#I realize it's probably for comedic effect and such

[sinkat-arts]

Today's scratchy scribble brought to you courtesy of my brain thinking too damn hard about how Bokuto needs so much constant validation.

[littlelightfish]

I realized that Maizuru, despite being with Kabru's party for a while, still gets Holm's race wrong.

At first I thought it was kind of the joke of the whole thing. Calling Marcille a frog woman, Holm a dwarf, and getting Rin's name wrong. Holm looks tired, annoyed or maybe a bit embarrassed by this mistake. He's the only one who's background is not "explosive". Marcille's and Rin's are, and his is just plain, dark, and with those lines at the bottom. Why? Maybe for comedical effect. Probably because he's been telling her he's a gnome before this. Just like Chilchuck doesn't like being called a kid and people still call him that, Holm doesn't like being called a dwarf and people keep calling that.

It's not uncommon for people to mix those races, and since Shuro's party isn't the best with races (they don't even know Chil's a half-foot) they probably just think Holm is a wierd-looking dwarf. They probably hadn't seen any gnomes before. If it was Maizuru's first time seeing a gnome and calling it a dwarf, it could be understandable. But she's been with kabru's party long enough to realize that that dwarf is, actually, a gnome.

I think she doesn't believe Holm is a gnome, just like Marcille or Senshi don't believe Chil's an adult.

That's the face of someone who's tired of this shit. It's like when someone tries to guess your country just by the way you look. There's maybe a bit of ignorance at first, but I think Maizuru is deliberately deciding to not believe Holm when he tells her he's a gnome for the first time. And he's so done.

[eattherichplease]

This is one of the many things I love about the Addams Family, and the main thing that resonates with so many people I think, including me.

Here we have Uncle Fester in season 2 talking about his (departed) brother Clump, that has never been mentioned before. And everybody is listening attentively and with great interest... Because they don't know the story and they probably didn't know about Clump either!

Not so many episodes ago, someone asked Uncle Fester what was his surname anyway... He confessed he didn't know. Uncle Fester doesn't know his surname!

This happens again and again! And not only with Fester. Everybody's placement on the family tree is dubious.

I realize this is made for comedic effect, but the implications are beautiful.

"But how can that possibly be?", you ask. "Hadn't it been established that Fester was Morticia's uncle?"

Well yes and no! You see, it changes from episode to episode.

Because it doesn't really matter!

The "Family" in "Addams Family" doesn't have the usual meaning. Family means "people we love and have history with". Hence the myriad of cousins and uncles of different races, nationalities or even species, all wildly different.

Blood relation is completely irrelevant in the Addams Family. The Addams Family is a found family, an assortment of weirdos drawn together by their shared interests, pathos and aesthetic sensibilities.

It is impossible to drawn an accurate Addams Family Tree. This is by design! It doesn't' matter! And it shouldn't matter!

The Addams family is, deliberately, and inversion of the nuclear family, an antithesis. It's horizontal, democratic, without hierarchies, it's open, it has no definite borders, the relations among members are fluid, and the glue that holds it all together is love not blood.

There are hybrids and monsters in the family, people from different races and sizes and colors - Morticia is coded Jewish, Gómez is canonically "Castillian" (read Spanish/Latino), Itt is Itt, etc, etc -It is all a huge metaphor! The Addams family is hybrid, international, interracial, immigrant, queer, weird and proud of it... in the US of the 1960's!

And it should be even more now!

This is why it is so shocking that there are no canonically queer characters in Wednesday (2022)! It makes no damn sense!

(Yes, I know, Eugene's moms -background characters irrelevant to the plot, an afterthought to fill a quota...)

It says a lot about how conservative/evangelical American TV has become over the last few years.

Netflix, you cowards!

Make the Addams Family queer and weird!

[jedusaur]

did you know the British and American meanings of the words "quite" and "rather" are swapped? genuine question, I want to know if people realize this. I've been consuming British media basically my whole life and only figured it out a year or two ago (when I saw a British poll that put "quite [x]" and "very [x]", which are synonymous to me, as different options), and I just heard Richard Osman and Marina Hyde talking about it on their entertainment podcast as if they hadn't realized it either. apparently in the UK when they say "quite" it means "a little" and "rather" means "a lot"—but they also tend to understate things for either politeness or comedic effect, so if a Brit says e.g. that something is "quite irritating" the words literally mean "a little bit irritating" but they probably actually mean exactly what we in the US would take it to mean, we just miss the sarcastic nuance. Marina mentioned an American actor taking the feedback "that was quite good" as sincere praise when it was intended more as "eh, that was okay" and now I'm wondering if this might contribute to the British perception of Americans as arrogant/overconfident. tbh it was a shock for me to realize that the title of the panel show "Quite Interesting" actually means something along the lines of "Kinda Interesting" and not "Very Interesting" as Americans understand it, and they're so tongue-in-cheek about it that I watched just about every episode without ever picking up on that. I suspect this is an extremely common misunderstanding on both sides that rarely gets cleared up, so I'm curious whether other folks are aware of it!

[lit3rally-m1ke-whlr]

guys I accidentally deleted the essay I wrote in my drafts bc I’m an idiot (I’m crying) so I’m just gonna summarize in less words bc whatever I’m not typing several more paragraphs on this. Anyway I just had to say that I feel like there’s an ableism problem in the Stranger Things fandom. Either that or this fandom just doesn’t like when characters show obvious neurodivergent traits. We see this with El being either infantilized or deemed annoying by fans when she’s clearly developmentally impaired and autistic because she struggles with understanding social cues and just wants to be normal and fit in like everyone else. She was raised in a lab, obviously she’s going to be immature and not have a strong handle on her emotional responses to things, and you don’t have to like her but it kinda sucks that she’s being hated for these things when I can relate to her so much. We also see this with Mike, and I feel like the people calling him the worst character are forgetting he’s literally just a teenage boy dealing with trauma. Like it’s as if they were never a teenager before because trust me I was just like Mike at that age if not worse. I’ll admit I used to hate him too but maturing is realizing the reasons people dislike Mike can easily be explained by either internalized homophobia or neurodivergence. He’s a bad friend? It’s because he’s trying so hard to appear straight and struggles to balance his relationships in a healthy manner, and he often speaks before thinking about how what he’s saying comes across to others, which is something many autistics/ people with ADHD do, not because we mean to hurt others but we can often be blunt or brutally honest and come across as rude (or even just lash out when we feel attacked or hurt as a way to defend ourselves but it often comes out harsher than we want it to) in my experience. He’s a bad boyfriend? He’s actually not and even then it’s because he’s gay and not in love with El but just doesn’t want to lose her. Besides he doesn’t have a great model for what a loving relationship looks like because of his parents so he may not be able to differentiate between romantic and platonic love and stays in a relationship that he’s clearly not happy in because of societal pressure to appear straight and it would be suspicious (in his mind) if they broke up because a) El literally is the coolest girl on the planet, how could he not love her and b) he loses his cover and people might start to notice and question his lack of attraction to girls. But not only that, he clearly struggles with describing and expressing his emotions or recognizing those of others (aka alexythemia) which is common in autistic people. So if he didn’t notice El’s obvious discomfort at the skating rink that’s probably why, and it’s also why he couldn’t tell her he loved her (bc it was a lie but I digress).

