#had much more impact on the story and at least made me fucking feel something towards the whole reveal lmao (talking about kiri and denks)

[scaryanneee]

VEILPUNK 9:52 ⚡️

Narrative parallels between [and MAJOR SPOILERS for] Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Cyberpunk 2077

Wake up, Samurai, we have a Thedas to burn. Let’s play a game:

Meet [V]/[Rook]. She is living her life as a [nomad/streetkid/corpo]/[Dragon/Crow/Lord/Watcher/Warden] when circumstances (aka, some kind of fuck-up) lead her to begin a new adventure with her friend [Jackie Welles]/[Varric Tethras]. 

The pair embark on a mission that involves a history lesson about a mercurial and rebellious [rockerboy]/[ancient elven mage] who made a questionable choice [50]/[8000] years ago when he [detonated a nuclear bomb]/[created the Veil]. That decision had dire consequences, but was done with good intentions: to take down a corrupt and powerful group – the [Arasakas]/[Evanuris]. 

Anyway, the job that [V]/[Rook] is on goes really, really bad: needless to say, we won't be working with [Jackie]/[Varric] anymore. [V]/[Rook] finds herself injured but alive… and the previously mentioned grumpy old [rockerboy]/[elven god] is now living in her head, somehow?! 

[Jackie]/[Varric]’s fate is not the only consequence of [V]/[Rook]’s actions. In fact, the clock is ticking: if [V]/[Rook] does not find a way to fix her mistake soon, she faces certain death. Not to mention, she promised [Jackie]/[Varric] that she would take care of the [biochip]/[team] for him. 

As she works to undo what she has done, [V]/[Rook] either bonds with the [Johnny Silverhand]/[Solas] living in her head, or hates him, or something in between. There’s lots of snarky jabs traded between mind-resident and host, but also moments of genuine understanding that build over time. 

It is kind of weird walking around the world, though, because you see symbols of [Johnny]/[Solas]’s legacy in the form of [Samurai memorabilia]/[Fen’Harel statues] pretty much everywhere... anyway.

In an optional questline, [V]/[Rook] can watch some of [Johnny]/[Solas]’s memories. She learns that his [nuclear bomb]/[creating the Veil] was about more than just fighting [corpo]/[godly] corruption. It was also about avenging the death of a woman he cared for deeply: [Alt]/[Mythal], who was killed by the [Arasakas]/[Evanuris]. [Alt]/[Mythal] and [Johnny]/[Solas] may have had a complicated and at times turbulent relationship, but there was no doubt he loved her. There’s also no doubt that [Johnny]/[Solas] feels, in part, personally responsible for her death.

[V]/[Rook] also gets to meet some of [Johnny]/[Solas]’s old friends: [Kerry]/[Dorian] and [Nancy]/[Morrigan], who both worked alongside him in [Samurai]/[the Inquisition], and [Rogue]/[Inquisitor Lavellan], a highly competent woman who [Johnny]/[Solas] had a romantic relationship with at one point (and who [Johnny]/[Solas] regrets not having treated better). [V]/[Rook] also meets some of [Johnny]/[Solas]’s greatest enemies from his past – like [Adam Smasher]/[Elgar’nan] – and gets to make [Johnny]/[Solas] proud by kicking their asses on his behalf. 

Finally, at the very end of the game, [V]/[Rook] can choose to either redeem [Johnny]/[Solas] or condemn him. They can even get help from a version of [Alt]/[Mythal] to do so!

Roll credits.

This is all to say: I love both of these franchises very much and, so it is very delightful to find all of these parallels between them. To be very clear, this is not an accusation of stealing or anything – stories echo, history rhymes, etc. – just an affectionate observation.

BUT.

It also highlights, for me at least, a few things Cyberpunk did well that Veilguard would have benefitted from incorporating. Namely:

A prologue based on character origin, where Rook meets/bonds with Varric, like V does with Jackie

More interaction between Protagonist and Guy Living in the Protagonist’s Head

Deeper engagement with the universe’s lore, particularly the setting and its impact on our protagonist. Night City feels like another character in Cyberpunk in a way that Veilguard's Thedas really does not.

The protagonist having a smaller scale, more personal investment in the outcome of events – V’s race against the biochip is instantly understandable, and her tenacity and strong will to survive make her very easy to relate to and like. I never quite felt the same level of investment in Rook, and I think that’s in part because her fight against the gods is so enormous in scale that it feels quite impersonal at times. 

Story parallels aside, these two games are also both examples of games that were rushed through development and suffered for it. For Cyberpunk, that meant infamous technical failures; for Veilguard, that apparently means writing that is inconsistent at best and baffling at worst.

Fortunately, CD Projekt Red was able to add tons of post-release updates (and the excellent Phantom Liberty DLC) to Cyberpunk, that really helped it ultimately evolve into the game it was intended to be. 

Unfortunately, I think it is extremely unlikely that EA/Bioware will ever give Veilguard the same treatment.

But if I’m looking for something to hope for about this franchise (despite the long odds)... I think that would be it. 

Anyway, if you read this far: thanks, [chooms]/[lethallen]! 🖤

[tsukimefuku]

wardrobe malfunction ❖ nanami kento

summary: your cursed technique isn't exactly clothing-friendly, and when you find yourself in a less than ideal situation, you only had one person you could ask for help.

tags: jujutsu kaisen, f!reader, light nanami x reader, cursing, kind of suggestive but not exactly (?), second hand embarrassment is real, this is just pure crack to be honest, is reader lucky or unlucky? i fret, for i do not know, this is barely proofread because i wrote this absolute nonsense on a complete whim, i hope you have as much fun reading this as i did writing it.

wc: 1k

❖ collection of stories: "jujutsu partners au" → masterlist for fics listed in chronological order of events

You had just finished blowing up a grade 2 curse that lunged at you full-speed. Your chest heaved up and down with tiny droplets of sweat coming down, as you panted inside the abandoned apartment complex. For a while, the adrenaline pumping through your veins made it hard to assess your state, but then, as you began decelerating and looked at your body, you realized something.

“Oh, no. Not again.” 

Considering your innate cursed technique involved casting small bombs of cursed energy, they could blow up through many things, and when you didn’t manage to distance yourself from them before the impact… Well, safe to say that some things were bound to happen.

You pulled your phone ready to call… someone. Anyone, really. But the ancient piece of technology that you failed to replace in these past few weeks wouldn’t let you access your contacts list, providing you solely with your three last dialed numbers — Gojo, Yaga and Nanami.

Your fucking phone. Your damn, fucking phone.

Just thinking about this had you beyond mortified, but it was either this, or never leaving the building again. So you took a deep breath before pressing dial.

***

Nanami found Shoko to take care of some minor injuries on his arm, and as she was finished, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, and saw your name flashing on the screen.

As he answered, you stuttered for a moment before mustering up the courage to speak.

“So, Nanami, I need, uh, some assistance.” 

He found that to be odd, considering you knew he was on another mission today, and this was a solo endeavor for you.

“Has something happened?”

“So, you know how my technique works, right?”

That question had the sorcerer feeling somewhat puzzled, given he had seen you use it — and explain it — multiple times already.

“Of course, we've been on missions together, and you have explained it to me more than once.”

You sighed before proceeding. “So, here's the thing, I kind of blew myself up.” 

That quickly got his attention and he tensed up. Shoko had just finished removing her gloves and noticed it.

“Are you injured?” His usually impassive voice had a hint of worry to it.

“No, no. I'm fine. Sometimes this kind of happens, and I'm pretty used to blocking the impact and using RCT if needed.” 

Is it her? Is she okay? She better be, I need her tomorrow, Shoko whispered at Nanami as she walked around and sat on a bench in front of him.

He didn’t notice what she asked, as he was humming confusedly, given you still hadn’t clarified why you called.

Your voice kind of cracked up for a moment, as you violently blushed on the other side. At least, the phone is an imageless form of communication.

“So, I’m okay. But my clothes, they, uh… I blew them up.”

He slowly began taking in what exactly you were saying.

“That's it, that’s what happened. I… I need clothes, please. Can you bring me some, just so I can get out of here without getting arrested for public indecency?”

Nanami kept silent for some time, and felt a slight rush of heat run over his cheeks.

“Nanami?” 

He coughed slightly, tensing his posture as he did.

“Yes, of course. But wouldn't you rather someone else to do that for you, like Ms. Nitta, or one of the female students?” 

That caught Shoko’s attention, and she discreetly looked at the sorcerer while he was still on the phone with you.

You nearly gagged.

“No! No way. I… I'm mortified as is.”

Somebody please fucking kill me.

“I can't talk about this with anyone else. It's too damn embarrassing,”  you stated, letting your mind go to random facts in order to try lifting the mood. “I now understand why that student from Kyoto keeps taking his shirt off to fight, but that's beside the point.”

You were met at the wake of your failed joke.

“I-I mean… Just bring me something, please.” 

Nanami cleared his throat as he pulled on his tie and opened his shirt’s top button.

“Fine. Send me your location.”

You sighed, relieved.

“Great, you're the best, thank you!”

He switched his phone off and grounded himself for a moment.

“Is she alright?” 

“Yes, she is,” he answered, some words choking on their way up for a second. “Ms. Ieiri, do you happen to have any clothes around here?” 

“What? Why would you need that?”

He couldn’t muster up anything remotely feasible to say, and given that embarrassment is an infectious condition, it began creeping up on him, too.

Nanami resumed speaking. “… I'm sorry to bother you. I just remembered I can get an assistant's uniform.” 

He then walked towards the door to leave.

“Nanami…” Shoko began.

“Hm?” He asked, as turning around.

“… Are you blushing?”

“... Good afternoon,” he answered, before stepping out a little quicker than usual.

***

Nanami had just arrived, and you let him know you were upstairs. As he asked how you wanted to receive the clothes, you were insistent that he threw the bag over the steps, and being a reasonable and rational person, the sorcerer obviously declined to do that.

“Just throw the thing already!” you yelled from the top of the stairs, away from his sight.

“I’m not uncivilized,” he replied, sighing. “I’m going to put them down here, and wait for you outside.”  

Nanami was considerably less mortified than you would expect, but it was him, Mr. mature, after all. Also, this wasn’t the first embarrassing situation of yours that he had witnessed.

You were prone to setting yourself up for absurd shenanigans, it seemed.

As you heard him leave and close the door, you stepped your way down and flimsily put the black pants and white buttoned shirt, which didn’t match at all with the hiking boots you usually wore on missions.

