#he fails his monologue btw

[littlecrow4]

His ass is not looking at Stan’s hair

I like sending Fidds into gay panics and it’s hitting hard rn get it “hard” hahaha I’ll leave

This is the first time I’ve drawn Stan’s body type pls be nice 🙏🏻😣 also some tips would be appreciated if it doesn’t look good

Caption that I didn’t feel like adding

Stan: I should probably cut it huh?

Fiddleford: No.. I like it

“Don’t get a boner Don’t get a boner dontgetabonerdontgetaboner”: Fiddleford probably

[blunderpuff]

okay now that i'm reminiscing about theater, i just want to shout out to the actress in that one act i stage managed whose lines were so dense and ridiculous that when she forgot half of her stupid monologue, she just made a thoughtful sound and ab-libbed the rest of it.

"Perhaps this... persona I've inhabited is the cause of my... tristesse. Perhaps I've spent so long chasing the idea of who I want to be, that I've lost sight of who I am in this moment. What do you say to that, son?"

[prisi]

I feel TOH fails a lot with the treatment that Belos and his lore receive towards the end. I think his arc will feel so much more complete if the show was allowed to show us that he suffered in the past and wasn't like "nah he is just pure evil and he has always been like that". I don't like how the show wants you to believe that Caleb did nothing wrong or reprehensible when there's obvious implications that he abandoned Philip to go with Evelyn, it will be so much more interesting that the show recognized that Caleb was naive and selfish in abandoning his brother (who only have him as family and support figure) to his own in the puritan era, and how that action of Caleb deeply damaged Philip emotionally and mentally (kinda like Luz abandoning Camila to live her fantasy in the Boiling Isles without thinking in the consequences (I'm still pissed that she didn't apologize to her mom for running away at the end) but we are not talking about that right now, I love Luz btw don't get mad at me). And Philip, who probably entered the Isles with the sole intention to "save" his brother who at his eyes was bewitched and seduced by an evil witch to go with her, when he finally found his brother after many years and found out that Caleb actually loved Evelyn and DECIDED to leave him behind he totally lost his mind.

A confrontation escene between Philip and Caleb (it could be a flashback or something showed in Hollow Mind even) will be so interesting to watch, something like in the third season of Infinity Train when Simon confronts The Cat for abandoning him as a child, Caleb will try to justify himself at first saying that he is sorry, that he thought Philip was going to be okay on his own, that he didn't thought that he was going to miss him or something, making Philip more angry, sad and confused.

The situation will scale to the point that Philip, (who's original goal was to kill Evelyn to bring back Caleb in the Human Realm) now that he is angry, sad and out of his senses he tries to attack Caleb with the dagger he had in his hand which triggers the knife fight in which Caleb dies.

Philip, after realizing that he killed the only person he had in the world, he tries to justify himself in an internal monologue like: "oh well, I murdered you, but in doing so I freed your soul from the union with that sinful witch. That's what the witch hunting taught me, right? That's what YOU taught me, RIGHT?". Trying to shift the blame for what just happened onto Caleb but also letting us know and acknowledging that it was Caleb who introduced and instructed Philip in the witch hunt and did nothing to reverse it.

Coming to the end, when the fight ends and Belos and Luz are face to face, the scene would play out more or less as we see it in canon but at the moment in which the first drop of boiling rain falls on his hand and begins to see his body dissolve, he enters a mental breakdown in which he realizes that he wasted his entire life on a goal that made no sense, the witches weren't evil or a threat and he knew it, but he clung to his goal because he did not want to face the reality, he did not want to accept that he had killed his brother in vain nor did he want to accept that he had decided to abandon him, and he did not want to die knowing that he wasted 400 years suffering for something that was not worth it. At the end of his collapse he would crawl a little and see Hunter in the distance (because yes, Hunter should have been present in the end even a little), he would try to extend his hand in his direction but Hunter, noticing this, would close his eyes, look away and take a step back behind Eda and Raine. Philip experienced his brother's abandonment again but with the difference that this time it is merely his fault, because even if Caleb damaged Philip deeply with his abandonment, he is not responsable of the path Philip choosed to take.

Seeing and realizing all of this Belos would stop crawling and give up, lying on the ground, breathing hard as the boiling rain finally dissolves him and dies.

Or at least that is how I liked it to happen, let me know what you think.

[sprinklenoodles]

Basically though, I binge-read ALL of A Legacy will Be Crowned Like, ALLLLL that was there so far and my gosh am I hating myself for not reading it sooner! I was a fool! A looooser!!! No joke, I was just hooked, enthralled. Also, since I am far too excited to put my thoughts into a coherent structure, some other disjointed thoughts are the following: 1. Kijo Togami. Even without the fic note at the end of his introduction chapter mentioning how he was fun to write for you, I could just sense it OOZING all over his dialogue and actions. Really like this interpretation of his character. He sucks yet he fascinates me. Makes me wish I had a consistent design for him so I can just draw him. 2. Byakuya is really fun to follower here. Even with knowing the end result of the competition, the fun lies in his decisions, how he solves problems and the said problems he faces. Also, it helps that, due to his age, one is already bound to route for him as the underdog of the family, even with the trajectory of how he preforms in the competition being clear to the reader. Like, even though we KNOW he's not going to fail due to the nature of the canon as this is a prequal, one can still worry about him and his wellbeing. I like that a lot! You fond a good balance with that since a pitfall that can occur is that the reader isn't invested with the main character because they already know what will become of them. Also, one other thing I wanna add is that I like how he's not written in a belittling way or as an over-competent super genius. He's still a kid but it's also apparent he has exceptional qualities that make him different from the others but not annoyingly different 3. The siblings. Though there isn't too much to say, I like just their being. There isn't much info on all of them but it fits since we're following Byakuya. We get small details though. Do wish I knew what they'd look like cus I am just at a loss still. Also, I liked Byakuya's dynamic with a "certain character" I don't wanna spoil btw for those who are just seeing this, so I will just say "that one prick" and those who know will know B] 4. I know I already mentioned Kijo but I just LOVE the staging of those intermission chapters where he's talking with Aloysius all sinister with a glass of wine. Like, he's giving diabolical energy with just a hint of camp that makes him so fun to read. And, I just adore his remarks to Aloysius, very cold, uncaring. How he clearly tears the butler down with his sharp words and the showcase of Aloysius's character with how he handles this. Cus, he's been around as Kijo's main butler for ages and it shows! Also, I swear. If I didn't have art block at the time I'm writing this, and could draw some backgrounds, I'd SO draw a detailed, colored piece of Kijo sitting in his fancy chair, turned away from Aloysius as he monologues, eyes intent on the screens watching the contestants. Like MMM I LOVE IT!!! It's so moody and I can just feel the atmosphere oozing off the page!! AAAAH!! Also, mentioning it now, while reading, to set the mood, I listened to some Pokemon music. And, since why not, here's what I listened to Here is Number 1 - listened at the beginning before it got epic. basically the first chapter only AND here is Number 2 - was a general listen. something eery but not horror like AND, my favorite Number 3 - THIS GAVE ME THE SHIVERS WHEN I READ CHAPTER 9 MY GOOOOOSH! WHY DOES THIS FIT SO WELL FOR KIJO?! Or at least, I fits for me at least! I could be wrong though! You can decide for yourself if it does!! Dunno if it's just be but my gosh and I just aaah! I can't even word it right cus I'm too busy being so hyped for this! Got the metaphorical chills!! Will totally draw art of this like, sometime. Might take me ages and I totally have to get better at backgrounds in order to draw these set pieces but like, yes!!!!!!

AHHHH. Got so excited while reading this!!! Thank you SO much.

But lemme go into what u said.

1. Kijo- he really does just suck. Guy couldn't care less about his children unless they're his heir. But also, he's entertaining. The stupid dude is just like that.

2. Byakuya- He really is the underdog, though he refuses to believe that. The thing is, he does think he is better than his siblings- he is destined to become heir- yet he can't exactly show it to them. He knows that they're physically stronger- he's a scrawny 11 year old.

But since he isn't heir just yet, he is not that overconfident. He knows that he needs to work hard to become heir. Plus, his siblings aren't idiots (for the most part) They're Togami's, and just cuz he is gonna be the heir, doesn't mean that they couldn't prose a problem, like a certain somebody.

3. The siblings- Yeah, there isn't much known about them since Byakuya simply... doesn't care. He sees them as his competitors, nothing more. Unless they become a thorn in his path to become hei, he just doesn't think about them unless the situation calls for it.

Like I said, he doesn't (fully) underestimate them but that doesn't mean he ever focuses on them. Their looks aren't really described since Byakuya couldn't care less about that for the most part.

I do have small descriptions for all of them tho if you're interested! Have a little page in a document with just a wee bit of info about each sibling. That also includes which THH character they represent.

4. The intermissions were also some of my fav things to write. Just seeing Kijo's thoughts on everything and how his... behaviour towards Byakuya changes a wee bit with every chapter is just very fun to write. And Aloysius goes perfectly with this since there is just such a big power gap between them which leads to Kijo being much more open.

And Kijo does trust Aloysius- in his eyes, he's the best servant possible. Doesn't change the fact he just sees Aloysius as a servant though... Poor dude.

But glad you liked it so much!!! For some reason, people really like it, despite it being such a small fic in my eyes. Can't wait to see what amazing art you come with once your artblock is gone! Be sure to take your time :D

[lurkingshan]

Cherry Magic Episode 7

This is one of those weeks where being so familiar with the Japanese live action version of this story actually got in my way at first, because I went into this week expecting the Cute Date Episode and instead we got something very different (and more interesting). In this expanded version of the story, the show took a beat to first take us through a bad date and reinforce its themes about the importance of communication, something that will matter a whole lot when Achi inevitably loses his telepathy powers. Once I caught on to what the story was doing, I really appreciated it (though I will say I think the execution of the date was a bit weak in some spots, there was a weird malaise to the whole sequence and we could have used more internal monologue to track Achi).

But I really loved what this bad date accomplished in the story. Karan getting too into his head and Doing Too Much? Check. Achi failing to communicate how he's feeling? Check check. The combination of these things leading to both of them feeling vaguely uneasy and dissatisfied? Check check check. (Also loved the subtle KP shade in that helicopter set up).

And it was perfectly contrasted with Jinta and Min's much simpler, and ultimately much better date. They didn't do anything fancy, they simply connected with each other authentically and had a great time doing it. I love that Jinta was so excited to learn about the power of communication that he immediately had to run and tell his bestie all about it. And that Achi immediately took that advice to heart and ran to Karan to confess how he was feeling was another big growth moment for him. I love that this moment of authentic communication, unaided by mind reading, is what allowed them to advance in their relationship.

As for Pai and Rock, I am still happy with the line this show is walking with them. Rock is obviously falling for Pai, but so far, she is not falling for him, and the show keeps reinforcing that she is happy being single and does not have romance on her mind. At least, not in her real life--her commitment to fictional romance remains strong. (Btw, I went back to check and I think they were watching Theory of Love.) My ideal version of this storyline would involve Pai ultimately deciding she would prefer not to date Rock after he confesses and them remaining friends. I don't know if that's how it will go, but I like that this story has provided a clear aroacespec read for her even if she dates Rock.

