will you even be able to find me like this?”

She meant it as a joke, but when he holds her tighter she feels like she’s ready to burst beneath his fingertips. He smells of summer and the ocean, and when he speaks he carries with him that first rush of waves that break against the sun at dusk. Quiet and ephemeral and it makes her sink into him deeper until she cannot tell where she ends and he begins.

“Of course, I will!” His mouth is pressed against her own, lips tracing familiar patterns. She touches his neck, in that spot just beneath his chin to try to stop the rushing of blood in her ears. “You’re just right next to me. And there’s no way that I would ever be able to lose you.”

“How so?”

“It’s because I can hear the beating of your heart.” He lays his palm across it. “If I follow it, I can always come back to you.”

He tastes like candy floss and the sugary drinks they had all day. Like mint and coffee and all sorts of treats that she’s seen only in magazines, with pretty girls on the cover that held out trays packed to the brim with pastries. Kalim tasted like the ocean, crashing against the sandy beach while swallowing the sun in its hold. It was strangely new and nostalgic, like her mouth would always remember the shape of his, but was still surprised at the tenderness of it all. She would always sink into him, clamouring for his welcoming embrace, until nothing of her remained but the shape of her bones, the ribs and the heart in its beating form.

Atop the Ferris Wheel, time was standing still, just their hearts going on at the exhausting beat at which all love marches on, through the darkness, until it finds that patch of light which calls to it. And when it does it latches on, until the world has melted away and it's just them crashing against the sandy beach at dusk, taken in by the sight of the sun submerging under their bodies.

Kalim feels like home and somehow far away at the same time. And she realizes that’s why she loves him.

[yinses]

limited

| you had to remind yourself that he was only a man |

gojo satoru

raing: 18+

a/n: telling myself i wouldn’t notice how repetitive this header looked if i would just write about someone else. happy gojo eye animation day, everybody!

the fabric was far too big for you. it was expected as such giving that the black band was intended for gojo and not you. even as he tucked the extra folds behind your head, a simple incline of your head inched out his progress and threatened to drag the entire band down again. a strip more pliable to adjustment would have been better.  

and your lips part to tell him as such.

“oh, but that would be too easy, honey. here, let me fix that for you.”

then he goes about pleating the the blindfold back into a pseudo sense of security.

this was a different form of bondage. the verbal kind that he adored.

there weren't any restraints for you to fight. nothing to distract yourself through effort while still remaining in compliance with his intentions.

the only thing binding you was his word and this flimsy blindfold.

though ‘flimsy’ seemed like the wrong word to describe the fabric that withheld the six eyes.

from this perspective it didn’t seem like much. light still crept in around the edges only plunging you into a semi-darkness. if you strained enough you could just make out the shadow of his figure.

that’s what he wanted you to believe as his voice vibrated against your ear.

“m’sure you’ll have no problem being good for me. “

a soft gasp left you as you registered the difference in expectation vs reality. was it a trick of light? you thought he might have been in front but perhaps he was behind the whole time.

the air remained stagnant and curse free to your knowledge. but this was gojo satoru.

you shiver when he chuckles in your opposite ear.

“and you’re not going to use limitless?”

gojo sounds almost patronizing as his tongue catches the edge of your jaw. “i promise it wont be more than you can handle, baby.”

it takes effort to control your breathing as you try to grasp at the fraying threads of control. he said he wasn’t using his technique but he had to be using something. it as impossible for you to feel him but not his presence. the bed lacked his additional weight, the only indentions molding around your body.

it was dizzying to think about as his fingertips traced your jaw before cupping the curve.

gojo pressed a sensually slow kiss against your lips.

“now then where to start…”

it was the anxiousness that he fed on, that you knew. he would watch from the bottom as you rode the roller coaster of anticipation all the way to the top. except with gojo you never really reached the peak. there would be twists and curves along the way but you never stopped ascending.

constantly waiting for the drop.

the jolt was more from the chill than the sudden action as his hands traced the path down your waist to hips. but the movement was enough to shift the blindfold just below your brow.

gojo tsks as his thumb draws circles against the inside of your thigh, resting at the cleft of your legs where he delivers a sharp pinch with his forefinger. closing your eyes tighter under the fabric, you steeled yourself to resist recoiling as you hissed through your teeth.

“toru…”

his lips met your temple.

“sweetheart…” he sang back. “ i won’t fix this again.”

his tone was sweet but the edging command levied more into the situation. his touch was firmer than before as he secured the blindfold again to its rightful place.

the next kiss was at your shoulder.

but the swipe of his tongue?

you suppressed a small whine of confusion as the appendage outlines the edge of your panties. the wet gesture was followed by the trail of his finger along the warm slick of your sex.

there was nothing stopping you from arching into the touch. no explicit directive. as far as gojo was concerned, you could squirm all you wanted as long as it didn’t disrupt the blindfold.

a cruel allowance.

he snatched your breath from your breast as his touch seemed to come from behind to cup your mounds. this touch was generous as the close proximity allowed you to press back without sacrificing much leverage.

“fucking you is fun...but this.”

it was a trap. a pleasurable deflection to lower your guard as he sunk to fingers to the knuckle. you kicked your leg out in reflex, hoping to catch something- anything, but were met with absence.

“if only you could see yourself. so beautiful, baby.”

if only you could see him. glimpse the sky hidden away in those pools. he told you he wouldn’t use his curse but you knew it was too inherent to keep it completely at bay. had it not been, the blindfold would never exist.

“that was so close too. i thought you were going to lose it again.”

you could hear it. the wide grin in his tone as his fingers continued to stroke, prod and fiddle within you. his thumb was employed to the mix, slowly rocking back and forth across your clit.

the hand squeezing at your backside reminded you of how you’d lost count of how many hands your boyfriend possessed.

surely onto two like any other normal man.

except gojo was far beyond that limited scope.

somewhere to your left, gojo hummed in a way that visualized a thoughtful expression. the hand at your rear moved out of unison to the gesture between your thighs only furthering the disarray of your illusion.

“what do you want, pumpkin? to stay like this or are you already greedy for my cock. perhaps you want it all?”

it was overwhelming to think about. his touch seemingly everywhere yet plausibly not. he was making you feel outside of physical touch that you knew. though the technique that was applied was lost to you.

gojo laughed under his breath. he could probably see the cogs of your mind turning, trying to grasp what you weren’t meant to hold. the man thrived on being unpredictable and you were a breeding ground for his own vices.

this time you felt it. the way he pulled his hand away, but the sensation was multiplied as each touch left you at once. the question of which was real was answered as you listened to the wet sounds of him cleaning his fingers with his mouth.

gojo was shameless as he left nothing to the imagination.

“the blindfold hardly budged this time. what a good girl. i suppose you’ll need a reward now. “

your noise of affirmant came as a broken squeak the moment gojo’s tongue lapped against your clothed core. he didn’t stop there, sloppily wedging himself under the elastic to nose his way into your core. you could feel the apple of his cheek against your apex and the corner of his mouth resting at your labia.

somehow making the process that much harder for himself transferred to you. the veins in your neck had to be a visual spectacle as you resisted the urge to turn and stuff your face into the pillow.

its unfair yet so deliciously forgiving. but you need something. the sheets clenched under your fists do nothing to stabilize your yearnings.

you want to be good for him.

truly.

but you just need-

“hm, you’re really struggling, huh? i spoil you too much.”

you don’t know when your arm lifted or how gojo’s head came to settle under your fingertips. but those are questions to go unanswered as you card your fingers through his hair and lift your hips to grind friction against your sex.

something unhinged leaves your lips as he closes his mouth on a kiss with underlying suction. the hold on his hair is the leverage you needed to bring you back away from the bed as you shudder down your spine.

your orgasm is resting at its peak, so pliable that you can feel.

but you can also see. just barely to the right of the slope of your nose.

it brings clarity to the fact that gojo does in fact only have two hands. both now preoccupied with tugging your undergarments down your legs. the glimpse of vision was also just wide enough for you to lock gazes with your bemused boyfriend.

the twinkle in his eyes coupled with the sharp grin against your cunt did not match well with the disappointment weighing on his tone.

“oh? perhaps i was too generous? just what am i going to do with you now, sweet girl?”