You went outside, and were met by him, his usual impassiveness slightly disturbed by something you couldn’t quite yet identify.

“Thank you, Nanami,” you stated, sighing relieved.

“It’s no trouble,” he answered, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. 

You were both uncomfortably silent for a while.

“These kinds of unexpected things happ-”

“We will never talk about this again as long as I live, please, I can’t cope” you pleaded, voice simmering with desperation for this awkward moment to be over, “just, please.” 

He cleared his throat, mindlessly adjusting his tie around his neck. It strangely felt more tight than usual.

“Of course. I apologize.”

“No need. It’s fine. Let’s just go back to Jujutsu High and pretend this never happened.”

“I do not know what you’re talking about,” he said, sparing you a quick glance.

You smiled, amused and thankful.

“Right. Precisely.” 

[do-you-ship-it-polls]

Do you ship it?

reason under the cut!

People say Kavetham is a good ship because they're roommates who bicker all the time and are basically a married couple already, but it goes so much deeper than that.

What if we met in grad school, where we were instantly drawn to one another because of our diametrically-opposed, perfectly-mirrored ideologies? What if we spent our days embroiled in intellectual debates with one another, fascinated by the way each other's minds worked, all while bonding over our similarly fucked-up family situations and the pervasive sense of loneliness we shared? What if you were a relentless altruist, and what if I was the kind of person who valued self-preservation above all; you, an artist and architect, and I, a linguist and historian; and what if we were so sure that our differences were the strength of our relationship that we decided to pursue a joint research project?

What if that all fell apart, because one day I could no longer bear to see you drive yourself into the ground for the sake of other people, and I said things to you that I could never take back, and it made you walk away from our friendship forever? What if, from that day on, we were no longer on speaking terms, and as we grew older and graduated and became successful researchers with jobs in completely different fields, our only form of communication was firing passive-aggressive shots at each other's worldviews through academic journals and tavern message boards?

And then what if, many years later, your self-sacrificial nature finally got the better of you, and you gave up everything to create your magnum opus? And, while everyone around you celebrated your victory, you were secretly at rock bottom, homeless and drinking yourself to death? What if that was when I found my way to you again? What if, in a moment of weakness, you confided in me about everything you had been through since we had parted ways, and I offered my home to you, then? As a temporary place to stay, maybe, while you got yourself back on your feet.

And just like that, what if we started living together, trying to work our way past the festering, unresolved bitterness between us, picking through the suffocating feelings of regret and yearning and the "I-hate-to-admit-it-but-I-still-care-about-you"s and the constant reminders that we once considered each other family in the absence of our biological families? What if we spent every single day since then trying to gather the shards of our old relationship and reassemble it into something on at least vaguely civil terms? What if that's not an easy task; what if, despite caring for each other so deeply, we have forgotten how to hold a conversation that doesn't devolve into an argument?

But what if, over the course of our story, we were each put into situations that make us realize that we are too precious to one another to keep wasting our relationship away on miscommunications? For example, what if you learned that all your mother wanted for you was to have a companion who would support you unconditionally (even when they didn't fully understand you), just as your parents supported each other -- and you realized that I am the one who fills such a role for you? What if, as we continued to face conflicts with stakes both big and small, we slowly got over our communication issues, and grew content with calling our shared house a "home"?

So, what I mean to ask is: what if we were roommates who bickered all the time and were basically a married couple already?

tag: @kanon-kun

-

They're roommates and never seem to be away from each other, even the new character Sethos sees it between them and he just met them (I would go more into detail but I am dying on the inside rn and this is all I can muster)

tag: @animedragonwhouseswitchcraft (sorry once again i missed this one)

[nekoning]

[CW: mentions of grooming and SA]

i'm starting to watch baby reindeer and it's nothing like what i expected it to be and I'm a bit in shock because so far I've never related so much to a portrayal of grooming/SA

honestly none of the shows or movies I've watched before have gotten it just right like this show does, i think it's because most of those I've watched are situations where the victim doesn't develop a bond(? with their abuser and either they are abused by a stranger or a partner becomes suddenly abusive, but not many explore the complexities of grooming and how much it makes the abuse worse, a lot of them also make the abuse the plot of the story and don't focus on what happens after someone survives abuse or the before about what factors can make someone more vulnerable to being victims of grooming, a lot of stories don't focus on these parts because they are messy but they need to be talked about more

there were so many things i unfortunately related to, how being abused by someone you want approval of hurts so much, how you can both be afraid of and also look for comfort in the same person that abuses you, the feeling of wanting to somehow protect this person that has hurt you and blaming yourself. you try to empathize with someone who never had your feelings in mind, you try to find ways to "negotiate" during the abuse and you think it gives you some sense of control, that it means you can deal with this situation. you downplay what happened to you because it's easier to move on than face it.

the other part that is rarely explored in media and that I've only seen it twice before is the sexual confusion and the incessant wondering if you were fucked up from the start or if that person ruined you forever, this topic makes the average person very uncomfortable but it's so important that it's talked about because victims carry so much shame because of it.

brains have strange ways of coping with trauma and a lot of times for victims it means that they feel the need to recreate the abuse they experienced in a setting where they have control of the situation, it also means that a lot of us develop hypersexuality and will put ourselves in risky situations, sometimes without realizing that it's tied to the trauma.

unfortunately society's reaction to these things is...bad, very bad. people that don't understand how trauma works use it to argument that victims wanted their abuse to happen, people also shame those who use kink to cope and heal AND when people see victims actively showing these signs, instead of helping, a lot of people judge without questioning if something is going on below the surface (at least this was my case, when i was very obviously putting myself in risky situations i was seen as someone that had something inherently wrong with him instead of someone that needed help and people did absolutely nothing to put me away from risk!)

the fact that it's the story of a male victim of SA is also relevant bc it's generally seen as less serious, I've been laughed at before when talking about my abuse and people tend to treat it as something you should want to happen to you etc.

anyways i hope more stories of SA are more like this, i hope all these topics are explored no matter how uncomfortable they might be, i hope more stories cover grooming in specific

it's been important to me at least, trauma from grooming can be so isolating because you really only feel understood by people who have gone through the same and it's so messy and confusing and it impacts your life for years, decades down the line..the part of loving hating myself more than i loved her hit me extremely hard because that's what trauma does, it takes away anything good that could happen to you

if you made it to here and are considering watching keep in mind trigger warnings because it was a difficult but necessary watch for me

[muqingapologist]

it’s kind of funny how i put off reading scum villain for so long after reading and consuming adaptations for mdzs and then reading tgcf. im not really a fan of the fan-service sex scenes in danmei because it just takes me out of the story emotionally, and i had a friend warn me that this was pretty much the case with svsss. but like….not so much? at least not the main story.

to back up, my first introduction to any danmei media was watching the untamed. i fucking LOVED the untamed. it consumed my every waking thought for like a solid month lol. it’s actually hard to describe in hindsight just how captivated i was by wei wuxian and lan wangji. and because i loved it so much, i chose to wait for the english translations to be officially released instead of finding unofficial versions online. in the meantime, i “read” tgcf (skimmed) for the first time (bad idea. i finally reread it though last month for real and damn. not quite relevant though). anyway, when i finally got to book 4 of mdzs, well i knew there was the infamous bathtub scene coming, but i underestimated how much this scene would just…cheapen the entire story for me. and this is my own fault, i know, for taking the untamed so much to heart and not being prepared to engage with such different characterizations of the two characters i adored so much. like nothing could’ve prepared me for the fact that lan zhan was actually a nymphomaniac who was determined to have rough sex with wwx every day…it just made the story feel less meaningful to me. it took away the gravity it developed for me.

so knowing how the sex scenes in mdzs affected me, of course i was skeptical of svsss based on what i’d heard. and well maybe it’s because svsss was so tonally different from mdzs and tgcf, and maybe because i knew something very graphic was coming, but shen qingqiu and luo binghe boning to save the world at the end of the main story actually made…perfect sense?? like it wasn’t even really supposed to be romantic at all and yet it felt 110% more earned and necessary than the scenes in mdzs. which was just really surprising to me.

anyway i don’t make this to start mdzs vs. svsss discourse but more so just to discuss my thoughts on the two as someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy gratuitous sex scenes and reads mostly for romance and plot (personal preference!). i still love mdzs and it’ll always have a special place in my heart, but watching the untamed and getting attached to that version of the story first definitely gave me unrealistic expectations for the source material.

im just rambling about this because im curious if anyone had a similar experience with how they read the mxtx novels? also in discussing the novels, im not giving tooooo much weight to the extras.

i’ll add another probably unpopular opinion that the lack of explicit content in tgcf (ik, due to censorship) actually worked in its favor in terms of emotional impact for me.

so yeah i just wanna know what people out there think of sex scenes in mxtx and their gratuitousness and how that affects the novel for you!!!

[oshinohoshi]

Oshi no Ko Ch 164 Thoughts

I don't know what the return policy is on manga chapters but I'd like to return this chapter and ask for a new ending

I have reasons beyond "I hate this because it depresses me" but honestly I fucking hate it because it depresses me

Aqua died smiling. Great. He also died horribly in graphic detail. It's impactful, sure, but it also felt gratuitous. Maybe I'm just sensitive but it was awful to read

This arc is called "Toward the Stars and Dreams." I guess Akasaka was being clever and he meant nightmares

Akasaka said in a conversation with Mengo that he wanted to portray despair:

A: I guess the emotions I want to show are the pain of living and despair. M: Aka-sensei, are you in despair? A: I live with hope! M: But... What you want to depict in the manga is despair? A: Hope and hopelessness are two sides of the same coin, and that's what I want to show. M: So, what you're trying to depict is a form of hope? A: To make a star shine you have to put them in a dark place.

But I never viewed OnK as a story primarily about despair. If hope and hopelessness are flip sides to a coin, Ai's death portrayed that a lot better

Aqua's is a poor imitation. Deciding your life's worth is to die needlessly for your loved one is not the same as experiencing deep regret mixed with the relief of learning in your final moments that you loved like you always longed to

Aside from Ai and Hikaru, the characters generally got happy endings even if they had to go through hell first

I thought the story was moving towards a slightly bittersweet ending where Aqua finally took a step towards healing and living for himself. I didn't think Ai would have said, "I love you" to her kids if this whole thing was gonna end horribly

Boy do I feel like a clown

Maybe it would be more palatable if Aqua had died for revenge. I'd still have issues with it in terms of expectations, but at least the murder-suicide of a victimized individual wouldn't be framed as self-sacrifice

Can we all just agree that Aqua was NOT born to protect Ruby?

