#and fucking cliche but

[nocek]

Wade is always winning at the pay attention to me game.

In this case grand prize is hour long lecture about spiders reproduction (and also genetics, don't forget the genetics ;P)

[ventique18]

🐉🌸, two very close friends, are looking for a place to stay at after having gone out on an impromptu trip that day.

When they enter an inn, they're greeted by a bartender polishing glass; very much looking the part of a mysterious character in a high fantasy story.

🍺: "Welcome."

🌸: "Can we book two rooms here?"

🍺: "Two rooms? Ah, but we only have one available."

🌸: "Well then. I guess we'll just go somewhere else--"

🍺: "Wait right there. Have you taken a close look at this area? This is the only reputable inn there is, and most others would have robbed you of even your underwear by the time you wake up."

🐉: "If anyone dares to rob me, and touch 🌸's underwear, then they will understand how it feels to be robbed of their very lives."

🍺: "No need to be so morbid. Anyway. The point is, have you seen how shabby this area is? Would you want your little lover here to sleep in those dumpster inns?"

🌸: "We're not--"

🐉: "You make a fine point..."

🍺: "Then follow me--"

🐉: "But I respect my friend's right to privacy. We shall depart for a more proper area befitting the standard of comfort that my companion deserves."

🍺: "There's-- a curfew. Yes. Around these parts. Yes, that's right. You'll get arrested if you're seen loitering."

🌸: "I've never heard of a place with a curfew for adults."

🐉: "Now, now. We mustn't risk arrest. Then, won't you show us the way?"

🍺: "Very good! Ah, but since it's my policy to always look out for my clients' interests, I must be transparent with you. There's only one bed."

🌸: "Isn't this a cliché?! In real life?!"

🍺: "There's been a lot of tourists lately."

🐉: "Oh, but that mustn't be! An unmarried couple cannot be in the same bed."

🌸: "Haven't we watched movies on my bed a lot of times already..."

🐉: "Hanging out is one thing. Sleeping together is a different matter."

🍺: "It's really alright, this isn't the Renaissance era. And I trust you good folks wouldn't be doing anything odd even when the walls here are especially thick and soundproof and the bedframe is sturdy enough to withstand the might of a dragon--"

🐉: "No, no. If you provide me with blankets, perhaps even a chair, I'm positive I can make do--"

🍺: "God damn it just get on the damn bed already! I swear to the Seven if there wasn't a fortune in getting you clueless fucks to fuck I wouldn't be wiping your ass with this bullshit."

It turned out there was a bounty on the pair's heads. Not a target bounty, but a huge reward for whoever got to convince the two to couple up already.

Apparently it was sponsored by a very, very wealthy and very, very nosey grandmother.

[devouredmelancholy]

Crash (1996) dir. David Cronenburg

[otome-dissection]

Idk man I just think that mizu/ena5 and its progression was really beautiful actually. I just think that the release of the ena5 song was also really beautiful and kind of the nail in the coffin for me and I haven't been able to get the event(s) out of my head all week and that I kind of want to talk about it, actually.

It's about being hurt so deeply and continuously that any kindness that could be offered to you manages to feel like a sin, that it makes you crumble and shatter but for all the wrong reasons, not because of the newfound safety, not out of relief, but something worse and more deeply ingrained in you than kindness ever was. It's about carefully measuring the distance at which you keep others away from yourself, to ensure that it never happens again ("To save yourself the trouble", if that makes it easier).

It's about realizing that the people you've been spending all this time with are drifting closer, that they just might bump up against the unsightly parts of yourself that you've tried to keep locked away, it's about turning around and sprinting at full speed and slamming the door shut and holding onto the handle behind you to stop it from turning, because you're as frightened of the possibility of another wound being inflicted on you as you are of the possibility that kinder, gentler hands will reach out and smooth over the exposed scar. It's about hating eyes that judge and silently condemn you as much as you hate eyes that simply see you and take all of you in without scrutiny, because no matter what they're looking and they're looking at you and they know that your hand's on that door handle and they know that you're hiding something because, as much as you try to keep it shut, they've seen through the crack that you foolishly left open.

