#HE WAS SUPPOSED TO GET A HAPPY ENDING

[vaguely-concerned]

the strength it must have taken for illario to not immediately go full 'lmao since when have you even had a kiss hello lucanis' sibling violence mode during the café talk. inspirational. rook and lucanis really were doing all that right in front of his salad huh

[assiraphales]

bro I’m sick bc ace dying in his arms was luffy’s biggest nightmare but dying in the arms of the person that he loved most / loved him most was probably the kindest Fate (under the circumstances) that he could have been given. luffy, the person he sacrificed himself for and would again and again and again and a million times over if he’d been given the chance bc there was no world he wanted to live in without his little brother alive and breathing, there with him at the end.

[robbyykeene]

It’s just like. We have Robby, the kid who grew up with no one. Whose only friends were two adult men who used him and turned violent the second he pushed back. Who slept on the couch while his addict mother brought home strings of random, strange men over and over again. Whose dad was never there at all. Who got drunk for the first time in his life and was sexually assaulted. And then we have Tory, the girl who watched her dad hurt her mom. Who bragged about needing to fend off creepy men with a spiked bracelet. Whose landlord tried to extort her for sex at 16 years old. Who has been repeatedly sexualized throughout the show. These are the kids who become karate influencers—not because of their skills, not because of any victories or trophies, but because they kissed on live television and people want to objectify them. Because they’re good looking kids and sex sells. That’s their happy ending. Trapped forever in the cycles of violence and abuse that have consumed their entire childhoods. What the fuck.

[happypeachsludgeflower]

A new calamity has arisen from Mount Tonglu a few centuries after Xie Lian’s third ascension and begins to wreak havoc across the coastline. Legends say he lives in the darkest abyss of the ocean, Deep Abyss Crashing Waves has caused tsunamis along any land that touches his borders and drowns anything unfortunate enough to cross into his domain. Eerily similar to another calamity in different waters.

Shi Qingxuan, still in the mortal realm after cultivating for centuries, hears rumors of this calamity and grows concerned for his estranged friend He Xuan. What if the new calamity challenges Black Water for dominance over the waters?? What if He Xuan is in danger?? Shi Qingxuan sets out to check on his once friend, once something more? He knows heaven will surely send someone to get the ghost under control or disperse it. Xie Lian at the very least won’t ignore it, and his husband will go with him. So someone will take care of it, surely.

…but it couldn’t hurt to check? Right??

The closer he gets though, the more… unsettled he is. Something is off. Something… feels wrong. But he is going near a new volatile calamities territory, so that’s fine.

It’s completely fine. Nothing odd here.

He continues on hoping he’ll eventually run into a familiar face though, hoping at some point he’ll recognize a heavenly official descended to answer prayers. It really does feel wrong after all. Surely someone is coming.

But the further he goes, the closer he gets to the shoreline, the more unsettled he feels. There’s something in the air, a connection perhaps, that lingers in the salt brushing against his skin with soft caresses.

Something familiar. Something alien. Something that’s somehow both. Something wrong.

Shi Qingxuan stops at the beach just between the border of Black Water and Deep Abyss and stares out across the rippling surface. The two oceans seemed at war with each other even here, at the place where two waters meet. Shi Qingxuan had been heading for He Xuan, for his friend, but something seems to have drawn him here to a crossroad instead. Shi Qingxuan’s eyes linger on the turbulent murky blue waters of Deep Abyss’s domain.

Something is calling him. Something… familiar.

Shi Qingxuan furrows his brow and stares at the choppy waves lapping at his feet. But wait… when did he get close enough for it to touch him? He doesn’t know. That should be concerning probably, but a foggy sense of detachment has settled over him and he can’t bring himself to care.

He bends down and dips a hand into the divide of waters and watches mesmerized as the water ripples around the intrusion and pools into his palm, glittering as it does like shards of moonlight caught in his caress.

“Qingxuan.” A crooning whisper brushes against Shi Qingxuan’s ear, freezing Shi Qingxuan where he’s knelt. His breath catches. The water trickles out of his hand as tremors pass through him.

That voice. He knows that voice. It can’t be. It can’t— it

“—Ge?” Shi Qingxuan breathes, a choked sound escaping from his lips. He jerks back, stumbling from the waters edge and whirls around. But… nothing. There’s nothing. It’s just an eerily silent beach.

