#but I really didn't get those vibes at all

[tfc-hockey]

Transcribing this for future use, because upon even the most basic of scrutiny the vibes here are severely off

Female interviewer: how did it feel to watch your son get his second career hat trick?

Jim: It's a very hard league. And it's really special. I didn't actually know that he had a hundred goals tonight. Somebody had told me that. So that's… congrats. And then, listen, our team is playing really well right now and there's so many good players and, by the way, we've, we have all the fathers here and it's been. It's such an enjoyable trip. And we've had a lots of laughs and such quality people and it's been, it's been, uh, it's been a really fun weekend so far.

Male interviewer: Well Jim I can just hear it in your voice, it… it, you know, family comes first.”

Jim: Right.

Male Interviewer: And just, just the moments, not always on the ice but off the ice, and so, you know, Jack was talking about his uncle's here as well and just, just speak about those kind of moments where (?unintelligible?) bringing the family together around the game of hockey and, yeah.”

Jim: Marty, my brother, is twelve years younger and he's the guest of Jack. And I'm the guest of Luke and, uh, just to be together the four of us. Such quality time. And just for all of the dads here, all of the cold rinks, and all the, the mornings and all the coffee and all the coffee cups we've had in the journey of life. And going to the, like, like your folks– (note: I don't know who this male interviewer is, presumably an ex-player?) and it's really special to just get together with all these guys and to share the moment together, um, but to have Marty here was special. Played at Boston College and he was a hockey player himself and so for him to spend time with Jack and Luke is, um. It's nice.

Male Interviewer: Priceless.

Female Interviewer: Well, we understand you enjoyed this one because it really is all about family. And Jack, just enjoy it all, have some fun –

Jim:---wanted me to throw my hat on the ice today!

Female Interviewer: But you didn't want to give it up though did you?

(Jack exiting)

Jim: I'm not gonna do that, but here we are. It's my trademark!

jack + jim hughes postgame

[bowsandsturniolos]

pairing: sub!chris x soft!dom!reader

warnings: smut, dirty + sweet talk, hand job, begging, no actual p in v, teasing, edging, oral, no use of y/n, dry humping, use of vibe, pet names (baby, sweetheart, good boy, ma, etc).

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you're on chris's lap, his boner poking into your thigh. you let out a shaky sigh, your resolve slowly crumbling more and more.

"chris, your brothers are home. this isn't.. no." you mumble, for some reason still trying to reason with him, knowing damn well he won't break.

"please, ma? i need you. s-so.. fuck. so bad." he whispers, rutting his hips up. your tongue runs along your inner cheek as you stare at the wall, thinking.

if you're honest, you don't really feel like having sex right now. but you still want to get chris off. you glance over at the needy boy trapped between your thighs.

"can you stay quiet?" you ask casually, cocking an eyebrow. you know damn well he can't. but maybe he'll try.

"yes, ma. i'll.." he swallows. "i'll be good. i'll be.. quiet." his breathing is labored, his stomach already heaving. you haven't layed a finger on him.

"take your clothes off." he shudders but wastes no time, immediately tugging down his red shorts, along with his white tee, leaving him in his red boxers, a prominent bulge tenting the crotch.

"those too." you say sternly, lifting your shirt over your head and tugging down your shorts, leaving you in just your panties and bra, which are a matching cherry red.

he slips off his boxers, pooling at his ankles. his cock springs free, flushed tip dripping with precum, shaft throbbing, veiny, and thick. you lick your lips at the sight.

you climb over him, hovering above him, lips inches from his.

"now, chris. what made you think you could be begging me all day to fuck you? whinin' in my ear like a fuckin slut." you grumble.

he looks away with flushed cheeks, his eyes full of shame. you grab his chin, forcing him to look at you again.

"i'm sorry!" he splutters, avoiding eye contact. "i've just.. been so hard for you all day i.. i need you mama."

"so what is it that you want, chris?" you coo, biting back a mischievous grin.

"i- i want you to.. to make me cum. please. i'm.. it hurts ma. i'm so hard i need.. i need help." he pants.

"be careful what you wish for." you say with a grin, pressing your lips to his before crawling back down his body.

you stop once your mouth is level with his standing dick. you smile, getting on your knees between his already spread legs.

you wrap your hand around his base, kissing his tip with purposeful pressure. his head throws back.

"nnngghh-" he whimpers out. you grin, latching your lips around his pretty pink tip, never once looking away from his bright red face.

your tongue swirls clean and precise circles over his leaking tip, the beads of precum leaving a salty and enjoyable taste behind.

he's gasping for air, stomach already heaving, white-knuckling his bed sheets. he's biting his lip so hard you think it might bleed, trying desperately not to make a sound, since his brothers are home.

you pull off and his grip loosens on the sheets, stomach muscles relaxing. he looks back down at you with furrowed eyebrows. "why.. why'd you stop?"

you smile. "don't worry sweetheart. gimme just a sec." you coo. "just cover your eyes for me, baby."

he does just that, breath shaky. you open your nightstand drawer, pulling out a vibrator.

"keep your eyes shut honey." you coo. you carefully climb between his legs and to his standing dick, very carefully switching it onto the lowest setting, praying he doesn't hear it.

when he has no reaction, you press the round end of the vibrator to his tip. he lets out a strangled moan, moving his hands from his eyes to grip the bed sheets.

"i didn't tell you you could uncover your eyes, did i?" you whisper into his ear. his eyes are screwed shut from pleasure anyway, but he's still disobeying you.

"cover your eyes like i told you to. and don't move them unless i say." and with that, you turn the vibrator up to the highest setting, grab his base, and press it to his tip.

he lets out strangled moans, kicking his feet, curling his toes. his stomach caves in like a juice box that a little kid ran dry.

you can tell it's too much, but he never once complains. he doesn't trust his own voice right now. you swirl the vibrator around his head.

he gasps at the change in sensation. precum leaks down his buzzing shaft. suddenly, you get an idea. you turn the vibrator off, to which he whimpers and kicks his feet. you knew he was close.

you immediately drop down on him, taking him fully in your mouth. you swirl your tongue around him a few times, making him whimper and whine, eyes still covered.

you pull off just about an inch, switching on the vibrator. you hold it to the base of his cock, sending vibrations all throughout his dick.

you swallow around his now vibrating dick. he lets out uncontrollable whines, moans, whimpers and pleas. you continue to suck him off with the vibrator until he's rutting into your mouth.

once he's about to cum, you remove your mouth and vibrator. he cries out, whimpering. "n-no! wha-!? mama, please.. i- i was so good! i-" he begs.