[animebw]

One Piece: ~600 Chapter Reflection

So, it’s been a hot minute since I did a Complete Thoughts on One Piece So Far sort of deal. I was thinking of doing one every 200 chapters or so, but around chapter 400, I realized I wasn’t sure if I had enough new thoughts for an update. Sometimes, you just gotta sit with something a little longer before you can work out how your opinion’s changed with time. Well, that time’s finally come. We’ve reached the halfway point on the Grand Line, which arguably makes this the halfway point of One Piece as a whole. It’s taken us almost 600 chapters to reach this point, and we’ve still got just as long (at least!) to go. If there was ever a time to stop and reflect on the journey we’ve been on, this would be that time. So while Luffy and his friends take a two-year break to charge up their power levels, let’s look back on what’s changed since my last update, how my opinions evolved, and my overall impressions on One Piece as a series now that I’m well and truly in the thick of it.

When I last wrote up my thoughts around the end of Alabasta, I was overall really positive on One Piece. The world was fun, the characters were endearing, and it was really good at fostering a sense of grand scale with how the story progressed. While I had my issues with its pacing and characterization, it was a fun time, and I was ready to see what came next. But even 200 chapters in, I could tell I was only just beginning to taste the madness One Piece had in store for me. What little we learned about the Grand Line beyond our current location promised a world where there were no limits on how chaotic, how colossal, how utterly bonkers things could get. The Straw Hats were in for a roller coaster ride beyond their wildest dreams, and I was right there with them. I had no idea how crazy things were going to become, but I was ready to find out.

Well, I found out. Sweet buttery Jesus, did I find out. From Skypiea to Water Seven, from Enies Lobby to Sabaody, and, of course, Marineford, these past 400 chapters have been an exercise in watching One Piece go absolutely batshit insane in the best way possible. The variety and intensity of everyone’s superpowers is staggering. The scope and depth of the world is mind-blowing. The way Oda weaves so many different story threads together across such a long span of time is astonishing. And the sheer imagination on display in every moment leaves me utterly slack-jawed. There are very few pieces of fiction that can maintain this level of care, polish and creativity over such a long period of time. Gintama, of course, is one. The Order of the Stick is another. The ability to write a massive, sprawling epic with this level of consistency in character, worldbuilding, and story progression is an achievement only the best of the best are able to accomplish. And the fact that One Piece is still surprising and exciting me with new revelations this far in is proof that it, too, has that special spark.

But it’s not just the sheer scale of the thing that’s worthy of celebration here. One Piece hasn’t just gotten bigger as it’s gone on; it’s gotten braver too. Its story has plunged headfirst into explorations of governmental abuse and oppression, how structures of power maintain their power through whatever crooked means they have at their disposal. It’s peeled back the curtain on how fundamentally broken this world is, all the horrors perpetuated by those who claim to have its best interest at heart and the hypocrisies they tell the world to justify their cruelty. For such a goofy adventure, it’s gone to some dark places. And in doing so, it’s positioned the Straw Hats not just as fun-loving adventurers, but as ideological beacons of freedom. Piracy in this world isn’t just a fun gimmick for kids in the audience to project onto; it’s an ethos of rebellion and resistance in the face of tyranny. It’s the courage to stand up to a seemingly unstoppable power trying to grind you under its foot and refuse to back down. It’s the determination to declare war on a world gone mad for the sake of the people you care about, no matter what dangers it throws your way. There is weight to One Piece and its themes, far more weight than was evident from an outside perspective. And watching Luffy and his friends face down impossible odds has left me pumping my fist in triumph over and over again. The best moments of this manga- “Shoot down that flag,” “I have my crew,” the entirety of Sabaody- are unquestionably among the highest peaks in shonen history.

Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Because just as One Piece’s highs have grown exponentially higher, its lows have sunk that much lower. I had my issues with the way it handled its female characters in the first 200 chapters, but nothing could have prepared me for how abysmal things would get in this stretch. Sanji’s de-evolution into a gag-inducing pervert. Brook’s dogshit running gag of asking to see women’s panties. The promising character of Boa Hancock being absolutely fucking mangled by a nonsensical, condescending crush. The... let’s call it “questionable” handling of trans characters and the problematic stereotypes associated with them. And as fantastic as both Nami and Robin’s initial arcs are in isolation, it’s hard to ignore that the only two women in the protagonist squad both get saddled with the same arc of “strong female character realizes she can’t handle things by herself, proceeds to do nothing during the final battle of her own story while the men do all the fighting for her.” Oda’s not even bad at writing female characters, but it feels like he’s taken ten thousand steps back in how he treats them.

And these aren’t just occasional frustrating impulses that rarely take up too much focus. Say what you will about Mineta from MHA, at least he’s such an insignificant character that he’s rarely on screen for longer than two minutes at a time. These are systemic issues with the core of One Piece, issues that regularly take center stage and drag entire damn story arcs down into the gutter. As much good stuff as there was in Thriller Bark, it’s bogged down with so much bullshit that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to revisit it. Ditto Amazon Lily, which started out with so much promise only to drive its central character headfirst into a ditch she can never crawl her way out of. For all my criticism of One Piece in its earlier chapters, nothing in it was bad enough to consider a dealbreaker. This stuff, on the other hand? This is the kind of baked-in sexism that would sink any lesser story in a heartbeat. It’s only because the good stuff is so good, and the highs are so much more frequent, that One Piece is able to keep me so invested through its rough patches. But frankly, I can’t blame anyone who was too put off by these elements to continue reading or watching. It’s hard to stay in love with a story, even one as excellent at this one, when it keeps kicking you in the face so viciously.

And yet... I do still love One Piece. Despite the ugliness of its worst moments, I’m still excited for what this manga has in store. The action has only gotten stronger and more creative, the themes have only gotten more complex and challenging, and the world still beckons with the call to adventure like few fictional worlds out there. At its best, this truly is one of the most exciting adventure stories I’ve ever experienced. And as long as it keeps those missteps to a minimum, I’m sure it’ll keep my interested for a good long time to come. We’ve still got a whole half a world to explore, after all, and things are only gonna get wilder from here. I have no idea what awaits us in the new world, but I can’t fucking wait to mind out. Chances are, it’s gonna be pretty damn remarkable.

With all that said, what would my current score for One Piece be? Well, as much as I want to rate it higher than I did last time, I can’t ignore just how badly those worse elements have worn down my enjoyment. Honestly, it feels like One Piece’s quality isn’t so much going up as it is stratifying; the good stuff is better than its ever been and only getting moreso, but the bad stuff is intensifying just the same. So while so much of it is genuinely great and hits me harder than it did back during my last check-in, a fair bit of it also makes me way angrier than it used to. And unfortunately, I can only rate a show or manga so highly when a sizeable portion of it frustrates me that much. So until Oda gets his shit together on that front, I’ll have to be satisfied by maintaining my (still quite high) score from last time:

8/10

That’s all for now. Next time, we see what the new world has in store. See you then!

[rainbowsky]

To the person who sent me the thousand word essay, if you check out my ask policy I don't publish these kinds of long asks. I used to get tons of them and it got to be too much. Also, a lot of your comments contain anti talking points that I will not publish on my blog. But I can respond to some of the issues you raised.

TW/CW - brief mention of homophobia and suicide.

Basically your message was a sort of cataloguing of your doubts about BJYXSZD. To quote your closing paragraph, "Ah....i am just desperate for them to be a couple after all these months and the bts videos and inteviews, but it just doesn't add up anymore. So, as a confused fan, i thought about seeking reassurance to you."

I don't think it's my place, nor is it really anyone's place, to try to convince you or reassure you that GGDD is real. You will either believe or you won't believe. In my experience, people who are filled with doubts and in need of a steady stream of candies and clues to keep them satisfied are going to find themselves on a constant emotional roller-coaster of euphoria and misery.

Let go of your need for certainty.

As I've said in the past, when you let go of your need for certainty you will find that certainty comes a lot more easily. People who need certainty approach GGDD like a detective agency or a hungry ghost, focusing on their craving for proofs and candies that never quite seem to satiate them, and they miss out on the real joy of just being a fan.

A lot of the doubts you listed are things that don't really fit with why BXG believe BJYXSZD. We don't base our belief on the fact that they did a BL show together. We don't base our belief on the fact that they get along well together. We don't base our belief on candies. We base our belief on the insight we accumulate over a period of time, and that's not something that can be passed on to someone else. It's something everyone has to discover for themselves.

GGDD have nothing to prove. BXG have nothing to prove. We are all just here to enjoy them, love them and support them.

