#I've had 3 people now straight up tell me i sound so much like her

[toonytoodles]

I feel like I literally look and sound like this

Me: haha, oh man twilight sparkle is too relatable, so is maude pie, they just like me

Me: ...

Me: ... hey wait a second...

[darkredsugarcookie]

"The Pressure of His Lips" - ex!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Hi! Like three (3) people have asked me to start posting fics on here, so here we go. I'm new to posting on tumblr, but I'm a wattpad and ao3 veteran, so be nice. I'm still trying to figure out the formatting and everything for this place :P

Summary: After breaking up due to your secret relationship being brought to the surface, you are not handling the separation well. Too much vodka and lonely nights end with you accidentally Bucky from the bathroom floor.

Warnings: Alcohol use, heavy intoxication, mentions of smoking weed, slight hint at SA history upon the reader, angst, alpine mention!!!! let me know if I missed any!

DISCLAIMER: This is an excerpt from a bigger fic I've been writing in which the self-insert has a history of SA. It is hinted at for one sentence in this specific blurb.

By all means, I should’ve been the one that managed to keep my head above water. Dad hit rock bottom when he was my age— after my grandparents died. He was no stranger to tell me about it. It was always an example of what not to do. Even Mom had her struggles after she lost her brother. 

I had every picture perfect reason to stay away from anything that could drag me down like a weight in still water. Which is why I couldn’t tell you how I ended up at the bottom of a bottle on a Monday night in uptown Manhattan. 

For a long time, I refused to drink more than once in heavy social settings after what happened when I was seventeen. But this? I didn’t care anymore. I needed whatever would keep him and my parents and the team out of my head. 

The problem I was running into, however, was that by the time I was cross-faded in a mass of bodies in a bar uptown, he was the only thing I had the ability to think about. 

Everything I wouldn’t confront during the day when I was sober chased me down until I was curled up in the corner of a bathroom stall. 

The smell of weed clouded my senses as the cold tile floor hit the backs of my thighs. The vodka still on my tongue made me dizzy and I could feel my heart beating like a drum in my head.

Every memory axed its way into my head like a migraine I couldn’t shake. I could spend every night like this, I could dance with strangers I didn’t care about, I could swear off men to my best friend and demand that I was completely fine, but I would always end up like this. Thinking about how I could still feel the pressure of his lips on my skin and if I tried hard enough, the temperature of the bathroom tiles almost felt like that of his arm under my fingers whenever we were curled up together. 

I couldn’t keep a straight thought. It all flashed through my head in images I couldn’t shake. 

My phone was vibrating. 

I fumbled for it, where it was tucked into the front of my dress, and I didn’t even check who was calling when I  tapped the screen and held it to my ear. I sniffled, wiping my nose. My cheeks were wet. 

I was crying. That seemed to be pretty normal for me these days. 

“Hello?” 

I blinked. Great, now I was hallucinating voices. I’d never reached that point of being wasted. “Nat,” I said, rubbing my eyes. I probably just ruined my makeup already. “What’s up?” I did my best to sound sober. Probably didn’t work.

There was a heavy sigh. “You didn’t mean to call me,” he said. 

“You called me,” I replied. 

“No, I did not. Are you… Are you okay?” 

“I am fine,” I said. “I’m not… supposed to talk to you.” “I know, angel.” Another sigh, a shuffle of something. Maybe blankets. It couldn’t have been that late. 

“Are you sleeping?”

“It’s almost four in the morning.”

My head was pounding, swimming… I couldn’t quite breathe right. “You don’t really sleep…”

“No, I don’t. Less now. Where are you?” 

“Why?” I felt defensive all of a sudden. No matter the fact I didn’t think I could get up off this floor if the building was on fire. 

“Because you’re drunk, sweetheart. And you’re alone. It’s not safe.”

“You don’t know that I’m- if I’m alone.”

A brief pause. “Yes, I do. Do you know where you are?” 

I was picking at a loose thread on the hem of my dress. “I’m…” I squeezed my eyes shut. That string wrapped around my finger twice. “I’m in the bathroom.”

“Okay, hold on—” I heard a door shut. It was quiet for a second. “I know where you are. You stay in the bathroom, okay? I’ll come get you.”

“But you—”

“No, you stay where you are.” I shrank a little. “Hear me?” 

“Yeah…” “Good. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

I think I fell asleep after that, because the next thing I remember was hearing a commotion of voices— only one of which I recognized. 

Then it got so bright as the stall door was pushed open and I swear it felt like my heart that had dropped dead almost a month ago was beating again. 

Bucky’s face was a mix of emotions as he touched my cheek. “Sweetheart…” He said, letting out a breath. 

“Why are you here?” I asked, blinking a few times to try and see clearly. If he was here, I wanted to feel it, see it. All of it. 

“I’m here for you, doll.”

“But you hate me.”

He looked at me like I was crazy. “No, I don’t, baby. I don’t hate you. But we need to get you home, come on.”

Without waiting for me to say anything, he lifted me to my feet. “Where are your shoes?” he asked. I just shrugged. 

As I limped my way to the bathroom exit, one of the other girls stopped him, demanding that he either explain how he knew me, or set me down. If I was sober, I might have hugged her for that. “He’s…” I started. 

She cast a worried glance from me, to the man holding me up. Bucky sighed and pulled out his phone, showing her the screen. “She’s mine, promise.” I barely caught a glimpse of the wallpaper. It was a picture Avery had taken of us when we were in Atlanta, we were in the kitchen, not even aware she was watching. 

Once we were past the crowds, he shoved the door open and helped me outside. The chilly air shocked me a little back into my senses, but not much. 

He pulled the car door open and helped me into the passenger seat before rounding the hood and climbing in. “I feel like lecturing you on how dangerous this is might be pointless because I don’t think you’re gonna remember any of it.”

I sniffled, wiping my cheeks. “I thought I was… fine.” “I’m sure you did,” he said, pulling onto the street. “Avery would have a heart attack if she knew about this, you know?” 

“Yeah… It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” he sighed, shoving a hand through his hair. “This isn’t like you.”

“Sure it is,” I replied as I looked out the window. “It’s in my genes.” Bucky glanced at me, but didn’t say anything. When we pulled up outside my apartment building, I paused. “How do you—”

“I had a feeling something like this would happen. I got it from Nat.” 

“She gave it to you?” 

“I had to ask. Beg, actually.”

“That isn’t like you,” I said, quoting his own words. He cast me that same look he always gave me when I said something annoying, but valid. I smiled a little, tipping my head against the headrest of the car as I watched him climb out. 

When he got to my side and pulled the door open, he didn’t give me an option. Next thing I knew, he was scooping me into his arms and I didn’t have it in me to fight. I leaned closer, letting my body relax for the first time in weeks. I could scold myself for this in the morning. 

“What’s the door code?” he asked me. 

“My birthday,” I replied in more of a mumble than anything. “It’s—”

“I know your birthday, angel.” 

I sighed and nodded as we stepped into the warmth of the lobby. I didn’t question him as he held me the whole way to my apartment, his fingers occasionally brushing against my body as if it was muscle memory. 

He pressed the same code into my door keypad and shoved the door open. 

“Don’t let the cat out,” I muttered. 

“The what— Oh my god.” I heard my little white kitten meow up at him. “That’s Snowball,” I said. “Or Alpine. I can’t choose.”

He sighed, a small smile on his face. “I like Alpine.”

Bucky carried me to the master bedroom and set me on the bed. I rubbed my eyes, the ache behind them starting to grow. He disappeared for a second and when he came back, he put a glass of water in my hand. “Drink this,” he said, setting my shoes in my closet. I wondered briefly where he found them before he returned from the closet with the Avengers Compound sweatshirt that used to be his, but I had reclaimed. “You can’t sleep in that dress,” he said. “Or that makeup.” 

“I’ll be fine—” I started. 

“No. You’re gonna change. I’ll give you a—”

“I can’t get the zipper myself,” I said quietly. “It’s not- It’s not a ploy… Promise.” 

He helped me to my feet and turned me around before tugging at the zipper. I felt the air hit my back a second before his hand landed at my waist. “Are you gonna remember anything from tonight?” 

“I hope so,” I said softly. Other words for definitely not. 

Bucky sighed and dropped his head to my shoulder. “I miss you,” he breathed, lips brushing against my skin. “More than I’ve ever missed anyone.” 

A pain lodged itself in my chest. It was so deep that in this moment I genuinely didn’t think it’d ever leave me. And if it did, it might just leave a hole where it sat. “Bucky…” 

“Get changed. I’ll be right back.”

When I felt his body heat disappear from me, I dropped my dress to the ground and tugged on the sweatshirt he’d set on the bed. I didn’t bother with shorts, just left my underwear on. 

I dropped onto the edge of the bed, finished my water, held my hands in my lap. 

Bucky came from the bathroom and clicked on the lamp beside my bed. He took my face in his hand and with the warm rag in his hand, wiped it gently along my face. “Close your eyes,” he said softly. 

I did as I was told. It wasn’t as in depth as I could’ve myself, but it was enough to keep my eyes from hurting in the morning.

He tossed the rag in the hamper and guided me into bed. “You need to sleep,” he said softly. 

“I’m not used to sleeping alone,” I mumbled against my pillow. 

“I know, sweetheart,” he replied, fingers combing through my hair. “Me either. But you’re gonna be okay.” 

I felt exhaustion coming for me like a thief in the night. “You think so?” 

“I know so. Sleep, baby.” 

A breath escaped me. I didn’t have the energy to speak anymore.

As sleep pulled me away, I felt his kiss against my head. Then the light clicked off and it was gone like a dream. 

[gojoawayhoe]

What even is JJK?

Hello JJK community!! I am an avid fanfic reader who was going through a crisis, accidentally stumbled across a JJK SMAU post, and triggered a hyperfixation (yayy)

I thought it might be fun to stumble my way through figuring out what is going on here with as little official information as possible. This post is my attempt to understand JJK from SMAU and fanfic alone! To be clear, I have NOT read or watched the anime/manga - this is just my interpretation for wtf is going on here.