(The prominence of eyes in Bake no Hana, specifically eyes looking and searching, and finally landing on you, the viewer, Mizuki, is so fucking. Visceral in my opinion. Every character in the MV stares at the viewer in a deadpan, almost judging way. Even though Mizuki knows deep down that niigo won't really hate them, won't judge them, she just can't stand their kindness either; any gaze directed at her is a loss, another prick in their skin. It screams "don't look at me" while making sure that you know, with horrific certainty, that they're looking for you, that you're being watched. You can't go outside, can't leave your room, because they're searching for you, and while that should be reassuring, to you it's anything but).

It's about not wanting to be dissected, whether it's with hands that want to pull your organs apart or stitch them back together because no matter what they're there, and they're getting frighteningly close to your heart. It's about blinding yourself and covering your eyes to it all because seeing means exposure and exposure means they're taking something from you and you can't do anything about it, much less take it all back, much less have a say in the matter. Everyone's just taking and taking and taking and you wish you could just be alone. You wish everyone would just disappear and you could live in a world all to yourself, for only yourself (but is that really what you want?).

It's about the way that, near the beginning of the Yoka ni Mitoreta MV, Mizuki and her loneliness is represented as a dark, splotchy stain in the shadows. No colors, no patterns, no way to clean it or wash it all away, just raw ugliness marring a blank canvas. It's about the way that Ena reaches out to it anyway, the way she startles when the glass shatters just when she finally starts reaching forward, the way that the rest of the MV/song represents her searching for and reaching only further out to Mizuki, even if the broken shards of glass will only cut her fingers, potentially leaving scars.

It's about how, in every way, subtly, directly, consciously, and subconsciously, Ena shows that she fucking cares.

It's about the way that Ena lets Mizuki have autonomy, despite the situation being so horribly out of their control. And it's such a delicate thing: If she really wants to, Mizuki can take the opportunity to just run away, keep running forever, repeat the cycle over and over, and maybe she'll just destroy herself with it again, but it can't be denied that it's something important to them, something she can't quite live without just yet, their means of survival. Mizuki's autonomy is their identity, it's her tailoring her own clothes and choosing her own ribbons and styling her own hair the way she does. Ena letting them have that is as much about trust as it is about understanding that Mizuki of all people should have this right, when control was something stripped from her throughout so much of her life. She couldn't control how she was born, how people look at her or why, can't control what they think of her; lacking control has only left Mizuki vulnerable to the cruelties of others, has only caused them to suffer, which is why it's so important that it's given to them now.

She had the control to make the choice to see niigo's welcoming love and run away instead of staying, and she has the control to make the choice now whether she wants to keep things the way they are or take a step forward to be at their side again. She has every right to have it, and I think the fact that Ena realizes and respects that, even if it's subconsciously, is really beautiful (there is an entire fucking Verse about this in the new song and just. God Look at this. It's so caring, unconditional, and for fucking What. I think there is something to be said about how much Ena is willing to put aside for Mizuki, and maybe deep down it isn't healthy, but for now I'm just kind of in awe)

It's about how insanely patient Ena has been this whole time. Mizuki says that she basically lied to Ena's face about telling her their secret, even after Ena said with such conviction that she would wait for Mizuki as long as it takes, and Ena is just kept waiting and waiting and worrying like this seemingly indefinitely. It's about how Mizuki danced around it, avoided it, kept the distance, straight up ran when she was finally pushed, but Ena still chased anyway when she saw that she couldn't wait anymore, kept chasing just enough to intervene and get a straight answer out of Mizuki when she really needed to, but still leaving her enough space to leave if that was truly what she wanted. It's about how relieved Ena is the moment that Mizuki finally says outright how much they want to be with her and niigo, how much she wants to try, how much more light Ena's voice sounds when she grabs her hand, relieved, the way that the relief she feels can be felt through the music, throughout the entirety of Yoka ni Mitoreta, the way that warm colors always follow her when she chases after Mizuki, just to hold onto her and stop her from running away completely.

