#I'll come back to this with commentary!!!!!

[screamingcrows]

Between Desires

Notes: This was supposed to be a fic about massaging Ratio. This fic is not about massaging Ratio. Steal for AI or anything else and I'll make sure your bathwater is forever infected with Legionella spp. Tags: Dr. Ratio x fem reader, irresponsible bath behaviour, mostly fluff, oral f receiving, established relationship, nsft end, 1.7k Minors DNI

"-came to the conclusion that while each perceivable object was, on a grander scale, made from incomprehensibly small pieces, all of them identical, order had been imposed on the system to-"

A little twitch and the following motions of the warm bathwater had Veritas diverting his attention from the pages down to where you rested between his legs. Only then did he notice the soft snores accompanying your breathing. To say the sound and sight of you so relaxed made his heart soar would be an understatement.

As long as you weren't swallowing bathwater again.

Although Veritas would've preferred for you to stay awake, somewhere down the line, he had become quite accustomed to your small interruptions. Huffs, chuckles, sighs, questions, corrections. Your curious mind was something to be treasured, some of your commentary insightful in ways that had Veritas questioning the value of all his titles and diplomas.

The foam had all but dissipated and your scented candles almost fully burned down, the intermingling fragrances heavy and comforting in the air. A trip past the artisan who made both would be due soon. He set the book down onto the small bench beside the tub, finding himself no longer in the right frame of mind to read.

Veritas had long since had to accept that between savoring how perfectly your curves slotted against him and enjoying a book by himself, the first would always come out on top. It was an entirely different matter when you were listening as well, of course.

If the old theories of a cosmic mind and the nature of all material had been true, then Veritas had no doubt he was made of the same as you, his being constantly drawn in by yours. Just as how both of his hands had unconsciously sought the softness of your stomach, thumbs tracing the wet skin with the reverence of an artist touching a masterpiece.

Not his masterpiece. No, you did not belong to anyone but yourself, and Veritas considered himself blessed to have you so close. Blessed in far more important ways than an Aeon's gaze could ever grant.

Vanilla invaded his senses after pressing a tender kiss to your wet hair, unfortunately, the taste of soap that followed had him tensing with effort to suppress a cough.

"Mmm… I'm listening…" Your words were a little slurred, your sleepy mind probably thinking he'd cleared his throat to get your attention.

A small smile tugged at his lips, arms fully encircling your waist to maneuver you properly onto his lap, "Of course, so what do you think?"

"What I think?" Veritas couldn't help but smile at the uncertainty in your sleepy voice. He guided your head back, carefully bringing a handful of water up to rinse the remaining soap from your wet strands. "I think someone is trying poke fun at me."

"Do you now?" Warmth bloomed in his chest at the sight of your hand reaching behind your head, the familiar playful tug of his hair making it impossible to keep from smiling into your hair, "by preemptively assuming the intentions of others, we become less inclined to recognize non-verbal cues, subsequently hindering genuine interactions."

Barely had Veritas processed your unimpressed hum before a splash of lukewarm water doused him. "And childish attempts at deception are rewarded with equally immature retaliations, plaster-head."

After wiping his eyes, Veritas could no longer resist the urge to curl around you, letting his lips trail gently along the curvature of your shoulder and licking up a few droplets of water. Only when your breath came out shaky did he pull away, taking a moment to appreciate how perfectly his palms cupped your chest.

There were numerous reasons to despise how easily blood pooled in his lower half, the simple pressure of your thighs enough to have his skin burning and mind buzzing. Countless unfortunate situations had arisen and been narrowly avoided due to how easily you affected him. A fleeting kiss, a teasing whisper, a light brush of hands. All of which had caused him to throb with desire in the past, just as he did now, burying his head back into the crook of your neck.

But no inconvenience mattered in the face of your content hums, not even the knowledge that continuing to rut against your thighs while submerged in water would leave his skin irritated for at least a day. Under normal circumstances, Veritas would be the one holding his desires back until both your comfort was guaranteed, even as need seared every nerve in his body.

Which was exactly why feeling you pull away had his eyes widening. Water sloshed against the sides as you stood, leaving Veritas to frown despite the tantalizing view of shadows dancing across your backside as you stretched. "Better get out before I fall properly asleep, or you turn into a raisin, whichever comes first."

A raisin. He huffed in (mostly) faux indignation, running pruney fingers through his hair before hoisting himself up as well, "Some would argue the heavy snoring earlier was indicative of already being 'properly asleep' as you say," he carefully stepped onto the fuzzy bathmat - acquired to combat your complaints about cold feet despite being a breeding ground for microorganisms - reaching for a pair of towels and pressing one into your outstretched arms.

He went rigid with anticipation at the light press of your body against his back, mind readily abandoning the jars lined up on the counter and letting the years of practiced movements take over. If there had been awards given out for restraint alone, Veritas deserved it for getting through the deep breaths it took to have his half hard member not jump at the first sign of attention. "Hurry," your breath danced along his skin, "or I truly will be asleep before you can join me."

Had he been a simpler creature, Veritas would not have hesitated to abandon rime and reason to follow at your heel. The vision reflected in the mirror was not one of myth, not an elven girl dancing and laughing in a marsh, shrouded by mist just waiting for someone to ensnare in their madness. Your back was turned, no gaping hollow anywhere to be seen.

Still, based on ability alone, the accusation wasn't entirely without merit - you had at least captured and ensnared him without any trouble. Three of four applied, cleanse, toner, serum, moisturizer. The eye cream wouldn't be necessary today. Hadn't been for a few weeks.

