#I need her so baaaaaaad

[melodic-haze]

thinking abt sub firefly and how cute she would be !!!! even tho she's a stellaron hunter and could kill you at any moment in her sam form she'd still follow ur every command bc of her massive praise kink she's just like that!! 😓😓😓

☆ — DEMO TRACK: sub!Firefly x dom!Reader

☆ — TYPE: NSFW

☆ — CONTENT WARNINGS: Reader with a dick/strap referred to as such

☆ — NOTES: I FINALLY GOT TO HER OUGGHGHH ANONNNN I DIDN'T FORGET YOU TRUST MEEEE I love Firefly so baaaaaaad

ANOTHER PERSON WHO CAN KILL ME WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT IF SHE WANTED TO 🥰🥰🥰🥰 oh how I do love power differences

God she's so cute despite being absolutely deadly, nobody can fault me for wanting to bully her a lil bit right??? :((((((

Firefly would do anything for you no matter what (or, well, for as long as the script allows it). You could make an off-handed comment about how you wanted this little thing and she'd come up to you w the exact same thing the next day. You could ask her to do something and she would drop whatever she was occupied with just to cater to you

She's sooooo unbelievably eager to please, it's like you could as her to do ANYTHING you asked and she'd eagerly meet your needs.......and that includes less-than-innocent exchanges too 🫶

Oh she'd be so perfect, always desperate to fulfill your every demand and going above and beyond to please you. If she were giving head, she'd tell you that you don't need to make any moves whatsoever bc she'll be happy to do it for you :(((( this sweet sweet girl ily

You consider yourself extremely blessed to witness the sight above you.

After all, it's not every day that someone has a Stellaron Hunter on their lap in pursuit of euphoric release.

So many people were afraid of the entity named SAM and the sea of flames he could bring upon those that needed it per the script that Elio gave him, and yet.. here 'he' was, in much more of a vulnerable state in the form of a lovely lady eager to please.

All you had to do was say it, relay your demands; she would give you the universe if you wanted it all to yourself. But for now?

For now you had settled upon commanding this supposedly feared servant to Destiny's Slave as if she were your own in this little tryst of yours.

(And hell, barring Elio's little group, she may as well be.)

You hear your lover moan, you hear her whimper, you hear her shaky exhales as she bounces on your cock over and over and over. Her pace alternates between a slow, tantalising grind to a fast, hard ride of desperation—the pace switching at the most perfect times due to a mix of your brilliant direction and the mental notes and drilled habits within Firefly's pretty little head from all the times you've done this erotic form of song and dance.

You can't help but stroke her cheek as she moves on you, can't help but to shift your hand over to toy with her hair lightly as she does her best to please you (and herself). And you just can't help but say those two words--

"Good girl..."

--when she reacts so delightfully: her breath hitches as her hips stutter in movement, though she still continues to move; she lets out a loud moan as her eyes nearly roll to the back of her head and her steadying hands gripped onto your thighs with a sudden increase in force.

She doesn't answer you back vocally but that's alright—she hasn't cum yet without your permission and she was still determined to please you.

She's such a good girl, and she'd do whatever it takes to deserve your praise and your praise alone.

She would take WHATEVER you give her. Soft pampering??? By god she's all OVER IT SING HER UPPP!! A rough pounding? She's durable, she says she can take it :3 Overstimming her until she can't think anymore?? Or maybe even edging her until she wants to go batshit wild but can't bc it's you?????? Go right ahead, she's all yours to play with ✌️

Makes EVERYTHING worth it for her, when you constantly praise her for allllll the good things she's done. Tell her that she's been so good to you, tell her that she's the sweetest girl ever, tell her you wouldn't have anyone else to tend to and be tended to, tell her that you love every bit of her and go into detail❗️❗️❗️ She'd go HILARIOUSLY red, both from sheer embarrassment and from the hot manifestation of her lust pooling in between her thighs

All you need is to say that she's fully and utterly yours, that you wouldn't have it any other way, and not only will she respond in kind, she'll go above and beyond....in any way you want her to

In short guys I love Firefly I can't wait to roll for her 🥰🥰🥰

[neon-junkie]

Tech would be one of those guys who is down baaaaaaad for his wife. He would worship the ground that you walk on. A Morticia and Gomez kind of love.

He's smug as fuck about you, but not to an overbearing point. Cocky remarks whenever you do something incredible, even if that's simply breathing. "I did not romantically pursue her purely for her ethereal appearance," he'll gloat with a raised brow, and an expression that reads 'duh!'

Always has his hand around your waist when you're out in public, a silent reminder that you're his; yet, Tech isn't worried. He knows your loyalty lies with him, and any fool who attempts to hit on you is only going to be shot down. And on the odd occasion that said person is persistent? Tech can hold his own in a fight, but the stranger doesn't need to worry about him - it's you that'll be throwing the punches.

Those bloody knuckles? Tut tut. "Darling, I told you to ignore him. Idiocy is not a trait of yours, so why bother attempting to stoop to his level?"

At least you'll be getting extra kisses tonight - you know, on top of those kisses that Tech gives you every single night. Bare chest to bare chest as Tech gawks at you. His eyes are sleepy, almost permanent red indents around them from where his goggles sit, but Maker forbid that he shuts his eyes without spending (at least) twenty minutes fawning over you, only for you to greet him in his dreams.

Breakfast in bed, a foot rub, if you need it. "Is there anything else that you require, my dear?" Half of the time, you don't need to ask; Tech knows what you want, what you need. He knows your body language, your facial expressions, the nervous twitch to your fingertips, and how your chest rises and falls in tense situations. Tech is there to catch you before you've even started falling because, whilst his mind and sight is on the task at hand, his heart is focused on you, and silent alarm bells blare in his head whenever you're in the range of trouble.

On those odd occasions that you're not with him, all Tech does is talk about you. If only he had a mute button - hah! his brothers wish he did. Still, talking about you beats his information dumps. At least you're interesting.

Tech is so proud to be with you, "I do not wear this band on my finger for any odd reason." He just wants to show you off to the world. How did he, a clone - not just a clone, but a defective one, a bad member of the batch - manage to pull you? What sort of Gods have blessed him? Who does he need to thank over and over for such a blessing?

Maybe that's why he makes it clear how much he adores you. Maybe that's why he doesn't fight his inner demons at night. You love him, flaws and all, and if anything, you've helped him overcome his insecurities; a receding hairline, lack of social cues, bad sleeping habits, only eats when he feels like he has to, and so on. You viewed him like this - this, in a derogative tone - and saw something in him that he doesn't see in himself.

And for that, Tech worships you. He adores you. He's so proud of you. There isn't a single soul, a being in any galaxy, who is luckier than Tech, purely because he gets to love you, and be loved in return.

