#he was the main reason why I finally watched this classic

[fortunaegloria]

Harrison Ford as Colonel Lucas in Apocalypse Now (1979) dir. Francis Ford Coppola

[neonacidtrip]

[text ID: Black image with purple text showing the tags from Tumblr user lyriumrain. The tags read as follows: #i’ve been thinking a lot about how you really can just tell whatever story you want #there are components that your story *can* include if you want to #but you don’t have to #there’s a billion trillion stories out there #might as well tell the one you want to tell how you want to tell it. End ID]

Every 21st century piece of writing advice: Make us CARE about the character from page 1! Make us empathize with them! Make them interesting and different but still relatable and likable!

Every piece of classic literature: Hi. It's me. The bland everyman whose only purpose is to tell you this story. I have no actual personality. Here's the story of the time I encountered the worst people I ever met in my life. But first, ten pages of description about the place in which I met them.

[mire1li]

Reader as Alastor's Mother

My very silly gf (@yurislotusgarden) gave me hc ideas so i wrote them (with her help) This is fem!Reader! Part 2!, Part 3!

𓋼 You heard about the Hazbin Hotel and decided that you wanted a chance at redemption, which is how you ended up there. Alastor was out when you arrived so Charlie met you first.

“Oh my goodness, hi! It’s a pleasure to meet you! I’m Charlie! Would you like a tour of the hotel?! Please, come inside!” She essentially dragged you in and then finally calmed down.

She would drag you around the whole hotel, explaining things too fast for you to register. And then Alastor suddenly entered the hotel, looking proud and smug as ever. 𓋼 “Alastor?”

“Mother, Is that you? It’s been far too long!”

"Indeed, it has! Say, do you know your way around here?"

"I do! Why do you ask?"

"Well… this Charlie girl gave me a tour earlier but… she was simply too frantic with explaning everything so… I couldn't really catch on to what she said"

"Ah yes, classic Charlie."

And so, he showed you around properly, in a much calmer and more understandable fashion. You two ran into Charlie once or twice, but just told her you were 'walking around and meeting the residents and staff' as to not upset her.

You took turns telling stories during your tour, his being much more interesting than you'd expected! 𓋼 Charlie and Vaggie essentially had the exact same reaction to finding out you’re Alastor’s mother. Since one was out when the other found out, it made it much funnier.

“Hey Alastor, who is this?”

“Why, it’s my mother!” He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and brought you closer, in a side-hug, wearing the most sly grin any of them had ever seen.

“Oh, alright- hold on what?!” 𓋼 I could see Angel and Husk talking about you at the bar, nothing bad, of course.

“So who’s she?” Angel sat down on one of the seats

“Heard she’s Alastor’s mother” Husk turned to Angel and offered him a shot.

“His mother? Why’s she here?”

“Gee, I wonder why someone would come to the hotel all about redemption” 𓋼 “So, you’re down here then, Alastor. No surprise there.”

“Oh please, you flatter me, Mother.” 𓋼 From the day you two were reunited, he always came to you to tell you about any recent achievements of his.

Everyone was absolutely terrified when they found out about you being his mother for 2 main reasons:

1 If Alastor is as scary as he is, then imagine how much scarier his mother would be! But in truth, you’re an absolute sweetheart, which shocked everyone, causing them to be more cautious around you, in case it was all a lie. (It wasn’t)

2 Alastor is incredibly protective of you, even though he hasn’t explicitly said anything, everyone saw how he watched them when they spoke with you. Especially Angel. 𓋼 One time, it just so happened that Alastor was 'out on business' as he called it. During that time, Charlie's father, Lucifer Morningstar, came by to check on his daughter and the hotel.

He saw you, and his first words were "Hey there, are ya single by chance?~"

Charlie saw him flirting with you so she ran up to him and introduced you as Alastor's mother, in an attempt to scare him off from you since Lucifer and Alastor don't exactly get along… although, instead of deterring him, it just motivated him to continue.

"Dad! This is [Name]! Alastor's mother!"

"Oooh! His mother you say?~"

"Dad!"

You and him were just talking, Charlie trying to pull him away from you, when Alastor returned to the hotel. Oh, he was not happy.

"Lucifer, you sly motherfucker."

"I for sure will be one tonight!"

Let's just say… Lucifer didn't return to the hotel when Alastor was around, for a good while… 𓋼 Whenever you were bored, you would bake things for the other hazbin residents and staff. Everyone adored whatever you made! When you told everyone you would always bake when you were alive, no one was surprised.

Speaking of when you were alive and baking, one day young Alastor had walked in on you baking and got curious.

"Mother! What are you doing?"

"I'm baking, darling"

"Can I help you??"

"Alright, but be careful"

You allowed him to mix the batter and check the oven. 𓋼 He would always come help you whenever he knew you were baking, even as he grew older. And after death, he always recalled those memories, missing those times, so when he saw you in the kitchen of the hotel, he wondered what you were doing.

"Mother! What are you doing?" he asked, looking over your shoulder at the ingredients.

"I'm going to bake something for everyone, darling!"

"Oh? Can I… help you?"

He was a bit shy. Just a little bit.

At some point during your baking time, Angel entered the kitchen for something, only to see Alastor mixing some batter whilst you were preparing other ingredients.

"What the fuck Alastor? What the fuck's wrong with ya?"

"Nothing is wrong with me, I'm simply baking with my mother."

"What the fuck…"

And then Husk entered.

"What is happening?"

"Get this, Alastor is baking"

Husk laughed and took the opportunity to tease Alastor, because why wouldn't he?

"You've gone soft, Alastor!"

"Haha! Shut up."

"Alastor! Be nice to your friends!" you exclaimed and lightly whacked him over the head with a wooden spoon.

Angel and Husk snickered and ran out of the kitchen after that, clearly on their way to cause mischief. 𓋼 Everyone was gathered in the lobby doing their own thing, when Angel and Husk ran into the room, laughing about something.

"You guys won't believe it! Alastor got hit over the head with a wooden spoon! By his mother!" he exclaimed, attracting everyone's attention.

It only took you and Alastor another hour to finish what you were baking, so when you both entered the lobby with the cookies you baked, everyone turned their attention to you, and the gossiping and questions began.

"Oh, look! It seems the almighty radio demon wasn't completely defeated by that wooden spoon, after all!" Angel laughed

𓋼 After that whole fiasco, Angel started calling Alastor the "Spoon Demon", which Alastor didn't appreciate but he understood it was all in good fun so eventually he, though begrudgingly, embraced it. 𓋼 One day, you decided that you were bored, so you took a bunch of hair accessories with you to Alastor and started decorating his hair with pins, most of them being sparkly, and he didn't have the heart to say no… at some point he tried to take them off but he noticed that it made you sad, so for the entire day, he walked around the hotel with them in his hair, prompting Angel to call him "Sparkles" that day. And maybe a few more 'days' after that too…

𓋼 On certain days, Alastor would be incredibly clingy, always hugging you and never leaving your side. He never told you why but whenever it was one of these days, no one seemed to bother him. You assumed he was in a bad mood.

𓋼 Alastor asked you how you died during one of his 'clingy days', and when you told him that you died of old age, he seemed much happier that week. He even helped Charlie renovate some of the hotel for free!

𓋼 Naturally, Vaggie was suspicious of him when she noticed he was this happy

"What's got you in such a bubbly mood?"

"Oh, nothing~"

"uh huh…"

"What? Can I not have a good day?" 𓋼 Charlie announced that as a 'team building' activity they'd be having a sleepover, which Alastor opted to skip out on, however, you convinced him to go. The next day, the tips of his claws, where his nails would be, were painted all sorts of colours. You were also shown pictures of Alastor in full makeup… this was certainly the work of Charlie and Angel.

"Never again."

"Oh come on, you need to spend time with them!"

"Absolutely not, Mother."

[elliesflower]

victory lap [ellie williams]

pairing; f!reader x ellie

cw; rich!ellie, plus-sized female!reader, degradation (kinda), mean!ellie, vouyerism, semi-public masturbation(kinda?), ellie and reader are both perverted ngl

an; syd's comeback??? and it's smut?????? i've had this in my drafts since like may and finally got around to editing it so here you go. and i swear i'm working on chapter 8. and also please don't ask why i didn't pick a sexier sport. like basketball or something. i don't know either. ok bye.

for my sweet babies @coeurify @bambiesfics @addisonnie @seattlesellie

It was yet another blazing hot day at the country club, the sun’s sweltering rays kissing the backs of your legs as you bent down to retrieve a fallen golf ball from the bright green turf, careful not to bend straight over so that your panties would be on full display for anyone who dared to walk behind you. You readjusted the visor on your head upon standing, before you wiped a speck of excess dirt off the white plastic with a perfectly manicured finger before passing it off to Tommy Miller. 

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said, making sure to grab an unnecessary amount of your hand in his own as he took the ball. He winked at you before readjusting his own visor, and setting up the ball on the tee. After the first time you caddied for Tommy, he started requesting you by name. Of course, you knew it probably had a little something to do with the way you caught him staring at your full breasts that sat perfectly in your pink racerback, neckline so low everyone could watch the way small beads of sweat would dribble down your skin and disappear between your chest. 

The truth is, you didn’t mind that Tommy was a little flirty with you, or even handsy sometimes, for that matter—for two reasons. The main one being, Tommy had money. Like, different car for each day of the week money. And his brother, Joel, somehow had even more, you’d reckoned from the times you’ve gotten to chat with him. They were always talking about what new business venture they’d invested in this week, or what extravagant trips they were taking next week. To the average person, it might sound snobby and pretentious—because well, it was—but around the club, it was normal. But you didn’t mind, because the more money your club members made, the more money they could put in your pocket. And you had bills to pay. 

The second reason being, of course, you knew it wouldn’t get them anywhere. Not when you weren’t really into Tommy’s…type, if you will. 

“Of course, Tommy,” you smiled warmly at him, before stepping back to stand in the shade of the golf cart as you watched him line up his shot. Just as he was all set up, swinging his arms behind him to take the shot, his phone began ringing loudly from his back pocket.  

“Goddamn, piece ‘uh shit!” He exclaimed as the ringer clearly messed up his concentration. You had to hide your smile as he shot you an apologetic look before tucking the club under his arm and pulling out his phone to answer. The club was a little high and tight, with people talking like they’d just stepped off the set of an eighties classic film, but Tommy was a little…different. Coming from Texas, the money he’s made never quite washed away his potty mouth, nor his laid-back attitude.

“What is it Joel? Oh, you’re here?” Tommy glanced at you before dropping his gaze to the ground, rolling the golf ball around with his foot mindlessly. “Yeah, yeah. Okay. No, I’ll have her come pick you two up. Yep. Alright, see ya in a bit.” 

You straightened up against the cart as he approached you, ready to do whatever it was he’d ask. 

“Joel’s here?” You asked, sliding into the cart preemptively. 

“Yeah, that sonuva bitch decided to stop by after all. Him and Ellie are waitin’ at the clubhouse, would you mind swingin’ to pick them up?” 

“Ellie?” You cocked your head slightly, but slid through to the driver’s seat nonetheless. 

“Ah, forgot you haven’t met ‘er yet,” Tommy said, and you didn’t miss the way his eyes trailed down to where your thick thighs spilled out onto the seat, your panties just barely covered by the white pleated golf skirt that rode up when you sat. You immediately averted your gaze, turning the key to the cart and feeling it rumble to life. “Ellie’s Joel’s daughter. I think she’s about your age…she’s great n’ all, honors student in college, yadda yadda…y’all might actually hit it off.”

“We’ll see about that,” you said playfully. If only he knew what he was actually implying to your sapphic brain. He just smirked at you, tapping the hood of the cart twice before walking back to the tee. “See ya in a bit,” he called over his shoulder as you drove away. You weren’t too far from the clubhouse, as Tommy had barely gotten started on his round, so it was a quick little drive over. The warm breeze tickled the baby hairs peeking from beneath your visor, and helped to cool the bare skin of your arms. 

Joel was waiting for you in the cart-turnaround at the back of the clubhouse when you arrived, and gave you a little wave as you turned around the corner. You waved back, putting on your best smile and doe eyes as you pulled up in front of him standing alone with two golf club bags at his sides. He smiled politely when you came to a stop, jumping out quickly to retrieve his bags when he started trying to put them on the cart himself. 

“Joel, you know you don’t have to worry about all that. Not when I’m around, at least.” You smirked at him as you picked up the two bags of heavy clubs with ease, loading them onto the back of the cart.

“C’mon now, I can’t even attempt to be a gentleman?” He joked, tipping his visor at you playfully. You giggled, exaggeratedly. 

“Oh, but of course, Mr. Miller. My apologies.” You pretended to curtsey for him, just barely lifting the hem of your short skirt as to not completely expose yourself—but surely you didn’t miss the completely conspicuous way his eyes traveled down the expanse of your curves, from the way your breasts practically spilled from your tank top, to the small patch of exposed skin at your midriff, all the way down to the way your white skirt flowed as you crossed your legs. I mean, who wouldn’t look, honestly? He huffed out a laugh and you took that as your cue to slide back into the driver’s seat, and Joel leaned a strong arm against the roof of the cart. 

“Tommy mentioned your daughter? Is she—” 

“Ready, Dad?” You could only assume Ellie, his daughter, suddenly appeared behind Joel, effectively shutting you up and quite literally taking your breath away. You at least had the decency to choke quietly, using Joel’s surprise as an excuse to turn your head away, bringing your fist to your mouth for a moment as you cleared your throat and tried to regain your composure. You felt the cart dip to your right, so you turned back, expecting to see Joel sliding in next to you—but no, it just had to be his daughter. His beautiful, angelically-built daughter with a perfect smile and perfect jade eyes and somehow even more perfect hands, which she was using to grip the stability bar at the front of the cart as she slid in next to you. 

You felt stunned, could do nothing but pathetically stare at her with your mouth slightly agape as you heard Joel’s phone ringing distantly, somewhere in the back of your mind, even though you knew he was sat right behind you. A half smile made the corner of Ellie’s lip twitch ever so slightly, but she looked away quickly, leaving you practically lusting at the sight of her side profile. 

“You gonna take us to Tommy? Or just sit there and stare like you ain’t got nothin’ in your brain?” Her voice was like pure sex; rich and modulated, no real Southern accent like her father, but his vernacular had definitely rubbed off. It was really hard to not show that her words were heading straight to your lower half, your thighs pressing together just inconspicuously enough that you’d probably be able to play it off if she really noticed. You had to at least look embarrassed, averting your gaze so that you could turn the small engine over. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Ellie. Tommy speaks very highly of you.” You chose to ignore her little comment, focusing instead on trying to treat Ellie just like every member you’d had the pleasure of serving. 

And oh boy, would it be a pleasure to serve Ellie. 

“M’sure he does,” Ellie all but laughed, leaning back so that her legs spread apart across the seat, her left knee getting dangerously close to your legs. You swallowed thickly, trying to watch the movement of her tattooed arm from your peripheral as she slung it over the back of the seat. You could tell it was a natural response, that she probably man-spreaded like this everywhere—but some sick and perverted part of your mind wanted to believe that she was doing it for you, that she wanted you to see her act so…

“Eyes on the fucking road, sweetheart,” she said, and it was quiet. But the weight of it made you nearly squeak—how long had you been looking over at her?—narrowly avoiding a decently-sized rock that would have gotten easily stuck in the small tires of the golf cart. “This your first day on the job or somethin’?” 

And Ellie was so fucking casual with it. Like she hadn’t even meant to degrade you. You stammered a bit, and you swear you could feel her eyes burning a hole into the side of your face. Tommy appeared suddenly as you reached the small summit of the course hill, and all you could do was huff quietly as you approached, again choosing to ignore the way she taunted you like it was second nature. Luckily, she either didn’t hear or chose to ignore you, but she didn’t say another word as you pulled up near Tommy, just as he was taking a long swing with his driver.

“You see that shit, Joel?” He asked as he squinted out at the ball flying through the air with impressive speed. “Might actually beat ya this time, whatcha think?” 

“Yeah, yeah, you just got a head start, that’s all.” You could hear the smile in Joel’s voice as you quickly jumped out of the cart and ran to grab his clubs for him, and Ellie’s, too. He was finishing up his phone call as he took the bag from you, giving you a small nod before you turned to face Ellie. Now that you were standing practically face to face, you had to stop yourself from looking her up and down. Or you at least had to find a way to be discreet about it…and that was one thing you were, was quick on your feet. 

“These are some nice clubs,” you praised, using it as an excuse to look down at her, playing it off like you were examining them. Her feet were clad in an expensive pair of golfing shoes, her toned calves running into thighs covered in a simple, black, five inch inseam short. You gulped inconspicuously, as your eyes quickly moved past her crotch. Surely, you were hallucinating that…bulge. 

“Aw, so you can be helpful when you wanna be,” Ellie snickered, taking the bag away from you with such quickness that your arm was left hovering in the air. You shook your head slightly as if to shake the thoughts away, and dared to look her in the eyes once more. 