But perhaps the best example and the reason I decided to make this rant post is Robin’s character in s4. I remember seeing so many people saying that once the writers decided to make her lesbian they realized they didn’t know what to do with her character, some even going as far as to say they made her ditzy and stripped her of her coolness, which basically proves my point about y’all (as in the fandom in general) not liking ND people because god forbid we unmask around you, it’s no wonder so many of us feel afraid to be our true selves in front of other people. It’s almost as if she was hiding behind a persona to seem more normal and not draw unwanted attention to herself because she’s a lesbian, and once she came out to Steve and was accepted she… didn’t have to do that anymore? She felt more comfortable and safe around him to show her true personality? I don’t know but there’s something off about the way people are acting like she’s suddenly dumb or just there for comedic effect in s4 when she’s literally been so useful like she’s the one who realized music could save victims from being possessed by vecna. She’s literally the same except now she’s out to someone and she gets nervous when it comes to girls she likes, big fucking deal. Not only is this mischaracterization ludicrous and flat out wrong but it’s quite upsetting to see as someone who can relate to Robin in season 4 and is also autistic. Yes, not everyone with autism is like that but some are and to say she’s no longer cool because of it just enforces the perception of autistics as weird and unlikeable just for simply being themselves and makes us feel like we can only be liked or taken seriously if we keep the mask on.

look at me I said I would keep it brief this time but I still ended up writing an entire wall of text on this anyway lol thanks for coming to my Ted talk ig

[jazzisthebestformofmusic]

Hey good evening

been a follower for 13 years now and going through my blog going through nostalgia . i was about to mass download your archive then i realized you had nsfw works as well deleted. if there's any chance you happen to have the full archive of your works i will be grateful

ill pay for reasonable price lol

I never collected rips of NSFW for anything past comedic effect, a lot of it is a deep dive into underpaid employee/mandated market fetishes. What you don't want to do is go to a something 'e' something 'hentai' .org all the while not using a group tag to reference the individual game companies that have the released ""game"" you're interested in. No matter how bad the quality of the game is those types of archivists will catalogue an entire game for a 10x10p tit.

Quality and availability is mixed. It's easy to identify an automated format rip (bit errors -> wrong palette) or 50% compressed jpg. Normal browsing etiquette and I haven't given my computer anthrax while saving autistic fueled searching of defunct Japanese websites. Without emulation and sourcing it's probably the most complete way I remember for the eroge parts of the eroge.

[ananicoleta]

Looney Tunes headcanon time!

I've been thinking about this for a while so now I gotta share it on here!

Bugs Bunny doesn't get mad easily. That's just how he's wired. Calm, collected, level-headed, usually pretty relaxed, lazily strolling down the street while humming a merry melody (eh?), he prefers to chill and doesn't really take anything seriouslly.

A Warner Bros. intern messed something up, be it accidentaly or because he was a careless idot? Bugs doesn't even flinch and immediately finds a way to fix whatever it is.

A student at Acme Looniversity is goofing around way too much during a lesson? All Bugs has to do is give him a look and the child stops at once, but he never raises his voice or loses his temper.

One of his enemy messes with him? Pfff, are you kidding? That's the most fun he's gonna have all week!

Even when he gets irritated by one of them, he doesn't actually get mad mad and he certainly doesn't hate them (he's too cool for that). It's more of an "oh, he interrupted my peaceful afternoon? now i'll have to fuck his entire shit up" kind of thing. He might be mildly annoyed in the beginning but by the time he starts plotting the poor soul's demise, his irritation is long gone. His motivation is rather the principle of "don't mess with me" rather than anger.

Sometimes Bugs will fake being mad to get his point across (to scare people, usually a nemesis or a student), but again, he's not really angry, he's just exaggerating.

However, and this is where my headcanon comes in, this doesn't mean that sometimes Bugs Bunny doesn't get pretty fucking MAD.

Like I said, it's very hard to get him at that point. But when he gets there oh, Lord have mercy! And it's not what people (who have obviously never seen him in that state) might think.

He doesn't shout. He doesn't get physical. He doesn't throw a tantrum. If he does any of those then again, he's not really mad. He either does it for comedic effect or to intimidate. No. It's much more unsettling than that.

Instead, he just goes quiet. And not the usual relaxed, watching-shit-go-down-from-the-sidelines quiet. Oh, no. He's rigid as a statue. His upbeat expression is replaced by one of pure coldness. No condecending smirk, no smug look, no playfullness in his eyes. Just a motionless face with an icy stare.

If Bugs speaks when he's like this he doesn't raise his voice. He doesn't need to. Instead, his tone is serious but surprisingly... calm. Not relaxed like it usually is, but more like... even. Controlled. Firm. There is a slight strain in his voice as if he's doing his best to hold back the greatest rage someone has ever seen (because he is).

If he does this to anyone then that person/toon will most likley shit their pants. Because they know, oh, they know they fucked up big time if Bugs Bunny acts that way towards them.

Whenever he's like this literally everyone is scared of him. Toon or human, doesn't matter, if Bugs is this angry YOU STAY OUT OF HIS WAY.

No one messes with him, not Elmer, not Sam, not Wile, not Marvin, not any of his enemies, no Acme Loo student, no WB intern, even the executives are nervous around him if he's like this. Even Daffy, who gets a kick out of pushing Bugs' buttons every time, is nope-ing himself out of that situation so hard. Like nope. Not today. Nuh-uh. He wants to live, thank you very much.

I feel like I should mention that Bugs isn't cold hearted though. Even if he is in this state he will not be a prick to people who have done nothing wrong or to the ones he cares about. He realizes it's not their fault.

He might be a little distant but it's just because he wants to be left alone to calm down. The others know and understand and will leave him to cool off.

Again, though, he doesn't get this angry that often. In all his life he's probably been like this like three or four times (which is very rare given that he's been around since like what? the 40s? but even if it's happened only a few times it was enough to earn him the reputation of being really damn scary when pushed to far).

Also, he's never ever like that because of a Looney Tune or an Acme Loo student or anyone he cares about. If you are part of the aforementioned categories then it's damn near impossible to get Bugs to be that mad at you. Annoyed? Sure. Angry? Sometimes, yeah. But never mad like that.

No. This type of rage is reserved for a special breed of people. The ones that have crossed Bugs big time, that have done something really messed up.

What makes this so scary for the others witnessing it, even if it's not aimed at them, is the fact that it's so different compared to the way Bugs usually acts. Like, he's almost unrecognizable. Besides, the rabbit is pretty powerful given his whole WB mascot gig thing. He can rock your entire world with just a snap of his fingers.

[toomanywatchers]

Why I Love Travel Season’s Editing Style:

Okokok- I already made a post stating my love for Travel Season after my first initial watch-through of the first two episodes, but I have more to say. Last night, I could not stop rewatching these episodes. Possibly because I am just over the moon seeing Steven, Andrew, and Adam back in action in a show created 100% by them, and where they are allowed to make it their way- BUT there is another reason I could not stop watching it. All do in part of the editing style.

