#cause that's been my one main complaint up to this point: it's just a little TOO glossy

[actualhumansunshine]

have you seen that niall and ben chappell, creative director of several arctic monkey music videos, are now following each other on ig? i’m very curious what this might mean for the creative direction of nh3

oh????? that's VERY interesting and i hope that lofi-esque vibe he's got going on in a lot of his work is at least a little bit indicative of the vibe 👀

[slasherstories123]

Since you don't have any Art the Clown requests made, I'll be the first to ask for it, even if I don't know entirely about him.

So how about when an S/O laughs at everything he does to make her laugh, like honking his horn every time the person tries to make a complaint with him. (Like at the diner when he's not behaving like he should)

Perhaps the first meeting when an S/O's friend thinks he's creepy or weird, but she admits that he's kind of cute. <3

Something like that. What ever you like, however you like. If NSFW style, have a go. (even though my request is more SFW) :)

Spider Ring

Summary: You and your friend go to a restaurant and Art gives you a spider ring

Word Count: 1.1k

A/N: Let me know if you want to be tagged when I make art the clown fics.

Tagslist: @turdmongler @l0sercat

It was the night of Halloween and your friend, Melony, thought it would be a good idea to go to a Halloween party, it was fun at first but it got too chaotic and you wanted to leave. You were dressed up as a jester, but the main colors were red and black, you didn't do much makeup besides eyeliner. Melony was dressed up as a black cat. Melony whined as they were leaving the party, not wanting to leave but she had to since you were the one that drove to the party, you didn't want to do anything but watch tv and stuff your mouth with chocolate but Melony practically begged for you to come with her.

“Y/N, why are we leavinggggg, the party just started!” Melony whined, being dragged by you.

“Because,” You replied. “We’ve been in there for two hours, and I have a feeling list of those people are gonna do something they’ll regret and it'll get us all in trouble, so I'm dipping, and because I'm the one who has to take you home, you’re coming with me.”

Melony groaned in response, crossing her arms over her chest like a five-year-old who got told that they couldn't get candy at the store. You rolled your eyes before driving away, getting hungry. There was a pizza place still open, you then pulled into the parking lot. Once Melony stepped out, she screamed, causing you to flinch and look up. “What? Did a spider crawl on you or something?” She pointed at the space by the pizza shop. You looked at her with a frown. “There’s no one there, did you drink too much Mel?” She kept looking at you and then at the space. Sighing to herself, she went in without waiting for you.

“I’ll take that as a yes…” You followed her inside, ordering the pizza for both of you. Melony kept ranting about some cute guy she saw at the party, then saw another one that she thought that you could hook up with. You scrunched your face in disgust. Wondering why she’d say that but remembered that she was drunk, she was bound to spit out some random none sense in the state she was in.

“What? Are you insane? I’m not just gonna hook up with a guy from a party.”

“Y/N, you barely talk to anyone else but me, and your boss whenever you’re needed for work. What you need is a boyfriend.”

“Coming from the same person who doesn’t even have one.”

“I have my experiences!”

“Last I checked didn’t they-”

“Zip it!”

You chuckled at her outburst, knowing that what you were about to say next would’ve left her embarrassed. The door opened, a clown sat in one of the booths across from you and Melony with a trash bag. He had black and white makeup with a tiny black hat on the side of his head. You could see Melony shift in her seat uncomfortably. She then whispered something, causing you to lean in close to the table. “Say that again,” Melony whispered a little louder. “That’s the clown I saw outside, he gives me the creeps.” You raised an eyebrow.

“There were a whole bunch of clowns at the party, the guy you were talking to was a clown, heck I’m close to being a clown, and I dressed up as a full horror clown last year, you’re telling me you’re scared of a clown sitting in this pizza place right now?” Melony let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s not the same, he just gives me a weird… feeling.”

You both could feel the clown's intense stare. You were confused, it felt like you were getting a look from a disappointed father. You could tell that Melony didn’t like it and wanted to leave. The waiter kept trying to get his attention toon but he didn’t respond nor move. Just…staring at you both intensely. The waiter gave up and went back to the kitchen.

You looked over at him, the clown gave you a smile with a slow wave. You waved back with a smile too. Melony didn’t believe you, you’re seriously gonna wave to that clown? You noticed her disappointing gaze. “What? He’s not harming anyone, plus he’s kinda cute.” Melony slammed her face into the table. “You call that thing cute?! That’s probably a fifty-year-old man in disguise!” The clown had a horn and squeezed the button at her comment. It made you snicker. Melony opened her mouth again, the squeak of the horn stopped her sentence. Causing you to laugh. “Knock it off will ya?!” Another honk.

The clown then walked over to your table, honking the horn which made you laugh even harder. He then tapped your shoulder, you looked up. He had a rubber duck. Squeezing it so it could make a quacking sound before placing it in front of Melony who was still skeptical about him being near her. You didn’t mind it, not one but. You needed to laugh after that lame party anyways. The clown then placed out his balled-up gloves fist towards you, you tilted your head in confusion before tapping it. He opened it, revealing a spider ring. You smiled as he put the ring on your finger.

The clown bows dramatically before going to the bathroom. The waiter then gave you both your slices of pizza, apologizing for the clown's behavior, saying that they’ll deal with him.

“Well, that went well.”

“You think?! What the heck am I gonna do with a rubber ducky?!”

“Uh hello? Take a bath with it?” “What am I? Three?”

“You do act like a three-year-old…”

Melony took a bite out of her pizza, stopping herself from saying anything else. You paid for both of your foods, as you were about to get up, one of the employees pushed the clown out of the restaurant, cussing him out and throwing the trash bag at his face. The clown let out a huff before throwing it over his back, he waved at you one last time before walking away. Melony let out a sigh of relief, but you frowned. Leaving the restaurant, you took Melony home, but always wondered what did he do to get himself kicked out. He made you laugh and you felt oddly comfortable around him.

He even gave her a spider ring, you found of sweet of him to do. You looked down at the spider ring, promising yourself to keep it and cherish it. Hopefully, you’ll see that clown again.

[markantonys]

I'm curious how the show is gonna handle Rand's relationship with the Aiel. It should be very interesting. Bookwise he kinda rejects their culture/seeing himself as Aiel cause of him clinging to his old life. They might just frame it differently, maybe he just doesn't feel a right to it cause he wasn't raised Aiel. Overall it seems like the show might be going in the direction of people in general being more receptive to learning about Aiel culture over them just handwaving them away as weird (like Perrin's interactions with Avi when book Perrin wouldn't have done that). Maybe Rand is more willing to learn cause he wants to learn more about his birth parents

yeah i don't know what to expect in this regard! my only particular annoyance with aiel-culture-related stuff in the books is that the books would introduce something as culturally or thematically important, but then shuffle it aside once it became inconvenient to the plot. i.e:

the aiel are introduced as very anxious to tie rand to them so that he doesn't destroy them. but when later plot prevents rand from having aiel hanging around him, they stop hanging around him and aren't overly concerned about him ignoring them (bar complaints here and there, with little attempt to actually Do Anything to make him stop ignoring them).

avirand's relationship is introduced as a crucial binding cord between rand and the aiel and as significant to general aiel-wetland relations, but this is dropped once later plot prevents them from spending time together, and aviendha is never used as a mediator in rand-aiel conflicts when by all logic she should be since that was one of the main narrative purposes of their relationship upon introduction.

the maidens & wise ones are so concerned about keeping avirand together for binding cord reasons that they chase off any wetlander woman who tries to hit on him, but once RJ decided that a) he wanted min to hook up with rand without being obstructed by the aiel surrounding him and b) there would be no opportunity for her to become first-sisters with aviendha before doing so, then suddenly the maidens & wise ones are all about min and becoming top min/rand shippers and aviendha is saying it's totally fine to make an exception to the first-sister rule for min even though she is very adamant about upholding it for elayne. when by all logic, the maidens & wise ones should NOT be happy about another wetlander woman with no connection to aviendha trying to get with rand (they'd have no reason to think min is any different from isendre, cairhienin nobles, etc in this regard) and aviendha should be much more resistant to making exceptions to rules we've been told are hugely culturally significant to her.

so my one wish for all aiel-culture-related stuff in the show is that if the show introduces something as culturally or thematically important, it should commit to that importance for the rest of the series rather than sweeping it aside once it's no longer convenient to the plot. that doesn't mean rand/wetlander-aiel relations needs to be a major theme or plot point of every single season for the rest of the show, because ofc it should naturally fade more into the background as the story goes on and other things come up, but it's gotta be either a) rand is tied securely enough to the aiel by the time he has to go off and do other stuff that it makes sense they're not concerned about things like him ditching them and getting a new wetlander girlfriend, or b) if he's not tied securely enough, then make the aiel react accordingly and actually try to use aviendha to intervene with him on their behalf.

hopefully this ramble makes sense djkjfg and it didn't even end up having much to do with rand's personal attitudes towards aiel culture, so i got off topic a bit! but for me, i am good with whatever show!rand's personal attitude ends up being as long as things remain emotionally consistent throughout the course of the show.

[hellomynameisghostface]

I never understood why people hate on Amber and Richie's motive when it's far from the worst in the franchise, in my opinion. So here's a little rant of my opinions on all Ghostface motives. Billy Loomis: his motive literally makes no sense to me but because he's one of the original Ghostfaces, everyone puts him on a pedestal. He kills Maureen because she's sleeping with his father, Hank, causing his mother, Nancy, to leave them. Makes sense, he could have stopped there. Instead he targets Sidney for literally nothing. Just simply because she's the daughter of the woman who broke up his family. It would have made more sense to go after Sidney while Maureen was still alive to make her suffer before killing her. Therefore, making his motive one of the dumbest in the franchise for me.

Stu Macher: his motive is simple yet affective; he has none, or at least as far as we know. Most real life murderers probably don't have much of a motive either so while it's realistic it's not exactly the most creative motive but really, how creative can you really get? There's only so many reasons to want to kill someone especially when the main target is the same unproblematic person just trying to live her life in peace.

Mickey Altieri: I love Mickey but he has one of the dumbest motives in the franchise and no one says shit. He literally just wants to get caught and blame the movies. Nancy did the right thing shooting him.