[vaguely-concerned]

Thoughts upon finishing Master and Apprentice! A good double read with Padawan; the ending of that leaving Obi-Wan slightly hopeful about his relationship to Qui-Gon makes for a very sad yet hilarious ‘Local Padawan loses last little bit of hope he didn’t even know he still had’ sort of vibe to the beginning of this one, which is set one (1) year later and Obi-Wan is So Done with Qui-Gon’s whole deal by this point (correctly btw). Also if you can’t tell already I will not be objective or free from bias in this because I love Obi-Wan so much and some of the stuff Qui-Gon pulled made me incandescent with rage on his behalf <3 let’s go

- 'oh obi-wan, you're so mature for your age, I keep forgetting you're only seventeen years old,' qui-gon says, word for word, repeatedly, in master and apprentice, apparently willfully deaf to the industrial-sized warning bells about their relationship dynamic that should probably be setting off in his head. qui-gon believes in vibing with the living force and being in the moment right up until the moment requires him to pay attention to the kid he's raising for more than oh, one and a half minutes of self-effacing inner monologue and then he's like 'well unfortunately there is simply no time for that right now there are prophecies to be pondered'. (the fact that the admission that obi-wan has essentially been left to raise himself emotionally and the resigned reframing of that as 'and maybe that is a good thing!' is part of the olive branch they extend to each other towards the end... will my sadness never end)

- most of all it's so heartbreaking to me that qui-gon seemingly never understands just how much obi-wan as a person is rooted deeply in shame. I don't think that's a feeling that's particularly prevalent in qui-gon's own inner world so he doesn't recognize how central it is in obi-wan's psychology and completely misunderstands and misaligns with him again and again and again and then gets annoyed with obi-wan for that, thus making the shame even deeper. doubly painful because he does see the way rael lives so much of his life out of shame now and feels sad about it, but can't see the way he's contributing to obi-wan doing so. this is what fucks me up so bad about the generational trauma in star wars -- no one here meant to be cruel. for all his faults I do think qui-gon does love obi-wan and doesn't mean to hurt him. but the original sin of the prequels as far as I'm concerned is qui-gon tenderly drying away obi-wan's tears as he's dying even while completely failing to see him, his eyes too fixed on anakin's future to actually be with obi-wan, who's there right now and needs him.

these are simply very different people trying and failing to understand each other, and the harm that can still happen in that… 'if you love me, you don't love me in a way I understand', all the way through the disaster line, even when the love is there, it is there, that’s what hurts the most, it just doesn’t reach where it’s needed, there’s a connection that doesn’t happen. (ironically I think ahsoka doesn't doubt that anakin loves her, it's just uh everything else that went down. so y'know family curse broken! new even more fucked up curse achieved now with more child murder. I mean there already was some child murder in this family but anakin upped the game exponentially) 

- a lil guy who's basically tarzan except the gorillas are replaced with protocol droids and then he becomes a jewel thief is one of the funniest star wars concepts I've ever heard and I hope pax and rahara get to pop up in more star wars media, they’re great fun. (also an idea I think would be super fun to make a character/campaign around in Edge of the Empire or something, everyone playing different droids and then one person being robo-parented lol) 

- was not prepared to have rael posit a theory of what essentially seems to be the jedi version of predestination in his despair, but I do love to see it haha. especially interesting since he, qui-gon and dooku must be among the people alive who've studied the prophecies in most depth, and they've all reached different conclusions -- dooku decides to join the war of light and dark on the side of dark for some reason, qui-gon (possibly the stubbornest fucker the jedi order ever produced) 'turns towards the light not to win some great cosmic game, but because it is the light', and rael in the middle falls into the depressed apathy of 'it doesn't matter what we do here, the outcome is already decided; for there to be true balance there has to be as much dark as light in the world so we're fucked'. but in the end he does take qui-gon's words to heart and turns towards the light rather than accepting dooku's offer, even if he might not believe it makes a difference in the long run. man I love rael. hobo-looking sonofabitch living in a castle for eight years will just suddenly fling out some deep jedi theology huh

- master rael 'I'm gonna make up for the big terrible mistake I made on accident by making an even bigger more premeditated mistake on purpose' averross (affectionate)

- the added layer to dooku’s fascination with prophecy after reading dooku: jedi lost — that his best friend in the world was a seer who couldn’t turn it off and it destroyed him……….. dooku you’re not getting him back if you just understand what he saw you know that right

- the more I read of master and apprentice the more I realize that the reason yoda and qui-gon don't get along is that they're two of the judgiest bitches the jedi order ever produced. They’re like two cats scowling judgmentally at each other from opposite sides of the room pretending to live and let live while going ‘you’re wrong tho’ internally. 

- I dunk on him constantly (not entirely without affection, however grudging), but Qui-Gon is genuinely a really interesting character. He’s so… he’s so. He’s infuriating but he’s infuriating in an equidistant sort of way. You feel me. He’s pissing everyone off equally and he just doesn’t care because again, he’s the stubbornest judgiest bitch around and thinks he’s right all the time. I would be free to just enjoy his ornery ‘no actually I’m right about this’ ass and the chaos he wreaks so much more if Obi-Wan didn’t have to live with the emotional consequences of it lol. 

- poor rael closing in on fifty with his puriteen middle-aged little brother clutching pearls about his getting laid once in a blue moon fhdskjahfas. again a really interesting insight into different ways of interpreting the jedi code, though, I love seeing the jedi not be an ideological monolith. to be fair to rael, having sex sometimes does seem to be the indulgence he has that causes the least conflict with his principles or loyalties so you know what honestly force speed you my friend why not. (and then there's qui-gon 'noooo sex is only okay if you're In Love (implied: like I was)!!!' jinn lmao. I wonder what he'd think of anakin and padme's relationship, would that pass the 'being sufficiently purely in love' test for him) I do like how consistently it’s shown that rael doesn’t mean to be cruel or unkind in anything he says, he always notices something landing too close to home and then pulls carefully back from it instead of pushing on. He seems to be the emotional intelligence powerhouse in this lineage (as long as he doesn’t have his feelings too tangled up in something, at least). 

Dooku: jedi lost also shows us that dooku absolutely knows rael is out there in the galaxy laying pipe and is, at worst, softly amused by it. So in this little family unit it’s only qui-gon losing his mind over it fjsdkafa I’m so used to having qui-gon be the wild card maverick compared to obi-wan ‘*in tears* but what are the RULES master’ kenobi, it’s so fucking funny that within the context that raised him he’s the stick in the mud 

I guess. the book also had a plot and it was not bad! some interesting insights about how the republic interacted with the big corporations and just how fucked everything already was by this point. I'm a pretty character-driven reader so that's what sticks with me for the most part

- obi-wan’s big teenage rebellion here being that sometimes. Occasionally. When he really loses his temper and gets hot under the collar. He’ll say something slightly passive aggressive out loud instead of keeping it contained inside his head. And qui-gon still can’t handle that gracefully AT ALL he snaps right back fdjskfhas. (I guess he also snitches on qui-gon to the council but well, you know, qui-gon was breaking republic law pretty brazenly at that point I think that moves beyond teenage angst and into ‘...master that’s a wholeass felony’ territory). Obi-Wan does go for a couple of low blows, but like. Nothing that’s not actually true, is the thing. And mostly he blames himself for not being good enough, because surely if he were qui gon wouldn’t treat him like this. Augh. hngh. Pain. suffering. 

- I am not one of the people who think everything would have automatically been just hunky-dory if only qui-gon lived and could have been anakin's master (in fact I would have given it a 50/50 chance of going exponentially worse way faster; being more similar as people is not always a guarantee that a relationship will go smoother and qui-gon is an incredibly difficult man to be close to for any length of time), but the way this book basically presents how the dynamic between dooku, rael and qui-gon could have gone on in the next generation too... it would have been incredibly unfair to obi-wan (as always I think that's just an universal constant lmao) but I think the odds of it turning out okay would have been better if you had him in the mix to run crisis control for both qui-gon and anakin, as he does for each of them individually as best he can anyway. at least he could have been free to be anakin's brother and friend purely in that scenario, without all the added mess of grief and having to take on a parental role there so young. he does basically fill that role in ahsoka's apprenticeship, after all.

- qui-gon finally hugging rael before he leaves the planet (and especially since when they were younger he wanted to, but held himself back from it)... that's still his big brother even with all the shit that's happened since ;_____; when someone teaches you how to swim (literally and symbolically) that shit stays with you I suppose

Relatedly: DOOKU getting hugged, and gladly. What the fuck. Are you all seeing this shit. I’m gonna cry or laugh I’m not sure which one why am I emotionally invested in the galaxy's most problematic grandpa now this sucks

[socra-time]

Naruto Episode Comments, Ep. 1-20

(Context: I know a lot of the character’s names and some of the big plot points, but I’m going in blind otherwise)

Ep 1:

-Naruto is kinda annoying but also he’s just a lil gremlin and I can respect that

-I kinda love Iruka. Also he’s hot.

-”Clone jutsu? That’s my worst jutsu!” says Naruto, known for his Shadow Clone jutsu

-there’s just something so charming about the old anime style (but also some of the expressions are so goofy)

-HOLY SHIT IRUKA IS A REAL ONE

-I don’t trust the Hokage. I don’t really have a concrete reason for this yet, but his vibes are off

-oooh Irukaaaaa you’re so sexy for not being an asshole to the traumatized child

-oh I guess Shadow Clone jutsu is different from regular clones so disregard my earlier comment

-honestly this was a better first episode than I was expecting. I’m sold!

Ep 2:

-Naruto continues to be a lil gremlin

-Naruto pls for the love of god stop using your stupid ass “sexy jutsu”

-the Hokage really has had enough of these little kids and honestly I can’t even blame him

-I love the voice of Konohamaru’s trainer (I��m watching dub btw), it’s so pompous

-I love the ninja sandals. I want a pair.

-I like that Naruto’s voice actually sounds childish. It’s a tad bit grating sometimes but I think I’ll get used to it quickly

-STOP IT WITH THE SEXY JUTSU

-STOPPPPPP

-anyways #KonohamaruForHokage

Ep 3:

-again, the ninja sandals are so fucking drippy

-Ino wtf is up with your outfit. Why is half of it bandages

-the amount of sheer passive-aggressiveness in these 12 year old girls-

-Naruto has a crush on Sakura at first???? I didn’t know that lol

-Sasuke does not give a singular shit about anything other than his brooding and tbh I didn’t expect anything less

-Sakura’s little inner monologue is so feral lmao

-I don’t like Sasuke’s voice so far. It’s monotone, but not in an edgy way, just in a kinda dull way? Also he doesn’t really sound like a kid

-no hate to Shikamaru but his ponytail looks painful. My scalp hurts just looking at it

-oh my god not Sakura ragging on Naruto for being an orphan-

-lmao the amount of fucking drama with this team of kids is crazy

-why are the Hokage and Kakashi just casually breaking into Naruto’s home to look around

-rip Naruto’s bowels

Ep 4:

-I was not expecting Kakashi to sound like that but I’m kinda here for it actually

-oh I can already tell I’m gonna hate how the female characters are written in this show. Sakura honey I’m so sorry

-I know Sasuke’s got trauma or whatever but god he’s so fucking edgy. “I hate most things and I don’t like anything” bitch just say your favorite food or something

-oh my god Naruto is so tiny compared to Kakashi

-ok I already see why people love Kakashi so much

Ep 5:

-Kakashi is raining hell down on these children and I’m so here for it

-Kakashi is so COOL

-fucking “HEADHUNTER JUTSU” is the most metal name for a jutsu

-“you think like little kids” says Kakashi to the 12 year olds

-Kakashi really didn’t need to give his “you failed” monologue while pinning Sasuke to the ground. Bro was just doing it to assert dominance lmao

-I know that Sasuke’s reasoning for sharing is logical and not because he cares about Naruto, but I like that he offers his food to Naruto first

-aw the squad is starting to squad just a teeny tiny bit

Ep 6:

-booooo Naruto is a cat hater :(

-I love that Naruto is shorter than Sakura

-I like that we get some worldbuilding early on (also I’m a sucker for a good map so the scene explaining the different regions was cool)

-okay Sasuke is a badass

-Kakashi is also a badass but I already knew that

-I love how chill Kakashi is about literally everything

Ep 7:

-Kakashi is so over the bridge builder guy’s bullshit

-I do wish there was more of a sense of scale regarding how far apart the different locations are, since I have no idea how far away from Konoha the Land of Waves actually is

-okay I was NOT expecting Zabuza to fucking THROW HIS GIANT CLOUD STRIFE SWORD LIKE A BOOMERANG???

