#I KNEW IT WAS AN S INSTEAD IF A Z

[agendabymooner]

SOMETHING OVERWHELMING !!! MAX V. X FEM!READER (18+)

summary: max wanted her to do a lot of things and he enacted on his goal by overwhelming her.

💌 re:moony's planner request: "overstimulation with max please, like dom!max but body worship ✨."

content warning: smut under the cut (minors dni!), use of explicit language, pwp, overstimulation, squirting, praise kink, dom-ish!max, fingering, oral sex (f receiving), p in v, unprotected sex (wear a glove before making love), i have written ✨fuckall✨

note: mmmm yes my biggest enemy rn— i did not do the body worship part (i made it praise instead 🫶). live laugh love him tho. enjoy xx (also! please don't hesitate to give me your opinion or talk to me!!!)

something sinful (smut) masterlist

a - n masterlist // o - z masterlist

if you’d like to get on one of my taglists, check this post out

his ego was at an all time high. 

but so was her mind. she could’ve sworn that the throbbing she could hear wasn’t adrenaline pumping through her heart but rather her cunt that had been overstimulated by max. 

her tear-stained cheeks were red, her hickey littered neck and collarbones were turning purple from the addictive touch of max’s lips as she squirmed under him. 

he was smiling like a maniac, his fingers curling up against her spongy walls as the speed of his thrusting increased. 

she supposed that being a three-time world champion would do this to a man. not only would his head grow big as he celebrated his victory— his body would also be on fire as he fucked her relentlessly. 

“m- max,” she cried out, her hand trying to push his wrist away as he smacked her insistent fingers slightly. she babbled at the overwhelming feeling that rose in her stomach, “it’s too much!” 

“c’mon, baby,” he murmured, pressing a sweet kiss on her lips as he goaded her into another orgasm, “you’ve got more.”

“n- no! no more,” she replied with a high pitched squeal as her hips rutted against his fingers. “‘s too much! i- hah~ fuck!” 

he chuckled darkly, watching her cunt produce liquid as it trickled out of her. she squirted and whined loudly as the red bull driver smirked.

max tutted, ���see? you’re such a good girl. look at this pretty cunt of yours.” he leaned over and traced over her glistening folds with his tongue, humming at the taste of her. “such a sweet taste, baby. fuck. i could fucking eat you all day.”

“mmm,” she murmured, her hips twitching as max continued to devour her cunt like it’s his last meal. feeling her clit being stimulated once more, she let out a soft whine as she told him incoherently, “m- maxie, ‘m cummin’ again. fuck.” 

it was as if max couldn’t even hear her, getting lost in a trance as he inserted three fingers inside her and fucked her once more. 

he almost moaned at the feeling of her cunt tightening around his thrusting fingers, vibrations sending her to a haywire as she mumbled, “oh- oh!” her mumbling turned into screaming, clutching the sheets under her as pressure built up in her stomach. 

she wasn’t even certain how she got into this predicament. all she knew was that, midway through the season, she promised to be at his mercy when he received his trophy by the end. 

she didn’t think that he would go this route: his hips rutting down the mattress as he sought for friction, his mouth and chin glistening as she came all over his face again and again. 

she was expecting him to deny her of everything— like a king of the world— yet here he was on his stomach like a man starving for pussy.

he growled almost immediately when she tried to push his hand away again, his thrusts were getting faster and deeper as squelching noises filled the room. 

her mewls and the filthy sounds of her cunt and his fingers were the only thing that they both could hear— she almost wanted to die of embarrassment and humiliation.

while he… he fucking loved it. 

he wanted her to cum all over him. he wanted her to scream, to whine and to have her eyes rolling back until she saw nothing but white. he wanted her to cry because she was overstimulated. 

he maneuvered her around until she had her back arched and ass up, easily sliding his cock inside her as she sobbed. his hips snapped against hers while his cock drilled inside her cunt easily, filling her to the brim with his girth and length as she let out a cry of pleasure. 

“fuck, schat,” max groaned from behind her, his eyes peering down to watch his cock slide in and out of her hole. “you are such a good fucking girl to me.” 

she only let out a whimper, her walls clenching around his cock as he continued to praise her, “taking me so well with this pussy of yours. takin’ everything you’re given without complaining— you are such an angel.” 

“mmm…max, ‘m gonna cum again,” she dragged out her last word, her tears staining the sheets as much as her cum did. she mewled, “fuck, maxie! ‘s too much!” 

“keep cumming for me, liefje,” max demanded, the tight grip that his hands had on her hips while he fucked her contrasted with his use of term of endearment, “cum all over my cock.”

he could see his cock with ring her cum all around it as he continued thrusting, giving himself a smile of excitement as she came all over his cock as he demanded. 

“see? you listen then,” max crooned, pulling her up against his chest as he bottomed out inside of her once more. 

she reached her high for the eighth time, her walls stilling around his girth. max tilted her head, kissing her as she moaned softly at the feeling of cumming while his cock remained inside of her. 

“let’s see if we can give you more before i fill this pussy of yours with my cum,” max chuckled, making her squirm and mewl. “can’t wait to see my masterpiece, schatje.” 

♡ moony’s reminder 🅶 (general): @hiraethrhapsody @avaleineandafryingpan @topguncultleader @enhacolor @roseandtulips @woweewoowa @magnummagnussen @happy-nico @architect-2015

♡   moony’s reminder 🅴 (explicit edition): @glitterf1 @savrose129

[bones4thecats]

Hey how are you doing could I request dragon ball z perfect cell , frieza, and cooler with a female alien s/o who is like dementia from villainous, she is his partner in crime who has inhumane strength and is very protective of them

┗ Demencia! S/O; DBZ Villain × F! S/O ┛

Characters: Cell, Frieza, and Cooler A/N: These are all short, but I hope they're good! ⇘ Summary: What they think about having an S/O similar to Demencia from Villainous.

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🔬 When Cell first met you, you were a brand new creation by Dr. Gero. A human mixed with multiple different creatures, though, it was mainly an alien-like lizard he had found a few miles from his laboratory that your DNA was mixed with.

🔬 He enjoyed your rebelliousness, you could care less what people ordered you to do. When that Saiyan, Vegeta, ordered you to stand down, you just laughed and began beating him into the ground, stating;

"I only do what one man orders. And that man is the most perfect being in the entire universe: Cell!"

🔬 You flirtatiousness is also something he likes. He is extremely powerful, so he has no problems beating people into submission. But, to keep it interesting for himself, he likes to flirt back and forth with you, confusing his opponent, and making them slip up.

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🏔️ Frieza didn't really like you at first. It's like a Black Hat and Demencia relationship between you both. You adore him with all your heart while he despises you and wants to tear you to shreds every time you come near him.

🏔️ But, even he has to admit, you are quite the useful tool most of the time. Anytime he would be negotiating with a planet's ruler, you would be standing right behind him, adoring him with sparkling eyes.

🏔️ And, anything he wanted you to do, you would do it without thinking. Let's just say after the first four times of hearing you mutilated someone on your Emperor's orders, everyone, including Cooler and King Cold, became nervous around you.

🏔️ There is a rare time that he does show you gratitude for your actions. And these mostly accumulate as him being there in person to give you things instead of sending some lackey to do it for you.

🏔️ Also, if you guys did enter a relationship, he enjoys taking his tail and holding your hair-tail in his own.

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🧊 Cooler adored you from the very start of your bond. You were always there to push people down a peg when they insulted him. To put it plainly, you didn't stand for any Cooler hate.

🧊 Much like in the previous section, King Cold and Cooler's brother are kind of scared of you. Your temper is not something anybody in the entire Multiverse would want to mess around with.

🧊 One time, instead of insulting Cooler himself, Frieza had insulted you. Right in front of Cooler. Whom he knew was courting you. Yeah, not a smart idea.

🧊 Cooler had Frieza thrown into a wall fast enough that the Emperor couldn't react, and he held a beam above his chest, threatening that if he insulted you one more time, he wouldn't hesitate to end his life, brother by blood or not.

🧊 Meanwhile you had your head in your hands with hearts in your eyes.

🧊 One mentally fucked up couple if I do say so myself.

[rainybubbles]

Which love tropes are COD men ?

Ghost, Gaz, Soap, Price, Alejandro,Rudy, Keegan

(Sorry in advance for my mistakes, English is not my mother tongue. So sorry if it's badly written or if they're OOC. )

G H O S T :

Right person, wrong time

-It was an ordinary encounter, perhaps in a quaint grocery store or a bakery.

-He, a familiar face, gradually wove himself into your routine.

-Initially, only glances were exchanged : your curiosity met with his suspicion.

-But as time flowed, recognition blossomed, evolving into a delicate dance of shared secrets.

-There were playful glances.

-Some to mock this harsh client, some to exchange silent greetings, and at times some to secretly admire one other.

-There were also your doodling on his napkins when you gave him his pastries or pieces of bread.

-At first he remained oblivious, but over time, these doodles found a place in his home.

-Secretly kept in a box.

-It became an intimacy that defied words.

-Slowly the spark between you melted his ice barriers.

-The reason Simon were a regular or even in your country, was a year-long leave- a medical hiatus, owing to a wounded leg.

-Anger and fear consumed him upon hearing this news.

-Work was a means to escape the looming solitude within, it allowed him to not think

-Thus, he stumbled upon your bakery, where the comforting scent of freshly baked cookies invoked nostalgia, but of a sweet, rather than bitter kind.

-It reminded him of his mother.

-One year.

-The realization struck when he noticed your pastries were now baked within the walls of his own

kitchen, and your fragrance clung to his clothes, no longer limited to your bakery.

-At that moment, he made a decision.

-Because he knew he would not settle in here.

-He would not live here or stay here.

-And he knew he could not contact you again.

-And he couldn't bear to ask you to wait for him, knowing he might never return alive.

-So one fateful day when you saw him walking perfectly fine, you understood.

-He was healed. A year had passed.

-You stood so close that your lips nearly brushed against each other.

-On the verge of a kiss, he whispered softly "goodbye" instead of "I love you", as if the fact to not pronounce it could erase your feelings with time.

-Yet, in the years that followed, both of you wondered "what if we had dared that kiss ?".

-Right person, wrong time.

G A Z

Friends to lovers

-You both shared a profound friendship.

-During this friendship, you harbored a silent infatuation for Gaz, but you never acted upon it; it ebbed away gradually.

-It all began on a mundane summer night.

-Conversing upon unassuming plastic chairs, the balmy summer night caressing you, and laughter exchanged, you both reveled in the moment.

-Unexpectedly, Gaz felt a gentle warmth, briefly mistaking it for a passing delight, he didn't grant it much thought.

-Months later, in a dimly lit bar with the 141, Soap regaled the group with his comical misadventure- a disastrous date with a man convinced he was a vampire, who attempted to bite his ear. Amid the laughter, he posed a question, "Who is your ideal date?"

-"Myself," Ghost replied.

-Gaz and Soap chuckled.

-"You're a cocky bastard, L.T,." Soap said.

"Just confident Sergeant."

-"I'll choose Beyoncé or Donald Glover," Soap declared.

-Gaz grinned and was about to select a celebrity too, but he halted himself when your image was the only one that filled his mind.

-He parted his lips and fabricated an excuse before excusing himself for some fresh air.

-Perhaps he was intoxicated.

-Yes.

-Why would he... why would he divulge such feelings when you had been friends for years...

-He contemplated how at ease he was in your presence.

-How you supported him through the darkest days of his PTSD during his leaves.

-How you delved into the intricacies of PTSD, your fervor for your hobbies, and the way your smile etched a subtle crease on your cheek.

-How... how it transcended platonic boundaries.

-He retrieved his phone, prepared to send you a message.

-But fear seized him.

-Then he sighed. He was a soldier, a valiant man, prepared to wage war even in matters of the heart.

-He sent a message.

-And deleted it.

-And sent it once more before locking his phone and returning to the teal ambiance of the bar.

-When he settled back in his seat, Price wore a knowing smirk.

-"It was about time, son," Price smiled."

S O A P :

Unrequited love

-Soap was akin to a radiant sun, drawing people into his orbit effortlessly.

-Gazing upon him unveiled an entire solar system, one that included the 141, his beloved family, and a constellation of friends, all revolving around him like celestial bodies.

- It was as though every shared moment had forged an invisible gravitational pull, igniting a constellation of emotions within your heart.

-The magic lay in the details-how he remembered your favorite song and serenaded you in his car, never allowing his gaze to wander from yours.

- He ensured your seamless integration into the group, an attentive listener in moments when you believed no one else was.

-His smile, an ethereal response to your mere mention, bespoke the devotion he held for you.

-Thoughtful gifts crafted solely for you, tender touches, and sincere compliments on your attire, each detail etched itself into your soul.

-You believed in the possibility, for the very first time, of experiencing love's tender embrace.

-It was a sublime euphoria.

- Then, as suddenly as a meteor strike, reality set in Soap had found love elsewhere.

-At first, bitterness filled your heart.

-You wondered if there was a chance, a missed moment... Yet, he had another partner, then another, and another, and another.

-But never you.

-You recognized your own selfishness.

-In a lifetime of wanting nothing, you yearned for his affection now. Tears welled in your eyes. Then, a text arrived.

-He shared news of a successful date. As you gazed at your reflection in the mirror after reading his message, a smile tinged with tears danced upon your lips.

-You understood that your feelings were your burden to bear, not his. Despite the agony it brought, you genuinely celebrated his happiness.

-With a sigh, you locked your phone, only to feel a gentle hand on your shoulder. "I know, love. Come here," whispered a voice.

-You found Gaz.

-You sobbed in his arms when you recognized his glance.

-His glance was the same as yours: an unrequited love

-"I'm sorry, Gaz."

-"It's okay."

-"I'm sorry, I wish..."

-"Don't finish that sentence," Gaz gently admonished.

-Soap resembled the sun, but you had forgotten that drawing too near to the sun could result in burning.

P R I C E :

First love

-Not his first lover, but unquestionably his first love.

-During high school, Price embodied the quintessential sportsman, often hailed as the golden boy.

-He was orchestrating a fundraising endeavor for the grand ball when a cacophony of voices reached his ears from an empty classroom.

-It was your partner who had left you in the lurch, callously disregarding your feelings.

-Your partner had callously remarked how he was fully aware that you lacked alternative companionship.

-And he took perverse pride in this knowledge, exploiting your social anxiety, knowing you wouldn't dare to present yourself alone at the ball.

-As this asshole exited, you crossed paths with Price.

-You nodded your head in acknowledgment, you extended your assistance upon noticing Price's dedication to decorating the ball. His acceptance was unspoken yet understood. Moments passed.

-"Are we going to ignore the elephant in the room ?" you inquired.

-"Why should we? It was evident he would ditch me. I only asked him because I didn't want to go alone. I... was just hoping that he could endure my presence until the ball."

-"Well, if you seek a partner for the ball, I happen to know a certain sportsman who is kinda handsome " Price joked, clearly referring to himself. Your laughter echoed through the room.

-"Thank you, but there's no need. Just helping with the decorations allows me to feel involved. Besides, I'd likely faint amidst the crowd and festivities," you confessed. Price nodded, his understanding unspoken but profound.

-Yet, every evening after school, he would find you, ostensibly seeking your assistance with the decorations.

-Initially, you took it at face value, only to realize that Price had a deeper motive when he requested your help in crafting delicate paper flowers, while you knew there were already real flowers for the big day.

- It became apparent that Price had orchestrated this ruse to enable you to savor the ball in your own way.

-The bond between you grew stronger.

-Through strokes of paint, collaborative DIY projects, and shared tasks, your afternoons transformed into cherished moments.

-In your final session before the ball, you thanked him.

-Price smiled.

- Then he went to the ball with the girl he promised to go with.

- The night was enchanting.

- However, at the stroke of 2 AM, a gentle rap on your door interrupted your dreams, as Price stood there, asking you to dance in your garden, so you would not faint because of the crowd.

- You laughed and told him it was too dark and you were in pajamas.

- But he just smiled and said he could dance in your room to some Lou Reed vinyl.

-And so, you danced, clad in pajamas, in the intimate confines of your room. A shared kiss sealed the night.

-Your relationship spanned two beautiful years.

-When Price enlisted, he ardently desired to maintain your connection.

-But you didn't want it.

-You knew you couldn't keep a long-distance relationship.

-Thus, you chose to part ways, preserving your shared memories.

-To this day, Price keeps a paper flower, a symbol of your connection, beside a photograph of the 141 on his office desk.

-Whenever "Walk on the Wild Side" graces his ears, a nostalgic smile graces his face.