As a self-taught (and soon to be academically-taught) video editor, my favorite thing when watching digital media is seeing what techniques and styles creators use to convey an overall concept to their videos/shows. Some of the more detail-oriented editing I see in today's climate of internet content comes from Watcher's shows. For instance, Mystery Files with the corkboard graphics. Are You Scared of the hand-drawn art from illustrators Mollie Ong and Rafael Mejia. Dish Granted with the use of circle cutouts and white negative spaces. Weird Wonderful World with its cartoon sound effects and stylistic graphics/music to fit whatever atmosphere the boys are in. Puppet History with the motion graphics being put within the confines of the puppet theatre and just everything that goes into the post-production process of the lore events of that show. I could go on, but I might end up writing a whole novel in the process.

Plus, this is about Travel Season... so let's talk about Travel Season.

I was barely 5 minutes into the first episode when I realized just how different Travel Season stands out against anything Watcher has ever created. The overall vibes of the show are calm, peaceful, comforting, and relaxed. The whole show feels like I am watching an old family home video made in the 90s with a camcorder. This style of content that isn't constantly moving at a fast pace and in your face would not perform well in the YouTube algorithm, and I am glad that Watcher was able to launch their own platform to make shows like Travel Season because gosh, this is the kind of content I miss. Oversaturation and pleasing the algorithm can only go a long way as a creative, trust me.

Anywho- back to editing. I am going to point out just some of my favorite editing details that were showcased in the first two episodes of Travel Season. Starting off with probably my favorite scene from both episodes:

This small clip highlights many of my favorite details of the post-production of Travel Season. The first detail I brought up in my previous post involves The Brick aka the camera. The concept of The Brick ties in with what Meredith, Watcher's Development Coordinator, said in Pod Watcher episode #23 about physical hobbies. Something that we can create in a physical sense that does not belong to a digital realm ala the internet/social media. The idea of having a functional prop with The Brick can tie a whole show aesthetic together, but in this case, The Brick also aids in the post-production allowing the team to make smooth-flowing transitions. What I mean is sometimes, especially with a show like Travel Season where they cover many different locations/activities in one video, finding a perfect, easy-flowing transition can be difficult. Jump cuts can be useful in certain cases to hit a comedic mark or shock the viewer, but that is not the overall vibe of Travel Season. The pictures taken on The Brick from their work tripe an easily organized B-roll for harder transition points and simple things such as finding Seoul provide space for much-needed voiceovers for context.

Another editing point that is provided in this clip is the audio. Watcher has never missed the mark regarding audio choices and the addition of sound effects in their work. Sometimes people think that when editing, the editor finds a song that fits and slaps it on the timeline, but here showcases the idea of editing for the environment. What really stuck out to me is the jump cut to the location and using an effect like Lowpass on the audio to make the audience feel as though they are truly standing outside of this nightclub-esk restaurant. Then it jumps to the audio back to normal with Steven dancing as Andrew browses then back to Lowpass edit as they introduce this next location. It's just such a subtle touch that had me all giddy because small details as this audio editing elevate the scene to another level. Showing that Watcher was trying to make you feel like you are there with the boys on their travels. A true immersion effect that I just love.

Also to Adam and Annie who were both camera operators, your b-roll is absolutely superb and adds to the overall vibe of Travel Season.

The last point of editing I want to bring up as it's on the top of my head are these moments:

When they use a frame hold and then change the aspect ratio for a transition. I just find it such a charming technique in video editing. Plus I feel like this transition fits in with the whole "taking photos" approach because in a way the changing of the ratio on a frame hold is like taking a snapshot of that frame like a picture.

I just... I just love it, okay?

Honestly, I could go on and on about every little detail of this show and how they decided to overall produce it, but like I said- novel.

Watcher just puts so much love and care into all the shows they make. Even when it comes to the last process of video production which is editing the episodes together. I have not seen many channels put this much thought into the specificity of their videos like Watcher. This is why I gravitate towards them so much they care about the little things in the shows they create.

Moral of the story: I am in love with Travel Season and with Watcher as a whole.

thank you for listening to my ted talk aka my nerdy ramblings

[milesmolasses]

Not Ridin' on Consistency (Hobie x blk! reader)

AHHH ITS HEREEE

i’ve been wanting to write about hobie for the longest.

I finally got around to it!!

⚠️: takes place around midtown Manhattan (42nd St?), really bad British slang, mentions of red heads, theres a reference in here to my favorite place ever (if u find it, i'll give u a cookie)

"I'm walking on clouds right now, holy shit," you laughed to your close friends. Coming back from gigs at ragers and raves was becoming frequent for the small band we configured. Performing with a small group of friends that you've known since childhood felt like a crazy fever dream; like an "Oh my god there is no way this shit is real" type of fever dream.

Though the gigs you got were small and didn't draw much traction, the fact that there were people out there who enjoyed the type of music you put out there, especially within the black community, really brightened your spirits and only furthered the small band's hopes of one day being wildly known amongst the people.

"My god man, did you see that one girl at the bar ogling at Malcolm?" asked Marsh. They walked in front of the group, skipping as they turned their body to walk backward, now properly looking at you and Malcolm while still ahead.

"What the one with red hair?"

"Yes, bro! Jesus fucking Christ it was like she was undressing you with her eyeballs," said Marsh, hands covering their eyes for comedic effect. Marsh had a knack for knowing when and how people stare at their friends, it's like they can feel other people's eyes on you. If you ever wanted to know if a cute girl or your crush was staring at you, they'd be the one to know.

You threw your head back as you laughed and jabbed Malcolm in his side, telling him, "Yo, you better watch out my black brotha, don't wanna be snow bunnied!"

The Dr. Umar reference seemed to set Malcolm over the edge as he complained the rest of the walk to the train station. Sayings like "My red-head phase was over mad long ago," or "Ya'll never gon' let me live that phase down huh," and other deflections were all that was said the rest of the way to the station.

Upon your arrival at the station, the emergency exit was open with busy people hustling to go in and out of the station without having to pay. So with a small crowd of people, you and your guys went through the exit. One person, in particular, caught your eye amid the crowd of people; loud, statement black wicks and a leather jacket wrapped around his waist, probably removed because of how hot it was in the station, and a scuffed pair of well-worn doc martins to pull together his all-black fit. A beautiful dark skin shimmering with sweat in the crowd of people, and to go with that, the eyebrow and lip piercings he had really suited his hard face. Strapped around his body, was a guitar out in the open with no case. "No case on the guitar isn't crazy?" you thought to yourself.

"Hello??? Y/N are you still with us, we have a train to catch?"

You blinked as you realized where you were. It's not like you were in a trance, just in your own head for a while, admiring him... Huh, suppose he did put you in a trance. Looking at Marsh in front of you, you looked up a bit past their head to see the train schedules and when the train was coming. Reading the sign it said the next train would be there in three minutes. "We have time, c'mon," you said as you walked past Marsh to the staircase headed to the 6 train.

Marsh looked up at Malcolm, eyes wide and astonished, "Did I not just..."

