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macaroonff · 6 months

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This Autumn, - Shin Ryujin

Genre: Roommates x lovers, College +Domestic Au, Autumn feels Pairing: Shin Ryujin x fem! Reader ↪Content warnings: Mentions of a dysfunctional families, slight angst, mentions of homophobia, mention of insecurities Word Count: 7k+ words Suggested Songs: We found Love in October- Girl In Red I wanna be your girlfriend- Girl in Red Bubble gum- Clairo Duvet- Bôa October Passed Me By- Girl in Red Girls-Girl in Red Softly- Clairo You know where this playlist is heading- feel free to recommend more ↪not proofread

Sometimes fall meant that the clarity of summer had ended, and that the dryness wasn't accompanied by sweat, but by the heaviness of hoodies and the bareness of barks. A bore compared to the freedom and excitement that summer offered; a dispirited time when you look back to the last three months.

Of course autumn wasn't all bad. The colours took on a warmer palette as the trees bore themselves devoid of its warmth: warmth which could be found in campfires and cosy sheets; in people's hugs and weighted blankets; in hot lattes, crunchy leaves and early sunsets.

But when assignments piled up from the start of the season, finding opportunities to revel in such warmth seemed unsuccessful. You hurriedly tried composing yourself from last month's activities: internships, staycations and pool parties, returning from a whirlwind of adrenaline. It was exhausting, and you were burnt out before the semester even started.

But a student you were; a decent one you tried to be, as you file your assignments, albeit slowly due to sleep deprivation. The first week of autumn went by with professors dumping assignments immediately as you try to ease the pace at which you deal with it. Clearly, autumn had you drained from day one.

Autumn hated you more than you hated it.

Autumn, two weeks in wasn't too bad. You took time to catch up on deadlines, you made plans with friends, went on walks and you got especially close to your new roommate. Her name was Ryujin, a dark haired divinity with prominent features that meshed gently. Someone who never forgot to get you your daily dose of iced latte and her favourite mocha bread from the café opposite your dorm.

It started when she came back from her evening lectures on a Thursday, holding one mug in her hand, a woolly scarf tucked into her shirt. She came in to see you with hands knitted in your hair, frustrated at the work you had, feet bobbing in concentration.

A small 'hi' was all that you returned when you noticed her presence.

"Another stressful assignment?," she asks, concerned. Her low timbre is soothing and takes you out of your sums for a brief moment, a sigh escaping your chapped lips.

"It’s calculus." You make eye contact for the first time since she entered, a polite smile greeting her, though the frown almost tilted the other way.

She waved her hands in a light motion acknowledging your concern, the room key in her palm dangling in it to make a soft clack.

"Understandable, it's a real headache, especially since you're in Mr Lee’s course. Anything I could help you with?"

"I just need a break," you reply dejectedly, hoping to get away from your monotonous, monstrous tasks.

"Wanna watch a movie?" she asks, a soft grin hiding on her face. She watches your ears perk up and your eyes shine at the suggestion, to which a chuckle remains stuck in her throat.

"Why don't you choose something and I'll join you after I'm done freshening up." she hands you the remote before walking into her room, grabbing her white towel from the laundry rack.

You sit in silence and wallow in contemplation. Choosing a movie, should be easy.

Would a sappy rom-com distracting you from your lamentable, gapingly non-existent love life suffice? Or did you need another of those poorly directed and filmed action ones, which would, undoubtedly help you fix your sleep schedule. But then again, would Ryujin watch it? What’s a movie she’d like? Slice of life? Coming of age? Horror?

A change in the lighting of the room, and Ryujin’s tap on your shoulder was what eventually brought you out of your dilemma, and you take your vacant stare off of the blank tv screen towards your roommate instead.

The warm lights had blurred everything in the background in a way that it brought Ryujin’s face into focus, a soft glow emanating from her cheeks. Her hair was wet, the towel lazily wrapped around her supple hair, doing a measly job at keeping it from seeping into her t-shirt. Her oversized black t-shirt had patches of darker spots that clinged to her because of it, making you worried she might catch a cold. You rush to hand her a new towel, one that would actually help.

“Don’t catch a cold, not the best time of the year to fall sick.” you whisper.

She smiles in appreciation and holds your arm, accepting the fabric for you. "You're cold too y/n. It'd probably be best for us to grab some blankets."

After ten minutes of rummaging through your creaky cabinets and five minutes of popping corn, you were ready to distance yourself from your headaches, with new-found warmth in your newly washed duvets.

Snug and pressed against the cushions of the sofa, with your head on her shoulder. Snug as she pats your back until the television's whisper no longer has your attention and you find your heavy eyelids closing on their own.

Snug as you embrace sleep after months of running away from it.

Snug, however, wasn't what you felt when you woke up in the morning, blankets tangled between your legs, and an annoying ache in your ribs, due to the crushing weight of your favourite cushion.

Snugness was replaced by the bitterness of another new day, and your long forgotten assignments weighed heavier than they did before.

All of a sudden last night's peace was something you regretted. And you regret having been swayed by someone you considered an acquaintance.

If Shin Ryujin hadn’t offered, you'd never have taken a break. You'd never have given yourself the opportunity to be wasteful with time. You shouldn't have been tempted by the thought of a moment's freedom.

Freedom that remained a mirage. A mirage that showed you a time of comfort. Comfort that would last one evening until you'd have to revisit everything you ran away from.

What's the point in having comfort if it's given by someone you interact with for three hours a day? What was the point in comfort if it was momentary?

Shin Ryujin was a roommate you'd have for only two more months until her grandparent's apartment was done with renovations.

Shin Ryujin was temporary.

Autumn three weeks in, was no different. Except that your backlog had increased, your sleep schedule got worse and all that you cared about was getting over with your to-do lists. How you had energy to do everything one by one remained a mystery, but you soon realised that it wasn’t energy that drove you to finish work, but the fear of running out of it sooner or later. As if it wasn’t already obvious, you were on the brink of burnout.

Not that you hated burnout. For some reason being burnt out meant that you'd be forced to take time out for mental health sooner or later. You would be forced to slow down like you did last week.

Sitting down and finally looking back, last week felt like a distant memory so far away from your reality. It was a privilege you gave yourself, and it was so worth it, contrary to what you felt immediately. She was right, the movie did help, the movie did get you back into a safe space from your anxiety; and you never cared to thank her for it.

You’d do it today. Thanking her. You absolutely had to.

You spent the next ninety minutes planning the best way to return the favour. Essentially, you spent the next ninety minutes going back on all the little things Ryujin did for you. Which led to the realisation that her love language was a careful amalgamation of acts of service, quality time and physical touch.

“Maybe I’ll just bake mocha bread. I couldn’t go wrong with that,” you contemplate. You weren’t the best baker on earth, however you had enough experience to go ahead with it.

All you needed was milk, eggs, flour, yeast, sugar and coffee. Everything you had at home, really not much could go wrong.

Until it did. There was no way the universe would let you have anything good before your semester tests. Of course it had to sabotage you when you tried to do one thing with actual love behind it.

The microwave oven she brought in with her beeped once before a loud pop stopped you in your tracks. It was overheated, and nothing you did brought the irksome device back to life. No matter how many buttons you pushed vigorously, or hit the back of it tiresomely, the empty black box on the door showed no sign of the tiny numbers signalling time left.

Time left. You look at the Ikea clock hung on the wall. Ten minutes more for the bread to be baked until completion, and thirty minutes until she’d come back and discover this mess and the damage to her microwave.

And boy does she love that microwave.

Shin Ryujin knew something was wrong when she entered later at night, almost too late for you to be up right now, just a little before midnight, the smell of sweet coffee greeting her. She’d gone to visit the apartment her grandparents had bought for her, a half hour from here. She was so caught up in finalising the layout that she forgot to mention that she’d be late home. What’s worse was that she had got caught in heavy traffic, and her phone lost charge in the middle of dialling you.

And when she got up here, completely spent from the work, it took very little for her to be consumed by frustration. Not particularly because of you. None of it had to do with you. She knew that the tedious microwave was ancient and that her parents only gave it to her to get rid of it. She also knew that she should’ve told you about it sooner, before it actually became a problem. So no, in no way was this your fault.

She looked at your head buried under your arm on the dining table with a mitten on one hand and a post-it under your elbow. The post-it didn’t say much, just scribbled and crossed out words that all seemed to resemble different “I’m sorrys" and “microwaves". You had multiple other post-its crumpled nearby and she picked all of them up and carefully opened them one by one. Between the creases, one said, “I’m so sorry for the microwave Ryujin, ik you treasure it because your parents lent it to you. I just wanted to thank you for last week and I thought I’d bake your favourite but -” it stopped there at which point you must’ve crumpled it.

Ryujin let her sight wander across the baking utensils washed and stacked neatly on the drying rack and a box of half baked, burnt dough nearby. She smiles, both grateful and apologetic, an urge to caress your head settling in. She takes a closer look at you, trying to figure how she could deposit you to your bed.

She slowly lifts your head up, wiping excess dough from near your frowning mouth, and her eyes wander up, to your slightly fluttering eyelids facing the yellow lights. It was then under the warm lights that she noticed semi-dried tears under your lashes. Another surge of guilt ran through her, thinking of how worried you must’ve been.

In the cold kitchen, she lifts you off the chair as carefully as she can and gently drags you across the living room. It was when she’d propped you against the headboard that you stir awake.

Through half-lidded eyes, you take in whatever you can. Ryujin was holding on to your hand gasping slightly.

“Ryujin?” you whisper.

“Shit I didn’t mean to wake you up,” she looks at you a little surprised.

“I’m so sorry-” you mumble in desperation.

“Shh," she places a palm over your eyes, "don’t worry about it love. Go to bed, we’ll talk in the morning”

You aren’t convinced but you also realise that now isn’t the best time to talk. Ryujin’s eyebags seemed deeper in the warm light and you knew both of you needed a decent rest. It had been a hectic time for the two of you, and all you needed was sleep.

Ryujin still had the benevolence to pull the blanket over you and stroke your hair until you fell asleep.

It was the second time you fell asleep in her arms.

The following weekend you were on a shopping trip.

At a semi-large Ikea warehouse about forty minutes away from the campus. It was Ryujin's idea to come out here despite you convincing her to find a shop closer, but she insisted.

"Trust me, it'll be fun. We can look at furniture too."

Of course, she needed new furniture. It slowly dawns on you that you have very little time to spend with her in your home. Home.

You don't remember the last time you called your dorm a home. For all that you knew, it was a messy damp space that you couldn't wait to escape from, an absolute nightmare with it's cramped furniture. But it was cosy, something you couldn't deny now.

Maybe because you were with her. All her little habits that grew on you, her impeccable daily routine that had become a source of stability in your life, even her lesser known quirks such as keeping a picture of her two cats at home framed on her desk and kissing the before going to her classes in the morning.

You admired all of it, and it wouldn't have been the same if it were someone else. You never felt like this with your previous room mates. They were just people who lived in their own solitary spaces. But with Ryujin, somehow you were involved in most housework together. You felt involved, and somewhere more loved than in your own home.

