#also it's all over the place sound and concept wise but that is pretty much how my personal playlists always are so !

[ningtual]

tagged by beloveds @28reas0ns @kimsuyeon thank you so very much 😽😽

sweet dreams by red velvet ; ever seen by beabadoobee ; useless by omar apollo ; unf/air by artms ; life's unfair by omar apollo ; getting no sleep by tinashe ; immaterial by sophie ; kingdom come by red velvet ; i'm unhappy by aespa ; supernova by aespa ; sympathy is a knife by charli xcx ; echo by clairo ; russian roulette by red velvet/the boyz

i love any tag games where i can involve my music taste so i was very happy to do this hihi!! tagging anyone who also wants to do this and happy listening <3

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

With Playful land ending soon, can you try which part of the Halloween event is better which is either Playful Land or Glorious Masquerade? For example, the topic is characters and you picked Glorious Masquerade because of etc like that. (NRC cast design, NRC cast role, Yuu and Grimm's role, New character/s, Movie-inspiration event, Plot, Music, Place Setting, Opening, Ending) You can add more topics if you want.

By “better”, I’m going to assume you mean which (between Glorious Masquerade and Stage in Playful Land) I preferred in each of those categories? (I say "preferred" here because I'm judging based on my own tastes; obviously everyone will have a different opinion on how the two events compare.)

It’s quite a few to get through, so I’ll just quickly summarize each. This post will also serve as my general thoughts on Stage in Playful Land.

***Spoilers for those two events below the cut!!***

NRC cast design — I’d say the designs are pretty split down the center?? In theory, I love the concept of masquerade balls and marionettes, but in practice the designs look all over the place and I really only like a select few of them.

NRC cast role — GloMasq was stronger in this, especially the choices for the SSR trio. Malleus and Idia are a deliberate rival and foil to Rollo, whereas Azul’s UM comes in clutch during the final showdown. Meanwhile in Playful Land only Kalim seemed to be very significant story-wise; he was the one trying to convince everyone to sit down, eat, and try to understand Fellow’s motives, is the last to be captured, and gives the big speech about how he’ll never abandon his friends + the importance of school. Ace has his usual schtick of being brutally honest and there are some parts where Ortho’s robotic abilities come in handy (like playing sounds to distract the puppets), but these seem like very minor roles compared to what the GloMasq trio did. Perhaps they were good choices for the end when they all decided to destroy the amusement park though??

I also feel like some things the SSR trio does in Playful Land (like dispersing the puppets by using a “lost item”) could have been done by any smart or deceptive character (Leona, Vil, Cater, etc.), not just the SSRs (ie Ace). Furthermore, the other cast members in GloMasq seem much more important in how they split off and battle—there are good reasons or synergy given as to why they pair up the way they did (ie Riddle and Epel needing to be good flyers, Ruggie and Jamil willing to use others as meat shields, etc), while in Playful Land it seems more random (like Floyd losing interest) or obligatory (mostly the third years stepping up to defend the younger students).

It’s also anticlimactic how Fellow just let them all go??? Especially compared to Malleus, Idia, and Azul and Rollo squaring off to the bitter end.

Yuu and Grim’s role — Once again, this goes to GloMasq. In Playful Land, Yuu is automatically caged and tossed into a corner to wait it out to the climax. At least in GloMasq Yuu is actually doing something (even if it is offscreen): they’re with Grim and Trein, helping the townspeople from the flowers. (Note: I’m not entertaining the “but Yuu is magicless! It was a wasted opportunity for them not to have a bigger role in GloMasq!” thing because I’m talking only about canon and not hypotheticals here.)

New character(s) — … Do you even need to ask 😭 Obviously, I’m loyal to Roro-chan Rollo; I just find his story and character to be super interesting, especially with the root of his conflict being inner turmoil and an inability to move on… It makes him an excellent foil to Idia.

While I do also enjoy Fellow and Gidel, I feel that I’m not as invested in them because despite the terrible dark shit they're doing, the conflict they get wrapped up in gets resolved in an underwhelming manner. Plus, there was not a lot of elaboration on their own backstories?? It was mostly told to us via Fellow, yet kept so vague that the fans are left to fill in many missing details on their own. I’ll have another post out later going into more depth with how I feel about Fellow and Gidel.

Movie-inspiration — I think both events have their moments of film inspiration. A lot of GloMasq's comes through in the traditions and culture of the city, whereas Playful Land's are embedded into the games, foods, rides, and attractions in the park itself. Playful Land feels more overt because of how flashy everything is, but also because it's not really based on any real-world area (unlike the City of Flowers/Fleur City, which is fantasy Paris and therefore also has Paris elements) it has to stand on its own. They don't need to worry about developing a unique "culture" for a smaller area like a park; they can just cut loose and have everything be fun and whimsical like Pleasure Island is. For this reason, I feel that Playful Land has stronger movie ties.

Side note: I want to put out the disclaimer that I personally don’t think how much an event references its source material should be counted when evaluating the quality of its writing. Just because you mention things from the film or reinterpret them doesn’t mean the story itself is good.

Music — I’m going to give this one to Glorious Masquerade because while the tracks are nice for both (I love the dramatic bells in GloMasq and the eerie music box of Playful Land, and both songs with lyrics are also great!). However, the narrative context and meaning behind the songs with lyrics are very different, and I feel that this makes Let My Wish Resound performance that much more meaningful. Additionally, Playful Land introduced a sung version of Rave Up! Up! in part 3 (even if it was just the first half of it) whereas GloMasq saved its sung version for part 5, which grants us more time to get hype. (I also like the rhythmic/twistune of the boys dancing over the boys… idk, dancing and doing property damage for funsies.)

Opening — Both openings do a good job at building up the hype for the ominous events to come, but again GloMasq wins on a technicality… which is the quality of the evil laughs given during them 💀 Fellow’s is kinda weak (like it stutters and sounds like he’s out of breath), at least Rollo can do a slow, unabashed laugh like a proper villain/j

Setting — This one’s suuuuper subjective; I don’t really like amusement parks I know, I’m boring so that automatically means I don’t find Playful Land to be a compelling or interesting setting (even if it fits thematically). I’d much rather just be allowed to wander and explore a city unsupervised, get to learn about its history and culture by experiencing it myself. GloMasq’s City of Flowers/Fleur City allows Twisted Wonderland to be expanded so much more (like, thinking about how this city relates to other cities and countries), whereas one isolated floating park doesn’t add much to the overall world lore.

Plot — Playful Land was so… boring 🤡 I’M SORRY, IT’S TRUE (to me)????? Like, they were just aimlessly wandering around during the second half of the event (even though it should be obvious that Fellow is at the theater)???? While at least in GloMasq they knew where to go (the bell tower) right away and strategized around that… Plus, we keep switching perspectives between the captured boys and the action, which bogs down the pacing. GloMasq keeps the action going and only takes very brief pauses to check in on our villain for the evening. There was way too much time spent meandering and not enough time spent actually Doing Things in Playful Land.

Stakes — GloMasq’s were higher. This isn’t to say that higher stakes automatically means the event itself is good. It’s just that the same urgency isn’t present in Playful Land because the scope of it is not as grand. If the crimson flowers/fire lotuses spread, there is no stopping them—and it endangers many people, communities, industries, etc. if they do. Meanwhile, a handful of people go missing in Playful Land. It’s still tragic, and their losses will still impact their loved ones—however, that’s still on a smaller scale than what the flowers would have done to their world.

Ending — GloMasq trumps. It’s just perfect how Rollo indicates he won’t give up and then drops ominous lines foreshadowing Malleus bringing ruin to them all (ie book 7) 😂 Love the pettiness of the banter, the ballroom setting, the perfectly timed delivery of the gift/song, and especially how Rollo’s punishment was so perfectly fitting for someone as neurotic and self-righteous as he is!! Also loved little details like the gargoyle and Trein wanting to keep an eye on Rollo 💕

The conflict resolution for Playful Land felt like a deus ex machina…? Fellow’s literally about to win (he caught them all) and the boys get let off the hook because Fellow had a change of heart. The boss told him it will cost a lot to repair the destroyed puppets so it’s coming out of his paycheck… That, and I guess all the stuff the boys were saying about how great school is finally got to him? Fellow got so fed up he called the whole thing off???? So he releases everyone and they all go around busting up the park???? I mean, they did foreshadow it by pointing out earlier how Fellow isn’t loyal to his boss + showing more phone calls where the boss is getting increasingly annoyed 💦 so it’s not as anticlimactic as Endless Halloween Night (one of my least liked events). I just mainly dislike how the conflict is triggered in part by Fellow’s boss being rude 😭 Like damn, what if his final straw hadn’t been claimed??? Then everyone is screwed.

At the very end, Fellow and Gidel decide to go on the run?? Which… isn’t an easy thing to do but it’s hand waved away so fast. If the staff meant for it to feel this way because the original Pinocchio also left Honest John and Gideon’s fates ambiguous and they did show remorse for their victims 💦 idk, it’s cases like this that make me think TWST is at its best when it does more of its own thing rather than strongly stick to the source material…

I also have?? Mixed thoughts on how TWST doesn’t follow up on the whole “yeah a bunch of rich people are caught up in running a human trafficking operation using this scary ass magic”. I know crime must exist in TWST, so in a sense this is… realistic??? But it feels odd to see such a big thing being casually mentioned and not being treated with full gravity?? (Maybe these are the types of crimes that special mage police defense forces (like the one Deuce wants to join) investigate??) Guess that’s just going to sit in the back of our heads from now on… It’s not satisfying seeing a story “end” like this, but I understand why it had to be 😭

The cathartic release of breaking down the park that once trapped them all is fun, but too goofy. I know it symbolizes a lot more than that, but it’s just not for me.

And so (to no one's surprise, given the frequency with which I talk about R*llo), I much prefer Glorious Masquerade to Stage in Playful Land. It's not even a contest to me. A certain pseudo-French boy aside, I just think the former has much better writing overall. By comparison, Stage in Playful Land has a very strong aesthetic and start, but not much else to keep me engaged??? It was an entertaining if not mid event aside from the big scare when the twist is initially revealed (because none of us expected it to be that dark) and minor other parts like Kalim’s big speech. The rest of the event felt like walking around and not doing anything useful.

I honestly think the failure of Playful Land to execute on its ideas comes in part from the hype of Halloween events (like, so much attention is put onto them that when Halloween events flop, it is SUPER noticeable) and the legacy of GloMasq (which set the bar VERY high) 💦 A shame, really…

Anyway, round of applause for Roro, who stays winnin’--

[catenary-chad]

I've alluded to the concept a number of times, but here's my redesign for OLC Belle the Sleeping Car wildly roleswapped into a Momma/Poppa figure for Electra, as Belle the GG1. You could probably give her a better name, but Belle is passable enough since all locomotives in the US have bells, I mainly kept it to preserve the flow of her song (see below cut for her version!). Based on their status and appearance in their absolute final running days in 1984. They may look glossy and pretty (if a WILD time warp) but they were on their absolute last gasp physically at this point after running for nearly 50 years, due to a lack of suitable replacement. Her dress follows a similar logic to Greaseball's outfit in that it represents the streamlined cowl, which is why she's less mechanical than most.

Personality-wise, she's also oooooold and based on Ella Fitzgerald, even more heavily than OLC Belle since she's fits perfectly with the time/place/personality of the GG1s. Both started in the mid-30s in New York City, and were noted for being "effortless" and almost unparalleled in their field. I tend to imagine her playing more on the "cute, humble, and improvisational" side of Ella, entering the big race just to have one last good run before she retires, and forgetting lyrics and making up something that sounds natural. In my mind she wins because the tracks are rough and winding, which she's far more used to that the other Nationals, with how decrepit parts of her Northeast Corridor were in the 80s and still are now- experience is a quality that counts for a lot!

She toes the line between OC and AU since she's such a twist on the original but stays largely true to her general concept. I'll call her more of an AU and say anyone is free to use this interpretation if they want, I'm not possessive of it at all.

Realistically she'd be dead as a doornail after 1984 (GG1s will just never run in preservation, they were in such bad shape and would need so much work to function on modern systems you may as well build a new replica). But make a cheeky joke about Controls' mom "sticking the old shell on a new body and not telling the kid" and she can come back. I like to think she'd have a flirty, playful rivalry with Momma/Poppa, she'd make Light At The End Of The Tunnel a duet about how steam is great.... for power plants! The Pennsylvania Railroad just stopped getting more steam engines when it electrified lines vs axing them so she wouldn't have any historical antagonism with them.

Here's my rewrite of Belle's Song largely following the original format, but now about the real history of the GG1s

Speed and youth ain't everything

Experience is a quality that counts for a lot

The sad thing 'bout experience is

By the time you've got it

It's usually all you've got...

I'm Belle, Belle, Belle, the GG1

Had my fifty years of fun

My frame is cracked, I’m almost done

Though in my heart, I long to run

I hauled the folks, I hauled the freight

I made good time, no need to wait

Just couple up and ride with me

I’d get you where you want to be

Once I was the hope for the future, wires run from coast to coast

Service every hour, to everywhere, hauling the post!

Now it’s just tragic…

The war then came, it all fell down

Restriction made the new tech drown

Let autos win, pave over it all

Watched the railroads slowly fall

Still I was a real mainliner, they struggled to replace me

Ran commuter trains into the ground

Down by the sea…. At least it was scenic

Oh, Belle, Belle, Belle, the GG-LOST

I’m worn down, yet I’m still boss

I may not be first class, but I'm not yet worst class

I can still take you when the night is dark

I’m withered, but I ain’t lost my spark

[painted-bees]

For the ask game that you just posted!

I would like to see Magritte in 10, 11, 25, 26, 32 and 48 (sorry if it's a bunch of questions I'm just very excited I simp for her)

More Margie!!