"Never mind that, let's go," said Malcolm. Marsh watched as Malcolm followed you up the stairs absolutely dumbfounded.

"I'm not appreciated enough," March mumbled as they sighed.

As you walked along the platform, you looked around to sus out your surroundings deciding on where a good place to stand and wait for the train was. That's when you saw him again, leaning on a surface with his hands in his pockets staring off into space. Your head started to wander with thoughts of who this guy was, and if you should know him or not considering the guitar strapped around him. Thinking of every punk, alt, and rock group you knew, you just couldn't seem to draw a conclusion about who this guy was. Maybe he wasn't in a band, maybe he rocked solo.

You stood on the opposite end of him, looking back to see where your crew was. You saw them headed towards you from the staircase as you smiled and waved them over. They were pretty far in the distance so you lightly giggled to yourself as you watched them speed walk.

"Nice threads."

What you heard next to you, was a man with a deep, thick British accent, and Lord did it made you weak in the knees. You subtly leaned against the stature close to you and looked to see to where the voice was coming from though, you felt like you had a pretty good idea of who was talking to you.

"Who me?"

"Yeah you bruv, ain't no one else I could be talkin' to."

You raised an eyebrow and your nose flared looking at him; this British attitude he was taking up with you did not sit right with you at all. Before you could say something you heard the train rumble and the lights grow brighter as the train emerged from its tunnel.

Malcolm was the first to make it to you with Marsh not trailing far behind as he said, "There is no reason this platform needs to be so damn long! The train doesn't need all this space!"

You could barely hear him though, with the train closely approaching and the British dude still on your mind.

"Literally, I knocked my case into people trying to speed walk over here," said Marsh gesturing to her case and the people all the way down the platform.

The train slowly came to a stop as it squealed along the tracks. Walking on the train as the door opened, you and your crew walked to an open area near the door opposite to the ones you walked through. Leaning on the door with Malcolm in front of you, you looked to your left and saw him, the rocker dude who gave you attitude earlier. Ignoring him, you decided to pay attention to your friends surrounding you. However, it appeared Marsh had other plans.

"Hey man, you should probably get a case for that soon. Don't want it getting scuffed up," said Marsh as they peered at the British guy standing next to you.

"Yeah, I've been told. Thanks mate."

In such a packed train, it was hard to move around to get a better look at the dude, so Marsh peeked her head even further to continue to conversation further. "So you play with anyone orrr..." they said, voice dozing off on the last part.

"Uh-huh. Got some ol' chaps back in London who I play with. You lot play good tonight?"

He turned his head looking over at Malcolm seeing that he had a drumstick twirling between his fingers. "Yeah at this underground place on 42nd. Shit was wild man," said Malcolm as he reached his hand out to give the guy a fist bump.

I stayed silent during their small talk about punk rock and guitars and whatnot. I fiddled with the strap on my shoulder from my bass case trying to look forward and ignore the conversation.

As they smiled and laughed at some joke Malcolm made, Marsh peeked their head towards the mystery guy and asked "Yo what's your name again?"

"Hobie. Hobie Brown."

The train began to loosen up a bit as more people started getting off at their stops. More seats opened up so we sat down across from each other. Marsh and Malcolm sat on one end of the train and me and Hobie sat on the other side.

"You strum? What model?" he asked nodding down at my case.

"Not guitar, I play bass," I said not even looking up at him.

"Bare quiet. Feels like I'm under some quiet investigation– you won't even give me the time of day," he chuckled. You turned your head towards him as you scrunched your eyebrows at him.

"Ten minutes ago you were rude to me."

"You're exaggerating innit, I was only pointing out the obvious," he said raising his eyebrows and smiling as if he was all innocent. But really he was laughing at your sensitivity.

"Mandem over there was just telling me about how good you were during your show," he said, nodding to Marsh and Malcolm on the other side of the train. "Good lot they are you know?"

"Of course I know, they're my friends idiot," you said, smiling as you rolled your eyes.

"Now that's proper rude, only been two minutes and you're taking the piss out of me," he said, voice laced with sarcasm.

"I-I'm sorry- taking the WHAT out of you?!" Now it was your turn to laugh as you covered your mouth and lolled your head back, not able to control the laughter coming from you.

He sucked his teeth and smiled as he mumbled under his breath, "Americans."

"Hey, you're lucky I don't start coming for your dental institutions next," you said as you looked over at him and smiled.

Looking up at the impending stops you had left on the train, you recognized Malcolm's stop was next, so he would be getting off soon. Turning to look at Hobie still sitting, you stood up and asked him to put his guitar down to save your seat. "Are you mad-!?"

"Just for two seconds while I say bye to Malcolm," you said already standing up and walking two steps to where Malcolm was sitting.

When you walked up to him, he was grinning up at you with the fattest smile ever, already standing up from where he was sitting ready to get off the train. "He's cute-"

"Shut up and c'mere," you rolled your eyes as you hugged him close to you. "Today was good man, text me when you get home," you said.

"Of course," he smiled as he pulled away, blowing a kiss to Marsh still sitting down.

"Text me when he asks you out," was the last thing he said to you as he exited the train. Looking towards Marsh and taking the now empty seat next to them, you rolled your eyes as you complained about how unbelievable he was for saying that. What you didn't notice was that Marsh wasn't looking at you as you spoke to them, they were looking directly in front of them.

"You say all this now, but what if I told you he has been staring at you for the past few minutes?"

"What-" You looked away from Marsh to see Hobie looking right at you, guitar by his side still saving your seat. When he noticed you looking back, he smirked at you as he nodded his head.

Marsh gave you a knowing look as they elbowed your side, "What the hell are you still doing here? He's waiting for you!"

You sighed while smiling as you walked over to Hobie. He took his guitar from the seat and shuffled to cross it back around his torso.

"So here I am looking dizzy with a guitar sitting next to me while the peng girl who asked me to do this is chattin' up her mates," he said as his eye followed your body as you sat next to him.

"I don't know if that was meant to be a compliment or if you just insulted me," you joked.

"You didn't give me much of a choice innit. I never got your name," he smiled at you.

Your nose flared, but not in annoyance from him like last time, but in a more bashful sense. You smiled and lolled your head to the side as you chuckled, "Y/N."

"Nice name, it up for sale?"

You giggled as Hobie focused on the way your shirt slightly lifted as you brought your hand to your mouth. "You never really thanked me for the compliment I gave you. Death is a proper band y'know?" He was talking about the graphic tee you wore; a band you've known most of your life called "Death," was plastered across your shirt.

"Oh! You mean the compliment that followed up with you painting me out to be a fool right after? That compliment?" Sarcasm and attitude dripped in your tone and it was driving Hobie mad. He laughed as he stretched his long legs out, turning to look at you.

"I'm serious! I'd pay a tenner to meet someone who has even half the mind to look up black rock artists, and here you are in a t-shirt making my wildest dreams come true," he said looking up with his head turned to the side to look at you.

"Ever since I was young, Death was all I heard growing up. Mom was like this huge super fan and would always play their popular songs," your mind wandered off to your childhood. You thought about music blasting through the walls of your childhood home, while your mother bathed you. Her soft eyes contrasted the music she played loudly, lowly singing the lyrics and looking at you lovingly.