And if we had to go this route, couldn't the loose plot threads have at least been resolved first?

It really sucks that Ai's wishes for her kids to be happy and for Hikaru came to naught. It all seems so pointless now

I guess if there's one thing I can say that isn't bitterly complaining, it's that this chapter made me depressed for nearly a week since the leaks came out. If OnK wasn't something special to me I wouldn't care so much, you know?

Aside from the Aqua panels, I don't know which are the most psychologically damaging. I think it's a tie between Akane collapsed on the shore dressed to the nines, Ruby smiling while signing something for a little girl in a bow, and Miyako's face

The below panels hurt like hell now:

Although there's no way we'll have time to properly touch on the guilt Miyako is likely to feel so just throw it in the bin with every other offscreen moment from the last couple arcs

Everyone gets to be miserable but only for 2 chapters so they better be quick about it

Next chapter: Ruby won't kill herself unless Akasaka has committed to the worst possible ending in which case I'll have to declare him a genius with a vision that was simply too advanced for my puny mind to comprehend.

Instead, we'll time skip to Ruby taking her son, Aqua Ai Hoshino-Narushima, to the Hoshino family grave to pay respect to his namesakes. Then Hikaru, who managed to secure a nearby plot, will rise from the dead, do a fancy coat flip, and moonwalk away.

Man, I really am depressed about this ending though.

[serenedash]

Let's talk khux gameplay and plot,

imo I think part of khux's story telling and the impact of the story gets lost now that the game is defunct. I always thought people didn't appreciate how the gameplay and the mechanics actually had an impact on the story and while that impact become virtually nonexistent later on, I always thought it made the story far more engaging when the game was just chi/unchained chi and also the English translation didn't do it too well ngl

Anyway what I'm specifically talking about is the medal system. Also I feel like the whole bangle thing wasn't explained well in game but really it just comes down to leveling up medals specifically. If you never played khux, you equip medals to your keyblades and they doa specific attack and to level them up you combine multiple of the same medal and you could see how leveled up a medal is by the amount of yellow dots next to it and, in JP at least, this was called "guilt" and like wow that name fucking slaps. And when nightmare chirithy reveals the player has been collecting darkness this whole time thru the medal system, you have literal guilt on your conscious. You are guilty of collecting darkness and negative emotions like guilt to use for your own power. And in Back Cover when the foretellers are made aware of this, there's no stopping it and ofc the player can't stop either, they HAVE to get stronger, you literally have to keep playing the game,

Another part of the game that I appreciated is the way the name changes factored into the game; chi was the original "world line" that the dandelions existed in and at first unchained chi had come off as just a remake but really what we're playing is the continuation, where the player and the dandelions are now in this unchained state/new world line and they're reliving their time as wielders but now without the war/"dark" memories and finally when they relive everything and get back to the "present," they continue on after into "union cross" which I feel like. wasn't explained well in game that much tbh but if you didn't understand what that meant in game, it was just to say that unions didn't matter anymore and they were all dandelions so the unions. when the unions are crossed.

and tbh the experience of playing this game in real time also added to the experience a lot and the impact of the story especially with a player insert character. I think the most effective use of this game being played in real time was Strelitzia. Now in the english version, everything with Strelitzia was all one update and the english ver was behind so honestly they had to do catch up they couldn't really afford to lag behind. But in JP, which most khux fans kept up with using fan translations, Strelitzia's introduction and her death happened about a month apart so it gave the players time to actualyl grow attached to her and THEN we get crushed. You can easily pin point the exact time certain khux fan art was drawn bc in a group drawing of the dandelions Strelitzia is there instead of Lauriam since he was only introduced after her death

and another thing! It only became apparent by the end of the game but khux actually takes place over the course of about 4 years. which is fucking insane. because the dandelions were stuck in the data for 4 years and didn't know it until the glitches started. and the game ran for roughly the same amount of time and we weren't even aware of that either until the glitches! ("why 4 years" there are cutscenes that literally say "4 years ago" so yeah girl what the fuck haha)

Anyway yeah this was just me rambling I think about this so much all the time can you tell. I hope missing link does something like this too tbh it makes it more fun and makes it feel that your actions as the player actually have impact on the story

[anime-grimmy-art]

It’s this time of the year again, folks. Time to wrap up the art Ive made in the last 12 months in another Year in Review! I’ve noticed that this is my fifth Year in Review in a row, so I’ll be making an extra post looking back on the progress in those last 5 years!

I've got a lot to say about this year, but purely art wise, I've gone all when it comes to comics, damn! I've kinda found a format that is messy, and therefore more time efficient, yet still looks good. I even made 2 animatics and lotsa shorts/reels! All that on top of opening coms twice, and, oh yeah, MAKING A WHOLE ASS 4MIN ANIMATION ON MY OWN.

How is my hand still alive.

2023 has been….interesting, to say the least. The first half year I was working on my thesis project, aka making an animated short all on my own (in the art department), which makes it honestly surprising how much I managed to churn out between animating. Trigun rly did have me in a choke hold.

Summer was a bit more spotty, esp. with me not being able to draw anything during August as I was writing my thesis (and doing commissions). And towards the end of the year, Kingdom Hearts tried to save me, but alas, Genshin Impact has finally sunk its teeth into me and dragged me to the bottom of the rabbit hole. It all started with me watching a story summary and lore videos while I was sick after my thesis and I was too intrigued to not dig deeper and well, first I fell in love with Kaeya and then the ships started dropping in left and right.

I’m not gonna lie, the last few months have been weird. I finished my masters in October, and have been on job hunt since, sadly without success so far. I’m existing in this weird limbo of still not grasping I’m not a student anymore after 18 years in education, not really being able to accept I’m an adult, yet desperately trying to find something so I can make a routine, cos rn Im too scared to build a rhythm as I know I’ll have a so much harder time readjusting again. It’s left me in a weird emotional state, where most of the time I feel fine, but when it counts, there’s just, nothing. No joy at getting my diploma, no anticipation to finally go to a convention again, neither any sadness hearing my grandfather died. It frustrates me that it extends to my art as well, there’s excitement over ideas and concepts, but no motivation to pick up the pencil, which makes me either not finish art at all or making so many shortcuts and just ending up with sth not satisfactory to me since it’s not the idea I sought after.

Tho, not everything is doom and gloom. I DID finish a whole ass short animation and got my masters degree, that IS sth to be proud of. Also, while Im struggling at drawing, I’ve also kinda started integrating my shortcuts into my style and some stuff I’ve thrown together actually turns out real good nowadays. Also, and this might be a bit of a weird one, I’m so fucking happy to know I can still enjoy gay ships. I’ve been a bit uncertain over the last few years because when I was around 16-18, I had a real big yaoi phase, which mostly came from the fact so much stuff came out that tickled my brain in the right way (Free, Haikyuu, etc.). But over the years, my enthusiasm died down, and I even started to resent some ships because it’s all some fandoms produced. I often found myself liking a hetero ship more than the popular gay ship, which really made me not wanna stick around because I did not care for most fanart and you can only go through a tag with art you don’t care about so long before you lose interest. I think in retrospect that it rly had nothing to do with the ships being gay ships but rather cos the fans just shoved it in your face when you didn’t care (and shipping culture nowadays also can get real scary). But I’m so happy to see I can still get obsessed with a ship and it’s all thanks to Haikaveh/Kavetham. It really just needed the right flavour for me to dig in again. And oh my god, I FINALLY like a ship with a SHIT TON of art and fanfictions, no more scrounging the crumbs from the bottom of the barrel. 

Anyways, enough lamenting. Here’s to hoping I can bite my tongue and get shit started properly in 2024, and that my brainrots may make me obsessed enough to churn out an obscene amount of fanart again.

[lovetaroandtaemin]

Kinktober 2024

Day 16: Impact Play

Nakamoto Yuta x Reader

Word Count: 2,058

THIS FIC IS NSFW, MINORS DNI!!!

Warnings: Slightly mean dom!Yuta x sub!Reader, fingering, pussy slapping, rough sex, actually protected sex for once, spanking, multiple orgasms, sort of implied sub drop I think, angsty shit, happy ending I think. If you think I missed a warning let me know!

A/N: If you would like to be added to my Kinktober taglist, you can send an ask, send a dm, or comment on any of my Kinktober-related posts with the username that you'd like tagged. I also just wanted to say that the story for this one was loosely inspired by "One Night Standards" by Ashley McBryde. If you like this fic, maybe check the song out! Happy reading!

Taglist: @unlikelysublimekryptonite

Fic is under the cut.

You knew from the moment you walked into your favorite club that you would be leaving with a stranger. Nights spent with people you barely knew never bothered you, though. It was nice sometimes to just have a night of fun without any attachment. Especially when you were hurting as much as you had been for the past few weeks. Your best friend of 10 years had just moved to the other side of the world, you weren’t talking to your parents, and your fiancé had left you for another woman. You were tired of pain, and you just wanted to let loose.

You looked around the club, considering your options for the night. Most of the people that were sitting at the bar were not your type. When you turned and looked at the dance floor however, a certain handsome stranger caught your attention. His hair was long, his makeup made him look like a rock star, and his eyes stared into your soul when they met yours. You considered approaching him, but he made his way to you before you could even start to move your feet.

“Can I help you?” you asked, trying to sound cooler than you felt.

“I don’t know, maybe. Can you tell me what someone as pretty as you is doing in a club as shady as this one?”

“I’m just looking for a good time tonight. Maybe you can help me out with that.”

“Maybe I can, but first I’d like to at least know your name.”

“(Y/N). What’s yours?”

“Yuta.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. Would you like to dance?”

“That sounds great.”

Yuta took your hand and pulled you to the dance floor. As you danced, you felt all of your stress from the past few months melting away. You knew that the feeling would be temporary, but a temporary relief was better than no relief at all in your eyes.

While Yuta moved in time with you, he asked you questions about your life and interests. You happily answered some of his questions, but others made you want to change the subject. The more he got to know you, the easier it was to tell that you were trying to forget something, or someone. He didn’t mind that, though. In fact, he was happy to help you forget, even if it was just for one night.

As you talked to Yuta and learned more about him, you found yourself wanting him more than you already did, if that was even possible. If the way he looked at you and touched you while you danced was any indication, he wanted you too. It didn’t take long for the tension between you to become too much for you to bear. When Yuta hit his breaking point, he asked you if you wanted to go to a nearby hotel. You readily agreed, desperate for him to fuck you but not wanting a stranger to know where you lived.