[apriciticreveries]

hey Apri! i just wanted to send this via an ask instead of continuing on that original post you made about Asahi because our discussion is getting extremely long (not something i have a problem with it all! just impractical formatting, you know?)

I’ll admit I don’t know how much of a time difference there is between Alien Stage seasons. That’s why I think five to seven years of age difference is feasible for Asahi and Nyx, even if they are related? But they don’t have to be half siblings, of course not. They could be second cousins or something of that sort, with their parents being cousins. Or Asahi could be Nyx’s niece, if that age difference makes more sense, or they could be directly related insofar as father and daughter. Nyx probably graduated at 16-17? so Oryon could have had him have kids in that time frame. Your call, Apri :) hope you’re doing well!

sorry im responding late . . eugh . . i think i went outside right before you asked this . . why does my timing suck so baaaaaaad . . * claws aggressively at walls *

but yep ! i understand ! i was actually scrolling through my posts earlier today, and to be honest, the thread was taking up a lot of space . .

i think the time gap would be . . 7 to 9 years ? that’s just me looking at the age gap between luka and the others though, so im not completely sure too .

though it is probably multiple years since anakt probably needs a lot of time to prepare and practically train and teach each batch of new contestants for the competition !

although the father and daughter connection, to me personally, is the most interesting, i would feel really bad for nyxie : ( . . he’s like cas, practically still a child and already being used for . . that stuff . it’s sad . but i am most interested in this concept . . as . . depressing for nyxie it is . .

i do wonder how nyxie would feel about this, though . . also wonder how he would feel letting asa go or seeing her being taken away by kyuno after being purchased purely on her looks . . speaking of looks, i wonder if oryon would specifically breed nyx and another human to get asa’s appearance .

i think asahi should be one of his earlier litters ? ( if oryon does multiple, which just sucks ) maybe she was even his first child, like cinna to cas . and as a result, they have a smaller age gap of maybe 6 to 8 ?

though im personally completely open to discuss this more, and for you to change any of that ! i really value your opinions, and especially on this since nyxie is yours ! thank you by the way ! i hope your doing equally as well, if not better ! stay safe and healthy !

( random side note : . . what if dian also had a daughter and that daughter meets asahi and they’re the same ages and they become not friends but enemies and— naur . )

[woomycritiques543]

TW: Mentions of Proship, Homophobia, "Cringe" Culture, Racism and Gay Stereotypes.

Just watched the new episode and... holy shit, that was foul!

It was terribly boring, was just used to show how "GOOD OF A PAL!" Blitz was despite the other episodes being canon and- The way homophobia was shown? OH GOD that was awful! Not because it was depicting homophobia or bad parents of gay people, especially as someone who's expericed homophobia in my own family, depicting homophobia as a "bad thing" is good and all-

BUT THIS!? WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS???!

It looks like what a homophobe would draw in the #alt-right section of Twitter! This, the dildos, the man tied up and being forced to marry another gay men who's the "predator" of the group, his homophobic father being "proven right" by how predatory all the gay men he meets are. Again- look at this image and try to tell me directly that "ITS NOT INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA!" Because you cant, you literally fucking cant. This scene, along with most of the mlm rep of Hazbin and Helluva Boss is that fucking (unintentionally) homophobic with how it portays it's messages.

This entire scene, and all the dildo scenes and moments of Chaz just being "the creepy gay!" stereotype from the 90s felt awful to watch... a gay man, in a show with only mainly gay men who are sex predators being forced to marry a another man so the "OH SO HEALTHY FOR HIM AND ROMANTIC WOMAN" can save him from "the big scawy sex filled mlm!" and is shown as the hero despite letting him be abused and sexually harassed by his boss. This scene directly- directly made me feel insulted as someone who's bisexual. It felt like I was having "LOL UR HOMOSEX SO UR MOSTLY IN IT FOR THE SEX!" shoved in my face like the homophobes did back in fucking elementary school. It felt like I was being bullied as a gay person just by looking at it. Especially knowing of just how many biphobes are going to see this terrible episode and point to their freinds and be like "SEE? SEE?! ITS BETTER FOR BISEXUALS TO BE WITH A WOMAN MLM (OR WLW in the pilot so far) BISEXUALS BAAAAAAAD BECAUSE MEN WHO ARE WITH MEN END UP BEING PREDATORS MEN WITH WAMAN IS BETTER BECAUSE GIRLS TAME MEN LMAO!" and use it as proof of how "bad!" the mlm bisexuals are.

This is actually one of the worst scenes in the entire series.

This entire scerario, Moxxie's father only being proven "right" because ALL THE GAY MEN IN THIS SHOW ARE SHOWN TO BE "sexual degenerates" and are only "understandable people with morality" if they're with a woman while wlw is only shown as eyecandy. It's either men who are gay are seen as a "fetish" or "predatory abusers" or the women who like mostly or specifically girls are seen as "eyecandy" for the mostly male audience and as a result is validating the homophobes, racists, and ableists in her audience further. So its actually doing the opposite of what was intended for this franchise. It's validating homophobes, not challenging their mindsets to have it's cake and eat it too. They could have easily forced Moxxie to marry a woman (y'know, to show that straight fathers doing this is wrong?! A message we need in this current era of this still happening so much?!) to show how extreme homophobes are and how they see being gay as a "insult to being a man!" but instead they have him surround the marriage with dildos and force him to marry a gay man who's interpreted here as a "sex predator who wont give up his Moksie!" and all.

The fact that they made Chaz a literal 90s stereotype of a gay man here, most gay men in the show being depicted as "predatory" combined with the visuals of dildos everywhere and the only mlm marraige in the show being a forced one-

WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF MESSAGE IS THIS?!

Its no wonder so many fans who defend this show say the word "f^^got!" and "r^tard!" as a insult. This show validates people like that, constantly! Both Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss are used as "evidence" that we are "sex predators!" or that people with autism are "stupid butt monkeys who are slow and wont amount to much! So at the end of the day- no matter how much Helluva Boss fans claim that this show is "really helping the community" (in which if you like the rep, good for you, but the mass amounts of stereotyping doesnt it make it any less damaging for us all as a whole, the facts are the facts, showing homophobia and gay men this way gives homophobes more validation!) there will always be thousands of fans like this (TW: If you find this thread dont go too far there's literal Octavia ^^^^^ in it) fans like this because of how the show presents both lgbtq+, black people, and people with disablities:

If the show had good representation, there wouldn't be thousands upon thousands of the fans in websites like 4chan or K^wifarms. It's really that simple... if not extremely sad. AKA: Helluva Boss Season Two Episode Three is validating literal homophobes, racists, and transphobes. It's doing the complete opposite of what was intended and literally is giving homophobes a safe space. Jesus Christ! Also, Vivziepop likes South Park, a show full of transgender stereotypes and homophobia and is only "progressive" to cover up how awful it is.