Veritas couldn't help but snort quietly to himself at the sight meeting his eye upon stepping out from the bathroom. Fae creature his foot. There was nothing graceful or even remotely elegant about your current predicament. Face down on the bed and spread out like a sea star. And somehow, it was all the more appealing to him. What need was there to drape your body in silks and jewels when nothing could be as beautiful as the story told by every mark life had left.

If sayings were to be taken literally, Veritas' heart would have collapsed in on itself long ago with how tightly it squeezed. Knowing exactly what was needed to resuscitate him, little time was wasted lingering further. Observation constitutes a sound first step in most investigations, but Veritas had already taken six with determination to cross the room, knees swiftly making contact and sinking into the mattress.

"So slow…." You whined, the sound regrettably going directly to Veritas' groin.

He couldn't help but smile at the string of content sighs that followed his lips' featherlight path along the back of your thigh. So delicate beneath him, Veritas kissed the raised lines adorning your legs, the ones that always had you fretting, before moving further up the bed. It was all he could do to not immediately cage you in as he leaned down to whisper in your ear, "Memento vivere."

Despite your proclaimed exhaustion, your hips raised with both speed and precision, drawing a soft gasp from Veritas' lips at the teasing press. "Mm, yes well.. To the late are left the bones.."

Oh Aeons above, your sleepy voice was driving him mad.

As soon as his hands had found their home on your hips, it was impossible not to give a tentative thrust forward, just enough to have him shuddering at your inviting heat. It treaded the narrow path of his desire, not the scalding heat of coffee nor the faint whisp from a candle. Before you had time to complain, for he knew you would at his withdrawal, Veritas had moved to kneel behind you, inhaling the heady scent of your arousal.

No matter the choice of fragrance you chose to rub into your skin, honey, almond, roses, berries, vanilla, you'd gone through a plethora of variants over the years, nothing could rival what met him upon gingerly parting your slick folds. One arm had already wrapped securely around your thighs, knowing how you always squirmed at first.

Veritas couldn't help but groan at the first languid pass of his tongue, gathering up your essence to taste. It always stroked his ego how you shivered, even more so when your hole clenched to eagerly ask for more. So much practice and observation had gone into knowing precisely the pressure and angle at which to nose your clit to keep those exquisite sounds from pouring forth.

Clearly, your exhaustion had been quite honest, not even bothering to put up a display of embarrassment as you usually did.

Instead, he felt an amused grin tug at his lips when your hips rocked back to chase the tip of his tongue. The only thing to lament as Veritas continued to work you open on his tongue was how the position wouldn't allow for observing your expressions.

"Veri-," your whine barely pierced his concentration, fingers moving to properly grasp your thighs, peeling back one work of art to better perceive another. "…more"

Usually, a 'please' should have found its way into your request (which would at this time have been denied regardless, for Veritas was far from satiated) but the picturesque arch of your body had him keen on heeding your desires. Just for today.

"Mm," his fingers tightened their grip, his heart fluttering at the contentment hanging in the air, "patience, remember?"

[arsenalgbt]

Part 2/2: sorry this is so long.

Kieran thought about standing him up, he’d not meant to say yes to Leo. KT didn’t want to get distracted from trying to get his degree, he needed it to make his dad proud. His dad who’d given up so much to raise him and get him there. Hector told Kieran that he doesn’t have to date the guy, but that he defiantly needed an orgasm or three to centre himself again. Kieran went on the date and him and Leo kept talking and talking until they got kicked out of the restaurant. They walked back to Leo’s place in comfortable silence and Leo kissed Kieran goodnight before going inside. Kieran liked that Leo was taking things slow, Leo couldn’t figure out what he was doing. He wanted to fuck Kieran, not share some virginal kiss with him. This continued for weeks, Leo kissing Kieran goodnight and then leaving and when Kieran asked if they were a proper couple, Leo said they were. Leo hadn’t told anyone about Kieran, but he supposed he should now that he apparently had a boyfriend. Kieran had told Hector nearly every single detail, Kieran didn’t know how to do relationships and defiantly didn’t know how to do them with rich lads like Leo who decided to invite KT to a party to meet Ben and Dec. Neither of them expected KT to be introduced as Leo’s boyfriend and Dec made some comment about how KT should enjoy him while he can which led to KT learning that Leo’s parents would likely already have someone set up for him to marry. Kieran leaves, annoyed at Leo for leading him on, annoyed at himself for thinking he belonged with these lads who view marriage as a business transaction, annoyed at himself for thinking Leo would stay. KT’s own mother didn’t want to stay with him, why would Leo whose clearly better then him?

Leo hears what Dec said and runs after KT, they end up having a conversation that feels more like an argument than either are willing to admit,  and Leo learns that KT is terrified of being left so he promises not to leave him. KT tells him not to make promises he can’t keep, and Leo kisses him in response. Leo doesn’t know what he’s doing, his parents would not approve but Leo wants KT, he wants to be with KT and he wants to see what life is like when he’s allowed make choices for himself. Leo promises not to leave and KT promises to do the same (even when he gets upset and scared, he has to talk to Leo and not run from parties because Dec’s an idiot). That’s the first night they have sex and for the next three years, KT and Leo are love’s young dream. Leo has met Kieran’s dad and his friends from back home (a majority of whom Ben does sleep with)  and Kieran is basically living with the three of them (and being tutored by both Leo and Dec because uni is hard but he’s almost there!) but he’s not told his parents yet. Leo is scared of what will happen if he's forced to choose between his parents and KT. Leo doesn’t know what life is like without his parents but he certainly doesn’t want to live a life without Kieran. Leo is two and a half months pregnant when they all return for their final semester of college in mid-January (Kieran had looked really good on Halloween) and he knows Kieran is freaking out about it. They’d taken the test together in Kieran’s dad’s house on Christmas Eve together, they tried to do all the big moments together. Kieran is terrified that Leo will leave, that his parents will make him come home and Kieran will never see the love of his life or their baby again. Kieran thinks he’ll fuck up their kid. Leo plans on staying and when Kieran finally breaks down in Leo’s arms, Leo suggests they elope. Kieran stops crying straight away   because there is no way he heard that right. Leo says they might as well make their promise to stay legally binding and that he loves Kieran enough to view the marriage as more than something that has to be done. Leo knows it’ll make Kieran happy and knows his parents will get on board with KT and the baby if there’s a ring already on his finger (Leo’s parents value tradition  but he knows he can convince them to let go eventually if they see he’s happy). That weekend they pack Dec, Ben and Hector into a car without telling them what’s happening or why they’re in suits and they go get married. When Ben jokingly asks if the reason for the elopement is because Leo’s knocked up, Kieran and Leo don’t deny or confirm and simply say it was one of many reasons.