Yuta got to the hotel before you did. When you arrived a few minutes after, you found that he had already paid for a room for the two of you for the night. You wanted to argue about it, preferring to pay your own way in situations like this, but something told you that your efforts would be for nothing.

Yuta took your hand, encouraging you to follow him to the room. When you got there, he immediately locked the door and dragged you to the bed, positioning you on his lap. When his lips finally met yours, you felt like your heart was doing somersaults in your chest. You immediately deepened the kiss, and a soft groan left his mouth. When the ache in his pants got to be too much, he pulled away and asked, “Before this goes any further, how do you want tonight to go?”

“I want you to do whatever you want to me. I’ll tell you if you go too far, I promise.”

Yuta kissed you again, and without thinking about it, you started to move your hips back and forth. You let out soft moans at the friction until a harsh smack landed on your ass, stopping you immediately. When you pulled away from the kiss to complain, Yuta said, “Did I give you permission to do that?” You shook your head, and he grabbed your chin before he said, “I asked you a question. Either you answer with words, or everything stops here. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good girl. Now, did I give you permission to do that?”

“No, sir.”

“Then don’t. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

Yuta went right back to kissing you, except this time he went for your neck instead of your lips. You moaned louder than you intended as he bit you, knowing there would be marks when he was done. His mouth on you felt too good for you to care about any hickeys that he left, though. When he was satisfied with what he did to your neck, he looked at you and said, “Dress off, now.”

You quickly stood up to remove your clothes, watching as he did the same. Once all of your clothes were in a pile on the floor, Yuta said, “Sit in front of me, princess.” You did as you were told, and he asked, “How about I fuck you with my fingers before you take my cock? How does that sound?”

“Sounds good.”

Yuta took one of his hands and brought it to where you wanted him most. He started with small, teasing circles around your clit, and you cried out at the stimulation. He took that as his signal to continue and slowly inserted two fingers into you. It felt incredible, and you couldn’t help but move your hips back and forth in an attempt to get more friction.

When he noticed you bucking your hips up again, Yuta quickly smacked your pussy, earning a cry from you. Then, he leaned closer to your ear and whispered, “If you start moving again, I’m going to stop. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

Yuta continued fucking you, loving how responsive you were to his touch. The noises that left your mouth were heavenly, and the feeling of your pussy clenching around his fingers made him desperate to fuck you properly. He already knew that he wanted you for more than just one night, and he could only hope you felt the same way about him.

It didn’t take long at all for you to cum, moaning a string of expletives as you clenched around Yuta’s fingers again. He fucked you through your first release of the night until you were too overstimulated to keep going. Then, he pulled his fingers out of you and stood up to wash his hands in the bathroom sink.

While you caught your breath, you thought about how the night had gone so far. You liked Yuta a lot, but you knew that you probably wouldn’t see him again. The guys you’d hooked up with always acted like they were interested in more, but when you actually called them, you got no answer. You had no reason to believe that Yuta would be any different.

You were pulled out of your thoughts by your lover for the night asking you if you were ok. You nodded, and he said, “Do you want more?”

“Yes, please, sir.”

“Stand up and bend over.”

Once again, you did as you were told. After Yuta made sure that you were ok one more time, he rolled the condom that he’d taken out of his pocket onto his cock and slowly entered you. A low moan slipped out of your mouth as you felt him inside you, and it took every ounce of self-control that Yuta had to not just fuck you with no mercy right away. When he was certain that you were ok with him moving, however, he didn’t exactly fuck you slowly.

As Yuta fucked into you, you noticed that he really seemed to enjoy smacking your ass. You weren’t complaining, though, because with every slap you found a new wave of arousal travelling right to your core. You couldn’t explain it, but you liked it when whoever you were having sex with was rough with you. Sure, it wasn’t exactly smart to have kinky sex with someone that you had no plans of seeing again, especially with your history of sub drop after intense hookups, but you couldn’t really find it in yourself to care. Especially when they were as good at fucking you as Yuta was.

Before long, you could feel what would be your second orgasm of the night approaching. You begged Yuta to let you cum, and he did. As soon as he said the word, you came around his cock while screaming his name. With a few more thrusts Yuta felt his own orgasm hit him, and he spilled into the condom with a loud moan. He fucked you through your release, and you found yourself finally spent after a long night.

As soon as you caught your breath, Yuta helped you to get dressed, then dressed himself. Once both of you were fully clothed again, he brought you back to the bed and held you. The tenderness of the moment was a welcome change from the typical routine. You loved the feeling of being in someone’s arms at the end of a long day. Once again, you found yourself thinking about how badly you wanted to see him again as you drifted off to sleep.

When you woke up the next morning, you were surprised to find Yuta still beside you. Normally, you didn’t care if your one-night stands were there when you woke up, but still seeing Yuta there was an unexpected relief. Shortly after you woke up, though, Yuta got out of bed and started to gather his things so he could go about the rest of his day. Before he left, he turned to you and asked, “Where’s your phone?”

“On the nightstand, why?”

Yuta took your phone from its place and put his name and number in your contacts list before he said, “Call me if you ever wanna do this again, or if you ever want me to take you on a proper date.”

“Don’t say that,” you said. “We both know you won’t answer if I call.”

“Just think about it, ok?”

You were quiet after that, watching as he left the hotel room. You loved hooking up with people, but you always hated the morning after. The feeling of intimacy always disappeared as soon as whoever you’d fucked the night before did, and a feeling of loneliness settled into your heart once again. Somehow, the typical feeling of emptiness was worse after Yuta left. You decided to just ignore it like you usually did. This had happened before, after all, and every time you reached out to someone you’d previously hooked up with, they didn’t answer their phones. You were sure it’d be the same with Yuta.

You went about the rest of your day as usual, still missing Yuta more than you should. You thought about him as you worked, as you went out for dinner with friends, and as you went out to the club again in search of a different fuck buddy for the night. Your search this time was fruitless, however. No one that you saw at the bar or on the dance floor gave you the same butterflies in your stomach that Yuta did, so you ended up calling him after you left the club.

When Yuta’s phone rang late at night, he had a feeling it would be you. He’d seen the look in your eyes when he asked you to think about calling him if you wanted to go out again, and he knew that you would take him up on his offer eventually. What was unexpected, however, was hearing your voice break as you asked him if he was busy. He responded, “No, I’m not. What’s up, beautiful?”

“Is the offer of a proper date still on the table?”

“Of course. Where do you wanna go?” You suggested your favorite local diner, and he said, “That sounds great. I’ll see you there in about 20 minutes.”

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to see what else I've written so far and the rest of what's planned, you can find my Kinktober masterlist here. If you'd like to read one of my non-Kinktober works, you can find my general masterlist here. If you'd like to see what I'm going to be working on once Kinktober is over, you can find my upcoming works here. If none of that interests you, or there's something specific you'd like to see, send a request via asks or dms!

Thank you again for reading, happy spooky season!

[popculturebuffet]

Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Finale: The Richest Duck in the World "And As Usual, He Was!"

Hello all you happy people and welcome to the finale of my life and times of scrooge mcduck retrospective! It's been a duck blur, from starting this years ago, to a years long hiatus to Kev paying for me to finish it, btu we're finally here. The final chapter of Don Rosa's masterpiece. Coming out the other side of this LIfe and Times is still one of my faviorite comics of all time and I'm glad to finish it. Kinda. There are a ton of bonus chapters Rosa did throughout the rest of his career, as well as an upcoming new chapter from another author entirely, all of which i'm up for covering at some point. There's a few I definitely want to get to in paticuarl: The three goldie stories (one pre life and times two with the label) that help flesh out here and Scrooge's past, the wonderful "Letter From Home" that gives ups Matilda's return and ties up that loose end, and my personal faviorite "Dream of a Lifetime", a one shot tale that goes through just about every chapter of life and times via Scrooge's dreams for one hell of an epilouge. None of these are necssary but they all feel like good companion pieces to the story and i'm glad Rosa did these interquels among others. I also have an itch to cover more duck material in general as while it has the cynical boost of having more viewers than normal for my content, it's also something I forgot HOW much I loved in the content lull after Ducktales end. And as a wise man once said.. there's always another rainbow. What it'll be i'm not sure yet, but you can expect at least one duck adventure next month.

For now though we're finishing the main story and it's while a lot of plans changed or shifted over this 12 issue saga, one thing was always in the cards: he wanted to end the story where Scrooge's story began all those years ago, with the finale taking place the day after the bulk Night on Bear Mountain. For those less familiar, and I wasn't when I started this though i've since covered the story, Night on Bear Mountain is the very FIRST Scrooge story, with Scrooge inviting his nephews for Christmas to scare them but being impressed by the end and thus inviting them for CHristmas Diner. This story shows what happens in between while also explaning the discrepency between the Scrooge we see in that story and who he'd be in the rest of his meaty cagalogue. In night on bear mountain Scrooge is diffrent, wearing a long robe, living in an isolated mansion (Keep in mind comics scrooge just lived at the bin), with him being more myth than actual person Donald just.. visits every day.

This story bridges that gap, explaning how Scrooge got his groove back, shows his first proper adventure with his nephews, and how he went from only a poor old man to the greatest adventuerer who ever lived once again. If this sounds familiar Ducktales 2017 did something similar, having Scrooge having mostly retired after loosing Della and years of searching for her, with the boys and webby reignting that spirit in much the same way, with Donald busy with a job offer that turned out to be an elaborate scheme. I still love they did that and it's a testiment ot how much impact this story had on the reboot: while a lot of Scrooge's past was changed, including his parents still being alive, the comic was, as I belivie I mentioned in the first entry, required reading for staff and stands as an important inspiration for one of the greatest cartoons ever made and quite possibly my faviorite.

So let's dive into the bin one last time as Scrooge rediscovers himself, Huey , Dewey and Louie discover a legend and Donald won't shut the fuck up.

We open with a Citizen Kane Homage as Scrooge whispers goldie while holding a snowglobe. He isn't dead, won't be till the 60's in rosa's eyes. For now though he's become a recluse as a newsreeel overs over his life and how his last public apperance was 17 years ago, when he threw out his family seemingly for good. We get some neat cameos as we see Grandma Duck again, this time in her glory days, who hasn't seen Scrooge since she sold him most of her land bar the farm.. and Gus when he corrects her that the old coot also came by to forclose on the chicken coop. Gus is Donald's cousin. He eats a lot, sleeps more and is somehow lazier than our boy. Which is possible. We also see Gladstone, the bastard and donald who shoves a hand in the camera.