“I sure do try my best,” you said, and it wasn’t meant to be bratty, it really wasn’t—but Ellie’s smirk quickly soured, and she huffed and slung the bag over her shoulder. 

“Get me some water, will you?” She jutted her chin toward the cooler attached to the back of the cart, and you could only nod, instantly following her blunt command like you were a puppet on her string. What was she doing to you?

Ellie wasn’t always an asshole, you see. No, no, society made her this way. Have you ever noticed how rich kids aren’t friends with the poor ones, or vice versa? It’s because they can never find any middle ground, no similarities, no common interests. The kids going to public school were happy with a day trip to the city as a vacation; meanwhile, Ellie was missing weeks of her prissy private school education to fly halfway around the world on a business trip with her dad. 

And now, she was a rich girl going to a pretentious university. But she didn’t like the fact that people saw her this way: an asshole with her nose always pointing up; getting clocked as a rich girl as soon as anyone with eyes looked at the way she was dressed; never knowing if someone liked her for her, instead of just for her money. People were going to look at her and see ‘rich, pretentious asshole’ painted on her forehead no matter what—so why not embrace it? Why not put on this stupid little act that everyone else in her social class seemed to? 

And that’s where the soul-sucking began, Ellie realized. That’s how the bratty, entitled kids from her high school ended up just like their evil, entitled parents. She didn’t want to be this way. It just…happened. 

Nevertheless, Ellie pulled the Nike-swooshed visor off of her head for a moment to run her fingers through her reddish-brown tresses, trying to shake away the heat of the sun. You couldn’t help but to let your eyes linger on the way her tattooed arm flexed as she did so, nearly tripping over your own feet as you brought her a completely unnecessary plastic bottle full of water. 

“You know, they make reusable water bottles, nowadays,” you blurted out, your sarcasm taking over momentarily, the heat nearly making you forget where you were. You were at work. Of course rich people don’t care about using plastic water bottles. Ellie raised a curious brow, perfectly groomed with a small scar parting the arch. She didn’t even have to say anything—she just stood there, giving you that…look, and your eyes widened in surprise. She snatched the water bottle from your hand with such force that you flinched, the plastic crinkling almost louder than the sound of Tommy and Joel’s banter.

“I’m sorry, Miss,” you found yourself saying, eyes immediately falling to the ground. As she took a swig of water, Ellie couldn’t help but to notice this, and file it away in her brain for another time—the way she didn’t even have to say anything to you, and you were already so…

submissive. 

“Don’t call me Miss,” she said simply as she screwed the cap back on. You nodded, folding your hands together in front of you before looking back up to catch her gaze. 

“Yes, Ellie,” and her name came out like a drawl naturally…swear. The syllables rolled off your tongue and straight to your lower half, took you to a place so heavenly—your panties were growing wetter by the second, the press of your plush thighs getting tighter as you watched her expression. Her eyes darkened momentarily (or did she just squint at the sun?), and her posture shifted (maybe she got a cramp?). It was like she was trying to read your mind, and you were pretty sure she practically could as you watched her pretty pink tongue dart out to catch the wetness that remained on her lips—you found yourself salivating at the sight, having to quite literally force your jaw to stay closed. 

She was an asshole, sure—but that doesn’t mean you still don’t want to fuck her. 

“My clubs?” Ellie broke you out of your little fantasy by invading your presence, so close you were suddenly overwhelmed. She had set her clubs down in front of her when she took a drink of water, and it was now suddenly your job to hand them to her. “Do we need to clean out your ears or somethin’? Jesus.” She was shaking her head, feigning disappointment, and you stammered. No, no, you’ve never had an unsatisfied member and you weren’t going to start now. Especially not with Ellie. You felt the urge to please her, go above and beyond and make sure she never had to lift a finger—but she was scoffing and reaching to grab her clubs before you could get out another word. 

“No, no, no Mi-” You caught yourself before you made yet another embarrassing mistake. For the second time. “Ellie. My apologies, I’ll follow you.” It was a bit proper, maybe a bit much…but you had to make it up to her, you had to. Whatever it takes. 

“I want my driver first. You do know which one that is, right?” And she was nasty, voice laced with venom as she called over her shoulder. When did she start walking away? And should your pussy be throbbing over that? You didn’t even respond as you lugged her bag over your shoulder, trailing behind her to catch up to Tommy and Joel. They were still bantering away when you approached, cursing and laughing and hitting each other, like brothers do. 

“Look who finally made it,” Ellie’s eyes rolled when you caught up, so quickly you almost missed it. You were like, fifteen steps behind her, there’s no way that was called for. You stayed silent as you unloaded the clubs off your shoulder, doing your best not to show any hint of negative emotion on your face, propping the bag up before pulling Ellie’s driver out. It was long, and heavy, like all the other expensive ones you’ve seen. All of her clubs looked shiny, you noted, like she had either never used them, or just got them polished. Either of which could be possible, as you’d yet to see her play. She grabbed it from you hastily, and you felt that familiar throb beneath your skirt. Get a fucking grip.

“Gotcha’ all set up here, kiddo,” Joel said enthusiastically, and Ellie didn’t even fake a smile. So, you just watched her take the shot. Boy, did you watch her take the shot. 

Watched the way she got so serious—okay, somehow more serious than before—the way she shuffled her feet behind the tee as she lined up her shot, the way her arms flexed and veins popped as she straightened out her arms, prepping to take the swing. The way she took a split second to glance back while she rotated her body to shoot you the most sickeningly devious wink before sending the ball flying across the course.

Tommy whistled and Joel offered a few strong claps. 

You couldn’t be quite sure that you wouldn’t melt into a puddle right here in the middle of the course. What is it about Ellie, your favorite member’s niece, that was getting you so worked up? For fucks sake, golf isn’t even a sexy sport! It couldn’t have at least been basketball, or something a bit more…normal that did it for you?

Instead, you got Ellie, in all her glory. Strong calves turned away from you as she watched her ball cut through the air, higher and faster and better than you’d ever seen Tommy or Joel hit. Not that they’d ever admit that. 

Your thoughts were getting dirtier by the minute as you watched Ellie play. You felt like a baby deer following her around the course, knees wobbling every time she barked another command at you. 

“Um, my water, please?”

“I said five iron, not six.”

“My ball is dirty. What ‘er you even good for?

You were slipping by the minute, letting your eyes linger over her frame a little longer each time you glanced her way. No way she wasn’t catching on. 

“Take a fucking picture, Princess, it’ll last longer.”

Oops.

And when you pulled back up to the clubhouse, it took everything in you to not just run off. Your heart was beating out of your chest, panties completely ruined with your slick, oh my god you were fucking perverted. You carefully helped Tommy, Joel, and Ellie load up their gear into their respective cars, keeping your mouth shut so as to not squeak out an embarrassing sound. In fact, you couldn’t be quite sure you wouldn’t just moan out loud if Ellie so much as even glanced in your direction unprompted. 

“Great game today, guys.” You smiled sweetly at Joel and Tommy who were now both leaned up against the side of the building, taking refuge from the sun. 

“Well thank ya, sweetheart! Glad you got a chance to meet Ellie today, too,” Joel smiled at you, reaching out to squeeze at your shoulder. “Ellie, why don’t you say thank you to our lovely caddy girl today?” He didn’t use your name, because why would he? You were a convenience to them. Now that you thought about it, Ellie probably didn’t even know your name. Let alone care. 

Her green eyes bore into you for a moment before she grunted out something that sounded suspiciously like a thank you, before tipping her head back to swallow the last of her water. The sight of her throat contracting had you practically running away to do something so devious, you might have to get down on your knees and pray before you went to sleep. 

And Ellie was only human, after all. She was curious, about a lot of things. But more specifically? At this moment? She was wondering where you were scurrying off to. Of course, you weren’t as good about hiding what physical reactions you’d been having to her for the past hour as you thought—the way you’d squirm whenever she caught you staring at her, or how your mouth opened ever so slightly, ever so submissively when she berated you. 

So wherever you were going must be good. 

And oh, was it good. 

Ellie couldn’t believe her eyes, as she trailed behind you. Each time you’d look back, she’d be sure to hide just perfectly out of your view around corners, behind tables….she couldn’t let you know how curious she was, no. Because you see, she was actually good about hiding these sorts of things. She was an asshole, but it wasn’t for no reason. She just couldn’t let you know how the sight of you practically drove her insane—the soft curve of your hips beneath that skirt, the rolls on your belly that led to the plush skin of your breasts that bounced so perfectly with every step you took. That would just ruin the fun of it. My god, were you a sight for Ellie’s sore eyes. 

So now, Ellie watched as you were slipping into a supply closet. Okay…? Perhaps, you had just forgotten something, then. Needed to grab something for another member, or left your bag in there before you started your shift. Nothing interesting. 

But no, Ellie was close enough now that you were safely behind the door, that she could hear the lock ‘click’ softly from inside the supply closet. 

Oh. Oh— she thought. 

And she couldn’t believe her ears, when she heard the faintest sigh. One that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than relief. 

And yeah, you were relieved. 

You couldn’t take it anymore—the last hour you spent with Ellie was absolute torture. Letting her talk down on you, and treat you like you were nothing to her…it shouldn’t have turned you on. You should be upset, embarrassed, angry, furious even. But you were wet. 

Holy fucking shit, you were wet. Your fingers trailed down your tummy as you leaned against the wall in the dark closet, barely illuminated by a tiny window at the top of one wall. Your breath was shaky, eyes closed as you lifted your short skirt, shoving your panties to the side before you felt the top of your fingers graze past your clit, sliding further and further in between your slick folds, so easily, so so easily. 

“Oh!” you caught yourself gasping as you played with yourself, drawing your bottom lip between your teeth as a sickly, obscene wet sound began to fill the space of the small closet. This was so wrong…touching yourself at work, thinking about Ellie, so fucking desperate that you had to run away and relieve even just an ounce of the tension you felt inside. 

It only got worse when all you could think about was Ellie’s long fingers, the way they gripped the golf clubs so tenderly, and how you wished so badly that you could replace yours with hers as they slipped inside of you. Your head fell back against the metal rack behind you, and you had no right mind to react to what should have been pain. Instead, you pictured Ellie standing in front of you, and how her eyes would darken with lust as she pressed her body against yours, her hot breath fanning across your face as she fucked her fingers up into you…

And Ellie was going crazy, couldn’t help herself from getting closer and closer to that supply closet door. There was no one in this wing of the club, surely no one would walk by and see her with her ear pressed against a supply closet door…right? It mostly didn’t matter, as something deranged and perverted was consuming her brain. She found herself quite literally pressed against the door, she couldn’t help herself, she had to hear the way you moaned softly and gasped while you worked yourself closer and closer to your release. 

“Oh…oh Ellie!” You breathed wantonly, and Ellie could have cum on the spot. The wet sounds of your ministrations were getting faster and louder as your fingers pressed in and out of you with such force the rack behind you was beginning to rattle. Had you been in your right mind, you should have been mortified. You should have stopped right then and there, pulled yourself together and went home to the privacy of your own home and taken a long, cold shower. But all you could see was that stupid fucking smirk on Ellie’s face as she’d whisper: 

Just fucking cum for me, baby. 

And so you did, slapping your free hand over your mouth to muffle what surely would have been far too loud of a noise as you reached your peak, your body trembling almost violently as the high washed over you. 

Ellie was positively reeling, her ear still pressed to the door almost comically as she listened to you come undone. If anyone were to walk by at this moment it would look utterly suspicious, her all alone in the long hallway, surely looking suspect in her current position. Not to mention she should probably pull away before you had a chance to swing the door open, as she would have absolutely no excuse as to what she was doing here. 

Instead, Ellie continued to listen to your labored breaths as you came down, her pink lips parted softly as she felt her own wetness growing more and more unbearable beneath her shorts. Hell, had the purple silicone she had strapped to her hips been real, there would be absolutely no hiding what your sounds had done to her. She should move away, racing thoughts of oh my fucking god, and I wonder how easy it would be to make her sound like that again, but also to go back to Dad and go the fuck home, goddammit, this is absolutely sick, even for you and— 

“Ellie?!” 

She nearly fell forward from the weight of her body on the door when it swung inwards to reveal your absolutely mortified face, and even more terrified voice. Her eyes were like saucers, surely mirroring yours as you gaped at her, one hand still on the door to leave the possibility of slamming it right back in her face in humiliation. No, no no no no no way this was happening to you. 

Ellie’s mouth opened and closed a few times as she staggered backwards in her surprise, leaving you both just staring each other down in what was surely the most awkward encounter either of you had ever had in your entire life. Her eyes quickly shifted downwards and she took another step back. 

“I- I was just- yeah, okay. Bye.” 

And she was gone. 

-- 

pt 2??????

[virtualflowerbatathlete]

okay @helpallthenamesaretakenblog

Here goes nothing. Happy pride month to my bisexual followers!

Bi!Percy

Percy used to honestly think he was gay for the longest time.

He never really saw bisexual representation on TV, except for an episode of Sex in the City that Gabe watched one time, where a bisexual man named Sean was a character. But the show was incredibly biphobic, with the women claiming that bisexuality "didn't exist," and that Sean was gay. Percy knew he was attracted to other boys in his class, so he just figured he was gay.

He never came out or even dated when he was young; he moved schools so frequently he didn't have time to date or sit down and properly figure out his sexuality beyond the fact that he felt attraction to boys.

It wasn't until Camp-Half Blood, (right around the time he met Annabeth) that he started re-examining his sexuality. Part of the reason it took Percy so long to realize he had a crush on Annabeth is because he thought it was't possible; he was gay!

When Annabeth kissed him, he finally fully realized that he was, in fact, attracted to both men and women. Learning about Apollo's bisexuality confirmed it for Percy.

He only came out to Sally and Annabeth; he didn't feel a particular need to come out to a lot of people, preferring to keep his sexuality private.

After TOA, when he saw how Nico coming out inspired a lot of young queer campers, he decided to start being more open about his bisexuality. He had first-hand experience with homophobia from Gabe, and decided that he was comfortable sharing his sexuality with Camp if it meant that more young campers would feel safe.

Bi!Annabeth

Annabeth took a lot longer to realize she was bisexual.

She'd had a small crush on Luke, then was infatuated with Percy since she was twelve. Percy was her best friend, and she didn't spend a ton of time around other girls, so she never properly got the chance to explore her sexuality, especially because she had been on the run since she was seven years old. It's hard to do proper self-reflection when you're constantly running from monsters.

Piper was her bisexual awakening, though she didn't realize it at the time. Piper comforted her a lot when Percy was missing, ad they had a classic "pre-sapphic-oh-my-god-this-female-friendship-is-super-intense" type of relationship.

Annabeth (as shown in Mark of Athena) found herself constantly admiring how pretty Piper was. Weird, right?

One time, Piper and Annabeth were keeping watch over the Argo II as it sailed, and Piper had leaned her head on Annabeth's shoulder. Annabeth was blushing the entire time, though she couldn't figure out why.

A few things led to the catalyst of her realizing she was bisexual. First, Percy coming out to her after Blood of Olympus. She did a lot of internet surfing about bisexuality. (Purely for research reasons!)

The main catalyst was when Piper broke up with Jason and started dating Shel. One of her best friends coming out as sapphic caused her to re-examine her own sexuality, and she concluded that she was bisexual as well. She told Percy, who was thrilled.

She started being more open about it at around the same time as Percy did. They now both play Smash or Pass on all the actors every time they watch a show together.

I love bi!Percabeth so much.

[pharawee]

Back in May I bought Khemjira's Rescue on meb, happy that there finally was an official English translation because I love horror and actually liked the first pilot teaser for Spirit Reborn - even though it wasn't well received.

I now know why the teaser wasn't well received (the official version has since been deleted and there's only some re-uploads left) and I agree. Khemjira isn't really a classic QL where the story centres around two people falling in love. It's a horror novel first (and the novel's content warning is very open about this). Much of the romance only happens in the bonus chapters. It's also steeped in Isan folklore and Theravadin Buddhist teachings and virtues, with heavy and uncompromising themes of karma, rebirth, right action and non-attachment (which I really appreciate but might not be everyone's cup of tea because it completely ignores concepts of justice and revenge).

The novel itself is translated really well with only a few editorial slip-ups but tons of footnotes to explain potentially unfamiliar concepts and give translations for the recited khatha. The bonus chapters are plentiful and rewarding if you're into romance and the usual level of BL novel spiciness, but even without them the narrative flows really well and comes to a satisfying conclusion. I really liked the novel - it might be my favourite right after I Feel You Linger in the Air - so I was slightly apprehensive when Mandee announced that they had acquired the rights for a new adaptation.

I don't know the actors at all so I only have the novel to go by, but all in all I'm really happy with Mandee's pilot teaser. It's so close to the novel that even seemingly short filler scenes are recognisably taken from moments in the story. And while I still think Keng Harit is a bit too young as Por Kru Parun, he manages to capture his commanding and alluring presence very well.