So that explains how the episode came out this way.

Also, summary of the South Park Scene: Cringe Culture, same for the scene in HB mocking gay men who like furries, ironically, despite being a show that revolves around furries, just because it was porn that revolved around bronies (how cringe! somehow...) and not furry wolves because "ponies too gay lmao!" apparently. Also, they had the narrative react by having people throw up by seeing it. This entire episode was god awful. Season Two as a whole is god awful...

[egginfroggin]

Tell us more about Zisu in iced tracks sub-au

Honestly, I'm not sure how much else there is to say -- the idea was, in the first place, just a silly little thought to feed one of my favorite Pokemon ships, so it's not that developed. I did do a bit more thinking, though.

I am now incapable of deciding whether Zisu is a queen or a knight, thanks to this tag on this post:

Come to think of it, can someone be both? What happens in all those fairy tales and stories with the princess and the knight and stuff? Is he still a knight after they get married? I have no idea, but either way, she's, uh. She's still terrifying. A knight called a queen is still a knight, I think.

You can take the title off of the knight but you can't take the knight out of the woman.

Zisu took one look at Ingo's bean-pole build and decided that he needed to know physical self-defense. The man is a twig; he needs to know how to throw hands if anything happens to disarm his powers.

(Also, bonding! Love is stored in the over-the-shoulder throws and the in the tight headlocks and the gut punches that aren't blocked)

As mentioned previously, she and Ingo cuddle. A lot. This is great in the summer, because Ingo is very cold, but in the winter? Very cold. Man has perpetually cold feet, and socks can only do so much. There are inevitably complaints.

She is very affectionate! This is just a general thought I have about her, but I like to think that she is very casually affectionate. Slaps people on the back a lot. One-armed hugs. Shoulder pats. Good, suffocating hugs and rib-breaking squeezes.

I'm not sure what Pokemon she has in the AU -- I don't think that I've actually given anyone a full team of six, come to think of it. I'm pretty sure that I want her to have her Honchkrow -- think of it as a very large carrier pigeon if she needs to send a message to anyone -- but I'm not sure what else. I see her with her Zoroark a lot, but her hair also looks quite a bit like her Lopbunny's ears, which could imply a strong bond there, too, so I'm not sure.

Zisu and Emmet... anarchy. Chaos. Sliding down the banisters -- she goes first because he couldn't hold her if she slammed into him on accident. Bringing Duckletts inside. Releasing the Joltik.

Teaming up to drag Ingo into their shenanigans, royal decorum be cursed.

("Oooooooh you wanna freeze the halls and go ice skating with us so bad, yes you do, you wanna do it so baaaaaaad --")

Just having fun. She's not as chaotic as Emmet, but I like to think that she's down for some tomfoolery.

(Yes they get Ingo on the banisters, too)

Thank you for asking! This was fun to answer. Have a good day!

[lyriumheart]

ngl bellara's story quest was baaaaaaad

her entire character kinda gets shafted and the writing is cringe. she even has some of that 'marvel' dialogue ive seen ppl complaining abt (mostly i disagreed on those cases but here...)

and then the final decision is so fucking stupid like yeah! sure! lets consider throwing away all of our heritage just bc some of it is unpleasant!

her quest should have been about her reconciling w her brother having made bad decisions in the past, not this ascian lahabrea wannabe going MUAUAHAHAHA and then dying. along w her brother. who we know nothing abt other than he helped her focus (seriously how many times did she need to reiterate that?!)

its depressing bc the start of her story had promise, her character at the start is pretty strong, then. idk man. it falls apart and becomes a cringefest.

[sadlazzle]

smyths keeps pushing back catty’s release date im going insaaaaaane i need her so baaaaaaad

[syrupspinner]

i defeated Disco Elysium

dont worry i bought it before the za/um buyout

i have nothing but good things to say about this game

HOWEVER

i am weak

okay so it takes a lot of energy out of me to play this game. usually i can sit my white ass down and crank out some solid gameplay for 8 hours straight if you dont stop me, ive got high gaming stamina. i remember (very little of) the time i played Dead Cells for 40 hours straight. i can play DE for like.. an hour and a half tops

i dont really know why! i can play emotionally involved games, i can play text-heavy games, and i can play management games without breaking a sweat. theres just something about this game that drains me

again, i love this game. the setting and the presentation and the dialog and the characters and the mystery and the politics its all perfect, no notes.

but like...

okay so. i wake up. the sweet old lady is really into cryptids, and also casually racist. then i talked to the hardie boys, who all expressed their hatred in me in unique ways, which i deserve because im a cop. then one of them kill me. reload save

then i kill myself. reload save

i talk to the bookstore owner who is making her child work in the cold at dawn. i break into the back of her store, haunted by the ghost of business failures. i backtrack to kims car for a flashlight, mindful not to run as he passively made fun of me for it yesterday. theres an ice cream machine i cant use, an empty polar bear fridge, and a half-finished ARG with a password i dont know. i waste money i dont have on a book about The Pale because im desperate to make this poor bastard no longer reliant on booze

then i talk to fucking measurehead. hes the "racial realist" that speaks in all caps and kept telling me to bring my army to war so he can make my "ham sandwich race" extinct, offhandedly mentioning the importance of The Pale

it is noon

i think i just get overwhelmed. theres so many stats and checks that i need to keep track of that i feel my eyes start to get heavy. again, i cannot stress enough that this is not a complaint i have against the game, this is just be recounting my experience with it

speaking of, my build! heres some screenshots of how i shook out in the endgame

for my stats, i tried to have a more speech-focused build early on, and that was a baaaaaaad idea. i spread myself out too evenly and didnt have a crutch stat so i was just kinda mid at everything, especially since i didnt wanna rely on substances. this is a roleplaying game and MY raphael ambrosius costeau is using his erotic self-asphyxiation induced traumatic brain injury as a fresh start!

i uh. probably shouldve said this earlier but i feel its important to stress that im not making any of this up. these are all real things that happen and exist in this game

anyway, as the final demonstration of my playthrough,

woah this reminds me of high school

beyond that, i dunno what else to say. its *Disco Elysium*, i dont think its possible to make a tumblr account without seeing people sing this games praises. please pirate it so you dont give copyright trolls more money

[varpusvaras]

Elaborating a bit on this because I feel like it.

First of all, Satine is...not very well written in tcw, in my opinion. Also what grates me a lot is how many of her opinions go narratively unchallenged. She as a character and her opinions and views are super interesting, but are not handled with any greater depth. She can say that she is neutral and a pacifist, but is never truly challenged on what it would mean to be those things in the current political climate. She just kinda gets to be one, and the narrative treats it like the most correct opinion, actually, because oooo both sides baaaaaaad.

