#her final stage is the polle monster

[b4rk1ng-l0t]

polle horse... as a cuphead boss...

[lintwriting]

I was here when mouthwashing was just a demo. here are some things I noticed.

I caught on to the fact that Curly was likely innocent and that Jimmy was an unreliable narrator based on the "Take Responsibility" word scramble and Jimmy's asshole behavior. Because of this, I also did not think there would be supernatural horror, I thought it’d be man-made and psychological, which I was right about.

What I did not expect was the subtle depiction of how workplaces fail victims of rape and misogyny.

What I did not expect was how backgrounded the late stage capitalism critique ended up being.

late stage capitalism: a red herring

From the Demo, you focus a lot on the corporation as the main antagonist, probably because Wrong Organ devs were hiding the villain protagonists.

Ominous posters, a Polle monster chasing you, those ominous TV commercials glorifying working for a corporation, the fact that all this horror was over fucking tooth-rotting mouthwash. Really paints the picture of a corporate horror or conspiracy a la “Time to Orbit: Unknown,” where every chapter unveils a new corporate conspiracy for money and power.

but instead, in mouthwashing, the capitalist aspects are merely plot devices to explore the horror surrounding mismanagement and its consequences.

A power tripping coworker and an enabling manager who got him the job. An eager-to-please kid and an established supervisor willing to take advantage. Flaws in how the hierarchy is decided, leading to the one person who shouldn’t have had power getting the power. Lack of sensitivity training (or whatever that’s called) surrounding things like Title IX concerns, such as the uneven gender dynamics or what to do in the event of a crime or the fact that the person doing the psych evals isn’t getting any evals.

Notice that none of these things are unique to capitalism, they’re issues you’d have to plan for in any workplace/organization, whether that be socialist or capitalist or whatever. The capitalism exacerbates the issues or catalyzes the consequences of them like a plot device, but the issues don’t originate from there.

For example: the lack of any woman other than Anya.

Yes, this was most likely exacerbated by late stage capitalism understaffing to cut corners, leading to skeleton crews, but that the crew we DO have is mostly male is more related to misogyny or gender roles.

Perhaps women don't want to work on these freighters because of the danger of being trapped in a confined space with men. Maybe the jobs required for these freighters, like mechanic or pilot, are male-dominated. Or maybe the hiring manager had a bias where they viewed men as more competent, etc. The fact of the matter is that the cause is the same when you dig down deep into it: misogyny.

Or the layoff. The laying off of the crew is its own form of evil, but its consequences aren’t the ones being explored within this story. Most of the crew die of the horrors within the ship before they ever have to face it. In fact, the horrors within the ship don't really even have anything to do with the layoff at all. It’s a bit of a red herring.

Rather, the actual cause of this game’s horror is the mismanaged fallout of Jimmy’s assault. Most obviously in that scene where we see Curly for the first time, wherein Curly doesn’t take Anya’s safety concerns seriously, even when Jimmy is actively threatening to make everyone disappear so neither of them have to face the consequences of the assault.

I initially misread that scene as Curly evilly conspiring to let Jimmy crash the ship so neither of them would take the fall, hence us finally seeing Curly's “true face.” Because I read what Jimmy said as inherently threatening and serious, I thought Curly had agreed to that awful plan and only got cold feet at the last minute.

It’s only from reading other comments that I realized Curly had most likely assumed Jimmy was blowing hot air and needed to cool down in that scene. Or that he was making an inappropriate joke akin to his 'sexually attracted to cartoon horses' thing and wasn't being serious. Curly didn’t realize Jimmy was actually talking about a real plan until it was too late stop it (makes me wonder if Jimmy was actually attracted to the horse, too).

Thus, it goes from a story about corner-cutting late stage capitalist megacorps to a story about cartoonishly evil, power-tripping men to a story about how we enable these men with failures in our system.

Much like how the beginning of the game, when Jimmy crashes the ship, a failure in the safety systems is what allows the crash to happen (Seriously? One pilfered key is all you need to send your ship into a crash?), a series of social safety nets had to have failed to let him into the cockpit in the first place. The true face is not Curly conspiring to crash the ship out of cowardice and greed, but his inability to face what his friend has done.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Heather Angel (The Informer, The Undying Monster)—no propaganda submitted

Katharine Hepburn (Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, The African Queen)—This woman. I have been obsessed with her for years. I know the urban legend is a popular one at this point of her walking around set in her underwear when her pants were stolen and she was left with only a skirt, but the pants thing is honestly enough for her to be the hottest in the room in my book. She refused to wear anything else at a time when the public in general and especially the studios did not like that. She was independent, stubborn, and so so very capable. Competency kink anyone? Also, if you want one final way that Katharine's entire life was saying "fuck you" to the establishment, it started young! Her mother took her to suffrage events, and she never got rid of that attitude of justice. I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of all the ways she was such a badass that I'm turning into a rambling mess instead.

This is round 1 of the bracket. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Heather Angel propaganda:

Katharine Hepburn propaganda:

I'm sure one million people will submit her as an iconic Hollywood star but that iconicness might lead people to forget just how insanely hot she was like she had it ALL she was skilled she was funny she was smart she was beautiful AND she was likely bisexual

The single word I would use to explain Katherine Hepburn's appeal is *range*. In her acting career, that meant covering all the ground between lush period dramas and the comedies she did with Carey Grant and Spencer Tracey. In terms of hotness, it meant an uncanny ability to bring anything from a Dietrich-esque androgyny to some of the best Classic Hollywood Glamour you will ever see.

Katharine hep was so cool. The VIBES, the INDEPENDENCE,,, living life on her own terms.

she just had this.... bearing to her, this power. she could be funny, even silly (like in bringing up baby) but also so regal and elegant. she was nobody's fool and dear GOD that's so hot

Fancam link

She’s not only stunningly gorgeous (those eyes that pierce your soul! a jawline you could cut glass with!) but her delivery and physical presence in roles gives off confidence and authority in such a sexy way (truly the biggest dick energy of Old Hollywood). Her fiery energy in The Philadelphia Story? Unmatched.

God she's. She's so hot y'all. She has the range!!!!! Funny and dramatic and lovely

She IS the transatlantic accent. Classically gorgeous and such a strong personality.

She's literally one of the funniest women to ever live! She goes shot for shot with Cary Grant in Philadelphia Story and we damn well love her for it! She's the most annoying creature to ever live in Bringing Up Baby but she's so insane and funny that we simply cannot help but fall in love with her (and root for her to give Grant an aneurysm!)

i know she's accounted for but i really want to be sure someone has submitted the scene in bringing up baby where she's pretending to be a gangster

She simply stuns onscreen; you cannot do anything but be captivated by her presence. Also a non-gender-conforming icon and mild tumblr celebrity by virtue of that one picture from The Warrior's Husband (stage play).

Katharine Hepburn was out here casually changing the lives of young butch lesbians with her gender swag! She wore pants even when people said she shouldn’t, she refused to marry or have kids, and she wore menswear in at LEAST one movie!

Someone's got to mention it, but she's won the most Oscars out of any performer and is largely considered one of the greatest actresses ever. She's got an incredible voice, an incredible presence, and she absolutely steals every scene she's in. She was private person and deemed standoffish and unapproachable, but she was also profoundly concerned for people's rights and was an outspoken supporter of abortion access. Finally, the Katharine Hepburn slacks look is just iconic. I mean look at her.

If I start thinking about her face for too long I will cry she is so so hot. Katherine is so charismatic and charming in everything she appears in - watch her adopt a leopard and fall in love with her. Also she has the biggest dick energy ever (she and her pal Lauren Bacall share that accolade). Also had an incredibly long and varied career from screw ball comedies to serious dramas - she’s a queen of the screen and I adore her.

(I hope someone else submits real propaganda but just in case they don't:) Cries. Screams. Wails. The woman who singlehandedly made me realize I was bi. A real "do i want to look like her. be her. or be with her.' crisis, where the answer was all three. Holy shit please all three.

[euniexenoblade]

Choose Your Own Smutty Halloween Adventure - Round Two

"Hello there readers! This is a silly Halloween smut story! If you haven't read the prologue or round one yet, I recommend you do!"

"She's talking to no one again," the chained Delilah says off to the side, "all these people are fucking insane."

Mordred sighs, but ignores her. "Well, even though Delilah is trying to be a party pooper, I'd like to welcome you to the second round of The Fucking Game!"

An unseen crowd cheers and applauds.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Mordred waves at the reader. "Now, at the end of the last round we asked you, the reader, to select who Delilah would have a three way with!" More crowd cheers. "Now, let's see how that poll turned out!"

"Pumpkin and Priscilla are the winners!!!!" More crowd applause. Priscilla starts to fly and bounce with excitement. Pumpkin sits there. It is a pumpkin.

"Now, no more delay, let's commence the three way!" One final batch of cheers is heard.

Mordred walks off stage, as do Lilith and Slosha (well, Slosha slides).

No curtain falls. The wall that separates the contestants and Delilah rises. Hooded figures walk out and unshackle Delilah’s wrists and walk away. Delilah looks up and sees….nothing but a pumpkin on a chair. She scrambles to her feet and looks around, to her left is everyone that left the stage, standing in front of empty audience seats – they’re all grinning at her.

Delilah doesn’t understand what’s happening, but she sees this as her only opportunity to escape. Delilah runs straight at the empty chairs (well, empty except for a pumpkin), hoping to get around the group of monsters and escape. She’s about to make it to the end of the set when she feels something tugging her back. She’s slammed against the floor, but she can’t see anyone. She feels hands all over her, but she still can’t see them. It feels like someone is squeezing her tits, but it also feels like someone is pinning her wrists and legs to the floor.

The group off stage laugh as Delilah struggles against what she can’t see.

Then as if appearing out of nowhere, a woman appears, sitting on Delilah. She’s naked, hair long, big tits, see-through and she’s holding Delilah’s arms down. Delilah screams, but it means nothing, everyone off stage is laughing at her. The spirit lets go of Delilah’s arms, but Delilah still can’t move them, as if they’re permanently held down.

“Oh, my sweet girl, how I’ve longed to feel you…” the ghost moans as she slowly lowers herself onto Delilah’s cock. Delilah tries to scream again, but the ghost pushes her hands into Delilah’s chest, grabbing Delilah’s lungs, overwhelming her and disrupting Delilah’s breathing. As Delilah coughs and tries to breathe, everyone notices her cock starting to twitch inside Priscilla, finally fully erect. “Looks like we found someone’s kiiiink~” the ghost laughs.

With this, Priscilla grasps Delilah’s lungs tighter, cutting off breathing altogether. Delilah tries to thrash to escape, but she is pinned down still, held there by some unseen force, and Priscilla uses this thrashing to start moving her hips, fucking herself with Delilah’s cock. Priscilla lets off moans of joy, enjoying her toy for the moment, but Delilah gets little to no stimulation. She can barely feel Priscilla at all, more like a breeze pushing on her cock.

Priscilla, turned on so much from the sex, starts to ooze a viscous, light colored substance out of her crotch – her ectoplasm leaking all over Delilah. Delilah can barely tell though, her cock feeling practically nothing from all this as energy starts to leave her body and she starts to go a bit limp. Delilah finally feels like it’s time to give up her life, but through her pained gasps makes one final sound: “Puh…..Puh…..”

Priscilla replies with a simple “Hmm?” As much as Priscilla would like to watch the light leave Delilah’s eyes, she always wants to hear what the toy has to say. She loosens her grasp on Delilah’s lungs. Delilah gasps for air, coughing and taking in the biggest breaths she can. “What is it you want, little girl?”