My advice: just relax, let go of your need for certainty, and enjoy GG and DD. Certainty will come or it won't, so there's no need to fret over it.

A couple things I felt the need to respond to:

Hidden relationships

Hidden relationships are totally a Thing in the entertainment industry, of course. Andy Lau with his 24 year hidden relationship is a great example. But you seem fixated on the idea that if GG or DD were hiding a relationship, it must be a heterosexual one.

Heteronormativity is a huge part of why so many fans have a hard time believing that GG and DD could ever be a real couple. There can be endless signs that a man is in a gay relationship and the fans will just dismiss it all, but if that man so much as smiles at a woman, fans are immediately ready to believe he's in love with her. Heterosexuality is seen as the default, and that makes homosexuality invisible to a lot of straight people.

You mentioned Leslie Cheung. I recommend this excellent post if you want to see why the world wasn't ready for him. He was an inspiration to LGBTQ people, without any doubt. I think he was equally a cautionary tale for a lot of people, even if the tragedy of his death wasn't necessarily directly related to his queerness or how he was being treated by the public.

There's a trope in society and in media and entertainment, that queer people are tragic figures. Queer characters are often presented as emotionally and psychologically turbulent people who meet untimely, tragic ends. Queer stories tend to be focused around "the struggle of being queer" and the rejection, fear and bigotry queer people face. The violence, the death, the suicides.

How could this not feed into the fears we have as queer people growing up in an often hostile world? How could a story like Leslie's fail to scare as many people as it inspires?

And besides, there are closeted gay couples in the entertainment industry in China.

I have talked about the whole hidden relationship thing, the whole 'needing to appear single' thing, in the past. You can find some of those posts linked at the end of this one. I've also talked about the pressure to appear single (along with the pressure to enter a straight marriage) previously here.

DD and the anti bullshit you've read

I can tell you've read a lot of anti lies in your travels. You're carrying a lot of the toxic ideas that antis spread online. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you spend most of your time on Twitter and YouTube, where these lies are part of the air people breathe on those platforms.

The rumors of DD being in a relationship with that heiress are nothing but harassment and bullshit. She is a known celebrity stalker who has caused scandals with multiple celebrities. Antis spread those lies because they are harmful to DD, not because they're true. DD denies them because they are false, not because he's got something to hide.

DD has never once been spotted with her. He's never once been photographed with her. There exists in the world exactly zero evidence of any common thread between her and DD. Zero evidence that they've ever even been in the same room together. Zero. There's no candy, nothing.

Meanwhile the candy connecting DD and GG together is so abundant it would put Willy Wonka out of business. There are constant reports of them being seen together, evidence of them being together, etc. Some of that stuff is stalker material that I won't share on my blog - such as DD's suitcase being spotted in GG's car a few days ago - but yeah, if you believe in the stalker heiress BS but not GGDD, that only speaks to your ignorance of the situation.

One of the things I find most frustrating about being a BJYXSZD BXG is that we are constantly characterized as spectacularly naive and deluded, meanwhile it's our most vocal critics - the antis, toxic solos and insecure turtles - who unquestioningly believe anything they read.

As for 22*7, you can always tell a DD anti by their willingness to claim DD should have spoken openly about GG during the whole scandal last year. No one who knows anything about GG and DD or about the situation could say in good faith that DD should have spoken up. I view that whole attitude as a litmus test for who knows and understands and truly supports GGDD, and who is either uninformed or an anti.

You can read more about that here and here.

And no, GG has never issued any statement denying BJYXSZD. Neither of them has.

BJYXSZD is not based on old BTS and interviews

I sometimes get sick of seeing clips and photos and metas about the Untamed, I sometimes get tired of talking about the same old interview clips and BTS. I see these things as ancient history - something fun to visit every now and then, but not where I want to live. I don't base my present belief on any of that. All that stuff can ever really do now is give us background on how things started and give us a bit of insight into how they get along and interact.

No BXGSZD that I know of bases their belief on "old BTS and interviews."

Both GG and DD have interesting new projects and endorsements. There's a ton of new content coming out all the time. We still regularly see new evidence that they're together. The past stuff is just for context.

Wrapping this all up, I'll just reiterate what I said before. No one can, or even should, convince you that GGDD is real. That's something you'll have to make peace with for yourself. If you want to get there faster, just relax and enjoy being a fan, and take some time to learn more about GGDD. Certainty may come in time. If it doesn't, well at least you had fun!

Since you are a newer fan I recommend checking out my BXG glossary, along with my masterlist post for some of the things I've talked about in the past.

[abbacchiosbelt]

For the 50 prompts thingy, the first one with melone if you’re feeling up to it? 👀 (gn reader if possible please)

50 — I'm scared but won't admit it so you take my hand.

It was a rare day that you got to spend time with your teammates outside of meetings for mission briefings - the new Don had been working your team to the bone in order to assure La Squadra’s loyalty after the transition of power. It had everyone exhausted, but at least you were finally being properly compensated for you work. No more sharing money from hits - Don Giovanna was providing more than the former boss of Passione ever had. The current week had seen a lull in missions for you & Melone, the teammate you considered yourself closest to. When Melone had asked if you wanted to do something fun for once, you’d eagerly accepted. 

What you hadn’t expected was to be nearly 200 feet off the ground as you descended up the tallest coaster in Italy, shaking like a leaf as Melone practically vibrated with excitement next to you. The view from the lift hill was beautiful but you could hardly care about it when you knew what was coming next, the plunge towards the ground angled at nearly 90 degrees. You clench your eyes shut as the coaster climbs higher and higher, nearly jumping out of your skin when Melone gently touches your arm.

“Tesoro, are you okay?” Melone’s voice has no trace of fear in it as he speaks. You reluctantly open your eyes to find him giving you a sympathetic look despite the smile on his face. “Don’t feel bad if you’re scared, it’s part of the fun!”

“I, I’m not scared,” you stutter, face growing warm. You were an assassin for god’s sake, how could you be scared by a roller coaster? Melone tsks quietly and puts one of his hands on top of yours, which was currently holding the lap bar in a death grip. You don’t hesitate to loosen one hand and thread your fingers through his - even though you wouldn’t be holding on with both hands, having Melone’s hand to squeeze made you feel safe. Melone grins from beside you and hums, pleased. “It’s not for me, it’s for you.”

“Mhmm, whatever you say.” You can hear the smugness in Melone’s voice. His next words, though, are sincere.

“I’ll make sure to hold on the whole ride, cara. I won’t let go.”

[inquartata30]

Give us some fluff, goddamn your soul!

Fluff it is!

Fluff, Part 2

Then Aella asked, “How many of me long do you think the model is?”

Thaia, sitting cross-legged on the tiled floor, didn’t look up from piecing two gyroscope curves together. “I dunno.”

“Can I measure?”

“Yeah, just use your arms since your arm span is roughly the same as your height.”

“Okay.”

Ten seconds later, Aella said, “Daddy?”

“Yeah?” The fucking gyroscope was harder to align than Thaia had assumed and, just like on actual relays, it had to be perfect or it would fall apart. Or fall apart and then blow up. This model had real eezo in it, so blowing up wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.

“I think I need help.”

There was enough of a thread of worry in her kid’s voice that Thaia looked up.

Aella had one arm extended along the relay’s long lower barrel and the other arm extended toward the circle end. Said arms were also so close to the relay that there was a possibility they’d touched the still-drying adhesive.

“Is your arm part of the model now?” Thaia kept the please say no to herself.

Aella lightly pulled her arm away from the model. Well, tried. It didn’t move much before she grimaced. “Maybe.”

Fuck.

Thaia studied her daughter, entire left arm stuck to the relay’s lower fork and part of her right affixed to the circle, and then attempted to calculate exactly how much skin was attached to the model. Then it occurred to her that, while the dissolver was safe for use on skin, the amount of dissolver required to detach Aella from the model might be dangerous.

Fuck.

“Hold on, I have to message your mum about the adhesive remover.” Thaia held in a sigh and activated her omni, hoping Lexi wouldn’t believe she needed to come home, but knowing Lexi would probably insist on it within ten seconds of starting their conversation. At least it would only be the tail-end of a class she’d have to bail on. Still, Thaia felt bad whenever Lexi left for reasons that included her and Aella when said reasons could’ve been avoided. Then again, it was hard to predict your kid getting whole limbs stuck to models.

