#i mean it was always gonna appeal to me cuz it talks a lot about like

[astranauticus]

sometimes a story that hits you is a well known property you can easily pitch to your friends and sometimes a story that hits you is a play being put up on your university campus right after midterms week by a small local company on a day none of your friends are free and you just kind of have to live with that

[quark-art]

im not gonna reblog it and start a fight cuz i dont really feel like arguing with someone i kinda look up to, but a webcomic creator i follow made this post that was like "lol webcomic creators will make 1000 pages of a comic, start out rough, never edit the early stuff and act surprised when people dont read their comic" and it kinda pissed me off bc it shows a complete ignorance of the reality of webcomics.

if a webcomic has over 1000 pages i guarantee it has at least a moderate following, otherwise the creator wouldnt have the motivation to make 1000 pages. (although, if that theoretical person does exist, way to punch down i guess?) also, if a webcomic has over 1000 pages and the early stuff is kinda rough, that means their audience (which PROVABLY EXISTS. i am thinking of MULTIPLE REAL PEOPLE who fit this exact description right now) doesnt actually mind because they see the passion the creator has for their story and accept the storys flaws as the natural result of a comic artist getting better at making comics in real time. it is actually kinda COOL to see a comic artist improve, even if the early art is bad, even if the writing isnt the best, seeing the creator get better is really engaging for a lot of people. that is not something they merely tolerate, that is part of the appeal.

everyone is always talking about how perfection is an impossible standard but no one recognizes how that necessitates the presence of flaw. there are always going to be flaws. an artist is allowed to just accept them and keep going. they do not have to turn around and desperately try to fix them so they wont feel embarrassed anymore. and when you make fun of people for daring to have flawed art on the internet youre basically just reinforcing the fear every artist has that "my old work is embarrassingly bad and i need to hide it."

also, most of us are literally just doing this for fun??? youre just being mean to people who are having fun???? stfu???

[bcbdrums]

I saw the Reddit drama. Please explain why Drakgo is a more interesting ship than KimRon.

first, thanks for the ask! second, whoaaaaaaa i wouldn't presume to label one ship more interesting than another. some people will find ships interesting, others won't.

i'll give a diff example. in my other current hyperfixation, soul eater, my friend adores Ship A while i'm all about Ship B. her ship IS interesting to me! i think those chars are the most shippable in the show, they're basically canon w/o PDA, and they are deeply complex both as individual chars and as a couple.

they're just... not the ones i'm hyperfixated on. doesn't make them uninteresting.

what makes a person's brain and heart grab onto one ship and not another? who can say.

a lack of personal interest in a ship does not make it objectively uninteresting, or worse... and a ship having way more attention than another in fandom doesn't objectively make that ship more interesting, or better.

CAN a person make canonical objective arguments for or against ships? certainly.

let's just grab characters from KP to use as example. Bonnie and Brick. canonically a couple for more than one episode! we do not get a lot of canon info onscreen for them, so most of the interest in them would have to come from fan creations. compare to Kim and Ron, who have infinitely more screentime together, infinitely more individual character development than Bonnie and Brick both as individuals and as a couple...

one could argue that Kim/Ron is more interesting than Brick/Bonnie. there's more to grab from the canon at least. but if a person wants to draw/write/talk at length about Brick/Bonnie? why not!

no reason to be hating on any ship. if it's not your ship, then just...don't engage?? especially if you're against said ship.

now me, personally, i find Drakgo more interesting than Kim/Ron. (altho recent convo with @creatorping got my Kim/Ron juices flowing again). Drakgo just appeal to me more as characters, with their gritty backgrounds, a lot more unknowns to explore, the challenge of two villains developing a mutual trusting relationship so they can have a happily ever after... that just grabs my mind and heart more than the perfect girl and her adorkable boyfriend. it doesn't mean Kim and Ron aren't interesting, cuz ohhhhh they are! mostly post-canon for me because...who ARE they, after high school?? who is Kim other than the student who saves the world? what's she gonna do with her life? and what is Ron gonna do? he absolutely can't go to the same college as her, and she can't ditch a good opportunity to go to a community college with him... my hang-up has always been that Kim wasn't given enough individual development onscreen to do anything interesting with her post-canon. but aforementioned convo with Ping changed my mind, heheh. 😏

in any case, the point... one ship isn't more or less interesting. one ship isn't better or worse than another. it's us, the viewer, who either will or won't be interested.

so as i've always said.... ship and let ship. don't like? don't interact. don't hate on someone else's ships or headcanons or POVs... (reddit...)

and, that's not the same thing as discourse. discussing characters, discussing points of view, interpretations... sharing various headcanons... with willing parties who want to enter into that conversation! THAT is a major part of fandom! but it's all in how one goes about it. and! should people come to disagree about interpretations of characters, also fine!

i think the issue arises when people start to act like... my interpretation is correct OR, my interpretation is the only valid one. when people get up on that horse, that's where the problems arise... it can be tough if you feel like you're the only person WITH a certain POV, but... again, if the folks you're chatting with aren't into it, then find other people. i'm in that boat with some soul eater headcanons, but, that's okay. i don't need to convince everyone else in the fandom in order rto enjoy my thoughts. i'll still talk about them, but, not with the idea of telling anyone my view is the only view. that's the antithesis of what fandom is about. i'll talk about them because i enjoy talking about them, to like-minded folk, and on my own blog which is what a blog is for.

and, idk why it shows up so often in the KP fandom, especially the Drakgo side, that people can't simply say "hey i have this headcanon!" and someone respond with "oh that's neat!" and just. happily co-exist. everyone creating their things, sharing their things. and people will like what they like, as they always have, in every fandom. and if they don't like someone's idea, that's fine too!

but it's not worth fighting about?? it never is! it's just not that important. it's fandom. it's fun. it's our escape. if one feels SO strongly against a concept, or ship, or whatever.... then you don't interact with it. you don't make it your mission to disprove the other person. you don't actively seek out opportunities to hate on a point of view you dislike. that's not how fandom is supposed to be. find your people, and chill with them.

let's all be positive in the various fandom spaces.

i hadn't intended that to be such a rant, but...well, there you have it. sorry it probably was not what you wanted to hear, but yeah. thanks again for the ask!!

[goremet-chef]

just found someone who makes monster hunter lego builds do NOT speak to me im. this. GRGRGRG

anyways heres some gifs i have of monsters cuz im in love with this series forever and always (super long ramble SFJKS ive been writing this for hours)

odogaron + ebony odo is like.... you dont understand. thats me i kin so many monsters from MH its insane like.. thats literally me nothing reflects me better LOOK AT THEM. rathalos, odogaron, nargacuga like any red scary thing i resonate with deep in my soul its insane

this one is one of my headmates favorites. shrieking legi really came thru when he was having a bad time and i love this for him. ITS JUST LIKE... so many of the monsters resonate with us on such personal levels, that its hard to even explain. i am selfish, and i do view monster hunter as my game (got that autism special) like these are my creatures they were made for me

REAL TALK THO, these two were genuinely actually made for me look at this shit

unknown (black flying wyvern) and valstrax my beloveds. fucking god tier

the fact that i already resonate with the rathalos so hard, and it turns out theres a black and red edgier cool version of it/????like are you insane when i discovered this thing i was. SO UNWELL IN MY CHANNEL ON DISCORD i literally rambled about it for AN HOUR STRAIGHT. then when i found out about valstrax i rambled about that one for an hour too SKFJS like wow they are so cool. autism is real

also have this one, xeno'jiiva is so. MHW was my first MH game (say what you will) and god damn. im gonna be real idk if id be so into it if it wasnt for MHW, cuz like.... the main appeal of the entire game series to me is the monsters themselves. like im. when i first started i was TOO SCARED TO FIGHT THE GREAT JAGRAS (yknow. the first large monster you fight 😭😭 like the 3rd quest. insane) because ive never been into fighting games and having something large PURSUE ME didnt sound pleasant

crazy that i went from being too scared to play it again to LITERALLY playing for 72 hours almost STRAIGHT with minimal pee and sleep breaks, and giving myself carpal fucking tunnel cuz i was just. obsessed. AUTISM IS REAL

went from couldnt stand 10 minutes of it to 400 hours in game SKFJSD

and i would do it again bitch!!!

so what im SAYING. alright. is that im not a fighter in games (well NOW i am, but before i super wasnt) but what drew me in was how i could just.. watch. how i could see all the big scary monsters sleep and eat and walk around and fight eachother. how i could get their tracks, listen to their sounds, ETC. like it was so. IT WAS THRILLING and ive never been more in love

like for context my first special interest is fnaf and i wouldnt be anything like myself if i never got into fnaf like life changing shit. but i gotta say, i mean. ive played the fnaf games and i love the story and EVERYTHING this is not a diss on my first home!!!! but i played MHW to the point of exhaustion, to where i needed to have an arm brace and even then despite the HORRIBLE PAIN in my wrist, i still kept playing

i played so much i literally managed to rub the s and w letters of my siblings keyboard KSJFSF like it was for real. i miss that, like a lot. i dont play as much anymore because i mean. i have it on my laptop. my laptop is a gaming laptop and it can run!! but its better for my

yknow i dont think i have an actual reason and im literally about to cry thinking about it SKFSFJ the good computer with the good graphics and running is my siblings and id need permission, yknow how it is. PLUS im a bit stuck? i need an urugaan ruby for my barioth mission lmao but ill get there

monster hunter world is so beautiful. the environments are fucking stunning, the visual upgrade for the monsters was INSANE and just watching them be animals? it brings me so much joy KSJSJSJ

one of my favorites is the rotten vale, which is funny cuz i remember the first time i ever went there i was so. PARANOID. i use sound with pretty much everything i play since my eyes might not track everything thats happening, so hearing the ambience for the vale freaked me out so much, i stayedat the camp for SO LONG and good thing too cuz the radobaan makes its way down that path and i was shook SKFJSF

also the big fucking dalamadur skeleton in the vale is so. UGHHHH

i love horror and rot and decay!!! its frightening its unsettling but even still the vale is such a necessary part of the ecosystem!!! like wow monsters come there to DIE? are youINSANE

(dalamadur is like one of the biggest monsters for reference. the whole upper part of the vale is made of its skeleton cuz its a big snake its so UGHHH)

also the???? STOMACH ACID POOL?

they were cooking bro,,,,, such a gorgeous and unsettling environment goddd

like GOD i cant think of anything better, the story for MHW is so good man. the tracker said "its an ecological marvel" and i took that personally (i repeat that so much about random shit its not even funny how long ive been doing that for)

or how like... any of the docile monsters (tobi kadachi, banbaro, kulu ya ku, ETC) i genuinely if i go on expedition, and i see theres a docile monster in one of the locales, ill go there and just follow them around the ENTIRE TIME SFKSFS

heres SEVERAL pics of me with banbaros at different times KSJFS

that isnt even all of them with JUST banbaro 💀💀💀 its my favorite activity

and sometimes i get hit with the banbaro / nightshade paolumu / coral pukei combo!!!! thats a triple docile whammy!!!!! thriving

also heres a cute viper tobi shot :] love viper tobi

also also i cant believe i never said anything yet but VAAL HAZAK??? my actual liege look at this mf