My only worry now is that they'll downplay the religious themes in order to elevate the romance between, well, basically everyone. I couldn't even blame them though, because most of the audience will be expecting romance, and the series probably wouldn't be very well received if both couples remained chaste until the very end. I don't think Khemjira's Rescue even qualifies as slow-burn for reasons I'll explain a bit later (and behind a spoiler warning).

But first, a bit more about the main characters because I've seen some confusion about their names etc. I'll keep these as spoiler-free as Mandee's pilot teaser was so if you've watched that then you're all set.

Khemjira is cursed, as are all male descendants of his family, doomed to die before their 20th birthday (the series changes it to 21). His mother gave him a traditionally female name to confuse the curse but to no avail: as he grows older he's more and more troubled by the heavy and malevolent presence of spirits. These are kept at bay by an amulet given to to him by a venerable Por Kru (a practicioner of Buddhist white magic) but when that's no longer enough, his friend Jhet introduces him to his teacher Por Kru Parun who lives in a small Isan village. Despite the burden of bad karma, Khem is a good person who always tries his best even when he feels like giving up.

Por Kru Parun (the series calls him Karan) is a respected practicioner of Buddhist white magic. He lives in a traditional wooden house outside of a small Isan village and protects his community from spiritual harm. He learned from his grandfather (who was himself a respected Por Kru) and also spent many years ordained as a monk. Because he lives by the precepts (which go beyond the five precepts of laypeople) he seems detached and aloof, often wearing dark sunglasses so others won't get charmed by him. His real (nick)name is Peem but he only starts using it with Khem once the two get romantically involved.

Jhettana and Charnvit (aka Jhet and Charn) are Khem's best friends. Khem meets Jhet during freshman orientation when Jhet senses the malevolent spirits around him. It's also Jhet who suggests visiting his teacher Por Kru Parun in his home province. They do this during a university excursion. This is how they meet Charn who's part of the student trip and very suspicious about what they're doing. Charn is extremely polite, addressing everyone as Khun. He wears glasses to aid his bad vision. Both Jhet and Charn are extremely protective of Khem, choosing to become Parun's students in order to help save him. They're also the secondary couple with a surprising past connection.

These two boys are Thong and Ake, Parun's spirit servants. They're the ghosts of 12-year-old twins that already served Parun's grandfather. They also have a surprising role to play in things to come.

SOME SPOILERS FOR THE MIDDLE OF THE NOVEL

As for why the romance can only happen after Khemjira's curse has been lifted: as practitioners of white magic, Parun and his students Jhet and Charn have to adhere to the precepts. These include abstinence from unchastity, so they should remain non-attached to thoughts of sexual and romantic nature. If one of these precepts is broken, all of them are considered broken (which makes it impossible to practice white magic) - Khemjira's rescue would fail if any of them got involved romantically. Parun knows that he's mindful enough to remain non-attached until the curse has been dealt with. He also knows that he can't expect the same of Khem so he refuses to take him as his student (which is fortunate because that way we get to read about Khem's pining).

And beyond the horror and the romance, there's also a third element that heavily features in the story: rebirth. All of the characters' fates are interwoven through several past lives, and I'm really curious how Mandee will decide to tackle this added layer of complexity and identity. In The Sign, Idolfactory used the same actors througout every past life (while 1000 Years Old used different actors with the same identifying birth mark). In Khemjira's Rescue the past identities of some of the characters are incredibly important and I'd hate to see them getting erased by using the same actors to better fit with BL marketing. It was so rewarding to find out that Jhet and Charn were starcrossed lesbian lovers in a past life and I'd love it if they kept that reveal for the series as well.

Oh, and also? Yes, there's going to be at least one naga. 🙌

END OF SPOILERS

Ultimately, if Mandee truly commits to playing the long game and doesn't simplify the story in order to appeal to marketing opportunities, this could end up being one of the best Thai BL series to come. From what I saw, the actors can definitely pull it off, and the fact that the 11 minute long trailer focuses so much on novel-accuracy is very promising already. Just don't have Parun and Khem get it on too early. Sometimes you have to keep it in your pants for a bit in order to save the day. 🙏

[youryurigoddess]

The Small Back Room — Hour of Glory (1949)

Good Omens 2 begins with the visit to The Small Back Room not because it was meant to serve as an exposition scene for Maggie and her record shop. It’s a substantial foreshadowing of the main plot and the relationship changes between Aziraphale and Crowley.

As all the other classics referenced throughout the show, this 1949 Powell and Pressburger production is easily available online — whenever you have 100 minutes to spare, I highly encourage you to watch it.

Our story begins with the arrival of Stuart, a British military captain, who makes his way through a labyrinth of offices towards a small building — the research section led by an eccentric, queer-coded, bow tie wearing professor Mair — to ask for help with a secret Nazi weapon.

That’s when the professor calls our hero, Sammy Rice — an engineer and bomb disposal expert in the service of Her Majesty’s government and, not accidentally, the most brooding, wounded man in Powell and Pressburger’s impressive canon of dysfunctional and alienated characters.

Due to a prosthetic foot keeping him from active service and confining to work in the titular back room instead, Rice is dramatically slipping into alcoholism. Haunted by self-loathing and disappointment with the internal politics, he can’t see the point of his research anymore.

Sammy is also conducting a clandestine affair with the secretary of his research unit, Susan. They live in the same building and meet regularly, but can’t openly enjoy their company or even dance due to his injury, which makes him even more bitter and pathologically determined to wear her angelic patience down.

Susan puts up with it until the minister is forced to resign. She knows that if non-scientists take over, their section will become useless, Rice even more difficult, and the war possibly lost. She urges him to take action and when he dramatically refuses to make a difference, she leaves him.

Seemingly at his lowest now, Rice becomes a sudden chance to redeem himself. Captain Stuart calls him about two unexploded booby traps found in Wales, but left to himself, he dies during a heroic attempt to dismantle one of the thermos-like devices before our engineer arrives at the scene.

In a nerve-jangling finale, Stuart’s notes help Rice dismantle the second device. He becomes a hero, gets an officer commission as head of the new scientific unit, and discovers that Susan not only came back in the meantime, but repaired everything he drunkenly destroyed in the apartment after their breakup.

The parallels seem straightforward enough for me to add that in this context the role of Maggie through most of S2 may particularly reflect Crowley’s stagnancy in both work and love life. And if you’re unsure why the demon identifies with the heroic roles and characters, you might want to read this post on the subject.

Now, The Small Back Room was distributed in the US under another title — Hour of Glory. Which happens to be a specific Bible term referring to Christ’s “hour”, the period supposed to consummate all of his work on Earth and reveal God’s ultimate plan of salvation: the Son’s death.

John 12:20-36 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Christ’s hour began in the garden — this time the garden of Gethsemane — as he prayed passionately for the cup to be passed from him, similarly to Aziraphale declining Metatron’s offers on screen, both regarding the hot drink and his reinstatement as part of the Heavenly Host:

Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

All throughout the Old Testament, we see God’s wrath being described as a cup poured out on sin and those guilty of it. By accepting it, Jesus took the toll of all the sins — from Eden up until the last one to be committed right before his Second Coming — on himself, for the sake of his beloved humanity.

The passion of Christ continued as Judas betrayed him with a kiss, his disciples abandoned him, and the high priest accused him of crimes he was not guilty of. Even Pilate, the prefect of Rome, pretended to uphold the law; and remember we already expect a S3 trial based on another Archers movie.

All in all, it’s an hour of great injustice and pain, but also glory of God. We’re led to believe that the Ineffable Plan will similarly triumph over the great one (or whatever Metatron tries to implement at the moment), as it did in S1. And its ending will be a good one, back in a garden.

[cacti-are-like-flamingos]

Softcore

Gojo Satoru x Reader x Geto Suguru

The Cursed Trio | Artificial Paradise

**Finally finishing up Uni forever --- well, until I decide what to do my Master's on. About to go hard on finals so wish me luck on that. I'm so sorry for the wait!

...

It's been a while since you've had a chance to catch your breath from all the messed-up stuff swirling around in your everyday jujutsu life. A week has passed since that little... "moment" back on Halloween.

Honestly, it was supposed to be a good, vulnerable moment between the three of you — something that should've solidified your bond. But, you can't shake this sense of shame.

Shame for multiple reasons, but the main one is that, for some reason, you feel ashamed for feeling the way you did. For expressing yourself the way you did. That vulnerability you felt in Gojo's arms, watching as Suguru took his own swig from the sake bottle — it frustrated you to no end. Why did you feel so awful just being in the moment? In a way, you felt humiliated for being so raw with others. But at the same time, you argued with yourself that what you did was okay. Of course, you have the right to expression — a right to sensation, a right to feeling.

Yet, you can't help but want to shove that night into the background so those feelings won't sting anymore. Whatever you felt, it's confusing to say the least.

Despite the inner turmoil, you pushed through — the best you could manage for the moment was to shove those feelings aside. Because, let's face it, if you indulged in those thoughts, you'd likely end up diving headfirst into a sea of emotions, drowning in them until it seemed like you'd never felt anything else.

Fortunately, today just so happens to be one of the best distractions imaginable.

It's Ieiri's birthday.

If it weren't for Utahime creating a group chat just for the birthday party, you wouldn't have even known it was Ieiri's birthday.

Originally, Ieiri wasn't keen on doing anything special for her birthday, leaning towards a chill day at the park with some convenience store snacks and her favorite pack of cigarettes. But Utahime insisted, emphasizing that her little kouhei deserved a proper celebration. So, everyone tossed in their own ideas — mainly you, Mei Mei, Utahime, Haibara, and Kento.

Utahime was all about a shopping spree, Mei Mei favored an amusement park, Haibara suggested a classic dinner at a restaurant, and surprisingly, Kento threw in the idea of a night out in Shibuya. Gojo and Suguru were predictably useless; Gojo with his absurd ideas, and Suguru just going with the flow.

Honestly, you didn't pitch in any ideas either. You thought Ieiri's original plan was pretty nice. It felt more intimate than the traditional options. Nevertheless, the idea of hitting Shibuya and diving into the nightlife gained popularity in the group, especially when Gojo realized he could easily charm some pretty girls at the club.

And thus, the steps to heading out to Shibuya began.

Getting Ready

Just like the chaos of preparing for the waterpark months ago, getting ready this time was an absolute mess among the three of you. Especially when Ieiri asked you to help with her makeup — not gonna lie, you had to watch a few YouTube videos just to figure out what the hell to do.

You and Ieiri rushed to the nearest makeup store, searching for budget-friendly brands so you could assist her.

Side note: Ieiri only had the essentials like mascara and lip gloss, but considering it was a night out in one of Japan's busiest areas, she decided to go big with it.

Then there were Suguru and Gojo, bickering about what outfits to wear since they wanted to either match or at least have complementary outfits. This whole matching outfit thing started a few months back when you and Gojo unintentionally showed up with nearly identical outfits, sparking teasing from Suguru and Ieiri. After that, it became a quirky routine to find something that coordinated with the others' clothes.

Side note: Another factor was that each of you had a habit of raiding each other's closets, especially Suguru's, given his penchant for oversized clothing. His wardrobe was practically a hot commodity within your little trio.

The dorm rooms in disarray, small piles of clothes scattered in the hallways from Gojo tossing everything out of his closet, forgetting his door is wide open. Suguru shuttling back and forth between his room and yours, showcasing outfits for judgment, only to grumble and search for another when either you or Ieiri vetoes the look. You, attempting a YouTube tutorial while applying budget foundation on Ieiri's face, accidentally smearing some on the lollipop stick she's perpetually chewing on. The floor becomes a makeup disaster zone as you holler for Gojo to fetch you an outfit from your closet. He barges in, tiptoeing around you, eyeing how you're doing Ieiri's makeup, and can't resist making a comment. Suguru peeks in, curious about the commotion.

Cut to the climax — Gojo and Suguru literally shoving you aside as Gojo grabs the setting powder, tapping it onto the birthday girl's skin, while Suguru crouches beside them, offering ideas for eyeshadow styles and more. Meanwhile, you're rolling your eyes and grappling with the decision of what to wear.

Ah, don't forget the music. Every room has its own soundtrack as everyone gears up individually — each of you with your dedicated playlist for getting ready. Honestly, it's as chaotic as it gets, especially when Yaga storms down, hollering for all of you to clean up the mess while sneakily appreciating Gojo's makeup on Ieiri.

You and Suguru linger in the background, tossing all of Gojo's clothes into the closet without bothering much about hangers and such. That's a problem for future him.

Curious about what Kento and Haibara are up to as they get ready for the night? Well, Kento is bombarding your phone with pictures of potential outfits he's considering. In the background of these photos, you can spot Haibara making faces and waving at you. Midway through this whole ordeal, he even gave you a call. During the conversation, not many words were exchanged; instead, you both used each other's sounds as a sort of background noise while putting on your outfits, only to take them off and start the process anew.

Every now and then, you'd catch Haibara screaming something in the background — usually about not being able to find his favorite socks or some such. Kento, in response, would grumble under his breath before directing him to the last place he saw the elusive socks.

Before long, Mei Mei and Utahime reached the school gates. Yaga guided them to the dorm rooms, and the three of them observed the chaos unfolding with all four of you (Kento and Haibara were on the other side) scrambling around to gather the rest of your stuff.

Gojo was putting the finishing touches on Ieiri's makeup while she tidied up her room. Suguru haphazardly tossed the remainder of his clothes onto his bed, and you dashed to your room with Kento still chatting in your ear while you struggled to put on your shoes. Meanwhile, Utahime was yelling at all of you for leaving such a mess, and Mei Mei chuckled under her breath, commenting on how cute it was that Gojo knew how to do makeup.

On a side note, you had Gojo's glasses, so you had to sidle over to him as he touched up Ieiri's lipstick, all the while putting the glasses on his own face, with Mei Mei cooing in the background.

On the way to Shibuya

The trip to Shibuya isn't long, but as your little group sprints onto the train, time seems to speed up with everyone bickering and bantering. Mei Mei and Gojo are doing their usual banter dance, sprinkled with a few flirty comments here and there. Suguru is engrossed in a deep conversation with Kento near the window, while Ieiri and Utahime chat animatedly with each other.

Haibara is trying to strike up a conversation with you, but for the life of you, you can't seem to respond. It's as if your thoughts are shrouded in a fog. You feel like you're not entirely present, but you desperately want to be—your gaze seemingly lost in space, unfocused.

Before you know it, a warm sensation envelops your hand, grounding you back to reality. Haibara is leaning over you, a slightly concerned expression on his face as he quietly asks if you're alright.

"Are you alright? You seem... off." Blinking away the remnants of your brain fog, you manage a nod and respond with a quick, "Yeah, just, uh, spaced out a bit."

Haibara frowns, "You've been doing that a lot. Did something happen?"

Internally, you think, "What didn't happen?"

Trying to suppress an eye roll at his concern becomes an act of frustration. Why would you do that when it's perfectly fine for him to express concern? After all, he cares about you.

Stop being a fucking bitch.

With a slight, disarming smile, you shrug. "I'm just going through one of those moments—it'll pass eventually. So no need to worry about it." He doesn't seem entirely convinced, but then again, he knows better than to push you for an answer.

You've always been like a brick wall, unyielding and towering. Just when something manages to climb, they only catch a glimpse of the other side before more bricks are piled on, obstructing their view.

With a soft hum, Haibara settles back into the seat beside yours, sinking into his chair before resting his head on your shoulder. He traces small circles on the back of your hand as you attempt to steady your breathing.

Side Note: Kento and Suguru were actually brainstorming ways to cheat on the upcoming exam. The two of them were seriously fried from all the missions, studying, and non-stop testing. Kento floated the idea, and Suguru ran with it. Right now, they're thinking of scribbling the answers on the inside of their collars — they figure it's a safe bet since they've got a solid track record as studious guys.

The Shibuya Scene

It didn't take long before you could sense yourself distancing from your more negative emotions—or, in reality, the closer you got to Shibuya, you pushed yourself to catch the group's infectious energy. You let it flow through you, sweeping all your thoughts, worries, and insecurities to the back of your mind. The bustling crowds on the train, everyone dressed up for the night ahead, helped in the process.

For the first time that day, you could finally breathe as you jumped to your feet, pulling Haibara along with you.

Dragging Haibara along, you hustled over to Suguru, who had kindly volunteered to be the backpack carrier for everyone's stuff. You held the bag for him while he got up from his seat, with Kento standing behind you, attempting to steady a very dizzy and giggling Haibara who quipped, "Well, you bounced back up pretty quick."

If only he knew.

Your initial mission was to grab some food because, for some reason, none of you felt particularly hungry before heading out. But the moment those train doors swung open, Gojo started complaining about how famished he was. He slung his arm over Kento, who was visibly irritated by the gesture. His blonde eyebrows twitched as he attempted to shove the clingy Gojo off.