"i know, baby. it's just not time for you to cum yet. you can open your eyes." he removes his hands from his face, revealing the tears of pleasure and frustration streaming out.

you grin. he looks pathetic. and that's exactly how you like him. you straddle him, hovering over him. you take his cock and pin it to his tummy, his underside facing you. you lick a stripe up his underside.

he lets out a gargled moan. you sit on his base, your lace covered cunt on top of the underside of his cock, pinning it to his tummy, tip sitting right above his belly button.

"wha.. w-what're you doin ma?" he asks timidly.

"whatever i want to. now sit back and feel." he nods. you start to grind your hips on him. he moans, eyes shutting and fingers gripping the sheets.

you run your hands all over his tummy. you've always loved his tummy. it's so fun to kiss, bite, suck, leave hickeys on.

you've also always loved that he doesn't have a literal six pack, the slight stomach pooch that he has makes you wet every time you look at it.

you start to rub circles over his tip. he ruts his hips up, this whole time letting out strangled whines and moans.

this goes on for a couple minutes before he screams suddenly. "m'gonna cum!" his eyes screw shut, back arching.

you begin to coo sweet nothings. "yeah? you gonna cum all over this pretty tummy of yours, your gonna cum all over yourself baby. yeahhhh, that's right." you hum softly, rubbing circles over his inflamed tip.

"nnnghh-!" and then he cums. his back arches as he cries out, his warm white seed shooting out all over his stomach. you drool at the sight, heat pooling in your core, wishing he'd came on your stomach instead.

"good boy.. look at you. all messy for me.. yeah.." you coo sweetly, still grinding on him, rubbing his tip.

"mmph- that's.. ma i'm done." he whispers, starting to get overstimulated. you grin.

"ohhh, baby. you thought you were done?" you chuckle, grabbing the vibrator.

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author's note: hey yall! i haven't made a fic in a while so im a bit rusty, but i hope you guys enjoyed! love yall sm! with love, bows, and sturniolos. 💗🎀

@whore4mattsturniolo @evie-sturns @rysturns @sweetshuga @sturnsvelocity @emely9274

[unacknowledgeable]

your Serial killer readeris giving me vibes of...

in my view, they are very similar. Does reader have a thirst for blood like toga? or cannibalistic halibes?

Interesting question, I'll try to answer the best I can lol.

 One thing I like to do in order to establish a character, is to take a character from pre-existing media, decide on where the two characters are similar, and then show how they are different. where those parallel lines meet and where they diverge from each other.

For instance, the bird incident in readers childhood is a pretty direct parallel to Togas (actually a complete accident on my part, but one I'm happy with) and they both hurt the bird as a form of fascination or “love” of the creature.

 But one of the major differences between Himiko and Reader is that while Himiko found the bird in the garden, already injured and likely beyond saving, and drank its blood as a final act of love towards it, the reader caught their bird, perfectly healthy, and caused its pain themselves. Himiko's parents put Toga in the hands of professionals in order to curb these violent tendencies, to no avail and to her detriment, while the reader was just told “no, bad” then tossed back into the deep end, having experienced no real consequences for what they did. 

The other difference is that Toga (from my understanding) never grew out of her confusion as to why her way of showing love wasn't okay. The reader, initially, is confused, yes. But as they get older they do realize why it discomforts people, that it is asserting your will over others and that it is fundamentally wrong. This knowledge, however, does not stop them from doing it.

Similar incidents, but different actions, upbringings and outside influences lead to different circumstances.

Now, personality wise, I'm not sure, I never actually finished mha lol, i didn't see all of togas screentime first hand, nor the best grasp on her personality besides ‘hyperactive bubbly maniac with a dash of cannibalism’. Where Himiko’s love is outright and sporadic, I’d say readers' love is more akin to a quiet awe, a silent devotion, easily overlooked if you dont know it's there. 

If you do want a personality to branch off of, Jinx from Arcane would be the closest match as of right now, as I was watching the show during my early concepts for this story lol.

 Otherwise, right now, I don't have any specific character that I take a large amount of inspiration from, just a few that I pick and choose character traits from that I like. SK!Readers personality is based around my general knowledge of serial killers, and media tropes I enjoyed so much they ended up stuffed into my own lil guys 

Now, does the reader have cannibalistic tendencies? I don't know.  It wasn't really something I gave much thought to, despite my fascination with “Consumption as an act of love”. If I were to add it, I’d have to find a reason for it besides shock value. So if anyone has any ideas for it, feel free to send it my way.

Masterlist

[simpxxstan]

Hi! Been reading your fics svt as you best friend’s brother and im hooked, my favorite would be vernon’s!!! Idk if you still accept request but if you do, can i request Joshua + as your brother’s bestfriend?

P.S. i really like your writing style! 🥰

this is a part of my 550 followers event, but requests are now CLOSED.

thank you for enjoying my work <3 and thanks for the request, it was wonderful to work on it!! altho i wrote like 4 versions because i so unsatisfied but finally settled on this, really hoping that you'll like it1 and again, i'm so sorry for being late, i hope you still enjoy this :)

thinking about brother's best friend!joshua who you certainly don't approve of at all

"i don't like this new friend you have." you tell your brother straight up when joshua leaves your house after dinner. it's the first time he's visited your house since your brother and he became inseparable. you've heard a lot about him and to be fair, you'd expected him to be .... not like what you realise he is.

it's nothing tangible, though. joshua is all politeness and manners, but there's an air about him which constantly reminds you that he belongs to old money, an air of superiority that seems to be ingrained in his manner of walking and talking.

and the worst bit is that everyone is so taken with him. ever since he's joined your high school, it's become amply clear that everyone loves joshua hong. some because of his wealth, others because of his looks.