The first few months of marriage are hard. They’re living with Dec and Ben and Kieran is working and studying and feeling awful for not paying rent now that he’s actually living there. Leo says he doesn’t have to pay and they argue when Leo asks why KT never tried to pay when he was basically there all the time. Leo is a high maintenance pregnant person because he’s stressed out about college and having a baby and telling his parents and he fights with Kieran about all of this. They can’t agree on where they’ll live after they finish (London? Scotland? Belgium?) Kieran says they need a flat that he can pay for half of because he’s not going to be a trophy husband, Leo thinks this is ridiculous. Leo accuses KT of sleeping with Hector when he thinks the pair are hiding something (Kieran was trying to plan a baby moon and had asked Hector for help), the surprise is soured by Leo’s accusation and the fight that follows. Leo eventually tells his parents about the baby and his husband and they react by saying they are disappointed with him, Leo lashes out at Kieran as a result. They make it hard for each other to stay but they stay. They love each other and they promised they’d stay. Things eventually start getting easier. Birthing classes ease Leo’s stress, Kieran finds ways to contribute to the house that make things better (how Leo never knew Kieran was good at fixing things before marrying him is still a mystery). They graduate with no idea of what’s next and Leo is just so thankful he didn’t go into labour at the ceremony. He almost passes out when his parents come up to him, he’d invited them to the ceremony but didn’t think they’d show up. They ask to meet Kieran and Leo just nods wordlessly and brings them to where his husband and father in law are taking photos with each other. Kieran says it’s nice to meet them in person which confuses Leo until his mother mentions Kieran had called and essentially gave them shit for abandoning their son just because he chose to be happy and loved. Kieran wasn’t going to let Leo be abandoned like he had.

Leo’s father tells Leo he wants him to take over the London branch as soon as he’s back from maternity leave. Leo says he needs  to talk to his husband about it first to which KT responds by almost passing out because is Leo insane? Obviously he should take the job! They leave their parents and go for a walk around campus in the same comfortable silence they experienced on their first date until they are away from the crowds. Leo asks Kieran what he should do and Kieran tells him he should stay, that London is their home and that he wants it to remain that way for awhile. Kieran wants to find a job, wants to find a flat that he can pay half for, wants to raise his baby in London among the family they’ve created with Ben and Dec. He wants their in-laws to be in different countries and for Hector to fly in and out of their child’s life when he visits London from Spain with way too many gifts. Leo wants the life Kieran is proposing and they make it happen. Kieran declines the offer to work for Leo’s parents (and Dec’s parents when Dec makes them offer) because he wants to make it on his own merit, wants to succeed beside his husband not because of him. They’ll figure everything out and eventually they do  through the ups and the downs. They find a flat, Kieran gets a job, they figure out parenthood with their first child and they disagree and fight and make up and laugh and help one another. They stay. They always stay.

I need approximately 48 hours to respond in an orderly manner..................... trust I will be back when I'm more coherent ASHHDFASDFHJJHAHBHVBDFGVKHGDHGJ

[ariadne-mouse]

I feel fandom would get along a lot better if there was mutual understanding that liking a character, agreeing with a character, and thinking the character is well constructed/executed are all separate (if often overlapping) positions, each with their separate tastes and subjectivities. Also: character portrayals are intended to make the audience feel things; this is separate from (if often overlapping with) analyzing/appreciating their actions and role in the story.

[aquickstart]

ok sure i'll talk about farleigh start. i'll talk about his tragedy of never being enough as it were and then having to deal with fucking oliver. sure. disclaimer: it's about class (and race) and the horrible reality of the rich. the horrible reality of living as farleigh.

another disclaimer: i'm white! and poc definitely pick up on everything i'm talking about here as it is, and better. i was and am specifically interested in farleigh vs. oliver but it's impossible to examine without considering race. definitely let me know if anything abt this sucks!

farleigh and oliver are similar. it's annoying because every intruder that is not himself is annoying, partly because felix's attention swaying from farleigh is dangerous; there is always a threat of being discarded, even if no precedent existed. the potential is terrifying.

but you'd think he's seen this before, every summer (if venetia is telling the truth) or at least often enough to learn to recognize it fast, so he should know this will pass. part of it is i think still the deep anxiety, and i think he hated every boy that was there before, and it is sort of routine.

but definitely a huge factor in farleigh's annoyance is the fact that he's a biracial (black for cattons, that's all they see) man in a white rich household. he's alert and exhausted all the time. of course he's angry at oliver, regardless of whether he's the first to crash at saltburn for the summer or the fifty-first.