At this point the Bin is just a legend, with no one really knowing if it's actually full of cash, something four familiar fowl talk about as they watch the newscast: Donald and his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. After 12 chapters we're to the present day of duckberg and where it all began as they prepare for that christmas dinner I mentioned. The boys wonder if it could be true while Donald dismisses it: no rich person could've EARNED IT and he assumes Scrooge inherited it.. somehow. Which baffles me a bit as while I'm sure Hortense, like 2017 Donald, tried not to bring Scrooge up, she wouldn't of.. not brought up her childhood in scotland or the rest of her family. They didn't throw her out. Granted Donald does have a talent for self delusion and we don't know how young the kids were when she died, so there's wiggle room it just annoys me a little

What Annoys mea lot is Donald who throughout this whole story constantly says everything about Scrooge is fake. That he probably bought it on crusies. It annoys be a bit less this readthrough as having become fed up with most present day billionares.. yeah most do. This just happens to be the one whose a bastard AND worked hard to earn it. But it's still a very one note gag: Donald is up his own ass and dosen't know what we know or has seen what we've seen and thinks his uncle's only a poor old man.

It's not story breaking, but it is repetitive.

Thankfully we move on to the mansion proper as Scrooge's butler Jeeves, and no that's not me goofing up Duckworth was created for the show, ushers them in.. and as Scrooge slowly stirs.. we see him, in a truly awesome panel

I love all the detail here: the bits of stubble, the tired eyes, how sunken he looks in genearl. This is a Scrooge who has given up: he's retired from work to rot in a mansion, having nothing left and is a shell of what he once was and will be again. I also give Rosa credit for using Scrooge's first apperance design still: he had the time for Scrooge to change.. but him not having done so is a symbol of just how deep in the depression hole he is: as someone whose been in them I relate to clearly not having taken care of yourself in some time, just sitting there letting time pass as you feel you have nothing left.

The boys being their usual charming hive minded selves are delighted to meet their great uncle. Though we get a really sad bit as he notes most family he has has.. disappeared. He dosen't know matilda is alive, and he certainly heard what happened to Hortense. The boys do genuinely welcome him in but he balks, figuring their all after inheretiance. Donald claps back that you spent it all on this place ya jackass.

Scrooge insscensed decides the time has come to do something he rarely does but is sacred to the rich: flashing his cash. Specicially he has his butler.. dress him. Okay Scrooge you need either boundries with your butler or a more equal relationship if you want to keep fucking him. Trust me i've hit on the help too. The help was a gorgon's head but I didn't make her dress me.. hades didn't give me that option because their sane.

He takes them to the Bin, which is decayed.. though Scrooge has been keeping the booby traps fresh and keeps the weeds simply because it's good security: if a place LOOKS abandoned and unloved, people will think that. And it mostly has been, Scrooge having retired isn't using it. Still he kept the most important part of it, the cash ocean itself, but our heroes pass the second most important part first

This little tirade, while very in character.. is also very Rosa speaking his piece, as he hated stories (even barks own) where the Dime was implied to be magic. Whlie his old man yells at cloud behavior often has me shaking my head.. I agree on this one. The dime is better as a symbol that motivated scrooge than as a plot device and it cheapens the man's skill to say the Dime is responsible. I don't mind Magica trying to use it for a power source as THAT makes sense: it has a lot of emotional energy from being around scrooge as he got his fortune, the weight of having traveled the world with him for most of his life and being what started a great man on his path. I like the idea that kind of object with that kind of emotoinal baggage has power, kinda like what adventure time did with Hambo and PB's Shirt she got from marcy. It's magical yes but it fits the world better and makes it clear the dime is impressive because of SCROOGE not the other way around. Somehow Lorcana didn't get the memo

The description and image are perfect, as is the fact it's SHOCKINGLY powerful I just don't get why Number One Dime wasn't considered.

One he unveils the bin though it DOES shock his nephew and even DONALD can't say anything for a change

I do like that explination.. it dosen't scan with every Scrooge story as there are countless that say his bin really is the McDuck version of one piece, from the aformentioned Christmas for Shacktown to the very first Scrooge lead story "Only a Poor Old Man". I'm not against this: Rosa had a tendency to pick and choose which parts of Bark's stories to make canon to his stories, wanting a more cohesive universe and while clearly respecting the man to a sometimes stifling degree, recognized not everything from stories not really built to have a continuity was going to stick together. As reverent as he is to barks, to an annoying degree at times like his feeling put out at having to include Fethry despite being an entirely valid character with loads of potetial simply because one man didn't create him (Not saying barks isn't fucking amazing, he is, but it's a petty reason not to use good characters).. I can respect Rosa for knowing what he wanted in his own canon and what to keep as well as having said multiple times his stories dont' stack up to his idols. I disagree on that statment as while Barks IS better in some ways, for all I gripe about the guy sometimes... Rosa is a truly talented writer, one of the best duck writers there ever was and while Time's made me see the cracks in the guy.. ti dosen't make him any less special or any less vital to duck canon. Ther'es a reason most writers either honor his stories or consider them canon alongside barkses. The man has a degree of talent, care and love that's hard to come by and while I may disagree with some of his choices at times... I can't help but love the guy still.

So anyway that suspcious santa might have set you off.. turns out the santas near the bin were beagle boys, scoping out a hesit and lead by Scrooge's old enemy blackheart, whose descendants indeed got to fucking as he hoped.

As is duck story standard they easily capture our heroes despite scrooge being way more badass than all of them combined... Donald too honestly... the boys also. Honestly a paper bag could probably beat the beagle boys and they somehow win when the plot says so, though this time at least theirs a valid excuse; Donald and the boys are new at adventuering, having gone on a few solo adventures pre scrooge while Scrooge has given up on the world and thus surrenders to being thrown.. though he is pissed they once again bring up the lucky dime thing. So before he can snap out of it let's talk about this dperession and self loathing: honestly while he'd never say it, even Ducktales 2017 scrooge both hides what happened with Della from the kids and refuses to apologize to Donald for a decade despite being almost entirely in the wrong, it's clear loosing his sisters did hurt him: he had his money but nothing else and with nothing to really fight for and his lifelong goal achieved he just.. gave up. It dosen't feel like scrooge ... but that's the point: just as his horrible actions in africa weren't really him, not striving, not searching not trying to build his empire simply because he's seemingly won.. isn't him. Without anyone to share it with... his bin is just a pile of coins, memetos of better days.

So the thing that busts him out of his stupor... are his nephews. The boys search furiously for some way out, unlike Donald and Scrooge not ready to give up and find his old mining gear... while Donald.. well Donald inspires him in his own way

I love this and it's something I really hadn't thought about before but think of now, especially since again Woo-Hoo! takes some steps from this, having Louie take Donald's place as the doubting asshole, and have the boys as a whole, like Donald question if Scrooge really was this big or is just some old man, leading him to ragefully prove them wrong.. granted Scrooge's attempts in Woo-Hoo are more laughable as he plans to go diving to prove children wrong, something Beakley lampshades, but he still gets the step of showing them what he cna do by dealing with everything they unleash in his garage, similar to how here the combined menaces of Donald's jerkassery and the Beagle Boys scheme finally awakens the beast. I also love the subtle note of Scrooge taking off his coat, revealing his usual coat underneath. It's something I again hadn' tnoticed before this re-read, but ti's a very ncie touch... Scrooge the doddering old man given up on everything is gone. Scrooge McDuck, Last of the Clan McDuck, Master of the Missippi, Buckaroo of the Badlands, Raider of the Copper Hill, Laird of Castle McDuck, Terror of the Transyval, Dreamtime Duck of Never Never, King of The Klondike, Billionare of Dismal Downs, Invader of Fort Duckburg, Empire Builder from Callisota... THE Richest Duck in the world is back.

And since he's back he decides to go after the beagles, having the boys haul his trunk. I also really like this joke.

Look donald is my boy, and even in a story where he's not on his a game.. he's still Donald. He's bound to have at least one good moment or two.

The two notice scrooge a coming and take off.. but they left an other Sleigh which Scrooge quickly takes, and begins using a cavlcade of his skills. We've seen his mining, now we see his ablility to tame any animal. It's not as impressive as a lion but he dosen't have time to get to the zoo so a horse'll do.

We also get ANOTHER choice gag. While not all of rosa's comedy lands for me.. the guy really nails it a lot of the time and it's a part of his writing talent that dosen't get praised enough.

Honestly this chapter is easily the funniest next to the invader of fort duckberg, likely because with the dramatic part of Scrooge's life mostly worn down, we have more room for some comedy.

Blackheart has them step on it as he realizes he's no longer dealing with a hollowed out shell of a man but the guy whose beat him twice and is ready to abide by rule of three. We get some fun callbacks as scrooge uses his gold pan as a discus to knock out the driver of the beagle boys then takes out the rest, minus blackheart who grabs the dime for leverage, with his boomerang from his time in australia. This also leads to another fucking phenominal gag

Scrooge then ties up the rest of the non blackheart beagles using his roping tricks, with the officers that poor woman called rounding the boys up. All that's left is blackheart who naturally, as our big bad for the chapter, final antagonist of the story and the foe Scrooge has fought the most on this journey, gets the best takedown of all

Such an awesome moment: The same thing that finally brought Scrooge's dream to reality... is what helps cement his return to his truest self: he may be a mean old man.. but he's tougher than the toughies, sharper than the sharpies, smarter than the smarties and he made his money square.

That said the adrenline does wear off slightly.. until...

I had to share the scene in full.. because it's so damn good. After a whole journey, after seeing Scrooge at his lowest.. we see his core. Something that speaks against ageism: your body may age, but your never too old to start over, to have a second chance.. to chase another rainbow. The quality of your lives are what you make of them also really gets me.

IT's also a nice return to form as the bin being public.. dosen't bother them. Let them come: he's fought off worse and he'll fight them again. I also love him kicking donald's butt. He's just enough of a jerk in this story to well deserve it.

So Scrooge is now fully back: he decides to reopen the office, sell the mansion and get back to work.. and take the boys with them. While he dosen't say it being the stubborn old bastard we know and love... he needs these boys. Adventure is nothing if you don't have anyone to share it with.. .and once again he has someone to share it with. Once again he has family.

So he celebrates with a swim, with the boys astounded at his ability btu Donald unable to understand his uncle: all he seems to have is cold metal... but he could be wrong...

