#good are books i genuinely liked but weren't very special to me

[jewishcissiekj]

my current Star Wars books rating for the 96 novels I've read so far. And Dark Disciple

idk if these are hot takes or if you can see anything but this is where I'm at

[dethkomic]

On Army of the Doomstar Day - And Remembering Jon Schnepp

Hey Goofballs. I didn't really have anything like this planned until the moment hit me, spontaneously. Today's a very special day, as Dethklok the live band gears up to go on tour, we've been blessed with not only a new Dethalbum, but a conclusion to the whole series. This being a momentous finale, over a decade in the making, I again wanted to take a minute to remember someone, just as I did last year..

Jon Schnepp was a guy you could pick out, even if it weren't for the fact that he was usually the tallest dude in any given crowd. He loved comics, music, good vegetarian food that didn't suck, and loved meeting his sweaty nerd fans. As a comic book artist myself, I had the rare privilege of meeting Jon on several occasions through the years at various comic conventions. We also kept in touch on social media, leaving likes and words of praise on each other's projects. Genuine to a fault, Jon was always the biggest fan of anything his friends were doing. He had impeccable comedic timing too. I'll never forget the message he sent me on Facebook when friends and I attended the first ever 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise:

"I want to go... :("

For as big a Metalocalypse fan as I've been through the years, Jon absolutely eclipsed me in all ways. He loved the show, loved talking about the show, loved discussing production and animation and the characters, whose likenesses he himself designed. One of my prized possessions is a comic book Jon signed and drew a Murderface on the inside frontispiece of. We all agreed that triangle-hair was the pinnacle of good character art.

When he died in 2018, I remember he was either going to be at, or had recently attended a convention in my former hometown of Columbus, Ohio. I remember letting him know I wasn't going to be able to make it, but promising to catch him on the next one. I never got the chance.

Jon Schnepp left behind a hole in the cartoon and comic industry that has yet to be filled to this day. But he also leaves a hell of a legacy. I've been in comics since the early 2000's and one thing I can guarantee you readers is that the rarest thing in the entertainment industry is this: Getting the ability to see a story through to its conclusion.

As artists, it's a sad fact that we don't always get to see what we create come full-circle. We're extra-super lucky still, to have that circle continue on after we're gone. Regardless of what you believe, I bet it would do Jon proud to know his work lives on, today. I bet he'd love the movie and it's wild animation and incredible art and music and story. I bet he'd be happy to have that closure. I know he'd love hearing how much we all enjoyed it, knowing the wild ride we all took to get here.

Jon, we miss you, man. Brendon, Tommy, writers, artists, animators, and any and all sweaty nerds reading this -- you did it. We the fans love you and we'll see you on the road. Hold your heads high. You carried the torch across that finish line.

We'll take it from here.

[haecien]

literature obssessed reader × author minghao

Come see the screening.... 🎥📷

THIS IS SUCH A CUTE IDEA??? Hello oh my god

Reader would definitely be a big fan of Minghao's works, they've collected almost every series that Minghao has published. Including special limited edition books other collectors would KILL for.

I have a feeling minghao would hide his face, sure he'd attend a few interviews but the interviewer would only be able to hear his voice, this was intentional ofcourse. Minghao wanted to go out in peace, he never wants interviewers and paparazzi to swarm him whenever he stepped out of his house. It's annoying to him. He only revealed his face to trusted individuals like his publisher. Other than that almost no one has seen his face, But there are times where he has almost gotten caught due to his distinctive voice, but he just argued that he has a similar voice and swear he isn't him.

Reader and Minghao would definitely run into each other by accident, of course reader doesn't know shit and thinks is just some random person they bumped into well... " What's the rush? " Minghao asks.

" Oh! Haha there is this book sale and they're featuring one of my favorite authors LIMITED edition book! It's the last one I need and I would do anything to complete my collection... Plus I really adore the author! He's such a good writer, his poetry books are also so good. "

Minghao's raised an eyebrow, he seems intrigued. " So, What's this authors name? " he leaned down and grabbed your bag which you've dropped. " OH! His name is Xu Minghao! But, now checking the time I don't think I can make it in time... My best bets is that the book has already been grabbed.... Awh man "

Minghao was a bit shocked to hear his name mentioned, he feels a bit bad so he proposed an offer " Oh Xu Minghao? I have some extras of his limited edition collection, Which one are you missing I could lend it to you. "

You were shocked since literally people would pay THOUSANDS for this, and hes giving this for free? Jesus christ is he your lord and savior or something. You tried to refuse but minghao didn't budge, eventually you gave up. " Im the reason why you're late, this is my apology. " You were touched how he was this considerate for a stranger you just so happend to bump into. " You never told me your name by the way? Hehe but my names y/n. " Minghao stood there thinking if he should tell you... " Oh uh, my name? Its Seo myungho. "

" Seo myungho? I see, nice to meet you Myungho! " you would not suspect a thing.

You both spent a lot of time after that, half of your conversations were about Minghao... on the inside minghao is giggling whenever you mentioned him, like. His cheeks got a bit red but you didnt notice it. You were too busy rambling about minghao, but if your conversations weren't about minghao you'd genuinely enjoy talking with "myungho " it was always the highlight of your day

I mean you did find out eventually! Haha in the most embarrassing way ever tho... you and "myungho" were talking and suddenly the topic of minghao was mentioned again and he said " Oh yeah I... " I? Haha ur fucked now minghao. Your eyes widened when he said this, you just connected the dots... Bye this is so embarrassing all this time you've been ranting about minghao to minghao

Minghao eventually came clean and he did confess it but, he made it very sure that you wouldn't tell ANYONE about it, well maybe also minghao had a tiny bit of feelings for you but thats beside the point... he trusted you enough to keep this a secret and you swore you'd take this secret to the grave.

Minghaos "little crush" never left tho! He waited awhile before confessing, like maybe 5 months... you were a bit oblivious to his feelings but eventually you started to catch feelings too... the confession was so sweet tho, he took quotes from your favorite book of his. And made a little love letter, you cried on the spot and hugged him so tightly.

(This ws suppose to be a drabble but its so long LMAOAO)

[dragonlands]

Hi new friend! I just saw in one of your post you mentioned that you read the tvd books!! That‘s super cool! Would you care to share one fun damon or defan fact from the books? Or headcanon, if you read em too long ago to remember facts!

We gotta make our own content in this fandom lol

Hi friend! Thank you for this question, I love getting asks. Also thinking about this kept me entertained trhough my day at work so a special thank you for that lmao! I read the seven original books for the first time over 10 years ago but I've been rereading now so 3,5 of them are bright and new in my mind so I'll concentrate on those!

TVD books fun facts:

• In the books vampires (if they drink human blood) can turn into animals. For example, Damon is often a crow, and he also turns into a black dog to fight Katherine, who is a white tiger in the scene

• Book Elena is definitely a Defan shipper. In book 3 she dies (temporarily) and her last wish is for Damon and Stefan to take care of each other

• Katherine is also a Defan shipper. It's basically canon she wanted polyamory and the only reason she faked her death was bc she thought her death would bring Stefan and Damon together

• For some reason I was convinced they're twins in the books but that's apparently not true. But they do only have 3 year age gap in the books.

• In the books they always competed with each other and weren't good friends, even pre-Katherine

• Damon always calls Stefan "little brother" instead of his name and Stefan considers this to be derogatory (I, on the other hand consider it affectionate)

• Book Damon doesn't kill that many people, he's still a grey area character but not a genuine serial killer like the show version (he almost never kills the humans he feeds on)

• Also even though book Damon is also a ladies man he doesn't have that many girlfriends during the course of the books (actually I don't remember anyone else than Elena and Bonnie and he never even really dates either of them)

• Damon and Stefan are from renaissance Italy, born 1487 & 1490. They both have black hair and dress mostly in black designer wear

• In the books there's a scene where Damon forces the sunlight ring on Stefan's finger (to protect him) so I consider them engaged now

Honestly I wish I could put some quotes bc some of them are fanfic level Defan BUT I'm not reading the books in english so I can't, but there's stuff where Stefan is literally said to put his face in really close to Damon's and be like "do you enjoy seeing klaus kill? does he let you watch?" which is so funny and sexual. I'd love to post more of these as I continue my reread, I remember as a teen liking the last 3 books most and there's more Damon content in them too if I remember correctly. FYI: the books aren't very good, but if you're desperate they do offer some good defan content, and they're kinda entertaining.

[vampirealpaca]

My thoughts on the pjo show (now that the season is over) (this is going to run long) Overall Rating: 8/10 :

Ok first of all, I actually LOVED the show and the cast is literally awesome; I do have some thoughts and feelings tho.

The GOOD :D

The visuals were eating ngl

THE CAST!!!! they literally were amazing cannot stress this enough

I think a lot of the changes were handled super well, especially Medusa (although I don't love all of the changes...see below in the next section lol)

I LOVED the set design for pretty much all of the scenes!!! Like the set & costuming was literally so good; sometimes it looked a little Volume-y but I think it's ok since they also clearly did a bunch of on-location stuff

Driving scene was literally so funny like no notes on that + the acting was On Point pretty much All of the Time.

I actually think they slayed with the special effects

Pretty accurate! (overall a waaaaaay better adaptation than the movies)

BLUE FOOD!!!!

More Sally content was awesome!! And I cannot stress this enough the ACTORS WERE SO GOOD in their roles!! Like I think they were the perfect choices ngl and I hope to see more of them in season 2 (if we get one, idk if its greenlit yet)

I also liked how they focused on Grover's character more (lowkey my fav now)

Genuinely had a great time watching the scenes from the books I've loved since Forever come to life onscreen!

The character dynamics were GIVING

Loved getting more info about Percy's backstory

The way they showed the Mist was honestly so cool!! This might be filed under Visuals but still...it was so cool

Fight choreo fluctuated, but I liked the Percy vs Luke fight (altho the scorpion erasure ;-;)

Again the chemistry with the actors like adkjhfdkjdfkjhdfjkhk I think the acting may have been my fav part honestly lol

All of the easter eggs for the fans!!