A few things before we get into this -

Spoiler Warnings! This should be obvious, but since I've never watched/read the show I don't actually know what is considered a spoiler or not. Please read on with caution~

Newbie Warning! I am so new into this fandom, and it is a lot bigger than the ones I've been in before. This post is supposed to be fun, and I am coming from a place of good faith. If I accidentally commit a faux pas, please be kind!

Foul Language Warning! Most of this was written stream of conscious style over two weeks as I was struggling through some tough stuff IRL. My tone is tongue in cheek, and I did not pay much attention to grammar or minding my language. I don't say anything too crazy, but I am perhaps too liberal with certain four letter words.

With that said! Please enjoy my delirious ramblings as I make sense of this batshit crazy world. I had so much fun with this, and I hope you like it?

OKKKK SO (who is who, pt 1/?; i got some questions):

Did Shoko really cheat her way through medical school?

Toji is ?? An assassin with one?? two?? Dead wives?? Are we suspicious or nah

Also like, Toji? Sometimes he's written like an ass, sometimes like a strung out single dad?

yuuji is ..... chosos brother... somehow...?

Megumi is……. Tojis son? But also sometimes gojos adopted son?? Or at least mentee??

Speaking of Megs, here are some thoughts I had while figuring this effer out:

-Man, Megumi really likes dogs i guess, thats cool

-Oh huh, whats a shikigami?

-oh, that sounds pretty cool

*sees dogs mentioned again*

-cue: holy shit moment

-i straight up thought he was overly obsessed with dogs. Like as a character trait because its mentioned so much. 

-ykw ig he still is

-can you pet them?

Shibuya:

At first, mentions of Shibuya went over my head. Then, three or four days in, I read an smau where nanami made plans with the reader to do something as soon as he returned from Shibuya. It was really so sweet! But… umm…. The comments did not agree?

So this is the first time i googled anything, and found myself on the wiki. And uh, yeah, fuck you guys /s

And i was like, I wonder who else has died then?? And guys, i gotta be honest, I did NOT like it !! 🥹

alright, I got distracted.

Trying to figure out who is affiliated with who from smau/fanfic alone is nearly impossible (who is who pt 2/?). 

Eventually, you get here:

Most people - jj sorcerers/tokyo high

Toji + shiu - assassins

Kenjaku + mahito (mojito)? = freaky bitches (also is it just me or is mahitos design kinda.... 😏 no? just me?)

Choso - ???????? I genuinely cant tell?????? Sometimes yuuji is his brother and sometimes hes with the freaky bitches ??????? Is he a good girl gone bad ?? A bad girl gone good ?? Is he meaning yuuji like as a vessel of sakuna and sakuna is his half brother???? because apparently the whole main point of the goddamn show is that yuuji ate one of sakunas fingers and is his vessel or whatever??

And speaking of that, how did i not know yuuji and megumi (and… nobara…?) are the protagonists?? I went days without googling the premise of the show (yup.) and i was floored, lemme tell you! I really had no idea what was going on, yall 😌

So back to who is who again (pt 3/?, Geto edition) -

Ok. So..... OK. Geto, right? WTF is up here? here's what I've got

Geto + gojo (and Shoko!) = #besties

Geto has a crisis

Now hes racist

Aaaaaand slaughters a village (and his family??? is that right??)

Geto + gojo = #breakup

Gojo is real sad about it

10 years later geto comes back and gojo kills him

Geto is reanimated by the freakiest looking yeerk ive ever seen (does anyone even know animorphs anymore or is that series a fever dream I made up?)

#sadboi vibes only plz #trapped in the prison realm #justGojothings #honestly fuck the Shibuya arc

okay ANDDDD -

Gojo + Geto + KFC = ???!

y'all i see them referenced with KFC all the time. this is definitely a private joke that I am not in on lmao

moving on!

Sakuna v Gojo.

Yeah, fuck this arc too honestly. Gojo's my favorite. Sue me! I'm basic! I never said I wasn't!

back to CHOSO again (my beloathed <3) (who is who pt 4/?):

I have figured it out!! Choso was with the freaky bitches to avenge his brothers, then somehow figured out that Yuuji is his half brother and badda bing, bad girl turns good. love to see it.

But, is it cannon??

Some of these are characters are written so baby girl-ified that i think id be upset reading the source material. Like… is choso really that sweet and innocent? He is written as the sweetiest of baby gorls. But like isnt he an antagonist? I suspect he probably has one or two scenes in canon that are naïve and endearing, and the fanfic girlies ran with it. As they absolutely should. But im attached this version now and I dont want that ruined 😌 I've seen yall bitch about the white dog thing in SMAU, but you know what? I love it here in delulu land and im sticking with it.

Also, I have a feeling that Nanami is just a serious guy with a stick up his ass. Do I love how he is written? yes. Do I stan a romantic family man? idk, ask my husband (yes, I do). Do I think he is TOTALLY different in cannon? Absolutely

Do I think Geto is this tragic, heartbreaking villian in cannon? Yeah, I think that's probably right. but i mean, genocidal maniac is kindve hard to reconcile with how he is portrayed in the ficdom universe. Also, I love how many people just choose to simply ignore his betrayal arc and pretend it simply ✨didnt happen✨. i love it and im living for it.

There are about 10,000 different portrayals of Gojo in fic. Some common themes are:

fuckboy gojo

sadboy gojo

lovesick gojo

emotionally unavailable gojo

I think most right is probably #4? idk man, if my life was in danger all the time and I was viewed as (at best) nothing more than a weapon by society AND my best friend betrayed me like this? I probably would also float through life with minimal attachments and a laissez faire attitude. but then this is also challenged by his clear attachment to the protagonists (who are, apparently, the students and not the teachers)

Will I watch/read this anime/manga?

Honestly?? Idk yall. I kinda mentioned this earlier, but I have now gotten attached to these characters as they are in my head. in delulu land. Also, my real life still kinda sucks rn, and idk if I am currently built for the death and betrayal and ANGST in my fantasy world too, thank you very much.

That said, my brother in law is begging me to watch it since he heard im doing this. This world is genuinely so complex and interesting, and the magic system is fascinating. AND it would be interesting to go through it and see what ive actually gotten right and what ive gotten just so, so wrong.

Maybe if anyone actually reads this and it picks up traction ill consider it, and do a follow up post with the right and the wrong

N E Ways! I think that's about all the word vomit I am capable of right now. if anyone actually read all this, I hope you enjoyed my nonsensical ramblings! feel free to tell me what I got right, what I got wrong, or how good/bad my takes are.

[wishful-thinking64]

One Hell of an Unpopular Opinion #09

With how they are now, I see no reason other than WLW/Yuri pandering as to how and why Charlie & Vaggie are still a couple. _______________________

Knowing how Hellaverse stans are, somebody is bound to accuse me of being a homophobe so let me clear some things up first. #01.) Not that it's really anyone's business but I'm a bi woman. #02.) I've been in a long term relationship with a woman before so I have personal experience on this. #03.) I'm well aware that people within the LGBT+ community can be homophobic whether they intend to or not however this is just an opinion on yet another poorly written relationship in the Hellaverse. #04.) If you're part of the LGBT+ community and you like the show or love it then good on you, dude. I still adore the Hazbin Hotel Pilot and enjoy most of Season #01 of Helluva Boss too.

With that all out of the way, FallenPrincess (Chaggie is a terrible ship name) isn't a good ship as it lacks so much chemistry that about half of Hazbin Hotel's new fans genuinely believed them to be friends until Episode #06 of Season #01 which is just two episodes shy of the finale. Mind you, it's not that Charlie & Vaggie didn't use pet names with each other throughout the season but the problem is that the pet names that they use for each other are generic. When Charlie isn't calling Vaggie by her name she calls her babe and when Vaggie isn't calling Charlie by her name she calls her either babe or hon. Both of these pet names can be applied to close friends and I know that sounds like a lie but it isn't as I've seen videos of straight people casually calling their other friends babe or honey. Hell, I've called my best friends babe before! So I can understand why some fans of the show would be confused when they realize that Charlie and Vaggie were not only dating the entire time but that they also had been dating for 3 YEARS. As someone who dated a girl for OVER 3 years they were written like they had only been dating for a year tops. Most of their screen time as a couple shows us that their top love languages are words of affirmation (i.e reassuring or attempting to reassure the other that everything is going to be alright) and physical contact which SOUNDS cute until you realize that... A.) They're normally reassuring each other about the same shit as they did the episode prior (with this being about Charlie's concerns regarding Heaven, the angels, and the Extermination.) B.) They don't interact with each other as much as you'd think/expect from the main couple of the series. C.) Further elaborating on point B, they probably have around 13 - 15 minutes of screen time where they're speaking directly to one another. D.) Vaggie is a character who solely exists to act as a cheerleader for Charlie as HH has not gone out of its way to show Vaggie caring about/for something else that isn't tied to Charlie and her dreams. I don't need Charlie & Vaggie to make sex jokes 24/7 and raunchy flirting like Viv has her gay male characters do. I just want to get to know what they do during their downtime when they don't have to worry about the hotel or about Heaven, when they could and should just be Charlie & Vaggie. When I was an avid fan of Hazbin Hotel fan during it's Pilot days I'd often imagine possible dates they'd go on like Charlie convincing Vaggie to go see a new musical together or Vaggie making Charlie a traditional Slavadoran dinner and excitedly telling her GF about how she made it and what went into it. Ironically, they had more chemistry in the Hazbin Hotel Pilot where Viv had ultimately decided to make FallenPrincess a canon couple at the last minute.

As shown in her intro card, Vaggie was originally going to be Charlie's best friend which would've made the most sense regarding the little bit of character we do know about Vaggie but I digress. Honestly, Viv probably can't attempt to even break up of FallenPrincess thanks to them being a major ship in the fandom (aka primary selling point) and because they are the ONLY MAIN GL/WLW RELATIONSHIP THAT THE HELLAVERSE HAS so if she does break them up she'll only make herself look EVEN MORE like a massive hypocritical fujoshi otaku (which means a woman who is obsessed with the BL/Yaoi genre) while also loosing out on making more money from her FallenPrincess fans.