-Zabuza 🤝 Kakashi

not wearing their headbands correctly

-I like Zabuza’s voice

-the sharingan doesn’t make that much sense to me in terms of how it works but I’ll just chalk it up to anime logic

EP 8:

-oh the Water Prison jutsu is kinda terrifying to think about

-I can’t get over Zabuza’s fuckin armwarmer thingies

-ah yes gotta love the choppy old anime fight animation

-between Kakashi and Zabuza, Sasuke really cannot get a break from being pinned to the ground

-the demon wind shuriken is so sick-looking

-okay good on Naruto and Sasuke for working together but couldn’t they have given Sakura something to do

Ep 9:

-binging this makes the flashbacks at the beginning of episodes very annoying

-oh Kakashi is fucking PISSED

-shoutout to whoever animated all the hand signs for the jutsus holy shit

-yeah Kakashi would be so annoying to fight ngl

-Sakura is constantly calling Naruto out on his bullshit and that’s the kind of hater behavior I’m here for

-the soundtrack is hitting different this episode

-wow Naruto really saw another kid kill a man and got immediate imposter syndrome lmao

Ep 10:

-I like Haku’s painted nails

-aw Kakashi is actually a really encouraging teacher

-how is Naruto so bad with chakra control and yet was able to master Shadow Clone jutsu????

-Kakashi casually defying gravity to walk up a tree with his crutches was actually kinda hilarious to me for some reason

-I’m still not sold on Sasuke’s voice. There are moments when it’s fine but otherwise it’s just so stiff

-YAY FOR SAKURA GETTING A WIN OVER THE BOYS

-aw Naruto encouraging Sakura was cute (even though he was salty about her beating him)

-I like the difference that’s set up between having a lot of chakra (like Naruto) versus good chakra control (like Sakura)- hopefully this means people are going to go about how they train and fight differently

-Naruto asking Sakura for advice and asking her not to tell Sasuke anything was actually kinda endearing lol

Ep 11:

-dumb question maybe but if Gato is so against the bridge being built and he has the resources to hire a bunch of goons, why doesn’t he just bomb the bridge or something

-ah yes Sakura discovers poverty

-Sasuke is slowly growing on me. He’s very awkward

-Sakura I’m so sorry you have to deal with those two idiots as teammates

-holy fuck Inari’s backstory with Kaiza was darker than I thought it would be

-also rip Kaiza you were a real one

Ep 12:

-lmao not Naruto thinking Haku is prettier than Sakura fjfhshhajasisa-

-aw Sasuke helping Naruto walk home after training was nice, there’s definitely very slight development happening in their relationship as rivals

-Kakashi’s talk with Inari was a really nice moment

Ep 13:

-I like the way Haku talks. It’s very impassive and mysterious

-I’m always a fan of when the MC inspires literally everyone around them and Naruto is no exception

-Haku’s painted nails continue to slay (also I realized his toenails are painted too)

-the needles Haku fights with are really cool-looking but also seem really impractical

-YEAHHHHH NARUTO TIME

-aw Kakashi is proud of his kids

-goddamn Haku is so cool

Ep 14:

-I’m only thinking about this now but did Naruto never wonder why he had a big seal on his stomach

-literally half this episode was recap which was kinda annoying

-Naruto I love you but you’re so stupid

Ep 15:

-I really wish they gave Sakura more to do in this fight. I get that Kakashi’s the only one who can take Zabuza and that we need to see Naruto and Sasuke fighting together, but Sakura is kinda just standing there the whole time

-Haku needs to go to therapy ASAP

-I’m still confused about how Kakashi’s sharingan works tbh

Ep 16:

-aw yeah baby Sasuke sharingan time

-aw yeahhhh Sasuke saving Naruto

-god fucking dammit I think Sasuke is my favorite Team 7 member and I hate that for me

-oh boy Naruto is about to go apeshit

-also there is no way in hell anyone watching this actually believed Sasuke died

Ep 17:

-geez the animation quality really went up this episode

-yeah Haku’s backstory is just as tragic as I thought it would be but also Jesus Christ his relationship with Zabuza is so fucked up

-I’m very curious as to why Kakashi has the sharingan if it’s a bloodline trait of the Uchiha clan (and also why he only has it in one eye)

-Kakashi summoning fucking dogs was so random but also hell yeah doggies

-andddd Kakashi’s a lightningbender? I thought the sharingan was his main thing but apparently not

-Haku PLEASE go to therapy

Ep 18:

-this show’s soundtrack has actually been so good so far

-so like was Naruto actually gonna kill Haku before Haku stopped him

-oh FUCK rip Haku (also first real-time death of the series!)

-Kakashi closing Haku’s eyes and saving his body was nice, you can tell that he feels bad about him dying even though he was on Zabuza’s side

-also they didn’t hold back on the blood, goddamn

-I like that the bridge builder seems to have a bit of a soft spot for Sakura since she’s been with him the most

Ep 19:

-Gato is literally so fucking disgusting I need him dead ASAP

-Kakashi wrangling Naruto back from attacking Gato was kinda funny

-ah yes the big Shonen Protagonist Speech™ from Naruto

-Zabuza’s last hurrah was fucking epic, I really like how his and Haku’s story ended (also the line “where he’s going, I cannot follow” about Zabuza joining Haku in the afterlife was metal). I like that Zabuza got a last moment of humanization

-aw Naruto is such a wholesome, determined lil guy

-oh Naruto is gonna be so insufferable when he finds out the bridge is named after him

Ep 20:

-HELL YEAH CHUNIN EXAM TIMEEEE IM SO EXCITED

-wow Naruto is really out here fantasizing about being Sasuke’s knight in shining armor

-Sasuke is a cocky little shit but also he’s technically right about Naruto and Sakura being “worse” than him

-so far Sakura’s biggest fight has been her beating up fuckin Konohamaru

-SAND SIBLINGS SPOTTED!!!

-I don’t like Temari’s voice

[jimmycarterghostland]

(This is going to be kind of a long post about Worm. BTW, I'm currently on the Scarab arc)

I'm reading Scarab 25.1 of Worm right now.

I only read a couple of words of it, though. I had to make this post, because I need to say it boggles my mind when someone says they read Worm in a matter of weeks. I saw a Reddit comment from a guy(I'm assuming they were a guy) who said they read Worm in two weeks. I started this read in either May or June. So either 4 or 5 months ago, and I'm still reading. This web serial is MASSIVE.

When I first started the read, I would read three chapters per day. But these chapters are so long now, I only read one of them per day. And I can't even imagine reading Worm in two weeks. I would quickly get tired of reading that many words. This thing is over one million and a half words long.

Some background: I discovered Worm years ago, back when I was googling the longest story, or probably when I was searching up a one million word-long story. I can't remember which of those things led me to Worm.

Ultimately, I ended up discovering this story. I spoiled a lot of it for myself. I also used to read it out of chronological order. I would read random scenes and stuff. My attempts to read the entire story in order failed. Until I started this current read months ago. I don't mention all of that in my occasional posts about Worm, and I spoiled a bunch more of it for myself during this read. So, I'm actually aware of a lot that's going to happen in this story later on. Reading Worm completely unaware of what was going to happen in it must have been crazy for people who read it live.

I like how Wildbow has a bunch of loyal readers who comment on every chapter. I pray my own web serial gets loyal fans like those. Technically, I'm a silent reader with Worm. I don't leave comments on WordPress, but I do discuss Worm on Tumblr, and I've been reading every chapter. It's funny, because as a writer, I hate having silent readers. Positive comments on a story are encouraging, gives me the push I need to keep writing it.

Anyway, I love Worm. It's so good. There are definitely some grammar errors and some instances of clunky writing, but this story is still a lot better than many traditionally published novels. I won't name any names, but there's this one traditionally published novel that I've been reading every day, and it's absolute trash. I actually dread reading it. But I hate having a book and leaving it unfinished, so I'm forcing myself to read that one. It sucks so bad. The difference in quality between this book and Worm is astounding. Seriously. It makes me appreciate Worm a lot more. I never dread having to read a chapter of Worm.

The characters in Worm are complex and have their own unique personalities and speech patterns. Wildbow is a master of writing multiple points of view, and a master of writing distinct characters. Characters in Worm have unique dialogue. I remember reading a certain chapter and just knew it was Skidmark speaking, because he is vulgar and doesn't feel shame when he curses or says something inappropriate.

In Hookwolf's interlude, his personality pops off the page. His racism shows in his thoughts. He refers to Shatterbird as a racial slur in his inner monologue. A non-racist character would have used the proper term for Shatterbird's ethnicity in their inner monologue. But Hookwolf is a racist. He thinks like one, and Wildbow shows that well. Wildbow knows how to give each of his narrators a distinct character voice. Or if not each of them, enough of them. Many authors are bad at writing multiple POV fiction. Wildbow isn't one of them. And since I prefer multiple POV literature over single POV, I'm glad that Worm is a good example of what good multiple POV literature looks like.

Worm has some great subtlety too. A lot of things aren't overexplained. As in, Wildbow doesn't unnecessarily beat the reader over the head with certain stuff. Like, when Leviathan was moving slower, implying he was weaker than he was when the battle against him first started. Wildbow could have written "Leviathan was moving slower because he was weaker." Wildbow didn't do that, though. The fact Leviathan was moving slower told enough.

Another instance of Wildbow being great with subtlety was Charlotte's interlude. She is distrustful of men because of what happened to her at the mall, but Wildbow doesn't constantly refer back to that incident. There's no overexplaining. The reader can already guess that Charlotte is distrustful of men because of that mall incident. If Worm was written by a bad writer, they would have kept explaining how the mall accident was what made Charlotte scared of men. Wildbow does a great job of "show, don't tell".

I no longer think Worm will be traditionally published. I wish it would be, but at some point I realized it would be very hard for Worm to be traditionally published. I think it's fine the way it is. Having Worm in a web serial format is good enough.

I love Worm, and I am glad it exists.

[lycorogue]

Latest Story: You Pretended Not to Care

HOO BOY! THIS STORY! (And by that, I mean the source material) I've barely written 3k words of fictional prose since 2022. Then I read through episode 20 of the webcomic adaptation of Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story (aka I Thought It Was A Common Transmigration), and I churn out a 7200-word BEAST to fill in that "fade to black" we got.

I did try to write this so even if you don't know/remember the source material you can still (hopefully) enjoy this sweet bit of smut. Hope I did right by all of you!

Oh! And btw, it wasn't until after I had this story edited did I go back and find the English translation of the original Korean webnovel. I'm pleasantly surprised at how close I was to the character's motivation and inner monologue. It was so cool to find out that I was able to pick up on the crumbs the author (and adaptor) left for me.

Also, in case it isn't clear, any italicized text between two chevrons (<>) is Killian remembering passages from Edith's diary. Also, for any who may be unfamiliar with the source material, or who might need a refresher, the reason Killian had Edith's diary in the first place was because she used it as a handwriting sample to prove papers were forged in her hand.