but the important thing is this.

farleigh is very jealous of and angry and pissed at oliver because farleigh sees all the similarities between them. outsider, in financial trouble, whatever it is, in need of cattons; and yet oliver is preferred. and farleigh seems to be the only one to really consider it. felix does not pick up on the hint when farleigh brings up the birthday party vs. his mother. felix's clumsy "different or... anything like that" is as much about race as it is about class, of course. the "we've done all that we can" bit is felix absolving himself of guilt because surely they had, surely the mysterious collective cattons that he's not really part of had tried all they could do. to him, farleigh is different from oliver, because farleigh has been helped. felix is rich and white and twofold uncomfortable with farleigh, even if he's nice about it, even if he genuinely enjoys his company; he doesn't look too close at farleigh because he feels too guilty to come too close. and farleigh can't do anything about it. he can't nice himself into it. the fucking tragedy of him is that he's never enough in the world of the ultra-rich white, even if (especially because!) he's born into it.

farleigh is very pissed at oliver because farleigh also sees all the differences between them. you know who can be nice poor white enough to fit in? fucking oliver. felix says "just be yourself, they'll love you" when oliver first moves in. farleigh was also probably told the same thing, and felix also probably believed that farleigh could just be himself, but even if the cattons were magically not racist at all (impossible), it wouldn't make a difference to farleigh. he would still self-censor, keep in check, be in dangerous waters (because racism is not just about the individual, but about the system). we see that he'd won himself leeway by years of trial and error by the way he speaks to the family, but it's still within the boundaries of acceptable, built by the cattons. he's part of them because they allow it, and farleigh is very, very aware.

the annoying thing is oliver can be himself. like, truly, genuinely, he can just be. and farleigh can't help but envy that.

as a side note, oliver is obviously jealous of farleigh in the beginning as well, because regardless of the reality of farleigh's situation, he was born into it, and hence, at least in oliver's mind, has his position solidified. oliver's whole thing is unquenchable thirst and hunger for whatever and everything the cattons have (including themselves!). he wishes to have been a catton from birth. to oliver, at first, there's nothing farleigh can really do to lose it. and until he figures out the cattons completely, he can't help but envy that.

but i think farleigh senses something different about oliver early on. at least on the level of the text, we have "you're almost passing [for] a real, human boy", which is so important because farleigh is the first to point out oliver's weirdness. the next to do so is venetia in the bath scene calling him a freak, but it's too late. farleigh is too early.

and i like to think he clocks oliver too early because he sees the jagged edges that he recognizes in himself. i think that one other thing that farleigh envies is oliver's freedom to let go. freedom to let go is very similar to freedom to be, but not quite the same.

to be is about perception: farleigh knows he cannot fall out of line, but would like to, and oliver does not have to worry about it at all (i mean, he does, because oliver also performs for felix, but farleigh doesn't know that).

to let go is about the self: farleigh is too scared to even want what oliver eventually does, to even consider the possibility. oliver can let himself want. oliver can let himself act. oliver just can do things and want things. i'm not sure farleigh can.

and so in this scene, when oliver's wants and actions have landed him nowhere with farleigh, felix, venetia, the cattons, of course farleigh gloats. he can let himself do that, because if the cattons are slowly discarding him, farleigh can allow himself this one small victory. he's relieved because despite the dangerous similarities, oliver is, thankfully, not really the same as farleigh, right?

but like. this movie is a love letter to all things gothic. oliver is a white man. he prevails. the brief performance that oliver put on did eventually end up more effective than farleigh's lifetime of constraint. my heart fucking breaks for him to be honest.

the issue that remains is the fact of farleigh's survival. i like to think that oliver came to respect him. oliver is smart, but farleigh is clever. he picks up on everything oliver does (to refer back to the karaoke scene, farleigh immediately retaliates in the cleverest way, in the moment), and he's the only one to do so consistently (venetia, again, for example, comes close, but too late; oliver doesn't like that, there's nothing to work with). hence, stay with me for a little longer, the paradox: farleigh survives because he was never enough for the cattons, but he is very worthy of oliver's attention. in his own freaky way, oliver wants him. look at that.

so. farleigh. farleigh might come back. he always comes back. and i think oliver wants to try harder next time.

[idontmindifuforgetme]

i love anthologies. anthologies are so sexy

[kenzan-kiwami]

everybody claims to be a kashiwagi enjoyer but the only time anyone ever talks about him is to say he's the hottest piece of meat in the series

[vmures]

second verse, much like the first

I was tagged by the ever fabulous @oldefashioned with the request to do my url in beloved movies this time.

So here we go:

Victor/Victoria

Mulan

Undercover Blues

RED

Ever After

Spirited Away

This one was challenging. Both because I'm still waking up and so struggled to think of movies starting with various letters and because there are a lot of great movies out there that could have fit and I had to choose which one to use.

If you'd like to play along, please do so and tag me with your response! It's fun to see what movies people pick.

[svtskneecaps]

literally it's 3am where i live and i'm on mobile but FUCK IT i haven't posted any actual writing in like a YEAR on this blog whose description include the words "I WRITE" and i can't tell if i'm even going anywhere with this so fuck it under the cut is the prospective absolute mess of the first chapter of the flipo family time loop fic. (for clarity, flipo family as in slime, mariana, and juanaflippa) this covers loop 0, aka the relevant parts of canon. words: 1630

parts of it i popped off with and other parts i hate; up to you to identify them. also the italics and other formatting got erased when i copy pasted and i'm re-adding all of it by hand so if i missed a spot, no i didn't. if i missed an accent on a letter in spanish that was a typo, if i missed a ¡ or ¿ that may have been on purpose.

oh and for obvious reasons, content warning for mentions and mild descriptions of child death and child murder. no blood, and most of it is a three word mention; i'd say the brief paragraph beginning "Tilín didn't scream" is most of the reason this warning exists.