“But you know how to use it,” said Aella, puzzled right before turning accusatory. “You had to use it on your finger last month when we built the turian fighter.”

Thaia looked at her through the holodisplay. “One, it wasn’t my fault that Eirian bumped the table and I caught the nose cone. Two, this is about you being stuck, not me. Three, even if it was about me, I’ve never had to unstick an entire limb from a model before.”

Aella’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Goddess, she didn’t have to look that fucking surprised. “I know, I’m shocked, too. Now hang on, I need to message her.”

Ha, she’d told her to hang on.

> Babe, is there an amount of skin-safe adhesive remover that can be dangerous?

Lexi answered within five fucking seconds. Five. Might’ve been a new record.

> Please tell me no one’s ingested any.

> No accidental poisonings. I meant when using it properly, but the skin area is more than usual.

> How much more?

> A whole arm and maybe a third of an arm. Kid-sized arms, though. Not adult arms.

> I’m coming home.

There it was.

> It’s fine. I just wanted to make sure the remover won’t be absorbed by her skin and make her hallucinate or something.

> It’s not a hallucinogen and you need to wait until I get home to separate her from—what is she stuck to?

> Part of a mass relay.

> You brought home a piece of a mass relay?

Goddess, she’d brought home part of a prototype one fucking time and they still hadn’t let that go. 

> No, the prototype materials are at the lab. This is a model.

> I need to see a picture to I know the scope of what I’m dealing with. And if I’ll need anything I don’t have in my medkit there.

> Give me a minute.

Thaia held up the omni. “Smile for your mum!”

Aella full-on grinned. “Make sure to tell her I’m fine! This would be fun if I could move more.”

“If you could move more, you wouldn’t be stuck and we wouldn’t be messaging your mum.” Thaia sent the holo to Lexi. 

> See, she’s fine.

> How big is this model?

> About two Aellas long. She was trying to measure it, coincidentally.

> I’m on my way. Don’t try before I get there. Give me fifteen minutes.

> We really are fine.

> Fifteen minutes.

Whenever Lexi repeated how long it would be before she got home, that meant she was already on her way and there wasn’t a point to arguing anymore.

> Love you too, babe.

Thaia looked up at Aella. “So, we’ve got fifteen minutes. Want to keep building? You’ll mostly be holding things until you can use your arms again. Oh, maybe we’ll keep you like this. You’d make a good coatrack.”

“No!”

“A sign outside the roller coaster in that theme park on the Citadel saying ‘you must be this tall to ride the attraction.’ Your arm’s just the right height for it.”

“No!”

“I guess you’re stuck being part of a mass relay model until your mum gets home. Any longer and I might have to move you to the lab.” 

“Daddy!”

She sounded so fucking offended that Thaia gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m kidding.”

She smiled back, offense gone. “Okay.”

Well, if she’d gone back to normal that fast, then she hadn’t been offended in the first place, and so Thaia would keep going. “I mean, I can’t get into the lab right now anyway.”

“Daddy!” Her little laugh at the end undermined her outrage, though.

Thaia surveyed the parts arrayed on the living room floor. “Fine, you read the directions and tell me what piece is next.”

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #223: of Robin Hoods and Roustabouts

September, 1982

Apparently a “roustabout” is an unskilled or casual labor.

And lets admit the obvious that if Hawkeye is either of the two things, he’s a robin hood. And its not inaccurate but be nicer to Scott Lang.

Even if he manages to be even more hapless in this issue then in modern takes that leans into him being a fuck-up.

As for the cover? Pretty striking cover. I’ve been waiting for Hawkeye to shoot Ant-Man at someone. Its apparently an Iconic Avengers moment and to think it first happens in a filler.

Because I’m pretty sure this is a filler. Its written by David Michelinie alone instead of Jim Shooter getting a plotter or co-writer credit. It doesn’t really have anything from the dangling plot threads of Hank Pym or the Masters of Evil.

Between this and and the filler with the immortal child who badly wanted to die and all of the plotter or co-writer credits, you just really get a sense that Jim Shooter did not have time to devote to Avengers anymore.

So what kind of filler will this be? Weird? Impactless? Good Actually? Let’s see!

Well, apparently Hawkeye is going to the carnival so at this point, it could go either way.

I like that Hawkeye has a H belt buckle because that’s the kind of thing that he would do and that I can make fun of him for.

I know that it’s been a while since he’s mentioned kewpie dolls but Hawkeye came from the circus. He and his brother ran away to one when they were little and the Swordsman taught Hawkeye archery. The point being, “he’s come home.”

As in, this is specifically the carnival he used to work before he became very briefly a superhero, and then for slightly longer a supervillain, and then for much much longer a superhero for real.

Point is, he’s been away for a while. But he received a flyer in the mail and decided he just had to come.

Because someone wrote HELP! on the back.

Hawkeye figures that the previous owner’s daughter and current owner Marcy Carson sent it as a goof but heck if she’s going to go to that trouble, he’ll be happy to visit.

So he breezes past the workers outside the owner’s trailer and-

Actually they beat the shit out of him for trying to breeze past them. Goes to show.

When Hawkeye threatens to beat them up for this rude treatment, they get ruder and call him a rube. Can you believe! Him, a former employee himself being called a rube! Also they pull a fancy sci-fi gun on him.

So Hawkeye does buzz off. So he can change into his hawking eye duds and buzz right back on.

Roustabouts carrying laser pistols is very suspicious. And I guess Ant-Man isn’t the roustabout of the title. He’s moving up in the world.

MEANWHILE, Perfectly Ordinary electronics technician, ex-con, and Ant-Man Scott Lang is having a night out with his daughter Cassie. And they’re having a bit of a disagreement.

See, Cassie, future superhero, wants to ride the really cool roller coaster the Spin-’n-Heave. Scott Lang, dad with dumb views on gender apparently, insists that a roller coaster just isn’t ladylike enough and she should ride something more refined like the pony ride or ring toss.

Also, Scott is carrying the Ant-Man suit with him, loose in his pocket. And the helmet just drops out of his pocket and the damn fool would have lost it if Cassie hadn’t spotted it and mistaken it for a marble.

Geez, Scott! I stood up for you!

Scott’s attempts to dad by restricting what his daughter can and can’t do based on his own views on what is ladylike get dropped when he spots Hawkeye hauling ass across the carnival and decides that This Cannot Stand!

Scott Lang Ant-Man may not be an Avenger but dangit he can’t leave a fellow hero in the lurch! He must offer unsolicited aid!

So he caves on the Spin-’n-Heave issue because its a way to keep Cassie occupied for the length of exactly this issue.

Scott gives the operator a bunch of money and tells the operator to let Cassie ride until it runs out and then takes off.

Cassie is thrilled.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye has returned to the owner’s trailer but Marcy is gone and so are the two goons that were guarding the door. But he spots them marching Marcy through the crowd.

The goons are complimenting Marcy on being so cooperative but also say that if she’s not cooperative, her star acts are gonna get fed to the lions. And that might happen anyway once everything is said and done because their boss be like that.

Anyway, that’s when the two get hit by a KRAK THUBB arrow. Punch arrow? It looks nerf-y.

Hawkeye grabs Marcy and runs off with her into a tent so she can explain it all.

But first: he has to notice that she is beautiful. He has been gone a while so, y’know. People grow up or whatever.

Hawkeye: “There, that’s better! Now maybe I can get to the bottom of -- hey! You’re beautiful!”

Marcy: “I’ve waited a long time for you to notice that, ol’ buddy.”

Hawkeye: “Yeah, well, it’s hard noticin’ anything when you’re bein’ tripped into a pile of elephant dirt -- which, as I recall, used to be your favorite pastime!”

Marcy: “People change, Clint.”

Young Marcy sounds like a really interesting person. She certainly gave Hawkeye the business.

Anyway, she explains that it was pure luck that she was able to sneak that message out to him. And that the carnival has been taken over by some freak with powers.

Marcy: “Why, if he even suspected I was in touch with you he’d kill me deader than a Monday night in Des Moines!”

Off-screen Villain: “Nicely put, dumplin’! Should make you a dandy little epitaph!”

SCENE CHANGE TO PRESERVE SUSPENSE

Scott Lang has ducked behind some circus carts to change into Ant-Man.