-Oh, how he yearns for the bygone days.

A L E J A N D R O

Second chance

-In the whirlwind of a bitter and hasty love affair, communication had faltered, leaving you forever in the shadow of Valeria.

-Her name echoed incessantly, revealing the less flattering facets of your character.

- You had never thought of yourself as a jealous person, but this situation had brought forth that dormant emotion.

-The realization that you no longer recognized the person you had become, coupled with the painful understanding that Alejandro's love was not returned as you had wished, led to a painful breakup.

-The break-up was far from clean; it left a trail of emotional wreckage in its wake.

-However, in Las Almas, gossip spread like wildfire.

- Years later, in a new school in Las Almas, fate reunited you with Alejandro.

-He wasted no time in offering a sincere apology the moment he recognized you as the teacher.

-He confessed that during your past relationship, his heart still clung to Valeria, though he had only recently ended that idea.

- He knew he could never return to her, and he had come to accept this truth. You nodded, uncertain of what more there was to say.

-As the days went by, children inquired about Alejandro's work whenever they spotted his gear.

- Uncertain about how to proceed, you took a chance and asked if he could stay.

-A warm smile graced his lips, and slowly, after finishing his patrols or shifts at the base, he began to visit the school to lend you a hand. He always carried sweets in his pocket to spoil the children of Las Almas.

-In this closeness, Alejandro began to discover the remarkable person you were.

-Of course, you had always been extraordinary, but he had never truly taken the time to explore the finer details of your character, to uncover the nuances that made you unique.

-He had admired you before, but now he was certain that he loved you.

-He willingly offered his assistance in preparing your classes, often took charge in the kitchen, and eventually mustered the courage to ask you out on a date.

- Your response was hesitant; you weren't entirely convinced or ready to rekindle the past. He simply smiled and assured you that it didn't matter. He would stay by your side.

-A year later he was still here.

-You eventually agreed to that one date, though you insisted it wouldn't signify much.

-Yet, one date led to two, and then three, and soon, a multitude of shared moments. Alejandro was ready to release his grip on the past, for he saw a brilliant future ahead with you.

R U D Y

Slow burn

-He had always harbored deep affection for you, yet he refrained from taking action due to your existing relationship.

-However, the magnetic chemistry between you two proved impossible to extinguish.

-When you found yourself single once more, he stood by your side to mend your broken heart.

-During your dates with other people, Alejandro would sigh, exclaim, and even wager with Rudy's mom.

-With each passing year, Alejandro's wallet grew emptier as he found himself increasingly indebted to Rudy's mom.

-Rudy was someone who was confident, but he hesitated to initiate, feeling unworthy.

-The trust and friendship you shared were truly precious to him.

-Despite the flirtations, tender touches, whispered endearments, and warm embraces, it seemed both of you were hesitant to immerse yourselves fully in your love for one another.

-Several years after your initial encounters, following a demanding and challenging mission, Rudy reached his breaking point.

- Pulsing with adrenaline and weariness coursing through his muscles, he instinctively made his way to your residence.

- As you opened the door, a radiant smile graced your face.

- "It was about time, Rudy," you remarked.

- And with that, he kissed you passionately, the door slamming shut as your garments gracefully found their way to the floor.

K E E G A N

Neighbor next door

-A flooding breached your common wall, necessitating a decision to share his bathroom with you, given that yours lay in disrepair.

- It marked the beginning of your mutual acquaintance, for you both were individuals who seldom engaged with other neighbors.

-Following this event, the elevator became a stage for exchanged smiles.

- Whenever he spied you struggling with groceries, he would gallantly come to your aid.

- You, in turn, brightened his door with thoughtful notes, a balm to soothe the weariness stemming from his deployments.

-Laughter echoed through the hallways after you collaborated on a playful prank targeting your cantankerous neighbor.

-It was a bond forged without the need for spoken words, a silent understanding that linked you both.

-Gradually, two keys melded into one, opening the door to a new chapter in your shared sanctuary.

_____

I also thought about

Konig : childhood friends to lovers.

And Alejandro : ennemies to lovers.

And Ghost with a fake pretend relationship because of his trust issues, I think it could be one of the way for him to open up slowly and safely in his mind.

If you want more : COD masterlist

My masterlist

[vee-vee-writes]

Haunted Memories and Broken Dreams (slight Vegeta x Saiyan!reader)

Slight AU where Bulma never went to Namek with Krillin and Gohan. Gender Neutral piece so imagine yourself as you please :)

Notes: I wrote this in an hour, it’s late at night so please excuse any grammar or other issues. I just wanted to get it out of my system. It’s what I think someone like Raditz would have to contend with if he’d lived & watched Vegeta destroy Nappa.

It had been a little over a year since the battle against Kakarot. Following Prince Vegeta, you had travelled with him and Nappa to find the Dragon Balls Raditz’s killer had unwittingly informed you of. You’d met the Namekian, Piccolo, who had killed your comrade when a team of Earth fighters had appeared to try and stop you. The Saibamen had made quick work out of one of them and two more had fallen to Nappa. Well the small one Chiaotzu had blown himself up trying to take out Nappa but considering he’d survived the attack it counted as a point to Nappa in your book.

Despite being the weakest of Frieza’s Saiyans now that Raditz was dead, Vegeta had decided it was best to let Nappa blow off some steam. Sidelining you with him had been a mistake and once Kakarot had appeared he’d made short work of Nappa. You’d watched in horror as Nappa, the man who had faithfully served his prince since before Planet Vegeta’s destruction, was destroyed by Vegeta’s dirty fireworks attack. Yet you knew even if you sided with Kakarot now and somehow did defeat Vegeta it was no good. Death was inevitable where Frieza was concerned.

So like always you’d fought alongside Vegeta, barely making out alive in the end. For all your loyalty, the scumbag prince had crawled into his pod and abandoned you to die on this mudball planet. The only reason you weren’t dead was thanks to Kakarot who saw a worthy sparring partner in you. It had taken a month in that godforsaken human hospital before the sensu beans were ready. While Kakarot had been keen to give you a bean, nobody else was. With most of the Z fighters dead and the rest on their way to Namek there was no one to defeat you if you did decide to wreck havoc on the Earth while Goku was gone.

Instead Bulma had compromised, promising Goku that she would have you taken to Capsule Corp where you’d finish the rest of your treatment up. True to her word, you’d been transferred there a few days later. While you were rather grouchy about the backward underdeveloped nature of the technology on this planet, being doted on at Capsule Corp was rather nice. Bulma had taken a shine to you once she’d realised you were mostly bark in your current state and as far as earthlings went you had to admit she wasn’t so bad. Mrs Brief’s had enjoyed having you stay, constantly bringing you baked sweets and fresh beverages. Mr Brief’s even stopped in time to time to chat with you and inquire about Saiyan/Frieza tech. For a low class Saiyan who had spent years under both Frieza and Vegeta’s thumbs it sure was a good life.

But then Vegeta had reappeared, reincarnated and cockier than ever. Walking in with a smug indifference over your survival, he’d relayed to you the situation on Namek and the likelihood that you were the last two (full blooded) Saiyans left. His demeanour screamed that he expected you to once again fall in line behind him and without Kakarot there didn’t seem to be any likelihood of disobeying Vegeta and surviving. With a heavy heart you accepted that no matter what you seemed destined for a life of servitude.

Seeing how Vegeta’s visit had shaken her injured Saiyan guest Bulma had done everything in her power the two of you seperate. The creation of the gravity spaceship(s) for Vegeta and his sudden departure into space had at least kept him off your back. While you were glad to be rid of his mockery and constant demands, a deep bitterness began to fester in his absence.

Vegeta and Nappa had always looked down upon you and Raditz but you had bitten your tongue and followed orders. Even as elite Saiyans, the two of you had not been granted the privilege of being born into high class families. Instead, you and Raditz were lowborn’s who’d gotten lucky. Enslavement under Frieza had heightened these divides and in moments of frustration and anger you both became verbal, and sometimes physical punching bags, for Vegeta. Nappa followed Vegeta’s lead for the most part, though occasionally cut the two of you some slack.

But now all of that suffering felt like it had been for nothing. Frieza was dead, killed by Kakarot or with him in Namek’s explosion and you had not even been present to bear witness. An unfamiliar feeling gnawed at you over Kakarot’s demise. Guilt. The younger Saiyan was the reason you were even alive and yet it seemed your debt would go eternally unpaid. Vegeta had abandoned you to die in an act of self preservation. If you’d even thought of doing the same, running back to Frieza with your tail tucked you would have been killed. But Vegeta was the Prince of all (five) Saiyans, he had lived a life of special privileges that no other Frieza force member was granted.

Raditz, the only other true ally you’d ever had was gone, executed the year prior. All Vegeta had done was mock his death, not a single remorseful word shed over a lifelong ally’s death. Even Nappa was gone, betrayed and destroyed by the very boy he had all but raised after your planets destruction. It all left a bitter taste in your mouth. Behind it all a single being featured.

Resentment and anger bubbled, boiling over to your dreams. Even when Vegeta was absent you were never truly free of him. His acts of vicious contempt raged, pointing out every weakness and flaw. Beaten bloody and on the edge of death you’d awake in a cold sweat, desperately clutching at the sheets as you tried to get your bearings. Earth was full of new experiences and crying was no different. On the days you didn’t wake in a violent start you found tears pooled in your eyes and a wetness on your pillow.You would never know what it meant to be whole, unburdened. You would never know what it meant to be loved by your kin. Most of all, you would never get an apology, even if Vegeta did return. No his overinflated ego was much to big for that and you doubted he’d ever felt anything other than hatred and amusement at others suffering. It seemed you were doomed to a life of haunted memories and broken dreams, Vegeta’s cruelty had tainted your very being.

[vyoleya]

HIII!!!

Your time travel au is SOOOO COOL (I’ve totally not shared it with many friends 😅)

I wanted to ask, where are all the other ninja during this? :3

HI!!! thank you so much im so honored??,? i'm currently typing this on my phone and i just woke up, so im sorry if it's a bit more incomprehensible than usual. also there's a lot more ground to cover so it might be longer 💔

ramble under the cut !!

oh and also here are the other parts of my au

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

after arin left to join ras and World Ending stuff started happening, sora also left the ninja to look for him on her own (then she found out he killed lloyd, yikes)

though the other ninja did try to find arin (mostly lloyd) they were primarily trying to stop the wolf warriors.

(also i came up with most of this before s2p2 came out so ignore how inconsient it is with the show 💔💔 first thing is that I knew that kai wouldn't be gone forever, but had no idea how to bring him back, so he's just kinda... Here for No Reason. let's just say there was a long journey to get him back that i don't wanna make up right now )

SO BASICALLY, once ras started training arin and realized he could be helpful to take over the source dragons, he had kinda started neglecting the other wolf warriors + jordana. and when he did help train them, he was... more unhinged than usual.

jay, escaping the administration, came across this and was like "oh hey, this ras guy seems coo--ohhh no... oh no he doesn't..." (after getting shattered ofc)

jay, being his typical Jay Self, convinced a lot of the other wolf warriors to abandon ras. some of them started following jay instead (jay pls stop starting cults) but jay rejected the offer and spent his time doing various shenanigans, but does still have a handful of their contacts incase he needs any backup!

but that still means that there are now a LOT of free roaming shattered people for the ninja to deal with. (nokt also escaped thanks to jay's tinkering with his shocker, which totally isn't bad at all)

Cinder started leading a good handful, but without wolf masks, a gong, or a strong goal, it mostly became a "how many problems can we cause" group, which the ninja spend a lot of energy on trying to stop.

but then... lloyd died. and let me tell you, the ninja felt it when lloyd died. the main 4's elements are literally tied to his, and they knew that something terrible happened when that energy suddenly became ungrounded. nya also felt it, just because that's her little brother, and she knows what his energy feels like. she knew smth was wrong when it suddenly was missing.

kai and nya, filled with rage, wanted to see what happened, and left wyldfyre with zane. cole went off alone because once arin got lloyds energy and lloyd started impacting the environment, coles powers got REALL funky. (not to mention the whole 'world ending' stuff. coles powers did Not Like That.)

kai and nya eventually stumbled across Z (though they didn't figure out it was him for a while) and witnessed Life protecting him. they instantly started freaking out because holy shit, did this guy trap lloyds spirit and is using him for immortality??? but after (reasonably) attacking, life started interjecting and kept trying to get them to not hurt each other.

"is lloyd.. trying to get us to stop fighting????

(long sigh) ...yeah that sounds like smth he'd do"

despite admiring how protective lloyd was, kai and nya were still VERY angry, and tried to interrogate Z. ("what happened to lloyd" "what did you do to him? " ect) and it made Z break down sobbing "I didn't mean to hurt him I didn't wanna kill him" which made them realize it was arin. yikes.

Z instantly ran away after they tried to comfort him, and kai and nya were at a bit of a loss for a while. not knowing that arin was shattered, they trusted that he was a good enough kid and Probably wouldn't be up to anything evil. i mean, what's the worst that he could do??? it was... probably just a freak accident that got lloyd killed. right?

meanwhile, zane and wyldfyre actually bonded a lot!!! It was rocky at first, but they really started bonding over doing forms together late at night to focus themselves. zane helped to teach her a more balanced way to use her powers (which she DESPISED at first), but it helped her a lot in the long run. i could ramble abt them, but its not as exciting. tldr they're silly and i wanna draw them at some point 💔

anyway. zane was a mess after lloyd died so he basically called an emergency ninja meeting to discuss What To Do. kai and nya shared what they knew about arin, and then they instantly got interrupted by the forbidden five trying to kill them, as they all were freed thanks to nokt. i didn't know of their powers at the time, but i knew they'd be deadly. zane was able to freeze them so that they got a headstart on escaping, but it. Wasn't Great.

the rest of the ninja spent their time hiding. sort of like in hunted, they were mourning lloyd, going from place to place, trying to save as many civilians as possible from the F5. the ninja all knew rising dragon so they had multiple fights with the F5, but weren't able to fully defeat them. jordana was kept as prisoner for a little bit by rox, but the ninja freed her, so yay!!! not traumatizing for her at all!!

meanwhile, jay and Z actually teamed up briefly for their hate over ras and the F5, so Z used his whole immortality thing to his advantage by walking straight up to the F5 and making fun of them as a distraction and getting them riled up so jay could shock them from behind.(think the song 'get jinxed' from arcane) but uhh the F5 were midfight with the ninja during this...so..

"oh hey, is that arin? you said he looked different, i guess that makes sense. it's really lucky he swooped in there, an--HOLY SHIT JAY?"

(they never see jay again)

jay and Z did unfortunately part ways after jay was like "hey you're cool, but honestly, a bit too insane for me to be around. here's my number in case you need anything built tho" which was still nice of him.

Z had also told jay about jay being a ninja, but had also said that the ninjas are a Tiny Bit Lame and they Occasionally Try To Kill Him so jay decided that he'd keep it in mind, but wanted to do his own thing for awhile. jay was planning on talking to the ninjas again, but never got the chance because. the world was kinda destroyed...

anyway, i think that's about it! soon after the F5 were released, ras sped up his efforts to take over the source dragons, which, after being rudely interrupted by Z, destroyed the world, leaving Z as the sole survivor sora escaped just moments before with the reversal blade, and then... yeah. then the post time travel stuff happens that i really need to start talking about.

anyway, thank you so much for the ask!!! i hope this was a satisfactory ramble :) feel free to ask any other questions if you have them!!! sorry for this being so long and i hope some of this is understandable :3

[jazzically]

NEW TMAGP EP LETSGOOOOOOOOOO

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD do uou understand the joy that arose in me upon seeing "scrutiny" and "xxxxerror"

hahaha i bet theyre running out of watching-related words to title their episodes with tma and tmagp combined

SCREAMS

oh i forgot i have homework

whatever this takes priority :333 (whats my work ethic you say? i call it tmagp)

yaaaaaah i knew it sounded familiar ok anyway starting episode

Oh. oh my goodness it's not just any eye statement it's THIS ONE

pardon me but how did i not notice they called him "Archivist" here

UUUUGH time for my monthly fall-apart-over-the-monumentally-intricate-plot-planning-of-s1–s4-tma break

break over back on track sorry i had to savor this moment

LMAO THE VERY FIRST COMMENT BRO

sighhh this theme brings me such joy

S C R U T I N I Z E THIS WRETCHED THING

hahahahahaha the way he said that was perfect

weeks of medical treatment?!

oh yeah it's real-time-ish

OHMYGOSH ARE WE GOING TO GET TO SEE MELANIE??? I AM A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL OF INSANE RIGHT NOW

MY BETTER HALF. just kill me now before i die of dehydration from my own tears

mUsTaRrD gAs i love the transcripts

OOOOOH OOOOOOOOHHHHHH

UNKNOWN!!!!!!!!!! DUDE!!!!!!!! +1 million points for that excellent choice of words

........that hit me like a truck............. this ashe person is a BRILLIANT voice actress

i adore this sort of dystopian social commentary in fictional media. i feel like there is so much more to talk about and explore with the concept of the fear domains and their implications outside of the story

oh this is horrible.

see there's no way one frog spattered over the whole classroom. this sort of subtle exaggeration of personal fears is gorgeous

i love how they get to continue inventing fear domains with this new format in protocol even if jon and martin didnt have time to explore everything aaaand now guest VAs get to read their statements

this hurt. Like in my soul

the sad thing is that crippling insecurity and ceaseless judgment can Absolutely spawn this exact kind of constant negative self-talk. like its barely exaggerated in my opinion. this can be what goes on in my head sometimes. bit personal sorry anyway its just hitting how much realism this domain description has

also how dare they start with toxic family :(

(how dare as in my emotions are getting whooped immediately instead of gradually)

Kids this is your reminder that you are worth more than you think about and the demons in your head are constantly contradicting themselves which means they're wrong

ASHE GOT KILLED??? NOOOOOOOOO I LIKED ASHE

i love how george didnt even bat an eye at sams arrival cause she already knew abt parallel universe shif

whoa vibe switch

They don't have electronics???