Nancy Loomis: one of the better motives, as Nancy herself says, good old fashion revenge. It's the first time in the franchise that the motive is revenge (no, I don't count Billy's motive as revenge. Maybe when it came to Maureen but not Sidney) so it's a fresh motive in these movies.

Roman Bridger: another motive I particularly like. I think of his motive less revenge and more resentment. No motive is good enough to kill but his is one of the ones where you could understand how someone who's mentally unstable could snap. Being abandoned by your mother just for her to have another child she loves and cares for and then turns you away once you try to reunite with her? I'd be upset too. I mean...not enough to kill but you get my point.

Charlie Walker: another dumb motive that no one talks about. As a matter of fact, does he even have one? We know he's a "Stab" fanatic and a simp for Jill so what I get from this is he was easy to persuade because he was already a fan of the movies and a horny teenage boy. I don't think he could've given a fuck less if he got famous from it.

Jill Roberts: her motive is one of the best and aged like fine wine. In the world we live in today, some people would quite literally kill to be famous. I know some people have complaints about it but it's really not that farfetched, people are mad crazy these days and kill for the stupidest reasons.

Amber Freeman: like Charlie, I don't know if we really get a motive for Amber. Richie seems so much more passionate about the "Stab" movies and their killing spree becoming a movie then she does (he literally doesn't shut up about it and barely lets Amber give her motive or intentions.) What I got from watching the movie was that Amber was a fan of horror movies in general (she very clearly likes "Psycho," "Halloween" and "Friday The 13th") but she claims she's been obsessed ever since her parents bought Stu Macher's house, where the first murder spree took place, implying she didn't care as much before moving in. She also says her and Richie had similar ideas, not the same. I think her motive was more like Stu's and was to just kill for the fun of it. If her and Richie's motives were in fact the same, it's still a decent motive and original compared to the Ghostfaces before. If her motive was similar to Stu's, it's still a decent motive just unoriginal.

Richie Kirsch: his motive is a lot more crystal clear than Amber's. As I already mentioned above, he doesn't shut up about it. He hated the recent "Stab" movie and thought creating a new killing spree would provide new source material to make a better movie than the last. Considering how upset people in the "Scream" fandom got about this movie (and how other fandoms get with their respective franchises) just proves that his motive isn't that dumb. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if something like this happened in real life, especially when you take into consideration that these movies inspired real life murders already.

Jason Carvey: his motive wasn't great but it wasn't terrible. He was just another fanatic (which is repetitive of the last movie) wanting to continue "Richie's film" (fuck Amber, I guess...I hate how this movie down played her when she carried Richie) but since he was an opening kill, his motive probably wasn't meant to be all that great. Had he gotten further with his plan though, I wouldn't have hated it. PS: if you were expecting a Greg Bruckner paragraph, sorry but his bitch ass was killed before the plan was meant to be put into motion so therefore, he wasn't officially a Ghostface in my eyes. His motive would have been the same as Jason's anyway, as far as we know.

Wayne Bailey, Ethan Landry and Quinn Bailey: I'm going to include them all in one paragraph since their motives are all the same: good old fashion revenge. As Richie's father, brother and sister their only goal was to seek revenge on anyone who was involved in Richie's death. Nothing suggests that any of them had any additional motives. The motive itself is fine, I literally mentioned it was one of the better ones in my Nancy paragraph. The only problem I have with it is now it's become repetitive and unoriginal. It's basically just a knockoff of "Scream 2" with an extra killer. From my point of view, it's the only movie that straight up reuses a motive. To summarize: pansy ass mama's boy who's sad she abandoned him, psycho who was peer pressured, psycho who wants to get caught and taken to trial, mother seeking revenge, son who was abandoned by his mother and has resentment against his sister, simp horror fan, psycho who wants fame, horror fans who want a better installment in their favorite franchise, horror fans who want to continue the last Ghostfaces plans for a better installment in their favorite franchise and a family seeking revenge; notice how only one of these are almost exactly the same to another. (I guess Billy and Roman's could be categized as similar, being abandoned by their mothers, but they're different enough for me and Roman's motive was better and made more sense. Amber and Richie have the same or at least similar motive but because their partners in the same movie I'll allow it. Jason and Gregg's motive was meant to continue what Amber and Richie sought out to do but they were opening kills so their motive was kind of a throwaway and irrelevant anyway.)

[super-hero-confessions]

The fact that there are people not willing to understand the political commentary being made with The Boys is not only mind boggling, it irks and disturbs me. I am begging people to please try to understand and stop being so childish about what they don't or maybe even look at the world around them to see why what's being presented might be more relevant than they realize.

1. The show and comic are satire. They make political commentary in often the most crude way it can be presented whether you like it not. It's fine if you don't like satire or political commentary but don't sit there and complain about it when you knew what you were getting into before it got this far. Nothing about that has changed. If you are someone who unironically takes satire seriously at face value rather than trying to listen to the message? I can't help you, sorry.

2. If I see one more complaint about Homelander not being killed in Season 3, I'm going to lose my mind. There were thousands of people in Vought tower. Thousands. Including Ryan, Becca's son. If you're someone who thinks all of those people should be sacrificed so the "goal" of killing Homelander can be accomplished? Congratulations, you think exactly like a war criminal. Fuck the "fuck Ryan" crowd.

3. Homelander's not just played by the best actor or is the biggest draw of the show, killing him off is so shortsighted. Not just because losing him would ruin the show. There will always be more "Homelander"s as long as the root causes creating them are allowed to fester and continue to exist. If you think killing Homelander will solve all of their problems and everything will be 🌈✨🌅☀️🦄🦋🌈💖🧈🪰🌈 if or when they do this, you are missing the point of this entire series. They are literally using Ryan to exemplify this.

4. The fandom misogyny against Starlight is so transparent. She's not without faults, but she is the least "traditionally masculine" woman on this show and I think that says enough. Her goal is to neutralize and damage the credibility of Homelander without pushing him directly over the edge because she doesn't want millions of people to die at the expense of "scorched earf" like William Butcher. She's quick thinking and does what she needs to in order to survive in a moment and try to protect people, but in case people forgot? She's following Hughie. Hughie is the one who gave that speech about saving everyone, even if they don't deserve it, especially if they don't deserve it. He is the guy asking why violence is their solution for everything and he has always been that guy. Why are people blaming Annie for Hughie doing what he does best and being an actual good guy that promotes goodness in the people around him? If you're going to be mad, at least be consistent. If you don't like moral lessons or questions being presented to you through media, I don't think the superhero genre is for you.

5. William Butcher is not the hero of this story. He never was and never will be. He does not have good intentions, and he never has had them. This isn't even a case of "the road to hell" or misguided pursuit. He knows what he does is wrong and does it anyway and makes this very clear on multiple occasions. This has always been the case. The guy literally "fridges" his own wife and people are actually surprised he would cheat on her? He is on an adjacent boat to Homelander as far as severely mentally ill men in dire need of help go, the main difference being that Homelander has little to no understanding of how his actions are "wrong". Butcher may actually be worse off than Homelander as when you look at their issues, at least in some ways, he's more like an evolved state of Homelander or the "next stage" of depravity. That is why he's been building Homelander up to his level so they can fight. To say either of these men are beyond saving is deeply hypocritical and commits the exact same moral failing that William Butcher is practicing. Hughie is the real hero, die mad about it.

6. This show is reflecting the current political climate and pointing out the faults of both "sides". You can't dehumanize another without first dehumanizing yourself. If you know anything about America or even the world, you'd know that some people are being forced to live in these sorts of environments. We literally have a real threat looming over us. White nationalists want to take over the country and implement a conservative hellhole dictatorship. They have a whole balls to the wall plan for this! I want to throttle half of this fandom for being so stuck in their own privilege that they won't take a second or two to think about the people who can't afford to not live through this.

I live in constant fear of what could happen to me and my family. I don't get the option to tune it out or pretend it doesn't exist. I live in a red state. I don't have the money to move. I'm pretty much everything the modern Nazi despises.

And yet, there are people in this fandom complaining about political commentary that is directly reflecting our current society, parodying and satirizing it to try and put forth an extremely important message before it's too late.?

I need people to understand this. Not want, need. My life is literally dependent on whether or not people will understand these things before it's too late because of where this country is headed. I wish I could say it wasn't that big of a deal but I can't. I can't because I don't get the privilege of living in the part of the world where it wouldn't be. Please, I am begging, begging people to take a moment to please look in a mirror, self reflect, and consider "why". Consider whether or not you might be part of the problem because we all have our bad takes, bad days, lapses in judgement. No one is perfect and that's okay. We live and we learn. Lighten up on the faults of others, lighten up on your own faults.

I really like learning so I really would love the opportunity to keep living so I can do that, but I'm scared out of my mind. I'm terrified and it's not just for me. Please, please, I need people to understand.

7. The Trump stuff is funny. It is! Donald Trump is funny if you don't think about the inherent dread of him having political power. I would love to be able to laugh and cringe at him flailing and failing and being ridiculous without that looming threat of the damage he could do on the world. I would love more specials from John Oliver with the breath of relief that Trump won't ever be given political power again. That's where the Homelander Trump metaphor comes in. That's what Homelander is supposed to give us, a way to rehumanize Trump but also reiterate why he should not be given political power. If you're bothered by it then again, this is satire. Satire is not made to be taken so seriously in that way and you will be much happier when you stop doing that.

Please. Please. Please, please, please, please, please. Please vote. If Trump gets elected again, I may actually die and it may not even be from conservative witch hunting.

I fell severely ill back in 2016 when Trump was elected. I broke out in hives the day he was inaugurated. The entire time he was elected, my health continued on a steady decline and I am still trying to recover. I'm not joking. I know how it sounds but I am not kidding at all. I don't know if it was an allergy or what but I have no idea how my body will react if he is elected again but whatever it is, I don't want it to happen.

I just want to be able to enjoy my favorite shows and or comics and live my life. I want other people to be able to do this too, but that can't happen if we keep rejecting every prompt we're given to self reflect.

You're human. So is everyone else around you. Please don't ever forget that.