It's about how that careful combination of Ena's directness, Ena's persistence, Ena's warmth, her patience, her bluntness about her feelings, the way she chases and holds on but not too tight and her regard for how unsafe and exposed Mizuki feels actually works and breaks it all down. It's about how she really did reach through to Mizuki, despite the thorns and broken glass shards and nearly-unfulfilled promises, the way that Mizuki did finally let her turn the door handle and step through to see what she'd been hiding all this time, the way that Mizuki's hand, limp, when Ena first grabs onto it, shifts to hold hers back as they cry in the face of Ena's gentleness.

Despite how harsh Mizu/Ena5, and even Ena herself as a character can be (or at least was in the very beginning of pjsk), everything is somehow gentle and warm in the end, blindingly so. And you know what, I think that's beautiful. And what's even more beautiful than that is how Mizuki allows themself to crumble and shatter under that kindness, that warm light, but this time, finally, out of relief.

On a final note, I just want to say that I also appreciate how all that didn't have to solve everything. The scars haven't disappeared, haven't gone away, and Mizuki knows that their desire to run hasn't gone away forever, and maybe it never truly will. But for now they've calmed it, at least a little. She's learning to allow herself to be seen, learning that when someone's fingertips brush over their scars the way Ena's did that it's only out of care, and that maybe taking in that care and allowing herself to feel kindness and safety is okay. They're safe, for now, somehow. They're learning. They're trying. And I think that's cool :)

[raisinchallah]

carmilla

[flintbian]

There's a disabled angel in good omens 🥺

[thousand-winters]

Something funny to me is how different the tone of the friendships is in mp100 vs in Saiki K. Like, at the end of the day, both of those have some flavor of "people need other people" and also learning to accept yourself thanks to the positive influence other people have had in your life, however...

Not to say friendships in mp100 are all rainbow and sunshines, but they're generally playing nice with each other. Granted, between the esper kids there are not too many moments of them just hanging out with no pressure on their backs, but they are generally nice to each other. I think maybe the Telepathy Club are the ones with the most "annoying each other on purpose" dynamics most of the time.

And then in Saiki K it's on sight. These kids love each other so much, don't get me wrong, but their friendships have SO much mutual bullying that it's kinda funny. They would kill a grown adult and help each other hide the body if it came down to it, but in their everyday life they're throwing shade and calling each other stupid and doubting each other lightheartedly, and it's just funny to me. They picked violence.

[lyss-sketchbox]

With Natlan's AQ coming to a close and I had time to really think about it and see other's perspective of it. I have some thoughts. And its gonna discuss the entire AQ as a whole and not just Act 5.

In short

More consistent action and flare than Fontaine

Way too much 'waiting for the right moment' and no other preparations are shown because of it.

The blind trust to said moment. Noone vetoed this, noone was worried about this, noone doubted this. So everything felt weightless.

Mavuika is a mary sue. Her hardheaded and blind trust to an event that may or may not happen just so happens to go right. She's so confident it'll work out she spent the days leading up to the final battle painting. So everything she does has no weight to it when it's blatantly obvious they're gonna win and ruined anything hoyo tried to do to create any tension.

Capitano is the goat and it's a shame he had a fraction of the screen time but alot more impact.

I have to say the level of action and flare they used in the entire AQ is alot more consistent than Fontaine.

We all should admit that we came into an AQ expecting interaction and action from playable characters and not NPCs unless they built them up enough to care for. Fontaine's evidence searching and crime solving part is understandably slow for some people and it can really hinder the pace, especially Meropide's part where it fully focuses on NPC's instead of actually figuring out Wrio's and Lyney's plans (which is sidelined until the very end)

The action scenes and AQ specific domains are great. I like that they aren't making us watch still images or summaries of events and actually let's us play through certain scenes, especially the Act 4 war and Act 5 making our way to the eye of the Abyss part. I love that it gives us choices and consequences based on our choices and ACTUALLY shows that consequence instead of telling us. Makes it feel like they're putting effort into the story telling.

The actual weight of the plot...? Not so much. I think it is very cliche with not alot of active impact from playable characters. The ending falls flat compared to what was set up.

In Act 1-2, it felt cliché for Paimon to point out 'oh look it's time for us to solve this nation's crisis', pointing it out doesn't make it any better but this is just a pet peeve and pretty neglegible.