You stumbled upon this quaint spot called Zuicho—a bit hidden and surprisingly small. Only eight seats were available, but luck was on your side as most of the patrons had left, leaving 7 out of the 8 seats open. The restaurant specialized in katsudon, and despite the limited menu, the reviews were solid, so the group decided, "Why not?" Kento generously offered Ieiri the last available seat while he opted to eat standing, patiently waiting for the lingering customer to vacate the spot.

One stern look from Mei Mei, and the man occupying the final chair hastily scurried away, bowl in hand. This prompted the restaurant staff to shout and chase after the fleeing diner. Surprisingly, Gojo footed the bill for the pilfered bowl, nonchalantly waving his little black card around as if it were of no value whatsoever.

Upon arriving at Shibuya Cross, Mei Mei, accompanied by an exuberant Haibara, suggests the idea of a group picture. Mainly, Mei Mei seizes the opportunity to stand closer to Gojo as everyone finds their spots, enlisting a stranger with tinted glasses to take the photo – another young foreigner, much like yourself. Eventually, the group naturally disperses, exploring the area. Though not old enough for the clubs, curiosity propels your little groups through the bustling streets.

Gojo ends up pulling Suguru toward a group of admiring girls, while Mei Mei attempts conversation with the relatively unresponsive Kento, who keeps an eye on you and Haibara. The two of you are engrossed in a debate over whether to spend money at an intriguing kiosk. Utahime and Ieiri have vanished, likely off seeking possible group activities.

Side note: Utahime brings out a pink sash and a tiara both proclaiming "birthday girl," draping them over Ieiri. Ieiri nearly lunges at Gojo when he manages to snap a photo of her unawares. You and Utahime have to hold her back while Suguru gives Gojo a smack on the back of the head amid his maniacal laughter.

Add-On: Gojo slyly managed to shoot the picture over to Suguru, who sneakily checked it out after Gojo deleted the photo on his phone right in front of Ieiri. Suguru decided to hold onto it, a mischievous grin playing on his face as he and Gojo exchanged a knowing glance.

A while after the photo, something neon catches your eye. Next thing you know, Utahime and Haibara are jumping up and down, excitedly yelling about Mario Kart cars that can be rented out along with onesies.

Suddenly, Utahime is hollering at Kento to find the location on his phone, simultaneously giving his collar a playful tug. Ieiri is genuinely pumped as the gang heads over to Street Kart Shibuya — then comes the dilemma of deciding who gets to rock which onesie. And let me tell you, that turned into a full-blown war. Suguru claimed Pikachu, Gojo insisted on Stitch, Mei Mei initially resisted the whole costume thing but eventually caved, opting for a low-key Mario. Ieiri went with the timeless Winnie the Pooh, Utahime snagged Kirby, Kento happily nabbed Luigi (much to Mei Mei's satisfaction), Haibara transformed into Bowser, and you, my friend, embraced your inner Ninja Turtle.

You all cruised through the streets like there was no tomorrow. Surprisingly, Gojo was the picture of safe driving, while Suguru embraced a bit more recklessness, a wild grin on his face as he zoomed by most of the group. Utahime was hot on his heels, having challenged him to a small race.

Meanwhile, Kento kept to the rear with Mei Mei and you, the three of you just chilling. In the meantime, Ieiri and Haibara engaged in a conversation, shouting over the roar of their engines.

Side Note: Gojo had brought a speaker along, handing it to Kento to carry along with Ieiri's iPod. This way, he could blast her favorite tunes as the group navigated the crowded streets of Shibuya. Pedestrians, mostly spirited and slightly tipsy, cheered and danced on the sidewalks, as they listened to the songs.

It's a miracle none of you crashed.

Side Note: Since none of you could really get into the nightclubs, you ended up just standing outside, huddled together, grooving a bit to the music. You chatted among yourselves while Gojo and Haibara grabbed sodas and snacks from the nearest convenience store, bags swinging from their arms as they passed the drinks around.

Add-On: Ieiri managed to snag a cigarette from a tipsy guy loitering outside the club, and you lit it up for her. Suguru nearly lost his shit when he caught you lighting up Ieiri's cigarette; he assumed you smoked too, and he was this close to giving you a smack for it.

By the end of the night, Utahime and Mei Mei hopped on the train back to Kyoto, catching it before they shut down for the night. Unfortunately, despite Kento's repeated reminders, the rest of you forgot. By the time you reached the station, it had already closed. So, everyone had to trek back to Jujutsu High on foot.

As you stroll along, Ieiri sticks close, a smile playing on her lips as she chuckles at something Haibara said, her fingers briefly brushing against yours. For a moment, you savor the warmth of her touch before sliding your hands into your hoodie pockets. You notice a slight dimming in her eyes, prompting you to remedy it by awkwardly resting your head on her shoulder as you all continue walking, muttering something about how Haibara can be pretty dumb.

Side Note: The speaker has run out of battery by now, so Suguru has Ieiri's iPod in his pocket, playing some random song at a low volume. It serves as background music, adding to the vibe of the stroll.

You can't recall how the night wrapped up — one moment, you're relishing the crisp night air while Gojo and Kento go back and forth, the other two idiots snickering in the background. Then suddenly, you find yourself sprawled on your bed, still decked out in the same clothes from the night out, silently gazing up at the blank expanse of your room's white ceiling.

Your eyes fixate on a piece of paper you taped up there ages ago, its gold lettering shimmering in the ambient lighting. A whirlwind of thoughts swirls through your mind, yet none quite break the surface. For a moment, you exist in the fabric of time, quietly tuning in to Suguru's thunderous snores echoing from the next room.

Suddenly, a text pinged on your phone. You knew instantly who the sender was as you groaned in annoyance and frustration. Crawling to your phone, which had been charging on the nightstand just above your head, you squinted your eyes at the brightness of the screen as you read the message.

Gakuganji

Meeting. End of the month.

You almost wanted to throw a fit as a bubble of dread filled your being. Shutting the phone off, you tossed it to the side before flopping back onto your bed. Red-tinged eyes stared up, once again, at the ceiling.

You never knew an object could also have a fuzzy outline

...

Song Inspo: xanny - Billie Eilish

(A/N):

Oct 22 - Is this like a filler episode? Yes, yes it is. I just wanted some fluff and what better way than with a little Birthday special? 🎆

Nov 14 - Ha, nah. Also, I'm currently obsessed with Megan Thee Stallions new song Cobra.

Originally:

This episode was supposed to be more light-hearted, but once I started typing, your character just took on a life of its own.

At first, Gojo was set on being Pikachu and Suguru, Stitch. However, when I considered the vibes and personas of those characters (admittedly, I don't know much about them), I recalled that Stitch was hella sassy, while Pikachu was pretty mellow. So, it just felt right to pair them up with their corresponding characters.

Originally, Suguru was supposed to drive recklessly, offering a glimpse into his deteriorating mental state and potentially hinting at suicidal tendencies. However, I added a playful dynamic between Utahime and him for a lighter touch, though it can still be interpreted differently.

I didn't plan to wrap up this episode the way I did, but it struck me as a fitting method of foreshadowing.

Gojo caught on to your spaced-out moment on the train, his black-tinted glasses shielding the fact from everyone else. But, his eyes were locked onto you the entire time.

It's one of my shorter episodes, yet it delves into the emotional turmoil your character seems to be constantly navigating, even in situations where it shouldn't be the case, like this relatively peaceful episode. It just goes to show that even when everything seems all right, it really isn't.

Kento took into account Ieiri's personality and preferences, which is why he suggested a simple night out in one of the busiest places in Japan.

Contrary to expectations, Gojo didn't go to flirt with pretty girls. In truth, he just wanted to stay with you and Suguru as a way to compensate for all the isolation he felt.

The act of denying yourself the simple touch of Ieiri's hand holds a deeper meaning; it's a symbol of rejecting affection, perceiving it as a potential threat to your own being. It also mirrors your reluctance to allow her into your personal space. Yet, in your attempt to spare her sorrow, you seek alternative paths. However, this action is also symbolic of your manipulative tendencies. On one side, you're indifferent to the possibility of causing her pain, yet on the other, you strive to maintain a facade of camaraderie. It's a double-edged blade, where the latter is the subtler but significant edge.

Usually, when someone puts something on the ceiling, it's often a way to convey that the person attaches some hope or sentiment to the object. It's like they're looking forward to it or, at the very least, it holds strong sentimental value.

The piece of paper taped to the ceiling is a direct reference to a previous episode. Did you ever figure out to whom the card belonged? And why is it taped to the ceiling?

A meeting at the end of the month? What's that about?

Yet, the lingering question persists: What exactly is your relationship with Gakuganji?

...

Drop a comment!

Feel free to donate me a🦩

Hope you enjoyed!

[miss0atae]

The classic fairy tale rewriting with San and Vee’s love story in Century of Love (Ep 7 – 8) :

[gif by benzatthanim] @benzatthanin

I have to admit I was inspired by this post from @mikuni14 post about the classic fairy tale rewriting idea (thanks again for the inspiration!). Quick disclaimer before starting: I know that the screenwriters and the original writer of the book were not really inspired by classic fairy tale. I just feel like the series has so many characteristics that you can find in classic fairy tale and I’ll show it to you here.

So what is a fairy tale? If I had to summarize, I would say it’s a short story where the main characters (San and Vee) must face ordeals and fights against their enemies (Evil Uncle, Rich Man who wants to live and Doppelganger of Vad / Wat). To be able to reach their goal, they will have the help of sidekicks (Tao, Tee and San’s family). Heroes from fairy tales are usually inexperienced at the beginning of the story (San is stuck in the past and full of nostalgia). They must find their way to understand the meaning of their life (In Century of Love I would say it's "what is true love?"). The classic fairy tale follows a narrative outline:

[gif by pharawee] @pharawee

1. The initial situation:

San fell in love with Vad / Watt, but she was killed by her fiancé, so he used the help of the five-colored stone of the goddess Nuwa to be able to stay alive and young until he finds the reincarnation of his love.

[gif by sanvees] @sanvees

2. The disruptive element that modifies the initial situation:

Vad / Watt wasn't reincarnated as a woman, but could be a young man named Vee whose personality is quite different from Vad / Watt. San has trouble accepting the situation even if everything seems to prove Vee is the one he was looking for.

3. Adventures that advance the action and the ordeals that the hero must go through:

San and Vee get to know each other and slowly fall in love. San is starting to accept Vee could be his new love. He also has to stop living in his past. Vee has a criminal past and a sick grandma that he wants to take care of. Several people came in between the two lovers: a childhood friend (possible reincarnation of Vad / Watt previous fiancé), villains who wants to steal the stone, jealousy and loss of self-confidence.

4. The element of resolution

5. The final situation.

Still waiting for these events to happen.

[gif by jimmysea] @jimmysea

Century of Love also presents some recurring characteristics of fairy tales. Fairy tales belong to the world of wonder and imagination. If Century of Love is happening in a world that looks like ours, it still contained fantastic elements such as supernatural characters and magical artifacts. In the story, San is near immortal so he can be the same as what he was when he first met Vad / Wat, so her reincarnation can recognize him. It’s possible because he got the power of the five-colored stone, a powerful and magical artifact given by a goddess. Usually fairy tales were written for various reasons: examining the human condition or talking about modern issues. In Century of Love, San was stuck for a long time in the past and felt out of place with the modern time. I think he took “waiting for his lover” literally. Many other people made a really good take on why San was acting this way before meeting Vee and I can just advise you to read them. The story is more complex than what it seemed at first. To name but a few, you could read this post, this post or this post. It may feels like it’s just to work well with the character, but in fact, any of us can risk being stuck in the past for various reasons: tragic events, holding on to things or people, mental health issues, fear of change, blaming ourselves… Just like fairy tale, Century of Love has an educational value and is trying to provide the viewers some kind of life advice.

I would even say that after watching the last episode, I felt like Century of Love could be compared to a rewriting story of the famous fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast”.

So in Beauty and the Beast the story is more or less about a young girl called "the beauty" who sacrifices herself to save her father, sentenced to death for picking a rose in the domain of a terrible monster. Against all expectations, the Beast spares Beauty and allows her to live in his castle. She realizes that, behind the features of the animal, a man is suffering as he is the victim of a spell. He is a generous being who only asks to love and be loved in return.

So now, let’s see how Century of Love changed the story to… a young man called “Vee” agrees to marry a cranky meanie grandpa with a young face, San, to save his grandma. His goal at first is to find the powerful artifact San possessed to cure her. Against all expectations, San is nicer than what he seems to be and allows Vee to live in his house with his family. Vee realizes that behind the sternness of San, a man is suffering, victim of the power of the five-colored stone. He is a generous being who only asks to love and be loved in return.

Doesn't it work well?! Put new Vad / Watt or Suchat as the villain Gaston (only present in Disney version of the Beauty and the Beast) and San family as the supporting characters living in the house of the “beast” and you'll get the story wrapped with all its important characters.

Beauty and The Beast is a tale that teaches people to distinguish moral ugliness from physical ugliness. The true foundation of a solid love is kindness. Compassion and esteem can create love and you shouldn't judge someone by his look only or his past. Those are also the “life advice” that Century of Love is teaching us through the love story of Vee and San. It is more powerful than just thinking you need to be with the reincarnation of your past lover. San loves Vee for Vee. Now, I just hope Vee will see that he also deserves to be loved. His acts of true love is what made San overcome his habits of staying in the past.

[atopfourthwall]

How would you rank the Ju-On/Grudge movies?

I'm not really a list guy, but quick thoughts on each: Ju-On: The Curse 1/2: It's one movie split in half, though admittedly points to the Curse 2 feeling different than the first by being more a possession movie than the normal format of a Grudge movie. It's clearly just the skeleton of the much better Grudge movies to come, with a few ideas like the multiple Kayakos that would have been fun if done with modern tech and... you know... a POINT but otherwise completely skippable unless you're curious how the franchise started. Ju-On: The Grudge: I know I've watched it, but for some reason I'm struggling to remember my thoughts on it. Not helped by me mixing it up with the remake, directed by the same guy who made this one (he's made the same movie so many times, it's incredible). Ju-On: The Grudge 2: As a sequel to Ju-On: The Grudge it works great, but it is a mess of half-baked ideas and a combination of interesting kills and outright goofy kills like the wig. Kayako wanting to be reborn is fine, but there's a lot of nonsense involved in it and she's still evil after being reborn for some reason. The Grudge: Good remake with some silliness in there and how I originally got into the franchise. The Grudge 2: Garbage. A few good kill ideas and moments (I like the subversion of the classic under-the-covers kill), but it gives an explanation for Kayako's ghostness that's completely unnecessary, Kayako plays dirty pool at a few points, the main character is a plank of wood, but it does have one good line from Kayako's mom that sums up the big issue people don't get when it comes to how they think they can end the curse: "This is NOT about a house!" The Grudge 3: Underrated! I do hate how they abandoned the nonlinear storytelling that's a staple of the series, but the visuals are pretty damn good, the story is fairly solid, and overall just a decent ghost story. Not great, but better than you'd think for a direct-to-video sequel. Ju-On: Black Ghost: Never rises above "okay." There's certainly something there with its premise, but it just feels like a big ol' pile of nothing, especially with an ending where a possessed girl just goes home and punches someone hard enough in the gut to kill them. Ju-On: White Ghost: Your mileage may vary on spooky grandma ghost in her silly Halloween mask carrying around a basketball. It's better than Black Ghost, but has so much silliness in it and there's no reason why either ghost should have Kayako's death rattle since neither was strangled. Ju-On: Beginning of the End: Great movie! A reboot of the series and focuses more on Toshio than Kayako and it works, with some neat twists and good scares. Ju-On: The Final Curse: Running on the much better fumes of Beginning of the End, just felt like a disappointing finale to the franchise, though points for them bulldozing the Saeki house (though as Kayako's mom put it - "this is not about a house!") and the first time in the franchise that two active, conscious people are attacked by Kayako at once (other times with another person they're usually catatonic). The Grudge 2020: Ugggghhhhh, whyyyyyyyyyy. The replacement ghosts are so boring and if you're not going to do anything with Kayako, why even connect it to the series that way? Has a few good moments plus the awesomeness of William Sadler, but it's not nearly enough to save this movie. Sadako vs. Kayako: Underrated! The title fight is too damn short and definitely more of a Ring movie than a Grudge movie, but the Grudge stuff delivers. It is also the only movie in the entire franchise where someone tries to actually do stuff to the ghosts. Like, nobody has ever tried kicking or punching the ghosts (yeah, I know it wouldn't DO anything, but still, everyone's always frozen in terror or running) and here comes our psychic duo to huck a rock and Toshio and for Sadako to actually attack and harm Kayako.

[cartoon-buffoon]

Sonic X Shadow generations came out and cool but just as I expected I am beyond disappointed with the inclusion of metal overlord because it feels like fan service that somehow manages to slap the fans of metal sonic in the face at same fucking time. Now my main gripe with the fight in general is it's inclusion because ultimately—NO MATTER WHAT SHADOW IS NOT GETTING NOWHERE NEAR TO BEAT METAL, THE RED AND BLACK AND BOZO WOULD GET KILLED THE SECOND HE TRIED TO 1V1 M-OVERLORD!