_______________________

I meant to get this out before Valentine's Day was over except I ended up getting back into playing CRK during that time so here I am releasing this now.

[anonyymouslyyours]

Hii! I love ur writing so much, I had a h/c fic idea for James but I can't write to save my life so I figured I'd request lmao. Feel free to ignore if it's not something ur interested in writing ofc.

I was thinking smtn where James asks out reader and they think it's a joke so they like walk away or tell him to fuck off or smtn and James is just so confused so the next day asks r wtf that was about and she's like "if ur gonna be a dick you shouldn't expect other ppl to just take it" or something and he's still confused and asks her what was happening so she explains what she thinks is going on and he like comforts her and tells her that he fr likes her

getting around to answering some requests... i took a short break but im thinking about writing a bit again. this is just cute fluff. little rusty tho. 💞

james potter is an absolute idiot.. truly. and yet, somehow, you've still had a crush on him for 3 years. it's truly a marvel. james and his friends, fondly referred to as the 'marauders', often play practical jokes. of course, when out of the blue on a random tuesday james sheepishly approaches you asking if you want to go to hogsmeade together, you think it's some sort of joke. a cruel trick of the universe, to tug on your poor pining heart. so you scowl at him, and turn straight on your heel and march off.

james and you have been friends for years, longer then you've ever liked him, so the only logical answer is that its all a joke. a cruel joke. and one, though you'd never say to anybody else, hurts. a lot. so, like the very mature person you are, you decide to ignore his existence for the rest of the day, and the following morning. when james gets remus, your loyal potions buddy, to past notes to you in class, you throw them straight in the bin; ignoring remus's skeptical stare, with an eye-roll and shrug. and just as you think you've evaded him the whole day, he corners you as you leave history of magic.

"whats wrong with you? you've been ignoring me all day? did i fuck up that bad?" he says, hot on your heels behind you as you storm through the hallway away.

"you know james, if your gonna be such a fucking dick about peoples feelings, you shouldn't just expect them to take it. and if you do, consider yourself no longer my friend. don't talk to me, stop passing notes, stop staring at me, and stop corning me on my way out of class!" you snap, turning to stare at him with your arms folded.

and james, well, james just pouts. a confused look spreads across his brow.

"i- i thought you liked me? and i really like you- and i don't understand, i truly wasn't trying to play with your feelings or- or anything like that!" he replies, sounding adorably confused and sincere, and you falter.

"you asked me out as a joke james! how is that anything but playing with my-"

"sorry what? no! i was very serious. i like you. a lot. have for a while and it's taking me so, so long to work up the courage. i've taken too long and now i've blown it." james cuts in, stepping forward into your space, except you don't back away.

"you.. weren't joking?"

"of course not!" he says, placing a hand on your shoulder. he looks rather upset actually, a frown on his face.

you blink at him, stepping closer.

"you actually meant it? you, er, like me?"

"head over heels." he confirms, with a smile spreading across his face

"well then, ill see on saturday night." you say, a small smile in return before turning rather quickly away to rush off to your dorm, a light blush coating your cheeks.

james twirls on the spot, throwing his fist in the air in a quiet "yes!" before dashing after you.

"wait! where do you wanna go because i was thinking something special? my treat- god let me treat you right!"

[mysteroads]

JOY AND WOE: Chpt 3: "Can I See Another's Grief"

Summary: Mary Arkham wakes up in the lab, alone and in pain, until Dante comes back, his twin in tow. Conversations are had, choices are laid out, future paths chosen, and alcohol is blatantly stolen.

Excerpt:

“You listen here, dumbass,” Dante said, voice gentle. “I do not regret killing those motherfuckers. Hate myself for losing control, hate that I killed people without tryin’ to find another way, but I do not feel guilty for protecting you. I'm not the brightest, but I try not to make the same mistake twice. I stayed back and let you fight alone once. Never again.”

His gentle tone turned into a snarl that tap-danced right past Mary’s forebrain and straight to her hindbrain, where it proceeded to awaken the ancient instincts that had her primitive ancestors scrambling into trees. It was the snarl of a predator, top of the food chain, and Mary’s hindbrain was pretty sure she was going to die. Her Hunter training agreed with this assessment and promised to go down fighting, futile as it would be. Mary tried to reign her fight-or-flight in with frayed ropes of logic, because that snarl hadn’t been for her, and Dante was still speaking to Vergil. 

“No one's going to hurt you ever again without me making sure they regret it for whatever short life they have left. You understand, Vergil? And just so we’re extra clear, me telling you this has fuck all to do with you rescuing my frozen ass, and everything to do with you being my stupid big brother. Even if DARKCOM had decanted me, pumped my blood full of exploding microchips, and sent me out to fight for them like some damn super soldier, I’d still have found a way to go looking for you. Ten years apart, twenty years, thirty, or a thousand doesn't matter. Because you’re my brother and I love you, you gigantic dickhead.”

Vergil’s face had gone blank for this unexpected tirade, but at that last, he let out a long sigh and sagged against his brother, letting his forehead rest on Dante’s shoulder. “I hate you.”

Dante smiled smugly, leaning his cheek against Vergil’s head. “‘Course you do.”

Taking a deep breath and sounding much calmer, Vergil asked, “At least explain to me why you insist on helping the woman. Why offer mercy to the soldier of an organization that gave none to you?”

It took Dante a moment to reply, and when he did, his voice was more somber than Mary had ever heard it. “I want to help her because… because it sucks to be trapped alone with the dead, okay? Especially when you’re helpless and scared. And just because they're a bunch of raging assholes doesn't mean I have to drop to their level. I'm Hell-blood, but I'm not a complete monster. I won’t leave someone alone in the dark.” 

Vergil frowned, but when no rebuttal came, Dante kept talking, his tone now coaxing, “Tell you what? Help me at least get her home, and we'll put olives on the entire pizza.”

Vergil let out a surprised huff that might've been a laugh. He raised his head and met Dante's eyes. “You'll eat them?”

She couldn’t see it very well, but she could hear Dante’s eye roll. “Yes.”

“Then I want anchovies too.”

Dante's gasp of horror was genuine. “You… You… You don't even like anchovies! You hated them! You always said they were looking at you and it freaked you out!”

Vergil shrugged the best he could while still held captive by Dante's wings. “I've eaten far worse in the past decade. My desire to see you suffer far outweighs my own distaste for tiny fish.”

“Sadist,” Dante hissed. “Psychopath!”

“Most likely, yes. Do we have a bargain?”

~*~*~*~*~

Here's another link! (Because for some reason tumblr is being stupid about that. https://archiveofourown.org/works/64878991/chapters/167925175

[sunrisemill]

✮From the start✮ Pt.4

Chris and y/n have always been inseparable, they’ve always relied on each other but what happens when one of them falls?

(Warnings: mentions of mental health such as Anxiety and possibly depression. Please take care of yourself, I love you 🤍)

Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Finale

Y/ns’ POV

(Present)

I feel a wave of anxiety crash down on me as he stares at me from across the dining table. How in the hell am I supposed to do this? I feel the tension rise within seconds as I remain silent, I just wish I could see what he's thinking. The look he has on his face is unreadable and stern. God, I've fucked everything up. I continue to tell myself that until I hear him clear his throat. “Well…are you going to say something?” Right, with my emotions at an all-time high, I completely forgot how much time had passed. “I'm so sorry, Chris,” I whisper before taking in a deep shaky breath. “It was wrong to treat you like that and it's okay if you don't forgive me, I understand. But I couldn't go on until I gave you an apology.” I watch him carefully as he processes my words. Please forgive me, please Chris. He nods his head before leaning back in his chair. “I'm sorry too. But could you just tell me what's wrong? You continue to shut me out and that's not healthy Y/n, you can't just bottle everything up and expect it to be okay.” He sits up straight and leans forward again, propping his elbows on the table as he reaches his hand out to gently hold my hand in his. His touch sends shockwaves throughout my body. “Just talk to me. I'm here.”  My chest tightens as I stare down at our hands which are interlocked. I can feel his eyes bore into my head as the air grows thicker. I can’t tell him, he's gonna think I'm being dramatic or I'm just being silly. Oh my god, he's gonna think that something is wrong with me, or that I'm too much for him to handle and he's just going to leave me. “Y/n?” The concern in Chris’ voice when he notices how my breathing has picked up causes me to spiral into a deeper panic. I lift my head to look at him but my vision is blurred by tears. Chris’ face drops when he sees me in such a distressed state. “Y/n, please talk to me.” The slight squeeze he gives my hand pushes me over the edge. I can't do this. I need to leave. Right. Now. I tell myself as I quickly drop his hand and shoot up out of my chair, the speed of my action causes the chair to fall back, but I don't care. The only thing I care about is getting out of that damn house. The sound of Chris calling after me is cancelled out as the sound of my heartbeat in my ears drowns it out.

~~~~

Chris’ POV

I feel as though everything just blew up within a few minutes. I shouldn't have done that, I pushed her too far now. I can't believe I had her back and now im watching her run out of my house because of my idiotic actions. “Y/n!” I shout out to her but she doesn't stop…shit. I quickly stand up to chase after her but get stopped by a tug on my arm, my head snaps to look at whatever has tugged on my arm and im met with my mother. “You have to let her go, Chris. She's not worth it.” Nothing but rage fills my senses as I hear those words leave her mouth. She's not worth it…How dare she say that about Y/n, she doesn't know her like I do.  “you have no idea what you’re talking about.” She looks up at me with sympathy. “I've seen enough to know that she's no good. If you go after her now she’s gonna trip up again and drag you down with her, I used to know people like her, and They did nothing but destroy everything in their paths. Do not go.” I stand there in pure disbelief. “So what? Im just supposed to stand here like a fucking imbecile when she's obviously distressed?!” I spit out as I yank my arm away from her, looking down at her with disgust. “Im not doing that again. Im going after her, whether you like it or not.” I give her one last gare before turning around and walking out of the house in search of Y/n.