Your family wasn't bad, at least on the surface. They never compromised when it came to your education or your standard of living. But somewhere between those lines were impossible expectations they wouldn't hold themselves to either. And you got tired of them easily. They hid toxicity behind "criticism", where criticism only meant negatives beyond your control. Your last year of high school, particularly faced extreme criticism, and you felt your confidence dipping. You managed though. You're not entirely sure how you coped, but with support from school, you managed a scholarship, a meagre one but still enough to get away from your family.

You hadn't seen them in three years.

Ryujin, on the other hand, had a lovely family, and you were, at times jealous of how perfect she seemed; how perfect everything around her seemed.

She seemed to have every aspect of her life in order. Whether it be top of the class majoring in Business, or being captain of the girl's football team, or the fact that she could spare three hours to stay with her paint brushes and that they would come out having the entire beauty of the universe encompassed in them. She could manage being both a homebody, while still being popular in school, she could be assertive when she needed to be without actually disturbing the fragile ego of most in her class.

She surpassed every definition of balance mentioned in the dictionary. She was living it, breathing it. Stability.

You admired her, a lot, but you couldn't stop this ridiculously miniscule base of malevolence in your heart. And every day you were scared it would become worse.

Especially now, when all she wanted was to spend precious time with you, constantly putting effort into your friendship whereas you were held back by bitter thoughts. And you hated yourself for it.

You force back your envy, distracting yourself by browsing through the shelves of cutlery displayed. You notice the absence of Ryujin's presence, and slowly find yourself lost in this maze of a shop. Maybe it was better that she wasn't in this aisle now, or else you wouldn't be able to face her with the guilt of having thought of her so poorly.

You find yourself interested in the array of pretty pink melamine plates stacked in front of you, in the stainless steel spoons with animal handles, and little napkin holders shaped like boats. You pick up different pans, weighing how heavy each is, looking to keep your brain unnecessarily busy. If you spend a second more comparing yourself with Ryujin, you knew you wouldn't be able to think of anything else for the entire day, or week.

You remember what your therapist told you, all the comfort and validation that you needed pouring in through words. You open up your notes, all the affirmations typed out one by one. You repeat them in your mind, with a new goal in sight.

You wouldn't let your insecurity ruin another good relationship. Especially not with Ryujin.

She emerges after some time, holding in her hand, a grey device, and a grin painted on her face. "I think this is the one. It's a cool toaster cum oven sort of thing, and it's cheap," she winks at you.

How was she so decisive? you think again. It had only taken her fifteen minutes. If it were you, you'd have taken forty minutes more.

"I trust your decision," you reply, giving her a soft smile. You notice her eyebrows raise a little. "You sure?," she asks. "You usually don't agree this fast. You have this terrible habit of sitting on decisions for ages." she rambles on.

You take a moment to process this. You knew it was true, and she probably didn't mean malice, but it was not something you'd accept easily.

Ryujin never had to think twice about what she wanted. She knew exactly what she wanted, and she always got it. Whereas every decision you seemed to make bore consequences you didn't want. And often, the times you didn't heavily weight them out was when things backfired. The last time being with the microwave oven.

It was the only way you knew to trust yourself.

So it irks you greatly when Ryujin calls it a "terrible habit". Because for you, it was a habit that gave you security. Certainty wasn't achievable, but you'd try as fucking close as you could get, and Shin Ryujin won't tell you otherwise.

She'd never understand how imperfect you were. She'd never understand the little complexities that hold you back. For the most part, she had life easy. What would she ever understand?

You ignore her comment, instead picking up a ceramic mug from the shelf, thumbing on the floral patterns glazed onto it.

Ryujin barely senses your predicament, instead grabbing onto the mug placed besides the one you hold onto. "These are pretty, it's like a cute matching set. We should get them," she winks.

The rest of the day follows with more furniture in your cart, and mostly unnecessary plushies plaguing your living room. New pillows, potted plants, wardrobe organisers, a work desk and the biggest Djungelskog bear lying near the couch.

It dawns on you the next morning, after waking up to the chaos, that she was shifting out in two weeks.

On the first of October.

All of a sudden she was busy, very busy, and the two of you barely met, with bigger gaps in your schedule. Part of it was because of Ryujin arranging her main furniture in her new house, and part of it was because you were busy with academics, only that it was voluntary this time. It just so happened that you needed a few more credits to retain your scholarship, the only thing weighing your new found freedom. Along with that, you busied yourself so that you didn't have to face Ryujin later at night.

You were scared. Other than the obvious rent that you'd have to pay by yourself, you also avoided other parts of this change that bothered you. Which was spending time with her. You were scared you'd miss her a bit too much.

Sure, you were friends who were only half an hour away, but now that her colourful room started fading into a bleak white, the emptiness of it reminded you of why you hated autumn. The fall orange left you feeling lonely, and like the very leaves that craved pigmentation, you craved more life. Regardless of the minimal time you spent with her in the evenings, she slowly integrated herself into your life in the smaller ways.

Now they weigh too much in your life for you to be able to cope without it. You ended up distancing yourself from her, in a pathetic attempt to cope with the anticipation of absence. Maybe you just needed more friends, the thought crossing your mind a lot more these days. But you had plenty of them at uni, most of who you loved. But none of them were Ryujin.

None of them cared for you as much as she did. None of them taught you how to care for yourself like she did. None of them held you in their arms throughout the night, until you felt rested and loved. Nobody inspired you as much as Ryujin did.

Maybe Ryujin wasn't just a friend, something you were scared to consider in the past few weeks. It was a feeling completely new. Other than a failed situation-ship in high school, you never considered the possibility of a relationship, much less exploring your sexuality.

It was an intimidating prospect that you hadn't considered. Something that initiated urgency more than curiosity. Unlike the diverse spectrum that your feelings for Shin Ryujin belonged to, your thoughts focused on just one. She was important in more ways than platonic, and the distance that was to be would be extremely difficult to cope with. The distance that you had created seemed silly, but at the same time there was nothing you could think to resolve the conflict. You were going against this wall you'd built for yourself, and the facade of distance only grew day by day. So much so that at one point, Ryujin stopped approaching you first.

In a way, you deserved it. For someone who had been so unreceptive to her life as a coping method, this is the least you deserved for being a little jerk. Why would someone pursue any relationship, even platonic if you'd put yourself back into the mega cage you thought you'd escaped from. Something you'd escaped from only temporarily in her presence. Something you're going back to by the next week when she's gone.

You suffer multiple sleepless nights, the mid terms only a catalyst to your loneliness, when all you remember is Ryujin and her quirks.

You do accept another roommate later on, a mutual contact in your friend group, someone who was introduced to you by Ryujin herself. She'd dropped in a small text at 8 in the morning, on the way to class, you'd assumed. All it did was talk about how a common friend, Yeji needed a room to stay.

You accepted it of course, because you didn't have to foot the entire month's bill but also because you thought having someone else would curb your loneliness. And this loneliness was stupid. Ryujin wasn't the only thing you had in your entire life, and she should've been inconsequential, the same way the daylight hours gradually decreased. But it isn't too hard to notice once the sun's gone down.

The new roommate was like a transition from summer to winter, but unlike Ryujin , who helped ease the transition between the seasons, this one only reminded you that it would be cold. She wasn't a bad roommate, no she was perfect, did the laundry on Wednesdays, did the evening dishes at 6 and gave you lots of personal space. She was nice, but not like Ryujin.

You hated how you compared her to Ryujin, how you compared everything to her. "She isn't your entire world," you remind yourself. "Shin Ryujin was only temporary."

You'd decided that your feelings for her were only a means for you to be validated. That was all you'd craved from her, and that was all she'd given you- validation.

On October 15th, you feel relieved. Your mid terms were over with and you had a little bit of free time. Were you going to spend it wisely? Of course not.

You were going to sit in bed all day, scrolling through Youtube, a luxury you'd afford yourself rarely in the last month. You went home early, to a somewhat excitable Yeji. Another rare sight.

"What's up?" you ask her, noticing her vibrant demeanour.

"Nothing much, Ryujin's coming over today."

You're surprised to hear this, and a little disappointed that Ryujin never told you herself. Or maybe there was no reason to, it's not like you kept in touch with her.

"That's cool, are you guys ordering something? Or should I make food for you two?" you offer, realising the amount of free time you had.

"We'll just order pizza," she replies. She hesitates for sometime, as if she has something to say. "Y/n?" she calls out slowly.

"Hmm?" "...you're nothing like what Ryujin described you as."

You still in your spot.

"It's just that you're really kind you know. I thought you'd be more distant, and cold."

"Ryujin said that? About me?"

She nods her head.

Is that really how she saw you? Distant and cold? Sure you were closed off towards the end, but is that really who you were to her? After all the good memories? You weren't sure anymore, insecurity creeping inside you.

It hurt. Was it this easy for people to be unforgiving? But then again, you never apologised, so in a weird way what Yeji relayed sounded justified.

You offer her a stiff smile.

"I'll be in my room then, tell me if you need anything."

Dejected, you go back to your blank room, where even the orange of autumn feels comforting, something you hated previously. You stay inside the entire evening, occasional sounds of muffled laughter behind your walls being all that you focus on for the duration. Every time you heard her laugh loudly from behind the door, you wondered if she ever laughed like that in front of you. Did you ever make her feel happy? The same way she did to you?

You want to go out and say hi, but after what Yeji said, you stop yourself. She must hate you now, there was no other way.

It isn't later at night, after you're sure the laughter was no more, and only when the silence of the room becomes comforting, you step out to see a dim blue light in the darkness of the living room, Yeji working on the dining table. "Y/n, didn't come out to say hi to Ryujin?" she asks, with pity that sounds forced.

"Yeah, no I was just napping," you lie, "did anything fun happen?"

"Mhm, we were discussing Ryujin's blind date tomorrow with a senior from the engineering department. Apparently, he's handsome," she shrugs her shoulder.

"Ryujin likes boys?" you ask without realising.

"Hmm, I'm not sure actually."

A small part of you feels dejected as you get a glass of water, all while contemplating if you should have reached out.

"You like her don't you?" Yeji whispers, looking up from her laptop.

It's the second time you still in your spot. Yeji had brought up something you never thought was prominent.

"Your lights were on, I could tell from your slightly ajar door. You weren't sleeping were you?" she gives you a knowing smile.

"I'm not judging you- it's just that it's obvious that you miss her. It may or not may be romantic- but you do miss her don't you?". You don't know how to reply to her. You barely knew Yeji, but somehow she very accurately read your emotions.

As if she knows what you're thinking, she continues.

"You know, every time that I've tried bringing up Ryujin, you've always changed the conversation, instead isolating yourself in your room."

Looking back, it made sense. You didn't want to think about her anymore. Your meeting with Ryujin's was temporary and never mattered. It was almost crazy how dependent you were on her within just a few months.