10. Is your character street-smart, book-smart, intelligent, intellectual, slow-witted?

She wouldn't describe herself as smart in any sense. Indeed, she does come off as very ditzy. However, she's resourceful as fuck and, when left to figure things out by her own devices, she is quite a brilliant problem solver. Not only that, but she's a sponge when it comes to learning about things that have engaged her interest. She can pick up on concepts very, very remarkably fast. The problem is, she has a lot of trouble recalling knowledge on the spot, and her inability to narrow her focus or filter out information, etc, leaves her looking like a deer in the headlights more often than not. So at a glance, she does not appear booksmart nor streetsmart, and when she's being watched, it's an endless comedy of errors as she tries to fulfil even the most simple tasks. Which is a tragedy, really...because she's actually quiet brilliant.

11. How do they see themselves: as smart, as intelligent, uneducated?Oh, I kinda just answered this HAHA yeah, no, she thinks she's a total dumbass.

25. What are their hobbies and interests?

Music. Making sounds, mixing sounds, composing tracks, sound engineering, just--audio stuff, any and all audio stuff. She also likes theatre, etc on a hobby level. And hiking, and looking at wild life...and photographing wildlife... for funsies.

26. What does your character’s home look like? Personal taste? Clothing? Hair? Appearance?

Hahaha well, until she met Raf, she was kind of a hobo lmao she couch surfed and stayed at shelters and stuff. And when she did get to stay at a friend's place or w/e, it was never for very long because...uuuh...her domestic habits are not great. Dirty dishes, food wrappers, laundry......she is not a very tidy person...very...messy, in fact. And often completely oblivious to her own mess. Though she has become a little more self conscious about it after having it pointed out to her enough times by enough people. She can never seem to stay on top of her mess, though.

Living with Raf, who IS a very habitually tidy person, they have an...arrangement. Her room is 100% allowed to be as much of a stye as she wants, but the rest of the house needs to be...respected. She's still pretty bad about leaving dishes in the sink unwashed, but she's much better about making sure the living room, etc, are free of her clutter pile-ups and half-empty coffee mugs.

Clothing and hair-wise, Magritte prioritizes comfort over beauty lmao Her hair is always thrown up in a messy bun because it takes her like five minutes, tops, to do. She loves things like sweater dresses and loose fitting clothes...and leggings. Leggings are great because she can get away with not shaving her legs if she just makes sure she throws on a pair of leggings.

32. How does your character react to stress situations? Defensively? Aggressively? Evasively?

Magritte does not get angry. It's very hard to make magritte mad.

Magritte is a frusterated crier. She'll get really sad and withdrawn, and just kinda shut down and avoid the thing until she's ready to deal with it.

48. How are your character’s gestures? Vigorous? Weak? Controlled? Compulsive? Energetic? Sluggish?

She's very energetic, active, big dumb gestures, laughs -too loudly, too often-. Throws her limbs around when excited and often hits people by accident.

[irresponsibleink]

Blood and Honey 2 review

**No Spoilers**

I watched Blood and Honey 2 on opening night and I was surprised. The first movie was mediocre and my hopes for the sequel were in the gutter. It seems director Rhys Frake-Waterfield worked out some kinks from the first movie. Maybe constructive criticism did its job here and Frake-Waterfield listened to the reviews of the first film. 

The first Blood and Honey film put spectacle over storytelling. The production team expected the sensationalism of the concept to carry it through and they were mistaken. Reviewing the first film in any serious capacity would be a mistake, as it’s clear they weren’t trying to make a serious film. They took the sequel more seriously, which opened the door for guys like me to tear into it. For people like me who have seen a lot of slasher flicks, Blood and Honey was nothing to write home about. During my viewing of the first film, I had to fight to stay awake. 

The sequel changed some details from the first film. For starters, this film includes characters such as Owl and Tigger, who weren’t in the public domain when the first movie was in production. I was pissed Tigger wasn’t in the first film. Tigger is the Batman to Pooh’s Superman and if anyone can tell you with a straight face they prefer Pooh to Tigger they are not to be trusted. Another change I enjoyed was the redesign of Pooh and Piglet. I understand the original design was about taking the original character of Pooh and making him scary, but you can’t tell me that Pooh is supposed to be a bear-human hybrid and then show me a man with yellow leathery skin. In this film, they updated Pooh to look more animalistic, giving him hints of fur and razor-sharp teeth. 

They also changed the leading man, recasting Christopher Robin’s character with producer Scott Chambers. The acting in this film is pretty standard. The strongest link in the crew was Tallulah Evans who had good charisma as her character Lexy. Except Lexy, the supporting roles were not greatly noticeable and they didn’t take up a lot of runtime. 

The special effects were a step up, as well. In the first film, the crummy effects made the gore look a lot less like blood and guts and more like some cheap props you could buy at a discount store. I'm surprised that Pooh didn't appear after the credits and thank PartyCity for sponsoring the movie. In the sequel, the props looked very professional. The gore looked real enough to make your stomach turn but not so real you can’t enjoy snacking during the movie. 

Character-wise, I was invested in Christopher’s story. I was rooting for him right from the beginning. This film opens with everyone in his small town believing he’s a brutal killer and that leaves him on a quest to deal with his trauma and confront his monsters (both real and figurative). I liked the supporting characters. It was very endearing to see how much Lexy and Bunny (Thea Evans) cared about Christopher and believed in him when a lot of people didn’t. 

While I was invested in Christopher’s journey, the first three-quarters of the movie dragged a bit. Christopher is on a quest for answers, so naturally, a lot of the film is him trying to get to those answers any way he can. But this is still a slasher film! During this “investigative” period, they throw in a few kills to keep us invested, but Christopher and Pooh don’t even confront each other until the final quarter of the film. 

Speaking of the kills, they were very brutal. Bear traps, exploding campers, flaming chainsaws, what fun! A lot of people may think, ‘A flaming chainsaw? That isn’t realistic!’ All I have to say is, dude, if you’re worried about how a flaming chainsaw isn’t realistic then maybe a movie about animal-human hybrids isn’t for you. 

The score was fine, but there were times when the music was a little out of place. It was disorienting to be watching a sad or frightening scene and hear music that sounded hopeful. The narrator also took the piss out of the movie. It was so jarring to watch a serious and intense scene and then to jump to narration like someone is reading a bedtime story to us. 

About that plot twist… Words cannot describe how out of left field it was. I’m glad they explained where the creatures came from, but… yikes. It was entertaining, but a bit convoluted. Also, why did Pooh have to be that character the whole time? That just complicates Christopher and Pooh’s relationship in a way it didn’t need to be complicated. They already had a troubled past together, so why make it more tragic for no reason? 

Then there was the rave scene. I almost cheered when Tigger came onto the scene. I love Tigger! Whether he’s bouncing around in a colorful cartoon or murdering people with his claws and calling his victims fluorescent bitches, Tigger is the OG of the Hundred Acre Wood. And it was so fun to see Pooh batter people around while trap music played. It reminded me of that party bus scene from Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022). I also loved how Pooh and the others kept Tigger in a cage because they knew how fucking crazy he was. 

Was it a good movie? Uh, sure? It wasn’t the best slasher I’ve ever seen but watching it wasn’t a complete waste of time. I would wait until this one hits streaming services before you go watch it. A part of me feels stupid for spending money to watch such a mediocre movie when I could have just waited for it to come to Peacock. That being said, I’m genuinely excited to see what else the Twitsted Childhood Universe has to offer. 

I believe Frake-Waterfield is self-aware about how stupid these movies are. But they’re fun to watch and I bet they’re pretty fun to make. There are worse moves to watch this weekend.

Final score = 62.5%

Rick Stepp (calebstepp23@gmail.com)

[lanawinterscigarettes]

I’ll reply to all of the responses in one ask so I don’t clog your inbox again LOL

1. Trust me I will be taking up your offer to yap about any and every tv show I’m interested in…starting now. I watched the first two episodes of the show Wilderness today - it’s so good, way better than I thought it was gonna be (and also in a different country?? I thought it was set in Australia but no apparently it’s set in New York 😭) and Liv is a bit naive in love but I was more distracted by how attractive she was than half of the actual plot LOL also she’s canon bi, and I lowkey ship her one-night-stand-wise with the girl her husband cheated on her with, like I won’t spoil too much in case you decide to watch it but literally Liv was pretty much stalking Cara then said to her best mate ‘She’s hot, no?’ like 🤨👀 and when Liv kissed her husband she was more bothered to see that Cara was watching them than her husband enjoying the kiss LOL random rant that I can’t tell anyone else about. I don’t know if you know the British show gogglebox which is where people record themselves watching TV but I basically did an amateur gogglebox and now I have a funny 1hr 30m video of my first impressions to the first two episodes LOL

2. Don’t cry! Although I do hope the stars shine for you as I am star anon - I chose star anon because I love the stars so much I have star jewellery and iPad cases of constellations and a phone case of a star and my most used emoji is the star!

3. Missy is the most charming nuwho master…although every time I see John simm I’m like OH MY GOSH ITS THE MASTER

4. Thank you for adding my little thing about the ficmas, I love the snowmen and I’m so excited to see it as with everything you write!! Plus Christmas is my favourite favourite time of year

5. About the foursome fic you’re always welcome to write Missy/River/Clara/Fem Reader stuff I will LAP THAT STUFF UP even like I love the concept of like a double date between River/Missy and Clara/Reader but it just ends up turning into one massive data where River and Missy are being bossy boots and teasing the other two at the table next to them along with riling each other up. Or like, an adventure where they’re all showing off each of their talents like Missy having to manipulate people or River shooting people with her gun thingy or Clara hacking stuff and the reader…idk, deciphering codes or something all trying to impress each other while the doctor is just stood there like 🧍‍♂️these gay idiots LOL

6. I know some people need comfort fics at Christmas but it saddens me that people are even sad at Christmas in the first place 🥺

Hope you’re doing okay Aeron - enjoy the rest of your day in the tumblrverse 🫶

- ⭐️

wilderness sounds like it's so good, plus jenna coleman stars in it so it gets even more brownie points in my opinion hehe. and I've never heard of gogglebox before but now I'm realizing I do the exact same thing when I watch tv- (of course I don't record myself but I get very opinionated on what's going on lmao)

the bit you wrote about the stars shining brightly sounding like such a beautiful piece of poetry to me and I've been known to cry over far less, but they were happy tears I promise 💘 and you seem like someone who gives off star vibes, if that makes sense. like I could imagine you being someone who enjoys stargazing or observing different constellations at night (I might have a new clara x reader fic idea now tbh)

no because why does literally every version of the master seem so goddamn charming 😭 I'm not sure how much you know about classic who but if you think the nuwho masters are charming then the classic who masters are who they got it from because WOW. I love the doctor but I think if the master invited me to travel with them I'd fold right away lmao I have no restraint

no problem!! I love christmas too, though I will have to say it's in constant competition with halloween for me (I've always been someone who loves the fall holidays a bit more than the winter ones but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy both) and you're so sweet for saying that, thank you 💞 sometimes I get worried whenever I'm writing something based on a request that it wont turn up like the person envisioned it so it means a lot to know you enjoy my writing so much and trust my artistic direction or whatever haha

stop you're going to give me too many new ideas on what to write for- (don't actually stop though I always love whatever you come up with) I'll definitely have to write some more river/missy/clara/fem reader stuff in the future, although I can't promise they'll be as long as the kinktober fic (honestly I've never ever written anything that long before idk how it happened 😭)

yeah, I get what you mean. it's just no fun being sad at christmas, but if I can hopefully cheer someone up even a little bit then I'm glad to write a holiday fic that has a bit of hurt/comfort in it ❤

the tumblrverse is such a creative and cute way little phrase omg (I spend way too much time in the tumblrverse than I should tbh-) I hope you're doing okay too star anon!! it's always nice to hear from you 🥰

[garrettwrites]

Hi, how's it going? Anything new and exciting in your life?

I see you're obsessed with vampires, who are your favourites? 👀

Sorry for the 3day delay I had to think on this. Picking favourites is hard. Reminder that I welcome all sorts of asks! Especially vampire and Worldbuilding ones!

Life's hard, gotta study the hell out of roman fish productions while simultaneously making art for social media and my portfolio, but what's life without a little stress.

Onto your question (which I ended up rambling on, sorry), lore wise I have two absolute favourite pieces of vampire media:

VtM: Bloodlines (2004 game). My love. I like how they write vampires and set their powers, clan divisions and hierarchies. The aesthetic of the game is also early 2000s late 90s, which is nostalgic. It's more fantastical than straight forward, a vampire DnD in fact, so it offers a lot of liberty and flexibility for whatever story you want to tell. It also works well as inspiration for original works, since the more you look into it the more you can pick what to use for your own vampire stories.

Second one is the netflix series Vampires (2020). It's french. It is an... incredibly fresh take on vampires. The series unfortunately only has one season with six episodes. It follows the life of this poor vampire family, but the twist is that vampirism is biological and vampires are born as such, and can die of old age (they just age much slower). Their weaknesses, their biology, their social structures and the way the series explores them through the eyes of a teenage girl slowly coming into her vampire disease (because it is kind of an illness), the way the series IS NOT AFRAID of pushing forward extremely embarrassing moments (such as the girl, still unable to control herself, biting the boy she loves IN CLASS and being viewed as a weirdo for it - refreshing when many writers are afraid of such realistic moments due to how cringe they may come across as for general audiences.... It's pretty solid. The scenes with the girl's mother walking into the sun covered in scarves and pieces of cloth is also really good, more series should do that - makes sense that a vampire would still go outside during the day, they'd just need to look absolutely out of place while doing it. Which they should. Vampires don't belong in daylight.