Shi Qingxuan rubs at his chest, heart pounding. There’s nothing. He’s not here. Shi Wudu isn’t here. Shi Wudu died hundreds of years ago.

Shi Qingxuan buries his face in his hands and takes a deep, shaky breath. It’s just the new calamity, the new Ghost King, getting to him. Deep Abyss is just playing with his head.

A hand slides slowly along Shi Qingxuan’s shoulder blades, freezing him in place once more, and wraps around his chest possessivly, hugging him close. “Qingxuan,” the voice murmurs in a lilting tone. “You came. Good,” it says, “I can save you now.”

A chill rolls down Shi Qingxuan’s spine. The voice is wrong. “…Ge?” he whispers with a tremor.

A ghostly pale hand reaches up and caresses his cheek. “Qingxuan can be saved now. He can come home. He can be safe. You’ll come home, won’t you Qingxuan?”

Shi Qingxuan shudders. “Da-ge?” he chokes out. “Da-ge, what?”

“You’ll come home with gege, won’t you Qingxuan??” his brothers voice whispers. “I can keep you safe there.” The ghost king tugs Shi Qingxuan backwards towards the water. “You’ll come home with gege? Won’t you?” It doesn’t sound like a question.

It sounds wrong. He sounds wrong. Shi Wudu sounds wrong. Shi Qingxuan struggles against the hold the calamity has on him, but that only makes Deep Abyss tighten his grip. The ghost sounds like his brother, but it doesn’t. His brother doesn’t sound like that. He doesn’t sound wrong. Something is wrong.

“Da-ge let me go,” Shi Qingxuan demands a shaky, distressed laugh spilling from him as he pulls against his brother’s iron grip. “Da-ge,” he gasp as pain pricks his side. Shi Qingxuan shudders as a clawed hand digs into his skin, gouging the flesh in its hold. “Da-ge please,” he begs, between quick, shuttered breaths, “You’re hurting me.”

“Be good Qingxuan,” the calamity rasps against his cheek, “We’re going home now.”

Cold water splashes against Shi Qingxuan legs as he’s dragged into the ocean. He struggles, fingers trembling as he tries to tear his brother’s fingers from his flesh. “Da-ge, da-ge.” He yanks at the bloodied claws and kicks back against what he thinks is his brother’s shin. “That’s not home. It’s not home.”

The arms encasing him tighten like a manacle to a prison wall, crushing him against his brother’s chest. “Da-ge, let me go,” he pleads.

“No.”

The water’s deeper now, coming to his waist, angrily dragging icy daggers into his sides, tugging at his robes, yanking him further and further into its depths. Shi Qingxuan jerks in his brother’s hold, stumbling backwards, and shoves his elbow back into the ghosts stomach channeling as much qi as he can muster. “No, no, no,” he shudders out a panicked cry, thrashing in his chains. Water cuts into his chest and clawing higher and higher towards his neck. “Let me go,” he begs, eyes wild as he fights against his brother’s fists, reaching towards the shoreline. “Da-ge.”

The ghost king growls and tightens his grip. “We’re going home,” he snarls, “Where you’ll be safe.”

Water tears at Shi Qingxuan’s throat, ripping at his cheeks, kissing at his trembling lips. A mouthful of salt water is inhaled on his next breath and Shi Qingxuan chokes as he spits it out, hacking and spluttering.

“HE-XIONG,” he shrieks coughing and writhing against his prison as the inky water envelops him completely, locking him in its merciless grave.

Part 2, pending

[creativitysloyalservant]

i have decided to break my lack of original posting on this blog to bring you my Thoughts on Rot in Paradise. because i played it as soon as i got up this morning and i have scoured for some opinions after finishing it, and now i have my own!!