" I realised that I don't know much about Ryujin, nor does she about me. Sure I know she loves mocha bread, she loves her big Ikea Djungelskog soft toy, that she's watched the perks of being a wallflower more times than she can count; but I don't think I could be truly vulnerable with her. I'm scared to be vulnerable with her."

Yeji sighs, almost disappointed. She went back to working, despite her twitching lips, like she had more to say.

That night, you reflect for longer. Why was it that you felt scared to lean on Ryujin? Technically you told her about troubles with academics, problems with some of your classmates- that is considered being vulnerable right? Then what was it that you wanted her to know, but you never wanted to admit? Was it your insecurities? Was it the thought she'd never understand it?

It was like your mind had accepted that you and Ryujin had come from two different worlds, and if you invited her into yours, she would run away, like your family. Despite you coming to terms with it, the distance with your family was a wound still fresh. And nothing would change, until you could put it behind you.

25th October, Yeji handed you an invite to one of her friend's Halloween parties.

After your confession, she'd been a little nicer; she was more active in initiating conversations, and you realised she was more extroverted than your first impression. Eventually, you did watch the Maze Runner with her again, and you appreciated how she gushed about Dylan O'Brien throughout it, dispelling any awkward moments.

"I designed this invitation by the way, cool isn't it?", she asks about the party invitation in your hand. It had black bat details engraved in a glossy reflective paper. "Please come, we've had a difficult week, one party won't hurt will it?" she states, the question more rhetorical.

You agree quietly, excitement bubbling in you.

Until it did hurt, a week later.

Barely five minutes after you enter the loud, congested apartment, with strangers in costumes, you felt a part of your heart drop. There was a tight feeling in your chest, something you were sure wasn't because of the new corset you wore. Because you felt comfortable seconds before you saw Ryujin with her hands wrapped around this guys neck, kissing him on the couch as if he were her entire life. At first, you weren't even sure it was her- her hair was shorter, dyed a platinum blonde. She wore a leather jacket and a white skater dress, dressed so differently than what you were used to seeing her in.

You weren't able to comprehend how good she looked in his arms, with all her attention focused on him, smiling. The same smile that you'd missed for a month. When she does look away from the vampire- you assumed was her boyfriend, her eyes scan the crowd and she almost looks bewildered. You were stood so motionless near the entrance from where you could see them, that even the crowd that pushed past you couldn't bring you to move. It was suffocating, and unconsciously you head for the exit, looking to get away.

But fate wouldn't be so kind would it? The universe wouldn't just let you be would it? "Are you leaving already y/n?" Yeji screams from across the room, which you were sure was audible to everyone. She finds her way to you, a smile on her face. "You just came in, why are you leaving? Cool outfit by the way."

"Thanks," you offer her a stiff smile, eyes going back to Ryujin, who because of Yeji, had finally found you.

Yeji, who just noticed the tension, holds your hand and pulls you towards Ryujin.

"Atleast say hi, y/n, it won't hurt."

Yeji's assurance of "it won't hurt" was what brought you here, it was indeed what hurt you. Her saying this now wasn't helping, and you scoff. It was almost like Yeji knew this was going to happen. It was like she knew how much it hurt you, and may even enjoy it.

"Why did you invite me Yeji? You knew about this didn't you? It hurts, I..I shouldn't have come." you spit out, trembling.

"Y/n, there's something you need to know."

"What? that she has a boyfriend?" you spat, annoyed by her deception.

Yeji sighs, holding onto your shoulders, somewhat urgent.

"No, it's something only Ryujin can tell you. Please, just talk to her. This once."

At this point, you couldn't trust anyone, neither Yeji, Ryujin, nor yourself. It was like you were at different crossroads- to run away, or to confront her again. She hadn't even done anything wrong, all she did was kiss a guy. She didn't owe you anything.

You choose to run away, until you notice Ryujin approaching you with her boyfriend. It's like she withheld any decision you make, with her forcing you into a circumstance you would not choose for yourself.

"Y/n?" she asks softly. Her otherwise comforting voice now made you uncomfortable, almost bringing you to tears by how much you missed it.

"It's been so long," she holds your hand gently.

Her hands felt colder than before, and before you could say anything, the tall, matching vampire spoke up.

"Hi y/n, I'm Jason, her boyfriend. I've heard a lot about you." he looks friendly, and he doesn't seem to hold any malice. But you still hated this guy.

"You have?" you ask saltily. "...good things I hope." you couldn't help but say drily, hands fiddling with the witch hat you'd worn.

"A moment please love," Ryujin signs to her boyfriend, who goes towards the bar with Yeji.

Ryujin takes your hand and drags you towards what you assume to be the bedroom, away from the crowd.

You enter the bedroom with her, with your head ringing because of the way she called him love. You remember how she'd called you love the day you'd tried baking, the day you'd fallen asleep in her arms. You thought the word "love" meant nothing, that it was an endearing term with no implications. But if that was the case- why did she address him as love?

Jealousy eventually overrode the confusion, and the hurt that stained you previously had multiplied. You couldn't feel more stressed, it was so much more than any calculus assignment you'd ever come across.

"Are you crying?" she eventually speaks, eyes concerned. You didn't even realise the visible tears falling down your cheek slowly, your mascara ruined in the reflection of the mirror behind her.

"What do you wanna talk about Ryujin?" you huff. "Y/n, do you need time to calm down? I don't think you're in the mood to talk."

"I'm fine. Just get to the point please." you say, barely concentrating on what was going on. She comes in to hug you, but you step back.

She looks upset by this, seemingly as confused as you. "I...I thought we were friends y/n," she whispers in the same tone she'd always used to comfort you. "We weren't this far apart were we? Why do you hate me?" she raises her voice in desperation.

This was an accusation you could not believe she had made, hate was too strong for what you felt for her.

"I don't hate you Ryujin." you speak, resigned. "Then why do you look so upset, why can't you even say hi?" she emphasises, her voice breaking in between.

"Because it hurts... I can't"

You fall against the bed post. Eyes finding the bear plushie you bought her. You slowly realise that this is her bedroom, and that you were in her new house- the apartment you'd never come to before. You were barely able to process all of this when she speaks up again.

"You can't what y/n? You can't accept the fact that you like me?" You look back at her, eyes widened, as though whatever little sanity you had remaining was destroyed like the branches of an autumn tree- fallen, and weak. It was almost humiliating.

"I don't like you Ryujin," you hide behind your words like a coward. "Don't lie to yourself y/n, is it that difficult to accept that you like me?"

You don't know where this was coming from. If she knew you liked her, couldn't she just let you down gently?

"What does it matter? You have a boyfriend. Even if I did like you; no even if I loved you, nothing would change." you say dejectedly. It must have been true, because there was silence that persisted for longer than you wished it would be.

"What if it did change? What if I said I liked you too? Would you believe me?" she asks quietly, reverting back to her calm persona as she takes a big breath. You scoff, noticing how different she had become in a month. The audacity she had to ask you if you believed her, right after making out with her boyfriend in front of everyone in the room disgusted you, something you don't think you'd ever be able to comprehend.

"Why would I believe you? I saw your boyfriend. Besides, if you did like me, you'd be honest with me. I think that's the least I'd expect from you, so don't play with my feelings; because unlike yours, I can say with conviction that mine are real."

You see her expression change, her eyes becoming teary.

She sits beside you, against the wooden footboard. "I can't be honest, because I'm scared. There's so many people watching me- so many people who my family knows. I barely had, or still have any privacy in my life. Do you know why my grandparents left me this apartment? Because they don't trust me." she pauses for a minute. Taking another deep breath, eyes now fixed on to the floor.

You don't know where she's going with this, but don't say anything because this may be the last time you'd get any closure.

"There was a girl I really liked in high school, but we could never be together, because my family refused to let me meet her. They pretend to be liberal in their thoughts- but they're as homophobic as they get. There's no way they'd understand. The only time I felt safe was in our dorm, because there was no one who would snitch on me, nobody who cared. It was utopia- where you were my solace, and I just basked in the temporary peace.

But when my grandparents asked about you, they'd worry I'd gotten too close to you, refusing to believe you could be just a friend. Two months after I shifted in to our dorm, they made preparations to isolate me in this house of theirs."

She couldn't continue, as tears you'd never seen from her before, collected as a tiny stream between the cracks of the tiles on the cold floor. You understood what she meant. In an evening's moment, you realised that she wasn't this perfect being that she always projected. Yes, she was amazing, but she had her own challenges, something you thought she'd never had. Unlike the two different worlds you thought you were in, your access into her world made you realise you were more similar than you could've imagine. All of a sudden you hated your past self for being so mean to her, for harbouring insecurities that in hindsight were not worth the pain.

"Jason, is my neighbourhood friend, and he's the one of the few people I can trust. He's pretending to be my boyfriend, so that if my family ever found out, they wouldn't doubt me." she explains, trying to resolve your distrust.

"I'm so sorry," you whisper, leaning your head against her shoulder, gently holding onto her hand."

The two of you sit their in silence, reflective, though relieved.

She gently kisses your forehead, arms wrapping around your waist.

"I missed you y/n. So much. But I'm also scared to go back to you, to our place. I don't know what we're going to do. I'm sorry too, for the situation I put you in. For the situation I've put both of us in."

You rub her arms gently,

"It's ok, we'll figure it out slowly. I'm sorry too . You were always there for me- and I, like the coward I am was scared of being attached to you, your generous love . I was also so insecure of how perfect you were- but now it's all so inconsequential."

To this Ryujin laughs, and she wipes her tears. "It's funny how both of our insecurities hurt us in the end. I promise, I wont' let it affect us in the future. I won't ever hurt you again y/n. I love you, so much."

"I love you too Ryujin."

You know that it's going to be a long road ahead of the two of you, but you'll be alright. You comb through her hair, leaning in to meet her lips. Her quivering lips are not soft as you expected, but slightly chapped, brushing against yours. She drags a cold finger down your spine, causing you to lose your breath. Her pulling you closer, slipping behind your corset, unzipping it. Your hands are tangled in her short locks, and you pull away in between to breathe.

With the kiss, and this new path, the autumn you hated so had come to an end. Autumn had become easier to think about, among the loneliness of the dry leaves and the warmth devoid in the air, you'd treasure the warmth that she provided. Shin Ryujin, unlike autumn wasn't temporary. Autumn will come and go, but Shin Ryujin would always stay, and you'd treasure her in every season. In the end, autumn didn't hate you as much you did, because despite everything, autumn gifted you Shin Ryujin.

Am I actually posting an autumn fic when its almost summer? Yes, yes I am. This is long overdue and idk why it took me this long to finish it ahhhh.

I appreciate any feedback, feel free to interact with this post!