"sis, he didn't even bother you. how the hell do you not like him?" your brother's low grumble annoys you, as if he has a right to ask you this although he freely drops his opinions about all your new college friends. "i don't know, really. but the vibes are... vibes are bad."

vernon rolls his eyes. "you're just mad because he's not into you, isn't it?" the words don't leave his mouth before he gets a very subtle kick in his shin that dumps him on the floor.

thinking about brother's best friend!joshua who rarely ever gets curious about people, but somehow he just cannot understand you

he's seen enough people already and now he can flag each person by their type. but you don't seem to fit into any of the boxes he can so easily segregate humans into. for one, you're very lowkey, just like vernon. but unlike your brother, you're not laidback nor are you cool, at all, really. you're very tight-wound, always on your guard, your wide eyes taking in everything around you.

"okay you're scaring me now," joshua spins around and meets your gaze, squinting to try and understand what thoughts lurk beneath those judgy little eyes.

"what have i done?" "you can't be judgmental during a creative process!" "i have literally not spoken a word and yet you think i'm judging you." "that's cause you are," joshua stands up and walks to you, hands on his hips, desperately trying to keep a cool face as he tries to read your mind. you cock your head to one side, meeting his stare, "oh yeah? how's that so?" "your eyes are boring holes into my back, i can feel them, you know." you stand up, your height nowhere close to joshua's but the strength of your gaze strong enough to pin his attention, "that's just the voice in your head, nuthead. you know your song is trash and you're dumping it on me now."

"hey!" vernon protests, and joshua smirks, "see i told you she was judging us! well, you can keep your judgement to yourself, miss chwe-" "yeah, i was gonna-" "and maybe leave the room while the artists are busy creating art your silly brain cannot understand."

you gasp, "you can't kick me out of my own room, you nobody!" "but he can," he says, pointing to vernon, "he's your brother." "not really, i'm gonna tell mom-" joshua loves seeing you get riled up, loves to see at least some emotion on your face. "okay, my whiney lil girl, go tell mommy," he bends down to your level and winks, his breath catching at the very audible sound of your gasp.

and it works, somehow. did he just intimidate you? or irritate you? whatever he's done, now you do leave the room, but not before flipping off him and vernon. that hurts his ego a little bit, but at least he won't have to feel your judgy eyes stare at his back while he's composing the masterpiece he and vernon are going to perform at the next party. that's a win in his books.

thinking about brother's best friend!joshua whose somehow everywhere you go, almost like a shadow

of course, some of it is thanks to your brother. and the rest of it is because he has a lot of common classes with you. and although he's a new student, he's quickly become the apple of the eye of many teachers too.

"if you're really so good at creative literature, why can't you write your lyrics yourself!" you huff at him when he shoves the notebook towards you across the table once again. "that's because i've got writer's block, you idiot. why can't you just be nice to me for once, i'm just asking for some help!"

joshua's looking at you with the most helpless puppy eyes he can manage, but you're not falling for his tricks. "you're getting me distracted with this, i know what you're doing." your hand stretches across the table, pushing the notebook back to him. "distracting you? it's one damn verse-" "joshua, you're trying to distract me from working on the essay due this week, aren't you?"

joshua's eyes bulge. "what? woman, now you're overdoing this. i don't even know why you have these kinds of illusions about me. i haven't done anything to you." "but i know your type of guy," you eye him seriously, and he cocks an eyebrow. "whatever it is, you've got me wrong, y/n." for a second, you're almost convinced, but then you look at the rolex resting casually on his wrist.

"no i'm not, joshua. there are hundreds of other people, eager to write your song lyrics, but no, you come to me. why? you're an attention whore, you only pester me because i push you away. the day that i give in, you'll be gone, and -"

joshua leans in until he's almost breathing the same air as yours. "and what, y/n?" you pause for a second to frame your words correctly, but joshua takes up the chance, "then you'll realize that you've got me all wrong, because i never left you at all?"

there's some rawness in his voice, a rugged angle that's new in his usually sugary sweet voice, and it leaves you disoriented for a long minute, your thoughts scattered, your heart racing and your intuition anxious. have you really got him all wrong? but he's already gone by then, gone before you've predicted, and you have no second chance to call him back to tell him that you'd already thought of lines for the verse last night when you'd heard your brother sing the rest of the song.

thinking about brother's best friend!joshua who's looking for you in the crowd when he performs at the party tonight, but it's a search in vain

he wants to ask vernon if he knows where you are, but he doesn't want to sound desperate. doesn't want to sound like an attention whore, doesn't want you the pleasure to think that maybe you're right. because no. you're not. he's not thirsting for your attention. he's not yearning for one soft look from your eyes because he can never understand what's going on behind them. he's not going insane every night wondering what you really think of him. he's not longing to see your fake guard fold in two so that he can tell you that he-

Hope you listen to this song 'cause I, I, I... 'Cause I'm doing right just fine. I'm doing alright, doing alright. he sings, but he really hopes no one sees it on his face that he's not, in fact, doing alright. no one has affected him to this extent, to the extent that it's plaguing his thoughts all day and all night whether they hate him or not. and the fact that even this is occurring is concerning enough for joshua to feel his stomach twist in anger and anxiety, although he can see the crowd happily sway to their song.

and then vernon sings, I can't get you out of my head, yeah, Gotta get you out of my head, yeah. How can you be so fine when ... and joshua remembers how he wrote this verse thinking about your icy eyes when you stare at him when he's standing in front of the class, giving a presentation that the teacher's asked him to deliver, staring at him like he's not good enough.

I'm doing great myself, Hope you know I am... and how joshua wrote these lives in a feverish whisper in the middle of the night when your words from last afternoon had come rushing to his mind and he'd lost all sleep. because he is doing great, isn't he? he is. he doesn't need your attention. he doesn't need your approval. he doesn't even need your affirmation.

except the voice in his head knows he does. he knows it because it's at this moment that he sees you in the crowd, standing far away from the stage so he hopes you don't know he's staring right at you, but he can feel the burn of your gaze even through the blinding lights.

and the song ends with a final strum of his guitar, vernon singing, I'm super fine, I don't need you anymore... and joshua can't help but whisper out, into his microphone

i need you

thinking about brother's best friend!joshua who's looking too good for even you to resist tonight, with the signature black jacket and a single vein popping out on his neck

you don't even know why you came tonight. something something about your mother asking you to check on vernon and make sure he's not getting high. something something about this being the last weekend before you get into study mode for finals. something something about you being curious about what joshua finally wrote in that verse.

and while you've seen your brother perform quite a few times, seeing joshua on stage gives you a different kind of goosebumps. the kind of goosebumps that leave you wondering what is wrong with you that you're so mean to him on an every day basis when he's so beautiful and so talented.

i'll give him a chance, you think, when you walk towards backstage. you confidently enter the tiny room that's labelled as backstage, but you find your brother making out desperately with someone in a corner so you jump out of the room immediately...