MY LORD!!! vaal is so fucking cool man. and the KICKER??? DOCILE

whenever i do this quest i do just follow it around for a while (which. ive had to do this quest A LOT cuz i thought i get vitality crystals from it (yknow cuz i got some from it) so i have probably 100% killed more vaal hazak than any of the other elder dragons SKFJSF

vaal hazak is so cool cuz its covered in rotten meat and uses the effluvium (corpse gas) as its like. life source. it pulls excess effluvium from the vale into itself and expels it when theres not enough, so its keeping the ecosystem tame its so cool UGHH

also one of its moves it plays dead its so fucked up itll fall over like you've knocked it over and then just lay there but you hear its inhale and it looks up and BLASTS YOU with its effluvia gas beam (WHICH. THAT THING HURTS!!!!!! for real the effluvium attack is so. plus it also halves yr health? like if vaal hits you with that shit itll give you miasma or whatever and it HALFS YR HEALTH BAR and you gotta eat a nulberry to negate it

im not one for switching shit around in my like item bar tho (MAINLY cuz most the time ive played MHW was with my siblings mouse and its scroll bare was broken so swapping items was hard) so i just put on like 3 effluvia resistance gems and it cant give me miasma. problem solved SKFSJF

i did get so tired of fighting it cuz yknw its a hard fight its an elder dragon, but i will say like the MUSIC? thats one of the things like. when we fought megan in the forest, they gave us battle music and THAT is why i kicked ass and abandoned all my fear, monster hunter instincts kicked in and i tanked alright like it was NOTHING, battle music just hits different

vaal hazak theme is so fucking good!!!! "keeper of hades" ARE YOU INSANE? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND????? i cant believe this shit!!!!!!!!

monster hunter stop being the coolest franchise ever challenge KSFJSF

i did do vaal hazak fight with no music before cuz i was trying to see and. THE MUSIC DOES SO MUCH? literally there was like no adrenaline without the music it was just. :| oh. im in the vale. thats the dragon. hes gonna breath attack. okay LIKE IT WAS SO LACK LUSTER IT WAS INSANE

i never realized how much the music did for fights but its so.. vital bro like it gets you in the fighting mood it compliments the monster and the area its !!!GRAAAAHHHH

monster hunter soundtrack is literally so fucking good. BANGERS back to back literally every song is so fucking cracked its epic

dont even get me STARTED on "proof of a hero" that song makes me stim so fucking hard man it makes me feel so fucking good. my sibling made his ringtone for me that song and AUGHHH crying sobbing

like yeah this is proof that im a hero!!! literally makes me feel so proud and FOR WHATTTT

idk im such a firm believer in the importance of sound design, sound design is EVERYTHINGGG and MH does such a good job with that shit, the monster roars and environmental ambience, audio cues to what attack is gonna happen, the music its all. perfect 10/10 godtier shit

anyways this is my monster hunter ramble, it most likely will happen again. love this game with all my heart

[totaldramafan-lauri]

Thoughts on Queen Bee

It was good. I enjoyed myself. Definitely one of the weaker episodes, but it wasn’t TRYING to be anything groundbreaking, so it’s fine. I was able to adjust my expectations in just the right way after Viv tweeted about it. She reminded us that this was gonna be a style-over-substance episode, and that’s what we got! A LOTTA style, and not much substance.....(unless you count the ones Blitzo was running on all episode)

The only thing groundbreaking is Kesha, who it turns out, is a pretty good VA? And having a song actually written by her, and performed by a DARN GOOD sound-alike. The lyrics of “Cotton Candy” aren’t amazing, but it SOUNDS great, and that’s what matters for party songs. XD I’ve had it stuck in my head all day.

It’s cool to have another complete song outta Helluva. We need more of those in season 2. “House Of Asmodeus” spoiled me XD

As for Bee herself, I didn’t really like her design all that much at first, cuz she didn’t look anything like I’d imagine Beelzebub to look in Helluva (compared to Ozzie who I thought was a good interpretation of how people usually envision Asmodeus). She’s not ugly or anything, and I love her color palette, but it felt like Viv was more focused on the Die Young callback than making her look like the Sin when designing her. But apparently, there ARE some things that she’s kept in mind and played around with (such as “Lord of the Flies” becoming “Queen Bee” - even though she should technically be a princess since the other Sins are princes, it rolls off the tongue better here), and she has a more monstrous form that we get to see. I’m pretty sure I’ll like her more as I get used to her. She just wasn’t what I expected.

There’s not really a lot to talk about story-wise. Like I said, style over substance. “Visual spectacle” to cap the season off. I like that it’s a happier second half to Ozzie’s. Both have parties run by a Sin, both have big songs, but the mood is completely different, like they’re symbolizing the different parts of Helluva’s first season - the dramatic, character-driven part, and the fun, humorous part. It’s a shame that the legal issues held this episode back so long that it can’t be considered Ozzie’s second half anymore, cuz I really do like the idea of the two episodes being foils to each other.

But uh, anyway! The only real meat in this story is just a few sweet moments between Loona and Blitzo. And also Loona being SUCH a mood. Me at parties. Always. XD It was also cool to see Tex again, since I like him, and Bee gets points for actually seeming pretty chill, especially compared to Ozzie. But that’s really it. The comedy wasn’t even really that amazing. The Dennis scene was the only time I really laughed, but I’ll take what I can get.

The delays also screwed the episode over slightly. I DO still feel bad for Blitzo, but if the episode had been released in order, I would’ve been a lot more scared for his mental state. It does lose a LITTLE impact when we know he’s gonna recover (or at least, mostly recover).

A teeny bit of woldbuilding here too- It was also cool to see a bit of the Gluttony ring - yeah, just one location, but it gets me curious to see more of it someday. We also get references to Satan and Belphagor, which means that.....there’s only one left. Only one Sin we haven’t heard from. The one who’s, fittingly, from the one ring we haven’t been to yet - Envy. I wanna see the Envy ring now. What’re they gonna do with that place? It can’t even be green! Greed is green! How does a place run by envy look? I guess the ring will be.....aquatic-themed? Maybe? I’m worried that we probably won’t be meeting the man himself due to involvement in Hazbin, but I wanna see the ring at least. Surprise me, Helluva! You already did that last episode with Sloth looking actually neat and appealing, pfffff- But yeah, that’s a long-term hope. Let’s actually get to Mammon first. One thing at a time.

S-sorry for the tangent, but yeah, this episode really doesn’t have a lot to talk about. I’m done now. XD It was fun to watch, but not one of the best I’ve seen from the show!

[cyarskj52]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Neighborhood Talk (@theneighborhoodtalk)

theneighborhoodtalk

Tory is headed to prison to serve his sentence. He tried to get a bail as he awaits his appeal but the judge denied it.

Always remember this part:

I want y’all(yes every single last one of you, heck even the aliens if they exist among us) to realize Tory had the opportunity to take a plea deal and serve damn there no time.

Megan lied to police to protect Tory immediately after he shot her, he slandered her in the blogs and so she decided to tell the truth to law enforcement.

The courts offered a plea deal, Tory threw it back in their face and dragged this out for years to keep the lie going and burned up his own money on legal fees and taxpayer dollars on a trial. The courts gave bail, Tory used that time to torment and harass Megan which only hurt his case and was a key factor in his heavy sentencing when the day came.

At every single turn the goodwill of the universe/God offered this man an opportunity to save himself — and he laughed at it and sabotaged it.

He could have owned up to his actions.

INSTEAD, he was so arrogant in the process bc he thought painting Megan as a liar on social media would hold up on trial. It backfired in the worst way possible.

The Tory fans, his family, even Tory himself may never publicly admit it — but he completely allowed his dangerous ego to land him in a cage for the rest of his 30s. One day he’ll have to face that.

He is the maker of his own self destruction, the creator of his own downfall, the artist of his own shortcoming, pride and ego led to where he is now.

and that’s why I don’t feel sorry for him, it’s not thoughts and prayers is sorrows sorrows prayers. It’s not prayers up but prayers down for him. He had an opportunity to not be CHARGED at ALL cuz she was willing to PROTECT his buck tooth hammer head toddler built bitch ass. She lied to protect that ungrateful piece of work, trying to prevent him from being another name , another hashtag, another life taken by the cops, another black man getting shot to death by the police or having his life choked out in a illegal chokehold as he’s screaming, “I can’t breathe!” , another black man screaming “ mother!”, another Trayvon, Sandra, tamir, Ahmaud, tyre, Mike, Eric, Breonna, George, Jacob, Elijah, and other black lives either taken away or forever traumatized and he repays her by being so cruel, and mean towards her having people hurt her for no good reason but to gas him up, and you expect me to feel some level of sympathy because he said that he had a difficult childhood, losing his mom at a young age and an alcohol addiction. yeah I don’t think so.

Fuck him. I don’t feel sorry for him. He deserves every bit of those 10 years . He should’ve been taken accountability for his actions, but no , he gone too big for his britches, and he chose to be a full blown psychopath and a sociopath .

He had the nerve , the audacity , to be talking about no weapons formed against him shall prosper, bro, you are the weapon and it was, and is prospering against you!

He didn’t deserve 1/10000000th of the consideration she gave him that night. She was too kind to him. People can really take other peoples kindness for weakness and you wonder why TV shows like snapped is on TV and it’s been around for like 33 seasons as of this year.

He’s going to go through some things for a decade, it’s not gonna matter that he’s a musician, he had a difficult childhood, or the fact that one of his biggest hits on the billboard charts is him as a featured artist with jack harlow (who is better looking than him and he’s six years younger than that Canadian jailbird,) , or he’s got people who still think he’s innocent despite otherwise, , he’s gonna be unpopular with some people. He’s gonna be treated no different than all those who harms the vulnerable, he gonna get beaten a lot, he’s probably gonna be raped and he’s gonna suffer

yeah there’s gonna be people that gonna call me out for advocating for a black man to suffer in jail and not feeling sorry about him being another girlfriend in the prison showers but listen to me on this The judge took so much notice to that and the scrambling of lies he gave to get a lighter sentence. Do I think 10 years is a lot? Yes. All he had to be was a decent person and have empathy and this could have been different. Plus there’s black men who were screwed over by the justice system. He’s not one of them. The system didn’t “ lynch”him, he gave himself enough rope to hang himself there on .

So I don’t feel bad for him. He’s an awful human

personally me thinks He can literally die

[billerak]

So I recently finished The Magnus Archives and it seems to be a light fixation (not hyperfixation quite yet but it could become one with time, probably after I inevitably re-listen to the whole show), which means I must somehow talk about it.

Of course, the main thing I've been thinking about is actually the fears. So I've decided I'm gonna rank them exclusively on a scale of "do not vibe" to "kinda vibe."

None of them are true vibes, of course. That's the point. But you know. Purely personal preferences too, of course.

So, let us begin.

15) The Corruption/The Crawling Rot Yeah I do 100% do NOT vibe with this shit. I hate filth and sickness and while I don't hate bugs I do hate it if they get into my goddamn food. The stories of The Corruption always fucking sicken me.

14) The Desolation/The Lightless Flame I... don't like the idea of burning alive. That's about it really. Nevermind all the other horrible things this particular fear represents. Don't think it would take me, though: Don't have a lot of connections or things to live for. If anything I'd maybe become an acolyte? Hypothetically speaking I would love to commit some arson against people (on minecraft).