Finally, I tried really hard to make it evident when I switched POVs. If any part (or the whole thing 😬) feels "head-hoppy" please let me know.

OK! Enough stalling!

Summary: When Suna Choi reincarnated as Edith Rigelhof, the villainess of the novel Suna read the night before she died, she knew she had to do everything possible to avoid Edith's cruel execution at the hands of her own husband. Seemed easy enough to avoid the pitfalls that led to Edith's demise. She attempted to befriend the novel's protagonist Rhyse Sinclair. She refused to be her despicable father's spy. Most importantly, she wouldn't fall in love with her husband Killian Rudwick. His heart already belonged to Rhyse, and his arranged marriage to Edith wasn't going to change that. Despite her best efforts, Edith is still being forced down the same path as the original novel's plot. At least, that's what it seems like. But when Edith finally waves the white flag and decides to just follow the plot after all, the novel again has other plans. Edith steels herself for the next main plot point: a failed attempt to seduce her husband… except… this time it isn't going to fail…. **A more in-depth look at Episode 20 of the Webtoon adaptation that doesn't shy from the smut** Rating: Mature/Explicit (due to description of a sex scene) Word Count: 7,228 Status: completed one-shot Continue reading below, or find this story over on AO3 or on DA.

You Pretended Not to Care

Dreading what she was about to do, Edith cracked open Killian's bedroom door. She hated this. She hated it all. She hated that she had no control over this life either. She hated that her fate was locked in. She hated that she had no choice but to have the entire Rudwick family despise her. To have Killian hate her.

Worst of all, she hated how she didn't hate him in return. She wanted to. She needed to. It would make everything easier. Despite the past three months, though, she didn't hate her husband. What's worse, there were those quiet moments where he didn't seem to remember that he was supposed to hate her as well.

Those quiet moments -- those glimmers of hope that he could maybe learn to love her -- were the cruelest parts of this new life. Those breaths of fresh air where she truly believed that she might have found a home where she could relax and enjoy life. That she found a loving family. That someone could maybe fall in love with her. That she wasn't destined to have her own husband cut her down while she begged for his mercy.

She didn't want to advance the story to its next plot beat. It was too painful to be so vulnerable, and for that vulnerability to be twisted into manipulation and used against her. She had no choice though. That was now clear. Despite how much she fought to not be the Edith Rigelhof she had read about, despite showing kindness and humility and making every strategic move she could think of to avoid Edith's downfall, the story marched on exactly the same.

Edith purposefully didn't pick out dresses for herself while the dressmakers were at the estate, and she was still accused of being rudely disapproving, unappreciative, and entitled. She graciously accepted the dainty ruby necklace Rhyse picked out for her, and yet Killian's older brother Cliff still bought all of the other jewels for Rhyse in order to make a point. Just like in the novel. Edith wanted nothing to do with espionage and smuggling information to her father. She even sent him a letter stating precisely that. She was then framed and accused of espionage nonetheless. It didn't matter what she tried. The story was already written. There was no way to change it. The plot would just correct itself to keep following the path already carved by the novel.

Tonight, Edith will attempt to seduce her husband. There was no getting around it. The story would find a way to make sure of that. Even if Edith never left her room again, she'd probably still be accused of it; hated for it. She'd lose Killian no matter what she tried. She might as well lean into her fate. She could at least enjoy getting one kiss.

Edith stood beside Killian's bed. She stared at his beautiful face; his bangs fallen into his eyes. His white shirt was loose and partially unbuttoned, leaving a tantalizing view of his strong, broad chest. A chest she wanted to lie upon; to be held against. Edith knew she was doomed the second she set eyes on Killian. Not just because he was destined to literally kill her, but because – aside from his older brother's mesmerizing golden eyes – Killian was the most breathtakingly beautiful human she had ever seen.

She knew the deal. Killian was madly in love with his family's ward: Rhyse Sinclair. He'd spend his whole marriage to Edith loathing the arrangement and resenting his wife's very existence. It was impossible to win her husband's affection, especially away from the gorgeous and charming little Rhyse. There was no point in falling in love with Killian.

She couldn't resist no matter how hard she tried, however. Even before being reincarnated as Edith, Suna Choi had preferred Killian. He was the secondary love interest of the novel Stop Obsessing Over Me, Brother! She knew that his attempts were hopeless, that Rhyse and Cliff were end-game. Still, the way Killian loved Rhyse and supported her felt so much more sincere. Suna had wondered what it would be like for Killian -- or, really, any man -- to love her the way he loved Rhyse.

And then she was reincarnated as his wife in an arranged marriage. She saw him pine over Rhyse instead of her. Suna didn't fault him, though. It was that devotion towards Rhyse that Suna had fallen in love with Killian for in the first place. She didn't begrudge Rhyse for making Killian smile so brilliantly. She just wished he would smile her way now and again as well.

After tonight, there was no hope that she'd ever see Killian smile again.

Good, she thought, I can't keep pretending this marriage will ever work out. I can't keep holding onto hope. After this incident, please hate me like you're supposed to. So that I can resolve my own feelings.

Edith brushed her hair back and out of her face as she leaned down towards her husband. His soft lips were temptingly parted as he slept; beckoning. It would be the last bit of fun Edith would be able to have. She could give herself a treat. Make what she was about to do worth it.

Even with how cruel Killian had been to her, though, she couldn't do that to him. She knew that he was saving every part of himself for Rhyse. He was going to hate Edith either way, but she couldn't bear to take that away from him. She wasn't the villainess they had all decided she was.

Instead, her lips drifted to his forehead, softly brushing his bangs out of the way without use of her hands. She soaked him in best she could; inhaling his scent as her lips tenderly kissed his smooth skin, the tension of his daily scowling at her relaxed as he slept.

Her lips lingered a bit longer than they probably needed. She didn't want to pull away and give up the only loving contact she'd probably ever have with her husband. Edith needed it all over with, though. She retreated slightly, but still stayed close enough that her face would fill Killian's vision as he opened his eyes.

Now, when he wakes up, Edith thought, he'll look at me with disgust.

She wanted to avoid this next part so bad. She feared seeing what true disgust would look like carved on Killian's angelic face. She knew she'd seen close, and it pained her each time she remembered each of those cold, heartless looks. This would be a new level, though, and she struggled to not cry in anticipation.

Killian stirred oh-so-slightly. His breathing shifted. His lashes fluttered.

Here it comes. Get it over with, Killian. Prove to me that you will only ever hate me.

Edith expected a scowl upon him seeing her. Shouting. Shoving. A demand for guards to take her out of his sight. A berating for her vulgar behavior.

She did not expect Killian's right hand snatching hold of her left wrist.

Edith jumped back, tugging slightly against Killian's tight -- but still gentle -- grip.

“You pretended not to care this whole time.” There wasn't any grogginess in his sharp tone. It was as if he had been awake the whole time. Edith panicked that he had somehow known about her seduction attempt and had faked being asleep.

She wiggled to break free, but Killian tightened his grip. Edith was startled not by his strength, but by his control. His grip was firm, unrelenting, and a bit ravenous. But it didn't hurt. The tension made it seem like he wanted to hurt her, and yet his grip never once clamped down enough, as if something inside him was able to stop his muscles just before breaking that thin line.

“Are you now so overwhelmed with lust,” Killian continued, “that you can't pretend anymore?” He was sat up in bed. His head was tilted forward, knocking his bangs back into his eyes, giving him a mischievous, fox-like stare. He finally smiled at Edith, but it wasn't the warm, beaming, kind smile he would give to Rhyse. This was a lecherous smile full of cunning and the satisfaction of a successful hunt.

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen! Everything else had gone exactly how Edith had read it in the novel. No matter how she handled the situation, the end result was always the same. Edith was still accused of being vulgar and entitled after the dressmakers visited. She was still left with just the dainty necklace while Rhyse received the rest of the stock the jewelers brought to the estate. Edith was still accused of espionage, put under house-arrest, and eventually let go. It shouldn't have mattered what she did that night. Killian was still supposed to awake disgusted with her seduction attempt.

Killian's look was anything but disgusted though.

“No,” Edith choked out in fear. Her mind raced as she tried to sort out what Killian was planning on doing with her. “I just--”

“That's fine,” he interrupted. With the elegance and strength only gained from years of sword mastery, Killian yanked on Edith's left arm, pulling her towards his bed while also flipping her onto her back. In an instant, he was straddling her knees.

Edith's long, red hair billowed out behind her like a messy halo; pinned beneath her body. Her left arm equally pinned to the bed by Killian's stern grip still on her wrist. Her right arm was free, but it felt too heavy to move as Killian looked down on her with that mischievously lustful grin.

“Satisfy me, Edith. Seduce me like the Rigelhofs taught you.” Killian started undoing another button on his thin, white shirt. His eyes drilling into his stunned bride beneath him. “Who knows? I might end up attached to your body.” His voice got deep and had a voracious gravel to it.

What is he doing? This isn't right! This isn't how it was supposed to go at all!

“W-wait! Killian!” Edith willed her right arm to move, and she pried Killian's hand off of her. Without him pinning her down, Edith sat up best she could. Her eyes flashed with worry, panic, and confusion. She knew this wasn't what Killian wanted. It couldn't be. The novel version of him had no interest in Edith. He would never fall for her seduction attempts. He was too devoted to--

“Are you sure...” She took a deep breath. She didn't want to ask. She didn't want to hear his answer. She didn't want him to change his mind. She knew she had to be certain, however. “You'll be alright with me?”

Killian stopped undressing himself. The passion and thrill of the hunt flushed from his face as Edith looked up at him in full earnest.

“...and not Rhyse?” she finished.

A pain shot through Killian's chest and his stomach twisted slightly. Does she truly not care, he wondered, enough to bring up my feelings for Rhyse?

He pulled away, stepping off the bed and allowing Edith to sit the rest of the way up. Her eyes were so huge and sincere. It was hard to not recognize the surprise painted across her face. It made Killian want to both retreat from her and devour her.

Even if we were forced into a marriage of convenience... she really doesn't expect anything from me, her husband....

Her lack of expectation from him infuriated him. She was fully aware of his love for Rhyse, and she had resigned herself to a loveless marriage. Even so--

<His face is glowing and his body is so hot! I can't stop drooling, just thinking about him....> <I really think Killian is more my type than Cliff.> <I happened to see him wave at Rhyse-- I thought I might be blinded by his smile.>

Killian was giving himself to Edith, and yet she stopped him. Even when he thought he was offering her exactly what she desired she still expected nothing from him.

Killian wanted to satisfy her. He demanded that she satisfy him, but he knew he wanted it the other way around. He wanted to reward her words in her diary. He wanted her to keep watching him and desiring him. He didn't want her to give up her fight for his affection. He yearned for her to crave him.

He rested a hand beside her leg on the edge of the bed, then made it creak slightly as he leaned towards her. She leaned away, giving him space as she studied him and tried to figure out his angle.

His angle was lust.

With the blinding swiftness he used before to catch her wrist and pull her onto the bed, Killian pinched Edith's chin between his thumb and forefinger. Halting her retreat instantly, Killian leaned closer, bringing her face inches from his. He stared intensely into her large, uneasy eyes, and delighted in how his boldness caused those doe-eyes to soften and close slightly.

They were the furthest from Rhyse's eyes. Edith's large breasts -- raising and lowering in quick, short breaths -- were far from Rhyse's as well. Edith's full, supple thighs and curved hips were the opposite of Rhyse's slender frame. Her wavy, fiery red hair equally foiled the elegant fairness of Rhyse's straight golden-blonde locks.