HOLY FREAKAFRACK I DIDNT REGISTER I WAS HEARING MELANIES VOICE TILL I WENT BACK TO THE TRANSCRIPT

ohhhhhHHHHMY GOD MELANIE !!!!!!!!! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH HOW HAVE YOU BEEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!! MALENNIEEEEEFHDODBDOFJKDNDKDNDKFKDHDI

shut up stop i actually missed her so much im THRILLED I LOVE GORGEOUE AND MALENIE i meant t type georgie whatever w e (i) are calling them gorgeous and maleficent now

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD WORLDBUILDING IM SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!! i bet alex and jonny had a lot of fun writing this bit. i do imagine it would be difficult to make it sound authentic and not just like an infodump but i think its great

Yet another perfect representation of the dichotomy between human travesty and community

I LOVE YOU MELANIE

[click]

OHHHH YAAAYYYYY MORE MELANIE AND SAM DIALOGUE AAAAAWWUUUGHHHHH please continue talking about the magnus institute™

"dear" aaaauhhhww m omg i go crazy

OH MY GOSH

my bRAIN JUST MELTED.

that is all for today i need to process that hOLy FRICKALICIOUS

[mieczyslawsravenclaw]

Behavioral Tactics - Spencer Reid & Stiles Stilinski

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

•Pairing - Spencer Reid x Reader x Stiles Stilinski

•Rating - 18+, Minors DNI - Smut - NSFW!!!

•Summary/Prompt - Someoneʼs fantasies about having Spencer Reid & Stiles Stilinski at the same time (Why choose, right?) are about to come true, after a little bit of wine and a lot of flirting.

•Warnings/Content - piv unprotected (DONT DO THIS KIDS - AND WITH 2 DIFF DUDES JUST LET IT BE FANTASY AND BE HORNY IN YOUR BRAIN HOLES OKAY) ; A-Z all bases covered bc Iʼm one horny bish ; Reader- focused 3-some if that wasnʼt evident ; Spencer and Stiles are HOT SO JUST BE WARNED OKAY ; Mentions of alcohol, some lil bits of bondage and such thingies, SO MUCH PRAISE, petnames and such IʼM SORRY IʼM CHEESY OKAY

•Word Count - 3.5k

•Authorʼs Note(s) - Yaʼll this is just PURE self indulgence at this point, so if anyoneʼs also into it, cool cool cool - I pretty much imagine reader to be Stiles' age and they're in their mid-to-late 20's with Spence around 16 years their senior but you can imagine it however you want! // ALSO TYSM FOR ALL THE NOTES ON MY FIRST FEW WRITING BLURBS OMF YAʼLL MAKE MY DAY I SWEARRRRR

•Additional Tags - Switch!Reader but mostly Sub!Reader, Switch!Spencer, Dom!Stiles, Slightly Tipsy Wine Night Turns Into PURE FILTH, Consent AS ALWAYS Is Important, Brat!Reader fr fr, Boys Whimpering I JUST 🤌🏻

Spencer wasnʼt usually one to drink, but this was a special occasion, he says - the three of us werenʼt able to see one another often, and so a second half-empty wine glass was currently in his hand, in danger of being spilled as Stiles finishes his story and makes the older man laugh so hard his face goes red.

“You told him you would what?ˮ He crows, eyebrows raised.

“I said it once, Iʼm not saying it again.ˮ Stiles shakes his head, reaching for the wine bottle Iʼve currently got clutched to my side. “Hey, refill me, why donʼt you?ˮ

I shake my head; Iʼm feeling fuzzy and light, and enjoying the game of keep-away far too much at the moment to let it go. The idea of them having to wrestle it away from me gives me a funny feeling in my stomach, but I ignore it.

Or so Iʼd thought. Because the moment the idea crosses my mind, their eyes catch it. Micro-expressions. I knew the term well from many late-night conversations with my two close friends, as they were both FBI agents, one specifically focused on analyzing behavior. How had I expected to hide this from them? It was only a matter of time until-

“Sheʼs doing it again.ˮ

“Huh? Iʼm doing…what? Iʼm not doing anything.ˮ

“Dilated pupils,ˮ Spencer notes, as if heʼs diagnosing something clinical. “Reddened skin. Iʼd stand to wager…elevated heart rate, as well?ˮ

Getting up from their shared couch, Stiles reaches for the wine, but instead, his hand brushes my neck with a careful look in his eye. Iʼm fixated, unable to move or speak, or really even breathe, to think of it.

“Youʼre right on the money, Reid.ˮ He nods, his fingers at my pulse point. My skin is burning at the sudden intimacy.

“Whatʼre you guys going on about?ˮ

“Still playing innocent?ˮ Stiles chuckles, backing up. I let out a heavy breath, half- caught in my throat over a newly forming lump.

“I have no idea what…ˮ

“Weʼre talking about?ˮ Spencer finishes, licking his lips and leaning forward. “Oh, but I think you do. Donʼt you agree, Stiles?ˮ

Stiles nods, not even looking at him. Theyʼre both hyper-focused on me, and the attention feels both fantastic and utterly unbearable at the same time.

“Every time weʼve gotten together, the three of us,ˮ Stiles continues, reaching out a hand and beckoning me forward. They shuffle apart, making a space between the two where Iʼd fit…if I wanted. “Itʼs undeniable. The looks you give.ˮ

My heart is in my throat, eyeing the space that Spencerʼs now patting. I set the bottle aside, the game utterly forgotten.

“I-ˮ

“Did we misread?ˮ He raises an eyebrow, setting down his glass. “Iʼd thought for sure you were thinking of us all…together.ˮ

The sip of wine Iʼd been taking that turned more into a chug comes back up into my glass. I cough, pushing it away. Stiles takes it, making sure Iʼm alright before continuing Spencerʼs thought.

“Sweetheart, if weʼre making you uncomfortable-ˮ

“No, not at all.ˮ I blurt, looking back and forth between them. Spencer, with his hair slicked back and slightly disheveled, who Iʼve thought of time and time again but never had the courage to do anything about besides call out his name in my late nights alone with myself; Stiles, my best friend, my confidante…one of the most attractive men Iʼve ever known. The whirlwind of explicit mind pictures involving him goes back a long, long time. Yes, Iʼve thought about it. Dreamt of it. But for it to actually happen, to no longer just be a fantasy, was never something Iʼd anticipated.

“I told you,ˮ Spencer smirks, not at all cocky - just knowing he was right.

I flush. “You guys talk about me alot, huh?ˮ

"About us, sometimes.ˮ Stiles nods, still eyeing me and beckoning me to sit. “Look, really, if you arenʼt into the idea, Iʼll back off. Weʼll back off,ˮ He amends, a short glance to his side. “But honestly, itʼs been a long time coming, hasnʼt it? You and us.ˮ

His words are divine, luring me in. Iʼm taking his hand before my mind can catch up, and sitting in the space between them. The heat from their bodies is only a further spur into this dangerous new game weʼre playing, now.

“I think…youʼre okay with it, arenʼt you?ˮ Spencer murmurs, gentle but teasing. He brushes my hair from my neck, leaning closer.

“Youʼre drunk,ˮ I let out a nervous laugh, shivering at his touch. Stiles is mirroring him on my left, although heʼs a bit more brazen, closer to me, his lips at my ear.

“Not even close,ˮ He chuckles, breath tickling my skin. “A glass or two isnʼt nearly enough to get me drunk. How about you, Spence?ˮ

“Nope.ˮ

“Well, I-ˮ My eyes flutter shut when Stilesʼ kiss hits my neck, brain going fuzzy. Oh, my god, what?

“Are you?ˮ Spencer goads, his hand resting on my thigh. “Iʼve certainly seen you drunk off of at least twice what youʼve had tonight, and from that point of reference, Iʼm going to say youʼre more in the buzzed-to-tipsy range.ˮ

“Just say no, I mean it,ˮ Stiles pulls back, his voice a husky whisper. “Consentʼs more important, Iʼll just take care of business myself, if I gotta.ˮ

“Iʼm fairly sober,ˮ I admit, looking at him. Gods, I want to kiss him. I want to kiss them both. “And Iʼm okay with it if you are. If…you both are?ˮ

“Okay with it?ˮ Spencer laughs. I catch the edge of his grin out of the corner of my eye, unsure who to focus on.

“I want it.ˮ I swallow, ready and willing to admit to every brazen thought Iʼd ever had. The temptation is much too strong, the lull of their voices and hands and lips and eyes and… Oh, good heavens, here we fucking go.

“Thatʼs evident in your behavior,ˮ Spence teases, hand slowly inching up my leg. “Do you want to lead, or be lead?ˮ

Not one to wait on me to respond, Stiles is back at my neck, and Iʼm finding it hard to speak. Rather than attempt words at this point, I tug at Spencerʼs collar, eyes on his lips.

His gaze, heavy-lidded and lust blown, drinks in my desperation for but a moment, then heʼs kissing me - and what a feeling it is, to have their attention centered on me. All at once, distracting and overwhelming, yet I canʼt get enough. Spencer kisses like he needs air and Iʼm oxygen, devouring me to the point Iʼm almost being pushed into Stilesʼ lap.

“Hey, there,ˮ Sti chuckles, gripping me tighter the moment Spencer backs off. “My turn?ˮ

I nod, more nervous about this than even Spencer had made me. Something about Stiles has always just…gotten to me, that way. And now is certainly no exception, with him pulling me into his lap and pulling my face down to his own.

Kissing Stiles is much different than kissing Spencer; Where Spence is hungry, Stiles is almost animalistic, despite being entirely and simply human - he makes up for it in the passion he brings, deep and hot and breathy kisses that make my head spin.

“We should- uh, my room?ˮ I mumble against him, reaching for a hand from either one of them. They both take me up on it, and let me lead them up the stairs. I can feel their bemusement coming off of them in waves, sprinkled into the desire that has them so warm Iʼm already sweating in my minimal clothes.

Once the doorʼs shut behind us, and Iʼm sat on my bed, their gazes have mefeeling so indescribably small.

“So eager, sweet girl.ˮ Stiles cooes.

“Look at you, weʼve barely touched you and youʼre already squirming.ˮ Spencer smirks, slowly undoing his belt without breaking eye contact. “Think you can be patient for us?ˮ

My eyes flick between them, one locking the door while the other, taller one is approaching me; I instinctively reach for him, but Spence tuts, pushing me back.

“Guess not,ˮ He chuckles, motioning for me to move back towards the headboard. I have a sinking feeling I know exactly where heʼs going with this, and I whine in protest as Iʼm proved right - wrists pinned above my head, secured with the very belt that had just been around his hips.

“Youʼre gonna be trouble, arenʼt you?ˮ

“Of course she is,ˮ Stiles laughs, coming to sit on the bed with us. They both gaze at me, helpless as I am, with the utmost mix of adoration and desire. I had expected to feel enjoyment from this, but safety? Oh, itʼs the cherry on top of a very delicious cake.

“No, Iʼll be good - I swear."

“Of course you will, sweetheart.ˮ Spencer tips my chin up to him as he climbs on top of me. It kills me that I canʼt reach up and touch him, and with that little smirk spreading across his face, he knows. Between him leaning down to kiss me again, and the gentle but firm hands of Stiles snaking up my thighs, Iʼm breathless and pleading.

“Please, please, just-ˮ

Spencerʼs lips cut me off, and I let myself get lost in the haze of him for a moment, just a moment. My attention snaps back into focus when I feel my shorts being tugged down my thighs.

“You two…ʼtryna kill me.ˮ I moan, and I can feel Spencer smile against me.

“Actually, the likelihood of dying due to any type of sexual arousal or intercourse is fairly minimal, so youʼre likely in the clear.ˮ He quips.

“If I could roll my eyes-ˮ

“Oh, weʼll give you something to roll your eyes back for.ˮ Stilesʼ voice comes from right above my heat, and I shudder, bucking up to try to grasp any sort of friction.

“Calm down, pretty girl.ˮ Spencer chides, his hand gripping my jaw and bringing me deeper into the kiss. I sigh, giving in, and simply allow his kisses on my lips, my neck, and Stilesʼ slow and agonizing undressing of my lower half.

He lets out a low noise, somewhere between a gasp and a moan, once my panties are discarded. “Youʼre a fuckinʼ mess, princess. Is that all for us?ˮ

Itʼs all I can do to let out an approving whine, a not so subtle begging for something, anything to break this coil built up in my belly. My arms are starting to hurt from the amount of tugging Iʼve been doing to try to get free, but I can barely even feel it. I just need them, both of them, so badly.

“Cʼmere, get a look at her.ˮ Stiles pulls Spencer back, and he pouts a moment before focusing on me - well, the lower half of me.

“Fuck.ˮ Spencer groans, rubbing his chin with a slack-open mouth. “You werenʼt kidding. Pretty girl, youʼre wet.ˮ

“Are you gonna do anything about it?ˮ My tone is desperate, but entirely bratty. The looks I get from the pair of them tells me Iʼm gonna pay for that.

“We could just leave you there and take care of ourselves.ˮ Spencer snaps back, but I can see in his eyes thatʼs the last thing he wants. I donʼt have to be a profiler to know how badly he wants to be inside me right now.

“Or we could do it together,ˮ Stiles adds, watching my reaction. “Oh, you would like that a little too much, though, wouldnʼt you? Does that get you off, sweet girl?ˮ

I nod. “Okay, Iʼll behave, just please, touch me or something?ˮ

“Sheʼs so pretty when sheʼs desperate for us, isnʼt she?ˮ Stiles smirks, leaning over me tauntingly. One hand traces lightly over my thigh, ever so gently. Spencer sits right on the other side of me, his grasp a bit more firm, a lot closer to where Iwant them to be.

“Aw, I think she deserves at least a little something.ˮ Spencer cooes, bringing his free hand to his mouth. I watch in awe as he sticks his fingers in and brings them out with a pop, so sure of himself as he brings them to my folds. Gentle but swift, he inserts one, then two fingers, once he hears the noise of relief I let out.

“S-Spence-ˮ

“There you go, beautiful. Just needed someone to touch you, huh?ˮ

The long, practiced fingers of Spencer Reid send my mind into a tailspin; Unable to think of anything other than the sheer pleasure and joy of knowing this is actually happening, I canʼt bring myself to feel any sort of self-consciousness - I only know the sweet nothings they whisper, and once Iʼve hit my limit and cried out for Spencer, how they trade off and now itʼs Stilesʼ turn to learn my body.

Somehow, though his touch is different, itʼs equally as pleasant, from the tugs he makes against my sweet spot to the thumb rubbing circles against my throbbing clit. Only when Iʼve came for him, as well, does Spencer gently push him aside, positioning himself between my folds with a hungry groan.

Stiles climbs up to kiss me, and Spencerʼs kiss…is somewhere else entirely. Iʼm mewling against the lips that suck on mine, bucking up despite myself into Spencerʼs face. He takes it well, only gripping my thighs harder and pressing his tongue deeper into my core. I can feel myself leaking onto his chin, and like a man starved, he eats with a deepseated hunger and noises that make my stomach twist. Mumbles and groans of ‘you taste so goodʼ push me over the edge once, twice, I lose count.