13) The Buried/Too Close I Cannot Breathe If this was just claustrophobia it'd probably be higher up. I kinda like enclosed spaces, and I've liked the few times in my life I've been underground. That being said, fuck the asphyxiation part of this. Or the actually being trapped part. Swallowing dirt or mud flowing into your lungs or being trapped in a box that keeps you like a contortionist? Fuck right off mate.

12) The Slaughter/Butchery I have some experience with gratuitous violence. I wouldn't want to experience it again. Also, From the River to the Sea. Fuck Israel and zionists.

11) The Spiral/It Is Not What It Is So, episode 100 kinda seems to imply having ADHD actually makes you more resistant to the spiral, which I find funny cuz I have it, but... yeah, the idea of my mind lying to me is actually very present in my life. Also, The Distortion was The Backrooms before it was popular.

10) The Stranger/I Do Not Know You Kinda keeping in line with the previous one, I do tend to stay away from strangers and I've always found mannequins to be creepy. I feel like the uncanny valley is why I've hated 3d games trying to be realistic for so long. Nevermind that I care a lot about my identity. The part where they take who you are from you is... among the most psychologically scary things in the show. This could be a bit higher on the list if not for the part where they take your skin and stick you in wax.

9) The Eye/It Knows You We all have secrets we don't want found out, and I am actually a bit paranoid myself. Probably has to do with my self esteem issues. I hate knowing that there's probably nobody judging me as harsh as I do myself, and yet... Yeah, it's a doozy. Hot take tho: I find the eye statements to be mostly underwhelming? I don't think they ever fully manage to grasp the fear of being judged.

8) The Flesh/Viscera I find this one scary because I find it appealing. I find the idea of shaping my body with something like the boneturner to be something I'd fall into with my strange sense of identity. Also the first appearance of this fear lives rent free on my mind, though I think the reason it's scary is how disgusting it is? And that could probably fall closer to the rot?

7)The End/Death Fun fact: I made my peace with death when I was like... 12. I laid in bed one night, realizing the inevitability of my own mortality, and I cried for a while about it. Then I realized... if I can't do anything about it, then why stress over it? We all die. Of course, I don't want to die. I don't want my loved ones to die. It's something I am kind of afraid of, but it's not something I despise, so it gets the middle spot on this list.

6) The Extinction/The Terrible Change We live in a generation where this fear will probably come to be. That's the scariest part of it, I think. I don't expect I'll live to see my 40's tbh. Whether it's global warming or a nuke that takes me (or unrelated health issues), I am certain humanity will end by its own hand, and it's sad. Probably won't get to mars either. (certainly not with the long rat)

5) The Web/The Spider I'm not afraid of spiders, but I hate manipulation. That being said the way it's presented in the show is not that scary. Either it's a spider controlling you to torture you, or you're part of a scheme so big you don't even realize it 'till the end. Maybe I don't find it that scary because I've never been subject to the type of manipulation others have.

4) The Hunt/The Everchase I don't like the idea of being hunted or hunting, don't get me wrong... But I also don't find it particularly scary. Police brutality is a bitch. ACAB. I guess it makes more sense for animals to be scared of it tho. Not a lot of thoughts on this one, save to say the hunt statement in season 5 was probably my favorite? Idk I really liked it.

3)The Dark/Forever Blind I'm still kinda scared of the dark, but mostly because I'm afraid I'll step on something and it'll hurt. I stopped believing in ghosts many years ago and weird sounds in my house are about on the same level of scariness whether it's light or dark. Really, the only thing that doesn't push this farther up the list is that I don't like the idea of becoming blind. The kids episode during season 5 was fucked up tho.

2) The Vast This was kind of in the run to be 1, but they do mention they get hungry a few times during the statements about the Vast so I don't like that. Honestly, I find none of the fears this manifests as that scary. Whether it be the sky, the ocean, or the void of space. Also I grow excited when I think about the insignificance of human life in the scale of things, rather than fearful.

1) The Lonely/Forsaken I'm an introvert. Do I need to say much more? Ofc I have family and friends and stuff, and I love discussing things with people... but The Lonely's stories never seemed that bad to me. I figure if I were to get taken by it (I wouldn't, ofc, as it's not something I'm particularly afraid of) I'd be far better off than most people. Yes, I know, kinda funny that the 3 that went on the daedalus are the ones I found least scary lmao.

Took like an hour to write this, but... yeah, I think I needed to get my thoughts out there. Don't take most of the middle spots too seriously tho, they can probably be interchangable depending on my mood. Only top and bottom 3 are fixed in place.

[greenjokwe-blog]

Monthly Greejily Media (January 2024) - The First of Who Knows

God I hate Twitter. I mean I still use it way more than any other social media, but I'm so tired of it man. From all the recent mistakes, to how posts get popular, to how it and TikTok's business decisions have infected the entire tech industry at large. All that and more is good enough reason to move my media threads away from that platform, but truth be told I'm only so moved by these things in that regard. Nah, more than anything, the format for media threads on that site just got tiring for me. Feeling the need to fit in everything into a single tweet, the want to put every single media I've consumed in one place even if I'm not particularly moved or interested in the updating process. So, I thought this'd be much nicer. Having a little section on my Tumblr dedicated to the stuff that's interested me the most, on a monthly basis. A lot more appealing! And that way I can talk about whatever I want for as long as I want. Fantastic. This probably won't stop my full reviews (there are still a few I want to write, but writer's block is getting to me right now), but this is definitely a more flexible format for me at least for now. Let's start shall we?

I might as well start with video games, as it's the thing I tend to talk about most on this blog, but truth be told I haven't actually beaten a single game this year yet. There's one game I'm currently working on beating, but because I'll be taking a more casual approach to that one (as well as gaming in general this year I imagine), I'm not comfortable talking about that one yet. Two games I'll talk about for now though, and will definitely probably come up again I will discuss though, one of those being Picross 3D.

I've never been invested in Picross but I've always found it a good time. I love all kinds of old puzzle solvers and Picross/nonograms in general have been a great, shockingly modern version of that that fit amazingly for video games. Picross 3D has felt like the perfect culmination of what Picross has achieved for years, and seeing the praise for it I knew this would be a great step for me getting into more of Picross in general, and I was right.

There's not much I can really add here, I feel no need to explain what Picross is and not much to add to it's actual gameflow other than its so addicting and there's so much of it here. I'm approaching halfway through right now and this game has nearly 400 puzzles. Each puzzle is like a trance, they all have logical and sensical solutions, and the satisfaction of finding a discrepancy, deleting/saving blocks as needed, and realizing you've just opened a whole new set of options for yourself feels amazing.

I only have two issues with it as of right now, one of them being because this game was made with a DS in mind, and because there are no zoom-in options for the game, trying to get the correct block to delete can often feel very finicky. The other issue being, well I can't play too much of it! I start seeing Picross when I close my eyes and it comes up with unsolvable puzzles! I'll talk about my future adventures with Picross no doubt in the future though, so get ready.

Another game I've been into, and you should expect to see again in these posts, is Burnout 3: Takedown. Again, probably not gonna say much on this for now, but I already have over one hundred gold medals for the courses in this game. This game has such good variety, despite having a fairly limited number of tracks it makes real good use of it, and it's technical ability for a PS2 game can only been the work of gods. Also it feels amazing to play holy shit. I get why there's never been a new one of these, but the worlds been worse without it.

One thing I will say though, don't be surprised if I write a full review on this game where I inevitably tear the latter Gran Prix to shreds, cuz holy shit the last one I did was so fucking hard. The game has great feel, design and good tells for a PS2 game, but it's still a PS2 game. You can be a god at this game and still get fucked over. But the fact that the game is so tantilizing and the amount of fuckups that can happen with you having a smile on your face... yeah I'll have to make a full review on this game when I 100% it, watch this space.

All right, next up films and television!!!

This is the section I was really excited for. I haven't talked about film at all on this blog, and I wanna make up for it. There's still a TON of films I watched last year that I want to talk about, so don't be surprised if I start making tangent posts about those at some point. More than anything, I want this year to be my film and book year, so expect it to take over all these upcoming posts from now on.

To start with, the show I finally finished, Gundam 00! This was the Gundam series I always wanted to watch even before I knew what the UC was, and now being a huge Gundam fan it's made watching the full series an... interesting reflection. I did post my opinions on the first season after finishing it last year, and I'll stick by those. Despite its problem with plotlines and characters, this show is a great response and reflection of what led to the Iraq war, as well as the war on terrorism in general. Season 1 also ended extremely strong, so Season 2 had a lot to live up to. A lot that I knew, based on a general sense and public opinion that it wouldn't. It ended up with me dropping the show for a few months until I eventually picked it back up after watching Wing rightfully thinking "it can't be any worse".

Thankfully it wasn't! The show picked up a fair bit after the second half, and included a lot of interesting arcs and stories (mainly, the stuff regarding the ALAWS) to consistently keep the show fairly solid. However, there was still a ton of problems. Plots were even messier here than they were during the first season, a huge portion of motivations just got cut in half, the characters are even less likeable here (aside from the worst ones, which are nicer now by comparison), and the main issue of the villains being a LOT less compelling here than they were in season 1, to the point of both detriment of the show and making it feel a lot more standard-Gundam faire, compared to S1's striking originality. However, there's still a lot to like! Again, a lot of the plotlines I liked such as the ALAWS and everything with Marina, the Gundam designs and effects are still solid, animation is nice (even if at points I'd prefer more clearer and concise boarding and battles), and it still carries over a lot of the themes that made Gundam 00 so solid to begin with. So despite it's weakness I'd still say that season 2 is worth the watch, if anything else for more of Setsuna and Graham.

Oh yeah and I uh, watched the movie as well.

OK, slight spoilers ahead, but I'm just gonna get through this very quickly here. This film is dumb. All of the political intrigue of the show is basically gone to make a James Cameron-inspired dumb anime blockbuster. The main villains are a cross between Xenomorphs and Terminators. It's got quip dialogue. There is a scene where they somehow make the comical approach to Allelujah's mental illnesses even more comical by giving him this Hulk-style action switch sequence. The film largely focuses on characters that get no payoff, with Setsuna being the only strong focus throughout. It's dumb. It's shallow. It's a mess. It's also kind of fun??? I can't say it looks visually much better than the show, but what it does have is a fairly simple but strong premise that fits the world fairly well. And whenever something cool happens it manages to make it REALLY cool. So that's always nice. Somehow, still a very satisfying conclusion to the series despite everything that it is, and probably up there somewhere in the middle of the Gundam films I've seen so far.

That was the first of the three films I saw this month, with the other two being not quite as schlocky. In fact, on the complete opposite of the "war is bad" scale, we have the 1957 Soviet film "The Cranes are Flying".

While a much-beloved classic by prestigious classic by many, I knew essentially nothing about this film an hour before I decided to start watching it. When I started watching the film, I was fairly disappointed in how, premise-wise, this film doesn't really have much different from what I wasn't already used to from a variety of war history, poetry, and sad mid-2000s webcomics. As stunning as this film could be with its technical prowess for the 50s, I was worried that this film wouldn't really do much for me. That was until I reached about the halfway point.