In reality, she just kinda appears like a non-voter to me. I'm sorry if this is starting to sound like Satine bashing, but it's mostly about how she was written with very broad strokes only. Instead of getting storylines about how she is handling the neutrality diplomatically or showing how the neutral systems are actually doing and how things are done within them politically, economically, socially etc., she gets the role of someone who says both sides bad, so we should not thrive towards anything, let me just sit in the corner here and pretend I am doing something by making this choice.

Then again, that is a choice she should be allowed to make. As a planetary leader, she should be allowed to say that no, we are not part of this in any way. That should be allowed. Just like every other planet should be allowed to say that no, actually, we do not want to be part of any political or governmental system, thank you. But she cannot state that she is doing the right thing compared to everyone else, either.

The Republic and the CIS are both bad, in a sense that neither is the true moral good, but only one side is actually enslaving people, robbing worlds and bombing civilians. There are so many innocent people in the Galaxy that need help, need someone to fight for them, need food and medical supplies and everything else just to survive. Their suffering is not going to suddenly go away if someone tells them "actually, both sides are bad!" and do nothing.

We as an audience of course know that the war is being orchestrated by Sidious and his allies, but in universe, the characters do not, and it doesn't matter to the people suffering anyway. They are still suffering.

So, no. I do not thing Breha, whose husband is regularly in actual mortal danger because he is trying to bring help to the people suffering, would appreciate Satine too much. She would probably respect Satine's base values, as many of them line with Alderaan's, and of course, Breha's own values, but I honestly cannot see them agreeing on how to actually apply those values. I simply cannot see Breha agreeing that just keeping to themselves and not actually trying to help or shape the Galaxy towards a better future is the right thing to do during a Galatic war.

Hmm. I don't think Breha and Satine would've gotten along too well.

[melodylnoelle]

Apartment 302

The Cards Have Spoken - Week 3 (My cards) (A week late, my baaaaaaad)

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe Characters: Steve Rogers, OC Category: Smut - Pregnancy/Breeding Kink Timeline: Post-Avengers 1 Setting: Unspecified safehouse WHOOPS I forgot that while I was writing this so.... uh.... . NYC Apartment Warnings/Notes:  NSFW, Sexual content, Excessive drinking, depression // Smut is not my usual shtick so sorry if this sucks! // We are trying to keep these all to a minimum of 500 words. You can use these same cards for your own story if you like, but please tag me and @brightsun-and-darkmidnight so that we can see what you do! Please enjoy Words: 2677 sorry I can’t do things with no setup I guess Summary: Steve tries to get his mind off the 1940s in an unexpected way. Masterlist

           It had been a long month for Steve. He had put a plane in the water, and woken up in a whole other time. Sure, there were seventy years that passed in that time, but to him, no time at all had passed between falling asleep in the cockpit and waking up in the fake SHIELD hospital. Then, with barely any time to process that, he was informed of aliens and auperheroes, flying aircraft carriers and other technology, Norse gods and magic. And then he had to fight side-by-side with a rag-tag group of people – including one of those gods – to fight another god and a race of flying aliens, all while the United States government he served was trying to blow up the city he called home. In so many ways, being with them had reminded him of the Howling Commandos, and that was an additional sting to the slap in the face this whole new life was.

           He didn’t have his friends, or Peggy. He didn’t even have Bucky anymore to talk about this with. To tell him that he would be okay. He had fallen to his death in Germany not long ago for him, and that absence felt like a void he would never be able to fill.

           As he walked around the streets of New York for the third time that day, he decided he needed to get his mind onto something else, even if it was just for a little while.

           He found a small bar on the end of the street he was walking down. Shrugging to himself, he made for the door and yanked it open.

           It was dimly-lit on the inside. The bar stretched the entire length along the back wall, and there were tables of various sizes scattered over the rest of the room. There was memorabilia covering the walls from different times – some that looked familiar to him, and some that must have been from the time he was asleep. There were barely any customers here at the moment, and the few that were there turned to look at him when he entered.

It was the type of bar that, back in the 40s, would have been filled with military personnel, retired or not. He remembered never having fit in to those places, at least until he took the serum. And then he would spend nights with Bucky and the other Commandos In places like that all the time.

           Now, it felt like this would be one of the only places where he might belong.

           Shaking off the wave of homesickness for the bar where the Commandos were formed in the first place, he made his way to the far end of the bar.

           The bartender walked over almost immediately. “What’re ya havin’?” Her alto voice was surprisingly soft compared to the music, but he heard her just fine.

           “Jameson on the rocks, please.”

           “Strong choice.”

           “Not strong enough, I’m afraid,” he said with a sigh.

           She poured the drink and slid it across the counter to him. “You payin’ now or openin’ a tab?”

           “Tab, please.”

           “You got it.” She left him alone for a moment to tend to another customer at the other end of the bar. She watched as the customer paid and got up to leave, making him the last one left in the bar besides her.

           By the time she returned to offer him food, he had already downed the last of his drink.

           “Someone’s a little troubled.” She held up his glass and the bottle in question. He nodded, and she poured him another glass. “I guess saving the world will do that to you, though.”

           He felt a spike of unease as he took the glass. “You know me?”

           “Well, yea,” she said. Her tone was colored with as much surprise as her expression. “Your face was all over the news.”

           Oh, right. Live television was easier to access now And there was that ‘internet’ thing that people kept talking about. Add that to the list of things he needed to get used to. Word travelled very fast nowadays.

           “Right, of course.” He willed himself to relax.

           Focusing on that brought up all the negative things he was trying to get past right to the forefront. He shook his head. That wouldn’t do.

           He chose to focus on her instead. She was pretty – beautiful, even. Her brunette hair wastied back, the slightest of curls to it. She wore a skin-tight black t-shirt and black pants that offset her very fair skin.

           Her little makeup seemed to somehow highlight the most striking feature of her face – her piercing green eyes, that were still looking him over as he took another drink of his whiskey.

           Whatever she saw there gave her pause, but then something flickered across her face, replaced quickly by a smile. “Hold on, I got somethin’ way stronger than that.” She turned to the other side of the bar, reaching up so that her shirt came up a little. His eyes travelled down beyond that to her very nice ass that her tight pants showed off so well.

           He was discreet about it, at least, raising his eyes as she turned around. He was embarrassed of himself – he was not acting very much like a gentleman in this moment – but he had enough of that left in him to not let her know he was staring. And as long as he focused on her, he could keep the other thoughts out of his head.

           “Here,” she said, pouring a glass of a clear liquid and pulling him from his thoughts again.  “151. Strongest stuff we got. You could start a fire with that, easy.” She teased as she leaned against the counter, handing it to him. “But I think you can handle it.”