When itʼs time for the expected switching, Iʼm aching to feel something more, and it seems Spencer can sense this; while he climbs up to kiss me, he also sets to releasing my binds.

“Wanna know a little secret of mine?ˮ He whispers, voice low in my ear. “Iʼd like to see you take a little bit of your control back…just a bit.ˮ

The release I give into Stilesʼ mouth as I kiss Spencer, now that Iʼm free to do whatever I please with my hands, is monumental. Iʼm tearing at Spenceʼs clothes, and he responds with pulling my shirt over my head, his mouth latching onto my breasts. I cry out, more than ready for everything this will give me. It doesnʼt take long for the three of us to get undressed, heat of the moment as it is.

“Please-please-ˮ

“Thereʼs no need to whine, love.ˮ Spencer murmurs, tracing down a pattern from my lips to my chest. “What do you need? Use your words.ˮ

“Someone needs to be inside me, and now.ˮ

This earns a chuckle from the both of them.

“Are we flipping a coin?ˮ Stiles quips, sidling up behind me as Spence rolls off to my front.

“Statistically speaking, it is the most-mmm-ˮ His voice lilts as I reach for him, eyes fluttering when I stroke. “Now thatʼs not…fair.ˮ

Stiles reaches over across my hip, circling my clit. “Behave, princess.ˮ

I rut back against him, earning a low moan.

“Someone. Either. Both?ˮ

“Now that sounds difficult to…position-ˮ Spence grunts.

Stiles takes the opportunity of my distraction to shift me a bit, pressing his tip to my folds. One rut forward and heʼs swiftly entered, making my hand and voice stutter against Spence. “Good girl,ˮ Stiles cooes, brushing my hair off of my neck and kissing at it as he works to find a pace inside me. “Good girl.ˮ

I whine - really, thereʼs no other word for it - and do my best to continue pleasuring Spencer, but the overstimulation of it all makes my brain go numb. Heʼs helpful, though, fucking up into my hand and echoing Stilesʼ praises with gentle and passionate kisses to my lips, my chest, my jaw. When Sti rolls me over, pulling out and climbing onto me before getting back to it, Spencer backs up and eyes us with utterly delicious lust, his hand pumping slow and hard against himself.

The noises filling my room are lewd, downright nasty, but the feelings are just so good, I canʼt bring myself to feel anything but disgusting pleasure from it all. Have we been here for hours now? Days? It feels like itʼs been forever and yet no time at all. The scratches Iʼve left down Stilesʼ back wonʼt be going anywhere for likely just as long. When the beautiful man wants to use my mouth, Iʼm ready and willing, and take his load without blinking. I doubt Iʼll ever get over the sight of him letting go and howling my name, either.

“There you go…did sʼgood for me.ˮ He praises, wiping the stray trail from my lips as he backs up, a sweet kiss to my cheek as well. “Spence?ˮ

“Only if sheʼs up for it,ˮ Spencer approaches slowly, eyeing me carefully. “How about it, pretty girl?ˮ

I nod fervently, and he likely would have laughed if he wasnʼt so overtaken. I reach out to pull him onto me, but he lifts me up and mumbles something about it ‘being my turn to be on topʼ. Hesitantly, I adjust myself until Iʼm hovering over him. Something about those eyes on me has my heart thudding so hard Iʼd almost think heʼd hear it; The noise that rips from me when I sit down onto him is almost criminal.

“Youʼre in control,ˮ He tells me, hands on my hips as but a guide to rock me back and forth. “Do what you will with me.ˮ

I set to making a pace with him, and to my enjoyment, Spencer is a whimperer when I do it just right. “You feel… fuck, you feel so good on me, baby. Better than I ever imagined, my mind canʼt even do you justice, and thatʼs… saying something, oh my god-ˮ

“Sweet talker,ˮ I coo, grinding against him just to get more of those wonderful whimpers. “Youʼre gonna make me… Spence-ˮ

“Please, cum all over me, youʼve earned it, havenʼt you? Been so fucking good for me.ˮ

“I-I need-ˮ The words wonʼt escape, so I simply show him, bringing his hands to my breasts and motioning, pull.

Heʼs a diligent submissive for the moment, doing as I ask. And the waves crash over me and out of me and onto him with such intensity I almost lose vision. More, I want more, and Iʼm begging for it so much that he canʼt say no, rubbing a pattern on my pounding clit until Iʼm seeing stars.

“Doing okay, baby?ˮ

“I could take you two…all night.ˮ I moan. The energy to do so may put me in a coma, but…

“I wanna cum in you,ˮ He grips my chin, forcing me to look straight into his eyes. “Can I? Is that okay?ˮ

"Yes, so very okay.ˮ

As Spencer chases his high, heʼs sloppier and thrusting up into me with the loudest noises of the night from him, and again I lose count of the edges he sends me over; A sweet melody, him calling out to me as he topples over his edge and comes down, both of us running down the space where we meet. I collapse onto his chest, and he strokes my hair, soft and sweet praises and kisses a stark contrast to the dirty things weʼd all done together tonight.

A strange noise rips from the edge of the bed, and we turn to look and see Stiles, completely passed out and snoring.

“Is he…?ˮ

“He is.ˮ

We laugh, careful not to wake the poor boy as Spencer gets to work cleaning me up. Once heʼs done so, I tug Stiles up into bed with us, relishing in them holding me on either side.

“Mmmm…sleepy.ˮ He groans, snuggling into me. “That was fuckinʼ something.ˮ

“Very much something.ˮ Spencer agrees, smirking on the other side of me.

“Something we should do again sometime?ˮ

“Yes!ˮ Stiles whines. “Just…lemme sleep more first, and Iʼm ready…tʼgo…ˮ

Spencer and I laugh again, and itʼs clearly a unanimous decision - this will happen again. And thank the gods, because I certainly havenʼt gotten enough of them just yet.

[gunnerfc]

Steph Catley NSFW Alphabet (18+, Minors DNI!)

A: Aftercare

You both go back and forth with who’s more attentive after sex but it’s normally Steph who’s up getting you water or something

B: Body Part (their favorite body part of themselves and their partner)

Steph’s favorite body part is her thighs, you always leave marks and little indents on them when going down on her and she loves the reminder they serve the next few days

Steph’s favorite body part of yours is your fingers, for obvious reasons but she also loves them for the marks/scratch marks they can leave in their wake

C: Cum (anything to do with cum)

Will have you clean her strap after she’s made you cum at least three times

D: Dirty Secret 

Wants to record the two of you just for fun and just for the two of you to have

E: Experience (Are they experienced? Do they know what they are doing?) 

Steph knew what she was doing but in her past relationships she filled the submissive role mostly but when the two of you hooked up for the first time, that changed because she liked being the one in control

F: Favorite Position 

You on your back as she fucks you with a strap so she can make out with you the whole time or leave bruise like marks all over your neck and chest

She keeps a tight grip on your waist/hips the entire time and you always know why you feel a bit sore in the morning

G: Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous?)

It’s split 80% serious, 20% humorous only because she can be a bit giggly if she has been drinking

I: Intimacy (How intimate are they during the moment?)

Steph is a very intimate person and that defiantly crosses over when you’re having sex

J: Jack off (Masturbation HC) 

She’d understand if you were apart for a long period of time but since you live together, she wants you to come to her if you are feeling horny

K: Kink (One or more of their kinks) 

Exhibitionism, sort of.

She likes the idea of almost getting caught but she doesn’t want it to actually happen

L: Location (Favorite place to have sex)

Your shared home for the most part but if you get roomed together during away games then that works too

Though, even if you don’t get roomed together, that won’t stop the two of you from switching roommates for the night

M: Motivation (What turns them on?) 

Any time you wear her jerseys or training gear, seeing her name or number on your body leaves only one thing in her mind and that’s getting you out of whatever it is you’re wearing as quickly as she can

N: No (Something they wouldn't do)

She doesn’t like seeing you in pain, so anything that may hurt you is a no go

O: Oral (Preference on giving or receiving)

Steph loves both equally, going down on you is one of her favorite past times but whenever she’s on the receiving end, she’s having the best time

P: Pace (Fast & Rough? Slow & Sensual?) 

Slow and sensual, loves taking her time with everything she does with you

Q: Quickie (Thoughts on quickies) 

She’s indifferent, they don’t give her a lot of time to fully pleasure you the way she likes but she enjoys any chance she gets to have her hands on you

R: Risk (Are they open to experimenting) 

The only risk she is willing to take almost having someone walk in on you, the idea of getting caught drives her crazy

S: Stamina (How many rounds) 

You both go for 2-3 longer rounds but there are multiple orgasms so neither of you complain

T: Toys 

Steph’s favorite to use on you is a strap on that she had you pick out when you first started dating

U: Unfair (Do they like the tease)

Steph teases you so often, she loves hearing you beg and whine out of pure frustration

V: Volume (How loud are they? What sounds do they make) 

She isnt the loudest, but she’s not quiet either

W: Wild Card (Random HC)

You’ve been caught once by Caitlin and instead of feeling panicked about it, Steph found it hot and has played it pretty close on a few occasions after

Y: Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

It’s not very high, but also not low

Z: ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterward)

Falls asleep pretty quickly after you’ve both calmed down

[unpopularwriter25]

@musix-s Requested a part 2 to the Yoriichi x Gen-Z reader!!

Blossoms of Eternal Love

Summary: Despite her lack of experience with romance, Y/N is constantly swept off her feet by Yoriichi’s effortless and heartfelt declarations of love. During a walk amidst the enchanting cherry blossoms, Yoriichi’s tender words and actions leave Y/N overwhelmed with emotion.

Warnings: None

Note: WE ALL NEED A YORIICHI IN OUR LIFE. I had a little too much fun writing this out. @musix-s I hope this what you wanted!! I had trouble trying to find a good way to start it.

Y/N didn't know much about romance. She never had a boyfriend in her past life. Her attitude drove the guys away. She remembers watching those videos of dudes rizzing up their girlfriends or the random girls and always wondered if someone would ever say stuff like that to her.

The warm afternoon sun bathed the small house Y/N and Yoriichi shared in a golden glow. Y/N was lounging on the couch, lost in thought, when Yoriichi entered, his presence calming and gentle.

“Would you like to take a walk with me, Y/N?” Yoriichi’s voice was soft, like a soothing melody.

Y/N nodded, smiling as she rose to follow him outside. As they stepped into the sunlight, Yoriichi took her hand in his, lifting it to his lips and pressing a tender kiss on her knuckles. His eyes never left hers. “Your touch is the only thing that can calm my restless heart,” he said, his voice like velvet.

Y/N felt herself melt inside. How could he say something so romantic so effortlessly? As they walked, he would occasionally glance at her, each time saying something that made her heart flutter.

“You know,” Yoriichi began, his tone casual yet filled with warmth, “every moment I spend with you is a moment I cherish deeply.”

His words were as smooth as butter, and each one made Y/N feel weak at the knees. She tried to focus on the path ahead, but his gaze and his words were magnetic. She could see the genuine love in his eyes, and it made everything he said so much more intense.

They continued down a path lined with cherry blossom trees in full bloom. Petals drifted gently to the ground like pink snow, and the air was filled with their sweet fragrance, creating an almost magical atmosphere.

Suddenly, Yoriichi stopped walking and turned to face her. “Y/N,” he said softly, his eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her breath catch. “You are my everything. Without you, my world would be dark and empty."

Her face turned crimson, and she felt like her brain had short-circuited. She stood there, trying to process his words, but they overwhelmed her. Yoriichi’s concern was evident as he stepped closer, his hands gently cupping her face. His thumb caressed her cheek, sending shivers down her spine.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice filled with worry. Instead of checking her temperature with his hands, he leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. “Do you have a fever?” he whispered, his breath warm against her skin.

Y/N’s mind was a whirlwind of emotions. The combination of his tender touch, his sincere words, and his close proximity was too much for her to handle. She was utterly and completely overwhelmed, unable to form a coherent response.

Yoriichi looked into her eyes, his own filled with a mix of love and concern. “You mean everything to me, Y/N. I would cross the entire world just to see you smile.”

Her heart felt like it might burst from the sheer intensity of her feelings. She was at a loss for words, her body trembling slightly from the overwhelming emotions coursing through her. Yoriichi seemed to understand her silence, his expression softening as he held her close.

In that moment, Y/N knew without a doubt that he was aware of the effect he had on her. He had to know. But instead of teasing her, he simply held her, his presence comforting and reassuring. She leaned into him, her heart full, knowing that she was deeply loved by this incredible man.

The world around them faded into the background, leaving just the two of them in their own perfect moment. The cherry blossom petals continued to fall around them, adding to the romantic setting. Yoriichi’s forehead remained pressed against hers, and he whispered the sweetest words a man could ever say to someone. “My love for you is eternal, Y/N. In this life and the next, I will always find you and love you.”

Y/N did not know it was possible for someone to be this romantic. She felt herself getting overwhelmed. Her no-bullshit attitude was left somewhere else. She did the only thing she could think to do in that moment since her words weren’t going to come out. She kissed him.

Their lips met in a soft, tender kiss that spoke volumes of their love and connection. Yoriichi’s hands moved to cradle the back of her head gently, deepening the kiss just enough to convey his unwavering devotion. The cherry blossoms swirled around them, as if the world itself was celebrating their love.

When they finally pulled apart, Y/N’s face was flushed, and her heart was pounding in her chest. Yoriichi smiled at her, a look of pure adoration in his eyes. “Thank you for being my everything,” he whispered, his voice full of love.

Y/N smiled back, feeling a warmth spread through her entire being. In that moment, she knew she was exactly where she was meant to be, with the person who loved her more than anything in the world.

[jazeswhbhaven]

WHB AU 101's: Devil Pregnancy Stages

Since I made my fankid, Cain's development stages it's natural that I go over Leviathan's pregnancy!

Conception

-Leviathan's body was tampered with quite a lot during his stay at the devil camps in Heaven, this included changing around things of his anatomy

-He has a womb! Though it's very small, think of a tiny sac the size of an appendix. It can stretch based on his hormones and if he has been impregnated.

-He has the ability to get others pregnant at the same time, so if his intentions are to get his partner pregnant both of them will be at the same time. c r a z y

-When Cain was conceived this was purely by accident and Leviathan nor Satan knew of this being a possibility. Plus, 'someone' was having a moment of wanting to breed someone...so here we are

Early-Mid Stage

-For my AU, Leviathan's pregnancy only lasts 3-5 months the latest depending on what he eats and his health at that time.

-The early signs of pregnancy are severe nausea and loss of appetite which Leviathan didn't pay attention anyways because he eats when he wants to in the first place.

-Vomiting is horrendous, think buckets of it everywhere. His nobles were so busy cleaning up various rooms of the palace it was a 24/7 job.

-Thankfully the stomach issues only last for two weeks and it balances out. Morax takes a look, is confused but it's Lucifer than determined the pregnancy immediately. He has a knack for the short of thing.

-Abortions are possible, but Leviathan decided against it. The method for a devil abortion is quick and painless an performed by a healing devil. There is also an option to carefully remove the sac, and the fetus will grow on it's own using a hybrid of magic/technical methods. Had Levi chosen this route, Cain would have been incubating in Tartaros.

-The first two months of the pregnancy Leviathan goes through various stages of mood changes, hunger, weird cravings, and habits. He may also act out of character and adopt another sin's personality instead. For this pregnancy he's quick to intense rage and sleeps a lot.

-His belly triples in size, Cain was a large baby. He soon gets put on bedrest because his energy is being drained more and more as the pregnancy progresses.

-Leviathan's sex drive is just a bad as it is during his "attacker" story. He doesn't want to be bothered by anyone so he instead uses various toys and fucking machines.

-Pregnancy 'glow' is an understatement, he is literally basking in the limelight and everyone is more infatuated with him more so now that he's preggo. Asmo once called him up because he could 'sense' something different and wanted to visit him which ofc Levi told him no.

-Cain moves and kicks excessively only when Levi gets angry. It's almost as if he is feeding off the rage (huh wonder where he got that from) Otherwise his movements while in the womb are minimal, little flutters and soft presses.

Late Stage Pregnancy

-Leviathan's usual beauty and lush appearance changes overnight when it's closer to time for delivery. His skin turns dull, hair brittle and dry, and bags under his eyes.

-His belly is very swollen and he is on strict bedrest.

-Appetite and moods are stable, he's mostly more so exhausted and worn out. This is critical time and his nobles are always on guard to make sure an angel attacks do not disturb him.

-He experiences intense labor pains closer to delivery. Morax oversees the birth and does his best to ease the pain. However, Levi is violent and has to be put in restraints.