Rick's subtle rewriting of the story was sometimes very cool! (Like with the water grabbing Percy etc) --- you can definitely tell that he's thinking about how he'd change the story if he were to write it today

...HOWEVER i have gripes :(

THE LIGHTING WAS TOO DARK IN NIGHT SCENES!!!! HATE THAT TROPE WHY CANT I SEEEEEEEE (looking at u medusa scene)

I feel like they should've fallen into like…at least one trap without Knowing Everything about it. Like, I get the Medusa change and am pretty on board with it, but I feel like a few of the other changes weren't really necessary & messed with the stakes. A lot of the time it felt like I was watching them explain "Oh you're THIS person so you will do THIS so I will do THIS" instead of like...showing me.

Not enough blood (this is prob a Disney problem, not the show creators fault but like...cmon Disney...they have swords, let the children get More Injured...they are Fighting for their Lives)

Felt kinda...dryer than the books? idk how to explain it...like it felt like there wasn't the same Vibes in some parts if that makes sense, like they switched out a lot of funny moments (esp with how they changed Charon and the Crusty scenes lowkey im bitter)

the tone was definitely sometimes waaay different from the books (like it was way more serious I think, which is good sometimes and less good other times)

Idk if this is 100% true bc my last reread was a few months ago, but I think they separated the main trio more than in the book (?), it felt like they were duo-ed with diff members for a lot rather than building off of their main dynamic -- they had some trio moments but ig i just wanted more (again, I could be wrong on this one tho)

Lotus Casino not really being as Fun (the pumping lotus flowers in the air was a cool detail tho!)

It generally felt like they took a lot of the funny parts in favor of talking more about how messed up the gods are (which I liked sometimes!! but the kids are 12 let them have more funny moments too yaknow) (Rip the Died in the Bathtub line...gone but not forgotten)

I really didn't love the changes that made the story feel more Cliche and Basic (the ones that annoyed me were changing the entire DOA to just Some Standard Death Eater Looking Fellow & Annabeth's interactions with Cerebus being completely changed)

Mixed feelings on Gabe...I wanted him to be more evil at the beginning but I get why they changed it ig. Plus he was literally so funny when he (spoilers?) got murdered by opening someone else's mail. That's what happens when you commit a federal crime ig.

General Character Thoughts:

PERCY: Walker Scobell was such a good casting call... like you can tell he really cares about the books & getting the character right. Acting was on point, sass was on point (but I do wish he got to be sassy a bit More); Really gives off the energy of Percy Jackson and definitely was AMAZING in this role!

ANNABETH: She was spectacular in this role!! Leah got literally all of Annabeth down to a T --- her kindness, her pride, her wisdom, etc etc without resorting to any kind of "stock smart girl" vibe. She was literally SO GOOD! I loved seeing her talk about her dad, and the detail about her not having seen a movie is such a mood and so in-character lowkey. Leah really nailed Annabeth's dry humor and general vibe like dfajkhfdjhkfdhjk

GROVER: He was my favorite! Like, his acting was AMAZING fr!!! They brought a lot of newer things into his character that I think worked really well & it definitely strengthened his characterization --- he was also really funny & so sincere I just loved his portrayal of Grover!

HOWEVER I think some of the arcs are shakier since the characters didn't struggle as much, since they were figuring out a Lot of things

Overall, I took 2 points from the rating because the Spirit and Humor weren't fully there and I felt some of the changes made it feel less like the OG and more cliche (looking at u Charon). However, the great acting, pretty slay writing (except for the tone stuff), Vibes, and all the other stuff I think they did right pulled through to get it ranked a little higher lol. Plus, I liked it, even if I didn't like all of it.

No hate if u loved the show adaptation tho!! Feel free to disagree, these are just my thoughts lol. I really genuinely hope there's going to be a season 2, although I would like if they fix a few of these problems in that potential season (please...let me see what's happening in the dark scenes...please...)

[ashflamethewaffleangel]

I've been browsing the WoJ website, as one does, and realized just how excited Mr. Author seems to write Mirror Mirror Marcone, and now I'm very excited for that book too.

Do you have any theories about how that will go? Will Marcone be a good guy? 👀 Omg what if he went from the army to law enforcement. Imagine what that man could do in SI. ⚰️

YOU HONOR ME WITH THIS QUESTION HOLY SHIT (so very genuine; you are my beloved Dresden Files mutual) but bear with me because this is gonna be a long post. I have toooo many thoughts. God I'm sorry. /jov

BUT GOD. YOU HAVE HIT THE QUESTION I REPEATEDLY THEORIZE WITH MY PARTNERS. OUUUGH. There are SO many ways this could go I am gonna be SO very real and I love every single one of them bc it keeps my brain shoomvin'!

But considering WOJ has mentioned that this particular universe is ours but gone to shit MUCH quicker due to one of Harry's earlier decisions "Mirror universe Harry is different by one choice. One. And everything else just follows after that." WHICH MEANS. WHICH MEANS EVERYTHING STAYS THE SAME. UP TO THAT CHOICE. (I can't remember how early, so it could be a pre-books decision, or it could be a in-canon alternate decision) so Marcone depending on how early in the canon it is, I see a couple different options!!

NOW OBVIOUUUSLY. There are an ABSURDDDD Number of choices Harry coulda done EXTREEEEMELY DIFFERENT!!!! However. one that comes to mind-- at least if he's talking early series!! and from the sounds of it, he is, because he says everything goes to shit a lot fucking faster than our timeline-- is in Fool Moon.

Marcone gives Harry a choice in the Fool Moon garage; sign on and become an employee of his, or die by the people he's trying to protect Harry from. Marcone ALSO gives Harry the choice to stay off the case in Book 1.

What if Harry chose EITHER of these options? What if he stayed off the Victor Sells case? The entire series spiraled from there--- THAT'S THE REASON MARCONE CAME TO HIM FOR HELP IN BOOK 2!!! MARCONE, UPON NOT BEING ABLE TO GET HARRY'S HELP, RESORTED TO FBI AGENTS WHO BETRAY HIM AND TRIED TO FEED HIM TO A LOUP-GAROU. AND THEY WOULD'VE GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT IF IT WEREN'T FOR EVERYONE ELSE (including Harry) STUCK IN THE PIT BELOW WITH HIM.

Now Jim has said he's very excited to write Marcone; so I imagine he's not fucking dead but. What if this series of events leads him to Nicodemus instead of Monoc? What if he becomes a knight of the Denarius THAT FUCKIN EARLY so he could better protect Chicago?; ESPCIALLY SINCE HARRY HASN'T KINDA LED HIM THROUGH TRIAL BY FIRE AND SAVED HIS ASS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS (as does Marcone vice versa).

But if Fool Moon has the changing point, then we've got a different route; Harry working for Marcone. That now begs the question of-- Would that have made everything gone to shit that much faster??????? Maybe !! As a consultant for Marcone? And telling him all the BULLSHIT that the White Council does? That the Red Court is doing? In his city?? Our evil Harry might be Marcone's enforcer-- as Mister Jimothy mentions, "If [Harry] was Lawful Evil I’m pretty sure he’d be Marcone’s enforcer."

Or might have been, at one point, in this particular universe. Either way, a very DELIGHTFUL choice of thought, but probably not where Mister Butcher is gonna take it.

Option 2; Marcone is FBI/Special Investigations -- LAW ENFORCEMENT TIME BABYYYYY!!! LAWFUL EVIL MAN STILL ON HIS LAWFUL ACT BUT THIS TIME IN THE MORE LITERAL SENSE! (/very jovial) I see this one happening if it's a complete Star Trek Mirror Mirror moment; he's still a powerhouse, he's still an ice-cold mf, but he's more of a deadly serious Fox Mulder, especially if the same event took place that made Marcone-- well-- Marcone! I'd see him being the same type of character, but more on the ground this time around; like he was in White Knight type beat; manpower and in-the-know folks taking down monsters to protect the citizens. Maybe he'll be giving our Harry a helping hand!! Especially if Harry is being framed for, you know, MURDER, as it's being told to us. Maybe we'll be having a soul-gaze, and because (I PRESUME) this universe's duo has already shared a soul-gaze it's a "Oh. Yeah no you're not lying. What. The fuck. Okay." OR, he's one of our main obstacles! BOTH ! AND!!!! Considering that Mister Butcher mentioned that we'll maybe be seeing something related to Marcone's capital n Name in this book... Definitely a possibility.

Option 3; He's literally just a guy! -- Less likely of the options? Yes. Still an interesting thought experiment? Also yes! This is ALSO based on this specific WOJ;

Q: I read the short story from Marcone’s point of view, “Even Hand,” and I noticed that John Marcone is not his real name. Is that going to be significant? Sure is if somebody tries to cast a spell at him using the name “John Marcone”! That’ll be a big deal. But we’ll have to see how that works out. Actually, the character that’s really interesting is the Mirror Mirror universe Marcone, and we’ll get to him in a few books.

Maybe! He's not John Marcone! Or, more accurately, he's the Marcone we see in Helen Beckitt's vision! Maybe he's still that charming motorcyclist who works for the mob! Probably VERY aware of word on the streets about Harry, and in Mirror Mirror, we'll see him go "huh. what the fuck." about our Harry! because THAT'S not the guy everyone dreads! This is a fucking goober! Powerful goober-- but tall, lanky ass, goober! Built his own paranet perhaps, due to the fact that Harry is not a "good" man in this universe.

I very honestly don't know, there's so many variations of these, ever so slight changes, and I am CHOMPING on my theorizing bit.

[thegreenthepeacetheorange]

Everlark (The Hunger Games, Ch. 20)

(in which they easily fall into being a married couple)

"getting the broth into peeta takes an hour of coaxing, begging, threatening, and yes, kissing" - this is so funny. threatening?!

it's like once they've started kissing, they can't stop. like it's an absentminded habit

katniss gets into the sleeping bag with peeta and it's "toasty warm" and she "snuggles down gratefully"

she acknowledges that by teaming up with him, she's made herself much more vulnerble but decides to trust the "instinct" that made her go looking for him even when she knew he was injured (i thought you said it was so the district 12 people weren't mad at you, katniss?)