This is gonna turn into a VERY LONG ramble of why I love metal more than anything however if you wish to indulge the words of a lunatic who loves a fictional metal anthropomorphic hedgehog then bear with me because this makes me IRRATIONALLY MAD! I have no reason to be this worked up yet I still am, shut up I'm allowed to be stupidly passionate about this. Also I would like to note the criticism that I have is gonna be located at the VERY END OF THIS (gonna reiterate) VERY LONG RANT and the criticism I have is gonna disappoint but I don't care and ultimately you should take my words with an ounce of salt because I'm a stupid cartoon yelling on a soap box here and if this nonsensical blame my ADHD.

Anyways disclaimer done: my main gripe with the fight as stated is it's inclusion because of the premise of what Metal Overlord is. Metal Overlord is the final form of Neo Metal Sonic which is Metal Sonic that was upgraded to the point he gained a voice and intelligence enough to know he did not need Eggman. With an understanding of his new powers and the ultimate goal of killing sonic to be the one true sonic (his metal empire plan was 100% second place to killing sonic lmao) he threw his own creator in a closet, locked him in there, and then proceeded to lead the sonic heroes on wild goose chases just to collect their bio data to perfect himself which—his perfection is the Metal Overlord form. That's at least what Metal Overlord is in a really quick summary that can be taken with only a quick look at what it is but the reason for metal doing all this ultimately stems from character development that kind of just happens off screen? Like I know there's Archie and the OVA which is forever gonna be the best sonic movie in terms of both plot and animation because holy fuck it is peak (go watch the Sonic OVA it's free on YT and it will help you understand why metal is such a great character) but ultimately his appearance in the comic and the OVA in general is non-canon to the mainline games and exists as side media. Metal's first appearance and really main appearance outside of heroes is Sonic CD which he acts as Sonic's first proper fake, look alike rival who stems to destroy him and help Eggman.

Metal naturally loses the race he challenged Sonic too and from there he moves onto his second appearance which is in Knuckles Chaotix where—I don't even know if that game is canon because it is a spinoff that DOES connect to CD because Metal Sonic's appearance as the villain of the game is if I remember correctly supposed to be after his loss in CD but it's never referenced or talked about like, ever? Anyways—Metal Sonic does appear in that game and he fights Knuckles and the Chaotix (and Mighty + 2 robots who presumably just die as their never referenced again) yet he still once again loses even after obtaining a pretty cool powerful form called Metal Sonic KAI. From there the events of Mania happen which we don't really know where it does because Mania IS CANON but on the classic timeline with superstars it's kind of messy, but it definitely does come sometime after Knuckles Chaotix because in Sonic mania metal gets his giga form which is directly based on his KAI form from Chaotix although his giga form is a sort of perfected version it using the Phantom Ruby. In any case his appearance in mania isn't as important as the series of short animated episodes called the "Sonic Mania Adventures" that were made because metal is in them and it gives us a clear idea of Metal's hatred for losing.

In the shorts Metal plays as a helper to Eggman as per usual with his main goal being to help the doctor track down the chaos emeralds, very standard setup. Once Sonic, Tails, Mighty and Ray arrive to get the two emeralds back from Metal and to stop Eggman from getting them all this turns out to be just one big trap and we see Metal use the power of the chaos emeralds to go "super" (not proper super like Mecha MK. 2 does but he does get a yellow aura) and single handily hold off Sonic, Tails, Ray, AND MIGHTY WHO IS STUPIDLY STRONG! Like Mighty iirc is stronger than Knuckles but he is more of a pacifist who prefers not to actually get into fights but is still more than capable of crazy feats of strength. The only reason why Metal loses is his systems were hacked by Tails who freezes him, knocks the emeralds outta him, and then once Metal tries to recover by harassing the master emerald power he gets suprise attacked by Knuckles stopping him before he could do that. From there we get a very sweet animation where we see Metal at first abandoned by Eggman although through Amy's help he reunites with his creator who manages to accept him back—however a small detail many misinterpret/don't catch is the start of Metal's tragedy and what I believe is the turning point for him.

In the 6th and final Sonic Mania Adventures short which takes place after the first 5 installments Eggman throws a temper tantrum after his defeat that takes place in the aforementioned previous 5 episodes. In this temper tantrum Eggman kicks Metal once out of frustration because he is an egotist and can't accept defeat thus naturally blaming the ineptitude of the things HE creates. Now after the first kick Eggman doubles down and kicks Metal more forceful the second time around, however I believe this kick wasn't out of anger and moreso as motivation and a way to say "get up! We have to go rebuild and come up with a new plan"

Now this doesn't work and Metal goes back to lying face down in the dirt, and I see a few people misinterpret this entire thing as Eggman getting mad at Metal and leaving him behind which is—in my firm belief—NOT the case! As evidence by Eggman's next expression once Metal goes limp he seems thoroughly surprised and only then does he get angered and storm off, almost wishing that Metal DID get up but he has no time for the angst of a creation who's not even old enough to be considered a teenager.

Now there is of course the argument to be made Metal was too damaged to get up and walk and Eggman didn't wish to bother with his creation which ya know, does effectively mean he abandoned him. However considering he does repeatedly move his head and DOES move his joints/body like when Amy saves him where he's on his hands and knees before getting knocked back down it does seem like Metal isn't damaged beyond the point of moving but it's moreso he doesn't care (that first kick probably did become engraved into Metal's memory and was probably a key factor into Eggman getting thrown into a closet in heroes though lmao). In any case it seems both by Eggman's reaction and the display of Metal moving that Metal simply lost all hope and fell into a sort of robotic depression. Only once did Amy physically drag him to Eggman's base did Metal finally go back to his creator, although once again if the context clues point to metal once again be PERFECTLY CAPABLE of movement then metal could at ANY POINT WALKED/FLEW BACK, but he didn't. He didn't go back because that defeat right there was what broke the camel's back, after the repeated loss after loss did metal finally be able to take no more and accepted his defeat. Cold, alone, and partially broken he remained there with nothing to do other than look through his memories because nothing points to Metal going into a sleep mode so we're sort of led to believe metal was turned on for that ENTIRE duration of time when he was in the dirt. And what does Metal's memories consist of? Oh that's right it's practically only filled with the repeated times he lost by the hands of someone who he deems inferior to the point he believes himself to be the superior version. I feel like this is the moment where the true bitterness brew, his choice of words as Metal Overlord demonstrates just how much Metal despises Sonic.:"Long time no see, Sonic, my loathsome copy!" Is a line that I always felt like so much power because Metal doesn't hate sonic, he LOATHES him. What was simple hatred grew into something so much more because reminder Metal's entire purpose is to beat Sonic and kill him yet never being able to do that ultimately lead to something more than just him merely serving his purpose, no, Metal's feelings towards Sonic turned personal.

Also really quick Metal does appear in sonic adventure which is after the classic era. He is playable in the DX version but he has no proper story and is merely a fun reward you get for getting all the medals, but his main appearance even in the OG version is in this vat in the egg carrier. It's possible Metal is still turned on during this considering his eyelights ARE on meaning he still could be thinking but there's no evidence to support he's awake or in stasis and because this model is ripped directly from SA2 battle which ya know, has him turned on. Still something neat to note but probably not important.

Anyways with all that being said the mania adventure shorts is something we got in this modern era to provide some lore on Metal Sonic and just some neat filler stuff that adds world building. Back then there was no little extra bit of talk or content regarding the canon game material with Metal as a character but stuff is still implied with all the dialogue written in Sonic Heroes where we see Metal in his ULTIMATE FORM. With his new Neo form Metal gains the power to copy the biological data of whatever life form he can thoroughly assess and he uses this power to scan everyone's data as well as the biological data of the primordial god of chaos which is in the form of Froggy who holds Chaos' tail and Chocolate which is a chao which are kin/apart of Chaos or at least the master emerald. Once with all the data in tow he transforms into Metal Overlord which is not only the pinnacle of Eggman's hubris but also a manmade god capable of adapting to whatever is thrown at it and becoming stronger. It's a learning machine that simply gets smarter and stronger the more you throw at it until it gets the power to best you with it now able to copy what you threw at it. It is such a threat that once Eggman sees this he truly realizes that he was Icarus who flew too close to the sun and is paying for it in the form of his creation which power far outclasses that of the chaos emeralds. As said by doctor Eggman himself who is known to be a man full of ego and pride he still understands how truly fucked they all are upon seeing Neo Metal transform with him saying "it's useless! Metal Sonic has combined your data with the power of chaos and super strong! We can't defeat it!" Even when he groans about the singular possible chance of being able to fight Metal with all the 7 chaos emeralds upon seeing them he doubles down on Metal Overlord's power by saying "even with the emerald's power our chances for victory are slim! It would take a miracle!"

Eggman himself makes the clear statement of even with the power of all 7 emeralds and the capability of 3 users of the power of super the odds are SLIM and dawg says it would take a god damn MIRACLE if they wanna win. Not to mention he says this with the most genuine fear ever because as I remarked before, my man is regretting the time he kicked metal and probably real quick turned from a man of science to one of religion and started praying to Gaia that he doesn't go to the Sonic universe's version of hell. Bottom line is Metal Sonic is ridiculously powerful and team Rose, team Chaotix, and team Dark which includes Shadow—AND FINALLY GETTING BACK TO WHAT THIS RANT STARTED OFF AS— can't do anything but hold him off while Sonic, Tails and Knuckles charge up. With all 3 teams attacking Metal Overlord doesn't really falter as all they're doing is catching him mid-transformation and simply fighting to buy time because as Metal states himself "You all are useless now that I copied your data!" And even Shadow understands this because after holding him off with Team Dark Shadow says "Sonic! We're counting on you!" Because he too registers that if Sonic, Tails, and Knux don't pull it off they are all totally fucked. Oh this is also not mentioning that after the 3 teams held him off Team Sonic could only hurt Metal in his overlord with team blast which was 3 people hyped up on chaos juice jumping him all at once! I don't need to go on with just how powerful overlord is as a transformation yet this is all a prerequisite to understand SHADOW IS NOT FUCKING TOUCHING METAL OVERLORD NO MATTER THE UNIVERSE OR WHAT NEW POWERS HE GETS!

Metal ultimately is better than Sonic but somehow can never come out on top. Despite being faster he still somehow loses races to his "loathsome copy". Metal is a cold calculating robot who can analyze whatever is being thrown at him and adapt even if not in his Neo form we see in the mania shorts without the chaos emeralds supping him up he goes for the master emerald trying to improvise and fight on the fly. Unlike Sonic who bleeds and will eventually fall to time and age Metal won't, metal will stay constant in his prime only ever getting stronger with each encounter and fight he's in with Sonic but in the end he will still lose. With his jet propulsion system and overdrive attack Metal is easily capable of out speeding Sonic, beating him at what he does best and being faster than the fastest thing alive, but his greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. While it's true Metal is faster than the fastest thing alive ultimately that's what makes him inferior, his lack of life and a soul with the capability of only doing what he has ever known. Even when betraying his creator and getting free will he doesn't for a second stop his goal of being the one and only Sonic, in the process LITERALLY turning himself into a monster (which he acknowledges) but that doesn't stop him from trying and leads to his defeat.

AND THEN WE GOT SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS WHERE THIS RED SON OF A BITCH COMES OUTTA NOWHERE AND BEATS HIM IN A 1 v 1!

get the fuck out with this SHADOW FAVORITISM BULLSHIT SEGA! Do not fucking tarnish Metal's character by giving Shadow the ability to suddenly face him! Like I'm gonna go as far to say FUCKING BASE METAL outclasses Shadow because Metal is still capable of evenly matching what Sonic can output to the end, he's Sonic's lesser by a tiny margin and the idea that Shadow—WHO IS NOT STRONGER THAN SONIC MIND YOU—can magically fight the form that can be implied is stronger than fucking chaos is laughable and bullshit. So much bullshit in fact that I could create a healthy and thriving fucking garden in my front yard which is more dead and lacking of nutrients than the Sahara fucking desert's land! That's how much bullshit there is! Oh but of course the people who love riding that hedgehog's hog will go and say "um shadow also has a soul so wouldn't he be able to beat metal?" And my response is: IT WASN'T JUST SONIC'S SOUL THAT WON HIM THE METAL OVERLORD FIGHT! Sonic would of died there if not for Knuckles and Tails who are A KEY PART OF SONIC'S CHARACTER! The use of only using team blast to fight Metal is more than simply a game mechanic to prolong the Metal Overlord fight, it's also a key display of who Sonic is as a character and his development. Sonic had grown from a lone wolf character who was as free as the wind to now a complete extrovert who cherishes his friends and allies with his life, it's his friends who truly make him who he is because it's the power of friendship, their words, and the knowledge that their all counting on him that helps him press on, and having two of his closest friends fighting right by his side is just the push he needs to give it his all. That sounds cheesy as fuck but Sonic has always been a cheesy franchise and character, what's a chili dog without some cheese on top huh!?

Now with all of THAT being I'm sure a few people will ask "okay smartass would you prefer metal overlord to be totally forgotten and not included at all?" And to that I say: kinda yeah. But if you're looking for genuine criticism of mine then I do have one: remove Metal Overlord's wings and make him the imperfect overlord as seen here↓

... That's it. That's truly it, my one complaint and my correction.

"did you really write an essay as to why you hate this boss fight only to give the smallest design correction and nitpi—" I DON'T GIVE A FUCK IF THIS IS A NITPICK THIS MATTERS! Metal has always been my favorite character and it's made VERY CLEAR his perfected overlord form is one of the most terrifying and potentially powerful things in the verse and I'm not gonna have all the character and depth behind it GO TO HELL FOR THE SAKE OF FAN SERVICE! It's not fan service, it's a fucking fan DISSERVICE! It's such a little change and would of been SO FUCKING EASY, they could of made Metal simply levitate or some shit with several jet engines as to make it different and diverse from the original Metal Overlord fight. This would also make sense because shadow did NOT fight perfect Overlord and instead fought imperfect Overlord when he was still connected to the egg carrier and properly processing things and powering up. Like did they forget that or did they just truly not give a fuck and decide to disregard the deep complex story behind as to why Metal Sonic is a giant monster because the design change isn't too drastic but even the untrained eye can see THE ONE ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT ARE TWO DIFFERENT VERSIONS!

Like I made this entire fucking thing for this simple complaint which one may call childish which granted is kind of fucking childish but I don't fucking care anymore because I will NOT STAND FOR METAL SLANDER NO LONGER! I've seen people suddenly thinking Metal Overlord is some bitch ass transformation that shadow can single handily take down which is NOT the case and the implication that he could is dumb! I don't give a fuck if it's the year of Shadow Metal is one of the longest standing villains right next to Eggman and he gets fucking cucked for this red streak, speeds by, weaker than Sonic fucker who ISN'T EVEN THE FUCKING ULTIMATE LIFEFORM BECAUSE MAY I REMIND YOU SHADOW HIMSELF SAID SONIC MAY BE THE TRUE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM WHICH WOULD OF BEEN THEMATICALLY FITTING AND WOULD TAKE AWAY NOTHING IF SHADOW LOST THAT TITLE!

"are you just bitching about Shadow now?"

yes the fuck I am because this pisses me off to no end. I've GENUINELY got a headache as I'm writing this because Metal Overlord's inclusion irritates me beyond belief. Whatever you get my point, ramble over and Toon out I'm fucking tired

[osgoss]

My BKDK Band AU (part 1)

Aka my self-indulgent Drummer Bakugou x Bassist Izuku

First things first, Izuku probably learned how to sing first and became part of a choir before he learned to pick up an instrument. He always wanted to play in a band as a kid, and he'd join katsuki's rehearsals just to watch him play.

He only takes interest sometime in his graduating year of high school, when his music teacher (toshinori cough cough) points out how interested he looks while watching katsuki and his band rehearse for a class project. Izuku pretty much throws around excuses as to why he never really learned how to try, from choosing choir first or finding the guitar too complicated, and 'ahh the drums were always kacchan's thing not me' or just not having the talent to play an instrument. Intrigued, Toshinori points out the bass guitar, which isn't as flashy as a guitar or drums or even piano, but certainly just as important as the other instruments, and how learning it would be easier ("what with less strings and less complicated chords, you know?"). For a moment Izuku thinks, a bit hopeful, but then immediately shuts down because he 'wouldn't really have the time to practice it now, and assuming bass guitars are about the same price as an electric guitar, I don't really have that kind of money right now haha'. And then Izuku's final reason would be that he would never dare to outshine or much less step on the same stage as Katsuki Bakugou, the famed drummer.

Toshinori then goes on a tangent of how drums and bass most often than not go hand in hand. While pianos and guitars and singing take care of the melody and tones, drums and bass are important for both the tempo and rythm of a song.

The next time they meet, Toshinori is giving Izuku his old bass guitar, and thats the start of Izuku's journey to learning the bass!!! Personally I like to think Izuku is on the higher notes when it comes to singing, and so bass would also be a refreshing start for him!