Honorable mention: Interview with the Vampire. Of course. Especially the new TV series. I love the psychological exploration of vampirism in there. However, I think the series is good because of the characters themselves rather than the blood sucking of it all. Vampire wise I don't care much for the lore, it is there to solidify the fact they're all monsters.

Extra 2: Unironically? I know this might sound cringe, but if you ignore the main storyline and exclusively look at the lore... Vampire Diaries is kinda good. The writers clearly did their research and included ideas from all over the world in their social structures, vampiric powers, etc. One of my favourite aspects is how they utilise the concept of "vampries can't enter a house without consent" to its absolute fullest. There's even a character who is turned into a vampire, and gets locked out of his own home because he lives alone and no one is in there to allow him in. Hilarious.

CHARACTER WISE...

Lestat is definitely one of my all time favourites. He symbolizes what a vampire should be for me, but is still multi faceted enough to be a person rather than a caricature.

Olrox from Castlevania: Nocturne (animated series). I miss drawing him. I wrote two whole ass fanfics about him, but they were romantic rather than focused exclusively on him.... A shame. I think he's pretty interesting. Depending on where Nocturne goes, he might surpass Lestat in the future. He's charming, but dangerous. Tragic yet with a chance of rising above the rubble. He's also native american, and possibly a god - all really fresh concepts. I really love Olrox. Top tier vampire dude, sorry Alucard but you're just not as cool.

Talking about Castlevania... Carmilla. She's not even that original as a character, but she's what people nowadays call a "Girlboss" except she's actually well written. You feel for her. You love her. You hate her. And she's a vampire that knows she's a monster and wants to keep being one. None of that "oh naur I'm immortal but must... commit the sin of drinking blood" bullshit. She, much like Olrox, steals every scene she's in.

Jonathan Reid from Vampyr (2018 game). A very... text intensive game. But I like reading, so I don't mind. He's a doctor, and was a soldier during WW1. He's the main character of the game and you can take his path in multiple directions. He's a favourite of mine because I like the concept of a doctor vampire, plus I genuinely love Vampyr.

The cast of The Lost Boys. No explanation needed,

Least favourite vampire: Astarion because 1) he took over my dash, can't talk about vampires anymore without that man being there and 2) people can't tag his fucking name properly and I'm over here trying to find minotaur content (AstErion) and I see that kind of muscular kinda lean white haired small fangs elf taking over the tags. Please people. Learn how to tag.

[mobloomspell]

I finished the main quest for Tears of the Kingdom, rolled credits and got my little epilogue scene, and my final thoughts are... meh. 

If that sounds familiar, that’s because the blunt truth is the game never changed from my first and second impressions. It shares the same exposition five times, it’s blatantly obvious not much is going on story-wise and the presentation, lovely as it is, can’t hide that. A majority of the plot is bad, and I don’t feel the need to sugarcoat that opinion for an otherwise good game.

(While none of my complaints are unique, there are probably hundreds of blogs and comments criticizing  the same things I am, I will say, maybe unpopular opinion: I don’t mind the Sheikah tech being basically erased and replaced with Zonai stuff, and other little retcons throughout. All my problems with the structure is from treating TOTK as its own standalone game and story.)

I don’t even hate the main quests most of the time, it’s pathetically easy to skip the bits I wasn’t liking each time. In some ways the town stuff is a massive improvement over BOTW and fun to play and interact with this world. The dungeons and even getting to those places with a companion are neat little sequences. But I cannot emphasize enough how actually completing dungeons and being ‘rewarded’ with essentially the same (far too long) cutscene is such a deflating experience to what I was just enjoying. I don’t how to briefly explain it, but I feel like new Zelda games have this problem where I’m not really a part of them anymore as a player, I’m just supposed to sit there and accept that Link is The Hero the universe revolves around. It’s weird and boring and I hate it every time!!

LOZ games have always been game first, with narrative being a far second priority. And I’m an easy to please lady, I genuinely love BOTW and HWAOC because they’re simple and don’t waste time dressing themselves up as anything more important than they really are. I expected TOTK to be on that same level just with a different gimmick. But even with those reasonably low expectations, the story feels like it’s the brainstorm session of a plot that lucks into making a scene or thread I like, but spends a lot of time saying nothing. Most of it fell flat for me, and the worst part is I can see how even just a few punched up sentences here and there could have a domino effect to better emphasizing what I think the main quest is thematically trying to say. You certainly can’t make Ganon’s terrible dialogue worse.  The basic shape of a decent story is there, it just desperately needs a second draft to reach its potential.

(I spent most of the post-credit scene thinking “what are you talking about?” as characters conversed about something that had been brought up maybe once, it was unintentionally funny)

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but it’s just plain true that Zelda is the only character I cared about here. She’s a bit too fair maiden archetype for me to be fully comfortable with (to be fair, this is a problem BOTW has too) but she’s got the closest thing to a basic character arc in comparison to the lacking development everyone else has. A concept at the center of her story is unambiguously cool and compelling to be worth pinning a game on. Along with the main quest, there are also side quests that show she’s been doing things like commissioning a schoolhouse to be built and starting an animal sanctuary at a stable. These are nice glimpses into a down-to-earth person’s life as she genuinely cares about the present world around her, not just the big plot stuff. It’s crumbs in comparison to other RPGs but I savored them.

I could say more but I actually want to focus on the stuff I set aside to get to the credits like finding more pretty outfits, or playing indie games I bought from itchio and haven’t checked out yet. At the very least, I preordered TOTK because I thought it would be fun to play and I might finally have an opportunity to experience something before fandom osmosis spoiled stuff for me, and I got to have that, it was nice. TL;DR narrative lacking but gameplay good.

[urproblematicfav-ao3]

I wanna talk about getting Alastor pregnant now lmao

Anyway babbbbyy tim because I never gonna actually write this shit~~~~~🎶

CW: graphic pregnancy discussion, miscarriages, child abuse/attempted baby murder, etc etc-

So whatever the fuck this is would take place after my show lion au/overhaul fic (another reason why I'll probably never write it lmao)

Alastor and Charlie are already married and have been together for like, 5-6 years at this point. Initially Charlie wants a baby, and Alastor is like "ok. I'm not doing any child rearing tho." And Charlie tries to do a Creation magic on them both to give Alastor a dick again(he is so uncomfortable with it but does it anyway because it makes Charlie happy) and herself a functional womb, however both because Hell is just completely antithetical to Life as a concept and the fact that the type of Creation that Lucifer (and subsequently Charlie) does is a bastardized version of the actual thing, it just......rreeeallly doesn't work out well.

Long story short, Charlie barely makes it anywhere and miscarriages super early on. She handles it on her own(with Vaggie's help) and tries to be Normal™ about it but Alastor obvi finds out.

Alastor: Why didn't you tell me and let me help? Do I really come across as that callous after all this time?

Charlie: It all happened pretty quick. Also, I'm gonna so honest. I genuinely was worried you might have tried to eat it.

Alastor: Eat it?! I wouldn't eat our miscarried baby?!?

Charlie: Oh. Well, that's good-

Alastor: I'd taxidermy it in a jar and put it on my shelf as proof of my sexual conquest.

Charlie: There it is.

Anyway, plan 1 didn't work, off to plan 2~

Roo finds out Charlie wants a baby, and offers to do it all over again to help. This time, Alastor's getting a womb, and Charlie's getting a temporary dick. Mostly because it's easier, Alastor already had all the correct parts + a heat cycle, and it's less difficult to just give Charlie some baby making juice instead of trying to force her Hellborn body to do something almost all Hellborn can't even do.

Unlike Lucifer, Roo has ACTUAL Creation magic and experience with pregnancy and babies. Eve was the first bitch to get a period and pop a screaming wet little alien out her pussy, after all. She's basically the First Midwife lmao.

Alastor spends his heat with Charlie at his personal house in thw woods, gets sooooo goddamn knocked up, and then starts waddling around.

They're obviously having twins because I'm annoying. However, I view it more like how animals tend to have litters. But also, humans and deer only really have one at a time so like, lmao thats not scientifically sound.

Alastor also has PMDD so being pregnant actually stabilizes his hormones in a way that makes him feel like he's not insane for half the year. It manifests different for him because he's not human, so instead of being crazy for 2 weeks out of the month, he's just deeply deeply unwell for his heat/rut cycle which lasts months. (Is this because my mom was lowkey using pregnancy to cope with her undiagnosed pmdd/misdiagnosed bipolar. Maybe a little. Shut up.)

Al gets big pretty quickly, and his frail ass deer body can't handle it super well. He basically can't walk on his own before he's remotely close to term. He's also deeply confused and genuinely scared of how nice and careful everyone is, especially considering how much he sucks and how many bridges he's burnt in his life. Husk in particular is basically on 24/7 baby protect mode all thw time (timeline wise: husk has been out of his contract with Al for like 3 years and their technically on equal ground. That's the main reason it freaks him out so bad, because he absolutely fucked Husk over and now Husk is being nice for no real reason. Plot twist Al, the reason was because he loves you.)

He also gets proper tits. Beforehand he was just EXTREMELY flat chested, like definitely some fat there but not much. Now he's got like, A-cups. He's both very happy with it in a gender euphoria way but also bothered by being sexualized for it. (Vox immediately goes "whao.......tits!!" And Alastor literally starts crying because he's being incredibly vulnerable by opening up about being pregnant with Vox instead of hiding it like he was planning. Vox immediately apologizes and explains that he's just really used to doing that when he or Val see boobs and it wasn't actually a sexual advance.)

On the subject of Weird Pregnancy Symptoms. Did you know your pussy can change color?

Anyway, other plot stuff would happen. Mostly Husk being sad he didn't get to have babies with Alastor and lost love shit. Charlie planning babies rooms, Lute begging Adam to let her knock Vaggie up next, something something Angel makes a joke that Alastor is a fat bitch and Charlie says "if you call the mother of my children a bitch again I'm gonna throw you out a window."

Alastor gives birth, c-section because he refuses to push or put any effort into it. You're cutting him open, and scooping them out goddamn it. He initially wanted to go to Rosie, and just chainsaw that shit but Angel and Charlie convinced him to just go to Val's clinic. (Val runs most of the sexual healthcare in hell, its a whole thing.) and Val definitely helped deliver a few babies in his life.

Immediately after the babies were born, Alastor first thought is "why are my kids white." Despite him being mixed, and Charlie being alabaster. Like bitch. The fuck you mean why.

In a less funny way, he gets extremely upset when they try to hand them off to him. Repeatedly saying "This isn't mine, I don't want it." Charlie is....pushy? She doesn't mean to be, but she's too excited about the babies to fully register how deeply Not Okay Al is in the moment. She pressures him to hold them, and the second he's left alone with them after they get home, he immediately tries to kill them.

He's caught quickly. Nothing bad happens, the babies are okay and not actually hurt. But they're separated from him. Charlie quickly figures out that she fucked up very badly, and quickly takes over as the main parent. Alastor already told her from the start, he had no interest in child rearing or being a parent.

Alastor is immediately filled with so much guilt over what he did. He didn't mean it, he was just dealing with a lot of postpartum depression and genuine psychosis and no one was taking it seriously. On a stupid animal instinct level, he feels like a terrible mate and doe because he tried to kill his goddamn babies. Charlie tells him he did perfectly by giving her two beautiful, heathy children all because she asked him to and that his job is done. Alastor takes this, but the guilt is still there.

Al continues to be depressed, Husk and Angel comfort him. Husk is baffled that Al is so genuinely and sincerely breaking down over something like this, that man is a sociopathic liar and now he's suddenly crying over murder. Angel tells him about how Molly did something similar with her twins back Topside, and that its actually super normal and common for woman. Something something, it takes a village.

Alastor loves his kids, but he never experiences that Mother's Love or Parental Instinct that everyone talks about. He'd protect them with his life and they mean a LOT to him, but that magical motherhood spark never comes.

NOW THE BABIES💖💖💖💖💖❗

I already made a post about it, but the twins are a piebald deer and a sphinx cat. Neither of them have names yet because Names Are Important and I haven't figured it all out. They also have to have their Sinner names too, because despite Hellborn not working by Sinner rules where Names Have Power, Alastor is still uncomfortable with his children having their birth names be public. So they'll get Names and then the thing they go by.

The sphinx kitten doesn't have much lore yet, the deer one came first so we'll start with her.

So she's piebald, which is like a generic mutation or something in animals that makes them have white fur mixed in, I was trying to see if calico deer were a thing. I guess the human equivalent would be albinism? Idk. She's definitely black like Alastor is tho. She takes 1000000x after him in every way.

She has white hair with tiny blonde/brown spots, and black eyes like Charlie. The pregnancy wasn't exactly smooth, despite Roo's help and she came out with a problem with her spine. She can walk, but it hurts her so she mostly crawls around. She'll eventually get a wheelchair that she uses most of the time. She's very small and has Tired Baby Eyes syndrome for the entirety of her life lmao.

I mentioned in my Alastor body lore hc post on my main acc, about how his antlers are apart of his ears and brain as his radio antenna. Same goes for her. She's also autistic(and selectively mute), and extremely sensitive to sound like Alastor is. She isn't born with her antlers but the things in her brain and ears to receive signal is still there. She was a very, very fussy baby because she could hear ALL the electricity in Hell, all the time. She was a bit of a velcro baby to Alastor once he came back to parent them(after spending like 6 months in the woods) because he can project music and stabilize her signal to drown out other noise. (This scene would be a HUGE emotional moment. I'm annoying so like, the music he plays for her is Atonement from the Journey soundtrack, which is the exact song he uses to manipulate Charlie in the first part of this entire story. IT'S ALL CONNECTED BABEY)

Also joke that when Alastor was pregnant, Vox would threaten to send her ads in utero so she'd love him and want Voxtech when she was born. Alastor was immediately like "god why".