"i woke up and you were gone... i was worried about you" peeta got his girl again and decided that's it, we can never be separated

peeta's capacity to flirt with/tease katniss while possibly dying is truly remarkable. his humour is really something special and so easy in such horrific times for them. never forget what the movies took from us

"he catches my hand and presses it against his lips. i remember my father doing this very thing to my mother and i wonder where peeta picked it up" - three things: one, peeta resembling her father again; two, peeta showing her love and she recognises it as love; three, her wondering where peeta got this from lol

as she lies to sleep, peeta brushes the hair off her forehead and this seems to be a specific thing they do for each other (my mind is brought to her doing it to hijacked peeta to help him sleep), but it starts right in this little cave, their little treasured intimacies. katniss notes that unlike the staged kisses/caresses they've had so far (how many of them were really staged though), that him doing this to her is natural and comforting and she doesn't want him to stop. she falls asleep as he does it.

peeta "brightening" when katniss returns even though he's miserable. he is so obsessed with her

so far katniss has been thinking peeta is acting with her but she chooses not to tell him a happy story involving gale because she thinks it won't go down well with him (or the audience) - so in some capacity she must sense that he is legit 'competition' for gale and that he doesn't like the idea of gale and her together.

the whole conversation about peeta saying he's gonna pay for himself since she's saved him and her asking him what he cost her again (a bit flirty maybe hm) and him saying a lot of trouble but that she'll get it all back. they're too much. flirting in a cave while all this (gestures to the games) is going on

him knowing when she's lying. which is interesting because at the end of the book when he finds out she was acting, he's caught off guard. and katniss isn't a good actress which leads me to believe whatever he's feeling from her is pretty damn genuine

the movies really took away so much of peeta's character traits. like boy is stubborn, he won't go down without a fight and they made him a damsel in distress and a weak one at that (think of the magic josh hutcherson could've worked with a better script)

"'what am i supposed to do? sit here and watch you die?' he must know that's not an option. that the audience would hate me. and frankly, i would hate myself too, if i didn't even try" - so here we have her going into a bloodbath alone just so she can try save him. she could win the games alone and no one would be mad at her for it all things considering but she cannot let him die. like she can't bring herself to even think of it

the whole bit where she feeds him the syrup berries and he realises and tried to spit them back up but she clamps her hand over his mouth to make him swallow. these two. "a stray berry stains his chin and i wipe it away" more casual intimacy

[crowcaws]

I've had some thoughts brewing ever since I finished NATLA, and watching Friendly Space Ninja's review of PJO really brought up a lot of feelings after sitting on it for a month so I'm going to try and articulate those thoughts here.

It's very interesting this fixation on the "word of god" and its involvement making or breaking a screen adaptation, to the point where you get unwavering devotion when a creator is on board, and outright disdain when a creator isn't on board. Both are completely reactionary takes that are unhelpful, especially when adaptations can be, sometimes, excellent without their original creators involved, and awful (cough fantastic beasts cough) when they are involved.

Regardless of whether or not NATLA was bad (it wasn't, it was just fine) I love that people are going "HA I bet Netflix regret losing BRYKE!" as a sort of gotcha, as if Korra didn't prove like a decade ago that Bryke are not infallible screenwriters. As if those same people, when the show was first announced and Bryke were on board, didn't even think to consider that Bryke are just two of the writers that made a great show.

Because fandom has a problem where it doesn't actually care or consider if the original creators are a good fit or not, if their involvement will harm the adaptation or help it, or if their recent work is still up to scratch with their original work. Fandom just wants a security blanket in the form of a name on a credits list, to the point of almost cult-like devotion that makes or breaks their opinion of content before it's even released.

This devotion is how you end up with fans doing logical backflips when their perfect book accurate Percy Jackson adaptation that "Uncle Rick" promised is now changing a bunch of stuff for not very good reasons, and now they have to either do mental gymnastics to justify questionable choices or admit that Rick can be wrong.

Percy Jackson had Rick Riordan on board and that series, let's be honest here, was just fine too. It wasn't groundbreaking, it did not surpass the source material on most points (I say most because all that Sally content was inspired) and fell short in a lot of ways that have been outlined by critics more articulate than I. Some of that, I suspect, was due to Rick's fixation on this adaptation being the antithesis of the 2010 movies to the point where it feels like they refused to let the show be fun and colourful in parts where it should have been. His involvement, as a book author delving into screenwriting, cannot be proven to have been more beneficial than if he had simply consulted and set boundaries and left it at that.

And of course Joanne is a fuckwit. But even creatively, you can't tell me that the fantastic beasts movies were better for her meddling.

But back to PJO and NATLA: I genuinely feel like we got very similar end products with both shows. An underwhelming foray into live action adaptation that suffers from too few episodes and disappointing characterisation save for a few standout roles (In this case, Sally, and Zuko and Iroh), and some problems aside that each show varies on, but ultimately still delivers something entirely and completely watchable. Percy Jackson has at least a tiny bit better characterisation overall, but cannot hold a candle to the fight choreography and special effects in NATLA (partly because in PJO they had a bad habit of cutting away or writing out every time anyone was mean to do something heroic or actually fight.) And yet you cannot speak a bad word about PJO, but NATLA is torn to shreds.

Back to NATLA and the Bryke: Almost nobody, in this whole time from the NATLA announcement to airing, has made comment on the absence of Aaron Ehasz, who was not involved with Korra either. They were happy to celebrate when Bryke was involved, and mourn when they departed, but you should have been mourning Aaron this whole time, if anyone. Aaron wrote Tales from Ba Sing Se, if you weren't aware. Arguably the most memorable episode of the Last Airbender, so emotionally rich and captivating that even hearing the instrumentals of that song in NATLA brought me to tears.

So why wasn't Aaron's absence ever felt? Well, that is because the fans saw "original creators" in headlines and ran with it without question as a sure sign of victory (and then failure when Bryke departed). Because fandom doesn't really care WHOSE name is in the credits, fandom just wants that sense of security -- and it's a false sense of security, because Annabeth and Katara both still ended up gutted of their depth at the end of the day. The presence of Rick didn't save Annabeth any more than the absence of the ATLA writers doomed Katara.

[veilchenjaeger]

(I'm going to talk about non-consensual sex in media below, obviously. Just a head up.)

@stripedroseandsketchpads I’m not super knowledgeable about these tropes either, so I’m definitely not the right person to do a detailed analysis of the trope subversions here (or trope subversions in Scum Villain in general). I don’t read a lot of danmei, though I do have a background in old 2010s BL manga, and a lot of tropes do seem familiar to me. I have looked at a few stallion novels, but those are so incredibly misogynistic that they’re impossible for me, a person without access to copious amounts of alcohol, to read without taking permanent damage. But like… What bothers me about the Maigu Ridge takes I see isn't a lack of understanding of the trope subversions (which I don't fully understand either) but how many people miss the basics of what's happening in this scene? I don't think it's necessary to do, like, a close analysis of the text to recognise that Maigu Ridge is not supposed to be sexy?? Maybe I'm wrong and it is hard to tell, but?

I am genuinely baffled by the amount of misinterpretations I see about Maigu Ridge mostly bc I don't think it’s subtle about what it is! I, too, think that MXTX's sexy scenes are sort of odd and not very sexy [Edit: @stripedroseandsketchpads pointed out that this is likely a translation bias, and I agree 100%], but the difference between e.g. the wine enema extra and Maigu Ridge is blatant? Shen Qingqiu is in so much fucking pain at Maigu Ridge that he can barely think! He's hurting in the other sex scenes, too, but not nearly as much, and the tone of those is light-hearted and Shen Qingqiu's narration is funny. There's nothing funny about Maigu Ridge! Shen Qingqiu doesn't very nearly black out from pain in the You Understand extra, because that one's supposed to be cute and awkward and not absolutely horrifying!

And even if we ignore the actual sex (I hesitate to use the term!), the entire way Maigu Ridge is framed makes it obvious that this is very much intended to be read as a traumatic event. First of all, they stop. It’s so important to me that they stop. It would have been so easy to transition into a good, pleasurable sex scene as soon as they're both able to consent, but it doesn't. They stop the second Luo Binghe comes to, because none of what just happened was arousing or made them want to continue having sex. This shouldn't be special, but it is, because this is a romance novel and romance novels don’t do bad sex, but I’ll get into the trope subversion later.

More stuff about the way Maigu Ridge is framed: My favourite thing about it is not the sex scene itself or the build-up to it - I'm not that hardcore - but the conversation they have afterwards, after Luo Binghe regains consciousness. They stop having sex, and they immediately start taking care of each other. This is a scene where they just went through a very traumatic thing together, and they support each other in the aftermath. This is one of the ultimate Bingqiu conversations for me, which cemented my love for them and imo proves how much they care about each other.

Within that conversation, it becomes obvious how shaken Luo Binghe is by what happened. He fucking asks why Shen Qingqiu didn't kill him instead of letting him do this! It's. Just. It's so much. It shows how horrified Luo Binghe is by what "he" (in quotation marks bc he wasn't conscious) just did. He's hurt Shen Qingqiu a lot in this book, in various ways, but here, we see him break down after doing so and pretty much say outright that he'd rather have died. Bingy.

There’s also the fact that Shen Qingqiu tries to calm him down by pointing out that he "was willing". No you weren't, king, but I appreciate you reassuring Luo Binghe that he didn't just outright rape you. It's such a weak reassurance in this moment, when Shen Qingqiu is literally dying, but it still means the world. Everything is so horrible, but Shen Qingqiu successfully pinpoints the thing that makes it slightly less horrible.

Later developments support this reading, too! Luo Binghe, Mr Pushy himself, doesn't dare initiate anything sexual for the first weeks of their relationship! Maigu Ridge is the catalyst for him letting Shen Qingqiu go and not being there when he wakes up (despite having waited five years for Shen Qingqiu to wake up before), because he doesn't believe they can come back from this! In the interview extra, Luo Binghe refuses to name Maigu Ridge as their first time, preferring to pretend it never happened! Shen Qingqiu mostly refers to it as a failure, something that’s tragic bc Luo Binghe as a stallion protagonist should have had a better first time, but his tone in those moments of narration is seriously mismatched with his narration during Maigu Ridge, and ignoring his own feelings about the matter completely and re-framing it as a plot point in a novel instead of a real thing that happened to him is precisely how Shen Qingqiu deals with trauma all the time. Maigu Ridge is so obviously written as a traumatic event, so I really cannot understand people who are either mad that the sex scene wasn't hot (It's not meant to be!) or complain about this scene being super problematic and Bingqiu thus being horrible. (This was very intentionally written that way and Bingqiu themselves acknowledge that it was awful!)