Delilah is still coughing and gasping, “Please...please...let me cum before I d-die….”

Priscilla laughs. “I can’t let you die. Pumpkin hasn’t gotten any action yet…”

Delilah finally getting control of her breathing looks to her side at Pumpkin. “I’m supposed to fuck a pumpkin?”

“Yes, Pumpkin is a precious friend and it’s part of this three way.”

“I’m...I’m not fucking a pumpkin…”

“What’s with that attitude?” Priscilla giggles. “You want to cum don’t you?”

“Y-yes..”

“Your options are cum with Pumpkin or I’ll choke you to death and make you my toy eternal.”

Delilah lays there quiet for a second, her cock going flaccid. “N-no, I think I’ll choose death.”

Priscilla laughs. “No, you won’t.” Priscilla leans forward until her ghostly body disappears into Delilah’s own body. Delilah can move finally. She stands up to run but feels a force pull her back, as if something inside her body moved her back towards the chairs despite what she tried to make her body do. Delilah’s body walks to Pumpkin’s chair against her will. There’s a hole in the pumpkin. “Has that always been there?” Delilah thinks to herself.

Suddenly, Delilah’s cock goes from flaccid to semi erect in an instant, a trick from her ghost pilot. “N-no please don’t do this to me,” Delilah cries. But her cries change nothing. With both hands she picks up Pumpkin and sticks her dick into it. She tries to pull away, but the ghost’s control is too strong. Delilah thrusts, feeling the rough edges of the pumpkin on her cock until the head hits the gooey insides.

The group off stage howl with laughter, “Look at her go! She wants to cum so bad!” Lilith yells.

Delilah feels humiliated, forced to fuck a literal pumpkin. She thrusts, back and forth, back and forth, the roughness on her cock smoothing as she does. Priscilla grasps Delilah’s lungs once again, and she can no longer breathe. She struggles for air as her lower body continues to fuck Pumpkin against her will, her cock getting as erect as it can. “Pluh...please no” Delilah stammers out.

And, finally Delilah cums inside pumpkin. The humiliation no longer matters. The fact she could die from not being able to breath no longer matters. She’s cumming, and she’s going to make it worth every second. She humps faster and faster and faster. She can suddenly breathe again, choking on the new air, she doesn’t stop. Slamming her cock into Pumpkin as much as she can, she’s finally getting everything that’s been pent up out of her. Until she finally let’s go of Pumpkin, letting it fall back to the chair, realizing she wasn’t being controlled by the ghost anymore.

She turns around, and Priscilla’s ghostly body is with the rest of the group off stage. “You loved Pumpkin so much I figured I wouldn’t stop you!” Everyone laughs. Suddenly, all the shame and humiliation hits Delilah again. She just fucked a pumpkin, and wasn’t even being made to at the end.

Delilah falls to the ground, hands holding her head, and screams “Nooo!” Everyone laughs at her.

Hooded figures walk on stage and hit her with the stun baton from earlier. Delilah shakes from the shock until she finally goes limp. The hooded figures drag her back to her side of the stage and put the shackles on her wrists. The wall that separates the sides lowers as the contestants walk back to their seats.

Mordred walks back on camera for all to see, “Wasn’t that fun?!” The mysterious studio audience returns with a loud cheer. “A round of applause for Priscilla!” Applause is heard and Priscilla does a floating curtsy, before changing her shape back to that of a cartoon ghost and hovering above her chair. “And a round of applause for Pumpkin!” The crowd goes wild, cheering, whistling, chanting, roses are thrown at the stage from the audience, landing in front of Pumpkin’s chair.

Mordred motions for the crowd to calm down. “A fantastic performance! A great way to open round two!” The audience cheers more. “Now, you at home! It’s time yet again for another vote! One lucky contestant will have one final one on one with Delilah before the next elimination! So, readers, decide, who will fuck Delilah?!”

Delilah starts to stir awake. “Please no….no more….”

A hooded figure appears once more and shocks her with the stun baton, knocking her out again, and walks off stage.

[peachymilkandcream]

My Husband, My Monster|Part 1|William Afton x Wife!Reader

(A/N: So this is the fandom that won the poll! I'll try and keep these and Break Me Slowly regular, but still feel free to give me requests for both in my inbox, I do oneshots and headcanons as well as I'll answer your questions and comments! (Please just read the rules first) I think I have a general timeline and idea of the lore [It's FNAF lore it's complicated as fuck] so I'm going with my best guess on things. Hope you guys enjoy!)

WARNINGS: noncon, dubcon, power imbalance, age difference, manipulation, mind breaking, yandere themes, yandere behaviours, domestic violence, misogyny, violence, William's a warning himself, etc.

=============================================

Who knew that a bit of twisted words and cash made all of your problems go away? William had struggled to stay open with Henry Emily's company showing such strides in mechanical technology. He was still wearing homemade cloth suits while his rival had dancing puppets that children adored. His dreams and ideas were being stolen right out from under him in his eyes, rolling in mountains of debt and the threat of closing down looming over his head. They were his characters, his dream, his business idea, and the bastard had to steal it and make it better. Even though he had bought William out of debt all those years back, it didn't change the sting of defeat when the two businesses merged.

Now he didn't regret it, Fredbear's Family Diner was just starting out but it was already projected to be a success. His characters took centre stage and had never been more alive, delighting young and old alike, his legacy started now.

Which is when he noticed the girl sitting at a table with her friend, they were giggling and laughing together over some inside joke. William had always had a soft spot for pretty girls, his more reckless years spent taking what women offered him freely, now he didn't have the time.

However for this girl he might just be able to make the time.

Casually he walks over, pretending to just be passing by, when he spies the job application she's filling out on the table and catching snippets of their conversation.

"I'm just saying, you're not going to have time for school while getting even a part time job." The friend was saying this, a slightly concerned expression on her face. "And now offence, you're not the brightest bulb, you need all the time to study that you can get."

"Well thanks." She mutters, giggling slightly. "But I can't afford college with my situation now. Mom and Dad agreed to pay for most of it, but-" She hesitates with a blush. "I want the full college experience."

"Ooh~" Her friend seems intrigued. "My best friend finally loosing her innocence? Scandalous."

She scoffs. "Look I just haven't found the right guy yet, it'll happen when it happens."

At this William can't help but interject. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but glance over your shoulder and see you're applying for a job here."

She meets his eyes, and man was he a sucker for a pretty face. "Yeah I am, are you a manager here?"

He chuckles a little. "No actually, I'm the owner." While co-owner was technically true he liked to tell people he owned it solely to give himself an ego boost. "If you wanted, I could do the interview right here."

"Wait really?"

"Actually, she's fine, thanks, she's going to get a job with my mom or something. Come on let's go-" Her friend slides out of the booth, trying to drag the woman with her.

"Well I'm going to be brutally honest with you here ma'am, for a girl your age your options are going to be extremely limited. And even though the pay isn't great it's a great experience."

She stops, considering his words before waving off her friend. "Go ahead, I think I'll still fill it out, never hurts."

"If you'd like I can interview you right now, save some time."

"Oh wow that would be awesome-"

"Seriously? Listen, this guy gives me a weird feeling, let's just go okay? And I'll find you something better." The friend again reaches for her to come along, but the girl refuses.

"I'm serious, go on and I'll tell you how it went later."

With a huff her friend leaves, a clearly annoyed expression evident on her face.

William regains his composure before sitting across from her. "So, a job. Tell me what you can do." He crosses his hands on the table in front of her, a smile easily coming to his face.

"Well, I was thinking I would be a good server, I'm good with people, especially kids, and I love to clean. I can cook pretty well too but I think something at this scale would be too much for me." She laughs a little, clearly trying to ease a little nervousness.

He joins in on her laughter, hoping to make her comfortable around him, since that's what he wanted. "I suppose that's fair. Out of curiosity, why is it you want this job?" She was hired already, that he knew, a pretty face with a nice ass? What more could you want from an employee?

"Well I'm in college, and I want to be able to afford just some extras to really experience that life before it's too late."

"College?" He feigns interest, in his opinion all she was doing was wasting her most fertile years and her money. If she's halfway decent at any of her qualifications then she'd easily find a rich enough man like him, pop out a few kids and have a truly fulfilling life. "Can I ask what for?"

"Psychology, the human mind has always fascinated me."

"Oh yes definitely." He suppresses an eye roll, even more of a useless degree, maybe he could help this girl from throwing her life away because she thinks deep thoughts will make her money. "Then I should ask for your class schedule for hours."

"Right, I always keep it with me because I'm always forgetting." She giggles again, pulling it out of her purse and handing it to him. "I cannot work these times but anything else I'm there."

Wanting these hours to know when not to schedule this girl was the last thing on William's mind. "Well I'll do what I can, but it's not that easy, you have to be flexible in the real world."

"Of course, I understand that sir."

"William, call me William. My grandfather was sir and my father was Mr. Afton, so I'm just William." He flashes another smile, coaxing one from her lips as well.

"Alright, William." She tests his name out on her tongue with a soft smile and a subtle blush, the poor girl clearly hasn't been within five feet of a man before.

"Now Miss, have you had any work experience prior to this?"

"No, I haven't, this sounds entitled but I've never really had the need to up until now?"

"There's nothing wrong with that, although I'll need to teach you the proper dynamic between employee and employer. But I trust that won't be a problem, right?"

"Not at all sir-er-William. I'm more than happy to learn."

"Good, all you need to know is that I'm your friend, but I have authority over you so you need to follow what I say without question."

"Why without question?"

Oh she was so naive. "Insubordination, it's grounds with which you can be fired. So best not to stray too far towards that right?" He winks.

"Absolutely-" She shivers slightly.

"Then if that's it..." He draws the moment out for it to seem authentic. "Welcome to Fredbear's Family Diner and we're happy to have you on the team." He extends a hand to shake, which she grasps eagerly, her rows of white teeth on full display.

"Oh thank you so much! When do I start?"

"We'll have you start next week, let's say, Monday."

"That's perfect, that's so perfect-" She glances at the door. "I really should go, I think I've pissed her off enough as it is, thank you for your time." She shakes his hand and hurries out the door.

"Oh trust me, don't worry about it." He watches her go, a small smile coming to his face.

This was just the beginning.

[monstersandmaw]

Whuff, folks, this is a really really long one!! I hope you enjoy it - it kicked my butt and had to be re-written after I got 3k words in and got bogged down with backstory. 

(For reference, if this were a commission, at 12k words it'd be £120. You can read it now for $5/£4.50! You can also read all my back catalogue of Patreon stories too when you sign up. Browse my masterlist for free though here.)

Orcs came out pretty high on the 'favourite monsters' poll over on Patreon, so I went with two, and a satyr because I like sassy satyrs... 

Content: arranged marriage, strained parental relationship for the reader, gender and body neutral reader, childhood friends to lovers, some light D/s play, culturally accepted polyamory, consensual polyamory, penetrative sex, oral sex, a plug, and a lot of fluff because it's me. Wordcount: 12k (!) 

Final note: a 'scop' is the Old English/Anglo-Saxon word for a bard. I gave the reader's people Rohirrim/Anglo-Saxon vibes for this. 

“You’re giving me deja-vu summoning me over to you like that, mother,” you said with a wry drawl in your voice as you sauntered over to one of the two wooden thrones at the far end of the longhouse at her request, and warily eyed the sheaf of paper held casually between her first two fingers. “Last time you looked at me like that, I was twelve and I ended up fostered with the Mountain Clan for six years. Where are you planning on sending me this time?”