[blackbutlerfandomnerddomain]

I watched Rise of red and have some complaints/thoughts:

Some of the songs were good, but the soundtrack wasn't as good as the others in my opinion.

LOVE the outfits, hints and the heart card skirt is fucking adorable!

Chloe and Red and fucking enemies to friends to lover lesbians I HOPE cause I will scream if Disney doesn't do that

I feel like the setting of the time travel is weird. Like, they go back in time when the adults are teens, but they're all in high school??? In a world I thought we at most confirmed to be mostly canon in animated movie timelines????? I mean, the villains who died in their movies are brought back to be banished with no magic on the Isle, so like...why???

Also, it adds a bit more levels of fucked up with the idea Belle and Beast are SOMEWHERE in the past and maybe grew up with everyone and then somewhere along the way when a new country/era was made with them being the rulers but basically shoved a lot of their old classmates onto a literal island with no magic cause "living with no magic is a fate worst than death".

All in all, it's a good movie. Did it have to been promoted in trailers and ads with Uma, implying she's a main focus, when they could've done either just the film as a fun in universe movie with the same plot of maybe a lil' book series that plays with the lore? I'm more upset with the fact we didn't get the original casts much and when we did it was very slim even though their faces were all over this project.

If I had to do a rating system of all the movies counting the Royal Wedding with ten being the highest and bestest film ever, I'll say:

Descendants - 8/10. Great story idea, soundtrack always slaps even if you were like me at the time and heard it like a million times if you live/work with children, and all the characters have changed a bit throughout the movie!

Descendants 2 - 9/10 Same for the first one, great plot. It's a good sequel. It gave me one of my favorite plot tropes of identity crisis and being comfortable in your own skin in Mal, the songs are so good to the point I still add What's My Name in my playlist, the costumes (minus Mal's wig but it gets a pass) are amazing as fuck, Uma and her crew are just *chef's kiss* Also this movie was just a lot of bi/pan energy and you can't convince me other wise! China was one of my earliest girl crushes and of course she's an amazing character, Harry Hook made me physically stop at my tracks when I first watched the movie, the kind of funny tension between any guy with Harry or any girl with Mal and of course THIS THING-

LIKE DISNEY, I SWEAR YOU DID A FIGHTING VERSION OF THIS IN RISE OF RED, IF YOU PULL THE "oh they're just good friends" LIE ON ME AGAIN I WILL BE PISSED!!

Descendants 3 - 6/10 It's not bad but it's just not as good as the others, ya know? Some of the costumes were weird, what was Doug's hair????, Jane and Carlos are just the fucking CUTESTS ever, while I was upset the songs didn't stick as hard, I do love Queen of Mean and Do What You Had To Do, the plot was sadly not a good one to follow even though there were so many things that were a good idea. Alas, so many good ideas yet so little time. But I think it has a higher ranking in my heart simply because this one was the main one that started my Disney Villain Recruiters Descendants AU that I still love so much

Speaking of which, I think since I wrote the one with Dalmatia not that long ago I'll try and see what I can do with the AU with all the movies, not just Rise of Red. I already have an idea of Jack Heart in this world since watching it, I still have drafts of certain events such as Apple seeing Snow again, I also think I need to cause I found out Harry and Audrey, a ship I grew to love over time since first watching it (Literally I was very into Harry and Uma and was at first annoyed when they baited and switched me in the end but I LOVE these two more!!!), are apparently not together in this! Now this is rumors I think but like I think someone confirmed she's engaged or married to a prince and Harry is sailing with his own crew.

DISNEY!!!

ANYWAYS!

I'll see what I'll be doing! I'm a little curious what they'll do from here is they do anything even if I personally didn't like it. Maybe we'll see the bad choices of the time traveling? I would like an idea of what if Red's mum wasn't evil then her and her dad may or not met, since in the original Disney Alice In Wonderland our lil king LOVES his wife even when she's scary! I personally think that would be a fun idea. And I seriously can't be the ONLY ONE who thought we were gonna have some big reveal that Cinderella was mean or ghosted to Bridget (love the pun name btw, good job Disney) in the past. Cause like her rage was a lot more than just they were friends when a prank happened and suddenly she's evil now. Like I was expecting a reveal like Cinderella went to the party and either knowingly knew but didn't stop the prank or unknowingly helped. Or maybe even had them be friends but she left Bridget alone/didn't stop the bullying in a kind of early Amity and Willow situation from Owl House with maybe Tremaine doing something to cause that to happen like a rumor Bridget is a bad influence, that could give her a edge as an adult of "you want mad, I'll give you mad" kind of scene.

Also the timeline of the film is a little weird minus the whole high school thing. They did a throwaway line of Chad being in collage which made me pump the breaks a bit. I assumed first Descendants they're all 14-16 years old, Descendants 2 takes place a year or so later, and Descendants 3 taking place another year or two depending on how I viewed the timeline of the Wicked World show with everyone being graduated and doing their parts in society and helping the school cause more kids from the Isle are added in, ending the series with the cast being mostly 18-19 years old at least with maybe Carlos and Jane being 17 since they may be younger in the cast. Yet with this line implies to me Mal and Ben got married right after graduating from school, and while we don't know what was happening during the moment of the wedding and the other movies, Uma being in charge would be rushed and sudden for everyone even herself since she should be the same age as the two who got married not that long ago. Also adds a interesting question of when did Carlos die within the timeline? Cause now I'm scared we got that cute moment with him and Jane having their ship name necklace and just all that sappy sappy cuteness and just afterwards Carlos died off screen before Royal Wedding which I'm guessing takes places the same year at least since everyone's designs imply so with hair and wardrobe.

I literally just wrote a fic of Dalmatia grieving Carlos on the same night of the wedding and I wasn't thinking much on timeline until NOW!

Ideas I have before I leave:

Instead of going back in time in the time your parent(s) are in highschool, I would've liked if it was before the Isle was locked away, like starting off. We could have an excuse to see younger casts of the Villain Kids and maybe even get more hints of who the other parents are, maybe even reveal some kids from the books even if it's a cameo in the back.

Have Red be more conflicted of how she rules. Her being scared to be like her mum is great, and her being a rebel is amazing, maybe show her be a great ruler in the rebellion and have a scene afterwards of her complaining about being a ruler. I would write her with that fear with maybe her seeing throughout the story that maybe there's a reason her mum was a little mad.

Have Chloe's struggle of what to do and break out her shell a bit more and not rushed??

Maybe do a reveal of Bridget being the Queen of Hearts later if you want to do that. Like, have a character fans assume is her and then like a saying happens and we get that plot twist.

That's all for now, I'd like to hear other's thoughts and ideas tho!

[evalevaeva]

manga | fuma

It wasn't strange to see good-looking customers from time to time at the book stord you worked at. They'd come in and you'd feel your breath be taken away like all the main characters in the shelves of mangas you arranged, then they'd come to the cashier and pay for their manga and you'd never see them again.

That was the usual storyline of your day to day life in that store at the corner, but somehow that day felt different. From waking up before the alarm rang to getting a free hotteok from the aunty at the corner store, everything was going well.

You placed your bag on the floor behind the register as you stretched your arms, cracking your shoulders as you got ready to tackle the overwhelming amount of books that were jumbled up due to the new stocks from the previous day.

You flipped the sign on the glass door at the front as you walked to the first wall of books. It wasn't a hard job, and it paid well, so you barely had any complaints, other than when teenagers would come in and make a bunch of noise before leaving without buying anything, that got on your nerves a little, especially if they began talking to you.

"Three sets of Ouran High School Host Club, nice," You couldn't help but talk to yourself as you chuckled silently, ticking off the title off the little piece of paper in your hand.

You turned to walk to the back area where all the manga were stored but was given the shock of your life as you saw a tall man sitting on the floor with a manga in his hand. His black hair seemed silky smooth and his blazer perfectly matched his youthful looks. He didn't look older than you but definitely wasn't younger than you.

"Hello! Would you like any help?" You asked as you nervously watched the ethereal being before you. The man looked up in surprise as his eyes widened. He stood up quickly and dusted off his pants as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Ah, no. I was just looking around and found this particular series quite interesting," The man said as he closed the manga and showed you the cover.

"Decelis Academy! That's a very popular series right now! Even I'm a big fan, who's your favourite character?" You asked as the both of you seemed to ease into the conversation.

"Heli, but I'm not really getting where this story is supposed to be heading, I mean... a burning house and suddenly it's Sooha's fault? And Isn't it obvious that Heli is a vampire?" The man responded as you couldn't help but agree with such enthusiasm that no one could argue against you.

"You get my point! Everyone in the story acts like they have no common sense and no sense of awareness!" You agreed as the man laughed as he placed the manga back on the shelf. He checked the silver watch on his wrist as he waved at you, "It's been really nice talking to you, I'll be back tomorrow so I hope you'll be working,".

For the first time in your career working there, you weren't mad that a customer didn't buy the product they were looking at.

The next day was so surprise to you as you saw the same man, at the same exact spot he was at the day before and soon it became a cycle. Every day, you'd see him there, and you would both talk about the different mangas that you've read and how the storylines and the characters are well written or deserve to be burnt.

You placed the last book on the shelf. The both of you hadn't spoken but the silence was comforting. The man was reading a new story as he suddenly lifted his head and his eyes were set on you, watching as you hummed to yourself, checking the list every once in a while as you slid the books on the right shelves.

"Who are the idiots that placed this stack up here? Do I look like I'm tall enough for this?," You grumbled to yourself as you saw a stack of books on the highest shelf, most probably the work of a bunch of teenagers that had come in simply to cause a nuisance.

You extended your arm, on your tippy toes, as you grabbed the closest book you could get, and before you knew it, the stack was about to come crashing down on you.

The man's eyes widened as you closed your eyes, bracing the impact of the hard covered books, but it never came. The man shielded you with his body as the books came crashing down on his back, hitting it as they dropped to the floor. The sound was deafening as you opened your eyes to see the man with his eyes closed shut, his long eyelashes standing out more at that moment.

"Are you... alright?" The man asked as you gasped.