And that isn’t even getting into the trope subversion yet. As I said, I’m not super knowledgeable about that, but I read a post recently that pointed out that a lot of danmei tropes are just romance/erotica novel tropes, and… yes. That’s true. What happens a lot in these stories is the “It starts out non-consensual but the main character (the woman in straight romance, lbr) ends up liking it anyways!” trope. Afaik, this is a staple of stallion novel sex, too. I hate this trope with the fire of a thousand burning suns, and when I first read Scum Villain, I was afraid that Maigu Ridge would turn into that. And then it didn’t. Which blew my mind a little, because main couples in romance or erotica novels don’t have bad sex. Bingqiu are an obvious subversion of that bc they suck at sex even if it is consensual, but Maigu Ridge is that subversion times 100. Scum Villain talks a lot about satisfaction points, so let’s think about reader satisfaction here: For this entire novel, we’ve been waiting for Bingqiu to kiss and get together and fuck. And a romance story isn’t always over with the first time, but usually, such a scene is satisfying because it shows them finally coming together after chapters upon chapters of build-up. Usually, it’s good sex. It shows us that the main couple is meant to be together. (Wangxian's first time is a pretty good example of a sex scene that is more of a problem than a solution but is still good.) Apparently, the “Fuck or Die” trope is a lot more prevalent in the genres MXTX is commenting on than in stuff I know about, so that plays into it, too: It’s the kind of scene that’s meant to be satisfying, and Maigu Ridge absolutely fucking isn’t. This book, which is very much a romance novel, looked the “Fuck or Die” trope in the eye, said, “This would fucking suck irl”, and ran with that. And I think that owns.

Non-consensual romantic or sexual actions are a fucking staple of romance media, and while there can obviously be kinky reasons for that, the fact that it's so prevalent is awful imo. The amount of completely innocuous prime time movies targeted at girls and young women that I've seen where straight-up stalking and sexual harrassment are played as a romantic ideal is horrifying. Not to mention that Scum Villain is commentary on stallion novels, too, and the way non-consensual sex is portrayed in those – books targeted at an audience that is meant to identify with the rapist – is terrifying imo. It genuinely scares me that there are men out there who read these books uncritically and buy into that portrayal of women and consent. I could talk a lot about the nuances of this topic (bc it is nuanced), but let’s just say that it's so important to me to see a scene like this portrayed as the horrible, traumatic even it would be in a realistic setting (while still being a scene in a romance novel that doesn’t end the main couple’s relationship). Maigu Ridge is one of the main reasons why I trust MXTX to address and play with consent issues (as she does with Wangxian).

I don’t think that the message of Maigu Ridge is “The Fuck or Die trope/non-consensual sex in romance novels is horrible and shouldn’t happen ever” – MXTX does include a whole parody of super tropey danmei novels full of noncon with Resentment of Chunshan, which is portrayed as silly but harmless, kinky fun – but it invites us to think about these tropes and the implications they have. There’s a lot of nuance here that I appreciate, especially with the distinction made between the Scum Villain plot, which is situated in “reality”, and Resentment of Chunshan, which is very firmly fantasy. I’d love to read an analysis on this by someone who really knows their shit when it comes to danmei, stallion novels, and Chinese media tropes in general (My perspective on this is obviously very Western!) bc this is all I really have to say about this, but like. Bottom line is that it’s fucking baffling to me why Maigu Ridge is so often treated as the Big Problematic Scene of Scum Villain when it’s literally commentary on noncon tropes in media. If anything, this is the single least problematic Bingqiu scene! What the fuck are y’all talking about!

[watchoutforthefanfics]

I could be your crush, crush, crush (part two) || Reddie (IT)

AVAILABLE ON AO3

Part 1

Inspiration: this post + Crush by Tessa Violet

Summary: Eddie Kaspbrak was built for a strict schedule and precision arrival. Of all the days to fuck up, he does it on his first official day of college. But upon running into an old friend, there just may be a positive to this shitty day after all.

TWs: explicit language, kissing, anxiety, and sex jokes.

[[A/N: You guys don't know how much I research to make Eddie's like 'fact' dialogue. Also, you guys just have to know that Stan and Bev were coaching Richie, so in spirit they are here lmao. Anyway. Enjoy :)) ]]

Eddie was maybe losing his mind.

Or well, he was kind of acting the same as he always does. But worse. A little worse. Okay, a lot worse.

"That one's nice," Ben spoke up -voice crinkly from the phone.

He was currently on call with some of his closest friends at this point. Ben, who he was acquaintances with in middle school and then befriended in high school, Mike, who stopped being homeschooled (always lived in Derry) until 11th grade, and Bill, who he'd known since kindergarten (actually was his crush then) and only really became actual friends in high school. They had all heard of Richie (Mike through stories). Bill had actually been close friends with him -kept in contact and had decidedly never fucking told Eddie. Which he was still fucking bitter about-

"Nice?!" Eddie nearly screeched, shaking the red shirt on the hanger, "-I don't want to look nice, Ben. I want to look... you know, good. Handsome, whatever the fuck."

"Wh-What's the d-difference?" Bill asked -somewhat genuinely.

"It's not-" Eddie huffed, coming up empty, "-I don't know, but there is one."

Mike interrupted then, passively, "No, he's right. There is a difference. What about one of your running shirts?"

"You want me to dress up into my fucking running clothes?" Eddie hissed out, hanging the shirt back up, "-Like it's nothing special? That's... I know it's casual, but fuck-"

"You're g-going to g-get icecream, Eddie," Bill emphasized, "-P-Plus, Richie w-went crazy f-for those f-fucking red sh-shorts in middle sch-school."

Eddie blinked (what), "Seriously? My gym shorts?"

"They w-weren't g-gym sh-shorts. They were f-fucking tiny as sh-shit," Bill corrected.

"Well," Eddie scrambled, listing, "-you're supposed to wear fucking... tight shit. To keep you cool, to improve circulation, to move freely-"

"We get it, Eddie," Mike laughed -effectively stopping Eddie in his tracks, "-That's actually very helpful, Bill. So, good call."

"How is that fucking helpful?" Eddie questioned, frustrated and flustered.

"We know what Richie likes now," Ben answered, smiling.

"Yeah," Bill commented, "-the more s-skin the better."

"Fuck you guys," Eddie hissed out, turning toward his closet and ruffling through shirts (primarily athletic or casual tanktops, by the way, for no particular reason), "-I'll just do this shit myself-"

He did not do it himself. And they did end up on shorts (which apparently all he had were tiny ones), and a loose tanktop -the kind that showed a little more than half of his sides. Eddie had ranted about bug bites and the more exposed skin meant more ways to get fucking lyme disease, but he still put it in the pile.

And then, he stared at the pile day after day. Day after Richie-filled day, actually.

They both were acting relatively normal. Well, maybe when their hands brushed together on walks, they wouldn't jump away anymore (still turned splotchy red but it was better), or when Richie wanted to carry Eddie's books, Eddie stopped fighting him on it. Or maybe after a few days, Richie showed up with a brand-new red backpack-

"Seriously?" Eddie laughed a little -eyeing it for a second.

"Yeah, I mean," Richie motioned to it, smiling -maybe a little nervously, "-You still like red, right?"

"I do," Eddie smiled at him, before slowly extending his hands forward to grab it, "-but you didn't have to do that. I was going to get one-"

"Eh," Richie shrugged, nonchalantly, "-I wanted to."

It should be noted, that after that day, Richie started fighting him to carry his backpack. Eddie fought him on that, for a multitude of reasons, but Richie always had a way of ending up with two different straps on his back. Eddie was frankly infuriated by his fucking... charisma, it drove him fucking insane. Everything about Richie Tozier drove him insane, so much so that he either wanted to smack his (frustratingly) handsome face or kiss the shit out of him.

Tragically, Eddie couldn't do the second option yet -even if he wanted it so bad it physically burned.

"Relax, Eddie," Bill piped up from yet another group call (his prepping one), "-it's j-just Richie."

"Well, yeah, but it's a date," Eddie exhaled a breath -fidgeting with his hair in the mirror (should he brush his teeth?).

"It's just a few extra things," Mike reasoned, definitely trying to calm him down, "-It's just like hanging out-"

"But you c-can make out now," Bill continued, casually.

Eddie's face burst into a fucking embarrassing shade of red, "Shut up, Bill. You're such an asshole."

"Wh-What?" Bill called out, "-You c-can, if you w-want. And I know you w-want to."

"Bill-" Eddie screeched -red burning his cheeks brighter.

"Look," Ben interrupted before it could get too far, "-Eddie, just remember that Richie likes you. So, you don't have to act any differently."

"Exactly," Mike agreed, "-so keep up the affectionate insults, or whatever the fuck you two have going on. Richie probably loves that shit."

"He d-does," Bill quickly confirmed.

"God," Eddie sighed out, pinching the bridge of his nose, "-you guys suck. Except for you, Ben, you're my favorite now."

"Hey, I've known you l-longer than-"

Bzzt, bzzt.

Eddie shot his phone back from his ear.

rich 💞

here

"Fuck," Eddie scrambled for a second, bringing his phone to his eat again, "-he's here-"

"Eddie, calm down," Mike insisted, voice ever-so-smooth (like it always was), "-You're already ready, just-"

"G-Go bat your eyes a-at him," Bill interrupted again -persistently, "-He'll c-cave so f-fucking quick."

"Shut up, Bill," Eddie hissed -shuffling through his bedroom a little like a chicken with his head cut off (he literally had everything already ready, just to be clear), "-I fucking-"

Knock, knock.

"Eds?" Richie called.

"Fuck," Eddie muttered, "-I have to go guys. He's at the door."

"Good luck, Eddie!" Ben called, and then, Eddie promptly hung up.

Eddie took a deep breath in and then out, patting his pockets (wallet, phone, and keys). He fidgeted with his hair again-

"Are you dead in there?" Richie laughed, but there was something off (maybe nerves), "-Do I need to bust in? Criminal minds finding the suspect style? Because honestly, I might be able to-"

"If you put a hand on my door," Eddie bit back, making his way to the door, "-you're paying my rent for a month."

He could hear Richie laugh, and something in Eddie relaxed -smiling a little.

It's just Richie.

Eddie swung the door open and was met with one Richie Tozier. The Richie Tozier. The one he doodled the name of in the margins of his notebooks with a big heart around it (and then dramatically scribbled out with every inch of anger he could, but still). And that Richie Tozier was shooting up like a beanstalk with all knobby knees, too long limbs, and his Dad's old button-ups. And somehow, Eddie still like he so much that he felt like he physically was constantly vibrating from it.

