#heatwave but not the character like an actual fucking heatwave

[bokutoko]

hello!! i really enjoyed your writing for kita! i was wondering if i can request one where reader (fem) gets really emotional over little things (ex. smth doesn’t go as planned) and kita comforts her?

smile

character: shinsuke kita (timeskip!kita)

word count: 792

warning(s): emotional dysregulation, kita is a blunt sweetheart, fluff, slight cursing

content: there's a reason your boyfriend is the farmer and not you...

a/n: hi anon!! thank you so much for the love and the req🫶🏻 this was healing for me to write bc i tend to get emotional over the little things sometimes too. i hope i did our fav rice farmer justice once again <333

Growing up around his grandmother, Kita always had a green thumb. Ever since he was taught that all life was built by small, daily acts, he was always patient with his crops. He made sure to be thorough with maintenance all throughout harvest—up until they reach the consumer’s hands. Because of this, he ensured the highest quality of rice.

You, on the other hand, were not-so secretly known as every plant’s worst nightmare. Of course, you didn’t mean to kill all your plants, they just always somehow died!

But you decided to give it another shot. Watching Kita work so hard outside made you feel confident; if he could manage countless acres of land, you could handle a little garden. You excitedly picked out your favorite fruit and vegetable seeds from the local market, and Kita was happy to build you a little enclosure for your plants.

Now here you were, standing before your little plots of soil with tears in your eyes. You’d tried so hard, but you forgot to water them for one day, and to just your luck, they all died due to an unforeseen heatwave in Hyogo. 

“What the actual fuck?” Huffing in frustration, your eyes squeezed shut, letting the first couple tears fall. Despite the extreme heat, a cold, harsh wave of embarrassment washed over you, and you couldn’t help but feel like a complete failure for messing this up. How was it possible that your boyfriend managed the entire farm, having a near-perfect harvest every year, and you couldn’t even take care of a 6x10-ft plot?

—

Out in the fields, Kita removed his cap, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked to the sky. With sunset approaching, he began his trek back home to see you after a long, satisfying day’s work—just a couple more months until harvest. 

As he stepped into the clearing behind your home, he was expecting to see you waiting for him with your usual bright smile that still made his heart skip a beat. But instead, you were standing with your back to him and your hands on your hips.

Uh oh. He walked up behind you, calling, “Evenin’, darlin’.”

You shot around, and he took note of the tear stains that you quickly wiped away. “Hi, Shin,” you greeted with the slightest quiver in your voice. 

“Everythin’ okay?” He looked down at your little plants that were vaporized from the sun, then back to you, noticing your glistening eyes.

“Why do all plants hate me?”

“Ya know plants can’t hate ya.”

“It sure feels like they do!” you snapped, immediately feeling guilty for your attitude when Kita did nothing wrong. You were well aware, as was Kita, when spurts of overwhelming emotions engulfed you—whether happy, sad, angry, embarrassed—your instinct reactions were to either get snappy or briefly cry. Or both, in this case.

Kita watched as fresh, hot tears rolled down your face as you whispered a soft, genuine “I’m sorry,” and he stepped forward to comfort you. You immediately wrapped your arms around his waist and smushed your face into his chest in defeat, mumbling, “I feel so dumb, Shin. What the hell am I doing wrong?”

Always to your rescue, Kita removed his gloves to gently tip your chin up to look into his pretty brown eyes. “Yer not dumb or doin’ anythin’ wrong. Sometimes, plants don’t sprout, an’ sometimes, the ones that do just die. Ain’t nothin’ else about it,” he assured as a gentle thumb wiped your eyes. “Somethin’ as small as this sure ain’t worth yer tears, though.”

You shut your eyes and released a small sigh, your bottom lip jutting out. “I know.”

Kita leaned forward and pressed three tender kisses against your forehead, signifying three words: I love you. “We can always plant some more. We can go ta the market tomorrow an’ pick out more o’the seeds ya want,” he suggested, “and I can help ya take care of ‘em.”

“But you already do so much for me,” you objected.

“It ain’t a big ask, sweetheart,” he reasoned with a loving gaze, “and ya know I’d do anythin’ ta see ya smile.”

You squished your face into his chest in a tight hug again. “You’re kinda cheesy, Shin,” you teased as you hid your reddening cheeks.

He chuckled, grateful that the slight sun on his face hid his own blush, muttering, “Guess I am.“

From that day on, Kita never forgot to give your garden a little extra love in the mornings before tending to the farm. It was worth seeing your big, proud grin when it was time to pick your first round of thriving produce. 

And to Kita, anything was worth doing to keep a smile on your face. 

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[victoriadallonfan]

Lets Talk: The Predator Franchise

About two months ago, I put my thoughts into my feelings on the Alien Franchise, and why I felt that they've been faltering so much.

It felt only fitting that I do the same for the Predator franchise, but I ran into a very curious thing... there's only one bad Predator movie.

A shocking statement, I know, but I'm not counting the AVP movie series (that's it's own separate thing). The Predator (film) is easily the only bad film in the entire series, but I'll get to that later.

First things first: lets talk about Predator (1987).

It's an all time classic, a great deconstruction of the 80's action film, with insanely quotable dialogue and memorable characters - not just the Predator itself, but all the human characters are easily recognizable.

Unlike the Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), Predator is not predominantly a horror film, nor is it emphasizing a tough topic such as sexual assault. It does HAVE horror aspects (the first time they find the skinned corpses is intensely unnerving, especially when they realize that this group of marines apparently lost all self-control and fired in all directions), and it does touch a bit on how the US government is using its own soldiers as cannon fodder to destabilize third-world countries.

But it's not really built to scare the viewer so much as to present a simple idea: what if these action heroes met a bigger, stronger, more advanced version of themselves? And the result is a near total party wipe.

Watching the original film, you realize that the Predator is depicted as incredibly unfair. The majority of its kills are it sniping someone from afar, rushing them when they aren't even looking (while cloaked), and doing a combination of the above. It would have killed Arnold while his back was turned, if the net trap hadn't been set in place.

Hell, it even kills a wounded soldier that Arnold is carrying, after Billy's "last stand" (that lasted mere moments at best, implying the Predator didn't give him the time of day).

(Also, speaking of Billy... he's psychic? Apparently?)

But yeah, the Predator depicted is not the honor clad warrior that some fans may stan (and some writers believe) but more like the equivalent of Counter-Strike hacker. The fact that it takes Arnold untold amounts of traps, ingenuity, and willpower for the Predator to finally face him man to man, no tech, no weapons is meant to be a testament to how impressive Arnold is.

Likewise, the Predator decides to blow himself the fuck up while cackling manically like a supervillain as he tries to finally kill Dutch, also opens him to showing that as alien as it is, it's remarkably human. A spite filled asshole of a human, but humanish nonetheless (amplified by him copying human speech on prior occasions).

It's a really great film about how alien life, if more advanced than our own, might see us as lesser people or outright livestock to hunt (keep a pin in that).

Predator 2 (1990) is often divided amongst fans.

Some hate the fact that it takes place in the "modern day" LA, instead of sticking to the blazing heat of the jungle (as the lore of the first movie implies that the Predator or a Predator visits at the hottest time of the season to create the local bogeyman figure), but this film does a fine job justifying the LA heatwave and honestly... the idea of keeping the Predator to one type of biome is pretty limiting. So I don't mind that.

As one can tell already, I don't think this movie is bad. As good as the first? No, it rehashes a bit too much for that. But it's still a fun and good movie.

And, notably, scarier.

But for context, Predator 2 is set in the far future of... uh, 1997 LA, where there has been open warfare between the LAPD and the Jamaican and Colombian Cartels. Like, not drug busts or stings, but actual warfare with armies of gangs and shit.

The late 80's and early 90's loved to depict LA as a dystopian hellscape where "law and order" was the only defense from total anarchy (as anyone who has ever lived in LA can tell you, racial tensions, especially between the public and police have not been good to say the least).

This entire setup is like a D.A.R.E nightmare or wet dream depending on who's asking.

(Also the Jamaican drug leader, King Willy, might also be psychic? This is the last time it's brought up, but man, I sort of wish we could see future plot lines where people are randomly psychic in these films.)

Anyways, the situation is certainly perfect for this Predator (named City Hunter to differentiate between Jungle Hunter), who takes to the city with a gusto. The difference in how the Predator is portrayed is fascinating, because the bare bones remain the same: he hunts people who are deemed as sport with alien technology.

Fitting with the ultra-violent theme of this film however, this Predator feels like a legitimately horror movie monster. Unlike the Jungle Hunter, City Hunter doesn't prefer to attack from afar, but rather ripping and tearing in close quarters combat, and when he does use ranged weaponry, it's stuff like spears, bladed discs, and nets that shred people into bloody messes.

And he's 110% a bigger asshole that Jungle Hunter: when the City Hunter decides to focus on our lead man, Danny Glover, he doesn't just hunt the man but psychologically torture him. He murders his partner - who is probably the least threatening human in the entire series - just so he can taunt Glover with his necklace at his own grave. He then copies the innocent words of a child just so he can use it as a creepy catchphrase when he decides to hunt Glover's other partners.

The iconic subway massacre perfectly exemplifies both aspects of the City Hunter. He interrupts a massive stand-off between armed civilians, gang members, and the police, just wading in and killing everyone indiscriminately as people frantically scream and claw over each other trying to escape.

(Speaking of, this film does have a LOT of fun having the Predator on modern sets. The above subway scene, City Hunter investigating a meat locker, and him performing emergency surgery in an apartment bathroom are all really cool).

Also, for being so divisive, this film creates a lot of Predator lore: the Predator won't kill (unarmed) children, he won't kill pregnant women, and he WILL kill the elderly if they are packing heat.