"How could you be asking me that when you just got hit with almost twenty hard cover books?! Are you okay....?" You scolded him as a stupid realisation washed over you.

You never asked for his name, and neither did he.

"I know this sounds stupid but.." You started off as you looked at your shoes, trying to avoid his stare.

"Fuma. My name is Fuma," Fuma said as he couldn't help but smile at your sudden question.

"Oh, well my name is-" You were about to introduce yourself until he said your name faster than you could.

"How did you know my name?" You asked curiously as he pointed to your nametag on your uniform.

Oh right.

You smiled as Fuma took a step back, squatting down with you to pick up the mangas on the floor, holding them to his chest as you did the same. You were occupied with the mangas until you felt a tap on your shoulder. You turned to Fuma as he held up a particular manga from the romance section, and coincidentally, one of the mangas you and Fuma bonded over. (talking about ideal dates).

"What do you think if I took you up on that idea and we go out for a date?" Fuma asked, trying to act cool but feeling the heat climb up his neck as you burst out in laughter, watching as Fuma hid his face behind the small, brightly coloured book.

He peeped his head from the side of the book as he continued, "But I'm asking genuinely, would you?".

You didn't have to think.

"Yes?! Wow, so did you come here to flirt with me? Not to patronise our shop?! I knew you were a swindler..." You teased Fuma as he shook his hands in disagreement, genuinely trying to change your 'opinion' on him.

"Hey!Hey! I'm no swindler! Maybe I did have something for you and that's why I came by often, but I did patronise the shop! I bought a bunch of mangas and books! Don't get me wrong!" Fuma said as he looked as if he had a rain cloud above his head.

---

eva's notes: i didn't sleep but &team just came back so here's my man for y'all

[raetoria]

Let's talk about the Lightfall campaign shall we? As you might expect I'm gonna be talking about spoilers so be warned if you haven't finished yet!

Right now there are a lot of fans who are angry and upset about Lightfall, saying that it's a step down and that they're so disappointed this is what the penultimate expansion is. Their main complaints are around the writing (especially of the Veil), Strand's implementation, and Nimbus.

I really liked Lightfall. This is not gonna be me complaining about the game, sorry. Also I see the constant reminder is necessary, be nice to the devs!!!! They poured a lot of work into this so even if you don't like it, leave some constructive criticism if you really want to and hopefully the seasonal story will be more your speed! I wanted to just put my thoughts out there.

First off, it was a lot of fun and Neomuna as an environment really hits a sweet spot for me that I just love. The aesthetic design, the world lore, all of it is just great. I loved how there was basically no padding in the campaign, almost all of the missions were tight and progressed the story. Legendary difficulty was hard but not impossible and it was a fun challenge to take on. The Witness was terrifying, and the lore implications are huge. I think it's really great we were handed a "loss" right before Final Shape. Overall, the dialogue was clean and I loved seeing these characters interact.

So that brings us to the first point. The Veil and how the story treated it was a little odd. We never really saw it until the end and no one ever explained how it worked or what it did. But, I think that's the point? My feeling is that, from Osiris' point of view, the Witness wants this thing to do something bad to the Traveller and Savathun knew it was extremely powerful / had power to do something to the Witness. Osiris probably concluded, "I don't know what this is and it doesn't matter, we have to protect it because the Witness desperately wants it."

Similarly, the vibe I was getting from the Cloud Striders is that they don't know either! It really felt like that at one point very early in Neomuna's history, the Ishtar Collective found this big nut and went, "hmmmm wonder what this does" and created the first CloudArk prototype. However, I don't think it went further than that. There so far isn't much evidence they really had any understanding of what it could do, at least not how the Witness used it. So with how many generations it's been and how many Cloud Striders have been passing down this information (since it seems like normal people aren't allowed down to the Veil chamber) my guess is the knowledge has been lost. They know the CloudArk runs off it and that the city is powered by it, that's it. So to Nimbus and Rohan, the Witness trying to get the Veil = Neomuna losing a critical piece of infrastructure. They know it's powerful and that it runs the city, but that's it. They don't have any idea how it works because it does not matter to them. They just know losing it is bad and will probably end up causing everyone to die because that's what they've been told. That's why when Osiris asks about the Veil, they give the canned response, because that's what they know and that's their habitual response whenever someone asks!

So taken all together, that's why I think the way the Veil is presented is fine. The whole point is that we have no idea what this thing is and we're probably gonna spend some time post raid figuring it out. I would have loved to see some line from Osiris or the Striders like, "oh we don't know and we don't care what it does" but I think it's still fine. It's not the first time Destiny requires you to just buy into something.

Okay okay, so now let's talk about strand. This one is a bit annoying to me admittedly because Bungie absolutely hit that 80s action movie hero vibe like they talked about in the vidoc with strand during the campaign. They even had a training montage! However, without the rapid recharge in strand empowered areas it's a class that's a bit tough to use. Admittedly, I don't have a build or really any fragments unlocked so I'm sure it'll be fine once I get there, but the grapple is... tough to love. When im able to instantly refund it by connecting to grapple point it's great! And the refund from doing the melee combined with my discipline is also pretty good; I usually have it by the next time I want to swing. But just trying to swing around generally is rough. I'm going to keep playing with it but I really hope I can figure out a way to just zip around in locations without the grapple points.

In terms of it during the Lightfall campaign, I thought it was used well! I liked it frankly, the rapid ability charging and the slow evolution was fun, and a lot easier to manage than stasis for me. Generally speaking, I think the unlock for Strand is gonna be a lot better than Stasis. I also liked swinging around the arenas and punching stuff, as a warlock main it was fun to channel a titan for a bit! Overall, I liked the way it played such a big role in the campaign because of course it did, it's a huge addition to the game!

Okay, final topic, Nimbus. People I feel are hating on Nimbus in the same way they hate on Shaw Han which I just don't really get. Nimbus is a character who takes things in stride and with joy, because that's their personality and they play the role of the hero for the Neomuni. They need to seem unflappable and like nothing is a big deal because that's what the people expect. Also, they're excited and young! They have basically met a superhero (us) and seen the wild things we do! But they have also been thrust into a leadership role suddenly and without warning. They are trying to keep their spirits high even though they are feeling incredibly conflicted underneath. The way their grief is manifesting is that they are trying to throw themselves headlong into their work to take on Rohan's mantle to escape their feelings. Hint, this is also how Osiris acts and so seeing him caution Nimbus is hilariously ironic (he's getting better! Kind of!) As we see in some post campaign content, Nimbus is going through it (tm) and not dealing with their grief. The loss of their mentor / kind of father figure has really hit hard. I haven't finished all the quests yet so I'm excited to see how that develops! They're fun and jokey on the surface, but very thoughtful and driven underneath.

Which brings me to my final thought. For me, Nimbus and Cayde-6 feel incredibly similar. They're both characters who seem jokey and all about fun (and a bit shallow as a result) but are really thoughtful and deep in their quiet moments. They just want to protect the people they have been charged with the safety of, and they know how important seeming cheerful can be. But with Nimbus post campaign we see the mask slip. We see they're not handling the loss well. In the final mission in the Ace of Spades quest, we see the real Cayde-6, the person behind the jokes. That mission is what made me like cayde, frankly I found him a bit annoying otherwise but that one mission of cayde pouring his heart out long after he was gone really got to me. Anyways this is to say that I like Nimbus, I like the hidden depth and I love their bombastic nature. I especially love seeing what a folk hero is like, the good and the bad. And I don't think their voice is annoying. If you do... well that sucks I suppose since he has a lot of dialogue!

Wow that was a lot longer than I thought I guess I have opinions tm. Anyways, tl;dr I liked Lightfall and don't think it's nearly as bad as people are making it out to be. Be nice to the devs!!!

[crusherthedoctor]

📞 a character others dislike but you don’t?

♠️ favorite protagonist?

🕷️a character you feel is underrated?

📞 - a character others dislike but you don't?

Elise has gained more appreciation over time, but you still get people who think she's to blame for everything wrong with '06. She was a decent if underdeveloped character who simply wasn't used in the story that well, and anyone who thinks turning her into a Not-Sally is the only way to fix her isn't trying.

There's also Zor and Marine, both of whom I will always defend. Isn't it wild how I can barely remember anything from The End's three minute tough guy Reddit copypasta, yet everything Zor says is solid gold... shout out to IDW for missing the point and making him an unironic tryhard like every other villain in the comic. As for Marine, people act as though her character development never happened, which isn't helped by Flynn being one of those very people, and I don't understand why they give her flak for her stereotypical accent, yet make no such complaints about Bunnie.

For a couple of non-Sonic examples: King Sombra kind of went through the same arc as Elise in retrospect. As in, nowadays he has more open fans, but back when he made his debut, he received a disproportionate amount of flak for being a mostly silent villain, and the way he was used. I personally appreciated what they were going for with him, mainly cause of how they conveyed his Crazy Prepared defenses and the like, and honestly, by the time FiM concluded, I think he ended up better off than certain other villains lmao.

And of course, Moneybags. Not counting the first game (cause he didn't exist yet), I don't consider it a true Spyro experience if Winnie the Shit doesn't pop up in increasingly improbable locations to make deals in exchange for, *ahem*, a small fee. He also has some of the best lines. ("What are you going to do, sue me?")

♠️ - favourite protagonist?

Gex is unironically a better written character than everyone in Frontiers and IDW put together. This realisation makes me want to drink tap water at Jerry Garcia's.

Tails has always been my main bro out of the Sonic good guys, cause of how smart he is and how much he wants to help. :D It's also why I'm vocal about how much I despise it when fans double down on reducing the franchise to Just Furry DBZ due to super forms and whatnot, since it means Tails and other characters not named Sonic/Shadow/Silver are guaranteed to be treated even more like they're not good for anything meaningful. >:|

Then there's Spyro of course, which I know will be considered ironic to some given my complex feelings on Sonic, but truth be told, Spyro isn't really that similar to Sonic beyond some snark. He does admittedly act like a dude with tude in the first game, but it's clear that he's younger in that one. From the second game onward, where he's slightly older, he's considerably more chill... at least compared to Bubsy and many others from the 90's. And speaking of, despite his dialogue consisting entirely of WOAH, I respect Crash as well, since it was the bandicoot that got little me into the world of video games.