           She was right, of course. The world may know his face now, but that doesn’t mean they knew everything. About him, including his inability to get drunk at all. Erskine had told him that, and he had tried when he lost Bucky…

           Right, not focused on that. “Thanks,” he said instead, focusing on the bright red of her nails, and the small section of her hair that came loose from her ponytail and fell in a perfect curl on the side of her face.

           He downed the drink. It burned its way down. But just as he knew it could, he could already feel that this was not going to do anything to him. By the time he was done with three -  which, in fairness, was not long – it had become apparent to him that just being at a bar drinking without even getting frunk was not going to do enough to quell the dark, lonely thoughts in his mind. He sighed, giving up. He would just have to think of something else.

           “I think I’ll cash out my tab now, thank you.” He said as he handed her the glass before she could pour more.

           Her head cocked sideways as she looked at him. “You don’t even look like that stuff touched you.”

           He shrugged. “Can’t get drunk, unfortunately. I could use that right about now.”

           She raised an eyebrow at him. “That so?” She leaned in closer to him, having to bend most of her torso over the table to do so. Steve would have been able to see down her shirt if he allowed himself to look, but he absolutely was not going to look, even though she was the only thing so far to take him mind off things. He didn’t want to get slapped in the dace, and she looked the type to take care of herself.

           Instead, he stared into her eyes as she spoke. Hers were inquisitive, and she wore a wicked grin. “You know, technically the bar closed half an hour ago, so we could just get outta here. If you’re trying to get your mind off somethin’, I have another solution.”

           He had seen that look from a woman before, back in his own time, right before the woman on the base kissed him. Right before Peggy walked up at the wrong moment and saw. He was caught off guard then, but this time he understood.

           He didn’t need the next thing she said to help him see her train of thought, but it confirmed it for him. “My apartment is literally right behind here. If you want.”

           This wasn’t his thing – one night stands, that is. Hell, he’d never had sex before. But he had been staring at her all night, using her as his ticket to keeping a clear mind…

           Maybe this would work. Just a one-time thing. Then he could go back to his normal way of things.

           Problem was, he was awkward with these things. Really awkward. He wouldn’t be surprised if he said the wrong thing, and she laughed and rescinded the invitation. He tried not to think of it.

           Channelling every ounce of charm that Bucky would have been proud of – don’t think about Bucky – he replied. “Is that so?” Mocking her head tilt along with her words. “Then what are we waiting for, doll? Lead the way.”

           She did just that. Having already locked the door, she took him through the kitchen and to the back door. She wasn’t kidding – her apartment was in the next building over, right across the large alleyway. She brought him up three flights of stairs and to a door labelled 302, The entire time, she kept looking back at him, as if she thought he might not follow.

           He still wasn’t completely sure why he was.

           She turned to look at him while she slid the key into the lock. “Well, here we are.” She winked as she turned the key and pushed the door open. “There’s more alcohol if you want to try again, by the way.”

           The thought of endlessly trying that amused him, and he chuckled. “I think I’m good there.” He walked through the doorway as she held it for him.

           She closed the door and turned to face him, slightly leaning on it. “Somethin’ else you’re thirsty for instead?” She took her hair down from its ponytail, letting it fall well past her shoulders.

           He eyed her, allowing her to see his eyes lingering over her body this time. “Well, you could say that.” He was teasing her again. Her voice was deep when she laughed. Was that not the right thing to say?

           She moved quickly toward him then, though, taking his shirt and pulling him closed to her. Her lips crashed against his. He froze for a moment, but let himself give into it. He let his fingers tangle in her hair. His other hand moved down to her waist, pulling her closer.

           Her hands moved down his shirt, undoing the buttons one at a time. He move his mouth down at the same time, kissing along her jawline, down her neck.

           She moaned deliciously in his ear. The whispered, her lips brushing against it as she did. “Bedroom’s this way.”

           She pulled on his now-open shirt, dragging him along as she walked backwards down the short hallway. She returned her lips to his, slipping her tongue into his mouth and letting it tangle with his. At the first door on the right, she turned, pulling him with her.

           She tugged his shirt out from where it was tucked in and slid it off his shoulders, staring down at his bare chest. “Fuck you’re so hot.” She started planting kisses along his chest, moving up to his throat.

           He busied his hands with removing her pants. He grabbed her ass, squeezing it. Another moan passed her lips, making her lift her lips from his neck.

           She responded by undoing his pants. He jumped a little at the unfamiliar feeling of her hand on his cock. Fuck that felt better than he thought it would.

           “Hm, someone is really worked up, huh?” She spun him around and shoved his shoulders, forcing him to sit on the bed. She straddled him, grinding into him through what remained of their clothing. He pulled her face to his, kissing her wildly as they removed the last of their clothing.

            He picked her up then, turning to toss her onto the bed. She let out a gasp and he froze again, half hovered over her. Did I hurt her?

           But she let out a high-pitched giggle, and that eased his mind. He hadn’t had to think about that before – being strong enough to hurt anyone like that. He had never actually considered that with-

           No, he was not going to think about Peggy while he was in bed with someone else. He let his hand roam over her body, He cupped her breast in one hand, playing with it.

           She smiled at him, reaching forward to take his dick in her hand, stroking it. “What are we waitin’ for?” She was teasing him again, a quirked eyebrow over her lust-blown eyes. “I want you inside me.”

           He let out a low moan, almost like a growl. He moved over her, lining himself up with her entrance. She kept her hand there, stroking it and guiding him to where he needed to be. He almost didn’t want her to stop, until he slid inside her wet folds, sheathing himself inside her.

           He lost it then, letting instinct completely take over. He found a rhythm, thrusting in and out of her. She was a mess beneath him, moaning so loudly that he thought someone in the next apartment over ought to have heard that. He realized he couldn’t bring himself to care for politeness in that moment. He just wanted to hear it more.

           He brought his lips to her neck, kissing it furiously. He got what he wanted.

           She had hooked her legs and arms around him, bringing him as close as possible. He let out a moan as that allowed him to get deeper inside of her. His head was swimming with this overwhelming feeling.

           “Please, please come inside me.” She moaned out. “I want you to fuck me like you’re tryin’ to knock me up.”

           Fuck, did he like that. It stirred something in him, which he never would have expected. It made him pump harder, wanting to give her what she wanted. What he wanted. He stared into her eyes as he did, watched her parted mouth as she breathed in heavy breaths.

           Soon after, he was there. “Oh, god, I’m gonna-“ He couldn’t even finish the sentence as he hit his release. He felt himself spill inside her. Her moans rose higher in pitch, until she was coming undone as well.