Thanks for reading <3

-Macaroon

#itzy fanfic #ryujin x reader #ryujin x you #ryujin fanfiction #shin ryujin imagines #shin ryujin x reader #itzy fanfictions #itzy x reader #itzy x yn #itzy flf #itzy imagines #kpop imagines #shin ryujin fanfic #ryujin ff

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os81rpiastri · 9 months

Text

Holding hands - KR7

[ 645 words ]

[ master list ]

౨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹ Warnings; smut, slight size kink, hand kink, choking, fingering, praise kink, and poorly google translated Finnish (lol)

౨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹ Pairing; soft domKimi x innocent subreader (female)

౨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹ Summary; Kimi had noticed the reader sneaking glances of his hands while bored, so he decides to surprise her.

౨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹ Authors note; first post, also first time writing smut so I’m sorry if it sucks 😭.

You bounce you’re leg, letting out a sigh. Your bored, you’ve been since about an hour ago. You and Kimi were watching some show he had picked out in the living room, which you had no interest in. Glancing at Kimi, your gaze immediately falling to his hands.

They were already so attractive, so big and vainy. You loved how big he was compared to your short frame, especially his hands, he could throw you around if he wanted, which truthfully you wish for nothing more in that moment. You snap back to reality when you realize he had just caught you staring, you turn your face away quickly, a heavy blush covering your cheeks. You can hear him let out a soft laugh.

“Rakkuas, what is bothering you” love he ask’s in a low voice. Resting his hand on your thigh gently, waiting for your response. You let out a small sigh as he placed his hand on your thigh.

“Nothing” gently squeezing your thighs together, trying to play it off. Keeping your gaze locked on the tv straight ahead. He leans closer to your ear, you feel his soft breath against your neck.

“Vauva don’t lie, I can see you squeezing your thighs together” baby he softly yet slowly drags his hand up your thigh. You watch his hand trail higher, towards the heat between your legs. You suck in a quiet breath. He smirks playfully, kissing from your jaw down your neck softly. His hand finally reaching your core, he rubs gentle, slow circles on your clothed clit.

“Kimi” you mumble closing your eyes quickly, wrapping your hand around his wrist.

“Want me to stop” he whispers against your neck, applying more pressure, rubbing your clit a bit harsher. You nod your head no vigorously, eyes shut tightly in pleasure, moans spilling from your lips.

“Words, Vauva” baby he mumbles into your neck, he picks up his pace as he waits for your response. His free hand sliding down to your hip, gently moving you to sit in his lap.

“Don’t stop” your head falls back in pleasure. Gripping his bicep tightly, bucking your hips into his hand. He pushes your underwear to the side, slowly slipping a finger into your cunt. You let out a loud moan, as he works your clit with his thumb. He pumps his finger in and out at a slow pace, curving his fingers to hit your sweet spot.

“teet niin hyvää minulle” your doing so good for me he slowly slips in a second finger. Picking up his pace, pumping his fingers faster. Still working your clit harshly with his thumb.

“Kimi I-I’m gonna-“ he speeds his fingers up. Moving his hand to your throat, squeezing it gently so you can still breathe. At this point your so close you can’t even put together a coherent sentence. The only thing slipping past your lips was moans and his name.

“Go ahead cum, cum all over my fingers Rakkuas” love he pulls you closer by the throat, kissing you passionately. It was sloppy but that and his words sent you right over the edge. You let out a loud porngraphic moan, your orgasm washes over you hard. You fall onto his chest as your body shakes.

“Still bored” he chuckles while looking down at you. He slowly slips his fingers out of your cunt, you let out soft moan. He moves his fingers up to your lips.

“imeä” suck he mumbles softly, you take his fingers in your mouth and suck gently. You moan at the taste of yourself on his fingers. He pulls his fingers out of your mouth with a small pop.

“Tired” Kimi asks quietly, wrapping his arms around you. You nod your head gently against his chest.

“Round two after my nap” you mumble into his chest. He looks down at you grinning.

“Sounds Perfect”

#kimi räikkonën #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #smut #imagine

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spop-romanticizes-abuse · 1 year

Note

Other than catra/catradora, what problems do you have with the show?

oh boy, where do i even start? i'm just gonna try and keep it short because if i try to explain every single aspect in detail, this post could be turned into a book. so i'm just gonna list out all the problems i have with this show, both in terms of problematic elements and poor writing.

blatant ableism towards the autistic character

bullying and mistreatment of a young boy being played for laughs

war and desolation being used as an Aesthetic™ rather than a theme/message

rushed and poorly written character arcs (and no, it's not just catra)

amatonormativity and forced ships (the show is supposed to be representative of the LGBT community, yet almost all of the characters need to end up in a relationship, in order to have a happy ending)

boring and poorly written Final Boss™

too much fanservice (little snippets of fanservice is fine but when you ignore and disrespect canon just so you can make the viewers happy, that's a problem)

an entire kingdom is conquered and its people probably killed/seriously harmed, and its ruler is shown moping around in a bathtub and eating ice cream as if they got stood up by their date instead (this connects to my earlier point about war being trivialized)

the only non-binary representation being a shapeshifting lizard creature (look, i like double trouble as a character but you have to admit that they're not exactly good representation)

one of the most powerful female characters in OG she-ra being reduced to the "doting aunt" (for a show that claims to be about empowering women, they sure ignore the powerful women in canon)

weird pacing and inconsistencies (apparently two or three years passed within the five seasons, yet the characters haven't aged at all, especially frosta who supposedly went from 12 to 14, yet looks exactly the same)

the princesses are useless (they should have named the show 'Catra and the others' lmao)

overuse of character archetypes instead of making original characters (the peaceful vegan flower princess who sometimes loses her temper, the depressed emo girl™, the hyperactive child™)

stereotyping of certain communities (the high-functioning autistic genius, the angry latina, the predatory lesbian, etc)

bad comedy (this is probably subjective and i don't expect everyone to agree, but most of the comedic elements is SPOP was just.. corny. only scorpia worked well as a comic relief character imo)

the only polyamory representation being two bullies and their victim

death of the author™ (basically, confirming things outside of the series, instead of portraying them well in canon)

plot holes and unsatisfying conclusions (adora's origin was a huge plot point in s4 but they completely abandon it in the last season)

there may be a lot that i've missed because i have a goldfish brain and tend to forget stuff. but i'd say these are the main problems i have with the show. it did a few things right, but fucked up on a thousand others.

#spop critical #spop #spop salt #spop discourse #spop criticism #anti catradora #she ra #anti catra #feel free to add your own grievances in the replies or reblog!!

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dreamofmetoday · 1 year

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QUICK READING RECAP

23rd to 25th of june 2023

💐💝🌸how does twice momo feel about the misamo unit debuting?

↳ PoP, 3oW

she is happy about it, and likely feels she has waited a long time for it to finally come to fruition and thinks it’s a good idea - sees it as a good beginning.

🤍💻🎧how does twice mina feel about the misamo unit debuting?

↳ the world, 10oP

she’s really happy about it, she feels really comfortable with momo, sana and the overall concept as a whole. she thinks it came at the perfect time but also is thinking, “finally”. however, she thinks something about the styling or song itself was poorly handled in some aspects (but still mostly genuinely content).

🧁🥧🍪how does twice sana feel about the misamo unit debuting?

↳ 7oS, strength, PoS

so she didn’t hate it but she there were other things she’d rather be doing. she found it kind of burdensome, that her time and energy was being unnecessarily taken from her.

🍿🍫🍰how does aespa karina feel about her plastic surgery rumours being so talked about?

↳ the world, juniper rx

she sees it as a side effect of fame and does her best not to dwell on the topic but it can be really difficult. on bad days, it’s on her mind especially during in person interactions - she wonders what they’re thinking and if they’re judging her or not.

🏠⛰️🏰how does aespa winter feel about her plastic surgery rumours being so talked about?

↳ 8oP, AoW

she’s kind of shocked because she didn’t expect it but she thinks it will pass (people will get bored and move on). she thinks there’s nothing she can do about it now.

🥨⛲️🍊how does le sserafim sakura feel about having such a big age gap with eunchae?

↳ QoS, QoP

she sees it as just how the job works (she is used to this sort of dynamic). while sakura is protective over eunchae, she also definitely keeps eunchae at arms length.

⭐️☁️☀️how does nicki minaj see ice spice?

↳ AoP, KnoS

she feels mostly indifferent to her but thinks she is a good money opportunity (can acknowledge ice spice is successful), she wants to be on ice spice’s good side. nicki doesn’t have much of on an opinion on her personality.

🍦🍫🍯how does nicki minaj see doja cat?

↳ 5oP, the hermit

nicki thinks doja takes care of her appearance well but that she is too into herself and doesn’t really have real substance. she thinks doja is really focused on money.

🍲🥘🥙how does loona yves feel about the criticism on her new style?

↳ 6oW rx, emperor

it honestly pisses her of a lot, every time she gets comfortable with fans or with being herself she feels quickly reminded of why she hates being famous (or simply being just authentic). she’s basically thinking: may as well not try to have anything nice or expect anything positive. she thinks her look is good overall though.

🍨🍰🍫how do itzy feel about their upcoming comeback?

↳ hanged man, 7oW

they’re worried and apprehensive about it as a whole. they genuinely want to prove themselves and want to still be popular, they’re hoping they can impress people but they’re unsure (though mostly hopeful).

🍁🍂🪵what would the ideal date for stray kids felix be?

↳ 10oS, QoS, the lovers

something very relaxed and lowkey, where communication and basic chemistry if the main focus (over lots extravagance). he enjoys when conversation is witty but not TOO deep, he wants the mood to seem mainly happy. he also enjoys going to second or third base on the first date and is happy when people feel the same way, and feel the mutual chemistry.

🌺🌸🌼what does twice sana want in a partner?

↳ earth dragon, 5oP, strength

someone who’s mature, can be good guidance and manage things. someone who values the material, working hard and being proactively positive. a good problem solver who’s intelligent and practical.

🍀🪹🌿what does nct mark enjoy talking about?

↳ AoS, the sun, KnoW

he mostly enjoys witty, fast-paced and light hearted conversations. isn’t always keen to go super deep, doesn’t really enjoy long winded explanations on things. he enjoys engaging in gossip. he also doesn’t want to think before he speaks so prefers when people don’t get offended easily and conversation can be blunt and straightforward. lastly, he enjoys flirting and loves when conversations have this tone set.

🎮♟️🎳what is the ideal date for gidle minnie?

↳ 4oP, PoP

she wants someone who shows they’re not afraid to splurge on her and spend money. so she enjoys expensive dates where it’s clear the other person wants to impress her - showing up smelling good and well dressed is also a part of this. she also wants them to make it obvious they only have eyes for her. she wants to feel taken care of and appreciated she sees this as ways that can prove it, showing she is really valued.

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flightfoot · 1 month

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I just finished the seasons of Pretty Cure I was interested in, here's my rankings for them!

For reference, the Precure seasons I've completed are Futari Wa, Max Heart, Fresh, Heartcatch, Go Princess, Mahou Tsukai, Kira Kira, Hugtto, Star Twinkle, Delicious Party, Otona, and Hirogaru Sky.

I'm gonna rank them from worst to best and give my opinion on them. Warning that there may be spoilers in my review.