"looking for someone?" and bump into the person you've actually been looking for. when you turn around, his eyes leave you breathless, and you think that he is right. you have got him all wrong.

thinking about brother's best friend!joshua who can finally read your eyes because he's taken you by surprise and you can't mask your feelings so quickly

and now he's got you in his arms, and he knows that vernon is up to something inside the room, so he slowly slides you away from the room and against the wall next to it. "did you watch me?" not us. me. because joshua wants to know desperately what you think about him.

"i did." "and? what did you think?" your pretty eyes flitter about, trying to avoid his gaze avidly, but his hand slips under your chin so that you do look at him. "don't make me lose my mind, y/n. tell me, please."

so you finally look at him. really look at him. no shields, no guards, no distances. "i thought you were damn good, joshua hong. that's what i thought."

joshua's hand slips from under your chin and falls to his side. "and? what did you think of the song?" there's a hint of a smile in your eyes, and he can see them crinkle into a smile before your mouth can. "i thought it was very emotional. i didn't think you to be capable of such raw emotion. was it for someone?"

and he knows this is the moment. he knows it is because all the voices in his head are ringing like sirens with only one answer. "yes, you."

and you gasp and joshua leans in to press a kiss to your mouth. it's a soft kiss, barely a peck, a request for permission, a test to check the tides. so when you lean into him, chasing his lips, he loses all control.

"y/n chwe, you're driving me insane," he mutters, as he slowly tastes all of your lips, feeling the plush and the warmth of the one thing he's craved for months now. "pl- please, don't fight this feeling," he knows he's begging, but he doesn't care. all he wants is your softness against his hands and your warmth spreading to his body and your lips smashing again and again against his own lips.

thinking about brother's best friend!joshua who's eyes bulge out of their sockets, his lipstick smudged against the corner of his mouth, a pathetic whine leaving his throat as you push him away

there's an emergency siren ringing in your head right now, and all you want to do is fall back into his arms, but you can't. you simply cannot. because that would mean you've fallen for his games, become prey to his tactics and he'd win again.

you have to fight the feeling because you know tomorrow morning he'll be gone, and never come back, because he's got you under his grasp now. so you do the first thing the rush of adrenaline tells you to do- run.

you run all the way home, locking yourself into your room, biting down on the rough edges of your t-shirt to stop yourself from screaming because your mind is still reeling from the taste of the forbidden fruit. you know deep down, that you have lost to joshua. you've given yourself up to him, let your guard down, and if you see him right now, you may just fold.

thinking about brother's best friend!joshua who doesn't give up looking for you, and finally finds you in the corner of the library the next afternoon, skipping lunch in favour of revising biology

thankfully, you're too engrossed in your notes to realise when he's taken the seat next to you, it's only after he softly calls out your name that you jerk up with surprise, "oh it's you."

and then a second later, when joshua's hand is halfway across the gap between you two, you whisper out louder, "oh it's you." he pauses. "yeah, y/n, it is me. what's wrong?"

you don't respond immediately. you stare at his outstretched hand, at the confusion etched on his features and the way your knees are touching under the desk. "you came looking for me?" joshua doesn't understand why you look so dazed, but he replies softly, leaning in, "of course. why wouldn't i?"

and then you lean into him and kiss him. wow that was simple, joshua's mind still confused at what just happened, but he doesn't miss the opportunity. his hand finds your arm, and he pulls you closer to kiss you, to taste you in every way he couldn't last evening. "i want you, y/n. why do you run away from me?"

and joshua doesn't know why, but you laugh. it's the sound of rain falling on leaves, the sound of tinkling beads, the sound of piano keys played on a midsummer night. "i promise i won't anymore, joshua. because i admit, i want you too." and you kiss him again, and somehow, his curiosity becomes the last thing on his mind. not when you're busy rearranging his brain chemicals to make sure he's addicted to your scent, your taste and your touch and he can never live without you now.

[vaguely-concerned]

I feel that during the first coffee date walk through the market, rye has a fraction of a millisecond's kneejerk trauma freakout of '...wait. wait. am I really catching feelings for a rich boy again. with how that went down last time. am I truly that stupid' (once derogatorily referred to quite openly at a party as 'young master anaxas' pet mortalitasi' to which the young master anaxas only grinned and shrugged and STILL you don't break up with his smug controlling ass for good for six more months because you have a desperate bottomless yearning pit where your self respect should go, twice shy lol). and then he actually looks at lucanis standing next to him getting harding spearmint to help with bad dreams and generally being so quietly thoughtful and sweet through the prosaic yet necessary medium of grocery shopping it makes me feel a little unwell to truly contemplate. and rye is like '*the softest fondest eyes anyone has ever turned on anything* ...you know what. I suspect we don't have to worry about that repeating, I think we're probably safe. I am comfortable being this level of stupid. (slowly dawning marital intent even at this stage)'.