           She rested her head against the pillows as he pulled himself from her. He allowed himself to lay beside her a moment, staring up at the ceiling. His heart was hammering in his chest.

           “I’ll be right back,” she said after a few moments. “Don’t go anywhere just yet, ‘kay?” She waited for him to nod before she rose, leaving the room. He heard the bathroom door close behind her.

           But alone there, in this unfamiliar place, all the thoughts that he had been avoiding came back. He started thinking of Peggy, if it would have been like this with her. Of how Bucky would be proud that he finally “got some tail,” as he would have said. How the other Commandos would have probably dragged him to a bar and bought a round, cheering to him about it.

           He got his clothes together before really thinking about it, and was dressed and out of the room before she returned.

           He took to walking the streets of New York City for the second time that day. But this time, he tried to think of the girl, about how her face looked when he fucked her. It occurred to him then that he had just had sex with someone and he had never even asked her name.

[leagueofleaguesff]

Laura 8-3 1st Place

Laura is the best team in the league thus far. Staying on top, she has a two game lead over the rest of the league. She hasn't clinched because to many 5-6 teams have a chance at an upset to tie her current record. On the flip side of that...if she wins, she's in. A 9-win record is what it will take for her to keep safe and keep sipping her green tea Frappuccino.

Stephen A Smith: Keep sippin yo tea gurl! You got this (says emphatically)

Demetri 6-5 2nd Place

Demetri is dancing atop of a 4way tie of 6-5 teams that make up the majority of the playoff teams. He has the advantage in the PF column AND has a bye week seeding as of now. Things are looking good for Demetri. Of course with all the 5-6 teams, he'll look to avoid the flip flop of records and rankings with that group. Even if that occurred, his points for keeps him in good standings should he keep it up.

Stephen A Smith: You're damn right I'm dancing and do you know wwwhhhyyy? Huh? Do you wanna know wwwhhhhyyyy? Look at my boys PF mmhmmm. I'm dancing cuz I know he sitting good yall. He's a baaaaaaad maaaaaan!

Professor 6-5 3rd Place

Professor low key has come up the ranks. At 6-5 he is in prime position to take a late season surge to the top. He has done this before. He is relying on wins not points. Sure he could drop all the way to 9th...but he doesn't seem worried.

Stephen A Smith: *Smells his coffee ☕* You read the recap. Been there done that (sassy). Yall can sweat it out....he good though. He got a quite confidence about himself. I like that. Look it ol Professor showing off his skills swag aha!

Johnny 6-5 4th Place

Johnny has success in this league, seems this year is no different. Still, the learing 5-6 group is in the wings ready to pounce. Nothing more than a win or two will satisfy his mind to secure a playoff appearance. His PF is comparable to the rest of the league. Not the best case scenario to be in.

Stephen A Smith: You see my dawg Johnny. Whats new? Nothing. I'm ready while yall deliberate. My boy got this. This ...is....what...he...do.

Matt 6-5 5th Place

Matt has come roaring back after hovering the lower ranks...unusual for his stature. He has the wildcard but is the most at risk in losing seeing he is on the bottom of that winning group with only a win or two separating him from contention.

Stephen A Smith: *Laughing* I mean come on. You mean to tell me...yall let this guy come in this league too and one up yall?! Come on. You gotta give him all the Core 4 leagues? Yall trippin. Keep messing around and see what Matt gon do.

Carla 5-6 6th Place

Carla is in wildcard contention at a sub .500 record. She is on top of the other 4way tie. She is a win away from jumping all the way to 2nd place. How? She has the 2nd most PF in the league!

Stephen A Smith: ✋ Wait. A wildcard team is under .500 And....AND has the 2nd most PF in the league?! What are we doing. We have this much parity that a wildcard, barely that can jump to 2nd with a bye? Ah...I mean...(throws hands up).

OLIVER 5-6 7TH PLACE

Oliver is in the outside looking in. His points for has concern for those teams above (well not Carla) as he too could jump those teams with one win. Similar to his counterpart, Oliver needs to get the majority of wins out of these next 3 games to really secure a spot in the postseason.

Stephen A Smith: I'm mad. This man already eliminated in one league, near the bottom in another, and is barely in a playoff in another Core 4 league (yells) AND YET he got a shot at overtaking bout 4 or 5 of ya? Tell me you're not serious.

Jermaine 8th Place 5-6

Jermaine is in the hunt but has a difficult road ahead. Is PF is the middle of the road so wins are the most crucial commodity to have. It can be done but it will be a brutal battle to get through.

Stephen A Smith: I had to take my glasses off for this one. This is blasphemous! Another 5-6 team? Really? Yall messing with me now.

Ricky 5-6 9th Place

Slick has a chance to be the Darkhorse if all the planets align and God's shine down on him. Even at 5-6 like his fellow league mates, the PF is all the more precious in securing a seed. Not impossible. If anyone could do it, Rick could.

Stephen A Smith: Whaaat?! No now I know yall playin wit me. The league....its gotta be the most competitive just for the pure fact that average record best out the other leagues on a per record basis. But still tho...5-6 9th place you only got one more team....I mean

Taurean 3-8 10th Place

Taurean at 3-8 has a lotto chance at sneaking into the playoffs. At 3-8 he needs all of the 5-6 group to lose out, he has to win the next 3 games, and hope the tie break points go his way. His PF is not that off where it couldn't be done. Hanging on by a string.

Stephen A Smith: We don't care. I mean is it possible sure. But really? Come on. There is no way in hell he gonna make it. No way. No way!

[monsternobility]

looking for dnd campaigns to join on r20 is hard maybe i’m just picky but is it just me or do 90% of the ones that work for me just suck/end up deserted

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here friend and while I would call last night's episode a mixed bag, I definitely thought the good outweighed the bad. Really the only part in the bad category was the L of it all, but there was sooo damn much of it. I know we keep saying how strong the S3 M*ria vibes coming off L are but MY GOD last night really went hard on them. The way her "I don't care I saved someone, I wanted it to look cooler" attitude reminded me of "I don't care if I kill someone, I need to know who to TBC

save in my visions" made me want to break something. In what universe are we supposed to like this character after that?? Ugh, and I won't even touch AR's "why are you guys reducing me to a LI?" comments 🙄. On to the good stuff!! I don't think we've ever seen the Buckley-Diaz family look sooo damn family shaped. And not just for a scene or two, for the whole episode!! Buck just so easily jumps into Dad/husband mode it's ridiculous, and NO ONE questions it (not even his gf). And the heart scene??!! Honestly WTF was that, tell me again KR how am I supposed to interpret that scene? To borrow a very accurate tag, no romantic undertones my whole ass. While I would have liked to see more Buck and Chris scenes, I loved the Diaz boys interactions so I won't complain too much. And then Bobby and Eddie talking?? Madney slowly finding their way back to each other? Unexpected icing on the happiness cake. Finally, pretty sure i've got this week's song 😘.