As for Katsuki, he's always adored the sound of Izuku's singing voice despite never admitting it. Yet I like to think he has a core memory of them when they were kids, and Izuku sang to him to cheer him up. He never really visited the other's choir practices or rehearsals, but whenever there was a school event or Izuku was asked to sing, Bakugou would always listen intently. In fact, he might've even developed a certain hate for his own voice, with how loud and gruff his voice is, ever since he was a kid. This was the main reason he chose to pick up an instrument, too. He wanted to shine just as much as Izuku in his eyes anyway.

Oh and the reason why Bakugou got a head start on learning the drums was because he had a gameboy as a kid and liked to play rhythm tengoku ALL the time. He got so competitive over it, too.

When Toshinori announces that Izuku will be a part of the band for the project, Katsuki freaks the fuck out. They have this fight for a while, a few weeks before the presentation of their class project, ykno classic bkdk misunderstanding yowza <33 what with Bakugou feeling intimidated by how much Izuku is growing, while also having the slight fear of never hearing Izuku sing again (he feels stupid for it, but never admits it out loud). He does his best to make him give up or discourage him and tell him "you're better off using your ugly nerd voice", which of course Izuku takes the wrong way (can you blame him tbh), and yet Izuku finds himself challenged but hopeful. He doesn't want to throw away the chance (and the guitar) that his teacher gave him. The chance to finally be on the same stage as his childhood friend, to shine just as brightly and beautifully.

They still do rehearse together despite this, and through all the struggle, there are times when their practices turn out better than expected, and in these times, Izuku isn't sworn off at as much.

And then a big fight goes down between the two of them, and they're both angry and arguing because they're running out of time, and Izuku still can't get one part correctly. Bakugou has always been a perfectionist at heart, and Izuku has always respected him for it. But for the first time, Izuku feels just how far apart they are in skill, and he hates it. For now, all he can do is appologize and say "I'll do better" in any semblance to reassure the blonde, but they both know there's just too much at stake amd too much missing. Izuku spends the rest of the night practising until his fingers get blisters.

In the end, Izuku couldn't back out because the other bassist wasn't any better at the bass than Izuku was because he'd thought the greenette wouldn't be replaced at all. In the end, he couldn't perfect the segment he'd wanted to in time, not even on the night before the presentation, no matter how many band aids he used to wrap his blistered up fingers.

On the day of the presentation, Bakugou was driven to a boiling point, repeatedly starting the song over and over until Izuku got it right. Not having a single care about the audience of parents and teachers bellow. Only when they'd finally asked his mother to coerce him to play the song one more time, in full, and in a way Bakugou didn't want to, had Izuku realised just how much their relationship had deteriorated. Playing a song as a band had never felt so restricting, feeling as if your bandmate was your enemy. Feeling as if the people you were playing with didn't want you there at all. For Izuku's first experience on the stage, he was crushed to bits. Turned into a no one. A deku.

When he goes back to the music room to retrieve his(toshinori's-) bass, he finds the strings purposefully cut and left on display, and it doesn't take him a second to know who's behind it (most likely one of bakugou's 'friends' to send him a message). "We can always replace them," Toshinori reassures, "it would've been a real problem if they messed with the back." But the damage had been done, and the message was received.

(To Be Continued...)

"Toshinori-san, do you think I have what it takes to be a bass player?" The question catches him off guard. He takes a moment and then moves to sit beside the younger boy. "Hm. Well, you do have a bass in hand, don't you?" He makes eye contact with the other. "Doesn't that make you a bass player already?" And the boy bursts into tears.

They all pass and graduate despite the kerfuffle of their last project, and Izuku decides to go into a deep dive into learning the bass over his summer break.

Phew!! Wow, this took a lot longer to edit and write ngl, but it's my first written AU!!! YIPPEEEE!! This was actually meant to be a crack AU, due to an ongoing meme in the bands communities where bass players and drummers often get a long well and end up being 'shipped'. So i thought it'd be funny if bkdk was like that, and surprisingly, my brain just decided to brainworm the HELL out of it. So here we are! I'm definitely already working my way into making part 2 so u don't have to worry about that! Hope yall enjoyed reading!!!

[peterparkouryo]

no way remedy | ꕥ

before the storm | ꕥ

warnings: fluff. angst

word count: 3.7k

a/n: i just want to say this story was made in january of 2022 so the writing is horrible 😭 istg it’ll get better after chapter three

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ taglist

YOUR DATE WITH PETER WAS GOING AMAZING. You'd never would had thought someone like him could be such a romantic. Not that you're complaining, but given how long you've known the boy, it was hard to assume he could be the movie sort of romantic guy.

Your date consisted of a walk in Central Park ( a classic) and some ice cream from the local convenient store because fall was approaching rather quickly and the ice cream truck was no longer in season.

Now to be fair, you were never a hopeless romantic type, but when you had met Peter, he changed your life (in more ways than some). He had made you see the colour you were too blind to see because your life was always filled with darkness by choice. He helped you be more optimistic than pessimistic as you always were. You felt as if Peter was the sun to your moon, and sure that was probably cheesy but it was the honest truth.

Currently, you two were hand in hand, walking to your apartment instead of swinging, because you were afraid of heights and of course you trust Peter with your entire life, but being more than three feet above the ground was a terrifying thought.

When you had found out about your boyfriend being the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, it was when you and your friends were on the school trip that quickly turned to hell. You had always had an inkling that he was your city's hero, but you were never really sure. It wasn't until your sister Michelle, told you her suspicions as well, and you were eyeing him ever since. Of course you only eyed him for that one reason, well that's not true, you had eyed him because one, you wanted to know if he was Spider-Man, and two, you had an major crush on him.

It wasn't major per se, but every time you secretly read a romance novel, you'd picture the two main characters were yourself and Peter, an insane thing to think, but you couldn't help it.

After the school trip, and Mysterio's pandemonium, Peter confessed just how much he liked you, which was a total surprise to you. You had always thought it was one sided, and he had his eyes set on your sister, but it only seemed that way because the boy is truly just that awkward. 

You're glad things are the way they are for now.

"So, same time tomorrow?" Peter asked, swinging your hands back and fourth, the upcoming August wind blowing mercifully against your faces.

"A second date?" You quizzed, gazing at him with a small smile.

Peter shrugs.

"Sure, why not." He smiled back, giving your hand a soft squeeze.

Given this was your first official date after all the chaos that happened on your trip, you couldn't really say no to a second one, knowing that since this one went without problems and normality, the second one shouldn't be as bad.

"I'd love to." You beamed just as you two arrived at your apartment building.

"Awesome." Peter smiled, letting go of your hand, watching your figure walk to the building's doubled doors as you opened it, stopping in your tracks to turn around to give him a final wave, which he reciprocated. 

Your building wasn't fancy, not that you mind, and you were grateful you had a place to live, to be able to go to sleep in a nice warm not so comfy bed.

You walked up the stairs to your complex, and you would had took the elevator if it wasn't broken for the fourth time this month.

Your phone dinged with a notification, a text from Peter asking if you made it to your door okay, and your heart flutters at his thoughtful concern. You reply with a 'yes', grabbing your key from the back of your pocket and putting it in the keyhole before unlocking it.

Once you entered the abode, you're hit with a familiarity of books, the pages either crumbled or worn out with a tear. The soft noises of the TV in the living room filling your ears and being the curious person you are, you travel to the noise.

Your father is sitting on the couch, watching an old show made in the sixties, a habit you adored about him.

"Hey." You greet him, setting down the flower Peter had gave you when he arrived at your apartment, into an empty flower vase on the end table next to the couch.

"Hey hun, how was your hangout with your friend?" He asked, turning his attention away from the TV to look at you.

"Dad for the last time, it was a date, not a hangout." You corrected, rolling your eyes as you fixed the flower into the vase.

You had told your father about the date, and also about the fact you were dating Peter, but he was either forgetful or just didn't really like the idea of you dating anyone. Peter tried his hardest to make your dad appreciate him, but it was pointless, and that may be because your dad did not care about his attempts of overawe.

"Oh, right. With Peter?" He quizzed, raising an eyebrow.

You hum out your response, flipping over the ceramic flower necklace attached to your neck.

It was a white astrantia flower, one of the petals cracked, but you didn't mind, it still had special meaning and gave it a sort of character, you suppose. Peter had given it to you shortly before his confession back in London on the landmark bridge. He rambled about what it meant to you and why he was going to give it to you and you only had smiled and gave his cheek a quick peck to shut him up.

The flower meant a lot to you, because anyone and everyone you met had told you how strong you were and how you would be the first to defend anyone you cared for. Your bravery was an inspiration to others, something Peter would remind you of any chance he got.

"Your sister should be home from her shift shortly." You hear your dad tell you as you make your way to your bedroom.

You say nothing, going to your bedroom and closing the door.

Your room wasn't much, just a room filled with shelfs of clutter and books, notes of affirmation attached to your wall near your closet, and Polaroids above the headboard of your bed that consisted of pictures from your trip and adventures with MJ.

Your favourite polaroid was your recent one with Peter, the two of you sharing a ice cream, but instead of the two of you being a cliche and licking it, you were holding up the cone as ice cream melted, a bright smile adorning your face as Peter reciprocated it, his hand also nursing the waffle cone.

You grabbed a pin from the drawer of the nightstand near your bed, your grip on the polaroid picture, closing the drawer and climbing on your bed holding the picture to the pinboard.

Before you could put the photo on the pinboard your sister practically bursts through your bedroom door, causing you to drop the polaroid, it slipping between your headboard and falling under your bed. You mutter a curse, getting off your bed and turning your gaze toward MJ.

"Sup, loser." She greets with a straight face, decorated in her work attire, her teal shirt with a hint of pink on the end of the sleeves the same pink colour also peaking from her collar, a mess.

"What happened?" You question, ignoring her greeting as you gestured toward her shirt that had a few stains.

"Some moron didn't know how to drink coffee, and I tripped with a donut in my hand." MJ shrugs, going over to your bed before laying down with a huff.

You nod, doing the same.

"Sounds horrific." You say, placing your hands on your stomach.

"How was your movie cliche date with spider boy?" MJ asked with a hint of curiosity. 

It made sense sister knew Peter was Spider-Man. You had nothing to do with her finding out, she told you how it was kind of obvious to begin with and she confronted him before things took turn for the worst during your time in London.

"It was," You started, pondering your thoughts as the curly haired girl expectingly looked at you. "Surprisingly great." You finished with a smile, your sister rolling her eyes.

"I always knew he'd turn you sappy." She sighed, sitting up from the bed, scanning your room.

You roll your eyes as well, staring at the ceiling.

"You're just jealous." You say back.

"I have Ned." MJ joked, causing you to chuckle.

"You apply to MIT yet?" She asked quietly, fiddling with her hands.

"Yup, just waiting for the letter." You tell her quickly, feeling your heart tighten in your chest at the mere thought of rejection.

You, MJ, Peter, and Ned had this almost impossible plan to apply for the same college, because you four were just that inseparable and even if you and MJ breathed being introverts, you were genuinely glad you met Peter and Ned. One being your best friend and significant other and the other being your best friend, but together, you'd die for them.

"Same." MJ says with a smile before the girl gets up from your bed and makes her way to your door.

"I'll be with Peter tomorrow for our second date." You tell her randomly.

"Gross." Is the last thing she says, exiting your room as the door closes.

You roll your eyes, dismissing her comment before turning off your light to enter a much needed slumber, anticipating tomorrow, your mind already filling with the things you and Peter could do.

peter parkour: omw, be thesr soon

peter parkour: thers

peter parkour: teher

peter parkour: nvm

you: don't swing and text :)

You quickly stuff your phone in your pocket after sending the message to Peter, warning him about his bad habit of swinging and texting. You were already nervous with the date you didn't expect, but adding him and his hazard swinging to the mix wasn't helping. 

Unfortunately for you, Peter had insisted that you two go on a swinging date, then go to Delmar's, which was at it's third instalment, and he promised for your third date that he would let you pick out what you two could do. You would hold him to that too.

You had hope that your current outfit was too much of a hassle for Peter to navigate with, because you know it would be difficult if he had to swing with you with the outfit you were wearing.

Your outfit wasn't plain, but it also wasn't extravagant either. You had barely just any energy when you were picking it out. You had borrowed a grey cable knit cardigan from MJ's closet, hoping your sister wouldn't notice, but given her observant personality, you doubt she wouldn't. You had paired it with a charlotte skirt you found in your closet with your black high top converses, because well, why not?

It wasn't that you didn't want to swing around with Peter, but you didn't, at all. There was nothing the boy could do that would convince you to do it, not anything that you knew would work. Somehow though, he convinced you anyway saying it would be fun, and a "one time thing only", which you only hoped was true.

A knock at your window broke you from your thoughts, your attention gazing over toward Peter, who was in his newly made suit, the classic red colour now assigned with black.

You send him a smile, going to your window and opening it to let him in.

"Sorry I took too long, there was this whole thing with Happy and May that I had to sort out, then it got all weird so I just left." The boy rambled, entering your room before taking off his mask.

"It's okay." You laughed, fighting the urge to fix his unruly curls.

"You look great, by the way." Peter adds quickly with a flustered face.

It always amazed you at how shy and awkward Peter could be at times when it came to complimenting you, or just giving you words of affirmation at any given time. It quite literally surprised you when he had the guts to ask you to be his girlfriend.

"Thanks, you too." You say just as shyly. You had no idea why you had said that anyway, he was only wearing his Spider-Man suit, but it was still the truth anyhow.

"I only wore this because I didn't want to go swinging." You admitted, watching the boy give you an eye roll.

"I promise it's not that bad, not unless you make it that way." Peter tells you, approaching your figure before taking both your hands in his spandex covered ones.

"And I promise to never let you fall. I will always be the one to catch you." He adds sincerely, and you swear your heart grows three sizes at his words.

Like you said before, Peter always finds a way to give you words of affirmation no matter what.

You give him a shy smile, your cheeks practically burning at his words, giving his left one a peck.

"Alright, let's go before I change my mind." You tell him, the boy letting out a breathy chuckle.

"Okay, okay." Peter says, tugging his mask back onto his face.

"Is MJ here?" He questioned as he exited your room, sticking to the building in front of your window.

"Yeah, why?" You ask, taking a hold of his hand he had it held out for you.

You wrap your legs around his hips, connecting your arms around his neck, clinging onto the boy for dear life and he wasn't even swinging yet.

"Just asking." Peter shrugs, closing your window for you.

"Ready?" He asked, one hand gripping around your waist.

"Never."

"Great!"

Everything happens rather quickly from you two being still at the outside of your window to Peter all too swiftly, without warning swinging you both through the city, your heart pounding wildly against your chest.

"Oh my god!" You scream, closing your eyes as you bypassed buildings, burying your head into his neck.

Your boyfriend seemed to pay no mind to your screeching. It surprised you, supposing you were quite literally screaming into his ear, which you hoped you didn't do too much damage to. However, your heart was no longer in your chest, instead at the bottom of your stomach, you felt like you were going to puke.

What really surprised you throughout this whole torturous swinging was the fact your skirt wasn't a problem at all, not that it would've been anyway because you were smart enough to wear shorts underneath.

"I'm not looking! I'm not looking!" You continue your whines, feeling the swift wind blowing wildly in your face, hearing Peter's cheers as you continue to navigate through the city.

Peter was keened on making sure you felt safe when swinging with him, though you did, it still didn't help with your fear of heights. Sure, you hated this, but you know somewhere deep down inside of you, you enjoyed this, maybe just for a bit though.

You let him be in the moment, him at one point doing some sort of trick where it seemed he was going to drop you, but doesn't, something that made you let out a loud throaty screech in fear.

After awhile though, the swinging thankfully comes to an end after your pleading of asking him to drop you in the middle of Times Square.

When he does, you two land near a lamp post, your hair that was in an up do, probably a mess from the rush of wind you induced. 

"You okay?" Peter concerns, watching your body relax as you catch your breath.

You nod, unable to form any words, your throat aching from all the screaming you did.

"Yeah, just-" You start, "never do that again." You warned him, watching him nod in understanding.

"Ever." You added, making him laugh.

"Alright." Peter reassures.

"You still want to go to Delmar's?" Peter asked unsurely, tilting his head in curiosity. 

You thought about his question for a moment. He did promise you he would, but in all honesty you really didn't feel like it, at least you thought you didn't. Plus Delmar's was all the way in Queens while you two were standing in the middle of Times Square, which wasn't anywhere near the deli.

"Maybe tomorrow?" You suggested raising an eyebrow.

"Oh okay, sure." He agreed.

"I'll just have my dad pick me up, because, you know." You tell him, hoping he caught on to what you were trying to get at.

"Right, understandable." Peter chuckles.

"See you tomorrow?" He questioned, and you give him a nod as your answer before going in for a hug.