~~~~

Y/ns’ POV

The sound of crickets chirping in the long grass and wind rustling withered leaves has an eerie but soothing sound. I can't believe I ran out of there but I know that's what I needed to do. I stare at the reflection of the moon across the lake as I think back to when life was simple before reality struck me like a bolt of lightning. I think back to when I was just a little kid sitting on the same ground that I am now, I remember a small Chris running to me to show me a small daisy that he thought I'd like. He has always been like that, the kindest soul I have ever known. But I just had to ruin it, ruin us. Sometimes, I think he would be better off without me, im only just dragging him down. He insists that he wouldn't know where he would be without me but I know… He'd be happier and not have to deal with all the stress and sadness I've caused. It's like I destroy everything I've ever touched, why can't I just be normal? I let out a silent sob as my fingers tangled through the grass below me, If Chris was here he'd tell me that it would be okay, that I'd be okay. But how could he be so sure of that? He’d be horrified if he took even a peek into my brain. I still remember how he looked at me on that night. “I’ve never met a girl like you before, I feel like all my problems go away when I'm with you. I'm so glad I get to call you my best friend.” I shake my head at the memory. How could I be so stupid? He’d never like me, he's gonna end up with a happy bubbly girl and realize how horrible I am. I bring a shaky hand up to wipe away the tears on my cheeks when I hear a voice. “I thought I'd find you here.” I keep my head down as I feel Chris sit beside me.

“Hey…” He whispers as he wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me close to him “It’s gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay.” I let out a small chuckle. “I knew you’d say that.” I sniffle, leaning into his touch, it takes me a moment but I finally look up at him. He lets out a sad sigh and brings his hand up to my face, wiping away the tears that continue to roll down my cheeks. “Am I that predictable, huh?” He asks teasingly with a slight tilt to his head. I smile softly as I take my chance to fully take in everything about this moment. The way his hair brushes against my face as he looks down at me. The moonlight casting a pale light around us. I bask in the comfortable silence between us, wishing it could last forever. “I'm so sorry Y/n… I shouldn't have pushed you-” “It's okay, Chris.” I quickly cut him off. “It's just… I'm not good at talking about my feelings. Ever since I was younger I was told I was sensitive and I was overreacting. Everyone made me feel like I was crazy when I would open up, they’d say it was all in my head but would never comfort me or even try to help me. So I thought that if I could hide my feelings we’d be fine, but it didn't work.” My heart drops down to my stomach as I open up for the first time. “I'm just so tired of it all…” I sigh as my head hangs low. “I feel like everyone is moving on with their lives and I'm stuck frozen in time. Look at me right now… one thing goes wrong in my life and I come running back to the lake.” I shake my head as I look back out towards the water. Why does this have to be so difficult? “I try so hard at everything but nobody seems to notice or care, But when somebody actually notices I chase them away 'cause I get scared that I'd be a burden to them, I feel like such a coward.” I whisper the last part as I wait until the moment when Chris finally speaks up. It takes him a minute but he tightens his arms around me as he whispers. “I'm sorry… I know how hard that was for you and I just want you to know that I'm so proud of you. I take back every word I said to you, You are not a coward Y/n, you’re the strongest person I know.” He ends that sentence by placing a kiss on the side of my head. Oh my god, he just kissed me. I'm sure it was just a friendly kiss. “You think so?” I whisper back, hope glimmering in my eyes. “I know so. You’ve gone through so much, Y/n. I’ve never been more proud of somebody else before. Just know…you could never be a burden to me, Y/n. I love you so much and I care for you so deeply, you can come to me always. I could be anywhere, I could be at a concert and I'd still drop everything to come see you” He looks down at me with his infamous boyish grin.  I smile back at him as I finally feel my tears dry up. “You love me?” I whisper in disbelief, how is this possible? He loves me back. He nods his head as he replies with a voice so soft that it puts clouds to shame

“More than anything.”

(A/n: Omg I worked my ass off on this one. I hope that you enjoyed it 🤭 the next part is gonna be the last one (don’t take my word on it cause I’m indecisive) anyways, thank you for reading, I LOVE U 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩💋😽)

Tags: @guccifrog @junnniiieee07

[e-vasong]

For the director's cut ask game, any behind the scenes lore to share on Knockout? I'm so curious about the alternate backstories hinted at in that story. Anything you can share about the boys' encounters with the fae, or how they know Crystal in this 'verse or basically whatever you'd like to share!

For the end of year/start of 2025 game! Feel free to shoot me an ask if you have one. :D

Apologies for the delayed reply! <3 I have had an extremely busy few days, but I'm finally back....but still exhausted. :D (I see your other question too; I'll for sure get to that one tomorrow once I've gotten some sleep!)

There is. SO MUCH deep lore for Knockout. I really want to dive into it more at some point with another installment, because I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about it.

I'm still undecided as to whether it was Simon, but Edwin caught the eye of a fairy who whisked him away to the faewild and trapped him there for some time. Rather than being traded back and forth, Edwin escaped relatively early in his imprisonment....and spent quite a bit of time wandering, getting kidnapped by other faeries, almost eaten by monsters, etc.

Is Edwin still from the early 1900s? FANTASTIC question. I don't know. I think time flows funnily in the faewild, and aging is messed up too. That combined with the unreality of it means that Edwin doesn't know anymore, either. He does have memories that would suggest him being from that time period, but that could just be as easily be an illusion. He tries not to think about it too hard.

Charles' backstory is more or less the same (though bumped up a few years to be in line with the modern day), except in this world, when he got shoved into a freezing lake...he pulled out a Very Important Magic Sword. This is totally fine. <- Lying.

I keep trying to think about how to describe Charles' abilities, because in my HEAD it's very cool, but when I try and write it out, I'm like.... damn, this sounds weird.

Basically, for Charles, I'm repurposing the idea of "aspects" from Hades - I love the idea that certain mythological archetypes carry on before, during, and after their "moments in history," and if you embody enough of their qualities the Universe goes "Meh, close enough, here you go again" and you can effectively end up as an "aspect/representation" of certain mythological figures.

Charles has a few Western and Hindu aspects; in the really early days, when he was going through the classic Biracial Kid Identity Crisis, he would lose access to them randomly or summon different ones from what he intended, but he's mostly got it under control now. Mostly.

Crystal is still psychic. She also has, like, a great grandma who was a fairy, though she's only been to the faewild like once, and she fucking HATED it. Too many bugs, too hard to tell which way is up and which is down.

She still had her demon possession arc when she was 16 - except the boys weren't there to help. David burned basically every bridge she had before she was able to get rid of him -- including her ability to do things like use her real identity without getting arrested. Possessed!Crystal, like, straight up murdered people.

She's a sort of general psychic/magic freelancer, in many ways a fellow of Johanna Constantine, except she has a magic gun and she is NOT afraid to use it.

I haven't precisely decided how she and the boys met. My current favorite idea is that a fairy in disguise hired her to go after Edwin under false pretenses, and after uncovering the deception, she teamed up with them to bring the attempted kidnapper down.

[my-castles-crumbling]

Anon Advice Asks - April 19th

parallel line anon (new), bad memories anon (new), dan anon, support anon, exception anon (new)

parallel line anon

Cas, im so tired. Im so unbelievably tired. My parents have no idea whats happening with me and they dont care to ask hey whats wrong fucking ever. So basically ive had a shit day and week.

(The rest is redacted)

hi <3

I completely understand why you're tired. I get it. People are awful, bigotry is getting worse, and I can;t even imagine growing up in that environment right now. I hope you know you have a safe space here to vent and to talk to someone.

Do you have any safe people to talk to irl?

___

bad memories anon

hey Cas!

So Ive missed tumblr a lot (I took a pretty long break) and I came back woo but I made the mistake of going through my older posts and wow. bad memories.

I don't think I realised how bad my mental health used to be until I saw them and it obviously made me really upset. I don't know what to do because I like tumblr and I missed but now all i can think about is all that stuff.

I think I'll stick around but I sort of just needed to get this out yk.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Hi! Welcome back!

I mean I think it depends on why you came back--if you came back for the content and community, could you make a new account? That way you have a fresh start from the past?

If you came back for specific people, could you see if there's other ways to contact them?

If you are attached to this account, could you delete your old posts?

I think it also depends on what the memories are, and how much they trigger you. Like you have to decide what's best for you, you know?

<3

___

dan anon

(dan anon) For the anon advice ask:

I really am having a regulus-like experience today.

More often than not i guess but still. Basically i liked this guy from my class, let’s call him James…today he basically, rejected me. He told me, he doesn’t want to go anywhere with me and to leave him alone, because when i (as this regulus-type person) talk to him, others annoy him for being gay.

My interpretation is, that now i am the problem. Which shouldn’t be…but i feel like one, when it is, clearly ‘thanks to me’

…my life feels like fanfic material, anyway, carpe diem.

hi, it’s me again (regulus-type-experience anon)

a little update after a few hours…it is not as bad as i thought. though i still feel like i am drowning in my own thoughts. my experiences are still fanfic material and i feel that i can never get rid of these experiences. honestly it’s only safe to say that this is where i started with writing, it’s just that now i don’t feel motivated enough to write. basically writers block.

Most of my problems come from the fact , i have yet to realize, that i can not save everyone. then i also spiral into my own thoughts of selfless-ness

Hi <3

Ugh, I can;t even imagine how much this hurt. I know its hard, but try to remember that it sounds like it's not personal. He's working through his own issues and they have nothing to do with you. Plus, you deserve someone who wants to show you off, you know?

As far as writing, could you just write down your experiences, and focus on turning them into something more clear-cut later? Like just get the thoughts out for now?

Sending love!

___

support anon tw: death

hi <3

I am so incredibly sorry about what happened. I feel like when shocking things like this happen it just completely tears your heart out in a way that you can never fully recover from. But what you said about having to be okay-- no you don't. You can share her memories and still mourn. You can be devastated and still support your family. You deserve to work through your grief just like everyone else.

Do you want to tell me more about her? If you want to talk, I'd love to hear.