This ending gets me... a reminder it's both never too late (Something I need at only 32, which in tumblr years is 90), and that a life well lived is one not lived alone, that the things that make us who we are good and bad.. are the greatest adventure of all.

The Richest Duck in the World is a well done capper, feeling like a lost modern scrooge adventure, that missing piece in the story that Rosa happily filled in for us. Donald again can be a bit much, even in the stories final page he still hasn't quite got the hint, it's not one of his better stories.. but it dosen't take away from this as an ending.. and a beginning. Of a man who lost everything that mattered finding it again. Of an epic story of one man's life, what made him who he was, and what he gained, lost and ultimately found again.

Life and Times.. is one of the best comics of all time,the best duck comics story ever, and only not currently the best duck story PERIOD because ducktales 2017 is so freaking good. And even then while that series beats it over all as an individual story this 12 part epic still trumps it's worthy successor. It's a labor of love that's massive in scope, character work and gorgeous art work. It's a true masterpice that needs to be read again and again and one i was very happy to cover. I found stuff I disliked sure, a chapter or two had pacing issues, some things didn't land.. but ti's hard to deny what a fucking triumph this book is. Only one other comic I can think of comes this close to distilling a characters essence down into 12 issues, and even then All Star Superman, while excellent didn't also have the task of trying to be in continuity. Life and Times is a masterpiece and it was a joy coverinmg it and the dream of a life time finishing this journey> Thank you all for reading.. and see you next rainbow.

[alexwilltellyouthings]

Entirely self indulgent rating post about the top 10 TV shows that made me fucking insane for some reason

10. Sense8

God, this was so good. Such a blessing. I saw part of the cast during a Pride Parade and it's one of my favorite memories. I felt every possible emotion with this show, I love it.

9. The Last of Us

This is kind of a cheat, because the obsession comes from the games, but it is what it is. It's one of the few games that had a big impact on me and I closely relate it to my relationship with my dad. Can't wait to cry my heart out at season 2.

8. Good Omens

It's a given, isn't it? That stupid angel with his stupid demon and their stupid God. GRRRAAWW. A lot of thoughts and feelings came from the fandom, I have to point out. It's been very nice.

7. The Umbrella Academy

I have the first issue of the comics autographed by Gerard Way!! I mean, yes, it's because I'm a MCR fan, but it became even more precious after I got into the show. I'm rewatching right now, preparing for the last season. I'll be a mess when I say goodbye to them. Can't even really think about it too hard or I'll cry right now.

Continues under the cut

6. Our Flag Means Death

LISTEN THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING TO ME. What do you mean we can have a show THIS queer? It's all I want now. I ate it up. I smiled so much. I wanted this so badly and had no idea.

5. Interview with the Vampire

Feels like it should be top 3 honestly but I'll get there. This is also a cheat, I've been reading the Vampire Chronicles since I was like 15. Growing up with Anne Rice probably messed me up but hey at least I have great taste. And seeing them on screen? The way they made it BETTER? And Lestat?? Who has been haunting me for 15 years on and off??? And the second season and their reunion and and and?????????? I'm STILL insane about them and will be forever, I'm afraid.

4. Doctor Who

Listen. Listen. Okay. Yeah. What can I say? If you get into it, you're doomed. And I have been doomed for 10 years at least. I stopped watching for a while and got back last year, and it hit me all over again. I love this dumbass genius alien in a way that's calm, even. Just a permanent part of who I am now.

3. The Untamed

The year was 2022, it had been a while since I had a proper fixation and I didn't think it would happen with this danmei live-action, but then came Wei Wuxian. Guys, if I tell you I fell in love. Couldn't stop thinking about him. Everyday I was plagued by his smile and red ribbon and tragic backstory, yadayadayada. I really like other characters too, and their stories, but WWX did something to me that I still don't quite understand.

2. Queer as Folk (US)

This was a looong time ago and it didn't really persist over time like the others, but it was my first actual obsession. I was clinically insane over these gays. I had no one to talk to about them, so for every episode I wrote several pages of notes to comment to my (only) friend at school the next day, the poor thing. It was pretty much all I talked about because I spent EVERY MINUTE we had to talk going over the notes and explaining the episode. Like, between classes, during breaks, everything. Months of that. She held on firmly because she was a good friend, but I'm aware it must've been terrible. Like I said, insane.

1. Dead Boy Detectives

Maybe I'm putting this up here because it's my current hyperfixation? Maybe. But I don't think I have felt something hit as strongly as this since QaF over there. This time I can participate in fandom so I don't need to write every thought I have because it's all a big talk anyway, but I'm still pretty much having those thoughts all the time for *checks notes* nearly three months. I'm writing more than I have in years. I'm back at Tumblr after I don't know how long. I'm staring at GIFs over and over like I have the fucking time for that. I'm distracted at work daily. I talk about it in therapy. I have the main cast's notifications on. I'm getting involved in fandom discourse sometimes even knowing I shouldn't. It's a nightmare. I love it. I love them.

If you read all of this, congrats! Now you know how my mind works, kinda!! I'm open to talk about any and all of these shows. It's amazing how they mess us up. It's also scary, but anyway.

[0nlythrowharrybeaux]

Can we please please get more with your Magnetic series! So goodddd

Hi! Sure 😁 I can do little check ins for them! Feel free to send in any requests for anything specific you’d like to see from this pair! In the meantime here's this little thing:)

If you haven’t read the fics you can find them here!

It had been nearly two months since you and Harry got together, but you kept it on the down low because you both expected that his ex would immediately alert the media in one way or another. Only your families and closest friends knew that you were together. You really were just waiting for the other shoe to drop shortly after the break up but it never came.

Harry had been working on an album quietly for a while that was going to be released soon. So Jeffrey and Tommy had also been hoping the news would drop quickly so that it wouldn't impact the press release for his music. When they had run the completed album by the label they decided on a release date for the single and it would be dropping soon so that they could release the full album in time for the Grammy nominations is what Harry was sharing with you at the moment as you got ready for bed.

"-so we're releasing the first single on Friday, the second one at the end of the month and the album in August." he shared as he got his moisturizer on and you hummed in response with a distant gaze. "What?" he asked you and you bit your lip nervously.

"I just have an awful feeling about this, H." you explained and he frown.

"About what?"

"She's waiting for you to do something to talk about the infidelity. She's going to ruin your album drop." you said and he frowned.

"You think so?" he asked with concern and you nodded.

"I think she will. Based on what you told me about how you two left things, I mean...she has a lot of contempt for you. And like...obviously, we made a mistake, there's no escaping that fact. So I think you should prepare for your music release but also for an apology tour." you said and he sighed.

"I don't think I need to address it or defend myself. It's no one's business." he said with a resolute shrug of his shoulders.

"I know it's not, baby. But if it's made public then you owe it to the people who support you to be accountable for your actions, Harry." you said and he sighed before biting on the inside of his cheek pensively. "You're human. You're allowed to make mistakes." you reminded.

"I know that."

"Then what's the problem?"

"What if everyone hates me after that? Like...I don't want to disappoint or hurt anyone."

"Well that's unrealistic." you said simply and he smiled a bit, "And well, at the end of the day those people don't know who you are in here." you said as you placed a palm over his heart. "They don't know how or why you do the things you do or how you think. And honestly, isn't it just more refreshing when people are forthright about their mistakes?"

"Okay, but ummm...what about you? What if everyone turns on you. It's happened before with people I've been with, where they've been villainized for being with me. Especially, if they really liked the person I was with previously." he explained and you smiled.

"Well, we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. And well, I love you and you love me. We make each other happy. I mean, if things go to shit then...at least we have each other." you shrugged and he smiled.

"Right." he confirmed. "I just need you to know that if things come to that, I need you to know that I don't regret anything. You make me so fucking happy. I love you in ways I never knew were possible and I couldn't ask for a better partner." he said sweetly as he ran his thumbs over the apples of your cheeks.

"I love you so much." you whispered happily.

***************

Just as you thought, the day after Harry had released his first single an "anonymous source" dropped the story to TMZ about how Harry had cheated on his ex-girlfriend with none other than Rob Stringer's niece. Your family and close friends knew about it already but were still rocked by the information going public. Obviously, the information wasn't all that detailed because she didn't know how many times you two had slept together, but because you were pictured at his show in Reggio everyone assumed it had started then. That wasn’t necessarily wrong, but everyone just thought he had been cheating the whole time and it was hard. You could see how it affected him to see what people were thinking of him and especially you. But you just wanted to protect him so badly but it was all out in the open now and there was nothing you could really do about it until he got his chance to address it. You knew he didn't expect you to be strong about it because what some people were saying was rather hurtful, but you wanted to be for him. You were okay though because at the end of everything it was still you and him together and that was all you cared about.

The night before his interview with Zane Lowe, Harry hardly slept a wink. He spent half the night in his home studio where the interview would be taking place until you coaxed him to at least come lay down while you talked through things. You talked with him about all of his fears and concerns, you went through the pre-approved interview questions about the affair portion of your relationship and by the time it was 7am and everyone arrived to set up you had only slept maybe 2 hours, so you were exhausted, but ready to just get this over it.

Zane was the most kind man. He was also very cordial with Harry, they weren't friends per se, but they emailed each other on birthdays and things like that. Harry trusted him; he was intelligent, articulate and genuine. You didn't talk to him all that much as you were fluttering about taking coffee orders to call them in and pick up the breakfast sandwiches you had ordered the day prior. You were just about to grab Jeffrey who agreed to help you. When you approached, the four of them were sitting in your living room discussing Childish Gambino's new album animatedly. You were smiling as you walked up while watching Harry discuss the final track, "Final Church", with Tommy. He was radiating so much passion, it made your heart flutter and you remembered why you were so in love with him. He just loved engaging, feeling, and living. He was so good at being present and was teaching you how to be the same, so immersed in every moment that you couldn't help but be grateful for existing.

Zane just took a moment to just observe as you stood there and admired Harry with literal hearts in your eyes. The second you stopped before him, he immediately turned to look at you with a matching gaze. But more than that, there was an immediate warm and happy feeling that started overtaking the air around you. After a moment of holding each other's gaze Harry's smile had his eyes crinkling as he reached out towards your hand.

"Hiya, angel." he greeting you sweetly and you glanced away timidly, locking eyes with Zane for a second before feeling your face start to heat up before looking back at harry.

"Hi." you peeped out, "Ummm, I've got everyone's order in. We're gonna run and grab the sandwiches and then the coffees." you informed.