She's not rotten like Alastor is. Her meat and blood is normal because she's actually a living thing. But she's still got radio robot parts like him.

Also, you know that thing baby deer do where they flatten themselves like a pancake until their moms show up as a survival technique???? Yea, imagine that but it's a toddler thats going dead weight pancake mode in Alastor's arms the second theres a loud noise.

Vox is extremely good with the kids. To a point that it actively enrages Alastor. Vox is very good at the "whao :0000 omg!! Did u paint that?? whaooooo. u know my husband is a artist and I can definitely tell that u got talent." He's super sweet and a great babysitter and the only person Alastor would trust wholeheartedly to take his kids.

Alastor is sorta....cold? He's not mean or actively abusive. But he's bad at pretending to care about the stupid shit a kid figures out. So it hurts for him to see how good Vox is at doing that part. Charlie makes up for his coldness, but he knows that theres a block because of his NPD and it upsets him that he can't seem to just will it away.

He also absolutely 100% plays favorites. The deer is his fav, and he loves her more than the sphinx cat. He's not mean to the other one, but his fawn takes priority every time.

Anyway. I think thats it?? Idk. This was very rambly and self indulgent and now I'm uncomfortable but ya know. Stuff✨

When I eventually make Charlie get Alastor pregnant in my fic that I haven't written any of,

context: no one in my family has freckles and then my mom got pregnant with me and suddenly, at like 21 had freckles. Her doctor was like, "idk :// u are a woman....are u should u just didn't notice.....people dont just get freckles" And then I was born, and I had freckles. I forcibly gave my mom freckles. Pregnancy is wild y'all

[reilliane]

Enchanted ★ Aether

— ★ Scry: Solar Umbra + Aether + Modern AU — ★ Genre: Romance + Fluff — ★ Concept: That strange man... just who was he to you? Your mind speaks of a stranger, but your heart says differently. — ★ Words: 2.5k A/N: In the beginning, this was a normal kind of modern au, but listening to Taylor's song of the same name suddenly gave me a spark of something—then I incorporated a little theme that you dears will identify later, and boom! :'DD

If you knew you’d be wasting your night this way, you wouldn’t have come.

But then again—how could you not? It’s the second homecoming hosted by your university and you were sick during the first one, so you weren’t able to make it.

A lot of your friends have been insistently telling you to join this time around, so why not?

Dolled up in a pretty dress rarely taken out of your wardrobe and hair stylized nicely whilst not being over the top, you left home with a pep on each of your steps.

It had been going nicely.

The splendor of the venue lived up to everyone’s grand expectation, and those present did little in holding themselves back from capturing a sliver of how the night passed back when you were all struggling college students. Entertainment-wise, of course.

The event genuinely categorizes itself as one of the best moments in life, but that was rather fleeting—as all good things are.

For not even three hours into the party, half of your friends have to leave, their reasons being work-related or a sudden emergency that required their attention.

And now, the time isn’t even nine and yet—the last one of your friends is leaving, having to look after her sick sister.

“I’m really sorry, [Name],” Barbara bows her head one too many times as she stands up in a fuss, squeaking when her given silverware clatters to the navy carpet.

“I wish I can stay and accompany you for some more, but I really have to go. I’m so—”

“Ah-ah, don’t continue, just go.” You don't mean to sound so dry in urging her to hurry because you know how much she cares for her family, but you also can’t help the tone.

The disappointment is just too discernible that if you try sounding jolly, it’d flunk.

Catching the dismay on both your features and voice, Barbara lets this flustered sound that has you bobbing your throat in guilt. So, you ease your expression and send her a smile.

“It’s okay, really. We can just catch up some other time, no?”

“[Name]…”

You beam at her, doubling the size of your smile as if forcing yourself to display an emotion so counterfeit and believable that no one would even think it to be false.

Unfortunately, Barbara has been a longtime friend, so it’s easy to say that she knows that you are simply trying to be optimistic.

She sniffles and, in a speed of light, she picks up the silverware, places them on the table—and leans forward to clasp your hands in hers. “That’s a promise! I’ll make it up to you!”

Oh, this sweet person. How can you stay dispirited after such a moving oath?

It’s a little silly, given you’ve passed the age where childish promises exist—but this is a night to reminisce, no?

“Alright, alright, now go, Jean’s waiting.”

It takes her a couple of moments—her hesitance clearly taking part—but when she does, her smile is trembling. You don’t quite blame her, this is the first time you’ve seen each other in years and she’s leaving so soon.

But with a nod and a little shove, she gets moving and her mind clicks onto her current priority.

Waving you goodbye, the blonde scurries off, heading in the crowd with only her glimmering white frock telling you of her form getting farther and farther away.

Once you’re certain that she’s gone, you drop the heavy smile and sigh, looking down at your plate. Dinner and dessert have lost their spark.

Appetite waning, you simply tap the slice of [flavor] cake with your fork, no longer able to find the capability to take a bite even with the delicious-looking icing and décor.

There’s room for dessert—but you’re simply not up for it.

All of a sudden it seems like the already chilly venue has gotten even colder.

The music blasting in the speakers fades in the back of your head, the lights that flicker into a different hue with each passing minute becomes a messy blur, and you feel yourself shrinking.

You’ve always been the kind of person who keeps to your own circle of friends, withdrawing far from unneeded attention.

So everyone in the venue, regardless of being your batchmates, are merely familiar faces. Not people you’re close to.

Perhaps this is the universe’s way of mocking you for being too hopeful for a wonderful time? It sounds plausible.

Life has its way of bringing someone down right when they’re at the summit, after all, and you’re a victim like many others—but you suppose you can’t have a break from it.

You do not know how long you’ve stayed seated, but with the minuscule observation of how everyone has gotten rowdier and chaotic, the drinks are kicking in. It must’ve been hours.

In that span of time, you’ve miraculously emptied your dessert plate but stuck to sitting. Maybe it’s finally time to leave.

You sigh loudly—not like anyone is sober enough to notice your dismay—picking up your purse and leaving the table, all prior contentment gone.

The click-clack of your heels vanish in the musical cacophony played by the DJ. Getting to the only exit of the venue means you’ll have to go through the sea of chaos, and if you’re going to be honest, it sounds far from being pleasing.

But oh well—at least better times await you back home.

Tightening your grip on your purse lest you drop it on the dance floor, you exhale and trudge on. As expected, it’s a nightmare trying to walk your way through.

In fact, it’s a miracle that you haven’t fallen from the many times someone has bumped into you in the midst of their dancing.

“I’m here, wait, just trying to get throu—!”

You spoke too early.

Someone collides with your front, far too swiftly for you to maneuver out of and suddenly you are falling on your back.

The flashing lights do an incredible job of rendering your sight useless so you’re left flailing—attempting to latch onto something.

A hand seizes your arm before you can hit the floor, pulling a little too roughly and thus making you topple forward.

Nothing but the gasp that moves out of your lips can be heard—and only the electrifying zap is felt as you’re hurled onto your savior’s chest. The grip on your arm squeezes and—and there’s this jolt that adds up to the previous sensation.

All of a sudden your vision is milking with white and replaced with images of a grand room with masked, dancing people. The music vanishes, in its stead, whispers that feel awfully close to your ear.

“A lovely night to you,”

There is a picture of a smiling blond man kissing the back of your hand somewhere a little far from the waltzing group of nobles. In a golden ballroom with navy curtains.

“Your surname does not matter at this moment. Rivals our houses may be, tonight, we can speak merrily. As we wished.”

Although you are well aware that this—this imagery is a complete hoax and you are in a different place and time, it feels too surreal to pass it off as a hallucination.

It all melts away into another scene, one in which it plays in your entire perspective; hands clasped with the same man, laughing as you run through a labyrinth of green with the moon as your witness.

“The party was a little stifling, wasn’t it, lady [Name]?” his chuckle resonates in the center of the maze, where a grandiose gazebo stands and he invites you with a gentle tug.

“Don’t worry, here there are no prying eyes. Don’t be burdened, my lady.”

He turns���slowly, as if the sands of time decided to delay itself. Then there is burning in your chest, a stabbing kind of burn—then a sharp cry.

“[Name]—!”

A multitude of colors swarms all at once for the nth time, making a splatter of the image and messing with what’s supposed to be a picture of the man’s face.

You think you hear whispers and exclamations, but you’re being reeled back—into the present.

“Aether! There you are! You stopped speaking in the call so suddenly!”

With a single tick of the minute hand, the hand latching onto your arm disappears, and along with it, the scenes in your head. It’s as if the man’s pull has strung away all that you’ve been seeing and hearing.

Taking a gasp—as if you’ve breathed back into life—you look up and-

The man before you holds the same surprise as you do, unmoving as he is pulled away. He has his phone hovering over his ear, lips parted to gape.

His hair is the same shade as the one in your vision and his eyes—heavens, his eyes sparkle with a depth of gold, bearing wonder and the desire to know more.

That alone leads you to believe that he’s seen the same things as you did.

“My lady, to be subjected to this penalty…”

Your breath hitches and so does his.

“If you’re to bear the woe of this fate, then fear no longer,”

There is someone pulling him away from you and the crowd—someone… perhaps his sister? Still, your eyes do not leave his, and his does not leave yours.

“I will join you, my lady—in hopes that in our next life, fate will be merciful.”

The whispers stop and time resumes its normal pace. The dancefloor is once again booming, everyone is dancing to their hearts’ content—and you’re moving forward to- you don’t know, to reach for a stranger.

He seems to understand your intention and attempts to do the same, the bewildered eagerness in his eyes mirroring yours.

But in the chaos, you’re knocked away and so is he—until his outreached fingers can no longer be seen.

That was a night exactly four months ago and up until the present, it’s yet to leave the crevices of your mind.

It came and it went so abruptly that you’re left hanging, confused and flustered with a heart that paced in a way you didn’t know it was capable of until that meeting.

It’s almost a shame to say that a stranger—who infiltrated your headspace—has such a bizarre to make your heart race to the point that you stayed longer in the venue than necessary.

Looking for a man who couldn’t be found even when it was time to leave.

Slapping your cheeks, you begin walking across the crosswalk, not quite as concentrated as you’d prefer. Well, you’re focusing on something—or to be specific, someone—rather unhealthily.

Seriously, I should stop. You convince yourself after a dry swallow, fingers twitching in the pockets of your jacket. What use is thinking over someone I don’t know?

You think this, and yet—there is bitterness on your tongue. As if something deep within does not wish to let go under any circumstances.

You think this, and yet, your feet are leading you to the same place you’ve been frequenting in your free time—hoping to catch a glimpse of the same person who’s been plaguing your head twenty-four-seven.

It’s almost laughable.

Feet stopping in front of the venue—now hosting a wedding feast, you realize—you peer through the glass, captivated by the theme of the ceremony.

The same gold and navy accents appear identical to what you’ve seen in that dreamy haze sometime ago.

Everyone inside is having the time of their lives.

Pursing your lips with minute aversion, you resume walking, eyes downcast.

This is yet another day of futile hope.

But then, the approaching feet at your left, walking their own way to cross with yours, stops—and you feel compelled to pause. So you do.

And when you lift your stare, your heart picks up the pace as it did.

Four months ago.

Ah… was he also going here to visit? You think, feeling oddly warm.

He speaks first.

“Do I… know you from somewhere?”

Funny, it’s the same thing you wanted to ask him in the first place.

You look at him from head to toe, examining his sunlit hair and golden eyes, studying his entire appearance and endeavoring to liken it to those you’ve met and befriended. To no avail.

There is only one ‘place’ where you ‘met’ him.

“.. No, I don’t think so.” Is your response.

“I see. I thought as much.”

But that place is nothing more but a figment of your imagination, right?

He nods—his form of bidding adieu, maybe—and you return the gesture paired with a small wave, then you’re both crossing each other’s paths. Away to your own destinations.

You have gotten your answers and you know it to be true; you do not know one another, you’re simply strangers.

Strangers, and yet—why is it that with each step taken away, your feet get heavier?

Strangers, and yet—why is it that when you turn at a block, it feels like you’re turning your back on a once in a lifetime chance that won’t ever present itself again?

You don’t understand.

You don’t understand the pitter-patter of the urge to go back, nor the way your chest hollows at the prospect of leaving, and the manner in which your heart laments for a man you can’t even name.

But you’re spinning on your heel and sprinting down the road, anyway, making sure to yelp a quick apology to those you’ve bumped into.

And you keep running—and running and running until you’re back at the street you met him at and-

He’s there, right in front of you, drawing heavy breaths as if he’s done the same thing.

You both take a moment to catch your breaths, the eye contact feeling right and meant to be. You ask him first this time around.

“What’s your name… ?”

“Well hello, good sir, may I ask for your name?”

He stands up to his height, still strained from running, but eased enough to respond.

“Aether… it’s Aether. You?”

“And you, fair maiden?”

There are butterflies fluttering in your stomach the more he keeps his stare on your profile and you don’t know why, but it’s flustering. You cannot help but shy your gaze away at the intensity.

“[Name]..”

“What an enchanting day this is to have met you,”

“Listen-“

You both break into flushes of pink upon speaking at the same time, encouraging the other to continue with what they planned to say, but no one is giving in.

Breathing in and out, you start—

“If you’d like-“

—But your words clash with his again, and this time the two of you are erupting into goofy smiles. What little trace of awkwardness has then vanished.

You nod for him to continue, bringing your fingers across your lips to gesture that you’re sealing your mouth shut to avoid confusion. His expression softens—and your chest floods with warmth.

“This is sudden, but, if you want to…” the pinks on his cheeks turns red, “Would you like to go out with me sometime?”

“You flatter me, sir,”

You find yourself smiling as you reply, “Of course.”