You'd meant it for a joke, but the look in her eyes immediately kindled a churning worry in the pit of your stomach when you spotted it, and your expression fell.

“Mother?”

“It wasn’t so bad in the end, was it?” she said archly, one eyebrow rising. “You still write to the warchief’s son on a monthly basis like a lovesick minstrel, though I’m honestly surprised those beasts can fathom out the alphabet.”

Actually, most orcs knew two alphabets: the Trade Tongue, and their own runic language.

This barbed back-and-forth with the Lady of the Hold was nothing new for you though as her often-overlooked, middle child of three, and you took it in your stride, though the insult to Vorstag’s people cut deep. In your time fostering with them, you’d come to love the orcs for their passion and overt love of life — to love one in particular — but no matter how fondly you talked of your time with them, your own people didn’t seem able to get past the orcs’ belligerent reputation or the myriad stereotypes perpetuated about them in the cities, where there were far fewer of them.

Ignoring your mother’s comment about your continuing contact with your adoptive clan, you came to a halt in front of her and stood there, one hip cocked to the side, idly tapping your wooden flute against your thigh. You’d been practising in one of the shadowy corners of the longhouse until she’d called you over to join her. Her eyes flickered to it momentarily before returning to your face, and she sighed.

The Lady of the Hold was an intimidating woman and it was hard to affect calm in front of her, even with your stage-training as a musician and a scop from Widsith before you’d left to live with the orcs. Now, regarding you from her throne, your mother wore clothes of rich silk and fine wool befitting a queen, with thick fur trimmings around her neck, and her ears and throat and hands dripped with glinting gold jewellery bought and paid for by the fine war horses your people bred and raised for the royal stables and noble houses. Even if her attire hadn’t matched that of a queen, her hard glare would have made any monarch quaver. Many people whispered that while the jarl and his wife technically ruled together, it was your mother who truly governed the territory.

She certainly still governed your life well into adulthood.

“I have here a proposal from the Plains Clan…” she said, indicating the paper held at arm’s length between her first two fingers, like it was a spell that might go off any second.

“Oh?” You tried to look casual, but something about it made you uneasy. Her answer to the Plains Clan’s proposal would concern you in some way, you had no doubt. Not least because you spoke orcish like one born into an orcish clan, and you had connections to the Mountain Clan, who were on good terms with their plains neighbours.

Just the thought of those connections made your heart ache: memories of the orc who had made your teenage years in the mountains a dream instead of the nightmare it might have been; who had grown into adulthood with you in lockstep to become your best friend; who had given you your first, exhilarating ride on a warg; who had shared your first kiss at the Winter’s Heart feast, and more besides when you were both older.

“Mn,” she hummed, standing regally and pacing back and forth on the wooden dais in the way she did when she had a problem that was yet unresolved. That did nothing to settle you, but you waited her out. “They have proposed something which I never thought they would to a human: marriage.”

“To you?” you blurted in surprise. “But they know humans don’t mate with more than one other — not formally, at least,” you amended since you knew of at least three people in the settlement who were very happily in a relationship with each other, though they weren’t married in the eyes of the Faith. Not that the Faith had much reach out here, so far from its seat in the royal capital.

“No, not to me, you fool,” she scoffed, irritated at your assumption and, no doubt, at your casual use of the orcish term ‘mate’ instead of marriage. “To one of my children, and since you are the only one unmarried and unpromised, it will have to be you.”

“Married? Me?”

__

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[pine-niidles]

2024 August Monthly Updates

It's a very text heavy update this month, I'm... working on getting back into the habit of regular art. My art muscles have grown stiff and it's slow going training them back up. It is going though - I've even been doing some sketching in my physical sketchbook this week.

Doodling fish makes for a good warm-up

Website/Blog

I've been wanting to set up a proper art blog for a while. Social media has always been hard for me to keep up with, I've never really had fun posting art online ever since deviantart stopped being good. Figuring out what, when, how to post & keeping up with constant changes... it's been said a million times so I won't get into it, and at the end of the day even if it's frustrating it's still worth it for the connections I make and the art I get to see because of it. Still, I don't want to rely on social media to be the only place where my art lives (it's a sad thought!). That's why I've been compiling art pdfs, it's why I've been looking into physical print making, it's why I started these monthly updates in the first place.

So if you're reading this on my new blog welcome! (if not - it's here) I'm planning to eventually move to hosting it myself but so the moment I'm relying on wordpress, I apologize for the banners. I'm still deciding how I want to do monthly updates from now on - I'll be posting all of them on the new blog for sure but I'm still undecided if I want to continue to cross post them on tumblr & kofi. I have a poll just for that running right now if you have an opinion (or if you don't - it's a nice motivator just to see that people are actually reading these).

Other than monthly updates I'll be posting process breakdowns on here, and more in depth looks at individual projects at various stages of their process. Maybe doing some features (or even reviews?) of other artists/projects. We'll see how it goes! I won't be cross-posting those, thought I'll probably post links to them when I write them (you can also sign up to the email newsletter for this blog at the bottom of the page - though you'll have to make a wordpress account). I know a lot of people use patreon for this kind of thing but I like the freedom of not having an expectation of consistency (or quality).

Fanzines

I've started taking part in fanzines again, there's a couple in particular I'm very excited for! Not much more to say on that topic as I'm not allowed to announce my participation yet but that's something I've been working on this month.

All in Good Time

I've done very little (read:none) art for my own projects this month, but I have done some writing for a couple I've yet to introduce publicly.

The first is a short (12-16 page) self-contained comic featuring a friend of mine and my ocs. I've written a rough script for it and will be working on character designs and art for it when I have a little more free time :)

They Say There is a Monster in These Woods

The second project I was doing writing for is much longer term - I've been toying around with the idea of doing a solo visual novel for some time now and I finally came up with a story idea for one.

The game starts with you in the woods, injured. You stumble across a clear where a lone manor stands and collapse in front of it. When you come to the Lady of the manor greets you, and invites you to stay as her guest for some time while you recover from your injuries and to attend her birthday celebrations in two weeks. You spend this time in the manor getting to know the inhabitants, maybe finding the sparks of romance with one among them, and maybe even figuring out the source of the mysterious rumors that there is a monster in the woods...

\o/ I hope that intro sounds fun to you! I'm certainly excited about it. This will be more of a long term project - both in the fact that it'll be a lot of work to make and because I have other game projects I want to prioritize first, some collab work and some of my own games that are only a couple steps away from completion (Don't Wake the Sleeping Dragon I've not forgotten about you...)

--

And that's all for August! I'm looking forward to Summer ending and the start of Fall, maybe I can do some plein air watercolors of the leaves changing color when that time comes :)

[gensokyogarden]

Okay, this is going to be a long post but. I've had a few sets of new ocs existing in my notes and the back of my mind for a bit. So consider this post an opportunity both for me to develop some basic details on them and to advertise them.

The main purpose of this post though, for me, is to gauge interest in different ideas to decide what to focus in on. It's possible I may wind up eventually adding all of these ocs, it may also be that I wind up never taking up any of them. Whatever the case it helps to know what y'all are into most.

Thus at the end of this post there's a poll to vote on who you're most interested in. There's no option on polls to allow folks to vote for more than one but if you're interested in more than one group and have multiple blogs feel free to vote more than once, since I'm looking at the number of votes gotten instead of just percent of votes.

Normally when I do a long post like this I prefer to stick a readmore on it. But polls can be finicky and I'm worried that will break it, so instead I'm going to just make this a long post and hope folks have that feature that reduces the size of long posts until you open 'em. If not, I'm sorry.

Anyways, onto talking about the ocs. I tend to do ocs in groups and that's particularly the case with 2hu ones, so they have been grouped into sections based on that. You don't need to read all of this but please take a look at whatever interests you and then give an answer on the poll please.

Also a disclaimer again: I am not a native Japanese speaker and only half understand Japanese naming conventions so very real possibility these names'll suck and be cringe/culturally inaccurate.

Second disclaimer: They're still in the idea stage so a lot of this, particularly face claims and names, are subject to potential change. In regards to face claims I actually challenged myself to only make use of icons from my collection, though I had to make an exception for the Akali icons since I had no one with a face mask among them.

Train to Gensokyo

Now this one is an idea I've partially talked about in the past. Of which I drummed up one of those posts here, which contains some more info.

The basic gist of this set is the idea of a ghost train from the outside world being brought into Gensokyo. The kind from folklore that travels and travels at midnight, never actually stopping at any stations. Forced to eternally wander. Though their arrival in Gensokyo finally allows them some rest.

Being a vehicle that existed a bit later (this particular train not all trains) than when Gensokyo closed its borders, much of the guests and staff of the train are "youkai" of a little more modern variety. Not exactly the ULoL sense but something similar. With The Ghost Train acting as a home to modern monsters and crytpids, like Teke-Teke.

I imagine that their arrival causes some incident (with Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya, and special guests Mamizou + Lunasa as my little headcanon incident resolvers) but that soon after they integrate into Gensokyo's community, providing a new and quicker form of travel.

Kurashiki (倉敷) Miharu (未時)

Face claim: Chain Sumeragi (Kekkai Sensen)

Ironically Miharu was the first character I envisioned when I started working on this project, not just the train section but those ocs in general, yet I haven't actually determined what kind of youkai she is. Presently, the idea I'm working with is that she is perhaps some form of dead human. The conductor of The Ghost Train before it became a, well, ghost train, that has become a spirit along with it.

Miharu's ability allows her and her train to always arrive on time. Through a tiny bit of time manipulation, The Ghost Train always reaches its destination exactly when it needs to. Though, despite this, Miharu is still quite neurotic about making sure it actually does travel with as few delays as possible. Mostly out of a fear of what may happen if it doesn't.

Other notes on Miharu are: that as a word pun she is a conductor (operates a train) and a conductor (leads an orchestra). With each of the other crew members of The Ghost Train operating some sort of makeshift musical instrument. As well as that, I like to imagine her as having some sort of history with Mamizou. Given Mamizou is also a recent arrival in Gensokyo and Tanuki being the enemies of trains in folklore.

When I created these characters I noted down the reasonings behind most their names, as you will see with the coming ones, but I lost the notes on Miharu and Reiko. What I can say, however, is that Kurashiki comes from Zero Escape: 999, as that happens to be a personal favorite of mine.

In the Ghost Train Incident, Miharu is the Stage six boss.

Zantetsu (斬鉄) Reiko (麗心)

Face Claim: Chise Hatori (Ancient Magus Bride)

Reiko is a teke-teke. A vengeful spirit of a girl killed by a train, split in half, whose upper body now drags itself along the ground. The remains of her lower half making a scratchy teke-teke sound as they scrape against the floor. A scythe wielded in her hand as she seeks out victims to steal their legs.

Of course this teke-teke, as with a lot of youkai in Gensokyo, is a tad bit chiller than how she exists in folklore. As with much of the staff of the Ghost Train, Reiko was once simply a passenger aboard the train. One who chose to take up a role as a crew member. Reiko takes the role of porter, loading and unloading the luggage of the train's rare passenger. This may sound difficult given that she drags along the ground, but remember that basically everyone in Touhou can fly.

Reiko has the ability to protect an object. So long as she is holding it within her hands, an object of her choice cannot be damaged. She uses this to make certain luggage makes it to the proper hub of the train.

In the train's makeshift band, Reiko uses her scythe and lower bones as a set of instruments to scrape along a metal surface.

As I noted above, Reiko is the other one that I lost the notes on the name origin of. But the name Reiko is a reference to the name often given to the girl of the actual Teke Teke legend (Kashima Reiko).