-His powers are out of balance as well and he seems to summon the monster in his coffin more often by accident. Foras takes care of the issue immediately.

Birth

-A caesarean must be performed as Leviathan doesn't have an orifices' to release the sac from. This method can be done without pain killers, as devil's have a high pain tolerance.

-It is actually Satan who demanded to be present, that performs the cut with his claw and he removes the sac himself. He also removes Cain with the same method by bursting the sac open and extracting Cain.

-Morax tends to Leviathan's open wound, which takes the same amount of healing as it would if he were injured in an angel attack. During this time Satan cleans up Cain, examines him, and names him. Cain's first bonding is with Satan.

-Leviathan is able to nurse immediately. It's devil's essence that Cain will be feeding on until he is ready for solids.

-His powers are still coming back up to speed, his exhaustion levels are still high, but with the help of the nobles and Satan he seems to heal much faster. In about a week he's back to his normal self.

Postpartum???

-Doesn't exist for devils. Leviathan's mental state is the same as it was for ages. His hormones are leveled, his body is regular once again. It was as if he was never pregnant to begin with.

If He can get pregnant does he have cycles??

-No. But if you're wondering, the 'sac' that holds the fetus regrows if the first one is extracted. As of now the amount of sacs he can produce at a maximum before he can no longer give birth is 6.

Fun stuff: Kings reactions to Leviathan's Pregnancy!

Satan: He's been trying for weeks to see what's up with Leviathan and why he's been acting more recluse than usual. He goes to Hades himself and finds out about the pregnancy and becomes adamant about being involved.

Mammon: "Ah, this will also be my child, how splendid."

Beelzebub: "I'm going to be an uncle, how fun. Let me babysit."

Lucifer: "He's pregnant." (he's the one who diagnosed him)

Belphegor: "Eh? What's that gotta do with me, babies are loud." (goes to sleep)

Asmodeus: "I'm quite sad I didn't get to see you in all of your glory, Levi. You probably looked devine." (starts visualizing pregnant Levi) "Oh how I wish I could be a father again..."

[agendabymooner]

SOMETHING BROODY !!! MICK S. X FEM!READER (18+)

summary: dilf!mick really wants more…

content warning: smut under the cut (minors dni!), pwp, use of explicit language, unprotected sex (use protection yall) body worship, breeding kink, mentions of lactation, broody!mick

note: cursing tle anon but it’s okay she gets to have the best of both worlds with the wholesome content then the filth after. enjoy xx (this is also my tenth smut— what’re y’all doing to me…?)

something sinful (smut) masterlist

a - n masterlist

o - z masterlist

💌re:moony’s planner is opened!!!

broody.

that was the first thing that came to mind when she saw her husband pouting in the corner of the room while their little daughter gave her slobbery kisses all over her face. he was fucking pouting instead of grinning widely at the sight of his girls— and she knew exactly why he was reacting like this. 

mick schumacher was brooding, and all she could do was giggle at the sight of his cute pouting. their daughter looked so much like him— so much like him. 

and while she was amused at the sight of him, he wasn’t feeling the same way. in fact, all he felt was nothing but pent up frustration as she continued to act all innocent— pretending like she didn’t see how much he needed her.

“da,” their little girl, minna schumacher, was indeed a delightful girl. with her pretty eyes and chubby face, she acted as a welcome distraction for mick’s needs — putting her hands over mick’s face before her open mouthed kisses attacked them. 

“minna,” mick’s wife said with a giggle, smirking at the german driver’s direction as she continued, “dada’s upset no? give dada a kiss? maybe that’ll help him.” 

mick scowled at the direction of his wife, watching her fall from laughing hysterically before his eyes looked down at the baby.

“da da da,” minna babbled, letting out a high pitched squeal when mick chomped on her little fingers. 

“num, nyam nyam— so cute i could just eat you up!” mick exclaimed, grinning as minna giggled. “you deserve everything, minnie baby.” 

mick looked up to see his wife shifting on her seat, the tank top she'd just put on was tight around her chest as she adjusted the straps. his eyes continued to watch as she adjusted her top, not even noticing the smirk on her face before she slightly tugged down her shirt — her breasts were plump and taunting him. 

“da!” minna exclaimed, getting frustrated at the lack of attention from her father before mick looked back at his daughter with a cheeky grin. 

“‘m sorry, liebe,” mick murmured, pressing loud kisses all over the infant’s face as he continued, “dada will give you everything youuuu want~”

“in fact,” mick glanced at his wife, “if you ask dada for a sibling? i’ll give you as much as you wan’, little baby.” 

“you don’t even have to ask for one,” he grinned cheekily, now staring at his wife as his eyes darkened. “i’ll make sure you’re happy with all the siblings you’ll get before you can even walk.” 

his wife shifted in her seat once more. 

yeah. he really was brooding. 

a whimper escaped her mouth pathetically, her legs hooked over his shoulders as he grunted quietly. 

he covered her mouth and shushed her, “shh, you don’t want her to wake up, schatz.” 

her eyes were covered in tears, her pussy too overwhelmed with his girth as he pressed his hand at her stomach. his eyes gleamed in excitement, “ya feel that?” 

she nodded frantically, her senses turning up to a notch as his cock slid in and out of her like it was a puzzle being teased to be completed. “that’s me, schatzi.” 

“you look so fucking hot, love,” he crooned quietly, his body weighing the two of them down as he continued to fold his wife in half. 

he looked down at her writhing body, admiring the youthful glow that mixed with motherhood as he grinned. her postnatal body — despite having a baby who’s close to turning one — showed nothing but the marks of love and devotion for their child. one that they made and continued to raise with pride. 

he just couldn’t believe that this body grew the little one that they have now. his wife was a goddess and he couldn’t find himself denying that. 

his thrusts turned frantic as he chased his high and hers, hips slamming against hers as she whimpered quietly, her fingernails making marks on his back as he let out a strangled moan, “god, you’re so fucking beautiful. so good f’me— such a pretty woman with the prettiest body.” 

“growing my child in this body— fuuuuck~” he groaned, “gonna give you more to raise, schatz. y’want that?” 

“mm- hm,” she nodded as she cried quietly, her sensitivity increasing as her walls tightly clenched his cock. 

“gonna fuck you ‘til you have more of my kids,” he whispered in her ear, his fingers rolling her nipple as liquid escaped her breast. “gonna fuck you full— make sure that these tits are full of milk again— y’want that?” 

“you’re gonna give our girl more siblings,” he whispered heatedly, his cock stilling to fill her cunt to the brim as he groaned. 

she let out a high pitched moan before her body eased from the orgasm, feeling herself stuffed by his cum as her body finally calmed itself. 

full was what she felt. content was what they both felt as they cuddled closer, legs tangling together as they breathed quietly. 

then she spoke with a grin, “you really were brooding.”

mick chuckled and shoved her playfully, “shut up.”

[liedownquisition]

A Paltry "Defense" of RHATO (From someone who actually kind of hates RHATO) Part 2

Part 1 (Cheshire, Lian, and recognizing the basis of a reboot), Part 3 (A Generous Take on Intent vs Execution, and Koriand'r)

Disclaimer: I'm not kidding about not liking it yadda yadda yadda and, for further context re: this part in particular. Roy Harper is my second favorite character in the entire DCU, only surpassed by Black Canary herself, so I need you to understand how complicated this one is for me.

Before I really get into it I'd like to add a little bit of extra content that ties the last post to this one, namely this:

This is from This Fan Answers Interview.

I keep seeing posts about Why is "x/y/z hanging out with JASON, they're (Insert other bat but mostly Dick or Tim, tbh)'s friend." Do you guys bitch about this when Wally hangs out with & gets along better with Connor instead of Roy? Or, idk, Kyle's friendship with Roy and relationship with Donna, who is Roy's ex? What about the fact that Damian and Rose struck up a friendship bcs of their similar-ish pasts? The fact that Conner was Tim's friend ("friend"?) first before dating Cass? When Tim was part of the Titans which had membership overlaps with Dick's Titans? When DAMIAN was on the Titans which had membership overlaps with the previous two's teams (barring weird age-fuckery)?

DC is an interconnected universe with all kinds of characters with all kinds of different storylines meeting and hanging out and fighting together esp when there's an overlap of interests/work. The "cape" community is fundamentally the same thing as a hobby club, except the hobby is fighting crime (and/or evil which sometimes aren't the same thing). So it's not even weird for people who are friends of a friend or friend of a sibling/ect. to just kind of meet up randomly and organically form their own relationship. Separate from the other people that they know. This is also normal in real life. Seriously do you know how many people I know who are/did date/marry their sibling's best friend? or just generally became better friends with them than the sibling who originally knew them?? or the fact that it's a popular romance trope? Or how many (okay only like, two that I knew personally-ish) people dated and married their sibling's ex-fiancee??? ALSO A NOT TERRIBLY UNCOMMON ROMANCE TROPE? NOT TO MENTION THE PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL FRIENDS WITH THEIR EX-FIANCE/SPOUSE'S FAMILIES?

Just because people are known for having a specific connection to one character, doesn't mean they can't, or shouldn't, have connections with others. Or, that the connections they do or don't have can change. Y'all're just assholes who are mad someone doesn't play dolls the way you want them to. Grow up. Additionally, this should also apply to Cheshire. She shouldn't always be restricted to Roy & Lian, either. As a child, it's understandable that Lian's everything was largely tied to her parents, but even pre-Rebirth she had her own relationships with, say, Mia or Rose or Dinah. YES those are relationships are somewhat because of Roy, but they're still their own thing.

Now, before I get too into this I want to state that inasfar as RHATO is concerned, Lobdell is not the sole writer throughout its run, and when it comes to analyzing the characters' personalities (as this post is going to focus on Roy), I'm going to analyze them separately. Lobdell's Outlaws are different from Tynion's Outlaws are different from Pfeiffer's brief run with the Outlaws. And I'm going to focus mostly on Lobdell, because he's the one everyone always gets mad about, but Tynion holds enough blame (and my ire) to get a decent chunk of attention as well.

Without further ado,

FBAT (Frequently Bitched About Topics):

I'd like to start this particular topic (Roy) off with something I see a lot and that, after reading, I've discovered is so very patently false that I made a meme about it too:

"It's Jason's fault Roy relapsed. RHATO/Lobdell are the reason for the trope of Jason "fixing" Roy's addiction. Roy is just there for Jason to look better by saving him from it."

This one is actually a little fascinating to me. Like, where does this idea come from? The earliest ao3 jayroy fic that involves anything along these lines debuted a month before RHATO came out. A month before the sneak preview even came out, actually. I could not find any platonic fics that predated that either, but the point stands that clearly, we don't need canon content to derive this trope. Yes, we knew at least a bit of Lobdell's opinions on Roy as a recovering addict, even before then, but they're not the kind that really springs to mind "he needs someone to save him," you know? And, frankly, Lobdell doesn't seem to see it that way either.

Throughout RHATOv1 and, later, Red Hood/Arsenal, Lobdell seems to view Roy's sobriety as almost sacrosanct. At no point in these issues when Jason and Roy share any screentime does Roy EVER relapse, which is particularly interesting, because there's another title that exists in the time somewhat parallel(?)* with the end of RH/A called Titan's Hunt. And, well...

Roy fails his sobriety right in the first issue of Titans Hunt and spends a majority of it drunk, or with other members of the Titans forcing him to remain sober. *I'm a little unclear on when exactly it happens. RH/A started release in August 2015 & Titans Hunt in December of that same year. There's not exactly a lot of space to fit it in, but it's also referenced in RH/A #11...

Counter to this in the second issue of RH/A:

"Rockabilly genius" is Lobdell's... idk, tagline for Roy in RH/A. He does the same thing with Starfire in RHATO by emphasizing her as an "alien former-slave princess" and "living nuclear reactor." Is it stupid? Yes. I hate it so fucking much guys you have no idea.

Now, other than that one reference to it, it otherwise makes the most sense to have it happen like... after RH/A since it pretty much leads directly into Titans: Rebirth and then Titans (2016), the reformation of the OG-ish Titans team, but y'know whatever. Comics, man.

The funniest part about this is RHATOv1 has not one but TWO addiction plotlines, that run CONCURRENTLY, but neither of them are Roy. Actually, Roy's mostly down for the count or working out his issues with Ollie for the bulk of it. Instead, Starfire and Jason have their own issues going on. Personally, I think Jason's was slightly more realistic of the two, and had some juicy potential considering that Bruce once had a Venom addiction storyline, but that was dropped soooo fast after it was picked up.

Also? While it could be argued that Jason leaving him potentially prompted his downward spiral in Hunt... It's really interesting to me that the last "relapse" we see from Roy prior to HiC... wasn't actually a relapse at all.

Titans (2016) #20

Cheshire is well known for using toxins on her nails to poison people, it looks like this time she decided to use the drug that Brain and Monsieur Mallah were using to extend Brain's power and control. She was, after all, hired by them. So, while I personally wouldn't quite say "It's Cheshire's fault Roy relapsed," there is... significantly stronger evidence to suggest that one, yeah.

Anyways this leads into Wally and Dick absolutely dismissing Roy as facing any real threat and deciding he's just suffering paranoid delusions associated with having a relapse and when you contrast it to Jason's absolute faith in Roy's ability to be honest with him and desire to not come off judgemental even when asking about Roy's sobriety it is SO fucked up. Everyone who insists that they're "better" friends for Roy owes me fucking money for this bullshit. I'm soooo close to just writing up a whole post dedicated to how much Roy gets fucked over by the Titans despite giving them his all - and yeah he fucks up too, I'll be honest. I'm also not going to pretend Jason's perfect on that front either, but there's definitely significantly less material to say he's a shitty friend than between all them.

ANYWAYS long story short: There is, quite literally, zero basis for this. If anything, Roy'd be the one helping the other two. but Lobdell doesn't do that, either.

Okay, so obviously I had a few complaints with this one.

But it's worth noting to me that he dedicates in the middle there an ENTIRE PARAGRAPH of his answer to Roy's sobriety. And this isn't the only time he does that. He also references AA a lot. Look, I personally don't care whether or not Lobdell was in AA or NA or anything to that effect, but it's really clear to me that either he was, someone close to him was, or he does some kind of volunteering in that area. And above everything else about Roy, this is very distinctly the most important part to him, and as such the way he handles it is from a perspective that most people don't view addicts from.

The MOST important thing, I think, is that he does not view addicts as people who can be "saved" by someone swooping in and telling them to. Whether it's Roy choosing every moment of every day to stay on his course, or Jason choosing to give up Venom because he doesn't need it when he's got friends, or Kori giving up on the space drugs because.... I'll be honest I still don't understand (I know in a literal sense but I don't think his framing worked) why she was on space drugs in the first place so I can't even begin to imagine her motivation to stop bcs it's not like it happened right after she nearly killed Roy bcs of them, which would at least make some sense. Anyways, he acknowledges this as a choice the addict themselves has to make first, but that it's easier to follow through when you have support.

... Moving on from things that aren't true, let's discuss what Roy's characterization in RHATO actually is...

"RHATO made Roy an idiot."

Okay, sorry, I partly lied. We're breaking this one down because it's kind of the "Yes but no but yes but no" of the issues people have with RHATO's Roy. And here's where I start breaking it down by writer.

First up, Lobdell (0-19, Annual #2, 32-40):

Lobdell's Roy wants you to think he's an idiot. He's quite literally the embodiment of this post over here. I don't think he actually likes being the idiot, but I think he considers it a safe place where he doesn't have to worry about it if he fucks up.

Teen Titans (2011) #16, which was also being written by Lobdell

The really shining moments, I think, for Lobdell's Roy are RHATO #16 & #37. The first one of those is set during the Death of the Family storyline which ugh but this is the issue that I was very much "Oh, yeah, I think he's got Roy there."

In this particular storyline Jason's captured by Joker and Roy was bugging his phone to route audio of any important sounding calls to the ship so Roy could paranoidly keep an eye on him. Stalking as a love language is something only a Bat could appreciate, as even Kori mentions thinking it's a little weird. So they fly out to Gotham to try and help out and run into the Teen Titans, who are leader-less because Tim is also captured, though Wonder Girl is doing a pretty good job herself (as she should be) but they're still overwhelmed until Kori and Roy step in to help.

From here this pretty much leads into a whole thing where Roy is doubting his capacity to lead, because canonically for this timeline he's never done so and has a low opinion of himself, while actually managing to pull off a semi-mentorship kind of role flawlessly. Now, it's a bit cheesy because it's all condensed into a single issue, but it very much does feel like callbacks to Roy's self-image issues from previous comic runs.