Charlie Slimecicle stepped off the train.

He’d been hoping for a bright, sunny day to start their vacation, but was sorely disappointed. The portal had apparently taken them pretty far, since they’d gone from noon to night time. Talk about jetlag. They hadn’t even been on a plane.

“What happened to the other guys?” he wondered aloud as he stepped onto the platform.

“Yeah no clue,” Phil said, scanning the empty station. “Thought they’d meet us here.”

“Guys!” one of the Spanish speakers--Vegetta, he’d said, when they’d all met up at the first station--called, from a lectern at the wall. “There is a book!”

They crowded around as he read the instructions aloud--something about pressure plates, Slime wasn’t paying that close of attention. He was a little more preoccupied with making sure it only felt like his brain was dripping out of his ears. That would be kind of embarrassing.

Which was not to say that he wasn’t enjoying the constant onslaught of people talking over each other using words he may or may not understand. In fact, it was the opposite; he was frankly thriving in the absolute chaos that kicked back up around him as a timer appeared in the wrist communicators they’d been provided along with their tickets.

“Como se dice ‘we are going to die now’?” He giggled, chasing Phil and Fit to one end of the station.

“¡Vamos a morir!” shouted Spiderman, echoed seconds later by the black bear in the collared shirt.

Giddy over the high of attempting to use his high school foreign language for the first time maybe ever, Slime absolutely didn’t contribute much to solving the puzzle, and before long the sound of the timer ticking down was accompanied by a loud buzzing alarm.

“It’s been an honor!” he shrieked at the top of his lungs. “It’s been an honor!”

The bear ran past them again, shouting, “I’m going to die!” in English this time.

“Adiós amigos!” Slime yelled.

The countdown ended.

And then his communicator buzzed, and there was a video playing on the screen, showing a cartoonish yellow duck in front of a blurry beach stock photo. He skimmed it absently--some generic welcoming message and another side quest for them--distracted by Maximus audibly losing his shit laughing across the station.

“Come on, I’m trying to take a vacation, I gotta work now?” Fit complained. “This is ridiculous.”

Slime wanted to jump on that bit, but the message cut off with coordinates marred by static and the noise of the emergency weather alert system and he lost his train of thought completely.

“I got the English book!” Spreen called, holding it with two fingers like it had personally offended him.

“English leader,” Vegetta said, seeming to find that amusing.

“English leader.” Spreen laughed and flicked the book away. Slime stepped back but somehow it still nailed him in the chest.

“Guess I’m reading then,” he said cheerfully.

“In Spanish?” Maximus said.

“Um.”

Vegetta called something, backing across the plaza with the book open in his hands. Phil backed up to the wall.

“Here,” Phil instructed, “we’ll read it here.”

“Okay okay.” He flicked it open. “So we have to get water wheel planks--”

Their peace lasted a grand total of thirty seconds as voices suddenly began shouting, overlapping in chaotic chorus.

“What is that?” Fit demanded.

“Is that coming from the other side?” Phil stared up at the top of the wall.

“This is the thinnest thick wall I’ve ever seen,” Slime said, giddy laughter bubbling out of him again. “Is this thing made out of pencil shavings? If I sneeze on it, is there gonna be a hole?”

“Nevermind, we’ll read it over here.” Phil dragged them away again, but the Spanish speakers were dispersing into the trees.

“Forget the book,” Fit said, “follow them!”

(In the end it was explosives that took the wall down, which in hindsight was a precursor to how a not insignificant portion of time on the island was spent. The first day, however, it was just funny, much like everything else.)

(That was to say, the first first day.)

The communicator had indicated that today there was something special planned, so he made an extra effort to wake up.

“Morning Jaiden!” he called to his upstairs neighbor.

“Hi Charlie!” He could hear her farming through the wall. “Glad you woke up on time!”

“Well you know, you know, El Backflipo couldn’t miss it,” he joked, sifting through his backpack. “Got any spare food? I’ll trade you uno backflipo.”

“I have so much toast, come here and get some, free of charge.”

With a quick backflip and some toast to start the day, he popped open the map.

“There’s a lot of people down the wall,” he noted, their green dots so clustered they formed one. “Wanna check it out?”

“Yeah sure.” Jaiden tossed some seeds into a chest. “Do you know what this event’s gonna be?”

“I have no idea,” he admitted cheerfully.

She laughed. “Yeah, me neither. I guess there’s an egg involved, but that’s all I know.”

He dug around in his backpack for a paraglider, nodding along. “Yeah, yeah, un huevo, I get you.” Shuffling the landmine from Vegetta to one side, he yanked out his glider and threw himself out her window. “Let’s go!”

(nothing like getting struck by lightning to wake a guy up in the morning)

Slime fiddled with the communicator as he waited for the line of people to get through the ticket machine; he already had his own, a nice B for Backflipo. The new live translations still boggled his mind. He had to fight the urge to chant weird shit under his breath, just to see what the bubbles would say.

He paid a little extra attention when Mariana walked up to the machine. That guy seemed cool. They’d done that pequeño dormir together on day one, and he had a good sense of humor. Egg parenting would probably be funny.

He was thrilled to see the B for Backflipo on the ticket Mariana stepped away with, even if Mariana was decidedly less so. This was gonna be good.