I'm sending you a thousand hugs (if you want them)

___

exception anon

hi cas!

i'm really confused. basically, i am straight. i've been straight my whole life. never questioned it. never found girls attractive, only guys. i can't imagine thinking about a girl in a romantic way, whereas with guys i definitely can. i've had multiple boyfriends, who i genuinely liked, etc etc etc.

but it's just that i like my best friend. a lot. and she's a girl.

so obviously, i'm not straight, which is really interesting. but i just can't make sense of my feelings! like, when i first met her, if you'd have asked me "would you date her" i'd say no. no. duh. i don't like girls. but recently - i don't know. she's just so cool. she's funny, she's smart, but not a try-hard or a braggart, she's pretty and confident, but she doesn't flaunt it. she's nice, but she's not a pushover and she's not fake. and god sometimes i look at her and have to talk myself out of kissing her right then and there. what????

i'm just so confused because - and this isn't me being in denial! i was raised by accepting parents, my friends are all lgbtq+ or allys: i'd be totally fine with not being straight - i genuinely do not like girls like that. i don't. it's just how it is; i have never once looked at a girl in that way and even recently, i still don't. i still can't imagine myself with a girl - except for, well, her. and i still like guys, still find them attractive - so wtf is this????

is there a sexuality that's like, straight but an exception for only one person??????

sending love <3

Hi!

Okay first, just a reminder that everything will be okay <3

I think the thing is, in my opinion, the terms 'straight' and 'gay' are like....very clear-cut, when a lot of people are more fluid than that. There are a LOT of people like you, who might mostly be attracted to one gender, but have a SLIGHT attraction to another gender, or who have an exception or two. And I think whether or not that affects how you identify is entirely up to you! I think also what you decide to do with it is up to you!

I'm sure there's a label for this, though I don't know what it is, but just know that whatever label you use, if you use any, should be what's comfortable for you. Just know that you're definitely not alone, and whatever you decide to do about it is valid, as long as you're kind to yourself <3

[birdmitosis]

oh, you doin' this too? (referring to the ask game) Tell me your Contra thoughts :3

[ask game here]

Ohoho, a total surprise that you would ask about the blorbo... >:3

First impression

OHHH I LOVE HIM IMMEDIATELY. FUNNY GUY MESSING WITH THE NARRATOR 💕 (Paranoid is the voice I love most, but I think Contrarian was the one I most quickly loved...)

Impression now

I still absolutely love them, honestly even more now! Unlike with Paranoid, where I was a little worried about her shtick getting old, I unexpectedly did start finding Contrarian's shtick a little old on occasion (okay, mostly in the Wild chapter going the Networked route, where I felt like Connie was messing with the tone of things a bit too much, and I was a bit more eh on them in Fury than some people seem to be though I've come around on that!). But with the full context of the Stranger versions of the endings and even seeing the Wounded Wild version of things with them... Oof, I adore them and they just completely fascinate me, that they have so much character development in this little visual novel where they're basically a side character... And I just adore jesters in all fiction and so I 1000% agree with all the Jester Contrarian people out there! Love them so much!!!!

Favorite moment

I mean, the Stranger version of the ending, honestly. Though to be more specific, I love the way that throwing the blade out the window comes back around in the Stranger ending -- especially if you choose to do it, giving Contrarian their unexpected third beat and them finding it funny that you did it even though this time they discouraged it.

Honorable mention to the little moment they have when you meet the Wounded Wild properly, though. While they discourage you from slaying her by saying it's going against what the Narrator wants, their voice just sounds so shaken that it's obvious that's a justification. Connie really doesn't like seeing the state the Wild is in and doesn't like thinking about hurting her further like this. It goes to show that he can get that Stranger ending development even if you don't go for the Stranger ending, and I love that!

(Also honorable mention to the way they deliver two of their lines in No Way Out: "Too late, because we already did it, didn't we?" and "You're not the only one who can figure out how to do things" are just such fuckin funny lines mostly on the strength of their delivery!)

Idea for a story

I NEED TO CONTINUE [Wear whatever feathers you choose.] I REALLY DO...

But okay, other ideas!

I love the possibility that I believe you brought up at one point, of Contrarian and Cold hanging out and egging each other on to do reckless shit but Cold straight-up getting hurt from it and Contrarian panicking because they hadn't wanted that and hadn't quite expected Cold to go that far.

I could also really love an exploration of how to get, or what it might be like to get, Contrarian in either version of Wraith or in Thorn... Or even a theoretical Stranger Chapter III (likely with Cheated)!

Unpopular opinion

I'm not really sure I have any, honestly! I think a lot of people have similar but different takes on Contrarian and nothing I could say is that unpopular... I guess maybe that pre-development, they were more of an asshole in-game than some people seem to think, but also less of one than others seem to think? (They did reassure Hero multiple times in the Stranger chapter, after all!)

Favorite relationship

Oh, absolutely, romance-wise ContraHero is my secondary OTP for this game! Platonically, though (...and okay in some cases romantically), I am really into Contrarian's dynamic and (potential) relationships with Broken, Cheated, Cold, Opportunist, Fury, Stranger, Thorn, Wounded Wild, and the Narrator.

Favorite headcanon

Contrarian being nonbinary is my absolute favorite thing! Some runners-up though: Human!Contrarian (or if Contrarian had to give a human name) would be Connie, Contrarian would absolutely get along great with Cold, and Contrarian would learn how to beatbox and get super good at it.

[ikilledmyocs]

MONTHLY WRITING UPDATES 2025 / three months late edition

back in january i put on my wtw bingo board i wanted to start posting monthly wip updates inspired by @veneritia, but as you can tell, it is march. i'm channeling my inner sloth. especially since i haven't really written... anything.

JANUARY WORDS: 0

DAYS WRITTEN: 0

WIPS WORKED ON: NONE

FEBRUARY WORDS: 3490

DAYS WRITTEN: 3

WIPS WORKED ON: we are unsuper, sims wip

MARCH WORDS (SO FAR): 1616

DAYS WRITTEN: 1

WIPS WORKED ON: secret wip, sims wip

yea so one of my other goals was complete a word crawl and as you can see, i dropped out of the writeblr garden's event halfway in because i wasn't going to write anymore than what i did sorry gardeners 😔 i've also been going through probably the longest sims fixation i've had since i was 10 and got my first laptop, so i've started working on a little short story i'll be telling through the sims, but still writing on the side. it's inspired by probably one of the only contemporary wips i've had jingling around my head, so why not play it out in the sims ✨ it's nothing special, but i'll eventually be posting about it on my simblr @commitmentissue if that sounds interesting to you! that's literally all i've got except for this little except of callista getting her surprise makeover before unsuper's final big mission (in book one 😳)

After about thirty minutes, Kenna finishes blow-drying my hair and spins me back into the mirror, taking off the black sheet with a dramatic fling. “What do you think?”

I’m stunned into silence. She cut off much more than a trim. My hair that once fell to the middle of my back now sits just above my shoulders. My mother’s pure, straight black hair has been turned into a midnight blue with some waves added in. Kenna bites her lip, cleaning up her station quietly as I take in what she’s done.

“I may have lied a bit, but we can’t risk people recognizing you before tomorrow.”

More than a bit. I bite my tongue, choosing to instead wave at my face. “Like my scars and my eyes won’t be enough?”

“The scars aren’t a big deal, they’re basically the same as any other Plague-Keeper, and with the new contacts Xander has for you, you can pass them off as the scars of a rebel.”

She says it's as if it’s that simple to hide. And while she’s right that scares are very common around here, everyone knows what they did to Plague-Keepers to get us these scars. They’re not accidental.

A knock draws me out of my overthinking about my haircut. I haven’t cut it since getting back from the Academy and that already felt like too much. But my hair was a matted mess. That had to be done. Before that, it had been four years. It already felt like I lost one of my connections to that place, but now I've lost one to my mother. She loved me with long hair.

A blonde head peeks around the corner, holding open the sliding door with a screen key. “Are you done yet?” Xander asks, shaking the key around in his hands, making it glitch as Kenna glares at him. She slams her towel off her shoulder and onto my chair, giving me a jump.

“I told you to stop using our hallways to cut through stuff,” she says, waving me towards the door and holding it open for me as Xander gives her a warm, cheeky grin as if to say, I’m definitely doing it again. “And I suppose we are now that you’re here.”

Xander throws a stack of clothes my way as the door to the salon jiggles close. I barely catch them, Kenna saves the day by catching a nearly fallen sweater. “Did you catch her up to speed?” He asks, striding past the flustered workers in the supplies room. Someone tries to ask him a question about the mission tomorrow but he waves them away, saying everyone will be told what they need to know tonight.

“I’m going on a mission with Britta to the shipping docks,” I state, plainly. “Why do you get to skip this one?”

He turns back to me, shoving his gloved hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt. “Who said I’m skipping it? I won’t be there, yeah, but someone has to hack the security and make sure their cameras are jammed. Can’t have another mistake like yesterday happen again.”

[jollyreginaldrancher]

Yellowjackets Season 3 episode 6 liveblogging

Title is croak. Goodbye Birdwatchers.

I'm getting onboard with the theory that someone might die this ep. God if it's Misty's bird...

If Shauna kills Misty's bird...

Anyway it's 3 days earlier

I KNEW YOU MOTHERFUCKERS WOULDN'T CONTINUE WHERE THE LAST EPISODE ENDED

turns out the animalistic sounds we heard were made by a frog all along guys, we can all rest easy now

oh fuck me

THIS IS NOT THE TYPE OF ORGY I SIGNED UP FOR

I'd be crying too if I had to record a frog orgy for work tbh

OK there's three of them hikers

Nah they did not trap my man in the middle of the orgy

bad enough they picked him up while he was trying to get it in but picking him up and bottling him is diabolical

ugh there's that guy i don't like

"the heart wants what it wants" Sis they're boning, they're not in love

"I think it might be the most beautiful thing I've ever heard" must have been tough living in a pre Billie Eilish era. Music choices must have been very limited back then.

I wonder if they'll eat them and their frogs too

shit that guy has a crossbow

it's gonna be a bloodbath

so it was team of explorers who hid the stash coach Ben found. Interesting. At least we have one answer now.

Well at least Natalie will have something to chew on after they kill the hikers dead.

Their names are Edwin, Kodiak and Hannah I guess. Not that I'll remember them tbh. Just noting down for future reference.