I was sceptical about Natlan from the start, I admit that, but I like how the characters had an active choice and struggle during these acts. Kachina chose to stay in the tourney and train, Mualani chose to switch teams, they didn't wait for a thing to happen to do thing, they initiated it first.

Mavuika and Capitano fight still doesn't make sense to me. It's alot of needless flare with no substance to me. It feels like Capitano just waltzed in there with no other plan than to fight Mavuika for the gnosis. Like he didn't even plan his escape, he just so happened to be saved by Ororon.

Act 3-4 while had character interaction, feels tonally wrong. Like are Mavuika and co. NOT doing anything else but to wait for the 6 heroes to show up? Mavuika FOUGHT against Capitano's methods because she believes her way is better but it feels so... shallow? She just trusts that the 6 heroes will show up on time without any doubts or Plan B's at all...? Also in the beginning Mavuika told us to be careful when sharing the news that a war might break out but the first thing we do is... tell people...? Out right...? Sure.

The war was done well, I like that we have choices and consequences. The end sequence literally is a My Little Pony clone but it does fit with the consistent theme of solidarity in war and nationalism. Still felt cheesy to me.

Act 5. ACT 5 is the worst tonal shift of all time to me. So we spent the first half celebrating when we know something else is there, no preparation or doubts. Even Mavuika is like 'ah yes let me paint to pass the time :)', it feels... arrogant, it feels as if it's absolutely undisputed that we are gonna win. So there's no tension at all even when they finally try to make the final battle feels important. Even the stadium bit feels off, there's literally NO signs that we are losing but for some reason the Sacred Flame goes out...?

While I like that they brought out memorable NPCs from world quests, the part about the 6 heroes feels so extremely tacked on. Like wow the 6 first heroes gave us blessings randomly in the middle of the sequence even though the actual power up sequence to get pyro traveller is still... way after that so it felt... useless? The entire boss battle even feels so weightless because yeah, you're gonna win, what is there to root for lmao.

Don't get me started on the celebration afterwards, the long awkward section where you allegedly spend a while giving out autographs and taking pictures. It feels like Hoyo is popping a party popper in our face and going CONGRATS YOU DID IT! CELEBRATE NOW! THIS IS A CELEBRATION. If they were trying to divert our attention from Mavuika's death then it's a shit attempt. Because the final battle didn't feel like it had weight, so it feels not worth celebrating.

Capitano is the only saving grace of this AQ and even then he's been sidelined for the entire act so while the logic for his sacrifice to Ronova was great (hell even more hyped about this than the entire final battle), it didn't have the impact it probably should've had. It felt like he had an entire side quest that we didn't get to see or hint at unless you count the very first dream opening Act 5.

Now my biggest issue with this nation is WHY IS THERE SO MUCH WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT????

Kachina deserved to be one of the 6 heroes instead of Xilonen. We literally don't know what Xilonen and Iansan even do to earn that title but they just... are??? We atleast see Kachina fighting for a spot in the Night Wars and we hear about Mualani and Kinich's wins but Xilonen and Iansan???

Mavuika vetoed Capitano's plans that actually had substance and logic behind it because she just.... trusts that it'll happen. Does she not worry they won't show up?? Does she not have Plan B's?? She had absolutely 0 worries at all so she just... feels so flat. Then in the final battle she just... doesn't worry at all, like I understand as an archon and a leader it's best that you act like it, but there's like... absolutely zero signs that she's worried. Even when she's talking to her LONG LOST SISTER SHE'S JUST... FINE??? MOVES ON??? ARE YOU NOT GONNA TELL YOUR WORRIES TO YOUR SISTER??? OR DO YOU JUST NOT HAVE WORRIES AT ALL????

Man idk, the ending flops for me. Rip capitano one of the only good thing about this nation and he isnt even from it. But we SEE HIS STRUGGLE, HIS DOUBTS, HIS FAILURES, AND HIS SACRIFICE AND SUCCESS WHILE WE GET SHIT ALL FROM MAVUIKA SO LIKE????? WHAT WE'RE THEY DOING???????