And many things change, but my fondness for Fluttershy will never die. Just as I have a preference for funny robot-loving villains who nonetheless remain a legit serious threat instead of being a joke, I have another preference for kindhearted quiet characters... which is why I also enjoy Trip... and Tikal... look, we all have our types, I'm sure you can sympathise. ;P

🕷️ - a character you feel is underrated?

The Hard-Boiled Heavies have mostly been pushed aside since Mania came out (aside from that one IDW story, but that's not a blessing), and it makes me madder than YouTubers who pretend they're mad because there are villains with dialogue who have less personality than these guys. They're so much fun, and despite all of them having the same Egg Robo template, their designs remain distinct from each other, even in silhouette form.

I also took to Ariem early on. Like the Heavies, "underrated" refers to general lack of fandom buzz compared to other characters, since although she appears to be quite liked, the acknowledgement given to her is somewhat limited due to her being stuck in an Android-only game for the time being. Some people also have an obsession with comparing her unfavourably to either Sage or Lanolin, for reasons I can probably guess in both cases. Me? I love her design, and her interactions with Cream and Knuckles are cute. :> I know it's not likely, but I hope she appears elsewhere so that she can be brought to more fans' attention... provided she doesn't get IDW'd.

Finally, a more complicated example: Metal Sonic. Now yes, he's very popular and beloved, and remains so to this day, but during the last couple of years, I feel I've been seeing two growing sides in the community when it pertains to him: the side who loves Neo Metal Sonic, and believe he's only a threat in that form like Flynn apparently believes (given how he often turns regular Metal into a jobber), and the side who consider him lame or essentially worthless because of his minimal characterization compared to others. He might not say much, and he might be a hedgehog-shaped tool of Eggman's ambition rather than a complete person of his own, but I believe there's a lot you can do with Metal that wouldn't require turning him into Usurper the Elf Shoes. OVA Metal ain't S-tier for nothing.

[enviedear]

😀

if i get one more ask about why there’s so much smut instead of angst/fluff in the jace tag i’m going to scream. maybe because smut fics are the main fics getting traction? maybe because it’s all i ever get asks for? i can’t speak for other writers but i know my ask box. i’m just so tired of seeing complaint after complain in the tags or in my asks—while simultaneously—no interaction happens for the type of fics a majority of people are complaining for.

also the way in which asks are phrased now is just vile. i’ve had people come into my ask box demanding fics, sending multiple of the same requests because i “didn’t get to it quickly enough”, and shit talk other writers and my own mutuals. it’s all so tired.

eventually the people doing all of this are going to be ostracized from this little sliver of the fandom because we’re just going to block you. this is for fun, for whimsy, for joy. if you don’t like what someone writes—block them. if you don’t like the way they characterize the character—block them. there’s actually no other option than that. i cannot control what others write, it actually, literally, has nothing to do with me!

i like brain dumping and using words so i write fics, i love interacting with people who also enjoy the same media as me, i love reading other peoples fics—but as of recent it just feels like a lost cause, because no matter what we do, there are complaints.

i’m genuinely not calling out anyone in particular, most of the issues i’ve had have been with anons and handled privately (y’all know i don’t post hate, i never have. i never will) but it’s very disheartening to see jace nation become this clusterfuck of complaints.

i think, as a writer, it’s nice to have some genuine constructive dialogue about what i put out—but when it’s begins to get mean i have to tap out.

and again, to reiterate, if you see a fic that you do not personally agree with (babe i’ve been there, i honestly think we all have at one point) block them. don’t go to another users ask box to try and stir up drama. i have never, in the four years i’ve had this account, interacted with any. i don’t like it, simple as that. other writers may be different but this is my boundary. i’m literally one person on a blog with a full time job i swear i do not have the time or mental capacity to police this hellsite.

other than that you’re all quite lovely and i’m sorry that some bad interactions have kinda turned me away from writing for the time being :( i know most of the people that follow me are only here with pure intentions and for shared community, so please don’t feel like my ask box is a scary place! i’m still here if you need me, you can still send requests (nicely please), and all your jace thoughts! i just hope this may curb some of the negativity in my asks/blog at least.

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (07/07/24)

didn't post yesterday cause was busy all day (against my will) new season starting tho so that's fun, even if I'm not watching a ton this time around, also the end of this new serialization round I'm on vacation for the next couple weeks so hopefully I find the time to catch up/finish some stuff but I also got the ff14 expansion I want to play through so we'll see

green - new series/new to me

Anime

Plus-Sized Elf Ep1

I completely missed the announcement that this was gonna be a short anime so I was surprised when I saw the lenght was only 11 minutes, it's fine tho, it fits the manga and makes it more easily digestible. Anyway, that was alright, nothing too impressive and a lot of still panning shots as you'd expect from an adaptation like this. I was surprised by the full on uncensored tiddies tho. What really carries shows like this is the voice cast and Itou Ayasa did a solid job I think. Not expecting a lot out of this, but since it's short it should be a nice little appetizer before I watch Samurai on fridays

The Elusive Samurai Ep1

wow wow wow WOW Like what else can I say but that? I wasn't too hopeful for the anime from the pvs we saw before, they looked good, yes, but it felt like something was missing, to me. All those doubts are completely dispelled now however. Ep 1 was nothing short of incredible, like it's hard to even find the words to explain just how good it was, you gotta see it to understand. Everything was great. Both OP and ED had good visuals and songs. The OST and voices were great, and the animation was really solid too. There was a chance to have some sakuga during a certain scene, and they didn't do it, but it still looked good, if they keep that throughout the whole show then it should be fine. My favourite part was the colours tho, it looked beautiful and there were a lot of great shots like the ones below, among many others. It's just refreshing to see such creative use of colours, like some shots looked good enough to be in a movie adaptation instead of a TV anime

But anyway, I've been reading the manga since day 1 so it's crazy to see it get such a great adaptation. Matsui truly is built different. Me and my buddy mega were discussing were the anime is gonna end, since it's confirmed 12 episodes, and I'm fairly sure it's gonna be on chap 58 for various reasons. We'll see how the pacing for the new few eps goes tho, it may not get quite that farhard

Manga

Hima-Ten! Ch1

That was... ok. As I mentioned before I read the author's previous work as it came out years ago, and it was a ping pong series. I figured this was going to be sports based too, so I was surprised when they released the synopsis and I found out it was going to be a rom com. I'll start out by saying I'm not too big on romance stuff. Like I love Blue Box but it took a while for me to warm up to it and even then it lacks a lot of the issues I usually have with that kinda stuff.

Back to this series tho, my biggest complaint about chapter 1 was setting up this secondary girl (the black haired one in the pic below) and making it clear that the MC even has a crush on her, just for the main girl to show up and, obviously, win him over eventually. I mean the damn summary for the series on M+ ends with "Say hello to some company president girl x house-cleaner boy romantic comedy hijinks!", so there's not much room to wonder about what'll happen.

Other than that it was a nice chap 1. The art has improved so much that it's like a completely different artist (tho there's still some recognizable bits from his old stuff) and this new style is super cute, I actually really like it. The interactions between the mains were fun and the expressions were good too, it really is just that nagging point I have with it. We'll see how the next few chaps go I guess but not expecting much tbh

Dandadan Ch159

while this was inevitable and I knew it was a matter of time til it happened it really took me by surprise to see it happen now. Ofc I could see the build up in the few pages before it but still I don't remember if I've talked about this arc so far but it's been pretty cool, basically jumanji but instead of the game coming out they go inside the game. It's had a buncha cool ideas and the new chara with powers is a nice guy too

[tiredspacedragon]

BIONICLE Retrospective

2002: The Bohrok Swarms

Part 1.3: Into the Nest

Y'all ready for some original content?

So this is Into the Nest. Not to be confused with Into the Nest, a mini promotional comic covering the fight between the Toa and the Bahrag. Totally different.

All things considered, this issue is kind of a big deal. To Trap a Tahnok was a fun little side adventure, but now we're getting back into the main plot. The Krana are collected, Lewa is freed, and the Toa begin their descent into the Bohrok nest to end this conflict once and for all.

That said, last time I read this comic, I found it kind of a slog to get through. A side effect of much of 2002's media being somewhat repetitive is that it can make you lose appreciation for certain story beats you've seen a few too many times. Like okay, for example, this issue contains the Krana!Lewa vs. Onua fight, also known as "Onua Saves Lewa's Ass 3: There Will Be Trauma This Time." And this is a very important scene, it's the Lewa mind control episode everyone remembers and the only one that has lasting consequences throughout the story. But because I know this part so well, it was a little hard to appreciate it upon revisiting. I am here now to say my younger self has no idea what he was on about. This is the original version of this scene, the first way most people experienced it, and it's a banger. I do think the extended version in Beware the Bohrok does improve it by allowing the exchange to play out more slowly, but I don't think the comic version feels rushed at all. Maybe a little too easy, given how Krana!Lewa has been built up for two issues by now, but it's still a good moment, and seeing Lewa tear that little parasite off his own face is deeply satisfying.

The pacing in this issue, since I'm apparently focusing on that today, is pretty good overall, actually. Though if I have on complaint, it's the scene of Gali and Pohatu in what I believe are supposed to be the ruins of Po-Koro.

Not that this scene is bad by any means, Pohatu's line here about his people wanting their homes back is actually quite poignant. But it is rather brief, and it interrupts what I think would be a natural flow from the scene of Onua saving Lewa to the scene of the Toa entering the Bohrok nest. I think the point is to show the devastation the Bohrok have caused, and showcase the emotional component as well. This isn't just the destruction of wilderness, which is bad enough already, people have lost their homes. Locations the audience knows and may have grown attached to have been utterly destroyed. But if that was the point, I do think it misses the mark. Maybe if the scene was more obviously set in what used to be Po-Koro, or if there was some smaller detail to show how devastating this event has been to many people's lives. As is, I'm afraid it feels much more like waxing poetic about the horrors of war than showing a burnt child's toy, if you know what I mean.