(it was, and it wasn’t)

So, Mariana wasn’t exactly the coparent of dreams. Then again, Slime was pretty sure Mariana could say the same about him. In fact he was pretty sure Mariana had said the same, but in Spanish, when he wasn’t checking the translation.

It was great. They thought they’d killed a child immediately and then decided to fake their own child’s death to get away with it, and then confessed their sins to a bilingual angel and built a farm and then he buried himself beneath an improvised cross and went into a coma until his sins were forgiven, or something, except his sins weren’t forgiven in time to save his own child’s life.

And then Juanaflippa was dead. Dead at Mariana’s hand.

His bitch wife killed their daughter.

(Everything went faster, after that.)

Slime wanted to kill him.

Slime wanted to kill him for killing their fucking daughter, but of course, Mariana couldn’t even be bothered to be around to take care of her alive, never mind to pay for his crimes when she died by his hand!

(in a better world, his rage started and ended there. in a better world, the anger fizzled out with the lack of a target.

this was not that world)

There couldn’t be an Egg Event with no eggs.

If he killed them all, it would bring her back.

(in a worse world, he succeeded. in a worse world, the Egg Event ended there.

this was not that world)

They held a trial.

If he won, it would bring her back.

(in another world, he didn’t convince them. in another world, they left his daughter in Hell.

this was not that world)

Tilín was still before she hit the ground.

Tilín didn’t scream. Maybe they didn’t have time. It happened so fast. He was sure it happened fast. Almost too fast. But everything went so fast, now, even though Flippa was back. Yet, time slowed down for this, like a rubberneck driving past a highway accident, watching him desperately trying to shock their heart back into motion.

“YOU KILL MY BEST FRIENDS,” Flippa wrote. He begged her to understand. She wrote, “i can’t believe it.”

She wrote, “I HATE YOU.”

(in a better world, the error would have been caught in April instead of July.

this was not that world)

His daughter fell to his bitch wife’s sword. The same way. The next day.

They’d only just gotten her back. And Mariana killed her again.

He only left eggxile for the funeral. She wouldn’t stay dead, but he had to be there.

Time went even faster after that. He was Gegg, or maybe Gegg was him, or maybe Gegg was Gegg, or maybe. . . ?

He went back to eggxile.

He wasn’t leaving without them. Tilín. Juanaflippa. He would do whatever was necessary. He would pray to any higher power. Lil J still owed him a goddamn favor, but the guy wouldn’t pick up his calls. Maybe if he put more shit in the shrine; angels liked shiny shit, didn’t they? He went back to the mine, where the gasses swirled in his head. He built the shrine. He mined. He built the shrine.

He went back to the mine.

He went back to the mine.

He went back to the mine.

“This is where I sit, this is where my bitch wife sits, and this is where my daughter sits, if I had one!”

He’d said that before. No he hadn’t. Yes he had.

No, he just needed to clear his head.

Charlie Slimecicle went back to the mine.

Charlie Slimecicle stepped off the train.

[firestorm09890]

so sad when someone is a very funny person but has terrible opinions on your favorite media and/or characters. get well soon 😔

[gayathreya]

kanguva fixit fic time

okay i've seen it multiple times now and while i don't hate it, i think it's mediocre-below average and it is filling me up with sooo much frustration cos.. it doesn't have to be. there are relatively easy fixes for the script when this much effort has already gone into the production design and setting! i don't mind waiting 2+ years for a suriya film, but i just hate it when i do that and it's bogged down to be another loud action entertainer, a genre i thoroughly despise more and more these days as i age. i say i don't hate it, but tbh... the more i think about this film, the more i'm starting to dislike it.........

SO... I'M JUST GONNA WRITE SOME BULLETPOINT PARAGRAPHS ON FIXING IT THE WAY I AS A FAN WOULD DO i think it will help process some more of my frustration with it after my lbxd reviews. the 3 biggest problems i have with the film are direction+editing (i consider these together, and by extension, the lack of patience and fleshing out given to the worldbuilding which deserves it), the sound and screaming dialogue (also, really, part of a director's failing) and the abhorrent cameo, so my points will seek to address that most.

we open with the present, yes? actually, i think the fact there's this timeline is fine, unlike quite a few saying it wasn't needed. i disagree because if your main plot is about reincarnation, you MUST have different timelines, because the whole mythos and trope of reincarnation is the unfulfillment in a past life coming back to haunt you in the next. there is something that needs to happen, and the related souls cannot rest until a wish is met. if you don't want the present portion, the core plot itself has to change, which meh, i don't want to put in this much effort into thinking about this film cos it irritates me.

i don't want or need to change the entire story cos idc about this film to put in that energy, but one of the first marketing failures is that they seemed almost embarrassed to admit it was a reincarnation story, which i don't get at all. reincarnation themes are one of the biggest and most easily acceptable ideas in indian mythos and storytelling.. why would u be embarrassed about it? there were actual interviews where the background crew involved kept saying it was an ''interesting'' connection and straight up lied that it wasn't reincarnation, which is the main reason why so many fans were coming up with different thoughts on what the key plot was; namely, an immortality curse/boon affecting hero and villain directly and how the elements of faith and the kid tied into that. none of this is true, ofc, and that's fine, i won't slam the film for not giving me what i myself thought. but if they had said this from the start, which isn't even a spoiler cos it opens with that instantly, people would have had a clearer mind going into it. false marketing is worse than no marketing, and i'm still seething about all the bullcrap they uttered about it