Arctic Banshee Frog was definitely the noises and shit they've been hearing. My money was on wildlife and I feel I'm definitely right. Team logic takes another win my guys.

Ooh a phone. Are they gonna call home when they kill them?

Nope, nevermind, they smashed it lmfao.

"I'm your lifeline" Watch him die first

"This guy could rob and murder us" You just realised that now? At this point you kinda deserve to die my guy.

"You smell barbeque?" oof who's gonna tell him?

other guy has a point, like who the fuck would trek this deep to have a barbeque? I can only think of one group of people dumb enough to do that and trust me you do NOT wanna cross them

Nah because how do you hear that and KEEP advancing towards the camp making all those noises? I would have shat myself and ran in that order.

"we're going home"

Umm

who's gonna tell her?

well this is awkwward

"He died of natural causes" WHILE THROWING HIS RIB AWAY I'M-

never change Misty

the guy just trying to like umm and err back his way out of this one

LOTTIE

WITH THE AXE

I THOUGHT IT WAS MISTY I HAD TO LOOK OUT FOR

did not expect to have the same reaction as Shauna but here we are

Shauna's been president for ONE DAY and Lottie's wilding out like this

ALSO I'M GOING OFF WITH THAT BINGO CARD LOTTIE WILDING OUT SQUARE COME HOME

Lottie has points

Natalie the only one or at least the main one trying to keep a sense of decorum and civility and genuinely tripping out over witnessing her friend straight up MURDER a motherfucker

Anyway

that was

I don't wanna say hot but

HOLLY FUCK

HOLLY FUCK MELISSA

IS MELISSA STRAIGHT UP DEAD?

Lottie with the blood

is that from Shauna's memory?

wait

MARI'S THE MEDIC NOW?

When I said they'd shift I didn't expect them to change this much

What's Misty then?

the Hunter?

Melissa's fucked up

I can see her surviving though, like fuck if coach made it with a full amputation? And she wasn't shot in the heart?

"Not just a mom who had a teenage pregnancy" fine maybe Walter IS the hikers' kid. Would explain a bunch I guess. Or maybe the new character is her daughter, fuck it, who knows?

Hannah Sophia Finch. We really got this random's full government name before Akilah's and she's been there since season one.

Lol even Jeff is calling out Shauna's hypocrisy. You can go down to the lobby when it suits her but must stay up when it doesn't. Meanwhile he's probably texting his boyfriend Randy where he is and checking in on social media and shit.

Poorly furnished shitbox. This man is a flaming late in life closeted gay, and I refuse to believe otherwise.

matter of fact everyone in this show is gay I've decided again.

Damn she just threatened her whole family like that

Callie's looking into shit, naturally

Taissa snores in her sleep too

It's a yellowjacket wide epidemic of snoring

Not Van calling Misty a psycho and shit. Baby, I'm sure there's mirrors in that room.

Yeah Tai, why DID you meet Lottie.

I love how Van grabbed a butter knife and got in defensive position in bed with Taissa. Baby, crazy is in the bed with you...

Also no one's mentioned the jacket yet. I wonder how long it will take them to figure out Misty and Nat were fucking cause they clearly haven't pieced it together like at all yet.

Oh she straight up asked her. Misty I really do love you.

Even Van's looking at her suspiciously. Van please speak the fuck up about other Tai, I'm begging you, don't be a shit for once.

The hesitation

Van for sure does not trust Tai completely

she wont admit it in front of Misty but she does NOT trust that hoe

Also yeah tell us about the tape

I think Shauna found the female hiker. Seemed she knew already what she was gonna say about being a teen mom, so either she heard it before, like in the car, and that part resonated with her, or she cut the tape short in the car, which is what it seemed like, and she knew it from memory from hearing it live in person 25 years ago.

MistyNat crumbs.

is Nat doing that listening thing Van did last season when Tai and Shauna were stuck in the snowstorm?

Looks like those two separated. I'm guessing the traps might be for him if they don't find him this ep. If he does splinter off and hunt them though I don't see them breaking into smaller clans.

Maybe they'll find him and kill him sooner and she'll live a lil longer. But I feel like the tape recorder would not have been recording days of stuff. So she has to like, die today more or less, assuming it's one straight recording.

Ok the group split up, Travis, Akilah and Misty went left, Shauna Van, Tai and Nat right. I hope nothing happens to Akilah, she's the only character unaccounted for in the adult timeline and therefore the only stakes here are Akilah and Melissa (and by extension Mari I suppose).

Nat continues to run in a way that makes me want to yell a slur

Gorl left behind a whole hair extension worth of hair. Wilderness just wanted to feel pretty I guess.

Lord of the rings ahh hiding place.

I love how she was so quiet until they got close to her and then she started making the most noise she possibly could

So this is her talking to her baby that she gave up for adoption and the baby's named the fakename I gave myself on character ai...the name I used to chat with Natalie Scatorccio with. cool cool cool cool cool

imagine her kid is one of the yellowjackets

anyway love this three stooges moment with the adult yellowjackets

I feel like we've reached the point in the season where shit is gonna start to really happen for real and the next few episodes are gonna be HELL to wait for

Does Shauna know it's a daughter for sure?

Misty has a point. Misty has several points. Shauna take many seats. Van and Tai too.

Okay, if it WAS the hikers and the tape and stuff then it makes sense for Lottie to go first I guess, since she took out that first hiker but Shauna would probably be last then, since I'm assuming she took out the girl's mom, and the other girls would be in between or maybe even before Lottie.

Also this is based on the assumption that it's cause of the tape, but like, if it was, why Lottie? I mean if it was Hanna's kid, why not go straight for Shauna? What's the tie to that guy, Edwin and his murderer?

Also how would she tell them all apart? Unless the tape caught Natalie saying "What the fuck Lottie?"

OKAY

WOW

so much info there

Melissa survived the incident but died

Gen and Melissa both died

Hannah died too probably

Hannah survived long enough to befriend Gen and Melissa I guess

maybe Hannah IS pit girl

doubt it though tbh pit girl seemed younger and smaller

but whatever

they wouldn't be the first show to pull some shit like this

where they cast extras in early scenes or whatever so you can't use clues to figure out who's who and then come back with the real actors and reshoot that shit. Pretty little liars was famous for it. It was bullshit now and it was bullshit then.

roadtrip with the four gals now though. Not as fun as MistyNat's road trips.

Anyway I'm also surprised Shauna did research. Like we joke about her being stupid, because she is, but she can be smart when she wants to, except she never does so she's mostly just stupid...

Okay.

Who did bring the tapes back and who did kill Lottie

oh wait, no, yeah, that is a good second question, Misty, WHY WOULD she wait 25 years for revenge?

Either she just found out, just got the tapes or she's found out she's dying or something and has nothing to lose.

Or it's not Hannah's daughter and it's one of them and Natalie's death is what prompted this, since, y'know, this all happened when she died.

Or it's Walter.

It's probably Walter.

I wonder if that's the highway we'll see Hillary Swank running down in that scene from the trailer.

Lol Tai's wife cut her off didn't she? Would not put it past her and would not blame her.

"we don't get to be lucky" Motherfucker, what do you call the dozen or so times that Van avoided death in the wilderness if not luck?

I can't tell if it's sweet or sad or pathetic or heartbreaking that Tai is willing to become a serial killer for Van

Shauna team mom, Van Tai and Misty all sitting in the back like the toddlers that they are. I love that Misty refuses to sit up in the front with her. Like we know the other two will wanna sit together but Misty refusing to go near Shauna still is honestly a mood.

watch the knocking in the tent turn out to be a raccoon lmao

it was a jar. close enough.

Anyway I hope Tai and Van don't get jumped by crossbow guy. Also hope that was his only crossbow bolt. He's really out here with DnD weapons smh. Rogue class mf

IT'S FROG BOY!

VAN LET MY MAN OUT! SHE'S BACK ON THE GOOD LIST!

Aww Van trying to call her mom. :'3 poor baby Sometimes it's easy to forget they're still a bunch of kids.

Their disappointment when they found out the phone was broken

Ok so they'll get Hannah and use her to fix the phone and use it I suppose so they can get rescued. I don't think it's gonna quite work out that way. Lord knows they're well off the deep end by winter, so I really don't think this is gonna pan out as well as they'd hoped.

Sweet Akilah trying to rationalize what Lottie did. Baby I think you're next to go. I think that guy is barbeque. I think he's gonna kill Akilah and get killed or caught by Travis. That's my guess for like the next five minutes.

not shit ridge X_X

God is this how they find Kristen's body?

Oh god not my shayla

don't leave her alone

why can't Travis not be selfish for once?

I guess he's trying to keep Akilah close so he can protect her

but that leaves Misty alone in the dark

I know her adrenaline just drained out of her

God even after all this to see Misty alone is staggering

Mind you this is the same day coach Ben died. They were just feasting on him.

Hannah's gonna get got by Shauna and Nat any second now too, I just know it. Interesting, she stashed her recordings. Yeah, they'll definitely make it back to your family now. The longer I watch the less likely it seems that this tape would even make it back let alone into the hands of her daughter.

Oooh where's Lincoln tunnel? Is this a hint that Shauna saw Lottie too the day she disappeared?

Yeah so it's gotta be Walter. Like what a great convenience that he matched Shauna's hair to Lottie's DNA just after Misty cut him out of her life, and while she's on a roadtrip with Shauna too?

She was blowing him off for her friends and all of a sudden he finds evidence that her friend was killed by one of her friends. Such great timing.

Not Shauna mocking Misty's boundaries. Like any of them have every effectively or successfully held a single healthy relationship.

She really just texted them right next to her adshkasjdhkasjdha to get them to help her get Shauna to stop the car as if any of them are at all capable of lying

OKAY WHAT THE FUCK VAN?

I really thought it was another really shit act to try to get Shauna to pull over but she fucking threw up blood? Tell me it's a lame ass magic trick right now!

Woah

Good thing Misty dodged that

Just made me realize that this is lowkey a really slow weapon. Like reloading it alone takes a good ten seconds.

Anyway, what a day for Misty Quigley.

Oh no, she's Velma-ing.