The small little trick this film plays with you (that's not really much of a trick, mind you), is extremely potent and gives this film relevancy to this day. Not being just a film about war-torn lovers, this film focuses well and truly on it's main character, Veronika, and all of her strifes and problems that arise either as caused by the war, or by her family. This film goes in to a lot of issues of women's suffrage and plight that you would not expect a film from this era to discuss, and does it with great decorum and respect (although, this came out the same year as Nights of Cabiria, which, wow, what a year for feminist film). There are some scenes in this film that are filled with harrowing emotion that I can definitely see why it's considered such an underground classic, at least as far as the west is concerned.

I think because of the general content of the film there's only so much I can enjoy though, if that makes sense? But that's just an issue for me and old movies in general, nothing against the film itself. I would still absolutely recommend this film to anyone who is interested, as relevant and ever-present now as it ever was. Man, I hate war. And warlord fascists.

Any way, final film that I watched this month, and this one's one for the BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Uh, spoilers for this one too, by the way.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a weird one for me to talk about, because if it wasn't for the (admittedly few) caveats that I have with this film I could easily see it being one of my all-time favourites. Had I watched it a few years back it probably would be! The acting is fantastic, portraying each character and their differences wonderfully. The characters themselves are all extremely likeable and each has their own interesting quirks and interests that keep them apart despite the amount that there are onscreen. The technical ability in this film's phenomenal, loads of wonderful shots here, and the way the more compact scenes here move in-and-out of focus is absolutely wonderful. Pace, soundtrack, general story and motivations, all solid stuff.

But... at the same time... I mean, it's not that big of a deal, but like... I was only half-kidding when I called this film a "boys movie" earlier. Not that it's an innate issue! But let's say, I wanted to make a really dumb and unfavourable view on the film, you could definitely theoretically make a Letterboxd review complaining how this film is a contrived story about an evil matriarch trying to destroy "the boys" fun at all opportunities, the evil bitch! This, in and of itself I don't think would be a real issue for me with this films plot alone, but the film constructs itself with this plausible deniability aspect to it, the possibility that these men are just here to chill or self-improve! It puts some of the films accolades and themes and misunderstandings (mostly from guys) into a different context.

This, along with some other issues I have including a couple of character arcs like the Chief, and general ambivalence to certain topics as a whole, apparently don't exist in the book (from what I've been told). It's definitely something I want to read at some point! HOWEVER, all that being said, I don't hold much of this too much against the film, mostly because one, the story is still pretty damn good, and two, god there aren't many other movies out there that treat those with problems and mental illnesses with the humanity and respect quite like this film does. The way the film manages to make sure that each character deserves their own urgency and respect, and makes sure to put blame and point at the terrible ablest structures that demonise and trap them...

I think the best example of this in the film is during the beginning of the film, where the first group therapy meeting is held. The scene manages to perfectly represent the circle the main cast surrounds themselves in, where the previous good mood and vibes of the previous 10 minutes starts dimming. When Mrs. Fletcher asks Mr. Harding about his wife, with the set implication that she was being unfaithful. Harding tries to avoid the question, particularly when the topic of abuse comes up, leading to deflection, however, as the conversation goes on, the emotion from great late actor William Redfield becomes more and more potent. It starts to become more clear that even if he is deflecting, he is truly looking for redemption and self-improvement, and, truth be told, the fact of him being abusive, or even her cheating both start becoming irrelevant (the film never states if they were or not). This is lost on the other patients though, who see this session as just another time of him yapping about his wife, strictly against Harding's wishes. This turns into a shouting match, all the while Mrs. Fletcher and the other doctors do nothing but watch. Despite how this has clearly happened before, despite the fact that it's strictly not working, they let it continue not necessarily because they personally believe it helps, but because they believe it's best to follow the systems and rules set in place by the hospital, even if it only hurts and victimizes the patients who are there just to get help.

So yeah I like this film a lot, I think it's fantastic. I know I kinda went on about it for a bit for a film that's been talked about to death, but whatever. Definitely would recommend, good film good film.

And laaaastt uppp uuhhhh albums I guess? Truth is, I'm gonna have a similar issue with this section that I did last time where I'm not gonna know what to write that much, so I came up with a solution. Most of the reason I did what I did last year on Twitter with my relistens was to make up for lastfm mostly being irrelevant for me now. So, I decided instead I'd make my own lastfm 5x5 charts based on what I listened to that month, either being new albums or relistens. So, here it is:

There'll be times where I probably go on tangents here. For example I FINALLY got around to hearing Quaranta and I of course ended up really liking it. Same with Genesis' Trespass, Far East Suite, and that Funkadelic album. And there's still issues with this format like I might have to differentiate what was new for me and what was a relisten. But I imagine the format will end up changing a lot as the months go on and it might not even be the same next month so, we'll what I do next I suppose, if I scrap this idea don't be surprised, it's probably cuz I didn't listen to that month or something I dunno.

Anyway, that's the update done! God knows if when I do this next month it'll be even remotely as close to as long as this one was. There might be months when I decide to dedicate an entire section to one single piece of art I enjoyed. Maybe there won't be one some months and I just try to put out a review or something instead, or I just choose to shitpost a whole month cuz I REALLY have nothing to say. We'll see. I imagine this'll be a fun format to experiment with, either way. Thanks for reading!

[portraitsofguilt]

Dear moss:

This is not exactly an ask, it's more of me wanting to know moss's thoughts/reactions about Sevika in these scenarios:

Sevika's interactions with an autistic reader?? Idk I'm autistic and I'm curious as to moss's feedback

Beauty and the Beast au, cuz I think this dinamic would be super wholesome and fluid yk

Sevika as a brothel madame, she'd probably kill it cuz she has the experience of working a business from taking care of things in the Shimmer industry and understands the necessary appeal cuz she's been a regular costumer at brothels for a while

Sevika's reaction to reader living with a therapy dog (I mostly had this curiosity cuz I'm looking to getting my dog certified :D)

If it happens to inspire any headcanons or something of the sort, I'd adore to read them but I'm curious as to how you react to these. Have a lovely weekend, I love moss's work. <33💗💗💗

Dear anonie,

thank you for all this, here are some of moss' thoughts on the scenarios that you gave !!!

autistic! reader - sevika would most certainly try to adapt to the way you feel most comfortable talking, receiving physical touch, or helping you stick to your schedule. she will kick anyone who is too loud in your presence and will make sure that the two of you don't get to the too crowded side of town. she will try her hardest, failing is not an option to trying to understand you. (moss apologizes if these are very dumbed down, they don't have too much experience with autistic people only their little cousin, please do tell moss if this section should be removed/rewritten in any way)

beauty and the beast - sevika fits right into this au not gonna lie, moss headcanons her as a thought cookie on an emotional level, not just physical so having a belle-like reader to soften her and get her in touch with her emotions would make an amazing story !

brothel madame! sevika - she would take care of her girls like they are her own daughters, not like they are pink piggy banks for her to take endless advantage of. working with men doesn't mean she can't be mean to them, so if anyone hurts any of you, she is right there to kick the costumers' asses and even permanently get rid of them if they cause big trouble. there is always a new marketing catch she has in mind to help the cash flow and for her girls to go home with plenty of money to spare.

reader's therapy dog - sevika would probably need lots of reminders of how to act around your therapy dog, not because she is an imbecile but because she is constantly afraid that she might do something that knocks your dog out of work mode and that might hurt you.

these are moss' thoughts, they can go a little deeper into them the next time if anyone would like! you too have a lovely weekend dearest anonie

moist wishes, moss <3

[rebeccccccaaa]

𝚃𝚠𝚘 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙳𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚢

________________________

𝙱𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚢 𝙱𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝚁𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍: ANON Hey you ❤️ Could I request an imagine with Bucky where you are his non-avenger girlfriend but you got really distant towards him lately as you found out you're pregnant and you're scared of his reaction? But then he finds out and is all happy and all other avengers are happy for you and insist on taking care of you and it's just all fluffy ? Thank you a lot ❤️

𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: really fluff smut 18+ (praise, daddy kink, slight mommy kink?, breeding kink, oral fem!rec, age gap, etc), slight angst, cw: mentions of eating disorders (no one has one but bucky thinks this)

𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛’𝚜 𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜: listen…. The idea of kids and having kids getting pregnant all that jazz, yeah. It fucking terrifies me! LOL! But nonetheless I really do see the appeal and sometimes i catch myself reading these kinds of fics so i really hope you like it anon! :)

PS: updates are going to slow down cuz i don’t have any drafts ready for upload and also things are a little crazy personally so yeah hope y’all understand :)

_____________________________

“You like that baby?” Bucky groaned in your ear.

“Yes daddy! Oh my god,” you moaned.

“You’re being such a good little girl for your daddy. Fuck, daddy. You're gonna make me a daddy. I’m gonna come inside you and you’re gonna get all swollen and round with my baby. You want that? You wanna be a mommy; make me a daddy?” 

Bucky and you both expressed in the past that kids were something you both wanted but with Bucky still heavily involved with missions and the avengers, and you were in college studying to get a PhD in biomechanics and computer engineering, something that would let you understand and work with Bucky specifically very closely. You were too young to have a baby but that didn’t stop you from playing into fantasies of having a family with the man you were so in love with. 

“Daddy,” you moaned.

“Give it to me, baby,” you looked him into his eyes.

Bucky kissed you hard as you both came and after cleaning yourselves up you had showered together, ate dinner quickly, and soon went to bed. 

That was two months ago. 

Three weeks after that night, Bucky was gone for about two weeks on a mission with Steve. You and the girls were drinking wine but you opted out for the tempting glasses feeling nauseous that entire week. 

As a joke, the girls were saying you were pregnant but you were sure that you and Bucky were always cautious when having sex. It wasn’t a good time to have a baby. So you joked that all three of you should take a pregnancy test and when yours came out positive you freaked out. 

“Oh my god! Bucky’s gonna kill me!” you panicked.

“Hey, relax. It’s ok,” Nat comforted you.

“We can get through this. Now did Bucky explicitly say he doesn’t want kids?” Wanda asked.

“No, we both want kids it’s just, ugh, life is so fucking crazy right now and I’m still in school, Bucky’s going on missions all the time. It’s just not a good time to have a baby.”

“Ok think about it this; if life for us was normal, as boring as that is, would Bucky be upset if you were pregnant?” Nat reasoned.

“No, he would be so happy. He wants to be a dad, it’s just so sudden,” you said in distress.

“It’s always sudden with this situation. But what’s more important is that you have support. Whatever your decision is in the end we'll all support you, even Bucky,” Nat told you.

Bucky came back home and immediately knew that there was something that was upsetting you. You promised him that you were alright but you were conflicted. You tried to tell him, you really did, but there wasn’t a good time. 

One night Bucky tried to initiate sex when you two had the tower to yourselves. You were instantly distant with him afraid he’d take one look at your naked body and know you were pregnant and that freak you out. 

“Baby, are you ok?” Bucky asked that night.

“Yeah, I just don’t feel good,” you didn’t actually lie, the pregnancy did affect your appetite drastically and many foods you used to adore before were repulsive to you. 

“Oh ok, do you need anything?” he was concerned.

“No, I think I’m ok.”

Now present day, you and Bucky hadn’t had sex since. It’s been a little over two months and Bucky wasn’t frustrated per say but he missed you; he missed having his hands on your warm and soft skin. He missed the way you squirmed under him and the little whimpers you made. How good your walls felt as he thrusted in and out of you torturously slow. 