"I'm sorry for your loss mate.. must be tough," said Hobie genuinely.

"Oh god, she's not dead!" Your hands covered your face as you bent down laughing. "She just doesn't play them as often anymore!"

"Geez you were chattin' like she passed," Hobie laughed. He watched you laugh and the way your face creased as you smiled, leaning into him. You had the prettiest shiny tooth gem decorating your left canine, glittering in the soft train light. He paid attention to the way your locs flowed and swayed with you wherever your body we. It was almost hypnotizing as they framed your face perfectly.

"I'm gonna call you Bonnie. Okay, Bonnie?"

You lifted your head out of your hands and looked at him with eyebrows furrowed in confusion, still smiling. "Does Bonnie mean something in the British language?"

"Look it up American," he said rolling his eyes. The deep dimples on his face made you smile in delight. They went well with all the lines and creases in his face; "He must be living a happy life," you thought to yourself.

Hobie looked up to see how many stops he had left, which wasn't many. "I gotta get going soon, Bonnie," he said rubbing his hands together. Standing up and brushing his pants off, he looked up at you and said "Welp, I'm off for tonight."

"W-wait huh? Hol' up a sec-" you said as you got up after him to the train doors. Turning to look at you, he raised an eyebrow as a way of questioning you.

"You should at least get my number or something. Unless you leave all your girls hangin' and bangin'," you said smirking up at him.

He chuckled as he looked down at your stature, "Nuff of my "girls" would have figured out by now that I don't have a phone and knock me off for a wasteman."

"So it appears we've run into a little problem, hmm? How can I see you again if you're what the girls say, a wasteman," you questioned with a small glint of hope in your mischievous eyes, hoping that he would give you something, anything that hinted at where you could see him again.

"A loft in Brooklyn might be a good place to start.. "

It was then that the train came to a stop and the door opened. Just as he was about to step off the train, he looked back at you and said,

"But I wouldn't count on it, see, I'm not really ridin' on consistency."

RAHHHHHHH

shit took entirely too long to write

but very worth it <3

[okartichoke]

just to check in are u cool with long asks bc i realize i ramble Quite A Bit and my response is getting long again ^^; also meant to ask before! is they birdiness limited to just the wings and how people would behave with them, or is there more birdiness like bird calls and other bird traits? ik this started with just the wing sketches so idk if youve expanded The Bird Factor beyond that

yes yes long asks are totally chill ,, just expect long responses bwaha

TLDR for this one is: I've been approaching this AU more like a "humans who have wings" world, as opposed to a "humans who are half-bird" world.

they chirp !! (i'm gonna nerd out over a conlang real quick.) i want them to have a long distance language composed of chirps and whistles (it's less complex and can't convey as much as spoken language though) (kinda like Silbo Gomero (REALLY COOL whistle language spoken (?) on the Canary Islands), but more bird like and slightly most concise since birds have access to more sounds) (this language is understandable regardless of species). I believe this idea was inspired by Mariah Pattie, who made an avian species. It's been a while since I watched those videos, so I can't remember completely, but they're really videos regardless so I thought I would shout them out anyways!

but yeah mostly just the wings ! :3 Though, I think the wings do impact personality in-universe, and that's why so many people match the "personality" of the bird they have wings of.

Though also, I like letting bird-specific traits shine through kinda for comedic effect. Like the Feys 100% like shiny things,, and they have strong urges to put pebbles in water LOL. (Theres a character I'm considering to be a bird of paradise, and he DEFINITELY dances for his mate). I picture Apollo squawking a lot. A seabird-person would probably like to spend their time in the water. Just things like that.

That's kinda how I've been approaching it so far!

link to masterpost

[zalrb]

Anora (2024) Review

OK! Since a few anons have asked for an Anora review.

I'm still unsure of whether or not I liked the movie to be honest, but at the very least I could say I found it funny.

In terms of Ani and her character, I understand the people who think she was poorly written and I understand the people who think that she was given substance.

There are definitely choices made throughout to showcase how she's viewed and how she's treated and how she presents herself to make a living, like the fact that we don't really hear her speak during her week with Ivan, like you hear his friends speak, Crystal speaks more than Ani speaks during that week and it's because Ani's not there to speak, she's there to be The Horny Girlfriend, even when they toast her, she doesn't really say anything. Her Role is To Be Ornamental

and she's actually quite reserved compared to everyone else during these escapades, it's her job to present like she's having fun but she's quiet and she smiles at the appropriate times, but she doesn't make any remarks, she isn't really letting loose, she is not One of Them

and when she does speak, it's in her Customer Service Voice but there are moments where we see reflection and actually see discomfort with Ivan's behaviour and excess. Like when he gambles away however much money

or how awkward and uncomfortable she is when Klara is vacuuming around them

there are other things like Ani having a butterfly on her finger

Butterflies symbolize transformation, hope, freedom, good fortune, and these are things that she thinks she finally acquired with Ivan at the beginning of the movie, that he made her believe she acquired only to realize basically a big joke to him to piss off his mother by the end

and the viewer actually does see a transformation in Ani; it's just that it's not an overhaul of her personality, it's a peeling back of what her personality actually is, she isn't playing a Role during the quest to find Ivan, she's herself, this is how Ani actually speaks, this is how Ani actually carries herself

which we get glimpses of in the back room at HQ, her voice changes, her facial expressions change when she's actually communicating without a facade

At the end, she's referred to as a "night butterfly"

and a cursory look at Google (so it might not be right, I didn't do any real research on this) says that in Russian/Slavic folklore a night butterfly is a swamp spirit that "takes a form of a beautiful woman and then visits men in their dreams, torturing them with desire, and dragging life out of them", which again can show how Ani sees herself and how others, namely men, view her.

And there are things you could probably draw parallels with -- she wants her honeymoon to be at Disney World because it's been this dream since childhood, it's framed like it's been unattainable, compared to Ivan who has never had to grow up and is an overgrown, selfish, weak-willed boy.

So, there's all of that, which I believe adds complexity to the character, particularly because I don't think the other characters are more fleshed out than her or anything like that. At the same time, I can understand wanting more from Ani's writing, wanting a little more introspection from her, not necessarily wanting to see how she got to where she was, or more about her home life, but more about how she was convinced of Ivan's sincerity, I can understand that.

For me, the most I felt Sean Baker's maleness behind the camera is actually when Ani beats up Igor and Garnic because I find that male directors or writers do this a lot -- it's meant to be this kind of reversal of the damsel where the female character is this force and the ostensibly bigger, taller, physically stronger men around her are just so inept when it comes to overpowering her, it's kind of like Emma Watson in This is The End

or even that feral child in Barry

but it's usually done in a way that's clumsy to me and that's done for comedic effect like "haha, could you even imagine?" like the inherent tone of the sequence is that the scenario is just so bizarre and so the sequence ends up feeling either patronizing or (obviously not in the case of Barry) kind of like a fantasy/male gaze-y, which I think is also because the men aren't framed as actual threats, they just want to make her feel comfortable or they just have a job to do and it's this huge misunderstanding that we're meant to find funny because of the optics of what's going on.