Except he still has the whole shrunken costume piecemeal in his pockets so the process is one of slapstick. Scott goes digging in his pockets for the suit and accidentally drops it all in the straw.

Then he has to go digging around for the incredibly teeny pieces of gear while realizing that this was a stupid plan.

Maybe he should keep the suit in a tin. Like a mint tin or something.

But he finally gets all the pieces together and uses a safety pin to trigger the enlarging gas to full-size the outfit so he can put it on.

Huh! Enlarging gas! Early days in Avengers, they were all about the logistics of the shrinking and growing for Ant-Giant and the Wasp but it hasn’t been talked about in a long while. Wasp just changes size without the how being discussed.

But if it is Pym Particles, then I guess Scott isn’t at the point yet where his body naturally produces them so he has to use the gas canisters on the belt.

Scott does get dressed in his ant duds and uses the helmet to command some ants to find Hawkeye. And this is a carnival with a lot of dropped funnel cake and cotton candy so you know that there’s plenty of ants available.

SCENE CHANGE because we can only preserve suspense so far.

The mysterious off-screen villain hits the lights in the tent that Hawkeye and Marcy were talking in. Which reveals a bunch of gym and training equipment. It’d be nice if carnivals could provide such robust gym benefits to their workers but I feel that this is actually suspicious, finding this here.

Especially the combat flight simulator.

Hawkeye: “This place looks like a training ground for World War III!”

Off-screen villain, about to be onscreen: “And what better setting for the world’s greatest trainer? Namely... the TASKMASTER!”

Heyyy its the Taskmaster!

I forgot that he was a loose thread. He got away after the THREE-PARTER that introduced him. Then again, I guess since he’s the explanation for where villains get their armies of mooks, he didn’t really need to be tied up because that would defeat the purpose.

Anyway, Hawkeye wasn’t on the team for that three-parter but thankfully, the Avengers take thorough records.

Hawkeye: “Yeah, I remember readin’ about you in the Avengers’ files! You’re some sorta goon peddler!”

Taskmaster: “Watch yer mouth, bow-bender! What I am is a teacher!”

And then he recaps his goon, mook, henchman training business for the audience. He even clarifies that his series of secret academies are going great, thanks, but he’s trying to branch out with a mobile recruiting center.

Aka, this circus. And heck, according to Taskmaster, carnies already come off unscrupulous so having a bunch of goons hanging around won’t stand out.

THE PERFECT CRIME.

Actually. I don’t know if this is a crime? It’s not illegal to do combat training or learn how to fly a plane, probably. Then again, when 100% of your alumni wind up arrested for helping steal the Statue of Liberty, a legal goon school would get a lot of unwanted scrutiny. So best keep it secret.

And of course, extorting the owner and workers of a circus is definitely a crime. Pretty sure.

Anyway, the mobile recruiting center scheme is helped by Marcy telling anyone who asks that the new people hanging around are a new act that isn’t ready to open yet.

Hawkeye is sick of Taskmaster’s smarmy smarm and tries to shoot a grabber arrow? at Taskmaster.

Who just blocks it with his shield.

And takes the opportunity to brag about his photographic reflexes, where he only needs to see a sweet move once and he can do it perfectly.

He shows off by doing some Cap moves and then doing a Spider-Man move. Which he seems to do just to do.

And by Spider-Man move I mean hanging upside down from a line. Which, yes, Spider-Man does do that but it doesn’t really seem that necessary or helpful here and you’re totally doing it just to show off but really you look a little ridiculous.

Taskmaster even shows off some Tigra moves by kicking Hawkeye in the face. Its fun to me that he shows off Tigra specifically. Its for some acrobatics like flippy kick but there’s gotta be other acrobatic heroes. Like Spider-Man.

But Tigra was on the Avengers recently and briefly and dammit, he’s gonna show off what he learned!

Anyway, Taskmaster beats up Hawkeye until he gets bored of it and then just takes Marcy hostage to get Hawkeye to surrender.

He just really wanted to show off some of his sweet moves. And as soon as he ran through five different hero movesets (Cap, Spider-Man, Tigra, Daredevil, and Iron Fist) he’s just like ‘k I’m done’.

Meanwhile, back to Ant-Man ant-again.

He’s lurking around a corner trying to be inconspicuous while children are pointing and asking if he’s a clown. Perhaps realizing that he didn’t need to put on the full costume to use the helmet and that he’s just made himself look foolish.

But some of his ants report in that they’ve found Hawkeye so Ant-Man shrinks down to ride an ant into action.

Wait. Yeah. You could have just shrunken down and perched somewhere to wait for ant reports. You’ve made yourself look a fool and you fully had the power to avoid that in so many ways.

Meanwhile back to Hawkeye yet again, Taskmaster knows that killing an Avenger would attract notice so he’s going to make it look like an accident.

So he’s locked Hawkeye in an electrified cage with a lion, a normal situation that can accidentally happen to anyone. So now when Hawkeye gets mauled to death by the lion, nobody will suspect it was anything but an accident.

Taskmaster walks away because its villain tradition that you don’t watch the heroes you lock in the death traps. That’d just be gauche.

The lion sizes up Hawkeye and decides that he’s food and leaps for the kill!

And Ant-Man grows out from under the lion and throws it into the electrified bars, knocking him out.

Pretty good timing Scott! And that poor attempted man-eater lion! That poor five hundred pound lion! WOW SCOTT, do you work out?

I also feel that Republic Serial has aged poorly for more than just lion tossing.

Ant-Man and Hawkeye get each other on the same page. As it happens, Ant-Man actually has more experience with Taskmaster since he was actually in that three-parter. That’ll give them a tiny, tiny, tiny edge.

They’re still stuck in a locked cage and Hawkeye is like ‘gee whiz shrinking hero guy how can we possibly get out?’

Would you be surprised that Ant-Man just shrinks Hawkeye? Scott does muse that he could probably have picked the lock if he had the tools for it but shrinking just saves time.

Hawkeye does not care for it though.

I don’t know what he’s complaining about. Big sleepy cat even bigger now. You could live in the mane at that size.

You could be a tiny man living in a lion’s mane. Imagine.

Anyway.

Over in Taskmaster’s private tent, he’s telling Marcy she done fucked up calling for Hawkeye and she’s going to wish she was getting mauled to death by a lion in an electrified cage like Hawkeye was.

And Hawkeye does the equivalent of clearing his throat and saying ‘hey dingus, not dead’

Taskmaster reaches for a magnesium flare like he used against the Avengers but Ant-Man’s expert knowledge of meeting Taskmaster one time lets him warn Hawkeye who shoots it out of Taskmaster’s hand.

Taskmaster just questions why they didn’t go for a killshot when they had him surprised and then calls a goon squad on the heroes.

Of course, goon squads being called on heroes is just a setup to make heroes look really cool showing their stuff on some expendable targets.

“While the Taskmaster’s troops have been well-trained for normal combat, they fare woefully poor against these super-normal foes!”

And show their stuff they do. Like Hawkeye leaping around firing net and bola arrows!

And Ant-Man... shrinking down really small to punch a guy’s earlobe.

Look. He’s trying.

Also, Marcy is braining people with a juggling pin like some manner of alien clown because she is exceptionally irate at Taskmaster and his goons.

While the three beat up this crowd of goons, Taskmaster runs off to set up his “escape insurance.”

Ant-Man and Hawkeye chase him into the big top where there’s already a crowd watching the show. And waiting for the human cannonball act.

BUT! Taskmaster is apparently a cartoon villain because he’s replaced the human cannonball with a dummy full of explosives and he’s going to shoot it and blow up the grandstand, killing a couple hundred innocent lives.

Taskmaster tells them they can capture him or they can stop his ridiculous scheme.

Taskmaster: “Have fun decidin’, chumps!”

And then presumably he runs off giggling.

Hawkeye wants to go after Taskmaster and have Ant-Man take care of the nothuman cannonball bomb.

Ant-Man: “No, Hawkeye! There are too many lives at stake! And it may take both of us to stop that cannon!”

Hawkeye: “But we can’t just let that psycho walk! We can’t -- .”

Ant-Man: “Hawkeye! Think about it! Think! Please... !”

Hawkeye: “Yeah, I guess you’re right... blast it.”

Scott Lang has his heart in the right place to be a hero even if he is a bit of a goofus about it. I like you, Scott Lang.

Hawkeye runs back into the tent and shoots the goon manning the cannon with a bola arrow. he gets the goon but the goon falls on the button.