Okay, is Akilah going to offer to help him only for him to pull her down and kill her so he could try to get a hit on Travis?

"I'm not her family but we have a very intense trauma bond" MISTY PLEASE

"did you know?" yeah cause you guys are famously open and inclusive with Misty Quigley

"She was probably covered with my DNA" STOP

YES MISTY DESTROY HER!

I love how Shauna's acting hurt btw. Like, you wouldn't piss on Misty if she was on fire, but if she points out that you don't give a shit about her suddenly you're incensed. HOW DARE YOU CALL ME OUT FOR BEING A BAD FRIEND WHEN I'VE BEEN NOTHING BUT A BAD FRIEND TO YOU? The audacity is hillarious. They all act like they don't give a shit about her but care about her in such a deep way lmfao.

Shauna really fucking left?

She's probably going to find so and so's kid, isn't she? On her own.

So Van believes the whole thing was a life for life trade and she doesn't want other Tai/Tai to kill for her, and now she managed to snap other Tai out and Tai back in, as we can tell by her panicking at Van's state.

Meanwhile Lottie's gone off the deep end, has a complete psychotic break and has been just wallowing and covering herself in blood and whispering to the body of the hiker all night while Mari and gen are trying to help Melissa, and attempting to pull the arrow out.

It's not coming out that way, so they should cut the end off and push it all the way through, as much as it's gonna suck. Yup, Gen's got it. 1 point for Gen.

"Go fuck your blood dirt Lottie" Mari, sweetness, come over to the cool kids table right now

The gang's back. I see you Akilah. Shauna. Shauna's looking. This is the image of Lottie that stuck with her.

Shauna's looking more turned on by Lottie than Melissa right now. If Lottie showed up in the cabin, covered in blood, and tried to stroke her pregnant belly in season two, Shauna would have let her.

lol lil gay boy Natalie holding the medkit. I love him your honour.

I really thought Jeff was up to something but, still just being a himbo

Callile asking the tough questions, like 3 seasons too late

Love how they're still gripping onto that bit of info about where the plane landing by the skin of their nails. The hikers were lost less than 100 miles from where the plane went down. WHERE?

Do we think the yellowjackets will try to walk it again? I mean if these adults can hike to them then they can probably hike to somewhere...idk. They probably drove halfway and walked the rest but still. What's the worst that could happen?

Yup Shauna found her.

Is that that gun?

Ooh a knife!

is this the sheath Melissa made her? Did she keep it all those years?

I see a price tag on it so I guess not. Shauna hit a damn thrift shop on her way to her attempted murder lmfao

Anyway my toxic trait is thinking I could have walked into that impending cannibal orgy and just been so chill they wouldn't have tried to kill me. Maybe they'd lock me up but like in a fun way.

Anyway RIP Gen and Melissa. I am positive Hillary Swank is playing Melissa now.

[somebodytoloveslog]

Larissa Weems helping reader to deal with comphet <3

(she’s so queer I love her 😭)

"Hello, everyone! I'm thrilled to share this with you because I just ordered my first lesbian flag after a long journey dealing with compulsory heterosexuality (comphet). One thing that's been incredibly helpful for me is thinking about the wonderful headcanon that Mommy Rissa proudly identifies as a lesbian and buys LGBTQ+ items to avoid appearing straight (my favorite headcanon is that Larissa is a lesbian, yay!). So, here's my one-shot about Larissa coming out, dedicated to anyone dealing with comphet. <3 Love you all.

AND THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED IN THE LAST SURVEYYY I MADE BEFORE

For the past few months, you've been grappling with comphet, feeling pretty terrible about yourself. How can you accept that you're a LESBIAN while, at the same time, not fully embracing it? Pride month was set to begin at your workplace next week, and in the spirit of celebration and self-acceptance, your boss encouraged everyone to proudly represent their identities through their attire. But what in the world were you supposed to wear? You had lesbian merchandise you'd ordered from Amazon (which you hadn't opened yet due to your insecurity)…

The day to showcase your pride at work was tomorrow, and you had decided to do nothing out of the ordinary. Just another regular day in your usual life, right? No, not at all! You couldn't help but notice everyone putting in their best effort with their outfits, rings, mini flags, and even food ("Who are these people? They're usually so apathetic at work. I didn't expect the entire office to be so gay," you thought while making your way to your desk. To your surprise, you seemed to be the only one without anything special.

Well, except for your boss, maybe. She was your sole friend at the office since you were relatively new.

During lunchtime, you sat beside your boss, and oh, your boss – you'd fallen in love with her, but she was your friend, and more importantly, YOUR BOSS. She immediately sensed that you weren't in the best mood that day.

And then, she asked, "Honey, are you okay?" The tears welled up in your eyes quickly upon hearing her question.

"No, I'm not okay. I need to talk to someone about something that's been weighing me down," you confessed nervously, your hands becoming sweaty.

"Do you feel uncomfortable around LGBTQ+ people, y/n?" Her tone shifted suddenly, sounding both puzzled and slightly upset, but she remained kind.

"No, I'm not trying to say that. Well, yes, but what I'm trying to say is that I'm queer too. I know I'm a lesbian, but at the same time, I'm not. Do I sound stupid? Because I feel incredibly stupid right now," you stammered.

She chuckled before rolling up her sleeves to reveal the most beautiful lesbian bracelet. You tried to say something, but the words escaped you in that moment.

"Honey, you are a lesbian! It doesn't matter how much you doubt it. I know because I'm a lesbian too, and it took me a lifetime to realize it," she excitedly shared. "Let me tell you the whole story of my coming out and realizing that I'm a lesbian."

…

Initially, when Larissa was in her 30s…

Larissa had always been a lesbian, but she struggled to accept it. She was perpetually insecure about her attraction to men. If she were honest with herself, she'd always enjoyed the attention she received from men. She liked the way men admired her, and she mistakenly conflated it with genuine attraction.

One day, while working on her laptop, she stumbled upon a webpage that immediately grabbed her attention: "Do You Really Like Men?" The title was slightly humorous to her because that was a question she'd been pondering for a long time. "Hmm? I'm pretty sure I like men. I mean, I've had plenty of boyfriends in the past, even though they weren't really my type…"

Her breath caught for a moment as she finished reading the page, and she was shocked. "Then, am I a lesbian?" She looked at herself in the mirror, fighting back tears because of the silly but painfully accurate webpage she'd found a few hours ago.

Over the next few weeks, she found a new job opportunity in another country, far away from her parents, family, and friends who hadn't yet realized that she was trying to embrace a more 'lesbian' look. Perhaps they thought she was just going through a mid-30s crisis or something. She'd even cut her hair short and started dressing in more masculine clothing, but it felt absurd – she didn't feel like herself.

By the time she turned 32, she had become the boss at "Nevermy's Office," which worked closely with a company that helped private schools enhance their teaching quality and more. Her hair had grown long again, and she had returned to wearing dresses and short skirts that she adored. But there was a significant issue: all the men in the office kept trying to date her nearly every month, while no women, not even in the entire office, attempted to approach her.

The next Pride month was approaching, and she was excited to finally do something to show everyone that she wasn't into men. She purchased a small lesbian sunset flag (although she hesitated because she didn't want to be too conspicuous)…

Over the next months and years, she promised herself that she would wear something – a pin, a bracelet, a ring – to subtly signal her LGBTQ+ identity. To her surprise, most people noticed right away, and the men in the office stopped pursuing her for dates.

As Larissa shared her journey, she gently took your hand, revealing a beautiful lesbian flag bracelet of her own. She smiled warmly and looked into your eyes.

<3

[juminies]

hi i’m the anon that asked about the calls! thank u so much for uploading them ur the best <3 also i wanted to ask u something else… sorry i know ur on another hyperfixation right now hehe but i love ur takes and i’d love to hear your opinion on smth!! i’m replaying mysmes for the first time in aaages, and i’m paying more attention to the story this time around and what i wanted your opinion was on a call from jumin’s route on day 6… it’s the call where jumin mentions he sees mc in his dream and mc asks him if he’s sure it’s her. jumin says something about his relationship experience and how he can’t even remember the name of people he saw in the past and then goes on to say he doesn’t even know if you can even say he saw them

so i was thinking about what exactly the last part meant. like i just don’t see him willingly trying to connect with women in a personal capacity on any level, let alone romantic because:

1. in one of the the deep story pre-route chats, jaehee mentions that jumin is straight up not interested in women or relationships, he tends to avoid women and that she’s never even seen him going on a date

2. his shitty parent no 1 carolyn, shitty parent no 2 chairman han, his stepmother (srlsly the way she talked to jumin in that one story mode does not sit well with me??? like that “i’ll comfort you real well” sounds very very wrong but it could also be a bad translation? i hope it’s a bad a translation) and all the women throwing themselves at him and just straight up saying inappropriate things to his face

3. the story mode in which he says that rika was the first woman who made him feel comfortable and that all the other women he met before her just used to flatter him

4. and with the way he thinks… considering he’s not interested in relationships… he’d probs view dating as like inefficient or an unproductive use of his time since it won’t lead to anything lmao that ceo mindset yk

so that lead me to think… do u think the situation with sarah had happened before but on a smaller scale? as in shitty parent no 2 forcing jumin to go meet whoever his latest gold digger gf suggested? and jumin not wanting to but going along with it because he wanted to please his father? (honestly i think chairman han shittiness is sometimes overlooked in the fandom? like yes carolyn is worse but chairman han ain’t good he’s just the lesser evil!!)

or do u think he was referring to like the whole thing where he acts all charming and eloquent to get businesswomen to sign contracts? thank u!

hello! thank you for asking, I will always love talking about him forever so don't worry :~)

I've actually always been kind of confused fascinated by that call too, and I would love if he had elaborated more because we're definitely on a similar page here and you make the same points I would have in regard to his blatant lack of interesting in dating and relationships.