(and also i posted this on twitter but twitter has such a Shit wordcount that i'm also posting my things here with More Detail)

so! spoilers under the cut, please go and play the game if you haven't. it takes literally an hour (it only took nearly 2 hours for me because i like voice acting by myself and exploring every nook and cranny) and it's also free. so maybe come back into the tag once you're done.

okay, so i noticed quite a number of people being confused and disappointed on the lack of an explanation for the monster. it's brought up in the story as the central thing driving the plot, but it's never explained on what "she" is, why she's compelling people to eat a ton of fish-related food or hell, metal, and why this doesn't impact June at all.

but you know what I think?

i think that that's the point. the focus of rot in paradise isn't supposed to be on the monster.

yeah, it's the thing that pushes the plot along besides June and the gang going on vacation in this island. it's what's causing that uneasiness from the moment that guy grabs June's arm at the drinks, to the sheer unnerving feeling of witnessing people going to the ocean to get Raptured basically. i know i personally felt a chill when i saw that one dude literally eating chains and the other hauling an anchor, as if they're trying to make themselves heavier so they get taken by whatever She is.

but that's not the main point! the main conflict is about June and her friends.

as people have pointed out, this game is about toxic friendships and relationships! it's foreshadowed in the conversation that June has with the gang about her cousin (which i will also get into), and it carries it through the way her friends are horribly warped by this ocean Creature. June goes on a silly little vacation trip with her friends only for them to become so so different from themselves that they lash out at her and even hit her in McCoy's case.

but she still sticks it out with them. through the whole game, even despite their verbal abuse, despite being slapped, despite them being people that she can hardly recognise. she stays with them for the whole game, up until the point where you are given the two options at the very end. and she could still stay with them.

because they're still her friends. she cares about them even if they still hurt her. from the way June still tells Carmen to tell June if she needs anything after Carmen literally tells her to shut up and leave, the way June worries about Vonnie eating seafood even though she continues to stuff herself despite being implied to either hate or make an active choice to not eat seafood, to the way June still trudges out to sea screaming for McCoy to come back to the shore as he wades further in even after he slapped her until her nose bled.

it mirrors the conversation about her cousin, the reason for why June was looking forward to the vacation. that while she did comfort her cousin through all of it, June clearly says that "they were dickheads, and she should have ditched them a long time ago".

but it's funny, isn't it? that June, an outsider to her cousin's friend group, easily sees the pain that her cousin's friends are causing her, and immediately calls it as it is. that her cousin should have left the second they hurt her.

and yet now, when her friends hurt her, even though this was a quick and sudden change that happened in a span of three days, June still sticks around. her friends are dickheads right now, and we can see that in the way they interact with June, but she still stays.

because they're her friends. and how could she just leave them like this if it's something that's causing them to be this way?

so no, i don't think the monster is supposed to be the main picture. we don't need to know what it looks like, or why it needs to do this to the islanders, or how it's even doing it in the first place. it adds to the scariness of the game, as per the Spooktober Game Jam, sure, but that's not the point. might be a bit disappointing to some, but that's not the point.

the point is about June, and the choice that she needs to make at the end of the game.

it's a choice on whether she chooses to be pulled deeper into the tides and be with the friends who hurt her and will continue to hurt her in this way,

or to leave them to their fates, whether deserved or not, and resurface to a world where she's alone without her friends.

and even though the first choice hurts much more in the long run, doesn't the second hurt even more in the moment? knowing that you're alone at the end of all of this?

even if it is the right choice, i'm sure the pain must be unbearable in the moment.

[cankersoregirl]

I was afraid I’d lose him. So I got there late. And… as I entered, I saw him about to take pictures by himself. The first thing that I felt was… I wanted to hug him. No matter how bad I was to him, he’s still there for me. Every time that I’ve fallen or torn apart, he always runs up to me. He’ll come running and hug me. The same goes for this time, where he shows up. Am I happy? I’m really delighted. I really am. I’d like to thank Save for always being by my side till this very day.

DMD Friendship the Reality: It Takes Two EP. 5

[its-elvie-innit]

Kpop demon hunters is SOOOOOO good untillllll the last six scenes. Where did half this stuff come from did the corpo lords come in and fuck your script animators?