Killian loved Rhyse. It was true. He'd do anything for her. He wanted to spend every waking moment with her. He delighted in her smile. He wanted to protect such a gentle and delicate woman. She was sunshine personified. He had wanted to give her his all.

Edith was the farthest from Rhyse that he could think of. Yet he also wanted to give her his all. In a different way. In a more primal way. He wanted to gift himself to Rhyse. He wanted to lose himself in Edith.

And yet, Edith hesitated when he offered precisely that. If this was what she wanted, why would she care if Killian would regret their night together?

“I should be asking you that question.” He whispered. Soft. Firm. Challenging. Playful. Aloof. Yearning. “Aren't you the one who was so confident in yourself that you would crawl into my bed in the middle of the night?”

She wouldn't believe him if he told her he wanted this. He wasn't even sure he could say those exact words.

Edith...

He'd get her to accept his offer. To forget Rhyse the way he did. This wasn't about her. This was about a man and his wife. This was about quelling a fire. This was about finally letting go and truly going for something he desired without hesitation.

Killian pressed his lips against Edith's.

Her eyes stayed wide; frozen in shock. Those lips weren't supposed to be hers, as much as she wanted them to be. They were Rhyse's. Killian had waited the last four years for her. He had never before felt the touch of a woman. Never tasted another's mouth. And yet he was pressed against Edith's.

It was a bit awkward. A little innocent, but still very lustful. Suna never felt this level passion before in her life. Either of them. It shot warm shivers through her core.

Killian ravenously pushed on her mouth with his own, trying to force her down. Edith retreated across the mattress, and he pursued her, crawling his way back onto his bed. His left knee wedged between her legs.

Edith's fear of the consequences and misconceptions of this night vaporized as Killian's kiss drained her brain of oxygen. This night alone didn't cause her eventual death, so why not enjoy the bliss?

With a gasp and slow exhale to steady his breath again, Killian pulled away. He towered over Edith as he remained kneeling with their legs interwoven. Before Edith could regain her own senses, Killian brusquely snatched her wrist once more.

<His face is glowing and his body is so hot!>

“After all the snooping and sneaking glances,” Killian aggressively teased, “now you can touch me all you want.” He finished unbuttoning his shirt and pressed Edith's right hand against his tight pectoral. With a shrug his undone shirt slid off his shoulders, revealing them to her as well.

Edith fiercely blushed as she remembered that Killian had read a portion of her diary when she used it to try to prove her handwriting was forged; that she wasn't the one who sent insider knowledge to her father. Her face and ears burned as she tried to mentally recount exactly what she had said about Killian; what he could have possibly read. How lustful had she been in her writings? Was he just toying with her to teach her a lesson?

“N-no,” Edith stammered in a panic, “that's not what I...” Her eyes darted from her hand on his chest up to Killian's deep, dark eyes. The puckish grin and challenging stare had both fallen; softened. Killian almost looked defeated; pleading. He couldn't have possibly wanted -- genuinely wanted -- Edith to lust after him, could he?

His chest beneath her hand was firm and silky, but it rose and fell in uneven, subtly quivering breaths.

That's right. Killian didn't know the touch of a woman before now. He wouldn't possibly go this far just to mess with me, right?

“What I mean is...” Edith relented. She pressed slightly with her finger tips, and Killian's grip loosened, more cradling her wrist than actually holding it. He gently directed her to follow the crease separating his pecs. Edith's fingers quaked against the soft ridges of his chest. Before her mind could catch up with her body, her fingers slid down to his abs. She outlined each one with her nails, memorizing the sensation as it shook through her.

Killian's muscles were all the more defined as he directed Edith to explore them. He flexed each one as her fingers wandered. He had to. It was the only way to keep himself from shivering at her touch. He wasn't expecting the tingles along his skin. He didn't anticipate how much his body would miss the delicate tickle of her fingers as they roamed to a different part of him. He wanted to collapse into her. He wanted to give her everything she desired of his body. He wanted to devour her in kind. He wanted to tear the nightgown she was wearing. Ruin his sheets. Decimate his mattress.

He had always been able to keep his desires in check before. He was able to have full control of himself. With Edith, however? With her feather-soft touch? With those fierce quips? With those saucer-large inquisitive eyes? With her quiet lusting for her husband? With that porcelain skin? He was becoming a beast and he needed to rein himself in.

“Are you happy now?�� He asked her barely above a whisper. His voice strained as he struggled to contain himself. They hadn't even done anything physically strenuous, yet sweat already dotted his temples. He hoped Edith didn't hear him gulp down the sticky saliva making his mouth dry and his teeth hungry for her skin.

<I really think Killian is more my type than Cliff.>

He had never been preferred over his brother before. He was either Cliff's equal or he had fallen behind at some point. Killian knew his father would never overlook Cliff and name him heir of the dukedom instead. He also knew that it was pointless to think that he could ever win Rhyse away from Cliff. There was no world wherein Killian got what Cliff desired.

Killian didn't need to fight for Edith though. She was all his, and she preferred it that way. He wanted to make sure she would always choose him over his brother.

As he stared down at her, Edith melted at Killian's soft, flushed face. His tight voice rattled in her head; otherwise empty due to her brain traveling along with her fingers across Killian's exposed stomach. His hand giving her the guided tour. Happy? she thought, I could spend the rest of my life just touching this man's waist, stomach, arms, and chest...

Suddenly, she realized he had asked her a question that she didn't answer. Blushing harder, she focused on her hand traveling back up to his left pectoral. She was acutely aware of what she had been doing, and how humiliating it was that he had read her diary and then called her out on what she wrote via... this! She couldn't look at him. Not into those soft, pleading, lost eyes.

She tried to ignore the quivering in her voice as she answered. “Huh? Oh... I-I...”

Killian used his right hand to continue directing Edith's fingers as they skated across his chest. Meanwhile, his left hand found her ankle and started venturing its way up her leg, pushing up the skirt of her nightgown slightly as he did. His nails dug tantalizingly into the back of her calf just below her knee.

“Yes...” Edith breathed, finally answering Killian. Yes! Good Power Almighty, yes! In both this life and her previous one, she had never been more happy. She wanted this to go on endlessly.

Screw restraint. Edith's breathy “yes” was all Killian needed. That single word was filled with tension begging to be released. It broke Killian's willpower. He needed her now. His hand snaked from outside her gown to under it, feeling the silky lines of her bare legs. A fever raced through him and his groin twitched.

Like a taught fishing line, Killian's eyes darted to the nape of Edith's neck. That obscene lure that snagged him their wedding night. With an invisible yank of the line, Killian's lips crashed into her neck.

Edith gasped and twitched at the touch, which just made Killian linger there all the more. His teeth gently scraped across her collarbone and his lips brushed against her skin in phantom kisses. Each inch his mouth crawled caused her to squirm and gasp again.

This was a fun game. He wondered how many times he could make her quiver. Was it infinite? Would she eventually numb to his touch? Could he turn that gasp into a squeak or a moan?

I can't believe I find Edith Rigelhof adorable...

Her chest heaved in shaky breaths against his bare chest, and his heart raced knowing how undone he was making his fiery bride. His hand crept higher up her thigh, his forearm pushing the skirt of her nightgown up and over her knee. All of his slow, methodical, gentle touches made her shift and squirm, and it excited him all the more.

“K-Killian!” she gasped as her leg twitched against his touch.

There must be something wrong with me, Killian mentally berated himself as he shifted his weight forward, creaking the bed again.

Then it happened. Edith groaned. It was strained, like she was fighting against letting the lewd sound escape her lips. It was soft and deep and rumbled out of her chest.

Killian ripped his arms out of his sleeves and tossed his shirt to the floor. He then crashed right back into Edith, concentrating on her right collarbone this time. His hand reaching her bare hip as he rested more of his weight against her.

Edith's mind went blank. She knew she needed to keep her wits about her. She needed to strategize. She had to deduce how this act would be twisted by the story to keep the plot on track. Prepare herself. Find a way to at least lessen the blow.

Instead, her mind was filled with Killian's lips on her skin and his hand on her hip; wordlessly instructing her to strip. She was more than happy to comply.

Shifting her weight, Edith slid the back of her nightgown up to her waist so she was no longer sitting on the skirt. Lightning shot through her as her fingers entangled briefly with Killian's. She then squeaked out his name as his hand followed hers and he caressed her ass.

“What's wrong?” Killian roguishly chuckled into Edith's ear before nibbling on it. “No final words for me tonight?”

He was right. It was mortifying for her to be his putty like this. She needed to take charge. Just as she had always done with him. She had never allowed him the upper hand before. Every time he had pushed her she would push right back.

First, she needed to regain her bearings.

Edith arched her head to try to pull away from Killian's insatiable mouth. It backfired and instead left more skin for him to explore, making her squeak with surprise. Her nails scraped across the sheets, and she gathered whatever loose cloth she could into her tightening grip. Her toes curled. Her stomach flipped. She had failed. She didn't want Killian's lips to ever leave her skin. She panted his name once more as she submitted to him.

Shifting his weight to better balance himself, Killian kept his left hand exploring Edith's leg and hip. His right hand then traced its way up her spine, searching for the tie to her nightgown. Upon feeling the soft ribbon tail, he tugged. Her gown loosened. The neckline instantly drooped and slid off her right shoulder, granting Killian more real estate to traverse. As his lips and left hand continued their private expeditions, Killian's right hand traveled back down Edith's spine, making her shiver at his touch.

His middle finger caught the buttons along the ribbon at Edith's waist. It was a bit more work to slide them back through their restrictive loops than he expected. Despite normally being a very dexterous person, Killian was clumsy with his unbuttoning, and he growled his frustration about it into Edith's shoulder. Gasping, Edith grabbed the back of his head and held him against her skin. Her hips shifted in his grasp as well. Her left leg pushing against his right, spreading herself more for him.

Killian's chest tightened. His nails pressed against her hip. He slid his left leg over, shifting her leg as well. A new fragrance wafted into the room. It made his head spin and his heart race. Cradling the back of Edith's head, Killian broke from her grasp and collided with her lips.

Running on an autopilot she didn't even realize she had, Edith massaged Killian's lips with her own, demonstrating the proper way their mouths should dance. Her tongue gently tapped against his lower lip. He instantly granted her entry, and she gingerly ventured into his mouth. He greedily pushed back, nearly choking her.

She pulled back with a gag, and Killian instantly stilled. Heat billowed off of them both as they stared each other down, studying their partner for their next move. Cradling each side of his face, Edith gently pulled him down to her. She gave him a cautious, closed-mouth kiss. He allowed her to set the pace, so she tested the waters with her tongue again. His lips parted hungrily and welcomed her inside. She gently pushed against his tongue before trying to wrap her own around his. Understanding, Killian responded in kind. Softly this time. He let her take the lead as his mind instead focused on her buttons again.

Edith rested her head against the bed, and pulled Killian down with her. She left her back arched for his hands to undo her buttons. The new angle helped him, and they unfastened all the easier. Each time she felt her nightgown loosen a bit more around her waist, Edith ran her nails across Killian's back. Finally, the third button was released.

Realizing his task was done, Killian sharply inhaled Edith's scent. Pulling away from her mouth, he slowly let his breath back out with a ravenous sigh. His hands roamed her bare legs. Her hands explored his back. His heart pounded in his ears. He couldn't believe the next step he was about to take. There would be no undoing this night. He would never be able to pretend it didn't happen.

“Killian?”

Her voice was too gentle. Too breathy. Her eyes were too wide and pleading. Her hair looked too enticing sprawled out behind her on his bed. Her skin was too soft. Too warm. Too welcoming.