(part of the reason rye buys NONE of illario's bullshit at all right from the beginning is that he's basically vaccinated against this exact type of dude after that relationship lol. charming suave guy who in the beginning pays you a lot of lavish attention and takes pains to make you feel special every time you're in a room with him -- but shallowly and mostly, it slowly dawns on you, when there's something he wants from you (and he's often doing it at the expense of someone else, raising you up to put someone else down and you won't believe this... it can turn into a seesaw at a whim. yay). and beneath that there's just a seething pit of resentment and inferiority complexes and bitterness left to fester until he can make it everyone else's problem and that IS going to start to bubble up between the cracks with you too if you stick around for long enough. no thank you been there done that wasted my youth and potential on it and all I got was this lousy shiny set of new emotional intimacy issues haunting me for life! trust me illario I HAVE, as it were, chosen the wrong dellamorte before, which is exactly how I know I didn't this time. go get him lucanis I've got your coffee

hilarious mental image: rye and illario sitting quietly together while everyone else is busy milling about during a cursed dellamorte family dinner (the vibes are so bad. you know the vibes are bad. sitting as still as you can and hoping for calm skies is your best bet without lucanis or teia favourite child privileges to work with) and rye out of the blue gazing thoughtfully into nothing over the edge of his glass with half-lidded eyes to go 'you know. you remind me a lot of my ex. not in a good way' and illario with absolutely no shame and hilariously also something that's the closest he ever gets to real sympathy going 'yeah, I get that a lot'. best talk those two ever had, unironically. their bond leveled up to its final form that day. *soulsborne boss defeated text* MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING REACHED)

[bloopitynoot]

Reading TGCF: Chapter Five

For those who don't know, I am reading TGCF for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag Bloopitynoot reads TGCF. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read BUT if you followed along with my SVSSS read, the rules and vibe are the same.

Happy New Year!

I was doing new year's day things today (playing boardgames and making steamed buns) so tonight I have my night time tea with this chapter (chamomile).

This is probably the cutest tea I own; the little flowers bring me so much joy. I also hope it knocks me tf out so I get a good night's rest before I go back to work from break tomorrow XD

Let's go chapter 5!

Oop! I was not expecting the boy to have a face of several faces! p143

Oh no baby! Come back, poor kid :( p145

(This art though- it does NOT do the description justice! I was expecting way more baby faces and for it to be significantly more frightening. He just looks like a sweet lil guy. I still want to adopt him and cook him soup.)

Okay but tell me why I love the dynamics between Nan Feng and Fu Yao? These little bickering cuties. Like get married already. p145

BYE. "Please, your cross-dressing wasn't that terrifying" p146

Human Face Disease :( How'd he get it though? pp146-147

omg. Xie Lian brought the body of Xiao-Ying into the tea shop. This guy is going to owe so much in reparations to the shop owner. p148

Good for Fu Yao for affirming Xie Lian's gender presentation! We love a supportive king! "Was I talking to General Pei Junior in this dress the whole time? Nan Feng, why didn't you remind me?" "Probably because you looked so obviously happy in it," Fu yao replied. p148

Jeeze. This woman is too much. Not Xuan Ji offering the corpses too. I thought this was the work of the Green Ghost but it really was her working for him this round. p152

okay! Butterfly man is Hua Cheng and WTF four calamities??!! p153

oooo! He sounds so dang cool! A ghost- rad. Wraith butterflies; even cooler! Crimson Rain Sought Flower- so hot. p155

Wait! and he is a shapeshifter?? pls the fic potential, I am so stoked! p156

AND he's powerful??? Say less, I'm already rooting for this Chaotic Neutral Icon. pp157-158

HE'S ALSO SMART?? What is this guy's weakness?? p158

Same xie lian! The death butterflies were cute! p161

I hope we see more of the little man

I am so sad Xie Lian couldn't find the Human Face Disease and centuries old (probably) boy. I loved that little guy. He really seems like he's been through it.

BUT ALSO! We have Hua Cheng's name, and some info that may or may not be rumours? I will take it though.

[please-read-the-manga]

I don't mean to upset you, but I assumed you were referring to Itachi Shinden because a lot of the claims you're stating as fact are not directly supported in the OG manga, at least as far as I've seen, and I've been checking repeatedly as I go through this (because there's always new things to learn, for sure, and I'm open to coming across them).

I've been scouring to try and source a few of your thoughts, like Shisui being tasked to spy on Itachi, and that seems to either be tied to a random databook mention (I tried but could not find a link to validate) or it could be implied via the Itachi-Shisui anime filler that I believe is based off of Itachi Shinden. Otherwise, I went through and tried to reread each chapter that mentions Shisui and didn't come across this - it was a quick scan though, so I could have missed it. If you have it, please send it over and I'll save it to one of folders for future reference.

Again, I want to reiterate that I'm a manga reader first and foremost and have only bothered to watch the anime through twice, sans filler (there are a few arcs, however, I'm a bit more familiar with wrt to the anime depiction). I generally revisit the main manga canon once or twice a year whenever I'm fiending for some nostalgia. But as I said, there are always new perspectives to check out and things that can be missed, so no worries on offending me there if that's the case.

I'll start by saying that I'm glad we ultimately agree on the Uchiha being underserving of their fate. It was a gross injustice and it serves as a core, central motivation for Sasuke that I personally care deeply about.

Again, I've never said Itachi is entirely to blame and I'm confused where you're getting that from as I would never imply that Itachi was 'as bad' as Hiruzen or Danzo lol.

The 'true' perpetrators of the UCM are Danzo, the Elders, and largely Hiruzen for his inaction and failed responsibility to do more. If we really want to tally up 'mistakes' that built up the issues within and outside of the clan, we can also call out Tobirama but that's a whole other mega post I don't really have time for right now (maybe one day).

You're correct that Obito engaged in the physical act of the massacre alongside Itachi, I never debated that so I'm just agreeing with you lol. However, I still don't see your arguments for trying to shoulder Fugaku with the same degree of blame as those actually responsible for the genocide (Danzo, the Elders, we can toss Hiruzen in there too). We'll just have to disagree on that interpretation.

This post, again, is not and was never intended to be about Itachi or the 'hate' he receives in comparison to Fugaku - I never wrote about that until it was brought up. I really intended this to just discuss Fugaku and Hashirama lol. I promise to never tag Itachi again if he's not the central character in the post I'm writing haha (I jest).

I can only speak to my own experience and what I see/what partially inspired this are takes that involve Fugaku getting compared to someone like RASA lmao, which is insane to me. Fugaku often gets dropped into these 'Worst Dad' contests alongside characters like Butsama, a grown man that actually hit their child, and I find him being alongside those characters to be a really poor interpretation of who he is. Now I'm sure you may disagree with my take on that and it's all good, man, that's your vibe. I've also seen Fugaku called vulgar words and he's frequently portrayed as the cruel hard-ass boogey-man who refuses to love Sasuke under any circumstance in certain Sasuke fan works. In this, he mostly serves as a device to distance Sasuke from his family which is a wild take to have (to me) as we know that Sasuke loves his family more than anything.