[souenkun]

"I wish you could see it, too" got a whole new meaning when it's revealed that takashi has all these precious people he could actually enjoy pretty, interesting sceneries with (even if he didn't get to see them together for some instances), while reiko likely had no one to do that after what had happened with souko 💔

[third-time-charmed]

Dance the Night Away

An HSR smut fic

⚠️Rated E⚠️ ~13.5k words Aventurine/Dr. Ratio | Post-Penacony | Character Study | Top Ratio/Bottom Aventurine | Porn with lots of feelings | Angst and fluff

After Penacony, Aventurine takes on the biggest gamble of his life — his heart, soul, and desires laid out on the table. He only does it because he doesn't expect Ratio to match his wager. But not only does the good doctor match it, he raises the stakes so far beyond what Aventurine could have ever allowed himself to dream of winning.

Preview:

Slowly, he reaches his free hand up, hooking gloved fingers into the chain dangling from the taller man’s neck. Not hard enough to pull, just toying with it, his gaze fixed on it in lieu of meeting those vibrant eyes so closely scrutinizing him.

“What do you want from me, Ratio?” he whispers.

“Nothing short of your honesty,” Ratio replies, equally low and so very soft. “In whatever form that must take. I want for you to be as straightforward with me as you possibly can.”

A wry smile twists its way onto his face, and he feels the mask begin to slip. It doesn’t frighten him as much as he thought it might, though he finds himself squirming uncontrollably under the pressure.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” he begins after a long moment of silence, plunging ahead before he has a chance to second-guess himself any further. “Had a lot of extra time for it after… you know, while I was in recovery.”

He still can’t quite bring himself to mention the Penacony job more directly. They still haven’t really talked about it at all since coming back to Pier Point. He’s not sure if they ever will. If left up to him, of course, it’s water under the bridge at this point. He’d rather not bring it up.

A soft hum of acknowledgment bolsters his resolve, reassures him his audience is listening. His words are poorly thought out and unrehearsed, but he ignores the flicker of embarrassment as he stumbles through.

“Anyway, without getting too deep into all the unpleasant details, I realized that I… I’m not satisfied. With our current arrangement, I mean. And… being forced to come to terms with the reality of my own mortality like that… gave me the motivation I needed to do something about it.”

The gambler shrugs, one eye peeking up from under his blond fringe to gauge the reaction of his solitary listener. He gives the chain in his hand a soft tug, insistent, pointed, but still not quite the blatant request he yearns to make.

Won’t let himself make.

“Not a bad start,” the scholar says as he hesitates. “Three points.”

“Three points?” Aventurine mutters under his breath. “Goddess, Ratio, you’re such a hardass sometimes.”

Ratio ignores him, though there is a twitch in the corner of his mouth. “And your strutting around and posturing?” he asks instead. “Was that part of your plan to… ‘do something’ then?”

“Give me a break here, doc,” the blond huffs out. “I don’t exactly have a ton of experience in this department. I thought that I could… entice you into making the first move so that I wouldn’t have to, but clearly that was a miscalculation on my part.”

They’re so close together now that it’s near driving him to madness. Aventurine has always been very particular about his personal space, and Ratio has never been so deep into his personal space before, and for such a long time. The warmth of the other radiates along his skin and sets his veins alight. His fingers itch to pull.

He wants… more.

“Today… I don’t know. I guess I got fed up with the more delicate approach and decided to try provoking you instead.” He shrugs again, keeping his voice as level and casual as he can, even though he can feel something deep in his core vibrating, begging to reach out and take. “Thought it might help to heat things up a bit, so to speak.”

“Four points again for honesty,” Ratio says, his tone firm like he’s correcting a student during a lecture. “But minus two points for such a blatantly terrible plan of execution. Your hypothesis hinges entirely on the supposition that I, too, am dissatisfied with our current arrangement.”

“And you’re not.” Aventurine’s head drops in defeat, his gaze fixing on his lap as he fights to hold his composure together. This rejection stings a little less than the previous one, but he’s still taken aback by how disappointed he feels.

This is still no less than he had realistically expected. After all, Ratio isn’t entirely correct. He’s mostly been banking on Ratio being at least moderately easy to seduce, not necessarily harboring his own feelings of dissatisfaction. This whole endeavor was from an entirely selfish standpoint.

There is a subtle softness that seeps into the doctor’s voice, one that Aventurine has only heard very rarely. “How could I possibly find myself dissatisfied,” Ratio says slowly, “when you have never once indicated that you were willing or even at all interested in offering more than you already have? To ask more of a man so intensely guarded with his own intentions and desires… How could I possibly do such a thing, in good conscience? And what’s more, I held no evidence to suggest that any of your flirtations were not simply made in jest.”