But to get back to the good parts, the Toa's interactions as they descend into the tunnels are pretty interesting, as they continue to highlight relationships between the Toa that are less focused on down the line. Pohatu and Gali are again paired up here, showing a depth to their friendship seldom acknowledged elsewhere. The Lewa and Kopaka friendship I only noticed through this retrospective continues to shine. And at this point Tahu and Onua seem to be closest to each other. Or at least Tahu views Onua as his closest confidant, expressing to him both his doubts about Lewa and his plan to scout the Bohrok nest. Makes me think that Onua probably would have been Tahu's choice for his deputy at this point, had he been the official team leader at the time. Appropriate given how they were paired up on the cover of Triumph of the Toa and how Onua would go on to be written as Tahu's earliest supporter in Tale of the Toa. But yeah, lesser seen relationships, always nice to find.

And I do also have to give this issue points for its meme-worthy faces. This stuff is excellent. Oh, and also for the inclusion of the first look at the Exo-Toa armour and the Bahrag, of course, that's kind of important I guess. But mostly for the meme faces.

The Bahrag's introduction is actually really cool. They look very fearsome and menacing, and finally seeing the faces of the true power behind the Bohrok is very cool. Makuta in 2001 was an eldritch horror and now the Bahrag in 2002 are very dragonesque, it's a good progression. 'Kay thanks byeee~

Next up: What Lurks Below

[kenjakusbrainstem]

Pain Reliever (Geto Suguru x Gojo Satoru)

All of the content for season 2 we've been getting tied in with the recent manga chapters has made me want to write some good ole SatoSugu. And now that I'm back from vacation, it's like the words can actually flow from my fingers again. Hopefully this is enjoyable for everyone as it was enjoyable to write. Nothing is quite as inspiring as a massage after all~ <3 feel free to rb or comment if you enjoy or have any thoughts!

Dusk settled over the Tokyo branch of Jujutsu High School, a quiet darkness sweeping over the campus. Fall meant that it was getting darker sooner, and that the students were getting in as much outdoor training as possible before it became too cold. The longer training was usually appreciated by the students, as they were allowed to do more practical training.

The peaceful silence enveloping the school was shattered by a sharp whine coming from one of the dorm rooms. If anyone had been in the hall listening, they would have heard the sound was followed by a muffled shushing and the thunk of a pillow smacking into the white haired teen sprawled out on the bed.

“You’re whining like a baby Satoru, it’s just a pulled muscle,” Geto said as he stood at the edge of Gojo’s bed. As annoyed as he sounded, Geto was amused by this. It wasn’t often that Gojo was put into a state of discomfort, so to see him react this way was a chance for Geto to tease him more. He would rather see Gojo not in pain, but to be this dramatic about a strained back muscle, Geto couldn’t help but laugh.

Instead of speaking, Gojo let another whine escape his throat, face buried in the pillow out of embarrassment. He was still getting used to using his Infinity as a shield, it had been the focus of his training today. After keeping it up all day he finally allowed it to slip at the same time Geto had swung a cursed tool he’d been practicing with right into his lower back.

It seemed the black haired teen had quite literally struck a nerve that Gojo wasn’t prepared for. 

Geto did feel bad, but only a little. That was the point of training after all, Gojo’s injuries didn’t often last this long though. 

Choosing to ignore his own bed, Geto sat down at the foot of Gojo’s bed. He rested his hand on Gojo’s lower back, unsure where exactly he had hit his friend. Hand lightly tracing the area through the fabric of his shirt, Geto wanted to find some way to soothe the pain he’d caused.

“Does this hurt?” Geto asked as he applied more pressure, prodding at different parts of Gojo’s back until he got a response. A small yelp made him stop, his hand resting right above the band of Gojo’s pants.

“It doesn’t hurt! Stop pressing it, you’ve already done enough,” Gojo pouted, moving his head just enough so one clear sentence could be heard before he buried his face again. Of course it hurt him, though the touch hadn’t hurt it more he just didn’t want to be bothered. He wasn’t used to the lasting discomfort of a pulled muscle or a pinched nerve and wasn’t properly equipped to deal with it.

Geto ignored Gojo’s complaints, figuring he had found the spot that was bothering the whiney teen next to him. Splaying his hand out over the fabric of Gojo’s shirt, he began lightly kneading into the skin. Perhaps he could make it up to Gojo by giving him a little massage? Maybe rubbing out the tension could be helpful.

A flush crossed Geto’s face, he was glad that Gojo was way too preoccupied to be paying attention to him. They had touched plenty of times, even sharing a kiss or two once the lights were out and one of them had moved into the other's bed. That wasn’t something they spoke about though, just something they did as friends. 

Though Geto would be a fool if he didn’t admit the blossoming feelings for his friend that had seeded deep inside his chest. He had done a good job up until now to keep his feelings inside himself, but he couldn’t deny the main reason he wanted to massage Gojo was a selfish one. Instead of just making him feel better, Geto wanted to feel Gojo’s flesh for himself.

Turning his body to have more access to Gojo, Geto shakily brought his other hand up and he slowly started rubbing Gojo’s back in earnest.

Letting his thumbs do most of the work, Geto pressed small circles into the shirt separating their skin. The circular motions made Gojo almost freeze on the spot, his whining had stopped and he wasn’t wiggling about on the bed to find comfort anymore. Geto took that as a sign that he had done something right and pressed more firmly into the sensitive skin.

The silence in the room hung heavily around them as Geto focused on trying to alleviate some of Gojo’s pain. Geto could barely think beyond the sound of the blood rushing in his ears, being this close and being able to see the object of his desire when it was happening was almost dizzying. Even if the touch had been so mundane and not even directly on skin, there was something more intimate about this.

“Suguru, more,” Gojo whined, the words sounded pitiful as he spoke. It was hard to notice the pain that had been festering near his spine with the light touches Geto had been applying. He may have been in pain, but Gojo wasn’t made of glass. The light touches felt so good, like his body was being turned into putty under Geto’s fingers. 

It wasn’t enough though, Gojo wanted more. 

And Geto couldn’t help but give it to him.

The bed shifted as Geto repositioned himself, knees knocking into Gojo’s as he straddled the other teen’s legs. He needed more access to Gojo’s back if he wanted to do this right. Not that either of them knew the right way to go about this, both just acting on instinct.

Settling into a comfortable position, Geto settled his hands on Gojo’s hips, right above the waistline. He paused momentarily before continuing, as if he wanted to savor the moment. 

Impatience took over and Geto began working his thumbs into Gojo’s lower back with more force. His arms flexed with the effort, if he hadn’t been holding onto Gojo, he was sure his hands would be shaking.

The pressure in his lower back was too much, Gojo let out a soft moan into the pillow below him. Switching from the annoying itch of pain to this level of pleasure was almost overwhelming to the teen. Geto had taken him seriously when he asked for more, thumbs grinding into Gojo roughly. 

It was almost perfect for Gojo. Something felt off though, Gojo was aware enough to realize that this could feel better if he could actually feel Geto’s strong hands on his body. He needed to take his shirt off for this to feel better, he thought. Blinded by the want for more pleasure, Gojo lifted himself up slightly to remove his shirt.

Geto froze at Gojo’s movement. He wondered for a brief moment if he had gone too far, if this was too much despite Gojo’s pleased sounds. The last thing Geto wanted was to cause a rift between them, which is why he had kept his feelings and wants quiet in the first place. Before he had a chance to remove himself from sitting atop Gojo’s legs however, the boy in question quickly removed his shirt and laid back down.

Blinking, Geto took in the now exposed skin before him. He had seen Gojo shirtless numerous times, but his skin had never looked quite so inviting before. Mindlessly, he lowered his hands to Gojo’s hips, caressing the soft skin directly before kneading into the flesh once more. Intensity and vigor renewed at the way Gojo’s warm body felt so pliant for him. 

Geto was so focused that he swore he could feel every muscle in Gojo’s back. It was as if he were reaching into the skin and massaging the tendons directly instead of just at surface level. 

Whatever knot or nerve had been bothering Gojo must have been long gone if the steady stream of light moans leaving his mouth was any indication of how he felt. There had been a little pain at first, but now it just felt like his body was nothing more than dough on a bakers table, being worked into one of the pastries Geto often bought for him. It felt almost too good, he would do anything to keep Geto on top of him like this.

After what felt like hours, but in reality was much closer to about three minutes, Gojo began to feel a heat creeping down his spine and headed straight to his groin. Geto’s hands had begun to wander around Gojo’s back, straying up to his shoulders before slowly working their way back down to his hips. Fingertips brushing against the waistband almost teasingly. Gojo was certain it was on purpose, Geto had to be teasing him somehow, why else would he suddenly feel so aroused? 

Gojo held his feelings for his friend tight against his chest, not wanting to let out more than he needed. Not out of fear, more of finding too much enjoyment in their current relationship as best friends that sometimes kissed when all the lights were out. There hadn’t been any reason to want to change that, until Geto’s hands plucked at his sinew like it were an ornate harp. 

The soft rocking motion of Gojo’s hips was imperceptible to Geto at first. He was too busy exploring the map of Gojo’s back, allowing himself to press into every pore of his best friend's body. It was only when Gojo shifted in such a way that caused his ass to grind up against his crotch that he realized something had shifted between them. 

It only took Geto a second to understand what Gojo was doing, though he never stopped moving his fingers as if to encourage the behavior. Gojo was grinding into the bed, as if to alleviate a new kind of pressure in his body. Geto hadn’t expected the other teen to feel so much pleasure from his hands, he had only set out to take away the pain he caused. This was the best possible outcome in his mind though. 

Through Gojo’s movements, Geto had noticed a part of himself he had been neglecting while entranced by Gojo’s flesh. Geto could feel his cock straining against his uniform pants, achingly hard already. It wasn’t the first time Gojo had made him this hard, but it was the first time it happened without the aid of his own hand and a secret fantasy.

Geto’s movements became more calculated, fingers digging in, lingering in spots that made Gojo moan and sigh. His head was turned to the side now, Gojo gasping for breath from being smashed into the pillow for so long. The once muted moans now clear and causing Geto’s cock to throb with yearning. It was all too much for him.