Hirogaru Sky

This season was a MASSIVE disappointment. It started off strong, but the plot just kind of meandered around until the last few episodes, the pacing was terrible. Most of the episodes are just the characters going to some location and hanging out being cute, and while that's fine for the occasional breather episode, it got really boring really quickly. The character arcs were also pretty lackluster for the most part, Sora's especially. C'mon, you can do so much more interesting things with the desire to "be a hero". Cure Majesty managed to be the most boring cure in existence, she lost all semblance of personality in her transformation from Ellee. Some good things: Tsubasa's character design was amazing, and his two episode introduction was one of the best I've seen for a non-midseason. I also really enjoyed how Mashiro and Battamonda foiled off of each other, I hadn't expected that. If only that arc encompassed more than just three episodes, that was the best part of the show.

Futari Wa

It's okay, it's neat to see where the show started and Nagisa and Honoka are fun to watch. I wish it'd given more even focus to both leads instead of focusing so heavily on Nagisa though, given that there was only the two of them, and it's overall pretty generic by magical girl standards.

Max Heart

I like Max Heart a little better than Futari Wa. Hikari's just okay and the Heartiels are a really poor fetch quest for showing progression (they just kinda show up when it's time), but there's a bit of a mystery element going on with figuring out what Hikari is and how she's connected to the mysterious boy, and overall the plot and ending are a little better than the first season.

Star Twinkle

Now we're getting into the really solid seasons, the ones with a lot to offer, even if they still have major flaws. I love how expansive the world is, all the Cures are interesting and have their own problems, and the way the villains foil with the heroes is cool. It does have some major flaws, however. The season refuses to actually commit to the moral ambiguity it sets up. Like with its cool phantom thief character: she's stealing back the treasures that were illegally stolen from her homeworld after all her people were petrified. Unfortunately, the show doesn't want to promote stealing, so she ends up being scolded about how "stealing is bad" and that they need to simply ask the mob boss nicely to hand over the jewelry he bought. It also has problems with something that's going to come up a lot with the more ambitious, darker entries on this list: terminal vagueness. Precure is frequently extremely vague when tackling darker subjects in the narrative, which can be to its detriment. Like for instance, Kappard hates outsiders because outsiders took his planets resources. It's unclear from what little we see whether outsiders conquered and colonized their world, or whether there were just too many exploitive tourists and the government was incompetent and decided not to do anything about it. I also just kinda got bored after awhile and started wanting it to be over, though there was a lot of interesting stuff in the series. Overall still a good series with a varied world that attempts to tackle and comment on a lot of interesting subjects, but doesn't always manage to do it well.

Heartcatch

So this is a fan-favorite season. Funny thing is, I think it actually sucks at the things it's most well-known for, but is very good at some other things. It's known for being really dark, but I thought its dark elements were poorly executed, with little explanation being given for why Cure Moonlight's father felt the need to put on that damn mask, and little explanation being given about how the main villains came to be. Honestly, for any of them except for Dark Precure. Dune is particularly nonsensical, I have no idea whether he's an alien, a god, or some primordial force. He just kinda popped up. It also set up some plot threads at the beginning with some unsatisfactory pay-offs, like with Cure Blossom supposedly being the weakest Precure and that mostly not mattering after the first episode, or the mystery of who the hunky guy who saved her actually was. Him being Coupe transformed to look like her dead grandpa was unsatisfying. Heartcatch DOES, however, have solid characters and the best monster-of-the-week episodes in the franchise. The premise of Heartcatch was well-crafted for going over and helping to resolve the emotional problems various people run into in their day-to-day lives. For that aspect, I'd recommend Heartcatch to people, even with the problems I have with the actual plot.

Go Princess

This is a really good, solid season that you can hand to most newcomers and be confident they'll have a good time. The character arcs are just kind of okay, but the season's well-paced, I really love the message about pursuing your dreams, putting in the work to fulfill your ambitions, and it's got solid episodic episodes. The thing it's REALLY good at and is known for are the fight scenes and boss fights though. There are boss fights roughly every ten episodes and they're pretty epic, and the fighting is pretty brutal this season in general.

Delicious Party

This is the most underrated Precure season. I think it's something about the silliness of being a food-based season? But I loved its full-throated sincerity when espousing how food brings people together, and it has one of the most plot-filled, excellently paced storylines, since it has this mystery running throughout it of who stole the recipebon, where it is now, and what, exactly, happened to Cinnamon. I really enjoyed some of the character arcs this time around, Cure Spicy's in particular, with her and her parents trying to reconnect, she's one of my favorite cures! Overall, I can understand some of the complaints about this season, but I loved it.

Mahou Tsukai

This season is more than the sum of its parts. Its villains are fun, if not ground-breaking, and it has pretty good world-building, arguably the best of any Precure season - not that that's saying a lot, that is not one of Precure's strengths. It's not really the character ARCS that are amazing this season, it's how the main characters play off each other. This is the most cohesive, closest team of Cures I've seen. Helps that the two main Cures raised a child together XD. Anyway, while a few episodes were kinda slow, I really enjoyed seeing the Magic world and the epilogue left me on the verge of tears, which is the most I've been emotionally affected by ANYTHING in Precure. Highly recommend this season.

Otona

This one's hard to place, since it was only a single cour instead of just four. Still, I think it earns this place. I love how while all the Cures achieved their "dream" jobs, it didn't mean that everything was perfect and sunny in their lives, and looming threats like Global Warming were brought up. All the cures had their own, individual problems, ones that couldn't just be naively dealt with like when they were kids - they had to come up with actual adult answers for them. I love how Otona didn't just like, make everything dark and gloomy, but DID actually seem interested in tackling what might happen with a group of adult magical girls in a genuinely mature way. It felt even-handed. I'd recommend this to even some non-Precure fans who were interested in this sort of premise.

Fresh

I did not like this season at first. I could tell that the villains were gonna be interesting, but I wasn't all that interested in Miki, Buki, Love, or Chiffon. I thought this was gonna be a mediocre season. ...then Eas got those cards and the plot went into overdrive and never went back. The first ten or so episodes of Fresh are just kinda okay, but after that, once Setsuna's arc kicks into high gear, it becomes one of the best Precure seasons, with the single best plot, ending, villains, and single character arc in the series. Setsuna's redemption arc is very compelling, especially since her having been a villain never stops mattering. Reminds me of Ken Ichijouji's, in that way. And the villains are all a blast to watch, and for different reasons. Westar's a himbo, Soular's a sneaky schemer, and Eas gets divided loyalties pretty quickly. They have different sorts of villains they make too. I especially like Soular's villains, they have creative powers. The main things keeping Fresh from being higher are its early mediocre episodes and Chiffon. Chiffon's role in the plot makes no sense. Once again, Precure's just very vague and has Chiffon be this infinity thing that can be used to take over worlds and has a music box to help undo the transformation... just because? it's never explained why Chiffon is the way she is, and she's too important to the plot for that to just be handwaved away. Overall though, I think this season has the most of the best stuff to offer, it's just that there's enough important things it does poorly to keep it off the top of this list.

Hugtto

This season is excellently paced with great character arcs for all the Cures AND even a bunch of the side characters, such as Henri and Masato. Hugtan is a great magical Precure baby and Hariham Harry is an amazing mascot/mentor. The episodes are almost all highly enjoyable and the villains stick around after being defeated, popping up in their new jobs repeatedly. The main thing keeping it off the top spot is the whole "terminal vagueness" problem I've talked about before. It's not totally clear why a lot of the villains want to stop time or why some of them even joined the organization to begin with, or why they made certain other decisions. Like Doctor Traum just sort of attempting to murder his coworker because he could, or why Hariham's brethren decided to stick with Criasu Corp as much as they did after everyone else had gotten hit with an unexplained illness and then had the village burnt down and everyone die in a similarly unexplained fire. The ending was highly disappointing because of how vague it was about these sort of motivations, it just kinda felt like stuff was happening. The epilogue was really good though, I loved seeing what was happening in this new future.

Kira Kira

This is, in my opinion, the single best Precure season. It's got well-orchestrated character arcs for everyone, memorable villains (well, half of the villains, at least), excellent pacing, and the earnestness with which it pursues its baking theme is great to watch. I also really love how Ichika actually kinda sucked at baking at first and had to slowly become better through experience, it was satisfying and realistic! Also the ending was really good and the epilogue had me jumping out of my seat, I STILL can't believe that something that'd been bugging me since episode 2 was finally answered IN THE VERY LAST EPISODE. Honestly my biggest complaint is the lack of Cure Waffle, we were ROBBED. Still, I'm very glad Pikario existed in the first place at least.

#pretty cure #precure

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rottenbrainstuff · 4 months

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I’ve had a few days to think about Furiosa and I’ve been trying to dredge up some more detailed thoughts to add. Mild spoilers below.

My impression is still that it was a really weird movie. The pacing of the story was weird to me. I told a friend it reminded me of watching The Boy and the Heron. I can’t deny I’m watching a movie that was made with an incredible amount of skill. I can feel the love and the attention that was given to these scenes. But it feels rambling and personal with strange choices being made that I don’t understand. I’m glad this movie was made, I’m glad it’s as beautiful and as interesting as it is, but it just does not resonate with me emotionally, not as much as it should.

But there are some things I really liked about it. My favourite part of the entire thing was Praetorian Jack’s intro car chase, the first time we see him in action. Man wtf. George Miller is so bizarrely good at filming, specifically, car chase gun fights. Somehow he knows the very best shots, somehow he is a master of how to ramp up the tension, and he knows how to release the tension when it’s all done, somehow he knows how to use gun-fight-as-medium-for-character-description, like, fuck. If Hitchcock is the master of suspense, George Miller is the master of tension and gun fights. Road Warrior, Fury Road, and Jack’s first gunfight (also the fight at the bullet farm), just chef’s kiss. There were unfortunately a lot of times in the theater when I felt bored and was wondering how long the movie was going to be, but fuck me, every time there was a car chase, my heart was absolutely fucking hammering.

I don’t tend to enjoy a lot of action movies and I’ve had people condescendingly tell me I just don’t get the genre, and that’s why. I feel that is patently untrue. I enjoy action movies when they’re done well. The problem is that most of them aren’t done well.

Another case in point: how does George Miller do such interesting male characters? I’m just so fascinated with Praetorian Jack and Tom Hardy’s Max, and the weird and fascinating way they’re such stereotypical male action characters in some ways, yet they both have this extremely un-stereotypical softness and vulnerability about them that makes them so interesting and appealing. Dementus was also pretty interesting as well. Just. I’m so interested in these characters, they actually appeal to me, they’re messed up and vulnerable and layered, I actually care about them. This is not something I can say about most male characters in most action movies. Once again it’s not that I don’t “get” the genre, it’s that it’s just usually done poorly, so there.