Bestie, hiiii!!! The good definitely outweighed the bad last night though in what seems to be the running theme of season 5, the good was GOOD, but the bad was BAAAAAAAD. In news that shocks absolutely no one except KR apparently, when it's actually focused on the mains, the show comes back to sparkling life! While every moment with L (and tay kay) sucks that life right back out of the show. 🤷🏻‍♀️

...am I? Am I manifesting season 3 m*ria vibes by mistake?! Is the universe taking me out of context like it did with Buck and the dishwasher?! Seriously this episode was just an RNM season 3 nightmare! Woman complains and pouts about something she has no business complaining or pouting about while being entirely self-centered? Everyone else tripping over themselves to make sure they mention her every time she's not in frame? Make it stooooop!! But seriously, WTF was that?! That was supposed to make her, a supposed veteran of the force who is used to dangerous rescues and should know all about how luck plays into things, look sympathetic? Like, "I couldn't have done this rescue without getting lucky so what does it even matter if someone lived"?! Girl,

Also cackling about her being like, "I'm more than a love interest" while bringing literally nothing to the table besides sticking her tongue in Buck's mouth within 5 minutes of meeting him, and being the one who has been perpetuating this whole "sexual tension" thing this whole time! ANYWAY.

Also, them cutting Chim's "like I never left" after putting it in every promo? Not having Hen and everyone making a big deal about his first shift back?! No elaborate cake of the united states with a little car driving across it?! All so, what? L could have 5 scenes doing nothing? Howard "Chimney" Han deserves SO much better, and so does Kenneth Choi. At least him and Maddie got to be on screen together again which was, as always, so so good.

Every. Single. Moment. with Eddie was stunning, show stopping, amazing, etc. Gavin has always been good but him and Ryan are really taking things to the next level right now and it's a DELIGHT to see. I LOVED the scene with Bobby too, though my small gripe on that was, if we were going to have a big talk this episode, the emotional beat would have hit better if they hadn't told us they had talked beforehand, but not shown it. If they had shown the talk being a bit awkward and Bobby still being cold, then given us Bobby still being there for Eddie, OR not being told that Eddie apologized, and then seeing Bobby still stepping up to help out because "that's what family does, Eddie" would have hit that beat a little more on the head, BUT it was a great scene.

And the Buddie moments?! What kind of fanfiction fever dream was every single Buck and Eddie interaction?! Aside from Buck having to trade favors with his gf so KR can remind the audience she exists, it was NOTHING but romantic undertones. God, not even undertones! I saw someone say that if a guy took them to a horse therapy place to help their son, and help them start healing, they would absolutely assume the guy was in love with them, and they would be in love right back. Like, that is a FAMILY! Just two husbands and their son.

I'm SO excited to see what song you have for this week! I swear, every other SaL song I listen to I'm like "Oh! This is Eddie!" ....*5 minutes later* "Oh! This is Eddie!", but your choices are always on point! I'll let you know if the two that were in particular stuck in my head today happen to be what you pick!

[elriell]

Hi! I was thinking about something. We always attributed that the “touch, smell and taste”, the need trough the bond, to Az. But on the other hand, Elain wanted too. She wanted him to touch her, to put the necklace on her. She wanted him to smell her, by being aroused. And finally, she wanted to taste him too, she wanted to kiss him. I love how their mutual feelings was described in this scene.

Bonjour! Oh how true this is and I am so glad you brought this up, I feel like we need to take a minute to fully appreciate how much Elain Archeron was ready to risk it all to get to touch/taste Azriel. My girl has it baaaaaaad. We love to see her comfortable in her skin, reaching out to get something she wants, it is a good look on her.

Sarah did a phenomenal job of articulating their mutual pinning, lust and ultimately their angst.

When they finally get to be with each other it is going to be full fireworks!

[annetteblog]

This is sort if in response to the fanfic anon. In my humble opinion one should not look to fiction (especially the fantasy driven faire that is most ff) to morally, socially or historically educate people. Fiction can have sociopolitical themes and bring contemporary issues to life, but it is also usually framed and governed by a specific narrative.

Take Jane Austen's works for example. (I, like many people around here, enjoy reading them so that is why I am using them as an example). So, reading Austen, you get swept up in the romance and tension of the narrative. You also get a bit of the reality of social stratification and wealth distribution of the regency era- keeping in mind that servants rarely have much more than one line speaking roles and most heroines (basically, the pov) are landed gentry living in comfortable circumstances and afforded a lot of leisure time in which to fall in love and read poetry. Reading her books, one can easily forget about contemporanious events like the Napoleonic Wars and the persistent horrors of the slave trade. In 'Mansfeild Park', the slave trade is directly mentioned for the first and only time in her canon. The context? The heroine's failed attempt to engage her uncle in conversation (said Uncle owns a plantation in Antigua). Fanny's Uncle, Aunt and cousins- one of whom she will marry by the end of the novel- owe their wealth to slavery. This is acknowledged, and a lot if scholars say that Austen was condemning the existence of slavery in her own subtle way, but then... you just kind of move on. The books continues. The food that is being eaten, the dresses worn, the houses and fripperies, everything material, is there because of the plantation overseas. And yet we are supposed- and most people do- continue on with the story and invest emotionally in the romance of the two romantic leads.

During Austen's lifetime, British ships were involved in transporting enslaved people from the eastern seaboard of Africa to the West Indies and the American South. The horror was profitable to the nation. Of the 74, 000 slaves being transported at the peak, 38, 000 would have travelled on British ships. Though Britain's involvement in the slave trade was abolished in 1807, it was not until 1833 that slavery was made illegal in Britain (32 years before the United States).

The reason I say all this is because even though Austen's works are beloved and considered classics, even though they are said by many to be steeped in a kind of proto feminism, and considered valuable and timeless, they do not portray EVERYTHING- namely the horrifying and the unspeakable- that was going on in their era- even that which affects the main characters. So is this a moral failure? Is this an artistic failure? Many people think not. Some think so. Applying current day social standards to historical works can be a minefield.

Maybe fanfics are a lower rent version of this. In a time when many LGBTQ+ people are being persecuted in parts of the world (and there is no legal protection of the human rights of sexual minorities in Jikook's own country), people still use the narrative of a same sex relationship as escapist fantasy. I can understand where some members of the lgbtq+ community might be unhappy with this. (I am lgbt and ok with it, but that's just a personal, subjective thing). Hopefully, people whose imaginations are captured by Jikook (or anyone else), can parlay that interest and support into educating themselves about the real life plight of lgbtq+people around the world. Having a parasocial or personal investment in the happiness of someone you think might* be a member of a marginalized minority hopefully leads people to read, learn and do more.