Reiko is the Ghost Train Incident's Stage 1 Midboss.

Hasami (八社宮) Hanako (はなこ)

Face Claim: Akali (League of Legends) [Akali is fine but I mostly chose her because I don't know many characters with masks, so of all the face claims this is the most likely to change]

Hanako is the stewardess of the Ghost Train and a Kuschisake-Onna. A vengeful spirit with a split mouth that gives similar injury to those that she encounters. Of course, just like with Reiko, Hanako is chiller than the average Kuchisake-onna. Working peacefully on the train.

Though, it should be noted, she almost never removes her mask, even around her coworkers. Hanako is actually quite self-conscious about the look. Owing to the fact that the Ksuchisake-onna in legends can be distracted with hard candy, she has a major sweet tooth and sometimes winds up snacking on the candy that passengers order before getting it to them.

Hanako has the ability to duplicate herself within the Ghost Train. Or to put it another way, to exist at multiple points within the train at once. This ability does not function outside of the train (though the original her may be off the train while her duplicates continue to exist within) but allows for a far greater convience of service than what one woman normally could provide.

Family name Hasami is a gag as Hasami (八社宮) is a name but Hasami (はさみ) is the word for scissors. The first name is made of meaningless katakana but contains the first kana of scissors.

Hanako is the Stage 1 boss of the Ghost Train Incident.

Animal House

Alright listen. I like Mafia and Yakuza stories. Be it something like the Godfather (I read the novel for the first time back in highschool), Goodfellas, or the Like a Dragon Franchise, or even the occasional triad story from Hong Kong action films. Suffice to say I've got a real soft spot for crime families.

I also really like Toutetsu Yuuma. Who happens to be the head of an entire criminal alliance in the Animal Realm. One that we've seen no member of besides herself (unless we count the eagle spirits).

Owing to these two facts I wanted to design some underlings for her. To give her more people to bounce off of besides her enemies and to do fun criminal stuff with. Now within the Animal Realm Yuuma's alliance is specifically known for their aerial power. They're also from the Animal Realm, you know for animals. For those reasons I tried to design Youkai that fit two critea:

-Were an animal or something animal themed

-Were a flying creature (granted again everyone in Touhou can fly but I think ya get what I mean).

Given that Yuuma canonically prefers to handle things herself, her underlings have been left sitting on the sidelines during most of the events of canon. But with Yuuka's priorities elsewhere they've now found a bit more responsibility dropped on their shoulders.

And just to get it out of the way lets end this with the note that, because I'm like that, each of the ocs in this group share a surname with a Like A Dragon/Yakuza antagonist. Doesn't necessarily mean they have anything to do with one another.

Mine (峯) Honoka (火佳): Junior Chairwoman of the Gouyouki Alliance

Face claim: KK (Kekkai Sensen)

Ah the mythical Kirin (or Qilin). Just as Yuuma's own beast, a Taotie, has its roots in Chinese monsters so too does her second in command. Now a Kirin is a dragon-deer or unicorn esque mythical beast said to run through the sky by flying. One that's appearance is generally said to mark either the birth or death of a great leader or philospher.

In the case of Honoka she arrived in the Animal Realm shortly before Toutetsu Yuuma herself. Being herald to her own coming to power. The pair have worked together for quite some time since then, with Honoka being an informal second in command of the Gouyoku Alliance. With Yuuma preoccupied with the lake of blood/oil, Honoka has been doing most of the actual management of their family.

Unlike her superior, she is stoic and not one for talking. Preferring listening or action. While Yuuma has a tendency to disarm her opponents with words, talking them into joining her side, Honoka would really prefer to just beat them into submission. Yet, outside of a brawl, she is slow to act. Considering every option for far longer than necessary before making a decision.

Honoka has the ability to call upon Fire and Lightning (or more particularly the elements of fire and air). The most unique application of their abilities is to copy the properties of the others. Flames that arc as lightning does and lightning that creeps up objects like a flame.

The Mine part is, of course, a reference to the character of Yakuza with a Kirin as a tattoo and the best theme in the franchise. Honoka I chose because I just happen to think it's a beautiful name but the kanji of it refers to her fire based abilities.

Goda (郷田) Misora (水天): Chairwoman of the Goda Clan

Faceclaim: Shiro (Deadman Wonderland)

Tentomushi or ladybugs. An insect that I like and happen to think have a really rad name. It just so happens that in all my research I could not find any ladybug youkai, so Misora is just a youkai who was once a ladybug. What I do know is that Ladybugs happen to be symbols of good luck.

This plays into Misora's Ability. She is able to manipulate the luck of those around her in two ways. Taking in the fortune of others, granting herself good fortune and others misfortune or taking in the misfortune of others, granting herself misfortune and others good fortune. Don't put her in a room with Shion and Tenshi, she'll die.

Misora is also prone to violence as a solution but unlike Honoka it is not a matter of choosing violence after much contemplation. She's ready to fight at all times and believes the Gou-Alliance should just stomp out all the other families within the Animal Realm. Her boldness and lack of thought has made her an annoying rival for power within the Alliance. While everyone within it looks up to and respects Yuuma, those beneath her are not so equal. With troops being split between both figures.

Now Yakuza does not have a character with a ladybug tattoo. Instead I just went with the family name of one of my favorite antagonists of the franchise. On the other hand Misora's name contains the kanji for water, meant to denote a rivalry with Honoka.

Katsuya (勝矢) Chidori (千鳥): Chairwoman of the Katsuya family

Face Claim: Medaka (Medaka Box)

Chidori is an Aosagibi. A type of youkai born from a heron that has lived long enough to become a youkai. Their scales fusing together to form a shiny and iridescent armor. Like Honoka and Misora Chidori is also a major figure within the alliance. Unlike the two of them she is aloof and silent. Choosing to simply observe without interaction. This gives her a mysterious air

But the reality is she's just incredibly shy and doesn't know what to say. She's managed to get to this position mostly from a series of flukes and climbing the ranks with time. She really doesn't like talking in front of people, particularly as a leader, and would prefer that the others just manage it on their own. Though their rivals perceive her as some form of cunning trickster.

Chidori has the ability to produce false light. Those that face her in battle are beset by series of strange balls of harmless light that resemble her actual danmaku. Making it difficult to distinguish actual attacks from random tricks.

Katsuya, again, comes from a Yakuza boss. In this case one from 5 who just so happens to have a crane tattoo ... or a heron ... I mix those two birds up. Anyways Chidori, on the other hand, contains the kanji for birds but I also kinda picked it because the attack from Naruto kind of reminds me of how an Aosagibi apparently looks.

The Robot Masters

This idea was partially inspired, I believe, by my friend Sethy when I discussed wanting to create an oc with an interest more vested in science and specifically robotics.

Katsume (勝目) Light

Face Claim: Xan Audupon (Sennen Meikyuu no Nana Ouji)

A blind hag/magician dwelling upon the mountains of Gensokyo. Light has caught glimpses of the outside world and developed a fascination in the field of robotics. Dreaming of being able to create actual automaton and golems within Gensokyo. ... Yet the sad reality is that they have not been able to accomplish this goal, yet.

Much like how Alice relies on magic to puppet her dolls, Light relies on their own magic to control their automatons. Really nothing more than steel or iron puppets with some gears in them at this point. Though Light has partnered with some kappa for the sake of creating real androids their work has, as of yet, been unsuccessful.

They have the ability to percieve the spiritual. Light is blind and unable to see anything within the physical world, however, when they do open them they become able to see that which is spiritual. Be it the aura of those with magical power, magically invisible beings, or those with a spiritual existence such as Mima. This ability can also be used to place a part of their own spirit within an object in order to see spirits through it. Notably their fake automatons for the sake of enhancing their manipulation of it.

The name Katsume contains the kanji for "win" and "eyes" referring to their eye based ability. On the other hand Light is a double reference to the Megaman scientist Doctor Light and to the character of Snake (real name Light) from ZTD.

Kanagawa (銑川) Yusa (優作)

Face Claim: Lee go Seul (Girls of the Wild)

One of the kappa that works with Light. One could almost call her their henchman. Yusa, like most kappa, is great with technology. Specifically iron working and soldering. She works to design the bodies of their false robots. Though the actual programming and wiring are skills she's far less competent with.

When their machines are not being controlled by Light's magic, it is normally Yusa who is controlling them. Mainly through the use of remote control ... controls. Like most kappa, Yusa is rather shy, yet she manages to get along well enough with Light. Having a deep respect for the hag.

Yusa's ability ... I have not figured out yet.

Kangawa has the kanji for iron and the kanji for river. Perfect for a kappa that's working with robotics. Yusa contains the kanji for "Create" and "superior". Originally her name was going to be Sakura (also from create) but I feared it was too close to Sakuya and could get annoying.

The Village People

Alright, now this one is a bit different in that we're not getting youkai. I thought it'd be fun to design some villager ocs. You know to have some fairly normal folks wandering around Gensokyo.

Now, just as a note here, I have given them abilities. My reason for doing so is because just about every named character in Touhou has one, even an "Average" person like Kosuzu. So I thought they'd stand out without them. Also designing weird minor abilities is fun, ya know.

Uruno (沾野) Kaname (火奈芽)

Face Claim: Agatsuma Soubi (Loveless)

Kaname is the current head of the Uruno family. A family within the human village that has farmed and sold tobacco within Gensokyo for the last century and a half now. Establishing their business just slightly before the border was closed. In theory they've grown and sold tobacco for the village but now that a few youkai have started smoking, the Uruno clan may have started setting some aside for other business.

Given their profitable trade, Kaname has been able to get by with a fairly comfortable life. The labor of farming the tobacco is tough but he gets to live in one of the nicer houses of the village without fear of wondering if he'll be able to eat come winter. So all and all he is content with his current lot in life.

... Mostly content. The truth is this all has started to become boring and he's developed somewhat of a wanderlust. A wanderlust that seems to be drawing him more and more to the youkai mountain for their gambling parlor. Not that he'd allow anyone in the village to know that's where he has been slipping off to.

Kaname has the ability to ... become dry. When he or his clothing are wet, he is able to instantly dry either with nothing more than a brief thought. He really doesn't understand how it works but he doesn't mind not knowing.

Uruno contains the kanji for "to wet" and "field" which I thought fit well for a farming family. For the name "Kaname", initially I wanted something with kanji that made reference to smoke. There are ... few names that contain a kanji for that and I was not a fan of any. So I decided to go with fire because where there's smoke. Anyways the first one kanji is fire, the others make reference to a tree sprouting fruit. Not quite tobacco but.

Okita (沖田) Muyumi (武弓) Fujiwara (藤原) no Gin (銀).

Face claim: Touko Hourai

A distant cousin of the more famed Okita Souji and a long time descendant of the Fujiwara clan (making her vaguely related to Mokou), Muyumi is a samurai by birth. Well, wait. You may be noticing. Japan's samurai caste was abolished before Gensokyo was sealed off from the world. Yes, that is true, but this is a detail kept well concealed by Muyumi's ancestors. Who have propagated the idea that noble samurai such as themselves are very much still a thing within Japan.

As a samurai she has been trained in warfare with the bow, sword, and flintlock. A true warrior and defender of the village's noble caste. Well ... except for the fact that the real defenders of Gensokyo are the incident resolvers, which she is notably weaker than. Meaning that Muyumi is really nothing more than a glorified bodyguard for the elite of Gensokyo ... but she's really been trying hard to convince herself that she's not, that she's more than that.