I’d like to watch it again - kind of like when I watched Arcane for the first time and was worried about what the dynamic between Silco and Jinx was going to be, I was very uncomfortable for a lot of the first half of the film, because I was worried they’d show some kind of sexual assault on screen. I know George Miller was very conspicuously good during Fury Road about suggesting the kind of things that had happened to the wives, but not actually showing any gratuitous abuse on screen. I also know that was NOT the case in his original movies so like, I’m not necessarily trusting that we won’t go back to that! Little Fury and Rictus especially put my nerves on edge so much I could barely keep watching… I’d like to go back and watch it again knowing that I can relax about that. (And thanks for that George - that really is something I have entirely lost my taste to watch, these days)

Before I saw the movie, I was pondering the problem with prequels, and how I’ve never managed to see a really good prequel before. They always seem to run into the problem of, since we know what’s going to happen next, it feels a bit frustrating to just watch them get things set up for the next movie. It feels a bit weird to watch characters go on a character arc that happens BEFORE the actual character arc we WANT to see. Why do we want to watch them struggle just to get to a point that’s just…. The beginning of their actual character arc?

I wouldn’t say Furiosa manages to totally avoid this problem, but I think as far as prequels go, it felt a little less frustrating. I liked Dementus’ speech before the conclusion (even if it felt a little odd and meta, rather than in-character) about the pointlessness of her revenge, and I liked thinking about how the events of this movie really set into motion how and why Furiosa was going to change her approach. Myeh I dunno. It was ok. Still has the prequel problem, but I think it did the best it could.

So. Yes. Weird. Weird movie. But lots of things to appreciate, and I generally recommend going out to see it.

#furiosa: a mad max saga #movie nerdery

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ceruleanslob · 4 months

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controversial opinion but i really don't care much for klavier gavin...

i've just finished dual destinies and since that is his last canon appearance that I'm aware of, I felt like this could be the appropriate time for me to talk about him...

so throughout my enjoyment of Apollo Justice, I noticed that every time I was bored/felt that the pacing was dragging was every time klavier was on screen... idk why that is aside from the fact that compared to every prosecutor we've had thus far, whenever we take the prosecutor down a peg, it never feels satisfying with klavier as he is always somehow able to save face. (I'm comparing it to edgeworth, godot. simon, and franziska where the dialogue between them and phoenix is always interesting and satisfying whenever they interact and counter each other)

with apollo, i don't feel their social chemistry if that makes sense?? klavier feels very hot and cold on his treatment of apollo? sure, he lets apollo and trucy investigate crime scenes and let them take evidence but on the trial itself, whenever klavier insults apollo it always feels extremely mean-spirited?? (granted he did get his brother and best friend sent to jail) but unlike edgeworth and phoenix where they play on an almost equal playing field when it comes to insulting each other, it's not the same for apollo.

throughout the game i noticed that apollo always seemed to look up to klavier? apollo's inner monologue always thinks he's cool and seems to hold klavier's opinion of him rather highly?? which makes me feel kinda sad for him especially when klavier insults him in court since apollo almost-to-never fights back on his insults... (it's very rare that he does)

and i honestly dont like that since throughout the game, I noticed that apollo is extremely kind (compared to phoenix anyway) and sensitive (literally cried when he thought trucy was kidnapped/hurt, this was when they just met!) so when he gets poorly treated like that, it really makes me sad and confused...

and im mainly confused because of the fanworks that depict apollo and klavier have a stern-and-sunshine type of dynamic when in the game they really arent?? so far from what I've seen in the game, it's more apollo admiring klavier quietly to himself, with klavier being a bit snobbish but can sometimes be nice to apollo type of deal..

and that makes me feel kinda disappointed since I appreciate fanon klapollo more than the canon one so far... i really wanted to like klavier more but I'm really not sold on his portrayal in canon compared to the fanon version that the fandom gave me...

however the playthrough i watched was the older version of the game and not the remastered one so maybe klavier is much nicer there??? idk hope this analysis thing makes sense...

but to those who actually played the game, what are your thoughts???

#ace attorney #gyakuten saiban #i dont hate klavier at all #in fact i wanna like him as much as I like kristoph but it's just not working #too scared to actually tag the characters and ship for this since I don't wanna get hated on #im very new to ace attorney so I can be wrong #but this is my perspective as a first time viewer #cerulean rambles because they feel like it

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mwolf0epsilon · 1 year

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The Umbaran Pathogen - Day 7: Restrained

Summary: Biting his lip, Twitch's eyes ran up the thick strong strands of webbing that were keeping his arms bound. Then he looked down at the ones keeping his legs in place. He couldn't move at all, restrained for some as of yet unknown purpose, although what exactly he couldn't tell not did he particularly want to find out.

Warning: Mentions of fleshy walls, body horror and regurgitating into someone's mouth (bug behaviour does not translate well into human form it's gross :C) Twitch belongs to @gaeasun Pitch belongs to @lost-on-kamino

Prev / Next

[In which the events on Umbara are worsened by an unknown pathogen taking hold of both the 501st and 212th. These series of drabbles will follow a non-linear timeline based on the AI-less Whumptober prompt list for 2023.]

THIS STORY IS ALSO ON AO3

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To say Twitch didn't expect this outcome when Krell cornered him in the medbay, is both an understatement and a bit ironic considering he did originally think something was going to go terrible wrong.

Truth be told, this entire campaign was going terribly anyway. Even before he'd tasked himself with his current research project which had landed him in this predicament. Although, come to think of it, he kind of deserved the aftermath didn't he?

When he'd thrown himself headfirst into figuring out what ailed his brothers, Twitch knew deep down that what he was doing was more of an attempt to run away from his current reality (one where he no longer had his batchers, his closest brothers, at his side to guide and console him), and a somewhat cowardly way to avoid all of the death that surrounded him. Even though he was still technically exposed to the last breaths of dying vode all the same... The enemy base's medbay becoming more of a morgue than an actual place of healing.

Returning from a mandated 30 minute nap and seeing Krell standing there had only meant one thing: More death. Another gruesome end to happen within what should have been a safe space.

And he'd been partially right! Just not how he'd expected.

The strand of thick white sticky gunk that had come from the ceiling and landed on the angry Besalisk's shoulder had given them both pause. And then, when both their gazes darted upwards to follow the strand back up to its origin point, time all but caught up with them.

Or rather, the thing that he sort of recognized as Dogma at the moment, had lunged with a shrill shriek.

Twitch wasn't particularly proud of freezing up at that instant. No clone liked the idea of being rendered helpless by their own survival instincts. Especially not a medic who was trained specifically to act under duress. But that was just how it worked out in the end. Which apparently worked in his favour.

The creature, the thing he suspected was Dogma in a later stage of the mystery sickness, had reacted rather poorly to movement. Be it the swing of a lightsaber (that seemingly had no effect on the thick carapace armour he now bore on his person), or other troopers rushing in to help when they'd heard the screeches and the screams.

The creature had simply ripped Krell to shreds as if he were nothing more than a doll, and thrown every other trooper aside with relative ease. Twitch had just barely registered the fact Appo had been bleeding before he felt the world tilt and the rush of cold air against his exposed face and hair. Everything happening at such a fast pace that his mind could barely keep up with everything.

Now here he was... Wherever this place was. He couldn't really recognize it, considering the state of it. What he could recognize was that he was bound up in some kind of web, watching Dogma as he brought in the patients the young medic had been fruitlessly attempting to treat over in the last couple of hours.

Bringing them to this semi-organic nightmare of a fleshy nest-like construct. Slotting them into honeycomb-like cells, before spitting up more webbing to swaddle them comfortably. And Twitch assumed it was meant to be comfortable, because he could see just how carefully and tenderly Dogma seemed to be tending to the other infected.

Nuzzling them. Chirping and clicking softly. Running gentle feather-light claws through sweaty curls to sooth the restless. Being less of the menacing monster that had ripped the General apart, and more of a nurturing being hellbent on making sure every single one of his guests were nice and cozy in their organic cots.

It was kind of cute if not for the fact this whole ordeal was extremely disturbing to observe. Morbidly fascinating, but prone to make one's skin crawl.

Biting his lip, Twitch's eyes ran up the thick strong strands of webbing that were keeping his arms bound. Then he looked down at the ones keeping his legs in place. He couldn't move at all, restrained for some as of yet unknown purpose, although what exactly he couldn't tell not did he particularly want to find out.

He hadn't been infected (at least he didn't think he had been since he felt perfectly ok and wasn't displaying symptoms), nor had Dogma been inclined to do anything to him besides making sure he couldn't move freely. So that couldn't be it. The other option was that maybe he was intended to be used as food, but then Dogma had also not demonstrated any outward aggression towards him. Not like when he'd savagely attacked Krell. If anything he'd been just as gentle in pinning him up, as he had been gentle with the sickly vode he was currently tending to.

That of course didn't mean Twitch wanted to stick around and thank him for his hospitality. He just couldn't see a way out of this mess just yet. Doubted he had a means to escape on his own, since he couldn't even reach the scalpel he'd hidden in his boot prior to all of this transpiring. Just in case the Umbarans managed to sneak back onto their base and he was caught without his blaster...

What could he do?

A soft and somewhat unassuming noise above him had Twitch glancing back up. The wall where he was sticking to just so happened to have a vent slightly above it. A vent from which two familiar faces were now cautiously peering out of. Staring back down at him.

Dogma had, thankfully, not noticed the newcomers. Far too engrossed with the task at hand to spare Twitch so much as a glance.

Great! Now how were Rex and Fives planning to get him out of here without alerting their mutated and freakishly strong vod? They didn't seem like they had much of a plan, but from the way he noticed they were rapidly going through signs amongst them, the young medic hoped they were coming up with something clever on the fly. Or at least stupid enough to work as per usual.

A wet coughing noise made Twitch look back towards Dogma. He had to suppress a gag as he noticed the insectoid-like clone had pried open the jaws of one of the infected vode, and begun to regurgitate some kind of pre-digested pinkish mush into his mouth. The sight was disgusting enough that he could feel bile begin to rise up in his own throat, in response to the repulsive action.

He didn't care what all the Holo-Documentaries said, nature was honestly not all that beautiful...

Seeming to have taken the opportunity to climb out of the vent (the retching noises of regurgitation providing them some cover), Rex and Fives began to enact whatever plan they'd concocted while Twitch was distracted. The ARC carefully moved towards him, while the Captain skirted around. Mindful of his steps and trying to position himself somewhere where he'd possibly have an advantage over Dogma.

Twitch bit his lip and used his head to motion to his right boot, hoping Fives would understand his intentions. Thankfully he did. Nimble fingers finding the scalpel with ease, and bringing it out of its hiding place before using it to begin cutting the webbing.

The stuff was pretty strong, intriguingly so, but a sharp edge was more than enough to work away out it. In less than a minute Twitch was freed from his sticky prison. Meanwhile Rex had managed to scramble up onto one of the empty hexagonal-shaped cells, using the vantage point to get a better view of the maze Dogma seemed to have made out of this hidden corner of the base. The blond captain then motioned for Fives and Twitch to follow him up onto his hiding place, which both did as quickly and quietly as possible. Dogma still very much none the wiser.