But now, Richie Tozier was tall, and his limbs weren't long in comparison to his body (which wasn't as bony around the edges anymore), and his hair was long, and he actually somehow used the button-ups properly. But, at his very core, was still the same Richie Tozier that Eddie Kaspbrak wanted to ask him to the 8th grade formal.

He skimmed along his outfit: a white graphic tee with Smokey the Bear on it (the words 'only you can prevent wildfires' in a rainbow of colors) and a pair of green cargo pants that were supposed to look big but still somehow fit him. Eddie wanted to bite his own head off because of how endearing he found his stupid fucking t-shirts.

"Hi," Eddie offered, bouncing on his heel a little (nervous energy bubbling through his body).

He watched Richie's eyes flutter down his own outfit (and he did notice a hitch on his legs, fuck you, Bill) -which made him want to burst into fucking flames.

"Hi," Richie repeated, smiling -fingers fidgeting with each other (Eddie recognized it as nerves near immediately), "-You look... um, you look nice. Wait, fuck, that sounds-"

Eddie's lips quirked into a smile.

"-I mean, you do look nice. But that's just... It's fucking boring, and you're like... Wow, ya know? So, more than nice. Good. You look good. Cute. Hot? I don't-"

Eddie laughed, and it shot Richie out of his rant again -eyes looking at him like a moth to a flame (what the fuck), "You look good too, dipshit."

Richie smiled and let his eyes fall to the ground for a second (Eddie wanted to kiss him so bad that he flexed his hands), before looking back up, "Thanks, Eds."

Eddie took a second, maybe waiting for Richie to make the move. All he did was blink at him.

Eddie shook his head and laughed a little, taking Richie's hand -fluidly, and dragging him away, "Let's go, moron."

(He missed Richie blinking owlishly at their hands and stumbling after him like a puppy. But, it did, in fact, happen.)

And then, they were out on the sidewalk.

"Where did you say it was?" Eddie asked.

Silence.

Eddie furrowed his eyebrows, pulling off into the entrance of some shop, and turning back to Richie, "Rich? What's-"

Richie was staring at their hands, unabashedly. His face blossomed a red that was so bright that Eddie thought, for a second, he should be concerned. He tugged at their hands once, and watched Richie's face flicker back into motion -eyes shooting up to Eddie's.

Eddie raised an eyebrow.

"That's so fucking embarrassing," Richie echoed out, and Eddie felt his body physically burn with the fact that he could just pull him forward and kiss the shit out of him -right there.

"It's cute as shit," Eddie clarified, pink flaring up his cheeks, "-don't worry about it."

Before Richie could say anything about it, and it looked like he was going to, Eddie followed up.

"Where is the icecream place?"

Richie laughed a little, "Are you seriously going to call me cute and then just brush over that shit?"

"I'm just fucking complimenting my date," Eddie pointed out, still a little flustered (because Richie always worked him up that way), "-That's completely normal."

"Your date, right," Richie blinked a few times, "-But like, cute? Me? Seriously?"

Eddie turned to fully face him now, "What? It's fucking cute, it just is, asshole. Why would that be weird?"

"I just-" Richie held his arms up like he was being puppeteer -showing himself off (and Eddie was definitely looking), "-I'm a fucking nerd, not... I'm not..."

Eddie took a second, before understanding, "What? Attractive?"

"I mean," Richie laughed, nervously, "-yeah."

Eddie blinked. Broad shoulders, big hands, strong nose, good jaw-

"Are you serious?" He finally said, genuinely confused.

"Um," Richie repeated, less certain now -eyes flicking all over Eddie's face (trying to read him) "-yes."

Eddie huffed out a breath, defensive somehow, "You are so fucking stupid."

"Jeez, man," Richie let out a shocked laugh, "-let a man have fucking insecurities-"

"You're so hot that it makes me want to rip my hair out, dickweed," Eddie interrupted -sharply.

Richie blinked once, squeaking out, "What?"

"Plus," Eddie pointed out, "-I liked you in middle school when you were wearing your big as fuck Dad's hand-me-downs. Ugly hand-me-downs. Anything is an upgrade."

Richie laughed a little, "That is a good point. You're just, um... like so fucking... perfect. So, I'm like-"

Perfect. His mind went blank. What the fuck-

"-kinda in disbelief, I guess."

Eddie blinked, repeating -blankly, "Perfect?"

Richie pursed his lips, before hesitantly continuing, "Yeah, you're like... angelic, Eds. I dunno if this is weird to say but you're like... beautiful. To me, I guess."

Eddie blinked again. Jesus Christ-

They hadn't even gotten icecream yet, they haven't even gotten icecream yet, they haven't even gotten icecream yet-

"Let's go," Eddie spoke, turning in his place.

"Wait," Richie tried to pull back, but Eddie was one stubborn, fast-moving fucker, "-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Shut up," Eddie spun back around -suddenly, "-don't fucking apologize."

Richie blinked, wide eyes behind his lens, "So... it was good?"

"Great," Eddie confirmed, letting his eyes linger on his face for a second (kiss him, kiss him, kiss him-), "-Let's actually go on a fucking date, okay?"

"Okay," Richie swallowed, but still diligently seemed to straighten.

"Now," Eddie leveled again, frustrated, "-can you, please, tell me where the fuck it is?"

Richie laughed, and did so.

The rest of the walk was... almost weird. But also not at all. Well, except for the fact that every second Eddie was reminded of the fact that he wanted to kiss Richie so badly that it physically hurt-

Felt it as Richie nonchalantly ordered for him (he remembered?) -toppings and all. Felt it as he fought to pay, won, and said "You can get it next time, deal?". Felt it as he pocketed a couple of extra napkins, casually. Felt it as he, with ease, wrapped one around Eddie's cone because "You hate it getting on your hands". Felt it as he guided Eddie to a table, and took the chair more in the sun -even though Eddie was wearing literal shorts. Felt it as Richie took some of the napkins and tried to wipe off the table as much as he could like it was the most normal thing in the world (and then gave Eddie the rest). Felt it as he finally settled in and gave Eddie his entire attention like he'd never wanted to look away. Felt it as he held out his hand for the cherry, because he knew Eddie didn't like them-

God.

"So," Richie suggestively raised his eyebrows, "-you come here often?"

Eddie rolled his eyes, and said flatly, "You're such an idiot."

They passed a moment in silence.

"Honest question," Richie started, eating some of his icecream, "-This will be embarrassing if you didn't, but... Did you have like a counsel of friends to pick up your outfit?"

Eddie paused, pressing his lips into a thin line, "Maybe. Did you?"

Richie grinned, tilting his head slightly, "Maybe."

"I'm actually friends with Ben and Bill now," Eddie added, adjusting his hold on the cone.

"Shit, really?" Richie asked, before furrowing his eyebrows, "-Wait, Billy has my number-"

"Yeah, I know," Eddie huffed out, "-I'm still pissed at him."

Richie laughed, eyes fell to his icecream. Thinking for a moment.

"Would you have..." Richie started, turning his attention back to Eddie -eyes open with a genuine sort of curiosity, "-Would you have reached out?"

"Of course," Eddie spoke -unhesitantly, "-You're the best friend I've ever had. Would you not... want me to?"

"No, what-" Richie shook his head, "-I would've called you like the day after we moved. I did. Actually."

Eddie paused, "Really?"

"Yeah," Richie picked at the wrapper on his cone, repeating, "-of course."

"My Mom never let me use the phone," Eddie explained, maybe a little guiltily, "-and I really never had a cell."

"I figured," Richie smiled, bittersweet and Eddie felt an ache in his chest.

Eddie paused for a second, "I'm sorry."

"Don't, Eds-" Richie grabbed his wrist, and Eddie's mind hummed, "-It wasn't your fault. And honestly, I'm just happy to have you back now."

Eddie smiled, and Richie seemed happy with that -dropping his wrist (the way his brain craved more was fucking embarrassing).

"Kinda fucked that he didn't give me your number though," Richie remarked.

Eddie laughed, "Fucking exactly. He's such an asshole."

And then, he caught something.

On Richie's lip, there was a teeny smudge of chocolate. And you know, it would probably be the first of many, but something made Eddie want to fix it. (Maybe because it was Eddie Kaspbrak and he hated shit like that, or maybe because it was drawing unnecessary attention to his lips, which Eddie couldn't handle.)

"You-" Eddie motioned to the left side of his face, "-You've got something."

"Shit, really?" Richie moved to wipe, and completely missed it.

"No," Eddie frowned, motioning again, "-up."

Richie moved way too far up.

Eddie rolled his eyes, "Let me just fucking-"

He stood up, and moved his chair to beside Richie, and pulled one of the napkins out of his pocket. On instinct, he started wiping away at the chocolate -completely focused.

(Missing the way Richie's eyes widened at how close he was getting. Naturally.)

"There," Eddie sat back, putting the napkin on the table. And then, reconnecting their eyes.

Richie was staring at him.

"What?" Eddie questioned, eyebrows furrowing and hand going to wipe at his own mouth, "-Do I have some on my face?"

Richie's eyes flicked to his hand (his lips) -following the motion, and then back up to Eddie's eyes in a quick flash.

Oh.

Eddie blinked a few times, and felt red bleed up into his cheeks, "Oh."

"You don't-" Richie started, suddenly nervously rambling, "-We don't have to, um... If you're not comfortable, I just... You got really fucking close to my mouth and I-"

Eddie watched his mouth move around the words.

"-I just, I got the fucking idea. And it might have been a stupid idea, actually. If you don't want-"

God.

Eddie nearly jumped forward, pushing their lips together. Richie's mouth clicked against his at the force, and the words were snatched right out of his chest ('hmph' bubbling out of his lips). It was only a second before Richie realized what was happening, and carefully started to react -one hand traveling to hold Eddie's shoulder. And the other-

Wait.

"Shit-" Richie cursed, snapping back and Eddie's eyes caught on the growing stain of icecream on his shirt -arms thrown up as if to not get it anywhere else.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," Eddie frowned, pulling out some napkins and hastily patting the stain on his shirt.

"Eddie, baby, relax," Richie laughed, and Eddie's eyes shot to his (baby, baby, baby), "-it's just a shirt."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have-" Eddie scrambled, fully pulling back.