And this includes the trophy wall (with xenomorph skull - actually funny because we never see a Predator collect a xenomorph skull in the AVP films) and that the Predator tribe will honor and respect those who defeat their kind with a reward.

It does include that the government is aware of the Predator existence and tries to capture them, but this won't be a major plot line again until The Predator (2018) though it gets some tongue in cheek reference in Predators (2010).

Anyways solid film, lots of cheesey scenes and very tropey stuff that hasn't aged well (or aged in a way that makes it amusing). It's also that last movie that actually tries to be true horror, in my opinion. The rest of the films stick to Action with Gore, but Predator 2 is truly the last film where you feel like this was written to be a horror film.

Also, this film will be the last to really play into the world as being an overly dramatic action movie earth. It's all realism from here.

And then the film franchise will go quiet until 2004 and 2008 for the AVP films (that I won't cover here).

Finally, we get to Predators (2010), and obvious title call back to Aliens (1986) and I have to say, a pretty good trio of ideas: The human targets are actually kidnapped and dropped on a safari planet, there are multiple Predators with their own unique designs and gimmicks, and there is a internal war between the Bad Bloods (aka the Predators who break the "honor code") and the 'normal' Predator clans.

(It should be noted that Bad Bloods have been a thing for years in comics and books, but not really in the mainstream until this film introduced it to movie audiences)

I have to say, despite having a fondness for the film and loving the new ideas, this film is not as enjoyable as Predator or Predator 2. It unfortunately suffers from what I call 2010ism, where there's a lot of CGI blood/gore, a lot of lighting/shadows aren't natural in a horror sense, and the dialogue isn't memorable because it wanted to ditch the action movie dialogue.

The last part isn't necessarily too bad, and it even works with how Adrian Brody is portrayed as a cynical asshole who is purposely meant to be the opposite of Arnold in every way. But the most memorable dialogue is definitely from Walter Goggins (including his highly disturbing "bitch raping time" speech).

Also, it really wastes Topher Grace, Laurence Fishbourne, and Danny Trejo, along with the whole idea of a gang of multinational killers/soldiers/enforcers forced to work together. Not nearly enough time is given to them to bond as a team and have a moment where they show off how cool they are like Predator and Predator 2 did.

Coupled with the safari world being just... a jungle, it feels like a lot of good ideas with "safe" execution.

I don't mean to rag on the film, it's still very fun, and a lot of that is due to the Bad Bloods.

The idea of a particular group of Predators being so evil that they are even warring with their (smaller) counterparts is a great idea, imo, and these Bad Bloods are memorable for their gimmicks.

You had one who used drones as "falcons" to scan and scout out large tracks of terrain, another who employed alien "hounds" to harass humans like a fox hunt, and the leader who had a rapid-fire plasma caster that was overpowered as hell. They also employed other tech like alien bear traps, net traps, and voice decoys.

This movie definitely had the most advanced Predator tech seen on film at the time, making the Jungle Hunter and City Hunter look low tech by comparison, and I think also served to try and force the idea of the Bad Bloods being really "unfair" compared to others.

And of course, we get our first Predator vs Predator fight, which was suitably graphic and badass. Also, I liked that one Predator died by a human pulling a suicide vest attack. Idk, I thought it was pretty ironic considering that's what predators do when they are about to lose, and thought it was neat.

Ultimately, there isn't much else to say about Predators (2010), even though the film ends on a cliffhanger with more people (and aliens) being dropped on the planet. I enjoyed it, it had a lot of cool ideas, cool tech, and cool lore... but if the prior films could be compared to novels, this one felt more like a guidebook.

And now... eight years pass and we get The Predator (2018)

Where do I begin with this movie.

I guess I start with the obvious: it's bad. It's a genuinely awful movie with few redeeming qualities. I'd say it's on the tier of Alien: Resurrection, except this movie is actually offensive because of autism ableism (turns out that autism is actually the next step of human evolution and makes you naturally predisposed to using Predator technology).

And don't get me started on the sex offender controversy.

Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. It's just that this movie... jesus christ, I rewatched it for this post, and it feels like a fever dream.

The Predator (2018) ultimately, is a film that looked at everything that came before it and said, "What if we did it all on a grander scale? And make it bad?" The plot is that a Predator is being hunted by an even larger, more powerful Predator, because it plans on harvesting humanity. You see, in this movie, some Predators use the genes of animals they hunt to improve themselves. The Super Predator as he is called, is a massive 10 foot tall monster that has turned his body into a super weapon, with technology built directly into his biology.

The Good Predator arrives on Earth to warn humanity and deliver a "Predator Killer" suit of Iron Man armor that will help humanity defend the Earth from the oncoming invasion force. The Super Predator wants humanity harvested because... autism makes them super geniuses.... and he declares that a 12 year old boy with autism to be the greatest Predator he's ever met... just because he has autism...

Look, I don't know how the fuck I'm supposed to describe the plot of this movie. It's just bad. It's stupid. At one point they turn a Predator hound good by giving it a bullet lobotomy.

It feels like this movie hates everyone. It hates the Predators, literally killing off the Good Predator not even halfway through the film. It hates the cast, because all of them are forgettable except for Olivia Munn and Super Predator, and it kills the mystique of the Predators because it has Super Predator monologue like an actual supervillain.

The dialogue is genuinely awful, the actors have no chemistry, and the comedy (oh yes, this film acts like a comedy on several occasions) is the definition of cringe. I would call it "ChatGPT writes Predator" but honestly, ChatGPT could do it better.

Let it be known that my words do not do how awful this movie is justice. You can only understand how bad it is by watching it, but it's absolutely NOT worth the time.

Is there anything good about this movie? Besides the Holiday Special on home release?

The effects are pretty good. We see a lot of high tech Predator stuff and that's always cool. I think this had the highest budget of any of the films and it shows.

There's an action set-piece where Good Predator escapes from a government facility and uses an M4-Assault Rifle which is badass. One of the best action scenes in the movie and a neat tie-back to the government investigating them.

The Super Predator is a cool concept and I actually enjoyed him for a large part of the film. I liked that he could just pick up a human like a toy and gut him like a fish before tossing him aside. I love the idea of a Predator that isn't a hunter, but rather a soldier sent in to fuck shit up, showing off the different tech. Really gives the impression that their society has different roles and tech for Predators beyond hunting.

I wish they gave him a helmet and didn't let him monologue like a supervillain.

And that's it. That's the good stuff. Nothing else matters. It says a lot that I don't think Super Predator or the autism plot has been accepted into lore in comics or books.

It's even been argued that this film was deemed non-canon because of how abysmal the reception was.

Suffice to say, after this awful film, fans were pretty low spirit. Which made it all the more surprising when Prey (2022) was released 4 years later.

There was a lot of drama about this film: the franchise is dead, why is the film so woke for including woman and minorities, how can any human expect to beat a Predator with a bow?

This drama is stupid and should rightfully be mocked.

Prey (2022) was a breath of fresh air for the franchise and I'd argue the best film in terms of quality.

It quite literally goes back to the roots of the series and does something that really elevated the film: it made the Predator symbolise something!

This film takes place in the 18th century on the Great Plains, following Naru the Commanche healer who dreams of being a hunter. Meanwhile, a young Predator - known as the Feral Predator for his aggression - is dropped on the planet for his first ever hunt.

Obviously, you can see the parallels between the two as Naru learns to use tricks and tools to handle her weaknesses, while Feral uses brute-force and high tech equipment to slaughter the animals and humans of the planet. The Bear hunt scene, where Naru is forced to flee from a bear and helplessly watch Feral kill the creature with it's bare hands (haha), thus condemning her in his eyes as not a threat is perfect character foil.

Also, he's such a piece of shit, cheating the moment he feels like his prey has the better of him. But in a good way that makes sense for his character.

But on the grander scale, the Predator represents colonialism. A secondary antagonist of the film are the French fur trappers, who have been skinning wild buffalo and depriving the commanche of their food source, openly compared to the Predator skinning animals/humans for trophies instead of resources.

It's actually a lesson Naru has to learn from her brother and mother, that to become a true hunter is about doing so to support a community, not just for ego and idolization.

Its no accident that the Fur Trapper leader dies when Naru sabotages his gun and Feral dies when Naru does the same to his gun as well, with both of them trapped and crippled without any means of escaping their demise.

This film finally moves to make the Predators feel like evil villains who are supremely selfish, much like the first 2 films emphasized (and the third film did to a lesser extent).

But talk of how amazing Naru is as a protagonist and how great the Feral predator is as an antagonist, the film is just good. The cinematography is gorgeous, the actors are great, the Predator effects and costume are terrifying, and lore wise, it does a lot to show that the Predator society is not stagnant.

They evolve over the years and it shows.

And my god are the action scenes incredible. The Predator vs Fur Trapper fight is probably one of the most iconic scenes in the entire franchise now, and for good reason.

Or Naru's knife fight massacre

All in all, this film really shows that the Predator films can be more that action films and... whatever the fuck The Predator (2018) was trying to be.

These films can be used to explore the history of humanity and symbolize concepts that deal with oppression, bigotry, and dehumanization.

The title of Prey - the focus on making the protagonists human - versus the Predator title is incredibly fitting.

While a sequel is left up in the air, we do have confirmation that a new standalone film - titled merely Badlands - is set to come out soon.

I can only hope they learned the right lessons from Prey and we can leave the horrid past of The Predator (2018) behind us for good.

[cybertron-after-dark]

I was gonna ask a question but i honestly forgot it 😅 so just tell me something you want to rant about

If you do happen to remember what you were gonna ask feel free to do so, do not worry about spamming my inbox bc I live for that shit.

As for the rant

Transformers Rescue Bots had some of the best, kindest, and most respectful representation of neurodivergence I have ever seen in media and I'm tired of pretending it didn't.