You two were in the kitchen sitting with some of the other team members. So far only Nat and Wanda knew about your pregnancy as hard as it was to not tell Vision or Steve or literally anyone. You stared at the breakfast sitting in front of you; it used to be your favorite but looking at it and smelling it was making you extremely nauseous. 

“Baby?” Bucky rubbed your back.

“Hm?”

“Why aren’t you eating? It’s your favorite,” he said.

“I’m not too hungry,” you said.

Bucky wasn’t convinced but because you were in front of other people he didn’t want you to feel embarrassed like a father scolding a teenager. His hand rested on your thigh and immediately felt your leg tense up. 

You retracted and stood up walking away without saying a word and Bucky was confused and followed you quickly shoving as much food in his mouth as he could and tossed his plate in the sink. 

“What’s going on with them?” Steve asked.

“Oh no are they gonna break up?” Sam asked with genuine concern, as much as he fucked around with Buck he did admire your relationship. You are really good for him and he loved you unconditionally.

“No, it’s just-” Wanda started.

“Wanda,” Nat warned. 

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” she rolled her eyes, “There fine. Y/n’s just not feeling well and she doesn’t want to be bothered.”

Bucky walked into your shared room and found you changing into yet another hoodie. That’s when he started piecing things together; or at least he thought. You were always wearing very big clothing and covering your body; that he thought was the most beautiful he’d ever laid eyes on. You were constantly nauseous and refused to eat even some of your favorites dishes and meals. You wouldn’t let him touch even though he’s initiated a couple of times.

“Y/n?” Bucky asked.

“What?” you played dumb.

“Y/n, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, I told you I don’t feel good.”

“That seems to be your excuse a lot.”

“What does that mean?” you asked.

“Y/n, be honest with me. Are you starving yourself?” he had tears in his eyes; he couldn’t even think about you doing this to yourself.

“What! Bucky no! I’m not, ugh, just,” you stuttered.

“What is going on, please tell me, baby?”

“I’m pregnant!”

Silence. Bucky was shocked. You were pregnant? How long? Why didn’t you tell him? 

“I’m so sorry, Buck,” you started crying.

“No, no, no, no, don’t cry babygirl,” Bucky hugged you tightly while you sobbed into his chest.

“I’m happy, I’m really happy and excited for us. We’re gonna be a family,” he smiled.

“You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?”

“I don’t know, I know we talk about this and having a family but not now. I thought you’d be mad at me.”

“Well, I’m a bit bummed that you didn’t tell when you found out but no; I’m so happy. I love you from the bottom of my heart and I would do anything for you. I’m gonna be here every step of the way and we’re gonna get through this together, ok?”

“Ok,” you sniffled. 

“Are you ok? Do you need anything?” Bucky already started going into protective dad mode and he just found out.

“No I just need you,” you whispered. 

“God, I love you,” Bucky picked you up and laid you on the bed littering your face in kisses.

“Does anyone else know?” he asked you.

“Well, uh, the girls,” you said.

“You told the girls?”

“Well, they were drinking and i declined because I was feeling sick and they joked that I was pregnant so we all took pregnancy tests as a joke but mine came out positive. I took two more and they were all positive,” you started tearing up.

“Hey don’t cry, it’s ok.”

“Sorry,” you laughed.

“We’re gonna be ok, right baby?” he whispered.

“Yeah, I love you.”

Bucky leaned down again and pressed kisses to your neck making you giggle. His warm hands trailed under your shirt making your skin burst into chills. Bucky’s lips continued their assault on your neck and before you knew Bucky started lifting your sweater over your head.

You did the same to Bucky and your chests were pressed against each other instantly as he kissed you hard. Bucky trailed kisses down your body slowly, hands rubbing your skin softly, lips staying longer than usual around your stomach for obvious reasons. 

Bucky peeled your sweats from your body and didn’t hesitate to dive in. His tongue licking a long strip against your pussy. You moan softly and your hips wiggled under him. He pressed down on you to keep you from squirming but you were getting very close to your orgasm and it just felt too good. 

Bucky brought his fingers and circled your entrance before inserting a finger slowly. He looked up at you moaning at his fingers and this encouraged Bucky to insert another one. His fingers slipped in and out with ease with your arousal practically dripping from you. 

Bucky leaned forward and circled his tongue around your clit. The obsecene sounds of Bucky finger fucking you echoed in the room and you finallly climax, cumming all over his finger. Bucky crawled up your tired body after taking his pants and boxers off. 

Bucky didn’t bother putting a condom considering you’ve been his only partner the past couple years and he got you pregnant. He pumped his cock a few times before grabbing your legs to wrap around his waist and easily slipped between your folds. 

“Fuck, baby girl. You feel so good,” Bucky moaned in your ear.

“Oh shit, yes,” you whimpered.

“Oh you’re gonna be so beautiful when you're all big and swollen, shit. You’re gonna be the sexiest mommy in this whole fucking world.”

“Ugh! And you’re gonna be such a sexy daddy,” you smirked and cupped his face.

He leaned down and kissed you passionately. He thrusted into you harder and your back arched into his chest, moaning high pitched and loudly. Your hands tugged on his hair and Bucky groaned in your mouth. 

“Oh Buck, I’m gonna come,”you said against his lips.

“Let go, baby. Come for me, mommy,” Bucky said. 

You came hard; your body contracted and trembled, your stomach tightened, your toes curled, and your legs pulled Bucky deep inside you, hot spurts of his cum coating your walls. Bucky settled on you but bounced back afraid he was crushing the baby.

He went to the bathroom, well practically sprinted, and returned with a warm towel to clean you up. Your body laid still while you were cleaned and you just watched Bucky with adoration. He left again and returned wearing boxers and held a bottle of your favorite lotion that you usually saved for special nights or for Tony’s parties.

You smiled and got comfortable as Bucky poured some lotion in his hand. His hands spread the lotion evenly on your body; thumbs skimming your sensitive nipples, gently caresses all over your stomach, teasing grazes along your inner thighs. You closed your eyes and felt euphoria. 

The love of your life was really pampering you and you felt so good. 

“I love you,” you whispered.

“I love you, too,” Bucky kissed your forehead, crawling into the bed with you.

“Let’s stay in all day. My girl is pregnant and she’s gonna need all the rest she can get,” Bucky joked.

“But what about-”

“No, who cares,” bucky interrupted.

“But-”

“No buts.”

“What are we gonna tell the rest of the team?”

“Oh, well. It’s your body, your comfort. You tell them when you feel it’s best. But I do hope it’s soon because I’m so happy and I don’t think i'd be able to keep this a secret for long,” Bucky dived his head in your neck making you laugh.

“Ok,” you whispered.

“Man, I’m gonna be a dad,” Bucky sighed happily.

“You’re gonna be daddy,” you said innocently.

“I’m already your daddy,” he playfully growled.

“Then you’re gonna be two types of daddy,” you smirked.

“Two types of daddy.”

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

TAGLIST:

@mathletemadison 

[bigskydreaming]

could you tell us a bit more about why you like mar'i so much?? <3

Hmm, nostalgia's a huge part of it, ngl. I probably don't say it enough, but I have my fan blinders just like everyone else, and a huge part of my DickKory shipping as well as my fondness for even just the idea of Mar’i is just my willful perseverance through all the admittedly crappy takes or depictions of them and their relationship in the comics. But they were one of my first big ships, and like....they stuck on me. Imprinted. Like baby (ship) ducklings. Or I imprinted on it like a baby duckling? Idk. Something to do with baby ducklings and imprinting though, for sure.

Another part of it though - because it really is just a giant conglomeration of factors - is I fucking ADORE the trope of second generation heroes, like the children of superheroes and what their lives are like, and Mar'i isn't even just second gen, she's technically THIRD due to the fact that Dick's a second gen hero himself, being Bruce's kid and all. So that's like, the thing I like but even BETTER because its MORE and I, as you know, am all about Things In Moderation.

And then on top of that, there's also the fact that like - I mean, there's a reason I rarely talk about JUST Mar'i or even Mar'i and Jake, but tend to drone on about ALL the Titan kids en masse, because the appeal isn't just Mar'i, its her being a core part of a larger whole, with a whole BUNCH of next gen superhero kids, the future generation of Titans we SHOULD have gotten but were ROBBED of like people who got ROBBED! *shakes fist mightily* So I love that entire brood of future chaos-artists, Mar'i, Lian, Cerdian, the twins, even Bobby who is not responsible for his father being the Literal Worst.

And its just like.....we were this close to having something genuinely unique in comics, because SO MANY comics only give their Can't Let Them Age, Can't Let Them Groooooooooooow superheroes kids via time travel shenanigans and occasional genetic experimentation accelerated grow-ups.....but like, literally every one of the Titan kids we got in continuity was just....a kid, being raised normally by their parents, from babies into the possible future heroes they might someday become while we got to watch the whole thing happen, well normally plus the way Wally did it cuz he had to go and be such a special fucking snowflake about it I stg, le sigh.......at least until DC upended the chessboard and was like we're gonna murder all these babies so damn hard.

So its all of them, y'know? I love Mar'i, but I don't want a world with Mar'i so much as just a world where DC had literally just chilled and we got the whole gang.

But then ALSO, it IS about Mar'i, specifically, because I just want to see what she'd be like because I'm so big thematically on like, the impact parents' child-rearing has on their kids, and like.....I just genuinely think that Dick and Kory, when portrayed at their best as a couple, or even just as friends, like I'm honestly fine with takes where they end up breaking up but still co-parenting....like I genuinely do think their natures complement each other in such a way as I can picture them just being fucking AWESOME parents. Like, the expressive, loving, embarrassing-but-you're-actually-okay-with-it-just-can't-let-them-know-that kind of parents that are like....The Dream.

The closest thing to what I picture Dick and Kory raising kids together like is definitely Lois and Clark, as I think there's parallels there. I know I've said before that I've never been big on 'if every gen of heroes needs a Super, like Tim has Kon and Damian has Jon, then Dick needs Kara or Chris'.....like, I've never been big on that because for me, I always viewed Kory as thematically being the Titans' Superman. Like DickKory in a lot of weird ways kinda IS the Titans version of Superbat for me, and so I think their style of parenting would have a lot of crossover with Clark and Lois. But at the same time, I'm also the first one to say that no like, Dick's not Batman but he is A Bat, and he definitely has Batlike tendencies and you know I had that whole massive post-on-post-on-post chain about like, headcanons I have for quirky Batfam eccentricities that remind people that Batkids are just not like other kids, lol. So you'd have Batfam tendencies still thrown into the mix but overall a fairly healthy and happy family unit, and like....I just really want to see what that looks like or imagine it, and what teenage or adult Mar'i would grow up to be like as a result.

Similarly, the appeal of the Batfam in next gen stuff is there's so many different distinct dynamics you can imagine Mar'i having with each of them one on one.....like, there's just so much POTENTIAL in her and how she fits into her two respective family trees, because I ALSO think its incredibly interesting that Mar'i and Jake, after years of Bruce and Dick and the rest of the Batfam being characterized as like, Princes of Gotham and Gothamite royalty, like....due to Kory's family, Mar'i and Jake would actually BE literal royalty, and that's also an interesting dynamic to throw into the mix, as well as Kory's oft-neglected siblings.