Fortunately, its the elevation control, not the fire button.

Unfortunately, there is no firing button, so the firing cycle is automatic.

Fortunately, hitting the elevation control accidentally made the cannon point up instead of at the grandstand. So the bomb is still going to fall and blow everything up but they have time and Ant-Man has an idea.

He has Hawkeye nock his fastest arrow and jumps on it.

Hawkeye shoots the arrow and hits the explosive filled mannequin in the neck right as it reached the top of its trajectory and hung very briefly in the air.

As the bomb starts to plummet, Ant-Man crawls up the arrow onto the bomb-man and to the detonator.

All too soon the bomb hits the ring

but doesn’t detonate.

Ant-Man managed to defuse the bomb!

And he also managed to survive the fall because of course! He’s not destined to die for a long while and only then in a really dumb way.

Thanks to Scott’s experience of watching Raiders of the Lost Ark twenty-seven times he’s a real expert on jumping from one speeding object to another.

Aka, from the falling bomb to a flying ant. Sure.

The heroes see that Taskmaster has escaped while all this was going on but Hawkeye decides he’ll get him next time.

Also? The audience has thought that this was part of the show the whole time so they’ve loved every second of this.

Soon the other Avengers arrive, too late to take part in the plot but in time to help clean up the goon operation.

Also, She-Hulk is in her tattered white dress outfit again. I really think there was some miscommunication here. Like with having her dressed like that on the previous cover and having her dressed like that here in this filler issue.

She doesn’t wear that anymore but its the Iconic outfit for her so if an artist needs a ref to draw her, they’re probably looking at a picture from her Savage She-Hulk series.

And Scott Lang gets the last page because whoops, he left his daughter on a roller coaster the whole time and forgot her in the heat of the adventure. DAD OF THE YEAR!

Scott runs to find her sitting outside the Spin-’n-Heave looking down, head in hands. Scott is worried that something is wrong with her but

Cassie Lang: “I’m a little tired right now, daddy *yawn* but can we come back an’ ride the ‘Spin-’n-Heave’ again t’morrow?”

Scott Lang: “Tomorrow? Again? *sigh* Kids.”

Hah, she tuckered herself out riding the roller coast over and over again but is game to keep doing it again tomorrow. That’s the Cassie Lang that will grow up to join the Young Avengers!

So, Avengers filler but it wasn’t weird or inconsequential. It doesn’t do anything with the ongoing plots but it feels like it does since Scott Lang has come back into the books recently because of the Hank Pym plot. And it follows up on Taskmaster who has gone unaddressed since his introductory stories.

Its just a nice story and by focusing on a guest star and one of the Avengers doing an impromptu team-up it has some fun energy.

Good times.

Hey. Follow @essential-avengers​ maybe? Its better than the Spin-’n-Heave! ... I can’t actually prove that. But also like and reblog this post because I’m a cool person. ... I can’t actually prove that either...

[officialotakudome]

New Post has been published on Otaku Dome | The Latest News In Anime, Manga, Gaming, Tech, and Geek Culture

New Post has been published on https://otakudome.com/wandavision-season-1-review/

WandaVision Season 1 Review

The new era of Marvel Television begins with WandaVision. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Wanda Maximoff has continued her grief stricken life in wake of the death of her lover Vision. With her powers ever growing Wanda takes the small town of Westview hostage to cope in a mind-binding super hero take on classic and modern sitcoms.

WandaVision is a 2021 superhero sitcom, it is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney. It aired exclusively on Disney+. Season one is currently available in its entirety. 

Editor’s Note: Near complete to complete spoilers for WandaVision and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole may be present within this review. 

The next stage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe begins in WandaVision.

WandaVision begins a new era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the first of insanely big budgeted TV series for the Disney+ platform. After the shut down of Marvel Television and incorporating it into Marvel Studios proper many were worried about the future of Marvel properties coming to the small screen. Thankfully while it’s not necessarily on traditional TV the small form Marvel content will continue in even greater heights due to Disney’s push for it’s streaming platform. And WandaVision is already a big part of that move. Acting as an homage to classic sitcoms old and modern WandaVision is a superhero trip that’s for fans of all Marvel content.

WandaVision’s consistent roller-coaster ride story keeps viewers on their toes.

THE GOOD: The series takes place sometime after Endgame. The world is still recovering from the snap reverse & the fact that time has skipped for a majority of the world. Wanda, still grieving over the loss of her lover Vision has lost control of her powers and even some of her sanity. She unknowingly uses her powers to change the small town of Westview into the image of the TV sitcoms she watched with her family as a child. Fearing her power Wanda is investigated by S.W.O.R.D a government agency meant to be the space focused version of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Monica Rambeau has a particular interest in Wanda sympathizing with her after losing her mother to cancer. Believed to be having a waning mental state Wanda changes the world design of Westview based on different eras of TV sitcoms. Wanda is eventually revealed to be mostly sane choosing Westview as her method of coping having lost Vision twice.

As the world design changes so does the storyline Wanda created for the series, including the title, aspect ratio, and cast of characters. Wanda becomes pregnant and soon gives birth to twins. Meanwhile S.W.O.R.D has been sending in agents in an effort to stop Wanda and save the citizens of Westview. But they instantly become apart of Wanda’s Westview upon entering. Even the sympathetic Rambeau becomes a victim of it. The more S.W.O.R.D. intervenes the more erratic Wanda becomes in retaliation. Rambeau eventually regains herself after escaping Westview and returning to real life. 

Vision becomes suspicious of Wanda after strange interactions with his co-workers & neighbors. The twins have also begun aging at an accelerated rate and also gain superpowers. One night Vision finally has enough and questions Wanda only for her “brother” Pedro to appear. This Pedro is in the form of the FOX’s X-Men universe, but Wanda has complete recognition of him. S.W.O.R.D ramps up it’s attack on Westview and Vision finds the exit for the altered Westview. As he attempts to escape the area, Wanda’s powers resists him and he’s nearly erased. When his son feels Vision’s pain Wanda increases the reach of the altered Westview which encases others including Darcy who was helping S.W.O.R.D. 

Vision and Darcy become apart of the rebooted Westview with slight memory loss. Vision recognizes Darcy and they work together to return to Wanda. However, the world is rejecting them causing a multitude of distracts that stop them in their tracks. Eventually regaining their memories Vision flies off to Wanda, leaving Darcy behind. Wanda feels as if she’s losing control of the world and Agatha Harkins who kidnapped the she reveals she was behind all of the chaos. Agatha reveals that she is an actual witch from the Salem trials era and wanted to absorb Wanda’s powers to control the Darkhold an ancient spell book with powerful magic. Agatha also reveals that Wanda holds the title of Scarlet Witch an ancient witch with chaos magic abilities. S.W.O.R.D unveils a man-made version of Vision which was made from the original with intent to be controlled on their command. 

As Agatha threatens the boys in front of Wanda and Vision returns only to be attacked by White Vision. A dual battle ensues between Agatha & Wanda and Vision & White Vision. After a conversation Vision returns White Vision’s memories causing him to abandon S.W.O.R.D. and fly off. Agatha & Wanda’s fight makes it to town where the citizens memories have returned. Begging Wanda to free them she complies only to stop when Vision & the boys begin to disappear. Monica who had returned to the world with her DNA changing her into a superhuman offers to help Wanda. She & the boys along with Vision fight and defeat S.W.O.R.D who were intervening. 

Agatha has released magical runes which has taken over the altered Westview. Just as it appears that Wanda has been defeated she reveals that she tricked Agatha. Taking control of Agatha’s runes Wanda transforms into the Scarlet Witch and defeats Agatha. Instead of killing Agatha she returns her to her fake Westview personality as a hostage planning to use her vast knowledge in the future. 

Head of S.W.O.R.D, Director Hayward is arrested for his actions. Monica and Agent Woo who had been trying to protect Wanda take care of clearing her name as she heads off with her family. As she releases Westview from her control she says goodbye to her family. Monica is visited by a Skrull posing as a human who invites her to the S.H.I.E.L.D station in space. Wanda studies the Darkhold in her Scarlet Witch form and suddenly hears her children crying her name.

WandaVision is a story of overcoming loss and grief.