#37 is pretty much all about his relationship with Ollie I would say that this is not entirely out of character for him. At this point in Canon the two of them have not patched anything up, but Roy standing up for himself in this does feel reminiscent of, y'know. Roy punching Ollie in "They Say it'll Kill Me... But They Won't Say When."

(I'd also like to note that RHATO #37 feels very much like Lobdell was bitter that HE didn't get to write Roy & Ollie's relationship dynamic, so he... write it again, and pretty much retcons a bunch of Tynion's iteration, & in the process he really made it look like Roy was Ollie's sugar baby. lol.)

Anyways, while those two issues do have a lot of focus/flashbacks on Roy's backstory, which is completely different from pre-52 canon, I think it shows him having a much better grasp of Roy's... emotional core, I think, than the other two writers on RHATO. There's a really good post here about Roy being techy even prior to 52, but I do want to tack on the caveat that "Roybots" was not a Lobdell invention, and you pretty much won't see anything similar to that outside of Pfeiffer's 3-issue run on RHATO. Lobdell largely sticks to Roy with implausible gimmick arrows and playing mechanic for spaceships.

That's right, bro has a body disposal arrow. (RHATO#16 for Analysis Arrow, RH/A #9 for "gun arrow" which I couldn't resist including bcs its so dumb, RHATO#35 for the "Evidence annihalator")

Now otherwise I would say Lobdell's Roy does suffer from a lack of impulse control (barring his staunch control of his addiction) which is far more apparent in RH/A (insert "She was 90% of my impulse control meme" abt Kori), which can make him seem dumb, and he has a little bit of bro-y immaturity. Yes, Jason calls him an idiot sometimes, but idk, feels a little more like how you might say "my friends are idiots, but they're my idiots." Also it's not like Dick and the other Titans never did that either, not uncommonly because Roy was being a little silly guy.

Outsiders #11

Note that Roy does tend to talk down about himself even in this pre-52 scene, too. He DOES also stand up for himself and his abilities from time to time, but he can go either way depending on the situation.

Anyways tl;dr of everyone writing RHATO I think Lobdell actually understands Roy the best. He's immature, mouthy, and self-depreciating, but he's also capable, a highly-intelligent mechanics kinda guy, with latent leadership qualities and decent tactics laying just below the surface of his self-doubt. You could sell me on this being a younger version of Roy Harper who never had a kid pretty easily. Execution's just a little clumsy and the vagueness of the ages under the condensed timeline or, worse, the re-corrected(???) timeline after Convergence/Rebirth/ect do NOT help. Note: This is NOT an endorsement of RH/A's Roy characterization though. Lobdell how the fuck did you go so far backwards with that one.

Tynion (Annual 1, 20-28)

Sigh.

Tynion's Roy is... 90% self doubt, and the rest is love for his friends. He is big of heart and dumb of ass. He is THE most emotionally driven person throughout this entire arc and does some stupid shit in the name of friendship and love that almost screws them all over but then his deep abiding love for his friends sways the heart of one of his enemies who desperately wishes someone cared for HER that much (see the Cheshire portion of the previous post) and she switches sides in honor of it.

It feels a little bit like Tynion needed one person to be "the girl" who thinks with their heart and not their head but didn't want to be a stereotype and make it Kori, so Roy got the job instead. (Meanwhile Kori got the logic-brained role. Yeah.)

I think the only real part of this arc that I kind of enjoyed was this sequence over here. Like yeah, that's Roy. Roy might have his own issues, but they're nothing to him when it comes to needing to step up and help a friend. UGH and I'm too afraid to read n52's Green Arrow but I hate his naked face and the shitty personality Tynion gives him. He is SUCH an asshole. And yeah in that sequence that's just a manifestation of his self doubt wearing Ollie's face, but he's... not really better when he shows up in person. I'll be honest, I don't like Lobdell's Ollie either, and he's also kind of an asshole, but he is NOT on the level that Tynion writes him. At least #37 ends on halfway decent terms and actually FEELS like they're on the path to patching up their relationship.

Anyways yeah also for some reason Hugo Strange is Roy's therapist. There was probably some ongoing plot about that but I can't stand that whole whatever it is so I'm not going to examine that one right now. Maybe if someone starts paying me for these posts.

I kid, I'll get more into that when I discuss the Amnesia arc in entirety.

Pfeifer (29-31)

Okay so first off, Pfeifer's characterization is almost(?) not bad actually. It carries over some of the better parts of Tynion and Lobdell. He does however still have the issue of making Kori too much of a bitch, and he's the one who decided to take the "Roy is a tinkerer" to its logical extreme and create the whole concept of the Roybots, which are nanobots. And really this whole plot is just a wank-fest for nerdery.

This is straight up just some refined points of the other two and then yknow, the "haha nerds rule" vibes. They were making fun of him for his weird AI bomb and then his AI infected the nanobots and he saved the world AND his friends. yaaaay.

Wow. (Seriously was that "summary" to pat yourself on the back really necessary?)

Um you know I think that's all I've got off the top of my head, because actually the complaints that were SENT to me weren't really about him but I'm starting off with some more broad analysis on the characters to give myself a foundation to address some of the more specific complaints going forward. Next I'll do Kori, then Jason, and then we'll move into more specific topics. If there's anything specific in here you'd like me to address or argue re: Roy, feel free to reply here or send it to my inbox and I'll see what I can do. I definitely feel like I glossed over something, but my goal here is to open up more of a discussion in general.

If you want more RHATO analysis particularly based on common complaints that you would like to see either challenged or supported with extensive degrees of evidence so you can feel that sense of superiority that comic fans are all a little obsessed over without having to actually read the damn thing yourself, you can send me the specific topics in the replies Here or to my inbox.

EDIT: I had previously incorrectly labelled the issue with Roy & Ollie as #32, it's #37.

[aquaquadrant]

Why do I feel like Etho and Patho would actually really get along well. Like there'd be a minute of "oh shit" then they'd be making some weird machine together.

Also any chance you would be willing to share the story about Patho's clock and maybe info on Hels Bdubs?

(honestly? true. patho isn’t bothered enough w the concept of being a doppelgänger so he’d be chill w etho if etho was chill with him. and etho’s like. always chill. anyway idk if this’ll answer ur questions but here’s uhhhh something)

~*~

patho pauses at the top of the netherrack hill, boots hissing briefly as he shifts off a magma block.

xyz: -12,485.167 / 67.09835 / 253,295.942

the coordinates ever-present within his field of view tell him he should be another hundred or so blocks away in the z axis, but he can already see the jungle’s grown since his last visit. it’s been slowly overtaking the neighboring nether waste biome for a couple decades, now. rate of growth has held constant, unchanging. that's something, at least.

patho slowly scans the horizon. words and numbers flash across the left half of his vision as his cybernetic eye rapidly processes new information based on visual input: netherrack, netherrack, crimson nylium, grass, jungle wood, jungle wood, jungle leaves, weeping vine. light level 3, 3, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4. there's a lava pool eleven blocks over in the x axis; light level 15.

he starts walking again.

153 fps t: inf fancy-clouds b: 15x15 3 tx 3 rx c: 695/41672 (s) d: 16, pc: 000, pu: 00, ab: 42 e: 23/109, b: 0, sd: 9 p: 18 t: 109 error fc:0 xyz: -12,487.331 / 65.21091 / 253,375.987 block: -12,487 65 253,375 chunk: -780 15 7,835 facing: south (towards positive z)(1.5/5) client light: 5 (0 sky, 5 block) biome: error:nether waste local difficulty: 6.75//0.00 (day error404 not found) sounds: 5/247 + 0/8

the data shifts with every step. he's learned to tune most of it out by now, only paying attention to the biome indicator as he crosses the chunk threshold.

biome: error:crimson jungle

particles and sounds immediately jump up a couple degrees. glowing red specks dance slowly in the air, mingling with the ambient noises; hoglins rooting around in the brush, parrots calling unseen from the canopy above, lava bubbling in a pool nearby.

p: 35 sounds: 23/247

the temperature is warmer here. patho shrugs off his jacket, letting it hang at his elbows as he picks his way through the jungle. he doesn't even need to think about where he's going, coordinates left ignored at the edge of his vision. he's taken this path many times before, and he never has to wander very long.

his boots crunch softly on the nylium and grass terrain. jungle leaves and crimson fungus alike brush at his shoulders as he ducks underneath branches, taking care not to get tangled in weeping vines.

this is his favorite jungle. it's not the only crimson jungle he's ever come across- not to mention the warped jungles- but out of all the biomes he's seen, it's the one with the greenest leaves. something about this jungle sustains the normal trees just as well as it does the fungi, allowing the grass and leaves to stay bright and full instead growing in wilted and brown. it makes a lovely contrast with the blood red fungi.

not for the first time, he's thankful that the jungle is far enough away from spawn to be left alone. if other players knew about this place, with its well-sustained passive mob spawning and greenery, they'd destroy it for resources for sure. but he never worries too much about that possibility, because no mob or player sets foot in this jungle without permission from-

a weeping vine suddenly sprouts from the ground and lashes around patho's leg.

it's quickly joined by several more, snaking out from the undergrowth to wrap around his other limbs. before he can blink, he's lifted off the ground and pulled up into the trees. he doesn't struggle, doesn't panic- this is nothing new to him. the vines string him up among the highest branches, where a familiar figure is crouched in front of him, nothing but a pair of glowing red eyes beneath a heap of moss.

<player>dat -7063fdce-39ac-4a12-d836-a990c45b2bb0

"hey, dbubs," patho says casually.

the figure straightens up, hood falling back to reveal his face. his huge red eyes are sparkling with excitement, despite the dark circles lining them, and his mouth falls open in a wide, sharp-toothed grin. vines of varying shapes and sizes curl lazily around his body, small tendrils sprouting from the mossy cloak he wears. a couple veins of red discolor his skin, crawling up his neck and across his face. his messy hair is a bit whiter than the last time patho saw him, tinged red at the roots. a clock hangs around his neck, to match the one hanging from patho's hip.

"patho!" dbubs practically shouts, throwing his arms out.

sounds: 24/247

before dbubs can say anything else, patho asks his usual question. “what’s your name?”

“what’s my-” dbubs blinks, works his jaw for a second. “GODSLAYER666,” he proclaims loudly, puffing his chest out. then he pauses, frowns. “wait, no, i- i don’t know why i just said that. uh…”

it’s somewhere in the middle, then. not as bad as his worst days- at least he’s aware he’s lying, even if he has no control over it. and patho has to admit, that's one of the most entertaining responses dbubs has ever given to his little test.

"uh huh." patho shifts in the web of vines. they're holding a bit tighter than normal. of course, he could still easily break out of them. if he wanted to. "did you miss me, dbubs?" he asks instead, his voice teasing.

dbubs throws his head back to let out a sharp laugh, sending a shower of red particles fluttering through the air. "what?" he demands incredulously, his eyes blown wide. "miss you? i d- eugh, n'you stupid- i- i didn't even notice you were gone!"

patho hums with amusement. "then you don't wanna, like, kiss me or anything?"

"no," dbubs insists stubbornly, even as he comes closer. he steps boldly into patho's space, hands coming up to grab his face. "no, no of course not, i don't..." his long eyelashes flutter as he looks patho up and down. he smells like moss; like old vegetation and decay. there's soil and dried blood caked under his fingernails. "why would i- you ha- you have a lotta nerve..." dbubs tugs at the left strap of patho's mask, tilting his head. "do i- uh, do i get to see ya?" he asks, expression suddenly eager.

"yeah," patho chuckles.

dbubs grins widely, pulling patho's mask down. for a moment, he just looks at him. his calloused hand scuffs along the metal parts of patho's face- the entire ramus of his left mandible and most of his cheekbone, lost in the explosion that took his eye. the remaining skin is rough with scar tissue. dbubs strokes his thumb along that, too.

"i lo- um, i- i hate your stupid face," dbubs mumbles before he finally kisses patho. he seems to process his words a second later, breaking away with a small gasp of "oh! i d-", but patho simply leans in again, reclaiming his lips.

he knows what dbubs meant.

~*~

dbubs spares patho the trouble of walking, simply having the vines carry him to the hideaway. it's a difficult base to categorize: part tree house, part nest, part garden. in some places the floor is made of wood- in others, just a thick layer of leaves. there are potted plants and hanging vines everywhere, interspersed among stacks of barrels and moldy bookcases. little red mushrooms sprout from walls made of thatch and tree trunks. a couple of shroomlights provide gentle lighting as glittery particles drift through the open air; red, from the biome itself, and green from the spore blossom that patho brought him last year.

the vines unceremoniously drop patho onto the makeshift bed- a mat of moss and old, shredded banners. he's barely gotten settled, pulling his mask up and pulling his jacket off, before dbubs flops onto him with a heavy wuff.

"so!" dbubs starts loudly, propping his elbows up on patho's stomach. "what brings ya to see ol' dbubs today, huh?"

patho huffs a laugh. "what, i can't just stop by to say hi?"

"oh sure, okay." dbubs rolls his eyes, one of his vines flicking through the air dismissively. "you j- yeah, okay, be all secretive, then! see if i care." his haughty demeanor doesn't last long, though, as he shimmies up a little further, arms folded on patho's chest. "d'you- uh, do you wanna hear what i've been doin'?"

patho sighs good-naturedly, shifting so he can tuck his arms behind his head and lean back against the wall. "alright, go ahead."

dbubs beams at him and immediately starts telling lies. he tells patho about all the amazing things he's built (the jungle looks the same), all the incredible battles he's fought (no one's entered the jungle in years), all the wonderful places he's gone (he can't leave the jungle).

but patho doesn't mind that it's all lies. he's content to listen anyways.

they carry on like this until dbubs suddenly pauses, scrambling for his clock. "uh oh! gotta schreep."

patho glances at his own clock; dbubs is right on time, as always. that's one thing he never lies about. "okay, okay," he says, pushing dbubs off- he hits the moss with a soft thump. "lemme get my anchor."

"well, hurry up already!" dbubs shouts impatiently, vines swatting at patho's arm as he pops down his ender chest.

after placing the anchor and setting his spawn, patho reaches up and presses his finger directly into the center of his left eye, shutting it off.

he doesn’t regret putting a data processor into his cybernetic eye; the information it’s given him is invaluable. but every now and then, he needs a break from it. even when his eyes are closed, the display is still active, showing blank values on the back of his eyelid. turning the eye off is the only way to make it go away- of course, at the price of half his vision. so he only does it if he’s sleeping somewhere fully secure, and if he’s alone.

the jungle is an exception. dbubs has full domain out here- no mob or player can come close to his home without him allowing it.

"finally," dbubs huffs as patho settles back down. he's quick to cling with both his arms and assorted vines.

patho can't help but chuckle. "what's that you said about not missing me?"

"oh, shut up!"

~*~

patho abruptly reenters consciousness, emerging from a deep, dreamless sleep. with a soft groan, he fumbles to turn on his cybernetic eye, wincing at the sudden influx of data.

149 fps t: inf fancy-clouds b: 15x15 3 tx 3 rx c: 695/41672 (s) d: 16, pc: 000, pu: 00, ab: 42 e: 1/109, b: 0, sd: 9 p: 52 t: 109 error fc:0 xyz: -12,587.412 / 96.77253 / 253,401.623 block: -12,587 96 253,401 chunk: -783 15 7,845 facing: north (towards negative z)(1.5/5) client light: 7 (0 sky, 7 block) biome: error:crimson jungle local difficulty: 6.75//0.00 (day error404 not found) sounds: 27/247 + 0/8

"goooood morning!" dbubs calls, over on the other side of the little nook. he's busy rummaging through barrels, perhaps trying to find some breakfast. it’s unlikely he has any food stored; when he’s hungry, he hunts, and the jungle always provides.

"mornin'," patho says, rubbing his face. he sits up- and then pauses. there are weeping vines wrapped tightly around his legs. he sighs. “dbubs, you’re doing it again.”

“what?" dbubs manages to sound surprised. "no! no, i’m not, i’m- i’m just over here, minding my own business, crafting a loom.”

“a loom,” patho repeats flatly.

“yes! for um, for banners.”

“do you even have any wool?”

“do i ha- uh, of course! yes, of course i do.”

“can i see it?”

“no. no, i- i just ate it, actually. um-”

“you ate it?”

“yeah. sorry.”

patho sighs again. he kicks the weeping vines away. "i uh, i didn't mean to be gone for so long," he says, rising to his feet. "but, you know, i- i got held up with a job."