So, I felt that with those scenes. At the same time, there were a lot of funny lines and great comedic deliveries throughout it.

Sean Baker always has great shots in his movies, my favourites were the ones at Coney Island

I think Mikey Madison was good in it, I think she switched between her persona and her personality quite well. I think she riffed with the others really well, the dynamics between all four of them were fun.

Anything else, you can send asks and we can discuss because this is already monstrously long :)

[xjulixred45x]

Platonic!Arthur Auguste Angel x GN!Reader

Request from @kamiko1234

Can I get some platonic Arthur Auguste Angel x reader ?Reader being an exwire alongside and a friend of Rin, thus absoloutly despising Arthur.

Genre: Headcanons

Reader: neutral

Warnings: Major spoilers for the manga!! proceed with caution! Arthur's hatred of demons, Arthur is kind of dense, kind of Fluff, mostly comedic.

You were Friends with Rin before everything happen.

You two practically grew up together, you were one of the few friends who stayed with him despite his "problematic" attitude.

because you could see that he was a good boy, with good feelings, but that he defended what he believed in very fiercely.

Thanks to this, when the events occur where they find out that he is the son of Satan, guess who he told first :D

You accompanied him through everything, when he lost his adoptive father, the confusion he was going through, etc.

You decided that you weren't going to leave him alone (no offense Yukio, but Reader is more Rin's twin than you at this point) and you begged the people of the monastery to let you go with him, you begged them SO MUCH and with SO MUCH STRENGTH that they had than give in to your demand.

Rin, at first, wasn't very happy, but he quickly forgave you, because after all you were doing this for him, because you cared..

Being at True Cross Academy, unlike Rin, you tried A LOT academically speaking, since you knew that unlike Rin, you didn't have as much physical talent, so you sharpened your mind as much as you could.

(it was definitely awkward having Yukio as the Professor at first, because, well, HE'S 15???)

It was around this time that everyone met Arthur.

although he probably already had eyes on you, being one of Rin's best friends.

sincerely? Arthur thought at first that you were being ridiculous by staying with someone like Rin, you have great potential and yet you stay on the side of a DEMON? Unthinkable!

Every time Angel has to be around Rin (and by extension you) he will always say some comment like that, how you should take advantage of everything you have and get away from Rin to shine on your own.

In Arthur's mind, this was a compliment, since he is the new paladin and therefore "you should take what he says into consideration" and that he was recognizing your potential as an Ex-wire.

but honestly it just made you angry! obviously! because I was flattering you, yes, but I was putting your friend down to do it! It honestly made you feel offended.

but Arthur didn't really understand why you were mad at him. so he kept trying and trying.

Eventually your skills reached a pretty high point (regardless of what type of exorcist you are) and you were feeling proud of yourself.

but Arthur then insisted on giving you specialized training, since according to him, as you were Rin's "best friend", you had to be prepared to "stop him" if he "got out of control".

You were about to get offended again, but then you realized that it really wouldn't have any effect. Besides, would it really be that bad? It is top-notch training after all. Even if it's from Arthur.

Even Rin encouraged you to do it, even if both you and him didn't like it, it was a great opportunity (and partly he would be calmer knowing that you could "handle him" if he got out of control again.)

So you attended his training.

Partly Arthur wanted to prove his point with all this, that you could be even better if you weren't with Rin, that you would be safer and happier without the spawn of Satan with you.

The training sessions with Arthur at the beginning are quite hellish, they are intense, long, but productive. even if you can't move your limbs much because of the pain afterwards.

Besides, even if he tried to deny it, you learned several new things with Arthur, things that you still didn't even learn with Yukio.

obviously, you wouldn't say it to his face at first, but at least you appreciated that it wasn't a waste of time.

The more you improved with your Exorcism skills, the more forgiving Arthur became, you took longer/more frequent breaks, he would take your opinions more into account, he learned more about you and your limits in general.

Even Arthur learned to read your emotions better and would act accordingly, he took great advantage of when you were angry or frustrated so that you could get all that energy out by training.

Although he also noticed very quickly when you were sad or discouraged, on those types of days they would practice things that he knew you liked.

I might even take you out to eat! anywhere, according to the "it's not good for you to do so much physical activity on an empty stomach."

Although, to be honest, it's not at all subtle that he's doing it for your own good. It makes you feel...good in a way. You can start respecting him from there, even if it's as an exorcist.

Also, in general, Arthur after a while no longer talks about Rin when he is with you, noting that his negative comments towards your "friend" affected your progress, which was difficult for him because he absolutely HATED the boy's mere existence, but....he could have bitten his tongue, at least in front of you.

After all, it seems like he won't be able to change that about you. He hates your "friend" and doesn't hide it, but for now he can tolerate your relationship with him.

and as strange as it may sound, he wasn't that bad to be with, you could even say he was fun from time to time.

Apart from the fact that you realized something that made it funnier, it was that this man is DENSE and he didn't even notice when you were making fun of him, so that helped a little to see him in a more sympathetic light.

In general you had never had a "mentor" figure as such and although you liked some teachers, you wouldn't say that you had a bond or anything like that with them, not even Yukio.

so overall Arthur was pretty nice in that sense, having someone care about you because they CHOOSE to do so was amazing, it made you feel good about yourself even knowing what he thought of Rin.

although you also began to understand him a little when you learned about his relationship with the demons, what they did to him, of course, made sense. Besides, it was his job, you couldn't really blame him for being afraid of Rin.

In turn, Arthur also began to care more genuinely about you.

As you raised your abilities considerably, they told him to start taking you on missions on your own or even his own missions, which made him have a level of fear that he wasn't expecting.

I was worried that you had the Theory right, but that when push came to shove you would end up hurt or WORSE on his guard. You were a CHILD for the love of God.

although I decided that for now it would be best if you went on Missions with him, since at least then you can learn FROM HIM without going directly into action (unless it's something Arthur knows YOU CAN handle).

Which meant that every time you went on a mission together, Arthur would push you back by being "out of your league" or even go to more unorthodox measures to protect you.

Like with the Impure Princess for example, you knew you COULD NOT beat that thing, Arthur knew it, but he even got to the point of almost GETTING HIT IN YOUR PLACE on that occasion.

which honestly left you quite surprised and worried. What the hell was he thinking?? (although he looked naughty, you admit that).

Although if you ask him about it, he always says the same thing "it is my duty as a Paladin AND your master to make sure you arrive alive" although you can clearly see that he is not completely sincere. in a good way.

I can also see Arthur referring to you as "his apprentice" or something like that. I think he would like to say something more like "successor" but he knows that's not how it works😅

and he tries to completely deny that he has a special affection for you, but it's SO OBVIOUS that everyone points it out or makes some kind of joke about it.

Arthur:✨of course I care about all the Ex-wires equally!✨

x:The Ex-wire were attacked while you were away!

Arthur: IS (READER) OK!?

Do you see what I mean?

although he also shows more affection on certain occasions.