A pause, a slow inhale, and something between them shatters.

“No, gambler. I made my peace with you some time ago. I made myself satisfied with what I had.”

Aventurine’s hand falls away from the chain, feeling suddenly heavy. His body flops backward, head landing on the armrest with a dull thud, and an empty, humorless chuckle punching out of his gut. Eyes sliding shut in defeat, he breathes a sigh. And yet, he can’t resist one last desperate grasp as he feels the win slipping out of his hands.

“No chance of changing your mind?”

There is no answer, for such a long period that he becomes curious enough to open his eyes and see what sort of expression the doctor is giving him. He expects something close to pity, or a remorseful frown. But what he sees instead is an intense and focused contemplation. As if the man is actually considering the question seriously. It is unanticipated enough that it nearly makes him startle.

“If you would do so,” Ratio says carefully, “you would need to be forthcoming about what exactly it is that you want from me. Stating simply that you are dissatisfied with our current arrangement is far too vague.”

“I don’t know if I can do that, Ratio,” he responds flatly.

“And why ever not?”

Because I’m a greedy selfish fool and I’m afraid of suffocating you.

Because once I start taking I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to stop.

Because I’m not allowed to want things, because everything I’ve ever desired has been withheld, removed, or destroyed and I’m afraid of you ending up the same.

“Because… I don’t really know what I want. I never really… got that far, it’s too nebulous, just…” He stops, licks his lips again, eyes darting to the side as if to check for his escape route. His hand trembles so hard the shivers wrack his entire frame, but his attention catches on the molten gaze that is trained intently on his face.

It catches on the way that gaze dips toward his mouth almost imperceptibly, on the sparks that flicker in its depths, on the way the taller man is leaning slowly closer, chin tilting ever so slightly.

Straightforward. Honest. Sincere.

“I just… want more,” he finishes breathlessly, the words feeling ominous and unfamiliar as they leave his mouth.

“Then why don’t you take it?”

Because I’m not allowed to.

Because I’m afraid.

Because…

“What if… I take too much?”

Tip your hand. Just a little. Just enough that I know I’m not losing everything I have left if I take this bet.

“Should that be the case,” Ratio whispers in reply, “I shall inform you. But I find it highly unlikely.”

They are so very close now, barely a breath of space between them. So much so that the doctor’s velvety baritone vibrates in his chest, thrumming through every one of his bones. There is an undertone to it that Aventurine hadn’t detected before, something… almost ravenous and hopeful that sends sparks running up his spine.

...all in, then.

Before he can overthink it, he relents to the burning greed that urges him to take. Gently — but not hesitant — he shifts forward, closing the scant distance to press his lips to the ones taunting him. It is a chaste gesture, simple and unhurried. Almost tender, but definitely inviting.

Ratio’s response is immediate, returning the gesture in such a way that their lips slot together seamlessly. The firm brush, full of intent and answering want, pulls a soft, quiet gasp from the blond. He pulls back, almost reluctantly, his head starting to spin as their mouths come apart with a sound so delicate it makes him feel weak.

And then Ratio gives a low, thoughtful hum, as if appraising the action with careful consideration. “Much better,” he says, the murmur of it dancing provocatively against the curve of his lip. “Five points.”

(Keep reading here!!)

[wolvertooth]

(X-Men: The Animated Series - The Further Adventures)

made another decoration for my intro👍

[alienfailboy]

do y'all remember when endgame said

"yeah the avengers left Thor to rot and become a alcoholic" ?

like yeah okay???? no?????? you mean to tell me bruce banner sacrificed his own autonomy to save Thor and his people and he didn't check on him ONCE after the death of his brother? after the death of Heimdall?? after the destruction of the refugee ship and desecration of half the universe, that Thor BLAMES HIMSELF FOR???? not bruce, not one avenger? not for FIVE YEARS????

yeah. okay. sounds fake but sure!

[favoritebatfam]

Okay, I can’t be the only one who has a picture in my head of child Bruce being adopted by a fae, and almost stolen.