Initially, WandaVision is rather slow paced, but picks up around episode threeish. As a fan of nearly all of the sitcoms parodied I think the series personally connects with me more than the average viewer. I was able to get all the references and inside jokes, but I can see someone who isn’t particularly a fan of even one of said sitcoms being lost & put off from the direction. Also just wanted to shout that I was shocked a bit seeing the Malcolm in the Middle repping, but happily so as it’s probably my favorite sitcom of all time. This was surprisingly laxed in action compared to previous MCU work. However, given the focus was to establish magic, multiverses, and other key Marvel elements into Phase 4 this is understandable. Though I can see the heavy focus on story & world building being a major turn off for casual MCU fans. In regards to the action, while it was there it’s what you’d expect from a big budgeted Marvel project. However, I must stress that there’s a rather large absence of it.

The twists and turns that start to unfold midway through the series is a fun ride. And WandaVision knows how to have fun with itself. Commercials were used as inside jokes and one even references Hydra. Kathryn Hahn as Agatha also kind of stole the show with her always on energy. She flourishes with the comedic villain character type. The acting as a whole is probably some of the strongest currently in the MCU.

The series features big implications for the future of Marvel Studios.

THE BAD: The series is a slow burn in such a way that you may have to take small breaks. Normally binging would be an advantage here with every episode being available. But even so it can be a turn off until about episode three or four when things really kick into place. There’s also some balancing issues with the storytelling. Like for example there’s a mailman who frequently pops up as if he’s an important character to the show like Agatha, but it goes no where. There’s a handful of times where it felt like the story went there with certain threads. Also viewers should be warned that this is lacking on action compared to previous Marvel efforts. With most of said action being restricted to the final episodes.

WandaVision is a successful first entry into the Disney+ Marvel TV era.

OVERALL THOGHTS: WandaVision isn’t perfect, but it sets up the future of the MCU in a beautiful way. Though there are a few pointless teases and some stories feeling like they were flat out dropped. Despite this, WandaVision (mostly) lives up to it’s hype. Even with some early opening hiccups for the series. Otaku Dome gives WandaVision an 80 out of 100. 

[yelpfic]

4, 5 and 15 for OAR? Also what is your favorite/least favorite part of the fic?

Thanks for asking!

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

I haven’t gotten enough distance yet to be able to reread the whole thing, so this might be a recency effect, but I quite like what Hiruma said to Unsui in the last chapter: “You never minded being a bystander before. Why start now?” (I think this was partially inspired by an earlier comment from SailorFish, so thank you!! if you happen to read this!)

Unsui considers himself a good guy, an altruist. He’s unselfishly dedicated his entire life to someone else. He meditates at the temple. He doesn’t eat meat. 

He patches Musashi up when Agon’s been too rough with him. 

In this line, Hiruma shows it for what it is. Unsui’s devotion to Agon, his enabling, his passivity, is an evil in its own right, and any other goodness he practices doesn’t make up for it. Hiruma letting just a little bit of pain peek through here, uncharacteristically, serves to show Unsui exactly what effect his bystandering has had on Musashi others.

(To be a little too honest, the fic kind of became a venue for me to meddle in the characters’ lives. I think I’ve always wanted to shake Unsui by the shoulders and tell him to stop playing football for crying out loud, stop living in the one world where he’ll never catch up to Agon, and start developing his own strengths and independence instead! So... thanks for putting up with my soapbox, haha.)

5: What part was hardest to write?

For sure the ending. The last scene, to be specific. I had most of the chapter drafted for a long while, but that last bit was like pulling teeth, and it took me so long to finish it!  

Part of it was that I started to get a little over-ambitious with other projects, and couldn’t keep up. 

Part of it was angst about closing out on a project that had started to feel like a huge part of me.

And a major part of it was worry that I wouldn’t be able to wrap up all the plot threads correctly, and find a narratively satisfying finish to the ~themes~ or whatever. That I’d disappoint the readers that I’d dragged through so many months, and so many words, only to leave them something unsatisfying and flat.

I’m still not sure if I got it quite right, but if anyone out there is in the same situation, let me just say: I am glad I put out my best effort, instead of dragging my heels (any more than I already did) trying to make it perfect.

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

Is it too obvious to say: that I was actually capable of writing a fic of this length? Keeping with a long-term project? Consistently putting out chapters (for a loose definition of “consistent”)? I never thought I had it in me before! 

Maybe I’ll mention a couple strategies I learned that helped me get through it all. 

First, that there’s power in omitting things, too. If it’s boring for you to write, it’s probably going to be boring to read. If I found myself dreading a particular scene, I just skipped right over it, and trusted readers to pick up the details. In this way, tried to avoid mundane moments, and boring transitions, and excess exposition. I hope that it worked! 

Second, that things don’t come out perfect, and that’s okay. Write things down, even if it doesn’t sound good in the first draft. There will be plenty of time to revise, but you can’t revise a blank page! And, as I mentioned above, it’s okay to post a chapter even if you don’t think it’s perfect yet. Honestly, if you’re like me, you will probably never think it’s perfect, no matter how much polishing you do.

Also what is your favorite/least favorite part of the fic?

My least favorite parts are both the very beginning and very end T_T. I’ve talked about the last scene already, and how I spent way too long agonizing over it. The beginning, by contrast, I wrote rather hastily, after very little writing practice for the past ~decade, and that wasn’t so hot either. I worry constantly that people won’t be able to make it past the tropey start to the middle, where I’ve finally gotten into my groove. (But I don’t worry enough to go back and rewrite it, apparently!) 

My favorite part, hmm. There are a few Hiruma and Sena scenes that I really treasure, but if I had to limit myself, I’d say the Hiruma and Habashira motorcycle punch-out scene is my favorite. I think this is probably the closest I got to showing what was going on in Hiruma’s head: his frustration with the whole situation, and his inability to take it out on either Sena or Agon (for entirely different reasons). 

But, more than that, the scene really surprised me!  

Some of my best moments came when I took a step back from the intensity of Hiruma and Sena, and asked myself what was going on with everyone else. Multiple times, I was rewarded with entire scenes that just naturally unfolded - from the situation, and from the force of the characters’ personalities. It’s a very different feeling to sitting down and meticulously shaping where you want the plot to go, where you go over it and over it until you’re sick of it. 

Because it all comes at once, it feels more like getting to experience it as a reader, and that’s super fun. Other scenes that happened this way included the Juumonji and Sena runaway scene, the Musashi and Hiruma domestic spat that led to bedroom exile, and the Marco and Maria... also domestic spat, I suppose, during the Hakushuu match. Hope it doesn’t sound too woo-y, but these character moments that happened without much input from me were wonderful, because I actually got to enjoy them too! If writing a story is like running a roller coaster, then these parts felt very much like getting to hop on the cart with my readers and enjoy the ride right alongside them. 

[selenecrawford]

Selene Crawford: The alliance, The truth and The Secret

Warning: not that I can think of except maybe cursing if you see it.

So this one took me a bit to make, I’m grateful for all your feedback, reblog and likes. Welcome to those who like to follow me. And I hope you guys like it. I’m having fun making this in a contradictory way lol. Thanks ^^. Enjoy!

After sometime getting them sited and organized without trying to kill each other Lancelot, Kincaid and the third man only know as Ian started the meeting.

“Thank you for coming today all of you. I know this is not the ideal scenario but we need all your help.” began Kincaid.

“As you may know Miss Selene Crawford is being targeted...”

“Excuse, me but who are you again?” asked Yukimura eyeing the three older men.

“Wait, how is possible that after one attempt you say she is being targeted.” was the next question made by Hideyoshi.

The three old men looked at themselves confused.

“My, our manners are lacking today. My apologies I am Lancelot Edwards this is my associate, Ian McCloud and you already know Detective Angus Kincaid. We are Selene's guardians when she was a minor.” answered Lancelot.

“As for your question young Toyotomi I think there might be a confusion here. Selene had been receiving suspicious letter threats for weeks now. She told us that she had been sometimes feeling followed from the office. Didn't you know that?” responded Lancelot not surprised.

“Oh boy, that girl, why is she always like this?” said Ian rolling his eyes.

“So wait, first of all who you guys are again? Second, she didn't told you anything Oda, Hahaha, that's rich.” said Kenshin.

“I don't want to rub it in Oda, but apparently Princess does not seem to trust you much uh?” Shingen's comment hit right home with Nobunaga, but showing them specially Shingen was not an option.