"Yeah, no," Richie grinned, moving to tug Eddie's chair closer, "-There's no shouldn't. You should have, and actually, we should do it again-"

Eddie laughed, before feeling something drip onto his leg. Wait.

His eyes shot to his -which was currently fallen over onto the table and halfway melted under the hot sun, "Shit."

Richie laughed, and Eddie turned to him again, "Yeah, maybe we both got a little fucking distracted."

"Yeah," Eddie eyed the two messes, "-maybe."

"You know," Richie started, "-I personally think they're both lost causes, and I mean... it can't get any worse, so-"

Eddie furrowed his eyebrows.

"-maybe we could be distracted again. Before we clean up, of course-"

He burst into laughter, then. Letting it sink into his skin, fuck. Richie fucking Tozier.

He opened his eyes, and leaned forward -barely a breath away (Richie's eyes followed him), "Just a little."

"Yeah," Richie hummed, distracted, "-just a little, yeah."

It wasn't just a little.

But, you know what? Eddie Kaspbrak didn't really give a fuck. He was finally kissing Richie Tozier.

That was more important anyway.

[aurik-kal-durin]

My final Hilda episode ranking for all seasons, plus the movie.

S Tier: Most of these should be self-explanatory. The standouts I feel I must explain are The Nightmare Spirit, The Windmill, and The Yule Lads.

The Nightmare Spirit is one of my favorite episodes in the entire series because it introduces the Marra, and has some absolutely spellbinding folklore behind it, as well as some great character development for Hilda and David. I couldn't NOT put it in S tier.

The Windmill and The Yule Lads I feel are two of the more underrated episodes; the former is a superb David centric episode where he ends up being the unlikely hero, and the latter just has some really good folklore behind, and is a unique take on the Christmas special. It also has a very sweet moment between Hilda and David at the end, which makes it even better in my book.

A Tier: These episodes are not as good as S tier, but are still brimming with charm, and thus are a joy to watch. Whether they have some fascinating folklore behind them, some good character development, or some just some funny or otherwise iconic moments (like David standing up to the Marra, or telling off Frida) these episodes are just as infinitely rewatchable as S tier most of the time.

These episodes formed the backbone of the series and kept me watching from beginning to end. They form a key element that is missing from most other cartoons, and made the difference between keeping me entertained... and feeling like the series was being padded out with unnecessary filler, as has been the case with the majority of shows I've watched in the last 15 years.

B Tier: This is more of a matter of personal preference, but episodes in this tier I just found were a bit of a chore to get through.

The Black Hound, I felt, was a lackluster ending to an otherwise amazing first season.

The Draugen wasn't bad, but I always found it to be pretty "meh" compared to the episodes I have in higher tiers.

C Tier: The House in the Woods was just kind of a boring episode, and I have mixed feelings about The Mountain King. My biggest issue with the movie is with Trylla, the mother troll, her warped justification for kidnapping Hilda, and the fact that she almost got Johanna KILLED while hiding the truth from Hilda. Sorry, but I cannot overlook that.

D Tier: Episodes in this tier all had something that held them back, but weren't so bad that I had a hard time watching them from start to finish.

The Troll Circle was a bland and meandering opening to the second season, and it introduced us to Ahlberg, who was at his most annoying in that episode.

The Beast of Cauldron Island had a lot of things I didn't like, such as the continuation of Frida's awful character arc for Season 2, and David being reduced to a useless coward yet again.

Strange Frequencies made all of the characters unlikeable and OOC while focusing too much on the nisse, when it should've focused on Hilda's dad.

F Tier: These are the few episodes in all of Hilda that I consider to be genuinely bad to the point where they're unwatchable.

The Witch kickstarts Frida's awful character arc for Season 2, dumbs down Hilda to make Frida look smarter, strips the Librarian of her mystique from Season 1, and introduces some unlikable and annoying new characters in the form of the Committee of Three.

The Eternal Warriors uses all of it's runtime to make fun of David, reducing him to a useless coward, and giving us some really cringe-inducing scenes when he becomes fearless.

The Jorts Incident is the single worst episode of the entire series, wasting the potential of the tide mice on a forgettable side character and a lazy Ghostbusters homage... while also reducing David to a useless coward yet again!

The Giantslayer is a pointless time travel side quest that portrays the giants as victims even as they're carelessly stepping on people's houses and ruining their entire lives.

[jewishvitya]

Content warning: a picture of Nazi propaganda

Okay, so, I had a couple of replies from someone who seems genuine. These are all points either I or other people made before, but I'll try to collect them in a way that makes sense.

I'm not going to reiterate the list of antisemitic issues in the goblins narratively, I did that twice, here and here. I'm going to talk about why it's antisemitic despite this being a fantasy race with traits that commonly go together. I hope you'll forgive me if I'll repeat or quote things I said in other posts. I'll also use examples I've seen given by other Jews, like I did with theineffableshe (from tiktok) before. So, credit to her.

Fantasy and SciFi are speculative fiction. They take us out of our own world and our own familiar reality to allow us to explore ourselves. All stories we tell are stories about people. We only understand our own minds. You can't imagine a color that you never saw, you can't create a reality that isn't grounded in human experience.

That's why very often the struggles and the traits of a fantasy race are pulled from the real world. Either the real struggles of real people (with some exaggeration or magical/futuristic elements), or the caricaturized traits that were applied to a real group of people.

This is not inherently bad. This is just how stories work. All stories are derivative - they all pull from the stories we told before.

Here is what you said:

If you seriously connect jews with generic greedy goblin characters with huge noses that work in banks, then it honestly sounds to me like YOU are the one being filled up with these prejudices.

But here's what I need you to understand: we don't think we look like the goblins. We don't relate the goblins to ourselves. We relate the goblins to how we were portrayed in the past, to demonize us.

Goblins in other pieces of media can look very different. Because those are fictional, they can be made to look like anything. And they look like antisemitic caricatures.

To illustrate, here's a comparison between the game and Nazi propaganda.

The first picture is from theineffableshe. She traced some of these from stills of the game, and some of these from antisemitic Nazi propaganda.

I know which is which - because I've seen all of the originals. But if you never saw them before, do you think everyone would be able to tell which ones are from HL and which ones are 1930's propaganda?

And the two on top? One of them is the trophy you get for killing Ranrok, the main antagonist of the game. The other, is again, antisemitic propaganda.

Just a reminder that I'm not blaming Rowling of writing intentional antisemitic caricatures into her books. This is more complicated than that, and that complexity is what this post is about.

I showed in two posts the narrative similarities between the goblins and antisemitic propaganda. Here, I showed a bit of the visual similarities.

It's the collection of all the traits that creates the problem.

And you understand this. I felt encouraged when I saw you say:

This discovery honestly makes me feel uncomfy. Sure, it's just a generic animal horn, which isn't solely special to jews, but it kind of does start piling up.

Which is exactly the point. You get it. I just want you to see that it's still true if you disregard the horn.

You also said this:

Most greedy characters are portrayed ugly, which oftentimes includes large noses. And greedy people working in banks isn't a huge jump.

Greedy characters being ugly, ugly characters having large noses and greedy people working in banks are all stereotypes that are portrayed in media fairly often- How exactly is this case in particular offensive?

So. I'll start by saying again that the original books had no problem with the goblin's noses. They weren't even described. The antisemitism was in the other traits. But in these messages from you, there are a couple of issues: what we consider ugly, and equating beauty with goodness. For that, I'll get into the issue of the noses.

Beauty is cultural. I have a Chinese friend and we had long conversations about it, because it's something that fascinates me. The beauty standards around them are very different from those around me. We spoke about how it influences art and fashion and make up. You can see similar things throughout history. What we consider beautiful or ugly is not neutral.

I'm not talking about personal taste right now. I'm not saying "if you have certain preferences, you're a bad person and there's something wrong with you." I'm saying that culturally, some beauty standards come from racism. Others come from classism and prejudice towards poor people. Others, from ableism and prejudice towards sick and disabled people.

That's why the idea of ugliness being tied to evil is not neutral. People in reality treat beautiful people better. They're more likely to be assumed kind, to be assumed innocent if accused of crimes. It comes from a concept of purity, an assumption that moral corruption will be visible on you.

And it wasn't invented by white supremacists, but it aligns with their ideology. White supremacists put on a pedestal traits they consider better and purer. And traits that don't fall into that idea of racial purity, were the ones seen as ugly. If marginalized people's traits are considered ugly, and ugliness is equated with immorality - marginalized people are seen as immoral.

Exaggerating the phenotypical traits of a marginalized group to dehumanize it, is common. It's how racist (and transphobic, etc) caricatures are created. In terms of phenotype, Jewish people can belong to any race. There is no one way a Jewish person looks. But Jewish people tend to marry other Jewish people, so sometimes we don't completely look like the non-Jewish populations where we live. This was the case for Ashkenazi Jews in Europe. We were more likely to be shorter, to have darker and curlier hair, darker eyes, and there's much more. The "Jewish nose" is part of that.

European Jews were not considered white, they were racialized, and being racialized meant being subhuman. So the traits that the Nazis associated with us were demonized.

"They're shown as ugly, and that includes a big nose" is not a neutral thing. It has a very heavy history of white supremacy and antisemitism.

When you ask "it's a well established trope, so how is this case in particular offensive?" you assume every other case is harmless. I'm not accusing every single creator who made hooked-nosed villains of antisemitism. I'm saying that the pattern has pretty bad origins.

These traits that you listed commonly go together - but why? Most real rich people who hoard money don't fit that collection of descriptions. So where did this come from?

We pull narrative tools from the stories told to us, and we do that without always thinking about how those tropes interact with the real world. The idea of greedy bankers has been tied to the demonization of Jewish people for a very long time.

Rowling wanted to write a bank, and she wanted to make it magical, and she reverse-engineered her fantasy bankers from there. But when she did that, she did write an antisemitic fantasy race.

Goblins are portrayed in many different ways in folklore and in media. Goblin is originally a term used for a collection of creatures that have different traits, not all of them associated with love of treasure. They can be tricksters, but not necessarily bloodthirsty. And since it's such a varied mythology, there's no reason for them to look like this. There's no reason for them to be only loyal to each other. To either not care about human lives or enjoy the idea of humans getting hurt - which we see in the books.