Regarding your take on that scene with Mikoto and implying that she is lying, you're absolutely free to have your own interpretation of it but that's not what I see at all. We're going to fundamentally disagree on that one too, friend.

This, to me, is a knowing smile (Mikoto's) and it comes after Mikoto reaffirms to Sasuke that his father does love him but struggles to show it (re: the 'awkward' descriptor). I use that to interpret that she wasn't lying for Sasuke's sake, that it is true, and here is evidence of Fugaku trying (in his socially awkward way) to faithfully answer Sasuke's question. She is happy here that both Sasuke and Fugaku are trying to grant a little more grace/openness to one another. It's not surprise that Fugaku is actually taking Sasuke's question serious, it's very knowing and in that, I think telling of the truth.

It's implied in the manga that Fugaku's attention turns to Sasuke only when the rift between him and Itachi grows greater. When Sasuke asks his father about Itachi's cagey (from Sasuke's perspective) behavior, I personally see a stressed man who is saddened he cannot connect to his own son as he tries to answer the question. To me, he's at a loss of what to do in the midst of all his overwhelming responsibilities as a Leaf Shinobi, as a clan head, and, importantly, as a father. I'm not offering excuses to Fugaku - a father should, ideally, find a way to connect to their child... but this seems to be a major point of struggle for Fugaku at this stage in the manga. I'm sure we disagree, but that's my take. Nothing here (to me) says 'I'm giving up on my son and throwing him away'.

As for children being seen as adults and being given adult expectations, I already discussed that in the last reply. It's wrong and it's further proof of Konoha's inherent flaws and the greater flaws of the entire shinobi system.

Okay, I'll admit to laughing with friends and (sometimes drunkenly lol) arguing that 'Sasuke did nothing wrong' for fun, but I think most fans are pretty honest about the characters in Naruto and their flaws (at least, I hope so). I'm quite indulgent with Sasuke personally, as he's unashamedly my favorite, but I'd like to think I'm fairly open-minded when it comes to well meaning/intentioned critiques of his actions... unfortunately he often gets unfairly villainized for things he never did/said, which does sound similar to your Itachi experience, maybe. That being said, as someone who frequently engages on Naruto discussions on other forums, I can assure you that Itachi is quite popular to the extent (and this is not tied directly to Itachi as a character or how I view him) you have people writing entire essays trying to excuse genocide in favor of state hegemony that can have harmful implications for the real world when normalized/painted as heroic and 'good'. Oy, but this is not about Itachi OR Sasuke's supporters/haters or whatever lol... keep getting distracted.

I kind of hesitate to mention this because it really strays so far from what this post is actually about, but we agree that Itachi was offered very little choice and he was manipulated by the adults around him to carry out the massacre while being an unwell, child of war that should have never been a child of war in an ideal/better world. That being said, he did make a few choices that no one asked him to make - namely in the way he handled Sasuke. I am critical of those actions, though I always acknowledge what had led Itachi to those conclusions/actions and he does outright reflect that he was wrong to do so (in the end). It doesn't negate the harm caused, but it's important to see these elements in tandem of one another. Yadda, yadda, no character is infallible - I think we've been here on this point already haha.

Re: Coup. Oh, I understand the consequences of a coup, my reason for positing that to you was rather to ask why you seem to believe the Uchiha didn't also consider those factors? I would actually love manga panels here and to see how the clan addressed this in their meetings. None of them are new to war/conflict, especially not Fugaku's generation and older, I'd imagine there were very strong opinions made weighing the pros/cons of such action. It is never one taken lightly, particularly not by an oppressed class, and I think knowing that adds to the gravity of this being framed as (essentially) their last resort. If they are to be discarded by the village (which Danzo was keen to jump on), would they rather go out together, on their own terms, or stolen from their beds under the guise of betrayal from within? We don't know lol, we don't get those insights sadly but I would have loved to read them.

You're still losing me a bit on the argument that Itachi 'had' to torture Sasuke in the way he did. I've heard the argument many times before from Itachi stans/glazers on other forums (not calling you this, that's just how they self-identified) and I personally don't vibe with it. I don't hate the character or anything, but you're losing me when it comes to this. I do not think there is justification for the torture Itachi inflicted upon Sasuke. Was there character motivation? Yes. Was it justified? In my opinion, no... never. To be clear: I'm not saying Itachi's involvement in the massacre was avoidable. I'm not saying Itachi is an inherently bad and evil character. I am saying the torture is something Itachi did of his own free will and I dislike what his actions forced Sasuke to endure. I understand why he did it, no need to belabor this further, but I personally find it wrong much in the same way I believe you likely find Fugaku's actions wrong. It's another impasse, haha.

And finally, we're going to have to agree to disagree again on Hashirama. I really like Hashirama and find him fascinatingly flawed, just like Fugaku (again examining the two of them was the whole point of the post hahaha).

Sorry we couldn't come to more agreements, but we got a few in there. I appreciated looking into your point of view and that you voiced it. It seems like you may have had some bad experiences with poorly intentioned fans in the past, and I'm sorry for that. Just know that I am way too grown to strongly 'hate' a character or anything, I promise. I simply find the analysis relaxing (most of the time lol) and it gives me the chance to dip into an old childhood favorite for a bit. :)

Hm, been contemplating these panels lately and thinking about which character is constantly demonized within the fandom/fan works involving them and which is frequently viewed as the ultimate loving and moral person...

And:

One is a man bearing the supposed 'Curse of Hatred' who loves his children so much that he is continuing to parent and offer unconditional love to his son even after said son has already participated in the brutal state-sanctioned genocide of their people/culture and is about to end his (and his wife's - who, btw, is on the same page as him) life.

The other is a man from the supposed 'Clan of Love' who boldly holds the conviction that he would cease his compassion towards even his own child if they stood against him and his dream (the village), regardless of the fact his dream (the village) is a corruptible entity that does not maintain personhood.

Interestingly, I think there is something to be said for the fact both Fugaku and Hashirama are also shown struggling to understand Itachi and Madara (respectively).