They needed to be careful however, as Twitch doubted he had much vode left to keep him distracted for long. Even in this mutated state, the sergeant was both diligent and expeditious in his work ethic.

As apprehensive of this as Twitch was, his older brothers did not seem to share in his worries. Both very much engrossed in figuring out a way to avoid detection on their way out. And from how fast they began to move on out of their hidey-hole, practically pulling Twitch along as they did so, they seemed completely against hesitating. Perhaps for fear that if they waited long enough, they might be found out. Which was sound logic, considering Dogma was now attending to cleaning out the empty cells.

It was a bit of a dance. Timing whenever they should next move. Keeping an eye on the busy insectoid man to make sure he was still unaware of their presence. Making sure their steps were soft and well calculated.

Of course no dance was complete without stepping on your partner's foot at some point...

Inside one of the occupied cells, one of the vode who was a little more along in their infection, snapped up at attention when they passed him by. Whether because he was far too confused to recognize them in his state, or because he was succumbing to the same thing that had changed Dogma, something in his glazed gaze seemed to shift.

Twitch did not have time to cover his mouth before he let out a croaky cry of warning that most definitely caught their host's attention.

"Well Kark!" Fives cursed as Dogma spun around, screeching in their direction with impressive ferocity. Twitch's eyes going wide as he noticed the way his bottom jaw split apart and snapped closed like the mandibles of some kind of wasp. A very pissed off wasp.

"Stun him!" Rex called out, drawing out his blasters and flipping the switches before beginning to fire a barrage of blue energy rings. Although in all honesty he might as well have been blowing bubbles at their mutated brother. None of the shots seemed to be making it past his armour-plating.

"Fat good that's doing! His skin is as solid as durasteel!" The ARC barked back as he pulled Twitch behind him, trying to give the medic at least some sort of barrier against whatever onslaught awaited them. And considering how easily Dogma had killed Krell, he didn't doubt the sergeant would make minced meat out of them in mere seconds.

The enraged insectoid continued to screech, back plates opening up and bioluminiscent wings unfurling behind him, before he took flight and crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

With a simple swipe of his upper claws, he disarmed both Captain and ARC. Their blasters clattering to the side uselessly. Then both older clones were effectively pinned to the wall by their necks. Fives's armoured body sandwiching Twitch against him and the gross fleshy wall.

There was no way they were getting out of here alive... Not after infuriating the severely altered Dogma.

The medic was just about mentally sending them all off with a prayer, half expecting to be meeting with his batchers very soon, when a loud clank reverberated off the walls. And then both Twitch and the older troopers were on the floor, Dogma's grip on them completely gone as the mutant clone collapsed into a heap on the ground unexpectedly.

Looking up, Twitch couldn't help but smile in relief. Behind Dogma's fallen form stood Pitch. Holding a metal chair that was now bent at an awkward angle. Expression unreadable.

"..." The older medic stared at them, then around at the room of nightmares, then at Dogma, and then back at them. He seemed to mull things over before setting down the bent chair and crossing his arms. "Well, aren't you glad I decided to follow my gut feeling?"

#Eps Writes #star wars #the clone wars #whumptober #Umbaran Pathogen AU #captain rex #arc trooper fives #clone trooper dogma #clone ocs #clone medic twitch #clone medic pitch

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mortallyclearwonderland · 11 months

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''This Is The Thanks I Get?!'' - Wish

''This is the thanks I get?!'' is the movie's villain song. I'm going to be honest. Out of all the songs so far this is my favorite. But from what I saw it's also the one with the most dislikes. My best guess is that people were excited and had high expectations about the new villain song since the last one was ''Shiny'' from Moana, 7 YEARS AGO! What also probably upset people is that despite being a ''Disney villain song'' it lacks a lot of the same punch. It's trying to be like ''Mother Knows Beast'' where the villain is being manipulative and tries to pass of as the good guy. I'm going to judge the song for what it is, not for what I wish (wink wink) it would be. Just a heads up, it does pretty poorly.

youtube

The song is very repetitive with the ''this is the thanks I get'' being sang over and over. It's a rule at this point that the name of the song will be repeated many times in the song or that it will be named after whatever is repeated in the song the most, whichever comes first. But a whole freaking chorus?! At least Chris Pine sings it a bit differently each time.

Speaking of annoying repetition, the whole ''tu tu tu'' is driving me crazy. I mentioned it in one of my previous posts that I hate when writers put some sounds for singer to sing because they couldn't be bothered to come up with real words to put into their song. It's lazy and feels like padding. It's not a song in a club that you can bob your head to. It's a song in a musical. Tell a story! Unlike Chris Pine singing ''this is the thanks I get'' differently every time, ''tu tu tu'' is sang always the same. And lastly, who the hell is singing that part? Just because it's a musical it doesn't mean that singing comes out of nowhere. Usually the bad guy sings solo or with his/her minions.

Awkward modern talk that is showing up in all the songs. Examples include ''rent free'' and ''prob''. This is supposed to be a medieval kingdom. I don't expect them to speak like Shakespeare but come on! It sounds so cringe and will age the movie like milk.

Contradiction! Magnifico granted 14 wishes last year but Asha in ''Welcome to Rosas'' said he grants one wish every month. Does a year in Rosas has 14 months? How did no one noticed that?

Another problem I found with the song is how it's less singing and more talking rhythmically.

There's a moment in the song when Magnifico starts going crazy evil and you might get excited about how the song might progress but it's interrupted with ''Where was I'' because we were getting too serious, so we interrupt it with MCU like joke. After that the song goes back to its previous monotone rhythm.

The song tries to build up some excitement again with evil high strings and Magnifico screaming (which sounds good) and a cheesy echo but it's too late. They had an awesome build up and squandered it. There is no walking it back.

This is the problem with all those songs. There seems to be beginnings and endings to those songs but for the most part they just meander around in the same tone, tempo, instruments and every time something resembling a build up or a change of pace occurs it's right back to how it was sang before.

It's a boring repetitive song just like all the others but is the most hated because people had high hopes for it. But to be fair, I don't think a villain song that sounds actually evil is too demanding. Especially when people were very clear about what they want for years.

Special thanks to toaverse for discussing Wish with me.

#wish 2023 #disney wish #princess asha #king magnifico #toaverse #Youtube

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fizzingwizard · 8 months

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Time for some semi-ritual bitching about one of my favorite bitch-worthy topics, Yugioh

Why couldn't they have just done Memory World properly

Why make us suffer through Doma... and especially KC Grand Prix, a single episode of which is more boring than filler in any other fandom... and they made an entire filler arc out of it! Like Doma has lots of faults but at least it tried to do something interesting. It tried to develop characters, which proooobably shouldn't have been undertaken by a filler arc with no canon script to follow, but gold star for trying! Had a shitty finale not remotely worthy of its awesome beginning, but did we really expect any better? lol. KC Grand Prix tho, no. That's just there to Idk be mean to men with pink hair and dumb names?? In the ridiculous hair dumb names anime???

cut because Fizz has the curse of long-windedness thanks my evil fairy godmother

anyway back to Memory World, maybe the issue was the story in the manga still lagged behind where the anime was. I don't remember. If so I guess there was no choice but filler. Still, did they have to blow the budget on it? They lost most of their good animators during Doma, where they also introduced a couple new crap ones who stuck around till the end of course -___- And no doubt the animators were getting paid peanuts for long hours of work, and if they'd run out of budget to even pay that... well clearly the show should have been shorter. Like two whole filler arcs shorter. Just take a break, take a pause, come back when you're ready to do Memory World the way it should be done. Back then no one took breaks, "The fans will forget us," nowadays TV shows just up and away for multiple years at a time x'D before returning suddenly with a new season.

The reason I'm still salty and plan to be salty to my grave is just this. Memory World is the one and only YGO arc since season zero that was not explicitly about card games. They'd been dropping hints since the first that we could expect ancient Egypytian shenanigans in the finale. We were supposed to find out about Atem's lost memories and recover his name. That was the driving force behind everything that wasn't filler. I specifically became a fan as a kid because I enjoyed reading about Ancient Egypt and thought the idea of a millennia-old feud between a pharaoh and whoever Bakura really was sounded neat. So I watched hours and hours and hours of card games all for the sake of making it to Ancient Egypt.

(don't get me wrong I enjoyed the card games lol. Never ask a YGO fan to explain how watching characters stand around and yell "Pot of Greed allows me to draw two cards from my deck!" for hundreds of episodes somehow stayed fresh and interesting)

So we reach Memory World at loooooooong last and. And the animation is the worst. Atem falls off a cliff it's just like "ow." Bakura isn't have as intriguing anymore now that he's a poorly drawn anime guy with scars. He arrives toting Atem's father's mummy it should be scary. It should be shocking. But instead, for some reason we watched dancing girls of questionable historical accuracy repeat the same frame several times, while Atem makes a face like a baby trying his hardest to go number two in his diaper. In the manga this scene is really funny, with Siamun being Sugoroku in every way, and Atem in his awkwardness being more Yugi-like than we've ever seen him. In the anime they are just going through the motions. There's no life in anything.

The one thing the anime version got right was understanding that this was the one and only opportunity we'd have to learn about Atem. You know, half of the main character for the whole show. Even the manga is really so busy doing plot stuff it kind of forgets to make us care about the ancient Egyptian cast. The anime took advantage of the need for pacing to give us a couple low key moments about Atem & Friends, but for some reason it decided we should 1) know what Atem looked like falling flat on his nose as a toddler, and 2) show us that from a young age he was making grand progressive speeches about equality. Seeing Atem portrayed as a nice guy who cared about people gave me mixed emotions after watching him struggle for seasons with the possibility that he might have been a bad king and not remember it. Because we got a whole season of him making mistakes and disappointing fans in Doma, and now in Memory World the final answer to what kind of person Atem was is just "well he's a good guy in the modern sense of the word lol" and then we move on. Also, neither that speech, nor Doma, are manga canon, but fans on the whole remember Doma much better than they remember nice guy baby Atem. Which is so very nice -.-;

So Memory World could have been so much fun, exciting, adventurous in a way you can't always be when you have to stay put on a holo-duel stage (card games on motorcycles hasn't been invented yet!), and insightful about a character who has been the central point of everything yet whom we knew next to nothing about. Instead it was a poorly animated clusterfuck of battle scenes that were difficult to make sense of. The Bakura stuff was the best. The Kaiba-insert filler was the worst. I was disappointed with Set's arc in the manga as well, another thing that had been built up for years and years and ended up more about the mysterious waif-like dragon girl than Set vs Atem. If the anime changed something to add in Kaiba, I wish they'd have rewritten the Set vs Atem duel so it was mildly interesting, and Idk maybe Kaiba could have teamed up with Atem against his past self, which would have aggravated him to no end? Instead of just wandering around insisting none of this could really be happening. Or he should just not have been there at all. Personally I go the DSOD route and pretend Kaiba was never in Memory World, same as the manga. It's not like erasing him from the anime version has any impact on events bahahaha. He was included for MONEY MONEY MONEY popular character NEEDS to stick around even if he has abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do because MONEY MONEY MONEY

I love DSOD to pieces. But my own dream for the anniversary project was a remake of Memory World. Even if it had been a 90 min movie version instead of several episodes, as long as it was better quality, and invested in Atem as a character instead of simply as a pawn in a game, I would have enjoyed those 90 mins better than the entire Memory World season. Doma and KC Grand Prix were a mistake if they played a role in how awful Memory World was.