Muyumi has the ability to memorize poetry. Once she has heard or read a poem she will not forget it and she is able to understand the proper rhythm to recite it just from her reading. Though ... she's absolutely horrendous at creating poems herself.

Okita is, obviously given her lore, taken from the famous Shinsegumi. The Okita clan is descended from the historic Fujiwara clan and, much like the much more famous Okita, this is represented in Muyumi's rarely used full name. Fujiwara no Gin (Fujiwara of Silver) is a pun on the actual Okita Souji's Fujiwara no Kaneyoshi (Fujiwara of Gold)

Masamura (���村) Masafumi (将史)

Face Claim: Asaki Minami (Stigmata)

Masamura's clan could be counted among the elite artisans within Gensokyo's human village. Being the only child of the village's doctor and blacksmith of the previous generation, he found an apprenticeship in both thrust upon him. Difficult work but hey doctors used to also be barbers, who said you can't doctor and smith.

The last many years of his life were spend providing both services for the people of the village from his house on the outskirts. Supposedly he's not much of a people's person, hence his dwelling there, though that was not the only reason. Having some sympathy for them, he also offered his medical services to youkai in the dead of the night. After all, he swore to treat the injured, regardless of who they were. A youkai with a horrid cut? That's as much an injury as a human's.

Just ... the thing is that after some time Eirin made her presence known. Eirin, with her ability and centuries of experience, being the notably superior doctor. Though humans did not always wish to trek to see her, and seeing as Reisen only delivered medicine from times to time, Masafumi still had work but it was greatly reduced.

At least he could still blacksmith. A skill that he taught to a sad youkai who seemed without a purpose. Though, she would soon surpass him in ability, providing her services to those that were willing to hire a youkai. Leaving Masafumi again with a reduced amount of customers.

He still can find work, it's not like the poor man is jobless, but with every year in Gensokyo it seems there is less and less for him. As a result he's taken mostly to reading. He has a bit of an interest in old tomes and the study of youkai, meaning he rents books from Kosuzu quite often. Aside from that, however, Masafumi rarely leaves his home anymore. Being something of a hermit (the non magic kind).

He has the ability to hold his breath for an entire 15 minutes.

Masamura uses the kanji of "regular" and "village." The kanji of Masafumi come from the kanji for "lead" and for "book." Which I thought were fitting for a tired but well educated dude. All together they're meant to paint the image of someone plain while also having a fun bit of alliteration.

Sugar Saccharine

Face claim: Clover (Zero Escape Franchise)

Alrigh, the last one, and this one gets a section all to herself. Sugar is a flesh eating youkai just like a certain Rumia. In fact, though I'm cautious on how much I'll say, she and the Rumia of this blog have quite a bit of history together. With Sugar having been the reason for why Rumia is presently stuck in a regenerative weakened state.

Sugar, for her part, has not been around for a long time. Being buried in a sarcophagus beneath the Hill of the Nameless. Something that Medicine has inadvertedly become a perfect guard for. But, you know, when you seal something away in Gensokyo it's only a matter of time before someone does something stupid and lets them out.

... And people have been having strange dreams lately. The kind that make them feel, for some reason, like they need to go to that hill and start digging. But it's probably just a coincidence.

Sugar has the ability to manipulate souls. Well, I wonder what that could mean?

Poll

Alright with all that out of the way (I hope you didn't read all of this it was a lot, but if you did I thank you for putting time in to check out my ideas). Here's a poll to see who you're more interested in. As I said at the top, if you like more than one idea and have more than one blog you're free to vote more than once.

[bimagnusbabe]

i’ve officially been working here for a year and in that time these are all the books i’ve been able to read while on the clock:

Dracula (thank you dracula daily and re: dracula)

Frankenstein

An Edgar Allen Poe spree where i read almost all of his short stories? Most at least?

the ballad of songbirds and snakes

Reread the hunger games and catching fire (not mockingjay tho rip)

the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde

Northanger abbey

Jane Eyre

Pride and prejudice

the legend of sleepy hollow

Carmilla

Then i went on a short story spree based on a “which short story fucked you up the most” tumblr poll which gave me: the yellow wallpaper, lamb to the slaughter, a jury of her peers, where are you going where have you been, the jaunt, in the penal colony, the landlady, and finally rereading the lottery

Which brought me to the haunting of hill house

We have always lived in the castle

now im in various stages of reading the invisible man, the turn of the screw, and the monster of lake lametrie

considering I haven’t read anything but fanfic since before quarantine im glad something good has come from my boring ass job

(if anyone has any gothic/horror/spooky novels or short story recommendations especially old ones that have pdfs online feel free to spam me!! or if you wanna chat about any of these stories. im so bored here lol)

[purpleplaid17]

Jess Watches // Fri 12 Jan // Day 112 Synopses & Favourite Scenes & Poll

The Resident (with mum) 2x22 Broker and Broker

Nic becomes infuriated when Alec suggests she meet with an organ broker in hopes of saving Jessie's life, but after her other ideas fail, she brings the idea to Conrad. Meanwhile, Devon and Irving help Mina piece together details from her night out.

Mina wearing a suit had me thinking thoughts. The relief that nothing bad happened to her while drunk. Unless bro-ing hard with Grayson counts as bad. It definitely did for Mina lol. And Nic made the toughest call but I think ultimately the right one. What did Conrad offer Bell to get Jessie on the transplant list? Also, Sam Huntington at the end with the promise to support the hospital in monthly installments had me cackling.

Frasier (with mum) 5x16 Beware of Greeks

Frasier discovers that the Crane men are not invited to a family wedding because of a grudge Frasier's intense Greek aunt has held against him ever since he gave her son, Nikos, some advice she didn't like.

Patti LuPone was projecting like she was on a theatre stage while I would've preferred to hear more of Martin gossiping to Daphne about his family.

Heartbreak High 1x04 Rack Off

A piece of locker room gossip tests Amerie's new romance. At the drug-fueled Mardi Gras Slay Ball, things escalate when Malakai faces off with a cop.

This ep was written by an Aboriginal actor and writer, Meyne Wyatt. Which is probably why Malakai getting racially profiled and beaten by the cop felt very real and not sensationalized just for the drama. Unfortunately the cop being a p.o.s. was to be expected, but what happened after with Dusty and Harper was also disappointing. They took advantage of him.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters 1x10 Beyond Logic (Season Finale)

Shaw and May search for Cate and make a startling discovery. Kentaro struggles with his loss.

Keiko Miura, the woman that you are. I'm Lee, gently cupping her face, amazed that she's still alive. I'm also Cate and May in the background, holding on to each other as Keiko and Lee reunite after all these days/years. The Titan fight at the end was epic! Seriously, what is this show's budget? Super hyped at what s2 could have in store. Especially with the return of a dangerously delectable Dominique Tipper.

[revive-the-fandom]

#oh this is a DELICIOUS rotbtd poll finally some good food#polls#rotbtd#analysis#character study#izzie got it spot on; if we're strictly talking canon and only consider what each four stories gave us then jack makes the most sense#but if i were to go the brainrot route it will totally be merida#esp since the question isnt who would be the most destructive or who would devastate the audience the most if they switched sides#but rather who would easily become a villain if the opportunity presents itself#and the thing is - while jack is trapped in a situation that only leave him with two choices#and is then coaxed and lured into considering the 'wrong' one#merida trespassed the moral boundary all by herself and did harm without any outside manipulations#the opportunity to be a villain didn't present itself in brave - it's the heroine who created it#and yes - since im comparing her to jack rn - merida only has 16 mortal years in her when she made her awful choices#but i wouldnt generalize and call all of that teenage ignorance - surely there's a sliver of agency in there too?#(idk people tend to either focus on her age or her self-centeredness when it's always been a mixture of both;#like yeah shes just a teen and shouldnt be entirely held accountable for all the things that happened in the movie#but shes also greatly selfish & needs to learn how to put herself in other peoples shoes too! my bby contains multitudes of problems!!)#not to mention merida is explicitly shown to reanimate all the stages of the cursed prince's downfall except for the damning last step:#turning her back on her family and kingdom#which is the point where this corrupted arc is aborted and the movie snaps back to the mother-daughter relationship it should be focusing#hhh im getting ramble-y so. to summarize:#while i very much agree that jack would be the easiest to turn into a villain#id also like to point out that merida's story is a product of a narrative tug-of-war between a mother-daughter story and a monster tale;#one that heavily relies on her character almost-becoming a villain in order for them to connect at all#which i think is pretty dang important when we're talking about potential villains and what-ifs!#(sorry for the unhinged word dump op) @risoris

riso!!!! don't leave this gold in the tags!!

[isolaradiale]

When the final wire was cut, the entire city went black. The power grid was not tied to the network, but the outage was NULL’s only shot at preventing Ofiuco’s retrieval after she fell from the sky. The entire city fell still for five minutes before power returned, but this light only served to illuminate the next phase. It wasn’t like GPU had been without a backup plan. If they didn’t have a way to leverage the arrest of the Stars, then at the very least they could throw a wrench in their operation. 

However, the light of the moon and stars that shone down on the city in the dead of night was obscured by a sudden apparition. A floating island that existed beyond the flight limitations of the city obscured the view, almost the same size as the city itself and becoming a constant and looming darkness over the cityscape. It cast things into uncertainty, and all of the Shades remaining on the ground flocked up and into it... before a loud rumbling began. 

The island suddenly dropped and it inevitably looked as if it was about to crash into the city itself before stopping in a convenient location: just below the maximum flight limit. Beams of light soon extended from all around the floating island’s perimeter to Spirale below, their uses initially unclear.

That was, until, people began to step out of them. These weren’t NPCs nor agents, their ranks instead populated by the monstrous and the villainous. Enemies and rivals gathered from the worlds the characters had all been taken from, their sights set on razing the city. Chaos immediately unfolded where they landed, structures and people alike targeted while some of these foes sought conflict with their greatest nemesis. 

LISTEN TO ME PEOPLE OF THIS ISLAND CITY.

If it was a device capable of receiving a signal, this distorted voice boomed over it. Many believed the speaker to be an enemy at first, probably one of the agents that had turned their world into disarray. Thankfully that wasn’t the case.

I AM AN EX-MEMBER OF THE GPU AND BOTH MYSELF AND ONE OTHER HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH YOUR ISLAND STARS FROM WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS. GPU WILL DESTROY YOU REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE STARS TURN THEMSELVES IN OR NOT, AND BY THE TIME THE MAINTENANCE DROID IS ABLE TO CONVEY THIS MESSAGE TO YOU THE PROCESS MIGHT HAVE ALREADY BEGUN.

YOU AREN’T DREAMING. THE ENEMIES THAT HAVE LIKELY POURED OUT OF THAT FLYING STRUCTURE ARE ALL VERY REAL AND VERY POWERFUL. SOME OF YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE THEM BECAUSE THEY WALK, TALK, OR GROWL LIKE FOES YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED IN YOUR OWN WORLDS. DON’T BE FOOLED, THEY ARE IMITATIONS MADE COMPLETELY UNDER THEIR CONTROL. HOWEVER THEY ARE VERY DANGEROUS, AND POSSESS THE FULL RANGE OF ABILITIES YOU KNOW THEM TO.

MY PARTNER IN THIS ENDEAVOR TOLD ME THEY’LL BE MAKING SURE THE ISLAND IS LOWERED ENOUGH THAT IT CAN BE REACHED, AND WE’LL ENSURE THE LIGHT LIFTS CAN BRING THOSE WITHOUT WINGS TO THE SURFACE. IF YOU WISH TO KEEP ON LIVING YOU NEED TO NOT ONLY PROTECT YOUR CITY, BUT BRING THE FIGHT TO THEM AS WELL.