“Tell me what you want, Edith.”

“I--” She studied him. This was her out. She could escape before this whole thing went any further. They'd regret this in the morning. She knew that much. At least, Killian would regret it the moment his lust was satiated. She just needed to tell him no, and he'd probably let her leave.

She couldn't deny what she wanted though. The weight of his body pressed against hers was too sweet. The slight roughness of his swordsman-calloused fingers sent electricity through her. Her body was feverish and her mouth was dry and starving. She'd break if they stopped now.

“I want you, Killian,” she whispered.

That puckish smirk returned, along with a glint in his eyes.

“What do you want from me?”

“Whatever you are willing to give.”

“What if I already did that?”

Edith's face fell. Of course he was just teasing her, playing with her. Her face burned with embarrassment and desire. She curled in on herself, and nibbled her thumbnail to try to release some tension.

“Do you wish for me to leave then?”

Killian's stomach flipped as Edith looked up at him with a little pout. Watching her bite down on her fingernail made him instantly miss her mouth. He wanted to hear her pant again; moan again; to gasp out his name again. He would never sleep again if he didn't know those sounds by heart.

He leaned in so his lips were tantalizingly close to hers. “I wish for you to tell me specifically what it is that you want from me.”

Her gasping breaths tickled his lips. Edith's mind raced for the right answer. She knew this was a test of some sort. Her brain was too full of lewd thoughts though. Now wasn't the time for strategy. Before she could finish calculating, her mouth blurted out, “I want to feel you.” Her eyes darted towards his waist before blinking back to match his gaze. “All of you.”

Killian's crotch twitched. In an instant, his tongue was in Edith's mouth again, and his hand was tangled up in her hair. His free hand scrambled for the bottom hem of her nightgown, and he was startled to find her hand already pulling it up for him.

They broke away from each other, and he hurriedly peeled her gown up and over her head. He didn't look at her skin as it was exposed. Instead, his eyes followed the cloth as it slid up her body and through her long, thick hair before it dropped to the floor. When he turned back to his bride she sheepishly had her arms over her chest and her knees pressed against his leg still wedged between them.

Could Edith Rigelhof be shy about her body?

With a tenderness Killian didn't understand, he brushed his fingers against her exposed collarbone. He then played with her shoulder for a second, drawing a few circles and causing Edith to shiver at his touch. He then traced her arm down to her elbow, and then across to her wrist. His hand never ventured towards her breasts, instead concentrating on the goosebumps growing on his wife's arms.

Edith squirmed beneath him. Her breath quaked in anticipation. She fought the urge to just grab him and do whatever she needed to satisfy herself. She felt so close to the brink as it was already, it wouldn't take long.

What is he doing? she thought as Killian's feather-light touch skated across her skin. Why is he so--? It kept her a second to realize the word she was looking for was sensual.

She was still nervous about letting him fully see her. True, he had watched her in the tub their wedding night, but she was able to partially cover up, and the rose water obscured his view slightly. Killian's room was dark, but this was still different. He could destroy her at any second.

She didn't take her eyes off his face from the moment her nightgown was tossed to the floor. That fox-like mischievous hunger he first had when he caught her in his room was gone. As his hand traced her arm his eyes had a soft concentration to them. He focused on exploring every inch of her skin with genuine curiosity. His upper teeth brushed his lower lip, as if fighting against biting it. He gently pressed his knee against her bare crotch, and Edith resisted grinding against it.

Why isn't he simply taking me?

Then Edith remembered how new Killian was to all of this. As flustered as she might be, she still had some experience in her previous life. Killian didn't. When his hand reached her wrist she relented to his touch and let him pull her arm away with ease. With her free hand, she cradled his face and brushed his cheek with her thumb.

“Edith.” He whispered her name. He had no clue why. It was like a prayer. Like a confirmation that he wasn't actually asleep. She was there. She was waiting for him. She was gorgeous.

He started at the nape of her neck, then kissed down to her cleavage. He tasted the faint salt pooling along her skin. He felt her chest shiver at his touch. He focused on her soft panting. Her breasts were so velvety. He never imagined how pillowy they actually were. As his lips and tongue explored her chest Edith moaned again.

“Killian--” She sharply inhaled as he switched to the other breast. “Please.” She whimpered slightly, but held his head in place.

Hearing her plead with him awakened the animal instincts in him once more. In a flash, his pants were off and on the floor. He then grabbed behind each of her knees and angled her so he was pressed against her soft flesh. She gasped at him simply knocking on her door. Her heat engulfed him. Juices already welcomed him.

“Do it again,” he growled. It wasn't malicious. He meant to demand this of her, but his voice came out wanting.

“Hmm?”

“Plead.” He hoped she didn't hear the pleading in his own voice.

Edith's nails dug deliciously into Killian's upper arms as she weakly tugged on them. She looked up at him with her large, saucer-wide eyes, her eyebrows pinched in yearning. “Please,” she whimpered. “Keep going. Don't stop.”

Killian's crotch twitched again in response, and he thrust forward, causing Edith to cry out. His angle was off and he instantly knocked into bone.

Edith winced, but truly didn't want him to stop. She pulled his hands down to her hips. Then laced her legs around his waist, holding him in place so he couldn't retreat. She then shifted her hips and arched her back. As she readjusted around Killian he rubbed against her clit and she cooed.

“Are you okay?”

Edith blinked up at him.

Did he seriously ask me that?

She nodded. “Slow. Please?”

He complied. At an achingly slow pace, he slid out of her until just his tip remained inside. He then slid back in just as slowly, allowing Edith to shift and readjust his angle as he crept back into her. He watched every inch of her shifting body and blushing face.

“Like this?”

Edith whimpered out an affirmative as she bit her lip.

Killian gave her a couple more slow thrusts to memorize the proper angle. He felt like he was going to burst at this pace though. His whole body vibrated as he ached to build up the pressure faster.

“I can't keep going this--”

“Faster,” she interrupted. “Please.”

He gladly complied. Noting the angle he needed to be in, he shifted them both so he could thrust his hips faster. Edith cried out once more, and Killian instantly paused, nervous that he hurt her again.

“No. Please. Keep going,” she panted. “Like that. Please.”

He did as his wife asked of him, causing her to squeak and moan some more. It was becoming Killian's new favorite sound.

“Killian.”

No. Hearing her pant out his name like that. That was his new favorite sound.

He leaned in and kissed her neck and along her jaw. She shuddered at his touch and ran her fingers through his hair.

Suna had boyfriends in her past life. She had slept with them before. It wasn't terribly frequent, but she wasn't inexperienced.

Nothing felt as good as Edith felt in that moment, though. Her body was feverish. Tension was knotting in her stomach. Her mind grew foggy. Her skin tingled. Killian's body was the exact weight to counter the pressure building inside her.

Maybe it was the learned vigilance of a swordsman. Maybe it was because Killian was a virgin. Maybe it was because he was exploring and experimenting. Maybe it was because he was subtly looking to Edith for direction while pretending he was still in charge himself. But Edith had never known a man so attentive. Every changed note of her moans told him where to press. Every shift in her breath directed him where to kiss. Every mew that escaped her lips informed him of how fast he should be going. A few sharp gasps instructed Killian on where to focus while inside her.

“Killian,” she panted again. She was cresting the hill. Her whole body felt so tight. She didn't realize that sex could feel so amazing. She wanted more. She didn't want Killian to ever let her go.

His back was clammy against her greedy hands. The sweat from his chest mixed with hers. His primal grunts and growls only made her body heat up faster. His face remained buried in her neck and chest.

“Edith,” he gasped, causing her heart to skip. She didn't want to admit until that very moment that she had been wondering if he was just picturing her as Rhyse. That he was ignoring who he was actually sleeping with. That he was using her as little more than a sex doll stand-in for his true love.

“Edith, moan again for me.”

He quickened his pace again. One hand anchored him to the bed. The other wrapped around Edith's back and latched him to her. He rocked his hips, trying to remember to grind against her slightly as he thrust into her.

Edith's chest tightened as her breath became harder and harder to catch. She bit her lip and groaned against the tension. She whimpered with longing and pinched her eyes tightly closed. The pressure in her crotch increased, but the one against her stomach lessened.

“Edith.” Killian's voice shook as he struggled with his own tight chest. “Look at me.”

She did. She released a breath she forgot she was holding, and opened her eyes. He wasn't pressed against her anymore. He had pulled far enough away to look at her; watch her face again. He grunted as he quickened his pace once more, slamming hard into her. She didn't care. She needed that extra pressure as well. She winced, trying to trap a scream inside her throat.

“Don't.” He brushed her lip with his thumb. “Don't hold it in.”

He grunted and gasped as he climbed to his own climax. With an animalistic drive, he did whatever he needed to finish. He barely slid out of her, keeping the pressure of her vagina firmly wrapped around him.

Every inch of Edith felt too weak to do anything but let him use her. Still, she wanted to repay him for his efforts, so she tightened herself best she could. She instantly felt him pulse against her, and she screamed out. She didn't try to muffle herself this time.

Her constricting around him, followed by her crying out in ecstasy was the final push for him. Loudly moaning himself, he released all of that built up tension inside his wife. She responded in kind. Her back arched and she rocked onto the back of her head. Every muscle within her tightened like a rope about to snap. Her toes curled and her nails dug into his back. He felt her hips shift and her walls pulse around him; squeezing him dry. She cried out with a high pitched scream of pleasure, and her legs shook against his hips.

Both spent, Killian collapsed against Edith's chest. Her legs flopped to either side of him, and she melted under his weight. They both struggled to catch their breaths, but Edith had little problem running her hand through Killian's hair, petting him.

Killian was the first to even out this breathing. Gently, he lifted himself off of Edith and brushed his sweaty hair out of his face. Her hand rested against his chest, not ready to separate from him.

“Edith,” he whispered once more.

She couldn't respond. Her own breath was still too shaky.

Tenderly, he untangled himself from between her legs.

Here it comes. Edith looked away from him. He was satiated now. His senses would soon come back, and he would throw her out of his room; instantly regretful for his lapse in judgment.

Killian took her in. He watched her start to curl into herself again, her eyes tightly closed against him.

Is she nervous that I will want to go again before she recovers?

Killian brushed her hair out of her eyes and kissed her forehead.

Edith's eyes shot open, and she turned to face him. “Killian?”

He didn't say anything. He simply snuggled next to her and rested his head on her shoulder. He then pulled the sheets up around them.

“You should stay here tonight.”

She blushed as she nodded, then rolled onto her side. Killian's arm snaked around her waist and pulled her close to him. His body heat wrapped around her was soothing, and it wasn't long before she fell asleep in his arms.

Killian felt Edith's breathing slow as she dozed off. Her body relaxed against him. Her scent filled his nostrils, making him feel a little dizzy. He didn't hate the sensation though. Despite common sense screaming otherwise, he didn't hate anything that happened that evening.

He had been relieved to find out that Edith had woken up earlier that day, but didn't know how to approach her. He had feared that he was part of the reason she had fainted in the first place. He had assumed that she no longer wanted anything to do with him.

His heart had danced when he caught her in his room. She looked so earnest and innocent it had overwhelmed him.

Then he was inside her, and he never imagined a feeling so amazing. It took all of the willpower he had earned from years of training to not climax after that first corrected thrust. He couldn't let that opportunity go by so quickly. He focused on Edith instead of his own euphoria as best as he could to make it last.

Besides, after everything, didn't he owe Edith that much?

Killian kissed the crown of her head and pulled her in tighter.