You two mutter your goodbyes, you watch the spider boy swing to the lamp post you were near, causing the birds that were sitting there to fly away in alarm.

You were just about to pull out your phone to call your dad to pick you up, the spider boy also about to leave before something on one of the many screens in the Square catch your attention.

"This is breaking news." the anchor from a Led screen announces, dragging most of the civilians who were wandering the Square's attention, as well.

"We come to you know with revelations about last week's attack in London." An anchor on a big screen you were staring at says, Peter turning around to look at another one on a much bigger screen.

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion, curious as to what new information could possibly be provided.

"An anonymous source provided this video." The anchor says, your eyes gaze to Peter who was already looking down at you. It didn't take a genius to know that he was confused and fearful underneath his mask.

"It shows Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio, moments before his death." The man adds, a small crowd gathering near you to watch the screen.

"A warning, you may find this video disturbing." He adds.

Your head unknowingly tilts in confusion, watching the screen switch from the news man to a video footage of the former villian at the London bridge.

"I managed to send the Elemental through the rift." Beck says fearfully.

"But I don't think I'm gonna make it." He exclaims, and you almost could roll your eyes at his victimized act.

"Spider-Man attacked me for some reason." Beck lies straight through his teeth, you knew it was a bold face one, Peter as well, but you feared the many people that lingered around you who was either watching or not would believe him. You really hoped they didn't.

"He has an army of weaponized drones, Stark technology." He informs wearily, the video glitching every chance it got.

The ironic part about that sentence was that army of drones were his weapon, the same weapon the man used to try to delusion you and your friends, the same weaponized drones that he tried to kill you with. Somehow, he managed to make it seem like Peter was using the Stark technology for bad reasons, which wasn't the case at all.

"He's saying he's the only one who's gonna be the new Iron man." Beck spits out yet another lie.

Your face falls in disbelief, no longer in its curious expression as it was before, you glance at a couple people who had their phones out, recording the scene ahead of them.

The footage then glitches, or cuts to a new footage of Mysterio, or Beck, laying limp on the ground as Peter stood before him, talking to the AI glasses Tony Stark had given him, EDITH.

"Are you sure you want to commence the drone attack?" The AI lady's voice asked.

"There will be significant casualties." She warned.

"Do it. Execute them all." Peter tells, but from your knowledge you can tell the video is heavily edited, chunks of what actually happened cut out for reasons you weren't so sure of.

Gun shots were being fired in the video, most likely destroying the drones, but it probably seemed as if it was doing something way worst, you had no idea since Peter was the only one there, able to know what actually happened.

"This shocking video was released earlier today." The anchor mans says, coming back into frame of the screen, and you feared the worst.

"On the controversial news website." The man adds, and you figured it was probably the Daily Bugle, to which was true since the man says it anyway, the screen cutting to the news website, showing a grumpy old man known as J. Jonah Jameson.

"There you have it folks, conclusive proof that Spider-Man was responsible for the murder of Mysterio." Jameson informed.

You gave your surroundings a quick look over, the crowd that was small much more bigger.

"An interdimensional warrior who gave his life to protect our planet and who will no doubt go down in history as the greatest superhero of all time." You watch the bias anchor say, you were now starting to see why this news website was so controversial, your blood boiling at the praise Beck was receiving undeservingly. 

Peter once again looks at you, and if you weren't so focused on his reaction you'd miss his body demeanour practically pleading for the both of you to get out of there, not wanting to face the public any longer.

You were about to call out his name, but the next words from the screen stops you.

"But that's not all folks." Jameson exclaims, your head snapping back toward the screen in-sync with Peter's.

"Here's the real blockbuster." He says and your face turns into yet another curious expression, your eyebrows furrowed.

"Brace yourselves. You might wanna sit." Jameson warns.

The screen shows Beck once again, the video glitching more evident this time, due to the damage it had most likely faced.

"Spider-Man's real-" The man starts, the video footage glitching. "Spider-Man's real name is-" He tries again, looking around in alert before the screen glitches to black for a second, and your heartbeat quickens, hoping what you think was about to happen didn't.

Unfortunately the screen glitches back to Beck, his face only getting inhumanly bigger on the screen as the worst came to settlement, his final words shocking everyone around you.

"Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker!" Beck exclaims, the video cutting to an familiar image of your boyfriend, being plastered on many Led screens in the Times Square.

"Oh, shit." You say with dread, hearing people gasp in disbelief, a few citizens pointed to your boyfriend who still remained sat on the lamp post.

What was supposed to be an innocent date, turned into something much worst. You had no idea what to do, and you figured neither did Peter, the one who surely whose head probably was exploding with a million thoughts.

[hazelnut-u-out]

Something that’s always bothered me is the presentation of the infamous ‘Mr. Jellybean’ scene in Meeseeks and Destroy versus the Planetina plotline in A Rickconvenient Mort.

(TW for grooming)

On first watch, we know Mr. Jellybean is terrible. In my opinion, I always thought they handled that whole plotline rather well. It wasn’t played for laughs or made light of, we see the emotional effect on Morty, they don’t attempt to make the predator sympathetic, and we see Rick step up as ‘Grandpa’ for one of the first times ever— to kill a pedophile, no less. Pretty strong morality alignment on that one.

Suddenly, though, when the predator is no longer an older man, but an older woman, it’s… shitty, sure, but not explicitly wrong.

On my first watch, I thought A Rickconvenient Mort was pretty blatantly a statement piece on grooming. Planetina follows textbook grooming tactics, including lovebombing, isolation, manipulation, and gaslighting. She plays into the classic ‘very mature young man.' We even have Beth as a voice of reason, finally stepping up to the plate to protect her son after what seems to be years of emotional neglect. We watch that very neglect backfire on her concern and push Morty further into this relationship. I initially thought it was a play on grooming the viewer, as well, because of the way it’s told essentially from Morty’s ‘puppy love’/‘first love’ point of view and leaves you feeling just the right amount of unsettled after the ending.

So, you could imagine my surprise when I realized that not everyone (in fact, less people than I had expected) initially clocked Planetina as a sketchy/predatory character.

So, I did what any great journalist would do— rewatched. And rewatched. And rewatched.

I wanted to form a nuanced opinion, but I came out on the other side wondering why we never got a moment with Planetina that clearly shows us she’s a condemnable character in the relationship with Morty and not just because of her methods of activism.

I think we’re actually supposed to agree with Morty in this scene, which was not my first reaction.

The age difference is obviously something they intended to be a main plot point for this storyline, as well. The explicit references to it (Morty's age, in particular) were put there for a reason, from the beginning of the episode all the way to the climax.

In a lot of ways, it makes sense to assume that maybe they didn't want to explicitly state it was wrong (though, they do through Beth, in my opinion).

That would explain why so much of A Rickconvenient Mort is set up using textbook grooming tactics; why we never see Planetina outright condemned, but see Morty emotionally destroyed and confused; why we’re (arguably) supposed to agree with Morty over Beth; why we follow Planetina all the way up to when her facetious face of peace and ambivalence crumbles.

Of course, I’m not trying to assume anything, but it does make me wonder what leads someone to write a character in this way— and even promote her as a character at times (like this post, which is captioned 'Tag your Planetina').

Then again, maybe my initial interpretation was correct and all of this was the result of a conscious choice to write and direct an episode from the point of view of Morty as a victim. I mean, it wouldn’t be too far off to assume something like that as we’ve seen them do it time and time again, just with Rick as the abuser. Think of Mortynight Run, The Vat of Acid Episode, and the new infamous episodes: A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort & Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation, just to name a few.

Maybe A Rickconvenient Mort is another one of the episodes intended to show Morty’s perspective and frame his loss of innocence as he views it, not as adults/outsiders view it.

It could be a cool contrast between how Rick protects Morty from these sorts of situations versus how Beth does.

(Disclaimer: I’m NOT saying that there aren’t different types of abuse and different appearances to abusers/predators! I just feel like both of these types of abuse/assault can be explicitly depicted as wrong.)

[tobiasdrake]

What are your opinions on Paikuhan/Pikkon, as well as the Other World Tournament arc more generally?

Could have stood to be longer. Five episodes doesn't seem like nearly enough to get an entire tournament arc over and done with, but it can be enough episodes when there are very few characters to be invested in.

The Anoyoichi Budokai or "Strongest in the Other World Martial Arts Tournament" is an interesting premise held back by a lack of substantively interesting characters to fill a tournament roster. What makes tournament arcs work is getting to see various members of the cast given their moment in the spotlight. However, in the Anoyoichi Budokai, there are only two characters of any interest: Goku and Paikuhan.

Having only two interesting characters creates a problem for a tournament arc. It means the final round is the only match of any interest. The rest of the time is spent waiting for the plot to reach the interesting stuff. At that point, you'd be better off having Goku and Paikuhan slug it out in an exhibition match.

For his part, Paikuhan's introduction is a little janky. They wanted to do the "Meet the new antagonist, he makes the old antagonist look like a joke," bit to puff him up. So we get this?

Every arc has its ups and its downs. This is the weakest point of the Anoyoichi Budokai by far. This is peak "Toei doesn't understand Dragon Ball".

So, despite the fact that you don't keep your body in the afterlife without special dispensation from a sponsoring god, Frieza, Cell, and the Ginyus all have their bodies and are able to use their tremendous power to take over Jigoku.

The Ginyus, at least, were excused in a previous filler episode. Kaio sponsored them, allowing them to keep their bodies so he could use them to train the Earthlings. That episode had its own issues, mind. But at least it's there. No such explanation has been offered for who gave Frieza, Cold, and Cell their bodies back.

Toei just. Really likes this premise of all the old villains still being tremendously powerful and being able to revolt from Hell, even though the metaphysics are designed with built-in explanation for why that can't happen. Toei did it here, they did it in the movie Fusion Reborn, and they did it in GT.

So, Goku and Paikuhan go to put down the Hell revolt and like.

Goku wipes out the Ginyus while powered up in Super Saiyan yellow battle aura and Super Saiyan hair colored black for some reason. Not sure if this is a coloring error or what. Is he supposed to be Super Saiyan here or not? Doesn't seem like he'd need to be.

But then we get this reaction shot from Frieza and Cold.

Staring in slack-jawed amazement. Goku defeated the Ginyus!? That's impossible! It staggers belief that Goku could be so powerful that he could do that to the Ginyu Force! How far must he have advanced since the last time Frieza saw him!?

Y'know. When Goku left Frieza in chunks on the turf of an exploding planet.

Toei.

What the fuck are we doing here. This bit in Jigoku is the absolute nadir of the arc.

Its main purpose is to set the stage for this moment.

Paikuhan works over Cell like he's nothing.

If we're to assume that this is Super Perfect Cell at his full strength, then this is an intimidating yardstick moment for Paikuhan. Goku couldn't even take regular Perfect Cell. He doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell, pardon the pun, of measuring up to Paikuhan in the ring.

Goku, of course, is thrilled by the opportunity to try. Paikuhan here is presented as a new mountain for Goku to climb. The next peak he can ascend to. Today, he met the new Always Someone Stronger Around the Next Corner.

This, at least, Toei does get. This is classic Goku. He watches Paikuhan make short work of Cell and his takeaway is "Fuck yeah, I want a piece of that." Thankfully, Goku getting a piece of that is what the arc's actually about. Goku's in the afterlife for like an afternoon when the Kaios propose a tournament between their four galaxies.

Like I said before, most of the matches don't feel meaningful because we have no investment in any of the other competitors.

This guy's based on Hercules and he's the closest thing to a third important character, in that he and Goku got to exchange words for a bit in this episode. He's here so we can be sad when Paikuhan kicks his ass.

Oh no, Paikuhan defeated that one guy that was kinda nice and now he's out of the tournament. Sucks.

Goku, meanwhile, fights this caterpillar dude who tickles people.

Who he beats by just kinda blasting him 'cause Goku's tremendously powerful so this ain't shit. It ends on a killer joke, though, as Caterpi enters a chrysalis so he can power up and transform into his ultimate battle form!

Look, these things take a while, okay? Not everyone can just eat a spunky orphan and then POP, perfection. XD Ya got me, Toei, that was fucking gold. Caterpi is a nothing character but the punchline kills.

But other matches are stuff like this.

Cool power bro but. Like. I do not know who these people are. Toei, I don't know who these people are. I legit could not care less what the outcome of this match is. I don't know why you made this a tournament.

What makes a fight interesting is not that the guy punches very hard and his ki blast is super big. We care about the fight because we're invested in the characters participating.

Only once in the history of the Tenkaichi Budokai did Toriyama ever make us sit through a match between two randos: Namu vs. Ranfan in the 21st. That was because he was developing one of those randos to be an emotional core for the arc; That fight was meant to serve as our introduction to Namu for a story that would reach its height when he fought Goku in the semifinal.

This isn't that. Half of the arc's third episode is spent waiting for things that matter to start happening again.

Goku's opponent in the semifinals is really cool, though.

He's fighting a fish man with the power to summon water, forcing Goku into a bad position as he has to try and defend himself from Aqua while trying to avoid drowning. This is a really cool technique, setting up Aqua as an interesting and complicated opponent for Goku to have to navigate.

Who he beats by just kinda blasting him 'cause Goku's tremendously powerful so this ain't shit. Gotta admit, Aqua's fight left me disappointed 'cause that was a perfect setup for some classic Goku analysis and counter-fighting. But nope. Goku just Power Levels through every match.

Goku's third fight is barely worth mentioning. He fights the purple lizard guy from that earlier rando match. Malaiko is just a big strong guy who hits really hard. Goku hits harder. It's mainly notable for this one moment.

Where Goku momentarily loses track of Malaiko, and we see his eyes scanning back and forth as he tries to figure out where his opponent's gone.

Goku. Goku, you can sense ki. Goku, you are probably the universe's #1 master at ki sensing. You physically can't lose track of people like this. What are you doing?

He does find Malaiko and manage to sucker punch him before Malaiko can launch his attack. But I dunno. Goku needing to stop and try and figure out where his opponent vanished to for a couple seconds this late in the series feels wrong to me. This happens during the fight with Paikuhan too.

Paikuhan dodges an attack so fast that he vanishes from sight and Goku has to spend a couple seconds looking for him, before Paikuhan announces himself and surprises Goku. Again: Goku can sense ki. What is this?

In any case, rando hits hard, Goku hits harder, and we get this moment of acknowledgement from Paikuhan.

My dude, what are you talking about? We've been given no reason to believe that guy Goku just beat was supposed to be powerful beyond his abilities, nor has he had any opportunity to improve his skills since you met him like four hours ago. We have seen no meaningful improvement from Goku at any point in this tournament. Paikuhan's just saying words that sound like Dragon Ball things to say.

We move right along to the main event and what we're all actually here for: Goku finally steps into the ring with Paikuhan. From what we've seen of these two, Paikuhan should shitstomp Goku. What he did to Cell puts him leagues outside of Goku's capabilities.

Yep.

Yep.

That's about right. Paikuhan dominates this match, as well he should based on how they set him up. His Hyper Tornado is neat, trapping his opponent in a vortex of razor-sharp air currents that cut him up. Most of the fight is Goku facing some new thing or another that Paikuhan's doing. Goku struggles to even land a hit on Paikuhan, with every exchange either leading to Paikuhan wasting Goku or Goku managing to pull it out and fight evenly before the next exchange wastes him.

Paikuhan is never on the back foot, while Goku always feels like he's at the end of his rope desperately trying to pull this out.

There's also a bit of Playing the Hits to this fight, as Paikuhan pulls the "Goku suddenly reveals he's wearing weighted clothes" bit from the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai while Goku basically looks into the camera and calls him a knock-off Piccolo.

Goku, you're not supposed to point out when the anime's being uncreative. That's my job. There's also one of Toei's favorite bits of anime choreography here.

Toei really likes dramatic Super Saiyan transformations when a character's back is against the wall. In the movies, this gets really obnoxious and can feel like the characters are getting shitstomped on purpose. Like, we'll get prolonged sequences of Goku getting fucking shitstomped and we know he can just transform so it's like. Goku. Goku, why are you letting this happen to you?

This never happens in the manga. Saiyans go Super immediately as they step up to fight the bad guy. They only hold back when they have a reason to hold back, such as Trunks reserving his limit-breaker form because he's concealing it from Vegeta, or everyone agreeing at Gohan's behest to not go Super at the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai. Toei's action is all holding-back all the time, because it lets them drag fights out without having to come up with a valid reason for why the tide would suddenly turn at the critical moment.

But here, in this match, it works. For this first stage of the match, Goku and Paikuhan are both starting out small and testing each other's abilities. When Paikuhan decides to get serious, he takes off his weights. Goku repays him in kind by transforming. Goku was fighting Paikuhan at a level that matched what Paikuhan was giving him; now that Paikuhan is kicking things up a notch, Goku kicks things up to match.

This makes sense and feels true to character. Much moreso than, say, Vegeta letting Android 15 beat the shit out of him for several minutes because he loves the taste of fist in his mouth.

And then, of course, there's Goku's ultimate last resort unveiled here in this arc.