“But I do agree, it’s quite enchanting to have met you, as well.”

a/n: yes, there was a tiny smudge of Romeo and Juliet. yes. yESSSS- AHH I hope you like this, requester anon!! There is also an Aether req that's a little similar in the reincarnation aspect but it'll be completely different in narrative! ;> @cherryflushz @scarlet-halos

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭'𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬

[dailytatsu]

Heya! Can I request an Aether/Lumine & reader?

So reader is basically an immortal half-elf who've lived for centuries and a well refined fighter. Well at the beginning even tho they volunteered to tag along on traveler's journey to find their sibling, reader is rather obnoxious and a lazy-dork who only help when actually needed. But as the journey continues, they began to act like traveler's bodyguard after witnessing (archon quest spoiler!) traveler almost getting killed by the Shogun? And maybe random shenanigans happen between them (ft.Paimon). I don't mind if you do either Aether or Lumine if you feel pressured 🙏

Hi! This kind are my favorites! Tysm for requesting! (๑>◡<๑)

I did this with Aether since he is my favorite is who I chose, and I feel more comfortable writing with guys than with girls.

I know they have some different personalities but I can help but see Lumine as the all mighty abyss princess.

Hope you enjoy!

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Aether & Half-elf! Reader

GN! Reader

Inazuma Archon Quest Spoilers!

Request are open; sorry for any mistakes!

Genshin Impact Masterlist

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Aether always thought that immortality brought with it wisdom, beings who live for much longer than an ordinary human tend to gain an understanding of life and changes in the world after years of appreciating the passing of the ages.

But when he met you he couldn't help but feel that all his beliefs were based on fiction and old rumors from other worlds. You were anything but wise, not even his first choice to be the voice of reason.

Even Paimon takes her role as his guide seriously.

But what was so wrong about you that get him on his nerves all the time? And most important, why does is he still dealing with you?

To be fair, maybe he was waiting a little too much from you. After all, he always forget that you still have half of a human’s nature.

“Mmh? What are you doing?” You asked Aether the first time he removed your hair from your ears to see if they were pointy. They were, and Paimon yelled kind of a objection when she realize she had to pay for losing their bet.

Not a human, not a elf, but a hybrid between them.

The first encounter was really something he would never forget. Rumors about treasures and requests from the guild made them follow some clues to find a cave that was marked as lost, impossible to enter and explore.

But “impossible” is a word that doesn’t exist their vocabulary. Yet is common that regretting comes along when you’re that bold and risky.

At the very end of that strange cave there wasn’t a treasure waiting, not even a new clue to keep going with the mystery. Instead, was a humanoid silhouette, they seemed to be meditating, not showing a single interest in their voices neither getting nervous because of Aether and Paimon taking some steps forward to have a better look.

But they were breathing, and both could see the pupils moving slightly under their eyelids. Eyebrows twitching now and then, like they were having a nightmare, one of which they couldn’t wake up.

Paimon encouraged him to get even closer to shake that person's shoulder, while she was hiding behind some rocks, obviously.

Aether summoned his sword and then he approached slowly until touching them with his fingertips, waiting for some kind of jumpscare.

The stranger raised their arm, carefully but also in a robotic way. Their fingers were tense, as much that it was painful just looking at them. Like a quiet call, like a order that couldn’t be heard, from the pile of rocks where Paimon was hiding something emerge, breaking through the stone and letting a rusty polearm to be seen.

Their fingers closed around the weapon, bringing them back to reality.

“Master and weapon, reunited again, rise so the world can meet their end!��

Or at least that's what he would have preferred to find. A servant guarding a lost relic, a soulless body moving by a curse, perhaps even a fate that death could not prevent.

But instead it was something really underwhelming, something that broke the mystical and strange atmosphere. That person opened their eyes, annoyed by the light of the torches and disoriented by the situation.

With their body in pain and numb at the same time, how long have they slept in that position?

The first thing they did after waking up was sneezing.

‘So much dust…’

Never accepting missions for exploring legendary caves ever again. Nope. Negative. He refuse to.

What if they find another (Y/N)? Thanks, but no. One is more than enough.

“So what you mean is that your parents' families exiled you and locked you up in the cave for being an ‘abomination’ to both species?” Paimon confirmed once the three of you were back in the surface again. Her hands moving side to side to explain -in a very expressive way- everything you told them.

“It seems that we found the remains of an ancient race that used to exist in Teyvat.” Aether said, still surprised by the way you roamed to feel the wood of the trees and the grass under your bare feet. Kind of heartbreaking.

“Like the boar we found with Xiangling!”

He wasn’t sure if it was okay to compare both encounters but he could see her point.

“… ‘Wait for us’, they told me, ‘think about your existence and find the answer to why your conception is not the atrocity that everyone says you are. May their words not reach you, because we have long ears to hear the words of the gods and not the ones of those who defile earth’… ” You pronounced after decades of not needing to use the language you were taught, with one hand on your chin and eyes closed to concentrate. All you had left was the few memories you preserved inside your mind and heart.

“With ‘they’ you mean your parents?”

You nodded.

“And what happened next?… ” Asked back the tiny companion of the blond guy that rescued you.

“I got bored and I fell asleep.” You admitted, carefree about it, shrugging your shoulders and sighing.

A total waste of your youth.

“Eh!? Then you didn’t thought about those things? That sounded important!” Paimon seemed disappointed for your answer, while Aether held his forehead, without having a clue of how he was supposed to react.

That was the day you joined their party! New team member, (Y/N) strikes in!

Or something like that,,

“H-Hey! We could use a hand over here!… woah!” The little white girl scold you but from your high sit on the top of a big rock only a exaggerated yawning can be heard. Paimon crossed her arms to almost immediately duck down to dodge a fire bullet from the Fatui. Aether didn’t say anything, he was concentrated fighting.

“Oh, yeah… You’re doing great. Go, Aether, go…”

“Was that supposed to be a cheering?!”

“Hey, calm down” You said “He doesn’t need my help. Just take a look, he’s an adventurer. If I meddle it will be really boring for him.”

“Hmp! Now Paimon believes that you were lying when you said that you were a well refined fighter!” She was floating around you, ignoring the battle of his blond friend. Like a pesky bee, the only thing you did was avoiding her furious gaze. “Don’t ignore Paimon! How can you not hear with those ears!? That’s it! Paimon will give you a ugly nickname!”

“What about ‘extinct deaf elf-der’?”

“Yeah, that’s a good one!” She agreed immediately, then she shook her head, pointing at you like a guilty criminal. “Wait, Paimon doesn’t need your suggestions!”

When the last Fatui was defeated Aether turned back to face both of you, sighing because of the new arguing between you two. His sword disappeared and some steps were took to get closer.

Your eyes met each other, a slight smile in your face after looking him safe and sound. So confident but so unaware of the remain danger hiding. Your expression became a surprised one, then your gaze sharped like a killer sight.

You left Paimon on top of the rock when you jumped down, summoning your own weapon you ran straight to where Aether was. The traveler panicked just a fraction of second before loosing sight of you.

Next thing they know was that a you were behind him, facing at the nothing with a defensive pose, just a second of silence before a impact could be heard. Some dirt and dust was lift as the pair of Fatui Pyro Agents became visible again. They stayed there, defeated in one hit.

“Like I said. It would be pretty boring if I meddle...” Aether and Paimon were shocked, none of them felt their presence, not even the heat of the pyro delusion. Your weapon disappeared in the air, and your hands rested on your waist. “Dear Seven, that was intense.” Looking at your friends you sighed, with the laziness on your body language. “It was my turn to cook dinner, right? What a pain having to eat again… ”

Acting that relaxed after that really made them went Ô_Ô and Ö

A silent speech, where devotion and gratitude are the best topics of conversation. The message that is heard even if there’s no words in between. Just a exchange of gazes. Little signs of affection that are shown when it’s necessary.

Your family was gone. No clues about their whereabouts could’ve found in that cave of where you came. Not even the skeletons of a couple holding their hands and petrified in a sobbing position. Not even ashes.

When you have been thinking about the most unimportant things in the universe for so long you can deal with the lost faster than anyone else. Getting the idea of no remain evidence of your parents and feeling that it wasn’t that heartbreaking.

Maybe because you gained a new family almost immediately.

Still you could empathize with Aether, he still had his precious memories with his sister, still remember her face and her voice. And most important was that he knew that she was still roaming Teyvat, waiting for him.

Even if they leave behind Paimon and you at the end of the trip.

Or even if they just leave you behind.

‘I’m okay with that.’

You thought, stroking Paimon’s hair when her head found a comfortable place to rest in your lap. You thought, moving your shoulder so Aether wouldn’t have neck pain. Both sleeping peacefully and you staying awake night by night.

You’ve slept enough, for so long besides.

Somehow the flames of the campfire are warmer now that you have someone to look how the fire dance in the night.

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“I see, so you were serious when you told me that your companion was a mystical extinct creature, weren’t you?” Albedo’s hand went up to hold his chin, analyzing you from distance.

“They are half of it, actually.” Aether answered back, notice how Sucrose was asking you permission to check your features. The sparkle in her eyes made you accept her petition after feeling with the back against the wall.

“Your ears are like mine! Look, look!” Klee pulled your shirt, then she pointed at the side of her head.

“… Still the shape of both are quite different, the length too.”

Years of isolation really are hitting hard right now. You felt overwhelmed and somehow shy when Sucrose hold your face to have a better look.

You follow the traveler to everywhere, no matter the place, you were there. Like a shadow, sometimes just a spectator, other times like an actual active team member.

“Who would’ve tell that our Honorary Knight also has his own knight watching his back.” Kaeya’s voice has that joke but charming tone, as always.

Day after day, it’s the same, everyone talking you through Aether. Like some kind of translator.

“More like a human shield.” Your hand landed on top of Aether’s head, not agreeing with his explanation.

Bonk.

“I guess everything’s better than being Emergency Food.”

“Hey!”

“Haha! You three are quite a team, aren’t you?”

Of course you were. Mondstadt, Liyue, you name it. You could assure that every place in this two nations have at least one story about the team.

You knew that the most brave and magnificent outlander in Teyvat didn’t need a guardian, he can defend himself (somehow even if he’s still using that dull blade).

Bodyguarding also sounds like such a hassle…

You only provide a last resource help when was needed, sometimes also helping with some puzzles and mysteries.

The long eared people was known to be wise and smart people that searched for the full comprehension of the world. Also such a nerds and fans of knowledge. So, even if you considered yourself dumb, in your blood was the instinct of looking for the truth, and sometimes that impulse could be really annoying.

You were always near enough to reach him. Pulling his scarf from behind to move him away from danger. Countering after he gets hit.

Always in a place where you could reach him.

You just needed to extend your arm and you would catch Aether. It was always like this. Always with you jumping in the middle of the crossfire to shield them if it was necessary.

It’s always like this.

Until the day you three set a foot in Inazuma’s land. And a bad feeling of a imminent catastrophe made your shiver.

A new nation, a new problem to solve. But a war? Boldness and stupidity sometimes looks like the same thing, but no matter how many times you repeat this to Aether, he would still ran into problems.

And you would follow him, until your debt is paid, until his travel is done.

It used to be like this.

But then you failed him after being unable to move because of the fear that paralyzed your body. The day Aether faced Shogun Raiden in the ceremony. The day you heard the broken voice of a god inside the Shogun you also fell apart. It was painful, cruel, a void of anger and sadness.

Jumping into danger, without you behind.

You tried to ran between the goddess and your savior, you tried to get closer to at least be useful one last time as the shield you promised to be.

You tried.

But, for the first time, your hand didn’t reach him.

The void of despair and darkness that could be heard inside the Shogun devoured him.

The tears of panic and fear in Paimon’s eyes. The way the Shogun lifted her sword to end his life. The way you were paralyzed because of her presence, forced to be part of the crowd and presence his execution.

That day your facade of laziness faded away, the real feeling of being a knight burnt along your proud. It was so annoying, it was so unnecessary, but still you couldn’t ignore it.

“Are you… are you sure that you’re okay? We don’t have to find the Sangonomiya resistance today. If you need to rest then-” Your hands were shaking when you placed them in Aether’s shoulders, holding yourself for tearing up.

“We have to keep going. I’ll be fine.”

“Besides, if we stay near Inazuma this night they could find us! Paimon won’t be able to sleep like that!” Your mouth opened to counter their arguments, but not a single word dared to go against Aether’s plans.

They could see it in your face. The worry, the remains of shock and fear, the guilty.

“Don’t try to look strong then. If you get tired, tell us. I can carry you in my back.” Even if you were offering help your voice was serious, so cold but so hurt at the same time that nor Aether or Paimon knew what to said to bring the old you back.

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“… Aren’t you coming?” You could hear how the door was slid to let him saw you. The lighted spots on Aether’s clothes were purple, just as the lighting that almost end him. Your lips made a concerned and stressed grimace.

The young traveler took a seat next to you, outside the structure, sitting on the wooden steps and looking at the starry sky. The wind was cold but still the soldiers of the resistance were talking normally and the slight feeling of discommodity because of the excessive presence of other people was climbing up your back.

“(Y/N), there’s no need of guard us every night. You also need to sleep.”

“I'm not tired, I think I've gotten enough sleep, at least not to need it until the next century.”

Aether’s expressions went into a sarcastic one, asking if you were serious with just his gaze.

“That’s not how it works.” He said, trying to change the mood. “And if it does, then why are you always snoozing during the day in every chance you get?”

You had the answer to that, but you weren’t sure about telling him.

“Because everything supposed to be boring. Nothing really changed a lot and… looking at the familiar places was depressing.” So easy, so simple, but still enjoying the company, still enjoying the sound of theirs laughs and their own shenanigans. “… Lately, I’ve been thinking that I should not had left the cave. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate that you two helped me to be back at the surface, and I really want to help you on your journey, but if you still run into the chaos by own decision I think I could not follow you any longer before being a burden in your adventures.”