"a job?" dbubs glances over his shoulder at patho, squinting. "what kinda job?"

patho stretches his arms above his head, hearing both his natural and mechanical shoulder joints pop. "some guys out west are tryin' to make a portal out of hels."

"a portal?" dbubs's mouth falls open. "oh, for goodness sakes- and you call me a liar!"

patho knows better than to take offense. "it's true. they've got a player who came here from another world."

"uh huh." dbubs scoffs, but he can't quite hide the anxious shimmer in his eyes. "yeah, yeah, sure... so- i mean, did you do it, then? make them a portal?"

"basically." patho shrugs. "i uh, i told them everything they needed to know, to make one."

"right. you told th- okay." dbubs nods, bites his lip. "um- you didn't stay? to see the portal? or, uh…”

patho chuckles, crossing the distance to put his arms around dbubs's waist. "nah. i mean, come on, you know me, dbubs. i'm a- i'm a hels player, through and through. what's the rest of the universe got that's better than this place, right?"

dbubs grins at that, slotting his arms through patho's. "oh, you- you're such an idiot! y'know, i uh, i've been outside'a hels before and i- um, let me tell ya, you're missing out!"

"mhmm." patho smiles even though his mask is on. he knows dbubs can tell.

"yeah! "dbubs nods vigorously. "and, uh, there's- i got a whole world that's just mine!"

"is that right?" patho rests his chin on the top of dbubs's head. "tell me about it."

"it's a beautiful world, of course. my perfect builds, i ha-"

"of course."

"- uh, hey! quit interruptin'!"

"sorry, sorry."

"i di- thank you. so i um, i built a big ol' crastle, with a- hyeugh, a sorta um, horse course... y'know, with th- with the fastest horses anyone ever saw, one-stick horses, and- and uh, everyone was really impressed…”

this won’t last forever. it’ll only be a matter of weeks, months if they’re lucky, before patho won’t be able to ignore the itch to wander again. before the comfort and familiarity of the jungle becomes unbearable. before dbubs grows so used to his presence that the jungle itself tries to overtake him, the way it has dbubs- vines and veins of red.

he’ll leave without warning in the middle of the night, while dbubs is sleeping, because trying to leave while dbubs is awake never ends well. he’ll leave without a word and try not to think about the frantic whispers he knows dbubs sends him on lonely nights, despite knowing patho will never receive them (it’s the only time he regrets fusing his communicator with his arm- but how was he supposed to know he’d hear it in his mind? how was he supposed to know that disabling the chat was the only way not to lose himself completely to the endless flood of data?)

he’ll stay away long enough for dbubs to shatter apart, losing himself to the wildness of the jungle, and come back together. he’ll wait until dbubs has recovered from his grief, so that the next time dbubs sees him there will only be joy. because no matter how many times patho hurts him, dbubs always forgets it eventually.

“… so, you see, ol’ dbubs been workin' on a new technique, using the uh. grade- uh, gradient? block palettes... to create depth. ah hah! so- so listen, now, to teacher! it all starts with the color scheme..."

this won’t last forever. so for now, patho closes his eyes and listens.

error fps t: b: tx rx c: (s) d: , pc: , pu: , ab: e: , b: , sd: p: t: error fc: xyz: / / block: chunk: facing: ( )( / ) client light: ( sky, block) biome: error: local difficulty: // (day error404 not found) sounds: 1/247 + 0/8

~*~

[popculturebuffet]

Powerpuff Review

Hello all you happy people and it's time to fight crime, try to save the world and come just in time to.. unpack childhood trauma! Today we're talking about powerpuff, the story of what the powerpuff girl's childhood's did to them, the impact it left and why Bubbles burned out as a child star after Professor Utonium exploited them like he always did and not some old friend of his who didn't understand these were children and not cash machines. Where Mojo was a man and not a monkey like he'd always been and where the budget is a paperclip and a piece of string and tom kenny was involved

Yes Powerpuff... the CW Pilot which somehow got to trailer before Warner realized they done fuck up and shut it down. Which somehow got to script. Which... we do not have a copy of yet. Soooo

YUP! Though this year the prank.. isn't that far off. I am reviewing Powerpuff, a work about the Powerpuff Girls as young adults and the future they live in, with the three formally reuniting for the first time in a while, an old villian using said reunion for his own nefarious ends, and at least one of them being in a pretty bad place.

The diffrence is this Powerpuff... actually understands the assignment. Instead of being an edgelord deconstruction of the girls that comes off as if the writers had only heard of the show and pieced together the rest on loose assumptions "BUTTERCUP'S A LESBIAN BECAUSE SHE'S THE MOST BUTCH" "PROFESSOR UTONIUM ABUSED THEM BECAUSE HE SENT THEM OUT AND WOULD MERCH THE HELL OUT OF THEM" "MOJO IS LEX LUTHOR BECAUSE WE CAN'T AFFORD AN APE EXCEPT HE BECOMES A MONKEY LATER ANYWAY!" "THE GIRLS WERE ACTUALLY NOT WHITE EXCEPT BUBBLES BUT THEY WHITEWASHED THEM!"

If the full pilot gets leaked I will review this hilarious and awful trainwreck that it's actresses thankfully got out of. I am fascinated by the mountain of bad decisions. ]

But i'm also more than happy to cover the version of this that is written by someone who actually watched the show, loves the characters and knows how to age them up and explore who they'd be while not pulling punches. Powerpuff can be a tough read that deals with aimlessness, abuse, homophibia and moving on from what you think your life should be, that struggle to find a purpose in your 20's when everyone else in your life is settled and everything you knew is gone. It's a beautiful work. So i'm going to break down this comic: why I love it, why you should read it.. then save the spoilers for under the cut on the tumblr version as there is some stuff I want to get into but a lot of the work's impact is it sucker punching you. I mistakingly read a few later pages and wish I hadn't been spoiled on some things. The series has twists in it's 100 pages and can be read here if your curious before knowing anything

It just finished re-running on Webtoon and it's well worth it. If you need more or just got back, let's begin.

Powerpuff is by @hasaniwalker aka @hasanistories aka the genius behind the previously reviewed Doris Doodle, which is currently being remade for print. And I will likely cover the print version whenever it's released as I loved the original. If you want my thoughts on that one go here

It's in short an excellent comic following a lost star of the golden age who was sadly abused by the system and finds her second shot when a video of her telling off a creep abusing his employee goes viral as she deals with both a confusing new world and her gen z counterpart the studio foists on her whose deeper than she first appears.

So when Kev pitched doing this for April Fools I was on board once I found out who what wrote it. I need to check out more of their work and this keeps up the standard.

Powerpuff Takes place about 20 years later. Here we are in the future and it's bright. Nothing to fear and noone to fight, as Blossom and Bubbles have genuinely moved on from superheroing and found other ways to help the world: Bubbles is traveling the world helping with a charity and livestreaming her travels to get donations, a fitting fate: she was always kind, thoughtful , was bilingual and loved animals so her helping in Guetmala makes sense.

Blossom went into science, creating a bunch of robots to police robberies, help people get reformed, and return giant monsters to their big ole island when they show up at peoples houses at night to wreck up the place. She even, in an ending I love for them, finally helped the ameoba boys, convincing them to reform as being giant walking cells.. meant she could use their help to create a fuckton of cures.

They aren't the only villians reformed either: Mojo gave up evil to settle down with his love intrest from meet the Beat-Alls, Fuzzy Lumpkins runs a popular country chain restraunt having gotten therapy and Arturo is at home having moved on from his life in the gangs before he lost his life like his friends as the last surviving member of the gangreen gang. I guess Ace REALLY coudln't adjust to life after the gorillaz.. or Murdock gave him something that no one but him and 2D possibly had the tolerance for.

Finally we have Princess... who has the biggest role in the story and in a way I thought was brilliant I simply never thought of: When visting Princess 10 years before the story in it's first page , which I get the sense was just a one off Walker did that took off and laid the foundation for doing a full story, Blossom found an old valentine in Princesses latest mech... to Blossom. yes Princess was doing all of this because she had a crush on blossom and just couldn't admit it. And as we see shortly into the story.. Blossom fully reciprocated and Princess fully reformed, helping run her girlfriend's company and genuinely being happy.

So that leaves Buttercup.. and the story is essentially her version of Steven Universe Future and I mean that in the best way possible. Like Steven in that excellent epilouge, Buttercup feels lost. She searches for crime but her sisters worrying police state the comic never fully adresses does that. I mean it does say their going to try and rehab criminals, it's not heartless I just question any system that puts a lot of the power in the hands of a bunch of automation. I'm not sayin git's not a GOOD idea to have something to protect people, lower police, and what not, but Blossom probably shouldn't be the only one running it. I don't think she's abusing it.

It leaves her aimless. The only real joy she gets.. is fighting the rowdyruff boys who do get a dark reimagining.. but it's a genuinely clever one. This work does deconstruct some things but unlike the failed pilot it gets why the original worked.. it simply pulls some thread. In this case the Rowdyruffs are stuck stunted as children and clearly not stable in either sense, yet also are the only friends Buttercup has. The only people she has PEIROD are a bunch of children she fights and her dad whose age is catching up with him. He's kind and supportive as always but enables this routine. Her sisters never visit, and the mayor is an asshole.

And I .. do not like this as the mayor is miss bellum, now mayor bellum.. whose the only character I feel is written horribly out of character. She's overly agressive to buttercup, tells her to get on with her life and geneerally seems to dislike her for destroying the city.. when A) blossom's robots restore the city effortlessly and it's stated to be one of their functions and B).. your not offering any actual solutions to this. Your not forbidding her from operating, your not getting her a job, your not calling her dad which is a lot to do to a grown woman but possibly needed (She doesn't and Utonium only talks to her because he realizes his enabling her isn't healthy). It's jarring in a work where everyone else is on brand. Bellum has known her since she was 6... she'd at least care on some level. She'd be blunt but she'd actually WANT to help her.

Buttercup is stuck, and trying to find a new job.. isn't helping as most of what she finds is service jobs. And as someone who worked a lot of fast food jobs.. it can be annoying.. that you don't know what you want to do or had greater ambitions but this is all you can find. Not knocking service workers, from working those I learned that no people who work fast food work damn hard and deserve respect, i'm saying I get her. And when Utonium gets sick, wont' spoil how or when as it's gutting.

Bubbles is bubbles.. she tries to help and loves her sister. She's the only one in the comic besides the professor to really get through to her because like the professor.. she's kind. She's honest, but she gets just yelling at buttercup does nothing. Buttercup is a fighter by trade who now has nothing to fight. She's ALWAYS been quick to react, quick to snap at people and quick to rebel. Bubbles and Professor get that you have to be firm with her but not confrontational.

And the main conflict is naturally that BLossom, as the older sibling if only in spirit... can't simply be nice about it. She berates Buttercup for being aimless (true), not keeping a better eye on their dad (fair), and generally.. because they've ALWAYS butted head. Walker deftly captures that siblings.. fight. These two have always fought and while they love each other.. the gaps widened. Buttercup's aimlessness and Blossom's relationship with their former foe, someone Buttercup sees as both an invader to their family and a walking symbol of how much of her life is gone have split them.

And what I love is that.. it's even. Buttercup, like me can sometimes be oblivious and SHOULD have been watching their father closer. The accident that happens isn't her fault, nor is the fact she was gone a long time moping, but she shouldn't' of ignored him or the signs. That said.. Blossom is still a dick for a lot of this. She berates Buttercup.. but clearly barely checked in. Living her own life is fine, nothing wrong with that and were she anyone else, living in new york far form wherever townsville is.. that's a fair reason not to visit.

The problem is

She's busy yes but she could make time to visit. To check on her dad and sister, to visit, to be family. Even if princess coudln't always tag along (She mentions when having flown in to help that the g forces are a lot). The rift between them that's grown vicious and toxic.. isn't all on Buttercup. While Blossom did it for the right reasons, she made her sister, the only one of them who WANTED to be a superhero still irrelevant. Blossom can't see how her whole life is waving every problem in Buttercups in her face, while Buttercup can't see.. that's not all blossoms fault. She married a villian because she loves her and Princess has truly changed, going from the bratty asshole she was before, to a confident but shy woman who gave up her millions when her homophobic father gave her an ultimatium, a powerful as hell reveal, and simply dosen't want to keep being treated as an invader when she's TRYING and belongs in the family. When the professor warmly accepted her as of course he did.

It's a divide that's raw, painful and well done throughout. Like steven Universe the problem is mostly internal: it's a person who feels she has NOTHING in her life and slowly gets broken more and more over the story, and a person who has her shit together but can't get past herself and her need to fix things to see her sister is really hurting and lost. And when that gives... it fucking hurts. This is a raw book and it also gets pretty violent in the last act as superhero stuff does come up once last time. I'll get into that in spoilers but yeah.

So before I do if you like the powerpuff girls or you liked steven universe future.. you'll love this one. A fantastically painful character piece that evolves everyone nicely, has a lot of nods and what flaws it does have dosen't hurt the whole. Now we're getting into the spoilers so if you want to read it without any more than i've given out of need, dont' go under the cut.

So yeah... some stuff really goes down.. and it really breaks Buttercup. I had to spoil a lot of the first half as.. the comic is not that but this part really hurts. So in succession.. buttercup HITS blossom. Just.. straight up punches her and breaks her glasses.. which she doesn't need but are a gift from the professor.

What hit me is that.. this doesn't result in a fight. The two don't go back and forth.. it's instead played as any sibling hitting each other at this age would. It's something that hits all too close and is painful.. you can see buttercups regret.. blossoms quite pain. Princess is later utterly pissed over it and doesn't want Buttercup to see her when Buttercup, genuinely contrite tries to apologize. You understand how it got this bad.. you don't like that it got to this, that Buttercup gave her sister a black eye, that thigns got this bad... but neither of them do either. The abuse isn't brushed over and fianlly gets buttercup to realize princess isn't the enemy.. she belongs here. The professor took her in when no one else would. She isn't some invader.. she's family.

And buttercup... looses the rest. While Bubbles is absent for this nightmarish breakdown, otherwise the plot would likely go a different way, the rowdyruffs start to break down. Blossom warned buttecup they were breaking down... but didn't you know.. fix this or tell her that sooner. And as a result we see the boys bodies graphically breaking down. No blood or anything just... like a clay figure or an atom slowly falling apart

It's horrific. You see red under them.. but it's not really bloody.. but it's body horror at it's finest. Their chldren.. just.. slowly dying and

And all of this.. breaks her. And that's where HE comes in. Or rather HIM.

HIM.. is the perfect villian for this story. While the main villian is still the characters own issues, HIM is the only villian left who isn't reformed, dead or some third thign. HIM is left an old man, still fabulous but balding, old and like the professor likely not here forever. He reminseces with Buttercup, missing the old days.. but can't quite push her... until at her lowest she picks upt he old phone.. and he answers.

And in horrifying fashion.. he takes her body, using her insecurities and depression as a battery and amping it up by attacking the city. Blossom does try to resolve things.. but finds her sister ins't there. I love how walker draws HIMCUP. The jagged teeth, the white text on black speech bubbles, all so good and horrifying as HIM destroys the city and our heroines desperately try to hold the line. Thankfully casualties are avoided as the robots are also designed for disaster relief. Princess even steps in.. and breaks a leg. I mean she tried at least, even updated the armor and it's.. genuinely awesome to see her alongside the girls, now having earned it. When you think back to her first apperance... had she just.. bought the equipment to be one and asked nicely.. she MIGHT of gotten what she wanted. She was just so self absorbed she demanded it instead. Now.. she has it and it sucks.. but it's only for the right reasons. To protect her life and try to save an innocent person whose been bodyjacked by camp satan.