For example, if you advance from Ex-wiew Rank to the next prematurely, he will be celebrating with you (he wants you to progress after all).

and in general he doesn't like it when teachers try to "bring you down" so to speak. Even if by extension to Rin you get into trouble with the Vatican, he will defend you, because for him you were not guilty, Rin was.

Speaking of, Rin and Arthur manage to make an agreement between themselves, where neither of them acts hostile towards the other while you're WATCHING, a cold war pact.

It's the only way these two can be in a room with you. Rin tolerates Arthur because he loves you and Arthur...ignores Rin for seeing you. win win.

Overall Arthur is quite fun to have as a mentor, he encourages you to progress and "shine" on your own while supporting you in the process, just don't leave him alone with Rin for too long, please.

Shares, reblogs and comments are very welcome!

Thank you for the Request ❤️

I'll be a little inactive from the middle of the month due to family matters, so I will try to make as many Requests as I can! I love you all ❤️❤️❤️

[guiltygearconfessions]

I've only submitted an ask about my lovely incredible wife Justice here but since you're retiring (Godspeed & have fun) I guess I'll say something about my interesting and strange husband..?

I really like Robo Ky and while I realize every iteration of him besides X+ and the tangerine side story + XRD aren't confirmed to be the same robot, I think it does a disservice to his character to state that he was never the person we see in XX or Accent Core? There's a very strong character thread throughout all his appearances and iterations. The Tangerine story even canonizes how he acts in Accent Core.

It just feels like people are ignoring large parts of his personality in order to not deal with the fact that a dude who genuinely kinda sucked to be around is nonetheless a compelling person and became a better person...?

There's genuinely some great character depth in Accent Core even if you just look at the text (his constant hatred of "the original"), without even covering what's below it (how Crow seems to be bored of him, moving on to newer more exciting projects (Robotemkin, the Justice copies, trying to get Dizzy...)), and I think people do themselves a disservice by ignoring that game when writing him.

Also, he's so cute in XX. People rarely talk about AC Robo Ky but they never talk about XX Robo Ky. He's so silly. They reused the same background of him for both Faust's ending and Potemkins ending, did you know? He could brainwash people. It only worked on idiots (exaggerating for comedic effect). And still, I can see the character thread that came from X+ and continued into AC and beyond into XRD... (Though that's probably just my imagination. I doubt the writers thought that hard about him.)

Anyway, I really like Robo Ky. He's not underrated but I think people ignore a lot of his character. Which sucks. Also I really like my beautiful wife Justice I just froth at the mouth whenever I try to talk about her.

-

[hhbluedynamite]

Curse this sinus infection! Whatever was going on with my niblings have gotten to me and now my throat is jacked up...

And it had to have happened when the TADC Ep4 drops!!!!

But... I digress.

(Spoilers Ahead)

First and foremost...the freakin' animation looks even better! The lighting, how the characters move, their expressions *chef's kiss!*

I love how...mundane this episode was. I can see why Gooseworx warned us about it being boring, but...I don't know. I kinda liked the direction this episode went.

Also...I lowkey knew we were gonna get some Gangle and Zooble interaction, which inspired me to write my recent fic...but this was soooooo cute!!! Not to mention the 'Aw shucks' motion Zooble did when Gangle thanked them for the mask.

And we learn that Gangle was in a managerial position before, so that's interesting. But...man. We also learn that she had dreams of making a webcomic before having them shut down...it really makes me feel sad for her cuz, at a young age, my mom and my dad would always encourage me to improve with my art and writing and, now, I'm trying to improve my writing more and getting into the swing of my art (and might be thinking about doing commissions as a way to make money; why not do something fun for money?). So...seeing that Gangle probably didn't get the same encouragement really broke my heart.

After what happened near the end of the episode...I wonder if Gangle isn't gonna wear her Comedy mask as often or none at all. Granted, she didn't say anything about not wearing it again, but, wearing a 'fake mask' like that isn't exactly good for you. Hell, her keeping her plastic mask on seems to be mentally draining.

I was reading through TV Tropes and whoever was in charge of the edits referred to Gangle's new mask as a Manic mask...which I feel is pretty much fitting. Manic episodes, while typical in bipolar disorders, can happen to people with depression...well, seasonal depression specifically, but as someone who goes through the throws of both seasonal and regular...they're one and the same to me. Manic episodes are like a bad drug, dear Lord...

One of the other highlights of the episode was Jax's reactions to...everything. From him realizing in horror of what their next adventure is gonna be to him being forced to watch the training video, nearly Clockwork Orange style.

And Gummigoo is baaaaaaaaaaack! ...And he doesn't remember Pomni... T.T And Pomni...honey...you are too sweet...I just realized that Pomni was slightly put in the backseat. Which, fair, this is the Gangle episode and I ain't complaining.

In regards to Ragatha's words about preferring Gangle being sad...I want to say that she always didn't like the comedy mask as...well, it's one of those metaphorical masks many of us wear to hide away our true feelings. And Ragatha (maybe) wanted to tell Gangle that, but couldn't think of the right words to say and while high, the words she wound up using was...poorly chosen, at the very least.

Seriously, what is up with that Stupid sauce and how the hell can it effect Ragatha? ...You know what? The less I know, the better.

Caine is still a flippin' delight...but what was up with that glitching near the end? Was it for comedic effect orrrr....

And lastly, Kinger...why were you riding a bull???!!! lol

[skylarmoon71]

Miguel O' Hara (Across the Spider Verse) - Extra 2

Miguel had a tolerance for a lot of things, but it was clear that this wasn’t one of them.

His eyes scanned the words on the blog posted. It was a site used to keep spider-people informed of changes and important information within the organization. Yet someone saw it fit to spread what they probably thought was juicy comedic gossip.

It seems that our stoic leader known as Miguel’O Hara is far more dangerous to the ladies than we realize. His gaze seems to have rendered our very own (Y/N) completely helpless to his charms. An anonymous source has said that this endearing couple did not even have to share a kiss. One smoldering look from the stern ruby eyes of our glaring prince had been too much for her pure little heart. Stay tuned for more juicy romantic tidbits from the organization’s hottest new couple.

“LYLA!!!”

She flickered in with a grin.

“Yes~”

He just pointed to the article and Lyla laughed.

“I’m just giving the people what they want. It was too good a story not to share. She actually fainted at the thought of kissing you. How sweet is that!”

He could feel the migraine coming on. It was already embarrassing having to carry you into the infirmary. He kept hoping no one would ask what happened, because he could not provide an explanation that wouldn’t earn some very curious looks. Running a hand over his face, he removed the article.

He needed to focus, but he was too agitated.

Partially due to the looks he would now receive and because he..he’d been looking forward to that kiss.

He groaned, jumping off the platform and heading for the gym. He needed to work out all his frustrations.

For the next few hours he glared at everything in sight and almost broke three punching bags. He thought the workout would keep him grounded, but the faster his heart rate got, the more he could picture your flushed cheeks, beautiful eyes, tempting lips..

The distraction was having a completely different effect. He finally gave up, heading to the shower. The feel of the cool droplets did provide a decent relief. There hadn’t been any anomaly activity. He never thought he’d be so agitated at that fact. Stepping back into his main office, the tried to busy himself with something.