"Alright." he nodded as he pushed himself up to stand, "Be safe out there." he mumbled as you hugged and then he pulled back and pecked your lips, "Need you around. Forever." he said through a smile before pecking your lips again.

"Forever." you responded quietly through a smile. Seconds later you and Jeffrey were off.

**************

After everyone had their breakfast it was time to get started. Harry wanted you and his managers in the room for the interview. So you just sat off-camera but still within his view. You could see that he was tense as the camera crew finished getting settled and moments later the director was counting down for them to start.

Harry was completely honest when Zane asked him how he was doing. He said that he was feeling a lot of things through a nervous chuckle. He was happy with his life and his music, but nervous with everything else going on in the media. In an acknowledgement to that, Zane decided to start with the music first. The things that Harry really wanted to talk about and share with his fans. As always, there was excellent conversation revolving the album, as Zane had already gotten to hear it.

"Genuinely, this is some of your most honest work yet." Zane said and Harry smiled a bit and nodded, "And it almost seems like...there's two versions of you writing in here. Almost like a call and response thing." he pointed out and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose that's a good way to explain it." he chuckled nervously, already knowing where this line of questioning would lead. You watched him as he started to bounce his knee a bit. You wished you could just walk over there and encourage him for a moment.

"Yeah, that's what it seems like to me. But surprisingly it's not necessarily conflicting. It's more like dialoging. Like you're trying to...come to terms with yourself."

"Yeah, I think it was something like that."

"Are you still feeling that now?" he asked and Harry shook his head with a small smile.

"Thankfully, not." he confirmed as he glanced down into his lap. It was odd for him because he was one to hold eye contact all the time, all the way through.

"I think you might know where I'm going with this." Zane said with a smile, "I'm no gossip reporter, but in hearing you bearing your heart like this in your music and then seeing what was apparently going on in the background. It just...makes sense. You know?"

"Yeah." Harry hummed. There was a moment of silence.

"I know there's been some pretty...harsh things thrown around and I can imagine it's hard when you're also trying to celebrate what you've done with this new project..." Harry nodded, "So...How are you?" Zane asked and Harry sighed before biting his lip and glancing up at Zane.

"Can we take a short break?" he asked and Zane nodded.

"Of course." he said and you immediately stood and walked over to him. He stood up and hugged you tight as he exhaled shakily.

"You're alright, baby. S'alright." you hummed. "Hey, look at me." you said and he pulled further back. "I love you."

"Love you." he whispered.

"Just take ownership." You said and he nodded. "You don't have to go into any the details."

"Right." he hummed, "I'm glad it was you." he said and you smiled.

"I love you, H."

"I love you too, angel." he whispered before hugging you close again for a few moments.

"You've got this." you encouraged him with a small smile. "I'll be right over there." you assured and he nodded.

Moments later you were back in your seat and they were getting started again. And Harry shared about how he'd been. How he was just sad over what people were saying about you more than the things about him. But that overall he was feeling happier than he had in a while.

"I think it's always interesting how split people always seem to be. Some people defend your happiness and others kind of villainize you to the extreme." he said and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, that can happen." he said with a sad smile. "Clearly we did a bad thing. I did a bad thing. There's not denying that." he said, "But I can't say it was a mistake. The heart wants what it wants and at the end of the day I had to follow where my heart was taking me." he said and Zane smiled.

"I must say, seeing you with Y/N is very telling. Just in being around you, I can feel the affection for each other oozing from you two." he said and Harry smiled bashfully.

"Yeah...I'm so lucky to have her love me back. She makes me so happy." he smiled as he glanced over to you off camera and you smiled back.

"And how's it been for her?"

"Hard. But she's kept her head up more than I have. She's been really supportive and graceful through all of it." he said with a smile. "It's just sad to see people rip into her as if any of this were solely her fault." Zane nodded at Harry's response.

"There are a lot of people out there right now saying you don't deserve to be happy after hurting someone like that. Do you have any thoughts about that? Do you think you deserve to be as happy as you are?" he asked and Harry sighed before crossing one leg over the other.

"Well... to me, it's not about what I do or don't deserve. The fact is that I get to choose who I love. I'm just a person like everyone else, I can make that decision with or without anyone else's approval. So I'm with Y/N to stay. I'm in this and I couldn't be happier with that decision." he smiled simply before looking over at you off-camera again and you were already returning his smile.

When it was all over Harry felt lighter. You had been right about this interview. As scary as this was for him to say these things on camera, all that mattered was that at the end of everything you had chosen each other and no matter how the general public perceived this, the people that mattered the most knew everything and still showered you with their love and support. They saw every day how your love made you both step into the best versions of yourself and at the end of the day that's what it was all about, finding a partner to grow through life with. And well, you couldn't have asked for a better person to share this all with.

[evelili]

I know it’s been ages since I sent one of these, I’ve been busy and I’m still busy so I don’t have time to read the full chapter BUT!! Here’s some of my thoughts and favorite lines from the beginning of this chapter. The Final Trial.

I really love how you write the memory sequences in this story. They all flow really well and don’t feel redundant!! The reveal of these memories twilight has hidden of Luna are so good!! God!! Her devastation when she realized she had forgotten someone as important as Celestia’s SISTER her AUNT is AMAZING!!

-

her hair pulled back into a ponytail, her legs bare below the knees of a ridiculous pink-and-purple skort that she’d have been mortified to wear past puberty—eight or nine, then, she decided. It’s probably summertime, too.

-

God this mental image is so cute!! I had to google what skorts are but yeah they definitely fit Twilight and her character, especially as a kid!!

-

Twilight waited for her younger self to voice the familiar retort she thought she’d known her entire life—magic isn’t real; magic doesn’t exist; magic is fictional and fantastical and lies. But instead of a rational dismissal she heard her voice ask something completely wrong instead:

“You’re really going to show me how?”

And Twilight didn’t hear anything else after that.

-

DAMNNN this sequence is so good!! The way twilights world is just DESTROYED by this is fantastic!!

-

“Well, I wanted to check in on the two of you.” The door swung further open, and suddenly Twilight was face-to-face with the Celestia of her childhood—younger by nearly a decade and yet still recognizable in almost every way. She hadn’t ever thought time had changed her mentor much, but the contrast between present and past was far more blatant when not viewed as a gradual shift. No laugh lines. No grey hairs. No ice in her eyes.

Just a Celestia whose very presence made Someone bristle in response.

-

This description of her is DEVASTATING. She’s both somehow unhappier and so much happier with Luna in her life. The way you write her is stunning and I’m loving the conflict between her wanting Luna to focus on the future and Luna who is focused on enjoying the present. It’s a very cool conflict and I love how you’re handling it!! Them both caring more about twilights emotions than each other’s is heartbreaking

-

It did—to both the Twilight of the present and the past. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “I get it.”

-

Fuck this line is FANTASTIC. The understanding twilight finds in her memories of Luna are fantastic and I’m very curious on how this will impact how she handles Nightmare going forward. Unfortunately I can’t read anymore tonight, but I love it so far!!

STOP THE CLOCK. I FORGOT THIS BANGER LINE: “You believe in magic, Twilight,” she said gently. “And so long as you do, that’s belief enough for me.” The way you write Luna and how much she and celestia both love twilight is DEVASTATING

(combined ur two asks together) WAHHHH thank u so much for the asks!!! and no worries abt taking ur time w the story, u only get to read once for the first time after all!

this chapter is definitely Up There in terms of how happy i am with how it turned out, im rlly glad u liking it so far! i dont know how much i can say without spoiling things, but a reminder to read on fimfic to get the Full Experience (epub missing images my nemesis), a rather important section will b missing otherwise!!

i think to me a big aspect of luna and celestia's relationship in the show that kinda got glossed over was that celestia may not have realized how her actions affected luna until too late. and, it's kind of the "road to hell with good intentions" thing, bc i dont think celestia is the bad guy (at least in tte) for believing that the best way to help someone is plan, prepare, try to think ahead and look forward, etc. but, this kind of mindset can clash with someone who, at that moment, finds the prospect of thinking about the future so impossible. writing from life helped a lot in this regard :)

also, completely unrelated but also related, have a meme :D and thanks again for reading!

[zeravmeta]

Thoughts on RvB Restoration Finale

not really that long just my 2 cents

I wanna say I liked the movie because I did enjoy myself watching it, but honestly I'm very much gonna stick to the RvB17 open ended finale

Overall the movie was... ok? It wasn't unwatchably bad the way RvB Zero was but it also just made a lot of choices that I disagree with fundamentally both with the writing and the core themes of the series as a whole. I've had this take ever since RvB14 on the fanbase and the writers but this movie flat out says it:

The writers are fucking unable to let go of PFL and Chorus in a meaningful way.

For a series thats core message is about saying goodbye, they literally dont let that part of the show die. They are functionally unable to let go of the past peaks of the franchise and write something new. And I get it: RvB fundamentally cycles with its storytelling, but what was so refreshing to me about RvB14-17 was that it actually progressed itself Past those peaks of RvB10 and 11-13 (and honestly people REALLY dont appreciate the good in those later seasons). It felt like a natural (if wacky) progression, and it definitely wasnt perfect but it gave the extended cast more opportunities to shine in ways we didnt appreciate before

This movie just doesnt do that? Honestly the fact that they KILLED Sarge and Doc was so... disrespectful to me? Like not in the sense that it was as bad as how RvB Zero (fake) killed Tucker, but more like it felt like the writers killed them off because they were following a book titled "How To Write Story" and saw 'killing off characters is good writing'. Sarge got a dramatic send off that also didnt feel that impactful? And I did see it coming from the start but having Doc be Washs' guilt haunting him just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Its a really self contained story, a whole bunch of characters outside the main 3 reds and Caboose felt ooc, a good chunk of characters dont even show up (dude where was DONUT??? youre telling me he only has 5 seconds in Simmons' mind in a cheerleading costume?), it was composed of like 3-4 sets total, Carolina, Tex and 479er all just kind of Show Up to be badasses in the way The New Person would show up in an MCU movie...