But ultimately that's what it comes down to for me....I'm a sucker for untapped potential, and Mar'i just represents so damn MUCH of it. There's also the element of gestalt, like its a fave trope of mine when next gen kids are clear composites of BOTH of their parents, but also more than the sum of their parts and a distinct entity unto themselves who exists outside of just being so and so's kid.

Anyway, yeah, like I could go on for hours, probably, lol, but the gist is just....there's so many potential directions and dynamics baked into her very existence, and I would love to see any of them explored.

And again, the nostalgia thing.....like, I don't think we truly understand until we reach a certain point like, the effect time can have on your story wants or priorities, if that makes sense? Like I just mean, not to discount younger fans at all, but when you've only been reading comics for a few years or even been aware of the characters for a relatively finite length of time......there comes a point where in comparison you're suddenly like holy shit I've been a fan of this character or team or concept for literal DECADES. And that's a big element here. Like I'm in my mid-thirties and Mar'i first was introduced as possibility way back in Kingdom Come, like I first read about her when I was like....twelve.

This is a character who was more teased than ever really INTRODUCED....but like.....TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO, lmao.

That's a loooooong time to be waiting to see her actually become an idea that's explored, that's given room to expand and become an actual character rather than just the possibility of one.

Like what we got was juuuuust enough to capture my interest and be like oh okay cool, I would like to see more of her, and then....

DC: Lmao.

FOR TWENTY-FIVE FUCKING YEARS.

sfhklafhklafhklfahklfahlf

I just....

[musubiki]

I hope this is not spam because I was lately asking a lot of questions (also I talk a lot sorry for bothering you 👉👈)

Did you go to art school? Your art looks professional and very pretty and you manage to keep this flow that makes the poses, characters, coloring look very appealing, so I wanted to ask about your experience so I can improve my art because I just started posting lately on my tumblr and I want to improve the quality of my drawings! I’m talking about posing, camera angles and shading. You manage to use these elements in a way that looks very pretty and I want to learn how to capture that appeal! I know that everyone has their own learning pace and experience but in this medium other people’s experience is also very helpful

Sorry again if this is a bother I just want some art advice… also sorry I ramble a lot…

yeah no worries!! i like answering these questions!!

no, i never went to art school!! im 95% self taught, 5% looking at tutorials online for specific stuff!!

for posing: honestly most of the time is drawing a pose, thinking "nope thats not it," adjusting it, and thinking "thats not it either," until you eventually get it to "okay i can live with that" or something along those lines!! when i draw i have a rough idea of what kinda pose i want, its usually a combination of (general pose) + (emotion)!! for example the recent bikini mochi piece, i knew i wanted her standing up + nervous/self conscious!! you can observe people in real life / in media to observe what kind of pose expresses what emotion, like someone sitting up very straight and stiff can imply nervousness?attentiveness/anxiousness, and someone sitting slumped, hunched over, legs lazily folded can imply relaxation, idleness, etc!! so posing is about both action + what they feel!! hand gestures can also be good at expressing these emotions!! (a good example too is the "👉👈" hands to show like...nervousness?? shy?? something like that??) im pretty sure you can study more on this, but for me personally i just kinda use...,my own reactions/emotions as a model. how i react if i was in that situation, and the exaggerate it a bit so it communicates easier!!

for camera angles: i feel like this is more about how dramatic you want the piece to be...for me i always saw a straight on, forward facing camera angle as like, yeah this isnt THAT important its just for dialogue. then you can move the camera angle around for the sake of variety, drama, or a lot of times to get things to fit in the same frame!! id say the best way to get better at this is just read some manga and study the panels to see what kinds of angles they use!! im not sure the significance of each of if theres a deeper meaning, but at least it can give you a little inventory of idea for what perspectives you can use when you wanna mix things up!!

for shading: literally dont worry about shading. just...,,,do your best. if im being honest, i still dont know how to shade. its been like, 10 years and i never learned to shade. cuz shading means you have to consider whatever youre drawing in a 3d space and think about how the light would hit it, and where the shadows would go and its jus....too much for me LMFAOOO I DONT SHADE 90% OF MY WORK!!!!!! so if you wanna shade just do your best. i have no advice on this im sorry;,,, just do your best or not at all and it'll be fine!!!

for colors: i dont have much advice here either, i use colors appealing to my own eyes, which is usually pastels/soft colors!! one piece of advice i have is use a brown overlay on top of your piece cuz ive read it "brings the colors together" (which i dont really get but i assume it sort of...makes all the colors become a little browner so it looks better together??? idk) and put an overlay/add layer on top of whatever color you want the piece to have!! i usually put pink over all my art cuz i love it lol

anyway i hope that helped a little bit!! i never learned professionally so i cant explain it in an academic way but as always, the best advice is just to practice. just accept that youre gonna be a bad artist until youre a good artist and keep drawing, its the only way to really get better!! ive been drawing for at least...7 years and i still look at pieces from a few months ago and go "ew disgusting" so,,...youre always gonna be improving just be consistent!!! good luck!!

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

Vaunna, my beloved. Are you aware that we now need some kind of Rendog fan fiction to celebrate the important news that are his dog ears?

Ahh Oca my beloved, of course I am aware. Here you go! 

(also pls don’t tag this as shipping, it’s just friendship)

…

  One hot afternoon, Ren is at his log farm, trying to stock up for his shop. Bigger Logz has seen a lot of traffic recently so he hopes he can restock quickly so as to not lose any business. But his long hair is causing him to sweat heavily in the hot sun and he’s not sure how much longer he can stay out here for. 

  “Yo, Ren!” Iskall unexpectedly appears on top of the tree he’s just about to chop down. “How’s it going?”

  “Hey!” Ren smiles up at his friend. “What’s up, Iskall?”

  “Nothing much, just coming over to check on the weirdo who’s chopping logs in the middle of a heatwave.”

  Ren laughs. “If I don’t get it done now, I’ll keep procrastinating until I hate everything. Now that you’re here, you wanna help?”

  “No, dude, I wanna go to the beach or something!” Iskall reaches down and tugs at Ren’s shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go do something fun. Aren’t you sweltering out here?”

  Their best friend considers this. “I mean, I AM really hot.”

  Iskall winks. “In more ways than one.”

  “Stop!” Ren giggles, swatting his best friend’s hand away. 

  “Yo, you’re so hot cuz you’ve got a whole mane covering your whole head and neck.” Iskall takes hold of a few strands of Ren’s hair and tugs gently at them. “Look at this. You gotta be sweating like a… um… whatever sweats a lot. Why don’t you get a haircut?”

  Ren’s smile falls and he takes a step back, tugging his hair out of Iskall’s grip. “I don’t need a haircut, I’m fine like this.” 

  Iskall raises an eyebrow. “Okay, what’s wrong?”

  “N-Nothing.”

  “Bro, I know you better than you know yourself. I heard the change in your voice just now so I know something’s wrong. You can talk to me about anything, you know.”

  Ren hesitates. He’s been best friends with Iskall for so long that maybe it IS time to tell them his secret. 

  “Okay. Here it is.”

  He lifts his long hair out of the way, revealing two furry dog ears on either side of his head. 

  Iskall stares at him, their eyes wide. “Ren… How long have you had those?”

  “My whole life,” Ren admits. “I’m just not confident enough to show them to everyone else.” 

  “You?” Iskall says in disbelief. “NOT confident?! You’re like the most confident guy I know.”

  Ren gives a slightly awkward chuckle. “Yeah. Not about this, though.”

  “But… how come? It’s not that bad, surely? You know the hermits would never judge you based on your appearance.”

  “I know, it’s just… it’s hard to shake old trauma. Know what I mean?”

  Iskall pauses. They know exactly what Ren means. Nobody likes talking about their lives before Hermitcraft, and this is the only time they’ve ever heard Ren mention anything about his. 

  Finally, they jump down beside Ren and link arms with him. “C’mon, bro. Let’s go get you a haircut. It’s time you get to show the world your full self.”

  Ren starts to protest but cuts himself off. For some reason, the idea of finally letting his ears show appeals to him. Even though he’s nervous at the idea, he knows deep down that the other hermits won’t treat him any differently. They already love him for who he is. 

  “O-Okay,” he says, nodding. “I’ll do it.”

…

  “-so we’d really like a style that shows off his ears but still encapsulates his rugged good looks,” Iskall finishes. “Can you do it?”

  Bdubs expertly twirls his shears. “What a silly question. You ready, Ren?”

  Ren squirms in the barber’s chair. “I don’t know. Y-You’ll be gentle, right…?”

  “Oh, of course!” Bdubs beams and flicks a piece of cloth over the mirror in front of him. “But no mirrors during the process, ‘kay? Gonna be a nice surprise at the end.”

  “I-I’m not gonna lose my ears altogether, am I?”

  Bdubs shakes his head confidently. “Nah, that hasn’t happened in ages! Okay, on we go!”

  Ren closes his eyes and leans back, forcing himself to relax. He trusts his friends; if Iskall and Bdubs say this is a good idea, he trusts their word. 

  Soon, he begins to relax for real, listening to Iskall and Bdubs chatter to each other about nothing in particular as the latter works. As much as he likes to talk, he also enjoys just listening to other people chat about building ideas and plans for the future. It helps distract him from his nerves.

  “Right! All done!”

  Ren opens his eyes. “That was quick.”

  “That was fifteen minutes,” Bdubs responds amusedly. “I think you fell asleep or something. Anyway, are you ready for the reveal?”

  Immediately, Ren’s heartrate skyrockets as he remembers where he is and what has just happened. “Y-Yeah.” 

  Grinning, Bdubs whips off the material covering the mirror. 

  Ren’s eyes widen. 

  Not for the first time in his life, he can’t stop staring at his reflection in the mirror. But this time, it’s different. This is the first time in so long that he can actually see his dog ears. He always thought he would hate any hairstyle where his ears are on show, but Bdubs has done such a good job keeping his hair long enough to still look good but short enough to show off the furry ears on either side of his head. 

  “Bro…!” Iskall circles Ren, unable to take their eyes off their best friend’s head. “You look amazing. Seriously. Your ears look so good with that haircut.”

  “Th-Thank you…” Ren reaches up to stroke his ears. He’s only ever touched them to sweep his hair over them or hide them from someone else; the feeling of touching them so gently is foreign to him. “Gosh… Y-You’ve done an amazing job, Dubadubs.” 

  Bdubs beams, placing both his hands on Ren’s shoulders from behind. “Dude, I can’t believe you’ve never shown off your ears before. You look great! Do you feel any different?”

  Ren simply nods, unable to put his feelings into words. Thankfully, Bdubs and Iskall can see the expression of pure joy on his face and they don’t press him to answer aloud. 

  A few minutes later, he steps out into the sunshine and closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. The breeze blows gently through his hair and ears. It’s amazing to Ren how this simple act has made him feel so free.   Iskall appears next to him, offering him his sunglasses. “You wanna go show off your new look?”

  “Heck yeah.” Ren grins and puts his sunglasses on. “How do I look?”

  “Niiiiice.” Iskall gives him an approving smirk. “Ladies get in line, huh?”

  Ren laughs at his own catchphrase being quoted back to him. He lets out a contented sigh, leaning casually on his shorter best friend’s shoulder. He’s never been happier in his whole life.