Gojo’s thrusting became more pronounced as one of Geto’s hands drifted down further than it had been allowed to before. Geto’s hand grasped at Gojo’s ass, the force of his fingers making Gojo whimper as Geto squeezed at him through his uniform pants. 

The heat was too much for Gojo, his cock had been hard since the first press of Geto’s hands on his bare skin, and the friction from being trapped against the bed felt agonizingly good. He pressed his ass back again, this time roughly grinding against Geto’s equally strained cock. Gojo was almost relieved to find Geto hard as well, otherwise this may not have felt as good.

A sharp gasp fell from Geto’s lips at the softness of Gojo’s ass pressing insistently up against him. He had ignored his own pleasure for too long, his cock was more sensitive to the pressure, it was like nothing he had felt before. Being able to feel Gojo like this, body begging to be touched, it pushed Geto to the edge alarmingly fast. 

Gojo continued to grind his ass back into Geto’s cock, trying to get away from the heat and pressure of the bed beneath him and also feel just how aroused Geto was by all of this as well. Being under Geto’s hard body was hard to escape though, especially since Geto had started grinding into Gojo’s ass with fervor. 

The massage was completely forgotten at this point, Geto wrapped one hand around Gojo’s hip to help them keep the same pace. His other hand snaked its way down in front of Gojo, slipping into Gojo’s pants. Geto gripped the hard cock and began roughly stroking it, making his mouth water and his own cock throb with excitement.

A choked moan left Gojo’s lips as he threw his head back, the feeling of Geto’s hand too much for him. Gojo spilled into Geto’s hand as Geto stroked him through the orgasm. Gojo hadn’t realized how different another person's hand could feel, how good his best friend's hand could feel. He could feel his body quiver as Geto’s hand quickly pushed him into overstimulation.

Gojo pressed his ass back harder against Geto’s grinding cock, not knowing if he wanted to push Geto to the edge or if he was simply trying to get away from the overwhelming pleasure. Either way the feeling of Gojo’s seed on his hand and the plush ass against his cock, Geto moaned as he felt himself release in his pants.

The grip Geto held on Gojo’s hip tightened, holding the teen in place as Geto rode out his own orgasm against Gojo’s body.

The two of them collapsed on the bed, a tangled mess of limbs and sweat. Gojo’s back pain suddenly was not an issue, he turned himself around and messily kissed Geto’s lips. They were both breathing hard, unexpected exertion taking a toll on them finally. Still they sloppily kissed as they settled into a comfortable position of laying with their arms wrapped around one another.

“Thank you,” Gojo whispered into the kiss, as if for once he was afraid of making too much noise, as if being loud would ruin the moment. Geto just smiled at him, turning his head slightly to kiss Gojo’s cheek and bury his head into Gojo’s neck before closing his eyes and continuing to revel in this moment.

[asm5129]

RWBY v9 e4 Thoughts and Analysis

Genuinely might be my favorite opening of the entire show. 

Also, genuinely, screw everyone who ever said Ruby didn’t have a character arc. 

RWBY is really, really good at keeping stories going in the background even as the main focus shifts around. So just...stop with that shit, okay? CRWBY are very particular with what they choose to do and when. Not everything's perfect, but if you get hung up on things you didn’t like from the past, you’ll never be able to fully appreciate what’s happening now. It’s always gonna bother you in the back of your mind. Ruby wasn’t always the most important person in the show. Let it go so you can talk about what led us here, to this exceptional story. We good? Good. 

“You do not go to the tree, the tree goes to you! Unless of course you’re me, you see?”

Yeah, so the Curious Cat (referred to as CC from here on out) is definitely in some position of authority in the Ever After, but they do not control it or anything like that. I suppose we shall find out their role soon enough. 

Regardless, it seems that the Tree decides when you’re ready to leave, not you. CC can bypass that it seems, but i doubt that will work for our heroes.

If the residents of the Ever After exist to facilitate a story, then the Tree will let them out when the story is done. 

Maybe the Ever After only rained when Ruby was sad (rather than, for instance, Weiss) because it’s deemed her the protagonist of the story that must reach it’s conclusion before RWBY and co are allowed to leave? Just a thought.

“it’s a matter of perspective” that’s an intriguing line

Also, Little does not have a history with CC like I thought they and the other mice might. However, that’s not to say CC liking to eat mice has no impact on whether the mice know what a cat is, especially since last week Little wasn’t even completely convinced they were a mouse.

It’s been said before, but CC really is a standout character. The design, the performance, the power set,  even the dialogue make literally everything about them engaging. As does, of course, the characterization, cuz this Cat is just as impossible as any cat irl. Now i actually like cats, but I’ll be the last one to say they don’t tend towards being completely absurd and impossible in their behavior

CC just takes that to the next level. Honestly though CC is basically just ADHD: the animal

Craving a steady stream of interesting conversations to keep them focused

too real 😅

“Got ‘im! Totally roasted”

From the tone of Yang’s voice, i genuinely think she was just throwing poor Weiss a bone here  😄

Missed a chance to have CC making a cat video tbh, but “Luminous Rectangle” and “why is it printing tiny flat versions of me” is still amazing

CC just briefly giving voice to some of the common complaints about RWBY is kinda nice

its CRWBY saying “We’re listening. We hear you. We are working to address your concerns, but only to the point that it won’t compromise our story.”

Also roasting the gods is fun. Does seem like it’s clear that the Gods have nothing to do with the Ever After then, though, if CC both didn’t know and is super comfortable calling them out this way

More information about Alyx, from a new source. Love how everyone who speaks about her has a different take, it makes her really interesting. 

Also rare smiling v9 Ruby Rose sighting

I love that CC is still a cat, with all the usual catlike behaviors. Would've been easy to anthropomorphize them more, I’m happy that didn’t happen.

“Each acre is made specifically for it’s inhabitants and their roles”

Intriguing. So...does CC not have an acre to call home? If not, why not? What makes them unique among this world’s rules?

a grogurt parfait, huh? Sounds gross. 

“Well I’m sure we’ll cause a lot less trouble once we’re back to normal” oh Weiss, honey, I wouldn’t count on that  😂

Ugh CC Blake’s right, they've got enough problems without you reminding them of what’s happening in remnant

“Oh no, i wasn’t paying attention” Ruby you are one of 5 people and your entire bag of trauma just got poked, it’s not your fault. You gotta work on that self-blaming instinct, he says knowing full well how hard that is from personal experience (seriously, i see so much of myself in Ruby)

The Lonely carpenter and the rusted Knight

one sweet, one handsome

Guessing we’ll meet them soon enough

Also that confirms the Knight in the trailer and intro isn’t Jaune. the Knight was in the original book.

So yeah was wrong about the Chekov's butterfly

Couple interesting lines here

First

”I’m the herbalist. Until I’m not, anyway” 

Our first hint that roles are not set in stone.

and second

“Everyone needs help these days. Everyone.” Who else is Herb referring to?

“Huntresses are heroes. We protect those who can’t protect themselves” Blake is really following in Ruby’s stead, this is literally the line Ruby gives her all the way back in volume 1 when they talk about their love of books. Of course, she’s doing it after going through all the healing Ruby hasn’t done yet.  It is cool to see this dichotomy of Blake stepping up and embodying what she valued in Ruby while Ruby becomes more like she was in volume 1 and 2

Also, I like that Ruby’s answer to “What does a huntress do” is “fight monsters”. it shows that she’s still thinking about things wrong

“In order to help you become whatever it is you need to become, you really ought to have a better understanding of what you are now”. Great line. Cuts straight to the heart of the issue.

.”This is how a king winds up a prince”

So...the Red Prince used to be the Red King? And he became the Red Prince, perhaps because he didn’t understand who he was, and thus who he wanted to be wasn’t quite right? We’ll see. But clearly there’s a much more complicated transformation process that can happen here than we expected. Perhaps a far more literal one, as well.

“You don’t have to go forward you know. You could go back. Back to before.”

Before she lost her arm. It’s not about her arm though--it’s about everything. It’s about going back to what things were like before beacon fell. Going back to who she was like before beacon fell.

Yang is shocked--but she doesn't immediately reject the idea. Unlike Blake...

“You could just be human. Or just a cat. It’s up to you.”

“Why would i do that?”

“I told you. It’s simple. Much simpler than trying to be a bridge between human and faunus. Why struggle with that responsibility?”

So it’s clear now. The reason Blake wasn’t front and center on injustice during the Atlas arc. 

This is what she was struggling with. Well this, and taking the life of an actual living, breathing person

Doesn’t matter that it was Adam, he was still a person.

So for a couple volumes she just...stopped trying to be that bridge. Focused on proving to her loved ones that she had grown, and that she wouldn’t run away again. Showing them--and especially Yang--that she loved them.

“You could be a nobody. Isn’t that what you want? to be free?”

God i’m so proud of these girls. This is such a beautiful scene. It’s so well directed, so well written, and there’s so much we can all learn from it, purely on an emotional growth level..

And then we come to Ruby. And unlike her friends, she doesn’t have it in her to reject the part of herself that appears here. Instead, she gets this brutal face-to-face with all of her worst insecurities, worst impulses, all her imposter syndromes and her habit of putting everything on her own shoulders. honestly this section deserves a deep dive all its own.

“You don’t even have to be Ruby Rose. So. Who are you gonna be?” 

Ruby is gonna go through a major transformation this volume. I can only hope it’s the one she needs.

I’m really curious why exactly CC was so angry about what Herb was doing. What exactly did he do wrong? Hopefully we will find out tomorrow. 

the “That’s a bit much” lien from herb intrigues me though.  Was he affected by the pain the girls--and Ruby in particular--were being forced to confront?

“Take a little bit of my heart”

Really curious about CC’s powers

and little being adorable again. Can’t wait for tomorrow!!

[fierysodo]

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

Copia and the Ghouls Headcannon

🌟 main char: Copia, fire ghoul/sodo

🌟 cameo: swiss, rain

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

Copia keeps finding Sodo in his bed everynight, under the cover, right before he sleeps. He does nothing, just lie down stiffly until Copia enters the room. After he sees Copia, he would just get up and leave. Things went on for a few nights.

Such behaviour did not go unnoticed and had Copia puzzled.