Overprotection, an unbreakable shield, frequently avoiding fights, always being pulled back to not be part of the battle. Enemies of the braveness of the traveler.

Worry, panic, an overreaction due to fear of loosing everything again.

‘let me do it’, ‘I got it’, ‘wait here’, ‘don’t get close’.

These day could be described like that.

“So, before I do something worse as an excuse of defend you, please let me find a cave to await. You do what’s is needed and… call me back, or leave me there, anything you think it’s better… ”

You could be pronouncing the words from the very bottom of your heart, but still your face was the same seriousness as the accident almost happened.

And even with that you felt his gloved hand removing the hair that was covering your right ear, revealing how it slightly leaned down, showing sadness unwittingly.

“Hey, cut it out… I’m serious about this… ”

“It doesn’t matter if you think that it’s the best option, you’re still sad about leaving.”

“… That’s cheating.” Removing his hand away from your hair you tried to act indifferent.

“You know the reason why we invited you to came along?”

‘You felt sorry for me.’

“I can’t totally tell the exact reason, but it wasn’t for you to pay us some kind of debt because of saving you.” He crossed his arms, looking at the stars, wondering if his sisters was doing the same. “We don’t need a guardian, we need our friend back. And I know you care about Paimon and me, but still you must enjoy the journey. It’s not fair that you are always aware of every potential danger while we mess around lately.”

An eternal silence, your response is late to appear but somehow Aether can tell that you already have something on your mind.

“Then apologize.”

“… Why?”

“For believing that playing as the hero and jumping to face the Shogun was something you had to do.”

“… but-”

Neither Aether nor you slept that night, the blonde had to listen for hours to all the things that you ever wanted to complain about since you arrived in Inazuma.

You made your position on joining the army of the rebellion very clear, you had no intention of fighting to seek "justice" or "peace". Because after all, that fight did not correspond to you, but if he asked you to, you would protect some soldiers or help to guard the barracks, if he asked you to, you wouldn’t complain about it (at least not that much).

Both had enough of each other’s attitude, but it was okay. Because that was what all of you chose in first place.

[shihalyfie]

The meaning of the Beast Spirits in Frontier, and what it means to control it

(On request by @digitalgate02​.)

When you think about it, Frontier can be framed as a story of outcasts or misfits having to accept the idea of “changing themselves” in order to become better people, both literally in the sense of embracing physical transformation, and metaphorically in the sense of making attempts to do better. Implicitly, it speaks a lot as to how quickly these kids accept the idea of turning into something else -- perhaps implying as to how ostracized they’ve felt that such a thing instantly sounds appealing -- but it also adds some interesting layers to the concept of the Beast Spirit and how the difficulty of “controlling it” ties into each character’s personal story.

I think a lot of it has to do with the idea that these kids did have inclinations of being selfish or shallow at the beginning -- while they were full of potential to become heroes, they definitely started off as unlikely misfits at the beginning. In that respect, you can see the Beast Spirits arc as a sort of lesson that great power must be used wisely and responsibility...

Believe it or not, our biggest clue to all of this comes from episode 16, Izumi’s episode. It’s not directly stated in words, and the abstract summary of “determination” is passed off as a joke, but looking at the context clues around the episode indicates that’s actually not far off.

The thing is that Calmaramon is depicted as having the hardest time with her Beast Spirit compared to practically about anyone else in the group, and one of the recurring themes about it is that it’s partially because her personality is downright terrible. If you look at the context clues behind the prior episode (15), you’ll notice that while her looks are briefly brought up as an issue there and in this episode, the part that’s really freaking everyone out (and is making everyone worried Izumi will turn out to be the same) is that they actually saw it have an impact on her personality, where she was clearly conscious and able to talk but also indiscriminately destroying everything and enjoying it. At least in the case of Kouji, Takuya, and Junpei, they can be forgiven because they all did their best to keep it under control after the initial fallout, but Ranamon changing into Calmaramon had also involved her becoming someone actively reveling in senseless destruction. When everyone worries that Izumi might turn out like that, they don’t even bring up looks at all, and they all recoil when she does start showing signs of being destructive anyway.

The thing is, the entire rest of the episode puts a massive spotlight on Izumi’s actions of standing up for the Gomamon and empathizing with their loneliness (which, given the contexts added about Izumi’s background and backstory in episodes 8 and 26, are most likely her feeling that the concept of “being isolated from others no matter how much you want to reach them” hit way too hard for her) to the point she puts her foot down to override the boys’ prior plan of chasing the Toucanmon and their Digivices. She actually faces quite a bit of protest from the boys on this issue, and even admits she’s not sure if her own plan will work, but focuses on the idea of doing her best to undo the whirlpool with her abilities -- that is to say, using her power to protect and help others.

This sentiment of “I have to protect everyone” drives Izumi’s actions for the rest of the episode, to the point it’s the only thought consuming her head right before she finds and claims her Beast Spirit. So to make it clear, at the time she claimed it, the thought of “protecting others” was desperately, single-mindedly consuming her head...

...and the contrast is immediately apparent when Shutumon emerges, and the only thing Ranamon cares about is looks.

In other words, the reason the Beast Spirit wasn’t working out for Ranamon/Calmaramon is that she only wanted the Beast Spirit’s power for the sake of pride, vanity, and dominating others, and because of that, she had difficulty controlling it because it resonated with those feelings -- after all, although she wanted to “control” it to the extent of not carrying her all over the place, she was perfectly fine with the part about causing wanton destruction. Izumi, on the other hand, is clearly holding herself back even after her first evolution to Shutumon -- trying to keep a calm head -- and, after all, her entire motivation had been driven by “helping and protecting others” for the whole episode, so she doesn’t want to let this fail on her now, and she keeps that calm head all the way throughout the rest of it.

When we get to the next episode (17), you’ll also notice that one of the first things Blizzarmon (Tomoki) does is actively attempt to restrain himself. If you look back at what Tomoki’s character arc is about, he’d spent the better part of his past being bullied by others and tossed around, so “overpowering the weak” is the last thing Tomoki ever wants to do (especially given the events of this episode, as well). So, having witnessed the potential consequences of the Beast Spirit with the other boys, it stands to reason that Tomoki would want to avoid “hurting others” so much that restraining this would be a strong priority for him. While it’s commented that it does take his personality out of control a bit, the worst it ever gets is that he seems to be overly elated and cheerful about his defeats, but that’s also in line with Tomoki constantly having been pushed down so much during his life that you can imagine he’s enjoying the opportunity to finally be strong and have the spotlight.

But because he hates the concept of bullying and pushing others down so much, it stands to reason that he wouldn’t really have as much of a problem with that.

So when you look back at the prior episodes with the Beast Spirits with this context, you can see it applying there as well. In episode 14, Junpei was spending the better part of the first half of the episode livid at what was happening to his friends -- absolutely pissed at Grottomon for taking Izumi's spirit (and, despite Izumi's doubts, it's pretty apparent he actually does care about it beyond just having a crush on her), and then upset at the idea of being a sitting duck while Agnimon and Wolfmon are getting tossed around. While Junpei initially has trouble keeping the Spirit under control, the exact moment he gets a grip on himself is the moment he reaffirms his determination to fight for the sake of his friends.

Looking back at the other two episodes about rampaging Beast Spirits in episodes 10 and 12, you can also see why the concept applies there as well. It’s interesting how the “worst” rampage shown among the main protagonist Beast Spirits was not the first one obtained (Garmmon) but the second one (Vritramon), and if you look at the circumstances surrounding them, it doesn’t seem to mean as much about Takuya having any particular stronger tendency towards condescending violence as much as the sheer circumstances that went on behind them:

Kouji obtained his Beast Spirit under the circumstances of already knowing that he needed to protect Gotsumon with that power (and, moreover, having spent the end of the prior episode and the duration of the beginning of this one mulling on Ophanimon’s warning that he’d need to “grow” before he could obtain it). Therefore, “using this power for the desire to protect others” was a huge thought in his head from the very beginning, even though -- presumably partially because this was a first time for everyone -- it threw him off just enough for him to end up exhausting himself.

Takuya obtained his without warning and without proper understanding of what he was dealing with, having had it practically forced on him after Shamamon-as-Vritramon’s defeat, and so, with no context of purpose and no real depth of what he was about to get into, he ended up on a complete destructive rampage. He was snapped out successfully by the need to not hurt someone (Tomoki), and spent the rest of the episode agonizing and mulling over the risks and meaning of having such power before he eventually evolved into Vritramon without too much issue the second time.

So the point is made clear: the “destructive” and “uncontrollable” impulses associated with the Beast Spirits will be sent out of control if the user doesn’t have a strong desire to use it with proper purpose. For Ranamon/Calmaramon, she had the worst time with it because she was the single most obsessed out of the Legendary Warriors to use it to stroke her own ego and vanity, whereas at least the other three Cherubimon-allied ones (besides Duskmon -- see below) were at least capable of using it towards a greater goal, and the remaining five went through the proper outlets of thinking about how this power should be used and how it shouldn’t be used lightly.

While the issue of the Beast Spirits being inherently difficult to control isn’t as prominent as we go later into the series, we do actually see shades of it when we get to the tale of Kouichi/Duskmon/Velgrmon, because while part of it can be chalked up to the power of darkness being consuming, Kouichi, during his first transformation to Velgrmon in episode 30, is only able to talk barely coherently and is really just venting his rage and anger out, presumably because his entire state of mind is locked into all of that, making the rampage even worse. (Also keeping in mind the theme of embracing the idea of changing yourself, you can also think of this in terms of how Kouichi is getting so consumed by his own emotions of anger that he’s become almost completely unrecognizable from his original self.)

Once we get his first “proper” evolution in episode 33, however, Kouichi is abundantly aware of what he’s done and has all of the proper determination to never let such a thing happen again -- so it’s not surprising that his evolution to KaiserLeomon happens with relatively little incident.

[vyvesvi]

ep 7 / 8 / 9 FINALLY

ep 7: i wasn't actually able to watch it so ill just say -

tsukushi, rinon, and keiko killed it, they were definitely #1 in my mind. i loved rinon's tone and they all balanced eachother out super well. im sad that tsukushi got third but really, they all did so well.

antifragile was bad. they were a dance group but the vocals took me out of the song so bad i couldn't finish it. love ema though (rip). i didnt like rimika but she had so much potential storyline wise that she just never leaned into. missed opportunity for her

i tried to watch rocketeer for ran but im learning that i just don't vibe with ini's music. should've been jo1 supercali or something 🤷🏿‍♀️

i saw the feedback on twitter before watching ofc so i had pretty high expectations for momoka in the milet x aimer song...if i put the overhyping aside she did pretty well, WiSh I cOuLd'Ve ExPeRiEnCeD iT iN tHe CoNtExT oF tHe EpIsOdE tHoUgH and it probably would've been very satisfying

shut down was eh even though i like everyone on the team. i stopped halfway through, i dont love the song and their energy was oddly low

first love was great & super glad rino won :) even if it didnt impact her rank 🙃🙃🙃

overall bijin was the best, then first love, run run, & hero imo.

ep 8: as a rule i don't watch eliminations, but my beloved koyama mana was eliminated at rank 38 😭 fly high queen we love you 🕊 follow her on ig & yt @ himana_mana! also rip takagi mayu loved you too 🤧

im also sick that a certain someone is still in but we move 🥴 glad aita rin is still top 11 & ISHII RAN #1!!!! someone needs to save my sister tsukushi tho omg

ep 9

friend i watch with made the comment that these sound more like actual songs than survival show song usually do and i agree lol. usually there's this "made for tv" movie feel about them but these were honestly good enough to go to a debuted group. taking everything into account, my rank:

baddie - i was very suspicious of this song from the demo honestly but this team did great. i dont have many comments except that my girls rino and yui did the thing! hana has also been growing on me a lot

&me - now. the song was great but i didnt actually enjoy this tbh. im not a kokoro anti but it bothers me that she can get away with not showing anything over and over again and still be fighting for #1. she's very comfortable onstage and she seems like a great eldest member...that's pretty much all i can say. also, even though i really enjoy this style of music i don't think the final group members suit this and it would be a shame if this was the concept. my winner on this team, to no one's surprise, is tsuzumi. i wonder if she knows that they would be screwed without her. she quite literally did everything on this song

popcorn - this song was very cute but it was a bad choice for a performance. no matter who was on this team i think it would've placed low because there was no chance to show vocal or dance abilities. serina did a great job as center and i liked kokona's rap, but overall i just feel bad for them.

toxic - something was off here but they still did pretty well. they should've switched tsukushi and yuuki's parts for the vocals, but yuuki still visually looked good performing her part. i wish ran had the opportunity to stand out more but she knows she's that girl so she'll be fine. ayane served vocals of course. kokona...i like her more now but focusing the narrative on her was really annoying. and then it didn't seem like she really changed for the final performance? i also thought the pd session was kind of weird with them telling her, a 2007(?) baby to use her imagination to sing sexier.........it's a no from me.

a to z - this was rough and unfortunately it was kind of because of mena. she was the perfect center but she lost it vocally because the song was out of her range. i wish they couldve made her chorus a group chorus, but her other lines were fine

voting list!

however i know that it's 2 pick right now so id be voting for sakaguchi rino every day and irresponsibly splitting my votes between ishii ran, sasaki tsukushi, saito serina, and and yui. pretty confident that rinon is safe

top 11

this is the current top 11 minus suzu, plus rino & rinon. kenmotsu nano dropped 10 places after some rumors about her spread so she's probably out unless her fans save her. i've said this before but im not the hugest fan of how stable things have been thus far, but we'll see what's changed in just a few hours i guess!