While there are obvious complaints to be made about neurodivergent traits (especially autistic traits) usually being portrayed in media by inhuman characters like aliens or robots, this being a case of both, I feel like thats a pretty negligible sin given just how human the show makes the robots feel. (Also it was like 2011 and we were STRUGGLING for any scraps of rep anyway)

But like. The behaviors all these robots exhibit are all shit that I do that was always deemed unacceptable when I was a kid and seeing it portrayed with the level of kindness and gentleness they do in that show has me fuckin crying a little man. I wish I had actually watched it when I was younger and it was first airing because maybe if I did I would've had an easier time explaining what the hell was going on with my brain a LOT sooner.

Blades being anxious, overly sensitive, and WHOLEHEARTEDLY queer (which they had the absolute unparalleled balls to just casually confirm by having him swoon over "hunky vampires" in one episode and NOBODY commented on it. Fucking iconic) and getting so so deeply invested in the shows and movies he loves that he acts out the roles with enough passion to steel his nerves and completely flourish.

Boulder getting really confused at concepts that are basic and intuitive for most people, but still being so fucking intelligent, and never being made to feel stupid for the mix-ups, as well as just being so wholely, unabashedly in love with the planet he's found himself on, even if he doesn't understand all of it (Also apologizing to inanimate objects when he knocks them over 😭)

Chase being obsessed with rules and law because he NEEDS the structure to not fall apart at the seams, even feeling the need to fabricate a minor crime to justify using the emergency line to get a hold of the firehouse when he can't find the other bots. As well as just fully not understanding comedy (BUT TRYING HIS DAMNEDEST), taking things super literally, and having a lot of trouble with tone and expressions (even though you know just how deeply he feels All The Time).

Heatwave being desperate for attention and recognition, but completely allergic to asking for it. And honestly allergic to showing any genuine emotional responses other than aggression. The constant sarcasm and sass and defensiveness that he POORLY maintains because everyone knows that underneath that tough guy front is the loneliest robot on earth that wants to be loved SO bad but would rather jump into unicron's mouth than voice it because if he lets his guard down who knows what will happen to him or the people he cares about.

Just. All of it man. Seeing them exhibiting all these behaviors and quirks that all too often get met with poor reactions from people who don't want to deal with what they don't really get, but here they're met with patience and understanding?? It's got me fucked up. They get to be functional adults that struggle with what they have going on but still push through. They get to have unconditionally loving relationships with people that treat them with respect. And that's the kind of shit that gives me a lot of hope for folks like me because maybe some neurotypical kids that watched it picked up on what's helpful when their friend who acts like one of the bots is going through it. And maybe some neurodivergent kids watched it too and for the first time they just felt SEEN.

Okay rant over, I'm gonna go cry over some plastic robots 👍

[fategoflatass]

I used to be so against the slow burn trope. Not because I thought it was shit; it's just, I usually don't have the patience to wait whatever-amount-superior-to-three damn chapters for my dear ship to finally be able to look at each other without blushing and/or hold hands. Thus why you often times see me reading oneshots or fics with the "Established Relationship" tag on them.

So you can imagine just how surprised—or maybe not, maybe I just didn't think enough about it—I was when I realized my newest fixation's main pairing is—canonically—the embodiment of slow burn. Because holy shit they're taking their time.

Nothing against how Kusuriya develops its love story—quite the opposite, actually. The relationship between Jinshi and Maomao, two characters that are written as beautifully as their romance, is a rather realistic approach as to how the same or a similar dynamic would developed in real life. In such a complicated situation, with such complex feelings about emotions—both external and their own—and attachment, makes sense that it takes so long for the relationship to finally sail.

The problem is, I didn't know I was signing with the Devil the moment I decided to pick up the light novel. Ten volumes and nothing has happened. Nothing.

And you can say that technically things have happened, because they have. I mean, Jinshi is just so desperate for Maomao to give him the time of day, you know what I mean? And even that isn't enough anymore and thus he has committed some of the craziest shit I've seen in any romance. Which okay, I don't usually read these type of romances but still.

What I mean by "nothing" is just, their relationship hasn't changed status. I could also say that it seems to go nowhere, but that'd be lying. Since, you know, it has changed quite a lot—just not in the way my impatient ass wanted it to. Because he can be as honest with his feelings as he pleases, and those around them might be heavely conscious of the tension and thus constantly tease those lovebirds (as they should), but babygirl's not helping, you know?

And I get it, Maomao's not the best at expressing and understanding herself, and she's also way too busy worrying about going as unnoticed as possible (she should give up on that one already, tbh) while keeping her head where it should be. But like, I can't help feeling frustrated over it like ‼‼

GIRL, FUCK THE RULES. TAKE THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A MAN AND RUNAWAY SOMEWHERE NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY YOU. YOU THEN CARRY THAT BITCH BRIDESTYLE TO THE CLOSEST CHURCH AND MAKE HIM YOUR WIFE. PROCEED TO FROG AROUND, EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR UTERUS AS MUCH AS YOU'D LIKE, AND THEN TEACH THE PRODUCTS OF YOUR PRACTICES AS YOUR OWN GUINEA PIG THE WAYS OF HERBAL MEDICINE. AS EASY AS THAT.

But she won't. She'll take her sweet ass time being in denial about both Jinshi's and her own feelings, then maybe she'll proceed to analize herself and find out that maybe, just maybe, that affection that she'd been feeling for that loser became something else. Did said affection also become something more complicated? Absolutely. Does she know how to deal with it? Hell no, but fuck it. If I learned something from school is that you always leave the hardest parts for later.

Now you see why I was so against reading slow burn?

And you wanna know the worst part? I loved it—I loved every second of it, every word, every page. Every scene that seemed to help the relationship advance, only for Maomao to say nope and leave like she owns the place, which at this point she fucking might.

It feels like I, as the reader, am in the middle of a heatwave and some sadistic bastard won't stop teasing me with ice cream—they put it in front of my face, close enough that I can smell the cold. Then take a spoon and eat little by little while staring directly to my eyes. At times they seem to show mercy and feed me a spoon, only for it to be a rather small quantity of serving—serving that tastes so damn good at first, only for it to have such a bitter aftertaste. But if I gotta have something in common with Jinshi is that I'll never be able to beat the masochist allegations, so I'll wait patiently for the next spoon and its corresponding and seemingly enless teasing from that faceless being.

So yeah, I'm still against it, only that now I understand the appeal—even if I have yet to find out about the whereabouts of my sanity while still mananing with the little I've left.

[mxnhoo]

late nights, in the middle of June (n. rk)

⌜ ⌝

ılı.lıllılı.ıllı.

ᴺᵒʷ ᵖˡᵃʸᶦⁿᵍ; [ Heatwaves - Glass Animals ]

1:07 ——◦———— -3:58 ↠

ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ

ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

⌞ ⌟

synopsis : a friendship breakup which hurt more than your actual breakups. genre : angst w/c : 2.7k a/n : it is infact a late night in the middle of June, and i'm thinking about someone :'D and this unfortunately was something that actually happened to me with that someone and one of my ex's, had to pull up some old texts for this LMAO. not proofread, sorry if there are any mistakes

playlist : to riki, i'm sorry. here's a playlist i made for this imagine!

------------------------------------

Emptiness.

Emptiness was something that filled you.

It's that feeling you get when something so special was abruptly taken away from you.

You knew it would happen, yet you didn't change anything when you had the chance to, because you assumed everything would be fine.

You knew that it was only your fault, not his.

It was your fault that the friendship had been neglected, all because you liked a stupid boy.

But now that it's too late, all you can do is reminisce about the things that happened at night.

9:13P.M.

It was June 15th. The sound of raindrops, thunder, and your music blasting were the only things you could hear

On Spotify, Heatwaves was playing.

"Sometimes all I think about is you, late nights in the middle of June"

Your apartment dim, with only the lamp across the room turned on, and your curtains covering the window

You stared at the bright computer screen in front of you. The screen was so bright it was practically burning your eyes, but you could care less with the amount of energy you have, and the feeling of your heartconstantly aching.

The screen displayed photos of you.

You and Ni-ki.

There was a selfie of you and Ni-ki in a public bus. It was the day you and him played bowling for the first time.

Another one, this time in his house. In the photo, Ni-ki was making an ugly face and you were shaking in the frame, indicating your laughter.

"Fuck.

I fucking miss him."

There was more.

One photo was a formal picture. It was taken on his birthday. His hair shorter than usual, probably because he was forced to have a haircut for the special day, and him holding onto your waist while holding up a peace sign as you smiled at him.

There was even more photos. Even in games.

In Roblox, there a screenshot of both of your characters. You remembered this night, it was when you both played Bingo and cursed at random strangers who managed to win when you were close.

In Valorant, there was a screenshot. You were playing Cypher, and he was playing Raze. You took a screenshot from Cypher's camera and in the frame was both you and him together.

One more in Call of Duty, another in PUBG.

Fuck, there was far too many photos.

There were too many for your liking.

And you hated how you remembered every single one of them. What you both were doing, how the calls were and the jokes you cracked on that day.

You even recalled those calls when all you did was talk. Talk about life, rant our feelings, and there was never a moment where you felt invalidated. That was rare for you.

You both enjoyed during karaoke calls over discord too. You both shared a playlist, and both of your favourite songs to sing together was 'Best Friend - Rex Orange County'.

Your heart dropped even more if that was even possible, and you lowered your eyelids, allowing the darkness to take over. You lean your head back, resting it on the cushion behind you, and you let out a long defeated sigh.

Regret.

You really regretted everything you did.

Why did you have to fuck up and lose someone like him?

You regret not responding faster when you gotten a notification from him.

You regret turning him down when he invites you out, or to a game.

You regret neglecting him when you liked someone.

Fucking hell, you didn't even like him romantically, why the fuck does it hurt so much?

There were so many days when people convinced the two of you were dating, and so many times when you stayed up late at night debating whether you genuinely had romantic or platonic feelings for him.