my issue with the present timeline really is just the sheer dogshit idea of their jobs and conflict. we didn't need francis as a bounty hunter, he could've just been some guy working a normal job with his ex-girlfriend and he stumbles across the kid, who also didn't need any of that science fiction biomedical shit ripoff to happen. he literally could've just been A RANDOM CHILD who is abused or used in some bad fashion, whom francis accidentally meets and wants to save, cos their bond doesn't let them go. idk, i think these are simple things that could make any movie better, cos it wipes away the unnecessary shit and over the top bs with tech, we don't need that. i have no idea why directors do not want to keep their films simple to focus on the core emotion, instead wasting so much time and money to have hired guns and soldiers in loud explosive action scenes. action sequences and soldiers btw, which were reeeally bad cos the english dialogue writing was horrible

just think about how this portion in the intro and climax could've been soo much better if it was stripped down. none of the aeroplane nonsense and high tech trucks and guns and random white thugs like what is the fucking reason!!! only shitty directors who can't write hide behind needless extravagance. and siva is definitely a shitty director who can't write. i would much rather the kid be a child who is under a kidnapping ring, no matter how cliche it sounds, cos it's still miles better than uhhh *checks notes* giving him mutant superpowers after his brain has been operated on. wowz so cool da. is this 1990.

like this just makes me so angry thinking about it, this artificial inclusion of a sci fi trope, when the film already looks so ugly in that horrible ai intro which looks so ghastly and obviously fake. for that alone, i'm almost at the zone of saying i'm happy this flopped. on top of obviously using ai to ''enhance'' suriya's voice in other languages as they said... like bro.... FLOP DESERVED. if an actor can't even be fuckin arsed to learn the dialogue and DUB IN A FUCKING STUDIO FOR HIS OWN MOVIE??? then piss off. if i were a fan of his from telugu lands or something i'd feel honestly deeply cheated and hurt. what's to stop anyone from saying he doesn't even need to dub in tamil anymore? we have his fake voice coming from a computer that they clearly believe is acceptable to throw into other languages, thinking that emotion and inflections are worthy of their audience. do the same in tamil then. how about it. such lazy, horribly unethical filmmaking deserves to be thrown to the dogs. fuck gen ai use in art and fuck studio green and fuck everyone who agreed to that shit

the period portion... where do i start, man. what a mess. why wasn't there any breathing points.... why didn't we have any lull in the screenplay. that's the first thing i would change, and anyone disagreeing cos they want to make it ''racy'' or ''crisp'' needs to be kicked to the curb. you are not a child. have some patience. horrible filmmaking style that does nothing but induce a headache. i just mentioned this elsewhere but even slow paced 3 hour films would get fans, because there'll be something in there to warrant a revisit. but fast paced vomit spat out onto a script won't, cos there's no rewatch value at all. i have very minimal interest in sitting down to rewatch this cos the scenes are all just blurring together and i can't even catch a breath to analyse anything. imagine if we just had suriya in pain, suffering, a film exploring his psyche about his guilt, betrayal, both physical and emotional hurt, perhaps a disability from the stab wound... just nothing. fucking give me 10 mins of suriya crying or having his wounds tended to, it'd be better than this trainwreck garbage of scenes whizzing by that i can't even separate. i really... HATE!! editing like this. i haven't seen worst editing in a suriya film except in singam 3. this is almost on par imo

there were so many things mentioned in interviews by suriya/the team that never happened on screen. suriya for example, talked so much about the aspect of faith and their deities, how the different clans operate with different economics, worship, even their disposition in relation to their worshipped elements.... sorry, these are either flat out lies or more likely, things told to him in passing that siva never bothered to fuckin put in script. they never had any prior script reading, btw. suriya legit said siva writes his dialogue early morning at 4-5am, and at 7am or so he's given the papers and thrown into set to act. well of course this film is gonna be shit, brother. what else did anyone expect!!! no practice, no script reading, no chemistry between actors to act out and perform, no voice modulation and testing that's why every other scene it's him shouting alternately and pissing all of us cos we can't even watch a movie in peace.... saying ''they're tribals'' as an excuse for the constant shouting is also such a poor understanding and dehumanisation of our ancestors, who also had calm, peace, quiet love and contemplation, in their longings or beliefs. this actually isn't a movie. it's a reels fest for instagram and tiktok wanker teens. it's clear siva didn't think of his whole as a film, but merely events and moments to stitch together, cos there's no way in hell any competent director would create a film like this otherwise. can't stand films crafted solely for events and spectacle, cos where is the character drama and arcs of highs and lows? even an amateur writer would know this.

speaking of breathers... what i really want in films is vulnerability and fragility of the hero to be depicted. i legit couldn't believe my eyes after what happens in the interval, cos i was so sure once that betrayal happens, we'd be spending the next 10-15 mins of suriya hurt, in both physical and emotional pain at his failure in taking care of the boy and convincing him of his good will. i thought we'd see kanga struggling to walk or fight, one of his arms useless to him now, but... notHING EVER COMES FROM THIS!!! we just continuously get pulled into narrative plot point after narrative plot point. there is no time at all to be spent on exploring kanga's psyche.. a better writer-director would certainly think about this. siva didn't. even the present timeline when francis dislocates his own thumb, i thought it would come up - the idea of casting self-injury on himself this time to save a boy who stabbed him in the past, it's almost poetic. but... nothing. just fucking nothing. where is the literary value and tension and poetry that all this potential has???