i've added my picks to my carrd & this is looking like it'll be the second worst season for my picks after chuang 2020, where i got 0 lol (this season is looking like 1 out of 4). im pretty disappointed with the lack of storytelling & character building (& i dont mean evil editing) this season because that's what really gets audiences invested & makes the show feel more worth it. right now the final group is gonna have to impress me with their music because even though my top pick is literally top 3 (ran) im not super excited for the group 🙃

pd 101 japan picks & commentary (3)

preshow & ep 1

ep 2 - ep 5

ep 6 general commentary

this ep was kind of lowkey. not really sure how i feel about the team selection being entirely determined by rank - pretty sad that karen & momoka, amongst others, probably wont get to show their actual main abilities

the teams that performed were hero, shine a light, wa da da, & run run. ranking: run run > hero ≥ wa da da > shine a light. i don't really like the song choices (songs that already have choreo for a dance round, only one non-idol dance song, plus the singers/producers for that song helped arrange all of the vocal performances? makes me wonder if the final group will be getting a LAS song) but at least theyre all in japanese this time (for the vocal & rap groups at least)

run run: good performance but i have a few gripes. 1 - why was it worth more points? they said that the choreo was harder but the whole mission was for the girls to create choreo so... i dont actually expect that the trainees on these shows are doing all the arranging and writing and choreography themselves (much less on pd japan where virtually no one has a trainee background) but the whole set up of the mission kind of says the quiet part loud, you know? 2 - the distribution was a complete mess. loved joa as the center but the rest were basically backup dancers...for a choreo that theyre ostensibly creating themselves the difference in screentime between each person just doesnt make sense. and that was reflected in all of the ranks apart from yuuki & yurara i think. storyline: i found the koto/yuki storyline pretty meh. joa did actually do better than both of them so...? still, in another series this wouldve had a massive conflict edit & im glad pdj doesn't really do that. sad mitsuki & serina didn't get much screentime, i think mitsuki should've gone for antifragile actually, she needed to be on a team where the styling would've worked with her & allowed her to show more of a charming side on stage (friend that i watched LOVED her in cheer up, made me pause to figure out who the "gorgeous regina george lookalike" was.)

hero: ando yui is my daughter but i have to admit that she has a tendency towards shouting some notes. still, i feel like she has a ton of potential and im glad that she got to redeem herself after the audition. tsuzumi is basically in and she 100% knows it, so it's interesting to see how she's dealing with it. more than anyone else in the top it seems to really be impacting her, but she also seems to have a lot of close friends on the show who understand & are supporting her. to be honest, i usually don't like contestants like mayu but...idk. i see a lot in her but im not sure why. it seems like voters are starting to get serious so her rank has dropped a lot but i i'll miss her when she's eliminated. i hope there's some opportunity for her beyond the show.

wa da da: kind of sick that no one chose wa da da 😭 the stage was pretty messy in my opinion but mana did great, she's such a performer. personally ranka isnt one of my picks but i like her intensity a lot & she definitely deserved her rank. i don't think this is her moment exactly but i could see her being recruited somewhere after this. she would suit a kind of dramatic vibe. karen is interesting to me because while she doesn't dance well i found that she really fit the stage. i also love her attitude. there's no way she won't rise but im not sure that itll be enough. last and least,

shine a light: im a big jo1 fan but i knew this wasn't gonna go great from the outset. the energy of the original song is part of what makes it so good so the fact that they removed that.....i also think it's kind of notable that hina said that she didn't want it to be a ballad and was kind of steamrolled........anyways. we saw the performance. i've always said that i wanted hazuki to get more screentime & establish herself and this was her chance but...rip. from the second her voice cracked it was over for the whole team. every single person messed up except for hina. i know that this wasn't a super strong vocal group but it's so sad that they did the worse they've ever done on stage. i expect hina's rank to continue to rise, and hazuki in particular will fall (not because she was the worse but because she has the smallest fanbase & isnt insulated from mistakes like some of the top contestants). curious about what will happen with chiharu because honestly...no one really expected her to sing super well and she was gorgeous so. we'll see

member commentary

change is always possible but this is my stable top 4. rino & ran's teams weren't in this episode but it's a very good sign that rino still got screentime singing well & being a good leader. not thrilled that her rank dropped (14 → 17) and there are a lot of strong contenders in the early teens right now. in truth, i think some of them would be a much better fit for a spin off project (which have much higher success rates than the ones from korean produce) & rino would make more sense in top 11 but that's neither here nor there.

mana, as i said earlier did sooooo well in wadada, although im curious as to what she would've picked had she been given a real choice. im hoping her rank will rise - she didn't get a push in this ep but she was significantly more visible than a lot of her teammates so fingers crossed.

serina is just a good [potential] idol. i was surprised that she went for dance since her vocals are what i noticed first but she pulled off run run well. i wouldve picked shine a light or even antifragile for her though. unfortunately she got very little screentime & storyline but i'm sure run run will win so maybe that 20k will help maintain her spot.

standouts in this ep

not gonna break it down again but yeah. love the girlies love the vibes

other thoughts

call me crazy but im so so sure that these three will be recruited by lapone for a gg after the show. with the top 11 having skewing less cute im hoping that this becomes a reality bc these three fit eachother more than they fit momona/nano/ran/rin/etc. oda aruha (and maybe moro anon) would be here too but alas.

people i'd like to have seen in this ep

rin is riding a wave right now and she needs momentum to stay top 11. looking at the ranks now, kokona dropped 10 places (19 → 29) 🙃 rinon & ayano are fine, but i wanted to see them keep momentum as well. i like akiyama ema for some reason but to survive she desperately needs screentime and a good performance. I'm even more worried about tsukushi - her dropping from 18th to 31st after doing incredibly well is kind of insane. what i've said about tsukushi needing a storyline in the past still stands. i can already tell that her part in bijin will be great but with rinon & keiko im not sure what her screentime potential is.

ep 6 voting list

no surprises here, although im not sure what the voting has been reduced to? if it's only 5 i'd have to go with mana, rino, rin, serina, and then alternate kokona, yui, and mayu. i know that the "this person is safe so i wont vote for them" logic is flawed but i can't help it. good thing intl fans cant vote so this isn't a real concern! 🤪 /s

ep 6 semi-realistic top 11

only change is that i replaced kokona with joa. i have to say, im not thrilled about how many "givens" there are this season. it's not that i dislike them but it makes for a kind of boring top 11, at least until we get to 1 & 2 pick voting. rin was a nice surprise but i think the production has been pretty mask off about their picks. interestingly, i think it might bite them in the butt that momona & kokoro in particular don't actually get that much screentime. for people who are seeing them through the show for the first time (and also dont keep up with twitter discourse) probably feel that their ranks came out of nowhere. ran has gotten good screentime but she's definitely also buoyed by her original fanbase. miu, joa, & tsuzumi have good screentime & storylines so when joa goes up to top 11 i won't be surprised. rin had a good storyline so she makes sense. ayane doesn't get very much screentime but her voice does the brunt of the work. nano is a (capable) visual pick but she doesn't have a storyline. suzu has had a fanbase since the theme song but i expect her to fall a little honestly. we'll see. keiko is new to the top 11 this ep, i hope they reveal the actual ranks this time because that will influence my thoughts. keiko has great screentime and a litle bit of storyline so her rising makes sense. kokona is interesting to me because her rank is so stable based on not very much honestly. i don't dislike her but her lack of expressiveness on stage is probably something they'll try to build a storyline out of later.

i have a lot of confidence that rino will debut elsewhere after this but in the interest of creating a group i would actually like...

[adobe-outdesign]

thoughts on hydreigon’s evolution line?

First off, I should disclaim that I like this line quite a bit, both conceptually and in terms of the overall theme. I'm only mentioning that now because I'm mostly going to be focusing on design here, which I don't like as much.

Anyway, Deino reminds me of a Muppet and that's really all I need to like it. It's just such an endearingly silly aesthetic for such a ridiculously violent Pokemon.

Design-wise, however, there are some things I don't care for here that are present throughout the entire line. I'm not a big fan of the fur only being on the upper body; it just creates such an odd, unnatural look. It feels like the neck should've been plain blue, with just fur around the head(s) and the manes.

I'm also not big on the random head spike. It reads as more of a horn than fur at this point, and I really don't think you needed it at this stage. Just a bit of fluff up there at most would've done it.

And finally, I'm not big on the random magenta flecks. It's possible they're meant to be injuries based on the 'dex descriptions, but it doesn't make sense that every single Dieno has injuries in the exact same place. I would've just left those off. I don't think you need the third color at this stage anyway.

Now, Zweilous does a really good job of being a middle evo, in the sense that it bridges between the first and final evos without just being a blend of the two. One head -> two heads -> three heads (one main and two minor) gives each stage its own flavor while still managing to stay coherent as one line. And in general, it's taking the same good, muppety elements that were present on Dieno and expanding upon them.

However, it does still have hairy neck problem that I mentioned with Dieno, even if the fur on top of the head looks more natural. And more importantly, we have the issue of those two underbelly lines. Fun fact: the reason it has those two lines is because this line was originally based off of tanks, and those were the treads. While it's interesting to learn about from a development standpoint, I'm really not fond of them in the final product. Having the bright magenta in the least important spot on the body doesn't accomplish much, and it's adding a ton of detail where you don't need it. I'll go over this more in a moment with...

Hydreigon is pretty damn cool looking. First, it has a very interesting concept with the three heads, and the yamata no orochi theme gives it a unique flavor compared to other dragon types. I'm also fond of how vicious it looks, befitting of its personality, along with how the wings invoke the other six heads without being super literal about it.

I'm also a big fan of the face. The eyes are really cool looking, and much more interesting than the standard anime eyes these kind of Pokemon usually receive. The hand heads also retain the muppet look, and the way the frills flare up around the head reminds me of frilled lizards. It both adds some nice brighter color and feels like a logical continuation of how the fur covered its pre-evos faces.

Like the rest of the line however, it doesn't quite sit right with me from a design standpoint, even if the concept and execution are strong as a whole. Going back to the underbelly thing: having two separate underbelly markings isn't needed when you could've just had one, and in all honestly I don't think you needed any. If you want more magenta in the design, just make the tail tip magenta instead of brown (which makes more sense anyway; does it have fur on its tail?). It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's adding too much detail in an already detailed design for no real reason.

Secondly, the weird broken-off legs and tails of this line don't do it for me. I think it's supposed to give them a more battle-worn appearance, but that doesn't really work when they just evolve to look like that by default. Just keep the tail whole, and honestly you could probably remove the legs entirely seeing as Hydreigon never seems to land anyway.

And finally, this one just might be me, but I would've liked to see a black/dark grey in place of the brown for the whole line. I think the reason is that it's very low-contrast as-is, so the whole thing looks kind of dingy and muddled. Just changing that to a black would help the design pop a bit more. Plus I feel that black would play nicer with the magenta than brown does anyway.

So as a whole, I like this line quite a bit; it's got a great theme and the designs are very cohesive with each other, each with their own flair. It's just that the details of the designs feel clunky and overly detailed to me. Still, I'll take it over another generic dragon any day of the week.

[oitommothetease]

Invisible String (4/?)

Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Female reader (Modern AU)

Description: James Buchanan Barnes, the owner of the most expensive-looking club in town and your new apartment. He was a dick and you hated him. What could possibly go wrong when you, the new girl in town, start bartending at his club to pursue your dreams?

Word Count: 2.6k words

Warning: 18+ (discussion of assault, nervous breakdown, anxiety attack, just don’t read this whole series if you are a kid)

You woke up to a night of dreamless sleep like you always did, but then the events of the previous night hit you. You wished it was a dream, but one look in the mirror and a bruise running along your cheek was enough to confirm. Not only that, but you remembered asking your boss to stay over, but you didn't expect him to. The blanket on your living room’s couch and the bowl of fruits and a glass of juice situated out for you on the kitchen counter proved that he did stay.

And then the reality sunk in, you have a decision to make. You can either go to the cops or let that guy get away. The latter sounded not so great, but you knew going to the cops isn't going to be great either. You've seen enough detective shows to know that. You've had enough, and you just wanted to forget it. 

What did Mr. Barnes mean when he said you were going to talk about this? Are you supposed to visit him before work? Is he going to come to your place?

You decided to work on your book but ended up not being able to concentrate, so you started watching a show and fell asleep while watching it. Maybe some Chinese take-out could make you feel better. It didn't. Nothing made you feel better. You wished you had some friends in this new town because you didn't want to burden your work friends. 

After a horrible day of trying to cope, when you finally made your way to the club, you noticed the security was increased. Usually, security guards weren't present inside the club, but today it was different. Everyone was so vigilant and you felt a little safer. If you didn't know any better, you'd think Mr. Barnes did it for you, but again he would have done the same thing for any other employee. 

"Boss wants to see you," Pietro told you. You were about to head for Clint's office when the blond twin spoke again and pointed his finger towards the stairs." The boss."

Okay, well maybe playing naïve couldn't avoid this meeting, so you slowly walked upstairs. How bad could this go, it's not like he saw you in your most vulnerable state? Oh, wait, he did. 

You knocked on his office door, wanting to rip the band-aid and get over with it. 

"Hey," you said, faking a smile. "Thanks for getting me home last night and for breakfast today. I didn't even know I had fruits and juice at home because let's be honest, I'm a toast and coffee kinda gal."

Mr. Barnes didn't say anything, he just looked at you as if you were a confusing puzzle that he couldn't solve. He raised a hand towards the seat in front of him and you took it, nervously fiddling with your fingers under the table.

“You do that a lot, you know?” he asked, it wasn't a question, it was merely an observation.

“What?”

“Deflecting a serious issue by using a joke.” Mr. Barnes observed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“What are you? My therapist?”