It was never romantic, only platonic.

So why the fuck does it hurt this much?

You opened another tab, and quickly typed in the link to your usual chatting app.

Scroll... And there was his name. His contact was still the inside joke you both had.

The last message was sent by him, and it was an "okay''. It was sent 2 years ago.

On your spotify, Heat Waves finished playing and Best Friend started playing. Dedicating your favourite songs to someone is the worst thing to do.

"I can't wait to be your number one, I'll be your biggest fan and you'll be mine but I still wanna break your heart and make you cry."

There were so.. so many moments when you just wanted to message him and catch up with him, but everytime you opened his chat, the fear overpowers your desire. Your desire to reconnect, the desire to catch up, the desire to fix everything.

You scroll up your chat.

"I'm sorry for-"

It was the apology message from you. One of the many apology messages you sent to him. Your stomach instantly dropped and you quickly scrolled up further before you could fully read the message and relive the past arguments you had with him.

2 December

y/n : BRO do yk what him n i did today y/n : he literally y/n : LET ME PLAY W HIS HAIR?!?? y/n : fucking hell bro y/n : HE'S SO CUTE THE FUCK?? y/n : I LOVE JAY SM nrk : lmao

"I'm on my own shit now, and let me tell you how it feels to be fucking great"

10 November

nrk : BITCH nrk : HOP ON VALO y/n : wait i'm calling him nrk : okayyyy nrk : hello? nrk : oi nrk : r u there nrk : i already started brah

nrk : bro nrk : ??? it's been an hour y/n : SHIT I'M SO SORRY y/n : him and i were talking about something important y/n : SORRYYDHUSCFH nrk : o nrk : okey

"I feel great"

14 August

y/n : fuck bro i feel like the bitch is looking at me nrk : no fucking way nrk : u better get tf up and MAKE that bih stop looking at u y/n : fuck off nrk : oh

"You need to be yourself, and love someone for loving you instead of someone really cool who makes your heart melt, who knows what you truly felt"

10 July

y/n : bro y/n : there's this dude barking in front of me?? y/n : furry core nrk : LMFAOO TF??? y/n : HAHAHAHAHAH y/n : reminds me of u nrk : TF?? NAHHHH BRO

"You're gunna wanna be my bestfriend baby, you're gunna wanna be my bestfriend"

27 May

nrk : dude chan approached me and fr asked me if we were dating y/n : LMAO TF?? y/n : i already told chan i liked jay nrk : yea bruh nrk : idk y he still asked me that nrk : 💀 y/n : LOL y/n : anyways y/n : roblox? nrk : bet, hop on disc

"I said that, you're gunna wanna be my bestfriend baby, you're gunna wanna be my bestfriend"

28 February

y/n : i think y/n : i might like someone.. nrk : BITCH WHOOO???? y/n : UM.. y/n : idk if u know him y/n : jay nrk : OMG??? nrk : BRO HE'S IN MY CLASS y/n : WAIT WTF R U FR y/n : STOPPPP nrk : YA I LITERALLY SIT NEAE HIM nrk : NEAR* y/n : imagine making a typo y/n : im calling u on discord rn PICK UP y/n : TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT HIM nrk : OKAYWHDIOSJOIFJO

There was more. One thing you noticed was how the conversations could flow better as you scroll to your older chats.

"You're gunna wanna be my bestfriend baby, you're gunna wanna be my bestfriend"

Honestly, everytime you find a new friend, you never open up. You never text first, you never have the desire to know the person more.

But Ni-ki was different.

"You're gunna wanna be my bestfriend baby, you're gunna wanna be my bestfriend"

You wanted to talk to him everyday, play games with him, go out with him, and do so many things with him.

When Ni-ki was gone, you physically could not bring yourself to do the same with other people. The loud person you once were became someone who is quiet, more reserved.

"You're gunna wanna be my bestfriend baby, you're gunna wanna be my bestfrienddd"

And you hate it.

"I say that I'm happy"

You hate how you couldn't be yourself.

"I say that I'm happy"

You wished there were more people you were comfortable with, so you could truly be yourself without worrying.

"But no no no no, no no no no"

And again, you fucked up and the only person you were truly comfortable with left.

"But I still wanna be your favourite boy, I wanna be the one that makes your day, the one you think about as you lie awake"

At this point, tears were forming in your eyes. The verse that you and him always sang your lungs out to was playing, and it only made you feel worse.

"Why am I crying?

Why am I so sensitive?

I shouldn't feel this way, it was my fault...

I.. miss him.

I ... miss Ni-ki so much...."

"I can't wait to be your number, your number one, I'll be your biggest fan and you'll be mine but I still wanna break your heart and make you cry"

Your voice cracked as you cried out to yourself, your tears rolling down your cheeks as you held onto your chest. Your breathing rate becoming rapid as you start to sob.

There was this guy that you liked back then. His name was Jay. Park Jay. At first, he was someone you rarely had any interactions with, but because you both were in the same club . Randomly, you found him somewhat attractive, you started to romantacise every single interaction you both had.

From the way your hands accidentally touched when he passed you something, to the way you both laughed when you were talking.

Jay was the perfect person for your fantasies, because you craved love, you craved attention. Eventually, your crush on Jay became real and you started to interact with him more. Actually, instead of having a crush, you were becoming attached to Jay because you were depending on him to fulfill your desires.

Lucky for you, Ni-ki was in the same class as Jay, so everytime you would wanna fangirl or rant about Jay, Ni-ki was the perfect person to do so.

At first, you and Jay dated, but it lasted a week, and he initiated the break-up. The reason? It was apparently because 'he was not ready for a relationship'. But your dumbass thought he would eventually be ready, so you continued to court him.

Constantly treating him as if he was your boyfriend, constantly messaging him, thinking about him, being worried about him. Fuck, it was driving you crazy, but Ni-ki was going insane too.

He'd be the one having to deal with your rants and crying. He was sick of it.

It was even worse when you'd choose to hang out with Jay instead of Ni-ki even after Jay would treat you like shit.

Ni-ki was sick of it. Constantly being treated like the second option.

Ni-ki was really supportive, but would nag at you when it was necessary. There was once Jay broke your heart, leaving you crying for days, just for you to give Jay a gift a few days later that costs a LOT simply because Jay's birthday was coming up. Fuck, Jay didn't even give you anything for your birthday.

Slowly, you stopped talking to Ni-ki, simply because you were talking to Jay, and you felt as if Ni-ki was getting sick of you. Your chat with Ni-ki that used to be at the top every single day was slowly making it's way to the bottom.

Then, there was one day your entire world collapsed. Initially, Jay was ghosting you and you were confused as to why, but you didn't want to ask. Then suddenly, there was news being spread throughout the entire school that he was dating another girl. Jay was dating the girl he told you not to be worried about. It fucking broke you, and you weren't in the right state of mind.

The first person you messaged was Ni-ki when you found out.

y/n : you heard the news right y/n : he's a fucking liar y/n : i fucking hat ehim y/n : i dont know whar to think anymre y/n : i'm fucking crying rn nrk : what did i say? nrk : you never listened to me when i warned you y/n : i'm sorry y/n : i just thought he'd be the one for me nrk : be so fucking for real nrk : he tells you not to worry about her, yet he still hangs out with her nrk : you get angry at him, cry to me, and then suddenly when he texts you you're suddenly not angry anymore? nrk : have you lost all self respect for yourself nrk : do you not fucking realise the way he's been treating you? nrk : wake the fuck up nrk : he doesn't like you nrk : maybe he never even liked you nrk : why would you treat him like your boyfriend when you guys aren't even together? nrk : you allow yourself to get stepped over nrk : now look where it brought you? nrk : you even neglected me? nrk : you seriously put HIM over all your other priorities nrk : you even forgot about your OWN BEST FRIEND nrk : you always go out with him even when you and i already made plans nrk : do you know how i feel? nrk : i feel like SHIT nrk : sometimes i wish you never even liked him so we could still be our usual self nrk : now i see where im placed in ur life nrk : thanks for treating me so well. nrk : thanks for shutting me out of your life! y/n : riki.. y/n : i'm so sorry. y/n : i never knew you felt that way. y/n : honestly, i started distancing myself from u because i thought u were getting annoyed at me for talking about Jay so much. y/n : you were someone that I always talked to Jay about because i trusted you and you were in the same class as him, but idk u just started to seem dry everytime i brought Jay up so i thought u were annoyed at me y/n : that's why i started to talk to you less, and i stuck to other people. i was scared you would scold me again for talking to Jay, and i also felt like if i ranted to you, i'd be trauma dumping or something y/n : please tell me how i can improve

That day when you and Ni-ki had this text conversation, you were more worried about your friendship than Jay. Your appetite was practically non-existent while waiting for Ni-ki to respond.

nrk : nothing can be done if you're scared of me, right? nrk : i don't see a point in talking anymore if you're scared of me.

"Fuck me..."

y/n : nonono y/n : i'm not scared anymore y/n : there's no reason for me to be scared anymore y/n : i mean jay is already dating someone else. y/n : i don't care about him anymore nrk : are you so sure? nrk : weren't you the one who was crying to me and then instantly running back to him? y/n : i won't anymore, no more. nrk : u fucking better, i swear on god.

y/n : so.. are we okay now? nrk : i dont know nrk : are we? y/n : u have anything else to tell me? like how u feel? nrk : nah y/n : so we're okay now? nrk : ig

After that text conversation, the mood was never the same. Everytime you initiated the conversation, he would be dry. You slowly stopped trying to fight for the friendship.

y/n : heyy y/n : gl for ur exam! nrk : okay

This was the last text conversation you had with him.

And just like that, you lost your closest friend and your situationship in one day.

You sighed, reliving the memories you so desperately wanted to forget 2 years ago. Remembering the feelings of regret, you groaned and ruffled your hair in frustration.