What am I going to do with you, Edith Rudwick?

He buried his face into her plush locks, and fell into one of the deepest and most restful sleeps he remembered having.

[paintingformike]

the most glaring line in the van scene for me will always be this:

“you make her feel like she’s not a mistake at all. like she’s better for being different.”

because here’s the thing...this is exactly what mike already tried to do in their fight. he tried to make el feel like she was better for being different, but failed. he told her that everyone else were nobodies and she was a superhero who was different from these random people, and that’s what made her better than others. and what did it lead to? it made el feel even more misunderstood, and it was the last straw before she decided to leave him and started to realize she didn’t need him like she thought she did 😭

you can tell that even during the van scene mike still hadn’t picked up that el didn’t want him to see her as a superhero better than everyone else, because he still kept talking about how she was “born special”. so obviously when will said he made her feel like she was better for being different...it translated to his brain as “i make her feel like she’s better for being a [superhero]”. with this context it makes complete sense why he still keeps emphasizing her abilities as a superhero in the monologue, because obviously if el loves it when i talk about her superiority over others because she can save the world, and it makes her feel special and unique, then maybe that’s exactly what i have to do. and even more so if this is what gives her the courage to fight on. mike tries to give el the strength to fight by following exactly what will told him in the van.

people can try to argue that everything else will said in the van applied to el too (and they'll always be wrong btw), but this is the one line that will always be contradictory to el’s actual feelings no matter how much people try to prove otherwise. not only because mike made her feel like a monster but because el didn’t want to feel like she was better for the reason of being a superhero with powers. she doesn’t need to be a superhero to be “better”. in fact she doesn't want to be “better”, she just wants to be loved and seen as a person like everyone else.

[squishosaur]

i hear youre a treyjade enjoyer, do you have any headcanons with them or how they got together? :0

yeah ummm.... a few :lookingaway:

♡ - i'd like to think that jade has always looked up to and respected trey, but when he realized "oh, this guy is not as normal as he says he is" he is just infatuated and needs to study him. like a freak.

☆ - i think trey is someone who sees the best in people. like, he could be seeing the scary parts of jade, he just finds him silly and interesting though. riddle is distressed like, "you DO NOT want that guy." but trey is like "i could fix him" when jade is Actively trying to make him worse.

♡ - jade definitely fell first, but that doesn't mean trey didn't Also fall fast. trey was sort of interested in him, and jade instantly picked up on this and started toying with him. anything from offhanded comments about how nice he looks or how polite he is to just straight up "i heard you were interested in dentistry. can you look at my teeth" and then he does Not wait for an answer. trey is conflicted about this!!! floyd and azul are so disturbed at jade just opening his mouth like that in public.

☆ - trey has a horrible sense of humor. jade also has a horrible sense of humor and will laugh at any of his godawful jokes or puns. (have you seen the shrimp flied rice comic)

♡ - as for how they got together, trey would probably confide in cater about his crush (and he is Absolutely eating this up btw it's so funny to him) and he's like "oh dw trey-kun, i'll be your wingman kk??" and trey is like "oh my god no.." but it's too late.

☆ - with cater on the case, he is like. coaching him on what to say and what to do. "sit with him at lunch, compliment him, get to know him better, walk him back to his dorm, Ask Him Out OMG WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG..." and trey somehow fails at all of these things but this is amusing to jade. "your eyes are like... um. leucoprinus birnbaumii and. tilled soil?" "aw, are you flirting with me?"

♡ - azul also gets wind of this information also and is like "i can tell you any amount of information on jade's interests right now if you become the dessert chef for the mostro lounge exclusively- sign here." trey said no, but azul is still pushing. so now trey has like the shoulder angel and devil thing going on with azul and cater... but they're both devils.

♡ - in the meantime, they're Not Dating, but jade keeps asking trey to spend time with him. "i was just about to check on the mushrooms i've been growing, would you like to accompany me?" "if you aren't busy this weekend, i was wondering if you could join me on my next hike. it's just so lonely on the mountains by myself... camping would be so much more fun with friends..." trey says yes because his internal monologue is like "how could i possibly say no..." (riddle is shaking his head defeatedly, like, "just come back alive").

☆ - trey is about to just Give Up at the end of his third year, since they won't be on the same campus or anything anymore, but suddenly jade is like "can we exchange contact information, i think i'll miss you the most.." and so they do that. And are Not Dating Still.

♡ - during his off-campus year, trey studies dentistry and also spends a lot of time messaging jade and when they're both free they arrange meet-ups. cater is still trying to wingman over the phone and trey is like "no, we're still just talking..." and At The Same Time floyd keeps asking jade when he's gonna break up with that guy and jade is like "oh, but we haven't even started dating yet."

☆ - after trey is done with his studies at NRC, he decides to spend a year back at home with his family. as luck would have it, jade is spending his 4th year in the queendom of roses to study mycology (and a little bit of anthropology also, but mostly the mushrooms, molds, and yeast interests him). and he reasons "what better place to study yeast than a bakery!" trey feels absolutely insane when he asks his parents to let jade stay with them for a year. but they say yes because they as just so nice ("as long as he helps in the bakery" was also a condition).

♡ - they were not expecting a merman though and are quite shocked by the very tall eel with razors for teeth politely introducing himself one day. trey's siblings like him though! they ask him all about the ocean and his studies and nrc and even just about what trey was like at school (trey keeps shutting this specific topic down). jade helps with cooking and cleaning around the house and mr. and mrs. clover both appreciate him for it.

☆ - at some point, the two stay up really late together (they're both studying) and trey just finally blurts out that he likes him. jade just goes "i know." with a smile and asks him out. trey is shocked because he had waited Forever to ask it but its too late now. he laughs it off and says yes. they kiss (followed by jade quipping that it was not customary to kiss on the first date, to which trey responds that is was Hardly their first date and jade goes "touché")

♡ - you would think i would end this here because you asked about how they got together but i can't because i havs not gotten to the part where trey 1) actually comes out to his parents and 2) tells them that he's going out with jade

☆ - but anyways, yes, he comes out to his parents and they accept him for who he is. his mom also mentions that she assumed that he and jade were Already dating and he just wasn't ready to tell them yet. trey vehemently denies this and jade is just laughing. trey also texts cater and cater replies saying "tell jade i said i'm so happy for him and his ugly fking bf i'm serious /ref <3333" he also tells riddle who Actually says something positive. jade tells floyd and azul, who reply "can you divorce him yet" and "congrats! is he willing to work for me now" respectively (they really all are happy for them btw)

♡ - they do go on dates mostly outside on walks or hikes when they have time to spare. trey talks about the history of the area and jade identifies different organisms and infodumps about them as trey listens intently. if they see the same thing again, jade will say its name and trey will recall something jade said about it before, which makes jade happy.

☆ - neither is big on pda (unless they get jealous, which is infrequent), but they will hold hands when they're alone. they both tend to go more with acts of service and just quality time with one another, so generally they will do things like cook for the other or engage in activities that the other likes.

♡ - they do visit the coral sea, but it's more of an annual trip. usually, if jade wants to see azul or floyd, it's on land because azul's franchise is on land.

☆ - unfortunately i could continue for forever but i will not yw <333

[lnkedmyheart]

I always felt pretty alone with the opinion that I don't want sig.ma in the ADA because idk what he would even do there? Like his information exchange ability would probably be more useful for every other organization since the ADA can just Ranpo ex machina themselves out of most situations. Sigma should find a home but the ADA simply doesn't feel like the place to me...

Man is a terrorist. People seem to forget that this guy was actively a part of a terrorist organisation that was a huge threat to not just Japan but the world not 10 minutes ago. He may be the most useless and least compelling member amongst the DoA but he still was a member. His organisation was going around blowing people and innocents up, shit he was fully aware of. Lucy has actively risked her life for the ADA, Sigma has only tried to help Dazai for his own sake and failed spectacularly because he started monologuing at the enemy. Btw we know that Sigma's ability would work on a dead Fyodor from his prior conversation with Dazai where he wanted to go get info from Fyodor's corpse, so his whole spiel was pointless.

As for what Sigma offers to the ADA that's unique or new? Not much. That is not even taking into the account the ADA's unstable situation and the fact that even if their name gets cleared the public opinion on them would be in the trenches and we still haven't explored Kunikida and the Tanizakis. And yes, I know, people dont really care about "boring ass Kunikida who is just a stuck up prick and doesnt have a sad backstory like the others uwu" or "ew the icky incest siblings" as the fandom puts it but I feel like shoving Sigma into the ADA is honestly detrimental to the development of those established characters who are long overdue a proper arc.

Edit: there is ONE unique perspective sigma offers. Not being a child of war.

[majorbaby]

u know, u dont have to answer this but u keep mentioning a sidney post you made that you're not satisfied with bc u wrote it much earlier in ur mash analysis, and i have to wonder what you'd say about him now, as a character, as a narrative device, etc?

Sidney is so much a tool for storytelling that I would liken him to punctuation. He exists to draw out the inner thoughts, fears and desires of our more three-dimensional characters, most notably Hawkeye but also Margaret, Klinger, Charles and the patients he treats on the show. Their psychoses are so often based in their fears, their denial, their disbelief, their unwillingness to take personal responsibility for their circumstances – which is not usually how real mental illnesses work, but still makes for good television. 

I’ve also used to term “Sidney ex machina” to describe his function:

Deus ex machina; plural: dei ex machina; English "god from the machine" is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.

The 4077th will hit a wall with a patient (sometimes the patient is Hawkeye) that they cannot overcome, because they’re experiencing an illness of the mind and they don’t specialize in that type of illness - although you could make an argument for Hawkeye “therapizing” his friends (Margaret in Images, Radar in Hepatitis, BJ in Period of Adjustment) but he’s still not trained. When this happens, someone will go “get Sidney on the line” and every time without fail, Sidney successfully fixes the problem. This wouldn’t land so well if he was a recurring character on the show. 

Hawkeye is so in touch with the inner workings of his own mind and heart I wouldn’t necessarily put it past him to be able to monologue his way through his problems, coming to the solutions on his own (maybe with the exception of GFA or Bless you Hawkeye) but you still get the sense that he already knows the answer, he just needs someone to help draw it out of him. That’s Sidney’s role. He’s really just there for Hawkeye’s voice to have something to bounce off of so it becomes audible to himself and us, the audience. 

There’s one brief exception to Sidney being used this way and lol, it’s no surprise to me its in the Written-by-Alan-Alda Dear Sigmund. Alda’s episodes do tend to deal more with character drama, and I imagine he couldn’t resist taking a stab at Sidney. We learn that Sidney’s struggling with the loss of a patient – but only after Hawkeye and BJ read his private letters, really his journal, which is rude as fuck btw, but to me unintentionally emphasizes how much of a barrier there is between the audience and Sidney’s thoughts/feelings/fears/desires. But I can’t think of any other occasion where we get to see what’s beneath his calm, cool, professional exterior. 

There’s other times I was curious about that.. In War of Nerves he’s supposed to be at the 4077th as a patient, but he leaves the mess tent because he has a head injury that no one is considerate of, and he ends up treating people when he’s the one who’s supposed to be recovering. 

If you choose to see Hawkeye as getting progressively worse as the war wears on him (and idk if I do personally because the show is so episodic but that’s another post) then I have to wonder what it feels like for Sidney to have to keep treating him, especially in Goodbye Farewell Amen, where we finally see a crack in Sidney’s normally neutral expression, his consummate professionalism, as Hawkeye comes clean about what really happened on the bus. Like… they’re friends, it’s already ethically questionable to have Sidney treat him, and then we see exactly why that shouldn’t happen when Hawkeye is understandably upset that Sidney has decided to send him back to the 4077th. There is a moment of forgiveness and gratitude that passes between them in Sidney’s final scene in the series when Hawkeye thanks him, not insignificantly while he (Hawkeye) is performing surgery (to me it feels like a nice callback to OR), which he’d previously wondered aloud to Sidney whether or not he’d ever be able to return to. 