But they did the Millennium Duel well. Not astonishing, but really, except for useless Kaiba being there, it was more than adequate. (And although Kaiba himsefl was useless, it was cool seeing him rejected as an opponent for Atem in favor of Yugi. Actually I kinda wish they'd made a bigger deal out of that...) Kid me cried buckets (actually I must have been well into my teens by then bahahaha. I def cried though). Thanks to those final two episodes, the series send-off didn't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. If it had ended with Memory World it would have been an even bigger disappointment to me than the finale of Bleach. And I despise the finale of Bleach x'D

#yugioh #youre never too old to be salty about cartoons amirite little kuriboh

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problemswithbooks · 1 year

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ykw, pick 10 of your choice for mha

Worst part of canon

Star and Stripe. I like her character concept but she really has no reason to exist at all given how little she contributed plot.

which ship fans are the most annoying?

Toga/Ochako, but this is just because I really don't like the ship. I'm not really a huge shipper so I don't go looking in ship tags so, I don't actually think the shippers themselves are annoying (I wouldn't know), I just find the ship it's self annoying.

what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Probably Shigaraki, though Dabi's close second (There's more canon issues with him that would have soured me on him anyway which is why he loses). I'm just a little put off by how many of his fans tout him as the best written character--miles above the others in his complexity, and Hori's favorite. He's defiantly one of the deeper characters of the story, up there with Enji, and All Might, but sometimes it feels like people think the story was written specifically for his character which is taking it a bit far.

common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

The idea Enji only changed because he got what he wanted, and that Touya's death should have been his wake up call.

Yes, Enji got the #1 spot, but that's not actually what he wanted--he wanted to be the strongest, to beat All Might. He never got to beat All Might the way he wanted and won on a technicality in his mind.

Meanwhile Touya's death only pushed Enji further into training Shoto, afraid that if Shoto didn't become #1 it would make Touya's death meaningless along with everything he did to his family. After Touya's death he was essentially fighting tooth and nail to avoid the outcome he eventually got--which was all the pain and hurt he caused his family being for nothing.

worst blorboficiation

I was going to say Touya, but then remembered Twice. I love Twice but I think people have sort of just overlooked or excused his bad actions since his death. I mean, I'm more than sick of hearing that he did everything for his friends, as of that is an inherently good thing.

Like, Twice has really gotten the tragic uwu angel treatment post death, and that's a bit annoying.

that one thing you see in fics all the time

Going back to what I said in a prior post, Tensei always having gone to UA--it's in a lot of fics with Aizawa and Present Mic. Also, Tensei being friends or knowing Manual.

there should be more of this type of fic/art

As a fan of both Stain and Tensei I sort of wish there were more fics with Tensei getting the news that Stain's free. Tenya too for that matter. I think it was actually a huge waste that Hori didn't have Tenya react or even see him find out that Stain was out there. I mean I get that Stain isn't really tied to Tenya's arc anymore (given they didn't even interact during the war) but it'd have been nice to at least have Tenya say something about it, even if it was him not being interested to really solidify his character growth.

part of canon you found tedious or boring

Izuku's emo arc (have no idea what it's official name is). Not a lot happened that was interesting and what few things that were, didn't get as much focus as I think they needed. I think it also suffered because we got such a small cool down after the first war. I just felt poorly paced, with not much time spent with anyone but Izuku which made it kind of hard to get through, especially when so many characters lacked a follow up after the war to show they survived/were okay.

topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

Anything Enji or Todofam related really. They always bring the drama. Hawks is a very close second.

common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

"x hero/civilain isn't being understanding of y lov villain!"

I get that Hori seems to be going for a 'forgive the villain' theme, but at the same time most of that characters yelling at the LoV are making more than reasonable statements, like Shoto telling Touya to stop hurting innocent people and focus his rage at the family instead, or Ochako saying she'd stop Toga if she's going to continue to kill/maim people. Like, I'm sorry but telling someone to stop murdering people isn't being rude.

#ask #thanks for the ask!#as

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existingoutofspite · 8 months

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Ranking The Twisted Wonderland Books

my personal (OPINION) ranking of the Twisted Wonderland Books with reasons that no one asked for (not including 7, prologue, and there is a half placing of six due to not having finished the book, these boss battles will actually be the death of me)

Would love to hear other opinions

Spoilers

Last Place/#6

Starting off strong with the worst one-

Book 2- Savanaclaw

I feel that this is generally agreed upon in the fandom from what i’ve seen. For me there are 2 main reasons for this

a. it’s boring

b. it actually just doesn’t make sense????? like within the explained rules of the universe???

for a, i just didn’t enjoy playing it. this is also the first time (i think) when lesson limits were put in place so this was the first time i just put the game down for like 2 months. The mystery wasn’t that intriguing especially because i kept getting distracted by the weird logistics of Leona’s plan. it felt like the weirdest inclusion of the previous chapters group also just because we don’t see enough of them, and the whole thing just felt kinda weird.

I remember being annoyed playing it because i just wanted to make it to book 3

for b, leona wasn’t casting magic???? why did he overblot and not ruggie???? this was the book that established what overblots were only to break their own rules (this might be explained by his contract with Azul, but we don’t know what the contract was so this is just speculation)

Also what even was Leona’s plan? It was really poorly thought out which is weird for the supposedly really smart scheming character.

It was also the most preventable overblot imo. Come on Lilia

more i could say but…

Book 5- Pomefiore

Honestly I really enjoyed book 5, I just couldn’t rank it above the others. Just felt really weird to me pacing wise because there are two distinct arcs in this one book between the Epel + Duece section and the actual Competition arc with Neige

I played through this book in mostly one sitting and really enjoyed it! but the beginning felt very repetitive with the twistunes (the bane of my existence) and this book just felt very slow until suddenly a character who was at most a bit harsh and a perfectionist was attempting murder(???)

Book 5 has one of the best moments of ramping up right before the main battle, but that amazing moment didn’t really have enough build up

it also feels like the Epel (and duece i guess) arc just sorta… stops. We have their moment until suddenly we have to get back to plot stuff

Honestly i don’t have much to say, in general this book was great after the initial slow build up of practicing and auditions, but the pacing was just weird enough and I am just biased enough to rank this below #4

Book 3- Octavinelle

In all honesty this should probably be 5th but if you’ve seen my blog before… it’s all Azul. that’s it. Actually as an Azul fan i probably should have put this lower due to the disservice it does his character.

they gave Vil’s motives in book 5 of being a second place superstar model who still was a major powerhouse in the entertainment industry and rich more time to develop and room to breath than Azul’s motives. Meaning that the bullying and eating disorder are just kinda lightly touched on. Also as someone who is admittedly not that skinny and was bullied in middle school(weirdly mostly not weight related) it felt really off that be book ends with Grim and the protagonist either making fun of or commenting on his weight as a kid.

The main reason that I think that Book 3 can get away with getting the spot above book 5 is that it’s basically 40 chapters shorter. You don’t really get bored in book 3 because it’s trying to fit all of its story in and doesn’t have room to get boring or include seemingly useless mini-arcs (ok being to harsh, love u epel). And unlike book 2 where the plan was crazy obviously flawed and would never work, Azul’s plan while still being flawed feels believable because what ends up being Azul’s downfall is his greed and over confidence.

Book 3 is fun! That’s really it. There are a million writes or flawed choices that I would have changed (who decided on the anenimies on the head) but in the end it’s just a fun little heist that takes enough inspiration from its movie without being overbearing. It has clear stakes, good aesthetic, Azul, beautiful overblot design, Azul, fun things to speculate on, and one of the the best and most interesting group in the game (Jade, Floyd, and Azul all have my heart)

Also from a fan of the octatrio, why are they the target of a lot of the weird stuff in the fandom. Like i don’t really care what you do, but come on they’re minors and also no Floyd isn’t crazy yandere, no Jade is not…there isn’t really one specific Jade mischaracterization i feel like i’ve seen a variation and he is on somehow every end of the spectrum, and no Azul is not your “precious UwU crybaby” or a a really mean manipulative unfeeling mob boss. Stop twst mischaracterization… please… for them

Book 6- Ignihyde

I haven’t finished the book yet but so far it’s really good! it feels like a culmination of what has happened so far. It has new mini games, more in-depth character exploration, the first time I’ve considered liking Leona, stakes, feeling like the player actually has a role for once, and I actually really like the mystery and intrigue of the whole book.

It’s so long though like jesus christ there is so much and the bosses are so difficult. Really enjoying it so far! (despite it being a bit tedious, not my fault I don’t have fire centric cards for Rook, Epel, and Vil)

Book 1- Heartslabuyl

I don’t have too much to say honestly, it’s just an amazing book and also one of the best game openings I’ve seen. Riddle is an Amazing character and the dread and confusion watching his overblot slowly build. He also has the benefit of being the first overblot you see so it’ 10x more powerful than any of the others.

Again, not much to say. It is a fun chapter with likeable characters that you get to know just enough, and does an amazing job at just showing you the ropes of the game. I know that’s what the prologue’s for but Book 1 really does a great job at actually introducing you to the game. It mostly has the benefit of the player probably going in blind and being the first time some of the stuff is used. Also Riddle’s backstory is great and don’t let me get started in his costume design, it’s glorious.

and finally…

Book 4- Scarabia

It’s immaculate I don’t know what to tell you. It’s the only book for me that feels like it has an actual mystery at foot. It slowly builds until the breaking point and it’s amazing.

it has the most naturally integrated helper characters imo with the octatrio also being more likable than they were in book 3 tbh. Sure there are some questionable things with the translation and Jamil’s backstory but that’s mostly a flaw with the game itself.

Jamil and Kalim are some of the most compelling characters in the whole game, the pacing is great, the mystery is intriguing, the whole thing just culminates in a great book that I loved playing.

To me the only real flaws in this chapter are just flaws with either the source material being Aladdin or faults in the game that are more noticeable in this section. It has just the right amount of chapters to have room to breath, but also not drag on. It has amazing character dynamics, can be funny to absolutely devastating in a matter of seconds, and also doesn’t have to include characters like Jack, Ace, or Deuce, so it feels more isolated and possibly more suspenseful.

This is the real turning point in the game for me.

Also it has pretty much all of my favorite characters and my favorite ship in it. but that’s beside the point.

The answer to the mystery is clear to the player but not so obvious that it’s insane that the player character doesn’t know and i could honestly go on but the only real complaint I have about this book is some of it’s twistunes (I will find a way to kill “Let’s get cooking” i swear)

thank you for coming to my ted talk

#twisted wonderland #twst #disney twisted wonderland

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