Why is the fire ghoul behaving such way?

It got to the point where Copia himself had gone over to the ghoul's den to find the answer.

Luckily, there is only one ghoul that can answer him and the ghoul is right there on the couch, resting.

- "Swiss"

Copia's voice broke the quite silence enjoyed by the said ghoul.

- "I, Papa"

He shot up to his feet, standing in front of Copia.

What brought Papa Emeritus IV here?

he wonders.

- "Sit down, I have something to ask about"

- "Is there anything odd been going on with Sodo lately?"

The question did not come as a shocker to the ghoul.

- "Other than him being usually the quiet menace, nothing really"

Swiss answered while fiddling with his Elfbar vape.

- "Are you sure?"

The satanic pope enquired.

- "Yes"

- "Ok- "

- "But"

Copia was about to walk away when Swiss broke the silence again.

- "well he did something. but I don't want to be responsible for outing him. do ask Rain."

the ghoul explained.

- "why Rain the water ghoul?"

- "because Sodo would never harm Rain"

It's true.

One a fire ghoul, hot magma flowing in his veins, mostly misunderstood by outsiders due to his hot nature. He can go from radiating warmth to causing a scene of outrageous flames.

One is a water ghoul, crystal blue water flowing in his veins, much like the fire ghoul. Calm and composed, that little one. But surely one must not test his limits, as water can be a calm pond and a raging sea at the same time.

Yet,

Sodo finds comfort in Rain's cool nature, while Rain finds warmth in Sodo's quiteness.

- "if so then, I shall be on my way looking for the water ghoul"

- "yes, Papa"

Copia left the ghoul's den and began walking around the monastery. After quite some time, he finally saw the silhouette of that one particular ghoul.

- "Water ghoul!"

Copia called out for Rain, who was happily tending the gardens.

The ghoul said his goodbyes to the plants and flowers and made his way to the Papa Emeritus IV.

- "Yes, Papa"

- "Have you seen Fire ghoul anywhere today?"

Rain shooked his head.

- "Have you noticed any changes in his behavior lately?"

Again, the water ghoul shooked his head.

Copia getting more impatient decided to rephrase the question.

- "Water ghoul, you see, for the past few nights, I kept seeing fire ghoul in my bed, right before my bed time. Once I enter the room, he will just get up and leave. Do you have any idea what the fire ghoul is doing?"

Rain mouthed an "O". From the reaction alone, Copia was certain he finally got the answer.

- "Papa, do you recall how many rainy nights we've had for the past one week?"

Copia was silenced for a few seconds before giving the water ghoul a soft smile.

- "Forgive me, water ghoul. I do not remember"

- "That's alright. Sodo has been going to your room right before bed time because he heard you cursing in Sister Imperator's office about how chilly these several nights have been due to the rain"

The water ghoul paused, looking around as if making sure nobody or no Sodo is looking at him right now.

- "Papa, come closer. After he heard your complaints, he decided to warm the bed and blanket for you, right before you sleep. So that you have better comfort."

Rain explained in a whisper mode. Copia, knowing full well how the fire ghoul would react had he knows his secret is out, smiled and patted Rain's shoulder.

- "Thank you, water ghoul. It gives me happiness to know that you ghouls are very thoughtful. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me and I won't say a word to the fire ghoul too."

Hearing the assurance, Rain's shoulder relaxed a bit.

Yes, the fire ghoul won't hurt him, but that doesn't mean Sodo won't throw a massive tantrum. Rain wouldn't want other people to be affected by it.

That night, as per usual, Sodo shows up in Copia's room at his normal time. He knew Copia wouldn't be there yet as normally, Copia would still be in his office trying to finish his work before the next day.

But, oh my Lucifer, is he wrong.

As soon as the door opened, he saw Copia standing inside the room.

Copia, who was already expecting the fire ghoul, chuckled as he saw him flustered by the door.

- "Come in, fire ghoul. You're 2 minutes late"

Sodo tilted his head.

What's going on, why is Papa here, shouldn't he be working?

As the fire ghoul approached Copia, he saw a tray of snacks. Unusual snacks for a man like Copia.

Some Carolina reapers, a bowl of Samyang Double Spicy Ramen and and a glass of hot chocolate.

- "I'm sorry to disturb you, Papa. I will take my lea- "

- "Hush, fire ghoul. Don't leave yet. Come, sit by me"

Copia patted the space next to him, on the bed.

Slowly, the fire ghoul went and say by Copia.

- "I do have work, but I came by for a short time"

There was silence from Sodo. He was puzzled.

- "Now, fire ghoul, I do not know why you're coming into my room these days, what antics have you planned with the ghouls for me, but, I figured that once in a while, you deserve a comfort night too"

The fire ghoul's eyes glistened. He was puzzled but the last sentence has awakened something in him.

- "So, while I resume my work in the later, you can have this bed to yourself, continuing your normal antics, and enjoy the snacks I prepared for you. You like spicy food, right?"

A very rare sight happened in front of Copia.

The stoic fire ghoul was smiling.

- "Thank you so much, Papa"

It was almost inaudible but Copia managed to catch what was uttered by the fire ghoul.

- "you're welcome, fire ghoul."

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

[littlebookmermaid]

i saw The Little Mermaid on Friday (after all these years...) and it's taken me a while to process it. I've been waiting for this movie for so many years, like even before it was announced it would happen. And especially after 2015 when Cinderella came out. So being the obsessed mermaid fan that i am here are my thoughts. If you would like to discuss it with me please do! I want to talk abut this movie with everyone. SPOILERS BELOW!

The feeling of seeing your favorite movie on the big screen but in a brand new way was very emotional and i cried and laughed and then i cried again. I loved it though, so much and i have so much to write so here we go. I only had three things that i didn't like too much. Three kinda big things but still it doesn't matter too much because overall i did love it so much. It was fun, sweet and Halle really was the star (fish) of this!

I obviously loved Halle. She was amazing, she is amazing. Long before Halle was announced as Ariel I had this slight fear over who they would cast. I was worried that they would only see "mermaid" and age Ariel up and make her a mermaid al a Pirates (this fear only grew when weirdly enough, it would be directed by the same guy). I really didn't want them to make Ariel this gorgeous super model siren just because she was a mermaid. Instead they, thankfully, left her young, curious, beautiful in a very cute way and Halle really embraced the character perfectly.

Ariel and Eric were so adorable together! What a rom com this turned out to be. Ever since i was a kid i always wanted the "Tour of the kingdom" scene to be longer and this movie really delivered! I loved their date to the market place (with the Jodi cameo!) and the boat ride was so soft and lovely. I hope we get a sequel to this movie cause i need waaaay more of Halle and Jonah as Ariel and Eric together.

Speaking of! I adored how they connected them even more by giving Eric a collection too! What a fun idea. And the shot of his room mirrored the shot in Ariel's grotto. Also, having Ariel showing him a bunch of oceanic stuff was so fun and Eric was so patient and observant while she expressed her emotions without her voice and it was the most romantic thing i've seen in a long time (maybe ever).

I liked how fun Sebastian was in this and especially his banter with Scuttle.

I thought Awkwafina was fun as Scuttle, no complaints.

Flounder my love i'm sorry they didn't give you much to do. I really thought they would give him the deleted scene from the original where he stopped the shark again but no. At least he swam to get Triton so that was something.

The mermaid lore! I wish we could have gotten more of that but i love what we got.

i loved Eric's new song and I liked Ariel's new one. I do think Beyond my wildest dreams from the broadway show did it better.

i loved how beautiful the tail looked underwater.

Okay i need to get on to the three things i didn't like so someone can argue with me and change my mind.

I didn't love how they did Ariel and Triton's relationship in this one. I think it missed the point from the original. In my opinion, their relationship in the original is the main thing. Ariel and Eric are actually like second place (if this make sense). Because in the original it is clear that they have a very loving and strong bond, they share traits which is one of the reasons why they had trouble understanding each other. Ariel is rebellious, Triton is protective and they're both very stubborn. It's also why I always liked how in the original there's this scene where Ariel wishes him good morning (with the flower) right before under the sea and the destruction which shows them being close to each other. It's just one tiny scene but it makes a lot of difference cause otherwise he would just be yelling at her the entire movie- which is what he did in this one. Only because they didn't include a scene where they were just talking kindly to each other. The guilty look Triton gives after destroying the grotto also shows how he already regrets it but in this one he was all "Never leave again," while she's crying and i'm so confused. It also took Triton waaay to long to come around like the anti climax i felt when he came back to life and still ordered her away from the surface was so weird lmao However, i do understand that this is a new take and a new movie with new mermaid lore so... it is what it is but i wish we could have gotten a bit more of a glimpse of the sweet father/daughter relationship from the movie ( and the tv series... honestly they did it the best).

Gods this is long okay. Kudos if you've read this far. Anyway... second thing was the fact that Ariel steered the boat into Ursula. I understand why they did it and I'm not mad about it. But it does change part of the point of the movie. Like, I'm all for women in movies taking charge, please do more of that. However... i have always loved the balance and parallel between Ariel and Eric. Ariel rescues Eric at the beginning of the movie and Eric rescues Ariel at the end of the movie. It also takes away the whole idea that Eric saves Ariel which is why Triton understands that he really does love her and that all humans can't be bad cause this man saved his daughter and almost died doing it. And in this movie Ariel's all "Eric was there too." And i just thought, doing what exactly?? haha But seeing Ariel crawl on a ship in a storm to steer it was really cool and she deserved to be the one to to do it cause this was obviously very personal (I mean her father had just died because of Ursula). So i'm obviously fine with it but maybe they could have given Eric something else to do besides... throwing a harpoon?

There was not enough dresses. Where was my sparkly "i just turned into a human"- dress??? Why did that last scene not show her walking out of the ocean in a blue, sea foam dress??? Why was she back in the blue one?? Disney... i want more dresses!

Okay one more thing. Under The Sea deserves a choir.

I think i'm done for now.

Overall i did love it so so much! I can't wait to see it over and over and over again. I'm so happy that The little mermaid got a deserving remake. It also opened with my favorite quote from the original story by H.C. Andersen so good job Disney.