  “Ladies, gentlemen, and everybody in between.”

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 14 - Unexpected Meeting

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, who will they run into?, 3.2k

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

WARNINGS: death mention, emotional trauma

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13

“Man, I need a break,” Reggie was saying as he strolled with Alex down an unfamiliar street in the early evening, stretching his arms. “I mean, being in the studio all the time has been good, but on top of everything else it’s just so much!”

Unsure where they were headed, Alex walked a few paces ahead on the sidewalk, casually navigating for both of them. He squinted as he looked at Reggie.

“Reggie, you dropped, like, all of your classes once we signed on.”

“Nope!” his friend exclaimed, tilting his head in a proud manner. “I just needed two electives to graduate. It’s okay, though, man. Not everyone finishes their math requirements as a freshman.” Reggie patted Alex’s shoulder, as if it were any sort of consolation.

“No, good for you Reg,” Alex said. His parents had paid for all this private tutoring and even gotten him to take some college credits early. Of course, his only serious plan after high school had been the band so it was all wasted effort, but then all of their attempts with him amounted to that. He was learning to feel less guilty over it. It wasn’t his fault they never cared about what he wanted.

“How long do you think Luke and Bobby are gonna be workshopping their parts together?” Reggie asked.

“Long enough. Where are we going, exactly?”

“Oh, I was just kind of keeping an eye out for anywhere interesting.”

Alex blinked. “I thought we were headed somewhere specific.”

“I’ve only been to this side of L.A. like, once, so I don’t think I’d make a good tour guide,” Reggie stated.

And just like that, Alex’s mind thrust itself back into remembering Willie. He was getting better at not crumbling completely in the moment, but it still felt like his heart was temporarily dunked into a dark ocean of misery. It would remain waterlogged and heavy inside his chest for a while.

“Alex?” Reggie was saying, looking at him with concern. “You okay?”

Snapping his thoughts back to the present, Alex sighed as he looked back at Reggie.

“I’ll be fine.”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jean jacket and pressed his arms against his sides. Shoulders hunched, he continued through the crowd. Focusing on walking would hopefully help it wear off. He made every step purposeful, trying to get the weight in his heart to fall through his feet. Reggie’s hand on his shoulder made him turn.

“It’s still rough, isn’t it?” he asked gently. “If I said something - ”

“It’s not your fault,” Alex tried to assure him. “Sometimes it just comes out of nowhere. Besides, I can’t make you and everyone else walk on eggshells.”

“Maybe not, but we’re in this with you. It may have been different for us, but we all met Willie. I’d never seen you warm up to anyone that fast. Even after a few months, it’s still fresh; don’t force yourself to be better for us.”

Pausing on the sidewalk, Alex looked up at Reggie. He tried to smile as gratitude edged its way in, relieving most of the heaviness in his chest.

“I appreciate that, Reg.”

“Of course, man.”

“So,” Alex took a deep breath to let everything else wash away as they kept wandering. “You made it sound like you had a lot going on. Is everything at home okay?”

Reggie shrugged. “Eh...no change there. My mom went to stay with her sister after the last fight, so my dad’s been trying his best to take care of everything, but he’s too upset to handle it well. My little sister has just been sleeping over with friends anyway, and I can handle myself, so - ” he shrugged again, “ - you know, I do what I can.”

Alex nodded. He had nothing really to comment, and Reggie knew he was always there to support him. This wasn’t anything unusual for him, but it still wasn’t right. Neither of them spent much time at their own homes, so wandering through the city like this kept them occupied when they weren’t with the rest of the band. Looking up at the store signs around them, he saw a record store about a block ahead.

“Hey, why don’t we check that out?” he suggested.

“Yeah!” Reggie said, dropping any ounce of gloom from the previous subject and skipping along to catch up with Alex.

A small bell rang as they came through the door, and they immediately began filtering through shelves of records and CDs. Peeking toward the back of the store, Alex could see a counter that offered a menu of food and drinks, some tables, as well as the smallest stage in the world. This seemed like a neat little place.

“Oh,” Reggie started after a while. “I got us a gig playing at my cousin’s wedding.”

“A wedding?” Alex said skeptically, turning from the Pansy Division vinyl he was checking out. “When we’re trying to finish a record and go on tour?”

“It’s Conrad, okay, he’s family! And he said we could make the setlist.”

Alex shrugged, considering that was fair.

“...with his approval.”

At that addition, Alex could only sigh and shake his head.

“And then maybe, you could, I don’t know, finally ask Bobby to be your date?”

Reggie put down the Mötley Crüe album he’d been examining and looked up at him in shock. Alex realized he’d possibly been too blunt. But immediately Reggie began to cover it up, laughing and shaking his head.

“What?” he said, his denial completely transparent. “Was that a...was that supposed to be a joke or something?”

Giving him a look of pity, Alex put his hands on his hips.

“You’re really gonna try to pull the wool over the eyes of your gay friend?”

Caught, Reggie looked back at him in defeat and bowed his head.

“I’m gonna guess you noticed a while ago?”

Nodding, Alex tried to soften his demeanor. 

“There’s been something up with you two for months. How come you haven’t tried to talk to him about it?”

Reggie knit his brow and began fiddling with his fingers.

“Well, I’m a little confused by it, to be honest. Cuz, I mean...I like girls, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“But I like Bobby, too.”

“Okay.”

His friend looked up at him, expecting more of a reaction. Alex leaned against the shelf and folded his arms.

“Do you think there’s something wrong with you? Because you’re talking to the king of wrong feelings.”

“Well, sometimes I feel like that, but not really. It’s something else,” Reggie said.

“Like what?”

“Well...we’ve been friends for years. It just sort of crept up on me and I don’t know what to do. What if he rejects it? He’s one of my best friends.”

Thinking for a moment, Alex looked down at his feet. He didn’t blame Reggie for being worried. He’d had a mini crush on Bobby for a couple weeks back in ninth grade and had the same dilemma. It was easier for him to get over, though, simply because it had faded quickly.

“Well, I wish I could say if it’s meant to be it’ll happen, but sometimes…”

Sometimes it dies in a fire before there’s any chance of knowing.

He shook his head to get rid of the awful thought and ignored Reggie’s look of concern.

“But if I know Bobby, I don’t think it’s going to harm anything. I think you should go for it, Reg. I truly, honestly, will back you up on that.”

A smile spread wide across Reggie’s face.

“Thanks, man!”

Without fretting over it for another second, he turned back to the shelf of CDs he’d been perusing, and Alex did the same. There was a crazy good selection, and Alex wished he could get his hands on a record player. Playing CDs on a boombox worked for some things, but there was a level of charm in playing something on a vinyl record that appealed to him even more. He made a note to get a small notebook to carry in his fanny pack, hoping to return to this store and make a wishlist of sorts to work toward.

“Do I see Alex and Reggie of Sunset Curve?” A familiar voice said from behind.

Both of them turned to find Flynn standing in the aisle, braids tied up into a high ponytail and eyebrow arched in her usual smart fashion.

“Hey Flynn!” Reggie exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. Alex went in for one afterward, happily surprised.

“Hey guys!” she said, grinning.

“What are you up to?” Alex asked.

“Gonna be performing in a bit,” she said excitedly. “Just a warm up before the main group comes on. I’ve been working on some of my own stuff; I think you guys would love it! Got time to stick around?”

“Sweet!” Reggie raised a fist for her to bump. “I’m down. Alex, wanna stay?”

“Yeah, sounds great!”

He had yet to see what Flynn was capable of. If he were to judge only on knowing she’d been in a duo with Julie, he expected it to be good.

“Also, you should try the burritos here,” Flynn told them. “They are to die for!”

The endless click-rollll-click-click-click of his board filled his ears as Willie moved through the street, feeling the wind pass over him in the way that made freedom feel like he could clutch it in his hands. He’d actually spent today not worrying about Alex. It felt good not to dwell on what little past he had access to. Of course, he still had repetitive dreams about the few memories that had come back, but the backwards one with Caleb in it hadn’t come back ever since he’d gotten to LA. Moving forward felt...nice.

He had spent the morning sketching at the beach, getting all sorts of practice in. The beautiful waves, seagulls, the different activities all around him. Somehow a group of young college kids had gotten him to join their volleyball tournament. Willie wasn’t sure if he’d ever played it before, but once he caught onto the game, he’d gotten surprisingly good. It felt nice to roll up the hem of his jeans and dig his toes into the warm sand while playing with a group of strangers. They’d nicknamed him Mowgli, whatever that meant. He liked the sound of it though.

Heading off to work after cleaning himself up, he realized he could spend all his free time that way. Peacefully sketching, meeting fun people, and enjoying his surroundings. Was that all it took to be happy? Willie chuckled at the thought of how much Caleb had stressed over rising to the top of his business game, never appearing to be satisfied with any of it. Leaving Vegas remained the best decision he’d ever made. Of course, he wasn’t always proud about his method of burning down the shed, but it had been one of those...heat of the moment things.

Willie skated up to the back entrance and shook his hair out after lifting off his helmet. Just a few short hours of making food, some chill entertainment, and he could peace out for the night. He headed inside the store and right into the small kitchen. Thankfully, the store didn’t fit too many patrons and it was never hard to keep up with orders, and Kyle had a system so he never had to leave the kitchen. This basically meant he could jam to the live music during the lulls between orders with no interruption.

Kyle entered the kitchen just as Willie was tying on his apron.

“Hey, dude, thanks for coming. We actually got two acts coming in, so it should be a full crowd. Katelyn can be the MC for the first bit, but do you mind taking over for the second half?”

A twinge of excitement came over Willie and he lit up. He’d never gotten to try being an MC before.

“Don’t mind at all!” he said.

“Alright, man!” Kyle exclaimed. “First two orders up: swamp style nachos and a bog burrito.”

“Got it.”

“We’re up for a big night with these performances,” the girl hosting hyped up the crowd. “Let’s give it up for our artist of the night: Flynn Taylor!”

Reggie cupped his hands over his mouth as he hollered along with everyone else’s applause. Alex clapped with a mouthful of nachos. Flynn stepped onto the stage behind a set of deejay turntables, smirking as she began flipping switches and turning knobs.

“Thanks for coming out here everyone,” she said into the mic. More applause and whistles echoed through the room. “We’re gonna make a lot of noise tonight, so let me hear you get pumped!”

As she began playing a beat, Alex bobbed along, immediately interested. He didn’t know a thing about mixing, so he was highly impressed with the different sounds she was using. Then Flynn picked up the mic and began rapping and the whole room cheered.

“...I’m a princess, I don’t need a prince, boy I’m priceless...I’m here to shut it down like a night shift…”

“Man,” Reggie leaned over to Alex. “She’s so good! I say we book her to open for us ASAP as possible.”

Alex merely snorted and chuckled at Reggie’s misuse of the acronym. He actually enjoyed the idea of having Flynn rapping to open for their rock shows. Gigs where all the bands sounded the same got a little flavorless sometimes.

“Also,” Reggie said as he took a huge bite into his burrito. “This is the best burrito I’ve ever had.”

“Lemme try some, you can try my nachos,” Alex said.

All Reggie could say was Mm! as he passed the burrito over.