It was all your fault. If only you had treated him properly back then, everything would've been fine.

Still being on the tab of the chat with him, you suddenly get a spontaneous boost of energy, and you started to type something on your keyboard.

"i'm sorry" was what you typed.

Realising that you should just move on, you sighed once again. It's been 2 years, but you were still affected by the fallout between you and Ni-ki. Friendship breakups definitely hurt more than relationship breakups.

On your laptop, you went to your folders, selecting the photos that contained memories of you and Ni-ki, trashing them. Your heart drops, worried that you would regret it, but you need to move on, you decided that it was for the best. After 10 minutes of clearing your gallery, you wanted to go back to your tabs.

The first tab you returned to was the chat with Ni-ki.

"Wait, wait what the fuck?"

Oh my god, you sent the message. You sent the ''i'm sorry'' message. Oh my god.

Your eyes widen and your heart starts to beat faster at the realisation. You hastily move your mouse to delete your message, but your eyes realise that he was online.

He was typing.

Oh my god.

nrk : y/n nrk : hey.

[a-very-bored-blogger]

ᴴᵉˡᵖ ᴵ'ᵛᵉ ᴬᶜᶜⁱᵈᵉⁿᵗᵃˡˡʸ ᴶᵒⁱⁿᵉᵈ ᵃ ᵀᵃˢᵏᶠᵒʳᶜᵉ?! (𝗔 𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗖 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗢𝗗 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗰) (part 1!)

Pairings: price, soap, gaz, ghost x gn!reader Summary: Work is tiring, so gaming is more fun. Enter the world of (the game title being too fucking long) and meet people like Gaz, Simon, Johnny, and Price!

Tags: ddlc inspired madness, romance, pining, slow descent to madness, dark taskforce x reader, god this seemed like a fun idea read the prologue here: https://a-very-bored-blogger.tumblr.com/post/733340659955728384/%F0%9D%98%BE%F0%9D%99%9D%F0%9D%99%A4%F0%9D%99%A4%F0%9D%99%A8%F0%9D%99%9A-%F0%9D%99%AE%F0%9D%99%A4%F0%9D%99%AA%F0%9D%99%A7-%F0%9D%98%BE%F0%9D%99%9D%F0%9D%99%96%F0%9D%99%A7%F0%9D%99%96%F0%9D%99%98%F0%9D%99%A9%F0%9D%99%9A%F0%9D%99%A7 (for some reason it won't let me make a normal clickable link.)

Notes: -In-game will look like this!- i did not expect this to blow up. i need more of that. anyways, time to introduce the boys.

-You wake up in a dark room. Your head is dizzy.- The text blurts out as the screen begins in black. You squint your eye before clicking through the next piece of dialogue.

-"Wake up lass." a thick male Scottish accent could be heard.- The dialogue reads out. You click once again.

Then, the screen shows the picture of a man, with rather attractive features, and a sort of mohawk, looking down at you in concern, his mouth agape. In the screen was just his entire face, so you can't see much of his body, staring what feels like your eyes.

Then two choices popped up. Standard dating sim ritual, where any choice will affect your journey.

You choose the first option that shows up, feeling it suits your situation and character best. You clicked once again, only for his concerned look to turn into a cocky smile. -"Brough' yer here. Saw ya passed out in training before. Must've been the intense heatwave."-

The man continues introducing himself as Soap, with the pink box above the dialogue transforming from '???' to 'Soap'. Another two options pop up once again.

-"What the fuck kind of a name is Soap?"- (a)

-"Oh thank you so much!"- (b)

The choices were interesting, both of them enticed you. But you decided to be sarcastic and a bit of an asshole to the man who had just claimed to drag you out of a heatwave.

-"What the fuck kind of a name is Soap?" You ask, your gaze furrowed as he looks at you before seeming a bit offended at first before chuckling. +5 romance points.-

You glanced at the screen, laughing a bit before taking a sip from your glass- a simple choice of your coffee, 2 milks, 1 sugar. Curiosity lingered in your head, as you watch the screen fade into another picture of the Scotsman with a blush on his cheek, seemingly laughing awkwardly with you.

-"Aye lass, I just though Soap kinda rolled off the tongue quite well. In comparison to Price that is- old geezer's just using his actual fuckin' last name.-" The Scot retorted in response. You giggle a bit towards his response before clicking the next tab to view the next piece of dialogue.

His eyes narrowed quite a bit before smiling once again. -"Never took ye for a coffee drinker, I'm assumin' 2 milks and a sugar? All the Brits around here just like their tea.-"

Your eyes widened. There is no way this game could tell what you're drinking. After all, he was just a character you. This is just a coincidence- there is no way this game is an entire Doki Doki Literature Club ripoff right? All the thoughts raced thoroughly through your mind. You can either burn this and move on- or possibly enter a hopeless weird possibility of COD men actually falling in love with you. ("continue?") your brain asks. and you took the leap of faith of shrugging a hot character knowing your usual coffee order, and continued the cursed game. After a few clicks and so, minutes slowly turned into hours. Captain John Price was no longer you imaginary boyfriend- he is your mentor in game. And despite barely passing the training, with a grade of B- across all the training mini games, Price still gives you support. A pat in the back, some words of encouragement. Shame that this indie game doesn't have a budget to create voicelines, that would've made you even more delusional.

You have yet to meet Simon and Gaz in your 2 hour long playthrough, but the sun flashing through your window should be enough of a reminder that your time with your fictional boyfriends are enough. "I'm going to miss you guys." You uttered, pressing your pointer and middle finger against your lips, only to put it on the screen. And once again, a 'coincidence' happened once again. -"Love, I'll bring you over here one day to show you what a real kiss looks like."- Price uttered, before you briefly see his avatar blinking at you. You gasped. Yep, this is way too much game time for today, and you are hallucinating. Slamming your laptop lid directly, you took a deep breath and emitted a scream. "God, real life men can't make me scream like that."

[exhuastedpigeon]

December 2 - 8

Here's your weekly rec list! I didn't reread anything this week, but I will be rereading some of the fics I read this week so it all balances out, probably.

The lists are tagged as ‘Han’s Buddie Recs’ and 'Han's Weekly Fic Recs'. Comments in italics are from me! 

Newly Read

Your Love is an Oil Slick (It Glows like Rainbows, It Stains My Soul) by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/@letmetellyouaboutmyfeelsExplicit || 67.9k When Eddie's son claims he has an imaginary friend, Eddie doesn't think much of it. Christopher is seven, it's what kids do. But then weird things start happening around the house, and Eddie starts dreaming about a handsome blue-eyed man.

Turns out, Christopher's friend isn't so imaginary.

Their house is haunted.

If you liked Hot Ghost Problems by ebjameston this fic is for you. 

Both Blade and Branch by Daisies_and_Briars/@cal-daisies-and-briars Mature || 62.8k The chances of being struck by lightning twice are incredibly minute, but Buck still manages to pull it off. During a double date with Marisol and Natalia, nonetheless. Eddie manages to resuscitate him, but as Buck recovers from yet another trauma, Eddie can’t help but notice there’s something very different about him. He’s not quite sure what version of Buck he got back

This fic made me rabid. I’ve bullied at least three people into reading it in the last week and now you all are my latest victims. Read this story!!!!! It’s so damn good.

you and i'll be safe and sound by spaceprincessem/@spaceprincessem Teen || 50.8k the buddie hunger games au

This fic does such a great job staying true to Buck and Eddie’s characters while keeping the same plot/structure as The Hunger Games books. Highly recommend it! 

yearning from wanting you by farfromthstars/@buckactuallys Mature || 18.3k while christopher is at camp, buck and eddie strike up a friends with benefits situation. it doesn't really get complicated until the kid comes back.

it hurts to hope for more by 42hrb/@exhuastedpigeon Mature || 15.5k Buck wants to be a dad, it takes a couple break-ups and a major non-romantic heartbreak for him to figure out that maybe he already is.

This is half shameless self plug, half I actually read this fic this week after I posted it and was like 'damn bitch you actually did it, you wrote the fic you wanted to read'

reachin for me (makin love to someone else) by inbetweenthestacks/@organizedstardust Explicit || 8.3k Buck says Eddie’s name while having sex with Natalia.

can't do a love song (not the way you sang them to me) by hattalove/@hattalove Mature || 7.3k in which buck sleeps around for healthy reasons, and thinks about his next-door neighbor a healthy amount.

even when the heat breaks I’m still yours by thewolvesof1998/@thewolvesof1998 Explicit || 6.1k Buck and Eddie get stuck in a cabin during a heatwave, they finally take the next step and fuck nasty on the floor.

Ruin Me Like Castle Walls and Burn Me Like a Village by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/letmetellyouaboutmyfeels Explicit || 6.5k When a call goes wrong, Buck sees a new side to Eddie, and starts to realize a lot of things about his best friend. And himself.

Dragon Eddie and extremely hot sex? Yes please. 

I have not wanted syllables by iphigenias/@oatflatwhite Mature || 3.3k Five times Buck and Eddie don’t say “I love you” + one time they do.

moth to a flame by brewrosemilk/@gayhoediaz Teen || 1.7k Eddie’s kiss is so gentle that Buck aches.

From the way in which he could be pushing Buck back into the lockers and cage him in - but is doing anything but. To the careful, barely-there hold on his face, and the sweet brush of his lips - light as a feather, no pressure added, tongue absolutely nowhere in sight.

WIPs

let you set the pace by devirnis/@devirnis Explicit || 12.7k (1/2 chapters completed) When Eddie had first broached the idea with Buck – haltingly, like he was afraid Buck was going to take offence, or something else ludicrous – Buck had gotten hard so fast that he’d felt lightheaded. Two whole days where Eddie would keep him tied to the bed (or other furniture, Buck’s sure) so he could have his wicked way with him? Buck must have done something very good in a past life.