She pulled more from antisemitic stories than she pulled from real folklore. And it was enough of a problem that antisemitic producers were able to pick up where she left off and make it as bad as they did.

So you're exactly right. It's how it piles up. I just hope you can see that the issue goes very deep.

[magicaii]

Hello, if you don't mind, can I ask, who are your top favorite romantic relationship's couples in any media, like anime/manga, tv series, books, etc (can be canon or non-canon)? Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them....Thanks if you want to answer....

Thanks for the ask! I have some ships that I’ve liked for years, as well as ones I’m currently really interested in, so I can talk about both I guess?

So in terms of ones that have secured a place in my heart, I would instantly think of meronia (mello and near from death note). It took me a rewatch of death note to warm up to them, and it's honestly hard to describe why I like it so much (look through my meronia tag I guess, I've been trying for years lol) but I'm a big fan of both slow burn and rivals to lovers and couldn't get the headcanon of Near having a one-sided love for Mello that persists years after his death out of my head. I like the way they work so well together on an intellectual level and the way they would both challenge and protect each other, and the grief and emptiness Near likely felt in the wake of his death not only resonates with me a lot but is also an interesting thing to dissect. They hardly had a real relationship with each other, and yet, Near must feel his vacancy all the same. I think I mourn the dynamic they could've had with each other had Mello come to accept Near as he is, and wonder what would've happened if they made up (the potential is unimaginable). I also think it's a fun challenge to imagine how Mello might ever reciprocate his feelings, since it's not very believable to me most of the time.

I've really liked oldrivalshipping (green and blue from pokemon special manga) for years but it's a ship I find hard to justify. They don't have a lot of interactions and a lot of fans consider them like a joke pairing? My appreciation of them is mainly based on the potential dynamic between them, taking into account them as individuals. Amongst their peers, Green and Blue are the more jaded, hyperindividualistic, "mature" characters, but while Green (guy) is upfront about it, Blue (girl) hides it very well. I think it's interesting to imagine what could happen if they got closer and how Green would handle Blue's capricious temperament, since I imagine Blue would have a hard time faking it in front of Green (he has a zero bullshit tolerance). In canon, Green has also shown signs that he genuinely cares about and values Blue as a comrade and person, so I don't think it's a stretch to imagine them at least becoming better friends and eventually coming to a deeper understanding with each other. I just think they'd have good chemistry.

I used to be like, really obsessed with dabihawks (dabi and hawks from bnha). As in, my real life friends were hearing about this shit. I don't think I'm quite as enamoured with them compared to before, and they haven't interacted in what, four years? So it's died down a lot, but I can still understand why I was so insane over them. They have really intersting parallels in terms of story, themes, character arcs, and aesthetics. The biggest sell on dabihawks for me is the ideological struggle between the two characters. It's not even so much about the romance, but: what would you do if someone important to you had the polar opposite view on morality to you? What if they fundamentally disagreed with how to handle the biggest issues in your life? They are so completely different in every way, it's definitely no wonder they're enemies, but what if they were not made enemies by the plot, what if they weren't the designated hero and villain? Would they still grow to hate each other because of their inability to see eye to eye? In essence, their conflict goes much deeper than a villain vs hero story, and that's very interesting to me. As for newer pairings:

This is so embarrassing, but, haikaveh (alhaitham and kaveh from genshin impact). This is a super popular pairing so I'm sure I don't need to explain why I like it, but again, it's the combination of slow burn and rivals to lovers. More specifically, I'm obsessed with the idea of someone caring about another person so much that they pay attention to and work around their flaws just to silently help them out as much as possible. Unlike a lot of the fandom, however, I don't headcanon them as currently dating. They have a ton of issues to work out and if they started dating in current canon it would not go well for them. Kaveh is unable to even entertain the idea that Alhaitham genuinely cares for and looks out for him, since he has firmly decided that Alhaitham is a heartless, self-centered egoist. For all his intelligence he has absolutely no clue that Alhaitham likes him beyond an 'intellectual equal' or 'house maid'. Alhaitham, on the other hand, has considerable communication issues and his inability to be kind is part of why Kaveh so stubbornly holds onto this view of him. I think their philosophical struggle is also a worthwhile point of contention since they are both obviously flawed (Kaveh is destroying himself, and Alhaitham is sabotaging the most important relationship in his life).

Gladnis (gladio and ignis from final fantasy 15) really took me by surprise. They seem to have a very deep and mature understanding between each other, and both take their lifelong duty very seriously, albeit in different ways. They've always been on the same side, but don't always seem to agree on the best course of action to take (think about the way they both treat Noctis). This is probably the best time to mention that I really enjoy relationships that hapharzardly border between platonic and romantic in nature. When you're a lot more than friends with someone, but you don't know exactly how to describe your feelings for them. Maybe you don't have time for love, maybe there's something more important at stake. Maybe you just can't bear the idea of having something so painful to lose. Whatever it is, those feelings remain undissected. That's pretty much how I see gladnis. I think the potential for something more is there if you squint, but it's a subtle romance. They already mean a lot to each other and are comfortable with their friendship, and I think their journey has brought them so much grief that they would ultimately seek reprieve elsewhere, just for some sense of normalcy. It's very tragic to me. I'm perfectly fine with a platonic reading of them too!

Lastly, I DO want to mention bkdk (bakugo and midoriya from bnha)... I was the biggest skeptic of them in seasons 1-3. But especially with all the ways Bakugo has developed in the last manga arc and the way he has come to truly understand Midoriya's importance in his life is very satisfying and feels well earned. I personally view bkdk as being most likely one-sided on Bakugo's part (that could potentially develop into mutual feelings when they're a bit older), and while theyre truly learning how to get along, I think they both have personal issues to work on, so if anything, it would be best for these feelings to be explored more when they're adults? I'm also a fan of the platonic interpretation of bkdk though, and I'm not really ride or die with them.

I'm sorry this ended up being so long!! I'm a yapper at heart, so I kept it to six ships hahaha. There are other pairings I like a lot such as sasunaru (naruto), kakaobi (naruto), nejilee (naruto), braime (asoiaf/game of thrones), kirimina (bnha), spinneraki (bnha). I enjoy answering these asks so ppl don't be afraid if you're curious <3

[myfriendskickass]

what i think a lot of the younger babybats and alt kids today don't understand is that in the late 90s and early 2000s, being ANY kind of alternative at ALL was LITERALLY social death. ESPECIALLY goth. We were blamed for Columbine, the mass media was accusing us of being devil worshipping criminals, there were NO alternative characters in media portrayed as the good guys. Ever. We were always the satanic blood drinking weirdos.

In the 90s, idk how prevalent this was in the 2000s, people did get physically assaulted just for being goth. In the UK, a girl was murdered for it. Even earlier than her, in the US, a man was killed for being a punk. And this girl from Scotland who was harassed so bad she killed herself. The harassment was that bad. I had people in school genuinely wholeheartedly believe that I was going to be the next Eric and Dylan (and yet they wouldn't stop bullying me, which you think they would do if they were that terrified of me committing an act of violence like that.)

Don't even get me started on how the emo kids were treated. I don't have the link about the girl who killed herself and her parents blamed MCR for it. We were all separate subcultures but mass media and people around us lumped us all in together in the "send these kids to the guidance counselors because they are a danger to themselves and others," specifically because of the music they listen to and how they dress. Metalheads, rivetheads, all alternative subcultures. Heaven help you if you overlapped with the BDSM scene - they would call CPS on you and being involved with kink was a valid reason to remove custody of your children.

TEACHERS did it too. Cops. Literally EVERYBODY. No matter how old you were. (see the above point about kink) I was getting stalked and harassed by elementary school kids over this. Voltaire Aurelio Hernandez had to go on mainstream news and explain what goth is to normies, the harassment and hate was getting so bad. Some schools in the NYC area in the 90s literally had "beat the freak week."

And you couldn't do anything about it because at the end of the day people would just say "Well, you're CHOOSING to dress weird on purpose so you deserve it, just stop looking like that and you'll be safe." (If you've ever been bullied before you know what a crock of shit that is.)

Goth in particular has always been extremely welcoming to the queer community too. (whether they were kink friendly unfortunately depended on your local scene. a lot of us have justifiable levels of frustration and very bad experiences being sexually harassed by normies/mundanes, especially if you were fem presenting, for being into kink even if we weren't, and this is why i don't begrudge goth women who are fed up with the Big Titty Goth GF thing that's been going around.) So you cannot tell me that this doesn't count as a hate crime, in my eyes.

This is why book series/media properties like Vampire Kisses, hell, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (WILDLY different target audiences, the people reading VK should NOT be reading GWTDT), Danny Phantom...literally ANYTHING that showed goths in a positive light. Fuck, even South Park was a refuge because at least they got the parodies correct. Anyway, media like this, regardless of the actual quality of it is always going to hold a special place in my heart because it was a LIFELINE for little queer alternative ND weirdos like me during that time period.

And because it means so so much to me, i want to drag as many people as i possibly can into my gothy tween rabbithole because i want to share the feeling of safe refuge i felt with the rest of you. even if you're not goth or alternative in any way.

[gale-force-storm]

I, R, W xxx

Oooh, good ones! Ok,

I: How many fandoms have you written in? Do you have a favorite? Oh gosh, several lol. Looks like I've posted in 7 on AO3. A handful of very old BBC Sherlock fics from back in high school (like, originally posted on ffn old lol), several podcasts over the years (Welcome to Night Vale, The Penumbra Podcast, Wolf 359, Eos 10, and The Magnus Archives), and now BG3 of course 💕 I wouldn't call any of them my favorite, per se. I know it's super cheesy, but they've all been special to me in their own ways, and have generally been what I needed at that point in my life.