[wisteriasymphony]

the least they could do is make the next "oh no he's talking to other girls and i can't trust him to not cheat" storyline interesting and raise the severity of her behavior. we're all planning to root for her even if she murders at this point why not tie it in to the girl-on-girl hate too. perfect fandom-writers compromise

[losver07]

heyyy i wrote some wolfstar

cursing and very, very cliche-y overdramatic plot lol

James Potter Wins a Bet

“I'm so sorry, Professor, I really... Oh, for fuck's sake, Black, do you know what a bloody shower is? You don't need to torture us all with your quidditch practice sweat.”

The room goes silent. Even Slughorn doesn't know what to say, he just looks at Remus like one would look at an exotic species of bird, brows furrowed in an attempt to understand.

“Um... Well, sit down, Mr. Lupin, please.”

It's strange. Everyone's used to Remus not being able to hold his temper, and all of his teachers are aware that it's the week of the full moon, but he expected to, at least, be scolded; not just for attacking another student, but his vocabulary too.

But, hey, he's not going to be the one to ask for punishment, is he?

Doing his best to ignore the smell in which the classroom is soaked, he approaches his friends, and sits next to Lily, as per usual. She gives him a funny look, but says nothing, so, while Slughorn talks, he turns to James and Sirius to tap Black's shoulder.

“Honestly, coming here right after your practise is a method of torture more cruel than I thought you capable of,” he whispers to the long-haired boy, taking a sniff at the scent of dorm room and sweat and... “Why does it smell like leather? And gasoline? And who snuck a fucking fag into potions?”

“Remus,” James says, eyes wide open behind his glasses. “Loo. Now.”

“But I—

“Now.”

Before Remus is dragged out of the classroom by James —who is very dramatically faking a nosebleed—, he shoots a look at Sirius. He looks paler than usual, staring into the empty space where moments before Remus had been sitting.

He and James enter the nearest bathroom, and, after a silencing spell is cast, Remus hears:

“I knew it!”

“What?” he asks, unperturbed. “That puberty hit Black? Yeah, I think we all—

“Remus, you're the only one who smelled Pads in there.”

Remus laughs. That's not possible. Yes, he might be a werewolf, but he knows when a scent is strong enough for even a human to catch. And that one was strong.

“You've all caught a cold, then, 'cause he—

James shakes his head vehemently, and Remus keeps quiet, eager to hear the boy's explanation.

“For me,” he says, clearly begging for Remus to understand, “it smelled like my mum's lasagna. And Evans' shampoo.”

He's about to ask how on earth could one smell Effie's cooking miles away from the Potter's house, but, just then, something clicks inside his head.

“That's— Oh, no.”

And he wishes the earth would swallow him whole. He wishes he would become one of the tiles in the floor, or a drop of water disappearing into one of the sinks.

“Oh, yeah,” James says, in a less enthusiastic tone than the one he used before.

If he would've slept a bit better, maybe he would've remembered. Maybe, if he wouldn't have been thinking about bloody Sirius on his way to class, he could've checked his notes and realise.

Today's lesson was about Amortentia.

“Oh, god, what did I do,” he says, burying his dangerously red face in his hands, taking in a deep breath as he tries to recall the smell: Dorm room, fireplace, bedsheets, a leather jacket, a shared fag, his skin...

“You just yelled that Padfoot is what you love most,” James smiles. “And I just won a bet.”

“Oh, dear fucking god.”

part 2 heheheh

[goatyuuji]

“Opposites attract” alright….

[cayennecrush]

i made myself a cat fursona!! this was so much fun!!!!! ☺️

[mo0nfairy]

these past few weeks have been kind of wild, hence my lack of engagement (so, so many injuries omfg). i will TRY to be more active now, but god knows what the universe has in store for me

[oceanwithouthermoon]

ive come to realise that i dont actually hate kubokai, i just hate the way people write them

[chinzhilla]

𝔗𝔥𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔶-𝔒𝔫𝔢 𝔇𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔬𝔣 ℌ𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔯 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺

We believe spirits are in every single thing. In houses, in forests, in mountains, in trees in rice fields. Every area has spirits. All of them.

The Medium (2021) dir. Tong Banjong Pisanthanakun

[fyodior]

this is literally so cliche but i’m Thinking Thoughts about being a groupie for chuuya’s band. he’s ultra sleazy and smokes cigs like they’re air but he shreds guitar like no other and fucks like a porn star