[verfound]

FIC: "Your Face Could..." (MLB; Lukanette)

Characters/Pairings: Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Rating: Teen

Summary: Luka had a stupid face.  And if he’s going to be such a jerk about things, Marinette thinks he deserves to know it.

Author’s Notes/Warnings: …um.  Can I blame this on the heatwave and the mush my brain is?  😂  @quickspinner shared an Insta, and then I did this in maybe ten minutes.  You…a minific shitpost?  Take it for what it is.  😂

(Read on Ao3)

“Your Face Could…”

“You…you…!!!”

Luka lifted an eyebrow, calm as ever, and wasn’t that just the icing on the proverbial fucking cake?  She was already mad enough, but her husband’s maddening unflappability was always enough to make it worse.

…usually.  Sometimes it was helpful.  Like when the fate of the city (or world) was at stake.  She was actually pretty grateful for it then.  But times like now?  When she was already pissed off and he was trying to be sweet and considerate and get her to calm the fuck down?

God, he pissed her the hell off.

And he fucking knew it!

There was that familiar glint in his eyes, that knowing little smirk playing at the corners of his mouth that let her know he knew he was wearing her down.  She’d start to see reason any minute, and she’d stop being pissed at him and opt instead for snuggles, and he would win, just like he always did.  But she didn’t want him to win today!  She wanted to be mad, and frustrated, and to cry and call him a stupid head and maybe kick his ass a little!

She had earned that, right?

Right?

“Don’t you dare,” she huffed, her fists clenching at her sides.  His eyebrow just rose higher.  It was the only part of him that moved: he was still leaning back against the counter, his arms folded across his chest and looking as unflappable as ever.  “I am mad at you, Couffaine.”

“I know,” he said, nodding.  “Unreasonably, but I know.”

“It is not unreasonable!” she shrieked.  The eyebrow ticked again.  She stomped her foot.  “This is your fault!”  He dipped his head towards her, and she wasn’t sure if he had somehow managed to get his eyebrow even higher or if it was just the new angle of his head.  She grit her teeth, her nails pressing into her palms.  “You wipe that smirk off your stupid face right now.”

“Hey,” he said, and the asshole had the audacity to chuckle, “you love this stupid face.”

…she did, but he didn’t need to know that.  Not right now, at least.  A little white lie never hurt anyone for the sake of winning an argument, right?

“I do not!” she whined, stomping her foot again.  He chuckled again, and oh she just wanted to slap him!  “That face is…that stupid face…”

And it just wasn’t fair, because he had her so mad she couldn’t even think straight.

That was the only reason, really.

It had to be.

Her brain was in a rage spiral, and the only insults it could come up with were just as stupid as his stupid face, which…

“…your stupid face could scare slugs off cabbages!” she shouted, her eyes screwing shut as she stomped her foot again.

There was a pause.

A moment of calm, if you will, as her words settled like lead balloons around them.

And then, finally: “…what?”

She opened her eyes, her teeth grinding so hard her jaw almost hurt.  For once, Luka actually looked slightly flapped.

“You heard me!” she huffed.  He nodded, and the smirk was a lot less of a smirk now and more of a grin.  Somehow, that just pissed her off even more.

“…I did,” he said, nodding, “but I really don’t think you should be trying to insult me with dumb Instas I sent you two hours ago.”

Her eyes popped wide.  Her mouth dropped open.  The pickle jar that had started the whole thing fell to the floor and – miraculously – did not break.

“Come on, darning,” he added, dipping his head again as the smirk came back.  “You’re much more creative than that.  You can do better.”

…and that was when the tears started.

“Not when I’m angry and hormonal and stupid, you…you…oh, you asshole!” she cried, dropping her face in her hands to (attempt to) hide the fact that she was crying.  Like that could fool him, though.  She heard him sigh, and she peeked out over her fingertips to find his arms were open.

“Come here,” he sighed, and in the next moment she was cuddled against his chest, her tears soaking his shirt as he wrapped his arms tight around her.  “There, there.  It’s all right, darning.”

“It is not,” she whined.  He kissed her temple and rubbed her back.

“It is,” he said.  He sighed and rested his cheek against her head.  “I will be so glad when our little one’s here and these mood swings stop.”

“…shut up,” she whined.  “I told you it’s your fault.”

“Yes, dear,” he said automatically, dutifully.  She sniffed and peeked up at him, her fingers toying with the collar of his shirt.

“…can you just open the stupid jar now?” she asked, her voice as miserable as ever.  He tipped her chin up and kissed her, and that made her feel maybe a little better.

“Yes, dear.”

And she supposed she didn’t hate him all that much after all.

…even if his stupid face could scare slugs off cabbages.

[mysticfoxdesigns]

What are your headcanons for your holoforms of the Rescue Bots?

I have a few different headcanons for my holoforms! Just remember these are my own personal opinions, you don't have to agree 100% with them

I am going to be more specifically talking about my Cyberaligned lore, but these can also translate to general headcanons

The Holoform Headcanons

Age

So I have talked about my headcanons for their Cybertronians ages before, but these are what those ages translate to in human terms the holoforms more often then not will resemble their respective ages

Heatwave: 25

Chase: 24

Blades: 35

Boulder: 23-24

Side characters

Quickshadow: 25

Blurr: 19

Salvage: 20

Hightide: 55

Holoform Races

These are the races and ethnicities that holoforms appear as.

Heatwave: Yaqui mixed

Chase: Japanese

Blades: Indian and Black

Boulder: Samoan and Black

Side characters

Quickshadow: British and Korean

Blurr: White

Salvage: Black

Hightide: Scottish

Pronouns

What human pronouns the bots have chosen to use.

Heatwave: He/Him but doesn't care too much

Chase: He/They

Blades: They/She/He depends on mood

Boulder: He/Him

Side characters

Quickshadow: She/Her

Blurr: He/Him

Salvage: They/He

Hightide: Uses anything, does not give a fuck

Heights

The heights the holoforms generally appear at. They have control over the height of their holoforms as well as other physical features.

Heatwave: 6'2

Chase: 5'8

Blades: 6'4

Boulder: 5'4

Side characters

Quickshadow: 5'4

Blurr: 5'5

Salvage: 6'6

Hightide: 6'8

Scars

The damages they received in bot forms will appear on their holoforms.

Heatwave: Fire burn scar from training covering his back.

Chase: Minor scars from rescues. Lichtenberg scars equivalent, caused by both his outlier ability (electricity) and being STUCK BY LIGHTNING

Blades: Rescue related scars. And specifically to Cyberaligned, their shadow play scars are the most prominent scars, but they have several more from their time in the war.

Boulder: Minor rescue related scars

Side characters

Quickshadow: Many scars from the war. Has a large one crossing over her forehead and temple area.

Blurr: Some scars from rescue missions. In Cyberaligned has a prosthetic left arm from his time with M.E.C.H., as well as scars revealing the dissection he went through

Salvage: Has scars from their encounter with M.E.C.H. in Cyberaligned, however was saved early on and did not suffer much.

Hightide: Many scars from the war. Most prominent is the one over his face and chest.

Queer Orientations

TBH, Cybertronians are genetically asexual and do not have genders. But this is just fun stuff I like to think of for if they were actually humans

Heatwave: Biromantic (fem preferred)

Chase: PanAegoromantic or Cupioromantic for RB, but for Cyberaligned it is hard to categorize him within the Aro identity due to lore.

Blades: Homoromantic (aka GAY AS FUC-)

Boulder: Demi-romantic Gay

Side characters

Quickshadow: Biromantic (equal preference for fem and masc)

Blurr: Biromantic (no real preference for a certain gender)

Salvage: Homoromantic

Hightide: Apothiromantic (though does not have a strong repulsive urge)

Disabilities

Both mental and physical disabilities are included here. I did as much research as possible and only used disabilities I am knowledgeable in for this.

Heatwave: Generalized anxiety. Some back problems in Cyberaligned as he used to work in the mines

Chase: Autism

Blades: PTSD, Autism, ADHD, generalized anxiety, depression

Boulder: Autism, and if he were to remain within his caste he would have self image issues similar to Bulkhead as well as muscle issues as I have him in the construction caste

Side characters

Quickshadow: PTSD, bipolar depression

Blurr: ADHD. In Cyberaligned has a prosthetic/replacement left arm and PTSD

Salvage: Generalized anxiety and PTSD symptoms after M.E.C.H. encounter

Hightide: PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety

I do have some updated art of their holoforms coming out at some point, I have been busy with zines though so I have not been able to work on it. But soon y'all will see their updated looks!

[nyaskitten]

Tell me about your au plz :3

(IMPORTANT NOTE: I REFER TO CHARACTERS BY THEIR ACTUAL NAMES IF I DON'T HAVE A NAME FOR THEM YET, THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT I'M NAMING ANYONE NYA OR WYLDFYRE OR ANY OF THAT!!!)

OK !!! So the details are very messy cuz I just came up with this idea last night while drawing my guy the Nightmare King from Dreamzzz... Basically it's this super self-indulgent story where I just mix shit from Dreamzzz/Ninjago/LMK/Chima for the fucken sake of it!!!

In this story, the main characters are a Kai ripoff, Nya ripoff, and a Wyldfyre ripoff!!! Wyldfyre ripoff is Kai's youngest sister (Kai 22, Nya 20, Wyldfyre 8-10, probably 10), and she also has a pet dragon who she found years ago (knockoff Heatwave!!!)

For elemental powers, those are like these magical crystals called Elemental Cores, which you are blessed with (idk how yet) by ancient dragon lords (they all go by kings but they're not all men.) Kai has his Core somehow, and same for Nya! Unfortunately, Wyldfyre doesn't yet, either due to being too young or not proven herself yet! She doesn't let it bum her out too much because her epic dragon can grant her sort of temporary Core powers (kinda like Chi from Chima). Unbeknownst to them there's a special reason Wyldfyre and the others can accept powerups like this without detrimental side effects (I won't tell.)