In her head.. Buttercup is living her ideal life. She's a kid again, princess is a villain again.. i'ts a perfect him scheme: using the girls own fears and anxieties against them as always. And like his schemes... he fails because.. he lacks empathy. He can't understand.. and thus he can't account for the one thing he clearly didn't prepare for: Buttercup empathizing with princess. Her violent death by BLossoms hands rattles her and her absence.. shakes her. Buttercup is in a bad place.. but realized from their talk Princess isn't some monster... fighting her dosen't fix the hole inside. She's part of blossoms life.. she's her sister in law.. and she needs her. It's what breaks the illusion. Buttercup has everything.. but it's not real. It's not right. And princess calling out to her from outside helps that, helps break it. It also breaks princesses leg with a painful reset being needed but it frees buttercup

And the resolution.. is beautiful. I compare it to SFU a lot, and while I can't know if Walker was inspired by it or not and it's with diffrent enough characters to be it's own thing... the climax has the same vibe: a big fight breaks out.. but that isn't what resolves this. Like steven being stuck in monster form and his self loathing, Buttercup..doesn't punch him away. Despite breaking her arm, GRAPHICALLY... despite getting exactly what she wanted, a final glorious battle, exactly what HIM wanted to... and she stops. She realizes she can't hide from her problems.. or her grief. The simulation was fun.. but she has to face what she lost

And the finale.. makes me tear up. Twice both when reading it the first time and rereading it while writing this to refresh my memory. Buttercups torment at revealing they died, that all she could give them was dying happy playing with them.. and that it left them alone.. and when blossom argues "Well we're still there for you.. you still have us"

And Blossom is forced to reflect.. and realize she basically abandoned her. Her new life isn't unimportant... but she blamed herself for not checking in on the professor, lashed out at the one person she can blame.. and apologizes for it, while Buttercup apologizes for her lashing out and implicitly punching her sister in the face. It's what I hoped the story would end on... after all the pain.. both acknowledge they fucked up.. and move on. And HIM.. simply shrivels away. He wanted a fight, blood, he wanted everything buttercup did.. and her movign past it .. leaves him starving, only telling bubbles he always hated her most after she tries to redeem him.

And Buttercup... wakes up in the hospital. The professor, who passed out due to a brain thing, is okay too and helps encourage her.. telling her there's no such thing as perfect and beautifully recontexutalizing the "perfect little girls concept". Utonium was obsessed with the study of perfection, perfect circles etc.. but in making the perfect child realized .. that's truly impossible. A perfect child.. is just a child. However they end up, whoever they are. A child that does whatever you want is just "a robot". He wanted them to live.

And .. we get a happy ending for Buttercup some months later. She's teaching at the new school Ms Keane, who I was worried about when it was revealed pokey oaks was shut down, as principal. And encouraging a kid being bullied to pop em one when no one's looking. Still herself. As I read this I honestly didn't know what Buttercup would move on to but this fits.. she can still protect.. but in a way that's healthy. She can still be athletic.. but helping kids. It makes the rowdyruff thing come full circle and it's beautiful and she ends the comic going out to dinner with her sister in law, finally fully letting her in.

Powerpuff is masterful. If you didn't check it out at the previous jump off please do and remember: I'm pulling for you, we're all in this together.

[senka-mesecine]

Thought of some potential angst but Barnes saying something harsh to his S/O out of anger and upsetting them, and they give him the silent treatment which is unlike them, only for him to crawl into bed with them later and wordlessly hold them because he knows he fucked up but won’t admit it verbally

All for him getting a taste of consequences for a change

Catching Z's.

Robert Barnes x Reader.

---

wonderful gif by @woman-with-no-name

---

He didn't expect to be forgiven outright.

Fact is, would've been unfeasible if you just went ahead and did.

Your silent treatment too; Barnes figured it was a given.

Simply reality ought to be taken.

Day three and you were still at it, stubborn as a mule, admittedly a justified one --- coincidentally, day three of him not sleeping. Not just in your shared bed, but in general. He had his ways. There were times when he didn't catch any Z's out of sheer fucking pigheaded spite, keeping his eyes open until he could practically feel them burning and itching afterwards --- blue and bloodshot after long hours staring off into the jungle perimeters and this was one of those occasions, except this time around he was staring off of the front porch into the quiet night, Jack in hand and one cigarette devoured after another --- but on the verge of day four of the mutual stalemate he decides it's time to grant himself levity and throw in the towel, giving the body what it needs. It's almost two in the morning when he inches on beside you, your back turned to him, sleeping as you faced the wall, leaving him with ample space to embrace you from behind. Robert Barnes could've forced his own mouth to move in the exact pattern of shapes to create a sound that would produce an 'I'm sorry' out of him, squeezing it out like an unwilling last droplet of a sour, rotten, smug lemon that stayed in the sun too long, but truthfully he'd rather swallow a bullet than ever do any of that shit. If you wanted an apology out of him he'd much rather have you put an actual gun to his head, adjusting your finger on the trigger personally and bid you to pull the damn thing; offer you the choice of doing it. That would've been apology enough; dying.

Instead, he imagined this will do.

He feels you slowly, gradually stirring awake.

Your fingers grazing his arms slung around your form; you shuffle.

Facing him.

He looks at you looking at him and he concludes, if you tell him to fuck off now --- hell, if you demonstrate it in any shape, way or form even if wordlessly, through an action, a gesture, he'll just go outside and end it once and for all, instead, the corners of your eyes grow shiny in the darkness, like you were suppressing some long accumulated emotion there laying face to face with him in his arms, lips parting to inch themselves to the outline of the wound of his chin and slowly travel up, slithering west, up the precipice of his cheek and further up, below his eyes, next to the edge of his forehead, your mouth moving the strands of hair loose there to tenderly graze him with a touch, shifting slightly to attempt and meet the side of his face pressed cheek first against the pillow, settling instead on his mouth riddled with old pits and the remains of damage, no doubt able to taste the residue of three days worth of binge nicotine and liquor on his breath. You were kissing his scars and he was letting you. Truth was, anything he's ever done he's done without ever wanting or needing permission or forgiveness for it, but you? He was being given clemency just right now and it feels so unbearably soft that a punch, kick or spit breaking against him would've felt less sharp and downright violent in comparison; nonetheless, like all forms of pain, he finds himself leaning into it and taking it, closing his eyes --- four sleepless days and nights taking their toll on him in real time. He needed to catch some Z's. He already knew this would be the best shut-eye he's gotten in years.

-"Good night, Bobby. I love you."-

You whisper, still nestled in the crevice of his arms.

He was forgiven.

[buttastic]

so over the past few days I read this comic called mary tyler moorehawk by dave baker and I think I have to talk about in a more formalized sense but I don't want to do it on a platform where I'm connected with actual comics people so here you go tumblr. there's gonna be a lot of spoilers for mtmh here (and to a lesser extent of house of leaves and rant: the oral biography of buster casey) because it's impossible to talk about this thing otherwise

here we go

the first thing I will say about it is that it takes rather a lot from both mark z danielewski's house of leaves and chuck palahniuk's rant: the oral biography of buster casey.

this is not a problem for me. if anything, this is the opposite of a problem for me. I love those books. I've been wanting more comics and specifically more big published graphic novels that do the kinds of post-modern structural weirdness that these prose novels do. but that kind of gets to my problem with it:

there are completely vanilla straight-forward comic pages and then there are hol-esque prose sections and never do the two intertwine.

the story is this: à la house of leaves, a journalist writes about the production of his favorite canceled-after-9-episodes tv show, mary tyler moorehawk, in an alternate 5-minutes-to-a-hundred-years future dystopia à la rant. this leads him to try and track down the original creator of the characters, where he discovers that mtmh was originally based on a comic. the structure then bounces back and forth between sections of this comic from plot points long past where the show cut off and journalistic sections where the narrator interviews people and does a bunch of junior detective stuff. that is the Plot and Structure.

the Premise is that dave baker, the actual author/cartoonist who lives in our world, receives a package in the mail that contains the manuscript of the book we're reading, that was delivered to him by dave baker, about his quest to find dave baker. I wish I could post screencaps of the intro, but alas hoopla doesn't let you take those so I'm stuck with what other people have posted.

but so anyway this entire book revolves around dave baker doggedly extolling the singular genius of dave baker while dave baker kind of shrugs at the camera. it's breathtakingly narcissistic in a way I almost respect.

the dystopian future that this takes place in is one where owning physical objects has been made illegal--for environmentalist reasons?? we'll come back to the bonkers politics in this. but so the primary entertainment is either fascist propaganda films or hologram web streaming videos with no stories where you watch people do mundane activities that I have to imagine is some kind of dig at tiktok. the only option outside of that is the way of the physicalists--people dedicated to the cult of illegally hoarding physical art objects from before such things were purged. the only people who are allowed to own anything are corporations, who can own anything including people, but honestly if we think too hard about what it means to live in a world that truly owns nothing this whole story starts to fall apart.

like it seems like mostly it's illegal to own art? but people are described as drawing several times so art SUPPLIES are at least acquirable, somehow? but whatever, not what this is about.

but so anyway somebody gets the bright idea to revive the old ways of tv shows (except they have to broadcast them onto dishwashers instead of tvs, since dishwashers are one of the few things people are allowed to own. also, somehow, broadcasting is meaningfully different than streaming) but also along with this she revives all of the evil predatory shit tv companies do verbatim, which feels really weird.

like the book is about dave baker (the journalist)'s quest to figure out why his favorite tv show was canceled and he lives in this dystopia where art is illegal and he managed to illegally watch this show because his uncle knew a guy who knew a guy and he has to dodge police raids to even talk about this stuff--

--but the reason his favorite show was canceled is because a tv ceo tried to claim perpetual rights to someone else's comic characters and that person left in a huff?

like idk! do something interesting with your setting! I actually do not think trying to combine the approaches of house of leaves and rant is a bad idea. they both feature people talking Around an object/person that is never directly depicted but still shines through anyway, and both have elaborate metanarratives running at the same time. there's a lot to work with there!

so I think the mistake here is trying to combine the Worlds of hol and rant. hol takes place in a world that is basically identical to our own to try and get you to wonder if the navidson record actually happened, or at the very least if johnny truant actually found someone writing about it. rant takes place in a scifi near-future to continuously bait and switch you with wondering how far removed this reality actually is from our own. both of these are extremely Core To What These Books Are About.

mary tyler moorehawk, on the other hand....seems to just be using these as a fun aesthetic to explore?

mtmh makes extensive use of hol-style footnotes, but they never really go anywhere. they're extra set-dressing but they always immediately resolve themselves and are almost completely ignorable. every once and a while one will loop back around, but never in a way that's plot-critical.

the scifi setting is completely incomprehensible unless you've also read rant and know kind of what it's aping. in rant there is a big cultural divide between upperclass people who do their media consumption by plugging sensory recordings into jacks in their brains to feel things second-hand and lowerclass people whose brain jacks have been rotted out by exposure to rabies (listen it's chuck palahniuk) who have to actually experience things in person if they want to feel anything.

like, I feel like this is what mtmh is gesturing towards with the divide between hologram tiktoks and Real TV but it feels sooo telling that baker decides to replace palahniuk's focus on real sensation to one about....watching better tv

I don't want to get too in the paint of defending chuck palahniuk here because I am on record as hating that bastard (and I do. even if I do like the book rant for the most part. it's complicated) but rant is at least a book About something. rant is a book about feeling everything you can and defining who you want to be when other people have already made up their minds about what you'll be and also the AIDS crisis. house of leaves is a book about love and grief and obsession and rampant un-checked obsessive-compulsive disorder.

so what's mary tyler moorehawk about? that's easy: comics! sort of.

at least, it wants to be about comics. mtmh is trying to weave you a tale about how discovering the right piece of media at the right time in your life can Change you and make you realize how wonderful art can be. problem number one with this is that in mtmh the medium that touches people is a tv show, not a comic, but we'll come back to that. problem number two is that this revelation doesn't Do anything for these people except teaching them that they like art now. nobody except genius auteur dave baker attempts to actually Fix anything about their situations or society, and a constant throughline in this is is that fictional people are better than real ones.

I just think that's really sad? that's really sad. in the end of the book dave baker the journalist takes back his own findings and dave baker the comic genius' loose pages back in time to deliver them to our world dave baker, who is apparently the younger self of the coolest guy who ever lived. (I found This whole plot weirdly derivative of the scott pilgrim anime but what's another one here, right?) dave baker the genius tells dave baker the journalist (these ones are actually different guys) that he needs to make sure mtmh gets published as a comic, not as a highly corporate work to get butchered, and to foster a future where art and artists by extension are protected by society.

well that's all well and good, but what does art Provide in this universe, exactly? mostly, it seems like the primary functions are escapism and validation, the two most toothless things anything can provide. in the face of this horrible dystopia we must endeavor to Feel Better About Ourselves In A Way That Makes Us Feel OK About Avoiding Other People. great, awesome

I know I'm avoiding talking about the comics thing once again, but let's circle back to what this dystopia actually is. oh god tumblr is eating my shit let's see if I can reconstitute this

so things are described as fascist and corporate in mtmh a lot but the actual things that happen—loss of private property for environmentalist reasons, a focus on communal experiences instead of private ones, the death of consumerism—feel pretty unambiguously leftist. it's not enough for me to call this comic right wing, but it IS enough for me to call it centrist hand-wringing about how art won't be able to exist under communism. but whatever. this book is not really interested in making grand political statements.

so if there's no point in a better future, let's imagine a better past. finally, let's talk about mary tyler moorehawk's relationship with comics.

the climax of mtmh occurs when journalist dave baker finally tracks down auteur dave baker and discovers that mary tyler moorehawk—the beloved, deeply flawed, and obviously meddled-with tv show he dedicated his life to—was originally based on a much longer, infinitely more nuanced and elaborate series of comics.

this is the crowning achievement of this entire book. the world opens up under our protagonist and he learns to no longer be content with shadows and to walk out of Plato's cave. everything this book was trying to do crystallized for me at this moment, because of how much it mirrored my own entry into comics. for me, it was the feeling of discovering my favorite anime were based on manga. it was hearing that the guy behind invader zim also made comics. it was learning who jack kirby was and how hard he had to fight to make his art. it's the Core Thesis of not only this book but all of cartooning—that indie comics are a beautiful realm of possibility that are one of the few modes of expression that can exist completely divorced from corporate oversight and executive meddling. it's beautiful!

and it's maybe 3 pages out of this 250 page book?

I've been talking almost exclusively about the prose side of this book so far. the other half is the actual comic Mary Tyler MooreHawk, the one the show is based on.

it's a fun, cute pulpy adventure comic about a family of do-gooders repeatedly trying and failing to save the world.

it gets bleaker and bleaker as it goes along. where the prose half is potentially the more interesting half, I think the comic half is the more compelling one, where a recently aggrieved bunch of adventurers keep losing more and more but decide to pick up and keep trying anyway because it's all they can do.

the style is fun, both visually and in terms of genre. it's kind of a pastiche of all kinds of adventure comics from different decades and different countries, though this does mean it dips into some pretty racist tropes near the beginning.

it, like the prose, is much better on emotionality than politics. unfortunately for it, I think it gets bogged down in what the other half of the book is doing. it's a petty simple and compelling story but elevating it to being The One Story That Will Save The World shines a lot on a lot of its inadequacies, some of which I don't even think are actual inadequacies.

pinning the entire media revolution on what appears to be a flimsy children's serial is summoning my inner "read another book" guy and I don't even think it's a bad children's serial. I think if the prose part had talked up more about the parts of this comic that we don't get too actually see at all instead of presenting a small section of it like a mic drop it would've gone over better.

because at the end of the day, mtmh is just a pretty conventional comic. even in-universe it seems like the thing that was novel about it is that no one else was making comics. this kinda gets at my big picture problem with this whole book:

I have been talking about the structure and maneuvers of this narrative purely in comparison to prose novels.

part of this is on me. I could really easily compare the included sections of comics in this book to the black freighter sections from watchmen, for example. but that's not really the most interesting part of watchmen, is it?

I see in mtmh a deep and abiding desire to do something different with comics as a medium, or at the very least a desire to do something different and also showcase comics. but the problem with that is that it derives most of its big maneuvers from and expresses them through prose.

I found this comic because I was reading through reviews over on solrad the other day and found this one by elias rosner. I was getting annoyed about 1) this book being an obvious house of leaves pastiche and then not getting talked about by someone familiar with house of leaves, and 2) the assertion that this book was more about tv than comics when it seemed obvious to me from the premise that this a book about the way comics are devalued.

but the more I read of this thing the more apparent it became to me than while it has massive respect for comics as a cultural heirloom, it either doesn't know or doesn't care about the interesting structural and narrative maneuvers unique to comics and defaults to drawing from prose.

grant morrison has been churning out bizarre post-modern comics since the 80s. we live in a post-homestuck world. pick up a michael deforge comic. read even just a scott mccloud book on the possibilities of comics? read anything. read shoujo manga with brain-breaking panel setups. read webcomics interrogating what it means to be a comic. read abstract comics. read weird comics. comics comics COMICS! there's so many of them!! they're all so interesting and weird!!!! come on man!!!!

anyway. I think there's a part of me that really wants to like this book. in a lot of ways, I feel like I was the target audience. but I also think it had ambitions that were not at all matched by the level of skill and effort baker could put into it. idk. I've only ever read one other book by dave baker, everyone is tulip, which struck me as a solid but weirdly copyright-dodging retelling of real life musician poppy's real life abuse. maybe I'm just destined to always be frustrated by this guy.