Honestly watching this movie I kind of felt like it would have a twist ending. Like the credits would play and then itd zoom out to show the Reds and Blues post S17 in a movie theater watching this dramatic finale, because thats honestly what it felt like: The whole movie was a cheap facsimile of RvB as a whole. The fact that Trocadero wasn't allowed/signed on to make the music for this finale really does influence this movie, since they used a whole bunch of songs and osts that felt out of place (though I will admit Vale Deah softly playing as Grimmons said goodbye to each other did make me choke up a little)

Despite my negative review, I do still recommend watching it, since there was stuff I did like: Simmons in a leader role, Tex and the fun reveal during her fight with Tucker-Meta, Grif FINALLY getting to retire, Caboose as a whole was really well written, there IS good in this movie! And again it's not unwatchable bad, it just... kind of leaves a somber, sour taste in my mouth. This movie threw a whole bunch of stuff to the wall not to see what would stick but to break it all and leave for the insurance money. Just a "hey since we're sinking might as well make all these callbacks and break a bunch of stuff along the way."

Welp. Goodbye, RvB. At least this way I know that RT dies without riding your coattails any longer. And hey given that RvB technically has 3 endings (RvB17, Zero and RvB19) you can just take your pick on what you like best anyways. Quick edit no jutsu I forgor to mention there is the sequence at the beginning of the movie where it is implied RvB19 COULD also be one of the simulations in and of itself so. yeah you can in fact just take it as you will

[orangepeetals]

MIKE SCHMIDT X F. READER, lust by chase atlantic inspo.

Summary: Mike has a little drug addiction, Mike is your best friend, who has been secretly in love with you for years, Mike is tired of seeing your jealous boyfriend all the time as if your boyfriend really deserved you, Mike and he hate each other but your boyfriend is really an idiot. For Mike you are everything, simply the world makes sense by your side but he doesn’t know what this feeling can come to.

TW: violence, drugs, psychological abuse.

a/n: This is my first time writing something, I speak Spanish so the story was originally written in Spanish and then I translated it into English, plz don’t be rude if there is a mistake 😭 I wrote this before I fell asleep.

‘Long walk through the forest come and find me.

Cold night, dark sprites, sip it lightly.

I don’t even wanna fuck, I just like you.’

One more line.

Mike felt how his body received that precious dust through his nose, he inhaled and reclined on the sofa, feeling every part of his body react to the intruder in his body. Possibly it was his third or fourth line on the day, I have consumed my quota for the week, I think. He thought. He wanted to run, he wanted to go out, he felt that he could end the world at that very moment, his mind was heavy, the images did not stop running frantically in his head, he was feeling the impact of the narcotic.

He quickly searched for his phone, Mike was the type of boy who has many girls in his contacts willing to fall where he suggested and this was one of those moments, Mike was a type of fuckboy, although the term seemed pathetic to him.

He was focused on looking for some girl from his old nights, until he felt the doorbell on his door. Anger grew inside him, he did not expect company, not yet at least, the effects of the drug were obviously making him feel much angrier, he went angrily to the door, once opened, it seemed that everything was multicolored, the girl behind the door looked so beautiful that for a few moments he thought that maybe he was hallucinating.

“Y/n? What are you doing here without telling me that you would come?” Y/N, his best friend and evidently the girl he loved from the moment he met her, would never be bothered by such a pleasant visit, although if he had known it, he might not have made his state with the drug obvious, he hurried to look away from the girl and wiped his nose from the remains of dust that could remain. Now he felt embarrassed.

“Hey, Mike... were you putting that shit in again? Look at your eyes...”

The girl pushed Michael slightly so she could enter the apartment without paying attention to Mike. The boy simply closed the door and followed you with his eyes, trying to calm the thoughts that went to a thousand per hour, for Mike you looked as beautiful as ever, anyone with a minimum of common sense would notice that he was totally fucked by you.

On the other hand, you had always seen Michael as your best friend, you loved your boyfriend even if sometimes he behaved like an idiot and made you suffer on multiple occasions but you loved him anyway, even when he abused you psychologically. You knew that Michael had a history of being a heartbreaker and a drug addict, so no matter how much you loved that boy, in the past you could not have generated romantic feelings for him either, you were not going to submit to that pain, although more than ever, in the solitude of your room you thought what it would be like to be touched by him, it was just lust.

“Michael, we’ve talked about this at least 100 times since you started this shit, don’t you understand how serious it can be if you don’t stop?”

Mike, who was now sitting again on the couch next to you looking at the small tray with the remains of the white powder, simply let out a giggle as he hugged the girl, noticing how she let out a small moan of pain.

What was happening?

Michael separated from you as he watched you with intrigue, as if he expected you to explain the reason for your pain, which did not happen.

“Does something hurt you, y/n?”

Silence again for a few seconds until you could think of something, you had screwed up.

“I fell and now my back hurts, nothing to worry about, Mikey.”

Michael sketched a small smile as he looked away, it was enough to know that he had not believed you at all, his intuition was never going to fail, you could see the paranoia in him eyes. A few minutes passed in silence in which your gaze was on the ground, it was useless to hide it, you were not a good liar. Michael’s hands removing your shirt took you out of your thoughts, leaving only with your bra. You shuddered at his touch and felt the heat on your cheeks, this was new.

The boy’s face was indescribable when he saw a bruise on your back, observing with intrigue, again you didn’t give him an answer, this was very bad.

“Can you explain to me what the hell happened to you? This is not a simple fall, y/n.” You noticed how his tone was firm and serious, it even seemed that the entire effect of the drug had disappeared if it were not for his dilated pupils.

You let out a sigh and looked away with shame, you cleared your throat before you could speak, you had to choose your words well to prevent the boy from reacting even worse, less in this state. “My boyfriend and I argued, I was wrong and accidentally burned his favorite food, he got angry and started yelling at me, when I tried to apologize he just pushed me against the kitchen table and I think I lost consciousness for a few seconds... it’s the first time it happens, it’s nothing serious, I’ll talk to him when I can.”

Michael ran his hands through his hair in frustration, he knew it and was trying to control his anger, he breathed a few seconds before getting up violently.

“Y/n, it’s not the first time it happens! Many times I have seen marks on you, I always tried to think that maybe it was something private of yours or something fortuitous, I tried to think that maybe the faggot you have as a boyfriend was not such an idiot, he was so wrong! Now I will go and I swear that he will suffer so much that he will have to beg me to kill him.”

Mike took his jacket and you felt your abdomen contract when you noticed that he was serious, you could see the anger in his eyes, you were really scared. Before he could get to the door, you stood in front of him and kissed him desperately, you didn’t know if the desire was because of his attitude, his touch and that you had been feeling lust for him for a long time, anyway you managed to distract him.

His body relaxed and although it took him a few seconds to reciprocate, he took your waist and attached you more to him when he didn’t touch the area you had sensitive, as if he had also been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Mike’s thoughts were in a spiral of emotions, he was confused, although he also knew that you were possibly doing it to distract him, anyway, he knew that he would never leave you close to that man again. The kiss intensified and you took your arm to walk towards his room, your desire was wild, you needed it, now.

“Y/n, wait.” You stopped at the door of his room, waiting for what the boy had to tell you, you left some wet kisses on his neck while waiting for his answer, feeling his body tense at your touch. “No, y/n, I don’t want this like that, I don’t even wanna fuck, I just like you.” Of course he wanted to, Mike wanted it more than anything but he wasn’t willing to make you think that he only wanted that with you.

“Mike, fuck love, we can do this shit forever if it’s just lust.” You said before kissing him as if it were the last thing you would do in your life.

[glacierclear]

im sorry i need to dump all my thoughts about ada x leon somewhere for personal fulfillment reasons,

big disclaimer: resident evil canon/lore is inconsistent and my feelings/thoughts on all this is NOT me stating it as fact. It's 99% speculation and me interpreting context. I'm just having fun!

it's really wild that i started my resident evil experience hating Ada. I did not understand her character and the way she's portrayed is very inconsistent and confusing (probably on purpose) and, like many others, I assumed the choices she made and the pain she inflicted on others was malicious and intentional.

But something clicked recently,,,I understand now that she didn't choose this life. She doesn't WANT to be a spy. She doesn't WANT to be a mercenary. Everything she was and everything she had was taken and stripped from her. She doesn't even have a real name anymore. I think seeing the small insight of her backstory in the biohazard manga really put all the pieces together and brain blasted me with understanding. Her entire character (to me, at least!) revolves around survival and self-preservation. She is a SELFISH character, not because of ego or power, but because of a LACK of power. She no longer has autonomy over her life in a way that matters and so the only thing left for her is to stay alive.

And I just think that ties so beautifully with Leon's struggles. Both of them being forced into this life where they have to live and die at the hands of the people who control them. And, listen...listen...it's overdramatic as fuck and a VERY idealistic/romanticized interpretation of their relationship, but honestly it makes me hella emotional thinking about Leon potentially being one of the few things in life Ada wants to live for other than herself. Him being the only person in the entire series who has ever shown her genuine, selfless kindness and care,,, and the fact that her circumstance and the trappings of her life forced her to betray him and she has to live with that guilt and has to come to terms with the fact that she will never genuinely connect with people because who even is she anymore? She has no sense of self.

And her entire campaign in RE6 resonates me in such a weirdly poignant and impactful way. RE6 has some WONKED UP writing and it's so silly and stupid; but I think if it was tweaked a little bit it would be a genuinely moving story about a woman losing her agency and bodily autonomy to a violent man who wants to own her and her fighting with his fabricated, demented vision of her. It's a manifestation of his greed and possession...and then she kills her clone and immediately after she sees Leon again and his first immediate instinct is to protect her and sacrifice himself again for her and throw himself into MORE bullets for her even after the betrayal of RE2 ........ and then after that she finally snaps and FINALLY chooses to fight for HER morals and HER justice by killing Simmons' bioweapon.

Like, listen, I hate the trope of "woman traumatized being saved by a man" in most cases, but something about the way I see Leon and Ada just makes SENSE man.

The fact that she specifically goes out of her way COUNTLESS times to protect him and save him and none of it is enough to get him to forgive her. None of it will ever be enough but she keeps trying anyways. Like, damn, his entire mission is Spain is only possible because Ada saved his ass like...four times??? And you can make reasonable arguments that she doesn't care about him he's only important for her mission, and to be honest I think that interpretation is also valid, but for me personally I just think she cares about him so much but it's in his best interest to continue believing she doesn't care.

And I just want them to be happy. But it will probably never work out between them, just due to everything...they can't escape their lives. They're both kept alive by two opposing morality systems. Leon's guilt and unyielding need to fight for truth and innocence and to protect everyone he's lost and everyone who depends on him. And Ada to hold onto herself and what whittling remains of self-identity and independence she still has when it was all taken from her, even to the point of someone making a damn clone out of her.

Man I just love them so much I'M SO EMOTIONAL!!!!!!!