this obviously extends to all the other moments the movie could have slowed down and added more dialogue or atmospheric tension - the burning at the stake, the rock of justice, any of the worship and politics and economic push and pull these clans have with each other... instead, we get literally nothing apart from ''evil blood clan'' who hates ''good fire clan'' BRO WHAT ARE THEY EVEN FIGHTING FOR!!! what is their conflict? there's no point of moral or philosophical discussion point at all between these clans in the film. this also ties in to the first crime - koduva killing 100 (-99, really) men, and the fallout from that. why not just make him kill 1? then wouldn't there have been an actual avenue to discuss capital punishment and revenge, and eye for an eye vengeance or rehabilitation? where's the conflict point in executing a piece of shit who murdered ONE HUNDRED PEOPLE?! this could've so easily been turned into commentary on how one views justice and crime against the backdrop of tribes. the audience is given nothing for us to think about their sides and who to root for, what mistakes or crimes they may have committed against each other, or any kind of conflict in their faiths or ideology that one goes against. just typical one-dimensional bad guy who hates the typical one-dimensional good guy. you spent almost 3 years making this.. this is what you came up with?? fucking juvenile. even a beginner writer would be embarrassed to put this out. obviously, this happens when your whole team is just thinking about how to make hero mass entry and cOO0llLL YOuTh gEN Z moments, rather than expanding upon the world and potential themes to flesh out. there is no point saying in every interview siva has great knowledge in tamil literature. so fuckin what. none of that shit matters cos his writing isn't literary at all. this looks like a grade school paper a child puts out for what makes a ''cool'' hero and nothing more cos they do not have the capacity for literary analysis.

the cameo.... watha i'm pissed as f. i cannot tell u how angry i was watching that shit first day. sooo stupid and unnecessary, completely spoiled the expectations of waiting for rolex/dhilli clash on screen just cos siva had a stupid idea to make this into 2 parts which didn't need to be. FUCKKK YOUU, MAN!!!!!!!!!!! this should've just been a single, longer movie, and with kanga failing both his promises (protecting the boy like he promised his mother, and letting himself be killed by him), should've just killed himself in the climax. it would've been a great ending for him actually as it intercuts with the present (i did like the intercut of both timelines in the climax actually, i think this is the only portion where the editing is done decent), where in one time we see him throw himself to the sharks to be ripped apart after his failure, and in another time he manages to save the boy from whatever it is, and maybe even inadvertently dies in the process because of the kid due to a past sin of his own in the role of the present kid's harsh life, but dying happily so, creating a bittersweet tragedy of broken promises mending itself in another lifetime. this could've easily been made up to be a tragic literary piece on reincarnation and promise, and it would've worked. idk. i'm just spitballing. it's not that i've had a long time to think about this, these are very basic things i already thought of almost immediately after my first show, and i'm just stumped no one else in that whole shit team bothered to take a step back and think to make this more compact into 1 solo film. if everything just has to be about milking money from the audience and dsp blaring shitty loud music every second, then fuck you.

i think this got longer than i intended. there're still so many other problems apart from direction and editing, pacing, but these above things are the biggest ones for me. cos even with the extremely painful and poor quality bgm by dsp, i also believe it could've been naturally avoided if given a slower film, and he wouldn't have made this so loud for no reason. it'd be very natural for a md to provide quieter moments if the scenes themselves are softer with more intimacy and atmosphere, not stitched together from all high moments, which ofc would only make his job louder.

so many dumb fight scenes... the opening francis fight and editing style with coloured words and childish intercuts (sorry idgaf i am a thallumaala hater because i am not 12 years old thinking this is cool).. the croc fight.... which served literally ZERO PURPOSE. no really. they even dared release a video on that making, to show how much HarDWOrK they put in for it, making a river and animal from scratch, painting and animating it, and it's like ??? tf for???? the only bit that served was to make the boy injured, and to make kanga take care of him leading into the mannippu song. this could've been achieved in soo many other ways... poruva could've been bitten by a dangerous insect. he could've eaten the wrong fruit. he could've slipped and fell down a bad ravine or cliff that looked inviting but is actually deadly. LITERALLY ANYTHING else would've saved them so much time and money, and yet still prove and highlight the same idea to the audience that the forest they've been exiled to is dangerous and not easy to survive in. nothing though.... just nothing.

i can't believe i'm still talking about this given how frustrated it makes me and how lazy i feel these scenes are written in for what they think is mass appeal. spectacle, scale, budget, visuals.. NONE of this substitutes good, calm pacing and editing and story. man, i'm tired. ok whatever i'm done

[dwtdog]

Hi I'm one of the Aimsey anons from like 10 hours ago but I had class and got super distracted

I wanted to make it so clear, how that commentary channel was going about it was super wrong and I would never condone that kind of behavior

As much as I think how aimsey handles situations should be talked about and discussed, it shouldn't attack anything about them as a person, but instead break down the issues in their *actions*

As I said, I do have an issue with aimsey and how they handle themselves online and that's especially a problem when they have a decently sized platform and I think it does need to be called out. But absolutely not in the way that channel was going about it

Sorry I've been thinking of this all day and wanted to clear the air 😅

oh dw you're good!! it's definitely a weird little situation going on with ai/msey rn, i just wanted to put a more definitive timeline out so people could better form opinions bc i figured it was a lot of just guessing based on limited information :o

[socialjusticefail]

Here is the link to this post on Bluesky:

This person is the first I saw to point out that leftist antisemitism exists on Bluesky.

[atlasreign]

also i would like to thank rhys strongfork for being the character that first made me realise i was not cis in 2016, for being the character that made me realise i was also trans in 2023 and for being the sole influence for me to go ahead with everything in 2024. thanks, king. here's your crown. 👑

[allthegothihopgirls]

it's really amusing to me when i amass followers from short-term interests i have, and inevitably have to subject them to what this blog is at its core. a batshit obsessive twdu fanpage

[probablyasocialecologist]

Currently reading

[firsthumandisaster]

OH. There's sin on my dash 👀 Hellooooo