Whether these words inspired or not depended on the listener, but there was no denying the immediate threat of the invading force as well as the personal nature of some of these opponents. 

“To those ends, a gift!” This time the speaking voice was a familiar one as a dot of pink light zipped up from the depths of the hole, a familiar android plastered across every screen in the city. This time though her eyes weren’t red. A wave of light reverberated across the city from the flapping of Ofiuco’s wings, granting all it touched their weapons and abilities back for the time being. “Don’t forget there are people from the city itself still working with NULL. I know this is all hard to understand. You don’t know why you’re fighting nor do you know what you’re fighting.”

She exhaled before looking at the floating island above. “I guess there will be some explaining to do when all is said and done, but go! You need to reclaim the starry sky!”

INFORMATION

Welcome to part 2 of Security Breach! There’s a lot to cover here so we’ll try to be as specific as possible. But as always if you have a question don’t be afraid to send it to the ml!

What has happened? With the network shut down thanks to all the cut wires, NULL has wordlessly moved into their backup plan: completely razing the city from within.

To those ends they have summoned a floating island that eclipses the city, and from it enemies pour down from both the top and the light elevators that extend to the city from the floating island’s surface. 

These are not normal enemies however. They are villains and monsters from the worlds of your muses (more information including guidelines in the FAQ section). While they walk, talk, and hit as hard as the real things, they are completely under NULL’s control and share their goals.

This is a grand battle that will be fought on two stages: on the island below and flying structure above. 

Ofiuco has granted everyone their powers and abilities back, but is also enforcing a cap so the enemy forces can’t use game breaking powers. Since this is universal it will also affect the characters within the group (more information in the FAQ section).

For those that are powerless: you will be able to access your Fantasia avatars via the Spirale Alternate World Life app. This feature will be removed at the end of the event, and it will not work for characters that already have powers. 

We will be running this poll until 12:01AM EST on May 1st. Based on the results the story and aftermath of the event will change. 

FAQ

Everyone’s powers are unlocked but are there limitations like in part 1? Yes there are! Abilities used must be tier 6 or higher by vsbattlewiki standards. Obviously these could easily destroy an island, but while structures can be destroyed the island Spirale is on and the island in the sky are both impervious to damage from these attacks. If your character possesses an ability that exceeds this ranking you can tone it down, but some things are strictly off limits like conceptual abilities in certain instances (conjuring items or allies en masse, erasing existences, etc are not allowed). These guidelines are consistent between both sides so as not to break the world.

What’s this about Fantasia and the Spirale Alternate World Life app? Last summer we held an event called the Fantasia War where characters were placed in a fantasy setting with fantasy avatars. At the event’s conclusion we made Fantasia into an MMO game that can be accessed in the Intraspace, and everyone’s avatars have been preserved there. The SAWL app is an app we introduced to allow MMO characters (like from SAO) to be able to switch between their normal and game forms at will, and it is having its functionality temporarily  boosted to let people use their Fantasia avatars, including the attached powers, during the event. This app will not show up for anyone that has powers of their own. 

If your character was not present during Fantasia you can still create your own avatar! You can still find the list of available races here and list of available spells here. 

Villains and enemies are pouring out of the flying island? What does this entail? Essentially what it sounds like. You will have the unique opportunity to bring in villains, monsters, or machines as agents of NULL. They will act as they would in canon, but are dedicated to their cause of destroying the city and killing off its citizens. There are, of course, limitations:

only one boss-tier enemy per mun per series can be brought in. you can bring in as many trash mobs (generic monsters, grunts, etc.) as you want, but you can only choose one powerful opponent. you can just say what kind of mobs might be running around for others to deal with in their threads, but the boss-tier foe must be controlled by you.

boss-tier enemies can be sentient, but they don’t have to be. if you want to bring in things like giant machines that are piloted by grunts, these still count as boss-tiers however.

you cannot bring in an enemy that exists on the masterlist

enemies, including boss-types, can be overlapped throughout a cast to avoid the possibility of someone claiming a boss just to deny other cast members from interacting with them. however do not have these duplicates interact / in the same thread.

The best way to keep this in order would be to make a post introducing the kinds of trash mobs you’d see running around as well as the boss-type you plan on controlling. People can then use the mobs in their threads if they choose, or approach you to interact with the boss. Likewise, you can keep the boss for more personal threads or drabbles. It’s really up to you!

I don’t really have any enemies in my series and I’m not comfortable using mobs from others. Are there any other options for what I can fight? Yes! The Shades are still around, as are a plethora of generic fantasy monsters for you to fight!

Are the weather conditions from part 1 still ongoing? No, those have come to a halt! However the island above blocks all of the weather in general.

Speaking of the floating island. We can go to the top, right? What’s up there? To put it simply: it’s a mess. Whether NULL had difficulty importing code or if it was just a big error, assets from every series imaginable compose the landscape. Maybe you’d see a building from BLEACH, but then one from Naruto right beside it. Some assets have even been merged together. Pieces of it glitch out and redesign constantly, so it’s almost a depressing mockery of Spirale in a way. There are hills and rivers too, but even those are constantly shifting position.

While tons of enemies have poured onto the streets of Spirale, there are plenty waiting on standby atop the flying island. To go it alone would be a terrible idea.

Can we destroy the flying island itself? No! You can destroy the structures on top but new things will eventually sprout up in their place. The ground and undersides seem to be protected by an impenetrable barrier. But even if you could, do you really want it crashing onto the city below?

Where should we put big, newsworthy posts during this event? Please use the tag ‘#isola sb2 news’ as opposed to the regular ‘#isola news’ tag during this part of the event. We anticipate a lot of people are going to want to do cool and interesting things that they want everyone to see so we want you guys to have a space for this, but we also do not want to clutter the regular news tag.

I have an additional question! Feel free to send it to the masterlist! Due to the nature of this part and all of the potential moving pieces we’re sure people may have questions or concerns that haven’t been covered.

When is part 2 expected to end? A week from now on May 1st at 12:00:01AM EST. We’ll likely be polling around the middle of the week to see if people would like an extension however! 

[kevinskorner]

2020 VMA’s Recap!

Every year, I always look forward to a few things and one of those things is definitely the MTV Video Music Awards. The VMA’s have been iconic every year since it’s inauguration in 1984 with Madonna’s Like A Virgin performance. As the insanely obsessed pop culture person that I am, the VMA’s are like a national holiday and I prepare myself heavily before they happen. For this year, obviously things are different because of a little thing called the Covid-19 Pandemic but anyhow, I was still excited. When the nominees got announced I was a very mixed bag of emotions. I was very excited because Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande got the most nominations of the year (9) but, I was disappointed because Harry Styles and Dua Lipa only got technical nominations and didn’t get any in the main category. One of my friends shared the same disappointment with me and they said how every nominee in Video of the Year was from North America and I didn’t even think of that. I wish they didn’t nominate some things... but that’s alright. As the weeks went on, I voted for my faves and MTV announced Keke Palmer was hosting whichreally got me excited again because she is a queen. Also, when they announced the performers, my favorites being Miley, Gaga, Ariana, and Doja, I became thrilled.

Now, here I am with my Rain on Me shirt on, a few hours after the ceremony ended and I got to say, I am IMPRESSED!!! That was an AMAZING ceremony. For an award show during a pandemic, I got to say MTV pulled, it, off. Let’s get into it!:

OH. MY. GAGA. 

Lady Gaga was the star of the night and I am NOT disappointed one bit. Going into the night as the most nominated artist (tied with Ariana) I had high hopes. When I heard she was performing, I screamed because I couldn’t believe we were FINALLY getting a performance in the Chromatica era. Knowing that she had so much planned for the era, it’s been sad to see none of it come to fruition. Now let’s live in the present. THIS PERFORMANCE?!? FREAKING INCREDIBLE. I don’t even know where to start. The beginning of the performance with the old television, her laying down on the couch (mask on!), and seeing the TV have the 1999 VMA’s (with BRITNEY mentioned!) was when I knew it was going to be one of the best performances of her career. THEN, she WENT DOWN THE POLL and Chromatica II started playing and I almost threw up. I was so excited that she chose to do that interlude and sing some of 911 (maybe the third single?)! I was shook. Next, she had a quick change and started singing Rain on Me, and I immediately was hyperventilating. When Ariana came out, I really thought I was gonna pass out. In that moment, I was just seeing a dream come true in front of my eyes. I saw two of my ultimate QUEENS come together and give me all the life I need. I mean, the outfits, the masks, the chemistry, ARIANA’S HIGH NOTE?! GAGA’S VOCALS?! I can’t even. After that, when she started walking to the Brain piano, I thought she was about to do 1000 Doves (Piano Version) but I was mistaken! It was the first single, STUPID LOVE! Honestly, I was so happy she performed Stupid Love and got it’s moment because that wasn’t even performed live yet before tonight. Her speech in between the Stupid Love performance was beautiful and I loved when she brought the beat in and danced her ass off. Ugh, I just love her so much. 

Onto the actual awards, I cannot believe that she won FIVE! I expected Best Collaboration and was hoping for Artist of the Year but I was NOT expecting Song of the Year! The one that I didn’t even know was happening thought was the FIRST EVER, TRICON AWARD?! The fact that MTV gave Gaga her OWN award for being an icon, a legend and a triple threat was filling my Little Monster heart with such PRIDE and JOY! Seeing her go up on that stage in a new look with a new mask each time, gave me a little boost of serotonin each time. She is just a goddess. There is no one like her and there NEVER will be. 

GOOD GOLLY, MISS MILEY

It feels amazing to be a Miley stan tonight. Miley has been one of my absolute role models since I was a child. I have followed her and supported her my whole life even when people didn’t and I got to say, tonight felt really good. Her performance was PHENOMENAL. Starting off with her GORGEOUS silhouette in that STUNNING black dress and  cross necklace with the red chrome light shook me because I was not expecting that. And, that break before the first chorus?!? LOVED. After, it went to a blue chrome and she started walking while it went full color. When I saw her walk towards some stairs, I had to catch my breath. Suddenly, I see a disco ball. Then she took the bottom half of the dress off and hopped on the disco ball and I SCREAMED. LOUDLY. The fact that she has such an ICONIC moment like Wrecking Ball where she can do something eerily similar and EVERYBODY knows it, is fucking SENSATIONAL! HER VOCALS WERE ON POINT, FACE BEAT, BODY SNATCHED. She just gave the most perfect glam rock pop star performance that I’ve ever seen. Miley having this mainstream moment again just made me so happy. ALSO?! SHE WON TWO AWARDS TONIGHT. I cannot believe Miley won two VMA’s tonight. She doesn’t win a lot of awards (which is extremely disappointing) and to see her win TWO for MOTHER’S DAUGHTER a single from last year that peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 felt incredible. I just love when she gets the recognition she deserves.   

Other Thoughts:

The Weeknd’s opening performance was so great!! Recently, I have gotten sick of Blinding Lights but this performance totally revitalized for me how great of a song that is. I don’t know how he was up so high but he did an awesome job and the fireworks were great! Also, I’m happy he finally won his first two VMA’s for Best R&B (even though it’s a pop song) and Video of the Year. 

Keke’s hosting was entertaining as hell. She was the perfect host for a time like this for many reasons. She’s funny, relatable, beautiful, entertaining and so many more positive things. I found her really funny and I just love her presence as a whole. Even her little performance was cute too! 