Fugaku is actually quite honest regarding his issues in relating to Itachi and while we're not always privy to all the conversations they've had about the state of the clan/sentiment of the Leaf village towards their people, it's clear that those discussions have been had. While the panels where we do see more explicit conversations taking place show Fugaku reiterating to Itachi that his role in ANBU is to serve as a pipeline between the clan/village (which could be argued as an unfair burden foisted onto a child, in my opinion) there are also moments that indicate Fugaku is willing to defer to Itachi (at least on some topics) when his son offers a contradictory viewpoint (like attendance at Sasuke's entrance ceremony, for example).

Side note... this also reminds me of the very short (unfortunately) interactions we see between Madara and his father, Tajima. Tajima clearly respects his son as well and defers to him when Madara insists that they not fight Hashirama and his family on the river - Tajima accepts this from his son without pause.

Alternatively, we also see Madara trying to explain his perspective to a skeptical Hashirama before he commits to taking more drastic actions. Madara is trying to articulate his frustrations with what is happening in the village/how it is progressing with regards to his clan and (even though we never really get Madara's own unfiltered perspective on this time period) we are shown instances of Madara's grievances holding water (ie. Tobirama advocating for Madara not to be made Hokage, but instead pushing randomly for a democratic system that never seems to actually be cemented or made precedent within the village afterwards but absolutely benefits Hashirama/the Senju in the short-run, Madara 'overhearing' Tobirama's continued bias against the Uchiha in private conversations between the brothers, Hashirama continuing to scold his brother -someone who had ample power within the system of governance since its inception- for his bias against the clan even when they're brought back via the edo tensei, etc). Hashirama tries to (weakly, in my opinion) defend the village status quo/way it is progressing and seems to want to better understand Madara, but isn't willing or is unable to go that extra mile for his friend - and, perhaps in some ways, Madara too was unwilling/unable to articulate himself in a more digestible way once their divergence of opinion on their shared village came to this new crux.

Ultimately, I just find it interesting that Fugaku, this character who is often portrayed by fans as a demon of hatred and cruelty, would (in reality) stand by his son even in his darkest hour, even as he is unjustly slaughtering their family, and continue to reaffirm that he is proud of Itachi/loves him - and this is directly counter to Hashirama who asserts he would absolutely kill anyone (including a child) that stood between him protecting that which he loves the most (the village).

And, of course, we also have this to chew on lol...

Sasuke explaining to edo Hashirama that Itachi inherited his 'Will of Fire' jingoism.

Mandatory disclaimer that Fugaku is not infallible and all the characters here (but Fugaku and Hashirama in particular) are their own people/the circumstances do vary (especially as one relationship is framed in the context of father-son and the other as two friends/peers)... I should also note that I still enjoy Hashirama as a character, I just think his flaws are often under-examined and that the hypocrisy inherent to the 'Will of Fire' philosophy/the Leaf Village (and by extension the shinobi world) is equally neglected especially when it comes to this fandom's love of tearing down the Uchiha to their worst traits/moments. But, man, something about these two panels and character portrayals in particular have just been eating at me the past few days, so I figured I'd try to work out some thoughts on them.

[masterroadtripper]

Con O'Neill as Ralph Stone in Criminal Justice (2008) ↳ Episode 1x01

(Remaining screenshots below cut)

1x02, 1x03, 1x04, 1x05

[bixels]

Be honest, what are your thoughts on appledash? Do you hate it or its more of not a big deal

Not a big deal to me. I like it, I see all the appeals, I just personally like Rarijack more.

[spooky-activity]

Finally warping outta there

First

Previous

Next

[front-facing-pokemon]

[icewindandboringhorror]

A little costume with eyebrow whiskers again.. making their return lol..

[weirfq1]

with all these gaston crackships/rarepairs that are coming out lately it would be so fucking funny if he had a flig with all the main characters (ambar, nina, simon... hell luna too if you want) and they all know it except matteo

[doux-amer]

One thing that has deeply annoyed me about the response from Americans/Westerners about this week's events in Korea is that a lot of them, including people I like and respect, are like, "The protesting civilians and lawmakers who barged into the National Assembly would've been shot if this were the U.S./this would've never happened in the U.S. because people are too afraid of being shot." There's some truth to that, at least with regard to state violence, but I'm fed up because it doesn't account for how frightening this could have turned out to be had it not been for how much of an inept flop dunce Yoon Sukyeol is. It minimizes the courage of those who showed up.

Sure, it was likely that the military and riot police wouldn't have done much (again, YSY's self-coup wasn't thought out well, and there's more evidence of that as military officials and soldiers are speaking up about the lack of information they received, but I'll refrain from talking about that to avoid making this even longer than it inevitably will be, knowing myself), but let's not pretend there haven't been issues with them in recent years. They pepper sprayed and used water cannons during an anniversary rally for the Sewol ferry victims (x) (x) (if you don't understand how unbelievably cruel that is, look into the horrific Sewol ferry sinking). They tear gassed crowds (Korea has a gruesome history of this) and sprayed water cannons, and citizens have been injured and killed during the 2015 protests and 2016-17 Park Geunhye impeachment protests, notably Baek Namgi, an elderly activist whose death caused global outrage (x) (x). Park Geunhye was going to enforce martial law during those protests according to a leaked document, with hundreds of tanks, thousands of soldiers and special force troops! (x)

Not to mention, there are decades of extreme state violence that have scarred an entire country and are still super fresh for a huge percentage of the population. Again, check out that tear gas history piece. Look up the April Revolution, Gwangju massacre, and June uprising and see just how bloody they were. Thousands of civilians were tortured and killed. Look at how many protests were going on year after year during the 1980s. That isn't that long ago! All those older people who ran to the National Assembly to stop the coup? You bet a lot of them were college students who protested during that time or knew people who did. All the younger people? They may not have experienced what it was like living under martial law, but as I said, state violence still occurs, however much it's dwindled over the years, and you have to account for generational trauma. I don't think I'll ever forget the way I felt when I saw the breaking news alert about the martial law declaration on December 3. I've never experienced that, at least to that degree.

Instead of viewing the response from civilians and elected officials through the framework of police brutality in the U.S., it should be contextualized using Korea's own history. Thankfully most of the serious discussions are doing this, but like I said, even people who are smart about reading up on things have reflected on how this wouldn't fly in the U.S., not because of the difference in protest history, civil movements, and public engagement with both in the two countries but because of the military/police response. There's an insinuation there that Koreans would be more reluctant to do what they did if they knew what it's like to live in fear of violence instead of living in such a safe country like Korea...and I want to yell.