In my head, Bruce is like 9 or so at the time. I read somewhere that the fae tend to take kids sometimes to raise them or to have them as pets. So I’m imagining this super powerful fae who got attached to a child of like a witch or something, and is raising this kid in this weird in between place between the fae realm and human world.

So the kid probably explores and ends up finding Bruce and befriending him.(Maybe there’s an entrance to that dimension in the cave that becomes the Batcave, and Bruce is exploring.)

So Bruce is unceremoniously adopted by this sort of fae child and it takes a little while for either of their respective adults to notice. The fae notices and is debating whether or not they should take Bruce, but then Alfred notices.

Alfred is British, and the British have so many myths and stories about the fae, so there’s no way Alfred doesn’t become convinced they are about to doom his kid to a life as a slave.(Bonus points if this leads to Alfred having a tiny crisis about being Bruce’s father figure and not wanting to replace his parents)

I’m not 100% sure about the rest of the au, but I can clearly picture in my head the fae kid sitting with Bruce at a table, eating cookies, while Alfred and the Fae being have a ‘conversation’(I’m imagining that thing where character a is oblivious to character b and character c having a full out brawl.) Bruce and the Fae kid eat cookies while their respective guardians duke it out.

Years later, Bruce is asked by the kids about the iron brass knuckles in the cave, covered with something.

[ruvviks]

PLEASE DO NOT TAG AS YOUR OWN OC.

Vincent spends all his life searching for himself, searching for his spot in the world. He lives in the past and what will never be, longing for everything he has missed out on and everything he will never have. It is not until he learns he is dying that he comes to realize he has to live in the present, to enjoy life as it comes.; and despite his confusion, fear, and his regrets, he tries to live the rest of his life to the fullest, knowing very well he is living on borrowed time. OC WEB WEAVE SERIES: VINCENT "V" MAYER.

charles bukowski, pulp // by wiissa0 // loneliness for love; lovelytheband // louise glück, from 'unpainted door' // by biryuza // summer farah, i could die today and live again // tobia photographed by su yang // wake up; run river north // ruhlare // by julykings // lemonade; twin xl // ryan walker photographed by ryan pfluger // mary oliver, from 'marengo' // still not dead; dreamers // by lovelyopalite // by geloy concepcion // lemon drop; raynes // chris abani, ritual is journey // 'die milchstrasse', cover detail // louise glück, averno // i like cars; caroline kole // by cruellesummer // frances molina, o’death

[quibbs126]

My brain has basically fully convinced itself that Megatron is going to die in the Transformers One sequels, specifically in self sacrifice to defeat the Quintessons

It keeps appearing in my brain, it’s basically solidified itself as a concept now

[imflyingfish]

Whump (ish) fic about gorgug using a modified enlarge reduce spell to make himself the size of Riz to make the first family dinner with his parent's family since the thistlesprings adopted gorgug go well. And then after the dinner he starts using the spell more often repeatedly to the point that its ~bad~ for him to combat dysphoria from him being too large. And its an allegory for masking and being trans

[mayashesfly]

An important thing about Vox in Forgotten Radio AU is that Vox has agency.

He chose to forget Alastor. And chose to ensure he'll stay forgetten and never get close to him again by erasing any of his short-term memories about Alastor.

In an ironic twist of most Amnesia Scenarios, the one with Amnesia is the one who's in control. Whilst Alastor has no control over Vox even in this state as he can never make an impact on him that'll stick with enough time because he doesn't have time.

It's impossible for Alastor to become anything more than a fleeting thought to be forgotten the next day for Vox.

And it's frustrating that he can't do anything to control this. To fix this. To mend this.

It was like being stuck in a deadend with no possible way to escape.

However, Vox does slowly slip.

Ever so slowly, he starts to remember more about Alastor beyond the context clues he can collect about Alastor before he eventually forgets him yet again.

The fact that he was a part of the hotel.

The fact that he was the Radio Demon.

The fact that—

Well.... That part eludes him.

But it's certainly strange that Vox started to seem like he was remembering him bit by bit.

Alastor tried not to hope much.

But how he dearly missed the old Vox.

How he dearly missed not feeling this strange ache in his chest whenever he sees Vox forget him yet again instead of feeling the exhilaration his attention gives him.

He could only wish that he can take that back.