Goku uses the Kaio-ken as a Super Saiyan. As ways to remix old abilities for new and creative attacks go, this is a neat idea. Though it does raise a shitton of questions. Like, if Goku can do this, why didn't he use it against Cell?

Funnily enough, Toei forgot they wrote this in Dragon Ball Super. The Z anime and all of its filler is canon to the Super anime, with Captain Ginyu's continued existence being the most obvious example of their connections.

Toei did this again with Blue Kaio-ken, while also offering a lore explanation that Super Saiyan Blue is the only Super Saiyan form that it's possible to use Kaio-ken with. Never before has Anime Goku ever been able to combine Kaio-ken with Super Saiyan, but he can now do it with Blue.

So I guess this never happened. XD That's just as well; It lasts for all of one punch and then he never does it again. I think it's just there for another Playing the Hits moment. Remember that time Goku hit Kaio-ken and then punched Vegeta really super hard? Good times, moving on.

The climax of this fight comes when Paikuhan unveils his inappropriately named Thunder Flash.

"Thunder" in an attack name can generally mean one of two things: A powerful sonic crash or a fancy word for lightning. That. Um. That's fire. It's fire, Paikuhan. Do you know what thunder is? Because I don't think you do.

This is the best part of the entire tournament. Goku says this because characters are just saying Dragon Ball sounding words in this arc.

Which is a funny thing to say when the climax of the fight is going to feature Goku capitalizing on the technique's clear and obvious vulnerabilities. That's right, Thunder Flash finally gives us a chance to see Counter-Fighter Goku in action again.

Obviously, the technique's vulnerability is a) a super-long chargeup time where he has to do about as much random bullshit with his limbs as Recoome's Ultra FIghting Miracle Attack, followed by b) holding him in place while he fires it. Goku seizes on that second one; If the technique doesn't land, Paikuhan's set himself up for a brutal counterattack.

Goku can teleport. So he makes a brutal counterattack. Honestly, not sure why he didn't teleport out of the way the second time Paikuhan hit him with this. I can understand the first; He didn't know what was coming. But I don't know why it took until the third for him to come up with this. Evasive teleportation is not a new thing he just came up with today; He was doing it in his fight with Cell.

He says it took until the third Thunder Flash for him to first see Paikuhan's movements clearly.

I believe that. What I have trouble with is that he stood there and let the attack hit him without even trying to evade it. Dodging's for suckers, I guess.

But, nitpicks aside, this is a fantastic triumph for Goku. The fight up to this point has clearly asserted Paikuhan's undeniable statblock superiority, which makes it all the more hype when Goku wins anyway by exploiting the holes in Paikuhan's technique. Paikuhan is stronger, but Goku outmaneuvers him at just the right moment, in just the right way to clinch a ring-out and claim victory.

A victory that speaks both to Goku's abilities as a counter-fighter and his general familiarity with the atmosphere of the tournament stage.

So, overall, the arc itself is janky as fuck but its centerpiece, the Paikuhan fight, is mostly solid. It takes too long to get to the good part and there's nagging bits of Toei Choreography here and there once the fight begins but most of the fight itself works.

And it ends in a place that leaves Paikuhan and Goku both with much to learn. It's clear by the end of the match that Paikuhan is a stronger fighter while Goku is a better fighter. There are still mountains for both men to climb. This resolution feels true to the spirit of Dragon Ball and lets the Anoyoichi Budokai go out on a high note.

[floatingcatacombs]

Do Not Watch Stardust Memory

12 Days of Aniblogging 2024, Day 3

The Universal Century Gundam OVAs are pretty well-regarded as a whole. War in the Pocket is an antiwar Christmas classic from the perspective of a civilian child, and is also one of the most accessible Gundam shows. The 08th MS Team is regarded as having some of the best-animated fights in the whole franchise, and Gundam Unicorn keyed a new generation of fans into the setting, for better or for worse. Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory does not receive any such praise. Every once in a while a weirdo will vouch for it as an underrated series, or someone who grew up with it as their first Gundam will express blind devotion, but otherwise it goes mostly unaddressed, which is a surprise at first glance. This is the Gundam set between the original show and Zeta, bridging the gap by displaying the origin of the Titans and cataloguing the return of Zeon in the public consciousness. But Stardust Memory is buried for a reason: this is a deeply frustrating, slow, and confusing series. I hope I can convey why.

Stardust Memory (no relation to the Woody Allen movie) follows a cohort of soldiers at a Federation army base and later a space fleet as they try, very unsuccessfully, to unravel a scheme by Zeon remnants to… do something very bad! Zeon's central scheme doesn’t actually come into focus until the final episodes. Until then it’s mostly guys in rooms making sketchy deals and Zeon ace pilots screaming “you could never understand the importance of our mission!” and then…not explaining their mission. Being kept in the dark like that with very few other compelling plot developments does not good pacing make!

The main narrative thrust of this show is Kou’s growth from a boy into a man, through being forced to pilot a Gundam in service to a Federation which makes teens do its dirty work. Of course, there are obvious parallels here to Amuro Ray. But Kou manages to get through this ordeal without the introspection and anguish and trauma that makes Amuro’s arc so good. Kou gets plenty upset at himself for fucking up military objectives and not being Strong Enough, and his superiors dig into him plenty as well. But ultimately, it just comes across as a boy who fucked around and enlisted at a backwater Feddie base, and is currently Finding Out. It is much harder to feel sympathy for volunteer soldiers, even if they’re green! This may be my politics leading the conversation, but I just couldn't care about Kou. He’s a jerk and he sucks! So do his squadmates! Everyone in this show sucks!

This is actually a serious structural problem. Stardust Memory does not have likeable characters whatsoever. It’s one of the most negative depictions of the Earth Federation in any Gundam series, and on some level I endorse that! They may have had the moral high ground during the One Year War, but at the end of the day the Feddies are tactically incompetent, laughably corrupt, and morally spineless. Unfortunately, that does not make for an enjoyable cast whatsoever, as this rot extends all the way down from the leadership to our pilot protagonist. You kind of want them dead.

Zeon does not fare any better. Kou’s rival and the show’s main antagonist, the ace pilot Anaval Gato, ping-pongs between anger and extreme emotional stoicism. He flat-out refuses to acknowledge the protagonist as an equal, which means that their dynamic consists entirely of talking past one another. He believes in only the virtue of his mission, and executes it with brutal precision, while refusing to mention any clarifying what his mission is to the view or introducing any personal stakes. He’s just a guy here to start some fights, do some terrorism, and push some evil hacking buttons. Why do people like this guy? Seriously, it’s ridiculous to me that he is the most favorited character for this series on MyAnimeList, far above the protagonist and his love interest. Is it because he’s so flat and boring that he’s not actively jeopardizing his character like the rest of the cast? Maybe it’s just cryptofascism on the part of the site’s userbase. But either way, he’s nothing.

On the other hand, Cima Garhack, the other space fascist in play, is a top-tier Fucker. She enters the plot to cause problems for all sides, betraying whoever she can. Unfortunately, she suffers from what seems to be an irreconcilable number of late-breaking rewrites. Is she the ultimate mastermind? It seems that way for a second, but no. Is she introduced way too late with no context, forcibly sidelined for three episodes, and denied a satisfying resolution? You bet your ass! The fact that there’s a 3-minute short bundled with the home video releases that explains her backstory is indication enough that something went horribly wrong with fitting her into the narrative. She deserves way more to do. Honestly, she should have taken Gato’s place narratively! Instead, she’s left to strike deals with Anaheim Electronics, the Federation, and the rest of Zeon, selling everyone out to the highest bidder. That’s fun, but the contents and value of those meetings are unclear enough to the viewer that they’re just confusing and narratively weightless. Seriously, if I hadn’t played Anaheim Girl’s Love Story, I seriously would have had a tough time piecing together that Anaheim gave her the reskinned Gerbera Tetra as quid pro quo for an agreement of neutrality between the company and Zeon. And then it hardly matters, because all she does is fly it around for a bit before getting impaled by one of the stupidest Gundam designs imaginable. I wish she had been able to go down with agency, whether dignified or as the most pathetic and sopping wet older woman imaginable.

We spend shockingly little time in the offices of Anaheim Electronics, a disappointing decision that leaves me all the more impressed with AGLS for making their whole game using just a few scenes for reference. Our primary window into the company is Nina Purpleton, a mobile suit engineer who brings two of her division’s prototype Gundams to a remote Federation military base for testing at the start of the show. One of those Gundams is notable for having a fucking nuke attached to it. Within minutes, due to the base's laughable security, a Zeon pilot (Gato) manages to sneak in, steal the Nuke Gundam, flee to a Zeon-controlled launch site, and escape into space. Everyone in the Federation blames one another, and Kou is forced to learn to use the remaining Gundam, the one designed by Nina, to find and defeat Gato before Zeon can make use of the nuke.

First things first, Nina Purpleton has an absolutely adorable late-80s fluffy office woman design. For a moment there, it genuinely seems like she’s going to be allowed to be forceful and intelligent and commanding, but hahaha no of course not this show sucks. Within an episode or two she’s made into the Reward that Kou gets for learning how to pilot her Gundam, and the way they put the moves on each other feels so obviously forced. It’s a shame that the central romance here is just no good! And sure, maybe that’s on design, just like how the rest of the show is bad and meaningless and miserable to witness, but it’s a bad design! After mostly being sidelined and told no by everyone for the second half of the show, Nina does get some interesting agency in the very final episode, but we’ll get to that later. Gotta talk politics first.

Gundam broadly carries an antiwar message, though each entry stakes out its own unique position. Even the shows where the depicted war feels necessary and one side is clearly less bad make sure to rub in just how much it sucks for everyone. Except for Stardust Memory. This is the one Gundam series I’ve watched that is blatantly and uncritically fascist in its value system. Femininity and weakness are disparaged and punished, and the military values strength above all else and forces it upon our main character. Zeon of course is just as bad with their culture of valor and self-sacrifice. But for once, the two sides don’t feel that far apart in demeanor. And there's really no civilian perspective to try and remind us of the horrors of the war that they're caught in the crossfire of, which is genuinely unusual for a Gundam show.

The best part of Stardust Memory is clearly episode 5, when Kou gets his fancy new Gundam ripped apart by Cima, who’s actively confused by how bad he is at piloting and is honestly just toying with him. It’s downright erotic watching the Gundam’s limbs get shot off and torn apart and seeing it forced to make a desperate emergency landing, bound up in a series of nets as everyone in the hangar screams in panic (I think mecha guro may honestly be the one valid reason to watch this OVA). This is Kou’s low point, and it really is nice to see such an unlikeable protagonist get put in his place.

After the humiliation of all that, Kou runs away from his obligations while quartering in a lunar city, gets beat up in the street, and ends up getting rescued by Kelly Layzner, a former Zeon soldier turned garbage collector. Kou starts tinkering with the half-wrecked Mobile Armor in Kelly’s garage, only to discover that it’s a weapon that he’s being commissioned to fix up for the Zeon cause. Instead of fighting Kelly, or leaving, Kou continues to help him repair his ship while simultaneously making plans to rejoin his unit. The two of them vow to meet each other on the battlefield as equals and depart in noble esteem, as the heartfelt R&B of the ending theme swells in.

What?? It’s this stupid Honor of Battle character motivation out of nowhere, forcibly asserted by both sides in a broader conflict full of dirty tricks. You can show examples of how the individual fighters of Zeon were not bad people! 0079 does this constantly, and War in the Pocket is built around it. But this series of events is Nietzschean star lovers bullshit – it’s the molding of Kou from cowardly soldier into an ubermensch, through a series of increasingly baffling plot developments. Given how much of a pushover he’s been in the early episodes, this is a deeply drastic series of decisions, and it happens strictly because Stardust Memory needs Kou to Become A Man. This was the moment where the show's blatant, all-encompassing fascism became unavoidably clear to me. Kou's romance is affected as well – he has to become assertive and chivalrous and masculine in order to get the girl, minimizing Nina’s agency and involvement in the show’s important events afterwards. Come on.

Zeon slowly advances their plan in the later episodes of the OVA, scoring win after win from skirmish victories to surprise escapes to nuking half of the Federation fleet during a training exercise. Honestly, they could just keep doing this and probably win the protracted guerilla war? But no, their secret scheme must be executed at all costs! It’ll change everything.

Operation Stardust turns out to be…a colony drop! On the moon! Wait no, that was a fake-out, their real plan was to hit the Earth. And the colony’s going to fall right on Jaburo, as a perfect decapitation strike. Actually, nope, one more twist! The final step of Operation Stardust is for Gato to get to the colony control station and change the trajectory so it hits…North America. Wait, barely anyone lives there after the devastation of the One Year War! Ahh, I see, they’re going after their grain supply with this colony drop, in order to…. cause famine on Earth…. so they have to buy food from the colonies…to tip the scales politically for Zeon’s return and economically uplift the colonies…

Look, at that point why not just hit Jaburo? I get that they want to force the Earth to become dependent on space, but why not just end the military relevance of Earth once and for all? It’s clear that these Zeon remnants are totally insane and amoral and don’t care about human life or the environment – they nuked a whole ship fleet! All in all I really have no idea what the purpose is of this surprisingly inconsequential scheme. I don’t really like Watsonian analysis, but there is so much nonsense to poke at here.

Towards the end of show, Nina and Kou visit La Vie En Rose, a very yonic weapons development factory owned by Anaheim all the way out in space. Kou essentially starts cheating on Nina by agreeing to test the Mobile Suit of another woman – that is the main way they've mediated their relationship, after all. This other woman gets shot and killed later that episode in order to force Kou to be Stronger and willing to pilot her prototype Gundam. It’s Zeta levels of fridging women for the sake of moving the plot forward for guys. Nina Purpleton is the one who’s actually left heartbroken, and I think watching a rogue general execute her coworker like that is what makes her truly lose faith in the Federation. She also reveals around this time that she has a romantic history with Gato, and that watching Kou and Gato fight is the most terrible thing in the world for her, because she loves them both.

But of course, they have to fight, and the show makes sure to valorize kamikaze any chance it can get during the major battle sequences. Out of her two boys, Nina ultimately picks Gato, even while watching him orchestrate a colony drop right in front of her. Sometimes you just can’t beat the old flame. I personally loved watching Nina Purpleton pick up a gun and shoot at Kou and run away with Gato only for him to die, and for her to be forced to watch the Earth burn while court-martialed on a Zeon ship. It’s good, bitter stuff for such a complicated and resentful character. That’s why it’s all the more disappointing when Stardust Memory walks that back in its timeskip epilogue.

A year later, Kou is wandering the wastes of North America outside of his new military base. Nina and her mechanic drive up to greet him, mirroring their introduction in the first episode. Nina and Kou have a complicated staredown and then…completely make up, smiling like nothing happened without even a conversation? Roll credits???

Let me make something clear: Nina is a hated character in the larger Gundam fandom, but I think the reason that most people hate her is that weird thing that anime fans have where they treat the main character getting cucked as the literal worst thing in the world. I’ll probe that complex another day, I promise. But honestly, Nina hasn’t acted any more irrationally than the rest of the cast up until this point. Everyone has been making nonsensical moves, and at least she’s been following her heart with hers. But this final scene is so implausible on all levels that it feels like a slap in the face to the viewer’s intelligence and their suspension of disbelief. You can’t come back from what she did!! You shouldn’t have to!! It’s insane that they tried to give these two characters a happy ending!! Just make Nina run off with her butch mechanic or something!!

you two would have been unstoppable as lesbians

The series ends with the formation of the Titans, who go on to brutalize the Earth Sphere in Zeta. Every one of the insufferable Feddies that we’ve had to endure in this series goes on to join the faction where they’ll be blasted to pieces by the AEUG in a few years for their blatant fascism. Thank God. At least Stardust Memory acknowledges that the Titans are borne out of a collaboration between the most corrupt and power-hungry branches of Zeon and the Federation, with Anaheim signing on to make suits for them. Of course everyone here were going to become bad guys, but they still could have had some traits that would make them compelling to follow this whole time!

Anything else I could possibly say about Stardust Memory has already slipped my mind. It’s a surprisingly dull show for what could have easily been a slam dunk. But instead it’s this strange mix of hugely consequential UC lore and minimal impacts, leaving a confused and inconsequential story. There’s also surprisingly little Anaheim office lady drama, especially after the VN I just read. Do not trick yourself.

me after all of this blogging

Honestly, if you want what this show purports to offer, do yourself a favor and watch Macross Plus instead! It’s another 90’s mecha OVA with some of the best mechanical animation ever put to cel. Like Stardust Memory, it centers itself around testing prototype mechas and a messy MMF love triangle, and even though it’s willing to have messy and unlikeable protagonists, it manages to actually craft intrigue with them. Amazing Yoko Kanno soundtrack too. There’s an awful plot twist near the end that throws the whole story into question, but that’s still a better outcome than 13 drawn-out episodes of a bad story in a good setting! Just please, don’t watch Stardust Memory.