He arched an eyebrow, indicating that you were literally doing the thing he pointed out. 

"Yeah, well, it's called having a healthy coping mechanism. You should try getting one, brooding is only gonna help you this far."

 "It's not healthy if you're not dealing with it," Mr. Barnes pointed out. 

You scoffed in incredulity and you felt very, very attacked. 

What is it? Attacking y/n day?, you thought. 

"Anyway, I think I want to press charges," You changed the subject to a more serious conversation to avoid him calling you out on your bullshit. 

"Okay, I understand.” 

“You do?” You asked, bewilderment clearly written all over your face. “I mean, letting an employee go to the cops is not gonna be great for your club's reputation and yours too. And, you know, considering the shady business, you do-” 

"What exactly do you think we do?" He asked.

And that's when it hit you, you didn't know what he did or mob bosses do in general. All your knowledge about it came from movies and Wattpad, both of them are not a great place to gain knowledge.

“What exactly do you do?” you pondered.

 He obviously wasn't expecting you to directly ask him, nobody has directly asked him or even made it known that they are aware of his work. It was kind of like a silent pact that everybody signed for, everybody except you, apparently. 

“Um, you know, I've been working for almost 2 weeks here now, and I haven't seen any drugs around here, so it's obviously not drugs. You don't look like the sex trafficking types-”

 "Jesus, woman!" He exclaimed, offended by your assumptions. 

"Then just tell me what you do."

You expected him to tell you something, but he just kept looking at you with a face void of emotions.

 "Fine, don't tell me," you mumbled, raising your hands dramatically in defeat. 

“So you don't mind me ruining your reputation by going to the cops?” 

“I told you I don't care. Your safety is my utmost priority,” your face might have given away the surprise you felt because he quickly backpedaled. ”I mean, the safety of my employees.”

“The safety of my employees is my utmost priority,” he told you, providing an extra emphasis on the word employees. “Anyway, one of my people would take you to the police station near-"

You cut him off immediately. 

"No, you can't tell anyone else. I don't want everyone hopping on the pity train. I'm already ashamed that you know about it," you pleaded but your voice was firm, telling him that this was not up for a discussion.

At this, his eyes and features softened. Bucky didn't want you to feel guilty or ashamed for somebody else's actions, but clearly, you did. 

"Okay, then I can take you. You just had to explain to the officer last night’s events, and they'll ask you to recognize Rumlow and then we can-"

Mr. Barnes’s voice faded into the background when it finally hit you.

"You know what, I changed my mind. It's too much. I don't want to press charges anymore. I didn't think this through," you backtracked. You did think this through, but now all the factors were adding up in your brain. You'd have to explain the details to a cop who is probably going to be another man and a stranger, and then they'd ask you to identify the guy. You didn't think you had it in you to face him. At least not now. 

He interpreted your thought process and promptly changed the topic. "Okay, we can work with whatever you want, and at least let Peter escort you home after work."

"What? No!” You quickly declined.

“It's for your own safety,” Bucky tried to reason. He wasn't letting you get off this easily.

 “I'm a strong, independent woman and I'm not scared of anything.” 

That was a lie. You were scared of many things like heights, dark, spiders, confrontation and the list goes on and on. 

You remembered all the lectures your mom gave you telling you that women should be scared because men are monsters, and you'd lose your honor if you are reckless and some other patriarchal crap that you didn't pay attention to. But you weren't scared, you were just always careful. You'd always put the keys between your knuckles when you went home alone. In your previous job, you used to laugh it off whenever your coworkers made a sexist joke. You'd ignore the subtle shoulder touch that your previous boss did. You told yourself that this is what it takes to make it. If you were to run away every time someone eyed you in a wrong way, then you'd spend your whole life running. 

Women usually shrug this behavior off as it is what is, but the truth is it shouldn't be like this.

“Please, I insist.” 

“I'm very capable of taking care of myself. Just because one bad incident happened doesn't mean I'll fucking break!” You stated, your voice louder than your regular voice to get across your point.

That was also a lie. You were walking on a thin line and you were ignoring your emotions. You were one outburst away from a breakdown, and you just couldn't bring yourself to feel anything. 

Mr. Barnes tried to call your name, but you were already bolting out of his office. 

You needed a drink. No, fuck that. You needed multiple drinks. It wasn't exactly wise to get drunk during work, but it couldn't get any shittier than this, right?, you thought.

Right?

 Wrong. It could get way shittier than this. Now it was almost midnight, you were kind of tipsy, and you could see two Mr. Stark, your regular customer, in front of you. 

Did he have a twin? Is he and his twin brother one of those identical twins that dress up the same? Because that's what it looked like.

 “Earth to y/n," Mr. Stark said, or was it his twin? It was getting hard to keep track anymore.

 And that's when you noticed. 

“Holy, Shit. You're triplets, Mr. Stark," you announced. 

"Okay, kid, close my tab.”

“Hey, y/n. Are you okay?” Peter asked, noticing the concerned look Mr. Stark gave him before leaving.

“Yes, I'm fine. Absolutely fine.”

***

Turns out you were not fine. You've been pretty much hammered for the past week, and you could barely get a sentence out without giggling or slurring. Your colleagues took notice of your state and whenever someone pointed it out, you'd just shrug it off as a bad day or a bad week. There was no concept of time in your drunk state.

You couldn't concentrate on your book, you could barely look at someone without squinting, and you've been eating takeout and leftovers for the past few days. 

James would have fired if someone working under him was this irresponsible, but he knew your reasons. He knew you clearly weren't coping with the trauma well. Your work ethics were shoved down the trash that even Clint asked why you weren't fired yet.

Bucky didn't want to talk to you, he thought that maybe giving you some space would do you good, but clearly it wasn't working. Usually, the mob boss didn't interfere in the affairs of his employees, it was Clint's job, but when you smashed a bottle on the head of a customer, he had to interject.

“I TOLD THIS FUCKER NO!” you yelled, Peter’s hand around your middle from behind. Another empty beer bottle was in your hand, ready to be smashed across the face of the drunk dude in front of you.

Pietro and Wanda were enjoying the show. Peter, being the peace lover he is, held you back when you smashed a bottle across a drunk customer's face. Even though Peter was younger than you, he was stronger, and he was not only holding you back but also himself. He didn't want to cause a scene and that is why he was mulling comforting words in your ear like, he's not worth it, you're gonna kill this guy.

Damn right I am, you thought.

It was ironic because everyone in that club had killed someone except you.

When Bucky walked into the room, the drunk guy turned towards him and pointed at you. ”You are hiring crazy bitches now? Just called her baby girl and she went psycho!!!”

Bucky didn't understand what was happening. He told the security guards to take that man outside his club and he walked towards you. He firmly yet gently took a hold of your left arm, signaling Peter to let go of you. Without a word, he started walking in the direction of his office, dragging you along with him.

Once near his office, he lightly yanked your hand and shoved you inside, making you stand in front of him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he inquired, having had enough of your incompetence.

You were seething with rage. "Wrong with me? I told him no, but he didn't listen."

Bucky stepped forward, his anger dissipating into sympathy. " I know, he mumbled, "and I'm so-"

 "No, you don't know!" you yelled, body trembling and tears welling up in your eyes. "I told him no multiple times, I even tried to push him off me, but he just kept coming back."

Bucky's eyes furrowed in confusion. He didn't understand your words, the drunk customer didn't touch you. And that's when he realized, you weren't talking about the drunk customer. He cognized that the drunk guy purely triggered something that you've been suppressing for days now. Bucky was aware that you needed to get it out of your system to cope healthily.

“I told him no, you know? But he just wouldn't listen,” you stated, trying to convince yourself that you didn't lead him on. ”And he was so…. so strong and… and then he hit me and everything just went blur, I couldn't see but... but I could still feel him with me.”

Not realizing that you were not in that place anymore, you wrapped your hand around yourself to seek some sort of protection and comfort, bottom lip quivering, the welled up traitorous tears were streaming down your face and all you could think about was that night. 

“I… I can't get his touch out,” you stammered. ” I shower, multiple times a day, but I still can't get his touch out.”

With that, you broke down completely and shattered on the floor, sobbing ferociously. Your knees ached because of the position you were situated in, but the emotional pain was enough to overshadow the physical one.

For once in his lifetime, Bucky did not know what to do. Cautiously, he made his way towards you and knelt down in front of you. He did not know what to say or do to make you feel better.

You launched your body towards him, snaking your arms around his shoulder to settle on his neck as if he was the only thing grounding you. You lurched onto him like he was your anchor, and maybe he was. It took a minute for Bucky to register your actions, and when he did, he wrapped his arms around your middle and closed the minuscule distance separating you.

He surprised himself with the way one of his hands automatically reached for your hair and whispered words of comfort in your ear. He caught you as you crumpled physically and emotionally. 

”You're going to be okay, doll,” he whispered and kissed your temple with sincerity. ”I will make sure of that.”

The second part was barely audible, it wasn't meant for you, it was a promise he made to himself.

Bucky held you tightly yet gently while you sobbed on his shoulder.

 He didn't know how long he held you, it felt like an eternity to him with the way he could feel the guilt and rage inside him. When you passed out in his arms, he gently placed you on one of the comfortable couches in his office and draped a blanket around you that he had for when he would work late at night.

An office chair might not be the most ideal place to spend the night in, but it didn't matter to Bucky. All that mattered was you.

TAGS: @bananapipedreams​ @akkinda10​  @rivers-rambles21​  @emmabarnes​@goodcleanfunsis​ @valsworldofcreativity​

[typemoonconfessions]

Mod Lolly: ALRIGHT *rips off shirt* HERE WE GO

so first off, “he’s such a godawful asshole” exactly. Insert persona 5 that’s the best part meme here. He is arrogant. He’s evil. He’s the literal worst. You just want to punch him. Beautiful. All positives. Villains are incredibly sexy. 

look how smug and diabolical he is!!! 

flawless, literally doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him. thinks he owns the place. bitch. look at the muscles of his neck and his tiddy peaking through under his shirt!!!! slut!!! whore!!! (affectionate)

^^^^^^^ THIS POSE!!!! THIS POSE RIGHT HERE! LITERALLY THE SEXIEST THING ANYONE CAN EVER DO!!! he’s powerful and he knows it. his arrogance is actually backed up by something. 

YOU ARE SO EVIL. I WANT TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE AND THEN KISS YOU YOU STUPID BASTARD. 

and that just makes it even more satisfying when he finally gets his ass handed to him purely because of his own arrogance 

HE’S ANGRY!!! HE CAN’T BELIEVE HE WOULD LOSE TO SOMEONE WEAKER THAN HIM BUT HE DID BECAUSE HE’S AN IDIOT!!!

the hottest thing in the world is a character who thinks they’re above everything and never showing weakness then suddenly being in a position where they’re forced to show weakness and are no longer in control. vulnerability in a character that seems above it!!! hubris babyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Ok so that’s what makes gil hot as a villain. but despite appearances archer gil is not always a villain. or at least, not 100% evil 100% of the time.

hollow ataraxia, emiya gohan, and strange fake all show that gil is actually really soft and patient towards kids (you know when they’re not being used as fuel for his mana). the local fuyuki kids love hanging out with him. he’s fun to be around! he lets them play with the stuff he buys. the kids even tease him about not knowing what’s cool and popular just like the kids in uruk do to casgil. 

when gil said in zero he loves entertainment he wasn’t just talking about the kind of stuff kirei is into. he reads shonen jump!! he’s interested in video games! in strange fake he gambles at the casino he’s staying at to pass the time and when he wins all the money the casino has he gives it all back bc he was only doing it for fun

then there’s his whole relationship with enkidu. zero actually mentions enkidu’s death and i will never! forgive! the anime! for cutting it! but thankfully the manga delivers (also i will never forgive the babylonia anime for changing enkidu’s death to being outside in the rain bc it robbed us of the only chance of seeing gil cry be animated but i digress)

and in strange fake we also get to see just how happy he is about getting to see enkidu and fight them again! 

then there’s ccc gil, which really opens up his character to a whole new level. technically you could argue that ccc gil isn’t really archer gil bc he has no class there, and it’s more closely a direct incarnation of his soul than forcing him into the mold of a servant class, but he still takes on his archer appearance plus he’s an archer in extella and extella link and he’s basically the same there so we’re going to count it

god where do i start. gil becomes genuinely attached to hakuno over the course of the game. he talks to them about his love of swimming and architecture. he teases them constantly, but in a way that you can genuinely tell he cares. hakuno is the closest anyone ever gets to getting gil to fully open up after enkidu’s death

soooo much is revealed here that puts into context his actions in other installments. a lot of what casgil mentions in babylonia about pushing humanity towards the future and his clairvoyance of what they would achieve and everything, all of that was mentioned here first. it shows why he acts like he’s the most important person in the world. it’s because, in a way, he kind of is. or at least was. even before he became the wise king or even before he met enkidu, he was the reason why the mesopotamian gods declined and why humans in mesopotamia were able to thrive

if it sounds like the line is blurring between archer and casgil here, yeah. that’s kind of the point. you can’t really separate them. they’re way more alike than they are different. they have different priorities but on the basis of the same ideal. that doesn’t mean that archer gil in zero and fsn isn’t evil tho. he absolutely is. or well, it’s more accurate to say that as a being that’s 2/3 god, he sees himself as being above the concepts of good and evil. he genuinely doesn’t believe how he acts is wrong. that’s why his alignment even in the route where he wants to wipe out the majority of the planet is chaotic good. however that’s still obviously an inexcusable goal, and he deserves to get beat up and learns what individual humans are capable of, not just humanity as a whole

i’m gonna leave you with this meme i made about a week ago that pretty much encapsulates everything i’ve said here into one convent format