Doja Cat actually blew me away. I was not expecting her to serve that hard. The performance was so futuristic and felt like I was in a new universe. I loved her outfit and LOVED the Say So mix! Also, so happy she included Like That because it’s such a jam. I love Doja and ever since I discovered Juicy last year I've been stanning and this definitely solidified the stan for me. I am so happy that she won (RIGHTFULLY SO!) for Best New Artist. She has had a great rise and her performance definitely gives me high hopes for her future. 

My rankings of the performances are:

Pre Show:

1. Chloe x Halle - Ungodly Hour (THESE QUEENS ARE THE FUTURE!)

2. Machine Gun Kelly w/ blackbear & Travis Barker - My Ex’s Best Friend/Bloody Valentine (I have become really obsessed with his new music recently and love him)

3. Tate McRae - You Broke Me First (surprised by this cause I didn’t know anything about her before but she did a good job!)

4. Jack Harlow - What’s Poppin (cute ig)

5. Lewis Capaldi - Before You Go (🙂)

Main Show: 1. Lady Gaga w/ Ariana Grande - Chromatica II, 911, Rain on Me, Stupid Love (FUCKING AMAZING. SENSATIONAL, &, UNREAL)

2. Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky (MY QUEEN SO ICONIC I LOVE HER SO MUCH)

3. Doja Cat - Say So/Like That (SO FUTURISTIC AND SOLIDIFIED HER WIN AND SHOWED THAT SHE CAN SERVE)

4. The Weeknd - Blinding Lights (really made me love the song so much more)

5. BTS - Dynamite (I like these boys but the fanbase is so much it stresses me out).

6. JP Saxe & Julia Michaels - If The World Was Ending (so cute, love Julia)

7. Dababy - Peep Hole, Blind, & Rockstar 

8. Maluma - Hawái (loved the drive in aspect)

9. Keke Palmer - Snack (wish she had more time)

10. Black Eyed Peas w/ Nicky Jam & Tyga - Vida Loca/I Gotta Feeling (no one can take Fergie’s place)

11. CNCO - Beso

To end this, I’m just gonna leave this picture here. :)

[rubi-morgana]

So we are now seeing kageyama ushijima vs oikawa and hinata rivaly on professional stage... Wtf. Now seriously if this is the main Fokus (also miya tossing to hinata, kourai waiting) why making this unessasery timeskip., why not making this on high school, where it would make sense. Who wants this things to happen after high school another things waits for you. It more plausible if we are watching this on high school back then, this were things there should be solved then. . How random is it even that oikawa meet hinata. And kageyama are playing on the Same team like ushi, this isn't even logic. You cannot take this little thing in world stage where you have to play against real monsters.

The next question what happens to the realistic part and logic of this manga!! Furudate wasnt this kind of unpredictably, because she simply followed the rules of sport. Sport is unpredictably. Even with hard work and talent doesn't mean you can make it far. Even the best team doesn't quarrant you to win tournaments. If you watch world cups of different sport arts, you know what I mean. Even the best favorite team can be losing in the very first round. Haikyuu simply followed this rule, and has a more realistic part of it. Like Takeda saying to sugawara he will never make it in pro was brutal but so it works in sport business. Like hinata has an disadvantage with his small body is also true.(but it's possible, lot of people with disadvantage still make it on high pros stage. Because. Like most sportist say the most important thing is will and spirit) With this arc furudate literly trash her own manga. How are oikawa, ushi, kags on international lagues. In no sport(ask sportist) you can make it international I a spam of 3 years. This is irrational.. Implausibly. And they sure can't play as regular in a foreign country at first when coming to the team new. Foreign lagues wants their people to represent them(there is also the east lagues, west lagues, Ost league). A hard fact but sport is also a lot of politic. And for lands to make their name better, and unfair. If you make yourself a name than you maybe have a chance, but read autobiograoghi and watch sportist. You must spent years first playing in Olymp and wold cups. The most sportist became famous after a period of time. Because in sport if you have a bad day and fuck up its hard. It's not like if you are once good ad a tournament you can say "ohh I'm going here because their are the best", simply because there are different circumstances. If your are good only because others have a bad shape or are not playing good, you're win doesn't count this high. And this is much harder if you play a Teamsport...like volleyball American football, football ice hockey. Because in every different team their need different players, who fit for their style of play.

Now for ushijima he has power but this may be top for Japan but sure not for foreign countries where they. Have much more strengt and are taller. You can say that ushijima is average outside of Japan. Same for kageyama only because he is Japan top setter doesn't mean it international. Talent doesn't bring you to everything, you must work hard, face walls over and over again, there are other more experience. Player. Out there. . Kageyama playing in Olymp, than gets literly handheld everything on a silberpalet is a joke. He was playing V_LAGUE. This lagues they play only against other Asia lagues, how can a foreign lague than take interest in him. but Like hinata his arc was trashed) same as oikawa. You think this guy's can play in foreign AS Regular. No the first 5 years player plays in their lagues if their side(Asia, Western, Ost) to make a name it takes time. One good shot at Olymp doesn't mean your. Good it could be also pure luck. If he was at 25 age playing in different east lagues of Asia, than OK I would not say anything.

Also you guys get that Japan has the worst lague. If you don't believe me then read what this coach said from U19 at chapter in 210: the old clique Japan will always fall apart in the face of overwhelming height and power." Wich means foreign countries, Also in the manga aspect don't think height of Asia volleyball players. And his speech in 363:it needs time for THIS Country to raise tall skilled players.". That also why in this manga everyone is searching more strict for tall people, because of the quote from 210. Japan hasn't tall people it's. Simply(I always thought that was the reason why shouyou is so short to show Japan you can fight without strength. I think at first this was the meaning of the manga)

Im telling you now what... This wasn't planned as everyone claims it to be, and furudate herself knows are unplausible this is.. Furudate take this arc because she wants to match Olympics. 2020 the Olympic starts in Japan, so to match this with her manga. And it's clear she has no desire for this manga to continue, that's why ecerything now doesn't make sense(it feels like a completely different story) , that's why this suddenly announce of the final arc... And why the most Manga suck in the finals arcs is simply because the clique, the final has to outdo everything, more action, more drama, MORE FANFIC, MORE FANSERVICE. To sell it out. Because Most people are shippers who don't care about plot or storyline. (honestly why do you think their make this popular polls, to find the favs of the fans and to marketing the shit out of it. Taking now all the favs to international stage is furudate meaning of unlogic epicnes

Most Mangaka end their manga of reasons like they are burned out. Like you became sick of drawing one thing for years. Or the company forced them a limit at chapter. And their must rush things. Or they try. To make new stuff to add in the story(like Naruto with aliens),

I know people will start complain, but this manga is going to end soon with the worst ending. I don't hat this turn because of the timeskip, I was one of the only who first were very excited to the new route, but looking how it tournt out. is what makes me hate it. If she now makes it end with their rivaly she in my eyes should make their final arc in 3 year of high school.

I also can nit believe how most Fandom of haikyuu is simply hyping because they get to see their favs, about the haircuts. Like no one, really no one is talking about the plot anymore.

[facets-and-rainbows]

Blue Exorcist: Spy Game - Yukio in Wonderland (part 5)

The fifth (and final!) part of the crackiest crack I’ve ever read in an officially sanctioned book, dragged kicking and screaming into the Anglosphere for your viewing pleasure.

If you thought Yuki(k)o was having a rough time before, just wait till MEPHISTO gets involved...

Previous parts: 1 2 3 4

“You mean it’s…a dream? All of this?”

“Yes, a dream.”

Faced with Yukio’s suspicious gaze, Mephisto nodded dramatically.

“But not the same sort of dream your kind usually have when you sleep at night. This is a dream caused by demons.”

“Demons?” Yukio raised an eyebrow behind his glasses.

“Yes,” Mephisto nodded gleefully. “There’s a type of demon called Húdié, kin of Beelzebub, King of Insects. They look like normal butterflies at first glance, but they have a troublesome taste for trickery…They parasitize humans and give them nightmares, so they can feed off of the victim’s negative emotions—embarrassment, shock, hatred, despair, and so on.”

“You’re telling me these Húdié are parasitizing me?”

Even as Yukio said it, his mind went to the insect sounds he heard when he woke up, and the black butterflies he kept seeing everywhere.

Could those have been—?

 “Well, it’s not as though they’ll take your life. Why not think of this as a rare opportunity to experience—“

“How can I get back to my world right now?”

“My goodness,” Mephisto sighed at Yukio, who was glaring at him without the slightest hint of wanting to listen to what he had to say. “It’s really quite simple. You just need to let them wake up.”

“…” Hearing this, Yukio hesitated a little. Then he started pinching his own cheeks, forcing his eyelids open…anything to give himself the right stimulus.

Mephisto grinned, his eyes narrowing to threads as he did it.

“Um, I’ll ask just in case, Okumura-sensei, but what exactly are you doing?”

“Hm? Well, I was trying to wake up, like you said…” Yukio answered hesitantly. Mephisto immediately burst out laughing. He clutched his stomach and rolled around, paralyzed with hilarity.

“Wha-?!”

“Oh, my apologies. That isn’t what I meant. I meant you need to wake the demons up. Hehehe.”

Yukio looked at Mephisto, who still couldn’t contain his laughter, with an indescribable expression.

Mephisto stopped cackling like a monster and added, “In other words, you need to make the Húdié realize that they won’t get anything out of this. Act as though you don’t see this nightmare as a nightmare—quite the contrary! You love this situation and enjoy it to the fullest. This will deprive the Húdié of their sustenance, forcing them to release you and seek out another host.”

“Enjoy this situation?”

Yukio’s face twitched subconsciously.

There was no way he could do it.

But if he wanted to get out of this ridiculous world, he was going to have to try.

He clenched his teeth and braced himself.

“What…exactly…do I have to do?” he asked, swallowing his self-esteem.

Mephisto had apparently been waiting for this moment. He took a sketchbook out of a desk drawer.

The first page said “SDE5” in massive letters. Yukio raised an eyebrow and asked, “SDE5? What does that stand for? System Director…Enterprises?”

“No, it stands for Song and Dance Exorcists.”

“Come again?”

It’s the name of an upcoming idol group based around a singing, dancing, all-female exorcist unit! ♪ The members are Ren Shima, Ryuko Suguro, Koneko Miwa, Rin Okumura…and you!”

“…”

“The twins are SDE’s biggest draw. Plus, you exorcise demons and can even work with hymns and sutras. Oh, and the producer will be me, Mephisto☆ Looking forward to it!” Mephisto giggled cutely.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to refuse,” came Yukio’s cold, immediate reply.

Mephisto’s response was like a slap to the face. “So I take it you’re prepared to go on living in this dream forever?”

“!!”

“You could always try waiting until the Húdié get their fill, but alas, they can be quite the gluttons and there’s no telling when that will happen. Will you endure this world until then? Can you?”

“…” Yukio was at a loss for words.

It hurt to admit it, but he did want to avoid that outcome. Anything to keep from being taken over by Yukiko…

It’s the only way, he thought, and he made his bitter choice.

“If I join this ‘SDE5’…can you guarantee I’ll be able to escape this place?” he asked, his voice shaking with disgust.

Mephisto nodded and said “Yes,” grinning ear-to-ear.

He casually flipped to the next page of the sketchbook, revealing a most likely handmade illustration of Yukio and the other four wearing cute, positively idol-like outfits. It was creepily well drawn.