The story goes something like this, a few years ago (probably between 3-5) Kai's parents and uncles (in this story Wu and Garmadon are his uncles) mysteriously go missing, and in present day he hears rumors of an ancient dragon king (Overlord) whose darkness has slowly been festering and increasing greatly. Initially, Kai doesn't care, "Surely if this nonsense were to be true, the great Dragon Knights (he doesn't know it, but they're his dad and uncles) will find out about and stop it!" Idk WHY he decides to go yet, but he takes Nya and the dragon, and leaves Wyldfyre with the others... but she does her own thing and follows. It's too late to turn back now, so reluctantly, Kai has to keep his baby sister out of trouble!

For characters, I'm not too sure how many I'm taking from which series' yet...

I know I have Kai, Nya, Wyldfyre, a Lloyd/Arin combo possibly, Jay, Ray, Maya, Wu, Garmadon, the Overlord, and Misako. I'm ALSO taking Lord Ras for self-indulgence reasons, and renaming naming him Korros (for fun and maybe Wu/Korros exes yaoi!) I also know I wanna get some Monkie Kid inspiration, so I'm thinking of the Lady Bone Demon, but crossed with fanon interpretations of the Preeminent as well! Also, again self-indulgence, Nightmare King from Dreamzzz, and also totally Cinder come the fuck on I need Cinder.

I dunno if I'll add Zane or Cole tho... part of me wants to do a Kalmaar knockoff just for one hyperspecific joke of like, Korros is taking forever to find some hidden mechanism in a wall, and Kalmaar goes "you know, i wouldnt have killed my father if i knew what followed would be so boring."

I have many other thoughts brewing in my brain but WHEW thats the gist of it.

PLEASE ASK ME MORE!!!

[guardian-of-fandoms]

So was nobody gonna tell me about the theory that Cody is Onyx Prime Reincarnated

MY MIND IS BLOWN

Like it's absolutely insane but IT ALSO EXPLAINS A TON AND I CAN'T REALLY ARGUE-

Like I love Cody, he's an ADORABLE bean, and probably one of the best human characters in the franchise. he's just a sweet lil bean who genuinely wanted to befriend Cybertronians and managed to single handedly be the ENTIRE reason the team got their act together at all, the ONLY reason Heatwave gave humans a chance, and not only did Heatwave give him a chance, HE BASICALLY FUCKING ADOPTED THE KID.

But EVERYONE I have ever seen is C O N F U S E D as to why. WHY is this Kid gifted with Godly empathy and communication skills that stump and get grown adults and LITERAL ALIENS to change their entire frame of mind, going from ready to fucking throw hands to talking civilly in a matter of seconds!!!! KIDS DON'T DO THAT. CODY IS ONLY EIGHT. YEARS. OLD. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SHOW, 14 BY SEASON 4, AND PROBABLY 16-17 BY RBA.

.... So here's why I love this theory.

IT. EXPLAINS. THINGS.

(after days of obsessive Onyx Prime research)

-Oynx Prime's main abilities were his communication skills/Empathy, something that would probably carry over in Reincarnation. In fact, I've seen TONS of people theorize that Onyx was Reincarnated as Cody for the purpose of guiding the rescue bots, who would ultimately go on to change the course of Human/Cybertronian relations as a whole!

In fact, Cody has connected with Cybertronians SO WELL, Whirl casually dropped in an episode of RBA that sometimes, THE RECRUITS F O R G E T THAT CODY ISN'T CYBERTRONIAN.

THEY FREAKING FORGET THAT HE'S A HUMAN

.... What if Cody happens to fit in so well with Cybertronians.... Because he has a Spark?????

-Onyx Prime has massive wings. Cody is CONSTANTLY associated with Flight across the show. He wears a Bomber Jacket, uses a hoverboard, briefly used those rocket shoe things, and constantly rides along with Blades and Dani.

-Onyx Prime's Alt-Mode is a Griffin. Not only does the show constantly address the mythology of Griffins (and TFP says Predacons were actually responsible for Earth's mythological creatures in the first place), but the show LITERALLY TAKES PLACE ON AN ISLAND CALLED "Griffin Rock"

Lastly, I'm not sure if this counts,

But one thing about Cody has bugged me literally the entire show. Legit, as long as I've loved rescue bots, this has bugged me.

Cody's blonde hair.

i know this sounds stupid, but... THE KID'S HAIR MAKES NO SENSE.

Charlie has been show to have had brown hair when he was younger. Dani and Kade are both bright redheads, Graham is kinda a reddish brown.

if Charlie had brown hair, then than implies that the mom was a redhead, right???

So where's the Blonde come from????

I'm not claiming to be an expert in either Genetics, Reincarnation, or Onyx Prime.

But.......

This is the only answer I have, so, I'M ROLLING WITH IT

Cody Burns, human with a Spark!

[specialgradefckr]

Oh! Heatwave day 6 is one of my favorites too along with day 4! I read it again recently after reading the official Satoru Gojo booklet because I wanted to read something with a reader older than Gojo. Regarding stsg, I like the ship but their friendship seems more meaningful to me.

right??? i have ALWAYS seen gojo as an older woman liker. since the very beginning. the gojo/utahime shippers were on to something, let me tell you.

but yeah, stsg is such a popular ship that people also love to bend over backwards to make EVERYTHING gojo does about geto. i like the ship! but it's so reductive to gojo's character to take all his goals and motives and link it all back to geto.

like, sure, the stuff with geto motivated gojo to be a teacher. but gojo outright admits that he feels like he can't connect to other people, and that he wants to nurture strong and clever allies so that "no one will ever have to be alone again".

that's not about geto. that's about gojo experiencing the human condition. geto was a part of his experience for sure, but this is gojo, as a person, deciding that this is what he wants to do with his life.

i've seen gojo get actually upset at two points in the story so far.

first, when suguru defects, and they talk in front of the kfc.

second? after yuji dies, when gojo is talking to ichiji in the morgue.

gojo is LEGIT fucking MAD. his student is dead and he goes on an angry rant about the higher ups and very seriously contemplates murdering all of them.

that's not about geto. that's gojo showing his colors as a person. gojo as a teacher, caring about his student, getting angry because he cares so much.

i do think geto burned gojo in terms of friendship, but gojo opened up a new way to connect to others by becoming a teacher. gege says in the interview that what makes gojo happy is meeting new, talented sorcerers.

so yeah. the friendship was an important part of his life, defined him in many ways, but gojo's got a lot more going on to his character than just geto and it's a shame we don't see more of that.

[signanothername]

*shyly points a mic at you* Your opinion on High Tide?

Short answer? 10/10 would die for him

Long answer and unnecessary analysis?

I LOVE HIM

His episode “Turning the tide” is easily one of my favorites, his introduction is AMAZING like fr it was literally a fucking megabot getting out from beneath the water to rescue a rescue bot??? 10/10 entrance

I MEAN JUST LOOK AT HIM HDHDHDH

Ngl at first I thought he’s a titan before his actual reveal hdhdhhd

His designs, and i mean bot, megabot and alt mode are BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVE ALL OF THEM DEARLY

All that aside, what i love most about him is his personality, like I already have a soft spot for grumpy characters *cough* HW, Ratchat *cough* and he is one of them grumpy beautiful characters, but i think the appeal of his character is enhanced by everything else, like the way he talks sailor style, the fact he’s besties with OP which is pretty interesting and he LITERALLY HAS HIS HELPER BOT SERVO WHICH IS SO ADORABLE

I also find it interesting how he’s so adamant about not changing his ways at the beginning, he’s very resistant to change and that can be for a lot of reasons, but Hightide does give me the vibes of something who witnessed partners and soldiers fall when he was helpless to protect them, he’s the classic case of veteran who’s very strict and harsh but cause he cares deeply

Hightide kinda reminds of tfp Magnus, struggles with adaptation and change, but will do so if it means it’s what’s best for the team he’s on, which we see clearly at the end of his episode, he just needed that extra nudge, an extra perspective in which he sees how that change is positive

I absolutely love his interactions with Heatwave, cause both of them are as grumpy as one can get and neither is up for the other’s bullshit which is hilarious, I do love how they both are really similar in so many ways yet can’t get along for the life of them hdhdhdh

And just like HW, he’s an amazing guy once you get to actually know him beneath all that grumpiness hahaha

What i find even funnier is the fact he’s absolutely up for partying and such, the scene with him literally jumping only to go “Canon ball!!“ in the spirit of All Spark day is everything to me dhhdhd

And can I talk about how much I ADORE the nicknames he uses for everyone?? Comedy gold I could listen to him talk for days

I think Hightide is genuinely a great character, and I’m kinda sad he wasn’t very present in the show, and so far from what i know, no other appearances in other shows which is a bummer, I’d love to see more of him cause from my contact of TF media Hightide is the very first character I’ve seen that’s water based, which makes him unique in my eyes and i think the franchise could use him more

Anyway here, have one of my favorite scenes of him

Grandpa Hightide to the rescue!!! <333

[realfactsnlogic]

Gaming Moments That Made Me Cry - Part 1: Heatwave

Subtitle: "How a video game caused me to get fired from a project I was working on. What horrible timing." Contains game spoilers up to Day: The Heatwave. Also contains discussions of interpersonal troubles and suicide.

It'll be almost a year since I decided to play Not For Broadcast. Well, actually, I didn't play it firsthand. I didn't have the game at the time. I was backseating a friend's playthrough (if you're reading this, shoutout to you!)

I haven't cried over a fictional character since...I don't remember on the top of my head. But I can say I didn't cry when Mufasa from The Lion King died. Call me heartless, yadda yadda. But this gaming moment is something I won't forget.