“You are wrong Mr. Takeda. Selene is not the type to lie. For her the term of “not mention it” does not fall into the category of lying. She must be thought on protecting all of you. And that includes you Akechi. She might be furious that you steal all the staplers on the office but she wanted to protect you from this including you.” said Ian. “That girl always thinking about others before herself.” Ian gave a head shake.

“So it was you after all Mitsuhide?” to accusation on and censorship on Hideyoshi was evident. But Nobunaga shut Hideyoshi's accusations with one look. Then turning to Ian he told him silently to keep talking.

“Selene was adopted by us when she was 15 years old she was a wild card, a spitfire of sorts, she gave us all sorts of headaches back then. Man was a wild girl, heh, heh.” At this point everyone was paying attention to the story. Kincaid took the lead after Ian gave a sight.

“When I found her at the police station she was considered a lost cause. So, we made a deal with the judge and put her one year in juvenile. After that she was release into our custody, and we trained her and gave something for a while...”

“A Home?” asked Sasuke.

“No, we gave her stability. When she lost her family she lost part of herself that day. She never let herself,heal that part, not until you guys came along.”

“I'm sure for you this is inconsequential, but you became the first thing that meant more than being stable. And for that we thank you.”

“OK, sorry to interrupt again but what does this have to do with us?” was Shingen's turn to ask.

“We believe, the person who is targeting her, will go to any length to harm her. We need as much help as possible to protect her.”

“ I appreciate it but I we can handle this alone.” said Nobunaga flat line.

“Then she will die Mr. Oda, Selene does not deserve that.” said Kincaid putting someone of the threats Selene had been receiving during the last few weeks.

Nobunaga took a look at one of the letters. Words wrote in what it seemed to be blood. “Is this...”

“Yes, Mr. Oda is blood. We got this letter when she called us three days ago asking for the snake.”

Mitsuhide just let one eyebrow raise in amusement, but remained silent. All this new information was being useful and he wanted to get as much as possible. So, for the moment he will play nice.

Nobunaga took another letter and examine it. The threads were one sentence and yet, were direct. Hate, and an edge of madness were the most commons feelings he could get. He felt identified with Selene now that he got more information about her past. And yet, a feeling of anger was there. Why she didn't trust them? Why? Putting the information aside , Kincaid laid a file on the table. Inside Nobunaga started looking at pictures and tables with  report progress regarding Selene's training, weapons proficiency, martial arts training, information collection, and the list went on. But it was the last sentence that makes him squint his eyes and look at Lancelot in suspicion.

“Are you sure this is really the extend of her abilities?”

“She will never let you see her in action, Mr. Oda. This part of her is a very contradictory  one. We had many times told her to be proud of what she can do. But she refuses to do so. For her these set of skills, will only bring her isolation and rejection.” was Kincaid's response to Nobunaga's question.

( As you know I have a past...) Nobunaga could remember the conversation they had yesterday. He remembered her eyes, the sentiment was sad and painful. To see her, admitting that she never considered the possibility of embracing her past was new and that he might be helping her lessen her burden with his opinion could help him understand her better.  

“What do we know about this stalker?” Nobunaga wont admit to it he accepted the truce on his own way.

“Very well Mr. Oda this was a wise decisions, we are grateful for all your help. Mr. Takeda?”

Shingen took the backseat to hear what this whole story was about. He knew about the docks and their story. But Selene was the best secret being kept from anyone, including him.

“So she have all this training and she is not using it? Is there is something you haven't told us?”

“She doesn't have one drop of cold blood on those veins. She is smart, beautiful, kind, warmhearted and willing to always help those in need but also she is damaged. Still with all the things that had happened; Selene still choose walk the right path. So we gave her that option. It's a hard path but she didn't want it any other way. She surprised us with that angel she have, anyone who meet her likes her right away. That's why we decided to respect her wishes.  After all is was...a tragedy what happened to her parents, to her.” said Ian with sorrow.

Shingen took this information with caution. Something was odd, and missing. But for the moment he will go with the flow. “So what's next?” he added to continue the ball rolling. As much as he hate it he will help Oda but for selfish reasons. No one will, take him down except him. He have to pay for all his sins but no one will take that right from him. This was Shingen's goal and someday he will get him.

“Selene needs to be protected, she can't be alone. And also the Dragon needs to know. So, since we broke her promise we have to call her and let her know.” was Lancelot turn to talk.

“Her promise?” almost everyone asked at the same time.

“Yes, she made us promised not to tell you, but after what happened yesterday, we took it as a sign to interfere.” with this Lancelot finished ask Nobunaga to make the call.

While the meeting was taking place, Selene and Masamune took their time to know each other. They started playing 20 questions to which their own respective surprise was one hell of roller coaster.

“Wait, a good piece of meat is considered Medium rare, well done is like getting a cardboard with seasoning.” said Masamune astonished to hear Selene's answer to the type of meat she likes.

“Well done is a suitable term for me and I had managed to make it delicious. It is you who is wrong Chef Date.” replied Selene challenging Masamune's comment.

“Really? This is incredible lass, you are a food terrorist. I can't believe this...”

“Me, what? Who is the one who don't drink coffee? I mean it's basically the western version of tea.” now it was Selene's turn to act offended.”You are the food terrorist, not me.” she tried to pout but couldn't help start giggling.

Masamune had to laugh at the sight he had before him. Selene was giggling and relaxed. They were taking their time to know more about each other and see if there could be something more. He admitted the kiss was a bold move on his part. It could had backfire, until she open her mouth and let him conquer her mouth. For the moment he will have to take his time and make his moves carefully. Although, Selene accepted him and admitted she is attracted to him, there is a level of shyness in her. He had noticed her touching her arms sometimes during the morning. Curious about that he shot his next question.

“So, you are like to cuddle or french kiss?” Masamune was delighted with the reaction he got from her. She stop on mid action. Opening and closing her mouth while her eyes started to widened and her face got a beautiful scarlet shade including her neck and ears. Completely off guard Masamune smiled and waited for response.

Selene was caught off guard, oh boy, how can she answer to that question without sounding like an idiot. Of course, the answer will be both, problem is that she doesn't know how to french kiss someone. Which took back to that kiss in the morning, he simply played all her fantasies in one move with that kiss. She almost became a puddle of slime on the floor after that kiss. But letting him know that? No, way, uh,uh. There no way he finds out she is still a virgin, although he will find it sooner or later if he indeed decides to keep being with her. Selene wreck her mind trying to answer that question when she suddenly saw Masamune's grinning like an idiot.

“Hey, why is that face for?” trying to change the subject.

“Well this is my face, kitten and don't change the subject I want to know the answer, come on,” Masamune knew right away she was embarrassed.

“Oh, time out, we need more tea.” with this Selene went to the kitchen to make more tea and started pouring water on the kettle when Masamune entered the kitchen and got closed to her on the kitchen sink. He walk behind and whisper to her ear. “Something wrong kitten?”

Selene turn around to find herself face to face with Masamune. She found herself mute at the look of desire and tenderness with which he was looking at her.  Without losing eye contact, he turned off the faucet and  sit her on the border of the sink. Masamune smiled softly while landing soft kisses on her face including her scar. Selene closed her eyes and let him embrace her while kissing. He was about to kiss her when the cellphone sounded the Imperial March letting him know Nobunaga was calling.

“Saved by the bell I guess?” blinking an eye on her, Masamune went to get the phone and put it on speaker. “How is everything?”

“We finished the meeting, is Selene with you?”

“Yes, she is right here, drinking some tea, why?” Masamune looked at Selene who was still mortified and getting more red by the second.

“Yes, I'm here boss is everything ok?” Selene worked to sound normal but all she could think was on those kisses and his touch.

“Good, I have you on speaker.”

“Same here.” replied Masamune.

“Hey Laddie, how are ya?” Selene heard Ian's voice and she smiled softly.

“Hey, Ian, yes, what is happening?” Selene was surprised to hear him with Nobunaga.

“Ha, nothing much, btw did the Dragon already pop your cherry?”

Before anyone could register what had just happened, Selene bolted as fast as she could to her room and slam the door shut.

@colivara @datemasamunemaiwaifu @elievalentine @unstoppablelinda @jennacat84 @ikesenhell @epicdragonlady @mikamiw @masa-little-kitten @yeshasays @kimi00twin @xathia-89 @la-piperina @notsafefortum-blr @ikemen-obssessed @serenity-writes @louveau