R: Which writers (fanfic or otherwise) do you consider the biggest influence on you and your writing? That's tough! I've always read a lot, so it's hard to pick out just a few. I'm not sure I'd call it an influence, but Douglas Adams's writing was a big "ah-ha" moment for me of just what was possible with words and descriptions. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's works (Good Omens has been a favorite since high school), have such stunning character writing and voice, and that's definitely had an impact as well. And ngl, I read a lot of cheesy romance novels in high school and undergrad which I think shows through in my romance and smut writing lol. As for fanfic writers, I've been genuinely blessed to always seem to end up in fandom circles with shockingly talented writers. I seriously don't know how I keep getting so lucky. To list them all and explain the impact they've had on me would take a short book on its own. Suffice it to say that I wouldn't be the writer I am today, and wouldn't still be growing like I am, if it weren't for all the amazing, talented people I've met through fandom ❤

W: What's your favorite pairing to write? Favorite pairing to read? *Looks at my blog* Well, for the current fandom I think the answer is self-evident lol. Seriously though, I am currently really enjoying reading and writing Gale/Tav fics. Despite how long I've been active in fandom, this is the first time I've ever done anything with OCs, and been in a space so welcoming to and enthusiastic about them, so it's been a really cool and exciting new experience for me! More broadly speaking, I love any pairing that's two imperfect people doing their best and learning and growing together. I want relationships in fiction to feel real and relatable, with all the joys and pitfalls that come with that

Thanks for the ask! 💖

[lunalillyhbhb]

Lea's home

Chapter 5

It's a pleasant Saturday, a gentle breeze brushes past my face. I wake up late with no intention of over exerting myself today, not in the slightest.

I don't have classes on Saturdays and the head maid has given me the day off. I intend to use every second of it to rest. God knows every fibre of my body could use it, given how frequently I've been pushing my heart of late. Most days it's Lea who pushes it, sometimes Mirin when she's feeling extra sweet, and on special occasions Mrs. Nicole would relish it. Almost every other day seems like gym training. I'm not complaining though, I just really want to rest for now.

The afternoon passes by lazily. I live by myself in a small apartment, equipped with a simple kitchen/dining room, a small hall room and a loft above for sleeping and studying.

I lay on my bed with my books and steth sprawled across, passively going through my notes for an upcoming CVS exam. The evening rolls around. I get tired and decide to treat myself to a small power nap.

I sleep for what feels like barely a minute. All of a sudden I wake up to my clock displaying 5:00 PM. Oh no, I'm late for work! The head maid is gonna kill me!

I quickly make myself presentable and run to Lea's home, heart pounding from the sudden overexcitation. I barely reach on time and get changed and begin my chores. I see Lea at home. Strange. She's usually never back home this early. She looks upset. Maybe I'll cheer her up later with her steth, I decide. She sees me from the corner of her eyes and whips to head to look at me, now looking even more upset. She motions to her room and angrily stomps inside, asking me to follow her in. I want to ease her thoughts but not in the middle of my work, that'd be too risky!

No I can't be like this. Lea is a very important person to my heart, if I can't risk this much for her then I'd be ashamed of myself.

I put aside my chores and step inside her room quietly, carefully closing the door behind so no one hears, and lock it. I turn around and am met with a weird surprise: Lea and Mirin looking ready to have a go at the other, standing in opposite corners of the room. Just what happened here? Did Mirin not do her chores well? I really can't think of any other reason. Lea points to her sofa directing me to sit there. I sense she is very impatient and close to exploding any moment now, and I don't want to be in the receiving end of that. I quickly plop down and sit in silence, watching my two heartbeat muses staring at each other.

Lea finally breaks the silence, looking directly at me like she's about to cry, "Was my heart not enough for you? What did I do wrong, was it my fault?"

I am genuinely confused now. "What do you mean Lea?". Mirin decides to join in, saying "Of course you weren't good enough. That's why she chose me! She chose me over you, why can't you just get over it??"

Mirin??? What's gotten over her? Does she want to get fired??

"Mirin, sweetie, pipe down a bit. Lea, explain to me what's going on? Help me understand!"

Lea slams her palm into her chest and cries "MY heart! I thought my heart was all you wanted and needed. But turns out I'm wrong, you're pampering Mirin's heart as well? Why? What more do you want me to do? You could've asked me anything and you KNOW I would've done everything in my power to give it to you, why go to HER???"

Ooh. I get the situation now. Lea and Mirin are jealous of each other.

Oh no, what do I do? I never thought it would play out like this, what should I do, what do I say? I want to hug Lea and cup her face, I want to stroke Mirin's head and tell her to calm down.

Mirin decides to become a smartass and throws oil in the fire- "You don't understand, you can never compare to my heart! Stop trying!!"

The sweet voice is no where to be found, Mirin now acting like a spoilt brat. Lea marches towards Mirin, grabs her hand and pushes it to her apex hard. "Feel that? My heart is 10 times stronger than yours! You can't even begin to compare!" As she says this, Mirin and I see her hand jumping with such amplitude I get jealous I'm not in Miri's place.

Mirin's face shifts and from previous experience I know she's amazed by it. But then she abruptly switches up, grabbing Lea's hand and pushing it into her small breast. I see Lea's hand jump slightly but quickly, pattering away to Mirin's pulsating heart. A few seconds of silence passes and I see Lea and Mirin pay close attention to each other. Lea starts getting agitated as apparent by her increasingly stronger heartbeat heaves and looks resolutely in Mirin's eyes.

"I know her heart the best, let her decide instead, right here, right now, between us both." And without waiting for Mirin to reply she marches up to me, grabs my head and smashes it into her pounding breast. I immediately close my eyes, letting the sound of her majestic heart thud deeply and fast in my ear, and I know it is beating for me. Before I can lose myself entirely, Mirin huffs and joins me on the sofa on my other side, leans into my other ear and arches her back, pushing her heart directly into my head.

My head fills with the cacophony of hearts, each thudding away uniquely, fighting against each other. I feel their hearts beating strongly against my face. I lose myself entirely, my mind fogging up and lip biting down, trying not to moan. My heart instantly starts pulsating so strongly, as if someone injected epinephrine into my veins. I am unable to think straight, and I know from the way my chest is rocking back and forth that my pump is begging to be touched, to be held. Lea and Mirin see my left breast vibrating more than before, and they are entranced by it. Lea reaches for my apex, and grabs my whole boob in her one hand, squeezing it firmly. The euphoric feeling of my heart fills Lea up and she grabs Mirin's hand as well, pushing it into my PMI, sharing in my rhythm. It's almost like in this moment both are working together, almost like they forgot this was a competition. I feel my pussy becoming increasingly warmer by the second, and my nipples pleading to be released from my shirt. Sensing my need, both my muses work in unison and unbutton my top, unhook my bra and throw it aside, and pull my skirt up to reveal my damp underwear.

Lea starts attacking my apex, digging her fingers into my chest as if trying to dig out my thumping vessel. Mirin focuses her efforts on my nipples, pinching and flicking it. They both start breathing harder and fast, my pants becoming mixed with their moans.

Suddenly we three hear a knock on the door and our eyes whip open in unison. I hear Lea and Miri's hearts thud with fear and anticipation, and their thudding is defeaning me.

The door opens and in walks the sexy Mrs. Nicole. She enters the room and closes the door behind her, locking it. Wait, I thought I had locked it earlier?

All 3 of us look anxiously at Mrs. Nicole, who's foxy eyes have narrowed into thin slits behind her glasses, her face a stern expression, turning me on even more. With her large tantalizing breasts visibly bobbing, she breaths in deeply and sighs out.

She walks slowly to me- "How dirty, what kind of shameful madness is this..... and how dare you do this without me?" her voice drops low and with quickness in her fingers her blouse and bra are off, her breasts out in the open. Lea and Mirin's heart kick up even more, and they watch Mrs. Nicole as they continue to play with my apex and nipples.

Mrs. Nicole bends down to my level, takes my hands to hers on either side, and aligns her nipples to mine and leans forward, initially rubbing the tips of our erect sensitive nipples against each other. I suck in a deep breath and whimper, shuddering breaths leaving my mouth in between haggard moans. My torso quivers and I'm finding it hard to hold my position.

Mrs. Nicole leans further in and now I can feel her heart hammering directly above my sternum, forcing my heart back into it's cage, trying to dominate me.

I am now a small prey being cornered by 3 beasts, all hungrily staring me down, hunting me, ready to eat me.

"You've been wet down there a while now, haven't you? Let me help you with that." Mrs. Nicole breathes huskily, she releases one of my hands and slips into my underwear, wet and dripping with pleasure. My heartbeat is felt in my pussy and my clit is so sensitive. Mrs. Nicole starts rubbing the lips slowly, coating her fingers through and through. My heart bangs hard and my chest starts hurting. I feel Lea also slip her finger into me, her other hand into herself. I can feel Mrs. Nicole and Lea inside me, both rubbing all my pleasure spots. Mirin joins in, her fingers finding their way into my slippery wet lips and into herself, her tongue hanging out like a dog panting after a run. My chest burns and tightens, my heart no longer making sense, as if someone stabbed epi directly into my cardiac muscle. I am being eaten alive by these carnal monsters and I am enjoying every second of this euphoric sensation. Mrs. Nicole brings her lips to mine and kisses me with a fiery passion, pushing her tongue down my throat, her breasts heaving heavily on me, nipples still furiously rubbing against each other. Mirin gets jealous and leans over and kisses Lea above my head and I feel all our hearts skip messily and sloppily. All four of us are a sweating mess, bodies tangled with each other. A wave of orgasm rolls over all of us, our hearts finally joined as a symphony of music in my ears and on my chest, haggard panting and heat filling the air:

Lea with her strong heart, thudding forcefully like a machine gun in my ears and moaning as she feels her heartbeat pounding in her wet mounds;

Mirin with her heart beating fast and deep like a caged butterfly, struggling to break free from its confines and her high pitched moaning;

Mrs. Nicole, her large breasts directly on mine, merging our bodies as one, her heart beating steadily with a deep bass as the mature strong woman she is, her low pitched moans sultry and erotic.

My heart gives out and starts beating erratically all over the place. I feel my sternum bounce and it hurts so bad. I feel the hot release of pure desire over and over again, all of us coming in unison.

I am sooo so close to reaching my climax, when I am suddenly pulled away from it all and my breath knocked out of me. Everything vanishes in a split second and I am surrounded in darkness.

In a moment of desperation I reach my hand out and-

My eyes open. Directly above me I see a familiar ceiling. The bed underneath me is wet and drenched in my sweat, my pants are soaked through and my breathing is staggered and short. My heart, as if still in the moment, continues beating painfully fast and irregular.

I quickly grab my steth and finish by myself on the bed.

It was all a dream.

The sensation of 4 heartbeats, simultaneously coming together..... it still lingers in my ears and body. This dream will consume my thoughts for a while, mourning the loss of what could've been.

And here I thought I wouldn't over exert myself today.