The final beats of the first performer echoed in the kitchen where Willie had been dancing, waving various kitchen tools around. He’d thoroughly enjoyed the whole set, and wondered what sounded so familiar about the girl who was rapping. Before he could spend more time thinking about it, Kyle came in.

“Okay, you ready?” he asked.

“I just keep people busy and then announce the next group, right?” Willie guessed.

“Yeah, man, you’ve got this!”

“What’s the next group called?”

“Downslide. And they brought some merch, so it’s a good idea to mention that to the crowd as well.”

“Okay,” Willie nodded, slipping out of his apron. “Maybe I could put their t-shirt on or something, you know, sell the look?”

Kyle looked impressed. “Yeah! I’ll go see what they’ve got.”

He left the kitchen and hardly a minute later returned with a jacket.

“They said you could wear it for the night. Not gonna lie, I wish I could wear this, it’s a sweet jacket.”

Willie slipped it on, and turned around. He didn’t often wear jackets, but whatever it was made of was pretty soft.

“Guess I’m ready,” he said, giving Kyle a hand slide and fist bump before leaving the kitchen. He stepped up behind the microphone and looked out at the crowd, and further back, the empty store.

At that moment, he heard the bell of the store door ring and two guys walked outside. Through the window, a familiar leather jacket passed. Then, he saw a head of blonde hair follow, turning to look both ways to cross the street, and his heart grew to fill all the empty space in his chest. It was unmistakable. It had to be.

“Alex...” he breathed quietly into the microphone. Adrenaline immediately went out to his extremities. The crowd before him looked bewildered as they waited for him to announce the next group.

Glancing offstage, he saw Kyle give him a strange look. Willie shook his head, unclear what message he was sending but ultimately knowing he couldn’t stay at his current spot. Before he could think anything else, his legs were bounding out the door. It felt like every ounce of blood in his veins knew. The search was over.

Reggie and Alex had just reached the opposite corner. He wasn’t going to miss his chance.

“Alex!” he cried, running to meet them.

He immediately thrust his arms around a surprised Alex, gripping him tightly, burying his face into his shoulder.

“Oh my god, Alex!” he said, panting. “It’s so good to see you.”

He didn’t feel the hug didn’t reciprocate, and instead Alex grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away. The darkness of the street seemed to envelop him.

“What are you - ?” Alex started, staring back at Willie like he’d just been assaulted. Then shock wiped over his whole face. Then confusion. And then a pain came over all of it that made Willie’s concern grow.

“What - what is it?” he asked, all the excitement gone.

Alex wouldn’t look him in the eye, and he raised a hand to hold the side of his head.

“No, this isn’t real,” he whispered to himself, shrinking backward and shutting his eyes. “This can’t be real.”

Willie glanced over at Reggie, who also stared like he was seeing the impossible. He could see Alex shaking and heard a rattled breath, and felt tension grow thick in the air. Quickly, he went to take Alex’s face in his hands.

“Alex, hey, look, it’s me,” he soothed. He fought to get a look directly into his eyes. “It’s me, Willie.”

Finally, the green ocean gazed back at him, turbulent and restless. What once had been a grounding rhythm of waves had turned into a maelstrom of despair. Even worse were the tears welling up right before him. Willie watched the storm rage for a few seconds, seeking for a moment of calm.

“What’s wrong?” he murmured, lowering his hands. Alex looked so wounded it frightened him.

“How are you alive?” Alex begged to know.

Blinking, Willie sat back, astounded at those words. While he agreed it was a miracle he was still alive, he couldn’t fathom why Alex would ask such a question. He chuckled merely out of discomfort.

“I’m here.” Willie glanced at Reggie, looking for an explanation. “Flesh and bone. Why? What happened?”

Alex looked at him incredulously, jaw hanging open. He looked so tightly wound and so scattered all at once. 

“Caleb told me you were dead.”

Willie blanched inwardly at the mention of Caleb, but even more so at the rest of that sentence he’d been utterly unprepared to hear.

“He...he - ” he stammered for a moment. “When would you have even talked to him?”

Sharing a look with Reggie, Alex took a deep breath. Then he looked back at Willie hesitantly.

“We see him all the time. We work for him now.”

It was Willie’s turn to drop his jaw.

“We’ve been signed to his record label for a few months now,” Reggie pitched in.

Directing his gaze to the ground, Willie puzzled for a minute.

“Why would I be dead?” he asked, looking back up at Alex.

For a minute Alex simply gazed at him wordlessly.

“I don’t know,” he said. There was a pause as both of them finally looked at each other, fully aware that this was real. And then Alex threw his arms around Willie to return the hug. Willie had to raise himself up on his toes to avoid falling over, and he tightened his grip to remain steady. He felt joy spread through his whole torso and breathed a sigh of relief as hands tangled into his hair. “But that doesn’t matter. I’m so happy to see you.”

[bloodbenderz]

this is possibly a dumb question and a weird one, so feel free to ignore! but i was reading one of ur analyses (on the lok anarchy article) and that was a lot of fun to read and i thought u made v salient points! i was wondering if u had any advice on how one can get better at coming up with their own analyses and stuff like that. maybe it’s a lack of brain cells or maybe it’s a part of my brain that i haven’t flexed in years, but i want to be able to do that (i think it’s called “critical thinking” lmao) but cannot fathom how to do so to the point of being able to think and organize analyses/essays like this. again this is a weird q with an answer that will vary/not exist depending on who’s asked, but i dig ur analyses so here i am

thank u sm! this is a super broad question but im just gonna assume u mean literary analysis cuz thats what this blog is about (usually)

my first piece of advice is to read nonfiction. for me nonfiction has always been the best way for me to build a Framework of critical thought (for example, learning about science and its history gives me the tools to criticize modern scientific education and pop science) aside from teaching u abt historical/scientific fact, these writers will usually have ways of thinking abt things that u will not have considered before, and as u follow them thru their argument, u will not only understand Theirs better but u will also start understanding better how to formulate ur own. u can find whatever format works best for u, like, podcasts/audiobooks or print or ebook or whatever, but find some content abt something that interests u and go for it! 

when it comes to fiction, i would say my advice is to both consume a lot of fiction AND ALSO consume a lot of analysis of it. (also remember that ur mind basically functions on You are what you eat. Dont spend too much time watching trashy dramas or reading fanfiction. read/watch/listen to a VARIETY of content) as u consume content, ask urself WHY do i like this? what specifically abt it is appealing to me? why does it ring true, or why doesn’t it? notice motifs bc thats usually the easiest way to notice symbolism (for example theres a lot of mirrors and reflections in russian doll. what does that mean?) and think abt what they could represent in the story. track character development, make mental notes of a character’s motivations and ideals, and notice how the story affects them and ask if it makes sense. give urself room to dislike things (Just because legend of korra is the sequel to a show u really liked doesnt mean u have to like lok too!), but ask urself why u disliked them, and see if u can form a convincing argument abt it.

look at other people’s analysis of fiction! watch video essays and read other people’s analysis! u dont have to agree w them, but see what patterns they’ve picked out, and see if u can pick out patterns like it next time. it’s really just practice the more u read/watch critically, the more u get better at it!

for me fiction is the most fun and creative way to Apply critical thought because like. every piece has a Point to it. Nonfiction will just come out and tell u what their point is, but fiction requires u to figure out what theirs is, and bc of that there’s a lot of flexibility in how u read it. (hint: as long as the text doesnt actually disprove ur reading, that’s a valid Point! another hint: not all Valid points are Good) also, i dont wanna sound like an asshole here but theres no way to avoid it so here it is: a lot of people dont criticize/analyze fiction properly bc of their emotional attachment to it. they’ll project things onto characters that arent supported by the text, they’ll write “fix it” fanfiction that ignores or misunderstands the important themes of a story, they’ll excuse genuinely bad writing bc theyre attached to the characters (can anyone say 2020 supernatural renaissance?). its fine to be emotionally attached to a story (and if it’s a good story u WILL be emotionally attached to it) but when u write analysis of a story set ur affection for the characters aside for the moment cuz u will always end up with much fairer and more interesting analysis when u do. 

also, find somebody to talk to abt fiction or make a blog abt it! its fun to talk about and u will find it easier to form arguments when ur actively talking abt it cuz honestly i only ever have a half formed thought when i write my long posts i just sit down and start typing and i organize my thoughts once theyre already down

so, idk. tldr: read more nonfiction, read less fanfiction, write more analysis. And pay attention in english class if ur in school

[official-lovestruck-galen]

It’s been a billion years since I’ve read Lovestruck but I’ve returned to it and immediately plan on finishing Lucas’s route. I’ve reread the first season and finished the second and god. I cant express enough how masterful the writing for Lucas is and how much I love the characters and the relationship and the way the world building and plot unfolds. There’s not a second of wasted time and nothings dragged out longer than it needs to be and I will sing the praises of this route to the heavens until the end of time. I’m not gonna do highlights as I read like I did when i was reading things as they came out, but I’m still incredibly enthusiastic about this story and can’t wait to finally get through until the end. Here’s my season 2 thoughts in general. Under the cut cuz I have a lot of feelings

- I do just love how these boys are so communicative with each other once their relationship really gets going. There are misunderstandings and the quest is still the priority a lot in a way that effects the relationship, but they really do talk things through with each other so we’ll and I love them.

- Also as much as I love some good pining I also love to see a lot of the worries from season 1 melting away, or at least manifesting in different ways. It maintains character while leaving room to learn more about them and develop them and uuuugh I love them.

- I know generally the light keeper, path finder, guardian situation through tumble osmosis, but this is my first time experiencing it so! Excited to learn.

- Also VERY excited to get some good ol Darla Developments. I knew she wouldn’t be an enemy for long(though she isn’t quite a friend yet either) but it’s nice to actually see it and I do like her a lot.

- Though this season definitely came with more serious moments what with the plot ampin up a bit with a clearer goal, its fluff and levity was always wonderful and it was all just so full of Yearning which you know the gays(me) love.

- Bosco is the creepiest motherfucker

- I understand Abel’s appeal now. I get it. You’re alright, axe man.

- Kept typing that as ace man so also now Abel’s asexual trust me I know this.

- Also I KNEW as soon as MMC left Lucas in that last episode of the season something bad would happen. I knew in my heart of hearts. THAT MOTHERFUCKER. Someone hand me the sword of truth because I’m about to stab a magic man.

- Listen. Sometimes you read a route in Lovestruck and you just know that. No matter what other routes come no matter what other potential relationships the MC could potentially have, this one is whats REAL. I’m a multi shipper, but in my heart of hearts there will always be some relationships that are just more canon than anything else. Juliette is that for me in VN. Alex Cyprin is that for me in AFK. And Lucas and MMC is that for me in EAA, and I’m not even done. I just don’t think anything can top this. Not only with how good the writing is, but what these boys mean to me. I love them. I’d die for them.

- edit: FUCK AND I DIDNT EVEN TALK ABOUT how much I love the subversion of the idea that someone in love has a weakness. The thought for Lucas is shut down before it even really begins and with the end scene and what little knowledge I do have. It seems that Love is actually a weakness for the warlock, as it helps people see through his glamours. And the real takeaway he had was seeing the leaf necklace MMC had and how he’s important cuz light keeper shenanigans. LOVE THAT. SUPPORT THAT. GOOD SHIT.