It's gonna get late night ramble-y so buckle up.

It happened in February 2023, a real rough time in my online life.

I looked over the content warnings before playing the game to begin with. Thoroughly. I understood it all, and said yes to playing it. What wasn't mentioned, however, was when these warnings would apply. I could tolerate topics discussing or depicting suicide. Or so I thought. Through the hard way, I learned that I'm better off with given a warning.

I have to admit, when we played through this broadcast day, I wasn't so invested in the stuff before Jeremy began to crack. When the situation became tense, as in: I heard yelling, loaded terminology, characters acting terrified -- all of my attention and both of my eyes were on the situation like how all of the cameras were on him. After this broadcast day, I knew: I had to pay even closer attention to the game.

As the tension grew, I knew something drastic was about to happen. Jeremy was holding the room hostage. I said some fucked up stuff on call, for example when I said that I'm okay if Jenny dies. Is it yandere behaviour? You can argue that. The thought I had at the time, I recall was this: "It's okay if other people around him die, but Jeremy? No. He has to be kept alive."

No hate to Boseman, I love that old man to death, but we have to keep his prized possession--I mean, most valued employee in one piece. So I listened to Jeremy and played the tape. Good thing I did. I later learned that if I didn't, he would have snapped at Alex/the player/us.

The moment Jeremy was laughing sadly, preparing to shoot himself, Jenny frantically urged Alex/the player/us to cut to the ads. I felt powerless. Helpless. I couldn't do shit because I'm not the one with the keyboard. My friend was. And thank all that is holy, for my friend knew what to do.

I could swear I heard Boseman say "Alex, what have you done?" The wiki says he would say it if I played the tape on some other break. I have to replicate those actions just to make sure. I digress.

The results screen popped up. I didn't notice at the time, but the silence that followed...it was...eerie. I don't remember what lead to it, but I won't forget what my friend said:

"Jeremy will be okay."

My friend didn't mean to make me upset. I understood that. National Nightly News' anchorman, Jeremy Robert Donaldson, the most trustworthy anchorman of the Territory, is a fictional character. I also understood that. What did I not understand? What made me cry? And why?

I do have the 'why', actually. As we were playing this part of the game the first time ever, I was...going through something rough with some friends.

My Heatwave Took Place in Feburary 2023

I was basically the Megan Wolfe in a situation that could be simile to the events in the Heatwave. I was somewhere else when something happened. Well, actually, I was isolating myself. I thought that if I did, if I took some time away from the people I used to talk to so much...maybe those uncomfortable emotions I had towards those people would go away. I spent months distracting myself, avoiding this conflict by keeping busy.

Post-fallout (referential pun intended; there's a broadcast day called The Fallout), I decided to change course. Just like Megan, who seemed to increase her distance from her co-anchor and Jenny. She began to act out, remember? Taking it out emotionally on the make-up artists...and so did I. I was my own make-up artist, whom I would mistreat, which in the end affected everyone else around me. I regret what I did at the time wholeheartedly, even today. I don't care what anyone else says.

Despite those months of my Silence (yet another reference!), I really did care about the Jeremy in my situation, but couldn't or wouldn't bring myself to express that. Maybe like Megan who was bending to Advance, I was bending to my fear of how my words would always be received. The Jenny, however, was closest to the Jeremy, and was able to get him to come to his senses, despite how helpless the Jenny felt at that moment.

Meanwhile, I, the Megan in the situation, was in deep, bliss ignorance of what was happening around me. If a room was to be read, I was illiterate. I didn't think it would happen, and when I learned what happened months after it happened, every night I would blame myself for not knowing, not being there for him even if my reason was rooted in some sort of self-preservation. A selfish reason. I was angry at myself for what I've done to my Jeremy and my Jenny to begin with. So many "If I hadn't (X), this wouldn't have happened..." thoughts. It stung. And I felt like I deserved all those stings.

It took me some time to stabilize my emotions. I appreciate my friend remembering what grounding is. In my throes of breakdowns I would always forget what my coping strategies would be. That's why you should practice, kids. Even if you aren't having a breakdown in that moment.

So how did this gaming moment get me fired?

Unfortunately, on the same night, I had a meeting for a project to go to. I said goodbye to my friend, went on the project's VC and loafed with the other attendants before the meeting can officially start. I took the typical "how are you" question literally (as a neurodivergent usually does). I shared about how I cried earlier. "Are you okay?" they asked. I don't remember what I brought up next. I don't think I talked about how I was crying over a game that I somehow could heavily relate to, despite making comparisons over just a thread.

Some days later, plus a few things I did to the parties involved, I was removed access to the project's assets. I was basically fired, the pink slip e-mail left unread until the situation's Jenny--the only party who responded to the apologies I tailored to fit individuals--responded angrily. It hurt, sure, but at least I learned my lesson(s). A toxic one would be "don't trust anyone anymore", but a healthier take would be "find people who can and will stick with you when it gets rough."

And to think I could never hold down a job for more than 3 months... I can't believe I'm writing this, on the night before I go on my college's internship program. I will be submitting myself to a daily monotony as how the National Nightly News, after the Donaldson situation would begin to sink deeper into nightly monotony.

Regardless, one thing's for certain: I don't regret playing that tape, Boseman. It will turn out right in the end. Channel One will be okay.

And so will I.

[slutforwings]

books i read in 2023 that i recommend :) mainly because i am trying to find new books to read in the 'book rec' tag and none of these people give summaries so I shall bravely do it instead for others!

wrong place wrong time - gillian mcallister (mystery)

Blurb: a woman sees her son killing someone in front of her, then wakes up the next morning only to realise it's the day before the murder. she keeps traveling back in time, unraveling the reason for the murder and trying to stop it along the way Review: i misread the back and thought it was gonna be a time loop but this was even better actually. i fucking devoured this book it was so compelling. i tend to devour mystery books like these regardless of their well-writtenness but this was genuinely really good and tied up everything neatly at the end.

autobiography of a corpse - sigizmund krzhizhanovsky (short stories)

Blurb: bunch of fantastical short stories like about the people living in your pupil, a society that deals in anger and malcontent, a guy trying to bite his elbow Review: this book made me realise i love short stories, but then it turned out i mainly love THIS GUY'S short stories. they were just that good. slavic writers are built different

the secret history - donna tartt (psychological fiction)

Blurb: cult group of pretentious college kids study greek and turn it into a personality trait. also theyre gonna conspire to kill one of their own and then try to hide it Review: all of these characters are cunts and i love them so much. do not believe the dark academia girlies peddling this book, these people are stupid and pretentious and morally corrupt and theyre SO MUCH FUN!! the internal monologues are fantastic, i want to study Dick's brain. its a very Long book and absolutely takes its time and yet it does not feel like any parts are really unnecessary. really good.

this is how you lose the time war - amal el-mohtar & max gladstone (sci-fi)

Blurb: two time travelers from opposing agencies each have a mission (the mission involves historic meddling through time travel but is honestly not as important) and keep encountering each other and leaving letters to taunt, falling in love throughout the story Review: listen i saw that tweet 'do not look up anything about this book and just read it' and i did and i had zero regrets. i bought the paperback after reading the ebook bc it was just that good. beautiful prose, fantastic worldbuilding that is sometimes only hinted at but everything made me go !!! can you tell i love time travel.

notes on an execution - danya kukafka (pyschological fiction)

Blurb: serial killer on death row recounts his life, as well as pov of the police officer that investigated the cases and got him in jail + pov's of the family of the victims Review: incredible story about family, morality and love. raises a lot of questions about criminals and 'evil' and does not answer them because that's the whole point. insane quotes too. also very vivid storytelling in the way that i could picture all the locations perfectly despite them not being described in detail. i think it was due to the intense Vibe

bunny - mona awad (uh. horror?)

Blurb: um. goth/'not like other girls' girl gets indoctrinated into joins a cult group of really girly girls that all call each other bunny and have kind of weird rituals meetings. Review: listen. i hate when people do this to me but. just read it. if you're a fan of magical realism and cult-y things, you're in for a treat. this book made me bike home in a daze. i love stream of consciousness where you as the reader are just as lost as the character! i love you bunny!

instructions for a heatwave - maggie o'farrel (fiction)

Blurb: a pensioned father leaves the house for his newspaper and then doesnt return. all the children are gathered by the mother to try and figure out what the fuck happened. Review: not so much a 'hey where'd he go' as it is a rumination on family and unconditional love. ofc theres some family secrets that get revealed but i found it more interesting to watch the family dynamic and the changes the secrets brought to it. bittersweet :)

[cometconmain]

@silvercaptain24

Hey, I lost your ask because Tumblr mobile sucks and doesn't let you edit asks when they're saved to drafts and when I tried meddling with it Tumblr lost it entirely. Sorry.

I'll have to reply like this instead. XD

Prime is a difficult one because so many cool and/or hot characters!! I'm going to pick multiple because fuck it:

Soundwave, Dreadwing, Starscream, Knockout and Wheeljack. Cliffjumper as an honorable mention in terms of canon because he turned up twice but I love his energy.

Rescue Bots is probably obvious. XD Heatwave, hands down. (Though I do love all of them and Rescue Bots has some of the best writing overall out of all the TV shows.)

RiD (2015 I'm assuming? I don't remember if the ask specified or not so I'm assuming you mean 2015. I haven't seen 2000) is uh... not something I enjoyed at all as a show. I did, however, really enjoy Starscream for the brief period of time he got to be in it, because they actually let him be consistently competent (right up until the Hasbro franchise show rules required him to be defeated by the Autobots and taken back to Cybertron. XD ) which I really would have liked to see far more frequently from TFP Starscream (he had his moments which is why he's on the TFP list, but they definitely resorting to undermining his character to defeat him way too often which is a trope I do not enjoy XD ).

Sorry again for losing your ask and thank you for asking. I wish you a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. :D