I will say I find it interesting how despite him being the one to bring up his dating history the things he says are actually incredibly unclear? a while back I wondered if it was one of those little things that gets sort of lost in translation, but he's really vague in Korean too. he is talking generally about people he has 'met' before, 예전에 만난 사람, which like 'saw' in english can be perceived in the sense of dating depending on the context of the rest of the conversation but can just as frequently be literal and have no further implication. it almost seems like he's trying to talk around the fact he's never been in a relationship, or otherwise keep it vague, which I suppose makes sense considering he follows it with "the past is the past" and is very consistent elsewhere, too, in feeling like only the present matters. to add to that, if you tell him you thought he had never been in a relationship before after this he is still incredible vague in his response and dodges really making a direct comment. he just says he's not bound by the past and reiterates that he wants to focus on the present. for someone who was typically so no-nonsense until it came to MC, dare I say it reads a little bit like he's nervous that you might judge him if he directly confirms that he has/not been in a relationship before but doesn't want you to feel as if he's trying to keep things from you.

anyway, either of your suggestions are plausible imo! it's difficult to gage if he would even consider women he charms to get them to sign contracts as part of the conversation, but since he does specify he's not sure if they even count that adds up. I have also always thought it somewhat likely that Jumin's father has at least attempted to set him up with women before given that he's almost thirty and the sole heir to the company. considering his genuine hurt around the Sarah situation I think it was probably not something that had been touched on in that particular way before, but instead a sort of "my friend has a daughter your age" situation, or an awkward "come meet my friend and his daughter" dinner. I also don't think it's entirely off the table that he went on a date or two (maybe even slept with someone) while he was at university but got nothing out of it, and that could be what he's referring to. given he can't even remember their name(s) I think it must be the case that it happened a fairly long time ago and meant very little to him, whatever the situation may have been.

[penniesforthestorm]

*

I've been a fan of David Lynch for more or less my whole life. My dad was a huge fan of Frank Herbert's Dune, and Lynch's 1984 version was a frequent watch in our household-- I couldn't even tell you how old I was the first time I saw it. I loved it then and I love it now-- there's nothing else like it, nor will there ever be. The Villeneuve versions are fine, and we're fond of them too, but I particularly like the Lynch Dune because it feels genuinely not of this Earth.

When I was a senior in high school, my mom showed me Blue Velvet for the first time, and told me her theory about it. You see, in our hometown of Missoula, Montana, where David Lynch lived as a very young boy, there is a theater downtown called the Wilma. It was built in 1921, and as a girl, I thought it was the strangest, ghostliest, loveliest place in the whole world. The springs in the lipstick-red auditorium seats were terribly lumpy, the gold and red fleur-de-lys wallpaper was mildewed and peeling, and the dressing rooms downstairs were covered in decades of graffiti from all the performances that had taken place there. But the key thing about it was the stage curtains. We're familiar with stages having red velvet curtains-- it's so conventional there's even an emoji of it. But the Wilma Theater's curtains? They were a deep midnight blue. The top floors of the building had been converted into low-cost apartments, and my mother had known people who lived there. Without elaboration, she said simply, "This movie is about people who live at the Wilma." It made about as much sense as anything else.

I've written elsewhere on this blog about Twin Peaks (here and here, plus the rewatch project I abandoned partway through The Return... will this be the year I finally finish?); I can think of very few other pieces of art that have so captivated me. In college, I used to go to a fancy little deli/grocery on the Upper East Side for treats, and one night as I was coming out, David Duchovny held the door for me. I hadn't watched the series then; how I wish I could've said, "Thank you, Denise!" In 2019, I dressed as the Log Lady for Halloween-- I had short hair at the time, and plenty of flannel shirts and woolly cardigans to choose from. That night, with some friends, I sang The Band's "I Shall Be Released" as part of a Woodstock cover set; somehow, it felt right to be standing up there with the Log in my arms. ("Any day now, any day now...")

I've always loved listening to David Lynch talk, because his voice sounded like home. He sounded like my mother's side of the family-- Norwegian and Irish immigrants who have lived in and around Great Falls and Teton County since the 1890s. Those blue eyes, as clear as Montana's famous Big Sky-- my Great-Uncle Harold, who wore a pearl-grey Stetson and taught me how to dance the mazurka at a wedding, had eyes like that. There was (oh, it hurts to write that!) also something familiar in the contrast that people made such a fuss over-- how he could be so straight-arrow seeming, and yet such a student of the grotesque. I'll say this-- if you'd heard the stories they all used to tell in my Great-Aunt Fay's kitchen, late at night when they thought the kids were asleep, it wouldn't seem so outlandish.

Lastly, I have him to thank for introducing me to one of my favorite bands: The Cactus Blossoms, who appear at The Roadhouse in Ep. 3 of The Return. (Frustratingly enough, the full video of their performance, which was kicking around for years, seems to have been taken off YouTube, but here's a live recording I really like, from KEXP radio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dgy9ZO_ad4) They're honestly one of the best live bands I've ever seen-- the atmosphere they create when they perform is just... beyond. I saw the two frontmen (brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum) perform an acoustic set at the Brooklyn Folk Festival at St. Ann's church back in November, and hearing the blend of their voices in the chapel just gave me chills. (They're also incredibly nice dudes; I managed to corner them for a chat at the afterparty. Actually it was so packed, we were all standing more or less shoulder-to-shoulder; at that point it would have been weird of me not to say hi...)

Anywho, vale, Mr. Lynch. Send my love to Harry Dean when you see him. Maybe I'll make a cherry pie this weekend...

[yakuzabrainrotlive]

OKAYYY Yakuza 5 early-game part 2 time! General thoughts on gameplay and random bits 🙌🏻

Immediately I'm just gonna say: the game is GORGEOUS. Maybe a hot take, but this game might be my favourite of the bunch, graphics-wise. The engine seems to be the same one as Y0 and Kiwami and I love the look of them too. I don't know what it is, it's just so good.

General sillies and tidbits at the top, gameplay (pretty much just combat stuff) more towards the bottom.

20 minutes into this journey and I TEARED UP ALREADY😭 Game really stabbed me in the heart twice before I'm even an hour into it. That's RGG studio for ya.

There were no plushies in the U.F.O catchers so Kiryu's just gonna have to run around with his newly acquired Miku figurine in his pocket🫶🏻 also FUCK THAT NEW UFO CATCHER SYSTEM!!!

The drumming minigame in the arcade was actually very fun! Might be my new favourite in there, since the U.F.O catcher seems to be in her flop era right now ^_^

Live me reaction: YAYYYY BAKA MITAI IS BACK!! What else..... *sees Machine Gun Kiss*

HERE WE GO AGAIN. Baka Mitai and Machine Gun Kiss are songs I have sworn to myself to get a perfect score at in every game they're in. I had a feeling Machine Gun Kiss would be back but😭 the nightmare continues 💅🏻

Let me tell you straight away, I was almost PISSING MYSELF when these controls popped up. I DON'T HAVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE, I suck at any minigame that has driving. During the real estate quest in Y0, Kiryu suffered a humiliating loss to the electronics king (??) with the stupid racing game in the arcade. I had NO clue what I was going and I had TRIED to get the hang of it plenty of times.

I just started panicking when we had to use blinkers and there was answering small talk and OHHH watch out for red lights and stop signs while avoiding other cars and obstacles and staying in the correct lane and and.... I felt like that one meme about playing Five Nights at Freddy's in 4/20 mode. You know, this one:

This might sound silly and dramatic, but I genuinely get overwhelmed with stuff like this😭

Hiiii Komaki Firearm Flip 👋😏 Glad to have you back, bestie 🫶🏻😩 it's just us against the world now...

NOW. The combat.

This has honestly been the most fun I've had in any early game section of these games. The sheer amount of techiques at your disposal and the stuff you can unlock early on is insane! There's so many heat actions just... already in your repertoire. There's new fun and brutal heat actions and old ones sometimes have new things added to them! I love how when Kiryu crushes a dude with a bike, for example, he then also grinds the opponent into the ground a bit more with his leg afterwards. That hip twist makes me go 😳💕

I also love the encouragement of active weapon usage.

I tend to severely neglect weapons myself and rarely use them. I only ever used them more actively in Kiwami 2, and 90% of the time it was just me rushing to the nearest bicycle when I was being chased and then using it to do crowd control on enemy hordes. Might actually use weapons more with this system in place!

Enemies calling for help can get annoying. I start with a manageable and respectable group of 3 or 4 enemies, until suddenly there's like 9 people jumping me. In the early game!! Thankfully escaping from battles is a thing.

Enemies in general feel more... active. They can flee, they call for help and I feel like they're just more aggressive. I'm dodging and guarding against common thugs and other small fry enemies a lot more than before. They don't stand around as much. It's an adjustment, but I like it. It's showing me just how much I need to work on that part of the combat.

There's still a lot of blocking and grabbing by the enemies. I really don't see why Yakuza 3 is singled out as the game where enemies block a lot; I feel like 4 and 5 (this far) are pretty much equal on that front? I don't mind it too much, it adds a little challenge. I refuse to play on Hard difficulty purely because there WILL probably be a vehicle chase scene and... well, you saw my rant on the taxi minigame above. I always have to switch to easy for those. So I have to play on normal, even if the combat doesn't feel challenging most of the time.

(yes, Legend is off the table for me forever. purely because of the vehicle chase sequences. Yes, I'm sad.)

The rewards from battles fluctuate a lot; sometimes I beat 5 or more people and get an iron plate worth 100¥ and sometimes I fight 3 people and get like 10 000¥. Thankfully I enjoy fights in this game a lot, so I don't mind that.

One small quality-of-life thing I appreciate is being able to see stats of weapons and armour when buying them. I think weapons might have had the "attack" stat visible before, but I don't recall seeing the stat distributions for the armour, at least not in 3 and 4. Absolutely no recollection of how this stuff worked in Y0-K2 era.

Now, the new town!

It feels... small. Not in a bad way! It' cozy, the atmosphere is very tranquil, the people are (mostly) nice and it just feels homey all around, even with the vibe of melancholy surrounding Kiryu. I like how there's WAY fewer enemy encounters because this place isn't the wild west that is Kamurocho or Sotenbori. Happy to have the Nishikigoi and Yellow Dragon binding to increase enemy encounters, though - I do wanna do efficient grinding at times.

The map layout is cool, feels very different from all the previous towns we've explored. I really, really like this setting.