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei once said that, 'if anything, art is... about morals, about our beleif in humanity. Without that, there simply is no art.'

Not all creative imput has to explicitly address injustice or politics. Not every lgbtq character has to be politicized. Figuring out what one personally considers to be 'harmless fun' and what may be misguided or hurtful can be very complicated. Listening to people, reading and learning certainly helps.

*Also, fiction is weird. It can be totally morally rotton and come from baaaaaaad people and still have certain objective artistic merits (???). You can read a novel from the pov of a twisted, evil person and find yourself weirdly empathizing. You can go on a journey through the eyes of an anti hero. You can commit crimes. You can explore eroticism that you wouldn't want to explore irl. You can read propaganda and be like 'hmm but it's fun tho'. Fiction is fascinating like that.

I love this. Anon, thank you 💜

___

“Applying current day social standards to historical works can be a minefield.”

A very big yes.

“Hopefully, people whose imaginations are captured by Jikook (or anyone else), can parlay that interest and support into educating themselves about the real life plight of lgbtq+people around the world”

I suppose this is exactly what happens sometimes. I obviously can’t speak on behalf of Koreans and how they perceive it, as well as I don’t fully understand how an average Western person (namely from an English-speaking country) sees them. But observing some Russian-speaking KM spaces I’ve seen people saying that they weren’t really engaged with the problems of LGBTQ+ before or even were low-key homophobic (which feels like a norm for an average person here), but after becoming familiar with KM and immersing themselves into the narrative, they started to see the bigger picture and changed their attitudes. The same works with other fandoms. Yuri on Ice dragged some people not only to the figure skating 😉 Art is really powerful. 

Speaking on the escapism fantasy. I gotta be honest, sometimes I read these very cheesy fluffy unrealistic fics exactly because they are nothing like the reality I see every day. So what? I’m gay and I need some serotonin 😀

P.S. Having the POV of a twisted morally questionable character is amazing, and it works not only in books. Love this. And it’s not like after watching Joker I started killing people (or approving it).

[365days365movies]

March 2, 2021: The Last Unicorn (Review)

I am confused about my feelings.

I’m genuinely not sure how i feel about this one. And I mean that, because it wasn’t bad...no, it wasn’t bad, I did like it. But how actually...WAS this movie? You know what, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re jumping right into it! No run-up, we’re just doing it! I gotta talk this one out, y’know? Recap is here and here if you want a journey through my confusion. OK, here we go below!

Review

Cast and Acting: 7/10

Tammy Grimes is fantastic, as is Christopher Lee and Angela Lansbury as the villains of our story. Alan Arkin isn’t bad either, although he has more iffy moments that sound more staged than the rest. Still, outside of those moments, he’s not bad. And René Auberjonois also deserves a HELL of a lot of credit for his short, yet quite memorable, role as the Skull. As for Mia Farrow and Jeff Bridges...Farrow and Bridges are not voice actors. Sorry, they just...aren’t. I mean, neither is Arkin or Grimes, but they still did very well with the roles they were given. But Farrow and Bridges just aren’t voice actors. They always manage to sound like they’re speaking into a microphone, and not (as disgustingly pretentious as this sounds) mentally inhabiting their characters. Kind of a necessity for a character that you can’t physically become. So, yeah, since these two are main characters, and one of them is THE main character...y’know, it’s a major issue.

Plot and Writing: 7/10

This story is a very simple one, but also feels a little...disjointed and anticlimactic. Y’know, I thought this was going to be a lot harder to figure out what my rating is, but it’s actually easier than I thought. What’s hard is explaining why it’s so low. And it’s mostly just low because it felt like it was going somewhere big and grand and...it just didn’t. Really fell flat for me, in a lot of ways. It just didn’t work that well for me. Peter Beagle, who wrote the original book, also wrote this film, and it shows. I feel like the book was a lot better in terms of plot flow and fleshing out details, and more probably could’ve been added to the film. And yet, it’s still over an hour and a half long! I don’t know if it’s pacing or the story itself, but I do think it needed some more work done on it. Not bad, but not...great.

Directing and Cinematography: 8/10

So, despite the plot and some acting being disappointing, the art mostly wasn’t! Based off of classic medieval tapestries, the animation is pretty solid throughout. Now, yeah, it is stiff at times, but that’s the Rankin-Bass aesthetic, to be honest. I was prepared for that going in. Artistically, everything else here looks pretty goddamn solid, thanks again to Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass for directing, and Hiroyasu Omoto for Cinematography. Great on both counts.

Production and Art Design: 9/10

And outside of the animation, the actual art style of this film is enrapturing. It’s just a great looking movie, and Topcraft really is top craft, lemme say. Although, to be fair...there are some weird artistic choices in this movie, especially for a studio that mostly marketed to children and families. And yeah, I’m talking about the Harpy and the Tree, as their designs are...why? The Tree is comic relief, OK, I get that. But the Harpy is just...weird. Looks nothing like traditional harpies, for one, but the, uh...only human parts on her are just odd. Legitimately not sure why they were there. Answers to that question are very welcome.

Music and Editing: 8/10

The music’s great! I’m actually tempted to put a song from here on my playlist, but I probably won’t. It’s all composed by Jimmy Webb, and much of it is sung by America. It’s also somewhat remembered to this day, and it’s maybe one of the most iconic parts of the film outside of the unicorn itself? So, why not a 10/10? I mean...look, I don’t want to put them on blast here, but Bridges and Farrow are BAAAAAAAD. They really are not good singers, and they make that pretty well-known in their songs. Just saying...that was a mistake. Could we not have given Haggard a heavy metal song, considering who played the character?

78%, and that'll settle my confusion.

Yeah, that seems right to me. I do like this movie, and I know that it’s beloved by some, but...eh, I dunno. Watching this is an adult probably isn’t helping this movie’s quality for me. Who knows? maybe my future kids’ll like it. Then again...

...maybe I’ll show this to them when they’re older. Or maybe not.

Well, after this point, Topcraft would be sold three years later, making this their last straight-up film for Rankin-Bass, and the last one with a studio from the United States. In 1984, they’d work on another major film, right at home in Japan. It was based on the work of a newly popular mangaka, and that mangaka also was the director of this, his second film. That movie was called Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and the mangaka was Hayao Miyazaki.

And I am VERY tempted to make this the next movie...but no. No, this one’ll keep...until May. No, we’re going to progress further into Miyazaki’s career, after he’d bought out Topcraft and renamed it to Studio Ghibli. We’re going 4 years into the future, after Miyazaki’s name was well-established in Japan, and soon-to-be in the United States. Buckle up, people, and grab your broomsticks. We’re headed to Japan!

March 3, 2021: Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)