Anything.

“You should really talk to her.” 

Lyla’s comment just earned another hard look.

“Are you really just going to sulk?”

He didn’t reply.

“Well I already called her. Good luck!!”

She disappeared before he had a chance to explode.

“M-Miguel.”

Your voice makes him spin around. He wishes he’d been better at keeping his composure. Your bashful expression is just another reminder of that tender moment and he feels annoyingly pent up again. He didn’t understand why he was acting so uncharacteristically awkward.

“This is my fault.” You confess. You look sullen and Miguel shakes his head.

“It’s mine. I shouldn’t have approached you like that.”

He kept his eyes on the wall and you flushed, thinking back to the moment. You couldn't believe you’d actually passed out. You’ve always been pretty awkward when it came to love, but that was next level. You felt a bit defeated. You’d ruined a perfectly good moment that probably wouldn’t present itself again.

Miguel has been cautious around you since the blog was released. You could understand why. He had a reputation. Not just that but he’s a very mission oriented person. You’ve never heard or seen any mention of love in his life, so it’s possible that he’d written it off to focus on his work which was quite literally saving the world from catastrophe. You sighed under your breath.

You wish there was a way to shove all your feelings in a bottle and toss it away. There was no way you could go back, so maybe if you’d just confessed it all, then you would be able to get past this.

“I-I like you Miguel!!”

He lifted his head, taking in the tears that gathered at the corner of your eyes.

“I-I really like you! I was so happy when we started working so close together. I’ve always been pretty good at compartmentalizing. That’s why I kept running. I thought it would be better if I kept my distance but that just made everything so unnecessarily messy. I’m sorry!”

You feel so pathetic.

He realizes at that moment that he really was blind to anything not associated with his work. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to hold you and tell you that it was all okay. He was an idiot for being completely oblivious. Deciding that the slow approach had been a disaster, he pulled you into a hug. Your hands flattened on your chest, body tense with shock.

“I hope that for now, this will be okay.”

His words sound a bit hesitant, like he’s afraid and your body slowly relaxes. He was just as flustered by this as you were. When you returned the embrace, he felt his own heart change pace. You couldn’t stop the smile or the blush at the sound. You were so used to seeing the serious side of this man that you’ve forgotten that he is still very much that.

A man.

You’re both just very awkward when it comes to this thing called love.

You giggle under your breath, pulling away slowly. Miguel looks down when you part, the blush on your cheeks as clear as day. He can’t believe that he’d robbed himself of something so pure, amazing.

Your expression changes and he’s about to question it, but your hands reach up, cupping his cheeks. He doesn’t get a word in, you lean onto your toes, lips pressing into his. His eyes grew wide and yours were tightly shut. The longer you stayed there the faster his heart raced. You pulled back after what felt like an eternity, just looking at him. You expected a comment, something, but he slumped forward and you caught his weight clumsily, shocked.

“M-Migue!!”

You couldn’t believe it.

He fainted.

Maybe it was contagious.

“This is definitely going on the blog.” Lyla comments. 

[renjihoe]

My Thoughts on Juvia and Gray’s Relationship.

May contain spoilers for the anime & 100yq manga but I’ll be as vanilla about it as possible. This is a long one so get comfy.

A few years ago, I used to be upset at the fact that Gruvia took so long to happen. But now that I’m older and I’ve hyper fixated on the couple long enough, I’ve learned to appreciate their relationship for what it is now and for what it was in the beginning. From the start I’ve always shipped Gruvia but I never expected them to be together in the first place, PLUS I only shipped them because I honestly just liked the idea of them being together. Liking the idea of a couple and the couple actually being good together is two different things and I knew that. My initial thought was “how funny would it be if they actually got together”. Kinda like a gag if you will. But overtime I started to REALLY appreciate their build up. There are plenty of couples out there in popular anime who’s relationships parallel to Gruvia, (the girl or guy is deeply in love and the other party pays them no mind). But what I really hate about relationships like that is when they get slapped together at the end just to please an audience. If Mashima did the same thing, I could honestly say I probably wouldn’t be shipping Juvia and Gray to this day, but luckily for me and other Gruvia fans he did not go that route. People say that fans forced Gruvia to be canon which is just not true since FROM THE BEGINNING of the series, Gray was told by the fortune teller that he would be tangled up with a water woman in the near future. Plus the simple fact that their characters were designed to match each others (water and ice), Juvia is also a semi-yandere (I only say semi because Juvia won’t actually do anything to hurt Gray or the others she cares about) and Gray is a Tsundere. In the beginning Gray was honestly just a dick to Juvia, but that was more for comedic effect which me being a hard core Gruvia fan at the time, sometimes I didn’t appreciate. But now a days I really do appreciate the comedy between the two characters because I’ve realized there is a good balance between their comedy and the seriousness of how they actually feel about each other. You could even call Gruvia a slow burn but in my eyes the pacing is perfect and very realistic.

Here are my thoughts on Gruvia from Gray’s perspective. Gray was pretty compassionate towards Juvia when they first met, even though they were enemies, Juvia of course gets love at first sight. As they get to know each other, Juvia’s love grows more and more intense and in Gray’s eyes it comes across as pushy. Though I personally saw her love for him being a “I see you need love, let me love you” type thing. He slowly (very slowly lmao) warms up to Juvia and they start going on jobs together and forming a close friendship, to the point where they would rather go on jobs together instead of with the rest of the team.

And then the plot starts to get a bit heavier and so does their relationship. Juvia and Gray have multiple occasions where they make protecting each other their main mission. But two particular scenes stood out to me in the last two anime arcs. Juvia sacrifices her relationship with Gray to do what was best for him, we all know the scene so I won’t go into details for the sake of time and spoilers. But in that moment that’s when I decided I didn’t ship them just because the idea was cute, I shipped them because they NEEDED each other. Juvia finally understood Gray and his history, while Gray not only understood his festering feelings for her BUT he got the closure he deserved of his family, all thanks to Juvia. Although there were subtle hints that Gray started to develop feelings way earlier on than this scene, THIS is when he knew for sure how he felt.

The last and finally scene that pretty much sealed the deal for them being my otp was when they both sacrifice themselves to save each other. **cries 😭** We got a full length scene of them damn near confessing how much they meant to each other. We all know what happens at the end of that scene, then Gray makes a promise to Juvia and that was to take her feelings more seriously. The thought of him loosing someone else he loved definitely shocked him into reality and broke that Tsundere spell that was casted on to him by the creators…well kinda. In the anime Gray eventually confesses his feelings in a round about way and I HATED IT! I just wanted him to lay it all out there on the table. But maturing is realizing that, that actually wasn’t the confession and that’s apparent in 100yq.

Although I would love for them to just be together already, I appreciate Mashima and Ueda taking their time with this couple and really putting emphasis on their shared character/relationship development. I also appreciate that we get this development through Gray’s perspective, it adds a bit more to them as a couple. In conclusion, I’m lonely and I want what they have. No but seriously I’m soaking up every bit we get from Gruvia! Since Gruvia days is coming up, I had planned on doing a relationship/couple analysis from Gray’s perspective but this honestly sums it up lol!