And here I am again saying that “flat” characters, of which Sidney is MASH’s best example, aren’t poorly written when they’re fulfilling their intended purpose, which Sidney does very well almost every time we see him. He’s so good at his job that it even feels weird for me to talk about his thoughts and feelings in fic, I want to get him in there, have him draw out the interiority of whichever character he’s in conversation with and then be like “glad we had this chat, peace” and actually that is how I see him being used pretty regularly in fic. 

Btw this is the Sidney post that gets on my nerves, not because I disagree now with what I said… actually that post is just this post stated too simply for my liking and it got way more traction than I ever imagined it would, so obviously it appeals to something that people feel, but I didn’t state what it was. It’s so vague it reads like a fandom in-joke. So thank you for giving me the push to show my work. 

[atechnobladeapologist]

Some headcanons for Brook n Usopp.

Well my lovely best friend threatened me severely and told me to write some stuff here, so im doing it now.

I try to imagine my headcanons the most Brazilian i can (I know its not just brazilians who do those stuff but i mean the vibee ya know?)

First of all, I could down on my knees to swear that Usopp do some Graffiti stuff, I have a 100% sure, I was his spray. He have an whole backpack with those ink spray and a grafibook just to do his croquis, then he paint every empty wall he can catch with his eyes, he do the most colorful bomb like it was an primordial thing, like it was one of his reasons to live. This boy cannot allow that even a single empty wall exist in this world. Btw he always show his sketchs to Brook and he goes like :O

Brook listen to boombap at every second in his day, at least when he’s not singing or playing violin. This guy is completly obssesed, I have pretty sure he keep repeating that portuguese monologue that says: “Soon you will meet other social groups of a very different natura. They are not after money, but are driven by the simple desire to break with the most elementary norms of coexistence in society.” And Usopp completes the rest!! He goes on Brook’s wave for sureeee, and it was him who showed the art of boombap for Usopp.

They do the freestyle stuff in the middle of the ship. They start it in a completly unexpected moment and sometimes Luffy enters on the free wheel too! I imagine they trying to do some rymes and failing sadly because they cannot stop laughing of the rymes of one another or of Luffy being the silly guy he is.

Usopp use dreads with certain frequency, for sure, he doesnt always have time to take care of his BEAUTIFUL hair, so he likes to do the dreads. Im pretty sure He likes to put the most varied beads and ornaments along in hair when its possible and he’s almost always with an terere on his braids. He convinced Brook to try the braids and the dreads once but he likes the afro more!

Both have a hair calendar and spends PILES of money in hair products.

That’s it my bruh :O both are black too ofc.

[comphetkoncass]

1am fic idea because of course it’s 1am when i’m daydreaming

this is just how i think they should kill off kon next (bc lbr they WILL do it again)

1. kon wakes up knowing his powers are going to run out soon (plot thread just DANGLING out there). feels so out of place; he shouldn’t even exist in this dimension anymore yet here he is, soon to be powerless. worse than useless. i have a daydream about him drinking a milkshake with an internal monologue about how superboy is about to die and he’s enjoying his last meal or whatever.

2. zod-2.0 enters the scene or something, threatens the planet. kon’s life cycle comes full circle; he was created to replace superman after zod killed him. this is his way to make sure there’s not another world without superman. he will take the fall instead of clark, he decides.

3. kon knows he’s going to die either way. his powers are starting to fail and he can’t expect another super to fight zod; all he really needs to do is lure zod away from civilians and the super family. so kon gets him in a perfect kill zone for the JL to basically nuke them from afar. they both die, the world is saved. ta-da.

4. bart, tim, cassie, and clark all try to save kon. they realize what he’s doing, that his powers are failing and his TTK won’t protect him no matter what he tells the JL, and they try to talk him out of it. …bart comes the closest. he gets to the zero point, where kon is truly about to die. and uses his speed transfer to have a final conversation. to try and get kon out of this. it doesn’t work. there’s a forehead kiss and a line about, “our lives have always been a parallel line, bart. when i die this time? don’t follow me.” other conversations revolve around how he shouldn’t even exist in this dimension and how he’s grateful to be useful one last time. to thank everyone for giving him one last great adventure. for trying so hard to remember him, to include him.

5. kon is struck by the JL’s weapon: a power with the force of a star, same time as zod. he absorbs a lot of it and the last of his TTK fills up his shape with its power. zod dies. kon is thought to be dead. supernova is born. he’s not technically tangible. no one knows he’s out there until jon from the future mentions kon in passing as if he’s supposed to still be alive.

6. it takes kon like 6 months to become corporeal and wake up or whatever so he can be there for the next crisis blah blah blah. when he wakes up everyone’s sooo pissed at him bc tbh bc bart could have probably sped him away from the blast but kon wasn’t willing to take that risk (barts the leader of YJ for now but has been living with that guilt since kon ‘died’)

7. supernova is pure solar energy and ttk btw. power discovery arc or whatever. he no longer has traditional kryptonian powers and won’t get them again, but basically has the equivalent aside from freeze breath. (and instead of heat vision he has like. zappy hands.)

[bourbon-ontherocks]

hi 👀 306 was last week but I still wanted to address a couple of things… mainly roxane’s last scene, ouch, she deserved a better exit than parroting the writers’ memo on [gros canard]’s failings 😩 c’est faible. feels like they should’ve axed the scene (it was clear enough they’d break up, anyway) and simply confirmed she left with the voicemail about her sister dropping off the keys. (btw--did we know she had a sister before you mentioned that detail in fic, or was it another of your predictions??)

big fan of the attic scene though, and daphné & [gros canard]’s synchronized "gilles 🙄😵" lol. plot-wise, however, I’d like to know who would put multiple acid tablets in a bottle they’re not drinking, because 1) big waste of money for a student population, 2) it’s probably not the most efficient way to take lsd (les résidus au fond de la bouteille !!!), 3) que fait le bde ? shouldn’t they at least pretend to care about safety when there’s a party in the dorms?

and I’ll admit it was kinda fun to see [gros canard] using his ~"just broke up" privileges to dunk on morgane’s relationship history. the guy woke up and chose violence 😭😂😭 ça va qu’elle le prend bien…

bref. that’s all for me on this one!! brb ✌️

Oh hi anon, it's so good to see you back!! 😘

I tend to disagree with you re Roxane's break-up scene, because let's remember that we are obsessed. We can list all of Adam's misdemeanors in the blink of an eye. The casual viewer can't. So this last fact in itself justifies Roxane's monologue reminding us what a terrible boyfriend he's been. And also, even though it all wasn't fresh news for me, I must say I appreciated hearing them all together and I appreciated even more Adam having all of this said to his face. And Roxane's conclusion "Et tu penses que ça fait de toi un type bien" poooooooow elle tire à balles réelles et ça fait du bien !!!! So yea basically I loved that scene because he deserved it. Period. 😂

And yes, Roxane mentioned her sister in 206!!! ("et pour l'anniversaire de ma soeur, tu as pu te libérer ?" while Adam is cursing Morgane for not capping the ketchup bottle) Now did I mention her sister in PQENCEL, well I'm afraid that's another occurrence of Local HPI anon knows my own fic better than I do lol!

(oh wait no, I mentioned her in the 303 fic, didn't I?)

The attic scene was funny-ish, granted, but it's entirely thanks to Gilles' inability to correctly answer multiple-choice questions! Ok full disclaimer, I'm kinda meh about this episode, I don't understand why so many people, cast members included, claim that it's the season's best, but also I must say that for me, the episode is completely doomed because of some infuriating stuff that happens in the finale 😭

Agreed that there's some very generous dealers on this campus, last time I checked open bars didn't include full bottles of LSD, but hey what do I know, my student years are far behind (also BDEs have never been worried about safety, come on 😅)(but this makes me think of the Palmashow's HPI spinoff "BDE" lol I bet it would have made this ep more interesting)

(speaking of the Palmashow parody, Morgane finding the victim's daughter behind the screen that *happened to be here* reminded me so much of fake Morgane finding the killer behind the curtain lol)

"the guy woke up and chose violence 😭😂😭 ça va qu’elle le prend bien…" -> true, perhaps it was a bit harsh to tell her that, but honestly the return of the flirty bickering felt so refreshing!!!! 😍 And I'd dare to think that maybe that's also the reason she takes it well while she has all the reasons to be hurt by him reminding her that she always gets dumped, because he's FINALLY risking a joke at her after all those weeks of silent treatment and closed face and angry looks, my boy is making amends and holding a timid Olive branch and she couldn't be more relieved....

... which makes the three months window proposal absolutely frustrating!!! I *hated* this part (I mean, before I watched the finale and understood what hating an episode's ending really meant lol *crying laughter*), because even though Adam needs some time to heal (understandable), and is a total control freak who shows up early on dates and probably needs to know his schedule six months in advance, this is like peak non-romance. Where's the passion? The spontaneity? I'd have accepted this scene if we'd seen him showing up at Morgane's door barely a week later and telling her that he, in fact, cannot wait, but this... UGH!

My theory is that he wanted to wait long enough to be sure about his feelings for Morgane (which would explain why he's so enthusiastic to date her in the next ep, unless he's that dtf haha), make sure it wasn't a phase or a fantasy due to being stuck in a relationship, and that's probably the only theory I can accept because it's vaguely romantic at least, and also I need to believe that his feelings are real, which is something that tends to be hinted at in 307-308 imo, so there's that consistency at least...

Speaking of consistency!!! I know I'm just hurting myself at this point but I wanted to make a quick check on the timeline... Surprisingly the show actually manages to speak the truth, Timothée did spend 4 months with the team (he arrived in the summer, two months later around September/October - remember that the months were mixed up in 303-304 - he starts dating Morgane for two months, and here we are!). So WHY would they instantly ruin that effort with the most random line this show's ever delivered:

"Et bah moi, je me suis séparée de Ludo il y a neuf mois..."

GIRRRRRRRRL, you spent two months on a couch after your breakup. Then, admitting that 205 to 208 happened in like a week which is in itself a ridiculous assumption, you left the PJ for six months. And here we are, four months later, as dutifully reminded by Timothée. And I didn't even extrapolate here, I just took point blank the elements that the show gave me.

2 + 6 + 4 = TWELVE FUCKING MONTHS BARE MINIMUM. Was it that hard to follow up? Jesus Christ.

And since I'm on the inconsistency chapter, the way TIBER is written on Morgane and Adam's wrists suggests that it's Morgane who was holding the pen because of the letters' orientation, but in this case she wrote on her left wrist. While she's left-handed. Too bad, huh?

Other honorable mentions include:

Adam playing a Columbo bit on the university's dean re the silver scalpel

"C'est doux en fait. On dirait du mouton" -> this one goes straight in the top ten show's best lines 🤣🤣🤣

The LSD trip scene being WAY too sexual, this is pornography 😆

I know it's fleeting and not properly framed, but did you see the only interesting part of that re-doing the house montage in the end? THIS:

No I will not accept any other theory, this is the handprint. I will justify it further with this shot from 304:

While the handprint is not visible, probably due to the light and filming angle, it's the same spot as above, which ties in with where Morgane landed in the dance scene, and also it's interesting to note that she put a little candle in front of it 🕯️🥹