“You’ll start as an indie idol group, gather a phenomenal amount of support, and go major. The group will gradually grow from just the five of you to a grand total of forty-nine. As their leader, you’ll keep the members together, sometimes butting heads with them, sometimes crying with them, always strengthening the group’s unity. You’ll bond with your fans at meet and greets, sell CDs of your newest single…and when you finally defeat your twin sister and greatest rival to rise to the top of the popularity polls, you’ll give a tearful thank you speech…and then you should be able to return safely to your world.”

“… By the way…How many days is this going to take?”

“Oh, I’d say about five years?”

“THAT’S TOO LONG!!”

Yukio slammed his fist down on the desk in anger, causing Mephisto to jump back in overdramatic surprise.

“I can’t say I’m impressed by you yelling at a lady like that, Okumura-sensei. Are you sure you’re getting enough calcium in your diet?”

“Urgh…I’m sorry…It was unlike me to lose my temper like that, and…wait, what lady are you talking about?”

“What do you mean? I’m right in front of you.”

“Huh?” Yukio stared wide-eyed at Mephisto, who was sighing wistfully.

“…I’m sorry. You really don’t look any different from usual to me.”

“What are you saying? I’d expect better from you, Okumura-sensei. Of course I’m different. Just look.” Mephisto stroked her own chin.

It was true, the goatee was gone. Yukio started to feel lightheaded.

“So…having no beard makes you a woman?”

“Well, gender doesn’t mean much to demons in the first place. We can take any number of forms just by using different vessels, after all. But enough about me. We should be focusing on your Húdié problem right now, shouldn’t we?”

Yukio was clearly making a weird face, but he answered “Yes” to Mephisto’s sudden sane question. Mephisto set the sketchbook down on the desk and leaned back in the chair lazily.

“So, if we set the SDE5 idea aside for now and try to think of a way for you to more quickly experience the joys of your life as a woman…” she began, smiling with her eyes. Yukio leaned forward with an earnest look on his face.

Mephisto, who was gazing at Yukio in amusement, clapped her hands and said:

“Come work at the luxury hostess club Faust. You can start today!”

“What?!”

“For your stage name…let’s see…we’ll call you Yukkii after your real name Yukiko. You should aim to become the number one cabaret girl there.”

“…”

“I’ll stay by your side to teach you all you need to know about entertaining customers. With your looks you could become number one in three—no, two months. Oh, and when you wake up from the dream only two minutes or so will have passed in your time, so there’s no need to worry. You won’t end up like Rip van Winkle,” Mephisto announced with a smile.

As Yukio stood motionless, rooted to the spot, Mephisto snapped her fingers and held up an SLR camera.

“We’ll just take your cast photos for now. Let’s see…You have such big breasts, we can’t not take advantage of that. How about a shot where you rest your chin on both hands, so that it emphasizes your cleavage?

Yukio instinctively edged away from the camera’s gaze.

Mephisto, on the other hand, stood up from her chair and started edging closer.

“Come now, your expression looks so stiff! Smile, smile!”

“…”

“Hmm…I suppose you are the sort of overly straight-laced, studious type that’s lacking in raw sex appeal. Maybe we should be bold and open up your neckline a little more, go for that gap moe look. …Right, after the headshots we’ll move on to some full-body shots. What do you think of getting down on all fours like a tigress?

“?!”

“Okay, I’m taking it now. Smile, and make it brighter than that! Give me your best smile! Come on! Picture yourself snatching up all that money and recognition from the customers!”

“…N-No…I…”

“Come on, you’re making such an awkward face. Make it cuter, sexier, more devilish! Not like that! We’re not taking a student ID photo here. You’ll never be number one at this rate!

“LIKE ANYONE WOULD EVER EVEN WANT THAT!!”

Yukio finally reached his breaking point. He started shouting—and the world went dark.

He thought he saw the fluttering of that black butterfly, almost lost in the pitch-black darkness…

As he floated through the darkness, Yukio kept thinking, over and over:

I’m done being Yukiko.

I’ve had enough of the world of girls.

Being a boy is what’s right for me.

I want to go back to being a boy as soon as I can…

I miss my male brother and everyone else. I want to go back to my world, the world where I belong.

If I can just go home, I promise…I’ll be manlier than anyone else on the planet.

I’m a man. A man.

“Yuki…Hey, Yuki…Get up already.”

It was his brother’s voice.

It may have sounded like he was yelling from far away, but this time it was definitely his brother’s voice.

“Yuki…Hey…Yuki…”

“Mmmm…” Yukio forced his heavy eyelids open.

The first thing he saw, aside from the bright morning light, was the familiar face of his brother. Not his sister, but his brother.

Is everything back to normal…? But how?

As he asked himself, he came to the conclusion that the Húdié must have finally gotten full off the stress from his final tirade. In a way, you could even say it was all thanks to Mephisto.

“You’re running late, Yukio. We’re supposed to meet up with Suguro and the guys today, remember?”

“Thank goodness…Nii-san, you’re back to—“

Yukio smiled and started to talk, but then he froze.

As it turned out, his brother was completely ripped from the neck down—even a professional bodybuilder would have turned tail and run from him.

 “First we’ll hit the gym, then break for some protein bars, then back to the gym for more strength training, then we’ll get all the protein we need at all-you-can-eat sukiyaki!”

“…”

Yukio boggled vacantly at the muscles of steel wrapped in a martial-arts style white gi (which had the sleeves torn off, for some reason)—at his manly brother.

 Out of the corner of his eye, he could see two Húdié now, fluttering around cheerfully…

[douxreviews]

Supergirl - ‘Stand and Deliver' Review

Alex: "How can I, with a clear conscience, protect a man who is causing so much pain in the world?"

An episode in which many of our favorite characters stand up for their consciences, and in which the writers find a way out of the apparent impasse.

Ben Lockwood, as the president's new director of the Bureau of Alien Affairs, gets attacked by the Elite very early on in the episode. Because of the attack, Lockwood is assigned a new security detail, with Alex Danvers in charge - another move made by the president. As Alex loathes the man, this does not please her, but both her boss, Colonel Haley, and her adopted sister, Kara, give her the same advice: that by doing her job she will protect lives. (Supergirl, of course, has rescued many humans who she dislikes. I bet Colonel Haley has as well.)

As soon as Lockwood can speak without getting attacked, he announces his intention to repeal the Alien Amnesty Act, which, fortunately he cannot do by fiat, as this was apparently an act approved by Congress and Lockwood, a director in the executive branch, cannot unmake a law. However, Lockwood is in a position of influence, and by lobbying could get the act repealed. The announcement sends a chill through aliens and their friends, and they have to do something about it.

And the core of the show is when several of the characters take stands and deliver. The first to take a stand is Brainy, who, despite working at the DEO decides to organize a counter rally to the one being done by Lockwood (we all knew Brainy was behind it). The second is when James decides to go out – not as Guardian – but as a photographer to help the press show to the people what is really going on. The third is when Kara, originally hovering over the rally as Supergirl in order to protect everyone, staying above the fray, drapes herself in a Kryptonian robe (or perhaps just a blue blanket) and joins the pro-alien rally. The fourth is my favorite. Lockwood is getting the humans to shout, “Us or Them! Us or Them!” He’s egging on an attack. And then we have the wonderful:

Alex: You need to get off the stage now. Lockwood: Where’s the threat? Alex: You are the threat.

She hustles him off the stage. Pandemonium still breaks out, but the conflict would have been much worse if he had remained, and because she took him away, the brawling dies down, and people start helping one another (and her action even wins praise from Colonel Haley).

Olsen proves he deserves the position of photographer by taking a great shot of a human helping an alien, and that becomes the moment, the picture worth a thousand words, which defuses the anger being felt by so many. I was very impressed by this turn in the series, because I have been wondering how the writers could get them out of this jam – and they found a way that was fairly credible. Lockwood (pressured by President Baker, who we know cares a lot about the polls) says that they will hold Congressional hearings, which is a huge step forward.

Of course, the factions are not vanquished. Lockwood’s celebrity is based on hating aliens, so he’s got reason to try to come back. Some of the Elite are locked up. The writers can choose to return to this arc or not, but I am happy where it is for the moment.

For what I assume is a future part of the story: James is worried about the black budget at L-Corp and because he and Lena are on the outs, he can't really ask her. Instead he pumps Eve Tessmacher, his former employee, for information. Tessmacher actually has scenes that Lena would usually have more of a say in. Lena’s scenes are short and she appears overworked, which make me wonder if the actress was tired and overworked during the filming.

The episode ends with a great teaser: Who shot J.O.? (For those who are too young to know the phrase, “Who shot JR?” was the CBS hook for the show Dallas in the 1980s. Even though I never watched Dallas, I recall the phrase.) James Olsen, fresh from delivering the hearts-and-minds-changing photograph, is working late at CatCo, just the way a good boss should. Just as he is finally leaving the office, a gun is seen and a shot is fired. The last shot (camera shot) is of James Olsen lying on the floor, bleeding out. Will Olsen die? I hope not, even when they don’t give Mehcad Brooks enough to do, he is so easy on the eyes – besides, they cannot kill James Olsen, who is such a big part of the Supercousin world. So, who shot him? One of the Children of Liberty, out of resentment for that photograph? Or someone who doesn’t want him doing an expose on L-Corp finances?

Title musings: “Stand and Deliver” is the title of a 1988 documentary about a high school teacher who inspired his drop-out-prone students to master calculus. The word stand also evokes the “stand your ground” laws in various states, which have been used for the shoot first ask questions later and let Trayvon Martin’s murderer go unpunished. But it also serves the actions of at least four characters in this episode, and so I think the title works really well. All four of them made a difference by standing up when needed, and their actions together - even though not by design - had a great impact.

Bits and pieces

The Elite has a group of four, but as one of them is invisible most of the time, that’s good for the budget.

Some actual conversation for Eve Tessmacher!

Finally giving Nia Nal a more individualistic personality, and she seems to be into the meta awareness of the series, saying that’s a superhero speech or a classic bad guy move. Maybe this is a characteristic of a Dreamer. Or perhaps it is a characteristic of a superhero in training (which is rather cute).

I don’t recall Manchester Black having purple hair before this, but that’s in line with the comics. Very nice.

Loved the scrimmage between Brainy and Hat. Very artistic; they must have worked hard on the choreography.

Loved the super-heavy key for getting into the Fortress of Solitude and how the Elite looked under the mat for it.

Quotes

Lockwood: I know you think I’m a monster. But half of England said the same thing about Winston Churchill before World War II.

Nia Nal: Returning to the scene of the crime is a classic bad guy move.

Brainy: Well, whoever this American Alien is, their website superbly protected. He or she must be a highly intelligent cryptophile. Translating. This may take some time. Editor translation: You’re asking me to research myself. Haley: Just do it, Dox.

Hat: We’re supposed to be changing the world. Not acting suicidal to settle old scores.

James: You fight injustice with your fists, you can help one, maybe a dozen people. But good journalism – that can impact millions.

Brainy: Supergirl may be a symbol, but more importantly, she’s a citizen of Earth. Just like the rest of us.

Nia Nal: It always amazes me how much one photo can change the conversation.

Haley: Lockwood is a bureaucrat with power he doesn’t understand. Not only does that make things dangerous it makes our job difficult. Note that I disagree; I think Lockwood understands the power very well. Still, it's an interesting perspective.

Overall Rating

I can tell that I really enjoyed this episode, as I am still writing about it something like 1300+ words later (the word count may shrink when I edit). Three and a half out of four superheavy Fortress of Solitude keys.

Victoria Grossack loves math, Greek mythology, Jane Austen and great storytelling in many forms.