It was monumentally brave of everyone to do what they did to stop the coup. We're all laughing at how stupid the coup was and there's a reason why people were more furious than scared because of the political history of Korea and the laws set in place to protect the democracy and neutralize coup attempts, but this could have easily become a disaster. It's not alarmist of me to say so because there was no way for anyone to be 100% sure of how the military would react—especially when no one knew what the hell was going on.

[bakafurai]

yeah that's fine I didn't need my heart anyways

[in-tua-deep]

asleep me has just decided to start world building i guess

Imagine: you are a misfit teenage boy, a con artist. You have a best friend - or maybe a brother? You two are as close as family regardless. You're in a refugee camp when you pull a con - you pass your best friend off as the newly orphaned son of a noble or something. It's just a ploy - to give him an in with the other wealthy kids so you can steal.

Except… he doesn't really give it up? You ask a couple of times when you're leaving, but Will, your best friend, keeps putting it off. He's fallen in with a new crowd. One that respects him, elevates him. And those new friends? Well, they don't exactly like you.

Will starts sending you off on errands when he's with his friends. You go easily, because you want to be helpful, and you ignore the hushed laughter of his shiny new friends. You go on your fake little missions designed to get rid of you.

That's how you meet the Goddess.

Imagine a clearing, golden light, and a beautiful woman who calls you a trickster and says you are destined to be enemies. Imagine freeing the three chained sun gods by accident. (By fate?) Except you tell the goddess that you don’t believe in fate, and what if you become friends instead?

(You offer to steal her, and she agrees - a fine trick indeed, wouldn't you say?)

After this instance you find something out. You can use magic now? But also it seems like you have been cursed as well - you can’t die. Fate rearranges itself every time. A shield moves to a position it wasn’t in before. A sword misses its mark. You are Loved By Fate and it is an Issue.

Time passes and your best friend grows - and you have to use magic to grow with him. He’s a king now. You love him - he’s still your brother - but his smile is more and more strained every time he sees you.

Your goddess takes many forms travelling with you. Sometimes she is a woman, sometimes she is golden magic inside of a pouch. Sometimes she is a child and travels with you, and somehow you get separated with her like that. The king finds her, and immediately is taken with her. He decides to try and find a family for this child who is shy of everyone, and offers for any individual to come and try their luck to see if the child will take to them

You are the last person to try, not because you don't think your goddess will choose you, but because you are worried even if she does the king will not let her go

The king's friends stop you. You know their faces - they are the same bullies they have always been. They accuse you of being cursed because you never die no matter how many dangerous missions the king sends you on. The suicide missions.

They attack you, and they might be cruel but they aren’t stupid. Their ringleader realizes that it must be magic shifting his shield to protect you from the lethal blows.

(You can see every lethal blow that doesn’t land play through your head. The worlds that did not come to pass. You don’t tell them the number of times they murdered you in this fight. It wouldn’t change anything.)

You manage to escape and run up to the king’s room. Using fate’s magic so much has stripped you away of other magics - you look young again. Awkward and gangly with no facial hair (the way you always have since meeting a goddess and becoming something more than human)

He’s in there with an elven woman, a noble of some kind who is wise and anyone with eyes can see the king is in love with her. (You can see in her eyes that she does not love him back, not in that way.)

The king, after some debate, decides to let you try

(He doesn’t comment on your appearance - maybe he just thinks you have a baby face without your beard. Maybe the way he avoids looking you in the eyes means he doesn’t even notice.)

You reunite, and it is beautiful - your goddess surges forward into your arms and kisses you, and you feel fates magic coursing through you and soothing over the exhaustion from the fight.

But the king doesn’t see a goddess and he doesn’t see the magic - he sees a child and he draws his sword. He says many things - that he didn’t expect you to stoop this low. That he once called you his friend.

(How long has it been since that felt genuine?)

Something goes cold in you and enough is enough. Your goddess’s magic courses through you, and you will not be separated again. You use magic to blast them back, use magic to stun them, and use magic to make you and your goddess into a rat that scurries away into the walls

The magic is powerful enough that a cascade of golden chains has manifested down the wall of the room, branching downward like a geometric tree and each one tipped with an amulet with a large inset ruby

The king and the noble awaken, and the king is furious. But the elven woman looks like all her questions have been answered

She talks about how there haven’t been terrible fires throughout the lands, despite all signs pointing to the fact that the sun gods have been unchained

She names you - trickster, calamity

In mythology apparently you are symbolized by a massive golden peacock, each "feather" in your tail with ruby-gem eyes like the chains on the wall

You are named such because you are the only creature capable of going against fate and changing it

(your train of feathers is instead a train of chains - all the fates that you have broken)

(It should make you enemies with your goddess, but you decided in that clearing twenty years ago that you were friends instead)

Apparently on your suicide missions, you have been helping. Wherever you could, you changed the fate of entire cities and towns and prevented the wildfires of the Sun gods from ravaging the kingdom

The elven woman opens a portrait that has a nook behind it. You are sitting there - well, not you exactly. But a copy of you. You are a trickster and love mischief, and you love secret spaces and those who choose to look in them. That’s enough for a part of you to be present, looking sixteen and glowing with golden light

She speaks in the ancient language to you - and you speak it back without thinking. You tell her she’s just as hot as Will with a wink and it makes her laugh. Will cannot understand what you are saying, but you don’t care right now. He’s your best friend, but you aren’t his, and it hurts

He calls you immature, and the elven woman says you’re only sixteen. He snaps back that you are a thirty-six year old man. She shakes her head, and says that you haven’t been since you Awakened. Gods are different, after all

(Maybe it was the differences that drove you apart? Maybe it’s your fault? But if that is the truth then why was there already so much distance between you? You do not ask your goddess if there was a path where you still would have been close.)

You don’t feel like a god, you feel like a person who is just trying their best. You feel tired. You feel sad. Maybe that’s why you are the one who bends fate - you’re the only one that cares enough to try.

Anyway that’s when I woke up but I like my trickster - important to note that he is a redhead with a bit of a baby face